Ellie's 75 - Third time's a charm!

Wow, thread number 3! I didn't make it to three threads in the entire of 2009 - what a lovely group this is!

The first two threads are here:
Thread 1: http://www.librarything.com/topic/79224
Thread 2: http://www.librarything.com/topic/83118

I'm doing the 1010 challenge this year too, but I'm aiming for five books per category over there for now, to give myself a fighting chance and leave some space for those pesky 'not part of the plan but I just can't help myself' reads!

I won't use touchstones in the Master List (!) - too much hassle to keep loading and correcting them - but I'll add the message number of each review/comment for quick reference.

BOOKS READ 2010

Thread 1:
1) Sunshine - Robin McKinley (post 31)
2) Persuasion - Jane Austen (post 100)
3) Thunderball - Ian Fleming (post 139)
4) Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Sex and Science - Mary Roach (post 219)

Thread 2:
5) North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (post 64)
6) The Snow Tourist: A Search for the World's Purest, Deepest Snowfall - Charlie English (post 98)
7) Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything - Elizabeth Gilbert (post 130)
8) Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris (post 175)
*Member Giveaway 'Bonus Read': A Winter Solstice Celebration - DiDi LeMay (post 189)
9) Too Much Anger, Too Many Tears: A Personal Triumph Over Psychiatry - Janet and Paul Gotkin (post 194)
10) Living Dead in Dallas - Charlaine Harris (post 216)

This thread:
11) The Devil's Larder - Jim Crace (post 60)
12) Madness: A Bipolar Life - Marya Hornbacher (post 150)
13) Jaws 2 - Hank Searls (post 179)
14) The Secret Shopper Unwrapped - Kate Harrison (post 187)
15) Eating Myself - Candida Crewe (post 233)
16) Message in a Bottle - Nicholas Sparks (post 234)

Good morning!

There was me, seeing an extra message already and assuming it was Stasia again... Morning Luxx! Well, it's 3pm here, but who's counting?

Oh dear, it must be almost 5p there now in...uhhh...that place that you are, so you won't see this until Monday since I understand that the Authorities Forbid Use of Computers...uhhh, there *racks brain for where Ellie lives*...for fear of anti-Government Rioting.

You *are* Chinese or Iranian, right?

Found you again! It's going to be interesting to see how many threads individual people will have by the end of the year if some are already onto their third threads ;)

Found you! Just stopped by to say Hello....before the Crowd gets here
;-)
J

Thanks everybody for the warm support. To look at my son, you would not even know he is autistic. But then behaviors crop up, hand to face, humming noises, picky eater, panic at spur of the moment things. I don't want him to have to deal with being bipolar. I'm praying the generic Prozac will calm him down just enough that he can focus on school. He already takes Adderall XR and regular Adderall. He is smart. He loves WWII, the Titantic, the Bismark, the Lusitania. Kind of unusual for an 11-year-old so he is a bit of a loner. He loves talking to adults and is definitely not shy. Now if we can only get him over this latest speed bump...

#4: Who me?

Deirdre

Hugs to you for the love that shines through in your posts regarding your precious, wonderful special son!

Whew ... I almost missed this new thread! Starred you again!

Amazing, Ellie! Got you starred again.

Deirdra, although I've only worked with them at the elementary level, the high-functioning autistic/Asperger's kids do not appear to be headed toward bipolar. There are some great books for kids with Asperger's--Kathy Hoopmann in Australia has several, Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome is another. Tony Attwood's books are very helpful for parents as well. You probably are already familiar with these, but just in case...

*runs in, breathless*
. . . another thread. . . can't keep up with you . . . if I wasn't such an insomniac, I'd never keep up with people in this group . . .
*clicks star while running out*

12 BTW, Deirdra, I heard Tony Attwood speak at a conference some years back. I was totally impressed! Many of his insights were very helpful in understanding my son.

Ricardo - I didn't understand a word of that, but hello anyway!

All other sane people - welcome again, pull up a chair, tea and biscuits will be with you in a moment...

Deirdra - One step at a time, that's the key. It sounds like you have a wonderful, intelligent son with his own special interests and capabilities. And see, you speak up in a single heartfelt message and your friends on LibraryThing pour down such a wave of experience and recommendations and support and good wishes that really, you wonder how you ever did without us... Who needs group therapy when you have LibraryThing?! ;-)

ETA: Realised I should probably do a quick catch-up since it's a new thread and all. I'm still reading The Count of Monte Cristo, though I've had to put it on hold for a few days because I've cricked my neck horribly and can't lift the bloody thing long enough to read it! Actually, after three nights of less than three hours sleep each, the rest of the time being filled alternately with pain and medication, I haven't been doing a whole lot of reading full stop, especially since I've still been at work every day... I nearly had the day off today to rest up but I felt too guilty leaving Mum to run the shop on her own at the weekend, especially a day as sunny as today when everyone comes out to enjoy it! However, I am still reading The Devil's Larder, with its odd little food-related vignettes, in little bits and pieces in between times, and waiting on the next Charlaine Harris book for Tuesday/Wednesday at home. I'm sure another dose of Eric Northman will make me feel much better! :-)

15, All other sane people - welcome again, pull up a chair, tea and biscuits will be with you in a moment...

That reminds me. A couple weeks ago I was making this Homstyle Bakes meal with mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits and turky. I accidentilly added the mashed potatoe mix to the biscuit mix. I couldn't do anything about it so I cooked it anyways, and hoped for the best. It was amazing! Soft and moist potato-flavored bisquits are the best.

That always seems to be the case with me, anything I cook turns out wrong...and if it winds up tasting good it's because I made a mistake with the recipe. :)

Oh, and Ellie...maybe it's all this Eric Northman craze that's causing your sore neck in the first place! :)

Just checking in ;o) - hope your neck is getting better!

Not yet it ain't - it's seizing up again nicely (it's half 9 at night, following the same pattern as the last three hideous nights, dammit!) right now, despite oodles of codeine and ibuprofen, heat gel, hot water bottles, pillows, massages, a hot shower, a neck brace, and plenty of movement today at work. Maaaaaan this is gonna hurt, I can tell. You know when you have a REALLY vile headache and you don't know what to do with yourself? You can't eat, can't sit up, can't lie down, definitely can't stand up, can't watch telly but equally can't just sit thinking about it, until you end up staring into space with despairing eyes wondering whether to just behead yourself with a blunt instrument to make it stop? Well, move all that to your neck, jaw and shoulders and that's what I've got to look forward to again in a couple of hours if this happens again tonight!
*rocking quietly in a corner at the thought of having to be nice to customers after a fourth hellish night*

Oh, and Stephen - I still don't understand what 'biscuit' means over there, but just for the record, I will be offering a nice range of chocolate biscuits, cookies and custard creams, maybe with some Scottish shortbread, fruit shortcakes and the odd Party Ring thrown in too...

>Ellie I do believe that the US "biscuits" are what we call Scones, since our biscuits and cookies are all cookies to them. Gah we could do with a US-UK food dictionary :P

Biscuits are round, flakier and lighter than scones. They are a little savory and generally eaten with brown gravy and meat of some sort. I love chicken and business with a flood of gravy. The better biscuits are made with lashings of butter!

>21 cameling: What she said, though I tend to make biscuits with shortening to lighten and flaky them up. Then drowning them in butter, serving them under scrambled eggs topped with extra-sharp cheddar melted on top; baked apple rings and sage sausages to the side.

No tea served before June, and then only iced. We're Murrikin. Drink coffee.

#22: No tea served before June, and then only iced. We're Murrikin. Drink coffee.

Ha! I will drink hot tea, thank you very much, where and when I please.

#23 I'll have your coffee then, Stasia.

Tea? Ick, bleugh, eww. Take it away. Just the smell makes me feel ill.

(Or is that sentiment treasonous? If I'm not around for a while I may have had to go into hiding...

...I'll just have some shortbread before I go.)

#24: I'll take your tea and the shortbread!

If it's like the shortbread my grandmother used to make, I will fight to keep hold of it.

#26: How about I just invite you to my house for my homemade shortbread? I want no part of fighting, lol.

That would work.

Fewer crumbs, too.

#28: I don't know about that - I'm a pretty messy eater.

I love both tea and coffee, but I'm not really sure what shortbread is...(yepp, sounding very clueless right now, probably as a result of the blonde hair and blue eyes). And Ellie, as to the not every Scandinavian guys look like Alexander Skarsgård, there are still plenty that do. The bad thing is that many of them are so vain that they spend more time in front of the mirror getting ready, than their respective girlfriends. We like to call them dandypants or nancyboys, and can be spottet a mile off (No, was not referring to Skarsgård). I have to say I prefer the more natural type.

Oh, and Richard, not sure about the sex-tourism thing, but then again Scandinavians have the reputation of being the easiest (in the world) to get into bed, so maybe a trip would pay off..

But right now the ultimate question is: what is shortbread?

#30: Shortbread is a cookie that is typically thicker than a normal cookie and often times cut into diamond shapes.

On the United States Biscuits: They taste aweful by themselves most of the time. They have to be smothered with gravy or butter to make them edible. They are usually dry and hard, and if it's not dry nad hard by light and fluffy, then it's not a biscuit at all. In that case, it's a "roll."

But accidental potato-biscuits are great. :)

#32: Difference between biscuits and rolls - rolls are made with yeast, biscuits are not.

I am not much of a fan of biscuits, but I love rolls! Just ask my hips.

#30 Shortbread is a traditional Scottish biscuit. It's basically made of butter, flour and sugar (but tastes better if about 1/5th of the flour you add is rice flour). Very buttery tasting, so quite rich, goes well with tea ;o)

I make pretty good shortbread, if I do say so myself... ;o)

...and I've just noticed that Stasia has already answered the question!

...even though I do know the difference, every time I go to the US, I still do a mental double take whenever a menu talks about biscuits!

...and I'm also going to chime in and be very British about tea - but then I practically mainline Earl Grey...

#18 Ellie sorry about your neck/headache. Lots of sympathy floating your way - I hope the ibuprofen starts to kick in. I occasionally get headaches like that and very occasionally migraines and nothing really works - I usually end up lying propped up on my bed in a dark room with lots of water, desperately trying to sleep - if you can actually get to sleep in the first place, it's pretty much the only thing that works (for me anyway)... There is a pressure point in the flabby bit between your thumb and first finger on each hand - I find pinching that very hard can temporarily help relieve things a little bit - but whether it's just a pain distraction technique, I don't know!

#34: Love, love, love Earl Grey! (and Darjeeling, and Oriental Spice . . .have I mentioned I like tea?)

#35 I'm convinced that there's something in Earl Grey that makes it particularly addictive. I love tea in all shapes and forms (provided there's caffeine in it, with an honourable mention going to mint and jasmine teas), but I swear that nothing else quite hits my addiction like Earl Grey!

#36: Have you tried either one of the new Earl Grey blends by Harney & Sons? They have a Winter White Earl Grey and an Earl Grey Supreme. I have not had a chance to try either one yet, but I am tempted.

Ohhhh, Earl Grey is a tea. I thought the topic shifted back to Scandinavian men there for a second. ;)

I completely understand about the neck. I had a sinus headache for two days and hubby did not understand that every time I moved my head my brain felt sloshed. Thank God it is better now. I have been getting headaches periodically since before my son was born so 11 years at least. You just rock in your rocker or stare vacantly into space and wish you were in anybody elses body. The worst part is it cuts deeply into reading time! Sending healing thoughts way over to you and a warm hug. You are not alone!

Wow, twenty messages about biscuits... for the record, Fliss got the closest to the shortbread I'm talking about. And Stasia? Don't get us started on rolls. Here, a roll is bread. But to some people it's a mini baguette, like in restaurants; to others it's a soft round little thing. That soft round little thing can equally be called a bap, a cob, a bun, and a whole wealth of other names. When people from across the country get together blood can be shed over this issue... I know, it happened at university and it wasn't pretty!

Happy update: For three nights I had been painfully falling asleep for about 45 minutes, then waking up for a bit of agony, falling asleep for another 20 or so in an impossibly uncomfortable position, before finally giving in and heading into my living room to watch TV, swallow pills, cradle hot water bottles and generally wait out the night. Hence me being so bloody tired that I nearly burst into tears yesterday afternoon when a customer was a bit funny with me!

Happily, last night was a little better - an hour and a half sleep, then about the same time again sitting up watching Mythbusters waiting for the hot water bottle/pills to ease things up a bit, then HALLE-CHUFFING-LUJAH, I fell asleep on the sofa, and on waking a few minutes later, crawled back to bed and slept through til morning. Oh happy day!

So I sparkled my way into work this morning, and leaving Mum to open up, headed out into the beautiful sunshine to wander the market and do a bit of shopping. I've bought a handful of books (and the next Sookie Stackhouse books arrived in the post), some cosy socks and chocolate, some fresh ham and a sausage roll from the amazing butcher's just down the street, and had a good wander round looking at everything on the market. I babysat James's birds while he took his car over to the carpark, met a gorgeous man wandering round in a sandwich board advertising a charity sale today, and ate a sandwich out there chatting to James about his birds. He provided the owls for Harry Potter, I found out today! I'm getting that afternoon sleep-deprived exhausted feeling again now, and some of the customers today are being a pain in the proverbial (if I hear the words 'oh, this used to be a charity shop' once more today, I swear I'll kill someone!) but another couple of hours and I'll be home for my days off, two days of books and sleep... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

*flits off in a sleepy haze of sunshine and good cheer*

I am glad you finally got some good rest in, Ellie!

The owls for HP? I want to meet the guy!!

He is amazing, I tell you. He's the director of the National Hawking Centre (conveniently, about half an hour from here), which has a whole wealth of owls and hawks, teaches falconry, provides displays, rehabilitates injured birds, the works. They provided owls for the Harry Potter movies and run 'owl parties' for children with some of their tamest birds, which must be amazing! James is so knowledgeable to talk to - he was in the army, he trained as a zoologist, he's been on TV and written a whole load of books...

We ply him with coffee on these chilly days, and babysit the birds while he moves his car, once he's unloaded them all outside our shop. He sets up just by the bridge, right outside our doorway. We're slowly getting to know the birds - about the species, and all their quirky characters! - and learning so much from him, and it's nice to be able to wander outside with a bite to eat for a quick chat. I'll have to post a picture or two when I get them off my camera... Oh, and when I mentioned that I was thinking of saving up for a falconry lesson as another agoraphobia-busting goal, he offered to take me out for free because we'd looked after him so well! They're pretty expensive days so I was over the moon, what a nice guy! :-)

I collect owls which I think are just fascinating birds. I hope you take him up on the offer of the falconry lesson. Let me know how that goes.

Years ago in college, I had to take a one credit course and I opted for a trek to a bird santuary for a weekend. It was wonderful. The woman who lead the course was the director of a place called Hawk Mountain.

I was fascinated by her knowledge, especially the fact that she would listen to a bird and tell us the tone of communication, then would teach us that another bird would soon respond.

To this day, I now know the sound of a cardinal....

Wow! What interesting not your typical everyday posts! I so have to tell my son Daniel about the Harry Potter birds. I am very glad your neck is starting to mend Ellie! I wonder if all our posts for well wishes are starting to kick in?

Ellie, when I get one of my pounder headaches,all I can do is curl up in fetal position and stay absolutely still--after a bit the pain is still there but it has moved very slightly off center so that I am ever so slightly detached from it--weird, huh? Hope your neck is continuing to feel better, and love your description of your day!

I can't believe I've only just found your threads. Sadly, I don't have the physical or mental energy to go through your others but I shall be following you closely from now on!

Thanks guys! And hello Jenny, I am rather honoured to have you drop by!

Made it home now, so I know that apart from a brief foray into our garage for a couple more boxes of books to take in on Thursday, and a food delivery from the supermarket, I can spend the next two days chilling out, reading, watching a bit of TV and catching up on sleep from the last few days. *sighs happily and cuddles into her slanket*

Slanket? Is this another funny terminology difference? Is that like a Snuggy? (A blanket with sleeves)

I love those things! :)

Yeah, mine's actually a 'Cosy Rug', but same difference really... It's snuggly and warm and I love it! Though a lot of the time I wear mine like a royal coat rather than the 'backwards' way you're supposed to wear them - I'm so short I just trip over it the other way when I attempt to stay inside it to make a cup of tea or something!

Wow at the HP Owls

Isn't it cool? The pictures on the big publicity boards he has out are of Errol, the Weasley's old stupid owl, the one that keeps crashing into things! My favourite is Gilbert, a young male barn owl who screeches for attention constantly and plays with his food - he has a knack of waiting for some silly squeamish woman to come and start squawking about feeding them chicks, and tearing his in half beautifully, or choking it down so there's just a foot sticking out each side of his beak... Hehe, quite the little devil! Can you believe there are women there looking nauseous and complaining that James should be feeding these beautiful birds of prey 'bread or seed or something?' Then there's Geoffrey the little owl, who sits and glares at everyone and eats his dinner under his name sign so the other owls can't see him; Snoopy the kestrel, who is just sweet; Frank the baby Eurasian eagle owl, all fluffy with huge blue long-lashed eyes, who sits warbling and loves geese and anything with wheels... and a whole load more; they're just so lovely and fascinating!

ETA: I should start demanding wages for all this free PR I keep gushing at anyone who will listen! :-)

#52: Can you believe there are women there looking nauseous and complaining that James should be feeding these beautiful birds of prey 'bread or seed or something

Yeah, if he wanted to kill tham all!

Daniel thought that was very cool. Especially about getting Falcon lessons. I have to say it made my day hearing about the owls and you can chatter all you want about them as far as I am concerned.

When I saw so many unread messages on this thread I should have known there were some non-book discussions going on!

Ellie, I'm glad you managed to get a bit of sleep and hope your neck recovers and you enjoy your days off.

The owls sound gorgeous.

To bring it back to literary stuff, in one of my favorite children's fantasies, Linnets and Valerians, Uncle Ambrose has an owl that sits on the back of his study chair and hacks up own pellets. Where I first learned about that habit!

Honoured? By me? Blimey, you seem to have got the wrong idea about me. You should be terrified, as many people here can testify. I have an unfortunate tendency to cause small amounts of havoc. I don't know *how* I do it.

Found you and starred you again Ellie, blimey *must* you have a new thread everytime I come online? ;-)

Yes Jenny - I've seen the havoc you wreak, especially over on Stasia's thread, but it's such nice havoc that I think you'll fit right in over here!

Jess - blame them! I just sit back and invigilate...

My neck's still seizing up horribly at night, but I'm sleeping through it once I'm settled now, and it seems to loosen up again more quickly in the morning, which is good! I was so sleepy over my days off that I didn't start the next Charlaine Harris book (I want to be able to concentrate when I read it!) - I finished The Devil's Larder and read a chapter or two of The Count of Monte Cristo instead, took a few naps, did a bit of a book sort-out... Then last night I spent about four hours painstakingly going through my iTunes library, replacing corrupted files, getting rid of some old stuff and downloading all the songs I've had scribbled on bits of paper for months. So, more productive than bookish this week!

Review for that book to follow in a few minutes - the shop seems to be overrun with people demanding chunks of time and money today - but as a basic summary: DO NOT LIKE!!!

11) The Devil's Larder by Jim Crace



Wow, this book was a disappointment. With the 'foodie vignette' premise, the striking lipsticked mouth on the front, and words like 'erotic', 'funny', 'delicious', 'tender', and 'profound' floating around in the reviewer quotes on the cover, I had high hopes. I was expecting a kind of fusion of Joanne Harris and Laura Esquivel, something sensual and rich, maybe with a hint of magic and darkness about it. Sounds good, right?

Wrong. It was nothing like that. In fact, the food link in itself was rather tenuous at times. The book was just plain sick. Rather than touching tales, warmth and insight, these vignettes were bitter sour, riddled with food poisoning, sewers, various bodily functions, death and decay. A chef poisons his customers and enjoys thinking about how their bodies will violently reject his food later that day. A character watches a new set of neighbours unsuspectingly growing 'delicious' fruit and vegetables in the old owner's latrine disposal pit. A man watches through binoculars as schoolgirl shellfish-collectors and their teacher urinate on the beach. They're just a couple of the delights on offer.

This just goes on and on - even when the story starts out nicely, it's like Crace can't resist throwing something disgusting in there to drag it back into the gutter. After the first few vignettes it really started to feel unnecessary and gratuitous, and once or twice I nearly gave up on the book, it was making me feel so ill. I carried on in the hope that there might just be a 'chapter' or two that would touch me, offer something profound, and thus make the rest worthwhile. I didn't find one. The whole thing just left me cold. I am very open-minded, not at all easily shocked, and I usually appreciate the subtleties behind a disturbing read, but - sorry Crace enthusiasts - this time I have no qualms about offering it a paltry half a star (just for the effort of writing) and saying that this was possibly the worst book I have ever read in my life.

#60: That book promptly made my 'do not read' stack after your review. Sounds terrible.

I am glad to hear that the neck pain is giving you at least a little relief!

The worst thing is - is it just me? The other two reviewers seemed to really like it. Maybe it's like modern art - people who 'get it' love it, critics fall over themselves to sing its praises, but most of it just leaves me stone cold. Well, I tried it, didn't I. C'est la vie!

#62: I think all of probably wonder over books from time to time 'Is it just me?', especially if the book is highly touted or recommended by people whose opinions we appreciate. In the end though, it just comes down to the reader and if you do not like it, then that is just the way it is.

Gosh, I'm sorry you didn't like The Devil's Larder, since it's one of my favorites by CRACE.....but, it is darker and seems to be determinedly so....not for everyone.But I liked your review....anywho....and am glad you gave it a fair shot.
;-}

Actually I'm quite glad you've already read it Jude - I saw your name come up as one of the members with the book, and much as I hated it, I didn't want to totally turn you off a book that was already on your shelves if you hadn't read it yet!

#60 Don't think I will be trying that one, thanks for the heads up. And btw, it's probably not just you, it seldom is. I know how it feel to dislike a book that "everybody else" seems to love. I don't know if you've heard about him, but in Norway you are supposed to like a book called Hunger by Knut Hamsun, because the book is "genius". I had to read it in uni, and all I can say is that it was precious hours of my life that I will never get back. Life is just too short some times. Hope your next read is better, and hopefully your neck pain stays away.

I've enjoyed all the foodie talk here, but book #11 sounds ghastly. It sounds like a book that is bad because it is inaccurately presented, which may not actually be the fault of the author, but is disappointing nonetheless.

Oh dear, I'm afraid that description almost makes me want to read The Devil's Larder. Except that it seems designed purely for shock value... Still, I guess I'm in a "is it just me?" scenario too...although significantly different than Ellie's! ...

Devil's Larder doesn't quite sound like my cup of tea . . .

> 60 I would NOT want to be Crace's therapist!!

Your thread makes such good reading Ellie! I shall definitely avoid The Devil's Larder - not my cup of (nice strong looseleaf) tea!

>66 Apolline: - I have heard of Hunger - and good things too - but it does seem like another one of those books that you either love and understand on some deep level, or you don't. One to get from the library or wait for a copy to come into the shop sometime, perhaps. In a way I hate books like this, because like Marmite, it's so hard to find redeeming features in something that leaves you so cold. Even the worst chick lit, for example, can usually be described as fun, fluffy, a bit of a cheer-up read, so it doesn't matter if it doesn't set the world alight. But books you're meant to worship that fall flat are so darn frustrating!

Ulysses, Alice in Wonderland, The Colour Purple (though Shug had her moments of fine humour), The Catcher in the Rye, all fit that category for me... The Metamorphosis was quite sad and moving, but even that didn't light up my life like it has for others. *sigh*

On the up side, it is fun to read an utterly, unabashedly I-simply-hated-this-book scathing review from time to time. (and perhaps a small part of you enjoyed making mincemeat of it?)

I did, as a matter of fact! It's nice to unleash a bit of venom every now and again - and we can't like every book, after all...

Today I can't seem to focus on my book at all, which is going to drive me mad. Last night my neck started to stiffen up as usual, but after a week of this I got a bit cocky and instead of stretching it out a bit and taking some ibuprofen, just thought 'ah, well, if I just go to sleep now it'll be fine'. I got up at seven, yelping every time I moved, and ended up sitting for an hour and a half drugged up and hot-water-bottled, watching episode 2 of True Blood and hoping I'd be flexible enough to get dressed in time for work!

I made it - with a neck brace on to keep it supported again - but now I'm sooooooo sleepy, I'm finding it hard to stay awake and put on a smile for the customers, let alone concentrate on my book! *sigh* The tiredness is making me so miserable and grouchy! All these days of not sleeping at night are taking their toll (I was up until 5am the night before last too, and similar probs for about a week before that).

I'm setting my next days off entirely aside for catching up on sleep and relaxing - no jobs if I can help it, no visitors, no getting DRESSED if possible - so hopefully by this time next week I'll be right as rain! Sorry for moaning about it again... :-(

*heads for the office to make hot coffee*

Oh, ouch! I do hope by this time next week you are much improved, Ellie.

aha! found you :)

Well, I made coffee and had a nice fifteen minutes out chatting to James, cradling my mug and wrapped up against the cold breeze. He had Frank the baby eagle owl on his arm, scratching his beak and talking to him so he warbled back, and turning him round so he could see the pushchairs coming past (he loves things with wheels!). Then I popped out to the supermarket for milk in case James wanted more coffee (he's been lambing every night this week) and ended up 'accidentally' buying Mum and I an Easter egg and a pack of chocolate donuts each. The Co-Op used to have them all the time and they're delicious, but I haven't had (or even seen) one for years so I grabbed them quick! I've even managed a few pages of The Count of Monte Cristo and had a good giggle at a couple of bookish articles online - including that 'My Week: Ian McEwan' one from The Times that was posted on your thread, Kath - the day has improved... ;-)

Tra la la la... *dances through in a happy burst of pain-free good-night's-sleep-induced good cheer*

Clear head = happy reading, so I'm off to enjoy my book while the shop's quiet! :-)

#78: Happy, happy dance for Ellie!

Oh that's great Ellie! *also joins in the happy dance* :D Have fun reading!

Ellie- Big wave! Glad you are feeling better!

Nothing beats a great night's sleep after a long stretch without one.

Glad you are feeling better Ellie! :)

Hi Ellie - Just catching up on your thread once again. Good to hear that you are feeling better. Love the talk about the owls/falconry and also the shortbread riff - I'm with flissp on that one too.
I recently read A Kestrel for a Knave by Barry Hines, a bleak but classic YA that's about a boy training a kestrel. I'm sure you've heard of it.

Don’t cha just love that first day free of pain when you’ve been ill, cricked your neck, broken your leg, etc? You don’t cherish your health until you lose it. Glad your feeling better Ellie =)

ouch! for just a second there I thought you mentioned the M word!

Huh? McEwan?

Well, that's the last time I carefully map out my reading for my days off - I seem to keep jinxing myself. The long and short of it is that all those sleepless nights with my neck have played havoc with everything and seem to have unexpectedly flushed me a little too far towards 'nutcase' for my liking. All of which means lack of concentration and wired-til-5am miserable nights, amongst other Fun Stuff. Been doing a bit of clearing, little bits and pieces like sorting out photos on my laptop to do a print order, watched The Breakfast Club... but not a whole lot of reading. A chapter or two of The Count of Monte Cristo over breakfast this morning, but that's it! C'est la vie... :-)

Oh, and yes, I have read Kestrel for a Knave - and am ready for a reread soon. We read it at school. Fortunately I smuggled a copy home to read ahead, so I knew where to 'switch off' and studiously think about something else to avoid sobbing in front of the entire class! The same with Of Mice and Men - and watching the 1968 Romeo and Juliet film - what were they trying to do to us?!

Argh!! Don't remind me about Of Mice and Men!! I've tried for two years to forget those torturous GCSE English lessons- I don't care if it was a representation of how the American Dream was futile!!! *calm....ommmmm*
Ugh the '68 R&J was a pain as well- was it just me or did the guy playing Romeo look *scarily* like Zac Efron?!?

Sorry about the Fun Stuff. Hope The Breakfast Club and sorting sorted it...

I've yet to read Kestrel for a Knave, but having seen the film, I can definitely sympathise with the sobbing-in-class avoidance. Definitely a good tactic to smuggle it home I reckon...

Keep meaning to comment on your thread and then not having enough time, but your birds-of-prey man sounds wonderful - I'm very jealous. There's just something about owls isn't there? ...and kestrels... Have you got your falconing class lined up yet?

Hey Rach - I liked the books and the movie (though yes, a squarer-jawed Zac Efron, now you mention it...), but why did they all have to be weepies? I mean, who really wants to end up blubbering in front of a classful of people, that's not very conducive to studying now is it?

Fliss - not seen the movie, don't know if I could bear it! No falconry day lined up yet, and won't be until 1) the weather's warmer (it's up on top of a hill, brrrrr) and 2) I know I can hack it without making a fool of myself. The agoraphobia's bad enough without the old manic depression kicking in too. Though, interestingly, the MD tends to give me an incredible urge to just 'get out' of situations sometimes, which can actually completely override the agoraphobia... Swings and roundabouts, people.

#90

Swings and roundabouts, don't I know about them, even though it's clinical as opposed to manic depression for me. Shall we just go and curl up in a never ending bookshop and never come out??

Hope you're feeling slightly improved now. I know how hard it can be.

Just tired today - on the plus side, I haven't killed anybody despite the woman who fell down the step into the shop (about the sixth so far that morning) and screeched "Oooooh, did you see that?! It said 'Mind the step' and I fell right down it! Did you see?" And the small child having a tantrum and banging cupboard doors. I merely grimaced, raised my eyes to the heavens, and hoped they'd leave, pronto... Just sat reading chick lit, picking at a chocolate crispie slice and ignoring everybody! And choosing clothes out of the Freemans catalogue for a marathon order of stuff to try on in an attempt to find some nice new work outfits/scraggy lounging on the lawn outfits for summer. *yawns*

I don't know what a chocolate crispie slice is, but it sounds delicious.

Hi Ellie. I like the sound of lawn outfits! That and a slice of the chocolate crispie sounds lovely. We have an owl that nests in a tree outside our window and he serenades us to sleep at night.

>93 dk_phoenix: - Oh yeah. My school used to make it but since then I've found a place in town that makes what they call 'Bakewell Crackle' just as I like it. It's as far away from the shop as you can get in this little place but I make the odd trip over there specially! It's basically the old chocolate and rice krispie mixture, except that they add treacle or something to it as well which keeps it from completely setting, so it's a little squidgier and tastes even more divine, with this warm edge to the flavour.

Oh now see what you did, if it's not raining tomorrow I'm going to have to go over there and buy more! :-)

>94 Berly: - 'Serenading' isn't quite the word I'd use for Gilbert (the barn owl). Or Olive (the eagle owl), for that matter. They just screech, constantly. Though the tawny owls round here are marginally less vocal!

ETA: I just realised I've only reviewed one book on this thread so far. My apologies to anyone who's reading all this and thinking, 'jeez, does she ever talk about anything except food?' What can I say, if I haven't finished another book yet there will ALWAYS be something else scrummy to talk about, from men to mealtimes! I'm tired, I'll stop rambling now. ;-)

Are we supposed to be talking about books?

>96 Berly: *shocked silence* And start an entirely new way of life NOW?! Silly Berly.

Chocolate blechiness aside...happy you're still a free woman, Ellie, not awaiting the barrister in a dank, unlit cell, shackled to the wall, after killing that kid (that SOOO needed killing, too).

Bratty kids make me crazy... parents can be so oblivious.

you need a sign that says Small children left unattended will be given caffeine and a puppy.

chocolate yumminess.....

I love owls!

anyway.. sorry to be so cryptic
off to get ready for work

At home we made chocolate crispies with Golden Syrup - my sister likes to make them at Christmas when we all descend on my mum and her husband. They are made using a plainish breakfast serial, usually rice crispies or corn flakes, something sticky and sweet and the chocolate. Yummy.

*licks lips* Mmm I want some Bakewell Crackle! I might try and make my own over the weekend...

Gah stop making me want food I can't have!! I *Love* chocolate rice crispie cake but unless I can find some in the supermarket tomorrow I'm just gonna have to sit here and pine *sniffs theatrically* ;-)

>98 mckait:: Bratty kids make me crazy...

Better stay away from Disney World then, Kath. We just got back from there, and I saw a little bit of everything, although I must say that the parents are the ones who drive me crazy. Of course, my 3 grandkids were (and are) perfect angels. :-)

bratty kids? I lost it last week. Normally, I simply walk away from misbehaving brats and their parents that allow it. But last week, there were four people (myself included) who let a mother have it.

Her two brats were yelling throughout the store. By the time they got to the cash register, the boy (about 9) went behind another register and started pounding on the keys and tried to open drawers. The cashier politely asked him to get away from there..He looked at her with a smirk and kept right on doing it. The mother got mad at the cashier...

Then the boy and girl started to fight and break things their mother intended to buy, which she now promptly told the cashier she was not going to pay for them.

Previously, the mother kicked someone out of line loudly stating she was there first.

Now, the bratty son took a shopping cart and forcefully pushed it down the aisle, clothes flew off the rack and the cart carrened down the aisle, knocking into an elderly lady and pushing her to the floor.

I'm so sick and tired of it all.

> 103 Wow, that's the worst bratty kid story I've ever heard. It sounds like the bad apples didn't fall too far from the sick tree.

If I acted that way, I would not be alive today to talk about it. My grandmother is a firm believer in polite manners. I remember going with her to visit her friends on a Sunday afternoon. I was offered fruit from a bowl of Strawberry's on the table and I ate two. According to my grandmother that was one too many.

Mmm, chocolate crispies....

I hate bratty kids and I blame their parents because they didn't take the time to teach them manners in the first place. Bratty kids in a store? huh... try bratty kids on a plane ... they really make you want to strangle them or slit your own wrists

All too often the bratty kids end up seeing someone like me and the parents sit here and try to justify their children's behavior.

I really wonder why it'd be illegal to own a wee electric cattle prod for use only on bratty kids and their equally obnoxious parents

Caroline - funnily enough, that's EXACTLY what my mum always says when there are vile children in here. Though none quite as bad as Linda's story yet, thank heavens!

O rainy Saturday, how sweet thou art for allowing me to put my feet up with a cup of coffee instead of doing thy busy work, at least for a glorious hour... If it could just keep raining and keep everyone at home I could get half my book read instead of having to put on my Service Smile and make small talk! :-)

#110: I need to order something off ABE just so you have something to do, Ellie :)

Hmmm, any excuse... it'll be posted first thing Monday morning! ;-)

#112: Thanks, I look forward to getting it!

Well, as a quick update, I have LOADS of books on the go right now, just because my mind won't settle on anything too long so I figured it was as well just to Be Prepared. Now whatever the place, time, mood, situation... I have a book. And if all else fails I have a trashy magazine or two on hand as well! Still working on:

- The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
- Madness: A Bipolar Life - Marya Hornbacher
- The Secret Shopper Unwrapped - Kate Harrison
- Global Village Idiot - John O'Farrell
- Cobain Unseen - Charles Cross

Maybe at some point I'll even finish a book instead of keep starting a new one! Not to mention the fact that I've had a sudden run of success in the ER/Member Giveaways which means I've got to get cracking... Sod's Law ain't it, no wins all this time then as soon as reading's getting a bit dicey they all come at once! :-)

I just love The Count of Monte Cristo .. hope you're enjoying that read. I'll be interested to read what you have to say about Global Village Idiot - I have that in my TBR Tower and it's position in reading rank has been shifting of late.

#114

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Madness: A Bipolar Life. I haven't read that but I did read and get a lot out of Wasted by the same author. Have you read that one?

Whenever I hear bratty kids stories, I wonder what ones were told about my son when he was younger? It takes a long time to teach a child with autism how to behave in public -- especially in highly stimulating environments, like a big store. I'm sure people thought he was just a spoiled brat, not a disabled child, and that I was a horrible mother. (On some occasions, they probably still do.)

But at least I had the sense to be embarassed by it, and not act like he should behave that way! (or, worse, behave that way myself!) Some of us even carried printed cards with us that we could hand to disapproving onlookers, explaining autism.

Years ago, an acquaintance had someone in a shopping line complain that her child was terribly rude, because he didn't respond when she said hello to him. My friend offered the woman her paycheck if she could get the child to say anything -- anything! as the child had never spoken a word in his life. (Last I heard, he still hasn't.)

But at least I had the sense to be embarassed by it, and not act like he should behave that way! (or, worse, behave that way myself!) Some of us even carried printed cards with us that we could hand to disapproving onlookers, explaining autism.

That in itself proves that you're a good parent. But rude adults are just as bad as rude children, if you ask me. Nothing can make a tantrum worse like a stranger giving you the evil eye or, even worse, saying something.

Parenting is full of tough choices. I, for one, refuse to take my toddler to adult restaurants, much to my MIL's annoyance. I'm sorry, but if they use cloth napkins then my 2-year-old doesn't belong there. No, not even if they have a children's menu.

#118 If being embarassed by our son's autistic outbursts is a sign of being a good parent, then I must have been excellent back then! It was one of the hardest parts of dealing with the whole thing, the reactions from others . . . except for the worry of what will happen to him when we're gone.

I, for one, refuse to take my toddler to adult restaurants

We had to take our son out to eat fairly early on to start teaching him how to behave eating out, but we did fast food places . . . family restaurants . . . very casual diners -- and during off-peak days and hours, for the most part. We carried lots of "ammunition" -- fidget toys, coloring books & crayons, maps (he's always loved maps) and often one of us would wind up taking him for a walk.

One of the great thrills of our life was the first time we were eating in a restaurant and a neighboring diner complimented us on our son's excellent behavior!

rude adults are just as bad as rude children,

Then there was that evening when we were in a grocery line and some adult ahead of us was being absolutely obnoxious because the cashier was new and too slow . . . and my tired son just waited patiently with me. I got immense satisfaction that my autistic eight-year-old (age at the time) could behave better than that grown up (who actually worked for the store, I might add!)

My, I am going on and on! Sorry to hijack your thread, Ellie. And I hope you are feeling more yourself. My best friend from high school battled MD, and it was quite a challenge.

#112: Got the book today, Ellie! Boy, that was quick. Thanks to you and your mum.

Just dropping by to let you know I'm still, y'know, alive - just not online that much because it makes my eyes even more sleepy, and I'm having a royal case of everything being Too Much Effort. Par for the course, unfortunately. So hijack away, people, because there really isn't much reading going on right now! Odd dribs and drabs of each book - and I stopped reading Global Village Idiot because, funny though it is, my head won't wrap around the politics side right now. Actually I'm doing fairly well in reading back over all my old journals, starting when I was about 12, but I'm fairly sure they don't count. And my sister bouht 'Roswell' on DVD, which I loved years ago and then it moved to Sky or something and I haven't seen it since, so I've started those again.

And working, obviously. Hannah gave me an extra day off on Thursday which as nice, and very welcome. I'm not very 'service with a smile' right now because I'm usually either half asleep, or slightly murderous (we've had some vile people in recently!). She worked with Mum for the day and left me at home to my own devices - which meant trying on clothes, clearing some stuff, munching the DELICIOUS fruit salad that she made when she got home from uni, then trying to sleep off a headache. Yawn... okay, time to find something else to do to use up another hour or so towards home-time... :-)

P.S. Jenny - I've got Wasted but haven't read it yet - Madness is a library book so the clock was ticking!
P.P.S. Glad the book arrived so quickly Stasia!

#121: I hope things ease up for you soon, Ellie, and you are back to your normal self.

Hope you get the rest you need, Ellie and wake up headache-free, bright and perky again ...... oh, I also hope the vile people find another store to terrorize.

Grrrr, me too!
There was a vile woman yesterday who was just a complete pain in the ass from the second she walked in.

"Didn't this used to be a Red Cross?"
"Yes, but they shut well over a year ago I'm afraid."
"So you're not a charity shop now, then?"
"No, it's a second-hand bookshop."
"So you're not selling in aid of the Red Cross?"
"No, me and my mum are running it as a bookshop."
"Oh, well, why do you have a Red Cross collection box then?"
"Because Mum volunteered for them in Matlock for a while, so we thought it would be nice to have a box."
"Oh."

Two minutes later...
"You don't have any Christian books?"
"There's a religion section just through the arch there."
"Here?" (patting the table full of new gifts, just before the arch)
"No, through the arch, on the left".
"Here?" (Grasping the right hand shelf that is clearly marked 'Young Adult')
"No, left! LEFT! Yes, there you are..." (gritting teeth)

Twenty seconds later...
"Er, excuse me. Excuse me? These aren't all Christian books!" (said in disgusted manner)
"No, it's a religion section. General religion."
"But they aren't all Christian!"
"No, it's for all religions. There's a bit of everything there. Not all Christian."
"Well, I don't like it. What I'm really looking for is Christian biographies, autobiographies, that kind of thing."
"Well, there's a biography section over there."
"Yes, but there are no CHRISTIAN ones. Just for Christians..."

She pottered off with her friend over to the bio section and I hastily legged it into the back, took a couple of deep breaths, and mimed shooting myself to Mum, who rolled her eyes. Another ten minutes of dropping books and cards on the floor, moaning, muttering, and banging audiobooks around in their basket, and they FINALLY left.

Carry on...

Did they at least buy anything?!!!! You need stress puppets - ones that look like some of these vile people, that you can squeeze the stuffing out of

It's usually people like that that I start messing around with. "You see that black book with the pentagram and fire on it? That's a great christian fiction book. What? It looks like a book on satanism? NAHHH! It argues against satanism. It's great, you should try it..."

Oh, awful customers who don't buy anything.

The best stupid question from a pain-in-the-ass patron I've ever had was from a woman who, after being snotty to me for a half hour at the campus library I worked at, snottily asked "Third floor, where would that be?" I was too dumbfounded by the question to say "two floors up from this one" and instead took a deep breath and directed her to the elevator and stairwell, both of which were clearly visible and within ten feet of her location.

#124 People like that drive me crazy! Grrrr.....

Aren't you glad I order books from my house instead of coming to your shop and driving you nuts?

Oh, those stories are so funny but so awful!

I was the ditzy customer last week - nice, but a bit thick. I had to buy a German book for my homework and had left the name and the author at home... so I did that terrible thing where I said "I don't know the author or the title, but it's got Weg in it, and it's by a German TV celebrity and he goes to St Jacques do Compostela". She got it straight away and was really nice about my ditziness! It's my favourite bookshop in Basel, which is saying a lot because there are so many good ones.

Luxx is my hero

Nothing worse than going out for perhaps the only time that year to have a nice quiet adult meal, and have a 3 year old running rampant and being loud while the parents ignore...My sister keeps saying that she wants to open an all adult restaurant .

119.. terri... you just proved my point about children who have behaviors. Too many parents get a dx then throw up there hands and say well s/he is ** whatever, and can't help it. Baloney. I see a lot of children with different dx.. and you can tell the ones who parent them, as you do. Sadly, our school chooses to teach them that bad behavior is fine. No help to these parents who are working so hard.

Kids with a dx are not stupid, they just have different challenges for themselves and their parents... they CAN learn.. both behavior wise and they CAN be educated properly..to the bestof their own ability like any typical child. What I can't figure is the kids who are typical and allowed to run wild too.. as their parents don't even have a dx to use as an excuse ( which it isn't)

We have a student who is an only.. and he came in quite well behaved. We fixed that in a hurry, by allowing him to be bored silly ( he does not belong in our school, no matter what his dx.. he is way too smart) and beyond boredom, he is allowed to get his way about working, sitting, etc. He used to sit and do his goal work on his own. I just sat there encouraging him. Now he bangs his chair around, and thtows things. I try to not let him, but when the rest of the team thinks he is adorable and funny and after all has autism, well..

He now has a behavior where he digs his chin into other kids ( and staff) I tell him no chin, he stops and finds something else to do .. the rest allow it. They say the other kids don't seem to mind. Well.. it hurts! he doesn't need to do it. he is smart enough to sit on his own hands if he needs to, he does.. but..

His parents taught him how to behave, we untaught him. And now he has developed a whole list of behaviors. :( and become aggressive. His parents see it too..

He should never have been on our school... but his dad know our director and ..
He should have been in his district.. he is that smart, but now... they don't want him. btw since his dad knew our director they never approached their district just went straight to her to ask her opinion..................................................

ahem.. sorry

ellie... yikes... !
rude and difficult and impossible to make happy people are the worst.. and btw yes.. rude children are bad, rude adults much worse..

#131 We stopped sending our son to our region's Extended School Year program for autistic kids years ago because we found that it caused him to regress. They put him in the back of a room overcrowded with kids and aides, where he couldn't see the board or hear properly with all the ventilation fans going . . . and he got bored and imitated the lowest-functioning kids (whose behaviors are, of course, most interesting to a kid . . .) He's bright, and does best around "typical" kids when he is given proper supports.

Even this summer, faced with a decision between a shorter summer camp term in a "mainstreamed" environment and a longer camp term geared toward kids with autism, we finally decided to "mainstream" him. (It helps that I know the "mainstream" camp very well, and trust that he will be in good hands.) The autism camp would have been much handier for me (transportation provided, and he'd be at camp on the days when I was working for a whole month) but I wasn't willing to take the risk that they'd handle him poorly.

The more you say the more I admire you and the choices you make ESY is a nightmare. People who do not know the kids, for the most part... kids jumbled up with kids they are not normally with.. aides often college kids just looking for summer dollars who do not "get" it. I worked a few then gave them up as too nightmarish.. for many reasons. Reminds me of warehousing or bad daycare or...
anyway...

Kudos once again and I can't wait to hear about how great he does :)

Kudos once again and I can't wait to hear about how great he does :)

I second that!

Count me in on the kudos too.

We had our first 'outing from the local mental institution' visit today. I didn't even realise until a twenty-something woman asked if she could have one of the sweets on the counter. 'Course you can' I smiled. Cue this patronising 'minder' laying into this (fully grown) woman about this bloody sweet. Now, fair enough, if she knew better for whatever reason... but couldn't she have just quietly taken it off her or something? Everyone was listening in and this poor girl looked mortified, like she's suddenly shrivelled up into herself, and ducked away behind one of the bookshelves. I made sure I gave her an extra smile and said goodbye to her as they left.

Is it totally weird that I was so desperate for her not to think I was judging or feeling weird about the group? They just seemed a little quiet, to be honest, a bit wary of people. I was just sitting there thinking, 'don't worry guys, no judgement here - I could so easily be with you...' *sigh*

Still only dribs and drabs of reading going on (of about six or seven different books now!) - mainly I'm just watching 'Roswell' and late night TV, and perusing the pages of a heap of trashy magazines. Still reading my old diaries, which is always an interesting thing to do every year or so. Remembering good times and bad times, and reflecting on how I've grown in such a short few years. Oh, and now I've got a cold too, so I'm back to not being able to sleep, all stuffed up and my mouth tastes gross and my head's all fuzzy... Right, I'm starving and I'm watching the middle-of-the-night repeat of Loose Women - time to pop some more pills, try and clear my head and get to a point where I can TASTE MY FOOD then GET SOME SLEEP! Aaaaargh!

So sorry to hear about the cold--being sick just makes that "can't settle to ANYTHING" feeling even worse! Sweet dreams.

*whammies Ellie long-distance with Kold-B-Gon spell*

Hope you are feeling better this morning, ellie

As for the "minder" some people just make me ill....

Sorry to hear you've been "sniffly"; I've missed your posts. I also had an experience with a group of mentally ill this week. I was invited to a Talent Show put on by our local Mental Health center. What an uplifting time. It was a mixed bag of "talent", but the shy smiles of the entertainers and exuberance of the audience made it a totally awesome experience.

P.S. The older gentleman with his rendition of animal sounds was a real crowd pleaser. :~)

Thank you lovely people! Still here, just not online very much at the moment... I'm so sleepy, staring at a screen is just ASKING for me to doze off! The slightly manic sadness and aggression and the cold have subsided a bit into perpetual irritation, tiredness and a bit of sniffling and coughing - so I'm making the most of my sister being home and had a glorious day on the couch yesterday watching New Moon, reading and falling asleep, it was bliss! And since Mum was at work she wasn't around to suddenly need me to come do something, now, no questions asked... Aaaaaaah. Same again tomorrow!

Good news is I managed to read a bit more when I was off and relaxed, so I might even get, y'know, a whole book finished in the next day or two. Jeez, it'll be my second review in nearly 150 posts... *sigh*

I am glad to hear that you got a day of rest, Ellie. I am sure that doing nothing is just what your body needed :)

I was thinking the same as Stasia, being able to get a little bit of sleep must be a little helpful. I hope everything starts getting better for you soon!

Hi Ellie! Hope you are doing well and I miss seeing you around!

I think every once in a while, we all need to just take that day to let our body do what it needs to do ...and if it means vegging and taking regular naps, then go right ahead ... you'll feel like new when your body gets the rest it needs. Hope you feel back to your usual self soon.

#137 Still reading my old diaries, which is always an interesting thing to do every year or so - I rediscovered diaries going back as far as 1988 (I was 10/11) the other day - I'm a very intermittent diary keeper, but nonetheless, some of them are hilarious. Some are also a tad mortifying.

Hope the cold vanishes soon. Has the sun made it's way up to you yet ? If it has, you should go and soak some up ;o)

Ellie dear one, come home...all is forgiven....

I finished a book! I ACTUALLY FINISHED A BOOK! Gordon Bennett, I am so behind for this challenge.

12) Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher



I really enjoyed this. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. I guess the problem with reading an autobiography that deals with something you've experienced yourself is that you go into it with different expectations to other books. After some disappointing memoirs in the past I usually go in with a rather pessimistic view - that it'll be okay but it just won't hit the mark, somehow. Unfortunately the nature of many mental disorders is such that memoirs can be very disjointed and relentlessly harrowing, whether deliberately or otherwise, which makes it harder to 'get into' and distances the reader from the story. I always HOPE that I'll really connect with the book and the author, that I'll find parts that I relate to, and that I'll come away liking and respecting the author for the way they've voiced their experiences.

Anyway, this one did what I wanted it to. It had its disjointed moments, it had its moments of utter, well, madness - but to my great joy Hornbacher kept this at a level where it deftly illustrated the mania and the psychosis she was experiencing, but didn't detract from the flow of the book and the building picture the reader was getting of Marya, her life, and the friends and family helping her along the way. Other reviews have pointed out the overlap between Madness and Wasted, but given how closely her bipolar and eating disorders intertwined with each other at certain points, it would have been difficult to separate them completely.

All in all, the memoir reads as a journey, not from madness to sanity, but a journey from a wild place to one of growing wisdom and maturity, acceptance and hope. There was a fair bit that I could relate to, despite every person's experiences being so different, and as I read I just got the impression that Hornbacher is a very genuine, self-aware and intelligent woman - which isn't always the case (Passing for Normal's Amy Wilensky - I mean you). She writes with humour and sparkle which stops her story feeling too self-involved and introspective. And a final nice touch: the end of the book has a useful and informative section comprising lists of helpful organisations and websites for everyone from sufferers to families to the interested public, bipolar facts and figures, and an extensive bibliography which I've perused with some interest! Recommended.

Good to have you back reading again, Ellie!

Yay! :)

Helloooooooooo Ellie ..... We missed you! congratulations on getting over the reading hump and finishing the book. We'll be here when you're ready to post your review.

~waves~

Hi Ellie!! Missed seeing you around! Congrats on completing the book!

Review done! Not sure how coherent it is because last night was my third night on minimum sleep (again - you know it's bad when you're sitting watching Jeremy Kyle and political documentaries at gone 3am!).

Now, back to another one of my current reads. Slowly, slowly, a few pages at a time... :-)

Seemed perfectly coherent to me - great review!

...and say NO! to Jeremy Kyle ;o) Good to have you back with us...

Why, thank you... ;-)

Yeah, Jeremy Kyle was bad... Slumped on the sofa with my eyes half shut listening to him yelling at some heroin addict who nearly gouged his lovely woman's eyes out and thought he'd done nothing wrong... jeez-us. On the other hand, I watched loads of season 3 of Roswell first (I used to watch it faithfully then they moved it to Sky!), and there was a repeat of the first of ITV's political leader profile thingies on right afterwards which actually WAS kinda interesting. And I've just about stayed awake at work today, and I'm reading a little bit, trying to keep my brain in gear, and tomorrow's my day off, albeit tainted slightly by a trip to the docs first thing. So I'm getting by!

Really enjoyed your review so you must be handling the sleep deprivation well!

Hope whatever you're reading now keeps your momentum going (and away, far, far away from JK). My 4:00 a.m. insomnia revelation? Dark Angel really just wasn't/isn't that good.

Ye gods and little fishes, Ellie. Jeremy Kyle failed to make you unswallow, and you didn't seek immediate medical help? Stern stuff these Pottens are made of.

Comparably, I find Bill O'Reilly viewing requires me to medicate myself for days afterward.

My housemate used to watch Jeremy Kyle over breakfast every morning. OVER ACTUAL BREAKFAST! At least I'm just watching it through a dull middle-of-the-night haze, so I've got a kind of barrier between me and all the inanity. And I AM loving catching up with Roswell all over again. I have four discs or so to watch by Friday, when my sister will be whisking them away to uni again.

Still reading - at the moment I'm concentrating on The Secret Shopper Unwrapped, which is a Christmas novel and complete and utter froth, but I don't care because I'm enjoying it and at least I'm still engaging with a book!

ETA: Oh no! I spoke too soon! I fell asleep for twenty minutes, woke up in time for the next ITV political leader programme (go Nick!), then sat waiting for our food delivery and caught myself... playing along with Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Nooooooo! Oh, and half my day off has now vanished without trace, since not only do I have a doctor's appointment about all this crap first thing, but my annoying semi-friend from down the road has invited herself up for the rest of the morning. *sigh* My mum has christened me 'the miserable chuff' for the foreseeable future. :-S

> 150 Fantastic review! I want to read both of Hornbacher's books.

I have Wasted waiting on my shelves... I got Madness from the library but I think I'm going to buy my own copy to add to my collection of similar books. Bipolar Expeditions: Mania and Depression in American Culture is one I'm looking forward to reading, and since I treasure Kay Redfield Jamison's wonderful An Unquiet Mind and Touched with Fire and watched a very interesting half-hour lecture of hers online recently, I was interested to see a couple of more recent books listed in the bibliography of Hornbacher's memoir. As soon as my mum loosens up again after my most recent spate of incoming jiffy bags, I'll get shopping!

I think I'll be looking for Madness. Great review!

--> 150

Yeah. I know about doing this challenge so slowly. Time just flies by. It's happening with me, too.

I like your review of Madness: A Bipolar Life and have wishlisted that book. Have you ever read Electroboy by Andy Behrman? It's a look at the manic side of bipolar disorder. I enjoyed reading that book although it's not very well known.

I like reading memoirs such as these because they give readers insight into what makes people tick and, hopefully, develop a kinder and gentler attitude toward those afflicted with mental illnesses of all kinds.

Glad to have you back Ellie! I hope your day off was ok in the end...

Enjoyed your review of Madness and very impressed you could write that with so little sleep! I've realised I have The Centre of Winter, a novel by the same author somewhere in my pile.

>162 elliepotten: "annoying semi-friend" LOL! I have those too! Great description.

The day off was... meh. That is the only word to describe it. And yesterday morning I finally dozed off at 5am then slept through two alarm clocks and was still asleep when Mum rang on my doorbell to hurry me out of the house! Oooooops. I've still not managed a good night's sleep in the last week or two which is making life rather unpleasant, but I have a sleeping pill thingy to try tonight so fingers crossed! On the plus side, I've made it through each day at work without scaring too many customers with my bloodshot eyes, and I've managed to get a few bits of tidying and clearing done and finished the whole of 'Roswell' on DVD during my late nights! Always interesting to revisit an old favourite a few years down the line.

Oh, and I've added yet another trashy novel to my 'currently reading' pile: Jaws 2. I read the first few pages this morning in the office when I was feeling 'dragged out of bed after not enough sleep' icky, and got a bit hooked. Not having seen the movie, I'm going into it much as I went into Jaws when I read it years ago - a creeping feeling of dread and excitement! Du-duh.... du-duh.... ;-)

#169: Ellie, I want to thank you for your reminder that I needed to get to North and South. I am about halfway through and really enjoying it.

Excellent! I've set everything aside briefly to keep going at Jaws 2, which is actually really good! It's making me feel the way I hoped Thunderball would make me feel but didn't - scared, excited, full of dread and horror, drawn further and further into the book and hoping everything would turn out okay! I love it when an old, tatty paperback, especially one based on a movie screenplay (not often a good thing in novels, I've found), turns out to be such a gripping little page-turner.

Congratulations on finding a book that draws you in. I love books like that.

Isn't it funny how the oddest little book that you'd never expect to be any good can just capture you attention every once in awhile? Sometimes you just need a simple and fun little story and to hell with highbrow literature. :)

I feel the same way when I dip into those Magic: the Gathering and Forgotten Realms fantasy novels from time to time.

I remember the Jaws movies! I hadn't thought of them in a long time. I had the books too, but I don't remember much about them. I'm glad you are enjoying them; it's great to just dive in (no pun intended) and enjoy a good story.

just checking in to say hello~

"I think we're going to need a bigger boat" What a scary movie back in '75

#176 Oh, my favorite line from "Jaws!"

The scariest scene in the movie -- when that severed head popped out at them!

Ellie, the ex-wife of a close friend of mine has her own memoir of bipolar syndrome coming out in January, called Loud in the House of Myself. (I guess no touchstone as yet...) You can find the details on Amazon.com. She's a... unique person -- but very articulate and a very skilled and eloquent writer. You may find it interesting, although I'm sure it will be bleeding-edge!

I hate that dragged out of bed with eyes still glued shut feeling -- I have it most weekday mornings!

Stacy Pershall? Is that the right one? I've wishlisted it for the time being until there's more info available. Anyways, the good news (for my mum at least, who's sick of me humming the theme tune while miming a very threatening fin) is that I'm done with the shark!

13) Jaws 2 by Hank Searls



What a little cracker this turned out to be! I came to it in exactly the same way as I came to the original Jaws a few years ago - I idly picked it up off the shelf in a bored moment, read a couple of pages, got utterly sucked in, and ended up devouring the whole thing. I had expected very little of this one, it being not only a sequel but also a novelisation of the film screenplay, rather than the other way round.

In actual fact it was a taut and atmospheric thriller, haunted by the looming white threat of death circling the deep, which held me captivated from start to finish. Giving the shark her own 'mind' (if that's the word for it) in short segments between the human story, clearly demonstrated the lethality of her instincts and the single-mindedness of her life, and added to the tension. All the way through I was just waiting for the next fatality - who would it be? Man, woman, child, beloved animal (which, let's face it, is often just as heartbreaking)? The string of twists hiding the fishy truth from the people of Amity was incredibly frustrating, each death painful to read, and the final frenzied climax genuinely nailbiting. The political side-story through the novel was a little distracting but everything came together in the end so all was forgiven.

Final verdict? Just what the doctor ordered - and better than I could possibly have imagined.

Thumbs up, Ellie. You've gotten me to take action and request Jaws 1 & 2 movie versions from the library. Mmmm, I wonder if they will stand the test of time?

> 179 That's it, Ellie.

Gosh, I may have to read this one... :-)

Ellie, I have the cutest picture of my grandchildren (Grandma speaking here!)at Disney World posing inside a shark's mouth. Now if I were a magician I would post it here in honor of your Jaws 2 read. No can do! But I did put it on my Profile Page if you want to check it out.

#180 - Can you believe, I don't think I've ever seen the movies, at least properly? I mean, I've seen bits and pieces when I was younger I'm sure, but I've never sat down in recent years and thought, 'right, I'm watching Jaws now'. But I've really enjoyed both books - interestingly, the other reviews for Jaws 2 have all said that the book is actually much better than the film, even though it's an adaptation of the screenplay (by Howard Sackler and Dorothy Tristan) rather than the film being adapted from the novel. An interesting turn of events indeed. I think it is partially down to the depth of the characterisation, which is so often dire in a novelisation from a movie since there is the temptation for the 'author' to simply describe events scene by scene without attempting to add any underlying thought or motivation. This, on the other hand, evidently works as a stand-alone novel. Plus it has all the menace of the imagination rather than a terrifyingly bad plastic shark head for thrills!

>182 Donna828: Donna - RAAAAAWWWWWWRRRRR! ;-)

Congrats on you hot review, Ellie!

183: I haven't watched them in full either. I've seen little snippets of all of them, but they just aren't interesting enough to actually watch. =/

I got a Hot Review? How the hell did that happen?! Awww you guys... *slides off sofa in a haze of happy fuzziness*

Stephen, my 'nice internet guy' dearest - read the books instead! I'm glad I read them both before I've properly seen the movies, because now if I ever see them I'll be able to enjoy the plastic shark and the cheesiness without it ruining anything...

14) The Secret Shopper Unwrapped by Kate Harrison



This novel reunites the characters from The Secret Shopper's Revenge for a festive rollercoaster of ups and downs, highs and lows, laughter and tears, with each character facing down their own demons in time for the New Year. I'll hold my hands up straight off and say that I haven't read the first installment - though I probably will at some point, having enjoyed this one - but happily Harrison's subtle references to earlier events filled me in nicely without being glaringly obvious, so my enjoyment wasn't in any way dented by my Secret Shopper ignorance.

I liked the way that each of the women in the novel has her own voice, which keeps it fresh, and each of those voices was quite distinctive. Sandie might be pregnant and already has enough on her plate coping with her boyfriend's awful mother and her own broken family. Emily is trying to keep her fairytale emporium - and her relationship with the lovely Will - afloat while engaged in battle with her slimy ex-husband. Grazia isn't so sure that she can grow old gracefully after all. And young Kelly, Sandie's new employee, is slowly sinking under a past that just won't let her go...

It's pure fluff, of course, but it's well written fluff, and skims over a few profound issues to stop it veering into candyfloss territory. I found myself starting to get attached to these women and their lives, and hoping everything would turn out alright in the end... A good little read.

A minute ticks by...

#187: Review coming in a minute!

That was 2 minutes ago by my clock :)

A minute or two (or more) tick by...

Perhaps a customer came into the store. Customers at Book End seem to be the chatty type.

By the way, I love your review of Jaws 2, not the kind of book I usually like to read, but your review makes me want to pick it up for this summer's trip to the beach. I remember the story of Jaws, but am not familiar with Jaws 2. Think I'll go look for a copy.

Actually today's our day off - but I was watching Loose Women and drinking hot chocolate avec mini donuts and I got distracted...

Madeline - sure, take it to the beach, but maybe avoid it if you're planning on taking a swim... :-)

trying to catch up!
glad to see that you are still busy reading.. and working :)

We were on vacation when the movie Jaws first came out, and our Dallas cousins took us to see it...the day before we were going to Galveston and the beach. We didn't stray too far, I can tell you!

--> 193

Actullly there are always sharks in the water in which we swim (North Carolina seashore). Mostly sand sharks, but some of them are huge! We catch the small ones on fishing poles from the surf. The larger ones get hauled in from the end of the fishing pier.

I haven't been bitten by a shark (or any other creature in the sea yet), but there's always a first time. :O

I hate when things touch me while in the water. Even a piece of seaweed freaks me out. Most fish are scared away by our swimming, thank goodness!

Beaches are for leisurely reading, ogling pretty young things in minimal amounts of clothing, and drinking thermosloads of silly, rum-soaked drinks. Swimming?! NEVER! That's what tidily chlorinated, depth-controlled, wave-free pools are for.

186: My library has the first one, so I've added it to my library wishlist. But that list is so huge it's hard to imagine I'll get around to it any time soon. I still haven't gotten around to Bonk by Mary Roach yet, and I've been really wanting to get to that for months now...

Madeline - I get freaked out when things touch me when I'm swimming too! That feeling of seaweed wrapping round your ankle is so horrible, and I'm always a bit scared in case there are crabs (in case they bite your toe) or jellyfish. I used to go in the sea in Wales, then get out and go for a wander down the pier or something, only to look down and see clouds of jellyfish in the water and think 'I was just swimming in that'.

Richard - agreed. And pools are that lovely turquoise colour that make you want to leap into them every time you glance up from your book. Though Studland Bay, down in the south of England, is a rather nice place to swim. Clean, clear, and pretty shallow (and therefore warm) for a long way out, until you hit a kind of trench into deeper water.

Stephen - ahem. Quite.

--> 197

Richard, I actually do more wading than swimming in the ocean. Often it's just body surfing. The giant waves frighten me, but I like to be "officially" in the ocean once I get to the beach.

My favorite place for reading at the beach is on the porch of the beach house - within sight of the ocean, drink in hand. In the morning, a fresh cup of hot coffee will do. The rest of the day - whatever.

I find swimming pools boring. They seemed to be lots more fun when I was younger and my friends and I used to go there with our small children.

--> 199

and think 'I was just swimming in that'.

Ellie, you'd probably never get in the ocean if you really knew all that was in the water beside yourself! :)

#201: Or in the swimming pool;)

I, myownself, do not swim anywhere on a voluntary basis. I do not like submerging my face in water, and knowing what-all the fish're gettin' up to in there is enough to make me *refuse* to dip my clean anatomy in anything they're gettin' up to it in: Rivers, springs, lakes, seas, oceans, trenches, seamounts, oh no no no. Pools are lovely for looking at, if attractively landscaped and served by drinks-carriers in minimal clothing; get in them? Ew. Whatever for? If I'm dirty, I'll go have a shower, and if I'm hot, I'll turn on the A/C.

I quote Fran Leibowitz on the matter: "I do not wish to go back to the land, I want to go back to the hotel."

The only place I really feel secure reading when near water is my bathtub ;) OR a comfy hammock pool/beach side. Too much sun for blue eyed blondes is not a good thing.

I just picked up the dvd of Jaws from the library. Good viewing for over the weekend. I'm not sure if my 11 yr old should watch it, I don't want to freak him out before our summer vacation begins.

>204 Carmenere: Lynda, I was 15 when "Jaws" came out, and prior to viewing it was a happy otter of a lad, splashing and gamboling in the sea; afterwards, I have never even so much as poked a toe in the sea.

Forewarned, forearmed....

That is what I was thinking too, Richard. I was 14 and although I was spooked by the movie I wasn't too concerned, all I had was the city pool. Now, I'm thinking if I want to continue snorkeling in the Caribbean as a family I should view my dvd alone in the weeeee hours of the morning.

This is as close to a shark and I'm getting...a fake one at Epcot...

Awwwwww. Is that supposed to be Bruce ("Fish are friends, not food")??

Anyway, I just had to pop over to repost this from Berly's thread:

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulance (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
9. Karmageddon (n): its like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

Very, very funny. And I'm still reading! About fifty pages into Candida Crewe's Eating Myself (not setting my world alight at the moment but I'll give it a chance) and Elisabeth Hyde's Crazy as Chocolate, which is quite enchanting thus far.... Now, er, I'm going to stop reading to watch some Thursday night comedy telly. 'Have I Got News For You' and the genius that is 'Outnumbered', yay!

Haha! Thanks for posting that Ellie, I'm practically falling out of my chair laughing at most of those (Arachnoleptic fit =D!!)

Oooh, sarchasm, glibido -- loving these...

#187 -- I have this on a Mt. TBR. I really enjoyed the first book -- cotton candy, but who cares? Which is the definition of a fun book.

Oh, Ellie, that is LOL funny!

:-D

ROFL, too funny! "Bozone" must become part of my vocabulary! Thank you so much for that!

LOL ... love it ... "Bozone" indeed ... you had me laughing hard. Thanks for the giggles, Ellie.

The only place I really feel secure reading when near water is my bathtub

I always find that so hard to do. Has anyone here dropped a book into the bathwater?

Tubberware: The incurable wear of a book dropped in the bathtub. :(

Oh Ellie, those definitions have brightened my otherwise rather unpleasant day. Thank you! :)

I made a copy of the neologism winners to take on a road trip this weekend. I think it will have us laughing so hard, frequent stops may be necessary.

Thank Berly - I'm only the messenger really... And a brilliant addition to the list from Stephen there, definitely one to remember for future use!

Fun thread!

I've definitely dropped books in bathtubs. I love sitting and reading in the bath ...but if the water's too warm, or I'm too tired, I sometimes nod off and the book takes a noddy dip before my arm jerks it back up ... occasionally it drowns.

I don't 'do' baths. You sit in water that gradually goes cold, where's the fun in that?!* For me it's a hot shower first, wrap up in PJs and a fluffy dressing gown THEN hit my book, all curled up on the sofa. Drowned-books problem solved...

* ETA - Unless it was a giant swimming-pool-esque permanently-hot bath with lots of bubbles. Kinda like the one in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Harry heads into the amazing prefect bathroom to try and unlock his golden egg. Now THAT's a bath.

Awww, I had my picture taken with each of the rest of James's owls yesterday! Turns out you can sponsor an owl, so we're thinking of adopting Geoffrey, the fierce Little Owl, as a bookshop owl. Kinda like a 1-Year Anniversary present to ourselves. We get an advertising board to go out with his name board so we benefit too! Just to illustrate the point, this is Geoff, being antisocial and refusing to come out of his travel box:



Now, doesn't he look bookish?! Like a tiny librarian ready to shush someone...

"You sit in water that gradually goes cold, where's the fun in that?!" - The secret is to have a bath where you can reach the hot tap with your foot and to keep topping up ;o)

Yes. Books have been dropped in the bath. I've also been camping and woken up floating (on my airbed) in a pool of water, drowned book beside me after flash floods in Cornwall when I was little...

I love swimming. Nothing else calms me down in quite the same way. Pool, sea, ocean, lake, river - I don't care which really, although I hate being crowded, so most swimming pools have an automatic black mark against them - particularly those tiny, pointless round ones...

...and speaking of things in the water, when I was in Australia, I went night swimming from a boat somewhere around the Whitsundays - surrounded by phosphorescence, it was a wonderfully magical experience - that was until fish, after the phosphorescence, started to nibble my feet (which tickled) and it occurred to me that they, in turn, might attract other, larger, more shark-like things - the fact that this was extremely unlikely didn't prevent me from leaping out from the water pretty quickly!

Ooooh yes! Sponsor Geoffrey!

#222: Oh, I definitely need to sponsor an owl!

There is actually a breed of owl called a boobook owl (if you look on my profile page you will see one), which I think is highly fitting for LT.

Maybe we should group together to sponsor a boobook owl for the 75 challenge! ;o)

Works for me! I am still watching the Owl Box in California: http://www.ustream.tv/theowlbox#more

It really has been fascinating for me watching these owls from hatching to now.

#226 Sadly, my computer is usually too slow to watch that - I just sit there watching whirring circles for a few minutes, then give up...

#227: I am sorry you cannot watch it, Fliss!

#221 - I'm totally with you on baths, Ellie. It isn't just the increasingly cool water - its the part about how your skin, once dipped in water, gets cold when exposed to air. Plus, the water sloshing around you in the tub is basically not pristinely clean now, is it.

#228 - Took a look at your owlets, Stasia - forgot that I do not care for baby birds - they always look kind of icky to me. I'm sure they will grow up to be very beautiful adult owls, though.

That is one cool owl!

And this Gilbert the Barn Owl, my most favouritest, that I might adopt as a birthday present to myself (shiny birthday cash is a beautiful thing!). He's a mischievous, noisy little devil with lots of character and the most gorgeous little face:



Stasia - I took a quick look but the owlets all had their backs to the camera so I'll pop back later... Frank, the owl on my profile pic, is still a fluffy baby - he's starting to get his 'real' feathers now and he's almost fully grown, but he still twitters at James, this sweet little warbling sound, for his 'daddy' to give him some more food and attention!

ETA: Now that I'm back on a decent computer, I've changed the little owl pic to my actual photo of Geoffrey, sitting in his box and stubbornly refusing to come out... :-)

My son was so interested and excited to see your pictures. Daniel says he wishes we thought of the idea of sponsoring owls first. He definitely thinks LT should have an owl to sponsor, so I'm in.

15) Eating Myself by Candida Crewe



I almost Pearl-ruled this one, but I'm glad I didn't. The book is part autobiography, part 'women's studies', part social sciences. The first fifty pages or so, in which Crewe lays out her aristocratic family background, seemed a tad unnecessary, but after that it was plain sailing. In fact, in the last few pages, reflecting on the writing of the book, Crewe admits that originally it had comprised rather less autobiography, but that it had become clear that some context was required against which to set her thoughts and reflections.

Although she skims over her problems with anorexia and bulimia, and much of her interest in food stems from these experiences, these extremes are by no means the focus of the book. Like a less naive Bridget Jones, Crewe's experiences with food and diet are every woman's. Her skill lies in her keen perception of thought processes that women often don't even notice they're entertaining. From falling off the diet wagon in a hail of chocolate biscuits to the things that run through our minds when we're confronted with a buffet table, I recognised myself in an awful lot of the situations she describes!

As Crewe progresses through the years to the healthier viewpoints she entertains nowadays, she also poses some interesting questions about why we feel the need to be thin in the first place. Are we dieting for men? For our family and friends? Other women? Or for ourselves? And what do we think it will achieve? Do we believe that if we were thinner our love lives would miraculously be overflowing with lustful suitors? That our very personalities would change to make us happier, more free, more likely to be spontaneous and adventurous?

There are a lot of thought-provoking issues raised in this book, and Crewe seems to have a knack of voicing our foibles in such a blunt way that it frequently made me stop and think, 'gosh, we are a lot of idiots to keep making ourselves miserable investing in these ideals!' The style of the book, with its unflinching honesty and self awareness and wealth of personal anecdotes, helps differentiate it from the more aggressive, though no less compelling, 'political feminism' books on the market (for example, Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth), and keeps the tone friendly and inclusive. I think every woman, young and old, fat and thin, would come away from this book with something to think about, and probably a more positive and balanced view of their own bodies and eating habits to boot. Recommended.

16) Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks



When you read a Nicholas Sparks novel, you pretty much know what you're going to get. You'll be swept off your feet on a tide of romance; there will be moonlight and dinners for two and an impossibly sensitive and wonderful leading man; there will be a complication or two thrown in for good measure - and of course, you will read the last few pages through a veil of tears, trying fervently to stop yourself sobbing like a child at the bittersweet heartbreak of it all.

This book tells the story of divorced columnist Theresa, who gets an unexpected holiday surprise when she finds an exquisitely heartfelt love letter washed up on the beach in a corked bottle. Touched deeply by the devotion and loss radiating from the pages, Theresa publishes the letter in her column, expecting that to be an end to the matter. But when two more letters, equally heartbreaking, come to light, she knows she has to meet the mysterious writer, signed only 'Garrett', and sets out on a journey of discovery that will bring these two souls together in their loneliness and change their lives forever.

Although for me this novel doesn't have quite the re-read potential of The Notebook or A Walk to Remember, it nevertheless delivered the winning Sparks formula as reliably as ever. I smiled, I cried, I reflected, and after a day's reading I finished the last page, sighed deeply, and went to bed a happy girl. What more could you ask for?

Sounds like the book did the job for you, Ellie. That is all that matters :)

Ok now I do really need to find a copy of this since it's one of Sparks' books which I haven't got and I keep hearing about it! Gah I may have to read The Choice soon as it's the only Sparks book I have at Uni with me - I *need* gooey, predictable romanticism!

Only thing I would say - doesn't the movie star Diane Lane and Kevin Costner? KEVIN COSTNER? No no no. I sort of had Diane Lane flitting in and out of my mind as Theresa, in between other images of her (isn't it weird when that happens? Alyssa Milano made an appearance too, for some reason). But for Garrett I was going more down the muscular Jim Caviezel line. Far more satisfying as my romantic hero!

#234 Probably not for me, but your generic-Nicholas-Sparks-novel description gave me a good chuckle!

Message in a Bottle was my third Nicholas Sparks novel. The Notebook rocketed itself straight up my 'Favourite Books' list after I devoured it in an afternoon, fell completely in love with Noah Calhoun, and literally cried for about the last third of the book. A Walk to Remember surprised me by, again, leaving me an emotional wreck, even though I KNEW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN BECAUSE I SAW THE MOVIE FIRST! This one is the first I've offloaded to the shop, but I still really enjoyed it. And I have plenty Sparks novels left to weep over next time I'm in the mood for a bit of an emotional workout, curled up on the sofa with a bar of chocolate and a box of tissues!

Oh Lord, Ellie...i stop by..and, well , Nicholas Sparks just doesn't "spark" it for me....and books about Eating Disorders..I don't know...have never suffered..so I will keep the One Title of yours in mind.

I really wanted to stop by an say a big Hello...loooove your OwlPic on FB...and way up there at #203...where Richard quoted Fran Lebowitz??? She's a corker..maybe give her books a try??

bestest to you
J

Note to self: If you ever read a Sparks novel, don't read it in front of all your guy friends.

> 233 Great, great, great review and comments re Eating Myself. Your thoughtful description has pushed this book onto my wishlist.

ETA > 241 lol, Stephen.

>241 Ape: Note to Ape: If you ever read a Sparks novel, DON'T ADMIT IT PUBLICLY. I will tease and insult you mercilessly all the days left to me on this planet, in all forms and media now known or hereinafter invented.

243: And women wonder why men are so emotionally detached, SHEESH! :P

Not that I disagree in any way of course! I only hope you will do the same if you ever catch me reading Danielle Steel or Sophie Kinsella...

>244 Ape: This is a foregone conclusion. Unless you can convince me you're 1) doing research for some academic purpose or 2) appeasing the hose-beast, you're in for a life of laughing-at.

245: Yes sir! Only militaristic action and brutal violence for me! :)

>246 Ape: Don't forget the philosophial rumination, the historical analysis, and the porn.

Ooooh, the testosterone is flying! Shield your faces, ladies.

248: Well, after the Nicolas Sparks review(which I thumbed, by the way!) we were just trying to maintain a balance. :)

247: Bah! Who has time for philosophical rumination and historical analysis when there are horrid dismemberments and bayonet-induced decapitations to read about... ...

>241 Ape:: LOL! How true!

> 240 Hi Jude! I've never had an eating disorder either, but Eating Myself isn't really an eating disorder memoir - it's about the average woman's weird relationship with food, the funny undercurrents of thoughts we have about junk food and eating in public and what our stomachs looks like... Which is something I definitely related to!

>243 richardderus: - Ricardo! Behave yourself and leave the poor boy alone! One day he might just need a little break from horrific murders and infectious diseases and boom, there will be Confessions of a Shopaholic ready and waiting... ;-)

Oh, and Ricardo? I picked up the next Charlaine Harris novel and I've finally come across the delicious Alcide... TOTALLY get why you draped yourself across my thread with such abandon last time his name came up! I'm kinda seeing him as a bit of a Hugh Jackman Wolverine figure actually, which has been a bit weird teamed with Anna Paquin's Sookie since I keep having to remind myself this is Southern Vampires, not X-Men.

About to start a new thread (woohoo!) after this little flurry of comments - I'll be back with the new link in a sec, k?

One day he might just need a little break from horrific murders and infectious diseases and boom, there will be Confessions of a Shopaholic ready and waiting... ;-)

It's true. What better to follow up something like The Demon in the Freezer or The Bone Parade than Confessions of a Shopaholic! =P

My thoughts exactly...

Now, NEW THREAD TIME!!! And Ricardo didn't have to remind me or anything. Come join me:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/90054