The Padded Cell - Bookmarque’s Undisciplined Reading Room 2015

The other thread was getting long so here's a new one for Q2 and the first flower picture of the year. At last I think spring is gaining a tiny foothold here in NH. And I do mean tiny. The first flower I see (and boy do you have to look) is whitlow grass.



This little flower is less than 1 inch high, the blossoms are mere millimeters and those little buds as yet unfurled are barely visible to the naked eye. Like the heads of pins. Even though they're wee, they smell heavenly, like tulips, the breeze wafts it to you and you really think winter has eased its grip.

They are beautiful! And your photos are amazing!

I love how you are able to bring the micro world alive for us.

Thanks you two. I love finding these little worlds and am thankful every time I pick up my macro lens.

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In book-related weirdness...I think amazon knows too much. No sooner do I finish T.C. Boyle's latest book, The Harder They Come does another one that's been on my kindle wishlist go on sale. They have my number. This is on the virtual TBR stack now - One of the things I like about so much about Boyle's novels is that many times he incorporates real historical figures or events. In this case Katharine and Stanley McCormick, doomed lovers who married despite Stanley's mental illness which manifests itself in an abhorrence of women. Any women. She thinks she can cure him though. Katharine appears to have been a force though and wicked smart. Graduating from Princeton and MIT. She also funded most of the initial research into birth control (having come into money from Stanley when he died; he was heir to the International Harvester fortune).

Anyway...I'm itching to get to it, but instead of two Boyles in a row, I've picked up the next in the Crumley murder mysteries by Ray Bradbury, the delightfully titled Let's All Kill Constance.

Back from Arizona yesterday. Have a wicked cold. I know I’m not the first person to be sick in the history of humanity, but I’m feeling some self-pity ATM. Ugh. At least it didn’t strike while I was out there. After the initial snafu with husband’s flights, we had a pretty great day in the Desert Arboretum. We haven’t been to Phoenix in more than 10 years and this place has changed a lot. It’s huge now with so much to enjoy. Lots of people, but since there’s so much room to spread out, you’re not packed in like sardines. The light was harsh, but hey, it’s the desert so I didn’t try to fight it.

I love deserts, but couldn’t live anywhere near Phoenix. Too big, too sprawling, too congested. Very pretty this time of year though when it seems every plant is blooming. This is purple prickly pear (creative naming there!). The flowers remind me of firecrackers at this stage.



Am reading, but so doped up on cold medicine that I’m feeling a bit stupid. Still, if I concentrate I can manage. Am enjoying my latest Early Reviewers book Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own. While I am married now, I did it fairly late and for entirely mercenary reasons (we always agreed on it coming down to saving money as the reason we’d do it). In the years leading up to it, I referred to myself semi-jokingly as a spinster, especially after I turned 30. Some people were appalled at my using the term. That is if they hadn’t already fainted dead away upon finding out I didn’t want children. Gasp! Women are so damn judgmental of each other when someone makes a different choice. Isn’t it all supposed to be about not corralling women anymore? Oy.

Desert plants are amazing, they look so alien. The arboretum sounds like somewhere I'd love to visit.
Hope your cold gets better soon; I know they're "only" a cold, but they make you feel so awful.

beautiful cactus! Or would that be cacti? Was it just one?

I hope your cold gets better.

I think it's a single, so cactus. Here are cacti.



Am still sick, but improving. Thanks peeps. Update soon. Things are a changin'.

Get well soon! Is that ocotillo flowering in the foreground?

And now for a plug for my favorite cactus book What Kinda Cactus Izzat? by Reg Manning. When my son was about 4 or 5, this was the book he requested at bedtime for months! It almost makes me like cactus, but the most fondness I can conjure up for them is either from a distance, or better yet, from photos such as these.

I kinda wish I had that when I was there. Looks funny.

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It’s a done deal. Husband has a new job and we’re moving to Wisconsin.

Holy crap.

The last time we moved it was 2 miles and from one town to the next. That was 18 years ago. We have a lot more stuff now. OMG.

His start date is May 11. I repeat; holy crap.

So much to do.

Oh my gosh! You do have stuff to do. I've only been in my house for 5 years. I do not envy you the packing and sorting. But what an adventure you are setting out on! I don't mind moving, can you tell? :)

>11 Bookmarque: Wow, what a big transition. Have you always lived in NH? At least you'll still be in snow country.

I expect you're going to be a little busy over the next...yikes, three weeks.

Congratulations to your husband and also to you for being up for the challenge.

Congratulations to your husband on the new job and good luck to you both for the forthcoming move!

I do NOT envy you the work involved, and yet, it's kind of exciting to start fresh. Best of luck to you! And yes, that cactus book is very funny. :)

Good luck with your packing, moving, and all the transitions involved!

Thanks peeps. It is a big project, for sure. Luckily we don't really have to rush. He'll be living in a rental property while we look for a house. The relocation allowance is pretty good, but we still hope it won't be long. The plan is to purge from now to the weekend before he starts. Then we both go out and see houses for a couple of days. Hopefully we find something then. If not, we'll just keep looking with me flying out there from time to time. He's planning on coming back here for Memorial Day weekend and driving his car back.

Oh and just to keep things from getting too serious - bunnies!

>11 Bookmarque: Good luck with the packing, househunting and moving. I hope you'll still manage to find time for some photography - thanks for the lovely bunnies!

Awwww, sweet little bunny in the back makes me want to snuggle.

Thanks peeps. They were so used to people that they practically posed.

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My Kicked to the Curb collection is growing in advance of the move. Every weekend I drop books into the charity bin at the supermarket. Having that bin was great for me over the years so I'm glad to be able to pay it forward somewhat. It's not as hard as I thought it would be to purge books. Yeah, I'm keeping more than is warranted, but if he can keep all his bullets, I can keep my books.

Between bouts of coughing like I have tuberculosis and throwing away junk I'm reading. Both non-fiction. This and this both are interesting in the ways they show how powerless women were and pretty much still are.

Oh and here's a picture of Matilda. Life is tough.

>20 Bookmarque: Hahaha, books and bullets, the perfect pair. I have always wished I could feel as comfy as kitties look when they are sleeping. Sorry about the coughing. Are you sick, or is it all the moving stuff around and stirring things up?

yeah, we have lots of both.

I'm sick. Still. Can't. stop. coughing. It's exhausting. Makes me all hot and gives me a tension headache. Oy. Why can't I go into a medically induced coma until it's over?

Still sick. Coughing like crazy. Makes packing up the house really difficult. If I move too much I cough like crazy and the other day I even induced asthma symptoms which is very rare for me. So instead of boxing up books I’m reading. Finished a silly thriller that’s been in my Kindle library for almost 2 years. Now am onto State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, another of the hundreds of ebooks I got from the airplane lady. I decided to try it because I didn’t like Euphoria by Lily King as much as everyone else seems to have, but the premise of modern-day Amazon exploration holds so much promise I’m giving it another go with Patchett this time. I liked Bel Canto, so hopefully I’ll like this one, too.

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I know a lot of people here on LT feel passionately about physical books v. ebooks, but from my perspective, there will be more ebooks in my future than physical ones. The act of culling for this move is really eye-opening and cathartic. If I’d had to do it a few years ago, before my ebook appreciation matured, it would have been way harder. As it is, books I don’t feel a connection to are easily let go. Books I’ve dragged around with me for decades and haven’t read - they go. Books I’ll never read again - kicked to the curb. Potential be damned. It’s obvious I’m not going to read them and their symbolic gesture of unfettered reading time is just stupid and useless. I’ve got plenty of books still (20+ boxes when I get done, three just for Stephen King!) and so many unread that I’m not hurting. Plus there’s ebooks and audios (equally easy to move!) and so my reading potential is just as limitless as it ever was. Well, limited by my own mortality, but we all have to deal with that.

So purge people. It feels lovely.

Maybe the coughing is caused by getting rid of all those books?

Just catching up on your need after my trip - congratulations to Mr Bookmarque on the new job! Sorry to see this cold has stuck its claws so deep, but I'm glad the packing isn't as traumatic as it could have been. Fingers crossed the right house awaits to make the big leap quick.

April round up - 12 books read - 3 non-fiction, 9 fiction



3 by men, 9 by women (11 distinct authors)
4 by authors I’ve never read before, 7 I have
4 physical books, 1 audio, 7 ebooks
Oldest wasn’t that old - 1993 and the newest was from this year

The best is in Wilderness by Diane Thomas. Really powerful with a setting and time-frame that aren't all that common. The worst is Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline which features a judge trying to keep hold of a job she shouldn't even have in the first place.

Well, dammit. Ruth Rendell died today.

Damn.
Damn.
Damn.

Right after P.D. James, too.

Not that these ladies were particularly young or didn't lead productive lives, but all the same it makes me sad.

I read two Rendell books last month, too. One I really liked, the other not so much.

I will miss you Madame Rendell. And all your crazy psychos.

People need to be told this stuff?

7. Don’t fight reading inclinations. Sometimes I feel like I should be reading one book when I actually feel like reading something entirely different. Now I let myself read what I want, because that way I read so much more. Also, I love to re-read. I used to think that I “should” spend all my time reading books that I’ve never read before, but now I realize that there’s a special pleasure in re-reading.

I do like good advice on how to be a better reader.

I don’t get it. People need to “let” themselves do things with their leisure time? Reading has always been a pleasure-based activity for me, never a chore or a duty. Whenever I see advice like this I shake my head and wonder at the people who bind their leisure time activities in ways like this. It’s like forcing yourself to watch movies or TV you don’t like or aren’t in the mood for. Or to take up a hobby you’re not good at or don’t enjoy like knitting or skateboarding. So weird. Why do people do this to reading? Is it a leftover from school when they had to read things they normally wouldn’t? Is it because reading can be educational and enlightening as well as entertaining? Why do people have to find things to be guilty over with activities they should just throw themselves into headlong?

I am also an unrepentant abandoner. If something isn’t working for me or my mood changes, I change what I’m reading. The drive to finish a book just because I’ve started it isn’t something I suffer from. I’ve got enough in my life that has to be done. Enough things that I must endure. Reading isn’t one of them. And re-reading is something I’ve always done. Otherwise, why keep our books? So we can look at them? Take a picture.

It’s weird all the guilt about books and reading. During this house clean out, I’ve given and even thrown away books without a single qualm. Yes. There are books in my dumpster. Old college textbooks that no one would want and aren’t relevant. So what? They’re just paper and paste. If I’ve had the book for a long time and it’s gone unread, out it goes. Simple as that. If someday I decide I must read it, I’ll acquire it again. No biggie. What’s with all the guilt people?

>29 Bookmarque: it's a funny one, isn't it? I can't claim to be guilt-free - I used to be a determined 'I've started so I'll finish' completer, even if I was hating it - in part because I didn't feel I could leave a bad review unless I'd read the whole book - but I've shed that completely over the past couple of years. Life is too short, and if it isn't working now, it may work later. Or it may be dreadful, so why put yourself through it? I'm glad to have recovered ;)

I think there's also that social aspect - some people feel they 'ought' to read books because it's a book club read, or all their friends are talking about it, or it's one of those books that broader society says we should have read and we skipped it at school. As if we are somehow lesser people for not having read Moby Dick or The Catcher in the Rye. This isn't really something I've ever suffered from. Sure, there's some books I feel I 'ought' to read some day (but increasingly this is whittling down to titles I have a specific interest in, like On the Origin of Species, rather than some patriotic duty to enjoy Dickens), but if I don't enjoy them, I won't finish them.

I do understand reading for self-improvement, but even so - how much improvement can you be getting if you hate every moment? Other than improved jaw muscles from the teeth-gritting, maybe...

I read for self-improvement all the time. I want to try things others in the world have thought worthy. I have no qualms about abandoning them after giving them a good try though. I have lots of things I have set myself to read for one reason or another, but only because I enjoy the experience. I don't give two hoots about what others think I "should" read. :) I take their suggestions under consideration, and make the decision for myself.

So many things to feel guilt about, why apply it to pleasurable activities which harm no one? :)

>29 Bookmarque: I couldn't agree with you more. I'm not sure it's about guilt, though. It sounds a bit like moral superiority to me.

To qualify, I wasn't suggesting that all reading for self-improvement is a horrid experience. Just that I don't think I at least get any improvement from books I don't enjoy... thankfully, there are plenty to enjoy! :)

(deleted - somehow managed to post a duplicate!)

Same here imyril, I didn't mean to say that reading for improvement or knowledge was bad, but feeling guilty that you're not doing it 100% of the time, or to whatever standard you think you "ought" is where I get 'fused. And congratulations on beating the 'finish it at all costs' virus. That thing is deadly. Keeps you from enjoying life more.

Oh and On the Origin of Species made my head hurt at times, but I really enjoyed the experience and learned a ton.. I have an illustrated version (with all the first edition text) that was greatly expanded with his own drawings as well as others' and lots of excerpts from the Voyage of the Beagle. It's fab.

MrsL you hit it square - read what interests you first, not because there's some syllabus you must follow (unless, you know, you're in school). Right now I'm reading about the changing forest landscape in New England and about the Amazons because both things fascinate me.

And you could be right about some, too Meredy, the "oh I'm so well read, better than you" thing. Personally, I'm fine with having never read Moby Dick or Catcher in the Rye either. Luckily no one's going to stuff me in a burlap sack and beat me with reeds because of it.

>35 Bookmarque: Yes, I meant that, and also "I'm better than you because I always do what I ought to do, because I was taught that pleasure is bad, and my oughts are most likely better than yours or I wouldn't have to tell you this. And then I'm even better than that because I've transcended blind obligation and I choose to take good advice that makes me better, and you ought to do the same so you can be like me."

I never did have the completion virus, though. I don't think I'd have got through school if I'd tried to read everything that was assigned to me. The shelf of books for just one lit course in college was overwhelming, and I was taking several along with required courses. I ended up writing papers on Moby-Dick three times in different courses (and a couple of essay exams) without reading the book. Then when I was through school I finally got around to reading it and--hey, that was pretty good.

I've never got around to The Catcher in the Rye either, and I doubt that I ever will.

Sometimes I ditch a book halfway through, and sometimes it's at the first page.

Yeah Meredy, the holier-than-though, finger-wagglers sure are a boon to mankind, aren't they? Lol. And good for you for faking your way through a Moby Dick essay without reading it. It's one of those books that ends up on a million lists but I'm not tempted in the least by it. There's so much else to read that I'd RATHER read that I'm never going to force myself to get through something I hate. Like I just downloaded a German high-gothic novel about a deranged monk and a pursuing doppelganger! Choose Moby Dick over that? Not likely! lol

So what will probably be my last wildflower season in NH has yielded the MOTHER LODE of bloodroot, a flower I've been seeking for a while because I've only photographed it once. Who knew there were thousands of the things not 5 minutes from my house? Oy. Anyway, the place was so heavily blanketed in them that it was hard to isolate nice groupings, but I found this one eventually.



As I was out yesterday I found myself wondering if my old familiars would be with me in Wisconsin. Bloodroot, hepatica, gray tree frogs, turkeys, bard owls. Maybe I'll find new familiars as well. And ditch the constant industrial noise of southern NH. It's rarely ever really quiet. Yesterday I could hear the highway, a train, heavy construction across the river, and planes from the nearby airport. It's a miracle I heard the tree frog at all. Some silence would be welcome at this stage of my life. I'm pretty sure we'll get it. And maybe a nice dock on a lake to sit on in the evenings. Sigh. A girl can dream, right?

>37 Bookmarque:
Nice shot.

Those are beautiful flowers!

Thanks everyone. I love bloodroot and in an ironic moment, after years of looking for them I find that mother lode 2 minutes from my house. Even more ironic, there's some in the yard of the house we're buying in Wisconsin.

Yes, we're moving out of NH because my husband was offered a really great job. I'm afraid this is going to turn into more of a life journal than a reading one, but I am reading. How can I not? In this ocean of life-changing turbulence I need some stillness.

Because it's the 25th anniversary of the novel, I decided to read .

I remember reading it when it first came out and thinking what a great movie it would make. And how. So while reading I keep picking out all the changes they made. Essentially the story is intact, but certain conversations were changed from place to place and even speaker to speaker. For example, that whole water drop sliding down the hand thing doesn't take place between Malcolm and Sattler, it's the engineer (played by, I think, Samuel L. Jackson) and another person. Funny. It's still an enjoyable novel though and I'm glad I had it as part of my Airplane Lady haul because the physical book is all packed up.

>41 imyril: I haven't read any Crichton for years, but I quite like the idea of revisiting (although I'd probably go back to The Andromeda Strain). I will admit to having a huge soft spot for the film of Jurassic Park and the only reason I won't go to see the new one is that big flashy movies trigger migraines for me these days. I'm sure it'll be dreadful, but... dinosaurs. I can never get past the dinosaurs. Although really it's that establishing shot of the brontosaurs in the first film that gets me every time.

>41 imyril: This is why I must see the new film this year. Dinosaurs, plus Chris Pratt. Yeah.

I loved the book! And when the movie came out I saw it twice! I think I'll see the newest one, too. I love the dinosaurs.

I had no idea they were remaking it. Just confirms my belief that there hasn't been an original idea in Hollywood for decades.

Anyway, I've been out in the woods a bit lately and in some more irony I found a most elusive fern - maidenhair fern. It's so gorgeous and rare. I've never seen it in New England outside of cultivation until yesterday. Sad to have to say goodbye so soon.





Have I mentioned that I love my macro lens??

I love your macro lens too! All the little shy things are saying, "Hurry! No more dilly dallying, she's leaving soon so it's now or never!"

I'm glad you're out there with your macro lens, showing me things that I would never notice on my own.

Aww. >45 MrsLee: That's almost poetry.

Thanks peeps. I was in the woods for a while today, saying goodbye to a favorite haunt. Probably the last time I'll ever see it. Am hoping that I find new favorites in Wisconsin, but it's still a bit sad.



Now I'm home I am faced with all the packing and organizing I still have to do. Makes me tired. But maybe if I can get it done I can join my husband in our new house quicker. He bought a bed today. Not the great deal we got on the one we have, but he wanted a king size and so he has to bite the bullet.

Do you ever reach a point in a book where you can’t keep reading because something awful has happened to a central character?

That’s where I am with the latest Matthew Shardlake book Lamentation. It comes fairly late in the book and those of you who have already read it will know what I’m talking about. I can’t believe Sansom did it. It’s irretrievable. Uncorrectable. Possibly fatal. Even in this day and age all those things apply to what happened. If this character survives, how will he go on? I’m so mad and hurt, shocked and saddened that I haven’t been able to listen to more of it (I do all the Shardlakes as audios, Steven Crossley does a great job).

So I’m stuck in the book and stuck in the house, too. My plans for today fell through because the venue my mom and I were going to visit is closed on Mondays. I’m glad I checked, but it’s a pain. Between the weather and my schedule the rest of the week is pretty bad. Damn. Well, I still have boxes that need packing. The question is, do I dare listen to my book while doing it?

Yes, I've felt that way. In books and in movies. Mistborn comes to mind. I finally had to let go and trust the author to continue on. He came through (the author, not the character). I think I hate it more when a lead character does something which corrupts his/her character. Especially if I have loved them. I'm not sure I can remember that happening, unless it was in a Steinbeck novel.

I've quit watching the Grand Hotel because they finally made all the characters unlikable. I wanted to walk out of the new Avengers movie when the mind control started happening. Didn't want to see my favorites do things out of character. I don't think this stuff used to bother me as much as it does now.

Good luck on your decision!

>49 Bookmarque: I was writing a story once in which a death was a crucial part of the plot. I wrote the death scene, tears flowing as I did it. (It was a cat, by the way, and not a person.)

Then, to my amazement, I went into a state of mourning that lasted for days, just as I might have for a real pet. I wanted to go back and resurrect the fictitious cat, but I couldn't because her death had been so vivid to me that it was final and irreversible. The only thing I could do was abandon the story, so I did.

That's when I found out that I had to be a lot tougher if I was going to write fiction.

>51 Meredy: I just read that when E.B. White narrated the audio version of Charlotte's Web, it took him 14 days before he could read the death scene without sobbing.

I can't imagine being a writer, developing a wonderful character, and then watching that character destroy themselves. Yes, it is the writer writing the story, but I've heard from so many that the character will take over and do what they will do.

Well I hope he was upset to have to write it. It was tragic. Funny how made up things affect us so. Glad I'm not alone. And Meredy, just stop writing kitty death scenes! ; )

In other news, the inspection is happening today at the new house. Husband will meet people there after it's done. We expect it to go well and find no problems. Looks like the closing is back to June 1, but since the current owners won't have a moving truck there until June 2, I don't know how that's going to work out. Liability and all.

As you guys know, I'm an avid nature photographer and the other day while visiting a nature preserve a mile from my house, I found a flower I've never seen in the wild before - nodding trillium!!



It was really challenging to photograph them though since you have to get the camera under them to see them. Normally not a big deal but this time they were on a slope which in some ways made things easier (could get even lower), but the camera kept sliding off my beanbag. Luckily the woods is full of handy tools for bracing and shimming. Sticks!

Your pictures are so lovely! You find such beautiful treasures to photograph.

I hope the inspection went well.

Like many others I'm in awe at your macro photography skills. You bring out the beauty in the details, things most of us wouldn't notice or even think to look for. I'm looking forward to seeing the discoveries you'll make in your new home.

Thanks peeps! I've been working on my skill with that lens for years and I keep finding ways to improve. Like putting friction tape on my beanbag!

Today I'm heading to one of my favorite places - The Garden in the Woods, a wildflower arboretum featuring New England native plants. It's outdoor plantings so today's little breeze might make it a low-image day, but I'll be with my mom and we always have fun there. Due to the move, it might be the last time we do this together, but I'm thinking her first visit to my new house should be around this time because my whole yard is covered in wildflowers. I counted 6 varieties in the 2 minutes I spent out there. She'll love it.

Anyway, on the reading front. I put on my big girl pants and finished Lamentation. I should have trusted the author and it wasn't horrible for much longer. There is injury, pain and division among friends, but overall it seems like it might be the last Shardlake book. If it is, I'll be a bit sorry, but it ended well and in a satisfying way that doesn't leave you wondering.

We’re down to the wire now. The moving truck arrives June 8th. I’ve done almost all the packing I said I would. The house is a shambles and I still have stuff to do. The endless list. Suddenly it seems like I can’t get it done. I have to remember that the movers are here to move. They will pack what I can’t. It’s their job and they’re probably way better at it than I am. I need to relax.

Husband has been and gone with his car loaded to the gunnels. He’ll fly back on the 4th and we’ll both fly out later that same day. Each with a cat which means one has to be left behind. Then I’ll fly back on the 7th so that I can be here for the movers. After that is a bit uncertain. I still need to transport one cat and I’m not sure how to do it. Plane or 20 hours in the car. It limits me on hotels, too. Probably I’ll fly out again with the last cat and come back to deal with anything residual about the house and then drive my car to Wisconsin.

My wine guy still hasn’t called me back which is annoying. I’m going to ask if they can also take some giant coolers of meat along with. It will mean picking everything up here and leaving immediately, but I think if I pack the coolers well enough, the meat will stay frozen. It’s a refrigerated truck...or maybe I can get one with a freezer compartment, too.

OMG, so much to deal with. Luckily I have a good real estate agent here and all of the moving expenses are paid for. Still I stress over the cost of it when I shouldn’t. Not used to spending someone else’s money I guess.

I won’t have the time to visit favorite nature preserves the way I had planned when I figured I’d be here for most of June. I did hit a couple though and will probably try for another one or two. A woman can’t spend her whole life packing boxes. Plus I’m about out of them anyway!

What a gorgeous flower!

Hugs on the moving stress. It will be worth it in the long run, but I'm sure it's awful now. And think of all the new nature preserves you'll have to explore!

>57 Bookmarque: Is that a trillium? Remember, you can only do one day at a time, although planning is good. What is the saying, "Each day is sufficient for the evil therein?" ;)

Sufficient to the day is the evil thereof.

"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." — Matthew 6:34 (KJV)

Which means that handling what we're up against just today is quite enough for today. It seems that most wisdom traditions teach some version of that. I used to hear my father quote this particular verse a lot.

Thanks everyone. I'm doing my best to keep my head on straight. We used to have this rather complex phrase at a place I used to work - 'All you can do is all you can do, and all you can do is enough.'

That is a painted trillium MrsL and the one above is nodding trillium. Just to stay in keeping with the theme, here's a barksdale variety seeming to peer down over its leaves.



Today one cat goes to the vet to see if he's well enough to fly. There's nothing particularly wrong with him, he's just extremely old (shelter cat so no way to tell exact age) and very skinny. He's weaker than he was when he was younger and seems to sleep more. So we'll get him looked at. If he can take it he'll come with me on the 4th to the new house.

Yesterday husband dropped off some things to store in the garage there and he met the owners. They were nice and gave him the backstory - it's their summer house. They winter in Arizona. They're older now and their grandkids don't spend much time there anymore so they're selling it to us. The husband showed my husband all kinds of technical wonders and the wife is putting together a cheat sheet for all the household systems (radiant floor heating, regular heating, AC, well/water softener, security system). He's going back with another load this weekend and then the closing is Monday.

Phew.

I took what will probably be my last walk in the woods here in NH. It was a maddening experience because of flies and mosquitoes, but I managed to stick it out for a couple hours. I wanted to get to another preserve to photograph some rare orchids, but that’s not happening. Just not enough time.



Today and tomorrow I’m readying the house for the movers since they’re coming on the 8th and I’m gone from the 4th to the 7th. Am bringing cats with me on the plane. That should be interesting. Hopefully they’re traumatized enough to be calm in the carriers and not little terrors. Amazing what 7 pounds of cat can actually do with enough incentive.

Haven’t been doing any reading other than as audio and even that has dropped off because I just can’t concentrate. Instead I’ve been listening to Penn’s Sunday School Podcast because Penn Jillette is the man. I just started with this one and so have years of backlog I can work through. I love that.

>63 Bookmarque: Before I moved my cats with me from East Coast to West, the vet gave me a sedative for them. It really helped. Caution, though: once you give it, you'd better have hold of them so they don't (as one of mine did) go into some unreachable spot--like atop the kitchen cupboards--and zone out. Last-minute panic for sure.

Thinking of you in this huge transition, loss and gain both, and wishing you every good fortune.

Bookmarque, I wish you a speedy, calm move, and a speedy, exciting first discovery of the great things in the woods. If Wisconsin is the same kind of land as the Bruce Peninsula - and I have read that it is - there WILL be great things. Especially look in the rock crevasses, there are wonderful tiny worlds there.

Very best wishes with the move - hope all goes as smoothly as is possible.

Thanks everyone. My husband called from the new house as he was moving things from the rental and he was outside, maybe on the deck, and he saw 2 bald eagles fly into the lot next door. 30 feet from him. I think I turned green. Sure, I've seen them and we have them here on the local river, but never in my yard. Turkeys yes. Coopers hawk. Northern goshawk. Yep. Eagle, no.

>67 Bookmarque: That sounds like a good omen to me! Best of luck with everything. I hope your kitties settle down soon (and stay away from the eagles).

>67 Bookmarque: that's got to be a good sign! Good luck with the move, and may you find many new adventures in Wisconsin :)

>67 Bookmarque: Good luck and strength with the move, and enjoy your new home. Especially the wildlife and photo opportunities.

Thanks everyone. I've done my chores for today and am going to coast into tonight. I'm hopeful things will go well.

Because where we're moving is much more rural than here, there's a lot of wildlife. According to the now former owners of the house, sometimes otters will come and picnic on the dock and make a big mess. So that's going to be part of my life, hosing otter poop off my dock. They better give me a nice pose in return!

Here's another of my last NH pics; it's bluebead lily or Clintonia -



It's pretty common, but a really subtle beauty.

>71 Bookmarque:

I would think that being able to watch the otters would be a fair trade.

Wow this is a great cover.

It very much captures the whole art deco/twenties feel. And somehow in the expression, the atmosphere of the book as well.

Bookmarque, how are the kitties handling the move?

They're grand. Sleeping on the new sofas, looking out the many windows, barfing on the rugs.

So am at my new house. One more trip to NH later this week then I'll be done. It's nice to be here though; it's starting to feel like home, but not quite. We had a great weekend and found some gorgeous bedroom furniture. Amish made in Ohio, solid cherry with a lovely finish. Arriving Wednesday. Just after the moving truck hits on Tuesday. It's going to be a bit of a madhouse for a while, but that's life.

We met another neighbor who gave us the skinny on the rest of the neighborhood. I think only 2 or 3 of us are year-round residents. The others are weekenders. So it's pretty quiet. Not too many boats on the lake. A handful at a time. There's a big boat launch downstream that the public can use, but I get the feeling it's mostly residents on the water. Our dock is home to a lot of really cool spiders including fishing spiders which I would love to see in action.

Haven't done much of any photography. Too busy and I don't have my laptop or hard drive out here yet so also no way to upload any.

So I didn’t think this would happen, but I miss my books. For the information, mostly. My nature books are all in boxes in a truck and I’ve seen some cool stuff that I don’t know what it is and I can’t look it up. It’s what I do whenever I find something new and right now I can’t. My novels - especially now I’m reading a sequel to something, I’d like to be able to flip through the other book to refresh my memory. Even my dictionaries - there was a word somewhere that I wasn’t sure I had the right definition of and I couldn’t look it up. Bonkers. I also just miss having them around, something I didn’t think would happen to me. It’s kind of weird. They’re part of how I order my home and without them it feels unsettled. They will all arrive tomorrow and so it isn’t exactly a hard situation, but it is very strange. I’ve always had my books, all the time.

Music, too. I miss having my stereo. Not that I play music all the time and I have everything on my iPod, but I like just having something on in the house. It’s all quiet and echo-ey in here. Very often I’d just have the local classical station playing. Not sure if I can get anything like that here. The folks hauling my cars out were just here and commented on how remote it is. So that will be an adventure. Maybe if we get Direct TV we can have music channels. Who knows. Anyway...I’m a little bored and restless. I better enjoy it while I can because it won’t last.

On an up note, I did find a person to take care of the cats. Well I think I did. She’s a local, actually in this same tiny town and I’ll have her over to interview. She also does house cleaning which is something else I need so if there’s only one person with the keys and the security code that will be even better. Hopefully I like her and she’s not crazy expensive.

The new house is so nice and in such fabulous shape that I don’t want to let it slide even a little. We’ve changed our attitudes quite a bit and I think it’s solely due to the fact that we chose this house and we love it. We didn’t choose or love our previous house. Sure we kept it ok and I had someone clean it twice a month, but we let a lot slide and I certainly never dry mopped or swept every day, something we both do here. Pride of ownership goes a long way I guess. My husband even bought coasters while he was here alone because he didn’t want to ruin the furniture we bought from the previous owners. Funny. It feels weird to be experiencing this for the first time in my 40s, but we’re sort of late-bloomers when it comes to being fully-formed adults.

So I guess I’ll toddle off and read a while. Tomorrow movers come and my books will be with me again.

I've not been keeping up, but now that I have gotten back to reading everyone's threads, I must say that yours is really one I think of now as heart-warming. I think it's wonderful that you feel this way about your new home. (BTW, enjoy the trip to Bruges!)

Aww thanks. We really do love the place. Will be happy, yet surprised to go home to there, if you know what I mean. Home has been another house for so long.

Am in Amsterdam now. Just had a good dinner and am having some chocolate we bought in Brussels yesterday. All in all, a good day.

Now you know you have to share the chocolate with everyone in the Pub, right?

Of course!

Am back home now and am getting my act together. Still a lot to be done, but I don't have to do it all right away.

On a down note - my laptop (which is only 6 months old) is hosed. It sounds like the hard drive to me so there will be no pictures from me until it's fixed. Gotta get on that today. I really loathe calling any kind of tech support because it's like pulling teeth and most of the time I get someone who barely speaks english and thinks I'm an idiot on top of it. Ugh.

Then I get to file a claim with the movers who broke stuff and backed into one of my trees twice. Yep, it didn't get out of his way so he figured he'd try again. Asshole. They also need to get here to take away all the boxes and moving stuff. That should be an adventure.

As far as reading goes, I've done some, mainly thrillers to pass the time. Because I didn't have a keyboard for a long time (got a little bluetooth apple one now) I haven't written any reviews. Not sure how many I will write since they start life in a Google doc which is a PITA to access on an iPad. Oh first world problems, huh?

The gray eyes phenomenon continues. I think it occurred in some audio books as well, but it's harder to note it with those. Ebooks are another story - Death of an Expert Witness by P.D. James, Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz and Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell all feature these wonders of nature.

During the hectic move month I couldn't concentrate on audiobooks so let the credits pile up in my audible.com account. Also got sucked into too many podcasts. OMG. Dropped a couple and then downloaded a book (which was recommended on one of the podcasts, funny). It's The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty which though the secret isn't one for a person like me who reads a lot of thrillers/mysteries. Instead, I'm more interested in what the people who know about it are going to do about the secret. Maybe some gray-eyed stranger will blow into town and save them all.

OMG another gray-eyed freak in Odd Thomas!!! Will it ever stop?!

The Husband's Secret is still going and a tiny bit stagnant, but mostly entertaining.

Ah crap! I missed my LT Anniversary, oh well, but on the upside I have a library card again!

As of the 19th of July it's been 9 years here on LT. Instead of buying books (which is all I've been doing since I stopped going to the library in NH) I joined the local library. Well, when I say local, it's in the next town which is 25 minutes from here, but the card gets me into the one that's only 15 minutes away (give or take). I'm so happy it's almost ridiculous. A library. With a 28-day borrow period which can be extended 3x and has a 3 day grace period for overdue books. I took out 3 -

Armadillo by William Boyd
Closed Circle by Robert Goddard
Journey with the Loon by David Evers and Kate Taylor

The first two because I love those guys and the third because we have a lone loon here and I'm curious about them. I've only ever seen them in pairs that form small groups; never one alone before.

So my library adventure begins here. I think it will be a long and satisfying one. Suddenly the idea of a TBR list has more possibilities than what I can justifiably purchase. I can try out authors and be free to put a book aside if I hate it, all knowing I haven't wasted any money. My read-but-unowned collection is going to grow and grow. Cool.

They also have audiobooks which is something of a dilemma for me. I have been an audible customer for years and years and enjoy having the selection and the ability to listen on my phone or the iPod. There isn't quite the selection at the libe, but there is a lot. So I guess for now I'll leave my audible subscription alone.

Oh the huge manatee!

>85 Bookmarque: Ah. Loons. I am a loon lover from way, way back. They are beautiful birds with a haunting cry. Have you ever (begging everyone's pardon here, but I didn't make this up) heard a recording of loon calls set to a certain melody by Debussy?

You know there's an enforcement squad, though, that doesn't take it lightly when someone misses their Thingaversary...

There is the rule that if one moves to a different state within six months of the Thingaversary, any assessed penalty is halved.

>87 suitable1:, that is absolutely correct and such knowledge demonstrates that you've studied all the relevant footnotes. You're fully qualified now to assume the role of LT Sage and Expert on Terms of Service and User Guide.

Miss one meeting, though, and it's hard to catch up

>87 suitable1: Plus or minus six months, or just six months preceding? If I miss my date, can I get off the hook by claiming that I will be moving in six months? How about might be moving? Slippery slope, that.

preceding only. Thinking about moving does not count. The move must have been completed and the new neighbors have to have stopped by the dock.

lol. thanks for cutting me some slack!

another neighbor came by the dock the other night. We chatted and he gave us free use of his paddleboat which we will take advantage of. He's basically right next door, but is seasonal only. Over the weekend we met some folks across the river, too. The local bakery/coffee shop (someone's garage) is a great place to get some local color. It was great. I think we'll become regulars.

Am finished with Riven Rock by T.C. Boyle. As with many of his other books driven more by character and circumstance, I think it is the best showcase for his writing. And boy, he can write the walls down. Great stuff based on actual people and events. Sure, the line between fact and fiction is blurred, but blurred so well you don't mind.

> 84 There's been grey eyes mentioned in quite a few of the recent books I've read. I think it's becoming quite common in books.

My laptop is back and good as new. I'm so happy to be able to type normally and deal with images and all my usual stuff.

I have been doing a ton of reading since I haven't been taking a lot of pictures. The Wisconsin Valley Library System has been awesome! I can request books from anywhere in the system, they arrive in hours and I can return books to anywhere as well. These four came right off my Amazon wishlist (waiting for a wicked Kindle sale) -



This is basically my mini-TBR list. It's like being a kid with toys or something. Nutty, I know but I haven't ever been a patron at a library system like this one and it's going to make our lovely Wisconsin winters easier to bear, I'm sure. I haven't even gotten to the music, movies and audio books yet. Phew.

Recap of my recent books coming soon. There's been a lot!

>94 Bookmarque: That's wonderful! It's so satisfying to go to the library and come away with a pile of books you really want to read.

July reading summary - settled into my new home and not having my laptop to play with pictures, left me a lot of time to read - check it out!

15 books, 14 fiction, 1 non-fiction



10 by men, 5 by women (15 distinct authors)
4 by authors I’ve never read before, 9 I have
7 physical books, 2 audio, 6 ebooks
Oldest wasn’t that old - 1993 and the newest was from this year

Looks like my trips to the library are going to kick that physical number up this year. I don’t have that much interest in using Overdrive for ebooks through the library, first because I heard it’s a miserable experience, and second because I just don’t have the bandwidth here to sacrifice for a miserable experience. Plus I have tons of ebooks already loaded and ready to go, so I’m good.

Highest rated - 4 stars to Riven Rock, Minotaur & Journey with the Loon. Nothing perfect, but the loon book came close, they just needed to eliminate some duplicate text from the sidebar. T.C. Boyle and Barbara Vine can nearly always be counted on to produce great work and those two are no exceptions.

Lowest rated - 2.5 stars to The Husband’s Secret, Unnatural Exposure and Congo. This is average or just below; not a bad book, but not outstanding either. Congo is really dated and preachy, The Husband’s Secret wasn’t and Unnatural Exposure just felt phoned in.

I'm reading A Dirty Job right now. I enjoyed Odd Thomas, but it was definitely a cotton candy read for me.

I liked A Dirty Job better the second time, so I'm looking forward to getting the sequel. Kitty! So hilarious. I liked Odd Thomas better the first time I read it, but for whatever reason I felt like trying again since I have a lot of the series as ebooks thanks to the airplane lady.

Am taking it easy today because I just had another bone graft to support my future tooth implant. Wasn't terribly painful, but was a very visceral experience and my cortisol levels ratcheted up yesterday during the procedure. Anyway, after the farmer's market I'll be diving back into , which is a fictional account of Judge Crater's disappearance in 1930 as related by, you guessed it, his wife, his maid and his mistress. All the women actually existed and so far it's quite good although less gripping than described. Oh and isn't that the greatest cover???

>98 Bookmarque: That is indeed an inspired cover. It's also just the sort of thing (a) that spawns imitations and (b) that really works only once.

I haven't noticed it imitated, but you're right, it would definitely lose impact if others tried it.

And speaking of great covers, look at this!



OMG. It's so swoony and soap-operaish. The anguish, the haughtiness, the danger of stairs! I just love how they're trying to encapsulate everything in the book with just the cover. I think this was a 70s kind of approach. I've noticed it in movie posters, too. The whole cover module is a great source for this kind of thing. I love finding alternative covers for stuff I've just cataloged. It's like a treasure hunt.

>100 Bookmarque: never underestimate the danger of stairs *duh duh DUUUUUUUUUH*

...I say this as someone who has fallen up stairs as well as down them. I did considerably more damage falling up than down. Go figure. Tricksy, tricksy stairs.

>100 Bookmarque: "The anguish, the haughtiness, the danger of stairs!" LOL, love that remark!!!
>101 imyril: I remember in High School slipping at the top of the basement stairs with my broken arm in a sling but only a splint, not a full cast, landing on my butt and very quickly ba-boom-ba-boom-ba-boom bouncing down the stairs on my ass, my elbow just missing getting slammed into each step! How I got out of that without further injuring my elbow, let alone shattering it, is beyond me!

>102 mrgrooism: Only four years ago, I missed my footing on some stairs. Unfortunately I was on crutches at the time; it was actually the crutch that slipped. The result was a quick ambulance trip to the ER, the removal of a foot cast (can't operate crutches with a broken arm), and the addition of a wrist cast. This was all complicated by the fact that it took place at a major downtown theatre following a performance of Swan Lake. I am now very, very careful of stairs. All it takes is one little slip.

Oh, my goodness, I was experiencing sympathy pains as I read that.

>103 Meredy:

How did you perform Princess Odette on crutches?

>105 suitable1: Haha. I did a swan dive.

Is it awful to take comfort in the fact that I'm not the only one to have fallen up stairs? OMG. Down I think is worse though and with crutches??!! Jeez. I'll have to be extra vigilant in my new house. We have 9-foot ceilings on both floors and the deck steps total 19!! Toting things for a day on the lawn or dock just got easier though and less dangerous with one of these - perfect for holding beverages on ice, binoculars and assorted other crap I can't live without. Isn't it great?

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Just finished reading and marveling over the work in Peter Mendelsund's book Cover. The old aphorism about not judging a book by its cover is crap. That's what sells us and makes us curious. It's what appeals and repels. I'm tempted to read books he's designed for just by what he's done with the artwork. And actually I did put a biography of Isaac Newton on my library list from one of the authors who had a different book cover done by Peter. Funny. And what's weirder is that on a book lovers' site I'm only the 29th person to have cataloged it. I was really surprised by that. So if you're interested in book covers and one man's process for designing them, Cover is for you.

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One thing about library books is that doing a DNF is so much easier. Made it to page 47 of The Devil in Silver when I floundered and impaled myself on this sentence - "The scene was absolutely crazy-balls.". That's the best literary allusion you could come up with? Crazy-balls? What's next, amaze-balls? Or maybe the time-honored awesomesauce. Ugh. Plus it was full of unnecessary tangents and when I started skimming them on page 40-something I knew it was a bad sign. I mean, it's like the 3rd chapter, aren't you supposed to be hooking me? Aren't you supposed to be setting the story and all that jazz? You're making me skim already? Yeah, don't need to read this one.

So I picked up my June ER book which just arrived - Newport by Jill Morrow. Much better, phew!

>107 Bookmarque: Yeah, one crutch went flying and I landed on the other one, bent beneath me. For some reason I thought that was hilarious. I laughed myself silly and they kept asking me my name and age and whether I'd hit my head. The sight of my flat broken arm was even funnier. I laughed for 3 hours right through the pain.

That reminds me of the time I gave blood when the red cross came to my employer for a drive. Everything went well and I got up from the juice and cookies table and headed for the door. In about 2 seconds I hit the floor. Clunked my head a good one and immediately all the blood techs and my coworkers started going nuts like I fell into an industrial shredder. I just kept laughing because it must have been hilarious to watch and I wish there was a video of it.

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I've started taking the camera out here and there, but am frustrated by the shitty image quality I have to post because we only have 20gb of bandwidth per month up here. It really takes the fun out of things for me and I might have to find another way. Like loading images onto a thumb drive, going to the library and using the wifi there. I miss my big pipes. No pipes here, but we have herons -

Very like an Impressionist painting. Still lovely.

oh thank you MrsL. I was so disappointed with the image quality I was forced to deal with here at home that I've decided to batch upload using the wifi at the library. Much better. It won't be as convenient, but at least I won't cringe when looking at my photos online. That said, I uploaded a bunch from my vacation in Belgium and Amsterdam. There might be more, but here's the link if anyone's interested - https://www.flickr.com/photos/thewiresmith/sets/72157656644842709

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Here's the haul from the library down in Wausau (had to go see my oral surgeon, so I hit the libe and a really great independent CD/Record store called Inner Sleeve. The owner's really great and I ended up with 3 CDs and 2 LPs - some Volbeat, The Atomic Bitchwax, The Screaming Trees, ELO and an ancient Don Henley album solely for the song Dirty Laundry. The last 2 on vinyl. Ah sorry for the digression, here's the library haul -



All of these were languishing on my amazon wishlist...some for years. Crazy. The music is some Miles Davis, Branford Marsalis Quartet and some Mahler as performed by the NY Philharmonic w/Leonard Bernstein. I can only listen to instrumental music when I read and there is no classical station that I can get up here. I was really spoiled by Boston radio and my thin selection of classical CDs and other instrumental music is getting to me, so time to branch out.

Oooh, talk about the Du Maurier one. I've not heard anything about that one.

It was first published in 1950 and here's what my copy says -

"The story of three people, Maria, Niall, Celia, step brother and sisters, each with a minor gift inherited from talented parents, each somehow satisfied with falling short of creative achievement, dependent on one another, and shutting out close relations with the rest of the world. The story opens on the Sunday in the country when Charles, Maria's husband, calls them all 'parasites' - leaves them to recall the past in varying terms and ends the day by asking Maria for a divorce."

That might not be the description that grabbed me, but I really like Du Maurier and my library system has a ton of her books so I started with this one. It's probably next after I finish my Bohjalian.

>111 Bookmarque: oooh look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Blazing World - it's been on my wishlist for at least a year now!

>113 Bookmarque: I've owned a copy of The parasites for years and never read it. Your response to it could bump it up to the top of Mount Tbr (or put it straight onto the discard pile!).

>108 Meredy: Ha! That reminds me of breaking my arm after the first day of school in 10th grade! Instead of going through the unlocked gate in my backyard, Mr. ADHD decided to really highlight the Hyperactivity element of my personality by getting a good running start, stepping on a thin bench and vaulting over!

Except that the bench toppled as I jumped, my foot didn't clear the top of the fence and I swung down via my foot-fulcrum, put my arm out and bent it BACKWARDS at the elbow a full 90 degrees.

I actually stood up, holding my loose and useless arm in the other, and Dad, who had watched the whole affair, asked "Are you hurt?"

What's a teenager to do in that situation? I laughed and gave a sarcastic "No-o-o-o-o!" dramatic pause. I mean YESSS!!!

>113 Bookmarque: I can't remember if I've read that Du Maurier or not. Her books are very much hit and miss with me. Those I like, I love, and those I didn't like, well, I didn't like them. :) I'm also looking forward to your views on The Parasites. It sounds like a downer I would never read!

The Blazing World has been on my WL for like a year, too, imyril. I've heard good, but sometimes mixed, reviews of it. And wasn't it on the long list for the Booker? Maybe it was the Bailey's/Orange prize.

Seems I like more of Du Maurier than most people. Funny. The Parasites will probably be up next. I hope it isn't quite the downer it seems like it might be.

Gotta digest and get over The Double Bind though. The thing about the unreliable narrator and the author's conceit over The Great Gatsby totally blew me away because I didn't see through enough of it. I didn't suspect in the right direction and he got by me. Terrific when that happens.

>118 Bookmarque: It was longlisted for the Booker - I think that's where I first heard about it :)

It will probably be up next, imyril. I don't read a lot of prize winners or nominees, but the premise of this one sounded interesting. I hope it lives up to the accolades.

Alas I had to DNF The Parasites by Du Maurier. I held out longer than I would have with an author I didn't like so much, but this was insufferable. I made it to page 66 before giving up after a couple of days of making excuses to do something other than read it. The depiction of the main characters in the first chapter had promise; it reminded me of the family in The Chimney Sweeper's Boy by Rendell writing as Vine. Then there were the flashbacks to their indulged and peripatetic childhoods. Ugh. It was awful. Hated the parents, the kids, the whole lot. I couldn't see any hints as to where the story was going and by then I didn't care.

Am now onto Fallen Land by Patrick Flanery and it's much more promising, although I wish he hadn't succumbed to the cheap and easy prologue technique. It's as if Tobe Hooper had filmed the last burial at the indian cemetery then flash forwarded to a bulldozer on the site to open Poltergeist. At least it seems that way. Possibly it's misdirection and if it is I'll respect the author for it and I hope it is. So far though the way the story is told is quite effective and the writing dense. No skimming or you'll be lost. Plus it has a great cover -

>120 Bookmarque: Which may explain why I have no memory of The Parasites, even though I think I've read most of her works. :)

I've liked everything I've read except this, even Flight of the Falcon which a lot of people hate. Oh well, it's a library book and easy to put down. Even good writers have bad ideas and off days.

OMG, Fallen Land is amazing. I predict it will end up in my top 5 for 2015, it’s that good.

It’s psychological horror so starkly told that the dread wasn’t visceral; I didn’t feel it in my gut, I felt it in my psyche. It was clinical. Restrained. I loved Flanery’s creativity when it came to presenting different aspects of the story. Copley’s timeline, Julia’s report, the babble of morning voices. He handles the complexity of the situation and the psychology very well. It must have been one hell of a story to outline. People who need likable characters (zzzzz) and sunshine and puppies need not apply, but if you like dark stories that challenge your suppositions and notions, Fallen Land fits the bill perfectly.

Full review here - not too spoilery. http://www.librarything.com/work/13481238/reviews/105580309

>123 Bookmarque: Winged me there.

I can't recommend it enough if you're into dark and twisted. It gets a tiny bit dystopian as well, so that's a bonus. It's not overly violent or cruel either if you know what I mean. The people are too detached from one another for that much intensity.

>123 Bookmarque: Ouch! I think that bullet just went straight through my protective padding!

Muhahahahaha!

>107 Bookmarque: I fell upstairs a couple of years ago, sort of. It was darkish but I'd been up those stairs many times. I lifted my right leg to go up the last stair and my left leg tried to go through the motions of moving up to follow, but there was no more up! I was already on the top step with my right leg trying to lift me up and my left leg trying to join it. Very bad. There was a loud !crack! Then I went head first into the wall of the landing, howling. The cracking noise was the muscle in my left leg.

And a couple of days ago, I tripped on the main street of town and did a full frontal belly flop, landed on my knee, then bounced off my cheek. I was rescued by a group of French Canadians - very exciting. I was able to walk home, but instead of the black eye I was looking forward to showing off, I have a green and yellow knee. So now when I have to fish the cat's toys out from under the couch, I can only use one leg, which means I have to maneuver like a fat seal who can only move on one side while on land.

The cat doesn't appreciate the effort at all.

Cats are a very ungrateful species.

I've heard it said that if you want gratitude, you don't have a cat.

Yeah and they don't bring you coffee either.

I did another big batch upload of some photos I've taken recently. My new yard is a wildflower paradise and I found some rattlesnake root the other day. Notice who's hiding in this one. I love it.



If you can't quite see it, there are a pair of crab spider legs on either side of the blossom. She was a wee thing at only about 3mm across. Tiniest crab spider I've seen, which makes up for the fishing spiders that live on my dock. Easily 3 inches across with the legs. The body and head are about an inch. Such big girls.

What is it about new field guides that makes me all giddy? Every time I get one it's like a new adventure or something...I know I'll find something new or that I've never known before. Love them. Here's my newest!



One mushroom guide is never enough and so I'm hoping between this and the one I already have I'll be able to ID more of what I find to photograph.

>131 Bookmarque:, THEY DON'T BRING YOU COFFEE? That's just dreadful.

I don't know why we keep them. Pfft.

We keep them for the first time they purr when you pick them up. Finally! :)

Funny, none of my cats will tolerate being picked up. They will, on their own and to varying enthusiasms, come to have a cuddle, but being toted; no.

imyril - I finished The Blazing World. It was nearly a DNF, but I changed my approach to the book and it helped. The idea and the construction are great, but the execution left me cold. Did I enjoy it? Not enough to read another of her books. The narrative kept me at arm’s length and I can’t say that I was enmeshed in the story; I put it down for days. When I use the word story I do it lightly. There was one in there somewhere, but it was so diluted by navel-gazing and intellectual claptrap that it got lost for dozens of pages, multiple narratives and sometimes months or years in the timeline. It was an intellectual exercise and an experience, but one I don’t intend to repeat.

I put up a longer review that doesn't give anything away if you're up for it - http://www.librarything.com/work/14498343/reviews/110934834

Back from the library. Got hit by a book bullet while there so added a 4th book to my pile -



Started The Girl in a Swing, which judging by the title you'd think was written in the last couple of years. What is it with the word Girl in the title of everything? It is starting to grate on me. What if we replaced the word man with Boy in a bunch of titles, would it work? Anyway...I'll save that rant for another day.

>138 Bookmarque: I remember Dismantled from several years ago. It was weird, annoying in places, and oddly fascinating, even if in the end I thought it came up short. The logistics of the opening scenewere never explained. A lot of it lingers with me, so it definitely had something. I'd be interested to know what you think of it.

I won't click your spoiler yet! I admit her books aren't perfect, but I like the way she weaves her stories and the touch of the supernatural doesn't bug me.

Finished The Girl in a Swing and it was quietly sensual and a bit surprising. One of those books that leaves you wondering if you missed something along the way, but it's deliberately opaque. Leaves a lot to the reader to fill in, something I usually associate with authorial laziness, but I think it was a specific choice rather than not knowing how to write it. I have yet to put together a full review.

My yard is sucking up big chunks of my time. I just get lost out there with all the tiny wonders to behold. So glad for audiobooks.



That is a sporophyte made by a liverwort that grows all over my yard. I can't tell you how happy I was to find it because it's so cool and I already have a fascination with sporophytes made by mosses.

In my low-down explorations I found that I have hepatica in the yard, which is another of my favorite early spring wildflowers. It blooms about the time that bloodroot does and slightly before spring beauty, both of which are also in the yard. Crazy. Also crazy are the number of mushrooms and frogs. Ah rural life, it's always interesting.

Bailed out of The Ruins and I’m not sorry. I made it to the part where a woman needs to give a man a handjob because she needs reassurance. WTF? In what universe? I mean, I know men worship their dicks, but this was just too much. Does Scott Smith even know any women? Even before this asinine scene I was pretty fed up. It’s one of those books predicated on a stupid decision that no one with an ounce of sense would make. Not only do they all decide to go into a jungle to rescue a stranger with no gear, no knowledge and no guide, but they get a tag-along who speaks no English. The hand waving, gesticulating and increasingly loud exchanges was idiotic. No one would be that dumb and persist with their inability to communicate, or if one side was too backward to learn they would be abandoned. The characters are thin and I had a hard time remembering if Eric was the dissolute one or if it was Jeff. Is Amy the dirty girl or the whiny one? And of course each woman had to have an internal monologue of self-hate and admonishment, the men just told themselves how great they were. OMG so so dumb and I can’t believe I wasted 100 pages of my life on it.

Review for The Girl in a Swing is up. It was a tad difficult to write because the book is so subtle and layered, but I think I did ok. http://www.librarything.com/work/147553/reviews/77369795

Also got through The Good Girl and it was meh. http://www.librarything.com/work/14694932/reviews/121075557
Not as ridiculously dumb as The Ruins, but I can't believe it gets the praise it does. I've really got to knock off reading books with Girl in the title. Ugh. Although The Girl in a Swing was an exception, maybe because it's 35 years old.

Five was better, but has some stock characters and situations that I don't have any interest in reading again/more of, so I'm letting this one go. http://www.librarything.com/work/12052445/reviews/111201084
Of course it's the start of a series, aren't they all these days?

Oh I'm in a crabby mood huh?



I'll stop. No need to infect the rest of you.

>141 Bookmarque: I believe you and thumbed your review. It's unlikely that I'd have come close to reading this anyway, for a lot of reasons, but now I'm inoculated.

I think maybe you need a little break beside a quiet lake.

>141 Bookmarque: LOL, I'm sorry, I laughed. First at your thoughts, then at your photo. Hopefully, I was laughing with you, because I certainly wasn't laughing at you. I feel your pain. So disappointing to waste time on stupid.

I agree with >142 Meredy:, maybe with your favorite drink in hand.

I really love your photo though. Love the little green alien tree above it also. :)

I like the photo and the review, too. Both are so very descriptive!

I read your review of Five, @Bookmarque, and noted that you questioned whether or not cows "trot". As someone whose family kept cows on a farm, I can say that they are *capable* of it but they don't do it all that often. They will do it upon occasion if feed is involved.

Thanks for the thumbs and the nice comments about my toad pic, ladies, and I have no doubt you were laughing with me. I consider it a public duty sometimes to just rant a little in a book review. Sometimes it gets the point across better.

I've seen cows amble, but never trot. lol. I guess if a cow is moving faster than a walk it could be a trot.

Am in a better mood today, so here's a view of the river about a mile downstream from my house.



Am on my own for the next few days so will probably get out with the camera again. Unfortunately I can't upload until I get to some wifi at the library or somewhere. Living in the sticks has its good points and its bad.

>146 Bookmarque: I didn't say anything about the toad because it looks like my Aunt Margaret.

>147 Meredy: You mean you also know people who look like that? ;)

>148 hfglen: Egad, now I'm wondering if sometimes I look like that. Thanks, Hugh.

We all look like that from time to time. Luckily it didn't last for me. I think this had something to do with it.



The water isn't usually so calm in the middle of the afternoon, but I won't complain. I don't know why the iPhone makes it look like it's going to storm...it's not!

August reading summary -
14 books, 13 fiction, 1 non-fiction



9 women, 5 men, 13 distinct authors
6 by authors I've read before, 8 by authors I have
Oldest was from 1974 and the newest from this year

Lots of library books!
10 physical books, 2 ebooks and 2 audio

Highest rated goes to Fallen Land by Patrick Flanery, lowest is The Good Girl by Mary Kubicka, both of which I've written reviews for.

>151 Bookmarque: I think you must be the reason that I have Fallen Land on my library request list.

It's a brilliant novel. Dark, but really good. I hope you like it.

Finished Dismantled yesterday and it's good, but not her best work. When you're talking about the logistics of the hanging scene, do you mean you don't think he could have done it by the mechanics shown or that the voice in his ear wasn't explained? For me, I think the voice was in his head. The postcard came from the brats, not Winnie or her friend. At least that's my read. People complain about the lack of sympathetic characters and I agree, but what they did was interesting so I kept reading. If this was my first McMahon, I don't think I'd be as impressed, but her two later novels that I read were better so luckily I read them before this one. Still, it was an interesting premise, just kind of a sloppy execution in parts, like the rabbit-out-of-a-hat accomplice at the end.

My short-term TBR list -


It's a combination of the last 2 trips to the library. Mortal Love is what I started the other day and damn is it good. It's really layered with lots of objects and events from the past that tie to the present. It reminds me, for some reason I can't quite pinpoint, of Iain Pears's writing. Especially The Dream of Scipio. I keep having to make notes because I'm afraid I'll miss something. Great stuff so far and with a rainy day on my hands today, I know what I'll be doing later.

>154 Bookmarque: Mortal Love! That is the only book I ever read that, the moment I finished the last page, I turned right around and started over again. Glad I did, too, because, as in one of those SIRDS patterns (which look like nothing until you squint at them just right, and then they become a 3D image), much that was hidden or obscure emerged the second time.

It's also one of a tiny handful of books that I read in paperback (twice) and subsequently bought in hardcover as a keeper. I gave my original copy away to a dear friend, but only after transcribing all my marginalia.

And it sent me off looking for the amazing art of Richard Dadd.

If you put a dress and a pair of glasses on that toad... well, it wouldn't be the first time somebody gave me that look.

>154 Bookmarque:, >155 Meredy: I'm going to have to move Mortal love to the top of Mount Tbr. I love most of Hand's work but for some reason have been putting off reading this one - maybe because after I've finished it, I'll have to wait for her to release something new.

Stayed up past my bedtime to finish Mortal Love and it did my head in a bit. Reminded me early on of A Dream of Scipio by Iain Pears, and towards the end A Maggot by John Fowles popped into my head. I think it was the sense of the past manipulating the future and the hallucinations on a page that take you right out of the reality of what's happening into some strange place that leaves you befuddled and going back over and over paragraphs to make some sense of them. The review will take some time to percolate to the surface, but it will, it's too good a book not to write about.

Wow, it's been ages since I posted here. Been busy and reading a lot. Finished a decent literary thriller - http://www.librarything.com/work/15706466/reviews/121610316 - it's a pretty classic us vs. them tale about what happens in a small town when irritations become abrasions and violence ensues. The setting is the unfashionable eastern end of Long Island. It's due back at the library today and like a dope I didn't send my request for books in earlier and so won't get anything crossed off my very long TBR list.

---

Am out taking pictures, but not as much as I'd like to. Not sure what's holding me back. The leaves are starting to change, but no where near peak. I think the timing is a lot like northern New England - Columbus day weekend. But small things still captivate me, too. These are chanterelle waxcaps (hydrocybe cantharellus) and are all over the place. Very changeable little mushrooms. They're named for their resemblance to real chanerelle mushrooms - the gills extend down the stem a bit, which is the key identifier. Here's a mini-study from the last few weeks.







Can't believe LT has been around for 10 years. Well, I can believe it, but it seems like yesterday. This is where I spend most of my time online these days and hope things don't change to make me leave.

Just back from my weekly trip to the library and here's what followed me home -



The librarian said she's read another of Woodrell's books and it was really powerful so I'm hoping the one I have is equally good. It's been on my wishlist at amazon forever and I can't remember where I first came across it.

Sadly, I still have one from the 8th to read, but should be doing that in the next day or so. Had to squeeze in a horror novel that I haven't read since it came out - Others by James Herbert. I was going to donate it before the move, but I'm glad I didn't.

Had to DNF a local author writing about Wisconsin. I didn't want to, but if I put a book down for a while and then find excuse after excuse not to pick it up again, it's over. All the reviews say that the characters are compelling and unforgettable, but I beg to differ. Oh well. Luckily it's a library book.

The nice weather is winding down and we're supposed to have our first hard frost tonight. Beverages down by the water won't be in the cards for much longer, though this last weekend was gorgeous!



Sorry it's tilted. I do that all the time and this is basically right out of the camera and I thought I fixed it. Bah.

>160 Bookmarque: All the reviews say that the characters are compelling and unforgettable

I always wonder if characters that are declared "unforgettable" two days after finishing the book are still going to be unforgettable two years later--or even two months. It seems to me that "unforgettable" ought to stand the test of a little time before it is invoked.

Lovely picture. Just imagining, too, how beautiful that scene is going to look when it's all in silver and blue and white.

Nice reflections!

Yeah really, Meredy, there should be a qualifier. Unforgettable...until your next book! Unforgettable until you finally remember where you left your glasses. Unforgettable until you need to remember your neighbor's name. Ugh.

Thanks for liking the phone shot of the flowage. Oh and I'm so not ready for snow and stuff yet, although once stick season begins I get a bit anxious for it.

>163 Bookmarque: Stick season = bare trees?

Basically yeah. Bare trees, shrubs...everything else dead or equally dormant and unphotogenic. The snow is a welcome relief comparatively speaking. Much more fun for the photographer. We have x-country skis and are planning to add snow shoes as well at least for this year. Might as well enjoy the winter since there's so damn much of it.

>160 Bookmarque: I imagine those trees are going to look glorious soon, when the leaves turn to red and gold.

>137 Bookmarque: I think you may have bumped The Blazing World back down the list, which is a relief (as it's getting a bit out of control). That said, you may have replaced it with Fallen Land - it's dangerous catching up with your thread :)

>141 Bookmarque: ...but I do love the toad. I could have sworn it blinked at me as I scrolled past - I had to go back up and stare a while longer just to be sure!

I love your photos, I could spend ages just sitting here imagining....

Yeah, fall is crashing down upon us and since I don't know the area, I don't know if I'll end up with anything to show for it. Today was largely a bust, the trails not leading to the features I thought they would. Some of the most boring trails I've ever been on, too. Oh well. I got a few mushroom shots I think I can work with. I'm glad you guys like the shots.

imyril - Fallen Land is way better than The Blazing World, that's for sure. I liked it a lot. Oh and I found a toad of a similar size the other day, hopping madly toward the river. I picked it up and set it in my garden instead. It was much lighter skinned. Funny how much variety there is in amphibians.

Here's one of my favorite shots from my recent forays into Wisconsin woods. The grass is new for me. Sure, we had tufts of it here and there in the woods in NH, but not like this -



The light could be a bit more interesting, but overall I like the feel and the little trail.

Your thread, liberally sprinkled with dazzling photos is a very relaxing read. :)

Thanks peeps. I'm going to start a new thread for the last quarter of the year, but before I go, here's one of the great things about leaves all over my lawn!

How do you get the grass to grow down?

>171 Bookmarque: I starred this thread when you started it but not having posted anything on it I did not notice it until taking a moment to browse through my Starred threads. I have just had a wonderful 30 minutes browsing your thread, admiring the great pictures, and enjoying snippets of the discussions about books.

By the way, I take great delight with some of my photographs appearing upside down. It gives them bit of mystery and causes me to pause and wonder.

aww thanks pgmcc!