Books - On topic and off topic
 

I adore books. I love the feel of books, the smell of books, the covers of books and what books teach us. So, basically I love books. ;)

Anyone have any suggestions for good reading material please post away.

__________________

This one is sort of on-topic.


Transforming the Difficult Child: The Nurtured Heart Approach
Book by Howard Glasser, MA, and Jennifer Easley, MA;

"The Nurtured Heart Approach involves bombarding kids with positive statements, while treating misbehavior with unemotional time-outs.

Book's emphasis on ADHD hides the fact that the approach works for other special needs, too.

Some kids are just more intense than others. Their reactions are bigger, their actions more headstrong, their misdeeds more passionate. One solution to that intensity has been to tamp it down, through medication or strict discipline. “Transforming the Difficult Child” suggests another: Channeling that intensity into more positive, productive expression. This approach has the added benefit of focusing parents on the positive, too."

quoted from Parenting Special Needs, at About.com
http://specialchildren.about.com/od/...turedheart.htm

I was a little put off by the title when this book first came out. I don't really like the word "difficult" in there, but that's just me. I'm over it now.

If anyone has any good book recommendations I'd love to see them.
Thanks,
Lara

off topic
 

This one if Off-topic

This book is the one I asked Santa to bring if she thought I was 'nice' this year. ;)

I've been wanting to read it for so long, but never got around to it. Anyone read this? I've read all the reviews etc... but just wondered if any of you have read it? Don't tell me too much about the story though. ;)

The Shadow of the Wind
- Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Hi Lara

good thread!:)

I am longing to get started on some good books............
but
I have been so busy with my online store these past 2 months that I have intentionally not started on any of the novels I have waiting...cos I know what I am like when I start a book:icon_wink:

These are off topic too:
 

This summer my husband and I got really involved with the series
by Alexander McCall Smith:

The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency
This is a very touching and wonderful book and it leads into a series:
The Tears of the Giraffe
The Kalahari Typing School for Men
The Full Cupboard of Life
Morality for Beautiful Girls
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

These take place in Botswana..and are very very good. I can't recommend them enough. If you like to learn about other places, and how people really live, you will enjoy these. They are simple, easy reads. Not complex books.
quote from Amazon:

mrsd, thanks very much for posting those! They sound really interesting to me.

Lots of books on sale here at the moment. I like all sorts of books, and love biographies. I picked up a few good ones this week. I've been having trouble using the computer too much lately because of some pain issues so will try to get into some reading over the long weekend here once things settle down a bit.

Chemar, I'm glad your store is doing well. I remember that now. I must have another look. When I was in the US I spent a lot of time in some amazing second hand shops. I've never seen anything like it here... not that great. There was so much beautiful old china and glassware, I couldn't believe it. I also fell for these wooden boxes that used to be used in cotton mills or somewhere like that. I thought they'd make amazing shadow boxes.

Mrs. D,

I read that first book last summer and LOVED it!! It was such a wonderful read and the description of Botswana was amazing. I love books, too!!! It is my favorite part of vacation.....sitting by the water and reading :) :) !

I've read very little books lately :( due to my new job :) and being super BUSY :Sigh: .

I still get very excited when I visit the library....it was a very special place to me growing up.

I will think a bit more about this!

Take care,
Tessa

I totally understand...
 

I haven't been able to read much lately either, Tessa.

The advantage of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency is that they are so short, and not a huge time investment.

We found a book review in the Christian Science Monitor (my husband's fave
newspaper--but we are NOT Christian Scientists however), but the newspaper is just excellent, in many ways.

After checking out the first book, I ended up buying "used" on Amazon and
took them on vacation. As a series they are really unique, and very humanistic and positive. Something we need in this world!

I am so happy Tessa that you found them too. They are rather obscure, we have found. There is a new one out now in hardcover, I just discovered!

Lara, I think you would enjoy this series. If you find the first in the library, you will be "hooked" ;)

I've been trying to get to Elizabeth George's new installment in the Havers/Lyndley series. But I just have been too busy. Maybe after the holidays. Ms George had a huge crisis on her website with the last novel, where she killed off a beloved character. Her fans were incensed ( I was shocked and upset too), and threatened to never read her again! So I am eager to read this one.
http://www.elizabethgeorgeonline.com/
What I love about Elizabeth George is that each novel is complex, and delves into a portion of the human condition, in addition to solving a "mystery".
I love her style, and psychological character development.

mrsD
Botswana is a truly amazing place and has one of my favorite wildlive areas, the Okavango Delta.

I am definitely going to put that series of books on my list :)

My daughter bought me "The Shadow of the Wind" as I thought she might. ;)
I'll maybe start that today. It's pretty quiet here.
Someone gave her two travel books for xmas presents. They're DK Eyewitness Travel. I'm not trying to advertize them, but just wanted to tell anyone who is travelling or knows someone about to travel, that they're the best books I've ever come across in this category. She got "Italy" and "France". They're updated annually which helps, and they're pack jammed with absolutely everything and beautifully illustrated as well. They look more like little miniature encyclopaedias.

Lara,

Would the travel books be appropriate for a 17 year old? My oldest son is travelling to Italy and Greece in February for a trip with school :) :D . This might be good for him?? He is soooo looking forward to it. Can you believe it ladies :icon_wink: ......it seems like yesterday that I wasn't sure that he'd finish 7th grade due to multiple issues :Sigh: . He is graduating in May from high school having never missed high honors and is finishing up his college applications :D !!! My true gratitude to all of you....his cyber moms and guardian angels :) :) (wish I knew how to put a big heart here....please visualize it).

Mrs. D,

If you like Ms. George.....have you ever read Deborah Crombie's books? I think you'd love them!! I will try to get the Ladies Detective books through my library. I just got the latest Dennis Lehane book (short stories) for Christmas and will start it soon.

Wishing you all a Happy and Peaceful New Year!!!


Take care,
Tessa

hiya Tessa :)

i am soooooo delighted to hear of your son's success and hope he gets the college of his choice:p

wonderful too that he is going on that trip abroad.........

you deserve much credit for his success Tessa! so here is that heart for you :Heart:

Yes, Tessa. They're excellent. Pricey though. My daughter is 17. 18 in Feb..

Daughter actually went out a couple of days ago and bought companion CDs that go with the books. They're helping with the language aspect. They're pretty basic from what I heard, but that would still help I'm sure. I noticed a few errors in things like gender for the French one but it was a very long time ago that I studied French, so am thinking that maybe I always had it wrong all these years. No wonder nobody could understand what I was talking about. ;)
Congratulations to your son and to you as well! I know exactly how you must feel.

[Next year will start for me in 16 hours and 57 minutes ;) ]

Hope you all have a happy and peaceful new year also.

Happy New Year Lara,
 

And everyone!

Tessa that is such good news. I totally understand! We were there too.
And Yes, suddenly they are all grown up!;)

Today it was announced that Alexander McCall Smith was knighted by
Queen Elizabeth!
http://football.guardian.co.uk/break...310244,00.html
**more incentive to read his books!**** ;)

Happy New Year Everyone!
http://bestsmileys.com/fireworks/1.gifhttp://bestsmileys.com/fireworks/5.gif

just ordered the series with a gift card I had been given mrsD :D

looking forward to reading them

Happy New Year to you tooooo

http://bestsmileys.com/party/5.gif

Well thank you all for your support, information and kind words!!!!

We didn't do any early decisions so it'll be awhile before we know about college but I'll let you know!

I'll let my boys know about Hugh Laurie.....they love "House". I loved him in "Jeeves and Wooster".

Spending my New Years Day watching football (an acquired hobby), writing notes to friends and cooking a bit. :) Quite rainy here today!!

Happy 2007 to you all!!! :D :D :D

Take care,
Tessa

I'm loving "The Shadow of the Wind"!
Have a few going at the same time here, but might concentrate on that one alone.

Another more on-topic book that I loved was Amy Wilensky's "Passing for Normal - a memoir of compulsion". Great book.

I also loved "Icy Sparks" by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. It's fiction. I know many people didn't like it, but I really related to it in a lot of ways. I met the author too when I was in Seattle. That was really great. The only real problem I had with the book was about 3/4 (or more) of the way though it, it seemed to totally change tack and headed off in another direction. It was as if she lost momentum or spent a lot of time away from her writing. No idea.

Gosh, 4 people out there reading this forum as I type this.

That must be a record!!! :D

OK

mrsD, we have The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series and my husband got first dabs on it:D .........while I have just strted the first in a 2 part historical novel series by Edward Rutherford "The Princes of Ireland" .......I have enjoyed past books by Rutherford (Sarum, London, The Forest, Russka) and am relishing this one as I have always wanted to learn more about ancient Irish history...and Rutherford's masterful interweaving of fiction into the backdrop is something I really appreciate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


also.......I have been meaning to mention an ON TOPIC book here as well.....
an excellent book by Sheila Rogers called Tics and Tourettes: Breakthough Discoveries in Natural Treatments
http://www.latitudes.org/book.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Happy reading:)

going to the library today...
 

to check these suggestions out!

Thanks everyone! :D

P.S. I just finished the newest novel by Tony Hillerman --Shapeshifter.
He writes about Navajo and other Native American peoples, in the modern
day, with a mystery to boot. The detectives, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn,
always manage to get the problem solved, using basic logic and other skills.
I find him very satisifying to read.

book update:
 

Well, I went to the library...

Got the Shadow of the Wind and The Forest for my husband to start with,
(I shall read later)

I found Blue Shoes and Happiness (the most recent No.1 Ladies Det.Agency book) and his first Ladies Philosophy club (new series)

Also the first 2 Deborah Crombie books,
and the new Eliz George one. (which has horrible reviews on Amazon, and I may not get far with it..who knows?).

These should keep both of us busy for a while! It is so cold and icy here,
I don't even want to go out!

update...
 

I love the Deborah Crombie books. I am reading a second one now.
They have alot of feeling in them.. and are not so "tense" like some mystery thrillers out there
now. Thanks Tessa!

I read Alexander McCall Smith's Blue Shoes and Happiness. And it was good.
Not as good as the earliest ones, but good. It had a fraudulent doctor dispensing fraudulent drugs in it! :eek: A new one is coming in the Botswana series this April.
I also started the Sunday Philosophy Club series by McCall Smith. It is very slow moving, but I sort of enjoyed the ethics part of the book. This series gets sour reviews on Amazon, but in fact, it is a different type of book. It may not be for everyone.
It is just very hard for Alexander McCall Smith to follow Precious' adventures!

I also started Shadow of the Wind...Lara. It is a very nice style of writing.
Very initimate! I haven't gotten very far yet. And Robert Graves' daughter is the translator! The Robert Graves who wrote the I, Claudius books?
I loved those BTW.

We also checked out The Forest..but it looks like a long haul with that one!
I am going to have to renew it. ;)

Mrs. D,

I had a feeling that you'd like them (Deborah Crombie) !!!! Are you reading them in order? I get kind of crazy about that and must read them in order!! I love Tony Hillerman, too! I haven't read Shapeshifter, yet....last one I read was Skeleton Man.

Funny....I just came from the library and picking up a book for my son. I had 2 minutes to browse and saw a new or semi-new PD James book-an Adam Dagliesh story- and couldn't resist! Grabbed it and it's a 2 week return! I want to also read more "Ladies Detective" books....how many are there? Also there was a book of poetry that I saw on a local show and need to track that down....not enough time to read them all! That's why I love my 2 weeks away in the summer...so much time to read!

I hope you enjoy them.

Take care,
Tessa

Hi Tessa...
 

I had trouble finding them at my library...they are either checked out or
lost --some of them.

I found Mourn Not Your Dead, which is #4

And I am finishing up Dreaming of the Bones #5. This one was slow getting into but is becoming fabulous. I almost gave up on it...but then I realized "something" was coming concerning Vic so I stayed with it.

This series is nicely done... I appreciate the recommendation! I love a good
series! Esp in the boring cold weather! ;)

It was odd -- Mourn Not Your Dead was an autographed copy as well. She has nice fluid handwriting..like you would expect! ;)

I think the first 3 of the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency were the best, as the
series evolves they become more wordy, longer paragraphs etc. That does not minimize their impact tho...since you get so attached to them! I have a list of them earlier in this thread.

Like TV lately some of the mystery thriller genre is becoming gross and horrific.
I am finding it harder to watch TV and read lately because of this violent trend.

A friend from PN recommended Retribution by Jilliane Hoffman to me. (there are 3 books in this series now). But I have to say even tho so well done,
the first one is so horrific, so real, that it is chilling to read. I had to put it down several times. But was drawn back each time.
http://www.bookreporter.com/authors/...n-jilliane.asp

Her professional experience plays heavily in the realism of the content...
If you ever wondered what a rape/murder is like, or the aftermath, steel yourself for this one. The intelligence of it however, saves the reader from the rest. (it is very graphic and frightening at times...not for the faint of heart). But it is an example of the voyeuristic fascination with violence this country is evolving! Pass the Alexander McCall Smith, this way , please! ;)

:o I've not opened any of my books in far too long.

This was a good reminder for me. My brain has been mush of late, and when I'm feeling that way, I just can't concentrate. lol

Just finished Shadow of the Wind...
 

It was a really good book! very well done, and interesting all the way thru.
Wonder writing, wit, feeling, etc. Very compelling, and a satisfying ending.

Thanks Lara... !

Next up is The Forest! ;)

hiya mrsD

glad you are going to get into the Rutherford sagas.....they are deep and take a while to read, but I just love Rutherford's intricate style of weaving fiction and history together

The Forest, although a stand alone historical novel, was written after Sarum (his first novel) and altho it doesnt exactly "follow on" it is a continuation of a theme

Of all his books I think I loved Sarum best, possibly because that is a part of England I have always found fascinating and enjoyed visiting, plus the history of that period (the book covers 10000 years from stone age to contemporary)
Sarum was the ancient name for what is known today as Salisbury, ancient home of the druids, Stonehenge etc

His novel, London, was another I read with eagerness, as I have a very special affection for London and lived there many years. Learning about the origins and growth of that wonderful city was a treat.

Russka is fascinating too and taught me so much as my knowledge of Russian history was almost non-existant

and now I am relishing the Dublin Saga part 1: The Princes of Ireland and then will likely devour part2: The Rebels of Ireland

Of all reading, historical novels have always been #1 on my list:p

oohhhhh...
 

I'll have to get Sarum first. I love the period as well.

I've done some "dolman" drawings even! I love the Stonehenge shows on
Discovery etc too! I betcha, Chemar, that you like Loreena McKennitt's music? We have all of her albums.
Some of her new things I can picture her at the "stones"...;)

The druids and the nature themes, resonate with me too. I'll have to look online at our library to see if it is there.

If these are so complex....maybe I should buy the paperbacks and take on
vacation? I do alot of reading there! And with my rock gardens etc...it is a nice match.

We call these big books --Marjorie books--- since a cousin of ours (who is over 100 now) used to bring them up there and pass them around. Big Books!
Like The Autobiography of Henry VIII, etc. That one was really good BTW.

Shadow of the Wind was very satisfying. Simple and complex at the same time. Beneath the story line is complex morality/good vs evil/devotion/obsession etc. Some sentences in it are basically just poetic! It starts off with a little boy narrating and moves up around a "mystery" concerning a book and its author, and becomes very complex. So I am very glad Lara recommended it. I don't think I would have found it myself.

If you like Stonehenge, Chemar-- have you read Pillars of the Sky, by Cecelia Holland? (who is from my home state). I ran into a gal at a city park once, she saw me stealing empty birds' nests out of trees. (at one time I was doing large complex nest drawings--had them in a show and won a prize). I thought she was going to pull a scold on me, but instead we hit it off and she gave me the book suggestion! I've read it twice, over the years. Cecelia Holland does other historical fiction too.

I am looking at Sarum now on Amazon... looks like it should be first--I agree.
I love archeology.. If I had to do my life over, that is what I'd be..an
archeologist..I love finding out answers! ;)

thanks for the info re Cecelia Holland, mrsD

definitely sounds like my cuppa tea :)

oh how I wish I had more time to just kick back and read!!

My son asked me the other day how we managed as kids without computers and all the other electronic gizmos they have today......and I just gave him a big :D

as a child I would spend hours reading and the local library was quite one of my most favorite hangouts:cool:

talk about the techno world!
 

I just got a new MP3 player (for Valentine's day)...We found it at Costco
last week on a super sale.
It is a Sansa e280... state of the art..Windows compatible.

I put some of my favorites on it (it was pretty easy) and listened in bed
last night. What a sound! It is better with quality ear buds, which we already had.

I used to have vinyl records on turntable when I was in college in the 60's, and lie in bed listening. I had some vintage things by Johnny Mathis back in the late 50's and early 60's and listening to them last night and comparing the times and
my age etc... was pretty striking. I found all of my oldest favorites on Amazon remastered, and collected them on CD last winter(50yrs old). The sound is flawless!
http://sandisk.com/Products/Item(205...layer_8GB.aspx

Yep, kids today have no clue/idea how primative things were.
This Sansa is 8gig... our first computer was 1 gig harddrive a Pentium 100 Acer! Imagine walking around during the day with no cell phone! Completely on your own! That is becoming a thing of the past too. LOLOL... I often wonder how kids today will develop a real
independence since they seem glued to the phones. I've only had a cell for 3 yrs myself!

These MP3s (we had the Sansa c150 before)...are very handy tho for our traveling in the summer. Cuts way way down on stuff to shlep. This one the
e280 is SO SLICK... I mean really beautiful and nice to hold. Very pleasing aesthetically. At my age...I am really impressed. The young folks tho? They EXPECT nothing less. Where will they be in 50yrs? I wonder sometimes.

I love historical fiction and will have lots of choices to read now with these great recommendations!! I started reading Leon Uris in high school and got hooked on his books. The book Sarum sounds like a good place to start ;) !

I'm off on a short vacation and have the newest PD James to read but will need to check my library for the other recommendations.

Happy reading!:D

Take care,
Tessa

i started reading the book on alan turing called enigma i think-he invented computer -he was gay

books by peter ackroyd

i read chatterton and started english music

i like 1984 and hesse i guess

Hi clouds.
If you like Hermann Hesse you might also like Paulo Coelho's books.
Over the years I've found some really great online libraries. Heaps of them these days. Here are just a few.

http://www.readprint.com/
Numerous authors

http://emerson.thefreelibrary.com/
Emerson

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/
Shakespeare

This is a site you might enjoy although you may have seen it before.
http://www.bl.uk/
British Library

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html
Online gallery from British Library where you can browse and look at the details of original books. It's really neat.

ok thanks lara

how are you?

im going through weird day back or lumbar? problem

i could hardly stand up

maybe the sugar and tea helped

orial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Ackroyd's rich imagination and literary inventiveness have never been showcased so deliberately and provocatively as in this impassioned paean to English culture--but not with complete success. Perhaps the book's liability is the tone of lassitude and melancholy that permeates protagonist Tim Harcombe's narrative of his strange life with his healer/magician father during the days following WW I in London. Tim's recollections alternate with third-person accounts of his visions, dreams in which he encounters some of the dead masters of English literature, music and art and enters into their works and worlds. In this fashion, Tim comprehends the intellectual heritage that binds Britons through the centuries, and also the cyclical nature of human existence, the inheritance of family characteristics from generation to generation. Ackroyd's rendering of Tim's fugue states ranges from the charming and whimsical to the heavily didactic. In the best of them, he captures the surreal quality of dreams while cleverly adopting the style of the writers to whom he pays homage: Dickens, Blake (he has written biographies of both), Lewis Carroll, A. Conan Doyle. In other cases, where he tries to convey the essential characteristic of music (Henry Purcell) or of art (Hogarth, Gainsborough, Constable) the conceit can wear thin. The artifice of the plot device--Tim must fall into his trances at regular intervals--becomes too predietable, and the constant repetition of the theme of cultural heritage somewhat overwrought. Yet the novel remains intriguing, and certainly enlightening. Illustrations.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal
Outside the hall in 1920s London where Timothy Harcombe works nightly with his father, a sign reads, "Clement Harcombe. Medium and Healer." But it is Timothy who seems to have the greater power. Periodically falling into dreamlike states, he enters into "English music"--here signifying all the great accomplishments of English culture--where he encounters various literary figures, becomes part of a Gainsborough painting, and is instructed in music by William Byrd. Fearful of his son's gift, the father ships him off to his maternal grandparents in the country. But ultimately Timothy rejoins his father--for "everyone belongs somewhere"--and discovers the true extent of his miraculous powers. Ackroyd suggests that we all belong to culture. His book is both charming and ambitious, but it is more successful in concept than in execution. The transitions between Timothy's real and imagined worlds aren't seamless, and Ackroyd's lovely prose is sometimes weighed down by his message. Still, this work is more intriguing than much contemporary fiction and should appeal especially to those who appreciate the art Ackroyd celebrates.
-Barbara Hoffert, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Product Details

http://www.amazon.com/English-Music-.../dp/0345376137

G'day clouds. That's awful..
Did you do some lifting or something that hurt your back?
Hope you're feeling better fast.

I just read some very fascinating information about Alan Turing.
says
-----"The modern concept of the digital computer is owed to Turing, the contributions of Babbage and Lovelace not withstanding. This book, now sadly out of print, serves as the definitive biography of one the most significant characters in the history of computer science.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

http://www.turing.org.uk/turing/

i feel better today and went out for 8 hours

Thanks, clouds.
Hey, I'm really glad to read you say you're feeling better. That's great news. Keep well

hi

now i need a root canal or get the tooth pulled i guess

Book update....
 

Well, can't do much today... with this virus. But it is also the Book Sale weekend at our library! So I swallowed a bunch of pills to get going...and my husband
helped me. I could not get Sarum at the library..I had it on hold, and it never came back..so I thought this sale might be good. And it was beyond all my expectations.:yikes:

We bought $28 worth over 2 days. Today was .50 for softcover, 1.00 hardcover and they were all NEW copies!
I got
Sarum
The Forest
The Princes of Ireland (Dublin saga)

A hardcover James Herriott (the vet) anthology with drawings/pictures of Yorkshire

Several PD James
Bill Bryson A Walk in the Woods
A book called Hauntings in Michigan --for our summer library collection of Michigania! LOL

3 Ann Rule including the Ted Bundy one, and The Green River Killer

the new Micheal Critchon book on an air plane disaster

Several misc mystery things (one Patterson, some Kellerman, some new authors I haven't seen)
Shadow of the Wind in trade paper for my husband...since he hasn't read it yet. --going to give to my son eventually
A gardening book for a friend at work
Dan Brown's Digital Fortress ( a computer SciFi thing) also for my son eventually.

All in all some wonderful stuff this year. People donate used books to the library which sells them off the $$ .. I buy them, read them usually in the summer and give to our small local library up North. They sell duplicates off and keep what they want from donations. So all in all 3 systems benefit! I like it like that too.

I want to thank everyone on this thread for the great ideas! :Thanx: This might be the best reading summer YET! LOL :Excited:

wow! that sure is a great book haul, mrsD :)