rosalita jumps a little higher in 2014: Verse 9

I’m Julia, back for my fourth year with the 75 Book Challenge. I have no idea what 2014 will hold, but for the first time I’m going to attempt a little *gulp* planning. When it comes to reading, I am a pantser not a plotter, so I am not at all sure I will be able to follow a plan when shiny new books start popping up at the library and in other people’s threads. You might want to grab a ringside seat for what’s almost certain to be a hot mess of a reading year. :-)

2014 Category Challenge:
To help me with my planning, I am also attempting for the first time this year a Category Challenge. That link will take you to my thread over in that group, but for the record here are my categories (based on the titles of Bruce Springsteen songs):
1. Brilliant Disguise — books by pseudonymous authors
2. Growin’ Up — young adult fiction
3. Be True — nonfiction
    1. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919
    2. Beyond the Body Farm
4. Book of Dreams — fantasy fiction
    1. His Majesty's Dragon
    2. Wolves of Calla
    3. Hexed
    4. Hammered
    5. Tricked
    6. A Symphony of Echoes
    7. 11/22/63
5. Highway Patrolman — police procedurals
    1. Broken Homes
    2. The Greek Coffin Mystery
    3. Whack-a-Mole
6. Dead Man Walkin’ — books about the death penalty
7. It’s Hard To Be a Saint in the City — books set in New York City
    1. Burglar on the Prowl
    2. Three-Day Town
    3. The Golden Spiders
    4. The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons
    5. The Final Deduction
8. Reason to Believe — books with a religious theme
9. Spirit in the Night — ghost stories
    1. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane.
    2. The Shining, Stephen King.
10. She’s the One — female authors new to me
    1. Death Comes For the Archbishop
    2. The Goldfinch
    3. Longbourn
    4. Just One Damned Thing After Another
    5. Déjà Dead
    6. A Wizard of Earthsea
11. A Good Man Is Hard to Find — male authors new to me
    1. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
    2. Master and Commander
    3. Hounded
12. The Ghost of Tom Joad — books by John Steinbeck
13. Local Hero — authors with a connection to the Iowa Writers Workshop
    1. The Barkeep
14. Worlds Apart — books set outside the U.S.
    1. A Week in Winter
    2. The Panther
    3. Frederica
    4. The Murder at the Vicarage
    5. An Infamous Army
    6. Trapped
    7. Hunted
    8. A Second Chance
    9. The Body In the Library
    10. The Penelopiad
    11. Deadly Decisions
    12. Cotillion

Let’s see, what else?

My rating scale:
★★★★★ - completely enthralling. It enlightened or educated me in some way. I can definitely see myself reading it again. In short, a "keeper" worth buying.
★★★★½ - not quite perfect, but I will actively recommend this book to friends.
★★★★ - really great book with minor flaws, still highly recommended.
★★★½ - better than average but some flaws. Recommended.
★★★ - entertaining but probably forgettable, not worth re-reading. Recommended only for fans of the genre or author.
★★½ - readable but something about the story, characters or writing was not up to standards. Not recommended.
★★ - finished but did not like, and would not recommend.
★½ - some redeeming qualities made me finish it, but nothing to recommend.
★ - finished but disliked enough to actively attempt to dissuade others from reading.
½ - could not finish, possibly destroyed by fire (unless it's a library book)

Books Read ticker:

January
1. The Burglar on the Prowl, Lawrence Block. ★★★½
2. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, John Godey. ★★★
3. A Tan and Sandy Silence, John D. MacDonald. ★★★½
4. A Week in Winter, Maeve Binchy. ★★★½
5. Cut To the Bone, Jefferson Bass. ★★★½
6. The Panther, Nelson DeMille. ★★★½
7. The Scarlet Ruse, John D. MacDonald. ★★★★
8. The Racketeer, John Grisham. ★★★
9. Christmas Mourning, Margaret Maron. ★★★★
10. The Turquoise Lament, John D. MacDonald. ★★★★
11. W Is for Wasted, Sue Grafton. ★★★½
12. The Dreadful Lemon Sky, John D. MacDonald. ★★★★
13. Death Comes For the Archbishop, Willa Cather. ★★★★½

February
14. His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik. (re-read)
15. Three-Day Town, Margaret Maron. ★★★½
16. Frederica, Georgette Heyer. ★★★★
17. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt. ★★★★½
18. Master and Commander, Patrick O'Brian. ★★★★
19. Broken Homes, Ben Aaronovitch. ★★★★
20. The Buzzard Table, Margaret Maron. ★★★½
21. The Wolves of Calla, Stephen King. ★★★★½
22. The Golden Spiders, Rex Stout (re-read)
23. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane. ★★★½
24. W Is for Wasted, Sue Grafton. ★★★★
25. The Empty Copper Sea, John D. MacDonald. ★★★★½
Abandoned Without Prejudice™
The Hamlet, William Faulkner

March
26. Hounded, Kevin Hearne. ★★★★
27. The Murder at the Vicarage, Agatha Christie. ★★★½
28. Hexed, Kevin Hearne. ★★★★
29. The Green Ripper, John D. MacDonald. ★★★½
30. Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, Stephen Puleo ★★★★
31. The Whole Enchilada, Diane Mott Davidson. ★★★
32. V Is for Vengeance, Sue Grafton. ★★★½
33. Free Fall in Crimson, John D. MacDonald. ★★★½
34. The Road, Cormac McCarthy. ★★★★★
35. The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons, Lawrence Block. ★★★★★
36. Hammered, Kevin Hearne. ★★★
37. Tricked, Kevin Hearne. ★★★½
38. Trapped, Kevin Hearne. ★★★★
39. Hunted, Kevin Hearne. ★★★★
40. An Infamous Army, Georgette Heyer. ★★★★

April
41. Longbourn, Jo Baker. ★★★★
42. Cinnamon Skin, John D. MacDonald. ★★★½
43. Turning Angel, Greg Iles. ★★★★
44. The Lonely Silver Rain, John D. MacDonald. ★★★½
45. The Devil's Punchbowl, Greg Iles. ★★★★
46. The Death Factory, Greg Iles. ★★★½
47. The Greek Coffin Mystery, Ellery Queen. ★★★½
48. Just One Damned Thing After Another, Jodi Taylor. ★★★★
49. The Gods of Guilt, Michael Connelly. ★★★½
50. A Thread of Truth, Marie Bostwick. ★★★½
51. A Symphony of Echoes, Jodi Taylor. ★★★★
52. A Second Chance, Jodi Taylor. ★★★★
53. 11/22/63, Stephen King. ★★★★½

May
54. Hit Me, Lawrence Block. (re-read)
55. The Body in the Library, Agatha Christie. ★★★★
56. The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood. ★★★★
57. Hit Parade, Lawrence Block. (re-read)
58. Dèjá Dead, Kathy Reichs. ★★★½
59. The Father Hunt, Rex Stout. (re-read)
60. Too Many Cooks, Rex Stout. (re-read)
61. The Barkeep, William Lashner. ★★★½
62. The Litigators, John Grisham. ★★★
63. Natchez Burning, Greg Iles. ★★★★½
64. Death du Jour, Kathy Reichs. ★★★½

June
65. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin. ★★★★★
66. The Shining, Stephen King. ★★★★★
67. Deadly Decisions, Kathy Reichs. ★★★½
68. Cotillion, Georgette Heyer. ★★★★
69. Beyond the Body Farm, Jefferson Bass. ★★★½
70. The Final Deduction, Rex Stout. (re-read)
71. Whack-a-Mole, Chris Grabenstein. (re-read)

So, I made it home from my road adventures. I loved every bit of the more than 2,000-mile round trip, including the 36 or so hours of driving, but I can't deny that it felt really good to sleep in my own bed last night. I know the other LT ladies have given you the scoop on Booktopia, so I'll just add a couple of things:

* Hanging out with Katie, Donna, and Joanne was the definite highlight of Booktopia for me. And having Anne and Mary drive up for dinner on Saturday night was so much fun. All of these ladies are just as lovely as you might have gathered from their threads, except more so. I think all my future vacations are going to include LT meet-ups!

* I was pretty disappointed in Booktopia itself. I admit that a big part of my dissatisfaction came from discovering that I would be unable to attend some of the events I was most looking forward to (the booksellers' preview, the session on book clubs, and the big closing event where all the authors spoke) because they were held in a non-accessible space upstairs at the Boulder Bookstore, which does not have an elevator. I realize I probably should have asked Ann and Michael but it honestly never occurred to me that events would be held in non-accessible spaces without giving a heads-up to potential attendees. When I let Ann know how disappointed I was, she did say that next year they would add an item to the registration for people to let them know about needed accommodations. Which doesn't do me any good but I hope it will help anyone who wants to attend in the future.

* Connected to this, although I thought Boulder was a really cool city, I felt extremely conspicuous there as an unfit disabled person. Everyone is just so relentlessly healthy there. It's exhausting. The Pearl Street pedestrian mall was a great space and I could have spent many more hours there, people watching and enjoying the scenery if it hadn't actually been rather chilly and sometimes a little rainy.

* The only author session I actually attended was Peter Heller (not so coincidentally also the only author I had heard of prior to Booktopia) and he was marvelous. Very warm, funny, charming. I think Katie and I will have to have a duel at 20 paces for the right to have his babies.

* My meet-up pictures look just like everyone else's that you've already seen, but if you'd also like to see photos of my road trip through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas and Missouri, you can check out the Booktopia Boulder 2014 album on Photobucket.

* I doubt I would do another Booktopia unless it was also an excuse for an LT meetup. That was by far the highlight of the entire week for me. The list of authors was pretty lackluster and having to commit significant money without knowing which writers are going to be there isn't enticing to me. Once the author list was released for Boulder, I would have been sorely tempted to forfeit my $75 deposit if the LT Meet-up plans hadn't already been in full swing. And as I said before, that alone was worth every penny.

Something exciting will be here eventually, but until then ... Next one is all yours!

Am I first? Happy new thread, Julia! Looking forward to the booktopia report --espcially if fisticuffs were involved and security called! :-D

Happy new thread!

Julia is back! Julia is back! Yippee!! Hugs to my pal!

I get pantser confused with de-pantser. For a minute there, Julia, I thought you were planning on a year of yanking down trousers. Ah, the exciting world of book readers.

>9 jnwelch: Ha! Good one!

Howdy Julia!

Now that I've finished my Booktopia report up there in >4 rosalita::

>6 michigantrumpet: You are first, Marianne! No fisticuffs sadly and not nearly enough shenanigans, which was entirely my own fault. The rest of the crew was game, for sure!

>7 katiekrug: Oh hi there, Katie! What am I going to do this weekend if I'm not hanging out with you?!

>8 msf59: I'm here, Mark, although I didn't have very nice things to say about your Booktopia pals. :( I hope you forgive me.

>9 jnwelch: Joe, that made me laugh really loud! I promise there will only be de-pantsing if Springsteen shows up. :-D

>11 luvamystery65: Roberta! I've missed you. I will make my way over to your place soon to see what you've been up to. I hope all is well!

Hi Julia! Happy New Thread! I'm sorry the event itself didn't meet your expectations, but I'm so glad that it gave you an opportunity to get together with other LTers. It's hard to imagine a better group of people to hang out with.

Of course, the LT meet-up was the highlight! I'm so sorry, though, that a number of the events were not accessible.

Julia, I'm glad you made it home safe and sound. I had no idea that the less traveled roads of Nebraska and Kansas had such a plethora of historical sites. I would like to travel along the Pony Express route someday. I am so happy that we finally met in person. It was fun having such good company to hang out with for a few days!

>13 cbl_tn: & >14 ronincats: Thanks, Carrie and Roni. The LT ladies are just delightful people. I want to meet more of us, including the two of you (and Carrie, that includes Adrian of course).

>15 Donna828: Thanks, Donna! I didn't have any idea what to expect from the trip except that I would not be on the interstate, but it definitely surpassed my hopes. I loved meeting you too, for the first but definitely not the last time!

Welcome back, Julia. I certainly see you have very valid issues regarding the Boulder Booktopia. It is a shame that they didn't plan better for accessibility. However, it's great that you got to meet such a nice bunch of LTer's, and your road trip looks like a lot of fun.

Thanks, Judy! The trip was still tremendous fun even with the disappointments. This was the first time in about 4 years that I've been away from the office for more than a couple of days in a row without being in the hospital. So when you put it in that perspective, it was wonderful!

Julia kudos to you for letting them know about accessibility. It's not something most people think about until affects them or someone very close. We have some issues with my Mom but it was horrible when she had her cement knee and had to keep the leg straight out. Dining out was not easy!

I hope everyone from LT will remind them of the accessibility issue when they register next year and the years to come.

Thanks, Roberta! I always internalize things so of course I spent most of the weekend feeling like a freak and that it was my fault for not being able to fully participate. I'm sure it made me not so much fun to be around. :-(

>4 rosalita: All of these ladies are just as lovely as you might have gathered from their threads, except more so. I think all my future vacations are going to include LT meet-ups!

I have to say Julia that my experience of LT 75er Meet-ups accords with your experience entirely.

Congratulations on your new thread my dear and I am so pleased to see you re-energised and the blues banished.

Thank you, Paul! LT Meet-ups should be mandatory, I think. If I ever win the lottery, I'm going to do two things: 1) Spend all my time flying all over the world meeting with LTers and 2) start a foundation to award grants to other LTers to enable them to travel to meet-ups. I think these are worthy goals!

Welcome back!! To LT, that is.

Julia, I'm really surprised about the accessibility issues, glad you were able to speak up about them.

Your photos are a lot of fun, thanks for sharing.

I've been meaning to tell you that your visage reminds me very much of my favorite faculty member from my last job. She was cheerful and treated me like I was a human being, not just some lower than faculty, barely better than student, staff member. I loved working with her.

So .... what's next?

I was sad to hear that your first Booktopia experience was a lousy experience. Thankfully, the LT Charge of the Light Brigade, came to the rescue and saved it from being a washout.

As you know, I've been to 2 events and had a great time both times, even when I was flying solo in Vermont. I completely agree, that you are at the mercy of the author line-up but I am not sure what could be changed about that. They can only get, who is available. I've been very lucky at my Booktopias and Asheville looks promising, as well.

I would definitely like to see a bigger LT presence at future Booktopias. That would be our fail-safe. Of course, we will all continue to hold our own, regional Meet-Ups, with the hope we can make our own Booktopia, one of these days.

Hugs, to my friend.

Yay for meetups, boo for inaccessible spaces. Welcome back, Julia!

Ooooo, so sorry to read that booktopia was a bit of a disappoint for you, Julia. It's surprising that in 2014 there are still venues that are not accessible to all. But thank goodness for meetups which make things a little better.

>24 AuntieClio: Thanks, Stephanie! It was fun taking them, knowing I would be sharing them on Facebook and here. It was like having all of you along with me, without having to tell you to hush while I was listening to my audiobook. :-)

I'm flattered that I remind you of someone you liked so much! I'll have to try to live up to my doppelgänger's ideals.

>25 msf59: LTers could save anything from being a disaster, Mark!

>26 swynn: Yay for meet-ups indeed, Steve! So, when *are* you coming back through Iowa City again? ;-)

>27 Carmenere: Lynda, even if everything about Booktopia had been perfect the meet-up still would have been the highlight! That's just how LT rolls. :-)

Welcome home, Julia! You have been missed!! What a complete bummer about the inaccessibility of some of those events - I SO do not understand that. Good for you for letting them know - the older I get, the better I am about speaking up when something bothers me, but I am a shy person at heart, so I know how daunting a task that can be. I applaud your candor. Thank goodness for the LT presence there to save the day! I am so jealous that so many others got to meet you - I am patiently awaiting my turn!

I still need to go check out your photos, but I thank you in advance for sharing them. Let me know when you are ready to start The Shining - I await your command!

I forgot to say happy new thread. *clears throat* Happy new thread, Julia!

Thanks, Mamie! I am a little chagrined that everyone is complimenting me on my bravery in speaking up about the accessibility issues. The truth is it only came up with Ann because she noticed I was sitting around outside the event and asked me about it. And I totally cried telling her about it, which was embarrassing.

The Shining! Should we start bright and early (OK, not so early) next Monday? I am so looking forward to re-visiting it with you!

Bravery is not about being fearless. It is about being afraid and going forward anyway. I would probably have cried, too. Feeling left out and disappointed and angry does that to me. I almost always cry when I am angry, which makes me ...angry. Go figure. So don't chagrin - grin! We're with you, girl!!

Monday is perfect for The Shining. So looking forward to it!

Hi Julia, glad you enjoyed the LT meet-up but sorry that Booktopia was not for you, it is nice to see you back on here my dear.

>32 Crazymamie: Mamie, I do the same thing!

Happy new thread Julia and welcome back. Sorry to hear that Booktopia was a bust. Glad you got to meet other LTers though. Have a great rest of the week Julia.

>32 Crazymamie: & >34 AuntieClio: Oh yes, the crying out of anger thing is so frustrating.

>35 GeezLouise: Thank you, Rae!

Happy New Thread! Glad you had a good meet-up, but I'm shocked that Booktopia would have so many of its events in spaces that were not accessible. 20 years ago, that would have been common, but nowadays I thought people were more sensitive to the issue.

Hi, Terri! It was just one space that was inaccessible, the upstairs at the Boulder Bookstore. The bookstore clerk who told me just said, "It's a historic building," as if that was an adequate explanation. Which I guess it was, for them. I was less upset at the bookstore than at the Booktopia organizers for not even knowing it was a potential problem until the day before the event started when they visited Boulder for the first time. But mostly I was upset with myself for not asking when I registered.

Julia, you shouldn't have to ask. The event coordinators should know and relate those things to their attendees. humbug I say!

Happy new thread, Julia! So glad to hear that you're back home safe!

Thanks, Stephanie and Amber!

Julia, I'm so happy that the meet-up sweetened the disappointment over the event itself. Silly me. I thought that organizers at this level thought about accessibility as a matter of course. In any event, I would have been happy myself just to stay at that hotel! I loved your pictures, and as I haven't looked for the others' meeting pics, I'm off to do that now.
>22 rosalita: I devoutly hope that you win a sweepstakes or lose a far-away, unknown, wealthy great-uncle!

Happy Back to Work Day!

:-/

I'm glad you enjoyed the pictures, Peggy!

Katie, I was annoyed within 30 seconds of walking in the door, which doesn't bode well for the rest of the day. Thank heavens you reminded me that Monday is a holiday! I *think* I can get through two days.

If it makes you feel better, I don't think I'm taking tomorrow off so I'll be trudging along right beside you!

Aw, I'm sorry you can't take tomorrow off, but it does help a little!

Good for you for speaking up about the accessibility issues. As horrifying as the tears were for you, I suspect it made a HUGE impact on the organizers. I doubt they will make the same mistake twice.

Just stopping by to say hi, Julia. My kudos, too, for speaking up about the accessibility. That's the only way to get things to change. Like Marianne, I suspect you really got their attention. Hard to believe they weren't already on top of this, but this should inspire them. Plus they've got some legal exposure, I imagine, if they don't fix it going forward.

Thanks for your comments on Booktopia. I think I'd like to go sometime and it's helpful to hear your experiences.

>47 michigantrumpet: Thanks, Marianne. I hope it helps them think about the issue going forward.

>48 jnwelch: Joe, I'd think they'd at least want to let potential attendees know about the possibility of some events being held in non-accessible spaces. It was obvious when I talked to Ann that it had honestly never occurred to them or come up as an issue before. Of course, they've only been doing Booktopias for a few years.

>49 RebaRelishesReading: I think you would enjoy it, Reba. Especially if there was an LT meet-up involved!

xoxo

>28 rosalita:: I have no current plans for Iowa City, but if you announce a meetup, I will try to make some!

Hi, Julia. Sounds like your three day weekend couldn't have come at a better time. I hope you enjoy your break.

Hi Julia! Such mixed emotions reading your thread...

Very happy that you had a great time with the LT meet up... I'm going to look at your Photo Bucket album when I finish posting here. Can't wait to see your pictures!

I'm very disappointed at the accessibility issues you faced. My background is in rehab counseling & the Americans with Disabilities act has only been around for 30 years or so now... Geez... don't get me started or I'll have a hard time stopping.

I'm SO PROUD of you for telling Ann about the problem. As other folks have mentioned, they probably never even thought about it. BUT, that in itself is an issue. When you are planning huge events, you must consider everyone. You talking to her about your issues will give her a PERSON to connect to the issue and I bet she never forgets again...

((((Julia)))) Still sucks to be someone's life lesson though and I'm sorry you experienced that.

>51 richardderus: Back at ya, RD!

>52 swynn: We will definitely have to try to put something together now that the weather is warming up.

>53 DeltaQueen50: I know I will, Judy! I hope you have a lovely weekend too.

>54 TinaV95: Thank you for your support, Tina! I hope you enjoy the pictures. :-)

Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous, Julia!

Morning Julia! I hope you have a nice weekend planned, filled with plenty of R & R! The weather has been gorgeous here.

I am Finally making my way over to your new thread, Julia. Glad to see your road trip to Booktopia was a LT meetup success, and boo on the accessibility issues of one of the venues.

I hope you have a wonderful long weekend!

Enjoy the weekend, Julia! Hope you're getting some of the nice weather we're seeing here.

Thanks, Mamie, Mark, Lori, and Joe! The first day of the weekend has been lovely. I've been on a reading binge and finished an entire book. I really need to get some reviews written, so perhaps I'll do that tonight.

Reading? What's that? I hope to get in some major reading on my porch swing later today. I have been busy planting flowers between rain showers. At least the watering was done by Mother Nature! Julia, I'm so glad to have met you at Booktopia even though it was not a happy event for you. I look forward to our next time together under better circumstances. Did you end up getting the Holt Trilogy by Kent Haruf? They are wonderful books about small town life. I wouldn't mind owning the set myself.

Donna, I did get the three Haruf books thanks to Joanne. I have already read Plainsong and Eventide but I wanted the full set because these are the kind of books I want to loan out to people to get them to read them.

I've gotten more reading done this morning, but I also need to get some chores done soon so I don't feel guilty about all the reading!

Hi, Julia! Glad you're having a nice long weekend and getting a lot of good reading in! It's bright and sunny right now, but I expect rain later in the day. Seems to be the way of it here in Colorado! Good for the garden, though, I guess.

Hi, Mary! It's been pretty overcast here all weekend but no rain and the temperatures are just glorious for my taste, mid to upper 70s. I hope your sun makes it out this way next week.

55. The Body in the Library, Agatha Christie.

An early Miss Marple. In the author’s note at the beginning, Christie says she wanted to take a common mystery cliché — to wit, the discovery of a body in the library — and turn it inside out. I thought she accomplished her goal, as instead of all the suspects being concentrated in the house where the body is found, we are soon transported several miles away to a hotel that seems to be a hive of possible murderers. I thought Marple was well-used in this one, and the solution to the mystery was pretty satisfying. That’s why she’s the queen of mystery, I reckon.

56. The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus, Margaret Atwood.

If my reading wasn’t so hopelessly disorganized this year, I would have read this during Atwood April. Instead, I read it in May because it has been chosen as the next book for All LT Reads (or whatever it’s called). At the risk of giving Amber agita, I must confess that I am fairly unschooled about the tales of ancient Greece, never having read The Odyssey or The Iliad or anything of the sort. So while I had a very vague sense of the storyline, a lot of what is in this book was new to me. I enjoyed the way Atwood structured the story, with the interludes from the maids serving as a Greek chorus. I probably would have gotten even more out of it if I had more familiarity with the base story, but even so I quite liked it.

58. Déjà Dead, Kathy Reichs.

The first book in the Temperance Brennan forensic mystery series. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who splits her time between Montreal and North Carolina, with this book set in Montreal. The medical mystery was very interesting, although I found the writing to be a little overwrought. One of the reasons I was prompted to start this series was because I am a long-time watcher of the Bones television series, but the Tempe Brennan in the books is very different from the TV version. She’s not nearly as socially clueless or contemptuous of the people she works with and there’s more reliance on good old-fashioned sleuthing and medical knowledge instead of whiz-bang technology. Also, the TV series is set in Washington, D.C. and Tempe is partnered with an FBI agent. Really, the two iterations of the character should be considered independently of the other, both good in their own way.

Julia I read two of the Bones books but found Temperance so boring, that I did not enjoy them in comparison to the TV show. I usually hate the TV show/movies but in the case of Bones it is really as good and in some respects better.

Roberta, I can understand that. I was cringing a bit with all the angst in the first one with her college-age daughter and her estranged husband because it made me think of how quickly Scarpetta went downhill when Patricia Cornwell made her personal life a complete disaster. But I've read the second Tempe book and unlike Cornwell the personal drama is much lighter so I'll keep going for now. I do like the TV show quite a bit, especially the earlier seasons before Tempe and Booth hooked up.

61. The Barkeep, William Lashner.

Justin Chase was in law school when his mother was murdered and he discovered her bloody body. The event sent him on a severe downward spiral that ended with him working as a bartender and diligently practicing the Zen art of not giving a crap about anything or anyone. His delicate emotional balance is upset when a man walks into his bar and tells him he’s the one who murdered Justin’s mom, and offers to help him find the guy who ordered the hit. Justin isn’t sure he believes Birdie Grackle but as he begins to look into the possibility he finds his detachment crumbling in the face of his renewed emotions and his growing attachment to the people around him.

This book was one of the monthly free selections available to Amazon Prime customers a few months ago. I wasn’t familiar with Lashner although he’s an alumni of the Iowa Writers Workshop. I would certainly read more from him. One of the nice little touches was that each chapter was named after a different drink (appropriate for a novel about a bartender, no?) and that drink was featured in some way in the chapter. When I noticed this in the Table of Contents, I wondered if it would seem overly gimmicky or forced but I thought it worked well. I certainly learned a lot about how to make a variety of cocktails, which was an added bonus.

62. The Litigators, John Grisham.

I listened to this audiobook on my road trip out to Colorado recently. I didn’t really love the storyline or the characters, and Grisham’s writing isn’t strong enough to overcome such weaknesses, in my opinion. The narrator was fine, for what that’s worth.

Some good reading over here. I don't like Kathy Reichs as much as some people seem to like her, but I do occasionally read them. I like the forensic side of things, but Deja Dead didn't work real well for me. Love Agatha Christie though.

Lori, I had hoped they would be better considering how long the series is, but I liked it well enough to keep going with the series for now. The Christie re-reads I've been doing this year have been stellar, though.

>22 rosalita: love the lofty LT meetup facilitation goals! That's the spirit I reckon. :)

>66 rosalita: Atwood April in May? Hey, you are only technically a day late.....glad you liked it anyway. And you have a glut of reviews up, all good for us perusers.

>70 rosalita: Haha, Birdie Grackle! (A grackle is a bird! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Grackle) *grin* I may have to read that one just because of that and the bartender/drink-name angle.

Julia, I read a couple of the Kathy Reichs when they first came out and liked them well enough. I went to college in Charlotte, and for some reason that I can't remember, I thought that she used the old house that served as our art department for awhile as Tempe's home base there. It was a great house anyway.

A nice set of reviews. Also not a big Grisham fan, although it might just be the books always seemed a bit of a busman's holiday.

Hope you are enjoying a long weekend filled with lots of yummy reading.

>74 LovingLit: Megan, I'm pretty sure if money were no object your little corner of the world would get mighty crowded with LT folks!

>75 Storeetllr: Mary, I knew a grackle was a bird and I kept waiting for a character to comment on the name, but no one ever did that I remember. It was a good clue, though, that the character might not be what he seemed.

>76 LizzieD: Peggy, the first book was entirely set in Montreal so there weren't any scenes in SC. The second book was more evenly split between the two locales, however.

>77 michigantrumpet: Thanks, Marianne. I don't know what it is about Grisham; usually I think he has a decent grasp of plot but shaky characterization and his endings are usually terrible. This book didn't even have a good plot line in my opinion to redeem it. Of course, it's possible that listening to it on audio simply exposed the pedestrian quality of his writing more than just reading does.

63. Natchez Burning, Greg Iles.

A really solid suspense novel that confronts the issue of racially motivated murders in 1960s Mississippi head-on. It’s set in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in the world of Penn Cage, the protagonist in several other Iles books; this is apparently intended to be the first in a trilogy rather than a continuation of the previous series. Iles, who is a native of Natchez, has a talent for looking at his hometown and its inhabitants with clear eyes and a minimum of liberal white guilt. His characters, black and white, are very realistic and their interactions seem natural. In this book, Penn has to deal with the knowledge that his father, a longtime doctor in Natchez who has always treated black and white patients exactly the same, may not be quite as saintly as Penn and everyone else in town thinks he is. A crime committed in today’s Natchez has its roots in ugly events that occurred in the 1960s civil rights struggle. All of Iles’ Penn Cage books come highly recommended from me, and this one may be the best of the bunch.

64. Death du Jour, Kathy Reichs.

The second Temperance Brennan forensic mystery. This one is split between Québec and the Carolinas, although all the cases are connected in that overly coincidental way that keeps a book from being great. There are perhaps a few too many coincidences holding it all together, but I liked Tempe as a character better in this one, and the medical hoodoo is solid as always. I’ll continue with the series, but the specter of how Patricia Cornwell’s Scarpetta series went rapidly downhill after the first handful of books keeps me from committing too strongly.

>65 rosalita: It's heresy to say this, but I like the latest TV version better than any other.

>66 rosalita: Damn. Now I have to read *shudder* Atwood. Meanie.

Richard, I haven't seen the latest Marple TV version. Is it a BBC thing?

And my condolences on having to read Atwood. *sorrynotsorry*

It's the iTV version, in the series called Agatha Christie's Marple and starring (in this instance) Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple. Plus the ineffable Joanna Lumley as Dolly Bantry!

Hmm, I don't think I have access to that unless it's on Netflix but I'll look for it!

It is indeed on Netflix.

Woo-hoo! Off to queue it ...

Hi Julia! Good review of Natchez Burning. I've seen this title popping up all over the place. It's good to see you really liked it. I have not read this guy. Hope you had a good holiday.

This article from Book Riot seems relevant to a few of us:

"There’s not a number at which a TBR becomes suddenly immoral. You’re not in an objective safe zone at 99 and in the Very Bad Person Zone at 100. You don’t need to apologize for loving an activity and owning the items you like in order to do that activity. A reading life is a rich experience that isn’t limited to the actual act of reading- it’s also wandering through the library and being suddenly aware of how loudly you walk. It’s petting a cover with an interesting texture. Picking a new ereader and a cover for it that has some pun on it. Discovering new reading apps on your phone. Building up a library (or not, if you don’t want to) of editions that make you happy, whether those are digital or physical. Developing a TBR (or not, if you don’t want to), that might *gasp, the horror* contain books you never actually get around to. There is no one-size-TBR-fits-all-readers wrong or right choice. There’s no good or bad book pile. There is only your reading life and what is right for your situation and your preferences."

>66 rosalita: *snork!* That's okay - it just means that you've got some amazing reading ahead of you...

>89 scaifea: You're always looking on the bright side, Amber! You seem to be popping up all over my reading life these days. There's also a section of A Second Chance where the time-traveling historians go back to Troy to observe its downfall that was fascinating and made me think "I wish Amber was reading this so she could tell me if it's well-done or not."

*waves at Julia* Many excellent reviews in these parts. :)

So, you passed within 3 miles of the geographic center of the contiguous United States, one mile west of Lebanon and 3 miles north of 36--did you stop to see it?

>92 ronincats: Oh, Roni, stop! I can hear Julia groaning in disbelieving horror that she missed a spot! :)

>90 rosalita: I want to read A Second Chance! Love reading about Troy. I just need to read the second in the series first, and that is on my "Up Next" list.

>92 ronincats: No, I did visit the marker but my phone battery was nearly dead so no pictures to prove it. Sorry.

>93 Storeetllr: Yes, this is one series that does need to be read in order, I think. The second one has some good capers, too.

Hi Julia, just giving you a wave as I pass through.

Hi Julia, just passing by to say Hi, hope you are ok my dear after your trip.

>90 rosalita: Now *that* was a subtle bit of warbling, friend. Ha!

>95 DeltaQueen50: & >96 johnsimpson: Howdy, Judy and John!

>97 scaifea: Why, thank you. :-)

>79 rosalita: Sent that one off to my stepfather off of his birthday wishlist. Glad to see you gave it such high marks!

It's really good, Marianne! I hope he likes it as much as I did.

Mamie and I have embarked on a shared read of The Shining. So far I have gotten to Chapter 20, which is about a third of the way through. I had forgotten how much stuff happens before the really really bad stuff happens, but that's Stephen King for you. He builds the suspense with a plethora of quotidian detail and just a few hints of what's to come, so that when it hits you are totally invested in the characters and the situation.

I first read The Shining back in the mid-1980s. I was working part-time at the local newspaper as a sports stringer. Part of my job was hanging out in the office at night to take phone calls from coaches reporting their game results and box scores. The office was closed, of course, so I was alone in the building and usually didn't bother turning on any extra lights other than the ones that burned all night and were more than adequate to see by.

I was 19, maybe 20 years old. I was already head-over-heels in love with newspapers and journalism, and I loved being alone in the building, where I could snoop around in the advertising department's clip art library, play with the waxer (for page pasteup, not legs and eyebrows) and the old Linotype headline writer and look at the pictures everyone kept on their desk. (Yes, I was a weird kid who grew up into a weird young adult and then ... well, you know the rest.)

I would usually be there until about 11 p.m. or midnight, and there was lots of waiting time between coaches' phone calls. I always brought along whatever book I was reading at the time. I locked the doors while I was there alone even though this was a small town (about 9,000 people) and there was little chance of anything bad happening. I was never afraid to be there by myself. Except...

Except the night I brought along The Shining. It isn't particularly scary at first, as you know if you've read it. I mean, now we know what to expect from a Stephen King book so even when you're reading the opening chapters of one of his books you are already mentally on edge for the horror to start, but back then I hadn't read much of his stuff (there really wasn't much of his stuff yet to read) so I didn't know that.

The night I'm thinking of, I had gotten to the chapter I just finished reading tonight, Chapter 19, when young Danny has an encounter in a hotel hallway with a fire extinguisher. I won't say more, but if you've read it I know you remember. I sat there at my desk in the newsroom of that empty, quiet-but-not-silent building, and reading every paragraph of that chapter was an agony of terror and anticipation. I kept forgetting to breathe and then gasping more air into my lungs. When the phone rang, I yelped out loud.

As I started re-reading The Shining this past Monday, I mentally prepared myself not to be disappointed because it was unlikely the horror would affect me the same way now. Not only am I older and have more experience of the world, I already know what happens in the end. I told myself it would still be interesting to re-read from a more analytical perspective, to see how King's writing has developed over the years and how he structured the story, etc etc etc.

Well, forget all that. Chapter 19 scared the bejesus out of me at 49 just as surely as it did at 19. I could scarcely stand reading to the end of the chapter and when I finally got there, I had to put the book down and do something else. I will not be reading any more in this book tonight, or any night after dark. We can analyze and theorize and intellectualize all we want about books and writing. Stephen King still scares the pants off me, and I hope he always will.

Great story, Julia! I love hearing personal recollections tied to reading like that. I'm kind of a biblio-voyeur, as it were ;-)

Thanks, Katie! It's funny that I can barely remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but that night is still crystal-clear in my memory. The power of books!

>101 rosalita: I wish Stephen King would read this post because that is really the highest compliment to him.

Guess what is coming out on June 17th?



Oh how I've missed warbling!

>101 rosalita:: The Shining was my first Stephen King novel, read in installments Saturday afternoons at the public library because horror novels were verboten at home -- a rule which for me at least had the opposite of its intended effect.

I don't remember the fire extinguisher, but the beehive and the topiary menagerie gave me nightmares for weeks, which goes to show that reading it in the daylight doesn't necessarily help. When I finally saw the Kubrick film I was dumbfounded that he'd left out my favorite bits. (I recently saw the documentary "Room 237", which explains how Kubrick wasn't really interested in the book but was trying to say something about the holocaust, or repressed sexuality, or confess his part in faking the Apollo moon landing, or something.)

It is so excellent to hear that the book is still effective.

>101 rosalita: King scares the pants right off of me, too, every time. That's why I'm so on-again-off-again with him. I'll finish one of his books and say, "Nope. No more! Too scary!" And then after a few months I start to miss him. Dang you, Stephen King!

>105 swynn: Steve: Oh, that topiary!! I rarely turn my back on a shrub even now, years later! *shudder*

Morning Julia! I loved your thoughts on the Shining. It is also one of my favorite King reads. I have read it at least twice but I wish I could have joined you & Mamie for another reread.
Hope the week is going well.

OK Julia, now you've done it! Although I've seen the movie many, many times I absolutely want to read The Shining now that I've read your comments. I so understand your not wanting to read it at night, that's just how I felt about The Winter People. That's got to be a sign of some very good writing.

>104 luvamystery65: That's so nice of you to say, Roberta! Thank you for reminding me about Shattered. :-) I have been seeing posts from people who won it as an ER selection. I didn't try for it because I have cut myself off from requesting ER books until I catch up on my reviews. And my library doesn't have it listed yet for pre-order, doggone it.

>105 swynn: Oh, the topiary is definitely one of the scariest things in the book, Steve! I haven't gotten to that part yet, but I'm already half-dreading/half-anticipating it. I have never seen the movie version, and after hearing how little it follows the book and how unhappy King was with it, I'm less inclined than ever to seek it out. That documentary sounds interesting, though, so thanks for the tip.

>106 scaifea: I think I have been lulled into a false sense of security about King lately, since the books I have read recently are not straight-up horror novels like the King of old. This book is reminding me of his power all over again.

>107 msf59: Thanks, Mark!

>108 Carmenere: Lynda, you should definitely read The Shining! Be warned, though, as Steve says above, the movie bears little resemblance to the book.

There's also a mini-series of The Shining done much later with much heavier involvement by King. It's pretty true to the book, and pretty good in itself. On Netflix, if I remember right.

Jim, thanks for the tip. I'll have to look for it on Netflix.

Nice bit of writing there about The Shining. I'm a complete wuss about horror stories. Mr. King and I nod from across the room with puzzled looks of 'haven't I met you some where a long time ago?' Sorry, Steve -- those couple chapters in the late '70's were enough to know you were too bad for me.

LOVE your story about the first time you read The Shining, Julia!! So funny because I just read that chapter today while I was getting my hair done. I was sitting under the dryer, waiting for my color to set while I was reading about the hose, and I was so absorbed in it that I didn't see the lady that does my hair come up to check on me. Let's just say that I about peed my pants and leave it at that. Not sure who was more freaked out, she or I, but it was an experience that I hope never to repeat. We were both laughing with our hands pressed over our hearts, and she said, "What ARE you reading?!" When I told her it was The Shining, several heads nodded as if my almost jumping out of my skin now made complete sense. It was a shared literary moment!

About the Kathy Reichs books - I like them. It took a bit of getting used to because at first I was so disappointed that the Tempe in the books is so different from the Tempe in the tv show (we are big fans of the show). I do, however, like the books as long as I don't read them too close together.

>112 michigantrumpet: Thanks, Marianne! Have you tried any of his non-horror writing? Under the Dome and 11/22/63 are both pretty tame, King-wise. But if you can't, you can't — no judgment here!

>113 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie! What happens in that chapter is so mild compared to what's coming that it's almost funny how completely scary it is. I love that you had a literary moment at the hairdresser! I can just picture it happening, too.

>114 rosalita: Someone actually *gave* me a copy of 11/22/63 convinced it would dropkick me onto the King bandwagon. I might have to dig it out of whatever dusty pile it is in. If I'm up all night clutching the blankets in terror, let it be on your head ...

Uh-oh ... :-) But seriously, I don't think it will. It's about as benign as King gets, assuming you're OK with suspense and it's just flat-out horror that makes you weep.

Yep, that one is pure suspense, not horror or scary, and damned fine writing!

I'm another that doesn't read horror, and has avoided King. Except I read a graphic novel of The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon and it worked for me - I can't remember it now, but I wasn't (unpleasantly) scared while reading. What I object to, mostly, in horror is helplessness - so how the characters react to events makes a real difference to me. But I have enough other books to read that I think I'll still give King a miss.

Hi Julia

I'm stopping by to say hello and to say I am in awe of the amount you have read thus far this year. It's been a slow reading year for me.

>117 drneutron: Thanks for the reinforcement, Jim. I thought that was the case, but sometimes I don't realize that what I consider just another plot twist gives other people nightmares so I don't always trust my own judgment. :-)

>118 jjmcgaffey: There are so many great books waiting to be read, Jenn, that I can't fault you for skipping stuff you're not sure you'll react well to. All of our differing tastes make the spots where they overlap all the sweeter!

>119 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! I'd say you've had some awfully good reasons to be having a slow reading year, but we're all hoping that will turn around for you very soon!

Stopping by to wish you a lovely weekend Julia. Great personal story of your first experience reading The Shining! You have convinced me to never read that one.... I tend to get freaked out really easy when it comes to horrors or scary suspense so its best if I just don't go there. 11/22/63 will do just find for me as my King read. ;-)

>121 lkernagh: Lori, If you're only going to pick one King to read, you picked a good one! I really liked 11/22/63 when I read it earlier this year.

Hi Julia. Catching up here and I am sorry to hear Booktopia was a bit of a disappointment although pleased you loved the LT meet up. I'm also quite shocked to hear about the accessibility issues and glad you mentioned it.

And I loved your description of the first time you read The Shining! Sounds like it would be a bit too much for me. I terrified myself by reading It as a teenager and haven't felt brave enough to try anything by Stephen King since but it's good to know that 11/22/63 is one I could try.

Hi! I also just reread The Shining to get ready for Doctor Sleep, which is currently waiting on my Kindle for me to get around to it. I actually think I enjoyed it more this time around than I did back in the late-70s/early-80s when I first read it, though honestly I didn't remember most of the story either. What I mostly remembered of the book before my recent reread was Jack Nicholson's face smiling maniacally through the hole in the door that he made with the ax, and really there is so much more to it.

Happy weekend, Julia! Won't be joining you on a reread of The Shining, but might if you ever reread 11/22/63...the ending made me cry as hard as the ending of Brokeback Mountain did.

>123 souloftherose: Thanks for stopping by, Heather! I hope you do get a chance to try 11/22/63 someday.

>124 Storeetllr: I've never seen the movie, Mary, although of course that image is iconic. It's interesting to me that when I read the book, I don't picture or hear Jack (Nicholson) playing Jack (Torrance). I'm glad for that.

>125 richardderus: I am so with you on the ending of 11/22/63, Richard! Heartbreaking. I would not rule out re-reading that one someday. It was very good.

Julia, I keep hearing good things about the new Greg Iles book. I may just have to give it a go! I'm glad you are liking your reread of The Shining. Stephen King on his game is hard to beat. I am tempted to revisit The Stand one of these days.

I hope you have a good week end. I'll be doing some yard work and lots of reading here.

Hi Julia -- trying to catch up with your fast-moving thread. Lots of great reviews above.

>127 Donna828: Donna, it's really fantastic — I hope you read it. And even though it features the same setting and characters as Iles' other Penn Cage books, you can absolutely read this one as a standalone without having read the others.

The Stand is another King I wouldn't mind reading again. I've always been fond of The Dead Zone, too.

Enjoy your weekend!

>128 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba!

Hi Julia! I've read several Stephen King books, but the scary ones keep me away. I loved The Green Mile, his book on writing (too lazy to go look it up), and The Stand. 11/22/63 is on my wishlist. Oh, and I liked Misery, both the book and the movie.

Stephanie, I loved The Green Mile and Misery, too. The book on writing is called On Writing, funnily enough. :-)

I hope you like 11/22/63 when you get to it.

>131 rosalita: Thank you Julia!

Hi Julia- Hope you are having a great Saturday! Glad you are enjoying the Shining. I love all the King chatter. I was a big fan of 11/22/63 and On Writing. Doctor Sleep was pretty damn good too. He has a new book coming out real soon too! He sure is prolific.

>133 msf59: King is the King, that's for sure!

Julia- My Mom handed me Carrie when I was still in my teens and it kicked off a long infatuation with Mr. King. There was a period, between the late 80s, through the mid-90s, where I stopped reading him. I thought his work was stale and that might have been during his "addiction phase" but The Green Mile put me back on track and then Lisey's Story, which not everyone loved but I was crazy about it and it, once again, sealed the deal.

Oh, I had forgotten about Lisey's Story! I really liked that one, too.

>129 rosalita: Julia: Oh, yeah - The Dead Zone have always been one of my favorites, too!

>127 Donna828: & >129 rosalita: Donna & Julia the 2014 Challenge group is doing a 3 month read of The Stand from August-October. I hope you can join us even if you don't reread the book. It's always nice to get input from folks that have read the book and have some distance perspective. I'll post the link on my 75 thread when the group read thread is up.

For those that don't like scary books, Joyland was an good King mystery. The cover is awesome!

Hi Julia! I hope you're having a good weekend. I ordered a Nero Wolfe mystery last week as one of my Thingaversary books and that made me think of you. I know you're a fan.

>138 luvamystery65: Ooh, I will plan to join you for that, Roberta! Spreading it over three months is a good idea. And I've never read Joyland so I'll have to check that one out. That cover is pretty awesome.

>139 cbl_tn: Hi, Carrie! It always makes me happy to hear that someone is reading Nero Wolfe. Which one did you get? I'll have to come over to your thread and see.

I might do the group read of The Stand, too. I've never read it...

And thanks for the reminder that I want to read Joyland! I had it out from the library, so took it off my WL, but then returned it unread so it dropped off my radar. Too many books to keep track of, I tell ya....

Hope you're having a good and relaxing weekend, my friend!

Yay, Katie, the more the merrier for The Stand. I read it so long ago it will be like a brand-new book to me. :-)

Too many books, you say? Why, I just bought four more today. When do you suppose I'll ever get around to reading them?!

The weekend has been pretty good, although it's gotten hot and humid which is not my favorite weather. Still, that's why we have air conditioning and it could be ice so no complaints from me. I hope the holes in your mouth are healing nicely? I saw you expanded your soft diet to margaritas; very wise, lady!

drive-by *smooch*

>143 richardderus: *smooch* for RD

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't really make a practice of listing my book acquisitions here because it gives me nightmares. :-) Plus I have been so good the last couple of months, not even coming close to spending my book budget. Apparently, that's all over now. It's only June 1 and already I have bought:

• Empire of the Sun
  
• No Time for Goodbye
  
• All Art Is Propaganda
  
• Lancelot

It's going to be a messy month, folks.

Since you didn't spend the budget in those other months, the money's still there!

...don't I sound like a 60s sitcom wife...

Hi Julia! I'm loving the Stephen King discussions over here. I remember reading The Shining when I still lived with my parents - maybe I was in high school. I read it in a chair that spun around so that I could continuously monitor what might be sneaking up behind me! I loved The Stand and would definitely be up for a re-read of that one. Like you, it's been so long that I don't remember the details well. I also second Roberta's recommendation of Joyland. I read it last year, and it was one of my favorites of the year!

I share your dislike of this hot and humid weather. The little gnats are also driving me crazy! I went outside to read for a bit and promptly came back in!

>145 richardderus: Well, actually I spent the leftover book budget money on my trip to Colorado, just not on books. :-) But it's a new month with a new budget!

>146 porch_reader: Those gnats! Totally ruining everything you might want to do outside, even just walking to the car. Today I finally bought a bottle of this Bug Soother stuff everyone's been talking about. We'll see if it works.

Julia, it looks like we'll be reading The Stand together along with Roberta, Katie, Amy, and hopefully lots of other King fans. Thanks for letting us know, Roberta!

Isn't that great, Donna? I might never have known about it if I hadn't re-read The Shining. Actually, I'm sure I would have seen it on Roberta's thread because she's cool like that. It will be fun to read it with all of you.

I'm excited that you all are interested in reading The Stand!

ETA: Re-reading too!

I'm so glad you brought it to our attention, Roberta!

Hi Julia, hope everything is going well for you. All this King discussion has me thinking that it is a long time since I read anything by him, now I need to decide whether to re-read one from my shelves or check out the library for something more recent:)

Well, the good thing about King is that he has plenty to choose from! Of the more recent work, I really liked both Under the Dome and 11/22/63. Of course, if you're up for a read or re-read of The Stand, you could join that endeavor in August as well.

65. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. LeGuin.

What on earth took me so long to read Ursula K. LeGuin? Sure, before I started hanging out with all of you sci-fi/fantasy reprobates here on LT I had a misconception about what fantasy and SF was (as long as we’re truth-telling, I didn’t really understand the difference between SF and fantasy, or even that there was a difference). I thought I didn’t like science fiction. Well, I liked Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series but that was different, I told myself. That had dragons. And it didn’t have all that techno whiz-bang stuff that befuddled my brain and that I thought all SF had to have. And OK, I did enjoy Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama quite a bit but that, too, was different. There was whiz-bang, sure, but the heart of the story was the people, and that made it more like the stuff I normally read.

Well. You can guess where I’m going with this, right? It turns out that most science fiction (the good stuff, anyway) always has a heart not so dissimilar from what I was used to reading. Good literature is good literature regardless of genre. I’m still not a full-fledged space nerd and I’ll probably always have a soft spot for dragons (Temeraire!) but I’m learning to branch out and try stuff outside of my comfort zone.

And lo and behold, look what happens when I do that. I end up reading a really fantastic story about a young wizard named Sparrowhawk for whom pride must goeth before a fall and before he can claim his rightful place as the most wondrous wizard in all of Earthsea. Earthsea being an archipelago, a collection of islands surrounded by a vast and uncharted ocean. I was captivated from the very beginning, because LeGuin created some pretty terrific characters. Sparrowhawk, of course; his mentor, Ogion; his best friend, Vetch; his nemesis, Jasper; and so many more. Oh, and dragons. There are dragons in Earthsea, though they are not cute or charming and they play a minor role in the story.

My library doesn’t have any of the rest of the Earthsea series (blasphemy, I tell you!) so I’ll be seeking out the rest of the books elsewhere. But I will seek them out, and I will read them, and a few more bricks will be removed from the wall of my resistance to SF.

Addendum: I always knew I would have to tackle LeGuin at some point if I wanted to make a serious attempt to like/understand SF/fantasy. But this 2011 essay on swearing in books solidified the deal, I think:
"Would You Please Fucking Stop?"

>144 rosalita: I applaud messy months of book accumulation!

Thank you for your support, Linda! I think. :-)

>154 rosalita: Heh! *smooch* for the newb

Thank you to one of the SF/fantasy reprobates I hang out with!

I'm loving the King discussion, Julia, especially the story of your first reading of The Shining.

Not going to join in on any Stephen King, but yay for hopping on the SF/F express and realizing it is all about good story. So, have you read any Bujold yet?

I love your story about The Shining, Julia!!

Up until just a few nights ago, The Shining was the only book I had ever put down and stopped reading. I quit the one recently due to boredom and a new goal at trying out the Pearl Rule. The Shining was a fear thing...

I was in high school and an expert at all things King (I thought). I'd read everything of his I could get my hands on. I'd also read other horror authors and lots of other suspense. But The Shining was a totally different story. Somewhere about 3/4 of the way through, I was so creeped out (my room was in the basement of my folks' house) reading it at night that I put the book away and never opened it again.

I keep thinking I might try it again now that I'm older, but I'm just not sure that I've got that much more stamina for that level of scary. I thought I was a brave bada$$ until I read that book. ;)

>101 rosalita: Now you definitely have me craving a reread of The Shining! Thanks for that (seriously!).

re: Stephen King - I have read The Stand and I am good now. No interest at all whatsoever in having my pants scared off.

>154 rosalita: - Really fantastic article! What I would have said (without all the swearing) if anyone ever asked me about why I really, really hate books full of the f-bomb. And I loved the Earthsea books. I should revisit them.

Woot Woot for Earthsea! I totally have a crush on Ged. Love those books (well, all but that one, which is *awful*! Ha!)

>159 tymfos: Thank you, Terri! I had no idea I was going to write all that, but once I started it all came flooding back and I thought it would be fun to share it with people who would understand how books can be so mesmerizing.

>160 ronincats: Oh dear, Roni. I have not read any Bujold but I can already see that I am going to have to. Tell me more about her.

>161 TinaV95: It sounds like you understand perfectly, Tina! I have finished it now and the rest of it was still plenty scary, too. :-)

Oh, and you *are* a brave bada$$, Miss Tina, don't ever forget that!

>162 Copperskye: Thanks, Joanne! I can imagine it would have an even great impact for you living more or less in the Overlook's shadow, so to speak. I wish now that I had taken an extra day or so in Colorado and driven up to the hotel that was supposedly the model for the Overlook. There is one, right? Or am I imagining that I read that? I guess I'll just have to come back out. :-)

>163 nittnut: I always say it's important to know your own limitations, Jenn! :-) And yes, LeGuin makes some good points in a funny way.

>164 scaifea: Ha! I must have been the last person on LT to read A Wizard of Earthsea, Amber! Which one is the awful one?

>165 rosalita: Oh dear, Roni. I have not read any Bujold but I can already see that I am going to have to. Tell me more about her. Different Ro, but since she is the one that got me to second the year long read of the Vorkosigan Saga here is the link. So far it has been AWESOME!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/160914

ETA: Joe, Richard & Mamie got me interested with their enthusiasm of the series last year.

>166 luvamystery65: Ah! I have seen that V-word mentioned all over the place lately but I hadn't paid attention to who wrote it. A year-long read sounds daunting!

>167 rosalita: You pick your pace Julia. You can read the whole series or just a few. They have broken up the threads into subcategories to coincide with Bujold's omnibuses. It's as manageable as you would like. I would start with two books in Cordelia's Honor which is Shards of Honor and Barrayar. You could read/listen to those two and then put the series aside for later.

Well, that does sound more manageable, Roberta. So this is not the kind of series where all the books have to be read in a strict order?

More messy book acquisitions today (and it's not even 10 a.m.!). I have decided the e-book sales are going to be death of me. Having decided that, I bought three more today anyway:

• Cold Sassy Tree
  
• Black Sheep
  
• From Here to Eternity — the "restored" version, apparently

I can see that I'm going to have to revise my will to include a bequest of my e-reader and books (along with the accompanying usernames and passwords for Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Adobe Digital Editions, and Calibre) to some lucky acquaintance. It's apparently going to be the bulk of my estate at this rate.

>169 rosalita: Julia they should be read in some order. Most agree with some sort of chronological order but some of the omnibuses have the same novellas as others so it can be confusing. The author has her preferences and Joe also gave me a suggestion before I started. Post one of the link I gave you has links to published and chronological order. Post three has the suggested order that Joe recommended. I would pick one that sound reasonable and go for it. No hurries or worries. I think you will get a kick out of her writing.

>170 rosalita: Julia when we retire and you come winter with me in Texas we will sit out on the patio (yes seriously) and read our e books to our hearts content.

>172 luvamystery65: Now that sounds like a seriously good idea!

Oh boy. It gets worser and worser. Ilana just pointed out that several Georgette Heyers are on Kindle sale today, so of course I had to buy them:

• These Old Shades
  
• The Corinthian
  
• Cotillion
  
• The Black Moth
  
• The Quiet Gentleman
  
• Venetia

At this rate, I'll have depleted my book-buying budget by June 5 this month, which might be a new record.

Oh, how did I miss the Corinthian? You know where I'm off to next!

All caught up here, and it is no surprise that you beat me finished with The Shining - still finishing up, but you will love this:

I was reading the part about the topiaries, and the doorbell rang - it was the mail with a deliver for Craig that wouldn't fit in the mailbox. Long, thin box - we could not figure out what could be inside. Any guesses? Hedge trimmers!! How freaky is that?!

I will pipe up to add that I know you will love the Vorkosigan series - it will have you hooked! Very well written and I love the humor.

And I want to read The Stand with all of you! And I added The Wizard of Earthsea to my list because of your wonderful review.

That is all. Carry on.

Mamie, having hedge trimmers delivered to your house while you are reading the topiary scene in The Shining is just all kinds of wrong! What a bizarre coincidence — or was it? (daa daa DUM). I was just telling Joanne that I wish now that I had taken some time during my recent trip to Boulder to go up and look at the hotel that the Overlook is based on.

I trust the judgment of all of you who have recommended the Vorkosigan series to me, even if I am having a dickens of a time typing that word. :-)

Yes! You must come read The Stand with us! And I'm so excited you are going to read the Earthsea book — I know you will absolutely love it.

It was beyond creepy! I will have to get a picture of Craig with his newest tool! Seeing the hotel that the Overlook is based on would have been so cool! I googled it just to see what it looked like:

>165 rosalita:: The awful one, or at least I think so, is Tehanu. *shudders*

>177 Crazymamie: I hope you've told Craig there will be no hedge topiaries at the Pecan Paradisio!

>178 scaifea: I see that is the fourth book in the series so I won't have to worry about it for a while, hopefully. I trust your judgment on books so I'm intrigued to see if my opinion matches yours.

Yeppers! And the funny thing is that topiaries are popular down here, but not animals - more like this type of thing:



Seriously, about every third house.

Morning Julia! Just popping in on this wet Wednesday. Glad to see all the love for The Shining. I might pencil in The Stand. Of course, I've read it a couple times but it has been a long long time. Would this be the original uncut version? I did not care for the extended one.

I feel your pain, sister. In the last 36 hours, I think I've purchased about 15 Kindle books. Oops.

>180 Crazymamie: I do see stuff like that around here, too, but not much. They are less creepy than animals but still weird to me.

>181 msf59: Mark, I've never read the "director's cut" of The Stand but I think I would prefer the original unless others have strong feelings.

>182 katiekrug: Sister! Twelve for me since June 1. Still not sure how that happened ...

Involuntary muscle spasm in the "Purchase" button finger? That's what I'm going with...

Yes, it's that damn "one-click" technology that's to blame! It's certainly not my lack of willpower when it comes to books.

Nope. Mine either.

Heh. I have a love/hate relationship with the "one-cllick" button.

I probably won't join you guys in a reread of The Stand, because I just read it a few months ago, though now I think of it I could reread it again no problem, but I liked the longer uncut version if only because it's the kind of book I don't ever want to end.

Mary, I'll be happy to read whichever version of The Stand the group decides on, but in general I am wary of the situation when an author becomes super-popular and no longer gets edited in a way that shapes a story into a driving narrative instead of a meandering tale. That is what I have heard happened with The Stand, although since I haven't read the longer version I can't say that for sure. Given how popular and well-received critically the original version is, I have a hard time imagining adding a bunch of pages could have improved it, but it's possible.

The Group reads are usually flexible in letting you pick whatever edition you want.

Well, that's no help, Roberta! :-)

Just to be annoying, my Kindle edition of The Stand is the long version...

>190 rosalita: It's good news Julia. I'm using the copy I got at the library book sale for fifty cents!

Ro, yes it's absolutely good news for you (50 cents? What a steal!). But if you aren't going to make an arbitrary rule, how am I supposed to rant and rave against it? ;-)

>193 rosalita: I don't make the rules on that one. I'm not the one who suggested the group read I only chimed in that I would join if they started one. I think BookLizard (Liz or BL) is the one who originally suggested it. I'm not running that group. I think you should be able to read whichever version you want and rant and rave against the other version if you are so inclined. You just love a good argument don't you Julia? :D

I have a biography thread I'm running from October-December on I am Malala. Glad to have you join that one. There is plenty of time to get it from the library and the paperback should be out soon.

Ha, I do love a good argument, as long as it's all done in good fun. ;-)

I will see if I can get the Malala book from the library and join you for that one!

On the local news this morning they mentioned that it's the 25th anniversary of Springsteen's Born in the USA and they had the album and a ticket stub one of the anchors had from the Giants Stadium show in '85. I still have the album (of course!) and I think I still have the ticket stub from that same wonderful concert ($17.50 floor, can you imagine?).

And I still have the t-shirt I bought and thought I'd share with you. I'd have put it on but I got caught in the rain and my hair was a mess (frizz!). Happy anniversary!

Aw, thanks Joanne! Actually it's the (gulp) 30th anniversary. Can you believe it's been 30 years since 1984?? Where did they all go? My first Springsteen concert ever was Aug. 9, 1985, at Soldier Field in Chicago. You can't even get a beer for $17.50 at a concert anymore!

30, duh, of course, I can subtract. I keep trying to make myself 5 years younger, you see! Failed again... :)

>198 Copperskye: Ha ha ha! I was shocked when I saw that it had been 30 years. Seems like just yesterday.

Hi Julia

I'm stopping by to wave hello and to say I hope you are well.

Three more e-books fell into my e-reader today, thanks to a sale by Harper Perennial.

• The Story of Ain't — nonfiction recommended for those who liked The Professor and the Madman.
  
• The All of It — recommended for those who liked Bel Canto.
  
• Time Warped — recommended for those who liked Freakonomics.

The full list is on HP's Facebook page.

>201 rosalita: - I got the first two, too :)

Ain't has mixed reviews on LT but the subject is right up my street so I figured it was worth the $1.99 gamble.

>154 rosalita: Julia, I cannot describe how happy I am that you loved A Wizard of Earthsea! Because I've just been reminded of this by Ilana's comments on her thread, the next book in the series, The Tombs of Atuan does follow on from *Wizard* but it's set in a different part of Earthsea with (initially) different characters so bear that in mind.

>164 scaifea: & >165 rosalita: From a comment Amber made on my thread, the awful one might be Tehanu. I'm in the minority in that I quite liked it although I think it's not as good as the first three.

Thanks, Heather! I am the one who should be thanking you because it was your thread that inspired me to finally pick it up! Amber did confirm that Tehanu is the one she was thinking of. When I get to that point, I'll try to keep an open mind about it.

>144 rosalita: I don't really make a practice of listing my book acquisitions here because it gives me nightmares. :-)

LOL. A good wee pile anyhow :) Which I see has been added to in a multiple manner since then. How are those nightmares?

Very scary, Megan! Even scarier than reading The Shining!

Hi Julia- Thanks for the music tips! I listened to Corb Lund. His album Five Dollar Bill and I really like it. I'll see if I can find more on Spotify. I love Hayes Carll but have not heard his last one. I'll have to keep an eye out. The same with Allison Moorer's album Crows.
I was lucky enough to see Moorer, along with her husband, Steve Earle, at a small unplugged show. She is gorgeous and that voice is stunning.

Here is a live version:

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=steve+earle+%26+allsion+moorer+duet&qpvt...

I'm glad you like Corb Lund, Mark. I think all of his stuff is on Spotify. Losin' Lately Gambler is probably my favorite album of his but Hair In My Eyes Like a Highland Steer is also really good.

Lucky you to get to see Allison Moorer and Steve Earle! I just love her voice. I'm going to watch that video you linked.

Yeah, all that stuff is available on Spotify, so I'll check it out over the weekend. Cool.

My favorite Hayes Carll song is "She Left Me for Jesus." Hilarious. Also hilarious is the video for it, a take-off on that awful syndicated show "Cheaters."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkHG-oKCEU&feature=kp

I love that one! There's a song on Corb Lund's latest album called "Bible on the Dash" which is a duet with Hayes Carll. It's got the same sort of humor:

Bible on the Dash — Corb Lund and Hayes Carll

Popping in to leave a quick *smooch*

>212 rosalita: - Ha! That's awesome.

>213 richardderus: Hey there, big guy! Back at ya.

>214 katiekrug: I thought you'd like it. :-)

>170 rosalita: LOLOL about the bulk of your estate being on e-readers. I may be in danger of the same problem.
I LOVED Cold Sassy Tree. Particularly the part about his aunt walking in her dress looking like "two cats fighting under a blanket". Great book.

Morning Julia- I was listening to KMAG, while drinking coffee and visiting my A.M. threads. It's good. It's very Dylanesque to me. Trouble in Mind, might be my favorite Carll.

Stopping by -I've never been able to read any Stephen King although there is a newer one I am meaning to try.....

>216 nittnut: I'm glad to hear that about Cold Sassy Tree. That is a book that I have often heard the title of but don't know much about. It sounds like I made a good decision!

>217 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark! I agree about Trouble in Mind. I think that's my favorite album of his, too.

>218 sibylline: Hi Lucy! Which King is the one you are considering?

Hey there Julia -- 30 years since Born to Run. Wow. Time flies. The poster for our law school legal follies was based on that iconic BTR cover. The name of the show was "This Gun's for Hire". ;-). I'm a latecomer to the live concerts, though. First one wasn't until 2-25-1988.

Never got to a Springsteen concert. He came on the scene after my concert-going days, during my child-rearing days when the only concerts I remember going to were by Yanni and Sharon, Lois & Bram. LOL I did, however, get to see Joe Cocker & Leon Russell & Mad Dogs & Englishmen; Jim Morrison & the Doors; The Rolling Stones (a number of times); Led Zep; Iron Butterfly; The Steve Miller Band; and others I can't recall just now, possibly due to having been a bit high during them.

>220 michigantrumpet: No, Marianne, 30 years since Born in the USA, which is even worse! I bet the legal follies were a stitch. :-)

>221 Storeetllr: I'm so sorry you never saw Springsteen in concert, Mary. It's an amazing experience.

Hey Julie came by to wish you a wonderful Weekend.

Thank you, Rae! I hope you do, too.

Hi Julia, hope you have a lovely weekend my dear, we are having Hannah for her first sleepover tonight and she is nicely tucked up in bed as I type.

Thank you, John. I'm sure you are enjoying your sleepover with Hannah!

Julia, I thought it was time I made my way to your thread, and you're now starred so I can (try to) keep up with you!

I really enjoyed The Wizard of Earthsea a lot recently, but then I tried moving on to book 2 and it just didn't work for me. Fantasy is always an iffy proposition with me, and there's no formula I can rely on to determine in advance what will work or not. In this case I was really hoping book 2 would continue where the first one left off, but it was about a completely different character, and I just didn't take to her. Though Heather/souloftherose told me the connection between the two becomes clear at the end of the story.

I see you gave 5 stars to The Road—I really loved that one too, and was surprised at how positive the experience was for me, given how bleak and depressing the story is, but the love of father and son just shone through the page. Same reaction to Blindness, because of the female heroine's kick-ass attitude through the worst possible circumstances. I'm usually very weary of bleak books because they can send me hurtling down to the deepest of black moods, but those two were standouts that I actually want to reread eventually!

>220 michigantrumpet: Late one to concerts? My favourite concert has to be one of Stevie Wonders in the 1980s at the Wembley Arena on a circular and slowly turning stage. His group were visibly sickly looking by the end of the show and one or two fell flat on their faces when they clambered off the stage. He was brilliant though.

Have a lovely week, Julia.

11/22/63 - the Kennedy assassination one..... Also his book on writing, I hear, is quite good.

Morning Julia! Hope the weekend went well and you got plenty of "book time" in. Hugs!

>227 Smiler69: How nice of you to visit, Ilana! I can see that if you thought Book 2 of the Earthsea series was going to be one thing and it turned out to be another thing that would be difficult. Thanks for the heads-up; I hope knowing that in advance will help me when I get to the second book.

And hgh-five for another lover of The Road! I am not familiar with Blindness but I will have to check it out!

>228 PaulCranswick: Thanks for stopping by, Paul!

>229 sibylline: Both of those are really good, Lucy. Enjoy!

>230 msf59: The weekends are never long enough! Hope you have a good week, Mark.

Good morning Julia dear. Hope this week is a good-reading-fest!

I hope so too, Richard!

Finally got a break in my offline life long enough to do some catching up on threads. Hope all is well with you.

Love that you still have the concert tour shirt!!

Sounds like you've been busy, Juli!

Oooh, concert reminiscences! Most concerts hands down to Peter, Paul & Mary, over the most decades. I've seen Ray Charles, Bill Cosby, Oscar Peterson, New York Rock and Roll Ensemble--all in the 60s, along with others I've undoubtedly forgotten--Grover Washington, The Spinners, Elton John in the 70s. Billy Joel, Three Dog Night, Don McLean, and a bunch more in the 80s. No, the memory is fading and we went to too many Humphreys concerts out here to even recall. Aaron Neville, Boz Scaggs, Gordon Lightfoot, Roberta Flack, Diane Schur, BB King, Tracy Chapman...

Never the Boss, though.

Some good shows there, Roni! I was fortunate to be a newspaper entertainment editor in a previous life, so I got to see and interview a lot of really great musicians (and some crummy ones, too). Lots and lots of country music (Johnny Cash being the highlight there) but also Melissa Etheridge, Smashing Pumpkins, Bob Dylan, Billy Joel and Elton John, BB King, Paul Simon — I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch.

And yeah, that Bruce guy, who was never work and all pleasure. I've got 28 of those in the bag and still looking for more.

>194 luvamystery65: Oh Roberta, I may lurk on the I am Malala thread, having read it just a few months ago.

>236 ronincats: Oh! BB King! I saw him, back in the early 70s. He played at a blues club on the south side of Chicago. It was amazing!

>237 rosalita: What amazing memories you must have, Julia! Some really great musicians!

>238 AuntieClio: Stephanie, I don't think you should lurk! You will have some good insights into the book since you have had some time to process what you read.

>239 Storeetllr: I enjoyed that part of my career very much. It was great to be able to see so many great bands and musicians in person.

You are my latest new thread to follow. Love all the concert and King talk! Not much for concerts these days. I live vicariously through my kids. King I still like to do in person--he is the best!

>238 AuntieClio: What Julia said in >240 rosalita: you will have insights to contribute.

>241 Berly: Welcome to the madfunhouse, Kim! I'm very glad to have you join us. There's always room for more Stephen King fans around here.

>242 luvamystery65: I agree! Oh, wait ...

>240 rosalita:, >242 luvamystery65:, >243 rosalita: You guys crack me up! :-)

Morning, Julia!

Morning Julia- Speaking of Mr. King, I was already able to grab Mr. Mercedes on audio. This one sounds good and it is once again read by Will Patton. Happy Camper!

Morning Julia my dear, hope you have a lovely day.

>245 scaifea: Top of the mornin' to ya, Amber!

>246 msf59: Oh, you lucky dog, Mark. Let me know how it is. I was just reading a description of it and it sounds really intriguing and kind of unlike anything he's done before, which is exciting.

>247 johnsimpson: Thank you, John! And the same to you and Karen.

Whee!!!

;-)

I might give The Tombs of Atuan a try again in future, now I know what it's about. It would have been helpful in this case if I'd paid attention to the book summary to adjust my expectations.

I wouldn't go as far as recommending Blindness. It took years for me to get to it because the person who recommended it turned out to be a major creep who among other things, kept repeating I'd never understand anything about life until I read that book, which obviously completely turned me off from wanting to get anywhere near it. When I did read it, I thought it was brilliant (though it didn't really change my perception about life, rather confirmed things I knew already), but it's so harsh I'd never want to be responsible for a person potentially being traumatized because of my suggestion.

>249 luvamystery65: There we go! We should probably settle the point of who's going to be driving on our little adventure to the Dairy State. :-)

>250 Smiler69: I'm afraid you've only intrigued me even more, Ilana, but I promise not to hold you responsible for my reaction!

>251 rosalita: Full confession, I learned to drive on the border of Mexico and the stereotype sometimes fits. :-/

Ha! Well, I learned to drive in rural Illinois so I am good at navigating around combines and planters if required (and depending on the time of year, it may be). I am less good in heavy traffic, but I don't think there is any between here and Wisconsin. :-)

Now, if we go to Oak Park near Chicago to see the Frank Lloyd Wright houses there, you can do the driving once we hit the western suburbs.

Breezing through and seconding Ilana's rec for Blindness! A billiant story.... which reminds me, I do need to get around to reading the sequel, Seeing.

I remember when I read it first I enjoyed The Tombs of Atuan more than The Wizard of Earthsea although I liked the first one a lot too. Maybe time for a reread.

>254 lkernagh: Thank you for the recommendation, Lori. I've got that one on the library list.

>255 SandDune: Ah, another country heard from (literally, in this case). I'm just going to have to read it and decide for myself, I reckon.

I've just gotten to the office today after a morning spent at the dentist (ugh). It seems I have reached that golden age when all the fillings I got as a kid need to be replaced. Today it was the one that is on the back of my two upper front teeth, which meant two Novacaine shots in the upper gums that felt like the needle was going straight into my brain. I hate the shots worst of all of it.

The funny thing was that I told my dentist about that master's thesis I copy-edited a few months ago, about the science behind color-matching tooth restorations, and she was excited to tell me way more than I needed to know about how she does it. She even showed me the equipment she uses and how she goes about doing the matching and everything. I dropped a few bits of jargon just to impress her and next thing I knew she was off to the races. It was great because it gave her something to monologue about while she had her fingers in my mouth and I couldn't respond. :-)

Hi Julia, hope you are having a nice day my dear, I have a new photo of my little princess on my thread now.

Thanks for the news, John. I'm off to take a look!

Sorry Julia it's the photo you saw yesterday, just having a senior moment my dear.

Well, I wondered when I went to your thread whether you had taken it down or something. :-) That's OK — Hannah is definitely cute enough to look at twice!

Thanks Julia, as you can tell I love her to bits.

And frankly the chitter-chatter the dentist spewed would've worked as well as a general anesthetic in sending you to sleep, I'll wager.

>263 richardderus: I'm a dork, Richard. I actually thought it was interesting. :-)

::gobsmacked:: (pun optional)

Ha! Very punny.

You rock, Julia!
>203 rosalita: Even at $1.99 I'm going to be thrifty to see what you think of *Ain't*. It's the time and the space on my poor old Kindle although I know I can dismiss it to the cloud if I don't like it.
No contributions about Springsteen, I'm sorry to say. I've heard Thelonius Monk, the Kingston Trio (!), Blood Sweat & Tears, Richard Tucker and Anna Moffo, Eugene Istomin, and Isaac Stern to mention my most memorable concerts. Amazingly enough, the last two played right here in our little gem of a theater: Istomin because he had come here once before in his earlier tour of small towns and Stern because he ended up marrying one of my lifetime friends.
And I loved your description of reading The Shining for the first time. It's still my favorite King, and I was rereading it in prep for Dr. Sleep when my copy of 11/22/63 arrived and I had to read it instead. (And I see that *Sleep* is only $7.99 for Kindle. hmmmm) I was in my 20s when I read *Shining* and I stayed terrified the whole time - and felt filthy the whole time too. Oh yes, that fire extinguisher was SO scary, but I think that the thing that scared me most was maybe the playground episode although the topiary ain't shabby. I'd have to think about it, and I sort of don't want to!

>267 LizzieD: Peggy, you are very sensible to wait on Ain't. I will be happy to let you know what I think when I finally get around to reading it.

You've seen some good concerts your own self. Thelonius Monk! That would have been uber-cool.

We are all just big old scaredy cats when it comes to The Shining, and isn't that fun? The playground scene was very scary! I could just picture that happening to me. I have always had a terribly overactive imagination and I think I could have worked myself up into a total frenzy by something like that even if it wasn't actually possessed.

Hey! There's a new thread waiting for you, with reviews and everything! Click the link and come on over.

>249 luvamystery65: While the GPS is saying, in her stranglediest voice: "RECALCULATING."

>270 Storeetllr: Ha! And all the way down I would be apologizing to the GPS Lady: "I'm sorry, I know this isn't the route you picked but we are wanted fugitives and the cops are hot on our tail and we have decided we'd rather die than surren ..." *splat*

Haha. Awhile back, when on vacay in a rented car at night, the GPS tried to send me into a field. "In 300 feet, make a right turn." "But, it's all dark and there's no road!" "Right turn." "I can't, there's no effing road!" "RECALCULATING." "Fine."

I've had that conversation!