Wilde Lily

A headache doesn't have to long to be a migraine. Usually people whose headaches last for a day or longer are not taking medication or else they need to get something new.

I live not far from Lancaster, Pennsylvania which has a large Amish population. I've visited Lancaster many times since my grandparents lived nearby. There is also an Amish community in my state, Maryland, and many of the families travel 4 days out of 7 to Annapolis, my home town, to sell produce, fresh meats, homemade Pennsylvania Dutch foods, quilts, handmade furniture, etc.. at the Amish Market. The best book about the Amish I've read and is considered the most thorough is A History Of The Amish by Steven M. Nolt. Some nice fictional series about Amish life are those written by Beverly Lewis, whose grandmother was born into an Old Order Mennonite Church. I've read the 5-book series "Abram's Daughters" and enjoyed them very much.

My first thought on finishing Haunted was, "Wow! That was fun!" And it was! Haunted is a good old fashioned ghost story with just enough "present day" to "kick it up a notch." I especially liked the juxtaposition of Ashe's memories of the drowning of his sister and the later, unanticipated by me, revelation of her ghost's participation in her brother's torment. I would like have a deeper exploration of the relationship between Ash and Kate, or not to mention it at all. Herbert seem to be trying to tell us something about Ash and Kate, then he just drops the subject. Maybe there will be more in an upcoming novel? I could live without the final confrontation between Ash and the ghosts at the train station. OK, let the ghosts be watching the departing train from the platform, but that last attack inside of the train was just hokie and completely unnecessary. That sort of 'ghost pops out of the closet" device is old and over-done. All in all I enjoyed the book and it's has convinced me to try another of Herbert's books. Any suggestions?

I think that my favorite mystery writer has to be the French author, George Simenon. His novels are short and brilliant. Chief Inspector Jules Maigret is the detective in his stories. These are not action-packed mysteries...they are psychological mysteries...Simenon takes you into the minds of the characters, and you see the story from many points of view. Simenon is a master at making the reader feel part of the atmosphere and mood of Paris or wherever the plot takes place. And Chief Inspector Maigret is a complex character who the reader comes to know, admire, and care about. Besides the Inspector Maigret books, Simenon wrote quite a few other psychological mysteries.

These made me laugh: The Jeeves and Wooster stories by P.G. Wodehouse Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler Lolita by Vladimir Naboko The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford Rumpole of the Bailey mysteries by John Mortimer The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde The Far Side cartoons by Gary Larson

My friends and family know about my addiction (yes, I'm addicted, and proud of it!! ), so everyone gives me gift cards for the bookstores in my area. It's intoxicating to hold a handful of bookstore gift cards just waiting to be spent!! *drool*

My kids love 'em too. I hate the way Cheerios smell in milk,though. Blek!

...distraction to the festivities which had...

That's a good idea, Liz. There are so many classics I haven't read yet. I loved Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, but I haven't read any other of Charlotte's and none of Anne's. Maybe I'll challenge myself to read those.

Oh, Gangs is the one I'm referring to. I didn't know he did another (didn't pay attention to the title of this thread, did I? ). Gangs is the one being shown now in the USA.

....a raving lunatic! I decided to report him to....

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgeson Burnett

I loved the Twilight series. I've got The Host on my TBR stack. I'm eager to read it.

I agree. It sounds exactly like a migraine.

I just noticed it here in the USA on the ID cable channel. What caught my eye was Ross Kemp. I've been watching Eastenders here in the states for 20 years, so I was surprised to see him in something else. The program looks pretty intense. I admire Ross for doing it.

What a nice introduction! Welcome Giulia. I'm new, too, and already I'm addicted. I'm having great fun here, and I know you will, too.

Two Pulitzer Award-winning real crime books that I can highly recommend: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote about the murder of an entire family by two ex-cons in the 1950s. The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer about murderer Gary Gilmore, who in 1977 became the first person executed in the United States since the reinstitution of the death penalty Another book, this one about the Manson murders, is also excellent: Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi

I love Minette Waters. Her new book, The Chameleon's Shadow is going to be released on March 1o here in the states. I can't wait! My favorites so far: The Sculptress, The Ice House, and The Scold's Bridle.

Yeah. There's nothing worse than vomiting when your head is splitting is there?

I've had migraine headaches since I was 5. I inherited them from my mom, 3 of my children have inherited them from me. I've been through the mill medicine-wise. The worst was Cafergot which made me vomit every time I took it. I don't think they even prescribe the stuff anymore. I took Fiornal for some time but ended up with "rebound headches." The newer drug, Imitrex, made me vomit as well. I am now on a prevention and treatment regimen that works for me. I take amitriptylline at night as a preventative. When I have a mild, lingering headache, over-the-counter Excendrin wrokd pretty well. When I feel a major migraine coming on I take what is to me a miracle drug, Zomig ZMT. I take one pill and it disolves in my mouth. Within half an hour the headache is usually gone. One thing hat I especiallylike about Zomig is that it treats the nausea that accompanies my migraines. My migraines are triggered by any things: strong perfume cigarette smoke certain other drugs onions garlic stress eye strain sun glare hot weather weather changes motion sickness my period used to trigger them, but I don't have to worry about that any more.

I still feel icky, but cheerfully so.

I'm going to have to read that book. I think I'm the only person on the face of the earth who hasn't.