pontalba

They will! They do!! She always takes so long in-between books, that I've reread the series prior to reading the latest a couple of times. hah!

Chaliepud, Oh well, that's life, (fortunately) we don't all react to things in the same way, it'd make for fairly dull conversations. I am sorry you found it such a slog though. And I do think your take on the book is interesting, and appreciate your posting it. dtr.....LOL!

Will do, as soon as I finish present read.

Part of the problem is that many of the independent films simply are not shown down here. There used to be several good theatres in downtown New Orleans, but they are long gone. The single screen independent theatre, The Prytania, is having to show a lot of dross to keep in business. They do have some good stuff, but many times that is shown late at night, when I don't really care to be in the Uptown section of N.O. Over here, on the North Shore, there is nothing. Only the types I've mentioned above. If we do see something playing there, we'd better get there quickly, as it won't last long.

Cocoa. Yes. Cookie. Yes! Annoyed on account of the several postponements of the releasing of the latest book. Twice at least, maybe three. Irritation has given me brain fog. :D Re Grafton books....yeah...the gradual buildup makes a difference. Love it! But I have to say I'd have been more po'd than Ms. Truss was. Immediately! Love Rufus, he looks a lot like Our Goldie.

I wonder if the repetition serves as a sort of placebo effect? If a person thinks they are doing something healing, sometimes it's simply a function of mind over matter.

Close(ish). And, as far as favorite foods, has no one mentioned chocolate???

I didn't realize there were so many there! Beautiful, aren't they!

Hah! I couldn't agree more. I have liked the Superman films, but that's it. And I know it isn't everyone's cuppa. We haven't been to see a film out in.......I'm not sure when! It's been quite a while at any rate. Nothing has come up. They're either kid's movies, or some sort of horror/paranormal/supernatural stuff that wasn't worth picking up with tongs. IMO.

Oh, it's picked up nicely. I'm about a third of the way through it now. Thanks. Oh, that's a shame. True, it wasn't very "action" oriented, but I remember really liking the detective. If you don't like something, no use in pursuing it, life is just too short!

Kidsmum, the trilogy I spoke of is this: Life As We Knew It This World We Live In The Dead & The Gone all by Susal Beth Pfeffer I've only read the first one, but thought it was well worth acquiring the second and third. dtr, I'm going to look The Dark Age up. Thanks. Heck, I've downloaded it....

Yeah, their pizza is great, but their Oysters Rocket Fire, a garlicky Oysters Rockefeller, are fantastic. Their po-boys are over the top delicious, and depending on the bartender, the drinks can be excellent. Oh, their eggplant parmesan is fantastic.

I started Stephen King's 11/22/63 the other day. Hasn't grabbed me yet, otoh, it hasn't put me off either. Will continue.

Po Boys. Roast beef with cheese, meatballs with cheese, fried oysters....... dtr....Rocket Fire has the best meatball po boy.

Darn! Lost my post, noodling around. Yes, love the Nabokov, but the second Faulkner is a def must have! Want the grammar mugs too. lol Sometimes The Strand bookstore in NYC has great gift ideas as well. http://www.strandbooks.com/index.cfm When we visited we had a box of books shipped back home. Not to mention book bags. /sigh/ They have great guest speakers if you're in the neighborhood.

dtr, I'm drooling over the rest of them! I have some of the Penguin hardback classics they show on their site, from Amazon. They were featured a couple of years ago. I managed 6 or 7 of my favorites. They are absolutely gorgeous!.. Kylie, how wonderful! What a thoughtful and terrific gift! The site is soooooo tempting! I think I'd like the Casino Royale poster........

Charles Dickens –vs-- Neil Gaiman Vladimir Nabokov –vs-- Terry Pratchett George Eliot –vs-- Edgar Allan Poe Paulo Coelho –vs-- JRR Tolkien E M Forster –vs-- Jane Austen Edward Rutherford –vs-- Oscar Wilde Leo Tolstoy –vs-- Gabriel Garcia Márquez Fyodor Dostoyevsky –vs-- Donna Leon Stephen King –vs-- George Orwell Peter F Hamilton –vs-- Franz Kafka

Kidsmum, I really enjoyed Wool as well. I think I've read 8 or 9 of them. Not sure how many there are, in all. I hadn't heard of Z for Zachariah, but it sounds interesting. There is another YA trilogy that I've read part of, and enjoyed.....can't remember the name or author. But I do know where it is on the shelf, will look it up later and post the names.

Betty, what an insightful post! And, I think you've nailed a greater part of what Shute's message was. His hope that Men were not barbarians, and we would go down with dignity. That, in this case, railing against the Fates had no purpose and would actually negate the meaning of our lives in a way. He didn't completely ignore the baser elements, but noted and passed them by, showing the larger goodness of Man. Hopeful, yes! Shute's writing style is the same in the only two of his I've read, this and A Town Like Alice. Which, I have to admit, the latter I did not appreciate the second time around. I believe it deserves a third go-round.

I didn't much care for The Dubliners either. In fact, as I recall, I didn't even finish it! lol

The Postman, by David Brin 3/5 Nuclear War survivor, traveler, con man Gordon Krantz searches for a safe place to finally settle, without much success. He doubles as a traveling minstrel, until one day he stumbles upon something that will change both his life and the lives of all he encounters. The title of the book tells of his find, a postman, long only skeletal remains. But his uniform and carrying bag remain. Krantz becomes The Postman, first as a con, then slowly he feels the weight of responsibility to what for him is a con game. This is the story of the small pockets of humans he encounters, and how something so simple can change the course of a civilization, bit by bit. I suppose the big question is....can a lie become the truth? Can people want so much to believe it that the fantasy becomes fact? Recommended.

No, poppy, we're not strange, it's everyone else in the world. We are the only sane ones................. Oh, Har!

I'm up to book 6, The Dead In Their Vaulted Arches, and it just gets better!

I'm reading The Postman by David Brin right now. Pockets of civilization that have survived a limited nuclear war mostly seem to end up in some sort of feudal state fighting one another in this one. Which I suppose is more realistic in the case some people surviving, and if the bombing didn't go as far as in Shute's book. I prefer it as well, but it isn't always the case. Although fiction loves to present women as being strong because that is what readers want to see. All people, men and women are a mixture of strength and weakness and it doesn't depend on gender, IMO. And really, when I stop and think about it, Mary was strong in her own way. As irritating as she was. It took a certain sort of strength to shut out the truth of what was happening, will power at least. I just think that it made it all the more difficult for Peter, and that was not fair, I believe.

Margaret Atwood --vs-- George Orwell --vs-- Daphne Du Maurier Vladimir Nabokov --vs-- John Banville Samantha Hayes --vs-- Stephen King Edward Rutherford --vs-- L.E. Modesitt Sophie McKenzie --vs-- Leo Tolstoy Peter F Hamilton --vs-- Chris Manby Franz Kafka --vs-- Bernard Cornwell Hilary Mantel --vs-- Terry Pratchett Charles Dickens --vs-- Salman Rushdie Robert Jordan --vs-- Edgar Allan Poe Donna Leon --vs-- Paul Auster Elizabeth George --vs-- E M Forster Tash Aw --vs-- Oscar Wilde Maggie O'Farrell --vs-- George Eliot Virginia Woolf --vs-- JRR Tolkien Fyodor Dostoyevsky --vs-- Edith Wharton Conn Iggulden --vs-- Jane Austen Neil Gaiman --vs-- Sophie Kinsella Gabriel Garcia Márquez --vs-- William Faulkner Paulo Coelho --vs-- Rebecca Gable When there were two I was unsure of, or hadn't read I didn't vote. But, gosh, I wish I could vote for both Nabokov and Banville!!