julie

Pixie No ,sadly, I'm not much of a movie viewer ,so I haven't seen anything by or about Truman on tv or at the movies . The only exception is The Grass Harp, which I saw as a tv movie several years ago. It was beautiful and followed the book exactly . I need to get a few more books about his life,, etc . He was quite a character .

June You're so very lucky to have gotten to travel so many times . What great memories you must have ,and have yet to make I forgot about the Kindle but yes, it makes a lot of sense that the books would be much easier and cheaper to purchase for that, rather than in an Iceland bookstore . Out of the ones you mentioned, I'm very interested in the scarey ghost story, which I put on my Amazon wish list. It says it's not available til this spring ( over here anyhow, maybe sooner over there ) . I'll also check out some of the others you mentioned . So have you been to Iceland at any time that they have flowers growing ? I wondered if it ever gets warm enough there for flowers or gardens ?

Kay Don't be too hard on yourself about getting stressed during the holiday. I think most people get stressed at this time of year . I know I do, but our holidays have been reduced to much smaller events ,less people etc ,so it's not nearly as bad as it once was . I'm glad your year is ending well for you . It's been a challenging one, hasn't it ? Thank YOU for being so funny and always telling funny stories to keep us all cheered up . Best wishes for the new year !

Pixie That is one impressive pile of books you have there ! W O W I'll be interested in hearing how you like the stories in The Capote Reader . I've read a few but not nearly all . I've checked it out at the library a few times . Need to look for it on Kindle, as it may get read sooner if I have it on there . Isabel Allende is a magical writer Fried Green Tomatoes Alias Grace Power of One are all 3 great ! I won't even try to go through your entire list. That is one whopper of a pile of books ! Good luck in 2014 !!!

Right you are Miss Poppy .. I looked The Bolter up and it says Lady Idina was the "inspiration" for the character of the Bolter in the Mitford book .. Sorry, I was a little bit off . I loved all those books. Definitely lived life to the fullest and was quite the character ,wasn't she ? Ornery to the very end .

KM I have one about the Mitfords too called The Sisters : The Saga of the Mitford Family . It looks and sounds very good ! Hope you are able to get the library book that you wanted ! June Thank you for the names of all the books set in Iceland. I'll definitely check them out and see if I can locate some. The Laxness author sounds a bit like our version of James Michener . His books are so good, but the first 100 pages are mind-numbing , Once you get past that, it'll be a favorite book because he tells such a good tale . I bet Iceland was beautiful . I can't imagine getting to travel that far. Have you gotten to go to lots of other countries or was this the first time ? Did you buy any books from there while you were on your trip ? Thanks again for the list. I'll go see if I can locate some either on amazon or at our library reserve online .

KM May you have a terrific reading year coming ahead ! I like your sign Open for Business .

Athena I've never read or watched a Bridget Jones book or movie, but I hear they are very popular. It sounds as if you really enjoyed the book. Will this be the last, or do you think they'll write another part ?

The Bolter is REALLY good. I think you'll like it . If I remember correctly, it was based on a character in one of Nancy Mitford's books, either The Pursuit of Love or Love in a Cold Climate . Those books were both highly enjoyable ,as is this one . Burial Rites was really good too, so I think you'll like it . Well written and interesting story line .

Laura No worries at all about sidetracking my thread. I'm not strict with my rules about my book thread. Anyone can come in and post and talk about whatever they want. I don't mind at all.. Daniel sounds like lots of fun . I like singing too, but am LOUSY at it . I sing to my grandson sometimes just to get a rise out of him .. He's funny ! It certainly sounds like you guys are off on the right foot and are definitely together for a good reason. It sounds like a good match that will last forever .

Great stats for the year Ian .. I hope Santa brings you a sleigh full of new books for the coming year .

June yes, I loved that book too . I've never been to Iceland and will probably never get to go, so can you tell me if the scenery the author described matched what you saw ? That part of the book was really impressive to me, how well she described the atmosphere. The cold, the barren landscape ,the isolation of the houses being scattered far apart as they were . Yes, I knew it was based on a true story, which made it even better for me . That would have been such a neat book to read when actually going there on a trip ! What other books have you read that were set there ? Maybe I can find some more ,and were they just as good ? I didn't know this was to be made into a movie, but it should be a good one, don't you think ?

Hi Devi I'm glad the card arrived before the holiday ! I thought it might be late. Glad you liked it .

Your favourite read of the year? Burial Rites - Hannah Kent Your favourite author of the year? Truman Capote Your most read author of the year? John Pinkney ( Sorry folks, not the best author I read, but I read the most books by him this year ) Your favourite book cover of the year? I'll have to go with The Astronaut Wives Club, only because the author talked about it so much in the book, how the wives had to get together to decide on what colors to wear (for the magazine cover the Book Cover was made from.) They had a lot of influence from the media,etc about what types of dresses they should wear to make them look more like the "everyday housewife ". Also one of them defied tradition by wearing a dress that didn't blend in with the others. She was the prettiest one in the group, ,so wanted to look the part I guess. The book you abandoned (if there was more than one, the one you read least of)? Girl With the Dragon Tattoo The book that most disappointed you? Wisconsin Death Trip, which someone told me great things about . I specially ordered it paperback from amazon and it was a huge disappointment . The funniest book of the year? A Short History of a Small Place - this has to win. It's a reread , but well worth it . The first in a series of 3 about the people from a small Southern Town . There were lots of funny stories in it about all the quirky characters . Your favourite literary character this year? Probably Scott McClanahan, who was also the author of this nonfiction book : Crapalachia, A Biography of a Place . He grew up very poor in West Virginia and had so many funny stories to tell of his life ,friends and family . Underneath all that funniness was also a sadness for what he has lost throughout his young life and how much he values and misses those people. SO good . He wouldn't exactly be a "literary character" but it's the best I had for this answer. Your favourite children's book this year? Paper Towns ( John Green) ,which wasn't a children's but a YA . Closest I had to a children's aged book . Your favourite classic of the year? Wish Her Safe at Home (New York Review Classic Books)- by Stephen Benatar . It's not an Old Classic, but it's the only that would fit for a classic theme . It wasn't a favorite by far. Extremely unusual book, but the only classic I read. Your favourite non-fiction book this year? Archie and Amelie : Love and Madness in the Gilded Age by Donna Lucey . Extremely interesting story of a couple who had everything money could buy, except happiness. Very good book ! Your favourite biography this year? The Bolter by Frances Osborne Your favourite collection of short stories this year? The only one I read would have to be Truman Capote's 3 "holiday "novellas in one : A Christmas Memory, One Christmas and A Thanksgiving Visitor . Your favourite illustrated book of the year? History Decoded :The Ten Greatest Conspiracies of All Time by Brad Meltzer-this would be a stretch, because I didnt read anything else that would have had illustrations in it . I'd say this one because it did have a few drawings and blueprints of buildings and maps . Your favourite re-read of the year? Careless Whispers- Carlton Stowers. One of my all time favorite true crime books . ** I hit short of the mark this year on goals, so I didn't have as many books to choose from this year. Better luck next !

Athena I am so impressed ! Stunning ! I love the graphs and charts . If you were a student, I'd give you an A . Great job !

Yep, it was perfectly understandable to me

Alexi I'm not religious myself ,but I do understand what you mean . I wish your other Grandma wouldn't have explained it to you in the way she did . Kinda makes you feel like THE END . I really don't think that's the case . I'm so very close to my grandson .We're like best pals . We laugh and goof off with each other and have a wonderful time. He knows he can always talk to me about anything ,and if he has a problem, he comes to me . Since I've had several health scares and realize I may not be here as long as I'd like, I have slowly talked to my grandson about the day I won't be here any longer . I took him to the cemetery when he was young ,and explained that this is where I'll be someday. I told him how peaceful it is there, with everyone resting after their bodies are too tired . That they are all there, listening . I told him that he can find me there once I'm gone . To come sit on my grass and talk to me and that I'll always listen. So he's very comfortable with it and knows that even though someday he won't be able to SEE me any more, he will know I'm there and listening . I've taken him with me once or twice to visit my grandma's grave. It's 2 hours away so I don't go often, but when I'm down there, I sit on her grass and talk to her . She listens, I truly believe that ,so it's comforting to feel that strongly about it . The person is with you. All you have to do is think of them, or talk to them and they are there .

Sorry , Will . I figured that opinion wouldn't go over very well in here , since I know lots of people love Austen . I don't quite know how to explain it without making it sound even worse . I guess it just doesn't do much for me . We each have different things we search for in a book ,and for me, this book doesn't have what I am searching for . Sorry for using the word Sappy .. it's just the word I use for books that don't have the "meat" in them I am looking for . Let's compare it this way : Say I like a good cheeseburger . If that's my preferred meat, compared to a book, I'd say Mosquito Coast by Paul Theroux, or Owen Meany by John Irving would be cheeseburgers. Lots of MEAT in their stories. Some heartbreakingly sad moments, but some that will make you chuckle. Some that bring back good memories in your life, and some that make you learn and feel what the character is feeling .Some parts are tragically sad and rip your heart out . THOSE books are my cheeseburgers. I need lots of substance in my books. A Rubik's Cube, that can be read and re-read and each time you flip that Cube, you will learn or see something you didn't before . I know people say they can do that with Austen, she just doesn't do it for me . I'm sure those of you who love Austen would say that her books are your cheeseburgers and that you can see and feel the things I have just explained when you read her books. They just don't touch me in that way . So, Sappy may have been the wrong word ... Maybe I just should have said I don't care for them .. It doesn't bother me at all if you think Dickens is Sappy . I like him .I like his rambling on and on, his humor, his descriptive explanations of people and their quirks . I don't know how or why I like him more . Hard to say where the difference lies . Maybe because I tend to like more male authors ? They have a different view of life sometimes than females do .. Maybe that's it ? I'm really not sure where the difference would be between he and Jane, other than to say I like his books better . Sorry if it offended you or anyone else .As said before ,we are all reading and searching for different answers through our books, We read them for enjoyment, to learn, to apply parts of them to our own lives sometimes. I just can't find those things I am looking for in Austen . I'm very glad that so many others DO love her ,she's just not for me . Does that explain it a bit better ?

Kate Good review . I can't remember ever reading Hawthorne ! ( For shame ) . I think I started House of 7 Gables WAY back when I was a young teen maybe ? A little too stiff or something at the time, but that was in a land far ago ,so someday he is on my list of try- agains .

James I've always read a fairly wide assortment. I get in kicks where I read lots of true crime ,but I also enjoy lots of other types of books. I don't do romance or sci-fi but will try pretty much anything else, depending on my mood .Sadly or oddly, I tend to read true crime when life gets rough and I have many challenges to face. I need something really riveting ,true and shocking to keep my mind on reading instead of my own problems, so I have read lots of true crime for quite a long while, but have branched out lately into some other books, so maybe I am coming off another rough patch .. I have lots of other issues in my life that dont pertain at all to health problems.. Let's just say that books are my only escape at times, and I need things that really shock my system enough to remove me from my problems. Reading anything made up and fictional just doesn't cut it during times of sadness . It sounds weird, but it's how my brain works . As for the list, let me try to remember when and why I chose the books I did : The Strange Case Of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde--this would have been around 1990 -- because I read the book by Valerie Martin called Mary Reilly,which was a story about Jekyll and Hyde told by their housekeeper's perspective. I found it so good, I read the original book after that . Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs --another stupid reason and big letdown. I was sold on this by the old photos . I'm a sucker for old photos, but really didn't care much for the story .It was ok, but that's about as good as it gets with this one. not my cup of tea .. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen Sorry, folks .. Also not my cup of tea. I read it because i HADN'T yet and thought I needed to try it so I sampled some of the classics. Another one that was way too sappy for me.. I just don't get on too well with the sappy ones if they dont have a more ACTION in them. Sorry to anyone who loves these as I know lots of you do, but I don't do SAP . A Fine Balance Rohinton Mistry This, funny enough was an Oprah pick way back when .. I think maybe 13- 15 years ago ? I chose it because of that. A lot of the books she chose back then were books I'd either just read or really loved,so I went out on a limb with this one. I would probably never have picked it on my own, and would have never finished it if I hadn't shelled out the money to BUY it . I seem to feel more pressure to complete a book if I pay big money for it,so I read it . Laid it down, picked it up ,read some more. Heartbreaking book, but SO worth it .. One of my favorites EVER . Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck I chose this because of Steinbeck.alone. Not the subject matter . I had read East of Eden and Grapes of Wrath,and one day stumbled across this one. Quick read, but each page was a real challenge for me . I don't do well reading about fictional accounts of mentally-challenged people and the treatment they recieve ,so this one was rough . Writing was good ,subject awful .I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I was a senior in nursing . ( Right about the time the movie came out Jack Nicholson I think ( sorry, I'm not a movie person, so really don;t know many of the actors) ..Anyhow, I went to the movie , right AFTER working in a home for mentally ill patients as part of our training. I led a pretty sheltered life and had never seen people like the ones in this home .. the conditions were horrid, it was like a human zoo. They closed the place down shortly afterwards and no wonder. It was HORRID. So I don't do well reading fiction books about these places and people, but I could probably read and handle the nonfiction versions better . Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier --- I can closely guess the time frame I read this . Our kids were about half-grown,so it would have been about 20 years ago.. roughly. I remember which house we lived in ,so it would have been around that time. I THINK I picked up the red paperback of this at a yard sale or something . Had heard of it but never even attempted reading it before . Once I read the first page, I was hooked .. REALLY a good book and so different than anything I'd read before ,where the main character never gets a name ,,you always wonder what her name was, felt sorry for her because she never seemed to live up to everyone else's expectations .. Just a plain good book ! The Picture Of Dorian Grey Oscar Wilde Dorian Grey got chosen mainly for the author . I was intrigued by Wilde's life ,so wanted to read something by him and chose Dorian as maybe the most well known I had heard of . I thin Earnest may be fairly well known too, but I don't have interest in reading books written as plays,so it was Dorian instead. I was a bit puzzled by the story .. maybe a bit disappointed in the length, wished it would have had more "meat" to it, but also thought it was very clever ,so in a way it was good,as far as an interesting idea for a story, but the length may have put me off. I like longer books where you get to know the characters better. This may not have worked with that theme though. Not many characters, so how long can you drag out the story ? I read this quite a few years back. All these are guesses as I never once kept records of books read on particular years until this past year in the group,so most are shots in the dark. Nicholas Nickleby Charles Dickens Nickleby --as mentioned below (in the Wilkie section ), it's Dickens ! I love his long-winded telling of tales , descriptions of people. I first read David Copperfield ,then Great Expectations. Nicholas was next ,then Pickwick Papers .. I kinda go in streaks, if I find one author I like, I will sometimes read several in a row by the same person ..I wasn't nearly as taken with Nicholas, but it was ok .. Still a Dickens !! Little Women Louisa May Alcott Little Women -- Sappy .....too namby-pamby sickly sweet .. Didn't like this whatsoever. I read it maybe 5 years ago .It was one of those : I never read this as a girl ,so should read it now to see what all the hype is about . I thought maybe it'd be good, but found it too sappy for my taste. Pull out a gun and at least shoot a bullet through the curtain or something ..Another YEK . Life Of Pi - Yann Martel Life of Pi gets black ,as that is the color I'd give it .Sorry to anyone who liked it, but I got nothing out of it and probably would have liked to use it as kindling to get a campfire started. I chose it (stupidly , due to all the hype at the time ..It was back after it first came out ( long before the movie .. good grief, I cannot imagine sitting through a movie of the thing .. so that's my excuse for choosing that one. Not a good one, and won't be reading any more by Martel . YEK . The Moonstone The Woman In White The Wilkie books probably because I love the Dickens style of writing so much and Wilkie reminds me a lot of him. They both had the long-winded thing ,plus the glimpses of humor throughout their descriptions of people ,so I really enjoy them . I wasn't quite as into the "mystery or detective end of Wilkie's stories as much as his descriptions of the people .I probably would have read these a good 10 years ago ? It's been awhile back .. I guess that's when I got into the Dickens books and discovered Wilkie not long after .I also liked the Atmosphere in these books ,kind-of ghostly ,foggy, mildly spooky, big old creaky houses... I like that type of atmosphere in these books. The Lost Continent Notes From A Small Island The 2 Brysons ,just because I love him and have been a fan for many years after first reading The Lost Continent. I like travel narratives and his was so funny ,talking about he places over here he had been to, so he had me hooked after that . I liked reading about his travels over there, though they were harder for me to follow, only because I'm not familiar with place names and such like I would be here . So, to make a long story longer , I read where my moods take me . I used to read a much more varied list of books ,but as said previously, when my personal life gets difficult, I tend to lean more in the nonfiction area, and the more gripping ,the more I can keep focused on the book. In times life is happier and less stressful I can read and keep focused on fiction . Our librarian commented once that she wished she could enjoy as many different genres as I did at the time, but sadly those have narrowed a lot lately . I'm trying HARD to keep myself away from those issues that can't be helped . There's a lot of sadness in my family that has nothing to do with the health crap. .. Anyhow, I've written YOU a book tonite . Sorry.. I tend to ramble a bit ..

Laura No, I don't mind you asking anything . My family attended church, but not on a continual basis . I went when I was a toddler, then not again til I was 16, so we had a big gap on not attending at all. I can't say they'd be termed religious by any stretch . More EXTREMELY strict . It seems to be that lots of people we know get very wrapped up in the wedding plans, dress, cake ,flowers, dinners, and forget what comes next , which is living together for life . So they probably do rush things in the excitement of the wedding maybe ? Not get to know each other better beforehand ? We met when we were 13, so have more or less grown up and grown old together . Maybe that's why it's more like a friend situation where we respect each other's opinions and embrace our differences rather than try to change them ? Not sure what the answer is. Sometimes we'll both just start laughing when we hear something on the news and we immediately take opposing sides .. It's actually pretty funny how often it happens . Can your Daniel SING like John Denver ? If so, no wonder you chose him ! The complete package : cute, and he can sing .

Laura I looked up the Milky Bar kid . Wow, he must look like a young John Denver ! Does he have the glasses like that too ? How cute . The Hubster never liked to read much either ,but in the last couple years ,he has actually gotten a Kindle and reads some in the evenings now too. He reads mostly nonfiction about WW 2 ,but at least he reads . The Hubster already knows I tell him he dresses like an Amish guy, because I buy all his clothes. I once in awhile try to slip in an emerald colored shirt, but it goes right back to the store ( green is my favorite color ) It's weird how OPPOSITE we are .There is NOTHING we agree on .Any subject, we both think totally opposite on it ,no matter what it is. Foods, clothes , politics, entertainment, etc ...We don't argue about any of them . We both respect the other's opinions , and agree to disagree on them. It's actually pretty funny how we NEVER look at things in the same way ,but we are still married all these years later . We kinda act like friends more than married people so maybe that helps. because friends don't always shove their opinions down their friends' throats, they respect them . That's the best way to describe it I guess . He's a good guy . As for being open -minded, I have always liked teens and young adults ,talking to them, and listening to their lives ,why they do the things they do, how they feel about issues they face,so I understand that they like expressing themselves in different ways than when I was a teen. We did then ,too ,but not as many broke loose from the "mold", so to speak. We all pretty much tried looking like the current style( bell bottoms, tie-dyed t-shirts, etc . ) .We had much stricter rules ,so the dating scene is a bit hard to comprehend . I was raised REALLY strictly ,so was pretty careful in my dating years and my mother would have skinned me alive if I wasn't . My younger sister was rebellious and pushed the envelope a lot . I'm glad I was married and out of the house by then .She actually wanted to live with her boyfriend before marriage and my mother got so angry, she went upstairs ,opened the window,and threw ALL my sister's possessions out the window. All the household items she had been buying ,dishes, pans, pictures, etc.. everything she owned was thrown out and broken . Sadly, they went to the mayor and got married ,but divorced a couple years later .If they would have tried living together first,they may have never married. ( ** It wasn't a HAVE - to wedding, she didnt have kids with that husband at all, but has them now, with her 2nd) I often wonder if living together first is any more of a guarantee that a marriage will last ? Waddya think ? I never tried it ,so only know what some friends have told me, that it's not the same after marriage as it was before,but I don't know if that's true for everyone or not , Anyhow, we'd all get along much better if we weren't judgmental of others: looks, beliefs, lifestyles, etc ... It's more fun to LEARN about people than judge them .

Thanks BB Good to know I have some good ones waiting for me ! I have a bunch of them ,so I need to get cracking . Thanks for posting .

Laura That's funny that you called your husband a Wuss , being too afraid to even watch you get a tattoo ! My Hubster would never get a tattoo . He's VERY plain dressing and acting . I always tell him he dresses like an Amish person ( not the suspenders or straw hat,) , but the all dark boring colors , nothing bright or noticeable . Never does anything wild or crazy . Luckily, he never tries to push his opinions off on me, and knows if he told me NOT to do something . I'd go do it ,so he learns to let me decide what is best for me . We are total opposites, but it has worked for 37 years ,so it doesn't seem to be a problem. We've learned to get used to each other and know what the other is thinking even before they do it . I don't think women with tattoos are disgusting at all . I think it's pretty neat that people in the younger generation can express themselves in so many more ways. Wearing all black ,getting all the different things pierced, etc. They get to express their individuality more. In my younger years ,everyone wanted to "look" pretty much the same, to fit in with the crowd. Now, it seems everyone can be their own person and use whatever they want to achieve that look . It'd seem to be a more FREE type feeling I think . Thanks again for giving me advice and sharing with me .

Frankie !!!