Since I've been back, I have seen been so happy to find so many old friends here, but I think some are missing too. I also want to get to know the forum peeps I haven't met yet. Maybe a get to know you thread would be good! If we have any lurkers, jump right in! 

I'm Valli. I'm from Alabama, im single, I have a grown son, and a little dog named Gilbert. I love to read, walk my dog, and be outside. I have a little spot under a tree with a comfy chair and a table where I love to read. I love chocolate, wine, and if i dont eat a good, messy cheeseburger once a week, i will get grouchy and cry. My best friend is Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. 

I love historical fiction of any kind, any setting, and any time period. I read lots of history too. 

I read just about every genre. I love a good mystery, especially a good psychological one. I especially love post-apocalyptic and dystopian novels. Something about the end of the world and the rebuilding of society

intrigues me. 

I love Nordic mysteries, big, meaty family sagas, fantasy novels that are set in a somewhat recognizable historical world, WW2 fiction, and I have an obsession with early explorers (Ernest Shackleton is my hero), and I love a good, long series where I get to revisit my favorite characters often. 

Some of my all time favorite books - The Stand by Stephen King, The Swan by Robert Mccammon, Gone with the Wind, The Bone People by Keri Hulme, Katherine by Anya Seton, When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman, Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor, The Game of Throne series by George R.R. Martin. That's all I can think of right now. 

So, what about you? Tell us what you love! Your favorite books or authors. Tell me about your favorite spot to read. What do you look at most on the internet? (I look at funny pet videos every day)

Your house is on fire and you can only grab ONE book. Quick...which one do you save? 

This is a good idea Valli. I havent really been in the forums much in the past couple of years. My life has been very hectic and I hope that some day it slows down just a little. 

I am originally from South Jersey, but have lived in PA for most of my adult life. My husband and i have been together 23 years and we have two beautiful daughters (21 and 16). I have been going through a mourning period for the past year because my oldest moved away. She is only an hour away, but has a serious boyfriend in NY and spends most free time from school/work with his family. Its been very hard on me. My youngest is a junior in HIgh School and goes to a Charter School for Visual Arts. She is very involved with school and art in the community and keeps us busy. I work full time doing accounting work for a museum. I have a degree in Military History, but took a job working in an office of a museum and somehow got talked into learning accounting. Its challenging and I like it. Never thought I would say I like working with numbers. But it is like solving puzzles all day. On my "days off" I babysit my oldest DD's best friend's baby. The friend has been a major part of our family since she was young and has had a rough time. So I chase my 18month old "grandson" around all weekend. 

Unfortunatley, I have not been reading much. I love non-fiction, especially military history and political biographies. For fiction, I read mainly historical fiction and mysteries. I love a lot of the classics especially Jane Austen. 

My favoite books include but not limited to: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostava, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Harry Potter Series, any and all Agatha Christie, and anything by Jeff Shaara or Simon Winchester. 

My favorite spot to read is my living room couch. Problem is it is always noisy in my living room and I can't concentrate on the book. When I get on the internet I am usually paying bills, on Facebook, or in the Games Forum on PBS. Unless you include Netflix. We stream that through our gaming system in place of Cable. 

If my house were on fire, I would grab a book my DH found for me last Christmas. It is a book about the Secret Service during the Civil War. It is written by a guy who belonged to it and was part of the group who hunted down John Wilkes Booth. The copy I have is published in 1889 and is in rough shape. Needs to be rebound. Although in reality, if my house were on fire, I would be standing at a window tossing books and photo albums out until I had no choice but to jump out myself. 

Great idea, Valli!  Since I'm one of the prodigal daughters around here who comes and goes, there probably are some newer people who have no idea who I am -- and probably some old timers who are trying to forget me! 

My name is Shelley and I live in northwestern Minnesota.  I'm married and have three children - my daughter Tess is 29 and getting married in May (she lives and works in Minneapolis); my son Cameron is 16 and is a sophmore in high school and plays hockey and football and is on the track team; and my daughter Lily is 13, has Down Syndrome, does track and gymanstics in the Special Olympics and is a 7th grader.  I work full time as a real estate closer. In addition to reading, I am a crazy, avid, obsessed knitter, and I also sew, cross stitch and can crochet enough to get by.  I like "all the crafts," and my ulimate goal is to retire and craft all day. I also hoopdance and make and decorate cupcakes. We have a lake place about 60 minutes from our house, and we spend most weekends there from June through August.  We adore the lake and are usually out swimming, boating, skiing, kneeboarding, paddleboating, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding or just lounging on the raft or at the end of the dock. 

If I'm on-line, I'm probably on Ravelry (the knitter/crocheter's version of PBS), VideoFitness (the home exerciser's version of PBS) or here.

I almost exclusively read historical fiction.  Favorite authors, hands down, are Edward Rutherfurd and Bernard Cornwell (it should be noted that I am a bigger BC fan than Linda and Kelly, although I'm sure they'll disagree with me and say some stuff about amulet necklaces).  Some of my all-time favorite books are Rutherfurd's London and Paris, any of Cornwall's Saxon Series books, The Witching Hour by Anne Rice, Aztec by Gary Jennings, and All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. 

My favorite place to listen to an audio book is anywhere I am sitting and knitting.  My favorite place to read is in my bed because mostly the only time I read is in the later evening for 30-60 minutes before I go to sleep.  In the summer, though, I do like to read out on the raft at our lake place or on the boat (provided my mother-in-law isn't talking my ear off). 

My "the house is on fire!" book (and I'm sure you are all "boo, hissing" me for saying it) would be my most beloved knitting reference book as I just couldn't live without that dang thing. 

Hello all! I'm Donna and I've been here a while but post-Valli. (I came by when people were just starting to post things like, "Has anyone heard from Valli?" so while I know you by name, Valli, I am so happy to finally make your acquaintance and to have this mystery cleared up.) There is a former member, also Donna, but I am not she. I'm married, live near Pittsburgh, PA in the foothills of the beautiful Laurel Highlands, have two adult kids and four awesome grandsons. I taught first grade for 25 years, then went back for some advanced degrees and moved over to administration - otherwise known as "the dark side." For the past 10 years, I've taught off and on at a local college from which I expect to be well and truly retired in May since the hubs is retiring in June and I don't want to leave him alone to his own devices.

As somebody famous once said, "I was burned by books early and kept sidling up to the flame." (I've been dying to use that quote.) I read many genres but have been a lifelong lover of historical fiction, history, and biography. I am very fickle and my favorite book is usually the one I just finished, but a few that sit atop my keeper shelf are: Chesapeake (James Michener), Katherine (Anya Seton), Anna Karenina (you know who), Sparrow, Doc (Mary Doria Russel), Renault's Alexander trilogy, everything by David McCullough but most especially Truman and John Adams.

What else? Well, singing is another love and I have always been part of a choir or chorus of some type. I cook passably and collect cookbooks (of course). I play Bridge but mostly for the snacks and socializing. I love to walk when our weather cooperates. The travel bug has bitten us and we try to do a big trip every other year - next up is the U.K. And....I just discovered paper pieced quilting which has become an obsession. I've turned out a half dozen potholders and am graduating to a table runner. The good news is that I can listen to audio books while I quilt. Life is good!

Love you all - this is a very caring and special group, for sure.

I'm Holly and I've been a member of this forum since 2007.  I skated out of here in early 2015 when PBS started their whole pay to play deal but after a little prompting from a certain member here I have found my way back and will be popping in from time to time.

A little about me: I have been married to my husband Chris for 13 years and we have one 11 year old boy Collin who is also an avid reader.  I could be considered the resident crazy cat lady of this forum.  For the past three years I have been very actively involved in rescue and served as VP on the board of a non-profit cat rescue that rescues and homes 600+ cats a year.  After a very large disagreement with the other board members and with starting grad school for my MLIS, I am on hiatus from the rescue world for awhile.  That's ok though because I still have my 7 fur babies to keep me company (Yes 7- you're not reading that wrong...6 cats and 1 dog).  Even though I am not rescuing, myself and my 2 besties I call my Sister Wives are still trying to help out the local shelters as much as we can by attending their fundraisers, scrounging up donations for them, and churning out kitty and dog blankets like nobody's business.  I am seriously thinking about starting my own cat rescue once I am done with school.

In my professional life I am a floating subtitute/Library Assistant for the 10 branches in our library system and I love my job.  Historical fiction is my biggest love in reading but I have really embraced YA adult books lately.  Also like the occasional literary, fantasy or classic too. Fave book is Gone with the Wind.  Other faves include Alex Haley's Roots, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, Pride and Prejudice, the Outlander series and Harry Potter.  Fave authors: Bernard Cornwell, Lisa See, Alan Brennert, Sharon Kay Penman, Elizabeth Chadwick, Deanna Raybourn, Margaret George and my new fave Susanna Kearsley.

Other hobbies-my friend Amy is trying to teach me to be crafty with mixed results.  I can make fleece tie blankets now-YAY!  Also waste more hours than I care to admit on Pinterest and entering online sweepstakes.  Oh, and watching movies-we designate 1 night a week family movie night.   I think that's about it.  I have really missed this forum and look forward to being as active as my homework will allow.

Hi everyone, I am Jerelyn better know in these parts as Letty.  I am married, our 30th anniversary will be at the end of this month, though we lived in sin for four years before that.  I have two grown daughters and a son-in-law, a cat, a grandcat, and granddog.  I have become an avid book listener that way I can crochet, sew, cook, , and garden (weather permitting) while indulging my reading habit. I live in St. Paul Minnesota and am originally from Idaho.  

I am a historical fiction junky.  I love all the subgenres.  I've drifted off a bit add haven't been visiting the forums all that much.  Many of my PBS friends are on facebook,  I am keeping up with some that are still members but many more who chose to leave when PBS was no longer free.  I am still active on the PBS blog, reviewing, and interviewing authors.

I've found that my favorites have changed a bit.  Sharon Penman is still my Godess. But I have recently fallen in love with Lucinda Brant's novels set in the 18th century.  Imogen Robertson is another favorite love her mysteries, and Diana Gabaldon. 

As for as grabbing one book, I couldn't possibly answer that. So I would grab my kindle.

I am Alice, often known as the thieving little owl. I run lots of swap games in our game forum. I have loved historical fiction ever since high school. My first book in historical fiction was Centenial by James Michner and then Taylor Caldwell's Captains and the King. I have been reading it ever since. I love being taken back in time to explore new places, and different life styles. My current favorites are Lucinda Riley, Cora Harrison, Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen well and many more. I love historical mysteries.

A little bit about me. I live in Milford, Massachusetts and work at Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a training program manager. I am married. I have two childre, and 21 year old daughter and 17 year old son we will graduate high school this year. I wil be an empy nester next year. Not sure I like that much.....

I have 1 dog a flat coated retriever and 5 cats who love to sit on my books.

Alice

Hi folks and welcome back to those of you who have been rather "absent"! I am Jeanne L. and DH and I are retired and living in Tucson, AZ for the past (OMG!) going on 7 years now! Time is going by on a jet-pack!! I love it here and one daughter and her family are a little less than 1 1/2 hrs away. My son lives in Denver and 2 stepchildren are in Omaha and another in San Antonio. We moved here from northern Utah where we lived for almost 13 years due to hubby's job. (He and I have been married for almost 22 years now and he is retired Air force.) Before that, it was Denver, Co. where I was the first (and only for a long time) psychiatric nurse for the City and County correction system. I loved that job! I also had a private practice  where my specialty was treating mainly male batterers. I had started that program at the Denver VA and when I left there for the jail job, I didn't want to give it up so I was working about 80 hours a week for years, Need I say that I didn't have much time for reading? I was also in the Army Reserves for 7 years and initially on becoming an RN, I did medical-surgical nursing for 10 years.

Shortly after we moved to Utah, my father died and we took in my mother (bless her) and I cared for her for years. Her dog Harley came with her and he was a hoot who got along just fine with my 2 dogs. We have since lost all of them, but I am now "mom" to a Cairn Terrier mix and a snotty little Yorkie (we adopted her when she was about 10 and badly in need of a home). Can't have cats anymore thanks to my asthma but I am an avid animal lover. Also, I am a pretty avid bird lover too and continue to feed them in my yard and love watching their antics!

I used to knit but have pretty much switched to crocheting and don't do that as much anymore but I love to listen to audio books when crocheting so I need to do more of it. My latest obsession is computer games. DH says he never thought that I would become a "gamer"! I find it stimulating and since all the women on both sides of my family have had Alzheimers, I am trying to fight the good fight to prevent it (please God)! I volunteer at our church which is actually a Catholic retreat center and I get to meet people from all over the world. I am also active in our local seniors group (was secretary for 5 years) but am on hiatus right now. Surgery is looming in my future at Mayo Clinic in April.

I love mysteries, HF, history and a little SF (no romance). As most on this forum know my main love is historical mysteries - surprise! Some of my favorites are C S Harris, Will Thomas, C J Sansom, Imogen Robertson, Alex Grecian - oh the list goes on. One of my very favorite mystery writers is Jussi Adler-Olsen. As Letty says, if the house was on fire,( first the dogs) and then my Kindle!

Hoo boy! I have reviewed the "keeper" shelves; and, I guess if I could grab just one book, it would be my childhood copy of Read Aloud Poems Every Child Should Know. I also have an old copy of Little Women that I am quite attached to (another book from my childhood).

Linda & I are a Mother & Daughter team ... an arrangement that has evolved over the course of time as Mom became more computer literate. I first joined PBS in 2005 after learning about it from a Sister-in-Law. Speaking of sisters-in-law, I have three - one each for my three younger brothers. Mom retired in 2000 from El Reno (Oklahoma) public schools. She was a teacher for years, then junior high librarian and lastly, high school librarian. I think she would quickly tell you that her years as a school librarian were rewarding and fulfilling both as an educator and as someone who appreciates books.

I am semi-retired ... do a little bit here and there as a consultant for the company I retired from and pursue some other work-related interests. My involvement with our local humane society takes up a lot of my time. As Holly already knows, animal welfare work is hard, but very rewarding. 

My other passion is genealogy. Hours of completely lost time will go by once I get started on a genealogy puzzle. A spin-off from my genealogy work is find-a-grave.com - another time-sucking hobby. I'll gather up Linda and we'll go to one of our local cemeteries to "play dead people." Wouldn't it be amazing if every grave in every cemetery across this country was identified and memorialized on one website, available for anyone looking for a distant or long ago relative? (www.findagrave.com)

Mom & I have been historical fiction readers off and on all our reading lives. The first one I can concretely remember reading (excluding childhood books such as Rifles for Waitie, Witch of Blackbird Pond, Little Women, etc.) was Desiree by Annemarie Selinko. I read it in high school, after it was recommended to me by ... Mom! For the past 10 years or so, with the exception of Lee Child, Mom & I have read HF nearly exclusively. Picking a favorite author is is about as hard a task as picking a favorite book. Books on our keeper shelves are by such authors as James Clavell, Dorothy Dunnett, Bernard Cornwell, Elizabeth Chadwick, SKP (of course), and Leon Uris.

Linda & I are both widows; my Dad died in 2005 and my husband died in 2009. We seem to have settled into widowhood comfortably, spend quite a bit of time together and sit at the head of the family as Matriarch and Matriarch-in-Training! I am blessed to have my mother so close to me and in good health - physical & mental! It is not something I take for granted. My three brothers and their families all live in Oklahoma, which keeps Mom happy. My children are a little farther away. My two boys and their families live in the Vail Valley and my daughter is in Washington DC. 

Mom is currently pet-free, having lost her old cat to kidney failure last fall. I have a dog and three cats. Jasper is my inside/outside 18 pound orange male tabby, Carmella is my old woman, a 15-year old tortoiseshell, and Lola is a 6-year old Himalayan/Siberian prima donna. I cannot imagine my home without pets or my clothes without pet hair.

This is too long, and I apologize, but Linda & I are fond of each of you and love this forum. Quite frankly, we have enough books on our combined shelves to keep us reading the rest of our lives without ever adding another book. The primary motivation in maintaining our membership in PBS is because of you all and because of this forum.  (And also for the sheer joy (I'll admit it) of obtaining that next book!)

Kelly

 

I'm Debbie, originally from the Chicago-area, now happily settled in VT. I married my high school sweetheart; this month we celebrated the 40th anniversary of our 1st date! We have a grown daughter and son, and a wild 1 year old cat named Leonard. Our beloved Elkhound passed away last fall, and left a huge gap in our lives. I love to read, cook and garden. My career started in microbiology, but I have segued into software project management and don't see retirement as an option financially! I will eat any type of cookie; actually, probably more than one!

I love historical fiction of any kind and I read lots of mysteries too. I enjoy fantasy sometimes as well; I just re-read the Game of Thrones books (I only meant to skim them to refresh myself on the characters...) and am currently laughing my way through Rachel Aaron's Eli Monpress books. 

I spend as much time with my kids as possible, but our nest is empty. My daughter is an MD in the northeast kingdom area of VT and my son is in working and living Boston while preparing to join the Navy.

I have been a member for quite some time, although I tend to lurk. In that manner, I "know" you Valli, and have missed you!  In a disaster, I'd have to grab my kindle as there is no way to choose just one book...

Debbie

I'm Cindy.  I'm from Austin TX.  Right now my daughter and her 2 sons live with me.  That's supposed to change this summer when my daughter and the younger son are moving to Brady TX.  The teen is staying with me......YIKES!  Actually, he is the good one of the 2, so I really think I'm getting the better deal!

I've been a member here since 2008, but wasn't very active the first year or so.  I was a member of another (now defunct) book trading site at the time.  When it closed down, I migrated over here and never looked back!

 I love playing in the games!  I mostly read UF, PnR, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Dystopian, and M/M with the occasional odd-ball thrown in.  I read everything from YA to Erotica.  I actually started reading HF because of a game I joined.  It was a 2 part game, and the first part was all historical fiction of some sort.  I did find a couple of things already TBR, but knew I would want to buy something too.  I ended up buying The Axeman's Jazz and loved it!  I even joined Kathy's Spring HF Swap!  I ordered 3 books for that one.  2 for me, and the one that was chosen.  Since I'm having that one sent directly to NK, I've decided to read one of the ones I bought for myself.  My goal is to read at least 12 HF books this year.  So far I've read 3, but I've got others in games that I'm hoping get picked.

I work at the Post Office on the window.  I'm the Lead Window Clerk for our office.  That just means that I come in later and stay to do the deposit and all the reports.  For that honor I get all of about 25 cents an hour more pay.  And, it usually means that if a customer has a difficult transaction, I end up with them......  I'm hoping to be able to retire in 2-5 years.  Gotta stay long enough for that extra $ to roll into my retirement!

I tool around on FB some, and I play Solitaire, Mahjongg, and Taptiles on the computer.  I really NEED a new phone.  The on/off button on mine is acting wonky.  Sometimes I can turn it on, sometimes not.  At home it isn't a problem, cuz if I plug it in to the charger, it automatically turns on.  Same thing in the car.  I've taken an extra charger to work so I can use it there too, but it's becoming a pain.

I'm active in the DIVA group here.  Love those ladies!  We send prezzies to each other, every other month.  It's fun to shop for someone else, and we all keep lists of things we like on our profiles.  

There is another group here that I think y'all might enjoy.  April - This Book Has Been On My TBR Long Enough   Lisa hosts us.  Basically, we are trying to read the older books on our TBR's.  You post in the thread which book you will be reading.  You do need to mail it out at the end of the month, if someone requests it from you.  So, don't post that you are gonna read a book you KNOW you want to keep.  The books don't have to be WL, just something that has been languishing.  We chat a lot in that one.  It's fun finding out about the other folks who join in.  The chatting isn't required, and some folks are more regular at chatting than others, but that's OK.  There is a wide range of folks there.  None of the drama of CMT.  

If the house was on fire - I'd probably just grab whatever book I was currently reading.  My keepers are too many to get, and they could all be replaced anyway.  Not like there is much there that isn't still available.  If I had the time to dig them out, I'd grab my original self-pubbed editions of Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies series.  Those are hard to find now that she has repubbed them with TOR.

Favorite authors?  I'll seperate them by genre so no one who might check them will be embarassed!

Horror:  Rhiannon Frater, Robert McCammon, David Wellington, 

Urban Fantasy:  Ilona Andrews, Anne Bishop, Seanan McGuire, Kristin Painter

Fantasy:  Robin McKinley, Anne Bishop

Erotica:  Cherise Sinclair, Rhys Ford, Jordan Castillo Price, Ginn Hale

Paranormal Romance:  D.B. Reynolds, Shelley Laurenston, Joey W. Hill

HF:  Ray Celestin, Matt Rees

Thanks for sharing all of that Cindy! Very interesting and a great way to get to know members other than piece-meal (bit by bit over the years!) 

Hi, I'm Cheryl and I've been a member her since 2008.  I am married to a wonderful husband for 43 plus years, I have two grown daughters, 3 delightful granddaughters, two old Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Julianna and Liam and a mixed breed Himalayan cat named Harley (like the motorcycle).  Those of you who have been here on the forum for a while know that I have been battling stage 4 breast cancer since 2012.  Everyone here on the forum has been so wonderfully supportive and encouraging that I know it helped me fight my health battles.  It had been in remission for over two years and then came back.  I've been a little quieter here than normal on the forum lately as I have been battling some related health issues..  3 weeks ago I turned as orange as Donald Trump and was hospitalized to have a stent put in to open up a blocked bile duct (hope this isn't TMI for you all!).  This week has been some real serious issues with fever and nausea but I am finally begining to feel like myself again.  I was in retail management for about 25 years but I've had to quit working because of my health issues.  I have very eclectic reading tastes but historical fiction is certainly my first love.  Dorothy Dunnett, Jane Austen, Bernard Cornwell (love his character, Uhtred), SKP, Will Thomas and Steven Saylor are just a few of my favorite authors.  I have found that a sense of humor, a good book, caring friends and a loving family get me through most everything.

Oh Cheryl, you HAVE been through a lot and I pray that you get ALL better. You are such a trooper and I know if anyone can come through all of this, it's you. Are you still in treatment for the cancer? It sounds like some of your symptoms may be related to that. I hope it gets better and you feel much more like your old self soon. Big (((HUGS)))) to you!

Yes I still am in treatment although it's on hold for now till all the other issues get resolved.  Thanks for the good wishes Jeanne!

this forum is definitely the place to be for a blast of healing wishes - you've got mine, Cheryl!

Keep us posted Cheryl and we will keep you in our prayers. You are cherished here among friends!!!

Well, I for one am glad to see that you are back with us, Valli!  Don't have time for more than a short post.  I am working this year as a part-time librarian for a local high school.  I am loving it!  Need to keep busy and this job has me jumping.  Turned 65 this February but you'd never know it.  Reading up a storm lately.  Historicals, non-fiction history and such. 

Pam