San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

If you like political thrillers, I definitely recommend Vince Flynn's series of Mitch Rapp books.

http://www.amazon.com/Mitch-nbsp-Rapp-nb...

Well, obviously one of my favorites is Michael Connelly. I always enjoy his books especially during long plane trips. I did recently read Dean Koontz - "The Husband". It was a fast read and entertaining with some twists. Koontz writes about OC and sometimes Riverside County so it's cool to read a good fictional story with references to locations I have been to and street names that I have actually walked or driven down.

If you're looking for non-fiction one of my favorites out of the past is "The Naked Ape" by a zoologist, Desmond Morris.

For you I'd say anything from the Choose Your Own Adventure series.

xboxboy and Harry, thanks for telling me about your books. xboxboy, I do like political thrillers. I am looking forward to reading Koontz.

Nostradamus...What's the deal? How long are you gonna keep hating, dude? Do you know how pathetic you seem? You're on here regularly begging for dates. Your dog is precious though.

You wanna come with me on my next date and bring a camera? Would you like to meet for coffee and have me bring my degrees?

What is it gonna take to shut you up, Nostradamus?

Am I going to wake up one night and find you peering into my bedroom window??

Everyone else, let's hear what you're reading. :)

I'm extremely tempted to take you up on your offer to document your date. I'd need a waiver of ownership and a release form from you and the lucky man. I'd film it from start to happy finish. Scratch that. Yuck!

However, if I film something and it turns out great, I would worry about making it public because of your boys. If it were just you I'd be all over filming it and you would have your 15 minutes. I imagine it would be something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPoth5n3D...

For now, go on with yo bad self.

Who said anything about filming? I suggested you could bring a camera like you suggested on another thread where you came out with your ridiculous attacks.

What kind of film company do you have? Let me guess. Do you get your experience documenting your sister as she makes her nightly rounds on the street corner? You know, the older one one who pretends to be a "politician".

Do you know how pathetic and pitiful you appear? Lonely, desperate, searching for women on this site, despite the fact that you claim to be a millionaire in the making and a successful film producer.

Was is it Nostradamus? Aside from needing a woman rather badly, do you suffer from being small in a certain delicate area and feel you need to compensate for that?

You've become creepy. Again, what will it take for you to go away? And no, I won't let you smell my panties, so don't ask.

Peace

reading recommendations

piggington folks, i've been lurking a while and have little to say and lots to learn on most topics discussed here--but on this topic i feel comfortable making these two recommendations:

short story: "The Next Thing" by Steven Millhauser in the May 2008 issue of Harpers Magazine.

novella: "The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil" by George Saunders (2005)

tapdoubt

Some of my favorites

"Bringers of the Dawn: Teachings from the Pleiadians" by Barbara Marciniak

"The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley

"Living with Joy" and "Creating Money" by Sanaya Roman (actually everything by Sanaya Roman)

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

"Nothing in this Book is True, but It Is Exactly How Things Are" by Bob Frissell

Edited to Add: Please substitute underling or italics for my quotation marks per patiently waiting's correction.

LOL

Marion,

May I suggest a few classics that you may benefit from:

"The Custom of the Country" / Edith Wharton
-or-
"The Picture of Dorian Gray" / Wilde

Titles should never be in between quotations marks. They are underlined or italicized.

I recommend _The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crash of 2008 and What It Means_ by George Soros.

BTW, every American woman should read the works of Edith Wharton.

Marion,

I'm partial to memoirs. Mostly because I enjoy reading about other people's dysfunctional lives/childhoods/eccentric habits.

I LOVE Augusten Burroughs - especially Possible Side Effect and Magical Thinking. He's a total smart ass - and a gay man - so not for everyone. But I LOVE him.

Also LOVED "The Glass Castle" by Jeanette Walls.

And, if you havent read "Eat Pray Love (the ULTIMATE chick novel), you must.

Patricia Cornwell novels are fun - I love the Kay Scarpetta novels.

If you like Historical Fiction, try The Other Boleyn Girl or Pillars of the Earth.

I also loved Mists of Avalon, but could never really get into Marion Zimmer's other novels.

Speakin of Ken Follet, he has written some excellent thrillers. So has Robert Ludlum.

Happy reading!

Patiently,

Why should every American woman read the works of Edith Wharton?

Just curious. Thx.

Well, I'm a happy camper with these book suggestions posted. :) dharmagirl, I'm looking forward to reading those memoirs, they sound interesting. All of the suggestions on here do.

Wow, Marion I apprechiate this topic, it made me think about the fact that I don't read enough literature/nonfiction :( I tried to think of some of my favorite authors and all that came up were in the psychology field - man I need a life! My favorite for women's issues was Harriet Lerner, she's great...I've recommended her series quite a few times.

I did read a book recently (around Christmas) by Michael Crichton called Next it was a pretty good scientific thriller.

Nostradamus - that video was just weird, not that funny. You are usually one of my favorite posters, can you please do better next time? And anyway, what's wrong with the choose your own adventure books? They were my favorite in grade school dammit! :)

I second "The Glass Castle" Great read and a most interesting story.

I was at a spa in Mexico and could NOT put down The Glass Castle....it was so good that I actually missed out on spa treatments, African drumming and yoga classes!

I saw Jeanette Walls speak at the Smithsonian about 18 mos ago, while on a trip to D.C. She was fabulous and, the remarkable thing is, she does not really blame her parents.

The other remarkable thing is she has never been to a therapist. Shocking. After what she went through, I would have thought she would be bitter, angry, resentful, etc.

Her mother lives with Jeanette and her husband in Virginia.

Marion, I HIGHLY recommend this book. It's a wonderful example of someone determined to overcome a dysfunctional family.

Submitted by seattle-relo on May 17, 2008 - 1:26pm.

Wow, Marion I apprechiate this topic, it made me think about the fact that I don't read enough literature/nonfiction :(

Seattle, yeah. I've been reading too much of one author lately and feel I need to branch out. I haven't read Lerner, I need to check her out. My recent psychology read has been Freud. Seattle, do you reside in Cali?

Dharmagirl, the Glass Castle sounds familiar, I wonder if I've browsed it before. At any rate, I'm going to check it out and it MUST have been good if you misssed a spa treatment. haha. :)

Ok, I'm off to go look at houses.

P.S. Dharma, when are you closing on your house?

later.

Hi Marion,

Dgirl is right about the Mists of Avalon. It was a great book to read. I also enjoy anything by Crichton. I thought Timeline was one of the best, but the movie did not do it justice. As for Dean Koontz, his Frankenstein, the Prodigal Son and Frankenstein, City of Night were fun to read, like eating cotton candy. I also enjoy reading Stephen King and think you might enjoy Lisey's Story. For your background in Ψ I think you might like In a Different Voice by Carol Gilligan. Of course, you have probably read it before. Happy reading.

Hi, Aecetia. Thanks! I haven't read Crichton yet, but will. I like Steven King as well. My favorite book by him is Firestarter. Awesome, awesome writing.

I'm really liking this thread. :)

I agree. I have liked most of King's books, but never read the Dark Tower series. I was even reading his serialized online book called the Plant, and then he stopped writing it. His books have changed a little since his accident. I think he is dealing with the damage that was done through them. I really enjoyed Salem's Lot, but it is old and should only be read on a sunny day and not late at night.

I thought I'd lost this book - "Creative and Critical Thinking" by W.Edgar Moore - but just now found it hidden in my bookcase :) It has copyrights back to 1955!

This was a book that was introduced to me by a friend back in my college days late 70's time frame. He handed it to me in class one day in a very austere manner and said that I had "arrived" - it was too funny a moment. Anyway there are some really good chapters in here: Fallacies of Irrelevance, Pitfalls in Language, Value Judgements, Need-Directed Thinking, The Personal Point of View, False Assumptions, etc

Back then it really influenced me. I really enjoyed my college days learning about new ideas and learning different subjects.

Theory of the Leisure Class

Thorstein Veblen

Hot Blonde, I remember coming across that book a couple of times but somehow I missed reading it. It has an interesting premise and I'll bet it is still a good read. I should get a library card again and check it out.

"In the book, Veblen argues that economic life is driven not by notions of utility, but by social vestiges from pre-historic times. Drawing examples from his time (turn-of-the-century America) and anthropology, he held that much of today's society is a variation on early tribal life."

In it's social and historic context, it can seem a very complex academic study. But it became a lasting and popular work of a guy that could be difficult to understand. Anthropology, economics, sociology and psychology all made for a strange brew. But two social concepts popularized by this book have endured and those are the notions of "conspicuous consumption" and "pecuniary emulation".
Both ideas seem to be relevant to the spirit of this board.

Hi Marion,

I just realized I never answered your question. We close on June 19th.

We probably wont move in until August, though. We plan to demo all the flooring and replace with handscraped maple on 1st flr, recarpet upstairs, repaint entire place, change light fixtures, etc.

The place has been vacant for at least a year and needs a LOT of work, so it will be a long summer....

Hi, Dharma. Well, decorating can be fun. You get to put your personal stamp on the house. :) Maple flooring is really nice. I think the important thing is to get a house with good bones, then you can always change the more superficial things, it seems like you've done that. Enjoy! :)