Get the Internet or listen to Phillip Glass Einstein on the beach?

Why do I continue to come to the public library to use the Internet? Frequently seen patrons insist on talking to their friends at the computers with a certain cadence and vocabulary that irks me horribly. I almost got into it with a woman but now, at least, she has stopped talking constantly to people on either side of her. I put on Phillip Glass from Youtube and this is a great way to block out talking!

On the move (book): a life, by Oliver Sacks. What good timing. Just as he announced that he is dying from some condition, he put out a biography. He fills it with zingers such as recounting a sexual incident and then saying that he didn't have sex again for 35 years. He fell in love again at age 75. I am semi-interested in his books which are all quite different, although all focusing on the mind. There is a picture of him on the cover as a young motorcycle stud and a picture of him today on the back at Machu Pichu (?) writing something. He did drugs and had casual sex (didn't we all).

The language of flowers (audio book), by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This book was somewhat excruciating in spots. I just wanted to shake her or stop reading it. But all turns out OK in the end. Flower communication is quite interesting...although human communication is seriously lacking. I did not really enjoy it much.

Is there a better way to list books read?

Since I can't SEARCH this blog, it is not a very efficient way to list books read. All I can do is COUNT them and not even break them down into time periods or types. Being list obsessed, I may need to develop a better method! Also should I rank by loved it! - it was OK - did not really like it?

Torch scene (ebook) (a Reed Ferguson mystery), by Renee Pawlish. Not so great. A guy keeps doing dumb things to try and solve a mystery all the while telling people he won't do anything stupid. Was the fire deliberately set, by whom and why?

Using the internet in a not-open-for-business coffee shop downtown. I know the owner and have a key. Sitting here all by myself with the door open hoping that no one tries to take advantage of me or steal my electronics.

Jeanne's rules

I certainly have a lot of them. As does my girlfriend, CM. Perhaps it is a luxury of us aging singles who live alone?

People who don't look 80:
- EB at exercise class wearing short jean jacket. She got it at the Bridge, a faith-based donation center in town.
- FA - a dynamo with a fascinating history and a busy present.

The most beautiful walk in the world (book), by John Baxter. Stuff about Paris is always welcome to me. He gives literary tours of Paris and lives in the same building where Shakespeare and company started out. So, he has tourists always clustering. Got it through Overdrive as an ebook. Miscellanea of the present and past. Talks about what makes a tour interesting or not and the importance of walking to discover a place.

Dissatisfied

Sitting here typing feeling unhappy with my hair and my body. Not a great haircut? Too long without exercising and too much good food!

Wonderful weekend with old school mates...we have forgotten the problems of youth and who was friends with whom or not. Now we are mostly all just feeling the love. Lots of hugging and talking and eating. Weekend just whizzed by without a moment to use my computer or my bathing suit or my calendar. A waste of time to lug them all over to Newtown, PA. Of course, I FORGOT something in the hotel room. Left a six pack of O'Doul's in the fridge along with a bottle of Diet Coke. Really could have used them as I was driving around later!

Moby Dick (audio book), by Herman Melville. Wow, did I enjoy this! Beautiful language and great meditations on the whale, blackness, whiteness, friendship, Nantucket, the sea, whalers, etc.
I was always a bit intimidated about taking this book on, but very glad I finally got around to it. Now I must read the book Why you should read Moby Dick.

Welcome to Dock Mike's! Party of 1??

Not much of a party...all by myself. Tried a new restaurant. Pancakes for lunch. Kind of good, except for the coffee.
I enjoy being down at the beach before all of the people get here.

Beatrix Potter, the complete tales (book). Book is so large, it is hard to read in a chair. Drawings are wonderful, stories OK.

Another beautiful, sunny day! Out and about. Taking a class down at the Sea Isle City library. Good excuse for an excursion, a walk, a sunbath on the beach. Love it!

Just took my daily Vitamin D bath

So I laid on the grass out in back of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Just relaxing in the sun for a bit over 15 minutes. It was HOT. (but delicious)

Bright young things (ebook), by Anna Godbersen. I stopped about half way through. Was not pleasing me. Young girlfriends get separated while questing for fame in the 1920's. One has just been tricked into singing for a bunch of surly men and the other has just caused her newly found father to be shot by her pretend (?) boyfriend. Nobody really likeable in this book that I got probably for free off of Barnes and Noble.

Enjoy wasting my time filling out surveys and entering contests which I will most likely NEVER win. Monopoly at Acme is getting boring. Guess I just like mindless activities!

New Jersey, love it or hate it

One of my proposed lists is pros and cons of NEW JERSEY, where I was born and where I have been living for the last 40 years. Today a list came to my attention of the ten worst states in which to retire, and NJ wasn't on it!?!

The realms of gold (book), Margaret Drabble. I think I have read this one before. It was a yellowing paperback that I carried around in my overnight bag to read when away from home. Since I do not spend much time away from home, it took me quite a while to get through it (again?) I like this author, she is Canadian. The book was written in 1975 and follows a woman who is an academic archeologist, to her various conferences. She has been involved for a long time with a married man.


My god, I am like a bag lady with all of my folders and containers spread out like I own the place (at the Bridgeton Public Library). Only thing on my calendar for this afternoon is to go downtown to hear a free concert by a great group of guys from The Praise and worship institute in Nashville, TN. Might have to get something to EAT first.

Out of audio books

Started an audio book called 13 1/2 by Nevada Barr. Wait a minute! It is not about her usual heroine, Anna Pigeon, and it says it is about HORROR. I don't DO horror. Well, the first CD starts out with some asshole raping a nine year old. Nope, not gonna do it.

During my Senior Stretch exercise class, I have ample opportunity to ponder since I have done this class so many times. Was thinking about things I hate:
- Underwires in bras
- the complications of our tax code
- trash all over our countryside and my neighbor's property
- barking dogs
- people who reassure you but don't know what they are talking about

And things I love:
- adorable, earnest college students in our Praise and worship band
- sunshine
- good friends
- snacks
- living across the street from my church

The age of doubt (audio book), by Andrea Camelleri. OK, now I have the formula down. A body is found. The detectives must determine what happened and, usually, who it is. Our Detective Montalbano lives by the sea in Sicily, is a terrible driver, smokes, drinks, loves his food (which is rendered in delicious detail), and cheats on his girlfriend. You get a good feel for the pace of life in Italy, the traffic jams and other aggravations. The interpersonal interplay is good, the names are a bit confusing.

Am in a tax funk

Trying to complete my taxes "early" (on April 14th instead of April 15th, which is when I usually do them)! My eyes are bugging out, and my shoulders are stiff. I would like to give the award for the most ridiculous, mind-boggling, and nonsensical form/worksheet to Schedule D from the IRS and the worksheet 22-1 for determining if any of your Social Security benefits are taxable. How are the many incompetent United States citizens doing all of these crazy math calculations!?!?!?

The Sistine Chapel (book), text by Fabrizio Mancinelli of the Vatican Museums. Not too much text and great reproductions. Shows how the cleaning has improved the paintings on the ceilings. Even though I went there last year in May, it is nice to have a real up-close-and-personal view.

The girl on the train (book), by Paula Hawkins. Didn't really read every word, since the book became due at the Vineland Public Library. There were several woman and the book jumps around from their various perspectives. I couldn't keep track of the dates and whether they were important. Our main protagonist was not very likeable....she drank was too much. She becomes obsessed with a woman she sees from the train and imagines her perfect life. Then circumstances bring her rather too close to this woman.

Lila (book), by Marilynne Robinson. A lot of musings by Lila, who was stolen as a baby, lived a hard life and ends up married to an older man, who is a preacher in the small town of Gilead.

Fast and furious

I do not ordinarily do action movies, but agreed to go with a friend. I jumped into Fast and furious 7 (movie) even though I had not seen 1 - 6. It was preposterous! In retrospect, it was all about fights, explosions and car crashes....and nobody ever DIED?!?! They got out of these smashed cars like it was a walk in the park. Rarely did anyone bleed or complain.
the PREVIEWS were hard to take, especially the one for the redo of Mad Max. What a disgusting movie!

Jersey Angel (audio book), by Beth Ann Bauman. I picked up this young adult book cause it was about the Jersey shore. Not my shore, I am pretty sure. The town is unnamed but it seemed like Long Beach Island area. Boy, these high school students were pretty dissipated...drinking, drugging, smoking and sleeping around. Angel was a bit of a loser with no goals. She wasn't very likeable. She made some bad decisions but vowed to do better in the end.

A very dreary day. Drizzle and back to being cold. At least my ceiling does not seem to be dripping onto my table.

Unwholesome lyrics

Trying to delete really wicked songs off of my Youtube list. It is hard to delete Eminem and Elton John singing Stan at the Grammy's, but the lyrics are really bad. I am KEEPING, however, Janie got a gun, by Aerosmith.

The memory palace (audiobook) : a memoir, by Mira Bartok. Had to stop listening to this. Essentially, I am not interested in hearing about the schizophrenic mom who had lots of great ideas, but ended up homeless and crazy. Her daughters come around for her dying days. The narrator sounds kind of drugged, adding to the general gloom. (Bridgeton Public Library - AUDB BIO BARTOK)

Feeling somewhat self-righteous, as I cleaned part of the bathroom today. Also, I cooked a turkey burger from the Amish market and had it with some summer slaw I bought at the Acme. Nice to have some REAL food, for a change.

Technology is driving me crazy today!

Cell phone uncharged. Lots of connection problems at work today. And does anyone care about FIXING is on a weekend? Yahoo suddenly has lost a bunch of my contacts....very unnerving. Realized some had been lost a while ago so I do not know if I should attempt a RESTORE. More like a RE-TYPE...thus ruining my plans of printing out my address book today. It is a herculean task anyway. I had almost 700 contacts, now down to 600. Quite a bit for someone who rarely calls anyone.

What to do when there's too much to do (ebook), by Laura Stack. Another one of those books relating to the workplace. Can't really remember much about it except that it was SHORT. That is a benefit to me these days.

The Potter's field (audiobook) : an Inspector Montalbano mystery, by Andrea Camilleri. I really enjoyed this audiobook. Yes, it was kind of confusing with all of the Italian names of people and places, but it didn't bother me like it sometimes does. Takes place in Sicily. Montalbano is an aging detective. He lives by the sea, is a terrible driver, has a girlfriend in another town that you have to fly to. There is a mystery of a chopped up body discovered in the rain and a story of his right hand man who is acting strangely. Also great descriptions of the food, making me quite ravenous. In the book he reads a book by....Andrea Camilleri! I found it quite funny and captivating. I loved the banter between the various employees.

Ate too much chocolate

I asked a friend to get me some salted dark chocolate from Something Sweet, a chocolate store in the front of Bogart's books. I should have just eaten ONE square. Two are making me feel a bit overstuffed.

A spool of blue thread (book), by Anne Tyler. I like her. Liked the book enough. Stories of an aging couple, their children and their house in Baltimore. Back stories tell how they came to have the house in the first place. Now, they will be aging out of it. The blue thread reminded me of the blue paint argument of some of their ancestors. He wants the porch swing to show the wood grain and she wants to paint it blue. (Millville Public Library - F TYLER)

"The thing about caller ID is," Red said, more or less to himself, "It seems a little like cheating. A person should be willing to take his chances, answering the phone. That's kind of the general idea with phones, is my opinion."

I really need to get the Internet at home

Using the Internet in public places just gets me aggravated! People talking loudly about people back in prison and getting high and people owing them money.

The millionaire next door (book) : the surprising secrets of America's wealthy, by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko. Read that one of the authors died recently so I thought I would read the book. Also, because I am trying to be frugal and I know that is the theme of the book, that a lot of wealthy individuals are careful and not profligate with their money. I didn't read it all that carefully as it is somewhat dated and full of statistics about millionaires.

Wolf hall (book), by Hilary Mantel. Was a bit reluctant to read this. First there were two pages of historical characters, the Tudors and the Yorkshire claimants to the throne. I don't know how I could ever keep all of them straight. The book starts out with a man beat within an inch of his life by his own father. I said to myself, "I can't read this!"

What I like about yoga

I like that yoga is SLOW. That is me. If I had to identify with an animal, it would be a turtle, hesitant, sluggish, and prone to hide.

Here at the library with the great unwashed and the I-don't-know-enough-to-not-use-my-cell-phone-constantly-in-a-library crowd. Unpleasant sights and smells, which I am trying to overcome by listening to Joni Mitchell real loud on Youtube. One of my five things to accomplish this week is to figure out how to get the Internet at home. There is just too much to do, watch, or listen to online! Two hours a days (and not every day) is just not cutting it. My piles of papers and things to investigate just keep on getting bigger. But, then again, this has been my life-long problem!

The PMS outlaws (audiobook), by Sharyn McCrumb. A few too many characters who went by their initials. I am easily confused these days. I liked the mental institution patients the best. The plot involved college friends, brothers and sisters, interior decorating, lawyers becoming criminals, mistaken identity, long held grudges, home-made alcohol and other fun stuff.

Short term memory problems

Seems like my memory has been extra bad since my recent bout of food poisoning. I ask people if I just asked them something. So far, no one has mentioned it except for myself.

I would like to figure out a better way to record books that I have read. I put them here but no one reads this and I can't really SEARCH it so what is the use?

The happiness advantage (book): the seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work, by Shawn Achor. Not sure why I keep reading books about the workplace even though I am retired. It sort of went in one eye and out the other (short term memory problems as I mentioned before).

The night of the gun (book) : a reporter investigates the darkest story of his life, his own, by David Carr. I wanted to read this because he recently dropped dead too young at work at the New York Times and I wasn't really familiar with his work. He looks into his history with addiction by interviewing many people in his life ad nauseum.

First day without my snow boots

Actually, I kind of miss them! Someone asked me to wear them to a meeting tonight so that they could take a picture of me in them. Glad to oblige.

Tried to read The turn of the screw and other short fiction (book), by Henry James, but I really couldn't get into it. I kind of skimmed through it. Perhaps I am having trouble with dense fiction due to my ADD?

Oops... forgot to work on my memories and bio for a high school reunion coming up in May. I really find writing is not my thing. Hard for me to concentrate on anything taking more than 15 minutes.

Too many comings and goings

At my nail salon, employees are always coming and going. Some of them come seasonally. was very upset to learn that my favorite nail tech is moving to Texas. I don't like being left. So I took a picture of both of us and took her picture and put it in my phone with her cell phone number. Don't know how we will make out with texting. Her English is not so good but we have a great time talking in person.


The poet (book), by Michael Connelly. This is a strange book for a book club but I think that is where I got the recommendation.
It is grisly and a mystery. Did have an interesting literature link that I didn't totally understand. the killer left a fake suicide note with a phrase from Poe.

You tube blasting in my ear.....Monster by Eminem

Kind of embarrasses about my fascination for the rap artist Eminem.

The public library (book) : a photographic essay, by Robert Dawson. I am such a library nerd that I have to read books ABOUT books or libraries. Photos of grand libraries, repurposed libraries, abandoned libraries. Only a few of them have I actually visited but that is a hobby of mine.

Photographs I should have taken

I'd like to TAKE pictures, not just regret NOT taking them later...
- the FOOD at the recent Chinese new year celebration
- the shoes sticking out under the blanket at the homeless shelter
= the geese all over the field in Vineland

Today I DID stop and take a picture of something that catches my eye every week. It turned out disappointingly, but at least I TRIED. It is a dead tree with dried corn stalks behind it.

The storyteller (audio book), by Jodi Picoult. I don't know what has come over me, but this is the second audio book I have stopped listening to. I am getting kind of sick of Holocaust fiction. There is quite a spate of it and other WWII stuff these days. I just did not want to listen to a guy with a German accent describing the horrible things that he did. There was a bit on an interesting premise to start....a young woman and an older man meet in a grief support group. He confides in her his secret that he was a Nazi. She has Jewish ancestors and a terrible scar on her face. I just did not want to hang around to hear about how she acquired that scar.