Net Work Book Club discussion
Greetings and Idle Chat Thread of 2017
Orinoco, you probably didn't see my question in the last message. I asked if your side of the world will see the eclipse.I hope you get better. I used to get really bad bronchitis attacks during the changing seasons, but since I load up on Allergy pills, Vitamin C, B12, and Iron before winter hits, I don't even get a cold anymore (I might have just jinxed myself:)
Ori I hope you are back on your feet soon. Groovy dear oh dear what have you done? I think this is going to be a bad winter coming up for you. Cross you eyes arms and legs and turn in a circle three times without falling over and you may avoid what's coming LOL.I've had three colds in the last two months that's what I get for saying I'm over mine. It started back up while I was on holiday.
Noooo, you jinxed me! I'm going to cross everything, including my hair and toes, and turn triple:)We had those Lemon-Lime scones for dinner that Orinoco posted here. They were DELICIOUS! Of course, I added two extra ingredients--sugar and chilled butter. They came out so soft on the inside and crunchy on the out. You can actually taste a hint of the lemon-lime soda. Keeping this one:) Thanks, Ori.
They are deffo best straight out of the oven of course!As for the eclipse, the newspapers etc here haven't said a word about it so I guess not. Not that they pay any attention, in my city. I remember several years back, there was a partial eclipse, and people sitting on the bus were like, "What a dark, ugly day it is" but no one remembered about the eclipse--except me, and I kept my mouth shut. Oh, and the doomsday cults who annouced "the end of the world" that day--which is still here.
Isn't it sad when you revisit a movie or book that you loved so much in the past and find that you don't enjoy it at all! Not necessarily something you loved as a kid, because yeah, we all grow up, but say a decade or so ago, and then you see/read it again and you think--"What did I like about this?"
Ori, reading is all based on mood and what is happening at the time you read a book. your mood and what is happening at the time determines what you like and why you like it. This is what I believe.
You hit the nail on the head, mrbooks. I remember my days of Harlequin and Silhouette Romance novels. I couldn't get enough of them. So, a few months back, I thought I'd find some old ones from a book store and maybe start rereading them again. I was surprised at my lack of interest in the stories. They were quite boring and flat. My life has changed so much since then, and the mood I was in is not the mood that drives me now. Don't get me wrong, I still love romance, but I don't get the same pleasure from the older ones as I used to.
Oh Groovy that takes me back! When I was a kid, my mother said that Harlequins especially were "dirty books" and only trailer trash read them! My first encounter up close was when my wild-child much older sister was brought back to our hometown a la Prodigal Son (except he came home willingly, she was brought). She fed on a steady diet of all kinds of RO-mance...and a lot of the non-Harlequins were basically mommy porn! Harlequins at that time were bland as you say. I could basically recite the formula: Girl runs away from home for whatever reason, often because she's wealthy and wants to be "loved for herself". Meets boy, hates boy, fights with boy over some silly misunderstanding that could be cleared up with one question and one straight answer, but which carries on for about one hundred pages. Boy thinks girl is an idiot but he is so attracted he can't help manipulating her emotions for the whole book, pretending to hate her but really in love. (!!) Finally it all gets straightened out in a big scene, and all that happens is a kiss or two until they are man and wife. Curtain."You've Got Mail" is a classic example. If you want to har-har over my review of one of the first Harlequins I actually read, here is a much-later review: The Bride Price
A friend of mine in highschool also fed exclusively on books of this type and the Danielle Steele sort as well. I always wondered if it gave her unrealistic expectations of marriage. I remember screaming with laughter at some of the Harlequins--particularly Leopard in the Snow and others by Anne Mather and Essie Summers. Reading them aloud made us aware of how hysterical they were! Summers came out with immortal lines like: "Their eyes met as she reached for the roast." And the heroine of Leopard in the Snow seemed to be so short of breath she couldn't finish a sentence: "But Dominic--I...How can you...I never thought..." LOLThat was how I cured my mother of thinking they were "dirty books." I read Beyond the Foothills aloud to her once when she was laid up ill in bed. She laughed till the tears ran down her face, in all the "wrong" places! I remember even being allowed to join the Harlequin Book Club that sent you 5 books a month, for a year or so. When my dad was laid up recovering from surgery after I had left home, he apparently read them all!!
Romance, shudder. Not my cup of tea as the saying goes. I have read what they call chic lit, but not much further then that. I am currently in the middle of a horror romance set of two as a favor to the author who wrote them, I let him know they are not my normal read as I have a tendency to avoid romance so my messages to him will probably reflect that.
Exactly, Orinoco! And I used to get them in the mail, too. I would get so excited. But I learned a valuable lesson from Harlequins about love, and the makeup of the man I'm most attracted to. So, it wasn't all bad. Your review is spot on:)mrbooks, I've never heard of a horror romance. The closest I've come is suspense.
I do want to add this: If the heroine would just ask the question that would solve the ordeal in a second, we wouldn't have a story. And that's why it's called fiction. A reviewer said the same thing in a review for one of my romance novels, "I don't understand why she allowed that to happen, when all she had to do was just ask him."--LOL! It's like in the movies. If the characters would just ask the life-saving question, or do what we all would do in real life, then you'd have no story. Fictional characters think totally differently from us real people. If they didn't, all we would have on TV are 60 Minutes and documentaries:)
Well, yes, there is that. But in many romances of the HQ type, the situation is just nonsensical from the git-go. I read one where the heroine was overheard saying goodbye to a person and trying to encourage them in their problem, and the hero jumped to the conclusion she was having an affair! Did he confront her? Noooo. He just treated her like dirt and set up situations to "catch" her for the next hundred pages.It's the assumption that a man will manipulate a woman for weeks and then when she finds out, she will give him the wedding-smile and fall into his arms like a mountain of silk, that I can't stand.
The eclipse was absolutely AMAZING, people!!! My daughter and I got to sit outside and watch the day grow eerily dark. We were watching it through our handmade solar boxes, then the neighbor popped his head over the fence and gave us some extra glasses. EVEN BETTER!!!! When the black moon completely covered the sun we looked straight at it, and WOW!!! What a shame it comes once in a lifetime.The only drawback was that it didn't last long enough.
Back several hundred years ago man would think the world was coming to an end when we had an eclipse. The native American Indians were far smarter then the Europeans when it came to understanding the stars. For part of his training the medicine man would track the celestial bodies as they crossed the night sky. A falling star was not an ill omen but they were smart enough to use it as a message from the gods normally when they wanted or needed something done that was best for the tribe.
Good news, I've started remembering my dreams. Several years ago I had a couple of TIAs and stopped dreaming. I've always had extremely vivid, detailed dreams--rather like going to the movies! Often I was not even a character in my own dreams, and I seldom dream of people and places I know IRL. Dreams I had decades ago have stayed with me in great detail.For years now, if I dreamed at all, I have forgotten my dreams the moment I woke up, and felt robbed. Most people don't understand the importance to me of my "dream life", but I also realise that when I remember my dreams I wake up rested and in a positive frame of mind. Of recent months I would be aware that I had been dreaming, but not what about--so frustrating!
For the last week or so, though, I have seen "the movie"...it faded gradually over the half-hour or so after waking, but it's there, and it's detailed, and I'm back to my old standards of either being in the dream, but not being "me" (different person/situation) or simply watching the movie.
So encouraging.
Good for you, Orinoco. If that's helps you and encourages you, then I'm glad your dreams are returning.I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but I go through 3 phases of dreams. One phase is where they're vivid like you described above; like being in a movie. Either I'm in it, or just being a voyeur. The other phase is where I dream, but I don't remember once I wake up. The last phase is where I have no dreams at all. I'm at that stage now. Each phase lasts for about a couple of weeks, then they start all over again.
Of course, the vivid dreams are my favorites. For some reason, you look at the day differently in a good way. I don't have nightmares, I'm too old and angry for that.
I have never been one for dreaming, snoring according to my wife but dreaming never.
I very seldom have nightmares, these days. Maybe we grow out of them as we get older and realise that being afraid of things doesn't actually achieve much. I do occasionally have "stupid" dreams where things are so odd that you wake up thinking, "Now--what?"
I don't have nightmares any more (which will now probably bugger me up completely for sleeping tonight), but I do have weird dreams and I always seem to be in that stage between vivid while dreaming, remembering on waking then it all goes really hazy over the next 20 minutes of getting up. I used to have flying dreams as a kid and I loved them, always the same one, but then I flew further one time and never had them again after that :(
LOL! I remember those flying dreams. Mine were scary. It was like shooting straight up at 100mph to the point that you jerk awake. So I decided that the next time I had that dream, I would ride it all the way to see what happens. The dream happened and I rode it all the way. I never had that dream again. I guess it was the "facing your fears" kind of thing.As I grew older, the flying became pleasant soaring.
And I think stupid, weird dreams are very common.
I miss mine. I used to jump off the top of my friend's staircase and always woke before I got to the bottom. Then the last time I got my hand on the doorknob and the next minute I'm flying over the city at night looking at the lights. Now I mostly dream of being stuck in the underground and having to jump over train tracks in crowds of people all going the wrong way lol.
My favorite flying dream was when I was younger day dreaming while lying in the grass of my side yard. I would jump up to the top of the tree then float from one tree to the next. Occasionally I would just hover and float a few feet of the ground.
Emma wrote: "I miss mine. I used to jump off the top of my friend's staircase and always woke before I got to the bottom. Then the last time I got my hand on the doorknob and the next minute I'm flying over the..."I once dreamed that I was going down the stairs of our building by holding onto the bannisters and swinging myself down three steps at a time. The neighbour was standing in the hall and said, "Aren't you afraid you'll fall?" I said, "No I often do this." And I woke up convinced I did indeed often do that.
Went out that day, and realised it was impossible to do as I'd dreamed, because there's only one bannister and it's a wide, flat piece of metal that would be impossible to grasp as I did in the dream! I was foolishly disappointed, as if someone had come along and changed it while I wasn't watching.
Am I the only person who's allergic to all these new lists--"100 (X) You Must (Y) Before You Die"?I guess I'm just a rebel at heart, I hate being told what to read/eat/watch/listen to. It's my free time, thank you very much, and I'll do as I like with it.
I always think these lists are made for people who don't have opinions of their own. Or want to be seen reading/eating/watching/visiting whatever music, book, place so people will know how hip and cool they are.
Lists. Pffffffffffft.
Challenges. Double Pffffffffffft.
Live.
Make your own list, people!!! Pfffffffff.
I have a better idea, lets find the person writing these lists for people and teach them the art of self exploration. We will introduce the piece of there anatomy that rest at the upper most position to one that is used to expel waste materials from the body. Then we can see if they can do a list of that for us.
Uh-oh, somebody's in trouble--**laughing**
Groovy wrote: "Make your own list, people!!! Pfffffffff."Yes, if you have to be "challenged" online to read, or to sew, or to follow a hobby like photography, you're a) spending far too much time glued to your computer/tablet/smartphone, and b) not all that into said hobby anyway. People find time for what they really want to do. "I don't have time" usually means "I'm not bothered." Look at all those hard-working pioneer women, slaves etc who had to do it all by hand, and yet found time to create wonderful quilts, or woven articles, or carvings. Of course they didn't have smartphones...
The US Open is finally here! **high-pitched scream** So, you probably won't hear from me a lot until it's over. If you read my profile, you'll know where to find me.Hope everyone's doing fine, and have a fun, safe weekend. For those who live in the US, keep the ones who are suffering under Hurricane Harvey in your thoughts...
Where did everybody go? **words echoing off the walls**
We are here Groovy Groovy Groovy LOL
So how has My friend Groovy been? I have been busy painting a fence and yes it is a picket fence and yes it's white LOL
HA! She runs off and cheats on us with all those athletes, and then we're supposed to just hang around the empty clubhouse till she shows up! LOL
But see she was right she knew we would be here for her when she returned
I'm always here. I have no life...sniff sniff...
My first ebook reader is about 7 years old. It's Spanish brand (Papyre) and I guess they don't make them anymore. Not tactile, no backlight, no search functions except "recently read." DH sat on it the other night. Fortunately it was on the matress, but unfortunately the last page it was open to is still partly visible. The software still works. It's pretty sturdy so I hope maybe my local Asian mobile-fixit shop can do something with it...but it's so old (in electronic terms) that they may just laugh in my face. I don't know.Yes, I'd like a more efficient second ebook, but crumbs! Maybe he'll learn to look about him before he flops (I was already in bed and he just flopped, not noticing it was there). However, he's 72 so I kind of doubt he's gonna change his habits now.
I certainly hope he hasn't killed "Antonio", but I rather think he has.
(And don't say "Kindle" to me. Not gonna happen. Ever.)
Laughing at myself...I've been listening to A Wrinkle in Time, thinking it was one of those few books my dislexic brother liked back in the day. And wondering how that was possible. I know it was huge in the sixties and seventies, but I can't see how he would like it.Then this morning while doing the ironing I realised I got the title wrong. The book he loved was Tunnel Through Time.
Totally different!
Y'all made me laugh so hard--thank-you.I'm sorry, Ori and mrbooks, but you know how I feel about tennis. I didn't mean to abandon you, and if it's any consolation, "I missed you both!" But I was in tennis heaven:) It's almost over. We're in the finals, and my girl Venus made it--Yesssss!
Does your fence look better, mrbooks? See? You had time to go paint while I was away:)
Ori, I'm so sorry to hear about "Antonio"--MEN, right? But I think it's time to let him go, maybe build a shrine and put him in it.
And why can't I say the "K" word? I love mine.
Ouch poor Antonio but he had a good innings LOL. But ladies you are hurting me, Really e-readers and K's. Not for me if it doesn't have I can feel and turn and smell, old or new they all smell great, then I'm not interested.I am anti e-reader and proud of it...
"he had a good inning"--LOL!I love the feel and smell of books, too. E-readers are so convenient, and more affordable for authors who can't afford to publish their books in paperback at the moment.
Y'all obviously have more shelf space than I do. And access to a physical library with a good selection. And live in a climate that is kinder to paper than this one. When it's over 35ºC for weeks on end, no matter what you do the pages turn brown and bindings go for broke.I love being able to have a thousand books in one place to choose from...even if that makes it hard to choose, some nights! Slip a thousand books in your handbag and go. Yes. Also, with an ebook and clip light, I don't need a lamp on to read; I can lie comfortable and warm (or cool) in the bed and read for hours. Otherwise I'd be banished to another room so I didn't wake DH with the light; away from the AC in summer or the soft, warm blankets in winter.
Ah but I don't need to plug my book in and charge it to use it. As I am a slow reader I don't need to bring more then one or two books away on holiday, that's when the boss allows me to read that is.
Can I say the "K" word now? Because you don't need a 1980's clip light with that. The screen can be lightened or darkened to your preference. Won't wake up your hubby, and you can stay warm or cool in your bed.Orinoco, c'mon, step into the twenty-first century **waving you forward** LOL!
mrbooks, I think that's how books should be read--slow. I've heard others say they read close to 10 books a week. Wow! I applaud those that have that ability, but I'm doing good if I can finish one within a week.
I'd much rather sleep more than read as much as I do, I can tell you that.
I can only read one a week if the are less then 400 pages or the are really well written and fast paced.
THANKS EQUIFAX!!! You had one job to do, sit at your desk and protect other people's valuable information. I have to multi-task 10-20 things a day, and I still could have done a better job!!!Thanks for letting me vent, y'all:)
Net Work Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Diary of Samuel Pepys — Complete (other topics)A Wrinkle in Time (other topics)
Tunnel Through Time (other topics)
The Bride Price (other topics)
The Coroner's Lunch (other topics)
I am better, spent yesterday in bed with a cold. Had things I wanted to do but decided I'd better rest or I'd be really ill. Colds always go straight to my chest. At least my nose didn't swell up!