Author |
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Friday, September 17, 2004 - 4:23 pm
I love that bittersweet feeling of not wanting to finish a book because you'll miss the characters, but staying up late to read because you can't wait to see how it ends. I'm reading The Summer I Dared by Barbara Delinsky. It takes place in a lobstering village on an island in Maine. It begins with a fatal boating accident, and follows a survivor of this life-altering event. I can almost smell the salt air and hear the seagulls as I'm reading.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, September 17, 2004 - 4:49 pm
I read that recently, Mak. I loved it. It made me go out and buy 2 more of her books.
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Not1worry
Member
07-30-2002
| Friday, September 17, 2004 - 6:00 pm
Mamie, I recommend the other Jeanne Ray books too. I know there are at least 2 others, maybe more. If you liked Eat Cake, you'll love the others.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, September 18, 2004 - 10:16 am
I was going to look for those Not1. You and I always seem to like the same authors!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 8:46 am
I just couldn't finish Kissing Your Ex. It was jumpy and I honestly didn't care who this woman ended up with. I am going to start Shoot The Moon by Billie Letts now.
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 2:25 pm
I'm an avid reader! Thank all of you for all the good authors and titles to look for! This is my first post in this area. I'm reading Last Car to Elysian Fields by James Lee Burke now. I love his writing! There's such contrast in his books with his beautiful, lyrical descriptions set against the violent nature of the cases the detective handles. I also love Barbara Delinsky's writing!
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Not1worry
Member
07-30-2002
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 2:52 pm
I found a website that might be of interest to some of you readers, especially those who don't get to the library as much. It's www.booksfree.com and it's like Netflix for books. You select the books, they mail them to you, you read them and mail them back in the postage paid mailer. The basic subscription is $7.99 per month and you can have 2 books out at a time (that's not 2 books per month, just the amount you can have at home). They have other subscriptions too. Their website says they have 40,000 titles. I thought of it for my mom, who does craft shows all over the country. In the fall, she is gone 4 days out of each week and barely has time for laundry, let alone the library. But when the craft show traffic is slow, she likes to read and spends a lot of $$ on books. Hopefully this will work for her.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 5:08 pm
I just wanted to say a big welcome to Nino! It's good to have new people and let me tell you, you are going to love it here!
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 5:28 pm
Thank you Mamie!! I am already loving it here! I posted a super long list of books in Seamonkey's "books we've read" thread this afternoon! I am a long-time reader and love the idea of talking about books with others here! I'm totally blind, so I usually have to wait for a while to read the latest books. I get most of my reading material from the National Library Service Talking Book Division. I have access to some new releases via audio books, but normally I wait for the Library to get them recorded. Thanks again for the warm welcome!
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Mak1
Member
08-12-2002
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 5:55 pm
Welcome, Nino! It's great to have more members, and I'm adding Burke to my list (which gets longer almost every time I check in here). BB brought me to TVCH, too. Aren't you glad you peeked outside?
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Monday, September 20, 2004 - 7:23 pm
Thanks Mak1! Yes, I'm thrilled I peeked out! TVCH is such fun! Burke is wonderful! You must read the series in order, though! I've read the entire series so far. There's at least 10 books in the series.
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Daphnematthews
Member
07-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 4:52 pm
I'm in between the Ted Dekker series...I have read Black and I was just starting to read the second in the trilogy Red, so I would be finished reading when the third and final installment comes out this month or next (White) but then the library called and said the book I was on wait for when it came out came in, so I had to stop the Ted Dekker series. Right now I am reading the third installment of the Cape Refuge series by Terri Blackstock called River's Edge. I should have it finished this week to go back to catching up the Ted Dekker trilogy. I just love books that are in multi-installments continuing on with the same characters and where one installment leaves off. I'm eagerly awaiting the next legal beagle novel from Robert Whitlow.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 6:29 pm
Shortlist announced for the Man Booker Prize. I haven't read any of them: ManBookerPrize
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 6:31 pm
Nino -- I am curious -- if you are totally blind, how do you read the boards here? Is there a talking web browser? Thanks for indulging my curiosity.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 7:20 pm
Yankee, I haven't read any of them either. I don't even think I have heard of them.
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 4:04 am
Yankee, I have a screen reader with speech software. The voice sounds kind of like the one used on the weather radios (don't know if you've heard one or not). It's a male voice. Very easy to understand. The speech used to be awful until about 10 years ago. Now it's clear as a bell! I use a software called Jaws for Windows. Feel free to ask me any questions! Looking so forward to getting to know all of you!
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 2:19 pm
Hi Nino, welcome to TVCH and the Library in particular! I appreciate your explaining how you can read the boards here. What wonderful technology. I've been on a bit of a drama kick this past month or so. Alas, my library has a miniscule selection of modern works so I've mostly been re-reading old favorites such as August Wilson's The Piano Lesson and Gore Vidal's Visit to a Small Planet. I always enjoyed reading plays from my school books! Wish they made literature text books for general, i.e. non-student, readers - some poetry, some essays, and so on. That's what I want, a little variety! But I have picked up a dauntingly large book, Little, Big by John Crowley, to make up for all the short stories and wispy stuff I've been reading this year. Haven't started it yet but I will soon. Really, I will. Oh, and I've got two books-on-tape. Right now listening to Shopgirl by Steve Martin (read by the author). So far there's been some lovely turns of phrase but I haven't really been engaged by the story or the characters yet. Other than my realization that I automatically assumed the story was set in New York City but then wondered (correctly, as it turned out to be) if it was in Los Angeles. It occurred to me that other than the Tales from the City series, I can't recall reading any fiction books that were set in California. Why is that? Oh well. The other recorded book is called Enchanted Night. I was going to listen to this first but when I popped in the cassette I quickly realized that I need to listen to this story while stretched out in quiet, dark room, not while cruising down a sunny roadway, dodging somber buggies and being passed by manic pickups and SUVs.
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 3:31 pm
Hi Calamity! I agree with you wholeheartedly about wanting some old literature books to read. I'd love the variety, too. Believe it or not, I'm actually reading "The Diary of A Young Girl" by Anne Frank! I never completed it in school, and I should have! I'm about half through with it already. It's short. It's so sad, but Anne is such a joy!
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 11:10 am
Hi Nino: I have The Diary of a Young Girl on my reading list too. It's the revised edition, with additional entries that were left out when the book was first published. I read the original version years ago. Well, I'm getting more into the Shopgirl book. Martin has a keen eye for detail and, of course, is very witty but his narration is rather chilly. Oh, and I have thought of more California-set fiction titles that I've read! Still, there hasn't been as many as I'd expect. (Now if I included non-fiction books, plays, and such, well, then there's been quite a few more.)
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Nino
Member
09-20-2004
| Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 11:55 am
Calamity, a lot of the Dean Koontz books I've read are set in California, but it's hard to think of other ones. What kind of book is Shopgirl?
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Lkunkel
Member
10-29-2003
| Thursday, September 23, 2004 - 1:41 pm
I realized that I don't put in a lot of books that I am reading, since they tend to be spiritual in nature. But this one I think may be of interest: Spiritual Housecleaning: Healing the Space Within by Beautifying the Space Around You by Kathryn L. Robyn ($12.95). I am learning a lot about myself. In addition to discussing cleaning/home-keeping, there are assignments to do and things upon which to reflect. As the author says: "Each chapter will be roughly divided into three sections. One part will talk about the meaning of the area of the house in terms of sacred spacr. A second will take you through a thorough cleaning of it, healing the space. And the third will lead you through ways to let it heal you." I'm reading through first without doing the exercises, then going back and taking time with the answers--that gives my brain to process the answers more fully.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Friday, September 24, 2004 - 12:27 pm
Nino: I've never read anything by Dean Koontz. I'm usually a coward when it comes to scary stories. Well actually, it would be more accurate to say I flinch from books with graphic violence and gore and I've always had the impression that that was the type of books Koontz writes. Perhaps I'm mistaken. Hmm...I did almost read his Christmas book about Santa's evil twin. I do love holiday stories - be they sentimental, spiritual, sweet, funny, irreverent, or most especially, wondrous - but wasn't too sure about one that features an "evil" Santa, lol. Not sure what genre Shopgirl would be considered. It's a novella, told in the present tense. I haven't gotten to it yet but there's to be an unconventional romance between the title character and an older gentleman. Some of the writing is lovely but it really seems more like a detached collection of observations and commentary about LA and its inhabitants than a story. I can't help getting the sense from Martin's narration that he almost has pitying disdain for his characters and that makes it difficult for me to care about them.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, September 24, 2004 - 3:10 pm
I enjoyed Shoot The Moon and it kept me guessing who the killer was right up until the end. I started The Well Of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. It's the third book in the Thursday Next series. I just love them.
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Lkunkel
Member
10-29-2003
| Friday, September 24, 2004 - 3:57 pm
Mamie: Well was fun. I have those on my 15' of shelves, instead of letting DH store them on his!
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Friday, September 24, 2004 - 4:08 pm
Lk, have you read Something Rotten yet?
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