Another newbie . . .

Lilith · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 10:14 am Post subject: Another newbie . . .

Hello to all. I am happy to find this site, as I have been trying to get a book club started amongst my friends and/or coworkers for quite a while but to no avail. Interesting that so many have "no time to read" but will jump right into a discussion of the latest episode of a television series. Hmmmm. . . . .

I'm a female (perhaps evident by the screen name) of a certain age (isn't that what middle-aged women call it?) and live in the greater Phoenix area. I work as a paralegal.

My greatest source for books is my local library - I'd go broke buying them, as I go through quite a few each week. I like contemporary fiction with a purpose - to solve a mystery or crime, avert a catastophe, answer a question.

I look forward to getting to know some other members and participating in upcoming discussions.

Ophelia · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject:

Hello Lilith, welcome to Booktalk! Smile

I'm very glad you've found us, and I can see you've alredy made a reading suggestion, The Power of One, so I'm sure you'll find your way around our forums easily.

Our current fiction selection is No Country For Old Men. I think it raises questions-- have you read it, or would you like to join us?

President Camacho · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 3:28 pm Post subject:

Welcome Lilith!

I wish I had a gun and a bullet proof vest to issue you. Voting for the fiction book of the month seems like war... hahah Goodluck soldier! Laughing

Lilith · Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject:

Thank you for the warm welcome, Ophelia, and the invitation to join the current discussion. I'm afraid I am not a Cormac McCarthy fan and didn't read the book. I did see a few minutes of the movie (via DVD from a friend who has SAG connections) and thought it was dreadful. Thank goodness I didn't pay to see it and could just walk out of the room to do something more productive.

One thing I have enjoyed about getting older is being able to say, without guilt or second guessing myself, that I have no interest in a book or movie even when the critics and general public are going ga-ga over it.

President Camacho, I take your advice with a smile. As a participant on various message boards through the years, I have seen the interesting levels of interaction that can develop. I will do my best to hold my own. Smile

Lilith

Ophelia · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 6:12 am Post subject:

Lilith,

We are also reading, as a side-bar discussion:

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire.

Stones from the River, by Ursula Hegi

in the "Additional Fiction Books Discussion" forum.

Lilith · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 10:09 am Post subject:

Thanks again, Ophelia.
I'm afraid I am way out my league here, I just read "normal" books . . . but will hang around a bit and see if anything more my speed comes along.
L

ralphinlaos · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 2:23 pm Post subject:

Hi Lilith -

Welcome to the group, I hope you stick around for a while.

I am a big Bruce Courtenay fan - I have read "The Potato Factory," "The Power of One," and it's sequel, "Tandia." I think he tells a terrific story.

Why is his first name sometimes spelled Bryce - any idea?

And I'm happy to see someone else who enjoys reading "normal" books.

Ralph

Saffron · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 3:11 pm Post subject:

anotheradmirer · Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 9:10 pm Post subject:

Hello Lilith,

I'm new here too, still finding my way around.
I like the way you describe what kind of book you read.

Chris OConnor · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 5:49 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the community! What exactly is a "normal" book?

Lilith · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 4:16 pm Post subject:

Good question, Chris. I'm sure my "normal" won't be the same as anyone else's "normal" but I mostly read bestsellers and contemporary fiction, by authors like Greg Iles, Lisa Scottoline, Kathy Reichs, Robin Cook, Michael Crichton, both of the Kellermans, Lincoln Child, Douglas Preston, Jeffrey Deaver and many others but I'm sure you get the drift. That's my normal . . . for what it's worth.

Saffron, I appreciate your point of view but reading the reviews of her books, most of them contain the word "grotesque" which, to me, is a red flag that it is anything but "normal" and, frankly, her subject material is just not of interest to me. I'm sure some would call me narrow minded but in actuality, I do try to read as much as I can in various genres. I just find myself coming back to the same authors and genres so I guess I have found my comfort zone.

ralphinlaos, you and I will have to start a "Normal Books" thread - lol! Thanks for understanding.

anotheradmirer, I think we read many of the same authors. I like books with a purpose, as I have learned so much from reading. A good author, even fiction, does incredible amounts of research and provides a great learning experience. Even in my narrow-minded choices of books, I feel I am quite well-read, a result of the marvelous information I find in books. I have not watched any television since early 2000s (when "The X-Files" went off the air, so did I) so my world is books and NPR.

Thanks to all for the comments and questions, it is fun to get to know people even when we're not face to face . . .

anotheradmirer · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 4:48 am Post subject:

Wow! Thank you so much for your reply. [I've just found out that there are many typo in my post to you, yet you still got the message. Smile

]
I don't watch much television either. Soap operas are really popular in Thailand. I just don't "get" them, uncertain if I don't get the message or there isn't any to get. If you were here, you wouldn't have quit watching television in early 2000s. You must have never watched any television ever. Wink

I'm still amazed at how you find words to express how you feel and think.

Lilith · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:20 pm Post subject:

aa (if I may call you that), you totally understand! I agree that The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns taught me as much about living in Afghanistan as any travel monologue or non-fiction account, but also gave me so much more than that. I recently read Interred With Their Bones (I think that was the title) - not a particularly well-written book and the plot was both tired and a bit unbelievable but, man oh man, did I learn a lot about Shakepeare. I learned about the Italian-American prisoner of war camps in the US during WWII from a novel by Lisa Scottoline. I learned some interesting tid-bits about the health care given to the President in a recent read called The First Patient (as well as a bit about nanotechnology).

I doubt you are narrow minded at all, your posts are very interesting and I admire anyone who is more than monolingual (my French wouldn't get me very far so I can't claim to be bi-lingual) and is willing to share thoughts about good books and whatever else comes up.

Thank you for your kind words.

L

Ophelia · Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:41 pm Post subject:

Lovely avatar Lilith!

Celinio · Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 2:08 pm Post subject:

hi and welcome aboard this forum.

Wow, the Grand Canyon state !!

May i ask you where in the Phoenix area are you exactly ?


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