Retro Reads discussion

Checking in to ask if there would be any interest in a Question of the Month thread? I got the idea from another group. I would start it on the first and if anyone has suggestions for questions please feel free to DM me!

The questions would be about books and reading.

CindySR wrote: "Checking in to ask if there would be any interest in a Question of the Month thread? I got the idea from another group. I would start it on the first and if anyone has suggestions for questions ple..."

That sounds like an interesting idea!

We won’t be penalized if we don’t know the answer, will we? ;o)

Susan in NC wrote: "We won’t be penalized if we don’t know the answer, will we? ;o)"

No but I could think some up if you like! 😁

CindySR wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "We won’t be penalized if we don’t know the answer, will we? ;o)"

No but I could think some up if you like! 😁"

😂

I was at the at our Annual Book Fair on the weekend & am proud of my restraint. Only purchased one book (which I may put in the Book Pool)

I have hundreds of unread books at home & many more on my computer, so I need to have a bit more self control!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "

I have hundreds of unread books at home & many more on my..."

Same! There are tons on the shelf (shelves), yet I am always taking out library books and reading online. I blame GR. There are endless suggestions here; it's hard to resist!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "I was at the at our Annual Book Fair on the weekend & am proud of my restraint. Only purchased one book (which I may put in the Book Pool)

I have hundreds of unread books at home & many more on my..."

I applaud you - my oldest friend and college roommate was visiting, and we went to a new-to-us used bookstore, and I’m afraid I went a little crazy in the mystery section, bought six books recommended by GR friends! Probably just as well I get fatigued - before I could find the other sections I wanted to browse…I did have a $4 credit from their old location in my town, so the damage wasn’t too bad, but same, I have plenty of books already that I haven’t read yet.

CindySR wrote: "Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "

I have hundreds of unread books at home & many more on my..."

Same! There are tons on the shelf (shelves), yet I am always taking out library books and reading on..."
I plead the same - it’s not our fault! It’s these book temptresses on GR!

I did have a list (in my head) but the book I purchased wasn't on it - one of those I didn't know I wanted it till I saw it purchases.

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "I did have a list (in my head) but the book I purchased wasn't on it - one of those I didn't know I wanted it till I saw it purchases."

I hear you!

I think I have enough books to last until my 739th birthday; that doesn't stop me picking up more though. 😅

Tania wrote: "I think I have enough books to last until my 739th birthday; that doesn't stop me picking up more though. 😅"

Hahahaha, same!

& we had a wonderful meal last night - our town for a long time has had excellent cafes, but nowhere reasonably priced & good for evening meals. But we have a tapas bar now which is great.

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "& we had a wonderful meal last night - our town for a long time has had excellent cafes, but nowhere reasonably priced & good for evening meals. But we have a tapas bar now which is great."

Oh, fun and delicious!

& my son has left, should be landing in Vancouver in a little over two hours.

My daughter-in-law was having a medical procedure yesterday & the specialists were running late. The girls got to the airport about 20 minutes before X went through security & after he left all the colour just drained out of her face.

I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my body.

oh, Carol, that's so hard.

Jackie wrote: "oh, Carol, that's so hard."

It has been his dream since he was about 18, but we will miss him - well try too! He didn't get his car sold before he left, so we are doing that now.

He's landed safely & had his first Tim Horton's coffee.

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "Jackie wrote: "oh, Carol, that's so hard."

It has been his dream since he was about 18, but we will miss him - well try too! He didn't get his car sold before he left, so we are doing that now.

H..."

Yay! So glad his trip was safe and he’s enjoying 🇨🇦

Sorry, Carol. ☹️

I envy him, though. On my bucket list is a visit to Tim Horton's and a visit to a Buc-ee's.

CindySR wrote: "Sorry, Carol. ☹️

I envy him, though. On my bucket list is a visit to Tim Horton's and a visit to a Buc-ee's."

Tim Horton is a bit weak for Kiwi tastes! I used to love their maple do-nuts.

We were on Wats App with him briefly last night & one of his new flatmates had loaned X his scooter, so Xave could buy some towels & bedding (the previous occupant of X's room had sold him his bed) Loaning someone who had just come off a 13 hour flight & is used to driving on the other side of the road is very trusting!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "CindySR wrote: "Sorry, Carol. ☹️

I envy him, though. On my bucket list is a visit to Tim Horton's and a visit to a Buc-ee's."

Tim Horton is a bit weak for Kiwi tastes! I used to love their maple ..."

Oh, dear! I hope everything turns out fine, but good point, mum!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "CindySR wrote: "Sorry, Carol. ☹️

I envy him, though. On my bucket list is a visit to Tim Horton's and a visit to a Buc-ee's."

Tim Horton is a bit weak for Kiwi tastes! I used to love their maple ..."

I'm sure he would have had strict instructions to text that he'd completed his shopping trip and arrived back at the flat safely. :)

Ha, no we didn't know about it until after X arrived back at his flat. Same as we found out that he taught himself to ride a scooter in Vietnam!

I have a question for our North American members though.

Many years ago when I was last in Canada/USA MacDonald's had decent filter coffee (their coffee is awful over here) Is that still the case?

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "Ha, no we didn't know about it until after X arrived back at his flat. Same as we found out that he taught himself to ride a scooter in Vietnam!"

Best way to find out. Don't worry quite the same! Nerve wracking when you find out your son is in hospital after an accident on an electric scooter though. And you only find this out because you text him about another matter entirely!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "I have a question for our North American members though.

Many years ago when I was last in Canada/USA MacDonald's had decent filter coffee (their coffee is awful over here) Is that still the case?"
I don’t know, my husband and I are very picky about our coffee, haven’t had McDonald’s in years, sorry! We order our beans from roasters online, grind them at home to make our own coffee. Always on the lookout for a good coffee house - Starbucks is okay in a pinch, but tastes burned to me - I have to add a lot of cream!

I would think McDonald’s, being a chain and wanting to appeal to as wide a range of tastes as possible, probably has a nice, medium-roast flavor.

Susan in NC wrote: "I don’t know, my husband and I are very picky about our coffee, haven’t had McDonald’s in years, sorry! We order our beans from roasters online, grind them at home to make our own coffee. Always on the lookout for a good coffee house - Starbucks is okay in a pinch, but tastes burned to me - I have to add a lot of cream!."

Wow, that is dedication!

Over here, most of the top coffees are available from the Supermarkets, but some like Atomic or Allpress you have to buy from the source or a cafe that sells them.

We grind our own too. For travelling (or staying with friends who don't drink coffee) we buy Jed's coffee bags.

https://www.jedscoffee.co.nz/our-coff...

These are surprisingly good!

& starting today, it is Steampunk in our little town.

I'll probably go for a stroll tonight to see what is happening, but my favourite thing is the parade. I'm on duty at the Museum but I'm sure I'll be able to sneak out for that.

Have fun!

Susan in NC wrote: "Have fun!"

I did - & the costumes were amazing, but it was a lot quieter than previous years. But the museum did very well.

& we have sold our son's car! This was a relief!

Carol She's So Novel ꧁꧂ wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Have fun!"

I did - & the costumes were amazing, but it was a lot quieter than previous years. But the museum did very well.

& we have sold our son's car! This was a relief!"

Congratulations!

& are the rest of you seeing what I'm seeing. When you look at the moderators, Cindy & I both show as not being online since October!

This will hardly encourage new people to join our group!

Who loves vintage reads? I help moderate an easy-going buddy reading group for those interested in twentieth-century books and authors from 1900 to 1980. Check us out and discover many books of yesteryear with us!
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "& are the rest of you seeing what I'm seeing. When you look at the moderators, Cindy & I both show as not being online since October!

This will hardly encourage new people to join our group!"

I made the above post to show on my feed, kind of an advertisement. 😉

Yeah, I see that! Oct. 17th to be exact. That's very troubling.
I know GR is buggy, but this is extreme!

CindySR wrote: "Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ wrote: "& are the rest of you seeing what I'm seeing. When you look at the moderators, Cindy & I both show as not being online since October!

This will hardly encourage new peop..."

Good job!

The last post I see here is November 10, when you said you sold your son’s car.

Edit: ok, just went to page header, I see the October 17 date now - yikes!

I made a complaint to GR and got a reply and it seems they think it's our fault, our browser's fault, our IOS fault, clear your cache, re-install your app, blah blah blah.

OMG! I just noticed on my main profile/feed it says I was last active October 2024! It's not just here! Everyone needs to check their main profiles. And of course it's the one thing we can't fix for ourselves. ☹️

Well, progress! Someone in the moderator group suggested signing out of Gr on all your advices for at least 28 hours. I didn't make it that long, but I signed out for 14 hours & on my personal account I'm showing as active again. Still showing as a vanished mod though.

With my complaint to Gr I got Tevin who said it is a known bug & he has added me to the list of people who have it. Cindy, you could try writing back & say that Tevin gave me a different response.

Now I'm not even getting any notifications, so I will do the 28 hour trick. See you all later!

My profile is showing I was last active in November 2024 - not true.

Also I've just today (Dec 21 or 20 in US) marked a book finished which GR has given the 'date read' as December 18 2024!!

I think the problem requires more than individuals re-booting!

CindySR wrote: "Now I'm not even getting any notifications, so I will do the 28 hour trick. See you all later!"

me, too! I just thought everyone had gone silent.

Mine just says “last active this month”

Susan in NC wrote: "Mine just says “last active this month”"

Mine too.

I signed out and in again (just a couple hours) and I went from last signed in October to last active this month.
still not getting any notifications.

Jackie wrote: "I signed out and in again (just a couple hours) and I went from last signed in October to last active this month.
still not getting any notifications."

That's great that that worked!

About notifications - Gr changed the way they do notifications. I think they announced it in Help - which most people don't use.

If you reply to this post - look above the box - you will see Notify me when people comment
below you will see
Add to my Update Feed

If you check on them you will get notifications. I don't want stuff going into my feed, (so I don't check on that)

No more emails (for those that used that) unless you contact Support about something.

thank you, Carol!

Jackie wrote: "thank you, Carol!"

That's ok. What was especially annoying about the changes to notifications was there was no notification in the Librarians' Group (the moderator was on maternity leave, but it's not like there is no other staff) So it wasted volunteers' time & would leave a lot of members feeling ignored.

Anyway, for those that are yet to celebrate - Happy New Year! 🎉🍷🎇 My husband & I didn't make it up to 12, but we had a g&t together at around 10pm. I'd been in at the museum & I was really tired!