I load the YouTube video on my laptop and connect to our (not smart) TV with an HDMI cord. The TV does have to be new enough to have an HDMI port. This is also how we stream Amazon Prime videos/movies.

Yes, this is what I will probably do! And I will be more than content! The Liberty Bell is a definite. I doesn't look like we need advance tickets for that, though.

We have plans to spend a weekend in May in Philadelphia. We will have Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. I got timed tickets to Independence Hall for Saturday morning. What else would you recommend? I will be with DH and DS18. DH and DS18 are going to an event Saturday evening, and I will be on my own after an early dinner together. Thanks!

I have been reading, but not finishing much. I do have one book worth gushing about, and that is Alberta and Jacob. It was originally published in Norwegian in 1926. I'm surprised that it is not better known. I thought it was a beautifully written (and translated) novel about a young woman's life in the far northern portion of Norway. It is a turn-of-the-century classic, and part one of a trilogy. Alberta is a restless, shy young woman who wants to escape the life that is planned for her. Jacob is her extroverted, adventuresome younger brother. Five stars. I am also learning Dutch using the Jip and Janneke stories. Dutch children are very lucky to grow up on Jip and Janneke! I love them! --- @madteaparty If you scroll up, JennW posted her review of Milkman.

Welcome! Thanks for the link, that is a very nice Etsy shop. And I sent you a Goodreads friend request - a lot of of here are on Goodreads.

I also enjoyed this. Thank you for the reminder to reread it on occasion.

What happens after you accept an admission offer? Do you get a barrage of exciting emails and start applying for housing? Is there any real advantage to accepting sooner rather than later? Like a better choice of housing, maybe? What are best practices for declining an offer? I was thinking that he should send an email in addition to answering on the portal. Anything else to think about?

I am glad that you had a good experience. My experience with pawn shops is an unpleasant one. Once, I went to a pawn shop looking for my stolen jewelry. One piece was indeed there. So then I went around to all of the pawn shops in town (there were several) looking for the rest of my jewelry. No luck.

If you can work it out, you won’t regret it. I can all but promise!

Lucky me got to have lunch with @Quill today. In case you didn't see the thread, here is a link to her post with our picture in it.

Wow, you are fast! I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, and just got in, lol. Quill is just as interesting and nice in person as she is online. It was a lovely afternoon 🙂 Waving to Pen... Yes, we moved back 2+ years ago. You can mostly find me in the Book of the Week Threads, or occasionally on the College part of the forum.

I would dig deep. Goucher eliminated some majors this year (including math and physics IIRC) with a statement saying that there were not enough students in those majors to keep the status quo. I think that kids who were already enrolled in those majors will continue, but I would be mighty unhappy if that happened to me midstream.

Manatee sightings here, also!

Thanks, I knew somebody had mentioned it! I really need to do a better job remembering who-recommended-what.

I finished two books over the weekend: Lincoln in the Bardo, which I had as an audiobook. Loved the writing, loved the storytelling. It worked really well as an audiobook - there are so many characters and voices. Penguin has a nice Character Key to go with the audio version. I only looked at it once, but I did find it helpful. But it was a tough read - it punched me in the gut at times. It didn't help that I am grieving the recent loss of a friend. I had to put it aside for a bit. Also finished the mega-chunkster Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Finally! It seemed to go on forever, but in the end I feel like it was worth my time. The last 20% or so had a fast-paced, satisfying climax. At some point, I will watch the miniseries. I think it was @tuesdayschild who recommended it (?).

Not the best Dumas, but I rather liked The Black Tulip and I think a Dumas fan would like it.

YAY!! Love the photos, too 🙂

You made me curious - according to this article on Tor.com, many editions have edited the troublesome scene. Interesting.

The grand Sophy is the only G. Heyer I have ever read - I would like to know from others if it is a good representation of her work. It was a nice for a Flufferton, except that I unexpectedly encountered an icky, anti-semitic scene. I was jarred out of Flufferton zone, for sure. -- I am still working my way through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I've made it to the third volume - woot! It drags in spots, which almost always happens in very, very long books. But it is such a fun read. Very witty. But I needed a break and I have been listening to Lincoln in the Bardo. I only listen to about three audio books per year, so I am ultra-picky about them. I picked this one because of the multitude of voices /characters. I love the storytelling, but is a very sad book. I love old cemeteries, and now I want to visit Oak Hill Cemetery on one of our DC days, since it is the setting for this book. And I just read a new-to-me H.C. Andersen story, Gåseurten (The Daisy). It is also very sad! I'm talkin' Little-Match-Girl-style-sad.

@aggieamy I loved seeing your nook. And that quilt!! What a treasure! — This week: I am still reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell because it is long. I am still reading Anne Franks Dagbog because I read very slowly in Danish. I started watching the BBC’s Middlemarch miniseries on the plane, and I am really enjoying it.

Happy to see you back, @ErinE

Hi, all. I have some thread catching-up to do when I get back home! Yes, @loesje22000 and I had a GREAT day together. We went to some bookstores, and she helped me pick out some Dutch books. And then the museum that we went to was a book lover’s dream. It was filled with rare books and early printing presses. Of course, we had great conversation as well. My son is in grad school over here, and the week has flown by. I have managed some reading, mostly on transportation or before bed. I have been delighted by Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Susanna Clarke. I had read part of this years ago and set it aside for some forgotten reason. But not because I disliked it. So I am quite happy to be reading it again, this time planning to reach the finish line. It sure is a chunkster - I have seen page counts ranging from around 800 to over 1000, depending on the edition. The setting is early 19th century England, and magic has returned to England after hundreds of years. I am also reading Anne Frank’s diary in Danish (Anne Franks Dagbog). I have read this multiple times in English, so the Danish is easygoing. @Quill I too enjoy old self-help books, and Cornelius Hirschberg’s is one of my favorites. I reread his history chapter on occasion. He can be somewhat stuffy and sexist, but I found him likeable and he sure did accomplish a lot of self-education. Do you have any others in the genre to recommend?

VC, you continue to inspire me. When I went through my 2018 stats, my only real disappointment in myself was the percentage of books that were from the current century (about 60%). Considering that I had that same thought at the end of 2017, I gave myself a talking-to, but not a stern one because this is all for my own enjoyment. Well, if you read my comments below about Latin, you can see that someday I hope to have an abundance of really, really old books to read! @mumto2 I wanted to update you on my Latin class. I do hope I am not mis-remembering that you had asked me about the class back in early autumn. I love it! I'm not enamoured with the Cambridge books at all, but our instructor more than makes up for any deficits in the text. I signed up to take the Intro Level of the National Latin Exam in March. I am so so excited! My brain is like a sieve when it comes to mythology and history, so I am reading one of my son's books: The Original Dysfunctional Family for a mythology review. That title cracks me up. --- I finished my first book for 2019: The Sound and The Fury. It was a reread, but my first rereading was probably 20 years ago. I'm putting this one into my top favorite books ever. Anyone want to recommend my next Faulkner to me? I know I have read two or three more at some point in my life, but I don't even remember for sure which ones I've read.

OK, @Violet Crown, you just helped me pick my first Danish book of the year: Skæbne-Anekdoter by Karen Blixen (Anecdotes of Destiny by Isak Dinesen). Thanks! I read these stories in English a few years ago, and I really liked them. Ehrengard is not part of my book, alas. I will be eager to know what you think of it. Fun fact: I have never, ever seen her referred to as Isak Dinesen in Denmark.

I am currently rereading The Sound and The Fury with DS, and I remembered how much I love Faulkner. And Flannery O'Connor. And Eudora Welty. So much so that I needed to give them a category for next year. -- Below is my revision of my 10x10 plan. There will be plenty of overlap - I don't read 100 books in a year. 1) 1960s. I think I am the most excited about this category. 2) In Danish. I plan to make this the "Year of Reading Danishly." If I succeed in that but fail in all other reading goals, I will be content. 3) Non-Tropical Islands (Greenland, Faroes, Scottish Islands, Iceland, etc.) 4) Fantasy (broadly defined - includes myth, fable, fairy tales). I need to read some more Neil Gaiman before I hear him speak in May. 5) Good Catholic / Bad Catholic. I have spiritual angst. Not sure if this will help or hurt, lol. 6) Nordic 7) Poetry - full books, not dip-ins. #8) The American South. I thought about calling it Southern Gothic but I don't want to quibble (with myself) about whether or not a book is S. Gothic. I will add to my 50-states challenge through this category. 9) Around-the-world, a perpetual challenge. Planning to wander around Eastern Europe for a chunk of time. 10) Politics - Political theory, political philosophy, exiled poets. I am going to tackle On Politics: A History of Political Thought from Herodotus to the Present.