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odd duck

odd duck

My name is Kim, I live in California, I'm married with 4 kids, 2 grandsons and 1 granddog. I'm absolutely addicted to books. I read books from all genres although lately I've been mostly interested in historical fiction and books that make me think about moral issues. I will even read cookbooks! I also love children's books.
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  • ca
  • member since March 10 2007

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  • Risingangel1961

    Risingangel1961 says

    Sorry I haven't been on in a while :) I'm glad to hear you were reading "Wicked" and enjoyed it. I recently went to see the play here in Norfolk, Virginia and it was wonderful! What are you reading now? I'm reading "Silver" by Edward Chupack and "In Search Of Eden" by Linda Nichols.

    posted 6 months ago. ( send a note )
  • uplandpoet

    uplandpoet says

    Welcome to Better than Starbucks! Look around, make yourself at home, start a new thread or dig up an old one or just read and jump in on the more active ones.

    posted 8 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Sarah C

    Sarah C says

    Hello..so how did you-or are you-liking the dark tower?

    posted 9 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hi Kim,

    I had a lovely Christmas and I hope you did as well, thanks! Whenever you want to start reading about my next-door neighbor (HA! I'll have to tell you that story, and the one about the lady two houses down,) I'm fine to begin. Just give me a heads up when you're ready! It was good to hear from you as well, and Happy New Year for Auld lang Syne (for old long since) to you!

    Regards,

    Suzanne

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hi Kim,

    Thank you for the well-wishes for mum. She's feeling a lot better now, but I won't spoil the Holiday cheer with details. I hope you had happy Hols, and I think it's terrific you're reading "Dracula". The demented scrawlings of mad Irishmen are so much fun! If you want, I'll re-read it with you and we can discuss any ideas, philosophy, metaphors... whatever you might feel about the novel. I should be on here more often, now that mum's feeling much better. It was good to hear from you as well, and I hope you have a wonderful new year!

    Regards,

    Suzanne

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Monique

    Monique says

    2009 with lots of love, happiness, friendships and new books to read!

    Lots of love,
    Monique

    posted 11 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hey Kim,

    I haven't posted in a while because my mom has had Pneumonia, and she's been very sick with it. She has COPD, so it's worse for her. I've had to take care of her. Hope all is well with you and that you had a happy Turkey! Yes, I have read "Dracula". It is one of the most riveting tales of horror and passion I have ever picked up. Most of Stoker's writing is worth reading. In particular, I always recommend "The Judge's House". It's a short story, but oh so chilling. "Dracula", however, would be his Opus Magnum.

    Regards,

    Suzanne

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Risingangel1961

    Risingangel1961 says

    Your welcome :) Glad to hear that your enjoying the book as I really liked it myself. I have tickets to go see the play here at a local theater next year.

    posted 12 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Risingangel1961

    Risingangel1961 says

    Pt.2 in response to your question. I think there are as many people that love the books as there are that hate them. If you liked The Wizard of Oz I think you would like this retelling of the story from the Witch's point of view. As for his other books I think the same applies. I loved Fairy Tales as a kid and these are just the same fairy tales but with a different twist to them. I love the way Gregory Maguire puts his imaginative spin on these tales :)

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Risingangel1961

    Risingangel1961 says

    Hey sorry I didn't get this till now :( I loved the book "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire but then again I was a really big fan of The Wizard of Oz. This is a very entertaining and imaginative account of the events that transpired in Oz as told by Elpheba the Wicked Witch.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hey Kim,

    That's really neat. Paediatrics is a field that I've always admired. It takes a lot of skill and patience to be a nurse, especially a Paediatric nurse, as I'm sure you know. I love children and I always feel so terrible for the little dears when they're ill. I wouldn't have the nerves to care for the terminally ill babies: (poor things.) I'd probably stand around crying for them or just sit and color with the ones that are old enough all day. As for the nippling skills, I believe that's part of the Rooting reflex, and it should be instinct: but if something happens during pregnancy or childbirth, then any stage of developmental skills can be affected; even something so basic. It is sad, but quite fascinating.

    I'll check out what you've got on your wish list and your "plan to read", and we can just pick something. I'm actually not extraordinarily picky about what I've read, I've only got 1/5 of my shelf on Shelfari. I still have the rest of my library to unload on to this website. I've actually read things like the "Heavy Metal" periodical, and "Chicken Soup for the Butt", and that's a Beavis and Butthead book. (LOL) What can I say? It was funny. Extraordinarily stupid, but funny. I like Beavis and Butthead, though. They're an excellent representation of American youth. I've already read what the Bard has to offer, and one day, if I'm up for it: I'll re-read his collected works. But if you'd like to read something by Shakespeare, I can always make a recommendation. (He can be funny to read. He invented the word "puke".) Gross, but funny.

    I do love the Gàidhlig and Gaelige. They're very poetic when spoken. Thank you also for the recommendation. I'll check out Author Gabaldon's work.

    Regards,

    Suzanne

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hi Kim,

    How about something we both want to read? Do you have anything on your wish list? Right now, all I've got are translation texts and my work: (Medical Illustration).

    As for Linguistics, as you guessed, it is the scientific study of language; but it encompasses a number of sub-fields, such as the study of Phonetics, Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis and Semantics. There are also the fields of Linguistic Typology, Stylistics, Historical and Developmental Linguistics, Evolutionary Linguistics, Language Geography, Psycholinguistics, Sociolinguistics, Clinical and Neurolinguistics, Biolinguistics, Computational Linguistics, and Applied Linguistics and its sub-genres: Constructed Language and Semiotics are also parts of the science. Speech Pathology is a particularly important branch of Linguistics to Behavioural Medicine. It deals with the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and help for prevention of disorders related to speech, language, cognitive communication, voice, swallowing, and fluency. Speech-Language Pathologists work with people who cannot produce speech sounds or cannot produce them clearly; those with speech rhythm and fluency problems, (i.e.; stuttering, people with voice disorders, such as inappropriate pitch or harsh voice,) those with problems understanding and producing language; those who wish to improve their communication skills by modifying an accent, and those with cognitive communication impairments, such as attention, memory and problem solving disorders. They also work with people who have swallowing difficulties. Speech-Language Pathologists often work in tandem with a Neuropsychologist or a Behavioural Psychologist/Psychiatrist, as their clients are often damaged due to severe brain trauma, or birth defect, or emotional problems.

    Now, is her Linguistics class part of her Speech Pathology programme, or is it a Language course; such as French-100 Level, or the like? There is quite a bit of difference in the branch of studies, as you can imagine.

    Linguistics as I study it, however, is Philology, or the branch of the human sciences that deals with language and literature, specifically a literary canon, combining aspects of grammar, rhetoric, historical linguistics (etymology and language change), interpretation of authors, textual criticism and the critical traditions associated with a given language. It considers both form and meaning in linguistic expression, and combines linguistics and literary studies. Classical Philology is the Philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages. It is historically primary, originating in European Renaissance Humanism, but was soon joined by philologies of other languages both European (Germanic, Celtic, Slavic etc.) and non-European (Sanskrit, Oriental languages such as Persian or Arabic, Chinese etc.), and the Indo-European studies involves the philology of all Indo-European languages as comparative studies. However, any classical language can be studied philologically, and indeed describing a language as "classical" is to imply the existence of a philological tradition associated with it. Right now, I'm mired in Eastern European studies: Polish and Russian, with Latin, Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic), and Gaelige (Irish Gaelic) strapped on right now--but that's not all I've got to labour over.

    Sorry I rambled on for so long, but there's quite a few ways one could go with Linguistics, as it encompasses many a varied, yet related field. But I hope I answered your question about Speech Pathology. It's rather an admirable profession and it requires a lot of patience on the part of the practitioner. As to her teacher having a thick accent, I would ask again what is the title of the class being taught? If it's an English Syntax class, tell her not to take it. You want a native speaker for an instructor in any Language Syntax class, but if it is an entry-level Speech Pathology class, she should be fine.

    If you have any more questions, just let me know.

    Regards,

    Suzanne

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hey Kim,

    I haven't been on here in a while. (Been hella-busy with work, school and other drama. Ugh.) Anyway, just drop me a line to catch me up: (you know, how's things going, and whatnot). Perhaps we could find a book to read and discuss.

    Cheers,

    Suzanne

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • twhodges

    twhodges says

    My girls are 13 & 5 & I also have a 17 year old step daughter. Some good ones I would recommend for your 9 year old are the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the Artemis Fowl series & Dragonrider by Cornelia Funke. I'm sure I have others on my shelf, but I can't think of them right now.

    I'm currently right in the middle of book 4 in the Gunslinger series and although I find it interesting I can't say that I'm absolutely crazy about it. There are parts that I find to be really good and other parts that seem to drag. I do really like the fact that there are times in the books that you find references to some of his other stories including, The Stand, which is my favorite King book.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Sam R

    Sam R says

    About "The Gunslinger": Yes. A must-read, especially when compared to other Stephen King works from around the same time. It's a departure from his norm, a fantasy read that actually bleeds into other works of his (you'll find references to his other books, including "The Stand", as you go further in the series).

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • twhodges

    twhodges says

    Hello, you had asked for a recommendation on the Dark Tower Series and for some reason the computer wouldn't let me leave a comment with the recommendation. So, I thought I would come to your site and post a note for you instead.

    I'm currently on book 4 of the Dark Tower series and although I wasn't crazy about it at first, I'm finding that I like the series more and more the further I get into it. It's not typical King in that it is definitely more fantasy fiction than I would expect from him, but it is still very well written and intriguing.

    Also, I wanted to let you know that I think you have a fantastic shelf.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Brittany S

    Brittany S says

    I just finished The Kite Runner. Oh, I loved it so much! It was just wonderful! Is The Constant Princess good too? I have a few Gregory books but I haven't read them yet, I was wondering if that one is good to start off with?

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • clockstein

    clockstein says

    3 or 4 I think. I couldn't really devote my full time to it because last weekend was Homecoming, and my daughter (that's her in my profile pic) is a cheerleader, so we were BUSY!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • clockstein

    clockstein says

    I really did enjoy it, it surpassed my expectations. I feel a bit frustrated by every time travel romance that I've read because they all obviously cribbed from Gabaldon, and therefore, it was less powerful. It dragged a bit in the middle, but I definitely plan to read more in the series!

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )
  • Suzanne B

    Suzanne B says

    Hi Kim,

    That short story is called "The Cask of Amontillado", and it is one of his best. I love the part where Montresor bricks Fortunato up behind that wall, Fortunato wailing: "for the love of God, Montresor!" who responds, "Yes! For the love of God!" Very creepy, and all of that drama over a supposed insult. I haven't read "The Constant Princess" yet, but it sounds neat. If you like "Le Grand Dictionnaire de Cuisine", let me know. Oh, by the way, what kind of granddog do you have? Dogs make some of the most entertaining pets, don't they?

    Suzanne.

    posted 1 year ago. ( send a note )


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