julie Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Kate It sure does sound nice down there ,and best to live far away from all the traffic and people. I like it where it's nice and quiet . KM Yes, I'd say I was never much of a "cowboy" fan myself, but I grew up watching the tv shows of it, which were very popular back then . I'd probably never read a western book until Lonesome Dove, and found I enjoyed it a lot , so have read some others since then that were also really good . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Kay Yes, I thought of your dad while reading the cowboy book with the posse . It was a pretty cool story if you like cowboy boos, which I do ! Too bad they don't have it on audio for him . Does his local library have books on tape he could borrow ? They probably have some westerns on audio books unless he has already listened to them all . He does belong to some sort of library which send him audios via the post (for free .. because he's registered disabled) and sometimes he gets cowboy stories but not often. I always keep my eye out for cowboy audios .. he 'read' The Sisters Brothers last year and loved it. But he also likes a bit of Dickens and also biographies and he even enjoyed some short stories by Roald Dahl (for adults) recently so he's quite open to suggestions. He doesn't like it if it's anything chick-litty though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 Kay Oh ,that would be nice for him then if he gets books delivered to his house to listen to . Too bad he can't choose specific types of books, or maybe they just don't have a lot of westerns on audio . Not sure what selections they have here for audio books at the library . I'm sure it's nice for him and helps him pass the time, especially since he loves westerns . We've been watching an old one that's on every night : The Rifleman. It was on when I was a kid, and we found a channel that plays 2 shows of it every night . I think they have westerns on all day Saturdays too, but I rarely watch tv in the daytime ,so not sure what all is on that channel . Do they have any oldies type tv stations over there that have all the old westerns ? He'd love it if they did . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Pixie Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Missed this before....yup, that's a lot like around here. We have lots of pine forest here, thick forest. Charles said that the forests up North are walkable. Down here, you need a machete to get through the forest. Tall and huge pines around us, we have 5 acres, and it's pretty grown up, except right around the house. But, south of the Lake it's more lush. Every kind of Oak tree, Pecan trees, Magnolias, Crepe Myrtles, everything. Just huge and gorgeous. Everything grows so beautifully down there, in that black Mississippi River mud. Sounds breathtaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Kay Oh ,that would be nice for him then if he gets books delivered to his house to listen to . Too bad he can't choose specific types of books, or maybe they just don't have a lot of westerns on audio . Not sure what selections they have here for audio books at the library . I'm sure it's nice for him and helps him pass the time, especially since he loves westerns . We've been watching an old one that's on every night : The Rifleman. It was on when I was a kid, and we found a channel that plays 2 shows of it every night . I think they have westerns on all day Saturdays too, but I rarely watch tv in the daytime ,so not sure what all is on that channel . Do they have any oldies type tv stations over there that have all the old westerns ? He'd love it if they did . They don't no .. that is you can probably subscribe but he doesn't have anything like that at the moment (though there are a couple of movie channels ... but it's a mix of modern and oldies.) Often he'll find a western on in the afternoon and he'll always watch it but then say .. at the end .. that he's seen it before a million times .. he might add that it's rubbish too Drives Mum up the wall as she's not necessarily a western fan and she's probably been missing some cooking programme or the other but, to be fair, Dad can only sit and watch or listen .. Mum can do lots of things (and she does like an escape opportunity .. even if it's only to the kitchen or to the neighbours for a gossip ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Yea, we don't get cable here but if we did there might be lots of other western shows on . This channel is just free . It's too bad they don't make as many westerns now ,since your dad probably has seen tons of them if he's watched them for so many years . How about youtube ? Do they have a computer ? There are channels on there that also have lots of westerns on them . Just an idea . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 The Bottoms / Joe Lansdale 5/5There's a killer lose in a small southern Texas town . The victims are discovered in a swampy area known as"The Bottoms ". The story is told by an old man ,who was a boy back in the 30's when this all happened . He and his sister find the first victim . Others soon follow. There are several parts of the book dealing with the KKK and the rampant racism during those days , and how a group of fanatical men took the law into their own hands . The book keeps you guessing and really builds up towards the end ,when you honestly don;'t know how it'll all end .Highly recommended ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) Reading BINGO ! I found a really cute idea for a reading game to play . I guess it'd be a challenge, but it leaves you pretty wide open for choices, so it's not as restricting as some challenges would be . There's also a YA card for those that enjoy the YA books . http://www.retreatbyrandomhouse.ca/2014/01/reading-bingo-challenge-2014/ Edited January 24, 2014 by julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) Typed out list of Bingo Card : A book with over 500 pgs - Forgotten Classic - Book of Ebenezer LePage (forgotten to me, I'd never heard of it ) Became a Movie - Published this year - Number in the Title - Author age under 30 - Non-human characters - Funny - Female author Mystery - One word title - Short stories - Different continent- Nonfiction First book by a favorite author -The Bottoms (Joe Lansdale -- just bought 2 more by him ! ) Heard about it online - Bestseller list - Based on a true story - Year of Our Lord Bottom of my TBR - Thunder Over the Prairie ( One of the first books I put on my Kindle ) Book your friend loves - Book that scares you -The Constance Fisher Tragedy More than 10 years old Second in a series Blue cover I think I might play a game of Bingo with the books I am (and have ) read this year . I think I can fit the first 4 of the year into the slots . Let's see if I can fill in the rest of the card by year's end ! Edited January 26, 2014 by julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie H Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 The reading Bingo could be a good change when looking for books of similar genre(s) as usual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Marie Yea, I thought it might be kinda like doing a challenge ,only not with many restrictions. There are lots of books that could fit into lots of those categories . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kidsmum Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 I like the the idea of the Reading Bingo Julie, it's a good way of making sure you read all different kinds of books Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 24, 2014 Author Share Posted January 24, 2014 Hi Km Yes I agree . It's nice to read all different sorts of books . This one has enough room to expand the choices a lot more ,so several books can fit into each category . That way you're not so hemmed in with only one or two books that'd fit into each category . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 The idea of the Book Bingo is nice ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontalba Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Neat idea, Julie! Very different, and varied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Book Bingo sounds great .. I like the categories. Good luck with it Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 Thank you Kate & Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 The Constance Fisher Tragedy - Burris 3/5 This book was a really hard one to read. I like true crime, but when it has to do with kids, I don't handle it well. This is the story of a lady back in 1954 who was married and had 3 small kids. After her third one, it seems she fell into a bad spell of post-partum depression . Her husband came home one day and found all 3 kids dead and his wife in a coma . She had killed them all then attempted to kill herself, The book goes into great detail about the state of our mental health care system at the time and the many ways they attempted to "control" and "treat" people with mental diseases . It's not for the faint of heart . Pretty much like One Flew Over the cuckoo's Nest type stuff .. Anyhow, to make a long story short, this lady had several professionals diagnose and treat her with the methods used back then. They declared her to be fit for discharge 5 years later . She was lucky , her entire family stuck by her and welcomed her home, including her husband. 12 years go by ....... the unthinkable happens . You'll have to read it for yourself to see how it ends ! I'm only giving this 3 /5 .. I don't like reading about anyone hurting little kids ,and some books that go into detail about the treatments used on mental patients back in the old days , gives me the HIVES ... GEEZ ... Good writing ,but difficult subject . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Wow, that really is a tragedy. Some hard reading there, Julie! I've never been great at reading the true-life stuff myself - I suppose I choose to read fantasy as a form of escapism away from stuff like this. However, I do know it's very popular. I used to work with a lady who devoured the true-life books about child abuse and such, and then revel in telling us all about how horrific it was, in the same way I might tell someone about a horror film (for example). I can understand being morbidly interested in it, but not treating it like it's a work of fiction rather than fact: it undermines the whole point of them being written in the first place. But yeah, I can understand the fascination with true-life serial killer books, but not ones to do with kids. I can definitely understand why you didn't enjoy this one quite so much, especially for someone who has kids of their own. (The stuff about the 'treatment' of her condition does sound very interesting, though your reaction to it reminds me of my own when I first read about the use of electrotherapy to 'cure' post-traumatic stress in WW1 - absolutely horrific, but they genuinely believed they were helping their patients/victims!) And I have to say, I love the sound of your Book Bingo idea - what a great way of diversifying your reading! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Cripes, I just looked up Constance Fisher.. Horrible stuff! I bet there were plenty of cases not dissimilar to this In those days sadly. I did find out there is a website called Murderpedia though! Not sure that is somewhere I should spend too much time.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Oh Julie .. I take my hat off to you for being able to read such accounts even though they make you uncomfortable .. I couldn't deal with it. Like you say it's a whole lot worse when the victims are children and somehow worse when the perpetrator is their mother .. the one person of all who you think would look after them. Only yesterday I was listening to a documentary about Holocaust survivors who were saying that .. on entering the death camps .. the people were always split into two groups .. one for (temporarily) saving and one for killing .. the babies were almost always shot and the mother's wouldn't be parted from them so were shot too Obviously if someone is mentally ill though, they're not responsible for their actions and it's for others to make sure that a) they get the treatment they need and b) that nobody is left in their charge and put at risk. Back then they had no idea how to treat mental illness .. in fact it beggars belief that they could have ever thought the treatments advantageous or remediate In Kilvert's Diary there were a lot of people in the community that were off their rocker .. mostly women .. and you can't help wondering if it was some sort of chemical imbalance that would be easily remedied these days. Possibly some of them were just menopausal. They didn't have any medication back then .. or hardly anything .. it was sink or swim. I am not visiting Murderpedia I'm rubbish with horror in general actually .. even fictional horror and can't watch horror films unless they're vintage and fairly hammy and unbelievable. I don't want to be frightened in the name of entertainment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julie Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Laura Yes, the poor people who were mentally ill back long ago had some pretty horrific things happen to them . The doctors were trying all these newfangled treatments that they thought would help . It's pretty gruesome in some spots . I had nightmares for weeks after watching One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . It was right after we had finished working on the mental ward in our nursing class . I was a WRECK for a long time after that . That was back in the 70's so things weren't quite as horrid ,but those poor people were treated so badly. It makes me sick if I think about it even now, all these years later . I took care of an elderly lady after I graduated ,who had been given shock treatments in her early marriage. Her husband was abusive and felt she "needed" them to make her be a better wife to him. Back then, next of kin could sign you into one of those places . * Note to self :Remind me to make the Hubster an extra treat for dessert this week . * I don't read True Crime for the entertainment value. I don't find it entertaining like a fiction book would be. I read them more for educational reasons . I like learning about how the killer is caught, why they did it, how the lawyers work on the case and the sentence they are given . I've read hundreds of them I suppose ,and most of them I can handle, but I usually steer clear of anything to do with little kids getting hurt, or kids killing each other. I won't read any of the school shooting type books either . Chalie Yes, there probably were lots of cases just like hers . The book mentioned a couple others ,but not anyone in her situation . It was talking about doctors declaring a person "cured" and allowing them loose in society and what they did after they got out ! WOW ... The scarey thing is that we have almost completely shut down all our mental homes over here ,so they are loose on the streets ( a large number of homeless people are mentally ill ,with no one to care for them and no family that wants to step in) . Some are put in jail ,some in nursing homes . Some could live down the street for all I know . Kay Yes, the Holocaust had such awful stories of what was done to the babies ,kids ,in fact everyone was treated horribly . I remember reading books where the mothers would be killed if they didnt let go of their babies, and what was done to them . SO SAD ..... It actually did sound as though this lady in the book had some hormonal imbalances going on ,for one thing . I'm not sure what else she actually had . She was diagnosed many times by different people ,but I don't know that any of them knew for sure what was wrong . She was coherent enough to know she had done wrong , but in a way seemed detached from it ,almost like the kids are better off dead than alive .. She seemed to find it rational at the time she did it , knew it was wrong afterward, but still seemed to think it might have been for the best. Really hard to explain . I guess you'd have to live inside her head and I'd rather not go there ! I don't like horror either . It's weird that I read true crime but don't like horror books much . Again, I think it's the learning I get from a true event. It's more scary to me to read something someone made up in their head that isn't true ! Weird ... Edited January 26, 2014 by julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signor Finzione Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I don't read True Crime for the entertainment value. I don't find it entertaining like a fiction book would be. I read them more for educational reasons . I like learning about how the killer is caught, why they did it, how the lawyers work on the case and the sentence they are given . I've read hundreds of them I suppose ,and most of them I can handle, but I usually steer clear of anything to do with little kids getting hurt, or kids killing each other. I won't read any of the school shooting type books either . Oh, I wasn't suggesting you do! I was just saying how I found it rather disturbing how my old work colleague derived so much morbid entertainment from reading such things (I bet she visits the Murderpedia site, too!). * Note to self :Remind me to make the Hubster an extra treat for dessert this week . * Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaliepud Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 What an amazing heirloom Julie, it looks very intricate.. I'm sure the making of quilts etc was a lot more popular when there was no TV to distract people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inver Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 Hope you manage a full house with your Bingo book challenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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