flight paths discussion

Maybe spring is really here
The flowers are blooming
That is clear
And birds are racketing
In the trees I have even
Seen some bees
But the surest sign of spring
Is the steady rain
It seems to bring
More patience is needed alas
Before we can relax
To read on the grass

Love it!

It's been so cold down here, it's hard to believe it's May! But yesterday finally was warmer.

Magdelanye, that poem is fit perfectly to the May we are experiencing. I hope the days come soon when "we can relax to read on the grass". That sounds like bliss.

What am I reading, you ask?.......

I'm continuing with Bleak House (a chapter a day). We're closing in on the end. Another couple of weeks, I think, and we'll be done. This is a convoluted plot and very tightly & well woven.

On my runs, I'm listening to When Brains Dream: Exploring the Science and Mystery of Sleep. Sleep research is interesting; I'm enjoying this quite a bit.

For bedtime reading there's The Fallen Princess. It's interesting to follow medieval crime solvers solve an old murder after a mummified body of a princess is found. The story is a bit slow moving but interesting, none the less.

Bonjour, I am trying to re-learn / practice French for the holidays

bonjour! c'est marveuix Ice!Peut etre c'est ne pas trop difficile quand vous commence le parler

And yes Petra and Ellie, it's been so cold. Let the bliss commence!

actually Petra Bleak House was the one of Dickens that I rather enjoyed. I am sure you will count it as a huge accomplishment after such a long commitment

Before I even add it to my currently reading list, let you be the first to know that I got my copy of the last two parts of the Transylvanian Trilogy and have just leaped in.

Lucky me that it came so quickly that my impressions are stll fresh and it was not hard to pick up the story.
Petra how are you finding the dreaming brain?

Enjoy the rest of the Transylvanian Trilogy, Magdelanye.

I'm enjoying The Dreaming Brain. There is a bit of repetition. The author will mention an idea in a chapter, saying it will be elaborated on later, then repeat what he said in the earlier chapter before he elaborates in the later chapter. It doesn't happen often, though, so is more jarring than irritating.
There are some interesting thoughts and research being done and has been done to understand dreaming. It's such a difficult subject to research and pin down.
I'm enjoying the book.

Thanks Petra. It looks promising.
Re that repetition/elaboration technique, I find it a rather common method of reinforcement. If Im really interested, I can appreciate the repetition. Sometimes though it seems lame or patronizing. If I find myself getting impatient i do try and slow down.

Do you usually remember your dreams Petra? Actually I'm interested in what others might say as well. At one point i had a dream journal that i wrote in every morning for years. I found the more i did it, the more elaborate my recollections.

I do not recall my dreams. I occasionally remember a scene or have a vague recollection of a dream, but usually I remember nothing.

One technique to remember, according to the book, is to repeat to yourself, 3 times, when going to bed "I will remember my dream". It apparently works and the recollection gets stronger over time.
Keeping a dream journal and pen by the bed to record dreams before rising also (apparently) works well.

another technique is to drink 1/2 glass of water on going to bed, the other upon waking.
i dont remember many of my dreams these days probably because i stopped enjoying them.

we have some sun!
and I am planning to take the Transylvanian Trilogy out for the first reading on the lawn fest as the grass is almost dry. I am on Part 2 of part 2 and have the book until Saturday.

I have also been returning to work on my reviews.
Most exciting, I got a lovely comment from Marcello Di Cintio on the review I wrote yesterday on his latest book Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers which was surprisingly terrific.

Considering there are theoretically 35 members in this group, what the heck is everybody else reading?

Petra you must be finishing up Bleak House. Even if you loved it, it will probably feel good to pick up something else after so long.

Ellie, hope this finds you well. What are you into right now?

I am wondering about Megan and MaryAnne, now just Mary I think, and if she has moved back east already.

May all be well with you

I quite enjoyed The Fallen Princess. It's not without it's faults, but it's entertaining and I like the characters.
It's the fourth of a series, so I went back to the first book, The Good Knight to see how Gareth and Gwen met. I liked this book, too, so started the second book, The Uninvited Guest, which has also started well.

This series is fun. The prefaces say that, as much as possible, the characters come from real life in medieval Wales and the history of Wales is followed. For example, this king and his sons are real people. The second son became a famous poet of Wales and his poetry is still recited today.
The murder in the first book really happened, although any information on it is mostly gone, the papers having been lost or destroyed.

Wow Petra I looked it up and it does sound seductive. 14 volumes...when I'm really old that might be a good choice to be read to.Although if i dont get cracking it will have to be Proust. I never did find it and have convinced myself i leant it to one of the people that dropped in when i was packing.
wring this on the little slit allowed by the fone it wont let me edit. Hope my somewhat cynical remarks dont seem too morbid. I've been exposed lately to the idea of making friends with ones death and seems like having something to be read to would be a positive thing.

Petra I found my little section of dream books but as I figured the book I mentioned is oversize and not with the others.

The Transylvanian Trilogy continues to fascinate. Thanks again for your encouragent. I might not have persisted in my efforts if you weren't so enthusiastic. I really wish though that i had photocopied the cast of characters from the first volume. In fact, I'm surprised at how well Im following the different threads with all the characters. Thats partly due Im sure to the vividness of his descriptions and his clever namings.

My other books are being somewhat neglected.

Hi all! I'm sorry I've been AWOL--I've been overwhelmed with parties and graduation dates (2) for my daughter who just got her master's in psychology from NYU (we were at Yankee Stadium yesterday--almost 20,000 students + their friends and family and Taylor Swift getting an honorary degree--her speech was actually lovely).

I'm reading Ocean Vuong's latest volume of poetry, Time Is a Mother and Ada Limon's collection, The Hurting Kind: Poems. I'm still on a mystery binge, right now with The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman--four amateur sleuths around age 80 (gives me hope!).

I just got Hanya Yanagihara's newest To Paradise. I very much want to read this--I thought A Little Life was very well-written and powerful (albeit maybe the most depressing book I've ever read, right alongside Joan Didion's Play It As It Lays which I loved but made me want to take to my bed forever) but it's huge so I don't know when. As usual, too many books and too little time.

I do hope I can finish Murder Club quickly enough.

I finished the Dream book and enjoyed it quite a bit. The advances made into our dream worlds, although yet small, will one day be large. The researchers think that one day, our dreams may be able to be recorded in some manner.
Sometimes I think technology goes too far. I wouldn't want to know that my dreams or thoughts can be recorded. I hope that day never comes.

That said, I did enjoy reading about the history and the current dream theories and the research being done.

Magdelanye, I'm glad you are enjoying the Transylvania trilogy. There's something about Banffy's writing that is serene, real and pulls the reader into the story.

Ellie, that's a huge gathering! It seems strange to hear of such large events again. I'm glad you had a good time. Congratulations to your daughter's big achievement.

The Thursday Murder Club sounds like a fun read. I may check it out. Thanks, Ellie.

hmm...I came here because i received a notification that Ellie and Petra had posted comments this adternoon.
Have any of you noticiced more disruptions than usual? Across the board.

Today I came inevitability to a character I couldn't place in Banffy. It was Szigmund Baros and I had to go back to find the bits with him and Dinora. The one thing I dont like actually is his use of adjectives and poor little empty headed Dinora gets the worst of it. Im at another anguished part now with Lazlo and Sara. Its unlikely I will finish by Saturday, its just too delicious.But Monday the library is closed, so for 50 cents I can have it until Tuesday....should be fine.

I haven't noticed any disruptions on GR at all. Can you not see the comments we posted?

I'm glad that your library can get copies of the books, Magdelanye. You've got a good library system.

Its a bit odd, Same thing happened when I checked for Petras last comment. I see those comments now, but I had to refresh a few times to see this last one. Minor delays I guess.

I would love to be able to record my deams Petra but only if it were for private use.
Come to think of it, thats what entities like fb attempt, to mine our dreams and sell them back to us.
I agree that often technology goes too far. And I actually hate it that on many platforms there is an agressive script writer that fills in what it thinks you should say with cliches.

Congratulations Ellie!
Haven't heard of Ada Limon but excited to hear that Ocean has a new collection. I recently finished Billy-Ray Belcourts History of My Brief Body. Deep and provocative.

And! just found out Heather O'Neal has a new historical fiction released in Feb.

Now back to Transylvania

so i am wondering about notications and once aggain it seems as mine was the last comment. since both the others did, maybe I will have a nice supprise.

Actually Im here because I can hardly bear to finish with Transalvania and Lazlo has just died and I have only 20 pages left. wah¹

Magdelanye, do you have the third book handy and ready to start?

That was such a sad scene. I think of it every time I think of this trilogy.

I have another Banffy book on my ereader but haven't read it yet. I hope it stands up to this trilogy.

Petra I have the hardcover edition which includes the last two books so its over. Laszlo dies near the end of book 3 which i so wanted to continue. So much is unresolved. I kept hoping Adrienne would show up and now hes off to war...does the other Banffy you have take up the story?

There must be another volume! After all, his granddaughter was one of the translators and this is documentary fiction of the highest order.

Oh, you're already there! Oh my. You've raced through this. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

No, the other Banffy is The Phoenix Land, an autobiographical non-fiction. Being non-fiction, it will be very different than the trilogy.

I don't think there's a continuation of the trilogy. We're left to wonder about the future of these characters. Balint turned out to be a truly solid and warm person, with integrity.

grrr...my notifications indicate Petra has answered but its not here.
I am feeling somewhat lost this morning missing the world i have been engrossed in.
I have also finished Barbara Ehrenreich s book demolishing the power of positive thinking and now begun another one by her, doing much the same regarding health care.

Ellie did you notice my recent review on Edward Haidts How to Read a Poem? This is a book I think you will find to be very interesting

Now maybe after this comment I will get to see Petras earlier one

Yup. I now can see your comments Petra, above my last one. kind of odd.
Yes, I loved Balint and his ethical reasoning resonates with me. But I loved Laslo too and it broke my heart that he died before Balint got there. And I also wanted to see that bugger of a notary and those two malicious old ladies he had set up as companions for Countess Roza...exposed.

Seeing as a large part
of the books are not actually fiction the Pheonix Land might just carry on without the fiction. Did you catch the reference to himself, MB, mentioned by his full name attendig a meeting?

Ditto on all you said. I had hopes throughout that Lazlo could be saved somehow. He was a good man.
I was a bit disappointed that the lawyer got away with his actions. At one point I thought Balint would find evidence of what he was doing but the storyline went elsewhere.
The same with the 2 old ladies, but the lawyer seemed more dangerous, seeing that he could infiltrate more households and cause more grief than the 2 old ladies could.

Yes, I caught the reference and got a chuckle out of it. Hmmm....perhaps that could mean that The Phoenix Land could be seen as a continuation of this story, in a sense.

If you aren't seeing new comments, then seeing them, could the problem be resolved by coming here, then refreshing your screen?

It's an odd thing to keep happening to you. I haven't (yet) had that issue.

Magdelanye wrote: "grrr...my notifications indicate Petra has answered but its not here.
I am feeling somewhat lost this morning missing the world i have been engrossed in.
I have also finished Barbara Ehrenreich s ..."

I will have to check out that book--yes, it sounds interesting.

And I always enjoy Ehrenreich. I try to read all she writes.

Back again. More celebration: my son received 3 academic awards from his community college--he is now attending a 4 year. Considering the fact that he was in a self-contained special education classroom from 7-21, this is a fantastic achievement.

I am reading Thank You, Mr. Nixon which I'm greatly enjoying. I just started Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted which hooked from the very beginning.

Also, I finished a volume of poems, Monument by Natasha Tretheway. I always get caught by her work. Do you know her? Her mother was murdered by her ex-husband, Tretheway's step-father and much of her work revolves around that. The rest mostly, in many different ways, deals with race in America.

I've put To Paradise (Hanya Yanagihara) on pause--too long a read for me at the moment and it wasn't pulling me in. I wasn't interested enough to keep going.

Magdelanye wrote: "grrr...my notifications indicate Petra has answered but its not here.
I am feeling somewhat lost this morning missing the world i have been engrossed in.
I have also finished Barbara Ehrenreich s ..."

In reviewing your review, lol, I realized that I actually have read this book and found it very interesting. Although apparently not enough to remember it immediately! Maybe time for a reread.

Ellie that happens to me too, more often than i like. Thats one of my favorite things about GR, when some random person likes an old reveiw of a book i had entirely forgotten. In fact this just happened, and there was a most interesting discussion in the comments.

Congratulations on your sons big achievement! Those special classes really paid off.

I do not know Tretheway but her story is horrifying. I cant imagine what kind of poetry she could write.

Petra I think those two old biddies caused plenty grief.
They poisoned Roza against Adrienne and their mischief caused a lot of damage. I hated to see them get away with it. The rigid structure that they upheld certainly did not serve them.
The wonderful librarian today put an inter-province loan request in for The Phoenix Land.

Magdelanye wrote: "Ellie that happens to me too, more often than i like. Thats one of my favorite things about GR, when some random person likes an old review of a book i had entirely forgotten. In fact this just hap..."

The story is indeed horrifying and she creates something powerful, moving, and often beautiful as well as heartbreaking.

I really must read some Banffy!

the trans. trilogy would maKe an excellent series, dont you think Petra?

Quite by accident a book I ordered came on line. I listened to a few chapters but now it seems I've lost it

Sorry for the late reply, Magdelanye. I had to leave town suddenly and was without internet access. It's kind of nice to be unplugged for awhile.

I think the Trilogy would make for a great series. That would be one I'd watch.