Virginia

Yeah, Heathcliff is right up top, Scarlett of course and the bitch from The Help.

You are so right, both partners should have the understanding of their expectations known early in the relationship and either be willing to settle, compromise or move on. And most importantly of all, each partner's contributions must be respected. My husband knows to NEVER make the mistake of thinking that his job is more important so he can say or act any kind of way. I don't mind being his "personal assistant" but I better hear a "thank you" and a "please" when a request is made. I am a wife, not a maid. If I am going to be treated as such, I'm getting paid for it! LOL!! For most people, they can only see their value through the eyes of others.

His daughter was interviewed on NPR a few months ago. Her life with her father was really interesting!

A little off topic but I've always found it fascinating how Londoners (well, England for that matter) can track down a person's roots by their dialect. What I mean is, not just north or south but even local regions, East London, West London, etc. With so many different dialects, how is it possible? I only ever saw it done as a science in novels by Henry Dolittle and Sherlock Holmes! It boggles the mind to think of the number of people you'd have to come in contact with to learn them all.

I. Am. Guilty. Maybe I'll tell them the tv is broken when they come to visit. Although I must say that they aren't slaves to the set. They love playing outside, going to the beach and library and playing on the computer and doing puzzles and working with playdoh and coloring pictures. They do have their favorite shows but if given the chance to go and do something and watching their show, they'd rather go and do something. I do love that poem though. It might actually be speaking to me!

I haven't done Rhett's People yet. Wish there was one written from Mammy's perspective!

I do the majority of house work but I don't mind. Hubby has a very physical job (heavy equipment mechanic) and he's over 50. Not that he CAN'T do it but as I'm at home and a full time student its the least I can do. He's so very undemanding . I'm the granddaughter of a farm wife and the daughter of a baby boomer. Interesting mix. I've had "nontraditional" jobs (law enforcement, Army, etc) but have found that I love puttering around my home. Cooking, cleaning, organizing. I love it. BUT I don't let it rule me or my family's comfort. Our house is VERY lived in! Books and magazines all over the place, grandkid's toys laid about, dog beds, etc. As long as the kitchen and bathrooms are cleaned and the laundry is done I'm easy going about other stuff. I dust because our house is a dust magnet and the grands have allergies. When you look outside all you see is yellow/green pollen. I also do most of the cooking during the weekdays but hubby also loves to cook and will do breakfast and weekend meals. Long ago I told him that I would maintain everything WITHIN the house and he had to maintain everything OUTSIDE the house. For years he would get upset with me because I would return the truck home with the gas light on. Finally I explained to him that as the truck was OUTSIDE the home, he was responsible for filling the tank. I don't expect my husband to work 12 plus hours a day only to come home and do what I could do in less than two hours. I've hated women who call themselves "homemakers" and "housewives" yet they do nothing all day. Its like they emulate Peggy Bundy (Married...With Children). To me, a home is a place where people LIVE. I don't do show homes. Places where you are meant to ohh and ahhh but not a place to feel welcome. I also avoid houses where the homeowners have a Hycinth Bucket mentality honestly, who dusts their white, streamline phone with last caller redial?! I know I've gotten off topic but there is SO many subtopics to dig ones teeth into!

Started the morning watching All Creatures Great and Small and followed it up with The Hobbit. I really can't wait til the second part is released on DVD!

Me too, especially in a good mystery. What I've found most intriguing is how George has written her novel without the undue gratuitous sex and violently bloody scenes. She has such a way with conveying imagery that we can visualize what is being described without her really describing it. I mean, sex and violence arent' thrown in simply because she needs to make a word count. She doesn't drop the "f" bomb left, right and center. You "get" it without her having to say it. Excellent writing!

Booknut, wonderful!! Definitely a perspective I hadn't looked at!

I'm from America. Virginia born and bred but I've called South Carolina home for the past 17 years.

Good one Raven!

I think that because Melony was so good and pure she just couldn't see the bad in anyone. Kind of like Jane Bennett. Scarlett only saw the worst (except for Ashley) and Melony, only the good. Again we see how Mitchell worked with the good and evil with these two characters. Its almost all or nothing. Notice how you don't really see any middle ground in her characters?

Yes, things did happen to her really quickly but as you stated, she was spoiled before the war. She never wanted to learn and thought those that did, boring. I think Margaret did her damnable best to develop Scarlett and Melony as polar opposites. Melony was almost too good to be true and Scarlett was, well, Scarlett! LOL!! But the thing is, all those Southern women experienced the same thing and yet they didn't loose their "humanness." Don't get me wrong, had Scarlett been created any other way, the book would certainly be lacking but my gosh, I just can't stand her. And I'm not so sure I could deal with a perfect Melony all day, every day either!

I love you!

I didn't hear about these books until a few years ago. The kids and I really enjoyed them. We even listened to them on audio while traveling. I think I might need to revisit them!

Did Harry Potter and Jenny move back to Number 12 Grimmolt Place? Or did they move to Godricks Hollow? Did Luna and Nevell hook up? Since wizards have notoriously long lives, where was Magonagor? Is Crop the new gamekeepers assistant to Hagrid? Where the hell does Harry, Ron, Heromine and Jenny work?! Did Harry ever meet up with the Dursleys? Honestly, I want to know the answers to these pressing questions,

I found her loathsome in both books. She had grit and determination but she was the most ignorant character I've come across in a long time. If it didn't have a dollar sign in front of it, she didn't have a clue. Scarlett really lived a totally isolated (within her own dollar green filled bubble) life. Everything had to center around her. I couldn't stand her. I read the book because of the history it represented and the other characters who were more human and generous of spirit.

Anna Karenina Does the Hobbit count as a classic? Roots by Alex Haley

I WILLLLLL finish this book this week! I actually got distracted and found myself reading Scarlett. I cant say as I didn't like the book. I found it enjoyable although it does tend to veer away from the true voice of Scarlett and Rhett.

I read this for the first time last summer. I was riveted. I can't believe I waited so long to read it but then again, I do tend to initially shy away from books that bring back to the surface, such unrelenting prejudice and hate. But what I'm constantly finding out, is that for all the hate and ignorance, there are truly good people that makes a person want to stick around and, as our old slave hymns say "see what the ends gon be."

Little W, you start one on your end and I'll start one on mine and we'll get this thing going! It is really amazing how the victims are often characters that seem to have generated so much hate. I mean, who has the ENERGY to have 3/4 of the people you know ready to do you in?