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Stacia

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Everything posted by Stacia

  1. I am tired of tees that are tissue thin (& I don't want to layer as it is too hot where I live to wear layers in the summer), skin-tight, unevenly sized (looking at Old Navy specifically as I find their sizing all over the place), and wear out/stretch/pill quickly. Every year I buy a couple out of desperation but they are never ones that I'm happy with. I've found shirts at TJ Maxx, Target, Old Navy, Orvis, etc..., but have never found 'the' white tee. Some believe in the perfect little black dress. Me? I believe in the perfect white tee. I'm beginning to think I'm on a quest for a unicorn. I'd love to find a decent weight (not see-through) white tee, maybe slightly fitted, crew or v-neck. I don't want lace or frilly edges. I also prefer more natural fibers vs. man-made ones. Bonus if I can order it online. Help! Please! :willy_nilly:
  2. TeacherZee, sending hugs. Hoping the docs will now be able to figure out what is going on & find some relief for you.
  3. I didn't remember her being mentioned there. But, I read it a long time ago (high school) & didn't like it at all at the time. Do you know of other places/books/accounts where she is mentioned?
  4. I didn't find it depressing or sad in any way. I think it exudes more of a feel of wonderment. I guess I mean that in the childlike eyes with which one views the world when in love. Sorry for all the individual responses. I'm on a touchpad & can't multiquote.
  5. Thanks, Kareni. I've read one of her books before (The Clockwork Scarab, her YA book featuring Sherlock Holmes' niece and Bram Stoker's sister as teens who help fight paranormal activity in a steampunky, Victorian London).
  6. I have started reading an author from the recent Man Booker nominee list: Maryse Condé's I, Tituba: Black Witch of Salem (winner of France's Grand Prix Litteraire de la Femme in 1986). From Library Journal: Btw, in the link I gave for Condé, it mentions that her book Windward Heights is a retake/retelling of Wuthering Heights. Mentioning it for those that are fans of Wuthering Heights....
  7. Woolf's suicide letter to her dh made me tear up also. I am glad I read Orlando the other week (but I am not planning to pick up another book of hers for this week's reading). Love the literary themed hotels. Wouldn't it be so fun to have tea at the Alice in Wonderland hotel? No real reading progress to report here. I did start a very short book (Varamo by Cesar Aira), but it's not striking my fancy. Normally, it might be the type of book that would, but I'm just not in the right reading mindset right now for whatever reason. I did run to a big fundraiser yard sale w/ my parents yesterday & ended up picking up C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet for 50 cents, so I guess I'm ready when that challenge rolls around. I do want to find something to read but I have no idea what I'm in the mood for. Life has been busy, hectic, & stressful at times & I feel like it has put me off my reading groove. I need & WANT to find it again. Sigh. :willy_nilly: 2015 Books Read: Africa: Rue du Retour by Abdellatif Laâbi, trans. from the French by Jacqueline Kaye, pub. by Readers International. 4 stars. Morocco. (Poetic paean to political prisoners worldwide by one who was himself in prison for “crimes of opinionâ€. Explores not only incarceration but also readjusting to a ‘normal’ world after torture & release.) Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotum, pub. by Unnamed Press. 4 stars. South Africa & Nigeria. (Scientists lured back home in a ‘brain gain’ plan to start up Nigerian space program. But, things go awry. Is it legit, a scam, or something more sinister?) Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor, pub. by Viking (Penguin Group). 3 stars. Nigeria. (YA fantasy lit in the vein of HP but with a West African base of myth & legend.) Under the Frangipani by Mia Couto, trans. from the Portuguese by David Bookshaw, pub. by Serpent’s Tail. 3 stars. Mozambique. (Murder mystery that ultimately examines the things that kill a people, a country, a place; told through a magical realism lens of the living & the dead, traditions vs. modern mores, colonization against freedom, & war facing off against peace.) Gassire’s Lute: A West African Epic, trans. & adapted by Alta Jablow, illus. by Leo & Diane Dillon, pub. by Dutton. 4 stars. West Africa, incl. Ghana & Burkina Faso. (Children’s poetic book [part of the epic of Dausi], telling of Gassire who gives up his noble lineage & warrior life to become a bard/griot.) Asia: The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami, a Borzoi book pub. by Alfred A. Knopf. 4 stars. Japan. BaW January author challenge. (Creepy campfire style story; thought-provoking ending made me rethink the entire story.) The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford, pub. by Crown Publishers. 4 stars. Mongolia. (Non-fiction. Even with gaps, fascinating pieces of lost &/or censored history.) Caribbean: The Duppy by Anthony C. Winkler, pub. by Akashic Books. 3 stars. Jamaica. (A duppy [ghost] relates ribald & amusing anecdotes of Jamaican heaven.) Europe: The Affinity Bridge by George Mann, a Tor book pub. by Tom Doherty Associates. 3 stars. England. (Entertaining steampunk with likeable characters.) Extraordinary Renditions by Andrew Ervin, pub. by Coffee House Press. 4 stars. Hungary. (Triptych of stories in Budapest touching on the Holocaust, racism, corruption, the power of music,…) The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, pub. by Scribner Classics. 4 stars. France & Spain. (Lost generation of post-WW1 expats living, loving, & arguing in France & Spain.) Kismet by Jakob Arjouni, trans. from the German by Anthea Bell, pub. by Melville House (Melville International Crime). 4 stars. Germany. (Tough Turkish-German PI in the middle of a turf war as a Croatian organized crime group tries to take over territory of Albanian & German mobs in Frankfurt. Darkly funny & nicely paced.) The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham, pub. by Penguin Books. 5 stars. France. (Interlinked stories of friends in post-WWI France as they move through life & each finds his or her own version of success.) Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss, pub. by Melville House. 3 stars. England. (Creepy, frivolous fun horror/mystery mash-up… and a cat who wants Daniel Craig to voice him if there’s a movie version.) Orlando by Virginia Woolf, pub. by Harcourt Brace & Company. 4 stars. England. (Woolf’s love letter to Vita Sackville-West; story of man/woman Orlando spanning over 300 years of English history. Wordy but redeemed by flashes of profound beauty & brilliance.) Missing Person by Patrick Modiano, trans. from the French by Daniel Weissbort, pub. by David R. Godine (a Verba Mundi Book). 4 stars. France. (After WWII, an amnesiac tries to piece together the people & events of his past. A lyrical, yet spare, examination of identity & history.) Middle East: The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone, pub. by Europa editions. 2 stars. Israel. (Noir detective tale re: jealousy. Ambiguous, unsatisfactory ending.) Goat Days by Benyamin, trans. from Malayalam by Joseph Koyipally, pub. by Penguin Books. 3 stars. Saudi Arabia. (Simple tale of enslaved Indian forced to herd goats in the Saudi Arabian desert.) North America: The Good Lord Bird by James McBride, pub. by Riverhead Books (Penguin Group). 5 stars. USA. (Sharp satire, historical fiction & folly, standing on top of heart, soul... & freedom.) No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, pub. by Vintage International. 4 stars. USA. (Spare & brutal tale of stolen drug money in Texas. Classic themes which are hard & beautifully-crafted.)
  8. From the pile of Man Booker authors I picked up, I'm starting to read the tiniest book ( :lol: -- when all else fails, reach for the thinnest book): Varamo by César Aira. I read a different César Aira book last year, The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira.
  9. NoseInABook, :grouphug: . (And I hope your dh gets books for you too!)
  10. I can see that being the case. Pilots are smart people. Even if they suffer from depression, they are also probably extremely aware of the damage that being pulled off the job can probably do to their career. I would imagine there are quite a few people who have not self-reported, in the interest of self-preservation (income, reputation, etc...). I'm speculating, of course, but with the stigma in society of 'mental illness' & 'depression', many people choose to hide it (people of any profession). I know there have been reports of medical excuse notes found, but no suicide note found. That also does not surprise me. I think that, to a certain extent, this had to be an act of opportunity. Perhaps the idea had entered his mind, but until the correct set of circumstances happened (being left alone in the cabin, flying over rugged terrain, etc...), he couldn't/wouldn't act. ??? The French prosecutor says that people only started screaming a few seconds before impact, implying they didn't realize anything until then. I would think, though, that unfortunately, many were aware there was a big problem for quite a few minutes beforehand. (I saw an article where Sully Sullenberger said the same thing -- that if the pilot was banging on the door, obviously people would realize there's a problem.) If the ax theory is also true, I would imagine that the passengers would have definitely known there was a problem in progress. :crying:
  11. I just typed 'canongate myths' in the main search bar (not even the advanced search page). ETA: This didn't bring up all the books they had from the series, though. The Pullman one was not categorized under it, even though they have a copy of it. I guess it's really rather hit or miss.
  12. Similar here. I found a few with individual searches, but it was much easier to find them by searching for the series. I'm not reading anything right now & have no idea what seems appealing at this point. Harumph!
  13. Hope you have a fabulous day!
  14. It does seem that this incident is changing those protocols for various airlines.
  15. I find it surprising that the French prosecutor has already determined that this is the cause, kwim? It seems, from photos & reports, that the plane was basically obliterated. The voice recording has been found (the basis of what the prosecutor announced), but the other black box (instrument readings, etc...) hasn't been found yet. How can he make such a firm statement so quickly? Perhaps they are correct, but I'm shocked at the speed with which they are announcing this as the cause. (Esp. because the prosecutor is not an aviation specialist.) The whole event is horrible, shocking, & sad.
  16. :seeya: Hey, I know that place! Have fun. Hope you've enjoyed the beach time. Ds & I really like Poe's Tavern. (Pssst. It's quite ideal to read The Gold Bug while there on the islands. :D )
  17. I need to check on the Man Booker guidelines. I know they changed it in the past year or two to be authors from anywhere (not just British subjects), but the list leads me to believe it's by author, not specifically for an individual book. I've read two of the authors listed -- Cesar Aira (a book I bought from Munro's bookstore in Canada last year) & Mia Couto (the book from Mozambique that I recently read). Anyway, based on the list, I picked up some books the library had on the shelf by Cesar Aira, Amitav Ghosh, & Maryse Conde. Maybe I will start one soon. Thanks for the Pynchon article. I haven't yet read Gravity's Rainbow. Hope I can understand it when I do get around to reading it! :lol: Well, at least you gave it a shot. Even though I ended up liking Orlando, I did have to make myself push through some parts. And, like I said, I'm not in any hurry to read more of her work. We had something similar recently too. At least ours fell under a non-emergency heading (which is good since it took them about a month to come make the repair).
  18. Beckster, :grouphug: . Job loss is scary & stressful. Melissa, :grouphug: . Maus, :grouphug: . Idnib, :grouphug: . TeacherZee, :grouphug: . (Hope you are finding some relief from your headaches.) Shukriyya, :grouphug: . Kim (because I saw a mention on a different thread), :grouphug: . :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:
  19. I'm here, so I'll post. :lol: I am also missing our BaW members that are off the ranch! Yesterday, while I was waiting at dance, I read more of Wolf in White Van (even though it's still the ebook & I said I was going to wait for the hardcopy). On one hand I like it, on the other hand, I'm finding it too sad &/or too stressful to read. So, even though I'm more than halfway through it at this point, I think I'm going to stop. The Guardian's review of the book ends with the sentence, And, I would agree. But beguiling as it is, I just can't take the sadness right now. Not sure what book I'll pick up at this point. I want something completely riveting (like No Country for Old Men was) or something completely fun. And, on an unrelated note, ds & I will get to see The Godfather on a big screen tonight as it is retro movie night at a nearby movie theater. :thumbup1: He's never seen it & wants to see it... and it is one that all good movie buffs should see, imo.
  20. I just started a thread too. Hope it brings double the good wishes!
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