What are you reading? Showing 3,251-3,300 of 7,447

[Marcella]

It's not just a bad day. We constantly have to walk on egg shells for the MP. You better look out if she's in a bad mood. And she doesn't take it out on just anyone. She takes it out on my sis and I.

[Regina]

I know this has been going on for years and that is horrible. I remember saying this when we were in the other group and I stand by it. I stayed with a job (at a law firm) because I thought it was flexible for my kids and family. It hurt me both emotionally (as it was toxic) and career wise. I have since learned that I would have had the same flexibility at other places - and I have. Nothing is lost by looking for another job - for both of you. More is lost by not looking. The environment will never improve and if she has moved in to do the acts you describe your jobs are likely in jeopardy. And if you don't look - you will be stranded without options.

[D.G.]

I agree...if you know things won't improve and you likely have a target on your back, it wouldn't hurt you to start looking.

Talking about job woes, I'm in the 4th day of 'layoff watch'. I really hope today is the day...I'm getting tired of waiting (in my case, being without a job for a while won't be a problem, so I just want it to be over.)

[Leea, Escape Artist]

I'm sorry DG. Waiting is so hard!! I do hope you don't get laid off.

[D.G.]

LOL, I'm sort of hoping they do!

You see, the company is in deep financial trouble and it's going down. If they let me go now, I have a chance of getting some severance. If I wait to go down with the ship, they'll be none.

My husband and I are in a good financial situation - no debt and no long term commitments. If I'm without a job for a while, it won't be comfortable but it wouldn't be the end of the world. At least if I stay healthy! (If I get sick, it will be another matter.)

My plan is to take my time looking for a job I like, rest a bit and read, LOL!

[Marcella]

Thanks ladies! I will discuss things with my sis.

[Tellulah]

Marcella, I agree with Regina, as I stayed in a similar situation for a long time and realized after the fact that it would have been much better for me to look earlier and lose the toxicity. Sending you all the best wishes and many hugs for a positive resolution to this!

And D.G. - :) Hope it comes fast. I hate that going down with the ship stress. Not even an orchestra playing to cushion it.

[Anna (Bobs Her Hair)]

The 8 years I spent with my 'toxic' boss led to early burnout. I left my career behind 4 years later.

@DG. I'm sorry. I wish you good luck.

[Marcella]

I think my sis is worried that she won't be able to get a job because of her lack of experience and knowledge.

[Kay]

Marcella, I'm sorry that you are going through this. I agree with the others, try to find another job to get out of that situation. If your sister is worried, encourage her to go out and look anyway. There's no harm in trying and the best time to look for a job is when you still have a job. There's nothing to lose.

DG...crossing fingers for you. I hope you get what you want. My husband is getting laid off at the end of October. I know how that feels to not really know.

[Kay]

I finished and I really liked it. I love this author's writing style. Too bad there's no backlist of books for me to catch up on :(

I'm off to look for my next read...

[Marcella]

Kay wrote: "Marcella, I'm sorry that you are going through this. I agree with the others, try to find another job to get out of that situation. If your sister is worried, encourage her to go out and look anywa..."

Thanks Kay! Sorry to hear about your husband's job.

[Kay]

Thanks, Marcella. I was worried and stressed for awhile since our kid costs are so high. But luckily, he was able to find another job which will start in November.

[D.G.]

Thanks ladies for the good wishes. :) It seems it like the layoffs won't be today - and they never have layoffs on Fridays so it will be next week.

We just heard through the grapevine that the Australian office will be closing next year. If that happens to us, then most likely I'll be out soon.

Sorry about your husband, Kay. Hopefully he has already something worked out?

[Kay]

thanks, DG. Yes, he has something worked out. We were lucky on that part because the new company is actually holding the spot for him. They wanted him to start earlier but my husband didn't want to lose out on the severance pay from his current company. So, we are truly blessed with this opportunity.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

I'm sorry for all the work issues. I hope they all work out soon.

I finished and I really liked it! It was a great start to a very entertaining series. I loved Stella but I also want to read more about Chrissy and Goat of course. (view spoiler)[ I love the slow slow smolder that's already taking place between Goat and Stella. He's so dang cute, those shy looks and how he's always covering for Stella. (hide spoiler)] Not sure when i'll read the second book, but It will be soon.

Kay, I don't know what to read next, want to read something together?

[Marcella]

Kay wrote: "Thanks, Marcella. I was worried and stressed for awhile since our kid costs are so high. But luckily, he was able to find another job which will start in November."

That is awesome. Glad he was able to find something.

[Kay]

Leea wrote: "Kay, I don't know what to read next, want to read something together?"

Sure! But I have no clue what to read. LOL Anything on your list that you've been dying to get to?

[D.G.]

Kay wrote: "thanks, DG. Yes, he has something worked out. We were lucky on that part because the new company is actually holding the spot for him. They wanted him to start earlier but my husband didn't want to..."

That's awesome, Kay! It's great when things work out like that.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

Kay, any historicals we were going to read? Ha! My brain is not working... off to look.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

Kay - ??

[Marcella]

That is a NICE cover Leea. I would not mind reading that if you ladies do.

[Dee]

Stacia and I are going to read the first book in the Lady Julia Grey series if anyone is interesetd ;) (I figure if I put it here, neither of us will punk out...)

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

I might have to punk out anyway. I've bailed on my last two buddy reads because I can't seem to find motivation to read right now.

Any chance we can push it back a week? I feel like I need to take a few more non-read days in order to get my reading mojo back, instead of trying to force myself to pick up books, only to be disappointed when I can't break past the first few chapters.

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

Sorry to hear about everything, D.G. and Marcella. I also apologize to the group for not keeping up. I've been in a writing/exercising/other real life activities bubble and not been keeping up with GR as much as I have in the past.

Soon, hopefully.

[Kay]

Leea wrote: "Kay - ??

Marcella wrote: "That is a NICE cover Leea. I would not mind reading that if you ladies do.""

I like that author so sounds good to me, Leea & Marcella. I can start tonight or tomorrow. Just let me know what works for you both :)

[Leea, Escape Artist]

Awesome! I can start tonight, I just finished the book I was reading.

[Marcella]

I will be able to start tomorrow. I am almost finished with a book I am reading. If I finish early enough tonight, I will start it.

[Dee]

Stacia ~ Admittedly Apathetic wrote: "I might have to punk out anyway. I've bailed on my last two buddy reads because I can't seem to find motivation to read right now.

Any chance we can push it back a week? I feel like I need to tak..."

I guess - I have a bunch of library books and ARC's to work on

[Lori]

Marcella - Sorry about the job woes. I'll throw in my two-cents, too. Despite the economic downturn and all, it's just not worth it be so miserable at work. It's too many hours/years of your life. At least see what other opportunities are out there.

DG - best wishes on the layoff and job hunting front. Glad to hear you've got things lined up.

Kay - super news for your hubby! I'm still in the job hunt, and it's discouraging, at times. It really is all about networking and connecting these days. I've had to really buckle down and constantly apply and get out there again. I'm confident something will happen for me in the next couple of months, before my severance is gone. My career company is telling me the average is 4-9 months to get a new job these days, so I'm still plugging along.

Dee - Love the Lady Julia Grey series! My initial reviews are niggardly, because I tend to be a harsh rater. (If everything's a 5, then nothing is, right? And BTW, hope no one thinks I'm being racist using that term - it has nothing to do with the "N" word.) But in truth, I should re-rate these books between 3.5-4+ stars. The 1st one is at least a 3.5 star book. I thought there was another book coming out soon, but I might be mixed up with the Tasha Alexander/Lady Emily series.

If you decide to read , the 1st Lady Julia Grey book, let me know - I'd be willing to join in a buddy read and re-read it.

Kay & Leea - I've read . I haven't read the 2nd book, , and I have it. When were you thinking of reading it?

Stacia, I feel like my reading mojo is off, too. Maybe just overwhelmed, since I'm staring at so many books (both Kindle and hard backs).

With all the Outlander news, I started re-reading again... felt the need to be close to Claire & Jamie again. It's kinda my comfort go-to book, too. Since I haven't re-read it in awhile, it feels fresh to me again. And I keep trying to picture the players we know in their roles.

[Dee]

Sure Lori - looks like next week for lady Julia :) and totally agree on the stars - my GR average is only like 3.62 or something like that

[Leea, Escape Artist]

Lori, I think that i'm going to reread Outlander in the beginning of the year... I haven't talked with Dee or Wendy (Co-Outlander Mods) yet but we may so a reread again in the outlander group.

I may join you guys for the Lady Julia buddy read next week. It's been on my TBR list forever.

About the Highland Guard books, we'll see how we like the first book and if we plan on continuing. it's another book that's been on TBR list forever. I can't believe how many books are in the series now. ha!

[Ian]

hmmm...maybe I'll read Outlander as well. I've been putting it off for so long.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

You'll love it Ian... The history is just amazing to read.

[Angie Elle, BaBAMB!!!]

When are you reading The Highland Guard books, Leea?

[Leea, Escape Artist]

We're starting it today and a few of us tomorrow. Want to join us? We'd love it!

[Gwennie, Mrs. Bookworm]

I can't wait to reread Outlander!

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

Dee wrote: "Stacia ~ Admittedly Apathetic wrote: "I might have to punk out anyway. I've bailed on my last two buddy reads because I can't seem to find motivation to read right now.

Any chance we can push it ..."

Gah. I feel horrible now. I wish I'd thought to hesitate before today. It only took a few abandoned books in a row to clue me in to the fact that I needed to give myself a pause.

Ian, I'll be curious to see what you think of Outlander. It's the quintessential "love or hate" book. My friend (and he's a guy too!) wrote this review and I loved his insight. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Marcella]

Question...if a book is DRM free does that mean when I buy it I can use the program Calibre to convert it to the format I need? An author who's ebook is available only on Amazon said her books are DRM free and easy to convert for my Nook.

[Regina]

Yes. :)

[Marcella]

I've never bought an ebook from Amazon. Is it the same as buying from an ebook site? Once I purchase it I will be asked to download it. From there I can transfer the book to Calibre and convert it to the format I need? Is that how it works?

Sorry I just want to be sure I can access the book before I buy it.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

You don't have a Kindle? I really don't know. When I owned a Nook, I just bought books from B & N or downloaded them from Smashwords and side loaded them to my Nook.

Not sure what to tell you. Maybe Regina will know... Good luck!

[Stacia (the 2010 club)]

Amazon books come with a DRM (protective block) on them, so they won't convert in Calibre.

[Marcella]

The author says her books on Amazon don't have the block.

I don't have a Kindle I have the Nook color.

[Leea, Escape Artist]

Is it free you could try?

[Marcella]

It's not free. That's why I'm reluctant.

[Ian]

There are ways to remove DRM...you can get a plug-in for Calibre that will strip the DRM from nearly all file types. I've never actually done it....I tried maybe six months ago so I could convert an .epub file to a .mobi but I have a Mac mind...if it takes more than one mouse click it's too complex and I give up.

I have a friend who hates typos and he does it so he can correct mistakes. I think that's quite funny.

IMO DRM is actually an infringement of your consumer rights. The intention of it is to stop piracy but pirates get around it easily and the main people it affects are people who would like to lend the books they have purchased to a friend.

It's the old mixed tape argument. Thirty years ago we all made mixed tapes to share with our friends...nobody was all that bothered by it. Now music is digital and the same people who were making those mixed tapes are threatening kids with legal action for doing basically the same thing digitally they were doing. It kind of annoys me a bit.

[Marcella]

Thanks Ian! The author says there's no DRM block so I think I'm safe. I will check the price on Amazon. If its not too expensive I will give it a try. If it doesn't work at least I wouldn't have wasted so much money.

[Dee]

personally, I HATE calibre - I don't think its all that user friendly - if I have to convert either to or from kindle - I use a free website (but i'll have to google it because its been a while)

[Regina]

Marcella wrote: "Thanks Ian! The author says there's no DRM block so I think I'm safe. I will check the price on Amazon. If its not too expensive I will give it a try. If it doesn't work at least I wouldn't have w..."

Amazon gives refunds up to seven days for ebooks. No questions. So jo money wasted.

You'd have to download the kindle app. Then the book. Then add the book to calibre (figure out where the book was stored on Your computer when you downloaded in order to be able to add it.). And then convert it. If you couldn't do it you could then ask for a refund.