Unfortunately the touring of Hamilton is extremely limited. Although there are supposed to be cities added so far the closest it will come to Central Florida is an 8 hour drive to Atlanta. If there were numerous cities planned for the tour I would go along with the idea that people should see it in the theater, but it's exclusive to only a few cities in a few areas of the country. I wouldn't even care about seeing the Broadway cast - I'd be happy with a cast of good touring actors.

I didn't realize that social justice is used as a term of derision, though I live in an area where it could be used as such. I'm going to keep my ears open and see what I can learn. We were Methodists until we let go of belief. While there is a set of core beliefs within the United Methodist Church (UMC), some are more conservative or liberal than others. We belonged to a liberal church and I think if we were still believers we'd still be happy there. Social justice is an important part of both the conservative and liberal congregations. If UU doesn't work for you (speaking to Greta), UMC might.

Do you mean lists for the challenges or to-read lists in general? In general - When I first started using Goodreads I used it mostly to keep track of books I wanted to read. I'd often hear about a book and make a mental note that I want to read it, then promptly forget. With Goodreads, I'd add a book as soon after hearing about it as I could. I belong to a monthly IRL book club, so there are automatically 12 books I'm going to read for the year even though I don't know the titles in advance. I try to read all of the books, mostly because I like our meetings and feel bad going if I didn't read the book. :) I only started making an annual list a few years ago. I found I was reading mostly classics and mysteries and wanted to branch out. I also found that I would often tell myself I want to read a certain book this year, but never get around to it. When I first made my list I gave myself just a few must-reads. I would list one literary fiction, one non-fiction (I was trying to read more non-fiction), one classic, one biography, autobiography or memoir, and one or two of those books I kept meaning to read. I always tried to keep my list realistic (and still do). I knew I needed to leave time to read the book club monthly choice, and also left room for books I might hear about along the way and want to read. I like having a combination of a list to follow with room to let my reading choices happen organically. Once I joined in the BaW threads, my to-read list started growing and growing and growing. It's still growing. For the challenges - I don't always participate, but when I do there are several ways I find books for a challenge. -A few threads ago Rose said she's going to try and get her bingo choices from her to-read/dusty books and I liked that idea. I plan to look through my TR list and see if any will fit some of the categories. -Sometimes someone here will recommend a book for a certain category or challenge and the book looks good, so I copy them. No one minds. :) -Occasionally one of my IRL books ends up fitting one of the challenge categories. -I also like to browse in bookstores and the library, as well as Amazon, Overdrive, and Goodreads. -If I decide on one book for a challenge but a different one appeals to me more, I allow myself the option to change.

:lol: The library in general and Overdrive in particular are my friends. Thanks. I'll take a look at these suggestions. I love being able to download samples to my Kindle. For those without an ereader, the "Look Inside" feature is the same thing.

There was a time when he said it would be recorded because he wanted everyone to have a chance to see it and he understood that not everyone can get to see a play. I guess he changed his mind.

They do count for BaW. I used to think reading was superior to listening to a book but have since changed my mind. Both are valid ways to "read" a book. I knew a homeschool family years ago and the mom told me they all had learning disabilities of some sort. If it wasn't for audio books she said, her kids would not have knowledge of the classics. They listened to many books as a family, plus each family member had their favorites they listened to on their own. I don't think you have to have a learning disability or vision problem to justify audio books, but talking with her made me rethink the validity of audio books.

So many of your authors listed are favorites of mine too - Elizabeth Gaskell Jane Austen George Eliot Anthony Trollope Charles Dickens (though I wouldn't call his novels Flufferton, lovely, or particularly easy reads) Shakespeare (same as Dickens) I want to like Graham Greene but I think I started with the wrong novel of his. Last year I tried to read The Quiet American, but I was bored. I keep meaning to try something else.

In my small sample size, the only people I know who converted to Judaism were married to a Jewish person and chose to convert. Most of the converts weren't strongly religious to begin with, but one that I know was (or thought he was) a devout Christian.

No. Only when I go out of the house, which isn't every day. I don't wear much - some concealer, tinted moisturizer, and a little blush. When I wear my contacts outside the house I wear mascara because I think my eyes look weird when they're not hidden behind glasses. That's what happens when you wear glasses for years - you look strange without them. :lol:

I've been playing it at home on the Echo.

To all the newbies feeling overwhelmed/intimidated: I think most of us felt that way when we first joined, with the possible exception of those who were here when Robin first started these threads. I can guarantee the following. -No one will judge you for your choice of books. -No one will judge you for how few or how many books you read. -No one will judge you for your reading speed. -You will definitely expand your reading horizons. You'll find authors, titles, and genres that you never thought you'd read. You'll find books in genres you already like.

Two votes for The Circle as my dystopian choice, so I'm going with that. :) The term came about as an extension of Downton Abbey - Flufferton Abbey. I don't recall the exact definition but I think it involved period costumes and certain manners/expected behavior. From there it kind of branched out to comfort reads, which are different for everyone. I do agree with you that Austen and Gaskell aren't light and fluffy, but that's because I read the social satire in their novels, not just the romance. However, for some people that's their Flufferton. ETA: AggieAmy coined the term, so she can give you a better description/definition.

I'm not big on science fiction, but The Circle looks like something I could read. Goodreads and Wikipedia list it as sci-fi, Amazon doesn't. Steampunk and dystopian are also going to be hard for me. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was called steampunk in a previous thread and I think I can read that one. Dystopian is the only one I'll have to work hard at finding a title. (I already read The Road, Station Eleven, The Hunger Games series, The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx and Crake, and Stephen King's original The Stand).

Oh Butter, that's so sad. :grouphug:

I choose one nearly every month, but I haven't read all of them. There have been a few months recently where none of the books looked good to me. When I got my first Kindle 5 years ago, I went crazy with free books. I soon learned that many of them weren't worth the "price" and I stopped gobbling up free ebooks (except for classics). I'm much more selective now, even with programs like Kindle First. 1. It's okay. Breathe. :D People really do read at their own pace here. 2. Yes, sorry. That's pretty much been the bingo rule, unless I misunderstood it. 3. I'm not a fan of westerns but am going to try True Grit. 4. Flufferton is in the mind of the reader. My flufferton is the cozy mystery. I would think Cranford fits. However, Amy (aggieamy) got me to read and actually enjoy a Georgette Heyer by sending me two of her books. She's sneaky that way. ;) I'm still reading the second one, but if you are interested I'd be happy to send you The Grand Sophy. I'm a firm believer in books are meant to be shared. If you want to pm me your address, I'll drop it in the mail when I get a chance. 5. Just free. You don't need to fill it. At least I think that's how it works. 6. Those would definitely count! There are weeks where someone (ahem) will post "still working on <title of same book she's been reading for 3 weeks>" I don't remember my mother reading to me. She said she did, but by the time I was old enough to remember things, she was already working and often worked nights (as a waitress). However, I can't remember not being a reader. My mother said I more or less taught myself and could read before I started school (I don't remember that either). I read to my brother because was usually babysitting him while our mother worked nights. (Please don't pick Green Eggs and Ham AGAIN!). He's not a reader. Ds read a lot when he was younger and into his early teens. He stopped around 16 when he discovered online games. :( I hope he'll eventually go back to reading. I wonder if it's the same with other tablets? I alternate between reading these threads on my laptop and on my tablet. I might have to test it one day soon. :) It will slow down. Some here read really fast. Some who were here in 2016 finished a book in 2017 that we were already reading. I posted yesterday that I finished a book, but the truth is I only had 2 chapters left in it. So I didn't already read a book - I just finished one that was in progress. I'm probably not the only one. I read the following for book club: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Salvage the Bones While neither were "can't put down", they both did keep me reading past the time I should have stopped. Okay, that's can't put down, right. :lol:They aren't great literature, but they did keep me wanting to find out what happens next. Another good one is All the Light We Cannot See. I read several others on that list, and while liked most (didn't like The Time Traveler's Wife - another book club book), I was able to put them down. I'm selective too, and would rather miss a goal than read just to meet a number. I tried reading a bingo square book (your name in the title) but the writing put me off. I hope I'll find another one for that category, but if I don't that's okay.

I'm fine with that and I'm also fine with we don't know yet but scientists are working on figuring it out. Maybe we'll know someday (not in my lifetime); maybe we'll never know. Not knowing does not automatically equal any specific god. I was raised in mainstream Christianity. First social justice Catholic, then later very similar United Methodist. It was all lovely. As a Methodist I started doing something that was actively discouraged to a Catholic growing up in the sixties - I started reading the Bible. Yep. I went to the source. And the more I read, the more I questioned. No one drove me away. I did meet creationists for the first time when we started homeschooling, and I learned that the Christian God didn't belong to my political belief system, but it was actually reading the Bible that opened my eyes.

All of these "where did morality come from?" questions can be answered by evolution. Murder? Bad for the tribe. The murderer is punished or removed from the group. Stealing? Not as bad but still bad for group cohesiveness and therefore punished within the group. There is an entire discipline of secular scholars who study this very thing. A deity isn't (and was never) necessary to "teach" people right from wrong. Societies worked it out themselves. We're still working it out (evolving) in many of these areas. I think a god that doesn't condemn slavery or rape would be pretty horrible. That god is the one in the bible.

I'm aware of how monotheistic religions work. I'm not sure if you missed my point or chose to ignore it.

Finished my first book of 2017 - Best. State. Ever. A Florida Man Defends His Homeland, Dave Barry. The important takeaway is that most of the craziness is initiated by people who came here from other states. States that think they have the right to make fun of us. Started - Doctor Thorne, Anthony Trollope - I don't think this will fit in a bingo square or any challenges, but I started reading the Barchester Chronicles last year and this is the next one. Angela - Sorry to hear about your sick household. I hope the baby and dh are feeling better soon. :grouphug: Kareni :grouphug: Welcome to all the BaW newbies, to those trying again, and to the usual gang!

It looks very different and rather odd (okay, weird and creepy) once you're on the outside. I don't know what Christianity looks like to those of other religions or those who were always atheist, but as a former Christian I sometimes scratch my head and wonder how I once swallowed it all.

:iagree: The difference between believers and atheists is that atheists don't make an exception for just one particular deity out of thousands.

I should have finished the whole thread, then I would have multi-quoted you. But no, there is no actual evidence. None.

No, there is no actual proof of any god or gods.

I just wanted to say Happy New Year to all! And thank you Robin, for once again taking on the running of these weekly threads.

Actually, I think there would be a lot fewer angry atheists and anti-theists if people with religious beliefs weren't pushing so hard. The dominant belief permeates all aspects of society, including laws. Those who belong to the dominant belief system often don't see it, but those who are either atheists or of a different religious system do. I don't try to convince anyone that there are no supernatural beings and I really don't care who believes in them. It's only when I see it pushed on me or on society that I push back. We see it most often in relation to sexual orientation but there are other less obvious ways it's there. For example, every public school ballgame around here starts not only with an invocation, but with a Christian invocation. As I said upthread though, my family and friends who are religious are live and let live believers. I've never tried to deconvert them any more than they've tried to bring me back.