EBT1002 (Ellen) reads 75 in 2014 - Part 2

Eilean Donan Castle in Scotland (from the web)

COMPLETED IN JANUARY

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
2. A Cupboard Full of Coats by Yvvette Edwards
3. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
5. The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna
6. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
7. Two or Three Things I Know For Sure by Dorothy Allison

Currently reading:

OH! I am first to visit your second thread. I have never been "first" before on any one's threads. What a treat for me. I love trying to keep up with you and your many friends and followers here.

Well, now we are off for the second 1/3 of January.... I am still reading Death Comes for the Archbishop but I can see the ending just a few pages off. I've not been listening to The Guns of August and I think I've decided the audio had better be saved for the lighter fiction reading. I am glad that I have The Guns in hard back, and once I get the books unpacked, I'll go back to it. I think once finished with Death Comes I'll go to Maisie Dobbs (another World War I book).

I am looking forward to shopping after the meeting tomorrow evening.

ETA: And oh! I think I'd better start planning a trip to Scotland! That castle picture is wonderfully calling, calling, calling to me.

Ellen, it is no disgrace to follow Karen! Congratulations on thread number two prepared on your new laptop?

Hi Ellen! Glad you are enjoying your new laptop. Light is good.

I missed the podium, but I am here! LOVE your thread topper!! Happy new thread, Ellen.

#5 - Hi Karen!

I'm not much of an audiobook person, but if I ever get more into listening to books, I definitely think I'll save it for the lighter fiction reads. I think nonfiction requires that different level of concentration. I want to read The Guns of August one of these days (I think I've had a copy of that around for years and years). Right now I have Five Days at Memorial from the library so that's the nonfiction that I'll try to get to.

#6 - Hi Paul! Being second after Karen is a fine place to be. And yep, I'm on my new laptop now and very much enjoying it. I just have to get used to the fact that the mouse scrolls in reverse. I think this is more intuitive but I had trained my hands the old way.

I think having a new laptop is definitely going to speed up my "healing" from the trauma. heh.

#7 - Hi Lisa! "Light is good." Yes, indeed!

#8 - Hi Mamie! Glad to see you and glad you like the castle. We visited this very famous one when we visited Scotland in 2002; I don't know how closely we'll pass by it on our walk. Probably not, as I think it's farther north than the trail we're trekking.

Blair Castle in the Scottish Highlands
This is one we plan to visit. :-)

A couple of lovely castles!

#12 - I'm glad you like them, Lori!

Oh, what beautiful Scottish castles, Ellen. I am deeply envious of your upcoming trip.

Hello, Ellen! Just finished My Family and Other Animals and LOVED it! Thank you again!

Lovely pictures of the Scottish castles, Ellen. I'm also envious of your trip. I hope you're planning to take many pictures and post them for us.

Hi Ellen- Congrats on thread 2! I would really like to get to the Hired Man. It's been high on my To-Read list. I loved Five Days. I hope it works for you.

Ellen congrats on the new thread, the new Mac and most of all getting out of the house!

Hi Ellen - Beautiful castles. Happy new thread. If you keep it up, you'll have about 25 this year. Macs rule.

Nice castles! I'd love to visit them some day.

Lovely castle pictures!

Happy new thread!!

Yay for your new Macbook... not a Mac person so don't know all the appropriate terminology. I'm just glad you're back to functioning!

(((Ellen & P))) -- still in my thoughts & prayers

Happy New Thread Ellen, and congrats on the new computer too. I love that picture you've got up top. Makes me very much want to join you on your trek! I'll be reading The Guns of August this year. I should say 'listening to', because as you probably know, I'm very comfortable listening to audiobooks. I also just today got The Proud Tower and will probably listen to that one first since it covers the years leading up to the war, between 1890 and 1914. The thing I've found with most of the nonfiction I've been reading is that it's usually told in story form and as such makes for just as 'easy reading' as most novels, but of course that's a matter of personal opinion. Audiobooks are far from being the perfect format, but I mainly like them because it allows me to read so much more than I could otherwise.

#15 I loved My Family and Other Animals too. My daughter and I read it aloud to each other a couple of years ago, and she wanted to move to Corfu.

>11 EBT1002: oh oh oh! I have been there (I had to check on the internet as I wasn't sure, but I have!)
My friends were working there when I lived in the UK so I popped up for a visit, stayed in staff quarters and had a grand time walking along the streams through the forest. It is gorgeous.

A new thread, a new week, a new set of stuff and a new beginning!

Imelda Staunton played Mrs. Durrell in the movie version of My Family and Other Animals...she was perfect!

Happy new thread, Half-Bit Fruit Cultist.

Hi Ellen. I've only just caught up on your last thread and I was so sorry to read about your burglary. I haven't had it happen to me but my husband's home was burgled when he was a little boy and he still remembers how horrible it was. Hooray for a new laptop already!

The Scotland trip sounds fabulous. I haven't been there and will be looking forward to your trip reports.

Hi Ellen -- So sorry about the burglery. I leave for a couple of days and all H*** beaks loose. Back in my student days, we were broken into three times. Felt tempted to put a sign in the window "Don't bother, there's nothing left!" Such a horrible feeling. We have an alarm system now and it does provide a measure of comfort.

Congrats on the new laptop and having this lovely trip to Scotland to take your mind off of things.

Hi Ellen! Congrats on your new thread. I love the pictures, those castles are amazing.

I love Two or Three Things I Know for Sure and hope you enjoy it. I should probably do a reread (it would be a good candidate for the blog project, actually). I did try to pick up another collection of her essays last year and couldn't get into it, but that could have been my mood at the time. My reading has been unusually mood-dependent for the past several months, which is frustrating.

Anyway, hope things are getting back to normal somewhat! Take care, Buck-a-roo!

Oooh, MacBook! We're a Mac family, so I wholly approve. Certainly worth the bit of extra money, I think.

#14: Julia, castles are one of my favorite things about Scotland. :-)

#15: Terri, you are so welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Good way to start the new year.

#16: Hi Pat. I imagine we'll take lots of pictures and I hope to be tech-savvy enough to post many of them for my LT buddies to enjoy. :-)

#17: Hi Mark! I'm about halfway through The Hired Man and it's excellent.

#18: Roberta, you crack me up. Getting out of the house this morning was quite an accomplishment. I wanted to stay put and protect my space!

#19: Hi Beth. I doubt I'll end up with 25 threads this year, but we'll see. I agree that Macs rule. I'm going to be very happy with my new Air, I can just tell.

#20: Jim, I think the castles in Scotland are well worth the flight! And the brews and whisky are pretty good, too.

#21: Hi Tina and thanks for the virtual hug! I'm still definitely not my usual self. I hope to get her back again soon.

#22: Hi Ilana! I'll read The Guns of August and a couple other WWI related works, I think. As you know, I have profound ambivalence about audiobooks but if I can figure out a way for them to allow me to "read" more books, that would sell it. Maybe when gardening season returns.

More catching up to do, but I must head off to RL book club.....
I'll be back.

Have fun! I'm excited that my RL book club is reading The Summer Book this month. I've heard good things about it. What is your book club discussing tonight?

Checking in. . congrats on your new laptop!

Oh Ellen, I am so behind on threads having been sick as a dog for several days (horrible horrible summer flu) but was so sorry to hear of the violation of your home and loss of such sentimental items. Bastards. Bastards. (Loving the Scotland photos, btw)

#15, 23: Terri and Lisa, When I picked up the copy of My Family and Other Animals off your wish list, Terri, I didn't know anything about it. Now I'm thinking about adding it to my own wish list! When I have insomnia, P will sometimes read aloud to me to help. Maybe this would be a good one.... Probably better than Little House on the Prairie. :-|

#24: Hi Megan. Blair Castle is definitely one to which we'll be going for a visit. So many castles in Scotland are in ruins. Of course, there is Balmoral... but I understand it will be closed for the season by the time we get there.

"A new thread, a new week, a new set of stuff and a new beginning!"
That's the spirit! I'm trying to catch it.


Balmoral Castle

#25: Hi Richard! Okay, yet another drop in the "let's make Ellen buy a copy of My Family and Other Animals" bucket.....

Still puzzling about your other comment.

#26: Hi Cushla, I'm not surprised to hear that your husband has vivid memories of that childhood event. Ours was, in the grand scheme of things, on the relatively mild side and I'm definitely affected by it. But, I do love my new laptop.

Scotland. Stories and pictures. Yes. :-)

#27: Hi Marianne. Three times! That is definitely three times too many. We are still thinking about the alarm system.

#28: Barbara, thanks for stopping by!

#29: Hi Kerri! It was your recommendation that got me looking for a copy of Two or Three Things I Know for Sure and it looks wonderful. I've gotten completely sucked into The Hired Man, so I'll probably do my usual purist thing and focus on it, shifting to the Dorothy Allison when I'm done. I wondered if it would be a good item for your blog.

Buck-a-roo? Somehow, I like that. Although I'm relatively sure it's the first time I've been called by that nickname. :-)

#30: Hi Amber! I use traditional desktop at work and P has a PC at home, but I love my MacBook Air. I loved my MacBook Pro, too, but this one is lighter, which is nice not only for lugging around but also for when it's sitting on my lap!

#34: Hi Lisa. Oh, I loved The Summer Book.
Our book group was discussing The Good Earth this evening. It was a pretty good conversation. I'm not sure I'd ever have read this classic without the nudge of the group, so I'm glad about that.
We also finalized our selections for the rest of the year, starting with Redwall in February. I know nothing about it, but I am happy to go along with the democratic process.

#35: Hi Tamara! Thanks for checking in. I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane, partly due to your influence, and I liked it a lot more than I had predicted. It was a good post-burglary read. Ha!

#36: Prue, thanks for stopping by!
"Bastards. Bastards."
Uh huh. My sentiments, exactly! So thank you for those spot-on words.

I hope you quickly complete your recovery from the summer flu!

A little bit of a change from castles in Scotland, but I have to post it.

#37 So many castles in Scotland are in ruins
But the ruined ones are the best ones (IMO anyway). I loved castles as a child (still do actually) - I remember a particular incident of looking round a lived-in castle as a child and complaining to my parents that it wasn't a 'proper' castle because it had furniture in it.

#38 - It was your recommendation that got me looking for a copy of Two or Three Things I Know for Sure and it looks wonderful. Oh! Yay me! I keep hearing that she's finished another novel, but it never seems to come out. She's not what you would call prolific. Oh well.

Ellen- I am glad the Good Earth was a Book Group hit! I really liked it too and will have to read more Buck.

I fly to Portland in exactly 2 weeks. Yah!

I love all castles and I'm as green with envy as the turf of Scotland. Enjoy your ride to the Super Bowl, Ellen, it must be fun!

>40 EBT1002: I need a LIKE button!

Hi Ellen - What other books did your RL book club choose. My son liked Redwall, if it's the Brian Jacques one - a fantasy about mice, if I remember correctly. I will be interested in hearing what you think of it -- it doesn't strike me as an Ellen sort of book...

Good luck Seahawks.

it doesn't strike me as an Ellen sort of book...

My thought too. I know you don't usually care for children's/young adult books. One thing you might try for something different... listen to the audio. It is extremely well done, with different people doing different voices and Brian Jacques himself doing the narration. He has a lovely voice. I know because my daughter listened to it about 8 billion times when she went through her Brian Jacques phase.

>40 EBT1002: 12th Man, right? This could be Seattle's year. Good luck against SF!

Are you reading On Sal Mal Lane? I read both it and A Disobedient Girl because Ru Freeman was at Booktopia. I liked On Sal Mal Lane better.

One thing I love about our f2f book group is that every year we choose some book(s) that I never would choose for myself. Perhaps Redwall will be like this for you, Ellen. A small stretch to the "new for you".

A wee bit of book buying therapy for me:

The Polish Officer by Alan Furst and
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith.

Both from my favorite U District used bookshop.

#22
Proud Tower was a book that stayed with me for many years. It was really good and explains the Edwardian Era better than any other book I have read on the subject. I just read Guns of August this last fall and it was really really good. Reading one right after the other should be a great reading experience.

Our book discussion group also read a book that everyone liked and led to a good discussion. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts was a book I would not have picked up on my own, but it turned out to be a book I enjoyed reading. It was about the last leper colony in the U. S. - at Carvelle, LA (yes, it is the James Carvelle family). The others in the group did as well, and we had a good discussion about it.

Benita, I hate hearing that "In the Sanctuary of Outcasts" was so good, because it is the one and only ER book I have ever won that never showed up. I'm still a little bitter about it, but I guess I should get over it and go ahead and read it anyway. :-)

Hi Ellen- Should we make a Great Portland Meet-up Thread? You know, I always defer to you on these things.

#41: Rhian, I agree! I love wandering around the old ruined castles. Blair Castle will be one of the few intact ones we'll visit.

#42: Hi Kerri! You've hit me with a few book bullets, you know. You're dangerous that way.
No, Dorothy Allison isn't hugely prolific but perhaps she makes up in quality what she lacks in quantity?

#43: Hi Mark! I'm looking forward to seeing you in just a couple of weeks!

#44: Hi Lynda! I hope our "ride to the Superbowl" continues!!!! I'm nervous about playing those 49ers again. There was a great piece in this morning's Seattle Times about Seattle's stepchild feelings relative to San Francisco. It was pretty funny (and perhaps a bit too true).

#45: Karen, I know! I've seen folks use the "image" of the "Like" but it would be cool to be able to just click.

#46, 47: Hi Beth and Lisa! Here are our RLBC selections for 2014:

January: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck (done)
February: Redwall by Brian Jacques
March: Of Parrots and People by Mira Tweti
April: Blonde: A Novel by Joyce Carol Oates
May: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
June: Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
July: The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
August: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan
September: The World Inside by Robert Silverberg
October: The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin
November: Mink River by Brian Doyle
December: Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt

I agree with you that it doesn't seem like an Ellen sort of book, but our selection was a democratic process. I didn't vote for this one but I will cheerfully read it. I figure it won't take too much of my time.....

#48: Hi Joe! Yep, that is the 12th Man flag flying on top of our space needle. The space needle isn't that shade of green any longer but the sky is still mostly that shade of gray.

I'm definitely planning to wear my Russell Wilson jersey to work this Friday. Hopefully that will give the team the mojo they need to win against the 49ers!

#49: Lisa, I know I have On Sal Mal Lane in my "Currently Reading" collection but the truth is that I haven't been reading it. I bought it while at Booktopia because I so enjoyed Ru Freeman's session, but I haven't yet been able to dig into the novel.

#50: Karen, I agree. I didn't read all the books this past year and I suppose there may be months in 2014 when I don't get to the chosen book, but I like that our f2f book group introduces me to new things (kind of like LT). I would never have read Boneshaker and, though I won't read more of that sort of thing, I'm glad I can form an opinion based on actual experience. And I don't know that I would ever have gotten around to reading The Good Earth. I didn't love it, either, but I'm very glad that I read it.

#52, 53: Hi Benita! Thanks for the book suggestions. I like the idea of reading Proud Tower and then The Guns of August. And In the Sanctuary of Outcasts sounds very interesting!

#54: Hi Julia! I'm sorry that happened to you. I have received a couple of ER books but I've stopped requesting them because I'm not very good about reading them in a timely manner. I figure I'll let others have both the pleasure and the pressure. :-)

#55: Mark, I did not in fact know that. You defer to me on these things? Hmmm.... I might have to check data.

*goes away briefly. returns.*

Yep, it's true, you have deferred to me on at least one very important decision. It resulted in alliteration, so that's a good thing!

It might be helpful for us to have a thread so we can all be on the same page thread about details. I'll set it up and post it around for us.

#57 Thanks for sharing your RL book club list. We only plan three months at a time so that we can allow for new books, but like yours, we select a smattering of classics, novels, and nonfic. My favorites so far have been

Song of Achilles
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

The first I really wanted to read, but the other two were ones that I had always meant to read, but never had. I agree that stretching our reading boundaries is fun, even if it means the occasional clunker. We've also read

Bel Canto, a reread for me, but a favorite
Uncle Tom's Cabin, which I could NOT finish
Matched, a YA book
and a book about poker playing women that I was not in town for, thank goodness

This month we are reading The Summer Book, which I am looking forward to

Here is the link to the Great Portland Meetup thread.

*waves*

Sorry to break it to you, but Tom Brady and the Patriots are going to win the Super Bowl. ;-)

Ellen, I've lost a whole thread for you somehow...now I see that you had a traumatic time with a home invasion, and that makes me very sad for you and P. I hope the shock is fading now. Love all the castle pictures. Scotland is a dream trip for me.

Your castle pictures keep getting better and better Ellen. Your RLBC selections look good and I have Blonde and The Big Burn sitting on my shelf so I'll be interested to see what you think of them.

#62: *waves back* at Roberta!!

#63: Marianne.
You don't live in New England.
Why on Earth would you be a fan of the Patriots?

I'll grant you that Pretty Boy Tom is a talented quarterback but this is THE YEAR OF THE SEAHAWK.

Hrmph.

#64: Hi Linda! Thanks for cruising through. Yes, it has been a hellish week but I am determined to re-find my sense of place in my home and in my neighborhood. The shock is fading and I'm refusing to let this reactivate old childhood terrors.

This will be our second trip to Scotland and I'm excited. This time we won't have elderly parents along with us.

#65: Hi Bonnie! I have actually already read and absolutely loved The Big Burn. I encourage you to read it soon. :-)
I'm looking forward to Blonde: A Novel. I've only read one of Joyce Carol Oates' works so far and she is an author I want to get to know better.

Although I grew up and went to college in Michigan (Brady's alma mater) I've lived in the Boston area since 1982.

If it's any consolation, Dan Shaughnessey of the Boston Globe isn't holding out much hope ...

Sorry, the Patriots are Going to Lose to the Broncos

One of my favorite players of all time, Steve Hutchinson, was a Seahawk

#67, 68: Hi Marianne! You know, if I'd gone back and checked your thread or your introduction or your profile, I'd have taken your username a tiny bit less literally. And I had forgotten that Brady was a Wolverine.

Truth is, I am absolutely pulling for my Seahawks but I think the 49ers are going to be a tough team to beat. And I'm not sure I'd ever bet against Peyton (although he only has one ring and Tom has at least three).

Ahem. I can hear you - well, anyway, I can read what you are posting. I am not feeling the Bronco love here, Ellen. Good thing that our love is so much deeper than football.

^ Mamie! I said I wouldn't bet against Peyton. How is that not Bronco love?

You said you weren't sure...

Mamie - Dan Shaughnessey at the Boston Globe seems to putting out some Bronco love. Not a popular guy here on the Boston sports radio today...

Didn't the Patriots beat the Broncos once already this year at Mile High?

Yes. Yes, they did, and a fine job of it, too.

#72: LOL! It's true. But, you know, if he pulled a hamstring, I'd bet against him winning. I do NOT want this to happen, mind you. I am NOT invoking bad whammy spirits. I like Peyton a lot more than I like Tom Brady or *shudder* Colin Kaepernick!

#73: You know, I'm always in favor of sportscasters being as neutral as possible --- except the locals! When the Seahawks are playing we sometimes mute the telly and listen to the local radio broadcast so we can get the appropriately biased perspective. Local guys are supposed to be biased in favor of the home team!

#74, 75: Ah, another rematch. Well, may the team that is best on Sunday win. :-)

I'm almost glad the Seahawks lost to the 49ers in one of their games this year so we're not having to listen to the "it's hard to beat a team three times in a season" chatter.

Ha! And right, no bad whammy spirits. And I totally agree that local sportscasters should be appropriately biased! I LOVE how you think! ANd I am really, truly with all my heart hoping that your Seahawks take out those 49ers. Please, please let it be so.

^ Oh man, I am SO hoping that they make it so.

So it's agreed - we all want biased sportscasters (as long as they are biased in our favor!) Now we've found some common ground, I'll wish you lovely ladies a good night and sweet dreams

A little late to this, but wanted to add that I read Redwall last year and really enjoyed it - it doesn't really read like a YA/Children's book, I don't think.

#81: Absolutely! (although I feel like we might have a wee bit more in common than our desire for biased sportscasters)

#82: Amber, that is good to hear. Thanks for chiming in. I expect to get my copy of Redwall from the library any day now and I'll definitely read it with an open mind. Your encouragement helps in that regard (like sportscasters, I'm lousy at being unbiased).

I'm with Amber--but I haven't read the book; I just really, really want to.

Back in the day (waaaay back) I was an avid sports fan and loved to hear the "homers" as announcers. I fondly remember Curt Gowdy (Red Sox), Phil Rizzuto (Yankees), and Harry Carey (White Sox). My favorite, however, was Skip Carey, Harry's son, who did the Atlanta Braves games. For years, we could count on Skip--"How did he drop that ball?!?!"--when the team truly was horrible.

Oops, sorry; I slipped into baseball mode. Football was all tv for me.

5. The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna
4.5 stars

This is, for me, a difficult book to summarize or "review." It is beautifully written and just barely missed the coveted five-star rating. Set in a small Croatian town before, during, and after the town is besieged and abused by a government militia, it is the story of one man's pathway to reclaiming of a tainted home space. It begins with the arrival (this is after the war -- or at least after the war in this locale) of Laura and her two children, Matthew and Grace. They move into the blue house which has sat unoccupied for several years. Duro, our first-person protagonist, makes himself available as a hired man to help with fixing the place up. Through his growing friendship with Laura and her children, we learn of Duro's past and the history of the town. Duro is a matter-of-fact narrator and I loved the manner in which he occasionally reminds us of his presence as a storyteller. I'm not completely sure I could tell someone what I think "happened" at the end of the novel, how the story's threads are resolved. It's not (I don't think) that threads are left loose, but Forna leaves us to do some of the filling in. Her exploration of love and grief, cruelty and protection, especially as they manifest in a character so steeped in self-reliance and stoicism, is beautiful.

Lest you wonder, that is not why The Hired Man fell just short of perfection for me. There are just a few passages that don't quite work, a paragraph here or there that fails to hold true to the pitch and pacing of Duro's voice. If I were willing to make my ratings more complicated, though, this one might actually earn 4.75 stars. I definitely recommend it.

#84: Hi Gail! Never apologize for slipping into baseball mode on my thread. I love baseball; my love for that sport is more longstanding than my current passion for football. I was a fan of the Atlanta baseball team for years (before there were Rays or Marlins) and I well remember Skip Carey calling those games. He has such a wonderful dry tone at times. I do think his pa, though, was the announcer for the beloved and beleaguered Cubs, not the White Sox. :-)

ETA: I can actually get misty-eyed when they play great moments in Seattle sports on various sports talk shows and I hear Dave Niehaus say "My, oh my!" as Edgar Martinez hits the double that wins them the division. Goosebumps, I tell you.

I had a bit of insomnia last evening, so after finishing The Hired Man, I dug into Five Days at Memorial. I don't know that I can finish this before it's due back at the library, but it's certainly off to a good start. Still, there they are, sitting on my bedside table, My Antonia and Two or Three Things I Know for Sure, reminding me that I promised to read them next. Sigh.

>84 Matke: and >86 EBT1002: Hello Gail -- Lovely to meet you! Ernie Harwell, beloved voice of the Dee-Troit Tigers was my drug of choice. Used to sneak a transistor radio under my pillow to isten to him call games at night.;-)

The Hired Man sounds good. I wonder why Forna chose to set the novel in Croatia. Does she have any ties to that area? So different from the setting for Memory of Love in Sierra Leone, which is where she was raised, although born in Scotland. Not that writers can't write about different places, I was just curious.

ETA: I poked about on the Internet and answered my own question. She is intimately acquainted with political violence and often writes about it and war. Hence, Croatia.

Great review of The Hired Man. Looks like another one to add to my Powell's wishlist. I already have The Memory of Love languishing in the stacks. Bad Mark.

Hello Ellen - delurking to add my two cents about The Hired Man which was one of my top reads of 2013. I'm also very stingy with my 5 star ratings but this one just bowled me over. I thought Duro's voice was so genuine and the gradual unraveling of his story (or as much of it as we got) was brilliantly paced.

Ellen, I'm closing in on the end of The Hired Man. It's very good. I like the way Forna moves back and forth between the present time (when Laura & her family are in the blue house), and the past. In some cases, those visits to the past explain things that are happening in the present. It's that gradual unraveling that Vivian mentioned in #91.

Glad to hear all the love for The Hired Man since I already own a copy!

Ditto what Pat said...I'm going to get to it next month, if Faulkner gives me a couple days off!

Nice review of The Hired Man - sorry too about the insomnia, but I do find that I get books finished and that's something! Functioning the next day, of course, is a bit of a trial.

Boo hiss insomnia, hip hip hooray The Hired Man, *smooch*

#86> Actually, Ellen, Harry was the announcer for the White Sox before he crossed town and became the Cubs announcer, so you're both right!

The Hired Man sounds very very good; onto the wishlist!

#88: Marianne, I love that you were such a fan that you did that! I'm not sure I've ever heard tape of Ernie Harwell....

#89: Hi Lisa. I don't have the book right in front of me (it's at home and I'm at my desk in the office) so I can't remember the details, but she has lived in a number of places around the world. You're right that she was born in Glasgow, lived in Sierra Leon (and some other places -- I'll check when I get home), and currently lives in London. I'm pretty sure she has not ever lived in Croatia, though. AND - your poking around on the internet explains it. This novel was set in a war zone in a nuanced kind of way.

#90: Hi Mark. Yes, I have The Memory of Love languishing in the stacks, as well, and now I very much want to read it!

#91: Hi vivians! (I will go find you later so I know if that is Vivian S, or something else....).
"Duro's voice was so genuine and the gradual unraveling of his story (or as much of it as we got) was brilliantly paced." Yep. I agree wholeheartedly!

#92: Laura, I'm so glad you are also loving it. It was SO close to a perfect novel.

Hi Ellen- It really looks like this Meet-Up is going to be a humdinger. And it looks like Karen will be joining us after all. Kim is going to make reservations at Deschutes. How about meeting a little earlier, like 1130 for coffee and snacks?

#93: Hi Pat! You are in for a treat when you read The Hired Man.

#94: Linda, I'm cracking up. You will only need a couple of days off from Faulkner to read The Hired Man and I think it will be right up your alley.

#95: Hi Lucy! Yes, I hate insomnia but it is less awful since I have trained myself to sit up, turn on the light, and think of it as "Ellen gets to read" time. I seem to do pretty well on 5-6 hours of sleep, so I'm okay (as long as it doesn't turn into one of my hellish week-long episodes).

#96: Hi Richard! I'm glad to see that you have your valences spot on.

#97: Julia! I did not know that. I came into awareness of Harry Carey after he was with the Cubs. It never occurred to me that he had called games for anyone else. Cool. As I lived in a region where I got TBS but not WGN, I was well acquainted with Skip long before I heard his father.

I'm joining the ranks of people around here who are serious fans of The Hired Man. It's a bit early for "it's my top read so far this year" to amount to much in the way of praise, but it's true nonetheless and by a long shot.

#99: Hi Mark -- I'll go check out the thread. I'm fine with meeting around 11:30. I think I'm riding with Lisa so as long as we leave early enough, we'll be there. Traffic shouldn't be a problem on Saturday morning (although getting through Tacoma is almost always a nightmare).

We're going to need a BIG table at the Deschutes Brewery! Yay!!

I wonder if Powell's will give you a kick-back.

Just a couple free books will do!

Okay, people, I'm still at work and I'm ready to go home.
I'll check in later, once I'm home, settled into comfortable clothes, and have my beer in hand.

Oh - and I forgot to mention that I did start My Antonia on the bus this morning. The thought of carrying Five Days at Memorial on the bus/walk was just too much.

So, I'm currently actively reading both of those works.

#102: That would be lovely, would it not?

Gee, Ellen, I leave for a few days and am behind 50 posts. Your review of The Hired Man reinforces my wish to read it soon. However, my class is going to keep me busy.

Go Seahawks. (I am cheering for them even though I can't resist giving Kerri grief).

#105: Hi Beth. Luckily, most of the posts on my thread are fairly short. :-)
I really recommend that you read The Hired Man once your class is done. I think you would like it.

I encourage you to both cheer for the Seahawks and continue giving Kerri (warm-hearted) grief. :-)

A few people have asked so I'll share here that we're having an alarm system installed tomorrow. It feels over the top (and P is lukewarm toward the idea) but I need to feel safer in my home. I get that this isn't foolproof; the world is inherently an unsafe place. But it will help.

It *will* help, and it would be OTT if you lived in a gated slum for rich a-holes. You don't. It's a sensible precaution based on actual, not notional, events in your own experience.

Just don't be like Richard Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances in the famous alarm-wedding-anniversary episode!

>58 EBT1002: still reading along, but asking for clarification re: space needle flag...
that is the 12th Man flag flying on top of our space needle
To me "12th Man" means the last guy in the cricket team, the reserve one (seeing as there are 11 on the team). I'm thinking it means something else to you?

...as I read I am starting to think it is a football thing :)

The Hired Man, Five Days and Memorial, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn....yikes, I am getting outa here before my tbr pile grows legs and charges me.

Ellen - Go for the alarm. You need to feel safe. Is it getting better?

Just don't be like Richard Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances in the famous alarm-wedding-anniversary episode!

Ha! I loved that episode. FF to the last five minutes but the first five to seven minutes is priceless too!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P9h1AA97zI

Nice review of The Hired Man--I have it wish-listed now.

#108: Oh, Richard, I'm going to have to try to find that episode. I watched that sit-com erratically and eons ago. I hadn't thought of Hyacinth and her pals in a very long time!

Oh, duh - our friend Roberta posted a link for me! I'll watch it (perhaps I'll wait until Francoise is done installing our alarm system, which he is doing even as I type. You'd like him, Richard. He's quite nice.)

#109: Megan. The 12th Man. "I am starting to think it is a football thing"
Seattle football fans are the loudest in the game. "We" (I've attended exactly one game, mind you) set the World Record for stadium noise. We make it very hard on opponents who are playing here in our lovely city. I'm not sure, but I think The 12th Man is so much a part of Seahawks football that no actual player can have that number on his jersey.

I'm assuming that your TBR pile already has legs, but regardless, put The Hired Man on your wish list. Just do it.

#110: Hi Beth! The guy is here now installing the alarm. Certainly the shock has faded but I haven't even been able to go for a run because I don't want to return to the house after it has been unattended, and I HATE FEELING AFRAID, so this is the thing for us to do. It will take some getting used to. And thank you for your encouragement.

#111: Roberta, thank you for posting the link! It would feel a bit odd watching it while I'm sitting here presumably being available to answer questions our alarm-installer might have, so I'll save it for later. :-)

#112: Excellent decision, Rhonda. You won't be sorry. Maybe you can pick up a copy at Powell's. :-)

Congratulations on the new security system. I hope you don't set it off by accident too often. I set mine off once and the police officer was very understanding that I was chasing kids around the neighborhood, and loose dogs. It did take me a while to just stop turning it on. What a waste. But I never, ever, felt unsafe in that neighborhood until someone stole my garage door opener out of my car. It can happen any where.

I'm making progress in Maisie Dobbs and a little progress in The Guns of August so I think I'll be ready to start Faulkner and Redwall in Febuary. Yikes! February.... just around the corner, and I have moving to do. And a road trip to Portland. What am I thinking? And I have to watch the kids on Sunday.... and the Seahawks beat the 49ers.

Seattle retired the number 12 in the early 2000s (I think it was) in honor of the "12th Man". Kerri would be so proud of me for knowing this :)

We got an alarm system after being burgled, and it went a long way toward making me feel safer. No, it's not fool-proof but God almighty, that thing is LOUD! Enter at your own risk, Mr. Bad Burglar Man...

Not quite caught up... but happy to hear about the security system. I'm glad you did it.

#115: Hi Karen. My friend here, Francoise, has been explaining the system to me. It's a bit complicated but I think we'll learn it. Smartphones change everything. I think we get a 7-day "test period." I'm not sure what that means.

I got word today that Redwall is ready for me to pick up at the library so I'll finish it well in advance of our February book group meeting. How are you liking Maisie Dobbs?

#116: Katie! I'm proud of you for knowing that! I should have known it.
*hangs head in embarrassment*

"Enter at your own risk, Mr. Bad Burglar Man..." You know it.

#117: Hi Kath. Thanks so much for swinging by. I hope your weekend is better than the past several days have been!

Ellen when we lived in Johor Bahru in Southern Malaysia in the late 1990s we stayed in a huge house with a floor space of well over 20,000 square feet. There was waste ground to two sides of the compound. It had a burglar alarm that didn't work. All the houses in the neighbourhood were burglarised in the three years we stayed there and ours never once. I am quite sure that the house was haunted and that somehow this protected the house from intruders. Some of the neighbours were frankly amazed that we were able to stay there as nobody else had managed to stay above three months. My in-laws were terrified of the place and wouldn't go upstairs. My wife and Yasmyne "saw" lots of things but I never saw anything at all.

ETA Have a lovely weekend my dear.

I only knew it because The Wayne was following some wild hare through the rabbit warren of Wikipedia and came across that little nugget and shared it with me :)

Ellen, Glad Ocean At The End of The Lane got you through the rough patch. :)

Nice review of The Hired Man, Ellen! I'm glad that you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Seriously thrilled that you loved The Hired Man! What a novel! And glad that alarm system has been installed. Peace of mind is a fantastic thing.

#105 and 106 - STOP PICKING ON KERRI! SHE IS A WRECK DUE TO FOOTBALL. :-)

#116 - Katie, I am so proud of you! I'm almost tearing up.

I am enjoying both Maisie Dobbs (It is quite unique among the detective stories I've read to date) and The Guns of August. I've finally decided I can not lay on the bed while listening. It is an instant recipe for sleep, if only for 5 or 10 minutes; if I sit up, and close my eyes, I'm good for listening. I can do some dishes and listen, but if I try to cook, or anything else the words go in the ears and never even stop at the brain. But now that I know how to focus myself while sitting up, I'm good with it.

Ellen, I finished The Hired Man ... wow. It just kept building, getting better & better as it went along. I gave it 4.5 stars. Review to follow sometime this weekend.

#120: Paul -- "I am quite sure that the house was haunted and that somehow this protected the house from intruders."
How cool is that. Having the house haunted would be less expensive than this alarm system. Ha.

#121: The Wayne is da bomb!

#122: Hi Tamara! Yes, it was just what was needed at that moment.

#123: Thank you, Darryl. I'm so glad I was encouraged to read The Hired Man.

#124: Hi Kerri! And thanks to you for so enthusiastically recommending The Hired Man!

The alarm system is kinda cool. But I'm glad we have a 7-day test period (it seems that the police have requested that because of the number of false alarms that can go off while the homeowners are learning the system).

You need to stop being a wreck. What is it you always tell me? Be confident. Be positive.
THE SEAHAWKS ARE GOING TO WIN!

Now if only I truly felt confident about that.

#125: I would think lying down to listen to an audiobook would be a perfect recipe for sleep. I used to think that listening to an audiobook while driving might be dangerous but the few times I've done it, I haven't found that to be so. I'm glad you're enjoying both of your current reads. I am, as well. One fiction, one nonfiction. It seems to be a good formula.

#126: Laura, I'm so glad you also loved The Hired Man. I gave it 4.5 stars, as well. It's getting a lot of LT love!

Hi, Ellen!

I love Paul's idea of a ghost-run security system. Cheaper and way cooler, indeed!

Drat. A ghost. Who knew that was all I needed? I have lived in haunted places 2x, but not here. It seems that any spirits have only made the briefest of visits. Well, Dunkers will just have to keep up with his Cujo imitation for me ,, And since the car is always parked out front, I leave the tv on now. That helps, or at least I hope it does :P

Comcast's security system is laughable, it's so expensive, it is under a contract and since Comcast has a history of not working.... seems silly. My neighbor has it, but he works for them. Margie just got a Guardian system, and it's wireless. I have no idea what any of those things mean.

I do hope that yours helps you to feel safer and to put the incident further back in your mind more quickly.

By the way, Ellen, I thought you'd enjoy knowing that Maisie Dobbs has developed into a Upstairs/Downstairs or Downton Abbey kind of story, which I am loving. I think there is a very good chance I'll finish it today.

Ellen -- Congrats on the new alarm system!

Here's a little story. When we built our house, we had the wiring for the alarm system out in from the outset. One evening that summer, a burglar worked his way down the street, breaking into some homes and skipping the ones with the alarm systems. Later that week, the street was clogged with alarm company trucks installing new systems for everyone else! My neighbor joked that ADT should give the burglar a kickback ...

I was thinking that the hackers who stole all the credit card info from Target and others were giving the "Check Your Credit Rating" companies a big gift.

Ellen - Did you have your laptop backed up? I don't know if you mentioned that.

#128 - I'm confident, but still a wreck. I will be a lunatic tomorrow. The playoffs aren't good for my blood pressure. :-)

I'm enjoying the playoff mania over here! I've never experienced such a phenomenon but it must be nice! Enjoy the games!!!!

Stopping in to wish you a weekend full of fabulous, Ellen. May your Seahawks be victorious!

Oh my. Such terrible happenings since I was last here.
You are probably tired of this burglary topic, but I don't want you to think I don't care. Sorry to have been missing and unable to give you my two cents of support and comfort. Hugs to you for being so brave and taking quick action.

I still remember the icky feeling when someone broke into our car over 40 years ago. Slimebags! It's the stuff they touch and the mess they make that makes me angry. It all feels kinda creepy and germy, too. I imagine you are all scrubbed and neatened up now. Sure didn't need that intrusion!

Anyway. I'm happy to hear of your new security measures. Hope they make you feel much safer. Thank heavens Abby is fine ;-)
Yay for the new Mac!
And... nice new thread here.
#1 I want to live in that castle!

Just so you know... I DO live in New England and still not sure why I am a Patriots fan! It's a curse.

#130: Yes, I agree, Amber. I think Paul has identified the solution to burglars.

#131: Hi Kath, and thanks for the encouragement. I would rather have ghosts (well, I don't really know about that) but this is what it is.

#132: Hi Karen. I think I'll put Maisie Dobbs on hold at the library. I think I read it a long time ago but I don't remember it, and it sounds like something I'd like.

Today was a hard-working day. We took down the old back fence (this may sound easy, but trust me, with the 3-foot deep concrete pillars at the place of each 4x4, it was a monster of a job!! --- thank goodness for nephew and BIL). We got one of the five needed panels up, two of the posts, and it was time for done.

Turkey soup and Chateauneuf-du-Pape for dinner and now we're watching Serena look like an oldster against Ivanovic. It's early yet.

Bone deep tired, which feels kind of good.

#133: Hi Marianne! "My neighbor joked that ADT should give the burglar a kickback ..." I have had the same thought. The conspiracy theorist in me thinks this would be a good way for security companies to boost their client base.

#134: Karen, I got that message "from Target" and deleted it so fast it would make your mouse spin. I haven't tracked the story very closely, but I agree that the more afraid we are, the more money there is to be made in making us feel "safe."

#135: Hi Roberta, I think some of it was backed up to "the cloud." I'm not actually sure. I guess I should know these things.

#136: Hi Kerri! I totally hear you. I don't think I will be at all calm tomorrow. I hope both our hearts are up to the challenge. GO SEAHAWKS!

#137: Hi Lynda! I'm pretty sure I have never been this "into" the NFL playoffs. It is indeed a mania and the city of Seattle has it bad. Lithium for everyone!

#138: Mamie, my dear. Thank you. I am very nervous and full of hope.

#139: Cee, my dear, thanks for stopping by. Your support is always appreciated.
"It's the stuff they touch and the mess they make that makes me angry."
Yeah, I have done a few loads of laundry in hot water (being a Pacific Northwesterner, I usually do most of my clothes in cold water --- we like to minimize our carbon footprints) and the house feels like ours again. I love our home and I am determined not to let this taint it.

We went downtown to a gallery today to see my daughter's art teacher's exhibit, and whoa! A huge crowd of 49ers fans had taken over a bar about a block down 1st Ave from Pioneer Square and were going wild. The police (about 8 of them) were needed to keep them out of the street and the traffic moving. It was bedlam. I can't imagine what it will be like tomorrow. I'm glad I'm in W-ville!

A fencing project? I have always wanted a fence for my dogs, but I have a crazy hilly yard. I'm glad to hear that you have some help with that, it sounds intense... Hard.

Will be watching The Game from the comfort of my Niece's home in Lake Stevens, an hour north of the craziness, and will be able to enjoy dinner with three kids who could care less.

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Hi Ellen- I hope you have a perfect Sunday planned. What are you doing for the Big Game?

Hi Ellen - I hope you have a great Sunday and your team wins. No more grief for you or Kerri until after the game. I promise. Good luck figuring out your alarm system.

Serena did look old - for a tennis player. :( Now, who to cheer for...

I love it! Let The Force be with The Hawks!

Good luck today, Ellen!

>142 EBT1002: Actually, they won't be making any money off of us at all. Target is offering *free* credit and identity watch for one year.

Morphidae, there are lots of Credit Watch companies who have stepped up the advertising. I was thinking not of what Target was offering, but rather what the whole industry might be thinking.... and the infinite capacity of the American public to be stampeded into paranoia. IMHO, of course.

There's a football game?? ;-)

>154 richardderus: I'm with RD except I don't want the 49ers to win because I'm mad at my 49ers-loving brother and I'm petty like that.

Today is the day.

#144: Lisa, that sounds wild! I hope those 49ers fans are very sad tonight.

#145: Hi Kath. Yes, the fence project was crazy. Taking down the old falling down fence was the most challenging part. We quit after getting one of the four panels back up, as we were tired and figured we might get to the mistake-making stage. We're just getting word that Dear Nephew and BIL are willing to come back again tomorrow to get the rest of it up. It will be nice to have privacy again from the folks behind us (who are lovely people, I'm sure, but I don't need to gaze at their back yard every day).

#146: Karen, have a great day! We'll be watching from the warmth of our downstairs tv room. Abby will not be happy. She feels like Richard and Lisa and Morphy. "Football, schmootball. It just means moms yell a lot. Blech."

#147: Hi Mark! We will be drinking beer and eating homemade tacos during the game. Like Kerri, we tend not to go to parties or invite folks over because we want to watch the game rather than socialize. It's a cold, damp day in Seattle but no wind or rain. I hope you're enjoying the first of your two days off!

#148: Kerri! I love that picture of Russell!
I went to the library a little while ago to pick up some books I had on hold and I had on my Wilson jersey and my Seahawks knit cap. I was not alone.

#149: Hi Beth. I appreciate your restraint. You know that both Kerri and I are a mess on football Sunday, especially this week. The alarm system seems to be pretty straightforward, although the app via which I'm supposed to be able to monitor things from my iPhone didn't work earlier today. Sometimes technology is just a pain in the neck.

Serena looked old (in tennis years) and Ivanovic brought her A game. I might just root for her for the rest of the tournament.

#150: Karen, I think the Seahawks will need The Force today!

#151: Thanks, Joe!

#152: Hi Morphy. I'm just ignoring the whole Target thing. Do you think it's something to be worried about?

#153: "...the infinite capacity of the American public to be stampeded into paranoia."
Heh. I think you've nailed it there.

#154: Richard, being a curmudgeon who could not care less about football may be good for your blood pressure!

#155: LOL, Lisa.

#156: Good! That means you're rooting for our Seahawks today, Morphy! This is a good thing.

Hi Ellen. Well it looks like it's unanimous re: The Hired Man and I did Love (with a capital L) The Memory of Love so I just checked and the library has it with no queue. Woo Hoo. I 'll read it next month I think.

I'll cheer for the Seahawks. Why not? As long as the Patriots lose I'm happy. I've watched them beat our Buffalo Bills too many times to wish them any good fortune. Ever.

Thanks for your incredible photos of Scotland!

I had a car stolen from the front of my house. I'll never forget the consternation of looking for an object that is no longer where you put it.

It was found within a week. Kids, breaking into cars and taking them for a joy ride..go figure.

My experience pales in light of what you are going through.

" We will be drinking beer and eating homemade tacos during the game." Sounds perfect, my friend! Enjoy!

I'm glad you have a fun and relaxing day planned. I will be happy when it's all over for the year, but surely something else will take its place.... hockey? Oh well... have fun today!

161: Bonnie, I think you will Love (capital L) The Hired Man and I'm certainly going to read The Memory of Love soon.

Thank you for rooting for my Seahawks! I think you're getting your wish as the Patriots are in the process of going down to the Broncos.

162: Linda, I think that would be downright surreal. Like, how does a car disappear? With assistance from youths, it turns out.

163: Thank you, Mark! It will be perfect as long as my Seahawks win. :-)

164: Kath, um, no to hockey. I'll just get more reading done. :-)

Dropping in to let you know that the entire Pecan Paradisio is rooting for your Seahawks, Ellen! GO SEAHAWKS!!

This is going to be a tough one my friend! The 49ers are ready to play!

LOL
Jedi Knights and the Sound of Music all have their place in football, now I know this to be true :)

Go the Seahawks!

The Memory of Love is a favorite of mine. That means, of course, that The Hired Man goes straight to the WL now that I realize it is by the same author.

Go Seahawks! Why not? I think their uniforms make them look like aliens. Cool.
And tomorrow I start an online course from the University of Edinburgh on Astrobiology! Life is just full of excitement when you're up to it :-)

>161 brenzi: What she said. "Did the Patriots lose? {yes} Yay!"

"Did the Yank-mes lose? {yes} HALLELUJAH BRETHREN AND SISTERN!"

"Did the Heat lose? {yes} Well! All's right with the world."

As to who won, if it ain't the Nets, the Jets, or the Mets, ~meh~

Beautiful castles Ellen!

I know you're watching the Seahawks....tight game!

eta - I happened to pick up The Hired Man at the library yesterday - looks like a good pick!

Congrats to the Seahawks! Broncos v Seahawks - may the best team win!!

Sorry to have nothing to add to the football talk, but I love keeping up with the shenanigans here! :)

I got the same message from Target, but I didn't delete it. I was seriously considering looking into the "deal" for the *free* credit monitoring. I've been hacked recently, so I'm ultra paranoid.

I sprang for a security system after my next door neighbors were burglarized and they attempted to break into my house, but failed. We think something interrupted them, but you could see the crowbar marks on the doors. This was when I was still single, and I was petrified. So within a week, I had put a whole house alarm system on my credit card. I had NOT the cash to do it as I was still pretty fresh from the major breakup I'd had and purchase of the house, but there was NO WAY I felt safe without it. It's a smart move, Ellen. You'll just rest better.

*Oh, and lovely review of The Hired Man!

Congrats, Ellen! Exciting game.

WahHOO!! SEAHAWKS WIN!! SEAHAWKS WIN!!

WOOT!

Whoop, whoop, whoop! Congrats to the Seahawks and Seahawk lovers everywhere!

Mamie, Mark, Megan, Cee, Richard, Joanne, Tina, Joe, Mamie, Katie, and Lynda ---
Thank you for your cheers and even your warm-hearted jeers.

Whew!! It wasn't pretty but WE WON!!!! Our defense really stepped up and shut down an incredible quarterback in the second half. Obviously, I'm very happy and relieved. I want to win the Super Bowl, but I really wanted to win this!!!!!! They were talking about it on telly, that this town is really into this. I'm sure every city loves their team, but this is a huge love affair between the fans (and even the not-so-fans, like Richard!) and the team.

Now, I can spend my evening reading.

Tomorrow the fence project will be completed. Yay!

In other news, we booked our flight to Glasgow for late in the summer. Woot!!

Congrats to the Seahawks, Ellen. I don't know what Richard Sherman said after the game (I don't have a TV so didn't see the game), but he has everyone in my Twitter timeline rooting for the Broncos!

Go Seahawks!!! And yay for the laptop. And my daughter just got back from a semester abroad--she loved Glasgow! You will have a great time.

Go Girls! To Glasgow! Tis worthy of a big cheer. Whoot whooot whoot!!!

And our little ole Seattle, from the sticks, team won against the mighty 49ers, Yes sir-ree!

You are so right, Ellen, it was not pretty but some little bits of it were. Like the basketball star like float through the air to slap down a pass. Yes, I liked that move.

The team was super! So super bowl for them! Yay!

Much as I hate to say it after that awful Seahawks-Saints game, I think I'll be rootin' for 'em to beat the Broncos... :)

>160 EBT1002: I don't think it's something to "worry" about but I am going to sign up for the free credit watch just to be on the safe side.

Is that who the 49ers were playing against? LOL. I just knew they were in the playoffs.

Go Seahawks, my friend! Like you said, it was an ugly win but a WIN, nonetheless. Better have their A-Game on for the SB!

Hi Ellen, you off work today for MLK Day?

Hooray!

Congratulations on the Seahawks win, Ellen. Alas, my Patriots didn't bring their game with them yesterday and were well and truly trounced by the Broncos.

6. My Ántonia by Willa Cather
4 stars

This was a very enjoyable read, full of delicious descriptions of the Nebraska plains when they were still largely covered with tall red grasses. Jim Burden, our narrator, meets Ántonia when he is 10 years old and she just 14. Her Bohemian family moves onto the "farm" next to the Burden family and the two families' stories become the vehicle for a lovely novel of life, love, and transformation. No great adventures or suspense here, just amusing and endearing tales of life on the prairie.

Thanks to Mark for organizing the Willa Cather read for January. This old Sentry Edition has been on my shelf for a long time and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

#179: Julia, yes Richard Sherman was pretty fired up a the end of the game. He made a play that saved the win for the Seahawks and it seems that he had felt dissed by some of the 49ers players. I also understand that he has a chip on his shoulder because he believes that Jim Harbaugh, the coach of the 49ers and Sherman's coach at Stanford, talked him down so that he entered the NFL draft lower than he might otherwise have done. He's a smart guy who talks with pride and passion. Today he apologized for calling out one other player (Crabtree, out of whose hands Sherman knocked a potential touchdown pass), saying it was unprofessional of him to do so. Whatever. As one of the television announcers said, Richard Sherman has kind of earned the right to boast.

This was more than you wanted to know about the controversy at the end of yesterday's game, but I've been following it with much relish. And a bit of mustard.

#180: Kim, we're getting very excited. I don't tend to think of Glasgow as tourist destination number one, but now we're doing some reading and looking forward to spending a few days there getting oriented and rested up for our long hike. It turns out that there is a notable bookshop in Glasgow: Waterstone, perhaps? I think that might be a chain, but it still sounds interesting. Or at least large. :-)

#181: Karen, it's a good week to be a Seattleite. It's been kind of fun to listen to the sportscasters and to realize that the Seahawks made some good plays!! A couple of fumbles which were, of course, what I focused on, but really some nice plays, as well.

I am glad you enjoyed My Antonia as I did. It was the first book by Cather I have ever read and now thanks to Mark's AAC I've read 2! And I've begun my Faulkner book, too. Remarkable.

#182: Well, Jim, I'm not sure why you hate to admit it but in any case we will appreciate your cheering for the Seahawks in the SuperBowl!

#183: Hi Morphy. Well, as you know, I'm definitely on board with anything that makes one feel safer.

I'm pleased that you'll still come visit my thread when it has been so much about football lately. The end is near, though, and we'll get back to talking about books very, very soon.

#184: Hi Mark! I am liking the look of the matchup against the Broncos. Obviously, Peyton Manning is one of the all-time great quarterbacks and they have an impressive offense. But we have an amazing defense and their defense will be less brutal than the last half dozen against which we've played. I'm not taking it for granted in the least, but I think we have a chance. It should be a good game, which is not always the case in the SB.

#185: Hi Richard! Yep, I had the day off and used it wisely. More about that below.

#186: Beth, I'm assuming you are hooraying the Seahawks win. Or perhaps you are hooraying the notion that I might have had today off. Heh.

#187: Hi Caro! Thank you for the congrats. Yes, the Broncos played well on all sides of the ball and Tom & his Pats just weren't crisp. I heard someone say today that the Patriots may have "overachieved" this year. I'm frequently amused by such statements: like, how can you overachieve if you get to the AFC Championship? I mean, I get that they think talent- and injury-wise, the team "shouldn't" have gotten that far, but..... well, I just think there is as much chemistry as there is algebra to football.

Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, is a holiday in the State of Washington (I know, it's a national holiday, but not all schools or businesses are closed). I slept remarkably late (8:15 am) and then we got busy preparing for the Dear Nephew and the Brother In Law to arrive. Waffles and yogurt, and then we trundled out to the back yard to finish re-installing the fence that just about fell down in that last windstorm. We "only" had three more panels and three more posts to install, and it went wonderfully smoothly. The fence looks better than it has in the 6+ years we have lived here. P is beside herself with glee. This is a good thing. Then we had lunch at our favorite little Mexican restaurant up on Beacon Hill and then we went for a moderate walk around Jefferson Park, enjoying the sunshine and the views of the city. Time this afternoon to finish My Antonia and now we're sitting in the living room with the gas fireplace lit, enjoying our home.

I'm going to delve back into Five Days at Memorial now.

Is "overachieving" like being "over qualified" for the job you are not offered? Silly talk. I wish more "commentators" think about what they are saying before they say it. Or people, for that matter. And I too can take my own advice.

ha ha ha

#189> Not too much information at all, Ellen. I was wondering what he could have said that would make people so angry. Frankly, it all sounds like a tempest in a teapot. Some players are just lightning rods for negative fan reactions, I think.

#194: Yeah, and sports talk radio is the worst!! I normally listen to it only if I'm driving late at night and am absolutely at risk of falling dead asleep if I don't find something to "entertain" me. But the past day or two have been a bit of fun.

#195: Hi Julia! Yes, it really is a tempest in a teapot. Richard Sherman is very smart; he knows exactly what he is doing when he riles up the other guys. And his stats speak for themselves: he has more interceptions than any other cornerback in the league and the other teams "never throw his direction." This paradox explains his boastfulness.

Meanwhile, I think it's time for another Scotland image. I don't think we'll be going to the Isle of Skye on this trip, but we visited in 2002 and I loved it. It is a breathtaking bleak landscape.

That doesn't even look real but it's very beautiful!

Oh, The Isle of Skye! delightful picture. Thank you very much!

Richard Sherman is a passionate player, he was just off his winning the game of professional football, who in their right mind would think he'd be sedate and professorial in his comments. I think the reporter looked shell shocked. "well, back to you guys".

Ah, life! So rich. So varied.

What an incredible image of the Isle of Skye. Our world is indeed a marvel.

>197 EBT1002: Oh...and I've just picked up To The Lighthouse, which begins (at least) on the Isle of Skye.

Hi Ellen congratulations on the Seahawks going to the Superbowl. It should be a good one.

I love that last picture you posted of the isle of Skye, there's a certain quality to the light of many pictures taken in Scotland, perhaps it's how far north it is. Anyhow, it sure looks to be a beautiful place.

Ellen - Hooray for both. It sounds like you had a lovely day.

#189 Waterstones is a chain, but a decent one in my opinion. They usually vary the stock according to location, so you should find a lot of Scottish items. I think Glasgow has quite a few decent museums and art galleries, so you should find plenty to do for a couple of days.

That's a wonderful picture of Skye. I last went there when I was a student (some 35-ish years ago). It was Midsummer and the newly refurbished Youth Hostel that we stayed in hadn't yet had curtains or blinds fitted and, as I find it hard to sleep when it's not dark I spent a wakeful night. But I wouldn't have missed it.

I dug back into Five Days at Memorial last evening and almost stayed up too late reading. It is downright gripping. It's larger than I want to carry for my bus commute, so it will have to be reserved for at-home reading, but I predict that I will wing my way through it during the evenings of this week.

#198: Hi Pat! I know, it looks like one of those paintings that is designed to play with unreal light.

#199: Karen, you are very welcome. As a photographer, I think you would enjoy Scotland's landscapes and light.

#200: Linda, I fully agree. Our world is a marvel and I'm so excited to explore the northern part of the UK once again. We'll go further north this time than we did in 2002.

#201: Hi Linda! I happen to have To the Lighthouse sitting on my bedside table (theoretically, that is one step closer to being read than sitting on the TBR shelves). I borrowed it from Nephew's GF after reading something this fall that referenced it. Now I can't for the life of me recall which work that was. Ergh. I hate having swiss cheese for brains.

#202: Well, hello, Judy! Thank you for the kind congratulations.

I think the light in Scotland is exquisite. I don't know what creates it; perhaps it is the northern latitude, but I also think the light in the American Southwest is amazing. Some combination of dramatic landscapes, air quality, and ..... something magical? Ha.

#203: Beth, thank you. Yes, completing the fence, completing My Antonia, and getting more earnestly engaged in Five Days at Memorial made for a good MLK holiday. We also watched our recording of this season's premier episode of "Sherlock," which was quite enjoyable.

#204: Hi Rhian! I will definitely check out the Glasgow branch of Waterstone as it seems like it would be great fun to see what they have on the shelves. I'll be hampered in my purchases by the fact that this will be at the beginning of our trip and we'll want to keep our luggage relatively light, but I can make lists. :-)

I need to seek out some good fiction set in Glasgow. Anyone have any suggestions?

#205: Hi Kerry. I think this may be your first visit to my thread? I will return the favor later today (must get ready to go earn the kibble). I love your story of lying awake due to the very short night on the Isle of Skye. One of my favorite things about northern climes is the loooong days. I recall sleeping on my in-laws' boat while we were in Desolation Sound, along the coast of British Columbia, and loving that it got dark around midnight and light around 3am. Of course, here it is January in Seattle and the very short days is the thing I hate most about northern climes. I know that if it weren't for our black-out blinds, my sleep would be badly disrupted around the summer solstice.

Ellen, my recommendations are mostly crimes and mysteries:

The Cutting Room and Bullet Trick by Louise Welsh
The Riverman and all other DCI Lorimer by Alex Gray
Random by Craig Robertson
The Distant Echo by Val McDermid

I hope this might help you :-D

#208 For Glasgow fiction something by James Kelman springs to mind, or Buddha Da by Anne Donovan might be a bit lighter.

*waves* Yay to new fences and football wins!

I'm intrigued by the Glaswegian books!!!!

>193 EBT1002: that sounds like a great way to spend the day off. A little work and a little play makes Ellen a happy lady ;)

>197 EBT1002: wow- that is incredible, can I come on your honeymoon (is it a honeymoon, btw?)

>204 SandDune: Waterstones I heard described as a "high class bookstore chain" the other day on the radio here (incidentally, it was in connection with it choosing Stoner as the book of the year, or some such "of the year" type award)

I have no knowledge at all of Glasgow, or of fiction set in it Ellen. So I cannot help. Oh, hang on. Isn't Trainspotting
set there?

Trainspotting isn't set in Glasgow - but I recommend Lennox by Craig Russell, which is a gritty and really enjoyable crime/private detective series. Lennox is the first.

I want this t-shirt.

#210: Barbara, crimes and mysteries are great! I know of Val McDermid and might give her a try (P says her works are quite creepy). The others are new to me so I'll check them out. Thank you!

#211: Rhian, oh good, two more new to me! Thank you, as well!

#212: *waves* to Tamara ---- and thanks for the hoorays!

#213: Lucy, I love that you used "Glaswegian." I considered working it in last evening but got distracted. :-)

I wonder if folks have any good Mancunian fiction works to recommend?

#214: Megan, thanks for the attempt, anyway! And no, actually, it's not a honeymoon. It's a celebration of P's 60th birthday (which is in May, but that's not as good a time for a vacation this substantial).

#215: Hi Prue and thank you for that recommendation. This is great. I'm developing a list of Glaswegian crime/mysteries to read between now and August!

Ha. Did a bit of research and was reminded that Gillespie and I by Jane Harris was set largely in Glasgow. I've already read it and liked it quite a lot.

And I'm collecting a good list of other authors to try.

Would second on the Lennox series by Craig Russell, Ellen. Wonderful stuff.
Also there is Alex Gray and her Lorimer Series.
For really good Glaswegian fiction try the works of William McIlvanney and his excellent novel Docherty.

For Manchester - some of the work of Howard Spring is set nearby. Fame is the Spur being one if I'm my memory serve and Time and the Hour is another.
Also as a help Ellen, go to the work page of Fame is the Spur which has Manchester as a tag. Click on that and it will give you other books with the same tag.

Unfortunately, Seattle Public Library doesn't have Lennox. Hrmph. This is clearly a call for me to go to a bookstore.

Powell's!

Morvern Callar

You know how bad my dumbth is? I can't focus on Pinterest or follow the plot of online porn. Bad.

>197 EBT1002: Is that an actual picture? It looks like a computerized image / photo-shopped print! It is gorgeous!!!

So excited for you and P!

#222: Lisa, yes!

#223: Another recommendation from the east coast. I like it. You are in bad shape, though, Richard.

#224: Hi Tina and yes, I do believe it is an actual photograph. I'm telling you, the Isle of Skye is amazing.

7. Two or Three Things I Know for Sure by Dorothy Allison
4.5 stars

This brilliant and boldly honest little memoir touched me deeply. Allison explores her southern working class roots, the meanings held therein for the women and the men of her family, the traps and trappings of false bravado and determined survival. Giving full voice to her experience of childhood sexual abuse, she barely flirts with the understandable self-pity and, instead, chooses strength of voice and strength of character.

Musing on the fate and demands upon the girls and women in her family:

Beauty is a hard thing. Beauty is a mean story. Beauty is slender girls who die young, fine-featured delicate creatures about whom men write poems. Beauty, my first girlfriend said to me, is that inner quality often associated with great amounts of leisure time. And I loved her for that.

And

The women I loved most in the world horrified me. I did not want to grow up to be them. I made myself proud of their pride, their determination, their stubbornness, but every night I prayed a man's prayer: Lord, save me from them. Do not let me become them.

And later, exploring the impact of the childhood rape and her efforts to transcend what this necessarily taught her about herself, her determination to define her own place in the world:

Two or three things I know for sure, and one is that I would rather go naked than wear the coat the world has made for me.

At moments poetic, certainly not linear, this memoir also lets the reader into deep sibling rivalries and adoration. Beautiful.

Still reading and engrossed in Five Days at Memorial.

And there's another book bullet for me, Ellen. Lovely review of what sounds like a moving book.

What great quotes you picked to use in your lovely review, Ellen. Adding that one to the WL. And I am loving the Scotland photos that you are featuring in your thread - so stunningly beautiful. Happy Thursday to you, sister!

Lovely review of the Allison book , Ellen. I've had it on my shelf for a while. Maybe I should pick it up soon.

Two or Three Things I know for Sure is on the TBR pile Ellen. What a nice review.

I agree with you regarding the security systems. I had one installed after the second burglary but only because the insurance company told my landlord that he had to do so. It isn't going to stop anybody from breaking in. It will only inform the police that an event is happening. I don't think that is much deterrent. It doesn't make me feel safer. A small dog with a big bark would do better. Unfortunately, my lifestyle doesn't allow this.

Very nice review, Ellen. I may look for that one at the library. I, too, am reading Five Days at Memorial. I was gripped throughout the first half, now that I've reached the litigation stage, it's a little slower going, but still good. What do you think?

ETA: you should post your review of Two or Three Things I know for Sure so I can thumb you. Your review will shine on the book page.

I posted my review of Two or Three Things I Know for Sure.

#228: Julia, it's a short and moving memoir. I hope you enjoy it.

#229: Hi Mamie! I'm glad you like the review and the pictures. I hope I can keep up with my Scotland theme all year! Thursday wasn't too bad; I hope Friday is quick and smooth! Tomorrow P and I are going out to dinner with friends and then one of the friends and I are going to see "Rigoletto" at the Seattle Opera. I hope I stay awake.....

#230: Beth, I think you would appreciate Two or Three Things I Know for Sure.

#231: Hi Roberta, I hope you enjoy it when you get to reading it!

#232: Hi Benita. No, my lifestyle isn't conducive to bringing a dog into it, either. My all too frequent 12-13 hour days away from the house would hardly be fair to a puppy.

#233: Hi Lisa. I'm still in the "gripping" part of Five Days at Memorial. The intensity of the pressure they faced and the critical decisions that had to be made --- and the images of the hospital surrounded by 15+ feet of water. It's quite engaging!

Thanks for the encouragement to post my review of Two or Three Things I Know for Sure. It's a different approach to a memoir.

I took Redwall on the bus with me this morning and read the first three chapters. Real Life Book Group, as much as I love you, I just can't do it. It's not even a YA novel; it's a children's book. My TBR shelves and wish list are too full for me to stretch that far outside my zone.

So, on the bus ride home I started The Blue Place by Nicola Griffith. Between that and Five Days at Memorial, I've got my weekend planned. :-)

Currently reading:



Happy Friday, everyone!

Ellen- Just checking in with my pal! Getting close! Glad you are enjoying Five Days. It's a terrific read.

^Was that a Benita sighting?

"Will your book group still love you if you don't read this month's book?" Stay turned, ladies and gents and we will hear more.

(I expect the answer will be yes!)

Have a great weekend, Ellen. Thinking about Portland... and then, about the Super Bowl. Whoooeeeee. What a great start to 2014!

Hi Ellen - I didn't think Redwall would be your thing. It was fun to read to my kids. :) It sounds like you have a great weekend planned.

I'm caught up in Five Days at Memorial, too, Ellen. What a tough situation.

I forgot to mention that I picked up a few books at the U Bookstore earlier this week:

Best American Essays 2013 edited by Cheryl Strayed
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner
A Game of Hide and Seek by Elizabeth Taylor (NYRB, sale copy)
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne (sale copy)
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (sale copy).

I could count four of these as Thingaversary acquisitions since January 20 was my 3rd Thingaversary, but I'm saving that for Powell's next weekend.
:-)

237: Hi Mark, and thanks for checking in. I'm getting excited about our Portland meet-up. You know I'll be wearing Seahawks gear.

238: Hi Karen. I'm hoping the Book Group will still love me. It won't be the first time I eschewed a book that was selected by our democratic process. I guess I will have to be okay if others do the same with books that I recommended or about which I am particularly excited.

Did you find a place to stay in Portland next weekend? Will Benny and Greta be coming along?

239: Hi Beth. You know, I was just talking with P last evening about my "thing" (or not-thing) with YA or children's books. I mean, I read a lot as a child. But I don't have children and I wonder if that is part of it. I care that there is good literature out there for children to read, and I'm vaguely interested in knowing what kind of things children's authors are writing about, but I don't need to experience it first-hand. When I have spent time with children, one of my favorite things was to read aloud to them (and, if I do say so myself, I was quite good at it), but that feels so different than just sitting by myself and reading something directed toward a 9-year-old.

240: Hi Joe! There seem to be several of us enjoying Five Days at Memorial at present. It sounds horrific. I hope I never have to live through what the residents of New Orleans lived through in late August 2005.

It's about time for a new thread......

Ellen, I found this discussion of your very question on TripAdvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g186534-i211-k1011374-Novels_set_in_Glasgow...

Looks like a fair number of crime novels, especially, and has some good references for further exploration.

Is it weird that I'm a bit sad for you that you don't enjoy children's books? I get such joy out of reading them - just a simple pleasure, I guess.

So anyway, don't mind the weird lady tottering through with her pile of kids' books...Ha!

Since you haven't started your new thread just yet (have you?), I still have time to comment-

>241 EBT1002: some goodies in your shopping bag! Yay, Empire of the Summer Moon, I just loved that. As hard as it is to read the gory bits. I also have The Memory of Love on my library WL, recommended by someone on LT.

I wonder if we should be worried that so many novels set in Glasgow are crime novels??

Ellen - I think you may have a point. I think I enjoyed some kids' books more because of my kids' enjoyment. For example, Harry Potter came after the time I was reading to my kids, and after reading the first one, while I understood why kids would like it, never felt the desire to read on.

I think I enjoy children's book, and YA books, because I like simple minded stories some times. I would not want to read these only, but as a part of my fare it seems OK for me. But you know..... to each is own around here!

I agree with Karen. Sometimes I like to read a simple story. It sometimes surprises me how satisfying that can be.

Getting caught up here after a couple of weeks of the LT grid and your review of the Forna novel, The Hired Man, has sold me on the book.

Happy Sunday, Ellen!

Ellen - I managed to find and buy Laidlaw by William McIlvanney this week which is considered in some quarters the archetypical Glaswegian detective story.
Have a great weekend.

Happy Sunday Ellen!

Hi everyone! It's been a weird weekend, but I have gotten to spend a chunk of it reading. I'm making good progress on Five Days at Memorial and I'm determined to finish it soon.....

244: Roni, thanks for the link. It seems that Glasgow has inspired some good crime novels. I've been having the same thought as Beth --- wondering if I should worry that crime/mystery seems to be the genre of the city.

245: Amber, I don't think it's weird at all that you're sad that I don't enjoy children's books! I take it as a sweet thought -- that you wish I could enjoy something that you so dearly enjoy. Thank you for that thought.

*smiles as Amber toddles through with a bag full of children's lit*

246: Hi Megan, nope, I said I was going to start a new thread and then I just disappeared from LT for a few days. But I'm back. :-)

I was pretty pleased with my small book haul. I considered it a training splurge, with the main splurge to come next Saturday. (oh boy)

247: Hi Beth! Yeah, I'm starting to worry a bit about the few days we're planning to spend in Glasgow......

Your comment about enjoying children's lit makes total sense to me. I also read the first of the Harry Potters and I also could see why folks would enjoy it -- and I simply had no desire to read more of them myself. For me, reading a children's book requires a child to enjoy it with me.

248: Hi Karen! Thank goodness for our "to each his own" culture around here. It would be very boring, I think, if we all enjoyed the same literature.

249: Hi Benita! I can understand the pleasure of a simple story. I think when I need something non-taxing for my brain, I'm more likely to watch something (Downton Abbey, Sherlock, Inspector Morse) than I am to read.

250: Hi Lori! I'm glad my review influenced you; I think you're in for a treat with The Hired Man.

251: Hi Paul! Well, now I have to put Laidlaw on my wish list. I hope they have a copy of it at Powell's next Saturday. Thanks for the weekend wishes. It's been a fine weekend if a bit unproductive.

252: Hi Roberta! And Happy Sunday back your way, too!

Yesterday ended up being the traffic-day-from-hell. P and I had some errands we had to do and it turned out that the whole city was just a mess. I spent more time in my car than I ever like to do (without getting somewhere) but we did get our errands completed. We also took a lovely walk through the arboretum and out to Foster Island. Then last evening we indulged in watching an old fave movie and sharing a bottle of champagne.

Today P has been down with a cold so I've been "on duty" with getting things done. I did take a walk to the library (about 30 minutes at a brisk pace, one way) to pick up a couple of books on hold. I decided to walk back rather than wait for a bus, so I got in my 10,000+ steps for the day. I've also been reading, reading, reading and that has been lovely.

Now the sun is sinking in the western sky and tomorrow is Monday. Sigh.

Ellen, I share your thoughts on reading children's books. I wouldn't enjoy reading them on my own, but sharing them with grandchildren is one of my greatest pleasures. I think I enjoy library Story Time as much as 3-year-old Haley!

I got a laugh about your 'training' book haul and saving the real Thingaversary books for your trip to Powell's. I like the way you think. I remember when you joined LT -- and I'm very glad you did. Have a wonderful meet-up in Portland!

^ Thank you for the kind words, Donna! It would not be overly dramatic nor an overstatement to say that LibraryThing has changed my life. For the better.