Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
ABOUT BOOKS AND READING
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What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread.
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Nina
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Nov 14, 2016 06:26AM
Fascinating about the moon's size to the naked eye. It makes so much sense I had never thought about before. Thanks for posting. I did take pictures last night but for where we are located couldn't get it just above the horizon.
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Jim wrote: "Earthquake Science by Judith Hubbard is a kids book (8 - 10) but I enjoyed it & learned a lot. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/sho..."
Thanks for posting, Jim.
The Man who Made Things out of Trees is Robert Penn's journey with an ash tree from woodland to 44 finished products & back to the stump 2 years later. It's a wonderful tribute to ash wood in particular & woodworking in general. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "The Man who Made Things out of Trees is Robert Penn's journey with an ash tree from woodland to 44 finished products & back to the stump 2 years later. It's a wonde..."Thanks, Jim.
Jim, which wood is not good in fire places?
Joy H. wrote: "Jim, which wood is not good in fire places?"Quite a few. It's not great to burn conifers like pine & fir since they tend to flare (burn hot & quick) as well as put a lot of creosote (soot) in the chimney. Soft deciduous woods are fairly worthless. Willow & box elder (a very soft maple) tend to rot on the firewood pile by the time decent woods are dry. They also tend to burn quickly without much heat. Birch is iffy. Other hardwoods like beech & elm burn well, but their interlocking grain makes them very difficult to split, even with a hydraulic log splitter. Black gum is as tough to split & doesn't produce as much heat per log as either.
We always preferred red oak since it split easily & dried quickly, but we've used a lot of different woods depending on what trees came down. Black locust, cherry, maple (both silver & sugar), hickory, & pecan all put out a lot of heat per log. They all burn a long time & season well.
We liked to cut most of our wood in the late fall/early winter & split it for the following year, but cut up any deadfalls that were in the way as needed. Cutting in the winter meant less brush, insects, & snakes to deal with. It's also a fairly hard job, so was nice to do then rather than in the hot summer. We used to heat primarily with wood, so went through about 5 cords a year.
Jim wrote: "Joy H. wrote: "Jim, which wood is not good in fire places?"Quite a few. It's not great to burn conifers like pine & fir since they tend to flare (burn hot & quick) as well as put a lot of creosot..."
Thank you, Jim. I've always wondered about that. I'm going to pass the info on to my son who burns wood to heat his house in winter.
I'm sure he knows already, Joy. He'll also know how to dry the wood properly since green or wet wood will also cut back on the amount of heat & create more creosote. Here are some charts that show how many BTUs a cord of each type of wood gives off. Eastern Hardwoods are the third down.
http://firewoodresource.com/firewood-...
I wrote that birch was iffy earlier because it varies a lot depending on the species & where it is grown. The chart shows that pretty well with Black Birch at 26.8 btu/cord while White Birch is only 20.2. I'm surprised at where Red Maple & Box Elder fit in their chart, though.
Jim wrote: "I'm sure he knows already, Joy. He'll also know how to dry the wood properly since green or wet wood will also cut back on the amount of heat & create more creosote. Here are some charts that sho..."
Thanks, Jim. I sent a copy of your new message to him with the link.
Operation Breakthrough was a disappointment. Such a shame. I could only give it a 2 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Our November weather/strange/in the seventies mostly and flowers still blooming but soon Old man winter is appearing with low temps predicted Saturday and Sunday/big drop in temp and I think we've hardly had fall.
I am currently reading a murder mystery set in England, 'Autumn in Oxford," and although not the best book I've read it has caught my interest in what is going to be the solution to be found at the end. Tomorrow I pick up "Truman" at the library and we'll see what I think of it compared to his daughter's version. But, all that reading will have to wait until after Thanksgiving. Hope it is Happy for all of you.
Jim wrote: "Operation Breakthrough was a disappointment. Such a shame. I could only give it a 2 star review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."Jim, it's discouraging to be disappointed by a book. I know what you mean when you say you wanted it to end. I want the one I'm reading now to end. I'm almost there. Can't wait to spend my time on a better book.
Nina wrote: "Our November weather/strange/in the seventies mostly and flowers still blooming but soon Old man winter is appearing with low temps predicted Saturday and Sunday/big drop in temp and I think we've ..."Nina, we've had low temps for a while now. Just be glad you had the warmer weather for a while longer. Jack Frost is biting our noses here.
Nina wrote: "I am currently reading a murder mystery set in England, 'Autumn in Oxford," and although not the best book I've read it has caught my interest in what is going to be the solution to be found at the..."Nina, glad to hear you're making progress with your latest book and are looking forward to your next one. I'm in the middle of several books. It's slow going but at least I'm still going, bit by bit. :)
I finally finished reading Journey's End by Renee Ryan!See my review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I picked up the Truman book at the library and could barely lift it. It is 900 pages and counting. I doubt I have the patience to get through it.
Nina wrote: "I picked up the Truman book at the library and could barely lift it. It is 900 pages and counting. I doubt I have the patience to get through it."Nina, is this the book, Truman, by David McCullough? I wonder how interesting it is. Please let us know. Somehow, I don't find him to be an interesting person although I know he spoke his mind and he started out as a haberdasher. Am I right?
Joy, yes that is the Truman book that I am referring to and yes, it is interesting to me as I lived through part of it. Did you remember Truman was the one who decided to drop the Atomic Bomb?
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski is the second of the Witcher books. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, I still gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Nina wrote: "Joy, yes that is the Truman book that I am referring to and yes, it is interesting to me as I lived through part of it. Did you remember Truman was the one who decided to drop the Atomic Bomb?"Who could forget!
Jim wrote: "Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski is the second of the Witcher books. While I didn't like it quite as much as the first, I still gave it a 4 star review here:htt..."
Thanks for posting, Jim. When you say: "There was enough action...", what kind of action are you referring to? I see that the book description says "action-packed".
Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "Joy, yes that is the Truman book that I am referring to and yes, it is interesting to me as I lived through part of it. Did you remember Truman was the one who decided to drop the Atom..."One of the things the book by his daughter pointed out was from one of his letters saying "Not only will millions of American soldiers be spared the invasion of Japan and the civilians living there but also many Japanese soldiers would also be losing their lives." I thought that an interesting fact we never heard about.
Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "I picked up the Truman book at the library and could barely lift it. It is 900 pages and counting. I doubt I have the patience to get through it."Yes he once had a haberdasher shop that went broke and that is how he got involved in Politics instead.Nina, is this the book, [book:Truman..."
Nina wrote: "One of the things the book by his daughter pointed out was from one of his letters saying "Not only will millions of American soldiers be spared the invasion of Japan and the civilians living there but also many Japanese soldiers would also be losing their lives..."I vaguely remember hearing that, Nina.
Jim wrote: "Fighting bad guys & monsters."With guns?
I watched the film adaptation of The Naked Civil Servant by Quentin Crisp."The Naked Civil Servant" (1975)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073438/?...
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Joy H. wrote: "With guns?"With a title like Sword of Destiny? No. Feudal systems, swords, bows, magic.
Jim wrote: "Joy H. wrote: "With guns?"With a title like Sword of Destiny? No. Feudal systems, swords, bows, magic."
Ah, so! Thanks. I must pay more attention to titles! :)
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly was excellent, especially being it is the 19th Harry Bosch book & the 26th in the Harry Bosch Universe. I gave it a 4 star review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have to say I am enjoying reading, "Truman" probably because it is so much of my history and connections to some of the people mentioned, however, I found another mistake. He mentioned Pendergast's priest was Monsignor Arthur Tighe and that priest wasn's a M....until thirty years later. I guess we all make mistakes but yyou hardly expect it from a Pulitzer prize winner.
Jim wrote: "The Burning Room by Michael Connelly was excellent, especially being it is the 19th Harry Bosch book & the 26th in the Harry Bosch Universe. I gave it a 4 star review..."Jim, Connelly's job as a crime reporter must have given him plenty of ideas for his stories!
Nina wrote: "I have to say I am enjoying reading, "Truman" probably because it is so much of my history and connections to some of the people mentioned, however, I found another mistake. He mentioned Pendergast..."Nina, I started listening to Margaret Truman's The President's House: 1800 to the Present The Secrets and History of the World's Most Famous Home. So far, so good!
Nina wrote: "I have to say I am enjoying reading, "Truman" probably because it is so much of my history and connections to some of the people mentioned, however, I found another mistake. He mentioned Pendergast..."That's disappointing, to say the least. A couple of errors like that would make me doubt the veracity of the rest. I've put books on my 'DoNotRead' shelf for that.
I ran into a mistake in a fictional story today that drove me nuts. Harry Bosch Wikipedia entry made me decide to put "The Crooked Man", a short story, as #23.6, but that's not really the correct chronology due to inconsistencies in the story. Harry is partnered with Edgar which would put it before #12 Lost Light, but Hannah is his girlfriend (books #23 & 24) & he is 60. This is a new murder & he is in Open-Unsolved, so shouldn't get a live one. I'll settle for #23.6, I guess. Disappointing needing to juggle inconsistencies. Worst of all, it wasn't that great of a story.
As Joy mentioned, he was a crime reporter for a newspaper for years & even wrote a book about some of it. He has several other characters with their own books that fit into & around the Harry Bosch series perfectly. He has a lot of great stories & knows how the system works. This probably wouldn't be a big deal in some series, but Connelly has done such a great job keeping his Harry Bosch Universe consistent that it's glaring & quite disappointing.
Found another mistake in "Truman," but think someone must have told David Mc...the wrong info. That could happen to anyone. Apparently, he did come here to do research and his book is do full of important details of history that I forgive him for the two mistakes but the third one means he didn't really "know" Kansas City not the real Kansas City; only partly. None of this will make sense to you, my goodreads friends, but if he was writing about your home town and didn't get it right you'd understand.
Nina wrote: "Found another mistake in "Truman," but think someone must have told David Mc...the wrong info. That could happen to anyone. ... if he was writing about your home town and didn't get it right you'd understand."I understand the way you feel, Nina.
The Crossing is the 20th Harry Bosch book, 27th in the Harry Bosch universe & was incredibly good. It's hard to believe how fresh the story seemed with all the recurring characters & so far into a series. It's incredible, but I had to give it 4 stars in my review here:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Jim wrote: "The Crossing is the 20th Harry Bosch book, 27th in the Harry Bosch universe & was incredibly good. It's hard to believe how fresh the story seemed with all the recurring characters ..."Jim, I wish I could enjoy books the way you do. Too bad I can't tolerate "twisty" plots. As I've said before, twisty plots require a good memory so as not to be confused. I get confused very easily. Sometimes, even in a simple story, I will confuse the characters. I often think it may be the fault of the authors not being clear enough. They give characters names but don't flesh them out. So you forget which one is the aunt and which one is the grandmother, for example. This happened recently while I was reading Journey's End by Renee Ryan.
Just read in the NYT book review that "Tom Sawyer," was Mark Twain's best seller and that he actually wrote it for adults but it was promoted as a book for boys.
Nina wrote: "Just read in the NYT book review that "Tom Sawyer," was Mark Twain's best seller and that he actually wrote it for adults but it was promoted as a book for boys."That's interesting, Nina. Sometimes I wonder about the opposite, when young adult (YA) books are just as satisfying to adults. Below are some YA books which I enjoyed:
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Home is Where the Heart Is by Mildred Mastin Pace
My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
My review is at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
PS-I have made some corrections in my review of Wonder Struck. So you might want to see them. The link to the review is: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The corrected part reads as follows:
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Nov. 21, 2016 - I finished this book a few days ago. It held my interest but the ending was a bit strange. I guess that's the surprise for the reader to find out. (view spoiler). I suppose if I read the story over again, it might have more meaning for me now that I know the ending. However, there would be less suspense. Suffice it to say that I kept wondering who the little girl in the graphics section was. Even at the end, it took a while for me to digest the information. That part at the end was in italics and that seemed to make it harder for me to read."
=============================================
Werner explained the correct facts to me and I really appreciate that he did that.
In another group we were discussing how messed up the YA genre is. A lot of complaints about sexually explicit material. My biggest complaint is they're so uneven in their reading level, themes, & plots as to make the genre a useless distinction. Apparently if the main character is a young adult, that's enough. Not enough, IMO. A great YA story is 'Tom Sawyer'. It's a good enough story on the face of it & while there is a lot more to read between the lines, especially now, a wild child on adventures is enough to hold the interest of young & old alike. Like To Kill a Mockingbird, we get more out of it each time we read it over the years.
Heinlein's juveniles were good YA stories. They feature teens doing daring things in space & have some simple, wholesome themes. They're great to read as a kid & not bad as an adult, but mostly for nostalgia value or to discuss with my own kids.
YA stories that get into sex are iffy for most parents. Never bothered me, but there's such a huge range of sexual knowledge in kids that read YA - prepubescents to legal adults. My kids tended to skip the sex parts until they were old enough to be interested & there isn't any stopping them from learning after that. Not today with access to the Internet.
Bad YA stories are those that think kids are stupid. They write down to them, leave plot holes, & have cardboard characters. Kids aren't stupid & mine used to catch that sort of thing quickly. Typically it was something assigned by the school, not something I recommended.
The worst YA books are those that are too far out of the kids' experience & are boring. Often they're classics that turn kids away from reading. The Catcher in the Rye is one I see a lot of people complain about. Lord of the Flies is another, although it turns off girls the most. I didn't mind either as a teen, but I didn't really get them until I was at least in my 20s.
IMO, we need to foster a love of reading in kids & the content doesn't matter much so long as the parents discuss the book with them. So long as they enjoy them, they can always catch up on quality later.
Jim wrote: "In another group we were discussing how messed up the YA genre is. ... IMO, we need to foster a love of reading in kids & the content doesn't matter much so long as the parents discuss the book with them. So long as they enjoy them, they can always catch up on quality later."Good point, Jim. I'm all for fostering a love of reading. Once a kid realizes that reading can be enjoyable, he will read more and more. Hopefully, along the way, he'll be able to recognize good writing.
I read the book, "Winnie the Pooh," to my nine and six year old and they loved it and laughed along with me and then wanted me to read it again to them in their early teens. I sometimes think it is what you read to them and go along with whatever they want to talk about that is important at any age. Sometimes I think there is a fine line between the age appropriate times for individual books.
Haven't gotten past the four hundred page mark in my Truman book as I had to fix dinner for three different households and got a bit tired yesterday, Now on the Thanksgiving menu I have fudged a bit as I am ordering a ready made turkey so only have to heat it for a couple of hours/but I am making old fashioned green beans with bacon and vinegar and two squash pies and cranberry sauce so all is not from the store.
Nina wrote: "I read the book, "Winnie the Pooh," to my nine and six year old and they loved it and laughed along with me and then wanted me to read it again to them in their early teens. I sometimes think it is..."Here are links to Winnie the Pooh quotes:
http://list25.com/25-heart-warming-qu...
http://www.stylist.co.uk/books/the-gr...
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/10-win...
Now wonder the Winnie the Pooh books are so loved.
Nina wrote: "Haven't gotten past the four hundred page mark in my Truman book as I had to fix dinner for three different households and got a bit tired yesterday, Now on the Thanksgiving menu I have fudged a bi..."Nina, I'm sure your Thanksgiving dinner will be delicious! I guess we're all busy getting ready for Turkey Day. Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!
Catcher in the Rye was one of my son's favorites when he was in high school. I read it myself in this past year and did understand why he liked it even if it would not be a favorite of mine but good writing.
Nina wrote: "Catcher in the Rye was one of my son's favorites when he was in high school. I read it myself in this past year and did understand why he liked it even if it would not be a favorite of mine but goo..."The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I remember reading this book. It certainly was unusual. It seemed to be a book full of Salinger's pet peeves, wouldn't you say, Nina? Straight from his heart. I gave it 4 stars.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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