dtrpath27

Yay! I'm so glad you loved it. I read this book last year and it was my absolute favorite. Your assessment hit the nail on the head. What a lovely gift for a lovely person!

Thank you, everyone, for commiserating with me about the back pain. That and pie are really my main stumbling blocks. It's just so hard when the pie is so good! Gaia, I'm glad you're able to drink enough water. It really makes a difference in how well the body can function.

Great review! You know, I'm a huge James Bond cinema fan, but have never read any of the books. I'll have to check one out.

I love your jar idea! I hope you enjoy the first selection from it.

I just learned my something new for today. I never realized that Paddington Bear was a children's novel just like Peter Pan or Mary Poppins. I always thought he was a picture book character more like Curious George.

As I just finished the first one, I clearly have yet to read them all, but apparently it's part of a quartet of books that are loosely related, telling different stories about different people in that general time period. There seems to be some reappearance of certain characters, but the protagonist and location for each are different.

It is easy not to do it, isn't it? I try to start and end the day with two glasses so at least I have half in without even thinking about it.

Ice does help when it's inflamed, but my pains and nerve damage are the result of a long ago back injury and ensuing surgery. It's just rather delicate and prone to problems even now. Once it starts acting up, it continues with the tantrum for weeks on end. I'd say it's worse than labor pains. At least with labor, you get a break between contractions! I think I'm going to use this thread as a way to hold me accountable for making small, healthy choices every day. Slow and steady seems to work best for me. Besides, I don't think I could do more than that right now.

January 2015 The Giver by Lois Lowry 179 pages Genre: Young Adult dystopian Jonas has lived his life in a carefully ordered utopian community where pain and suffering have been all but eradicated. With the onset his twelfth birthday, Jonas is assigned his vocation, a vocation unlike any other in the community. Now set upon a journey of discovery and truth, of secrets and lies, Jonas must face a reality far removed from the life he once knew. This book was not at all what I had expected. Truthfully, I didn't really even know what it was about until I downloaded it and started reading. I am so glad I did. It was poignant and thought-provoking, reaching far deeper than one would expect from a book that finds itself on many middle school required reading lists. The depth of the story is remarkable, and definitely deserves all the attention it has received.

I just finished The Giver by Lois Lowry. It was heartbreaking to imagine the world described. The book was not at all what I expected, but definitely one I would recommend. It was quite thought-provoking.

It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. The Giver by Lois Lowry

"Long winded," snicker, snicker. It's good to hear that you like The Remains of the Day. I've had it on my shelf for a year now.

It sounds as though I'm in the same boat as many of you -- wanting to live healthier and lose weight. Also, congratulations to those of you who are finding success and encouragement to those beginning the journey. Prior to Christmas, I had made positive changes of drinking 8-10 glasses of water per day and enjoying one sweet treat per day (semantics, but I felt as if I was getting rewarded as opposed to denied). As a result, I lost 18 pounds. My skin was beautiful, my clothes fit better and I was in less pain. I still had a long way to go, but was off to a good start. Over break, I baked like a madwoman every morning and stayed curled up all day enjoying my sweet treats and reading books. I was also under the weather, so I also had multiple naps each day. As lovely as those two weeks were, I am now paying the price. My chronic back condition flared up from the lack of activity which made me hold myself wonky, which has led to excruciating pain in my hip. This morning, when I went downstairs, I noticed that the pain is working its way down to my knee because of the poor alignment. I'm in so much pain that I just want to stay in bed which is actually making it worse. Vicious cycle! I must also find a way to lose weight because that will alleviate pressure on my joints and a lot of the pain. Now that it's inflamed, the nerve will take weeks to calm down. I need to take steps to help it along.

I'm in one of those read several books at once phases. I'm a little shy of halfway through The Shadow of the Wind that I've been working on; I started The Giver last night, and am a quarter of the way through; I'm also eyeing The Remains of the Day. Fickle, fickle!

I'm so glad you liked it! I was so embarrassed that I hadn't read it as it's required reading at so many schools here, so I bought a copy a couple of weeks ago for my Kindle. I hadn't realized until then that is was dystopian either, or that it was part of a series. I should be starting it before long. I'm glad you're feeling better! It seems like there's such nasty stuff going around. I thought it would get better when I moved to the South, but apparently it just followed me down.

Hold up! Was that on the Northshore, or is it something I've missed here? It's too late for today, but I could still pick through the dregs tomorrow. You got quite a haul!

I love the phone box library. There's a town in Minnesota (upper Midwest of the U.S.) that does this sort of thing. I think it would be amazing to live somewhere that has that sort of thing. Here are some cool bookshelf alternatives that I found:

Aww! I hope you're on the mend soon, Gaia. It's no fun being sick.

Welcome! I joined about a year ago, so I'll definitely be new to you. Happy reading in 2015!

I love the Humans quote, Gaia!

I know! Part of my intense dislike might be that I'm reading another book about books, Shadow of the Wind, and the contrast between the two pieces is just so...well, glaring.

Gaia - Yes, there is a great deal of talk of books. Unlike another one that I was reading simultaneously, this one definitely satisfies my "book about books" craving. Frankie, I agree! I'm just letting the whole thing wash over me and am completely loving it.

January 2015 Legendarium by Michael Bunker and Kevin G. Summers 147 Pages Genre: Fantasy/Satire??? In a world where there is a world for each book or story ever written, the Legendarium is the great library in the sky where all those worlds intersect. The Legendarium, however, is under attack, and with the destruction of each literary world comes an irreversible ripple of changes in the real world. In come published author Bombo Dawson and creative writing instructor Alistair Foley, recruited by Kurt Vonnegut and Leo Tolstoy, to save the world of literature from epic collapse. I'm quite torn on this one. I am generally a sucker for books about books, and the synopsis really appealed to me, however I couldn't have been more disappointed. I loved the concept, but I found it to be quite clumsy and poorly written. Furthermore, the constant references to Amazon, the Kindle store and self-publishing, although intended to be humorously ironic, were simply annoying and made me feel duped. There were many wonderful, five-star reviews of this novella, so perhaps there is something I'm missing. Personally, I would give it three stars: the average of five for concept and one for execution. I definitely didn't find it to be worth the money I paid would return it if I could.

I do agree with the romanticism of reading poetry from a book -- being able to sit while holding the book and ponder what was just read and such. Reading from a tablet or phone does seem a bit sterilized for the subject matter, doesn't it? I just love the whole idea you've had of exploring poetry, Frankie, and I'm happy to do any which way. I tend to get excited about things and start running around on all sorts of tangents, so feel free to set me back on course, everyone.

I'm slowly making my way through Spain with Carlos Luiz Zafón as my guide. It's every bit as rich, beautiful and mysterious as I expected. I am absolutely loving The Shadow of the Wind.