Elk County Forum

This is a great day to curl up with various and assorted pets and a good book. I plan to do that when the kitchen is cleaned up some. I am currently reading a great book of Anderson fairy tales that was translated in 1950. Some of these stories I had never heard of before now. Some of them I can see why, lol! But it is a great book, part of a publishers' trilogy I found at the thrift shop. The other two books are classics, Black Beauty, (I plan to reread that as I haven't read it since I was a girl). I am also nearly finished with the last of C.S. Lewis' space trilogy, these were good reads, I liked the first and third better than the second though. I recently finished Asimovs' Martian Chronicles (again). I love that book, it really gets my attention. And I am really enjoying Memoirs Of William Jennings Bryan, I expected that it would be boring, but it is still relative to the present despite of the 1925 publication date. So, I better get in the kitchen so I can enjoy one of these before we lose power, it may happen with ice caked on the trees and power lines.  ;)

I love to read such books as the one you describe on William Jennings Bryan. There was a well-known public speaker, Dr. Kenneth McFarland, who came from my hometown of Caney and in many of his speeches he told about the day when William Jennings Bryan came to Caney in 1912.

Bryan, in addition to be secretary of state and a statesman of high repute, was also a chautauqua performer. Dr. McFarland was only eight years old when he stood near the railroad platform and heard Bryan deliver his "Cross of Gold" speech which he repeated hundreds of times across the country.

Wouldn't that have been wonderful to experience such times! I can only imagine the excitement that Bryan must have generated. This I know: He inspired the young boy to become a nationally known speaker, working for General Motors most of his career. His job? Just go out and uplift America!

Now there's a job that someone needs to perform today.

Since afternoon preschool was cancelled, Lane decided we should spread a blanket out on the floor and read various books. We are reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White for the millionth time. We read a few chapters each night. Today we've read quite a bit and baby Eli seems to enjoy it - when he is actually awake. Charlotte's Web always makes me cry.

That is just great to be reading to the young ones! You might be surprised how much the baby understands; maybe not just the words but the sharing and learning is all important. Very often in the evenings, my folks would read aloud from the Bible or Book Of Mormon while the rest of the family shelled nuts or sorted a keg of scrap screws/nails/findings. Great family times, the best!

I'm reading the thermometer...and crying sleet.

I got some new books the other day and so far have read two of them.  I started the third one this evening.  All mysteries.  Keeps my mind off the ice that is piling up on the trees.

All the posts on the forum.

"The Shack"  many will never view God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit every the same again.  Get past the first 1/2 of the book and the rest will change your life.

Nadine, so glad you said you struggled with the first part as it was a big struggle for me. But as you say once you got past that part you really do stop and think about what they are saying. Glad I read it. Sorry to read about the lights stolen from your mothers grave on another thread. That is aweful beyond words. Barbara

Actually it was only the first 1/4th (don't want to discourage anyone).  If I could I would buy everyone a copy.  I read it so fast the firsttime that I had to go back, skipped the first 1/4 (you do know to need the first 1/4th to understand the rest) and would read as much as I could only at lunchtime though.  Made myself really think about what I was reading.

Who is the author?

William Young here is the link to the website about the book http://theshackbook.com/ (http://theshackbook.com/)

Okay, now I know what book it is. Stan was talking about it the other night in Bible study. He also said that the book was a bit of cliche' when it started, but as he got into it, he said it was a great book. I'm gonna have to get ahold of a copy, I wonder if it is in the church library? Hmmm----!!

I checked it out at the Moline Library many months ago, maybe longer than that.

Seems everyone is reading that book...guess I'll have to break my rule about staying away from popular literature.  :o

I've got a copy I'll loan out.

I read it from the library - thought it was so good I went out and bought a copy for myself.

It makes you rethink.

I read a good story about the author of "The Shack." Only one year ago, he was living in a small rental house and working three jobs, the main one being a janitor.

He wrote the book with autobiographical senses and submitted it to 26 book publishers, all of whom rejected the book.

A group of his friends chipped in and helped him self-publish the book and it has sold 5.5 million so far, and that's only in English.

Of course, the big-time publishers are now standing in line to talk to him.

Quite a guy. My wife read the book and didn't want it to end.

I'm starting the book, "Three Cups of Tea", by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  It has been highly recommended by friends, and I am really getting interested the further I go.

I have read "Three Cups" previously...It is so inspirational!  A real eye-opener about how things work over in that area of the world.

I have just finished "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult that I got at the Moline Library. This book is so timely with the school shooting that have happened across our country. It is a fiction but so real to to how life goes sometimes. Maybe people  will read it and realize the power of words and actions and the ripple effect they have. Barbara

I have just started "The Shack".  It is a fictional account of a man's conversation with God.  I have found it to be fascinating so far.  It is interesting enough that it doesn't need to utilize any holier-than-thou lecture tactics...It lets you draw your own conclusions.  I can't wait to see how it ends. :-)  Another one I've just read is "Peaks and Valleys".  It, too, is fictional respresentation but deals with how you can make the low points in your life (the valleys) in to peaks (the high points in your life) and how you can stay on the "peaks" longer.  Very practical information for leading a happier, more fulfilled life.  Oh, how I love summer reading! :-)   

My wife recently read "The Shack" and found it to be life-transforming.  All the time she was reading the book, she would say, "I only read one or two chapters at a time because I don't want it to end."

That's the mark of a good read.

She highly recommends "The Shack," although she says it's only for those who can bend with their traditional visions of what God and Jesus might look like, and how they might interact with us.

HMM.... based on what you both have said, I'll read it too.

I think maybe I should, too.

I am trying to read the second book of a trilogy of Nora Roberts'.  Can't seem to stay with it when the forum is so much more interesting.

Well folks, I am going to be in the minority here. Maybe I was expecting too much, but I did not care for 'The Shack'. Perhaps it was the pain that man endured, or the almost sacreligous depiction of God and Jesus Christ. I am not a narrow minded person and can accept a lot of things but sorry, I was unimpressed. Just me or maybe it is the particular point in my life.

I read a lot, mostly science fiction or fantasy.  I have enough reality on my plate most days.  I like to read old stuff and new popular titles and can go through 2 or 4 paperbacks a week when I'm not in GARDEN mode.  I enjoy the poular 'action mysteries' too and recently read "The Lost Constitution" by William Martin; "Cold Plague" by Daniel Kalla; "The Judas Strain" by James Rollins; "The Bible of Clay" by Julia Navarro; all 4 of the Twilight vampire series by Stephanie Meyer; and just finished "Angels & Demons" by Dan Brown. I enjoyed them all... I've noticed that a lot of current popular fiction involves religion and religious artifacts (both real and imaginary).  It seems surprising to me that several of them promote faith in God, though the same books have few good things to say about organized religion of any denomination.

I'll not watch the new Angels & Demons movie though, I did that with Da Vinci Code and it stunk... I know, the book is always better; but sometimes it seems the movie makers just use the chapter outlines and skip all the interesting details of the story to pack in more action & destruction... as if the viewers are all 8 year olds who need that constant visual stimulation to 'stay tuned'.  I guess I wouldn't know how to make a movie myself though, so maybe I shouldn't whine about it.  I'll just keep reading.

I am with you, Joanne.  After I first retired I was reading 2 or 3 books a week.  This went on until my wife decided the money I was spending at the book store was sorely needed for food.  So I renewed my library card and started in on hardbacks.  I still buy an occasional paperback when she lets me go to the store by myself. 

However, being a genealogy nut and with my cousin, a family history specialist (ours) my interest in history has taken over most of my reading.  Two weeks ago I read about the Santa Fe trail and gained some interesting insights into how the American traders and the army sent to protect them pretty much pushed Mexico out of New Mexico.  I spent some time living in SE Colorado and I was aware that the northern route of the Santa Fe trail went through that town, but it didn't mean much to me then.  The town still celebrates Santa Fe Trail day. 

I am currently reading a book called the "Southwest" by David Lavender.  I secretly snuck in Dean Koontz' "The Husband" and Ludlums "Bourne Sanction" between the two library books.  "Southwest" is a little boring in the beginning as it deals with the early exploration efforts of Spain and the enslavement of the Native American population.  It promises to get better.  I don't like to read about a population that was subjected to that kind of treatment. 

Larryj

Have you read any Tony Hillerman? Joanna, I'll admit I saw both the Da Vinci Code and just saw Angels and Demons, liked them both just for what they were, adventure stories. A& D follows the book a little closer but neither is as good as the books are.

Tony Hillerman, is he the one that writes about the Indian rez police?  I read all of him that I can get.  I also like J. A. Jance's Sheriff Joanna Brady and James D. Doss's Charlie Moon.

Yes, Tony Hillerman wrote about the Navajos, Joe Leaphorn, and Jim Chee. I think I have read them all.

If you want action/adventure with a bit of a message, read William W. Johnstone "Out of the Ashes" series.  His "Eagles" series makes for a pretty good western.

Ok, I'll try some of his.

  I really like Tony Hillerman Diane, think I have read em all :) I just read The Wind is MY Mother, it's about the life of a Creek medicine man named Bear Heart and am readin Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I liked the movie so decided to read the book when I found it at a garage sale lol.

Oh Pam, I have read Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, it is a good read, based on fact.

I enjoyed the book, hated the movie.

I read the book too, and saw the move. I like Kevin Spacey, but the book was better.

Yes, I thought the movie was a little silly!

It made me laugh so that's good lol

An Inconvenient Book by Glenn Beck

Really interesting and not in a Right wing sort of way.  Just common sense applied to problems.

I'm in the middle of two:

Rural Communities - Legacy + Change (3rd Ed)
by Cornelia B. and Jan L. Flora

Saving America's Countryside - A Guide to Rural Conservation (2nd Ed)
by Samuel N. Stokes, etal

Just finished readingThe Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom. I really liked it. Not a lot of repetion and easy to remember who is who. Kind of a different spin on the life after. I'm at the point I need the larger print (easier to read in bed) and glad to see more books going that way. :)

Just finished Michael Connellys "Brass Verdict."  Good book if you like mysteries and/or cops and robbers sort of thing.  Currently working on Robert Ludlum's "The Promethus Deception".  I have read all the books written by Robert Ludlum even those that are published with him as the author even though he is long gone.  I have also read all the books by Michael Connelly.  Both of these authors are great story tellers.

Larryj

I bought a hand full of books at a yard sale awhile back...they are turnin out to be pretty good! Historical novels about Ireland and the fight for independance from english rule. Just finished Redemption by Leon Uris.

Well, I finished the Left Behind series all except for the last book, 'The Mark'. I may or may not buy it, I think this is as good a place as any to end this for me. I am waaaaay behind the times, since I started 'The DaVinci Code' the other night. It is fast paced and interesting. I understand that Dan Brown has just released another book with the same character. Pam, Leon Uris was a favorite author of mine.

I hadn't read any of his books till I found these...He IS a pretty good writer, doesn't use a whole bunch of busy work to make it longer!

Exodus was my favorite, I may revisit it.

Just starting to read (for the 2nd time ) "Matterhorn : A novel of the Vietnam War " by Karl Marlantes.  To me it is the best book I've ever read about what it was like to be a Marine grunt in Nam. I might be a tad pedjudice though because Lt Marlantes was one of our  rifle platoon commanders in the same company I served with. :) Lt Marlantes won the Navy cross, Bronze star, two Navy commendations w/V and two Purple Hearts. Although it is a fiction /novel/ historical novel I know alot of the people he writes about even though the names have been changed, including "Scar", my beloved Plt. comm.. This 700 page novel was published by El Leon a few months back but it has since been picked up by Groves Atlantic and will come out again in Jan 2010 and I've heard under a new title. if anyone is interested I will e-mail Lt Marlantes and find out what the title of the book will be when it comes back out.

I have just recenty started reading "The Other Boleyn Girl".  I saw the movie and they always say the book is better so why not?  I am enjoying the historical fiction aspect of it.  Now all I have to do it some research to find out exactly what is fictional and what is truely historical.  I do like being able to look up places and people named in the book on Google earth and Wikipedia.  The author Philippa Gregory has quite a few of this style of books all related to the British Monarchy.  I may have read some more after I get done with this one.  If any of ya'll have read any of her books before I would love to hear from you about your opinion.
Andrea

 Just this past week watched "The Other Boleyn Girl" on the movie channel. Think I will see if the library has a copy of this. I found this truly a "Don't get up and leave the room or you will miss something movie".

I'm muddling my way through Fred Kaplan's biography of Abraham Lincoln. Actually, it has been quite informative, especially about Lincoln's private life. Makes me realize again that nothing on earth is new.

Mary Lincoln was an interesting person, certainly interesting to read about anyway. There has been a lot written about Abraham Lincoln, but not much about his family. Your book sounds informative anyway.

Time Travelers Wife.............. saw the movie...now I'm reading the book!

"The Shack"  if you have not read it you will want to.  A great story about our relationship with God.

My wife loved "The Shack."

Pam, have you read anything by James Alexander Thom, such as 'Follow The River', or 'Children Of First Man"? He has written many others, most deal with the interaction between early whites and the native Americans. Although written in a novel form, they are based in fact; 'Follow The River' is a true story, 'Children Of First Man' is a supposition of how the Mandan tribe of native Americans had red hair. Very, very good reads, both of them. I am going to have to look up some other books he wrote. Good stuff!

 No I haven't SDM but it sounds interestin! I've heard stories about red-haired natives, the theory is either EARLY Irish or Vikings landed here long before the other europeans and stayed and intermarried. I watched a show one time about mummies they had found that dated before any europeans got here and were tall white skinned and blonde or redhaired found in a cave in Tennessee I think I don't remember for sure.
I got a new Dean Koontz book yesterday, Frankenstein, it's about how the mad scientist didn't die and is livin in New Orleans buildin a new "superrace" to replace ordinary humans and they are goin berserk on him, killin people tryin to discover what "ordinary" humans have that they don't. It's creepy and ridiculous at the same time lol but a pretty good read :laugh: I bought that and The Prince of Tides...I saw the movie but never read the book yet.

My very favorite Koontz book was 'The Watchers', outa sight! I have read Frankenstein and it was good, a fun read. In my estimation, Koontz is a less intense Stephan King. Like 'em both, very much!

Watchers WAS a good book, read it a couple of times lol. I have to admit I'm a Stephen King junkie tho, Needful Things and the Stand...Dolores Claiborne, It, The Shining, Pet Semetary, Cujo, Christine,Firestarter,just read one called Liseys story a couple months ago..... geez think I've read em all pretty much, the Gunslinger books were pretty good too.

How about Tony Hillerman? I've read most of his too , I used to read a LOT :P lol

Yes, Stephen King just cannot produce fast enough!  :D I have read all of the above, 'The Stand' was my favorite, read it several times, and looking forward to another visit, maybe this winter. Have not read Tony Hillerman, will look into it. BTW, I think Dolores Claiborne was just about the very best in character study, just how did he learn so much about women anyway? One think that SK cannot write about with any success, is love between a man and woman, aka The Rose (Gunslinger series I think that was the name.) That lovemaking was totally awkward IMHO!  ;D

Stephen King's "Thinner" was one of my favorites.

 I've read the Stand several times too lol, thought the movie was kinda lame.... Joe doesn't read very often but he set and read that of all books! I agree about Dolores Claiborne..I even liked the movie. I think if I had to pick a favorite it would be Needful Things tho.

Lol, I always skip over the romance part.

Finished the first Frankenstein last night, didn't realize it was number one of three till I got it home :P now I have to find the other two LOL I've started readin more since Joe's on the road.

I like murder mysteries and Tony Hillerman writes pretty good ones, they are set on the Navajo and Hopi reservations with tribal police.

Thinner is a good one too :)

As soon as I get done with "The Other Boleyn Girl", I am going to start "The Lost Symbol".  I hope it is like "The DaVinci Code".  I enjoyed both book and movie on that one.  I also read "Angels & Demons" it was good but haven't seen the movie yet.
Andrea

How did I as a librarian not see this thread. Egads I will be expelled from the Union! Please don't tell anyone! Being the anal person I am, I read in a cycle. I am going through my Nicholas Sparks books. I have one more to read before the new one. I am hoping the Birthday Clown brings that one to me. Then I read a non-fiction book and then any book by any other author. Right now I am reading Eyewitness. It is a history of the field of photojournalism. It has some awesome pictures but also a good read.

I have all the books Tony Hillerman wrote. It's a shame there will be no more. I learned a lot from them.

Okay, you all convinced me; next month, (I have already spent my fun money for this month), I will get on Ebay and see what I can get by Tony Hillerman. Any reccomendations?

Sure, if you can, start with these, in order. The Blessing way,The Dance Hall of the Dead, Listening Woman, People of Darkness,The Dark Wind.Those will get you started.There are lots more. Eventually Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee will become old friends.

  I liked Skinwalkers, the best I think but they are ALL good. Sacred Clowns, The Blessing Way, Hunting Badger are ones I liked a lot too.

QuoteOkay, you all convinced me; next month, (I have already spent my fun money for this month), I will get on Ebay and see what I can get by Tony Hillerman.

You could also check them out at the library - see if you like him. I think you will - he's an excellent story teller, but if you want to "try before you buy" - libraries are great.
:D

After The Dark Wind comes The Ghost Way, then Skin Walker, A Thief of Time, Talking God, The Fly on the Wall, Coyote Waits, Sacred Clowns, Finding Moon,The Fallen Man,The First Eagle, Hunting Badger, Chee's Witch, The Wailing Wind, The Sinister Pig, Skeleton Man and The Shape Shifter.

Mom, I love going to the library, however I sleep, eat and thoroughly abuse a book when I am reading it. It gets laid on, slept on, and lost in the covers. Better that I do this to my own books!  ;D ;D And thanks everybody for the suggestions, I'm getting fired up! Davinci Code is nearly done and I am screaming "apple" right now. We'll see if I'm right or not here shortly.

I used to be one of the biggest Stephen King fans on the planet. Bought them all in hardcover before the ink was dry. Gave them all to my son-in-law a few years ago. I just lost interest, or he failed to hold my interest, after Hearts in Atlantis. I think the accident dampened his creative spark.The Stand will always be a favorite, and I really enjoyed his short-story collections. I wasn't crazy about the Gunslinger/Dark Tower series, but I read them anyway...being his biggest fan and all ...LOL.

I'm also a "series" reader, and one of my favorites was the Earth Children series by Jean Auel that started with Clan of the Cave Bear. Well researched and highly entertaining. The later books in the series wandered off into Bodice-Ripper-Land, but were still good reads.

I'm currently re-reading Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.

As much as all of you guys read have any of ya'll considered an e-reader (electronic readed)?  If you are familiar with it what are your thoughts?  I am considering getting one and would love some feedback.  Does anyone here like to read books more than once?
Andrea

If a book is good I'll read it more than once lol I read Gone With the Wind 11 times growing up! Most Louis L'Amour books I've read more than once, specially the Sackett ones.

Jensarlou's question.  Yes, yes, yes, yes and YES.  With my memory they are always new to me.  I will sometimes get into a book before I realize that I have read it before, but I go ahead and read it again.  With mysteries, I will have forgotten the ending after several years.  Makes it all the more fun.  I can also hide my own Easter eggs and buy my own Christmas presents.

  I don't know anything about e-readers..I've seen em on TV but that's about it :P

Quote from: larryJ on September 18, 2009, 09:18:18 AM
Just finished Michael Connellys "Brass Verdict."  Good book if you like mysteries and/or cops and robbers sort of thing.  Currently working on Robert Ludlum's "The Promethus Deception".  I have read all the books written by Robert Ludlum even those that are published with him as the author even though he is long gone.  I have also read all the books by Michael Connelly.  Both of these authors are great story tellers.

Larryj

Larry.... our taste on thrillers run together..... if you like Ludlum, here is a few authors in the same vein you might go for:  David Hagberg, David Silva, Brad Thor, Vince Flynn (reading his "Extreme Measures" now), Stephen Coonts, Joel Rosenberg.  I'm also a big fan of Tom Clancy, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth and probably my favorite is John La Carré.

We have a well stocked library here where I live.  It's cheap.  Just go in and pick out what you want to read.  Since I suffer from insomnia at times, it gives me a chance to read.

Okay, Diane and Pam, you are in a lot of trouble! I took your advice and bought a small lot of Tony Hillerman books on Ebay. Those got slurped down like goldfish at an oldtime frat party. I have since purchased 12 more and am on the third one of those. HELP! I can't stop reading! I am enjoying them thoroughly, but canot help thinking of my Mom and how much she would have enjoyed these as she did love a mystery! They are clean as a whistle, something she would have appreciated. I really hate to start a book and then throw it away because it just uses pages as an excuse to write dirty. I am certainly no prude, but gross is gross! My Mom used to read a series of mysteries that centered around cats, does anyone know who that author was?

Lilian Jackson Braun ? ? ? she wrote The Cat Who . . . books.

That sounds right--- I will have to try one. I am not necessarily a mystery buff, but I am enjoying the Hillerman books. Thanks, Mom!

 ;D ;D told ya they were good!

Larry & warph,
You boys ever read "Once an Eagle" by Antone Myrer ? I "made" Sarge read it and he liked it.

Nope, I haven't read that one.  I am currently reading Andrew Cross "The Blue Zone" and not too fast, cuz it is kinda boring.  But, I will get through it.  Still reading my "Army manual of arms."    :laugh:

Larryj

There is also the Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, co-written by Rita and her cat, Sneaky, series.  Haven't read one of those in a while, but Daughter has provided me with a bunch of them.  Then there is the Feline P.I. Midnight Louie series by Carole Nelson Douglas.  I like The Cat Who because the mystery is always solved by the male Siamese of the house.

Currently I am reading the latest of Sara Paretsky's, but my eyes don't let me read very long and I like to finish what I start, especially when it is a book.

They sound interesting Wilma! I have a tomcat who thinks he is a feline PI; anyway he investigates everything going on in this neighborhhood! More than once I have had to ask David Brace to unlock the museum garage, as Little Man goes in there to investigate when the door is open and doesn't always come out when the door is being closed. He was locked up somewhere a few winters back; it was bitter cold, and I thought that the coyotes had gotten him since they come into town at night to hunt. He came home 10 days later, not hungry, but very thirsty. So hunting must have been good where he was, but there was no water. He is a neutered silver/black tabby; they are incredible hunters, so mousing must have been good then. I haven't heard you talk about Bud for a long time--- is he okay? Isn't Sneaky Pie Brown just the greatest name? I wish that I were that clever.

Quotebut my eyes don't let me read very long

Jim listens to a lot of audio books.

Odd that you should mention Bud and cats being locked up.  Bud got shut in the closet last night and I didn't miss him until I was ready to go to bed.  This is a little thing he does.  If the door is open he goes through it.  It doesn't make any difference where it leads to.  He has been shut in all of the bottom cabinets in the kitchen, under the lavatory in both bathrooms and in the bedroom that I keep shut all the time.  Sometimes it is quite some time before I go looking for him.  He never utters a sound while he is shut in, but he is quite vocal when he isn't.  The reason I missed him last night is that when I am ready to get into bed and turn out the light, he goes into his goodnight song and dance and it isn't silent.

I am glad Bud is doing okay.  It amazes me that they have their bedtime ritual.  My inside dogs knew when it was bedtime and let me know if I wasn't ready when they were.

Larry, You get a chance I think you'd like "Once An Eagle" Follows an Army (yes, I read about Army too :) ) officer from WW-I until Vietnam. It was made into a mini series back in the mid 70's for TV. Ladies might not like the book but most would have loved the mini series because the star was Sam Elliot back when he was a pup. I can see Teresa  swooning now just thinking about a young Sam Elliot. :) It is a fictional book.

Larry,
On the  Bond issue thread you quoted Bill Cosby. I would have replied there but didn't want scolded for getting off subject. Did Cosby say that on the LP "Why is There Air" or "To Russel My Brother Whom I Slept With " ? Think I have about all Cosby's old LP's but aint had a turn table to listen to them for years

I'm a big Nicholas Sparks fan. I have read all of his books except two, the latest one and the one before that. I am currently working on his next to last one, The Lucky One. A good mix of romance and mystery. Yes, I am a softy.

Jarhead, I had a beautiful stereo system for years.  When we decided to repaint the family room and change the facing on the cabinets, the stereo was moved around to accommodate the painting and as will happen, the cartridge from the turntable was damaged and then lost.  Replacing it was cost prohibitive.  As I worked for many years in a record store, I have hundreds of vinyl albums.  Then someone came out with a boxy device that plays albums, tapes, CDs, and AM/FM.  You can find it at Walmart and the cost is probably around $100 (here anyway).  Best thing I ever bought.  It sits by my desktop computer so when I am using that computer I listen to my albums or the radio.  It is also great for soft listening when I am reading.  It is pretty neat.  I love Bill Cosby and have some of his videotapes.  The man is a genius.

I noticed recently that the same company that makes the record player/radio player that I bought has come out with one that will transfer your records onto tape and I think CDs.  I don't know if I can talk the missus into letting me buy that one (as if I really need it!).

Larryj

Oh yea Larry, you would think Bill Cosby is a genius. Cosby was a Navy Corpsman and all you medic types stick together . :)

Yeah, we do.

Another Cosby line about medics:  "Anybody wanna buy a helmet with a Red Cross on it?"
Or---somebody gets hit and calls out "MEDIC!"  His answer, "Whatcha want?"  "Take two aspirins and call me in the morning."

I am probably not relaying this word for word, but it is close.

Larryj

Back when I was a teenager I thought Cosby's funniest line was when the Lone Ranger told Tonto to go to town and Tonto replied back, "Go to hell Keemo Sabe" We would laugh our arse off because he cussed saying "hell". Kinda mild compared to what the kids listen to today in that Rap crap.

Back to books . . .

They are so delicious. It's fun to be reading a good book - the kind you don't want to put down, that you look for excuses to take a break from work so you can catch a few pages.

I just finished Grisham's "Ford County" and now I'm reading "The Time Traveler's Wife." Wouldn't have picked that one, but we don't do movies, we read. It's worth it.

Yes, I can't wait to read "Ford County." It sounds so very good.

I am on the last of the Hillerman books I bought. I will have to find some more or read something else, but Tony HIllerman is just right for me now. That gives me a good reason to shop Ebay anyhow.  :angel: I have read several of Grishoms' books, good writer, but just my genre'. Mom, The Time Travelers' Wife sounds interesting, more like tickling my fancy.  ;)

Rudy - the first chapter of "Ford Country" still has me chuckling.  ;D  ;D  ;D

SDM - "Ford Country" is different than Grisham's other books. Definitely not as "heavy," which is one of my descriptor's for his writing. Don't know if I've read all of Tony Hillerman, but he is good, you're right.

Six, I'm so glad you have enjoyed the Tony Hillerman books. I loved them all.

I am reading Eat, pray and Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  It is really good and I am about done with it.  I had a friend tell me to read it that he thought I would get some good out of it.  He was soooo right.

I always get lots of books for Christmas --- maybe it's the easiest way to appease an old guy like me.

I've already started reading through them, but I'll probably concentrate on one at a time.

"Paul Harvey's America" --- good stuff. He was a hero of mine. His ties to Kansas were quite touching as he related them to his accepting Christ as his Savior in a Mennonite Church.

"Together We Cannot Fail" --- about FDR and the American presidency in years of crisis. Quite revealing. New books about FDR have pulled off the veil of secrecy. I'm not sure sure he was as great as he has been portrayed. Many of his decisions were elitist and contrary to the democratic way. His private life was a mess. But I'll enjoy reading about him. He still remains one of the most revered leaders of the 20th century.

"Ford County" --- by John Grisham. Can't wait to really get into this one. It was at the top of my Christmas list.

"True Compass" --- a memoir of Edward M. Kennedy. This one really stands out because of its timeliness following Kennedy's recent death. Intriguing look at Sen. Kennedy. Intelligently written. This book will stay on my book shelf.

"Going Rogue" --- by Sarah Palin. This was a quick read, pretty shallow, obviously written by a host of young ghost writers. There remains something mystical about Palin and this book allows her to do some venting about the treatment she received from the TV media and from Sen. John McCain's campaign staff. She probably will have a solid place in history, but this book won't. Look for it in summer yard sales.

So, now you know what I've been doing while snowed in this weekend.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown..
Just got started on it.. and even though I think that "The Da Vinci Code" is nearly an impossible act to follow..  I am really going to like this one..

Sounds good, Teresa.

As soon as I finish my stack, I'll look for "The Lost Symbol."

Then there was the fat little kid in the high school band who lost his cymbal as they marched down Wabash Street in the fair parade.

But I digress.

(http://www.rightnation.us/forums/style_emoticons/default/Giggles.gif)

I swear you can make me chuckle out loud at the darnest times .. LOL

Rudy, was his name Sigmund?

I will never be able to think about the Knights Templar in the same way again.  :o

OK I finally broke down and got myself and e-reader for Christmas.  I absolutely love it.  It is the greatest.  Right now I am reading Pirate Lattitudes by Michael Crichton.  It was found on a computer by his publisher after his death.  It isn't his best work but it sure is a lot of fun.  It is set in 1600's Jamaica.  If you want to read the Washington Post review it can be found on Amazon.com.  If anyone else has read it already let me know what you think.
Andrea

I looked at e-readers.. cause we travel so much and I thought it would be handy to have.. I changed my mind..
I just can't let go of my love for feeling the pages of a good book.. sometimes I go into my bookshelves and just touch all my books..
I love books... :)

Oh don't get me wrong I love them as well and have quite a collection, but like you said it is the convenience that I enjoy.  Not everything that I am interested in is avaiable in e-format so I still buy regular books.  I think it is a good combination.
Andrea

I want one... If anyone happens to see my husband you can give him a hint... Oh, never mind! I'll just get it myself, it'll be quicker :)
Do you have Kindle or something else?

I have the small Kindle for now, but would love to upgrade to the large one.  That will be a while before that happens though, it is a bit pricey.  I love it for all the neat features it has.

I've been looking at the Kindle, and think that's what I want (after I save my pennies :) ).
 
Now I'm reading James Rollins, The Last Oracle... seems like I may have read it before, but then again I may have just read a teaser at the end of another book... or maybe the one before this in a series. 

Oh well, I guess as long as I don't remember the ending it doesn't matter... kind of like hiding your own Easter eggs or wrapping your own Christmas presents.  I'm not old you know, just have so much information in my brain it takes a while to find the right file.
;D ;D ;D

I just finished The Emperial Cruise by James Bradley.  I realized how little I really knew about Teddy Roosevelt's ideology and time in office.

Maybe someone has already covered getting the Kindle for PC software, as I haven't read everything on this thread.  But you can go to Amazon.com, click on Kindle and find the download for the free Kindle software for PC.  I have it on my little Net Book computer and just love it.  It is so easy to use and I love being able to get samples of the books and then decide if I want to buy them.  I do all of my reading on the netbook now.  I don't know now if I actually want a Kindle as I like being able to read without having to hold anything up.  It's great at lunch....I just have the computer setting across from my food so I can eat and read easily at the same time.

Wow, Roma Jean! That's a great alternative, I'll check it out this evening. Thanks!

Yeah!!  Keep me posted.

Yea the best part of that is the download for pc, iphone, and  mac is that tihey are free.  I would have seriously considered that if I had not already bought the Kindle itself.  Although it is a good addition to have even if you already have a kindle.

I just read a book on my computer!
Thanks Roma Jean for suggesting the Kindle for PC.  There's a lot of free books and I'll read a couple more before I find some I want to buy.  I can see where I'd like to have a Kindle too ~ much easier to carry around ~ but that can wait now...

Since Christmas I have read Margaret Coel's "The Girl With the Braided Hair", Shirley Rousseau Murphy's "Cat Striking Back", Sue Grafton's ""U" is for Undertow" and ""S" is for Silence", a Sara Paretsky mystery, and a Victoria Holt victorian romance/mystery.  I discarded a James Patterson mystery and am now reading Carole Nelson Douglas' "Cat in a Midnight Choir", a Midnight Louie mystery.  I have a whole lot of Midnight Louie mysteries.

Like Teresa, I like the feel of the book in my hands, especially while in my recliner with the TV on in front of me, preferably with a basketball game.  I have to rest my eyes every so often and having a TV show to watch for a minute is the perfect solution.

Wow, what a list of books Wilma.  I haven't read a Victoria Holt book in years, I forgot about her.  I always liked her books, so will remember to check her out.  I figure I will still check out the fiction books from the library, but will buy things that I want to refer to later.  Glad you are excited about the Kindle PC Joanna.

Weather is getting cooler, maybe a good time to bring back this thread.
I just finished "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult and really did enjoy it.
"The Walk" by Richard Paul Evans was a very quick read, that I also enjoyed.
Now I am starting "African Nights" by Kuki Gallmann. Hope it is a good one.

Going to the Moline Library, you can find lots of things to do. Kristi is so good with having things for the kids and now she is having Coffee and whatever goodies you bring to munch on (you don't have to eat) every Tues. morning from 10-11am. Good to catch up on/and with friends and neighbors. Then on Weds. at 2:00pm the computers are shut down for an hour and we do our version of dance-er-cise.

 I am reading Lisa Gardners books right now.. I have 6 of them and just finished "Say Goodbye".. I had a hard time getting through it. It was almost too much crime in the sexual and physical abuse of children dept. for me. ...so I kind of read fast through and skipped those parts. I also peeked at the last few pages. I had to know if the bad guy got his due ..and he did!  :) so I could at least read with that knowledge..

*I know~~ I'm weird*    :-\

Careless Love by Peter Guralnick.  Story of the latter days of Elvis by a college professor.

I found a stack of old Guidepost magazines in a box in the garage.  I am reading them before recycling them.  Their messages never go out of date.  They are quick reading, too.

I downloaded the Kindle software for PC from the Amazon website.  I like reading on my little netbook.  I want to check out the Nook which is the Barnes and Noble ereader.  One of my nurses said she had one and really loves it.  You can also do email with it.  I am just starting to feel like reading so will start DAn BRown's The Symbol.

The Symbol is awesome...

I am not reading much since the latest eye surgery.  The doctor says it could be 6 months before my eyes settle down to whatever they will be.  However, I am trying to read The Three Fates by Nora Roberts.  It just takes so long when I have to stop and let the peepers rest.

i finished the lost symbol earlier this year. you are right teresa it was very good but the code was a hard one to follow.

Wilma -

Do you want some audio books? Jim "reads" a lot that way.

Thanks for the offer, but unless I am in a car going down the road, I can't concentrate on audio books.  Seems I have to have something to do with my eyes and hands to hold my attention.  I don't really watch TV either.  Too many other things to think about, or maybe it is just old age distracting me.

We did have some audio books that we listened to on our way to and from Howard.  They were about the Cowdog.  I can't remember his name, but they were hilarious.  He was in charge of security at the ranch.  Maybe Janet can remember his name.  The CDs were hers.

I finished RF Delderfields' 'The Green Gauntlet' about a week ago. I don't know how I have missed this author before now, perhaps because he wrote about England during WWII, his books were not widely read here in central US. It was a very good book, a great peek at the lives of a rural English family during a fearful time. I am currently reading a wonderful Sci-fi book written in 1951. Called 'The Disappearance' by Phillip Wylie, it describes the parallel worlds of a couple when suddenly all members of the opposit sex go missing. I am about a third of the way through the book; the men are busy destroying the world with nuclear weapons, and the women are busy destroying one another over food and other 'stuffs'. I don't know how I could have missed this book as many sci-fi books I have digested in my lifetime. I was disappointed in Dan Browns last book, but will probably try The Symbol.

Hank, the Cowdog.  Daddy loved those little books. They were casette tapes, Mother, not CDs. I don't think they came out on CD back then.They are so funny and I suggest that if you need something to make you laugh, chose "Hank, The Cowdog." These are written by John Erickson. There are 56 books. I just looked at the website and to buy the entire series on CDs the price is $773.99.

I've been reading catalogs. I got the Christmas order for the firehouse kids' Christmas party on it's way this morning. I'm glad that is finished.

I just finished reading "Obama's Wars" by Bob Woodward. It is a deep but fascinating account of the Afghan war and the political wars within the White House regarding the war. It's not a political book --- probably appealing mostly to nerds like me, and to anyone with a military background. I now am reading a wonderful book, "Aspire," by Kevin Hall, on the importance of words and their usage in one's daily life.

When I retired five years ago, I began reading like never before.  The local book store stayed in business solely because of me.  The local library knew me by my first name.  Lately I have slacked off, being more interested in the computer.  However, a few days ago, we were in a Target store and my wife wanted to go look at something and we agreed to meet in the book section where I found a Lee Childs book entitled "61 Hours".  In those early days, I had read all of his books.  Having bought this one I am now halfway through the book. 

Larryj

When I was attending junior high school in Independence, Missouri, each day my school bus would turn the corner onto Pleasant Street and then head on to school. On that corner was a huge old shuttered and spooky looking manor called the Swope mansion. It was an imposing structure and I always had to take a look and wonder why no one lived there.

One day a bus seatmate mentioned that some people had been murdered in that mansion. I recall thinking something similar to "yeah right."

By high school, the word was that there really had been some people murdered in that house. No one I was acquainted with knew who or how many, though.

I never knew either, until just recently after finishing reading "Deaths on Pleasant Street."

As it turned out the first victim in 1909 was an eighty-two year old very rich man named Thomas Swope. Although he did not own the mansion, he was living in one of the thirty one rooms. His likewise rich, but deceased brother Logan Swope built the house sometime before 1900. And although Thomas Swope had plenty of money to afford his own mansion, he was a lifelong bachelor and preferred living with his fifty year old sister-in-law, Maggie, and her seven sons, daughters, nephews, nieces and attending servants. Swope was not in good health and eventually needed 24/7 attendance by a team of four nurses.

Although living in Independence, Thomas Swope, a Yale graduate, had donated 1,300 acres to the people of Kansas City and the land became Swope Park. Swope was a philanthropist and made his money in real estate. He had no heirs other than those who lived in the house.

One of Maggie's daughters married a prosperous doctor from Kansas City. They visited the house often. The murders began shortly after the marriage and eventually the doctor was charged with medically killing the people who died in the house. Several of the intended victims managed to survive.

A jury found him guilty of murder with a motive of trying to eliminate everyone in the family so that his wife would inherit everything from Thomas and Logan Swopes' fortunes.

Because of the fame of Thomas Swope and the Swope Park connection, the sensational case made national news. Although convicted, the doctor won an appeal and went free.

The Fires of Jubilee, Nat Turner's Fierce Rebellion.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this fellows name and realized I knew nothing about him. Even in college, I do not recall ever hearing his name in the classroom.

The book, written almost forty years ago, is supposed to be the best work about him even though it is very short, but for good reason. Very little is known about the man who led a major slave rebellion in 1831. All that is known comes mostly from court documents and from an interview conducted by a lawyer (named Gray) while Nat was awaiting trial. The book actually spends more time exploring slavery leading up to 1831.

At any rate Nat Turner was highly intelligent, could read and write, and was a preacher. On Sundays he traveled to various plantations in Southhampton County, Virginia, preaching to the slaves. During the week, he was a lowly field hand. He considered himself a Prophet and believed the time was near to rise up against the white man. He recruited his supporters during his Sunday visits.

The uprising in August lasted little more than a day and was confined within Southhampton County. He and his supporters began killing every white man, woman, and child they came across. They managed to get a couple of old muskets but axes were their main weapon. They killed sixty until the rebellion started falling apart. Nat Turner went into hiding and was not caught until late October.

On November 1, Nat Turner's trial began. On November 11, he was hanged. In accordance with the law at the time, the state of Virginia valued his worth at $375 and reimbursed his owner for that amount. Almost fifty blacks went on trial, and twenty-one were hanged. The governor commuted ten other death sentences and the guilty parties were banished from Virginia. The author says they were presumably ordered out of the United States.

Interesting.He didn't kill his owner?

His owner was a nine year old. The boy inherited his parents' slaves after both had died.

The boy was living with his guardian at another place in Virginia at the time.

The hired overseer of the plantation, however, met his doom.

Even more interesting.Thanks.

I read "61 Hours". Love to read Lee Childs. "61 Hours" was a good book.

I just finished reading Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken
A World War ll story of survival, resilience, and redemption.
This book was a true story of Olympian runner Louie Zamperini... his childhood, going to the Olympics, joining the service, going to war and being captured thus becoming a POW. A story of burtality beyond comprehension, courage, despair and forgiveness. I so enjoyed reading it and hope you do also. I checked it out at the Moline Library.  Barbara

I am currently trying to get through "Decision Points" by President George W. Bush.  Pretty detailed about his feelings during his term in office and what decisions were right and what were wrong and why they were made.  It started off with a bang, but I started losing interest in the middle when it started to drag a little.  But, I will finish it.

Larryj

  I just finished Eat, Pray, Love......pretty good book :) Now I guess I can see the movie since I've read it

I am currently reading  Stephen King, The Dark Tower series. I am on Book #4, called Wizard and Glass. I am not a Stephen King fan, but these books have held my interest.

I got a Kindle for Christmas, so as soon as I get done with The Dark Tower I will be back on my Kindle reading all the free books I have downloaded from Amazon. Since Larry said that he has lost interest in President Bush's book, I think I will just get that one from the library instead of buying it.

I'm reading ALASKA, by James A. Michener.  It is a novel (historical fiction) about the history of Alaska and its progress from hundreds of years ago to present day.  We are going on a trip to Alaska this summer, and I thought this might give me some appreciation of some of the things we will encounter.  It's very well-written, but small print and LOTS of pages. 

Hey! I'm reading it too.  ;D  I started it 5 years ago when we were getting ready to take the same trip but didn't get very far. Isn't it good? I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoyed our time there. I pulled the book out of the bookcase a couple of weeks ago and got into it once more.

I'm reading Jim Hoy's FLINT HILLS COWBOYS Tales of the Tallgrass Prairie for the second time.  Guess that tells you I think it is a pretty good read.

I have just completed reading 'We Were Five' written by James Brough in collaboration with Yvonne, Cecile, Marie. and Annette Dionne. I am doing a little presentation on the Dionne quintuplets this next week, and along with this book I have been reading a lot on line and have watched several films. The phenomenon is fascinating, there are several active fan clubs even now.

My mother had a scrapbook she had kept filled with newspaper clippings and various publications all about the Dionne quintuplets.  I don't know what happened to it after her death, but I remember being so fascinated with looking at it when I was young.  That was quite a phenomenon in that era.

Karen, I do have a small scrapbook of that sort of thing that I found at a flea market years ago. Scrapbooks used to be an inexpensive source of entertainment; even if you could not afford all the publications, after they were dated usually they were free. My own siblings and myself spent hours and days cutting pictures and things and mounting them into a scrapbook with home made paste. I suspect that there were many scrapbooks kept of the Dionnes since they were such a sensation, and just so darned cute!

Has anyone read any of Jodi Picoult's books? She has written, (just to name a few), My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, Change of heart, and Handle with Care. I am currently reading her book called House Rules. It is really good and I am hoping that when I investigate these other books, they will be just as good. So, has anyone read any of her books and how did you like them?

She sounds great...I've never heard of her.  I'll have to check her out.  I have been re-visiting my Tightwad Gazettes...In this economy, any advice is appreciated.

I have just read Jared Taylor's new book,"White Identity."  The title might lead one to expect racial ranting, but there is none.  It is a good read.  Jared deals thoughtfully with America's changing racial and ethnic make-up and the probable problems.  He is usually painted as a hate-monger who regards his bed sheets as evening wear, wants (as Lincoln did) to send blacks back to Africa, shoot Hispanics, and blame Jews for sun spots and loose fillings.  ASo sorry... he fails to perform.  The book is no more extreme than Pat Buchanan, well documented, and utterly incorrect politically.  His crime is asking questions one mustn't because the answers come up wrong.

For example, he doubts the existence, and the desirability, of racial integration, as very distinct from desegregation.  It hasn't worked, he says.  Isn't this obvious?  I ask my friends, most of whom are white, how many close black friends do you have?  When did you last have them over for dinner?  We talk mixing.  We don't do it.

I lived a couple of decades in Washington, DC, a city mostly black, and had many white liberal friends.  They believed they in multiculturalism, but they... we.... lived in an overwhelmingly white world.... white restaurants, friends, bars, clubs, dances.  I can't remember even once being in an establishment in DC in which the majority, or anything close to it, were black hispanic or asian.  Whites associate with Whites, Blacks with Blacks, Asians with Asians.  That's how it is.

Jared points out that most of what we think we are supposed to think about race and ethnicity isn't true.  He notes the mandatory refrain, "Diversity is our strength," and asks, exactly how is it our strength?  I have myself wondered.  Name five ways diversity has made the country stronger (without mentioning ethnic restaurants or music).

Um...ah...well...ah...urg....

The book is a curious one in that most of it is obvious though one mustn't say it.  Does not diversity just cause trouble, almost everywhere?  As much as one might want it to lead to comity, it doesn't.  Consider the following:  Shiites and Sunnis... Irish Protestants and Catholics... Hutus and Tutsis.. Blacks, Whites and Hispanics in the US.... Turks and Kurds... Tamils and Sinhalese in Sri Lanka... Turks and Armenians... Indians and Ugandans.... Turks and Germans... Moslems and the French... Moslems and Dutch... Jews in many places... Christians and Moslems in Sudan, Iran, Iraq, etc. ... Chinese and Indonesians... (whew).. and so on for pages and pages.  None of these groups are evil, (well, most none) but none mix well.  Usually they kill each other.

A staple of political correctness is that groups eventually merge into happy indistinguishable citizens.  Occasionally, yes, if the groups are similar and want to assimilate:  The Irish and Italians in the US did.  Jared points out that, whatever one might wish, it usually doesn't happen.  Sunnis and Shiites have been around since the seventh century.  They celebrate diversity by exchanging car bombs.  In the US, neither blacks nor American indians have assimilated to the dominant European culture, nor have the cultures blended.

Jared notes that the US now has fifty million Hispanics, or sixteen percent of the population, expected to rise soon to twice that, as well as thirteen percent of blacks.  Now, it will be difficult to nail me with racial hatred of Hispanics and American Indians since I live in Arizona.  Nor do I hate blacks.  But...is this going to work?  Or are we going to end up with three mutually hostile countries in one land?  The possibility is real.  Several states, including California, have Hispanic majorities, which means that shortly they will have Hispanic governments.  If the majority vote as a bloc.... BINGO.

Aggravating the problem is that the people who most believe that we will eventually be one big happy family are those with the least experience.  They have never been in the huge, hopeless, festering slums of Detroit, Chicago, Newark, Washington, on and on and on.  These are awful, culturally isolated, and not getting better.  If there is an answer, no one has found it.

Americans hardly notice the cost of diversity, as they have never known anything else.  Jared was born in Japan to missionary parents, went to Japanese schools, and speaks Japanese.  He makes the point that in Japan there is virtually no diversity, and therefore no civil-rights acts, no forced busing, no governmental agencies counting how many of whom one hires, no voting-rights laws... no affirmative action and resulting anger.  An employer simply hires the best qualified candidate.  And the Japanese do not burn their cities in racial rioting.

We are what we are, a mixed nation, but need we make things worse?  Unrestricted immigration may let us feel good about ourselves, but does it really have a happy ending?  One may well wonder what will follow when half of the country is either black or Hipsanic. .

Further, when some groups are economically and academically way below the dominant culture, hostility and separatism become almost assured.  As Jared points out, blacks and Hispanics are on average scholastic disasters.  In the schools the gap in achievement is large between white and black, and has proven resistant to everything: Head Start, forced busing, integrated class rooms, segregated class rooms, affirmative action, schools run entirely by blacks, or entirely by whites, and so on and so on and so on.  Hispanics in the US are not doing a whole lot better.  If the shortfall doesn't change, it won't matter whether it is genetic or cultural in origin.

The implications, discussion of which is verboten, are not trivial.  The US depends on and rewards deployable intelligence, particularly on IQs bordering on the scary, as in 180 and up.  The clearest examples are in Silicon Valley, many of them from the physics department at Stanford or Harvard, Yale and Princeton . These men.. sorry, girls, almost all are men.... have given the US its dominance in technology.  They are not just bright, like the valedictorian in your high school.  They are off-scale, almost another species. If you follow the computer/internet racket, you know that they are overwhelmingly white, Jewish, Chinese, Asian Indian, Korean.  The black and Hispanic proportion is close to zero if not actually zero.  This isn't because of racial discrimination.  Santa Clara runs on raw brains, and doesn't care what package they come in.  Google would hire a giant clam if it could program well enough.

Sez me, this is not going to lead to cheery Kum Bah Yah harmony.  As the country becomes a two-tier society...it already is... but as the second tier grows rapidly in size and political potency... how is this going to work?

Jared will disappoint many by not making exterminationist recommendations.  But if you want a clear exposition of what is happening, he's worth a read.


....Warph

I just read Buried Prey by John Sandford and Now you see her by James Patterson. The best book I have read in a while was Full Dark No Stars by Stephen King. It was 3 stories about bad things happening to good people and what they did to take care of it. He wrote " I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger". All three stories were intriguing. 8)

I'm reading Chelsea Handlers books.. My lord, she is so funny I laugh out loud! Love "em..  ;D ;D

What does she write about?

http://www.chelseahandler.com/

She sounds like a fun read!  I may have to check her out...

I have read all of these books, by Lauraine Snelling.  They are great books!

Red River of the North series

An Untamed Land
A New Day Rising
A Land To Call Home
The Reaper's Song
Tender Mercies
Blessing In Disguise

Return To Red River series[]

A Dream To Follow
Believing The Dream
More Than A Dream

Daughters of Blessing series

A Promise for Ellie
Sophie's Dilemma
A Touch of Grace
Rebecca's Reward

Home to Blessing series

A Measure of Mercy
No Distance Too Far
A Heart for Home

Dakotah Treasures series

Ruby
Pearl
Opal
Amethyst

Just started reading the Sue Grafton book "T is for Trespass". I have been trying to catch up with this series of books that Grafton using the alphabet. Her books are enjoyable reading for just relaxing. Nothing to really think about. Just enjoy the book.

Blatherskites, The Frazer/Gibson Murders by D. A. Chadwick

Some background on the Frazer/Gibson murders comes from the following cut and paste from a Good Old Days post by genealogynut in November 2006.

From the Howard Courant, July 4, 1890, Thompson & Sons publishers:

Many cattle are dying with Texas fever or something of the kind. Westly Best, south of Moline, has lost many fine cattle and others in that neighborhood have lost quite a number. There is much feeling among the farmers and secret meetings are being held and violent talk is indulged in...

John T. Frazier of Moline, was found murdered in the Gibson pasture near Sedan, Monday, the 1st of July. His throat was cut and there were many knife wounds on his body and a couple of bruises on the head. There has been no reliable evidence against any person, though it is said five Chautauqua county men have been arrested and questioned.

Frazier was a half owner in the big Gibson herd which was driven in from Texas before the 1st of March, the legal limit for bringing southern cattle into Kansas. Fever broke out from the Gibson-Frazier cattle and Wesley Best was the principal loser, and his cattle were all fine blooded stock. Frazier was a single man, 33 years old and very popular. It is said he called on Best a day or two before his death and assured him he would remunerate him for his loss, if it took every cent he was worth.........

The coroner's inquest did not bring out any reliable clues as to the perpetrators of what looks like a cowardly, cold-blooded murder. The commissioners of Chautauqua county have offered a reward of $1000 for the apprehension of the murderers, for it looks like several must have been implicated in it.

(genealogynut's note: The Frazier murder has never been solved and is one of the mysteries in that line destined never to be accounted for).

The book is a fictionalized version of what might have happened based on the author's research and the family stories of the Lawless family of Elk County.

The word "Blatherskites" in the title was suggested by a July 1890 edition of the Moline Republican.

I just finished Margaret Coel's "The Spider's Web" and am starting her " The Silent Spirit".  Her main characters are Vicky Holden, an Arapahoe lawyer and Father John of the Wind River reservation church.  Together they solve mysteries involving people of the reservation.

 Just finished The Rainmaker by Grisham and am reading Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarisa Pinkola Estes the second time :)

It's often said that every author has at least one good book in him.  In George Orwell's case, their are many.  One of my favorites of his, "Coming Up for Air" is a must read if you're a Orwell fan.  Coming Up for Air begins with one of the most disarming and quintessentially English sentences in all of literature :

    "The idea really came to me the day I got my new false teeth."

The speaker is George "Fatty" Bowling, an insurance salesman, with a wife he does not love and two children he finds annoying.  The idea is to take the seventeen pounds he almost accidentally won on a horse race and to go visit Lower Binfield, the village in which he grew up and which holds so many happy memories of youth and of a simpler England.  The story is set in 1938, the War approaching, and George's thoughts continually drift back to the time before WWI.

I have read this twice and will probably re-read it again sometime down the road.  Like I said, It is a must read!

I'll have to look this one up as I have not read it. Thanks Warph.

W Gray, Blatherskites, The Frazer/Gibson Murders by D. A. Chadwick for some reason sounds so familiar, I looked through my collection but only found a copy of The Ranch a short booklet about the beginnings of the Quivira Scout Ranch in the Black Jack Territoy. Will take time to reread and see if some of this is mentioned and will also check with Kristi at Moline Library if they have a copy of Blatherskites or can get a copy through lending library.
I just finished The Help and truly enjoyed that read.
Sure like this thread as it gives good reference to what to check out and read.
PS W Gray, Just meet your mother a couple of weeks ago at a Pickers event. Rosie is a very nice lady, enjoyed our chat.
Barbara

The book was written in the early 2000s.

Even though a fictionalized account and with several typos, the book is interesting if you are from Elk or Chautauqua counties.

It has been revised into a new title of "Hunter's Canyon."

Hunter's Canyon is an area of Chautauqua County where one of the murders took place.

The book was written by D.A. Chadwick of El Dorado. She apparently also wrote a screenplay of the book called "Red Water."

  That sounds like an interesting book...will have to see if I can find it.

  I just finished She Who Remembers by Linda Shuller...picked it up at the DAV store for a quarter.....turned out to be a pretty good book. About the Anasazi, the Vikings and the Toltecs.

Barbara....You mention you had just finished reading The Help.  Did you buy the book - or check it out of the library?
I would like to read it, and was wondering if it is available>
   Jo

Well, I have done something that I don't very often do and that is give up on a book. I am a great fan of science fiction and thought that I would really enjoy L.Ron Hubbards' Battlefield Earth. It is a hugely overinflated tale that just goes on and on and gets worse and worse. About 2/3 way through I threw it down in disgust it is so bad. Lol! I did buy the neatest book at the thrift shop the other day. It was published early in the twentieth century and is entitled How To Do. It is a huge collection of instructions on how to do about anything from setting chickens to making pomade etc. etc. I love to browse that type of book, and have been known to get lost in a dictionary and go into a trance with the encyclopedias, so this is right down my alley. So here's to my next sci-fi book, hope it is better than the last!  ;D

I got a huge grin out of your post Edie.....
Better luck next time with your Sci-Fi book.    LOL

Thanks Jo! Me too as I would certainly hate to give up the genre after this lifetime of enjoyment! Hmmm, I have never tried the bodice rippers, but the pictures on the covers certainly are interesting!  ::)

I've got the Foxfire books and used to get Mother Earth News many years ago.  Love all the "How to" stuff also. Helped make me so smart! ;) :angel:

I'm reading "Fr. Arseny: A Cloud of Witnesses." It's about a Russian Orthodox priest that survived living in Communist work camps. Not only did he survive, he led many people to God and called them his Spiritual Children. There are wonderful stories in this book!
Lisa

Got The Help at the Moline Library. My sister liked the movie better than the book, but we don't go to movies very often so will wait till it comes on the movie channels we take. Hope you like it too, Jo.

I just finished a Lee Child book titled "Gone Tomorrow" A Reacher Novel. This was published in 2009 and was an excellent book. It is in paperback. Jack Reacher is an ex-military cop whose only possessions are what he wears on his body and carries in his pockets. Here is the link that wikipedia has on Jack Reacher.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Reacher (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Reacher) He is a great character. I recommend anything that has Jack Reacher as the main character.

I have been listening to audio books when I am driving. The current one is "With No One As Witness", by Elizabeth George. This is a bout a serial killer that takes place in London, so all the characters are English and the reader uses English accents. It has been a long book. I say that because I am so ready to find out who the killer is.

Here is an overview I found on Barnes and Noble...In With No One As Witness, Elizabeth George has crafted an intricate, meticulously researched, and absorbing story sure to enthrall her readers. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, along with his longtime partner, the fiery Barbara Havers, and the newly promoted Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata are back and on the hunt for a sinister killer.

When an adolescent boy's nude body is found mutilated and artfully arranged on the top of a tomb, it takes no large leap for the police to recognize this as the work of a serial killer. This is the fourth victim in three months — but the first to be white.

Hoping to avoid charges of institutionalized racism in its failure to pursue the earlier crimes to their conclusion, New Scotland Yard hands the case over to Lynley and his colleagues. The killer is a psychopath who does not intend to be stopped. Worse, a devastating tragedy within police ranks causes them to fumble in their pursuit of him.

With a surprise ending that will shock readers to the core, With No One As Witness is full of the mesmerizing action and psychological intrigue that are the hallmarks of Elizabeth George's work.

.

Quote from: Clubine Ranch on August 29, 2011, 04:59:10 PM
Got The Help at the Moline Library. My sister liked the movie better than the book, but we don't go to movies very often so will wait till it comes on the movie channels we take. Hope you like it too, Jo.

Haven't read the book, yet, but saw the movie this weekend. I thought is was wonderful, funny and sad. Lorie liked it. Ms. T and Cat...not so much. they didn't like the sad parts.

Can't wait to read the book.

Yes! Often seen on PBS Mysteries. Really enjoy them.

EXPLOSIVE EIGHTEEN!!!! By Janet Evanovich  Releasing on November 22, 2011
Those of you who are Janet Evanovich fans here ya' go.

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum's life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she's knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she's flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he's dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photo—Stephanie Plum. Now she's the target, and she doesn't intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she'll need to watch her back.

Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as Vinnie's temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie's wheelman, Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Lifetime arch nemesis Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie's apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened in Hawaii?

Morelli, Trenton's hottest cop, isn't talking about Hawaii. Ranger, the man of mystery, isn't talking about Hawaii.  And all Stephanie is willing to say about her Hawaiian vacation is . . . It's complicated.

That one sounds good Janet...I love the Janet Evanovich novels and practically anything by James Patterson---Jennifer

Jennifer, I knew you and I were alike. LOL My enitre family, Mother and sisters, love Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum. I wish I was more like Stephanie. I love almost all of James Patterson books, too.

Since you wish you were more like Stephanie, Janet. which one of the guys would you choose...
I sure wish they could/would make a movie from one or more of her novels.
We would laugh, cry, swoon and drop our teeth watching it. Not sure who could pull off stephanie, would be fun to see.
I can't decide who I want to play the guys, but from my generation I would
choose a young Tom Salleck, and or a George Clooney, for either of them,..........I am not up to date on the
young hunks.........sad, isn't it? But, I inhale Evanovich novels and keep looking for more to read.
Found a talking book from her tenth Stephanie novel and will listen to it this week. (yes, I have read it).

I am reading Rural Communities - Legacy + Change 3rd edition, by Cornelia Butler Flora and Jan Flora, both of whom are sociology professors at Iowa State University.  It is based on their premise that there are seven types of community capital:  natural, cultural, human, social, political, financial, and built.  And that understanding how these different capitals interact with each other in a given community is essential to optimizing each for the improvement of the community.

Just finished, "The Politician, An Insider Account of John Edwards' Pursuit of the Presidency and the Scandal that Brought Him Down" by Andrew Young.

Edwards helped bring himself down because he thought he would never be caught. And when he was, he unsuccessfully demanded his closest aid take the blame.

They have made a movie of the first Stephanie Plum.  I can't remember who is playing what, except Sherri Shepherd of "The View" is Stephanie's sidekick and I believe that Debbie Reynolds is the grandma.  There is a new one out, "Explosive Eighteen".  I haven't ordered it yet.

Stephanie will be played by Katherine Heigl. Morelli by Jason O'Mara. Ranger will be Daniel Sunjata. After looking at the pictures of the two leading men, Sunjata is how I pictured Ranger but I would still pick Morelli...woo woo!

Just finished John Sanford's "Bad Blood."

Larryj

wilma or Jennifer.........where can I find a movie of Evanovich?
I don't watch a lot of movies, either play on 'puter or read or listen to sports
I would buy/rent or even borrow one of her movies.
If she were younger, I could see Betty White as Grandma.....but Debbie Reynolds is a great choice.

Bet, my imagination is better than the movie........most of the times I am disappointed when they put a novel in
movie form.

The movie hasn't been released yet as far as I know.

Read another John Sanford....."Rough Country."  I think I liked the other one better, but this one was okay.

Larryj

I love John Sanford books. Night Prey, Winter Prey, all the Prey books were excellent.

I ordered the latest Stephanie Plum today.  I also ordered the latest Charlie Moon and Kinsey Millhone.

Everyone needs to go to this website and read about this book. I just read the book and finished it in a short amount of time. It was great. The author has said that he is giving 100% of the proceeds to wounded veterans. Barry Fixler is a Marine and a Vietnam vet. Please look at this website. I especially hope that Jarhead reads this. I would like to know what he thinks.

http://www.sempercool.com/ (http://www.sempercool.com/)


Be sure you watch the video of the robbers that tried to rob his jewelry store. He reacted like the Marine that he still is.

Haven't read that book Janet, but did read reviews on it in my Leatherneck Magazine. I'll read it when you read the NY times best selling novel, " Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War" by Karl Marlantes---based on my ol company.  Lt Marlantes has a new book out called "What It's Like To Go To War " I don't have it yet.
I know several Marines that were with the 26 th Marines at the siege of Khe Sahn. Not a good time for them. I was in the Khe Sahn valley over a year after the siege . It looked the the moon. Craters everywhere but at least we had lots of drinking water. Them 500  and 1, 000 lb bombs make instant swimming pools---after it rains

Okay. I'm going to check into both of those books. I have a book about a Marine Sniper. I am not exactly sure of the title. When I get back to Howard I'll look at it to get the correct name. Would you be interested in reading it if you haven't already? I can drop it off on my way through Longton sometime.

Ok. I have borrowed the Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War from the lending library at Amazon that sends it to my Kindle. I am starting it tonight. Thanks, Jarhead.

Jarhead, I finished the book, The Matterhorn. Oh my goodness. What a time those Marines had. I realize that it was a novel, but I am sure the writer wrote the truth. All those days on that hill, hiding and fighting, with no food, no water. I recommend this book to everyone. Going to check into the other he wrote.

currently I am reading True Believer by Nicholas Sparks.  Its pretty good so far. Next is The Green Mile by Stephen King.

I loved The Green Mile. I first read it in the original chapbook format. The movie is awesome also, but I do reccommend reding the book first as always. Enjoy!  ;)

Matterhorn is a novel Janet, but for the most part is based on things that happened to Charlie co, that Lt Marlantes was in. The time I read it was the 1st printing and since then  a NY publishing company bought the rights to it and Lt Marlantes had to shorten the original so I'm not sure what is left out of the book now, from what I read. The one thing I did not like about the book was I thought he dealt a little too much on the racial trouble but him being an officer he probably did have to deal with it, while I didn't even know there was a problem most of the time. What I like most about his book as he doesn't dwell on "blood & guts" but talks about being hungry, thirsty, cold then hot and being so tired it is hard to keep going---and the endless nights of no sleep or very damn little---and the insane taking a hill, then humping off it to let the gooks set up house keeping again.
I could never be an author (beside me being dumb'rn a box of rocks ) because of the book reviews. One in particular set me off. The Jack-Wad started off by saying he wasn't there BUT---wondered why Lt Marlantes wrote about things that in no way would or could have happened. One was about when a leeched crawled into a "damp ,warm spot" looking for blood. I won't say where that place was but the book tells where. I think in the book that Marine might of" died" but he is alive and well living in Dayton ,Ohio. Then the jerk(that wasn't there ) said he had a hard time believing our clothes would rot off. Well ,I'm here to tell you it happened more than once. For example on operation Purple Martin , Charlie co. was in the bush for 57 days, pulled back to the rear for 3 days, and right back out for 54 days, on operation Herkimer Mountain. Try living in the humid jungle for that amount of time and see what happens to your clothes. Then the guy says it was laughable to read where someone had been eaten by a tiger because it never happened. Here is a quote from the battalion after action reports:
15 November

At 2000H, A Co. D ambush at XD 754534 had one member of the ambush dragged away by a carnivorous animal.  Search was conducted under constant illumination for a period of some three hours with negative results.

At 0930H, Co. C patrol conducted a search for lost man.  Found remains at XD 753536.  Man had been attacked by carnivorous animal.  Remains med-evaced.

Now there was some big damn rats in Nam but don't believe they were big enough to drag a man off and eat part of him. My beloved Plt Sgt, Arkansas ,led the patrol that found the remains and said the guy was partially eaten. Within the next few nights of Delta co loosing this man a recon unit had a Marine get grabbed by the neck and stated screaming and another member of the recon team shot and killed the tiger. There are pictures of the tiger and well documented and almost the same grid co-ordinates where the tiger had killed just a few night before.

I have read lots of Nam books but can't relate to them because they are written about being down by Da Nang or points further south. Matterhorn is spot on to what it was like to be an infantry Marine in the triple canopy jungle ,and valleys of elephant grass, up by the DMZ. Glad you enjoyed reading it.

The first time that I even knew we were in a war in Viet Nam, I was in the car with my mom and heard something on the radio about the war. I have no idea how old I was, but I looked at my mom and said, "We're in a war?" Mother told me, yes, we are. then it really didn't hit home until I went to college right out of high school and met some of the vets that had come back from there.

That book, "The Matterhorn" was an excellent book. I truly enjoyed reading it. I am going to borrow the next on, "What It Is Like To Go To War" when Amazon will let me borrow it on my Kindle. I can borrow one book a month and that is the next one on my list.

Even though Matterhorn was a novel, I truly believed everything that Lt. Marlantes said happened. I remember the vets talking about jungle rot and trying to keep your feet healthy.

My hats off to all who served in Viet Nam.

Janet, not all things were serious in Nam. At my expense some seem to think something that happened to me was humorous. When I first got there I was issued a used set of jungle utilities. About a month out in the bush the threads rotted. The inseam ripped from ankle to ankle . One of the first thing you ditched were skivvies so I was kinda just "hanging out" if you catch my drift. thought it was kinda "cool" until went on on LP. Now an LP is a Listening Post where 3 guys go off a finger of whichever hill was base camp. Go out right at dark, away from the lines for 50 meters or so, get set in and set there all night as quiet as you can to be an early warning system if someone come diddy bopping up the trail. Not a problem except we must have been real close to an ant hill. That is one night I never so much as nodded off for a second. I spent the night pinching ants as they converged on places I won't mention. The next morning I had to have relief so word went out over the hill if anyone had a spare pair of pants. Eureka !! someone from 3rd platoon had a pair. I humped over the hill and retrieved them from a jolly type guy. I thought he was just happy looking at me in my long legged mini skirt. Put them trouser on and immediately felt little stickers poking me. After a while the "stickers " softened up but then I got to smelling something really, really bad. Peeled them puppies off and the previous owner apparently had , had a bad case of dysentery. I went back to my ripped trousers until a re-supply chopper brought out some clothes. I never saw "smiling boy" again but if I had---lets just say that would explain why there were fraggings in Nam.
Now, if Teresa so much as cracks one wise ass comment about my misfortune---lets just say I aint never hit a woman but I aint too old to start !!!

I just finished reading "What It Is Like to Go To War", by Lt. Marlantes. It was a good book. However; I wish he had told more stories in it. He did do a lot of explaining about what it was like to go to Vietnam. Again, good read if you want to read it. I borrowed it from Amazon on my Kindle or else I would loan it to you. Really enjoyed "The Matterhorn" book more.

I don't have to crack a comment about it jarhead.....
You already put what comment I could have said in everyone's mind.. LOL

Ah, the middle of February.  We all know what that means: Sports Illustrated's swimsuit issue has arrived.

And that means some folks, such as those in the American Decency Association (ADA), will voice concerns about exploitation of women.  "Sports Illustrated DISRESPECTS women by displaying demeaning stereotypes of female sexuality," says the ADA's website.  "The swimsuit issue features women models posed not as athletes of strength, skill, and endurance but as playthings ... ."

That may be true, but here's what is also true: We men are also being exploited here.  Look, it's the middle of winter.  We men have suffered a couple of weeks without football.  With free time on our hands, we find ourselves lost in self-examination.  We fret over our winter flab.  We wish we'd chosen different career paths.  We fear we'll never amount to anything worthy.

The Sports Illustrated people understand our woes all too well.  They know we're down in the dumps.  They know we're vulnerable.  They know we'll cough up our hard-earned dough for a momentary escape to exotic beaches, where we can pretend to prance about with bikini-clad babes.  Every year, the swimsuit issue uses the same simple formula to exploit us: stunning babes who roll around in the sand, dance on the beach and cling to their skimpy duds and curvy parts as they are hit by waves.

Sure, in our overly sexualized culture, these female models may be suffering exploitation.  But aren't they exploiting us men, too?  Many of the women who pose for the magazine are thrust into supermodel status.  The ones who make it onto the cover earn a fortune in endorsements.  And many of them go on to date and marry some of the world's richest men.

But what do we average fellows get out of the deal?  We get the satisfaction of knowing that we'll never marry, let alone talk to, such world-class knockout beauties.

That makes us even more depressed.

So we go to cheesy restaurant chains where waitresses wear short shorts and low-cut shirts and exploit us all the more.  The coy lasses touch our arms delicately.  They give us flirtatious glances.  They talk softly and sensuously, the way women do when they know men are about to hand them gobs of money.  One of my poor, baldheaded friends, Iggy, falls for this ruse at least four times a month.  Despite being coated in hot-wing sauce and stale beer, he is convinced his waitress digs him.  His waitress encourages this fiction and is rewarded with a 50 percent tip.

I think I speak for average fellows everywhere when I say I resent that.  I resent that some women deliberately target us for our money and are so good at parting us from it.  I resent that some waitresses can so easily take advantage of hapless, simple-minded men by plying us with a few beers.  I resent that Sports Illustrated packs its swimsuit issue with photos of some of the most physically beautiful women in the world, knowing that's all the magazine has to do to get us to buy it.

Yeah, our culture places way too much emphasis on physical beauty and sexiness. Young girls are taught by the media that the chief way to win a male's attention is through provocative clothing.

None of this is good.

And neither is it good for my fat, hair-challenged friends to be taken advantage of by big media outlets and big restaurant chains with their skimpy-dressed waitresses.

Yeah... It's no wonder I am so disgusted when I purchase the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue every year.

So, I take it you are reading the Sports Illustrated magazine at this time? LOL

The Book:  The Thomas Sowell Reader

"In this wide-ranging interview marking the publication of his new book, The Thomas Sowell Reader, Thomas Sowell, the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution, discusses, with Hoover research fellow Peter Robinson, his life, Barack Obama, class warfare, Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and the influence of Milton Friedman."

As interviews go, It doesn't get any better than this, people.  Dr. Thomas Sowell is a man of learning, an educator and social commentator of exceptional distinction.  Don't be lazy... watch this wonderful interview with one of the most prolific writers of today.  You will be surprised!

I have requested the book from the library.  Can't wait.
...Warph 

               

In anticipation of the upcoming reunion, I was at the store and found a book....Robert Ludlum's "Bourne Dominion."  I don't think I've read this one.  Knowing me and how I am, I bought a second book.....Lee Child's "The Affair."  I did that because I knew that I would probably read one over the weekend. 

Larryj

Has "Bourne Dominion" been made into a movie?  And if it has, has it made TV yet and does Matt Damon star in it?  I want to see it.

We just recently bought the "One For the Money" movie.  Watching it was just like reading the book again.  I hope they go on with the series.  I thought the characters were accurately portrayed right down to Debbie Reynolds as "Grandma".

Jim and I are both reading John Patterson's "Private Games" - about the 2012 Olympics.

Just finished reading the Sharon Kinne Story.

Sharon Kinne has been featured on Unsolved Mysteries and she was a onetime school classmate and a customer at the grocery store where I worked as a teenager.

In 1960, she murdered her sleeping husband and pinned the killing on her three year old daughter. The police suspected her but could not determine anything different. The child, believe it or not, was familiar with hand guns and pushed the safety off and pulled the trigger of the unloaded murder weapon in the presence of police.

A short time later she murdered the wife of a car salesman she was dating in hope the salesman would marry her. The murder weapon was never found. A jury refused to convict her.

The death of her husband was reopened and she was tried for that murder. A jury convicted her and she went to prison but she won a new trial on appeal and was released on bond. Several families put up their homes to satisfy the bond.

While in prison, she became known as an "enforcer" and she acquired a new "husband" with the name Margaret. 
Out on bond, a new trial for killing her husband resulted in a hung jury. A follow up trial was stopped early in the proceedings.

While awaiting yet another trial and still subject to bond she decided to go to Mexico on vacation with a new acquaintance.  In Mexico she murdered one man and wounded another. The Mexicans sentenced her to thirteen years in prison.

Among the items she had in her possession in Mexico was the murder weapon used to kill the salesman's wife.

Since she did not show up for trial back home in Independence, Missouri, the several families lost all they had to the bondsman.

She escaped from the Mexican prison in 1969 and has not been heard from since.

Just finished "American Assassin" by Vince Flynn and halfway through his new one, "Kill Shot"... need my Mitch Rapp picker-upper from time to time!  This should hold me until "Last Man" his new book that comes out in the fall of this year.

The wife is reading "The Amatuer".... dare I pick it up? ???

I am reading the book, "The Amatuer". Good book. Makes you realize just what this President has done to our country. (As if you didn't already know).

Read this Book about what this piece-of-trash President is trying to do to YOU, YOUR CHILDREN AND GRAND-CHILDREN!
...Warph


           (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41MLuUCwxRL.jpg)

"Politics is fought between the forty yard lines," remarked Charles Krauthammer just after Obama was elected in 2008. Krauthammer is right about nearly everything, but his rule clearly warrants an exception when applied to Barack Obama and his administration. Attorney David Limbaugh shows why in this new book.
This is the second book in Limbaugh's very readable and insightful narrative of Barack Obama's Presidency. "The Great Destroyer" picks up where "Crimes Against Liberty" left off in 2010. Limbaugh meticulously narrates how the President has been striding to the liberal goal line with nearly every policy, appointment and statement since taking office. Almost without exception, Obama implements or supports policies that negate America's founding principles--individual liberty, limited government and the rule of law are among the casualties in the President's war on the Republic.

You say, "'War on the Republic.' That's a little strong, don't you think?"

You might think so until you read the book. I am a political junkie, but even I was shocked to see the extreme scope of Obama's anti-American assault.

"Oh, but this was written by a Limbaugh, and Limbaughs are well known for their conservatism."

If any liberal or so-called "independent" judgmentally dismisses The Great Destroyer simply because Limbaugh is a conservative, point out that people can present evidence objectively even if they personally are not neutral. First, neutral people rarely have the interest or expertise to write books! But more importantly, you can't dismiss what Limbaugh says simply because he supports conservative policies. That's a fallacy that cuts both ways--you'd have to dismiss everything Obama says because he supports liberal policies. The truth is, everyone has political beliefs. The issue is not those beliefs, but the evidence one presents!

David Limbaugh presents a wealth of evidence that Barack Obama is inflicting unprecedented injuries on America and the liberties of its citizens. He does the work the mainstream media refuses to do. In addition to using neutral sources, such as the Congressional Budget Office for financial data, Limbaugh quotes several liberals, administration officials, and, of course, Barack Obama himself to make the irrefutable case that Obama's ultra-liberal positions are resulting in catastrophic negative effects for America. Unfortunately, his case is quite compelling.

"The Great Destroyer" is well organized by topic. Chapter headings include: The War on America, The War on Our Culture and Values, The War on the Economy, The War on Our Future, The War on Business, The War America's National Security, and several others. The book also includes several helpful charts that display, at a glance, the current and impending disaster known as Obama's economic policies.

Since "The Great Destroyer" is over 500 pages (including nearly 100 pages of endnotes), I can only summarize a few revelations that Limbaugh provides. These are from just two chapters of "The Great Destroyer".

From "The War on Values and Culture":

* In prepared remarks, Vice President Biden said he had no objections to China's forced abortion policy.

* With several new policies and edicts, Obama has ensured that federal funds are now paying for abortion. He is clearly the most pro-abortion president in history.

* Education Secretary Arne Duncan warned public school districts about blocking students from forming gay themed organizations.

* HHS administrator Pam Hyde declared, "Your federal government has finally come out of the closet in support of LGBT youth." HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, "I want to tell you, you have a friend in this administration, who will stand beside you each and every step along the way."

* Obama's HHS website promoted the idea that kids may "experiment" with homosexuality.

* The Obama Administration initially refused to publicize the results of their own study that abstinence education programs actually work.

* President Obama declared his support for "age-appropriate" sex education for kindergarteners.

* The survey of our military men and women about "Don't Ask Don't Tell" may have been a sham to mislead Congress--the executive report of the findings was written before the survey was actually taken!

* Attorney General Eric Holder and Obama appear to be in collusion in refusing to defend, and even attempting to overturn, democratically decided laws defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

* In July 2011, Holder ordered Banks to relax mortgage qualifications for the poor--the same insane policy that led to the housing crash in the first place!

* Obama's Justice Department refuses to prosecute several grievous injustices including video-taped voter intimidation by Black Panthers, and video-taped instances of potential sex trafficking, prostitution and underage abortions by Planned Parenthood.

* Obama not only lifted the ban on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research (which has yet to cure any human being of a disease), he rescinded President Bush's executive order to fund adult stem cell research (which has resulted in treating more than a hundred diseases and medical conditions). Obama is the "anti-science" president, not Bush!

* Obama's stance against the freedom of religious organizations to hire people with their values was so extreme that the Supreme Court ruled against him 9-0 (even Obama's own liberal appointees disagreed with him!).


From "The War on the Economy":

* Contrary to his claim to save or create 3.5 million jobs, Obama has actually lost almost 4.1 million jobs - a jobs deficit of 7.6 million.

* February 2012 was the worst one-month debt in U.S. history: $219 Billion (Bush's deficit for all of 2007 was less than that!).

* Four years in a row, Obama's deficits have or will be in excess of $1 trillion, dwarfing President Bush's deficits.

* Obama has added more to the debt in three plus years than Bush added in eight.

* Obama and his team have engaged in accounting gimmickry and unrealistic rosy predictions in an attempt to make their dismal plans look less dismal.

* New research into 108 national economies shows that government "stimulus" spending--staunchly advocated by Obama--tends to have a net negative effect on the economy.

* Despite promising not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 per year, ObamaCare will result in 17 new taxes or penalties that will burden all Americans.

* Costs for ObamaCare will be nearly double original estimates (and most of the program hasn't even started yet!).

* Despite the President promising that people could keep their current health insurance plan, multiple sources report that a majority will loose their current coverage under Obamacare.

* Union members comprise only 12 percent of all employees, but the Obama Administration has granted them 50.3 percent of all ObamaCare waivers. (By the way, if ObamaCare is such a good deal, why does anyone want a waiver?)

David Limbaugh provides more revelations in these two chapters and the other ten. You really need to get the book to appreciate the full breadth of the destruction--destruction that you are not going to hear from the mainstream media.

In the era of Obama, politics in America is no longer fought between the forty yard lines. Americans need to read The Great Destroyer to encourage enough voters to begin running the ball the other way--back to the principles that made America great.

I have a friend who has this book and I plan on borrowing it when I can.

Just finished all the 'Shades of Gray" books..
whew~~~~~~ I'd of been able to finish them faster but I had to keep going in and taking cold showers..  ;D

"Fool me once; shame on you.
                                Fool me twice; shame on me."

       (http://superstore.wnd.com/core/media/media.nl?id=32596&c=811217&h=780bdb0a78e6be9f0e01)


A soon-to-be-released, game-changing election book will reveal the blueprint for a second Barack Obama presidential term.

Slated for national release Aug. 7 by WND Books, "Fool Me Twice: Obama's Shocking Plans for the Next Four Years Exposed" uncovers the template for Obama's next four years – the actual, extensive plans created by Obama's own top advisers and progressive strategists.

The book is available right now at:
http://www.amazon.com/Fool-Me-Twice-Shocking-Exposed/dp/1936488574#_
http://superstore.wnd.com/sales/Obama-Store

The explosive book unveils all the main areas of Obama's second-term domestic policy onslaught – jobs, wages, health care, immigration "overhaul," electoral "reform," national energy policy, Pentagon plans and much more.

"Fool Me Twice" is written by New York Times bestselling author, journalist and radio host Aaron Klein, together with New York Times bestselling author and researcher Brenda J. Elliott.

Just as in 2008, when Obama concealed his true presidential plans behind the rhetoric of ending partisan differences and cutting the federal deficit, his 2012 re-election theme of creating jobs conceals far more than it reveals about his true agenda for a second term.

Watch the trailer for "Fool Me Twice" here:



Most conservative books about Obama focus on his radical background and what he has done until now. A small number of ambitious projects attempt to show what America may look like after four more years of Obama based on generalities and what the president has already done.

While many are expressing general concerns over Obama's future ambitions, "Fool Me Twice" lays bare the devastating details and consequences of a second Obama term as president.

The book is based on exhaustive research into Obama's upcoming detailed presidential plans and policies, as well as the specific second-term recommendations of major "progressive" groups behind Obama and the Democratic leadership – the organizations that help craft legislation and set the political and rhetorical agenda for the president and his allies.

Here are a few highlights of dozens and dozens of second term plans uncovered in "Fool Me Twice":
•        An expansive, de facto amnesty program for illegal aliens via executive order and interagency directives linked with a reduction in the capabilities of the U.S. Border Patrol and plans to bring in untold numbers of new immigrants with the removal of caps on H-1B visas and green cards.

•        Government-funded, neighborhood-based programs to better integrate the newly amnestied immigrants into society, including education centers and healthcare centers. A "federal solution" to ensure that the amnestied immigrants are treated "equitably" across the United States.

•        The recreation of a 21st century version of FDR's Works Progress Administration program within the Department of Labor that would oversee a massive new bureaucracy and millions of new federal jobs;

•        Specific plans for a National Infrastructure Bank. This entity would "evaluate and finance infrastructure projects 'of substantial regional and national importance" and would finance "transportation infrastructure, housing, energy, telecommunications, drinking water, wastewater, and other infrastructures."

•        Wresting control of the military budget from Congress by attempting to place an "independent panel" in charge of military spending while slashing the defense budget in shocking ways.

•        The vastly reduced resources of the U.S. Armed Forces will be spread even thinner by using them to combat "global warming," fight global poverty, remedy "injustice," bolster the United Nations and step up use of "peacekeeping" deployments;

•        A new "green" stimulus program and the founding of a federal "green" bank or "Energy Independence Trust," which would borrow from the federal treasury to provide low-cost financing to private-sector investments in "clean energy."

•        Detailed plans to enact single-payer health care legislation controlled by the federal government.[/font][/size]

In anticipation of a possible upcoming back surgery, my wife had asked a friend who reads a lot if she had some books she could borrow while recovering.  Included were some that she wasn't interested in reading and so passed them on to me.  So.......

I just finished the John Grisham book "The Testament."  Grisham usually always writes about lawyers as his main characters and this one was the same.  It can drag in parts, but overall was a good book.  I would recommend it.

The next one will be James Patterson's "Pop goes the weasel" if I haven't already read it.  You know how that works.  You can't remember if you read it and then after the first few pages, its "I've already read this one."   ;)

Larryj

I have been trying to start Grisham's "The Confession".  I picked it up again this morning and had read one page, when Bud decided it was lap time.  I just finished a Jason Bourne, which is pretty violent and bloody for me, but for some reason I find him fascinating. 

My all time favorite Grisham story is "The Client", the movie more than the book.  I would like to see a sequel to it where Reggie, the lawyer is in trouble, and the client who is now an adult and has become a successful attorney due to his experience with Reggie, comes back to save her from a horrible fate.  Since he has been in the Witness Protection Program since leaving Reggie's community, his only proof of his former identity is the compass she gave him as he was boarding the plane that took him and his family away.  Do you think we could get Mr. Grisham to write it?

I have been reading lots and lots of free books on my Kindle Fire. I dearly love it. Lots of thrillers, mystery stuff, paranormal, religious, war, I just do an assortment. lOL

RAPP IS BACK.... AND BETTER THAN EVER.

(http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=C92jwW6IYOjx99Q&pid=Commerce)

Its more up-to-date in terms of geopolitics than most.  And of course the fluid action and twist and turns of the story.  After reading one of his many books, does Vince Flynn really needs reviews...

Here's one for the few who has never read one of his novels...

REVIEW:
Joe Rickman has been working in the field for the CIA for many years. He is a brilliant strategist, and superb mover of men and resources in order to accomplish those goals important to his employers. It would be unthinkable that terrorist interests could capture Joe and torture him for the information about those CIA assets around the world that he holds in his head. The unthinkable happens when he is captured and all four of his body guards are killed. The CIA has only one man to call on to find and retrieve Joe, and that is Mitch Rapp. Vince Flynn has featured Mitch in many books over the years and created an individual to whom the end does justify the means. If he feels he needs to in order to achieve his goals he thinks nothing of killing an enemy of the U.S. in cold blood and never mind the opinions of the bleeding hearts that preach kindness and understanding for those whose only interests are harming America.

Mitch is dispatched to Afghanistan where Rickman was snatched from a safe house and his bodyguards killed. He immediately has a run in with an Afghan official who indicates that he will manage the investigation into Rickman's disappearance. Rapp quickly puts the man in his place by threatening to kill him if he does not cooperate with the CIA in ascertaining the truth about Joe Rickman's disappearance. In addition to obstacles placed in Mitch's way by Afghan authorities, the FBI comes upon the scene and indicates that it has proof that Mitch and Joe Rickman colluded in siphoning off money from CIA funds for their own personal use.

And to add to Mitch's troubles an assassin presented in a previous book makes an appearance charged with getting rid of Rapp. Louie Gould in a previous setting had murdered Mitch's pregnant wife. For some reason he was not killed by Rapp when catching up to him and reenters the scene. Stage is set, characters and plot intermixed and Vince Flynn's trademark rapid pace and constant action unfold to the delight of the reader. Like previous Mitch Rapp books there is no putting it down, and readers are caught up in the plot, counterplot of the story from the very beginning until the last page.

I have just started Robert Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity".  I have seen the movie with Matt Damon as Bourne.  I think I am going to enjoy the book even more than the movie.  I have read a couple of the Bourne series that were written by Eric Van Lustbader, but I think that the ones that Ludlum wrote are going to be much better.  One of my daughters tells me that "The Bourne Identity" was filmed before, starring Richard Chamberlain.  It might be interesting to watch that version, too. 

I have finished "The Bourne Identity".  I found it much more interesting than the movie.  I also found very little of the movie in the book.  Thinking that perhaps my memory wasn't quite clear, I researched the movie.  I was right.  Very little of the book made it into the movie.  They even changed the name of the leading female character, changed the character, the way they met, etc.  I am now reading "The Bourne Supremacy".  I have also seen the movie.

My opinion?  Read the books, skip the movies. 

Books and movies are very different entities... films leave little to viewers imagination.  I look at it like, when I'm reading I'm creating my own movie in a sense and I decide many of the important parts... how the characters speak, what they look like and what there surroundings look like.  I think of imagining and interpreting as a reader is like a creative process... it's distinctly different from viewing a movie.

Warph,

I do the same things and when I read a book before I see the movie, sometimes I am disappointed in the movie because the actor that plays the main character doesn't fit what I had in my mind.

So, Warph, the reason I enjoyed the book more than the movie was my own vivid imagination?

Yeah, exactly.... like day dreaming or fantasizing about the characters in the book or where the story is taking place, etc... when you start a novel, as you read, you start to imagine the story in your head, and before you know it, you start fantasizing about what you're reading... in a sense you've become part of the story.  You don't have time to do that with a movie... the director is only going to give you two hours and very little detail about the story.  That's probably why you didn't care for the movie.

Ludlum was a great author... and was someone who could really paint a vivid picture of anywhere in the world he wanted to take you. As I remember, in 'The Bourne Identity,' their were tons of places involved.... and he was an exceptional writer with great attention to detail, unlike any I've ever experienced before with other authors... exception: Tom Clancy.  Ludlum packs a load of information onto each and every page.  Sometimes this makes it a not so easy read, but if you can stay with it, the rewards are well worth it as you probably found out.  If you get a chance, checkout 'The Rhinemann Exchange'... one of my favorites of his.

Have started Tom Clancy's 'Dead or Alive'...  probably take me two months to read it.

I was reading Zane Grey while in my early teens.  I loved the west before I ever had a chance to see any of it.  I could only imagine the red mountains of Utah, then,when I was almost forty, we drove through those mountains.  They were more than I had imagined.  Beautiful.  I had been there before via Zane Grey's pen.  Then, in the mid 80's we went to Arizona.  Same story.  I had a chance to see the desert that I had only imagined from Mr. Grey's writing. 

Back to Ludlum's "Bourne Identity".  I got a copy of the first movie of the "Bourne Identity", the one that stars Richard Chamberlain.  It was just like watching the book.  Even the dialogue was almost word for word.  If you like movies that follow the book, this is one to watch.

I finished "The Bourne Supremacy".  I didn't think it was quite as good as the Identity was.  The next one written by Ludlum is "The Bourne Ultimatum".  I have seen the movie but don't have the book.  That will be remedied in the near future.

Escape from Camp 14, One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West.

This is the story of the man, who as a child, snitched on his mother for planning an escape from the prison camp. She and an older brother were subsequently executed for attempting the escape.

Several years later, he and another man planned their escape. The other man was killed by an electric fence and he used the man's body laying on the wires as a stepping stone to get through the fence.

He subsequently made the several hundred miles to the Chinese border, then went to Beijing, then on to Seoul.

The Path Between the Seas, The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 by David McCullough.

Interesting but 75 percent of the book had to do with the French effort beginning in 1870.

One might recall that in late 1903 the United States facilitated the creation of a whole new country (Panama) in order to have more favorable right of way costs. The US sent gunboats to insure that Columbia would not interfere with the Panama province revolution from being successful.

A remorseful US compensated Columbia with $25m in 1919, after which Columbia recognized the country of Panama.

Another interesting item is that an official currency of the country of Panama has always been the US dollar.

Here's one potential advance in science that has me worried: human beings may eventually live a really long time.

According to the World Future Society, we are in the early phases of a superlongevity revolution. Thanks to advances nanotechnology and cell and gene manipulation, scientists may eventually learn how to keep humans alive from 120 to 500 years.

Which prompts an important question: Do we really want to live that long?

Sure a longer life would have its upside. I'd love to have my parents around forever. I'd love to swing by for Sunday dinner for at least 100 years more.

It would be great if we were able to keep fellows like Jimmy Stewart, Johnny Carson and Dean Martin around.

It would be even better if we were able to keep around people with great minds, such as Einstein, who could unlock the mysteries of the universe.

But a longer life would have its downside. Do we really want baby boomers, who are now beginning to retire, to vote government benefits for themselves for several hundred years?

And what of our younger generations, kids who are notorious slackers? Mother to son in year 2075: You're 100 years old! When are you going to move out and get a job?

I'm 51 and already showing signs of fatigue. In my experience, life is largely made up of colds, bills, speeding tickets and people who let you down. These experiences are connected together by a series of mundane tasks. The drudgeries are occasionally interrupted by a wonderful meal, a really good laugh or a romantic evening with a lovely woman.

Then the mundane stuff starts all over again. Who wants several decades of that?

Besides, if we live 100 years or more, how are we going to pay for it? Living is expensive. Are we going to work 50 years, retire, burn through our nest egg, then sling hamburgers for a century or two?

On one hand, I think it's great we humans are getting better at improving our health and life spans. But on the other hand I know this: DYING is what makes life most worth living.

Would you enjoy a movie if you knew it was going to play for 24 hours? No, what makes the movie enjoyable is its ending. And it better end within two hours or we all start squirming in our seats.

The key to human happiness, you see, is not an abundance of a thing, but the lack of it. Doesn't pie taste better when we know it's the last slice? Doesn't a football game capture our attention more when it is the last of the season — the one that determines who goes out the winner and who goes out the loser? Isn't a comedian funnier when he exits the stage BEFORE we want him to go?

Hey, futurists, I'm not sure we want to stick around too long. If you believe in God, as I do, this is just a testing ground anyhow. This is just practice. It's like two-a-day football drills. We must first prove ourselves during the agony of summer practice to earn our rights to play in the big game. Do we really want to spend 500 hundred years running wind-sprints in summer practice?

When I look up to the stars, I can't help but sense there are better places to go. But it's not until we check out of Hotel Earth that we're able to enjoy a place with more amenities and better service. My religion says that place is Heaven, which I figure I'll get to sooner or later — after doing a tour of that other place.

Though I don't think Purgatory will be so bad. My friends will be there.

I'm currently reading "Praying for Strangers" by River Jordan.  This is a great book.  This is the second time I've read it.

by David Sedaris

One very, very funny book... one of the best humor books on daily life I've ever read.  Read it Wilma...
you'll laugh yourself silly!

Acclaim for David Sedaris's "Me Talk Pretty One Day"

"Blisteringly funny."
— David Cobb Craig, People

"His most sidesplitting work to date. The stories chronicling Sedaris's time in Paris are painfully funny fish-out-of-water tales about the difficulty of learning the language and the near-impossibility of translating the culture.... The simple, effortless comic build of these stories had me howling in the airport, my hands shaking, my eyes glistening with tears."
— Sarah Hepola, Austin Chronicle

"Mercy, mercy! David Sedaris is dangerously funny."
— Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Hilarious and insightful.... Mr. Sedaris may not talk pretty, but he does write funny."
— Robert J. Hughes, Wall Street Journal

"Arguably one of the funniest writers working today.... Sedaris's humor is based on a writer's best friend: droll, descriptive storytelling."
— Anne Stephenson, USA Today

"Pure pleasure.... The pieces that deal with Sedaris's fumbling efforts to learn French in Paris as a newly installed 'ex-pat' are among his funniest ever."
— Zoe Rosenfeld, Us


Sample: Chapter #1 -  Go Carolina:

EVEN THE SLIGHTEST amount of TV is familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly ordinary home or office. The door opens, and the person holding the knob is asked to identify himself. The agent then says, "I'm going to ask you to come with me."

They're always remarkably calm, these agents. If asked "Why do I need to go anywhere with you?" they'll straighten their shirt cuffs or idly brush stray hairs from the sleeves of their sport coats and say, "Oh, I think we both know why."

The suspect then chooses between doing things the hard way and doing things the easy way, and the scene ends with either gunfire or the gentlemanly application of handcuffs. Occasionally it's a case of mistaken identity, but most often the suspect knows exactly why he's being taken. It seems he's been expecting this to happen. The anticipation has ruled his life, and now, finally, the wait is over. You're sometimes led to believe that this person is actually relieved, but I've never bought it. Though it probably has its moments, the average day spent in hiding is bound to beat the average day spent in prison. When it comes time to decide who gets the bottom bunk, I think anyone would agree that there's a lot to be said for doing things the hard way.

The agent came for me during a geography lesson. She entered the room and nodded at my fifth-grade teacher, who stood frowning at a map of Europe. What would needle me later was the realization that this had all been prearranged. My capture had been scheduled to go down at exactly 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon. The agent would be wearing a dung-colored blazer over a red knit turtleneck, her heels sensibly low in case the suspect should attempt a quick getaway.

"David," the teacher said, "this is Miss Samson, and she'd like you to go with her now."

No one else had been called, so why me? I ran down a list of recent crimes, looking for a conviction that might stick. Setting fire to a reportedly flameproof Halloween costume, stealing a set of barbecue tongs from an unguarded patio, altering the word hit on a list of rules posted on the gymnasium door; never did it occur to me that I might be innocent.

"You might want to take your books with you," the teacher said. "And your jacket. You probably won't be back before the bell rings."

Though she seemed old at the time, the agent was most likely fresh out of college. She walked beside me and asked what appeared to be an innocent and unrelated question: "So, which do you like better, State or Carolina?"

She was referring to the athletic rivalry between the Triangle area's two largest universities. Those who cared about such things tended to express their allegiance by wearing either Tar Heel powder blue, or Wolf Pack red, two colors that managed to look good on no one. The question of team preference was common in our part of North Carolina, and the answer supposedly spoke volumes about the kind of person you either were or hoped to become. I had no interest in football or basketball but had learned it was best to pretend otherwise. If a boy didn't care for barbecued chicken or potato chips, people would accept it as a matter of personal taste, saying, "Oh well, I guess it takes all kinds." You could turn up your nose at the president or Coke or even God, but there were names for boys who didn't like sports. When the subject came up, I found it best to ask which team my questioner preferred. Then I'd say, "Really? Me, too!"

Asked by the agent which team I supported, I took my cue from her red turtleneck and told her that I was for State. "Definitely State. State all the way."
It was an answer I would regret for years to come.
"State, did you say?" the agent asked.
"Yes, State. They're the greatest."
"I see." She led me through an unmarked door near the principal's office, into a small, windowless room furnished with two facing desks. It was the kind of room where you'd grill someone until they snapped, the kind frequently painted so as to cover the bloodstains. She gestured toward what was to become my regular seat, then continued her line of questioning.
"And what exactly are they, State and Carolina?"
"Colleges? Universities?"
She opened a file on her desk, saying, "Yes, you're right. Your answers are correct, but you're saying them incorrectly. You're telling me that they're collegeth and univerthitieth, when actually they're colleges and universities. You're giving me a th sound instead of a nice clear s. Can you hear the distinction between the two different sounds?"
I nodded.
"May I please have an actual answer?"
"Uh-huh."
" 'Uh-huh' is not a word."
"Okay."
"Okay what?"
"Okay," I said. "Sure, I can hear it."
"You can hear what, the distinction? The contrast?"
"Yeah, that."
It was the first battle of my war against the letter s, and I was determined to dig my foxhole before the sun went down. According to Agent Samson, a "state certified speech therapist," my s was sibilate, meaning that I lisped. This was not news to me.
"Our goal is to work together until eventually you can speak correctly," Agent Samson said. She made a great show of enunciating her own sparkling s's, and the effect was profoundly irritating. "I'm trying to help you, but the longer you play these little games the longer this is going to take."
The woman spoke with a heavy western North Carolina accent, which I used to discredit her authority. Here was a person for whom the word pen had two syllables. Her people undoubtedly drank from clay jugs and hollered for Paw when the vittles were ready — so who was she to advise me on anything? Over the coming years I would find a crack in each of the therapists sent to train what Miss Samson now defined as my lazy tongue. "That's its problem," she said. "It's just plain lazy."
My sisters Amy and Gretchen were, at the time, undergoing therapy for their lazy eyes, while my older sister, Lisa, had been born with a lazy leg that had refused to grow at the same rate as its twin. She'd worn a corrective brace for the first two years of her life, and wherever she roamed she left a trail of scratch marks in the soft pine floor. I liked the idea that a part of one's body might be thought of as lazy — not thoughtless or hostile, just unwilling to extend itself for the betterment of the team. My father often accused my mother of having a lazy mind, while she in turn accused him of having a lazy index finger, unable to dial the phone when he knew damn well he was going to be late.
My therapy sessions were scheduled for every Thursday at 2:30, and with the exception of my mother, I discussed them with no one. The word therapy suggested a profound failure on my part. Mental patients had therapy. Normal people did not. I didn't see my sessions as the sort of thing that one would want to advertise, but as my teacher liked to say, "I guess it takes all kinds." Whereas my goal was to keep it a secret, hers was to inform the entire class. If I got up from my seat at 2:25, she'd say, "Sit back down, David. You've still got five minutes before your speech therapy session." If I remained seated until 2:27, she'd say, "David, don't forget you have a speech therapy session at two-thirty." On the days I was absent, I imagined she addressed the room, saying, "David's not here today but if he were, he'd have a speech therapy session at two-thirty."
My sessions varied from week to week. Sometimes I'd spend the half hour parroting whatever Agent Samson had to say. We'd occasionally pass the time examining charts on tongue position or reading childish s-laden texts recounting the adventures of seals or settlers named Sassy or Samuel. On the worst of days she'd haul out a tape recorder and show me just how much progress I was failing to make.
"My speech therapist's name is Miss Chrissy Samson." She'd hand me the microphone and lean back with her arms crossed. "Go ahead, say it. I want you to hear what you sound like."
She was in love with the sound of her own name and seemed to view my speech impediment as a personal assault. If I wanted to spend the rest of my life as David Thedarith, then so be it. She, however, was going to be called Miss Chrissy Samson. Had her name included no s's, she probably would have bypassed a career in therapy and devoted herself to yanking out healthy molars or performing unwanted clitoridectomies on the schoolgirls of Africa. Such was her personality.
"Oh, come on," my mother would say. "I'm sure she's not that bad. Give her a break. The girl's just trying to do her job."
I was a few minutes early one week and entered the office to find Agent Samson doing her job on Garth Barclay, a slight, kittenish boy I'd met back in the fourth grade. "You may wait outside in the hallway until it is your turn," she told me. A week or two later my session was interrupted by mincing Steve Bixler, who popped his head in the door and announced that his parents were taking him out of town for a long weekend, meaning that he would miss his regular Friday session. "Thorry about that," he said.
I started keeping watch over the speech therapy door, taking note of who came and went. Had I seen one popular student leaving the office, I could have believed my mother and viewed my lisp as the sort of thing that might happen to anyone. Unfortunately, I saw no popular students. Chuck Coggins, Sam Shelton, Louis Delucca: obviously, there was some connection between a sibilate s and a complete lack of interest in the State versus Carolina issue.
None of the therapy students were girls. They were all boys like me who kept movie star scrapbooks and made their own curtains. "You don't want to be doing that," the men in our families would say. "That's a girl thing." Baking scones and cupcakes for the school janitors, watching Guiding Light with our mothers, collecting rose petals for use in a fragrant potpourri: anything worth doing turned out to be a girl thing. In order to enjoy ourselves, we learned to be duplicitous. Our stacks of Cosmopolitan were topped with an unread issue of Boy's Life or Sports Illustrated, and our decoupage projects were concealed beneath the sporting equipment we never asked for but always received. When asked what we wanted to be when we grew up, we hid the truth and listed who we wanted to sleep with when we grew up. "A policeman or a fireman or one of those guys who works with high-tension wires." Symptoms were feigned, and our mothers wrote notes excusing our absences on the day of the intramural softball tournament. Brian had a stomach virus or Ted suffered from that twenty-four-hour bug that seemed to be going around.
"One of these days I'm going to have to hang a sign on that door," Agent Samson used to say. She was probably thinking along the lines of SPEECH THERAPY LAB, though a more appropriate marker would have read FUTURE HOMOSEXUALS OF AMERICA. We knocked ourselves out trying to fit in but were ultimately betrayed by our tongues. At the beginning of the school year, while we were congratulating ourselves on successfully passing for normal, Agent Samson was taking names as our assembled teachers raised their hands, saying, "I've got one in my homeroom," and "There are two in my fourth-period math class." Were they also able to spot the future drunks and depressives? Did they hope that by eliminating our lisps, they might set us on a different path, or were they trying to prepare us for future stage and choral careers?
Miss Samson instructed me, when forming an s, to position the tip of my tongue against the rear of my top teeth, right up against the gum line. The effect produced a sound not unlike that of a tire releasing air. It was awkward and strange-sounding, and elicited much more attention than the original lisp. I failed to see the hissy s as a solution to the problem and continued to talk normally, at least at home, where my lazy tongue fell upon equally lazy ears. At school, where every teacher was a potential spy, I tried to avoid an s sound whenever possible. "Yes," became "correct," or a military "affirmative." "Please," became "with your kind permission," and questions were pleaded rather than asked. After a few weeks of what she called "endless pestering" and what I called "repeated badgering," my mother bought me a pocket thesaurus, which provided me with s-free alternatives to just about everything. I consulted the book both at home in my room and at the daily learning academy other people called our school. Agent Samson was not amused when I began referring to her as an articulation coach, but the majority of my teachers were delighted. "What a nice vocabulary," they said. "My goodness, such big words!"
Plurals presented a considerable problem, but I worked around them as best I could; "rivers," for example, became either "a river or two" or "many a river." Possessives were a similar headache, and it was easier to say nothing than to announce that the left-hand and the right-hand glove of Janet had fallen to the floor. After all the compliments I had received on my improved vocabulary, it seemed prudent to lie low and keep my mouth shut. I didn't want anyone thinking I was trying to be a pet of the teacher.
When I first began my speech therapy, I worried that the Agent Samson plan might work for everyone but me, that the other boys might strengthen their lazy tongues, turn their lives around, and leave me stranded. Luckily my fears were never realized. Despite the woman's best efforts, no one seemed to make any significant improvement. The only difference was that we were all a little quieter. Thanks to Agent Samson's tape recorder, I, along with the others, now had a clear sense of what I actually sounded like. There was the lisp, of course, but more troubling was my voice itself, with its excitable tone and high, girlish pitch. I'd hear myself ordering lunch in the cafeteria, and the sound would turn my stomach. How could anyone stand to listen to me? Whereas those around me might grow up to be lawyers or movie stars, my only option was to take a vow of silence and become a monk. My former classmates would call the abbey, wondering how I was doing, and the priest would answer the phone. "You can't talk to him!" he'd say. "Why, Brother David hasn't spoken to anyone in thirty-five years!"
"Oh, relax," my mother said. "Your voice will change eventually."
"And what if it doesn't?"
She shuddered. "Don't be so morbid."
It turned out that Agent Samson was something along the lines of a circuit-court speech therapist. She spent four months at our school and then moved on to another. Our last meeting was held the day before school let out for Christmas. My classrooms were all decorated, the halls — everything but her office, which remained as bare as ever. I was expecting a regular half hour of Sassy the seal and was delighted to find her packing up her tape recorder.
"I thought that this afternoon we might let loose and have a party, you and I. How does that sound?" She reached into her desk drawer and withdrew a festive tin of cookies. "Here, have one. I made them myself from scratch and, boy, was it a mess! Do you ever make cookies?"
I lied, saying that no, I never had.
"Well, it's hard work," she said. "Especially if you don't have a mixer."
It was unlike Agent Samson to speak so casually, and awkward to sit in the hot little room, pretending to have a normal conversation.
"So," she said, "what are your plans for the holidays?"
"Well, I usually remain here and, you know, open a gift from my family."
"Only one?" she asked.
"Maybe eight or ten."
"Never six or seven?"
"Rarely," I said.
"And what do you do on December thirty-first, New Year's Eve?"
"On the final day of the year we take down the pine tree in our living room and eat marine life."
"You're pretty good at avoiding those s's," she said. "I have to hand it to you, you're tougher than most."
I thought she would continue trying to trip me up, but instead she talked about her own holiday plans. "It's pretty hard with my fiancé in Vietnam," she said. "Last year we went up to see his folks in Roanoke, but this year I'll spend Christmas with my grandmother outside of Asheville. My parents will come, and we'll all try our best to have a good time. I'll eat some turkey and go to church, and then, the next day, a friend and I will drive down to Jacksonville to watch Florida play Tennessee in the Gator Bowl."
I couldn't imagine anything worse than driving down to Florida to watch a football game, but I pretended to be impressed. "Wow, that ought to be eventful."
"I was in Memphis last year when NC State whooped Georgia fourteen to seven in the Liberty Bowl," she said. "And next year, I don't care who's playing, but I want to be sitting front-row center at the Tangerine Bowl. Have you ever been to Orlando? It's a super fun place. If my future husband can find a job in his field, we're hoping to move down there within a year or two. Me living in Florida. I bet that would make you happy, wouldn't it?"
I didn't quite know how to respond. Who was this college bowl fanatic with no mixer and a fiancé in Vietnam, and why had she taken so long to reveal herself? Here I'd thought of her as a cold-blooded agent when she was really nothing but a slightly dopey, inexperienced speech teacher. She wasn't a bad person, Miss Samson, but her timing was off. She should have acted friendly at the beginning of the year instead of waiting until now, when all I could do was feel sorry for her.
"I tried my best to work with you and the others, but sometimes a person's best just isn't good enough." She took another cookie and turned it over in her hands. "I really wanted to prove myself and make a difference in people's lives, but it's hard to do your job when you're met with so much resistance. My students don't like me, and I guess that's just the way it is. What can I say? As a speech teacher, I'm a complete failure."
She moved her hands toward her face, and I worried that she might start to cry. "Hey, look," I said. "I'm thorry."
"Ha-ha," she said. "I got you." She laughed much more than she needed to and was still at it when she signed the form recommending me for the following year's speech therapy program. "Thorry, indeed. You've got some work ahead of you, mister."
I related the story to my mother, who got a huge kick out of it. "You've got to admit that you really are a sucker," she said.
I agreed but, because none of my speech classes ever made a difference, I still prefer to use the word chump.

He was 47 years old.[/b]

RIP Vince.

(Reuters) - Vince Flynn, the best-selling author of the Mitch Rapp series of political thrillers that includes "American Assassin" and "The Last Man," died on Wednesday at age 47 after a battle with prostate cancer, his representatives said.

Flynn, who turned to writing as a way of fighting his dyslexia, died at a hospital in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, said David Brown, spokesman for Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that publishes the author's novels.

Flynn's most recently published book was "The Last Man" in 2012. Atria will put out "The Survivor" in October.

All but one of Flynn's 14 novels center on fictional character Mitch Rapp, an operative for the Central Intelligence Agency who targets Islamic militants and often takes extreme measures to achieve his goals.

Flynn regularly made the New York Times best-seller list, and after the publication of his 2007 novel "Protect and Defend" he began topping the list.

Flynn self-published his first novel, "Term Limits," which became a runaway success in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and led to a deal with an imprint of Simon & Schuster Inc. It published the book for wider release in 1997 and saw the work become a New York Times best seller in paperback.

Like the books that would follow, "Term Limits" was a political thriller. But it did not feature Rapp, who would make his first appearance in Flynn's next book, "Transfer of Power," in 1999.

Among Flynn's best-known books is "American Assassin," which was published in 2010 and chronicled Rapp's first assignment as a CIA operative after losing his high school sweetheart in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.

"It has been our distinct honor to publish Vince Flynn for the entire length of his career," Carolyn Reidy, president and CEO of Simon & Schuster Inc, said in a statement. "As good as Vince was on the page - and he gave millions of readers countless hours of pleasure - he was even more engaging in person."

Flynn was a frequent guest on cable television news programs such as "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox network.

Before becoming a writer, Flynn worked in sales and marketing at Kraft General Foods before leaving in 1990 to join the U.S. Marine Corps as an aviation candidate. He had to leave the program due to medical problems stemming from concussions and seizures suffered as a child, according to his publisher.

Flynn announced in 2011 that he had Stage III metastatic prostate cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Lysa Flynn, and three children.





Life is often stranger than fiction, because fiction usually has to make some kind of sense to be considered for publication. Facts and real life are far messier.

A thought-provoking discussion that aired last week in the video below between Glenn Beck and best-selling author Vince Flynn about his new book "The Last Man." They also discuss the ever-evolving BenghaziGate, Gen. David Petraeus, the Obama administration, liberal media, liberal movies, and Beck's futuristic book "Agenda 21."

As an example of the media takeover to tout liberal ideology and the Left's bias and lack of tolerance for conservatives in the entertainment industry, Beck and Flynn briefly discuss how Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, the creators of TV's runaway hit "24," had to conceal that they were conservatives until after the show became a huge success.

Vince Flynn's New Book "The Last Man"... click here for the book: http://www.bit.ly/LastManBook -- For more go to: http://www.GlennBecksBookList.com

An invaluable CIA asset has gone missing, and with him, secrets that in the wrong hands could prove disastrous. The only question is: Can Mitch Rapp find him first?

Joe Rickman, head of CIA clandestine operations in Afghanistan, has been kidnapped and his four bodyguards executed in cold blood. But Mitch Rapp's experience and nose for the truth make him wonder if something even more sinister isn't afoot. Irene Kennedy, director of the CIA, has dispatched him to Afghanistan to find Rickman at all costs.

Rapp, however, isn't the only one looking for Rickman. The FBI is too, and it quickly becomes apparent that they're less concerned with finding Rickman than placing the blame on Rapp.

With CIA operations in crisis, Rapp must be as ruthless and deceitful as his enemies if he has any hope of finding Rickman and completing his mission. But with elements within his own government working against both him and American interests, will Rapp be stopped dead before he can succeed?

Warph, re:  "Me Talk Pretty One Day".  I haven't forgotten that you recommended this.  I just haven't been to a book store for quite some time.  Possibly I will get to one real soon.  I need to find a good book on butterflies, too.  Now as to what I have been reading; more of Robert Ludlum.

I have just finished "The Sigma Protocol" and "The Matlock Paper".  Enjoyed them both.  I am trying to get started on "The Road to Omaha", but every time I open it there is a distraction of some kind.  So much for living in the same town as three daughters.

Have finished reading "Shadow on the Hill: The True Story of a 1925 Kansas Murder," by Diana Staresinic-Deane.

The book has to do with the 1925 murder of a Burlington, Ks, thirty-one year old farm wife. She had her throat slashed from ear to ear with a razor and had her head bashed in while here husband and child were getting supplies in Burlington on Decoration Day.

The story is full of intrigue, racial bias, sexual infidelity charges, plus law enforcement investigative incompetence, questionable legal counsel maneuverings, and judicial incompetence. (At least when judged by today's standards). Four men were arrested. Blood hounds and private detectives aided in trying to gather evidence for the biggest trial ever held in Coffey County. The husband was tried twice--with the second trial in Emporia--but was not convicted.

William Lindsay White of the Emporia Gazette covered the story at the time. He was the son of the famous Wiliam Allen White of the same newspaper.

Burlington is 75 miles northeast of Howard.