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Post by leilani on Oct 23, 2012 19:57:32 GMT -5
Last week I started watching "Men Who Built America" on the History Channel. It's pretty interesting, I just wish they would only do one episode a week because I start watching the first one at 9 and the fight to stay awake for the second one at 10. I tape it for my husband so there's really no need to stay awake, but it's just so interesting I don't want to wait to see the second episode. He also just started recording "Outback Hunters" which I guess is pretty much "Swamp People" in Australia. We tend to watch a lot of shows on the History Channel and Discovery Channel. The kids got me watching "Breaking Amish" on TLC, but I'll watch and sit there the whole time wondering what's going to happen to these kids once the show is done with them. It seems like most of what they're putting on tv lately is bad that I feel like I'm just going to become dumber for watching it.
We very rarely go to the movies, so everything I watch is on cable or on demand. The last good movie I saw was "The Help". There have been a few that were ok, but there have been far more that I've had to turn off because they were just awful.
Lately, I've been poking through the kids' text books. I love the psych classes that they're taking. My biggest problem with reading a book is I start one, put it down, get busy, either can't remember what pile it's or more likely which one it was that I was reading and end up starting another that I do the same with. The last book that I read for enjoyment, almost in it's entirety, was "In the President's Secret Service." I found it interesting because a lot of what was written in it ended up supporting my opinions good or bad of certain presidents, vice presidents and their families. I think you can tell a lot about someone by the way they treat the "invisible" people around them whether it be a secret service agent, a housekeeper or any other person who people only seem to notice when there's a problem.
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Post by Dodie on Oct 23, 2012 20:18:05 GMT -5
Oh where to begin. All of you Lee Child lovers. His first was his best. Killing Floor. If you have a teen age son, introduce him to Jack Reacher, the hero of Lee Child novels. Great books for adults that teenagers like.
Nelson DeMille has my best first line of a book. "the problem with doing nothing is knowing when to stop". Yes I have wondered if my town is considered doing nothing.
Leon Uris book called "Exodus" great historical fiction book from the 50's that is considered a modern classic. A must read.
Yes, if you haven't read Harry potter, why not. Your children and grandchildren will read it. Anything that connects you with family is a good thing. And the books are great.
My husband and I are long distance. Once a month I drive 5 hours. He drives 5 hours once a month. I recommend Audible.com. A good book makes the drive shorter. Nora Roberts is considered a romance novelist but her audible books make time speed.
Ok. That is my short novel on books and I haven't scratched the surface.
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Post by Raven on Oct 24, 2012 21:09:20 GMT -5
Fun to read Dodie - my favorite of Nelson DeMille was Word of Honor - although I liked a lot of his!
Leilani give the book "the Help" by Kathryn Stockett a try - it was so good and the movie was a good take on it - the book just will fill story out more!
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Post by Raven on Oct 25, 2012 19:12:32 GMT -5
Has anyone tried out the new tv show "Arrow" ?
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Post by Hoplite on Oct 25, 2012 19:31:13 GMT -5
Has anyone tried out the new tv show "Arrow" ? I started to watch the first episode on the mobile app, but the app sucks. The show looks pretty good though. |
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Post by Raven on Oct 25, 2012 19:34:46 GMT -5
I'm not up on superheroes and haven't googled! Is the character based on one? I've seen 3 episodes and am enjoying it.
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Post by Hoplite on Oct 25, 2012 19:46:53 GMT -5
I'm not up on superheroes and haven't googled! Is the character based on one? I've seen 3 episodes and am enjoying it. Yeah, it's based on Green Arrow. He was on quite a bit of Smallville. From the same comic universe. The "Arrow" series isn't really the same version of his story. On Smallville he crash landed on the island and his whole family died. On Arrow, he returns home to his parents. |
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Post by kitsunelady on Oct 25, 2012 19:49:09 GMT -5
I'm not up on superheroes and haven't googled! Is the character based on one? I've seen 3 episodes and am enjoying it. Edit : nevermind, Hoplite answered you as I was typing. XD |
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Post by Raven on Oct 25, 2012 20:19:54 GMT -5
Thanks! Know I was being lazy!!! I've watched a lot of super hero movies but not smallville - new to me!
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Post by Raven on Nov 3, 2012 21:06:39 GMT -5
Has anyone tried out a "silly" sitcom called "The Neighbors" ? If you liked 3rd Rock from the Sun / My Favorite Martian it's a possible - Human family moves into a suburb that is actually all aliens stranded on earth!  |
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Post by Raven on Jan 11, 2013 11:43:21 GMT -5
Librarians have spoken, picking their favorite books of the year (#libfavs2012). Hundreds of librarians from across the country tweeted nearly 700 votes for over 400 titles during the twelve days of the challenge.
While the top two titles (Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars) have appeared on many other Best Books lists, title number 3 was picked by just one of the other sources we’ve been tracking:
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan, Macmillan/FSG – “a great book for bibliophiles and technology lovers,†attests LibraryScoots (and, how about that glow-in-the-dark cover?)
Tied at #4 with Karen Thomas Walker’s The Age of Miracles is a title that hasn’t appeared on the other lists:
The Rook, Daniel O’Malley, Hachette/Little, Brown – a darkly humorous thriller about a paranormal version of Britain’s MI5; “think X-Men meets Jane Bond†says librarian and PrincessOfTheWorld from Mission, KS.
Tied at #5 is:
A Land More Kind Than Home, Wiley Cash, HarperCollins/Morrow – one of our favorite debuts of the year (see the summary of our TwitterChat with the author). Linda Johns of Seattle PL (LJBookie), one of the organizers of #libfavs2012, says she loves to tell readers about this debut.
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Post by Raven on Jan 11, 2013 11:45:55 GMT -5
Over the holidays was able to see The Hobbit and Les Miserable - enjoyed both but Les Mis won as favorite! Hoping it will come to my town so can see it again!
Anyone else see some good ones?
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Post by Raven on Jan 20, 2013 1:08:34 GMT -5
Watched "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" last night - an excellent movie!
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Post by Raven on Feb 10, 2013 16:47:04 GMT -5
Derek - we should have shared our pming in this thread!!! We've mentioned lots of good authors! Currently reading a Young Adult SciFi trilogy by Pittacus Lore - the first book was "I am Number Four" and was made into a movie - Reading #2 "The Power of Six" now and enjoying it - movie already in the making. Book three already published. |
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Post by derekville on Feb 10, 2013 17:48:06 GMT -5
OK, so serious first:
Poets: Chaucer, Rilke and Emily Dickinson
Novelists: Dostoevsky, Gogol, Bulgakov and Aitmatov (a modern Kirghiz writer)
Short stories: Twain and Kafka
Dramatists: Shakespeare and Aristophanes
Music: Shostakovich, Arvo Part, Haydn, Bach and Telemann
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Post by Raven on Feb 10, 2013 17:55:05 GMT -5
Lol Derek - now not serious!
A couple of my recommends to Derek were two Canadian fantasy authors -
Guy Gavriel Kay - The Fionovar Tapestry
Charles de Lint - The Little County and Svaha
SciFi - Scott Orson Card - I enjoyed most if his scifi . He also has a Fantasy series that is good.
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Post by derekville on Feb 10, 2013 18:33:09 GMT -5
OK, so non-serious now, I am trying to persuade Raven to read Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle.
Fav fantasy writers are: David Gemmell, David Eddings, Stephen Donaldson and Mercedes Lackey.
SF: Stanislaw Lem, Harry Harrison, Philip K Dick, Jack Vance (his fantasy is also good) and Asimov.
No time for TV or movies, although I am hoping to sneak in a little cricket in the boy's nap time, if my wife doesn't get the remote first.
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Post by Raven on Feb 10, 2013 18:55:51 GMT -5
Lol - we'll see about Silverberg - I have his "the alien years" sitting on shelf waiting for me
and the Dragonbone Chair series by Tad Williams - I loved his scifi series so hoping his fantasy series good -
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Post by mcphilp on Feb 10, 2013 22:20:38 GMT -5
Any Walking Dead fans around?
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Post by Snibull on Feb 10, 2013 22:41:41 GMT -5
Any Walking Dead fans around? Someone told me about it (good) - was hoping to DVR it when it comes back on reruns. Waiting for Revolution to start back - not sure when that will be. Those apocalyptic themes scare yet intrigue me. |
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