Lisa, you are right about the affection he feels towards everyone in his family, even trying to help his ungrateful brother. When he takes the time before a formal event to tell his daughters a bedtime story, give them big hugs, and tells them to stable and feed their hobby horses--key moment to illustrate the difference between him and his own father. The scene I mentioned is really an extension of that earlier moment of personal affection (and the hobby horses are in the scene, too, now that I think of it.) Sorry you missed that opening scene--he's expected to give a short speech as a stand-in for his ill father and a whole stadium full of people listens in embarrasmment for him because he's literally incapable of doing it. So the "king's speech" covers the two speeches that come at the beginning and end of the film and the enormous transformation in the "king's speech" that leads from the first to the second. Marda, I heard a program on NPR about it and even heard a snippet of the actual speech given by George VI. The concensus was that the film was very accurate in terms of history.

I feel like another one of the “one kings fools” I placed an order in February. Only received a partial order, 2 of 5 items. 10 weeks later I’m still waiting for the other 3 framed art prints. There was nothing complicated about this order, just 5 framed art reprints. I repeatedly reach out to customer service who can provide no information on the 3 missing items or indication of when they may ship. After 10 weeks of trying to be patient, I’ve given up and need to cancel my order for the 3 items that have never shipped. I am now being told they will NOT fully refund me for the cost of the items never shipped. That I now have to pay a 15% restock fee and shipping cost that they say total over $75.00! A restock fee and shipping for items they NEVER TOOK OUT OF STOCK OR SHIPPED!!! SERIOUSLY!!! I can see saying that for something I HAVE RECEIVED & now want to return, but NOT for something that after 10 weeks they can’t give any reason or indication of when unprovided items might be shipped. THIS PLACE IS DEFINATLY RUNNING A SCAM!!! They offer products that they do not physically possess. Customer service is outsourced to non-english speaking reps who are clearly quoting from a pre-written script of vague lines and provide no details at all. I sincerely wish I'd read the reviews before ordering. Learned the hard way, but will now be pursuing a fraud charge through my bank as others here have also had to do. Will not be doing business with OKL again!!!

Casey, I had been part of a discussion of this book when it first came out. I had a different reaction than most. I loved Lisey's Story. Yes, the beginning was slow, but after a certain point I got so wrapped up in what was happening to Lisey that I read chapters in the morning before I went to work and rushed home to read more after I finished work. You will see that many people have differing opinions, but that book hit home with me, for what it's worth. Bigack -- I saw the new book of short stories and plan to buy it. I'm glad to hear it's getting good reviews. Duane -- I'm happy you mentioned that book, which is titled Different Seasons. Those two stories ("The Body" and "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption") and their film adaptations ("Stand By Me" and "The Shawshank Redemption") are two of my all-time favorites. (I'm afraid I didn't like the other two stories in that volume.)

It's really odd that the "uncivil" politicians of both parties are in the minority, but they get all the press. Has always been so, no matter the form the "press" takes be it yellow journalism, pamphleteering, etc. However, the way coarseness is creeping into the general way people relate to each other . . . of course we rebelled against strict rules of etiquette and everyone nowdays wants to be king of their own little universe, and that is encouraged because it makes us very insecure and hence want to buy things to fill the voids . . . that's not new either but I am working to design my life so that I am minimally exposed to that way of being/thinking. I'm not trying to crate a "bubble" of thought, I love differing points of view and contrasting ideas, it's how I make my living. But I would like a bubble of politeness, at least when it is my discretionary time. It's odd because I work with the public and I learned early on to temper my sense of humor and my sarcasm and my way of speaking, so as to not accidentally offend people. I learned that not everyone appreciates that type of humor. It's not like I squashed it all together, but I learned not to use it when I was working in a public capacity. Now it seems like people are just, "Screw you if you don't like it" and then "Bring it!" This of course will get many folk to just disengage in disgust, which is probably part of an actual political strategy. Edited to add that it is really amazing how far we have gone when you read something like Jane Austen and marvel at the intricate social mores they all followed. Of course she was skewering some of them in her own way too, when we look back we don't necessarily see the whole picture since some of the bad mannered stuff is lost to the mists of time.