Ever consider joining an area C&S Society , or attend an annual C&S society sales and show ? Visit a botanical center and visit the library ? You can read the reference books / book while there not sure about any check out and return policies they may have, usually they don't permit check outs of harder to find and rare books Last resort is: http://www.amazon.com/Cacti-Succulents-Illustrated-Encyclopedia-Anderson/dp/0754800288/ref=sr_1_16?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364749852&sr=1-16&keywords=cactus+and+succulents+books The ideal is as direct from Timberland Press as one can get for best prices by group ordering and bulk orders.

Kath, I wasn't familiar with Mackellar's poem, thanks for posting it. UK book titles are the same as the Australian ones. Downunder is still a a recognised term for Australia here though I don't suppose they call England 'Upover' anymore than they used to refer to us as home. BTW I felt that Downunder was rather thin on substance. I don't think BB had spent long enough there. I never realised that A Town Like Alice had an American title. I remember when I first heard the book mentioned, as a child, it sounded 'unusual' but can't see why US readers seem not to be expected (by editors/movie folk) to be capable of dealing with the occasional oddity. Whatever the title I think it is still a cracking read. On the Beach is another one with a most unusual 'plot' that works surprisingly well . . . for a story dealing with nuclear fall-out. re Fuller's book. I think the title is Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight which has been well-recommended over here. I haven't read it but usually the expression 'going to the dogs' or if you are from London 'going down the dogs' means spending the evening at the local 'dog track' ie greyhound racing. I think the book is set in Rhodesia and I have no idea if there were any 'dog tracks' or if white people would have been seen there. 'Going to the Dogs' also means a deterioration in ones circumstances/business/way of life. Mary does any of the above appear in the book?

Second Acts, huh? Ok, I'll look up the book. I've mostly been interested in presidential politics, more specifically the campaigns. I don't know if you've read Teddy White's Making of the President series? I haven't really been keeping track of presidents after their terms had expired. Well, that's not true -- I've always been interested in Nixon after '74. I'm not sure where I read it but yes, apparently Ford was quite surprised by the public's reaction. I still think it was the right thing to do for the sake of the office of the president. Nixon, as a person, may have been deserving of a hanging, drawing, and quartering but the damage such a fate would have on the office of the presidency would have been devastating. That's kind of why I was hoping Clinton's impeachment proceedings would crash and burn (and it did). I can see why ex-presidents would become friends. After all, they have a commonality of experience that very very few people would have. They can relate to one another. And, if they were political enemies and political contemporaries, then they would have even more commonality! I mean, c'mon -- Bush Sr. and Clinton would have tackled the same issues except that they would have been on opposite sides. This could be why Mary Matalin and James Carville got married..... And yes -- I'm sure Ford has repeatedly said there was no deal. But can you imagine the damage/uproar if Nixon HAD said that there WAS a deal and the Ford had reneged? At least Nixon kept his mouth shut after the pardon ...... Maybe that WAS the deal -- that Nixon would shut up and leave Ford alone in exchange for a pardon? Anyway, I'll have to look for that book. Thanks for recommending it!

Yes, totally forget...movies too. I never understood people who could recite passages from books or movies they watched years ago. There are some that stick out in my mind, though. The other day I was reading a book about animals that start killing all the humans they come into contact with, including peoples' pet dogs. I got up in the middle of the night to use the restroom and there is my dog, Chewie, who sleeps up against my door. He gave me a weird look and it kind of creeped me out. lol. Went to the bathroom, got back in bed and started reading again, but apparently when I put my shoes up that night I didn't close the door to my closet all the way. I remembered a Stephen King story called "The Boogyman", it starts with a closet that's cracked open just a little. Well, I had to get up again and close that dang door. I read that story when I was a teenager and it still creeps me out. I'm 53 now and cannot sleep with a closet open. I don't remember most of the story but I do remember it wasn't good for the characters in it. I may have to reread it just for the fun of it. It was from "Nightshift"...a bunch of short stories and I used to own it. I'm now reading one of his son's book of short stories, "20th Century Ghosts". Not sure I like him as much as his father.