Oly Reads discussion

Welcome to Sara, Sarah, and Renee! If you feel like introducing yourselves or sharing what's been on your mind lately, please do so. The quantity of posting done in this group is inversely proportional to the interestingness of the Oly Reads members...

(interestingness isn't a word, but let's just go with it)

Greetings to the new folks! I would love it if you would add your input to the ongoing threads, too.

Hi all,
I'm a newbie to the group---in fact a newbie to this site all together! It's been fantastic finding out about it over the last week and finding out what other people are reading.

I actually live in Chehalis, just moved here a week ago, but there doesn't seem to be much going on in this area, so I hope you don't mind my crashing this group! We just moved to the area from Denver, but before that I had lived in Washington state my whole life, so I still consider myself "native". I've lived in Vancouver, Bellingham, Seattle, Edmonds, and now Chehalis.

I just finished a book "Duplicate Keys" by Jane Smiley, but honestly didn't really enjoy it much, so am not willing to recommend it to anyone. I'm not sure what my next new read is yet, but I'll update everyone once I figure it out.

Thanks for letting me be a part of the Oly group!
Rachael

Welcome to Rachael and her cute dog! Hey, you've got a beautiful new library in your town now. I've been meaning to come down and check it out.

Some of us in OlyReads are reading Beautiful Boy by Sheff, and it's companion book Tweak, also by Sheff (the first Sheff's son). And we have a meeting scheduled for Saturday (the event is listed at the bottom of the main group page, I think, and you're invited!).
But we gave up on discussing any one particular book, so you don't need to read either book to come to the meeting.
We're glad to have you. Welcome back to Washington!

Welcome Rachael! I second Jackie's feelings about your dog- s/he looks like one of those dogs that I wouldn't be surprised to hear talk one day. What do you think of Chehalis so far? What brought you to Chehalis in particular? Lots of good organic farms down in that area, and I'm sure you heard about last year's big flood...

Bookwise, I'm reading Escape by Carolyn Jessop. It's not a very well written book, but it's still a totally fascinating look into the life of someone who grew up in the polygamist FLDS sect. Carolyn was the first woman to escape from the group with all eight of her children.

I'm enjoying Chehalis so far---it's a pretty cute little area and I look forward to finding more out about the organic farms you mention, agathafrye. I plan on trying out the new library today, so will report back on that, but I'm sure it'll be great. I sense that this area (Centralia/Chehalis) is slowly moving towards getting its own "hip" vibe, but it's just starting to really get that feel, so I think the community is in a period of adjustment. I look forward to finding out more about the area. One thing I've been having troubles with is finding good hikes within an hour drive, so if anyone has a suggestion, let me know!

I wish I could claim the dog in my picture as my own. I've tried to steal her from our friends several times! She really is an intelligent great dog and we've gone on many hiking and camping trips together. I miss her though since she's back in Colorado, where we just moved from.

Getting to books, I ended up grabbing "Maybe the Moon" by Armistead Maupin off the shelf. So far, it's been a hilarious and fun read. I don't find myself laughing out loud at books too often, but it's happened several times with this book, so that means it's a good one IMO!

I'm interested in the book you mention by Carolyn Jessop. I find myself drawn to thousands of books on this site though, so I gotta just take it all one step at a time!

Woops, that was my post above! I just accidentally signed in with my husband's account. Oh geez, I hope this doesn't indicate how the rest of the day will go. LOL!

I read "Maybe the Moon," too. I'm a big Maupin fan. I didn't think it was the best book he'd ever written, but I enjoyed it. I thought the glam little person was AWESOME.

Chehalis hip? Hmmm.... we shall see!

We're up to 81 members here! Welcome new folks- feel free to put your feet up, tell us about yourselves, any good books you've been reading, add books to the Oly Reads Bookshelf, etc. etc.

Welcome Amory! Nice to have you. We're up to 84 members in Oly Reads now...

I'm overdue in my welcomes to the newest members of the group... welcome to Patty, Meesh, Ruby, Sony, Kim, Bekah, K. Merlin, Martha, and Maura! Feel free to introduce yourselves if you are so inclined. Read anything good lately? Add it to the Oly Reads bookshelf! We also have a semi-monthly book club that meets in Oly, y'all are invited. You'll find the next book group meeting listed under the "events" portion of this page when we decide on a date, time, and location. Again, welcome!

Looks like we've got two more new members- welcome Stern and Ericka! Make yourselves at home.

Welcome Misha and Gary! This group is three shy of 100 members... we aren't chatty, but we are many!

Yay, Misha and Gary!

Yes, I know Misha from Terminal Coffee, and now she's here!

We'd love to have you! There will be margaritas.

Another new member- welcome Beth! Any friend of Judy's is a friend of mine.

Hi Beth! Welcome!

WELCOME ANGIE! Angie is cool.

Thanks! I've been around for a couple of years now but just hooked my Goodreads account up with my Facebook account and that's how I learned about this group.

I recently finished Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost. I would recommend it to anyone who likes travel writing or humor.

Welcome, Angie!

Welcome Olivette! You have an incredibly rad name, for the record.

Angie, I have heard good things about that book. I'll add it to my "to read" list, which is full of books I never read but always want to.

Oly reads has tipped over 100 members since I last paid attention- welcome to Nick and Sarah! Please introduce yourselves if you are so inclined.

Welcome David Raffin! Folks, our newest member is one funny local. I'm getting ready to read his book "Rhyme or Treason" very soon...

Zach's here! Give it up for Mr. Zach Mandeville...

Hello all,

I have just joined the group, actually my first Goodreads group ever!

I will be moving to Aberdeen in two weeks, but Olympia seems to be the closest cultural center or gathering of readers/ like-minded people. And, it seems you are pretty friendly to those who live just outside of Olympia.

My current reads include "The Zookeeper's Wife" and "Q &A" on audiobook. Both are good so far!

I am looking forward to taking part in the group,
Kim

Kim, I'm reading the Zookeeper's Wife right now! I'm really enjoying it. Welcome to the fray.

Belated welcome to some new members (110 members now- wow!)...
Kim, Ranjeet, Chris, Theo, and Rachel! We're happy to have you all here. Kim kindly introduced herself already, but we'd love to hear about the rest of you if you are so inclined. We meet in real life about one every month (to two months) for renegade book club, so you can always see those invites on the Oly Reads event page. As an FYI- we don't all read the same book, we just go around the group and each of us shared books we've read (and usually enjoyed) lately. We also welcome you to add books to the Oly Reads bookshelf, especially if you'd recommend them.

Welcome Ryan, Michael, and Anya! If you care to, share a bit about yourself and your favorite reads.

Welcome to Corrine, Nicole, and Sara L!

Welcome Holly! You have interesting books on your shelves, please tell us a bit about yourself if you are so inclined.

A few friends always ask me what I am reading/plan to read soon, and in early January I finally decided to use GoodReads to keep them apprised. So the "to-read" list shows 40-50 of my soon-to-read selections, fiction and nonfiction, in no particular order. Then I realized it would be a great new way to procrastinate at the computer if I kept a running list of what I read in 2011 - so that's my "read" list. I also index books for a living. Hoping to come to your February get-together - Thanks!

Wow, our first indexer! I always thought that would be a really great skill to have, and it's such an important part of any good nonfiction reference-type book. Welcome!