Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion

Interesting review, Jim. Thanks.

My cardiologist wouldn't fit into this lady's category. He is most human/has four kids and is people friendly. I am certain he wouldn't look down on any vet.

I don't think I've met a cardiologist, but my sister-in-law is a shrink. She raises & shows cart ponies, but has also had a lot of other animals. She often speaks of how they act compared to humans & vice versa.

We've always known more GPs, orthopedic surgeons, & vets best socially & professionally. I don't know why socially, but we spent a lot of time with them professionally. Gary, one of our orthopedic surgeons, treated all of us from my grandmother on down to Erin for a broken bone at one time or another, although I think Mom was his best customer. He used to hunt with us & had a kid or two in Pony Club, too. When Marg & Erin broke their arms, he was joking with them that they'd done a 'Blue', the name of Marg's favorite horse who had cracked his ankles training. His descriptions of the break & how to care for it really resonated with them due to the comparison. He knew all the details since he & Cooper, our usual vet, discussed it in detail at some Pony Club function or other. I think it was when James couldn't get one of the C ratings because Blue came up lame.

All of the above just goes to show how ignorant & out of touch I found the authors of Zoobiquity. I grew up with vets doctoring me & doctors fixing their own animals. And any cardiologist should be familiar with all the animal experimentation that lead to their current knowledge & abilities, not to mention all that is still being done in the field. Either she's disingenuous or an idiot. I don't care to read nonfiction books by either.

When it was first published back in 2000, my interest was piqued by reviews in the library trade journals of Shadows Bend: A Novel of the Fantastic and Unspeakable. Written by David Barbour and Richard Raleigh, it's set in August 1935, and opens with reclusive, eccentric H. P. Lovecraft traveling to Texas to meet his fellow weird fiction writer and pen pal Robert E. Howard --and it's not a purely social visit. Actually, HPL never crossed the Appalachians in his life --though he did skirt them once to visit his fellow writer E. Hoffman Price in New Orleans-- and he and Howard never met in person; but the authors are otherwise keeping the narrative plausible (provided you think it's plausible that Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos is rooted in reality :-) ). Since I'm a fan of both Lovecraft and Howard, this book seems to be right up my alley; it was my first acquisition on Book Mooch a few years ago, and I finally got to start reading it today!

Enjoy the book, Werner!

I'm liking it so far, Joy!

Cyador's Heirs by L.E. Modesitt Jr. is another excellent addition to the Recluce series, the 17th book published, but it's currently the 6th chronologically & has different characters & setting than any others. It's a coming of age & learning to use The Force story. Very enjoyable & a different way of looking at & handling the magic than others. I gave it 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Jackie, I think you'd really like this series. Werner probably would too, but he's so far behind on his reading that I won't suggest such a big series.
;-)

TY, I'll add it to the library sale list. For those in the Glens Falls area, next sale is Friday 13th of June.

Any of his books are good. Grab any you can & fill in later. I read the middle book of his Silent Warrior trilogy several times before I found the other two. I hate it when that happens, but the way he writes, it worked out well.

That's good to know.

There's an interesting article in the May issue of Smithsonian Magazine that I'm just getting around to reading. It's titled "Brave New Words" & discusses the influence SF has had on scientists among other things. One mentions he went to MIT because Kip did in Have Space Suit—Will TravelHave Space Suit—Will Travel. You can read it here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-cu...

That's interesting, Jim. Thanks.

The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry was a good listen. Long, but I gave it 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I gave it the same rating.

Jim wrote: "Werner probably would, too, but he's so far behind on his reading that I won't suggest such a big series." Yes, I got behind on my fiction reading back in the 70s, when I started concentrating heavily on nonfiction reading for a number of years (long story!), and I doubt that I'll ever catch up. At last count, I think I'm already reading 11 series that I want to actually pursue. (But if the first Recluce book should happen to turn up in a yard sale or thrift store, who knows....:-) )

I've tried to read Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness several times over the years. While I loved her Earth Sea trilogy, The Lathe of Heaven & several other books including 2 earlier ones in this series, I could never get into this one, so I decided to listen to it. Never loved it, barely got through it & then only because it was an audio book. I gave it 3 stars because it finally gets around to making a decent story. Really it's more of a 2.5 star read, though.

My full review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

There is a spoiler warning in bold about halfway through the review. Nothing above that is one, though. I'd love to discuss it because so many seem to think this was a great book. It just didn't read that way for me.

Thanks for the review, Jim.

I'm listening to Last Tango in Brooklyn written & read by Kirk Douglas. So far, it's great. I love his voice & he could certainly play the part of the hero. Perfect. I grew up with him playing great roles like Spartacus, both the good & bad guy in westerns & more. He was a fantastically talented actor & now is a darn good writer. I read his autobiography, The Ragman's Son, years ago & really liked it, too.

Wow, Jim, I didn't realize Kirk Douglas is now 97 years old!

Jim, are you still into wedding preparations? Our weather has been cool for June. Nice. Hope it's that way for some of your wedding work..

I am still preparing hard for the wedding & the lack of rain is killing me. The ground is hard as a rock, so I have to water, even before weeding, which just eats time like candy.

I just finished Last Tango in Brooklyn written & read by Kirk Douglas. It's general fiction with a broad streak of romance. My 4 star is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I reread Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr., the first of his series by the same name. I read the first 2 books when they came out 4 or 5 years ago & then never got back to the series. I now have 6, so I'm looking forward to it. I gave the book 4 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Although I've read and liked several of her books and stories (and was less wild about others), I've never officially declared myself a Le Guin fan. For whatever it's worth, I've read The Left Hand of Darkness, and like Jim gave it three stars. My review is here: www.goodreads.com/review/show/18228247 . It's one I wrote back in May 2008, not long after I joined Goodreads, and is relatively short, like most of those I wrote in those early days; I guess I hadn't gotten comfortable enough on Goodreads by then to be as verbose as I am now. Having done a paper on it back in 1996, when I took a correspondence course from the Univ. of Iowa in science fiction, I could definitely have written more!

Good review, Werner. I agree with your points on the sexuality.

Thanks, Jim!

It's been raining here for three days. So, maybe it's headed your way. Hope so.

Just got chased in by an inch of rain in 20 minutes. Still dripping. Hope we get more. We need it bad.

I just finished listening to The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia by Mike Dash. The author did a great job of researching the origins of the Mafia & this is a great read for anyone who liked The Godfather or The Valachi Papers, which I do (both books & movies). I found a lot of names & situations that I recognized.

Unfortunately, it's pretty complex & probably not best in audio, although it was well read. I could only give it 3 stars here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I finished The Lies of Locke Lamora, I had a hard time getting into it at first, but once I did, it was fantastic. 4 stars.
I started The Giver today, so far it's very good. Simply written but paints a vivid picture. A movie version will be out in August, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0435651/, that's the reason for reading it so promptly. I got it at the library books sale on Friday. Along with 3 others from my list and 6 not on my list.

Here's the Netflix description of "The Giver" (2014):
"In a future society called The Community, pain, war and disease have been eradicated, as have individuality and free will. When a teenager named Jonas learns the truth about the real world, he must decide whether to reveal all or remain quiet."
http://dvd.netflix.com/Search?v1=The%...

At the moment, I'm reading Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, since it's a common read this month in the classics group I belong to here on Goodreads. It's quite short, so I expect it to be a relatively quick read. (I've read a few of the Bard's plays before, but never that particular one.)

Werner wrote: "At the moment, I'm reading Shakespeare's play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, since it's a common read this month in the classics group I belong to here on Goodreads. It's quite short, so ..."

I watched a 1996 version of this on Netflix a while ago.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117043/?...
http://www.netflix.com/WiMovie/700957...

We used to live across the street from "Shakespeare in the Park," and it was fun to just walk across and see the play selection of the year. Last time we did see, "A Midsummer.." This year the play is "A Winter Tale," but now that we don't live close we probably won't go. It was also fun to watch them putting together the scenery for the plays from our balcony.

And once when I was in Stratford I did tour S..home and his mother's home and the cemetery where he was buried. It was interesting. Also, we once had a small lake cottage that very much resembled the inside of Shakespeare's mother's home. Our builder was married to an English woman and I figured she had a hand in the design.

What wonderful memories, Nina!

Right now I am reading "The Daring Ladies of Lowell," which is a historical novel based on the Mills of MA and the ladies who work there. It is interesting from the view of one of the young lady workers. Such terrible conditions. Also, taking care of a daughter who just had surgery to repair torn areas in her rotator cuff and two other problem areas. Not fun. Very painful recuperation.

Our weather not too pleasant with temps in the nineties. We have had quite a bit of rain, however in this past month which is good. I walk and water my plants early when there is a God given breeze which helps. These days we have a light supper/like tonight it's rhubarb upside down cake with vanilla ice cream. Want a bite?

I'm reading All the Weyrs of Pern. I love the Pern books! I mislabeled it here, as read, but I did not read this one before. I'm far enough in that if I did read it, I'd have remembered it by now.

Thank you both for posting.

Nina, I wish your daughter a quick recovery.

Thanks, Joy. The biggest problem my daughter has now is terrible cramping due the all the air being pumped into her stomach during the surgery. I guess that is the proceedure now days.

Nina, I apologize, I didn't see that part about your daughter. May she have a swift recovery; you're a fantastic mom taking care of her.

Nina, I join in what Jackie said!

Thanks for your concern about my daughter; finally, she has turned the corner and isn't in severe pain today; still has only slept about two hours a night and can barely tolerate eating much except applesauce or graham crackers. Bottome line, she should never have been sent home from the hospital the day of major surgery.

I'm glad she's doing better, Nina. Yes, they do send them home far too early.

I agree, though I'm glad your daughter is doing better.

Werner, from the review I just read of our Shakespeare in the Park presentation of "A Winter's Tale," I guess old William is alive and well in the hearts of the audiences here in the city. The headline read "Well told "Tale" of love and madness." So, be it. This tale takes us from stark tragedy to goofy comedy and ultimately a mystical resurrection. This was part of the review. You might want to read it.

Nina, do you have a link to that review? (Or did you mean I might want to read The Winter's Tale?) If the latter, I'll keep it in mind!

Glad to hear the good report about your daughter! Keep us posted.

I can't believe that I've been reading a new book for a couple of days, and forgot until now to post about it here! (Of course, I've had a lot of irons in the fire over the last few days.)

My writer friend Andrew Seddon recently sent me a signed copy of his latest book, Saints Alive! New Stories of Old Saints: Volume II Celtic Paths a collection of a dozen short stories (it's a sequel to Saints Alive! New Stories of Old Saints). I beta read most of these stories for him (and he's kind enough to mention that in the acknowledgements); but it's been awhile since I did, and there are one or two I didn't read. So I'm (re)reading the collection before I do my review.

Werner, the review of "A Winter's Tale," was in our local paper, The Kansas City Star and what I meant to infer was that you might want to read the story, A Winter's Tale. Apparently, the play put on here was quite successful so all these many many years later as I said, Shakespeare is alive and well received.