julie

Hi Nali Since I'm from the US,maybe I can help you out a little. If you have a kindle there are lots of free or very low cost books about the west - stories about the settlers traveling in wagon trains, stories about famous western peope,such as Kit Carson, Wild Bill Hickock ,etc ... If you don't have a kindle,there are many books also : Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose is about the Lewis and Clark expedition . Another if you are interested in the south,say during the Civil War, there's one called Widow of the South by Robert Hicks ,which is based on a true story . Another called 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus is also loosely based on a story of the Indians out West who wanted white wives to be sent out to them . I just read one not too long ago called Hearts West ( sorry I gave the book away and can't remember the suthor ),which told about ladies who placed ads in the paper about themselves ,or men who would post ,asking for a wife,so it was a mail-order bride type service,which was all true stories . The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig is a book that takes place out west .I'm not sure about the story ,since I just got the book and haven't read it yet . I think that same author wrote others that were in the Western states . A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird . The Black Flower by Howard Bahr tells a fictional story of the Civil War. He has also written a couple others about the same time period . Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel is like true journal pages taken from ladies who traveled west and settled there . Hope this list will get you started .Give a shout out if you need more. I have lots of them because I love reading about the Civil War and the Old West .

Hi Ian It'd be great to have you along if you want to join in ! I thought it sounded like an interesting way to choose some future books,too . Vodkafan Perfectly fine if you have too big a list currently .I can definitely understand that . Hi Poppy Yea, maybe a few of you who are tied up the next few months would be able to all start together in the new year . I'll definitely post how I like the Haunting book !

Hi Ruth It'll be great to have you join in when you can,but I can't take credit for the idea. I found it in the reading challenge area ,so just started a thread so I could keep track of what I'm doing . Hope you can join me later !

Hi Peacefield Thanks for the welcome ! I haven't read any Tess Gerritsen or Kathy Reichs . I "think" the Reichs lady may write her books based on a real character, I'm not sure . For true crime writers ,let's see, there are so many . I prefer some of the older true crime stories to most of the newer type . There are many now that remind me more of National Enquirer type books, not written well and the back cover tells you who killed who ,and why,even before opening the book .Kinda ruins the point of reading it for me at least . So,let's see, for older ones, I loved Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer (about Gary Gilmore) . Another one told from a different viewpoint (Gary's brother Mikal) called Shot in the Heart . It told a lot about their childhood and was more personal ,but a wonderful and sad book . One of my all time favorites is :And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi . Great story !! Another one I loved was The Dreams of Ada -- can't remember the author's name on it . The Devil's Knot is good,now there is a very recent update on that whole case if you follow the shows like 48 Hours, I think they had it on there a few weeks ago . Ann Rule is good,but many of hers now are short story type crimes,which are good, but I like one big long story myself. another really old one is Fatal Vision about Dr. Jeff MacDonald . I could go on and on,but those are the ones off the top of my head that I remember the most . Hi Weave ! Thanks for the cute little welcome sign ! I can tell this group is gonna be a good one. Real nice people here that make me feel right at home !

Hi antiriot , I'm new too . The only tip I can give you regarding serial killers , is one about the BTK killer ,from over here in Kansas . I have read lots of books about serial killers and his story was probably the scariest one I have ever read. I think the reason was that he looked like just an ordinary guy,had a family, worked a job, was a scout leader and church deacon( or some such church officer),so lived a totally ordinary life .No one ever thought he would ever be a serial killer . If you can get hold of a book about him, that'd be an interesting one for you . You may have lots of totally different true crime books over there that I wouldnt be up on .I'm not familiar with many other than Jack the Ripper . Hope you find something interesting . Good luck !

Ok, I'm gonna give this another go . Maybe it'd be good to get myself on some type of reading schedule so I am better organized and can keep track of what I read . So,back to the beginning : 1: Staff Member’s Choice: Go to a bookstore or library that has a “Staff Picks” section. Read one of the picks from that section. Haunting of Hill House / Shirley Jackson Chosen by the staff at the local bookstore for a Halloween theme . Completed . 1 star . 2: Loved One’s Choice: Ask a loved one to pick a book for you to read. 3: Blogger’s Choice: Find a “Best Books Read” post from a favorite blogger. Read a book from their list. 4: Critic’s Choice: Find a “Best of the Year” list from a magazine, newspaper or professional critic. Read a book from their Top 10 list. 5: Blurb Book: Find a book that has a blurb on it from another author. Read a book by the author that wrote the blurb. 6: Book Seer Pick: Go to The Book Seer and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you. 7: What Should I Read Next Pick : Go to What Should I Read Next? and follow the instructions there. Read a book from the list it generates for you. 8: Which Book Pick: Go to Which Book? and use the software to generate a list of books. Read a book from that list. 9: LibraryThing Pick: Go to LibraryThing’s Zeitgeist page. Look at the lists for 25 Most Reviewed Books or Top Books and pick a book you’ve never read. Read the book. (Yes … you can click on MORE if you have to.) 10: Pick A Method: Pick a method for finding a book from the choices listed below. •Random Book Selection. I chose one shelf and picked the strangest last name of an author for my random choice . Photographing Fairies by Steve Szilagyi (Currently Reading )

So true .... I think out of everything I have stacked all over the house,I could just about cover any category they throw at me . I probably have as many books as our town library dooes. We live in a wee little place,so their selection isn't the greatest .

Hi Vodkafan Thanks for the reply. I'll go check it out and see which book sounds best to me . This definitely is a nice friendy bunch of people! And pretty cute about the Budweiser. I guess I wasn't thinking of reading the can,but it really wouldnt be all that interesting,would it ? Hi Kirsty Thank you for the welcome . Good to see another new person here,so maybe we can learn the ropes together . Hi there Dawn And thanks for the kind welcome . Hi Pixie I agree,everyone here has been so nice and welcoming . A great board ! How long has this group been going,do you know ? And yep, I like cookies too .

Hi Vodkafan Yep, it's a true story,written kinda like a daily travelogue ..You guys are probably familiar with Bill Brysons' books,since he is from here AND there. This book is written kinda like a lot of his travel ones are,except this one doesnt have any funny parts .

Hi Kate I'm new too ! Just thought I'd say howdy .

Hi all I guess this is where we post our current book being read. I am reading a book called TRAVELS WITH TED & NED by THEODORE HESBURGH . I read it once before several years ago .It's about 2 priests who retire (who were top-notch officials of some kind at Notre Dame College) ,who decide to go on a road trip,which turned into an air trip,boat trip,and a little bit of every other mode of transport . The first part took place here in the states,mostly the western part ,which I have never been to,so it tells a lot about the scenery out west .Now they have gone to South America,so I am learning a little more about what it must look like down there . Kinda like the TV show "Amazing Race ",without the other teams and prize money !

Hi Chrissy ! Thank you for explaining about the questions I had .It sounds as if I have hit Book Heaven here ! What a nice board, selection of entertainment,and polite people ! Hi Chaliepud Yes, I agree, these places usually do tend to give me a lot of new books I want to search for .We recently had a used bookstore open up the next town over,so I have been stopping by there a "little" too often,as they get new books in on a pretty constant basis . How I think I will ever finish them all is a good question ... I think I have a serious problem .Better than buying Budweiser I guess . Hi EasyReader Thanks for the tip on refreshing the new topic doodad ... this has got to be one of the easiest to use message boards I have found ! Hi Pickle Thanks to you also for the welcome. my gosh,you are all so friendly here ! I'm really glad to have found you .

Hi Chaliepud , This one does sound fun, doesn't it ? And I'm with you,my TBR pile is about to topple over ! Maybe this challenge would lower it a bit ?

Dear Lucy I love this idea for a challenge ! It gives you quite a wide range to choose from . I am new,so wondering if I can participate in this,and if so, do I post my books I read in here, or make a separate topic for my list ? Thank you ~

I really liked this book,and all Albom's others so far. I have the newest one but haven't read it yet . I guess everyone has their specific tastes in books ,and I can understand why this wouldn't be a book that everyone would like. It is a pretty sad subject,and would be so very hard to see someone with an illness like Morrie had. I guess I am always looking for answers in life, and tend to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how I would deal with a situation if it happened to me,so sometimes books like this help me to do that . I guess the main thing I took from it was to try to enjoy each day you are given ,even if it turns out to be a rotten day ,try to learn something from the bad and be thankful for the good .

Hi Easy Reader and thanks for the welcome ! I'm real excited to find a nice group like this with an easy message board to follow . Some of them, it's hard to keep track of what posts I've read, etc . Can I ask you a couple questons ? I wondered about the Reading Challenge area : Some of the original starting ideas for challenges are posted,but from many months ago . Are we allowed to sign up for any of those, or are some closed ? I didn't want to do anything wrong by signing up for something that has been done for a long time . Then is the Reading Circle area where the book of the month is chosen and discussed ? I'm a little confused on it. I saw where you could vote for the November book,but I'm probably not allowed to vote yet,since I'm new,and it's ok . I was just wondering when it said the voting will be open til some time in 2012 ??? Was I reading it wrong ? Sorry for so many questions . I really would like to take part in a challenge or a group read if I can . Thank you ,

Hi all, I guess I'm one of the new people on the block,so I should introduce myself . I'm Julie ,from Ohio . I'm 53 and have 3 grown kids,all moved off on their own. I have 7 grandkids . I'm a lifelong book lover .My favorite type books are probably true crime, but I like lots of other type books,too . I've been searching for a good online book group .I have visited many others but their message boards seemed hard to get the hang of,where this one is much easier to get around on . I'm very interested in a possible book challenge type of thing,since I've never done one before . I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and hear about lots of new books !

Hi folks I just joined,so I thought I'd get my feet wet and answer this post about the books I have read on this list . 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible - 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte 8 1984 - George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D�Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 19 The Time Traveller�s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitchhiker�s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis 34 Emma - Jane Austen 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen- 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - 38 Captain Corelli�s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell - 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy- 48 The Handmaid�s Tale - Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel 52 Dune - Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - 56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens- 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez- 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck 62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov- 63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac- 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones�s Diary - Helen Fielding 69 Midnight�s Children - Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens 72 Dracula - Bram Stoker- 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson75 Ulysses - James Joyce 76 The Inferno - Dante- 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal - Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray - 80 Possession - AS Byatt -81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell 83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - 87 Charlotte�s Web - EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton - 91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo