Pat's (phebj's) Reading! -- Page 1

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to my first thread of 2012. I’m looking forward to a rewarding year of reading with all of you!

This is a picture of elk eating hay in McCall, Idaho. You can go out on a sleigh or a wagon (depending on the weather) and feed them in the winter up there. I’ve never done this but I’ve heard it’s fun (and I liked the photograph).

Favorite Books of 2011:

Absolute Favorite of the Year
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Fiction
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett
The Master by Colm Toibin
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Memoir
A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell

Graphic Novel/Biography
Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss

Children’s
The Treehorn Trilogy by Frances Parry Heide
Wolves by Emily Gravett

Health Update

All has been going well with my breast cancer treatments. I only have one more chemo appointment to go (on Friday January 13th of all dates) and then will start radiation sometime in early February. I continue to be amazed at how well I feel most of the time and am thrilled that I seem to be back into reading. The only thing that’s getting in the way of my reading lately is trying to keep up with everyone’s LT threads with the switch over to 2012!

Books Read in 2012

Finished in January (7)

1. Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (memoir--4 stars)
2. Madlenka by Peter Sis (children's picture--5 stars)
3. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (fiction; classic--5 stars)
4. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say (children's picture--4 stars)
5. No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod (fiction--4.5 stars)
6. Real Life on Cannery Row: Real People, Places and Events That Inspired John Steinbeck by A.L. Lundy (non-fiction--3 stars)
7. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker (non-fiction; YA--4 stars)

Finished in February (2)

8. The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark (Western fiction--4 stars)
9. The Owl Service by Alan Garner (YA fantasy--3 stars)

Currently reading

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber

Started but didn't finish

Life by Keith Richards (got distracted with other books and it was due back at the library; what I read was good)

starred

Pat, I don't beloved I've commented on your thread before, but I've been following your story. I'm so happy that the treatments have been working. I look forward to following your thread.

Hello--I've got you starred.

You've listed among last year's favorites several books that I've also enjoyed--Jane Eyre, Rebecca and A Grief Observed.

In addition we share a bit of geography (I'm in western Montana) and a bit of medical history (2 yr BC survivor).

Good luck with the rest of your treatments! I'll be interested to check in on your reading!

Hi Pat, and Happy New Year! We read a lot of the same books last year. I look forward to following your reading this year, and I'm so glad you feel well enough to get back into reading. Love the photo -- they're such magnificent animals.

Got you starred, Pat. Continued good health and good reading to you in 2012.

Happy New Year, dear Pat! I hope that it exceeds 2011 in the rapidity and efficacy of your treatment! (How pompous is that!?! - but sincere!) I need to get back to Matterhorn before I paint myself into another TIOLI/ER ARC corner again this month. Uh oh
Doesn't that elk have a beautiful eye!

There you are! And I'm glad to see an encouraging health update.

Happy New Year!

I am so glad to hear the good health update from you, Pat!

Happy New Year, Pat.

What a beautiful picture of the elk and that guy's antlers are just impressive. It's the male elk who have antlers, right? Or do both genders have antlers, in which case, are the antler-less ones in the picture young 'uns?

I'm so glad to hear of your good health updates. I hope you continue to respond positively to your treatments.

Hi Kath. Nice to see you here. I've been lurking on your thread but not posting.

Hi Cindy. I've been enjoying looking at your profile pictures.

Janet I think I remember you commenting about our geographic and medical similarities on one of my threads last year. I love your screen name and your related profile pic too!

Hi Anne and Donna. Thanks for the good wishes--they're working!

Peggy I had Matterhorn sitting on my shelves for a year and a half before I was ready to read it. I found it to be all-consuming but in a good way.

Hi Katherine, Stasia and Caroline. I must say I'm very glad to report that I'm feeling well!

Caroline only the male elks have antlers. One thing I've learned living in Idaho is that the females are called cows. Shortly after we moved here, I was talking to someone in the early fall who was so excited that they had gotten a permit to hunt cows. I'm somewhat repelled by the whole idea of hunting but I was momentarily stunned that people hunted cows. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and didn't unnecessarily embarass myself.

OK, I'm going to have to read Matterhorn soon. Every time I hear someone rave about it, I feel ashamed of myself. Have you read What It is Like to Go to War? That was unquestionably one of my best books of 2011...

Glad that your health is holding up & that you will soon be done with chemo -- that will certainly boost your energy for reading several-fold! A friend of mine in Canada finished hers last month, but I think has a different kind of breast cancer and it wasn't diagnosed until late-ish stage 3, so she had to move straight on to infusions of some cancer-fighting stuff.

Hi Suzanne. I haven't read What It is Like to Go to War? but I definitely will because I've heard so many great things about it.

My cancer is Stage 3 (because it was in my lymph nodes when I was diagnosed) but otherwise it's not a particularly aggressive cancer. My doctor said the "best" thing about my cancer was that it was so highly receptive to estrogen so the Tamoxifen pills I'll start taking soon should be a major help in preventing a recurrence. One of the things that has made this experience so surreal is that I felt great at the time I got the diagnosis and for the most part, I still do.

I hope your friend's treatments are successful.

She's had a bad time -- didn't discover the cancer until it was a feel-able lump; it's a particularly aggressive type (HER2 positive, which has a rather poor prognosis; was hospitalized for chemo side-effects, and still has radiation to come. It's not hormonally responsive. There's no good thing about a breast cancer diagnosis, so I'm relieved that you have ducked some of the nastier bullets it shoots out.

Happy New Year, Pat! I was watching for your new thread and here it was, like magic. I love the elk photo at the top! And look forward to following along with you again this year. Hugs!

Suzanne, one thing I've learned through this whole experience is how different cancer diagnoses can be and how differently people respond to the treatments. I'm sorry to hear your friend has been having a bad time.

My cancer is HER2 negative (and I'm still not sure what HER2 is). I started to read The Emperor of All Maladies when I was first diagnosed so I could learn more about cancer in general but it was all a little too scary then and I put it aside.

Hi Mark. We must have cross-posted. As with many threads, I've been following yours but not posting. Happy 2012!

Briefly, HER2 is a gene mutation that pops up about 20% of the time in breast cancers causing a protein to run amok. What it means for treatment is that tamoxifen, etc. don't really work. Yes, avoid all those scary books! I'm not a big believer that attitude affects actual outcomes when you're ill, but it sure as hell affects your state of mind, and it's always better to focus on the stuff that makes you happy than what worries you, especially when the stuff that worries you is something that you are already controlling as much as you can. Hmm, does that make me a fatalist??

19: I started to read The Emperor of All Maladies when I was first diagnosed so I could learn more about cancer in general but it was all a little too scary then and I put it aside.
I'd flittingly wondered whether that book might be useful for you, but it covers such a range of past efforts at treatment, of different types of cancer, mixing in the politics of funding, that I'd expect you to be better off with more focused current information.

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2012, Pat!

Hi Pat! Glad to hear you are doing well. Matterhorn is one of those books that I always think isn't for me, but I've seen it on so many favorites lists that I'm going to have to cave.

Hi Pat! Found and starred!
Hope you have a happy and healthy 2012!

Welcome back!

Happy New Year Pat! Glad to see you'll be able to get more reading done!

Happy and Healthy New Year to you Pat. January 13 is a lucky day for us. That's my daughter's birthday. I'm thinking it will be lucky for you too.

Found you Pat - happy new year! Great to read your health update and that you're feeling so well. January 13 is my daughter's birthday too so I'll be thinking of you while I'm making her cake! (Hey Bonnie - that's funny that we both had babies that date.)

OK, I have to read Matterhorn too... and soon. It's in my local library branch right now. I have to be in the right mood though, and I think I need some fluff right now.

Happy New Year Pat!

Suzanne and Katherine at some point I do want to read The Emperor of All Maladies. I'll be interested to hear what you both think of it (Suzanne I thought I saw it as a January TIOLI read for you and Katherine I thought I saw on your thread that you had read it but not reviewed it yet).

Thanks for the good wishes and the welcomes Dee, Amy, Chelle, Jim, Brit, Bonnie, Cushla, and Heather! I am going to look at January 13th as "Lucky 13" and will raise my milkshake in toast to both your daughters on that day Bonnie and Cushla.

Amy and Cushla I really hope you give Matterhorn a try. I waited a long time to read it because I was intimidated by it's length and I wasn't sure I wanted to read a Vietnam War book but once I started reading it, I quickly became immersed in it. It was one of those books that took over my life (in a good way) while I read it so you do need to have the time for it.

31: Yes, I read it (I'd put it on my wish list in early 2011 based on Darryl's review)... two months ago... when I was already behind in reviews, and now it's the only review that I haven't yet done for 2011 books. I learned a lot, have tons of post-it flags, and with science books I want to be sure of getting the facts right, but I don't have the background to do so fluently; a few paragraphs can take hours. I expect to get to it soonish...

Hi, I was waiting for your thread to appear!
So glad you are still feeling so well during the treatments!

Matterhorn is on my list and I'll get to it sometime. Maybe this year.

Katherine I know what you mean about a few paragraphs taking hours. In the past, I've spent an inordinate amount of time on my reviews and for now I'm going to just comment on the books I read rather than do reviews. I put so much pressure on myself to do a good job on them that they became burdensome and I fell so far behind I would often forget what I wanted to say.

Hi Laura. It's good to see you. Hope you like Matterhorn when you get to it.

I just finished two books that I'll have some comments on soon--Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp which I gave 4 stars and Madlenka by Peter Sis, a children's picture book recommended by Ilana, that I gave 5 stars.

Tonight I'm going to start Life by Keith Richards. I was lurking on a Club Read thread today and someone had posted this quote from Ian Rankin's website as part of the discussion: the only living creatures to survive a nuclear war would be some scorpions… and Keith Richards. It pushed me over the edge in deciding what to read next!

The Club Read thread is interesting by the way. It's called "Questions for the Avid Reader" and avaland posts a new question each week about reading. You can find it here if you want to check it out: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129340#t

KatherineI've been interested in cancer treatments as well and had heard good reviews of Emperor of All Maladies and have a copy in my TBR Tower, so I'll be interested in your review.

Pat - Thanks for the info. I didn't know female elks were called cows. Loved your story about the cow hunters though. Very funny!

*waves*

I have an in-law who hunts for fun (not because he wants to live off the land or anything), and I have to leave the room when he's around telling hunting stories... I just don't get it either...

Pat- I was a big fan of the Keith Richards memoir! It really caught me by surprise. I hope you enjoy it. I also have Emperor of All Maladies waiting in the audio stacks and hope to get to it, in the next couple months.

I want to read Emperor of All Maladies too but the last time I checked, my local library did not carry the book. Off to check and see if they have it yet. . .Thanks for the reminder, Pat!

Hi, Pat! I'm sorry I missed your threads before, it looks like you do a lot of great reading. I'm so sorry to hear about your health struggles and glad you're doing better. Got you starred!

Hi Pat! I'm late to the party, but I've dropped my star now :)

It's only January 4 but things move fast around here! I LOVE your 2011 booklist -- I've read most of them too and agree absolutely they are all winners!

Hi Pat, glad to see you back again this year!

Big hellos to Caroline, Faith, Mark, Stasia, Marcia, Katie, Lucy and Ardene. It's so nice to see all of you here! I'm still trying to stay current with all the new 2012 threads and have all of yours starred even though I'm not actually posting much.

The following are some comments on my first book of 2012.

Book No. 1 Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp--4 stars (memoir)

Caroline Knapp was a writer whose friendship with Gail Caldwell (and untimely death at age 42 from lung cancer) was the subject of Caldwell’s memoir Let’s Take the Long Way Home, one of my favorite books of 2011. This book by Knapp chronicles the 20 years (roughly from ages 13 through 33) that she spent as a high functioning alcoholic, doing her job, managing her finances, and generally staying out of big trouble.

What stood out the most for me in this memoir are Knapp’s descriptions of how uncomfortable she was in her own skin.

Inside I harbored a long list of qualities that made my own skin crawl: a basic fragility; a feeling of hypersensitivity to other people’s reactions, as though some piece of my soul might crumble if you looked at me the wrong way; a sense of being essentially inferior and unprotected and scared.

She refers to alcoholism as a “fear of life” and how seductive it was to “ingest a simple substance and leave yourself behind.” Unfortunately, alcohol eventually became the problem rather than the solution, something it took her a long time to realize.

I have to admit I grew weary of the last five years of her active alcoholism when she was carrying on relationships with two different men and lying to both of them but I assume that’s how the people in her life that knew what was going on also felt. This is why I didn’t give the book more than 4 stars and that may not be a good reason. Otherwise, it was pretty much a page turner for me and I found myself relating to a lot of what she said even though alcohol is something I don’t find addictive. (Sugar on the other hand . . . .)

Alcoholism as a "fear of life". That makes a lot of sense. I had a very close friend who most likely was an alcoholic, and another friend who recently stopped drinking and joined AA. I've been interested in learning about substance abuse that past few years to better help me deal with my feelings about my friend (he passed away last March). We were very close, but NEVER talked about his drinking. I may have to look for Knapp's book.

Sandy K

Hi Pat, Congrats on finishing your first book of the year! I have yet to read Drinking, mostly because I'm not sure it's a subject I want to read about. I probably will sometime soon, though. However, I loved Pack of Two which takes place after Drinking, and was about her relationship with her dog. It was excellent!

I join Bonnie and Cushla in saying the 13th is a lucky day (it's my birthday and I love when it falls on a Friday) and wish you well!

Hi, Pat; it's so hectic here!

Glad to know that your health continues as well as it has. Prayers and good thoughts for you in this coming year.

Hi Pat, I remember thinking I should get this book when I read Gail Caldwell's Let's Take the Long Way Home but I was so completely drained after that book that I couldn't face another downer but maybe someday.

Congrats on getting book #1 out of the way, Pat.

Given the subject matter, I think I will give it a pass.

Ah, Finally, I have discovered your new thread and can now officaly wish you a happy and healthy new year!!

So happy to see that your feeling well!

The elk experience must really be awesome.

Congrats on your first read of the year!

Isn't it great to have the first book read?!
Thanks for your word about keeping Matterhorn hanging around. I read 100 or so pages and really liked it - if "like" is the word for it, but there were other things that I needed to read more at the time. I'm looking forward to getting back to it, but now I won't have the guilt factor riding me.

#45--Sandy I'm sorry to hear about your friend. I do think Drinking: A Love Story would be a good book to better understand someone who had a drinking problem. Years ago, I worked with someone, who was also a friend, that eventually went into rehab for alcoholism. I didn't realize she had a problem at first and by the time I did, I had alot of angry feelings towards her because I was picking up the slack for her at work and couldn't understand why she didn't stop drinking. This all took place over a period of years and we also never talked about her drinking. The book helped me understand why drinking might have been such a powerful thing in her life and why she might not have been able to see it had become the problem.

#46--Joanne I will definitely be reading Pack of Two. I wasn't planning on reading Drinking: A Love Story but I saw that several people had read it and liked it as part of the December TIOLI challenges and I happened to remember that when I was looking for books in the library.

I will also be toasting you with my chocolate milkshake at my last chemo on Friday, the 13th! I had no idea there were so many LT-related people with this birthday. Hope you have lots of fun plans for next weekend.

#47--Hi Gail. Thanks for the good wishes. It is hectic in the 75ers these days. I log on and am continually surprised by how many new posts there are to read. Of course, part of the problem is that I always star so many threads at the beginning of the year and then they're all so active. But it's a problem I'm glad to have.

#48--Bonnie I kind of wish I had read the books in chronological order. It was sad reading this book knowing what would happen to her less than 10 years after she stopped drinking.

#49/50--Thanks for the congrats on finishing my first book of 2012 Stasia and Lynda. It helped that I started it on December 27th. :)

#51--I do think you need to be ready to read Matterhorn, Peggy and I understand the guilt thing. I bought it as soon as it came out and then started to see people rave about it on LT. I'd look at it on my shelf and wonder why I wasn't starting it.

Just a quick update on my reading. I started Life by Keith Richards and liked it but have gotten distracted by Cannery Row by John Steinbeck which I'm loving.

The only other Steinbeck I've read is East of Eden. I gave that book 3 stars because I thought it was kind of heavy handed and although I finished it I thought of putting it aside many times. If it wasn't for the Steinbeckathon (hosted by Ilana, Mark and Ellen), and some comments Joe made about having similar feelings about East of Eden, I don't think I would have given Steinbeck another try. I'm so glad I did and now I'm excited to continue on with the Steinbeckathon throughout the year.

Sounds like the Steinbeckathon is already a success for you, Pat. That is great news!

Pat - I think I'm going to give Cannery Row a try too. I read Of Mice and Men years ago, and I think it is time to give Steinbeck another try. Glad you are loving it!

The Steinbeckathon is wonderful, Stasia, and one of the reasons I love LT so much. Without all that enthusiasm for Steinbeck, I'm not sure I would ever have read another book by him.

Amy I hope you love Cannery Row as much as I did. I finished it last night and will probably be giving it 5 stars.

Book No. 2 Madlenka by Peter Sis--5 stars (children's picture book)

I heard about Peter Sis on Ilana's thread recently and was happy to see my library had 51 of his books. Madlenka is the story of the day his daughter loses her first tooth. She's so excited that she runs outside and tells all her friends on the block she lives on in New York City. Her friends are mostly the shopkeepers and each one is originally from another country. As she stops by each store, the reader is transported to a different country and culture. Sis grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and this book is a kind of love poem to the wonders of NYC. The illustrations are magnificent and the book literally takes you around Madlenka's block and the world. Highly recommended and I'll definitely be reading more of Sis's books.

Pat you are racing ahead! Glad to see another Peter Sis fan - I'll have to get hold of his books from the library soon.

Pat, I'm very happy that you're enjoying Cannery Row and that you loved Madlenka so much. In fact, thanks for the reminder, I'll go reserve Madlenka's Dog immediately after I'm done here!

I'm so very sorry that I hadn't dropped by before. I just realized this evening that I'd somehow missed your thread altogether! Better late than never I guess and hope I'm forgiven...

Madlenka sounds lovely, Pat, and you've written an excellent review! I'm glad you loved Cannery Row so much, I'm hoping to get to it soon.

Some great reading already, Pat!

The passage you quoted from the Caroline Knapp book struck a chord with me. That's a pretty good description of how I felt about myself when I was in my early twenties. Although I didn't go down that route myself, I can see how alcohol could appear to provide an escape from oneself but then sadly prevent you from gaining the life experiences that would really help.

I keep seeing Peter Sis mentioned on LibraryThing. His books do sound wonderful!

Hope all goes well with the final chemo on the 13th.

Sending you many many good thoughts for the 13th!

Hi Pat! Thanks for your kind response in #52 to my post earlier!

I love that you will be toasting the last round of your chemo on Friday with a chocolate milkshake! I am a HUGE milkshake fan. My favorite is a hot fudge shake made with vanilla ice cream. yum.

Sandy K

Adding Peter Sis to my list of books to get at the library. I'm tempted by the Steinbeckathon, but I'm trying to pick away at Don Quixote with the 12 in 12 challenge this year, so Steinbeck is going to have to wait . . .

I've noted Drinking a love story. but am not planning on reading it soon. I had an uncle who was an alcoholic, and a close friend who lived with an alcoholic for a couple of years before he died last winter. It was really tough to see how Charlie's drinking affected his health and his willingness/ability to interact with others. It's too close to home for me right now, but maybe someday.

I'm glad your health continues to be good Pat. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Hi Pat - stopping by, starring your thread. I see that you're in Idaho, so we're practically neighbors (and one of my favorite RL reading buddies lives in Pullman but works at UI).

You're doing some interesting reading and I look forward to getting to know you a bit in 2012.

~Ellen

Hi Pat, good luck with today's chemo - I'll be thinking of you.

Cheers to your final chemo treatment, Pat! I'll be happy to celebrate with you tomorrow with a chocolate shake even though I don't need an excuse to have one I'll still pick one up.

Yay that tomorrow is the final chemo. I'm sure you will enjoy the shake.
Prayers for continued strength and progress in the battle!

Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! I always think that Friday 13th is an especially lucky day because I was born on the one in October and my father was born on the one in July. Did I already say this?
You have done so well and we are all so proud of you and for you, that I hardly know what to say. So I'll just shut up.

Hi Heather. I'm looking forward to slowing making my way through all the Peter Sis books in my library. I like having a good children's book around to read in between heavier books.

Ilana, of course you're forgiven. :) You've been a busy woman lately with your own thread and the Steinbeckathon which I'm personally very thankful for.

Thanks Marcia! I hope you love Cannery Row as much as I did when you get to it.

Dee I have to admit that the quote from Drinking: A Love Story struck a chord with me too. I'm basically a whimp at heart and I could understand her sensitivity.

Ardene I could see where you'd need some time to read Drinking: A Love Story if you had recent experience with someone with an alcohol problem. The experience I had was almost thirty years ago and it's still hard to look at it objectively.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Don Quixote. I've never thought of reading it and didn't realize it wasn't an easy read.

Hi Ellen. Thanks for stopping by. I've been lurking on your thread and saw that you recently read The Worst Hard Time. That was one of my favorite books in 2010. It's nice to know another LTer in the Pacific Northwest!

Thanks Dee, Sandy, Brit, Cushla, Lynda, Laura and Peggy for the good wishes on my last chemo tomorrow. I can't believe it's basically over and that it wasn't that bad. The chemo was what I feared most and I didn't know anyone personally that had ever had it. In contrast, I know several people that have had radiation for cancer treatments and they describe it as a "piece of cake" so I'm not dreading that the way I did the chemo treatments.

Tomorrow, however, will be my last guilt-free milkshake because I expect my metabolism will revert to it's usual slow poke pace and I'll have to get more focused on the calories I'm consuming. So I'm planning to savor it and to toast my LT-related friends with a birthday on January 13th--Joanne (coppers), Sara (Bonnie's daughter) and Theresa (Cushla's daughter)!

Oooh. Milkshakes. I have this awesome organic candy cane ice cream which would make a really GREAT milkshake probably. I'm terrible about sweets. Just have to have my dose every day, calories be damned!

I'm very happy that the chemo has been going so well for you Pat. You're not nervous about tomorrow, are you? I'm sure it'll go well too. I'll be thinking of you in any case, as I do daily with my "clicks" ;-)

Ilana when I first realized that my last chemo would be Friday, the 13th, I was a little nervous but ultimately I'm not superstitious and when I realized a lot of good things happen on January 13th (like the birthdays I mentioned) I decided not to worry about it.

I actually think it's going to be a hard transition to give up the sweets I've been enjoying. I'm pretty much a sugar addict and it's been fun not to have to worry about it these last couple of months.

I'm not superstitious in the least about Friday the 13th, to the point where I didn't catch your reference to it at all till you spelled it out for me. It's just a day like any other. For me, it'll be a great day since I have a package (of books, presumably) awaiting at the post office that I'll be picking up tomorrow. That's almost better than sweets. Or pretty well on par. :-)

You can eat all the sweets you want if you burn off the calories somehow, but you know that already.

Hi Sweetie.

Not day goes by when I don't think of you. You are a brave, loving, kind, sensitive soul!

#75 You can eat all the sweets you want if you burn off the calories somehow, but you know that already.

Ah, one of those things that's so much easier said than done! I'll be looking forward to hearing what books are in that package you're getting tomorrow.

Hi Linda. It's so good to see you. And, thank you, as always, for your kind words.

Good luck with the final chemo treatment, Pat!
Will be thinking of you :)
You've been a brave and upbeat lady through it all!
Amazing!

Thanks for the good wishes, Claudia, and the pink heart!

I'm so glad you liked Cannery Row, Pat. I loved it too, and keep meaning to read Sweet Thursday, which is the sequel. One of these days!

I'll be thinking about you tomorrow!! Good luck and enjoy that well-deserved milk shake!

Good luck today! Enjoy that chocolate milkshake!

Ilana - You could make a wicked candy cane/chocolate milkshake by adding some chocolate sauce! I highly recommend it!

Thinking of you, Pat. And about a milkshake :)

Thinking abut you, Pat, and hoping you're feeling strong.

Hi Pat, I've been thinking about you all day. Hope you savor that milkshake. You definitely deserve a treat after your last treatment. I've been so inspired by your grace and good humor throughout.

Stopping by to say hello and see how you're doing today.

I hope everything went well today Pat, but I'm sure it did. You are one impressive lady!

Hi Everyone. Everything did go well today. I'm a little sleepy from the Ativan they gave me but otherwise no complaints. The last chocolate milkshake was delicious and I got everything I possibly could out of that cup while I was thinking of all the great people born on this day.

I realized last time that I forget large chunks of what I read on chemo day (probably because of the Ativan) so I stuck with magazines today and the Style Section from last Sunday's Times.

My white blood cell count should be pretty much normal in two weeks (and won't be getting knocked down anymore by chemo treatments) so I'm looking forward to having fresh fruits and vegetables again. At a class I went to before chemo started they had recommended staying away from these foods or washing them at least three times to make sure I didn't pick up any food poisoning. I decided to just wait until chemo was over and now I'm craving a good salad and some apples. I can also stop worrying about being out in big crowds and shaking people's hands when my immune system is low. And I've finally been cleared to take the free exercise classes that the hospital offers cancer patients (again because I don't have to worry about picking something up).

So onward and upward! :)

Doin' the Happy Dance for you while you rest peacefully -
This could result in another milkshake for you!

Hurrah!!! Chemo over!!! Life can resume!!! Everything I've heard about radiation is that it's simple compared to chemo -- I think one person had some kind of skin problem related to it, and another had v. mild nausea. But those were anomalies...
And Friday the 13th is now gone, along with the chemo! The 13th will recur, but hopefully not the chemo...

So pleased that's over for you. Enjoy those lovely, healthy salads!

Wonderful news, Pat! It's great you'll be able to get back into doing things you enjoyed before.

A big hug to you, Pat! You did it, sweetie!!!
And good for you for signing up for the exercise class and eating well. You're an inspiration!

Woot! Woot!

Yes yes, I am adding my congratulations to all the others!

Good news, Pat. Rest up, take care, and I'm glad you enjoyed that milkshake!

Congratulations, Pat! I'm thrilled that your chemotherapy is finished, and that you tolerated it so well.

Yay! Return to everything you love (and missed) Pat!

Congratulations Pat! You've been amazing with how you're handling this. Hope the Styles section was good... I used to read the weddings column every Sunday with the kooky engagement stories.

YAY, Pat!!! Joy! Joy! Joy!

You're such a trooper Pat. Must feel amazing to have that part of the treatment behind you. I'm sure you'll find other occasions in future for more chocolate milkshakes, minus the treatments that is! :-)

Great news, Pat. I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Onward and upward Pat :-) Well done!

Hurray Pat! Congrats!

Claudia, Suzanne, Dee, Laura, Lynda, Katie, Lucy, Ellen, Darryl, Bonnie, Cushla, Peggy, Ilana, Anne, Heather and Brit--Thank you all so much for the congratulations. You guys have been such a huge source of support through all this and that's helped more than you can ever know.

I often talk about my LT friends and how you've been there through thick and thin. Most people, unfortunately, don't have a clue what LT, and the 75ers in particular, is all about. I wish I was better at describing the experience to people because you've all made a huge difference in my life.

Love you guys!

Most people, unfortunately, don't have a clue what LT, and the 75ers in particular, is all about.

My experience, exactly. xo

Pat, it's wonderful news that the chemo is over and done with. You are such a star. You've coped beautifully with all that's been thrown at you and have grown all the stronger for it.

I'm so glad to hear that chemo is behind you, Pat! Take care!

You picked some great books in 2011! Starring your thread. Some of your favorites are also mine: The Tortilla Curtain and The Secret History are some amazing reads! I am heading to your profile right now to see what I should borrow ;)

Most people, unfortunately, don't have a clue what LT, and the 75ers in particular, is all about.

Just tell them you're part of a sect. :-D

Hi Pat- I have to say you maintained a great attitude through it all and this should be an inspiration to us all. Bravo, my friend! Hope you had a great weekend.

87: Hooray for the end of chemo! I didn't quite realize until I read your description how much this frees you.

Hi Pat, I'm so relieved that your chemo treatments are over. I think your positive outlook has helped you through this rough time, and I know it has been an inspiration to me. I'll think of you next time I indulge in a chocolate milkshake. It's too cold for me to enjoy ice cream right now or I would have joined you on Friday!

Your name was mentioned at the Denver meetup - in a good way, of course. We hope you are feeling up to a mini vacation in Denver later this summer. We'd love it if you could join us next time we get together.

Hi everyone. Thanks as always for your kind words and support.

At the moment I'm so saddened to hear the news about Janet (JanetinLondon)'s death on January 4th. Her family posted the news on her 2011 thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/127568) earlier today and Jim has set up a special thread for people to express their condolences (http://www.librarything.com/topic/131201).

I'm really going to miss her posts on LT which I always found so well-expressed and thoughtful. And her matter-of-fact attitude toward her experience with cancer will be a continuing inspiration to me.

#113 Me too Pat. Thanks for your message on my thread - hugs.

Sorry I missed the last chemotherapy celebration, but a belated 'I am glad it is over' from me too!

#113: Count me among those who miss Janet's presence here on LT too. Be sure and check out her review of The Worst Journey in the World, Pat. I know you expressed some interest on my thread about reading it.

Pat trust that everything is ok with you a sit is a few days since your last post. Cushla is right you are a trooper! Enjoy reading your thread and hope you are back again posting shortly. Our good friend and neighbour has recently made a full recovery from stage three breast cancer and I trust that you will follow suit brave lady.

#113 Pat, your post reminds me and Janet's passing reminds me that even if I just lurk, I need to tell people, a little more often, that I enjoy their posts, thread whatever, it would only take a couple of seconds.

Hope you have a great day :0)

just delurking to wish you well!

Me too. Nothing to say, but Lynda makes a good point. I enjoy your posts and your thread!!! *back into lurk mode*

Hi Guys. Thanks for checking in with me. I'm fine but am lacking an effective strategy for keeping up with all the threads I starred for 2012. Instead of coming to my own thread first to update my reading when I log onto LT, I try to read all the starred threads first, which continues to be a herculean task.

I've been lurking on all your threads but not posting much because I'm always aware that I have so many more new posts to read. (I think I saw someone referring to "speed lurking", which is how what I'm doing feels.) I'm finding so many threads interesting this year that I can't seem to figure out a way to handle the sheer volume of new posts every time I log on. I think reading your threads is more addictive than reading books. Oh well, basically a good problem to have. :)

I have been reading and just finished a great novel--No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. It was a Christmas Swap gift from Suzanne and a really great choice. I also read a great children's book--Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say.

I won't have any more medical stuff until the week of February 13th. On the 13th, I have a PET Scan scheduled just to make sure those two spots they found above my right clavicle before the chemo started are gone and I'm waiting to hear which days that week I'll see the oncologist again and meet with the radiation oncologist. So a nice little hiatus. I'm also looking forward to starting the free exercise and yoga classes the cancer center offers next week.

Well, off to walk the dog. I will try to do better to actually say something on all your threads.

Hi Pat- A "herculean task"! You said it, my friend. LT has been red-hot lately. Enjoy your day.

I'm such a naughty girl, I read my thread first. But then I'm very very very good after that. I do try to 'hit' my regulars once a day, although, like you, I do a lot of speed lurking. I've noticed that sometimes for literally weeks on end, someone I usually overlap with will go off on their own tangent and while I read with interest, I truly have no idea what to say. There should be a shorthand for that!!!

Stopping by and waving hi.

Much love to you

"speed lurking" -- I do a lot of that, nice to have a term for it!

I'm speed lurking too (but unlurking to say hi). And sometimes I have NITS (there you go Lucy, will that do for an acronym?) too.

And I'm hardly reading any books of my own, just school stuf!

Hope you have a great couple of weeks of no doctor visits and tons of fun exercise.

I'm doing very badly at keeping up with threads. Impossible to do, especially since I'm also trying to spend more time away from the computer. But once or twice a week, I settle down and take as much time as I need to get to just about everyone. That's a whole day gone, more or less.

I just got a few Allen Say books from the library this weekend, including Grandfather's Journey. I look forward to those.

Wishing you all the very best, as always Pat! xx

I think we are all getting to be experts at speed lurking. Don't feel guilty, Pat, or anyone for that matter, we are only human and only have a certain amount of time to be on-line. I seem to alternate between days of reading threads and days of reading books. Thank heavens I am retired, I don't know how people who work manage to ever get caught up.

I do the speed-lurk, too!

Sandy K

Speed-lurking. Yep. I'm amazed at what feels like an explosion of posting since the new year. I cannot keep up. At least, not if I'd like to do some actual reading-of-books along the way.

Keep taking care, Pat. We ♥ you.

Beep, Beep

*speed lurking through the thread*

Here's how I'm speed lurking:

#132: OMG!!!! That is the cutest little Corgi face I have ever seen! It may be the cutest face I've ever seen!!!!!!!

*quietly worries that it's not actually a Corgi*

>132 sibylline:, that's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen!

Pat, I share your concerns about keeping up on the threads. I don't have a good way to do it either, and I find it hard to keep up when I'm not busy. When I am busy, which is my usual state, I fall hopelessly behind. If you ever hit upona successful system, let me know! Until then, I'm a member of the speed-lurking ranks.

Hah! Cute picture is right.

Hope all is well, Pat. I'm glad your treatments are done.

I know what you and others mean about keeping up with the threads. "Speed-lurking" - great concept! I try to speed-comment, which of course can be pretty dopey sometimes.

Mark, Lucy, Linda, Laura, Cushla, Ilana, Sandy, Judy, Ellen, Lynda, Faith, Anne and Joe--Speed Lurkers Unite! Lynda I loved the gif of the roadrunner. I think we need to coin a new term--threadrunners.

I'm doing well and have just started reading The Ox-bow Incident by Walter Clark. I saw Morphy mention it as a quick read on the TIOLI thread and picked it up at the library. It's set in 1885 in what is now Nevada and is the story of a lynching and what causes mob violence. It was a book mentioned favorably by Wallace Stegner (as in being about the real West) in When the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs, which was my first group read on LT.

We've been having a string of beautiful sunny days in Idaho. It's been cold but the sun makes a huge difference. What a great winter so far.

Hope you're all having a great weekend.

Book No. 3 Cannery Row by John Steinbeck--5 stars

I loved this book and it’s quickly become one of my favorites. In the introductory chapter, Steinbeck talks about the difficulty of describing Cannery Row, the place. How can the poem and the stink and the grating noise--the quality of light, the tone, the habit and the dream--be set down alive? He does this magically but I find it impossible to adequately review this book. Instead I just want to record some of my notes about it.

It was on Joe’s thread that I first saw the link to an NPR article about Ed Ricketts, Steinbeck’s good friend and the person the character of Doc was based on (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1252560). Here’s a couple of quotes I liked from that article:

Ricketts followed a live-in-the-moment philosophy and he viewed everything as interrelated parts of a whole, Rodger (*) says. "I think to Ed Ricketts there was no difference between a good poem, an interesting piece of music and... a sea spider."

The novel Cannery Row is . . . a reflection of Ricketts' worldview. Steinbeck said it should be read as if set in a human tidepool teaming with life, fascinating in all its aspects.

*Katie Rodger is the author of a biography of Ed Ricketts, Renaissance Man Of Cannery Row: The Life and Letters of Edward F. Ricketts.

I love that description of a “human tidepool.” Besides the main characters of Doc, Mack and the boys, Dora, and Lee Chong, some of the other things I found fascinating were the Malloys and their tenants in the boiler, Mary Talbot’s tea parties for the neighborhood cats, the flagpole skater, the Chinaman and his flapping shoe, and Steinbeck’s description of the time of day just before dawn--the hour of the pearl.

The following quote is from the first paragraph of Chapter 14 in Cannery Row and it’s my favorite part of the novel because it seems to capture the book in miniature. Plus early mornings are the best time of day as far as I’m concerned.

Early morning is a time of magic in Cannery Row. In the gray time after the light has come and before the sun has risen, the Row seems to hang suspended out of time in a silvery light. The street lights go out, and the weeds are a brilliant green. The corrugated iron of the canneries glows with the pearly lucence of platinum or old pewter. No automobiles are running then. The street is silent of progress and business. And the rush and drag of the waves can be heard as they splash in among the piles of the canneries. It is a time of great peace, a deserted time, a little era of rest. Cats drip over the fences and slither like syrup over the ground to look for fish heads. Silent early morning dogs parade majestically picking and choosing judiciously whereon to pee. The seagulls come flapping in to sit on the cannery roofs to await the day of refuse. They sit on the roof peaks shoulder to shoulder. From the rocks near the Hopkins Marine Station comes the barking of sea lions like the baying of hounds. The air is cool and fresh. In the back gardens the gophers push up the morning mounds of fresh damp earth and they creep out and drag flowers into their holes. Very few people are about, just enough to make it seem more deserted than it is. One of Dora’s girls comes home from a call on a patron too wealthy or too sick to visit the Bear Flag. Her makeup is a little sticky and her feet are tired. Lee Chong brings the garbage cans out and stands them on the curb. The old Chinaman comes out of the sea and flap-flaps across the street and up past the Palace. The cannery watchmen look out and blink at the morning light. The bouncer at the Bear Flag steps out on the porch in his shirt sleeves and stretches and yawns and scratches his stomach. The snores of Mr. Malloy’s tenants in the pipes have a deep tunnelly quality. It is the hour of the pearl--the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself.

I also googled the poem Black Marigolds, translated by E. Powys Mathers, that Steinbeck quotes extensively in the last chapter. It was written centuries ago by a young poet who was in prison and waiting to be executed for having an affair with a king’s daughter. The full text of the love poem is here if your interested (http://www.wenaus.com/poetry/blkmar-full.html). Probably my favorite line is “I know that I have savored the hot taste of life.”

I’m currently making my way through a non-fiction book, Real Life on Cannery Row: Real People, Places and Events That Inspired John Steinbeck by A. L. Lundy. It’s interesting to find out who and what was real as a companion read to Cannery Row (and I’ll post more about that when I finish the book) but boy does it lack the magic supplied by Steinbeck.

Again, my thanks to Ellen, Ilana, and Mark for setting up the Steinbeckathon. Without you I never would have read this book.

Wonderful comments on Cannery Row, Pat! I have not yet read it and will wait until all the 75ers furor dies down a bit to make sure I'm not caught up in it. I had planned to read it earlier this month but things got away from me... I just picked up a copy of The Wayward Bus so I am ready for next month :-)

I'll echo Katie, Pat - what a wonderful review! That excerpt takes me right back into the book. What beautiful writing. I look forward to hearing what you think of the companion book.

I hope you post the review on the book's page so I can give it a thumb.

Pat, I loved your comments on Cannery Row, and like you, I am also grateful for the Steinbeckathon and its parents. I don't know that I'll be able to participate all year, but I am definitely committed to more Steinbeck :)

I was also struck by the hour of the pearl. It struck me because it is so beautiful and evocative, but also because he used it more than once, and it was no accident. Wonderful.

Wow, Pat... you are up. to. snuff. !
Great review. At least I've already read this one (and loved it too). Whew! I'll have to be careful of your thread from now on I fear....;-)

Pat - just dropping by to say your vivid description of the tepid sun over Idaho makes me pine to travel to North America later this year and see for myself! Great contribution to the wonderful collection of Cannery Row reviews I have read this year. Read it some time ago and enjoyed it immensely and you reminded my apty just why! Have a great weekend.

Hi Katie. I've got my copy of The Wayward Bus all ready to go for February too. :) Hope you get a chance to read Cannery Row soon.

Hi Joe. I'm reluctant to post my comments about Cannery Row as a review because I feel like they're mostly quotes I copied. But thank you!

Anne for some reason I'm drawn to descriptions of light. My husband and I took a photography class years ago where they taught us how things look different depending on the time of day because of the quality of the light. According to the teacher, the best time of day to take a picture was during the "golden hour" just before sunset. Neither of us ever did much photography after the class but we've always remembered that discussion about light and will often remark on the way things look during the "golden hour." I liked Steinbeck's "hour of the pearl" as a description of the light just before dawn. It seems like the perfect way to describe some of the sunrises we've seen when we've been on the Oregon Coast (our favorite vacation spot).

Claudia one of the great things about reading Cannery Row was doing it with so many other 75ers. I LOVE the Steinbeckathon.

Hi Paul. One of the things I love about LT is how it connects me to so many different places in the world--including your neck of the woods in Kuala Lumpur. Are your temperatures pretty much the same year round?

The "golden hour" has always been my favorite time of day -- the light softens, the pace slackens, everything seems to pause quietly for a few minutes. Just as twilight hits...

Glad No Great Mischief was a "win"!

Pat - Thanks so much for sharing the long quote from Cannery Row. I loved it when I read it a couple of years ago and so glad you did, too!

Pat, Your comments on Cannery Row are simply wonderful! I, too, loved reading it with the Steinbeckathon bunch and look forward to many of the others lined up this year. One things for certain, CR is one of the very few books that I will want to read again and again.

Glad you liked your Cannery Row.. I have some sort of phobia when it comes to
group reads. I can barely join the Fantasy February thread without anxiety..

It can be tiresome being crazy....

Breezing out of speed lurk to laugh at Kathleen on the tiresomeness of craziness, which I know ALL about, and so say that No Great Mischief is on Mt. Bookpile. I can't decide whether I actually read Cannery Row some time in my literary past or whether I just know about it. As I've said before, I admire Steinbeck without warming to him, and I don't know why.
Oh well, keep reading and reporting, Pat! I also share a fondness for seeing light (the colors when the sky is mostly overcast - as in an approaching thunderstorm - but the sun is shining are the most vibrant ever), but I don't have even one visually artistic gift.

Pat - daytime temperatures vary little -between 28-33 degrees the whole time. This is broken up of course by A LOT of rain. Apparently there used to be a discernible monsoon season but can't really see that nowadays. In the mountains like Genting (where there is Malaysia's only casino) temperatures can drop to approx 16 (1,800 metres above sea level) if you really need some fresher air for a while and that is about an hours drive from KL.

Hi Pat, just dropping out of speed-lurking to say hello.

The "golden hour" has always been my favorite time of day -- the light softens, the pace slackens, everything seems to pause quietly for a few minutes. Just as twilight hits...

I love the way you said that Suzanne! You should be writing fiction as well as non-fiction. And, yes, No Great Mischief was a "winner." I still feel like I'm replaying scenes from that book in my head.

Hi Joanne! It's great to see so much love out there for Cannery Row. Are you going to read any of Steinbeck's other books this year with the Steinbeckathon?

Lynda I will definitely be reading Cannery Row again. I finished Real Life on Cannery Row the other night and it took some of the magic of the novel away by being mostly just a recitation of facts. It was lifeless compared to Steinbeck's writing.

Hi Kath. Group reads don't always work for me especially if everyone gets ahead of me. But when they do work, I usually get so much more out of the book than I would on my own. I don't read fantasy at all (that I can think of) so even though I lurk on the Fantasy February thread most of it doesn't register. That said, I am considering giving Ender's Game a try in February since it's been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years.

I also share a fondness for seeing light (the colors when the sky is mostly overcast - as in an approaching thunderstorm - but the sun is shining are the most vibrant ever)

Peggy I think I know exactly what you mean about the color of an overcast sky with a storm approaching. I love when the clouds are sort of a bluish gray. I also related to what you said about not being sure you had read a book in the distant past or just knew about it. That sometimes happens to me. I see a book mentioned on LT and think I read it years ago but then start to doubt myself.

Hi Paul. Do you miss not having different seasons or bigger temperature fluctuations? Your temperatures don't seem too bad but I assume the humidity is a killer. That's one thing I love about Idaho weather--it's so much drier here than where I lived for the first 53 years of my life (New York State).

Hi Heather. Always good to know you're here! :)

Pat- Nice to seeing you posting regularly. And I'm glad you will be joining me on The Wayward Bus. Hey, it'll be like old times. Hugs!

Hi Mark. I'm trying my best not to ignore my own thread or get so exhausted reading all the threads I've starred that I don't have the mental energy to think of anything coherent to say. Look forward to "seeing" you on The Bus!

Excellent review of Cannery Row Pat. I've found Group Reads are not for me either. I'm not sure why.

Hi Pat!
Swinging by and waving! Ditto what Mark said. I'll be on the bus too...

Hi Pat. I've been lurking. Think about you every day. Thanks for your visits over on my side, I always love hearing from you. xx

Hi Pat. Another lurker here. I'm so glad you're joining us in the Steinbeck-a-thon. I don't think I would have read Cannery Row, either, without this incentive. And I had never even heard of The Wayward Bus and now it's on top of my TBR pile for this month.

I'm glad you're doing well.

And then after the golden hour, comes the gloaming. I've always loved that word--seems so much more poetic and full of promise that twilight.

Hi Pat! Just swinging through, trying not to fall too far behind....

Thanks, Bonnie! Luckily, most of the LT group reads I've tried have worked for me.

Good to hear you're going to be reading The Wayward Bus too, Claudia. I'm a little nervous this one can't possibly be as good as Cannery Row.

Hi Ilana. Thanks for the good wishes. I've been mostly lurking on your thread too. I don't know how people who work ever keep up on LT.

Hey Ellen. I'm thrilled with the whole idea of the Steinbeckathon and am so glad you, Ilana, and Mark set it up. You make a good team.

Hi Janet. I forgot about the word "gloaming." I like twilight but gloaming is definitely more magical.

Hi Katie. I'm looking forward to hearing about your upcoming trip to Bangkok.

Reading Update

Read in January

1. Drinking: A Love Story by Caroline Knapp (memoir--4 stars)
2. Madlenka by Peter Sis (children's picture--5 stars)
3. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck (fiction; classic--5 stars)
4. Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say (children's picture--4 stars)
5. No Great Mischief by Alistair Macleod (fiction--4.5 stars)
6. Real Life on Cannery Row: Real People, Places and Events That Inspired John Steinbeck by A.L. Lundy (non-fiction--3 stars)
7. Blizzard of Glass: The Halifax Explosion of 1917 by Sally M. Walker (non-fiction; YA--4 stars)

Currently reading

The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark
Anticancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber

Additional Reads for February (I won't get to all of these but I'd like to)

The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck
I'm Gone by Jean Echenoz
The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
The Tender Land by Kathleen Finneran
Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
Mister Blue by Jacques Poulin
The Owl Service by Alan Garner
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Nice collection of books read in January, Pat.

I'm looking forward to reading Mister Blue.

Joanne, I have you to thank for Blizzard of Glass. I don't think I ever would have heard of it otherwise and I certainly had never heard about the explosion before. Hope you don't have to go anywhere this weekend. ;-)

Hi, Pat. I'll put in a vote for The Dervish House. I thoroughly enjoyed it and have just made a note to self to read more McDonald!

Hi Peggy. The Dervish House is what I'm planning to read from Janet(inLondon)'s library this month. I've never read anything by McDonald. I'm glad to know you liked it so much.

I hope to read The Dervish House soon. I don't have a copy yet but it is on my wish list and I think it was a review of Janet's which put it there.

Edited to add: I will be really interested to hear what you think of The Owl Service if you get to it!

I'm another person who's had The Dervish House wishlisted since Janet recommended it and I'm definitely going to buy it and read it at some point this year in her memory.

In fact you've got quite a few books on your February list that are on my wishlist :-)

Goodness! Is this leap-year? Hope so. You will need the extra day for all you have planned to read. Good luck with that ambitious list. I still can't decide if I do better with a list or just as the spirit moves me???

Have a great day!

Hi There Sweetie!

I haven't read Cannery Row but your comments prompt me to do so.

I think of you everyday and send lots of love

Dervish House is a treat and a half! I've never read The Wayward Bus and I've read a little Alan Garner but everything else is new to me!

Back to add that I am so thrilled to see your reading rev up again.

Hi Pat, I decided to de-lurk to wish you a nice weekend. I have Dervish House on my Kindle and will try to fit in a read of it in soon.

I read the first two pages of The Dervish House last night and I think I'm going to love it. But I really need to finish The Ox-Bow Incident before I start another fiction book and I have a feeling The Dervish House might be one of those books that sucks me in and makes reading other books at the same time impossible.

Lucy I'm glad you liked The Dervish House too. I seem to remember alot of positive discussion about it on Janet's thread.

Dee, Heather and Judy I'm hoping to be able to recommend it to you soon.

Dee I'm waiting for The Owl Service to arrive at my library but that should be soon since no one else had a hold on it. I'm looking forward to getting to it.

Lucy, which books of Alan Garner's have you read?

Hi Claudia. Yes it is a very ambitious list and I know I won't read all of those books. Most of them are library books due back at the end of the month so we'll see how it goes. If I didn't find LT so endlessly fascinating (but, unfortunately, very time consuming) I might actually have a chance at finishing them.

Linda I think you'd love Cannery Row. It's a pretty fast read. I hope you're able to get to it sometime soon.

Thanks for all the continuing good wishes. I've been doing well and am glad to be back to regular exercise and yoga classes (free at the hospital I'm being treated at). I've started reading a 2009 book called Anticancer: A New Way of Life to help me get back on a healthier diet. I knew it would be difficult to give up the ice cream and other treats the doctors actually seemed to be encouraging me to eat during chemo and it is! But this seems to be a good book and it's slowly brainwashing me back into eating whole foods. I've really been enjoying eating blueberries and apples again.

The week of February 13th, I start doing my cancer treatments again and will find out just how much radiation I'll need to do. In the beginning, they gave me a general idea it would be 5-6 weeks. For now, it's nice to have a break from all of that.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I think your wonderful positive outlook has served you well Pat. I love reading your updates that outline your healthy activities.

Ditto what Bonnie said in message #173!

I hope The Dervish House is one of those books that sucks you in and makes it impossible to read anything else. It may not fit in with your plans, but that kind of read is still one of life's greatest pleasures.

Sending you lots of strengthening energy as you gear up for the 13th. And I'm so glad you're getting to enjoy the break.

Thanks for the encouragement Bonnie, Claudia and Ellen! If I had to say I was addicted to anything it would be sugar so switching to healthier habits is not always easy for me. But I know if I can keep it up for several weeks, it'll become my new normal and I will feel like I'm doing something good for myself.

Ellen I'm also hoping The Dervish House is one that becomes all consuming. I love those kinds of reads.

I feel like I'm at a critical point with The Ox-Bow Incident though. It's a well-written western but not entirely my thing and I'm about exactly halfway through. I'm afraid if I put it aside now I might not get back to it and I want to finish it especially since it has to go back to the library soon.

Hi Pat, glad that you are filling your medical hiatus with some good books. I recently bought No Great Mischief at my favorite used bookstore on Bonnie's recommendation. You've confirmed it, so now all I have to do is find time to read it. Easier said than done.

Like you and so many others, I get frustrated with trying to keep up with everyone. Let's just do the best we can and call it good!

Pat, I just wanted to stop by and say hello. Hope you're having a good weekend!

Donna I think you'll love No Great Mischief. It was originally on my WL because of Bonnie too and then Suzanne choose it for one of my Christmas Swap gifts. Another one of those books I probably would never have read if not for an LT recommendation :).

Hi Anne. Hope you're not getting cabin fever yet. I've been enjoying looking at all the snowy pictures you, Jenn and Joanne have been posting. So far this winter, we've had exactly one snowstorm. It dumped about 4 inches in the morning, turned to rain in the afternoon and was gone the next day. The thing I'm happiest about this winter is we've had alot of sunny days. Usually January and February are full of long stretches of grey days.

Hi Pat- I like your current book choices! Shamefully, I have not read The Ox-Bow Incident, which is ridiculous, since I love westerns and I'm a big fan of the film version.
I am loving The Wayward Bus. This one really caught me off guard.

Hi Mark I am going to have to track the film of The Ox-Bow Incident down. I think you'd like the book. I've definitely overcommitted myself for February but what else is new? The Wayward Bus will get read however because I want to keep up with the Steinbeckathon. Have a fun Sunday watching the Superbowl!

Book No. 4 Grandfather’s Journey by Allen Say (non-fiction, children’s picture book)--4 stars

A quiet, contemplative picture book for ages 4 and up about the author’s grandfather and his affection for living in both America and Japan. It has a melancholy aspect in that the grandfather always longs for the country he’s not living in at the time and this is something the author experiences in his life as well. I loved the illustrations and the author won The Caldecott Medal for this book in 1994.

Pat, I have to agree with you about The Ox-Bow Incident. It is well-written, but it definitely wasn't my thing either.

Gosh, The Ox-Bow Incident takes me back to 7th grade -- what a chilling book, really. Believe it or not, that was one of the books we read. I guess because it is so straightforward??? Who knows.

Hi Lori and Lucy. I've got 15 more pages to go in The Ox-Bow Incident. I found the last 60 pages or so much more engaging and will be rating it higher than I originally thought.

Mark my husband also remembers the film of The Ox-Bow Incident being good and my library does have it so after I clear my hold list, I'm going to put the DVD on hold.

I'm getting annoyed that my library only allows 5 holds at time. My hold list currently has 3 DVDs on it that are taking awhile to get--Midnight in Paris, Bridesmaids, and Season 1 of Downton Abbey. (Wow! Who knew LT had touchstones for movies?) I'm working on my husband to get a library card so I can use his hold list as well. He reads only on his Kindle Fire now so he's not particularly motivated but I figure I'll eventually wear him down.

Hi Pat. I am a big fan of western novels and I have long had The Ox Box Incident on my wishlist. After reading about it here I couldn't resist any longer and have ordered it, I am looking forward to it as I have seen the movie and remember it as being very well done.

Pat- "Midnight in Paris, Bridesmaids, and Season 1 of Downton Abbey." I loved all of them. You have some nice viewing ahead of you. Enjoy!

Hi Pat, looks like you're doing a lot of great reading. I have to admit most books—all? save for two—are not familiar to me. I definitely took note of Dervish House, since seemingly everyone is recommending it. I'll read Janet's review of it, which no doubt will clinch it for me. Nice that she left traces behind that we can still enjoy... (hope that sounds right, I mean it in the best possible way).

You sound like you're doing all the right things and you really are an inspiration to us all.

(((Hugs)))

I'm getting annoyed that my library only allows 5 holds at time.

5?? Only 5??

I'm embarrassed to say how many holds my library allows and yet I also "borrow" my son's library account to place holds...

My library has kindle loans - maybe you can entice your husband with ebooks?

I loved Midnight in Paris and Downton Abbey!! Enjoy them both! (And Bridesmaids had some very funny moments.)

*50, my library allows 50 holds.....

50 holds????? I only get 10 and I just bumped up against that limit once more....

But I also loved Midnight in Paris & Downton Abbey. Hope they both show up when you need radiation, so you'll have something fab to look forward to.

I'm trying to remember whether I read The Owl Service when I was a kid, but the description doesn't ring any bells. I'm still trying to assemble a Janet-Memory-Book list; think it will easy enough to do given the size of my Mt. TBR! God's Philosophers arrived in the mail yesterday.

Hi Judy. I finished The Ox-Bow Incident last night and will probably rate it 4 stars. The last 15 pages had several surprises I wasn't expecting. Something I read on the internet (I think) said it was more of a psychological study than a Western and that's what I ended up liking about it the most. I now have the DVD on hold at the library so I hope to get that soon. It has a stellar cast in it (Henry Fonda, Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn. . .). I'm really looking forward to seeing it.

Thanks, Mark. I'm just hoping all those DVDs don't come in at the same time! My library usually only lets you keep a DVD for a week and I'm not sure how many episodes there are to watch in the first season of Downton Abbey.

Hi Ilana. Thanks for the kind words. I'm in the process of deciding what to read next and with so many choices, I'm slightly paralyzed. I've never been a good decision-maker. Maybe I'll go look at Janet's comments about The Dervish House. Like you said, that may clinch it for me.

Oh, Joanne! You're killing me--50 holds at a time at your library! Maybe I need to move to Denver. I seem to be making some progress with my husband. He likes the idea of being able to take books out of the library for his Kindle.

Hi Suzanne. I'm hoping the DVDs come in when I'm doing radiation too. Alot of people say it made them tired so watching DVDs sounds like a good "activity" for those days. I think I share something like 136 books with Janet so it should be easy to find books to read in her memory.

#177: Let's just do the best we can and call it good! I agree!

Pat, I seem to have been exploring some westerns lately (I didn't set out to do that, but it's what's been happening) with The Sisters Brothers and True Grit. I have Doc on hold at the library. AND I've been wondering if there are other westerns I should be investigating. The Ox-Bow Incident sounds like it might be worth a spin.

I hope you enjoy Downton Abbey as much as some of the rest of us have! I also recommend the old A&E production of Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle) if you haven't seen it yet.

Happy Thingaversary dear Pat!

Ooooo, something to celebrate today! Happy Thingaversary, my friend!

Happy Thingaversary!!!! Remember to buy your celebratory books.. :)

HAPPY THINGAVERSARY, Pat! It's a great day for you and a great day for us too because we get to talk to you! I see that it's your second, so by my calculations you get to buy three books! Have fun!
To piggy-back Ellen's recommendation, I also love the Firth-Ehle *P&P*, but for characters who look like my idea of the Bennetts and Co,
try the even earlier BBC production from the 70s with a young Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. It may be available only on VHS, more's the pity - especially because Faye Weldon did the screenplay.

Hi Ellen I have a copy of Doc sitting on my shelf patiently waiting to be read. I also have a copy of Lonesome Dove that I got after reading Donna's review. So hopefully I'll be reading some more westerns soon. I should have some more comments about The Ox-bow Incident by this weekend. The next couple of days are busy ones and I'll be out and away from LT most of the time.

Thanks for the Thingaversary wishes, Dee, Lynda, Kath and Peggy! I love the rule that you get to buy one extra book. I'm definitely going to be buying A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor but I'm going to enjoy deciding what the other two will be.

And not only is it my Thingaversary but it's my birthday too so I'm not sure how many other books will ultimately make it into my cart at Amazon.

And Ellen and Peggy, thanks for the recommendations for the Pride & Prejudice productions. I hate to admit it, but I've never made my way through an entire book by Jane Austen. Several LTers though have told me I started with the wrong book, which was Sense and Sensibility.

Hope you guys all have a great day. I'm going to be getting a massage, meeting friends for lunch and then having dinner out with my husband. :-)

Pat, I didn't know it was your birthday as well as your thingaversary! I hope you have a lovely day. It sounds as if it will be perfect!

Happy birthday Pat! As you probably know, the Thingaversary book allocation is # of years plus one to grow on. So that's 3 books right there. Seems to me you should use the same algorithm to calculate birthday books: # years plus one! Go crazy!!

For a Thingaversary AND birthday, you should multiply. Have a great day!

Happy birthday, Pat! Looks like you have a fun day planned! ENJOY!

Speaking of library holds, the Season 1 dvds of Downton Abbey that I put on hold at my library came in! Probably going to start watching them tonight. I have been recording season 2 on the dvr so that I can watch it after I watch the first season. Don't know how I missed this show the first time around, as I love this kind of English historical stuff!

I'll be interested to hear what you think of the film version of The Ox-bow Incident. I've heard that it is very good--I love Henry Fonda, but I've never seen the film because I think that the subject matter would be upsetting.

Sandy K

Happy Thingaversary!

A birthday and a Thingaversary to celebrate? Lucky you, Pat. Enjoy the day and remember to tell us the books you get for your Thinga!

Hi Pat- Big day for you, my friend! Happy Birthday and Happy Thingaversary. I hope you are having a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday and happy Thingaversary Pat! Wow that sounds fabulous!

Happy happy! Enjoy the celebrations.

Happy, happy birthday, Pat!!!

And happy thingaversary, too!

I hope you had a great day.

A birthday and a Thingaversary? A wonderful day indeed. Hope it was a good one!

Happy Birthday, Pat, and Happy Thingaversary as well. Hope you have a wonderful day.

I have missed a whole month, but now I'm caught up! Happy Birthday/Thingaversary - have a lovely day!

yikes, I've missed your birthday! Oh well, if you're like me you'll celebrate all week. So here's looking at you, kid

Happy Belated! Hope you got plenty of books and even more cake. :D

Hi Dee, Laura, Katherine, Sandy, Claudia, Donna, Mark, Bonnie, Laura, Joanne, Anne, Judy, Genny, Lynda and Faith. Thanks for all the birthday and thingaversary wishes!

I think I'm going with Katherine's idea that the coincidence of these two events requires multiplication where books are concerned so I'm going to be shopping for 6 books! As soon as my laborious (buy joyous) selection process is complete, I will let you know.

Today I have a PT appointment, lunch out, exercise class and then a yoga class so I'll be out most of the day. Yesterday was great--first a blissful massage, then lunch with my best friends, followed by dinner with my wonderful husband. Probably a good thing that I'll be burning some calories at my classes today. See you all later!

I missed your birthday??? Where was I?? Sounds like yesterday was marvelous.

Happy belated birthday Pat. Hope you enjoy The owl service. I loved Alan Garner in my 20s, haven't read him for a long time.

Happy Belated Birthday!

Happy Birthday Pat, belated or not! If I were you, I'd just buy as many books as I want. You're probably in a duty free zone with book-buying with that double whammy!

Happy belated birthday!! I do hope that you're extending the celebration all week, and treating yourself to Downton Abbey & books!!

Belated Happy Birthday, Pat!

Hey Pat--Turner Classic Movies is showing The Ox-bow Incident today at 6:30pm EST.

Sandy K

Belated happy birthday and thingaversary Pat! Looking forward to seeing what you decided to buy.

The first series of Downton Abbey had seven episodes and I think each episode was 45 minutes long. We blew through the whole series in a week.

Happy belated birthday from me, too, Pat. I can't quite figure out how I missed it either.

Similar to Heather, my wife and I blew through the first season of DA in a cold, snowy weekend. We loved it.

Thanks Lucy, Ardene, Brit, Ilana, Suzanne and Darryl! Birthday wishes are always welcome. :)

I'm taking my time figuring out which books to buy because in some ways that's almost more fun than reading them. I've taken a liking to the nice hardcover editions that are out for some of the classics--like the Penguin hardcovers. And recently I've had my eye on the Folio Society books but those are pretty pricey. So I'll need to decide whether I'm more interested in quality than quantity. Decisions, decisions . . . .

And Sandy thank you so much for letting me know The Ox-Bow Incident was on today! I just taped it and will watch it sometime this weekend.

On the actual reading front, I'm about halfway through The Owl Service, a YA fantasy book based on an old Welsh myth. It's good but it's not totally grapping me, probably because I'm not drawn to fantasy in general. I read a little more in The Dervish House last night and that I really think I will love. I still haven't started The Wayward Bus for the Steinbeckathon but I've been following most of the comments (just avoiding spoilers) and have been surprised that some people like it just as much or better than Cannery Row. So that is obviously a treat that still awaits me.

Hi Heather and Joe. More birthday wishes--I love it!

I'm encouraged that both of you got through the whole first season of Downton Abbey so quickly. My library has 9 copies of it and I'm number 50 at the moment on the hold list so I'm thinking it will be several weeks before I actually get it.

In the meantime, Midnight in Paris should come in in about a week so that I'll see before the Oscars which I'm happy about since some friends of mine are going to have an Oscar party.

I'm taking my time figuring out which books to buy because in some ways that's almost more fun than reading them. You cracked me up with that! But how true! I'm like the child who fills up my plate until it spills all over!

Pat - happy belated birthday my dear. Sorry belated but I'm struggling to catch up after my recent trip away.

Happy Belated Birthday Pat!!!!!

BTW, I had forgotten that I read Lonesome Dove a few years ago. I didn't expect it to be my cup of tea, but I loved it.

Oh, happy belated birthday and Thingaversary!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful celebration!

Happy Belated Birthday and Thingaversary, Pat! I hope you are savoring your book selections!

Waving and smiling for you, Pat!

Hi Lucy. I'm enjoying every minute of looking for my gift books.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes Paul, Ellen, Katie and Amy! I'm having a great time celebrating. One of my best friends has been vacationing in Hawaii so I'm looking forward to celebrating with her next week.

Waving back at Claudia!

I ended up starting The Wayward Bus last night for the Steinbeckathon after reading so many good reviews of it here on LT the last week. It pulled me right in and I can't believe I've never been interested in reading Steinbeck's books before. I'm also continuing on with Alan Garner's The Owl Service which I'm liking more as I go along. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to finish The Dervish House before it's due back at the library but I haven't given up yet.

My husband got me a Fitbit (http://www.fitbit.com) for my birthday which is a fancy pedometer that tracks your steps, miles, stairs climbed, calories burned and even how much you move when you sleep. You download all the info to a computer website and can see graphs of when you're active each day. Too bad I get no credit for all the time I spend sitting on my butt when I'm on the computer. I'm still getting used to it but it does encourage you to move more so I think it will be helpful and it's a fun new toy.

I've also been enjoying the free exercise classes at the cancer center but the scary thing is how much strength I've lost in the last five months which I didn't even notice happening. They have me doing one-legged squats on one of the machines and my quads and hips have been screaming. I try to keep that to myself though because I'm the youngest one in the class and no one else seems to be complaining.

I have doctor appointments tomorrow afternoon and hopefully will find out when I start radiation and tamoxifen. It's been nice having a break but I'm kind of eager to move on to the next steps. In a way it's more comforting to know you're doing something.

Hi Pat. Glad to hear you're enjoying The Wayward Bus and your other books at the moment. I'll be thinking of you as you go to your doctor's appointment tomorrow - I can completely understand the desire to know that you're doing something to fight the cancer even if the treatments are unpleasant.

I'm also thinking of you, Pat. I hope you get the information you want from your doctor.

My hips are starting to scream at the mere thought of one-legged squats ;)

One thing you can do for your 'stats' is to have a stand-up desk -- that is getting to be all the rage around here. (Yeah, I do it half the time).

Hi Pat, just stopping by. I'm so glad you are feeling well enough to excercise--something I need to get to, as I've been saying for years.

If you're interested in textile art, a friend of mine has a wonderful exhibit at the Idaho Falls art museum through March. I don't know if this is close enough for you to visit, but if you are, it's well worth a view.

A very late happy birthday from me Pat - sounds like it was really good. And the fitbit sounds cool; the one-legged squats less so.

Thinking of you Pat. ❤

Hi Heather, Dee, Lucy, Claudia, Deborah, Cushla and Ilana!

Everything went really well at my appointments today. The doctors and nurses all seemed very happy with how I'm doing. I had a PET scan yesterday to see if it still showed those two spots above my right clavicle (from September). It didn't so that was good news. They were never sure if those spots were post-surgical healing or cancer but either way it's good they're gone and I'll be getting some radiation in that area just to be safe.

I'm going to start radiation on Monday next week and it will continue for 6 1/2 weeks so if I calculated right I'll be done the first week of April. I also got my prescription for the Tamoxifen pills I'll be taking for at least five years. These will suppress any estrogen in my body which is a good thing since my cancer was so highly receptive to estrogen.

Both doctors I saw today (radiation oncologist and medical oncologist) are huge proponents of exercise. Much more so than diet. I could stand to lose some weight but they said they were more concerned that I exercise (strength training in particular) than lose weight. So that was interesting.

All in all it was a good day!

Deborah thanks for the information about the art exhibit in Idaho Falls. Unfortunately, that's about a 7 hour drive from Boise. I'd actually love to visit that area of Idaho sometime but I know it won't be while the exhibit is still on. That must be really exciting for your friend. Is it a traveling exhibit?

Thinking of you and sending love.

Drat, I missed your birthday. I'm sorry!

Much love

Hey Pat! Today's news is very encouraging! How often will you need to have radiation? I like the docs being proponents of exercise. Something I need to do more often as well.

Hi Linda! Don't worry for a minute about missing my birthday. You've had a difficult couple of weeks and I'm just happy to see you posting on the threads again.

Sending lots of love back to you.

Pat, that's some great news you got from your doctors. I hope the next few months go by quickly for you.

Your exercise regime sounds intense. I get regular aerobic workouts with my brisk dog walking, but I need some strength training. I'll be glad when spring gets here so I can work in the yard.

Have you picked those books out yet?

Hey Lynda. We must have cross-posted.

I have to do radiation Monday through Friday for the 6 1/2 weeks. It goes pretty quickly--supposedly 15 to 20 minutes from the time you arrive to the time you leave. I think the actual radiation is only like 5 minutes. I know several people that have done it and they describe it as a "piece of cake." The biggest hassle is that you have to do it almost every day.

Hi Donna. I wish my dog walks could be considered brisk but we've got a small dog that likes to amble most of the time.

I've currently got about eight books in my Amazon shopping cart but I'm enjoying "looking" so much I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

It sounds similar to hyperbaricland, Pat. Doesn't sound too bad and you'll be surprised how quickly 6.5 weeks can go. Perhaps there's a bookstore on the way to your hospital. *fingerscrossed*

Great news Pat! I know when my sister got to the radiation she felt like it was smooth sailing.

So happy to read of your good news Pat!

I am thrilled with your news!

Good to hear things are going well!

246: I've currently got about eight books in my Amazon shopping cart but I'm enjoying "looking" so much I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

I typically pull the trigger when I MUST HAVE one of the books right now. And a dozen others come along with it.

Glad to see the encouraging medical report.

Glad you had good news, Pat, and I hope you will continue to do so!

Thanks for all the good wishes Lynda, Bonnie, Joanne, Lucy, Dee and Katherine!

Lynda and Bonnie I do think the 6 1/2 weeks will go fast (just because I always think time goes fast at this age) but it's good to hear your confirmation of that. :)

And, Lynda, now that you mention it, there's a Barnes & Noble about 5 minutes from the hospital where I'll be getting my radiation treatments.

Katherine I totally relate to what you said! Right now I have more than enough great books to keep me busy so I'm able to show remarkable restraint in actually ordering the books. I also have no place to put any new books except in a pile on the floor so that's a contributing factor too.

I was wondering if anyone had read any books by Edward St. Aubyn. There was a good review of his recent book, At Last, in this Sunday's NY Times book review but it's the last in a series and the reviewer recommended reading the earlier books first. They've just published a combined copy of the earlier novels, The Patrick Melrose Novels, but I don't know if it's worth buying them (or reading them). They sound dark but funny and I kind of like books like that but they really get mixed reviews on LT and not that many people seem to have read them.

Thanks Anne! (We must have cross-posted).

We had two inches of snow on the ground this morning which was a huge surprise. Did you guys get any?

Hi Pat! It's snowing right now, but from what I heard, it's not supposed to amount to much. (That's what they said last week, when a predicted "dusting" turned into 6 inches). We'll see :)

Hi, Pat! Glad to hear that you're doing so well. It's been 27 years post-cancer for me, but I heartily recommend building in a reward immediately following your daily treatment. You know you deserve it! :-)

Your news sounds wonderful. Yay! Spots gone!

Good luck with the radiation, Pat - hope it is a "piece of cake" as noted above! You did the hard part so well - this should go quickly/smoothly by comparison.

LOL - love your expression "I haven't pulled the trigger yet."

I love that expression "pulling the trigger" too! I tend to put off that moment over several days usually, even on other book sites like Audible and BookDepository where it doesn't make a difference in terms of shipping (which is nil) how many books one gets at a time. It just feels like such an important moment somehow! Only a fellow bookoholic would understand that, I'm sure!

Hi Pat, glad to hear the positive news and hope this next cycle goes smoothly.

Hi Anne. My husband got a few good pictures of the snowfall on the dog walk yesterday so I'm going to use one to start my next thread. Snow has been a real rarity here this year. Our local ski resort had their latest ever opening (Jan 19th) and unfortunately, even though they have snow now, it's very hard and icy so the skiers have not been happy this year.

Bonnie--it's so good to see you! I just found and starred your thread in the 2012 Club Read Group and will be back to look at all your lists. I find lists of books that people have read fascinating. It's encouraging to hear how long it's been since you've had cancer and I'm going to take your advice about treating myself. :)

Thanks Claudia. I do think of chemo as the hard part and expect the radiation to be easy in comparison but I'm someone who doesn't like change so I know it's going to take me a few days to get into the new treatments. Yesterday, I had what they call a simulation where they line up the machine and give you three small pinpoint tattoos (both sides and center) so they can line you up the same way each time. I was very anxious because it was different. But that's the way I've always been--at least I know from past experience I'll get used to it quickly. I must say the tattoo pricks were pretty painless and made me think getting a tattoo wouldn't be so bad. Something to ponder.

Hi Ilana. I had to laugh about your comment because I'm doing the same thing. We have Amazon Prime so it's free two-day shipping with no minimum required. I could easily order what I'm sure of and place another order anytime for more books but I'm enjoying filling up my cart and anticipating getting a big box of books. Plus I'm not in any particular hurry since I'm surrounded by piles of good books I haven't read yet.

Thanks for the good wishes Judy. It was a big relief to get the clear PET Scan results! I kept telling my husband that all the doctors and nurses we saw on Tuesday seemed to be in such a good mood but it occurred to me maybe I was projecting a bit.

Pat thanks for keeping us updated with your sometimes harrowing cancer treatments. Godspeed on your firm road to recovery. x
Pukking the trigger is all well and good on Amazon but it is most pleasant to put the bullets in the gun in the first place!

Thanks Paul! And I agree "loading the bullets" is the most fun.