Introduce Yourself!

It appears I'm about to graduate from 40-something LTers, and found no 50-Something group yet, so here I am. Meg Waite Clayton (and in the interest of full disclosure, I suppose I can't officially join this group until Jan 1., when I turn). I'm a big Eliot and Austen fan, and some of my favorite contemporary writers include Alice McDermott, Ian McEwan, Ann Patchett, Anne Tyler, Sue Miller, and Graham Swift. I'm also a novelist, author of The Wednesday Sisters.

Hi, I'm a nearly 50-something (will be in 2009), so I thought it best if I just start out here :0)

I am a librarian and recently joined LibraryThing.

I mostly read for pleasure, and favorite genres include sci-fi (not so much on the fantasy), mystery series such as Nevada Barr's Anne Pigeon, Jeffery Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme and Kathy Reichs.

I enjoy listening to audio books while driving, knitting, house cleaning, etc.

I officially hit the Big Five Oh last April 23 and stayed in the 40 Something LTer's because there was no group for the 50 Something LTer's at the time. Maybe if we can get more people to join us in the 50 Something LTer's we can start our own Reading Group and decide what books we want to read on a regular basis unless you all would like to start after January 1, 2009. As you can see from my Library I like to read and collect all different kinds of books, Histories, Biographies, Mysteries, Sci-Fi, Horror, Fiction, Feminist, Chick Lit, Fantasy so I would be open to just about any kind of genre of books out there.

Beatles1964

Hello! I'm not 50 but I feel like I'm pretty experienced at times. I'm 26! I love classic literature and I love reading. Gina Wessex ☺..I hopes it's ok that I'm not 50 and all...I respect the elders.

I've watched for a 50's group and I'm glad someone finally started one. Thanks megwaiteclayton!

I'm fairly new to LT and really love it. My TBR pile has grown exponentially since joining!

I look forward to some interesting discussion from this group, and I agree that starting a group read would be great.

I also looked for a 50-something group and didn't find one. Thanks for taking the steps to create it megwaiteclayton! I'm already 50-something! :)

I'd also be interested in a group read. At the moment I'm scrambling to finish my 50 challenge by the end of the year, and looking forward to the 999 challenge!

Elders!! I know you were being Polite MissTisket and meant no disrespect but that word makes us sound real old and I don't feel old. To me an Elder would be a Grandparent or even a Great Grandparent not someone in their 50s. I remember when I was growing up in the 60s people used to say, Never trust anyone oner 30. Back then 30 seemed like someone was Ancient. Of course the Boomer Generation was fighting Authority figures and the Authority figures were of course, your Parents, Teachers and the Police. Age is just a number and it all depends on your attitude and how a person acts. If they act and think young they will feel better than someone who acts and feels their age.

Beatles1964

Thanks, Meg Waite Clayton, for starting the 50-Something group. I've toyed with the idea of starting a 50-something group, but never got around to doing it so appreciate your effort.

I am 55, female, married, with a 15-year old daughter, living on 8 acres in RURAL North Carolina. Lots of pets. I am a Sr Analyst for a manufacturing company and am the Treasurer for my daughter's High School Band Boosters. I'm a yellow-dog Democrat but will only post political stuff in political groups, promise! The only reason I mention it at all is that it's a very important part of who I am.

My tastes are eclectic. I always have a book with me in case there's even a minute to read. I was in the 888 challenge and 75 book challenge this year and am in the 999 challenge and 75 book challenge for next year!

I found LT and adore LT and joined LT in October 2007. I finally finished cataloging my books in June 2008.

See you all around.

Hi, everyone! Nice to have company here.

A get-to-know-us question: What was the first book you remember really loving?

For me, it was A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. It helped that the protagonist was named Meg. Years later, my youngest son read it and loved it as much as I did, which was lovely.

This is actually kind of a long story. I was not raised by parents that encouraged me to read, and in fact I cannot remember that they ever read a book to me while I was growing up, nor did we have books around the house. I was, however, an advanced reader in school and borrowed books from the school library and spent a lot of time reading. I was a Navy brat and we moved often and I had a difficult time making friends and was sometimes lonely, so books became my friends. When I was eight years old, my folks bought a house from a family who decided they did not want to pack up their books or their book shelves and so left them in the house when we moved in. One of the books was To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't know exactly how old I was when I read it, but I do know that it was before we moved out of that house two years later, so I was somewhere between eight and ten years old. I did not really understand the deeper issues that are a part of the story, but I loved it anyway, and I developed a love of reading because of that book. I've been an avid reader ever since. I'm 52 years old and I still have that copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is well worn and well read and one of my treasures.

(edited for spelling)

I'm 50-something (let's just leave it at that, shall we?) and delighted that this group has been formed.
I am a retired school librarian...loved my job...love retirement even more.
It seems I have always been a reader. My grandparents were readers, my parents also. My addiction seems to be in buying books. Of my 800+ titles catalogued, I've only read about half...but I keep buying. I'm always afraid a good book will go out of print before I can get to it, so I buy when it's available. My father tells me I can't catch up in my lifetime if I stop buying right now. A librarian friend decided to stop reading reviews for a year so she can catch up before temptation gets the best of her. I'm afraid I will just keep buying and reading and let the unread books go to some deserving person/organization who will love inheriting untouched books (can we will our LibraryThing catalog?).
Looking forward to chatting with my fellow middle-agers (yikes, did I really say that?). Right now, I had better get back to book #411!

The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell is the first book I remember loving. I still have it, ratty as it is. I also remember loving a book called Max about a bear (orange library binding, read in 3rd grade).

Gads. I guess middle-agers does apply - does that mean I'll live to 110? I seriously plan on living into my 90s for sure.

Hi everyone! Glad this group has been started - I'm in at 52!

Hi all! To be honest, I didn't realise there wasn't a 50-something group - I'm not very good at joining...

I liked anything I could read as a child, and was far more literary than I am now. I remember sitting in the drawing room reading my mother's copies of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Dickens, aged between 7 and 8. But I had been reading since I was four - I do remember the first book I read: The Grey Fairy Book. I made my parents sit across the room to listen, so they couldn't help me with the words!

Another 50-something here. So glad to find the group! Megwaiteclayton, A Wrinkle in Time would also be my first "really loving it" book. My aunt took me to hear L'Engle speak when I was nine. I met her, briefly. She was lovely and gracious and she signed my copy "To Teresa, for happy tessering." I was enraptured! Little Women and To Kill A Mockingbird were also seminal books for me, but A Wrinkle in Time holds a special place in my memories.

Mike here. 56 (for now). 2 years on LibraryThing, and I rarely go to any other site for anything, although my Favorites drop-down has over a thousand sites in it.

I am drawn to the 'Books about Books' genre, and have a keen interest in writing and publishing. I tend to be a slow, inconsistent reader, so don't expect rapid changes on my Profile Page. Favorite authors are Anne Fadiman and Steven R. Donaldson. Not sure why Anne's doesn't touchstone...

Looking forward to the discussions.

The first books I remember loving is the Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat Series, Hop On Pop, One Fish Two Fish Red Blue Fish, Horton Hears a Who, The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubins,The Billy Goat Doctor plus a couple of The Bearstein Bears books and of course The Dick and Jane books are just some of the books I loved. Growing up My Mother used to read to me and my younger brother all the time and that is why I became a reader and lover of books. My younger brother isn't much of a reader. In fact I still own all of these books today. I couldn't bear to part with them since they are a part of my childhood.

Beatles1964

I LOVE Dr. Seuss! I hope to instill in my elementary school students a love for reading. I didn't enjoy reading as a child, it was difficult and I always felt stupid because my classmates were at the top level of SRA and I stayed at the bottom. All of my teachers wrote "please read aloud to Rosalee." As a teacher, I realize how important reading aloud to children really is. My students that are read to at home on a daily basis, are the first read in my class! (I teach Pre-K) I, too, hit the 50 mark, but I'm here to tell everyone, "Age is a matter of mind, if you don't mind, it doesn't matter~" (author unknown)

Hi All and happy holidays!

The first beloved book was Winnie the Pooh. I still have the copy that was read to me.

I wander through LT from time to time and am glad to have found the 50's.

>One of the books was To Kill a Mockingbird. I don't know exactly how old I was when I read it, but I do know that it was before we moved out of that house two years later, so I was somewhere between eight and ten years old. I did not really understand the deeper issues that are a part of the story, but I loved it anyway, and I developed a love of reading because of that book. I've been an avid reader ever since. I'm 52 years old and I still have that copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. It is well worn and well read and one of my treasures.

I love this Lorie. I remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird the summer before I started 6th grade (the same summer I read A Wrinkle in Time), which is the summer I think of as the summer I became a serious reader, thanks to the librarians at the Sierra Madre library.

>A Wrinkle in Time would also be my first "really loving it" book. My aunt took me to hear L'Engle speak when I was nine. I met her, briefly. She was lovely and gracious and she signed my copy "To Teresa, for happy tessering." I was enraptured!

I am jealous!

BTW, Happy Holidays, everyone!

Great, a 50's group! I was afraid I was the oldest person around here. Leslie, 55, live in a very small town in the Hill Country of Texas, raising my grandson (9), avid crafter/gardener/cook and omniverous devourer of books.

I'll read almost anything except romance novels. For example, today at the thrift store I picked up Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, The Great Gatsby and an anthology called 'Ghosts' I'm equally tickled to find all three. I do admit to a leaning toward fantasy, sci fi and mystery.

I remember discovering 'big people books' on my parents shelves when I was in 3rd grade. I picked up The Story of My Life and enjoyed it very much - though my mother had to go to school and explain to my teacher that I really HAD read it. I found Nancy Drew at the same time, inspiring the lifelong love of mysteries that lead to Christie, Marsh, Sayers, Grimes et. al.

A Wrinkle in Time wasn't my first love, but it surely was a long lasting one. I often wonder how many people L'Engle actually inspired to become prolific readers.

I'm looking forward to a long relationship with LT, and lots of good conversation with this group! : )

Hi everyone! I found LT in September and started listing my books - and now have started again (as it's holiday time here!). I live in Brisbane Australia. I turned 50 in April this year and LOVE LOVE LOVE to read. I started a book group in 2002 when I moved to this area - previously I was a member of lots of groups. I like to talk books and give/get suggestions for more reading!

I have a strong memory of enjoying Lazy Tinka and The Story about Ping - both picture books. I bought them for my home library and reading them still brings back nice memories. I didn't read many children's classics when I was young, so I am catching up now. I have Anne of Green Gables on my holiday reading list. Cheers for now, from the Sunshine State!
Kate

Hello everybody.
I have been a member of LT for just over two years. I read about the site in the New York Times and jumped in with both feet. I had been using software to catalog my library but LT is much better and comes with a lot of interesting people.
I'm just under the wire for the group and will have to fudge to stay in it after next June.
My mother was in college when I was growing up and by the age of ten I was always walking around with a book in my hand. My first love is history. One of the first books I remember is The Story of Mankind. I usually read on a topic for four or five years. I am finishing up the Civil War and ante-bellum America and beginning Ancient Greece and Rome. I think of it as a one person graduate seminar.
This year I did the 50 book challenge and started reading a lot more fiction. My list for the year is located here http://www.librarything.com/topic/27337#751559.
I look forward to being in an active group and getting to know lots of new people.

Hello, all. I'll still be 50-something for a few more years. Not much of a talker or fiction reader these days. The first book I remember loving - right after I learned to read by myself - was Zip-Zip Goes to Venus by John M. Schealer.

Hey there!

I'm smack dab in the middle of my 50's. I was given Golden Books as a toddler when I had been good at the grocery. Even though I don't remember any of them specifically, I do remember admiring their golden foil spines and gloating. Bad behaviors begin early. The first book I remember clearly was a version of the Just So Stories with amazing illustrations. My Dad gave it to me when I was five and I loved the language. I still keep my eyes peeled for a reprint I can pass to my nephews. My original copy was passed to my sibs and did not survive the experience.

Just want to say Howdy to all the other Texans...I'm in the Dallas area.

Hi everyone! I just discovered Librarything also. I turned 50 in February but I sure don't feel fifty. It seems really strange to even say the number. I love reading a variety of genres. I also grew up on the Golden Books but remember my first book was Go Dog Go by Dr. Seuss.

I am so excited about this group! Here's to 2009!

Greetings! I just found LT this weekend through an article in Comcast's newsletter. What a wonderful site!

I will be 52 at the end of January. My husband and I live in Spokane, WA. We have been married 3.5 years after meeting on the Internet. Our mutual love of reading and learning were chief components of our attraction to one another.

I grew up on a farm and the five mile, monthly trip to meet the bookmobile at a country crossroad is one of my favorite memories. I loved the Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books about Swedish boys and girls by Maj Lindman. I checked them out every time they were available and my mom routinely had to pay fines because I'd lost them in the house. I also loved the Sue Barton nurse books and read the whole series multiple times.

Hi there lbradf!

I met my (current) wife on the Internet also. We're currently at 7.5 years, and things couldn't possibly be better! She turns 50 in '09, but you'd never guess it. I'm in my mid-50s.
Anything else you might like to know about us is probably on our Profile Page.

>Great, a 50's group!

I love this. :-)

I met my husband before the internet existed!

megwaitclayton--

In rereading the first message of this thread, it would appear that we owe you a belated Happy Birthday!

Hi, I'm Cheli and I'll hit the double nickels (55) in May.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't reading. I started out with the Bobbsey Twins getting a book every birthday and Christmas. (I still have them, are they collector's items yet?) I moved on to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys until my Dad introduced me to Sherlock Holmes and Perry Mason. Then my older sister (traumatroller) got me hooked on romance novels. (We still exchange our books about once a year.) Now, I read just about anything except for Paranormal, graphic novels (they're cheating as far as I'm concerned), and philosophy/religion. Politics is not one of my favorite topics either. Since joining LT in October I have been expanding my range due to the US Presidents Challenge and the 999 Challenge so that I am into biographies, histories, and Classics.
The biggest surprise in my life is that I married a man who for the 37 years that I have known him, has maybe read 10 books on two subjects - BRIDGE AND TAXES (he's an accountant.) WHAT CAN I SAY?!?
I guess I'll just have to read for the both of us.

Welcome! If you've made it 37 years, you've certainly learned to work within your different preferences and still value one another. Cool! My husband and I both read. I thought I was a book lover until I met him. He reads constantly! I feel very lucky to have found someone like him.

I, too, am very lucky. My husband lets me sit and read while he vacuums. He builds me bookshelves and even lets me fill them with no complaints. So if he wants to fall asleep watching golf on TV while I read, fine by me!

cyderry - except for the vacuuming, you're describing my husband! He had all my bookcases built for me. He loves it when I'm reading or buying books (except for the expense part... thank goodness for the Thrift Store and BookMooch!).

And, he's dozing in front of a basketball game right now.

Karenmarie - aren't we the lucky ones!?!

>28 txpam: txpam Hi from Copperas Cove, Texas.

I just turned 51 in Dec. and Harold and the Purple Crayon was my first favorite book. But I loved anything that was written by Dr. Seuss and I also enjoyed biographies. Now I enjoy cozy mysteries, sci-fi/fantasy, and I'm rediscovering the classics.

>28 txpam: Linda,

I see that you read the Puzzle lady series and I have them on my TBR/Wishlist. Are they good? Do you like them a lot? How would you rate them?
Cheli

I like the unconventional way the crimes are solved. The characters are fun, not to perfect and very likable. I also like doing the puzzles. I give them a 4 overall.

I'm not familiar with the "puzzle lady" series. Who is the author and the first book in the series, please? They sound interesting and I'd like to look for them at the library. Thanks!

Lois

The Puzzle lady is about a young women who writes puzzles and her crime solving aunt. Each book includes crossword puzzles you can solve to help figure out the clues. The author is Parnell Hall and the first book is A Clue for the Puzzle Lady.

Thank you--such a prompt response! I've already requested it from the library. I'll be curious to see if the puzzle has already been completed. If I like the story, I just might have to break down and buy these books so I can do the puzzles!

>a belated Happy Birthday!

Thank you! I am now officially old enough to be in this group.

:-)

I found A Clue for the Puzzle Lady in hardcover at my Thrift Store for $1 on Saturday! It's in perfect shape and the puzzle hasn't been solved. I've never heard of this series but the book intrigued me. I think I'll put it into my 999 challenge category "mysteries by authors I've never read before" and switch out something else.

Some days I crawl out of bed feeling a hundred years old, but I think I get younger as the day goes by, and by midnight I'm a kid again ;-)

I'm single, female, and live in a small town in upstate NY. I hate winter, as I've whined about at length in the threads devoted to weather. Freelance editor/copy editor/proofreader/lexicographer, getting more broke by the month. Feh.

I've cataloged maybe a third or half of my books, but almost all of my mysteries and sci fi/fantasy, which are my favorite genres. Well, and cookbooks.

First loves include the Trixie Belden series, on which I learned to read with the help of my sister; Gone with the Wind; and the James Bond series. I also loved my mother's old books, which she brought home when I was eight after her mother died: Pollyanna, Two Little Women, Polly of Pebbly Pit, and a special favorite, Prudence of the Parsonage and its sequels. Oh--also Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom. And The Black Stallion series!

>47 ejj1955::

I loved the Trixie Belden books! My fourth grade teacher used to read the Black Stallion series to us every day after the afternoon recess, provided we'd behaved that day, and we usually did.

Decided to join this group, partly because you sound like kindred souls and partly because the threads appear to be easier to keep up with!

I was 54 in December, am married with two adult step-children and five grandchildren. We have two rescue westies. My husband is a prince in the bookshelf building area, too. He likes the idea of reading, but does not do it, and has never once criticized me for spending more time reading than doing some things around the house that I really should be doing instead of reading. He loves that I am always buying (or mooching) books for the grandchildren.

I don't remember a specific first book; I just always loved books and was the one in the family with the flashlight under the covers. Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Cherry Ames, were all stories I read avidly. Even though the horizons have broadened, I am still a big mystery fan.

Lisa

Welcome, Lisa! Your "flashlight under the covers" line sounds like me. I even remember reading by the light of my alarm clock!

BTW, today is my 52nd birthday. Time has surely flown by!

Lois

Happy birthday, Lois!

>49 LisaCurcio: I used to read under the covers, too. Being a night owl and being put to bed as a kid didn't really work too well, but as long as I could read, I was happy.

What a great group! I'm well-practiced at being 50-ish--I'll be 53 in March. I'm looking forward to being a crone. :)

The bookmobile was my "connection" to the world. We lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere and every two weeks the world came to us. We borrowed paintings, music, books--and I was in love. I loved reading everything growing up, but I utterly fell in love with Madeleine L'Engle and then with Ray Bradbury and then Isaac Asimov. I'm not as big a fan of SF anymore, but that's where the "I can't get enough" thing started.

Aren't books wonderful?

When I saw your reference to the bookmobile, Barb (>52 smallwonder56:), I went to look at your profile since the bookmobile was an important part of my growing up as well (>30 lbradf:). I was then pleasantly surprised to see on your profile that we are practically neighbors--I live in Spokane, WA. By the way, I really like your profile picture. What's the story behind it?

Hi smallwonder56. I'll be 53 in March, also. Pisces or Aries?

Holy, moly. I'd completely forgotten about Trixie Beldon.

I'm 56, live in New England, am single (well...divorced twice which is as good as single) with adult children who live in other parts of the country (and who, I'm proud to say, have their own extensive personal libraries).

We were a Winnie the Pooh family. By the time my younger sister was reading, Dad had a Pooh's Corner village built in our woods. I was enthralled by The Boxcar Children and desperately wanted to be orphaned and homeless. Mom actually gave me a complete set of the series for my 50th birthday.

I grew up surrounded by books which may explain my current situation. I don't remember Dad ever saying it by mother claims he used to say why borrow a book from a library when you can buy it yourself. (In spite of that, we were also weekly library patrons, as I am now, and my parents directed a significant part of the family's philanthropic commitments to the library). That same library had an adults-only section - oh how times have changed - which was made up mostly of the James Bond books. I recall Dad making the library put a note on my early-adolescent membership card that said I was allowed to check out books from the adults-only section; our town librarian always frowned a little when she had to sign those books out to me. Thanks, Dad.

I feel incomplete without a book (bookS) within arm's reach and spend more time picking out and packing books when I travel than I do selecting and packing clothes. My tastes are eclectic - the luggage always includes at least one book of poetry, a couple of novels and one or two nonfiction books (and that's just for a weekend away). And I always try to buy a local cookbook (Junior League, if one exists) as a travel souvenir.

>56 sisaruus:

I love that idea, buying a local cookbook as a souvenir (I often buy earrings but all too often, they get lost). I'm mentally kicking myself for not having thought of it--what a great way to remember a place visited.

# 56 - Sisaruus - I think that's a wonderful idea to buy a cookbook from places visited! I have always just bought a mug when I travel.

#56 Sisaruus - I have some cookbooks from my travels, too, but not from each visit! Wish I'd done it for every trip.

My mother let me read "adult" books as early as 6th grade when I started reading Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books. My 6th grade teacher Mrs. Brett had us read out loud to her from our free reading book one time. I remember not even knowing how to pronounce "dammit". Mrs. Brett was not amused. She got in touch with Mom, who continued to support my reading whatever I wanted. This was in .... 1964 or so..... I'm grateful to my mom for that too.

That's a great story karenmarie! My daughter is almost 13, and an avid reader. I'm trying my best to support her in a similar fashion.

My now-15-year old read The Kite Runner last summer for 10th grade honors English... I privately had a few qualms until I remembered what my mother let me read. My daughter shrugged off the icky parts (I was going to put what they were, generically, but decided they would be spoilers) and absolutely loved it.

>59 karenmarie:

Karenmarie, when I was 11 or 12 I called my sister a "whore." I wasn't sure what it meant, but I knew it was something bad, because I'd been reading The Valley of the Dolls! My mother was likewise not amused.

62--Ha! That brings back memories! When I was in 7th grade, about six of us (all girls) were placed in an "honors English" program that stressed independent study and projects. We had access to a vacant classroom down the hall from the library and, at one point, read Valley of the Dolls out loud to each other. We felt so deliciously bad!

>63 theaelizabet:

Oh, yes! My senior independent study math class mostly played three-dimensional chess and wrote sonnets. Certainly one of my favorite high-school experiences!

I remember covertly reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn when I was in my early teens and my mother being upset when she found out. It seems to be popular again, so I think I am going to have to reread it to see why I knew my mother would not be happy if she found out I was reading it. I have a feeling that by today's standards it will be like reading Winnie the Pooh!

65: LisaCurcio,

Hmmm.... I've never read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, in spite of (because of?) my mother's efforts to get me to read it when I was in my teens. I guess, now that I'm in my 50s, it's time to heed the wisdom of my mother (or ignore her reverse psychology) and finally read it.

My book club took advantage of the absence of the woman who usually drives us to read weepy chick lit crap and decided to read both A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A Good Earth. I'm looking forward to both.

A close friend of mine snuck Gone with the Wind off the top shelf of her home and read it surreptitiously when she was around 12 years-old. Her Mother found out and was miffed, but what really perturbed her was that my friend was enamored of Scarlett. Her Mother carefully explained to her that a young woman should aspire to be the ever sweet, even-tempered Melanie!

I loved both A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the Good Earth. I read them in jr/sr high school (don't remember which) and then reread them both as an adult. They read well both times.

I read Gone with the Wind for the first time when I was eight or nine; my mother was sufficiently pleased to plan an outing for us so I could see the movie--we had to take a bus and spend the night in a cheap motel because the bus back didn't run that late. Memorable!

Did you ever see the wonderful interview of Jeanette Winterson on Bill Moyers Faith and Reason series? She tells the story of how her mother, who did not allow secular books in the house, found Jeanette's stash of books under the bed (77 standard sized books per layer could fit under a standard sized bed). Her mother's declaration:
"Well, the trouble with a book is that you never know what's in it until it's too late."

the transcript:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/faithandreason/print/faithandreason103_print.html

the video:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=moyj06sf05q608

#65 A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of my all time favorite books. In fact I was one of those mothers who encouraged my daughter to read it, which of course put her off of it for awhile. She did finally read it and loved it. I can't imagine why a mother would object to it. It's even considered a young adult book these days, kind of a coming of age story. What was it that your mother found objectionable, I wonder?

I'm new to LT and turning 50 in March. I don't remember learning to read. My parents were Hungarian immigrants and though born in Canada my first words were in Hungarian. I probably learned English while they were learning it. When I started school in the first grade and they handed out the Dick and Jane readers, I showed the teacher that I could already read them...all. She was kind enough to let me have free reign of the classroom library and the first books I read and loved were the Madeleine books. At the start of 2nd grade, the class went to the city library (a piece of heaven on earth) and everyone got a library card. Black Beauty was the first book I checked out. My parents weren't readers, but the library became my second home.

#72, Lorie, I am going to have to get it and read it again to figure that out! Since this discussion is making me curious, it will have to move up on the TBR country.

Lisa, I see that you are also a member of the 75 Book Challenge as am I. I will star your thread (if I can find it, there are sooo many!) because I'm very interested in your thoughts on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

I'm about to read it too, maybe we should start a thread just to discuss it?

>Message 71
Welcome Collectorator! You wrote: I've never been in a book club before. I am looking forward to reading whatever yall decide. :D

Actually, this thread is not a book club--new folks introduce themselves here and others comment. Although, as you can see by the A Tree Grows in Brooklyn thread, discussions about a specific book can certainly begin.

I am not in an LT book club, but I know there are some. I also have never been part of a book club and might like to try an electronic version. Perhaps some of the other 50 year olds in this group could make recommendations of LT (or other) electronic book clubs suitable for people "of a certain age"? Thanks!

I love the stories about elicit early reading - which I also did although not, it sounds like, quite as early as some!

And I too remember loving A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but have never reread it, and so remember the love but none of the story. I'd definitely do a group read of it if someone sets it up!

Try looking for "group reads" threads--these are discussion groups for specific books. There was one a while back for Bleak House I was going to join because I'd like to reread that book, but I got overwhelmed by other stuff.

I also remember loving another book by Betty Smith called Maggie-Now. I have it and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my shelves. I guess I should consider re-reading them since I remember both of them so fondly.

I also inherited my husband's grandmother's copy of Tree, signed by the author with an inscription to said grandmother.

Thrilled to find a group for 50-somethings. I'm 55, memorized The Cat in the Hat when I was four and have NOT FORGOTTEN IT. When they burn all the books like in Fahrenheit 451 (another favorite book and film with the lovely and talented Oskar Werner), I'll join the book people and that's the book I'll be.

Also remember Harold and the Purple Crayon, which I bought for my little boy, who wore the same footie jammies and drew on the walls. He's 13 now, draws only the walls of his bedroom. (Yes, I was 41 when he was born, he's my one and only, and it's a great big lie that having kids later in life keeps you young.)

Also read Beautiful Joe which taught me to avoid animal stories because I bawled all the way through it. In fact, I can't look at a bag of of Old Yeller dog food in the grocery store without tearing up.

Missed out on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which my parents had in the house. I think I thought it was a companion piece to How Green Was My Valley, on the shelf next to it. Did read the rest of my mom's books, heavy on Graham Greene and Daphne DuMaurier.

Also liked "socially relevant" literature as a kid--On the Beach, the aforementioned "Fahrenheit 451," and Of Human Bondage. Maybe explains my continued love for dystopians.

At age 12 discovered Jane Eyre and Silas Marner, books I continue to read every few years.

I spent time in college being seen reading Lord of the Rings b/c it was reputedly a magnet for counter-culture yet sensitive guys, but sadly, a magnet only for self-absorbed guys who wanted to jabber endlessly about the book, which I didn't particularly like.

Austen was my therapy when I broke up with said self-involved gits. Re-read two in the canon every year.

Now read whatever strikes me as interesting from my Powell's "Review a Day" service and whatever I can glean from LT.

God, this is WAY too long. If you can stand it, there's more on my profile.

Hi, I found this group through nohrt4me's page and thought it could be interesting. Not sure I have time for another group, but where else can I talk about crocheted granny square vests and Seals & Croft without being laughed at?

I will be 54 later this year, currently a student (still), married (2nd time is the charm!), and have three grown children ages 29, 26, 24 (their ages at the moment).

I've been on LT for 2 1/2 years now and have started several groups (Reading Globally, Club Read, The Atwoodians, All Things New England, one private group and one defunct group). I love talking about books! I'm a former bookseller who needed LT to transition back to 'real life' (post-bookstore). Although I can't say that LT has changed my reading at all, but it certainly has enhanced it at times. And I've met some wonderful readers, both online and in person.

I learned to read in a one room schoolhouse, seated in one of two rows of very solid, golden oak chairs, set facing each other on either side of a huge black iron floor grate.

I got to be 'librarian' of our little library in our new elementary school in 5th & 6th grade and read all of the books on the one-wall shelf (sadly, the books weren't terribly contemporary). One can be grateful for the Scholastic Book Club, even though their selections weren't terribly challenging. Otherwise, I did not read Nancy Drew or Trixie Belden, but instead, read Tom Swift, my father's war novels, and all the Readers Digest condensed books in the house, including the very racy Intern by Doctor X (at least I thought it racy at the time),but also a 1950s medical handbook, and The Dirty Dozen which was snatched from me and deemed inappropriate (they didn't hide it very well because I finished it the next time they went out. They were much better at hiding the pamphlet on menstruation). Junior high made a timely arrival, for I had run out of books in the house (the town library was 10 miles away and might as well have been in a different country).

>I'm a Lois also!

Lois,

Not too hard to keep up with this group as you can see by the very inactive threads! Maybe we could start one talking about the 1960s and early 1970s.

I think I will do that right now instead of working on the order I am supposed to be writing!

Hey I'm all for that. I loved growing up in the 60s and 70s especially the music, Saturday Morning Cartoons, TV Shows, Sock It To Me! Groovy, Baby Make Love Not War,Hell No, We Won't Go, Tune In, Turn Off, Drop Out, Woodstock,Don't Trust Anyone Over 30, You've Come Along Way, Baby This tape will self-destruct in 10 seconds, Flower Power, Psychedalia, America's Top 40 with Casey Kaseem, The British Invasion, Scooby-Doo, The Summer Of Love, Beatlemania, The Age Of Aquarius, the Fashion of the time. I used to wear Bell Bottom Pants, Tie-Dye T-Shirts, etc. You know a lot of things from the era has made a comeback over the years. I would love to start wearing Bell Bottom Pants again.

Beatles1964

It was the dawning of the age of Aquarius! ;)

I know that however I was thinking more along the lines of the song The Age Of Aquarius by The 5th Dimension. It's my fault I guess I should've been more clear about that however I thought that people would've picked up on the reference to that song. The song is also sometimes referred to as Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In or maybe even just Let The Sun Shine In. Either way I was talking about the song. Even though the song does start out with This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, Age of Aquarius, Aquarius.... The title of the song is known as The Age Of Aquarius. We were just thinking along different lines and not on the same page.

Beatles1964

I was in high school in the 70's and like it was a really far-out time man. Like you know I had this really tricked out '69 Mustang it was cherry! And man we would really busted it around town on our motorcycles acting like Hannah and Smith. Till the man would bring us down with his laws. We fought the establishment in City Hall but like we lost. Painted everything Red, White and Blue, for the Bicentennial and dared the hippie freaks to say something about it. We thought Annie Green Springs wine was the baddest drink in town, and like only ropers drank beer. We wanted to be one with the earth and our brothers while still doing our own thing man. Every one had his own bag and we just lived and let live. You hooked up with your old man and moved in. Our pads were hung in posters and beads and our friends were draped over every piece of furniture. Man like those were the days.

Re: # 82

Hello nohrt4me! If you're The Cat in the Hat, then I'm Goodnight Moon, and the poem Maud Muller by John Greenleaf Whittier.

Austin's largest independent bookstore is named Book People, after the folks in Fahrenheit 451. I'm not sure whether Oskar Werner was a factor in the decision, though.

*edited to add an end-italics thingy. Sorry about that!

I love that store.

OMG, #89, I had a 68 Mustang, when they'd gone from little roadsters to being muscle cars. Eight cylinders, auto tranny, bucket seats, 8-track tape deck.

I was in college when I got it used, but we used to take it out on the freeway when one of us broke up with some faithless boyfriend and crank up "You're So Vain."

Mine was olive green. What color was yours?

#90, speakin' of Seuss, did you know that he wrote Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now? as a thinly veiled call for Nixon to resign? Art Buchwald revealed this in one of his columns, with "Richard M. Nixon" in place of "Marvin K. Mooney." Find it at the library and read it that way. It's a hoot.

In 1968 I was 10 years old listening to The Beatles and watching some of the TV Shows that are now playing on TVLand. I still have all of my 45 and LP Vinyl Records including Carly Simon, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Carole King, Dusty Springfield, Barbra Streisand, of course The Beatles including some of their British versions with Capital Records, THE BeatlesTHE WHO,Three Dog Night, America, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, The Dave Clark Five, The Zombie, The YardBirds, The Troggs,Petula Clark, The Herman's Hermits, Donovan, The Grateful Dead,Jefferson AirPlane/Jefferson Starship, The 5th Dimension, Bob Dylan, Grand Funk/Grand Funk Rail Road, Tom Jones, The Rolling Stones, Peter, Paul & Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, Jethro Tull, Yes, Paul McCartney & Wings, ABBA, Doctor Hook & The Medicine Show, Don McClean, The Bee Gees and of course many, many others too. I was really into the music of The British Invasion and Folk Music too. In fact, I guess you could still say I'm into The British Invasion, Folk Music, MoTown, etc. since I still love to hear the music on the local Classic Rock Radio Stations, my Audio Cassettes and my CD's and watch them on my DVD's.

I wonder how many people still have a Cassette Player and can still listen to their tapes. This music takes me back to a better time. It's too bad you can't step into a Time Machine and Travel back in time to the era you love the best. I think I wouldn't mind being in the 1960s and 1970s forever.

There have been a lot of great inventions that has changed the World like the Cell Phone, the Internet, the DVD Player just to name a few. I would love to go back to that era of my life and experience it all over again.

Beatles1964

>92 nohrt4me:
I had a candy apple red with black top Convertible. It had dual headlights, a 351 Cleveland with a 4brl carb and auto trans with overdrive. We put glass packs on as soon as we got the car. That model was the biggest of the Mustangs made. It had red leather bucket seats with seat belts both front and back, a radio/cassette player. We bought it for a $1000 cash in 1971. And it was Cherry!

#94, scuze me while I get something to wipe away the drool.

>96 Collectorator: Yes, it did, thanks!

I didn't own a Mustang but I remember making out in one circa 1971, does that count?

>93 beatles1964: I have at least half of those singers/bands on vinyl and still have a record player; I also just came across my cassette-playing Walkman the other day (while looking for batteries for my digital camera).

Most of my fantasies about going back to the 1970s involve having that body instead of this one; of majoring in computer science instead of English literature; and of knowing then what I know now, so I can invest in Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Starbucks, etc.

Ugh, I have no fantasies about going back to the 1970s, Richard Nixon, the secret plan to end the war, John T. Molloy and Dress for Success, Whip Inflation Now.

Nope, not even to retrieve my waist-length raven tresses and the Zappa records I sold (and re-bought on CD).

I also still have my vinyl, and a record player, as well as cassettes and a cassette player. Got rid of the 8-tracks tho. They weren't worth keeping. I've progressed with the times and now have CD's and DVD's and necessary players. but still love the old stuff.

Hey, what about The Doobie Brothers, Peter Frampton, and Don McLean's "Miss American Pie"- and were any of you into the dance scene of the time--"Earth, Wind and Fire" The Commodores etc and what about 'going steady' and 'spin the bottle' and, it goes really without saying, PINK FLOYD!

I still have (in my living room) a stereo amplifier with an 8-track player in it, and a dozen tapes to play in it -- one is "environments" - two tracks play a recording of birds chirping early one morning in a field somewhere in Pennsylvania; the other two tracks play gongs resonating.

I got super nostalgic about all that great music, so last night at work I listened to our local station that plays all '60's & '70's music all the time! Heard some great tunes!

My brother had a '65 Mustang with an 8-track player. I remember nearly running his battery down on multiple occasions due to my friend and I listening to his Credence Clearwater tape over and over. I eventually had a '66 Mustang myself. I LOVED it! I can't believe we replaced it with--oh the shame--a Maverick. It was quite a shock going from 8 cylinders to 4!

Aside from that brush with Credence, musically I am a child of the '70's. I started high school in 1971 and graduated from college in 1979. Can't say I've paid much attention to popular music since then!

#103, my brain is going. I can't remember what a Maverick looks like. I do remember Dusters and Gremlins.

And Credence Clearwater.

I had a Maverick Stallion in '76.

http://www.maverick.to/ford_maverick_stallion.php

I'm not a big Ford fan, but that car WAS cool! Thanks Collectorator! The stripe on mine was the glossy Arctic White and a nice contrast to the flat black of everything else.

The Maverick wasn't even a reliable vehicle.
The Republicans had a vintage one -- look where it got them! {:>)

My Maverick didn't give me any trouble....until my ex wracked it up. But that's not the cars fault! Republicans? We don't have any in Canada! ;)

We could ~almost~ say the same here... but they'll be back, oh yes, they'll be back. Maybe they'll even get the Maverick fixed by then.

What *WAS* I thinking????

You're right, it was a major faux pas on my part. Of course, their version of fixing a car would be to remove the seat belts, the engine governors, and the wheels; AND make your grandchildren pay for it.

On the other hand, I didn't mean to hijack the thread, especially to turn it towards politics.

So, back to the nostalgia, please.

Nehru shirts, Twiggy, The DC Quintet, drum solos, plastic, Tricky Dick, Kent State, Fairport Convention, Easy Rider, Tom Rush, $.31 gasoline, 6-volt VW Bugs, The Cowsills, Paul Revere and the Raiders..... some of it was good, some of it was very bad.

Well, Twiggy did skew the idea of a healthy body image for most women hopelessly awry. On the other hand, I saw her on America's Next Top Model a year or two ago, and she looks pretty good.

I remember $.35 gasoline, long before I owned a car, though.

LOL It's partly my fault for hijacking the thread also and I apologize.

There were some great TV shows in the 60's and into the 70's, too.

Star Trek, Ed Sullivan, The Twilight Zone, The Monkees, and speaking of monkeys, what was the name of that show about a truck driver and his monkey??? I think Greg Evigan starred in it if I'm not mistaken.

B.J. and the Bear?

I do believe you're right ejj1955! That sounds very familiar.

You are right, BUT do you know the name of the
spin-off?

The Bear Makes a Break for Freedom?

I didn't know there was a spin-off!

Sheriff Lobo was the spin off from B.J. and the Bear.

Brief pause in time travel for introduction:

I'm 58 and glad to join in with other 50 somethings. My life goal when I was growing up was to read every book in the library. I'm starting to realize I may not make that goal, but I'm still trying.

Earliest "big kid" (i.e. not a picture book) I remember reading to myself was a Bobbsey Twins book. Have fond memories of some of the Scholastic Books--does anybody remember those old masterpieces "No Children No Pets," "Castaways in Lilliput," or "Road to Agra?" No?

After leaving Aruba, I was lucky enough to spend my senior year of high school (1967/8) in London, England, which with the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Mary Quant, Twiggy, etc. etc. was the center of the universe at that time.

I've been married 38 years and have 5 kids ranging in age from 30 to 18. The 18 year old left for college this year, so we are finally empty nesters.

I am a tax attorney, trying to retire to become a full time fiber artist. With the shape the economy is in, the retirement plan is not going very well at the moment.

I recognize some familiar names from the other groups I am in--75 Challenge, Reading Globally, Club Read.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Welcome Arubabookwoman nice to have you join us. Have a seat the show will begin soon.

Is it live, or a movie?

Movie. Some of my favorites from the 70's are Billy Jack, Star Wars, Jaws and Rocky.

I'll never forget going to see Jaws! I had read the book Jaws and had not heard a thing about the movie--just wanted to see if the movie was as good as the book. My friend and I were sitting in the balcony of an old theater. After the shark's head popped up over the edge of the boat, I was quite surprised to find my feet were entirely up on the back of the seat in front of me! And, no, the movie was not as good as the book.

>Message 106--Thanks for the picture of a Maverick, Neverwithoutabook. If only mine had looked that good. Mine was "harvest gold" like a 70's kitchen.

# 127 - lbradf - ewww! My sympathies! Why on earth were 'harvest gold' and 'avocado green' so popular back then! I remember wanting everything to be avocado green in my kitchen when I moved out on my own. I guess anything was better than plain old ordinary white. We've come a long way! ;)

>128 Neverwithoutabook:

I dunno, if I watch one more show on HG TV with stainless appliances and granite counters, I think I'll hurl. When did these become the only possible choices for kitchens?? It generally looks nice, but it's getting to be a bit Stepford Wives for me.

On the other hand, I moved into a rental house c. 1995 that had one of each: brown fridge, gold stove, avocado dishwasher. That wasn't a great look, either!

My goal is to have all turquoise appliances before I have to vacate to the nursing home!

Oooh, I think turquoise predates avocado green and harvest gold. I seem to remember those in the late 50's or early 60's. Or is that just my faulty old memory?

I think turquoise was popular in the late 50s/early 60s. My family had a turquoise dinette set, bought around 1960.

I have a friend with a turquoise-and-stainless kitchen in a remodeled arts-and-crafts house in Denver. Very 50's retro and very cool!

There was also a truly vile muted Pepto Bismol pink from the same time period. I encountered it during my apartment dwelling years in DC when apartments built and furnished by the same builder during those years had kitchens that color. Any other sufferers?

#129
I agree about HGTV. I watched with a passion for a while, then got to thinking about how awful my house must look. I used to like to watch those shows where the real estate people come and tell you what you need to do to sell your house.

Picture a perfectly functional and "nice" kitchen maybe a little dated. Now pan to real estate agent rolling eyes to the back of their head and saying "Uggggh. You will need to put $60,000 into this kitchen before you even THINK about selling this house!"

I don't watch HGTV anymore. I feel too manipulated. No wonder people are in debt up their ears believing all this junk.

I remember having a kitchen with a blue stove, and white fridge. If you have to mix colours, that's not a bad combination. My current kitchen has all black appliances. That's a colour I can live with! :)

No stainless steel or black for me. Shows every damn fingerprint.

Yes, aqua a color from the 1950s, often used with copper/rust accents.

I could live with the pink stuff; I collect flamingos (I'm so ashamed ...)

No need to be ashamed. One of my best friends from law school--who is eligible for the 60-something group if she belonged to LT--goes beyond just collecting flamingos. She has a sailboat which has a pink wheel (steering wheel), her spinnaker (the sail that billows out in front when the wind is behind the boat and is usually a colorful sail) has a flamingo on it, she ties flamingos to the halyards, and when she sails in races, even the Chicago to Mackinac race, she and her crew wear flamingo hats and pink boas. It is quite something to behold.

>138 nohrt4me: If you are ever in Clinton, Connecticut, there is (or was? it's been about five years since I was there) a coffee shop in which the dominant decor is flamingos and clocks. It just works ;-)

What do you collect???

I collect books. Of Course!

I also collect tins. I have in the neighborhood of 300 now.

I collect cows. Especially black & white ones, or should I say cow memorabilia, since I don't have room for the real thing!

I collect carnival glass and would like to collect more of that.

I collect Elvis memorabilia.

I also collect Coke! memorabilia.

I still have my vinyl collection, although I don't often add anything to it.

>but where else can I talk about crocheted granny square vests and Seals & Croft without being laughed at?

Oh, Lois, I'm laughing - but in recognition!

>142 Neverwithoutabook: "What do you collect?"

I collect blown glass ornaments, with the first one coming as a gift in 1990 and made of glass from Mt. St. Helens ash.

The big 50 is days away for me. Let me try and catch up with the thread.

My love of reading was a gift from my Mom.

I spent most every day after school in our public library reading (back in those days you had to be quiet in the library ;)

The Little House on the Prairie books along with A Wrinkle in Time are what I remember loving from my elementary school days.

As I got older I remember sneak reading my Mom's books. Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Valley of the Dolls and The Stepford Wives stand out for me.

I think it was in the 8th grade that one of my teachers read Papillion out loud to the class. High school is when I fell in love with Wuthering Heights.

Gas was .33 a gallon when I bought my first car. Regret to this day passing up an offer to buy a red '65 Mustang in mint condition.

I still watch HGTV on occasion.

I remember when our house turned gold and avocado! Burnt orange accents, glass bunches of grapes and blown glass swans were high style.

I collect and/or have collected: wooden clocks, vintage tea cups and saucers, pitchers, crockery and stoneware, things that hang on walls, rocks and minerals (I know, don't ask), and books.

I've been an LT member for about 2 years and I'm still not done cataloging all of my books. I fear my library will forever remain a work in progress.

My tastes are eclectic and I usually have 3-5 books going at any given time. Since moving South 2 years ago I have started to collect southern authors (trying to get a handle on the culture and mindset of a new local, I guess).

Book regrets - donating about half of my current library before the move. I still moved about 2500 books but that weeding process was painful. Second biggest regret, getting rid of my kids Little Golden books when they outgrew them - what in the world was I thinking!

Whew, I think I caught up.

Better go for now, my 17 year old daughter is watching a documentary and she just asked me what a red light district is.

Look forward to being a member.

Meg, thank you for starting this group!

I am Kathleen McStay and I am 55 at the minute, but looking 56 in the eye.
I have four grown kids, and live in SWPA. I am an animal lover and obviously an avid reader. I have been reading since age 4-5.. self taught.. and it seems I read more every year.

The first books I remember loving were Joan d'Arc and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I was about ten, I think? Wuthering Heights was another. I used to walk to the library every weekend, and I read all the books in my elementary school library. By high school, I just used the public library most of the time,

I am happy to have found this group/ thread.

Welcome Uath and Kathleen!
>146 uath: "rocks and minerals"--I also collect rocks and minerals, for no good reason other than I find them intriguing. I just have them and I like to look at them. My favorite type of jewelry is that made from natural products such as minerals or wood. I even have a favorite necklace made from dyed bone made in India. I'm sure I got this urge from my mother. She even kept jars of "pretty rocks" that she'd picked up from the side of the road. She found that if she put them in mineral oil, they would still look wet and pretty like they had when she picked them up. Dry, they just looked like rocks!

Hello, just found and joined this group. Have not been an LT user for very long but have been a reader since, well, as long as I can remember. We only had four books at home and my reading took off discovering Hellesdon Public Library, which was on the way to school. Not surprisingly, after uni I became a librarian...All my professional stuff/reading is on my profile so no need to repeat it here.

Just seen Barack Obama arrive at Downing Street a minute ago on live tv - a moment to remember...

Alan Poulter

Indeed! We're particularly proud of the lad. Take good care of him, and Michelle, while they're visiting.

And welcome!

Good morning, everybody.

I turned 50 and joined LibraryThing last year; probably some kind of subtle subconscious connection there. So I might as well own up.

Reading habits... Had a lot of fun teatching myself reading from Donald Duck comics at age five, then quick-jumped to the classics on my parents' bookshelf and scared myself senseless. Been caught wandering up and down that axis ever since, finding interesting byways, exploring dark side alleys and never finding nearly enough time for reading.

Good to see some new members. This is most often a quiet group, but if someone starts a topic we can run with it. Welcome.

Hello!

I'm a new Library Thinger and well-qualified for this group. I'm currently re-reading Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers and just finished Lincoln at Gettysburg by Gary Wills. I read a lot of history and general non-fiction, but I also adore mysteries and sci-fi/fantasy novels. I'm trying to make inroads on my to-be-read bookcase, but new fascinating books keep coming.

We need to start some threads here.. When My brain is working better, I will work on that.. today?

You're welcome, Kathleen. and welcome!

Uath, I definitely snuck my mom's Valley of the Dolls, too. Hee hee.

I've been on a writing jaunt, so have been absent, but it's nice to see so many new folks here. Hi jennieg! Hi Alan!

Alan, have your read either of the Barak Obama books? I'm reading Dreams from my Father now - really interesting!

Hello Everyone!

I skipped over here when I saw the group on mckait's profile (okay, I didn't skip. I can't skip. My knees are bad). I'm Terri, 52-1/2 (remember how you couldn't wait to add that 1/2?). Three sons, grown, two gone and one at home to take care of me in my dotage. Divorced lo these many years now, I work full-time in a hospital IT department supporting physicians, and part-time teaching at a college for medical assistants and coders/billers. I have loved to read for as long as I remember. My mother toilet-trained me by setting me on my little pot with a book, and I still can't enter a library without going to the bathroom first! I cut my teeth on her Readers' Digest Condensed books (I thought Advise and Consent was the greatest book ever written until I tried to read the uncondensed version!). I collect books and wine glasses from the annual MO Winefest benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma society (I have 15 now!). Whew. I think I've covered most of what has gone on above. Now maybe I'll keep up....

"one at home to take care of me in my dotage. "

ROFL

terri! glad to see you here :)

We have got to liven things up.. any ideas?
We don't want anyone to think that because we are over half a century old,
we can't be lively

I found this group through someone's profile, too, though I can't remember whose. It very well might have been mckait's, come to think of it.

I'm 57 1/2, married to husband number four, and had the good fortune this time around to marry my favorite author. We've even written a book together.

I love to read and always read anything I could get my hands on, including swiping my dad's copy of Newsweek before he could get at it. Also swiped the Playboys, but he never found out about that (I think!) I got in trouble in grade school for not doing homework 'cause I was too busy reading Cherry Ames or Moby Dick. When the nuns would ask why I hadn't done what ever it was I was supposed to do, I'd say I was reading books. They said, oh, no, you were watching television, weren't you. Well, if I was, I was reading a book at the same time. I finally got tired of arguing with them, so when they'd ask, I'd say I was watching television -- and reading books. For some reason that made them happier.

I love the Beatles and the British Invasion, although a lot of the music from my youth makes me sad and wistful. As I prefer not to mope too much, I often avoid listening to old favorites.

I have a 39-year-old-son and an 19-year-old stepson. Now that said stepson is off to college, we intend to up and move somewhere that is more sane than 20 miles north of NYC.

I've lived in many parts of the country, usually but not always from following husbands around. The only place I've really wanted to go back to is Ashland, Oregon. Right now, we're waiting for the economy to improve enough that we can manage to move there. I'd like to get there before I'm on Social Security, if you know what I mean. It's bad enough that I now have old boyfriends who are on Social Security.

I had hoped to get a master's degree before my 50th birthday, but life happened and I had to abort from an almost-completed MALS. However, I did manage to get my son married off before I was 50, so that counts for something.

I collect witch kitsch, snakes, heretics, and odds and ends of ephemera. I still have library cards from residences in at least four different states, including two from Illinois, one each from Oregon and New York, and three different counties in North Carolina. Not sure if I still have the one from Florida.

#155,
>Alan, have your read either of the Barak Obama books? I'm reading Dreams from my Father now - really interesting!

I have not read any of his books but it is a very good portent that he actually writes them! Tony Blair, AFAIK, is the only British Prime Minister of recent years to have authored books. I do have a hankering to read up on 17C politics, especially the period around the English Civil War, since that period has always fascinated me as the seed bed for most political systems.

Hey, gang.

I am a rather shy poster, so most of mine are brief.

I'm still on husband #1. We have two grown daughers & a granddaughter. I work full time, cramming reading and quilting into odd moments. If it ever stops raining/snowing here in Chicago, I'll start playing in the garden, too.

#157. I don't know, Kath, I think you're doing a fabulous job of livening all by yourself, what with your dancing girl! Maybe we should start a group read of something racy, like Peyton Place!

>160 jennieg:

Don't be shy, you're among friends here!

*grins*

So many of you here whose posts I follow~ this is shaping up to be fun for sure .

kath

Hi all,
I'm a late 50 something, married three
children (my wife a I lost the war, out numbered), the baby is 28 years old.
My reading is heavy into Science fiction, nautical and sea stories. But I'll read almost anything if it strikes my interest, as my list of favorite authors will attest to.
Years ago I would tend to read "important books" (too empress the girls) Now I read for entertainment as there is nothing on T.V. worth watching.

>164 usnmm2: Welcome to the group and I am going to have to peruse your library for those nautical and sea stories. Although I am guessing that you have some connection with the Navy and I am just a pleasure boater, I am always looking for good nautical books, and there aren't too many people who read them.

Thank You,
Eight years total in the Navy and my father was a career man (25 years).
Hope you find a few ideas from my libray.

I'm nuts about Patrick O'Brian. But my husband, who has sailed small craft most of his life, can't get into them.

I can understand that. I always liked the Hornblower series by Forester and
Richard Bolitho series by alexander Kent, but O'Brian always took a little more work to read.

It's true that I went so far off the deep end that I acquired both the atlas and the lexicon. I passed on the cookbook, however. Aside from the recipes about rats, spotted dick and similar delights have never tempted me.

weirdly, I cannot edit... sigh

Hello. I am a late 50-something. Married 24 years, sons grown with kids of their own, that makes 4 wonderful grandkids for me! Also at home are 2 cats and a tortoise. I love mysteries, science fiction, thrillers, romances and the occaisional biography. I do very little non-fiction. I have books stashed all over the house, including the laundry room. Too many to make a TBR list. I just rummage until I find something that strikes me at the moment. I have only recently discovered the wonder of books on Amazon. I can get almost anything I can think of no matter how old it is! Don't get me wrong, I still love browsing at Border's or Barnes & Noble, but just knowing all I have to do is type in the name of something I can't find anywhere else and voila! delivered to my door. What heaven!

Thanks for the animation, mckait! Definitely spirit boosters!!

arrrr--if you are loving Amazon.com, you might want to try addall.com. It is my favorite book buying website. It searches all sorts of bookstores, then comes back with the best price including S&H. If I can't find a book I want to read at the library, addall.com is my next stop.

Welcome Arrr (can I assume that is a pirate "Arr" ?)

I use amazon alot (mostly for new books). For older and out of print books I find alot on ebay and abe books. Never heard of Addall.com will have to try it.

uh oh

another place to buy books? yikes!

Far be it from me to discourage anyone from shopping on Amazon--where I sell used books!--but do check out BookMooch. That's where most of my books come from lately, and don't I feel thrifty?!

figured i should sign up before i age out next year!~ sigh.
Patty and I have lived in Pittsboro, NC since 1985. She's been based in NC since toddling off to dook in 1969 from upstate NY, while i've been in NC since starting grad school @ UNC, fall 1976. Grew up in Northern Va. William & Mary and VaTech undergrad. Ended up w/ undergrad geography degree, 2 grad. geography degrees + a MLS and MSPH kind of in passing while standing in line to get tickets for Tar Heel Basketball.

Son has left NC for the frigid climes of the Minn/St Paul area for college, and has stayed there post graduation.

SF, Fantasy, poetry, graphic novels, kids/YA books, dominate our collection, w/ sizable chunks of various and sundry reference books in various fields too. Fair bit of material on eastern religions, Buddhism in particular (my last major @ W&M before dropping out to play in a bar band). World's crappiest Buddhist, but do have a complete collection of Tricycle. If i practiced 1/10 of the time i have spent reading about meditation i'd be...different.

Lots of music likes: Baroque, Classical, early Romantics, good bit of modern "classical" and then LOTs of rock and world pop. Lots of 60s/70s/80s music. A lot weaker from the 90s on. Rely on our son to clue us in on newer stuff he suspects we'd like.
Brit Invasion, Nuggets stuff, new wave (old new wave - ie Blondie, elvis costello), 70s brit folk rock - Linda & Richard Thompson, Steeleye Span etc., pop from Southern Africa (Zimbabwe & S. Africa mostly).

Been an avid quasi-jock w/ much more effort than talent, for almost my whole life. Grew up on swim teams and still swim a lot - really the only sport for which i had any technique. If time and effort made a difference, i'd have become much more than a C level tennis player. (Maybe B-- in my late 20s.).

Fair amount of movie going; virtually no TV.
I think we're about half way done entering our books into LT.

bobmcconnaughey'

"Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome"

Bob,

Welcome, even though you are a short-timer! Next year you can start the 60-something and we will all catch up to you.

This Intro thread is getting cumbersome, so I thought I would start another thread for the general "chat" over here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/64165

Greetings to all of you.

I'm a full time Dad (separated) with two teenage sons that fill much of my time.

I have found the older I get the more reading and books have become a favored pastime for me. My reading selections have broadened over the years although I've always been partial to science fiction, fantasy and historical novels.

Over my life so far I've spent over 26 years in the military and now enjoy teaching at a small private school.

Some of my other hobbies are long walks in parks and nature trails and playing drums. Both my boys are double musicians (piano/violin, trumpet/guitar) and there is a good chance if you pass our house you will hear music from inside.

I'm also fairly new to LT. I created The Baltimore Sun's Read Street book blog and have enjoyed refocusing on books -- though I find that the blog's demands don't actually leave me time to read. I'm and editor at the Sun and supervise our coverage of entertainment and lifestyle issues. Most free time is spent road- or mountain-biking.
I'll join the folks who credit A Wrinkle in Time with kindling their love of books. As a baseball fan, I'll add a book few people are likely to have read: The Kid Who Batted 1.000. I remember enjoying it as a kid, and some years ago found a copy in a used bookstore. Still have it.

#181. Oh, Drums! My son is a percussionist, although once he got to college, he switched from tenor drums to marimba. He's now living in Nashville, working with various marching bands and drumlines, and looking for a job teaching wee ones "how to do it right from the beginning." Welcome!

#182. Welcome Dave! I'll apologize in advance for my rant a few minutes ago about newspapers under the "Good News?" thread. Nothing personal!

I'm in my mid-fifties and was an accountant for 25+ years. I became a librarian at age 52 - first a YA librarian and now an adult reference librarian. The teens are a lot funnier than the adults.

I read a ton of YA fiction (yes, still) because some of the writers are extraordinary like Laurie Halse Anderson, Beth Kephart, Chris Crutcher.

I also read mostly adult mysteries although my girlfriend is trying to make me branch out into more literary fiction. My favorite mystery authors are Ed McBain (top of the list), Michael Connelly, Lisa Lutz (new and funny), David Liss and Lisa Scottoline, although there are probably another handful that make the cut.

Reading is a passion.

Then you're in the right place.

184: EdGoldberg,

Welcome Ed.
Only read a few mysteries but some of my favorites are The Maltese Falcon by Dashell Hammet and a series by Brent Monahan, The Jekyl Island Club, The Sceptred Isle Club and The Manhattan Island Clubs: A Novel.
If your looking to branch out into more literary fiction (to keep the girl friend happy) you might try The Last Picture Show and Texasville by Larry McMurtry. I base these on your review of Empire Falls by Richard Russo.

Thanks.
The Maltese Falcon is a classic. Trying to get through the Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps (Mysteries). Has a lot of mysteries in the Maltese Falcon Genre. Great book, but with 1,000+, 2 column, small print pages it'll take years.
Happy to join this group.

I'm not sure what I'm doing here but I'm trying to connect to the over 50 readers. Bec, I'm over 60 I'm not sure what to do...ha. It would be great to discuss books with such a group. I not only read a couple of books a week (retirement) I like to listen to book tv for those deep books I would never take the time for.

Welcome hammockwueen :)

Hi, folks

Another late 50-something here.

I divide my reading about half-and-half between history and science fiction or mysteries, love classical music, do historical re-enactment and costuming and various fiber crafts for hobbies. My house is completely lined with books :-)

My first "real" book was The Secret Garden, and I still have it on my shelf.

191: staffordcastle
Welcome, staffordcastle. I like your Carl Sagan quote on your profile. I'll have to add it to my collection.

Thank you! :-)

welcome Staffordcastle... nice to have you among us :)

Thank you! Nice to be here!

How did I miss this group?

Hi All. I too am in my 50-ish (55) dotage and love LT. I'm an editor and content manager living in suburban Philadelphia with Husband, the non-reader, and 2 sons (16 and 23).

I say I'm a big historical fiction fan -- but any fiction with a historical line or back story in another era usually grabs my interest (thriller, mystery,...). I think I just love to learn from what I read so non-fiction and biographies are a favorite too.

I went to a very small town high-school, in northeastern Pennsylvania (90 in the Class of 1971) and vividly remember that Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones was the HOT book in our school library. That and The Group -- everybody knew the page numbers of the "dirty" parts! LOL

Welcome, ddelmoni! I was in the class of '72; we're much of an age. Do you like Patrick O'Brien?

I graduated in 1971 in SWPA, turned 18 a few days after and got married 9 weeks later. No further comment on that.

"Booze, Boys, Sex, Fun, We're the class of '71" was oft heard being chanted in the halls. ( ugh)

Oh and welcome ddelmoni :)

I've only read Post Captain in the Jack Aubrey series. However, Master And Commander is one of my favorite movies. Is that the Patrick O'Brian you meant or O'Brien?????

mckait -- Love the quote! I'm in the right group....LOL

Yeah, I meant O'Brian. I catch many of my typos. The Aubrey-Maturin books get better as you go along, to my mind.

I graduated in 1973, also in northern PA--didn't realize that connection among so many of us! I was in a Catholic high school, so our class was also very small--65, I think it was.

Okay, I'll break the chain--1974 in eastern MO (St. Charles, where I still am--my youngest son graduated from the same school). Catholic high school, 135 in class, 35th reunion this fall. And I'm cracking up at Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones--I'd forgotten all about that!

Welcome everyone!

jennieg -- I had a hard time finding The Aubrey series when I first joined LT -- so I knew their were other Jack O'Brian's spelled all different ways. I never got back into that series though I really liked Post Captain. I'm more a 19th century British settings kind of girl -- BUT should broaden my horizons. I was in the Brown University bookstore 2 weeks ago and was looking at all the Aubrey books -- they have every single one and recommended them to my son.

ejj1955 -- we have Penn State in common too. Though mine is post grad work at the Hazleton campus. Undergrad was Bloomsburg.

tloeffler -- apparently Bo Jo Jones was our Twilight! Who knew...LOL -- a nationwide bestseller -- at least for high school libraries. My local book club friends all knew it too!

>203 ddelmoni: Yes, we do, but how did you know that?! I know I just posted about it on FaceBook, but . . . ?

You're author page on LT.

*waves hi* happy to find this group!

The first book I remember loving was Harriet the Spy. My best friend and I then kept spy notebooks for several years. She destroyed hers in her teens or twenties but I kept a bookbag full of mine and now they’re precious to me.

My parents encouraged reading -- things were busy around my house and it’s the only indoor leisure activity I remember being "sanctioned" :)

Looking foward to getting caught up on the threads here...

>51 ejj1955: I used to read under the covers, too. Being a night owl and being put to bed as a kid didn't really work too well

next time you’re in the children’s section of the library or bookstore, take 5 minutes to read Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s picture book, Little Hoot -- a twist on bedtimes, this young owl wants to go to bed early but his parents make him stay up late :)

Is that a new book? I just went to my library website and they have about a million copies on order and they're all on reserve! Here I was thinking I could just stop by the library and read it in my favorite chair there. Now I have to reserve it!

What kind of people are we that we reserve childrens picture books? Obviously, we are not alone...

Well,I am going to have to graduate in a few years from this group but for now I intend to enjoy it!
I really DO read a wide variety of books. Its maddening to my bookie and book club pals that I read an awful lot of fiction and non-fiction around WW II.
Right now I am still slogging thru Admissions an early reviewer book I got!

meenie

>208 tloeffler:
Relatively new, I think. Amy Krouse Rosenthal tends to write about perspectives turned inside-out, also see her Little Pea and Little Oink -- twists on picky eaters and keeping a tidy house, respectively.

Well I graduated from a small high school too, in 1968, but it was in London, England, which was then the center of the universe if you were a teenager--Rolling Stones, Beatles, Twiggie, Mary Quant, Carnabie Street, Portobello Road, Donovan, etc. etc. Of course there were a few other benefits--like the graduation ceremony was in a church designed by Christopher Wren, the Victoria and Albert, the British Museum, the London Symphony, the Tate, Covent Gardens, etc. etc. Sometimes wish I could go back in time to when I thought I knew everything.

211 > wow, you were living the life I wanted in 1968. I even named my son (born 1970) Donovan.

I was Class of '69 in Chicago. You want crude jokes? Try Class of 69! Chicago in 1968 was a strange place to be. I remember a guy in a top hat standing up on Hippie Hill in Lincoln Park (not much of a hill, more like a slightly elevated spot; the Midwest is pretty darn flat) announcing the formation of a new political party, the Yippies.

I really thought I'd wind up in San Francisco, but I never even visited there until 1989. A friend and I marked our arrival at the corner of Haight and Ashbury with demitasses of espresso and the toast, "Twenty years late, but we made it!"

London had to wait until 2008. No Beatles in sight *sigh*, but the British Museum was divine.

211 AND 212 -- London had to wait until 2001 for me! and I have at least 1 Donovan album!

Hi Everyone,
I'm from Kingston-upon-Hull in the U.K. I turned 50 in Feb, and joined librarything in May. I love going to the movies, computer games, chinese food, Sci-Fi Conventions and most of all, books. Are there any other dedicated horror readers out there?????
p.s.(This is the first group I've ever dared to join so I hope I.m doing things right.)

Phaedra" I even named my son (born 1970) Donovan"

I am in awe.. seriously..
goddess! I love(ed) Donovan..

and a little envious of #211............... I passed through London on a train once but...

I do love this group!

Welcome, unorna! We're honored you picked us first!

214: unorna,
Welcome to the group.If you like to read your in the right place.

>214 unorna:

Unorna, welcome! If you like sci fi, try the Green Dragon group, also. I'm not a fan of horror myself but I'll bet there's a group or two for that, as well. Jump right in wherever the spirit takes you!

>214 unorna: Glad to have you with us, unorna! This really is a fun group, and there just isn't a whole lot you can do that's wrong. I think when you hit 50, it just doesn't matter any more. We are free from small-stuff-sweating!

Glad to see all the Donovan lovers here. One of my thrills in 1968 was to see Donovan at the Royal Albert Hall, and at the end he threw daffodils at the audience and I got one, which I kept forever. I still listen to his albums on occasion.

Welcome unoma!

Hi, all. New member to this group, though I've been loving LT for quite some time. I'm 52, graduated high school in 1975, with a class of 50, in the flat midwest. So many of you are from Pennsylvania. I love that part of the country! As newly marrieds, we took a long weekend in PA several decades ago, staying in one of the rustic cabins at Black Moshannon (how weird that I could actually remember that name, when I forget whether I bought milk at the store yesterday), and took in a football game at the University of Pennsylvania. Stunningly beautiful part of the world!

>221 countrylife: Ahem. Small point of pride here: I suspect maybe you took in a football game at the Pennsylvania State University, which is the public state school whose main campus is in the middle of the state (Centre County, which is also where Black Moshannon is).

The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League private school in Philadelphia. A fine school, but a less lovely locale. And the Nittany Lions could undoubtedly kick their behinds for them!

LOL at the milk comment. Yep, we've reached that age, haven't we?!

ejj1955 - Of course, you must be right! Memory failed on the stadium, too! Thanks for pointing it out. Not being vested (or, obviously, knowledgeable) in anything Pennsylvanian, I can still say that it was a wonderful weekend, and I wish we'd had more of them.

LOL @ ej

So did you happen to go to college at Penn State?

Well, of course ;-)

And it's not as though the two names aren't fairly easy to mix up! But here's an easy way to keep them straight: Penn State's yearly tuition (for a PA resident): $13-$14K. Univ. of Penn's yearly tuition (whether you are a resident is a matter of complete indifference to them): $36K.

However (the things you learn when Googling!), Penn offers free tuition to students whose families earn less than $90K per year. The catch, of course, is getting in, as only 17 percent of applicants are accepted. But if you are under the cutoff and your kid is smart . . . heck of a deal.

Thanks Everybody. This site is cooooool!!!!!

225: ejj1955

There are so many schools near here.. Pitt, Penn State ( local campuses)
Carlow, Duquesne, Point Park, Carnegie Mellon, LaRoche, Geneva, Community colleges..

Tell me again why my kids went out of state??

( yes, my own stupidity, I know)

Atlanta College of Art
( now gone, taken over by Savannah College of Art and Design )

Webster University

Roanoke

well, my youngest went to Pitt after the Navy, so that's something..

Thread #2

http://www.librarything.com/groups/50somethinglibraryth#forums

since this one is getting rather long...

Feels like having to certify you're over 18 for internet sites and such. Not sure how we'd check the bonafides. Maybe there's not much to worry--after all, who would join who isn't?

On the other hand, checking some of my former students' pages today on Facebook, I found a link to Andy Rooney's in praise of older women, so who knows? (And if anyone can clue me in on why I think that topic has some literary allusions that are echoing in my mind, please let me know!)

bridgitshearth

praise of older women by Stephen Vizinczey 1978 novel then movie

I'm about to turn 56. The first grown-up book I read was Kon-Tiki. Our entire class read that. It had, I think one cuss word, so we "knew" it was adult. 5th grade was such a good year! Now I'm a librarian, still figuring out my iPad.

About the time that you were reading Kon-Tiki I was fortunate (See chapter 12 of my Autobiography) to be able to visit the Kon Tiki museum in Oslo. I can still remember a ot of details. I wonder if it's still there? Anyway, welcome here.

Hello,

I was 54 in April - 3 Children, one left at home, leaves a lot more time to read all of those books that have been gathering (lots of) dust.

The internet sometimes feels like it's dominated by 'youth culture', so it is great to find a group like this.

I'm Scottish, but live in England. The first book I remember reading and loving was Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson (I've probably got that in common with 50% of Scots!).

Enjoyed reading through all of the posts since this group started and looking forward to 'what's to come'.

Welcome aboard. eek

Welcome to 50-somethings and to Librarything celtic. I am in awe of your library pictures.

>235 theaelizabet:

Thankyou and Thankyou. My pictures can never match the picture of your Puppy for cuteness !

I'm envious of the library and the puppy. Each beautiful in its own way.

Welcome, all!

Welcome celtic, good to have another Jock around the place!

I see you found the HMS Surprise group (and I love the photo of your model). Please feel free to jump in and liven it up a little, it is currently becalmed.

>238 justjim:

Cheers - I'll do my best!

Great!

That image you've captioned as your favourite author, the gentleman in the academic robes, who is that?

It just occurred to me that since I called you (and by association, myself), a Jock, the USAians who read this will probably think we are muscle-bound athletes. Sorry if that causes any problems in the future!

> 240

A 'very posed' picture of Robert Louis Stevenson!

The 'Jock' meaning from an American point-of-view made me laugh - Cheers!

Ah, Scotland's 'other'† writing‡ Robert! Nice.

† Burns, always first and foremost, Burns.

‡ Had to add 'writing'. There is also Robert the Bruce.

>242 justjim:

I just got a copy of the Birlinn Tam O'Shanter with the Goudie paintings/drawings and it is just fantastic. It's got me reading Rabbie again and loving every line (even the ones I've got to check the glossary to understand!).

I had to look it up, which is embarrassing, as I am descended from Jocks!

(even the ones I've got to check the glossary to understand!)

Hod yer weisht! We dinna admit tae that in public!

I thought about my last post after I submitted it and I was going to edit it because I made a link to The Bruce but it never occurred to me to make a link to Burns. But then, why should I?

> 245

I was checking up on the English words!

Waving belated hello to new folks. (I've been traveling.)

Hello everyone! I am from Kent in England, and reluctantly turned 50 in May. I am a school librarian si I read and enjoy a lot of Young Adult books. I read widely and voraciously, but my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. I love a good murder, so am a fan of P.D.James and Ruth Rendell. I also love a bit of science fiction, so Arthur C Clarke goes on my list too! Looking forward to some great discussions!

Welcome to the group. Here's the new link to the intro we're up to thread #3;

http://www.librarything.com/talktopic.php?topic=75822

Can I come in? I've been hanging about in writers/readers and Brits and it's all gone quiet. ( I'm really over 60)
oldstick.

I see no reason to discriminate, make yourself at home . . . but let's move over to the new thread, shall we?

250: oldstick

Welcome to the group. Always room for one more and feel free to start a new topic or revitalize and old one.

I am spending my 56th year on a chair with a slow to heal broken ankle/leg that I experienced a week before my last birthday in September 2010. Now, fully nine months in - I have been ordered to "stay off my leg." The bad part - I'm self employed and not vested in State disability ..... the good is I have been reading a lot and have just adopted a third black cat. My Polish born husband is currently a full time student learning English at a local community college. Since his focus is on English, English, English and Library Science - I'm being exposed to what a community college believes is the cutting edge on literature in 2011. As has been my experience for many years on the public library circuit, college level is obsessive on it's focus of cultural diversity. B-O-R-I-N-G. I may be the only woman in America who hates Oprah. My personal credo: If you don't like me by now, you won't and I can accept that.
Love and kisses, Susan

Bummer, Susan. Well, no more Oprah, anyway.

:)

This thread so quiet. Do we have no new members, or have we gotten blase about introducing ourselves?