Peacefield

I'm so glad you're loving Salem, Lexie!! And I just have to ask, have you met Sam yet and if so don't you love him?! Sounds like you made a great haul too at the charity shop, nice work! And yes, I do believe finding Stolen today was pure providence! Maybe my good karma for making all those donations came back to me that quick .

I just returned from bringing about 10 bags of stuff over to the charity shop and of course I couldn't leave without checking on their book section. SCORE!! They had Stolen by Kelley Armstrong for less than a dollar, yay! Now I know what to start tonight .

Something to do with chicken and some asparagus, just not sure what. Dinner's a few hours off though so I'm in contemplation-mode .

Do you have any fave jazz artists, Katrina? A friend of mine and her husband just went and saw Celtic Women live and they loved it . I am all about Chet Baker today. 'Chet Baker Sings' has been on repeat, and when I'm done with that I'll pop the New Moon soundtrack back in...

Catwoman's reading it for the first time, Stephanie. Ahh to go back to those days, reading SM's books for the first time, before the madness! I was re-reading my fave bits of BD last night before bed. For me, unfortunately there weren't that many, but still I am an addict .

Hey there and welcome, Morbid Hermit! Glad you found us and joined up .

Catwoman, what are you thinking of Eclipse? Katrina, that's so interesting about your Native American heritage! Do you know from what tribe? I know some about the Plains Indians, but I'm not even sure which kind were from Virginia. Oh, and did you ever read your ARC of 'The Swan Thieves?' I am waiting anxiously for it's official release in January . Good work on getting through the Koontz, BookJumper! Are you liking it? I remember reading an oldie of his called 'Lightning' way back in high school, and I read the first Odd Thomas book but that's been the extent of it. I finished Curious Incident a few days ago and am now deciding what to read next. I may hit one more 1/2 Price Books this weekend to see if I can find the next Armstrong book, otherwise I may start the 3rd Sookie book or perhaps my first ever Anne Rice. Hmmm...

Aspy? I don't know, it didn't feel forced to me, but maybe because I'd never read anything from that perspective before. I liked it .

I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon very late last night. Here's the synopsis: Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions, and cannot stand to be touched. Gifted with a superbly logical brain, Christopher is autistic. Everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. "I do not always do what I'm told," he admits. "And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense. For example, people often say 'Be quiet' but they don't tell you how long to be quiet for..." At fifteen, Christopher's carefully constructed world falls apart when he finds his neighbor's dog, Wellington, impaled on a garden fork and is initially blamed for the killing. Christopher decides that he will track down the real killer and turns to his favorite fictional character, the impeccably logical Sherlock Holmes, for inspiration. But the investigation leads him down some unexpected paths and ultimately brings him face to face with the dissolution of his parents' marriage. As Christopher tries to deal with this crisis within his own family, the narrative draws readers into the mysterious workings of Christopher's mind. To all of you out there who recommended this book, thank you! I've never read anything from the perspective of a person with a mental disability, and I was truly enthralled. Not only did I get to read about the death of this dog and how Christopher planned on solving the mystery, I also got to discover his whole thought process on colors, maths, science, and even ghosts. In between all the detective work he did, he spoke of his reasoning on if a day was going to be good, super good, etc, and why he didn't like the colors yellow and brown. There were also basically mental pictures every few pages of the book so you could not only read about what Christopher was thinking but also what he was seeing in his mind. Mark Haddon did an amazing job translating an autistic person's thought process to paper. I'm looking forward to anything else Haddon writes!

I'm off soon to dine on Greek tonight! Can't wait for the spanikopita .

I finished Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime last night! I'm tired. I didn't know I was going to finish it, but it was a late night for me and of course I couldn't fall asleep. Anyway, I finished and I'll post a wee review later on my thread . Thanks for the recommendations, you guys. I'm SO glad I read it!!

I vote for delirium

Woo-hoo, Libri Vermis!! A most excellent Brubeck choice and my fave! Well done, and prepare to chillax!

Normally we are pretty boring pie people, Poppy, but the traditional Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without pumpkin and also pecan pie (although pecan is not my fave, ick). Sometimes we have apple too, which is yummy! Last year my mom made an apple crumble recipe that she got from my sister's Scottish mother-in-law, and OMG it was excellent. I'll see if I can get that recipe and post it .

Oh no, Frankie! That's unfortunate . Thankfully it didn't take up too much of your time, huh? I read quite a bit more of Curious Incident last night and am exactly halfway through now. It's very intriguing to read a book from this kind of perspective! I love it . SueK, I didn't know that about the title, but it makes sense because the main character Christopher likes Sherlock Holmes stories since he himself likes being a 'detective.' Have fun with Sookie, Kylie! Goodness knows they are a big hit here . I need to get off my you-know-what and read the rest of those (I've only read 2).

Thanks for posting the recipe, Poppy, it does look yummy! I'll have to try this one out at Thanksgiving since apparently I'm the designated pie person this year.

Hey there and welcome to BCF, Jeni! Glad you joined us .

I'm a big fan of jazz pianists like Ahmad Jamal, Vince Guaraldi, Bill Evans and my fave, Dave Brubeck. I especially love them as part of a trio or quartet . I love Ella too, Chesilbeach. She's my mom's faves as well, and always loves to tell me stories of when she saw her perform back in the 50's. I think I could listen to her version of 'Skylark' over and over and never get tired. But any Johnny Mercer that Ella sings is heavenly .

Woo-hoo for finishing Sleepyhead, Frankie! And just the other day (or was it yesterday?) I was suggesting you abandon it. I bet you're glad you stuck with it . Have fun with Diving Bell and then the Slaughter. Let me know if you haven't picked up Curious Incident, Beth, and I'll post it to you when I'm done if you want!

Big lover of jazz here too, SueK! I've been listening a lot lately to Dave Brubeck and Bill Evans especially. I also love Chet Baker, Ella, Ahmad Jamal and Art Blakey . I posted awhile ago, but I still love all types of music, and I love discovering new bands! Aside from jazz I've been listening lately to alternative stuff with huge doses of Muse and the Chili Peppers.

I started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime last night by Mark Haddon, and am about 60 pages in. I love the way it's written, and the little illustrations are great . Thanks for the recommendations all you smart peeps!

Glad they turned out so well, Bethany! How did you make them? I have a favorite recipe for scallops gratin that I got from the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) and it's amazing! SO yummy

Yeah, now that I think of it there are a few icky bits . But I'm so glad you've started it! Lots of pressure now, you know. You have to love it .

Alrighty then! When I get home tonight I'll try to rememebr what box I packed it in and will start it. Now I'm excited! And yep, I will definitely let you know how I find it, Bethany .

Duh! Forgive me, Frankie, it's only 7:07am in the morning here and my first coffee isn't even half finished. Brilliant idea of course!!