Book Board Chat

Be sure to keep your pets in during the solar elipse. They could go blind from it too.

My daughter went shopping for me yesterday.

She was supposed to get Ensure made by Abbott, but accidentally got TOP CARE by NUTRISURE. I don't like it. She thought she was buying Ensure.

Our local Parade magazine comes out with the newspaper every Sunday. A few weeks ago they had a list of the best 75 books from the last 75 years. I ordered James McBride The Color of Water. It was about a black man who had a white mother. It was OK but not a favorite of mine. I also ordered Margaret Atwood's The Blind Assassin. A few pages in was about sacrificing children. Life is too short to read bad books.

I started to read a paperback by Tom Clancy called Sum of All Fears. The print was too small so I ordered the book in hardback. I have done that before.

I am reading The Big Short by Michael Lewis. I find it heavy reading, but will probably understand finance better. Will see the movie later.

I received the Grafton book x for Christmas. I really like Grafton!

Thank you for the birthday wishes.

I had a good time with friends. One friend came over and played my piano for an hour. It was really special.

I am reading a good book All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Recall for Salmonella on Barbers Chicken Breasts. I have a package to throw out!

Good to hear from JoAnne. I have been wondering how you and Jack are doing.

Patsy, I wish you were my neighbor and we could visit! Frank and I were together 24/7 and since he died I have been trying to make friends. I have a couple of wonderful neighbors and I am going to a new church and trying to learn everyone's name. The book club is great too. My daughter visits 2 or 3 times a week. There are days that I don't talk to anyone. When the days get longer, people are out in the evening more.

August 30, 1966 my son and I saw Martin Luther King at LA Airport (LAX). My daughter was returning from Norway and MLK was giving a speech.

Thanks for your quick response.

This will make the book much more enjoyable!

I am reading Americanah by Chimamando Ngozi Adichie for book club.

The main character is a woman name IFEMELU. I have no idea how to pronounce that name. Can someone help me here with phonetic pronunciation?

I just finished the Barbara Bush Memoir and really enjoyed it. I am amazed at all her travels and meetings and entertainment. It was a refresher course in that part of history also. Barbara has a great outlook on life - a nice person.

I ordered Hillary Clinton's Memoir and am looking forward to another good read!

Carol, I just bought a Robert Galbraith book because you mentioned it!

Corky woke me at midnight. One of the neighbors was setting off fireworks. Doggie actually burrowed under the covers. The noise didn't last long because the cops came.

In Oceanside CA we are encouraged to save water and electricity. I have been monitoring my KWTs. The reading was higher today. AHA, I used the crock pot. Apparently the crock pot uses quite a bit of electricity. Heat is the culprit!

Sandy, I have bought and sold several Jack Lord Hawaii 5 -0s on EBAY.

I enjoyed my Book Club yesterday. Our leader is great. Next month we will discuss Americanah by Adichie.

Good morning, Everyone. Haven't been on the board lately so belated thanks for the Birthday wishes.

I had the carpet in my bedrooms replaced December 18. That was a dumb idea. My daughter and my neighbor moved all the LITTLE stuff including my computer system and my big entertainment bookself. I colored coded the TV and DVR and disk player with colored nail polish and we managed to hook everything up with ease. The computer was down for 5 days because I wanted a tech to come and blow the dust out of its inners. Happy to get everything back up and working.

The living room was not only a disaster but a danger area. Stuff was piled up all over with a very narrow pathway.

Christmas was nice and included my daughter and my son. I miss my boyfriend Frank who died in April.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

90 degrees in Oceanside CA. In a couple of days the temp will go back to the 70s.

Going to find some Harry Dolan and P D James books. Thanks

When I lived in Lancaster CA the smoke alarms were hard wired and also had batteries. If one went out they all beeped. There was a high ceiling in the living room and we couldn't reach that one. After a bad episode I decided to hire an electrician to change all the batteries every March.

My current house has 2 smoke alarms. They are mounted high on the wall where I can reach them. I know they are supposed to be on the ceiling but they do work where they are.

I am reading Judgment Call by Suzy Wetlaufer and it is SCARY. Glad I have a dog to protect me.

The main character has been begging her boyfriend to stay over and he won't do it.

Woops, that is Barry Reed.

I am enjoying Deception by Billy Reed. Unfortunately the paper back has very small print. I am going to try to buy some other Billy Reed books in hardback.

I am also going through all my paper backs to eliminate the ones with small print. Too much eye strain.

Diane, I would love to buy your book in hard copy. I don't do ebooks because I spend too much time on the computer and don't want to read from a monitor.

You never know what you will find in a book. I bought a Buckley book about his sailing because I wanted to read it. I saw it had a broken spine so not worth much. But inside I found an original bulletin from the Memorial Service for Theodore Roosevelt. The bulletin is not in good shape but it is almost 100 years old!

Just finished Gamble by Felix Francis who is the son of Dick Francis. Excellent book!

I am reading Refuge by Sue Henry. It is a light-weight mystery and would be suitable for teens to read. It takes place in Alaska and Hawaii. Maxie the main character mentions what the other characters are reading - Margaret Maron, Robert Barnard, Nadine Gordimor and Harry Kemelman. I am going to order some of these on EBAY.

I am reading Loyalty (2013) by Ingrid Thoft. This is the first book she has written and it is outstanding! She writes about a PI named Fina. Fina is a heroine like Kinsey Milhone, V I Warshawski and Kay Scarpetta.

My first husband loved baseball. We went to the first game that the Dodgers played in LA. They played in the coliseum football stadium before Dodger Stadium was built.

San Diego is mourning Tony Gwynn of the Padres. He was only 54 and died from oral cancer caused by chewing tobacco.

Good morning from Oceanside CA. It is good to be back to the bookboard. Every time I log on I get a message that the security certificate has problems and I should not log on. Weird.

Thank you for the Birthday wishes. It is nice to be remembered!

I just finished The Standoff by Chuck Hogan. It was his first novel and a good one. His character descriptions were especially good.

Mysteryhorse. Already in California only HE high efficiency washers are available. The salesman told me I could override the water level but that is not totally true. If I pick large, the water level is so low that the clothes are really jam crowded. Then I switch it to extra large and get another inch of water, then I switch it to super and get one more inch. Today I added more water from a pot. I am not real happy with my HE washer.

Someone here mentioned reading Elizabeth Peters. I bought "Seeing a Large Cat" from EBAY. Interesting story takes place in Egypt.

David Westerfield killed a precious 7 year old neighbor girl a few years ago and received the death penalty. The death penalty in California has not been enforced for years. There are 71 people with that penalty. Westerfield is asking to be retried. I think he should be in with the general population of inmates. He would not last long there.

Thanks for the info, Helen. My esophogus problems makes it difficult to eat but given enough time and small bites it works so far. The Boost will help. I would like to gain about 15 lbs. Yesterday I put a Jumbo Jack minus one piece of bun in the blender with a cup of hot water. It was pretty tasty!

Thanks AEGBOOKS. I will try Boost!

Good morning everyone from Oceanside CA. Years ago my stepdaughter had jaw surgery and drank something that caused her to gain weight. I need to know what the drink was so I can gain weight. So far I have tried ensure, muscle milk and carnation breakfast. None of these have many calories.

Good morning from Oceanside CA. We have a delightful hot spell today. Over 80 degrees today and about 68 predicted for tomorrow. Gas is $4.25. California has gas taxes of about 67 cents per gallon and going up again in July.

Thanks, Helen, but since the post office has directions not to forward ballots, I think he was removed from the list.

Also there is no one available to take him to his old polling place. I am taking Frank to a doctor's appointment now.

Frank's brother can't vote today. He moved into assisted living so his address changed.

Dupo, I just ordered the Larsgaard book about heirs. You have definitely influenced my reading.

I logged on to find out about Swifty. I am happy that he is OK.

I have a wonderful phone with a speaker button. It cost $10 at an estate sale.

I did finishThe Other by Guterson but it wasn't a favorite book. Somebody recommended it as one of the 5 must reads for the summer.

I'm reading "The Other" by Guterson. It is a weird book

I am enjoying "Crossing to Safety" by Wallace Stegner.

I went to the throat, ear and nose doctor today. He vacuumed out ear wax and some cotton from a Q-tip. Now I know why they say not to use Q-tips in your ears. I can hear better!

When we lived in the San Pedro area of Los Angeles, I took my son to an urgent care. He was in a treatment room and I was in the waiting room when a guard from Terminal Island Federal Prison brought 6 inmates into the waiting room. They were shackled together. The guard was the scary one because he had a big gun.

I just bought the Grafton book V is for Vengence on EBAY. I really like her books. It was a little more than I usually pay for books but I used my EBAY bucks and I can resell the book later.

Ironically, Gary Powers died in a helicopter crash in 1977 because he ran out of fuel. At the time he was a news reporter.

Years ago I attended Lockheed Management Club when Gary was honored. He was presented with a U-2 model. The speaker said we built one for you and now you build one for us.

The most common problem with using the VCR is having the cable button pushed instead of the TV button

I just finished a great book - The Prodigal Spy by Joseph Kanon. Wow!

Another kind of child abuse here in California. A 17 year-old girl was attacked. She didn't want to testify against the guy who had attacked others also. The 17 year-old victim was placed in juvenile hall. Her parents finally were able to get her released with a gps monitor.

I checked the completeds on Thomas Kinkade and lots of them sold today.

I went to an estate sale today. There was a Harley for sale as well as a lot of parts, tools, clothes etc. The tee shirts were interesting but $4 each and really worn. The guy entertained a lot too and had some nice stuff. All I bought was 1 book. I didn't go upstairs. I don't do stairs. I also did not get down on the floor to check out book and CDs. I am a wimp.

Gordon, that Archer book didn't corrupt me, but I have another one to read. Should I worry?

Laurie, I am glad your eye is better. That was one ugly fall. Be careful! Years ago we practiced graceful walking; now we just try not to fall.

Dupo, I think you recommended the Susan Rogers Cooper books!

I received 5 paperbacks by Susan Rogers Cooper today. Probably read one a day.

I bought a Jeffrey Archer book at a local thrift. It has likely been read once and the person who owned it underlined each character in heavy black ink. An empty page at the back has each character with their identification.

Mim, I am going to make those peanut butter cookies!

I should have planted some more bulbs.

My neighbor is giving away his palm trees on CL. I am worried that amateurs are removing them. Six 25 foot trees are right next to my fence. I hope they don't land on my house.

I took my kids to the beach sometime in the late 60s and the Monkees were filming there. It was a surprise to us to see them. They were throwing big styrofoam boulders around. The beach was probably State Beach which was near Sunset Blvd north of Santa Monica.

Nancy, I can relate to having workmen around. Add a barking dog to the mix and it really is annoying.

One handy man (who has not been invited back) used my hand carved Chinese cedar chest as a saw horse. Actually he did not damage it, but I was upset.

I keep putting off my household projects.

Irene, I can relate to your projects. I had an electrician over yesterday to replace my bedroom fixtures so I can use flourescent bulbs. He also installed a smoke alarm carbon monoxide detector in place of the smoke detector. A new California law requires a carbon monoxide detector. The door bell was a huge project. The battery operated one I had stopped working so I wanted a hard-wired one. He had to drill through a fire wall. At least the wall doesn't have to be repaired. Then he couldn't get the bell to work. He finally found a diode that needed to be installed. He was here 3 hours and Corky was upset which made me upset. I still need to buy 4 fixtures and have those replaced. So far only $400.

Electrician will be here Monday and I will take care of part of this lighting mess.

Our beautiful Catholic church is just 3 years old and quite formal (8 million $). For some unknown reason the ceiling now has 5 paintings of angels that look like cartoon characters. Someone said they look like pigs. Where is Michaelangelo when you need him!

I have the flourescent bulbs in my lamps and outside lights, but they don't fit in the ceiling lights and they blink in the hood over my stove. The $14 round one in my bathroom works sometimes. I need to spend about $1000 to convert.

I have been reading Serpent by Clive Custler. The paperback has small print and is causing eye strain. I am going to donate all my paperbacks with small print and buy hardbacks. I also need to change out my light fixtures because we are no longer able to buy 100 watt light bulbs in California. I tried to order some from Vermont Country Store but they are not allowed to sell them to Californians.

I have enjoyed reading about Swifty's studio apartment in Manhattan.

Patsy said You people must read 24/7. My first thought was who is the author? Oh, she just meant that we read a lot.

I finished the Bricklayer yesterday and am now reading Agent X. Thanks, Dupo, for recommending Noah Boyd.

I have never actually seen a Great Pyrenees except on line. I had a DNA test for my Corgi/Chiquaqua mix to find out his breed. They said he was half Great Pyrenees. They did the test over and still said he was 17% Great Pyrenees. Corky weighs 25 lbs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIM

Dupo, I just bought a Noah Boyd book on EBAY per your recommendation.