| Author |
Message |
Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, January 01, 2012 - 6:47 pm 
TNT, I'm way into Wading Home: A Novel of New Orleans by rosalyn Story and it is very good!
I seem to have bought it for Kindle last February and it was free, but it is now $8.99. Lucky me.
(for those with Kindles, not lendable, it seems)
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, January 02, 2012 - 12:25 am
Finished and will be starting Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F Kennedy by Caroline Kenndey.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 9:54 am
I have "Wading Home" ordered at the library. It will go into my reading pile at the number four position!
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 10:01 am
I have that on my Kindle Tntitanfan. I really enjoyed it. Good read and really made me want to visit New Orleans and eat some red beans and rice!!!!!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 11:49 am
I liked it very much! It was sort of a mini-Treme revolving around one family.
Surprisingly just finished the Jacqueline Kennedy book.. wow, she (or he, hard to say) didn't think much of an awful lot of people and while hopefully she matured over the rest of her life she had quite the fifties vibe on women standing behind her man and such and opined that strong women who might actually aspire to manly action roles like being in office were probably lesbians. and other choice bits.
But at 61%.. I'm into notes, some of which are interesting.
Some nice pictures.
Still FF through the notes and browsing, so next book in undecided.
First book I've read on the Kindle Fire.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 5:43 pm
I was wondering if Jackie would have been so pleased that her daughter chose to release the interviews (from tapes) un-edited. She decided it would be more authentic and I agree, but I think some of the views expressed would have since changed.
--
Anyway, now starting another book about a through hike on the Appalachian Trail.. A Walk for Sunshine Third Edition: A 2,160 mile Expedition for Charity. Sunshine is a residential program where the author's brother, who suffers from CP and severe mental retardation, lives (or lived.. this hike took place in 1998 or thereabouts. I know he brought in $16,000 which facility used for adaptive equipment, such as communication devices, lifts and walkers. He also had most of his gear donated for the walk.
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Cablejockey
Member
12-27-2001
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 6:24 pm
I am reading a fascinating historical fiction by Phillipa Gregory called A REspectable TRade.
http://www.philippagregory.com/book/philippa-gregorya-respectable-trade/
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 7:22 pm
At a Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) program about a year and a half ago, we had a speaker who had hiked the AT five times and his wife - whom he MET on the trail - has hiked it four times. I think he said their dog was a three-timer.
He brought a lot of his gear for us to see how light it was, but they sure tote a LOT of stuff! They make up boxes of dried food, dog food, toilet items, etc. and mail them ahead to various towns along the way.
Apparently people who live along the Trail come out and invite people to come home with them for a bath or a meal or a night! Millinocket, ME, where I visited last July - and where Mak1 lives - is close to the mountain which is the northern terminus.
I am interested to hear about that book, Sea!
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 7:43 pm
Mt. Katahdin is the mountain referred to above. I went over to Travel Central and looked through my travel log of my trip. See how much I love you guys!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 9:28 pm
Do you have his name? Of course I've read only three accounts and two were by the Barefoot Sisters (they all have trail names) and one was when they went south (one completed the entire trail, southbound, while the other missed 200 miles due to injury) and the other book told of the "yoyo" where they turned around and went north for the entire trail.
Locals and others will do what they call "trail magic" which can include bringing out food, or facilitating hikers by dropping them at one point and carrying most of their gear to the next point that they prearrange, so they can move faster and of course bringing them to and from a town or hostel, or providing lodging or food. Mail drops (besides the post office), internet.
Love that they have journals in the various shelters along the way and many of them write in those.
The Sisters were hiking in 2001 and were still on the trail going north, almost done, when 9/11 occured and they heard the news on the trail. They had met some firemen on the trail earlier. So of course that affected them and at the time many of the hikers kind of wished to just stay out there.
Another hiker I read about in his book was Awol. Awol on the Appalachian Trail. David Miller.. he hiked north in 2003.
I LOVE reading about such hikes (Pacific Crest as well) and this book was on sale so I decided to "hike" again.
Another trail magic thing. At shelters and hostels there will be boxes where various hikers will discard items they don't want or have become too heavy (and many people start the trail and then quit), so these items are available to other hikers. The sisters made what they called hiker box stew out of odds and ends (one sister was quite a capable cook) for them and co-hikers when weather had slowed them all down and they were very low on supplies.
Several dogs appeared in these books too.
Barefoot Sisters: Southbound and Barefoot Sisters Walking Home by Susan Letcher and Lucy Letcher
(they went by Isis and Jackrabbit on the trail).
Since in this new book the hike was in 1998, I probably won't hear many familiar names.. even between 2003 and 2001 there was maybe one cross mention.
I see that David Miller's book is lendable on kindle and also free to borrow for a Prime member of amazon.
I see I was lucky.. while I paid full price around $9 for the second book, I got the first barefoot sisters book for free and it is now over $14.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 9:34 pm
Postscript on The Barefoot Sisters:
quote:In reply to an earlier post on Feb 9, 2010 7:12:45 PM PST
Susan G. Letcher says:
I guess the postscript is the life we're living now: myself (Susan; jackrabbit) with a doctorate in ecology, teaching study abroad courses in Costa Rica, and Lucy (Isis) as a visual artist with an MFA, living and working in Berlin. It's difficult, after we spent so much time together, to be living on separate continents. But each of us has taken our own path, following our interests into new adventures. The same could be said for the friends we met along the way: some of the couples have married, others split up; some of us have lost touch with each other, and some of us have reconnected after years. Our story is only one among many, and we're still living--though not (yet) writing--the sequel. I do have a blog, though the updates are very sporadic these days: http://lianawoman.blogspot.com.
(this from Amazon.com)
So I hope one or the other may write more about their continuing adventures.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 7:30 am
Very interesting, Sea! Thanks for sharing -
No, I don't remember the guy's name in VA. They have always hiked south to north following the warming - hopefully - weather up the trail. Our group hiked about a mile to a nearby shelter and left bottled water. I wished I lived nearer - I would love to help with the magic!!
If my back ever gets back to where I can hike for a while, there is a RS progrm in GA that hikes several different segments of the trail there, and I would love to do that!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 10:25 am
ORPHAN AT MY DOOR, by Jean Little. I would give this 11 stars out of 10!!! The author is amazing, the story is a real pageturner!
Her tone is that of a modern day Louisa May Alcott. Her books are primarily for older children and young adults and lovers of well written, compelling stories of any age. Her stories are softly gritty if there is such a thing. This fictional story takes place in Victorian times in Canada but is based on historical fact. A 12 year old orphan is sent from England to work in Canada for a family that has 2 sons and 1 daughter. The daughter is 11 years old, and the book is her 'diary' and the story is from her point of view getting to befriend the other gal who comes to work in her home. A major sub-plot is about finding the English girl's brother who was sent to work in another home, which we discover to be an abusive place, and whether or not they can rescue him.
It's compelling reading and I can't wait to read more of Jean Little's work.
Born in the 1930s, Ms. Little received the Order of Canada, (our highest commendation for citizens). And I discovered to my utter surprise that she has been legally blind her entire life and uses a talking computer to 'write' her books. I love that she doesn't shy away from gritty topics for the youth, but couches them in a gentle way. If I can turn at least one of you on to this wonderful author, I'd be thrilled out of my socks.
Once I get writing professionally again, I do hope to snag an interview with this amazing lady - if she's still around by then...
http://jeanlittle.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=53
Orphan At My Door
At the turn of the century, Dr. Thomas Barnardo, an English philanthropist, sought to give orphaned and abandoned children a second chance in the New World. These children — "Home Children" as they were called — came to work in Canada as farm labourers and domestic servants. Victoria Cope's family takes in a Home Child, a sad and quiet girl named Mary Anna. Victoria soon discovers the reason for Mary Anna's silence — she was separated from her younger brother. Victoria vows to help Mary Anna find her brother. As Victoria confides her hopes and fears to her "Dear Diary," she reveals herself as a born writer.
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Mak1
Member
08-11-2002
| Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 12:02 pm
That sounds like a great book, MameB!
Sea and Tnt: For another AT hiking experience book, I would highly recommend Bill Irwin's Blind Courage. He is the first, and still only, blind hiker to have completed the trail, with his devoted seeing eye dog Orient. It's an exciting, inspiring story. I attended a talk Bill gave several years after his hike. Orient had passed on by then, so there was a new dog with him. Nowadays, Irwin is a motivational speaker and proponent of a faith-based raw diet.
billirwin.com/home.html
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 6:41 pm
I had heard of him, probably in one of the books. His book isn't available for Kindle but I just clicked the link to request it. He's missing a huge audience!
I'm zooming along with the current book..
TNT, that would be a fun outing for you and some other foodie friends.. find a place to stay and cook near the trail and then go serve up a meal near the trail. You'd meet tons of fascinating smelly people.. of course you would want to get some info on the best time to do this, when lots of through hikers are out and about.
You'd have to be up in the Smokies or thereabouts but there are much worse places on earth, right?
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, January 06, 2012 - 4:10 pm
Gracious, I may never get back to my cozy mysteries!!
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, January 06, 2012 - 5:12 pm
Struck out at the library site tonight as we don't have -
An Orphan at My Door
Blind Courage
A Walk for Sunshine nor either of the
Barefoot Sisters books
I did order A Respectable Trade!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, January 06, 2012 - 8:19 pm
That's too bad, TNT! I'm sure enjoying my time on the trail  I'm basically done with A Walk for Sunshine, just reading stuff at the end of the book and then I can move on.
OK.. starting Best Foot Forward: A 500 Mile Walk Through Hidden France by Susie Kelly. A freebie
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 6:04 am
Started "Stars of David" last night - this is going to be a slow read as I found I wanted time to ponder each contrbution -
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 10:33 am
Has anyone read Armageddon: A Novel of Berlin by Leon Uris? I'm less than a third of the way through it, and I feel like I'm wading in a see of Army files. If the story picks up (they aren't even in Berlin after 35 chapters), I'll continue. If not, there are too many good books out there, and I'll put it aside for now.
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Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 12:22 pm
I just read A Young Wife by Pam Lewis and really didn't care too much for it. I'm now reading The Kingdom of Childhood and I can't think of the writer's name. It's about a teacher who has an affair with a 17-year-old.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 4:21 pm
Teach, I'm pretty sure I read it, but it would have been years ago. I'm sure I finished it, but that isn't saying it will suddenly grab you.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 6:33 pm
In general I like his long, historical novels. I think it's just all the army paperwork that keeps getting "quoted" that is boring me to tears.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Sunday, January 08, 2012 - 8:24 am
I recentl listened to a book on CD called "Room." Has anyone else read it or heard it? I would LOVE to hear someone else's take on it -
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, January 08, 2012 - 10:18 am
I listened to it last year, and I loved it! The narrative voice of the young boy made the horrors more spectacular because he never understood how awful they were. It was heart-wrenching, sweet and powerful.
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