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Kat M

Kat M

I'm a children's librarian in Virginia. I like to read children's, YA and adult novels. I read some non-fiction but prefer fiction. I have found that I am a very picky reader. A lot of the books I read (or get partway through) I don't like. When I say a book is good it is! (According, of course, to my personal taste in books.) I enjoy... more »
  • member since December 12 2008

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Public Notes

  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Well....better than other things our tax dollars go for!

    Did you get the snow? The snow patterns have been crazy this year. We got snow the beginning of December. It was right after my surgery so I didn't care. I peeked out the window but that was it. They reported on the world news that there was blizzard warning in Dallas over Christmas. I was like what?!!!!! We go into panic mode here as well.

    Well I had a great Christmas but I'm glad it is over. My daughter and her husband were in for four days! That never happens. They live about 3 hours away so there visits are usually confined to late Friday night - early Sunday. I cooked for four straight days and was exhausted. We also went to the Museum and saw Christmas Carol 3-D IMAX. I got a gif card to B&N and took advantage of their 50% off after-Christmas sale on-line. Got lots of books. What about yours? I did not get the card, but maybe it is just held up in the mail.

    I'm currently reading Sophie's World and Shadow of the Wind.

    Sorry this is short but I have a ton of things to do!

    posted 5 days ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Just a quick note to let you know I'm glad physical therapy seems to be working. I'll wait for your longer note to respond :) Hope storytelling goes well!

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Kat,

    Oh! I thought it was your turn to wirte! Sorry.....

    Surgery went well. I have a dr. appt today. I'm so hoping she releases to drive. I'm beginning to get a bit stir crazy and I have two weeks left for "recovery time". I did begin working some from the house yesterday. That felt good and helped me feel reconnected.

    How was Thanksgiving? Ours was great. It was so much fun to have everyone over. I think I said this in my last note. Our previous house was too small for entertaining. When we bought it I had every intention in being a stay-at-home mom so we bought a house that we could afford on a firefighter salary. Over the years, as my husband advanced and I went back to work, we never could bring ourselves to move because we loved our neighbors so much. But, when you move to anohther city it forced us to sell the house. I love the new house. They are coming Wednesday to put in new granite countertops and backsplash. It is my Christmas present. I'm so excited. But my poor husband! He is having to take care of me, handle all the Christmas shopping, and he was determined to have the ktichen finished by Christmas. He's a bit stressed. What about you? You ready for Christmas? Do you have any big traditions?

    How is physical therapy going? I hope you are feeling well.

    I really loved The Good Earth. It was a beautiful story. I just loved Olan's character.

    What are you reading now?

    posted 2 weeks ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    I did not know about your physical therapy! So sorry to hear that. I know many people who have greatly benefited from physical therapy. I certainly hope you don't have to have surgery. I have surgery scheduled for Dec 1. UGH! So, if I drop off the face of the earth again that's where I have gone. They said it will be a four week recovery period. I just don't think I'll be able to stay down for four weeks. I have a big certification exam coming up in January and I have to study. Once again...UGH!

    I actually have The Mozart Question on my TBR. Thanks for your thougths. I'll move it up the priority list, although leisure reading has been put on the back burner until after the exam. Did I say UGH?

    I see you joined the Bibliophile group. I am a farily new member. I enjoy the conversation. Hope you enjoy it as well.

    Well, are you ready for the Holidays? I'm excited we are doing Thanksgiving at our house this year. This is the first time we are hosting it. Our previous house was not large enough to handle my large extended family. I can't wait to have everyone in. I'm going Christmas shopping today with my daughter's boyfriend's family. Hopefully I can get a lot done today.

    Well better run. Have a cake in the over. Just stopped long enough to see what was happening in Shelfari Land.

    posted 1 month ago. ( send a note )
  • Silvana Lowry

    Silvana Lowry says

    Hi Kat, , Welcome and thank you for joining the Bibliophile Club Group. We hope that you will derive a lot of enjoyment from your new group, and that you may want to participate in our discussions. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions about this group, Welcome aboard and enjoy your reading, Silvana

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Kat,

    I took violin classes growing up. Never got real good at it. Could only play reading music. I never had a good ear. My oldest daughter, on the other hand, has perfect pitch. She can pick up just about any instrument and play it. One of the best stories about her music ability is with the oboe (sp?). She had always wanted to to play it, but since we were in a small school district the disctrict had one. For some reason the middle school had it. Finally, her senior year it became "available". She was drum major and asked the band director if she could work on it. He said as long as she did it herself. It was November and he was busy preparing for Christmas concert. She took it and learned it enough to play it in the Christmas concert. Then she auditioned with it for college and was offered a non-major music scholarship. I'm so jealous.

    We must be on the same wave length. I breezed through The Boy In The Striped Pajamas (WOW!) this weekend and started The Forger's Spell. It is a non-fiction about a forger that duped some high level Nazi officials with some fake artists like Vermeer. Fascinating. Not only a great story of intrigue but it goes into great detail about the methods of the artists like Vermeer because forger's had to imitate the original paint composition as closely as possible to trick dating technicques. Have not heard of the Faber book you mentioned.

    We moved to Houston from a small community in Southeast Texas. Been in Texas my whole life except for the few years my husband was in the Coast Guard. I was a part of a student exchange program growing up. We would pick a country and their students would live with us during the school year and we would live with them during the summer. You really learn a lot about other countries and cultures in these programs.

    I knew you were planning another trip but didn't know where. I have been in Amsterdam in March, and I'm sorry to disappoint you but it will be cold. Bundle up.

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Hey Kat,

    Sorry. It may have been my turn to write. I'm bad about reading emails on my blackberry, thinking I'll write later, and then forgetting. I'm just now beginning to slow down from the move.

    I'm finishing up The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. Great read and lots of good history on India/Burma. I will probably finish today or tomorrow. We're having friends over for dinner tonight so it will probably be tomorrow. Since we last talked the book I rave about the most is Molokai by Alan Brennert. WOW! What are you reading?

    Look forward to hearing from you. SOrry if I dropped the ball.

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Regina L

    Regina L says

    Hey There,

    Haven't heard from you in a while. Hope all is well.

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    Storytelling is such a great art and too much a lost art today, I think. Congratulations on continuing this wonderful tradition. When I took my family to the Isle of Skye we visited Faerie Glen and when we returned home I started telling my daughter bedtimes stories of the fearies that lived there. I wish I would have recorded the stories. She has a better memory than I about the details of past adventures. It was fun.

    My wife never mentioned whether she thought I wuld enjoy Picoult's books. I don't knwo if I would or not. I am reading Company of Liars now after completing Dan Brown's Lost Symbol. It was OK but basically a rehash of the DaVinci Code subsituting different objects, places and groups.

    I am looking forward to heading back to Scotland. I really enjoy my time there. This is a short visit for only a week to check on the flat and make sure all is ready for winter. Winters in Edinburgh are mild by our standards but it gives me an excuse to travel there. I will have time to read and visit friends. It is a respite from all else and an escape for most of the time. I still get online to talk with the office a few hours a day.
    It is really enlightening to live in another country and culture.

    Hope all is well with you.
    Bill

    posted 2 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    I keep forgetting to tell you that my wife did read My Sister's Keeper. It was the first Picoult book she read and she says it is still her favorite.

    I am heading back to Edinburgh for a week to check on the flat and make sure the boiler and radiators are working for winter. I leave Oct 30 and return Nov 7 so it is a quick trip but time enough to visit favorite restaurants and see old friends. I have a busy remainder of the year so this is about the only time I could squeeze in.

    Cheers,
    Bill

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Kat,
    I just read this today about E.A. Poe:
    Edgar Allan Poe Funeral This Week
    Oct 10, 2009 | Comments 9



    This Sunday will see Edgar Allan Poe receive a grand funeral, and this is pretty amazing considering he lived from 1809 to 1849. That makes 2009 a much better year for Edgar Allan Poe, even if its 200 years after he was born.

    Edgar Allan Poe was an amazing writer, he has become known for his tales of mystery, and is considered the “inventor of the detective-fiction genre”. As a lover of everything science fiction, I was amazed to learn he is also credited with contributing to helping that genre emerge.

    According to the guardian.co.uk, he died at age 40 and fewer than 10 people attended that funeral. They continue to report that dozens of events will be held this weekend, and two services are expected, which should draw around 350 people each.

    One of Louis Bayard's historic mysteries, The Pale Blue Eye, has Poe as one of the characters while he was at West Point.

    Good luck with your shoulder whatever you decide to do. Conservative treatment will hopefully work.

    It should be beautiful in the mountains in fall. The colors will be lovely and I hope the weather is as well. We have had a bit of rain but today was gorgeous.

    I have never gotten into reading fantasy although I enjoy the movies. The Lord of the Rings, Dragon Heart, Lady Hawk etc were all movies I enjoyed but I did not read the books. Sounds like your book would fall into that category.

    My son and I are engrossed in the baseball playoffs. We are avid baseball fans so all the baseball games are eating into my reading time for this month. Our favorite team is the Yankees. The World Series doesn't start until the last weekend in Oct so this month is baseball time. The Dodgers and the Cardinals are on right now.
    Tkae care,
    Bill

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Kat,
    I am pleased you obtained a second opinion. Whenever surgery is suggested it is good to have another evaluation. Shoulder surgery is usually on 50% successful so you really run a great risk of no improvement. Going from a diagnosis of rotator cuff injury to tendonitis is quite a change. I think I would stick with the second guy.

    Scottsdale was fun. We visited and saw the football game and hand a good time. Greenbrier is a fabulous vacation. My youngest daughter keeps asking how long it will be before we leave. We have been to Greenbrier 3 previous times and have laways enjoyed it but Easter is our favorite time so far. It will be great to have all my children and grandchildren together for Easter. We have such varied schedules it is difficult to get everyone together at the same time. I have 6 children, 5 girls and 1 boy ranging from 42 years old to 8 years old. There are no people on earth I would rather be with than my children.

    I finished Girl who Played iwth Fire and it was good but not as good as the first one of the series. I have just started Dan Brown's new book. Onbe of the things I llike about Shelfari is that it lets me be organized about my reading. The TBR on my shelf is very helpful in reminding me what books I want to read from reviews I have read from others on the site. What book are you reading now?
    Cheers,
    Bill

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    Suicide happens. It is sad and tragic but it happens. Statistically, people who try to commit suicide and fail do not try again. That is a good indication that suicide is predicated upon a momentary depression that will pass if the person lives. Since this woman was conscious she did not need a living will to refuse treatment. Any adult can refuse medical care. All the Living Will does is prevent medical care once the person is unconscious and incapable of letting people know her wishes.
    Bill

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    KAt,
    Good to hear from you but sorry about the rotator cuff surgery. I would try to stretch it to 2 or 3 weeks as well. It may give you the time to catch up on the reading. I found that the Kindle has allowed me to read more since it so convenient to carry a complete library of books around with me. Not as heavy as a stack of books either. Good luck with the surgery. I hope you fully recover for your travels and work.

    I will mention the Picoult book to Jennifer. I know she likes her writing. I cannot get into time travel either. I thought the book may really have been an allegory of how husbands are so busy at work or with the guys that they miss out on a lot of the family and spouse relationship. Reading it with that reference I may have found it OK but it is not on my books to be read list. I am finishing "The Girl Who Played with Fire" which is a continuation of characters in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". It is a good story as well. I hear there will be one more in the series. After that I will read Dan Brown's new book, "The Lost Symbol", to see if it is as good as his "DaVinci Code." I have about a half dozen books now on my to read list. THat is one of the things I like about Shelfari. I can add a book to my shelf that I want to read and see the shelf to remind me about it.

    I don't think I will stay anywhere but Scotland for a prolonged period while I still have the flat in Edinburgh. I usually go to Scotland in December and spring break as well as summer but I am busy with trials this December so I am not sure when I will get back there next. For Easter my family is meeting at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulpher Springs, WVA for a 4 day holiday. Nothing else is planned now. I just returned from 4 days in Scottsdale, AZ where I took my son and one of my daughters to visit another daughter who lives there. We went to Sedona and took a Pink Jeep tour of the desert and then on Sunday we went to watch the Colts play the Cardinals. Good trip, lots of fun.

    Good luck with you recovery. It will give you some down time and reading time.
    Bill

    posted 3 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    I am back home again in Indiana, as the song goes, and busy at work. My wife has read several of Picoult's books. Not sure if this is one of them. Thanks for the recommendation. I am now reading, "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson, a deceased Swedish author. It is the sequel to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." If you like mysteries and interesting characters I recommend these books.
    Cheers, Bill

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    Sounds like a wonderful river cruise with an exciting and beautiful itinerary. I am sure you will enjoy it and you can always take along an extra sweater or jacket to layer yourself to keep warmer. There is a reason the cruise is $1000 cheaper earlier in the spring. I look forward to one of these cruises one day. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is a novel about the Dutch artist Vermeer. I really can't think of other historic fiction to help you on your journey from The Netherlands through Germany and into Austria except for WW II novels, which may not really be the right thing to get you in the mood for your vacation. I imagine Medieval to 18th Century fiction it may best suit for the color and character of the area.

    The weather in Edinburgh has been in the low 60s most of August with on and off drizzly rain. I am flying to Scottsdale the last weekend of September so I hope it has cooled a bit by then (probably not). My summer sojourn in Scotland ends this coming Sunday when I fly home. Like all endings it is bittersweet. Sad to leave but glad to be reunited with family and friends.

    If I think of any novels I will pass them on.
    Cheers, Bill

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    Sounds like a wonderful river cruise with an exciting and beautiful itinerary. I am sure you will enjoy it and you can always take along an extra sweater or jacket to layer yourself to keep warmer. There is a reason the cruise is $1000 cheaper earlier in the spring. I look forward to one of these cruises one day. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is a novel about the Dutch artist Vermeer. I really can't think of other historic fiction to help you on your journey from The Netherlands through Germany and into Austria except for WW II novels, which may not really be the right thing to get you in the mood for your vacation. I imagine Medieval to 18th Century fiction it may best suit for the color and character of the area.

    The weather in Edinburgh has been in the low 60s most of August with on and off drizzly rain. I am flying to Scottsdale the last weekend of September so I hope it has cooled a bit by then (probably not). My summer sojourn in Scotland ends this coming Sunday when I fly home. Like all endings it is bittersweet. Sad to leave but glad to be reunited with family and friends.

    If I think of any novels I will pass them on.
    Cheers, Bill

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Cheers Kat,
    The hurricane delayed the arrival of my two guests by 4 hours but other than that it probably won't have any impact on us here. One time the remnant of a hurricane caused high winds and rain but it was no more than a severe rain storm. Beautiful, sunny and about 65 degrees here today. It seldom makes it to 70 degrees in Edinburgh and the highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland is 88. I love the cool weather here. I hate hot. One of my daughters is like you and loves heat so she moved to Scottsdale. From March to September 100 plus nearly ever day. When she visits me in Scotland she has a long sleeve shirt, a sweater and a coat and hat on at all times, probably long underwear too but I never asked.

    I am not sure but my guess is that the weather will be in the 60s for your Rhine cruise. The further south the warmer. Sounds wonderful. I have cruised the oceans and seas but have yet to do a river cruise. I think it would be great fun and scenic.

    Don't feel too bad about Williamsburg. I have been traveling there a long time and I am a member of the Williamsburg Foundation so I get inside information. The houses are available to all to rent but they do tend to get booked up.

    The Witchery was a lovely restaurant on Castle Hill. The food was excellent and the decor was truly 15th Century. I loved it. The Tattoo was spectacular and we had a gorgeous evening to watch it. This is Homecoming Scotland year where the diaspora of Scots are to come home and celebrate so the Tattoo was a little more special. They brought back some of the best bands from over the years.

    Stay warm, Bill

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Hi Kat,
    Thanks for the nice letter. I have a pretty good knowledge of Scotts history from the Thirteenth Century but I am most knowledgeable of the Sixteenth Century. I have a smattering of knowledge of the earlier times. I imagine Ireland is very similar to Scotland, both land and people. Better whisky in Scotland though.

    There are about 16 or more restored homes in Williamsburg that are available for rent. They vary in size but are all located in teh restored area. The managed by the Williamsburg Inn and have all the amenities of a modern hotel room except that the furnishings and decor are all the Colonial Period. We have rented the Orlando Jones House on the Duke of Glouchester Street the last two times were visited. It has 4 bedrooms so we have plenty of room fo rthe family and have the whole house to ourselves. It is a great way to see Williamsburg and to realy get into the feel of the place. Sometimes you get people knocking on the door thinking it is a home that is open for tours.

    Where are you visiting in Germany? I lived and studied there for a time as well. I lived in the city of Krefeld which is near Dusseldorf and Cologne. One of my daughters spent a semester in Munich during college. I have traveled through much of Bavaria. It is a lovely area.

    I just finished two thrillers by Brad Thor which were OK but if I read too many of those they all seem to be the same "Perils of Pauline" adventure from one dangerous situation into another and can become boring. I finished the Cellist of Sarajevo which I though was excellent and I am now reading a book about baseball.

    I have two friends visiting me in Scotland this week. We are dining tonight at The Witchery and then we are off to the Tattoo. It is a beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh with temperatures in the low 60s.
    Happy reading,
    Bill

    posted 4 months ago. ( send a note )
  • Bill C

    Bill C says

    Kat,
    Thanks for the nice email. We have been in the Highlands traveling from Glencoe to Fort William and Loch Ness, Inverness and back to Edinburgh.

    Although I enjoy the Harry Potter movies and Star Trek and some other fantasy movies I have never been interested in reading them. As far as Alexander McCall Smith, I read and did not enjoy his book "44 Scotland Street." It was a purposeless story of fictional people living at that fictional address. There was no actual story line just a brief interlude into the lives of these people that picked up in the middle of their lives, covered a brief period of time and then ended. It was a book without thread or purpose or significant insights in my opinion. He is best known for his Ladies #1 Detective Agency books but I have not read them.

    I had a minor in English literature in college and one of my favorite courses was English Romantic literature which covered prose and poetry in the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns are the great Scots authors. I have read some of their works but not extensively. I am not currently enrolled in any classes at Edinburgh.

    Traveling is such great fun and so educational. I would like to see the ancient ruins in Egypt and to visit Eastern Europe but my next trip when I have the time will be New Zealand and Australia. I love Venice and Florence as well. I've been to most states east of the Mississippi but have not traveled west much except to CA and AZ and SD. I really enjoy actually living in another country rather than merely visiting. You get so much more perspective of the place. Since I have this flat in Edinburgh I have not traveled around the world as much since I feel obligated to come to Scotland and make use of the flat. Being a resident also allows me to make a deeper exploration of the country than I could as a visitor. We do try and get to the Greenbriar in W VA for Easter or July 4 each year and I am always willing to go to Williamsburg. We rent one of the houses in the restored area which adds to the theme of being in 18th century VA.

    Taking my guests to Holyrood House Palace, Dynamic Earth and the Tattoo today. Going to Stirling Castle, the Wallace Memorial and Bannock Burn tomorrow.

    Happy reading,
    Bill

    I can't help you on the spooky stories. I always think if E A Poe for this genre but it seems by the name of the Theatre you have already covered him.

    posted 5 months ago. ( send a note )


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