Just as I sent this message LT went down so I'm trying again.

Did you know that you can have a sneak peek at the Early Reviewer books? They have a profile set up called earlyreviewers and you can put it in your interesting libraries and check it when it gets closer to the time.

I just searched the tag September 08 and a list of books came up, some look quite interesting. The only problem is they don't tell you which country they will be available in.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:29 pm (EST) den Sep 4, 2008

But just in case you happen to want to read all that drivel yourself, I'll just warn you the review link contains spoilers. Not that I think it can be spoilt, it's already one of the worst book series ever in my opinion.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:34 am (EST) den Sep 2, 2008

Do you want to take my turn on the Stephen King game? I won't be home until tomorrow and haven't got any of his books with me and I don't want to delay the game for so long.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:47 pm (EST) den Sep 1, 2008

Ha! so funny, you sound like me. Yesterday I asked Hemlock gang what book she was reading in her profile pic :)

That is a JANE AUSTEN SEVEN NOVELS: Deluxe Leather Bound Gilt-edged Edition, I picked up on sale at B&N. I have not read Austen for
a very long time, and never owned her books myself. In person it is rather gaudy looking, lol, but it seems appropriate somehow.

I have yet to crack it, as my TBR mountain is threatening to move into volcano status and start showering books all over the room(s).

:)
k

postet av mckait kl. 11:08 am (EST) den Sep 1, 2008

It's good to know that they haven't doomed all pedigrees. I don't like to see dogs with docked tails either. Some friends in Yeovil had two Jack Russells (now, sadly, just one is left) that they rescued and they were always sorry that their tails had been docked.

Scotties can suffer from an internal bleeding problem, I was told by my vet it is really only an issue when they have been used as a breeders cash machine, but it does concern me, to the point that my neighbours must think I have a weird obsession with her poo, but that's where the first signs of a problem are likely to show up. She's never had a litter though and that problem was the biggest deciding factor for us.

I would cheerfully go back to the days of buying a license to have a dog and take it further by making potential breeders sit a test. And potential buyers too. I think it would stop all these teenages buying staffies that they can't control for a start (I'm a bit biased about this as a friends daughter was just last month attacked by a staffie who minutes earlier had been described as "soft as shite" by the nineteen year old owner. She now needs plastic surgery and all because some lad wanting a status symbol has no idea how to care for a 10 stone dog (still a puppy too). If they made you study the needs of the breed you were wanting to buy it would save a lot of dogs and people from unhappy lives and neglect.

I did fall for the little bulldog pups Martin Clunes went to see but I know that they are bred knowingly with breathing problems, so guilt would stop me from getting one. But my guilt about Scottie really was in knowing that because there is a demand for pedigrees and these new mixed breed Cockerpoo type things, for every good breeder there must be several more indifferent or bad ones who are just in it for the money and so even by going to a good breeder I might have helped the bad ones. I feel guilty easily, if I'm ever arrested for a crime I didn't commit there's no doubt I'd get life for it.

I loved the rescue dogs too and that dog was so happy to save him. I don't care what they say about dogs just wanting to be part of a pack either, they do love you, it's not just that they need a leader (I know this because the pack leader in our house is often not human.)

We saw some Newfoundlands in action once at Sherborne Castle. They were retreiving things from the lake before they put on a rescue display. We had gone to a country fair and that was the best bit (half an hour later I was back at the gate complaining very loudly that I hadn't paid to get in so I could watch "a bunch of fox-killing countryside allience people bleat about not being allowed to kill things any more while wearing Tony Blair masks." (I know I said that because Andrew videod me on his phone, I was too cross to think about it at the time but I was quite scary on the video.) We saw a hunt once and not only did someone kick one of the hounds but we saw the fox get caught and killed. I'm not sure which bit made me most upset but it was then that I knew I could never support it.

But the Newfoundlands, they were worth the entry fee. About a week later we saw one while we were walking Scottie. It was in the boot of a 4X4 (filling the boot) and we went over to talk. Scottie was only just allowed out as she was still a puppy and she didn't have a proper bark yet but she tried her best to fight it. And this very dignified dog sat there letting us pet him before getting this puzzled look on his face and leaning over the edge of the car to see what was making the odd yipping noises. He could have swallowed her whole and he was not scared, despite her best efforts to terrierise him.

I would have loved to see the one you met 'rescue' the swimmers. I bet he had that same puzzled look. 'I'm saving them, why is everyone so cross?'

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:17 am (EST) den Sep 1, 2008

Are you watching the dog programme on ITV now, with Martin Clunes? It's the second part from last week. They are just operating on a spaniel with hip problems because the interbreeding to get good pedigrees has caused damage to them. He even said his own spaniel has this trouble. Makes me feel guilty for buying a pedigree.

My pedigree has forgiven me for cleaning her ears now. I bribed her with two slices of roast beef. She's enjoying this programme too, every time there's a bark or a whine she copies it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:47 pm (EST) den Aug 31, 2008

That was really sweet. I wounder if I could train Scottie up to do that? She's not speaking to me right now because I have just cleaned her ears. One of them gets very glooped up and needs to be carefully wiped with an antiseptic wipe every now and again but from the way she fusses you'd think I was doing brain surgery with tweezers through her ears.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:32 am (EST) den Aug 31, 2008

If you click on my map it will take you to the page and you join for free and follow the directions.

The visitors one is easy because that's all you need to do, when you have chosen your colours you just copy the code and then paste it into your page in the edit bit.

The reading around the world one is a bit more complicated at first as you have to use check boxes to pick out the countries but apart from that it's the same. I keep meaning to update mine but I haven't for ages. I need to check my library for specific countries now. I'm trying to go for counties where all of the action takes place or something significant takes place there and it appears in the book, so if someone disappears to Paris and we later learn he died there but we never read it firsthand, I can't count France yet, but if we read firsthand his long climb up the Eifle Tower before he throws himself of it, France counts. Did that make sense.

my other problem is that I have forgotten my login name and password but to request them I need my old sky email address to have them sent. I must write things down and then NOT put them somewhere safe.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:39 pm (EST) den Aug 30, 2008

Why do they like tissues so much? Andrew's sisters dog steals them out of the box if you leave one sticking up out of the top, she just wanders past and takes one. And Scottie has been known to steal baby wipes out of the bathroom bin, I think because they have that baby powder smell.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:27 pm (EST) den Aug 30, 2008

I'm surprised about the Russell Brand book too. I also took against him the minute I saw him on TV (I do take against people quite easily) and didn't think I would like his book, but I might think about it now.

The new feature also tells what books you review, I have just discovered, as I reviewed one today and there it is in the fancy box on my profile right now.

I'd like to Skeelo's shifty look. I love Scottie when she thinks she's getting away with something or when she's hoarding some disgusting treat that she thinks we will want to take back if we suddenly realise how tasty it is. But the best times are when she lurks patiently on the stairs just plotting to get hold of my brothers ankle and give it a good bite (he used to be a postman and he likes to wear a baseball cap - two crimes against a Scottie's better nature and he has to pay for them). The look of delighted evil on her face is worth all the swearing soon to follow.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:50 am (EST) den Aug 30, 2008

I see you just added The Old Man and the Sea to your catalog. Have you read it? I did recently (my review is posted) -- it was my first Hemingway and probably not representative, but I did enjoy it.

Laura

postet av lindsacl kl. 10:25 am (EST) den Aug 27, 2008

That's right, I'm looking after Bob for the week. He's not any trouble and he gets on well with Scottie. He's quite old now, fourteen we think, and he just sleeps and snores and lets off odd smells from time to time (not always from wind either, just an old dog smell) and he seems to be enjoying having us here.

The birds are quite surprised to have us though. I was singing to them earlier and they were eyeing me very suspiciously.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:17 pm (EST) den Aug 26, 2008

I'm fine but very tired today. I'm also all on my own at the moment, Andrew went back to his ship yesterday and my parents left for their holiday in Spain today. So it's just me, two dogs, three birds, four fish and a guinea pig for the next week. That's Andrew gone for the next three months now too.

So we decided to make the most of having the house to ourselves and spent the afternoon sleeping in a heap on the sofa (well, the dogs and me did)

Your finds sound interesting even if they are not valuable. I liked Bonjour Tristess when I read it. I always like to search through boxes of old books.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:32 pm (EST) den Aug 26, 2008

It would be good to see something like that for bigger dogs too, you do see a lot of them with problems and it's a shame to think they can't still be taken out the same way a smaller dog can.

I did read somewhere that John Barrowman, who plays Captain Jack in Torchwood and Doctor Who, has dogs and one of them suffers from ill health, so he takes it out in a dog stroller. That's not something you can do for a bigger dog either though.

I didn't know about that programme or I would have watched it. It's shocking to think that they can condone bad breeding practice for the sake of showing dogs. I am hoping to watch the one on tomorrow with Martin Clunes though.

It is good to know that there are people who will inconvenience themselves for the sake of making their dog happy and giving it as full a life as possible. I was looking through one of those catalogues that come with the Sunday papers, the ones that sell electric-powered ear wipers and one giant slipper you can put both feet in, and they had a polystyrene staircase in it to help elderly pets climb onto the sofa or bed. Again, they were for cats and smaller dogs but it's lovely to think there is a demand for something like that. I used to say we would have to get a futon if Scottie was unable to jump up but now we can keep our furniture and get her her very own staircase.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:39 pm (EST) den Aug 23, 2008

We had some good weather here today and took Scottie to Clumber Park, which is about a half hour drive away. She knows she's been especially good when she gets to go there. We had a great walk around the lake and we were just going for a drink before heading into the woods (her favourite bit) and a family on bikes started waving and shouting "Look, a scottie." They had a little terrier trotting along beside them and a baby carrier being towed by one of the bikes - and when they stopped it didn't have a baby in it, it had an old Scottie dog sitting there looking very important.

He was called Hamish and he was ten and a half. They said he had trouble with his legs and couldn't keep up with the bikes or walk far on his own. It turned out the breeder they bought him from was a front for a puppy farm and although they love Hamish they feel very guilty that they had accidentally helped to fund someone doing that to dogs.

It made us all feel really sad, as when we told them Scottie was six and a half they said that Hamish was already sick by that age. But, he was still a happy looking boy and he was really enjoying being out. They said they stop to let him walk about and investigate every so often and he still gets to be a part of the walk. I'm just glad they love him enough to make him a part of everything rather than leave him behind or have him put to sleep.

I can't tell you what I'd like to do to that breeder though.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:37 pm (EST) den Aug 23, 2008

Hi, I saw one of your posts on "1001 books", i believe, which had led me to your library. I'm especially interested in Victorian novels - I think I've read all the ones I know about. I got some good help from 100 Good Women Writers Before Jane Austen by Dale Spender which you may have read.

Your being an Anglophile, I am wondering, I see P.G. Wodehouse on most libraries but I am disappointed that more folks do not have E.F. Benson, especially after BBC did that wonderful film series of "Mapp and Lucia." I think his humor is unequaled in literature, including Wodehouse. I don't want him to become extinct.(?)

postet av bolero kl. 8:44 pm (EST) den Aug 22, 2008

Have you won an early reviewer book? I've just been told I am getting Tangled Roots, which wasn't the one I thought I would get but I am pleased about.

The blurb says: Two voices interweave, an ageing mother and her adult son, to carry us from Boston to London to Moscow and back again. Through physics, religion, travel and even baseball, they express the often unknown, yet undeniable, influences one life will have on another.

I'm still waiting for the other one I won last time so that's two to be looking forward to (although I read the reviews on the Nicola Krauss one and they are not good.)

Oh, have to go. Scottie is mooing to go out.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:05 pm (EST) den Aug 22, 2008

That would have been great! People would have been talking about that for years. The closest that we got to anything like that was my dad, as we stopped at the bottom of the staircase for a photograph before walking into the wedding hall (we had a civil wedding in our towns oldest hotel) that we could be in the car and gone before anyone noticed if I had changed my mind.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:40 am (EST) den Aug 22, 2008

I haven't been married six or seven times but I always thought it might be nice to try. When my cousin and I played Barbie's together hers would get married to Day to Night Ken and mine would jilt him at the alter (which was usually a big dictionary with a teddy bear sat on it.) Even at my own wedding I had a secret hope that someone, anyone would run in and shout "don't do it!" Just to add a bit of excitement to the day. I didn't even mind if it was me or Andrew they shouted it at.

I like the idea of being the Elizabeth Taylor type of old lady, glamourous and with a string of rich ex-husbands that I had helped to make slightly less rich. It looks like so much fun. But I think I will keep Andrew for now, I'm fond of him and he's nearly house-trained now ;-)

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:06 am (EST) den Aug 22, 2008

It is another book you must buy, and if you buy it online from Waterstones you may see my review with it. I keep trying to think of a 'best' story in it but they are all very good. There's the girl who is reincarnated as an ornamental ashtray, Hitler's dog, Jesus, everything happens in it. And he is a lovely man with a library that you can browse happily for hours. And coincidentally enough, I had a message from him today too. I have to reply now and tell him to get back to work as he has to keep me in stories.

I feel very smug, being part of a select group.

His ex-wife does seem a bit odd too, I have to admit, but I don't dislike her the way I do him. She seems a bit mad and probably not nice but she doesn't seem like a whiner. He seems like a whiner to me. He complains about what a terrible wife and mother she was/is but he married her so he ought to get over it. I'd be a bit mad and not nice if I was married to him.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:38 pm (EST) den Aug 21, 2008

Tony Parsons existing means he has done enough to me to have me not like him. I read some comments of his about his ex wife that put me off him and he has a thin nose. My Nana used to say that people like him had a face like a slapped bottom. I always feel cheered up by seeing his books in the charity shops. It's not often I take against people but when I do I am the first to admit it's unreasonable but unstoppable.

But Rob Shearman's book, I can't believe I haven't already pushed it at you. I would still be pushing it if I hadn't 'met' him on here, it's wonderful. It's a collection of unusual short stories and it is really great. It reminded me of the Joe Hill short stories but not because they are copied or anything, just that they are unusual, well thought out, brilliantly written and they stay in your mind for a long time after you have finished reading.

He is a nice person to talk to and he is definately not a spam author (which is why I am more than happy to sing his praises, he deserves it and he doesn't do it himself).

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:43 am (EST) den Aug 21, 2008

****************************************...
TO EVERYONE

No, I'm not talking to myself! I just wanted to post a message to anyone who reads it, to say that my 'interesting library' applications are getting a bit out of hand and I know I have missed one or two in the past. Please don't think me rude but I won't be replying to these in future. I'm extremely flattered that anyone should consider my library interesting but have simply run out of time to reply to everyone. Feel free to have a browse around any time you feel like it and many thanks for being interested.

****************************************...

postet av Booksloth kl. 9:17 am (EST) den Aug 21, 2008

I love all of Michel Faber's books and re-read Some Rain Must Fall every six months or so. Short stories just don't get better than his! I've also run out of books at two local libraries!

All best,

Hannah

postet av HannahHolborn kl. 11:54 pm (EST) den Aug 19, 2008

Being new to LT, I'm just starting to catalog my books. As I add titles, we may find we have additional books/authors that we both enjoy. It's been interesting to "revisit" my books as I add them to my LT library, particularly those that I read some time ago, and those that remind me of where I was when I read/bought them.
I see from your profile that you live in Devon, UK. I lived in the UK, in the early 1980's, in the town of Mildenhall in Suffolk, about midway between Cambridge & Norwich. Loved the bookshops in Cambridge.
Now, I'm in McKinney, TX, just north of Dallas, where I make good use of the public library. I share my home with 2 grey tabbie cats, Mr. Bee & Miss Jessie.

postet av Catgwinn kl. 8:00 pm (EST) den Aug 19, 2008

The shelf space is something of a problem! I've now had to double stack the books, *and* put recent additions on top of the two layers lying horizontally. It upsets me a bit, because I don't just love reading the things, I always love the way they look fitting snuggly on the shelf - it gives me a warm feeling - but now I've made them seem cluttered.

That said, I'm happy to rent out shelf space to your collection, and the only price I ask for is that the books you keep at my house somehow get absorbed into my library and are never seen again...! (Not too much to hope for, I think.) Your own listings here on Librarything are fascinating, and I look forward to giving them a good browse (and taking new ideas!).

postet av shearrob kl. 7:53 pm (EST) den Aug 19, 2008

Thanks: I did get away from the 20 Questions game but your link worked and I have guessed! How well remains to be seen . . .

Elizabeth

postet av ejj1955 kl. 11:05 pm (EST) den Aug 17, 2008

I had to start it, I keep having the urge to spam the boards with "READ THIS BOOK" every time I find a good one that not many other people seem to have. So I thought if I started a group especially for doing that I could contain my enthusiasm to just the one place (mostly.)

But I have asked people not to promote their own book or their mothers book or their dogs book or whatever (unless Scottie decides to turn her paw to writing that is.)

It has already had success - two people are now purchasing Benny & Shrimp because of my review (and my bossiness.) So it worked!

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:14 pm (EST) den Aug 17, 2008

Well the one yesterday was good because it went from the problem happening, A spot of bother to You Suck - (obviously what we were all thinking yesterday) to the problem being fixed (but I forget what book that was).

But I don't get the main page pile, I think it is just a pile of books. But there is/was a competition to make a new one, so it could be changing soon for something more meaningful.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:40 pm (EST) den Aug 16, 2008

The rain did go on and on all day yesterday didn't it? Every time I tried I got a message saying that LT would be up in a few minutes and it never was. But the 'You Suck' bookpile made me smile each time. Are you not sleeping because of your back? When mine hurt it always seemed worse after a couple of hours in bed.

Andrew is normally well trained in the 'not touching books' department but must have had what he charmingly calls a brain-fart when he decided to put that one somewhere safe. He is lucky he can cook and the fishcakes did help.

I haven't had anyone email me from here, although I was slightly concerned when the Flag Group feature was included and I flagged one for being abusive and then it told them who had done it. But I think Tim changed it very quickly and now it doesn't show up. But the people I have disagreed with have never been in touch.

Scottie is fine, managed to get onto the wet paint, managed to remove her own collar, brought in a snail to show me, tried to eat a wasp, and begged shamelessly for fishcakes, all in one day.

I am being harrassed to go now, Andrew is dropping me off at my mums before going to the football and he wants to leave. I will be back later.

Ohh, and everything else has settled down a bit.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 8:03 am (EST) den Aug 16, 2008

I've been reading various comments under various subjects. I especially liked the comments regarding books I hated in high school. I remember doing a book report
on For Whom the Bell Tolls. I sped-read it in an evening. My own version of speed reading. Made the report and I got an A- on it. I HATED that book. Hemingway is dull, very dull and the dullest. Today I limit myself to books that are worth my time - so many books so little time.

We see very little critical thinking coming forth from the mouths of just about anybody today. This might be because we have dummied down what passes for literature today in the schools. Reading the boring, the good, the dull sharpens our minds.

I recall being challenged by Beowulf, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Kafka and a host
of other authors. Today I read what I consider 'hard' books. Mostly nonfiction. Although I like to vacation once a year with an easy read like The Horse Whisperer
or one of those god-awful romance books of which there are 10 million more or less.
Just kidding.

Does anyone else like to challenge themselves with hard stuff? How do you go about choosing what you want to read?

jazzed universe

postet av jazzeduniverse kl. 3:54 pm (EST) den Aug 13, 2008

It's Andrew more than me that objects to Scottie on the bed. When he is away I move the Indian cover and she can sleep there all night if she chooses. The's only been one night I made her get down, she had wind and her bottom was right by my ear. We both woke up with a fright that night. I always like the story about the hostess of a party in a grand house telling her guests that if they felt cold in the night she would put an extra dog on their beds. Better than any hot water bottle. I think it might be a Mitford story.

I don't know why they would send all those books in seperate packages, it does sound odd, but quite exciting to get so many all at once. I'm still waiting to hear from Waterstones about the points, but they are very unclear on what they do with them, both giving them and taking them back when you use them.

I have got The House at Riverton but haven't read it yet, but I may bump it up the TBR pile now. I have just started The Salesman after thankfully finishing the ordeal that was The Echo Makers, but I am feeling the urge to go back and reread Lional Shrivers The Post-Birthday World too, so the TBR pile may have to wait. I don't know why I disliked The Echo Makers so much, but it has taken weeks to read and I was sick of it by the end. Andrew can't understand why I keep reading a book I don't like but I have to finish them or the haunt me. I should have liked it though, it was just the sort of book I normally love, with a main character, Karin, that I usually sympathise with and enjoy, but I suffered through every page.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:11 am (EST) den Aug 13, 2008

PS - have you noticed the site being weird today? First my message didn't appear at all, then it was their twice. It's been happening in talk too.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:34 pm (EST) den Aug 12, 2008

I've just been sending a grumpy email to Waterstones because they have only given me single points to my card on an order made during the triple points offer (24th to 31st July) so I thought I would let you know, just in case you had ordered anything from them too.

The pillow idea might work but we can't put books under the bed as it is a really heavy king-size sleigh bed with a big wooden frame. We can never move house again because of that bed. But it is so beautiful, almost too lovely to let Andrew sleep on (but Scottie is sometimes allowed if it is thundering or the time after the earthquake) and we have a beautiful embroidered silk spread that Andrew brought home from india on it. It is far too posh for us.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:31 pm (EST) den Aug 12, 2008

Play.com has been tempting me too but I've been trying to avoid it. What did you order? Besides The Salesman I got Lost Boys by James Miller, sort of based on Peter Pan from what I can tell but with boys disappearing from a boarding school and something to do with the middle east. I also got The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson, which is a murder mystery but sounds very good and then Forgive Me by Amanda Erye Ward, which I'm not sure about but I did like one of her others so I am hoping for good things from it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:32 am (EST) den Aug 9, 2008

A big parcel just arrived from Waterstones today and one of the books in it was The Salesman, so I am looking forward to that. I'm still slowly plodding through The Echo Makers by Richard Powers and although I should be enjoying it, I'm just not.

A new pile of TBR books could be just the thing to hurry me on.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 7:03 am (EST) den Aug 9, 2008

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.ph...

If this works then this is the link.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:46 am (EST) den Aug 8, 2008

It's something like Where Does An Authors Domain Over a Character Begin and End and it is in Book Talk.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:44 am (EST) den Aug 8, 2008

I've requested quite a few books this time but the dog book isn't one of them. It almost was, until it said the bit about 'eradication of dogs' and I thought it might upset me too much. It sounds like bad things happen to those dogs and my hormones can't cope.

I'm still waiting for the July book I won though, so I don't mind too much if I don't get one this time. The John Steinbeck one did sound good though. I've requested the Barack Obama one, the comic strip books, the doctor sex one and a couple of others.

There were a few of the american ones that I really wanted to request too, so I will be adding to my wishlist as well.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 7:22 am (EST) den Aug 8, 2008

No, you'd be alright. The people trying to stay on topic won't mind you not having read Harry Potter because it is meant to be any author's 'right' to say whatever they like about the characters whether or not they have published it in the book.

I've just thrown Stephen King into the mix with Desperation and The Regulators, where he took the same characters and entity but completely messed with what he said in one book to the other (the biggest example I can think of is that the parents in one book became the children in the other.)

And I've got to say you are right, by the time I had slogged my way through the first three (when book four came out I think and I wanted to catch up on the debate about them) I wished I hadn't bothered but once I start a book (or series) if I don't finish it I am haunted by it and the only way to stop it is to get to the end.

And she is an utterly miserable looking person, rich or not. But then, our family doctor once told my mother she had married into the most miserable looking family he had ever seen and asked her why she did it, so perhaps I shouldn't comment. I blame our dour Scottish ancestry for it.

Either way, as long as you have an opinion on how far the author can go with a character of their making once the book has been published you will be just fine in the thread.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:21 am (EST) den Aug 7, 2008

This is one you might enjoy if you haven't found it already. Over in Book Talk there is a discussion about where the authors domain over characters should end and the hot topic is JK Rowlings 'outing' Dumbledore as gay. The discussion keeps taking the turn from the topic to the sort of "you only care because she said he was gay" kind of argument but it's actually quite an interesting discussion. I'm just about to go stick my nose in again but thought you might enjoy it too.

And that rose quartze mouse sounds beautiful. I always think Scottie looks like a little mouse when she curls up to sleep.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:54 am (EST) den Aug 7, 2008

I agree. Perhaps "feeling sorry for" him was the wrong expression. He was just so incredibly weak and pathetic that it just sort of made me sad *about* him. I think that's more what I mean.

postet av otherstories kl. 4:02 am (EST) den Aug 7, 2008

It sounds like the exhibition you saw was a lot more exciting than the one today. They had a kitchen table with electrified cheese graters and pans on it, which scared Andrew a bit. The same artist also had a metal wheelchair with knives on it and a metal cot with nothing in it. When I explained they represented the entrapment and repression of women in the home he wandered off muttering that the artist "needs new boyfriend and a trip to Ikea."

We also had the "I could paint/make/set fire to that" "Ah, but you didn't" "Yes but I could" "But you didn't" "But I could" argument most of the way around. It was a lot more fun than if we had actually liked most of the things in there.

They did have a lovely photo of a Jewish cemetary in Poland though, meant to show that it had falling into disarray because of the Holocaust and the fact that their were no family members left to tend it. I say lovely because although it was sad it was also incredibly beautiful and peaceful and done to scale to give the impression you could walk along the path.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:22 pm (EST) den Aug 6, 2008

I also thought the ending in CP&W was excellent - it completely fitted with the tone of the book. Sugar is an incredible character... possibly one of the few characters in fiction who I think I would love to meet in real life. He just wrote her so wonderfully. As he did all the characters. For all his pathetic weaseliness, I couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for Rackham. And for his wife, the madwoman in the attic, as it were.

Have you read The Apple? What did you make of it?

postet av otherstories kl. 11:14 am (EST) den Aug 6, 2008

Have you seen the LOLcats thread in the Green Dragon? It's like I Has A Hot Dog only with cats. Scottie is torn between letting me laugh at cats and feeling slightly insulted. There's a great picture of a cat swimming with a stick and it's Scottie's ambition to push a cat in a lake, so that one's allowed. I know about this ambition because Andrew's uncle has a small pond and his neighbour has a cat that likes to sunbathe beside it - when we visit she always tries to sneak up and give the cat a push, but with no success yet.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:09 am (EST) den Aug 5, 2008

My mum is lucky with Bob, she cuts out the middle-man so to speak and just hoovers him first. He loves it but the look of horror on poor Scottie's face the first time she witnessed it and thought she might be next was priceless.

She's still very unhappy because of all the painting. So is Andrew. He painted the second coat too soon and it's all cracked, so we have had to get some more paint to try to fix the problem. And on Thursday he will be tackling some wall tiles.

He gets a bit of a break tomorrow because we are going to Liverpool to see the doctor our solicitor has given us from the car accident. He is going to have the final word on how much responsibility the driver of the lorry has to take for us losing Elisabeth and although there is no doubt in my mind that he needs to take all of it I am worried that they will decide to take the middle road and say he just contributed to it. We are there at 10:30am, so we have to set off at about 7:30am to get there. I'm already worn out at the thought of it.

Have you seen the film 1408, from the Stephen King short story? We watched it on DVD last night and I was very disappointed in it. Poor Andrew had to listen to a lot of "that didn't happen in the book" complaints. And I do so love John Cusack but he wasn't enough to fix the things they had changed. I was thinking that I might have been too picky because that is one of my favourite of SK's short stories but Andrew didn't like it either.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:04 am (EST) den Aug 5, 2008

I've been fascinated by the Victorians since I was 10, and my mum took me to a museum which had a mock-up of a full Victorian house with all the decor, and clothes, and products and things. I just thought it all looked amazing. I know what you mean about it being expensive to study though - I've had to wait a few years until I had enough money saved up from working to do the MA. It's fantastic though, I'm learning so much. The thing I love about the era is just the amount of change and transition that was happening in the culture and society and politics and how it played out through literature and art. IMHO, I don't think there's been another culture since which has done the same thing in quite the same way.

I have been nosing through your library too, and what wonderful taste you have! :) I have read some other Michel Faber: Under the Skin, and The Apple, and I have a few other books of short stories that I keep meaning to get around to. Not sure they could ever surpass Crimson Petal though, I just adore that book. Have bought it for so many people at Christmas and birthdays, I think they're all sick of me talking about it...

postet av otherstories kl. 8:29 am (EST) den Aug 5, 2008

Poor Skeelo, shedding all his hair. At least he's got black hair, so it doesn't show on everything. Andrew's sister Tracy has a yellow lab called Ruby and she sheds white hair almost constantly. When you go to visit she has this mini hoover thing and she hoovers you as you leave.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:27 am (EST) den Aug 5, 2008

Hello. Stumbled across your library by accident, and as soon as I saw that Crimson Petal is one of your favourite books, I had to say hello. It's a major favourite of mine too. You have some wonderful books.

Kirsty

postet av otherstories kl. 4:34 pm (EST) den Aug 4, 2008

Scottie is really easy to groom. We have a brush to work out any tangles and then a fine tooth comb to make sure there are no bits, ticks or fleas tucked away.

I try to groom her every day and after any walks through long grass. She doesn't really shed much hair at all unless she is left for a few days.

We have a professional groomer come to the house every 12 - 14 weeks to shave her and clip her nails. We have nail clippers but they scare me and Andrew won't let me use his hair clippers on Scottie. he seemed to take offence to the fact that I offered to practice on him first "to make sure I got any mistakes out of the way before I started on Scottie." I can't think why that bothered him.

To groom her properly though, if we were showing her, I think we would have to use a stripping razor. She wouldn't win any prizes with the grooming she gets now, when her hair has been newly cut she looks like a kind of very hairy pig. She has a grunting pig toy that could be her puppy.

Is Skeelo at the stage where if you pat him or a light breeze starts up, a big cloud of hair comes off him? My mum's dog, Bob, is in that stage at the moment.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:03 pm (EST) den Aug 4, 2008

I will go and look for the first lines thread now. So many great lines to choose from though.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:27 pm (EST) den Aug 4, 2008

Hooray! This means you are back up and running properly. I know just what you mean about doing things without knowing exactly what you did but it works.

I was thinking about senor sloth today because we were watching a programme about stained glass on the discovery channel. They were showing how to make a small window and then how to paint the detail on fancier windows. It looks like a very complicated but satisfying. How he can stand to part with anything after he has made it I don't know.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:16 pm (EST) den Aug 3, 2008

I just read Becky's bit about how tattoos feel afterwards and she is right, it is like a sunburn kind of soreness. And I am one of those people who has to keep poking at them to see if they still hurt.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:02 pm (EST) den Aug 2, 2008

Of all the body parts I would hate to get pierced I think my tongue would be in the top three (assuming that two of the bits count as the same thing they are joint second, and I will leave which bits are in the top two spots to everyones imagination).

They do piercings in the tattoo place I go to. That area is very glamourous and has a nice blonde lady doing the piercing. The tattoo part is not so glamourous and has a Johnny Vegas lookalike doing the tattooing while telling you about the funny bits in his favourite film (which involves two lads going to a nightclub and one of them going home with the other ones mum). When they finish they sellotape a bit of kitchen roll over your tattoo, make a rude joke about vaseline and chuck you out.

But even the glamour and the nice blonde lady can't tempt me over to get a piercing, if I get anything else done it will be Johnny Vegas and this kitchen roll for me.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:00 pm (EST) den Aug 2, 2008

I agree with you 100% about exploring other cultures. You always find a few interesting tourists along the way, but I like you enjoy conversing with natives of the country. Spanish is the same as Greek I suppose. You can try to learn as much as possible in a classroom, but it's a different world when you try to apply it to everyday life.

I had my tounge pierced a long time ago, and I can tell you from experience that it wasn't fun so I know what your son was going through. Tattoos however aren't really that bad. I've given blood only twice, because the second time I passed out!! As far as the needle going back and forth into you, you don't really think about it like that when it's getting done. The needle is extremly small. The best way I can describe how a tattoo feels is like a cat scratch, but it doesn't hurt as bad. Afterwards it feels like a raw sunburn. To me though it's worth it because I always get something I want.

It might be fun to start a group on LT about tattoos....

postet av beckylynn kl. 8:22 am (EST) den Aug 2, 2008

I know what you mean about being a tourist hating other tourists. I like to seperate myself from other tourists (although I'm sure it's only in my head), my rule is always respect the culture and that will take you a long way. I defintley want to see pics!! The ones I look up on the computer are so anonymous....so it would be neat to see some of one of my friends!

Tattoos and piercings aren't too bad, however, after your first you become a little addicted!

postet av beckylynn kl. 4:49 pm (EST) den Aug 1, 2008

It is a bit strange when you think how many people are on LT that you run into some of them a lot and others you never see at all. But yes, I have had a conversation with Becky about my tattoos. I do have four now, Elisabeth's name is now there with Ally's and the universe of suns, moons and stars. They are nicely tucked away on my right hip so the are only on show if I am in a swimming costume.

I'm not very fond of needles either and make a lot of fuss usually. I did give blood before but haven't been allowed to for a while because of the pregnancies and anaemia. But the tattoos hurt! The first one was okay, the second a bit more painful, the third not too bad and the fourth one - OUCH! It's not the biggest but it hurt the most.

I don't think I am brave enough for any piercings though. I had my ears done and still remember the pain.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:43 am (EST) den Aug 1, 2008

Glad to see you made it home safely! Hope you had a good time.

postet av beckylynn kl. 7:02 pm (EST) den Jul 31, 2008

I try to be nice but it doesn't always work. Have fun with the kitten, I hope you get there safely. It's raining here too but at least Scottie is happy for a cooler day.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 7:57 am (EST) den Jul 31, 2008

I deleted my message that included promoting my HF novel.

Thanks for the alert.

donroc

postet av donroc kl. 7:33 am (EST) den Jul 31, 2008

I haven't been back to check the MdW thing yet but I will soon. I'm sure what you put was fine though.

Skeelo's stripes will have to wait until after he has managed to get the cat then. It has still been hot here today but not quite so unbearable. Scottie is outside rolling on the grass right now. Hopefully Skeelo has found it easier too.

He might change his mind when he finds the right someone. I was never going to get married but last week it was our 7th wedding anniversary. We had a civil ceremony though so it was more for the commitment to each other then the need to make things legal (plus the navy don't give married quarters to unmarried people unless they have children.)

I completely approve of your choice of band though, I think they are lovely.

I don't know what a private watch list really does either. I tried it at first as I thought it was the only way to watch libraries. Nothing much seems to happen.

On a bright note, things have all been confirmed and I go again tomorrow to get things moving properly now. They were much nicer to me today too. I think it might have had something to do with the angry looking husband lurking beside me. So I feel a lot happier now.

I hope your back is improving today. It's still the perfect excuse for lounging around with a book, a laptop and a dog though, so still take things steady and enjoy the chance for a guilt-free rest.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:02 pm (EST) den Jul 30, 2008

I forgot to say, there has also been an interesting discussion in the Girlybooks group about We Need To Talk About Kevin that you might like to take a look at.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:32 am (EST) den Jul 28, 2008

If the offer of embroidery is still open, all being well I will be needing it in about eight months!

Just found out today and we are a bit stunned but very pleased. This is me going to bed and staying there until April 3rd.

:-D

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 5:48 pm (EST) den Jul 21, 2008

I'm home! It was nice to be able to spend the week with Andrew and the family members we don't see very often but it's really good to be home.

I don't blame you for wanting to be left in peace while you are on holiday, even if it does mean you can't be here on LT. You don't want to go all the way to Greece just to be bothered by telesales and spam emails. And I don't imagine Skeelo or your kids will be sending too many texts, so you should have a relaxing week. I don't understand the people who go on holiday and want to work or speak to everyone at home every day.

I bought The French Lieutenants Woman and The Magus and I did think they seemed different but I am still hopeful. And I have come home to a lovely parcel from Waterstones too, so I have lots of things to add on here later.

And just in case you are too busy now, have a lovely holiday and think of me while you are enjoying all those delicious Greek salads and fish steaks. And if Skeelo and your son fancy chatting about books and dogs while you are away Skeelo knows where to find us.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:55 am (EST) den Jul 3, 2008

Well have fun on vacation!! Going to ol' faithful (Greece) or trying out a new place? Wherever it is make the best of it.

I'm the same as you, I can't resist a good deal on a book no matter how many I have stacked up on my 'to read' list. Hey, if it wasn't books it would probably be something as meaningless as shoes or hats, right? I just finished Heart SHaped Box, and I have to say I'm looking forward to reading more of his works. I've tried to purchase the ghost collections one, but it's too expensive every where I check it out (usually amazon or abebooks). Glad to hear your reading another good one. Let me know what you think of it in the end.

If I don't hear from you before your vacay (which is perfectly fine I understand how busy it gets right before you go) have fun and be safe!

postet av beckylynn kl. 9:37 pm (EST) den Jul 2, 2008

Hi, I'm fine, still with my in-laws so not so easy to get on the computer as their wireless system won't let my laptop access it and we are all using the same PC.

I missed out on the early reviewers this time which turned out to be a bit of a relief in the end, I've bought a few new (secondhand) books while I have been here so the TBR mountain has grown a eleven books taller (with three more waiting at home from Waterstones Online). I found a great charity shop that sells books for either 10p or 30p and a secondhand shop that does them for either 50p or £1.00. I got two new John Fowles books from that last one.

We are either going home tomorrow or Friday, depending on the weather. If it is nice we might spend tomorrow afternoon on the Isle of Wight but if the weather is bad we will just go home. Either way, LT will be dominating my life from Friday as usual.

When is it you go on holiday though? Will you be finding a nice Greek internet cafe for your LT visits?

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 5:41 pm (EST) den Jul 2, 2008

You had said something about Joe Hill showing the promise of being really good after his father? Can you recommend some of his work that you particularly liked? I think it would be great for my mom for her next birthday/Christmas!

postet av Hollister5320 kl. 1:23 pm (EST) den Jul 2, 2008

"... mostly I seemed to attract the bulk of the comments from people who have been here since the dawn of time and come over all funny at the thought of change."

Ahhh, God bless the LT Luddites! :) That was exactly the reason I had stressed to you that this feature should be CONFIGURABLE ... so that "The current status quo would be preserved for those "Luddite" LT members (who like things exactly the way they have always been) that do not select the new option." If the feature was configurable then none of those idiots' objections are relevant since they would be totally unaffected by the new functionality. It would only work that way for those of us that chose to turn that option on.

WRT your tendency to post messages to yourself, may I suggest that you take a close look at the palms of your hands. Are you seeing any hairs there yet?

Finally, reading the definition of your "rating system" in your profile just inspired me to address that issue in my own profile, so I thank you for that.

postet av Rule42 kl. 11:02 pm (EST) den Jun 30, 2008

Oh, please forgive me!! It has been so long since I've replied. My class just wrapped up and I spent every waking moment preparing for a huge presentation in it. I do hope you can forgive me? :)

So it's probably been so long since we talked you forgot the last message you sent me. To refresh: Vampire Chronicles. I've gotten through I think 5 of them, and believe me the first was the best. I loathed Queen of the Damned (I think the third one you stopped before you could finish). So I haven't gotten too muc farther then you have in the series, however I did finish the Mayfair Witch Chronicles, which ends with the same demise. The first book is excellent and pressures you to read more then goes 'kaput' and down the drain by the second and third.

Your politics sound about the same as ours do over here. I'm so excited that we're getting ready to have a presidential election. It will be only the second one I've gotten to vote in......which of course I will be voting Democrat (I hope it doesn't bother you for me to voice my political viewpoints). I can't even imagine a Republican winning at this point in time, however I said that 4 years ago too and look what happened.

No, you didn't give the impression that Skeelo had brothers and sisters, I was asking out of my own nosiness. Your children sound like interesting individuals, just like their mother :) Congratulations on having successfull youngn's (Although I should be calling them young considering they're both older then I am)

Anyways, promise to not make it so long next time..hopefully you'll understand because I do enjoy making frienships with fellow book readers (ps finally finished the Dean Koontz book and it was as horrible as what I thougth it was going to be)

postet av beckylynn kl. 8:15 pm (EST) den Jun 30, 2008

No, not me who recommended the Stephen King A-Z. Perhaps RachelfromSarasota. But I am very interested in the sound of it. More interested if it covers all the books, characters, locations etc than things about him.

I know what you mean about the early reviewers verses TBR piles and books you want to reread. It is great to get a book but then you have to read it immediately. Better to take a break from requesting now and again. I still want to win one now I have requested though.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:30 pm (EST) den Jun 30, 2008

I forgot about those dogs! If I said he takes after his Dad when it comes to writing about animals would that be too awful for you? He can go either way but I'm not saying which way it finally goes.

It's a good book though isn't it?

I'm impatiently waiting for the ER notifications now. I was impatiently waiting from the 24th, when the requests officially closed. It's so exciting but I am no good at suspense, I NEED to know now. Still, it's giving me a good excuse to get onto LT several times a day.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:21 pm (EST) den Jun 30, 2008

Hi there. I'm just following up on our earlier conversation regarding your making the suggestion to the powers-that-be at LT to allow these types of privately posted messages to appear on both the poster's and recipient's profile instead of just the recipient's as they do at present. Did you get anywhere with that suggestion?

I see a post to yourself here on June 28 ... was that the result of LT actually listening to your suggestion and implementing the recommended feature, or were you just talking to yourself? - usually the first sign of madness, BTW :)

postet av Rule42 kl. 5:47 pm (EST) den Jun 29, 2008

Just saying a quick hello today between parties, lunches, games of bowling on the Wii and bookbuying in charity shops I don't normally get to visit. I said I was popping upstairs for my medication without explaining that LT is my daily dose of online happiness.
I hope you have had a good weekend and are just about organised for your holiday. Also, I see from the message below that you are talkng to yourself now. If you find out what the Stephen King book is please let me know too, it sounds good. Have you started Heart Shaped Box yet or is it packed in your case already for devouring on the beach? Do you do beaches or are you like us, hiring a moped and doing the whole island (all around Corfu in 13 hours, just stopping where we felt like stopping)?
ohh! Takeaway has arrived, I have to go.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:41 pm (EST) den Jun 29, 2008

Quick question - I was just having a mooch through the Stephen King stuff and I see you recommended two books about him including one on the links between all the other stuff (Dang! I really thought I might write that one, one day!) Which is that one? I'd love to get a copy but the synopses on book sites like amazon/waterstones/plat etc don't make it very clear which one I should be getting. Thanks.

postet av Booksloth kl. 10:41 am (EST) den Jun 28, 2008

Nope. I was stuck on the sofa and there's no room to stand up and bowl, so I was doing a kind of overarm hurl. I came last!

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 5:38 pm (EST) den Jun 27, 2008

I like the idea of being a bad-tempered old person too. And all the promises are very reasonable, we don't promise anything lightly. I'm glad you enjoyed The Vanishing but I had forgotten you had seen the film. I haven't read anything else by Tim Krabb but I would like to. I did see the thread and I got a message about the Scottie puppy. Compski has decided to look into older rescued Scottie's instead because Gregor is set in his ways and prefers a quieter dog than a puppy might be.

I am here in Portsmouth now and hoping to get in some second hand book shopping tomorrow before the naming party takes place. We are just playing bowling on the Wii console now so I can't stay on LT for long. I will be on tomorrow though to list any new books. I need my LT fix.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 5:31 pm (EST) den Jun 27, 2008

I'll have to check out those two books! Thanks. I love discovering new writers who seem to have that whimsical touch. I think you are right about Harris, though. It would be hard to top her first books. I really enjoyed Gentlemen and Players, however. It was a different style for her, but it worked.

Cheers,

Karen

postet av writergirl kl. 2:38 pm (EST) den Jun 27, 2008

I'm glad you love Holes too, it is a great book. I've seen another one lurking on the shelves of Waterstones, Small Steps I think it's called, so I will be getting him that one next. This time it talks about the boy called Armpit and what happens to him when he gets out of Camp Green Lake.

It is difficult to keep in touch with all sides of the family and I did know that you don't get on with your sister as we had a conversation about her not liking dogs once - very strange, not to like best living things on the planet. It's like saying you don't like books or breathing. I also have a big fear that my neice (almost 13) will be getting pregnant far too early and running away to my house. While I was pregnant I took great pains to complain to her about it a lot and tell her some of the grisly details about morning sickness etc, just to try and put her off for a bit. I made her make one of our PROMISES (very important these). So far she has promised me that 1. She will get a good job when she leaves education, so she doesn't have to rely on a man. 2. She will marry a sensible man and not a spotty seventeen year old hoodie. 3. When she is rich she will remember which auntie loves her the most (me) and 4. She will never buy a record or watch a programme with Clare Sweeney on/in it. Now we have 5. She will not get pregnant before she is 20, especially not to spotty seventeen year old hoodie and 6. She will only ever run away from home if she comes straight to my house. In return I have promised 1. That I will hate Harriet from the other class at school forever (I'm not sure why though, Beth can't remember) 2. That one day we will go to the Ballet together. I do like the idea of you encouraging teens to behave badly, it does them good.

All brand new babies ought to get books. There's only so many teddie bears and first tooth pots a person can have but there are never enough books. I try to get two, a cardboard one for them to chew on now and a lovely one for them to keep and read later. If I don't buy a book it's because they are getting a Noah's Ark that year instead. I like to get them the When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six books too. My nana used to sing They're Changing The Guard At Buckingham Palace to us and so all the cousins love getting that book for their children now. But I have had the blank stare too. It's such a shame.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:38 am (EST) den Jun 27, 2008

Yes -- you were absolutely right. The King story I referred to was indeed "The Last Rung on the Ladder" -- and I think it proves my point that King is a master of literature -- he doesn't need to use horror to convey a mood or make a point.

postet av RachelfromSarasota kl. 6:30 pm (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

As for the auntie bit, I am the auntie that gives them books and reads out loud to them a lot, who incourages them to play word games and to be a bit mad if they feel like it. My eldest niece is just getting to the age where she isn't impressed so much but my eldest nephew is turning out to be more like me than I ever expected. He likes the making things up and he loves a good book. I've recently giving him The Tale of Desperaux by Kate DeCamillo and Holes by Louis Sacher and he loves them both. I have high hopes of him being a future LTer.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 4:29 pm (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

I almost got thrown out of Waterstones for laughing at those books without buying them! I say terrible things and buy terrible gifts at Christmas. I swear that if someone invented some sort of loud musical paintball gun where the paint was edible and full of bad colourings I would have found the perfect present for all of them.

I have told them that the reason people say "like a scottie-dog in a manger" is because there was a scottie present at the birth of Jesus and they made him get out of the manger to put the baby in it and my neice asked her RE teacher if that was true. I have told them that Scottie has been on a Japanese TV show similar to Jerry Springer, that my mum's dog is a model for dog beds in the argos catalogue (there was a dog that looks like him in it), I once gave them a soap dish and a spare bath-plug for Christmas because "you never know when you might need a spare plug" and waited until the complaining had turned into shouts of "well we're NOT greatful" before the real presents came out. I once took them to school and got them ready in about five minutes flat by threatening to go and see the teacher of whichever one was ready last to say we were late because s/he had a "bum disease", the most embarrassing thing ever when you are ten apparently, and they still argue about which one had it now. I've taught them how to burp on purpose. I've been a terrible auntie but it has been fun. I see it as a perfectly fair way to take revenge on my brother for being evil when we were little.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:40 pm (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

I can just picture Skeelo and Ben living a batchelor life for two weeks quite happily. The image of them having a party comes to mind, lots of men on the playstation and Skeelo showing off his chew toys to a collection of doggy friends.

I was the same when they said they were having a naming party. "But they've had names for years now!" They are soap opera children I'm afraid. The eldest is Kyle (from Footballers Wives), then Kane (from Home and Away), then Dylan (from Neighbours) and finally Lexie (from Emmerdale). We call them after the South Park boys though, Kyle gets to keep his name but the others don't. I am horrible to our nieces and nephews though, I make up awful middle names and convince them they really are called them. I hope to be on the internet lots next week while Andrew is at work, it will keep me sane. If I have to drive to a motorway travelodge with wi-fi I will get on here somehow.

I'll go take a peek for the other message now.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 1:57 pm (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

At least you are busy for a good reason. Busy now means laying in the Greek sunshine reading something lovely while handsome waiters bring you all that delicious Greek food later on. Well worth it. Just saying that now, I'm having cravings for salads and fish and lemon juice and stifado (oh, we had a rabbit stifado while we were on honeymoon and I swear it was so good I could have left Andrew and run off with the chef just to eat it again).

It was a big sneeze and I did one of those snappy bites after it, like Scottie when she's trying to catch flies out of the air and snaps her teeth together. I am lucky, my dentist is NHS and I am still getting free treatment on my maternity exemption card, so I can get it fixed. I will be okay as long as I don't either bite him by accident or try to hold his hand. I got so nervous once that I got hold of his thumb (from the hand that was in my mouth at the time). I didn't even notice until he asked me to let go.

Is Skeelo looking forward to your son coming to stay? You did say he comes to Skeelo-Sit didn't you? Scottie is going to be with my mum for a week from tomorrow afternoon, as I am going to Portsmouth to stay with Andrew at his parents house. His brother and sister in law are having a naming party for their four children (aged between 7 years to 6 months old) and so he is staying there and I am going to meet him. Scottie won't be able to believe her luck, she gets spoilt and pampered and fussed over so much. She won't miss me for a second and I'll be missing her the whole time.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:46 am (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

I'm all excited and nervous now to see if you like it as much as I did. It is a tiny book but I don't think I could have taken much more of it than there is in it.

I am always in two minds about thin books, sometimes it's nice to read something not too long but I resent paying the same price for a tiny sliver of a book and a huge doorstep of one. I try not to complain though because I know that if the prices reflected the thickness of a book the skinny ones would stay the same and the doorsteps would double in price.

With The Vanishing, I debated between it and a longer book, bought it anyway and got so caught up in it that I was glad in the end that Tim Krabb didn't get too wordy on me. I don't know what else he could have put in there that would have made the book better, so I'm glad he stopped when he did. The ending was just right but in the spirit of The Collector, resist the temptation to peek because it will ruin the rest. You might not get the whole story but you will get the most crucial part of it.

My throat is still sore and I have managed to loose a filling while sneezing (!) so tomorrow I have to see an emergency dentist to have one put back in. I'm more upset about that than the tonsillitis, I am not good with dentists. But the antibiotics are working at last and I think I can feel an improvement to it all. I think we caught it on time. I'm still asking the doctor about having my tonsils taken out, I know it's worse when you are grown-up but it would be the end to all this too, so worth it in the end. How about you, are you having a less rushed day after yesterday?

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:15 am (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

Good morning,

Thanks for accepting my request. No, we've not had any contact here before, but I saw your interesting library and that you are "across the pond" and I thought it would be great to keep track of your interesting reads. No worries about Hemingway! He is one of many faves, actually, and I should really have Joanne Harris right up there, too. (I notice you are also a Harris reader. Do you have a favorite of hers?) The best place to start for Hemingway is A Farewell to Arms. It's a great romance mixed with classic Hemingway spare and powerful writing.

Have a great week!

Karen

postet av writergirl kl. 8:20 am (EST) den Jun 26, 2008

I'd have liked to see some Greek in there. My French is terrible but I still managed to get her point. The thing that annoyed me is that she was behaving in the way she was complaining about, a bit superior to everyone else. I was halfway ready to tell them off and point that out when I thought it might just stir things up again. Double standards make me cross though and that's what was happening there. If I do run into language issues on the 'net (or in books) I go to ask.com and type in french english dictionary (or whatever the other language is) because it translates everything. Maybe you could get the Greek letters from there.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:05 pm (EST) den Jun 25, 2008

Thank you. You should hear my pronunciation, though - it usually makes people cringe.
For me to a large extent english is a written language, not a spoken one ;-)

postet av Busifer kl. 3:04 pm (EST) den Jun 25, 2008

My throat is still quite horrible but I have been having a lazy day to rest it and the antibiotics are working now I think, so I am happier now. I wish they would take my tonsils out but I somehow managed to go from being too young for the operation to being too old for it.

It is surprising how one change to your day can change everything else too. I'm glad that Skeelo has benefited from the change though. Scottie used to be very fond of Ham Hill in Somerset for scaling muddy hills and rolling in filthy water. We went once and got completely stuck when we were almost back at the carpark because it meant walking up a hill that was ususally okay but had suddenly turned into a wall of mud. We had to walk the mile and a half back the way we came to go back up the steps instead. She was happy but I wasn't. We were head to foot in mud that day and it wasn't me that got to have the first bath when we came home.

I will google 'dog horoscopes' and I bet I get more than one site come back at me. It will be nice to have an advance warning on what to expect from Scottie.

I'll go and be nosy over in the threads now but please don't stop expressing your opinion. If you do then the people who think that we all have to agree with them will think we all agree with them (or something like that, it made sense while I was typing it) and that would be terrible. I've just dipped my toe in the waters of a discussion on free-range cats that is looking like it could all go badly wrong. A lady with two cats lets them roam but lives in a town where cats are not allowed to roam free and her neighbours are upset. Coming from the UK, where we let cats roam, I have sympathy with her but also being a non-cat owner who gets a lot of cats using my garden as a toilet, I have sympathy with her neighbours. The conversation (and her appeal for advice) has turned into a UK/USA divide with two other sub-divisions of cat people/non-cat people and cat people who roam/cat people who don't roam. Everyone wants to be right and I can see everyones side in this one.

And I agree, you can outgrow an author sometimes. Your tastes change, their writing style can change, you find you just don't get on as well with their books anymore, sometimes you just don't like their newer ones or you reread the older ones you used to love and wonder what you ever saw in any of them. It's wrong to think that we reach a certain point as we grow up and just stop. We change all the time and outgrow books, music, films, people, friends even sometimes.

Ooh, The Story of a Marriage, if you like it so far it won't let you down at the end. I thought it was beautifully written too. It reminded me at the start of Anne Tyler, in that she knows how to put words together and make them lovely, even when they are only about ordinary things.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 11:59 am (EST) den Jun 25, 2008

I love it when the postman knocks on the door with a parcel of books too big to fit through the letterbox. And the man at the local post office is used to me gathering in parcels of books too. I have a parcel on the way to my mums because I will be in Portsmouth from Friday for a week. Oh and that week will drag by when I know there is a parcel of books at home waiting for me. Still, lots of new bookshops to find so I am sure I will be buying lots of books while I am there.

Oh dear, which group have you upset? If it was Happy Heathens they are quite a resilient lot. I once managed to cause upset on the Heath Leadger condolance thread though and I don't think the other person recovered (I tried an olive branch in the form of a message or two but I haven't seen that person about ever since). I much prefer a good-natured but vocal disagreement to somebody getting upset just for the sake of feeling upset.

On almost a related subject Scottie would like to be introduced to a cat or some pigeons. She had me rushing to the garden twice yesterday, once because a beautiful grey cat had decided to stroll through it but was spotted by an angry black dog and once because a flock of starlings had landed around the birdtable. Cats or birds, nothing arrives in our garden unnoticed. I heard all the commotion and had to go investigate.

Have you looked at the library thing shop (located in tools for some reason) at all? I have been tempted to buy something. I'd like the hooded sweatshirt (because the image of myself as a 33 year old library-advertising hoodie makes me laugh) and was tempted to get the pants to see the look of horror on Andrew's face, but I'll probably end up with the giant coffee mug.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:06 am (EST) den Jun 25, 2008

I think I forgot to say, I am an Aquarian (but my dad is Taurean). Do Taureans suffer with throat problems? My doctor once told me that my weak ankle is linked to being an Aquarian, we are notorious for it apparently. I spend the rest of my appointment with him searching the walls for his medical diploma but then I read it somewhere too so now I believe it more.

Ha! This just reminded me, I saw a book once to work out star signs for pets. Scottie is a capricorn and is therefore stubborn but loyal, determined and independent, prone to bouts of spitefulness but charming when she feels like it. It was a very accurate description of her but I couldn't buy the book, the shame of cataloging it would have been too much for my secret hope that Stephen King might browse my library one day and see it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:52 pm (EST) den Jun 24, 2008

It might have been me who asked about it, I got it in the early reviewers last month, but I can't remember what it was I was saying about it. I enjoyed it though.

The illness has sneaked up on me, tonsillitis, and has left me feeling weepy and whiny. It woke me at just before 5am though so I came on here for sympathy. Scottie is not looking after me because her groomer has been today and she is upset about having her hair cut. She will forgive me later and give me one of her toys to help me.

I'm glad Andrew's microwave knowledge has travelled, so now you will know if an iceburg or a ship is in the vacinity of your house, your microwave will ping unexpectedly.

I just today received a book through the post, it was an early reviewer book only available in the US and Canada but I was interested by the description and ordered it on Biblio.com. It is called Imagine Me and You and is about a man whose wife leaves him and he makes up a new girlfriend to make her jealous and come home, but then starts to see this made up woman all over the place. It got terrible reviews but I still wanted it.

I don't know if you have found biblio.com or not, they are kind of like an ebay for bookshops. I've used it three times now but the last time a message came up saying the site was unsecure, so I need to investigate further about that. But the bookshop who sent me the book was wonderful, valleybooks@comcast.net in Massachuesetts. It took them a week from ordering to delivering and when I sent them a message to say thank you they replied with a really lovely message. If I lived nearby I would definetly shop with them all the time.

Poor Scottie. She's just laid down looking unhappy with her tennis ball and she's reminding me of those roast piglets they had in old banquets.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:52 pm (EST) den Jun 24, 2008

Hi,

I see you own The Story of a Marriage? Have you read it yet? I did, in one sitting last Saturday, and highly recommend that you pick it up. Great writing, good understanding of human nature, and some really surprising plot twists!

Nancy

postet av alphaorder kl. 7:42 am (EST) den Jun 24, 2008

Andrew spent hours once explaining that microwaves and radars have this same componant in them, the bit that warns you that something is getting close. He went on and on about it with my friends husband for so long that we went through boredom and ended up laughing about how confusing it must be on the ship - is the radar going off for an enemy ship or has the ready meal finished cooking? At first he didn't realise we were teasing him. Now every so often when the microwave pings I shout "iceburg" at him and he shouts something rude back at me.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:58 pm (EST) den Jun 23, 2008

For someone who likes electrical things, Andrew does have a pretty good job. He works on a ship fitting explosive bits together on planes and helicoptors, so it's everything together. I have been watching Warship (channel 5 tonight) hoping to see him because the series was filmed on his deployment from January to June, but he has only been onscreen for about three seconds. They filmed him for a day and are now saying it might be too sensitive to show the weaponry on TV. Tonight is the last chance for them to show him as it is the last episode. But he also enjoys the airport just as much as the holiday and takes great pleasure in explaining to me just what he would do differently/like to take a look at if he could only get to the engine.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 10:36 am (EST) den Jun 23, 2008

I don't blame you for not wanting to risk driving while you feel so tired. Just take it easy and have fun here on LT instead.

I'm sure Skeelo didn't notice you forgetting it was his birthday. I can't say that Scottie ever gets overly excited about hers, even when she does have a fuss made. We had friends come over on what happened to be her fifth birthday and so I told her it was her party. They even brought her a large marrowbone to celebrate. I then made the mistake of telling my neice and nephew about it and they have never let me forget that Scottie had a party and they weren't invited. Scottie is not really a party animal :-D though, so she doesn't mind not getting an invite. She'd rather have a walk and a play-fight than a party any day.

Oddly enough, Andrew is what they used to call Aircraft Engineering Technician (they've changed it now to something complicated) but it basically means he is an electrician too, so I know all about the fixing things. He did a fairly decent job on the washing machine once but the ceiling light in the living room has been broken for 18 months with no sign of it being fixed yet. His main job at the moment is something to do with fitting explosives together, so I have to say I am glad he's not bringing his work home with him.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 9:37 am (EST) den Jun 23, 2008

Scottie would love to send Skeelo some happy birthday barks and I wish him a happy birthday too. We bet he got presents. Scottie is feeling a bit old though, she's already six and a half, so all her friends are toyboys, and now Skeelo is younger too. I like to call her Now We Are Six (see has a lot of literary or media-cultural nicknames) and she doesn't seem to mind it but it's usually followed by my grabbing and hugging her and telling her she better live to be twenty.

I think you much be right about the cobblers children syndrome, I have a friend whose partner is a decorator but thier house is in various stages of half done or not quite started. He says it's the last thing he wants to do when he comes home from work. It's still quite an exciting occupation, much more interesting to say "I make stained glass" than "I work in an estate agents" (as I used to do). It used to start the "Really, well how much is my house/your house/that house over the road worth?" conversations but beyond that it was very dull. Keep asking for the lampshade.

I wouldn't really say I was an oil on troubled waters sort of person. I'm too much like Scottie, an "if you don't stop it I'm going to run around you in circles yipping and bite a hole in your shoe while you're not looking" type of worrier. But the other side of that is I will happily lend you my equivalent of the grunting pig toy or mostly destroyed bit of gingerbread man fur should you need comfort.

I hope you got some sleep in the end. Although it does sound like fun, reorganising Amazon.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:06 am (EST) den Jun 23, 2008

I haven't actually tried reading out loud, my sneak tactics usually include hinting about something and then saying "well, I'm not telling you, look it up" just to get Andrew in the vacinity of a bookcase.

I'm not sure now if it is that people are still being snarky in that thread or if I was just out of date. I only discovered the thread today and thought it was all from today. It's the sort of thread topic that I like to get into, usually to confess my own 'sins' (using books as coasters, book abandonment, occasional sneak-peeks at the end to check a dog is okay) but I was a bit startled that it was taken as a criticism rather than a fun way to laugh at ourselves. I saw your apology and it has carried on a bit after in the way I think you meant, but it is surprisingly easy to get jumped on by people for the most innocent remarks. It is sometimes very difficult to hold an internet conversation.

I like the Oscar and Lucinda verses Ray story, I find exactly the same thing with Andrew. We have great discussions over Who Wants To Be a Millionnaire or Trivial Pursuits and I am usually right with my "I don't know why I know this, I think I read it somewhere" answers. I especially like it if a nautical question comes up that he can't answer and I can. But then, he laughs if a book question comes up and I don't know it.

It must be really interesting to work with stained glass. And very useful if you want a new front door window or something (it's my ambition to have a window in ours with little gold stars and red panels). I visited the Caithness factory once and they made some beautiful things. I'm wondering if Nick Hornby explains the off-side rule in Fever Pitch, although that isn't a novel. Maybe you could rent the DVD film instead. Colin Firth is in it (and he isn't entirely unfortunate looking) so it wouldn't be a total waste of time.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 6:22 pm (EST) den Jun 22, 2008

I am absolutely not bored on the subject of The Collector or on Greece. I know what you mean about feeling like you were home to - I had been itching to go to Corfu for years before we went on honeymoon, but I wanted to save it for something special too. We booked the honeymoon the two days before the wedding and I thought it was too much to hope for but when she said they had a last minute cancellation for Corfu that was it. And I completely agree with the quick kiss for the humans followed by a lot of rolling on the floor telling Skeelo you had missed him more than anyone else. My excuse is that "well, you know where I was, Scottie doesn't understand why I abandoned her, I have to make it up to her."

I've been going on and on to Andrew about The Collector. I know he won't read it, he doesn't read at all other than manuals about engines, but I wish he would read this. I'm desperate to pass it on. And I so badly wish there was a sequel that I've been feeling almost inspired to write it. The only thing that's stopping me is that I'm not quite the writer John Fowles is. If he was still alive I'd be harrassing him about writing one right now. I think it might be the best book I have read this year.

I think really that the whole Mitford family were odd to various degrees. Deborah seems the most sensible and normal of them all and I don't really know a lot about Pam but the rest of them - mad, all of them. I do agree about the names though, they are important to a person. I think I am glad that my middle name is Louise, rather than Valkyrie. I wouldn't want to think I had to support Hitler just because my parents got creative with my middle name. They may have just gone all out and called her Unity Nazi and just had done with it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 5:51 pm (EST) den Jun 21, 2008

Thank you. Any advice about the laptop is greatfully received.

Ah, Greece again. I heard an annecdote once about someone winning the Pools (back before the lottery) when the winner was asked if they wanted to go on a World Cruise. In all seriousness they said "No, I'd rather go somewhere nice." The person telling the story took it to mean that there's nowhere nicer than England but I feel that way about Greece. It's the most beautiful place in the world, why go anywhere else. I could be persueded to try Granada and Seville in Spain but really it's Greece or nowhere for me. I think I must have been a Greek in a former life. Who gets the first kiss when you get back, Ben or Skeelo?

That just reminded me, Andrew was watching a programme where the characters were talking about the best day of their lives and he asked me when mine was (obviously fishing for a "the day I met/married you" sort of compliment. I was reading and watching the birdfeeder (one eye in each direction) and gave a quite muttering of "when we brought Scottie home." He wasn't happy but I can't help it, it was a really great day (and we didn't have to wear funny outfits and feed sixty people).

Unity Mitford is just about to start. i think this was on a few months back and I missed it then so I'm glad it's on again now. I've gotten past the part where she died in the letters book but perhaps it will still help me with Diana. I like that she was Unity Valkyrie and was born in a place called Swastika. It sort of fits. The programme seems a bit sensational now it has started. Oh dear. They are already hinting she was pregnant. I'll stop now and concentrate on it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 3:01 pm (EST) den Jun 21, 2008

I noticed the review with the James Wilby name too and wondered if they had read an edition with a changed name. I thought perhaps it was too English sounding a name and had been changed for another country, or maybe the film version too. But possibly they have muddled up the name with someone in another book, if it has been awhile since they read it.

Where are you going on your holidays? I hope it's somewhere nice and hot and restful, although I am sure you will miss Skeelo if you go too far away. If you put the shelves up don't do too much else, much better to stay on the sofa with your book and let someone else do the hard work.

The rain has just gotten worse all day and we are all snoozing in front of the window (Scottie), the TV (Andrew) and the laptop (me). We will wake up for Doctor Who. My laptop is being very difficult, it keeps disconnecting me from the internet, I think there might be a 'time-out' setting somewhere but then it tries to connect me to a network we don't have. If your computer-wizz son has any suggestions that don't involve throwing it out of a very high window then I will be happy to listen.

I forgot the Unity Mitford programme was on tonight and I was hoping to see it, so thank you for reminding me. I'm not sure if we will watch it or record it but I am interested to see it.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 12:24 pm (EST) den Jun 21, 2008

I've just done my review of The Collector and it seems to be quite a popular book that has given a lot of people the creeps. It certainly deserves to be well reviewed, although a few people seemed to find it outdated. I don't think it is though really, not when you think of recent events on the news. It seems to be very easy to lock someone up in a cellar and still have people think you are perfectly normal, even now. I think it's just that all the Seriel Killer/Psychological Profiles books now have made people expect a certain amount of over the top drama and so the quiet creepiness of this book was a bit lost to them.

I hope that you enjoy The Vanishing when it arrives. It isn't a very long book but it has so much in it that by the end I didn't think I could take much more anyway, it gave me the creeps so badly. The only problem with getting eight books is that you won't know which one to start first. Still, think of all the lovely Waterstones points you will have for that order.

It's raining here today. Scottie is curled up on a duvet, snoring happily, but still by the window waiting for it to stop so she can let me know it's safe for our walk.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 8:33 am (EST) den Jun 21, 2008

Love the name Booksloth! Was the first one I noticed as soon as I joined. How I wish that being a book sloth was a paying job.

Nice to meet you,

Shirl

postet av ShirleyUgest kl. 4:11 pm (EST) den Jun 20, 2008

Oh dear, sorry (but not too sorry) because you have just bought two really great books there. Bet you can't wait for them to arrive.

postet av Jodyreadseverything kl. 2:41 pm (EST) den Jun 20, 2008

I've finished The Collector, I finished it last night and it was brilliant. I felt like I should have expected that ending but the author was so good at leading my theories elsewhere it came as a complete shock to me. I was caught in the loop of racing through the book to find out what happen