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[Colleen]

This morning I finished my first Martina Reilly novelWhat If? and really liked it.I plan on reading more of her novels.

[Cathleen]

Emma wrote: "In Ireland we like to confuse things by using the term college and university interchangeably. However we also use the term to refer to secondary schools. Maynooth is a university town but it only ..."

I think it's still used interchangeably here, as well, Emma. I'm a professor at a small college, primarily focusing on undergraduate students, but it has a few graduate programs, as well. So that mix of undergrad and grad can confuse things, too.

[Susan]

Thanks, Barbara. When I looked up Maynooth it seemed like there were 3 or 4 colleges/universities so I thought it was a real university town.

Emma, the Guernsey Literary etc. is a wonderful book. I can't tell you how much I liked it.

Diane, I understand completely. I liked the Cranford series so much that I didn't read the book. I guess I should correct my mistake.

[Paul]

Emma, there's actually two third level institutions in Maynooth, St Patricks college is a theological institute and Irelands oldest Catholic college.

[Trelawn]

@ Cathleen I hope you enjoy N& S. It's a great story.

@ Diane I'm glad you enjoyed the Absolutist. As you say it's more about personal battles than fighting the Germans. So well told.

[Trelawn]

A lot of people do. It's a beautiful collection of buildings, much older than the rest of NUIM.

[Paul]

These days they probably train about ten priests a year but a lot of people do Bachelor of Arts degrees through the college as well.
The buildings are fabulous and some are even haunted.
Rhetoric House is recognised as one of the most haunted buildings in Ireland, I had my postgrad office there and used to have to spend late evenings on computer work.Scary stuff.

[Trelawn]

You'd be surprised how many people outside of Kildare still call it may-nooth :-)

[Paul]

Do I say it wrong. I'm trying to figure it out in my head.

[[deleted user]]

@Paul. There's a difference between creepy and haunted. Mainly some buildings are creepy but none are haunted. ;)

[Trelawn]

@ Declan I don't know about that. There's definitely something going on in Rhetoric House. There's been some tragedies associated with that building.

[[deleted user]]

There are tragedies associated with any building more than 100 years old. As long as people don't dwell on them the building doesn't get a reputation.

A family lived in Fred and Rosemary West's house for years perfectly happily. They couldn't spend a night in it after the found out about it.

Just telling someone a house is haunted will generally make them feel uncomfortable inside it.

[Trelawn]

Possibly true but whatever the reason I never felt completely at ease there after dark.

[Paul]

I heard noises though Declan, lots of noises. I take it you don't believe in ghosts then. Sometimes you can forget there's no such thing when its midnight in an old building

[[deleted user]]

There's no such thing ad perfect silence. There are always noises, and if you aren't used to them your imagination can run wild.

I used to worry about things like that as I kid but started to seek out the source of the noises. They were so mundane as to be a disappointment as opposed tp a relief.

[Paul]

And next you'll be telling us there's no Santy

[[deleted user]]

He's real, alright, but 'elves' is a codeword for child labour.

[Paul]

But they were on the naughty list

[Paul]

I don't know Jamie Lynn. Ireland has a lot of ghosts. Our politics have been based on them for years.

[Paul]

Casper ;-)

[Paul]

Well the ghost in the building I was talking about earlier supposedly possessed people, forcing them to jump to their deaths from a third story window. There is also a red stain that cant be gotten rid of outside the room.

[Gavin]

The Silkworm and ADWD :) and a few others im on the to read pile

[Gavin]

and im also 6 books behind schedule on the reading change ugh

[Gavin]

Jamie Lynn wrote: "I don't pressure myself with trying to read in bulk Gavin. Right now I'm lazily listening to a nice cat cozy mystery. :)"

its the yearly one for new books i'll catch up once i get back from holidays and when i need a break from college work , i have them sitting here

[Paul]

Thats how the story started Jamie Lynn. There was a few suicides and then one guys Said he fought it.

[Paul]

Two very different books to read a the same time Gavin. Like A Dance With Dragons but I disliked the attempted geographic split attempted with it and a Feast of Crows. Great characters were missing for too long.
I have a huge TBR pile but I dont let it pressure me. Its not worth stressing over.

[Trelawn]

I finished Cranford this morning and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was exactly the change of pace I needed. Now for something different. I've started Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough. It is a fictionalised account of the Thames Torso Murders. These murders occurred around the same time as Jack the Ripper was terrorising Whitechapel. Like the Rippers murders, the Torso murders were never solved. From what I can gather Pinborough adds a supernatural element to the crimes. It reads well so far switching from narration to newspaper reports and alternating between different years in the 1880s.

[Gavin]

Paul wrote: "Two very different books to read a the same time Gavin. Like A Dance With Dragons but I disliked the attempted geographic split attempted with it and a Feast of Crows. Great characters were missing..."

oh im not stressing over them actually if i was i'd be more worried about the 'saved for later' and amazon wishlist lol and ive been reading it since 2011 i just put it down in December of that year needed a break ,

[Paul]

Sounds good. Similar to the book I nominated ;-)
Theres a few here enjoy a good mystery.

[Cathleen]

Trelawn wrote: "I finished Cranford this morning and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was exactly the change of pace I needed. Now for something different. I've started Mayhem by Sarah Pinborough. It is a fictionalised..."

That sounds like a good summer time read, Trelawn.

[Susan]

That would be interesting if I knew Fred and Rosemary West. My husband and I bought a house in Louisiana in which the wife had murdered the husband after he had run around on her. Everybody asked me if I was nervous and I said I would think it would be my husband who would be worried.

I like the pronunciation on Maynooth. Nevada is one of our 50 states and so many people, especially on the East Coast, mispronounce it all the time. It is funny to hear people from Louisville pronounce their cities name. I don't think anyone can say it like a native.

[[deleted user]]

You lived in a murder house, Susan? Seriously, you should write that autobiography.

[Cathleen]

Susan wrote: "That would be interesting if I knew Fred and Rosemary West. My husband and I bought a house in Louisiana in which the wife had murdered the husband after he had run around on her. Everybody asked m..."

Susan, how do people in Nevada say "Nevada"?

I second Declan's note. You should write an autobiography. It sounds like it would be a page-turner :)

[[deleted user]]

There was a lab in Birmingham where the staff always felt uncomfortable and nauseated. The also say shadowy apparitions from time to time. When of the senior lab techs looked into it and found that there was a loud, but ultrasonic, noise that was inaudible to humans emanating from an air-con. He tightened a screw and no-one ever experienced the discomfort or apparitions again.

We can often find the cause if we're willing to look for it.

[Susan]

I am such a book nerd and I know Allan will appreciate this. CJ Sansom has a new book coming out in Oct. in the Matthew Shardlake series. I can't tell you how excited I am. I pre-ordered a copy from Kenny's as I can't wait until it comes out in the US. If I could be doing cartwheels I would.

Cathleen, next time I watch the commercial on how to pronounce Nevada I will write it down. I am not good on explaining it on paper but it grates when you hear it.

[Allan]

Good old CJ Sansom. I didn't realise you liked the Sharlake novels, Susan! :-D !! I think I'll wait for his next book based on more recent history though...

[Susan]

I'm so obsessed now that I have checking the Web to find out if he's speaking anywhere. So far no luck. I was hoping he might speak at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in Oct. about when the book is coming out. Since I am planning my trip to Ireland in Oct. I thought I could hop over there, I saw nothing about him appearing but they do have some fantastic speakers lines up. I went once before to this festival and it was marvelous. I stayed in this B &B run by a lovely gay couple. They parked my car for me (I'm sure for their own safety), gave me a lovely garden room, did my laundry for me and served me a wonderful breakfast. I could have stayed there a month if I could have afforded it. I loved Cheltenham. It was a great town with too much traffic. But it was amazing to see the Town Center converted into a huge book sale in separate little tents and the speakers were awesome. I saw Helen Mirren, Michael Palin, Germaine Greer talking about Daphne DuMaurier and Alan Alda. Such a great memory.

[[deleted user]]

Remember, Susan, when you get to Dublin the 'Pepsi' is on me.

@Jamielynn. I feel the same.

[[deleted user]]

After reading about them in this group, I bought my ma a number of books for Mothers Day including the first three No# 1 Lady's Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. She just messaged me to say she liked them a lot, hinting that I should 'maybe' get her some more. :)

[[deleted user]]

@Jamielynn. From your Pharmacy?

[Trelawn]

Glad you're enjoying it. I missed the tv series. I presume Judi Dench plays Miss Matty?

[Paul]

Trelawn enjoyed the book too.Id like to say i'd be nice and watch the series with her but probably not ;-)

[Diane]

Emms, Did the Cranford series stay relatively close to the book?

[Susan]

Oh, Declan, I am so happy your Mom likes the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I love it and it is really the only series of his I really care for. There is never much of a mystery but it leaves you such a lovely feeling. I've read all of them and always look forward to another.
Another series she might like is the Lady Georgie books by Rhys Bowen. The first one is Her Royal Spyness. She is like 39th in the line of the monarchy and poor. It is really a fun series and the same feeling as the No. 1 Ladies series. I'm just tickled pink.

[Trelawn]

@ Emma, like you, I think i'll be reading more Gaskell. I bought Mary Barton last weekend.

@ Theresa that is quite the cast. I really like Celia Imrie and Eileen Atkins.

[[deleted user]]

@Susan. I'll get her some more No# 1... for now, but when she's finished with that I'll get her yer first book from the Lady Georgie series. Thanks for all your advice. :)

[Diane]

@Theresa. I had no idea that Judy Dench's daughter was in Cranford. I'll have to look up which part she played.

[Barbara]

Declan wrote: "After reading about them in this group, I bought my ma a number of books for Mothers Day including the first three No# 1 Lady's Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. She just messaged me to s..."

These novels are quite entertaining and I'm glad yer ma enjoyed them. Sounds like you should pick her up a couple more.

[Barbara]

Jamie Lynn - I agree about supporting small local businesses over huge chain stores. I find Walgreens convenient when I'm traveling in the US as I know they have a little bit of everything.
Emma - I don't think US pharmacies will give you a bit of medication 'to tide you over'. The most mine does is contact the doctor for a refill. I belong to a HMO which means I have to get my prescriptions filled at one of their pharmacies or by mail (can take 10 days or more - I swear I could walk to the warehouse which is in Virginia and back to get it in less time). If it's after 5PM on a Saturday or Sunday, I have to drive about 25 miles to the nearest open pharmacy.

Emma - I see you added 3 books by Elizabeth Gaskell. I am not familiar with her. I must admit I have not read a lot of 19th century lit or classics.

[[deleted user]]

I'll do it on Monday, Barbara. It gives me a good excuse to head into Chapters.