Introduce yourself

hello I am new here, will anybody talk to me

Sure, what do you like to talk about?

The best thing in the soap operas is that they make people to read more.

And game shows make them want to read even more. Welcome back!

hello whats up

Is anyone here?

Guess not Bye!

Terry, okay if we come in here until you set up our own place? Thanks. Or should we go to TV. It is entirely empty. Amy

Can't start a new topic in the TV conference. I even tried to cheat and got the URL syntax from another conference. But no. So! Good evening gang. Yes, this shall be another nice temp place to hang out in addition to the chat room and Alicia's page. We are kind of like the Jews aren't we. But we are determined to have our own nation while we accept the shelter of kind world citizens. Thanks, Terry for putting us up. You may find it also involved putting up with us and our numbers and obsession. But we are polite, clean up after ourselves and we are only slightly offcolor and then only once in a while. 14 year old girls have sought and received permission from their mothers to talk with us. Here are the pre-defined topics I gave Terry for the new conference. I wanted to supply him with them without delay, so just dashed them off in two minutes. They are: Drooling over Darcy and Firth Maurice virtual view discussion Irony and morality threads continued P&P1 VirtView Clean up from R&V -- lingering book/film comparison notes Hormones, cycles, pheromones, romance and rumors The chat room is fun Plans for the revival of the board Later, Amy

Amy! Has anyone else been here? I'm heading over to the chat room... Bye! - K

Yeah, Kali, HC and Julie. though I cannot see that they have posted. If you go back up to the "Books conference" link at the top of this page, it takes you to a page with a link to "Users" in list form with the date signed. How do you like this format? Hard to get used to but I think it might have possibilities. Amy

Hey, Amy. I think this format could be good for the meantime. Our exile is turning out to be quite an interesting experience. Everyone has been so resourceful! I'm heading over to chat now. Hope to catch up with you, Kali.

Welcome, austen is now a happening conference. It's up to you to create the topics.

Hi all! Has anyone posted in here about any actual books they've read or is this just a stopping place/stepping stone for other conferences? As you might be able to tell, I'm VERY new here :)

No, no, no. This is not just a stepping stone. This is a full blown conference on books. Talk about books you're actually reading (or even books you're pretending to read). Go books!!!

Terry, I have a book I am reading right now it is Fantastic! The book, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", the author; MAYA ANGELOU. Fabulous writer, good text, and an autobiography at that. 1969. I became interested in Ms. Angelou by seeing a conference she spoke at on CSPAN of all things. It was at Boston College. I was struck by her wonderful voice and the words came second. Now, that I am reading "I Know Why...." I find out that the words have so much more meaning. Rejena

Terry, I have a book I am reading right now it is Fantastic! The book, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", the author; MAYA ANGELOU. Fabulous writer, good text, and an autobiography at that. 1969. I became interested in Ms. Angelou by seeing a conference she spoke at on CSPAN of all things. It was at Boston College. I was struck by her wonderful voice and the words came second. Now, that I am reading "I Know Why...." I find out that the words have so much more meaning. Rejena

Terry, I have a book I am reading right now it is Fantastic! The book, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings", the author; MAYA ANGELOU. Fabulous writer, good text, and an autobiography at that. 1969. I became interested in Ms. Angelou by seeing a conference she spoke at on CSPAN of all things. It was at Boston College. I was struck by her wonderful voice and the words came second. Now, that I am reading "I Know Why...." I find out that the words have so much more meaning. Rejena

I like Maya, welcome rejena.

Hi! I'm new here too. It's good to find some others that still enjoy the lost art of reading. I have a general question. I moved around a lot during high school, therefore missing a lot of the basic required high school reading and reading a lot of books more than once. Now that I have finished school (at least for now) I am going back and reading these American high school staples. What I am asking of you is for input on which ones I must read and immediately. A poll of sorts on the best of the classics. I would appreciate anyone's opinion. Thanks, Allison

hi allison allen i am new here and most surprisingly of all to you and everybody here i am loging from main land china the p r c. and the book i think you read first is wuthering height by EMILY BRONTE. DO LET ME KNOW YR FAVORITES

hi allison allen i am new here and most surprisingly of all to you and everybody here i am loging from main land china the p r c. and the book i think you read first is wuthering height by EMILY BRONTE. DO LET ME KNOW YR FAVORITES

HI MRS. ALLISON ALLEN ARE YOU THERE ? CAN YOU REACH ME? DO LET ME KNOW ? THANKS

Howdy--I've clomped all over the other conferences and thought I'd barge in here too! About all I read are British spy novels, and since I've about exhausted that genre, I've started in on British mysteries. Maybe I'll start a topic on that since I've got a lot to say and ask! What a limited focus! you think. But it keeps me happy and I've never been one to read something to impress others llike so many in my "Fairly Good Books Club" (the only reason I venture from my mysteries). I read not wisely bu too well--that is, too quickly and voraciously. Let me cruise around and see what's up in these book topics!

Hello, I am new to this conference session. I am here looking for some assistance. I hae an AP English due on Monday on "Darkness at Noon', a book written by Arthur Koestler. If you are familiar with this author, the writing, or this period in Russia, please "jump" in.

Hi all: I'm new to all this too. Surprised tofind so few responses. Haven't any of you read Snow Falling on Cedars, or Postcards or Song of Solomon of any of the fabulous works out there now? Have a wonderful one for you to try; Down from Troy by Richard Selzer. Author is a retired surgeon, writer about his childhoon, his profession, his family. Great wordsmith. Says his mother wanted to be an opera singer but her voice was too small. She sounded 'like a little mouse ringing a tiny silver bell'. ry it you'll love it.

Hi! Loved Wuthering Heights.........

Hi. I used to read a lot, and I miss it. I was brought up on "the classics" (as defined by Waldenbooks--Twain,London, Hardy, Shakespeare, not so much Virgil and Homer) and then learned about "contemporary classics" (like Kerouac, Atwood, Angelou) in college, and then started working in book stores and tried to read everything! I learned about Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman , Armistad Maupin and John Fowles...and I learned the joy of reading good mysteries and good science fiction from my customers...but now that I'm out of the business, I'm also out of touch. Since I had a child a year and a half ago, I'm lucky to read a book a month--I fall asleep when I try to read. (I'm turning into my mother--only she had SIX kids to gum up her brain!) I'm very excited to have discovered this forum for discussion...I've tried chatting, and I can't keep up, and the book chat lines never seem to talk about books! I liked Wuthering Heights, but I loved Jane Eyre! I'm way more like a Jane than a Kathy--submerged passion and all that jazz!

welcome, martha... hope you can help invigorate this conference... hasn't been enough action here these past few weeks (afraid colin firth is sucking it's life away)... check out the top ten... add your own (that's usually at least a temporary activity stimulus)... could probably use some additional topics, too (any suggestions? was talk not long ago re: history/ civil war topic, but it seems to have firth-ed away...)

Welcome Martha! I have a 3 and 5 year old, and I can tell you (vis a vis reading good books) that there's a tunnel with a pinprick of light at the end of it! I read more books in '97 than the preceding 5 years combined, and I'm hoping to break out of my regular routine this year by reading some divergent tastes (i.e., anything not starring Colin Firth, Nick!) :)

delighted to hear it (though i never suspected you to be among the firth-ers, autumn)

There is hope!

Got a 4 and 8 year old and I can relate! But, as Autumn says, there's light! I read whenever I get a quiet moment (rare-usually when everybody's in bed!)

That's high praise coming from you, Nick! What are you reading these days, Wolf?

Kathleen Woodiwiss' Petals on the River. Love her stuff. yeah, I know, gushy romance stuff, but it's gooooooood (live vicariously *wink*)

Hello, I'm from Nevada and i just got on line. Love books and reading. Mostly of the historical romance.

Welcome, Kay! Historical romance would be the wife's department, but I'm glad you found us.

Really glad you found us, Kay. We hquite a literary contingent here, mostly hanging out in the drool, the bronte and the book conferences. Check these out!

Hi Kay! Don't forget to post your top 10 list in this conference so we can rip it apart (just kidding!!) :)

Glad you came Kay. Don't worry about drool-lemme give you the low down- they're all firthing!

Thanks for the welcome. Now i guess i'll brouse the other topics here. Is that ok?

The doors are open, ma'am.

It's more than ok!

Has anyone read Wuthering Heights?

Hello?

Hi, Elizabeth! (Just post a message and come back later to see what's up... it's not a chatroom around here, even if some of us act like it is sometimes...) Anyway, look around, and enjoy!

"Wuthering Heights"? Whoa, you've come to the right place, Elizabeth! How 'bout that Heathcliff?

loved the book!

This is my first time here. Can someone tell me how this works.

Hi, and Welcome! Do what you just did, and come back every so often and see if anyone has responded...

that's WER, clear and consise, albeit a little vague! Welcome Natalie, feel free to wander around and explore the other conferences, when you wander back to 'books' tell us what you like to read, what you're reading right now and give us your honest opinion of WER!

Yes, please do. I'm all ears (well, and hair...)

Hi everybody, I've spent hours looking for a good discussion board where I can talk with people who actually still read books. Glad I found you!

We're glad you found us, too, and you've already been warned about me, but look around, and come back often!

Welcome, Amelia! Let us know what you're reading.

hi Amelia! welcome.

hi everybody i read a book once i'm new to the Spring i think this is my first day is this where people talk about books? well i jez wanna say hi y'all i read a book once

it's not your first day but congratulations on getting around to the book conference. (did you read a book in your first incarnation as a pickle?)

and I hope I didn't offend you by letting everyone in on your profession.

*smile* got my juices squirting again on that one we didn't have no books in them times had alotta jars i read alotta jars Peter Piper was my name back then that got shortened to Peter that got shortened and that got shortened to lil' Pete that got shortened to just Pee that got shortened to P. which stood for Palmolive and that's the kinda boat i became in my next life hope that clears everything up hope floats well sometimes not really in my case

at least soap floats! (thanks for clearing that all up!)

or at least cleaning it all up...

Hello, I just wonder how this all is working!

hi arra. works great! and welcome to the spring!

hey-hey, arra...

It's working arra! Have you joined the books conference yet? Welcome!

Where did everybody go?

still here, just too busy reading i guess! you sure are getting around the place, that's great. we need some new blood *haha* just a little wolf humor, don't mind me...

I decided to spend some time exploring this site this weekend. We'll see how long I can keep it up.

Welcome, Tim...whatcha reading?

Thank you autumn. Right now I'm reading "Bad Chemistry" by gary krist. It's a mystery story.

I'm here too!

I'm glad you're here, Riette. So, what are you reading?

I have nothing!!! Must go to the library tomorrow.

Remember, Autumn, you need to go to the library on Friday, November 19. Would you like me to have them call you with a reminder? They're set up for that. They're very customer service oriented. They can wake you in the morning with the audio book of your choice.

Ha-ha! Actually I did get there finally and got just what I was looking for, plus 3 ADC maps, woo hoo!

I got 4 ABC maps now I'm beginning to find my way around the alphabet I found out that letters can be put together into words and words can turn into sentences, but then those darn sentences can turn into long stays in prison. You've probably been wondering, "Why did Jim spend so much time in San Quentin and made all those nice friends he made?" Well, that's how it happened. My sentences were considered (for some weirdo reason used by the justice system) to be criminally insane......but much more criminal than insane. 2 of these ABC maps that I got from the Austin Public Library were designed with my kinda problem in mind. To this day, I don't know why I was let outta the pen, though. If they'd kept me there, it actually woulda been pretty okay, cuz it got to be home.......and I do miss it.

Ah, good old H-14...home sweet home...

So you have me all written down as a music guy, right (see: http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/public/browse/music/all , and especially http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/public/read/music/59 )? Actually, I'm a book guy. Or was. Don't tell anybody.

it's our secret....

forever and ever...

(From the off a light tune: "...that's what friends are for....")

So, what are you reading?

Youth-letters by Franziska Gr�fin zu Reventlow.

Please see my remarks next door, at: http://www.spring.net/yapp-bin/public/read/books/2.224 .

Hello everyone! I am Caryn Kathryn Mac Fadyen, native of Scotland, Transplanted in America! I kind of like that concept, sort of. Some of you may know me from my food, music, books, conference. I and my entourage have some great things going on within these three areas! Always looking for great feedback and conversation with gracious people, whom are in the know of things! Any dashing and fun Scots of celts out there! Say hello and lets chat about our great enchanted land! Hope you are all listeni g! Thank you all kindly! Caryn.

I created a Scotland topic in travel so you can romp around in it, Caryn.

I adore Scotland and your travel topic will be about as close to the Flying Scot as I am going to get for a while! Great news!

Hi, I'm new to this group and enjoy reading mysteries, espeically if they include romance. BTW Wolf, I too read Petals on the River by Kathleen Woodiwiss. She is one of my favorite authors. I recently read Snow Falling on Cedars which was a mystery with romance, but nothing like Kathleen Woodiwiss's books. I have to say it was a very nice change from my normal romance novels.

Have any of your favorite authors books made it to the silver screen. Glad you're joining in the conversation!

Juliette read Stuart Little this fall and is looking forward to seeing the movie.

Actually Snow Falling on Cedars has been made into a movie. It will be out in the theatres January 7th, 2000.

Ebert loved Little, his female reviewer counterpart of the week really hated it.

Uh-oh, whom to trust? We're seeing it either way, so I guess it doesn't matter. Sheryl, I disliked Snow Falling on Cedars, so I definitely won't be seeing the movie.

I got a book full of skimpily clad girls! Wowee!

Now, guess what the book is I can't put down...

A real page-turner, huh?! Please tell me you can read it from left to right and not from top to bottom with stitched across the mid-section (where the staples used to be.) That means either you were very naughty this year - or VERY nice. Happy Boggle-eyed Alexander, no matter which is the case. *holiday hugs*

Alexander, how about the book you plan to read next?

Uh, remind me dear, which one was that? Anyhow, the one mentioned above is the monography on Gil Elvgren, published by German publisher Taschen from Cologne. Nearly all his works, from the fourties to the seventies! R. would love this, I bet - as would many more around here... Now, back to "what next"... Autumn?

Sorry, that was tongue-in-cheek, Alexander! I was referring to "Scantily Clad Women II", the long-awaited sequel! I picked up some stuff by Fannie Flagg at the library today because people keep recommending her to me. I wonder if I'll read them?

what has she written? and welcome, sheryl!

She wrote "Fried Green Tomatoes at the WhistleStop Cafe" for one...

was that the one the movie was based on? (loved that film)

I have the audio tape...was a gift. Have never listened to it because it seemed to be alien to anything I would otherwise be interested in. Shall I give it a listen?

Yes, it was...sorry I did not answer your question in my last post!

Marcia, I really enjoyed Fried Green Tomatoes and think you should definitely give a listen. But I LOVED Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man! I'm currently working on Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! which is OK but not as enjoyable as the previous two were. What are you all reading?

Well, that does it. I shall listen to it as soon as my life gets back to normal. Thanks, Autumn! I really appreciate your recommendation. Sometimes I'm a bit of a snob about books and I would have probably passed this one over without your approval of her works. I just might become a fan, also.

Reading consists of catching up on my Archaeology, Odyssey and Biblical Archaeology Review publications as well as hunting down things for Geo. I get so absorbed in books I do not surface until I have read the last page. I think I will reread some of my Arthurian books and get that topic going again.

i loved fried green tomatoes (the movie-didn't know it was a book).... have been trying to learn about investing....

Good for you...I inherited some and mess about with it a little. Mostly I let a good thing just get better.

I've been learning about investing also, wolf, maybe we could talk about it in one of the stock market conferences that's seldom used, like dsm. I've found some wonderful stock sites with cool recommendations and real time tickers that I'd like to share.

May I tag along?

Sure.

Waiting for a topic to show new activity. I just added dpo and business and the other investing conference to my hotlist.

Sure ask me about stock websites in the appropriate topic and I'll respond.

well, i gotta go explore that conference. in the meantime, i've joined suretrade and right now, just am watching a few penny stocks that came up during a search.

Go for it, Wolfie, and when you are rich and famous, remember the little people like me who knew you way back when...(and tell us how you are doing...!) *hugs*

*smile*

Below Deck in a Storm at Sea Ted pursued a Ph.D. in English literature at Oxford for awhile, but dropped out when he decided that his studies were "astonishingly irrelevant." In 1950, Ted invented the word "nerd". In 1984 he won a Pulitzer Prize. After dropping out of Oxford, Ted worked 9 years for Standard Oil as a designer of brochures. In the summer of 1936, he found himself below deck on the MS Kungshold, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines in a focused attempt to distract himself from a terrifying scene. To further distract himself, Ted began writing a nonsensical poem to the motor's pounding beat. "I was trying to keep my mind off the storm that was going on. This rhythm persisted in my head for about a week after I was off the ship and, probably as psycho-therapy, I began developing the theme." When his nonsensical poem was finally complete, Ted decided that instead of signing it with his real name, Theodor S. Geisel, he would use only his middle name. And as long as he was writing nonsense, he would give himself an honorary doctorate. And in a singular, magical moment worthy of all the pixie dust of Tinker Bell, the world's beloved "Dr. Seuss" was born. "Although I knew nothing about children's books it sounded pretty good, so I decided to get it published. It was rejected by twenty-eight publishing houses before the twenty-ninth, Vanguard Press, agreed to take a chance on bringing it out." The main reason given by the other publishing houses for rejecting Ted's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was that it was too different from the other children's books on the market. By the time of his death in 1991, the 46 books written and illustrated by Ted Geisel had sold more than 200 million copies and had been translated into 20 languages. Former Random House president Bennett Cerf once remarked, "I've published any number of great writers, from William Faulkner to John O'Hara, but there's only one genius on my authors list. His name is Ted Geisel." What keys did Ted use to unlock the vaults of wild success? Key 1: Ted surprised Broca's area of the brain by using unpredictable words in unusual combinations. In fact, Ted often made up his own words altogether. Key 2: In mimicking the rhythm the ship's engines, Ted created echoic retention in the phonological loop of working memory, located in the dorsolateral prefrontal association area of the brain. You can't get Ted's stories out of your head. Key 3: Ted refused to pay attention to the established rules of his category: children's books. He dared to do what had not yet been proven to work. Key 4: Instead of writing about what was, Ted wrote about what was not. He knew the public was more willing to believe fiction than non- fiction. Now that you have all four of Ted's keys, why don't you do what he did? I can assure you that the keys still work and the vaults are right where they've always been. ---Roy H. Williams

Greetings all! I call myself Carys and I'm here for the book conference. I'm a fan of mysteries myself. Most recently I've read the historical mysteries of Laura Joh Roland. Her books are set in late 17th century Japan.

welcome carys!

Hello, Carys! I just finished I am of Irelaunde, by Juilene Osborne McKnight. It is about St. Patrick's experiences in Ireland with the Druids, with beautifully woven legends. Great storytelling.

Hi Carys, nice to see someone else likes conference hopping!!! I'm reading Patricia Cornwall, Point of origin ...murder mystery. Just finished and Elizabeth Goudge binge, I think I may pick up on her again after this rather gory murder....I think I need something a little gentler...

Hello all! Great to be in the presence of book-lovers. Like many of you I too love the Mary Stewart books about Merlin. My son is now eight. So I think in a few years he should be ready to read them. For now there's Harry Potter.

Have you read the Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons Series??? I read them to my kids when they were about your sons age ....I've just seen that they've been republished in paperback.

Thanks for the suggestion, Maggie. Is it just me -- or is it easier to find books for little girls than it is for little boys. Girls will read books where the protaganist is a boy with no problem. With boys it is different. If the protaganist is a girl, it gets dismissed as a "girls' book". I will look for the Arthur Ransome series though.

Probably depends on the age of the boy .. When my girls were a bit older we were still reading aloud to them every night ...the literature changed though ...one of the best was Patriot Games ..by Tom Clancy (we actually read to them until Esther was 16!) I've talked about that elsewhere I think .. we didn't have a TV for many years and in the evenings we'd read to each other and the girls and I would sew (by oil lamps often ..dreadful for the eyes!). My husband is brilliant at voices, and I only read when he gets tired!!!

i think that is wonderful!

(Wolfie, did you decide what book you wanted me to read to you???? *grin* Elizabeth Goudge makes nice bedtime reading ...Maybe I'll make a topic here on her books sometime ...)

Oooh, yes, and I found an early 1400's version of Merlin - quite a work - from Spain! Must post this information in Arthuriana here...

I did find the Arthur Ransome books. So far my son is really enjoying them. If he really likes a book, he likes to make-up further adventures for his favorite characters from it.

oh yes, you can do that with those books ....at least I think the characters lend themselves to it ..our girls did