Finally!
My apologies for the time I've taken to edit this transcript. It's a first for me, and I was my usual picky-patty doing it, so it took quite a while. BUT, now I know what I'm doing, so next time, it'll be a slice!
Enjoy every word!
Here are some very wise words from Alexander Fuller, on how to be a tourist in her beloved Africa...
"I suggest that you leave your guide behind and head into Africa on its own terms. There is nothing more humbling than being alone in the bush with a man or woman who can read the ground the way we read books & suddenly all your learning and money and whatever else you value about yourself...your hair, your perfect teeth, your passport...aren't going to get you out of where you are alive. You're forced to get quiet and respect the world where literacy can mean reading the ground to see what has come before and reading the sky to see what is coming ahead. "
BGE: Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight!
Concentric Reading Circle Book Club is meeting here at 2:00 P.M. today.
A warm welcome everyone...come on in, take off your shoes, put your feet up and make yourself at home. Pour a glass of wine or a cup of tea and let's get to it!
suncoast: What room am I supposed to be in?
BGE: Hi, Panda!
Panda: Hello from nighttime UK !
BGE: How cool that you are here!
Panda: Cool describes you getting the author to comment!
BGE: Did you stay up late to come to chat?
Panda: No, only 9pm
suncoast: Here I am
BGE: Hi, Ginger, welcome to book chat! Hi, Terry!
teaberry: Hi!
BGE: Welcome everyone!
suncoast: Just be prepared that this piece of $#@! computer may crap out at any time.
teaberry: Let's hope not, Ginger.
BGE: Too funny! Leslie warned me to make sure I have 2 computers on for chat!
Panda: I had to throw my husband off ours.
teaberry: I'm running up and down between the computer and making dinner
it's 4 pm here.I'm making the bread that ate the internet, for the first time.
BGE: I'm eating the remains of my lunch...it's 2:00 PM here.
Hi, Palma, Welcome to chat! Panda just tossed her husband off the computer!
suncoast: Is Bo joining us here and now, or just in cut and paste?
BGE: Bo would rather do the Q and A, so I've been sending her the questions and she's sending back the answers, as she has internet access available.
teaberry: Brenda - you are so cool getting Bobo and all
BGE: I'm going to send her the link for the transcript of this chat, though...she's really pleased that we are doing this!
Palma: Great idea, Brenda
BGE: Thanks. I wanted to get the blood racing in Book Club and was casting about for away to do that and this seemed like a great idea, and you seem to like it, so it must be good!
So, here we go...no rules, other than we'll take turns and everyone feel free to add in to the conversation whenever you like!
Panda: I was so impressed - quality leadership!
BGE: Thanks, Panda...
BGE: Hi, Chiocciola, welcome to chat!
BGE: We're just about to start the conversation, Chiocciola...
Chiocciola: Hi Brenda, thanks! I love the book so I figured I'd stop by.
BGE: Great that you did...thanks for coming!
So, Panda, you're at the top of the list...would you like to start?
teaberry: Who selected the book - GREAT CHOICE!
Panda: I'm going to try and cut and paste so might get lost.
Here goes:
The book had great resonance for me having grown up through the disintegration of the British Empire. There was an old mansion near where we lived that was a sort of halfway house for returning ex-pats and our school had a series of bewildered teenagers arriving with sun-bleached hair and a tendency to wear sandals in all weathers. They despised us for being physically soft. The Fullers reminded me so much of a family of ex-Zambian farmers who came to farm in the deepest English countryside near us. They even had a beautiful oldest sister called Vanessa! The damp winter got them down, but they were very stoic.
Chiocciola: Wow, Panda, that is interesting!
BGE: That's cool! What a connection.
teaberry: A real connection
Panda: I cut ! I pasted!
suncoast: I wish I could figure out how to cut and paste.
BGE: You did it, girl!
Palma: it worked!
BGE: I'll teach y'all later...no prob.
So, Panda, you liked the book? What did you love best?
Chiocciola: I have read a lot of books about Zimbabwe lately and I remember reading about the difficulty for white Zimbabweans going to England to live - they looked English but felt African and missed it so much.
teaberry: Just like the Fullers.
Panda: The writing style and as I said, so many connections. I've got more if I can C + P again.
BGE: Cut and paste your little heart out....we'll wait!
suncoast: I just read an article in Parade magazine about a native Zimbawean who spoke out about how bad conditions were and paid the price.
Palma: We take freedom of speech for granted.
BGE: We really do.
teaberry: It was horrifying to read some of her accounts.
Chiocciola: In my old job I worked closely with an organization in Zimbabwe and boy, is life hard there now.
teaberry: Why is that so, Chiocciola?
Chiocciola: Inflation has reached 7,000 percent, there is hardly food to be found.
Panda: Trying again.
My husband's ex-flatmate was a white (3 generations) Zimbabwean who went back to marry her boyfriend after 3 years of living in the UK, in the late 1980s. She used to tell us funny/awful stories about growing up in the war. After she returned, she used to send us letters (via visiting friends - their mail was routinely intercepted) telling us about the shortages and mad bureaucracy - they finally had their land taken and had to leave for South Africa.
Chiocciola: My counterpart there has been in jail twice for protesting the government.
teaberry: It sounds like there is (was) no law there.
BGE: Panda, were they hurt in the conflict?
Panda: No - her brother had been in the independence war, they just lost everything.
Palma: How sad.
BGE: Wow, we are so blessed...we have no idea!
suncoast: I think colonialism was horrible, but the succeeding governments were just as corrupt and cruel.
teaberry: Yes, Ginger, that's the sad part.
Panda: What was sad was her husband was a farming adviser helping the new non-white farmers. All those farms going to waste.
BGE: What happened to their land? Does it just sit there, doing nothing?
Panda: Taken, given to one of Mugabe's political friends, being neglected
BGE: Amazing...we truly have no idea, do we?
Chiocciola: What is so sad is that Mugabe (president since 1980) had a good thing going for a (short) while - he had lots of international support, great agriculture etc, and in the very beginning he was cooperating with all sectors of society, but then power corrupted him and he has turned into one of the worst leaders of today.
Palma: I was clueless about much of what was in the book.
teaberry: Yes, me too.
BGE: Ginger...you want to share your thoughts?
teaberry: It was eye-opening.
Panda: It's been a background to my growing up in the UK.
suncoast: Well, this book resonated with me because both my Mom and Dad were alcoholics.
Chiocciola: A quick Wikipedia read on Zimbabwe actually explains quite a lot, especially if you read also the entry on Robert Mugage.
BGE: We'll go around the group from top to bottom and feel free to join in with comments anytime!
teaberry: Thanks for a great idea, Chiocciola
BGE: So, you were reading some things that were familiar to you, Ginger?
Palma: I live in my own little Pollyanna world sometimes.
Palma: Often, I guess.
suncoast: My Mom when I was little, I can remember the drunken rages and binges and how sad I always was.
BGE: and how scared.
Palma: I was also very sad about the alcohol abuse in the book.
teaberry: Did Alexandra's mother remind you of your own?
suncoast: My Dad when I was 12 and he just sunk out of sight and withdrew into the bottle.
BGE: So, this would have been like reading your own story.
Chiocciola: Oh that is so sad.
suncoast: Yes, they both had very similar personalities. They both loved animals.
Palma: Bobo and Vanessa grew up drinking as children. There was little else to drink except tea or alcohol.
Panda: The ex-pats/Colonial settlers have always been BIG drinkers - just part of life, going to the Club.
teaberry: I was amazed at that.
BGE: The thing is that the tragedies in people's lives cause so much pain that the addiction is more important than people.
BGE: Ginger, was it difficult to read for you?
suncoast: They both lost children, although it was a miscarriage.
teaberry: OMG - so many similarities.
suncoast: They even looked alike in many ways.
teaberry: Was this a hard book to read for you?
suncoast: No, it was like going home. It felt familiar and as I said in the main message board, it reminded me of the Laura Ingells Wilder Books.
Palma: So many families still like that now.
suncoast: My Mom would lose touch with reality every so often also.
BGE: Was she ever hospitalized?
suncoast: Yes, she was hospitalized once that I remember. She was killed in a car accident when I was 12.
Chiocciola: Wow, that must have been so difficult.
teaberry: How horrible!
BGE: My darling girl, how sad for you!
suncoast: It was hard, but I leaned to be strong and cope and love just like Bobo
Palma: I was shocked that it took so long for Bo's mom to be diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder! Her depression and manic episodes were clear to me from the start.
teaberry: That describes you too, Ginger.
BGE: Was the accident alcohol related, Ginger?
suncoast: Yes, but the other guy was drunk and hit them.
Palma: Ginger, what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger...
suncoast: Exactly. What I loved was that they stayed together as a family through it all.
Palma: I'm so sorry you went through all that.
Chiocciola: Palma, do you think that it took so long for Bobo's mom's diagnosis because of the environment they were in?
Palma: That and the denial.
teaberry: A very strong family, too.
BGE: Ginger, you are surely a strong and loving person with all of that.
Chiocciola: Like, don't talk about personal stuff, put it under the rug.
BGE: Yep, if there's a feeling in the house, get rid of it, NOW! My family, also.
Palma: They probably thought the depression was bereavement after the babies' deaths.
suncoast: I am the classic Oldest Child of an Alcoholic. It took me 2 years in Al Anon to figure myself out.
Panda: Also the era, stiff upper lip British heritage, doesn't encourage seeking help.
teaberry: But they also thought that drinking and smoking with the kids was okay!
BGE: Back then it was 'normal'
Chiocciola: Reading the part of the baby drowning was AWFUL.
suncoast: Yes, I'm sure it was thought that the lost children caused it.
Chiocciola: Just so sad.
teaberry: But it wasn't all that long ago, Brenda.
BGE: I remember being so pleased with myself because I quit smoking with each pregnancy. Imagine!
My kids were born in '64 and '67.
suncoast: But it FELT like 100 years ago. Like it was some kind of crazy time warp.
BGE: So, can I ask how you are today, Ginger, with all of what happened?
suncoast: Mostly okay, sometimes not. I realize that they loved me as best they could and I have forgiven them.
BGE: Are your parents still here?
suncoast: No, both gone.
Panda: There was one bit that stood out for me if I can quote: The valley could send you into a spiral of madness if you were white and highly strung. Which we were.
Palma: They do the best they can.
BGE: Sadness in every family I think.
suncoast: I also liked all the animals' interaction. I was so sad for that poor owl.
teaberry: But how funny coating the steak with hair - I lol
Palma: The rats in the fridge put me over the top.
teaberry: I can understand that Palma.
suncoast: They were also Good Samaritans, picking strangers up on the side of the road and cramming them in their truck.
Chiocciola: True.
BGE: Thanks, Ginger...brave of you to share this with us! Terry, your turn?
teaberry: First, I loved this book. I loved the photos - made the whole thing really come to life.
BGE: yep, agree
teaberry: I loved how she talked with all of her sense. This really brought the country into my nostrils, my vision, my hearing, and I could feel the searing heat. It was an educating story for me, like we said before. I know (knew) nothing about Africa, and it has stimulated a real interest for me to learn more.
Panda: Agree, her descriptive powers really put you there.
teaberry: Their family, like the country, is a study in contrasts, extremes, kindnesses, sorrows, meanness. What I could not understand was how they continued to stay there, despite all their hardships.
Panda: She does a lot of contrasting - mainly the good lush land, compared to what they ended up on!
teaberry: and hardships is an understatement.
BGE: Maybe because it was what they knew...but the father seemed to be a part of that land, so for him it was necessary that they stayed, maybe.
Chiocciola: I guess they were just so invested, emotionally, that they couldn't picture living anywhere else.
Panda: She talked towards the end about how Africa gets under the skin.
teaberry: Yes, Panda, I think that's the answer. I think the only other story I know of Africa is 'Out Of Africa.' But she had a book list at the end, which I plan to explore.
Panda: The ex-colonial returners we knew yearned for it, despite the awfulness of their various departures.
teaberry: I can't imagine voluntarily choosing to raise children under such circumstances.
suncoast: I had to laugh about how they were so surprised that the first black student arrived in a limo and had brand new uniforms and European manners.
BGE: My doctor says it is the life in Africa that makes him go back home every year...North America is so sterile to him...no color, sounds, heat, smells...that is what he misses.
teaberry: Yes, the Fullers could not stand England for those very reasons.
BGE: Terry, thank you for sharing this...Palma, would you like to take your turn?
Palma: Well, honestly, I never would have read this book on my own. I prefer fiction to memoirs most of the time, and have been reading lots of them for my other book club. (Currently reading "Three Cups of Tea".) I thought it was REALLY well-written, and am glad I read it. About every third page, I'd put the book down and say, "Why don't they get OUT of there!"
teaberry: lol me 2
BGE: yep, agree
Panda: But, its home!
suncoast: Can you imagine going everywhere with an Uzi across your back?
BGE: And it's in their very souls.
Chiocciola: I lived with a South African family for four months (in DC, as a renter and babysitter), and it was very interesting to learn from them. She was of Dutch decent and he of English, and her stories about her family and how they were so tied to the land (much more than the British South Africans).
Palma: The extreme weather, poverty, lack of food at times, disease, health and physical risks, the governments, guns....ARGH! Pollyanna speaks
BGE: We are so sheltered and spoiled, I think.
Chiocciola: She said that her culture had more in common with the black South African culture because of their connection to the land - maybe the Fullers felt the same way.
Palma: Anyway, all that aside, I liked it!
Panda: Friends lived until 3 years ago on UN posting in Nairobi - very much the old colonial life (Club, cricket etc.,) but they had to have guards and take drivers and guards everywhere. They loved it and are heartbroken about what is happening. They were hoping for Switzerland as next posting but got Nepal - very tough.
teaberry: Such an interesting life Bobo has led.
suncoast: There are just some people who push the barriers and thrive on living on the frontier.
Palma: I also loved the photos.
Chiocciola: Yeah, the photos added so much!
Palma: They sure would have voted me "off the island"!
Panda: Strong, handsome featured family.
suncoast: I couldn't do it, unless I had to.
BGE: Thanks, Palma...good thoughts! Chiocciola...your turn!
teaberry: I do admire their adventure, pioneer spirit, a real can-do attitude.
BGE: Boy, they had that in spades! The can-do attitude.
Chiocciola: Well, first I just wanted to post this - it is a link to a blog post where I recommend books on Africa, for those who want to read more:
Book Blog (Not meaning to self promote)
Anyway, I loved the book and her voice is so strong.
I can't believe that she is "normal" today, if I can put it like that, after going through all that, especially the death of her little sibling.
Panda: I don't feel they felt they had an option - they didn't feel right in the UK and had grown up with endurance and overcoming difficulties as the norm.
Chiocciola: I guess my favorite thing was reading about life in Africa in all its facets.
BGE: Unbelievable what we can survive, isn't it?
Palma: Yes, it's all relative.
Chiocciola: Yeah, that's true! It must have been hard for her to understand her parents' motivation at time, but I love that it is written from a child's perspective.
suncoast: Just one more observation. When Bobo was so sick it was Vanessa who pulled her through.
Chiocciola: Just one more thing: reading about Africa is mind changing.
BGE: So, my turn?
Chiocciola: You go, Brenda!
BGE: I love the book, and cannot imagine living that life....BUT, I dare say that anyone's life, if put under a glass like this would be difficult for others to think of dealing with.
Everyone.
Everyone has their story, and others' lives often look more painful by comparison to our own. Maybe that's because we know our own so well, that it seems less awful?
I love her spare simple writing style...no wordy descriptions... only the facts as she lived them and experienced them.
No going on and on about something, just tell the story and move on. I loved that about the book.
There was certainly room to write way more, and she chose to keep it simple.
Chiocciola: True.
teaberry: I also think that many aspects of her life must have felt perfectly normal to her. She knew nothing different.
suncoast: I think her best quality was her honesty.
Panda: She managed to convey so much with a complete lack of purple prose.
Chiocciola: Good choice!
BGE: Purple prose...that's fantastic! So, all in all, a great read and hard on my heart, all of the time. Let's chat about it...everyone..free for all!
Panda: Has anyone else read the next book?
teaberry: I'd love to hear how her life has gone since Africa.
BGE: You could send that question for me to ask her, Terry.
suncoast: If we read the Poisonwood Bible, their stories are very similar.
Panda: I mean Scribbling the Cat.
teaberry: No, have you, Panda?
Panda: Yes, different but still excellent
Chiocciola: I really want to read that book.
She is living in Wyoming with husband and three kids. Doing well, apparently.
BGE: She's a really lovely woman, from my little bit of conversation with her.
Yes, Ginger, they were very similar...only the Poisonwood Bible was about an addiction to religion.
suncoast: It's a fantastic book and it might be good to read next to get the similarities and differences.
Chiocciola: Oh, Poisonwood Bible is awesome.
BGE: So is Glass Castle.
Chiocciola: Cool!
suncoast: I haven't read that one.
BGE: A great book...HARD to read, though.
One comment on Glass Castle - in my book club, 3 of the people felt sorry for the PARENTS, and had no empathy for the little kids!!!!!!! I was so pi$$ed at them.
Chiocciola: I really want to read Scribbling the Cat to get the view of the Rhodesian war from an adult.
suncoast: Should we put Scribbling the Cat on the list?
Chiocciola: Sure!
teaberry: Sounds good to me, Ginger.
BGE: Sorry...missing the conversation in my haste to vent!
suncoast: Is it even published yet?
Panda: Scribbling the Cat - yes, a couple of years ago.
BGE: Is it by the same publisher?
Panda: Not sure.
BGE: And if you want it on our list, we can do that.
suncoast: What's our next book? Did I miss it talking?
teaberry: Yes, what's next?
BGE: Also, anything you'd like from this book club just ask...I aim to please!
Panda: I am planning to reread it again, anyway
BGE: What would you like to read next? You choose! Here's our list so far:
The Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller
Panda: What's the first one about ?
BGE: No idea, don't know it.
suncoast: I would say the Glass Castle or The Poisonwood Bible.
teaberry: I'll vote for Poisonwood.
BGE: We have some time..don't have to choose now, if you want to think about it...or choose now, is ok, also.
teaberry: I've been wanting to read it for some time now.
BGE: Either are great for me.
Panda: Don't know the Glass Castle - didn't get into the Poisonwood Bible, though I tried.
BGE: Read both, loved both.
teaberry: I'm easy - I'll go anywhere.
suncoast: You're in charge Brenda, just let us know.
BGE: So....look at the agreeability here!
suncoast: When is our next meeting?
BGE: OK, Glass Castle, then Poisonwood Bible.
teaberry: Yep, and may I add that you've done a superlative job!
BGE: Oh, thanks Terry!
Panda: How are you going to top getting the author on your first meeting!
BGE: is that ok with everyone?
teaberry: Great.
BGE: Next meeting is...wait....checking calendar. March 16 ok?
Third Sunday in the month, makes it easy to remember, maybe.
teaberry: Many thanks, Brenda, and looking forward to next month.
teaberry: Great chat!
suncoast: Got it, Gotta go, Love you guys.
teaberry: Must tend to dinner, though. 'Bye, everyone and thanks again, Brenda.
BGE: You're welcome!
I just sent Bo an e-mail and she was right back to me.
teaberry: Who, Bobo?
BGE: Yes, I was so over the moon!
Panda: What did she say?
BGE: I thought I'd get a rep from her publishing company, but she got the message and answered right away.
Panda: My daughter got a personal reply from a children's author once and she still has it frames - that was by writing to the publisher.
BGE: That's cool, Panda...Hi, Jill! welcome to chat! Do you have time to tell us about your thoughts of the book?
softdrink: Hiya! Thanks for all your hard work. I was excited to read Bo's answers to my questions!
BGE: Yes, she was so fast getting back to me! I've sent 2 more sets of questions for her.
Panda, send me yours, I'm happy to forward them to her.
softdrink: I read the book a few months ago, so the details are fuzzy, but I was amazed by her candor and her experiences.
BGE: She really shared at a very deep level, I thought.
Panda: How did her parents and sister react to the book? Do we know?
BGE: No idea...wonder how that would be.
softdrink: I haven't read Glass Castle yet, but I have it and I've heard the two books compared. I'm glad she responded to the question about it.
BGE: I've read it, great book, but a different feel to it than this book.
In Glass Castle, I felt the parents really were self centered and did not even se their kids, whereas Bo's parents really deeply loved their children. Only my thoughts..others may see it differently.
BGE: We are reading Glass Castle next and then Poisonwood Bible, so that will be good to read this book and Glass Castle back to back.
softdrink: Oh good timing for us to read Glass Castle! Did your copy of Dogs have the reader's guide in the back with the My Africa.
BGE: Ummm, not sure about the guide, Panda, did yours have it?
softdrink: I read Poisonwood Bible years ago, isn't it set partly in Africa?
BGE: Yes, it is based on missionaries who live there.
softdrink: Give me a few minutes and I'll type up a few of the points from the essay.
BGE: Tough life for their kids also.
OK, that'd be wonderful, Jill. Panda has some great insights to share also.
You know a lot about this because of living in your country, I think. More closely related to the people who lived this kind of life in that country.
Panda: I didn't recognize' the Fullers as so similar to ex-pats that I have met.
BGE: Because of what differences, Panda?
Hi, Kim...welcome to Book Chat.
Kim: Hi all - need to get dinner going but just wanted to pop in to make sure everything was going okay?
BGE: We're fine...had a great discussion and also chose the next 2 books and the date for March....all before 3:00 PM.
Kim: Fabulous - see, I missed it - Brenda I need that world clock thing
Kim: okay - take care all
softdrink: She gives a brief description of her mom (intelligent, racist, well-bred, who she got her love for lit from), her dad (taciturn and capable) and her sister (who taught her self-reliance). Then she says she struggled writing fiction about Africa, and she finally realized she needed to tell her story as it happened, good and bad. The book is "the story of how one African came to terms with her family's troubled history; it is a love story for the continent."
...and I just realized I'm an hour late. Ooops!
BGE: How well said.a love story for a continent is what it is. Very nicely said.
Panda: They are a certain kind of upper middle class, don't complain, just get on with it - almost happier with dogs and horses than people!
BGE: I said earlier how spare the prose is...no over-writing, and as Panda said no purple prose!
Panda: Is that a familiar term to you?
BGE: Never heard that before, but I like it!
softdrink: Flowerly and overwrought...that's what I think of purple prose as.
BGE: Bang-on! That's what it is, isn't it, Panda?
Panda: Using three adjectives where one or none would have done!
BGE: Weird, I'm not showing as being in chat...
Panda: No, you are not!
softdrink: Yep, Brenda, you're a ghost!
BGE: OMG! THAT'S how I write!!! (she says, blushingly) I'm a ghostwriter! LOL
softdrink: I thought you were just preparing for the trolley tour.
BGE: Funny girl, Jill! I am practicing!
softdrink: So, since I can't tell time and missed the discussion, did everyone like the book?
BGE: I'd like to say that this is a fantastic experience being able to talk with both of you and the others earlier...the magic of the internet. Amazing to me.
BGE: Hi, ally35. Welcome to book chat!
ally35: Hi ev1
BGE: I think we all liked the book, didn't we, Panda?
Panda: I think everyone really liked it!
BGE: We're just discussing our book this month, ally35...you're welcome to join in even if you haven't read it.
Panda: An insight to a very different world and take on life.
softdrink: I had forgotten she had another book out...I might have to read that one soon.
BGE: Panda, what is it called?
BGE: Scribbling the Cat?
softdrink: Very true, Panda...didn't make me want to travel to Africa, though!
Yep, Scribbling the Cat. Powells made it sound very interesting.
Panda: Yes. I also have no particular desire to go there, though it fascinates me - I'm very feeble about biting/stinging things!
BGE: and snakes...no snakes...that's why I live where I live, no snakes~~~~~
Shooting that snake in the house....yechhhh!
Panda: Nor here (well, except some shy adders).
softdrink: And getting sick from the water...ugh!
BGE: That was hard for me to read, even...am I a jamtart, or what?
softdrink: Jamtart????
BGE: Softie, sissy, lacking in intestinal fortitude...coward, yellowbelly, no guts...
softdrink: Ah. Is that Canadian?
BGE: Scaredy-cat!
BGE: must be!
softdrink: I'll have to remember that for the trolley!
Panda: My husband's ex-flatmate who moved back to Zimbabwe told us in a letter about scooping scorpions out of the pool and in the next sentence invited us out for a holiday.
softdrink: Italy has scorpions.
BGE: Scorpions..small? Big? Never seen any.
softdrink: Little.
BGE: They bite?
softdrink: I don't know...we never gave them a chance.
BGE: Good on ya! Are they inside and/or outside the houses?
softdrink: Ummm...inside. This was in the summer in Tuscany. Supposedly, only on the ground floor.
Panda: It was all the casual references to malaria that freaked me out.
BGE: It was like catching a cold would be for us, very commonplace.
softdrink: I'm sure she takes her daughters back...I wonder what they think.
BGE: The death of the little girl was such a tragic and heartbreaking thing.
When she said her life was divided between the before and the after...wow! A small child feeling like she had the responsibility for that little baby's death. Too huge a load for such tiny shoulders.
Panda: Awful - but nobody tried to blame her.
softdrink: No, but that'll make you grow up too fast.
BGE: No that was so good that no one did that, 'cause it would have been devastating for her, even more so, I think.
That's the fragility of children, they believe they are responsible when things go wrong...they are egocentric until about 17 or 18 or so, and they take on the whole enchilada, so to speak. Death in the family, a divorce...they always take it upon themselves.
softdrink: Brenda, did Bo say anything about where she is or what she is writing? Or is it top secret?
BGE: No, not top secret. She's in the US, in Wyoming, currently on assignment.
softdrink: I was thinking she might be back in Africa working on something else, but I guess not. Yeah, the end of the essay is signed Jackson Hole, WY.
Panda: Is Jackson Hole quite open country? Can't imagine her being happy in a big city.
BGE: Yes, it is sort of desert-like, country and farming.
softdrink: Hi, Panda, I'm Jill. Are you going to Savannah?
Panda: Sadly not - I did think about it, but it clashed with other family commitments
BGE: Savannah! Panda...could you come? Savannah! Jill...soon it is here!
softdrink: I know, I can't wait!
BGE: Did you tell us that the other book is out, already, Panda?
Panda: Out a couple of years ago
BGE: Ok, that's where I read it. She really gave you exceptionally detailed answers to your questions! Did you see that I posted them on the topic on the board?
softdrink: Yes! I was expected short answers, and was amazed at all the thought she put into it. And I've never heard of most of those authors she mentioned. I feel so illiterate.
Panda: Not too much malaria though!
BGE: No malaria in Jackson Hole, for sure!
softdrink: Bet there's lots of snakes.
BGE: Boy, she opened up a whole new reading area for me!
Panda: Lovely list - I must get perusing.
softdrink: The only one I've read is Things Fall Apart. Excellent book.
BGE: She mentioned Michael Ondaajte...one of my favorite authors. Nice to know she reads his stuff.
softdrink: I've only seen the movie The English Patient...never read any of his books.
BGE: AND, did either of you know about her reference to her inspiration,
Paul Potts? softdrink: No, I'm one of the few people who don't watch reality TV, and American Idol-type shows. Although was that the British version?
BGE: Check him out...I just bought the last 2 tickets available at the Winspear Center in Edmonton, for his tour stop here! I AM A HAPPY CAMPER TODAY!
Panda: Yes, that was an interesting one. I am only vaguely aware of him, because I don't watch it . I didn't know he had a troubled background.
BGE: He is an amazing person...he was raised in an abusive home with enormous amounts of bullying in school and at home...he hid in the music room at school to get away from it all. He grew up to be a cell phone salesman, until he auditioned for Britain's Got Talent...look at this audition! I'll wait...go look..if you both have time!
Paul Potts' audition video softdrink: I'm listening to it right now.
BGE: I cry EVERY time I watch this and listen to it...he just gets inside of my soul.
He has such a life story, so shy and so lovely a person.
softdrink: He's self taught??
BGE: yep.
Panda: The papers were quite cruel about him here, I seem to remember
BGE: The look on Simon Cowell's face says it all. He really amazes me...this voice and he only now is using it. Wow is all I can say. Why was that, Panda?
softdrink: Did he win?
BGE: YES! Then Simon signed him to a million dollar contract and he's touring now...I'm going to his Edmonton concert!
Panda: Because that's what certain papers like to do - mock an easy target
BGE:
The winning video. Here's his website! softdrink: Wow.
BGE: Yeah, wow. Panda, that is what seems to be the norm, now, isn't it?
Panda: I find myself getting crosser and crosser with cheap journalism, even in the so called quality press
softdrink: Like the obsession with Britney?
BGE: Me, too, getting so much worse every year, I think.
That poor child. Someone needs to take her by the hand and help her. Soon.
softdrink: And Nancy Grace (I think that's her name) on Fox?
BGE: Yes? Nancy...what about her???
softdrink: She drives me CRAZY!! She's a reporter, but comes across more like a gossip.
Panda: There was a nasty article about someone I know in the paper today - he has a lovely wife and children and the things that were being implied were hurtful. Makes me wonder about other stuff.
BGE: What are they thinking!!! Do they not get it that it is so hurtful to people????
Panda: I trained originally as a journalist, but I couldn't stand the intrusion into peoples lives. It wasn't about objective truth, it was about a good story that sells. I'm glad I'm not doing that sort of stuff. I still do some freelance - can pick and choose!
softdrink: Good for you, Panda. I used to be a welfare case manager, and the trend now is to ask all sorts of intrusive questions. The readon is to offer more services, but it made me so uncomfortable.
BGE: I do not believe anything I read or see about people in the news. I've had a couple of incidents where I was burned for a comment or interview that was turned around and made to look like something it was not, only to make it sound controversial.
I phoned the Journal and called them on the carpet for it. They printed a retraction, a tiny little thing on the 7th page, compared to the half page article on the front page that was wrong!
BAD ju-ju, as Minerva says, in Midnight in the Garden of good and Evil! Bad ju-ju...BAD!
softdrink: That's in my re-read pile, to prepare for Savannah. And we say bad ju-ju here in CA.
Panda: The family keep going past saying, "Are you still talking about that book?" Well, sort of!
BGE: Tell them YES, of course!
A friend of mine, a guy, of course, keeps asking what on earth we can find to talk about at a book club meeting that takes several hours!
Do you miss being in journalism, Panda, in spite of the bad stuff that's going in today?
softdrink: By the way, Brenda...do you have a file of jokes? How do you come up with all of these appropriate quotes and jokes?
BGE: Actually, I just Google the topic I'm writing about...like 'quotations savannah' or 'scary jokes' or 'ghost jokes.' A few are mine from some book here and there, but most are strictly using google.
softdrink: Hah! I thought so. Gotta love google.
BGE: Hey, Kendall.welcome to Book Chat...
and Journalism chat!
and Savannah chat!
softdrink: We're talking about books, really!
BGE: Really!
softdrink: 'Cause everything can be related to a book!
kendall: Hey, don't know what to say, though.
BGE: Just hang out with us for a few....
softdrink: At this point, anything goes.
BGE: Jill and Panda were talking about the trashiness and injustice of today's journalism
kendall: I do need something really meaty to read right now. I'm sick of sci- fi.
softdrink: Nice summary.
BGE: Read the book we just finished...that'll clear your head, I promise.
softdrink: Have you read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight?
kendall: What is it?
softdrink: Two thumbs up, absolutely
BGE: I'll get a link for you...be right back...keep on chattin'!
kendall: I'll have to check it out.
softdrink: It's about growing up in Africa, in a not so normal family, a true story, too.
kendall: Not so normal I know.
BGE: I'll share
this article with everyone...great article, an interview with the author.
kendall: Thanks for the link!
Panda: Nice photo of the author.
BGE: Not-so-normal was the topic of the chat also, as some shared about not- so-normal lives.
Panda: I must read that article.
softdrink: Me too...I'm saving it for later.
BGE: She's been such a darling to me. I want to send her a little gift, but don't know what...gotta think about that.
If you google the book title or her name you'll find lots of stuff...her website, also.
softdrink: Brenda...we could get something in Savannah and have those of us who are there sign something.
BGE: Sure, that would work, Jill!
kendall: Is there a chronological list that we're reading? Next time I'd like to be prepared.
BGE: Yes, we actually just created it today, here in chat, Kendall.
Panda: Can you add in my thanks and admiration, even though I won't be there
BGE: Sure, Panda, and I'll forge your signature! (she says, grinning evilly)
Panda: Paw print!
BGE: ok, a paw print...I get it! Is Panda your name or an online name?
Panda: online - I'm Susan, really.
softdrink: Brenda, I belong to Bookcrossing, too...we once sent Christopher Moore one of his own books signed by all of us who had read it, not that I'm saying we have to send her her own book.
BGE: that's a lovely idea! We could send it with a gorgeous card and something inside...like the bookmarks I'm creating for Savannah.
softdrink: I'll buy the book, if you want. Let me know.
kendall: What is your most favorite book or author?
BGE: Also, kendall is that your name? Or online name?
kendall: Kendall is my first name. It used to get me put in shop and boys' gym class in school.
BGE: Thanks, Kendall, mine's Brenda, then Susan and Jill are also here. Boy, favorite book...ok, everyone make a list...starting now!
Panda: My favorite tends to be the last book I read that I loved -memory like a sieve.
softdrink: Kendall, speaking of Christopher Moore...he's on my list of favorites. But my favorites always change depending on what I'm reading.
Very true, Panda!
Shadow of the Wind was a good one.
Three Junes, which I just read.
kendall: My favorite author is Hunter S. Thompson. That man was absolutely crazy!
softdrink: Gonzo journalism!
BGE: The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
Anne of Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery,
softdrink: I read his hell's angel's book. What an eye opener,
kendall: I love his story about the Kentucky Derby. He almost caused a riot!
BGE: THE SEVENWATERS TRILOGY
AUGHTER OF THE FOREST/SON OF THE SHADOWS/ CHILD OF THE PROPHECY by Juliet Marillier.sorry, cutting and pasting...ooops!
kendall: I have had to buy 6 copies of Fear and Loathing over the years because every time I loan it out no one will return it.
Panda: Randomly, I like Alison Lurie, Thomas Hardy, Kate Atkinson, Tracy Chevalier
BGE: Kate Atkinson...not familiar..what does she write, Panda?
softdrink: Special Topics in Calamity Physics is another recent fav.
BGE: Wow! Y'all are great! Keep them coming, going to fill my shelves!
softdrink: I haven't read Fear and Loathing, but the movie was certainly weird. I love Johnny Depp.
kendall: I'm currently reading the Wheel of Time series. I'm on book four.
BGE: Author?
kendall: Wheel of Time is by Robert Jordan
Johnny Depp is a God. I've loved all his role choices, except Cry Baby. I don't like John Waters films.
Panda: Very good novels
BGE: Thanks, making notes, looking on google.
Panda: I just looked on my bookshelves and noticed another book about growing up in 1970s Africa!!!
Called Tick Bite Fever, it's a boy this time, by David Bennun.
It's funny - not such a challenging upbringing.
BGE: Thanks, again...making more notes.
We also read
A Long Way Gone in my book club. About a boy soldier in the Sudan and his life...makes my troubles look like so much candy floss. Escaped the family massacre, ran for months across the Sudan and was captured by rebels...horrendous. Now, escaped and doing better.
kendall: A good one that takes place in Africa is Cry Wolf by Wilbur Smith. Its action packed and will make you laugh.
softdrink: This is not helping me with my vow to not buy more books.
Kendall: Don't buy. Break into my house. I'd be thankful to clear out some space!
soft drink: Same here. My boyfriend offered to build me some bookshelves for my birthday.
BGE: Ok, good idea. Maybe we need a book exchange in this book club! We'll send a box with a few books in it to one person, when takes out a few, puts a few in and sends it on to the next person!
Panda: We have a small London house and have regular clearouts...which is why this is my second copy of Don't let's go to the Dogs!
BGE: You tossed the first one?
softdrink: Panda, I had to go to the library to get a copy, since I'd already given mine away. I love book exchanges...I'm always passing my books on.
Panda: Not on purpose - although my husband thinks it was a library copy. We did mistakenly get rid of Scribbling the Cat though
BGE: No!
softdrink: Brenda, chances are I'll be buying Scribbling the Cat. I'll bring it to Sav. for you, if you want.
BGE: Ok, that'd be wonderful!
softdrink: Panda, you're in London? I love/adore/worship London.
Panda: My husband travels a lot and brings home what he has bought in the airport bookstores, so that expands the shelves again
How nice of you to say that!
kendall: The best sci-fi story is an old one called The Minervan Experiment. Searching the bookcase for author.
BGE: We'll be there at the end of June, first of July...we should have a get-together!
softdrink: I lived there for three months (that counts as living there, right?) in college.
Panda: We should - we are having one for Tourmama (Judy) next month.
BGE: how lovely!
kendall: Panda, what exactly are mushy peas?
Panda: What they say - old fashioned dried green peas that are re-hydrated. Go mushy. Love or hate.
BGE: Mashed?
softdrink: Gross!
Panda: No, they sort of self mush!
softdrink: Even grosser!
Panda: A delicacy to those who love them (not including self)
softdrink: We ate canned peas as a kid, and I can't get past that.
BGE: My kids hated canned peas!
My daughter had to start buying them again...her husband is from Liverpool and loves.loves.loves them...cold from the can, hot with vinegar, any way at all. Makes me laugh! She complains and gags and gags and complains...he and I eat them, and laugh out loud!
Panda: Where were you in college in London?
kendall: Softdrink, they may not be that bad. I tried boiled peanuts. They're big here in the south in the fall. They are not too bad after you get used to the texture.
Panda: Mushy peas are more a Northern England thing
kendall: Did we gross her out?
Panda: I'm still contemplating boiled peanuts with awe.
softdrink: Not sure what I did there.
Panda: Just like me earlier!
kendall: Glad you're back. you weren't sick were you?
Panda: Brenda is still a ghostly presence.
BGE: Jill, are you getting shut out of the chat room? I have been missing from chat for ages.
softdrink: Anyway, I was a student at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California...we brought our own professors, so it wasn't a London college.
kendall: (sitting here laughing at my typing)
BGE: Thanks, Panda...I tell ya...ghostwriter! Funny typos! I love 'em!
Mine most of all.
softdrink: No, I'm on a laptop and I think I touched the wrong part of the touch pad.
Panda: I went to San Luis Obispo once. Very nice B & B
softdrink: kendall, laugh at mine while you're at it.
kendall: I usually blame it on too early in the morning. No excuse now.
softdrink: Panda, I'm still in San Luis Obispo County. It's beautiful here!
kendall: I used to hang out in San Luis a lot in the early eighties. Loved it.
softdrink: It hasn't changed that much...just more chain stores.
Panda: I did a trip from San Francisco to San Diego - this was in the 80s.
kendall: Is Alex's still open in Shell Beach? They had the best ribs!
softdrink: Yep. Although I've lived here for 30 years and never eaten there.
kendall: If they are still as good as then, you should. It was the first place we hit when we got into town. We'd order two dinners, one for there and one to go.
kendall: Where do you live Panda?
Panda: Edge of London, near Hampton Court Palace.
Panda: Very green and leafy, on the Thames.
kendall: Someday if I'm reeaal lucky, maybe I'll get to England.
softdrink: Last time I was in London, we cruised down the Thames to Hampton Court...it was gorgeous.
Panda: It is very striking - we often go for a walk in the grounds.
kendall: Softdrink, where are you from?
softdrink: Morro Bay, CA. I've lived here since I was 8. What about you?
kendall: Strike that, I'm having a senior moment.
softdrink: No you're not...I never said Morro Bay!
kendall: Thank you. I'm not a senior yet.
Has anyone read The Saga of the Seven Suns by Kevin Anderson? They are excellent.
softdrink: Doesn't ring any bells. Is it sci-fi?
(Cont'd in next post....)
Slow Travel Talk 
