Newbie from Virginia

[sal10e]

I am a female from the Southern part of Virginia who loves to read. I tried finding an in person book club but none wee close to me and then I decided to search online and was amazed (and happy!) when I found your website. The variety is great and there is so much going on and so many different topics and books that I know I'm going to be glad I joined booktalk. I enjoy being outside and canoeing, playing with my golden retriever (Bo), who is mad right now that I'm not petting him with one hand and plucking at the keys, instead I'm using both hands to type.

I read a wide variety of books. I just finished my masters in April so I'm looking forward to reading for pleasure again. I probably read more mysteries/thrillers than anything else, but I read romances, westerns, classics, fiction and historical fiction, a little sci-fi/fantasy (but not too much), and I also enjoy reading books on history and biographies on occasion. My favorite author is probably James Lee Burke. He has an awesome writing style that I really love, but I like classics too including Mark Twain, Hemingway, Dostoesvky (not sure I got the spelling on that one right) and I would have a tough time picking between Shakepeare's Hamlet and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, both of which I've read several times. That's probably more than you wanted to know, but I'm happy I found this site and look forward to joining in.

[AnthonyP]

Welcome to BookTalk Virginia. I'm new as well - just joined yesterday. Congratulations on completing your masters - what did you do your masters in?

You've listed a lot of great classics. From your list, I really enjoyed reading Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. What a wonderful image:

[writerjohnb]

Welcome. I also joined just yesterday. I'm from VA too and my golden doesn't allow me to type too long without nudging my elbow, either. I though it was just him because he's a rescue and needs a lot of reassurance. See you around the forum.

[Suzanne]

Hello and welcome Virginia!

[sal10e]

Thanks Suzanne, WriterJohn and Anthony for the welcome.

I got my masters in Risk Management and Insurance. It sounds boring I know, but it is really interesting and I enjoy insurance. I currently work as an insurance underwriter, underwriting medical facilities and the associated physicians. I work on the Excess & Surplus lines side of the market so each day is different and you wouldn't believe some of the stuff you see. I liked Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, but I think I liked The Brothers Karamazov a little better.

My golden loves attention. We adopted him when he as a year old and he is the first golden that I've had (my husband had a golden growing up) and I'm constantly surprised at how much time he wants to spend with us. I always had labs before and they wanted attention and wanted to play, but its no comparison to Bo. If he could go everywhere with us and sit in our lap despite the 75 pounds that he weighs, he would. Look forward to getting to know everyone and discussing good books!

[Chris OConnor]

Welcome to BookTalk.org.