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Julie P

Julie P

I'm from New Zealand, and have grown up reading anything I could lay my hands on. Still do, pretty much, tend to go through phases of authors and genres. I also like listening to music, it goes hand in hand with a good book. Love spending time with my friends, and also relaxing in the garden.
  • Palmerston North, Ma, New Zealand
  • member since September 25 2009

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Public Notes

  • James

    James says

    Good afternoon. I haven’t cocked up at all today..or yesterday. Some kind of record there methinks. Well I can blame my boss, but it’s not a good idea that..;-) But at least he won’t blame me..that’s the main thing! :-) And my train was ontime..can’t believe it and at last I almost read another 30 pages...that’s more like it. If only i could keep it up.
    I hate having squeaky shoes..so self conscious. Cringe every step. Looks like you’re more aggressive on your shoes than me!! I walk flat out, top speed for 3 miles every night so i don’t miss my train, so goodness knows what you’re doing to punish your ones..
    Well, kind of good news that you’re not much further in with Dome, cos I’m absolutely sure you’re gonna be motoring though it soon...I’m glad I had the head start now, cos you’re a nippy wee reader. Ermm, put my maths cap on now..so about 17 days till xmas.. at 25 page per day..is about 425 pages before Xmas. Darn, it’s gonna be close..don’t think I’ll make it though. Sigh..well at least it will last longer :-)
    Oh ya ur right, it’s not a glass dome of course ;-) Otherwise, I guess someone would have at least tried throwing a brick through it..;-) but glass or whatever it is, I’d still keep hitting my head on it and not learning, just like Homer. Oh, a window cleaner could make a fortune there!
    But if u put Lucy in nappies, it may humiliate her enough to get her to stop peeing all over. :-) She wouldn’t be able to show her kitty face on the street..but seems like she’s getting control of that little bladder of hers. Seems she’s settling in nicely.
    Oh..Secret Window, Secret Garden..now that rings a bell..unless it’s The Secret Garden bit making me confused. It’s been ages since I got 4 Past Midnight so no idea what the stories in that one are..except the langoliers. Will read it eventually, but it’s another darn hardback. :-)
    Oh..yes..movies are usually in 3s..but horror movies..well, they’re in 6 and more these days ;-) We’re up to Saw 6, Freddy 7...Friday 13th gawd-knows-how-many! :-) Even Children of the Corn had about seven..and that was a Short Story! ..goodness, they don’t know when to quit! But ya, I’d welcome a jeepers 3 i guess.
    Ermm..must admit that I thought about trying the twilight novel...just to see what the fuss was, but that was before I figured out it was a teeny vampire romance thing.. money well saved there methinks. Oh ya, I heard that the Micheal Jackson movie was great, saw the trailer when I went to Up..good how they managed to put it together from the rehersal stuff. Must be a mega bummer for the people who had tickets to the show though.
    That Wii’s getting expensive..had to order another controlly add-on thing since the game with it wont let u have 2 players without it..which is the whole point of Wii, right. No fun on ur own is it. And the internet shops taking ages processing my order, 3 days already.. hehe, you know what..i got annoyed waiting for them to send it since it’s supposed to be in stock..so I cancelled it and ordered it from another shop at the same price instead...then i found out that both shops are owned by the same company..darn!! So back to square one ;-) But I think I’d rather see Peru than have a Wii (oh that’s rude too, having to tell people I want to have a wii for xmas).
    Ohhhhhhh..Pearl Jam time is here?! That time went quick didn’t it! Well, hope u have a great time..you should know their songs better than them by now.. ;-) Can’t you just tell the other half that you’ve listened to them all already? He won’t know will he? :-) Just tap your food in the right place and you’ll be ok..
    Never been abroad yet? Well..Peru must be a cool place to start!! You’ll love it I’m sure, haven’t been of course but looks like one of those special places.. I guess there’s not so many places close to NZ to visit really..except Oz..I’ve heard from everyone who has been that Oz is amazing..but, it’s just one place that has never really appealed to me, don’t know why. NZ looks ok though (but then I would say that to you wouldn’t I, hehe). No, really it looks nice there.
    Well good luck with the plane trip.. ya you could take under the dome with you, but be careful of the excess baggage charge for it ;-) It’s huge. :P
    Anyway..enjoy the trip if I don’t hear from you first (and even if I do!). Laters dudette!

    posted 11 hours ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey there.. i’m at the peak of my hump now, though will probably be on the downhill when i’ve finished writing this.. Doing some great cock-ups at work these days..keep forgetting to format our backup tapes so it fails in the night..darn..and darn my memory too. Fortunately the reason I need to format them is cos the boss accidently deleted our whole backup database..sooo...that means i get away with it ;-) I needed to get in early this morning to sort it, but of course the train was cancelled.. twice..so had to go all over the place to get here..and got here about 5 minutes too late to do what i needed to do..sigh. Annnd on top of that, the train thing meant my Under the Dome reading session was cancelled...yet again!! Arrghh.....
    Oh ya..white sneakers are a definite no no... I’ve switched to my old pair of shoes, worn down to a millimetre..but my usually ones have developed a ruddy annoying squeaking..in both shoes. I was so self conscious whenever i get up from my desk and walk across the room...eek-eek-eek-ekk....s’ok at the mo’ though. Maybe a trip to the shoe shop at the weekend.
    Sounds like you’re really enjoying the Dome..great to hear it. Loved the bit from the woodchucks perspective. Yeah a few annoying characters too -that Junior Rennie guy clearly has some issues ;-) Story is shaping up nicely.. You’re doing great 100 pages already.. seemed to take me ages to get that far.. my read rate is usually about 30pps (pages per session) but with Dome I’m doing about 15 or 20pps ;-)... weird. So what with ur long bus trip coming I think we’ll be converging pretty soon. I reckon I won’t finish before xmas, but hoping.. i just know i won’t get chance to read over xmas... so let’s see. At this rate I’ll be luck to finish by next Christmas!.. On page about 300 or something at the moment.
    Oh ya u gotta have lots of people for the quiz haven’t ya.. get the old atmposphere going. Bit of an expensive round for the bonus though. Oh ur right a King quiz would be too tricky probably..look at us, supposed fans and we’re always getting mix up with stuff like his short stories..sigh. Plus I’ve got quite a few unread..blush...
    Oh ya..all that smelly pollutant under the dome..and where would all the cow farts go? Must be bumper sales for those face makes.. no rain though, always a plus. I’d probably keep walking into the glass, being a clumsy clot. I’d be one with a permanent bloody nose. Have to admit, I’m intrigued about the water being able to come through the dome a little bit.... wonder if that’s gonna be important. Probably not. :P Darn..still not even half way through..and i found out it’s 875 or so pages..not 800.
    Lucy still a pee machine?? Darn.. nappy time methinks. I knew someone who used to put a nappy on their pet dog... Is it poor old you who has to clean up to leaks or do your housemates chip in? Haha..so she peed in the right place, but someone had moved the tray..ahh c’est la vie.
    Well..glad the whole gender issue is sorted. Could have given the poor thing issues for life!
    Oh, I’m a bit of a Johnny Depp fan myself..in a manly, did-you-see-the-game-last-night sort of way of course. Edward Scissorhands is one of my favourite movies... don’t know why, i just don’t find the Secret Window movie too appealing. Should really try it though, never know might love it. What’s the proper title of it?
    Ha..being the consummate nerd, I went and checked t’internet and it seems there’s not a Jeepers 3. Though for extra nerd points, it seems there may be one in 2011 :-)
    Ring Wraiths! Come on.. the big baddies in it. Those in the black cloaks like ghosts..Pah! Call urself a nerd huh! Hehe.. oh I saw a great T-shirt for nerds online the other day..printed on it was “I’m Not a nerd! – I’m a level 9 warlord.”
    Ok to polish up your Nerd level here is the link for LOTR cartoon on youtube - www.youtube.com/user/Jakegothicsnake#p/u/11/scjiNC5RV3A Go on, you know you want to watch it ;-) You know it makes sense ;-)
    What??! You don’t like Twilight? I love it..... Don’t worry, don’t worry.. just joking I’m not a twilight person, i’m of both the wrong gender and age to enjoy that one (i.e. I’m not a 13yr old girl). Twilight is all that’s wrong with vampire movies these days..give me the Salem’s Lot tv series any time. Or Lost Boys...though haven’t seem that for years.. But I don’t know why almost all vampire movies have to have a scene set in a nightclub playing heavy metal music with people dancing in cages...is that a contractual thing with a vampire union or something?!
    I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a buffy person though either ;-) Just happen to have bought them all..ya, I’m not convincing you am I. They’re all a bit cliché for my liking.. but at least it’s funny occasionally :-)
    Haha..Wiinjury. Like it. Ya..definitely seems possible..my elbows were throbbing on Monday :-) And when I broke my wii virginity at a friends house I nearly whacked his sister one in the head playing tennis as she sat on the sofa near us. You really do have to be major careful with those things. The friend just flicks his wrist to do it, but I’ve noticed all the new people really go for it and swinging their fists madly all over the place. They should have a health warning..darn things. It’s kind of keep fit which I like about it :-) It’s not in the box..it’s under the tv ;-) Can’t be bothered setting it all up again..but trying not to touch it. I got my battery charger yesterday..so maybe need give it another test..ok resist resist.
    Peru..fab!! That’d be amazing. I was gonna push u to get your own xmas list sorted, but if Peru is on the table then I can back your no spend policy....oh, you could ask for cash, hehe. Good luck with that, hope it comes off..will be a mind blowing place I’m sure. Glad to know u have a good sense of adventure.
    Ah ya... Santa is magic..how could i forget. That’s how he gets in my home without a chimney. He can time travel too?! What a dude! He’d be nothing without his elfs though.... nothing i tell you. ;-)
    Yup feeling a lot better now..but Dome is still getting neglected, thanks to my darn traaaain. Hope you keep enjoying it too!
    Today is my hump day..but every day is a Dome Day :-)
    Enjoy your post-hump, and good Doming to you.

    posted yesterday. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Well done you!! Duma Key in the bag, now ur a Domer. I think you’re gonna catch me up pretty easily, I think fate doesn’t want me to read this book as for one reason or another I only seem to be getting about 10 pages read in a session.. dunno why .. Like the last 2 days I’ve had a bug or something and didn’t have the energy to read so I just closed my eyes on the train instead. Having said that, I’ve managed to claw my way up to page 300 today. Sounds a lot, but it’s not even the half way mark!.. I’m wondering if I can get to the end before Xmas..I’d hate to have a weeks break in the story. :-)
    Glad u enjoyed Duma Key though, I did too...Hum, i’m not sure that I want to have read ALL of his books.. not having a new King story must be quite hard... :-)
    Ooo..and well done you on the bonus round with free drinkie-poos. I hope your team was big, get better value then ;-) Now if only they have a Stephen King themed quiz..........
    Ermm...I’m afraid my soaking wet shoes did stink an inckle bit. Fortunately (for my workmates) they aren’t sitting too close.. Ohhhh..that must be an advantage of living under that Dome!.. No rain!.. It’d be warm too. Maybe it’s not such a bad situation after all. If the Cat pees on your Dome I can imagine she’d be having a few nights outside... Any luck getting her to pee in one place yet? What about the vet check, did it happen?
    Oh, Secret Window is in 4 Past Midnight.. I have the movie, but I haven’t watched it yet. Can’t really imagine Johnny Depp being in a King movie, but I’ll check it out at some point. By the way, what do you think about the book Hearts In Atlantis? I’ve head it’s something about Vietnam veterans, which really wouldn’t float my boat..do u reckon I’d like it? I’ve been hearing good things about Needful Things too..seen the movie/tv thing a long time ago though.
    Ha...what is it with you girls and handbags?! Mind u, i’m more fussy about my backpack these days, but that’s only cos the darn things keep breaking. Like my darn shoes too. I walk loads to work, so within about 1 month the sole is down to 1mm thick. I’ve bought cheap ‘uns, expensive ‘uns none of em ever last! Sigh.
    Aha! It was Jeepers Creepers 1 that I definitely saw..just checked out the trailer on youtube (being a nerd, i had to find out). Ermm..have a feeling I saw the 2nd one too..trailer is familiar..especially that school bus thing!.. But ya, the first one was pretty cool now i remember it :-)
    Oh ya..no one seems to know about the cartoon LOTR. But it’s a bit of a cult thing, it is very good mind. Well i think so ;-) Got proper Brit actors like John Hurt (such a great gravelly voice) doing the voices ;-) It was bloody scary too for kids, let me tell ya. The Ring Wraiths in the live action movies are big girls blouses compared to the ones in the cartoon. ;-) I’d urge you to check it out, but no bugger likes it so i think you won’t ;-)
    Bones is now officially on my ‘to-check-out’ list. Thanks for the Buffy cred too... not cool for me to own them I know, but I bought the first one cheap..and as u know, having one demanded having the other six. Sort of. Well, that’s my excuse anyway and I’m sticking to it. Really don’t know why i have them, can’t do with teenage vampire romancey type stuff. But at least it’s tongue in cheek. :-) Nobody but myself to blame.
    Yes.. a Wii is my xmas gift. Of course, at the weekend I had to test it out – just to make sure it’s working, you understand. So I gave it a good couple of hours testing (can’t be too careful). I may have to test it again this weekend to make sure it’s still working before I put it away for xmas ;-) I’m so bad. I never thought waving a little white stick around could be so much fun!! Ah well, someone’s gotta do it.
    So what’s on your xmas list? Christmas can be so expensive..sigh. Hey, how can santa be at your mall in NZ?? He’s over in our mall here!....Mmm...something fishy there.
    Yeah, our shops have had xmas things in the windows for the last month or more.. I mean, get a grip pur-lease! Julie, give in to it..go with it..it’s the only way. We know it’s wrong, but we can’t change it...so just do what i’ve done and accept it. ;-)
    Now..how’s ur Dome coming along???? Hope you’re well into it already.
    Oh..ur hump day i guess.. well maybe not when u read this. No idea really..it makes my brain hurt when i try work it out.
    Ciao

    posted 2 days ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Oh no, still with Duma Key? Well..that’s ok since Duma is pretty good. Hurry up though! ;-) My reading speed is starting to pick up.. I always start off slow while I’m getting to grips with who is who in new books, especially in Dome because there’s quite a lot of people! But ya, I’ve been struggling to make progress with it even though I’m enjoying it.. am about 200 pages in at the moment, mmm only another 650 to go! ;-) I wonder if it will keep me busy until xmas.. Oh you were annoyed that the Duma daughter died, huh?.. yeah bummer!! It was kind of on the cards though..but ya, major bummer. Actually i don’t remember exactly what happened..didn’t someone come kill her? I think so.. Well, guess you’re really getting nearer the end.. it all kind of speeds up toward the end, but i wasn’t so keen on the end as the beginning :-) Gawd, I am so fussy huh.
    Enjoying Dome quite a lot, hope you can join in the fun soon too! Couldn’t you put Duma Key on your lap in the pub and secretly sneakily read it in between questions?! :-) Oh, I’m a bad influence. How was the quiz anyway??
    Yesterday I got absolutely soaked in the rain.. well mainly my feet. Huhu.. It felt like i was walking along with my feet in 2 goldfish bowls... And i had to sit that way the whole day..well i did slip off the shoes for a while to dry out. Not happy... We have a lovely day of grey today, but tomorrow I hear it’s going to be awful again..sigh.. But I’m smart these days, I’ve wrapped Dome in a plastic bag :-)
    Oh funny you thought we’d have Friday 13th on different days...but it’s not so blonde a moment really, cos we almost do have it on different days, in a weird sort of time zone mind-binding thing. It messes with my head ;-)
    Oh ya..you’re right, Langoliers is in 4 Past Midnight... Night Shift is just monster ones. I haven’t read 4 past midnight..forgot all about that one in fact. But it’s on my shelf somewhere.. and darn, that one is a hardback too i think (Needful things/Sunset are my other hardbacks – dome is the only one i have attempted). My bag hasn’t busted cos of the Dome yet...my bag always used to be busting, so I splashed out and bought an expensive one which has been great..I’ll cry if Dome makes a hole in it... :-) My bag strap (backpack style) always snaps at the most annoying moments, once it broke when i was going up a busy flight of stairs, thereby throw all my stuff down the stairs behind me..another time it snapped when i was running to cross a road..stuff on the busy road that time. Sigh.
    Glad you’re having more luck with the duvet watering. She must have learned it’s being naughty.. see, now she’s doing it on your floor. That’s a good sign, it’s moving towards the right place. ;-) Next it will find the litter tray. You never know, you may grow to like the aroma :-) ... Urine de chat.
    Omg, you’re not sure if Lucy is a boy or a girl? Poor thing, what if it’s a boy and you’re calling him Lucy, he’ll never live that down with his cat buddies. You could call it Luke if it’s a boy. But I guess you’re right.. They seem hard to sex..not that i’ve put much thought into it. Well, be worth giving her/him a bit of a check over anyway i suppose. All good!
    Ermm..not sure what the story of the Jeepers Creepers I saw was, but I don’t remember lots of high school students being in it.. it was a couple i think, sort of in the middle of nowhere, like along a lot of corn fields or something. They kept going into small roadside bars trying to get help but no one believed them...well that’s what i remember anyway.. and the scary thing jumping in front of their car. Is that the one where they drive past someone dumping a body-shaped bag at the start, and he comes after them? Or am i getting my horror movies mixed up..they all kinda merge into one I think ;-) But i do remember it being quite good :-)
    Oh..now you’re being modest Julie.. everyone who paints well says stuff like ‘oh i just dabble’ :-) You don’t have all that paint stuff for nothing u’know.
    Ok..maybe I will give Bones a try then. It slightly put me off having that Angel guy in it, cos he’s more teenage girly type things like buffy..(btw, have all of buffys too..hehe - i’m such a hypocrite)...(also talk crap somethings cos i haven’t watched Angel either). But ok, I’ll give it a whirl when I can.. sounds like it might be ok :-) Will avoid watching it at dinner time though.
    Well done you, with the Cricket.. that’s a run on the board. More than i ever managed...next stop, your first 50. :-) Maybe you’re a bowler really...
    Yes...there was a cartoon LOTR.. that one seems to be a love/hate thing.. most people hate it, i love it ;-) Just has a darker feel to it, not the twee softy Jackson LOTR.. Ermm.only problem is they didn’t have enough money to finish it, so it’s only the first two books.. Hmpff. But boy, it did scare me as a kid that one. I was lucky to catch it really, it’s only cos my mum was a fan..it was on tv and she recorded it on VHS years ago...and it hasn’t been repeated once. Otherwise I’d have missed it too (no bad thing from your point of view though, hehe). Oh, I liked nostalgia stuff too... like I buy all the stuff i loved as a kid, so i have stuff like a Thundercats dvd set, Dogtanian and the 3 Muskerhounds, Monkey magic, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Dungeons and Dragons...lots of stuff I will never really watch ;-) But I love the feeling when i watch those, takes me back even if they are so dated :-) Ok, I admit it again..i am a sad nerd!
    Nooooo he wasn’t taking the piss out of Queen...of course not. Ok maybe a little. Nah..he wasn’t. He just wanted us to clap ok?! ;-) You should do a search for ‘Al Murray Queen’ on you tube..Al Murry is a pub landlord (comedian) who is a real male chauvinist and xenophobe (taking the piss out of the British male really), who thinks Queen are the best..cos it’s real proper pub rock ;-)
    Oh December will fly by.. already bought my gifts, packed em ready..only dad’s awkward never know what to get him ;-) I’m having a Wii for Christmas..nothing quite like a good Wii .. i’m easily amused me. C’mon, we need to get you in the Christmas mood, you cynical bugger you ;-) Ooo..i do like a good Christmas! ;-) Jingle bells, jingle bells..la la la.
    Hump day is behind me now, well into post hump day. Clawing my way to the weekend. Just counting the minutes until lunch time now..
    Have a great weekend there u. Good luck with Lucy/Luke!

    posted 7 days ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey there.. hope you’re well :-) Ya..it’s very much like me to forget what day of the week it is.. I’m always doing stuff like that, goodness knows how I’ve got through life... Thing is, I’m responsible for data backups at work too so I’m always sticking the wrong day’s tape into the computer..and generally getting into states of day-confusedness ..tsk. I’m not even old yet. Poor me. But ya, thinking it’s Wednesday on a Thursday is far far better than thinking it’s Thursday on a Wednesday... much closed to the weekend y’see. 
    It reminds me of one time when I got up ready for work, had breakfast and was about to leave the house at 7.30 when i realised it was in fact Saturday. Doh!! Major doh!...
    Reaaaally sorry for starting Dome..but don’t worry, for some reason I am being super slow... I’ve been reading nearly a week now and I’ve only got about 80 or 90 pages through. I think when I start new books, especially this one, I want to read it slow and absorb everything.
    Plus I’ve had my readings mucked up a lot this week. Friday night was a awful coming home from work. We got halfway home and the train just stopped still for half an hour..then they told us to get off cos somethings blocking the route so we had to wait another 30 minutes for a shuttle bus to the next station (in the cold, and heavy rain [which just started and lasted long enough for the journey, of course])... then jumped back on the train. So I got home 1.5 hrs late. So all in all was on the go for 2.5 hrs. But somehow I only managed to read about 10 pages!! Can’t understand it. I think i must have been listening to the announcements, and also not reading in the rain for fear of getting my lovely new book wet. Oh, but I don’t want to complain because I found out someone had been hit by a train further along the track and killed. And..I also found out it was Friday the 13th!!! Scary..
    Anyway..book is coming along nicely.. enjoying it but it’s not like I thought it would be so far, good though... the review in the Metro newspaper gave it 2 out of 5... grrrrr. But it’s fine so far. They said there’s no supernatural element to it..but i don’t mind at all. The characters are so good, as usual. :-) That’s enough for me! Did you start it yet??? C’mon Julie, I’m reading as slow as I can.. help me out here! :-) Can’t you throw Duma to one side for an ickle while? Go on, you know it makes sense ;-)
    Oh..they shrank the newspapers here to get the train sized...but they still manage to open it to fill both seats!..
    Pleasently surprised by Everything’s Eventual. Looking forward to the rest, when I next need a filler. ;-) Night shift is the one with all the monster-hiding-in-the-cupboard type stories, don’t really appeal to me.. but EE is fab.
    Oh, so you do have a bit of experience with cats..well, it does seem you are making some progress with Lucy.. seems to be settling in. I’m assuming there’s been no more perfumed duvets etc. You must feel a great sense of responsibility... her well being is totally dependent on you..God help her.. (kidding). Oh ya, vet visit..good point. Start saving now ;-) Oh..and a biter too..that would scare me, being a wimp and all. It would be oven glove handling only ;-) Well, just remember the cute things and try to put the sharp or stinky things out of mind. You should buy her a Go Go Hamster (YouTube if they’re not in NZ yet) ..
    I think movies scare me more than books cos a book can’t really make me jump. Books are more creepy style..movies are for the jump-out-of-our-skin factor. I’m too slow a reader to get the jump ;-) Oh..i went to see Jeepers Creepers at the movies (or was it part 2?..and why am i asking you? You won’t know which one I saw will you?) ;-)...It was pretty darn scary as I remember. We watched Drag Me to Hell at Halloween..but i wanted to see 30 days of night cos vampire movies always scare me ;-)
    Ohh.. you’re a wee artist are you?? Good for you. Are you any good? Ok....so you’re a painter...without a brush...and without a canvas. Oookaay. Well, good luck with thaaaat ;-) ...(sounds like some xmas pressy ideas there)
    Ya..can’t help feeling sorry for Bachman. Poor guy...what a waste. What a terrible, senseless waste!!! Huhuhu ;-)
    Ohh, you have the first season of Simpsons?.. Hehe..I have the first 11..oh, yes! How bad am i? :-) Oh..never seen bones though...was tempted though. But i mentally slapped my wrist to stop myself.
    Yeah you’re right, it’s the questions we want in quizzes. That’s why i like millionaire..just cut the crap and give us the questions. Am a bit partial to the weakest link too ;-) Oh..I hear they had that woman from Neighbours on the Aussie version (was her character called Morag or something..that name could only be Australian). Take your point on Deal or No Deal, but I can’t help myself. It’s my dirty secret. I’m weak like that.
    Ohhhhh yaaaa.. we have One vs. One Hundred here too.. like that one too. But it’s part of the lottery program so they keep cutting it half way through to do all the over-done lottery draw, yawn (cut the crap and just give us the numbers!!!..not that I play it – I know I’m too unlucky for anything like that).
    Ha..reward mediocrity/keep the losers coming back!! Hehe..like your thinking. You may just have it there. There just isn’t enough recognition of mediocrity if you ask me... So did you ever win it?? You must have done, surely? Oh Melbourne Cup’s a horse race.. I’ll remember that for the next pub at Xmas. Flemmington, huh? Sounds like where to live if you have a bad chesty cough.
    You got bowled 2nd ball of the innings? Wow.. I dream of lasting that long. Mind you I haven’t played since I was at school. Don’t like the idea of someone throwing a really hard ball at me at speed. Can’t think why. Plus those boxes they wear really don’t seem hygienic.. yak.
    Well, not everyone will like LOTR I guess. I used to love it (the cartoon one)..then I went crazy for the movies, then I got bored. But ya, I have a soft sport for it since I’ve liked it from my kid time. Oh ya..lovely bones should be good (not read it though), and his other one was quite good Heavenly Creatures.
    Well done and cred for getting through the Pearl Jam stuff. That must be a lot of listening. If you listen to stuff enough it’ll usually get stuck in your mind and then you’ll start liking it.. in theory. Queen huh? When I went to the Wilco gig the singer said, ok clap ur hands above your head..pretend you’re at a Queen concert ;-) He said, don’t stop clapping..keep going until you get a shooting, buring pain down your arms :-)
    I kinda like bands that have their tongues firmly in cheek, like the damned though haven’t bothered with them for a while. Anything quirky is good.
    Mmm...Mini-Eggs.. say no more! :-) King of Candy. Sultan of Sweets. I’ve been into the cinder toffee this week too.. ;-) But darn...even manky chocolate is a treat. Yes...you’re right..it’s definitely the thought that counts..that’s why i just think about giving gifts, and then not bother. ;-))
    C’mon Julie...you know a month to Christmas is no time at all... you have to get into action Now!!.. Those shops will be CRAZY soon. I can’t stand it. I love my internet and my credit card..do all my shopping without bum leaving chair. :-) Or i just think about it at least ;-)
    ERmmm..just read the last lines of your post.. and no, my train didn’t go fast...(see above)...so I didn’t get far into Dome. And yes...do please stop washing dishes...cooking food...eating.....making the bed...tidying...caring for Lucy....drop everything and Grab Your Dome Now!!! Sorry that did sound slightly rude, but you know what I meant.. Now get reading please, I’m sure you’ll can catch me up. I feel so guilty reading it alone.
    Anyway..hope you’re well and wish u a good week ahead. Tata!

    posted 10 days ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Oh..just realised I lied - it's not hump day at all..it's Thursday!! Darn..what am i like?! :-S
    Least that means only 1 more day to go :-)

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey there.. great...we are both Domers now – I was wondering if you’d cracked too :-) Mine finally arrived yesterday too (yey!!), same day as you got yours. Though I must admit I did pop into my local bookshop to have a sneak preview of it on the 10th... y’know, to hold it in my eager paws and check out the size etc (one of the main shops didn’t have any...scandalous!!). Unfortunately it is rather huge.. bigger than my just after sunset, buuuuuut..it does fit in my bag just about (ok I have to leave my lunch box at home ..not really).. It’s a tight fit and a real bugger to read on the train.. I read the first 15 or so pages this morning.. gawd, it’s a real challenge getting it in and out of my bag. Hope I didn’t elbow they guy sitting next to me too much. Either my book or my bag is gonna be in a sorry state by the time I’ve read it....
    And what about you!! You Jammy Little Bugger you... how did you manage to get the paperback??! You’re a lucky wee thing.. I am so jealous!! I’d love that one. Anyway, from what little I’ve read it seems a good book, and straight into the action. I’m a little disturbed by the huge list of characters at the front of the book, though.. I can never keep track of so many people. Well, hope that list helps. There’s a little map too..
    Ya..it’s great know that I have 1 or 2 hours to set aside for reading on weekdays.. I hate not knowing when I’ll be able to read the next bit. Just like the last few days, I’ve had Everything’s Eventual with me and just picked the stories that were short enough to know I could read before Dome came (by the way, Everything’s Eventual – liking it a lot.. don’t usually go for his short stories but these are really good. I read Autopsy Room 4, The Man in the Black Suit (that was great) and one about a man who wants to shoot himself but wants to hide his book of graffiti...but Night Shift didn’t push my buttons at all).
    So Lucy must have oven-proof paws...super kitty. I guess she’ll be quite inquisitive about her new home and owners...and the meat too :-)... It must be quite comical to watch her discovering all the new things. Is it your first kitty? I’m a hamster man myself. Had two but they have a habit of dying after a couple of years..not good. It won’t be long before Lucy is bringing you gifts of dead birds, my old friend’s cat did that a lot. Hope you’ve managed to get her potty trained already.
    Regulators..ya, I enjoyed it. I liked that it linked quite strongly to Desperation..it kinda felt like a sequel, so I’m glad I read them in that order. I don’t tend to get as scared by books, as movies..don’t know why. The only book that really got to me was the Stand..the bit where Nick (the mute one anyway) gets beaten up and it describes his teeth breaking and stuff..ick..i had to stop reading as I felt a little sick :-) But again, great characters in Regulators :-) From the stuff I’ve read about Dome, it’s sounds very Stand-ish. Can’t go wrong there.
    You did hug your book..you did..you did..you did!! ha!! See it’s not just me...you just haven’t noticed it until now... I always get excited about my new stuff..then it usually gets put on the shelf and forgotten about.
    Naughty Lucy..maybe one day she’ll accidentally send me a random note too.
    Ya, it’s weird King hasn’t written a proper autobiography.. I guess he thinks he’s covered it with On Writing and Macabre..if he wrote it, i’d read it.
    You put Lucy outside? In the cold? Awl alone? You evil, evil woman. ;-) I think you can expect a little yellow stain on your bed cover then next time she comes in.....
    I do like Huge Laurie in Blackadder..he’s the best thing in it - and he’s like the stupidest guy but in House he’s the smartest :-) And yup, of course I have all the Blackadder dvds.. But I’ve only watched the first 2 House, but seems fine.. I’d better ruddy like it since I bought 3 series. That’s what I’m like..if I buy the first season of something then I kind of feel compelled to complete the set. Crazy.
    Oh..I don’t like it when they make the rules complicated on quizzes..i only have a small brain so I like them to keep it simple. Darn, that’s what i like about Millionaire and Eggheads..just lots of nice questions. I was a bit of a deal or no deal addict too for a while, but I don’t have time to waste on it anymore :-)
    You get a prize for coming last in a pub quiz??! What’s all that about?! :-) Gawd, I don’t even know what the Melbourne Cup is..I’d have no chance. Probably another sport the Aussies are dominating.... But we won the Ashes this year!! Yippee. I won’t gloat though as we’ll no doubt get our asses kicked next time anyway.
    Oh.. I didn’t know u share our events there too. Fair enough. Just thought you guys would do your own thing..much better. I’m sure NZ must have some more interesting things to get up to. National Lord of the Rings Day or something – ya i guess u must get fed up with the LOTR thing ;-))
    I like fireworks night, but i don’t do anything on it.. i like the smell of all the fireworks..ya I told you I’m strange. We singed our tree last time with a rocket..it was glowing for several minutes.. then we had a fountain one escape and flying itself all over the garden.
    I think I missed the whole pearl jam thing so I can’t comment on their stuff, but sounds like you’re being put through a bit of a pearl jam crash course.. well it’ll be worth it, at least you’ll know what they are singing. I used to like depressing stuff, then i liked fast jolly stuff... so in the end I’ve settled on the Wilco style sad/jolly mix :-)
    You didn’t get chocs from your Gran?? You poor child!.. I got chocolate mini-eggs my fave each time she went to the market, and my other gran gave me 50p each time i went. But ya, the choc was a bit manky i have to admit..coming from the street market and all. And she wasn’t the cleanest (sorry gran!).
    Ya..i wasn’t on the official interview panel.. i did the pre-interview interview if that makes sense..just asking techie questions find out what they knew, and give them a test. I hate doing it really, I’m not ur sort of confident person and I don’t like the responsibility of having some influence over who will get it. U kind of feel guilty if someone’s not gonna get it. Actually the boss offered me that job a while ago, but it’s more work than what I’m doing now and I’m lazy. Don’t mind turning down a pay rise in favour of a simpler life ;-) Ya..so i prepared a list of questions.. They’re quite strict about what u do..i mean u can’t ask different things to different people as it’s not fair... but I get nervous so I end up do that anyway.. but I’m the only one there so nobody really notices ;-)
    Nah..i’ll always be stuck with the poo jobs. But I’m getting better at them :-) I’m planning to see A Christmas Carol in big screen 3D some weekend soon, not sure when.. get me in the xmas spirit.. even though it’s only mid-November.
    Well.. I’m not even half-way through my hump day..hmpff. Still another half of the week to go. But at least it’s lunch time in 10 minutes :-) Every cloud........
    4 or 5 more hours and I can open Under Dome again..yey. Give another person a black eye when I try manouver the darn thing into a readable position... Oh and please accept my humble apologies that I haven’t waited for u to finish Duma Key before starting Dome, but I’m sure you can understand my excitement..and how hard it would have been for me to wait. It was calling out to me...“Read me...read me...” :-)

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hello there..and congratulations are in order – you’ve become a proud mummy!! Hope the little ‘un is ok.. Have you named her yet? Be careful..once you’ve given her a name you won’t have the heart to get rid anymore ;-) Once it stops being an it, then it’s part of the family..pee or no pee. Glad it’s worked out, and I hope she settles in ok and works out where the kitty toilet is soon. I’m sure you’re not happy with having an off-yellow and fragrant duvet... Oh..I’ve just read on..you have named her. Hi Lucy! :-) But don’t let those eyes let her get away with anything... :-) And tell her not to worry, cos I’m also scared of my reflection :-) Mind you, the vacuum scares me too..but that’s cos I’m lazy ;-)
    Tomoorrrrrrooooow.......it...is........Under.....The.....Dome...... Yey!!! But also “grrrrrrr”..cos Amazon aren’t gonna put it in the post until the 11th – that’s just plain evil. That means I won’t get it until about the 16th...huhuhu. Annnd I’m going to finish the Regulators tonight...which means I’m stuck for something to read for the next few days..can’t really start a new book now can I? ...So decided to stick Everything’s Eventual in my bag and have a couple of short ‘uns. See..that’s what I was talking about when I said I liked to leave my short stories for travelling..reading gaps etc... :-)
    But at least I can check out my local book shop tomorrow morning and cancel my Amazon order if it’s cheaper... Ok.. it’s the excitement getting to me...
    Ya..hate the delay in paperback. Our main bookshop in the UK has the paperback date as the 10th too..but i know it’s not. So i wrote, and they said it is..but...it’s Not...grrrr. Ah well...such is life, I’ll be stuck with the hardback. My darn bag is heavy enough already.
    What? You don’t hug your new books and talk gently to them?? ;-) Ok..um...maybe I shouldn’t have said anything ;-)
    Hehe, you already forgot you read Children of the Corn..naughty you... Oh ya, I’m also not interested in the writing thing in On Writing..just the bits about his life. Might be ok. I saw an biography, but i heard it’s crap..just someone trying to make money from his story. Not usually interested in biographies.
    Ohh..fancy pants..you have a smart arty library. ;-) Mine is so small and pokey..even the city centre one is a bit pap.
    Oh..hehe, I have the first 3 series of house on dvd...but i’ve only watched 2 episodes.. That’s what I’m like..i buy stuff on reputation and then i never fancy watching it. Will do eventually I guess, when I’m a bit bored. Seems pretty good. We’d never know House (Hugh Laurie) used played silly daft comedy characters in the UK like in Blackadder.. He’s excellent at playing the typical English twit.
    Millionaire Hotseat ..discuss? J Never heard of it.. sounds intriguing.
    Well seems you did ok at the pub quiz, at least not in the dreaded last position ;-) No, I’m sure you lot are better than u say...go easy on the alcohol next time and you might just win ;-))
    Okay..hapa..haphar...hapaxatos...hapaxanthous. [looking in dictionary now]..ahhhh..having one flowering period only - of course!!. Obvious really ;-)
    Oh you have fireworks on 5th Nov?? I thought it was just us here :-) Cool!.. I’m so tight, i just watch other people’s from our window ;-) Or maybe it was just your neighbours having a cat-scaring party.
    Wilco are growing on me.. funny how a song I hated became one of my favourites after hearing it live. Haven’t heard much Pearl Jam, dunno why..I know I should, sorry. I think my office mate went to see them recently but not sure. These days I can’t be bothered going if I’ve seen them before.. Oh ur nana is 80! So cool. I’d recommend no fireworks at the party though. Hope she has a fab time, and you too of course. I don’t have any nans any more..sniff. No more chocolate treats for me.. :-)
    I’m not having a brill day today..I have to help out interviewing for a new staff member.. hate it. I get more nervous than the interviewees and no idea what to ask them. I only found out about it on Friday.
    ‘Chillax’.. – I like it! :-)))
    Didn’t have such a relaxing weekend..shopping and cooking and cleaning..hmpfff. Well, someone’s gotta do it i suppose.
    Anyway..have a nice start-of-week. Actually I guess you’ll be in pre-hump day today when you read this.
    Enjoy!

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Ya..I’ve been tormented about how and when to buy the Dome. I looked up the paperback and it’s not out until 24th June..argh.. do they really expect me to wait that long?? That’s just not on. Ooo..hardback is out 10th Nov, sooner than I thought! So, I don’t have a choice really.... It’s gonna be a real pain in the bum to cart about with me, but no pain no gain. And I’m gonna have to speed up my Regulators if i wanna finish in time.. When I finally get my new book, I’m gonna hold it inside my arms and hug and stroke it. ;-)
    ....ooo..what if it turns out to be a load rubbish?? ;-) Hehe.
    I’ve only quickly flicked though Just After Sunset, some of the stories sound familiar though.. but I’ve not read any. I guess I can manoeuvre it onto the train if I’m careful..probably will have someone’s eye out with it though.
    Oh, I saw Stephen King Goes to the Movies in the shop...I got all excited for a moment, but then i realised it’s just a compilation of other stories which I already have in other compilations..darn, I thought it was a brand new book! You’ve not head of Children of the Corn? There’s about 7 ‘corny’ horror movies stemming from that one, not seen ‘em though but being a movie buff that’s how I heard about it.. I read it fairy recently – it was in one of his short story books..don’t remember which...hold on a moment I’ll find out for you :-) Don’t go anywhere...
    ....still here? Ok..it’s in Night Shift. I remember it was a good one - I’m not a big fan of his short stories. Worth checking out if it’s in your library :-)
    Well.. i’ll read all my King Koontz books first, and then maybe I’ll experiment with the deeper emotional ones like the one you just got through.. but certainly want to finish King first :-) Ya...there’s so many weirdoes on the trains these days that they wouldn’t notice me crying i guess.
    Nah, I haven’t read On Writing either.. not so interested in the writing tutorial stuff, but I hear it’s a bit of an autobiography too..which would interest me a bit. Just wonder what that book is like. Wasn’t over keen on Danse Macabre, but it was ok (well only read the first 2 chapters when I had nothing to do).
    Well, my dvd habit has switched to books..so now I’ve bought lots of books that will take me ages to get round to reading. Sigh.
    Ya owning them is half the fun.. I know they’re there when I need them. I think with books and movies you have to have a mood for them, so if you don’t own it you have to wait to get it..then your mood goes. So it’s nice to be able to grab them when I’m feeling like that ;-)
    My library is weird..they rebuilt it and added another building on to it..but when I went, it’s actually a fair bit smaller than before. Still can’t grumble I suppose.. love the library database though, never knew they had ‘em.
    Are you still liking Duma Key? For me it went just a little downhill near the end, cos it went all action. Don’t forget to share your recommends, whatever they are.. :-)
    Oh, I love quiz shows too.. even if I’m pants at them. Millionaire (is there a NZ version or d'you watch someone elses?), Weakest Link..you name it. We have one called Eggheads, where they have a team of 5 quiz experts and teams like pub quizzers have to come and try beat them, but they’re so good it hardly ever happens. Gawd, how do they know so much obscure stuff..they know everything about everything!! I’ve only played a pub quiz about once or twice ever, but that doesn’t count either as it’s at our office Xmas parties. I’m always too shy to give the answers when I know them, cos there’s always part of me saying I’ll be wrong and look stupid or something ;-) Well..wish you luck with the pub quiz, though that’s probably too late - you’ve probably already finished it.. Darn time zones. Did ur team Kick Bottom??
    Ya Epidemiology is ok..but thankfully we haven’t needed to research the Plague..gulp. They did a bit on the bird flu and stuff like that. Like modelling how it will spread and stuff. It goes over my head ;-)
    Poor Kitty, you’re not throwing her out on the street are you? Poor thing..no home..no parents...it’s probably cold out there at night too... wild dogs and stuff... maybe it has a wee little tear in it’s cute eyes... (just trying to make your flatmates feel guilty and keep her). Good luck cleaning the duvet though.
    Not sure I’m up to much this weekend.. i fancy a lazy weekend - had a busy week so far. Tonight is Bonfire night here, so out to watch a bonfire and fireworks I suppose.. Tuesday night i went to a rock gig - Wilco (yeah, nobody else has heard of them either) that was really good, and was out for a meal/playing pool on last Sunday.
    It must be virtually your weekend when you read this I think.. hope u have a great one..up to anything fun? Ciao!

    posted 3 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    I’m so bad..I tormented myself for a few hours after posting my note to you, thinking should I order the Dome or wait for the shops, but it was just too much pressure to handle, so I cracked and ordered it online. Oh, I’m so weak... I got my hardback copy of Just After Sunset down from the shelf last night, and thought to myself that I’m never really gonna be able to read it. It barely fits in my bag and I can’t take it on a plane either, a book that size is awful for short stories. I hope Dome isn’t any bigger than that or it will be another one just stuck on the shelf..but at least it’s something I’m ok to take along with me. And it will make my shoulder muscle stronger, all that weight in my bag. Fingers crossed that it’s not huge.
    Well, hope you had a nice time with your folks.. sounds like a fair bit of travelling is involved, but you finished your book – yey.. am proud of you. Seems you enjoyed it very much too, but I just hope you didn’t get any funny looks from people while you were crying on the bus journey home.. I think I’d appreciate the neat ending, haven’t had a neat ending for a while :-) You made it sound so great, but I guess it wouldn’t be my type of book..though I did say I should try all types of books rather than my comfort zone. Besides, I think it may look even worse for me if I were the one crying and bawling on the train ride home..i’d definitely get the funny looks :-) Anyway, nice to know your book was a very satisfying read.
    Ya, The Road The Movie is out soon as far as I know, but I didn’t know there was one until I’d already got an interest to read the book. The movie stars Viggo Mortensen (why does my spell checker recognise his surname?..weird). He’s usually ok so might be worth a look, but won’t go out of my way ;-)
    Nice to know you’ve started Duma Key too..be interesting to see how you like it. I loved the first half where it’s mainly about him coping with what’s happened. Ohh..really, don’t worry about your blonde moment -thinking Duma Key was an actual door key..that’s totally fine compared to my own blonde moment (am also not blonde), which is more unforgivable than yours. I used to think that The Stand referred to an actual Stand..you know, like a stool or something to stand on. Yes, shoot me now. It even put me off reading it for a long time as it sounded boring (I was a kid, ok?!). Well, at least we both ‘fessed up.
    Anyway, hope you continue to enjoy it..I think you will. I’m about 60 or 70 pages into the Regulators.. am enjoying it very much at the moment, feels very much like a King book and lots going on, great characters and dialog. I’m glad I’ve waited to read it as I’ve already forgotten what the characters in Desperation were..I’d have hated it if characters were behaving different in this one, but I can’t remember them from Desperation really. Thank god for my terrible memory.
    By the way, did you ever read 'On Writing'? What did u make of it?
    Oh..talking (more) about the US/UK thing..have you ever noticed in American movies and tv shows, the bad guy is always played by a Brit :-) Yup ironic about the religiously strict Englishman thing.
    Oh..yes, I’m probably very much like your flatmate..I used to spend way too much on DVDs, but these days I’m really such a good boy and rarely buy them (unfortunately, the money has been diverted to books..darn). Lucky for you, you only need 10 as you can delve into your flatmates collection I guess ;-) I’ve watched about 30% of mine.. not good. But I feel nice to know they are all there..kind of like a comfort blanket ;-) Was tempted with Gone with the Wind, but didn’t go for it for some reason..should really try it someday, I haven’t seen it. I’ll try any movie me.
    I’ve always been quite fond of nerds for some reason, two of my favourite characters in the Simpson are the Comic Book Guy and Martin Prince (the teacher’s pet).
    I found out our library has a website where you can find out which books are in, and where to get them.. saves time :-) Thing is, I don’t really know which are the books worth reading..
    Our place is a cancer research unit primarily, so we get funding from the Leukaemia research charity. So we’re charity based in that way, and we (I say ‘we’, I should say ‘they’ cos I’m just the techie nerd guy) research epidemics and other things that I don’t understand ;-)
    Ya..so unfair..very soon you’ll be telling me about all the lovely weather you’re having, while I’ll be looking out of the window to a rain swept grey vista. Hmpff. But 6 months later the boot will be on the other foot haha!..well, probably not actually as it’s winter here all year round.
    Oh..a kitty is making a play to be your new flatmate huh.. well, hope you get to keep it (must admit, not a huge fan of cats here..guess mainly due to the poop levels in my garden). We have a cat who keeps finding his way into our office building.. just wanders in and he’ll be walking up and down the corridors like he owns the place. He seems to hang around the place (which is odd as we’re in the middle of nowhere here). Anyway, seems to be looking good that you can keep it. What are ya gonna call it?
    Have a good one.. Laters!

    posted 3 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Darn... I cracked!! I've put my order in for Under the Dome. :-S

    posted 4 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Oh well done and full marks to you for grabbing those books, especially Duma Key...since you’ve not read that one yet. Excellent. Dice Man is fine too, if a little kinky though I’m sure it’s quite readable and will keep you busy. Duma Key is great, a thumbs up from me and hope you can get into it soon :-) By the way..were they nice sized portable books or did u bring the suitcase? Hope they are petite.
    I finished the road this morning..actually it wasn’t too bad :-) Just the darn grammar etc...the end was sad as I’d read it would be..but it also was uplifting too with a little hope. So, good story, badly written. The movie is out soon too, not that I’m bothered. :-) Have got The Regulators in my bag at the moment, will read a little bit of it tonight on the way home..won’t get far.
    Oh, I always check what I’ve written cos I make loads of mistakes the first time around. You’re too good, Miss Perfect getting it right first time. I check all my stuff.. I’m so daft and muck stuff up easily ;-)
    I love what you said about your brain looking like a sponge.. not the answer I expected at all, took me by surprise and gave me a giggle to suppress in the office. I think it seems we both have picked up a wee bit of Stephen King’s humour.... Did you ever hear the quote he made that went something like “I have the heart of a small child........ I keep it in my desk drawer” :-) My brain is a little leaky. I think I have one that is (and I think I heard this one the Simpsons) one such that if I put something new into it, then something else drops out the other side. I’m very forgetful. I don’t believe you that things don’t stick in yours!! They seem to stick just fine for your exams and stuff..anyway, there’s waaaay too much history for you to remember so I guess it’s normal not to keep it all in there. I’d love a good memory..ah if only. I always kind of though history was something I couldn’t learn as there’s way too much, and I thought it’s all in the past anyway, it’s not going to change anything or benefit me.. but then I take your point that it does explain how things are these days.. I think the most interesting things must be why certain countries don’t get along or whatever, cos when you look into the past you can understand why...like UK and USA seem all high and mighty, but if you look into their past, then they’ve actually done some crappy stuff. But I kind of think get over it, it’s in the past done by other people, can’t change it. I think the past should influence our decisions now, but let’s face it..people don’t learn, do they?! :-) I am interested a little in different cultures and how they think and what they believe cos it does explain why they hold certain values and why they may be offended. I think in this world, you gotta have an open mind really. :-)
    Ya, my nerd level shot through the roof when I head Windows 7 was coming and is good.. Sorry, it’s in my genes. Ya, it’s my job..but that’s no excuse for a little wave of excitement.. :-)
    Oh I guess I’m a nerd about movies cos I keep buying them, anything and everything.. the latest blockbusters, quirky ones or the old silent ones. I used to consume all the little dvd extras too about how they make it and stuff.. I shouldn’t be admitting to this really.. but these days I rarely get chance to watch any. I’m so bad cos I buy them and they end up just sitting on a shelf. But as I say, my nerd level has gone down a lot lately since I don’t do much pc stuff or movies at home these days. But I’ve developed a nerdiness (another new word) about books and like to play on Shelfari and stuff. :-) Oh and I must be a nerd as I don’t know where I’d be without my internet line.
    What are your nerdy habits? I’m quite proud to have befriended fellow nerd.
    Oh everywhere has gang problems these days I think.. here we have ‘hoodies’. Teenage boys who just hang around street corners with their hoods pulled up, smoking and drinking and making a nuisance. I love teenage youth - they think they’re acting so cool, but they look..well, a bit daft really :-) I must be starting to get old or something :) Well, whatever, I’m sure your side is nicer than ours. Don’t see many New Zealanders emigrating over here now do we :-))
    Oh soggy picnic sandwiches...ick awful... reminds me of that national lampoon vacation movie where the dog pees on his picnic sandwich, and he doesn’t realise. Ok, let’s not go there...
    Ya..I’m a fussy eater, couldn’t eat something if a fly sat on it.. I’d be no good with the outdoor way of life. Great way to lose weight though :-)
    Well..at least they have Koontz in your library, so if you get stuck for something you know where to go. I recommended Life Expectancy – still the only one I’ve read. And I heard Velocity is good. Will read more Koontz after the Regulators, and of course I’ll be letting you know if they’re any good :-)) Julie..you need a bigger bag for the books. It’s such a good excuse to get yourself to the fashion shops in the city, methinks.
    Maybe my postman also visits your home...on 24th December night ;-) Very possible. And you’re right, shopping on line – it’s too easy to buy lots of crap we don’t actually need. Am pleading guilty, your honour.
    Ohhh..so cool..your letter box is by the gate! Is it kind of like those American ones, with the little flags? I’d love one of those..don’t know why. But after a while I guess I’d get annoyed having to go there each time to collect it..and wish for my old one back.
    How’s your book going now? Still making the tears come? How far to go?
    You’ll have to keep me up to date with the herbs too.. wonder if it will be a success this time. Keep a close eye on the weather forcast too maybe ;-) Or give them a wee little umbrella to keep their wee little roots from getting a soaking. :-) Maybe a little cocktail umbrella would suffice. Haha, ya.. i can feel the bitterness in your words! ;-)
    I think they stopped the massage for financial reasons, we are kind of a charity after all..well my unit is. Not sure about the rest of the department :-) Maybe they wanted extra cash for putting up with touching all our sweaty bods. I was always too shy to go try it.
    Yup.. you’ll have to splash out and buy the book if we read it together. I *almost* ordered it after I wrote my previous note to you..talking about it must have got me motivated for it...and oh, it’s so easy to just press the “buy now” button on the website.. However, the scrooge inside of me held me back in the hope of a discount on release date ;-) Gosh I am so tight. I should just order it. There’d only be a pound in it either way anyway. Just remember last time Just After Sunset was a wee bit cheaper in the stores as they had a special offer or something. Anyway..let me know if you decide to read it and we can compare notes! We should promise not to spoil the story though ;-)
    Yes...I agree you’ve probably got the best weather..however, it is a nice sunny day today..a bit chilly too. It’s not fair though as you’re heading towards spring/summer, while I’m pointed directly towards winter. Hmpff, not much to look forward to there then.
    Oh ya..we often get those completely weird days too with sun one minute, snow the next, and sun again. It’s just not right is it?!
    Soo..I guess it will be Friday when you read this.. ya must be. So..weekend soon for you..great. But ya, short weeks are so cool. You lucky devil.
    When are the results for the exam out? Hope it’s gone ok.
    Have a great time there, enjoy ur Friday and the weekend too. :-)

    posted 4 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Great..ur exam is done and dusted. Well even though u love your studies, I know u won’t love doing exams..unless you’re a bit...u know, weird or something. And I haven’t ruled that out yet... ;-) But then I’m a bit weird, so if I think you’re weird that probably means you’re fine and normal. Darn, now I’m confusing myself by getting all philosophical. You finished early too.. smarty. I hope you check everything ;-) Well..I’m sure it will have gone just fine. Main thing is it’s over.. maybe get yourself a treat as a reward :-)
    Oh you’re a bigger nerd that me.. that’s good...at least i think so... :-) Yes..nerd is good. 80% really is quite nerdy isn’t it.. I had a higher nerd rating in the past, though I must also admit that my nerd rating score spiked recently when Windows 7 came out.. I know, it’s wrong..but I couldn’t help get just a little bit excited. Though mainly I guess I am quite nerdy about my books and movies :-) Hey they’re my only vices so it’s not too bad really.
    Oo..you’re quite the smarty really, and hungry for more. You must have a brain like a sponge :-) Well, good for you, and I hope you get on and nail that masters too :-) Seems you love your history and the plague stuff.. I guess reading history is a little bit like reading a novel, as all the stories play out just like that..and lots of stuff in the past feels like it came out of a novel. I have to admit to you, history wasn’t one of my favourite topics at school or now..there’s too much of it to remember. I’m more into science stuff..i love knowing how stuff works. Yeah, the astronomy modules were a really nice suprise..took them cos I heard it was easy. But it was very interesting and it turned out to be my favourite module I think. It was mainly about how the universe was formed, how planets were formed and about the universe and stars in general :-) Just lots of interesting facts, like sometimes people see 2 stars in the sky, but it’s really just one because the light is bent around the gravity of something in between :-) I just think the universe is so mind-boggling big and we’ll probably never understand it. Ooopps...Alert...Alert - Nerd levels rising!!.. Must..control..myself... Also my other small vice is that I like looking at nice starry nights and wondering what’s up there (not in the UFO sort of way, just like how many stars and how big it is)... My level is up to about 65% now.
    Oh you get the crap weather there too.. I really thought it was just over here! Feel much better now.. I had heard that NZ was quite similar to the UK in weather and culture stuff. No idea if it’s true though. But I’m pretty sure the people must be nicer and friendlier. Was it there that people used to leave their doors unlocked and stuff?? Dunno :-S
    Oh i didn’t used to mind picnics too much...but mainly i didn’t like the fact that insects would come sit on my food..then i wouldn’t touch it. I’m so fussy! But maybe you hated it as you did it so often. Picnic overkill.
    Ya i have a fair old mix of book covers now..looks ok though. But it’s fullll. They’re starting to get put on top of the book case now, and squeezed into places they really shouldn’t be squeezed. And i have a pile of about 10 new Koontz books that I have no idea where to put. I can’t bear to think it, but I may need to pass some on when i’ve finished... must find a way. Maybe that book case sized alcove in my room will need doing soon.
    Cycle of the Werewolf was about £10 new...too much for a tiny novel. Second hand it’s about 4 or 5. I’m aiming for 2 or 3...cos I’m tight, hehe. Nah, if it wasn’t a little tiddler then I might consider a bit more. :-) Never seen it in the bookshop also.
    Oh you don’t shop online? Shame on you..hehe. I’ve saved a fortune online..everythings about half price. Sometimes when I’m in the shop and i see someone buying something that I just know is at least half price online, I just wanna say don’t do thaaaaat.. put it back and get it online :-) But ya, I can understand why people don’t do it. Plus it’s nice to see what you’re getting before you buy it.
    Oh, I’m sure it’s not a ghost pinching the mail. Curiously it’s only the nice dvd shaped boxes that go missing, not the small ones.. and c’mon, how hard it is to loose something that size? They manage ok with the letters..never had a letter missing ;-) They even arrive with the packed opened sometimes, like they’ve had a look and don’t fancy it. It’s not our delivery guy though - he’s really nice. But it’s not cos he has a crush on me, like your place, though....he’s a 60yr old with a big white beard – a real santa look alike (he even wears the Royal Mail red colour...it’s like Christmas every day for me, santa dropping things off to me each day! So exciting). Oh, that’s another reason to order online – it’s just like you’re getting a pressie :-)
    Ya..The Road book a lot better..but still shoddy work really. I bought it cos it was compared with the Stand. I’ll finish it tomorrow I think.. that says a lot about it doesn’t it..that I’ll finish it quicker that that kids book ;-) I hear it will have a sad ending. Let’s see.
    Hmm ya I don’t wanna kill bugs really..just kinda feel if I were the bug I wouldn’t really want to be squashed and be prematurely expired. Can’t be very nice..being squashed, can it?!... But hey..if it doesn’t want to be squashed then it shouldn’t run around my bedroom! It has all the outside to play with after all. And I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I knew it were there.
    Well, again...i have to admit, I’m with your male flatmates on this one. I won’t go near the bugs if I don’t have to. I guess us modern males are all the same really. I’m also not good at all the manly things, I probably couldn’t change a fuse, wire a plug, build a shelf, etc etc. We’re a bit useless really aren’t we. Well, you already know that I’m sure. Dammit, I don’t even watch football and drink beer...I’m a joke of a man!! ;-)
    Oh no..you have a friend with a fantastic garden? Well think of it as healthy competition, maybe it will spur you on to great things. Ya you’re right..it’s probably that you haven’t had chance to have a real good go at it :-) Have you tried talking to your herbs, giving them encouragement and attention? ;-) Hehe. Well, hope the weather comes good for you.
    Well at least you owned up to the fooseball table.. you must have had a guilty conscious about all the great things you have. Ok..I believe you that there’s no more fun things. But i must admit, since you confessed, in my office they used to give us free massage sessions so I can’t hardly moan about your luxuries. It’s stopped now..and I was too shy to go along anyway so I never benefited :-)
    Ya, you’ll miss your cash when you’re back to being a student.. I guess that’s the hardest part. But, being a student is not such a bad life really :-) Especially if you like baked beans.
    Only 2 weeks until the Dome??? That was going to be my xmas gift to myself...but I guess I can’t wait for xmas. Oh decisions decisions... Maybe we should buy it when it’s out and read it at the same time :) Though I guess all the other King fans will be reading it then too :-)
    Yup, you’re quite right..I’m writing this at the hump of my hump day. And yes, you’re spot on..I’m working today too.. Going fine thanks.
    Strangely today is nice and sunny so I won’t get soaked. That’s British weather for you..no idea how it will be one day to the next.
    Well done again for completing your exam - you brainy wee thing you..And wishing you a good..erm..Thursday. :-)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Lucky you..some sunshine on the long weekend, that’s great. In my place, if it’s a long weekend then there is a legal requirement that it Must rain. Actually I’m quite naughty because I prefer it to rain at the weekend..at least I can stay in the home then..if it rains in the weekdays then it means I’ll get soaked on my walk to work (like this morning)..not good. From what you’ve been saying it seems like you lot over there suffer with the rain almost as much as we do! Rainytime – if that’s not a world, then it darn well should be!
    An exam on the Plague huh? Sounds interesting. I think I had noticed you had a book about the plague on your shelf before..that explains it. :-) I didn’t know you studied at uni and held down a job too. :) That must be quite tough sometimes, but it seems like you enjoy what you study. What the course? History or something? I did Computer Science of course, but I’m only about 10-15% nerd. I was more nerdy in the past, but now I get bored of it with doing it at work all day. In the second year I did a couple of modules in Astronomy – I took it only and only because I heard the exams were all multiple choice so I thought..that’s for me! :-) Turned out to be pretty interesting though :-) Some of the IT modules I had to do were intensely boring, and it didn’t help that one of the lecturers had the most monotonous voices I’ve ever heard, and his overhead projections were just solid block text that we all had to copy down.
    But ya, it’s really interesting to hear the topic of your exam..not what i expected you to say at all :-)) Are you studying for fun, or are you looking for something career wise? :-) Well, nice to have a smarty-pants friend. What else do you do in your course?
    Oh ya, I know what you mean about what parents do for us when we’re students and when we work. These days, my dad doesn’t part with a penny for me..if I owe him money then he makes me pay back to the exact penny, whereas if he owes me I’m saying just give whatever you want. :-) I don’t think he’s treat me to anything since I worked... :-) But then I guess it’s only fair..they have spent a fortune on us over the years when we are ickle ones, haven’t they? But I usually use the old reliable “but i didn’t ask to be born” excuse for that ;-)
    Ya..there’s so many covers. I try to keep that cover style for the Dead Zone, it’s the one i have most of..but I buy a lot second-hand, so some have really old covers..so it’s a real mish-mash..nothing matches at all :-)
    Oh you found Colorado Kid today, at a bargain price? Gosh..you are Good!! I’m proud of you. I love a good bargain too, I do. Maybe cos now we’re not official student, we know we’re spending our own money..so we try a little harder to save.
    I never knew about Colorado Kid until recently.. but I just ordered it from Amazon quite cheap :-) I’ll do the same with Cycle of the Werewolf – oh I might do it now actually or i’ll forget. Darn postage strikes. Sometimes the postage people steal my stuff too..not so often though. Ok..I just checked and it’s too expensive at the moment..it’s only 128 pages so don’t wanna pay so much...gosh I’m so tight. ;-)
    Yup, I finish that kids book quite quickly. The twist thing at the end was great even though I didn’t find out whodunit. There is a third book, ya..called The Eyeball Collector :-) Again, it’s a totally different story in the same world..but after reading the 2nd, I’m sure there must be another link from it. I’ll definitely want it at some point ;-)
    My new book is “The Road” by Cormac McArthy. Already about 120 pages in. It’s about a father and son surviving a wiped out America. I will stick with it all the way..it was a bit dull, and I’d read that it’s like that throughout..but it’s picked up a bit. There’s bad groups of people now wandering around looking for food etc..and they also found a house with people locked in the cellar – presumably stored there as food for the bad folk. So, getting better. I know it will be a depressing read...but it’s only about 280 pages. It’s really annoying that it’s won the Pulitzler Prize, and is plastered with praise quotes.. because it has crap grammar, and it’s so short. It has paragraphs of about 2 or 3 sentences, each separated by about 3 blank lines – talk about padding. It would put me off reading any more prize winning books..but i hope not, cos there must be some good ones that win. But ya, it’s terrible without the “ “ marks. And he writes each line of dialog on a new line...more padding. Or the dialog is mixed with the narrative so you can’t tell which is dialog and which isn’t. Well it is obvious of course, but just put quotes there please :-) Ya, I think you’re right – it’s trying to be all arty maybe. But it’s fine really.. maybe I’d have like it better if I hadn’t know it was a prize winner :-) Then the stuff wouldn’t irritate me :-)
    Ya..there’s a Desperation dvd.. it’s got Ron Pearlman in (the guy who played Hellboy). Think he suits the Sheriff role quite well..but I haven’t seen it yet, just a little snippet. Well, I’ll read Regulators next (guess I’ll finish The Road this week, what with all the padding it has), if not it’ll be one of my Dean Koontz ones :-)
    Yeah..hope I can find some books at the Library..they had a lot of King books, paperback too..but i have them all..grrr. The Dean Koontz books were HUGE. So disappointing. Ah well. But I found out I can take up to 20 books at a time!! Gawd..who’d want to read 20 books.
    Oh, hope you find something nice when you go there tomorrow! :-) Let me know if you do :-)
    Nice to know you got a bit further with your book (naughty, you should be revising for the exam hehe). I think it’s great that it has 2 storylines in the book..that would keep my interest definitely. And one of them is happy, so must be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster..keep your tissues handy. But it must be a good book if it can really touch u, so that’s a good sign. No need to rush, just enjoy it.
    Am Not a fan of creepies at all.. I have been known to scream like a girl at the sight of a spider. No good at dealing with them. I don’t like to squash them cos I kind of feel guilty, like they have a right to have a life too..who am i to squish them just cos they make me nervous :-) Maybe they have a little spider wife, and little spider kids. But I can’t be happy until I know it’s not there anymore, so unfortunately squishing has to occur. But they always seem to avoid the tissue somehow, and run up my arm or straight at me. Ick. I used to go for the cup and sheet of paper method of disposal :-)
    I’m sure you’re being modest about your gardening skills. They must be better than mine at least. Practice makes perfect, so maybe next time you’ll have a big selection of home grown herbs to choose from. Gotta stay positive :-)
    Ya I confessed to the wrong cime..argh. The thing is, that’s exactly the type of thing I’d do. I’m a bit forgetful and easily distracted so I’ve done stuff like that before.. at least it sounds like you did something as bad with the door..Thankfully we both didn’t do any harm :-)
    Ooo..a fooseball table too..you have everything there. Every time we talk you keep mentioning another luxury in your office. Is that them all now? You sure there’s no sauna or something too?
    Ya I guess it’s best to live in a place that keeps you on your toes constantly..can get a bit boring here. You have an earthquake simulator there?? How cool is that?! Me wants, me wants.
    Oh you work in insurance..now I understand the joy of meetings...and the need for entertainment stuff in your break time ;-) joke ;-) Nah I’m sure it’s fineeeee.
    Haha..”sorta pubs”, ya...like it.. they have those in America...called Bars. Namby-pamby bars...not yer “Proper British Pub” :-) With Proper Pub-Grub. You should check out “Al Murray” on YouTube for a funny view of British Pubs and attitudes. Actually I’m not much of a drinker myself :-) Ya, I can’t see the point of going to a pub for a natter..cos you can’t hear a word of what they’re saying :-)
    Well enjoy your evening off... maybe you’ve already had it, I can’t follow this time thing. You’ll probably be doing your exam around now..maybe..possibly. If so..very best of luck to you, and I hope everything goes to plan :-)
    What’s only 2 weeks tomorrow?? :-) Have I missed something? ..I can be slow sometimes u know :-)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey there.. how are you? How’s ur weeknd..hope u had a nice time.
    Ya, I guess 20 is not so many books to go...and I seem to read faster these days now that I’m doing it regularly. But I am reading a few other random books in between each King book, so may still take a little more time. Ya..pink of all colours for the Dead Zone. Who’d have thought it. I guess it’s cos each book in that cover series has a different colour mainly, so eventually they had to go for the flowery pink ;-) The cover is on my shelf if u wanna have a peep. It’s ok but am a bit shy to read it in public ;-) I’m getting tempted to read my copy of Cell again with all this talk of it..i think I may have misjudged it :-) I’d like to read the Stand again...but not anytime soon i think.
    Yeah..why make Duma Key just a bit bigger than the others..hmpff.
    I finished The Bone Magician on Friday :-)) Took me 4 days i think, but it’s not long..about 250 pages, and well spaced if u see what i mean ;-) I really enjoyed this one. I think you would too, it’s kind of Harry-Potterish in a way. Sort of. It’s kind of a sequel to the Black Book of Secrets that I told you about, but it’s events run in parallel and are almost entirely unrelated, except for the odd character name cropping up. But what I loved is that right at the very last page it revealed a strong link with the previous book (when I’d thought it was a separate story all the way though), and set me up wanting to know more! Though unfortunately it didn’t solve the murder mystery part of the book. Anyway, it was really good and had a great atmosphere to it.... Now I’ve moved onto “The Road” about a man and his son trying to survive in a wiped out America.. it’s so-so so far (3 ‘so’ in a row there, wow!). I can see it being quite boring as it’s just 2 characters in a grey environment. But hey-ho give it a go. It’s won a Pulitzer prize apparently, but it annoys me a little because inside they don’t use any quotation marks for the dialog, it’s just merged right on in there with the text – even don’t was written dont..and it won a prize for literature?!. Some people would say it’s a raw style or something..but I’d say it’s pretentious bull-poo ;-). And it’s plastered with praise all over the cover and inside for a few pages.. gimme a break. :-) Seems ok so far though. Nothing special..
    Ya Desperation was pretty scary, but I did really enjoy it. There’s a movie thing too, would quite like to see it. Ahhh..i just knew you’d have read it twice...you big show-off you!! ;-) Hehe. Ok...then I think I might may The Regulators my next King books (though I may sneak a Koontz book in first). Talking of Koontz, I decided to join my local library to save on buying books..and they had lots of Koontz to try..but..guess what? Ya..they were HUGE hard backs. So big! I’d need to take another bag just to carry the thing. Needless to say i didn’t borrow it. :-)
    Well..we did have a wasp nest in our front garden, but it’s gone this year.. I think it’s cos there is a sort of climbing plant on the fence in our back yard and they seem to love flying around that..can’t find a nest though. But I guess I’m just a beacon for wasps. A few years ago, when I slept at night i could hear a throbbing pulsing hum sound from the corner of my bedroom. Never could work out what it was, until one day we found some wasps flying into a hole in on my house’s wall just near my room. Must have had a huge wasp nest under my floor... lovely!.. But we blocked up the hole, put some wasp killing stuff in and that sorted it out. I’m terrified of creepy crawlies. :)
    How is it for our 8-legged friends etc. in New Zealand?
    Well, hope your herbs are more successful this year after you murdered them the previous ;-) Just need keep an eye on them i guess...no idea really, I’ve never attempted it :-) I’d have thought you’d have had more success what with your garden loving nature.
    I definitely won’t be trying sweet corn again..it was nice, but the most expensive sweet corn ever..there was only 2 worth eating really :-) The tomato plan in the back yard had more success though :-)
    Oh ya.. Under the Dome is closer than I thought.. just 17 days huh? Me likes!. Haha ya, agree with you - bugger the paperbacks..it’s a must have methinks.
    Ha, ya..the office fire safe missing key incident of mine that I told you about...you know, later it occurred to me that the last time we needed to get anything from the safe was the day I was off work on vacation...soooo...that means my other boss Must have done it, not me (for a change)...darn, and I owned up to it too. But now I can hardly go back to the head and blame my line manager can I?! :-) That would go down Reeeally well wouldn’t it.... ;-) Ah well, such is life :-) But it’s ok, I didn’t get grief for it..we’re at a Uni so it’s quite laid back 
    My god.....now you’re telling me you have a PLAYSTATION at your office too!!... You’ve never seen anyone playing it?? Is that because they’re busy playing on the office pool table, or swimming in your indoor heated swimming pool? ;-) You’re living the life of luxury there!
    If i want entertainment like that, the best I can do is make a paper airplane... :-)
    What’s the exam you’re taking?? Whatever it is, wish you the best of luck! Let me know how you get on.
    Ohh..you started Dark Tower a long time ago then, before they were all out... that’s quite interesting. When I read it, they were all already out. I think I’ve only discovered King, and reading, for the past 2 or 3 years. Must have been awful having to wait. I did them back to back. When did you read that then? The first one i mean.
    Oh, we’re starting to get like France here in the UK, more and more strikes.. worse that the postman, our bin men are also on strike. We’ve had stinky full bins for ages. They emptied it recently but i think it’s still going on. Not too bother about the postal thing, but I do order my books online mostly so that’s been the only thing...haven’t ordered any. They’re a bit daft really, cos people are just using other services which are better anyway..so they’ll probably all do themselves out of a job. Doh! We only tend to get pizza take out shop adverts delivered anyway, so it’s quite nice to have the strike ;-)
    Well..don’t worry if your book is taking longer with you being busy.. you can savour it for longer, right :-) I kinda like waiting to know what happens. Naughty, you’re only 100 pages in..i expected better from u ;-) Hehe.
    Oh you’re getting some padded cycling shorts....as long as you’re not a ‘cyclist’ in your own mind..then that’s all that matters ;-) But ya, if your bum hurts then you do really need the padded shorts..that doesn’t count as cycle snobbery ;-) That’s just good sense. Actually I’d probably cycle to the office if I had a sense of balance... sometimes we have to be practical. When I was at university I never considered myself to be ‘a student’.. we can do stuff and in our own minds, we not part of that ‘group’ :-)
    Ohhh, you have volcanoes there too...how cool are you!? Ah come on, living on a fault line...talk about living on the edge!! You must have been scared to sneeze! Well here we’ve got...well..we’ve got.....erm, a slightly cold north easterly breeze bringing the odd shower. How exciting is that?!
    Anyway...which crazy person thought a fault line would be a good place to run a motorway along? :P
    I didn’t mention hump day to my workmates..i think that would mean something quite different here.. But ya it went ok as i remember. So what is it you do over there in your fancy office come entertainment centre that’s so interesting? :-) Maybe your meetings are more exciting that mine. Mine are usually all medical things which I have no clue about, being one of the IT guys.
    Glad you had a nice Friday, escaping the office early and then nipping to the pub (hey, you have proper pubs there!!).
    Well, best of luck for the exam!! Take care and have a great day.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • bluenun21

    bluenun21 says

    I know, it's a problem, so many books, not enough time! If you do end up reading "I Know This Much is True," please leave me a note letting me know your review of it, if you can. I couldn't put it down when I read it years ago, I stayed up all night to finish the end even though I had to work the next day. I am currently part of a book club, I'm hoping to read it again with them some time next year, as we already have the next 5 months or so filled up with selections.

    I live in the U.S. (New Jersey), but if I lived closer, I'd lend you my copy! Happy reading, whatever you choose. :)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • bluenun21

    bluenun21 says

    You asked whether or not you should read "I Know This Much is True" and I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Thanksss..that’s another King book ticked off my list! Only another 20 or so to go, hehe. It rained again yesterday, i thought it was gonna soak my next new book too, thankfully not. I think the reason I thought Dead Zone was a bit slow starting was because of Duma Key, which had a similar long drawn out slow start..but that one hooked me and the slow start was so well written it dragged me in. But ya, I take your point that it needed to set up his character..still it was great as usual, he can’t ever disappoint me really. Oh one thing I noticed on my copy of Dead Zone.. on the back cover of the book it said he woke from his coma to find his fiancé had married someone else – but he and Sarah never actually got engaged.. I was waiting all from the start for him to pop the question, and it never happened. Doh! Not that it’s important or anything.. My copy comes in a lovely pink cover :-)
    Oh, you had a hardback-sized paperback of the Cell? Can’t imagine how that one must have looked!.. but ya, sounds perfect for folk like us... good thing about hardbacks is that they don’t get all crushed and mucky in my bag!. Oh..talking of book sizes..he released Duma Key sized 1 inch bigger than all the other books in that particular cover style...sticks out like a sore thumb on my book shelf..hmpf.
    Yup, stated the Bone Magician kids book last night..50 pages in and it’s pretty good, though simple of course. It’s a kid working in a funeral house..his jobs to sit with the dead bodies to..well..make sure they’re dead before they get buried (it’s set in a sort of fantasy past). And his boss invents machines to poke and prod the corpses to check their..erm..alive/dead status. :-) So one day he wakes up and there’s someone doing magic to bring the body back to life for a moment to talk to a relative to say sorry or whatever. I think it’s kind of a murder mystery too.. it’s not exactly War and Peace, but it’s a nice change :-)
    I fancy the Regulators – the only reason I haven’t read it is because it has the sort of same characters as Desperation so I want to read it a while later otherwise it might be too boring to read something similar. But I very much enjoyed Desperation. :-)
    Oh ya, you’re in Spring now.. we’re Autum..gettin’ cold these days. Ya, it’s nice to get out in the garden get some fresh air.. just hate it when wasps always come chasing me. I think I’m quite attractive to wasps somehow. :-) A herb garden sounds a great idea... can’t beat fresh stuff can you. Will you use it in your cooking? I guess so otherwise a bit pointless :-) The sweetcorn was a bit of a disaster, but the ones that came out were much sweeter and nicer than bought ones. The other failed ones looked like mutants..not a pretty site. And the good one had a earwig living in it..yak. Well..really hope you try your herb garden out.. best of luck with it!! :-)
    Oh your horoscope is right about the computers..because we should Always be careful with about computers..they’ll wipe our work the first chance they get ;-) I’m not sure if King’s done any computer-takes-over-the-world type novel yet.. Seems your horoscope was out by 1 day though, cos it was yesterday it buggered up for you...
    I made a major boob at work this morning..i must have left the key in the fire safe keyhole for about a month, meaning anyone could just come open it and get at any of our (medical) data backup tapes..oooops. Seems ok though..and so I smiled and rather self-consciously apologised to the boss... :-S Gawd, I’m my own worst enemy sometimes.
    You have a TV at work?? At work??? :-) My goodness...you lazy sods! Hehe. You sit around watching soaps all day...great job!!! ;-)
    I did quite enjoy the 5th Potter movie – didn’t compare it to the books as I can’t really remember what happened anyway.. don’t worry, that awful teacher isn’t in this one :-) I’m sure you’ll see it some day - it does seems kind of compulsory these days.
    Ok great..looking forward to your Freaks review :-) Looks a bit weird (youtube)
    I can’t believe you re-read books the moment you finish them...you’re weird! ;-) No, but I can understand it..when a book is amazing we don’t want it to end at all..I had that feeling with the Stand.. I wanted more more more even though it was a brick of a book. But ya..you’re so funny you read it again straight away!! :-) So you’re not weird for not wanting them to end...or if you are, that makes me weird too. Ok..let’s own up, we are both weird.
    Oh I loved Insomnia too..that was a good one. Great idea for a book.. I liked it that the hero was quite old too..nice change and done very well. I’d love to re-read the dark-tower..but it ain’t gonna happen, I’m not spending months on one story again :-)
    Thanks for the (fast) reminder about Katherine Mansfield, actually i found it on Amazon..her collected short stored, and reasonable too... but gonna wait as there’s a postal strike on, plus too many other things to get through first. But ya..do keep reminding me and I will check her out :-) Julie I think you should be given an award by your government for your tireless work in promoting New Zealand culture! ;-)
    Good to hear your enjoying the Memory Keepers Daughter..if crying and bawling can be classed as enjoying :-) In my opinion, if a book makes you cry..then it’s means it’s a very well written book, because it was able to touch you. I do like a good sad story, but not too many as it can get depressing, and life’s depressing enough without all that :-) I’m all for escapism..but ya, the characters have to make you care for them :-) Enjoy the rest of it!!
    You fell of a stationary bike..I can buy that as it’s the type of thing I would do too. I could fall over just looking at one, I’m that bad.
    Bike lovers are a breed of their own.. :) It’s that they take it all so seriously i think..and they’ve got to have all the lastest stuff...it’s just a bike..please! Get on it..ride it A to B..done :-) But I guess I they probably snigger at us for our strange hobbies too. Nearly got run over again this morning.. they think if there’s a 1cm gap then they have full right to go through it no matter what... god forbid if they have to stop and wait or something.
    Ok..stopping my bicycle rant here.... deep breath.....relax....and continue :)
    Oh...earthquakes would send me into a blind panic i think.. we had a tiny small one here, but I thought it was the end of the world! ;-) Ya I’m a big girls blouse I know. Don’t envy that. I guess you must have them quite often. Maybe we can move New Zealand a wee bit to the left or something to get out of the zone :-)
    It’s my first hump day ever today..since i didn’t know what it was before :-)) Going ok... Hey you like meetings?? Get out of working (watching that tv).. I’m not really with you on that one, can’t stand meetings. And my belly always seems to pick that moment to rumble!! So embarrassing.
    Well I hope you’re Thursday goes better than you’re expecting. I like Thursdays, cos it’s near Friday..which is near Saturday. :-) Well anyway.. how have you been?? Well I hope. Have a good Friday..or whatever it is when you read this, I’m not even going to try guess what day it is there.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey Julie..Hope you're well. Decided to reply straight away, since I was going to send you a short note anyway to let you know that I’ve finished the Dead Zone this morning on the train. Ya I should have stayed up reading it last night but I very rarely read when I’m at home.. this morning I was just going to read a handful of pages and then shut my eyes – on a morning I like to have a little nap since I have to get up quite early so usually i’ll just read a small amount and then rest for the last half hour. Anyway..this morning I read for the whole journey cos I was keen to finish.
    I did enjoy it in the end. Second half definitely went up a gear, and was great. Maybe if the first half was trimmed a bit then it would have been perfect. Actually I found the ending was really good, I didn’t think it would happen quite like that but I guessed it as soon as the bad guy held up the baby to protect himself. Ah well. And I kinda found the relationship with him and Sarah, his pre-coma girlfriend, really quite sad. I can be a little sappy sometime :-) So that was my favourite element of this book. I gave it a 4 star on Shelfari, cos of the slow start ;-) Enjoyed it though. Next I’m starting on the Bone Magician which I told you about before, give it an hour worth of reading tonight on the train. Not sure which King book I’ll start next.. I think actually i might try my second Koontz book after the Bone Magician. For King..maybe the Dark Half, Rose Madder or the Regulators. Decisions, decisions. I’m useless at them. :-)
    Glad to hear you had a nice weekend.. i bet you did a rain dance so that you could get out of doing more weeding..I know I would. I dug up a load of bushes and horrible shrub things our of our garden the other week. Not a big fan of gardening, I usually just do the lawn. Like sitting in the garden but I hate bugs and spiders etc so I don’t do it so often..guess I’m not built for nature. Grew some sweetcorn too, but it’s wasn’t such a success - had 1 almost full cob out of about 8 plants.. I’m with you on weeding though, so boring and they only grow back.
    Oh, and some cat keeps pooing on the lawn..grrrrr.
    Darn internet pages always seem to change when we’re in the middle of typing stuff..that’s why i started writing mine in word to make sure I can save it :-) I’m wise to how wicked PCs can be.. Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter if the PC hears you saying bad things about it, because it will be evil anyway..whether you’re nice or bad. Of course next time it will wait until you’re in the middle of something really important ;-)
    Oh I see..Shortland St is Neighbours clone.. ah, well.. we all have weaknesses. I liked Corrie because it had a sense of humour and was light hearted, like they had a character who’s an old man but acts like a nosey old lady ;-).. Corrie’s main rival is called Eastenders – don’t know if you get it there, but it’s well depressing. Someone’s always dying, getting beaten-up, on drugs or whatever it is. Can’t be doing with it :-) At least Aussie soaps are fun, though I presume Shortland is from NZ :-) Loved Up.. best movie I watched for a while. I quited liked the new Harry Potter movie (only 10 mins was in 3d), I’ve read all the books (who hasn’t these days?) and I quite liked them. Not crazy for them, but ya pretty darn good. I do like the movies I have to admit, but you’re right..movies never usually match up to the books well enough. :-)
    I also liked horror in the past, but it’s all a bit samey these days. I find the hacker/slasher type movies a bit boring really, once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. I prefer creepy movies..slasher movies show you everything, i prefer a bit to the imagination, like what’s under the bed type thing, or what’s that noise outside the room. They’re much more scary. Oh, I haven’t heard of freaks, but I do have a lot of old movies..like I have all the old black and white Dracula/Frankenstien/Wolfman movies from the 1920/30’s, not that I get around to watching them. I think even though the original Dracula is about as scary as a rubber duck..it’s still a classic and worth a watch, and the black and white movies do have a kind of authentic feel to them..horror kind of suits black and white. I like any type of movie really, old, new, action, comedy, romance.. I had a bad habit of buying loads of movies until recently. :) Don’t get me started on movies..Stephen King and movies, - we’d really be here all day!
    Hey, I like the way you said about Rose Madder that “I've only read that a couple of times”...~only~ a couple of times? Must mean you re-read all the others loads of times ;-) I haven’t re-read any of his yet (not counting audiobooks) :-)
    Nah, I wouldn’t say Kingdom Hospital is scary scary at all. Quite gentle really.. The word I would use is Kooky or spooky. And it has a talking Anteater ;-) But it has that quirky quality to it. If anything it’s quite funny really, in a dark humour sort of way. It doesn’t feel so serious.. I don’t think you’d be scared in the slightest. :)
    Not 100% sure about Under the Dome being mainly old material, but as far as I know it is. Could be wrong, just remember reading it was a story he’d dug out that never got finished. Something like that. Anyway, like i say, I could be totally wrong :-) But this one I am excited about definitely. As much as I want the paper back, I really don’t think I can hold off buying it. God, I am so weaaaaak.
    Yeah, I did see Colorado getting a bit of stick for not clearing up the mystery. I think people thought that since it’s a mystery crime book, then it should have the mystery cleared up at the end. They were saying anyone can write a complex murder mystery if they don’t have to explain it ;-) But I’m sure it must be ok in this case.. and if you liked it I guess I’ll probably also like it, ending or not. I also don’t like to be spoon fed all the answers. But I do like a answer at the end, especially for that type of book ;-) Anyway, I read em for the story and characters, not the ending.
    Ok..thanks a lot for the Dickens tips.. I will keep it in mind. Quite curious about them. Only Victorian England isn’t something that appeals to me too much. But I’ll have a look see what’s available.
    Ya the Bronte house was nice..they had a painting there done by their brother, and he’s in it too..but he had painted himself out. Apparently he was a bit unstable etc. Sounds like all was not so calm at the Bronte household.. I think I find the ideas of the 3 sisters being writers quite interesting, and I live nearby so I kind of feel (slighty) drawn to them hehe. :-) I haven’t really heard of Katherine Mansfield..maybe i should try her short stories..especially if they are a little dark. Thanks for the recommend. Keep bugging me about her or I might forget. I’d be happy to try a NZ author :-)
    Well, I know Pride & Prejudice & Zombies is a bit of a popcorn novel than anything worthwhile, but i did flick though it and it made me chuckle a little..just the idea of the father of the Bennet daughters training them up to be zombie hunters, all written in a very proper classic English literature style.
    Not sure if Memory Keepers Daughter is up my street, i’m not usually so much into family drama type things, if that’s what it is..but I’m sure it will be a good story. We’ve already established you have good taste in books..i should really try more ‘normal’ style drama books (by that i mean not supernatural or thriller etc, more humanistic) as one of my aims of coming to this site was to try new things. Anyway, I really hope that you enjoy it since you seem to have wanted to try it for a while..do let me know how you get on with it what you think about it :-) Seems to be going well for you at the moment.
    Oh, I’m very clumsy, but somehow I’ve stayed out of big trouble so far. Though when i was a kid I always used to bag my face just before the class photograph..so all my school photos have me with a red mark on my nose :-)
    And thank god you’re with me about cyclists! I didn’t want to criticize them too much in case you were a keen cyclist or something :-)) They’re a menace here. My workmate is a serious cyclist so I can’t moan about it when I come to work :-) And they all have to have the latest gear like a silly helmet and tighy lycra pants..the works! For your info, I can’t ride them – no sense of balance ;-) Maybe I’m subconsciously bitter about it or something, hehe. And although I passed my driving test, I never jump in the car I hate it. Ya, we’re born to walk i think.
    Ah, the earthquake risk..of course. But that’s the price you have to pay for living in such a nice place, right? :-) Well, hopefully there’ll be no ‘big un’ for a looooong time..... I’m a worrier - if i lived there I’d panic everytime a train went passed or something, hehe :-) Just in case it was a quake :-)
    Hey..that’s the first time I’ve heard the expression hump day! How cool :-)
    Well, have a great hump day there. So ba-bye until next time!

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • James

    James says

    Hey there. How was ur weekend? :-)
    So you had a bit of trouble with the net writing your message..so frustrating when it does that. I’ve learned my lesson, so these days I write all my posts in Word or whatever so I can save it – goodness knows how many times the websites close for no reason when you’ve just finished writing pages worth!.. I know computers are pains in the behind sometimes - my work is as a web developer so I have to put up with annoying computer problems the whole day.. how I haven’t had a nervous breakdown yet I’ll never know ;-) I’m sure computers have a (sadistic) mind of their own. They must get a twisted pleasure out of seeing us loose our work :-)
    Yup, 4 nights a week for Corrie..fortunately I’ve got those days back since I finished watching. Oh I don’t know Shortland at all..but I did used watch Neighbours, and Home & Away for 5 days a week back in school. Darn those addictive shows!!..we know we shouldn’t watch, but just can’t resist!..
    Ohh, I’m so glad you saw Up and liked..thought it was excellent, especially the dog with the squeaky voice and “Squirrel!”..plus the little kid. Loved the first half of the movie best where it was kinda sentimental. Ah, I’m a sucker for that kind of thing :-) The 3D was good, but after a while you stop noticing it (naughty me, I went to see Harry Potter at the 3D cinema too).
    Strangely, being a King fan, I’m not really into horror movies. Go figure!
    Yup, only a few more pages to go in Dead Zone.. 1 or 2 days it’ll be done. Still very good at the moment. Just think it was a slow started.. funnily enough Duma Key was also a slow starter but it was written so well that it sucked me in. Oh ya, you already read the first bit of Duma so you’ll know! Ya, I love it when they add previews at the back of books..not seen it too often though.
    Hey.. what do you make of Rose Madder? It’s one I haven’t heard much about and seems maybe not popular.
    Well, i’ve never seen the Dead Zone series here in the UK on tv - I bought it on dvd. No idea if it was shown here.
    Oh, I think you should give Kingdom Hospital a try if you have time...it’s so unusual and nice. I also hate hospital dramas, but this one was fine and weird (such as they sing and dance in the operations sometimes, the anaesthesiologist is scared of blood so she faints a lot..that kind of thing). Ok..there are occasional bloody things there like brain ops, but you can close your eyes at that part like I do. It’s not horror or scary, and it has a very strong Stephen King feel to it.. don’t think it will give u any nightmares :-) I’m not at all good with blood either.. Anyway, do keep your eyes open for it! :-) Maybe an Xmas gift idea for u..
    Ya, you do get the feeling King has gone off the boil a little, maybe that’s why I’ve not tried Lisey’s Story yet.. I hear Under the Dome is a novel he’s resurrected from the past (not sure), so I think it should be more classic King. Well, we’ll find out soon i guess. We ~should~ definitely wait for the paperback – but the question is, will we??..
    Oh Santa listens to me Julie, but that’s only cos I buy my own gifts ;-) Can’t go wrong that way.. :-)
    I suppose a Simpsons/King collaboration would end up with a book like ‘Simpson’s Lot’, ‘Barts In Atlantis’, ‘Lisa’s Story’ or something (many apologoes for those Julie). Gosh, they would weird books....but hey, we’d read anyway them I know!
    Naughty you Julie, saying you definitely recommend Lisey’s Story, but then saying you can’t remember much.. that good huh?! ;-) Just kidding.. I’ll definitely be keeping your recommendation in mind. I’m intrigued by it.
    And you also liked Colorado Kid.. I’ve not read it, but looks nice and short. However, I’ve read that it doesn’t have any ending? Just sort of leaves everything open? What did u think?
    Oh right, Wuthering is different from Dickens you say.. ok that’s positive, I was thinking Dickens would be along the same style, being hard to read. WH put me off trying Dickens, even though I though WH was ok. Just too hard work. Maybe I’ll try something just to see.. sounds like a library rent idea to me, rather than a buy. I like good characters.
    Actually I’m quite open minded to try anything since I’ve been getting into books. Not sure if I’d like Jane Eyre but I’d certainly be happy to try it if there weren’t other books I’m fancying. Actually, we visited the Bronte house when I was at school.. and I keep wanting to go back, it’s a really nice little English village as I remember.
    It’s a bit naughty, but I saw a new book out called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies..weird idea. It’s the proper original text of Pride and Prejudice, but with zombie stuff inserted into it. I had a flick through in the shop, it was quite funny..but i think it would get a bit tiresome after a while (there’s also “Sense and Sensibity and Sea-monsters”..and “Mr. Darcy, Vampire” – er, yeah right). But yup, I definitely want to try Dickens at some point, for the reasons you said.
    Ok..so Dreaming Books is done...so what’s next?? :-)
    Oh, I just checked the online store where i was tempted with the Lemony Snicket collection and I can’t find it anymore..arrghh.
    You read and walked when you were little too?? Do you have any strange unexplained lumps on your forehead? ;-)
    I’m also just like you, if I weren’t concentrating i’d also be under the wheels of a car very easily. But where I work, it’s full of cyclists..the number of times I’ve almost be squished by a bicycle!! Don’t hear ‘em coming and they don’t stop at lights or anything (mind you, neither do the cars!). Julie, I’m lucky to be alive really :-)
    Ya Christchurch sounds nice..as does all of New Zealand. The other guy I worked with from NZ lived in Wellington I think. He was a nice guy too, called Angus. Nearly lost his friendship when I almost mis-spelt his name in an email (let you work out what I almost called him – let’s just say i missed out one of the letters of his name..luckily I spotted the mistake just in time..phew).
    Anyway..that’s all for today. Really hope you’re doing good there! :-)

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )


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