So it's a Booker Prize winning novel, the author is Irish and it deals with a large dysfunctional ( thru generations ) Irish family seen primarily thru the eyes of one sibling as she journeys to England to take the body of her suicidal brother back home. It's called " The Gathering" and I heard such great things about it I actually bought it with a ( Read more... )

I just finished one of the best ( non-Alexander related) books I've read in a long while. It's called "The Monsters of Templeton" by Lauren Groff. It's a basically a story about one characters connections to a town, a history and a family and it is just beautifully written.  In turns it's poetic, philosophic, funny. poignant and horrorific, with ( Read more... )

Heard from my doctor today. My blood tests and cultures all came back negative, so we're back to leaning towards the "it's a pesky virus that just won't go away" theory. Which, though far better than some esophagal or thyroid horror which was the initial thinking and would have involved the kind of medication you have to stay on for the rest of ( Read more... )

So now we go on to Bagoas' actual description of Hephaistion, (quoting from memory here again so cut me some slack....), " I suppose he was the better looking of the two, with features regular to perfection and skin like darkened ivory", or something pretty close to that, anyway let's back up and think about this. " The better looking of the two"? ( Read more... )

I went to the doctors' today and that little cold and sore throat I've had for about a month now and been trying to ignore turns out to be a rather wicked little virus which may include an "esophagal infection". Oh good! I'm sure the 13 hour work day I put in yesterday helped no end in the healing process. But  I await blood and throat tests and in ( Read more... )

Okay I'm in a fairly foul mood today. I have yet another cold and sore throat ( I feel like I swallowed a pigeon, feathers, beak and claws all intact) and I have a house that is in desperate need of cleaning. And just to prove I'm not being a wuss about this we are talking a 3 story brick townhouse, 4 if you include the basement, and, yeah, oh my ( Read more... )

Just  finished reading Melissa Scott's "Choice of Destinies" an au fiction about AtG and what would have happened if he had turned his attentions to Rome instead of India. I started this with great trepidation, I mean Alexander's actual life and accomplishments are so amazing why do we need to go into the "what if " universe? But I was really ( Read more... )

I am now officially post-menopausal, but let me make this clear, there is no such thing. One is either pre-menopausal or menopausal, if you are post-menopausal you have probably shuffled off the mortal coil and don't give a damn anymore anyway. Yes, your period may be gone but the symptoms can go on and on and on.....!  I've been told that in about ( Read more... )

Just a quick "thank you" for everyone's good wishes. I'm sure everyone feels the same way about their own little livejournal niches but I think the woman of the Alexander/Mary Renault fandoms a/o communities are seriously cool.

A friend called today and we were discussing her dislike of what are termed "chick flicks". Well I said this is all in one ( Read more... )

Well..after 3 years of lurking around and commenting ( at great length I may add ) on other people's journals I finally decided to post something on my own ( with a little help from my friends of course, thanks my_cynnr) .  It  may also have something to do with the fact that  I turn 50 tomorrow.  I don't exactly know  how the 2  connect myself but ( Read more... )