pontalba
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Posts posted by pontalba
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http://m.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/designer-glasses/red-or-dead-76/
The glasses I get next week once they have adjusted them for my needs. Turns out I have astigmatisms in both eyes, not one. But they have gotten better which is the good part.
Pretty glasses!
I've worn glasses since I was about 12 y.o., but lately my eyes seem to have improved. Of course changes occur with age, one way or the other. I'm told I have the beginnings of cataracts and so far they've done nothing but improve my long vision.
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I finished The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin last night, and so enjoyed it.
In the meantime, I've started Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter.
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Cronin's talent in developing characters and telling the story of The Summer Guest from many narrators point of view allows the reader to fully know and appreciate the depth of the story. A generational novel, it encompasses battles of WWII to Vietnam to the present day. This is not a war story, by a long shot though, those battles and wars are only the backdrop to the personal dramas and traumas of a family. War hero to deserter, father to son, the Maine woods to Manhattan....we live with each of their stories. Love of husband, wife, and child. The loss of same, learning to let go is all here.
I almost hated finishing, I wanted more of these people.
Recommended -
Y'all have made me a bit curious about the older translation. I actually have it around here somewhere. When I run across it, I'll compare.
But whatever, this later one is fantastic and flows.
Even with all Valmont did that was awful, you could see him falling for her. His better nature which was so buried in all the falseness of the time and place struggled to come out I felt. I guess that is at least partially why I hated to have him sacrifice himself like that. It wasn't necessary. Life it too precious to just throw it away.
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I haven't had much time to read the last few days, but hope to settle down tonight to The Summer Guest. It is really quite gripping, and the characters are well drawn.
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Sounds like a lovely little trip you took, Pontalba! And wouldn't you know it, I crossed the Mississippi yesterday as well AND had a white russian!
Small world! I went to the Muse concert last night and oh, man, was it fun. They put on such a good show - even better than the last time I saw them I think! Lights, lasers, steam, the whole thing
. Needless to say I'm tired this morning but it was worth it.I'm sorry you're not feeling the best, Noll! 10 days off though is excellent and I hope today goes by quickly for you!
I knew something was going on, felt the vibes!They look to be a lot of fun to watch!
I hope you feel better soon Noll, and that you can enjoy your time off.
Glad you had a fun trip, pontalba!
Thank you!
Sounds like a great time. New Orleans is a very interesting city. Another city that is a great place is San Francisco. My wife and I just love visiting it. I wish it wasn't so far away.
I've lived in the area for my life so far, but I'm discovering more about it lately.
Funny you should mention San Francisco, I've heard that it is the city most like New Orleans. We have open tickets to SF, should go sometime this summer.
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Meh as in meh, the book? I'll have to pop in your thread to read the review and see if you thought as highly of it as I did
I posted something in my thread. I was kind. Sorta.
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Congratulations on your new bookcase set up!
It's so much fun setting them up. /sigh/
I had one come in the mail, if that counts!
The Highland Clans by Alistair Moffat
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Good going muggle!
Tim, sounds like a great time.
Well, we just returned from a jaunt across the lake this afternoon. We went down to the French Quarter and ate at a place called Stanley's. All the waiters/waitresses wear tee shirts with the Stanley logo...you know, from Stelllllllaaaaaaaaa! /giggle/ Fantastic egg dishes.
Then moseyed down to the Hotel Monteleone and sat in the Carousel Bar and had a White Russian. Sat for quite a while, then walked the 8 blocks or so to the Jeep parked by the Mississippi River. It was a beautiful day for a drive over the lake. Clear blue skies, and on the way back we caught the tail end of the sunset.
Charles never fails to surprise me.
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Nah, what a cute couple you two make, Pontalba.
You two are just gorgeous, Pont
I'll blush for the both of us! But, pish and piffle. 
Thankee.
Speaking of height on previous page. It kinda annoys me that foot/inch system. The metric system is easier as one centimeter is shorter than one inch. So when I am to say that I am 171 cm tall, I have to complicate things and say 5'7'' and almost ½. It's ridiculous, so I just say I'm 5'7''
LOLOL Yeah. It's irritating in a way, maybe I should switch over to the metric....being 5 foot 5 and one half inches is a bloody nuisance when doing the BMI chart....5.5.5 Criminy.
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Nothing at the moment, and I'm hungry! Must go into kitchen and find some of that French Bread.......
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Thanks Chrissy. We don't dress up often, but it was a special birthday dinner for husband.
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So, the university are keeping me for another 9 months. This is a massive relief, as it means I'm not going back on jobseekers on, well, Friday! Still waiting to actually get the details of the contract laid out, but it's all good I think!
Yays and congrats on that!
Just wanted to share..
Heh. Love it.
Congrats on the job Noll, and enjoy Prague Peacefield, it's a city I have always wanted to visit.
We have had another beautiful day here, with temperatures in double digits - it's supposed to rain tomorrow though and then turn cold again.
Coran and I celebrated our 15th anniversary today - she met me from work which was a nice surprise, and we went out for tea and cake. We will probably go out again for lunch at the weekend.Congratulations!
Good luck risingdawn! Eye tests can be a pain, not necessarily looking at the pictures, but some other tests are (I don't know if they test for that where you live, it's ie. a test to do with the pressure on your eye balls).
Congrats, Noll!
Have fun Tim!
Have fun!
Happy Anniversary!
I've been ill, so I haven't been on the forums much. I'm going through a bit of a tough time lately. I'm stuck with my project at the university, I'm very stressed (about my project, among other things), some other things in life. I heard last week that most likely I won't make the graduation in June, I'm really hoping I'll make the August one though. It took me some days to adjust to it, tbh I'll be really glad once it's all over, once I have my diploma I can stop worrying about uni. I did go to a book fair a few days ago which really cheered me up, I haven't catalogued all the books yet (I felt too ill), but once I feel a bit better I'll probably do so (and then put them with my other books). It's not all bad in my life, my dad got some good news yesterday to do with his job, so that's quite nice. There was also bad news yesterday, the government has decided, despite our protests, to run a cycle path through our garden. So we're not happy with that.
Sorry you've been poorly. Stress will do that.
Even though you don't want the path, they can put it through your private property??
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Still reading and halfway through The Summer Guest. Cronin really can write! And not just vampire epics! lol He creates solid and very real emotional characters.
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Thank you, everyone! So much.
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Here is a picture of husband and myself last evening, on the way out to dinner.
Webcam pic.
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French bread and butter, with melted cheese. Yum.
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It's one of my top ten reads so i hope you enjoy it Pontalba
Thanks.
I'd seen it elsewhere, and considered it, but upon looking at it again, I just couldn't resist. -
Although I'd not seen the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, I none the less went into the book with certain high expectations. Some of said expectations were gained by osmosis through dribs and drabs I'd heard over the years, but some were only because of the fabulous Miss Maggie Smith's reputation and personal charisma. /sigh/ What a disappointment.
The book, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie was a portrait of a self-centered, and sad woman attempting to mold young women, and only certain young women, to what she considered.......what? Her ideal? In her image? In what she wished she'd become? She seemed to choose girls that were not pretty, or were insecure, so therefore, susceptible to influence. I have not had children, so I cannot speak from experience. However. If a child of mine had a teacher that flouted what I held dear, a teacher that bragged, yes bragged, of her love life to her, I'd be mighty upset. I'd be upset enough to raise Hades with everyone in sight.
A teacher that encouraged an extra-marital affair of one of her students is someone that should certainly not be in charge of young and pliable minds.It came upon me slowly, I could hardly believe my eyes when I first read some of the things she spoke of to the girls. Had the woman no sense of privacy? No sense of the affect such telling would have upon the girls?
I understand she was terribly disappointed in life and fate that had been dealt her by Her Hugh having been killed in the War, but thousands of women face that very thing, so special or alone in that she was not. I actually somehow doubted the truthfulness of those "Hugh" tales.
On top of all of that, I simply didn't like the style in which the prose was written. It seemed rather dry and unimaginative. So glad it was only a 130-odd pages. Sheesh. I'm still trying to figure out why I gave it as high a rating (2.5/5) as I did. The only reason I can come up with is that it really made me angry, so it must have had someting!
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I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy it... but then again, it's one of my least liked books so you're/I'm in good company
(And I wouldn't have minded reading a cutting review.... Oh I'm so bad 
)ROTFALOLTIC! Love it. Welllllll, we shall see. The good part is that it was only 130-odd pages long.
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I've also ordered A Month in the Country.
Plus the other one mentioned....but I'd ordered another book of poetry by the same name...(brain can't remember name at mo), but now that I have the author's name, I've ordered the proper one. lol
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I read Barker's Regeneration series a few years ago, and loved them.
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Right, I've added Asset to my wishlist. All this talk has got me intrigued!
Damn added Asset to my wishlist
My work is done!
Husband is reading it now, and absolutely loves it!
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Meh as in meh, the book? I'll have to pop in your thread to read the review and see if you thought as highly of it as I did
Meanwhile, in counter reality: Janet did not buy one single book today, just like she didn't in the other past days for so and so years...
I finished Dangerous Liaisons last night (still need to figure out what I made of it) and started reading Black Swan Green by David Mitchell (which I'm absolutely loving).
Heh, meh the book (Prime of JB). I haven't written anything on it yet...mostly because anything I'd written last night would have been too cutting. Plus I'm trying to see it in context. /groans/
Hah, can't wait to read your take on DL!
pontalba's 2013 reading list
in Past Book Logs
Posted
Oh, don't talk about putting the brakes and catching up!
Not gonna happen in this house. 
I've just started my 20th book....Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter. Of course that total doesn't count the 5 or 6 books I've started and put temporarily aside. Like the book on William T. Sherman. Every time I pick it up, I have to listen to the reasons why he was so put upon. Hah. Then I think about Sherman's March to the Sea. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Good idea about the notebook to put suggestions in. I do try to keep at least a list of authors to look for at the Library Sale. Only trouble is that in searching the Library Sale I rarely find those authors, but manage to find many others!