Comfort Reads discussion

Hi, All.

This is a continuation of our general chat thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...

Let's post in here from now on as the number of posts in our original thread are now causing a bit of a problem. Thanks!

May I continue the royal discussion with the introduction of the future King George VII (from the previous thread)? I am just too proud to let it rest!

It was wonderful to see Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge leaving hospital with the Prince of Cambridge, as he is entitled, last evening.

Isn't it great to have some HAPPY NEWS on our TV screens and radios for a change? It is so much better than all the horrible news that we usually see and hear these days.



They have warmed the hearts of the nation, and made me proud to be British.

I can see that this has made the new broadcasts around the world, so I'm hoping that the news is making people all over the planet as happy as we feel here in the United Kingdom.

Does the new prince have a given name yet?

George Alexander Louis

I love the name George! Very nice.

He will be King George VII, but probably not in my lifetime.

My nephew is called George. And he is wonderful!

One of our cats is named George. :-)

George is a great name for a cat - and a king!

Watching this lovely family made me quite emotional, I certainly was feeling the love!

Lee wrote: "One of our cats is named George. :-)"

Lance wrote: My nephew is called George. And his is wonderful!"

And the George in the Harry Potter series was awesome.

It's already a popular name in Britain. Now, it's going to go through the roof in popularity.

They are such a beautiful couple. What a terrific photo.

George is a good name (and I like Alexander and Louis as well).

Changing the subject, here's an interesting, and amusing, article from the BBC about communications through the ages, entitled

Do we still need the telephone?

I love the view of the Chief Engineer of the GPO in the UK :

The enthusiasm wasn't shared in the UK. William Preece, chief engineer of the General Post Office, declared that the new gizmo was merely "a substitute for servants".

"There are conditions in America which necessitate the use of such instruments more than here," he told a House of Commons committee. "Here we have a super-abundance of messengers, errand boys and things of that kind. The absence of servants has compelled America to adopt communications systems for domestic purposes."

"Few have worked at the telephone much more than I have, I have one in my office but more for show. If I want to send a message - I employ a boy to take it."

Hilarious!

Lance wrote: "Changing the subject, here's an interesting, and amusing, article from the BBC about communications through the ages, entitled


Do we still need the telephone?


I love the view of the Chief Eng..."

That is funny, Lance, but I also think that we have become not only much too dependent on the phone, we are expected to be constantly "on call"

Gundula wrote: "That is funny, Lance, but I also think that we have become not only much too dependent on the phone, we are expected to be constantly "on call" ..."

That is true. Especially if you work for an international company where everybody thinks you're in the same timezone as themselves!

Lance wrote: "Gundula wrote: "That is funny, Lance, but I also think that we have become not only much too dependent on the phone, we are expected to be constantly "on call" ..."

That is true. Especially if you..."

I agree. Nothing worse than getting a "cheerful" phone call in the middle of the night ...

That is an interesting article, Lance. I've started getting TONS of calls from orgs asking for money, answers to questions, etc. That I can do without. But I'm a huge phone person with friends, who know the appropriate hours to call me and know I might let the answering machine (yep, I don't have voice mail) get it.

It's funny. I can tolerate calls from coleagues around the globe at odd times. Usually they show restraint and wait until they know it is daylight for me, and if they can't hold off, they usually start the call with an apology.

What winds me up is when I am travelling overseas, and my colleagues back home know where I am, yet they somehow conveniently "forget" and call me at 3 o'clock in the morning.

OK. I know! I should switch off my phone!

I just have to share these signs - translated from Chinese to English - some of them are beyond funny!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/nataliemorin/...

Lee, Thanks. I love these kind of things. Hadn't seen these particular ones.

I feel a bit guilty for laughing at translation errors but they were too good not to share.

Wow, I never knew how fond the Chinese were of the "F"word, ha. I did like the one about the tiny grass that is dreaming (unintentionally poetic).

When the first Lord of the Rings movie came out on DVD, I found a script for a pirated Chinese version of the movie on the internet (I have not been able to relocate it, but it was hilarious, full of mistakes, bad inadvertent puns and the like).

Lee wrote: "I just have to share these signs - translated from Chinese to English - some of them are beyond funny!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/nataliemorin/..."

Oh my, I just about peed my pants laughing at these. We lived in Japan for four years and saw some interesting translations, but on the whole they were pretty innocuous. I saw a child once with a tshirt that had the F*bomb on it once, but on the whole we didn't see too many profane Engrish translations.

A few weeks ago, we had a bit of chat about our favourite British comedy series. Doc Martin had some attention. I am very pleased to tell those of you who do not know, that episode one of the sixth season was aired last evening on British TV. It was really great! In fact, it was one of the best episodes I've seen.

Martin finally marries Louisa right at the beginning of the episode. Their honeymoon goes disastrously, and hilariously, wrong. You can imagine. Well, you can't actually, because whatever you dream up, it is ten times worse!

All I can say is that when it becomes available in your country or region, you must make the effort to watch it. After all, laughter is the best medicine.

Lance wrote: "A few weeks ago, we had a bit of chat about our favourite British comedy series. Doc Martin had some attention. I am very pleased to tell those of you who do not know, that episode one of the sixth..."

Hi Lance. I am looking forward to the new season! I don't have to make an effort to see it! It's one of my favorites.

Jamielynn - where are you? When will it screen in your part of the world?

You will love it when it comes!

Todat is my son Gordon's last day at home before he leaves to start a degree in Performing Arts at Sunderland University. I am immensely proud of him but at the same time I am going to miss him terribly.

I am in the US Lance. I haven't heard when Doc Martin will air the next season here. It's very frustrating but I will patiently wait.

Jane, I understand your mixed feelings. My daughter is in her Senior year of college. She is an art major and just sold her first piece of artwork. What a boost for her! She is now finding out what all of this schooling has been about for her.

It's hard to see them go out of the door but with time you will get used to it. I cried like a baby. We know they aren't at home forever but it's still hard. Gordon will do well!

Jane wrote: "Todat is my son Gordon's last day at home before he leaves to start a degree in Performing Arts at Sunderland University. I am immensely proud of him but at the same time I am going to miss him ter..."

Good for Gordon. I am sure that he will be successful and will continue to give you reasons to be proud of him.

Enjoy the peace, Jane. It is very hard for you, and can be depressing. But I can tell you that you will come to value his calls and to relish his visits home. You just can't wait to cook him his favourite dish as his first dinner on his next return to the nest!

Thanks Jamielynn and Lance, at the moment I am just a puddle - it is ridiculous. I am going to have to keep myself really busy to take my mind of his not being there. I suppose the first few days will be the hardest.

Jane it does get much easier with time. I promise you!

I know it will and deep down I am so very happy for him. He has got into his dream course and he will absolutely love it, I just didn't expect to be like this, I hardly ever cry.

He's your baby, Jane. It's natural!

And think about this, on balance, Teesside v Home with Mummy? C'mon! The boy's going to love coming home to you, dreams or not!

You are absolutely right Lance, it is only a few weeks until I see him again.

Jane wrote: "You are absolutely right Lance, it is only a few weeks until I see him again."

So, what's his favourite dish? You will be cooking it, won't you? When I was at Naval School, my mate from Buckie and I used to fly up to Dyce, and my Mum would have the most stupendous Aberdonian curry on the table for us. You just couldn't beat it!

His favourite is roast chicken with all the trimmings followed by hot chocolate sponge pudding and yes it will be the first meal he has when he comes home.

I have been fine today and haven't cried even when leaving Gordon. He has a lovely clean good sized room and he seems really happy so I am not going to worry (too much) about him.

On Chrissie's review of Burial Rites, she asked me where I am about to go on vacation. I told her that I'd hop across here, as we don't see much action on this thread recently. It used to be so lively!

I am going to Ankara on Sunday for ten days. For the first four days, I shall be participating in the annual conference of ENBIS. I am quite excited about this, as the membership have just elected me to become a Vice President for the next two years.

My wife, Joy, is coming with me and will sit by the pool, drinking coffee and reading crime fiction, whilst I am at the conference. Then we'll spend six days together exploring Ankara and chilling out.

Sounds like a great trip. Lance. Congratulations on your election to VP! You'll have to share with us what turns up on your explorations once the conference is over.

Thanks Lee.

I am already a VP of my company Allen Systems Group, so I am now a double VP. It makes me sound like an exotic cocktail, doesn't it?

Maybe I'll climb a mountain and find the remains of The Ark. If I spot Noah's ghost, I might ask him why he saved the wasp and the mosquito! Perhaps he just did as he was told.

Have a good trip, Lance. The non-work part sounds really interesting, and congrats on being a VP twice.

Let's play a game. If Double VP were really a cocktail, what ingredients would go into it?

Lance wrote: "On Chrissie's review of Burial Rites, she asked me where I am about to go on vacation. I told her that I'd hop across here, as we don't see much action on this thread recently. It used to be so liv..."

Sounds like a great vacation, Lance (and congratulations, hope you have some fun time to celebrate).

And if you do meet Noah's ghost you should ask him if the unicorns really were playing silly games and thus missed getting on the ark (and with the mosquito, they thrive in and around water anyhow, so there was probably no need to actually save them, and they do provide food for many species of birds, including swallows).

I hope and think I will not be directly affected by this, re my personal content.

But I'm so upset, and I think everyone should know what's going on here. A long thread. I still have a few posts to read, and it's growing by the second. But if you care about your membership here, you might want to read/skim this:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...

Lisa wrote: "I hope and think I will not be directly affected by this, re my personal content.

But I'm so upset, and I think everyone should know what's going on here. A long thread. I still have a few posts t..."

I don't know if it would affect my own reviews, but since I don't want them removed, I will likely not comment on the thread (because I want to use the German "N" word, and anyone who knows my own background will likely be well aware what I consider the "N" word, sigh).

Gundula, I'm not commenting (at least I'm not planning to) because they don't care and they won't truly listen. They're going to do this; they're already doing this, with no notice. I think members should know what is going on. I don't think I'll be affected in terms of my content. But Amazon will rear its ugly head more and more, and I expect more changes down the road, also upsetting to me. Already, I've lost friends here and friends' reviews. Sad.

Lisa wrote: "Gundula, I'm not commenting (at least I'm not planning to) because they don't care and they won't truly listen. They're going to do this; they're already doing this, with no notice. I think members..."

I am glad I've moved all my reviews to Library Thing, but then, I only had about 230 or so and I have not been writing that many reviews lately either, both too busy but also not in the mood with Amazon and GR acting like a bunch of little dicktators (sic)

Gundula wrote: " am glad I've moved all my reviews to Library Thing"

I don't trust LT either. I do want a back up there though. But it's hard. I have about 2,200 reviews and every time I add a book to LT it needs editing to my specifications, so it's really time consuming. I still have fewer than 2,200 reviews there. One thing I like there better than here is that nobody can delete or edit the edition we choose to add.

That's a very long thread. I'm surprised they're not giving users notice before deleting shelves or reviews.

Lee wrote: "That's a very long thread. I'm surprised they're not giving users notice before deleting shelves or reviews."

I'm not, it has unfortunately been rather standard GR policy to implement things etc. without prior notice for quite some time, and with the reviews, they are just following Amazon (or bowing to the demands of Amazon).

Lisa wrote: "Gundula wrote: " am glad I've moved all my reviews to Library Thing"

I don't trust LT either. I do want a back up there though. But it's hard. I have about 2,200 reviews and every time I add a boo..."

If possible, just import a few reviews at a time and edit them later en masse. I'm still not done editing mine, but at least I have them over there. Of course, I don't have nearly as many reviews as you have.

The fact that GR can simply delete books is really horrible and if I remember correctly, Otis and Patrick claimed that precisely this would not happen. I'd love to let GR staff know exactly what I think of this fiasco, but with the current atmosphere and the current way of thinking, it might actually promote more than just a nasty response (and possible review deletions); I could imagine being cited by GR/Amazon for slander.