I thought it was wonderful to find an entire world between the covers  
of the books in our little school library, and in my folk's good  
collection of books! Books at our house were sacred: write in a  
book,or otherwise damage one, and you were in very, very deep hot  
water! Books were cherished, not just as objects - both parents read  
a lot, especially my dad (he read voraciously, sometimes reading an  
entire novel a night), and I got to explore a wide variety of  
subjects and authors.

Still do to this day, many under my belt and many more to enjoy!


Gail



On Jun 4, 2008, at 6:36 PM, Geoff Thompson wrote:

> Yeah Joan! You hit the nail right on the head. Reading was my  
> escape. My,
> parents were not happy and we had moved to what had been my  
> grandparents'
> house, away from any local friends. My school was on the other side  
> of the
> city. My parents had lots of books and my grandparents left more  
> behind. I
> read my way through a lot of them. Not all were great literature  
> but they
> stimulated all sorts of things in me. Mary Renault's "The King Must  
> Die" and
> her series of other novels about ancient Greece has left me with a  
> life-long
> interest in the ancient world. I picked up my Mum's school copy of  
> "Pride
> and Prejudice" and loved it.
> I felt trapped away from all these interests on the other side of  
> the world.
> Around here 1850 is very old! I went to Europe in 1986 but did not  
> return
> till our big trip round the world in 2003. I've now been to Bath  
> three times
> and in 2003 we went to "Lyme Park" (the outside of "Pemberley" in  
> the 1995,
> Colin Firth version), to "Chatsworth" (possibly Austen's model for
> "Pemberley"), The Peaks district, Lyme Regis and lots of other  
> great places.
> http://www.pemberley.com/jasites/jasites.html I was very  
> Eurocentric in my
> interests until we came to the States on that trip but we loved  
> your country
> too. I so wish I could be at the next conference.
> Geoff
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SciArt-L Discussion List-for Natural Science Illustration-
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Joan Lee
> Sent: Thursday, 5 June 2008 12:51 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [SCIART] TAN: movie thread
>
> You don't have to be British...do many of you remember some
> unsympathetic adult nagging, "XX always has her (his) nose in a book!
> Go outside and play in the sunshine!" and not adding, "with all the
> little neighborhood barbarians who will pick on you as the smallest  
> and
> youngest and weakest..." ??
> Joan
>
>
>
> On Jun 4, 2008, at 10:44 AM, Linda Feltner wrote:
>
>>  My husband, who is British born, and came to the US when he was 15,
>> was introduced to so many authors long before I turned the same age.
>> His background in literature is extensive. Not from a career, but  
>> from
>> an appreciation. I wonder if your Australian early education had
>> influenced you to read more extensively?
>>  He always gives the grands and now the great-grands, quality
>> children's literature, along with the holiday gifts. Books I never
>> read until college! (embarrasing lack of literature in my early  
>> years,
>> but I'm catching up!)
>>  Cheers,
>>  Linda
>>
>>  Geoff Thompson wrote:Speaking of literary movies, I just saw "The
>> Painted Veil". It's wonderful. I was a strange kid. I read Austen and
>> Somerset-Maugham when I was about 14!
>>> I was saddened to see the air at the river Li was never clear  
>>> though.
>>> I'm sure it wasn't like that in the 1920s. We are so lucky in
>>> Australia. The air and light
>>> is so clear, except on bad days in cities. I was shocked that it
>>> wasn't clear even in some US National Parks.
>>> Cheers,
>>> Geoff
>>>
>>
>> -- 
>> _______________________
>> Linda M. Feltner Artist, LLC
>>  P.O. Box 325
>>  Hereford, AZ 85615
>>  (520) 803-0538
>> www.lindafeltner.com

Gail W. Guth
Guth Illustration & Design
139 Lathrop Avenue
Battle Creek, MI  49014-5076
269-963-1311
FAX: 269-969-0652
www.guthillustration.com