Maggie1944 begins Summer Reading (June, July, August 2014)

I am still reading I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I also pulled one of my indoor/outdoor rugs out of the shed and put it down on the deck. Need to get the other one out but am not up to it right now. Maybe tomorrow.

Here's a summer idea:

Karen, lovely statue!
Back to your prior thread, owning a house in the Wallingford area just north of Gas Works Park.... well, that is a very desirable neighborhood.
And I'm going to check out that bookshop. I bet I can find it. ;-)

Karen, congratulations on your latest thread my dear. Very statuesque if I may say so.

I'm sure that you will enjoy I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, heartbreaking and bittersweet and optimistic by turns if I can remember back the 20 or so years since I last read it.

Pretty pickcher, Karen44! Happy June.

Yes, Ellen, that was a cool little house in a very "up and coming neighborhood". Now the neighborhood has up and did come! I think houses there are nearly unaffordable for any middle class folks. Maybe some who have lived in the same house since the 1970s or 1980s are still there but to buy now... wowie!

And yes, I'm sure you can find the book store. It specializes in architecture I think.

Paul, thank you for stopping by. The statue is in the Allerton Gardens on Kaua'i. And yes, the book is great. A good read.

ok, I'm off to bed now

OH! The Storm won their game... the second win this season, they need to get themselves a bit more organized I think.

ETA: Hi, Richard. Glad you liked the pitcher.

Stopping by and waving hello. What a lovely opening set of photos!

Happy new thread Karen. Hope life is treating you well:)

Happy New Thread, Karen! Hope you enjoyed your weekend. Good luck this week. Hugs!

Happy new thread, Karen! I just started I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings yesterday, and I didn't get very far, but I have high hopes for today. Hoping that your Monday is full of fabulous!

>6 Whisper1: Linda! Thanks for stopping by. The statue is in a wonderful garden on Kaua'i. The place is filled with interesting tropical plants and statuary and fountains. It is deeply shady and a wonderful counterpoint to the sunny and sometimes hot climate elsewhere on the island. Kaua'i is especially interesting as there is a "wet" side and a "dry" side so one can find rainforest as well as dry hot plants.

November is not that far away is it? I'd better start saving some significant Hawaii money!

>Hi! Life is fine. Seattle area weather is very summer like which is kind of unusual for this time of year. Normally I do not expect good weather until after July 4. I think maybe climate change is turning us into a new California which might be nice in the short term, maybe not so much for the long term. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying it! As are the doggies.

>8 msf59: Mark! The weekend was good. Spent a good deal of Saturday doing yard stuff which is delightful, and then a good deal of Sunday recovering. Last night The Storm won their game against the Tulsa Shock. Shock was the bottom of the league, and Storm was only just ahead of them. Early game was a little clumsy, but later they began to look like they were a team. I think this year may be a "building" year. But really the Storm should be doing better as they are not a bunch of rookies. Oh, well, it was a fun time. Logan, at age 8, is not too old for it yet and I'm grateful for every time he still enjoys hanging out with his old lady Great Aunt.

>9Mamie, I think you will like Angelou's first "memoir". I think she wrote a series of autobiographical books but this one is the one everyone thinks of, and I think that is justified. She has a lovely voice.

I think my Monday will be quiet and restful with no running up to see the kids off to school. I have an appointment with the woman who rents the basement of the HOA clubhouse for a Spanish language preschool about renewal of the contract; and I think I'll drop off my job application at the fancy plant nursery/gift store where I would love to work part time. Otherwise, a little house work and a lot of reading!

Love that Allerton garden statue, Karen, and the garden sounds beautiful.

A quiet and restful Monday - enjoy!

Ah, the Allerton garden on Kaua'i. He owned a large estate near Monticello, IL, where he and his adopted son (the only way his life partner could reasonably inherit his estate without outrageous inheritance taxes that no "legitimate" spouse would have to pay) lived and loved. The University of Illinois owns it now and in grad school my buddies and I went there about once per season to enjoy the grounds. These very sorts of statues were ubiquitous.

Happy Monday, Karen.

I spent lots of time this weekend working with my plants. I had planted some elephant ears last year and they were beautiful. I live far enough south that they are perennials so I kept watching for them to return. They never did so I figured that our long cooler than normal winter did them in. On Saturday afternoon I was watering and noticed a big green leaf unfurled. On closer examination I found that two out of the three bulbs from last year had leaves and were alive. That prompted a quick trip to Birmingham (50 miles up the road) for more of those plants. I was lucky to get the last three of the same variety I had last year. I have them planted on the north side of my house and the two that survived are right under my bedroom window. The three that I planted will be under my bathroom window. Eventually I will have them all along that side of the house. That ought to help keep any brick throwing thieves back and away from the windows - or at leats make it harder for them to get to the windows.

While at the garden shop I indulged and purchased other plants. That meant that on Sunday I planted flowers and stuff for most of the morning. I almost missed my Sunday morning cappucino.

Ellen, that's right. I'd forgotten that there were gardens in Illinois also. What gifts he and his partner left us all. Have you visited the gardens on Kaua'i?

Benita! I know the temptation that garden stores hold. And to imagine I just dropped off an application to go to work for one. If they are smart they'll hire e because I am likely to spend my paychecks there, too.

Now I'm in Barnes and Noble thinking about applying here, too.

B & N and garden stores do sound like dangerous places to work. At least, you'll get an employee discount. :-)

Everything crossable is crossed for your Hawaii trip and 70th birthday to happen as planned. It sounds a spectacularly perfect way to spend a birthday.

I found a Maya Angelou book Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now on Planet TBR so I think I'll be reading that one. What a spectacular thing to be able to say about one's life!

A bit of whimsey! Janet, thanks for stopping by. I think you are right that I should not accept jobs at either place even if they do offer one. Too dangerous. (cue: rationalization to cover for not being offered anything)

I have had another night of not sleeping well. Some wacko resident in my community felt the need to call me last night to complain about her neighbors who were, oh my goodness, working on a car in their driveway and had cars or vehicles parked all over the place. It is fascinating to me that folks think their homeowners association can police people's behavior on their own property.

I am not feeling very charitable this morning. I wish this woman realized that she needs to cultivate successful and productive relationships with her neighbors and not look for someone else to solve her problems. That maybe her attitude of intolerance is the problem and that her neighbors behavior is not the problem. I suggested she call the police and I hope they can explain to her that there are greater problems in the world.

I did go back to sleep but then I woke at shortly after 3 AM and wanted to get up and have a cup of coffee. On the good side I can catch up with threads here.

Happy new thread. I'm sorry to hear about your sleeping troubles. I have a hard time sleeping myself, waking up 3 to 4 times a night. So I know how tired your feeling right now. Hoping you get better sleep tonight.

The nerve of that woman!

I know. And she called them "poor white trash", too. I wonder where she thinks she is living? A fancy gated community with restrictive covenants?

Ugh ugh ugh. The middle-of-the-night phone call sounds awful. On so many levels.

I have been to the Allerton garden on Kaua'i and it's lovely. Of course, find me something on Kaua'i that is not lovely.... sigh.

Yes. I agree. Lovely. Next time I go I must keep a list of the beaches we visit. My friend Robin has a great way of finding beaches which are not too crowded, and are lovely. I'm pining for the sun-heat.

Here is one from recent trip to Vancouver B.C. There's a Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park and they have rescued many tropical birds who now live in the conservatory. Very pretty!

What an idiot that woman is. I applaud you for not carrying out vigilante gene-pool cleaning.

And then she shows up at our Board meeting, too. I was able to interrupt her and explain that we were in the middle of the meeting and it was not yet tie for her to tell her sad story again. Lucky for me, another Board member told the story of her taking care of some unruly neighbors by just warning them that if they did not shut it up, and shut it down, she'd call the police. Stupid woman ended the evening telling us how afraid she feels. Not likely. She is big brassy broad, and I'm quite sure she is very capable of giving the neighbors and the police a piece of her little itty bitty mind.

Oh... did I hang out with my sarcastic Board member friend a little too long today? Whew. Glad that meeting is done and over!

Thanks Richard for stopping by and reminding me there are some very fine, intelligent, and pleasant people in this world. This world! The LT world.

>22 maggie1944: Aren't those birds colourful. I used a picture of a bird from the Bloedel Conservatory for the cover of one of my school projects.

Yes, Meg, they are beautiful with their bright plumage. And I am also fascinated by the fact that the bird become so accustomed to people and you can get so close to them and really see their feathers. It was a magical place. I'd love to spend a bunch of time there taking pictures.

Thanks for stopping by.

I went to a Seattle Storm game last night and the Storm won the game in the last minutes. It was so exciting. They grabbed the lead with about maybe 3 minutes left in the game and held it to the end. They were playing Minnesota who are champions! It was a great game.

Morning Karen! Hope you had a nice week and that you have an R & R weekend planned.
Our weather has been gorgeous here. I hope it stays like this all summer.

The week had quite a few stressors in it and I'm glad to see the back of it. Weekend should be fine! Good weather, and some fun projects. Driving to IKEA this morning to pick up a pair of curtains for my bedroom. They are lovely dark blue and will help shut out light. I hope to make my sleeping a little more as it should be by having a darker bedroom. And tomorrow I'll open the library in the clubhouse and have a couple of hours of uninterrupted reading. It would be nice if someone else shows up, but I will not hold my breath.

Thanks for the good wishes for an excellent weekend.

Saturday *smooch*

It must be the time of year to get curtains as I am getting curtains put up in my dining room on Tuesday! I am also getting shades put in my bathroom after the originals were broken during the break-in.

Mark, I hope your Sunday was excellent. I'll be looking for a list of books picked up at the Book Fair.

Richard, thank you for checking in on me.... I hope you are continuing to feel better and better.

Benita: I love my new curtains. It was very dark in my bedroom last night! And this morning, too. I slept later than usual, which is not entirely the fault of the curtains, I went to be later than usual, too.

Dang! I can't find my copy of the Maya Angelou book which I was within inches of finishing; I don't want to buy another copy. Maybe I can talk Ellen into bringing her copy to the RL book group, on Monday, June 9th! We will be talking about the Alan Furst book, but I bet we talk about the Angelou book, and her poetry, too.

I did finish reading daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. Very interesting, a graphic novel which could have started out as a series of writing exercises, but which ended up being a musical exploration of how one day might have played out in a young man's life, along with his friends, and relatives, and in various locales throughout the world. Delightful and challenging in turns. I definitely will recommend it to those interested in the varieties of ways people can express themselves in writing. Thanks to Joe for recommending it.

*added note: looking for daytripper led me to I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. I am tired after much activity yesterday and today, so I think I'll just go read. :-)

I ran into a friend yesterday in Barnes & Noble, where I had stopped to get coffee. He was on his way into the store to buy the latest title by Alan Furst. He loves this guys books. I had recommended the David Downing Station series to him and he told me that he had read them as well, but that they weren't as good as the Furst books. Furst sure has loyal fans.

>31 maggie1944: Glad you liked Daytripper, Karen. It's a special one, isn't it? You've got me thinking about re-reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Hope you have an easier day today.

Benita, I'm glad Furst has such good fans and I'm hoping he does not burn out his niche. Someone suggested a new book by him might be about WW I and that caught my eye, but nope, its about WW II, too.

Joe, yes, do re-read it. It is a nice toe dip into an earlier era in many ways. I'm enjoying the last little bit of it. Hope to finish today.

>19 maggie1944: Karen, Oh how I hate the term "white trash." When coupled with "poor", I get ballistic.

I am white. As I child I was poor, but my mother, with all her faults and foibles did indeed keep the house clean, kept us clean, and tried as best as she could to impart good values.

Coming from a small town where adults seemed to know all the secrets of everyone, holding children to blame for their perceived faults of adults, I couldn't wait to leave. Judged because of poverty, it felt like those of ignorance threw stones that hurt badly.

Why is it that we need to compare and judge, to feel superior, using silly hurtful standards?

Much later in life, I happened to come in contact with one of the nasty adults of my childhood. Poor thing, she simply couldn't help herself when she looked at me and said "Oh, my, but you certainly did make something of yourself, considering ________, _______, _______. Her pejorative tone lead me to know she was not complimentary. I simply walked away.

Any comment I would make would not have produced a modicum of change in her. Poor thing, perhaps she spent the rest of the day polishing her pearls.

My experience is different but I also grew up "white", living in the "white" part of Seattle, went to a "white" church. We were poor, too. My mother worked very hard to support herself, and me. My grandmother lived with us, too. Neither she nor my mother had enough money to live on their own, and they did not enjoy living together. But to my mother's credit, I really never knew how poor we were until I was an adult and thought back on where we lived, and why we moved so often. Fascinating.

Growing up in Seattle we did not have the whole reputation issue. I can imagine that would be deadly horrible for a child to be painted with the reputation of their parents before the child even has a chance to find themselves.

OK, I need to update my reading record:

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon

(a repeat of paragraph above about daytripper: I did finish reading daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá. Very interesting, a graphic novel which could have started out as a series of writing exercises, but which ended up being a musical exploration of how one day might have played out in a young man's life, along with his friends, and relatives, and in various locales throughout the world. Delightful and challenging in turns. I definitely will recommend it to those interested in the varieties of ways people can express themselves in writing. Thanks to Joe for recommending it.

17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I am sorry I struggled so to find time to read this delightful small book. Ms Angelou took me back to much of my life as a young adult working in The Civil Rights Movement. It was all in capital letters in those days.

She does a master's job of describing her young life among her extended family in Arkansas, Missouri, and California. Her experience of living in turn with her grandmother and uncle, her mother, and her father was not unusual for American blacks in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. Her description of learning how black people are treated differently than white people reminds me of all the indignation young white college kids felt in the 1960s when learning of these realities from afar. The book was for me a very personal visit to an earlier age and I enjoyed it.

I bought the last book I'll buy to celebrate my being a part of LibraryThing for the past 7 years (on the 14th). The Boys in the Boat is about a University of Washington crew who went to the Olympics in Germany just before WWII. (1936).

Morning Karen- Glad you enjoyed Daytripper. I was a fan too. I am loving my current GN, Exit Wounds, it's one Ellen recommended. I am also loving the Monuments Men. I heard the film version wasn't very good but I'll probably check it out anyway.
Have a great weekend.

I seem to be in a state of constant reading envy. So, today I'll alternate between

1. The Boys in the Boat
2. Welcome to the Monkey House
3. The 8:55 to Baghdad
4. The Discovery of France

Two books in my Kindle, and two in real paper, dead tree, books. The latter two allow me to read in the bath tub! (-:

I'll be interested to see what you think of The Boys in the Boat, My book club has it scheduled for this fall (November, maybe?)

Welcome to the Monkey House has some of my favorite short stories. We read several of them in high school English and a time when Vonnegut wasn't a part of the standard curriculum.

I'm wishing you a nice peaceful weekend with lots of good book vibes!

Janet, I've started The Boys in the Boat and so far I'm loving it. It is local history at its best. The author obviously knows the Seattle history, in detail, and the history of the general area, too. I've just finished a chapter about growing up in mining country in northern Idaho. That is much the area where my father's family was, and I can picture his growing up much the same as the person in the book. As you can see, the book serves as a history of my part of the world. Are you living near, or where, your parents grew up? Are your roots deep in Montana?

That is a good question for everyone. Are you living where your family's roots run deep? Or not? Does this ever help guide which books you pick up to read?

Happy 7th Thingaversary!!

*smooch*

Thank you, very much, kind sir. I appreciate your stopping by to let me know you noticed. What a great place.

Happy Thingaversary Karen, hope you get some great books:)

I did: 1. Boys in the Boat about a U. of Washington crew who went to the Olympics in 1936. Great local history. 2. The 8:55 to Baghdad for my real life book group's next meeting. 3. Welcome to the Monkey House for Mark's American Authors Challenge, which I've been skipping up till now. A great re-visit to a favorite author of my yester-year. 4. Daytripper to continue exploring Graphic Novels recommended by LT friends. As is 5. Batwoman: Hydrology. 6. The Night Bookmobile to continue to explore some illustrated books. And finally, 7. a gift from a local friend: I Feel Bad About My Neck and Other Thoughts On Being a Woman by Nora Ephron, a favorite author. Here's the quote from the back of the book: "Every so often I read a book about age, and whoever's writing it says it's great to be old. It's great to be wise and safe and mellow; it's great to be at the point where you understand just what matters in life. I can't stand people who say things like this. What can they be thinking? Don't they have necks?" - Nora Ephron is so smart! and funny! and wise! and, I guess, is getting "old".

Now! I do need to buy that one more book... the book to grow on..... the eighth one

Happy Thingaversary, Karen! Nice celebratory haul! One to grow on - I like that. Look forward to hearing what you pick.

Happy Thingaversary Karen! Seven lovely years, eh? Nice.

I will have to get my mitts on Boys in the Boat. It's just my cuppa. Hope you have a great Sunday.

Happy Thingaversary, Karen!

I'm also reading a book with local connections. The Highest Tide is set in Olympia, largely along the mud flats of the South Puget Sound. So far it's okay but not the best book I've ever read.

Thank you, both, Mark and Ellen. I am enjoying having a Thingaversary, and I need to pick my 8th book still. Any ideas?

I do like to read books set in the part of the country in which I grew up. However, I don't go out of my way to find them. I think that when I read books about my home area I am more critical of them than I am of books about, or set in, other parts of the country.

Since you like fantasy I am reading Bitterblue (the third in the Graceling trilogy) and am enjoying it. I would recommend this trilogy to you. I am not sure I would tell you to buy it, but I would definatly say it is worth a trip to the library to get this series and read them.

For your last Thingaversary, I would suggest a fantasy. Maybe something by Jo Walton or Guy Gavriel Kay. I really enjoyed Under Heaven and plan to read the sequel River of Stars sometime soon. Maybe the new one by Naomi Novik?

Thanks, Benita. I could even make a trip to the library tomorrow I think. No kids. Their Mom is staying home tomorrow as it is their last day at school. I've not read much of any of those authors although certainly have heard tell of them. I think I have some one or two of Kay's and of Novik's. Really, I must get to those TBR bookcases.

Hmmm. No suggestions for your 8th book. But I'll be interested in what you decide upon!

Have a good week, Karen. Let's touch base about Portland in a couple of days....

OK. I'll get myself organized about driving down to Portland.

My week is one of transition. I no longer will be driving up to my Niece's home to roust the kids out of bed, feed them breakfast, and send them off to school. Summer Vacation. Now, I'm driving up there once in the middle of each day to see that the three of them are doing OK, and giving them some support in making and eating a good lunch. I'm going to see if I can interest them in making home made food - starting with home made pizza and home made mac 'n cheese.

I'm really enjoying Boys in the Boat. It is a perfect combination of history + biography + local color. I love the early Seattle history, the peeks into the national scene prior to World War II. Just read about the push to boycott the 1936 Olympics because of the evidence of Hitler's growing mistreatment of Jewish people. The effort to boycott lost by a thin margin. There were people in the United States, England, and France who thought he was charismatic, and to be admired for pulling Germany out of an economic slump. I think we 21st Century folks forget this uncomfortable fact.

morning Karen- Did I mention I requested Boys in the Boat from the library? I hope you have a good week, my friend.

Oh, good. Mark, I'm pretty sure you will enjoy the book. It definitely is an ode to manliness on some levels.

I believe I have bought my Eighth Book celebrating my 7 years on LibraryThing: Agent Zigzag - recommended by friends here on LT. Yay!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

I really loved this book. It was one of those which called me from the bedside table all through the day: come back, and read; come back and read! It is an accounting of the rowing crew of young men from the University of Washington who went to the Olympics in 1936 and against incredible disadvantages, some engineered by the Nazi men on the Olympic course, won the gold metal for an 8 man crew with a coxswain. This book appealed to me because it was filled with wonderful Seattle history, some of which were stories I heard as a kid growing up in Seattle. And finally it pleased me because it is an excellent epic adventure of these young men and their coaches. A travel into unknown territory, overcoming huge challenges, meeting monsters and prevailing. This story really belongs with the best of epic hero tales. One more thing: the author knows his craft very well and built the tension and joy of watching races right into the pages, time after time, and even though the reader knows the end of the story it is a book which demands to be read to the end of the race. Five Stars from me, and a hearty recommendation to all readers who love history, and sport, and epic tales.

^ Now I want to read it soon!

I am struggling with what to read next. I bought Agent Zigzag and it is on none of my "need to read this now" lists. Not a book group book, not a book challenge book. Just a book I think I want to read. And then there's the Tai Chi Bible which I also want to spend some time reading to support my taking Tai Chi classes. Sigh. There's The Discovery of France which I've been reading for a couple of years. .... We shall see.......

Morning Karen- Agent Zigzag is a fantastic choice. Also, see if you can find a graphic called Exit Wounds. It was one Ellen recommended and it was terrific.

Morning Karen! I'm sorry it's been awhile since I was over hear. Yay for you reading the Marissa Meyer books, I'm dying for the fourth one and of course it's going to be like a whole year until it comes out. I haven't read daytripper, though I know that it's on the shelf upstairs.

Just stopping by to say hi, Karen. I look forward to hearing how you sort out the reading. Agent Zigzag is a fantastic choice, as Mark says.

I am having a little rebellious moment and do not want to read any obligatory book. Silly me. I like the Vonnegut because finishing each short story is satisfying. The first bit of The 8:55 to Baghdad did not grab me but I have not yet read my 30 pages which would allow me to Pearl Rule it.

I've been known to have those moments, too...like every 10sec.

I've up-ed my complications level by accepting an offer to work with Instacart, a service which does grocery shopping for people who are "too busy". I will make myself available at certain times to go to a grocery store (picked by the company, only certain ones) and buy a list of things the customer has chosen on line. I deliver said groceries to the customer. Eventually, it should be a manageable job as I pick my own schedule. We shall see. Initially, it will drive me crazy but as I'm already half way there I figure "no big deal".

I am doing this so I can amass more money to buy into my retirement community. Wish me luck.

Meanwhile, the HOA had its June meeting last night and reached a new low of pettiness. I have 5 meetings left and I will be free of it. I am so sorry I was not able to do more but the odds were against me from the start. I'm loving the "not my monkey, not my zoo" slogan which is popping up here and there. I think I can thank Richard for that.

I started listening to The Farm last night, and I can say "I think I'm hooked". Refreshing as much of the other books I'm dipping into are not grabbing me.

Here's to good reading, all!

The job sounds interesting. Maybe this will be just right for you.

I am getting a little tired of the locked in reading schedule I have right now. Like you I have books to read for discussion groups and it seems that I don't have enough time to read what I want. I get to listen to whatever I want in the car so my listening time feels much more free.

Yes. I think it is a trap easy for me to fall into - that is commitments and not enough free roaming to balance the commitments. Gawk!

This is my day today: http://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/usa/seattle

>69 maggie1944: LOVE it!!

I keep forgetting about the book group book for July.... I should see if I can get a copy from the library.

Yes, it is truly lovely these days. Makes me so happy to be back in my little "manufactured, mobile home". I have a lovely location with lots of green trees about, and a cooler shady deck on long afternoon-evenings such as this.

I think I'll try to make some more progress in The 8:55 to Baghdad this evening.

Instacart! What a cute name.

>72 richardderus: and the logo is a carrot. Also, cute.

We shall see. I'm a little bit dubious, but I'll give it a try, and see what kind of money I can make without having to work 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Eeeek.

It sounds like a worthwhile experiment. Something I'd use if it was here.

I found out at my knitting class that I botched the sweater enough I have to rip out about 6 inches of it. I don't mind as the pattern is very pretty and the yarn is amazingly beautiful. I want the finished product to look beautiful. sometimes that means you have to take things out and redo them. I will go home now and put it back together one stitch at a time while I watch Sherlock in PBS. Sherlock is not my favorite show, as I think it is sometimes mean spirited, but it is entertaining.

And how about that World Cup? Thrills and excitement galore - And men in short pants. Oh la la!

yes, indeedy. Men in short shorts are quite the thing. Do you remember when basketball uniforms had very short shorts?

#76 by @maggie1944> ah, for the good old days.

>yup. But only in some very few ways. Some other stuff = not so good.

Remember that famous picture of Julius Erving flying through the air in those short shorts? The outfit sure looks dated today, but the moves don't.

Did you hear the NPR piece today about the WBA? Very nicely done with Brittany Griner as the spokesperson.

Nope, I missed it.

Hi Karen- just doing a quick check in. Hope all is well in the PNW! And hope the books are treating you fine.

Hey, Mark. Thanks for checking in. I'm a wee bit overwhelmed with stuff but still find time to read, or listen. I'm listening to The Farm and I'm loving it. I keep backing up to catch the stuff I miss when I fall asleep. Tomorrow I think I'll try listening to it while driving up the the Niece's. I'm reading The 8:55 to Baghdad which alternates between being interesting, and a little weird. I think the author is too much loving himself, and not enough what he's seeing, or learning about Agatha Christie. There are some other books I'll look at from time to time, like when I am in the bathtub, but those are the two I'm mostly interested in right now.

HOA business is using a lot of my time as the Manager of the clubhouse is recovering from a hip replacement surgery and I'm covering for him. I'm hoping the Instacart job picks up next week. I think I've fulfilled all the online junk I need to finish before being given a start.

Whew. I hope to make grocery baskets full of cash!

Hope your week is going well!

Greta Garbo had some minor surgery on multiple cysts she had developed. She looked pretty silly with a couple of bumps sticking out. So the Vet made four places where there are now stitches, and as we know healing can be itchy. So to avoid Greta's licking and scratching these spots the Vet suggested a small t-shirt; and so:

And here's another one. She was still feeling awkward, but by the end of the day she seemed quite well adjusted to the shirt. Her wounds are looking very good this morning, and I believe she will heal quickly and fully! Yay!

Poor Greta Garbo, but how cute you're looking! I'm glad that the surgery went well.

Morning Karen! Have you read Jim Lynch? I am loving Border Songs and I would think this would be just your cuppa too!
Hope you have a great weekend, my friend.

Thanks for stopping by, I know Greta Garbo appreciates your good wishes. She's sleeping peacefully next to me, on the sofa, right now. And so is Benny, the wonderful circus dog.

oh, Mark, we posted almost simultaneously. How convenient of you to come with a recommendation. I just received in the mail a small collection of coupons from Barnes and Noble. I'll check and see if Border Songs has a Nook version.

Thank you! I always appreciate your recommendations.

>84 maggie1944: and >85 maggie1944: Sweet little Greta! She looks pretty cute in that t-shirt and I hope the stitches heal quickly and well. It has been too long since I got to scritch her on her little head.

Sorry the HOA work is so overwhelming at times. Isn't retirement supposed to be easy??

Waiting on my copy of The 8:55 from Baghdad from SPL.

Yes, Ellen, retirement is supposed to be the end to all things stressful, but of course, it can not be as stress is a normal part of life. I also find that my personality defect of over committing myself has very much transferred from pre-retirement to post-retirement. Ha ha ha. Who would have thought it?

I am looking forward to the end of HOA meetings which are my responsibility to run, and then I can go back to The Mountaineers Photography Committee and enjoy potluck suppers, and photography talk, and learning.

I am also for now looking forward to trying out this new little job I've been offered with Instacart.com

I am supposed to start on July 19 so I don't know much about how it will work with my schedule and energy levels. But I'm willing to give it a try.

So, that could provide more money for the grand retirement scheme I'm working on. Always something......

Greta looks so sweet. Glad she is healing well.
HOA work sounds like a nightmare. Photography will be way more fun.

Yes, the HOA has been a royal pain in the arse. My biggest complaint is that we have more than an average number of chronic complainers who start by knowing nothing, and continue by criticizing any and everything, and follow up with personal insults, and on occasion yelling. Cheeeesh!

The people who do know something relevant to the successful functioning of the HOA will not tolerate the stupid meetings spending time trying to explain things to people who not only know nothing, but refuse to listen to someone who might know more than they do. Chronic oppositional behavior triggered by anything which vaguely looks like authority. Goodness, I wonder what they do when they need a doctor. Certainly, they do not go looking for one which is educated, and qualified to be a medical authority.

OK. You get the idea, and I need to stop shooting off my mouth.

Can't help myself, I just love this picture.

>94 maggie1944: Adorable.

Hi Karen; catching up quickly on various threads. Belated Happy Thingaversary! Hope Greta is feeling better.

>94 maggie1944:. She looks lovely!

Yes, Greta is doing well. She does not hate her t-shirt, but does not love it either.

Morning Karen! Love the photo of Greta. Hope you have plenty of R & R planned for the day.

Hi, Mark! Not much planned. The HOA library will be opened at 1 pm for a couple of musicians to get together and make some music - a guitarist, and a violinist. Funny combination. The fellow who is manager of the clubhouse is out recovering from his hip surgery so the two others who he has recruited for the Jam Sessions will show up. I think I'll take a book.

Also, need to stop by and spend a little time with my foster daughter's dogs. She is out of town on a brief trip with her musician "boy friend".

So otherwise, puttering around the house. Need to do more weeding. Must continue reading too: The Farm on audio and The 8:55 to Baghdad which suits the anniversary of WWI in some ways.... riding the train through the Balkans.

Sounds like a good day. Glad you are enjoying the Farm. I've been passing it around at work too and everyone seems very happy with it. I should find the audio and save it for a revisit.

I can not praise Border Songs enough and it takes place in your neck of the woods, up by the border.

I did look at it and decided to wait a bit. I just have so many TBR books, and am trying to be very "penny pinching" these days.

Thanks for the recommendations. You seldom miss on catching my eye.

Great photos of Greta, Karen! What a smart idea to use the shirt to keep her off of the stitches.

So, I have photography on the mind and dug up this one, one of my favorites, too.

^ sweetie pie!

>94 maggie1944: AWW, so cute!

I know. I miss him even now. I don't remember exactly when he died, but as cute as Benny is, he does not have Nicky's very special grouchy but lovable personality. We called Nick: Ossifer Nick, because he really did not like too much enthusiasm. Any large celebration of noise caused him to begin to bark, and he would stop only when we settled down. He knew who was large and in charge!

We are having a hot day today, may get up into the upper 90s, which is very unusual for Seattle area. Luckily, I have air conditioning in both my car and my house. I will probably get out and do a little watering and weeding in the garden this morning and then take it easy for the rest of the day. Which means, of course, reading!

I hope you have a nice reading day. I take it that the garden is going well then? I was never a gardener myself, but I have a high appreciation for those that do garden.

What wonderful pics and memories of your fur-friends.

Hot weather headed our way, too.

>108 Thebookdiva:, Nope, not really a gardener, I just try to maintain some good landscaping by doing the weeding, and water the good plants. It is hot and dry here so seldom that they need a little extra care. Thanks for the good wishes, and I'll do my best by picking out a good book to read.

>109 streamsong:, Thank you, Janet. I take it the threats of flooding are past, and hot weather is a joy to you, too. We get so little of it. Thanks for the compliment on my photographs. Yes, there are some good memories and it is so nice to have good photographs to remind me.

Yup, the threat of flooding is past with thankfully not a drop of water on my place.

My son has been here for the last few days doing an incredible number of projects.

Mom's house sold yesterday within ten minutes of her listing it and she also has a backup offer. Now we just have to power through with the sale of household stuff.

Wow! Within 10 minutes? that is remarkable. Good luck with the next stage, which certainly will have its bitter/sweet moments. I am glad your son is able to help out! Whew. You have been through a lot recently, and I hope this next part goes well.

Yeah, I guess her realtor had it priced a bit low. Ah well, it's now off her list of things to worry about.

Love that story of Ossifer Nick. We could've used him in my college dorm room.

Janet, I'm sorry. It seems like poor timing for the Realtor to have priced the house too low. Darn it! But you are right, it is the time to say "oh, well," and move on down the road. One less thing to have to let go of.....

Joe, he was a character, and everyone who knew him loved him. The middle kid, Logan (basketball fan) says from time to time, "I miss Nicky". And I agree with him, and say I miss him, too. He was a one special pup.

Wowie! I will receive an ER copy of Robin Hobb's Fool's Assassin (Fitz and the Fool Trilogy). I really like Robin Hobb's work and I'm sure I'll read this one. I do have some other ER books I need to get to....

It is very warm here today, and I"m watching the soccer game, oh, I"m sorry, the football game on the television, in my air conditioned trailer. He he he

Smug, I am

Amazing that the US made it to the Round of 16! Geaux Belgium.

It was a delightful game to watch! Tim Howard "standing on his head". I am glad to see the USA join the world, we have stood aside and played our version of "football" for far too long. We need to stop creating brain damaged veterans of that game, and get into the World's version of football. Although there seem to be ample opportunity for damaged bodies there, too.

But the mens wear lots fewer clothes. I likes that.

ha ha ha me, too. Good looking, some of those men.

...faces...I suppose they got 'em but hell who cares...seen their *legs*?! *swoon*

you are definitely cracking me up, Richard, my friend; however, "good looking" does not mean faces only, no no no. Good looking means good to look at, up and down, round and round. I enjoy me a good looking piece of mankind.

Rugby football, whatever.

OK. I'll take one of those. Boys. Men. Lovely.

Hi Karen! Just checking in. I just hung up with my sister, in Oregon and she said it was very hot there. Is it the same up by you?

I also wanted to let you know, I have the audio of the Boys in the Boat. It's from the library, so I'll have to get to in the next 2 weeks.

Yes, the weather man on TV news is just announcing we have broken records, at the airport. 94 degrees. 21 degrees higher than the average high.

Lovely. I like this kind of heat, but in small doses. Hopefully it will cool down in the next few days. In the 80s maybe, and maybe some back to the 70s.

I really enjoyed The Boys in the Boat for several reasons - one, local history; two, World War II history; and three, good accounting for how people with few resources were able, in the past, to do well through a combination of grit and good efforts.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

>115 maggie1944: There are some pets that touch your heart more than others. We still miss Sara. Tawnie, not so much. Losing Maia (many many MANY years from now) is going to crush me.

>123 richardderus: Ohhh Myyy.

Ireadthereforeiam told, on Ellen's thread, of a discussion between friends on what might make a multi-faceted person. I am interested so I'll post her summary here, and decide whether I might qualify, with a little stretching:

"We decided the following components were necessary for multifacetation to be present (!!)
- an in depth knowledge of/keen interest in the arts, in this case, music was foisted upon us as my lovely other has, what he calls, good taste in music :) (we were made to listen to the following bands: A Certain Ratio, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Walker Brothers)
- an in depth knowledge of/keen interest in literature (obviously)
- some kind of entrepreneurial venture, preferably starting a co-operative or ethical business
- a passion for something, anything will do (that is legal and not gross or uncouth)
- an area of specialised knowledge either from working in the area, or from studying it.
- an interesting skill of some kind (whether it be arty, or athletic or intellectual didn't matter, just some skill)

1. in-depth interest or knowledge in The Arts. Well, I am very interested in photography, and I know a little bit more than the average person; but I would not claim "in-depth".
2. in-depth interest or knowledge in Literature. Check
3. entrepreneurial venture. Ah, I tried to make and sell cards with my photography. I've sold a few, maybe under $100 in total sales. No one said it had to be successful.
4. a passion. Well, yes, of course. I have passion for reading, my dogs, and photography
5. an area of specialized knowledge. I'll claim both photography, and dog training
6. an interesting skill. I'll claim photography, again.

What shall I do with these other facets: * an interest in, and considerable knowledge of, history and politics; * considerable skill and joy in relating to children; * a native's knowledge of, and happiness in, Seattle

OK. I qualify. Facets! I have facets! Whew, after nearly 70 years walking this earth, I'm glad I can qualify as interesting.

I just stumbled across this: http://www.empmuseum.org/calendar/events/myth-magic-faire.aspx

It is a Myth and Magic Faire at the Experience Music Project in Seattle. Sounds interesting, perhaps enchanting....

July 12.

Hmmmmm

Worth a trip into the Big City!

I just got back from the American Library Association Conference in Las Vegas. Horrible city, but I got some very nice books in the exhibit hall. I got a signed copy of Boys in the Boat! (Ducks as Karen throws something at me.) A little later I went back down that aisle and the author was still there. I got a second autographed copy for my sister. She will love it as she lived in Seattle and then in Sisters, OR for 6 years. That second copy has Christmas or Birthday present written all over it.

I even got to talk to the Librarything Gods. Tim was there and this time the LT booth was in the same aisle as the Big Boys. He was in the same vicinity as ProQuest and other software giants in libraryland.

WHAT???? You did not get a third copy??? Oh, I can't believe it. I can't!

Seriously, what a cool "get". You are the bomb, girl. Congratulations. I've never been to Los V. either but I totally agree it has to be a horrible city.

Also, what fun to get to chat with Tim. And I like it that LT is playing in the big guys aisle.

Happy Fourth of July. Although I'm "available to Instacart" I am also home, doing a fair bit of reading. Working on making some significant progress in The 8:55 to Baghdad which has been describing some sad scenes in Eastern Europe which resulted after the misguided policies of the communists before the Wall Fell. Sad.

Any one know how to turn auto correct off on my Kindle Fire?

Throw it on the floor, stomp on it, and scream "die evil monster die."

Well, it *does* solve the autocorrect problem.

yes. It would. Thanks. I think I'll look for a less energetic solution.

I remembered that one of the books I got at the ALA conference was an ARC of DAvid Mitchell's new one Bone Clocks. The Random House people said it was more like Cloud Atlas than some of his books. I hope that Marky Mark and his fellow Posties get those boxes here ASAP, so I can start sorting the gifts from the ones I want to keep. It seemed to me that the publishers were more generous with their ARC's than they have been in previous years. There were lots and lots of YA books to give away. Not as many adult books. I did go crazy in the Penguin booth and buy about $30.00 worth of Europa editions (paperbacks translated from other languages) and $20.00 worth of US paperbacks. Not bad at $5.00 each. But I can't remember the titles of the ones I bought. I will probably post some of the Cranswickian haul on Paul's thread at some point.

I had planned on borrowing the push mower and doing the hand trimming on my lawn today as the weather has been so wonderful for the last few days, but while I was at the Farmer's Market purchasing some wonderful veggies and fresh Chilton County peaches, my phone rang and I got called in to work. I will be here until 2:00 p.m. covering for a sick student, so will try to go to the pool after that and get some reading in before evening. It is not onerous that I have to be at work, as there are only a few graduate students here, and so I can sit at the desk and catch up on all my LT threads. Hope you don't have to work today and can get some more reading and yard work done. I had planned to take a huge pile of cardboard to the recycling center and then go through one box of stuff from my move, so that I can get rid of it, but that will wait for another day.

I did get one more box unpacked yesterday, but as a result my reading chair is now home to three large stuffed animals. There is a story behind why I have them but it is more fun just picturing them in my library keeping the chair warm.

Morning Karen- I hope you are having a nice holiday weekend. I am loving the Plover and should be done with it soon. He is a Portland writer. Have you heard of him?

Good morning, Mark. My weekend has been grand with more reading than I've been able to do for ages! Yeah, I am liking that! And the Seattle Storm beat the Chicago Sky by playing hard the entire game. The score scooted back and forth between the two team for the entire game; first Storm was ahead, then the Sky, then Storm, then the Sky. Very exciting and our beloved Sue Bird seems to be hitting her stride again.

No, I've not heard of Brian Doyle before, however when I looked at the list of books he has written I believe I've seen Mink River being spoken of around here.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The 8:55 book is an author attempting to follow, and recreate, Agatha Christie's travels in the Near East: the Balkans, Turkey and Iraq. I liked it well enough to finish it as it is my Book Group's book for July meeting; however, I think the author inserted himself, his life, and his interests far too often. His accounting of Agatha Christie's life was adequate and did not provide me with anything I'd not already learned. I think I've read her autobiography, and perhaps a biography also. He did not add anything. And sadly, he did not add anything much about the modern day realities of the countries he traveled. So, my final judgment was that it was a little like eating hors d'oeuvres - a little of this, a little of that and it left me longing for a real meal.

On the other hand, The Language of Flowers was delightful. It was a bit hard for me to get into but I think that is more the fault of my life, and not the fault of the book. I was often confused but that could be caused by my only reading a page or two at each sitting. Once I got into the story I loved it. It is a basic story of a young woman who is moved from pillar to post, one foster home after another, and her angry way of getting kicked out of each place. She does have huge anger, justifiably so, and it is poorly controlled as would be normal for teenager, and young adult. She also has a gift with flowers and stumbles into a part time job in a florist shop. The book is delightful in that it tells of the language of flowers which was popular in Victorian days and which she uses to begin to build relationships which might, just might, last; that is, if she doesn't destroy them with her anger, and worthlessness.
I do recommend this book strongly. It tells a common story but in a very charming and unique way.

My church book club will be reading The Language of Flowers next February. I'm looking forward to it!

I enjoyed it quite a bit when my book club read it a few years ago.

Have a great week!

Morphy, I think you will like it. It is kind of a romance/mystery/literary book....

Karen, if you're still looking for autocorrect on the Kindle, on mine it's under Settings - Language & Keyboard - Keyboard Settings. You should be able to turn off auto correction from there.

Oh, thank you. I did cause me a moment or two of intense irritation. I'd like to stop that.

The Language of Flowers sounds as if it hit your sweet spot, Karren44! I'll be giving it a pass. Not a flower-lover, and not even remotely interested in Comings of Age.

Ah, well, not that interested in flowers would not be a fatal flaw, I mostly ignored the flower details; however, this is the coming of age of a seriously damaged young woman who received not much other than abuse by the foster child system. But not your cuppa, I seriously get that. I'm not that interested in mysteries and sometimes I feel a bit of the Lone Ranger, but gawd knows there are enough books in the world. We each can find our own.

Thanks for stopping by Richard! **hugs** and scratches behind the ears for the pooch sweetie pie.

Poochie will appreciate the ear-skritches...high pollen days are here, and she's a walking scratch despite pills and baths. Only a few weeks, but she isn't happy, and time's not the same for dogs as it is for us.

Benny has some allergic issues, too. I know it makes them miserable. So, I'm sending as many belly rubs and ear skritches as the Universe will allow!

Morning Karen! I enjoyed your thoughts on The Language of Flowers. I might give that a go at some point.

Have a good day!

Hi, Mark. Thanks for stopping by; and if you do read The Language of Flowers I will be interested in what you think. I don't think it is your normal fare, but that has not stopped you before, has it?

I am hoping the brutal Chicago summer is not kicking your butt too hard. I know the beer helps at the end of the day!

Well, after flipping through some pages of a number of books to decide "what next", I've decided to return to The Guns of August and my system of listening to the Audio version while I read along in my hard back copy. I have a pencil and make notes. Reminds me of my many hours of reading history while at the U of W; and I loved it then, and I think I still love it now. What butt heads the high and mighty in the countries of Europe were as they set off to war!

ETA: now it is time to take Greta Garbo to the doctor to have her stitches removed. I'm looking forward to having a smooth coat to pet!

I just joined "99 days without facebook". I will not be on face book for 99 days. So if you want to tell me something, come here. OK? Thanks.

I used some Barnes and Noble coupons and bought Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road. I am enthusiastic about starting the first one, and I think I can maintain reading it along side of The Guns of August. Who knew reading could provide so many temptations....

*lurking along*

I have had all three books in my possession. I read Regeneration along with my book discussion group a long time ago, and I always meant to get back to the other two. Maybe this centenary year is the time to do it?

Like you, I tend to wait for the books to speak to me, and when they do, I can't stop reading. When they don't, well, the book drags on for a long time.

>155 maggie1944: Ooo! Now *that* is ambition in action. Color me impressed.

Nina (humouress), I hope I have the right name for you. Thank you, so much for stopping by. And lurking. You are welcome anytime!

Benita, I'll be sure to post when, and if, I move from book 1 to book 2. I started Regeneration today and within a couple of pages I knew I was in for this book, hook, line and sinker. Maybe we can read the rest of the trilogy about the same time...

Richard, I'm delighted to have impressed you. All kinds of fun and games, eh?

>159 maggie1944: Yup; that's me.

Yay! Well, welcome to my thread. I do a good deal of Lurking, too, so come on by any time.

I've actually been lurking for a while; maybe I should actually have said "delurking". :0)

I stopped at the Red Cross and gave blood today. The first time in several years that they have accepted it because I have had low iron. I think all those blueberries have done some good. Now if I could just not be so tired in the morning.

hip hip hooray for the mighty, mighty blue berry!

Morning Karen! Anything planned for today, or are you just winging it?

Hi Abby, nice of you to wander over and say "hey". Today is part winging it and part working on the Home Owner Association's library. We spent about two hours yesterday pulling all the books off the shelves and did a rough cut on alphabetizing. Now I need to go by letter, by letter, and finish putting books back on the shelves, alpha by author. It is a nice air conditioned space and so it will be a quiet, pleasant task.

Otherwise, effort is being spent on staying cool. It is very warm for our part of the world and we are not used to it, at all. Reading, watching some TV (Property Brothers is my favorite show), and maybe some light housekeeping work. Just another Sunday in a retired person's life.

I spent yesterday cooking. I finally got my baked ziti done so I will be able to eat during the week without having to cook. I also baked a peach cobbler. Alabama has lots of peaches so I am doing the eating local thing right now. As well has trying to clean out the cupboard.

Local fruit coming ripe. Yummy. What a great time of year. I'm picking blueberries like crazy and freezing them. No strawberries this year, but next should be good. I'll add a few more plants as we take the tired lavender plants out.

*drools at the notion of fresh-picked booberries*

yummy, and imagine eating them on a cold, rainy stormy day in December! More yummy yet.

Need to go blackberry picking, too.

That sounds like a lovely Sunday. I like watching the Property Brothers too!

Hi Karen! Hope you are having a fine Sunday, with plenty of R & R time.

It has been a fine Sunday. I spent a couple of hours shelving books and then some time working with the guy who cleans our clubhouse. Remainder of time chatting up a Real Estate lady showing a house, and she had a nice used bed I might buy. It could be very comfortable for either one year or ten years, at a very minimal cost. Then home, and relaxing. Making a baked potato for dinner, with a little soup as a side.

Nice to see you Abby, and Mark. Thanks for stopping by.

>94 maggie1944:.You simply have to love this dog!

>175 Whisper1:, Linda, I think that is a lovely photograph. I do love Greta Garbo. She is such a sweet, calm dog that when the vet's staff had to pull her stitches out from four spots she just was calm and let them do their thing. They came out "warbling" about what a good dog she is. She even loves to sit on the receptionist's lap. She loves to sit right next to me and cuddles, but when she is not doing that, she is a norma,l calm, happy dog. No jumping up on people. She does a little barking but when I say "no barking" she stops. Amazing!

Happy Monday morning every body! I have a little bit of HOA work to do today, and then Book Group! this evening. We'll talk about The 8:55 to Baghdad which could be an interesting conversation.

I need to start getting out with the camera again.

I am having a couple of weeks without dealing with the kids so I have more flexibility. I am interested to see what I end up doing. Some indulgence of impulsiveness is allowed, I believe.

Your photographs are lovely. I remember one of a set of bowls placed on a table.

That is so funny. I liked that picture, too. That was a staging so I could practice focus on first the nearest bowl and letting the others fade into no focus fuzziness and then contrast that with a photograph where they were all in focus. It was fun and I need to do more stuff like that. Really. I am so ready to stop with the HOA work so I can get back to my camera.

My new job - I had the chance yesterday, finally, to actually go shopping for someone. But I'm telling you guys starting up a business like this one is not without its bumps and misdirections. If you are uninterested in the drama in my life skip this message and go on from there. For the rest of you, I'll try to be brief.

So I had an actual "shift" yesterday. Was told I would get a "batch" between certain hours. So I drove from my house to a location in the downtown of the major suburb of Seattle, near three grocery stores where I might be asked to shop. So far, so good. Then! I received a text message that it was suggested I go to another branch of one of the stores.... in downtown Seattle (driving through rush hour traffic in one of the worst traffic cities in the world). I thought "well, ok, maybe my shopping will be in Seattle where they are experiencing more orders).

Luckily, I had Siri in my iPhone to give me a direct route to the store, and to its underground parking garage. I had to pay a toll across one of our bridges, and anticipate paying for parking. Whew. Then I'm walking around the store to get my bearings, no order yet. Tried to be sure the iPhone was working in this store, and no, it was not! Dang. So I went outside, and the phone worked better. Still no order. It was sunny, a bit warmer than usual, and totally crowded with lots and lots of young people - techie sorts, I believe - and there I was looking for a quiet, shady, inconspicuous spot to do some reading while waiting for an order of groceries.

I find a spot on stairs but can't stay there as it is not comfortable. So I go inside, buy a snack, and take one of their outdoor tables, in the sun! And settle down to read. And read. And read. We had been warned that there might be times like this when we are just waiting for an order to show up but I had thought I was in the city due to there being lots of work. Duh. Finally, about a half hour before the end of my shift I get an order for three items. My first order! yay! But the damn iPhone does not work in the store. I have to call for help. OK. Done. Get in the car, and head for the address... But Wait!!!! There is no city attached to the address, and being a "native" of this city I know it is not where I was thinking it was going to be. Pull off the freeway, call for more help, and get the city.

OK. Long story shortened: I make the delivery 20 minutes later than expected, and I go home to fall into bed. That whole experience taught me some very valuable lessons, like: Use My Own Best Judgment as to where to shop. There are more details of frustration, and satisfaction, but in the end: OK. I have had my first shopping experience and the customer did get his food within close to a reasonable amount of time. Better next time! And next time, I'm hoping what I'm paid exceeds what I spend in gas, bridge tolls, snacks along the way.

Today: some reading time, I'm hoping. No shifts scheduled.

Woo, that's quite a tale, Karen. You're smart to treat this as a learning experience. Fingers crossed for you that it gets easier, more efficient, and more lucrative.

much much more lucrative is the key!

But I'm still smiling, and I still have enthusiasm for the idea.

It does seem like an idea with a good chance of success. If I were a single, working person this would particularly appeal to me. Time to get everything done becomes an issue.

>179 maggie1944: What an ANNOYING experience! So sorry.

Heh! I was alternating between irritated, frustrated, too hot, and angry and then settled down into "hey, time to read"! I relaxed, and solved the problems, and got home at a reasonable hour. Not too much strain, and I know lots more about the job.

Hi Karen! I heard it is still hot up there...true? I had to renew the Boys in the Boat. Right now, Middlemarch is taking up both my audio and print time and then I have my 2nd Twain queued up, after that. Hopefully, I'll still get to it.

I am glad to hear, you are considering War and Peace. It's a good opportunity...

Y'know, I thought you were retired, but you sound busier than me. Mind you, I spend a lot of time in the car ferrying the kids around the country, which takes time, but I don't feel I'm actually doing much.

Well, in my retirement I've identified a "next step" which will very likely take more Benjamins than I currently have stashed in my mattress. I started my volunteering with the HOA to do what I could to support the property value of the one large asset I "own", and which is threatened by the actions and inactions of a minority of know nothing types who refuse to become educated about the reality of the financial future of the association. Last night's Board meeting felt like the people holding the opposing point of view, the "know nothings" as I call them, were creating a circle around the Board. I have four more meetings left to run, as the chairman, and then I believe I will find a rock, and go hide under it.

Second, the "little " job I've landed is intended to keep me busy so I don't volunteer again for some lost cause, and to put a few Georges in the bank. Wish me luck.

Luck to you.

But tell me more about this mattress ...

;0)

Notified today that I have four shifts next week. Things are looking up. Tomorrow could be a Do Nothing But Read Day! Yay!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker

Recommended highly by Richard Derus, and rightfully so. A remarkable small novel. I am not feeling up to writing my review just now. I think I need to let it sit in my brain and heart for a bit.

A good addition to the World War I emphasis for this year.

Hi Karen! Just doing a Saturday check-in. I was able to renew my audio of The Boys in the Boat, so I should have no problem bookhorning that one in.
Hope you are getting some R & R in. Hugs!

So very glad you had a similarly powerful experience of reading Regeneration! I truly love that book. I think I'll skip the other two, since they get such very mixed reactions, and I don't want to risk diluting the beauty of it with ~meh~ juice.

I think I'll give them a go, I do like some of the characters and I am interested in what she does with the whole scene. I am not such a critic, more just reading what I like and I think I'll like them well enough.

I plan on reading the follow-ups. My vacation starts on August 1 and I thought it would be a fitting thing for August so I will take them with me. They are not long so think that I should be able to get both of them read. The second one in the series has some mixed reactions but Ghost Road was very well received. Especially in Great Britain.

I went to my first "shift" of Instacart last night, and spent from 6 pm to 10 pm reading in the grocery store's parking lot. No one needed me to shop for them, so I got to read. What's bad about that? Well, I did spend the gasoline driving from my house to the target grocery store, and that was a ways, so I guess I'd have to say the gasoline was spent, and that might be called a waste. Well, we'll see if I do the same on Wednesday, and Friday.

I am almost finished with The Eye in the Door, and will start book 3 very soon.

I will be looking forward to your review of Eye in the Door. I will be going on vacation starting August 1 and plan on taking that book with me so I won't be too far behind you in the reading of it.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker

Finished book two of the Regeneration Trilogy last night during my Instacart shift. Enforced reading time of four hours, in my car, in the grocery store parking lot. It was lovely. When the light faded and I did not feel good about reading, I switched to the audio of Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle Earth by John Garth, and read by John Garth. Interesting. Even in the car the audio began to lull me to sleep.

OK, well, back to The Eye in the Door. Barker is exploring the effects of world war's battles, trenches, and inhumane conditions on the soldiers who came back to England to rest and recover from "battle fatigue". The books do not have a plot to drive from one chapter to another, just more and more about several characters. Issues of homosexuality and pacifism are identified as major barriers to acceptance of some of these soldiers. Evidently, England did have a wave of anti-homosexual hysteria during the war, and these "nancy" men were blamed, in part, for the poor progress of the war. England did, after all, expect to just march over there and sent the enemy running in short order, and as we know, that did not happen. Scapegoating is not a surprising reaction to this frustration.

I am liking the books because I have a life-long fascination with psychology and why people do what they do; the fact that these men were treated by a psychiatrist steeped in Freudian methodology makes some of the explanations interesting from a historical point of view. I appreciate the fact that Barker does not spare her psychiatrist from analysis also. He has his neurosis and it is occasionally analyzed and his resistance is noted. Barker has succeeded in making her characters, even the hard to love ones, attractive to the reader, in my case. I am rooting for them all to somehow survive this cataclysm, if not whole, at least still able to function and find some joy in living. It was a hard time to continue to see value in living, and this despair certainly makes recovery from "battle fatigue" a daunting journey.

I am interested to see what book 3 has to add.

Morning Karen! I hope your week is going well. It has been deliciously cool here. Smiles.
Glad you are enjoying the Barker trilogy. I'll have to get to those at some point.

Karen, I love that your four hours (!) of forced reading time in the car was "lovely." See, this is what I'm thinking. I need a career change. I need employment that allows for reading/listening. Something to ponder while I trek across the Highlands.

I started The Boys in the Boat last evening and I think I'm going to like it. I'm glad our book group was up for a switcheroo. Also, we're camping and hiking up at Mt. Adams this weekend and I am determined to figure out how to really use this new camera. It sounds whiny, but the thing that gets most in my way is that I have to put on my #$@*& glasses in order to see the controls! Aging. Hrmph.

It's still cool today but drying out again. Sunny and 75F predicted for Saturday. I love Seattle this time of year.

Okay, time to go earn the kibble!

OK, I totally get the frustration of having to put on the glasses to see controls. Me, too! But if you do it a bunch, you'll begin to be able to do it without seeing.... maybe...... Good Luck. I'd love to see your camera sometime and learn what it can do.

Mary came over yesterday and borrowed my copy of The Boys in the Boat. I think the switchero was brilliant. I am looking forward to our meeting in August.

Hope your day is great! And I also hope you can see a way to a different career choice, one which will allow more time to be yourself at rest and relaxation.

Whooops, Hi, Mark.

Thanks for stopping by. I do recommend reading at least the first book. I can see why there are mixed reviews for the second. I'm starting book 3 today.

The Boys in the Boat is a delightful read. This morning's bus commute was slooooow and I was completely content (no early meeting, so that helped) because I had that book to read. It was like stolen time. Loved it.

Have you gotten any more grocery orders?

nope. Two days of sitting in the parking lot reading. On Wednesday, the light was fading so I saw there will be challenge when it gets dark, but I had my trusty Kindle and was able to start listening to Tolkien and the Great War. Tonight it will be the same hours, but tomorrow I'm on for 9 am to 1 pm so we will see if that makes a difference.

Hi Karen - think what it will do to your book totals for the year!

Do you get an 'on call' pay or just if you shop?

Well, if you're happy enough sitting in the car park reading while waiting for your call (because I would most likely fall asleep after a while), then good for you. But otherwise, couldn't you just wait at home? Now that you've worked out that it's easier for you to shop somewhere familiar to you?

Just thought - you might scare the other shoppers; you know : "There's a strange lady sitting in the car park. Reading. An actual book!" ;0)

Initially, I do get paid for just driving from my house to the grocery store. It is about 30 minutes away. The Instacart has not yet "covered" the entire Greater Seattle area which includes a good many suburbs. I drive from one small town (now kind of a suburb) to another small town (now the third largest city in Washington). If I waiting at home I would spend too many of the Deliver It In One Hour minutes just getting to the store.

All of the stores we "cover" are familiar to me, and I sometimes spend some of my waiting time just walking around the store, using the bathroom, and becoming even more clear about where things are. I have an Instacart t-shirt on and the stores are official partners so there is no worry by employees if I seem to be sort of aimless.

Yes! It is true. I did "disturb" the boy who was collecting shopping baskets from the parking lot the other night. He commented that I had made a lot of progress in that book! He actually was very sweet and nice to me. It was funny though.

When the light faded, I listened to my Kindle, and yes, I did almost doze off.

I do not know how long I can support this company by sitting in parking lots not getting very much money for my time. It is an active Question in My Mind. (-:

Thanks for stopping by and being curious.

Karen

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker

I believe these three books by Pat Barker are sometimes published together as one book, and I certainly felt that they were, one book. Not a trilogy. Don't really know what an official, academic, dictionary definition of trilogy is so, truth be told, I do not know whether to call them trilogy, or the work "a book".

I liked all three. Thought the work gave a very fresh look at World War I and how the homosexual and pacifist, and anti-war folks were seen. Several of the main characters followed by the book through war experiences, being unfit for duty due to "shell shock" or "battle fatigue", being treated; and living long enough and successfully enough to be sent back to war. Oh, my, so brutal. So totally unnecessary.

I definitely recommend all three to those readers who are using the World War's Centennial to explore the literature exploring that "Great" War which was supposed to end all wars, being so unbelievably brutal, and pointless. Unfortunately, as we all know, the seeds for World War II were being sown.

As you can see, I have gotten significant amounts of reading done. I spent a quite a few moments reading yesterday evening and then got an order. Bought the groceries, with help from the employees there, and used my iPhone's Siri to direct me to the customer's home. Then today, I pretty much did the same although during the day. Today's order was for Costco, and if any of you have shopped at Costco on a Saturday, and were looking for things you did not usually buy, you know what a challenge that was! Whew! I'm glad I survived.

Turns out there was an error in yesterday's order, and I was late with today's order. Probably both consequences of being a newbie. Hopefully, I will pay more attention to details, and will be quicker. Although, I can't imagine being any quicker than I was today at Costco. (Mission Impossible theme music comes to mind)

Hi Karen! Hope you had a lovely Saturday. Congrats on finishing the Regeneration books! I will HAVE to get to those. I finished my Twain audio, so next up is The Boys in the Boat. I am glad to hear Ellen is also enjoying it.

We are reading The Boys in the Boat for our next book group and I'm excited to hear what everyone thinks of the book. I enjoyed it. It combined my love of history, of biography, and of local settings. Could hardly have been better for me.

Wow--sounds like a crazy job! Hope it gets more renumerative... I have the Eye in the Door and was planning to read it someday soon, as I really liked Regeneration.

Yes, I hope the money begins to be somewhat equal to the effort. And the gasoline. But on the bright side, I actually like the job, and hope I will do well after I learn the ropes.

Each of the three books is a little bit different; different characters take center stage.

COSTCO on SATURDAY?! yow

Sending happier-order-experience whammys!

Thank you, Richard. It was a daunting assignment, meant only for the brave and indomitable! And I will do it again, someday, no doubt.

I expect next pay period to be fat!

I am now reading The World Inside for the book group. What I will do for my friends!

Happy Sunday, Karen. That's a Silverberg I never read, so you've got me curious. I just finished the 4th St. Mary's, A Trail Through Time, and it was goo-ood.

So far, I"ve been successful at ducking the St. Mary's BBs. Too much on my plate.

I've read a few pages, and its dated, but not too horrible. I'm not expecting a lot, but there are a lot of pages. It would be nice if it were a good story.

I cut short the blueberry picking as it was 101 out there and even in the shade that was mighty hot. However, I got enough for a nice blueberry cobbler to share with the folks back in Kansas. I will make my last blueberry picking trip on Wednesday and then off to Kansas with them. A nice cool front is supposed to come through today so I am looking forward to it. Kansas is in the oven so even if it cools off here it will be hotter than a firecracker out there. Temps were up to 105 this weekend.

Oh, I do not envy you in that kinda hot! Whew. I would not budge outside of air conditioned spaces. It is not my kinda place.

I do appreciate my corner of the USA, it is between 60-90 these days. Cool evenings, wonderfully pleasant mornings, and warm days. A little warmer than I like but it is definitely tolerable.

I read a bit during my morning shift, and made one delivery. I made it to the kids' place, in time, to make lunch, and sit down and eat with them (I actually was able to buy a great salad, and some sushi for my own lunch while still on my "shift". Cool!) Then headed home.

Now I'm relaxing with the dogs, thinking about how to squeeze buying some dog food into my schedule as there is not much left in the canister. Then I have another shift this evening. I'm thinking: paycheck, paycheck, paycheck! Today is the busiest day of the week, and it is more or less much easier for the rest of the week, with one day of no obligations!

Am making progress in the book. Of course, I am!

^ I just stumbled on this image and thought it matched perfectly with my love of The Boys in the Boat. I love Joe's story in the book. He is the anchor.

You mentioned enjoying Silver Linings, on my thread. What is that?

ha ha ha
you mentioned that you saw a silver lining in painting your fence, because you could listen to The Boys in the Band.

I've completed four deliveries and each customer gave me five stars! Whooppeee!!!!

>221 maggie1944: Whoo hoo! All in one shift?

Nope that would be a very, very long day. It was over 4 shifts. But it definitely is getting more busy.

I get my second pay check today. Not a lot of money. But it is some, and it was put immediately into the savings for retirement community account.

Any is better than none under the circs. xoxo on the stars!

Hooray for paychecks! That must feel god.

Yeah... but but but. I'm calling this my "training" time cuz I'm not seeing money coming in being greater than money going out... gasoline, is not cheap. I am going in to the office tomorrow and plan on having a little heart to heart with the guys running the show. Hope to get some good hints on what I could do to make more mooolah! I like the job, it is fun, but not fun enough to work for nothing.

Even if you throw in all that good reading time, and the stuff I'm learning about what the stores have that is new to me. I do love that part.

Exploring in grocery stores is great fun. I look at things and think of all the wonderful things I could make with them. I am thinking of having an iced tea party when I go home next week. It would be something fun for a hot summer evening.

Costco on any day...... Ugh.

Still: Two days of sitting in the parking lot reading. There are worse things.
And you're starting to get some business! Very cool.

I'm almost done with The Boys in the Boat and am now planning to go to the Conibear Shell House sometime this fall. I've seen the Husky Clipper before, but didn't fully comprehend its historical significance. The book is a just wonderful!!

Hope you are having a great day, Karen! And I hope you keep enjoying Fault!

What Mark said, Karen. Thinking of you out here in Chicago. Ellen showed a visual of a week of pretty darn good weather for your fair city.

Yes, the weather is lovely. I've been thinking about my outside painting projects. Must get back to them. Yes, I am loving audio Fault in Our Stars.

I talked with one of the Instacart guys today about feeling as if my paychecks have been roughly equal to my expenses: gasoline, wear and tear on car, bridge toll, and parking fees. And I could say, "treats from grocery stores". He suggested that maybe I could try some Seattle shifts as there are more orders there, and I could get some double orders in one shift. I'll give it a try next week. Hope that means more money.

But I'm still enjoying it, I just don't want to pay them for the opportunity to shop for their customers. Ha ha ha!

^It will be interesting to see how that works out. Certainly you don't want to be losing money on the proposition!

Nope, not yet losing money in Instacart. I hope it picks up a bit more, though.

I've had a couple of Instacart paychecks, small but welcome, and many good hours of reading time. I've finished The World Inside within a day or two because of my enforced reading times! Yay! I've picked up Tales of the City for the fun of it, and because Richard wrote such a nice review of the last book in the series. I read it so long ago it feels like a new read! Ha ha ha. It is so 1960s-70s San Francisco! What a hoot! Working also on Virginia Wolff's short stories in Monday or Tuesday (another book I pulled out of reading Richard's threads) and Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck (a gift).

The HOA work has lessened as the Clubhouse Manager is back from his surgery and recovery. Thank goodness. That was just too much work for me. I'm retired! After all!

Oh, I forgot. When my shift takes me into the dark dusk, and I can't read my books, I'm listening to The Fault in Our Stars. Yup. All of that. And occasionally I get an order for some groceries to shop and deliver, too.

Completed reading of The World Inside. Interesting. Premise is the opposite of the "population explosion theory" of the 1960s and 1970s when people feared the planet would become over populated, and there would be mass starvation. This book postulates that if you create high density centers, and make them vertical, the majority of the earth's land could be dedicated to agriculture, and therefore everyone could eat.

One description of how wonderful such a world could be uses a description of the past as a contrast, "He understands the awful chaos of the past. The terrifying freedoms; the hideous necessity of making choices. The insecurity. The confusion. The lack of plan. The formlessness of contexts."

Of course, the author has the story peppered with a few rebels who die in pursuit of this awful freedom of the past.

The book is dated, for sure; but still the world building is moderately interesting and I found a couple of characters who I could care about. Some of the values being touted in the 1960s and 1970s certainly do show up in this author's depiction of a future "utopia"; the sexual life is quite "free". And the description of a music concert was funny as a parody of a rock concert.

I would only recommend this book to people who love Science Fiction and who wouldn't mind some of the more dated elements.

>235 maggie1944: Well, Singapore is pretty vertical, but there's almost no agriculture here.

Doesn't your steering wheel get in the way of reading books? I could never read comfortably in the car; I dislike having to reset my seat, so I don't move it backwards unless I absolutely have to, because I never seem to get it back to exactly the right position. (Yes, I know it's supposed to be able to reset automatically, but I never got to that part of the car manual.)

Oh, my seat's forward/backwards setting is all manual and I just scoot it back and forth depending on what I'm doing. So, yes, I do scoot way back to read. I suppose I could also move over into the right hand seat to do the reading, but then there's rearranging all the purse, iPhone, cords, etc. diary, calendar, on and on. I'm a terrible pack rat... always want to carry with me whatever I imagine I "might" need - flashlight, extra pens and pencils, etc.

Silly.

Spent three hours in a parking lot last evening, and made good progress in Tales of the City plus did a little doodling, as my version of art. Doodles work well as the light begins to fade, and I was hesitant to turn on my audio of The Fault in Our Stars as there was a young couple sitting near me, having their Parking Lot moment. I did not want to disturb them. I am not sure if they knew I was there or not, but later when I was reading LT posts and doing some posting of my own, on my iPhone, I expect the light from the phone illuminated my face, and my cover was blown.

No grocery delivery yesterday, but good reading time!

>238 maggie1944: >195 maggie1944: I couldn't work out why you were spending so much time sitting in the car so I had to read back to double check. So you have a specific shift and then they phone you up if there is a shopping order? The similar schemes here are run quite differently and shoppers have to get their orders in by midnight the night before they want the shopping. But internet grocery shopping is a much bigger thing here and all the big supermarkets run their own schemes, for which they employ full time staff.

Morning Karen! I am enjoying a day off today. I leave for Asheville in 2 weeks. Yah, Me!!

Thanks to you, I just ordered a battery bank: All Powers 15600. $20. You can plug 2 devices into this one. For a few extra bucks it was worth getting the bigger one. This will be nice to take on trips. My ipod Nano is getting old and it doesn't hold a charge like it used to, so this will come in handy, in a pinch.

Once again, I appreciate the great advice.

Another good morning from Chicago, Karen! Hope you enjoy the day.

Thanks, all! I only have a minute.... I will be back later with a story.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

Delightful. A Quick and Entertaining read. I was about 25 when the 1970s started, and living in Seattle. I watched San Francisco from afar, although not too far afar. I was running around people people a little bit like the characters of this lovely series. And we likewise were hunting for love, meaning, and a place to belong. I read t his book then, and now in re-reading it I am charmed all over again. Maupin has a wonderful knack for picking up the very phrases, and expressions of that time. I can't recommend this highly enough.

It's a wonderful rediscovery, isn't it? A lovely and welcome reminder of a time and a place.

Karen

Just wondering...is it safe waiting in parking lots?
In certain areas where I live this would be a no no.

Also, I like the way in which you list your books -- a full list then adding your latest read.

Ok, if I copy this?

Linda, yes, I feel quite safe in the parking lots. I am going to those suburbs of Seattle where traditionally more affluent folks have lived and during the times when there are not so many people around the ones who are there are tradespeople bringing goods to the stores. I've seen no signs of aimless people hanging around. I also will not make myself available when it is deep dark. Early morning, or dusk, seems like it is an OK time, but not hours after it has become dark. I do not want to knock on a stranger's door with grocery delivery that late. I am, after all is said and done, about 5 feet tall, and 69 years old.

You are very welcome to my system of keeping track. My memory is not so good and this helps me to remember where I am in the year's progress. And I enjoy remembering the books I've read this year.

Thanks for stopping by.... and have a great week, and weekend!

Louise Penny will be at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on August 31st! I am so excited.

Of the 7 books I've found here in the last day and a half I just bought three of them for my Kindle. I bought Eleanor and Park, If I Stay, and Orphan Train. Boy I had better get to crackin' with my reading!

I predict you're going to love Orphan Train (I just finished) and Eleanor and Park, Karen. I've got If I Stay and intend to read it soon meself.

If I Stay was the book that the young woman at the Spa was talking about when we realized we were both big readers! I love it.

I am so glad when I run into a young person who loves books. And of course, when I run into good book recommendations here! This is a great way to start the day!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

If you remember laughing your fool head off when watching "When Harry Met Sally" you know how funny Nora Ephron can be. She delivers in this book, too. I don't know whether the reader must be over the age of 45 to "get the jokes" but since I am I laughed out loud more than once, and was tempted to pick up the phone to read a section or two to friends I knew this is a humorist I love having in my life. Now that is a good book.

She also appreciates a good book: "There's something called the rapture of the deep, and it refers to what happens when a deep-sea diver spends too much time at the bottom of the ocean and can't tell which way is up. When he surfaces, he's liable to have a condition called the bends, where the body can't adapt to the oxygen levels in the atmosphere. All this happens to me when I surface from a great book."

Isn't that a great way to describe the feeling of having to come back to reality when it is past time to put that book down?

That's is a great description, Karen.

So, what was the last book that made you feel that way?

My RL bookclub read Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety last month. That would be my most recent totally submerged book.

I think I can feel that total immersion with Alan Furst's novels, although I did feel quite drawn in when I was reading the Regeneration trilogy, too.

Happy Saturday, Karen! It looks like you are getting some Dirty Love. You lucky gal!
Enjoy your day.

Today's project--copying your way of listing all books you've read to date....
I'm doing this today so that I can procrastinate packing for my Miami, FL trip, leaving tomorrow, for a week-long publication conference with four students.

It should be fun, but also exhausting. And, I'm trying so hard to keep the weight off that I've lost these last years because of surgeries. Always, these conferences are a lot of work, and a lot of food.

Happy Day! I hope you can read and relax Karen.

Thanks, Mark! I will enjoy today, I think. I've done an Instacart shift, am home now for lunch and some LT catching up time. I might do a little painting on the porches.... progress is being made! and then I have a quick Instacart shift later: 7 pm to 9 pm. I think I'll be listening to The Fault in Our Stars.

Linda, I am definitely getting some reading done. I started a new Alan Furst book, am working on the second in the Maupin series, and making progress my audio book (see above). Whooooo eeeee!

OK...time to go eat lunch.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
26. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

More Tales of the City carries on with most of the same characters and putting some flesh on some earlier minor characters. I love it that the bad guys get bad ends, and the good guys just keep on keepin' on! I also love that I've read these books before so I remember some of the plot completions, but not all. The hints are broad, and amusing when you know the outcome, but I'm sure I miss as many as I catch. I will be continuing. The books make me feel good about life and some of the flawed people in my life as well as those in the books. I am smiling.

I've read and reviewed the deeply beautiful and immensely satisfying short Great War novel, A Month in the Country. See why I love it in my thread...post #103.

>253 maggie1944: I've only read one of the Furst novels, but enjoyed it. I need to get back to them. Any favorites out of the lot?

Finished reading Dark Voyage by Alan Furst. This is part of his Night Soldiers series but it is not a very well known title of that series. I really liked it. It was more about the people who are caught up in war and have to make decisions about how they will react. Furst's forte is creating atmosphere and this book is no different than previous books in the Night Soldiers series. This one is about a tramp freighter in the merchant marine. The merchant marine is a vital part of World War II that often gets short shrift. Furst remedies that with this novel. The hero of the story is a Dutch sea captain on a Dutch merchant ship. When Holland is overrun in the fall of 1940 he is suddenly a ship without a country. The British make use of this fact and turn the ship into a dark freighter. This makes for some exciting adventures for the intrepid captain and his crew.

And the cafe in Paris with the bullet hole in the mirror does make an appearance in this book.

Hunt this title down and add it to you Furst collection. It is a good one.

Thanks, Benita. I have it, just not yet picked it up to read. Will do, some day, some day......

I like Furst because of his commitment to seeing how ordinary people are caught up in the tidal wave of WWII. This looks like a great example of that.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
26. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
27. A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr

I have a very sweet spot in my heart for country living in the summertime. I spent about 8 summer vacations on a cattle and wheat ranch in Idaho. I have vivid memories of hot summer days, the rustle of the wind through the tall trees, the slow trickle sound of a creek, chickens scratching in the yard, and calves calling for their mothers. I remember the smells of hay and wheat harvests. I would spend at least a month in the country, sometimes more. I ached to return each year. I still have that spot in my heart.

This is a very sweet book describing a veteran returning from war with some mental wounds, spending a few months working to restore art on walls in a country church, and getting to know the country and its people. A delightfully moving description of summer in a slower time, in a simple environment. His interaction with the art, and with the people, and most of all with the environment helps him heal; and the author offers some of the same to his readers. There is a plot but it is not of central import. And even the characters are somewhat like the characters in the mural. They are real. But the author does not spend his words describing their reality in much more than a few very talented brush strokes.

One feels a little bit more whole after reading these wonderful descriptions of a life which follows the natural cycles. I was able to read the book in just a couple of sittings. I recommend it especially to those who love good writing.

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
26. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
27. A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr
28. Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin

More laughing out loud, more thoughtful pauses when remembering some of the awful stuff that happened back in the day, more caring about this merry band of people who populated San Francisco in the 1970s. Maupin sticks a genuine mystery into this book, and there were moments when I did not know if I put the book down because I did not want to find out "what happens", or if I was too excited to read "what happens". How he pulls an impossible story together at the end is a wonder to behold. And the heroes are totally lovable!

Do you plan to keep going in the series, Karen44?

Yes, and I have Babycakes in hand as I type. I am in the start of a 6 hour shift so I'll either get a couple of deliveries or lots o reading time!

A nice mix would be perfect. Enjoy!

Happy Saturday, Karen. I hope you have a nice weekend planned. I get through today and then I am outta here! Vacay and Booktopia! Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

So far, so good. I am 2/3 of the way through Babycakes and 5/6 the way through my shift. I can hardly believe I am being paid while I read. Eureka!

Tomorrow, I have a big and relatively uneasant HOA event plus after the last home basketball season's game.

So, all in all a good weekend. You have fun in Booktopia!

29. Babycakes by Armistead Maupin

Well, that was a fun romp. Maupin finds silly ways to put his characters into predicaments and then even sillier ways to extricate them. I read this book in one day, a few hours. I am not a fast reader any more. Used to be one. Not now. But his books are easy reading. And fun. And make you laugh out loud.

The Armistead Maupin books sound lovely and delightful!

I blew the bank on my other hobby - knitting over the weekend. The yarn shop were I have been taking knitting lessons had a sale on some really nice yarn. Skeins that had been priced at $15.00 per skein were priced at $2.50. I didn't hesitate I wrote checks and when I hit my limit I whipped out the plastic because yarn of that quality at that price doesn't happen very often. Now I have to get to knitting.

I admit that I justified some of the purchases of yarn by making them part of my nieces Christmas present. The colors of that yarn was so beautiful that I simply couldn't resist and I am sure that Emily won't either. The sweater I have been working on for 6 months is coming along beautifully so I have hopes I will get some of these other projects done as well.

Morning Karen! Tomorrow at this time I will be well on my way south/southeast. Just me and my audiobooks. Smiles...

Hope the week goes smoothly for you.

Happy days for both Benita and Mark! Happy knitting. And happy Booktopia!

I had a wonderful long shift yesterday and read my way fully into Midnight in Europe, back with my friend Alan Furst and his description of living in Europe before World War II. This one seems focused on the Spanish Civil War and how it interacted with Hitler's growing power in Germany. Quite the contrast to the Maupin books, and quite gripping!

I do love my job: reading + shopping + driving into new neighborhoods and peeking into other people's lives.

I felt like the splurge on yarn was justified. I had spent the morning working on the Big Green Monster. It was so hot and in ten minutes I was miserable. I finally hired somebody who was willing to do more than the minimum on the yard. An acquaintance has a grandson who is in 7th grade. He wanted to make summer money and started mowing lawns under the supervision of his grandfather. I wasn't sure about doing this, as I thought perhaps I was being overly picky about what I expected in a lawn mower person and didn't want to cause any problems for the friendship that his grandmother and I have. However, this went well. I will certainly hire the kid back. The grandfather supervised, but it was the kid who kept coming up to me and asking if he was getting all the places I wanted. He checked with me before he weed whacked something off. He trimmed and he mowed. My Big Green Monster looks good.

Add to that - he was astute enough to recognize that, what I thought were some kind of bushy weeds, were actually small pecan trees. It turns out that there must have been a pecan tree in the back yard before the tornado. The trees were all taken down by the wind and the stumps ground out of the yard. However, the roots must still be there and growing from the roots are these pecan trees. Now I have to decide which on I want to keep and which ones I will have whacked off until they stop growing. I didn't pecans would do that - grow from the roots. I knew that cottonwood does that, but knowledge of pecans is out of my zone. I was impressed with the kid. I will certainly have him back.

>273 maggie1944: You make Instacart sound like the perfect part-time gig. So glad you're enjoying it!

I've lost Joe's thread. Do you have a link I can glom onto and find him again? I think he has some mac and cheese waiting for me. (or at least I hope he does.)

Here's the link to the Threadbook. Joe's jnwelch.

http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2014Threadbook

Benita, your lawn mowing young man is a great "find". I am always happy when I find a young person who actually knows what it means to work, and is willing to learn. Yay! Do what you have to do to keep this guy coming back until he is old enough to be enticed away by the bigger world.

Here's a link to Joe's latest thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/179106#

Yes, Richard, I'm feeling very good about the Instacart job. I love that they ask once a week when do I want to work so that way I can eliminate the days when I've other obligations and appointments. I also love that I get to do so much reading. Yesterday was a great shift: 50% reading, and 50% shopping, and stocking the refrigerator and cupboards at a Residence Inn for some travelers, with kids. Very satisfying. I think it will be interesting how I feel when the winter weather arrives. I'll not be comfortable in the car for long periods of time. Many of the stores do have little "cafe" areas for having a cup of coffee or the like however those chairs are usually hard, and not comfortable enough for hours of sitting. We shall see. I may end up doing a fair amount of walking about in stores and their neighborhoods.

Also, the money has improved significantly as I am more experienced, and successful, I am assigned larger and more complicated lists of groceries. Yesterday, I learned more about baby food than I ever knew. Gerber is a relic of the past! (not really, but those iconic baby food jars seem to have disappeared, that's for sure.)

I am almost finished with Midnight in Europe and have been enjoying it. Yesterday, I cracked open an ER book: Renegade Champion an unlikely story of a woman and her horse neither of which could have been expected to do well in the rarified atmosphere of horse shows for hunters. Just after World War II ended the shows were dominated by men, mostly with military backgrounds, and the rich. I think I will enjoy this book about Jane Pohl and her horse Fitzrada (the "renegade"), written by Jane's son.

All sounds good, Karen. Glad Benita found out wherever the heck my thread is.

OK, here's another "wacky" reason why this job seems to be perfect for me. After the stress of a HOA Board meeting last night I went right to bed at 9:00 "ish" only to wake up bright eyed, and bushy tailed, at 3:30 am "ish". So I am drinking some coffee and poking the computer a little bit when I find that Instacart needs someone to fill a gap of time from 7 am to 9 am this morning. What am I usually doing during those hours? Reading! Of course. What do I do for Instacart? Sit in my car and read, and get paid for it, just in case someone totally forgot they needed donuts for the office coffee break. Too cool. I signed up. So now, all I need to do is be dressed and fed by 6:30, with my fully charged iPhone. Not too challenging. Oh, yes, and feed the dogs who are talking to me right now.

See you later....

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
26. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
27. A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr
28. Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
29. Babycakes by Armistead Maupin
30. Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst

Fascinating exploration of what it might take to get heavy armaments to the Spaniards fighting against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War just before the next world war breaks into being. Furst uses a Spanish lawyer living in Paris as his protagonist and he balances his regular, and fascinating, legal work with helping smuggle arms to the Spanish Civil War. The atmosphere is again spot on following ordinary people as they navigate the dangerous boundaries between countries and encounter criminals, frightened refugees, and overbearing petty officials full of self importance. And Furst adds some believable and heart breaking romances which lighten the oppressive times experienced by his main characters. I love his writing and if I don't read his books one right after the other I am happy to revisit his atmospheric books. I believe they might become oppressive if read to close together.

Happy Friday, Karen. Hope the week went well. The Booktopia events start today. Looking forward to it. I did see and talk with Ann & Michael last night.

Yay, Mark! I know you will enjoy your participation in this great celebration of authors and their books! Looking forward to your comments on the presentations.

#31: Renegade Champion by Richard R. Rust. Oh, my, what to say? You remember in Black Beauty the story is one of an abused horse taken and given a better home? Well, this is kind of like that + a young woman proving to her father's Army colleagues that she could do what they could not. So this little, runt of the litter horse, a thoroughbred gelding was to be trained to be an officer's horse, before World War II; however, Fitzrada had other ideas. When he would "not learn" the Army decided to give up but first a general with some common horse sense suggested that a daughter of a major who loved horses and worked in the barn as a volunteer be given a chance to train this horse. He said, "I wonder if a girl's demeanor might be a way to reach this horse?"

How can I not love this story? Lovingly told by Jane Pohl's son it follows her heartbreakingly patient schooling of the horse as a jumper over five years. It took that long for the horse to decide to trust her. And then they had a lovely career with him as a jumper and a hunter and Jane as a world class rider. Jane Pohl was a gutsy woman when it was not fashionable to be so. Fitzrada was a talented and gutsy athletic horse when no one thought he could be.

There are many twists and turns in this story of the American horse culture during the 1940s, 50s and after. I was emotionally entraped and enjoyed the book immensely, not able to put it down even when there were other things to do. Don't you love it when that happens?

#30 is already glowering at me; you're tempting me with #31, but so far my immune system is holding the line....

It is fun being the temptress!

I am jumping into two books which I've started and have been sitting patiently waiting for my return to them: The Discovery of France has been in my life for more than a year, I think I should finish reading it; and The Bully Pulpit about Teddy Roosevelt is our real life book group's October book. It is a big one, so I think I need to focus my efforts there.

The Bully Pulpit took me months and months to read. Just warning you.

Thanks. I can get pretty obsessive about books like that one. And I have several weeks. I'll just do my best.

Hi Karen! Yes, I am back and I had another wonderful time at Booktopia. The hits keep coming. Looking forward to next year and a much BIGGER LT presence.

Karen

Your job sounds great! And, you are reading some wonderful books. I'm in a reading funk right now. I roam the house, looking for a book, picking up a book, putting down a book. I'm sure I'll latch on to something soon. This lag in finding something to read is new to me.

Happy day to you tomorrow!

Morning Karen! I tried to answer your Booktopia questions, the best I could, over on my thread. I might add a couple more things as I think of them.

Good morning, Karen! I've been thinking about reading The Bully Pulpit, so I may follow your lead on that one.

Oh, that would be fun. I'm going to go grab it off the shelf right now, and put it in the car. I have a six (6) hour shift late this afternoon/early evening. I need to also put the audio of The Fault in Our Stars in the car as the light may fail on me before it is time to drive home.

I am having so much fun! and making money, too!

Books Read in 2014

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, as a part of the American Authors Challenge
2. Maisie Dobbs, as a participant in reading about World War I
3. Stardust - read just because I bought it and it looked fun! by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.
4. Redwall
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
6. The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel (Audio CDs - read by Jeremy Davidson)
7. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
8. Cress by Marissa Meyer
9. Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by The Countess of Carnarvon
10. The Wives of Los Alamos
11. The Steady Running of the Hour
12. Gone Girl
13. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
14. Batwoman: Hydrology
15. The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger
16. daytripper by Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
17. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
18. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
19. The 8:55 to Baghdad by Andrew Eames
20. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
21. Regeneration by Pat Barker
22. The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
23. The Ghost Road by Pat Barker
24. Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
25. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
26. More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
27. A Month in the Country by J.L.Carr
28. Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin
29. Babycakes by Armistead Maupin
30. Midnight in Europe by Alan Furst
31. Renegade Champion
32. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

I listened to this book over a number of weeks which was probably the wrong way to listen to it. I should have focused my mind on it and listened to it whenever I could. A lovely book exploring all sorts of stuff most Young Adults would enjoy reading about as they explore their world and their place in it. Family, Love, Friendship, Reading, communicating, Truth, Justice (and the American Way - no just kidding).

I am feeling the sciatic pain just now so although I'm not finished with my comments I'm going to go away, and come back later to finish.

Karen dear, I use this and it helps sciatica a LOT.

I am baaaack. My hip/leg/ankle hurts! I've been to the chiropractor twice and I don't think he's helped much. I'm thinking I might have to go see the regular doctor and ask her what she thinks it is, before I go off treating it as something it might not be. I did buy the cushion, Richard, because it was just what I've been looking for, but then as I started surfing around looking on sciatica and similar stuff I'm not so sure what I've got bothering me.

Awk!

Back to my comments on The Fault in Our Stars. The author definitely hooked me into liking the three young people, all of whom suffer from some sort of debilitating, and potentially fatal, disease. Despite this gloomy prognosis for the kids they carry on just like teenagers and you gotta love them. And better yet, he makes them carry on like wise teenagers. I appreciated the author's use of humor and pseudo-philosophy just as kids would do. I was touched with the affection and love all the characters some how find ways to express.

Sciatica is a bear to treat. The cushion made a lot of difference for me within a week. If it doesn't do the same for you, it's possible you're experiencing a different condition.

I sure hope it works!

>295 maggie1944: Ah, sciatica. Apparently it's quite common in pregnancy, so of course I had it for my first one. Five years later, when expecting my second, I discovered that actually its not sciatica that's common in pregnancy, but something else (pelvic girdle something, possibly); but anyway, I still got it.

You have my sympathy. Hope it blows over soon.

Well, I did wake up this morning and find that the back pain part of the problem seems to have mostly gone away, the pain in the calf of my leg is still there, but I can walk without my cane. I don't know, of course, if this is because of the chiropractor, or if it is because I've been taking it easy.

I do know I did nothing yesterday. Nothing. Sat around. Watched TV. Made dirty dishes. Left my bed unmade. Ha ha ha!

I'm glad the back pain part improved for you, Karen, and hope the pain in the calf follows its lead. Doing nothing is a wonderful thing - I applaud your non-efforts yesterday.

yup!

Morning Karen! Sorry, you have to work through the holiday weekend. Since you wrapped up "Fault", what is your next audio? I know we both like a good NNF read, so I will be starting, on audio, Double Cross.

I still have The Guns of August on audio to finish. I should stick it on my my actively reading list. But I also have not gotten a good start on The Bully Pulpit and I must do that.

My audio book Rotters is going great. It is a very unusual read for me. It falls into the horror or YA paranormal category, but it has been good so far. Very dark, and the bullying scenes are disturbing and brutal. It really hones in on how teachers and school authorities are so unaware of what is going on in the hallways and in the interpersonal relationships of the students who are in school. I remember my parents as being , what I thought, at the time, abnormally interested in who was dating who and what groups of kids were actually doing and saying to each other. Now I appreciate how tuned into the lives of kids at school they were. This enabled them to help us and my younger cousins navigate those treacherous times and teach life skills. There was one high school principle that my father in particular derided because "he didn't have a clue what the students were actually doing." Anyway, this is a good book, so if you can pick up the audio of it - grab it.

Well, I had a nice long shift today but I also received an order to shop early on. Costco! on Saturday is a challenge. Afterwards, I did some reading, some flipping through magazines, and some extra attention to walking and not sitting for long periods of time.

So, bottom line I have a bunch of books started and not enough progress in any of them, yet.

I will begin a new thread as it is now approaching Autumn! Good for reading weather, I think. Tomorrow I think the deck of the porch will be painted as the weather is definitely sending signals that it is changing back to its more normal northwest rainy, gray, and foggy. Mmmmmm I actually like it.

Come on over to the new thread.