Weather-Tues. Feb. 24, 2009

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glens Falls, NY - Tues. Feb. 24, 2009
Temp at 2:48 AM-ET: 17°F (-8°C)

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 28.
Wind chill values as low as -2.
Northwest wind between 7 and 9 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 5.
West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Above from: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick....

[Nina]

Sunny and in the sixties so I'm out to clean the bird baths. On my list for a must read is "Dewey." I have yet to hear anyone who hasn't fallen in love with the book about an abandonned kitten in the library. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I can't wait to see temps in the sixties!
Tonight they say it will go down to zero here in GF.

Thanks for telling us about _Dewey The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World_.
Sounds interesting.

[Nina]

Here is my list of books on my bedside table: JUST JANE By Nancy MOser; SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN By Lisa See; THE CHILDREN'S HOUR By Marcia willett; THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY By Mary Ann shaffer adn Annie Barrows; DEWEY By Vicki Myron;WATER FOR ELEPHANTS By Sara Gruen;LUNCHEON AT THE BOATING PARTY By Susan Vreeland;THE CONDITION By Jennifer Haigh;BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AN AMERICAN LIVE By Walter Isaacson. As I said earlier, I am reading "Bridge of Sighs," and "Two Men Read Jane Austen," and I just finished, "Them, By Francine DuPLexis. The latter was one of the hardest books I have tackled but once I decided to do it I am glad I did. Fascinating memoir by the daughter of a Power Couple in NY City in the late forties, fifties and into the sixties. And before that Russian aristocrats in the thirties; then the French scene in the forties including escape from France. How the other half lives is vivedly portrayed. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Quite a list, Nina.
In what way was _Them A Memoir of Parents_ a difficult book?

[Nina]

Joy, "Them" There was a lot written about individual characters that didn't interest me until I got far enough into the book(about a third of the way through) to understand their importance to the whole of the book. I had to go back and re-read to see where the author was coming from. Do you remember Marlene Deitrich? I hope I spelled that right. About three fourths through the book I discover she was one of the author's mother's best friend; once they were in NY. I still think It is one of the most interesting books I've read. It does read like a classic which does demand a more intent reading than most other books. Speaking of books; page 97 in, "Bridge of Sighs," mentions Lake George. I haven't read his other books but no wonder he won the Pulitzer..Hi writing is excellent / nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Hi Nina.
Thanks for explaining about "Them". I can understand how a book like that might be more demanding than some others.

Yes I remember Marlene Dietrich. In fact I read her biography, _Blue Angel_ by Donald Spoto. Donald Spoto has written a good number of interesting biographies.

[Nina]

If you decide to read THEM which I do think you would enjoy I think you would get an even better view of M.D. I was amazed although I hadn't read her biography so perhaps you come at her at a different angle. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, below is an excerpt from the Amazon.com page of _Blue Angel_, Marlene Dietrich's biography:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Publishers Weekly:
Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) dedicated her energies to maintaining the Garbo-like image of a mysterious, alluring, remote creature, a glamour-queen role crafted by her mentor and sometime lover, director Josef von Sternberg. But the earthy German-born actress we meet in Spoto's marvelous, elegantly written biography was "entirely a woman of the moment"--a sexual libertine with lovers of both sexes, a frequent cross-dresser, a neglectful mother who condescended to her troubled daughter, an astrology addict, a "Hausfrau who put a towel around her head" and constantly "complained about almost everything." Spoto (Laurence Olivier) tells how Dietrich wrapped herself in illusions and deceptions, denying the existence of her sister and obscuring the details of her long marriage to Rudolf Sieber, a man she rarely saw. She paid the price, Spoto writes, through emotional imbalance, loneliness, decades of self-imposed isolation and "a spiritual vacuum at the core of herself." He also details her many sexual conquests, among them Yul Brynner, Eddie Fisher, John Wayne and Gen. George Patton. An empathetic, demystifying portrait, heartbreakingly beautiful and sad, this biography blends astute film criticism with backstage and bedroom lore. Photos.
From: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0815...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The book was MUCH more interesting than _The Plague of Doves_. Ha! Ha!

[Nina]

Thanks for the info on Dietrich. It confirms what I read in THEM and added facts I didn't know. But what was interesting in Them book was that it was written by someone who lived in the same house at times with Dietrich. . Dietrich was her mother's best friend and that mother was not someone you would like. Maybe they deserved each other. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "But what was interesting in Them book was that it was written by someone who lived in the same house at times with Dietrich."

Hmmm, that DOES give one the view of a fly on the wall!