Prettymisslara's comments (member since Aug 23, 2008)

Prettymisslara's comments from the Reading from the Best Books group.

I would like to nominate The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins.

Finished the book yesterday. Like most everyone else I was not particularly fond of the sadist/rape stuff - luckily I can just jump past all of that and not feel like I missed anything. I am also interested in the sequel as I had numerous questions when the book ended. Hopefully they will be resolved in the next book.

This is the first time I have looked over this list and I must admit I am embarrassed. I refuse to admit in writing how many of these books I have read because it is sad. So very very sad. There goes my excitement over Steinbeck Summer.

Titch- Beauty is one of my all time favorite books. I read it in highschool and since have reread it at least once a year. It is not one of those change your life books but since I am a hopeless romantic it fills that void. Hope you like it.

I was able to get the book from the library. The one I got was a book all on its own - not a compilation of stories. Mine was published by Penguin Books. The ISBN is 0-14-004240-7. Hope that helps. Good Luck finding a copy.

My aunt taught me a poem when I was 5 years old. I never forgot it. Imagine my aunts delight when I taught the same poem to my own five year old daughter to perform at a school talent show. It is simple but for me sentimental. I do not know the author~I apologize.


When the earth has turned to spring
and the grass is green as anything
The birds come flying all around
to eat the worms right off the ground.

They like worms as much as I
like bread and milk and apple pie.
And once when I was very young
I put a worm right on my tongue.
I did not like the taste one bit
and so I did not swallow it -

But Oh how it makes my mother squirm
because she thinks I ate that worm!

Dutiful Daughter

She calls
and I answer

She says
and I do

She speaks
and I listen

She aches
and I comfort

She hungers
and I cook

She is not
understanding
and yet I forgive

She is not
patient
and yet I wait

She is not
tender
and yet I care

She is not
Maternal
and yet i am....

I really liked this book. One of the reasons I like to read the monthly group read is that it introduces me to books that I would have never picked out for myself. This is a perfect example of a book that I would have just skipped over had it not been the group read choice.

"Although seemingly ill equipped as the narrator of a book, Christopher's character succeeds in eliciting a wide range of emotions in the reader. How do you think Haddon uses his protagonists voice to touch his audience in such a way?"

I think the reason Christopher was able to touch his audience was because he tapped into a universal medium. Feelings! Christopher stated that he did not understand human feelings and I think many of us can relate. We understand the basic concept of feelings and emotions but how often do we confuse the two. Mistaking lust for love or anger for frustration. If only I had a nickel for every time I said "I am so angry" when in actual reality I was only irritated and mildly irritated at that.

I appreciated the way this book helped me to perceive things differently. For example homeless people and the mental disorders that so many of them are plagued with.

I am glad I read this book.

Elena I was thinking that I would recommend The Woman in White for our July poll. It is one I have been wanting to read and since lately I am only reading whatever our current selection is I figure this is a good way to get it off my shelf. I am glad to hear you liked it. I tend to lean towards the classics anyways so I imagine I would really enjoy it.

I just finished The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-time. Good pick for our group read last month. I cannot wait to respond to the discussion. I am now starting The Last Lecture for a local book club in my area. Waiting on East of Eden and The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo to arrive from the library.

Richard and Sandra,

Thank you both for your information regarding my interests. I am very excited to begin. I did sit for about 15 minutes this morning while the house was still quiet as Sandra had suggested. I am not going to say that it went as I had planned but I am not going to admit failure or defeat either. Thank you for your encouragement. If you do not mind I would like to keep you posted on my progress.
PML

Sandra thank you for the suggestion. I will give it a try. I have five children ~ all of them are still at home ~ and lately I have discovered the need for a bit of peace, but not the kind of peace that comes from just having them in bed and the house quiet. I think I am looking for a different kind of peace. So I thought I would give meditation a try.

Recently I have been interested in meditation. Do you have a book that you can recommend for beginners? On the one or two days that I attempted to meditate (keep in mind I have not had any instruction) I found myself antsy for sitting there doing nothing. I am positive that was not the point of the exercise. I welcome any thoughts, suggestions, or even instruction! Richard, in an earlier post you mentioned that you practice zen. I am interested in this philosophy and would like to learn more about it. Any good reading material that I should start with?

Thursday May 21, 2009

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero

Fiona,
You have (ML) listed after some of the books you have read. What is this referring to?

Lara

Boy can I relate. I have kept a To-Reead list since I started reading at like 4 years old or something. Its on a spreadsheet and when I got on GoodReads I decided not to take the time to add it. I think the last time I looked it was in the 1000's. Being on GR doesn't help. Everytime we do a poll I look up the book and think "oh I have to read that book" and on the list it goes. I am hopeless.

I cannot focus enough to do audio-books. Sitting with a book forces me to actually sit still. If I were to try to listen to a book I would be off to do laundry and dishes and other things - I would never pay attention to the book. I am in the car enough that in theory that would work but I always have kids with me and they like to listen to the radio.

Donna - I used to work in the social service industry and my employer had all of us read "A Child called IT" it was very difficult to read. I think I cried from cover to cover in that book. It opened my eyes to several things but I doubt I could ever read that one again.

I just started my seventh book for the year. I hope to be able to keep up the pace. I think I will be fine as long as the kids are in school. Summer will be the real trying time for me.

I would like to respond to Question #3. I do not think that the relationship between Deanna and Eddie changed Eddie as much as it did Deanna. I think that Deanna would have been content to continue life as a hermit had she not met Eddie. I also think that becoming pregnant had a lot to do with changing her feelings on becoming part of a community. I think Eddie liked having the companionship with Deanna that he did but I do not think that he wanted to be "tied down" to her or that place.

I am torn between whether he should have known about the baby or not. On one hand I think that Deanna lost the chance on giving him the oppurtunity to "grow-up" but on the other hand I am not so sure it was in her best interest to give him a reason to stay around.

Maybe Eddie did already know that she was pregnant. Maybe that was one of the explanations for his comment on "having met his match". Maybe he thought he would not have been able to meet the demands that parenting reqiures. I think it would have been difficult for him to walk away from his nomadic lifestyle, especially just for a baby. He did not have the protective instincts that Deanna had.