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

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

One of the best songwriters in the world is honoured today in his home town, Orillia, Ontario. Here is an example: "If You Could Read My Mind", 1970.

If you could read my mind, love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
About a ghost from a wishing well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
You know that ghost is me
And I will never be set free
As long as I am a ghost, you can't see.

If I could read your mind, love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind the drugstore sells
When you reach the part where the heartaches come
The hero would be me
But heroes often fail
And you won't read that book again
Because the ending's just too hard to take.

I'd walk away like a movie star
Who gets burned in a three way script
Enter number two, a movie queen to play the scene
Of bringing all the good things out in me
But for now, love, let's be real
I never thought I could act this way
And I have to say that I just don't get it
I don't know where we went wrong
But the feeling's gone and I just can't get it back.

If you could read my mind, love
What a tale my thoughts could tell
Just like an old time movie
About a ghost from a wishing well
In a castle dark or a fortress strong
With chains upon my feet
But stories always end
And if you read between the lines
You'll know that I'm just trying to understand
The feelings that you lack
I never thought I could feel this way
And I have to say that I just don't get it
I don't know where we went wrong
But the feeling's gone
And I just can't get it back.

How wonderful and typical at once. I read in the Orillia, Ontario obiturary that Gordon Meredith Lightfoot is being celebrated and laid to rest in his home town. What is more, the public is invited to pay their respects there. It is right now, from 1:00 PM to 8:00 PM Ontario time. https://www.orilliamatters.com/obitua...

In comments, he is endearingly being called "Gordie" and "Gordy" as any old neighbour, by the many local people who had plenty of years to know him. This is wonderful to see. We salute you, Gord! Sincerely, Carolyn & family in friendly Manitoba.

In a separate paragraph, I want to revel in Maggie's great writing. It isn't descriptively poetic. She very keenly conveys regular situations with phrases we don't expect but immediately relate to as surprisingly apt. For example, in Kerri's example of Ronan outing Declan as a slut, it is an awkward moment.

In the narration, we can actually hear a fly buzzing overhead. Then, Ashley's mouth goes into a sideways D instead of an O. What the hell is that? I've tried to do it with my mouth. It sounds hilarious and I guess she was unamused!

Later, Blue is very plausibly handed Gansey's journal by her boss. He left the restaurant quickly to stop the fight. It is a wonderful way to learn more about what he is doing and for her to gain knowledge of and interest in it. I don't want that bitter teacher's perspective and hope his chapters are short. I like quests without rivalry but perhaps people will work together.

The cause of magnificent modern writing when Blue opens the journal thrilled me! She said that the journal did not open to any dominant page. With all of it equally used, it settled in the middle and deferred to gravity instead. How wonderful!

Now there is a newborn raven that I hope the boys learn how to care for well. I have tried helping baby mice (pinkies) and birds (fledgelings) and it takes a little knowlege. I wish I had posessed it for those little guys at the time and can be glad they felt my love and protection in the time they live. All infants want a grown-up to take care of them. At that age, they don't mind which species we are, so long as we help and baby them with the love they deserve.

Whew, with all of us leaving thoughs and replying to each other secondarily, now we have great fodder for conversation! All right! First, I am happy we are all loving these books! Darn it, Shirin, I am going to have to order the next one and am hoping not too many mysteries or quests are left in a cliffhanger. If this book gets any more exciting or keeps up the mysterious intrigue it already is in spades, we're going to want to blow through it. Therefore, it is lovely that we are writing these notes daily so we may go as fast as we want.

Yes, hearing your voice converse with someone and knowing you had not said anything would be eerie. There is a difference between hoping to record a spirit and wondering why your soul or "higher self" was motivated to speak audibly to someone!

I hope a juvenile, friendship straining triangle is not made. We thought Blue would be naturally interested Gansey. Did Adam intervene or is it a twist that they are a good couple instead? I care not about romance, the one sidetrip youth reading makes that I find needless. Adventure and friendships are enough for me. But if romance is in it, no stupid triangles please, only a twist.

One other "drat" note is that I NEVER believe in parents not telling their kids exactly where they come from and why. They owe that to them the sooner the better. Now Blue is 16, isn't she? She is certainly mature, balanced, and intelligent. Probably it will be a mystical series reveal explaining her ability but authors should stop it because few in real life would hide parentage and it is a groaner trope.

Besides not putting an "S" on towards (and I fear my worst misophonia type trigger of backwards without an "S" might be committed), I love Maggie's writing. I put my hands over occurrences of towards without "S" and pray that's all there is.

I am very interested in the triangular symbols related to ley lines! I have heard of these, have you? I couldn't be more excited to be adventuring on this subject!

Three boys live at the factory. I guess its origins depending how old, will be about ley lines and Welsh kings too. See? We can have ancient royal mysteries, made more old and incredible by encountering them in modern times! It makes me feel like I could work on something like this, don't you! :) From what I read in Katherine Neville's "The Magic Circle", Iran is in the middle of all kinds of mystical wonders; maybe Shirin can go into the mountains and look for it! She knows those rocks well!

The three Lynch brothers for some awful reason of their Dad's, were ousted from their home to inherit money. I don't know where Declan and the other brother live but Ronan certainly has his Mom's permission to have a room in the warehouse. Yes, Gansey has his Dad's blessing to buy a building rather than waste money on renting a dorm room.

It is your guardian's say rather than the school's as it should be. They are close enough to the school, either walking or driving and were staying away from home anyway. I think Adam lives with his family. It is suggested that he gets hit for sneaking out.

Shirin, I hope the prediction is incorrect or that a way is found to stop death as it looked. Weather can come out differently than it was forecast. Fate is only one trajectory. The point of life is that we can step off of negative ones and take up positive directions.

Shirin & Kerri, I wholeheartedly agree with both of you that it is a pleasure to enjoy both groups equally. Because I can't tell which genres Maggie might include in her work being unfamiliar with her, I don't know if Noah joked about being dead. We need to know whence he comes. She might add fantasy but I like it well enough that we are in the real world, exeriencing wonderment. When we do encounter spiritual or mystical surprises, it is much more exciting this way. Far more so than normalising a world in which dragons are flying around and stuff.

** Although I put a lot of content out recently, I am especially hopeful people will read and comment on the "Music" news, to the point that I am directing you. It is big departing news for a Canadian legend that has hit me hard and don't want to grieve alone. With both of you already enjoying some of our music before we met, I figured you'd be interested.

Onto our wonderful book conversation too, which I hope you always write about even if I am not there first. It is fun to see someone else's views, isn't it. :) **

I truly hope people see and contribute reactions to these posts, about our much loved chanteur and composer, Gordon Meredith Lightfoot. Our new King George deserves his day in the sun on his coronation. However, I am hit hard by our huge cultural and musical loss, worried that the news might not reach the world as strongly as it should because it is not British or American and because the coronation might eclipse the timing of this humble departure.

If you have enjoyed Gordon Lightfoot or are aware of him around the world, remember him with me. I look forward to playing a whole lot of his music, even if I don't currently have room for plugging in a record player. Rest in peace, dear Gord!

I learned lovely things in this week's television special and will in his 2017 biography that I am keen to start. Gord feels bad for the times he did the wrong things and pained anyone and enthuses that he is blessed by the years he got. That is what matters. He pushed himself to tour until age 83 to support his 6 children and young wife.

He quit drinking in the 1970s and was true to his music about ships and great lakes. Gord sailed and canoed avidly, loved the Canadian wilderness, and had a heart for the survival of wild animals. I most certainly admire all of this.

Is no one going to budge unless I post first? I hope we three lead equally, so that I can be surprised by revelations and ideas and have questions to answer too. :) I am just entering chapter 4. The happy, simple truth is that I love this novel!

I must have read one Maggie Stiefvater synopsis to have bought several of her books used but did not reread any of those descriptions. I had no idea about werewolves in "Shiver", Kerri, which has never interested me. My taste has changed among things I used to be willing to read, so I thought I might be reading vampire type fantasy that I would hopefully enjoy a little. I full expected to be pushing outside of my natural, comfortable element.

I thought the "Raven boys" were magical creatures with whom characters intermittently fell in love or fought; something stupid like that. I am astonished to find they are human high school boys and we instantly like the ones we meet, at least Gansey and Adam.

Even Blue delights me by being non magical and having a normal family, struggling with money like most people, except that she powers the clairvoyant abilities of her families. The second best part for me of what I am reading is that she has no struggles in her family, nor resentment about not being magical with an obvious gift. Here for a nice change, we have the story of a girl who enjoys her family and who is confident of her place in the world. The only stress might derive from having to solve a mystery or problem. How wonderful and refreshing this is!

You saw that I said "second best" thing to something that is pretty spectacular. The best thing is the premise that is revealing itself. Gansey, Adam, and their friend are better than being normal school boys. They are interested in the paranormal! They are exploring the things Blue's family sees, in a serious modern investigation! I guess the plot is for them to collaborate to understand strange phenomena and I love that.

Finally, Maggie did not fall into the fake historical fiction pit and left these novels wholly modern! No one needs to tell me that many people like fake historical fiction. That's the problem - there is too much of it. Modern adventure fiction is the rare gift. How much fun it is, to see cars and Walmart being mentioned; things with which their audience can relate right here, today! I am having a ball with this. Instead of forcing pages to turn in a less interesting genre, I have found a style and subjects that are exactly right for me! Woo hoo!

I am glad to hear it. It sounded like it was going to be a walk in the park. Is the sale in New Zealand? I didn't know about a movie but am glad we can look to the book for much more than two hour content.

Internet at home? Good! I think you will read Agatha Christie's direct but intelligent language fine from 1928. When you read in English with us before, Jules Verne or Robert Louis Stevenson, it was tricky 1800s vocabulary with run on sentences!

Thank you for showing your review, Shirin!

I replied a bit there because we all like the reward of comments at our reviews. But if you prefer, we could converse in more detail here. It is fun to know your opinions.

The shorter PDF "Shipwreck" really is my second favourite. Thanks to the nice ten star chart summarizing Maureen's book grades at your review, I see that it is your third favourite. I love your summaries, a great idea to see everything without searching the slow Goodreads book pages, whose new organization hardly works for me.

Today is southeastern Manitoba's first +24 C warm day and I have yardwork to do before this week-end's spring rains. However, I was compelled to watch a 2-hour special about our legendary Gordon Lightfoot. It is from 2019 and is wonderfully made, with appearances from all kinds of old greats from before my time!

My Dad and our whole country played Gord a lot as I grew up. Currently, I am appreciating his music, while preparing Canadian content to send my friend, Kerri. At a book sale 2 weeks ago, I scored his 2017 biography. At this end of this afternoon's special, I checked on a memorial in the end credits and see it was for his Sister, Beverley.

I was astonished to read that Gord also arose the afterlife just 2 days ago! Oh, what a difficult parting for all Canadians, as well as folk, pop, and country fans and numerous music lovers around the world. I am glad to have learned so much about him and indulged in his musical treasury while he was alive.

I happened to also procure the autobiography of Ian Tyson. Gord credits Ian & Sylvia's cover recordings of 2 of his songs with lifting his career. Ian Tyson and Ronnie Hawkins are also recently gone but I don't know them at all. May the CD sellers of our province hold onto their hats when I arrive. Rest in peace with love from me: Gord, Ian, and Ronnie. ~Sincerely, Carolyn~.

I am glad a few of my friends are in the mood for lighthearted fun! I will set an estimated starting date for this famous chick lit, until we see how our buddy reading of "The Raven Boys" soars along. If that novel is dark, the humour of an Englishwoman spending money should be a blast!

Hi Kerri! If you e-mail within half an hour, I will get a few answers before I go to bed to read. Being in the other halves of the world, we communicate live when we are getting up and settling down. :) It is 15 minutes to midnight in Manitoba.

I didn't know "Shiver" is about werewolves but have a few hardcovers in that series, as a completionist buying more of the same author who looked interesting elsewhere. I too prefer spirits and magic and fairies will do.

I'll write one more review and leave you to read up all around here. I have put a lot of work into our group today and in my review writing. :) Love, Carolyn.

Friends, I have noticed two fun activities. The requirement to download or stream them makes them tricky to obtain. If technology were equalized as it was 5 years ago, our internet speed wouldn't factor into it. Everyone relied on television airing or DVDs to watch things and now we cannot necessarily buy content either.

One annoying example is "Murder Mystery" with Adam Sandler & Jennifer Aniston; a far too generic title to look up! Maybe I will find blu-rays outside of Amazon.ca where I usually buy them, who I guess is in competition with their supplier, Netflix? Ron hasn't found this film in stores for me either. What is annoying is that the sequel is emerging, without us having enjoyed the first.

Recently, Yannick Bisson did fun advertisements in between commercials, inviting us to download games and solve mysteries with William Murdoch! I get that you need decent internet speed for some on-line content and was going to see if I could access it, or get copies from one of you.

Now the show is advertising a mini series featuring the Great-Great descendent of William Murdoch, that is only shown on-line. Now would be a good time to try a YouTube converter program and to mail the video files to me! The extra fun thing is that they interact with the regular "Murdoch Mysteries" set and some of the primary characters, like Constable Henry Higgins.

Oh, inventing additional technology is fine, if they don't usurp the basic TVs and blu-ray players that rural citizens are using! https://murdochmysteries.fandom.com/w...

It turned out that before we read “The Big Four”, you had to move into a home without internet and return the library loaned book. As discussed, we will read it on our own, having discovered that it is a short story compilation. Do you have home internet now, Shirin?

I have switched this conversation's title to the next full novel of the Hercule Poirot series, because 1928 happens to be the next release among Agatha Christie's work. I love reading in order of what I have at home.

With many different influences, personal memories, and associations originating from this 1895 novel; I look forward to experiencing it at last in 2023 and sharing it with my special worldwide friends. Love, Carolyn.

Revisting this book conversation, I am happily reminded that Shirin updated us until chapter #32. I apologize, Shirin, for getting an idea in my head that you had not given feedback yet. I remember now, it is only your final opinion we await.

It really is too bad the end fell into stupid tropes, multiple ones. Because it was not as gross, abusive, mean as "Under The Dragon's Tail", I was liking "Poor Tom Is Cold" better. Even though I avoid and am disturbed by the subject of assault, I think "Except The Dying" was much better too. Minus the annoying Great-Grandkid, "Shipwreck" is my second favourite.

Another reason I was liking "Poor Tom Is Cold" at least half of the way, I think I wrote above last year, is that there was no killer threatening danger to anyone. You just needed to solve who killed their station #4 policeman. He had a suspicious Mom and the wrong woman posing as his fiancé. I dislike stressful emotions and environments. I remember very much liking the break, to just enjoy reading at an easy, safe pace.

I know friends missed a few sensitive dates shared here but am glad we are warming up our time together by conversing anew. We can always catch-up.

I learned from Shirin that May is "Asian / Pacific Islander" literature month. It originated from some kind of proprietary US territory appreciation, into general worldwide promotion of Asian & Pacific Islander literature. I curiously looked into what the oceanic term meant.

I see that although Australia is not in it for some reason, New Zealand is! So our dear Kerri is a "Pacific Islander"! This is just the right time for me to bring out something she has given me, plus the Margaret Mahy "The Changeling" novel I got last year. I am very happy to salute our Asian & Pacific Islander friends and neighbours of our world.

I am experiencing “Harry Potter” by myself, like everyone else did when these life-changing novels came out. It is my first time reading them, even though I am 51! We have plenty of other common authors before then.

Shirin contributed the following.
Hi everyone! I just mention the books Carolyn and I have in common to read and I can start reading Thursday whatever books you choose.

CANADIAN (June list)
Maureen Jennings's Let Loose The Dogs”
Lucy Maud Montgomery and Margaret Laurence

SERIES
Agatha Christie, Carolyn I didn't read the ones you chose.
Cassandra Clare “The Bane Chronicles”
Ian Rankin “Tooth And Nail”
Rick Riordan “The Lightning Thief” I have a few books of this series in Persian.
Carlos Luiz Zafón “The Angel's Game”

CLASSICS
Charles Dickens “A Tale Of Two Cities”
Susan Hill “The Woman In Black”
Mark Twain “The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn”
H.G. Wells “The Time Machine”
Virginia Woolf “Orlando”

VARIETY
Anthony Doerr “All The Light We Cannot See”
Erin Morgenstern “The Starless Sea”.

A-ha, we have found a nice place at the top of the conversation space, for our alphabetized, master buddy-reading list! It is trimmed for 2023 and I regularly add goodies. Let's defer to “Canadian” in authors or subjects, no matter their genre.

If some books aren’t shown: I have not had time to add them, do not have them, or am uninterested. I reflect volumes we are at. Feel free to continue conversations anywhere in our group. Sincerely, your friend and hostess, Carolyn.


~ CANADIAN ~

Jann Arden “Feeding My Mother”
John Buchan “The 39 Steps”
Margaret Buffie “Angels Turn Their Backs” (Winnipegger!)
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”, “Long Drums And Cannons”
Gordon Lightfoot “Lightfoot”
Janet Lunn “The Unseen: Scary Stories”
Susie Moloney “A Dry Spell”, “The Thirteen” (Winnipegger!)
Lucy Maud Montgomery “Anne Of Ingleside”, “The Blue Castle”, “Along The Shore”, “Among The Shadows”
William Shatner “Up Till Now”
Ian Tyson “The Long Trail: My Life In The West”.


~ SERIES ~

Nevada Barr “Track Of The Cat”
S.J. Bennett “The Windsor Knot”
Anne Brashares “The Second Summer Of The Sisterhood”
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”
Melissa De La Cruz “The Isle Of The Lost”
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 "Shopaholic Takes Manhattan"
Christopher Paolini “Eragon”
Ian Rankin “Tooth And Nail”
Rick Riordan “The Maze Of Bones”, “The Lightning Thief”, “The Sea Of Monsters”, “The 39 Bones”
J.K. Rowling 1 “Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban” (yes, I am last to indulge. I want to savour this.)
Michael Scott “The Alchemyst”
Trenton Lee Stewart “The Mysterious Benedict Society”
Maggie Stiefvater “Lament”, “The Raven King”, “Opal”.
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”
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”
Chelsea Handler “Uganda Be Kidding Me”
Goldie Hawn “Goldie: A Lotus Grows In The Mud”
Elton John “Me”
Anna Faris “Unqualified”
Amy Poehler “Yes, Please!”
Amy Schumer “The Girl With The Lower Back Tattoo”
Rainn Wilson “Bassoon King”.


~ 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”
Lewis Carrol “Alice In Wonderland”
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”
Susan Hill “The Woman In Black”, “Mrs. De Winter”, “The Man In The Picture”
Shirley Jackson “The Haunting Of Hill House”, “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 “In Search Of The Castaways / The Children Of Captain Grant”, “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea”!
Virginia Woolf “Orlando”.

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