|
Post by Phalon on Feb 6, 2009 7:01:33 GMT -6
I read "Big Stone Gap" by Adriana Trigiani - and stayed up waay too late last night finishing it. I probably wouldn't have chosen this one off the library shelf, but it was next in the stack of books lent to me by my boss, so I felt compelled to read it.
It has all the markings of a cheesy romance novel. (eye-roll) Single, strong, independent woman discovers a deep, dark family secret that makes her question her place in life. She's secretly in love with her best friend; his feelings for her nothing more than friendship. Meanwhile, the man that irritates the hell outta her, has been in love with her since their school days.
Normally, I wouldn't care for this scenario - it just sounds so typically Harlequin Romance to me. But the small town, Big Stone Gap, is so quirky, and the characters so oddball that I laughed aloud while reading.
A lot of that laughter had to do with phrases throughout the book that I've heard Hubs say hundreds of times. It takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia; Hubs grew up in the foothills of those same mountains in South Carolina. It cracked me up to read things like, "I guaren-damn-tee ya....", and I had to stop to point it out to Hubs who got some kind of satisfaction out of the fact he is not alone.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Feb 10, 2009 2:59:20 GMT -6
Okay ... what I've read for the 13 days I was without electricity:
1.) Grave Sight, 2.) Grave Surprise, & 3.) Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris (An ice storm took out the electricity in the third book ... not a good read when you're freezing to death in the dark. )
4.) Calling Mr. Lonely Hearts by Laura Benedict
5.) Sleep Softly by Gwen Hunter
6.) Touching Evil by Kay Hooper
7.) Uninvited by Justine Musk
8.) Uninvited by Amanda Marrone
9.) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
10.) Look For Me By Moonlight, 11.) The Doll in the Garden, & 12.) The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
13.) There's a Bat in Bunk Five & 14.) The Pistachio Prescription by Paula Danziger
15.) The Blue Ghost by Marion Dane Bauer
I didn't read them in the order listed above ... but I did start with 1-3.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Feb 10, 2009 15:22:18 GMT -6
Now I'm reading: Whisper of Evil by Kay Hooper
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Feb 13, 2009 23:29:10 GMT -6
Whisper of Evil & Sense of Evil by Kay Hooper
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Feb 26, 2009 18:45:41 GMT -6
Dogs And Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, & Lani Diane Rich
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Feb 26, 2009 23:13:25 GMT -6
"Dracula Night" by Charlaine Harris, from the collection: "Many Bloody Returns"
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Mar 6, 2009 8:41:35 GMT -6
I just finished "Lizards on the Mantel, Burros at the Door" by Etta Koch with June Cooper Price, (her now-grown daughter). It's an autobiographical account taken from Etta's letters and journals from 1944-1946 chronicling Koch's family's life in what was then a brand new Big Bend National Park in Texas.
Etta leaves a comfortable life in suburban Ohio, packing up her three daughters and whatever will fit into a 23 foot trailer, to follow her husband's dream of making natural history films. Living for two years without electricity, running water, 80 miles from a grocery store and 120 miles from the nearest doctor is tough to say the least. With her husband on lecture and photo tours for months-long absences, she learns to adjust to feelings of isolation, and raising her young daughters in the harsh Texas desert.
She adjusts to this pioneer-type of life-style, and even comes to love it; though she and her husband eventually divorce, she ends up spending more than half of her 100 year life-span in West Texas.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on May 1, 2009 22:55:19 GMT -6
I finished reading, 'Fragile Eternity' by Melissa Marr.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on May 4, 2009 17:42:07 GMT -6
I finished reading "Being Nikki" by Meg Cabot. And can't wait until "Runaway" comes out!
Runaway - Airhead 3 Release Date: May 2010!!!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jul 17, 2009 18:01:57 GMT -6
Heat A New Prequel to the Bobbie Faye Series by Toni McGee Causey
Ghost by Katherine Ramsland
The Ghost Hunter's Handbook by Lori Summers
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Aug 5, 2009 21:38:52 GMT -6
When a Man Loves a Weapon by Toni McGee Causey
|
|
|
Post by Siren on Sept 20, 2009 10:07:58 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Sept 21, 2009 21:30:23 GMT -6
I've never read "The Tightwad Gazette", Siren, or any of the books. Judging from Amazon's description though, the book sounds like one that was given to me as a gift: "2,317 Ways to Save Money and Time; Extrordinary Uses for Ordinary Things". That's my dog-eared how-to book - I'll never quite know what I'll find in there, or how many uses, for example, there are for that empty paper towel roll I just threw in the recycling bin.
I just looked....there are 15 suggestions for repurposing empty paper towel rolls. Two of them I might actually use.
|
|
|
Post by EllieNeo on Sept 21, 2009 23:55:24 GMT -6
lately i've gotten really into Midnight Louie mysteries. they're fun to read because sometimes the story is told from the point of view of a cat. a very interesting series of books.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Nov 5, 2009 22:26:51 GMT -6
(sniff and sob)
I just finished "Uncle Jed's Barbershop" by Margaree King Mitchell. If it sounds like it might be a children's book based on the title, it is. BP's teacher asked me to read to the class tomorrow, and gave me a few titles to choose from.
If there's one thing I've learned from reading my essays to groups, and from past experience reading in front of either BP's or LX's classes is that I talk too fast. Getting the book beforehand to read it aloud a few times helps immensely to slow me down.
OMG, was I ever glad BP's teacher sent it home today before I have to read tomorrow morning! I was so happy for Uncle Jed near the end of the book that I got all choked up while reading. And then I burst into tears reading the last page! I can't imagine reading the book for the first time in front of twenty-some kids, and sobbing by the time I got to the end!
"Uncle Jed's Barbershop" takes place in the south during the 1920s - a time of segregation and nearing the Great Depression. Our narrator is young Sarah Jean, Uncle Jed's niece; Uncle Jed is Sarah Jean's favorite uncle. Uncle Jed travels all through the surrounding counties to cut hair, all the while dreaming and saving for the day he will open his own barbershop. Times are tough, and most of his customers are sharecroppers, but he manages to save almost enough over a great deal of time. Then Sarah Jean gets very ill, needs an operation, and her family doesn't have the money. Uncle Jed gladly pays for the operation. And then the banks fail at the start of the Depression. He's lost everything.
He doesn't give up, though. It takes decades, but finally, the day comes when he's saved enough, and opens the shop - and it's exactly as he dreamed it would be. All his old customers, faithful for all these years, come to the grand opening. Sarah Jean, now a grown woman is there to celebrate and see the joy on her favorite uncle's face! Uncle Jed is now seventy-nine years old!!!
He never, even through all those years of struggling and hardship, gave up on his dream. He died shortly after - but he died a happy man.
|
|
|
Post by jonjon3168 on Nov 6, 2009 12:55:43 GMT -6
you guys ever read Moby Dick? i mean, the original. it's really hard to read in places because of the language. wow, how English has evolved over the last couple hundred years. but the book is really good.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Nov 6, 2009 22:35:25 GMT -6
I should have imagined it. There I was, twenty-some pairs of eyes on me, and when I got to the part of the book when Uncle Jed finally opens his shop, my voice started to crack. Tears welled in my eyes before I finished the page. All his old customers come and the tears start to fall. He twirls Sarah Jean in the barber chair and I'm in full sob mode. "Look!", I choked out, showing the picture to the kids, "She's a grown woman!" Sob, sob, sob.
"Uncle Jed died shortly after - but I think he died a happy man."
"Mrs. Phalon, are you okay?" one little girl asks.
"Y-y-y-yess", blubber, blubber, blubber.
For my next volunteer assignment, the teacher asked me if I can collect walnuts for a dying project. I guess she figures that won't involve too many tears. Except....I'll be taking food from the poor squirrels just as winter is setting in. Sniff. (eye-roll)
Yes, I read it in high-school. Or at least parts of it, although I don't remember many of the details. I probably cried.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 2, 2010 2:04:38 GMT -6
If you missed me, I was reading:
Atonement by Ian McEwan
and
Ransom My Heart by Princess of Genovia Mia Thermopolis (the main character in The Princess Diaries) & Meg Cabot
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 2, 2010 19:22:18 GMT -6
I should have guessed it, Joxie! I thought maybe you had another power outage due to winter weather. Christmas gifts, these books?
I received enough books for Christmas to keep me busy for a while.
I read "Joy in The Morning" by Betty Smith. A very sweet story of love that survives through all the adversities that the world can throw at a young married couple. The book was made even sweeter because of the note from a friend that came with it, saying the book was an old friend, like me. I loved it.
I also read the "best of" issue of GreenPrints - The Weeder's Digest, and the winter issue of the same. This was a gift to myself, a year's subscription. Oh! What a find! It's a quarterly digest devoid of glossy advertisements except for a few in the front and back. The rest are stories of people and their gardens - humorous, inspiring, and tear-jerking stories that made me reach for the tissues. I can't wait for the next issue - but Drat! It doesn't come until spring.
The other two books came in the mail from a friend. I couldn't believe it when I opened the box, and burst out laughing, given what I'd written here a few weeks ago...
"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"!!! By the one and only Jane Austen....sort of.
The other is "Julie & Julia". My friend said she didn't like it nearly as much as the movie, but I'm looking forward to start reading and see for myself.
I think it'll have to wait though...the library called Wednesday, and said the book I requested that they had to order from the Library-to-Library borrowing program is in. I hope it's still there Monday - I got the message late Thursday and they were already closed for the holiday weekend. Grrr to LX for erasing the phone messages before I hear them and then forgetting to tell me what calls I missed.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 4, 2010 17:56:03 GMT -6
Nopers, Phalon. My family isn't big on reading, so they don't buy books as gifts. I think my nephew and I are the only readers. Well, I think my niece would be too if she didn't have a 2 & 4-year-old to chase about. She loves the "Twilight" movies and I've offered to get her the books for Christmas, but she wouldn't be able to find the time to read them. I thought about getting her the audio versions until I priced them. Uh, nopers, don't thinks so. Maybe I can find the used ... Anyhoo.
The books above were in my TBR pile, and I haven't been reading much of late, I think the 17 books in 15 days while without electricity burned me out. And I'm just now wanting to catch up. I've got several big piles. Childrens/YA; Horror/Thriller; Romance; Non-Fiction I supply them even when I'm not reading from them, so they're quite huge. I'm hoping I can dwindle them down before getting them too far stacked. I really am going to need a eReader before too long.
Okay. My latest read:
Where Roses Grow Wild by Patricia Cabot (aka Meg Cabot)
It's a used book from Alibris.com ... I got all of her old ones some time ago, and after reading Mia's book I started on Meg's other ones. She does good historical romance, and I seem to be in the mood for them now. But I'm going to make myself read the Zombie "How-To" book next, whether I want to or not, so I can figure out how I want to handle the "Zombie Island" storyline. I could just leave them to drown, I suppose.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 5, 2010 23:04:56 GMT -6
Seventeen books in 15 days surely would have burned me out; I probably wouldn't have been able to see straight for days afterward.
My to-be-read stack is finally dwindling; including the two I got for Christmas that I haven't read yet, it's only nine books tall - four of which are short story collections, and I've read smatterings of each when I'm looking for something quick. My to-be-read list is a whole lot longer.
I can cross one off the list though. I finally got to the library to pick up the book they were holding for me. The title is "Farm City; The Education of an Urban Farmer. I read a review about it in a horticultural magazine, and it sounded hilarious....and just into the first few chapters, I definitely agree with the review. It's the author, Novella Carpenter's true account of her experience farming in the inner-city ghetto of Oakland, California. It's informative without being preachy (I hate preachy). But mostly it's funny...laugh out loud funny.
Historical romance, eh? That's one of my least favorite genres. I read one a month or so ago. It was signed to me by the author and everything. (eye-roll) A friend went to a book signing, and got it for me because she knew "I liked historical romance". She got the "historical" part right anyway. I like history, nonfiction, or historical fiction....and fictional history, which I insist should be an actual genre. The book was okay....it had to be; I stayed up past three am one night reading it. It took place in Michigan in the 1930s and I found the descriptions of the time more interesting than the romance.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 5, 2010 23:26:04 GMT -6
Yeah. I do have to be in the mood for them, otherwise I'd want to choke the heroines and then beat the daylights out of the men. And it's been a good while before I was able to read romance again after my parent's divorce and I learned my dad was a man-whore. I was their go-between, so I got an earful.
Meg's a feminist, so she has pretty strong female leads ... but she still has her women lose control around the one they're in love with, and that irks me to no end. I grew up being the shoulder of girls in school who got used, and I learned you don't lose control around boys or they'll take advantage with no conscious about doing so whatsoever. A lot of the girls were dating at 13 & 14, and I wasn't allowed to date until 16. So by that time I knew not to drink around boys or I'd lose more than the contents of my stomach.
Okay ... tmi.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 5, 2010 23:31:12 GMT -6
Too funny. That about sums it up pretty well - and they're all the same! Same basic plot anyway. Actually, Xena Sis only reads historical romance for that reason...she always knows how it will end. Happily, of course.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 5, 2010 23:38:09 GMT -6
Maybe that's what I'm wanting when I get in the mood for them. I'd never realized that before, but it makes perfect sense now. Cool. Thanks for the insight!
|
|
|
Post by EllieNeo on Jan 7, 2010 14:39:38 GMT -6
you guys ever read Moby Dick? i mean, the original. it's really hard to read in places because of the language. wow, how English has evolved over the last couple hundred years. but the book is really good. it's LOOOOONG!!! i got it on ephiny (that's what i named my kindle), am on chapter 75, and she's telling me that i'm only 56% done with it! how in the WORLD is this book that long... *grumbles* seems really good so far, but i dunno if i'll EVER finish it!
|
|
|
Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Jan 10, 2010 12:35:24 GMT -6
"I am really going to need an e-reader before long." I REAALLY recommend the Kindle. You can name it whatever you want, and that name pops up on the home page, where all your books are shown. (Mine is named "Callisto.") It can store like 1500 books and gets internet access. When I'm at work, I can even look in on Whoosh! to see if I need to post anything when I get home. Can't login on Whoosh!, but oh well. I can also check my email and update Facebook and read my comics. Also, you can change the text size! You can make it big enough to read from halfway across the room! Ok that's my two cents.
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 10, 2010 23:03:01 GMT -6
I might finally break down and get one, but I'm waiting for the price to come down. Or for a better product to come out within the next couple of years.
|
|
|
Post by Gabrielle On Nutbread on Jan 11, 2010 17:11:01 GMT -6
Waiting for something better than Kindle?!? PFFFT! You'll be waiting awhile!
|
|
|
Post by Mini Mia on Jan 11, 2010 18:00:45 GMT -6
I've no doubt I'll end up getting a Kindle ... but I'm a BAMM.com girl, and would like to continue buying from them after getting an eReader. Which I will from time to time, as there are Authors and book series I'll continue to get in book form.
Sorry, Jon: I've never read Moby Dick, and may never. I still haven't managed to finish "The Scarlet Letter" or any of the Jane Austen novels. The manner in which they're written just stymies me. I wish someone would update them for the present. And not the ones with Zombies, sea monsters, etc. I thought I might try reading the Jane Austen's out loud and see if hearing them might make them easier to understand. Most books in those times were written to be read out loud to family and friends, at parties.
|
|
|
Post by Phalon on Jan 13, 2010 8:27:11 GMT -6
We've mentioned annotated copies of the classics before, yes? I like this as a better option to gain understanding rather than rewriting them in order to update the language. I think a whole lot would be lost in the rewriting. Have you ever visited the website "The Literature Network"? Pretty cool site. They have almost 2,000 books, and nearly 3,000 short stories and poems by authors of classic literature - all available to read on-line, and it's free! You can sit down and read all of Pride and Prejudice right off the website. I go for the short stories and essays; I recently read "The Country of the Blind" by H.G. Wells because LX read it in English class and said she thought I might like it. Instead of going to the library for a copy, there it was on-line. It might be easier to get a better feel and understanding for the style and manner some of these authors write, Joxie, by starting with short stories or essays first, instead of the daunting task of tackling a novel. Here's the link: www.online-literature.com/
|
|