Chautauquan's second year page 2

San Diego has neighborhood identification signs in the commercial areas of its older areas. Here's the one for my neighborhood.

My reading goals this year are to:
- read at least 75 books
- continue working toward reading all winners of Pulitzer Prize for fiction
- continue working toward reading at least one book by each winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature

BOOKS READ IN 2013

January
1. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
2. What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J. Sandel
3. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter
4. The Habit by Susan Morse
5. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
6. Fatelessness by Imre Kertesz
7. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
8. Vipers' Tangle by Francois Mauriac

February
9. The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj by Anne de Courcy
10.Red Sorghum by Mo Yan
11. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau
12. Breath, Eyes, Memory byEdwidge Danticat
13. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot

March
14. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
15. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser

PULITZER PRIZE WINNERS (for fiction) read in 2013

January
1. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (1947)
2. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter (1966)
3. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau (1965)
4. Martin Dressler: A Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser (1997)

Pulitzer Prize Winners read before 2013
1. The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1928) by Thornton Wilder
2. The Magnificent Ambersons (1919) by Booth Tarkington
3. The Stories of John Cheever (1979)
4. The Optimist’s Daughter (1973) by Eudora Welty
5. The Able McLaughlins (1924) by Margaret Wilson
6. His Family (1918 – first award) by Ernest Poole
7. Early Autumn (1927) by Louis Bromfield
8. The Reivers (1963) by William Faulkner
9. A Death in the Family (1958) by James Agee
10.The Good Earth (1932) by Pearl Buck
11.Angle of Repose (1972) by Wallace Stegner
12. A Visit from the Goon Squad (2011) by Jennifer Egan
13. Tinkers (2010) by Paul Harding
14. Olive Kitteridge (2009) by Elizabeth Strout
15. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2008) by Junot Diaz
16. The Road (2007) by Cormac McCarthy
17. March (2006) by Geraldine Brooks
18. Gilead (2005) by Marilynne Robinson
19. The Known World (2004) by Edward P. Jones
20. Middlesex (2003) by Jeffrey Eugenides
21. Empire Falls (2002) by Richard Russo
22. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2001) by Michael Chabon
23. Interpreter of Maladies (2000) by Jhumpa Lagiri
24. The Hours (1999) by Michael Cunningham
25. American Pastoral (1998) by Philip Roth
26. Independence Day (1996) by Richard Ford
27. The Stone Diaries (1995) by Carol Shields
28. The Shipping News (1994) by E. Annie Proulx
29. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain (1993) by Robert Olen Butler
30. A Thousand Acres (1992) by Jane Smiley
31. Rabbit at Rest (1991) by John Updike
32. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1990) by Oscar Hijuelos
33. Breathing Lessons (1989) by Anne Tyler
34. Beloved (1988) by Toni Morrison
35. A Summons to Memphis (1987) by Peter Taylor
36. Lonesome Dove (1986) by Larry Mcmurtry
37. Foreign Affairs (1985) by Alison Lurie
38. Ironweed (1984) by William Kennedy
39. The Color Purple (1983) by Alice Walker
40. Rabbit is Rich (1982) by John Updike
41. A Confederacy of Dunces (1961) by John Kennedy Toole
42.Humboldt’s Gift (1976) by Saul Bellow
43. House Made of Dawn (1969) by N. Scott Momaday
44. To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) by Harper Lee
45. The Old Man and the Sea (1953) by Ernest Hemingway
46. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) by John Steinbeck
47. The Yearling (1939) by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
48. Gone With the Wind (1937) by Margaret Mitchell
49. Arrowsmith (1926) by Sinclair Lewis
50. So Big (1925) by Edna Ferber
51. One of Ours (1923) by Willa Silbert Cather
52. Alice Adams (1922) by Booth Tarkington
53. The Age of Innocence (1921) by Edith Wharton

note: the year in parenthesis is the year the book won the Pulitzer Prize

Books by Nobel Prize Winners read in 2013

1. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (1946)
2. Fatelessness by Imre Kertesz (2002)
3. Vipers' Tangle by Francois Mauriac (1952)
4. Red Sorghum by Mo Yan (2012)
5. Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot(1948)

Book by Nobel Prize Winners read before 2013

1. Ernest Hemingway (1954): A Moveable Feast, The Sun Also Rises, Old Man and the Sea
2. Pearl Buck (1938): The Good Earth
3. W. B. Yeats (1923): A Poet to His Beloved: The Early Love Poems of W. B. Yeats
4. William Faulkner (1949): The Reivers
5. Doris Lessing (2007): The Sweetest Dream
6. Gunter Grass (1999): The Box: Tales from the Dark Room
7. Rudyard Kipling (1907): Captains Courageous
8. Yasunari Kawabata (1968): Snow Country
9. Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1982): Love in the Time of Cholera
10. Mario Vargas Llosa (2010): The Storyteller
11. Sinclair Lewis (1930): Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith
12. John Steinbeck (1962): The Grapes of Wrath
13. Saul Bellow (1976): Humboldt’s Gift, Herzog
14. Toni Morrison (1993): Beloved, The Bluest Eye
15. John M. Coetzee (2003); Disgrace

note: the year in parenthesis is the year the author was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature

something coming

Bright new thread, Reba!

Hi Roni -- you caught me by surprise. Hope you're having a good day.

From the mid-19th century until independence in 1947, women from England who were in search of a husband headed to India where English men outnumbered English women 4 to 1. Anne de Courcy introduces these women, their quest in India and, if they were successful, the life they ultimately led in The Fishing Fleet. In researching her book she was allowed access to the private letters, diaries, journals and memoirs of nearly thirty of these young women.

The women of the "fleet" generally were either the daughters of families living in India who were returning after their years at school in England or "gentle women" who lacked the fortune, beauty or charm to find a "suitable" husband at home. Especially in the 19th century their options were to remain a "spinster" and find employment as a companion or governess at home or look for marriage in India.

The stories of the young women are quite interesting but I enjoyed the descriptions of life in India even more so. Although I had a general idea of what life was like from reading fiction set there, Ms. deCourcy provides a closer, more detailed look. I give it 4 stars.

Hi Reba! nice new thread and a nice review of The Fishing Fleet. I've had my eye on it since Susan reviewed it last month. Sounds worthwhile...

Yours is the second review of The Fishing Fleet that makes the book seem enticing.

Reba - Congratulations on your latest thread.

Hi Katie -- thank you. The Fishing Fleet is indeed worthwhile. It definitely underscored my gratitude that I live here and now and not then and there.

Hi Lori -- nice to see you

Paul --thank you so much and thanks for stopping by

Reba, I'm so glad you enjoyed The Fishing Fleet! I will confess to watching your thread a bit nervously, wondering whether you'd finished it or Pearl-ruled it :-)

Susan -- I finished it happily. It took a bit longer than usual because I was really busy with other things last week. Not that it applied here, but, I'm also stubborn and have only Pearl-ruled one book in my life...and I went back and finished that one a couple of years later.

Here's my neighborhood sign at night

Lovely new thread, Reba! I have The Fishing Fleet on my WL since reading Susan's review, so it's nice to see another positive take on it.

Morning Mamie -- thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoy The Fishing Fleet.

It's nice to see a photo of your neighbourhood :)

The Fishing Fleet is tempting. I have a weakness for books related to the Raj.

Glad to see you liked The Viper's Tangle.

Going back to the map of California on your last thread, I have a few questions. What are: the giant stinky lake, the death cauldera, and the cow death camp?

My book club also tries to relate our dinner to the book, and as you say often difficult to do. We usually eat in each others' homes, since when we eat in restaurants we can't hear each other.

Hi Diana -- Thanks. That sign is two blocks from our house so I see it all the time.

Hi Deborah -- good to see you. If you like books relating to the Raj I think you would especially like The Fishing Fleet. You're right about it being hard to hear at book club meetings in restaurants. This month will be OK though because the Haitian restaurant is small and quiet.

About the map -- "Giant stinky lake" is the Salton Sea. It's a big lake with no outlet which was formed in 1905 when the Colorado River flooded into the area. It's below sea level. "the death cauldera" is Death Valley National Park and "cow death camp" is an area with some large feed lots for cattle about to become beef. That's the area that REALLY stinks!!

Hi Reba! I recently watched a documentary on the Salton Sea, looking at ghost towns like Bombay Beach. Eerie.

The pictures of your neighborhood sign are great!

Hi Kathy! Glad you like the sign. I'm planning to share some more of them. The Salton Sea documentary sounds interesting. I have only seen it once and that from a car as we drove along side. I actually know very little about it.

Here is the sign for the Gaslamp District. The Gaslamp is right in the historic heart of the city and is the center of night life. A popular place with visitors and (young) locals.

Spent two hours volunteering at "alternative" high school library this morning. Now I should be starting the laundry and I want to get some (book) reading in. What am I doing? Visiting LT.

The Gaslamp is right in the historic heart of the city and is the center of night life. A popular place with visitors and (young) locals.

We loved the Gaslamp District when we were there Reba. The restaurants were wonderful.

Adding The Fishing Fleet to my teetering tower. Like Deborah, I too have a weakness for anything Raj related.

Visiting LT is a worthy endeavor, Reba!

Bonnie -- glad to hear you enjoyed the Gaslamp. We live just up the road but there are so many good restaurants in our own neighborhood we rarely venture down there. Hope you enjoy The Fishing Fleet.

Roni -- certainly a fun endeavor but I have to watch how much time I spend here lol Did manage a nice read this afternoon though. I'm really getting into Red Sorghum. It's a most interesting book.

Love the pictures, Reba. It must be quite lively in the evenings around there! I bet it's noce to just stroll around.

Red Sorghum seems to be a love it/hate it kind of book.

Hi Kathy. It's pretty lively in our neighborhood too although here there aren't many tourists. We're not really into night clubs but we do appreciate being able to walk to a lot of good restaurants.

Red Sorghum is a somewhat unusual book. It (mostly) takes place during the Japanese occupation of China in the 1930/40's and isn't shy about graphically describing the terrible things that happened. But it has a lot of flashbacks to events involving earlier generations of the family, some of which are pretty violent themselves but some of which are pretty funny. The time jumping leaves you with a bit of whiplash from time to time but overall I like it. Oops, did I just write my review?

Lol, good review of Red Sorghum. I'll pass, though, as the memory of The Rape of Nanking is still with me.

I love the pictures of your neighborhood, Reba. The only places we have within easy walking distance are Dollar General, a Hallmark store, Panera Bread, and Walgreens. Not quite the same ambience!

I can't even find a Hallmark Store anymore, Donna and I love Panera Bread so you score with two for me. In addition to a ton of restaurants we have a RiteAide a block up the street, Bread & Cie two blocks away, Whole Foods 3 1/2 blocks, hairdresser next door, and art movie house 2 1/2 blocks all of which I walk to. Trade off is it's noisy -- especially ambulances because we also have three major hospitals within 1/2 mile. Still I'm a city girl so I like it.

Tomorrow is our annual SOUPer Bowl cook-off to raise money for a homeless service center. Here's the center piece for my knitting group's table. Wish us luck!



Here's a close-up

Oh, that center piece is so cute! I hope it all goes well tomorrow.

Thank you. I'm meeting my group to put the soup together at noon -- then hope we can fit it in the fridge! We won last year so I guess we shouldn't be greedy but then the more "votes" (donations) we get people to cast the more we can help the center -- right?

Yes, definitely - it sounds like a great project. I suppose you can't say what you're making yet but I'd love to know afterwards!

Baked Carrot & Parsnip Soup -- hence the orange scarves which each of the group members will be wearing too. Monday the scarves and dolls will go in the box to be donated.

And for those of you buried under snow at the moment, here's proof that it does snow in Los Angeles ... or it did once, in 1957. My Dad and I ran right out and made a snowman from all the snow in our yard.

Will there be recipes from the SOUPer Bowl?

If you like. Ours is:
saute 1 large grated onion in 3 Tb butter or oil
add 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp ground turmeric and 1/2 tsp chili powder and cook for a minute or two. Add 1-2 boxes stock (I like chicken best), 1 1/2 pounds carrot puree and 1 1/2 pounds parsnip puree. Blend, add salt and pepper to taste.

If you wish you can roast the vegetables before pureeing or you can just steam or boil them.

For toppings you can drizzle some cream in or add a small spoonful of julienne strips of garlic, lightly browned in olive oil with whole yellow mustard seeds heated until they start to pop (add to soup oil and all),

Warning -- parsnips are very hard to puree.

#39: Great snowman photo! I would never have thought California got snow (it's not how they advertise it here :-) ) It snowed in Auckland a year or two ago, which is the first I had ever heard of it there. The papers even called it a "once in a lifetime event", which didn't really impress my father, who could remember the last time, back in the 30s...

We have snow in the mountains every year but it is VERY rare for snow to fall at the lower elevations. There was that time in '57 (and we had to hurry to make that snowman before it melted) and none since that I know of. It doesn't even snow in San Francisco and that's way further north than we are. I know it snows a lot on the South Island -- at least on the western side. Does Christchurch get snow? I'm not surprised that it's a rare event in Auckland though.

I'm not sure about Christchurch, because at this point I have to confess I have never been to the South Island (eek!). Auckland is just very wet, not cold enough for snow (usually!)

It's beautiful down there -- you should go and look :-)

Roni I don't remember the names of the yarn I used. Two of them were very lacy like yours except different colors. Probably the same yarn though. This one is much narrower and denser. Don't know the name of the yarn any more either.

Finished the reknit of my mobius scarf and I'm much happier with it. The twist is hard to see in photo but it's lying on the table here.

That's a gorgeous scarf, Reba. I love the colors.

Red Sorghum by Mo Yan

I read Red Sorghum as part of my quest to read at least one book by each of the Nobel Prize winners. While certainly a powerful book it isn't one I would read for pleasure. It takes place in Shandong Province, China and spans three generations of the narrator's family mostly taking place in the early 20th century to the 1930's. The story isn't told chronologically, in fact the specific time period of an event isn't always clear. The tale of the family is told against the backdrop of the extraordinary violence of the Chinese gang wars and the Japanese occupation and the rural poverty of the era. The author isn't shy about describing that violence and poverty very graphically although there are occasional moments of humor. The time jumping leaves you with a bit of whiplash from time to time and the gore is hard to take, especially at first (I found myself getting somewhat numb to it toward the end). I'm glad a read it but I'll need a break before I take on anything like it again.

Thank you Katie. Those are two of my favorite colors too.

Both of those are gorgeous, Reba. Such beautiful colors!

Those are beautiful scarves, Reba!

And I appreciated your review of Red Sorghum. I think that books that tell the story of a difficult period in history are so important, but they can be difficult to read. I hope you have something fun lined up for your next read.

Beautiful scarves!

Thanks for the review of Red Sorghum. I was ready to give up on Mo Yan, but you have intrigued me. I am interested in the Japanese occupation and wanted to read more about it. Maybe I will give it a try in a few months.

Thank you Roni, Amy and Rhonda for the kind words about the scarves. I sort of wish we had more cold weather so I could wear them sometimes (lol).

I think Red Sorghum conveyed the horror of the occupation quite well. I wouldn't say it provided a lot of information about it, though.

I love the scarves, Reba! What are you going to read (or indeed knit) next?

Beautiful scarves! My daughter began crocheting this year and made me one of those mobius scarves, I do love it! So nice and warm :)

As for the soup...... vegie puree? This has me thinking.... thank you for the idea!

Reba, I have Red Sorghum and several others by Mo Yan, and hope to get to at least one of them soon.

Susan -- Thank you. Glad you like the scarves. I'm back to knitting the little dolls for a bit and then will start a shawl. As to reading, I'm planning to start The Keepers of the House this afternoon. It's described as "a many-layered indictment of racismand rage that is as terrifying as it is wise" on the cover so it may not be such a gentle ride either lol.

Kath -- Thank you. That the mobius is likely to be warm is one of the problems for me since I don't often get to wear warm clothes here. I used a silky yarn that I hope won't be too warm. I knitted it for the challenge/fun of knitting a new way. The soup is really quite good (and you really don't need to go to the trouble of roasting the carrots and parsnips -- you could just boil or steam them). We won second prize with it :-)

Linda -- It sounds like you haven't read anything by Mo Yan yet. I"ll be interested to see what you think.

Here's another neighborhood sign for you. We have light rail in San Diego, which we call "the trolley", but it doesn't come to this neighborhod anymore. "Back in the day" the trolleys were kept just a few blocks north of there in an area which is now "Trolley Barn Park". I love the neighborhood and this is one of my favorite neighborhood signs.

Enjoying the neighborhood signs very much! Love the knitted figures, they are dear.

I was astonished, looking at your Pulitzer list, to see just how many I have read - over 80 percent of your list. Even the Edna Ferber!!

Hi Lucy -- sounds like you should set a goal of reading the Pulitzers since you've read so many. I generally really like them too.

Glad you like the dolls and signs. The dolls are "peace pals". We send them to kids in areas of conflict and poverty around the world. They're fun to do and use up all of the little ends of yarn that we knitters seem unable to throw away.

Catching up over here, Reba. LOVE your little knitted figures! Sadly, I cannot see the scarves, but I am sure they are fabulous. And the neighborhood signs are charming - thanks for sharing them! And thanks for checking on me - all is well, we are just having a very busy week. I am ready and waiting for Friday, when things will slow down.

Hi Reba, great review of Red Sorghum. I haven't read anything by Mo Yan yet but I have The Garlic Ballads and a short story collection on my iPad so I hope to get to him soonish. I love the little people and I tracked down the scarf on your profile page and it is beautiful.

I have a picture of the sign in the Little Italy section of your fair city where we had dinner one night. We had so much fun in SD. I'd love to return one day.

For some reason I cannot see your scarf pictures, Reba, but I'll take everyone's word that they are gorgeous. The neighborhood pictures are very cool to look at. I would love to visit San Diego some day, but it seems unlikely.

I love the idea of "peace pals"!

Hi Mamie -- glad to hear all is well. I'm not used to you being gone so long :-) Glad too that you like the "peace pals". I wonder why you can't see the scarves -- oh well, the mysteries of technology.

Hi Bonnie -- I will be interested to hear what you think of Mo Yan when you get to him. Thank you for kind words about the peace pals. I hope you do come back to San Diego some day. The Little Italy sign was the one I planned to post next. You have your own preview.

Hi Julia -- If you can't come to San Diego I'll just have to give you an idea of it through photos.

Hi Rhonda -- thanks, I like that too. The group I knit them for is called Knitting4Peace and the name carried over to "peace pals". When you see the photos of the kids when they get them you know you're spreading joy and hopefully that will help toward peace.

Those scarfs are beautiful, Reba!

Thank you Diana. If only it was cold enough for me to wear them more often!

OK that is SO wierd. Last night when people were commenting that they couldn't see the scarves I looked up my thread and they weren't there for me either. Now this morning they're back!

Hmm. They are still not there for me. Or maybe they are not there again, since this is my first check-in with you this morning. It's a puzzlement!

#69: Maybe the scarves were out gallivanting, Reba. Watch out for a postcard showing them in some exotic location, like the kidnapped garden gnomes!

It must be Burrito (our name for the donkey) who took them out for a trot around the neighborhood. I'll be looking for that postcard.

Well, I am only 70+ message behind, Reba. One of these days I will be caught up on LT again - but probably not until I graduate!

I fully understand. I'm impressed that you're reading even. When I was in school, and later when working, I did very little reading except professional things. Two great things about retirement: I rarely have to set the alarm clock (I'm a night person) and I have time for lots of pleasure reading.

Here's your photo of Balboa Park with pear blossoms, Roni. Just another beautiful day in San Diego.

I got there this afternoon myself, Reba, and have one posted on my thread as well. Wasn't it gorgeous?

Indeed it was...but we really do need to coordinate things and meet up sometime!!

For some reason, on average I seem to like Pulitzer Prize winning books much better that books winning other major prizes. The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau, which won the Pulitzer in 1965 is a perfect example. It is absolutely a 5 star read as far as I'm concerned.

The story takes place at a southern farm which has been owned by the Howland family for seven generations. It is narrated by Abigail, who has the farm in the mid-20th century, and centers around her life and that of her mother and grandfather. The Howlands are strong. They aren't forced out, the don't forget and they don't forgive.

The books deals with the changing values and expectations through time as well as the small-mindedness and prejudices of the rural south. The impact of race is a major theme. The book was strongly condemned in the south when it was published and even led to the burning of a cross in the author's lawn. Sometimes the race theme is strongly states, other times it is a more subtle nudge.

"In the South, most people could tell that Robert was a Negro. In the North, he would have been white.

After Robert there was Nina....then there was Crissy, Christine. Both girls were fair with red hair like their brother's. Their other blood showed in the shape and color of their eyes, in the waxy pallor of their skins, in the color of their fingernails.

And how did I know? Because I've spent my time sitting on porches on a sunny dusty afternoon, listening to the ladies talk, learning to see what they saw....

They taught me my Bible lessons the exact same way. And to this day I am very good at spotting signs of Negro blood and at reciting the endless lists of genealogies in the Bible. It's a southern talent, you might say."

Reba, that sounds like an amazing read. Wishlisted!!

Your San Diego photos look so lovely and warm - hope you're having a great weekend.

Oh yes, onto the wishlist with that one! Nice review, Reba.

An absolute 5 star read from you goes right onto my Wishlist, Reba! Plus, The Keepers of the House sounds like the kind of book I would really enjoy.

Hi Reba, hope your weekend is going well!!

Hi Susan ... Thank you for kind words. We are indeed having some lovely weather at the moment. I'm guessing what little winter we're going to have is over.

Thanks Julia! I think you'll like it.

Amy, since our reading taste is pretty similar I'm pretty sure you'll like it.

Hi Kathy! T hanks for stopping by.

Hi Reba... I am impressed by our Stasia, too! Go Stas!

I find that I am in a book funk and that is frustrating to me. But it will pass.. hope all is well in Rebal World! :)

Thank you Kath -- all is indeed well in Reba world. Hope your funk lifts soon.

I think you declared spring too soon, Reba. A winter storm will be here on Tuesday and stay for about two days, with snow in the mountains.

Poor blossoms! We went to the Chinese New Year celebration downtown today and it turned out to be a lot cooler than I expected and by this evening it was all cloudy (or foggy, not sure which). So I'm afraid you're right.

But chilly weather will bring some scarf-wearing opportunities!

Love the badge, Reba :-)

Reba, I had never heard of The Keepers of the House and now I have a burning desire to read it. Thanks for your enticing review. I do love your little peace keeper dolls. What a fun and worthy project.

Wow. Thumbed that wonderful review!

You're right Susan and, actually, I like cool weather so it's OK. Found the badge on a friends Face Book page and couldn't resist!!

Donna, thank you very much ma'm for your kind words. Glad you like both the review and the Peace Pals. If you knit and have lots of little remnants of yarn I can point you to the instructions :-)

Thank you Kath -- I love getting thumbs :-)

I agree with Donna, Reba. That is an enticing review.

For some reason, on average I seem to like Pulitzer Prize winning books much better that books winning other major prizes. Just conjecture, but might this be related to the specifically "American" nature of the awards, resulting in winners and themes that feel relevant to our history and culture?

It could be, Linda. I'm not sure yet why it's true but the further I get into the Pulitzers, Nobel writers and Bookers the more it seems to be the case.

Catching up here! I've wishlisted *Fleets* and am thinking about *Keepers*. I don't think I've ever read S.A. Grau, but I've heard of her for some reason, so I'll have to do more research.
I don't know why I've never been attracted to the Pulitzer or Nobel lists since I have read and loved a number of the books that you've posted here. Do you try to read the National Book Award winners each year? I will probably get a book if it won the NBA when I wouldn't have gone after it otherwise. I'd eventually get to The Round House, which won last year, anyway.

I have thought about doing the NBA's but have so many more to go in the Nobels and Pulitzers that I've decided to leave it at that for now. I also like to read history and biography and have thought about trying to pick those out from the NBA non-fiction winners. I also try to read the Bellweather Prize winners and would like to try to fill in the gaps on the Orange list. But I also try to read the Chautauqua picks each year and I like a just plain fun read every now and then. Such a wonderful world of books to choose from -- it's almost overwhelmning sometimes lol

Overwhelming is right!

Glad you agree, Katie. It's always nice to have company :-)

Time for a new neighborhood sign photo. Little Italy is an area which was originally occupied by Italian fishermen. The fishing fleet is pretty much gone and what is left isn't in Little Italy any more. The neighborhood now is mid-rise condos and apartment and lots of great restaurants.

It is so fun to see the San Diego neighborhoods, Reba! I'll bet there are lots of great restaurants in Little Italy. When I lived in St. Louis, I loved going out to eat in the Italian neighborhood there (the Hill)!

Hi Amy. I'm glad you like the photos. It's fun for me to share our neighborhoods. You're right, there are a lot of good restaurants in Little Italy and, actually throughout the central city area. Here's my dinner from our bookclub meeting tonight at a Haitian restaurant (to discuss Breath, Eyes, Memory)

Holy mother of the goddess! What the aitch is on that plate? You ATE that?!?!

+1 :)
You ate that reptile/fish?? What is it?

Well, the rice looks good, anyway. :-)

Hi Kath, Diana and Julia -- it's a fish which had been "notched" with a knife and deep fried. It was really, really good, so good I could ignore the fact that it was looking at me. Actually the whole meal was good. Cole slaw was spicy, rice was tasty but not spicy and plantain was bland which helped off-set the spice.

Reba, you're a brave woman! I'm glad the meal was good :)

Breath, Eyes, Memory was Edwidge Danticat's first novel which was published in 1994. I read it for my face2face book club and discussed it last night (over the delicious fish shown above). Of the seven of us, six really liked it and one found it to be a "soap opera". Count me among those who really liked it (4 1/2 stars worth).

The main character is Sophie, a Haitian girl who is being raised by her aunt while her mother is working in New York. At age 11, Sophie's mother sends for her and her life is changed abruptly. Although Sophie is the main character, the book also presents the story of her mother, her aunt and her grandmother. As the book jacket says, the book "evokes the wonder, terror and heartache of...Haiti -- and the enduring strength of Haiti's women". The main characters are well drawn, the story compelling and the writing beautiful. The only issue the six of us who liked it had with it is that there is one minor character, Louise, who is something of a mystery (why is she there? why does she behave as she does?) but it's a very minor flaw. Here are some samples of the writing:

"The men in this area, they insist that their women are virgins and have ten fingers. According to Tante Atie, each finger had a purpose. It was the way she had been taught to prepare herself to become a woman. Mothering. Boiling. Loving. Baking. Nursing. Frying. Healing. Washing. Ironing. Scrubbing. It wasn't her fault, she said. Her ten fingers had been named for her even before she was born. Sometimes, she even wished she had six fingers on each hand so she could have two left for herself."

"I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to. My mother was as brave as stars at dawn. She too was from this place. My mother was like that woman who could never bleed and then could never stop bleeding, the one who gave in to her pain, to live as a butterfly. Yes my mother was like me."

That's a serious-looking fish, Reba! The dinner sounds lovely. The themed dinners are a great idea. Now, what goes with a McDonald's chicken nuggets meal, I wonder?...

Great review of Breath, Eyes, Memory! Powerful quotation.

Hi Susan -- I've never had the courage to order a whole fish before but I decided to go for it last night and it was fine. As to chicken nuggets...hummm, not sure :-)

Hi Rhonda -- thank you so much. Have you read anything of Danticat's?

#113 by @susanj67> what goes with a McDonald's chicken nuggets meal, I wonder?
A book-club reading of Old Macdonald Had a Farm and its many, many spinoffs and sequels, of course!

Love it Julia!! You're right.

I'm so glad that you liked Breath, Eyes, Memory. It is one of Danticat's books that I have read. It's definitely on my TBR list now - although I may have to come to San Diego to find a fish like that to go with it!

Come on over -- I'll buy the fish :-)

I think your dinner looks tasty!

And I, too, was a big fan of Breath Eyes Memory. The second quotation you included made me cry when I first read it. So beautiful and heartbreaking...

I'm glad you like the looks of my dinner. I had the rest of it tonight and it was still delicious! Although we were out for a couple of hours and when I got home I noticed that the house seems way too strongly of fish (and we took the container to the dumpster on our way out so it isn't that). It's too cold to open the windows so I'm going to truth-test the Fabreeze commercials.

I agree that the quote is beautiful. I ordered, and just received, Brother, I'm Dying. Don't know when I'll get to it but I'm happy to know it's here in the house.

I think that Brother, I'm Dying is the only book I've read by Danticat, and I loved it. I read it a few years ago, when I was reading only non-fiction, and I haven't gotten back to read Danticat's fiction.

Finally, Roni and I met! We had a lovely lunch followed by a browse at a local used book store. I got:
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,
The First Man by Albert Camus, and
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot

It was a good day!!

Hi Rhonda!! I'm looking forward to reading it although it may take me a while to get to it.

Great review of Breath, Eyes, Memory, Reba. I have read The Farming of Bones, which was also excellent.

As for that dinner, well, I prefer mine to not have eyes still attached.

Hi Linda. I agree about the eyes...have never been able to do it before but this time I turned him around so he was looking at the person across the table and after the first bite it was so good I just concentrated on eating and forgot the eyes.

Love it when you share pictures and we get to put faces with names. Sounds like you had a great time.

It's fun to see the different books that you and Roni bought on your browse after your meet up!

Yay! I love to see faces too!

RE: scary lunch ... glad it was good, I do love cole slaw and plantain :)

Balboa park looks beautiful! What a lovely place to be able to visit
Glad your meetup went good! Yay for another successful LT Meetup!

PS I think I would skip the meal when the food is looking at me! Creepy

Hi Kath -- hope you're having a good weekend. The meetup was fun. Our paths have almost crossed so many times we just had to finally make an actual plan :-)

Hi Chelle. Balboa Park is a great resource for the city. It's beautiful and full of museums and theaters. We're lucky enough to live walking distance from there.

PS I turned the fish so it was looking at the person across the table lol but it was the first time I ever ate anything with head attached.

I had a lovely day today. I didn't even go out the door once, just spent the day puttering around the house. I need a day like this every now and then.

Roni, I'm loving the Eliot book. I read several of the poems to my husband and he got a good chuckle too. Thanks so much for finding it for me. Looks like you had a pleasant and productive day today.

So glad the Eliot book is entertaining! All I got accomplished is watching the Jayhawks trounce TCU and go to the pottery studio and take some pictures. Oh, and work on my scarf and finish Goblin Moon. But the kitchen is a mess. You can't see the bottom of the casserole in my picture, on purpose!

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, Reba!

Oh I love that Old Possum - and love TSE's love of cats - it does bring him into an earthly, human, accessible plane too. All poets should write one collection like that.

Roni -- well at least the casserole must be usable -- no? Glad the Jayhawks had a good game. Hope you're having a lovely day today. I was thinking about that wonderful Panini and when hub suggested going to lunch I picked Kennsington Cafe -- like was half way around the block so we went to Burger Lounge instead. Good but not as good.

Thank you Diana -- yours will be over by now but I hope it was a good one.

Lucy -- they're just delightful poems. I'm so glad Roni put me onto it. I"m not a great poetry lover but these are great -- especially read aloud to someone and shared.

Yes, casserole is totally usable, at least! And yes, we walked over to Starbucks this morning with the dog, and the husband is cooking ribs out on the grill now. Too bad the Cafe was packed--advantage of retirement is hitting spots like that on the weekday, right? So delicious that I want to get us there as well for a repeat.

Happy feet that Old Possum is a hit!

Maybe the four of us can meet there after we're home.

I've decided to only read Old Possum when Hub is available to have it read to him since, you're right, it's so much better aloud.

What a lovely picture of you and Roni!

Thank you ma'm. It did turn out quite well I think. -- I was just reading your thread while you were posting here. Hope your headache is better.

I almost never read more than one book at a time. If one is n-f and one fiction I might but not often. I find I tend to mix them up in my memory if I do (must be some weird wiring in my brain). That said, I'm reading three at the moment -- Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Christianity after Religion and Prodigal Summer -- and they're different enough that it works. Christianity after Religion is interesting but not great but I am so lovin' the other two.

Well an otherwise pleasant day certainly ended on a sour note. We had dinner with friends and then went with them to a concert at the University of San Diego. There was no one "manning" the entrance kiosk so we continued up the road, found a parking space with a piece or curb that had never seen paint and without a sign in sight and parked. Came out to find a parking ticket on the car. Fine: $50. Reason: not displaying a parking permit. So how were we supposed to know and where were we supposed to get one. Back of ticket says we can appeal at sandiego.edu/parking. Went there -- no evidence of any place or process for appeal. GRRRRR. It'll be a snowy day in San Diego before I go back THERE!! Oh ya, the web site says the parking department strives to support USD's goal of "creating a helpful and welcoming environment". At least I got a laugh from that.

End of rant (although I'm still annoyed)

Try this link: http://www.sandiego.edu/parking/online_services/citation_appeal/visitor_appeals.....

Thank you. Now why couldn't I find that?

Update on parking ticket. A friend who was with us was going to USD for a talk today and took up the cause. By the end of the day the citation had been voided and we had been sent an apology email. All is well.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot is the most charming little book of poetry I've ever read. Roni directed me to it when we were in Adams Avenue Books for which I am VERY grateful. I read the poems aloud to my husband, which added to the pleasure because they are better when read aloud and because the pleasure was shared. Besides the charming poems, the book also is filled with charming drawings. Such a win-win. Here's a stanza from one of my favorites: "Skimbleshanks: the Railway Cat". If you read it aloud you will discover that it has the rhythm of an old steam train leaving the station.

You may say that by and large it is Skimble who's in charge
Of the Sleeping Car Express.
From the driver to the guards to the bagmen playing cards
He will supervise them all, more or less.
Down the corridor he paces and examines all the faces
Of the travellers in the First and in the Third.
He establishes control by a regular patrol
And he'd know at once if anything occurred.
He will watch you without winking and he sees what you are thinking
And it's certain that he doesn't approve
Of hilarity and riot, so the folk are very quiet
When Skimble is about and on the move.

And so T. S. Eliot is crossed off your award list quite painlessly! Yay! I always have to think how creative the writers were who took these poems and created the musical Cats and all those marvelous costumes and songs. And glad to hear the ticket was invalidated.

Hi Reba, so glad you got your parking ticket resolved. Geesh, where's the customer service in that department?

Terrific review of the Danticat book. I've read some of her books but not that one...yet. I had to laugh at you fish meal. We have a favorite restaurant that serves the best lake trout that comes with the head on and the eye staring at you but it's so good that I've always been able to ignore the fish's stare haha.

Love the Eliot poem and have to confess that I haven't read any of his work since college when we studied The Waste Land. I'll look for the book of poetry.

Hi Roni. Any progress with your knee? Isn't today just wonderful? Hope you're getting to be outside to enjoy it.

Rice and Webber did some great work (along with much support, I know). And what a fun basis to work from. It must be wonderful to be creative like that. Thank you again for pointing it out to me.

Hi Bonnie! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed to reviews. The Eliot is tiny but it's such fun. I hope you find it and I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it.

It's another beautiful day today. It's about 78 degrees and sunny. I've been running around trying to get final things ready for our trip. We often plan far in advance and I mentally file it under "way in the future" and then get all surprised when I realize it's just over a week away!! Yikes!!

80° here right now in mid-afternoon--and then we'll start to cool off tomorrow. I have to go out and water.

Reba, that's 25 degrees Celsius, wow... :)
Have a happy weekend!

Good mroning Diana! Yes, we're having summer weather for a short spell but it's going to get much cooler again tomorrow and may rain a bit next week. I hope so because we can always useit.

Reba, that does sound warm and lovely. Yesterday I reached the point (which happens every winter here) where I thought I would never be warm again. Sigh. At least it's a bit lighter in the afternoons now, and only a month until Summer Time. Where are you going on your big trip? I hope it will have LT access along the way!

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

I have a serious case of TEABS this morning having finished this wonderful book at midnight. I happened upon a used, "as new" copy of this book at the thrift shop where I volunteer and was delighted to get it for $2.00. It's turned out to be one of my favorite Kingsolvers (and I like them all very much).

Prodigal Summer tells the parallel, yet intertwined, stories of four main characters:
Deanna Wolfe is a naturalist, in her laste 40's and divorced, who works as a forest ranger and lives in a cabin deep within the patch of forest she is responsible for -- she's alone and she likes it that way;
Lusa Landowski Widener a 30ish entomologist from "the city", daughter of a Polish Jew and a middle-eastern Muslim, who marries and moves to her husbands struggling family farm in the Appalachians -- she's struggling to fit in with his large, strong-minded family;
Nannie Rawley, a mid-seventies earth mother who runs an organic apple farm -- she is loved by the community but her lifestyle, and strong opposition to chemicals, leaves them with their heads shaking;
Garnett Walker, Nannie's neighbor, is in his late 70's. He's a retired agriculture science teacher with a strong belief in pesticides and herbicides. He's a crochety, bitter old widower who spends his time trying to develop a hybrid American chestnut tree that will be resistant to a disease that has wiped out most of the chestnuts in the area. He and Nannie are constantly at odds.

I loved the characters, even had some sympathy for grumpy old Garnett, and was totally taken by their stories. I couldn't wait to find out what happened next and didn't want it to end. I also appreciated interesting biological information and the strong environmental message Kingsolver provided.

The book closes with:

"He might have watched her for a long time, until he believed himself and this other restless life in his sight to be the only two creatures left here in this forest of dripping leaves, breathing in some separate atmosphere that was somehow more rarefied and important than the world of air silently exhaled by the leaves all around them.

But he would have been wrong. Solitude is a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot, a tug of impalpable thread on the web pulling mate to mate and predator to prey, a beginning or an end. Every choice is a world made new for the chosen."

Hi Reba! Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats sounds like great fun! I'll have to put it on my TBR list. I'm glad you enjoyed Prodigal Summer. It's not my favorite Kingsolver, but I liked it quite a bit. It helps that her views on the environment line up with mine. I found Animal Dreams, which is one of hers that I haven't read, at my last trip to the used bookstore.

Hi Amy. When you get Old Possum's Cats I recommend you read it out loud to your kids. I think they'll get a kick out of it. It's also great fun to read aloud. I agree with the environmental views in Prodigal Summer too, which I'm sure increased my enjoyment but I also really liked the characters and their stories. It isn't my favorite (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle still claims that spot) but it's way up there for me.

I liked Prodigal Summer, too...

My husband and I are leaving next Sunday on the trip of a lifetime. It's our 25th anniversary year and he correctly pointed out that at our age we won't be having a 50th so we're going to do this one up big. We'll be on a ship for the next two months so I won't be able to keep up with the threads but I do plan to report my books. I'm also going to do a blog. It won't be fancy because I'm just learning but I think I've now practiced enough to be able to post some photos and a little "blurb". If you're interested in following us, the blog is at Rquastler.wordpress.com.

Two months at sea?? How wonderful for you and your hubby Reba. I will look for ward to your blog postings.

Reba - have a lovely trip and I will try to make my way to your nearest port of call for a quick meet up as we had discussed.

That would be great Paul. I sent you some contact info in a PM.

Hi Bonnie -- Yes, we're pretty excited. It'll be nice to have you travelling along via the blog. You can drop me a note here from time to time too :-) LT has become a huge part of my life so I know I'm going to miss participating regularly.

Reba, that's an enormous trip. I will certainly follow your blog, it sounds so exciting.

Reba, that sounds like an incredible trip! I hope you have a wonderful time and I'll be watching for your blog postings!

Thank you Diana and Linda. As you can imagine we're pretty excited. I have almost everything done now and am in a holding pattern until I pack on Friday. I'm anxious to just get going!

I am so glad you loved Prodigal Summer as that is my favorite Kingsolver too - I find I like some of her books and not others, that she's a bumpy and unpredictable ride. For many Prodigal is their least favorite......

Hi Lucy,

I've had a couple of people tell me that Prodigal is their least favorite, but, as I said, it's one of my favorites. I've also read The Poisonwood Bible, The Bean Trees, La Lacuna, FLight Behavior, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I would say La Lacuna is my least favorite and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle my most favorite but I really liked them all very much.

Reba - I just popped over to your blog! What a treat it will be to follow along with you and Imre on your journey. I know that you'll have a wonderful time!

Wow! What an exciting trip! I look forward to hearing about it.

Thank you Rhonda!! I'm going to miss my frequent contact with LT but hope you will not forget me.

Amy -- I found your comment at the blog -- thank you so much!! I'm excited that you're going to follow along. I hope I can do a reasonable job of it.

Time is getting short...

Reba, that's an amazing trip! I have bookmarked you so I can follow along.

Wow!! I hope that you have a wonderful trip :)

I will eventually get to Prodigal Summer. I have one or two Kingsolvers in my TBR pile at home that I want to read first. I've enjoyed the ones I've read though.

Hi Roni -- yes, it's really hard to imagine we're leaving so soon. I'll be very glad once we and our bags are installed onboard. Getting my hair cut today and still trying to get comfortable with the blogging while I'm on unlimited internet time at home with the goal of being quick when I'm using very expensie minutes on the ship.

Susan -- it is amazing isn't it. Hard to believe myself. Truly the "trip of a lifetime". I'm glad you're going to follow along -- hope I can make a decent job of the blog.

Hi Kath -- thank you, I'm sure we will. Hope you continue to enjoy your new job and that you have a great spring full of flowers and kitties.

Hi Lori -- thanks for stopping by. Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors and I'll look forward to your reactions to her books.

I've got to finish Martin Dressler today (I'm close) and make progress on Christianity after Religion. I don't want to take them with me and I don't want to leave them unfinished.

I am SO jealous my brown eyes have turned green. How fabulous for you. And how wonderful that you've decided to do the blog to help us all keep up with you. Many happy returns on your 25th. What cruise line are you taking?

Reba, you might want to post the link to your blog again before you go.

Thank you Tina. We're really excited about the trip and I like the idea of sharing it. We'll be on Holland America Line's ms Amsterdam. We've sailed on her twice before and find her to be a lovely ship -- not too big and quite comforable.

Roni -- good idea. Actually I'm hoping to get to 200+ posts so I can start a new thread before we leave and I'll put it there.

Well, then, let me help you along to 200, Reba! I am also following your blog and looking forward to reading all about your amazing adventures!

Thanks on both counts, Julia :-)

Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
1997 winner of the Pulitzer Prize

The opening sentence of Martin Dressler provides a good one-sentence synopsis of the book:

There once lived a man named Martin Dressler, a shopkeeper's son, who rose from modest beginnings to a height of dreamlike good fortune.

This winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize is set in late 20th century New York and, on the surface, tells the story of the son of an immigrant cigar shop owner who becomes a bell boy in a large hotel and, though hard and conscientious work, is quickly promoted through the ranks. When offered the position of Assistant Manager he realizes that what he really wants is to "do his own thing" and he quits to become an entrepreneur. Towards the end of the book, the story of his life takes a turn into fantasy.

On another level, the book is about 20th century America. It's about never being satisfied with what is and always dreaming for bigger, better, fancier, more...and with the ultimate hollowness of the reality of these dreams.

While the book is very readable and I enjoyed it thoroughly, it wasn't one I couldn't put down. It is, however, very thought-provoking and worthwhile.

Reba, lovely reviews of The Prodigal Summer and Martin Dressler. Your upcoming trip sounds just fabulous! I'll look forward to your blog, too!

Another fine review (and another message closer to 200!), Reba.

Nice review of Martin Dressler Reba. You must be counting the hours now. And counting the posts.

Thank you Nancy. I see you're reading Trollope. I really must read one of his soon! Have you read others? Do you have a favorite?

Hi Bonnie -- thanks for contributing to the post count :-) Yes, I'm getting very excited and prodding myself to realize it's as close as it actually is!!

Thank you Roni -- almost there!

Here's another message, Reba!

Thank you Susan :-)

And the last one - tadaaaaa!

Thank you Diana -- on to the next page!

Maybe put the link on your profile... it will be easier to find?