Ireadthereforeiam reads into 2017: Chapter 1

New year, new group, new thread, new books to read, new things to learn......

In a nut shell I am the following: mother to two manic boys, partner to a lovely other who doubles as lovely father to aforementioned manic boys, part time masters student, part time university employee, and reader of books.

Literary fiction, narrative non fiction, academic non fiction, memoirs, wannabe dystopia reader, Booker Prize winner reader, history, if the book is about life/art/music/people.....Then I'm in.

This summer, the title of my book would be The Margaret Mahy Playground Saved my Life

Happy New Year and happy eading 2017, Megan. Looking foward to following your readings.

Currently reading:


Amongst Women by John MaGahern
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
Engaged Scholarship by Andrew H. van de Ven

BOOKS COMPLETED 2017

January
1. Amongst Women by John McGahern 184p
2. A Beautiful Young Wife by Tommy Wieringa 123p (Tally 307p)
3. To Die in California by Newton Thornburg 288p (tally 595p) (published 1973)
4. Five Go Parenting by Bruno Vincent (an Enid Blyton spoof) 104p (tally 699p)
5. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton 314p (tally 1014p)
6. The Vegetarian by Han Kang 183p (tally 1,197p)
7. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church, 333p (tally 1,530p)
8. The Smell of Apples by Mark Behr 200p (tally 1,730p)
9. James K. Baxter Poems By James K. Baxter 103p (tally 1,833p)

February
10. Psychogeography by Will Self 255p (tally 2,088p)

5- star books of 2016 (in no particular order)

M Train by Patti Smith
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
White Noise by Don DeLillo
The Women's Room by Mailyn French

Almost forgot the last one! And interesting to note that although my preference seems to be for male authors of the 20th C, 3/4 of my top reads are from women! Woohoo!

>2 Ameise1: hi there! I look forward to having some reading for you to follow! Last year I made it to 65 books, plus however many hundreds of academic research papers :)

Happy reading in 2017, Megan!

Hi Megan! Dropping off a star. Happy New Year!

2016 was slim pickin's for movies!

1. The Force Awakens (date 3/1)
2. The Chipmunks III: Something about a road 'chip' (5/1)
3. The Force Awakens (again!) (8/1)
4. Zootopia (29/4)
5. Florence Foster Jenkins (8/5)
6. Finding Dory
7. Poi E (28/7) (doco, NZIFF)
8. Neruda (NZIFF)
9. The Secret Lives of Pets (18/9)
10. The Hunting Ground (23/9) (doco)
11. My Scientology Movie (6/11) (doco)
12. Rogue One (16/12)
13. Rogue One (29/12)
14. La La Land (30/12)

2017 Films
1. Paterson
2. Sing

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

>6 FAMeulstee: thanks! I left my read du jour at a friends place (that's what you get for taking a book to a new year party!) so am having to tody up some half-read stragglers

>7 nittnut: hi Jenn! Happy new year to you too. It was hot hot hot yesterday and is cruelly cool today. Go figure.

>8 LovingLit: I think I saw a few more at the cinema than that but, agreed, it wasn't a stellar year for me either. I will keep better track of my cinema visits in 2017.

Great to see you setting up here reasonably quickly this year as I seem to recall you were a bit tardy doing so last year?

Happy New Year and love to the three boys (1 big; two smaller) - no Wilby or Lennyisms for a while?

>9 PaulCranswick: ah hello! If only the group here could be emulated by that group called HUMAN BEINGS :)
Lovely to see you Paul!

Welcome back!

>13 drneutron: thanks Jim! Thanks for masterminding it all, again!

My 2nd and 3rd years you had the most posts on my threads other than me myself, but your studies and etc etc tend to keep you away more these days. I hope you have more time to visit in 2017 as I do miss you over a my place. xx

>15 PaulCranswick: I know! I remember being more prolific....I think my woes are as much computer related as they are time shortage related. At home we are rocking: a) an ancient iPad (can't post pictures to thread or copy and paste easily), and b) a tablet lite, with same issues. I like a desktop or laptop to properly LT :)
But I promise to visit more! Even for a quick glance and hello.

You know I'll be hanging around. Happy new year!

Hi Megan. I know you're going to be busy this year but I'll still invite you to take a look at this year's ANZAC reading challenge - http://www.librarything.com/topic/244630

Hi Megan! Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to another year of reading with this group.

Hi, Megan! Happy new year!

Starred!

Happy New Year, Megan, and a star! I wish you a year of great satisfaction and lots of good reading!

Happy New Year! (dropping a star)

Glad to see some Bowie's made it on your top list!!

>17 ursula: glad to hear it :)
I hope to see you around these parts again soon.

>18 avatiakh: I will take a look! Not normally being a challenges girl, I can't say I will tag in, but I did really mean to read something from Ngaio Marsh from last years challenge, and didn't. How can I not have read her yet!?

>19 cbl_tn: me too! I love dipping in and seeing what every one has been reading. This place has provided me with so much reading inspiration, I'm not wanting. Thats for sure.

>20 scaifea: thanks Amber, you too! It's day two here (nearly day three) of the new year. And so far it is going swimmingly. Probably because all the politicians are still on holiday instead of in-fighting. *sigh*

One of the few peeps who would take a book to a NYE party ...

>21 katiekrug: why thank you. Funny that we now only have to star a thread the one time....remember when we used to have to find each others thread and re-star each time??

>22 LizzieD: I want for lots of good reading too peggy :)
It's what I live for! That, and the other stuff.

>23 ronincats: A lovely large star! Thanks!

>24 Berly: two of the four 5-star reads last year were from his list! He's got the knack, that guy. We just had people over for dinner tonight (I made a delicious- if I say so myself- laksa) and they had seen my Facebook post of Bowie's books that I had read in 2016 and thought that those were the only books I had read all year! I explained that they were 12 of 63. A paltry number around these parts ;)

>26 roundballnz: ha ha! I know. Just in case there is a moment. Often there isn't, but I have my hopes.

>11 PaulCranswick: ah, a post that snuck in without me seeing! Oops.
Lennyism: "mum, I'm the third best goalie in the whole wide junior school"
I find this hilarious. The notion of how huge the whole wide junior school is to a five year old, and that it is that quantifiable.

Wilburism: (who was in the room while I was getting dressed one morning recently) Mum- you should be one of those ladies who walks down that footpath up high.
Me: you mean, a model?!?!?
Wilbur: yeah.

Aw, bless. How wonderful that he thinks that of me :) (ME!!!) lol.

>29 LovingLit: Aw, Wilbur! What a charmer (not that he's not totally correct - the few photographic glimpses you've given us attest to his astuteness).

Happy New Year, Megan!

Happy happy New Year, Megan! Wishing you and yours a wonderful 2017!

Dropping my star, Megan! I love the Lenny and Wilbur quotes you posted for Paul - made ma smile BIG.

>27 LovingLit: - Funny you should mention the old starring business. I was thinking the exact same thing as I went around!

Yay, Megan is here :) Happy 2017!

Happy new year, Megan! What a treat to start the year off with some Lennyisms and Wilbur's keen observations as I catch up on threads. :-)

Love the quotes from your two. Reminded me of the fb thing about 'mum staying in the picture'. I'm always struck by how glam and young my parents look in pics from 'ye old days'(!!)

Hope you have a great year of reading.

Hi Megan! I jumped into and out of your threads last year, but hope to be a more regular presence this year.

Happy new Year and all good things for 2017!

>30 scaifea: he he. My evil plan to post only the most flattering photos of myself has worked ;)
It was such an innocent and sweet comment.

>31 DianaNL: thanks Diana! So far it's been socially busy with three nights in a row of hosting or attending dinner/BBQs. It will quieten down from now.

>32 Carmenere: thanks! We wish for that too :) and for everyone else.

>33 Crazymamie: I need to write them down more often, some are just insta-classics. And, we still use the phrase "snippy pickers" for tongs.

>34 katiekrug: and, of you forgot to title your thread with your user name, it took people ages to find it :)

>35 ChelleBearss: hi Chelle! Busy as ever, I can hazard the guess. Are you putting in a few hours at work again now? I hadn't realised til I read your blurb on the intro thread. I learn a lot there ;)

>36 cameling: hey Caro! Long time no see. Great to be back huh? I look forward to hearing about your adventures and hopefully no slips fall or mishaps.

>37 charl08: Our young parents are like another species, aren't they? I know my kids are in disbelief that I had a life before them

>38 karenmarie: a resolution I endorse. And aspire to too. I star all my go to threads early in the year, and rarely pick up a new one, so I need to be more adventurous

1. Amongst Women by John McGahern 184p

Finished my first book! Hooray! All thanks to children who thoughtfully get themselves up now and watch a DVD before I am summoned. :)

>39 LovingLit: We also still use that phrase - Wilbur has conquered the Pecan Paradisio!

>42 Crazymamie: I love that so much!
Maybe you can use 'footpath up high' for a model's runway too? ;) or for you it might be sidewalk up high.....

Yes, I like that one, too - I shall tell the girls!

>41 LovingLit: First book already!! Yay! So, I think I need a break from the monthly Bowie challenge. The stress is just too much for me. ; ) But maybe later on we can do just one, for fun. Yes? I want more grab and read this year.

>44 Crazymamie: he he, the traveling words of our household. The model one might not catch on, I don't expect it to.

>45 Berly: did you read my thoughts saying exactly that somewhere? I can't remember where I was talking about me and challenges not generally working out? Which is exactly why I loved the Bowie challenge, as it did work :)
But I'll call it quits on that one too this year. I will peruse the AAC and the ANZAC challenge threads though. Just to see.

>40 LovingLit: actually I went back to work full time in 2015. Thankfully I work straight day shift so it works well with Nate's schedule. Very much looking forward to my year of maternity leave though!

Dropping bread crumbs without reading just yet ... happy new year!

Happy New Year, Megan! I will be following your 2017 reads and your modeling career this year!

BOOK 1
Amongst Women by John McGahern 184p (1990)

I started this book last year and left it lying fallow for a few months, then picked it up again seeing as I thought to tidy up a few loose ends in the new year. On the back it says something like- read it in two hours, but it will limger for months. Well, it took me a lot longer than 2 hours to read, but I'll admit the characters are keepers.

Moran is the head of the household in rural Ireland. He is gruff, moody and suspicious of those outside the family. The family consists of himself, and his five children, the eldest of which is now London-based and non communicado. He prefers not to engage with a father he sees as domineering and cruel. The three middle children are young women who put up with their father, feeling that he is the heart of a family that they simply cannot exist without the support of. Youngest is Michael, who gets incrementally less happy when each of his siblings grows up and moves out.

The story is told over a period from when Moran brings a wife into the house, who is able to both put up with and quell the moods of her husband, the moods which so dominate the household. The comings and goings of the children, the hay harvests, the introduction of boyfriends/fiancées, and the increasing conflict arising between the remaining son and his father make up the fabric of the story. It is deep storytelling, in spite of the few pages it is told in. It handles very well the issue of how fine a line abuse can straddle. Maybe it needs 4 stars? ;)
eta: OK, 4 stars!

>46 LovingLit: LOL. About the challenges. We are psychically linked. I feel you sista!!

>47 ChelleBearss: hm. How could I not know that!? Duh. Sorry. I know you put posts on fb about your role, I just figured it was solidarity!

>48 London_StJ: thanks Luxx. You too! I haven't seen your thread yet, will seek out ASAP.

>49 AMQS: he he. Ok. Well, at least the thread will be here!

>51 Berly: true! We must have been feeling it. I loved doing the reading alongside you though, it was a cool experience all up.

>53 LovingLit: I loved doing it with you! And our bond will last without Bowie. I look forward to seeing what you read this year! : )

Happy New Thread, Megan! Happy New Year! Hope you had a lovely holiday with the family.

Happy Reading in 2017!!

>54 Berly: bonded by Bowie. I like it :)

>55 msf59: had? Having more like. I am off work/study and the kids are off school for the next 26 days. We are holidaying as we speak.
The lovely other has two weeks off from mid-Jan, so we are off then on a road trip. Til then it's me keeping them busy. *ref to post #1 and the book title of my summer*
;)

Hurrah for the boys getting themselves up. Sterling work there mum.

>50 LovingLit: Sounds like a good reading start into 2017.

I remember when daughter started getting herself up early in the morning. All we had to do was remember to turn the TV volume way down the night before or we'd get blasted. Eventually she learned to make coffee for us, too.....

Megan, I LOVE that you took a book to a New Year's Eve party. My kind of girl! Now you know why I can't stay away too long from your thread. I would miss the "isms" from your brilliant sons as well. You are off to a good reading start. May 2017 be a year of good books and fun family times for you!

Just popping by to drop my star Megan my dear.

>57 charl08: well, it took long enough! W has traditionally been too scared to venture to the lounge alone first thing, but L is a little more keen to get a DVD started, so when W gets up and sees there is action, he heads straight on in. Which means reding time in bed for me!

>58 Ameise1: is does! And another small book knocked off last night and this morning, very pleasing.

>59 karenmarie: that isexactly what we do :)
Set the telly for DVD, volume under ten, chairs ready, blanket for just in case, finges crossed it all goes smoothly. Haha, the lengths we will go to!

>60 Donna828: well, to be fair, the party was a stay over one. And I intended to read once in bed, or in the morning. But instead I woke up exceedingly early feeling a bit queasy, which ruined my reading time. Hmph, self inflicted hmph ;)

>61 johnsimpson: star received! Thanks JS.

BOOK 2
A Beautiful Young Wife by Tommy Wieringa 123p (tally 307p) (2014, translated from Dutch)

This small book is about a man that I disliked from the start. He craves beautiful women, and by that I mean he wants one, to have, like a possession. The story starts at a dinner party where the couple describe their meeting and falling in love to another couple. But the rest of the story is about them as a couple, mainly him.

He's just not very nice! He values measurable success over meaningful occupation, and to go with this he wants gorgeous women on his arm. As his marriage progresses (yay! He got the girl!!) he realises he is tiring of her, even though he thought he could never. It is only at the very very end that he shows any insight into his behaviours and thinking patterns. I guess some people never examine their actions and the reasons for them...but it didn't make the reading experience any more pleasant because I didn't get a sense of how he justified himself, he was just like this. This is probably more 2.5 stars. I'll see how I feel later!
Eta:

Think I will start To Die in California next! I have La la land on the brain from having just seen the film last week. it was quite a lovely film, but I expect the book (set in the same place presumably) wont be quite as lovely :)
This one is from 1973....I am keen to keep my reading spread widely across the later half of the 20th centry. I like that period.

I don't think I could stomach A Beautiful Young Wife. Blech. Sorry for the dud.

>65 London_StJ: yeah, I was kind of grinding my teeth while reading, but read on anyway. At least it's done now!

>63 LovingLit: I have the book on my shelves, Megan, your review doesn't make me want to put it to the top of my TBRs.

>29 LovingLit: Cute that little fellow. Anyone able to get away with wiping his snot on my wife's dress will do for me anyday! (He was a babe with a cold though at the time).
Always thought my mother was glamorous when we were growing up as we often overheard Mr. G the neighbour telling his friends when he didn't know we were up a tree listening.

>50 LovingLit: About my summation of it too.

That's lovely that your kiddos give you some down time in the morning and get themselves up! How old were they when that started?

Hi Megan, hope all is well with you and the family my dear, you must be having some lovely hot and sunny days while we are having a bit of a cold and windy spell, not that I am jealous (much) lol.

Happy New Year, Megan! Amongst Women sounds good, but A Beautiful Young Wife definitely does not. Is that a fictionalized account of Donald Trump?

Howdy Megan! You r reading and your thread are off to resounding starts! Looking forward to more Lenny and Wilbur quotes as the months progress.

Wishing you a wonderful 2017 full of reading and happiness!

>67 FAMeulstee: maybe you will like it? Find it interesting to see how a misogynistic guy operates? Find out how to avoid one? He he. Or maybe read a couple of pages and see how you go.

>68 PaulCranswick: poor Lenny. He was really ill that afternoon.

>69 ChelleBearss: train'em early and it could be soon for you! I'm sure Chloe could turn the telly on now?! For me it was way too recently. Mainly as W is scared of the dark ;)

>70 johnsimpson: we're a bit patchy here weather-wise. It usually settles in Feb.

>71 kidzdoc: and my current read is shaping up to be fantastic. Have you read To Die in California by Newton Thornburg? It's written in 1973, and is a story and a half, so well told.

>72 michigantrumpet: I've been hittng the playground from post#1frequently. I read in the car while the kids play...it is bliss. This morning I got 2 hours out of them!

Oh, and in other news, at an op shop on my way to visit my mum, I picked up 26 videos for $1. Ridiculous! 4x Stanley Kubrick films,12x James Bonds (mainly Sean Connery ones), and the rest Are You Being Served episodes. For my lovely other ☺Such a bargain.

>74 LovingLit: I haven't read or heard of To Die in California or its author, Megan. I look forward to your comments about it.

Well done on the video haul!

>73 LovingLit: Chloe is still trapped in a crib and I plan to keep it that way as long as possible! :)
We have a three story house and I'm terrified of her falling down the stairs if we aren't with her. We are thinking of transitioning her to a single bed in the spring reusing the crib for baby-no-name. Nate will have to install a gate at the top of the stairs though or I'll never sleep again.

>75 kidzdoc: it is a sort of private eye novel, the private eye being the father of a young man who died. The dad is determined to figure out the circumstances. It's written with marvellous observation. I'm impressed.

>76 ChelleBearss: when Lenny figured out how to get out of his crib, he immediately began roaming the house in the early hours. It was the end of a wonderful sleep-in era in our house.
A stair gate is an excellent idea. My kids would probably have seen any gate as a challenge to be overcome (they both managed to escape our property gate, which is 6-feet high- before the age of 5) but I hear some kids aren't like that.

I watched a tiny bit of Terminator last night on tv, and remembered watching Terminator 2 many times as a teen.
It made me think that this is one of the only sequels that is better than the first film! I can't think of many/any others. Can anyone else?

>76 ChelleBearss: That's my fear, that she will be a roamer and I'm a deep sleeper. She doesn't bother with the gate at the bottom of the stairs but if she really wants up she has been known to hang from it to get our attention, doh!

To Die in California is on sale for Kindle for $2.99. I bought it.

I mostly lurked here last year Megan, enjoying following your reading and your adventures with your boys. Will try to comment once in a while this year.

To Die in California by Newton Thornburg and The Rehearsal By Eleanor Catton

Two books vying for my attention....I read one then some of the other!

>79 ChelleBearss: I envy you for your deep sleeping, although, Im sure it would mean you wake up wondering what has happened in the night!!! Hehe. I wake at a loud breath from my two, its a hassle.

>80 arubabookwoman: great! It is a lot of atmosphere and description compared to plot. Which might not be for some, but is to my taste. My last book was all plot no depth.

>82 LovingLit: I've trained myself to hear her when she calls out and I usually wake when I hear her stirring in the morning. Just not 100% sure if I would hear her if she got out of bed quietly. Although with the baby gate up there wouldn't be anywhere for her to go except to play in her room or come wake us up.

Megan--I think the gate on the stairs is a must-do!! Okay, and stop with the book bullets already! Wow, 2017 is off to a rough start. I'm hit.

>83 ChelleBearss: lol, my littlie can sneak around in the mornings. But 95% of the time he ends up in our bed by 6am. I'd say what Kim does, a gate is mandatory.

>84 Berly: already? The one I'm currently reading? Surely not the 2.5 star!? ;)
Love being behind a BB

No, lol, I am definitely skipping the 2.5 star. Thanks for saying me from that one!!

>83 ChelleBearss: well at least if he is in your bed you know what he is up to! Chloe is not very good at cuddling in our bed though, she seems to think of it as a bouncy castle to play on lol

>86 Berly: I'd hate to prevent you from what may be your read of the decade! I mean, who knows?!
;)

>87 ChelleBearss: ha ha, yes. I use the term 'in our bed' meaning 'writhing like a cut snake in our bed'. Lying still is not one of childrens' strengths!

>74 LovingLit: Color me properly green with jealousy over that spectacular video haul. HUGE Are You Being Served fan here! >78 LovingLit: Good sequels? I was always a big proponent of The Godfather II. If it didn't squeak past the original, it came awfully close. Happy Friday!

>89 michigantrumpet: we watched the first two episodes last night. The firs one was in black and white!!! ...1972...
They are so clever, and it seems like almost the whole thing is filmed in one go. You do see some mistakes in them, and the actors just carry on. It is great. And talk about funny! My lovely other and a few of his colleagues often ask each other at work it they....are free. he he.

I know what you mean about them being filmed in one go. Several times you can catch one or the other of the actors trying valiantly -- but failing -- to keep a straight face! I love the work colleagues getting in on the fun!

>91 michigantrumpet: that's the best, isn't it? When they are laughing along with their fellow actors, while acting! My mother was not best pleased when I compared her to Mrs Slocombe....only for her 'posh voice'!

I saw a fantastic film today!
Paterson.
Adam Driver plays the lead, and is calm and restrained and....so durned attractive. *swoon*
I don't know what it is about him, he is hardly conventionally good looking, but I'll admit to being drawn in. Maybe it was the bad boy Kylo Ren character, more likely that he is tall, dark and handsome....*double swoon*
Anyway, the film (oh yeah, that). It is very art house. Slow, lingering, mesmerising. And with poetry. I loved it.

Stopping by to say hi Megan. All this chat about the young un's is making me feel old :) My sons are now 32 and 26. They were out of their cribs at about 25 -26 months. My eldest flung himself out of his crib one morning and that was that for his crib. We got a mattress on the floor until I was sure falling out of bed was not going to be a problem. For quite a while the eldest thought he was somehow pinned into his mattress and would call to me in the morning to get him up. That was nice! ;)

My 2016 book titles meme!

Describe yourself: Nights at the Circus
How I feel: Free to Learn
Where I live: The Property
Where I would go: Montana, 1948
Favourite Transportation: M Train
Best friend: The Outsider
Me and my friends are: The Circle
What the weather is like: Climate Change Denial
Favourite food:Ratburger
I fear: from Jan 20th? The Domestic Manners of the Americans, generally? Being 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Best advice: Small Steps
Thought for the day: indignation
How I'd like to die: Alone in Berlin
My soul's present condition: White Noise

Excellent meme answers! I especially like the underplay of "Where I live: The Property." Perfect. : )

>94 vancouverdeb: my niece was like that, glued to the bed, seemingly unable to realise that she could get out by herself. I envied my sister while mine were causing havoc at 5am :)
My trick to keep them from falling out of a big bed was to roll a towel (a big one) and put it on top of the mattress, but under the sheet so that they rolled to it and bumped it instead of rolling all the way. We only ever had one fallout incident.

>96 Berly: my favourite answer is for best advice.....being Small Steps :) Advice I need to remember myself!

Don't we all! But I am done stepping for the day. Night. :)

>93 LovingLit: might have to pass on that by sounds ......

I have not heard of Paterson, Megan. I will have to look for it. There is a NZ film, with Sam Neil, (a long title, that I can't think of) that is getting a lot of buzz. Do you know it?

I had to look up Adam Driver, but then, oh, he's *adorable*!

Climate change denial sounds about right Megan, for your meme. Im wondering whats going to happen with that giant bit of ice that is just (or is about to) breaking off, spotted by NASA.

(Does Mark mean the Wilderpeople? Loved that film)

>95 LovingLit: Some very funny and good titles in your meme, Megan, I especially like "How I feel" and "Best advice", not sure about your "Favourite food" ;-)
I loved Alone in Berlin, when I read it in 2011.

Hi Megan! Just a quick hello. All the discussions of cribs and beds and escaping children made me smile and remember how much fun we had with daughter when she was crib-bound and then how things changed when she had her toddler bed.

Found your thread, Megan. Happy New Year!

Amongst Women sounds intriguing. I've always admired Patricia Maclachlan, the Sarah Plain and Tall author, for being able to pack a lot of story into very few words. Sounds like McGahern has a similar gift.

Good to know you liked the movie Paterson. You're right about Adam Driver not being conventionally good looking. But there is something rather mesmerizing about him. I feel the same way about Eddie Redmayne who, I think, is an incredible actor with unconventional looks. I have Paterson on my list of movies to go watch before my trip next weekend. I'm hoping I won't keep thinking of him as Kylo Ren. :-)

>99 Berly: I trust you slept well? I did :) Because I got a sleep in and now the kids are out with their dad at the swimming pool. I actually got out of bed with a happy dance this morning.

>100 roundballnz: yes. Pease feel free to do so! It doesn't pay dividends.

>101 msf59: are you talking Hunt for the Wilderpeople? It came out here last year to much fuss. I haven't seen it actually, but I hope to see Sam Neill out on his farm in a few weeks when I visit my brother, as their properties share a boundary! Talk about lifestyles of the rich and famous. Youd hardly know I was a poor student, would you? ;)

Paterson is a very pleasant film to watch, no death or chaos, just lovely camera shots and thoughtful pensive people. And poetry.

>102 scaifea: yes. Still is aye!
It was a lovely two hours spent in his company. His on screen girlfriend was a little irritating, but I liked it that he loved her, because it added to his charm.

>103 charl08: I think Mark must mean the Wilderpeople one.
I s a Greenpeace post about the Antarctic ice chunk. I get the feeling the news will be greeted by the right as sensationalist agenda-ing. Oh, did you see that, I just made agenda into a verb!

>104 FAMeulstee: favourite food was a tough one? I only had one food related title from all my 2016 books, and it was one I read out old to W :)

>105 karenmarie: as parents we are taught to fear the "next stage", aren't we? By other parents who wish for us to know how tough it was for them. I don't think it does anyone any favours, that one-up man ship. I hate hearing parents say to each other "you wait til they....". It's so unsupportive.
Just my bug bear!
It does strike me though, that that saying "the pitter patter of tiny feet" is so true. My youngest is 5, but has always run through the house (and life!). Me and the lovely other chuckle when we hear him trotting about the house first thing.

>106 jnwelch: yay, Joe is here :)
McGahern has a few I want to read, and Amongst Women has certainly not put me off. I like spare writing, well- writing that doesn't spell it out. That describes what is happening with enough detail that you know what they are feeling without being told.

>107 cameling: Kylo Ren disappears from the screen pretty quickly in 'Paterson'. His character (also called Paterson) couldn't be farther from the character he played in The Force Awakens! It's the very definition of an art house film, very meandering and calm. With lots of bricks ;)
So good to see you on the threads, Caro!

I have an old school friend called Adam Driver so the conversation confused me quite a lot for a minute. Having looked him up, the actor is definitely not my cup of tea - I think I'd prefer my friend but each to their own!

BOOK 3
To Die in California by Newton Thornburg 288p (published 1973)

In a nutshell, this book is literary noir. It is certainly dark in tone and rich in description. The pages are dense with words and the book itself deals with barely a fortnight in the life of a father dealing with the apparent suicide of his son. The way he deals with it is to refute the official version of is death, and to go out to California to find out whodunit. He appeals to the police, who tell him to await proper procedure (yeah right, as if a capable, practical man like this could do that!), he snoops around bars and neighbours and goes to the crime scene to see and to question. But mainly he just really wants to clear the name of his son, who he believes would not have died in the way described in the papers.

It is fast moving in spite of the lengthy descriptions, but benefits from fast reading in order not to get bogged down. Although some actions taken are fairly unbelievable, there are some incredibly insightful passages dealing with the human condition, life and death, and just life. Which is why it gets 4 and not 5 stars.

>110 lunacat: woah, that would be weird. :)
Each to their own, indeed. Personally, I am also surprised at my attraction in this case. But, there you go...you can't help the forces that govern these things.
I get the author Naomi Klein mixed up with my friend whose name only has one letter different. I'm always saying Naomi/noemi... No! Naomi.....and then giving up.

Edited: linking to the correct post ems to be an issue for me today

Hi Megan, way to go my dear, three books under your belt so far, sending love and hugs.

3 books under your belt already .... do we foresee a 100+ book year ?

>113 johnsimpson: yep- I've been reading late into the night, and also I have had the benefit of my lovely other getting up to the kids so have had reading time in the morning as well. It has been great!!

>114 roundballnz: 100+ no way :)
This is a new year anomaly. Holidays mean no work or uni for me, and no rushing out the door in the mornings with the kids. So I am staying up late to read, and spending quality reading time at eh playground in >1 LovingLit: ;)

Now I have picked up an Iain Sinclair book, which is fairly weighty: Dining on Stones. I was at the library, and hadn't brought either of my current books...what was I to do but start another one???

Megan, Holiday anomaly or not you have made a great reading start to 2017.

Are You Being Served is a classic isn't it? Wonderful ensemble from Molly Sugden, Frank Thornton and John Inman. I think all of them are no longer with us. It is a sort of gentle comedy that seems to have disappeared and many of my own clumsy attempts at humour hark back to those halcyon days.

>117 PaulCranswick: I read a great academic article about British comedy, Little Britain specifically, taking the mickey out of working class 'chavs' with that one character. It was fascinating to see their take on how undeserved the scorn was (that is heaped upon the brashness and crassness of some). But I agree, the British comedies of old are lacking these days. One bucking that trend though, is the newest Ben Elton piece featuring Shakespeare as the lead character. It reminds me of Blackadder, and is as, if not more, funny! have you seen it?

>115 LovingLit: isn't it glorious when the lovely other does morning duty and let's you sleep in or read in! I got to today and it was awesome!
Nate wouldn't let Chloe in to see me when she got up but she heard the fan in our room and got it in her two year old mind that I was out of bed but pooping. She talked all morning about how mom got up to poop and went back to sleep. Kids, so weird!

Hi Megan!
It's fun to be back reading your thread again :-) Running through your thread reminds me of oh-so-long-ago when my girls were toddlers. We would leave them a plastic bowl of Cheerios (no milk) where they could reach so they could turn on TV with a snack and watch cartoons on Sat morning. The best part was listening to them laughing and giggling softly as we were waking up slowly. Ah... those were the days!

Happy, happy new year to you and your family! I'll check in from time to time.

Great meme, Megan! Like you, I also fear The Domestic Manners of the Americans. :(

My goodness your thread is busy. :)

It's absolutely, truly, vilely, brutally cold here tonight. *moan, whine, whimper* and I want it to be summer. :)

>119 ChelleBearss: the only throwback from that is that the kids often only want mum. *wail*.... those words, they spell the end of rest ;)

>120 -Cee-: hi Cee, so glad to see you back :)
You are one of the originals, I even remember when you used to be called bazah!
I have tried the cereal in a bowl trick, but the milk always gets spilled. Lenny being all 'rip shit and bust' still. Will try that particular trick again one day though.
No pressure to be a regular visitor Make sure you come back ;)

>121 AMQS: One particular American, and his cabinet, scare me. I know the Internet is to much to go by, but his followers appear enthusiastically against anyone who speaks against trump. It's horrible.

>122 nittnut: busy new year! I'm online twice a day at least, I guess it's drumming up some traffic. It will dwindle, I have no doubts. Also, I am reading.If it is any consolation, the summer here isn't great. I mean, it isn't snowing or anything....but apart from a few isolated hot days, it's been fairly bleh.

I'm curious to see how you get on with Dining on Stones, Megan. I own three of Sinclair's nonfiction books about London but I've had a hard time getting into them so far. (This, of course, begins the question of why I keep buying his books.)

Did you read Robert Seethaler's A Whole Life, Megan? Spare writing, beautifully done. One of my top books of last year, and Darryl's too. It seems to fit your description of what you like.

Agree with your comments about kids and oneupmanship. They're all different anyway. Ours were no problem as teens (or, really, before), except our son as a senior in high school had judgement lapses (including a girlfriend he now admits was horrible). Even those got cured once his darn frontal lobe grew in.

We used to get bugged by what we called "Baby Olympics", where other parents would extol their children's activities with an implicit "they're more wonderful than anyone else's", and try to outdo each other with parties and outings. Who needs it? Ours were plenty wonderful enough for us.

>124 kidzdoc: I'll admit the thing is hard going in its initial stages at least. It is odd, but I get the feeling that if I press on it will pull me in. I originally wanted to read Psychogeography by Will Self! But it was at another library than Dining on Stones, so I got the one that was at hand.

>125 jnwelch: I haven't read A Whole Life, but from a scan of the reviews, I think I will ike it! Thanks for the rec.

I find the whole competitive parenting thing tiresome. Facebook exacerbates it....I am glad to soon be studying the topic more thoroughly through my masters research. In that I will be talking to parents about what after school activities their kids do, and why. I'll be thinking about the phenomen-a (-non??) of intensive parenting as I go, as a way of making sense of it.

>123 LovingLit: Yes, as much as I love that she loves me and wants me around, hearing "I need mom" sometimes drives me nuts. Usually when she needs me to do something that Nate is fully capable of, and willing, to do!

>126 LovingLit: I didn't realize that was what your masters work was going to be on. The "Mommy Wars" as we call it here can be for sure tiresome and sometimes downright mean. I'll be interested in hearing your research more as you get into it! The mommy shaming on the supposed "help" websites can get ridiculous!

>127 ChelleBearss: well my research will be less about parent-shaming, but I'm sure that will be an aspect that comes from it. Really I'm looking at children's after school activities and why parents seem to favour organised sport over "nothing"- ie free play. From my literature search so far, prevailing intensive parenting practices (the idea that parents must actively supervise their children in order for them to develop 'properly') suggest that organised sport is a good way to promote appropriate development and that consequently, well being will follow.
But, I will have to see what parents of young kids say, as that will form the basis of my written work!

All the parenting resources are sometimes more hindrance than help, I find they often say opposing things!

>128 LovingLit: Oh I see! Yes well I can see that some kids are very over scheduled and I was reading something recently that said the average Canadian child is so over scheduled that they are under sleeping.
We have started having Chloe join some organized sports to try and find out what she might be good at, or enjoy. I was not much of a joiner when I was growing up and not very social. It is important to Nate that Chloe be a little more socially exposed than I was.
We have put her in swimming to ensure that she knows how to swim, we don't care if she goes competitive as long as she can swim in an emergency. As well as the usual toddler activity here, soccer. She didn't much care for it but it was outside and good exercise so we will try again this summer.
We tried gymnastics too but other than the trampoline Chloe wasn't too into it, and it expensive and a 40 mins commute.
Probably too much info for you there lol

>109 LovingLit: I re-read what I posted in >105 karenmarie:. It didn't say what I meant - that the toddler bed provided its own interesting fun times AND challenges. I had my daughter when I was 40, and she was a blessing. Every stage has been wonderful, every stage has had its challenges, and it's all been worth it. She's 23 now and there are even challenges now, but I wouldn't trade one minute of the world with her for a world without her.

Sorry if I seemed negative. I was smiling the whole time remembering her childhood.

I have some thoughts on the intensive parenting subject - or intensive schooling. Our transition back to the US school system has been a bit rough on our youngest. He was year 5 in NZ. The school day is an hour longer, there is a short lunch (he never finishes his food) and a short recess at the end of the school day. There is only PE twice a week, highly structured, and if they have PE, they don't get recess. I have some thoughts about whether intensive parenting has contributed to the schooling or vice versa.

I LOVE the fact that you read To Die in California. I read this back in the 80s. His book Cutter & Bone is even better and they made a good film version with Jeff Bridges. I wonder what ever happened to Thornburg?

And yes, the film was Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Thanks. I hope I can find a copy and I hope you can rub shoulders with Mr. Neil.

>129 ChelleBearss: that sounds like a lot of stuff Chloe is doing! I was/am too lazy to ferry my kids around too much, plus, they hate being in the car and I hate them fighting in the car, so commuting anywhere for activities is beyond me. We do local stuff, plus W tried karate for a while.

>130 karenmarie: I was smiling the whole time remembering her childhood.
I smile too remembering mines' babyhood, even though I cried a lot from lack of sleep and frustration and not being bale to 'make' the elder one sleep....I get the feeling I will remember their childhoods fondly too, even though today I locked myself in the garage to get away from their fighting....
;)

>131 nittnut: I have read about the US school system, and I fear we are heading the same way as parents seem increasingly interested in academic achievement over a well-rounded upbringing. My kids lunchtime was reduced from 1 hour to 50 minutes because the little kids got bored without the structure, but I hope it doesn't reduce any further. It is W's favourite part of school time, and when they get to figure themselves out socially.

>132 msf59: I remember you mentioning when I bought it that you had read it! I liked the cover, and that it seemed gritty. It was gritty too, but slow gritty. Maybe ill have to seek out Cutter and Bone too!!! I love the author's name- what a cool name he has...Newton Thornburg. It just sounds....cool.

Me and Berly (Kim) are going to do a mini GR of The Vegetarian, seeing as we want to relive the Bowie's Top 10 reads we did last year, feel free to join in! We'll start soon- within a week maybe
Thread:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/246141

>133 LovingLit: it does sound like a lot but it was only a couple hours a week. At her age most stuff only lasts 30-45 mins. I figure she doesn't go to day care so those couple hours are really the only time she gets to see other kids. She goes to preschool two morning ladies a week now too, which is the reason we are all sick now lol.

>128 LovingLit: Gwen Somerset was a NZ pioneer in advocating free play for children, you might find her bio interesting as background reading - http://dehanz.net.au/entries/somerset-gwen/

The overstructured out of school timetable here in Auckland has also been influenced by the Asian immigrant population as NZ children have had to start competing alongside children whose families put academic success as the top priority in the child's life. My youngest daughter took a few music theory exams in the past and I'd say that 90% of the children turning up across all age groups were Asian descent.

I had more mixed feelings about The Vegetarian than others did, but I think it would make a terrific book group read.

>135 ChelleBearss: I wasn't meaning to criticise you for all the stuff you do with Chloe, btw. Not at all. I reckon having an appointment for something during the day is what saved my sanity when my kids were little. Whether it was Dr, plunket nurse, play group, coffee group, music group....I pinned my whole days on activities that got me out of the house ☺

>136 avatiakh: I'm going to have to write that down, now that I'm actually doing this :)
Thank you.
I know what you mean about different parental units having different ideas about education! My kids school is a homework free school..but they have introduced reading logs and "maths home learning" to satisfy parents who love all that. I don't make my kids do it, but they like getting the certificates so I "let" them. 😂

>137 msf59: I'm looking forward to a random read. And I have to say, I'm loving the amount of reading I'm getting through theses summers holidays!!!!!

Interesting discussion of competitive parenting here! I'm a fierce defender of Charlie's time, possibly to the other extreme: he gets exasperated at me when it comes to signing him up for summer activities - I'll only allow him to do a couple of them and he wants to participate in All The Things. I tell him that he needs lots of unscheduled time - he needs to figure out what to do with himself when he feels 'bored.' Life skill, that. And I strongly feel that summer, at least, should be about free-wheeling, unplanned fun, and sometimes about just staring out the window at the rain coming down.

My son was always involved in something from the time he was 5. He loved sports, and he wanted to do all of them. He took swimming lessons in the summer, he did soccer, he did baseball, he did basketball. Sometimes those seasons overlapped, which was always challenging. He was only seriously competitive in soccer (he made the All-Stars game once in baseball, but his Little League team was no great shakes), involving travel around the state and a few times to other states. He did hours of practices. Hours. I can't even estimate the hours in those weeks/months when soccer and baseball overlapped - 3 hours or so of practice for soccer, plus a game or two; a few more hours of baseball practice and a 2 and a half hour game? It was like working part-time - and he was 10 or 11. When he was in high school he was on the cross country team, so he'd go running with them at 5 am, go to school, and then go to soccer practice afterward.

I don't know though - he was really athletic and couldn't decide between the sports. He gave up a lot of time he could have been doing other things, and that was his choice. I think that's the main thing - whether it's the parents' desires or the kid's. When they're little, it's hard to know but I think it becomes apparent pretty quickly if you're paying attention. Which is always a big assumption, of course.

My kids were lucky enough to go to school in a district that still had recess, PE, art classes, music ... I realize what a rare thing that is, unfortunately.

>140 ursula: I agree with Ursula. My kids are hyper participatory. That has led to a few time where one of them has said they didn't want to go to a practice or something. My rule is that they are free to quit any activity they are in but that they can only do so at a break, not midseason, mainly because they participate in team activities and other are counting on them showing up. None of them have ever gotten to the point of actually walking away from a sport. The only possible exception is my daughter who quit dance when she was about 6 or so and this year got back into it because of a friend from school.

The balance between pushing your kids and supporting them is a very tricky one that is probably child specific. It is unfortunate that trying to calibrate these choice leads to guilt and stress for the parents who are, by and large, simply trying to do what they believe is best for the child.

>138 LovingLit: no worries, I wasn't taking it as criticism at all. I figure she should try some different things while she is young so she can figure out what she likes and then she will be able to stick to one activity only as she gets older. I'm trying to keep her out of stuff like hockey which is a complete time suck! Some of our friends have kids in hockey and it shocks me the amount of time they have to put into it between practices and games. It seems like all their free time revolves around hockey. I'd rather avoid that if I can! lol

Dropping off my star and all my wishes for a fabulous New Year!

>139 scaifea: I'm like that too, only, most of the time it backfires on me. The kids just end up fighting. I am tending now to want to get them (or even just one of them) into a scheduled activity...keep a few afternoons free but mix it up with things that physically tire them out.

>140 ursula: wow, your son sounds like he was dead keen! My eldest isn't exactly chomping at the bit, but because he is keen enough, we are keen for his to continue with rugby league. Part of the appeal for us is that it is local (we can walk to practise), the team members are mostly local too, and it gives W confidence. He is pretty quiet and serious, so seeing him run wildly with the ball and have fun is nice.
One time he refused to go to a game and we got heavy on him about responsibility to the team etc. but then I quickly realised that pressure wasn't going to help, and that everyone has an off day. So I explained that even though I'd like him to go, it was ok to not want to. I felt bad about my initial finger-wagging!

>141 Oberon: see my message above too....about quitting. W left karate, and I was pleased seeing as the drills were always the same, and it was taught by kids from the older classes who didn't really have an affinity with children. Plus, it was expensive!!
I guess I'm a little bit stand offish about kids and sport, I don't want to push them if they aren't into it. But am happy to facilitate if they want to try the odd thing.

>142 ChelleBearss: your hockey sounds like our cricket.....it's a few hours at least and when they get old it's a whole day! I mean, I'm ok with sitting in the sun as a spectator (ie reading) but chances are you'll be sitting in the sou'wester wind, on an overcast cold day. Not my cuppa tea ;)

>143 EBT1002: thanks Ellen! I've been seeing that video circulating on Facebook with Meryl Streep and her speech, wasn't it fabulous!? Inevitable that the comments about keeping politics out of acting come up.....which of course I completely disagree with. Politics is in everything, IMO.

BOOK 4
Five Go Parenting by Bruno Vincent (an Enid Blyton spoof) 104p (tally 699p)

This is a present for friends of ours who had a baby late last year. I did a cheeky read before passing it on :)
I have read a couple of the lttle read ladybird books that are a send up of the old fashioned 50s and 60s books. (In particular, the midlife crisis one is hilarious.) I hope this one would be as funny, ut it didn't quite hit the mark. The famous five find themselves caring for a baby, and are shocked at how much work it is and how under qualified they feel.

I get the feeling this book was hastily written, as with a few small changes it could have been really good. First off, and most irritating, was that the images, from original old Famous Five books, were captioned with quotes that although funny, were from all over the book and seemed to be placed randomly. With some more careful placement the images and captions could have really added to the books funniest moments. Secondly, the baby is supposedly a baby, yet could mimic quite well series of words that the famous five (well, four, as Timmy is a dog) spoke.

Many of the jokes were very funny though, and included modern things like mobile phones and baby classes and parenting self help books. It was close. But no cigar.
maybe

>133 LovingLit: The thing is, my kids are not at all behind in their new schools. I reckon we could shorten the school day, lengthen the lunch and add more sports, and their little brains will thrive. It's just a matter of getting the ear of the powers that be, and I fear I am not nearly connected enough. But I warble the benefits of daily play to anyone who will listen.

loved your 2016 Reading Meme at >95 LovingLit:!

Describe yourself: Nights at the Circus
I fear: from Jan 20th? The Domestic Manners of the Americans

Nicely played!

Started The Vegetarian!

>146 nittnut: there is lots of research supporting play, even as a way of increasing academic performance in children. But I fear in the current political climate (in the US anyway) that academic research is becoming less and less respected.

>147 michigantrumpet: That was my fave as well (my fears as of 20 Jan). I have only heard a snippet of the stoush that trump had with a media person recently, but it is something to get used to I suppose. Unless I refuse to listen that is!!! (my plan to remain sane relies on not hearing him out too often)

>148 Berly: Me too! I have read the whole first section, and it is incredible. Kind of like a slow motion train wreck. Can't stop reading! I like the style of it too, hearing the wife's perspective only fleetingly, and in dreamscape, snippet style. It is a very atmospheric book.

BOOK 5
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (314p)

This book reads like a journey to somewhere, only you don't really get a sense of where you are going. And even when you get there, you are not sure where you are, but you do recall it being a nice journey. There are two stories in here, and it is only in the final third of the book that they intersect. I was a bit frustrated waiting for the stories to cross paths, but that is my impatience issue more than anything else, I suppose.
The plot takes its time, and reaches peak excitement near the end. The lead up to that point is long, and descriptive. But, something stopped me really getting inside the characters. I couldn't figure out what made the music teacher tick, or what the motivations for some other characters were either. So if I hadn't have enjoyed the journey so much, I might have become frustrated :)

Also reading....a collection of James K. Baxter's poetry. This guy is probably New Zealand's best-known and most well-loved poet. A long overdue read, and I am loving it!

6 already? You're really moving!

>152 drneutron: well, now that you mention it....after a recount, I have discovered that it isn't 6 at all! Talk about fudging the figures. It's actually 5, which for me is still pretty amazing, even if they are mostly books of few words :)

And....I just got offered some work!
Yippee. For the good place, the one that I worked for last year. With the cool boss, at the place I can bike to and get my exercise as well. And for better money than the university pays :) I would have considered not going back and doing masters had he offered me something permanent, but this way I get some casual flexible hour. Which will suit me well.
Job title- Analyst. Analyst!!?? who me? Why yes ;)

>154 LovingLit: That sounds great! Congratulations.

>118 LovingLit: I haven't seen it but I love anything by Ben Elton so I shall go and look for it.

>154 LovingLit: Fantastic news, Analyst dear.

>154 LovingLit: Congrats!!! Very exciting. : )

>155 charl08: thanks! It'll mean a massive reduction inin my sitting around time, of course....but school holidays can contain that I am learning. The kids being that little bit older, is really aiding and abetting my reading time!

>156 PaulCranswick: it's called Upstart Crow, and having just now finished watching an episode, I can confirm that it is indeed hilarious, if not simply for the word play. Seriously clever.

>157 Berly: thanks! It is a good workplace, you know how it is when you strike a good boss, it makes all the difference. I know, having had a few that weren't.....

That's great! I hope it can all fit in well together, with studying, kids and working.

Oh, congrats on the job, Megan!

>154 LovingLit: Congratulations, Megan, a good boss makes all the difference!

Congrats! Sounds like a pretty good situation!

Hooray for the job with the cool boss and the swanky title!

Congratulations, Analyst Megan!

Good bosses are hard to come by.

Congrats on the new job!!

Nice!

>159 lunacat: I hope so too...I might be able to start my maters in a month or so, rather than in the next few weeks. That could take some of the pressure off. Generally I prefer to ease into the academic year, not whip through it- tornado style!

>160 scaifea: thanks Amber. I really enjoyed the challenge of writing quickly last time I worked there. I have a tendency to mull over things for far too long usually.

>161 FAMeulstee: I recall having a couple of really good bosses, a few middling and a few pretty bad- the worst being one of the owners of the business, the HR go-to person, and the rudest most stressed out person there. She regularly used to rant at bewildered staff members, I had seen at least two cry afterwards. It was not a nice work environment.

>162 drneutron: it could work out just fine. I prefer project wok to the slog of regular hours. That way I can go hard, and then go home ;)
The last time I worked there I was the last staff member standing. the project was due the next morning, and I offered to stay on- the boss had such a calm demeanour he hadn't put the pressure on at all, and I only realised at 'home time' that he seemed in need of all hands on deck, only there were no hands left! I ended up staying til after 11pm. He was appreciative, I think.

>163 Crazymamie: now I just need a business card! I already crossed that off my bucket list, so have no need now. But there was a time when it was all I wanted!

>164 karenmarie: I've really landed on my feet with good supervisors and now a good employer. Even if it is just project work. I like that it feels an equal relationship, I don't necessarily want lots of hours, or regular, and he doesn't want to have to offer that in order to get me working there. So it feels pretty fair from both our points of view.

>165 ChelleBearss: thanks! I'll probably be not so enamoured with it once I'm slogging it out. But, that's what coffee is for ;)

>166 katiekrug: pretty good huh? That is the reason I wanted to do masters part time....so there'd be time for some work at least. Marking essays is good, but it's all on for a week, then all over. A little more regularity of income is useful.

I am churning through The Vegetarian - well, it's only 183 pages, so perhaps that's not surprising. I don't want to put it down!

Congrats, Megan! >161 FAMeulstee: What Anita said about the boss. I agree.
Best of luck with your new balancing act :-)

Congratulations Madame Analyst! Hip! Hip! Hooray!

The Vegetarian was one of my top reads for last year. Waiting to hear your thoughts, particularly about the ending.

>168 LovingLit: yes, coffee is a wonderful creation! I shall be drinking it out of vats tomorrow as I go back to work :(

Nice review of The Rehearsal, Megan. I own it, but haven't read it yet, and I doubt that I'll get to it soon.

Congratulations on your new position!

>170 -Cee-: balancing act indeed. I'm thinking that the extra money will come in handy. It certainly did when I worked the period up to Christmas last year?

>171 michigantrumpet: yes, I feel very fancy. Also, I love that there is a Job market out there for social scientists....I even saw one advertised for a large food manufacturer, the job title being 'social scientist'!
I am loving The Vegetarian, its looking like it will end up being a 4.5 star read for me.

>172 ChelleBearss: Back to work huh? Coffee is definitely othe cards, I'm having mine now. It is working!

>173 kidzdoc: I am keen to see how they have depicted the book in the film version, which came out last year. I might have to add it to my wish list at the local video store- yes, we still have one of those in my city!

Congratulations on the job!

>149 LovingLit: I think it's possible that there will be some openness to alternative education options. The new Secretary for Education is someone that the media is yelling about, but actually she is a good choice and very open to research and alternatives.

>150 LovingLit: I'm glad you enjoyed The Rehearsal. What did your mum think of it?

>175 nittnut: my mum reckoned the story never 'went anywhere', but she is still dining out on the fact that she has a signed copy. Signed personally to her!!! (/signed personally to you....#samename)
;)

Finished book 6. The Vegetarian by Han Kang, gave it the old treatment.
Loved it, could only fault it for not being long enough, and for the ending being rather abrupt.

Also, a scheduling tangle has meant out summer road trip has been brought forward one day, so tomorrow we are off!
Ten days, taking in the best that the South Island has to offer. Starting at my dads place on the west coast, then Te Anau, which is practically Fiordland (which is beautiful) the invercargill (which is an odd choice as is less holiday-hot-spot than bogan mecca) then Arrowtown (near Queenstown, a town which I wouldn't dare go into, as it wil be seething with tourists this time of year, but is undeniably gorgeous). Then a pit stop at the road side site where a good friend died 3 years ago next month in a motorcycle crash....before home.

I have packed two books. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church and Psychogeography by Will Self. Can't wait!

Have a great trip! Sounds like a busy itinerary. Fiordland looks beautiful. I think I saw parts of it on a nature doc about NZ. Hope to get to see these places in person one day. Can you swim in the water? Or are the boys too little for open water? (Or perhaps it is too cold?)

I haven't read either of those books, but they sound interesting - look forward to hearing more.

>178 LovingLit: Oh boy am I jealous!
Te Anau and Arrowtown I have splendid memories of. Lake Tekapo, I loved and Milford Sound and up beyond your spot Kaikoura (which I do hope is recovering after it recent travails).

Have a lovely trip.

Have a wonderful trip. It sounds fabulous :). Happy travels!

Your holiday sounds fabulous, Megan! Please take plenty of photos.

Have a fun and safe trip, Megan!!

Sounds like a great trip! Will you be off the grid? Make sure to send photos! :)

>179 charl08: we may swim in the lake at Te Anau, but not in the ocean. The west coast has quite rough seas, no one swims at the beach by my dads place. People drown from time to time, and locals warn tourists off attempting it. Further south it may be better, I'm just not sure.

>180 PaulCranswick: I hope the kids will handle the car ok. Sitting still is not their thing. But, we have a mini DVD player that wewon in a school raffle, and I have to say...I enjoy that! :)
We also have travel bingo, which is great for little Len.

>181 lunacat: thanks! I love a good car trip. I will prepare my thermos of herbal tea, and start the journey with a massive coffee. Oh la la!

>182 kidzdoc: the best thing about it is that there are kids at each stop. So, my kids can play with them, and not attack each other. That is why we reversed the trip order, as my brother advised that (even though we were leaving for his place the next day) his son wasn't going to be there now as had been packed off to visit grandad. So, no- we go to visit grandad too!
Clever huh?

>183 scaifea: thank! We do have the issue here of tourists sometimes driving on the wrong side of the road. Which is terrifying given our winding roads....we are always very careful!

>184 ChelleBearss: I will take the Samsung tablet to take crappy photos on, my camera is virtually useless these days. I also might get dad to email me a few, seeing as that is his thing :)

Your trip sounds lovely and intelligently planned. Travel bingo sounds fun.

We had a lot of fun word and observation games we played in the car when I was little, and it made the time go by quickly. Of course we always asked Dad "How long until we get there?", and regardless of how long it would actually take, 10 minutes or 10 hours, he'd say "Oh, 'bout an hour." It took the three of us a long time to figure out that that answer was no answer.

>186 karenmarie: he he! That sounds like my parents. Mum will give a random unit of time in answer to any question about how long it'll take for some thing to happen. It seems to satisfy. For now.
We played car cricket as kids....cars worth 1 'run', 4-wheel drives worth 4, buses 6 and trucks or trailers counted as an 'out'. Of course, all of that is probably meaningless if you don't know about cricket. But it was fun for us as a family of five who did a lot of road travel.

Megan--Hope you have a fantastic time on your trip. And, no, the cricket car game makes no sense to me at all! LOL.

>186 karenmarie: Crack me up -- about an hour!!

>188 Berly: I can't wait til some future moment when we find ourselves in a car together and I force you to suggest we play car cricket.
*mwa ha ha*

Safe travels, Megan, and have fun!
When traveling in our country we were always looking for the newest car, licence plates are given alphabeticly over here, so we were all keen on spotting the latest first.

Wee!! Congratulations on your new position, Megan!!

Your trip sounds great and I hope you have a wonderful time.

Congrats on the new job, Megan and have a wonderful trip. It sounds amazing.

I will be on vacation soon too...grins.

Wishing you safe travels, Megan!

Congrats on your job, Megan.

Megan, you are off on your trip. Ten days sounds like just the right amount of time. How cool that your stops will include other kids for your boys to play with…always something to look forward to. The DVD player will be a good backup but Car Cricket sounds like more fun to me. Have a wonderful time…and do send us some pictures.

Oh, almost forgot. Congratulations on the job with a cool boss. You will make a wonderful analyst!

And away they go!! Have fun!

Congrats to you, and safe travels!

I'm late to this conversation, but I absolutely think school schedules are set up for testing and accountability, not what's actually good for children. When study after study shows that more play, more recess, more physical activity, and more "non-core" subjects such as music and art directly benefit not only test scores, but (most importantly) kids' well-being, then why don't we make changes? Why not add -- it's always take away -- there's no time!

We did our share of activities, but I felt so busy myself when the kids were little, I chose not to schedule a million activities. I do regret that they did not learn an instrument -- but what rich and wonderful experiences they had in the Chorale. I regret they do not speak Greek or Chinese or Spanish, but they did perfectly well in their HS French classes. They are NOT sporty, but they are active. Now that they are old enough to take control of their own schedules, they would just as soon be home with nothing to do. They love to read, and they absolutely crave downtime, which is a luxury. Looking back I know I need to let go of regrets!

Hi Megan, hope you have a great trip my dear and like everyone else has said take lots of photos. I love the idea of car cricket, when we used to go on a drive no matter how long, Robert always had his cricket game with him which was based on the Howzat but he just used a dice and had his A4 pad and his file with all the teams in from domestic teams to international ones and so played domestic matches, ODI's and Test Matches, all we heard was the dice constantly hitting the pad but it kept him occupied all the time. Sending love and hugs.

Congratulations on the Analyst job, Megan, and have a wonderful trip!

Looking forward to tales of your vacation.

A quick check in, thanks for all the lovely messages which I will respond to individually soon. It has rained every day so far!
But we have still managed to get out on the beach and have a bonfire, walk to the other end of town and back (nearly a kilometer), and the kids did some target shooting with their grandad! They also watched him shoot a possum.....possums are pests here and kill native birds and trees so my dad traps them and then kills them. The kids had mixed feelings about seeing that, but it's all part of rural life here!

Tomorrow we leave early for a mammoth day in the car toTe Anau.

Glad to see you all are enjoying your trip! Hoping you get a little less rain!

Quick check in again to say hi :)
I finished reading The Atomic Weight of Love the other day, a great read, but maybe a little *something* that I can't put my finger on. Too obvious might be a bit harsh, but there were bits that were a tad eye-rolly.

Currently at the very south end of New Zealand, in Invercargill. Not your usual tourist destination but here to see friends as part of our road trip, and it's lovely small city. I want to see the roaring 40s museum tomorrow, to supplement the reading I did last summer on all the sub Antarctic shipwrecks a hundred or more years ago. We will also head to Bluff, the end of the road! And then up north again, near Queenstown to visit my brother. And to go Sam Neil spotting ;) (joke!)

Currently reading Psychogeography by Will Self. Heavy and heady.

>202 LovingLit: I wouldn't have thought Will Self for a road trip, Megan.

Te Anau must have been gorgeous - will you go to Arrowtown?

Have a splendid time.

Am enjoying your travelogue, Megan. As I sit here in my thick turtleneck sweater, sipping hot cocoa, it thrills the spiritto think of you on Summer vacation. Happy to tag along vicariously. Happy Weekend!

Your travels remind me so much of our trip a year ago. *Sigh of happiness*

We so want to visit New Zealand! Thanks for sharing your trip.

Hoping for lots of pictures when you get back!! : )

At last! A sunny day!
We had ice on our car windows a couple of mornings ago.....and today was just sunny and magic. Visited Arrowtown this afternoon, wandhich was gorgeous as usual, and the bustling metropolis that is Queenstown this morning.

Fresh snow on the mountains around us (the aptly named Remarkables visible to my right as I type from the lounge room of my brother and sister-in-laws place) and the sun careening down on the not-yet-mown hay in the foreground. A beer called HOPPLEGANGER to sample, a fire pit waiting to be lit later on (even though it won't be dark til after 10pm). And we go home tomorrow!

Photos to come in the next few days!

Ahhh! Sounds like a great day. : )

>190 FAMeulstee: we had fun doing that here when the new plates came out here, with three initial letters instead of two. Two letters were fun, as we always searched for car plates with our initials.

>191 EBT1002: I go see the guy about the job on Friday. So hopefully he'll employ me on regular hours for a few months, and then I'm happy to be flexible.

>192 msf59: re your vacation....where are you going/ did you go? We never say vacation here, always holiday or....maybe weekend away, or break?

>193 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie, we made it home ok today. There is always the worry that tourists who come from countries where they drive on the right hand side of the road will come here and forget.....it has happened too many times and now I feel a tad nervous in the tourist areas!

>194 Ameise1: thanks! It'll be good to keep the travel fund stocked up. And to maybe dip into it for things ke electricians etc ;)

>195 Donna828: a few adjustments to the itinerary saw us with kids for our kids to play with at nearly every stop! A great holiday all up, even if the weather didn't play ball.

>196 Berly: it was weird to leave after lunch on the first day, normally a 5- hour drive would take us all day....but seeing as the kids were tired out from their morning activities before leaving...it worked well.

>197 AMQS: It is so irritating that studies and studies and studies that robustly show one thing, can be cancelled out by one poorly produced study that people probably funded to prove another. I think that kids learn better with a more varied and more physical curriculum, and less homework.

>198 johnsimpson: cricket provided such opportunity for statistics, and the gathering and playing around with them! We didn't end up playing car cricket, but did play car bingo, and eye-spy :)

>199 jnwelch: I'll put some photos up when I get to the good computer ...in a few days....*sigh*... Still haven't figured out the deal with that on the Samsung tablet.

>201 ChelleBearss: we got three good days of pure sun, and the other 6 were either patchy or rain! But we bought gumboots and raincoats, so still got out there :)

>203 PaulCranswick: yes, I have not read Will Self yet, and it is proving slow. I need to concentrate, but I am enjoying it. Arrowrown was fabulous and seeing as I had a couple of child tagalongs, we spent the most time in the sweet shop!

>204 michigantrumpet: we had to have a few hot cocoas too! The trip saw us. Miss BOTH weather bombs, but we did see some rain :)

>205 nittnut: your road trips that go from coast to coast will take a lot longer these days!!!

>206 drneutron: please do! Visit NZ :) I have really enjoyed seeing parts of it again that I hadn't seen for a very long time. There is a lot to see, in such a small place.

>207 Berly: I have taken a lot of photos and will try get them on in a couple of days, seeing as I am still wrangling computer issues, mainly my ineptitude if I'm honest ;)

>209 Berly: the great day capped it off. It was lovely to end the holiday with a sunny day, and then a good day today to travel too! Horrah!

Ooh a fire and a fancy beer to try. Sounds wonderful. Glad you made it safely back too. Will be returning to check on the lovely pictures.

>214 charl08: the Hoopleganger beer was a good one, quite high at 7% alcohol, and very flavoursome. I'd try it again. My favourite hoppy beer is either Green Beret or Rgoue Hop.

BOOK 7
The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church (333p)

I liked reading this book, and found it had some lovely observations. I picked it up all the time and wanted to keep reading, but it didn't say with me afterwards. the story takes in the entire adult life of a woman, from the mid 1940s to the present day(ish). Perhaps because of this, it is a little sparse- although, I loved how the story included a lot of detail of small events, and also managed to span the decades seamlessly. The marital tension was well described, and I liked the justifications that the narrator gave for her part in the marriage and its issues.


BOOK 8
The Smell of Apples by Mark Behr (200p)

This was a fast read, narrated by a ten year old boy from his home in apartheid South Africa. His father is a big wig army man, and the opinions spouted are from a tellingly privileged position. But, seeing as he is a kid, he is just trying to find his way.
I have read a bit about apartheid SA, so won't go into the political stuff, but the interesting part for me was that religion was so often hidden behind and used as a reason for not questioning things. So often the boy's mother urged her children not to ask why, but just to accept that the atrocities and injustices were as they were for gods own reasons. And that their role was simply to get on, and perhaps soften the hardships of others by the odd blanket drive or food package.
It does seem an easy out to encourage acceptance of siutations because of 'gods will'.
Overall, this was a great read, and a clever way of presenting the hypocrisy of adults, which is so confusing to children.

Megan--You're back!! Sounds like you had a wonderful trip, despite the weather. And your kids must have had a fabulous time. Good luck seeing what's up with the new job.

>217 Berly: yes, we got back late afternoon yesterday. I started The Smell of Apples just after the town of Omarama, where I bought it second hand, and finished it in bed this morning. What a wonderful thing to travel on straight roads and read for two hours!

Hi Megan! Lovely trip, congratulations.

Lenny and Lila, hanging around waiting for Lenny's turn to ride the pony :) This is our friends farm in Te Anau, right down the south west of the South Island.


And, he rides! I love his serious posture too :)


We played car bingo, great for kids and I loved it too :) You have to spot very NZ things like ferns, a marae (Maori meeting house) and a sheep.


My lovely other and Little Lenny looking out over the Kawarau River as the sun comes up over the hill we were climbed. There is a memorial stone on this hill to the friend of ours who was killed in a motorcycle accident on the road below in 2014. We went there to see it, and to take a photo for his mother who lives overseas.

This is a panoramic shot of the Kawarua River, pretty huh!?

Wow, great photos! Car bingo sounds like a great idea for the kids!

Wow. Beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

>219 karenmarie: given that the kids hate confinement, and get car sick, and that it rained a lot- we had a fantastic trip! I guess they are just that little bit older now and can be talked in or out of things that they couldn't be previously.

>222 ChelleBearss: Chloe could play it now, with a little help from someone. It is a cool game for pre-readers. And it keeps them busy looking out the window. It was fantastic playing it on the train too.

>223 charl08: I should have transferred more form the tablet to this computer, ill pop another few on when I do!

Currently reading


James Baxter poems, Psychogeography: Disentangling the Modern Conundrum of Psyche and Place by Will Self, and Dining on Stones by Iain Sinclair. The latter two are slow and thoughtful, with a lot of hard words!! ;)

Oh, and here is Lake Gunn (not my pic) where we went fishing and saw loads of trout. Out friends have a little runabout boat and we took turns heading out for a fish. Wilbur was given the task of winding one in, which was duly filleted, dipped in flour and fried in butter. Delicious!

Glad to see Lenny was wearing appropriate safety headgear! I'm definitely not someone who is health and safety conscious, I've broken far too many bones and done far too many stupid things for that. But as a member of the horse community who knows horses can injure, and worse, in the blink of an eye and with the safest pony imaginable, I'm fairly militant about people not getting on a horse without a helmet on. The consequences are just too dire. I ended up in hospital last year because a horse tried to jump out of a field, hit the gate and the gate smashed into me! Threw me about 3 metres from the place I'd been standing, clear through the air and then head and shoulder first into the ground. And that's even without riding the darn things ;).

Rant over - looks like you had a fab trip, rain notwithstanding!

>221 LovingLit: Wow, gorgeous!

Truly amazing and beautiful!! And fun. : )

>227 lunacat: I sometimes think Lenny ought to wear a helmet just going about his normal day! He tends to fall over a lot, on account of not being bothered to concentrate :)
But, yes. I agree about horse helmets. A must-do.

>228 drneutron: it was a nice spot to visit, for not very nice reasons.
I like the idea of going on pilgrimages though, they tend to take you to interesting places that you wouldn't normally get to.

>229 Berly: Fun. Yes, that part was important. :)
Now back to reality, I checked my inbox and a few important university enrolment things I needed to do....like get two referees to vouch for me ASAP! Luckily the two I approached agreed, and have helped me out in filling the forms out quickly.

--------------------

And tonight the kids are at their aunties for the night and me and my lovely other had an impromptu date. Yay! But, boo....there were no door sales left for the band that we wanted to see so we 'made do' with dinner out and a Bond film at home. Yay again!
:)
The Bond film was A View to a Kill (1985). And to make it authentic, we watched on VCR, because that is the only format we have it on ;) As I type this the tape is rewinding!!!!! (because that is good VCR etiquette)

>230 LovingLit: Ancient history appears on Megan's thread in the form of VCRs. I reckon A View to a Kill amongst the very worst of the Bond movies. The last of Moore's stint and the final three of his movies were IMHO a shame. His first three were great fun but he became embarrasing in the role.

>220 LovingLit: Aww, I love kids with ponies :-)
It looks beautiful there, Megan, thanks for sharing!

>230 LovingLit: What band did you want to see?
Our VCR went out when digital TV came in, by then it was mainly used to record tv-shows and digital TV made that much easier.
In the 1980s we used to watch movies on the VCR.

>230 LovingLit: Yay for date night!! And lol on the VCR etiquette.

>231 PaulCranswick: I can't say I've ever seen a Roger Moore Bond film before last night. I see all the old Bond films a comedies. The sexism, the wordplay, the ridiculous 9 lives that Bond always has, the over the top villains. It's great fun!
Moore certainly had some problems with appropriate facial expressions though. His wide eyes were all over the show!

>232 FAMeulstee: we only recently got our VCR. Cheap as anything, and the video cassettes themselves? 50c at the most.
We wanted to see The Bats, but they played a very small venue and pre sold all the door sale tickets on the day! I have seen them about 10 times before over the last 20 years, but you cant get too much of The Bats, they are amazing.

>233 Berly: you remember what it was like to have to rewind the whole tape before you could watch it? I will give VCR this though, at least you can fast forward through the propaganda at the start. Not like DVD s that make you sit through it.

*be kind, please rewind* I remember when that was taped to the inside of all VHS rentals)

Love the photos -- looks like a lovely holiday!

Gorgeous photos, Megan.

>235 AMQS: there is nothing like a good slogan to catch your eye/ear. Video casettes always got so wrung out....so time they were so mangled that they could hardly be watched! ....which is not good VCR etiquette ;)

>236 Ameise1: I try not to get too hung up with taking photos when I'm somewhere cool. I feel like it detracts from the experience of being there. But I do take the odd one now, now that I actually have a working camera that is!

I finished my James K. Baxter book of poetry (collected by current NZ well known poet, Sam Hunt). It is my first proper go at reading one of NZs greatest poets. Baxter wrote most of his stuff in the 1960's and was quite controversial at the time for his alternative lifestyle.....he lived in a commune and did various other anti-establishment stuff.
He poems themselves? I liked the ballady ones, and the ones which roll off the tongue so well.
I think its a 4 star book.

This book (^) has some BIG words in it. Please, tell me how many of the following words you could define.

penury
avuncular
senescent
sarcophaguses
obdurate
hydrocephalic
animadvert
tatterdemalion
chimerical
exiguous

Some of these I have heard, many I have not, and none I could define.

>239 LovingLit: I thought I knew two, but when I googled them I had one wrong. Sad

>240 ChelleBearss: there's nothing like being faced with what you don't know to make you feel stupid! Of course, others might say that using such words excludes a large portion of people from gaining understanding from your writing. I actually think its a little arrogant to use quite so many as Will Self does. When I flicked the pages to grab some to write down (these were only from pp158-206, there were plenty more in earlier pages), I noticed that in nearly all instances the 'big' words were on the first page of what is virtually always a two page essay. I wonder if he is trying to prove himself fancy, or merely warn off the uneducated from reading his work??

>239 LovingLit: Let's see ... penury, avuncular, sarcophaguses, obdurate, hydrocephalic, chimerical.

But I know I have looked up "avuncular" at least 5 times in the last year or so when I run across it because I could never seem to remember it.

I'm torn about the use of big words ... on the one hand, we have all these words and it's good not to shrink our vocabulary down to the simplest words. Also, they often have slightly different connotations and feelings than other "equivalent" words. But I think you have to absolutely be careful not to bog your writing down with too many of them, then it's just off-putting.

>241 LovingLit: I find that sometimes even if I can't define the word on it's own I can still understand the gist when I read the word in the sentence. If given it alone in a test I would clearly fail.

And yes, I agree that sometimes using a ton of big words can exclude some people from reading it, but not always. It's the big and obscure words that I find annoying, not the big words that I feel that I should have known.

Beautiful pictures! I neeeeed to go on a vacation soon! For now, I will enjoy yours. Thanks for sharing :-)

btw, the book I just finished was written by MacDonald Jackson - a native of Auckland. I thought of you when I found that out -as I do every time I hear or read about NZ. Seems so exotic to know someone on the other side of the world. Especially such a beautiful land as yours.

Nice discussion about the use of "big" or obscure words. Academic-speak drives me crazy with dense arcane writing that is difficult to decipher. On the other hand, P.G. Wodehouse's vocabulary was astounding and I never resented it once. :-)

>239 LovingLit: This sounds like the kind of book that I would want to read on my Kindle - I only read about 5-10% on it, but when you touch a word you don't know, you get a lovely definition. I have heard of all the words and could probably get the approximate right idea on about half.

>239 LovingLit: I know them all - and have been guilty of using some of them - but this is, I suspect, an occupational hazard as a Latinist...

>242 ursula: I'm always looking up a word to check if my understanding of it is right. Often I am rewarded with a confirmation but the odd time I am really glad I have checked first!

>243 ChelleBearss: yes....words in context can make sense. I want to know the meaning though, so usually look them up. It takes ages seeing as i dont read on a kindle!

>244 -Cee-: I haven't heard of MacDonald Jackson! I'll have to look him up, but I'm glad that you think of me when you hear about NZ :)

>245 michigantrumpet: I am torn about academic writing, someone's impenetrable is someone else's succinct and clear....I try to be clear as clear can be, and sometimes the obscure words are the only ones that will do! But, clearly, I don't know that many 'big' words.....from that list I simply have never even heard of: sarcophaguses, animadvert, tatterdemalion, or chimerical.

>246 karenmarie: a kindle would be extremely useful! Lol. At present, I try to use context to give me clues, but it is rather frustrating.
I actually haven't read the book for a couple of days actually, perhaps I'm put off by the wordiness! If it that, it's the tone....

>247 scaifea: ha ha! There was bound to be someone :)
I was surprised at how many words he used that I had never even seen, let alone knew what they meant. I just mentioned them to Marianne above: sarcophaguses, animadvert, tatterdemalion, and chimerical. All completely new to my eyes.

tatterdemalion! What a descriptive word. Sarcophaguses makes me think of hippopotamuseses for some reason.

>250 nittnut: I'll tell you what, if I could memorize all the words on the list in >239 LovingLit: it would be the biggest accomplishment of my life.
Darn it. I feel like I just set myself a challenge.....

Ps. And by memorise, i mean the meanings too!

I remember going to the museum as a kid and being completely entranced by mummies and sarcophaguses (sarcophagi?). Plus the word was funny and fun to roll around on my tongue. Then a few years later was the blockbuster King Tut exhibit, so there's that.

Don't know where I came by chimerical first - perhaps some fantasy book I was reading.

I do tons of crossword puzzles, so that helps with the vocabulary.

>253 michigantrumpet: (*whispers* Yes, sarcophagi is the proper plural, as hippopotami is for hippopotamus, but because they've become English words as well, -es works just fine, too, really.)

>254 scaifea: Our expert to the rescue. I actually tried saying both words out loud and neither felt right!

>253 michigantrumpet: so I can blame my lack of knowledge on the lack of a decent Egyptian exhibition at my museum, phew! ;)
Lars night when I couldnt sleep (too hot!) I tried to remember some words from the list that I aim to memorise. I could remember only 4. But it bodes well for my potential sucess in this endeavour that I am thinking about these matters near midnight!

>254 scaifea: he he, no need to whisper here! I am all for expanding my knowledge.
Also, i finished the book yesterday and guess what?! There were no more obscure words! At all! I must have simply stumblec across a patch of them.

>255 michigantrumpet: is that 'NEE-ther' or 'NAI-ther' ;)

>256 LovingLit: Naw -- Let's call the whole thing off!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let's_Call_the_Whole_Thing_Off

You say either and I say either
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off

You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto
Let's call the whole thing off

But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
And oh, if we ever part
then that might break my heart

>239 LovingLit: I am late to the party, but I know three of these sarcophaguses, hydrocephalic & chimerical. But then English isn't my native language ;-)

>257 michigantrumpet: :)

>258 FAMeulstee: Well, you are doing excellently then! I have printed off the definitions and will try to memorise them. There is nothing like having a cue card of obscure (to me) words in your wallet to mark you out as a nerd :)