julie

Paperplane I will be interested in hearing how you like the book when you complete it . A very interesting story .The atmosphere of the place where the crime happens is so eerie .. Anyhow, once you finish it, I have a big question for you, but will save it until you complete the book . Don't want to give anything away at this point.

How old did you say she was when it happened ? Adult ? Sometimes these guys are quite charming in the beginning, so they can fool people into thinking they are nice . It sometimes takes awhile til they earn a persons' trust, then they snap and hurt them . I'm sure it was really hard to listen to the details of what happened to your friend. At least they caught the guy, not that it brings back your friend, but there's a small bit of satisfaction in knowing they aren't out hurting others . The problem over here is they aren't strict enough with the punishments in the beginning. Like some of the serial killers have previous records going way back several decades ,so it makes people angry to hear that if they would have put them away years ago, people would still be alive today . What punishment did her killer get ? Do you guys have the death penalty over there or just life in prison ?

Yea, it's been plastered all over the place ,so it must be good. I think one article said they have already bought movie rights to it and the author will be writing a part 2 .....so we shall see .

Devi I don't think anyone is a sicko if they like to read True Crime. I think most people read it for the same reasons : they like to understand what makes a person decide to kill someone, how they try to do it so they won't get caught , how they DO get caught ,and how the lawyers end up presenting the case . All just interesting learning about those parts of it I think . I read almost any type of true crime book, but some of the serial killer ones aren't that interesting . The people that do that are usually really mentally OFF ,and the people they kill are usually strangers. Not always ,but usually . I find them more interesting if it's within a family, someone you know well, and what would bring you to the place in your head to do that . Anyhow, that's why I like reading TC ....Fascinating .

Next book on the list is The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion ( Love the spelling of his name ).Another Australian Author hits it big ! They have some great talent over that way . Getting great reviews and praise online, so I'll see if it lives up to the hoopla .. I like the first sentence : I may have found a solution to the Wife Problem . Immediately I'm wondering what the problem is ? Does he have one who is giving him trouble ? Is HE in trouble with the Wife ? We shall see .......

Devi I DO remember Lindy -- no clue what the name of the book was. It was MANY years ago ,so I only remember the bare basics-- family goes on an outing ( camping or just a picnic ?) ,mother lays the baby down and it comes up missing. Can't remember at the time of the book whether she had been blamed for it or just under suspicion .. but then didn't she just recently get exonerated of all guilt ? Didn't they find the baby's clothing or blanket or something not long ago in a dingo's cave or something ? I haven't kept up with it much recently .

Yea, it'd look like them, but they have like a whipped crème filling instead of pudding type filling . I THINK I could probably manage to eat one or two dozen of either or both kinds . Devi Krispy Kreme's are delicious !

Athena Turkey basters are really cheap ( a couple bucks) ,so no big deal to re-purchase them .although I now have TWO in my kitchen drawer ,so I wont have to buy one this year. As for decorative items, yes, I don't mind them, in fact I like searching for items that would go with the main colors in each room ,so the decorative stuff is ok if kept to a minimum . I wouldn't like a whole shelf filled with knick-knacks ..WAY too much clutter, but to have a decoration sitting on an end table, or picture on the wall, those are ok . I suppose I make a trip to the thrift store at least once a month to drop off items . I sometimes get tired of the same things sitting around,so I unload them, but usually find an item to replace it . Very odd ,since I'd say I came from a HOARDING set of parents . Their house was always VERY clean, everything put away, but they had too much STUFF . Why do you need 7 sets of dishes when 2 people live there ? They had sets for 12 of several types of china they never used. Kitchen items ? Good grief, Gordon Ramsey could have outfitted all his restaurants with the equipment my mother had . My dad would have several dozen hammers , screwdrivers, saws ,etc .. I think one of each would do the trick . My dad counted once and he had EIGHTY SEVEN SHIRTS !!!! WHO needs that many shirts ? Maybe that's why I HATE clutter ... it bugs me to have too much of anything .

PP -- (Hope you don't mid if I shorten your name ) I hadn't heard of the 2 killers you mentioned . The story of the lady who fell off the cliff and they don't know if she jumped or was pushed ? We've had a few over here like that, although no one well-known had it happen . I read a book a few years ago , I think just called Over the Edge ? -- about a girl who was supposedly hiking with her boyfriend and "fell" off a cliff, but it ended up that he pushed her to collect her insurance money . I can't remember how he was eventually caught . Been too long since I read about it . I'll have to look up the names you mentioned. I've read a few true crime books about cases from over there . Amazon has put some on over here that I have read ,so I'm hoping they will start putting more of them out for us to get over here . I like the ones that are never solved , or people have just come up missing and no one knows what ever happened to them . Gives you something to think about, wondering who could have hurt them or did they disappear on their own ? I can understand your interest in cases that have happened in areas you are familiar with , Even in our tiny neck of the woods, I know 2 girls who have been murdered . The one was a year younger than me ,and our moms were friends back when we were little . She had just graduated high school and she came up missing 2 months later ,with her boyfriend . She came from a really good family, very religious. She was also very pretty . Anyhow ,the cops found her boyfriend's car 3 days later in what is now a park ( like for hiking or fishing ) ,but at the time, it was mainly just a rock parking lot with woods . Someone took them out into the woods, made them kneel down and shot them both . This was in 1977 . It was never solved . A couple years ago, an old man admitted to killing them, but no one believed his story . Some guys wanna admit to doing something like that, in an ODD WAY ,they want to be famous ... anyhow, he died before they could have a proper trial for him. The cops in our area say there is no way he did it ,and I don't think so either. It doesn't match up . The other case was a little girl ( about 10 years younger than me ) who was abducted from a park across the street from her house ,right in broad daylight . They found her body a few months later ,had a trial for the guy they THOUGHT did it ,and we executed him . I think we killed the wrong guy for that one. He NEVER had a history of taking little girls, never a history of the violence of killing anyone ... he had raped a couple ladies ( date rape type thing), but they willingly went home with him ,then he attacked them. He had no history of abducting people , kidnapping, etc ... I honestly think we killed the wrong guy, but over here, cops tend to feel under pressure to arrest and convict someone for these things ,so people will feel safe ( like we have the bad guy off the streets ), but there are times where we make mistakes and convict the wrong guy ,just so they make an arrest . Anyhow, I'll quit babbling about it now. I just get really enthused when talking about true crime cases . I'll keep a lookout for the names you mentioned .

Athena I'm just the opposite of a hoarder. I don't even know what the word would be for a person like me, but I HATE clutter, and hate having junk around that I don't use daily . It comes in handy at times because everything is in its place, we don't have too much STUFF stacked around ,only what we need and use . The times it ISN'T so great is when I get rid of an item that I go looking for. For example, the last 3 years, I have had to go buy a new turkey baster ,since I usually only make turkey twice a year on the big holidays ,so the turkey baster is clutter the rest of the year ,since it's never used . So sometimes people like me have a problem with DECLUTTERING too frequently .

Frankie I think most people over here would know that Sidney Sheldon was a man, mainly because he was a pretty big name for a long time. I'm not sure if he's even still alive now, but if he is, he'd be about 117 . He used to write some of the tv episodes over here too ( back probably in the 60's and maybe 70's). I think one was I Dream of Jeanie . I used to read some of his books. I think my favorite was Master of the Game .

Paperplane Tomorrow is when the newest Ann Rule book comes out here. I have it pre-ordered for my Kindle. I think it's one complete story ,,rather than her yearly fall book that usually has multiple short stories all in one book . Some of her earlier books were all one though . You guys have some really famous cases over there . I'd love to read the story of Hanging Rock, which is pretty hard to locate ,especially for my Kindle. I see Amazon has it listed as a possible Kindle item at some point ,so I'll keep an eye out for it . How about the story of the Beaumont kids who came up missing so many years back ? You have lots of interesting unsolved crimes from there. Some of my other favorites from here are Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnis ( about Jeff McDonald ,whose whole family was killed back in the early 70s ).. then "And the Sea Will Tell " by Vincent Bugliosi ,and Dreams of Ada . Those are probably my top 3 favorites in true crime ,so if you ever run across any of them ,grab them and give them a try . What is their take of Hanging Rock -- do they think the only girl to come back was responsible for some reason, or was she injured in any way ? Do they have any other theories ?

Poppy I think I could stand to sample a few of those donuts you showed. They look REALLY good.. See our "donuts " that are long like that with cream filling are called cremesticks ,and you can't see the filling. It's inside ,squirted in with some sort of a gadget,so all you see is a long donut with frosting . My favorite pancake topping is brown sugar . Some people like them with peanut butter on them .

Yes, from everything I hear, The Stand is quite a commitment of time ,but from most surveys I've heard, people have chosen it as their favorite King book . I figure his son would like to become famous on his own merit and not sell books just because of his dad's famous writing. His mom is also a writer ,but I haven't read anything of hers, and I don't know anyone else that has, so I'm not sure how popular she is . Thanks for answering my questions ~~

Holy Smokes That one on the left with the nuts on it looks worth driving that far just to get one .We have the maple flavored sausage links up here and I like them ,so maybe the maple with bacon on it would be good too .

Just wanted to slip a good word in here for BACON . I never realized you guys don't normally have bacon with your waffles or pancakes ? Do you have sausage instead ? How about ham ? I LOVE bacon, but there is one way I have yet to try it and probably won't . There is a bakeshop over here that makes donuts with maple frosting, then crumbles bacon on top. I could eat my weight in bacon, I think ,and also in donuts with maple frosting ,but bacon on top ? Don't think I could do that .. It'd be like putting chocolate pudding on mashed potatoes. Just doesn't match up very well.

Hi John Welcome ! I have 3 questions : How long do you think it took you to read The Stand ? I've had it on my Kindle forever, but so far haven't screwed up the courage to read it . Do you have a favorite of all the King books ? How do you think his son compares to him in his writing ?

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent "They said I must die ." This book is based on the true story of Agnes Magnusdottir , who was found guilty ,along with 2 others, for supposedly taking part in a murder back in 1820 in Iceland. The atmosphere matches the story, which is just told in small pieces at a time. You really don't get the complete story until the last few pages . The author has done a wonderful job, of allowing the reader to get to know Agnes a little at a time ,as does the family she is assigned to live with until her sentence is carried out . She is given the right to have council with a minister, so he plays a big role in her story, by helping her to trust him enough to begin telling the true story of what actually happened . One of the other participants is given a reprieve and sentenced to life in prison rather than death . Without giving the story away, you find yourself holding your breath towards the end, waiting to find out if Agnes will also have her life spared . This book deserves 5 stars ,for the atmosphere, the way the story is told, the descriptions of all the people who were a part of the story . It is an absolute gem of a book .

I'd like to know if there are YA books addressing bullying in the schools. I know it's not as common in other countries as in ours . Our schools have implemented groups of kids who are anti-bullying ,so if we have a new kid who is having trouble fitting in, or someone who is being bullied, this group of kids will befriend the kid ,hang out at lunch with them, and help them to feel more comfortable in school . We also have programs at school that teach the kids about bullying . I think the YA books would also be a terrific way to reach these kids that are bullied,so maybe they can read about how someone else handled it ,or maybe they won't feel so alone with it . Yes, you guys are so fortunate . I rarely hear of the violence in your schools that we have in ours. And most of the places have been real small little towns just like ours ,where nothing ever happens .. We DID have a really handsome boy in middle school about 5 years ago ,who was on the football team in 6th grade . In 7th, he chose to be in band ,rather than football. He realized that he didn't like football ,so wanted to switch to band. He was bullied so badly that he killed himself . A beautiful ,handsome boy with curly hair and freckles. His parents lived a block from school in a nice home . They go around to other schools now to talk to kids about bullying and what it can lead to . It breaks your heart to see these cases ,which are almost an epidemic over here now . I wish there were more ways to reach these kids before they do something that isn't FIXABLE .

Thanks Michelle-- will post over there --

Thanks Michelle Our school have started a new group of kids that are in a club . The name of it slipped my mind, but they have volunteers in each school that are sorta like a welcoming committee for new kids ,or they befriend kids who are being bullied so they don't feel so isolated . I probably shouldn't have tossed that subject into this thread ,but having a grandson who is 11 ( and he pretty much has grown up in our house) , things that affect his age group are so important to me . He isn't bullied and doesn't bully other kids ,but it frightens me to death to see the school shootings on the news . I just think YA books would be a great area to tackle those types of issues .

This is the point I was trying to get across with some of my babbling someplace on here. I myself am beyond the "parent " years and in the "grandparent " years now . My kids are all in their 30's and I now have grandkids ,some of which are in the YA age group . When our kids reached age 13 or so, we let them choose their reading material. There comes a time where you have to let go, and give them freedom to make their own choices . If you don't ,they will do whatever they want anyhow when out with friends, etc . You can only hope you have taught them wisely before this so they will make good decisions for themselves . I am probably among the oldest in here ,so my viewpoint tends to be much more old fashioned .It's hard for me to accept how far YA books tend to lean into certain areas . I'm not naïve, I think that is pretty much how advanced kids are anymore, compared to when I was a teen . I know they are much more well informed about birth control ,using protection, etc .It's a fine line with me. I think kids need information in this area, but if the books make it seem normal ,like a part of your daily life, then isn't it encouraging it, or telling kids it's ok ? It's a fine line to walk. You want kids to be street smart enough to make good choices, but yet you don't want them feeling like it's the right thing to do ,or do it because everyone else does, etc ... That's where it seems difficult for me . I think if any form of media ( books, tv, movies ,etc) glamorize it or make it seem ok because everyone does it, then it seems like it's being encouraged . NOTE : Posted comments about bullying in schools, but moved it to the right thread .. thanks Michelle for setting up another area specifically for it .

Frankie I could play matchmaker for you with the young guy at the reference desk, but he's pretty SKITTISH . His hands were shaking while talking to me. I picture you as being young and pretty ,where this guy looks like one who has aged before his time. You could almost picture him going home ,putting on his slippers and holey sweater and feeding his cat . Sounds kinda like my life, other than the cat part . I like the looks of the younger boy they recently hired, but he'd be WAY too young .. He looks more like a skateboard boy who could do all the tricks and flips . Long hair ,which I think looks cool. ( Reminds me of the boys when I was young -the long hair part ). We DO need to find you someone . I know you are pretty ,smart and great personality . I wish you lived here. I'd have you matched up and going on dates as often as you wanted til we found you someone . Are there any single guys in here that you fancy ? Maybe one of them wouldn't mind moving ,or you could move to where they live ? As for the reserves at the library being in the shelf where anyone can take them, they cover them with paper and put a rubber band on them ,so all you see are the person's last names on the spines . Yea, our old librarian would have made a good bouncer. she was notorious for being a grouch. Everyone was afraid of her .She was all bark and no bite, though . Life had dealt her some pretty bad cards, so I think she took it out on everyone around her . Thanks for recommending Adrian Mole, I read them several years ago and DID like them .

Miss Poppy You get the award today for funniest review ! To say Faulkner is challenging would be like saying that the North Pole is a little bit nippy in the winter . I'll have to admit , I was never able to get past The Sound ... I reached the Fury after about 3 sentences . I suppose I shouldn't judge an author by this one book, but I never again screwed up the courage to try any of his others . I know the first chunk of the story is told by someone who is touched in the head , but I think the whole gang of them were from what I could gather . If I would have finished the book ,I'd be as touched in the head as they were . This book would take someone in a Reading Slump and push them over the brink . They'd probably donate all their books to a church sale and take up another less dangerous hobby like juggling chain saws or learning to walk the tightrope in a circus with no net .

Would anyone know the average age of the majority of YA authors ? I'm wondering if they'd all be young ( to me, young would be anything under 40 )... If I were to write a book, it'd be a challenge for me to recall how it felt to be a teen . I'm thinking maybe the closer you ARE to that age, the easier it'd be to write about that age . Also, I live in an area that is predominately religious . ( A group that very closely resembles Amish ) ,and I know the English teachers in our schools have a difficult time choosing group reads for their classes. Most of the mothers of these kids read all the assigned books the summer before school to decide if the books are acceptable for their kids and church beliefs . I'm not a churchgoer ,so I'm not asking personally, but these parents have a really hard time finding any modern YA books that would be acceptable ,so their kids usually end up reading some of the old Classics or more "childish-themed" books . In fact, our entire library system has a large section of books specifically for the adults in the church . They have series of books about fictional Amish ,romances that would be considered G- rated , etc . I've been thinking about some different questions that would be directly linked to YA books ... and maybe I'm old fashioned ,but are there any YA books that don't accept pre-marital sex as just another daily event ? I know I sound like a Crabby Old Geezer that needs to get out of the Caveman days , but these are big concerns in our area. Parents don't want their kids choosing books that make certain ideas seem the norm . Does anyone feel that if kids read about these things, the books have enough influence over them to encourage certain behaviors, even though it is drilled into them at home that it is NOT acceptable ? I'm also wondering if very many YA books address the issues of bullying . We had that ,even back in MY day, but the thought would have never crossed anyone's mind that someone would come and get revenge by bringing a weapon to school . Just a few thoughts to throw out there ....