Book Board Chat

Beth: You have the golden touch!

Hi Book Board! It's been months since I've posted but I do try to check in and see how everyone's doing. I'm glad to see you, Patsy - had noticed you were absent. Haven't seen bookdelle for a while - does anyone know if she's okay? I know "regular life" can be absorbing, of course, but just wanted to check.

We will be going on our annual trip to New Mexico in a few weeks and so looking forward to it. DH mentioned his great idea of going from there to Alaska (yes, driving), saying the drive up through Canada would surely be beautiful. While I do agree with that, I hope he's not serious. I looked up the drive time from Anchorage back home - a mere 2 days and 20 hours.

When I last posted, we were enjoying a month in a borrowed apartment in Manhattan. We no longer have access to that sweet deal but are hoping to go back for a few months, maybe in the Fall. DH is in the "Do It Now Before We Can't" mode. (Hence the driving to Alaska idea.) I'm trying to support him without becoming fatalistic.

Deep cleaning my home office for the first time in a few years. (Yes, it's gross.) Throwing out a lot of paper and accumulated junk. Most useless items so far: our boarding passes from 1995-1999 and the old hard drive that crashed (the guys who installed the new one got all the data off of it and then returned it to me . . . and I kept it?).

Okay, back to tasks for the day. Bye.

Diane: Was thinking of you re: opera. I am still hoping we can go to the Met if I can get rush tickets ($25 day of performance) - haven't been able to snag any so far. I was amazed at how many different productions they have going in a single month or week, even. I would love to see La Boheme next week but we'll already be gone from here. But I'd see anything just to have a chance to go there.

Carol: I can't imagine no A/C in the subways. Ick and eek! Yes, I also doubt the stations have A/C (they don't have heat).

We know of airbnb b/c a good friend at home rents out her "guest cottage" that way. She makes a pretty good supplemental income. Will be interested to hear where your daughter stayed and what she thought of it. We looked at airbnb for the few days we couldn't stay in this apt but were lucky to be able to find a nice hotel room for an exceptionally nice rate.

We've been in NY for 3 weeks and will be leaving next week - it hardly seems like any time at all! Going from here to Philly (my hometown) to visit one of my brothers and family, then back home. I'm trying not to think ahead to all that awaits there (lots of year-end and year-beginning paperwork, plus whatever was undone before we left - which was plenty). I'll work all this weekend, then will have a few more days to explore around here. Yay!

Thanks for your post, Carol. We are familiar with hot and humid summers but I'm sure it has a special "oomph" in New York. Plus, when it's hot and humid at home (which is all summer plus some), we're not out walking everywhere and taking the subway - we're driving in our air-conditioned cars from one air-conditioned venue to another. So I can see how it would be much different.

I remember that you grew up in Queens since my mother went to Queens College (she grew up in Brooklyn). She must have also gone, at some point, to whatever NYU was called then b/c she was remembering how she used to eat lunch and study in Washington Square. When we were there recently, there was a guy standing next to a beautiful grand piano that he had just brought to the park on that cold December day. If you're going to bring your piano to the park to play and earn money, you'd better be pretty good. He was. (An example of something you don't see just anywhere!)

I am working for the next few days so DH is loose in the city. I can't wait to hear what he discovers.

Diane & Sandy: Thanks for the suggestions. Much appreciated.

We are used to smiling and nodding at strangers on the street (we're from the South, after all). We understood in the first 20 minutes that this was not the NYC culture. That said, folks have been very friendly and helpful and we don't at all feel that we're on the "mean streets." And the tourists are the ones not wearing black coats - it's the must-have color for New Yorkers.

The 9/11 Museum was very good - they did an impressive job. We noticed that that the further we progressed into the Museum, the less chat among patrons. It's just so overwhelming - there's little to say. The fountains outside are spectacular, especially lit up at night.

I will be working for a few days starting on Friday so looking forward to a few more days of playing first. Very cold and windy so no smiling and nodding today - just put your head down and go!

Good morning everyone and belated Happy New Year.
DH and I are having an incredible adventure in New York City. It's cliché, but there's so much to do and see - we'll be heading to go to one place and see something else and, on the way to that, see something else . . . it was actually exhausting in the first week until we learned to slow down the pace a bit. We loved all the Christmas "stuff" - amazing holiday windows, Christmas markets in the parks, marvelous Christmas trees and crèches in museums and churches, skating rinks, Radio City Christmas show, etc. (Paula, yes, PIX11 still broadcasts Christmas music on Christmas day - with video of a blazing fireplace.)

It's wonderful to just walk walk walk, although Winter has arrived this week and it's much colder. Lovely snow this morning. Planning to go to the 9/11 Museum today and maybe do some other things down in that part of town (including eating at a great Indian restaurant we found down there). Speaking of ancestors, hoping to get together with a cousin later this week who will take us to the cemetery where my grandfather and several other family members are buried - I've never been there.

DH is talking seriously about living here for 3 or 6 months - if we can figure out how to find a place (and one that we can afford). Since his mama died in May he's really been talking about moving away - esp. b/c some of the family dynamics have become quite ugly (a whole nuther story). I can't see living here "forever" but could do it for several months - and, you know, "whither thou goest" . . .

Just wanted to say hello to you all. One thing on my To Do list is to go to Argosy books - will be thinking of you!

Hello everyone. It's been quite some time since I posted here but I do often come by for a quick scroll and to see how you're all doing. It truly is so nice to see you all - still, after so many years.

Beth, that's a wonderful list. Thanks for posting.

DH and I are headed on big adventure - going to NYC tomorrow for possibly a few weeks. We have an apt to stay in (nephew's going to school there but he and roommate are gone for the holidays), so we're thrilled for the opportunity. I'm sure we'll be the typical hick tourists in the big city (neither of us has been there for decades) and we can't wait. Esp to be there at the holidays, since DH loves all things Christmas.

Stressed out packing and getting ready to be away for so long. But wanted to say hello for a change.

mysteryhorse: This makes me think of the wonderful line in Postcards from the Edge, "Instant gratification takes too long."

Bill: I bow to your more nimble fingers!

Helen: Cat and Dog by Else Holmelund Minarik.

Carol: I like The 13th Tale. Despite a few minor annoyances in the telling, there was enough demented behavior to hold my interest, plus books and a bookstore.

Just finished Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore - a light and entertaining read without being fluffy. I think many here might also enjoy it as it focuses on the intersection between books ("Old Knowledge") and the internet.

I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving, whether spent with family and friends or curled up with a good book.

Diane: I hope you can level with your friend - perhaps just send a copy of your post here? The last thing you need is stress, especially around a vacation.
I would love to meet you if you're in West TN - or even over Nashville way (if I'm not working). But no commitment, no stress!

Beth I like Bill Bryson too. One of his best, IMO, is "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid."

Diane Thinking of you. Peace and prayers.

I recently finished "People of the Book" by Geraldine Brooks. Based on the known history of a real medieval Hebrew text, It's a fictional account of how the book was created and traveled from Spain to Sarajevo, where it was rediscovered 500 years later. The history is interwoven with a present-day story of the book's conservation and restoration. Although there were a few details in the present-day story that seemed unlikely, it was a well-written and interesting read.

Diane: I think calling Tennessee a "borderline" Southern state is more blasphemous than comparing grits to cream of wheat! Around these parts (west TN) anyway . . .

I am reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. It's pretty good. I'm a sucker for a book about a book.

Furtima (Diane) I recommend The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. I somehow thought it was going to be too sweet or tame but it was certainly not. I found the setting and mystery interesting and the characters satisfyingly demented.

Diane - That book should keep you busy for a while! I enjoyed it, but thought it might be hard to get into if one didn't have some interest in architecture.
Have you read the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith? I like them in small doses (one or two at a time, then a break), and when I'm ready to read another I always find that he's written more new ones. (But I haven't liked his other series much.)
Another series is the Flavia de Luce novels by Alan Bradley (only 4 or 5 so far). The books take place in an English town in the 1950s and the main character (and mystery solver) is an 11-yr-old girl. I mistakenly thought, given this, that they were for young adults. They're pretty good - and something different. Read in order.

Good morning all. Have a lovely day.

Clem: What I was trying to say was that the line on the label under "Solid Parfum" contains the word "Greece" written in Greek.

Clementine: I think Greek. I usually try to guess a word or two that it might say, then use Google translator to translate to the language I think it might be. The Greek word for "Greece" looks like what you have there on the first line.

Sorry, didn't mean to be obtuse. I only know what it means because I work with a lot of environmental types.
Mystery: Don't guess you could get the books that your ex discards?

Hi all - so nice to drop in here and catch up.
Thank you, mysteryhorse, for the "book that looks like nothing" (to those of us not schooled about horsey things). Every once in a while one of the books I've read about here will jump out at me at a thrift store or book sale. One time lludwig mentioned a cookbook and I found (and sold) one the next day!
Here's my contribution: 978-0072879353 Intro to Limnology. I usually skip over the "Intro to" textbooks unless it seems an uncommon (e.g., graduate level) topic or looks new-ish. Other intro books in the environmental sciences (such as Intro to Environmental Science, Intro to Environmental Chemistry) fall into the Skip category but this intro book is a sure sell, even though it's from 2004. I sold one for about $100 a few months ago on Amazon and it's still listing around $70 there, with a high sales rank.

Patsy: Thanks for that link. Amazing and beautiful.

Diane: Looking forward to seeing whatever you choose to share here.

DH just came in to tell me about a find on Antiques Roadshow. 1st edition of The Hobbit with DJ, signed, just some chips on the DJ edges. Valued $80 to $100K. He found it at a thrift store - never had it appraised but people kept telling him it was "worth something."

If we had that, I wouldn't be sitting here (not) doing the taxes. . .

Back to your regularly scheduled programming . . .

Carol: I'm still using XP as well and very happy with Firefox. Will never go back to IE.

Mysteryhorse: Thanks for the info about Completed. I didn't know that.

I was just looking at some Completed Auctions and noticed they went back 60 days or more - rather than just the 15. Maybe they're tinkering with something? Sure do like seeing that longer history.

Grano: LOL at taking the hearing aids out. Look forward to hearing about the wedding.
Furtima: Glad to hear your motivation and energy levels are good. Still sleeping well? Perhaps that has helped. (It sure makes a difference for me.)

I see I'm still stuck using old BB names . . .

A book that looks like nothing - or sure did to me, since I don't know anything about sewing or which books might be worth picking up. Sewing Outdoor Gear, Taunton Press, large format paperback, ISBN 978-1561582839, has been a consistently decent seller for a few months (based on Amazon sales rank). Not a ton of $$ but good return on a $1 or $2 book. FYI.

I can think of several authors that I really enjoyed but stopped reading after a few less good (I won't say bad, just not the expected good) books. Or ones that seemed to follow the same formula.

Jonathan Tropper is one. I enjoyed "This is Where I Leave You" a lot. But two others that I read (or what I read of them) seemed to follow the same formula - different plot, different characters, but same development and resolution of drama.

I have friends who "must" finish a book, even if it's not good. Respect for the author or the process, perhaps. I'll give a book 50 pages. If I'm on the fence, if it was highly recommended, or if I really like the author, I'll try another 50. After that, I'm done.

Hi BB! It's been a while since I stopped in - thought I'd take a moment and actually post today. I have read bits and pieces over the past several weeks and sometimes try Kathleen's quiz. But not this one. It surprised me to realize that I never read the book. Sometimes I think I should make a list and start reading all the ones I "should have read" but somehow missed. But I never do. Like Patsy, I have a big backlog in the "to read" stack.

Finished "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese - very well-written (though it could have been shortened with some prudent editing) and unique story and setting. Not for everyone but if the Amazon (or other) description appeals to you, you'll probably like it. Also have read a few by Swedish author Henning Mankell - there's a series featuring Kurt Wallender as well as several novels. The cadence and pace of language is so different from that of American writers. And for those of you who are missing winter, all the scenes are cold and frosty.

I was feeling poorly lately and I so craved some Campbell's tomato soup. Course, I would have also been happy with homemade but that wasn't an option. We've been eating lots of soup this year. I like always having a big batch of something in the fridge - as a meal on its own or to go with other things.

We are heading to Florida soon to visit family but would rather be going someplace cold. We have missed the cold weather this year . . .

Kathleen: Thanks again for the tip on Southern Sideboards. Picked one up at the library bookstore yesterday - literally. It was sitting right on top of the books on a book cart, not even shelved, just waiting for me. In only "good" condition but already sold it for a nice price.

I like the "layaway angel" story. Those random acts of kindness bless the giver as much as the receiver.

Hi all. Have not visited here nearly as much as I hoped but am always happy to see familiar faces (names) and hear about what you're up to. I've had some medical "stuff" lately - a biopsy result was benign, happily, but the biopsy itself has now resulted in problems. Still, I'll take the good result and the problems over the alternative any day. Anyway . . . just a few things . . .

I saw the Swedish (subtitled) movies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Girl Who Played with Fire. Both were good - well cast, well acted, and, like the books, stark and riveting. I was interested, too, dupo, to see how they would trim the book to movie length. What they did, of course, was cut a lot of the backstory. I don't know if I'd have liked the movies without reading the books first - but I have friends who did. The Swedish movies are readily available for rent at Redbox (for $1). Not sure I'll see the Hollywood versions.

I, too, am not ready to let go of my paper calendar. I enjoy the ritual each year of setting up my new daytimer - partly because it involves going through the prior year's book, where I have all sorts of scribbles and ticket stubs and quick sketches. It's fun to leaf back through it and remember certain events.

Thanks, lludwig, for mentioning the cookbook. Since I'm in that region, it's one I might actually stumble across. I tend to glaze over when I look at all those comb-bound regional cookbooks - now I have at least one thing to focus on!

I wish you all a joyous holiday, in whatever way you choose to celebrate. Our holiday will be low-key but filled with so much gratitude.

Good afternoon all. I've been reading the board from time to time and enjoying the conversations. I hope to participate more.

For anyone who's interested in a great book about Alaska, I recommend John McPhee's "Coming Into the Country." He writes non-fiction in such a compelling and interesting way. This was the first book of his that I read (decades ago) and I've enjoyed much of his writing since. Thank you for the photos, Patsy. I would love to take that trip someday.

We've been getting some great local peaches and tomatoes here. Such a pleasure while they last. I also have so much basil this year I might have to make some pesto. This all makes me happy.

Again, nice to see you all here. That also makes me happy.

Yes, that is interesting about use of spices. And we see those "American Ideals" in some of the older cookbooks we sell.
Good morning all. Like others, I am just so thrilled to see this place so spiffed up and thriving. Many thanks!

Just running through, as seems to be the norm for me lately. Wow, it's so nice to see all these familiar "faces" here. I am looking forward to having a bit of leisure so I can participate more.
Mainer111: Wishing you quick recovery.

Furtima (oops, I mean Diane): Did you tell her you were wondering the same thing?

Up too late last night working, then back at it early today. I used to be able to do it easily (I guess I'm remembering 20 years ago) but now it's just exhausting. Too early to go to sleep - guess I'll go decompress somehow. More fun tomorrow.

This looks like a delightful and familiar place already. Many thanks to our hosts. No time now to even read but wanted to say hello. Will catch up with you next week (when I'm on vacation!).