AuntieClio Reads in 2014 - Page 10

Skip the preliminaries


Don doing one of the things he loved most in life, playing his bass guitar.

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Hi. I'm Stephanie, and I hit 75 books in August!

This is my second year with the 75ers and am really happy getting to know more of you. I live in Silicon Valley and am a life in transition.

I designed the 75ers t-shirts, etc. More of which you can find out about here Be sure to get yours so we can spot each other in a crowd.

These threads are where I'll keep lists and slice and dice the data said lists generate.

Running total

Monthly reading lists:
January reading list
February reading list
March reading list
April reading list
May reading list
June reading list
July reading list
August reading list
September reading list
October reading list
November reading list

Counters:
ROOTS - aiming for 50 read and out of the house



Last year I read 104 but I'm keeping my goal to 75 in 2014.
I hit 75 in August.



Emptying and reshuffling some of the many boxes of books I own

Mysterious Box 38:



And as they go out, so too do they come in.
(includes 2 Pearl Ruled)

2014 ROOTs Read:

1. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
2. Cinderella by Ed McBain
3. The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
4. The Monkey and the Tiger by Robert Van Gulik
5. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
6. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
7. Primitive Mythology by Joseph Campbell
8. Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito by Plato
9. Contact by Carl Sagan
10. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams
11. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
12. Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
13. Who Am I This Time? by Jay Martin
14. Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
15. Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
16. God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
17. Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood
18. Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
19. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
20. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin
21. Chapterhouse: Dune by Frank Herbert
22. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin
23. Negotiating With the Dead by Margaret Atwood
24. Indigo Slam by Robert Crais
25. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
26. The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
27. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton
28. The Tiger's Daughter by Bharati Mukherjee
29. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
30. Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee
31. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
32. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
33. The First Rule by Robert Crais
34. A Perry Mason Omnibus by Erle Stanley Gardner
35. How Few Remain by Harry Turtledove
36. Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis
37. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
38. The Shadow Dancer by Margaret Coel
39. Bellwether by Connie Willis
40. Old Man's War by John Scalzi
41. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
42. Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher
43. The Last Colony by John Scalzi

2014 Running Total
(updated at the end of each month)

2014 Total Books Read: 83
2014 Total TIOLI Books Read: 83
2014 ROOTs: 41

2014 Digital Read: 10
2014 Goes: 41
2014 Loaner:
2014 Stays: 32
2014 Undecided Status:

2014 Fiction: 64
2014 Non-Fiction: 18
2014 Poetry: 1

2014 New Book Categories:
Tudors: 3
60s: 1
Beats: 3
Women: 5
History: 2
Politics:
Religion:
Spirituality:
Photography/Creativity: 7
Business/Marketing: 4
Fiction (Familiar Author): 45
Non-Fiction (Familiar Author): 7
Thingadingy: 6
Other: 8

2014 Books Bought: 40
2014 Gifts: 72
2014 Downloads: 20

Best/Most of 2014
Best of January:
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Most Fun of January:
Aloha From Hell by Richard Kadrey

Best of February:
Dust by Hugh Howey
after the quake by Haruki Murakami

Most Useful of February:
The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists by Eleanor Payson

Most Interesting of March:
Who Am I This Time? by Jay Martin

Best of March:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Nation by Terry Pratchett
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Best of April:
Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Best of May:
The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

Best of June:
Maus I, Maus II by Art Spiegelman

Most Fun of June:
White Fire by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs
Redshirts by John Scalzi

Best of July:
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor

Best of August:
Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

Best of September:
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami
The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo

Best of October:
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami
The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

Authors new to me in 2014:
Alsanea, Rajaa
Achebe, Chinua
Brown, Brene
Catton, Eleanor
Gardner, Erle Stanley
Coetzee, J. M.
Ghosh, Amitav
Godin, Seth
Guy, John
Hearne, Kevin
Kostova, Elizabeth
Lane, Roger
Le Guin, Ursula
Martin, Jay
McCloskey, Deirdre
Miles, Barry
Mukherjee, Bharati
Pamuk, Orhan
Payson, Eleanor
Pekearo, Nicholas
Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan
Sagan, Carl
Sloan, Robin
Spiegelman, Art
Stabenow, Dana
Stephens, Walter
Tannahill, Reay
Tatelbaum, Judy
Taylor, Jodi
Trevor, William
Turow, Scott
Turtledove, Harry
Willis, Connie
Yousafzai, Malala
Zafon, Carlos Ruiz

Mysterious Box Count

Mysterious Box 36 - Done


Mysterious Box 38 - in process

Mysterious Box 38 - 31 books

Adams, Douglas - Life, the universe, and everything (goes) (March)
Adams, Douglas - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (goes) (March)
Adams, Douglas - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (goes) (March)
Allende, Isabel - Eva Luna (stays) (June)
Allende, Isabel - The House of the Spirits (re-read) (stays) (September)
Aristophanes - The Acharnians, The Clouds, Lysistrata (re-read)
Atwood, Margaret - Alias Grace (April) (Stays)
Atwood, Margaret- Cat's Eye (April) (Goes)
Atwood, Margaret - Robber Bride (April) (Stays)
Buckland, Raymond - The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-Paganism (Pearl Ruled) (June)
Chaikin, Andrew - A Man on the Moon (re-read) (June) (Stays)
Coel, Margaret - The Shadow Dancer (re-read) (goes) (August)
Herbert, Frank - Dune (stays)(March)
Herbert, Frank - Dune Messiah (goes) (March)
Herbert, Frank - Children of Dune (goes) (March)
Herbert, Frank - God Emperor of Dune (goes) (April)
Herbert, Frank - Heretics of Dune (goes) (April)
Herbert, Frank - The Jesus Incident (Pearl Ruled)
Herbert, Frank - The White Plague (Pearl Ruled) (June)
Herlihy, James Leo - Midnight Cowboy
James, P.D. - The Children of Men (re-read)
Kinnan Rawlings, Marjorie - The Yearling (August) (stays)
Lane, Roger - Murder In America: A History (September) (stays)
Le Mee, Katharine - Chant: The Origins, Form, Practice, and Healing Power of Gregorian Chant (Pearl Ruled)
Orwell, George - 1984 (stays) (March)
Peters, Ellis - Hermit of Eyton Forest
Pipher, Mary - Reviving Ophelia (re-read) (October) (goes)
Steinbeck, John - Cannery Row (stays) (July)
Tannahill, Reay - Sex in History (stays) (August)
Thurston, Carol - The Eye of Horus (re-read) (stays) (October)
Turow, Scott - Presumed Innocent (goes) (June)

Proposed Rules of Engagement

1. To read what I already own


2. If acquiring new books they must fall roughly into the following categories:
   
   
   
   • Tudors (especially Elizabeth I)
   
   
   • Beats
   
   
   • Psychedelic 60s (mostly 1967-1970)
   
   
   • Women (a rather large category, but in spirit, means women who fit into other loosely defined categories)
   
   
   • Religion/spirituality (particularly early religions)
   
   
   • If fiction, must be by someone I have already read (trying to avoid starting new series by new authors)
   
   
   • Politics (but mostly in terms of other loosely defined categories)
   
   
   • History (most non-fiction will be history, meant to be collective for books which don't fit in other loosely defined categories)
   
   
   • photography
   
   
   • Space Program (Apollo)
   
   
   
   
3. 75 in 2014 is the main goal, not TIOLI


4. Books cannot be purchased simply to fit a TIOLI challenge.

Completed September Reading
78. (S)(NF) Murder in America by Roger Lane (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #19. Read a Book with a Noun in the Title (Murder, America)
79. (S)(F) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (gift) - TIOLI #10. Read a book that takes place in a country in which you have never set foot (Japan)
80. (S)(F) The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo - TIOLI #5. Read a book you didn't buy
81. (G)(F) Old Man's War by John Scalzi (gift) - TIOLI #14. Read a book that is part of a series and whose author's first or last name is five or six letters in length
82. (S)(F) The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #11. Read a book that was first published after 1950 and adapted to film or tv (Published: 1982, Film: 1993)
83. (G)(F) The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (gift) - TIOLI #15. Read a book which has a military term in the title (Brigades)

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New to the Stacks:
113. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (Tina)
114. The Wolfman by Nicholas Pekearo (Tina) (stays)
115. Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Selected Recipes by Beth Hensperger
116. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami (stays)
117. Catherine the Great by Robert Massie (whose great biography of Peter the Great I read several years ago) (stays)
118. How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman
119. Trotsky by Bertrand M. Patenaude
120. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
121. The Last Colony by John Scalzi (goes)

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September Total Books Read: 6
September Total TIOLI Books Read: 6
September ROOTs: 2

September Digital Read:
September Goes: 2
September Loaner:
September Stays: 4
September Undecided Status:

September Fiction: 5
September Non-Fiction: 1
September Poetry:

September New Book Categories:
Tudors:
60s:
Beats:
Women: 1
History: 1
Politics:
Religion:
Spirituality:
Photography/Creativity:
Business/Marketing:
Fiction (Familiar Author): 3
Non-Fiction (Familiar Author): 1
Other: 1

September Books Bought: 3
September Gifts: 4
September Downloads:

Completed October Reading
84. (G)(NF) Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #8. Read a book you read for the first time at least 10 years ago
85. (G)(F) The Last Colony by John Scalzi - TIOLI #3. Read a book that is about colonialism, modern day "colonialism", or the colonial legacy
86. (S)(F) Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami - TIOLI #12. Read another book by an author whose last book you loved
87. (L)(NF) Courage to Grieve by Judy Tatelbaum - No TIOLI
.. (L)(NF) Witches, Midwives, and Nurses by Barbara Ehreneich and Deirdre English (pamphlet)
88. (S)(NF) The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (gift) - TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before
89. (S)(F) The Eye of Horus by Carol Thurston (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order
90. (S)(F) Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - TIOLI #16: In honor of my dear friend Don, who just passed, read a book that has something to do with music. A word in the title, the subject of the book, a main character teaching/playing music (please include the musical reference) (Norwegian Wood - title of Beatles song)

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New to the Stacks:
122. The Murder Room by P. D. James
123. Empire of the Air by Tom Lewis (Don) (Pearl Ruled)
124. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
125. Highway 61 Resurfaced by Bill Fitzhugh (Don) (Pearl Ruled)
126. The Passionate Olive by Carol Firenze
127. Sunshine by Robin McKinley (Randee)
128. Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland (Tina)

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October Total Books Read: 7
October Total TIOLI Books Read: 6
October ROOTs: 2

October Digital Read:
October Goes: 2
October Loaner: 1
October Stays: 4
October Undecided Status:

October Fiction: 4
October Non-Fiction: 3
October Poetry:

October New Book Categories:
Tudors:
60s:
Beats:
Women:
History:
Politics:
Religion:
Spirituality:
Photography/Creativity:
Business/Marketing:
Fiction (Familiar Author): 2
Non-Fiction (Familiar Author):
Other:

October Books Bought: 1
October Gifts: 5
October Downloads:

Thirteen, also one.

Happy New Thread, Stephanie!

>13 richardderus: & >14 scaifea: Hello lovelies! *smooches* and *hugs*

Hi Stephanie - sorry to hear about your friend Don, hoping that you are coping ok.
I have The Children of Men on my 'to read soon' pile so might join you in October.

>16 avatiakh: Hi Kerry, thank you. I'm doing all right. Today's been a little rough around the edges, but mostly I'm doing okay.

Won't that be fun if we get to join each other in reading Children of Men?

  
John Scalzi feminist

Old Man's War by John Scalzi (gift) - TIOLI #14. Read a book that is part of a series and whose author's first or last name is five or six letters in length

John Perry lives on Earth until his 75th birthday. Then he joins the Colonial Defense Force for a tour of at least 2, if not 10, years fighting to take, and protect, colonies from alien races.

In exchange for a new body and enhanced skills, Perry agrees he will never return to Earth. After his service with the CDF, he will settle on one of the colonies and live the rest of his life there. Since his wife died before she turned 75 and his son is an adult, Perry is fine with this. After setting his affairs in order, he hops the shuttle and joins others about to embark on the new adventure.

John Scalzi takes the best of Heinlein and makes it even better. This is space opera at its most fun, and creative. And there are times when only space opera will do.

OMG... I haven't been on the threads this week to know about Don. I am so very sorry! I know you have mixed emotions right now and a crapload of "stuff" surrounding all of this... so just know you have friends who love you and are thinking of you.

Stephanie, I like the picture of Don in his glory days that tops your new thread. I'm sorry about all the fussing about his possessions. Our memories of loved ones are the most important thing to have, and it sounds like you have many good times to remember before he became so ill.

I will be interested in your comments on The House of Spirits. It is my favorite Allende book. I hope your week end has been peaceful. I am thinking of you.

My village has been taking really good care of me the past few days, and I am so grateful.

Scott showered me with gourmet, luxury chocolate from Chocolatier Desiree, then lunch at Rasam's (hindustani cuisine), and books from Leigh's.

We had:
Crab Chatpata
Shredded crab meat, coconut cream, mustard seeds, fennel

Roti Pe Boti
Braised lamb cubes and spices on naan

Navratan Kokum Curry
Fresh vegetables, tomato, coconut sauce

and for dessert:
Gulab jamun
Sweetened and fried cheese dumplings
the syrup for this usually comes infused with rose

Pista Kulfi
Frozen- pistachio infused home made clotted cream
(I think)

Books:
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami
Catherine the Great by Robert Massie (whose great biography of Peter the Great I read several years ago)
How Jesus Became God by Bart Ehrman
Trotsky by Bertrand M. Patenaude

Prompted by Richard:

Greed
1. What is your most expensive book?

Pilgrimage by Annie Liebovitz
Revelations by Diane Arbus

Wrath
2. What author do you have a love/hate relationship with?

Laurell K. Hamilton, she started with a wonderful world and then turned it into softcore porn for no reason other than she must really like blow jobs.

Gluttony
3. What book have you devoured over and over again with no shame?

When I was in high school, I read Gone With the Wind at least once a year.

Sloth
4. Which book have you neglected reading due to laziness?

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace, it's so big and daunting.

Pride
5. What book do you most talk about in order to sound like an intellectual reader?

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Lust
6. What attributes do you find attractive in a male or female character?

All characters must be funny, well-rounded and kick-ass in some way. If I'm going to lust after them .... that's my secret.

Envy
7. What book would you most like to receive as a gift?

IQ84 by Haruki Murakami boxed set.

1Q84! Really! *ponders*

I loved 1Q84 although it's not normally one I would have expected to love. It was for my bookclub. It's long, convoluted, irritating, confusing, mesmerizing, addicting, exquisitely detailed AND irritatingly detailed. It took me 33 days to read - unheard of - and was worth every single word. You go for it, girl!

ATD, RD, ATD!

Scott gave me the wrong box of chocolate yesterday so is on his way to exchange it.

My brother, Dean, is on his way from Phoenix so I will pick him up at the airport and go have lunch before I drop him at the hotel.

A quick errand to TJ's and then home again.

Today is a good day. :-)

The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #11. Read a book that was first published after 1950 and adapted to film or tv (Published: 1982, Film: 1993)

First, I'm going to share the first stanza of a poetic review another LTer wrote for The House of Spirits:

Oh Esteban, Trueba,
how does your childhood grow?
With fear and guilt and such hard work
and a love that leaves you low.
In thoughts of grief and thoughts of rage,
and a slump of of broken land,
you will rape your heart out, Esteban,
set life to your demand.

The rest is just as fantastic as this.

The House of Spirits is the sprawling epic tale of a family through many generations told by a descendent of Esteban Trueba and Clara DelValle.

It begins with the story of Trueba as a young man falling in love with Clara's sister, Rosa the Beautiful who has green hair and is so ethereal people call her a mermaid with legs. Alas, Rosa dies and Esteban marries Clara and they settle into a not so satisfactory life together.

Esteban Trueba has a fearful temper, and Clara retreats from it by communing with the ghosts and holding Friday salons for other spiritualists and seers.

Children are born into this stormy dynamic and are shuttled between the big house in the city and Sr. Trueba's proud hacienda in the country, Tres Marias. Each brings his or her own quirks to the family mix. Some support Clara's spiritual tendencies, and one thinks it's all hogwash.

Set against the turmoil of Chilean politics, the Trueba family lives and dies in the heart of this tumult. Esteban becomes an official placed high in the government, and is convinced that Marxists, Socialist and Leftists are going to destroy the country. His fearsome temper never abates.

Clara keeps journals, and it is through these the story is recreated by her and Esteban's granddaughter, Alba.

One of the things I enjoy most about magical realism, especially in South American books, is the conflation of the "real" and the "spiritual." Ghosts and omens live side by side with humans and their foibles. And it is an accepted way of life for these characters. It makes for some really goofy reading if one stops to think about it, but in the world of the book, it makes perfect sense. And that, to me, is one of the hallmarks of success in a book, for things to make sense in that world.

This was a re-read for me and I got much more out of it than the first time. What a gorgeous, lush story of stormy times and stormy relations.

Stephanie, enjoy this reading. I love this book.

>19 TinaV95: Thank you Tina.

>20 Donna828: Thank you Donna.

Things have evened out a bit. Friday was rough for me because I was just so angry. My friends have been taking care of me by listening, feeding me and just generally being there.

A certain bit of schadenfreude as well as the realities of being executor of Don's will are starting to hit his girlfriend. He left a mess, she didn't make the time to get the information she needed, and she thought she could turn to me for help. The information she needs is something I don't have, and she is screwed. It's not nice or graceful of me but, all I can think is, "You wanted it, you got it." I almost feel sorry for her.

>23 richardderus: It was the first one that came to mind.

>24 karenmarie: Hi karenmarie. I am really looking forward to the time when I can be completely frustrated by this book. Murakami requires some work and it can be very rewarding.

Please, join Diana (Wilkiec)'s thread. She needs our support. Thanks a lot.

*smoochings*

Sometimes I will be having a conversation with someone which pulls me up short because I realize I sound like I actually know what I'm talking about. No one could have told me I would one day sit outside in downtown Sunnyvale, CA on a beautiful "oh look it's trying to be Fall" day and talk about Kafka, Murakami, Allende and Garcia Marquez and actually know what I was talking about.

I stopped mid-conversation, sat up straighter and said to Scott, "I sound like I graduated from college and know what I'm talking about!"

We both chuckled a bit and then dug back into our intellectual conversation about Murakami's writing compared to the other authors mentioned.

I love that part of my life. :-D

What a great anecdote, Stephanie! Yay!

Stephanie please accept my sincere condolences on the passing of your dear friend. Remember him how he was at his best and I am sure he was both proud and grateful to have you as his friend right until the end.

Congratulations on a 9th thread already. Way to go!

Morning Stephanie! Just like I suspected, I mistakenly hit the ignore button on your thread. WTH? Well, I am back on it now, my friend.
Looks like you've been doing some terrific reading. Grins...

>33 AuntieClio: How great, Stephanie! I wish I could have heard it - you've got a bunch of authors I like there. I think hanging out on this LT website helps with that "know what I'm talking about" part.

Hi Stephanie. I am so very sorry about the loss of your friend, Don. Love the photo of him up top! And congratulations on feeling all bookish and educated (>33 AuntieClio:). : ) Sending good mojo your way.

I could use your thoughts, prayers, asks, love and light as I pick up, once again, the quest for the job that's just right for me.

Thank you.

Thinking of you and fingers crossed...

You have them, Stephanie.

I keep my fingers crossed. hugs xx

Good luck, Stephanie! Sending positive thoughts your way.

Reading Bingo
More than 500 pages: Primitive Mythology by Joseph Campbell
Forgotten Classic: Dune by Frank Herbert
Book that became a movie: Contact by Carl Sagan
Published this year: A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor
Number in the title: The Children of Henry VIII by John Guy
Written by someone under 30: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
Book with non-human characters: Aloha From Hell by Richard Kadrey
Funny Book: Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Female Author: The Princes in the Tower by Alison Weir
Book with a mystery: The Monkey & The Tiger by Robert van Gulik
One-Word Title: Cinderella by Ed McBain
Book of short stories: after the quake by Haruki Murakami
Set on a different continent: I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
Non-Fiction: Crossing by Deirdre N. McCloskey
First book by a favourite author: Howl & Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg
Heard about online: Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
Best-selling book: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Based on a true story: Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Book at the bottom of TBR pile: Who Am I This Time? by Jay Martin
Book my friend loves: Dust by Hugh Howey
Book that scares me: 1984 by George Orwell
More than 10 years old: The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
Second book in a series: Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Blue cover: Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood

  

The Jim C. Hines/John Scalzi Pose-off raised money for charity and mocked the positions women on the covers are drawn in.

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (gift) - TIOLI #15. Read a book which has a military term in the title (Brigades)

This sequel to Old Man's War focuses on The Ghost Brigades who are elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers. In Old Man's War John Perry meets a soldier who looks and sounds just like his dead wife, but is not his dead wife. Jane Sagan is a clone with super human abilities one of the elite.

Jared Dirac is also one of the elite, however he is special in that not only does he have the consciousness given to him in the usual process of creating these soldiers, but he also has the consciousness of a traitor to humanity uploaded. It is hoped that Jared will be able to gain access to the consciousness of Charles Boutin and answer the questions of the Colonial Union about what Boutin did and which alien races know what Boutin did.

This book raises some interesting questions about humanity, choice, equal rights and family. Still space opera, Scalzi takes the reader along on a fast-paced adventure seeking the treacherous Boutin and the hope of stopping further damage.

John Perry and Jane Sagan reunite, and there's a girl named Zoe whose story gets told in Zoe's Tale.

So much fun.

Stephanie, I wish you a lovely Sunday.

>45 AuntieClio: Hahaha almost intrigued enough to go and buy the book!
Hope you are bearing up OK dear lady.

>45 AuntieClio: Too funny!

Here I go again, yet another blog. I'd like it if you joined me, but it's not mandatory. http://www.lunisea.com/beta/

  
Hamlet & Ophelia by ConfusedLarch

Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #8. Read a book you read for the first time at least 10 years ago

Review here: http://www.lunisea.com/beta/2014/10/book-review-reviving-ophelia/

I went over and looked at the blog, but I'm really bad at checking to blogs of even my nearest and dearest, Stephanie.

Just a note to let you know I'm bearing up all right. Some days are harder than others.

Today was bruising because there's some miscommunication between various parties. It's been like playing telephone through text messages.

The girlfriend is not listening to what his dad and I have been trying to tell her about a 35mm SLR camera I took out of storage for safe keeping. She thinks Joe wants it and is insistent I leave it at Don's so she can fed ex it to Texas. Joe wants the phone not this camera. But she won't listen.

I spent some time trying to explain this all to her. And she wouldn't accept when I said I would make arrangements with Joe. Later on, after I got the bag out and looked in it, I told her there was a body, 3 lenses and a rewinder, she said something about checking with Joe and, "I don't want it."

No, you don't. I have been trying to explain that to you this whole time. It would cost an arm and a leg to ship it to Texas. Plus Joe can't see very well so why would he want this behemoth? I know part of this is because she doesn't know a thing about cameras. But her absolute refusal to even listen ...

She keeps offering possessions to me that I repeatedly have told her I don't have room for. My apartment didn't suddenly become a TARDIS, since the last time she's asked if I wanted the recliner.

Scott will go with me this weekend and I will go through things yet again to see if there's anything of use to me. In two weeks she has to be out so the realtor can pull the mobile home and put another one in its place.

I know this is hard for her, but it would be easier if she took a deep breath and listened. But she wasn't like that before Don died.

Arggh. It's hard enough to lose someone you care about, Stephanie. It's just a shame when people get goofy about possessions.

When my mother died, an older cousin came up to me after the service. She and my mom had been fairly close, and I was looking forward to maybe a story or two, and maybe some shared sorrow. Instead she aggressively let me know she wanted my mother's old car, which was kind of a collector's item. What a disappointment. Then she tried it on my sisters. My father still has the car, and we see a lot less of that cousin. What was she thinking?! Crazy.

Anyway, kudos to you for your patience with this woman. I like "My apartment didn't suddenly become a TARDIS".

Just checking in to see how you are holding up. Hang in there, sister. Sounds like you are doing a pretty good job of remembering who owns the problem.

>33 AuntieClio: that sounds like a fabulous way to spend time. If I start that sort of talk with the wrong people I get called a nerd/snob/ whatever. *sad face*

Nice new thread and what gives with the random posed photos next to the book covers!? I might have missed something...

>55 LovingLit: Oh, if you're talking about the John Scalzi photos, he is my favorite feminist. Because of his success as a writer in the science fiction field, he has a rabid group of h8ters who call him a feminist and other foul things. To show this bothers him not a whit, because he's laughing all the way to the bank, he will mock his h8ters by wearing dresses because he is that secure in his masculinity.

The second picture is from a "pose-off" Scalzi and fellow writer J. C. Hines had to raise money for a charity. It started as a dare to try to pose in the same ridiculous poses women are drawn in on book covers.

Again, none of this threatens Scalzi in the least so he is happy to poke fun and point out how ludicrous the expectations by a lot of males in regards to women are.

^cool! Makes me like him instantly!!!

Stephanie, I wish you a relaxed weekend.

As I said to Scott, "Please, somebody make up their mind and then tell me what you want me to do." I thought we had the camera sorted but apparently not. Plus Don's dad thinks there's a big portrait camera somewhere and wants me to look.

I got more stuff. Just things like food and baggies and the blender. Two bins of cookbooks which I will be disposing of in some way soonish.

And I no longer have a key, it went to the neighbor who would be happy to let me in if I asked. I need to decide if I'm going to look for the portrait camera his dad thinks is inside, and how to get the 35mm camera to the girlfriend so she can send it to Texas. ::eyeroll::

I sold his CD collection and got enough money to keep me going for a week or so if I'm really careful.

And Scott, wonderful friend that he is, fed me. When I mentioned that to top it all off today, I had broken my hairbrush, he took me to the beauty supply place and bought a replacement! And then to Sugar Butter Flour for yummy baked goods.

Just sent you a personal message.

Things are getting even more out of hand, and it's ridiculous. After tomorrow, I'm not going to play any more. Now the girlfriend is asking me to take the camera to Fed Ex and ship it and wait for reimbursement from his Dad. I offered to list the lounge chair on Craig's List before I thought it completely through, then changed my mind.

So, here's where things stand, at least as far as I'm concerned. I will ask the neighbor to let me in tomorrow, drop the 35 mm camera off, and briefly look for the camera Joe thinks is still in the house. If I find it, I'll set it on the counter to be shipped back to Texas.

After that, I'm done with this part. There isn't anything else I want. It's not worth my energy to go through the hassle of listing the chair. And, at this point, I don't really care what happens to the camera/s.

All this is doing is keeping me from moving forward with what I have to do for my own life. And why should I be going out of my way to help someone who made it clear while Don was alive she wanted nothing to do with me, and tried to force him to make a choice about his friend?

Seems extremely reasonable to me, Stephanie. Don't let her make you crazy.

I think you're very wise for deciding to walk away at this point.

Thinking of you.

So yes!!!!! I am free and clear of the nonsense over Don's possessions. After checking in the home to make sure there wasn't a second camera, I called his dad and presented him with a choice.

"You can let me keep the camera and let me sell it, or you can wait until the girlfriend gets on the stick to send it to you."

"Where is the camera now?"

uhm ... same place it's always been since this charade started, "It's in my possession."

"Then you just keep it and sell it."

The end.

Way to go!

Ha, put me into this space and I won't come out again. Stephanie, I hope you are fine. xx

   

The Last Colony by John Scalzi - TIOLI #3. Read a book that is about colonialism, modern day "colonialism", or the colonial legacy

John Perry, Jane Sagan and their adopted daughter, Zoe, have left the services of the CDF and are living a pleasant agrarian life on a colonial planet. It's where they hope to live out their lives, in tranquility facing only the squabbles of the other colonists.

Only the Colonial Union has other plans for the family, of course. Once again, John and Jane are called into duty, leaving their colony with Zoe headed for yet another new home.

And well, because there's no story if things go well, things do not go well at all. In fact, they go so spectacularly wrong that this new group of colonists faces challenges never dreamed of.

The entire colony finds itself on the line and has to work hard to keep themselves out of imminent danger without the help of anyone else. Well, there is this thing about the alien guardians of Zoe who revere her traitor father and are sworn to protect her under any and all circumstances.

Scalzi closes out his Old Man's War trilogy with some quick thinking, lots of zig zags and "whoa didn't see that coming." If you like space opera, I think you'll like this series.

New York Times Sunday Review

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki by Haruki Murakami - TIOLI #12. Read another book by an author whose last book you loved

The more I read Murakami, the better his books. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki was fantastic, though not as complex as some of his earlier works. This one I just zipped through.

This is a small book. Physically it's smaller than a mass-market paperback and comes in at 386 pages. The dust jacket and the cover are carefully designed to graphically depict one of the relevant themes in Tsukuru Tazaki's life, color.

While in high school, Tsukuru is one of a group of five friends who are rarely apart. Three boys, two girls; this circle goes everywhere and does everything together. But then college comes, and Tsukuru leaves for Tokyo to study engineering in order to design and maintain train stations, something which has fascinated him since childhood.

A couple of years after high school, while he's home on break, Tsukuru is informed that he is no longer a part of the five, and that it would be best if he never talked to any of them again. Puzzled, and deeply hurt, Tsukuru returns to Tokyo.

After six months of dreaming of death and nearly starving himself as a form of suicide, Tsukuru returns to a sense of normality and continues with his education, finally landing a job with a firm which specializes in train stations.

Now in his early 30s, Tsukuru is still completely haunted by the betrayal of his friends, not understanding what he could have possibly done to find himself excommunicated. A young woman he dates encourages him to track down his four friends and find out what happened. She's convinced it's the only way he'll ever completely heal and be ready for a committed relationship with her. What Tsukuru finds out is inconceivable, yet in an odd way makes complete since.

Murakami's odd sexual dreams, birds, trains, colors and themes of bureaucracy and aloneness are all in this book. Because all of his friend's names translate to a color, and Tsukuru's does not, he laments that he is simply colorless, boring and bland. As do other Murakami characters.

There's little metaphysical symbology in Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, some but not much. This is a more straight-forward sort of storytelling, which explores what it means for someone to find meaning in their life.

Happiness today has been having the emotional space to finally sort through my own piles of stuff and finding physical space in my apartment. Happiness is also getting ready to run errands which will shed more stuff. Go me!

Okay argh! Damned boat anchor of a camera. Got it to the camera store today but they don't want it because it's been in storage for so long and needs to be professionally cleaned. Basically, they said few people buy this model camera unless it's pristine in the original box. I have some feelers out. I just don't want it to wind up in a landfill.

Finally starting to catch up with the threads, Stephanie, and I was so sorry to hear about Don. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Sounds like you are doing an excellent job of dealing with a very difficult situation. When my Dad passed, my sisters argued over his things, and it just made me sick. You are so smart to step away from that. What a wonderful friend you have been to him, and I hope that the happy memories will shine through for you when you are missing him the most. Sending you our love.

On book lists and me: http://www.lunisea.com/beta/2014/10/bookish-lists/

>73 AuntieClio: Good blog, Stephanie. I have to admit, I had no inclination to look at Bill Gates' booklist, but I sure enjoyed David Bowie's. He's a much more adventurous reader than I ever would have guessed, and I shared a number of them with him. I've never known anyone else who's read and liked Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess, for example, but there it is on his list.

I'm so sorry for your loss! I send love and lots of prayers.

>69 AuntieClio: I just picked up my Murakami and I can't wait to start. First, I have to finish a book club read though. It's about Hurricane Katrina and it's pretty good so far. Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital.

Glad to hear you are out of the whole divvy-things-up mess. Sending hugs!

Proposed November Reading
The Children of Men by P. D. James (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #4. Read a book by an author whose publication career spanned at least 15 years (1962 - present)
Playing Big by Tara Mohr (LT ER) - TIOLI #5. Read a book with an embedded word in the title (Play)
Lysistrata and Other Plays byAristophanes (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #12. Read a book with one plural word in the title (Plays)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (gift) - TIOLI #Challenge #7: Read a book where the title or the author's name includes a royal or aristocratic rank (Ri - Gaelic)
Midnight Cowboy by James Leo Herlihy (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #17: Read a "Leftover" book
Empire of the Air by Tom Lewis - TIOLI #10. Read a book as an act of remembrance (Don was reading this in the last months of his life)

Completed November Reading
91. (S)(F)

---

New to the Stacks:
129.

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November Total Books Read:
November Total TIOLI Books Read:
November ROOTs:

November Digital Read:
November Goes:
November Loaner:
November Stays:
November Undecided Status:

November Fiction:
November Non-Fiction:
November Poetry:

October New Book Categories:
Tudors:
60s:
Beats:
Women:
History:
Politics:
Religion:
Spirituality:
Photography/Creativity:
Business/Marketing:
Fiction (Familiar Author):
Non-Fiction (Familiar Author):
Other:

November Books Bought:
November Gifts:
November Downloads:

  

The Courage to Grieve by Judy Tatelbaum

Being a bass player meant Don got stuck in corners and against walls while the band played. It was difficult to get good pictures of him alone. I really like this one of Don and Diego, the lead guitarist, consulting on something during break.

The Courage to Grieve is not so much a "how to" book, but more of an explanation of the common emotions one feels when grieving. Tatelbaum encourages readers to accept the big emotions that come with grieving and offers suggestions on how to work through them in a healthy manner. She also discusses the erroneous beliefs surrounding grieving such as being stoic makes you stronger. It doesn't, it just lets the pain fester which can literally make someone sick.

Because I was fortunate enough to have time to say goodbye to Don and had done most of my grief work before he died, a lot of this book was already familiar to me. Learning about my feelings of guilt was an enormous help to me.

I think this book, along with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' book On Death and Dying, are good resources for people who are grieving. There's a couple of checklists for practical things to take care of when someone has died; one for handling finances, etc. in general and one for dealing with the funeral home. (I seriously thought about scanning those two and sending them to Don's girlfriend.)

>78 AuntieClio: Stephanie: Oooh, you're in for a treat with Aristophanes!

Stephanie, I wish you a lovely weekend.

Just catching up with your thread, Stephanie.

Good choice on your 'currently reading' selection... I'm glad you picked something practical. Let me know if you find it helpful. I'm always looking for new resources I can recommend to folks.

((((Stephanie))))

Crazy dang girlfriend.

Just read your last few blogs... I love your one from today about being worthy. YOU ARE. I love it!

I know I have missed many of your posts and for that I'm really sorry. Please know that I have read them all, and am so pleased for your visits and encouragement.

>72 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie and thank you! Yes, the thing with "stuff" has been hard. Mostly, I think, because I was done before others were ready for me to be done. But now I'm really done.

I'm starting to remember the good stuff, and I'm not quite so angry anymore.

>75 jnwelch: Thank you Joe. Ooooh ... I've not read Earthly Powers but now I might have to wishlist it.

>76 Whisper1: Hi Linda, thank you for dropping by.

>77 Berly: I'm really looking forward to hearing what others have to say about the latest Murakami, Berly.

>82 TinaV95: Tina, my counselor recommended it and so far I am finding it very reassuring. I did go through a couple of days during which I felt guilty for the bad decisions I made during my friendship with Don. Courage to Grieve says that's normal. Whew! One of the few times I've been happy to be normal. ;-)

>83 TinaV95: Awww, thank you Tina! I've been working hard on accepting I am worthy, especially of the abundance the universe has to offer. Please with the job and the money though!

Today was lovely. Randee took me to lunch and after, we sat in the shade on a lovely fallish day and had ice cream and gourmet chocolate I had saved to share with her. We just sat and were together. I love that I have a village of friends with whom I can do that.

And yes, we talked a lot about Don and the crazy girlfriend. I keep forgetting that I'm trying to make her a normal person and she's not. Well, I haven't heard from her in a week and I'm done with the possessions part.

The big thing for me was going to the hardware store and buying an aerator for my kitchen faucet and replacing it all by myself. Having learned that just walking in to the big box home improvement centers makes me feel overwhelmed, I went to the smaller one.

I only asked for help twice. Once to find out where the aerators were stocked, and once to make sure I had gotten the correct thing. Which I had. Go me!

Making progress on the chores, always a necessity.

And reading.

Go, you with the home repairs!

Thinking of you.

Hi Stephanie! Glad you enjoyed the latest Murakami. The Group Read thread is up, if you care to stop in. I plan on starting the book, in a few days.

>86 AuntieClio: Nice job on the home improvements. It always feels great to be independent and successful--go you!!

Well now ... my neighbor has been asking for my help in listing some things on eBay and I was too preoccupied to even think about it. I would have eventually gotten around to it and was actually thinking that I should offer this week. But Eli beat me to the punch. He will split the proceeds, and do the heavy lifting (shipping, etc.) if I will take the pictures and list them.

The universe has really interesting ways of answering my calls. :-D

>82 TinaV95: Tina, I did find Courage to Grieve helpful. I think it would be a great resource for others dealing with the death of a loved one, especially widowed folk.

Hi, Auntie, I'm stopping by to say "hey" and check out what's new and good with you. I'm glad that you found a book to help a little bit with your grief. I often appreciate a book which addresses whatever challenge I have on my plate. In fact, give me some problem, and I run to the bookstore.....

Take good care of yourself, dear lady.

Stephanie - just stopping by with some extra hugs and good thoughts. Finding a new normal is so hard.

.. Witches, Midwives, and Nurses by Barbara Ehreneich and Deirdre English (pamphlet)

Not putting this in my count since it's only 40 or so pages. Randee loaned this pamphlet to me, wanting to hear what I thought.

After a few pages (<5), I almost put it down. Written in 1973, it has a definite agenda. All men = bad. All upper-class women who collaborate with men to keep pagan healers and midwives away from patients also = bad (+ shame on them). Women who are not allowed entry/or cannot afford medical school because of sexist biases are oppressed masses.

A history about woman healers from medieval times to 1973 shouldn't cherry-pick its sources just to make its feminist agenda. Nor should it posit arguments as either/or. As with all things "ist," there's a lot of grey are to pick through.

And starting your treatise with the argument that witch hunts were only about women and were prevalent in all parts of Europe, is to misunderstand the history of the Catholic Church and mistakes ignorance for complicity. It further oversimplifies a much more complex subject.

And that's what I think of that.

Gavin Aung Than's wonderful cartoons at Zen Pencils

Brene Brown's amazing talk on vulnerability

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown (gift) - TIOLI #5. Read a book with an S and a T in the title that you've never read before

I'm still processing all the goodness that came from Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection. I particularly like the chapter on intuition which had this definition:

Intuition is not a single way of knowing - it's our ability to hold space for uncertainty and our willingness to trust the many ways we've developed knowledge and insight, including instinct, experience, faith, and reason. (p. 89)

Dr. Brown is not shy about relating how her research on people living a WholeHearted life showed her where the gaps in her own life were. She is honest and compassionate, and writes about applying those to our own lives.

I know I will be referring back to this book a lot.

Hey there Steph! Look at you! -- dealing with setting aside Don's GF's demands, doing home repairs, and lots of lovely reading. I've got that Murakami on WL at the library. I'm way down the list, but comfort myself that I've plenty to read while I wait. ;-)

{{{Stephanie}}}

>95 AuntieClio: Good one, Stephanie!

Stephanie, I wish you a fantastic weekend.

I have been thinking all day about something which happened on another thread last night. Thinking about how it's okay when people don't get along, not everyone likes everyone else.

But I've also been thinking about how it's not okay to go straight to name calling and vitriol just because the person you don't like didn't do something you wanted them to. And how it's not okay to try to call them out on it passive-aggressively in a public forum by saying "I'm not pointing fingers but you know who you are." (paraphrased).

I didn't expect doing my own thing as I have for nearly two years now to become a watershed moment for someone else's anger and pain. I certainly didn't expect to be the target of so much unpleasantness. Nor did I expect to be told that because they were cranky, it was okay to use me as a whipping post because I deserved it and they hadn't liked me from the first day.

None of this is okay behavior. I did try to reach out and explain but it all went ugly within seconds.

There is a part of me which is telling me to just walk away from LibraryThing. There's another part of me which says to stay and remind people that there's room for all of us, especially the people we don't like.

That this stung so much also upsets me. All the person did was show me who they really are and tell me what they think of me. I truly am grateful to know where I stand. But to be despised in such way always takes me by surprise and stings. That there are people who behave like this to others shouldn't surprise me, but it always bewilders me.

Stephanie, I think what you describe is very common on the internet in general, and one of the things we pride ourselves on having very little of on Library Thing, although there have been exceptions. And you just evidently experienced one of them. It must be a thread I don't follow, but I would hate to see just one person cause you to leave LT, when name-calling and lack of toleration are things we typically don't tolerate.

Hi Stephanie - I'm with Roni. I follow the posts on that particular thread and think that the LTer who wrote those posts was just trying a bit too hard to tidy up the challenges and probably now regrets the choice of words. All other posts on the subject were in support of your freedom of choice.
Overall I find LT really supportive of everyone in their trials and tribulations and hope you decide to continue both with your thread and with the challenges.

Oh, Stephanie!!! Please, don't leave LT. You are such a gem. Don't worry what others are posting. Be just yourself that's the important thing. Hugs xx

Jumping in with all energy to support the idea and reality that LT is different. We do have an occasional outlier who demonstrates bad manners but for the most part we are very commited to tolerating a wide diversity of opinions and approaches to posting here. It would be a terrible loss if you decided to quit LT. I hope you will not, and that you will continue to provide your very special brand of book reading and reviewing for all of us to read and enjoy.

Chiming in to add my request that you please not leave us - you're an important part of this group and we would miss you something awful.

Me too - don't consider leaving. Block the toxic person and put it out of your mind. That kind of person is not worth it at all, not worth wasting a single bit of your emotional strength and energy on.

Don't go! Stay. You are loved and welcomed here by so many.

Here! Here! Stay! I would miss you!

You are all so amazing and kind, and I am grateful for you all. I'm still processing a bunch of stuff, some of which has to do with this outlier.

I do understand, and know, that LT is filled with diverse and loving people who love to read and discuss books, among other things, as much as I do. As I said before, it's not so much what happened in public as what happened in PMs that stunned me completely.

There are a couple of other things going on I'm not quite ready to talk about. Plus, the spectacular grand entrance I made by missing a step, grabbing a tent pole and landing on my ass at the Poor House Bistro Friday night where I went to meet Scott and see Candye Kane and her band play. There weren't a lot of people around and the owner was right there to help me. But my body still aches some and I have a big bruise on the inside of my right calf. A visit to the chiropractor is in order.

This is not the first time I've had someone be mean to me, I know not everyone wants to like me, but it still stings a lot to be called names for something so unimportant.

I've been self-medicating with a "Friday Night Lights" marathon, which makes me sad and happy in a different way.

I'm not sure I could handle not being around you all, so I'm not leaving. Just taking some time to embrace my pain and move forward.

  

The Eye of Horus by Carol Thurston (Mysterious Box 38) - TIOLI #7. Read a book whose title starts with a letter of HALLOWEEN in rolling order

This is another book in which the plot set in ancient Egypt is much better than the subplot set in the present.

Museum illustrator Kate is working on the fascinating story of Tashat, a young Egyptian mummy found buried with signs of torture, and a male skull found between her legs. Enter Max, a radiologist with a more than abiding interest in ancient Egypt and Tashat, who offers access to the latest technology for Kate to learn more about Tashat's mystery. Yes, you can guess what happens as these two work together. (*yawn*)

Tashat's story, meanwhile, is filled with royal and political intrigue from the day she is born. Her story is that of a baby girl who grows into a strong, independent woman talented in drawing. The doctor who delivered her becomes a lifelong mentor believing that knowledge only makes people better.

Tashat's political drawings get her in trouble, so she is sent into exile by her father, the high priest, in hopes of keeping her alive and out of the way of her mother's (Nerfertiti) machinations. Dr. Tenre goes along as protector.

The Kate and Max story is a mystery about Tashat and the circumstances under which she died. Tashat's and Tenre's story is a slow building love story steeped in the culture and history of ancient Egypt. I found myself bored by Kate and Max, always anxious to get back to Tashat and Tenre, whose story is much more interesting.

Ahh! Friday Night Lights marathon! Wish all my coaches/teachers were like coach and Tammy Taylor!

Glad you're not leaving, Stephanie! Roni said it well up in >100 ronincats:; there are always going to be a few bad apples, but they're blessedly rare on LT. Sorry you ran into one.

And I hope your aches from the fall pass quickly.

I find it is really important when someone is just unreasonably negative and nasty towards me to remember that their behavior says a great deal about who they are, and almost nothing about who I am. Usually people who are that caught up in being negative do not have great judgment about other people. I am not saying that I am beyond reasonable criticism and suggestions provided in a spirit of being helpful, but I do refuse to be much moved by comments made from mean spirit.

And believe you, me, I know of what I speak. I learned a good long time ago that my personality is one where people either really enjoy and like me, or they do not, at all. I have always had people who really did not enjoy me. Most of them, thankfully, just don't bother.

Okay, here's one of the problems I'm trying to solve. My current doctor does not accept insurance from California Care which kept me from going in to see her earlier this year. The point about the insurance is sort of moot anyway since I haven't been able to pay the premium the last two months. Of course, I was hoping to be working by now. And now my anti-depressants are about to run out.

So a talk with my doctor who, apparently really can't keep writing prescriptions without seeing me first. She is going to prescribe another month but I have to figure out either how to see her or another doctor to get my meds.

There are free clinics supported by my doctor's organization but the one I like to go to insists on proof of residency in a limited area around the clinic. And, of course, I am not in that area. (Although I think I might be able to get around it because my driver's license has an address within that area.)

The clinic in my area is open only on Wednesday nights but I have to go get in line before 7AM to get a ticket and then return to the clinic at 5 and hope I actually get to see a doctor.

I think my doctor is sympathetic but really isn't allowed to keep writing prescriptions for me. I've set my alarm to get up and get to the clinic on Wednesday.

I'd love to hear any ideas you all might have on how to tackle this issue.

Review for Reviving Ophelia here: http://www.lunisea.com/beta/2014/10/book-review-reviving-ophelia/

I found some pictures of Don taken in January.

>110 michigantrumpet: I know Marianne! If the world had more families like the Taylors we would be a much better place. Every time I have something come up now, I want to go to Tami's office and ask for her help. And I want to babysit Gracie Bell!

>111 jnwelch: I have an appointment with the chiropractor on Thursday morning. I will have her ply me with heat and extra soft tissue work.

>112 maggie1944: Karen, I want to especially thank you for your reminder and supportive words. You're right, I have been so focused on my pain that I've forgotten it's really not my problem. Sometimes we just draw this vitriol out of nowhere. I wonder if it happens because we are good-hearted people wishing only the best for everyone and sometimes that makes other people crazy.

Like you, I welcome the opportunity to hear reasonable criticism and suggestions. One of my favorite phrases lately has been, "Please give me feedback. What could I improve?" With other stuff going on, I forgot the part about if someone is mean to me, it's really not my problem.

At my last place of employment, my manager often criticized my sense of humor telling me she thought that's what kept people from connecting with me. Funny (no pun intended), no one outside of work had a problem with my sense of humor. Even people who had never met me (like cashiers) didn't have a problem with it.

Of course, at first I took it to heart. I did slip up and tell jokes that weren't necessarily appropriate to the situation. But I wasn't clueless, I knew what I'd done and apologized for my insensitivity.

What I discovered was that it wasn't me. Those people were just humorless, or thought bullying was funny. Plus, my manager was about as clueless as they came, and because she didn't understand my joke, that meant it was me, not her.

So thank you Karen for that reminder. Your kindness and encouragement were a good antidote for this situation. If only kindness and encouragement would solve my other issues; like finding a job and money with which to pay the bills.

Holy bookmobiles Batman! I think I'm all caught up on reviews!

Hi Stephanie. Sounds like you're dealing with a lot, and dealing with it intelligently and competently. Sometimes we just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep on keeping on.

Good luck with the doctor and the meds, the clinic, and the chiropractor. I love my chiropractor and massage therapist I go to every three weeks to get rid of the aches and pains and get my spine back in line.

And being caught up on reviews, of course, is just so much icing on the cake of actually reading the books.

>120 karenmarie: thanks!

I did get to the clinic in time to get the very last ticket for this evening. And while grateful to have this option, it is completely ridiculous to make people stand in line like that to get health care. The other people in line may have no other options, and making them wait another week to stand in like again is awful. I don't like it one bit.

*waves*

Hope you are having a good day!

So disheartened tonight. The job I had a second interview for last week is ... in limbo, I think, again. The hiring manager told me they were trying to figure out how to put together a job that fitted with their requirements and my expertise. He also told me to keep checking the job board. I am not sure if this is a fancy way of telling me not to hold my breath, or if he is just telling me he doesn't know what he needs yet.

Sat in the clinic for over 4 hours tonight. Did get the prescription for my anti-depressants, need to change pharmacies to get the clinic discount.

But my blood pressure was so high it freaked everyone out. So I have a prescription for blood pressure meds to be filled as well. An order to get blood work done. Plus I have to return to the clinic next week, which means getting there before 7AM to get a ticket and then returning at 5PM.

This does not mean I am not grateful for this access and for all the lovely people who helped me through tonight. For the most part, they are retired nurses and doctors who volunteer their time, and are dedicated to making sure each patient's needs are met. Even if that means the last one doesn't leave until after 9:30PM.

At least I got a lot of reading done tonight.

I am so glad you were able to get your prescriptions filled.

I have high blood pressure readings when I go to the doctors frequently, although not always. And when I check it on other occasions like when I have to get a blood draw, or when I'm near one of those do it yourself machines that I see in drug stores, it is not so high. So many things can influence blood pressure like what you just ate, or whether or not you are feeling stressed. I hope this is not a permanent problem for you, and I hope you can get off that medication. Talk with the doctors about having getting off as a goal and how you could do it.

Blood pressure prescriptions attained. Snail mail attained. And just .... my week is turning into "this could only happen to me" week. When things are clarified, I will tell you what's going on. But I think I'm going to take a nap now.

Maggie's advice seems sound -- my blood pressure at the doctor's office always seems to be off kilter compared to other times.

Hope things seem better after the nap.

Naps are fun and recuperative. I hope yesterday's was a nice long one.

Hang in there.

>79 AuntieClio:. Interesting, guilt is a part of the grieving process. When my beloved grandmother died, I knew I did everything I could for her, yet, I found ways in which to feel like I hadn't done enough. It took time to work this through.

Hang in there my friend. I'm so sorry for your loss.

Stephanie - sorry about the drama from the other thread. Seems to be something that happens far too easily with online communication. I fully support self-medicating with Friday Night Lights and completely understand the sad/happy all at the same time from that.

Continued good wishes on the job hunt and managing the health care maze.

Waiting with baited breath to find out your news. Hope it's something good!!!

Stephanie, sending you a load of positive energy and wishing you a lovely weekend.

Hi, Stephanie. I noted that you had a fall--so embarassing on top of the the pain and difficulty getting up--and hope that you're not suffering any after-effects from that.

I understand about feeling that you could have done more, or better, for Don. As Whisper says, we often feel that way in our grief over losing someone. I know I do.

Try to keep your chin up. When it gets too bad, remember the words of Anne Lamott:

"Left foot, right foot, breathe."

xxoo

There's been a lot of "what is the MOST important for just this day?" going on.

I got to the lab for my blood draw yesterday. Am working on getting out the door to do laundry today.

Still feeling bruised and tender from the week just passed. The other good thing to come out of all this absurd drama is that I am now a part-time employee at ITU in the International Student Office. My first day is Monday.

But I was so disappointed that it was part-time and am so worried over the rent that I went on a tear with the universe. Because last week was hard, and I am so worried about money, I felt like I was being told I was unworthy of what I wanted. Then I began to feel afraid of being so angry and disappointed in the universe, but realized my version of the universe can handle my anger and disappointment. And that a part-time job is more than I had a week ago.

I don't know what my new manager meant by telling HR that I talked too much during the interview. I really don't. Leslie has been working so hard on my behalf and passing on what tips she could. He wants someone detail-oriented, prompt and diligent. Someone who is uninterested in socializing or whatever. Well, that's me. Leslie would not have worked that hard if she thought I was different. That she felt the need to talk to me about what he was looking for is a testament to my character. I have a built-in fan base, so to speak, already.

So on this Saturday afternoon, I find myself grateful for what is. I have a part-time job, which is more than I had last week.

Congratulations on your new job! I'll be thinking of you on Monday!

You are doing a great job of thinking, and not just reacting, to some big challenges. Good luck with the new position, and hopefully something full time, and at a good rate of pay, will arrive on your doorstep very soon.

Congratulations on landing some regular income, even if it is part-time!

Yes, congratulations on your part time work.

That's great on the part time work, and hopefully they'll realise they want you full time, or something else comes up to enable that. But something is always better than nothing, right?

Congrats on your new job. I'm thinking of you especially on Monday. Hugs xx

Yay for the new job! Hope all goes well tomorrow.

Hi Stephanie. I'm so sorry Don passed away. (I must have missed that somewhere in your previous thread) and I'm hoping you are feeling better. You certainly are a good friend and I'm happy you are not leaving us.

Feeling so much better, and stronger. Things stopped coming at me long enough for me to breathe.

Have been thinking long and hard on a conversation I had with Papa Joe (Don's dad) about people who are threatened by me. And there is a long list. And then I had a big revelation about my mom and how I've spent my entire life (no exaggeration) knowing she was threatened by me. I feel sorry for her that she was so threatened by her own daughter she could never love and protect the way a mother should. And how, in her 75th year she has managed to alienate all of her children and their families to the point she's not invited to family events anymore.

One thing I do know, and thank Karen for reminding me of it in >112 maggie1944:, is that whatever my new manager throws at me (if anything) will be reflective of his character, not mine. I expect to make mistakes, and I expect to learn from them.

So, breakfast materials picked up from TJs today, new hire paperwork completed, mail-in ballot ready to go. Alarm set so I will be prompt and ready to earn my pay.

  

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami - TIOLI #16: In honor of my dear friend Don, who just passed, read a book that has something to do with music. A word in the title, the subject of the book, a main character teaching/playing music (please include the musical reference) (Norwegian Wood - title of Beatles song)

This is the book which put Murakami on the literary map, so to speak. Definitely not as strong as his later work, Norwegian Wood almost seems a rough draft of Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki. Many, and by many I mean all, of the same themes are covered here. Suicide, disconnected young man, mental health, unengaging sex; it's all there.

I might have loved this one more if I had started with it instead of after the quake, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles and Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki which are all much more sophisticated.

Thinking of you today -- hope everything is going swimmingly with the new job. Congrats! Part time can always lead to full time. Keep increasing that fan-base!

Hooray Steph!

Things were really hectic at work, but no more so than any employees' first day. I think we have all the computer stuff taken care of and I was given some handouts to read about helping international students.

After meeting with HR, I met one on one with my manager and I am happy to say that he is not what I expected, and will be much easier to work with than I worried.

He talked about some of the problems he has been encountering with regard to work ethic and attitude. These were issues I observed when I was temping earlier (ISO and the Registrar's Office were in the same room then). The main problem is that people have fallen into sloppy habits (or weren't trained differently) and are now resenting the changes being asked for.

There shouldn't be any problem for me just keeping my head down and doing the work. Since I am already honest, willing to ask questions and own my mistakes, this is a good place for me.

So relieved. My body felt much lighter when I walked out the door this afternoon.

Bonus, they will pay for my monthly parking pass!!!! So that's a tank of gas a month I don't have to worry about.

Yay for all the good news and vibes, Steph!

That all sounds great.

Stephanie, such gorgeous news. I'm very happy for you.

Nice start, Stephanie! And insights about one's relationships with family are always liberating, even if not always pleasant.

Good news on the first day! WooHoo!

>145 AuntieClio: So glad that went well! Hooray! Yay Steph and Yay parking pass!

Great news about the simpatico boss and the parking pass, Stephanie. Sounds like you're in the right place at the right time.

Good to hear things are starting out on the right foot! and the parking pass too!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received an apology from the person who was so vile over a week ago.

Ah. Good things happening.

Good to hear, Stephanie.

Oh, Stephanie!! I'm here to check in and see so much that I don't know where to begin!

I have no idea what happened on the 'other' thread, but I do see that you have received an apology. I'm glad about that. I'm even happier to see that you had come to the decision not to let it drive you away from the rest of us who love you! What would we do without you?

And I'm so happy to see that the manager and job may be better than you thought! Yay! Happy dance yet? ;0)

Hi, Stephanie. I'm checking in to see how's it goin'? I hope the new job is fun to learn, and that you feel comfortable with it.

I'm glad you were given the courtesy of an apology. I hope that it all can be water under the bridge now.

Glad for the apology. I'm willing to believe people are just having a bad couple of days ...

Hope all's well with the job!

Things are fine at work. Have been practicing just nodding and smiling a lot. It's easy to see why my co-workers are having problems adjusting, he can be quite opinionated and abrasive. Also, he doesn't listen to his staff. In today's particular instance, I shrugged and kept on, because the other department he was criticizing for giving us bad data will just explain what I was trying to, but probably not in as polite a manner.

There's nothing to take to heart, so I'm mostly amused in a quiet way. Got an inkling of why I'm part time now. Reality is about to rear its ugly head as we head into the busy part of the trimester with new incoming students. I've yet to really understand the particulars of my job, but he says he has a plan. I feel like I'm home.

Interesting, out of the 7 Frank Herbert books I have read, I only liked 2 of them and kept only 1. Bonus points for no more Herbert in my library.

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