Ireadthereforeiam: Thread V

Philip Clairmont, a New Zealand artist whose colours (and expression) I like.

JANUARY BOOKS
1. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (Booker Prize 1996) 324p
2. Pincher Martin by William Golding. 230p (tally 554p)
3. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje (Booker Prize 1992) 302p (tally 856p)
4. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler (Pulitzer Prize 1993) 249p (tally 1,105p)
5. Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's Memoir by Flavia Leng 234p (tally 1,339p)
6. Five go Adventuring Again by Enid Blyton (read aloud to Wilbur) 190p (tally 1,529p)
7. The Maples Stories: Everyman's Pocket Classics by John Updike 255p (1,784p)
8. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner 261p (tally 2,045p) From Bowie's top 100
9. The Circle by Dave Eggers 491p (tally 2,536p)

FEBRUARY BOOKS
10. Plato for Beginners by Robert Cavalier NF 153p (tally 2,589p)
11. The Property by Rutu Modan (GN) 222p (tally 2,811p)
12. Science on Stage by Stephen Hilgartner NF 150p (tally 2,961p)
13. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 336p (tally 3,297p)
14. So, You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson NF 282p (tally 3,579p)
15. That Eye, the Sky by Tim Winton 150p (tally 3,729p)
16. Wrinkles by Paco Roca (GN) 102p (tally 3,831p)
17. Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 111p (tally 3,942p)

MARCH BOOKS
18. Chocky by John Wyndham 151p (tally 4,093p)
19. Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding DNF (read 169/386p, tally 4,262p)
20. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphries 184p (tally 4,446p)
21. Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson 175p (tally 4,621p)
22. Science, non-science and pseudo-science: Bacon, Popper, Lakatos, Kuhn, and Feyerabend on defining science by Max Charlesworth NF 46p (tally 4,667p)
23. Climate Change Denial by Haydn Washington and John Cook NF 163p (tally 4,830p)
24. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters 548p (tally 5,378p)

APRIL BOOKS
25. Small Steps by Louis Sacher 256p (tally 5,634p)
26. The Sailor who Fell From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima 143p (tally 5,777p)
27. Julius Winsome by Gerard Donovan 215p (tally 5,992p)
28. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Trollope NF 299p (tally 6,291p)
29. Science A History by John Gribbin NF DNF (read 347/600+p, tally 6,638p)

MAY BOOKS
30. What is This Thing Called Science by Alan Chalmers NF 170p (tally 6,808p)
31. The Iron Man by Ted Hughes 134p (tally 6,942p)
32. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman 304p (tally 7,246p)
33. The Five people you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 196p (tally 7,442p)
34. The Philosophy of Science: An Introduction by Kent Staley NF 297p (tally 7,739p)

JUNE BOOKS
35. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 536p (tally 8,275p)
36. Not my Father's Son by Alan Cumming 295p (tally 8,570p)
37. The Watch Tower by Elizabeth Harrower 350p (tally 8,920p)
38: White Noise byDon DeLillo 310p (tally 9,230p)

JULY BOOKS
39. Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada 568p (tally 9,798p)
40. The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier 180p (tally 9,978p)
41. Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. 259p (tally 10,237p)

AUGUST BOOKS
42. Awful Auntie by David Walliams
43. Free to Learn by Peter Gray NF 235p

BOOKS ACQUIRED
1. Daphne du Maurier: A Daughter's memoir by Flavia Leng $1
2. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel (second hand, first edition!) $5
3. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (new) $16
4. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (thoughtful gift from Nittnut)
5. Infidelities by Kirsty Gunn (new) $2
6. The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears by Dinaw Menfetsu
7. To Save Everything, Click Here by Evgeny Morozov CURRENTLY READING
8. Liberty in the Age of Terror by AC Grayling
9. Freedom Next Time by John Pilger (4 in a row all gifts from roundballnz)
10. Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe $4
11. Jernigan by David Gates $23 (new)
12. The Iron Woman by Ted Hughes $15 (new)
13. The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom $3
14. Neuromancer by William Gibson (free from Uni book swap)
15. A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin $6.67 (new)
16. Great Jones Street by Don DeLillo $6.67 (new)
17. The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories by Don DeLillo $6.67 (new)
18. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagirhara $15 (new)
19. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys $2
20. The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpenter (gift from Jenn/Nittnut)

MOVIES TOO
1. The Force Awakens (date 3/1)
2. The Chipmunks III: Something about a road 'chip' (5/1)
3. The Force Awakens (again!) (8/1)
4. Zootopia (29/4)
5. Florence Foster Jenkins (8/5)
6. Finding Dory
7. Poi E (28/7)
8. Neruda (NZIFF)

DAVID BOWIE'S TOP 100
Reading one of these a month, I hope! So far me and Berly are going strong.
Struck are the ones that I have read, bold are ones I want to read....soon. Suggestions welcome!

January As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
February In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
March Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
April The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima
May The Bird Artist by Howard Norman
June White Noise by Don DeLillo (reread)
July Last Exit To Brooklyn By Hubert Selby, Jr. http://www.librarything.com/topic/226496#
August Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes
https://www.librarything.com/topic/228526#

Interviews With Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Room At The Top by John Braine
On Having No Head by Douglass Harding
Kafka Was The Rage by Anatole Broyard
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
City Of Night by John Rechy
The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Iliad by Homer
Tadanori Yokoo by Tadanori Yokoo
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
Inside The Whale And Other Essays by George Orwell
Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall
David Bomberg by Richard Cork
Blast by Wyndham Lewis
Passing by Nella Larson
Beyond The Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto
The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
In Bluebeard’s Castle by George Steiner
Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
The Divided Self by R. D. Laing
The Stranger by Albert Camus
Infants Of The Spring by Wallace Thurman
The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter
The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Puckoon by Spike Milligan
Black Boy by Richard Wright
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
McTeague by Frank Norris
Money by Martin Amis
The Outsider by Colin Wilson
Strange People by Frank Edwards
English Journey by J.B. Priestley
A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West
1984 by George Orwell
The Life And Times Of Little Richard by Charles White
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock by Nik Cohn
Mystery Train by Greil Marcus
Beano (comic, ’50s)
Raw (comic, ’80s)
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom by Peter Guralnick
Silence: Lectures And Writing by John Cage
Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews edited by Malcolm Cowley
The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll by Charlie Gillete
Octobriana And The Russian Underground by Peter Sadecky
The Street by Ann Petry
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn
The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz
The Coast Of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
The Bridge by Hart Crane
All The Emperor’s Horses by David Kidd
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders
Nowhere To Run The Story Of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey
Before The Deluge by Otto Friedrich
Sexual Personae: Art And Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia
The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford
Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Teenage by Jon Savage
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Viz (comic, early ’80s)
Private Eye (satirical magazine, ’60s – ’80s)
Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara
The Trial Of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens
Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler
Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Transcendental Magic, Its Doctrine and Ritual by Eliphas Lévi
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Leopard by Giusseppe Di Lampedusa
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti di Pirajno
The Insult by Rupert Thomson
In Between The Sheets by Ian McEwan
A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes
Journey Into The Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg

CURRENTLY READING

To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism by Evgeny Morozov
This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate by Naomi Klein
White Noise by Don DeDillo (reread for Bowie's top 100 group read)



Now this is actually a do-able reading pile!

COMING UP:

Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada
Jernigan by David Gates



Aren't they pretty covers??!?!

Happy New Thread, Megan! Thought I'd jump in right at the start, and hopefully will manage to keep up with you!

Happy New Thread, Megan! I like that topper art. Look forward to the rest of it.

How is White Noise coming?

I LOVED Every Man Dies Alone, when I read it a few years ago. I think it may have been the best book I read that year. I have been meaning to read more of his work.

*Waves excitedly*

>8 Smiler69: I'm pretty slow these days, Ilana, so you do have a fighting chance :)
Thinks for being my number one!

>9 msf59: aaah, cool. No pressure for my read ofit then! Lol. I had to drive home the point to my dad that he had already read it....he was about to buy it under its alternative title. He refused to believe me but didn't buy it, and then when we got back to my place and I showed him the copy (the actual one he borrowed from me)- then he believed me :)

>10 Ape: so exciting! Stephen is here!

Happy new thread, Megan!

>1 LovingLit: Wow that Clairmont chappy looks like someone I would like to hang up on my walls!

Happy New Thread, Megan and have a lovely weekend. xx

Happy New Thread!! And our Bowie reads are posted up top! : ) So, speaking of Bowie, shall we do Last Exit to Brooklyn for July and then Flaubert's Parrot for August?

>12 scaifea: thanks!

>13 PaulCranswick: despite his lovely colourful paintings, he was a troubled chap. I think he ended his own life. But I love those expressive paintings of his. I'll get the other two up next week once I get away from my house and it's half-functioning technology.

>14 Berly: I'm keen for Last Exit to Brooklyn but could easily acquire Flaubert's Parrot if needed! I'm flexible (and not just because I did my first yoga class in over two years this week!! My love has rekindled for the practise)

>15 LovingLit: Then let's do it!! Last Exit to Brooklyn for July and Flaubert's Parrot for August!

Love yoga! What kind do you do? My favorite is Ashtanga, but haven't done it in the last two years since I got swept up into TKD. I'd like to do it again....maybe when I am not the kid taxi driver and have more free time again! ; ) Have fun camping in the woods.

*mellow wave*

Congrats on your new thread, Megan.

Happy new thread, Megan!

I definitely recommend Flaubert's Parrot, for what it's worth. I too read it because of the David Bowie list; it had been on the wishlist for a really long time but I wanted to read some books on that list early this year and F'sP is now among my 'to reread' selections. Some really great books on that list. I was a big fan of The Bird Artist, which I see you liked Megan, and for me it was actually one of those very rare five-star reads.

I'm with you guys for Last Exit to Brooklyn. I'm wondering if I should save the parrot for Ellen's rereading challenge.

Happy new thread Megan.

Happy new one, Megan! I have requested Last Exit to Brooklyn from the library, so we'll see...

I have a copy of Last Exit to Brooklyn on shelf. I will try to join in. July will be another book busy month.

I saw the film of 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' at probably too young an age. Not for the faint of heart!

Happy new thread Megan!

>7 LovingLit: I loved Alone in Berlin when I read it some years back, indeed pretty cover :-)

>16 Berly: OK, sounds like a plan. That will give me time to source the Parrot one too :)
The kind of yoga I love is the Iyengar style. Plenty of props to get my body doing what it cant by itself! I am particularly fond of the inversions, as with my dodgy hip at least upside down I have an even base to work from.

>17 nittnut: A mellow wave, so serene! Thanks :)

>18 Ameise1: thanks B, it usually takes me so long to set up a new one that I try to resist as long as I can. Its great to have one up and flying, even in my weekend absence.

>19 katiekrug: Thanks K! I don't seem to go month by month anymore, plus, I think it is nice to give the people a new thread in the middle of a month, just to keep things interesting ;)

>20 Smiler69: I am a rare 5-star awarder as well, Ilana. It takes a pretty special book to get 5 stars from me. I'm glad you recommend Flaubert's Parrot as I wasn't sure to read it without having read Flaubert! I don't want to miss any of the references (if there are any). I have to say, I am loving Bowie's top 100 list so far. I have yet to encounter a flop.

>21 charl08: soooo, people are gearing up for Ellen's reread challenge already? ;) I admit, I have been thinking about possibles for that very purpose. It will be nice to have a set of guidelines to keep in mind while rereading- I guess that will be what that challenge entails?

>22 johnsimpson: Thanks John, I am about to put up a picture of my night away in the mountains, so stay tuned :)

>23 Crazymamie: I only have to take mine down off the wall! I had framed it with two other pretty penguin editions. (pic to come if I can find it!!)

eta: I found it!

>28 LovingLit: Cool frame!

>24 msf59: July will be another busy book month.....*chuckles*
So tell me Mark, which month isn't a busy book month!!??

>25 katiekrug: Ooooh, sounds good! I like a bit of grit* in my reading.
(*disclaimer: not too much gore though, please).

>26 FAMeulstee: I hope I can fit that in before I get bogged down with uni work, semester starts in two weeks. I am really going to read hard as I have wanted to read Alone in Berlin for ages.

>29 Smiler69: cool huh!? I love the look of those Penguin editions, but reading them I find less fun. They tend to be tightly texted and a little small for my liking.

Me and Lenny (on left) and his little friend Abe this weekend having a fire to roast marshmallows in the river bed at Peel Forest. (apparently my eyes disappear when I smile!!)


Lenny and his little friend (Abe advised me they were 'best buds'), Lenny is holding up a dead weta- because that is exactly what 4 year-olds love to do.

>32 LovingLit: Wow Lenny is growing fast! You of course look exactly the same as when I saw you in CChurch. Wish I could say the same for meself.

Gorgeous photos and happy new thread!

>33 PaulCranswick: that will be the fact that I hardly ever buy new clothes, Paul! I owned all of those items that i am wearing 4 years ago. Also, the low light helps. It was full cloud that day, and that evening it snowed on the mountain top out of shot behind us.
But yes, Lenny is growing like a weed. His big belly has been stretched with his growth spurt, and is now just a normal kids belly. Maybe if I grow a foot and a half my belly will disappear too!? ;)

>34 PrueGallagher: hi Prue! It is a happy three right now. I am getting my hottie and going to bed (hot water bottle, not my lovely other-if that is what you were thinking!!). I hope to finish off White Noise.

A weekend in the mountains and roasted marshmallows sound nice. Love the photos! I know a 12 year old who would pick up a dead weta...

Having looked up wetas, (yuk!) Hope that little guy doesn't turn up again on a pocket.

Lovely pictures. Looks like lots of fun being had.

Oh, lovely photos! Just beautiful!

Happy new thread, Megan! I love the vibrancy and colors of Philip Clairmont's work. Thanks for sharing.

>20 Smiler69: and >28 LovingLit: I am a rare 5 star awarder, too - only 4 books out of over 1850 read.

>32 LovingLit: That's exactly what my daughter would have done too. In fact, even though she's almost 23, she probably would inspect it and then save it for her 'collection' - we have a bag of cicada exoskeletons somewhere. I'm not a big fan of bugs, though, so I'm glad the wetas live in New Zealand, not North Carolina USA.

Gorgeous photos Megan.

>28 LovingLit: I am laughing that your book is framed - they look lovely like that!

>32 LovingLit: OH!! Lenny!! He is getting so big - love the photos. Your talking abut his growth spurt reminds that Birdy used to always call it a growth sprout, so that is what we all call it now. It has become a part of our Paradisio vocabulary, just like Snippety Pickers (which I believe was a Wilburism).

>36 nittnut: they are pretty interesting insects. And the hut seems to be in no short supply of them whenever we turn up. Never seen a live one though!

>37 charl08: I don't think the ad weta would last long in a pocket, it would be crumbs in no time. I suppos it wouldn't be the worst thing to go through the washing machine either. Ew.

>38 scaifea: I will have to get the person I went with to email me a pic of the hut, it is small and 'homemeade' ;) Very cosy with its pot bellied fire.

>39 karenmarie: 4/1850 5 star reads! That is an exclusive club indeed! I may have awarded more than that, but usually it's is only one two or three a year. Let year I gave two 5 star ratings out and they were both in January. I was left wanting for the rest of the year.
Wetas are bush insects, you wouldn't see one in town and probably not even in the bush either, the wary weta is as elusive as your 5 star rating!

>40 johnsimpson: thanks John. The camera on the newest iPhone is amazing.....my old digital dinosaur doesn't hold a torch to the fancy new ones.

>41 Crazymamie: I love kids' words for stuff. My sister was surprised to be reminded of some of her kids sayings that our family still uses. Like.....coomsie for 'scuse me, and 'milkkkkkk' for milk (which came about as my oldest niece was being taught to also say the ending of words as a toddler....she over compensated and the last part of some words came very strongly indeed!)
Sometimes in her family they still announce a corner when they turn one ("corner!"), as that is what Lenny used to do. :) :) :)
Ah, memories!
I'm glad Wilbur's 'snippy pickers' still gets used.

This morning I have left my youngest baby at school with a room full of 5 year olds for a random stranger to look after!
It all feels very wrong.
But. I know in my brain that this is OK, and *gasp* normal. It is his second school visit, this time he is on his own, and stays til lunch time. And bless him, he was very ok with it all. He proudly placed his things where he needed to and kept waving to the teacher across the class room (so cute!). He even said to me before th evell rang, you can go now mum. So I gave him a mega hug and said I was proud of him for being a big school boy and left him.
*chants to self: I'm ok, I can handle this*
:)

>44 LovingLit: It's OK. Mommies have to grow up, too. You can do it!! LOL. Hope he had a fantastic day. I love the pictures up above. So cute! We are making Smores tonight (Graham crackers, chocolate and melted marshmallows) out back in the fire pit. All three kids are excited and have invited friends. I think we may have two shifts. The early (the 15 year olds) and the late shift (20 and up!). Still working on White Noise....

Have I ever mentioned that I love love LOVE roasted marshmallows?
They are entirely nutritious and wholesome. Of course.

S'more night was a success!! Yum.

>44 LovingLit: How did you do? *grin* I am sure your "baby" did fine. Also, his willingness to go means you've done a great job. He's confident and independent, and don't worry, still your baby. ;)

>45 Berly: aw thanks. I was retelling that story to another mum this afternoon at W's basketball practice and she teared up...remembering when her youngest started school probably :) I think of it as a good thing that we care so much.
And, he was fine. I collected him and he was mud-covered from knee to show form playing rough soccer with his brother and his mated at play time. Perfect!

>46 EBT1002: >47 EBT1002: a flame ball! Lenny's little friend from the picture specialised in those this weekend. Obsessed with fire (and Star Wars)- no wonder we get on ;)

>48 Berly: s'mores I have never "got". My sister in law tried them on a family BBQ at the beach one time and people loved them, but I like my marshmallows pure. Or....hang on, could the crackers be chocolate ones? That might work??

>49 nittnut: his brother on his second school visit stated emphatically "No. The mums stay for all the school visits", so I stayed for all three school visits. For him it is all about the expectations and rules. Once he started on his own, he was fine too. Which was a huge relief for me.

>35 LovingLit: Too much self-affacement Megan. Remember I have met you and know that the self-affacement is just that.

Oh gosh. I still have moments where I go back to my car in the morning after dropping Charlie off and have to will myself to drive away. Mental, I know, but still... Good for you, Megan - stay strong, sister!

Daughter was in day-care since she was 9 weeks old, so kindergarten didn't exactly phase her, but I got huge hugs every day when I left her and huge hugs every day when I picked her up from after-school care. This continued through 3rd grade. She's 23 now, and fine. :)

Hang in there, Megan.

>51 PaulCranswick: yes well, I really am a better wallflower than a....what is the opposite of wallflower?! And I don't have too much of a tummy to get rid of, but what would one do if one was completely happy with oneself?! What is this, nirvana!? ;)

>52 scaifea: I'm cool with the process. And I have trust in the teachers (mostly!). I also like living close to the school so I can pop down there if needed by either of my babies.

>53 karenmarie: 9 weeks old!? How did you handle that? I'm sure my heart would have snapped, let alone the old apron strings ;)
I was never a person comfortable with letting other people look after my babies. Not having many options helped with that, but also, I just wanted to be in control all the time. That may have been my first mistake as a parent! But, we muddle through as best we can.

>54 LovingLit: I cried. Copious amounts. Didn't wear makeup until I got to work for the first several weeks so I wouldn't cry it off and come into work looking like a raccoon. I'd apply makeup in the bathroom. And I sucked it up. Was glad that Linda and her employees understood and took such good care of my daughter. I learned early with my daughter that I couldn't be in control forever, so start giving it up early. Certain things I was in total control of for a very long time, but I also learned to chose my battles with her and with daycare/school.

We do muddle through. We do the best we can, and when our children are old enough to start putting value judgments on things we "did" to them we have to hope that they know we did the best we could, with love, and hope they forgive us. I was in my 20s when I "forgave" my parents. Not that they did anything terrible to me, but every child has grievances, large or small. I've always joked that my daughter will be in therapy when she's 30, so we'll see, but I think I've already been "forgiven". She's an amazing young lady and is very strong and self aware.

My philosophy course results are in.

It will be no surprise for you all to hear that I am very happy with this news!!!

>55 karenmarie: I was definitely a control freak with my babies. Not so much as they are older, as I definitely see that their own personalities and paths are there for them to find. My mum in particular was very good at letting me and my siblings pick our own paths, and I really appreciate that now as an adult. My dad had such a tough childhood with his cruel and heartless step father, that once I knew the extent of that I forgave him for his emotional reticence when I was young (and even still now to some extent). To my mind, it is a miracle that he was able to function at all, let alone to function so well as to take part in raising three children without resorting to the types of treatments he received.
An older friend of my sisters gave her the advice that your kids are going to be effed up by their parents no matter what you do, so just make sure they are safe, fed and loved and you are doing a great job :)

>56 LovingLit: Congrats! Hope there is something celebratory in your near future...

Wow, so much going on. I LOVE those pics of you and the kids. Lenny and Abe look so sweet together!

I can't imagine what it must be like to drop off you kid at school for the first time, having only experienced that from the kids point of view... but it must be an interesting hurdle to get through.

Bravo on an A+! You rock!

>58 charl08: thanks! Was just trying to arrange a hot chocolate out for tonight, its proving difficult on account of childcare needs taking precedence. Them's the breaks!

>59 Smiler69: The two boys do get on well together, much better than either of them do with their siblings!! Thanks for the bravo- it was my hardest course so far, and the one I sweated most through, so I am glad to have succeeded in it.

>56 LovingLit: Excellent! Well done, Megan!!!

I must say that I love love love s'mores. But I'm also a chocolate low-brow, preferring milk to dark and perfectly happy to indulge in a Hershey's bar with almonds.

Congratulations on the A+!

>57 LovingLit: Yup. Safe, fed, and loved. I was more of a control freak than I'd like to admit to, but my mother was so hands-off and distant because her mother was such a control freak that I think I was too controlling. It's all over and done with, now, but it's a good thing to realize after the fact.

>61 EBT1002: chocolate low brow ;)
I love dark chocolate. Ut that doesn't stop me from also loving milk chocolate. Especially Whittakers creamy milk (5 rolled refined-whatever that means).....and our version of a Mars bar, called a Moro bar. Also delicious. But I can't talk about that now or I will want to buy one, and then one leads to one a day, which leads to very bad habits!

>62 karenmarie: the old "over-correction" parenting method huh? Inescapable :)
I feel likes it is good to examine the ways we do things, in all areas of life.

Hi Megan. congrats on the A+ my dear.

>4 LovingLit: could this be the first time in a long time that my intake of books is less than what I am reading?! Yay- I have curbed my book buying. I think it might be the stacks of to-read books staring me down on a daily basis. :)
Thanks to Jenn/Nittnut for adding one more to my pile though....it arrived in the post today and will stare me down until I relent and read it. Just as books should!

>64 johnsimpson: thanks! I'm still feeling pretty good about it, I feel like I can die happy now. Although.....my next goal (don't tell anyone as I can't deal with the pressure) is to "get published"!!!!! I can't believe I just confessed that.

Hi, Megan!

Sweet photos up there of Lenny and Abe and you. Really great.

You are kicking tail in your classes! Wow. You must be feeling a lot of well-earned satisfaction. I've no doubt you'll get published when the time comes.

>66 jnwelch: thanks Joe! The teacher of the class I just did so well in said in the past that if he doesn't have specific feedback on my writing, that means it is good. This is part of the reason that I found the class so hard, I simply didn't know if what I was doing was ok. I haven't got the essay back yet (even though I have the grade for the whole class), so I can only assume he thought it good! Still, I'd like to hear his thoughts.

>65 LovingLit: Go for it Megan, that's what dreams are for my dear. Sending love and hugs.

BOOK 38
White Noise by Don DeLillo (Bowie's top 100 list, reread)

Thanks to my poor memory, and that I first read this book over a decade ago, I was able to re-read this book and yet feel like it was my first time (bonus!!). This may actually be the book which turned me into a reader. I can't say why I absent-mindedly picked it off a friend's shelf and started it, I had had no inclination to ever do that with a book before- but it blew me away. The insights the author had about how life was just resonated with me. I found it comforting that someone else thought so much how about the little things (which are actually the big things). Anyway, I loved it then, and I loved it again this time.

Rather than talking about the plot, which to me is usually secondary to the experience of reading, I will talk about a few things that the book made me feel. It made me feel like we (as human beings in the Western world) are kidding ourselves that our consumerist lifestyles are making us happy (please PM me if you want to read a 4,500 word essay I wrote about the dissatisfaction that consumerism engenders- that is overkill, but goes to prove I have thought about this topic in depth!). This book slyly and drily makes this point, I think. Jack is the man whose comments and observations bring to light a scepticism about the benefits of modern life that many are able to quell in the hubbub of their daily grind. Through his and his families experience of a "toxic airborne event" there are hints dropped about how the way our society is structured hinders our ability to be at ease within it. When reading this book I was thinking about how we are persuaded to think differently about things via advertising and bureaucratic dictates - how we are distracted and removed from basic common sense ways of handling ourselves.

And it's funny! Maybe because we all worry about life/death/stuff, and we know that we can distract ourselves from this by keeping busy and sticking to the programme. Jack ends up varying wildly from accepted forms of distraction, but in a way that seems quite rational given his thought processes. All this is very cleverly laid out and was a dream to read.

Next up (revised): Last Exit to Brooklyn (Bowie's top 100 list July read), and Alone in Berlin, a book I have been meaning to get to forever.

>56 LovingLit: Woot! Congratulations on another top grade!

Congratulations on finishing such a difficult sounding paper and the grade.

Congratulations on your A+, Megan!

Great review of White Noise. I'll add it to my wish list.

>69 LovingLit: I see I'll have to put White Noise on my mental be-on-the-lookout-for list. Having never been much into 'consumerist' behavior (the right label, the right style, the right address), I think I'd find it interesting.

Also, it resonates with a small article I caught on FB today about people who deliberately set out for unusually early retirement by simply saving as much as possible by cutting down on their 'nut', living in smaller places, biking or walking to work, just not spending. In other words, not being materialistic when young, so that they are free to do what they love (work or play) when still vital. So many of us have lived the standard lock-step (me especially included!), without questioning if it will make us happy, productive, fulfilled.

And congratulations on your academic work. I HATE when teachers don't provide feedback, even if it's just to say 'well said'. Same with supervisors at work. So few of them provided me with useful comments or critiques. We can always improve, with effective critique.

Hi Megan, hope you are having a good weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

>71 nittnut: Woohoo! I have ticked that off my list now. It feels good :)

>72 avatiakh: after spending the last two days not hiking about my next topic, I am already thinking about not making the grade! Something tells me I need to relax already!

>73 kidzdoc: thanks Darryl! I am loving the warm glow off that A+. I am also looking forward to getting the essay and the presentation feedback, even just to see what I got for each one (the presentation was worth 25% of the grade and the 6,000 word essay worth 50%.) I do find it unusual that I have not heard yet.

>74 ffortsa: the consumerism stuff in White Noise is not in your face, but it's definitely there if you know what you're looking at.
Being naturally frugal, it isn't hard for me to rein in the spending. Not having much cash helps with this pet project a lot :)

>75 johnsimpson: good so far, John!
W's league game was at 9:30am yesterday, in a temperature of about 1degC. Tough for the spectators too....I was learning how to be team manager seeing as the real one is away for a month from next week. So I actually had to pay attention!

>76 LovingLit:, Ha Ha.

>77 johnsimpson: yes! I had to count tackles. They actually keep score of each child's (these are 7 year olds!) tackle scores. Also, of course, tries and conversions. Crickey.

>76 LovingLit: I've never been much of a consumer (labels, for instance, mean nothing to me). Since retiring, my inherited frugality does sometimes peek out. We still spend more than we need to, as we are not in the habit of cooking, and we like theater a lot, but I'm interested to see what I can rein in. There are lots of free or discount entertainment lists in New York, and lots of city to explore for the price of a subway ride.

The question of what would make me happy in this new phase is still unanswered. I'm not unhappy now, but long term, I'll need some organization and accomplishment in my days. So many options!

>69 LovingLit: That's a great review of White Noise, Megan. I wanted to thumb it, but you'd have to publish it on the main book page for that to happen. I'll be reading him for the AAC in December, and I guess that's the book I'll go with, considering you rate it so highly and it's on the Bowie list too! Curious about your essay...

Let's see how chatty we are, when you first log on LT on Wednesday 6th July, check your zeitgeist and post how many talk posts you have written, thank you. Can all who read this spread it about so we can get a good response, it is a bit of fun but it will be interesting to see the figures. I have set up a group called talk posts for the totals to be posted.

Hi Megan! Congrats on the A+!!! Love your review of White Noise, although I absolutely did not like that one. Sorry! Can we still be friends? LOL. On to Last Exit to Brooklyn. : )

http://www.librarything.com/topic/226496

>79 ffortsa: organisation and accomplishment. I hear you. Gotta have a purpose! I tell you that formal learning is a great easy to use organisational skills and to get a good clear mature of whether you have accomplished something. You can't argue with grades for that.

>80 Smiler69: I always forget to put my reviews up on the book page these days! I will put it on there ASAP, as I want to force myseelf to get writing more in depth reviews like I used to. What I write n my thread is thought for sharing with my select group of visitors :)
I will Pm you my essay on consumerism, but will have to wait til later in the week when I am at uni. Currently I am at home feeling very sorry for myself with a sore throat and head-in-a-vice style cold.

>81 johnsimpson: I couldn't find the place where just my posts are logged. So I might have to pass on this one sorry.

>82 Berly: Absolutely did not like it?! Yikes, that sounds decisive. What a shame for you....I hope expectations didn't dampen your experience. I'm all in for this month though. I have started Alone in Berlin already and hope to chew through that quickly before starting the next Bowie read.

>32 LovingLit: I love these photos!

Howdy, Megan! Hooray for an A+, and White Noise. Alone in Berlin is a stunning piece of work. Might be the best book I read that year.

>84 msf59: somewhat a reduced reading experience for me since my dad outlined the plot and then I read an almighty spoiler in a tiny review I glanced over!
Silly me, I should never go to the book page.

I am feeling sorry for myself today....sore throat and headache. I've had to cancel my meeting tomorrow with my supervisors as this lurgy feels like a doozie. Illness is a pain!
I have just relented and taken some coldrex pills-I like to wait until I am 100% sure they're warranted before I resort to pills. And I certainly feel like crud...so.
*hmph, I'm like a bear with a sore head*

Aw, sorry to hear about the sore throat and headache, my friend. Sending warm, healing vibes from the Midwest.

Sore throat and headache?!?! No!!! I am so sorry. Hope the warranteed pills work. : /

Sorry you're sick. Hopefully not too sick to read in bed? Lemon and honey for you.

Hope you feel better soon. That sounds grim!

Well, dang. I hope you're already feeling tons better, Megan!

oh, sick isn't good. Take care of yourself and read something soothing (if the headache doesn't interfere). Hope you are back on your feet soon.

Hi Megan, on your homepage you will see Dashboard on the left, below is Yours and below that is about you, click on this and it shows your personal zeitgeist and you will find the number of talk posts you have written. Hope you are having a good week my dear, sending love and hugs.

>86 msf59: thanks Mark. And I think I meant "bear with a sore tooth" up there :)
It's a first here this morning so I have the fire going, but can definitely make use of a warm Midwest vibe!

>87 Berly: the drugs do tend to work (turns out The Verve were wrong!). Especially when contrasted with the no-drug period yesterday morning.

>88 nittnut: I have been making a thermos of lemon, honey and ginger root and just supping away at it all day. It is perfect. The ginger is the key, I reckon. It adds a certain zing to it :)

>89 charl08: it's quite grim, but luckily Lenny had his last school visit yesterday morning so I got to rest by the fire until noon. I didn't even want to read though, I basically just lay there.

>90 scaifea: I got a good sleep last night, thank goodness. S I can report that I feel comparatively better than yesterday, thanks! Still blocked up beyond any limits that I would like, but not such a sore throat. Hopefully that means it isn't strep throat...well, surely it means that. Hooray!

>91 ffortsa: I plan to read this morning once I get the kids off to kindy/ school. I have the fire going and dinner ready (leftovers from Monday night) so am going to get cosy and rest today.

Thanks everyone for dropping by with well-wishes.
Lenny has his "kindy birthday" today, where they celebrate his last days at kindergarten. He was a bit nervous last night as didn't want to have everyone looking at him, but this morning he is very excited and cannot wait. He even said to me: "mum, I'll need wonderful clothes today for my kindy birthday". So, wonderful clothes were sought :)
I can't believe it, it's the end of an era! Next term he will be a school kid.

>92 johnsimpson: 16,357 talk posts! Average of just over 7 a day. Hm, I am talkative ;)

>94 LovingLit:, Yay. Sorry to be a pest but I set up a talk posts group so could you put it on there so we can all look at one thread and compare and you are the first my dear, thank you dear friend.

Aw, wonderful clothes sound - well, wonderful. Hope he had fun.

>95 johnsimpson: I found it! And being just this side of the dateline, I am probably first to report on the state of play on Wed 6th July :)

>96 charl08: I'm just about off to be in the audience for Lenny's kindy birthday, I was given permission to take a photo of him as well so must remember my camera.

>94 LovingLit: I am scared to call you chatty until I see my stats! LOL

Hope the kind birthday was wonderful.

>93 LovingLit: Good to hear you're feeling a bit better. Hooray for the kindie party. Hoping we will get to see the photo of Lenny in his wonderful clothes. :)

Yay for Lenny's kindy birthday. Hopefully you got your picture!

>98 Berly: I bet I am not half as chatty as some others around here!!!! That is for sure :)

>99 nittnut: I did get a pic, but it may be blurry as my old camera has a problem with its settings and only lets me do some things, some of the time. Temperamental thing! Lenny was proud as punch sitting up the front, it was very sweet.

>100 The_Hibernator: Yes, and I will endeavor to get it on computerized at some stage. Until then though, I just found out that my previously thought of as mini-proposal, is actually meant to be 2000-3000 words, and is due in less than a week. Hm, it pays to clarify asap exactly what it is that they want from you!! I could have used this news ten days ago.

Good luck with that - any chance you can recycle something from before in the new proposal? Or is that Frowned Upon?

>102 charl08: they call it self-plagiarizing. Hmph, personally I think you should be able to use your own unpublished work more than once, so long as it isn't the whole thing.
I have nothing to go from in this case anyway, unfortunately. Why do I always chose topics that are brand new to me!!?? I end up doing 3 years of undergrad classes worth of reading just to get up to speed.
*back to it*

Ewww. Sounds like that's your weekend. Good luck. *supportive fist pump*

>103 LovingLit: Yeah it's the same here. Causes problems when questions are similar. Good luck with it.

Just a quick hello, hope you're fully recovered.

I am entranced that Lenny said he needed 'wonderful' clothes for his kindy birthday.

>104 nittnut: I'd love it if it was my weekend. But mostly I will be child-wrangling this weekend. It's going to be my evenings and Monday taken care of.

>105 charl08: my questions are similar but my topics wildly different, so that is good. But also bad as I feel like I am learning everything from new each time. Steep learning curves, that's for sure!

>106 karenmarie: unfortunately not fully recovered. On day 4 of a well established crud-fest. Don't ask about the amount of phlegm I have! You don't want to know.

Hope you are feeling better - I love drinks with ginger! And a big big cheer for your A+!!! I have White Noise in my TBR shelves....might just move it up to the bedhead (which is the stage before the bedside table pile, which is really quite large!)

>69 LovingLit: Megan, I loved your thoughts on White Noise. How cool that you remember the book that turned you onto being a reader. A Reader with a capital R! I'll have to ponder that one if I can remember back that far.

It was fun posting on John's thread about talk posts. I'm not quite as chatty as you are. I wish there was a way to track thread reading. I tend to read a lot of threads and not post. Ugh, I will pass on knowing your phlegm stats. I hope the crud is over soon.

Phlegm is a bad thing but better out than in. Ginger drinks on the other hand are better in than out and always to be savoured.

Hope this weekend finds you recovered, Megan. xx

Oh dear Megan, so sorry you've been sick. Nothing like a common cold to make us feel oh-so-mortal somehow. Thanks for sending the essay my way. I'll read it soon and hopefully have an intelligent comment or two to make! Get well!

>108 PrueGallagher: yay, a potential convert to White Noise! Go for it. Your bedhead can handle it, but maybe move it to the bedside table now, just in case :)
Unfortunately, I am still sick. Today marks the 6th full day of being unwell. *over it*
but- at least I am not clogged up in the nights, I seem to be able to breathe through my nose ok, so at least I can sleep well enough, even with the coughing.

>109 Donna828: the other book that turned me into a reader was my tip top #1 favourite, My Name is Asher Lev. I remember reading it thinking, why has no one told me about this before!? Do people know this exists? And if so, why have I not heard about it yet!?
I think it was a text that was required reding in some Westn Australian educational institution, as there seemed to be a lot of second hand copies in the shops then. And they were marked inside with pencil

>110 PaulCranswick: I had wondered about certain properties of ginger, actually Paul. And their relationship to um, er....flatulence ;) Or maybe that is a side effect of having a dastardly cold!
*lets just pretend I never said that and move on*

>111 Smiler69: you know, I sent that essay to my friend in Britain after I had got my marks back....AND I gave another friend a copy of it to read while she was on a long flight. I think I must have been proud of it! I have never been so shameless as to force my writing on anyone since :)
But- I do look forward to your thoughts!

This week.
School holidays. Uh-oh.
I have my proposal due Wednesday (that one that was not a one-pager like I thought, but in fact a 2000-3000 word behemoth). My lovely other has thoughtfully taken the day off tomorrow so I can get straight to uni and hopefully finish it.

If I can't I am going to plead ill, but only because I am. I haven't been able to stay up into the evenings to work on it like I would have as usually by evening I am coughing/spluttering/nose-blowing etc. (reading W his bedtime chapter this evening I erupted into coughs twice- which he found hilarious and even 'played back' to me in case my living through it the first time(s) wasn't enough!)

And. Tomorrow I volunteered to "lead the discussion" on our readings in the class that I am sitting in on (or, auditing, as they call it). I'll take my lemon and honey drink, but I hope not to erupt as per W's bedtime story! Now I am wondering why I volunteered as my time would have been much better spent writing my proposal. At least the teacher was probably pleased to have someone take the lead...it is only the second week of classes.

Eta: oh! And I finished Alone in Berlin. A very very solid 4-star rating from me. A great story.

>113 LovingLit: Good luck with it. I think you should definitely plead ill (you can always smugly hand it in on time once you've got the extension!). If you want/ need a proofreader feel free to pm me.

And hoping the bug gets the hint and **** off.

>114 charl08: ha ha!! I like your style :)
Thanks for the offer, thats very kind of you. Day seven today, and there is a little more room in my chest for breathing, so that is a good sign!

>115 LovingLit: Glad to see there's some improvement.

I grossed out my MiL once when I told her I didn't know how one human body could produce so much phlegm. She got very quiet and I could hear the "TMI" vibes over the telephone.

Feel better, Megan! I expect your proposal is done to your usual standard of excellence, so now your health needs to cooperate. Oh, and thank you W, for playing back my eruption, LOL.

>112 LovingLit: I LOVED My Name is Asher Lev. I'm surprised that Potok isn't talked about more as a major author. I still need to read The Promise.

Adding my hope that you feel better, and sending you positive thoughts, Megan.

>115 LovingLit: Yeah, I could see that room to breathe might be handy. Hope you're nearly done.

>116 karenmarie: TMI vibes can be felt even if not heard, right?? ;)
I am guilty of providing TMI on regular occasions.

>117 lit_chick: my proposal is virtually done. It's due Friday at midnight, and the offer was given for that to extend to Monday 9am. I need the weekend as evenings are pretty much out for This week, dad visiting, Lenny's 5th birthday party disco evening and the big one- my lingering cold. Which although stops me from having late nights working on my proposal, doesn't give me an out for the other evening duties. And days are out too.....school holidays= I'm on duty!

>118 jnwelch: I reread Asher Lev a couple of years ago, and was so happy to see that it held up to my memories of it. Off the back of the success of that experience, I reread another favourite White Noise last month. And reloved that too!

>119 charl08: aaaah, sweet sweet breath. :)
Still coughing up a storm! But hopefully getting there. Surely, soon I will be back to good health.

Today.
Taking W to a skateboarding workshop. Cool! He gets lessons and will learn tips and tricks from a proper skatey. W confidently stated that he *already knows how to skateboard*, but I reminded him that everyone has room for improvement in anything they do.

Me and Lenny will watch for a bit and then pop to the sops nearby to do jobs, and on the way home we will stop at the CookieTime factory. What's not to love about a cookie factory?!

Skateboarding and a cookie factory?! Very cool!

>120 LovingLit: I hope you didn't think I was saying you were providing too much TMI - my MiL was a very Proper Southern Gentlewoman and I am a brash Southern Californian and we did get along famously, but there were areas where we differed in what to share ..... medical stuff was one of them! :)

Always fun to catch up with you, Megan! Hope that cold is about finished....
A+ ---YAY! I'm a bit perplexed by a prof who doesn't want to comment/talk with a student who produces superior work.
Love the pics!
Loved the Fallada! Have DeLillo to look forward to.
Feel normal soon!

Hi Megan, sending love and hugs.

Stink that you still have that cold.

Chaim Potok is one of my favorites as well. I remember "discovering" (my dad told me to read it) The Chosen when I was about 16. It still holds up for a re-read every couple of years.

>122 scaifea: it was a cool morning. And W stated afterwards that he got taught how to do an ollie, but that he hasn't "mastered" it yet. So earnest!
Also, we spent $17 on cookies from the factory shop. Yum yum yum.

>123 karenmarie: oh no, not at all.
I can see how a Southern Gentlewoman and a Young(er!) Californian might have different ideas about what constitutes TMI!

>124 LizzieD: perplexed is the word. But when things perplex me, I think on them, and this is my verdict.
I disliked that course because (a) I had the expectation that we would be taugh (rather than just get support with our personal projects, once I realised we weren't going to get lessons on the basics, I read a text book from the library and things got better on that front) and;
(b) I felt like I had no control over my project. We started writing in the second week of semester when none of us knew *anything* about the individual subjects we were studying, let alone philosophy. The essay was handed back and forward 6 or 7 times with feedback on it; each time my essay came back with massive changes suggested and little indication that there was much of worth in what I had. I couldn't figure out what my role in "writing" the essay was, apart from to fulfil his vision for it. Every week it felt like my hopes were dashed when I handed in what I thought he wanted to hear.
Anyway...it's over, and apparently I succeeded in fulfilling his vision for my paper. So.

>125 johnsimpson: hi JS, thanks!

>126 nittnut: stink indeed! Spoken like a proper Kiwi! ;)
Potok is underrated, IMO. He's a genius.

>65 LovingLit: "Yay- I have curbed my book buying."
I think I have reduced my book buying this year but I am still collecting them at a faster pace than I'm getting them out of the house. The library is the real culprit here; I keep checking books out of the library and then I don't get around to reading the books I've purchased!

Skateboarding and a cookie factory sounds like a marvelous day indeed!
"What's not to love about a cookie factory?!" I cannot think of a single thing.

>128 EBT1002: this cookie factory (maybe still) holds the world record for baking the worlds largest cookie, in 1996 they got into the Guiness Book of World Records for the feat.
But the best things about the factory is the mini van that they have sliced in half and that is bolted to the wall for kids to sit in and pretend to drive. That, and the bulk cookie bags you can buy!

>129 LovingLit: Awesome.

We had Lenny's 5th birthday party disco this evening, it was a riot! He danced his socks off (even tried the moves to YMCA- all good alphabet practice ;)). We had cake and brownie and bacon roll and juice and wine and fun.
I'm pooped...he s up three times in the night last night and I am hoping for a different story to tell tomorrow morning. My sweet baby turns 5 tomorrow.

Hooray for Lenny's Birthday Disco Party! Did he find his socks? I can not believe this little guy is 5. Wow!

Hope you get some rest, Megan.

Oh, the disco party sounds like a hoot!
And the phrase "bulk cookie bag" is now one of my favorite things. Ever.

>130 EBT1002: awesome, but not for my wallet :)

>132 msf59: Lenny certainly has some moves, I even charged my camera to take. And then left it on the table at home. :| Luckily other kind folks took some pics for me which I hope to have on fb or here soon.

>133 scaifea: the disco was for 3-10 year olds, held at the events centre in the town where my university is as part of the school holidays programme of events for kids.
We tag-teamed in and arranged to have a table set up for us beforehand to have our party.
Perfect!

The disco sounds amazing! Genius to make it a party. Did you have wild weather for it as well, or was that finished?

>127 LovingLit: Ha! Funny that you should point out my kiwi-ism. I have a friend who has started telling me every time I sound like a New Zealander. She finds it hilarious. I find it weird. But apparently I am saying "yis" and "sivin" and a few other notable things. I will never Not sound American and wouldn't it be weird to try? But I guess I'm adapting a little. That said, I still have moments of total confusion. Like when I realized that some kid my son had been referring to as Kata for several weeks was, in fact, named Carter. Duh. E definitely says names, and particularly new words, just like the kids at school say them.

Potok is definitely a genius.

^ pretty genius huh?! All the fun and none of the cost or mess!! (we just had to shout the kids' entrance fees, which were a paltry $2 per child!)
Sivin is definitely a propere kiwi pronunciation (for 7, for you out there who aren't in the kiwi loop). When I worked in an American English language school in Taiwan, the teacher who took over from my class when I left stated: I'll get these kids pronouncing their 'r's' by hook or by crook!
Aparently I say caaa paaaaak for car park ;)

Up next!

Megan, happy birthday to Lenny! The party sounds like a lot of fun. I don't post here often but I enjoy catching up with the stories about what the boys are up to.

>135 nittnut: "Kata" made me laugh out loud!! That is definitely the correct Kiwi pronunciation for Carter.

Belated Happy Birthday to Lenny! Good luck on his future career as a Disco Fever or Soul Train dancer.

>138 susanj67: I'm glad you posted this time!
The computer want playing ball so I couldn't transfer the photos of the dancing birhtday boy. But I hope I can get one off a friend who took some and one of those on maybe.

>139 kidzdoc: yes! He is a groover, that's for sure. Often here he will get us to sit and watch him boogie away. We aren't allowed to join in, he has to be the star. Cheeky monkey!

Are you feeling better yet? Certainly hope so! The disco sounds like a blast. Heck, I wouldn't mind some disco action myself! And...don't faint...I have Last Exit to Brooklyn on my night table!! Going to read some tonight. : )

^ You know...it took me 8 or 9 days of feeling very not good, and now I have had three days of seeing the light. Tomorrow I hope to be back to 100%!
I am in the final stages of The Kingdom of this World. I have only about 15 pages to go, and then I too will begin Last Exit to Brooklyn... I hope I can get it read in time for August's Bowie book!

---//---//---//---//---

Wilbur had league this morning and for the first time in 5 games it was scheduled to start at mid morning as opposed to the crack of dawn (read: freezing frosty morning). So it started well, especially since we only had 3 players in our team. School holidays, illnesses and family holidays took the other 6 players out of action.

We borrowed a heap of players from the team below us and lost the game, but W was awarded tackler of the day for his heroic launches at the opposition team members' legs (spoken like a proud mum!). I was supposed to award the player and tacker of the days as I am acting manager for the next month, but some premier players were watching the game and were clearly more qualified than me, so picked who they picked (we happened to agree on player of the day as he was out player who got all the tries). So all in all a good day for W.

Tomorrow I head to uni to finish my thing, which is due Monday. Cutting it fine for me!!! But, school holidays have meant I have been otherwise engaged.

Yay for Lenny and his dancing - I wish I could have seen that!
Wilbur looks like an all-black in the making. I was taught in Northern England that 9/10ths of rugby success was in tackling.

Have a great weekend and I am glad the stress is off a little with your proposal done.

>143 PaulCranswick: a friend took a few photos of him rocking out, he really is such a character, he was bopping all over the show. It totally cracked me up. He was the skip of a beat behind the 8-ball (as it were) for the traditional disco song YMCA, so his actions were what I would call a durn good effort ;)
I will email my friend for the photos now!

Hi Megan! Happy birthday to Lenny (disco! Love it)! And good luck to you as you wrap it up. How much longer will you have in your program?

Your youngest in school. Wow! Sounds like he is doing great even if it's hard on you. I remember those days. Kinda wish I could go back and relive them- slower. Callia is about to start her final year of high school. I simply can't believe it.

>145 AMQS: I am on my last paper (of 6) this semester. This will get me a post graduate diploma. Next year if I get a scholarship and do one full-time year, my post-grad diploma will be subsumed and I will get a Masters Degree. If I am doing one full time year next year you may not see me on LT!

It is still school holidays for this week, so I am at uni only thanks to my lovely other who has taken the day off work today so I can go to class. (I am sitting in on the Psychology of Well-being class that is hopefully going to help me with my Independent Study paper that is my official paper this semester).

>143 PaulCranswick: Tackling and also being really, really fast. My rugby nickname was Wheels. : )

>146 LovingLit: So glad W got the tackler of the day award. Well Done!! Good luck on your last paper and tell your lovely other that he gets full points!

Wow, one more year! One more challenging, slog of a year, as recent experience proves. You are so close!! Congratulations to you!! LT will miss you if you decide/are able to go that path, but fortunately for us both, this is a loving and forgiving community!

>147 Berly: by last paper I mean last class...I'm never sure what to call it as a paper is an assignment/ essay, or it can mean the whole class.
And the lovely other does get full points :)
My mum recently rang him to give him full credit for my recent A+. It was so funny, and has become a family legend already, that he was responsible for me getting top marks. But what she meant was that without his support and help, I would have never been able to put in the hard yards to get the good marks. Which is totally true! But now, he claims credit ;)

>148 AMQS: it will indeed be a slog of a year if I get the scholarship! I work extremely slowly, it's like all the info goes in my head and then gets log-jammed (as if in a sieve) before it trickles out into the processed piece of writing. I need that processing time, I find, to make sense of my thinking.

>149 LovingLit: Tell your lovely other if he is stealing your credit for the A+ then he loses points! ; )

>150 Berly: ha ha! He jokingly says that he can take credit! But regularly pats my back and tells me he's proud of me :) (he just earned all his points back!)
But, jumping on the bandwagon, my dad also claims credit- for fathering me in the first place! He said: "you can have the A, but the + is mine" ;)
And my dad can have his points back too, as he shouted me and my lovely other out to dinner last week to congratulate me. We had wood-fired pizza and delicious local beer. It was fantastic, and a luxury we wouldn't have indulged in without his prompting!

Today:
Visited a heavily pregnant friend
Took the kids to a gymnastic session school holiday thing (they got to jump into the pit of foam, and climb a rope to the ceiling, and run/bounce along a lengthy trampoline)
Came home and baked sticky lemon muffins/prepped tea
Took the kids to the school to do scootering/skateboarding/basketballing
Refereed the kids fighting matches :(
Ate a bowl of home made chunky fries (from home-grown potatoes) and had a well-earned beer :)

>152 LovingLit: a successful day then .... + no mention of the lurgy so it must be gone :)

>152 LovingLit: The penultimate line........ouch
The last line I like the most - chunky homemade fries are the perfect accompaniment to good beer. Enjoy.

>52 scaifea: Homemade chips! Lovely. Sounds like a very busy day.

>153 roundballnz: lurgy cleared off ;) Just a cough it two if I take in some cold air, and the days here have been mild the last few days so all good!

>154 PaulCranswick: hm, yes, the children do love to scrap. As a pacifist it is hard to take. But, keep 'em busy seems to be the motto I need to stick to!

>155 charl08: and just add "Had a loooooong bath" to that list if you please! I was forced out of the bath on account of the water going cold, hmph. ;)

Funny! Charlie spent part of yesterday jumping on the trampoline at gymnastics, too!

>157 scaifea: boys and their jumping, huh? I know my lot love to jump, Lenny can barely move across a room without jumping at some stage of the journey.

Nailed the proposal!
Got an A, but better than that was that the meeting went so well today. I have previously felt a little intimidated by the two supervisors (even though they are both very professional, kind and calm)... It was just the sitting there in the office, with the both of them assessing me....my issues completely, I realise! But this time, probably because I know more about my topic now so can have a reasonable conversation about the issues, it just feels more natural; more 'people exchanging ideas' (which was awesome).
So, I'm feeling positive about my progress....even in spite of it being the school hols!

>159 LovingLit: Congratulations on the A, Megan!

>159 LovingLit: Congrats, Megan - way to go! Getting comfortable with the supervisors and trading ideas sounds like major progress, and an A is always sweet.

Hi Megan, congrats on the A my dear.

^^^ thanks! It was a little 10%er but I am happy to have had such prompt and useful feedback. My next goal is to get some time to do some more reading and thinking on my topic. I hope to do that today, between a workshop I'm doing to learn how to write, and a lecture I'm attending for the class I am marking for.

Hooray for nailing the proposal. High-Five!

Hope Last Exit isn't bumming you out too bad. It's a bleak book but I don't regret reading it.

>159 LovingLit: "Nailed the proposal!"
Excellent!

I'm intrigued by Last Exit to Brooklyn...

>163 LovingLit: Sounds like a busy day! Hope you have the time you need.

Congrats!

Nice work on that proposal. Glad you felt better talking with the supervisors. :)

On the subject of processing speed - it's a thing. We had our older son assessed a few years ago for some things and they found that while his intelligence was very high, his processing time was slow. So if he had a couple of days to process information and make connections, he would do much better than when asked to provide immediate feedback in a classroom. Interesting stuff.

>164 msf59: thanks! And already my ideas for the rest of the years course of action re uni research has changed. He he, I took the A, and then changed my mind. Mwa ha ha.
I don't regret reading Last Exit to Brooklyn either, I figured that it is giving me more than it is taking away (in terms of potential loss of faith in humanity).

>165 EBT1002: The book is pretty tough going. But a real snapshot of lives that I guess are still lived....
I tried to explain it to a friend today and she said "why on earth are you still reading it!!?"

>166 charl08: I had the time, I made some progress, I feel ok about where this project is headed. the writing workshop was a 'back to basics' one and was just what I needed. (I can't get enough background info!)

>167 karenmarie: thank you! I think it was more about them seeing that I had at least some idea of what I wanted to do with the research project. And it takes me sooooo long to process (see comment below!) that it's nice to feel that I am settling into a good topic.

>168 nittnut: interesting! I just got a book delivered to me from the good folk at the Book Depository, called Free to Learn. Written by a psychologist, it is about learning styles that children have, he moved his child out of traditional school systems into an alternative one and then developed a professional interest in how children best develop. (hence the interest I have in the topic, for uni). I can't wait to read it.
I definitely take time to process, in RL too ;) In me and my lovely other's rare arguments, I always need a space after/during, to get my head in gear and figure out what I am actually thinking.
People huh! They come in all types :)

Regarding children's learning, you might find interesting - 1) Tina Bruce, 2) Reggio Emilia and The Hundred Languages Of Children, and 3) the NZ Playcentre philosophy

>171 avatiakh: well, my interest in that area is more the 'free' than the 'learn'....(in terms of the book I will start reading soon called Free to Learn). I will check them out though, so thanks! I already have a more than healthy dose of scepticism about the modern learning environments, I might not need much more to get me totally disillusioned with the schooling system.

Yes, but children learn from free play so it does go together as a learning theory.
The other dynamic is mixed age groupings, younger children learn from watching older children in their play and modeling, Older children who are less confident can try their leadership skills out on younger ones. You see it all the time in mixed age groups or large families outside of school but less so in a typical class environment. The adult just has to be there.

Tina Bruce discusses chaos theory and play, I personally love that she says children need to have space to slow down and just wallow.

Reggio Emilia philosophy is basically trusting in children to find their own ways to express themselves.

Playcentre philosophy is basically for adults to support children's play rather than structure it.

The other learning/play theorist to know would be Vygotsky. Even if your focus is more towards free play it's worth knowing of these theorists as adults still need to know how to support the free play and keep it safe.

I have a book from the 1960s, Adventure Playgrounds: A Personal Account of a Play-leader's Work, which is about older children building their own playground out of junk, supervised by an adult play-leader. Interesting read. https://playeverything.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/building-again/

>173 avatiakh: yes! This is the type of stuff I am currently looking in to. I am being drawn into the ideologies of parenthood, what makes 'us' (as a society) think we need to send our kids to a heap of after school activities in order for them to be better off (than they would have been without them). It is fascinating and I am pleased to have found my hook.
Thanks for all that.

Megan, do you think you make a better student now than when you were younger and "orthodox" student age (not that there is really such a thing but you know what I mean). I ask because I am tempted to dabble myself with another degree on a part-time basis if and when I am able to relocate back to Blighty?

Have a wonderful weekend. xx

I was a good student at the "orthodox" age, but I quite liked the experience of going back to school at my age. Certainly my life experiences made for a richer learning environment for me personally. It's hard to get through all of the writing and assignments when you have the responsibilities of parenting, working, and the rest of "real life," though. Makes Megan's As very impressive:)

>175 PaulCranswick: yes, adulthood makes the student experience (if learning is what you are interested in) much easier and more rewarding. I was average or just above at school and uni the first time, my brain is much more able now to process theoretical stuff.
I say go for it! And what is this about you moving back to Blighty!?

>176 AMQS: I agree, Anne. A much richer experience :) Haivng a passion for it helps. And so does the marked contrast between home (loud, chaotic, crazy) life and university (calm, quiet, considered) life.

BOOK 41
Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr. 259p (Bowie's top 100 books list)

This book is shocking. It describes the lives of a collection of Brooklyn residents in the 1960s and will leave you wondering how on earth anyone survived there at all with any semblance of sanity left. These are rough characters. On the one had I could talk about their actions as survival techniques in the 'eat or be eaten' atmosphere, or I could talk about their callous gleeful anger and infliction of violence upon each other. I think I'll talk about something different instead.

This book was hard to read, but I kept going because of the post script by the author. I was about to abandon ship, the constant sadness and hardship and faithless violence was too much for me, so I read the post script as a farewell. And in it Selby talked about leaving his mark, contributing something to this world when he thought he had not much time left on this earth to do so. He wanted to leave his legacy, yes, but he also wanted the voices of the people in his neighbourhood to be heard. This is where the power of the book lies. Goodness only knows how many people live like the people in this book- scraping together money from anywhere for alcohol or drugs, fervently seeking validation from peers by being the toughest or the cruelest, desperately craving that buzz from impressing someone with your latest conquest/hairstyle/round of drinks, living in fear of having violated some rule of the neighbourhood and having the local thugs raining their fists and boots on you, the children locked in apartments while their parents yell and scream and worse at each other. It is not pretty, these lives are out there being lived, and my take is that Selby wanted to have their experiences documented. In their own way, all the people in the book are seeking happiness (companionship/acceptance/love). Their ability to find it is seriously hampered by the ways they go about it, and their complete lack of empathy for others.

The bigger chapter in the middle section of the book on the union leader unfolded spectacularly, and although I read it with foreboding, and the ending was not such a huge surprise, it took me to a place I couldn't have reached on my own. This guy was seriously damaged and had no concept of how he was seen by others, or how he was being used, or how he was using or abusing others. That lack of insight can (I suppose) explain the actions of a lot of the characters. As a sociological account it is incredible, as a reading experience it is difficult and upsetting.

Lenny disco-ing!!! And his cake :)

Awesome disco photo! He looks totally happy.

>172 LovingLit:, >173 avatiakh: Educational philosophy is an interesting topic, especially when you can get out of the theorizing and into the practical application. I can only compare the school experience we had in the US and the one we've had here, but the philosophy is quite different. In the US the kids had a 7 hour school day, a rotating schedule that allowed PE, art and music one to two times a week and 20 minutes for recess and 35-40 minutes for lunch. Here they have a 6 hour school day, morning tea, sport daily and an hour for lunch. I don't know for sure the comparison academically, but I don't feel like they are lacking anything. They are definitely less stressed and more content at school in general here in NZ.

I fall in the category of Totally Disillusioned with modern educational practices. Too many ivory tower theorists passing policy that isn't practicable and demanding that teachers implement, blaming them for lack of success, etc. I will stop now.

>180 nittnut: he was totally into it :) He loves to sing too, tonight he was singing himself to sleep...that one from the radio that goes "once I was seven years old, my daddy told me....". I'll admit to listening out near his door, it was too cute.
Yes re: education systems. Imagine asking (making!) a group of small children sit and listen! They do a much better job these days of getting them active, but the whole premise of it is bad on Victoriam values if you ask me.

News flash: my latest book has me past the 10,000 pages mark!

What an excellent review of Last Exit to Brooklyn, Megan. Thumb from me. I figured that it is giving me more than it is taking away (in terms of potential loss of faith in humanity). Right. It's a powerful, unforgettable book, isn't it? A tip of the hat to Mr. Bowie for his reading list. The range of his reading has been a big surprise to me, even though I knew he was a musical genius.

Thank goodness you read that postscript!

>182 jnwelch: I love the thumbs, I'm sure we as a group used to post reviews more often and solicit a thumb or two ;)
With a list of 100 books, I cant help but wonder if Bowie was just picking them out of the air, I mean he must have written then down, I wonder if he just went over them and picked the more memorable ones. 100 is rather a large list. But I sure am glad he pulled the list together, it has broadened my reading this year, that is for sure.

>183 LovingLit: I think he probably kept lists - as you say too many otherwise. I was reading about his art collection (his family are selling the stuff they don't want to keep) - he had such depth. I wonder if there are musicians out there today starting this kind of interest with their music $$$ to collect art.

>184 charl08: if his books are anything to go by, I bet Bowie had an art collection to behold! I'd love to see some of it.

Eta: just did! http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-20/david-bowie-s-13-million-art-c...

Marking essays....8 down, 16 to go. The bad ones always take so loooooong to mark. There has only been one good one as far.
I need a coffee break!

Nice job pushing through to the end on Brooklyn, and really nice review. I don't have it in me to finish it, at least not right now.

Education is an interesting topic. It can be a challenge to find the right fit for your kids sometimes. Mine were in a French language immersion school and two of them also went to Montessori for a while. My middle child also went to a middle and high school especially designed for kids with learning differences (she has severe dyslexia). The latter was better for her learning style, but too small socially.

Good luck on the essay!

>178 LovingLit: Terrific review of Last Exit to Brooklyn. Thumb! I think you captured it perfectly. Not an easy read. Downright ugly at times but it still is a fascinating look at the urban underbelly.

I hope you had a good week, Megan.

Two thumbs up for 10,000 pages!!

Good luck with the marking.

I'd like to get to one of those Bowie touring shows: just been reading about modern art and it got me googling and then trying to recall the last thing I went to. Something about how Liverpool contributed to an art movement in the 19c. Time to get me to something more modern!

>187 Berly: French language immersion school? Are you french? That is so interesting. (no wonder your girls are touring Europe now!)
I have this thing about keeping local...we have a very local primary school which is irresistible. And ok so far. I resist tripping across town for things like activities, and every day schooling I would find hard to commute to as well.

>188 msf59: thanks! It wasnt even that much of a slog to read, in spite of it being an absolute slog ;)

>189 nittnut: two thumbs!! And that total isn't even with my university readings added on. Phew. (they take ages to read as well, you really have to concentrate)

>190 charl08: I love the modern stuff. When I went to MoMA I cried from excitement just to be there :)
Marking will resume this afternoon. And hopefully I can finish the lot today. It's not that good to do a huge lot at once, as the last ends might get a raw deal, so I might have to take coffee breaks and be refreshed for each and every essay!

>191 LovingLit: I am not French, but deplore the fact that Americans are so abysmal at mastering other languages and the kindergarten program in public school was a joke, so I thought we'd try it. French because I took that in high school and not Spanish because I can't roll my "R"s and it makes me sound like I have a speech impediment! LOL. And a good friend had her daughter going to the French school. Those were the two closest school options. Random reasons, but a fun result. Jessica really took to it and minored in it in college. Sarah didn't like it as much and switched to American Sign Language. Jack is taking French in high school. His spelling is terrible but his accent is awesome! My girls are meeting up in France with two guys who we hosted as exchange students several summers ago.

>193 Berly: cross-posted!
Cool, I toyed with the idea of learning sign language at high school, instead I took no language and then Janapese at university. Go figure (most of the class had been to/lived in Japan and so knew how to speak it, I was there to learn to speak it as well as write, consequently it was really hard). Right now I am toying with learning Te Reo Maori. It's a beautiful language,and obviously very important in this country.
How cool to meet up with the visitors you hosted, they will love showing their American friends around, I'm sure.

>193 Berly: I have always thought myself not particularly proficient at languages but falling for a Malay lady who became my wife gave little choice but to try. It was by something like an osmosis process that I managed to "get" it. Listening to a language spoken in natural conditions by those you interrelate with daily means you will eventually (if you are in the least bit interested) assimilate it and speak it more naturally too. I sometimes even dream nowadays in Malay!

Selamat malam, Megan. xx

>195 PaulCranswick: terima kasi, Paul for visiting :)
I went to Malaysia Delight restaurant a few weeks back. Me and my friend shared a roti, and then had to buy a few more because they were so delicious. Yum yum yum! The restaurant owner is packing up and moving to the container mall to concentrate on take away food....for more family time. He seemed pleased when we thanked him for the meal using my opening line here.

Hope you finished marking the essays and have been enjoying your weekend.

Happy visit to your thread. Life sounds very busy.

>197 The_Hibernator: just finished! 22 essays done, I'll just have to go of them tomorrow with the lecturer, and add some scores onto the spreadsheet.
Then tomorrow evening I will have time to prepare for my supervisors meeting on Wednesday. Yes, I WILL have time for that...

>198 mdoris: busy is actually good with my two kids. They don't like being at a loose end :)

Just popping in and saying 'Hi'.

Stopping and whoot see an A. Congrats, Megan.

Last week I went with a friend to the opening night of the International Film Festival. The opening movie was called Poi E, which is a very famous NZ song performed in Maori by a cultural group, recorded with 80s synth beats. It was #1 here in the 80s for ages.
We hob-nobbed it in the foyer with Phil Koegan (of The Amazing Race), and some local famous and non-famous people. Watched the film from the front row (Aparently that is the cheap seats, but I loved it as got to talk to the director on the way out aft the film and tell him about our friends wedding, who had the song the movie was about as their wedding dance).
Also scored tickets for the VIP after party upstairs. So good! Free wine and local celebrity spotting ensued... Anyway (long story short), we got papped (paparazzi'd!!!). Pic to follow tomorrow, as no tech capability right now to transfer. I so rarely go out, let alone to fancy things. It was quite exciting :)

>200 connie53: hi there! Thanks for keeping my thread current, I am off and on sometimes these days.

>201 Ameise1: thanks! Currently working on a mind map/ concept map for my next bit of assessment. Not quite sure how that will work!

>202 LovingLit: Sounds like fun. Look forward to the pictures!

>202 LovingLit: Sounds fabulous your evening.

Paparazzi'd at the opening night of the International Film Festival last week. They didn't have any fizzy wine (you can tell I'm fancy when I call bubbles 'fizzy'), so I had to resort to white. The nibbles were yummy too. Just goes to show, it pays to know the person who has the ticket to the after party and can't go ;)
Eta: that is me on the right! On the left is my wonderful friend, the one who gave me a 'panic word' for when I had a meetup with Paul Cransnwick (and family) 4 years ago....if she called me and I said the word, she knew he had kidnapped me (or something??!) and was prepared to set the police on him! So thoughtful, little did she know he was such a fine coffee companion.

>204 charl08: Well, to be honest there was only the one of us, and it only went to the magazines facebook page. Ill have to look out for the print edition, to see if I am to be immortalized in that!

>205 Ameise1: It was a fun evening. Google "Poi E" to see the song the film was about, it is classic 80s Kiwiana ;)

>206 LovingLit: Fabulous. Love your jacket. :)

Nice picture.

In case you need a musical accompaniment to your David Bowie top 100 reading.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07llc2d
(David Bowie prom)

>208 nittnut: op shop score! It was $12. I absolutely love a bargain :) And it makes up for the shirt underneath which I have worn twice and cost 12 x the jacket....a rare impulse buy.

>209 charl08: Oooh, thanks, I'll check it out. Plus, to have reminded me, I need to get Flaubert's Parrot from the library ASAP.

Sounds like a fun evening, and great photo! I met Phil Keoghan in Colorado a few years back when he was doing a book signing and some crazy cycling thing.

Oh, lovely photo!

Hooray for film festivals! Boo to no "fizzy wine" or fine ale. Your "panic word" story was a hoot. I do not remember hearing that before. Harmless, dour, Paul? Giggles...

>207 LovingLit: I 'youtubed' Poi E, and loved watching it. Thanks!

Hi, Megan.

I just started Flaubert's Parrot. Another unusual and good one from Julian Barnes.

Great review of Last Exit to Brooklyn, Megan!

I have a crush on Phil Keogh...

Hi Megan!

>211 ursula: he was only here (even though he is a Chch native) because he has a film, or does his wife have a film?, in the festival....about biking.

>212 scaifea: Oooh, thanks. I wouldn't have put it up if it was a hideous one of me ;) But, I think we all know that.

>213 msf59: the conversation she had with me prior to me "meeting a random stranger I met on the internet" was pretty funny too. I think most of it was a joke, actually.

>214 karenmarie: I've been hearing the song lots on the radio lately thanks to the film, it's cool!

>215 jnwelch: Oooh, I got it from the library today! I wonder if Berly has a thread up yet?

>216 kidzdoc: thanks, Darryl. It was a tough read, but a wirthwhile one.

>217 katiekrug: confess all you like around here. This place is an open book!

I just started reading this article about Deep Play and thought you might enjoy it as well - https://www.brainpickings.org/2016/08/04/diane-ackerman-deep-play/

>219 avatiakh: thanks for that, from my first quick read, it's all sounding very familiar.

>206 LovingLit: Nice photo Megan and I envy the hobnobbing and the white wine. So that's your pal that thought I was more than likely a would be psycho, hahaha. Now if that had been Hani........

Have a lovely weekend.

>206 LovingLit: Loving the picture of my now famous friend!! And you made the after-party...how fun! Sorry you had to make do with white wine, but sometimes you just have to sacrifice. >221 PaulCranswick: And your Paul story with the panic word is hysterical.

>215 jnwelch: And, Joe, the new Bowie thread is up!!

Megan and I have been reading a David Bowie book each month off his top 100 list. Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes is the latest. (Hope this cover is OK, Megan?!) Come join us!!



http://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/af/ee/afeee86805a724b596b65786777434f4...

https://www.librarything.com/topic/228526#

>221 PaulCranswick: I have known her since I was 13, she only has my best interests at heart. I'm sure if she had met you in person she would quickly have figured out you are quite the gentleman :)

>222 Berly: ooooh, and I have my book too. But that link goes to the cover image rather than the thread, I guess I'll have to search....
My edition is a double bill, with A History of the World in 101/2 Chapters (or sometng like that) is in there too.

Eta: let's see if this link works https://www.librarything.com/topic/228526#

>223 LovingLit: Thanks for fixing that link! I think I got it right on my thread. Off to check...

Just goofed on yours...sorry!! : )

Are you going to read both books in your edition? LOL

Hope the Julian Barnes reading is going well. I can't remember if it is the parrot or another book that he wrote whilst supposedly writing/ researching his PHD in Paris on govt funds. Situations like that I wonder if the government comes round after and asks for their cash back?!

Happy weekend.

Happy Saturday, Megan. I am picking up a copy of Flaubert's Parrot from the library and hope to bookhorn it in. I have wanted to read more Barnes.

>224 Berly: you dare to lol at the thought of me reading both books in my edition? I might read th them both....there is a wry slight chance I might. You know, I could....
Newsflash: I won't!

>225 charl08: ha ha, good for him. I bet his contributions to literature have more than repayed back the debt for his PhD. I, of course could never do that ;)

>226 msf59: looks like we get have a big group for this Bowie read. Coolness.
Also coolness is the walk me and W did today. 2 hours, taking in sweeping views of Lyttelton Harbour and the Banks Peninsula heads, WwII emplacements and viewing hideouts, and sheep/ farmland/ ocean/ cliffs. All good.

Hi Megan, have a good Sunday!

Hi Megan, I am going to dig out my long neglected copy of Flaubert's Parrot and join in this month's Bowie read. Loved the pictures of Disco Lenny and you and your friend at the Event. Thanks for sharing the panic word story. I'm glad you didn't need to use it.

>226 msf59: I didn't mean to impugn your reading prowess...LOL at the Spoiler! : )

>228 connie53: I did, I actually really did :) Saturday was troublesome on account of a certain 7 year-old who refused to pull up his socks and play for his team. It provided much consternation for us parental units....we all handled it badly and then settled on that everyone can have an off day, but commitment to ones team is important.
Sunday involved a 2 hour walk around Godley Head (with said 7 year-old), which was therapeutic and wonderful.

>229 Donna828: yippee, more and more are in on this Bowie read. Who knew it would be so popular!?

>230 Berly: I was only jokingly touchy ;) Always good to inject some drama into the dialogue, no?

>231 LovingLit: Ooof, those days when nobody handles things well are rough, eh? But that therapeutic walk sounds wonderful. Just the ticket.

>232 scaifea: I was pleased to be able to settle relatively quickly on the idea that he is 7, and that he has played every game and every practice for a long season (mostly in the cold), and so he is allowed an off day. The corresponding parental unit was a bit more disappointed in him....I reckoned he didn't need to articulate that as W knew very well that he wasn't being a team player. Anyway, its all settled now, and with only two games to go he will get his rest ;)

I finished book 43... Free to Learn by Peter Gray, a recommendation from one of my supervisors. And today at our meeting he handed me three more books.
Must. Read. Faster!
I have already scanned (with my eyes, not a computer) the first chapters of the two which look most interesting, and think taking notes will suffice.....a slightly less academic book was recommended by the other supervisor today as well, which I dutifully checked out from the library.
Plus book club last night, and Bowie reading tonight....I am all booked out!
*i love it*

Hope the reading continues to go well. Sounds like you're going to have a big bibliography just from the loans from the supervisors! Have been watching the rugby 7s in the Olympics - wondered if your two were following it? They're all so quick!

>234 LovingLit: Yay for books everywhere!! Can't go wrong with that. : )

>236 charl08: I am loving the rugby. And can't believe I used to play at scrum-half. TKD seems much safer! LOL

I am toying whether to start Flaubert's Parrot this weekend, Megan. A little bit of traction with my reading for a change.

Have a lovely weekend, my dear.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

>236 charl08: I have only been seeing the highlights of everything, but that has included the rugby 7s. I felt for the women's team who so badly wanted gold. Personally I think they did a fantastic job to get silver, and find it sad that they can't feel proud of that. I guess they will get the in time.

>237 Berly: everywhere. Yes, I do have books everywhere :)
It's the ideal place to be in, in the middle of piles of books.
Watching W play league, where there are less tackles and those that are there are less of a pile of people and more controlled, feels much better than rugby! I didn't know you played!

>238 PaulCranswick: I hope you started it Paul! I can't say I am hooked just yet but haven't put in a good session yet.
I have been reading reams of research of commentary on 'intensive parenting' and on free play lately.

>239 The_Hibernator: thanks! So far so good, and my weekend lasts an extra day as the kids have a teacher only day tomorrow at school. We are going to go and visit Lenny's old kindgartem to say hi :)

Meanwhile, I congratulate myself at this late hour (ten pm ish) for finally finding the academic literature that supports my connection of two ideas in my essay. Cos, you know, you can't have your own ideas, or it's just made up :)
Yay. I can now go into tomorrow hopeful that I can produce a "mind map/concept map" of my topic in time for Wednesday. At the moment I have a beautiful draft....plain in black felt-tip pen only. But I am toying with the idea of breaking out the kids pencil cases and splashing some colour about. Lol. I'll post a pic of it if I feel happy with it!

Cos, you know, you can't have your own ideas, or it's just made up ... Exactly! I've always wondered how on earth the scholars with the actual original ideas managed ... oh, that's right, we admonished them for being mad! A round Earth: preposterous! blasphemous!

>241 LovingLit: I am glad you found supporting literature for your outlandish, original idea!! Hoping to get to more of Flaubert's Parrot today. I seem to be reading a chapter at a time.

>240 LovingLit: regarding winning silver vs gold, there was a brief psychological discussion on NPR this week of the difference between willing silver vs. bronze. The silver winner automatically compares his or her performance to the gold winner, whereas the bronze winner is relieved to be there at all!

An original idea? Careful now...

>242 lit_chick: I think the are the theorists who by nature are 'making stuff up'....which is understood. Id like to be one of those :) But as a student, a ranty essay is met with raised eyebrows at best. Having marked a few ranty essays myself, I can say that with certainty!

>243 Berly: it's weird as simply finding someone who thinks like I do shouldn't really make my idea any more valid, but then again, if their idea was peer-reviewed then I suppose it is more valid.....or at least more accepted.

>244 ffortsa: and then there is 4th place. With a combination of no glory and a lot of regrets. What a harsh environment to try doing your best in!

>245 charl08: original ideas are awesome, until you read them in someone else's work. Ha! *face palm*

>246 LovingLit: Yep the one you really don't want is 4th - you don't make the record books at all. The guy fourth to the drugs cheat Gatlin in the 100 metres for example must be fuming as well as hurting. Thank heavens for Usain Bolt putting him in his place and shame on the USA Olympic commission for selecting him. UK drugs cheats are rightly banned from all Olympic competition and with Gatlin it was ot once but twice he was caught. One of the British lady swimmers also had a bit of a grumble after finishing 4th behind a Russian as she felt the Russians should have been banned en bloc due to institutional cheating.

^ at the last olympics our kiwi shot put champ Valerie Adams was second to a Belaurussian man-woman who was later, to no great surprise, found to have been on drugs. She looked very very masculine, and I suspect Valerie knew that as she was very dark on the podium.
But no one can give the gold medal moment to anyone in retrospect...our anthem wasn't played on the world stage then, its sad. This year she got silver again, this time legitimately!

I presented my concept map today.....and it was a hit. I was pretty pleased with it myself too....but then (typically for me) immediately felt like I was getting cocky so dialed my expectations down a bit ;)

I forgot to take a photo of it, but basically it was a flow diagram in simple black and white, showing the themes and relationships between them for my paper. It had a transparent cover sheet overlaying it which had key words, and the key research I want to cite, as well as pretty colours to tie it all together. The exercise has helped me gather together how I am thinking about the topipc, so has been very useful. But now, I must write the thing! Only 2,500 words to go......

Back to Flauberts Parrot for tonight. It is hard to get into this one, but when I have put in good reading sessions I have started to become involved.

Flauberts Parrot is such an unusual mashup, Megan. I do think your brain cells will thank you for reading it.

>250 jnwelch: *looks about for the thread police*
All clear?
Ok.
Hi Joe, yes, it's a ride. And I'm glad (as I read on the GR thread) that you hear Barnes's voice in the narrator too. It's almost a bit tongue in cheek. I am enjoying it as I near the half way point, but am not grabbing at it to read at every opportunity.

>32 LovingLit: What charming photos. I have a Samsung phone and the photo images are incredible. Lenny is growing so quickly.

Hi Megan, hope you had a lovely Friday my dear and hope you have a wonderful weekend, sending love and hugs.

Hi Megan, and happy weekend to you!

>252 Whisper1: Lenny is growing very fast :)
This could explain the temper tantrums of epic proportions that we are currently facing :(
However, I'm sure he will grow out of them :)

>253 johnsimpson: thank J, Friday was lovely. I was very productive at uni with 1000 words written and a new order for my sections (it's a 5000 word essay, so the 1000 words was quite a chunk)

>254 AMQS: hi Anne, thanks. The weekend is now thankfully coming to a close. For me, weekends mean 2x fighting children and 2 x strung out parents. So, Monday to Friday is what I enjoy more. I do have coffee, sugar and then wine to get me through the weekend though, so this makes it all ok.

Did I mention that m mind map was graded at an A+? Well, it was :)
Of course I was happy to have produced the thing that they were after, but the joy of the grade was tempered somewhat by a tough week child-wise. Two ear infections (one in each ear) for Lenny meant a sad, and extremely intense and tantrum-prone boy. And a mother who has begun to feel that all her efforts are amounting to not much progress. I guess I will just carry on, but boy- that was a trying week. I aim to be able to report a better week next weekend!

Wow, A+ makes a girl's week, Megan! Congratulations! Sorry to hear it was such a tough one for Lenny ... hope he is feeling a lot better very soon.

Excellent job on the map, lady! But I'm sorry that you and Lenny have had such a rough one. Here's hoping things get better for you both very soon.

Sorry Lenny's had such a bad time. My sister had bad ears for ages and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Lots of sympathy for you too. Watching a kid in pain - ouch.

>256 LovingLit: One of the worst things are ear infections and to then go and get two of the bloody things is desperately bad luck - for Lenny especially - but also for you too. It is difficult for younger kids to fully explain their symptoms even when their pain is blatantly obvious. I hope he will get well soon.

A+?? We wouldn't have expected any different already. xx

Hiya. Congrats on the A+. I would have loved to see a photo of the very artistic map. :)
Stinks when kids are sick, and of course, when they are sick, they don't behave well because they don't feel well and can't cope. Only we don't always draw the connections, do we? I don't, anyway. Sorry you're feeling a little bad about parenting efforts. It's such a two-edged sword. On the bright side, everyone is alive and well, fed and warm, so you can't be doing too badly. *grin*

Good luck with the new week!

Adding my congrats on the A+, Megan. It must be very satisfying to see your hard work rewarded. Sorry about poor Lenny - ear infections are awful for kids.

A+ intellectually and I am giving you an A+ for parenting as well. You are rocking it!! (Hope Lenny feels better soon.)

Poor Lenny. I hope that he's feeling better now.

Congratulations on your latest A+! I think we would all be shocked if you got any grade as low as a B+ from now on.

Congratulations on the A+ my dear, we all know that is what you deserve.

>257 lit_chick: >258 scaifea: >259 charl08: thank you! Lenny is a trooper, that is for sure. He didn't complain of pain, he just got very loud. From experience with his older brother, that to me screamed ear infection. The bad moods were then explained retrospectively.... the bad moods seem to have set in though, so now that he has finished the antibiotics, I might take him back to see if the ears are clear.

>260 PaulCranswick: The ear infections come down the paternal line, my lovely other had them frequently as a kid. I cant really relate to them as my 'thing' was tonsillitis as a kid.

>261 nittnut: yes, parenting, such a mixed bag. At the moment, I feel like I have succeeded if I get to the end of the day and am not either drunk or crying!!! I think I need a holiday ;)

>262 jnwelch: >263 Berly: >264 kidzdoc: >265 johnsimpson: thanks! I do put a lot of effort into the whole thing, and its nice that it pays off. I think I need to put a little less effort in, or else try to be more efficient with my time, as I am finding myself wanting to do more exercise lately. A walk to the café doesn't really count!.....especially if I am eating a slice on the way back ;)