What Are You Reading Now?

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 7:38 pm

I saw both Dietrich books at a flea market and debated which one to get. Spoto's won out because I have his Audrey Hepburn copy and it was shorter than her daughter's book. If I like Dietrich I'll try her daughter's edition.

"Shut up!" That sounds like Dietrich. I've always liked strong women.

-1bigsteve (o:

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:38 pm

I just ordered from Amazon "Death in a Pairie House". It is about the ax murders of several people, including Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress in his home in Wisconsin in 1914. It's quite an amazing story.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:17 pm

Angel @ Fri Jun 19, 2009 10:38 am wrote:I just ordered from Amazon "Death in a Pairie House". It is about the ax murders of several people, including Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress in his home in Wisconsin in 1914. It's quite an amazing story.

There was a nice biography show on about a year ago on that very subject, Angel. It was the first time I ever heard of his troubles. He sure had a way with designing.

-1bigsteve (o:

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:53 pm

I've just finished William Masterton's book Lizzie Didn't Do It!

I found it quite entertaining, and I'm sure I would have liked Dr. Masterton. He had quite a sense of humor, for one thing.

As far as his theory is concerned, I think he's really reaching (which seems to be the consensus among you, based on what I've read).

Yes, he has demonstrated that time of death is difficult to determine. That doesn't mean that the deaths DIDN'T occur in the order and with the interval between them usually believed. I think there's an excellent reason for believing that they did: where the hell was Abby all that time? As he admits, his solution (that she went to her half sister's house and found her out, stayed, had some mince pie and took a nap) is sheer speculation. Could it be that he just had to find a way of making the murders occur close together in order to allow for his pet theory?

(I bought this during my recent visit to the Historical Society. I also bought Yesterday in Old Fall River; the Case Book by Williams, Smithburn and Peterson; the Sourcebook and one non-Lizzie book, King Philip's War, by Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias. This is about a bloody conflict between the Indians and colonists of southern New England, which resulted in the near-elimination of the Native American population. This appears to be superbly researched and written and is probably my next read.)

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Mon Jul 06, 2009 5:23 pm

Constantine @ Thu Jun 25, 2009 10:53 pm wrote:King Philip's War, by Eric B. Schultz and Michael J. Tougias. . . is probably my next read.)

Actually, I got sidetracked. I found a copy of Kathryn Hulme's fact-based novel The Nun's Story, on which the Audrey Hepburn movie was based. This is a favorite of mine, so I quickly devoured the book.

The movie is quite faithful, though it of course does some condensing. For example, it wisely eliminates some incidents which would seem redundant in a movie. (Two nuns are murdered instead of "only" one (one being the nice nun at the insane asylum, alas) and Sister Luke has a near-fatal bout of dysentery before afterwards catching TB.) On the other hand, the movie fleshes out the character of Mother Christophe, who runs the insane asylum (memorably played by Beatrice Straight).

I heartily recommend both book and movie.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:11 am

Kat @ Sun Apr 12, 2009 3:26 pm wrote:Somewhere around here I think I admitted to buying up and reading every Agatha Christie book I could find after my mother passed away. I read for a year. Anyway, I had my picture taken with Agatha before that craze ever hit me! I finally found the photo- here we are in London, 1986!

I have often wondered if they put undies on those wax figures? Hmmm...

Right now I'm reading "My Husband, My Friend" (for the second time) by Neile McQueen Toffel. It's the story of her life with her husband Steve McQueen. I always felt Steve McQueen was a grumpy grouch and he was. He had some issues but it is a very good look into his life. There are even pictures of him smiling! 'Ol grump is actually smiling!!

-1bigsteve (o:

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 10:38 pm

I picked up The Disorder of Longing by Natasha Bauman for a couple of bucks at Building 19. It's set in 1890s Boston and, in part, concerns a strong-willed wife being treated for hysteria. The husband wants to practice Karezza techniques popularized by Alice Bunker Stockham. When the wife is completely sexually frustrated, the husband then puts her on a rest cure, locking her in her room. He then sends her, several times a week, to a doctor who treats her "hysteria" with a vibrating machine.

It seems men actually did this stuff to their wives for real! It made me think about Lizzie and her odd spells and her relationship with Dr. Bowen. Mayybe Lizzie was getting more than morphine and bromo-caffeine from the good doctor? A kleptomania machine, perhaps?

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Fri Jul 31, 2009 10:36 pm

There was a TV show on recently about sex in the old west and there were devices doctors used on women to get them to, well, you know. Wether or not Dr. Bowen was doing something like that for Lizzie is a good question.

I just finished "My Husband, My Friend." A very sad story of big egos and twisted lives. Well worth reading.

-1bigsteve (o:

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 1:40 pm

Yes, this book got me thinking in new directions. If I'm not mistaken, Andrew referred to Bowen as a quack when Abby used him. It also seemed that neither the husband or the doctor related the vibrator to sexual stimulation. They regarded as a way to rid a woman of her excess emotions (yet the husband would have intercourse with his wife but perform the "controlled climax" for both husband and wife that Stockham was touting). Everything seemed to be about control.

It seems the professional vibrating machine was invented in the 1880s to"relieve congestion of the genitalia." Didn't Lizzie's mother die from
"uterine congestion"?

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:12 pm

I'm currently reading, "Mrs. Kennedy" by Barbara Leaming. It talks about Jackie and her struggles in dealing with her husband's "running around" while maintaining a public front of respectability. JFK was a real jerk. The Kennedys looked at Jackie as a substitute for Kathleen, JFK's dead sister. They were some what alike. It's a good book.

-1bigsteve (o:

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:58 pm

I just finished Emma Watson, by Joan Aiken.
It is Jane Austin's unfinished novel, finished by this author. I rather liked it. There are quite a lot of books right now that are extending the characters Austin developed. These books are in vogue right now- there are several authors doing this.

Her next book I have to read is Jane Fairfax in the style of Austin and she also wrote Mansfield Revisited altho I've not seen that one yet.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 12:36 am

I have never read a Jane Austin book but the urge to do so is getting stronger. I keep hearing how good they are. I'm trying to get into Dicken's "The Old Curiosity Shop." Sam Clemens I can't stand but his quotes are well worth reading. His "Huckleberry Finn" bored me to tears!

-1bigsteve (o:

kssunflower · Post by **kssunflower** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 2:20 pm

Mark Twain quote on Austen:
"Just the omission of Jane Austen's books alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it."

I'm currently reading A Terrible Glory: Custer & The Little Bighorn. A good book as it goes into more detail on the campaign before the battle.

Constantine · Post by **Constantine** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:22 pm

With all due respect to Mr. Twain, as far as Jane Austen is concerned, he was full of it!

I certainly recommend Pride and Prejudice. Mansfield Park is a little strained, though worthwhile (as are all her books). Emma is often regarded as her masterpiece. Don't overlook Love and Freindship [sic], a work of her youth. It is a parody of a certain type of novel popular in her day. The ingenious thing about it is, you don't have to be familiar with the sort of thing she's parodying. She shows you while she's doing it. It's side-splitting! You'll be on the floor!

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 11:28 pm

I never heard of that, Constantine. I will check my library. Thanks!

I did start and finish the 2nd Aiken/Austin. I liked it better even than the first.

There are 2 other authors that I know of doing this.

I know people love Dickens but I could not read him.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:09 am

Just finished the heavy weighted Presumption: An Entertainment by Julia Barrett.
In the family of Jane Austen wanna-be's- It is a continuation of the life of Elizabeth Bennet after her marriage to Darcy and the story of the exploits, travails, and manners of her sisters and sister-in-law.

It is well-written and evokes Austen more so than the other author, altho I liked Aiken better. This one, Barrett, is proficient and skilled, tho it seemed to me to lack that special spark. It was a comfortable read tho.

SarahJay · Post by **SarahJay** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:34 pm

Hey Kat, you should read 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'. Its the Austen we love, but with zombies.
Ace!

Im reading Shirley Jackson's 'the haunting of hill house'. I wonder if it will be as good as 'we have always lived in the castle'? that's probably one of my all time favourite books.

andrea · Post by **andrea** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:22 pm

SarahJay - I enjoyed reading The Haunting of Hill House and I like re-read it from time to time. The 1963 movie version (The Haunting) is terrific too

I'm just about to start reading the Perry Mason book series from the beginning - something I do every so often. What can I say... I love a mystery

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:19 pm

I'm trying to get into the "Anne of Green Gables" series by L. M. Montgomery. It was originally considered an adult story but later labeled for children.

Just finished "The Kennedy Curse." It's about the unfortunate deaths in the Kennedy family history. Most of these deaths were the results of their own stupidity. I didn't see any "curse." What a sick, sex-hungry family.

Last night I started, "George Burns: All My Best Friends." His "Gracie: A Love Story" was real good. I also started Colleen Moore's Autobiography.

-1bigsteve (o:

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 12:22 am

I'm reading The Diary of Fanny Burney without ever reading her novel "Evelina!"

It is a selection of her Journals from 1778-1840. She met and had social relationships with the big guns of her day:
Crisp, Dr.Johnson, Sheridan, Queen Charlotte, Louis XVIII, George III, Wm. Seward, Sir Joshua Reynolds.

-----

BigSteve- I recently tried to read Anne of Green Gables but could not get into it. I know people dearly love those books, but maybe I did not have the first in the series?

Bobbypoz · Post by **Bobbypoz** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:16 am

I just finished a favorite standby for me- "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" I have loved this book ever since I first read it oh so many years ago- and I usually pick it up once a year and set it by my bed- next book is another re-read- Persuasion- my Jane Austin favorite!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 10:42 am

Bobbypoz @ Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:16 am wrote:I just finished a favorite standby for me- "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe" I have loved this book ever since I first read it oh so many years ago- and I usually pick it up once a year and set it by my bed- next book is another re-read- Persuasion- my Jane Austin favorite!

I never read the book but I thought the movie was pretty good. My sister turned me on to it.

-1bigsteve

Bobbypoz · Post by **Bobbypoz** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:23 am

hmmmmm thanks Steve for the idea...I think I'll just pop that movie into the dvd player right now! It is great also- a little different from the book but equally as good!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sat Aug 29, 2009 11:07 pm

Just started, "Straight On Till Morning" by Mary S. Lovell. It's a biography on aviator Beryl Markham who was abandoned by her mother and grew up in Africa. Beryl wrote "West With The Night" in the early '40s and when it was rereleased in the 1980s, a few years before she died, it became a big seller and gave Beryl enough money to live on. I have read it twice before. Very interesting story.

-1bigsteve (o:

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Wed Sep 02, 2009 9:19 pm

I just finished the Diary.
I read it every night for a week! That's good. I like that it took all of my concentration to understand some of the old-fashioned ways of writing and expression.

I finally was nearing the end on the night I got home from work in a big bad storm and found the power was off!

I read the last chapters by artifical lantern powered by 8 D batteries! No A/C of course! Close to 19 century living!

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:11 pm

Kssunflower, I have the book on Custer you spoke of, "A Terrible Glory". I have like over 100 books I've yet to read (I keep buying and buying...). Anyway, I could not guess when I would get around to reading "A Terrible Glory". I heard from a Custer historian that there is an audio UNabridged

version for $30 on Amazon, and I just ordered it. There are many times when my eyes are too tired to read, but I want to listen to something. So maybe I can "read" this one while reading what I'm reading now.

I seldom re-read a book. But I can't part with many after I've read them in case I want to read it again.

Right now I'm reading two books - one for research; one for fun. One is a Custer book, told thru the letters of General Custer and his wife. GOOD source material! It's called "The Custer Story", edited by Marguerite Merington.

For fun, I'm reading "My Life with Bonnie & Clyde" by Blanche Barrow, edited by John Neal Phillips. I discovered it recently on Amazon. I had heard she had an unpublished manuscript and thought why doesn't someone publish it??? Finally in 2004 this book came out. It's neat to compare this book with what other books or movies had to say about her, and the gang.

Poor Kat! Getting almost to the end of your book and your power going off! Glad you could finish it by your battery light.

This thread is an inspiration for me to read more, like I used to. I used to read a book a week. Now it's dwindled to maybe 5 a year.

Constantine, I enjoyed Masterton's book as well. He was fun! But I thought his murder theory was preposterous. About the apple pie, doesn't everybody peel their apples to make a pie? Maybe Abby ate an apple at breakfast, if there were any, or it was a pear skin. I thought Abby's specialty was her apple pie? I'd think she would be most careful in removing the peelings. It's probably a moot point anyway, since Mr. Masterton reached sooooo far for his theory. But I thought it was a good book, entertaining, and well worth reading.

Shelley · Post by **Shelley** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:47 pm

Dan Brown's new book- The Lost Symbol. I am one-third the way through and cannot put it down.

Bobbypoz · Post by **Bobbypoz** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:15 pm

One of my 5th graders and I are reading "The Mouse and the Motorcycle" by Beverly Cleary together. I remember reading all of her books when I was a kid so it is like revisiting my childhood...and I honestly don't remember what happens in the stories so they are fun for me to read too!!!!

~B

kssunflower · Post by **kssunflower** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:23 pm

augusta @ Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:11 pm wrote:Kssunflower, I have the book on Custer you spoke of, "A Terrible Glory". I have like over 100 books I've yet to read (I keep buying and buying...). Anyway, I could not guess when I would get around to reading "A Terrible Glory". I heard from a Custer historian that there is an audio UNabridged version for $30 on Amazon, and I just ordered it. There are many times when my eyes are too tired to read, but I want to listen to something. So maybe I can "read" this one while reading what I'm reading now.

I seldom re-read a book. But I can't part with many after I've read them in case I want to read it again.

Right now I'm reading two books - one for research; one for fun. One is a Custer book, told thru the letters of General Custer and his wife. GOOD source material! It's called "The Custer Story", edited by Marguerite Merington.

I'm sure you'll enjoy "A Terrible Glory" when you get the chance to. Now I'm on the lookout for "The Custer Story". It sounds very interesting. I read anything I can get my hands on about Custer.

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:57 am

Kssunflower - Since I started "The Custer Story", I've learned that it is one of the basics that are on the need-to-read list if you're into Custer. Another one is Dr. Lawrence Frost's book on Libbie. I picked that one up over the summer on Amazon, in the "used and new" list of book sellers for a great price, and it was in great condition. (Don't you just love that?)

I'm glad to have your opinion on "A Terrible Glory".

"Custer Week" is coming up in Monroe, Michigan from October 3 thru 10th. Just google something like "Custer Museum Monroe Michigan" for info or a phone number to get info. They have a list of all the events they can email you. On one of the evenings, they're going to do old fashioned fireworks! That has me really curious.

Please give to the Edwin Porter grave stone fund. Donations can be made on 'The Hatchet' main web page.

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Fri Sep 25, 2009 9:47 am

Kssunflower - Yesterday the audio book of 'A Terrible Glory' arrived! Wow - 13 discs and about 15 hours! I am so glad it is unabridged. I don't know but it doesn't seem easy to find an unabridged audio book I want.

"The Custer Story" was first published in 1952, I think, and is pretty widely available. Do you highlite as you read? I've been in this book. There are so many important events described first hand by Custer and his wife that I'd either probably use in writing some time or would just like to scan thru to refresh my memory on their story.

My CD player on my nightstand won't work right now.

I can't find my personal CD player (I suspect my son, but with only circumstantial evidence must acquit him - you know how that goes!

). I'm dying to start listening. If worst comes to worst, I'll go buy me a new player. Mine hasn't turned up in like two years, so it's time anyway.

Anyway, I have never had an audio book before, except for some short stories by Jean Shepherd (the guy who wrote the Ralphie "Christmas Stories"). I'm looking forward to this "new" experience.

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:56 pm

Hi Shelley--I'm finishing up The Lost Symbol. I think it is the best written of Dan Brown's books. Read it in one day.

SummerCodSuz · Post by **SummerCodSuz** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 6:07 pm

"When Evil Rules" by Michele R. McPhee. Its' about crimes perpetrated by Melvin Reine Sr. and his family in Falmouth, Mass.

Nadzieja · Post by **Nadzieja** » Fri Oct 16, 2009 5:41 am

I have about 100 pages left of "The Host" by Stephanie Meyers.

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 2:38 pm

'When Evil Rules' sounds good, Summer Cod Suz. I especially like a true crime book that takes place in Massachusetts.

SummerCodSuz · Post by **SummerCodSuz** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 4:44 pm

It was a good book, Augusta. I chose it because it happened on Cape Cod. Thankfully I didn't read it while I was there or I would have scared myself to death :)

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:00 am

I'm just finishing up an orgy of books I checked out of the library. Out of 16 books in 5 weeks, I will have read 13. That's the best ratio I've ever accomplished! A good haul!

Anyway, I especially liked:
"Can't Wait To Get To Heaven" by Fannie Flagg.
(I loved her character "Elner"- that's southern for "Eleanor"

)

"When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win" by Carol Leifer (yes the lady who used to write & produce for Seinfeld, Saturday Night Live etc)

"Cassandra & Jane" by Jill Pitkeathley. This is a fictional account of the sisters Cassandra and Jane Austin. This was very good- told from Cassandra's point of view, and using a few sentences from Jane's letters to her for inspiration. If you can't get enough Jane Austin, this is a good fall-back book.

"Pemberly- or- Pride and Prejudice Continued," by Emma Tennant. This is a famous historical author. I liked the story very well up to the point of the Christmas gathering at Pemberley- but then it becomes like a nightmare and the story degenerates into chaos- and I kept wondering why the story got so unruly and unbelievable. I did figure it out, and was right- but it's no excuse for the way the author wrapped everything up nicely in the last 3 pages!

"Jane Eyre's Daughter" by Elizabeth Newark. I've only just begun this one- will report back later!

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:40 pm

I just finished "The Addams Chronicles" by Stephen Cox. It's on the making of the TV show "The Addams Family." Neat book.

I'm currently reading "Love, Lucy" by Lucille Ball. I have to admit that I never was a fan of Lucille Ball but I am growing to like her as I'm reading this book.

I'm also into "Martha Rules" by Martha Stewart. She explains what is needed to become a success. A very good book on business.

Also I'm reading "The Locomotives That Baldwin Built" by Fred Westing. It's a good book for you train buffs. Have you ever noticed that books on trains look twenty years older than they really are? This one is from 1966 but looks more like 1946. Odd.

-1bigsteve (o:

doug65oh · Post by **doug65oh** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 1:50 am

I think you missed the extra "d" there Steve.

The Adams Chronicles (an altogether different beast) was the title of a miniseries aired back in the middle '70s, centered around the lives of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, etc.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 9:19 am

Well at least I was awake enough to get "The Addams Family" part of it right.

That was a fun show. I learned a lot of interesting tid bits:

The guy who wrote and played the theme song also wrote others including the organ music in "The Ghost And Mr. Chicken."

Ted Cassidy hated playing Lurch during the second season out of fear of being type-cast in monster roles.

Carolyn Jones loved her parts and John Astin liked the series. The girl playing Wednesday doesn't remember much about the series.

The house interiors seen in the film "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" were used as the Addams house.

The polar bear was the largest polar bear shot but the owner gave it to the Studio when he managed to shoot a bigger one.

The picture of the Addams house that you see in the credits was a matte painting of a real house that was on, oddly enough, Adams Avenue, Los Angeles.

Carolyn Jones wore black high heels under the long tight fitting black dress and the "spider legs" at the bottom of the dress was removeable so she could walk around between shots.

It's a cool book. Stephan Cox wrote a book on the "Gilligan's Island" series that has a lot of good stuff in it.

-1bigsteve (o:

DJ · Post by DJ » Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:25 pm

Steve, Stephen Cox also wrote "The Munchkins Remember," which is worth a look-see.
Kat, I way-way-love "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven"! Aunt Elner also shows up in Flagg's "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!" and "Standing in the Rainbow."
Flagg wrote a dee-lightful holiday book, "A Redbird Christmas," about four years ago. It's set in way-South Alabama (she's from Birmingham), and it would make a good gift. I've seen it in paperback.

doug65oh · Post by **doug65oh** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 3:38 pm

Vic Mizzy, the feller who wrote the theme to The Addams Family & many other shows, passed away only a few weeks ago. He was 93 if I recall correctly.

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:10 am

Vic Mizzy just died? Oh, that's a shame. Thanks for posting it, Doug. He did a few of Don Knotts films' music, didn't he?

DJ - Yes! I love Fanny Flagg. I've read "Daisy May and the Miracle Man," "Welcome to the World, Baby Girl," and that "Red Bird" Christmas book, which was very good (they all were). I have 'Standing in a Rainbow' and "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" but haven't read them yet. I know I'll like them.

I just finished Janet Evanovich's "Thanksgiving". I love her series on Stephanie Plum, but this was one of her older romances republished. I don't like romances, but wanted something seasonal and liked the cover so I bit. I did enjoy it. Apparently the author took the time to go back into the book and rework some parts. It was delightful, and tho Stephanie Plum was not in it, Janet Evanovich's sparkle was. (It takes place in Colonial Williamsburg, too. Talk about putting you in the mood.

)

SummerCodSuz · Post by **SummerCodSuz** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:34 am

I'm reading "Too Loud, Too Bright, Too Fast, Too Tight: What To Do If You Are Sensory Defensive In An Overstimulating World"
by Sharon Heller, Ph.D.
and "Devil Bones" by Kathy Reichs - I would not recommend this book to my worst enemy, it's that bad. The only reason I'm finishing it is to see whodunnit. After the agony of reading the rest of the book, I should at least be rewarded when the culprit is revealed.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:16 am

I'm reading, "Ordeal By Fire" by Anne Wahle. It's a true story of an American widow who saves herself, her children and a couple of blind women from the fire bombing of Dresden Germany in 1945. It's a horrible but facinating account of the human will to live. Well worth getting!

-1bigsteve (o:

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Sat Nov 14, 2009 8:34 am

I read another Janet Evanovich, "Plum Lucky". This one had her series character, Stephanie Plum, in it and I loved it.

Now I'm reading "A Great and Godly Adventure - The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving" by Godfrey Hodgson. I'm still on chapter one, where it explains the religious groups of the era in England. Sounds like it'd be dry, but it isn't.

Big Steve, the book you're reading now sounds excellent. I've read one or two like that, but not that one. Yours sounds remarkable.

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Sun Dec 27, 2009 5:48 pm

augusta @ Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:34 am wrote:I read another Janet Evanovich, "Plum Lucky". This one had her series character, Stephanie Plum, in it and I loved it.

Now I'm reading "A Great and Godly Adventure - The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving" by Godfrey Hodgson. I'm still on chapter one, where it explains the religious groups of the era in England. Sounds like it'd be dry, but it isn't.

Big Steve, the book you're reading now sounds excellent. I've read one or two like that, but not that one. Yours sounds remarkable.

"Ordeal By Fire" turned out to be a wonderful story, Augusta! I love it. The human will to live is incredible.

I just finished "Teenage Hackers" and I'm finishing "Cyberpunks." They are collections of true stories of young computer hackers and how easy it is for them to do just about anything they want to anyone. Kevin Mitnick was a %$#@!

-1bigsteve (o:

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:38 pm

Gee, I can hardly believe that I joined a new library just to get more Clare Darcy books! They are Regency Romance, and very charming.

Now, after about 10 in a row, it's a bit difficult to switch, but am reacquainting myself with Cynthia Harrod-Eagles and Margery Allingham. I found one of hers I have not read and I stayed up late last night almost finishing it in one day- large print version- and I was figuratively biting my nails the feeling of suspense was so enthralling! Anyone would like Margery Allingham's mysterys.

(I love large print!)

1bigsteve · Post by **1bigsteve** » Thu Dec 31, 2009 9:15 am

I recently started reading "Red Scarf Girl" by Ji-Li Jiang. She tells how she survived during and after China's political trouble in 1966.

Also "America's Queen" by Sarah Bradford. It's the full story on Jackie Kennedy from birth to death. It seems, so far, to be better than the other biographies that came before.

-1bigsteve (o:

augusta · Post by **augusta** » Sun Jan 03, 2010 10:31 am

I finished two more books in the "Lemony Snicket" series. I have two more to go to complete it. I started reading it to see what all the hoopla was about, and after the first book I wanted mo'. So I'm now reading #12. There are 13 in the set. I give them to my daughter and she enjoys reading them, then saves them for her teacher's classroom or her future children. I think I read a rumor that after you read the last one, all the ends are not all tied up and if that happens, I'm gonna be mad. That's a lot of readin' to do and, tho it's fun, the author owes us. It's helping me limp thru a bad cold or flu I got after Christmas.

DJ, read one book on Gilligan's Island that Bob Denver wrote. He and "Ginger" didn't get along. Did you read that in the one you read?

I loved "Love, Lucy". I've read a few on her. A dream-come-true came true in the 1980's when I was out in Jamestown, NY and visited the Lucy-Desi Museum. They were selling little vials of her henna that was left over when she died (very pricey, tho). I have a Lucy book to-be-read written by the writers of "I Love Lucy" - Madelaine ___ and Bob Mosher. I read somewhere they always tried out the stunts first before they wrote it in the script - like being connected by handcuffs.

Big Steve - I've had something to tell you for a long time and every time I'm on here I forget what it is. Well, next time I think of it I'll write it down. (Watch it turn out to be something stupid -----That's it! I wanted to tell you that I went on You Tube and watched that Dean Martin/Nancy Sinatra duet of "Things" (?). I recognized the song when they started singing it, and it was so adorable. Thanks for the tip! (I hope it was you that posted the tip ...) Wow, I hadn't heard that song probably since the '60s.

Also, I asked for and received the DVD of Susan Heyward in "I Want to Live" for Christmas. Watched it Christmas Day. It's just an awesome movie. God, was she beautiful. I think she was maybe the most beautiful actress there's been, IMO.