Gardener's Group discussion
Overall Reading Goals&Book Chats
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What Did You Just Finish, What Are You Reading Now & What Books Have You Brought Home Recently? (Spoilers Possible)
Cheryl, that author's name is familiar, but I cannot remember what I read of hers. I get good feelings when I see her name, so I must have liked it!Terri,
I usually only read one book at a time, so you wouldn't be waiting on me much! Sometimes I will pause to read books from the library, then return to a book I own, but that is only if it is a big book.
As I am working through Eleanor and Franklin, and loving it by the way- so pertinent to politics today, I am realizing that a lot of my right shoulder pain (torn rotator cuff and separated shoulder) is from holding heavy books to read! I had read another big heavy book, pain, then for several days read smaller paperback books, no pain, then started this one, pain. Duh. So now I have to figure out a way to support heavy books when I am reading. In bed, I have an antique bed table (that even tilts and has a lip to hold the book on) but on the couch and chairs, hmmm.
When I'm reading on the couch I use a pillow in my lap to raise the book up so I don't have to hold it--that seems to help. Whenever I read a big book, it's the ONLY time I wish I had a Kindle. :0
Good idea, Terri. My problem is seeing the book around the cats... sometimes I have to hold it up in the air!
Just finished Eleanor and Franklin. Amazing book. So relevant to today's problems. We keep repeating the past.
Miriam wrote: "Cheryl, that author's name is familiar, but I cannot remember what I read of hers. I get good feelings when I see her name, so I must have liked it!Terri,
I usually only read one book at a tim..."
This might not work for you, but it helps me. When I read heavy books I lay them flat on the kitchen table and sit there to read.
Miriam wrote: "Just finished Eleanor and Franklin. Amazing book. So relevant to today's problems. We keep repeating the past."Glad to hear someone else liked this as much as I did.
Miriam wrote: "Cheryl, that author's name is familiar, but I cannot remember what I read of hers. I get good feelings when I see her name, so I must have liked it!Terri,
I usually only read one book at a tim..."
I think the other book I read by Russell was called "Thread of Gold" and was a WWII novel and I loved that one as well. Great characters and story.
If I get a footstool, that might work, Cheryl. Without one, my feet don't touch the floor which pulls my back out of alignment, causing back sprains.
Terri wrote: "Cheryl: I have that book to read too! Glad to hear it's intriguing. I don't normally read sci-fi but I was told by someone else that it was really good so I ordered it.Same thing with The Host..."
I'm almost finished and am so glad I got the sequal at the same time and have that to look forward to. I rarely give 5 stars but unless the ending puts me off I think that's where I'm going with my review.
Miriam: It sucks to be short, doesn't it?
Terri, yep! One reason I like Victorian furniture. People were shorter then. The chairs actually fit me.A friend of mine has shortened a nice oak chair for me, but I don't have a desk or table to fit it. I need to shorten a table now!
Hitler's Silent Partners: Swiss Banks, Nazi Gold, and the Pursuit of Justice
Interesting to read about the unscrupuous greedy bankers.
Every now and again it comes up that some Jewish family find some art that was stolen by the Nazis and naturally want to reclaim it. Usually there is so much outrage that they would do so as now 'innocent' Germans or Swiss own it and have done for several generations. The sentiment of anti-semitism isn't buried very deeply it seems.
Hehe, I am the opposite. I was raised Orthodox Jewish, but not in a Jewish community (close to a very big one though),and I don't have a Jewish name. Some of the stuff I heard. But then I don't look black either and gee the stuff people will say in front of me not knowing that I married into a black family. I can't fathom prejudice, but I wasn't brought up with any - I went out with whom I pleased, my first (and last, but not many in between) boyfriend was black and I used to go to a Church youth club with my best friends. I think I was lucky with my parents this way, there was never any discussion about race or religion, rich or poor, everyone was assumed to be equal.
I am reading an interesting book, The Madness of Prince Hamlet and Other Delusions, which doesn't think that sociopaths are necessarily born that way (but might be) but is more concerned about their upbringing.
I finished Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's and wrote a review. I wrote in a state of great passion about what seemed to me to be the casual acceptance of anti-semitism in American society that I had never dreamed of (this is not saying the author was, he wasn't) but when GR swallowed my review I was so p'd off I haven't got round to rewriting it.
Read Déjà Dead today and 206 Bones yesterday. Interesting author. Similar to Patricia Cornwell, but better character development I think. So many similarities, though.
That must have been a terribly worrying time for you Miriam. btw I was abused physically and in every other way by my mother and sometimes my father (not sexually, that was someone else). I might have turned out weird but I'm not a psychopath!
Petra, yeah, it isn't just the physical/emotional abuse that does it. There are other factors that also have to be present, and I suspect the absence of a loving, moral caretaker is also necessary.I, too, am weird, and I was mostly just neglected, not mistreated. But weird makes the world a whole lot more interesting! I get really tired of the generic Iowa personality.
Miriam wrote: " I get really tired of the generic Iowa personality"which is?
Miriam wrote: "Oh, Petra. Generic Iowa personality is 'Nicey nice', Republican, live within 10 miles of where they grew up, only read commercial fiction, and conform. Everyone is white, lots of blondes and blue e..."From your description I think Iowa might be worse than Minnesota. Actually it's just small town Mn as the bigger cities are a huge mixture of races and cultures. There's large communities of both Hmung and Somalis in the twin cities as well as native Americans and many others. Where I live is WHITE, but I think there's something like 28 churches connected with our community, about 6 or 7 of them are Lutheran, but the rest are pretty diverse. When I was a kid there were 4 denominations--Lutheran, Methodist, Congregational and Catholic. I remember when the Mormon church was built it was the talk of the town for months. Small town America!
From your description, Miriam, I now understand why I was thrown out of a secret (diet) group on GR. I think they were not only frothing at my enjoying, Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen while they were ranting against her being a Democrat and disrespectful to Republicans in the book but also possibly because I was foreign, Jewish and a white woman with an (ex)husband who was black. The majority of the group's members were blonde, short hair, middle-aged, all white, all Christian, all Republican etc.
How funny you could describe people so well and be so spot on! Do all the States have generic types?
California does not. We're pretty diversified. Can't speak for all the other states.
There are types in the UK too. There is a reality show called 'The Only Way is Essex' that is hilarious from what I've seen (I have to download torrents). Essex is a county close to London where the people are characterised by being very common, airheads, obsessed with money and very flash. Maybe there should be an Iowa show too :-)
Petra, I enjoyed Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen and loved the movie, have you seen it?
The unfortunate thing about stereotypes is that they persist because there is truth in them, no matter how unattractive they may be. The other unfortunate thing about stereotypes is that often times, outsiders looking at them use them to label people/communities as a whole instead of keeping in mind that it's in reference to the few (as opposed to the whole). (Living in NJ, we're well acquainted with this).
Jo wrote: "Petra, I enjoyed Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen and loved the movie, have you seen it?"No. I'd like to though.
I agree with you to a point about stereotypes. I know loads of people of from Essex but only one who fits it (and she was a lovely, warm girl). When its funny like this, or how Miriam described Iowa people I think its fine. But I don't think its fine when it comes to race or religion.
message 330:
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Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
(last edited May 03, 2011 06:43PM)
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I wasn't speaking of race or religion, though stereotypes are there too whether its liked or not for the same reasons I stated above about stereotypes in general. Personally, I don't find stereotyping funny at all, no matter the context.
Overall, I prefer no one here make generalizations about people/area's which could offend others in the group or those looking through the threads to see if they'd like to join. (Personal experiences are different & not a generalization; sharing personal experiences is completely different).
Hi Petra, I just wanted to mention that although my Colorado small town is primarily white, for a long time our little college was a target college for students from the island of Trinidad because it was believed that they would encounter less discrimination here than in other places. We kind of thought it was exotic and cool to know a black person!
I still get excited when I visit bigger cities and see all of the diversity.
Putting this thread back on track: 100 pages into Bloodroot by Amy Greene, I've finished part 'One' and I really liked the writing at first, now I'm not sure if I want to stick with it or put it down for a little while. We'll see after I start part 'Two' in a bit.
I'm really involved with My Lobotomy and Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival and sort of dipping into a few other books.
Jo, there is a difference between stereotypes and describing cultural norms. I have a BA in anthropology. That is why my Petra found my description interesting. In Iowa, it is not okay, according to the values of the Iowa culture, to confront someone to their face- hence, the nicey nice. There are many sub cultures to the common judeo-christian culture of the area.
message 335:
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Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
(last edited May 04, 2011 06:15AM)
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I am well aware that there is a difference between stereotypes and cultural norms though I'm sure there are those who may not be and could take things the wrong way when generalizations are made regardless. As moderator, I want everyone to feel comfortable regardless of topic - I'm sure you can understand and appreciate that. I'd appreciate it if further discussion on this subject, would be placed in the thread I created for off-topic discussions. Thank you kindly. Here's the link to that thread: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
message 336:
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Bloomin’Chick (Jo) aka The Eclectic Spoonie
(last edited May 04, 2011 10:38AM)
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If anyone is interested: Today on Oprah, she's going to have the Freedom Riders on, http://www.oprah.com/showinfo/Oprah-H...
Petra X wrote: "There are types in the UK too. There is a reality show called 'The Only Way is Essex' that is hilarious from what I've seen (I have to download torrents). Essex is a county close to London where ..."Now that would be a hoot.
Still reading and fascinated by the "Children of God" the sequal to "The Sparrow" This is one of those books I don't want to end. Now that I'm finally able to work outside my reading time will be radically curtailed, but will pick up again when it gets really hot outside. I'm still assuming that will happen this year althought nothing else about the weather has been normal.
Jo, I understand your role as moderator is a tough one. Sometimes people ask a question under the wrong header. I answer it under the wrong header, or respond to a comment under the wrong header. Feel free to delete my comments after the person they are answering/ responding to has a chance to read it. That way in the future there won't be the fluff that turns people off. But it is very hard to have a conversation among each other and keep it all under the proper headings. So feel free to delete comments, or I can if you let me know.
You can delete mine too if you want.
I cleaned up my Spring 2011 comments, Daily Happenings, and this one. Just have to check the others now...Finished Break No Bones.
Finished "Children of God" and didn't want it to end, although the end was satisfying. Another 5 star and Mary Doria Russell is definately a favorite author for me.Started "Mornings on Horseback" which is about Teddy Rooseveldt. The first 50 pages were very confusing as it was difficult to tell which "Theodore" the author was talking about--the father or the son. Getting past that the reading is now more enjoyable and fascinating. Picked it up at an antique store for 2 bucks so even if it isn't a big winner it's an economical read.
Glad to hear COG was good--I still have The Sparrow waiting on my desk to be read (like all those OTHER books that are piling up). I've got COG on my wish list. I think I have about 675 on there. I've made a promise to myself that I can't get anymore books until I get rid of ten. What are the odds that's going to work? I've finished three in the last week but two of them I'm keeping as they're reference type books. Under the Dome is already spoken for on Paperback Swap. I just have to put it in the mail.
Oooo, Mornings on Horseback is ALSO on my wish list. Sigh. So many great books out there. Will I ever catch up? Probably not. Because there's always new ones to replace the ones I've managed to read. I guess my list is just going to be HUGE forever. :) There are worse things in life.
I was told that MOH is excellent. Can't wait to hear what you think. You know me, I love those history books!
Reminds me of a tee shirt I saw- So Many Books, So Little Time!I will have Devil Bones finished by the time I have to go to the booksale, since I am up so early thanks to the old dog who needed out at 4:30 this morning!
Don't you just love it?!! Mine woke me up to go out too--so I'm up as well. I might just go back to bed though since I didn't fall asleep until around 2 a.m.Have a great day at your booksale!
Terri wrote: "Glad to hear COG was good--I still have The Sparrow waiting on my desk to be read (like all those OTHER books that are piling up). I've got COG on my wish list. I think I have about 675 on there. ..."Once past the beginning I've been enjoying it. Teddy is "really" an interesting character as is the family dynamic. Hard to know what was really going on there, but seems odd every member of the family except the father had some sort of disability or malady. Will be interested to see what you think when you read it.
Had to put down "Mornings" as I finally got the book I need for Memoir Club this coming week. It's written by a member of the Vanderbilt family from the current generation and is entitled "Dead End Gene Pool" and is pretty humerous. Also interesting to read about 2 different wealthy New York families at the same time although "Mornings" is written in a much more serious manner. I'm thinking "Gene Pool" will make for a great discussion at book club.
Gardener's Group
Books mentioned in this topic
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss (other topics)The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health (other topics)
White Beech: The Rainforest Years (other topics)
Orchids of Britain and Ireland (other topics)
A Garden with House Attached (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
D.E. Stevenson (other topics)Margaret George (other topics)
Bernd Heinrich (other topics)
Adriana Trigiani (other topics)
Konrad Lorenz (other topics)
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Same thing with The Host by Stephanie Myer (twilight fame--which I HATED). My sister was dying for me to read it so I did and I loved it. It was a very good story.