pontalba

I loved Harry August! And Touch, I have the new one on order. Can't wait!

Almost afternoon here. . G'morning!

LOL. What he said! Interesting, yes, that's what makes a good discussion. The whys and wherefores of the readers reasoning behind their feelings pro or con about a book. I'm about a third of the way through the second one, and it occurred to me last night that this trilogy is somewhat akin to Stephen King's The Stand. A panoramic view of life as we know it coming to an end. There are definite similarities, and Cronin's prose and descriptive powers are top notch. To call it a "simple vampire story" is just so incomplete. Yes, there are sections that I prefer over others, but that feeling is common enough to readers, I believe. Anyhow. Back to reading.

Weetabix biscuit w/cream cheese and black tea.

I don't listen to music or anything while reading. I prefer silence. Fortunately, so does Husband.

Finished The Passage last night! Loved this story of survival again. The geographical scope, the love and sacrifice demonstrated throughout is just amazing. I've started the second book, so will wait to review after finishing all three.

I know exactly the point y'all mean, and agree to some extent that it bogs down a bit there. But for me, it didn't matter, it actually interested me to get those details. And those details matter down the road. I don't know how else Cronin could have managed it. There is a great interview with Cronin on a blog I follow, Shelf Awareness. Here is a link...you might have to scroll down a bit for it. http://www.shelf-awareness.com/readers-issue.html?issue=509#m8900

I think you're right. I'll come across it, it's no problem anyhow. Thanks. Hmmm, 2020. Thanks for that. But I have to say that the three and a half years will go pretty fast! As far as updating an older laptop, I have to agree. It's not a lot of use on a computer that isn't a touch screen anyhow, I suppose. I am not sure if we'll upgrade on the two laptops we have, as they are about 5 years old as it is.

Oick! Thanks, I am sure I will. It reads very fast. Plus it's better to read large chunks at the time, so as not to forget which character is doing what. It's so much more than a "vampire story". In many ways it's a treatise on War, God, and Human interaction and Loyalty. Not to mention hubris.

Good review. I think if I really have a feeling for a book, I'll overlook, or look past those sort of flaws.

I enjoyed it a lot. The premise was quite interesting, and the way the main character dealt with it was well done.

After the download, you're presented with several pages of yes/no preference questions. Of course Microsoft has them all "yes". I just put "no" for everything. I don't want Cortana, for example. At least not until I understand it more thoroughly. Seems intrusive to me. Hmmm, interesting. I wonder why. My Win 10 downloaded Sunday night as per schedule and went very smoothly. I'm on Edge right now and haven't had any problems with it. Although funnily enough when I click on a link in an email i.e. from this forum or any newsletter, it comes up in IE! Weirdness. But no bother. It'll all shake out eventually. Well, for one thing, supposedly after July Win 10 won't be a free upgrade. I have to think that Microsoft doesn't want a lot of dissatisfied grumbles about that. But it's true, they are awfully highhanded, imo. Added in Edit: Plus, afaik, they won't be putting out security updates on Win 7, 8, 8.1 after a while. How long I don't know.

You are very welcome! I'd preordered City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin. It's the last of the trilogy consisting of The Passage, The Twelve, and City of Mirrors. It came the other day and I started it, but was a bit lost on the character's interaction. So. I've started the trilogy all over again. I'm 31% through the first one, and am enjoying it all over again.

Great reviews, all of 'em! I especially look forward to reading The Thing Itself......I've already downloaded it to my iPad/kindle.

Oh, neat! It's not coming out over here 'till June 14th.

Haven't read any Game of Thrones, but the other two, Scarlett and Mr. Rochester definitely fit the bill!

YES! That's it! Thanks. We finished Hooked night before last, and loved it. I'd have preferred a little more closure, but this way it leaves it open for another season.....I hope!

(bolding above mine, for emphasis) Hah! Spare me the chauvinistic approach!

Thanks. Funny thing was that it was on special at Amazon, 1.99USD, I think. Then I found a hardback copy at the Library Sale last week. lol The Universe was trying to tell me something! There is an overarching story, covering about 12,000 years. So, while some of the stories are very different, they all relate, and refer to one another. Great! I know you don't care much for "short stories", but as I mention above it's an overarching story so the "short" hardly applies. I hope you do enjoy it when you get to it.

City by Clifford D. Simak 5/5 Man ceasing to be the dominate species on Earth. That can't be a bad thing. Simak covers so much ground in what is actually a collection of 8 short stories, each with it's own Notes section. The rise and fall of civilizations, the reach out to the stars, the travelling from one dimension to the other. The definition of God. A robot that lives 12,000 years and sees almost all of it. We see what can happen when our desires are thought to be known, but are not. Loyalty, love, the shedding of our humanness. All shown through the lens of one family. This author puts Life into perspective in the simplest of manners. This is the long view. Good stuff.

Don't we all......./innocent whistling/ I certainly HOPE not!! Oy!

Husband had it on his machine that went kaput, and he just installed it on the computer we bought 2nd hand. Mine is scheduled to download tonight. /worried sigh/ There is a looooooonnnnnggggg list in the beginning of stuff that you do or don't want. Naturally Microsoft has everything checked "yes". But it's easy enough to uncheck all of that. Which I will be busy doing tomorrow. Charles didn't like Edge either, but I'll give it a try. I can always switch to IE. btw.......it isn't only men that like to tinker.......

Yup, it's really good. We're watching the last two episodes tonight. There was another Finnish show that we watched several months ago. I can't remember the name, or find it at the moment. Frankie, maybe you will know of it? It involved the Head of State in Finland "going green", and cutting off oil production. This caused an International uproar, and the Russians invaded Finland. Such an interesting show! We finished Humans the other night. Loved it!

I'll have to look up Sleepy Hollow!

I have only read a few of the other series, not for lack of wanting to, its just The Pile!