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Peacefield's Literary Life in 2016


Peacefield

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Anna, yep, I'm in Minnesota.  Are you in So. Cal?  I have 3 siblings who are all in So. Cal.  I was out in May and was laughing at them because it was cold to them but for me it was perfect!  They've been away from a MN too long, methinks ;)

 

I'll confess, guys, I've never done a read-a-thon.  I'm not even sure I know what it is!  Do you just try to read as many books as you can in a certain time period?  I might not finish, but I'd certainly be up for trying!  I haven't read a scary book in a long time, Noll, so that'd be fun!  

Closer to San Francisco, but inland a bit, so we don't get the coldness SF gets.  I know- LA is always nice!  The people that live there don't even own jackets :giggle2:

 

The read a thon is lots of fun, basically, its like Athena said.  It's just a fun way to immerse yourself into reading- either one book or several, no matter :)  In the thread, we basically post our progress and chat a bit about what we will read or what we are reading.

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Hey BCF friends :D  How is everyone doing?  There I went and got busy again, so I'm sorry I haven't been posting much.  

 

This weekend I'm going to a big used book sale put on by Half Price Books.  It's at the local fairgrounds and promises to have every book at $2.00 or less so I'm pretty excited!  

 

I was at the cabin this past weekend and two of my friends were reading Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears and since it's one of my all time favorite books I naturally had to pick it up too ;):lol:  I've been very wishy-washy lately when it comes to reading so I'm glad to read something I know and love.  

 

One of my sisters used to live in Northern California, Anna, but I only visited once before she moved down to the San Diego area.  I was 12 or 13 at the time but I remember going paddle-boating in Capitola and I loved it!  It was beautiful there.

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Right, Frankie, lots of miserable weather in the winter so I'll be working on my 'indoor' activities, keeping myself busy while I'm in my powered-down and just a wee bit grumpy winter mood.  It's one thing about living here is that we really enjoy the summer months as long as we can before hell literally freezes over .  If only there was such a thing as a perpetual autumn! 

 That's one of the things we have in common: we do love our summers! :D We get all fired up what with the great weather and sun and warmth and people are generally in such a better mood! The winters can be a bitc... sonovagun! One needs lots of great books and hot choco and all sorts of pleasantries to make it through the winter...

 

 

I get Midsomer Murders on Netflix.  We stream it on the Apple TV usually and I believe there are 14 seasons and both my mom and I are hooked!  You are a fan, I take it?

 Ah, Netflix! Should've known :D I've never watched the show, but I know some who must have, and I know it's a popular show over here :) Me, I prefer watching Dexter :D

 

Anna, yep, I'm in Minnesota.  Are you in So. Cal?  I have 3 siblings who are all in So. Cal.  I was out in May and was laughing at them because it was cold to them but for me it was perfect!  They've been away from a MN too long, methinks 

 

So. Cal sounds So Calorific to me :giggle2:

 

I can relate to you re: your siblings feeling cold :D I see people over here who are wearing jackets and scarves and hats already, and I'm like, it's still pretty warm! There's no need to act like it's cold... And then when it's winter and some people are wearing really thick coats, I'm still wearing my fall jacket :D It's so different from what I'm used to, being from further north. But I like it! :)

 

 

I'll confess, guys, I've never done a read-a-thon.  I'm not even sure I know what it is!  Do you just try to read as many books as you can in a certain time period?  I might not finish, but I'd certainly be up for trying!  I haven't read a scary book in a long time, Noll, so that'd be fun!  

 

 Read-a-thons are cool, you should definitely join the next time there's one and you have the time! :)

 

Hey BCF friends :D  How is everyone doing?  There I went and got busy again, so I'm sorry I haven't been posting much.  

Tut tut, you need to organize your life around BCF so it doesn't get in the way :giggle2:

 

This weekend I'm going to a big used book sale put on by Half Price Books.  It's at the local fairgrounds and promises to have every book at $2.00 or less so I'm pretty excited!  

 That's great! Amazing prices, you're so lucky! I hope you find a lot of great stuff. And of course you need to post a list of your purchased books. If you include pictures, that's even better! :cool:

 

I was at the cabin this past weekend and two of my friends were reading Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears and since it's one of my all time favorite books I naturally had to pick it up too ;):lol:  I've been very wishy-washy lately when it comes to reading so I'm glad to read something I know and love.  

 

Don't you just love it when your friends read books that you love yourself and have been recommending to them :wub: It's not very often that that happens, at least with my own real life friends. Thank goodness one has BCF friends!  :friends3: 

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MN is very comfy, Sousa, I agree.  Well except maybe during winter when it's below 0 temps outside.  They do like to make fun of our accents in movies/TV sometimes!  We don't all sound like that, just the rural folk and people who live really far outside the city like 'up north.'

 

I hate bulky jackets and coats in the winter, Frankie, so I usually wear my thinner fall stuff too.  I know it's warmer but when I get in my car I hate being constricted by more than just my seat belt when I'm behind the wheel.  It's not like I walk far when I'm outdoors anyway, since I run out and start my car and get it very toasty before I hit the road and I park in a parking garage at work so what's the point of a coat?!  I do keep one in my car in case of emergencies, though.  You never know!  :cold: 

 

After running to the grocery store and then the gym after work yesterday I was wiped when I got home.  All I wanted to do was relax and play with my new phone, but I forced myself to read and actually got pretty far before I went to bed! I'm on part 2 already, surprisingly.  Instance of the Fingerpost is about one event that's told from 3 different perspectives all in parts with the final and 4th part being the true telling of the event.  I love it! 

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One of my sisters used to live in Northern California, Anna, but I only visited once before she moved down to the San Diego area.  I was 12 or 13 at the time but I remember going paddle-boating in Capitola and I loved it!  It was beautiful there.

Yes!  That area is gorgeous!

 

They do like to make fun of our accents in movies/TV sometimes!  We don't all sound like that, just the rural folk and people who live really far outside the city like 'up north.'

And the one time I was in MN, we expected people to talk like that :D  But I think by that time, we had busted our stereotypes.  We had the fortune of driving around the US, starting from the SF area.  It was fun.  We didn't get all the way to Maine, but made it to the tip of Mass. and then back all the way upstate NY.  It was ah-mazing.

 

But the funny thing about the accents, was hearing true Boston and Manhattan ones :giggle2:

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That road trip sounds like so much fun, Anna!  Can I ask where abouts in MN you visited?  I've done many road trips but never across the US at one time.  I had the best time when I flew out east and we took 2 weeks driving through all of New England.  Talk about amazing!

 

I'm getting excited for the book sale tomorrow!  I'm meeting my friend and her husband there and we are also grabbing lunch.  

 

:readingtwo:  :character0104:

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That road trip sounds like so much fun, Anna!  Can I ask where abouts in MN you visited?  I've done many road trips but never across the US at one time.  I had the best time when I flew out east and we took 2 weeks driving through all of New England.  Talk about amazing!

 

I'm getting excited for the book sale tomorrow!  I'm meeting my friend and her husband there and we are also grabbing lunch.  

 

:readingtwo:  :character0104:

We were there only overnight and went to the Mall in Minneapolis, St. Paul, then over to Fargo, Bismarck and into Montana.  That was towards the end of our trip, we had lazily gone through the south and the east coast, so by the northern part, we hurried a bit.  Shame, it was so pretty :)

 

I loved New England :wub: We only went to Massachusetts and Connecticut before we cut over to New York though.

Have a god time tomorrow!

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The Mall of America, Anna?  That's a fun place to visit :D.  It's on the opposite end of town from me but I always go at least once a year when my out-of-town relatives come to visit.  We stay at the hotel there and make a weekend of it.

 

New England!  I love it up there too :D  I'm hoping to go to Upstate New York next fall and visit some of my ancestor's graves.  I've been to NYC but never ventured out of Manhattan.

 

Saturday was pretty successful, but lordy there were SO many people!  I think I stood in line waiting to check out longer than I perused the book selection!  

 

I ended up getting 4 books for myself, 2 for my mom, and a movie for me; 'Underworld.'  I could probably have gotten more books but TBH my bag was getting heavy and some of the people were really starting to annoy me :lol:

 

The American Patriot's Almanac - William J. Bennett & John T.E. Cribb

Persuading Annie - Melissa Nathan

The Magnolia League - Katie Crouch

Paul Revere and the World He Lived In - Esther Forbes

 

post-8818-0-69644300-1443449930_thumb.jpg

 

 

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The Mall of America, Anna?  That's a fun place to visit :D.  It's on the opposite end of town from me but I always go at least once a year when my out-of-town relatives come to visit.  We stay at the hotel there and make a weekend of it.

 

I assume the mall has plenty inside, but the idea that there's a mall so big a family can spend a weekend there sounds really american.

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I assume the mall has plenty inside, but the idea that there's a mall so big a family can spend a weekend there sounds really american.

 

:lol:  I suppose it does, Sousa!  It's the largest indoor shopping mall in the United States.  I'd say the largest in North America but I believe there is an even larger mall in Edmonton, Canada.  It has tons of shops, and a hotel connected to it as well, which is where we stay.

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The Mall of America, Anna?  That's a fun place to visit :D.  It's on the opposite end of town from me but I always go at least once a year when my out-of-town relatives come to visit.  We stay at the hotel there and make a weekend of it.

 

New England!  I love it up there too :D  I'm hoping to go to Upstate New York next fall and visit some of my ancestor's graves.  I've been to NYC but never ventured out of Manhattan.

 

Saturday was pretty successful, but lordy there were SO many people!  I think I stood in line waiting to check out longer than I perused the book selection!  

 

I ended up getting 4 books for myself, 2 for my mom, and a movie for me; 'Underworld.'  I could probably have gotten more books but TBH my bag was getting heavy and some of the people were really starting to annoy me :lol:

 

The American Patriot's Almanac - William J. Bennett & John T.E. Cribb

Persuading Annie - Melissa Nathan

The Magnolia League - Katie Crouch

Paul Revere and the World He Lived In - Esther Forbes

 

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Nice books!  Yes, The Mall of America, it was fun, first time my daughter ate pinto beans (she was 6 mos old) at the Chipotle  :giggle2:  

Upstate NY in the Fall would be absolutely GORGEOUS!  Jealous!  We took the trip in the Spring, hoped to see Death Valley in bloom, but it didn't bloom that year.  It was funny to be somewhere at 9:00 at night and have the temperature be 90 degrees :D

 

I assume the mall has plenty inside, but the idea that there's a mall so big a family can spend a weekend there sounds really american.

You should see the rollercoaster in the middle :P

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That's good to know about Melissa Nathan, Athena.  I've not read anything by her before but am looking forward to it! 

 

I've never been to Death Valley and I'm not sure I would enjoy it if it was that hot!  But I'd make an exception to see it in bloom, I bet it would be beautiful, Anna! 

 

My nieces and nephews love going on all those rides at the Mall, especially the Pepsi Orange Streak roller coaster!  I'd like to play the mini-golf course one of these days.

 

I recently started reading The Girl on the Train.  Unfortunately I wasn't quite feeling The Last Bookaneer so I put it back on the shelf and will try again after I finish Train.  I also didn't get a chance to redo my bookshelf this weekend.  There's never enough time!  On Saturday I spent half the day at a local antique fair and flea market and then I went shopping for a welcome-back-to-work gift for my friend/co-worker who just got off a 3 month maternity leave.  After that I had dinner with a friend and yesterday I watched the football game and worked on sewing a gym bag. 

 

I won't be able to get much done at home this coming weekend since we're going up to the cabin for our final stay of the season.  It's beautiful up there in the fall but it's always such a sad time knowing I won't be going back up until May  :cry:.   

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Well, I had to re-start Girl on the Train since it had been about a week since last reading, but I've begun in earnest now  :blush2:.  I'm a 1/3rd in and am very much intrigued!  

 

I also picked up a book for my mom for the holidays entitled Minnesota Nature Notes by Jim Gilbert.  A review of the book on Amazon perfectly sums up what it's about:

 

If you live in Minnesota, if you love Minnesota, if you know someone who does, you need this book. If you don't understand why people live here, or have wondered what it would be like...you need to buy this book! Jim Gilbert, a resident naturalist and phenologist (observer and recorder of nature) has written a wonderful "diary" of the nature of our state. Week by week he takes us through the expected changes we can observe through the seasons by watching the birds and critters, the plants and the weather - even providing such wonderfully minute information as the "Ice-out" dates on Lakes Waconia and Wolf over a ten year period. An engaging writer, Gilbert draws you from the pages of the book, first to the window, then out into the weather. 

 

I thought it would be a perfect book, especially for the cabin, so we could keep track of all the busy-ness of the outdoors in nature :D.

 

 

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I finished Girl on the Train last night and was gripping the book pretty tight during those last pages!  I really like this type of narrative, where it's taken from different people's points of view.  It's funny though because even though I saw each chapter and who's perspective it was told from, I didn't really pay attention to the date that was listed.  I think it would've confused me and I would have been constantly checking back to compare dates.  After I finished, however, I did go back and see what was happening when and how it compared to what was happening to someone else in the story at that time.

 

I feel like I'm still in a suspense/thriller-y mood, so I'm going to hunt around and see what I have that fits the bill :D.

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Thanks, Athena! :D

 

Last night I decided to start The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch.  It's not on par with the type of suspenseful book I was thinking of but I wasn't in the mood for anything else on my shelf that fit the bill so Magnolia League it is!  I picked this one up at the book sale I went to last month so I know nothing about the author or other works by her.  Let's hope it's not too disappointing!

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Well, I had to re-start Girl on the Train since it had been about a week since last reading, but I've begun in earnest now  :blush2:.  I'm a 1/3rd in and am very much intrigued!  

 

 

I finished Girl on the Train last night and was gripping the book pretty tight during those last pages!  I really like this type of narrative, where it's taken from different people's points of view.  It's funny though because even though I saw each chapter and who's perspective it was told from, I didn't really pay attention to the date that was listed.  I think it would've confused me and I would have been constantly checking back to compare dates.  After I finished, however, I did go back and see what was happening when and how it compared to what was happening to someone else in the story at that time.

 

Haha, coincidentally that's what happened to me, too: I had to re-start Girl on the Train because I was so preoccupied with something else. It wasn't the book's fault, though! It was very gripping indeed :cool: Happy to hear that you enjoyed it :smile2: Since you like this sort of narrative and suspense, I was recently reminded of a similar book that you might like: poppyshake was told she might enjoy Disclaimer by Renée Knight, and asked the forum if anyone else had read it. I remembered that I have! Enjoyed it very much. I can see how one could compare it to GotT. Suspense, different perspectives, etc. 

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Oooh, thanks for that recommendation, Frankie, that looks like something I'd enjoy!  I've added it to my Wish List at Amazon.  I really enjoy stories told from different perspectives.  Though not suspenseful-type reads, 2 of my top 10 books are like that, The Instance of the Fingerpost and The Lady and the Unicorn. :D

 

Did you hear that they're making a film of GotT?  Emily Blunt is apparently going to be playing Rachel.  I've not heard of the director but he did The Help, which I loved, so hopefully that's a good sign.

 

I promise I'm going to start my own blog/thread this weekend and feature my chair collection!  I think I have a free hour or two :lol:

 

 

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I mentioned earlier that I need to rearrange my bookshelves and I'm determined to do it this weekend!  I need to make room for more books but the trouble is I also like my other 'stuff.'  Obviously more bookshelves would be ideal but my place just can't hold any more.  I wanted to do a before and after, so here are the befores :D

 

post-8818-0-59620900-1446235421_thumb.jpg

 

post-8818-0-20601100-1446235449_thumb.jpg

 

 

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 It's funny though because even though I saw each chapter and who's perspective it was told from, I didn't really pay attention to the date that was listed.

I didn't take any notice of the dates when I read it either.  :)

 

Looking forward to seeing your after shots, and comparing them to their befores!  :D

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