Mary JL wrote: "Hello! I am Mary JL and I am a Midwesterner. As a child, I learned that cold Nebraska winter nights were tailor-made for reading! Not a big TV watcher, I have been an avid reader since the age of..."

Hi Mary JL! Looks as if you've come to the right place. I feel the same as you about not having a certain monthly book. I'm glad you like the idea.

Yes, my To-Read list is getting ridiculously long also. But it's nice to be able to browse it when I'm looking for a new book to read. It serves as a reminder of sorts.

Your book preferences are similar to those of many of our group's members. So I think you'll find a lot to talk about here.

We look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to comment anywhere and also to start new topics.

Best wishes,
Joy

Hello! I am Mary JL and I am a Midwesterner. As a child, I learned that cold Nebraska winter nights were tailor-made for reading! Not a big TV watcher, I have been an avid reader since the age of 5.

One thing attracting me to your group is your approach of not having a certainl 'monthly' book. If I am in the middle of two or three books; I may not be able to stop and read a specific book at a specific time. Your informal approach appeals to me.

But, wow, is my TBr pile growing since I joined Goodreads.....

I will read almost anything but in order my preferences are: Science fiction, fantasy; mystery, history; histrocal fictionl and young adult books.

Work is early tomorrow, so off to bed and I will hopefuly be posting the next day. Nice to meet everyone!

Katherine wrote: "Hi,
I'm Katherine from Saratoga Springs, right down the road from you. Reading has been one of my passions forever. I lean toward historical fiction and have just finished Edward Rutherfurd's "New ..."

Hi Katherine! Welcome to our group. Nice to see you here. I always love shopping in Saratoga Springs.

We look forward to hearding more from you.
Best wishes,
Joy

Thank you for your welcome.

It is a nice group Katherine, and welcome again. :)

Hi,
I'm Katherine from Saratoga Springs, right down the road from you. Reading has been one of my passions forever. I lean toward historical fiction and have just finished Edward Rutherfurd's "New York".
I am a member of Goodreads Tudor History Group and decided to branch out a bit.
This sounds like a wonderful, active group. I look forward to participating.

Bev wrote: "Hi Everyone, my name is Bev and I come from South Africa. I enjoy all genres other than horror. I was attracted to your group because of its informal approach. I look forward to partaking in your various discussions"

Hello, Bev, and welcome to our group!
Please feel free to jump into any of our on-going topics or to start new ones of your own.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Joy

Hi Everyone, my name is Bev and I come from South Africa. I enjoy all genres other than horror. I was attracted to your group because of its informal approach. I look forward to partaking in your various discussions

Joy,

Thank you for the warm welcome. I'm interested in 1776, but I already own (and haven't yet started) his other three books: John Adams, Truman and Mornings on Horseback The Story of an Extraordinary Family, a Vanished Way of Life & the Unique Child Who Became Theodore Roosevelt. I'll have to make it a point to pick up John Adams soon.

Lori wrote: "Hi, I'm Lori. I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I found this group because I was looking up information on Gore Vidal, but after poking around a bit, I decided to join. I'm a senior in college, majoring..."

Hi Lori - Welcome to the group. I'm glad you found us. Please feel free to jump into any of our threads or to start your own topic.

I too have always loved historical fiction. If you have any book recommendations, we'd be interested in hearing about them.

Our local library's Monday Evening Book Group is reading _1776_ by David McCullough for September's discussion. I have the book but haven't started reading it yet. I did read McCullough's _John Adams_ and enjoyed it very much. So I'm hoping that _1776_ will be just as enjoyable.

Joy

Hi, I'm Lori. I'm from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I found this group because I was looking up information on Gore Vidal, but after poking around a bit, I decided to join. I'm a senior in college, majoring in history and English and minoring in French. I plan on going to law school. I've recently fallen in love with non-fiction and historical fiction.

Alan wrote: "I was born in Sussex and grew up in Surrey. My parents were a mix of Scottish, West Country (Devon/Cornwall) and London. I'm a bit of a mongrel. :)"

I found a map of the UK online at: ===>
http://www.picturesofengland.com/mapofen...

I see that Sussex and Surrey are in the southern part of England, perhaps not too far from London. I love learning about England.

I was born in Sussex and grew up in Surrey. My parents were a mix of Scottish, West Country (Devon/Cornwall) and London. I'm a bit of a mongrel. :)

Alan wrote: "Yep - just lit the fire. It's wet and cold here right now.
But I was born and grew up in the UK, so wet and cold is nothing new to me!"

Ah, there's nothing like a cozy fire.
Alan, what part of the UK did you grow up in?
I'm part of a UK newsgroup. The members are terrific people and are from all parts of the UK.
You can see the newsgroup online at: ====>
http://groups.google.com/group/uk.people...
The group calls themselves the SilverSurfers.

Yep - just lit the fire. It's wet and cold here right now.

But I was born and grew up in the UK, so wet and cold is nothing new to me!

Alan wrote: "Hi all
Thanks to Joy for inviting me. I'm dark fantasy, sci fi and horror writer, and an avid reader (in all genres). You can learn all about me at my Goodreads page here and at my website, http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/ "

Welcome, Alan! Thank you for joining and introducing yourself.
Below is your photo-link:
Alan Baxter

The Goodreads description says: "Alan is an author living on the south coast of NSW, Australia." I think you're our first member from Australia, the land "down under". I suppose you're going into your winter season as we approach our summer season. Bundle up! :)

It's nice to have you as a member. We welcome your comments.
Please feel free to post and to add new topics. We love a good conversation.
(And from your Goodreads webpage, we know you love to write.) :)
Best wishes,
Joy

Hi all

Thanks to Joy for inviting me. I'm dark fantasy, sci fi and horror writer, and an avid reader (in all genres). You can learn all about me at my Goodreads page here and at my website, http://www.alanbaxteronline.com

Nina wrote: "Happy MOther's Day to all you mothers, grandmothers and greats..Or I should say to all you greats..And to the mothers long gone..They are probably watching us from up there...Fondly, nina ps this g..."

Thank you, Nina.

Happy MOther's Day to all you mothers, grandmothers and greats..Or I should say to all you greats..And to the mothers long gone..They are probably watching us from up there...Fondly, nina ps this goes for your wife too, Jim..Hope all are having a fun day.

Hi Joe! Yes this is the place! I just arrived home from the Tulip Festival in Albany's Washington Park. It was so nice to find you here at the group, another new member from around our home town.

I hope you'll find time to participate here, commenting in topics already started or adding new topics of your own.

I look forward to your participation and hope you will spread the news about our group to other readers.

Best wishes,
Joy

Joy, Is this where I introduce myself? Joe

Hi Randi. Of course I know you already from your posts. The Goodreads records show that you've made 39 comments to this group so far. (It's easy to find that information. Just hover over any poster's profile image and you will see the number of comments he/she has made to the group.)

You are certainly welcome at our group. I've enjoyed your participation. Thanks for introducing yourself.

Joy

I have been looking through this thread, and it seems that I never introduced myself. I've been posting for quite a while now. Anyway, my name is Randi, and a "hi" to all of you.

Hi Isreal,
Welcome to our group!
It's nice to see you here as part of our little community. Hope to see more comments from you. Please feel free to post anywhere and also to start new topics.

What type of writing do you do?

Best wishes,
Joy

Hello....I like to write at times and love to live life the other.....Anyway way I hope to become an author and just be

Hi Pontalba! Welcome to the group. It's nice to see you here. I hope you'll find some topics you like. If not, please feel free to start one of your own. We like new ideas and new personalities.

Hey there y'all, and thanks to Joy for the invitation. :) I'll be poking about reading threads, this group looks verra interesting.

Nina wrote: "I feel our group is blessed with new blood. Wonderful to get comments from such a varied group of newcomers..Keep them coming. Our topics sometimes vary but we return to the topic of books just like homing pidgens...nina "

Nina, I like that simile! Yes... as you say: "just like homing pidgens".

We often go off on tangents, but that's OK. Sometimes the most interesting conversations take place when we go off on tangents.

It's easy to get back to the world of books. Books cover every topic under the sun. So there's always a path back to them.

IMO, books are one of the greatest topics of conversation because they lead to all other topics.
It's like being in a world of expanding horizons. There's always hope for life to become more interesting. We never know what book is around the corner waiting to enthrall us.

As for this group, I have high hopes for it. We never know what new member will be coming around the corner to stimulate our thoughts and our conversations. We seem to be gathering new and excellent members all the time.

Bird of a feather flock together... (and not just pigeons!) Ha!

'Twas ever thus.

Sara, it's our pleasure to have you here. Yes, we do have diversity of conversations. I'm hoping for even more in the future as the group grows.

I've never read anything by Scott O'Dell, but he must be good if he inspired you to read. I went to his web page and read the following:
===================================================
"He was most famously the author of the children's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins (1960), which won the 1961 Newbery Medal as well as a number of other awards. Other award winning books by O'Dell include The King's Fifth (1966), Black Star, Bright Dawn (1988), The Black Pearl (1967), and Sing Down the Moon (1970); which were all also Newbery Honor award books. O'Dell wrote primarily historical fiction. Many of his children's novels are about historical California and Mexico."
====================================================

I'm tempted to read one of O'Dell's books to see what they're like. I'm a history major myself and was inspired to love history by my high school teacher, Mrs. Cleverdon, at Roosevelt H.S. in Yonkers, NY, many years ago.

I've put the following book by O'Dell on my To-Read Shelf: _The Black Pearl_. I chose it because it's a Newbery Honor Book.

I think I'll add _Island of the Blue Dolphins_ too. I'm partial to islands since we camped on the Lake George islands every summer for 25 years.

I feel our group is blessed with new blood. Wonderful to get comments from such a varied group of newcomers..Keep them coming. Our topics sometimes vary but we return to the topic of books just like homing pidgens...nina

Hi! I'm Sara from Philadelphia. I love this group because of the diversity of conversations. I love mystery novels but I will read just about anything. I hope someday to write young readers' historical fiction because I love history, and authors like Scott O'Dell inspired me to read as much as I could as a "young adult." (I secretly blame him for my obsession with reading.) Anyway, glad to be a part of this wonderful group. Thank you, Joy, for welcoming me.

Welcome Manu! I have Steven Pinker's _The Language Instinct How the Mind Creates Language_ on my To-Read shelf. It sounded like an interesting book. I had seen him speaking on Book TV and I liked what he said. So I searched for books by him.

We haven't had a discussion about Pinker's book. Please feel free to start a topic about it and tell us what you think of it.

I hope you will find a topic you like here and will join in the conversation. Feel free to start any new topic you'd like.

Best wishes,
Joy

Hi everyone, My name is Emanuela, a books-eater and a book fanatic from Italy. I was lead here by a Q&As exchange about Pinker's book, The Language Instinct.

I have just started surfing through the topics of the group and I was wondering if there is already a discussion group about this book.

I am really looking forward to discussing books and exchanging opinions with you all. Books, foreign languages and traveling are essential parts of my life, so you'll hear form me soon :D!

Have a nice week-end (in advance, should I not be able to connect tomorrow)

Manu

Welcome, NIcole. And whoever else is new. How nice to have some new "voices." nina

Ngcasey wrote: "Hi! My name is Nicole Casey and I live in south Glens Falls. I am relatively new to goodreads and happy to see a book group for the Glens Falls area! I am in love with the new library and hope t..."

Welcome to our group, Nicole!
Glad to see that you've already "met" Becky. Thanks for jumping in, Becky.

As I say all the time, it's so nice to have a growing core-group of locals in the group. The group is also enhanced by having members from everywhere. We welcome everyone who loves books. It's great to have many points of view.

Nicole, jump right in and join the conversations. We'd love to hear from you.

Joy

Ngcasey wrote: "Becky, don't you love the whole SGF, Gansevoort, Moreau thing? I don't even know where I live sometimes! :-)

"
Yeah I do-try telling people that don't know the area LOL!!!

Becky, don't you love the whole SGF, Gansevoort, Moreau thing? I don't even know where I live sometimes! :-)

Hi Nicole-I am an SGF reader too!! Well sort of, we live with a Gansevoort mailing address!!!

Hi! My name is Nicole Casey and I live in south Glens Falls. I am relatively new to goodreads and happy to see a book group for the Glens Falls area! I am in love with the new library and hope to be reading a lot more in 2009. Thanks for having me!

Nina wrote: "They are all avid readers."

Nina, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. :)

When the older four of my five grandchildren arrived in the US their biggest thrill was going to the library and getting a stack of books FREE. In the villages where they lived in France there were Children's hardback books at the grocery stores check out counters rather than the magazines we have here. When one child had been especially good that week he or she always came home from the store with a book. They are all avid readers. nina

What an exciting life your grandchildren have had, Nina. And how nice that you were able to visit them in France. You're a lucky grandmother.

Hi All, And I add to your welcome to our new members.It is so enriching to add more people to the group. Cheers! And good reading in the months to come. My Archie glass is just in my kitchen cubboard and I use it daily. The "kids" get a kick out of it still being around and not broken by any one of my six. And thanks for the chinook address. I will check it out. My son-in-law sang his way through the Alps and nightclubs in Geneva, Switzerland. He is tri-lingual is French, German, English, and Spanish. So for a while they lived in France; about 12 years and had three children born there. Some times they live high on the hog as they say otherwise they ate eggs and clementines and cheese and hoped they would get a gig. Then came India and finally back to the US. Now they have real jobs. My daughter, the mother of the five, is a children's librarian and my son=in-law teaches Spanish and French in high school and college. They live in a beautiful area in Coeur d Alene, ID and they belong to a French club where the members only speak French. And yes, it was fun to visit them in France about every other year. I have a special feeling for the Alps and wouldn't miss watching Tour D France for anything..nina

Nina wrote: "This is a reply to many posts: First of all, Joy, we are most satisfied with Netflix. For instance, I saw here someone recommended the DVD THE ROCKET. That day I ordered and last night watched it...."

Thanks for your post, Nina. Yes, I probably will be getting Netflix.

That Archie drinking glass must be quite a collector's item.

Thanks for mentioning "Chinook" winds. More info at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinook_win...

What took your grandchildren to France?

Melissa wrote: "We should start a thread discussing the Twilight series. I am interested to hear what other people think about the movie vs. the first book..."

Melissa, there already is a thread about the Twilight Series.
Below is the link to the thread: ====>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/8163...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please feel free add your comments to that thread.
It's an interesting topic.

This is a reply to many posts: First of all, Joy, we are most satisfied with Netflix. For instance, I saw here someone recommended the DVD THE ROCKET. That day I ordered and last night watched it. As someone said, IT WAS EXCELLENT. That's how fast it works. We have a plan to get three a week. We mail one back and here comes another. We pay around eighteen dollars a month. There are cheaper plans though. Most movies we order are good; some excellent and some we send back without watching or some we send back because we know from the beginning we won't watch. But, if you decide to get Netflix I'll send a list of some of our favorites you might enjoy seeing. Second on my list/someone mentioned reading Archie comics. I still have a drinking glass with the cartoon characters on it. I think originally grape jelly came in it. Does anyone out there have one of those? And finally, as to CO winds, we here in KS receive your winds and they are called CHINOOK. The winds here buff up against the mountains and when they return here the wind is warm. We will receive on this Saturday and it will change, for the day, our weather from near zero this week to the sixties. Strange weather, YES> and as for singing; I can't but I have grandchildren who sing in France on the stage and one sang at seven years of age at the International Ski Festival held in the French Alps. Sometimes all four grandchildren sang; although, not nearly the talent of the Sound of Music fame, but fun for a grandmother to watch and listen. nina

Becky wrote: "Melissa wrote: "Hi Joy,

Thanks for the invite. I am 30, happily married and live in Glens Falls with my husband Bob and our new baby Cooper (born 9/5/08). I am an avid reader and will read just a..."

"Hi Melissa-love the baby name!! I too enjoyed the Twlight series & I am sad to see that they are finished! "

Hi Becky! Thanks. My husband picked out Cooper and we both loved it, it really suits him :)

We should start a thread discussing the Twilight series. I am interested to hear what other people think about the movie vs. the first book...

Melissa wrote: "Hi Joy, Thanks for the invite. I am 30, happily married and live in Glens Falls with my husband Bob and our new baby Cooper (born 9/5/08). I am an avid reader and will read just about anything. A..."

Hi Melissa,
Thanks for introducing yourself. I'm happy to see you posting at the group. I'm also happy to see another person from Glens Falls becoming a member. We love to have folks from everywhere, but it's nice to have a core group of locals.

Contratulations on the birth of Cooper. I see that's he's about 4 months old. He must keep you pretty busy.

We now have two Melissa's in our group. It's a good thing we have icons on our profiles to help us recogize who is who. Your icon as the new mother helps me remember which Melissa you are. (g)

Welcome, Melissa! We hope to hear more from you.
Joy

Melissa wrote: "Hi Joy,

Thanks for the invite. I am 30, happily married and live in Glens Falls with my husband Bob and our new baby Cooper (born 9/5/08). I am an avid reader and will read just about anything. A..."

Hi Melissa-love the baby name!! I too enjoyed the Twlight series & I am sad to see that they are finished!

Hi Joy,

Thanks for the invite. I am 30, happily married and live in Glens Falls with my husband Bob and our new baby Cooper (born 9/5/08). I am an avid reader and will read just about anything. A friend recently recommended the Twilight series to me and was surprised to discover I loved the books!