Robin M Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Happy Sunday dearhearts! We are on week 51 in our quest to read 52 books. Welcome back to our regulars, anyone just joining in, and to all who follow our progress. Mr. Linky is all set up on the 52 books blog to link to your reviews. The link is in my signature. 52 Books blog - winter solstice: Winter officially arrives here in the Northern Hemisphere with the Winter Solstice on Tuesday, the 22nd as well as Christmas on the 25th, marking the beginning of our Winter Reading. This is also the beginning of our two week break from lessons for which I am quite thankful. Time to curl up with a good book or two or three, amidst preparations for the new year and another round of 52 Books. Yes, we are doing it all over again. Did you have any doubts? Click here for the 2016 52 Books in 52 Weeks announcement and I'm Participating link on the 52 Books blog. Yes, I created 52 Books Bingo but forgot to mention it in the official post. As the solstice ushers in winter and summer, it also present a turning point. Synonyms that come to mine are apogee, crown, rise, crest, pinnacle, summit, pitch and zenith. Winter brings cold, frost, chill, white, snow, rain, freeze, brisk, gloves and ice to name a few. What do you think of when it comes to Winter or summer if you are in the Southern Hemisphere? Christmas brings gifts, cheer, family, birthday, blessings, faith and yuletide. Peruse your stacks and choose a book about the solstice, Christmas, Winter, seasons or any related words and synonyms in the title. Happy Winter and yuletide greetings from my house to yours. ******************************************************************* History of the Medieval World Chapter 75 - New Found Land Chapter 76 - Schism Chapter 77 - Danish Domination ****************************************************************** What are you reading this week? Link to week 50 Edited December 20, 2015 by Robin M 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 Yes, I was a slug this morning but awake now and lots to do today. I'm currently reading #5 in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series "the Fires of Heaven" Took a time out with The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Anne Noble with was a really sweet story. Totally loved it and hope she writes more books. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) For those who don't go outside the forum, here's our 52 Books Bingo. I think we'll work for cultural virtue points. Haven't exactly figured out the point system yet, but so many points, gets a prezzie (small one, bookish one, but a prezzie, none the less) Eek - has a misspelled word - download pdf from next post Edited December 20, 2015 by Robin M 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) What fun! I love the bingo. I printed it out and made myself a little bingo form - nerd out! I wrapped up one year-long read this week, The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell. Lovely book. It has dated entries, each an observation of the same spot in the forest, made throughout the year, and digressions on topics in botany, zoology, ecology, and natural philosophy. Shannon and I read it together, each entry on its date (or close to it). It was wonderful. Books completed in December: 185. Gilgamesh: A New English Version - Stephen Mitchell 184. Why Didn't They Ask Evans - Agatha Christie 183. Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair - Anne Lamott 182. The Passion - Jeanette Winterson 181.The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature - David George Haskell 180. Gilgamesh the Hero - Geraldine McCaughrean 179.Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates 178.Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End - Atul Gawande 177. The Turn of the Screw - Henry James 176. The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century - Steven Pinker 175. The Sense of Wonder - Rachel Carson 174. Anno Dracula - Kim Newman 173. Journey to the River Sea - Eve Ibbotson Edited December 20, 2015 by Chrysalis Academy 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negin Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I read The Japanese Skin Care Revolution - 4 Stars - Skin care fascinates me. As a former esthetician, I love reading up on all that, but only as far as things that I can do myself: exfoliants, masks, massages, facials, and so forth. I’m in my late 40s and would definitely prefer to avoid botox, lasers, and any form of cosmetic surgery. Although a friend ran into me in the other day and suggested that I might want to try out someone she knows for botox in a few years. How about "no"? :lol: I’m not into that sort of thing at all. I think there comes a point when it starts to look fake, artificial, and a bit silly. I figure that we’re all going to get old. There’s only so much one can do before it starts to look like you're trying too hard. Besides, what's so bad about getting old? Every day is a gift. I’m more natural, the sort that wants to embrace aging. Not to judge others at all, but I don’t even dye my hair (only use henna for now) and I don’t wear make-up (does tinted lip balm and the occasional tinted moisturizer count?). I struggle with rating this book, since I haven’t yet attempted to do what she suggests. I definitely won’t be able to do everything since it seems quite time-consuming, but I would like to do some. I think I’ll have an easier time searching for some videos on You Tube. I’m more of a video person. In fact, I wish that this book was in DVD format as well. I’m glad that I have it since it is very informative. Yet for now, following her routine, which seems a bit daunting at the moment, has just turned into one more thing that I need to get done on my to-do list. MY RATING SYSTEM 5 Stars Fantastic, couldn't put it down 4 Stars Really Good 3 Stars Enjoyable 2 Stars Just Okay – nothing to write home about 1 Star Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 A lot of those categories are the same as the special book challenge I did this year. The hardest category for me was picking a book based only on its cover. I finished Son by Lois Lowry this morning. That's the last of the Giver books. I liked it a lot, but it was much, much longer than the other three and tended to ramble so I didn't like it quite as much as the others. It tied the whole story, with all scattered parts, up so nicely. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Jane's foray into trout Fishing in America reminded me that I had picked up a beautiful little edition (original cost 2 shillings!) of Izaak Walton's seventeenth-century classic The Compleat Angler, or The Contemplative Man's Recreation, which has needed reading for a long time. A quaint and entertaining work that Walton wrote and then re-wrote and expanded over the next quarter of a century, full of fishing-related poetry, folklore, tales, and advice, in the frame of a discussion between Walton's alter ego, Piscator, and various characters of the English Interregnum countryside (Walton by the way greatly disapproved of the Puritan ban on Friday fish-eating as damaging to fishermen's livelihoods). Best read, I discovered, while listening to traditional English Christmas music such as this-- http://www.amazon.com/Sing-We-Noel-Frank-Albinder/dp/B00005YKB7 --or failing that, some Purcell or Blow. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I've got something in mind for pretty much every category on the Bingo. I thought I'd have trouble with "Written in Birth Year" but I see 1971 was a good year - here are a few options on my TR list, in case anyone else was born in the same year: Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula LeGuin The Book of Daniel - E. L. Doctorow Brief Gaudy Hour: A Novel of Anne Boleyn - Margaret Campbell Barnes 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I am so excited about the Bingo! That said ... I'm the Queen of Best Intentions Gone Awry so we'll see how it goes. I'm listening to the Carry On Jeeves by PG Wodehouse. I'm not finished with it but at this point for the book not to earn FIVE STARS from me then ending would have to consist of Bertie murdering Jeeves and hiding the body on his Aunt Agatha's estate. Even then if it was done humorously enough I would still give the book FOUR STARS. Just a lovely fun book. Finished Wings of Fire by Charles Todd and I was underwhelmed. It was the second in the series so I'm going to skip ahead and listen to one of the much later books (10 or 13) and if it doesn't impress me then I'll give up on the series. It's such a great premise ... I love the setting and the idea but I'm just not feeling it yet. 15 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I don't know about the book bingo because I honestly don't remember all the books I read this year. I know that is sad since there weren't that many of them. But some of them were just not very memorable. :P Last week I finished Robin Cook's Mutation, and in the wee hours last night I started Updike's Rabbit Run. It was another old book I dug out of the basement. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) My IRL friends and I do a book bingo also. I'm shocked at how many of our categories are the same. Each year we come up with different categories but I wonder if someone down the line Robin's was the inspiration for ours. Book with a month in the title Book published in 2016 Book from your childhood Controversial book (banned book, etc.) Book’s author is from an island nation (other than UK) Book in a series Asian book Book with a child narrator Graphic Novel Book that will help you professionally An epistolary (a fictional book written as a series of documents) Book you thought you’d disagree with FREE Book translated into English A retold fairy tale or myth A children’s award-winning book Reread of an old favorite Book outside your comfort zone Book you saw someone reading Book you would have picked up as a teenager Biography or autobiography Cookbook Book recommended to you by a book club member Book that made you nostalgic Book with an animal on the cover Edited December 20, 2015 by aggieamy 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Oops. Formatting fail! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I read a truly lovely historical romance yesterday which I recommend highly. It is suitable for all readers. I learned a lot about the Highland Clearances that took place in the late 1700s, so the book was also educational. Doing No Harm by Carla Kelly After a celebrated career in the war against Napoleon, Captain Douglas Bowden moves to a small fishing village to escape military life and put his medical skills to good use. Little does he know, it's his heart that needs the most loving care. This brand-new novel from master storyteller Carla Kelly will have new and longtime fans in raptures! Here's a comprehensive review from the Dear Author site. ** I also re-read a novella by another of my favorite historical romance authors ~ The Governess Affair (The Brothers Sinister) by Courtney Milan "The start of a critically acclaimed historical romance series by New York Times bestselling author Courtney Milan... Hugo Marshall earned the nickname "the Wolf of Clermont" for his ruthless ambition--a characteristic that has served him well, elevating the coal miner's son to the right hand man of a duke. When he's ordered to get rid of a pestering governess by fair means or foul, it's just another day at work. But after everything Miss Serena Barton has been through at the hands of his employer, she is determined to make him pay. She won't let anyone stop her--not even the man that all of London fears. They might call Hugo Marshall the Wolf of Clermont, but even wolves can be brought to heel..." Regards, Kareni 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I've got something in mind for pretty much every category on the Bingo. I thought I'd have trouble with "Written in Birth Year" but I see 1971 was a good year - here are a few options on my TR list, in case anyone else was born in the same year: Angle of Repose - Wallace Stegner The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula LeGuin The Book of Daniel - E. L. Doctorow Brief Gaudy Hour: A Novel of Anne Boleyn - Margaret Campbell Barnes :001_wub: :001_wub: :001_wub: re: Repose; one of my all time favorites. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on EL Doctorow; of the ~5 or so novels he'd done at that (ahem) early point in his career, Daniel was the one that at the time most interested me. I haven't gone back since; I wonder what I'd think of it today... 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Some bookish items: Since I wrote above about learning something from a book I just read, this piece hit home. It's a fascinating and short read ~ The Best Facts I Learned from Books in 2015 by Kathryn Schulz *** AbeBooks' Most Expensive Sales in 2015: http://www.abebooks.com/rare-books/most-expensive-sales/year-2015.shtml ** Your guide to reading the world "“I’d always thought that I was well-traveled,†says writer Ann Morgan (TED Talk: My year reading a book from every country in the world), but “actually, when I looked at my bookshelves, they told a very different story about me.†Her shelves were crowded with English-language books, mainly from English-speaking countries. From the rest of the world? “Hardly anything,†she says. So in 2012 she set for herself an ambitious goal: Read one book from every country on earth in one year." Regards, Kareni 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Thanks to Karen's keen eye, I fixed a bingo misspelling. The corrected one along with the cultural virtue points you may earn 52 Books Bingo Earn cultural virtue points by completing a bingo in a variety of ways: One Row - Horizontal, Vertical or Diagonally X marks the spot - Diagonally in both directionsSquare - all the outside tilesInner square - all the inside tilesForward or backwards ERight side up or upside down T3rd row Horizontal and Vertical Total Blackout 5 Points per Square will earn a variety of bookish prizes Edited December 20, 2015 by Robin M 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I had to leave the house at 6am this morning for a gig at a church about an hour away. (*yawns*) Nap time to commence shortly! I'm down to the last week of music madness: 4 Nutcrackers, 2 Christmas Eve services and one more Sunday morning service before I can just curl up on the couch and read. (Hoping Santa provides a nice, large stack of books...) Did any of you audible members download the holiday freebie? It is The Chimes, by Charles Dickens, read by Richard Armitage. What a voice! I put the modern retelling of Emma on standby while I enjoy this one on my long commutes. And unfortunately, thanks to holiday traffic, those commutes have been epically nasty. Speaking of epic....Star Wars!! Has anyone gone yet or planning on going? The family unit is going tomorrow afternoon, though the college boy did catch it his last night before coming home. My oldest who works at Disney has been up to his eyeballs in the marketing hype. And Bingo is for next year, right? 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I don't know about the book bingo because I honestly don't remember all the books I read this year. I know that is sad since there weren't that many of them. But some of them were just not very memorable. :P Last week I finished Robin Cook's Mutation, and in the wee hours last night I started Updike's Rabbit Run. It was another old book I dug out of the basement. Goodreads has really helped me keep track of what I read. I plan to start a BINGO category. That way I will at least know at the end of the year which books were read for the card. I wrote my books and challenges completed down faithfully for a couple of years but this year just haven't been able to manage it. Pretty sure I recorded most on Goodreads. It really is easy. I finished Victoria Abbott's The Sayer Swindle. This was a fun one for Sayer's fans. Lots of fun swoony Wimsey comments. Plenty of book references that had me nodding my head. I wasn't hugely impressed by her Christie book but this was much better imo. These could stand alone. The third book in the series concentrates on Nero Wolfe with the fourth being Ngaio Marsh. Neither are favourites so will probably wait and see if she writes about another favourite author later. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M Posted December 20, 2015 Author Share Posted December 20, 2015 And Bingo is for next year, right? Yes, dear heart. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 What do you think of when it comes to summer if you are in the Southern Hemisphere? Thank you for the acknowledgement. :laugh: I mainly think s***, s***, s*** and look at the CFA (country fire authority) website a lot. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 My personal challenges for 2015 included reading not only the HoMW but also a medieval book, one that VC had recommended when I asked her about books about saints. That 13th century best seller, The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine, proved to be a slog for me; but non-fiction is often a slog for this reader of fiction. In some respects, the medieval mind is no different than the modern mind. But there were so many things in The Golden Legend that gave me pause. I have commented before on the writer's obsession with sweet smells emanating from saints, particularly after their deaths. The medieval world was an odoriferous one. Having now finished The Golden Legend (permit me to take a bow), I have to wonder how Christianity even survived through the ages with its medieval emphasis on virginity and martyrdom. Conversion would be the sole method for maintaining or increasing the number of adherents. One of the most interesting chapters in The Legend comes toward the end of the book. We are given a brief history of the Lombards with a few pages dedicated to the Saracens. Considering that crusading was part of life during this time, I found the explanation of the Islamic faith and tradition to be interesting. It is acknowledged that the Saracens worship the same God; for the rest we read that Magumeth (Mohammad) "blended truth with error". My favorite story was probably that of Clement's. We have a familial separation after the brother in law is making passes at Clement's mother; there is a shipwreck with the loss of Clement's brothers; off goes the father to find the mother and missing sons, a man who leaves Clement and is not to be seen again until Act V. Enter Saint Peter stage right and a Magus stage left. Why oh why did Shakespeare not steal this one? And now for the strangest part of my personal story of reading this book. I really wanted to finish The Golden Legend before the year was over and I confess that I had been dragging my heels through its almost 800 pages. Yet with relative ease, I breezed through the last 200 pages or so. How? By alternately medieval reality with brief vignettes of the 1960's. This is probably going to be the weirdest reading juxtaposition that anyone has given on this thread ever, but I found Richard Brautigan to be a great mental antidote when the oddities of the Middle Ages annoyed me. Brautigan was a voice of San Francisco during the Hippie Hay Day. I read bunches of his books in high school and had not given them much thought until two BaW participants, VC and Crstarlette, mentioned him. He was swimming on the outskirts of consciousness until a relative stranger whom I met on the Sea of Cortes asked me if I had read Brautigan. So I borrowed a volume of three Brautigan books from the library with the intention of reading Trout Fishing in America. I also read online (and I did not know this) that Murakami has noted how Brautigan has influenced him. Brautigan will not be everyone's cup of tea. He is surreal with a dark sense of humor--more than a little wacky. I have been laughing aloud as I read this book. I wonder if my high school self saw the humor. You can click here for a passage from Trout Fishing in America that I think exemplifies the book. Allow me to share a poem from another volume The Pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster: Karma Repair Kit: Items 1-4 1. Get enough food to eat, and eat it. 2. Find a place to sleep where it is quiet, and sleep there. 3. Reduce intellectual and emotion noise until you arrive at the silence of yourself, and listen to it. 4. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Love the Bingo card! Definitely general enough to fit the books that seem to naturally call to me. Anyone care to explain what fits in the category of "epic"? Maybe I don't read a lot of epics... Rose--definitely Angle of Repose! Love it. JennW--you're probably just going down for your nap as I'm getting up from mine. Still on the sofa with a couple of blankets and a sweet cat. I'm ready to celebrate solstice with some hibernation! Finished Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott this week and I really enjoyed it. It's more hopeful than a lot of recent lit. A group of damaged, broken people sharing the same apartment building care for one another and manage to accomplish some big things that you would think would be beyond them. I think I picked it up because it has a character with Williams Syndrome, and I appreciated how the author shared the challenges and joys of caring for a developmentally disabled adult. Also finished another Sebastian St. Cyr, What Remains of Heaven, and checked out the next three from the library for holiday reading. Also checked out Night which I've always wanted to read, then I found out my dd will be reading it in school and it would finish the "spell my name" challenge, so I will try to get to that soon. We're planning to see The Force Awakens on Tuesday, the cheap soda and popcorn day at our local theater. Still need to watch Return of the Jedi with the girls either tonight or tomorrow night first. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 So excited about the 2016 plan, even though I'm a hopeless slacker re: sticking to plans. Better to aim high and fail to meet the mark, than not have standards at all, that's my motto and I'm sticking with it... Kareni, re: February Safari, have you read any of Peter Allison's books? He's my top favorite safari guide author ever. Too, too funny on top of seriously informative re: animals and habitats and insightful re: conservation / development / impact on local communities. While the book sounds interesting, I think your comment is actually intended for Jane as she's in charge, I think, of Forster and Karen Blixen. Now if the animals are being romantic .... Regards, Kareni Actually I am leading the discussion on Forster in February although I intend to read Out of Africa as well. Perhaps someone else would like to lead the discussion on Blixen? I don't want to deprive anyone of the opportunity. Jenn--we saw the new Star Wars film today and have over analyzed it too. In general we all enjoyed it, taking it for what it is, i.e. a Star Wars film and nothing profound. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 And, OK, it's been a while since I've done my books: Non-fiction: Syria: A Recent History, by John McHugo - this was recommended by the exceedingly well-read leader of my IRL faith group, as his best recommendation to get historical background on the current crisis. I started it before the Paris bombing, put it aside, then returned. It's very comprehensive, if a bit dry. Its timeline alone is worth its price. It did leave me rather bleak and hopeless. Firestone and the Warlord, by T Christian Miller and Jonathan Jones - a short but IMO important analysis of the role Firestone (the rubber company) had in aiding and abetting Charles Taylor's rise to power in the Liberian civil war, and its subsequent impunity for what by the US State Department's own recently declassified account amounted to arms trafficking. Published by ProPublica, a newish non-profit journalist/publisher that I will continue to watch. Gratitude, by Oliver Sacks: this is a very short and very beautiful end-of-life rumination by the neurologist famous for The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat, and less famous for a book I absolutely adored, Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (essential reading for the parent of a scientifically gifted kid), which he wrote in the short time between his diagnosis of rapidly mestastisizng liver cancer and his death this fall. The final chapter, Sabbath, had me in tears, which I generally reserve strictly for fiction, lol... I mean now to turn to his full memoir, On the Move. The Beast: Riding The Rails And Dodging Narcos On The Migrant Trail, by Oscar Martinez: So, so many thanks to Stacia and Eliana for this extraordinary work of journalism, "illuminating the darkest corners of our society so that things might become a little easier for the needy." Wow. Among the very best of the year for me. Nan, this bit reminded me of our conversation a few weeks about re: Pinker's exhortation that "empathy is not enough": I don't think compassion is that useful. I don't think it's a durable engine for change. I see it as a passing sentiment, a feeling too easy to forget. In Mexico, every time we presented the Spanish version of this book I'd say to the audience that my goal was to incite rage. Rage is harder to forget. Rage is less comfortable than compassion, and so more useful. Rage and indignation, these were my objectives in Mexico. Now (with the English translation) I consider what feelings I hope to incite in an American reader. I'm not hoping readers will feel compassion for the men and women who go through this hellish trial in order to wash your places, to cut your grass, to make your coffee. I hope, rather, that the book generates respect for these men and women... Respect for this drive that migrants have, a drive which is stronger than the criminal cartels, a drive more powerful than the train engine and a drive more vital than any limb -- a leg, for example -- of our very body. Colleges that Change Lives: 40 Schools that will change the way you think about colleges, by Loren Pope. I picked it up at the library because my beloved quirky kid is at this stage, and so many people in my little corner of the world speak of this book as a game-changer. I dunno. Its takeaway seems to be, there are some really great, small, liberal arts colleges out there! with small classes! at which you can get a fabulous education! If that message really will change the way you think about colleges, well, dig in... if not so much, just PM me and I'll just give you the list of 40, lol. (There do seem to be some intriguing schools on the list that I'd never heard of, but I'd say the content is more article-length than full book.) Fiction: The Gap of Time: The Winter's Tale Retold, by Jeanette Winterson, recommended here by Rose and Eliana and Jane and I don't know how many others of you. Oh, this is beautiful.... I'm all in knots, now, re: forgiveness v frozen-ness.... There are only three possible endings to a story — if you put aside And They All Lived Happily Ever After, which isn’t an ending, but a coda. The three possible endings are: Revenge. Tragedy. Forgiveness. Rose, sally forth sooner rather than later into Angle of Repose, while Gap is still fresh in your mind; I think you will appreciate doing them close to one another... A General Theory of Oblivion, by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (of Chameleon fame!). Jane and idnib, have you discussed this yet? It's one of the Archipelago subscription so I assume you have, but when I tried to search only only a longing musing by Stacia came up. Stacia, I'll send it on to you if you haven't read it yet. I think you'll like it -- set in the same chaos surrounding Angolan independence and spanning similar re-writing personal history, with a Stacia-like note of weirdness though it doesn't quite cross into outright magic realism. I liked it, though not so much as Chameleon. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 <snip> Speaking of epic....Star Wars!! Has anyone gone yet or planning on going? The family unit is going tomorrow afternoon, though the college boy did catch it his last night before coming home. My oldest who works at Disney has been up to his eyeballs in the marketing hype. And Bingo is for next year, right? We too are going tomorrow and will be delighted to over-analyze thereafter. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Planning to go see Star Wars but need to finish rewatching the first 6.....3 down. We are watching in the order released and I have never seen the new ones. It will be at least a week before we go. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 A General Theory of Oblivion, by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (of Chameleon fame!). Jane and idnib, have you discussed this yet? It's one of the Archipelago subscription so I assume you have, but when I tried to search only only a longing musing by Stacia came up. Stacia, I'll send it on to you if you haven't read it yet. I think you'll like it -- set in the same chaos surrounding Angolan independence and spanning similar re-writing personal history, with a Stacia-like note of weirdness though it doesn't quite cross into outright magic realism. I liked it, though not so much as Chameleon. It remains in the dusty stack, sigh. I'll get there! 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Planning to go see Star Wars but need to finish rewatching the first 6.....3 down. We are watching in the order released and I have never seen the new ones. It will be at least a week before we go. See, we have no intention of watching the second 3 releases (episodes 1-3). Dh and I saw them when they came out and have no real desire to see them again. We don't think the girls need to see them to see the new release (pretty sure they would lose interest before we could get through them). 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 And a few more links of interest ~ The Great Failure of Andrew Carnegie's Simplified Spelling Lobby I'd known that Noah Webster attempted to simplify American spelling (and was somewhat successful), but I hadn't known of Carnegie's attempt. *** 13 Stunningly Beautiful Coloring Books for All Ages *** 13 Sculptures Made Out of Books Regards, Kareni 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 How about a little Star Wars nostalgia? Did you see the original the theater? How about the others? Any fond memories to share? I saw the original the summer before my freshman year in college. When comparing notes with another girl in freshman English that fall, I confessed to having a crush on Luke Skywalker. She sniffed in derision as she was clearly a superior a woman because she preferred men, so of course loved Hans Solo while clearly I only liked boys, lol!! My dad entertained his Physics 101 students by creating an R2D2 -- it was a speaker inside an upside down trash can on top of a skate board. Can't tell you what he was demonstrating other than his science nerd cred. Some idiot reviewer spoiled Empire Strikes Back for me by revealing IN THE REVIEW who Darth Vader had fathered. The entire theater gasped while I just seethed in anger at the spoiler. That was eons before "spoiler warnings" was a thing!! Flash forward a few years and I was standing in line with my now dh, waiting to see Return of the Jedi. I got choked up when the theme music started for Phantom Menace because we were sharing Star Wars with our kids! (I am THAT much of a geek, I guess.) The only fans of Jar Jar Binks are 4 year olds, apparently. No fond memories of numbers 2 and 3... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 How about a little Star Wars nostalgia? Did you see the original the theater? How about the others? Any fond memories to share? I saw the original the summer before my freshman year in college. When comparing notes with another girl in freshman English that fall, I confessed to having a crush on Luke Skywalker. She sniffed in derision as she was clearly a superior a woman because she preferred men, so of course loved Hans Solo while clearly I only liked boys, lol!! My dad entertained his Physics 101 students by creating an R2D2 -- it was a speaker inside an upside down trash can on top of a skate board. Can't tell you what he was demonstrating other than his science nerd cred. Some idiot reviewer spoiled Empire Strikes Back for me by revealing IN THE REVIEW who Darth Vader had fathered. The entire theater gasped while I just seethed in anger at the spoiler. That was eons before "spoiler warnings" was a thing!! Flash forward a few years and I was standing in line with my now dh, waiting to see Return of the Jedi. I got choked up when the theme music started for Phantom Menace because we were sharing Star Wars with our kids! (I am THAT much of a geek, I guess.) The only fans of Jar Jar Binks are 4 year olds, apparently. No fond memories of numbers 2 and 3... The original came out in '77. I had spent ten weeks living out of a back pack in Europe that summer. When I returned to the States, a friend came by and said he was going to take me to see a movie called Star Wars. I told him that I wasn't interested in Sci Fi (which is not quite true because The Man who Fell to Earth came out the year before and I was quite interested in David Bowie) but he insisted that I see Star Wars--he told me that I'd love it. And I did. I saw The Empire Strikes Back at a theater in NYC with a massive screen. I had gone with a friend who anticipated the film as much as I did. My friend adored Yoda--a character she very much resembled in spirit. About five years later this friend would have a massive heart attack. She survived it but her health was severely compromised. She has since passed away and I miss her dearly. But I thought of her as we drove to the theater today. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 How about a little Star Wars nostalgia? Did you see the original the theater? How about the others? Any fond memories to share? I saw the original the summer before my freshman year in college. When comparing notes with another girl in freshman English that fall, I confessed to having a crush on Luke Skywalker. She sniffed in derision as she was clearly a superior a woman because she preferred men, so of course loved Hans Solo while clearly I only liked boys, lol!! My dad entertained his Physics 101 students by creating an R2D2 -- it was a speaker inside an upside down trash can on top of a skate board. Can't tell you what he was demonstrating other than his science nerd cred. Some idiot reviewer spoiled Empire Strikes Back for me by revealing IN THE REVIEW who Darth Vader had fathered. The entire theater gasped while I just seethed in anger at the spoiler. That was eons before "spoiler warnings" was a thing!! Flash forward a few years and I was standing in line with my now dh, waiting to see Return of the Jedi. I got choked up when the theme music started for Phantom Menace because we were sharing Star Wars with our kids! (I am THAT much of a geek, I guess.) The only fans of Jar Jar Binks are 4 year olds, apparently. No fond memories of numbers 2 and 3... Oh yeah, I have all the memories. Star Wars was released in 1977, when I was 5. It was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. When The Empire Strikes Back came out, I was 8 or 9, but in the years immediately following, I developed my first crush - on Harrison Ford/Han Solo. For some reason I got a hold of the book version of Empire, and I read it over and over and over again. Like, 20 or 30 times, easily. It was in that whole 5th grade/6th grade/budding awareness of boys stage, and the relationship (unconsummated) between Han and Leia was absolutely mesmerizing to me. I read their scenes over and over - the insults, the kiss - and was just so fascinated. The exchange: "Princess Leia: Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder. Han Solo: Who's scruffy-looking?" was the most romantic thing I had every heard. Oh yeah, I got memories! :001_wub: 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Angel - congrats to your baby mama friend. I read Frankenstein for entertainment myself so go for it. Even a pleasure read will expose you to the worldview with little effort. So much to discuss with that one. I probably should read it again. Skye read Frankenstein in November and is eager to discuss it with us in January when we finish. She enjoyed it. Angel, So glad your friend had a safe delivery even if you weren't blessed with the little people. I know you love having them and it's wonderful that they have you to stay with. When my friend was going through chemo her dd was with us quite a bit. It made things so much easier for my friend and her husband. We did a lot of field trips with her to keep her busy and all of us have been doing them again this year since her parents didn't get to go with us. The mom will find out on Tuesday what kind of treatment she'll have to go through. I expect to have them some. We did our own field trip with them to a nearby park that has farm animals. It was a lot of fun (and work...we are still working on listen and obey the "first" time :laugh: ) :seeya: :seeya: so glad to see you!! I am home sick, again, while my family is out seeing the new Star Wars. :thumbdown: I had to give my ticket to one of dd's friends. This makes the 4th time this year. My immune system must have flown south for the winter :sad: I missed singing in our church's Christmas program this morning too. I just finished reading the King James Version of the New Testament tonight. Our church was doing a read along of the New Testament this year. I'm not very good at "read this in a year" type things, but I'm so glad I decided to join in. I think we were supposed to finish on Dec. 31st but I like reading my Bible in chunks to get into the flow of the Scriptures. I'm counting it as one whole book so I think that puts me at 50 for the year. I'm about 60% through Sense and Sensibility and over halfway through our read aloud of The Immortal Nicholas. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Ok, after those rousing endorsements, Angle of Repose is going onto my bedside TR stack, as opposed to my dusty shelves. . . . thanks for the suggestion! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Robyn Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I have enjoyed reading the thread today, ladies. Thank you! Brautigan, Pinker, a little mild cussing. And bingo! Boy, there were a lot of great books published in my birth year! I still haven't finished anything, but made some good progress on Metaphors We Live By by Johnson and Lakoff and Ficciones by Borges. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) Oh yeah, I have all the memories. Star Wars was released in 1977, when I was 5. It was the first movie I ever saw in a theater. When The Empire Strikes Back came out, I was 8 or 9, but in the years immediately following, I developed my first crush - on Harrison Ford/Han Solo. For some reason I got a hold of the book version of Empire, and I read it over and over and over again. Like, 20 or 30 times, easily. It was in that whole 5th grade/6th grade/budding awareness of boys stage, and the relationship (unconsummated) between Han and Leia was absolutely mesmerizing to me. I read their scenes over and over - the insults, the kiss - and was just so fascinated. The exchange: "Princess Leia: Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder. Han Solo: Who's scruffy-looking?" was the most romantic thing I had ever heard. Oh yeah, I got memories! :001_wub: (ETA - ? that got away from me somehow...) Anyway... :lol: to the bolded. For the record, ladies, Han Solo > Luke Skywalker, just as surely as Aragorn > Legolas. Just. Sayin'. Edited December 21, 2015 by Pam in CT 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 For the record, ladies, Han Solo > Luke Skywalker, just as surely as Aragorn > Legolas. Just. Sayin'. A-Greed!!!! I'd take Han and Aragorn any day. 'Nuff said. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennW in SoCal Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 (ETA - ? that got away from me somehow...) Anyway... :lol: to the bolded. For the record, ladies, Han Solo > Luke Skywalker, just as surely as Aragorn > Legolas. Just. Sayin'. Definitely Aragorn, but I have a soft spot for the "boy next door" types. Like that guy I married ;) 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) Echoing crstarlette re: it's nice to come here & have the wonderful thread to read. Thanks, friends! :grouphug: In addition to the impending job loss, life has handed me more than lemons this week. To say that it has been a %#&*$%@$ week is probably a positive & upbeat description of how it's been. Um, no reading to report from my end. (No surprise there.) One positive & book-ish thing to report.... Yesterday, we volunteered for a long time at the Toys for Tots warehouse to sort toys. One of the presents that ds ended up sorting was a boxed set of Percy Jackson books. He was so excited for whatever child ends up with that present & kept saying what an awesome set it was. (He loved Percy Jackson years ago when he was younger & I guess he was excited for the future recipient of the books.) An fyi based on my observations while working there -- if you donate books, you may want to consider something that is shrink-wrapped or boxed in some way as it may hold up better when put in the Toys for Tots bins (& subsequently buried under piles of other stuff). I spent part of my time trying to resuscitate some crushed & twisted books. Actually that's true for anything that goes in those boxes -- better packaging gives it a better chance of looking good/new rather than crushed. Anyway -- wow. Tons of toys to sort through. One more note -- they had us remove any batteries taped to packages. (I think one of the battery companies partners w/ Toys for Tots & provides batteries. Don't quote me on that as I'm not totally sure. But, if you plan to donate something battery-powered, keep that in mind.) I had Brautigan's Trout Fishing out from the library earlier this year but didn't get around to reading it at the time. Sounds like it's one I need to get again. I like your Bingo challenge, Robin. I don't know how far I'll progress in it. We will see what 2016 holds for me there. I like your idea, mumto2, re: setting up a Goodreads shelf for it. I'm going to set that up after I'm done here. Pam, I would love the newest Agualusa book! It's been on my dream list ever since I saw it was coming out this month. Thank you. Star Wars. I was 10 when it came out. I have overall vague memories of seeing it with a group of my friends & remember my guy friends being wowed by it. I have a stronger memory of getting ice cream at the mall that day (probably because my entire scoop of ice cream fell off the cone right after I got it). :huh: Star Wars is fine. I'm a middle-of-the-road person about it, I guess. I've seen all of them (when they were in the theaters) but since the original ones were when I was a kid, it's been a really long time since I've seen them. I disliked the next trio of movies (with Amidala & Jar-Jar), but my dd loves those. I do think lightsabers are one of the coolest movie prop inventions ever & I loved Darth Maul's double-ended ones. (I'm not up on geek-speak, so I'll just assume you all will know what I mean by my sketchy description. :lol: ) Since I was only 10 when I saw the movie & did not have my eye on the guys at that point (I was completely clueless & uninterested at that age), I didn't really notice Han Solo vs. Luke in that respect. As an adult, I'm going to have to agree that Han Solo is better than Luke (who has always in my mind been a whiny sort of character -- don't know if I'm remembering that correctly or not). Come on... Han Solo is Harrison Ford so you can't really compete with that. But! But! You gals are forgetting a most important piece of information re: the hunkiness factor of the leading men. 1977 was also the year Smokey and the Bandit came out. Even though my sister was only 5 at the time, she was already highly attuned to guys at that point. (My mom has always claimed my sis probably checked out the doc who delivered her at birth.) My 5yo sister was completely infatuated with Burt Reynolds. Apparently, during the movie, she told my mom that he was "the prettiest man she had ever seen". :smilielol5: (Hence, I'm giving her Burt's autobiography for Christmas.) So, the real question is... Burt Reynolds > Harrison Ford OR Harrison Ford > Burt Reynolds??? Edited December 21, 2015 by Stacia 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Oh, Harrison Ford over Burt Reynolds any day. No question!!!! I did kinda have the hots for Tom Selleck as a kid, though . . . . 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Star Wars was released in the summer before I entered high school. My home town was very limited in terms of places to meet friends and we only had three movie theatres... Smokey and the Bandit and Star Wars filled the screens of two screens for months and I went to the movies weekly. I have no idea how many times I saw those movies. I saw all 3 of the first ones in my home town under similar more than once conditions. Choice was limited. Jedi was released the last summer I lived at home for more than a few days. I liked Luke but secretly thought Burt was more fun that first summer. A boy I knew drove a car like Burt's but was way too old for me fortunately. Cute but trouble...I really wanted to go out in that car. :lol: Hard to imagine that the cute boy with the great car is dead after several massive strokes a couple of years ago. In my mind he will always be standing by his car in cut offs at the beach. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I am going to return to Star Wars after my middle of the night post. My ds is a HUGE very geeky fan. Has watched my old VHS copies repeatedly from a young age and did a happy dance when we handed over the new movies on dvd a couple of Christmases ago. My overdrive library (dc's don't get access to my really good one ;) ) recently started a huge Star Wars section and Ds loves Star Wars books and has read stacks of them over the years. So I offered him access in order to find some new ones. He looked at me and sadly and said the new movie changes the storyline so no more books for him. I brushed it off as him being a bit moody. Well, we bought the first three movies on dvd last week as an early Christmas present to all since we don't have them here. Maybe a third of the way through there is a cute scene involving Jabba and Hans.....in case you are scratching your heads at my cute description it is a totally new scene. Not a off the cutting room floor new either. That scene was super obvious to the whole family and noticed instantly. The rest of us are not Star Wars enthusiasts either. Odd bits of dialogue throughout the movie were noticed that the boys kept confirming as new via a website. Anyway Ds wants to be prepared for the movie so all six for technical reasons. :lol: No need to wait to discuss because one of dc's friends was a regular spoiler machine yesterday while saying she doesn't do spoilers. So I think I heard most of it once already. She was pretty funny and I think ds has read it all online because wasn't bothered. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I've never watched any of the Star Wars movies. I've been nearby when some have been on the TV, but I have zero interest in actually watching them. The first one came out before I was even conceived. I was born about 10 1/2 months later. I have, however, seen Star Wars on Ice and an Ewok came over to the side of the rink and hugged me. And I really liked Chewbacca when I was a little kid. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) Returning this Star Wars thing to books, my family's over analysis of the movie was followed by a discussion of the greater Star Wars universe that was later created in books. My son is an expert on this. (Geekines is genetic. ;)) Once summer back when The Boy was in high school, we handed each other a book to read from our stacks. He gave me a Timothy Zahn Star Wars book which I dutifully read. So while walking on the beach yesterday, I learned from The Boy that when Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, they dumped the literary Star Wars Expanded Universe from the official "canon". This Expanded Universe was created by numerous writers of books and comics My son was using the term "canon" which was cracking me up but then I later Googled and saw there is a Wikipedia article on "Star Wars Canon" and how "canonicity" has been refined by Lucasfilms and Disney. Now that the larger universe canon has been dumped, the following terms no longer apply. But at one point in time the Star Wars "canon" was further subdivided into canon-ettes (my word): G-canon, T-canon, C-canon, S-canon, N-canon. I had no idea that such an uber analysis of the literary Star Wars world had taken place or even that such a vibrant literary Star Wars world existed! On another note, I want to send Stacia a big hug. Sounds like you need it, girlfriend! May you have a better week. Jane Edited December 21, 2015 by Jane in NC 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Returning this Star Wars thing to books, my family's over analysis of the movie was followed by a discussion of the greater Star Wars universe that was later created in books. My son is an expert on this. (Geekines is genetic. ;)) Once summer back when The Boy was in high school, we handed each other a book to read from our stacks. He gave me a Timothy Zahn Star Wars book which I dutifully read. So while walking on the beach yesterday, I learned from The Boy that when Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise, they dumped the lite Star Wars Expanded Universe from the official "canon". This Expanded Universe was created by numerous writers of books and comics My son was using the term "canon" which was cracking me up but then I later Googled and saw there is a Wikipedia article on "Star Wars Canon" and how "canonicity" has been refined by Lucasfilms and Disney. Now that the larger universe canon has been dumped, the following terms no longer apply. But at one point in time the Star Wars "canon" was further subdivided into canon-ettes (my word): G-canon, T-canon, C-canon, S-canon, N-canon. I had no idea that such an uber analysis of the literary Star Wars world had taken place or even that such a vibrant literary Star Wars world existed! On another note, I want to send Stacia a big hug. Sounds like you need it, girlfriend! May you have a better week. Jane Canon is a word being used here also. You are a good mom to read one of the books. I will admit that long ago the boy handed me one for approval, 10yo adult section, I skimmed really quickly, and handed it over. Not sure not approving was a real option because he really wanted to read them. I agree Stacia needs :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: I hope you have a better week. I also have a Goodreads question for Stacia....I have several shelves which are no longer needed and can't figure out how to delete them...not the books on the shelves just the category. My bookshelves are becoming hard to use. Any ideas? If I could edit or move the order of the shelves that would be another way too. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelaboord Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I finally finished a book yesterday, my first in December -- The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane. It's a memoir of walking "the old roads" mainly in Britain, with brief forays to Spain, Palestine, and Tibet. Very lyrical, lots of natural history, loved the descriptions, but the organization of the book made it a bit hard to follow for me sometimes... Could also have been my state of mind this month, though. It's been really hard for me to sink into a book lately. My last book was Connie Willis' The Doomsday Book. Finished it the week of Thanksgiving and loved it. It's been on my shelf for ages and my oldest read it a couple of years ago, so I don't know what took me so long to get around to it. Then we all got sick immediately after I put the book down, which was a little disconcerting considering the book's subject matter, but as it turns out we didn't have flu or plague, which was a relief. Also - thanks to Chrysalis Academy for mentioning The Forest Unseen at the beginning of this thread. I immediately put it in my Amazon cart. Not only does it sound right up my daughter's alley, the author lives in the same area of Tennessee in which I grew up. Couldn't resist ordering it. I'm hoping to do the same thing -- read it with my daughter over the course of next year. It sounds like fun! (Oh, and thanks to Jane, too, for the bird book recommendations... My daughter is a dedicated birder and I am always on the lookout for good books for her.) Re: Star Wars... I was 5 years old in 1977, too. My mom and dad took my mom's younger teenage brother to see the movie when it premiered while I stayed with my grandmother. Then my uncle spent the night with us and woke everyone up making Star Wars sound effects in his sleep! I didn't get to see the movie until I was older, though. I'm a bit of a SFF geek and now I have 7 boys so we've worn out our DVDs of the movies. The kids have talked my husband into taking them tomorrow night, but I am going to have to stay home with the 2 year old. Still trying to figure out how to wrangle a date night so I can see the movie too! Maybe Saturday? Of course I don't see how the kids will be able to resist dropping spoilers by then... I really enjoy reading these threads even when I am just lurking. Hope everyone who is having a tough holiday season receives some cheer soon! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I also have a Goodreads question for Stacia....I have several shelves which are no longer needed and can't figure out how to delete them...not the books on the shelves just the category. My bookshelves are becoming hard to use. Any ideas? If I could edit or move the order of the shelves that would be another way too. I'm not Stacia, but you should be able to easily delete shelves. -Go to My books. -On the left where it lists your shelves, there should be a link to edit (in parentheses next to the word bookshelves). -Click on edit and it will bring you to a page where you can either delete or rename your shelves. You cannot delete or change Read, Currently Reading, or To-Read. Any shelves you've created can be deleted or renamed. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Star Wars - I saw the last of the original three first. When Star Wars came out I had just graduated from college a few months earlier. We were on the quarter system and I graduated in March - what was then called Winter Quarter. I moved back home where I didn't know anyone anymore, so there were no friends to convince me to go with them. I was too excited about trying to find my first teaching job (I was one of those weird kids who knew from a wee age what I wanted to do. And I wanted to be a teacher). I found that first position in rural south Georgia. Fast forward to 1983. I had lived in Georgia for five years, three of them in Atlanta. Had my heart broken for the first time, and moved back home. This time I made new friends. I had been back almost a year and one of those new friends convinced me to go see Return of the Jedi with her and her brother. While we stood in line for tickets they caught me up on the two previous movies. My head was spinning by the time we took our seats. I don't remember how long it was before I saw Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Those were the days when it took a long time for a movie to go to home video. And no one I knew owned a VCR, so you didn't just rent a movie, you rented the VCR too. Dh and dss were fans when I met them (1992) but not in a geeky way. They were both excited when the 4th one (Episode 1) came out. Ds was not quite 2, so we got a sitter and the three of us went. We were all disappointed, but I was the most, which is weird since I'm not the true fan. We decided to watch Episode 2 at home (by now dss had long been out on his own so it was just dh and me). I made it halfway through and gave up. By this time dh was working on ds to get him interested and he had seen the others. They've all seen the last one (before this recent one) but I didn't. I have no interest in seeing this new one. People are saying if you were a fan of the originals you'll like this one, it goes back to them, blah blah blah. Well, I liked them but I wouldn't call myself a fan. I wouldn't be sad if I never watched those first three again, so I'm okay with skipping this one. Maybe someday I'll watch it at home. Maybe not. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CT Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Huh. Jane, I do believe your noble efforts to redirect from Star Wars back to books have been... well, perhaps the force will shortly awaken. :seeya: Angela! Nice to see you again. Thanks for McFarland's The Old Ways -- it looks intriguing; the sort of book my mother adores. Stacia, more :grouphug: and Oblivion is on its way. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Huh. Jane, I do believe your noble efforts to redirect from Star Wars back to books have been... well, perhaps the force will shortly awaken. To quote from the new film, "That's not how the force works!" :D 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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