C. (Comment, never msg).’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2014)

C. (Comment, never msg).’s comments from the Gentle SPECTRUMS group.

Yes, I was happy to see that in e-mail. I look forward to that letter you finished over the week-end. I would like to finish the hardcover I saved for my "birthday month reading extravaganza". It is more about war than I like so I only read a few pages last night but I love W.C. Ryan's writing. It should pick up and sweep me away, especially when the strange architecture of the house and spirits come into the picture. It is "The Winter Guest".

I think Shirin is game to jump into Maggie Stiefvater whenever we are, so give me perhaps two days. Love always, birthday girl Carolyn!

To our dear Matthew Perry, shared with great pride by Canada and the United States: your loss hurts a lot of people because we love you. I am not on Twitter or anything and wish I had looked for your e-mail address to tell you how much your book moved me and how much I wanted to give you a hug.

I supported you and wanted your dreams to come true: a wife, children, and helping others. I am sad because you deserved to live long and do that. I suspect you had poolside duress that would have been harmless if someone had been there with you. As people, let's please check on loved-ones, friends, and neighbours who live alone.

I am also freaked out and shaken, learning that you are only 3.5 years older than me. We are young with so much life before us. You will get what I mean when I search for the acceptance to say: You are in God's kitchen now, Matthew. Enjoy your freedom there and I will pray for your dear family. Love always, Carolyn and millions of your fellow Canadians, Americans, and worldwide fans.

You are fast Shirin, with every novel except your plan, "1984"! Haha! I am in. I am excited to begin whenever Kerri confirms she has her brand new laptop.

I am presently reading Hallowe'en fare, with Traditional Chinese Medicine healing on the side, always to help our cats & us be healthy. Love, Carolyn.

I have been ready since August. Are we ever reading this, my friends? Of course, not while we are *this* out of touch. When you can be on just about every day to write and reply, so it is short bits at a time, let me know.

I let you know on October 2. Your contribution did not miss anything but I would enjoy knowing your reaction to the stories I shared in my last post.

Fair enough. I myself, as a writer and compassionate person, choose my words knowingly: Aboriginal as the umbrella term for all types. I haven't seen anyone make a peep on here in awhile but appreciate that you were addressing our humble public circle. I wish people read and responded to what we shared, right!

I am Métisse. I sometimes use First Nations, Inuit, and tribe when we can but we are often mixed. Aboriginal, if not a new trend, does not connote disrespect. Trends change. Letting me know a term is not en vogue was fine. Just please avoid assuming someone doesn't know a bunch of other stuff.

Yes, we are proud of Wab and it was covered live on national news. I saw it on the PEI channel yesterday morning.

Today, Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park provided the scene to swear in our newly elected provincial premier: Wab Kinew. What makes this day amazing and special is that he is the first Aboriginal to lead Manitoba.

Premier Wab Kinew is also the first Aboriginal leader of any province in Canada! This is momentous and I am glad I turned on the TV and witnessed this colourfully cultural ceremony today. All the town chiefs who were honoured guests are women, which rocks. Apparently Manitoba actor, Adam Beach was there today too.

Sarah, use your cell phone to open Goodreads like any website. You don't need to use the app. I don't think that is the issue. Most people upload one photo at a time without noticing that you can make an album first.

"Supernatural" is fake things like vampires. "Paranormal" is ethereal things in real life, like spirits! Spirits aren't evil, although authors concoct them that way. When I say I love "paranormal"; I mean the wonderful souls that any spiritual person believes in and counts on. Maybe a little suspenseful and spooky because we are blown away that communication with them is possible, the way we have hoped.

I'll get my other clarification over with too, that mystery is literally an adventure quest to solve clues, answer questions, and make discoveries. Too many authors think crimes and detectives need to be thrown in. Untrue. My favourite kind is 'non crime mystery'; which often has the paranormal as the mystery! Speeches over, mike drop! :-)

P.S. I love the new photograph of yourself! I can't comment on it. Most people don't know (I simply figured it out): these options become available and you don't lose photos you switch from, if you put them in an album first.

I know my whole country well in music, literature, film, and television and of course, specializing in home artists. Do you ever read mystery, paranormal, fantasy, non fiction? There is an abundance from which to choose. I read nothing harsh or depressing and strive for enouragement, education, empowerment, and fun.

Welcome to "Gentle Spectrums", Sarah! What kinds of books are you looking for? Whether it is general fiction, mystery, paranormal, non fiction, classic, humour, biographies, fantasy.... let me know. That removes the work and gives you paths to pleasure. :) Obviously, I know my home province, Manitoba best but shall direct you anywhere in Canada. Name what you are in the mood for.

The three provincial folders are authors I have in each, not necessarily favourites. I haven't touched our neighbour, Ontario, where many of my favourites are. Or, was it the buddy reading categories you explored? If you looked up the books and they interest you, I am glad. Be aware that I named the books I am at next. Start with the first, in series.

This is our 2024 buddy reading list. They are books I have in unabridged copies. If some author’s books aren’t shown, I do not have them or am uninterested. I reflect the volumes we are at per author. Please defer to our “Canadian” category ahead of biographies, series, non-fiction, and classics.

This list is from the more recent “Buddy-Reading Suggestions” thread but it is a good idea to add it here, in case this old one is browsed. Sincerely, your hostess, Carolyn.


~ CANADIAN ~

Jann Arden “Feeding My Mother”
John Buchan “The 39 Steps”
Margaret Buffie “My Mother’s Ghost” (Winnipegger!), “The Watcher”
John Candy “Laughing On The Outside”
Michael G. Coney “Celestial Steam Locomotive”
Biruté M.F. Galdikas “Reflections Of Eden” (wildlife activism)
Maureen Jennings “Let Loose The Dogs”
Lyn King “Walking Into The Night Sky” (poetry)
Lake Winnipeg Writers’ Group “Voices: Volume Ten, Number One”
Margaret Laurence “Heart Of A Stranger”, “Dance On The Earth”
Janet Lunn “The Unseen: Scary Stories”
Susie Moloney “A Dry Spell”, “The Thirteen” (Winnipegger!)
Lucy Maud Montgomery “Anne’s House Of Dreams”, “The Blue Castle”, “Along The Shore”, “Among The Shadows”
A.S. Mott “Gothic Ghost Stories: Tales Of Intrigue & Fantasy”


~ SERIES ~

Nevada Barr “Track Of The Cat”
S.J. Bennett “The Windsor Knot”
Anne Brashares “The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants”
Agatha Christie “The Mystery Of The Blue Train”, “Partners In Crime”, “The Seven Dials Mystery”, “The Murder At The Vicarage”
Cassandra Clare “The Mortal Instruments”, “The Bane Chronicles”
Eoin Colfer “Artemis Fowl”
Chris D’Lacey “The Fire Within”
Frances Fyfied “Shadows On The Mirror” and “Half Light” in her real name, Frances Hegarty.
Sue Grafton “A Is For Alibi”
David Handler “The Burnt Orange Sunset”
P.D. James “Cover Her Face”
Sophie Kinsella "Confessions Of A Shopoholic"
Christopher Paolini “Eragon”
Ian Rankin “Tooth And Nail”
Rick Riordan “The Maze Of Bones”, “The Lightning Thief”, “The Sea Of Monsters”
Michael Scott “The Alchemyst”
Trenton Lee Stewart “The Mysterious Benedict Society”
Maggie Stiefvater “Blue Lily, Lily Blue”
Garcia Stohl “Beautiful Creatures”
Rex Stout “The Rubber Band”
Carlos Luiz Zafón “The Angel’s Game”.


~ VARIETY ~

Kate Atkinson “Behind The Scenes At The Museum”
John Berendt “Midnight In The Garden Of Good & Evil”
Chris Colfer “The Land Of Stories”
Blake Crouch “Recursion”
Anthony Doerr “All The Light We Cannot See”
Barbara Erskine “Lady Of Hay”
Cornelia Funke “The Thief Lord”
Hazel Gaynor “The Cottingley Secret” 2017
John Green “The Fault In Our Stars”
Michael Gruber “The Book Of Air And Shadows”, “The Forgery Of Venus”
Joanne Harris “Chocolat”
James Herbert “Haunted” (David Ash #1)
Khaled Hosseini “The Kite Runner”
Barbara Kingsolver “The Bean Tree”, “Homeland And Other Stories”, “Animal Dreams”, “Pigs In Heaven”
E.L. Konigsburg “The Second Mrs. Gioconda”, “The Mysterious Edge Of The Heroic World”
Katherine Kurtz “Chamber Of Culdi”
Ursual Le Gun “Wizard Of Earthsea”
Kate Mascarenhas “The Psychology Of Time Travel”
Jennifer McMahon “The Winter People” I’ll save the same Phyllis A. Whitney title for later.
Erin Morgenstern “The Starless Sea”
Sōsuke Natsukawa “The Cat Who Saved Books”!
Audrey Niffenegger“The Time Traveler’s Wife”, “Her Perfect Symmetry”
A.J. Pearce “Dear Mrs. Bird”
Kate Quinn “The Alice Network”
Nicole Richie “Priceless”
Anne River Siddons “The House Next Door”
Amy Tan “The Kitchen God’s Wife”, “The Bonesetter’s Daughter”
Donna Tartt “The Goldfinch”
Gemma Townley “When In Rome....” (Sophie Kinsella's Sister ~ what fun)!
Sarah Waters “The Little Stranger”
Barbara Wood “The Dreaming”.


~ BIOGRAPHIES ~

Jeanne Cooper “Not Young, Still Restless”
Kirk Douglas “My Stroke Of Luck”
Goldie Hawn “Goldie: A Lotus Grows In The Mud”
Elton John “Me”
Anna Kendrick “Scrappy Little Nobody”
Amy Poehler “Yes, Please!”
Amy Schumer “The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo”.


~ NON-FICTION ~

James Bowen “A Street Cat Named Bob”
Bill Dedman & Paul Clark Newell Junior “Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life Of Huguette Clark And The Spending Of A Great American Fortune”
Anne Frank “Diary Of A Young Girl”
James Herriot “All Creatures Great And Small”
Kathleen Jamie “Sightlines”


~ CLASSICS ~

Isaac Asimov “Prelude To Foundation”
Jane Austen “Pride And Prejudice”, “Emma”
Frank L. Baum “The Wizard Of Oz”
Emily Brontë “Wuthering Heights”
Geoffrey Chaucer “The Canterbury Tales”
Wilkie Collins “The Woman In White”, “The Moonstone”
Charles Dickens “A Tale Of Two Cities”, “The Pickwick Papers”
Kenneth Graeme “The Wind In The Willows”
Thomas Hardy “Far From The Madding Crowd”, “Tess Of The D'Urbervilles”
Shirley Jackson “The Woman In Black”, “We Have Always Lived In The Castle”
Norton Juster “The Phantom Tollbooth”
Anna Sewell “Black Beauty: The Autobiography Of A Horse”
Robert Louis Stevenson “Treasure Island”
Jules Verne “10,000 Leagues Under The Sea”!
Virginia Woolf “Orlando”.

Thank you, Kerri! :) Here is hoping there will be another letter to enjoy from you this long week-end, especially Sunday or Monday morning. Your friend, Carolyn.

Happy Thanksgiving Day this holiday long-weekend, from your friends in Canada! Sincerely, Carolyn & family.

You are worth the wait, my friend Shirin. Kerri & I have many other books to enjoy and learn from in our respective homes.

I am happy that with your house is less busy, you still enjoy your extended family for a longer time. Also, maybe there is a chance you can film me a tour of your home, family, and Tehran to go to Turkey or Germany when they do move. :)

Kerri, I am glad you loved my tribute to Anne Perry and that you were compelled to read about Phyllis Ayame Whitney. I am the opposite about John Ritter. I feel sad to confirm that I recently found and copied Anne's e-mail address. I took my time simply writing to tell her what she meant to me during Love's sudden passing. It needn't have been long. Now Anne can see Love for herself.

"Three's Company" was a daring show when I was a little girl but it mainly comprised mock horror facial expressions, about ridiculous things like unmarried couples being intimate or people being openly gay. It is one show that wouldn't work now. I have loved seeing "Night Court" with Melissa Roach and "Fantasy Island" rebooted. I was too young for their original airings but saw a scene here & there. You know our slow internet doesn't let us into the downloading generation who can access any era's entertainment. We see what is on. We finally saw "Juliana And The Medicine Fish" two weeks ago and it was better than the novel! Ron loved it and it appeared to actually be filmed in Lake Of The Woods.

I was aware of John Ritter's new show but did not watch "Eight Rules", which I recently learned had Katy Segal and Kaley Cuoko in it. I only know Kaley from "The Big Bang Theory" and I often disliked Penny's character. I saw an interview about how happy Kaley was about Katy as "her TV Mom again" and figured out what she referred to, when she added "John Ritter must be looking down on us". I am a smart cookie who connects the dots. What can I say? :)

It is hilarious that you like Tim Curry and I wonder from where. I only know him as a bad guy but can't remember what the most recent film was, that turned me off of him. I know him from "Clue" and of course, loved that mystery and board game. He was a good guy in most of the scenarios but there was an alternative solution in which he was a villain. So when he was a villain again in another film, it was too much for me to like him anymore, hehe.

I am excited you have Pamela Anderson's autobiography and pleased that you & I are so often intrigued by the same authors and subjects. I put it on my birthday list and think Ron will find it easily. We scored did at the recent charity sale again! I would like to read "Spare" and soon, will easily find it everywhere second-hand. I except to be sympathetic as usual, not scorning as people were towards Matthew Perry, for reasons I don't get. People write their autobiographies to be properly understood in their own words and their audience is those among us who do sympathize, respect, and understand them.

I hope you took my advice and got birthday photographs of yourself and all your animals and other family. I feel relieved and gratified to have had a lovely photo session with Angel, Petal, and Ron. With so many of our pets gone suddenly, I am glad we always have photographs of each other together at the most recent birthdays and Christmas. If I dress less casually around our yard, I should go back to having candid photos of us too.

I am interested in which artists you have seen in concert, however small but that and a lot of this conversation can be in our letters. I hope you had fun with my list of arists I have seen live. I am happy to say it includes Gordon Lightfoot! I'll have to research if Tina Turner set foot in Winnipeg after I was old enough to see her. I was a baby when my friends & I convinced our parents to let us see Corey Hart. Midnight Oil played small venues here a lot, which I wish I had gone too. It used to be so common, I didn't consider the treat of them coming all the way from Australia.

I think our book conversation is concluding with your point here.
I appreciate your insight, that Marianne & Ulrich reunited prior and waited for a certain resolution to stick, like him surviving or her dying. It is an interesting extreme of opposites, looking at that sentence now. It doesn't seem that they wanted to ascend to the afterlife together, or she wouldn't walk into the ocean. It doesn't suggest that she gave up to join Ulrich in the lifetimes in which he died. Thus concludes my response to you and I can't think of anything you missed, either.

The one new thought that occurred to me, proves the value of mulling things over with time and consideration. That fucking jerk who was in our group briefly, was insulted by my advice that he whipped back replies too quickly to think anything over with any degree of seriousness or flexibility. The conclusions that have come to me prove him wrong to be sure.

It has dawned on me that it is not only the familiar association of a face that makes us equal in struggling with distortion. A person who did not slow down to think, would assume that a musician or carpenter would have more trouble losing their hands, or a dancer or athlete their feet. I understand now that none of that is so. What my hands and feet mean to me is no less important or vital than how anyone else uses theirs. Making an income from them does not make it easier for us to lose our mobility or dexterity, our daily functions. What say you?

I have an example that may not seem related but I remember Oprah Winfrey laughingly telling the story of when trainer, Bob Greene politely dared to chastise this prominent figure for tardiness. He said "My time is as valuable to me, as your time is to you" and it was one of her "aha moments".

Also having the appearance of being unrelated, is a fun example from "Sex And The City". New Yorker, Carrie kept going to expensive wedding and baby showers of city friends. One Mom insisted that shoes be removed and her Manolo Blanicks (I don't know how to spell it) were stolen. The Mom said she would replace them but the price was crazy and I agree with the price part. However, people without kids are sometimes outnumbered by those who have them.

I remember our former friends, early in our friendship, bluntly asking if we wanted to buy Christmas gifts for their Sons as well! It was our first gift exchange and I wish she had thought of a less direct way of asking, if she felt it appropriate to ask at all. We lived in an apartment because we couldn't yet afford our first house and they were in a pretty pricey place. Should we really buy for four? We didn't know their kids since they were babies and have that bond. They weren't little kids then. They were about 12 and didn't care to be included. So I stammered that it was just us couples and hated being put on the spot.

This former friend (you know who) often disregarded me as a future Mom, even though I had years ahead for it. Later, she disregarded my niece & nephew. A few times, I asked for help with her van, to pick up a used rack I found for my fledgling card business. You could hear by her tone that she thought her Grandkids (not even children who lived with her!) should have books or toys that were in those racks. I didn't work this out in my mind until years later. When she nearly took off with my baby blanket and clothes home made by Mom!

I usually gave her some, without much chance to look over the merchandise myself, privately. I felt I should thank her for driving me. She was usually an hour late and I wound up with a $50.00 parking ticket one time! I realize now and didn't tell her, that her suggestion that she had more use for children's items than we did, was inappropriate. There is a little time for us to have kids if the situation were right and if we don't, I have a niece & nephew.

You might remember the way the "Sex And The City" dilemma was solved boldly, for the sake of Carrie's friendship. She decided that her attendance of supportive gatherings was uneven. So she whimsily wrote that she was getting married to herself and was registered for only one gift: the thousand dollar shoes. The woman got the hint and mailed them to her.

Whether or not I compose music, literature, furniture, or architecture with my hands or accomplish daring skills with my feet: they are 100% valuable to a healthy, comfortable, fit life for me and no less important than anyone else's body parts. I imagine all these examples make sense to you too. It was fun to think something over for a long time and see my mind change.

Thank you for sharing this book with me and for enjoying my roundabout, colourful examples. :) With love, your friend, Carolyn.

Shirin, we did not read this. Please see messages #9 and 10. :) Tell us when you are available on-line several days in a row, to read our much awaited sequel. Hugs, your friend, Carolyn.

Happy birthday to your Mom, Carolyn! 💖

Thank you for thinking of Mom along with me, my friend, Kerri! Love, Carolyn.

I wish a very happy birthday to our dear Mom and think of her with love today! May Sandy, Thumbelina, our Candys, McCartney, Spirit, Marigold, and Love celebrate with her in Heaven. Love, your Daughter, Carolyn.