BJ's 75 Books

Here at last is my new ticker. I haven't finished any books in a long time, so I better get started!




Happy New Year!
--BJ

Billiejean! There you are! I've not "seen" you for awhile. Got you "starred" now, though and look forward to following your reading this year!

I kind of dropped off the radar through the holidays! Kids are going back to college Saturday, so I will be able to visit LT more then. It has been so much fun having them home, though.

Even though it is a monumental task before them, I just want to wish my beloved Longhorns the best of luck in the game tonight. Hook 'Em!
--BJ

Got ya starred, BJ. I'm glad you will be joining in the World Without End group read with us.

>3 billiejean: It looks like it's shaping up to be the game of the century!

Welcome back!

Glad to see you back, BJ! Got you starred for 2010.

And the race begins! Good luck!

Good luck to your Longhorns tonight, even though I'm heartily rooting for Alabama. Always be a gentleman...

Hey BJ- Hiya stranger! Got you starred! And glad you are joining us again on another G.R.

Hi BJ, thanks for the link. I have you starred now and I'm looking forward to seeing what you are reading. Good luck! I'm sure you will make it past 75 yet again this year.

Hello, Everyone!
How nice to see you!! I am so nervous about the game. Cooking dinner and trying to watch game day. Thanks for all the posts to help me calm down. :)
--BJ

Hi BJ - Long time no talk to! I'm looking forward to following your thread again this year. Joanne

Wow! What a game. That Gilbert guy at QB really stood up and played well in the second half. I like his release, nice and high, quick, and he looks like a big league pitcher throwing off a mound. Too bad your boy Colt got walloped but that's what happens against a mighty defense like Alabama's. A young Conan would have fit nicely on that defensive line, hopefully that won't discourage you from checking out that new Conan book. You really did get the best collection with all the early stories, the later Conan tales are fragmentary and incomplete. A nice brandy for the nerves, that's what Dr. Watson would prescribe, then on to tomorrow. Good night.

Hey, BJ! Hope you have another great reading year!

Glad to see you back, BJ!

Hi, Joanne, DP, Bonnie, and Stasia!
Well, my beloved Longhorns came up short, but they played with a lot of heart. What a second half!!! And next year is looking good. The question is: will Earl Thomas go pro? I am hoping that he wants to wait one more year.

Now that football season is over :( I need to get back to reading. :)

I am starting the Conan book tonight. Also have a few other books in the works, too. I need to find a short one to finish soon so that my zero on the ticker will not still be there!
--BJ

Truth to tell, I was rooting for Alabama (because I really like Nick Saban, back to his LSU days), but the game turned out to be better than I had hoped with all the drama concerning the injury to Colt McCoy and the freshman QB stepping in.

So what do you think about Les Miles? I know some LSU fans were ticked off with Saban for leaving and then going to rival Alabama. Miles was the OSU coach I think. I really like the current OSU coach despite the rant he made. "I am a man. I am 40!" Can you really believe that football season is over until September? At least there is still tennis and the College World Series.

On a serious note, I hope that Colt will be ok. He has been truly great for Longhorn football. What a terrific person.
--BJ

I like Les Miles. It was not like Saban went directly from LSU to Alabama - he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins in between, which obviously did not work out.

As a bigger baseball fan than football fan, I am ready for baseball season :)

I agree with you about Colt - I hope he will be OK, too. I think the trainers, doctors, and his father made the right decision in pulling him out even though clearly he wanted to be playing. His future is more important than any one ball game.

I agree about Saban and the same about the Cincy coach going to Notre Dame -- a dream job. They have to be able to try out the next level and see if they like it. Lots of LSU fans here in Tulsa.

We still have snow on the ground here. I love it. The dog is quite used to it now. Just hoping we can miss those below 0 temps predicted.

It is fun to read posts again for a change!! What a happy place this is.
--BJ

Wind chill here yesterday was between 0 and -5, but no snow. We are not expecting temperatures over 25 or so for the next couple of days. If it has to be cold, why can I not have snow?

I totally agree! We were supposed to get more snow, but it did not make it quite this far south. North Tulsa got some, I think. Wind chills here are predicted to be -10 to -20 and all the schools closed. I told my kids to pack a warm coat to take to Texas on Saturday even though Austin and Houston are quite a bit warmer. This is the coldest winter in a while. And only the persimmons predicted it. I think that is pretty neat.

My dog wants to go to bed, so I guess I better stop the LT until tomorrow. Good night everyone!
--BJ

'Night, BJ!

Glad to see you up and running for 2010 BJ! Starred as ever.

Glad your ribs and cheesecake were good, they usually are unless the cook is awful. I had to look up sopapilla, by the way. One of those regional things I've never heard of up in Michigan. Kind of like Euchre. My Uncle Jim told me when I was a kid that euchre was played in two places-Michigan and Navy aircraft carriers. Pinochle on the destroyers, something like that. I was pretty little. You know what else was exceptional was the Texas defense. They really came close to getting the Longhorns back in the lead. I don't know who #2 is (Boise?) but Texas should stay there and not get bumped down. Those were the two best teams this year easily.
Checked Sportsline and UT is #2. Wow, something done right in CFA? That's rare.
It is odd that your 'Horns finished their season playing two of the colleges I've rooted for since I was quite young. I basically learned to read really well by graduating from kids books to the sports page trying to keep track of Alabama, Nebraska and Clemson, and to learn about college football in general. UofM was easy, Clemson reports in a Mich. paper took some digging. Wouldn't it be nice to go back to 1980 and watch those games over? I'd really appreciate the wishbone more now that no one runs it anymore, not like JC Watts, Billy Sims and Marcus Dupree did.

The sopapilla cheesecake is more dessert than cheesecake but so, so good. I am not that great of a cook, but this was good even for easy. And I made lots of ribs, so we have reruns.

I watched every football game that came on tv the whole time I was growing up. In high school, I finally got to see a live game. Alfred Anderson of Viking fame went to my high school. I would say that he was the entire team. Fall of 1980 was my first semester at UT and then I got to go see the Longhorns play live and in person. The offense was off and on in those years, but the defense was unbelievable.

I was partial to Earl Campbell myself. One of my heroes. I also watched him play for the Oilers. Now I watch VY play for the Titans and Ricky Williams play for Miami when I can get the game. Overall, I just like college ball better. I don't really follow Dallas much anymore, but I loved watching Roger Staubach play back in the day.

I saw in the paper that more teams might join the Big 10. Is that right? I was hoping that we could get a Big 12 network, like the Big 10 network. Will they finally have a Championship game, too? How do you think Michigan will do next year? What about Notre Dame? Will UT finally have an offensive line? Where will Suh go in the draft?
--BJ

Out of curiosity, I looked up Mr. Anderson on wikipedia. Here it is in full-
'Alfred Anderson (born August 4, 1961 in Waco, Texas) is a former professional American football player who played running back for eight seasons for the Minnesota Vikings.'
Earl Campbell is one of the main reasons I love football. His physicalness was impressive, but I missed his college days. Luckily he was out of the league before I became a Browns fan, watching a guy like that maul my team would be frustrating. Actually it IS frustrating, All Day Adrian Peterson had quite a highlight run on the Brownies early this season. I noticed you neglected to mention Roy Williams. He is hated up my way for his knack for regularly dropping easy catches but occasionally making a great grab that he has no business making (about one a month). I put about half of the blame for Joey Harrington's ruined career in his hands. Why couldn't he have dropped that?
I'm going to do some digging around on the Big 10 expansion. That would be great, as they need one team to get to twelve and a divisional play/championship game setup. Penn State joined in '93 to make 11 teams, in fact, my little brother just noticed this year that there is an 11 secretly hidden in the Big 10 logo.

As to who to add, Notre Dame is the obvious choice but they would never do it. ND has their own lucrative TV deal and an agreement with the NCAA that they get in a BCS game with 9 wins, automatically. At least they did. Stealing Pitt from the Big East makes the most sense, but other than that there are no big schools that fit the bill. None of the MAC schools have the resources to move up and there aren't any independents left, other than the academies and ND. Penn State and South Carolina were the last big indy schools and they saw the future twenty years ago, joining conference play for big bucks.
Michigan signed a big Terelle Pryor type QB this week (according to a rumor that my brother heard at work from a UM alum) but if they play that same pansy soft defense they'll just get beat 50-40 instead of 50-20. Seriously, it's Wolverine football, not flag football. I have no idea about ND, they have been hurt by their high academic standards, athletes are held to the same high entry standards as regular students, unlike most schools. Their problem has been lack of talent, not lack of coaching, so there's nothing to do but wait. I thought UT's line looked really good last night, considering the enormity of the task involved in stopping that defense of Alabama. I didn't see them play much this year, up my way they are usually part of the regional ABC programming and we get Wisconsin/Ohio State instead of Texas/Oklahoma. I haven't seen that game in years. When UT is on, it's a Fox Sports game vs Kansas State or Baylor and the 'Horns win by 50. Suh is the best player in the draft and the Rams would be dumb not to take him, at first glance anyway. They need a QB bad and they have drafted defense high almost every year lately. And where are they? The worst team in the NFL with a horrid defense and pathetic offense, which is saying a lot considering the Lions are in the NFL as well. I think Jake Locker went back to U of Washington just because he didn't want to play in St. Louis. I'd bet that some team trades heavily for that pick and takes Suh first. I just hope he doesn't wind up a Ram, I haven't seen one of their games in years. Except they played the Lions this year and St. Louis got pounded. We laughed throughout the first half about Kyle Boller getting folded up like a pretzel with his legs behind his head, I'm sure there was an ass-over-teakettle joke in there somewhere. The Rams need so much help they are dumb for not trading that pick, but Suh is the best defender in a long time, so the have quite a conundrum on their hands. I'd take Suh. I doubt he'll fall to Detroit at 2.

I noticed the 11 in the logo when watching a game. Big Ten was written on the field. But the camera angle had to be right to notice it. Notre Dame gets in automatically with 9 wins? That is the first that I ever heard of that. They do have high academic standards. But they could also use some better facilities, I think.

Roy Williams, #4 receiver for UT, was a wonderful part of the team. I had heard that he is having a few problems with Dallas which I can't imagine why. Talented and big and powerful. He was great.
--BJ

There has been quite a bit of speculation that one of my alma maters, Pitt or Rutgers, or Syracuse may be invited to join the Big Ten conference. All three have good academic reputations, unlike WVU; Rutgers would be attractive due to the huge NYC/NJ television market (it's all about the $$$); Pitt has a smaller, but still sizable, television market, and the storied Pitt-Penn State rivalry could be renewed. Pitt has a much better basketball team and better facilities for basketball and football than Rutgers does.

If I remember correctly, Notre Dame was invited to join the Big Ten first, but turned down the offer, which subsequently went to Penn State. I read somewhere that the conference officials and university ADs are reluctant to approach ND again, after being snubbed once.

I think Pitt will get first crack at becoming the 12th Big Ten team. I would miss the fantastic Big East basketball conference rivalries with WVU, UConn, Syracuse and Georgetown, but I'd much rather see us play football games with Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin than with Syracuse, UConn, South Florida and Louisville. I'd hate to see the "Backyard Brawl" (Pitt-WVU) end, though.

Williams is one of those great college guys that mysteriously fails as a pro. I'm not sure about the ND 9 win rule still being in effect, but it was a big part of the early years of the BCS negotiations after that split title in 91 (Nebraska/Georgia Tech). It was a huge sticking point because it involved conference champions and ND had no conference tie-in. I think they had to be ranked in the top 20 or something like that. The ND brass at one point considered boycotting the whole BCS thing, which was probably bluff, but that's why they pursued the independent TV deal ($$$). In case you missed it, they declined any bowl invitations this year because they are too haughty to play in the Poulan Weedeater Bowl. And, if Pitt did join the Big 10, they would continue the Backyard Brawl. There's too much money and tradition (in that order) on the line. Indiana plays Kentucky every year, Iowa plays Iowa State, it just might move from a season ending rivalry to an early season game. Maybe not, it's all speculation anyway. Rutgers makes sense as well, Syracuse maybe, Pitt has the most to gain by far. The Orange would be my third choice of the three and they are more of an entrenched basketball school in the Big East.

edited for the dollar signs and to add that Pitt has the best facilities of the three, especially for football

I think sometimes the basketball team and football team have different conferences for each to have the best fit. Maybe the Pitt-WVU rivalry could continue as non-conference. ND does have quite a great deal and lots of loyal fans. But if they don't start winning, they could lose that great deal. I think they should have joined the conference. Maybe their heyday could return with Joe Montana's son (although I heard he is going to Washington).
--BJ

ND has long had a tradition of declining non-prestigious bowls. As a result, they don't ever seem to play in bowls. Maybe they should play a Weedeater bowl or two and they might improve. :) (I know I don't sound like it, but I am a fan.)
--BJ

Nick Montana did sign with Washington. I think ND plays Big East conference sports other than football. Personally, I'd rather have Pitt than ND in the Big 10, ND had their chance and vehemently declined.

Right. ND does participate in most, if not all, of the major non-football sports as a member of the Big East Conference. I doubt that their ice hockey or soccer teams are in the Big East; then again, most of the original Big East teams are members of the ECAC (East Coast Athletic Conference), and most of them still participate in certain sports in that conference.

We Pitt alumni have been begging for a resumption of the Pitt-Penn State rivalry for years. I think that there would be just as much noise, from both schools, if the Backyard Brawl wasn't played at least every other year (and preferably every year). And the basketball rivalry is also pretty heated, so I'd like to see that continue, along with the City Game (Pitt-Duquesne).

Hi BJ! I have starred your new thread.

>30 billiejean:,32: The OU Roy Williams didn't do so well in Dallas, either. Maybe Dallas is like a Bermuda Triangle for Roy Williamses.

Touche!

Hi, DP, kidzdoc, and Carly!
I thought Pitt looked pretty good in the Cincy game. And Mark May is from there. And wasn't Tony Dorsett from there as well? Anyway, I agree that Pitt would be the best choice.

Too funny about two Roy Williams not able to play well at Dallas!

OK, I am feeling insecure about the fact that I haven't finished any books yet, so I just want to mention the books that I am reading now: Moby-Dick, The Teeth of the Tiger, The Pritikin Promise, The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian, Love Songs of Bernard of Clairvaux, and Adjunct: An Undigest. Also still reading the Holy Bible, but taking it kind of slow. I am about to start The Book of Three, Dr. Zhivago, and World Without End. Reading Moby-Dick for the first time is my big goal for this year, so wish me luck with that!
--BJ

Larry Fitzgerald, the outstanding receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, is from Pitt as well.

Good luck with Moby Dick. I have never read it either, so it will be the first time for me too.

And thank you, Stasia, for helping me to reach this goal. I have only just started it today -- a couple of days early. I really need to settle down with one book and finish it just to finish one. I hope you enjoy Anna Karenina. Last year I think I enjoyed it more than any other time I had read it.
--BJ

#41: Without the impetus of the group, I am not sure I would ever have started Moby Dick, so thanks right back at you :)

Waving hello! For the first 38 messages on your thread, I thought I was on the wrong website - message 39 was the first one I could understand, LOL. Good Luck with Moby Dick this year!

Hi, Cait!
Sorry about all the football talk. I am sorry that the season is over and I am having trouble letting go. :D

My girls just left for college. It is snowing here and beautiful. I am sad to see them go. I think I will find a book to curl up with. And a cup of coffee.

Thanks for the good luck wishes for Moby-Dick. I am only at the beginning but I like it already.
--BJ

*tumbles out the other side of the sports talk and dusts herself down*

I still haven't located a copy of Moby Dick, so I'll be waiting eagerly for updates to see how you like it... I'm definitely feeling in the mood for the classics right now, so I want to ride that wave while it's here!

Hi, Ellie!
I especially like to read the classics. I have started still more books. Really, I have control. I am like a two year old. The Moby-Dick group read starts on the 15th. You still have time to find a copy. :)
--BJ

1. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. This is one of those books that my girls read in high school that I have been wanting to read. I saw the play about 25 years ago, but this reading was more powerful than I had remembered. Maybe because I am older.

I know that it is a short one, but at least the snail on my ticker has moved forward. :)
--BJ

BJ - Where do you get that kind of ticker?

Hey BJ.....love reading your threads :) I read Moby Dick in 2008 for the first time and I was really pleasantly surprised, I enjoyed it a lot. Hope you do too!! Happy New Year to you....pj77 :)

Hi, Julie and pj!
To get a ticker, go to the top of my thread and click on my ticker. It will take you to the site. Then click on Create Your Own Ticker. After you pick the background and the figure, it will ask you to give the number you are on and the total number. I think I use the savings ticker format. You will need a pin for it. TT suggested to me to make the pin the year, that way you will never forget it. Then you need to get the HTML code and copy it and place it in your post. I usually put it on its own line started with a space and ending with a space. Then when you need to update, just go to your ticker and click on it and it will take you back to update it. Hope this works for you. I am not too good with computers. :)

I am so excited that there are lots of people reading Moby-Dick to keep me motivated. Hearing that you liked it makes me really happy!!

Y'all have a wonderful day!
--BJ

I know that it is a short one, but at least the snail on my ticker has moved forward.

Hey, don't feel bad, my ticker hasn't moved at all - I think this must be a record for me for the longest beginning of a year without finishing a book! (But in my defense I started with a couple of long ones)

Hi, bell7!
Yeah, I am reading a few long ones, too. But I decided to add one short one just to finish one. I started another kind of short one, The Book of Three. There is a Prydain Chronicles group read going on, and my girls have told me for years how great these books are. So far, I love it. It is interesting to me how many books rely on Welsh mythology for the background of their books. I need a book on Welsh mythology now! :)
--BJ

Congratulations on book number 1! Sometimes I need to finish a book to get motivated to read more. Hope it works for you!

Hi, Carly!
Thanks! That is exactly how I felt! With my kids home and then also company, I was just enjoying the people too much for reading. So I kind of got out of the habit. Now the dog and I hang out on the couch with the books. (Just have to start back on that elliptical!)

By the way, UT men's basketball team just got ranked #1 for the first time ever last week. Wonder how long that will last?
--BJ

Thanks BJ! I got a ticker started now. :)

Yea! I need to go check it out!
--BJ

2. The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. I read this as a part of the group read of the Prydain Chronicles series. I loved this book, but I am not really sure what the title is all about. The book itself did not really seem to fit prominently into the plot. But I could definitely see why my kids loved this book when they were young.
--BJ

I read these about ten years ago because I had never read them when I was young. That series was one of the few books I had that I never got to, and then one sad day I came home from middle school and almost all of my stuff was gone. Ninety percent of my books, all of my Hot Wheels cars, just about everything that was 'mine' from childhood was gone. Tarzan-gone. Tales of Sherlock Holmes-gone. Stack of old Hardy Boys-gone. Complete Sesame Street Encyclopedia set-gone. Empty toybox-still there, taunting me. I think dad used it for scrap wood after he sanded all the crayon off it. The only books I have left are my H.A. Rey Guide to the Constellations, which I still use after 25 years, and Tales of Robin Hood, who was always an outlaw, anyway.
The Prydain Chronicles does a great job of introducing older kids to the realm of Arawn and Welsh mythology. Somehow I got there without having read them, which made it seem like I had. Weird. Cerridwen's cauldron is one of the great allegories in all of mythology. Cerridwen is also the name of a great atmospheric Celtic band, awesome for reading-time music. Very etherial vocal group, similar to Enya but more choir like and less obtrusive to a reader. I still prefer Papa Haydn, though.

I am sorry that you lost all of your books from childhood in middle school. Books are such a big deal to me, I don't know how I would have taken it. The books that I lost track of I repurchased when I had kids. Of course, now I have way too many books for the house. But this book that I just read is totally falling apart because it has been read so many times. I will keep it until I cannot keep the pages together anymore.

Welsh mythology runs through so many books. I need to read some of it. I have a couple of books on Celtic mythology, but I am not sure if that is really the same thing.

My kids love Celtic music, old and new. I will definitely remember this band to tell them about.

I am enjoying the Conan book. Looks like Conan is enjoying a renaissance these days. Thanks for the recommendation.
--BJ

>59 billiejean: Wiki's article on Celtic mythology discusses both Irish and Welsh mythologies, but it seems to me that Scottish mythology should also be included.

Hi, ejj!
Does wiki mean wikipedia? I would like to see the article and thanks for mentioning it.
--BJ

Welsh is its own little branch of Celtic, hence the odd looking spellings with the w's and y's everywhere. It is about as different from, say Irish Celtic, as Texas history is from Michigan. The same, only different.
I think the band is spelled Ceredwen. It is. There were only a few books I was upset about losing. The ones above, a few Tom Swift books and my stack of Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. I am more upset that I saw that exact same Tarzan book at Sleepy Hollow (local used bookstore) about three years ago and decided that I'd pick it up a few days later when I had some extra bucks. The next day it was gone and now I scour the children's section every time I go in hoping to see it again. That and I had started collecting the Hot Wheels cars, riding my bike about eight miles each way to K-Mart to buy the really neat ones, like a Shelby Cobra or a 1920's Bugatti. There were some that I had just bought within a week or so that went away. All the way to the neighbor's house as they had a young son. Mom told me not to ask for some of them back because they were all so happy and I let it go. That was one of the days I knew my childhood was officially over. The other involved a particular something I saw in a a dirty magazine and I will leave well enough alone there.

I remember Encyclopedia Brown! I wonder why I never got any of those books for my kids? Now I need to hunt one up and read it. Used bookstores are so hit and miss. I have several out of print books that I want to get. But I never have any luck finding them in used book stores. A lot of it has to do with the organization -- there is just no telling where some of the books will be located. HPB is pretty well-organized, but I can only shop there when in Texas. I have looked on amazon and ebay, but the shipping can make them more expensive than I want to pay. I had a heck of a time finding Run Silent, Run Deep. I ended up ordering it online and paying the shipping. And then there are other Beach books that I want to read, but I just can't find them. Maybe I can lookout for the Tarzan book here in Tulsa. What was the title and what did the cover look like?
--BJ

I've found eBay and Amazon fairly useful for filling in some of the collections of childhood books (mainly Trixie Belden for me). You might also try BookMooch if you are so inclined.

>61 billiejean: Yes, Wikipedia, sorry. There are other Wiki things, so I should probably get out of the habit of shortening it.

>62 DirtPriest: I am not a linguist, so I don't pretend to understand why certain language groups are linked together. According to my dictionary, the Celtic languages include "Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Breton, Manx, Cornish, and several extinct pre-Roman languages such as Gaulish." I do have the wonders of the Welsh language in mind these days, as I'm reading Sharon Kay Penman's Here Be Dragons currently.

I've found that abebooks dot com is really handy for finding things that I haven't been able to find locally. Most common books run around 4-5 dollars delivered right to my door. Pretty handy for buying a copy of The Children of Hurin or the old Asimov Robot books that I haven't found in years here in town. It's like an ebay for dedicated used book warehouses, only without the bidding. I've bought maybe thirty books through them and the only problem is that you have to be diligent about finding a paperback or hard cover copy to your preference. I have one volume in HC of two separate A.A. Attanasio tetrads and the other three in PB of each series, which is mildly annoying. At least I have the full sets and learned a lesson to pass on.
I can't remember exactly which Tarzan it was, all I remember is that it was grey hardcover, about the size of a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew, and had Tarzan looking over a cliff down on to a crashed airplane, which was red. Certainly not a scene from Tarzan of the Apes, but never judge a book by its cover. That story sure seemed familiar when I read it a few years ago. If I stumble across a picture of the cover, I'll stick it here using my new fangled html skills.

Also bookfinder.com, which searches multiple sites; you can specify hardcover or paperback in your search parameters (as you can on abebooks.com, also).

Another good site is half.com--reasonable shipping--but you have to be careful about reading the descriptions there, as the site doesn't really police how things are listed, and people routinely list paperbacks on the hardcover page, or different copyrights, etc.

Abebooks is a 40% owner of LibraryThing.

I did not realize that Abebooks was related to LT. I tried to buy a book through them once, but after buying it was told that a walkin customer had already purchased the book.

Is half.com related to Half Price Books? That is my favorite book store.

I will be on the lookout for the book. I have not mastered the photo on the thread skill. I always put them on too large and then mess everything up for anyone trying to read without scrolling across. I am not the right generation for computers.
--BJ

>68 billiejean: half.com is actually owned by Ebay. I loved it for getting used textbooks when I was in college - except for the Norton Anthologies, it was cheaper than the college bookstore (and gave a better return when I sold my books, too).

So how long did it take you to get your books? I have two kids in college. But I expect used textbooks to be in excellent condition. How was the condition? No wrong answers written all over them? I always bought used books when I was in college, but they were awful. Still, the price was right.
--BJ

it depended on where it was coming from, because the shipping method was generally media mail/book rate (whatever was cheapest, basically) so it could take a couple of weeks or, if the seller was closer, maybe less. I did run into a couple of times where the book hadn't quite arrived before the spring semester started, but nothing too terribly late as long as I bought the books early enough.

They have definitions of various conditions - Brand New, Like New, all the way down to Acceptable (which might have writing, highlights, etc.). It really depends on the subject and how many books they have out there - if it's for an English class or general studies, you can bet there's a lot to choose from in terms of condition and price. Sometimes the cheapest price isn't even the worst condition. I usually preferred to buy ones that said there was no writing/highlighting, but didn't really care if the book was beat up otherwise.

Thanks so much for the info!
--BJ

I've only had one purchase that fizzled like that on abebooks out of thirty or more and it was one where I took a chance on a smaller seller. The seller rating is important for a reason.
I learned everything I needed to know about HTML from this LT thread here.

Thanks for the link. I do have problems with computers, though, even with excellent instructions sometimes. But I will give it a whirl!
--BJ

Do what I did-make a text file of the few you need and copy-paste the whole HTML string straight in to where you need a picture or link, then fill in the 'Your Link Here' with whatever you want.

What a brilliant idea!
--BJ

After a few paste and stares, you'll figure out that it's pretty simple once you see and understand what the nomenclature is for. It's sort of like using parentheses in algebra with commands embedded in them. {?} starts and {/?} closes, href="www.??" is pretty handy. Had to use the bob hope brackets in place of the greater than less thans. Mine by hand end up looking like that cartoon profile logo of Bob Hope for some reason. Just a random comedic tidbit. I haven't had to worry about picture size yet, but it's just an extra layer of commands. It can't be as hard as getting your children set for college in another state!

I am going to have to give it a try.

Well, I was searching all over my house for several group read books coming up: The Black Cauldron, The Three Musketeers, and Brat Farrar. Sad to say I did not find any of them yet (I recalled that I had sent The Three Musketeers off to Texas to one of my girls), but I ran across 4 books that I had borrowed from church after our Sunday School teacher meeting in August. Yikes! I should have returned those long ago. So I decided that I needed to read all of them quickly so I can return them right away. Here they are:
3. Handbook for Today's Catholic Children by Francine M. O'Connor
4. Handbook for Today's Catholic Family (Revised Edition) A Redemptorist Pastoral Publication.
5. Handbook for Today's Catholic Teen by Jim Auer
6. Handbook for Today's Catholic (Revised Edition) A Redemptorist Pastoral Publication.

Well, there was a considerable overlap between them, obviously. They were good in an overview sort of way. The Family version was interesting in that it was interactive, which I liked. Anyway, I am planning to return these to the church today. :)

Today start the group reads of Moby-Dick and World Without End. Yea!
--BJ

I went to the bookstore and overdid it. I got B&N The Three Musketeers, 2666, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, The Black Cauldron, Starship Troopers, Term Limits, Transfer of Power, The Plague, and The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book. I did have a coupon, but still! I guess I better stay away from there in the future.
--BJ

It sounds like you got some great deals!

Hi, Linda!
Lots of different books to read. I will have fun for sure!
--BJ

Congratulations on the haul, BJ! Lots of great reading there.

It was so much fun! The stack of books I was carrying was a little awkward. But now I really must stop buying!!

Y'all the news about Haiti is just so heartbreaking. Lots of prayers going out to those people.
--BJ

Agree with you about Haiti. It just seems a shame that people who already have so little would be hit by such a devastating occurrence.

7. The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book: 101 of Chuck's Favorite Facts and Stories written by the actual Chuck Norris. My daughter used to tell me Chuck Norris facts all the time. The other day I saw Good Guys Wear Black and Code of Silence. When I went to the bookstore, I recalled that he had written a book of these facts. I got it for my daughter but decided to read it first. I loved the backstory to his movies -- especially the stunt on the ladder off the helicopter in Missing in Action. I guess he is really famous these days for his tv show, Walker, Texas Ranger. I think that I have only seen a couple of episodes. I wonder if it still comes on tv?
--BJ

BillieJean, yes: USA network on Wednesday mornings, three episodes starting at 7 a.m.

BillieJean just letting you know that you are on my watch list. I haven't be able to read all your threads yet but I will, don't you worry.

You made your 75 book challenge last year? WTG!!! Good for you. I will be thrilled if I make my 50 one this year.

I am looking forward to seeing your progress.

Happy New Year.

Hi, ejj and Jacx!
Ejj, thanks for the info on Walker, Texas Ranger. I should be able to see at least one episode next week. The book got me kind of interested in watching some.

Jacx, thanks for the WTG. I always count all the books I read, long or short, so some on the list are quite short. :) But I was happy to reach that goal.

I am reading Moby-Dick, The Picture of Dorian Gray, World Without End and The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian. I should be reading the book all about this diet that I am supposedly on. I got discouraged and quit about halfway through. I need to search it out and finish it.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great weekend!
--BJ

Hi BJ,
That Chuck Norris book sounds really interesting. You have a knack for picking a wide variety of books, I love seeing what your reading!! My Uncle loves that show but he always calls it Texas Walker Ranger, ha ha.

Hi, Welachild!
The Chuck Norris book was more interesting than I thought it would be. It turns out that my father-in-law really likes that show. I can't wait to see it. Have a great day!
--BJ

Happy Sunday morning to you!

When I was reading through your thread, I hoped that you would review the Chuck Norris book, and then there it was! It looks very entertaining, and I love that he wrote his own fact book.

Hi, Linda and Carly!
Chuck Norris makes onions cry! Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost! Outer Space exists because it is afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris! These "facts" crack me up. I am amazed that this phenomenon started. I guess it is thanks to the internet.

Carly, are you the UT fan? The men's basketball team had a nailbiter against A&M yesterday.

Linda, thanks so much for the happy greetings! :) You make my day!

I hope everyone else also has a Happy Sunday!
--BJ

8. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. This is a book that I have been wanting to read for a long time having seen that there is a movie of it on TCM. This is a story about the ill-effects of a descent into hedonism. There is some witty dialogue. I have not read Crime and Punishment yet, but I am wondering how the two will compare? Overall, I thought it was a pretty good read and I thought that it had a good ending. I read this as a part of a group read for the 1010 Challenge. Thanks cyderry for putting it all together!
--BJ

Glad you liked Dorian Gray, BJ! My husband really liked it too but I read it in December and felt like I was missing something. Maybe my expectations were too high. You're right about the ending, though, it was good!

>93 billiejean:: Hi BJ! Yes, I am the UT fan. It looks like the men's team has hit a rough patch. I hope they get it back together!

Yea, the last two have been tough. I told my husband that better now than during the tournament. But they have to figure it out!
--BJ

#95: Maybe you are right about expectations. If I have really high expectations of a book, I usually get disappointed. It was not as good as Anna Karenina, but for a quick read, I liked it.
--BJ

9. The Search for Happiness: Four Levels of Emotional and Spiritual Growth by Oscar Lukefahr. Father Lukefahr gave a mission at our Church a few years ago and I bought a copy of his books. I haven't actually read any of them until now. A friend of mine highly recommended starting with this book. And she was right. It was a great book. Father Lukefahr also offers a workbook for home study to go with the book, and I filled that out as well.

I am still in the middle of lots of long ones. We are having a beautiful day here in Tulsa, OK with lots of sunshine on the snow. I guess we will have lots of melting today. My husband and I went sledding and took the dog along (she won't sled, she is afraid of it). We had lots of fun. OK, ready for Spring now! :)
--BJ

#99: That one looks good. I will have to see if I can find a copy. Thanks for the recommendation, BJ!

Hi billiejean. The Search for Happiness sounds interesting, I'll look out for it.

What type of dog do you have? I have a golden retriever and although it doesn't often snow enough in the UK for sledging I can guarantee that there is no way he would ever get on the sledge!

I don't go in for the spiritual stuff, but The Four Agreements is great. Kind of spiritual, but it really just makes sense in a general way without devolving in to any specific religion.

Should that be an 'is' or an 'are'? I got through public school English class by guessing whatever sounded right and never got lower than a B and they both might be correct. All that reading was paying off even in grade school.

You are correct with "is"--even though the title of the book is plural, the subject is really "the book," whatever its title might be.

Hi BJ! Just dropping by -

>99 billiejean: Copper loves to go sledding with us. She chases us down the hill and tries to pull the sled out from whomever is on it and then, depending on the type of sled, she'll carry it back up the hill. She is a retriever, after all! Although sometimes she'll drop it at the top and just watch it roll down the hill again. It's very entertaining.

You don't really get much snow there, do you?

Hi, Stasia, Heather, DP, Elizabeth and Joanne!
Stasia and Heather, I hope you like the book. And DP, I added your suggestion to my wishlist. I am so glad that they added this function on LT. No more of those little pieces of paper all over the place.

The guessing what sounds right is a pretty good method for readers, I think. It is also one of the reasons that I never talked baby talk to my kids. Nowadays, I can't recall any of the rules of grammar (I used to love them!), so I still go with the what sounds right method.

Heather, my younger daughter got my dog, a golden retriever, (still hoping to get a photo on the profile page when my husband has time to help me!), onto a sled a year ago on a very gentle slope (it was icy rather than snowy, so the sled worked) and she was so scared. She will not get on one ever again.

Joanne, your dog sounds like so much fun! My retriever only retrieves some, but she can't here, because our slope is too near a highway. So she has to stay on a leash. We really don't get much snow here usually -- just a few inches a year. This season we have had 12 inches which is tremendous!

I am pushing really hard to finish this book that doctor wanted me to read about the Pritikin diet. I only have about 50 pages left but it is all about research. My blood test results were all really good! I am amazed! My appointment is on Friday. I think I can finish it before then no matter how boring the ending is.

Have a super day, everyone! (And DP, in case you were wondering, tomorrow is national signing day.)
--BJ

Hopefully my Michigan schools will sign some good future talent. UM allegedly has already signed some nationally rated talent but we'll see. Notre Dame always seemed to have a top five class and look at where they are these days. With luck, CMU will get some talent in to keep their ball rolling.

My sister in law (sort of) always spoke and still speaks baby gibberish to her kids and, even worse, talks for them. If you ask the kids what they did that day, she butts in and says 'They went to the park'. No wonder they have both spent years in speech therapy. The oldest is in 3rd or 4th grade and still says baby R's (like Awww instead of Arrr and Eww for L, etc.) It's really sad, but on the other hand, how often do you see a nine year old with a higher reading level than speech level? She reads very well, and actually speaks well other than the babytalk sounds, which isn't her fault. Toddlers babble and mimic, keeping the sounds that they hear and discarding the rest. I have a Korean friend named Song, pronounced S-aahhh-ng. He says that no American that he has met has the ability to correctly enunciate that soft 'a' sound properly, like a someone brought up speaking native Korean.

I try to bend over to look at the child at his level when I ask the question. On occasion, if the mother answers, I smile at the child and ask him how he made his mom do that (with a wink) ;-)

That is smart thinking mamzel

Hey, DP, Mamzel and Jacx!
That is pretty funny, Mamzel!

CMU looked pretty good last year. I will follow them more closely next year. The interesting thing about recruiting is that you really don't know for sure how it will all turn out. I guess the NFL draft is somewhat similar. The recruit that I am super-excited about is the punter. We really need that guy! Of course, optimistically I guess I could think that we won't need a punter! But based on last year, I think we do.

10. The Pritikin Promise: 28 Days to a Longer, Healthier Life by Nathan Pritikin. I am happy to report that I have at last finished this book about the diet that my doctor wants me on. I am only sort-of on this diet so far. But I am going to try to get more on it each month. There are lots of recipes but they include interesting ingredients like arrowroot that I don't know where to get. I can tell that this is a healthier diet already, but the lack of convenience foods is hard to take. Plus, I must occasionally have a steak and ribs!!
--BJ

And ice cream, too!
--BJ

Just say the word "diet" to me, and I immediately begin craving all those bad-for-me foods. I'm also very susceptible to wanting the food that I am reading about...even a bowl of pottage sounds interesting to me. Currently in the medieval period reading World Without End. Good luck with Pritikin. I'm sure the first 28 days will be the toughest.

Good teams ALWAYS have a good punter. Without one, your defense gets stuck defending a short field too often and trouble ensues. Big, game losing kinds of trouble.

And on diets, I say eat smartly without worrying about it. The worry is as bad as the ice cream, unless you eat a giant bowl of it. I prefer a coffee cup full.

Hi, Donna and DP!
I will not be following the 28 day program exactly. Just slowly easing into it. I also think that a small cup of ice cream occasionally is better than no ice cream ever.

I had my Wednesday prayer time at Church today, so I never heard if the punter signed or not. He is supposed to be lights out good. I hear that Florida got the best class of all time. Tebow has been so good for that program.

I also have been interested in the pottage described in the book. And I think it would be allowed on this diet. :)
--BJ

11. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. I don't usually read a lot of contemporary literature, but this book I really liked. I chose this book because it is on the 1001 list and read it with Stasia. This book is full of suspense, and the line between what is and what is not real is blurred. I will definitely read more by this author.
--BJ

12. World Without End by Ken Follett. This is the sequel to The Pillars of the Earth. It had some architecture in it, but not as much as in the first book. It was a satisfying Medieval historical fiction. I did think that it was a little long, but I enjoyed it. Thanks so much for the group read, Mark!
--BJ

I thought about you, BJ, on Sunday. The SuperBowl is the only football that I watch and I have to admit it was a good game! I still cover my eyes when they replay those hits in slow motion, though.

So you read The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, huh? Still can't make myself finish that book--not because it's bad writing, but because I just don't like that kind of writing. Hoping Norwegian Wood will be a better match for me. Are you doing the Group Read?

BJ- A couple LTer's have just recently wrapped up The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and have gave it a positive review. That's encouraging! If it's not selected for our G.R., (easy Bonnie!), I still plan on reading it later this year. I'm glad you enjoyed WWE. I'm so pleased that most of the group have liked it, so far! I just started Part 7.

Hi, Bonnie and Mark!
I thought that the Super Bowl was a terrific game. Sometimes games like that can be boring, but this one was exciting all the way through. I asked my husband when am I supposed to check on the food when I want to see the whole game, halftime, and all the commercials?

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle was totally different than anything I have ever read. The farther along I got, the more interested I got. It was full of suspense, kind of like an old Humphrey Bogart movie (The Maltese Falcon, say) where you can't quite figure out what is going on. (OK, it has been a long time since I saw that movie, so maybe I am remembering it wrong.) If Norwegian Wood wins, I will probably look for a copy for the group read. I definitely want to read more by Murakami.

I did like World Without End. I didn't want to give too many details about it since the group read is still going on. I liked the end of it, where all gets tied together in a satisfying way. You choose great books, Mark!

Y'all have a great day!
--BJ

simply stopping by to wave hi.

Hi, Linda!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I am almost finished with The Black Cauldron. I hope to finish it today after Church.
--BJ

13. The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander. This is book 2 of The Chronicles of Prydain, a young adult fantasy series. I loved it!
--BJ

#121: I liked it a lot, too. I am ready to get on with book 3!

I was discussing it with my daughter just a little while ago. She loved these books when she was younger. She said that she liked the last one the best. I like that because I liked this one so much. More to look forward to! :)
--BJ

Definitely!

14. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. Wow. This is another book off of the 1001 list (old one) that my daughter got for me. This is quite thought-provoking.
--BJ

#125: Never Let Me Go is the only Ishiguro book I have read thus far - I liked it - but I understand that his other books are quite different. I am hoping to get to The Remains of the Day some time this year.

Hi again. I recently ordered a few books through abebooks and one of the involved sellers was Welly's in Austin. Their address is on Marblewood Drive. Just wondering if you are familiar with it out of sheer curiosity.

#126> Hi, Stasia!
The Remains of the Day was one of my top reads last year. It is quite different from Never Let Me Go, but the writing is exceptional. I highly recommend it.

I need something a little different now, so I am glad that adventure stories are on the horizon!
--BJ

Hey, DP!
I am not familiar with Welly's or even Marblewood Drive. But I will check it out and if it is not too far off the beaten path, maybe my daughter can go and look. Plus, I might be in Austin briefly at the beginning of March, so maybe I can go. I always love going to bookstores. Any excuse, you know!
--BJ

#128: Thanks for the input, BJ!

Fair enough!

Hi BJ! I finally was able to find you and star you... *waves* I'm planning on getting to Wind-Up Bird Chronicle soon. Good to see you liked it.

BJ- I just started Never Let Me Go! I'm just under a 100 pages in. It's got a creepy vibe to it. It feels completely different than The Remains of the Day, which I read many years ago.

Hi, DP, Steph, and Mark!
DP, I checked with my daughter and she has not heard of that bookstore. She says that Austin has lots of terrific used book stores. I now must look for myself!

I hope you like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Steph. It is totally different than anything I have ever read. And I will definitely read more by him.

Mark, creepy is just what I told my daughter in Houston about the book when I was reading it. It is quite different from The Remains of the Day but a terrific book for sure. I hope you like it. (By the way, I gave you a thumbs up for that wonderful review you wrote! I wish I could write like that!).
--BJ

DP:
I got my husband to find it on the computer google maps. (Bing was convinced that we wanted shoes!) Looks like it is run out of a house in West Austin. Then we checked out some of the titles and immediately saw some that we wanted. Not sure if you can go to the Austin location or not, but we might just drive by there when in Austin. This looks like a really neat selection of books!
--BJ

I brought it up because it did seem pretty eclectic, and even if it is a private internet only business they did a remarkable job with my order. It was placed Tuesday afternoon and my book arrived way up here on Friday afternoon, and there was a record snowstorm that blew through north Texas in the interim.

I'm glad you did bring it up, because it looks like a good place to find books that you can't find elsewhere. And there have been several that I have been looking for. By the way, did you ever read Door Into Ocean? I never found that book anywhere. (I only looked in actual bookstores, but I looked in lots of them.)
--BJ

Nope. It didn't sound that interesting to me, which sort of defeats the purpose of a group read. But, it seemed that most of the readers who discussed found the book confusing, boring, or just plain average. Not that some didn't enjoy it, it just didn't sound like my cup of tea. There is a new SF group selection just starting, by the way. Hopefully this one turns out better than the last two. I still can't get over how much I actually hated that 'Stars in my Pocket' book.

I didn't read either of the last two books chosen. Maybe I can find the next one. I might go back and read Stars in my Pocket. I did not read over either discussion because I did not read the books. Did anyone like that book?
--BJ

waving

Hi, Robert!
I was just having my coffee, that Toraja, and thinking about you. I will pop over to your thread.
--BJ

15. Love Songs: Wisdom from Saint Bernard of Clairvaux edited by Jeanne Kun. I read this book during part of my prayer time on Wednesdays.

I have bought some books for Lent, but I haven't decided what I will read first. I have three books on the way that I ordered from amazon with supersaver shipping and I am ready for the package to arrive already!!! I ordered Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke: Fifty Years in US Navy Destroyers, Vol. 1 by Bob Cohen (recommended by usnmm), The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life by Dr. Robert Vogel (recommended by my doctor), and The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers so I can finally join the group read and find out what Steam Punk really is. I have plenty to read, really I do, but still I want the new books now. What is my problem?
--BJ

The 3 books listed in #142 are not the books that I bought for Lenten reading.
--BJ

#142: I have plenty to read, really I do, but still I want the new books now. What is my problem?

I have the same disease: biblioholism. It is prevalent in this group I have noticed :)

Actually we are all enablers for each other. But that is what makes it so much fun!
--BJ

I have this picture in my head of this humungous dinner table with all the 75ers around it doing nothing but talking about books (and eating - we might as well, we are sitting at a dinner table!)

That sounds like so much fun! I would love to eat either spaghetti, or Tex Mex, or BBQ. One thing for sure, we would never run out of titles to discuss!!!
--BJ

16. Super Cool Jokes and Games for Kids by Bob Phillips. This is a book that I got for my kids back when they were in elementary school. I have been wanting to read it ever since. I loved reading about the card tricks, but somehow I don't really think I could do them.
--BJ

OK, now I have a problem that I did not foresee. I added Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke: Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers, Vol. 1 to my library. (My books finally arrived today, yea!) And then when I tried to delete it from my wishlist, I found that LT wanted to delete it from all collections. Do I have to delete it from my library right after I just entered it in order to take it off my wishlist? I am not that good with computers as I guess everyone knows by now. Thanks in advance for any advice!
--BJ

If you go to 'Your Books' and bring up your Wishlist, you will see all of the books in that category. Over on the right there is a small box with a bunch of icons, all of which will take you to a separate part of the main page for said book. There is a silhouette for the number of people with the book, a caption that will take you to the reviews, a pencil to go to the edit page and so on. The brown cardboard box looking one with a small arrow on it brings up a menu of the collections in your library, clicking on it allows you to simply select which of the 'Collections' that the book belongs in. You should be able to easily deselect the 'Wishlist' highlight and change it to the 'Your Library' group. This is a new feature from around last fall or so.

>149 billiejean:, BJ, Did you enter the books into LT twice? From looking at "Scurvy Dogs," it seems that you've entered the books twice, once in "Wishlist" and once in "Your Library." So I think if you delete the "Wishlist" book from "All collections," it won't delete the other copy (at that point, it's working on an edition level, not from the work page, if that makes sense).

I've had this problem as well. If I have added a book to my wishlist, and then later I get it (maybe in a different edition) and add it to my library, then I have to do what bell7 describes to delete the wishlist copy. I guess the answer is to search the wishlist first and just change the collection, but I keep forgetting to do that.

BJ, your problem might be that after you've clicked on the "collections" box/logo that DirtPriest is talking about, you'll want to add it to another category before you delete it from your wish list. A book can be in as many or as few collections as you want, but it always needs to be in at least one. I hate that I have to open the box/logo back up to do this. I wish Tim would fix this, so that the box/logo would stay open while I added and deleted. For example, if I've read a library book, I'd like to be able to delete it from my "Wish List" while adding it to my "Main Library" and "Read but not Owned" collections in one fell swoop. But, no, you've got to click the box/logo back open for each change. Good luck!

Thanks, so much, DP, Bell, Carly, and Bonnie!
I got my husband to help me. We left up your advice on one tab and put the library lists on the other tab. I wonder how I ended up with two entries in my Library? I think it is all ok now. Thanks for coming to my rescue.

17. Peter Pan and Wendy by J. M. Barrie. I finally read the sequel to Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. Here is a quote from the first page: ". . . but henceforth Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end." I have to say that we are all in trouble if two is the beginning of the end. When I was working in the late 80s, we had an intern who was 19. She told me that "It is all downhill after 25." I was 25 at the time. I am happy to report that it has not been all downhill!

By the way, I was talking to my daughter in Houston and I mentioned the joke book that I just read and she said "Oh, yeah, that was a good one!" She still remembered it all the way from elementary school. Of course her memory is much better than mine. I can't recall what happened a week ago!
--BJ

Here is a copy of the link to the Google of the entire Trans-Siberian Train Ride that destinyhascheatedme sent to me. I thought I would share it with all of you. I found this totally mesmerizing. Not only is it the view out the window, but also an icon follows the route on a map, and there is a list of places on the route if you want to skip ahead. The entire length is 150 hours. I hope you like it (and I hope the link works!):

http://www.google.ru/intl/ru/landing/transsib/en.html

Enjoy!
--BJ

BJ, that looks wonderful, the sort of thing we were always promised the internet would bring us.

I just read The Big Red Train Ride a bit ago, so that was pretty interesting. Thanks.

Hi, Robert and TadAD!
I am constantly amazed at what is available on the internet for free. If only I had the imagination to find this stuff myself! I added the book to my wishlist. Now I would love to take this trip. But maybe I can just find a way to put the screen on my tv and watch it there bigger.

Tomorrow I am off to Texas to see my girls for a week. I hope that everyone has a great first week of March, and I can't wait to see what y'all have read when I get back!
--BJ

Stay safe on those roads!

BJ, what a terrific link! Thanks! We just got back from a visit to Texas. Hope yours is as great as ours was.

Hi, DP and Teresa!
Thanks for the good wishes! I am so excited as I just saw a robin! This is the first one that I have seen this year. Hooray, Spring is on the way! That is such good news. Parts of Oklahoma (not Tulsa) had snow this morning, and my daughter told me that it snowed in Austin a couple of days ago. I see on tv that New York is getting lots more snow. I think that everyone will be ready for Spring this year.
--BJ

Have yourself and enjoyable and safe trip.

Hi, Jacx!
Thanks so much for the good wishes! I am almost ready to go! Just have to plan a few books to take!
--BJ

Hey, BJ, wave as you pass me by! Or give me a call and we could do lunch again.

Safe travels.

Thanks, Stasia! I think we have to zoom there and back this time, but I will definitely wave. We are leaving in 5 minutes, but I just had to visit LT one last time. :)
--BJ

Can you tell she loves us?

She is definitely going to be going through LT withdrawal without us!

Hey, Jacx and Stasia!
I got back from my trip and I will never, ever catch up on LT. Or on the group reads! How nice to see that you stopped by. I had fun going to a few used bookstores while out of town. I am kind of under the weather, but happy to be back.
--BJ

I knew you were going to go through LT withdrawal without us! That is why you are under the weather, I am sure.

I hope you feel better soon, BJ. Welcome back.

I hope you feel better soon, BJ. I've about decided that it's a full-time job to keep up with the threads. Did you find any gems at the used bookstores?

Thanks, Donna. Mostly just terrible allergies. I am struggling with the side effects of the medicine.

I got a copy of Mrs. Dalloway and Briar Rose and The Devil's Arithmetic, both by Jane Yolen. My husband found a book on la Alhambra, which we visited last summer. We were not able to buy any books there due to limited luggage space. From the dollar rack, I got a book by Amy Tan and Thomas Hardy (I haven't read any books by either author yet) as well as two by Len Deighton and one by Mario Puzo. I was hoping to come up with Norwegian Wood, but no luck. I was also hoping to come up with the books of the Lensman Saga, but they only had collectible copies, so I decided to wait on that. My daughter had to find Briar Rose for me. I could not find it. She is better at finding stuff at HPB than I am.
--BJ

18. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. I read this for the 75 Book Steampunk group read, and it was a fun, exciting book. It involves time travel back to 1810 London and it was my first time travel book. I am looking forward to the next read. :)
--BJ

19. The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander. Loved this book. This is the third book in the series The Chronicles of Prydain, a young adult fantasy read and it is exciting. Only two left to go. I will be sad when the series is over, although I hear that the last book is the best one.

General question: Do you use Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress, or a different method to organize your books? I am rethinking my lack of system and maybe reorganizing over the summer.
--BJ

#173: I use Dewey Decimal myself. Frankly, I do not understand the LOC system although I really have not studied it. Dewey is what I grew up with and with which I am most comfortable.

I looked at your profile to see how many books you might be cataloging. I would suggest you file your fiction alphabetically by author's last name. You may divide them into American and British fiction or interfile them. The DDS can be very confusing in history since books are organized by countries and then into eras. So you might have books about WWII in two different sections, one for the European war and one for the Pacific. I am not familiar with the LOC system. Do you have a college nearby that uses LOC? You could browse through their shelves to see if that system would work better.

This site will give you an idea on Dewey organization. Sorry I don't have a similar site for LOC.

I do it by author. I typically have several books by the same author so that's the way I like to organize. It's simple.

Hi, Stasia, mamzel, and Julie,
I also shelve by author, when I shelve by any system, but I noticed that my books on similar topics are all spread out. Plus, I have more not shelved by author than I do by author. When I need a book for a group read that I KNOW I have, I am in real trouble!

Dewey is also what I grew up with, and I was toying with using that one. By the way, Stasia, I am slowly working my way through your threads. I certainly did get behind going out of town so long. But they are too delightful to miss one single post!

That is a pretty good point about the books on similar topics being separated by the Dewey system. I also have lots of books that are not yet cataloged. I kind of got lazy with it. I need to go back to that. Maybe when I am reorganizing.

Here is a BIG pet peeve of mine. We do have a very nice university in town. But guess what, I cannot enter the library without paying a yearly fee. (In the hundreds of dollars!!!) I cannot even browse. Maybe the regular library gives you one day a year, I am not sure, but the law library does not. This really bugs me because I grew up in town with a nice university (elsewhere) and that was the library I used for all of my high school papers. It was so nice. I did not get to check books out, but I could use books there. Both are private universities. OK, off my soapbox now.

Thanks for the suggestions regarding organizing books. :)
--BJ

I use LoC for my non-fiction books... but that's probably because my university library used it, and I pretty much lived in the library as a second home for the 4 years of my degree, so the system is like second nature to me. But that's just me!

Hi BJ, I see you read The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. That's a great book. I also liked On Stranger Tides and The Stress of Her Regard.

#177: BJ, I am glad that you think so highly of my threads that you would take the time to read through every post! My goodness.

I am extremely lucky here in Sherman to be able to utilize the public libraries of both Sherman and Denison through the main library in Sherman, but also the two local college libraries as well. I am sorry to hear that the university in Tulsa is practicing extortion.

Hi, Faith, Caroline and Stasia!
I think I will try to look into Library of Congress. I have used it in libraries some, but I don't really understand it. I think there is a group on LT that is reading the LOC, so I might look for that. I am in the group reading the DDC, but I haven't updated my thread in a frightfully long time.

Thanks for the recommendations, Caroline. I am going to add them to my wishlist. Love that function! I really, really enjoyed reading The Anubis Gates, so I think I would like those books, as well.

Stasia, I am on about post 165 of Take 6. Hope I catch up before the new thread! I think that the university benefits from the community, not just the community benefiting from the university. But I have complained and complained to no avail on that score.

Julie, if you are still around, do you separate your books by type at all or just totally by author?
--BJ

20. Briar Rose by Jane Yolen. I read this book as part of a 1010 Challenge Group Read. It is a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale as a Holocaust story. It is sad, as all Holocaust stories are, but I thought it was a good book.
--BJ

Hi BJ! Well to be honest, since my son was born 2 years ago and we converted our loft to a bedroom I don't have a bookshelf. LOL But yes, I did it soley by author. It wasn't necessarily alpha by author just by author. Like all my Jodi Picoult's were on the same shelf, James Patterson, etc. When we have a bigger house I'd probably do the same.

I typically lend my books by author and not subject. :)

That was probably more than you ever wanted to know. LOL

Thanks, Julie! Just what I wanted to know. :)

How wonderful to have a two year old! Life is such a wonderful adventure at that age. :)
--BJ

21. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. Another Holocaust book by Yolen. My daughter found this for me at HPB when we were looking for Briar Rose. I am ready for something lighter now.
--BJ

I hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day yesterday. I did because my daughter and her boyfriend were here for Spring Break. If only it was more Spring and less Winter outside. The dog is in heaven having two more people to give her attention.

To celebrate the day yesterday, we went to the bookstore. (What else?) I got a pocket book of Thomas Merton, whom I have never read, A Pocket Guide to Rocks and Minerals with beautiful photos, The Lost City of Z, which I have heard so much about on LT, and Living Life as a Thank You: The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude.
--BJ

Hi BJ! Just stopping by to say "hello." Glad to hear of your visit with your daughter. Here in the northeast, we're having an unusual burst of warm weather and I'm enjoying it immensely, though I know we'll likely get a final blast of winter before the month is out. Take care, and a a belated Happy St. Pat's Day to ya!

Hi, Teresa!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy that warm weather and maybe send it this way. We planted some lettuce and then no sun and no warmth, but I hear that it can take the cold, so I am hoping for the best. My doctor will be so proud of me for all the salads I am planning. :)
--BJ

B.J.
I read Briar Rose and The Devil's Arithmetic last year. They are both very good!

Hi, Linda!
They were good, but also so sad. Now I am reading The Three Musketeers which is funny for a change of pace.
--BJ

I hope you like The Lost City of Z, BJ. I thought it very good.

Just watched that OT loss by the Longhorns. Ouch. That made me cringe. At least you got to hear the dulcet tones of Dick Enberg, CMU's most famous alumnus. Enjoy the Three Musketeers, that's another read that will probably get added to the pile. I'm off to catch up with Jason and the Argonauts.

Hi, Stasia and DP!
The Lost City of Z got very good reviews all around. Borders had a table of buy one, get one half off, so I picked that one and the book on gratitude. Don't know when I will get to it.

I knew that overtime was not a good thing, but it started so well. I had a moment of hope there. But really this year they have been totally off, so just to get to the tournament was about more than I expected. You would think that they would practice free throws as a team, just for fun.

I counted up all of my currently reading books, and it came to 14. And I am participating in so many group reads. I was going to sign up for fewer group reads, but then I didn't. So many great books are chosen. Anyway, I am enjoying The Three Musketeers. It is quite different than I expected. Funnier. I am trying to remember if I have read Jason and the Argonauts. I think I have but a long time ago.

We decided not to order from Wellies. Turned out that the shipping was too high. So we are looking for the book elsewhere. However, I ordered from amazon and went to Borders, so we have to wait so I can think of more books that I want. :) From amazon I ordered both of the books from the Scifi group reads (Emissaries of the Dead and Gather, Darkness), the steampunk book The Affinity Bridge, and Norwegian Wood by Murakami. I went with the superslow supersaver shipping, so who knows when the books will arrive. I will be behind again on the steampunk read. But I have those other 14 books to finish, right?

Thanks for stopping by, y'all and have a great day!
--BJ

By the way, does anyone know exactly what amazon prime is? That free two day shipping is tempting, but do you pay for it elsewhere?
--BJ

#194: Amazon Prime program allows you to get your books faster, but you have to pay an annual fee.

I succumbed and paid for it. It's great if you use Amazon a fair amount and are impatient like me. It does not cover every item sold on Amazon, though. It covers a lot of the books and movies and many other products, but it doesn't cover some stuff sold by third parties through Amazon.

I have amazon prime and as much as I order from them the fee totally makes up for all the shipping costs I would pay.

I recommend it.

I love my Amazon Prime. I figure the convenience and amount saved in sales tax pays for the prime.

Another amazon prime lover here. I especially love buying used books where amazon is the shipper because the free shipping applies. Yesterday I received an Agatha Christie book - overnight - that cost me a glorious $1.60.

I did not realize that Amazon had used books that weren't third party. I always say that I am going to stop buying from amazon, but I never seem to. And I get tired of waiting for the superslow supersaver shipping. Maybe I will get a membership for Mother's Day! Thanks for the input.
--BJ

I just found out we are supposed to get lots of snow tomorrow. I can't believe it! This is the snowy year in Tulsa.
--BJ

#201: Here too! It was 70 degrees today. What is with this weather?

It is spring today here in NE Pennsylvania and I'm keeping the snow away by sending it down south.

Have fun! Stay dry! Stay warm!

Hi, Stasia and Linda!
I don't know what is with the weather. March snows are usually really wet and big, but they don't happen that often. And this is late in March. I am guessing that it will fall and then melt quickly. Today my daughter and her boyfriend go home, so I hope they have a safe trip. And Linda, thanks for sharing the cold with us!
--BJ

The only good thing I could think of about a March snow is that it's a great excuse to stay inside and read! It's supposed to be in the 30s tonight in Houston, which is really bizarre as well.

I can't believe that it is that cold there. My daughter traveling to Austin had hoped to leave all warm things here, but she had to take a light jacket back with her.

It is cold here, but not really snowing yet. We had a little at 6. I am enjoying coffee and The Three Musketeers!
--BJ

22. The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. I finally finished this book that my girls have been wanting me to read for years. Although long, it was great fun and a page-turner. I really liked it. It was a wonderful choice for a group read. :)

I cannot believe that I had to wear snow boots on the first day of Spring. Four inches and supposedly more to come. It is a beautiful, powdery snow. Usually this time of year it is heavy, wet, and icy. What a snowy year!
--BJ

The snow is coming down here now, too. It is a wispy, slushy snow. Just cold and miserable.

I hope that your roads stay nice. Ours are getting icy, and I am wondering about the drive to Church tomorrow. Luckily, my husband has a four wheel drive car. Due to Spring Break, I don't have to teach Sunday School tomorrow so we can go later in the morning. Yea!
--BJ

Right now, the roads are just slushy, but I do worry about them freezing as the temperature continues to drop. Luckily, my house is only 2 minutes from my office.

Be careful in the snow!

Hey BJ, just heard about your weather on the radio. Take care and stay warm!

Hi, Stasia, Linda, and Teresa!
The snow is quite beautiful, but the tv is not working. Luckily, I have a few books around the house. :) A 2 minute commute sounds pretty good! We are pretty close to Church, too. We will definitely take the drive slow. I hope the peach tree will still bloom. It is just beautiful when it blooms. The maple is already blooming, but I figure a maple can take it. Well, I am off to fix some coffee. And if the weather is heading your way, Linda and Teresa, y'all stay safe and warm, too!
--BJ

It is still snowing here, BJ. How about there?

It is really coming down!! I can't believe it. It snowed overnight just a little, but this morning it started snowing pretty hard. It really is beautiful. I just wish I had gone to the grocery store. With my daughter in town, I just wanted to be with her.
--BJ

I only wish we had gotten more snow here in Missouri than the freezing rain that's coming down and coating the trees. It's quite pretty, but I remember the havoc it can cause. I don't mind losing TV -- just don't take my computer away!

I totally agree! Snow is so much better than freezing rain -- especially if the trees fall on the power lines! I hope that doesn't happen to you. TV is back now. The snow has stopped. Luckily, the computer hangs on better than the TV. It has been a terrific day of reading and drinking coffee, with a few forays into the snow so the dog will go outside. She just wants to curl up in the house and sleep.
--BJ

We received 2-3 inches yesterday and it's all melted. The kids even went out back to play today. A bit chilly but worth the fresh air.

I think we ended up with 6 inches, and it is all melting here, too. The kids going back to school tomorrow will be so disappointed. :) The backyard is still covered with white, but by tomorrow it will probably be gone. Maybe my poor little lettuce plants will make it.
--BJ

Sometimes the snow acts as insulation against the cold, BJ. I'm not a horticulturist, but I'm pulling for your lettuce plants. It got above freezing here this aft so much of the ice melted off the trees. My dog (Yellow Lab) delights in this weather, but today was one of the few days that I didn't want to venture out for a walk. Too busy finishing my latest book and writing a review, not to mention staying warm and toasty inside.

The sun is shining today for a change, so I am hoping that the lettuce plants will recover. It is too bad that they had only been in the ground less than a week before the snow. I knew that the last freeze date was April 15th, but who expected a hard freeze? Labs are great dogs, aren't they? My golden likes the weather in short bursts. But she loves sleeping on the carpet.

I am about halfway through Brat Farrar for the group read and am enjoying it. I hope that I finish today since this is discussion day. :) Still have quite a ways to go on Mrs. Dalloway, but I am already terribly late.
--BJ

23. Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey. I read this book for the group read. It was recommended to me a long time ago by someone here on LT. (I can't recall who, but thanks!) I just never got around to reading it until the group read came up. This was a terrific book! It was a quick, exciting read.
--BJ

#222: Brat Farrar is my second favorite Tey. If you have not read The Daughter of Time by her (my favorite!), I highly recommend it, BJ.

I have read Daughter of Time, which I loved. I have not read The Franchise Affair. Have you read that one?
--BJ

Yes, I have but it has been years.

I guess I will have to go ahead and read it sometime since I loved the other two.

By the way, does anyone know if I could send packages to other people with the free shipping on amazon prime or only to myself?

Oh, happy day! I received my package of books from amazon!

The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
Gather, Darkness! by Fritz Leiber
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro
Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke: Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyer, Volume Two edited by Bob Cohen and Terry Miller (since I am loving the first volume).

I don't know why, but LT thinks that volume one and volume two are the same book. I know the titles are a lot alike, but they do differentiate by volume one and volume two.

I will be going out of town again tomorrow. And then again. And then again. I will miss my LT access, but at least I have more books to read! (As if I really needed more!)
--BJ

Travel safely, BJ!

Thanks, Stasia!
--BJ

Hi BJ- Have a safe trip! I see you have your copy of Norwegian Wood! Nice! You are ready!

Hi, Mark!
Thanks! And I was quite excited to get my book today. Sometimes group reads start, and I have to wait a week or two to get the book. I much prefer having it at the beginning.

I loved seeing all the graphic novel recommendations on your thread. My daughter loves graphic novels. So I will let her know about them. Have a great day!
--BJ

Hi Bj- I just started The Arrival by Shaun Tan. It's short and very good, completely wordless.

Thanks for the recommendation. :) I remember a book that I liked called The Snowman which was completely wordless. I will tell my daughter about The Arrival. I think she will like it.
--BJ

I just got back from my trip and I finished a book while out of town.

24. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I read this book for the Highly Rated Book Group and Richard put it together. (Thanks so much!) I was curious to see what this famous classic was all about. I thought that the stream of consciousness worked well in the book. I did find it to be a sad story. But the ending was happier than the rest of the book. (Interestingly, I also thought that the opening lines of the book were happy. I just found all the rest of it unhappy.)
--BJ

BJ - I think you will like The Arrival as well. It tells a story that reaches adults, too.

I bet you are right, mamzel! I haven't actually read any graphic novels yet, but I keep thinking that I will try one soon. Thanks so much for the recommendation.

My dog is so happy to be home again! They love her at the kennel, which is especially nice, but I still think that we give her more attention.

It is still cool here and we are hoping to plant some tomatoes. But I know that tomatoes like it hot and sunny, with lots of watering. The water is no problem these days, just the hot and sunny part. I don't think the dogwood will bloom for Easter this year. I am hoping that I am wrong on that one.

When we got home from our trip there was a package on our door from amazon: The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica edited by Raymond Arroyo. I love listening to her speak, so I am looking forward to this book.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. :)
--BJ

I am interested in what you have to say about Mother Angelica. I just found out she founded EWTN and she is the oldest nun!! She sounds like a very inspiring figure.

I have been enjoying EWTN lately, and I gave each of my girls one of her books for Christmas. I guess I did the old give them what I wanted trick. So I want to read their books, too. She is a terrific speaker, and I can tell that she was just the person to start that network. Thanks so much for stopping by!
--BJ

BJ- I finished The Arrival and it was a wonderful read and it might be a good place to start. BTW, I came up with another idea for a July Group Read, stop by my Challenge and have a good day!

BJ, I'm just about to jump in and "read" my first Graphic Novel thanks to all the encouragement I've been getting by the people who love them. This will be quite a leap of faith on my part. I'd love it if you'd take the plunge with me!

Hi, Mark and Donna!
The time has come to read a graphic novel, you are both right. What are you starting with Donna? Around the house I have Maus and Watchmen. I got Maus after reading a book about books that covered the art of them. It was the only graphic novel mentioned in the book -- which was mainly about covers and illuminated texts. My daughter thought it was very good, Maus I mean. Wait a minute! I did read Persepolis. Is that a graphic novel? I think it might be. It was all in black and white, but I think it still might count.

Off to check on the July group read. I don't think we are going anywhere this summer, so summer group read is just what I need!
--BJ

Hi BJ - I just finished Maus I and loved it and have Maus II ready to read. Stitches is also very good.

I've read Persepolis, too, now that you mention it.

I am in full geek mode tonight! :)

I have never heard of Stitches before. I added it to my wishlist. I think that I will have to read Maus this year, although I recently read two holocaust books, and I need to wait awhile before reading another one. Right now I am reading a scifi murder mystery and it is pretty engaging, but I am still at the beginning. Thanks so much for stopping by with the recommendations, Joanne! Give your sweet dog a kiss for me. My doggie is getting lots of kisses lately.
--BJ

I obtained a copy of Brat Farrar at my local library sale table. I hope to read it soon. Thanks for your high recommendation.

I hope you like it, Linda! I enjoyed it a lot. :)

One more garden report: my lettuce plants are coming back to life! Later we will plant tomatoes, and I will have what I need for salad. And my peach tree is about to bloom. I love Spring!

Thanks so much for stopping by, Linda! Have a terrific day!
--BJ

I'm jealous of your casual peach tree. They are pretty rare up here, being really susceptible to freezing, but a few people try to grow them. We can't even plant our garden for another month or so in case of an april frost

>240 billiejean:: BJ, I have Stitches on reserve at the library and French Milk in hand after a recommendation from the librarian. FM looks interesting. It's the journal in pictures and captions of a young woman (author Lucy Knisley) who takes a trip to Paris with her mother to celebrate Mom's 50th birthday. I like that it has a few black-and-white photographs scattered in as well. Looks like a good mother-daughter story. I'll let you know how it pans out.

That's good news about your lettuce. I'm going to try tomatoes again after giving up when we first moved back here because of the geese eating the green tomatoes. And they weren't even fried! Our geese numbers are down so might have better luck.

#172 I haven't been following LT like I should lately. Seeing that you have read your first "time travel" book you may want to try reading The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.

#186 I have been reading The Secret by Rhonda Byrne with a group. This past sunday we just finished reading the chapter on Graditude. Now, is that The Secret working or what?? I had to add Living as a Thank You: The transformative Power of Daily Gratitude, didn't I?

adding my affirmation to callmejacx recommendation. the Time Travelers Wife is a book I really liked.

I just finished reading your thread BJ and I have to mention that here in Ontario (that's in Canada) we have had only one significant snow fall this year. It's been unusually warm spring like weather here. The temperature suppose to go up to 72F this week. Here in Ontario we call that heaven.

Hi, DP, Donna, Jacx, and Linda!
How fun to have so many people stopping by!

DP, the peach tree does not actually make any peaches, but it is so beautiful in both Spring and Fall. We need another one for cross-pollination. Maybe we will plant another next year. It might be too late for this year. Our last freeze date is Tax Day (with the latest ever May 2), but we were told that lettuce could take the cold so we went ahead and planted not expecting 6 more inches of snow and a hard freeze!!! My Grandma, Uncle and Aunt have already planted tomatoes in Central Texas, but they have much warmer weather there. We will have to wait another couple of weeks.

Donna, I did not think that geese would eat tomatoes, but my daughter told me that she thinks my dog will pick them all because they will catch her eye. In the past she has picked zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and bell pepper, with the bell peppers being her favorite. But she is older now and less of a troublemaker (except where meat the ultimate temptation is concerned!) Oh, yeah, she did steal some cookies off the stove when I was out of the room. Let me know how you like the books.

Thanks, Jacx and Linda for the recommendation of The Time Travelers Wife. I definitely need to find that book. I thought my daughter had it, but she says no. She doesn't get to read much for fun anymore with school and two jobs. She can't wait to graduate!

I am glad you are having such terrific weather, Jacx! I hear that we are going to hit 80F today, but then cooling off to 60s later in the week. I find it pretty terrific, too. Hard to believe that it was so cold on Sunday. I am ready to put away the cold weather clothes now!!!

Have a great day!
--BJ

Oh BJ I'm going to chime in about Time Traveler's Wife. I loved it. It makes time travel somewhat bearable. Not right after but definitely see the movie. It's one of my go to books that I lend out.

Thanks for the recommendation, Julie! I have heard so many good things about that book. And now that there is a movie, too, I for sure want to read it. Mother's Day is coming up. Maybe I will drop a hint! :) I am supposed to cut back on book buying, but I am not really succeeding at it.
--BJ

It's like asking a kid to give up candy. LOL Yeah every year I say I'm going to use the library and I don't. One of the years I will have a kick arse library of my own. ;)

I do both...buy lots of books and check lots of books out of the library....

I simply wish I had more time to read all of them.

I am ashamed to say that I have only taken out two books out from the library in the last 5 years.

Hi, Julie, Linda, and Jacx!
Y'all are so right! I used to check books out instead of buying, but that was a long time ago. I need to start doing that again. Part of the reason that I stopped was that I was having trouble keeping the books from the library separated from the books that I have. Not a very good reason is it? I need to go tomorrow to the library and update my card. I am looking for a book and maybe I should start there. :)
--BJ

My book group read The Time Traveler's Wife. I definitely thought it was good, but it also made me cry a lot--maybe not the best book to read in public if you're susceptible to that!

I have a thing about getting books from the library. I mean it's ok for my kids but I really like to have the books I read. I know it's weird. Plus a couple friends have weirded me out about the germs on a library book. LOL

TTW, as I lovingly refer to it, is definitely a book that'll make you cry. It's a beautiful love story.

Hi, Carly and Julie,
Good to know about the book. Lassie made me cry buckets. I almost could not get through the book reading it to my daughter years ago. And that book Love You Forever? Forget it, I cannot read it aloud. I will have to pick the right time to read it for sure. But with such high reviews, I will definitely read it.

I also have this goal of creating a large enough library that when retired I will have lots of books to keep me happy the rest of my life. But, on the other hand, I will need money to retire, too. :) At least I don't buy lots of shoes! :)
--BJ

Shoes go out of style. Books never do. :)

Too true. And I keep telling myself that sooner or later I will have a complete enough library, but then there are always more books that I had never heard of. This summer both of my girls will be home and I am going to get them to help me enter my books on the LT library so I can see all that I have. Sometimes I actually buy a book when I already have it. Not a good use of resources.
--BJ

#262: Sometimes I actually buy a book when I already have it.

I cannot tell you how many times that has happened to me!

I'm glad that I am not the only one! :) That is why I really want to get all of my books entered. I started out so well, but then went to only entering new books, and now I don't always enter those either.
--BJ

Bj, maybe I've already told you this, but just go to someone else's library who has similar tastes and click on the title of every book in their collection that you haven't listed yet. (LT will tell you if you're duplicating a title.) This is so much faster than dragging a laptop around your house to enter every book. I only had to do the latter for textbooks and cookbooks. Oh yeah, and children's books too--I still haven't finished those.

eta: I bet every LT-er has bought at least one book twice!

Hi, Bonnie!
I think that I tried to do that once quite a while ago, and I got worried that I was going to mess up the other library. I don't have a laptop, so I have to actually drag the books to me to enter them. But I also want to reorganize the books this summer into some sort of coherent plan. Who knows? I will probably give up that effort and try again dragging into my library. I think that I only have a couple of books that aren't already listed somewhere. The total amount entered by everyone is staggering, isn't it? And I definitely have to get all caught up on your thread. It is always so interesting. You read wonderful books!

25. Emissaries from the Dead by Adam-Troy Castro. I read this for the scifi group reads group. This is the first book of a series. I don't read a lot of series, but I might have to check out the second book in this one. This is a scifi murder mystery. Some things I figured out, some things I didn't. I have to say that I got confused in the beginning on the description of the habitat or world that was described. That is probably mostly because I don't read a lot of scifi. I am trying to read more of it these days. Overall, I enjoyed this book.

My peach tree is in full bloom. Nothing from the dogwood. It always blooms later. Happy Passover and Easter to all who celebrate!
--BJ

You won't/can't mess up anyone's library by clicking on books. Yeah it's been great to be able to create collections. I didn't want to merge my two accounts until I could keep my children's books separate, because as much as I love them, I didn't want someone to have to wade through all of them to see what I liked as an adult reader. I also separated out my textbooks, Psychology books, cookbooks, and art books. It's another interesting look into someone else's mind to see how they arrange their books, both in real life and online, don't you think?

P.S. My favorite book of this year so far is one I just read: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Here's the "hard link" (thanks taDad) because the Touchstones aren't working for me: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I'm following up on comments regarding checking out books from libraries. I love both libraries I visit and because I'm there so often the librarians are friendly, helpful and kind.

I keep the library books in a specific place separate from my books. I admit that it is a pain to return them and remember deadlines, but I do save lots of money and I get to read something that I might not like enough to buy.

I think you can get a CueCat from LibraryThing that you can use to scan bar codes, which might make inputting easier, or at least faster.

Hi, Bonnie, Linda, and Carly,
Thanks for the info. I am so glad that I can't do anything to mess anyone up. :) By the way, I just had to add your favorite book of the year to my wishlist, Bonnie!

Linda, today I finally got my library card updated (all the info was the same) and requested 3 books. I hope that they will be ready soon. I hope that I can get them all read in time to turn them in.

I like the thought of that CueCat. It sounds pretty handy. I enter my books manually, believe it or not. When I first started, I imported the info, but I wasn't happy with what I thought were inaccuracies. But with the ISBN it should be accurate.

I am leaving town again tomorrow, so once again, I will be all behind on LT, but this summer I am not going anywhere!!! And one more update on my poor lettuce plants. Today we had a hail storm. No kidding. Those poor plants are just babies and have suffered six inches of snow and a hail storm. If I ever get salad, I will truly appreciate how hard those plants worked to grow.

Have a super weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!
--BJ

Have a safe trip, BJ!

Thanks, Stasia! First thing I will do when I get back is check out your list of books from Sunday.
--BJ

Would you believe I did not read anything this week?

No, I did not think so. Rats :)

#268-- To add to whisper's advice, I told my librarian that I am always having trouble remembering what books are out and which are due and she signed me up for email reminders. So a couple days before a book is due I get a reminder and the email also lets me know if I can renew!! You might want to ask your librarian if that option is available.
I have a dedicated library bag and I keep all my library materials in that bag so I always know where they are.
Have a wonderful Easter!!

Stasia, April Fool's Day is over!!!

Welachild, what a terrific idea! Email reminders would be perfect so that I could renew in time. It has been about a year since I have checked a book out, and I could not believe all the improvements in the online catalog in that amount of time. Keeping everything in one place will definitely have to happen or the books will be lost forever. Thanks so much for the Easter wishes. I get to see both of my girls, mainly because I was planning to visit one, and then I found out that the other one needs me to go there, too. So I get to see them both! Yea!

Happy Easter! And Peeps for everyone! (See, Stasia, no chocolate!)
--BJ

Woo Hoo! No chocolate!! Actually, I am having cheesecake for Easter. Not on my diet, but what the heck.

Cheesecake sounds heavenly! I have totally messed up my diet, but for Easter I am going to have a doughnut. I haven't had one in over six months. And then, I am going to read the next book about the Pritikin diet that my doctor told me to read and rededicate myself to salad.

I forgot to mention, my dogwood tree is blooming! Just in time for Easter!
--BJ

Cool about your dogwood!

I am very proud of this tree. The first one we planted got destroyed when a Bradford pear fell on it during a storm. The pear tree was lovely, but the baby dogwood was the one that I mourned. I guess it shows that I am not really all that good with plants. But a touch of optimism keeps me from giving up. :)
--BJ

I completely black thumb keeps me from trying. God did not give me a green thumb at all - I even manage to kill cacti.

Stasia, oh my goodness, so have I! When I did that, I gave up on houseplants and decided to just keep growing the one thing that survives me - tall bearded iris.

BJ, hope your lettuce survived the hail. I daresay it's not your fault, plants dying in storms, so keep your optimism! :-)

It is nice to know that I am not alone in my plant-killing abilities :)

BJ - just popping in to add my vote that you read The Time Traveller's Wife. I don't normally like those kinds of books, but I loved this one. SO much so that I'm scheduled with a group read of her next book Her Fearful Symmetry next month.

cyderry - Don't expect Her Fearful Symmetry to be TTW. It's good but I'm not sure she'll ever top TTW. :)

-Julie

BJ - Safe Travels!

BJ, can't believe that I didn't find your thread until today! Now that it is past time for you to join the two-thread group, btw!

Hi, Stasia, Mary, Cheli, Julie, and Roni!
I just got back in town, and, boy, was my sweet doggie happy to see me. The kennel tech said that she begs to be petted nonstop when we are gone. Sounds like she has them wrapped around her little paw!

The lettuce actually looks better now that we have left it all alone for a few days. I must admit that I also killed a cactus once from too little water. And they said it could not be done! :)

I am guessing that I would have to read Time Travellers Wife before Her Fearful Symmetry? I wonder when the books I requested will be ready at the library? Because I can't read in the car, I get all behind on my reading when I go out of town. So my doggie and I are going to stay up and read tonight.

I was going to start a new thread at 300. Is that too late? I am never really sure about computer stuff.

I started Taran Wanderer just barely, and I can't wait to get fully into the book.

The best part of Easter was going to the Spring Scrimmage and checking out the up and coming Longhorn football players. Nothing like a little football in springtime!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I am hoping to get caught up on reading threads soon! Have a great day!
--BJ

Typically we start a new thread at 250, unless there are lots of images and pictures, in which case earlier. That's for those who have slower connections, so it doesn't take forever to load. But you are close enough to 300, it isn't going to make a lot of difference!!

Hope you enjoy Taran Wanderer, my favorite of the series. I just finished my re-read of it for the group discussion.

#286: Hooray for the lettuce. It is making a comeback!

Hi, Roni and Stasia!
Thanks for the info on starting the new threads. That is just the kind of stuff I never know. I will plan to start a new one tonight or tomorrow. Tonight is my last Bible study requiring homework -- next week is the last class and no homework. Yea! So I need to work on the homework instead of spending time on LT. But who can resist!

I am also so happy about my lettuce plants. This is our first attempt at lettuce. We decided to grow some when there were all those problems with lettuce at the grocery store. But how could I grow it year round? Guess I should just see if I can grow it at all first before worrying about that. :)

I have enjoyed all of the Alexander books so far. My girls like the last one the best, but they liked this one quite a bit. After my homework, I will get busy catching up on that book. My plan to read all night did not work. I was too tired from traveling and just fell asleep. Maybe tonight.
--BJ

BJ - You should read Time Travelers Wife first. They are 2 very different books but I just think the story of TTW is captivating. :)

Thanks, Julie! I asked my daughter if she had a copy of it, but she didn't. She borrowed it from a friend to read. So I guess I will request it at the library. Seems like one I would like to own, but I am trying not to buy books these days. :( Thanks for the info on which to read first. :)
--BJ

If you end up loving it I bet you could get a gently used copy from Amazon or a local used book store. ;0) Yeah I know, I'm not helping.

I was so tempted to get that amazon prime!!! But then I had to get serious with this no book buying thing. And I was just in Texas with no visit to HPB. It was a whirlwind visit, though. But I can't recall the last time I was there and no HPB bookbuying trip. I predict that I probably will end up getting a copy if I like it. I like having lots of books around and I like to reread them. It is my biggest fault. I will never have that neat as a pin house with these books everywhere.
--BJ

I'd so much rather have books laying around than one of those soulless neat as a pin houses!

What a nice thing to say, Donna! Thank you so much!
--BJ

Amen! Anna Quindlen has a quote "I would be the most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."

I LOVE this quote.

#296: Me too! Thanks for sharing it, Julie.

Oh my goodness! How perfect! I think that I am already there with my girls!
--BJ

Here is my new thread:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/88776&newpost=1#lastmsg

Hope it works!
--BJ