Julie's comments (member since May 07, 2009)

Julie's comments from the M/T Reading Friends group.

Teresa wrote: "Hi Alyce, an RIO after my own heart, I can't read the latest without reading the early ones in order teresa"

Great to see you again, Alyce!

JF: Lie Down with the Devil by Linda Barnes. I haven't liked the last couple of her books enough to finish them, but I liked this one & look forward to seeing where she takes Carlotta.

NR: The Perfect Summer (England 1911, Just before the Storm) n/f by Juliet Nicolson. The author is the granddaughter of Vita Sackville-West & Harold Nicolson. Very interesting so far.

Teresa wrote: Carol, Carol, I didnt read TKAM until the CAT convinced it was necessary to do so for many reasons : ) The 16 yr old recently read this in school and his comment was at LAST not a boring classic ..."

Now that's really an endorsement!

Julie,
The only book I've read by Trigiani is Lucia, Luc..."i also like joann mapson- have you read any of her books yet? </i>

No I haven't, I'll put her on my list. I discovered that my library is redoing the catalogue & I can hold any books until May 29! Arrrgh, now that I'm reading everyone's lists I need that function!

Jan O'Cat wrote: If you go back and catch up with posts, you'll find that I didn't love Among the Mad as much as other Maisie books.

Neither did I and for the same reason. But I give Winspear a lot of slack even though I think it's really difficult to pull off dual points of view in books.

I knew about Jews in Shanghai because a friend had relatives there; I think an Uncle. I've forgotten the details of how they made it to the U.S., but I think it involved going to Macao and a very roundabout route.

Big Cherry Holler by Adriana Trigiani. Add me to her group of fans. As someone else said about one of her books, "I laughed, I cried..."

The Shanghai Moon by S. J. Rozan. I know this will be among my top ten this year. I loved the intertwining of Jewish & Chinese history and the way the plot was about "people to care about, and who care about us."

Vineyard Chill by Philip R. Craig. This was the last book Craig wrote. I really, really liked it. The book is really about loyalty to friends and redemption.

Ash Wednesday by Ralph McInerny. Father Dowling made it to the crossword puzzle I do in the L. A. Times this week. I've been reading them for years. I've always enjoyed them even though or maybe because I'm an almost a-religious (if that's a word, I mean like apolitical)person.

Runner by Thomas Perry. A Jane Whitefield novel. Jane has been one of my favorite characters since the first book came out. In this one, it's been 5 years since she "retired," but her past has caught up with her again. I was interested in how the "disappearing" business has changed since 9/11. It looks like more Jane books may be coming.

Too Close to the Sun by Curtis Roosevelt (n/f). Curtis Roosevelt was the son of Anna, FDR & Eleanor's oldest child & only daughter. Curtis & his older sister lived in the White House during FDR's first term and were known to the country as Buzzy & Sis. Interesting.

Murder Shoots the Bull by Anne George. A re-read of one of my beloved Southern Sister series. This was about the only thing I could read in the hectic days leading up to April 15. Loved it all over again.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear. I commented in Ann's thread about this. Winspear is a very gifted writer & I feel very good about Maisie in this book.

Silks by Dick Francis & Felix Francis. This has most of the conventions of a Dick Francis book. It's not Francis in his prime, but I'll take any Francis I can get. The m/c was a lawyer who rides amateur steeplechase. I read in the L.A. Times that Hollywood Park didn't have enough horses one day during the week before the Kentucky Derby to hold races! I have become a sort of horsing racing fan because of reading Dick Francis so it made me sad.

Sandi, I really liked The Singapore Wink, in fact I think I liked everything from Ross Thomas.

Winspear, Jacqueline Among the Mad read 4/12/2009 9+ of 10 A lot of this book is a study of the impact and difficulties people experience when faced with a great tragedy or are shell-shocked or worse due to war-time attacks. (WW I) I enjoyed catching up with Maisie!

I read Among the Mad in April too, Ann (Hi Ann!!). Winspear tends to kind of "pile on" the themes of her books, but she's such a remarkable writer I like it. I too loved catching up with Maisie & I think she's in a good place.

Hi Julie! :) I'm in Santa Maria. Grew up in Nipomo. Which grammer school did you attend in SM? We can't see smoke (just haze) to the south. But it sure doesn't sound like a good situation with the Jesusita fire. So many house in danger, and some destroyed now - and so many people to evacuate. May those brave men and women of our Forestry service stay safe!

I went to Alvin Avenue when it was the new school. I lived with my grandparents on East Tunnell St.

It is much cooler here & was foggy. Some folks get to go home today. The fire folks call it "repopulate" as in we can't have everyone repopulate at once. My neighbor's boyfriend and his three cats are getting anxious to go back up the hill. I can't say enough about our fire personnel & because this was the only fire in CA, we got tons of help from all over the state. And a B-10 that drops fire retardent! Awesome!

Carol or Cheryl or ?

How do I permanently uncheck "add to my update feed & "email me when people reply" boxes?

How do I format comments, e.g. underline, or have bold or italics?

I am definitely not sold on Goodreads.

Teresa wrote: "Okay I am finally reading again after a long period of not reading. I know many of you just shocked that I havent read more than 2-3 books a year in about 5 yrs, LOL and some I couldnt stomach..."

Teresa, I hated when the aol boards stopped, but if coming to GoodReads means hearing from you again, I guess it's worth it! Great to "see" you again.
Julie in SB

Gracee wrote: "Hi :) I'm gracee from California. Central Ca Coast. Yeah, near the beach, but but I can't see it without getting in the car, so don't be too envious! I started out on AOL when...it was aol 2.5 ..."

Gracee, I'm in Santa Barbara. Where are you on the central coast? I went to grammar school in Santa Maria.

Melodie wrote: "Daniel wrote: "Other than, I think I'm the ONLY person on the face of the planet that has not read any of the Harry Potter series. I also refuse to read Twilight. Oprah's picks really tick me off t..."

I have not read Twilight, never will, not my cuppa, have never read a Harry Potter book although I might someday & have seen one of the movies. I did like Cane River, but Oprah's picks are usually way too depressing for me.

Julie in SB

Hi M/T friends!!! I'm Julie from SB and I'm not in the fire zone. It is horrible in the canyon behind our Mission however, but we're all praying for a sea breeze & fog to help our gallant firefighters. Three were injured with burns yesterday & are in a burn center in LA.

On a much lighter note, my birthday is May 16 & I realized I couldn't miss a celebration with all of you!