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I do know the story of Pollyanna, it's ubiquitous after all, but I've never read the book.
As for TLOTR - it's not supposed to be true to Norse mythology, it's a fantasy not a history book.
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Cwillie, I’m surprised that you don’t seem to know and love Pollyanna. It’s become a common expression, explained at length on the net.

Pollyanna lived with her impoverished minister father (her mother and siblings in heaven), dependent on ‘missionary barrels’ for most of her clothing etc. She sent word that she would love a doll, and when the barrel arrived there was no doll, just a pair of child-sized crutches. Her father invented the Glad Game, where you had to find something to be Glad about, even if it was a challenge. It started with Pollyanna being Glad that she didn’t need to use the crutches. She then brought joy and happiness to a surprising number of people, as you can perhaps imagine.

Many people now might say ‘Pass the sick bag, Alice’, but I find the books both soothing and interesting. They are themselves a piece of history, and a glimpse into the minds of people in the past – what people thought and enjoyed, why stories were popular (eg miraculous recoveries from paraplegia). Sometimes the genuine background facts are a surprise to learn.

For me TLOTR is unreadable at any age, a complete waste of time. It’s not even ‘true’ to Norse mythology, why bother? Pollyanna is at least short!
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Midnight Library sounds intriguing Sammy, I've added it to my want to read list.
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I've never read Pollyanna but I've read a fair bit of children's lit. I think a lot of older books where the protagonist was a child or the setting was fantasy vs real life were/are still labelled as for children simply because of that and the author never set out to write a children's book. I'll never understand people giving little kids TLOTR, and even The Hobbit is a stretch for an early reader. I can remember having Heidi on my bookshelf as a child and never being able to get through it, and I was a voracious reader even then. One I reread a few years ago was The Secret Garden, that is a wonderful story!


I'm coming back to add - one of my pet peeves is that I think giving kids books that are beyond their reading ability and/or with themes beyond their comprehension ruins the story for them, especially if they have access to a film version and skip the reading altogether. Back in my school days we began with "readers" and moved on to short novels as ability allowed, I still remember the thrill of reading and rereading Charlotte's Web, The Big Wave, Call it Courage.
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Good Morning,
I am not sure if you are looking for a reading list or something to do with caregiving.

But here are my recommendations:

*Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt) Pulitzer Prize Winning Author
*Tis (the sequel to to the above mentioned)
*Starbucks Saved My Life (great read about a businessman who loses his job and triumphs--funny, funny, funny!)
*The Bible (Dennis Prager has interpreted the bible in layman's terms) excellent when you have major decisions to make--very informative a lot I was unaware of
*A Caregiver's Guide to Lewy Body Dementia (Helen Buell Whitworth & James Whitworth) there is also a second edition
*The New Times Book Review on a Sunday has the latest releases and a brief bio
*I order all of my books online and have them transferred to my local public library

Hope this helped! Nothing like a good book, comfortable reading chair, good reading lamp and a nice decorative cup of hot tea!
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I’ve just finished reading Pollyanna! Better late than never. I’ve built up a collection of old books for girls. Anne of Green Gables, of course, plus Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, What Katie Did, and various girls boarding school stories. I just found Pollyanna in an Op Shop. For a book that’s so often referred to, there are surprisingly few copies about. I’m So Glad to have found it.

I am puzzled by Katie and Pollyanna’s terrible accidents. They sounded as if they had spinal injuries and were then paraplegic, but both of them recovered. Does anyone know how? Perhaps Lydia Pinkerton's Medicinal Compound did the trick.
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Gershun,

Thanks! I have experience in both of those subjects.
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I started a book two weeks ago. Can't remember what it's called cause it's a yawner. :)
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Sounds like a good relaxing read Yoda! LOL
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Covert Emotional Incest: The Hidden Sexual Abuse by Adena Bank Lees

and



Keener, Craig S.. Miracles Today
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Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin's book Unthinkable, about the suicide of his son and the week of Jan 6th. I must say there is SOOOO much I didn't know about the electoral process. One for instance is that prior to 1913 the senators were elected by the legislature. Who knew? This book has been an education, and on the level of losing a child to suicide, just amazing.
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I've been reading Lisa See's Red Princess mystery series and finished the third book last night; as well as an interesting mystery the books deal with the conflict between the Chinese and American cultures. Although the author seems to have done a lot of background work I'm not sure how reliable her cultural knowledge is, but it certainly makes for interesting and insightful reading.
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"Shores Beyond Shores" by Dr. Irene Butter
An excerpt explains why in America free people should not want to be stopped in the streets to show their papers, even vaccine passports.

"But finally, in America, I had choices and could exercise my free will. There were no restrictions. No yellow stars on clothing. No men with guns stopping people to see papers. Only opportunity.
Now, 75 years later, I see something I never imagined: echoes of the Nazis and their regime. What happened in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021, was an attempted coup of our government and an unraveling of the democracy that protects all of our rights. I saw a T-shirt with the words "Camp Auschwitz," as well as other anti-Semitic symbols and slogans used by the rioters."
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I just finished a book that is considered as children literature. It is called Kafka and the travelling doll. I did enjoy it and I think it is a good book for grown ups too.
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"South of Broad' by Pat Conroy. Hoping it picks up pretty soon--although I have loved everything he's written.
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The Men In My Life: A Memoir Of Love And Art In 1950's Manhattan
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Or for caregivers “My Life Rearranged”
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I’d like to recommend Aging with Agency by Sandi Peters. The author takes a friendly approach to the process of maturing with an emphasis on the development of the inner life for optimal living.
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That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

My DH is getting ready to read this book.
I asked him what he was editing on his computer.
He is editing out the punctuation and grammatical errors.
Why?
So they won't distract him when he does read it.
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Getting ready to start Cloud Cuckoo Land. Has anyone else read this? The author is Anthony Doerr, wrote All the Light We Cannot See which won the Pulitzer for Fiction in 2015.
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gershun - I read forewards too. and am impressed with the amount of research a good author does.

dseag - I watched the news (which I rarely do) when that rescue took place. I found it most interesting - scary for the people involved but interesting. I would like to see the film.

I love reading on Kindle as I can so easily search locations, or whatever, as they come up in the books I am currently reading. Seeing images of the cities or landscapes, even checking out the foods mentioned, enhance my reading experience.

I am reading the series "Dark Yorkshire Crime Thrillers" by JM Dalgliesh who also wrote the "Hidden Norfolk series" which I have already read. I am enjoying them. Kindle unlimited is saving me a lot of money.
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Bridger, I'd appreciate your insights as you progress through the book.   The WWII  events are obviously of interest and concern, and although I've read a few (one required for a lit class), they're also very upsetting.  I'm wondering if I should even try to get through something this emotional.

I'm not yet reading anything after finishing Sisters in Arms (WWII Black Womens' Corps) but am looking for my James Herriot books.    I read the All Creatures Great and Small 4 book series  a few times decades ago,  but later discovered 2 more books (Every Living Thing and If Only They Could Talk).  

In addition the turmoil in the US and actually throughout many parts of the world motivates me to read something positive, amusing, healthy, and well written, and totally apolitical.

Only problem is that I might be tempted to get a cat and/or dog for company, and I'm not really in a position to care for animals at this stage of life.
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Finished the Coulter book. It was pretty good. Started “The Warsaw Orphan. About life in Warsaw, Poland ghetto during WWII.
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dseag2, thank you for the info on the tv series. I’ll check it out.

I shortened the long url to: https://tinyurl.com/v9bm5ab5.
I copied and pasted the long url and went to tinyurl.com and pasted the url in the box and clicked on “make tinyurl”. The short one popped right up.
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Since I retired in June 2020 I've been reading self-help books on how to be happier and (yes) how to control anger. They have made me much calmer and, overall, a better person in the crazy world we live in.

I also schedule Friday movie days where I try to watch something fulfilling that takes me away from the everyday worries of having a mother close to the end of her life. I know this is about books, but I saw "The Rescue" last Friday, which is about the 15 Thai boys that were rescued from the caves several years ago. It was inspirational and enlightening and put things into perspective for me.
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Hallah, I believe this book has been made into the ABC TV series Big Sky so you may want to check it out after you finish the book. There is a Cassie Dewell in the series.

https://www.google.com/search?q=big+sky&sxsrf=AOaemvLZ_Qv-ywgkksU3drFf1hkhA2PppQ%3A1635560087364&source=hp&ei=l6p8YYq1Et-wqtsPw5CgwAU&iflsig=ALs-wAMAAAAAYXy4p5L-WFZVbTtLXcVdaTlsBxYvmMRM&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDI2Kc9OSqo0YPRiT8pMVyjOrgQAV8kHWg&oq=Big+Sky&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAEYADILCC4QgAQQsQMQkwIyCAgAEIAEELEDMggIABCABBCxAzIICC4QgAQQsQMyBQgAEIAEMgsIABCABBCxAxCDATIICAAQgAQQsQMyCwguEIAEEMcBEK8BMg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCvATIICAAQsQMQgwE6BAgjECc6BQgAEJECOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCjAjoICC4QsQMQgwE6EQguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCEJMCOgsILhCxAxDHARCjAjoFCC4QgAQ6CAgAEIAEEMkDOgUIABCSAzoLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEEMcBEKMCEMkDUL8bWIooYN40aABwAHgAgAFkiAGFBZIBAzYuMZgBAKABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz
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Now I’m reading “The Bitterroots” by C.J. Box.
Former sheriff’s investigator Cassie Dewell is trying to start her life over as in private practice. She’s her own boss and answers to no one, and that’s just the way she likes it after the past few tumultuous years. All that certainty changes when an old friend calls in a favor: she wants Cassie to help exonerate a man accused of assaulting a young woman from an influential family. 

So far an interesting read.
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Some time back I read one of Baldacci’s books and thought he must have co-authored with someone. It definitely was not one of his best. I searched for the name of the other writer but David was the only one. Don’t ask me the title; I don’t remember!

James Michener wrote a lot of books with historical information. Texas, Hawaii, Centennial are examples of his work. I was saddened by his passing.
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I hear ya Willie. You know I've always thought I'd like to be a writer but when I think of all the research that it would involve I get daunted by the task.

I always read the foreword of all books and when I see how many people the author thx for research they provided I wonder where I would ever find these people for myself if I wanted to write an accurate book. Plus I find the books that are the most enjoyable to me are the ones where they provide a lot of historical information about the area etc. So I could never justify writing a non accurate depiction of anything.
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Oh these were blatant to me Gershun, that's why they annoyed me so much! I'll accept a lot of that when it's peripheral to the story but not when creating the atmosphere and the back story is fundamental.
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