Julie ~ "Lucky" 2013 ~ Booklist

[Devi]

Hey Julie, 

 

I couldn't send you a pm for some reason

 

 

So I'll post it here instead. I would like it if you picked a picture that you would like as a print, and/or bookmark from my thread

 

http://www.bookclubforum.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/9972-devis-photography/page-1

 

It can be any picture and if you can't decide on just one, you can pick more

[julie]

Hi Devi

Sorry about the PM -- I sometimes turn it off when things get to be a bit too overwhelming here ..... I just kinda close up shop online til things settle down again . 

Anyhow , I'm sorry you couldn't reach me . I just came in today and saw your note on here .

 

I've looked thru all your photos, so hard to choose . I think either the one on post 151 of he sky with all the clouds and colors or one of the lightning ones -- either of those are neat .

 

That would be really special to have a bookmark especially from you .

 

Thank you for thinking of me

[julie]

-Shorecliff by Ursula DeYoung --3/5

 

 

 

This is a story of a large family of aunts, uncles and cousins who decide to spend their summer at Shorecliff, a huge old house in New York, on the coast .The book hints at a big tragedy at the end of the summer ,so all along you know something big is coming .

It has a 5 star rating on amazon, but I didn't see the reasoning behind that high of a rating. It is an adult book, but seemed to me to be more of a Nancy Drew type mystery book. A big old house, a few family secrets ( nothing that exciting ) ,and a tragedy at the end, which to me, seemed far-fetched to say the least .

The writing was good and the story could have been great ,but it was missing something .. Just mediocre ..at best .

Hopefully the author will improve with time .

The best part about it is I FINALLY FINISHED A BOOK!!!

 

Onward and upward from here I hope . I have a truckload of books on my Kindle,so can surely sift through and find something .

Edited September 11, 2013 by julie

[poppyshake]

The best part about it is I FINALLY FINISHED A BOOK!!!

Woohoo!!       Well done Julie!!

It's a shame that the book wasn't exciting .. that doesn't help but onwards and upwards

[julie]

Thank you kindly Miss Poppy

 

And I love the "WAVE" of little smiley-guys . Really cute .

[pontalba]

Glad to see you going strong again, Julie! 

 

I love the wave too!  I haven't seen it on here.....where'd you get it Kay?

[poppyshake]

I love the wave too!  I haven't seen it on here.....where'd you get it Kay?

 I got it from here ..  I couldn't resist it  

[julie]

Glad to see you going strong again, Julie! 

 

I love the wave too!  I haven't seen it on here.....where'd you get it Kay?

 

 

Thank you ! Good to be back among the Reading World.

[pontalba]

 I got it from here ..  I couldn't resist it  

Ohhhhh...thanks for the link!

[julie]

This Book Will Change Your Life , Again  --Benrik

 

This book is a continuation of sorts from a previous book with the same titlle ( minus the AGAIN ) ..

 

It's an unusual book ,as it gives you a 365 day list of different things to do with your life to change it in some way .There is one page for every day of the year , and some of the ideas would be worthwhile , while others are just plain stupid .

I'll point out a few that would be good ideas ,or things we should all try to do more frequently :

 

Today, buy flowers for a stranger

 

Take care of your mom, like she took care of you

 

Find your first best friend and reconnect with them

 

Write a letter to your most influential teacher to thank them

 

Here are some that would be quite challenging or impossible :

 

Today,eat only one color of food all day

 

Today ,get insurance on your best feature ( Like some famous people do )

 

Act like a teenager all day today

 

Pour flour on your face,and walk around a cemetery all day ,like a zombie

 

 

Anyhow, the book is very colorful ,each page is color coded with diagrams , charts, and lots of little extras to help you succeed at today's chore . It's kind of a silly book, but something easy to read and some of it makes you chuckle. Some of it is downright weird ,too, but at least it makes you think a little about doing some GOOD deeds once in awhile, or maybe doing something totally out of character just to make your life a bit more interesting .

 

I'd give this book a 5/5 for imagination purposes, but for actual reading pleasure, I'd give it a 3 .

[Athena]

This sounds interesting, it sounds like it could be an entertaining read. Nice review ! Have you read the previous book?

[julie]

Good morning Athena ( in my time zone )

 

Yes, I read the previous book many years ago. It was probably better because it'd be hard to think up that many new things to try each day to make your life interesting ,so trying to think up another year's worth would be even harder .

 

It was a pretty light read and easy to get through . I'm so far behind on a reading total this year , I thought I'd go ahead and add this one in just to fill in another space on my list .

 

I like books like this once in awhile, just for something really different .

 

Thanks for stopping in . Hope you have a great day or evening ..whichever it is on your side of the world .

[Athena]

Good morning to you too! It's afternoon here .

 

Thanks for explaining about the book. I've added them both to my wishlist though if I buy them I'll buy the first one.

 

I hope you'll be able to read more in a while, it's not nice to be so behind on your reading, well, in my opinion.

 

It is nice to read something different now and then, I agree.

 

Thanks! I'm in GMT + 1 (or + 2 for summer time?), it's now 14:48 or 2:48 PM. Soon we'll move the clock back one hour. I hope you have a good day, too .

[julie]

Athena

Yep, we do the clock -changing thing here too, usually late October I think . I never remember what weekend until they start reminding you on TV or radio .

 I never keep track of what time it is in other places , I know all you guys over that direction are several hours ahead of us in time ,so part of the time I'd be on here ,you'd all be sleeping probably .

 I think maybe I'll pull outta this Major Slump  ..We had some pretty heavy things on our minds ,but one of them has SORT OF resolved itself. It's still the same situation, but the person involved has moved pretty far from us, so it wont be a situation that's right in our faces .Maybe we can all recover from it now and life will get back to normal.

 

On top of that, the Hubster is losing his job . We have been waiting for weeks now to hear what the buyout deal will be for him. He has worked the same job since 1976 ... so it's pretty scarey to be 55 and be starting all over again ,but we finally got all the paperwork, have had time to sit and discuss our options ,and might POSSIBLY be lucky enough to fall into the most perfect job he could ever ask for . We're holding our breaths on it -- he is friends with the police chief in our town, and the city manager . They are trying to get city council to approve hiring a computer tech guy that would be in charge of all the city computers, ambulance and police car systems, etc . He's known these guys for most of his adult life,so we are REALLY hoping city council will approve it. If they do, I'd say he has an excellent chance of getting it .

Anyhow, I don't do well with stress. I try really hard to be tough ,but my danged body isn't as tough as the rest of me . I ended up in ER last week with a killer migraine ...

 

But ,as I said ,things might be resolving themselves soon .I truly believe everything happens for a reason .Sometimes I can't figure out WHY stuff happens, but usually in the long run, I can figure it out .

 

Sorry to ramble on and on. No one here to talk to, so you drew the Lucky ( or UNLUCKY ) Ticket .

Anyhow, sorry to chew your ear off about my troubles. No one here today to talk to .

[pontalba]

Oh boy.  All fingers and toes crossed that husband gets that position!! 

 

Sorry about the migraine.   

 

I hate the time change.  Fer crimminies sake, leave the danged time in one or the other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[julie]

Oh boy.  All fingers and toes crossed that husband gets that position!! 

 

Sorry about the migraine.   

 

I hate the time change.  Fer crimminies sake, leave the danged time in one or the other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

Thanks -- I have all my parts crossed too . Won't know about the job for awhile yet ,he is supposed to go down and talk to them this week about it ,so we shall see .

 

As for the migraines, I hate them, they are really awful ...

 

The time change can be an adjustment for a few days til you get caught up with it . I think it's Indiana that doesn't do the time change thing. Not sure if it's the only state, but it seems odd that they don't do it when most or all of the others do. Not sure why they excluded themselves from it ???

[Devi]

I hope things work out for the better Julie, you can always chew my ear off if you ever need to talk.

 

We have the time thing here too, its called daylight saving time, and not all states do it, so makes it confusing sometimes if you have friends interstate like me.

[Athena]

Julie, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband losing his job. I really hope he gets that job that he really wants! Maybe you're right and things happen for a reason (sometimes I think they do, sometimes I think they don't), if so then I hope that something good comes out of this (ie. your husband getting that dream job).

 

For us in the Netherlands it's normally the last Sunday in October that we go to wintertime, and the last Sunday in March we go to summertime. As far as I know, it's the same in the UK (my boyfriend's from there and it's always 1 hour apart). I don't know about other countries though, I know there are some who have the same as we, but there are others that do it differently. My brother's girlfriend is in Chile atm, and she just switched to a different time recently (I'm not sure to call it wintertime, because their seasons are the other way around). I remember when we went on holidays to Greece once, that they didn't have their summer/winter time change at the same time as us, but I could be wrong. Sometimes the winter time change coincides with my birthday weekend. For example, this year we change the time on Sunday 27th of October (my birthday is on the 25th). I kind of like having an extra hour. I don't like though that it's rapidly becoming darker in the evening and stays darker in the morning. I don't need it to be light at 5 AM, but it's nice that by 6:30-7 AM it's light, in my opinion. My mum mentioned today as she was feeding the chicken, that most of them were still asleep or sleepy when she walked in. I find it sometimes a bit strange when I'm in the UK and the light and dark happens at different times in the morning and evening. It seems strange not all states of US or Australia change time at the same time. We're such a small country so we're all in the same timezone, so we don't have this problem. I can imagine it must be difficult though if you have interstate friends or family.

 

Don't worry about the rambling! This is your thread and personally, I don't mind rambling posts (I kinda just rambled a bit myself I think ). I liked reading yours .

 

I hope you'll get out of your slump, that things will go better for you .

[julie]

Devi   & Athena

 

Thank you for the backup support.  I try to keep things to myself but somedays you just need someone to talk to . I appreciate you guys listening and offering encouragement.

 

I need to try to focus on reading more than the other stuff ,so maybe if I can train my brain a bit better to do that, it'll help .

[poppyshake]

Oh Julie .. I'm so sorry to hear about the hubster's job  I do so hope that this new opportunity works out for him .. you may then find that it was all for the best but I've been in that situation myself in recent years and know how scary it can be  We'll all get the blues when the clocks go back because it means the days are getting shorter. It could be worse though .. what else can you do on a dark evening but read? (Yes .. we'd rather not know about any alternative answers )

 

We're not unlucky at all .. we're very fortunate to have you xx It's good to get it out though ... much better than bottling it up.

[chaliepud]

Will keep everything crossed for the hubster's job Julie, I know only too well what a worry that can be. When does he think he will know? Also I'm glad your other problem has resolved somewhat, it's horrid having things hanging over you but lets just hope everything improves for you soon and you get the quiet, happy life you deserve, with lots of time to read and the want to do so.  Those of us with Australian Cattle Dogs have a little superstition, that if we rub their Bentleys (the little white patch on their heads) and think of the person who needs a little extra support, it will help them. So I will be doing that today.. Obi is very fond of a head rub so it will be doing him a favour too!     

[julie]

Oh Julie .. I'm so sorry to hear about the hubster's job  I do so hope that this new opportunity works out for him .. you may then find that it was all for the best but I've been in that situation myself in recent years and know how scary it can be  We'll all get the blues when the clocks go back because it means the days are getting shorter. It could be worse though .. what else can you do on a dark evening but read? (Yes .. we'd rather not know about any alternative answers )

 

We're not unlucky at all .. we're very fortunate to have you xx It's good to get it out though ... much better than bottling it up.

 

Thanks, Pops

Yes, I remember you saying that Alan was without a job for a bit of time awhile back . Did he get called back to the same place or find something new ? Some places over here have slow times where the company isn't making enough money so they lay people off ,which usually means they won't have a paycheck for awhile, but as soon as business picks up, they get called back. We've been so lucky that Hubster's place of work have never done that in all the years he has been there.

We're really very fortunate to have a steady income for that long . I think we'll be ok in the long run after all is said and done. He has a good work record . I think it's just the age thing, being this age and starting out all over again .

 

As for the time change ,yea it can get you down when it seems DARK for so much longer every day , but it is a good chance to get more reading done, definitely .   And we always know that it'll come to an end and spring will be here again . I'd have a hard time living where the weather is cold and grey most of the year . At least here ,we have lots of season changes .

 

 

Will keep everything crossed for the hubster's job Julie, I know only too well what a worry that can be. When does he think he will know? Also I'm glad your other problem has resolved somewhat, it's horrid having things hanging over you but lets just hope everything improves for you soon and you get the quiet, happy life you deserve, with lots of time to read and the want to do so.  Those of us with Australian Cattle Dogs have a little superstition, that if we rub their Bentleys (the little white patch on their heads) and think of the person who needs a little extra support, it will help them. So I will be doing that today.. Obi is very fond of a head rub so it will be doing him a favour too!     

 

Chalie

The Hubster has an appointment with the City Manager on Friday . We'll know a bit more about it after that. The way our town works is that everything big ( like creating a new job that currently doesn't exist) , has to go through our City Council for approval .

Since the city would be paying for another person's salary,they have to vote on it before it's final .

Anyhow, the city Manager used to be the police chief , and Hubster has known him for probably 30 years or so ,and is also friends with the current police chief .He has done jobs for the city before ,like when they get new police cars, he "Pimps Them Out " with all the lights, sirens, radios, computers, etc .. he's done that for several years, just as side jobs, so he sorta has a foot in the door already . The only snag we might run into will be the city council. The rules of their voting are that EVERYONE has to vote yes . So if one guy says no, we don't  have enough money to do this, then it fails . SO... we're both hoping that the manager has enough pull to get them to agree to creating this new job . It'd be perfect. 2 minutes from home ,all day shift, no weekends .

 

I never knew that superstition about your type of pup and their Bentley spot. Thanks for the Good luck Head Rub. I need to get me one of them dogs. they are so cute. I'd rub his poor head til he looked like an old man with a bald spot on top ...

[vodkafan]

Oh man I am so hoping that hubster gets the city job. I have everything crossed here for you.

[julie]

Thank you James --

So kind of you .. will definitely post as soon as we hear anything .

[julie]

25-The Glass Café --by Gary Paulsen 4/5

 

This was my first YA book I've ever read. Back when I would have been the YSA age, they didn't really have a separate category of books specified for YA. You kinda went from kid's books to adult books . My YA books would have been Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and some of the Classics like Treasure Island ,etc .

 

This book is about a 12 year old boy named Tony who lives with his mom who is a stripper in the Kit Kat Klub .Tony has no father and doesn't even know who he is, so he and his mom are on their own .

Anyhow, he seems to be a really well adjusted boy who finds out one day that he has a real talent in art class ,so he begins drawing . When the objects of his artwork start leaking out, their whole world falls apart .

It's a very short book but touches on so many areas of life today. The plight of the single parent, her ability to do whatever she has to ,to raise her son the best way she knows how .

A very enjoyable read .