The GAB

Citizen Vince Meeting

2008-10-10T14:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Faye, for the fun meeting and donuts. I really enjoyed the first half of the book which is all I've read so far. I hope to finish it soon. Maybe before the election?

I love the cd and the quotes for each song. Here's the playlist if you haven't picked up your cd yet:

1. Inland Empire

2.This is Hell - Elvis Costello

3. Boy from NYC - The Ad Libs

4. Blackbird - The Beatles

5. Legal Tender - The B-52s

6. Everyday People - Sly & the Family Stone

7. Perfect Skin - Lloyd Cole

8. You Can Leave Your Hat On - Randy Newman

9. Mack the Knife - Bing Crosby

10. You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate

11. NY State of Mind - Billy Joel

12. He's Got the Power - The Exciters

13. Bad LeRoy -Jim Croce

14. I Feel Free - Cream

15. Wouldn't It Be Nice - Beach Boys

16. Best Place I've Ever Been - World Party

17. I Feel Good - Al Green

18. What a Wonderful World - Joey Ramone

I didn't think a cd was necessary for 'The Road' but I just had an idea for one so if you'll humor me there'll be a musical companion to the book.

The next meeting will be at my house on Wednesday, November 12. We'll be having the meeting outside under a tarp with canned peaches, mystery meat and muddy water for snacks. You may want to dress appropriatly. Shopping carts are optional.

The VGT Omnivore's Hundred

2008-09-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

I found this list on a website the other night, during The Night Of Much Puking (don't ask). It intrigued me and, since my own blog is still not public, I thought I'd post it here. It would be interesting to see what everyone else comes up with. Go to the site and follow the instructions and re-post for us so we can see your epicurean limits. You can click on the highlighted items to look them up in Wikipedia. I'm betting Kristine has tried most of these things (anyone who can bungee jump off of a bridge would have the balls to try crocodile.) I couldn't figure out how to strike through so I used an asterisk for step number 3. I am italicizing things I want to try. Have fun!

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding *(I think this is like blood pudding - no way.)
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese*
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (anyone want to do this with me?)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (If this is the British version of Jell-O shooters, then YES!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk (does cheese count?)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu* (I'd be in the 4% who gets the poison part and dies instantly. No thanks.)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel*
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin*
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer*
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini (I've had a classic, never a dirty one.)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (OMG, I want to try this!)
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads*
63. Kaolin*
64. Currywurst
65. Durian*
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis*
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette*(even deep frying couldn't make me eat pig's ass)
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (had them seperately, but not together. Does that count?)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill *(are you kidding me?)
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (Nope, never had one.)
78. Snail*
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse* (Not only does the thought repulse me, my daughter would never speak to me again!)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (unfortunately.)
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake*

Basically, if it's cheese, alcoholic or involves curry I'm all over it. Japanese/raw/smelly? Not so much.

Bottle Cap Puzzles

2008-09-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe it when Vince Camden from 'Citizen Vince' cracked open a beer and solved the puzzle from the bottle cap. That opened a memory from my childhood I completely forgot about. My parents, when they were feeling flush, would buy the beer with the puzzles on the caps and my brother and I loved to solve them.

It was escpecially entertaining on camping trips as the picnic table was usually covered with them by night's end and it would provide the rest of us kids some entertainment while our parents became more inebriated. Good times.

Here's a link for more bottle cap puzzles: http://jokelibrary.net/yyDrawings/bottle_caps.html

I also found it funny that he was reading some sort of Dante's Hell book and was learning about the fourth level of hell.

Molly's Review of 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy

2008-09-21T08:16:00.001-07:00

I cheated and read this book before 'Citizen Vince'. Don't worry I won't give away any spoilers. Here's my review:

I thought it was okay.
Okay?
Okay.
Really? Okay?
Yes, okay.
Why?
It underwhelmed me.
What?
It was so simple.
I think that's the point. They were so tired. They didn't want to expell much energy by talking.
Okay.
You really just thought it was okay?
It was okay.
Okay?
Yes.
Okay?
Okay.
Okay?!?
Can we stop saying "okay" now?
Okay.

Interesting Covers

2008-09-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Is it me............

.............or are these covers just wrong?

Worst Book Ever

2008-09-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

The following is an e-mail that Jackie sent out a few weeks ago. It made for some entertaining reading and whenever I feel bad about my writing/ storytelling skills I just have to read this and know that I'm okay.

"Okay, I may have found a new "worst book ever written". I haven't actually read more than an exerpt, but it looks pretty darn bad. The woman who wrote and self-published the novel was actually banned from all Amazon.com discussions because she was spamming all the discussion boards promoting her own book. It's like a train wreck and here's an excerpt." ~ Jackie

Antigua: The Land of Fairies, Wizards and Heroes (Part 1) is the first of a trilogy. This story is a fantasy with magical characters such as a Sorceress, a Dragon, Fairies, Wizards, Knights, Kings, Queens, Pixies, and Gnomes. Here is a sample from the book: Suddenly, there were black clouds in the sky. Everyone heard a loud noise coming from the sky and they all knew that Voltar the Dragon was coming. King Artor yelled out, "Daughters, Voltar comes! Get ready your weapons! The time has come for you to fulfill the prophecy!" Princess Sasha, Princess Trina, Princess Alexandra and Rebecca walked up ahead of the army and lined up together in a row. They looked like warriors! Rebecca was not afraid! She took a deep breath and got her weapon ready for the task that lay ahead. She understood the prophecy now and had faith in herself and the Princesses. They each pulled out their bows and prepared to kill the dragon. Fire came out of his nostrils and his mouth. Princess Alexandra handed each of the other girls one of the special arrows that they had gotten from the Queen of the Unicorns. All four of the girls pointed their bows up into the air and waited for Voltar to come nearer. Voltar let out such a loud noise that the ground shook! Then fire came right out of his nostrils. The Wizard Thandor held his mighty wand up toward the sky and yelled, "Mighty clouds of the sky, I call upon you to bring forth lightening to destroy the Dragon Voltar!" Large lightening bolts came out of the clouds toward Voltar. One lightening bolt struck Voltar and wounded him, but it didn't kill him!

YPU Recap

2008-09-12T06:26:00.000-07:00

First, I'd like to welcome Kim Windsor to the GAB.

Our meeting for YPU was a lot of fun. Those that finished the book said it was a bit dense which was good to hear from those of us that didn't finish it. Overall it was a well liked book. Wish I could give you more insight but I was one of those that made it to page 80 and then stalled.

Our November pick is 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides3/road1.asp
I will order the book from Book People today.

Next month's meeting is 'Citizen Vince' hosted by Faye. The date is Wednesday, October 8.

The Skeptoid Skeptic - The Forward

2008-06-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

I am completely fascinated with this book possibly because we're in the throws of watching the X-Files, a show that is the complete opposite of this book. Like Agent Fox Mulder on the series 'I Want to Believe' all of this "woo-woo" matter.

According to the book, I am not a rational thinker and probably never will be and you know what that's just fine by me. If I'm living in a bubble of fantasy than so be it. I'm happy here.

Websites:
http://skeptoid.com/

Molly's Latest iPod Misadventure

2008-05-30T10:58:00.000-07:00

WARNING #1: Thinking about Apple , iTunes and iPods can send me into a rage of profanity....

It's been two years of a love/hate relationship with iPods - you may vaguely remember my experience with the little white portable music device right when we got it. Well, our computer decided to take a big greasy dump on Tuesday so I have been burning the midnight oil, not to mention my rods and cones, to get our computer back up and running to full capacity. The last thing on my list to do is figure out the least painful way of getting our music back onto the computer.

WARNING #2: For those of you who are/ were naive like me and thought that music is on the iPod, it should just transfer somehow back on to the computer after it crashes just fine, we are wrong. If you haven't backed up your music files recently I suggest you do so....now!......seriously...stop reading this blog...back up your music.....but hurry up so I can finish my story

OK you're back....what a pain in the ass that was, which is why we never backed up our music, until now.

So I've spent the entire morning reading the troubleshooting guides and message boards to try and find solutions to recover our music and podcasts - I have close to 800 songs on my iPod and Nate has about 300 - can you imagine us sitting and manually plugging in cds, not to mention all of the songs we've purchased from iTunes.

I finally came across some downloads and hoped they worked. I settled on Media Widget to try out their free trial to see if the program even worked. I install everything only to find out it will get you 10 songs off the iPod anything else I want I'm going to have to purchase the program. Is this a scam or wha? 10 songs??? Does anyone have just 10 songs on their iPod? That may get me around the block but not a road trip to Montana.

Three hours and $35.78 later we have iTunes restoration. The program worked! I can't believe Apple doesn't offer some sort of free program that does this for you. It just fries my ass! The crappy thing is we are completely helpless and let these corporate bastards give it to us in the ass without lube while they smoke their Cubans and laugh like the devil. Well, I hope they get banished to the 9th level of hell and I can have the last laugh high above them on my perch with my three headed monster friend and living the good life in the 3rd level of hell.

Molly's turn.....

2008-05-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Top reasons for Molly not posting on this blog:

Taking little dinos on trips so I can post on Chocolate Mike's Blog
Trying to craft so I can post more on my crafting blog The Scraplifter's Dream
Living life so I can post on our family's blog Spain Family Adventures

I cracked open the Dante Club and it is a tough one for me to figure out. I need to write down names and descriptions of characters as there are so many. It's like watching a war or gangster movie and everyone looks the same and has the same (or variation of) last name.

Can't wait to read the posts!

Where are all the GAB bloggers?

2008-05-28T09:15:00.000-07:00

Our book club is at its peak. We have a record number of amazing women with many great ideas and opinions. So, why don't we post on the blog? I'd love to hear random thoughts about the books, or life in general, throughout the month. So, I'm going to try to get this started again.

Is anyone finished with The Dante Club? Sadly, not me, but Todd read it last weekend (he was in Chicago) and really liked it. I can't wait to read it!

If you read it, post your thoughts; if you haven't read it, post your top ten reasons for being such a slacker (ha ha)

Mine:

10. Too busy waiting for building inspectors to not show up
9. Too busy going to scheduled appointments to find the person I'm supposed to meet is not there
8. Too busy in the yard, "pulling weeds" (which is code for talking to the neighbor)
7. Too busy goofing off on the internet
6. Too busy reading bad fiction and disturbing non-fiction, so I will have June choices at our next meeting.
5. Too busy getting kids to all the billion end-of-the-year events (related to school or other activities)
4. Too busy anticipating which David will be the next American Idol, and celebrating when the right one wins (David Cook)
3. Too busy spilling 2 cups of vegetable oil all over the kitchen (it was a BAD day)
2. Too busy trying to get Eric to put on his shoes
AND, the number one top reason I haven't read the book yet:
1. I don't know- we still have two weeks and I don't want to break character by not procrastinating.

2008-02-21T07:54:00.000-08:00

Fiction does not equal Erotica

2008-02-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

I went looking for eBooks to load onto my PocketPC. Not that I really read on it much, but it is nice to have. I have some free ones from the Univ of Virginia e-Text library, but I’m looking for some more contemporary books. So I went to amazon.com – nothing. I went to Barnes & Noble – nothing. Feeling desperate I went to Microsoft.com and selected the MS Reader link (since that's the software I use to read the eBooks.) That had links to various e-texts and a list of categories on the right nav bar. I chose “Fiction” and got all sorts of stuff I would put under “Erotica” (which was also a category.) Now I’m getting the impression that because I read e-texts I’m going to be labeled in an unflattering way. Finally finding a book that looks mostly tame, I look to see where I might buy such an eBook. And there, right in front of my eyes, is a link to Powells.com. Yea!! My beloved Powell’s Bookstore from my hometown is a wonderful vendor of eBooks! Click MS Reader format and click Literature and the first item on page 1 is “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” our April book selection. Woo Hoo!!

Meeting Summary for Six of One

2008-01-17T12:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who attended last night at San Miguels – the food, margaritas and discussion were great. We missed the rest of you! Thanks to everyone for their patience in trying to get this meeting to happen. I just feel slightly cursed by the weather gods.Summary of our state of the union for GAB:

Keep time and date same, except for March 2008 that conflicts with spring break. Because 3 of us already knew we were out of town, Kristine changed the date to Wednesday, March 5th.
Up our Book People order to 12 and review in April to see if we have an accurate count.
Reviewed 2007 book choices with lots of positive feedback. Some members looking for more nonfiction options so keep those in mind.
Desire for more structure within the discussion. Ideas suggested included advance study questions or web research, giving hosts questions or comments in advance, and/or question basket during meeting.
Molly will work on updating the web site.
Anita received a couple of corrections to the Member List last night so those that didn’t attend be sure and get yours to her so she can get the corrected version back out to us.

Last night our choice was Six of One by Rita Mae Brown. I provided way too much background information on the author and her interesting evolution as a writer. The antics bickering, boot legging, poor driving, colorful Southern characters provided a lot of laughs to many. As we have found with other books, plots that jump around through time and many characters (with multiple nicknames) can be challenging. This book was written early in the author’s career and if you want to check out her later writing style, she has two mainstream mystery series, The “Sister” Jane Fox Hunting Mysteries and the Mrs. Murphy Books.Our choice for February is Every Secret Thing by Ann Tatlock.

Our March choice is The Bird Man and the Lap Dancer: Close Encounters with Strangers by Eric Hansen.Thanks again for a great meeting.Mary

“If the world were a logical place, men would ride side-saddle.” Rita Mae Brown

“The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.” Rita Mae Brown

The Thirteenth Tale

2007-12-06T12:05:00.001-08:00

Hi all! Again, I am so sorry and so depressed over having missed the discussion (although I can blame nobody but myself).

I finished the book yesterday, and was wondering if you could humor me and continue your discussion on-line. Thanks! (I only e-mailed to those who were at the meeting, so don’t use this as the complete book club list)

Here are some of my points:

1. LOVED the book! I ended up reading all afternoon, because I couldn't put it down! I thought it was very well done.

2. I love how they used elements of storytelling to explain this story. I wish I would've marked all the beautiful quotes in this book, but I'll paraphrase some passages that spoke to me: Vida asks Margaret something about the feeling you get when you have just read one book and you start another- you're not finished thinking about the last book, and you start to confuse the two books (or something like that). I loved that quote! I can totally relate! Also, in the beginning, Vida talks to Margaret about storytelling, and how you have experiences that you throw in the compost heap and let the story take shape. I thought this was a beautiful description of how stories emerge. There is a lot of truth in fiction, but not in the way one thinks. Like Vida's story- it was all truth, but not in the way you think. I bet authors love that idea too, because one of the first things interviewers ask is "how much of this story is yours?" And, there’s another great quote in the very beginning about the purpose books have in our lives (Molly- you read it to me at the scrapbook retreat).

What are some passages you talked about at the meeting?

3. Here's one point I absolutely loved (especially after finding out that Vida killed Adeline/Emmeline to save Aurelius: When she asked Margaret if she would shoot the person who controls the lever in order to save her books from being destroyed. I knew this had to have some significance when I read it, but of course it really made sense when the "truth" came out in the end. And, when Margaret admitted to the reader that “of course I knew I loved books more than people,” it sort of gave me some understanding of why Vida did what she did. Of course, in the process of saving Aurelius, her books were destroyed, so what does that say? I don’t know- what DOES that say?

4. Vida's "subplot": Initially I groaned a little when I learned there were three girls. It was just too far-fetched for me, and it seemed to be just a convenient way to explain the mysteries of the house. But, at the end of the book, I realized that she handled it quite brilliantly. I think using the book/storytelling analogies really helped to keep it from becoming hokey.

5. Aurelius: This was an example of how I thought the author made the story too convenient (his family being right there all along). But, I really liked Auerlius! He was such a sweet man! And, I liked that he was the subplot in this book about subplots. He's a lot like Vida that way (the outsider).

6. Margaret's twin: Although I understand the need to introduce the twin connection in Margaret's character, I really didn't like how this story developed. Not being a twin, I guess I don't get the "connection," but I really felt this part was contrived and really whiny. And, would your whole life really be ruined because of this loss at birth? (she mentions many times that she can’t really live- why not? Isn’t this a little like making a mountain out of a mole hill?) I would like input from real people who lost their twin at birth and find out if there really is that feeling of something missing. Maybe I would understand this story better if I had that perspective.

7. Margaret’s mother- I wish she would’ve spent more time developing this relationship. In fact, I wish she would’ve focused on what’s missing in this mother/daughter relationship because of the loss of a child instead of what’s missing in Margaret’s life because of the loss of her twin. And, I LOVED how her father stepped up and took over the role of loving parent. It was such a nice juxtaposition with John the Dig and how he stepped up to take over the management of the house when Missus started going crazy.

7. Hester: Did NOT like how this story ended up. SO contrived. I wish she would’ve kept Hester’s disappearance a mystery (but, I suppose mysteries have to be solved eventually).

8. Now, for the part I have real questions about:
· Vida locking one of the twins in the library during the fire: Why were the remains intact after so many years? If they put the fire out and went in to assess the damage, wouldn’t they have found the body? If Aurelius visited the place so much, wouldn’t HE have found something? If they let the fire burn, wouldn’t the body have been cremated? And, when I read that they found the remins, I was under the impression that the body had been buried. So, unless someone went up there after the fire and buried the body, this seems inconsistent. Or, maybe I read it wrong. But, if the body hadn’t been buried, then why did the other twin dig so much? (I took her digging to be that she was looking for her twin).
· Who really whacked the doctor’s wife with the violin? Margaret claims that she knows at the end, but she offers no explanation. Of course, it’s tied to the revelation that there were three girls. But, the girls at that time were children, so it couldn’t have been one of them. I got the feeling that Isabelle was blamed for it but didn’t really do it (she was wearing yellow, which could be mistaken for white). One theory that I have is that it was Vida’s mother, who was living like a ghost in the same way Vida lived, but Vida said at the end of her story that her mother left her at the mansion, so it couldn’t have been her. So, who was it? I think I missed something here.
· Vida’s mother- was she the ghost that Margaret kept sensing at the mansion? Or, was it Adeline/Emmeline (whichever one died)? Or, was it part of the ridiculous story of her twin? I liked the mystery of this ghost, but I think by now, there are too many “fake” ghosts and this part of the book sort of got neglected.

Is It Me.......

2007-11-23T12:03:00.001-08:00

....or does 'The Thirteenth Tale' read like a sophisticated V.C. Andrews book? There's mystery, old mansions, a little family incest, weird twins.....

I remember V.C. Andrews books were the only ones I read while in Junior High and High School. After a while the plots in her books were all alike. I couldn't help but recall some of these books while reading our latest pick. I'dlike to do a little more research to see if Diane Setterfield was somehow influenced by Ms. Andrews.

Dumbledore's Outing

2007-10-29T09:57:00.001-07:00

When I heard this I was flabbergasted. This girl on youtube pretty much sums up my head scratching at this moment.

Why are all the jerks Earl?

2007-10-15T15:53:00.000-07:00

I am really enjoying the CD that Jackie made for our last meeting. It's a great way to bring the book to life, I think. The music fits perfectly with the stories in Blackbird House. It just amazes me- there really is a song for every situation!

But, there is one thing that kind of bugs me, and I didn't notice it until I listened to the CD. It just seems to me that in literature and pop culture, the name Earl gets abused quite a bit. Why do people tend to associate the name with white bastard men? Does Earl sound like a wife beater? (Errrrrrrl...okay, it does sound a little like a growl). Why aren't there nice Earls?

I don't know, but if I were named Earl, I'd start a "Save the Name Earl" foundation.

But if there were a CD.....

2007-09-11T10:48:00.000-07:00

...for The Space Between Us the playlist would look something like this....
( I linked the songs that were on youtube if you're really bored and were curious what they sounded like)

1. The Space Between - Dave Matthews Band
2. Master and Servant - Depeche Mode
3. Bombay Sapphire
4. Indian Lullaby
5. Bad Teeth - Peter Gammons
6. Rape Me - Nirvana
7. Abortion - Kid Rock
8. Sound of the Slums - Inpectah Deck
9. Poor Side of Town - Johnny Rivers
10. Bony Fingers - Hoyt Axton
11. Alcohol - Brad Paisley
12. Daughters - John Mayer
13. Father of Mine - Everclear
14. Pretty Red Balloons - The Apollas
15. Hurt - Christina Aguilera
16. I'm OK - Christina Aguilera
17. Vegetable Market 1 - Little Indian - Soundscapes from an Indian Market
18. Indian Money Market - Mawaca

Can You Get High from a Book?

2007-08-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

I picked up a Dave Matthews Band book at a yard sale today. I started to read it and 15 minutes later I think I was stoned. How would I know having never been before? I was lightheaded, giddy and when we got home I devoured a box of Hostess Donettes.

A Great Read for Book Clubs

2007-08-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

Ladies, I just have to recommend a book I just read. A few years ago, a former GAB member recommended reading Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, so I put it on my reading list. That's exactly where it stayed until a friend recommended it to me during my recent visit to Minnesota (I was complaining that since I was done with Harry, I had nothing to read in the car on the way back to Idaho). I'm telling you, this is one awesome book! It should be required reading for book clubs. It made me appreciate GAB so much more! I will say, though, that this is 100% chick lit. But, I thought the writing was good, and the ending didn't tie everything in a nice, cheesy bow. You know how I get about endings (especially when a book has more than one- ha ha!)

I'm currently reading another book I picked up in Minnesota, One Big Damn Puzzler by John Harding. I picked it, because the cover is really cool. I know, I know- we've been down THAT road before :o) But, this one has an interesting story and so far the writing is really good. I don't want to give too much away, because it just may become on of my picks the next time I host :o)

I hope you all share what non-GAB books you've been reading.

A Historian Thought Amid Potter Talk

2007-07-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I'm still stuck in Drac-land. I'm determined to finish this book. While reading last night I about hit myself over the head with a discussion point that we didn't even bring up during the meeting. Do you think Vlad was one of the good guys, despite his tortorous ways, for defending his country and people no matter what the cost or was he a very bad dude that deserved to be beheaded and undead.

As you can see to the right of the blog I have added a poll for you to vote. It's pretty nifty. So I'm curious: Good guy? Bad man? The verdict is out for me. What I don't understand is: why the vampires would go after someone who was in their bloodline (Helen) and why isn't Dracula going after Turks instead of poor innocent folk? Or is he just a tormented soul that wants to take out everybody because he's pissed at the world. I guess I better get back to reading.

Harry inspired love

2007-07-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

Caleb and I were in Spokane on Saturday and we went to Hastings first thing in the morning to pick up our copy. I was a little panicked when we were in the store, as there were displays of all of the 6 prior books, Harry Potter calendars, notebooks, etc, but no signs of the actual Deathly Hallows anywhere. After a little heavy breathing and Caleb telling me over and over to "just ask, Mom!" we discovered you had to ask for a copy at the checkout counter. We made it home to Moscow, but I swear, I was tempted to read as I drove down highway 95!
I made it through the book by Monday afternoon, after Persephone Williams was so kind to come over and distract Caleb for a few hours and Eli luckily took a three hour nap. I loved it! The ending was just plain satisfying on all accounts, and I think JK is planning on writing a new series with Harry and Ginny's kids. You can see all the elements in the epilogue. And even if she doesn't , she has to be the most compassionate author to know that her readers needed that last few pages to make sure everything turned out ok.
My husband came home on Monday and asked me if I'd actually read the whole thing. He picked up the book and said, "geeze, do you even remember what you read? How could you just read all day? I can't do that. I just can't read that much so fast." Then, as I was making dinner, he picked it up and began reading. (We've had debates about how we each thought #7 would end.) Dinner was ready, and he came to the table, but then read from 6:30 - 10:00, and repeated the same patter for the next three days. He has only 100 pages to go, and I can't get him to put it down. This is why I love him. Harry has reinforced our bond in matrimony. I can't wait to see what fight this ignites!

I loved it!

2007-07-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

What a great book! Harry Potter has inspired me to post my first ever blog entry.

I was up at the lake for the weekend so I missed the party at Book People. The picture is my organized sister-in-law who ordered the book off Amazon and had it delivered to the dock on Saturday morning via the summer marine mail route at lake Coeur d'Alene. She started the book right away, of course, and I was jealous. My Dad suggested that maybe she would lend it to me during the weekend so I had to explain there is no sharing of Harry Potter the first couple of days it is out. Steve picked up the book for me during the weekend and then kept trying to read me sections over the phone. I might have threatened to divorce him if he gave away the ending. I returned home Monday and finished the book by Tuesday evening.

I can't wait to discuss it with all of you. What was your favorite part?

Mary

A Very Harry Summer (long post with a spoiler)

2007-07-25T07:04:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter has taken over my life.

It's my own fault. I let him in, him and his wizarding friends. I read the first book nine years ago while I was pregnant with Travis. At the time, I worked in a book store and The Chamber of Secrets was just being released. I had never heard of Harry Potter, not too many people had, but someone at the book store recommended it, saying there was a lot of buzz about the series. Our bookstore had a lending system for employees, meaning we could "check out" books to read, so I read the first two back to back and found them a pleasant diversion. A year or so later, when the third book came out I borrowed it from someone and it was at that point that I became hooked. The Prisoner of Azkaban brought Harry out of that "kid's book" drawer and placed him into the realm of what I deem intriguing fiction. I went out and bought the first three books and have been buying them since. I think I know more adults (mostly moms) who are fans than I do kids, including my dear fellow Gabbers. We've all been gleefully riding the Harry wave, greedily awaiting each new book and now the ride's almost over and I don't know how I'll manage without him.

But I digress. The Summer of Harry started like this: with all the hype earlier this summer about the fifth Harry Potter movie coming out, Travis said he wanted to read the book first. I knew that, though he's a really good reader, he would never get it finished in time, as long as that book is and with soccer, baseball and swimming lessons, I knew it would just never happen. I wanted to re-read it myself so I offered to read it to him. I started reading a chapter out loud before bedtime. We read in the living room and Val, who likes to sit in his chair and draw in the evenings, was soon sucked in. He had seen all of the movies and liked them but had never read one of the books. We finished, finally, one night when I read the last four chapters, with me taking a little break to get myself together after choking up at Sirius's death (it still gets me), while Travis punched the couch and buried his face in a pillow for a while. We got through it, though, and they immediately demanded more so we started the sixth book a few weeks ago. I had misgivings because of the ending but kept going. My goal was to finish before Saturday the 21st so that I could dive right into book seven but of course that didn't happen. As it happened, it all culminated this weekend, in what Travis called a "Harry Potter Marathon". On Friday, Trav and I attended the party at Bookpeople, Travis in costume (he made the cover of Saturday's Lewiston Tribune!). With book in hand, I made it home that night, utterly exhausted, swearing I wouldn't start reading until the next morning. But I couldn't help myself. I read the first two and a half chapters in bed. I started reading the next day as soon as I could, taking time out in the afternoon so that Val, Travis and I could go and see Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix. That night, I read more of book 6 to the family and, four chapters from the end, made a decision not to read any more of book 7 until we were finished with the Half Blood Prince. I could foresee questions and theories cropping up in the discussion that would follow the conclusion of that book and I wanted to be able to participate without knowing myself what the outcome would be. I have a lousy poker face and knew that if Val or Travis made a guess about how the whole thing ends they would be able to read the answer from my expression. So I put Harry away three quarters of the way through. Four more chapters of Half Blood Prince, I thought. Two chapters a night, two more nights. Then I can finish this and find out what happens. I sat down to read and of course, I should have known, they weren't going to let me stop after two chapters. I ended up finishing the book for them that night, reading nearly 100 pages out loud, my voice thrashed, all of us emotionally spent.

Yesterday was the day. I would finally find out what happened to Harry. Of course, life being what it is and kids being what they are, I was interrupted often. Travis occupied himself with a video game, more game time that I usually allow, but this was a special circumstance. I let him rot his brain for my own, selfish gain. Riley was more of a problem. After pulling out all the tricks--puzzles, paints, books, etc., and with only three chapters left, I finally felt too guilty to continue. I gave in to her pleas to go visit the new play structures at the park next door. We went and so did Harry. I pushed Ri on the swings for a while and then let her go explore the place while I settled down with my book. I sat in my lawn chair, my daughter comfortably within my line of sight and prepared to finish the book. It was not to be. Three older boys, twelve or thirteen, showed up, troublemakers from the looks of it. I swear to you: there were two big boys, heavy set and dark haired and one skinnier, smaller kid with blonde hair. God, I thought, it's Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy! I kept reading but was keeping an eye out for them too. making sure they weren't pushing the little ones around. They were moving uncomfortably close to my lawn chair. Eventually, one of them noticed what I was reading.
"My stepfather just tread the new Harry Potter book," he said to his friends. In this group, Goyle was the ringleader and Malfoy was one of the stooges.
The other kids showed very little interest in this statement but the Goyle kid went on.
"Yeah. Harry Potter dies in it." What a miserable little shit, I thought. This kid probably doesn't read if he can help it and probably thinks it would be funny to ruin the ending for someone else.
"Really?" Brilliant conversationalists, these kids. They were, for some reason, gathered around my chair now.
"Yeah. Little Harry Potter dies," he said in a mocking voice. "Hey," he said to me and I looked up. "Harry Potter dies in this one." Now, just prior to leaving the house, I had finished the chapter where Harry "dies". At this point, I was on about the 3rd page of the next chapter and knew that he had somehow survived, though I hadn't yet read how.
"No he doesn't," I said, taking a shot and hoping that I was right and it wasn't some sort of weird wizarding afterlife I was reading about.
"Yeah he does. My stepfather said so!"
"He's wrong," I said. "Go ask him." And with that, I nonchalantly returned to my book. There was silence from above.
"Who is that?" Malfoy asked his cronies, obviously meaning me. "Do you know who she is?"
"Excuse me," I said to them. "You're bothering me. Please go away." They looked at each other and shrugged. They moved a few feet away and contented themselves with chucking large dirt clods onto the new cedar mulch of the playground. I eventually packed up my daughter and went home to finish the book.

I don't know why those kids bothered me so much. They were just ignorant and mean-spirited. I found out later from Travis that they hang around the playground and pick on little kids, nothing serious, just taunting and name calling, but I detest bullies. I was burning for a long time afterward, but I contented myself with the thought that they could go around telling anyone who would listen that Harry dies at the end, thinking that they were spoiling the ending, not knowing that the joke was on them.

Harry doesn't die. Harry lives and grows up and has babies with Ginny.

So there.

Harry's in the House

2007-07-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

The day has come and I imagine that 2/3 of the GAB has already finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I did my part by skipping to the last few pages and reading a few paragraphs. Anita was not amused.

Let me back up. We were in McCall this weekend with the Thorsteinson, Wallace and Odberg families and Anita had a few margaritas in her. It was approaching midnight, McCall time, and I threw out that we should see if there were any Harry Potter books going on sale at 12:01. Anita was the only one who bit so the two of us loaded up in her minivan and we cruised the streets of McCall in search of Harry, much to the chagrin of the rest of the people in our party.

Well, we found Mr. Potter and the rest of Hogwarts at McCall Drug. We were second to last in a long line and finally picked up our copies (paying full list price no less, I guess this is what having a few too many does to a guy - I only had one small beverage prior and was not inebriated by any means) at 12:30 am.

We excitedly brought our books back to the Odberg cabin and that's where I thought I'd get Anita's goat by skipping to the last chapter.

I'm hoping she posts her pictures from that night in front of the Drugstore holding our copies of the book. It was a fun adventure. I sent my copy to my mom as I am still slogging through Year 5. Enjoy the book. Although I am not as much of a Pottermaniac as some of you I am still sad at the conclusion of this great series.

Dear GAB

2007-07-18T21:44:00.000-07:00

To my dear friends at the GAB book club,

My heartfelt apologies for missing your glorious meeting tonight. I wish I could've been there, but another commitment had me pinned down. I tried to free myself, but it was quite difficult (and rather painful, I might add). I'm currently spear-heading a new secret project. It really has kept me very busy. And, I am sad to report, it is also very distressing. All my co-workers do is howl at me, and many times I feel I've been stabbed in the back, because of their behavior. The barbarians (no, I think they are actually Carpathian... oh well, it doesn't matter), they are ruthless. All they do is poke fun at me all day long. I hate their little jabs. My heart bleeds every night after a day of their piercing screams. Ah, the stress of it all! I'm not sure it's even worth it anymore. Any way you slice it, it's miserable work. Maybe I should just cut ties and be done with it. But, alas, I will just use different communciation techniques to drive my point into their little heads. Perhaps then, they will get what I'm trying to accomplish. Well, I best be going. My boss has just arrived and he gets quite grumpy when we're not working to stake our claims to this project. Again, my apologies. I'm looking forward to reading the next book.
Your friend,
Chocolate Mike

The Historian Meeting

2007-07-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

The meeting for the Historian was a lot of fun. We ate, drank and were merry. The majority enjoyed the book and there were several of us that felt the story drug on. Only a few had actually finished the book. Feel free to comment on your thoughts for the book. I obviously am drawing a big fat blank here.

Next month's selection is: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . We'd talked about going on a camping trip to discuss the book but realized that the GAB has several definitions of the word 'camping'. Half were all for tents and vault toilets and the other half were thinking Motel 6. The meeting is a tentative August 8 in the Arboretum.

Harry Potter will be discussed in-depth on the blog. Those of us who haven't read the full series were OK with spoilers. If you are worried about spoilers. Uh.................

September's pick is The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar . Kristen brought this choice along with Life of Pi and The #1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Food and Drink Inspired by The Historian

2007-07-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

The Zebra Room was in full swing. On the drink menu was red and white wine, the Vampire, Vampire Juice, Sloe Death Fizz, Vampire Guardian, and Vampire Blood. It was all good.

Appetizers for the meeting were: Garlic and Tomato Brushetta and Peanut Butter Chicken Skewers .

OK, I'm sick and twisted. Dessert was cupcakes with Polly Pocket impaled on wooden bamboo skewers. It's alright though. Polly was just reenacting. She's off the poles now and is resting safely in her Polly Pocket wonderland.

Music Inspired by The Historian

2007-07-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

I said I wasn't going to do it.....but I did. The Historian soundtrack is now out there and if you weren't able to pick up your copy during the meeting I will be sure to get them out to you later.

Songs included:
1. Romanian Song and Dance— Zoltan and His Gypsy Ensemble - a long drawn out instrumental that reminded me of the Overtures played at the beginning of old movies
2. Dracula—Gorillaz
3. Letters—Stroke 9
4. Train—4 Non Blondes
5. Somebody’s Watching Me
6. Papa Don’t Preach—Madonna - when I read Helen's mom's ordeal with Bartholomew Rossi this song just had to be included
7. Dracula’s Castle—New Order
8. Dracula’s Tango—Total Coelo
9. Have a Drink with the Good King Vlad—The Meteors - classic rock-a-billy number about Vlad, can it get any better?
10. Turkish Delight—Kalman Magyar
11. Paul and Helen’s Trip to Bulgaria
12. Istanbul - They Might Be Giants - love this song
13. Dracula’s Wedding—Outkast
14. Byzantine Chant –Divna
15. Ain’t No Grave—Odetta
16. Hungarian—Bond

Other songs I'd thought about but didn't include were:
Ottoman Empire - it was a horrible heavy metal piece that I knew everyone would be racing to the fast forward button
Vlad the Impaler - kind of a punk-ish song that was not very good
Love Bites - Def Leppard
Once Bitten, Twice Shy - Great White - both of these song titles were great but other than that had nothing to do with the story

I also didn't finish the book so I imagine there were some other great songs I missed. Which ones were they? Comments, please?

Molly's Now an ED Expert

2007-07-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

Older men who are horny and can't get it up watch the History Channel. How do I know this? Jackie called last night and said the History Channel was airing a few specials on 'Vlad the Impaler'. Intrigued and hoping I could learn more from the History Channel than from The Historian I tuned in.

During the presentation I was treated to three erectile dysfunction commercials by three different pharmacuetical companies in a 30 minute period. Levitra, Cialis, Viagra. Did you know with Levitra you have 30 minute to 36 hours to do your thing? Does this mean you can control it or is it involuntary? The poor bastard in the commercial was ready to 'get it on' while heading home with his honey when they ran into a group of friends who asked them to join them for drinks. "Shit!" thought the poor bastard. "Phew" thought the honey.

These commercials were followed by an ad featuring a blonde 18 year old tart in a cheerleading outfit or was it a Fredirick's of Hollywood version of the football uniform? telling those horny old men to text message (do 60 year olds text?) so they could win a plasma TV. Whatever.

I was pretty humored and was making a long drawn out comment to my husband. He replied with a long drawn out snore. Did you know that horny men who can't get it up watch the History Channel? Not that they'd see these commercials for E-D drugs. They're fast asleep in their Lazy Boys so the wives watch the commercials and make the call to the doctor for them.

On a side note: I learned more about Vlad in the one hour program last night than I have in the past 4 weeks reading the Historian. I'm a visual learner. The show airs again on the 14th.

So, yeah...History's boring.

2007-07-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

No offense, Mary, or any other former history majors. Actually, I loved history classes in college and took them just for fun. Of course, I don't seem to have retained much. And you all know my shortcomings when it comes to geography. Recently, I had an opportunity to screw them both up simultaneously: I have been slogging through "The Historian" going, "The Carpathians? Who were they? Did they come before or after the Ottomans?" I finally looked it up on Wikipedia and, oh my. It seems The Carpathians are a mountain range. Whoops. I guess that's why I majored in english. Anyway, if nothing else, this book has prompted me to do a little brushing up on my European history. Not that I will remember any of it...

The thing that's been frustrating me about this book has been the short little bursts of intrigue interspersed between pages and pages of boring narrative where nothing happens. It was getting frustrating and I found myself skipping those parts and paging forward to the "good bits". But you know what? I went through the first, oh, 150 pages or so, wanting to give it up and then... it started getting better. I'm in over 230 pages and things are starting to happen. I have hope for the future and can see myself actually finishing this. My plan for today is to spend at least part of the day in the back yard in a lawn chair reading. Molly said something about her mother saying that this was a good book to read in the dark days of fall or winter and I agree. It seems sort of incongruous to be reading it on a warm, bright summer day but maybe it's a good thing for me. I have been reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and now, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" out loud to Travis and Val in the evenings and then reading "The Historian" the rest of the time. If it weren't for the bright weather, I would probably feel kind of dark and moody right now.

Anyway, stick with it--it looks promising.

2007-07-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here is yet another forum for us to communicate to each other. Our other website will still be up and running but this way we can write something and make comments rather than sending out a bazillion e-mails to each other when a funny topic should arise. We can also use this to discuss the book we're reading or add anything that may be happening in each other's lives.

Hope it gets used. If not....no big deal.