Greatest global online bookclub in town

Jo, Did you have any problem finding the RRstation in Reading the other day?

wrote several books before/during her Mrs. Pollifax; they were all pretty good, actually, although Mrs. P is my favorite.

I am flying to Seattle tomorrow for a great nieces wedding and will be back Sunday night. I needed an airplane book and the young girl at the book store recommended this. I haven’t started it as I am finishing Our Stealing Horses by Per Petterson which is my library book club book for September. I am finding it a page turner and will report on it when I am through. I have a non stop flight to Seattle but have to take an Air Porter to Lacey which is 52 miles away. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I find everything I need to get there.

Looks like I’m going to have to get in on the Pollifax stories–after I finish the 16 in progress on Kindle. Got Havana Nocturne by T. J. English. It’s about the relationship of familiar Mafia names with Batista, their plan to take over Cuba, and the rise of Castro. For those of us who remember the G-Man/J. Edgar Hoover era, it fills in a lot of background.

Candace

also wrote A Nun In the Closet in 1923. It may have been her first book. It was pretty good even if Mrs Pollifax wasn’t in it.

of posters greeted me this morning. Lovely!!

I have the Pollifax books and in order, too. She is quite the spy - I love it. Here are the titles, in order:

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari
A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station
and the Hong Kong Buddha
and the Golden Triangle
and the Whirling Dervish
and the Second Thief
Mrs. Pollifax Pursued
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer
Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist

I’ve not seen anything that shows any more in the series.

A young woman my g’daughter Michele knows needs to be picked up at the Reading bus station (about an hour away) and I volunteered. She was supposed to come in yesterday but the funeral she went to in NYC went on and on and she missed the return bus, which was also the last one of the day. Naturally. So Michele’s SO is going with me; between us, we should be able to find the bus station!

Life’s little exciting moments.

I used to get films from Netflix but many of the ones I like aren’t close captioned; I don’t get all the words otherwise so I finally had to cancel my subscription. It was lovely seeing all the really good movie stars. I don’t like too many of the current crop of films - language, violence and blatant sex mostly - but it seems these days that anything goes. I like some things left to my imagination.

Ye gods, I’m getting old and curmudgeony! NEVER would I admit to being a crone - that word brings to mind so really ugly women. I like curmudgeon, much more ‘flattering’ in my humble opinion.

LOL

Take care all - time to get ready and get it together.

Jo

Thank you for the info. I have had trouble getting to all the book place, ie. Amazon, Borders and Barnes and Nobles. Have no idea why but I know my computer is old. I plan to get a new one in the not to distant future. I have tried to clean this one up and get rid of junk and that seems to have helped in the past but this time it doesn’t seem to work.

I sure appreciate all of you. Has anyone heard anything from Phyllis recently? Take care and thanks again for the info. I wanted to tell a friend about these but couldn’t remember the order of them.

Georgianna

Judith, For that reminder–I did that some time ago for an author but with apparently recurring CRS, had forgotten to do that when I was recently wanting to find the sequence of the Alex Cross series of detective stories.

Candace

Georgianna (and everyone), if you are looking for books in a series, you can go to Amazon.com, type in the title or author, bring up any one of the books, then scroll down and it will say “the Mrs. Pollifax series” or something like that and then it will list all the books in the series.

I have found a new series of detective stories by F. McKevett. I found that I had read the first and fourth in the series. I went to Amazon.com and got a list of all the books in the proper order and printed it off. I will take the list with me to the library and be able to read them in order.

Happy reading everyone.

Judith

I googled Dorothy Gillman, the author and got her website. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax was her first book in 1966. The next was The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax. I have listened to many of the Pollifax books on tape and enjoyed them. I would listen to them all but our library doesn’t have many of them.

Have any of you read these books and if so do you know which is the first one. Dorothy Gilman is the author.
Thanks. Georgianna
\PS I am reading The Art of Perseverence. A good self help kind of book.

I saw this movie yesterday with my grandsons and daughter. (It was their choice.) It did have great acting but as far as I was concerned it was too loud and long. The others liked it alot. I knew it wasn’t my kind of movie but kinda wanted to see Joker because I had heard how good he was and he was. There really isn’t much on right now that I care to see.

The only two channels my husband really enjoys anymore. We have a Netflix subscription, and its tricky ordering movies, but they claim they have 80,000 of them, and some of the good old ones.

I mentioned Left to Tell to our youngest daughter and she saw the author on a Public TV program with Wayne Dyer, who found the writer who helped her write her story. Rhonda said she almost ordered the book. I’m going to get my own copy.

Through Netflix I have the Lillie series, based on the life of Lillie Langtry. Apparently she was a British actress, who “found great success, becoming one of the most sought after women in the world”. This is how they describe it on the envelope. They were extremely “proper” in those days, but only outwardly.

Very nice summer weather here 82, but the nights cool well.

Jacky

William Powell - I didn’t think Dick Powell was right even as I posted it. Forgot all about William Powell.

Thank you.

Was Nick Charles. I agree wholeheartedly on movies–thank goodness for Turner Classic Movies. It is a rare program or movie that holds my attention these days but some of those can. Watching the lines of people outside the bank in California recently reminded me of the Jimmy Stewart Christmas classic that I can’t name right now–a chilling reminder of a time most alive today probably considered a fairy tale. Okay, got it now–A Wonderful Life. Another is the one on the 4th of July with James Cagney about the Cohans–waiting for that title to surface–Yankee Doodle Dandy?

Candace

I don’t see why we can’t discuss movies AND books in here - the two are quite related after all and, even if the moviemakers DON’T always stick to the story (James Bond series for one), some of them are quite good.

Monty Woolley: remember The Man Who Came to Dinner? What a curmudgeon he was in that one. I loved it. And speaking of curmudgeons, how about Sidney Greenstreet? He was one occasionally but more often than not, he played a villain and I loved his snort/laugh/chuckle - ah-HUH, but not the ‘yes I agree’ type un-huh. It covered all three of those. He was in Casablanca.

I don’t like most of today’s movies - and I’ve found that a lot of the old movies aren’t close-captioned either. Frustrating.

Was it Dick Powell who was Nick Charles to Myrna Loy’s Nora?

Thanks Jude, I’ll want to get that series too. Centennial was one of my favorite James Michener books. Now I’m on my way to Amazon to see it I can order it.
Huggz all,
Jerry

This TV series was one of my all time favorites. I got an email from Amazon.com this morning that the entire series will be offered on DVD format July 29 for around $39. (can’t remember the exact amount) but I have preordered it. I loved the show,especially the first parts. I didn’t care for the last few episodes as much; but the ones with the Indians, trappers, and settlers were excellent. I am looking forward to watching them all again, and again.

Judith

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you–I’ve been waiting for a light bulb to go off—it got misdirected into your brain!

Candace

Monty Wooley. The name just popped into my head a moment ago.

Hey, I see someone beat me to it!

Jimmy Stewart’s character’s mother was played by Mary Forbes. Monty’s last name was Wooley.

If you want to know the entire cast for this movie go to Imdb and type in Dub Taylor. When Dub comes up scroll all the way down his many movies until you get to “You Can’t Take it With You”. Imdb goofed and does not list the name under movies.

Huggz all,
Jerry

I have looked and looked, ImbD, the TCM board, my “videohound” movie book. And I know perfectly well who you are talking about, but that last name just won’t come to mind! Another one of those little questions that will drive me nuts until I figure it out, or find it somewhere.

There are a number of scenes from that movie I’ve recalled from time to time over decades. It was great to see them again and confirm my recollection. One was the kitten Spring Byington used as a paperweight, another was the mother of James Stewart’s character at the end of the show, shedding her pretensions. Maybe you can help me with a name. Another old movie I saw just a part of had a pre-teen Shirley Temple and a familiar face–he was Englsh, first name Monte–white goatee–usually played a curmudgeon. It was one time TCM didn’t follow with the cast list.

Candace

Got this movie from Blockbuster and watched it tonight. It’s a perfect movie! So corny and funny and refreshing. I smiled and chuckled all the way through it. Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, Lionel Barrymore and about half of the old character actors I’ve ever seen in the movies since 1938. And a happy ending in the bargain.
Huggz all,
Jerry

I don’t know who suggested this book, but I thank you!!! What a moving story! When I checked it out of the GF library the librarian said,”This is a very good story. My husband even read it and he doesn’t read!” The author has been on NPR, and I’d like to see and hear her.

I also asked for Zoo Keeper’s Wife, but that’s checked out, and the librarian said she’s next on the list, so it will be a while. I’ve almost decided to stick with other than fiction. Seems like I have little time to read, so I have to be pickier, if there’s such a word.

I just finished typing out our church council minutes, a long meeting, and long minutes. I’m the only one on the council, retired, so we think I have more time. I guess. It does help my typing, but I generally have a “correction or addition” but I don’t mind, its usuall quite minute, spelling looks wrong for “small”.

Enjoy New York, Darlyne, we had such a good time there a year ago May. Its an exciting city, very different than Oslo, but i can drive here.

Jacky