DorsVenabili (Kerri) Reads 75 in 2014 (Part 3)

Dolly Parton with Autoharp

Dolly! Needs no introduction. Here are some songs:

*"The Grass is Blue" (Performed by Dolly Parton; Songwriter: Dolly Parton) - This is a really good album from 1999! It has brought me hours of enjoyment over the years.
*"After the Goldrush" (Performed by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, and Emmylou Harris; Songwriter: Neil Young) - There's something adorable about these three ladies singing this particular song.
*"Daddy Come and Get Me" (Performed by Dolly Parton; Songwriter: Dolly Parton and Dorothy Jo Hope) - A weird one for sure.
*"Coat of Many Colors" (Performed by Dolly Parton; Songwriter: Dolly Parton) - No explanation needed.

     MAIN BOOK           AUDIOBOOK         SHORT STORIES           POETRY                   

All Reading by Month
*The star rating reflects my personal opinion. The objective rating is in parentheses. I've posted an overview of my rating system on my profile page.

Read in January:
1. Martha Quest - Doris Lessing (print book) (Objective Rating: 3.57/5.00)
2. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather (print book) (Objective Rating: 5.00/5.00)
3. Daughter of Earth - Agnes Smedley (print book) (Objective Rating: 3.86/5.00)
4. The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story - Tiwary, Robinson, and Baker (graphic novel) (Objective Rating: 3.79/5.00)
5. The Pure in Heart - Susan Hill (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 3.70/5.00)
6. The Camomile Lawn - Mary Wesley (ebook) (Objective Rating: 3.64/5.00)
7. Stay - Nicola Griffith (ebook) (Objective Rating: 4.00/5.00)

Read in February:
8. Loitering with Intent - Muriel Spark (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 3.93/5.00)
9. In America - Susan Sontag (print book) (Objective Rating: 4.00/5.00)
10. Intruder in the Dust - William Faulkner (print book) (Objective Rating: 4.43/5.00)
11. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - Ben Fountain (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 4.00/5.00)
12. Closed Doors - Lisa O'Donnell (print book) (Booklist)
13. The Forgotten Waltz - Anne Enright (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 4.00/5.00)
14. Last Night at the Blue Angel - Rebecca Rotert (print book) (Booklist)
15. Blue is the Warmest Color - Julie Maroh (graphic novel) (Objective Rating: 3.81/5.00)
16. Reborn: Journals & Notebooks, 1947-1963 - Susan Sontag, David Rieff (print book) (Objective Rating: ??/5.00)

Read in March:
17. Every Move You Make - Alison Fell (print book) (Objective Rating: 3.36/5.00)
18. Galveston - Nic Pizzolatto (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 3.43/5.00)
19. 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff (audiobook) (Objective Rating: 4.00/5.00)
20. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? - Jeanette Winterson (audiobook) (Objective Rating: ?/5.00)
21. Always - Nicola Griffith (ebook) (Objective Rating: ?/5.00)
22. Something I've Been Meaning To Tell You - Alice Munro (print book) (Objective Rating: ??/5.00)
23. Footnotes in Gaza - Joe Sacco (graphic novel) (Objective Rating: ??/5.00)
24. In the Shadow of the Banyan - Vaddey Ratner (audiobook) (Objective Rating: ?/5.00)

Read in April:
25. The Queen of the Tearling - Erika Johansen (print book) (Booklist)
26. Rescue Mode - Ben Bova and Les Johnson (print book) (Booklist)
27. Emplumada - Lorna Dee Cervantes (print book) (Objective Rating: ??/5.00)
28. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (audiobook) (Objective Rating: ??/5.00)

List of All Bookers Read:

Winners:
*The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973 winner)
*The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974 winner-shared)
*The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch (1978 winner)
*Life & Times of Michael K - J.M. Coetzee (1983 winner)
*Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner (1984 winner)
*The Bone People - Keri Hulme (1985 winner)
*Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively (1987 winner)
*Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle (1993 winner)
*How Late It Was, How Late - James Kelman (1994 winner)
*The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (1997 winner)
*Amsterdam - Ian McEwan (1998 winner)
*Disgrace - J.M. Coetzee (1999 winner)
*Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel (2009 winner)
*The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (2011 winner)

Shortlisted:
*The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald (1978 shortlist)
*A Five Year Sentence - Bernice Rubens (1978 shortlist)
*God on the Rocks - Jane Gardam (1978 shortlist)
*Jake's Thing - Kingsley Amis (1978 shortlist)
*Loitering with Intent - Muriel Spark (1981 shortlist)
*The Good Terrorist - Doris Lessing (1985 shortlist)
*Illywhacker - Peter Carey (1985 shortlist)
*Last Letters from Hav - Jan Morris (1985 shortlist)
*The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (1986 shortlist)
*Such a Long Journey - Rohinton Mistry (1991 shortlist)
*The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields (1993 shortlist)
*A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (1996 shortlist)
*Family Matters - Rohinton Mistry (2002 shortlist)
*Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood (2003 shortlist)
*Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro (2005 shortlist)
*The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid (2007 shortlist)
*Room - Emma Donoghue (2010 shortlist)
*The Lighthouse - Alison Moore (2012 shortlist)
*Narcopolis - Jeet Thayil (2012 shortlist)
*Swimming Home - Deborah Levy (2012 shortlist)
*The Testament of Mary - Colm Toibin (2013 shortlist)

Longlisted:
*The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon (2003 longlist)
*Elizabeth Costello - J.M. Coetzee (2003 longlist)
*A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian - Marina Lewycka (2005 longlist)
*Skios - Michael Frayn (2012 longlist)
*The Spinning Heart - Donal Ryan (2013 longlist)

Century (and a Half) of Reading Challenge:

I decided to clean the slate and start all over again (no time limit)!

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1927 - Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
1928
1929 - Daughter of Earth by Agnes Smedley
1930
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1937
1938
1939
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1948 - Intruder in the Dust by William Faulkner
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1952 - Martha Quest by Doris Lessing
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1981 - Loitering with Intent by Muriel Spark
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1984 - The Camomile Lawn by Mary Wesley
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1986
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1990
1991
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1999
2000 - In America bySusan Sontag
2001
2002 - Stay by Nicola Griffith
2003
2004
2005 - The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011 - The Forgotten Waltz by Anne Enright
2012 - Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
2013 - The Fifth Beatle: The Brian Epstein Story by Tiwary, Robinson, and Baker
2014 - Closed Doors by Lisa O'Donnell

Wow, loving the "After the Goldrush" version -- although I'd still have to opt for Neil Young. High school, you know. Fab song.

Congrats on the new thread, Kerri! I was curious to see which Dolly Parton pic you went for and that is a good one. Not sure how she can play the autoharp with nails as long as that.... I grow my nails until they impact my ability to type accurately and then they get cut down to size. ;-)

Coat of Many Colours is a fav of mine.

Kerri - Love Dolly Parton and for more than the two more obvious of reasons.
Her version of "I Will Always Love You" beats Whitney's for interpretative feeling.

Congratulations on your latest thread; Rock n Roll Princess (now with a Country tinge!)

Hi Kerri! I love the photo of Dolly Parton!! Wonderful.

Maybe I'll do a better job of keeping up with this thread.
:-)

eta: I just went and finished reading your prior thread. Your dilemma in finding the "right" photo of Dolly got my attention. I agree wholeheartedly that she is an amazing woman and I also get frustrated by the tendency of any and all conversations about her becoming boob-focused. It's almost like one "can't" take her seriously because of her body shape. She has had some regrettable moments but overall I enjoy her music.

Thanks for giving her the nod with your new thread!

My favorite Trio song will always be "Little Rosewood Casket" sung by Dolly. From the first album, and not YouTubed more's the pity.

#5 - Hi Suzanne - I probably prefer the Neil Young version too. I do think it's cute though that in the Dolly/Emmylou/Linda version, "I felt like getting high." becomes "I felt like I could cry." That always makes me chuckle.

#6 - Hi Lori - Good point on nail length and autoharp playing! I used to teach piano and I once had an adult female student who had the longest, most obnoxious nails. She never did cut them, but I tried hard to convince her that she wasn't going to get very far. Adults were always the worst students. Sigh.

#7 - Hi Paul - Yes! So many wonderful Dolly songs! So many terrible Dolly songs too and some of those are wonderful, cheezy, guilty pleasures, but I chose not to highlight those. :-)

#8 - Hi Ellen - I'm glad you're enjoying the Dolly thread! I would love to highlight more of my favorite female country singers this year, but I'm finding they weren't the most frequent wearers of shiny, outrageous costumes. :-(

It's almost like one "can't" take her seriously because of her body shape. Right. Although, I should probably point out that no one promotes Dolly's boobs more than Dolly, but still... :-)

#9 - Hi Richard - Oh, yes! That's a good one too! I just gave it a listen. I love those trio albums and the one without Dolly too. Some corny moments, but overall great stuff.

Oh Dolly Parton! I *love* her so, so much! I like all of her stuff, but something about her Little Sparrow album really speaks to me. That old time bluegrass feel is dear to my heart. Such a beautiful voice and a lovely person.

Also, my parents have told me that she wrote the song, Preacher Tom, about a close family friend and former family pastor, Tom Osborne, by whom I was baptized and to whom I grew up listening most every Sunday morning delivering lively and entertaining sermons. He's been gone several years now, but he was one of the kindest people I have ever met.

Hi Amber - You know, I have the other two blue grass albums, but I don't have Little Sparrow. I'll have to look that up on Spotify tonight. Thank you for the recommendation!

And very cool "Preacher Tom" story!

Congratulations on the new thread, Kerri! Nice pic up there of Dolly Parton. Good to see all the appreciation for her talent.

Lots of Dolly love here. She used to have her own TV show and my oldest son would come running when he heard the "Life is Like A Butterfly" intro. She has a beautiful voice but look at that hair!

Eta: Love is like a butterfly...darn iPad.

*waves hello to Kerri and Dolly's impressive hair*

Biggest. Hair. Ever.

:)

Happy new thread Kerri!

Hi, Kerri! Also a Dolly fan, not only for her music but for that personality of hers.

>215 DorsVenabili: (from last thread) re: book plot summary in reviews. I don't usually want to write one as it is available elsewhere, and I consider my review to be my reaction to that plot and its execution. But sometimes I do write one if I am feeling unimaginative :)

I think I am a closed Dolly fan, maybe a fan of the cult of Dolly. Yes, I think so. She is fascinating.

I think I'd enjoy her music more if she didn't promote her own boobs quite as much... It almost feels like an invitation to not take her talent as seriously.

Maybe true Suz but, boy, they are splendid specimens.

Hi Kerri- Congrats on the new thread! Great shot of Dolly. I listened to some of her earlier stuff, a few years ago and was really surprised at the depth of her talent. I really liked her work with Porter Wagoner too. I remember them guest-starring on Hee Haw. Didn't they also do a commercial, pitching detergent?
From the last thread: I had no idea Blue is the Warmest Color was based on a GN. Wow! I remember reading a review when the film came out and I noticed it just came out on DVD. I'll have to check the book out first.

Happy New Thread, Kerri. Love the Dolly.

Happy new thread, Kerri. I've always thought the Dollies are remarkable.

Lurking by to say hello.

Ah, Dolly. And The Trio. I think my favorite from that album is "Wildflowers", but it's hard to pick just one (pardon the pun).

#13 - Hi Joe - Thank you! It sure is good to see some constructive Dolly appreciation!

#14 - Hi Donna - Oh, my! I don't think I remember that show. I do know the Porter Wagoner show and have spent much time over the years on YouTube looking at old clips. Nerd! (Me, not you.)

#15 - Hi Micky - Impressive, indeed!

#16 - Hi Jim - It very well could be. :-)

#17 - Hi Heather - Thank you for popping in!

#18 - Hi Roni - Excellent! She's a fascinating woman. That's for sure.

#19 - Hi Megan - We are in agreement regarding plot summary.

I think you should fly your Dolly flag! But, yeah, the cult of Dolly is pretty weird. There's a recent documentary that follows several different sets of Dolly freaks around. These folks cross a line with their rabid fandom. It's a bit sad, really. I can't remember the name of the film. There's one about Tiffany too.

#20 - Hi Suzanne - I do get what you're saying and it makes me a wee bit uncomfortable too, but then it's Dolly, so I give her a pass. She was kicking ass as a songwriter in Nashville in the 60s, when female songwriters were a rarity.

#21 - Hi Paul - Eye roll!

#22 - Hi Mark - Yeah, that early stuff is great! Although, I'm not way into Porter Wagoner, so they don't tend to be my favorite country duet singers. You should listen to the blue grass albums from the late 90s/early 2000s. They are excellent too.

Didn't they also do a commercial, pitching detergent? I don't know, but I'm off to find it! That's all you had to say.

Blue is the Warmest Color, the graphic novel, is worth a read. It probably won't change your life, but it's a touching story, well told and the artwork is very good.

#23 - Hi Beth - Thank you! Glad to see so much Dolly appreciation!

#24 - Hi Diana - The Dollies?! I'll have to look that one up. :-)

#25 - Hi Ardene - Thanks for stopping by!

#26 - Hi Linda - Yes! That's a good one! My favorite is probably "Valerie" (I'm not the only one who likes "Valerie" a la "$1000 Wedding", am I?!), but I think that's on the one without Dolly. I know Emmylou sings lead on that one and she is, after all, my favorite. But she doesn't wear sparkly, outrageous costumes! Damn her!

***********************************************

I started a new novel this morning. It's called Every Move You Make by Alison Fell. It's a green Virago Fiction publication from 1984. I saw it in the store a while back and it looked cool. I really don't know what to expect, but it takes place in London in the early 80s and may be a good one for my blog. The blog that I'm not making much progress on, but I feel like if I keep mentioning it here, I'll shame myself into action. Ha!

Hi Kerri! Love Dolly. I have both of the Trio albums -- they're gold.

Have a great weekend!

Happy new thread, Kerri! What a prolific song writer Dolly Pardon has been - I never realized until I got older how many songs she had written that other people sang.

Wishing for you a weekend full of fabulous!

Kerri, I wanted to add a thank you for posting links to songs on your fabulous threads! I adore the song "After the Goldrush" that that trio performance is delightful. Three of my favorite voices.

Great Dolly picture, and great songs. But what about Jolene?

I have finally caught up with you, Kerri! Lovely photo of Dolly and I must say I adore The Grass Is Blue. I play it quite a lot. I don't think I have either of the Trio albums but I should. I also have a Merle Haggard version of her song "In the Good Old Days (When Times Were Bad)" which is just killer.

>28 AMQS: - Hi Anne - I agree! Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions (without Dolly) is very good too. My weekend has been relaxing. I hope yours has been as well!

>29 Crazymamie: - Hi Mamie - Yes! There's a cool story (I can't remember the details at all) about Dolly not letting Elvis take credit for a song she wrote. Or something like that. I'll have to find it.

>30 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - You're welcome! I'm glad people click on them. I love the trio albums. I'm not so into Linda Ronstadt (although she doesn't exactly bother me), but Dolly and EmmyLou are two of my favorites.

>31 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Oh! Well, I'll put it up there. I was thinking I would select just one wildly popular one, so I chose "Coat of Many Colors," but I probably should have added "Jolene" too. It's a good one. Thank you!

>32 rosalita: - Hi Julia - I'm glad you love The Grass is Blue too! Such a great album. I will check out that Merle song, although I admit to being a bit Merle resistant. I do occasionally try to listen to him and I like all that other Bakersfield stuff, so it doesn't really make much sense.

>33 DorsVenabili: You surprise me, Kerri. I thought anyone who could appreciate Buck Owens would naturally be a Hag fan. But I guess if we all liked the same things life would be pretty boring!

>34 rosalita: - Yeah, I know. It doesn't make any sense. Much like I try to listen to Pet Sounds once a year, so I can finally grasp what the big deal is (I haven't grasped it yet), I give Merle a whirl every so often. So far, nothing.

Kerri, I ended up buying one of the Trio albums from iTunes. It's good bus music. :-)

Jolene is so wonderfully melodramatic.

I liked Blue is the Warmest Color as well, although it got mixed reviews from my book group.

>36 EBT1002: - Oh, lovely, Ellen! I hope you enjoy it. I'm interested in learning about what makes something "bus music."

>37 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Indeed it is melodramatic, and I still have to post it up there!

What did your group not like about Blue Is the Warmest Color? My biggest complaint is that the text was a little clunky at times, but I wonder if that was a translation issue. I think we may watch the film this evening. I'll let you know if I laugh at the sex scene.

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Finished two books. I'll post some brief comments on Galveston next. I jotted some stuff down on Every Move You Make, but I have to clean it up a bit, as it doesn't make much sense. Maybe this weekend. By the way, both novels were duds. And because they were duds, I feel like I'm slipping into a book funk and the only way to cure that is to read a Nicola Griffith novel! So, I started Always this morning.

Title: Galveston
Author: Nic Pizzolatto
Publication Year: 2010
Format: Audiobook
Personal Rating:
Objective Rating: 3.43/5.00

Roy Cady, a terminally ill career criminal, hits the road with a young prostitute after a job goes bad. They make their escape along the Gulf coast, from New Orleans to Galveston. A bit disappointing! I thought the man who created the amazing HBO crime drama True Detective would deliver a juicier, twistier, and more satisfying novel than this, but I was wrong. The novel's most glaring problem is its pacing. It starts with a bang, but the long middle section bogs down in scene after scene depicting dull seediness that's not particularly interesting or crucial to the story. Then a gigantic pile of information is dumped on the reader towards the end, but by that time, I was so bored and irritated that I didn't care anymore. That being said, maybe I'm just upset that my expectations weren't met, and perhaps the novel does work as an atmospheric, character study of Roy (who, but the way, is a scary pig, which would normally be fine, but I kept feeling like the author was trying to get me to like him and I hate that.) Although I don't recommend this (ha!), I sort of want others to suffer through it, so I may learn what they think. I have a feeling this may not be as bad as I believe it is, and I just had an emotional connection problem.

Fun Fact: As in True Detective, Lone Star Beer and derrieres play prominent roles.

" Although I don't recommend this (ha!), I sort of want others to suffer through it, so I may learn what they think." HA! indeed. I love that idea. Not sure I'm volunteering, though.

>38 DorsVenabili: DorsVenabili I think that most of the group was not familiar with graphic novels and this hampered appreciation. Several people thought that the plot wasn't well enough fleshed out, and that there were some really unlikely scenes. Like why did she let Emma wander through the house naked when she knew her mom had insomnia?

>40 laytonwoman3rd: - Are you sure? You might like it. :-)

>41 banjo123: - Several people thought that the plot wasn't well enough fleshed out. I get this. I find that nothing I've experienced in the graphic novel world can compare to the greatness of Alison Bechdel and Joe Sacco. Their stuff is so intricate, robust, and text heavy. I just have to accept the fact that graphic novels are typically not like that, and I have to judge them for what they are. It seems most of them are art vehicles and that makes perfect sense and it's totally ok. I like that too. I did have an adjustment period though. I was never a comic book person, so I didn't have a history with this sort of thing when I started reading graphic novels.

Like why did she let Emma wander through the house naked when she knew her mom had insomnia? Oh, yeah. I had that thought too, but it didn't overshadow the good parts. I thought it was overall quite good - touching love story (and I typically hate love stories) and I thought that Maroh nicely depicted the complexity of Clementine's sexuality. You don't get that every day, that's for sure.

>39 DorsVenabili: well, the first sentence of your review makes it sound very interesting! But, if there is no point in reading on....I won't.

Kerri - I understand the idea of misery loving company, but I will pass on Galveston. Nice comments, though.

>43 LovingLit: and >44 BLBera: - Hi Megan and Beth - I would say it's not worth a read, but I have some doubts about my opinion being universal. It might resonate more with others. I think I was hung up on a few things that annoyed me. Also, I highly recommend the television show True Detective. It's amazing.

Hi Kerri- I am planning on starting the audio of Galveston tomorrow. Will I be sharing your misery or will I find it worthwhile? The suspense is already killing me.
I also picked up the GN of Blue Is the Warmest Color, from the library. See how I follow you around like a puppy-dog?

>46 msf59: - See how I follow you around like a puppy-dog? Ha!

I don't know...you might like Galveston. I have to admit that the appeal of the noir thing totally escapes me. I know True Detective falls into this category, but the story is gripping and fantastic too, so at least I have something besides bleak, sleazy atmosphere and hard-ass characters to latch on to. And the Matthew McConaughey performance, of course.

Happy Saturday, Kerri! I must say I am relieved to finally get caught up here and manage not to get hit by any book bullets. I sure enjoy your reviews of books that you don't like much, though!

#48 - Hi Julia - Glad to have not shot you with a book bullet! However, I'd LOVE to read something that totally blows my mind. Other than Death Comes for the Archbishop, it's been a pretty lackluster year so far.

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I forgot to mention that I'm listening to 84 Charing Cross Road. I know this is universally gushed over, but so far I'm finding it's nothing beyond cute. I'm about 20% through the thing. Am I just a heartless jerk? I suppose that's always a possibility. Ha! I mean, I haven't gotten very far, so perhaps I'll soon eat my words.

I certainly don't think you are a heartless jerk, Kerri. I loved 84, Charing Cross Road but I think it does grow on you as you keep reading. I wonder if the audio format is causing it to be less than engaging? There was something very charming about seeing the letters looking like actual letters on the page.

>50 rosalita: - I wonder if the audio format is causing it to be less than engaging? That's always a possibility, but this is actually a well-done narration (and the shortest audiobook EVER, which played into my decision to start it). There's both a male and female doing the voices. I haven't gotten that far, so I suppose things could change.

Kerri, how are you? I love Dolly's hair in the first picture... I was heading for the hairdresser anyway, so thanks for the inspiration.

Hi Kerri - I think Julia might have a point about actually seeing the letters vs. listening. No way are you are heartless jerk. But it might not be the right time for you.

I kind of agree with Julia, too. I'm not sure I would have liked the book nearly as much with someone (no matter how good) reading it to me. Also, I found the letters quite funny in parts - does the humor come through on audio?

Regardless, you are not a heartless jerk!

>52 PersephonesLibrary: - Kathy! How are you? I'll have to seek out your thread. And do share a photo of your new Dolly-do. :-)

>53 BLBera: - Hi Beth - I'm picturing the letters in my head though. Does that count? I'm about halfway through it now. Still not surpassing cute. And, really, there's nothing wrong with cute and heartwarming (or is there...), it's just that I don't get all the 5 star ratings for this thing.

>54 katiekrug: - Hi Katie - Yes, the humor does come through on audio. I'm not totally convinced that audio is a bad format for this book, but maybe I'm wrong. And, of course, maybe something will click for me in the second half, and I'll have to come back here and eat my words. :-)

Morning Kerri- What did you think of True Detective? I liked it. It had a Silence of the Lambs feel to it, with a creepy high-concept killer. I'll miss that show.
I should wrap up Galveston today.

>56 msf59: - I loved it! It's a difficult thing to satisfactorily wrap up a crime drama like that and they did an outstanding job. I was a wreck during that scene, much like I was when I saw Silence of the Lambs. What a great show. Holy cow.

I am curious to see how they follow up with the next installment. Big shoes to fill. Now, I will wait for GOT.

Hi Kerri,

I will chime in to say that, heartless jerk possibilities already tossed aside, and regardless of the narrators, 84, Charing Cross Road is one book that I think would lose something on audio. Still, I hope it improves as it goes.

> 55: I'm great, thank you! :) I'm slowly getting back in to my old reading habits and I'm so happy to be back on LT. Haha, I don't think the whole Dolly-do will fit into one photo...

>58 msf59: - Hi Mark - Yes, I've heard it won't involve a serial killer, but more conspiracies and corruption. That sort of thing. I'm looking forward to GOT too!

>59 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - I just finished it, and actually don't think the audio format had a negative effect on my experience (it's a very simple and straight-forward book.) And just to clarify, I certainly don't think it's bad. I think it's quite nice actually - heartwarming, touching etc. I get that it's good (and I gave it a 4-star objective rating), I just didn't get profound-effect-on-me greatness from the thing.

>60 PersephonesLibrary: - Hi Kathy - Haha, I don't think the whole Dolly-do will fit into one photo... Good point! :-)

*************************************************

My next audiobook will be Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, the Jeanette Winterson memoir. I know her novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is semi-autobiographical, so it will be interesting to see how they differ. I mean, it's not like I remember much about the novel, as it's been years since I've read it, but still...

>61 DorsVenabili: - Oh, if we're talking about "profound-effect-on-me greatness," then I agree with you. It's a lovely book and one I enjoyed immensely and to which I will return, but it didn't change my life or anything. I gave it 5 stars because I enjoyed it so much :)

>62 katiekrug: - Okay - I'm glad we cleared that up then. :-) But really, the reason I brought it up in the first place is because, seemingly, the whole world has given it 5 stars and that's what baffles me. I don't think I've come across a more highly rated book.

Morning Kerri- I listened to the Winterson memoir too and it was terrific. I love how scrappy and tough she is.

Hi Kerri! All caught up here, and I have enjoyed your Search for Greatness on the 84, Charring Cross Road book. Now I get your mystification because you were looking for "profound-effect-on-me-greatness". I gave it five stars but not because it changed my life - my five stars simply meant that I absolutely and completely enjoyed it and that I will read it again. I suspect that a lot of people gave it five star ratings for the exact same reason - it was charming. But it didn't make me think about life differently - I guess my rating system is more based on how the book makes me feel. So more arbitrary and less scientific - five stars from me will apply to light and whimsical as well as deeply profound because I tend to rate according to genre. So, in my system, 84 Charing Cross Road ties with The Grapes of Wrath ties with Garden Spells ties with To Kill a Mockingbird - they all moved me and I completely enjoyed reading each of them. It was a flawless experience for me, so each gets a perfect score even though the subject matter and the weight of the writing cannot really be compared. Does that make any sense?

>64 msf59: - Hi Mark - Yes! It's immediately captivating. I love it. And I just realized that Jeanette Winterson is the reader, so that's cool too. She's doing a fine job.

>65 Crazymamie: - Hi Mamie - Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! It all makes perfect sense. I do want to say that I, of course, think it's totally valid to love any book to any degree and for whatever reason. The only thing that got me with this one is the universality of the love for it, paired with my own lack of said love. It made me feel a bit like a mutant (I'm not trying to be contrary), but that's fine, I suppose. My star rating is very personal too (the other rating is a - possibly futile - attempt at objectivity), and I'm very open to giving genre fiction five stars and have in the past.

Also, it occurs to me that I'm probably immediately suspicious of any book or film that makes me feel good. That's probably rather unhealthy, but it is what it is.

I love how you think about things, Kerri! I had never heard of the book before joining LT, and then, like you, I kept seeing all the high ratings for it, which is what prompted me to secure my own copy. I think mood enters into it so much, too. I think that I could read the exact same book in two different moods and it would get two completely different ratings - so my rating are totally subjective, which means that they should probably be accompanied by a date and a report on my current state of mind when finishing the book. Ha!

>66 DorsVenabili: "...it occurs to me that I'm probably immediately suspicious of any book or film that makes me feel good."
Well, I don't know if that's healthy or un-, but it makes total sense to me. I have a bit of that kind of skepticism, but I also agree with Mamie (and I know that a bunch of us have said this a bunch of times) that mood has so much to do with my reaction to a book at any given time. I have a feeling that when I read this book I was in need of something with a heavy note of hope. In any case, I'm glad you enjoyed 84, Charing Cross Road and I certainly agree that it did not fall into the changed-my-life category.

I get the sense that you are perhaps done chatting about 84, Charing Cross Road, so.....

In other news, I thought of you last evening during my meet-up with Joe, Debbi, son Jesse, and Karen. We dined at the Elysian Brewpub and I had a pint of the Avatar Jasmine IPA. That and my veggie BBQ sandwich made for a fine meal and the company, needless to say, was delightful.

I hope you are having a good week, Kerri!

Hi Kerri - I am always a little suspicious of universally hyped books, too. I never love them as others do. Have a great week.

I'll probably eventually read 84, Charing Cross Road. It's on my wish list. I just haven't managed to get to it yet. If I don't start reading more this month, I'll never get to it.

>67 Crazymamie: - Hi Mamie - Yeah, it wasn't on my radar either, before LT.

I had a big discussion on my thread last year about subjective versus objective ratings. It's an interesting topic, and I see both sides. I do both now and find that, most of the time, they match up, but then there are books like A Confederacy of Dunces, which I personally found rather awful. Subjectively, it's probably a two star read for me, at most, but is it a bad book? Of course not! It's just a good book that I happen to hate. What is my point again? I lost my train of thought. :-)

>68 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - I'm not sick of talking about it, but I do feel like I'm coming across as a bit of a jerk, and that's not my intention. (But I can't stop!!) Anyway, I do think mood plays into my enjoyment of particular books at particular times, and lately I'm trying to ward off a book funk, so there's that. Still, 84, Charing Cross Road is not the kind of thing that would send me over the edge on any day. I did like it though. I just didn't love it.

Oh, the Avatar Jasmine IPA! I do look forward to that!

>69 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Yes. There is the thing about universally hyped books. It's hard to live up to that promise, although I'd like to think I can still see the greatness in something anyway.

>70 thornton37814: - Hi Lori - It's definitely an incredibly short read. You could probably finish it off in one sitting. So there's that.

>71 msf59: - Hi Mark - Ha! Nice.

Morning Kerri- I wanna stay home! Wah!!

Sending you Happy Wednesday greetings, Kerri! Is it still horrific winter there? (I'm assuming yes from Mark's post, and figuring I could go check in the news.....).

Hi Kerri! I really enjoyed 84, Charing Cross Road but I can completely sympathise with the feeling of not loving a popular book as much as everyone else is - I seem to be doing that a lot lately. For me, it's a cosy, feel-good read rather than a life-changer. But I'm not consistent with my ratings and I suspect sometimes I give cosy, feel-good reads 5 stars just because.

>72 DorsVenabili: You are not coming across as a bit of a jerk, you are coming across as someone who didn't find 84, Charing Cross Road to be their new favouritest-ever book which is completely ok :-)

You also raise a good point about ratings when you haven't enjoyed a book but know it's a good book. I don't think my ratings are very consistent at all but I try to explain that's how I felt in my review. For me Midnight's Children was the book. I can see it's an amazing literary feat, I can acknowledge that it probably is worthy not only of winning the Booker prize but of winning the Booker of Bookers. But whilst acknowledging that, I still didn't enjoy reading it.

Hi Kerri - I'm glad we don't all love the same books. It would be so boring.

I hope Kerri isn't lost in a snowdrift.

No snowdrift, just busy at work! I will be back tomorrow morning with responses. Popped in to update my currently reading.

I hear you, Kerri. I have been so busy I have been neglecting my LT peeps.

Stopping in to with you a weekend full of fabulous, Kerri!

Hiya, Kerri.

Have you read Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris? I hesitate to recommend it if you weren't wowed by 84 Charing Cross Road (I loved it), but it's awfully good, and hits the sweet spot for people who love to read. I'd never heard of it until an LTer (Anne - NarratorLady) recommended it.

One of my take-aways from LT is that taste in books is idiosyncratic and personal. And I love all the recommendations here, but they can be a double-edged sword. I was just telling another LTer that it's almost better when I go into a book with low expectations. When I pick up a book expecting to be blown away, I usually end up grumpy.

As far as ratings, mine are pretty subjective, but if I think somethings good, but just not my cuppa; I try to take that into account.

Hi Kerri. I've just found out Hild is being published in the UK later this year :-)

Kerri - Happy Birthday to the Rock n Roll princess. Rock on sweet lady, rock on!

^Have a great day Kerri! Cheers, my friend!

Happy birthday!

HI Kerri - It's your birthday? Many happy returns. Celebrate!

Happy Birthday, Kerri!

It's your birthday? I knew it came around this time of year but wasn't sure of the exact day. The Ides of March. You'd think I'd remember that.

In any case, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Kerri!

Happy Birthday, Kerri!! I hope it's the best one yet!

>73 msf59: - Hi Mark - That was a sucky day indeed!

>74 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Yes! It was horrific, but it's improved, although I think they're predicting snow tonight.

>75 souloftherose: - Hi Heather - I'm guessing that if 84, Charing Cross Road wasn't wildly popular and I read it, I would be recommending it as a delightful, cute read (and I do recommend it, actually!). There definitely is a thing about unusually popular books never quite living up to the hype. Oh, well.

Thank you for not thinking I'm a jerk! Sometimes I feel like I'm a contrary cranky pants on my thread.

I actually have a slightly different barrier to Rushdie. I've never read him, but every time I see his smug self on a talk show, I want to run from the room. I can't stand him. I do realize that's totally unfair and I probably will read him some day, but it is what it is.

>76 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Indeed it would be boring!

>77 EBT1002: - Says the woman who regularly disappears for days at a time... :-)

>79 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Yes, busy day, but I hope to visit a few threads. I do try and I do have a method. It just takes me a long time to get caught up with everyone.

>80 Crazymamie: - Thanks, Mamie!

>81 jnwelch: - Hi Joe - I have not, but I will check it out. I do enjoy books about books. Actually Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? has the life-saving quality of literature as a main theme. And I really did like 84, Charing Cross Road. :-)

>82 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Agreed. I guess, luckily, a lot of what I read isn't wildly popular.

if I think somethings good, but just not my cuppa; I try to take that into account. Yeah, I kind of think this is important, especially when dealing with not-quite-established authors. I hate to see careless one and two star ratings.

>83 souloftherose: - Hi Heather - Yes! I heard that! How awesome! I think you'll like it.

#84 - #91 - Thank you for the birthday greetings to Paul, Mark, Heather, Beth, Mamie, Ellen, Rhian, and Amber!!

Happy Birthday, Kerri!

Adding my best birthday wishes to the pile. :)

Happy Birthday!

Happy (belated on the east coast...) birthday!

Ooh, happy birthday, Kerri! It still is your birthday here, so it definitely counts.

>49 DorsVenabili: (re: 84 Charing Cross Road) Am I just a heartless jerk?
LOL
Answer? No, you are not a heartless jerk (imo...well, that I know of anyway!) But I think we can apply a universal theory here. That not every book is for every person. I liked the 'jauntiness' of the author, and her very un-Britishness. And the way her un-Britishness was responded to by the very British respondents.

And yes- Happy Birthdayness all around!

#93 - 97 - Thank you to Katie, Micky, Rhonda, Suzanne, and Roni for the lovely birthday words!

>98 LovingLit: - I liked the 'jauntiness' of the author, and her very un-Britishness. And the way her un-Britishness was responded to by the very British respondents. Yes! I liked that very much too, and I thought the audiobook narrators did a wonderful job of pulling this off. (See? I liked it. I sincerely did.)

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Amazon gift card birthday haul:

*Hunger by Knut Hamsun (curious)
*The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens (I love Bernice Rubens)
*The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna (I loved The Hired Man and want to try this)
*Harmonium by Wallace Stevens (poetry)
*View with a Grain of Sand: Selected Poems by Wislawa Szymborska (poetry - an LT Joe recommendation.)

Other books obtained lately that I haven't posted:

NYRB subscription books:
*On Being Blue by William H. Gass
*During the Reign of the Queen of Persia by Joan Chase (I actually read this last year. Oh well.)

Ebooks (I've been pretty good lately):
*Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
*Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Nice birthday haul, Kerri. I will read Hunger this year.

Have a great Sunday.

...is THAT why the cake looks like this...

Oh dear, I missed it! Sorry, and happy belated birthday to you, Mme Kerri.

Hi Kerri. Yes, it's true that I also disappear for days at a time. But I'm glad you weren't lost in a snowbank. :-)

I recently acquired The Memory of Love, as well.

Have a good week!

I'm sorry I missed your birthday, Kerri. I hope it was delightful.

Happy belated birthday to you, Kerri! Hope if was a good one.

Oh, I do hope you're not headed for a book funk -- those are awful. I'm sorry 84, Charing Cross Road wasn't a life-changing experience for you. I did love it, and reread it often (the fact that it's so short helps:). For what it's worth, I heartily second Joe's recommendation for Anne Fadiman's Ex-Libris. I have also been disappointed when I didn't love a wildly beloved book, but as Megan and others have said, not every book is for every person.

>100 PaulCranswick: - Hi Paul - I believe you're doing a Nobel challenge, right? I'm looking forward to Hunger. I read something recently that convinced me that I should read it, but I can't remember where it was or what it was. Ha!

>101 richardderus: - Hi Richard - The purple, melty cake makes up for everything. :-)

>102 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - It looks like most of the snow has melted! I'm hoping we get no more. I don't think I can handle it.

I'm very much looking forward to The Memory of Love.

>103 rosalita: - Hi Julia - Thank you! I had a lovely birthday - out to dinner with family, etc.

>104 AMQS: - Hi Anne - Thank you! I'll definitely check out Ex-Libris.

Book funks are awful. Even though it's been a bit disappointing, it helps that I'm currently reading my favorite comfort series - the Aud Torvingen series by Nicola Griffith. We'll see how I feel when I try something more challenging next.

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Reading updates:

I finished Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? last week and it's fantastic. I highly recommend it. It's a memoir by Jeanette Winterson that covers similar ground as her semi-autobiographical novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, except, in real life, her insane, religious nut, adoptive mother was even more nasty and crazy. Told with warmth and humor, she covers her issues with identity, sustaining relationships, the search for her real mother later in life, her love of literature and how it got her through rough times, and growing up working-class in the 60s and 70s in a town just outside Manchester. Lovely, gorgeous writing. Great, great, great. Also, I listened to this as audiobook and Jeanette Winterson is the reader. I've not always had great success with authors reading their own books, but it really works here.

I started the audiobook of In the Shadow of the Banyan Tree today (actually it was the third time I've tried to start it in the past few days). The narrator's voice is grating on my nerves a bit, but I will try to carry on.

ETA: Fixed rather awful grammar error.

Jeez, I think I'm way late with Happy Birthday wishes, Kerri. Hope the celebration is continuing. You deserve a birthday week, don't you think?

I know my MBH has read Jeanette Winterson and been quite taken by her writing. I'll check on whether she has read Why Be Happy, as I'm sure she'd like it if she hasn't.

>106 jnwelch: - Hi Joe - Thank you! I think we all deserve birthday weeks, yes. At least freedom from making the bed and being able to choose the music on car trips. That sort of thing.

I'm curious to learn what Debbie has read. I'm definitely going to read more Winterson now. I really liked Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, but I wasn't super-crazy about the fairy tale interludes and have always feared that her other fiction will have a fairy tale/magic/fantasy element that I tend to not be crazy about. However, now I've determined that I love her writing so much, that I can put up with that stuff if it's there.

I read Winterson's Written on the Body recently and can definitely recommend it.

Hi Kerri- I hope you had a perfect birthday weekend. I am glad you loved Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?. I was crazy about it too and NEED to get to Oranges.
I also have The Memory of Love in the stacks. Do I see a mini-G.R. in our future?

I checked Debbi's library, Kerri, and it's those two that she has read: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal. I'm pretty sure it was the second one she particularly liked, and talked about a lot.

>108 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Great - thank you! And it's not tagged "magical realism" or "fairly tales" like many of her other novels. Yay!

>109 msf59: - Hi Mark - Yes, it was lovely! I forgot to mention that Joe got me Emmylou Harris tickets too!

I think you will like Oranges. Very similar subject matter, although I actually liked the memoir better.

Do I see a mini-G.R. in our future? You never can tell!

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As thread visitors may have noticed, I've been a review writing failure this year (erm, and maybe last year too). I've decided that instead of putting pressure on myself to write coherent, thoughtful reviews, I will just jot down thoughts off the top of my head in a post right after I read it (like I did in #105 above.) This way, I'll have said something and made some record of my thoughts. Of course these little notes may lack depth, coherence and grammatical accuracy, but at least it's something. I've just been too busy with other stuff lately, including work, Bookliststuff, and the blog thing, and I never seem to have time to say anything about the other books I've read, and that bugs me. I'm here primarily to record book thoughts, so I'm determined to do that in some small way. Thank you. Carry on.

>110 jnwelch: - Hi Joe - We were cross-posting. Oh, then Debbie and I have had identical experiences! I'm going to try the one Rhonda recommends next - Written on the Body.

Kerri - It's nice to have you here - and your comments are more than enough. If I want to know more about a book, I can always ask, right?

Belated happy birthday wishes Kerri. I just don't seem to get around the threads like I would like to so I'm pretty much belated in just about all congratulations LOL. I thought I would mention that I ended up not loving 84, Charing Cross Road so yes, I'm the one person on LT who didn't care for it beyond it being a very mildly entertaining book. I ended up giving it 2 stars but that was back in 2009 and I never wrote a review or even jotted down a few pithy comments, so I can't tell you what exactly didn't appeal. But obviously, not much did. You have managed to get me interested in the Jeannette Winterston book so thanks for that:-)

>113 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Thanks. Really, I just want a pre-excuse for when I say stupid things like "adopted mother." That's not right! Ha! I should probably go change it...

>114 brenzi: - Hi Bonnie - Thank you for the birthday wishes and please don't worry about the belatedness. I wouldn't have mentioned it on my own anyway. It's always the rascals Paul and Mark who let the cat out of the bag. :-)

Where were you last week? We could have bonded over 84, Charing Cross Road ambivalence. Ha! Although, I think I liked it a tad more than you.

I do hope you try Why Be Happy..., especially if you like a good memoir and/or books that talk about how much we love books (we all love that around here, right?)

Hi Kerri! Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? sounds excellent -- and your comments are absolutely enough to help me know that.
So, I'm putting it on the wish list.

I'm definitely in for a "birthday week".... You'd have more time to congratulate... But in this case I just wish you a happy very belated birthday, Kerri. Did you get any book-related presents?

>116 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Yes! It is excellent. I hope you enjoy it.

>117 PersephonesLibrary: - Hi Kathy - Thank you! I did spend some Amazon gift cards (see >99 DorsVenabili:). And I may be going on a used bookstore romp on Saturday, so I'll probably be posting another book haul soon.

*************************************************

Reading updates:

I finally finished Always by Nicola Griffith! It was a bit long and the last (and my least favorite) of her Aud Torvingen novels. It was, however, satisfying in that comfort-read sort of way. (Since it's the last in the series, I'll have to identify what makes this a comfort read, so I can find another series or type of book to take its place when book funks are looming.) Anyway, my biggest issue with this one is the presence of flashback scenes that tell the story of a self-defense course that Aud taught back in Atlanta (the main action takes place on a long trip to Seattle.) These scenes are part of a secondary crime storyline, but I found them tedious. It literally felt like descriptions of self-defense classes in real-time and there were about 15 of them! Although, I suppose if I look on the bright side, perhaps I've inadvertently absorbed some ass-kicking techniques, so I guess it's not all bad. Other than that (although that was a big distraction), it was pretty satisfying - an interesting crime to be solved, lots of scenes with Aud's politician mother (who is also visiting Seattle), a well-done love story, and vivid descriptions of Seattle. I prefer the first two in this series (especially Stay), but if you want to be a completist this won't kill you, and it has several redeeming qualities, as noted.

I started Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco. It's a graphic novel that explores the 1956 mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis. Sacco is a favorite of mine, so I'm pleased to be reading this.

Morning Kerri- Yah, for Emmylou Harris! I am a big fan too. I have the Sacco on my To-Read list.

>119 msf59: - Hi Mark - I am very much looking forward to Emmylou! I saw her once before and she was terrific.

Glad to hear the Sacco is on your reading list. I liked Palestine, but found it a bit snarky and slightly distanced from the subject matter. I've heard this one is better. You probably know this, but you don't have to read Palestine first. They are about two different sets of events.

Oh, I loved Safe Area Gorazde so I will look forward to your thoughts about Footnotes in Gaza.

*Kicking myself in the tail for missing your birthday*

Happy belated birthday, Kerri!!! I hope it was lovely! Looks like you had a good book haul!

LOVE the Dolly thread topper!! My favorite songs are Jolene and Coat of Many Colors.

I like to sing with "Islands in the Stream" but some guy in high school always made boob jokes out of that song, so I can't sing it without thinking of that time period and giggling a bit, so that nixes that one out of my top picks for "serious" Dolly songs. ;)

>118 DorsVenabili:: Great birthday books! I heard much about Hunger but somehow it is not on my priority list... Yay about the bookstore romp - looking forward to you acquisitions. I gave up to make a list of all my new books, because at the moment I come home with a new one every day.

Sacco is great! I like his reports very much - despite the heaviness of the topics. I'm already curious about your thoughts.

>121 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - I loved Safe Area Gorazde too. It's my favorite so far, but the current read is also excellent. Even though I have an unofficial rule about not spending my history-reading time on major wars that I learned about in school, I may read his WWI graphic novel this year. He's just so good.

>122 TinaV95: - Hi Tina - Thank you for the birthday wishes! It was a lovely weekend.

I'm glad you like the Dolly stuff. It's really embarrassing to admit this, but I've never made the "Islands in the Stream"/boob connection until just now. Ha! And it's so obvious! Thanks for the laugh.

>123 PersephonesLibrary: - Hi Kathy - I will most definitely post my acquisitions!

Regarding Sacco, I remember last year when I read Palestine, I chose not to make comments, due to the unpleasantness of discussing politics on the interwebs, but I may say a few words about this one, once I'm done.

As a side note, I checked the book out of the library and it's gigantic. It's a hardcover and the size of a coffee table book. As it's not feasible to tote it around in my backpack, I can only read it at home, so it may take me a bit longer than the typical graphic novel.

*******************************

Today's Kindle Daily Deal includes five books by Italo Calvino for $1.99, so I purchased Invisible Cities. I've never read him.

^ See. If I had a Kindle, I'd be in on that kind of thing.
It's clearly going to happen.

*heading off to library website to put more Joe Sacco on hold.

Hi Kerri. I like your non-reviews and you have definitely got me interested in Jeanette Winterson's Why be Happy. I also need to read Oranges....

OK, I'll succumb to the final Aud Torvingen book... I probably would have done so anyway, but I confess I'm very curious to see what happens between Aud and her mother -- that dynamic is, ahem, intriguing.

I'm very tempted by a Calvino book. But which one? Sigh.

Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler is the only post-modern novel I have every truly enjoyed. Enough that I have several of his other novels on The List to try out at a future date.

>125 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - When I first got my Kindle, I found myself clicking that button perhaps a bit too much, but, thankfully, I've calmed down. The good thing is I now have a large library of books on my ereader (of course some of them are useless things like Great Foil Pack Camping Recipes!), so, on trips, I'm never without something to read!

>126 souloftherose: - Hi Heather - Thank you! I think it's eliminated some pressure. I do think you'll like Why Be Happy, and like I said to someone else, I would actually recommend it over Oranges, although that's very good too.

>127 Chatterbox: - Hi Suzanne - Yeah, it's definitely the weakest of the three, but if you skim the self-defense stuff (the important bits don't really happen until the end of the book), that makes it better. It's much longer than the other two as well. I think Griffith has said she's not writing any more of these, but I wish she would! It's not like it comes to any definitive conclusion. I will miss Aud. :-(

****************************************

Reading thoughts:

I finished Something I've Been Meaning To Tell You, my first Alice Munro experience. This is a wonderful collection of short stories! I'm giving the entire collection four stars, but particular stories stood out for me as 4.5 and 5-star reads, including, "Something I've Been Meaning To Tell You," "Material," "How I Met My Husband," "Forgiveness in Families," and "Tell Me Yes or No." The stories themselves are, on the surface, small in scope, but they all beautifully articulate difficult-to-pin-down aspects of human relationships, both romantic and platonic. Most stories revolve around the lives of women, often sisters, and the various layers of their relationships - love, dependence, jealousy, etc. I'm typically not a big quote-poster, but Munro has some zingers. Here are a few snarky ones that probably make little sense out of context, but I enjoyed them, so I'm sharing:

"'I wonder will she ever get married?' remarked Viola, not at random." (Ha!)

"Why is it a surprise to find that people other than ourselves are able to tell lies?" (Bam!)

"Both blond, both easy blushers, both cold mockers." (I just like that one.)

Highly recommended. I look forward to reading more Munro in the future.

Reading updates:

My next short story collection is A Bit on the Side by William Trevor. While perhaps not the short story collection I'm most excited about starting, it belongs to a work colleague and I do want to return it to him eventually.

Also, I was reading someone's thread the other day and another poster on that thread (I cannot remember which thread or who the poster was) mentioned Daily Lit. A few years ago, I signed up and tried to read something ancient Greek in nature and wasn't feeling it. Yesterday, I went back to my account and decided to try something I was more likely to enjoy, so that's why I've listed The Trial up there in my "Currently Reading" post. I'm now reading that book in little daily installments. We'll see how it goes. Admittedly, I'm skeptical.

>128 MickyFine: - Hi Micky - Cross-posting again! If on a Winter's Night a Traveler is the one I'd most like to try, but it wasn't on sale, so I purchased the next most popular. Maybe I'll borrow it from the library.

So that's the only postmodern novel you've enjoyed in your whole life? :-) Fair enough, I suppose.

I am so not a po-mo fan. Generally, if someone says something is po-mo, I will run in the opposite direction.

>131 MickyFine: - It's like cilantro: A dab'll do ya.

Actually, it's such a big, difficult to define umbrella. I find I enjoy much and hate much. Kinda hate Don DeLillo and Kurt Vonnegut (maybe hate is a strong word). But I got a lot out of Blood and Guts in High School and one of my favorite novels - The Intuitionist - is sometimes called postmodern. Also, sometimes when it's called postmodern, other people yell at the ones calling it postmodern and say it's not postmodern at all, which is itself kind of postmodern.

Clearly it's time for a beer.

Hi Kerri - To get in on the post-modern discussion. I loved the Pynchon I read earlier in the year and also loved A Visit from the Goon Squad, both considered post modern. It IS a big umbrella.

Nice comments on the Munro collection. I haven't read that one. I loved the quotes. I will add it to my Munro "to reads."

Tell me about the Daily Lit thing; I'm not familiar with it.

I hope that the Trevor hits the spot just as the Alice Munro. Two arch craftspersons at work there.

The younger Rascal ( >115 DorsVenabili: ) just thought to stop by and wish you a wonderful weekend. xx

*Happy weekend wave*

>133 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Yes! A Visit from the Goon Squad! I loved that novel! I forgot about that.

Here is a link to DailyLit: https://www.dailylit.com/. You choose a novel you want to read and they send you daily installments of it, via email. You determine how much is sent each day and which days. Perhaps a bit silly. It's mostly public domain stuff, although it looks like they have non-public domain too, but I'm not sure if you have to pay for that.

>134 PaulCranswick: - Hi Paul - Oh, right! You're the big Trevor enthusiast around here. It will be my first attempt. For some reason, he's never interested me, but I'm going into it with an open mind. I've actually had some really great reading experiences when it starts with me being skeptical and cynical about the material, Brideshead Revisited probably being the best example.

>135 wilkiec: - Thanks, Diana!

thanks Kerri - I really need dailylit because I don't have enough to read... It sounds interesting. I'll check it out. Have an outstanding weekend.

Kerri, the short story collection by Alice Munro sounds great. I've got one collection at home (Zu viel Glück) but I haven't had the time to read it yet. Looking forward to it though.

>111 DorsVenabili: Short, sort of mini-reviews, if you will, are what I do, too. I'm too lazy busy to compose anything more serious, and it would take some of the fun out of finishing a book, for me. So hear, hear! Yay for short reviews!

Also, I think it's Morphy who uses Daily Lit...

Thanks for the link, Kerri. Now I have signed up for dailylit -- I will see if it works for me. It's kind of what I do anyway, take the harder books in little chunks.

I am all for the mini-reviews. Sometimes a book really gets me thinking, and I have a longer review's worth of things to say, but a lot of times a paragraph or two is enough to give the gist without spoilers.

Mini-rant--which I am putting on your thread, because I can. Since the new LT features were unveiled, I find that I keep writing posts, and have them disappear before I post them. Especially it I use the preview feature. Does anyone else have this problem?

>137 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Ha! Of course you need DailyLit! And thank you. My weekend has been quite lovely (see book haul below, which is part of the loveliness.)

>138 PersephonesLibrary: - Hi Kathy - The Munro collection I read is a good one! I hope you enjoy her when you try her. My next Munro will probably be A View from Castle Rock.

>139 scaifea: - Hi Amber - Yes! I'm not even sure if my mini-reviews are that much "worse" than what I had been producing when spending more time, so there's that. :-)

Ok, so it was Morphy. While I don't know her, I do thank her for the DailyLit reminder!

>140 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - It's a little weird reading classics in an email, but I'm hoping it works out for both of us.

I agree with your review assessment. Sometimes, if a book has no, or few helpful reviews (like Blood and Guts in High School), then I can see spending some time being thoughtful, but I unfortunately don't have the time to do that for every book and it's nice to eliminate the pressure.

Hmmm. I have not had your disappearing issue. My problem is spacing out while I'm writing a post and navigating away from the page and then closing the tab. Now, I always copy constantly as I go, or if it's something long, I sometimes write it in notepad and then copy it here.

***********************************

Book Hauls!

Yesterday, I bopped around the city with a dear friend and we went to Myopic books. Here are my purchases:

*Lark & Termite by Jayne Anne Philips
*Call It Sleep by Henry Roth
*Life and Death of Harriett Frean by May Sinclair (VMC)

Today, I went to the Half Price Books near my home, because I had a coupon for today only (I had to go.) I bought the following:

From the $2 shelves!:
*The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
*The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
*The Ides of March by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (No idea, but it's a Europa and it's called The Ides of March, so it was a no-brainer to pick it up.)
*Challenge by Vita Sackville-West (newer sort of VMC)

From the regular shelves:
*A Kind of Intimacy by Jenn Ashworth (A Europa and the plot description sounds interesting.)
*The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings by James Baldwin (Lovely copy. I hadn't gotten around to purchasing this yet.)
*The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (Europa and recommended by friend)
*Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros (poetry)
*Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (newer sort of VMC)

Kerri - Outstanding haul. I loved THe Elegance of the Hedgehog - also a French film available on Netflix. I have several books by Hijuelos and have been meaning to read him -- maybe we'll have to do a group read to push me to it. The Ashworth sounds interesting.

Kerri, I can't believe you think Great Foil Pack Camping Recipes is "useless"!!!! Ha!

I have The Remains of the Day on the TBR shelf and I've looked at The Ides of March -- maybe I'll pick up a copy next time I see it. I also have a copy of Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont on the shelf. I used to have a copy of Mambo Kings Sing Songs of Love but never got around to reading it. Maybe I'll nab another copy and join you and Beth....

As I believe you know, I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog on a vacation about 3+ years ago and I loved it. I hope you enjoy it, too.

I hope you have a great week and that spring arrives in Chicago one of these days.

What a great book haul! As I thought that The Elegance of the Hedgehog has been overrated, I'm very curious how you will like it.

Oh My Goodness! You've got a March birthday too!!!!! Sorry, it's belated but best wishes for a fabulous year! and never to last for a beer toast. Cheers

>142 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Oh, right! I forgot there's a movie version of The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I'll have to check that out. I've never read Hijuelos either, but that book (and maybe a few of his others) are on one of my wroking-class fiction lists. I think it was a movie too.

>143 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Well, it's useless if one never camps! Ha! I do grill though, so there's that...

I actually loved the much maligned Never Let You Go, so I'm very much looking forward to The Remains of the Day, which I know is much more well-received.

Group read of Mambo Kings...!

I hope I have a great week too, and I hope you have one. It's going to be busy, but I'll pop in when I can. I'm sort of doing LT, via the Pomodoro Method that Rhonda told me about. It's working out well.

>144 PersephonesLibrary: - Hi Kathy - We have one slight thumbs down on The Elegance of the Hedgehog. Interesting... I'll probably read it at some point soon, so I'll keep you posted on my reaction.

>145 Carmenere: - Hi Lynda - Thank you! Beer is always welcome here and everywhere else I might be. (Do you have a March birthday? I'll check.)

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Reading Updates:

I finished Footnotes in Gaza this morning. In it Sacco tells the story of the 1956 mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis by Israeli forces. It's actually as much about the process of (and difficulties involved in) piecing together a disputed piece of history, as it is about the actual events (and that's fascinating too!). And on top of that, Sacco is conducting his interviews in 2003, during both the Second Intifada and the start of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, so many of the interviewees are preoccupied with the current horror of their everyday lives and are a bit baffled that Sacco is asking them about 1956 (My home was just bulldozed! Stop bothering me about 1956!) This is a graphic novel, and the bulk of it is made up of eyewitness accounts of Palestinians who lived through the events. However, at the end, Sacco reprints several crucial primary documents that he used to piece the story together, including UN documents, minutes from Knesset meetings, newspaper reports, and interviews with Israeli defense persons. This is very good, and I recommend it.

This morning I started How to Read a Poem by Good ol' Terry Eagleton. Since I've been freaking out about poetry lately, it seems a good time to give this another try.

Hi Kerri - "Pomodoro Method"?

>140 banjo123: I have noticed that if I don't post my message, and then navigate to another page (like a book page, which I've often done to check a fact for the post), whatever I typed is lost. I'm sure that wasn't always true. But I don't use the preview feature, so I don't know about that.

>141 DorsVenabili: may I just say that you comment (twice!) that you haven't a clue "but it's a Europa", made me laugh out loud for the first and only time today. So, thank you!

I am one of the few people who HATED Elegance of a Hedgehog. I actually gave it up in disgust. But I LOVED Mambo Kings; which was one of the first books I read that wound truth and fiction together so that I hardly knew which was which. And I also liked Remains of the Day . So I think you have a good haul.

Morning Kerri- I have not been by in awhile. Bad Mark! I did finish the GN, Blue Is the Warmest Color, which I really liked, especially the artwork and I started watching the film version last night...what a slog. Did this need to be 3 hours? Really? And it veers away from the GN considerably. This was a Cannes winner?

>129 DorsVenabili:- Loved your review and quotes. Hope you enjoy Castle Rock even more.

I loved Lark & Termite. I wish this had received more LT love. I know some didn't care for it. What??
The Remains of the Day is excellent. My first Ishiguro.

>147 BLBera: - Hi Beth - It's when you work intensely for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. I change it up and work intensely for an hour and take a 7 minute break. Nerd!

>148 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda!

>149 Chatterbox: - Hi Suzanne - Huh?! They're pretty and I collect them. What can I say? :-)

>150 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - You hated it?! Controversy - How exciting! :-) Now I'm really curious about this book. Glad to see your endorsement of Mambo Kings though.

>151 msf59: - Hi Mark - I'm glad you liked Blue Is the Warmest Color, the graphic novel, but sorry you're not enjoying the film. We were going to watch it a few weeks ago, but then realized it was three hours long, so watched Francis Ha instead, which was cute. I do want to see Blue Is the Warmest Color though. It's a slog!? It's hard to understand what they're cramming into three hours, as I believe one can read the book in one hour. Ha! Of course, now we are watching House of Cards, so it will be difficult to add films into the mix. It's very good.

So glad you enjoyed Lark & Termite! I'd actually not heard much about it.

************************************************

Reading Updates (nothing completed):

*Still plugging away at the audiobook of In the Shadow of the Banyan. :-|

*I continue to be completely slain by Emplumada (poetry). I think I have read "For Virginia Chavez" 30 times. Also amazing is "For Edward Long" and, of course, "Uncle's First Rabbit," which I think is maybe her most famous poem.

*How to Read a Poem is both difficult and entertaining, as expected.

I hope everyone is having a lovely Tuesday.

You should probably see the film for yourself and decide. I like the 2 leads and I liked some of the sex scenes, but even that is way to much. I still have an hour and 10 minutes to watch. LOL.

I really enjoyed Frances Ha. I love that film-maker.

>153 msf59: - I'll get around to watching it eventually. Three hours is a long time! Dang! I could break it up though, like you're doing. Yeah, we were discussing the sex scenes on my last thread. I've heard all negative things, actually, but I'll be a trooper and watch them and judge for myself. Ha!

I normally love French film and foreign film and do not mind the deliberate pacing but this was tedious. Unless, it really pulls together in the last hour and 15min and I eat my venomous words.

Kerri and Mark,
I have a copy of Blue is the Warmest Color which I'll probably read this weekend, and I definitely want to see the film. I'm wondering what is "way too much," in your experience, Mark.

Kerri, I will be interested in your reaction to TEotH. You've got lovers and haters here.

Happy Thursday!

ETA: Oh, now I've read Mark's post #155, I see that the film is tedious. Darn. I hate tedious.

Hi, Kerry. All this activity, here--NOT tedious!

>155 msf59: - Hi Mark - I don't at all mind deliberate pacing...or lack of plot for that matter (ha!), so we'll see. I'm dying to know if you've eaten your venomous words. Keep me posted!

>156 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Oh, you can read Blue is the Warmest Color in one sitting. I hope you like it! As I've said, while not great and amazing, it's touching and well done, with lovely artwork.

I've noticed that Mark is kind of a hard-ass curmudgeon when it comes to film and television, so that's a good thing to keep in mind. :-) (Hi Mark! Smooch!).

>157 ronincats: - Hi Roni - No, probably not tedious. Ha!

>158 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - It certainly is!

***********************************************

Reading thoughts:

I finished the audiobook version of In the Shadow of the Banyan. This is a fictionalized account of the author's actual experiences in Cambodia during the brutal (and batshit crazy) Khmer Rouge regime. What a horrifying and heartbreaking experience! It's an important story to tell, and Ratner does a decent job telling it. She's technically a very good writer. However, despite putting a lot of effort into embracing this narrative, I was largely bored and unengaged throughout (and, people, I was really trying). She writes a lot of lovely descriptive passages and they're pretty and nice, but also a bit lackluster, soulless, and without any sharp edges, if that makes any sense. Also, it's told in past tense/first person from the point of view of an adult writing about her seven-year-old self. I wonder if there isn't something awkward and emotionally distancing about that for me (although I've never noted problems with this in other novels). I'm not sure, but I must admit I was glad when this thing ended. Sorry. Gosh, I feel guilty that I didn't love this, but it is what it is.

Reading updates:

*The next audiobook up is The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. It's short and I want to read all the Booker winners. Admittedly, this thing doesn't appeal on paper, but I have an open mind.

*I must momentarily set aside the Terry Eagleton book (I'm at the halfway point), because I have one (or maybe two) Booklist books to read/review in a short amount of time. The first is a fantasy number called The Queen of the Tearling. The other will be sci-fi.

Happy Friday! Hoping to get around to some threads today and this weekend. I've been dropping the ball in that area.

Hi Kerri,
I love your honest comments about In the Shadow of the Banyan. "...without any sharp edges..."
That makes total sense to me. What a great way of putting it.

I will be interested in your reaction to The Sense of an Ending. I loved it less than others did but can't recall why now.

I liked The Sense of an Ending but I wonder how it will work on audio... Of course, my listening habits/routine are probably different from yours but I can't do books that require a lot of concentration on audio.

Hope you have a great weekend, Kerri!

Happy Friday Kerri!

You've reminded me that I've been meaning to try some Munro. And Mrs Palfey at the Claremont is an excellent book - I hope you enjoy it!

Hi Kerri! I was also underwhelmed by In the Shadow of the Banyan. If you are looking for something on the topic I can recommend the memoir When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him

Hi Kerri - Nice comments on In the Shadow of the Banyan. I haven't read it because it sounded so much like First They Killed My Father, a memoir, which I recommend. It is told from a young girl's point of view, though, so that might not work for you. Loung was only about five when her family had to leave the city.

>122 TinaV95: It was something terribly stupid like "What does Dolly Parton sing while she's __________ (in the shower, taking a bath, swimming the backstroke).". Truly terrible that I remember that joke when I can't remember any other jokes ever!

Guess I've always been a breast woman and just didn't know it!

I liked/loved In the Shadow of the Banyan in spite of the lack of sharp edges (which is a great way of putting it!) because I thought it was an honest way to address the difficulty of writing a memoir based on such a young child's memories, which I always though would be tricky.

The Sense of an Ending was a book that I confess at the time I almost felt bullied into liking more than I did. It's not that I didn't enjoy the caliber of the prose -- which was high -- but more that I felt that Barnes was dealing with an old and VERY tired theme, that of middle aged/aging male looking back over his life. And he didn't do it in a way that was in any respect fresh or engaging, beyond the caliber o the writing. It is more novella than novel, and the writing is very good, so I don't think you'll feel that you will have wasted your time. I do think I prefer Barnes's non-fiction, his earliest novels and his short stories, however.

^ Yep, that was how I felt about The Sense of an Ending. Middle aged male angst. Whatever. I predict you'll not love it, Kerri.

Although I also agree that the quality of the prose is high, and that's an important dimension in my own experience of a novel.

Nothing at all intelligent to say, but here's Rosewood Casket for your delectation.

>167 EBT1002: Middle aged male angst

My thoughts exactly - and I do resent the fact that middle-aged male angst is frequently considered a more literary theme than middle-aged female angst!

Hi Kerri - So, it will be interesting to see your thoughts on The Sense of an Ending. Rhian - yes! So true. Have a nice weekend; I hope you don't have a long "to do" list.

>169 SandDune: Enthusiastically agree. The latter too often is relegated to a category dismissively referred to as "women's fiction" or "Aga saga". Puhleez.

>169 SandDune: and >170 BLBera: and >171 Chatterbox:
We are of the same mind on this issue.

Wow! Lots of visitors! I had a busy weekend, but finally have some downtime. I think I may go for my first bike ride of the year if it warms up just a tiny bit more this afternoon...

>160 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Yeah, I tend to like a bit of raggedness in my art, I guess. It's a thing. This book was like when you're watching one of those singing contest shows (I mean, I don't actually watch them, but I'm imagining the experience.) and you come across someone with a technically lovely voice, but it's all slick, over-produced, and boring. That's how I feel about this.

>161 katiekrug: - Hi Katie - I actually haven't started it yet, so I'm not sure how it's going to go. I did read the first couple pages, via Amazon preview, and, while it will probably require quite a bit of concentration to consume as an audiobook, I think it's doable.

>162 souloftherose: - Hi Heather - Yes! That's what I've been meaning to tell you! (get it?) I'm looking forward to Mrs Palfey at the Claremont. I had meant to read much more Elizabeth Taylor in 2012, but it didn't happen for some reason.

>163 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Now I remember your comments! I knew there was someone else out there who didn't absolutely love it. I actually have When Broken Glass Floats on my wishlist, due to your recommendation. One thing I came away with after reading In the Shadow of the Banyan is that I'd like to explore some non-fiction on this topic.

>164 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Thank you for that recommendation! As stated above, I'd like to explore this topic further. I think I've always been a bit overwhelmed by the horror and bizarre nature (and very recent occurrence) of it and have avoided learning more about it. Is the memoir you recommend actually written in a child's voice!? That seems very odd, but I have an open mind, even though, as you know, child narrators are not my favorite thing.

>165 TinaV95: - Hi Tina - Oh, boy! I'm going put that joke in my pocket and save it for a rainy day.

I'm very glad my thread could, in some small way, help you arrive at the realization that you're a breast woman. Ha!

>166 Chatterbox: - Hi Suzanne - Yes, I agree that it's an effective way to get around the difficulties involved in childhood memories. While I did mention the first person/past tense issue in my comments, I don't think it was the main reason the novel didn't work for me.

>166 Chatterbox:, >167 EBT1002:, >169 SandDune:, >170 BLBera:, >171 Chatterbox:, >172 EBT1002: - Suzanne, Ellen, Rhian, and Beth - Oh, my! The middle-aged male angst/mid-life crisis thing. That is the precise reason why I've avoided this novel. As I've stated before, it happens to be one of my least favorite things on the planet. I suppose to clarify, I'd add straight, white, and economically privileged to the definition. I agree with everything you have all said on the topic and don't have much more to add. You've all sort of covered it while I was away. All that being said, I have to admit that I enjoyed Herzog for some reason, the quintessential mid-life crisis novel. Go figure.

>168 richardderus: - Hi Richard - Thank you! I love that song! However, I do not love the ill-conceived, 1980s, poofy mullet that Emmylou is sporting on the cover. :-)

>168 richardderus: and >173 DorsVenabili: That is a lovely song. I'm shocked, Kerri, that you don't dig Emmylou's hairstyle. Shocked, I tell you.

>174 EBT1002: - This is my eternal head picture of Emmylou:



Sigh.

That's a great picture of EmmyLou!

HI Kerri - Great picture of EmmyLou -- I didn't recognize her without the white hair. It's been a while since I read First They Killed My Father, but I think she does tell the story from a child's perspective, which works because of her age when they had to leave their homes. I thought it worked.

My Emmylou headshot's always this one:

Hi Kerri- I thought I had stopped by with my thoughts on the film version of Blue is the Warmest Color. Oversight. I did not like the film. It's at least an hour and a half to long and it veers far from the book and not in an engaging way. I know the film was well-received, so maybe it was just me.
Sorry, In the Shadow of the Banyan didn't work for you. I really liked that one. I hope you had a nice relaxing weekend. Meet-Up, in just 3 weeks. Yah!

re In the Shadow of the Banyan, I'll bet you're right that it has something to do with the adult voice telling it as a long ago memory. I'll bet that was the only way she could face it. I read Long Way Gone which isn't about Viet Nam at all, but it was an equally disturbing time. Beah wasn't too far from the experience when he wrote it, and I listened to it on audio so it was like having a survivor telling you what he had just escaped. Wow.

And it's the end of March & this is the first chance I've had to swing by to see your shiny country star! Dolly is looking classic though. No outrageous pleather or rhinestones.

And I missed your birthday, so here's a late cake. Don't let Richard have a piece.

>178 richardderus: Oh, pretty! I love her to bits.

>176 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - I know, right?

>177 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Indeed. Perhaps I'll check out First They Killed My Father. I'm also interested in a straightforward history on the topic as well. I'll have to do some research.

>178 richardderus: - Hi Richard - Ooh, that's good too. Emmylou really rocks the grey hair. Kind of bummed out about the plastic surgery she's had though. I wish people could just get old. It's ok.

>179 msf59: - Hi Mark - Thanks for the movie update! I figure it must have veered far from the book, given its length. I'll still check it out at some point.

I have the meet-up on my calendar! Do you have any info on it? Location, etc?

>180 cammykitty: - Hi Katie - Thank you for the lovely and bizarre birthday cake!! Wow.

Regarding In the Shadow of the Banyan, I believe the author chose the first person/past tense, primarily due to issues of memory. I sort of agree that it's the best way to tackle a childhood experience like that, but still... Also, to clarify, this is about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia (1975-1979). I would like to go on record to state that I perceive a gigantic difference between the Khmer Rouge and the Viet Cong.

>181 scaifea: - Hi Amber!

Just dropping by to say hi, Kerri!

Morning Kerri- The Meet Up will be at my house. At 2pm. We'll have food of some sort. Of course, I will have beer but feel free to bring some if you want. I'll supply you with my address, if you need it.

>175 DorsVenabili: Emmy Lou was such a sweet looking lady back in the day. Love her 70s albums and some of the backing vocals she did here and there including Dylan's Oh! Sister.

Meet-up and Beer at Mark's place. Enjoy. Jealous. A bit.

>175 DorsVenabili: Right on.

Hey! Meet up for beer at Mark's place? Rats, I'm with Paul. Jealous.

Got a bottle of "Enjoy by" which I will enjoy in five minutes. :-)

>141 DorsVenabili: love that book haul! I can feel the excitement of *having* and *holding* all those books.

Meet-up and Beer at Mark's place. Enjoy. Jealous. A bit.
If by "a bit", Paul means "a whole heap" then we are on the same page :)

^I think Paul was practicing his understatement skills. :-)

xo, Kerri.

>183 thornton37814: - Hi Lori!

>184 msf59: - Hi Mark - Oh, lovely! Of course, I'll bring some beer. Let me know if you need any food items.

>185 PaulCranswick: - Hi Paul - Wasn't she? I would certainly say so. Isn't she all over that album - Desire? I'm not wildly familiar with it, and I actually gave my album copy to a friend recently, because she loves Bob Dylan and had recently given me a large box of her dad's old country records.

Oh, well, I think I speak for all Chicagoans when I say we're looking forward to the Cranswick USA tour!

>186 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Hey, I'll see you in September!

I hope you enjoyed the Enjoy By. We bought a few bottles and it's marvelous!

>187 LovingLit: - Hi Megan - It was certainly an exciting book haul! Now I just have to deal with the fact that I'm officially out of shelf space (um...by a lot).

More jealousy!

>188 EBT1002: - You think? :-)

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Reading Updates

Not having much time (and perhaps motivation, but mostly time) for reading this weekend, I'm a bit behind. I have two rather large books to read and review by the 17th. The first is The Queen of the Tearling, which I'm about 140 pages in and finding quite good. The other will be a Ben Bova/Les Johnson novel about Mars called Rescue Mode (no touchstone).

I started the audio of The Sense of an Ending yesterday (finally) and I found it immediately engaging. I mean, I still might hate it, but at least it's well-written. However, I have not been in an audiobook mood lately and have been listening to mostly music on my train walks, so this may take a while...

Finally, I'm abandoning DailyLit. Kafka via email is definitely not working. Oh, well.

Kafka definitely needs to stay out of my e-mail. Yes. I don't think DailyLit would work for me with anything...maybe short poems, but that's it.

Hi Kerri- Sorry to hear about the semi- book funk. Sounds...dreary. Sending positive vibes...

I started the Fifth Beatle and was engaged immediately. I think it is very well done. I've read a couple terrific Beatles bios over the years and was always intrigued by Epstein.

BTW- Agent Zigzag is an excellent audio. Just sayin'...

Hi Kerri - Happy that you're enjoying The Sense of an Ending. I like the title The Queen of the Tearling. I haven't heard anything about it but will go and check it out.

I think you are right about EmmyLou and Desire. I love that album -- am I dating myself? I still call them albums.

>190 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda - And that goes for Plato and Nietzsche too! Bam! Yeah, it's just not a great format for me.

>191 msf59: - Hi Mark - I'm doing pretty well with print stuff. It's really just the audios I'm having trouble with, and, actually that usually happens after I listen to an audiobook I'm not crazy about.

I loved the artwork in The Fifth Beatle, but thought the narrative was a tad thin. Like I was saying to someone else a while back, I think I'm just spoiled with the richness of Joe Sacco and Alison Bechdel graphic novels.

Hmm. Agent Zigzag. I've never actually read a spy novel. Perhaps I'll try one.

>192 BLBera: - Hi Beth - No farther on The Sense of an Ending, but perhaps I'll listen to some on my way home.

The Queen of the Tearling is getting tons of buzz and promotion. I'm not always positive why publishers do this, because it sometimes seems to backfire. I'm enjoying it though. It's medieval-vibe (but not exactly) fantasy with a kick-ass female protagonist.

You are not dating yourself! I buy vinyl LPs and that's actually what I was talking about in this case. We actually have a very cool record player (image below). I also still use the word album to describe the artistic product of taking a specific set of songs, recorded around the same time, and placing them in a specific order, for maximum effect. So either way, you're making sense to me. :-)

Love the record player! I still have some albums but no player. I will remedy that one of these days.

I'll wait to hear your opinion about The Queen of Tearling - I trust your judgment.

We still listen to vinyl from time to time...mostly stuff that was near and dear to me in my teens and twenties, that never was replaced by newer formats in our house. We have a turntable, open reel tape deck, cassette deck and CD player all hooked up to an amplifier and pre-amp that my husband built himself decades ago. You can sort of see it all here, if you look past my feet (in homemade socks, not of my making, which were the point of that photo when it was taken a couple years ago!)



(Thumbnail is clickable)

>195 laytonwoman3rd: Impressive! (both the audio setup AND the socks!)

>193 DorsVenabili: - OMG! I love your record player console!

>193 DorsVenabili:, >197 lkernagh: Yes, I meant to say what a beautiful, classic piece of furniture that is. I wonder if styles will ever return to making our "equipment" look less technological.

>194 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Thanks!

I'd be happy to send you the book, once I finish it.

>195 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda - Ooh, very cool set-up. Nice. We have a modern stereo upstairs, but don't have a tape deck attached anymore. However, having been an 80s teen, I am very familiar with cassette tapes, and still have many of my old ones.

Fantastic socks too!

>196 Chatterbox: - Hi Suzanne - Agree!

>197 lkernagh: - Hi Lori - Thanks!

>198 laytonwoman3rd: - We were thrilled to find it. We got it for a decent price through a mid-century dealer guy. We would like to beef up the speakers a bit though, so we're looking into that.

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Reading Updates:

Still reading and enjoying The Queen of the Tearling. It should be a good reading weekend, as I have no choir accompanying and the only thing on the agenda is attending my friends roller derby event on Saturday night.

Still no progress with The Sense of an Ending. :-| But I have been revisiting some of my old favorite music that I hadn't listened to for ages. Of course I'll share, even though there's probably little interest in sad songs about a robot.

Anyway, one of my favorite albums of all time is The Sophtware Slump (2000) by Grandaddy. It's a concept record involving the relationship between technology and loneliness/isolation (that is what I would say, anyway). It's pretty sad. So, my two favorite songs on the album involve a clinically depressed robot named Jed (see below). Listening to these songs made me realize that one of my favorite things in the world is the successful pairing of sincerity and absurdity. Please note that I don't know if the magic of these songs is apparent without multiple listenings, as they are a bit dirge-y.

*"Jed the Humanoid"

*"Jed's Other Poem"

>193 DorsVenabili: Wow I love that player. Just the thing for Billie Holliday, Ornette Coleman and some grainy blues stuff.

Have a lovely weekend, Kerri. Rock n Roll Princess seems still more apt given your mahoganyed music deliverer.

Vinyl is so cool! For some music, it's definitely a much better sound.

I don't have any vinyl, I am afraid. I wasn't really very good at hanging on to things when I was younger, and then CD's seemed so much more practical. And now--it's all on my phone!

We had an old stereo that wasn't quite like that one in your photo but definitely similar. I played many a record on that player, not to mention the radio that got a lot of use! I think the reason I stayed so slim back in high school was because of that radio. I'd come home from school and while no one else was in the house, I'd crank up the radio and dance the afternoon away.

Morning Kerri- Just checking in with my pal. Hope you have a nice weekend planned. I LOVE that Grandaddy album too. I also like "Sumday". I did see him at the Vic years ago. Good stuff.

>200 PaulCranswick: - Hi Paul - Thanks! From now on I'm going to call it "mahoganyed music deliverer." Nice. :-)

>201 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - I know what you mean. I started off with cassettes in the 80s, so I didn't really have the LP experience as a young person, other than what we had in the house (mostly via my older siblings). I'm making up for it now, of course.

>202 thornton37814: - Hi Lori - Very nice! We had some sort of large console thing too, but it was more an ornate 70s thing, and not very high quality.

>203 msf59: - Hi Mark - Oh, cool! Was it the one where they opened up for Elliott Smith? I was there too. It's a noteworthy show, because it was the only time I saw Elliott Smith where he wasn't a poo-head.

>204 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Thanks! Although I feel like I'm missing context.

Morning Kerri- I can't remember who the opener was for Grandaddy. I don't think it was Smith though.
We FINALLY made it to Half Acre yesterday. What a nice tap room and I LOVE their beer, although we missed Double Daisy Cutter by a week. BOO! I have yet to try that one.
Hope you have a good week.

>206 msf59: - Hi Mark - Actually, Grandaddy was opening up for Elliott Smith, so I'm guessing it wasn't the same show.

I love Half Acre - That is a nice tap room! They have some cool stuff that's not bottled. We stopped in at Church Street Brewing in Itasca on Saturday, because we were in the area. Pretty good, although nowhere near Half Acre, obviously.

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Reading Update:

I finished The Queen of the Tearling and liked it. Since it's for a Booklist review, I can't post my comments, but I'll be very interested to learn what other people think of it when it comes out. As I mentioned before, there is a lot of hype surrounding it, which can be problematic. :-|

Also, I started Rescue Mode by Ben Bova/Les Johnson, also for Booklist. While probably not obvious based on my reading choices since being a member of this group, I will actually read any hard science fiction about Mars exploration. True story. I find it fascinating. I've liked the other Ben Bova Mars stuff, so this should be interesting.

And sort of related to literature, I'm seriously exploring the possibility of getting involved in roller derby. I believe the only thing that could stop me is my neck issue, so I'll have to chat with my doctor and the league about this. Anyway, (and I must thank Joe for this), the derby name at the top of my list is Kathy Axer (I'm also experimenting with more than one x, as in Axxer and Axxxer.) Get it?! The other option is Dors Venabillyclub, but then I feel like I'm celebrating the billy club, which isn't cool... Sigh.

So, busy week ahead at work (working all weekend, etc.), but I'll try to visit a couple threads per day. I hope everyone is doing well. Happy Tuesday?

Hi Kerri - How about Xathy Axxxer. I like the x's. Related to literature? Happy Tuesday back at you.

>208 BLBera: - Hi Beth - It's a play on Kathy Acker. No? Anybody? Ha!

Ohh - it took me a minute -- the poet?

>210 BLBera: - Yes - poet, novelist, cultural icon.

"I'm seriously exploring the possibility of getting involved in roller derby..."
Awesome! I can't wait until you post a photo of yourself in full gear, possibly including a black eye. Not that I wish upon you a black eye, but it just seems like it might happen. I think the name Kathy Axer is cool, regardless of how many exes you use. I like the reference to Kathy Acker although I suspect it's a small minority of folks who will get it (especially in the roller derby world, or do I give them too little credit?).

Regarding the "Nevermore" wine, I'm guessing you could have filled in the context, knowing me as you do. It was a drive-by recommendation for a relative newby to wine-drinking, particularly Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (and, of course, this coming as I helped P finish the bottle). :-)

I'm still being relatively awol around here, as I promised to do while I focus on my work, but I do hope to do a bit of thread-catching up this weekend.

>212 EBT1002: You might be underestimating at least some of the Roller Derby crowd. If you check their international registry of names, you'll find among them Accoster Wilde, Zom B. Atrix Potter, Zippy Longstocking, Ayn Rancid, and Mome Wrath.

>211 DorsVenabili: - Hi Ellen - Got it on the wine. Thank you!

I'm very excited about the derby possibility. It was something I considered a few years ago, when they were forming this particular league, but I was in school, so it wouldn't have worked. Then I had my neck issue, but when I went to a bout on Saturday, I was pleasantly surprised by the seeming doability of the whole thing, mostly because it's a bit more controlled than I had originally assumed. The first step is to get clearance from my doctor (My sister, the nurse practitioner says I'm an idiot and should play soccer or tennis (?!) instead.) If all works out, I figure I'm a year from a team tryout scenario. Anyway, I've totally moved on from Kathy Axer. As I was walking yesterday, I came up with the name to end all names. Brace yourself:

Sylvia Townsend Warlord.....*drops microphone*

>213 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda - Cross-posting. Yes! I forgot to address that. I too think Ms. Ellen may be underestimating the women of derby a bit. There are some good ones. Another I really like is Gnome Stompsky. (I admit to being horrified by Ayn Rancid for obvious reasons, but I move on.)

>214 DorsVenabili: Which will put you solidly between Sylvia SqWheeler and Sylvia Wrath on the register Good thing you didn't want to be Scary Wollstonecraft, 'cause that one's taken already.

I love it all!

I like Edgar Lice Burgers myownself.

>216 laytonwoman3rd: - Ooh, I like those, especially Sylvia Wrath!

>217 BLBera: - What's not to love, right? :-)

>218 richardderus: - Interesting, Richard. That one sort of takes the grotesque, rather than the fierce route. Fascinating strategy.

*****************************************

Reading Update:

Not a lot of book news. Still reading Rescue Mode and enjoying it. First peopled mission to Mars in the 2030s and the science, politics, and interpersonal on-ship difficulties involved. Interesting. Nothing that hasn't been done before, but I like it.

Oh, and I'm having an email fight with the director of my library (he's an idiot, as it turns out.) I'm typically not very conflict oriented and don't do a lot of complaining to businesses and public institutions, but I'm horribly annoyed with something they've started doing. When I get a book through inter-library loan and return it (let us say) one day before the due date, when I look at my record in the system, it says it's "in transit" rather than checked in. Since it takes 4 or 5 days to get to the home library, this guarantees that I'll get a fine from the other library. The last time this happened, I corresponded with the people from the other library (very nice, competent people) and they waived the fine and told me my library should be checking the books in, so patrons don't incur fines. And, actually, that's what my library had been doing for the past 3 years, until recently. Anyway, when I presented him with this information, he got very defensive, told me this has always been their practice and that it's my responsibility to take that into account when I return books. I responded that, while that's a ridiculous thing to say to a patron, if that is the case, the circulation desk clerks should tell me that when I check out the damn book, or stamp the book accordingly. My last email was a bit snarky, and included the following sentence: "As a fellow librarian (at least I hope you're a librarian!), I'm saddened by the defensive tone of your message. Your job is to serve patrons (even frustrated ones), and not to defend the irrational practices of your circulation desk." I couldn't help it! And, after doing a bit of news article research, I suspect he's not a librarian, which really pisses me off. Grrr.

>219 DorsVenabili:: As another librarian, I agree. A "due date" should be the date the patron is expected to return the volume. Any other interpretation is worse than silly and violates the Fourth Law of Library Science: "Save the user's time." Ditto grrr.

Kerri - Nice note. I agree. The return date is the return date. If I have several books checked out, how am I supposed to keep track of different due dates? Bad customer service.

>219 DorsVenabili: Oh, that is seriously not on. That's making YOU responsible for THEIR internal workings, which you not only can't control, but have no knowledge of! Fight, fight, fight!

>219 DorsVenabili: - (he's an idiot, as it turns out.)

This made me laugh. Keep fighting the good fight, sister!

Wow. I suppose congratulations are in order. I've been a very active interlibrary loan user for many years and that's by far the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

(It makes me appreciate our nation-wide, minimal fee ILL system even more.)

Hi Kerri- You are probably out fighting the system, so I won't hold you up long. How was the Emmylou Harris concert? I was reading a review today about it. It's cool that Daniel Lanois is part of the band.

Go Kerri go! Fight the system, woman!!!!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And I am totally reconfiguring my mental schema for roller derby women.

Wow! Roller derby and arcane bureaucratic customs! Such excitement here!

Yeah, not-librarian doesn't know who he's tangling with, does he??

>219 DorsVenabili:: *blink blink* Wha? That's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time. Sheesh!

Hi Kerri! I've been away but I'm working my way back into LT. I can't pretend I've read everything that happened while I was gone but I skimmed the last few posts and see that you have apparently challenged the director of your local library to a roller derby skirmish? Good luck with that!

Interesting coincidence: As I was looking at Neil Gaiman's American Gods, I saw the dedication was to Kathy Acker...

Once it's back in the system -- it's out of your hands and out of your control and RETURNED. Good grief... This isn't the same as suggesting you allow time for traffic in your daily commute. You have handed over the book. Period; full stop.

You can always pass the dude on to me. I'll flatten him, I promise...

Good luck with the roller derby! It sounds like fun, but a bit scary. Great names, though!

Your library is seriously weird. Wasn't there something else odd they were doing a few months ago?

Kerri - how can he become a director of a library without being a librarian? That's skipping a few steps, like becoming the superintendent of a school district without ever having a teaching license. I believe you, but if that's the case, I want his job and am probably just as (un)qualified.

I've never had that kind of stupidity happen with an interlibrary loan. And how are you supposed to know how long it will take your library to get the book back to the other library? Half the time, I'm not even aware of where the book came from.

>219 DorsVenabili: - Wow, and confused. If they have a record of the book in their system, even as an ILL - which they must since you can 'see' the in transit' issue in real time - then there must be some way that they can report in the system that the book has been returned to your library and is now being returned to its home library. That is, unless they have recently upgraded their library system and somehow managed to goof that functionality, in which case I would think that they would just manage that administrative task behind the scenes. *shakes head*

I feel your frustration over all of this.

I used to be the librarian in charge of ILLs. I didn't have to deal with branch systems when I was, but I would have expected the branch to check the book in when the patron returned it. I know that some systems flag ILL itself as being at another location and ask you if you are sure that you want to check it in. It's usually just a matter of clicking yes. Then it gets marked as in transit until it arrives at the desk of the ILL worker. It makes me wonder if they had some sort of policy change about the "clicking yes" option. Maybe they began to require a password to accompany the "yes" which some of the circulation clerks don't have. Still, a patron should not be charged an overdue for a book which was returned on time. Frustrating.

>193 DorsVenabili: you and me are on the same page re: albums. The kids of today (I am 'only' 38 so can still say that with my tongue in cheek) and their spotifying....one song here, one there....it gives me the heebies. I like to sit and relax into an album...the whole album.

>219 DorsVenabili: I love your terse response to the fake librarian. Someone has to be the champion for justice!

>220 swynn: - Hi Swynn - Dang! I should have quoted the old fourth law. He hasn't responded to me. What a sorry excuse for a library director. And to think of all the talented librarian people out there with no jobs.

>221 BLBera: - Hi Beth - I know! It's ridiculous!

>222 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda - I'm thinking about just using the Chicago Public Library now, as I have a card and work in the city. My local library is simply the worst I'm ever encountered in my life. Sad, but true.

>223 katiekrug: - Hi Katie - Thanks! It's funny and true!

>224 lyzard: - Hi Liz - I know, right? Me too. I think the regional ILL system is ok (I've never had issues until now), but my local branch suddenly doesn't understand the process.

>225 msf59: - Hi Mark - The Emmylou concert was excellent! I must admit that Wrecking Ball isn't my absolute favorite Emmylou album, but I do like it. She did some old favorites for the encores. She sounded great.

>226 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - Yes, there seems to be roller derby participation from all walks of life. It's a beautiful thing.

>227 ronincats: - Hi Roni - Never a dull moment!

>228 lyzard: - Hi Liz - He certainly doesn't!

>229 scaifea: - Hi Amber - Pretty much!

>230 rosalita: - Hi Julia - Ha! That sounds about right. And good to have you back on the threads!

>231 BLBera: - Hi Beth - Yes! I recently read about their friendship. Another Kathy Acker anecdote: Last week, we were watching a documentary about Kathleen Hanna from the band Bikini Kill. Right before it started, I said to Joe, "I wonder if they'll mention Kathy Acker." Unbelievably, the first sentence of the film was something like, "Kathy Acker once told me..." Anyway, I thought that was funny.

>232 Chatterbox: - Hi Suzanne - Perhaps I will send him on to you. Ha! He's a weasel. That's for sure. I haven't heard back though, so it's possible his brain exploded when I hit him with all that logic.

>233 banjo123: - Hi Rhonda - Yes, there is some fear involved in roller derby, and, of course, I still need doctor clearance, which definitely isn't guaranteed. I have a check-up next month.

There's been a few weird things with my library. The best story is the crazy ex-employee who was picketing the library on the sidewalk directly in front of our house (I live diagonally across the street from the library.) It appeared she was picketing us! I think she wasn't allowed on the library property, so she couldn't get any closer. That was right when we first moved here three years ago. Sigh.

>234 cammykitty: - Hi Katie - I'm not sure what the law is in Illinois (to be honest, public libraries were not a particular area of interest for me in school ), but if there isn't a legal requirement to hire a librarian from an accredited program as director, it could happen. It looks like he's worked in a couple other libraries. I mean, he could be a librarian. I'm not sure, but it looks fishy to me.

>235 lkernagh: - Hi Lori - Yeah, I have no idea what they're thinking. I actually think it might be a matter of newly hired circulation clerks not knowing the proper procedure. The problem is that the director defended them, rather than trying to figure out if the process is flawed.

>236 thornton37814: - Hi Lori - The most infuriating thing is that I'm expected to deal with the fines! Which I've done once already. grrr.

>237 LovingLit: - Hi Megan - Yes, I am pro album. However, I have to admit that I'm guilty of using Spotify and also creating playlists on my iPod, which, of course, is all totally anti-album. I remember the days when I carried around my Discman and a CD case with 20 CDs at a time. Now I carry around hundreds of albums in my pocket. Who knew?

*****************************************

Reading Update:

Despite working all weekend, I finished Rescue Mode by Ben Bova and Les Johnson. It's for Booklist so I can't post a review, but I quite liked it! I haven't read that sort of hard sci-fi in a while and this made me remember that it's one of my favorite things. For the most part, I've been trying to go down the wrong sci-fi paths (wrong for me) and this gives me hope that I'm not burned out, I was just trying to read the wrong stuff (with some exceptions, of course, most notably the Nicola Griffith stuff, which I love.)

Now I'm starting The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens. I've absolutely loved everything I've read by her, so I'm really looking forward to this one. It was a Booker winner too.

Morning Kerri- Hope you are bundled up for the train. Ugh! Sorry, you had to work through the weekend. Bummer. Well, the Meet-up is coming up fast. Then you'll be able to let your hair down, LOL.
Another good GOT! I dug that ending.

Have you read The Martian, Kerri? It's a fun problem-solver one.

Ridiculous reaction from the library director. Good for you for taking him to task. We use the Chicago Public Library (Sulzer for us) all the time and have had nothing but good experiences. Our daughter lives nearby and swears by it.

Happy Thingaversary, Kerri!

>239 msf59: - Hi Mark - I can't believe this weather?! Gahhh!! The sidewalks were a solid sheet of ice downtown, from the train station to my office. Good times. Looking forward to Saturday!

Yes, regarding GOT: I have never in my life been more happy to see a character die a painful, bloody death, via poison, than I was Joffrey. I may have broken into uncontrolled cackles.

>240 jnwelch: - Hi Joe - I actually do want to read The Martian! It sounds fascinating. It's on my list, at least the one in my head.

I'll probably just use the Harold Washington branch, since I work downtown. We lived in the city before we moved to this godforsaken suburb (Can you tell I'd rather live in the city?), so I'm familiar with the wonders of the CPL.

>241 richardderus: - Thanks for the reminder, Richard! I had forgotten. Good excuse for some internet book shopping!

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Reading Update:

So, regarding William Trevor, I just read the following sentence on Wikipedia: "One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary writers of short stories in the English language." Well, hrmpft. I abandoned A Bit on the Side this morning, because these wonderfully well-written stories were boring me to death. Maybe Alice Munro is a hard act to follow in this genre, but still. Good grief. I made it through four. That's about all I can take. I think I need a little something more than nice, engaging plots in my short stories. These seem to lack both the distinctive voice and the sharp insights into human motivation and relationships that the Munro stories have. Oh, well. I may try one of his novels at some point, since I've heard good things about The Story of Lucy Gault. To replace it, I'll try Enormous Changes at the Last Minute by Grace Paley.

I'm almost done with The Sense of an Ending. Honestly, I think it's pretty good, but I would say, in some sense, it has elements of the male equivalent of chick-lit (bro-lit?), and I wonder why on Earth it won the Booker Prize. Yes, it's saying meaningful things about memory and how we construct our histories, etc., but that's nothing that hasn't been said many times before. I'm largely unimpressed, yet sort of entertained. I guess that sums it up.

ETA: Edited for clarity.

I loved your spoiler comment. LOL! And I agree completely with you. What a frickin' monster.

>243 msf59: - Terrible monster, indeed! The actor does a fine job though. It would be interesting to see him in other roles, perhaps not an evil weasel role. I wonder if he can pull that off? He's got that face (sorry to say).

Hi Kerri - Just checking in. I just picked up a collection of short stories by Penelope Lively - I read an excerpt that was fabulous. I hope to get to them soon. Sherman Alexie is also a good short story writer, IMO.

Since I don't watch "Game of Thrones" I take great delight in reading all the spoilers and the WTFs from people who do watch. :-)

#245 - Hi Beth - I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on the Lively short stories. I loved Moon Tiger, but that's the only one I've read. I do like Sherman Alexie and have read The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven - good stuff. Have you read Grace Paley? I've wanted to get to this collection for a long time. I've heard good things.

#246 - Hi Julia - Ha! Excellent strategy. Do you think you wouldn't like GOT? I actually wasn't much of a fantasy person, but I find I enjoy stuff like this, where the focus is on political maneuvering, rather than a quest (like Lord of the Rings).

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Reading Updates:

I finished The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I think I summed it up in >242 DorsVenabili:. Overall, pretty good, even though it's a mid-life crisis novel. At least the main character isn't sympathetic. He's kind of quietly despicable and fun to dislike, if that makes any sense (I admit that it's possible to have a different reaction towards him, but that's mine). The twist is a tad eye-rolly, but otherwise the novel is entertaining and not a complete waste of time. I probably won't read him again, but Julian Barnes writes very fine sentences!

I also finished Emplumada by Lorna Dee Cervantes . This absolutely amazing collection of poems explores love, family, domestic violence, Chicana identity, and the idea of existing between two cultures and not exactly fitting into either. My favorites are "For Virginia Chavez," "Uncle's First Rabbit," and this one (which is short, so I'm reproducing it here):

"For Edward Long"

      There are some who are not of this world.
      Take what you need.Covet.
      The child is one. They will comfort her soon.
         E.L. (In a letter to my mother
         from the Atascadero State Hospital,
         Fall, 1965)

Pardner, you called me
that first morning my grandmother
found you drunk, homeless, and you stayed
long enough to give me my voice.

You taught me to read all those windsongs
in the verses of Stevenson.
You'd pay me a quarter to sing on your lap
beneath the dust storm of your scruffy chin.
In those still nights your wine breath
sweetened the air for me.

You were father, grandfather, the man
who dug ditches for the county
and knew a code so secret
they locked it away.

Pardner, Doctor, crazy
mathematician and sometimes
wizard to the child I still am,
I still believe you.
I still gaze at the fall winds
you once taught me to describe.
I still shadow you. I know
wherever you are
you'll be reading poems
and this is how
I'll find you.

##############################

Ok. My next poetry collection is What Work Is by Philip Levine. My next audiobook is Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones. I wasn't wildly impressed with Hand Me Down World, but I've heard this is better.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week.

Great poem by Cervantes, Kerri, thanks. Adding Emplumada to the WL.

>248 jnwelch: - I'm glad you like it, Joe. I found it online and copied it. Reading it over just now, I found a few typos, but I'll have to double-check my book at home, in case I missed some. Also, I'm Kerri. :-)

Holy crap, Kerri, I haven't screwed up like that in a while. Consider it a big typo. Perhaps I need to slow down the thread-zipping a bit . . .

>247 DorsVenabili: "a mid-life crisis novel." *Aaaargh, she said, and ran the other way* Some people feel that way about coming-of-age stories; I enjoy those. The mid-life crisis/adult male angst stuff, not so much.
But, I have heard so many good things about William Trevor, I'm sorry you're finding him a bore. Still, I will have to give him a try one of these days.

Sorry you didn't like William Trevor more. I actually have not read any of his short stories, but I absolutely loved The Story of Lucy Gault. So, so good!

I thought The Sense of an Ending was pretty good. The writing was excellent. I don't remember much about the book, actually, except that the ending was somewhat ambiguous and different people seemed to interpret it differently. I may re-read it at some point.

>250 jnwelch: - Oh, no problem! I just wanted credit in your brain for posting a cool poem. :-)

>251 laytonwoman3rd: - Hi Linda - To be fair, it's not a midlife crisis novel in the sense that the main character buys a red Corvette and takes up with a 22 year old stripper. It's more looking back on life and the relationships he's screwed up, etc. I think I'm just sick of this story and point of view. It doesn't particularly interest me. Like, if someone says Ian McEwan in my presence, I get hives.

Regarding William Trevor, maybe it was the wrong collection for me? I'm not sure, but I have a gigantic pile of short story collections that I want to get to, so it didn't make sense to persevere. Life is too short.

>252 katiekrug: - Hi Katie - I probably will try The Story of Lucy Gault one day. I may just be in a cranky, critical mood lately too, so there's that. I just feel like I need some oomph, excitement, and spark in my reading material (see book haul below - ha!) and Mr. Trevor was delivering school boy tales and contemporary rural Ireland.

I pretty much agree with you about The Sense of an Ending. It's pretty good and the writing is excellent. That's probably not enough to get me to pick up another Julian Barnes novel, unless the plot description really thrills me, but it's something. Reading it definitely didn't feel like torture.

************************************

Two things:

1. We watched the recent Dan Rather interview of Dolly Parton last night (largely pretty dumb interview with super-softball questions) and they showed some footage of Dolly and Kenny Rogers in the 70s. The outfits were fantastic and I found an image on the interwebs just now. (Easter egg colored outfits!) Thank me later:



2. Small Amazon book haul from yesterday, after Richard reminded me that it was my Thingaversary (I still get 4 more). Clearly my choices are the direct result of having just read Julian Barnes and William Trevor and then fleeing in the opposite direction:

*Empire of the Senseless: A Novel by Kathy Acker
*Don Quixote: A Novel by Kathy Acker
*AVA by Carole Maso

>247 DorsVenabili: I don't have a television (and even when I did I did not have HBO) so I am utterly untempted by the series. I've thought about reading the books, and probably will some day, but I think I'll wait until he finishes the series as I've heard there are looooong stretches between books and I hate that.

>248 jnwelch: No fair! You changed your message so we can't tell who you confused Kerri with. Luckily she is very forgiving about that sort of thing, as I very well know!

>254 rosalita: - Well, regarding GOT, that makes sense. If you ever watch it on the computer or whatever, they do a good job, although everyone is older in the television version and there seems to be a lot more sex (unless I'm remembering the book incorrectly). I've only read the first book so far, but I believe I gave it 5 stars - great stuff, wonderful world-building. I hope you like it.

********************************

Reading Update:

I'm loving The Elected Member (no surprise), but have decided not to start Mister Pip as my next audiobook. I did a bit of plot summary/review reading of it yesterday, and determined that I'm not in the mood. I'll try People of the Book instead.

Morning Kerri- I see you are starting People of the Book. I hosted a Group Read on that one, when it first came out. It's a very good book. Year of Wonders remains my favorite.
I have a Trevor story collection waiting on shelf.

>248 jnwelch:, 249, 254: I was confused for an embarrassing amount of time - I thought, "Wait, he didn't get it wrong..." What a nincompoop!

>257 scaifea: Ha! Yeah, I fixed it after Kerri pointed out my "typo", Amber. I probably got distracted by all the aebleskivers and poffertjes.

Happy Maundy Thursday, Eula Nelle. I am unmoved by poultry, and unimpressed by Julian Barnes...and midlife-crisis stories don't do it for me, either, much as stories featuring teenaged girls discovering how Special they are break me out in hives.

Hi Kerri,
I hope you try The Story of Lucy Gault sometime. I think you know that I loved it.

I've been starting to wonder what who your next thread topper will be. :-)

>256 msf59: - Hi Mark - Oh, good! I believe Ms. Julia recommended it to me and it had me when I saw the "book conservation" tag. I hope to start it this evening. This morning was a very metal morning, so no audiobooks.

>257 scaifea: - Hi Amber - He actually called me Amber! :-)

>258 jnwelch: - Hi Joe - Oh, goodness...

>259 richardderus: - Hi Richard - Ha! I can do without teenaged anything, from girls and boys to wombats.

>260 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen - I'm sure I'll get to it someday, but just please tell me it's not about Catholic school boys. Ugh.

Funny you should say that, as my lunch break project is to start a new thread!