1. I was a bit put-off by the format at first, but soon grew to love it. I enjoyed reading a book, that at times, seemed to have more than one narrative point of view.

2. I agree with Aurora. Books, during that time, were valued more as prized possessions to be read, re-read and cherished. Now-a-days books are viewed more as disposable.

:) MM

lmao!!!!! when you find that class drop me a line. i've made a few blunders myself tring to read maps!

Oh scary for you - seeing my picture . . . . ha ha
I've been w/o computer and just getting back into the swing of things - behind in everything - and I mean everything :-O
CON seems like yesterday and a zillion years ago all at once!
It was something though, wasn't it :-)
DR

Big hugs to everyone who helped to plan this event. I had a FABULOUS time...what a beautiful place!! And so many LBs, a girl almost doesn't know what to do with herself! This was just the break I needed from my regular life. I'll definitely make it a point to come back again next time. :)

3. I think a readers choice in books tells a lot about their interests, sense of humor and personality. I believe that everyone that was in the society at the time of the occupation was changed to some extent. Also the people who learned about the society after-the-fact were also touched by it.

4. I'd have to say that I really liked Dawsey, he just seemed to have a bit of mystery about him. Although I equally loved Isola's quirkiness! As to whose literary opinions are like my own, Hmmmm....not sure on that one.

5. I cried when they found out that Elizabeth was dead. I was hoping for a tearful reunion.

:) MM

Hey, y'all are talking about an area near me -- I told ya it was a letterboxing desert! We're planning to go to the Fairystone area bit later this year to plant some. If anyone wants to get together for a meet that would be awesome! :) And yes, please come stick some boxes up here!!

There are four other state parks near us, too: Claytor Lake (on a lake), Hungry Mother (also on a lake), Grayson Highlands (lots of trails including the AT) and the New River Trail (a linear park that follows an old railroad path beside the river for 57 miles). And there's also a ton of other recreation areas & trails. You know you wanna come visit... and plant nearby... and hang out with me, right? Right??

:)
~Ohana

I love my big sister.

I have a series of 3 on a loop. Instead of saying "turn left", it tells the boxer to travel clockwise around the loop. Nearly everyone goes the wrong way. It must be in our nature to turn right.

In this case, no amount of skilled map reading would help!

However, without having a complete area map, the person actually can't KNOW which is clockwise versus counter clockwise...

You can either be starting outside the loop in which case it is left but if you started inside the loop (a perimeter trail around a park for instance) then it is right. ::shrug::

Hey, roomie! Nice to hear from you. It does seem like the con was just last month - and an eternity ago. It was a great time - great boxes, great classes but mostly, great people!

TrailTroll

and the New River Trail (a linear park that follows an old railroad path beside the river for 57 miles)

Uhh-Ohhh....Don't give Mama Wolf any ideas!!!! Hopefully she is away from the computer today and misses this post! :o)

Turtlelove (not running and hiding...standing my ground with arms out stretched!!) :o)

Wow - 57 miles! Think of the incredible series that could be planted there...

Also, there's so much stuff packed into each chapter in the later books. I had to double up on more stuff than the original schedule included because we're starting a bit late, but I honestly didn't change all that much. I'm looking forward to this!

A note. I will be on vacation from the 4th to the 11th. I'll try and make it in every morning to post the new discussion thread, but if I'm a little late, super duper sorry.

This stamp will be going in the Tyler Junior College Series. TJC is known for winning many tennis championships.
Use this URL link to veiw the picture of somthing I would like:
http://www.tampaduilawyerblog.com/tennis.jpg
If you do not wish to use this picture for some reason, maybe a female or male swinging the racket to the ball. All this stamp must have is a tennis racket and ball.
Thanks,
Joanna

I am blocked from the blogs here at work. Is that where all the discussions will be? I was really hoping to get in on these books! I love them and right now I happen to be listening to the audio book of Chamber of Secrets right now.

Is most everyone posting on here teens?

happy birthday!!

Wow - 57 miles!

I'm thinking one state stamp for every mile of trail.
The extra 7 ?? Hmmmmmmmmm......bonus stamps ??
There must be several entrances too, so you could do 8 miles several different times.... or some such thing ! It sounds like a "This is my goal for this year" thing.

Dina B.

I totaly agree with the title of this board!

I have a Calico, she is sooo sweet. We named her Daisy.

Okay here's an update... Jerry got to come home sunday and monday and back out on Tuesday.

Then he comes home on the 8th (they are suppose to move the rig that week sometime) the other guy has said he can work it and Jerry can have his days off... then tells Jerry to take his days off that he owes him on the 15th and 16th which means Jerry gets 9 days straight off (but I can see the supervisors calling him in for the rig move but we will see)

GG

***THrows confetti, releases balloons, and rolls out the cake***

Why is it so uncommon to have a male calico?
Rare happening...
I have a calico. Her mom was a orange tabby. My cats mom's parents where tabbys too. Does that mean my cats dad was a calico?

You guys are killin me! ;0(

Camp Fire Lady
who is on a diet *poo*

For the second summer in a row, am searching for letterboxes I can find while traveling by boat. Last summer went down the Hudson River, this year it's Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River. Couldn't that be another searchable category for a box, like auto, compass, dog friendly, etc.? purple coneflower

You know, MB, your hat kind of looks like one of those snakes hanging around. ;-p

OMG!!! that's exactly what I thought while reading the post and i looked up to see exactly what caught my eye!!!

My thinking went to Baby Bear.

1) Use of letters: I liked this format. It was a good way to get the viewpoints of a number of people. You also got just the “essentials” of the story—there was no need for transitions between scenes. Writing letters requires thought, and they are (or at least can be) permanent, so the character took time with their letters and their writings allowed us to dig deeper into their souls. I thought it interesting that Mark (who comes across as rather shallow) was more into calling than writing, and his notes were quite superficial.

2) Bookstores: I agree that books are more throw-away now, although I do have certain ones that I read more than once. You can still get the flavor of this “old-fashioned” bookselling when you go to the smaller specialty shops. We have someone in town who specializes in histories and mysteries, and the owner is quite knowledgeable.

3) Lives changed: Several of the characters wrote that this new-found reading helped them to cope with what was happening during the occupation. Booker said that Seneca’s writings “helped to keep me alive in what was to come later”. Eben said that Shakespeare’s line “we are for the dark” had great relevance. It seemed to help him process what was going on. One letter-writer (Mrs. Saussey) disparaged the group and said “they’d never have touched a book, but for the OCCUPATION”. That was a great thing, not something to be insulted.

4) Favorite character: I liked a number of the characters, but liked Iola the best. She used books to experience things that were beyond her normal existence (like the romance in the Bronte books). That is one thing I love about books—they let me visit places/experience things that I might otherwise not. For literary choices, I might have to go with Eben. Even though I don’t read poetry a lot, I do find a lot of relevance and emotion in poetry (I might need to head to the poetry section in the library soon!)

5) Laugh/Cry: There were no “big” episodes of this for me. There were a number of wryly humorous comments that I enjoyed. Some of the descriptions of the occupation or the camps was heart-breaking.

6) Why were Mark and Adelaide Addison included?: Every story needs an antagonist. Mark served that role for Juliet, and Mrs. Addison did so for the villagers.

7) Why Charles Lamb?: One of the writers (Dawsey?) said that perhaps Lamb’s great sorrows made him a great writer. I was thinking that the villagers’ great sorrows during the occupation made them great readers.

8) Favorite quote: Juliet said “one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you into another book….”. I may need to look for the writings of Lamb at the library too, along with the poetry. As if my list isn’t long enough!

I really enjoyed this book. I also liked learning about the occupation of Guernsey, which I was unaware of before this book. Sorry for the length of the post, but I really liked the books and the questions—perhaps I’ve been proofreading too many of my daughter’s term papers ;~)

Birdwoman/WP

I'm thinking one state stamp for every mile of trail.
The extra 7 ?? Hmmmmmmmmm......bonus stamps ??

6 US territories...and a bonus stamp? It could be done... :-)

Hopefully, she is back on AQ herself very soon.

I did hear from Nanni, she's so glad to be home from the hospital after 11 days ! I bet Derby (their doggie) was so happy to see her, he's still showering her with doggie kisses. *LOL*
She said she had her laptop in the hospital, but their connection didnt' allow her to do much.
She's tired, of course..... and they're still discussing what to do to help her manage. She'll get on here and update us when she is up to it.

In the meantime, we'll keep on lifting her up in prayer !

Dina B.

Would it be possible to post a few discussion questions about the book now, so that we can keep them in mind as we read the book? I loved the questions about the May book. Fortunately, I hadn't returned the book to the library yet, so I was able to skim over it again to respond to the questions.

BirdWoman/WP