Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion

Just finished reading, "The Big House," by George Howe Colt. It is a non-fiction book written by the aurthor about the house his WASP ancestors owned down through the years and also is a close-up look at the Boston upper class. The "house" is on Cape Cod and is a summer home with eleven bedrooms and six bathrooms. The problem is the present generation can't keep up with the expense of caring for it and the summer he is now staying there(the author) with his wife and children will no doubt be the last one. What I found fascinating is that I am far removed from being a Boston Wasp,yet, I often found myself and parts of my former life identifying with him. That is how good the details are in this book. I have a waiting list of friends who want to borrow it. It was once a National Book Award finalist. I recommend it.

Trivia: In 1770 Captain Cook asked a native Australian to name the lomg legged, hopping animal he saw there. The native replied, "Kangaroo," which in his native tongue means, "I don't know."

Funny way to get named! So all the kangaroos out there are really called, "I don't know", hahaha, that's hilarious!

"Dancing: the vertical expression of a horizontal desire."
;-)

Nice, my sister will love that one, Jim.

Nina wrote: "Just finished reading, "The Big House," by George Howe Colt. It is a non-fiction book written by the aurthor about the house his WASP ancestors owned down through the years and also is a close-up l..."

Nina, the book, The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home, would probably break my heart. When we sold our home of 25 years to retire to Lake George, I was torn. I was home-sick for the house for several years after we moved from it. I cried out loud on the day of the closing.

Nina wrote: "Trivia: In 1770 Captain Cook asked a native Australian to name the lomg legged, hopping animal he saw there. The native replied, "Kangaroo," which in his native tongue means, "I don't know.""

Nina, Wiki says: "The Kangaroo myth was debunked in the 1970s by linguist John B. Haviland in his research with the Guugu Yimithirr people." See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo

Jim wrote: ""Dancing: the vertical expression of a horizontal desire." ;-)"

An oldie but a goodie! :)

Joy H. wrote: "Nina wrote: "Just finished reading, "The Big House," by George Howe Colt. It is a non-fiction book written by the aurthor about the house his WASP ancestors owned down through the years and also is..."The book has a good ending; he came to terms with the fact that a cousin bought it which meant it literally stayed in the family and he and his family were often invited back and also he was able to stay in the guest house which used to be the house of the chauffer. And Joy, why did you move out of your home of twenty five years and go to Lake George? Also, too bad about the Kangaroo myth; it was more fun the other way.

Nina, we moved when we retired. That's when we moved to the Lake George area because we had vacationed there every summer for over 20 years (boating and camping on Lake George's state islands) and we loved the beauty of the lake and the Adirondack Mountains.

As for the story, _The Big House_, I think it would be hard to go back to the house when someone else owned it. For me, it would be hard to deal with the changes the new owners would make. For many years I never wanted to go back to see our former house because I didn't want to see how the new owners had changed it. They changed the color of the house and the landscaping. The daughter of a friend of ours bought the house. I never wanted to see how they changed the inside either. I wanted to remember the house the way it was. In a way, I still miss it.

FOLLOW-UP QUOTES TO MY PREVIOUS POST ABOVE:

"Perhaps we do waste too much time in hankering after the past."
---A. Bertram Chandler, "New Wings" *** (1948)

"It is a most mortifying reflection for a man to consider what he has done, compared to what he might have done."
---Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), in James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson [1791].

=======================================================
*** "New Wings" was a short story in magazine digest, "Astounding Science Fiction", April 1948.
http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cg... --->[Internet Speculative Fiction Database]
The Astounding Science Fiction Anthology
Astounding Science Fiction, August 1939
Astounding Science Fiction, June 1957
Astounding Science Fiction
========================================================

I found a good one today that resonates with me as my sister always says I know a lot of 'useless' information. I don't think any information is useless.

From Skinwalker by Faith Hunter:
"Seemingly useless bits of knowledge often were the difference between success and failure."

I don't hanker for the past; I miss my loved ones but now I must live each day for my loved ones that are present. nina

Jackie wrote: ...From Skinwalker by Faith Hunter:
"Seemingly useless bits of knowledge often were the difference between success and failure."

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.”
---Thomas Hardy

Nina wrote: "I don't hanker for the past; I miss my loved ones but now I must live each day for my loved ones that are present. nina"

"Excess of grief for the deceased is madness; for it is an injury to the living, and the dead know it not." ---Xenephon

"It's one thing to close a window. It's another thing to slam it on my fingers."
---Richard Burton's character in "Brief Encounter" (1974)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071247/?...

Great dialogue!

I like that one.

Jim wrote: "I like that one."

I've submitted it to IMDb but it's still being processed. Their confirmation email to me said: "Updates normally take around 7-10 days to appear online..."

Here's another one from the same movie ["Brief Encounter"(1974)]:

Sophis Loren's character: "Loving each other isn't enough. Other things matter. Decency. Self-respect. It all seemed so innocent to start with."

FROM: "Brief Encounter"(1974) (with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071247/?...

If you haven't seen the original "Brief Encounter" from 1945 (with Celia Johnson & Trevor Howard), you should see that 1945 one first.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037558/?...

TIC-TAC-TOE
===============================================
"It's tempting to believe that what happened on the farm was inevitable; that in fact all events of our lives are as pre-determined as the moves in a game of tic-tac-toe:

Start in the middle square and no one wins.
Start in one of the corners and the game is yours.
And if you don't start, if you let the other person start? You lose, simple as that.

The truth isn't so simple. Death may be inevitable, but love is not. Love, you have to choose."

-p.14, _Mudbound_, by Hillary Jordan (2008)
=============================================
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

"There's nothing like a large portion of ignorance to give one a large portion of confidence."
-p.92, _Pilgrimage: The Book of the People_ (1961) by Zenna Henderson

Pilgrimage: The Book of the People by Zenna Henderson

Good ones. That last is very true.

Jim wrote: "Good ones. That last is very true."

I found the last two quotes among my old hand-written notes from books I read a few years ago. I'm finally filing my notes in folders according to authors. Before this they were stored rather randomly, mostly according to when I read the books. It's fun going through my old notes which are mainly quotes copied by hand from the books.

Here's a good one! LOL
"He's read a lot of books because nobody wants to talk to him."
-Jennifer Aniston's character in movie "The Breakup" (2006)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452594/?...

I've often wondered about that, when meeting certain people at in-person book groups. :)

(no offense intended. just couldn't resist...) :)

ON CONVERSATION:
"You don't talk to the colonel. You LISTEN to him."
[heard while watching a preview of "Apocalypse Now" (1979)]

From Rama II:

"Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one."

Jackie wrote: "From Rama II ( by Arthur C. Clarke ) :
"Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one.""

"The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you can have all the time you want for reading."
---Norman Rush, American novelist
[from The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor,10/24/11]
FROM: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org...

I'll drink to that!

LOL - SKOL!
After I posted the Norman Rush quote above I went to Wiki to learn more about Rama II. I found the following interesting info:

================================================
"Rama II is a novel by Gentry Lee and Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1989. It recounts humankind's further interaction with the Ramans, first introduced in Rendezvous with Rama. Written primarily by Gentry Lee, Rama II has a distinctly different writing style than the original, with a more character driven narrative and a closer-to-contemporary mindset, ambience and human relations than the first novel's utopian social assumptions.
"Rama II is the first novel of the "new" Rama series, as Rendezvous with Rama is not always counted as part of it. The Rama series comprises two more sequels: The Garden of Rama and Rama Revealed."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_II_...
==============================================

Before this, I had never heard of Rama II. (or Rama either) :)

I just ordered an audio of Rendezvous With Rama from Audible.com. The description sounds so interesting! I notice that it's been on my keep-in-mind shelf since 2011! I paid $8.75. Here it is at Audible.com: http://www.audible.com/search/ref=ftx...
(You'll have to search for it at the above page. The link doesn't seem to take you to the book.)

BTW, I'm really enjoying my audible book, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal. It explains the actual cause of Elvis Presley's death. Oi! Don't read it if you're squeamish!
http://books.google.com/books?id=okBZ...

"Life and death are balanced on the edge of a razor." ~Homer, Iliad

Here's a quote, just in case you receive it. Trouble today receiving Goodreads:

"I still find each day too short
for all the thoughts I want to think,
all the walks I want to take,
all the books I want to read,
and all the friends I want to see."
John Burroughs

That's a good one, Nina. I'm saving it. Thanks!

"Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away." -Ben Hecht, Charlie

The full title of the book is:
Charlie:The Improbable Life and Times of Charles MacArthur (1957) by Ben Hecht.
http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Improba...

Thought provoking quote. A good one. Now I'm back on Goodreads. Yeah!

Nina wrote: "Thought provoking quote. A good one. Now I'm back on Goodreads. Yeah!"

Glad you're back, Nina!

"The human mind is like a sponge. It absorbs information at any age, if you challenge it."

Found on p.180 of the following book by a Goodreads author:
What Should I Do with the Rest of My Life?: True Stories of Finding Success, Passion, and New Meaning in the Second Half of Life (2010)
by Bruce Frankel
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66...

"I still find texting more improbable than Buck Roger's blaster"
- Jim MacLachlan
discussing his lifelong love of vintage ScFi"

Well, a friend of mine was impressed, anyway.
;-)

Jim wrote: ""I still find texting more improbable than Buck Roger's blaster"
- Jim MacLachlan
discussing his lifelong love of vintage ScFi"
Well, a friend of mine was impressed, anyway. ;-)"

Jim, exactly what does that mean? Does it mean that you are awed by the fact that texting is actually possible? What is "Buck Roger's blaster"? (PS-Eddie says it's a gun of some sort.)

I really identified with this quote which was on a birthday card I received yesterday. Tomorrow is my eighty sixth birthday. The years really didn't fly as they say. I lived each and and every one to the fullest of my being.
Quote:

"What though youth gave love and roses,
Age still leaves us friends and wine." Thomas Moore

Joy, I'm plain shocked that people text instead of talk to each other. A coworker was telling me that her daughter will accept texts, but not a phone call from her. It's all the rage. This picture says it all.

Nina wrote: "I really identified with this quote which was on a birthday card I received yesterday. Tomorrow is my eighty sixth birthday. The years really didn't fly as they say. I lived each and and every one to the fullest of my being.
Quote:
"What though youth gave love and roses,
Age still leaves us friends and wine." Thomas Moore "

Nina, that's a beautiful quote!
I wish you A VERY HAPPY 86TH BIRTHDAY and many, many more happy years!
<---- CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL.

Jim wrote: "Joy, I'm plain shocked that people text instead of talk to each other. ..."

Jim, I know what you mean. It's a convenience but there's a lot lost at the same time.
Life is full of trade-offs.

Happy birtday, Nina!

Nina, happy birthday to you! I'm glad I'm privileged to be one of the friends your older years have brought you. Hope your special day is wonderful, and that it kicks off a happy and rewarding coming year.

That's the prettiest birthday cake I have ever received and just perfect to look at and not have to eat. I am so full...

Nina wrote: "That's the prettiest birthday cake I have ever received and just perfect to look at and not have to eat. I am so full..."

Glad you liked it, Nina!

"Cake is happiness! If you know the way of the cake, you know the way of happiness! If you have a cake in front of you, you should not look any further for joy!"
---C. JoyBell C. --->C. JoyBell C.

A fun quote and I know many in my family who would feel the same way.

This was Goodreads QOD today:

Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.

Hilary Mantel

Weather report: Yesterday was in the eighties; today is in the thirties and wind chill at 22 degrees and it is snowing. Winter advisory for surrounding area. I was freezing while trying to cover my pansies.
Bah Humbug!

Now that's an ugly change, Nina. I just planted tomatoes today - it's Derby weekend, the traditional last frost date.

Jim and Nina: I think our last frost can be as late as May 31. Today was like a summer day here!

Jackie wrote: "This was Goodreads QOD today:
Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories. Hilary Mantel"

Jackie: I see that the quote you posted by Hilary Mantel was in from Wolf Hall, a work of historical fiction. The GF description says that it's the "re-imagining of life under Henry VIII".

The quote holds true of most historical fiction, especially if the stories are good. :)