It's not just commercials. Television programming, in general, and especially sitcoms and comedies, portray not only white men, but all men as being stupid. Not only that, but more and more portray adults as that way, and it's the children who come in to save the day. :huh: :confused: :mad: That irritates me to no end. :glare: Thanks for the link! I have several of those on my tbr list, and can see a few more to add. :D Thank you, SunnyDays for the link and your thoughts. I guess, if I were to use the word feminism to mean only that I believe men and women should have the same basic civil rights, then, yes, I would be a feminist. When you start telling me that I have to hate men, and manliness, you've lost me (obviously not you, SunnyDays, but the general you). I love men, especially MY man. :lol: I love how my femininity complements and strengthens my dh's masculinity, and vice versa. Angel, maybe that is what you mean by completing each other? Can I stand on my own? Yes. Can he stand on his own? Yes. Do we stand 1,000 times better together? Absolutely. I think that is where the breakdown happens. Believing that men and woman have the same rights and freedoms is completely different from the mentality that women can do anything men can do, only better, and not only that, but you don't even need a man. I think that is a relational issue, and does not have anything to do with rights and freedoms. Stacia, I've started The Devotion of Suspect X (30 pages in), and so far I'm liking it. It is going to be interesting to see how they decide to handle the crime, and how the investigation goes forward. Also, I'm not too far into If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, but I have been really enjoying it. I'm so glad I have it on my Kindle, because I have been highlighting whole chunks of it. Gah!

Enjoying the discussion. Unfortunately, the word feminist only invokes images of the men-hating variety. I agree with Rosie in that I need to be more educated, but from the little I have read, it just really isn't something that interests me. (I did read the links she provided. I still don't get it. :huh: ) That might qualify me for being kicked out of womanhood, but there it is. Right now I'm suffering from to-many-books syndrome. :willy_nilly: I think I have about six books I want to read right this minute, and I can't settle down to a one of them. *sigh* What a dilemma.

Last week I finished up The Lunatic, and In a Sunburned Country. I really enjoyed both. The Lunatic was really funny the first half of the book, and then the hilarity kinda died down, and the plot came together for a nice ending. Here is my review of In a Sunburned Country: Very enjoyable. Whenever I listen to, or read, Bill Bryson, I immediately want to go where he's gone and see what he's seen. Now if only those plane tickets to Australia weren't so darned expensive. This week, I have started listening to The Rowan, by Anne McCaffrey. It is one of my 5/5/5 books in the category of sci-fi/fantasy favorites. I plan on joining in with the Inferno RAL. I also started reading If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, which I think will fit into the winter reading challenge, and the around-the-world challenge for Italy. I find I'm having a hard time getting into the rhythm of If on a Winter's Night a Traveler. Just when I start to get into the story, the narrator starts talking directly to me again. It is going to be an interesting ride if that keeps up. I don't think I'm quite ready to totally leave Japan yet, as I still want to read The Devotion of Suspect X and The Sound of Waves. The Roundup: 1. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle 2. The Winter Ghosts, by Kate Mosse (winter challenge) 3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami (around the world challenge, Japan) 4. 360 Degrees Longitude, by John Higham (5/5/5 challenge, travelogue) 5. Ring, by Koji Suzuki (around the world challenge, Japan) 6. Spiral, by Koji Suzuki (around the world challenge, Japan) 7. The Lunatic, by Anthony C. Winkler (around the world challenge, Jamaica) 8. In A Sunburned Country, by Bill Bryson (5/5/5 challenge, travelogue)

That got me curious, so I went and looked at my list on GR from last year. 27 out of 57 were male, so ruffly 48%. Yeah, I think that is a pretty good representation of my bookshelves as well. Of course, now I am going to have to go count and see. :D How fascinating.

I want to join in on the Dante's Inferno read-a-long. What is the best translation available for Kindle? Also, who are your favorite Italian authors? I need some suggestions for our next country. :bigear: Hm... This post seems a bit austere. This calls for fluffy kittens! [edited to remove picture] ETA: I found a translation by John Ciardi, Allen Mandelbaum, and Mark Musa. Are any of these good?

Good question. I've never given it much thought. Looking at the bookshelf closest to me, I seem to have a good mix of male and female. Music on the other hand... I definitely lean towards male singers. :D So thankful that you got good results at the doc today! :thumbup: Glad you had a wonderful day with famly, too. Your dd13 sounds like a lot of fun. She and my dd8 would probably get along, as I can so see her saying something like that. LOL

The name of the piece is Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California (1865) by artist Albert Bierstadt. Here is short article about its history. Oh my goodness, yes! She is the perfect Selma. LOL I know what you mean about the book, overall, though. It was nice, but just didn't seem to be as good as some of her other books. Even still, I'm looking forward to her next book, whenever she writes it. I'm sorry Little Women isn't grabbing you. I loved it when I read it last year. Of course, I was listening to it during a 13 hour car trip, so that helped with my attention, I think. I don't know if I would have stuck with it if I were just reading it whenever. I would probably do the same as you. Same goes for The Swiss Family Robinson. It's amazing what you can get "read" on long car trips. LOL

While do enjoy portraits, I seem to gravitate more to landscapes. One of my favorite paintings happens to be in our museum here in town. It is huge, and I could sit in front of it for hours imagining all sorts of things. I can't quite describe the feelings in my being that this painting inspires in me. Love just isn't big, or encompassing, enough. [edited to remove picture] I will definitely have to put some of these art related books in my tbr list.

Oh, I'm really scared!! [edited to remove picture] Here's a book for you, Stacia. You might need it. [edited to remove picture] :rofl: On a side note, I've read Freakonomics, by Stephen J. Dubner, and really enjoyed it. (Notice he is the one who wrote the Foreword of the gang book.) (Maybe I should stop posting so late at night. Why am I still up, anyway???)

Another for being alive: Ephesians 2:1, 5 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins; even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) One for being complete: Colossians 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. A child of God, joint heir with Christ: Romans 8:16-18 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also e glorified together. Reconciled with God: Romans 5:11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Member of God's household: Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God Picking three is too hard! LOL

Until Stacia decided to incite discord and suggest we should split up into gangs! [edited to remove picture] :lol:

The tour sounds lovely. Very adventurous. I wish we could travel. Doc Martin :001_wub: I love the setting, too.

I'm still trying to finish up The Lunatic. I'm 70% in, and this half of the book doesn't seem to move as fast, or be as funny. Did the book lag in the middle for you, Stacia?

Yes, of course. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2011. She has been cancer free for a year(?) now, and Lost Lake was the book she had started before the diagnosis. ETA: SunnyDays beat me to it. :)

It's kismet! Yes. It's called a Book Hangover. :D [edited to remove picture] [edited to remove picture] [edited to remove picture] Well, reading more was wishful thinking. I've been busy bundling up kids, stripping kids, throwing iced clothes in the dryer, rebundling kids to go back out in the snow, wash, rinse, repeat... Not a whole lot of reading going on. LOL The girls have had a blast though. My snowbunny stuck in the South has been a happy camper these past couple of days. I was able to get an advanced copy of Lost Lake, and I can say that I don't think you will be disappointed. I don't think it is her best (I love The Girl Who Chased the Moon), but after what she's gone through, it is a very strong comeback. I hope you enjoy it!

Because of this thread, I started watching Pasta. Oh my gosh! I love it! I'm supposed to be working on my to-be-read pile over in the Book A Week thread, but I can't stop watching this show every spare minute I have. LOL

How exciting to have met the author! My memory about this book was my 5th grade english teacher reading it aloud to us. The whole class would be on the edge of our seats, and beg her to keep going.

Well, it isn't really about the war, but it definitely goes along with reading about it. I love this book. [edited to remove picture]

Well, since the snow has started here, I guess we will be having a snow day and a school night. Once the girls saw the first flake, all thoughts of math, grammar, and ancient India went out the door with then. :) Ah, well. More reading time for me. Hehe!

I finished Spiral last week. Here is my Goodreads review: "Hm.. I'm not really sure what I think of this. I have given it 3 stars mainly for the first third of the book. The beginning started out strong, and very readable, especially compared to the choppiness and extremely simple sentences of Ring. (I wonder if the translation of Ring is a poor job, or the way Suzuki writes. This book makes me lean toward the former.) I like that it starts out as a medical thriller, but, as others have said, the code breaking, science book pages, and total rehash of Ring really bogged the story down. For me, the last third of the book was just too much to ask me to believe, and even more so the epilogue. I'm usually very good at joining the author in their world, and can easily suspend my disbelief, but this was just too much. If I think too much more on the ending, I'm going to take another star away, so I'll leave it alone now. Actually, the third star stays because the ending does make me want to read Loop to see what in the world Suzuki does with the scenario he set up. Here's to hoping it all comes out in the wash, though the blurb on the cover flap doesn't give me much hope." I just didn't feel like diving into the next book of the series, Loop, so I decided to read The Lunatic based on Stacia saying it was so funny. I've only been able to read about half of it so far. Goodness! it is a very ribald book, so fair warning. LOL There have been several times that I have had to put it down because I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep reading. Thanks for the recommendation, Stacia! Once I finish The Lunatic, I'm not sure if I want to pick Loop up, or read another book I've got in my stack called The Devotion of Suspect X, by Keigo Higashino. I think I want to read one or two more books from Japan, and then I will be ready to move on. When do we move to the next country? I'm also still listening to In A Sunburned Country, and am enjoying it a lot. The Roundup: 1. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle 2. The Winter Ghosts, by Kate Mosse 3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami 4. 360 Degrees Longitude, by John Higham 5. Ring, by Koji Suzuki 6. Spiral, by Koji Suzuki

What I grew up eating at least five nights a week: Roast Potatoes Pinto beans Cornbread I always crumble up my cornbread and put the beans, with plenty of bean juice, over my cornbread. That's the only way to eat pintos right. ;) (Jk, I love them refried, in soups, chili, with rice... I love pinto beans.)

2 pages already! O_o Can't post more than this till tomorrow, but wanted to comment so I could find it fast when I can. Don't have too much fun without me! :D

I don't know about other parents, but I'm homeschooling because of my own experiences in the public school setting. Probably add a little of my brother's experience in for good measure.

My dd10 loves Cake Boss, Good Eats, Mythbusters, and a show on PBS called Ruff Rufman.

I love The Night Circus. It definitely had me up at nights. Who are the authors for the Hidden series and Moonstone?