PawsforThought's Princess Bride Challenge of 2014, pt 2

In 2013 my theme was 80's movies but I left out one of the greatest movies of the decade (of all time!): The Princess Bride. It is such a great film it deserves more than a mere category, it deserves its own challenge!

As 2013 was an abysmal year for my reading I am setting the bar VERY low for 2014. I will still have a monthly categories but I only need to read one (1!) book in each category. Besides this I will have to clean-slate months (june and december) where I can read whatever I like. Thus, reading a mere 10 books will mean I've finished the challenge (but hopefully I'll read more than that).

And here is twue wove.

January

Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't think they exist.


Thor's hammer pendant

Nordic myths and legends.

Books read:
Beowulf

Possible reads:
Beowulf
The Kalevala
Voluspa (and the reset of the poetic Edda)
The prosaic Edda

February

You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.

The Middle East and the Arab world.


Khamsa pendant

Books read:

Possible reads:
Arabian Nights/One Thousand and One Nights
The Epic of Gilgamesh

March

When I was your age, television was called books.


Friendship bracelet

Nordic children's classics.

Books read:
The Night Daddy by Maria Gripe
Tordyveln flyger i skymningen by Maria Gripe
Ture Sventon, privatdetektiv by Åke Holmberg
The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson
The Emperor's New Clothes By Hans Christian Andersen
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen
Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen
Blockhead Hans by Hans Christian Andersen
The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen

Possible reads:
Books by Astrid Lindgren
Books by Maria Gripe
Books by H. C. Andersen
The Moomin books
The Ture Sventon books

April

Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam...


Early Victorian brooch

Romanticism.

Books read:
The Sandman by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Lyrical Ballads: With a Few Other Poems by William Wordsworth & Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Ivanhoe by Walter Scott

Possible reads:
Ivanhoe
The Three Musketeers
Poetry by Byron
Poetry by Keats

May

I'll explain, and I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon.


Rune-inscripted ring

Nordic classics.

Books read:

Possible reads:
August Strindberg
Henrik Ibsen
Selma Lagerlöf

June

Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.


Nautical bracelet

Clean-slate month. Read what ye will.

Books read:
Saga #1 by Brian K. Vaughan
Palestine by Joe Sacco

July

You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.


Pewter thread bracelet

Authors from northern Sweden.

Books read:

Possible reads:
Books by Sara Lidman
Books by P. O. Enqvist
Books by Lars Widding
Books by Torgny Lindgren
Books by Peter Englund

August

Why are you wearing a mask? Were you burned by acid or something like that?


Green Lantern ring

Comics and graphic novels.

Books read:

Possible reads:
The Sandman

September

What hideous sin have you committed lately?


Georg Jensen necklace

Modern Nordic novels.

Books read:

Possible reads:
Books by Sofi Oksanen
Books by Jonas Gardell

October

Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.


"Pink panther" diamond ring

Nordic crime novels.

Books read:

Possible reads:
Books by Stieg Larsson
Books by Maj Sjöwall & Per Wahlöö
Books by Arnaldur Indriðason

November

Inconceivable!


The One Ring

Fantasy novels.

Books read:

Possible reads:
A Song of Ice and Fire

December

As you wish.


Charm bracelet

Clean-slate month. Reading whatever.

Books read:

Reading Bingo books:
A book with more than 500 pages:
A forgotten classic:
A book that became a movie:
A book published this year:
A book with a number in the title:
A book written by someone under thirty:
A book with non-human characters:
A funny book:
A book by a female author:
A book with a mystery:
A book with a one-word title:
A book of short stories:
A book set on a different continent:
A book of non-fiction:
The first book by a favourite author:
A book you heard about online:
A best-selling book:
A book based on a true story:
A book at the bottom of your to be read pile:
A book your friend loves:
A book that scares you:
A book that is more than 10 years old:
The second book in a series:
A book with a blue cover:

Reading Bingo YA books:
A book with a female heroine:
A book set in a high school:
The last book of a trilogy:
A book with a colour in the title:
The first book in a series:
A book set in the future:
A book with a break up:
A book without a love triangle:
A book that became a movie:
A book set in Paris:
A book set in the past:
A book with magic:
A book set in the summer:
A book with a dragon:
A book that made you cry:
A graphic novel:
A book based on a myth:
A "classic" YA book:
A book with a lion, a witch or a wardrobe:
A book with an incredible fight scene:
A book you heard about online:
A book set in another world:
A book with an epic love story:
A book with music:

I think I'm done now.

Pretty new thread. I love that nautical bracelet!

Thank you! I love it too, I've been on the lookout for something similar.

Happy new thread!

Thanks for posting all those great "Princess Bride" quotes again! I really need to re-watch that movie one of these days.

19. Thank you!

20. Re-watching The Princess Bride is always a good thing.

I love when someone starts a "new" thread. Gives me a chance to look at the pictures and review the list of books read since I usually skip to the last unread message. Happy new thread!

Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics)

As a child, I was terrified of this story. Or rather, I was terrified by the villains in it. The horrible frog and her vile son; the field mouse; and the scary, silent mole.



Blockhead Hans by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics)

This is a silly story. Ridiculous, really, with an incredibly stupid (anti-)hero and a ridiculous ending. Luckily, it's silly in the way most of us find very funny.



The Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics)

I'd never read this story before but I knew the opening line: "The Emperor of China is a Chinaman, as you most likely know, and everyone around him is a Chinaman too."
Apparently, Andersen wrote it inspired by his unrequited love for opera singer Jenny Lind, which I find rather lovely. The story is lovely too, and the illustrations in the edition I read are incredible.

Happy new thread! :D

Migrating over to your lovely new thread!

24. Thanks!

25. Welcome!

A little throwback to part one of my thread: TED posted a video about the Oxford comma.

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/grammar-s-great-divide-the-oxford-comma-ted-ed

It looks like you have some lovely editions of H.C. Andersen. His work does tend to be dark, but lovely. The one that scared me as a child was The Steadfast Tin Soldier.

28. THey are lovely edition, but they are not mine. I borrowed them from the library. I haven't actually read The Steadfast Tin Soldier, but I hope to get to it tomorrow.

Ture Sventon i öknen by Åke Holmberg (March theme: Nordic children's classics)

The great private detective Ture Sventon is overworked an in great need of a vacation. His good friend Mr Omar has invited Sventon to visit him in his summer home in an oasis in the Arabic desert and Sventon decides to take him up on the offer. He just needs to figure out a way to bring his beloved temlor with him - they wouldn't last long in the desert without the cream going bad. Luckily, he is presented with the incredible new fridge called The North Pole, which not only keeps food cold but also shrinks it so that you could store a years worth of sausages in a fridge the size of a briefcase - and it has a built in radio, too! Unfortunately, the only working copy of The North Pole is stolen by Ville Vessla...

These books are incredible. They are so funny and I wish they were available in more places around the world. They are certainly a bit dated but not too badly, and while the Arabic world is VERY stereotypically described, I think it's done with intent, to poke fun at the way the Arabic world was presented in 1949 (and still is).

The Tumbelina baddies are truly creepy! Still. :)

I just checked and my library has a bunch of Ture Sventon books - thinking of a trip down memory lane!

The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics

Classic. This was included in an edition of bedtime stories that I was very fond of as a child so I've read it dozens upon dozens of times. It's rather genius and shows the side of Andersen that likes to make fun of things.



The Steadfast Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics

I hadn't read this one before and I'm really glad I got the opportunity to do it now. It's a delightful tale with an ending that is both sad and beautiful - rather typical of H.C.



The Tinderbox by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics

Before reading this, I already knew parts of this story but I didn't know they were part of this story. It's an interesting story that reminded me a lot of Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.
And I have to say, the illustrations in the book where I read most of these stories are absolutely marvellous - it really struck me while reading The Tinderbox.



The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen (March theme: Nordic children's classics

This is quite possibly the saddest story ever written. It's so terribly tragic and yet so very beautiful at the same time. I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. It's my absolute favourite of Andersen's tale and has been so ever since childhood.

Love the Hans Christian Andersen reads! Author of some of my favorite children's tales.

31. Do it! I thought they'd be much more aged than they were and reading them has really been a pleasure. I'd love to read the rest of them, too.

33. Yeah, I love him too. Always have but didn't realise how much until now. He was a true genius.

>27 PawsforThought: Thanks for posting that video! I was trying to explain the Oxford comma to a co-worker and his eyes just glazed over : /

>32 PawsforThought: So glad to hear that Anderson holds up well reading the stories as an adult. I have a lovely edition packed away at my parents, so I think I must dig for that next time I visit.

35. I was quite relieved. There's always that worry when you re-read something you read and liked as a child but in this case I had no reason to worry. All is well and Andersen is as good as he always was.

I finished another book last week and completely forgot to post about it.



The Sandman by E. T. A. Hoffmann (April theme: Romanticism)

I've never read anything by Hoffmann before but I've seen The Nutcracker enough for two lifetimes so I had high hopes for this. Being a lover of ballet I feel bad about not realizing until quite far into the storty that Coppélia was sort of based on this. I did note that the protagonist in The Nutcracker and the object of affection in this story are both called Clara.

It's a weird one, this. I quite like weirdness, though, so I rather enjoyed it. The narrator is a bit of a tosser and I felt like whacking him over the head with a frying pan quite a few times. Other than that I really liked it. It's creepy and you don't really know what to expect or how it'll end (I liked the ending). I'm definitely reading more Hoffmann in the future.

Oh, and HAPPY EASTER everyone! Here, have a bunny:

D'awwwwwwww love it! :D

>39 rabbitprincess: He looks a bit like one of the rabbits I had as a kid so I couldn't stop myself. SO cute.

Happy Easter!

Thanks, you too!

Hey, lovely and wonderful people of LT, I have a question for you.
Does anyone of you know of a website where one could procure a pen pal? Like, old-fashioned, putting pen to actual paper-pen pals?
I was reminded recently of how much I loved writing letters to pen pals abroad when I was younger and I really do miss it. E-mails are all good and fine but it's a completely different thing to having someone to write real letters to and receive letters from. Also, I've seen some absolutely beautiful letter writing sets online and want a reason to buy and use them.
So, anyone? I'm not too picky about where people live (though it'd be nice if they spoke English well enough for me to understand their writing, as my French isn't really up to scratch and I don't think too many pen pals out there understand Swedish).

I can't help you with that exactly, but I can say that a couple of years ago I made a point of writing actual letters to old friends who I see too rarely by far, taking the time to write a nice letter instead of a quick email. All of them said they really appreciated it, and a few even wrote back! I have close friends who've done the same, and I think we all got a lot of satisfaction out of it...

>44 whitewavedarling: Yeah, getting a real letter in the mailbox is so much more rewarding than a new message in an inbox. Writing a letter requires thought and effort and allows you to collect your thoughts before writing them down.

I've looked up a few websites and joined one. I'm still working on my profile but in the 15 or so minutes since I officially joined, I've had 11 messages! (So far none of them have been interesting, though.)

Well, quick responses - even if they are not interesting - sounds very promising! I love the fact that you have embarked on this pen pal activity. I have to admit it has been eons since I have last written physical correspondence that I have dropped in the post for mailing.... Of course, my penmanship is so bad I would be embarrassed to write to someone. I am such an electronic age person its embarrassing.

I love getting snail mail, but considering I can hardly even keep up with people on Facebook, I'm a poor candidate. Hope the website spawns some good pals!

I hope you do get some interesting replies.

I was never good at writing letters, even when it was the only way to stay in touch!

I making contact with some nice people. Only at the introductory chatting stage and trying to get to know each other but hopefully we'll progress to writing proper letters soon enough.

I can't say I was ever good at writing letters. Most of my letter writing took place when I was 8-14 years old and it was a lot of "How are you? I am fine. This and that happened at school today, Bye!" Hopefully it'll be more than that this time around!

Lyrical Ballads by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (April theme: Romanticism)

I've only read maybe two or three of Wordsworth's poems before, and none at all of Coleridge's so it was nice to be able to tick this off on the list of things to do. I did really enjoy most of these poems, especially the somewhat shorter ones and the ones that rhyme - I suspect they were Wordsworth's.
The big problem I have with this particular edition of Lyrical Ballads is that the lack of footnotes and background information makes it quite difficult (especially when it comes to the longer poems/ballads) to understand it all. Peotry is not always easy to understand and if there is no help putting things in context or explaining references you get a bit lost.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (April theme: Romanticism)

This was a re-read for me but the first time I read it was about ten years ago and I only remembered the most basic storyline structure and that I absolutely hated it.
I'm glad I re-read it as I enjoyed it more this time than the first (hard not to).It is a very good book but it has far too many dull points to ever become a favourite of mine. It'd be much more enjoyable if the dreadful cousins weren't there (the ghastly St. John in particular).

The reason for my re-read, other than trying to give it another chance, was to reresh my memories of the storyline to help when I read The Eyre Affair sometime next month, and perhaps also Wide Sargasso Sea.

Funny how our opinion of a book can change with time. I have a few books labelled "should probably read again" that could do with a revisit.

>52 rabbitprincess: I don't think I have very many other books like that. Jane Eyre was the big one. There ARE more, but only a couple.

>54 christina_reads: Bahaha!

Saw this on Buzzfeed, in a post about words from other languages that have no direct translation in English. I think a few people here on LT fit the description...

The Japanese word "tsundoku":

>56 PawsforThought: - LOL! that would be me, without the baby buggy full of books, because I don't own a baby buggy. Looks like a great way to transport books, though. ;-)

Cross-posting (as I often do):

Has anyone here read the French GN series Valerian and Laureline? I just came across it while looking for something else and it looks interesting but there seems to be very few reviews out there so can't really tell if they're good or not.

Calling all LT:ers who are interested in classical music or know a bit about it! More specifically, know a bit about orchestras and conductors and which are good, great and the greatest!

In my continual pursuit of rediscovering old interests and diving back into them I am turning to classical (which I've never really abandoned like I did other things but I have never really been very knowledgeable about it so thought I'd take the opportunity to learn more). The charity shops in town have quite a collection of classical music LP:s and there isn't much interest in them which means they're quite cheap. I thought I'd take advantage of this and purchase a few but I'd like to know a bit about what I'm looking at (or listening to, as it were).
So, while browsing through the stacks at the charity shops, are there any specific orchestrations I should be looking out for? Any orchestra that is particularly good at certain composers or periods of time? Any conductors that are? I only really know the biggest names when it comes to composers but don't really know if they have any specialities.

Oh, and even though I've only talked about orchestras, this includes choirs too! I LOVE choirs!

>59 PawsforThought: - Sounds like you have stumbled across a great find! I don't know of any particular orchestrations so I can provide any suggestions.

>60 lkernagh: I think classical music is generally not a hot item when it comes to vinyl records so there tends to be a lot of them in charity shops and the shops are often more than happy to give you a good deal if you just relieve them of the records. Classical music, religious music and dance orchestras are always left when everything else is sold.

Anyone got any tips? Is the London Symphony Orchestra particularly good at 18th century Czech composers? Is the Vienna Philharmonic the only one that can do justice to Brahms? Come on! I know there are classical music connoisseurs on LT. Show yourselves!

Another one down!



The Absolute Sandman vol 2 by Neil Gaiman

Worfds can't express how much I love Neil Gaiman and his writings. The Sandman stories are truly remarkable and I'll forever be grateful to LT for introducing my to them.
Volume two of The Absolute Sandman starts with Seasons of Mist: Prologue and ends with Convergence: Soft Places, and also contains A Game of You. They are amazing stories and while I was a bit skeptical at the beginning, and worried that I'd be disappointed after being completely blown away by volume one, I was eventually won over. Partly because Seasons of Mist contains one of the best (and in my opinion most accurate) portrayals of Thor I've ever come across in popular culture - he gets to have his red hair!
One of my favourite things about Gaiman is his portrayal of women. They come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. This is made particularly clear in A Game of You. They are their own characters and not just "the woman".

I'd love to dive further into the Sandman series but I have other books waiting and I'll have to but it on the back burner for now.

I am no expert in Classical music, but have been going to the Oregon Symphony, which is surprisingly good. Tomorrow we go to see Joshua Bell play with them--Sibelius.

I think for classical recordings it helps to know what you like, and then different orchestra's have good recordings of different pieces.

What kind of music do you like? I myself like Shostakovich; but my neighbor (who I go to the symphony with) hates both of them. She loves Beethoven. The symphony often has recommended recordings for any given piece of music, which is nice. I think that the London Philharmonic is overall very good--they are frequently recommended.

>63 banjo123: Hmm, lets see... What do I like?

Mozart, of course. I love everything about Mozart. Two of my most prized possessions are trinkets my best friend brought back from the Mozart museum when she was in Salzburg a few years ago. LOVE Mozart.
Bach. The Brandenburg concertos. I don't know much else but I love those.
I used to detest Wagner but I'm tolerating him better nowadays. Will probably take a while before I'm a proper fan, though.
Tchaikovsky! My first classical love.
But these are only the ones I already know I like. While I'd absolutely love to get great recordings of these I would also LOVE to discover new (to me) music. I was introduced to Ysaye's Ballade recently - wonderful!

Well, the possibilities are endless, and it sounds like you like a variety. How do you feel about Grieg, by the way?

I would probably suggest you try some other Baroque musicians, maybe Vivaldi and Handel, to complement the Bach. And then maybe try Haydn and Schubert for more of the classical era. And Beethoven, of course. And if you like Tschikovsky, perhaps Stravinsky?

eta: last year I heard Andre Watts play Beethoven's The Emperor, which was amazing, so a recording of that piece would be terrific, especially if you like piano. Also it's the music referenced in Doc by Mary Doria Russell which made it more interesting to me. Beethoven, from what I understand, did not repeat himself, so his pieces are different one from the other.

>65 banjo123: Thanks for the suggestions. I do like Grieg. I grew up with him, as mI dare say most Scandinavians do. Peer Gynt is our cultural heritage.
Do you have any suggestions for orchestras performing the composers you mentioned (or the ones I did)?
I've never heard of Doc before, I'll have to look it up.

I don't know too much about recordings. You could check here for some ideas, or maybe someone with more knowledge than me will stop by. We used to have a great classical music store in town, where they made wonderful recommendations, albeit with a snooty attitude. Unfortunately, they are closed, but sometimes we get recommendations with our program at the symphony, so if any seem relevant, I will pass them on.

When my daughter was little, she took piano and had to do a report on Grieg. I was wondering about him has a folk influenced outsider, maybe similar to Tschikovsky. But actually they do sound pretty different, don't they?

>67 banjo123: It's really the recordings/orchestrations I need help with. Hopefully, knowledgeable people will turn up. And yes, please, if you do come across anything, I'd love it if you let me know.
We actually do have a music shop in town (I have no idea how they stay afloat) but I doubt they'd be of much help in this matter. They have a lot of sheet music and could easily retract a particular Chopin waltz but I don't think recordings are their forte.

I can see the similarities of influence with Tchaikovsky and Grieg but I agree the styles are very different. Tchaikovsky is so very, well, Russian. Grieg sounds more like a lot of the German people, going between powerful-dark-scary and airy-innocent-joyful. Incidentally, when I was in primary school, we performed dramas/dances of both Tchaikovsky (Swan Lake) and Grieg (Peer Gynt) to our parents. No other composers, just them.

Personally, I love Rimsky-Korsakov and Mussorgsky, but I don't know of a specific recording or orchestra to recommend. You really can't go wrong with the Russians, in my opinion.

We're having quite a bad thunderstorm here at the moment (one of the lightening strikes seems to have been a few hundred meters from here so I'm hoping it moves on quickly).
To be on the safe side I'm going to turn off the electronics, cuddle up with a nice glass of rosé and some chocolate and read a book. I'm even going so far as to allow myself to start on my planned June read ahead of time. I'll be back when the weather is better.

Fingers crossed you don't lose your power, but you sound as if you are going to be very comfortable during the storm.

As much as I love thunderstorms, I know how damaging they can be to electronics when power surges occur. I love the idea of settling in with a glass of rosé, some chocolate and a book to ride out the storm. ;-)

Storm' s over and no power was lost. We rarely lose power when there's thunder (or when we do it's rarely for more than a few minutes/half an hour). Usually when the power goes out for longer peroids it's during winter and due to winter storms and heavy snowfall (though they're working on eliminating that problem buy putting the major power transmission wires in the ground.
I was very comfortable with my wine and chocolates. The book, though I didn't get too much reading done as I was simultaneously texting my mum and brother, seems good too (Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair).
The weather was very scary for a while - most of the strikes hit a few kilometers away (that I could tell by counting seconds) but one of the biggest ones was right in the area. Not even a second from lightening to the thunder. I was worried something might have caught fire (there's a lot of wood in the area) but nothing happened. It was fortunately raining heavily. Mostly, I was worrying about my cat who had insisted on going outside even though he's very scared of thunder and other loud noises.

Glad you're continuing to enjoy The Sandman books. It really is a stunning piece of work. So much of it left for you to still look forward to as well.

>74 AHS-Wolfy: I'm loving The Sandman! It's that painful but simultaneously wonderful feeling of knowing there's a lot left and being thrilled by that but still wanting to get to the end so you'll know what happens. It's a very rare feeling - don't think I've felt it since Harry Potter - but so great to experience.

Argh! I really need to stop checking out book shops' websites - the sci-fi book shop's site especially. There are WAY too many books on my wish list as it is, I don't need to make matters worse by tempting myself with more stuff.
They have SO many interesting GNs there it's ridiculous. I thought I'd looked at them all when I spent nearly all of last Sunday on their site but apparently not. I just discovered two more that I'd never heard of and that seem really good and interesting. They need to ban me.

>76 PawsforThought: - LOL,I am like that with craft supply sites and shoes. Hide your credit card and so long as you are like me and do not have your card details memorized, you should be fine to avoid temptation. ;-)

>77 lkernagh: Well, luckily I'm quite good at actually restraining myself from buying so I don't need to hide my card (though I do know my debit card details by heart). It's just emotionally taxing to know that there are so many great books out there just calling my name and I CAN'T buy them. I feel like Odysseus sailing past the island of the Sirens...

I like your Odysseus analogy. I often feel the same way myself. :)

Glad you're enjoying the Sandman series so much. Last year, when I read through the series, I found Hy Bender's The Sandman Companion very useful. There were so many things I missed going through the series the first time ... but that just means I need to do a reread, perhaps more than one, in the future.

About classical recordings, you might find this site helpful: 100 Classical Music Recordings You Must Own

>59 PawsforThought: Classical music is a very, very wide field, and back in the day, when there were decent music stores where you could listen to and compare several recordings, it was a lot easier to find out which style is your favourite.
If you are looking at vinyl records in charity shops, they probably have mostly recordings from last century?

Some suggestions: for Beethoven symphonies, the 1970ies recordings of Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker are considered milestones.
For musical works from the 19th century (Beethoven, Mahler, Schumann, Schubert etc) that require large orchestras, the Viennese, Berliner and Chicago orchestras are great because of their first-rate string sections.
Neville Marriner made some great recordings of Mozart symphonies with different orchestras, but nearly everything he recorded with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields is a good choice.
If you're looking for Bach and other stuff from before 1800, give John Eliot Gardiner a try. His Monteverdi Choir is amazing.
And if you want more from Vivaldi than just the Four Seasons, have a look at his works published on the Naive label. My favourites are the operas, but those may be an acquired taste...

>79 mathgirl40: Yes, I could definitely do with a re-read or two once I'm finished because there are SO many references I'm not getting (and I can feel it!) that I want to understand. I often feel like I could do with a uni course in "Sandman references 101" before I read any more.

Thanks for the link! :)

>80 MissWatson: Yeah, the recording seem to be mainly from the 60's, 70's and 80's. I went strictly by people and orchestras I recognised the names of - it's as good a place to start as any, I suppose.
Thank you so much for the information! I'm copying down the information so I can have it on hand when I go shopping again.

I do like operas, though I haven't seen (or heard) very many from beginning to end. Some of them are definitely an acquired taste, but I think there are some that are rather "easy" ("Carmen" would be one, I think.) One of my favourite childhood memories is being glued to the TV on a rainy afternoon watching an opera and being complete entranced by it. It was the first time I'd ever really seen or heard an opera and I thought it was fantastic. I wish I knew which one it was, but I didn't pay attention to that and it's a bit difficult to find out now.

For anyone interested, the records I bought last week were: Schubert's "Death and the Maiden" and "Quartet Movement in C minor" with the Amadeus Quartett; Sibelius' "Violin Concerto" and Beethoven's "Romances for Violin" with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Pinchas Zukerman (conducted by Daniel Barenboim); Beethoven's "Symphony no. 5" with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London (conducted by Otto Klemperer); Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" and "Symphony no. 40" with The Philharmonia and the New Philharmonia Orchestra, London (conducted by Otto Klemperer); Schubert's "Symphony no. 8" and "Symphony no. 5" with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London (conducted by Otto Klemperer); Schubert's "Symphony no. 8" and Symphony no. 5" (again) with the Berlin Philharmonic (Conducted by Karl Böhm); Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring" with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, London (conducted by Rafael Frübeck de Burgos); Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto no. 1" with the Philharmonia Orchestra, London and John Ogden (conducted by Sir John Barbirolli); and finally Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" and other pieces with the New Philharmonia Orchestra, London and the London Philharmonic Orchestra (conducted by Sir Adrian Boulf). Phew.

One of the things I enjoyed about the Sandman when I read it was knowing I was missing quite a lot of things and there was plenty of scope for a re-read. Something that good deserves to be read more than once. I'll definitely be picking up that companion book before I do though.

>81 PawsforThought: That sounds like you've got some very famous names there.
Karl Böhm supposedly once said that a good conductor should be able to do his conducting in a telephone booth with one hand in his pocket. He was not very flamboyant on the podium. I love his Mozart and Strauss recordings (of Viennese waltzing fame).

>82 AHS-Wolfy: Yeah, I completely agree. Though I'm torn between loving knowing that there's so much left to discover while re-reading and wanting to know everything now, damn it!

>83 MissWatson: Haha! That's a good quote! I'll keep an eye out for Böhm with Mozart and Strauss, then. :)

>70 PawsforThought:
I was in Sweden for that one - it was amazing! I was in the middle of baking when it hit for real, so I was just hoping that the stove would stay on. :) It did - no power lost.

Amazing? Not how I'd describe a thunderstorm. There is a certain coziness to them - connected to the fact that I generally cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate when they hit - but I have a little too much respect for them. They're incredibly interesting weather phenomena, though.

Buzzfeed posted this today, which made me very happy. Judging by the comments, they're not all "smashing the patriarchy" but there seems to be a few golden nuggets in there (including Saga, which I just started reading).

http://www.buzzfeed.com/kmallikarjuna/comics-that-smash-the-patriarchy

Today is the 6th of June and so the National Day of Sweden. We've never really been a nation to overly celebrate that day but at least nowadays we get the day off work.
491 years of independence is quite a nice thing to celebrate so YAY Sweden!



We're having absolutely wonderful weather in my little corner of the world today and so I'll be celebrating by basking in the sun on a towel in the garden and hopefully getting a bit of a tan to start the summer off.

Sounds like the perfect way to spend a national holiday!

Excellent way of spending nationaldagen!

Don't burn! I prefer icy drinks and shade, but I have that kind of skin that burns, peels and never, ever considers changing from its usual pale blue shade unless it is to go for a painful-looking fuchsia.

>91 RidgewayGirl: I won't! I don't burn easily. In fact, I can't remember ever getting burnt and I'm notoriously bad at applying sunscreen - though this time I was very good and applied sunscreen to my whole little self before stepping out in the sun. I've promised myself to try and keep that up the rest of the summer: no spf - no tanning. We'll see how well I do.
My best friend has skin just like your (her and her brother both, they never get tanned at all, just pink and then the skin peels off). Good melanin levels run in my family so I'm lucky that way.
I do need icy drinks and shade too, though. I get heat exhaustion easily so have to keep an eye on body temp and fluids.

Saga #1 by Brian K. Vaughan

Another GN! This is part 1, not volume 1 (which comprises parts 1-6). I read this one of the computer screen as it was available as a free ebook on Itunes a few months ago (don't know if it still is). It's so good! It's only the very first peak into the world Alana, Marko and their baby inhabit, but it's so fascinating and so well-written I can't wait to read the next part. Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait as I have no idea when I'll be able to read part two.

I've had a great weekend! The best in a long time.
I was working Thursday but it was a nice day at work and I got to be out in the sun quite a lot. Also, my co-worker shooed me off home half an hour early (there was nothing left for me to do, anyway) and I got a ride to town with another co-worker. Because of that I had time to pop into the liquor shop before they closed and stock up on cider, beer and even a small bottle of white rum which I will use to try out mojitos and caipirinhas when my vacation starts. Also, I had time for a soft-serve ice cream (my first this summer!) before catching the bus home.
Friday I was basking in the sun all day and enjoying the absolutely wonderful weather we had on our National Day.
Saturday my family went to my newest cousins' christening and were amazed to see him make it through the ceremony without screaming (he's a cryer, and he hadn't slept that day so it's a miracle, really). And I got to spend time with lovely family members I haven't seen in ages (some of whom I'll hopefully see again over Midsummer). Back home for a dinner outside with my parents and then finishing the day off at a friend's place with popcorn, a couple of glasses of wine and an episode of Miss Marple. Lovely.

A wonderful weekend, for sure!

Trying to catch up after falling waaay behind. Glad you had such a great weekend!

Lovely way to spend nationaldagen!

>97 -Eva-: It was!

Palestine by Joe Sacco

I've been working my way through this for AGES and had to take breaks from it on a regular basis as reading about human cruelties and war make me feel very ill at ease and I could only handle small chunks of it at a time.
As sad as the subject matter is, it is a very good and well-written book. It ended a bit abruptly and for a moment I though there were a couple of pages missing, but still. Worth the read, and I'll probably pick up another Sacco work in time, when I feel I can stomach more horrors.

Has anyone here read Rat Queens? I'd never heard of it before but I just read that Weta Workshops (who made the LOTR movies) are apparently going to make it into a TV show. Looking at the artwork and reading about it, it looks GREAT and I'm itching to read it.
Anyone who can verify or dispel?

(Article: http://variety.com/2014/biz/news/heavy-metal-weta-workshops-pukeko-pictures-to-a...

I haven't. Looks like a fun series.

I've never heard of it at all, but Weta will get my vote whatever they do. :)

It does look great, doesn't it?! The description alone make me excited, and the drawings are really good.

"Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack!"

>102 -Eva-: Haha! Yeah, they're pretty high on my list of "people I trust to do anything".

I feel like all I ever do on LT is ask people things. And here we go again...

I was looking through my brother's bookshelves the other day and notised (or was reminded, because I knew but had forgotten) that he has quite a few classical Greek plays/works/whatever.
I'm about as much of a novice as you can be in that particular area of literature; the only things I've read is The Odyssey and, in school, a few excerpts from Oedipus Rex and Medea. I'm familiar with titles and writers of a few more plays but not more than that.
I'd love to do something about this but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew, so to speak. I thought The Odyssey was going to be a tough read but I had no problems with that once I got into the melody and the storyline. I'm guessing things aren't always that easy so I was hoping LT:ers with more experience in the Greek literary world than me could kindly point out which works/writers are best to start with. "Ancient Greece for beginners", if you like.

>104 PawsforThought: I can recommend titles, but not necessarily the best editions/translations. Perhaps going with a good Oxford or Penguin edition that has footnotes and essays about the plays (but don't read the introductions -- they will assume you are familiar with the plot)!

First, you should read all of Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (not necessary all three, but definitely Oedipus the King). If you are unfamiliar with the story, on the first read-through I recommend not reading background, so the build of suspense and the climax are a bit of a surprise.

Agamemnon by Aeschylus is another classic. You'll be vaguely familiar with his name from The Odyssey. I haven't read it in a loooong time. For this one, I think it's helpful to know the context. So I would recommend maybe reading a synopsis/wikipedia about the House of Atreus. This is one messed up family with lots of convoluted terrible story-lines (one heck of an ancient soap-opera!). So for this I would keep notes to help you remember how the different characters are related and who did what to whom, in case you want to continue reading about them. (Such as reading about his daughters Iphigenia in Tauris by Euripides or Iphigenie in Tauris by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Electra by Aeschylus, Electra by Sophocles, Electra by Euripides; and his son Eumenides by Aeschylus, Orestes by Euripides).

I really liked Anne Carson's translations in her anthology: An Oresteia.

Also don't forget the operas! Iphigenie by Gluck and Elektra by Strauss. And now I'm late for work, I'll have to post a couple of comedy ideas later!

>105 ELiz_M: THANK YOU! I'll most likely get the Swedish translations as that's what'll be available at the libraries (there might be one or two in English but I won't count on it). They usually do have footnotes and things in them but I'll make sure to check. And I never read introductions unless I've been specifically instructed to do it (they always spoil things!)

I am familiar with the story of Oedipus, or at least the major plot points. It's been 15 years since I read parts of it in school (oh, jeez, it's been 15 years!)

Oh, Agamemnon! He was the one who led Greece in the war against Troy, wasn't he?
A chart of names, relations and events is a good idea. Thanks again, and I look forward to more suggestions!

Well, it turns out that one of the books my brother had was the Oedipus trilogy-thing! The others were Ajax and The Women of Trachis (Sophocles); The Wasps and Peace (Aristophanes) The Phoenician Women and The Suppliant Women (Euripides).
The translations are supposed to be good (though from around the 50's so might be a bit old-fashioned).
So when I start (I have to finish at least some of what I'm reading now first!) I'll probably tackle the Oedipus plays first as they were recommended AND I have them at hand.

My brother's in town for Midsummer and he brought me a gift! He was in the US last month and bought THIS for me:



I have the best brother ever!

Wow!

>108 PawsforThought: - Love that shirt, even though I don't quite understand the animal with a gun in its hand paw, though. ;-)

Such a great shirt!!

>110 lkernagh:
The character Behemoth, who is a cat, has a preference for guns. And vodka. :)

>111 -Eva-: - Now I am intrigued about The Master and Margarita!

I'm back! I spent the past few days with my family in out summer house and I've had a lovely time, despite horrible weather.

>110 lkernagh: / >112 lkernagh: As Eva's already explained, that's an accurate depiction of Behemoth. He's probably my favourite character in the book. And you should absolutely read it! It's great. And mad.

Welcome back. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with lousy weather. This is supposed to be summer, but it doesn't feel like it.

It's great. And mad.

Well, that pretty much cements it. I have added it to my future listening audiobook queue. ;-)

>115 lkernagh: Audiobook? Who's reading it?

It's an L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance made available through Hoopla.

Saga vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (June theme: Clean slate - read what ye will)

This time it's the collected volume containing issues 1-6.
I love this GN. It's got a lot of sex and violence in it (seriously, if you're sensitive about these things, don't read it - body parts are frequently blown off and issue 4 contains a lot of kinky sex (more than I'm used to encountering in literature)). But the story is great and the characters are interesting (I love Alana!) - both the obvious heroes and the bad guys.

Saga vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan (June theme: Clean slate - read what ye will)

And issues 7-12 which is the last I'll get to read of this incredible story for a while. Sigh.
More gore and sex in this but what I really like about this story is that it's all done with a sense of humour. You can tell that the author (and the illustrator) is having fun writing this, and I've laughed quite a few times reading these.
Also, issue 12 contains possibly my favourite image ever in a GN: a seal pup wearing yellow dungarees leading a saddled walrus-elephant hybrid by a lead.

I'm happy to see your positive comments about Saga Volume 2. I liked Volume 1 and I have Volume 2 waiting for me in my Hugo Voter Packet. I plan to get to it before the end of the month, in time for voting.

Saga is another one of those graphic novel series that I really want to try at some point. Glad you're enjoying it.

Saga is on my wishlist as well, but even if it hadn't been, "a seal pup wearing yellow dungarees leading a saddled walrus-elephant hybrid by a lead" won me over. :)

>122 -Eva-: It's a fantastic image, isn't it? There are a lot of those in Saga but that one just stuck out a little bit extra.

I'm planning a short vacation soon (whoohoo!) and was wondering if anyone had any tips on what to do/see/buy/whatever in Berlin and Dublin.

Dublin: Chapters Bookstore, Parnell Square! http://chapters.ie/

>125 rabbitprincess: Haha! Of course!

Whatever happened with the pen pal thing?

>127 March-Hare: It's going quite well. I have one steady pen pal and I'm having a great time writing to her and reading her letters. There were a few other people I wrote to but they seem to have vanished.

So now the interesting part. What do you write about?

>129 March-Hare: Just our lives and what's going on. Favourite things and why. Politics, sometimes. Whatever happens to be on our minds.

Dublin is out. Tickets were much to expensive for little old me. Copenhagen instead. And Berlin, as planned.
Really looking forward to this.

Have you started packing yet? Have you chosen which books to take with you? I made a short visit to Copenhagen and thought it was lovely. I've been to Hamburg but not Berlin.

>132 mamzel: No, I haven't started packing. I have a week left (leaving next Monday). Don't think I'll be packing very many books. Two, maybe. Just for on the flights and while in transit. I plan to be out and about from morning 'til night so not a lot of reading time while on location.

What did you do when you where in Copenhagen? Any tips?

>133 PawsforThought: That's a great destination- I've been to Copenhagen and many German cities, but not Berlin. I'm looking forward to seeing your photos when you return.

It's been so many years since I was there that the only place I can remember was a museum, a mariner's museum, I think, where one of the guards was determined that we understand the displays so he glued himself to us and through the place explaining each item.

Don't think I'll be uploading any pics but I'll definitely share my experiences with you.

>124 PawsforThought: Our family just came back from a vacation in Germany, which included a very brief (too brief!) stop in Berlin. We spent a lot of time just walking around the Mitte area. There's loads to see there: the Brandenburg Gate, the Berliner Dom, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie (which featured a very informative open-air exhibit), and much more that I would have loved to visit if I had more time. We also visited the Bauhaus Museum, which is definitely worthwhile if you're interested in design. I hope you have a great trip!

The only thing I can remember is visiting the Tivoli Gardens and having strawberries with cream. I'm talking 40 years ago. I also worked on a ship which delivered a load of coal to a power plant near a small town. It was a darling little town with very friendly people. I looked at a map but couldn't recall the name. I have good memories, though rather lacking in detail.

Alright, my lovely LT-friends. I am going away for a little while. Tomorrow I'm flying down to continental Europe for a week and a half's holiday. I'll be back in the middle of next week. See you all then.

Have a fun trip! I regret a little that we chose to come back to the US for most of the summer break (although that was the right choice for the family, especially my son) and I hope that next summer we'll be willing to hit the autobahn.

>138 PawsforThought: Have a great time!

Have a great trip!!!

Have a great time! I envy your easy access to continental Europe ;)

Jealous! Have a great time! & if you run out of books, I'm sure you can find some at Copenhagen.

I'm back again! Thank you all for the well-wishes. I've had a lovely time (and I bought books!) but it's really nice to be home again.

Welcome back. How the time flies!

whatyabuy whatyabuy whatyabuy?

>146 cammykitty: I bought Saga parts 1 & 2, the first part of Maus, a beautiful notebook and a "book bag" (a canvas bag just the right size for ONE book).

Fables, Vol 1: Fables in Exile by Bill Willingham (August theme: Comics and graphic novels)

A new acquaintance I've been eager to read for a while now. I'm not as enthralled with it as I am with Saga but I do like it a lot and will be reading on. I'm a sucker for fairy tales and I like this interpretation of them. There's a fair amount of rawness and blood and gore to honour the often violent origins of the tales the characters come from, and it's all done very cleverly. Hopefully the next volume(s) will only make thing better.

Fables is one of my favorites, but it very light fare, just a heads up. There are storyarcs where things get more serious, but it's mainly a series I go to when I'm in bed with a cold or something like that.

>149 -Eva-: I don't mind light fare, but thanks for the heads up. It's rarely good to expect one thing and get something else.

After learning that Lauren Bacall has died, I was reminded of how few films of the golden age of Hollywood I've actually seen. Sadly, they rarely air on TV and they were never a priority when renting movies. But I thought I'd do something about it and thought I'd try watching one classic movie every week. That's doable. Maybe two, but I won't push myself.

Which are your favourite classic Hollywood movies? Top 3? Or top 5? (Top as-many-as-you-want, really...)

The Bad Seed didn't come out until 1956, but it is fabulous. And Out of the Past is amazing.

Well, I'd definitely classify 1956 as classic Hollywood. Thanks for the tips! The Bad Seed and Out of the Past are going on the list!

>151 PawsforThought: The Philadelphia Story! It Happened One Night. His Girl Friday. Notorious (the Hitchcock movie, not the one about the rapper!). Laura.

>154 christina_reads: Ooh, goodie! Thank you. They're all going on the list.

I'm really looking forward to this. I think my first film is going to be a Chaplin one. Either The Kid or The Gold Rush (or maybe Modern Times?).

>154 christina_reads: The Philadelphia Story and His Girl Friday are two of my favorite movies of all time!

>155 PawsforThought: "The Kid" is wonderful. That tiny boy (Jackie Coogan) was so natural. And if you like silents, I can also recommend "Wings" with Clara Bow or "The Sheik" with Valentino.

>157 mstrust: I haven't watched very many silents, but I like what I have seen. And the great thing about them is that many of them are in the public domain so easy to legally get hold of for free.
Clara Bow! Oh, I've seen one of her movies (can't remember what it was called, it was ages and ages ago and I don't really remember the plot). She's one of my favourite people. So fab.

The list if getting very long, haha! Which is good. I'll have entertainment lined up for a long time.

Oh, It Happened One Night is marvelous, it made me fall in love with Clark Gable.

Bringing Up Baby is one of my favourites. In fact, anything directed by Howard Hawks, he has such classy yet feisty women characters.

>160 MissWatson: Great to know. Classy yet feisty women characters is a fast-track to my love.

Yes, "Bringing Up Baby"!

So many great old films are mentioned here. I would like to add the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movies of "Top Hat" and 'The Gay Divorcee", and the William Powell and Myrna Loy comedy/mystery series of "The Thin Man" stories.

>163 DeltaQueen50: Thanks for the tips. :)

>151 PawsforThought:
Citizen Kane is at the top of my list. And then Arsenic and Old Lace, I think.

>165 -Eva-: D'oh! *facepalm* Why hadn't I put those on the list already?

Another vote for "The Thin Man" and "Arsenic and Old Lace".

Oh, what a day I've had! Work was shit, but it usually is so nothing worse than usual. I did get recognized by a boy I used to work with when he was in primary school (9, now he's 16). Lovely kid, nice to see him again. He's still a right sweetheart.

But then I got home and my day vastly improved. First I discovered that 3/4 of the GNs I'd ordered a couple of weeks ago, as comfort for having to go back to work after my holiday, had arrived and was waiting in the mailbox. Then mum and I went for a walk and found a whole heap of lovely mushrooms - it's a great year for porcini mushrooms apparently.
And now I'm finishing the evening off with a big cup of tea and the penultimate episode of Inspector Morse.

Good thing your day picked up! Any time you're having a bad day, a book-package should show up at your door. :)

Oooo!!! Sounds like the perfect day, except for that work bit. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I'm a little nervous because there are supposed to be changes. Change bad. But a mailbox full of books, mushrooms and a good mystery episode sounds good.

Yum for the porcinis. I'd love to be able to find my own mushrooms because I love mushroom stew. That was a good ending to the day.

>169 -Eva-: Ah, yes. That's be a dream scenario.

>171 mstrust: My family's mushroom crazy. We pick shopping bag after shopping bag full each year. We give them away to people because we have no more room (and we eat tons!)

Its always nice when a day goes from bad to good to great! Doesn't happen often enough.

I'm slowly but surely getting the finishing details on my 2015 challenge worked out. I've decided on all the categories, I've picked photos to go with them (and a couple of extras just for prettyness). Just waiting now. I'm getting a little excited, but I want to hold on longer before I release it.

I've pretty much scrapped my challenge for this year as there is no way I'm going to finish it. Right now I'm focusing on finishing the books I have at home that I've borrowed either from the library or my parents (and return them!). If I can fit anything else in before the end of the year it'll probably be a fantasy novel or some GNs.

I know there will be several categories that will be left unfinished in mine too. Starting in November I'll do a big push to complete one or two more, but that's all.
14 categories was just asking for trouble!

I have a few subchallenges in mine that will likely not be completed (biography of William Pitt the Younger, I'm looking at you...). I probably bit off more than I could chew in that department.

Good idea to scrap the challenge if it's not working for you. Hope you enjoy the books you are reading! :)

Yeah, it's just going to stress me the h*ll out if I push myself to finish it and I can't do that right now, too much going on.
I've got a different strategy for 2015 and hopefully during these last few months of 2014 I'll get my reading game back on track and head into next year feeling positive and on a roll.

I agree. The idea of the challenge isn't to stress you out. May as well start fresh.

I hope that the last trimester, will be a good one for you on the reading front; no stress allowed, it's supposed to be fun, so the only way to do it, is what makes you feel confortable.

I apparently forgot my own thingaversary on Friday - proof that I am getting older.

I will of course buy myself a few book to celebrate two years on LT, and since I recently had a rather big birthday I'll buy a few extra books for that too.

Now I just need to decide which books to buy. Decisions, decisions...

Did you know that Cary Elwes has a book coming out about filming The Princess Bride? It's called As You Wish.

>182 mstrust: I did know that. I've read a couple of interviews he's done about it. And he had a reddit AMA recently too. All of them proving that he's a lovely guy who loves and admires the people he's worked with.
I should probably buy The Princess Bride, actually. I guess that's one books settled, then.

Happy thingaversary! Enjoy your book shopping ;)

Happy Thingaversary ! Looking forward your book shopping list :)

>182 mstrust: a bookstore in a nearby tone is having a Dread Pirate Robert's Day and Mr. Elwes will be talking about his book. My daughter and I are going. For Christmas I had given her the special anniversary edition.

>186 mamzel: Don't tell me that! Do you have any idea how jealous I am now?

Happy belated Thingaversary and Birthday!!!

>188 -Eva-: Thank you!

>186 mamzel: How great! Have fun and be sure to look Elwes straight in his dreamy eyes.

>190 mstrust: I second this fully and completely.

I finally decided on the books. It's quite a haul. 9 books!

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by the God that is Neil Gaiman
Sandman: Season of Mist by the same god
Sandman: A Game of You because I can't help myself
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
Saga vol 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
Saga vol 4 by Brian K. Vaughan (pre-order, it comes out in December)
The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse
Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P. G. Wodehouse
Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit by P. G. Wodehouse

The Wodehouse novels are SO PRETTY. I want all of them but had to settle for three.
Now I just have to wait for them to be delivered.

I just got Orlando from the secondhand shop a couple weeks ago :D

>193 .Monkey.: :D
I've been eyeing it for ages and nearly bought at the book sale in February but decided to wait because 1) I didn't like the cover and 2) I'd rather have it in English than Swedish.
I've only read one book by Woolf before (To the Lighthouse) and wasn't too impressed so I have no clue how I'll fare with this one, but it looks like it'll be a group read next year and I thought I might as well dive in head first.

I haven't read her at all yet, but my husband has read at least two and really enjoyed them, so we've got I think like six of hers now lol. I'm really curious about it, there's references to it everywhere and it seems like it should be interesting!

Excellent book haul, and congratulations on your Thingaversary!

>192 PawsforThought: - Great book haul!

>194 PawsforThought: - Of the two Woolf books I have read, I found To the Lighthouse to be an average read and I really, really enjoyed Mrs. Dalloway.

>195 .Monkey.: A former co-worker whose taste I respect has read Orlando and loves it so I have some hope. The thing I disliked about To the Lighthouse was the stream-of-consciousness as I didn't understand it. Took me ages to read even though it's really short.
I love the idea behind Orlando, it's very interesting.

>196 mathgirl40: Thank you!

>197 lkernagh: Thank you. I've never read Mrs. Dalloway. Another one for the future.

198 - the stream-of-consciousness thing is the reason I didn't like Mrs Dalloway, so if it's not your thing, you might avoid it.

>199 dudes22: Ah, I'll keep that in mind and proceed with caution when I get around to that one. I'll probably still read it, or at least try it. I did get through To the Lighthouse in the end.

>192 PawsforThought: I want to see the pretty Wodehouse covers! I read a bunch of the Jeeves stories earlier this year, and now I'm addicted. :)

>201 christina_reads: This is how the covers look on the editions I bought:

>192 PawsforThought:
Other than Orlando, which I've not read so I couldn't say, all those are excellent! Great haul!

>203 -Eva-: :D

>202 PawsforThought: Very cool, stylized covers. I'd like them too, even though the one makes Jeeves look like Alfred Hitchcock.

>205 mstrust: Bahaha! Yes, they sort of do, don't they? I like that they have such a 30's-ish feel to them, works well.

>202 PawsforThought: Very nice! Thanks for sharing. :)

My books have arrived! I'm so excited. They all look incredible and I can't wait to read them.
Sadly, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was damaged so I contacted customer service about it. It wasn't a great damage but I'm anally retentive about books and want them in pristine condition so sent off an email explaining the situation and asked if there was something that could be done. They replied within half an hour and asked if I could send them a few photos of the book so I did. Just got a reply that they've dispatched a new copy of the book and I needn't even bother sending the book back to them.
Book Depository has the best customer service I've ever come in contact with. Always helpful and friendly and reinforcing "the customer is always right" (probably helps that I was very polite, but still). So now I'm eagerly anticipating the new copy.

I tried ordering some books from them yesterday and couldn't get my order through. I haven't ordered from them in a while but still... I tried multiple times and they never accepted my order.

>208 PawsforThought: That is great customer service, and I'm glad you'll get a perfect book. Happy reading!
I have to say that I hate how Amazon allows sellers to send out books, big, heavy ones, in what is no more than a plastic wrapper. I've received some banged up books.

>209 mamzel: Really? I've never had any problems with ordering. Did it say why it didn't want to work? Was there something you hadn't filled in?

>210 mstrust: Oh, I'd never be able to order books if I didn't know they wrapped them up properly.
You should protest that, by the way. It's the seller's responsibility to wrap the book/whatever other item up well enough that it doesn't get ruined on its way to you.

I put in all the information and then nothing but an empty box. Waited and waited for something else, but nothing.

>208 PawsforThought:
That was very nice of them!! I've been fortunate with my Book Depository orders as well, other than that they take a long time to arrive. I love that international free shipping, because it means I can actually send people back in Sweden books as gifts without having to pay a fortune to the post office.

>211 PawsforThought: I've left an appropriate scolding and rating for the sellers when a book has been dinged or scratched from the insufficient packaging. I use way more protection when sending out a BookMooch.
I duked it out a few years ago with a seller who sent me an over 600 page book across country in just the thin plastic wrap. It had been sold in "Like New" condition but it arrived looking like it had been caught in some farm equipment. The seller demanded pictures before issuing the partial refund I'd requested, but I came away suspecting the book had been in very damaged condition when it was mailed, as the wrapper had little damage.

>212 mamzel: Aw, that's too bad. Browser issue, maybe? I've had problems (not on Book Depository) with browsers making things difficult.

>213 -Eva-: Yes, it's great, and they're so nice to talk to. I got a response to my first email within an hour.
They do take a long time to arrive but I can live with that when it's free. Amazon considers Sweden "zone 3" and so shipping costs a ton.

>214 mstrust: Some people don't deserve to have books. >:(

So, so late reading all the threads... Re: movies, I LOVE "Now, Voyager", "Casablanca", The treasure of the Sierra Madre", "12 angry men", "Ace in the hole", "The long weekend", "Mr Smith goes to Washington", "The grapes of wrath", "High Noon", "Brief encounter", "The best years of our lives", "All about Eve", "Seven Samourai", "Roman Holidays", "On the waterfront".

Belated Happy Thingaversary!

I posted an ask about this in the Tea group (there's a tea group in LT!) but figured I might as well post on my own threads as well - hopefully someone will be able to help.

I'm looking for Twinings tea tins. Primarily the 200g loose leaf kind but I've realised I could do with some 100g ones as well so either really. And I want empty ones. I've found plenty of places that sell them online but only the new ones full of tea. Some of them in six-pack. Which, great if you're into Earl Grey, Darjeeling or Breakfast tea but I'm a tea-heathen and prefer other types (fruity teas or rooibos, mainly) and that's just a bit too much money and tea to waste for my liking.
But the Twinings tins are perfect in size and shape and I'm indesperate need of tea tins. Anyone know where I could find any? I don't care what colour the tins are (and thus what type of tea's been in them) as I'm planning on repainting them (though lighter colours would be better than darker as there's less risk of the colour shining through).

This is what they look like:
100 grams


200 grams

I'm not sure where you are, but what about someplace like eBay or craigslist? I'm not sure how many you're looking for, but I've got a yellow one in my cupboard that's almost empty. I could drink it like mad and send to you.

ETA: is there some kind of a tea shop (where you go to drink tea, not just a shop that sells)? Depending of the kind they sell, they would use it up faster and might have empty tins.

I've checked Ebay and can't really find anything. One or two rather scuffed ones, is all (and they were expensive; $20 plus $12 shipping for two very scuffed ones). I was hoping for 5-6 or more of each.
I'm in Sweden and have checked the Swedish versions of Ebay and such but no luck. I don't think they're sold over here so not a lot of people would have any to sell.

You might try a baking shop, as they usually have different sized tins for keeping cake decorations or piping bag nozzles.

>220 mstrust: That's a good idea but I'm looking for these exact tins, not just any tins. Thanks anyway. LT is full of lovely helpful people.

I've seen those tins here, but I don't drink Twinings at all, unfortunately.

LOL on the Jeeves and Wooster covers! I have it in my head that Jeeves looks just like Stephen Fry. Good luck on the tea tins! Around here, Twinnings usually comes in a wimpy little box.

>223 cammykitty: Oh, he looks like Fry in my head too! But I love the covers, they're so delightful.

I finally finished a book! It's been ages!
But first a book I finished in September but forgot to post about in this group...



The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (June theme: Clean slate month)

I'd been itching to read this book for AGES but there was a long list of books ahead of it, and on top of that I wanted to re-read Jane EYre before I dived into this one.
I absolutely loved it at first and the universe Fforde's created is fantastic. Also, I absolutely love puns and this book is chock full of them so I was giggling on a regular basis.
As the book progressed, I did feel that it was a bit too much though, and I was having problems keeping up with things. I still think it's a really good book and I'd gladly recommend it to people.
I will definitely read at least a couple more titles in the Thursday Next, but it might take a while before I get around to it.

And then the one I just finished:



Ivanhoe by Walter Scott (April theme: Romanticism)

Even though I've never read this book before I'm very familiar with the storyline since the movie version starring the wonderful and amazing Anthony Andrews airs on New Years every year here (and I always watch it). The movie is almost as faithful to the Scott novel as the BBC mini-series of Pride and Prejudice was to Austen. It's a lovely read! I greatly enjoyed myself even if I found it a touch difficult to figure out if if was supposed to be entirely serious, completely satirical or a mix of both. Some of the characters are so extreme I find it difficult to imagine them in a completely serious way. And I wanted to bas Brian de Bois-Guilbert over the head with a copy of He's Just Not That Into You, because that annoying bastard obviously couldn't take the five hundred hints thrown his way.
Considering the time in history when it was written, I was surprised by how non-antisemitic it was. Some of the characters are certainly anti-semites, but they are very obviously bad guys.
Also, now I feel like visiting one of those renaissance fairs and watch some jousting. Or take up archery.

"airs on New Years every year"

And he picks the wrong girl every year! :)

>226 -Eva-: I'm the only one in the world who doesn't think that! I've always liked him and Rowena together.

But I think he loves Rebecca more... I do like Rowena, so it's not a totally terrible decision.

Ivanhoe was just on a few days ago. I love movies like that. I don't think I have seen that one before.

I reacted to The Eyre Affair about the same way you did. I loved it at first but it wore thin and just fell apart logic-wise for me by the end. But I loved the poor handsome, aged man.

>229 mamzel:
For some reason it's shown in Sweden every New Year's as Paws said - and we tend to all sit down and watch it every year. Anthony Andrews also played The Scarlet Pimpernel - if you haven't seen that one, it's pretty great too and in the same vein.

>229 mamzel: I watched it for the first time some years ago and then fell into the tradition of watching it every year. It's great for New Year Day tiredness/hangover/fatigue recuperation viewing.

>230 cammykitty: It was a little disappointing to see it fall after the terrific start. I was so hoping it'd hold up the whole way.

>231 -Eva-: Oh, my GOD! He did? I didn't know that! I must find that film and watch it.

And yeah, it's on every year. Most of what's shown on Christmas and New Years is stuff they show every year. I could probably recite the Christmas Eve (aka the day we celebrate) TV schedule (on SVT1, that is, because that's the only channel you watch on Christmas Eve) by heart if asked.

I do hope you find it - Andrews is really good at playing both sides of the character! And Ian McKellen is in it too as the guy (can't remember his name) who is after Marguerite as well (she obviously picks sir Percy!).

>233 -Eva-: Oh, I can imagine him being good in it. It's on top of my to-do list now! And Ian McKellan, too! Oh, this is too good! (And it's reminding me that I really want to read the Pimpernel books - I've only read the first one!)

Yessssss, "The Scarlet Pimpernel"! The Anthony Andrews/Jane Seymour movie was the first film version I ever saw, and it remains my favorite. Love the book too, although the ending is quite different from all the movies!

>235 christina_reads: Glad to hear people being enthusiastic about the movie. Makes me excited to watch it. Possibly this weekend.

And I couldn't help myself so now I've checked out several of the Pimpernel books from the library, even though I wasn't supposed to borrow any more books this year but only read what I already had checked out/started reading...

>236 PawsforThought: I'm getting to that point too, library-wise... due dates are starting to overlap with the time I'll be out of town, so I shouldn't borrow any more books in case I can't renew them and have to return them unfinished. However, if I drop by to return other books, I can't just leave empty-handed ;)

Enjoy the Pimpernel books! I've only ever read the first one so will be interested to hear what you think of later books in the series.

>237 rabbitprincess: For me, it's mainly about swamping myself and getting stressed out. But I've made great headway with the books I'm reading now (and I did recently finish Ivanhoe) so I'm allowing myself this. The Pimpernel books are short, after all, and could probably be a nice easy-read escape from the rather more difficult tomes I'm getting though at the moment.

I had a period of time where everytime I returned one book I'd borrow another three. That obviously didn't work out in the long run so I had to ban myself from the library for a while.

The Honourable Schoolboy by John le Carré (December theme: Clean slate)

I read the first book in the Karla trilogy, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy last year and quite liked it, even though it was far from an easy read. This second book in the series is - to me - impossible to really understand. It's possible that my problems with it has to do with listening to the audiobook version rather than physically reading, but I've never had an issue with it before.
There is so much jargon and so little explanation that I constantly struggled to understand what was going on. And it seems to move at a very slow pace, to the point where you have difficulty sticking to the story and not letting your mind wander - and if you let it wander for just a few seconds, you've missed five major plot points. I had to read the Wikipedia article on it to understand what actually happened and why.

We'll see if I ever get around to reading the third part of the trilogy. Not for a while, I'm sure.

I hope you've had a lovely holiday season. I was sorry to see your 2014 challenge go -- you have so many interesting projects and discussions. I hope 2015 grants you success, however you choose to define a successful reading year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

>240 ELiz_M: Yeah, it was a disappointment, but considering how the year in general went, I'm not really surprised. I hope this new year will be better on all fronts.

Happy New Year!

My new thread for a year hopefully full of reading and more fun than the last is here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/185275