I agree with Betsy that listening to an author read their book on Audible is GREAT! Thanks for another reading episode!

Thanks sooo much, Simone, for sharing your reading of The Count of Monte Cristo. I listened to the book (47 hours!!) and absolutely LOVED IT!! Simone, Kim & Betsy please keep these books coming. You gals are the best Book Club ever!!🤗❤

The Count of Monte Christo was written, over a 2 year period I believe, as a serial publication in some sort of newspaper before being released in its book form. This is why the chapters are quite short and why there are so many of them. I’m rereading it as well through a different lens now that I’m older. Thanks for the inspiration to take on a classic again!

Books people wrote, . . . Gabrielle Roy, . . ."Where Nests the Water Hen" is a favorite of mine as a Canadian; and a teacher of Canadian literature (living in Italy). Your rendition of the crocus (Manitoba's provincial flower), front and back, is exceptional.

I love all of your podcasts. Both knitting and reading. I waited till Betsy was back to make this comment, but just to let you know, because of you guys, I am getting ready to read book number 17 of the Armand Gamache series. I love all of the characters. There are times that I just want to scream at. What some of them are put through but the stories are excellent.

Enjoyable again! Thanks to you, I'm halfway through The Spoon Stealer and am enjoying the writing and characters. I love that Vera talks! I had never heard of the Halifax explosion. Oh, my goodness! I read a bit about it simply because it was mentioned in this story. I just finished reading Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Excellent writing and story.

Thanks ladies. Loved the book banter.

I have a lot more than 20 pages left but I'm really enjoying it. When I can keep track of the threads from the past that connect all the characters I'm doing much better at guessing what will happen and being right about it. Sometimes I have to stop and think back where related to what event I've seen that character before, before being able to continue. And seems like all of his characters are important to the story. No throwaways.

Okay, Simone you got me. I searched through my library (both print and digital) until I found my copy of the Count of Monte Cristo. I've been reading it the past 5 days to the exclusion of all other books and even my knitting! (I really only have energy for the reading due to my current medical issues anyhow). What a fantastic enjoyable book this is. Thanks for reminding me of it. Moby Dick, any Thomas Hardy or Charles Flaubert are OFF my lists but other classics may attract me in the coming months.

Great reading video. 🇬🇧

Kim, a very interesting book of a Canadian Saskatchewan nurse is Thin Pink Lines, My Life as a Nurse and Beyond, by Muriel A. Jarvis and Mary E. Vandergoot . Muriel made a difference in the development of health care in that province. A story of humanity.

I loved the Count of Monte Christo book, I may need to re-read it after hearing Simone talk about it. I read it in the 80's but I remember at that time that I super enjoyed the book.

I still really recommend the Potato Factory trilogy by Bryce Courtenay. So so good!!

I had to laugh at the beginning because I had just set my Roomba to vacuum, picked up my knitting and started to watch this when you all started talking about AI and Betsy mentioned that meme that’s making the rounds at present (I want AI that will do household chores, not art). I like the Roomba because it works tirelessly and doesn’t talk back or take coffee breaks…. But I can tell the difference between AI writing and Real Person writing. I was embarrassed for a friend recently who proudly said she had asked AI to write part of an application and showed the application to me. I could see that the thing was Frankenstein - not seamlessly joined or made into one homogenous unit. An erudite and learned lady once said to me that life is too short to read bad books. Classics are still around for a reason and there are plenty still yet to read. I agree with Betsy that the use of language and evocative descriptions, moody characters, and undercurrents of revenge, atonement, joy, grief and all the other complicated feelings that we have is the most incredible gift these folks left to us. It’s like listening to Beethoven or looking at a Van Gogh. Let us not waste time on bad literature or worse - computer concoctions. Thank you for another wonderful chat.

The 2014 British movie (absolutely incredible!) is based on the First World War memoir of the same name by Vera Brittain. The book has been required reading in English schools for a number of years. Even if you do not feel like reading another war / nurse book, I really think you would be glad if you watched the movie.

Try A Lovely War by Julie Berry. I enjoyed it on audible but I'm sure it's good in your own head lol. It's a mix of the two world wars and Greek mythology.

My daughter received this book for Christmas a few years ago, she asked for it. She also loved it! I may have to read it someday. My favourite genre is classics!

as the saying goes..."Revenge is a dish best served cold".

The AI "Knit/Crochet Patterns" drive me absolutely mad. See something cute, and then upon inspection realize its not even real is so upsetting.

Isaac Asimov is one of my all time favourite writers but the movies based upon his classics are horrifically bad. Read the books!

the more we use AI the better they will get, so I am not going to use them!