qebo’s 2015 books (3)

Long’s Park in Lancaster PA should be Long Park, which it was when I was a kid; its 80 acres were bequeathed to Lancaster by the Long family in 1900. Lancaster extends an amoeba arm to include it within city limits. It is within reasonable walking distance of the city, but the route is not pedestrian friendly.

It hosts the Summer music series every Sunday from June through August, and the Art & Craft Festival on Labor Day weekend.

Its centerpiece year round is the duck pond.
*image link defunct*

Currently Reading

Read But Not Yet Reviewed

January
#01: The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan -- (Jan 3) - new (e-book)
#02: Mendel in the Kitchen by Nina V. Fedoroff and Nancy Marie Brown -- (Jan 11) - ROOT
#03: March by Geraldine Brooks -- (Jan 14) - ROOT
#04: The Bird Market of Paris by Nikki Moustaki -- (Jan 18) - ER
#05: Alan Turing: The Enigma by Andrew Hodges -- (Jan 24) - ROOT
#06: Culture Shock! Korea by Sonja Vegdahl Hur and Ben Seunghwa Hur -- (Jan 26) new (used)
#07: January magazines -- (Jan 30)

February
#08: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke -- (Feb 7) - ROOT (e-book)
#09: Cycle of Fire by Hal Clement -- (Feb 14) - ROOT
#10: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- (Feb 18) - new (e-book)
#11: Food, Inc. by Peter Pringle -- (Feb 19) - ROOT
#12: Headstrong by Rachel Swaby -- (Feb 27) - ER
#13: February Magazines -- (Feb 28)

March
#14: The Dinosaur Feather by Sissel-Jo Gazan -- (Mar 3) - borrowed
#15: Soldier Girls by Helen Thorpe -- (Mar 10) - new (used)
#16: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert -- (Mar 19) - ROOT
#17: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman -- (Mar 24) - ROOT
#18: Blood of the Tiger by J. A. Mills -- (Mar 29) - ER

April
#19: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande -- (Apr 4) - new
#20: Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne -- (Apr 5) - ROOT reread
#21: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- (Apr 17) - new (e-book)

May
#22: The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol -- (May 1) - ER
#23: An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance -- (May 4) - new (e-book)
#24: On Writing by Stephen King -- (May 8) - new
#25: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey -- (May 10) - new (e-book)
#26: Conundrum by Jan Morris -- (May 16) - new
#27: Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan -- (May 20) - new (e-book)
#28: Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George -- (May 28) - new (e-book)

June
#29: Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George -- (Jun 5) - new (e-book)
#30: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr -- (Jun 17) - new (e-book)

July
#31: Welcome to Shirley by Kelly McMasters -- (Jul 11) - new (used)
#32: Middlemarch by George Eliot -- (Jul 12) - new (e-book)
#33: Feed by Mira Grant -- (Jul 16) - new (e-book)
#34: I Wonder What a Rainforest Is by Annabelle Donati -- (Jul 17) - LFL
#35: Marketplace of the Marvelous by Erika Janik -- (Jul 18) - ER
#36: Among Chimpanzees by Nancy J. Merrick -- (Jul 25) - ER
#37: Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams -- (Jul 27) - borrowed
#38: Brush Back by Sara Paretsky -- (Jul 30) - new (e-book)

August
#39: The Invisible Woman by Claire Tomalin -- (Aug 5) - new
#40: Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee -- (Aug 9) -new (e-book)
#41: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel -- (Aug 16) -new (e-book)
#42: The Brother Gardeners by Andrea Wulf -- (Aug 16) - ROOT
#43: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie -- (Aug 22) - new (e-book)
#44: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer -- (Aug 28) - ROOT
#45: X by Sue Grafton -- (Aug 30) - new (e-book)
#46: On Looking by Alexandra Horowitz -- (Aug 30) - new

Well I actually finished a book yesterday, squeaked in minutes before midnight, so that's sufficient motivation for a new thread.

You're reading/reviewing some really good books! Those I loved were Being Mortal and To Kill A Mockingbird, though I read the latter many, many years ago. I also found Orange is the New Black a thoroughly enlightening book. That book helped me understand what it might be like for a friend of mine who is now enduring a long prison sentence. I really appreciated the first person account of Kerman's prison experience.

>6 SqueakyChu: I'm not reviewing much of anything. :-) I start jotting notes and can't concentrate enough to pull them together.

I picked up Orange is the New Black at the grocery store last year, then pulled it out of a stack on the floor when I wanted something undemanding to read. And it was a useful view of a world outside my experience. Then I began watching the Netflix series out of curiosity and got hooked, zipped through two seasons in April, among the reasons for the reduced number of books. The series begins with recognizable connections to the book, then takes off into soap opera exaggerations. Have you been in communication with your friend during the prison sentence?

I loved Being Mortal also, read it for a book group. I was rather meh on To Kill a Mockingbird, for another book group; read it in high school which perhaps skewed the experience, also the trouble with Important books is the bar is set high.

Oh, great, another Being Mortal fan. It is destined to be my number one read in 2015. I simply cannot stop telling people about it.

I've avoided Orange is the New Black (tv) and had no idea it was based on a book. I will await your review eagerly!

>7 qebo: Have you been in communication with your friend during the prison sentence?

Actually, I have. He and I now communicate via CorrLinks which is a prison email system which he has recently been allowed to use. It's really great for both of us as I never write real letters any more, and I really think that prisoners can be sustained and given hope through communication with those outside of prison. That feeling was strongly reinforced by Piper Kerman's book. Unfortunately, my friend has a much, much longer prison sentence than Kerman had.

Hi Katherine - The Theft of Memory sounds very good. I'll be interested to read your review.

Hi there ... Nice new thread. I've been to that art show in the park. A nice event, but pricey! The PA Guild of Craftsmen puts on a good indoor show in Lancaster too.

I love OITNB! And the book was good too, though very different than the TV show.

Happy new thread!

>7 qebo: Lol, Meh isn't a reaction one generally associates with To Kill a Mockingbird :)

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the books for the next meet of our RL book club, the other being The Book Thief. As much as I liked it, I don't think I will re-read To Kill a Mockingbird, but it would be nice to revisit the book, maybe watch the movie.

>15 PiyushC: Meh meaning that it didn't have much affect on me, perhaps because I'd read it before, perhaps because it looms large in the canon of American Literature and I lack the context (or the motivation) to place it in proper regard, perhaps because it would have been more revealing and provocative in 1960. It's completely possible that I'm missing something; I often am.
.

>15 PiyushC: >16 qebo: I had mixed feelings about To Kill a Mockingbird when I reread it a few years ago (after reading it as a teenager decades ago). I found Atticus unsufferably good. And the African-American characters had to be SO exceptional. But it was a product of its times.

I still remember exactly the season and place where I was reading Mockingbird, but I do remember talking about it in class. My daughter read it at some point and loved it and they had great discussions in class too. The lack of subtlety may work well for thoughtful adolescents? Not so well for adults. I don't think I'd reread it, but I could be convinced to see the movie again.

Yeah, Gregory Peck is the best part of both movie **and** book.

Somewhere here on LT (girlybooks? maybe) there was a conversation lumping TKAM with The Help. They both involve good white folks helping poor blacks who can't help themselves. It was pointed out that white folks like this trope more than blacks do. I had never thought about TKAM in those terms before.

>19 streamsong: Yeah, that's some of the dated feel of TKAM, more forgivable in 1960 than now.

Very good point! The Help was problematical.

One of the best 'white people' stories I've come across is a Nadine Gordimer about a young white girl who gets caught up, first in a personal way, then in a larger way, in the apartheid movement -- it's a very strange story in some ways, really sneaks up on you --. Some people, both sides, ridicule this girl mercilessly and you start out agreeing with them but at the end you realize why just her presence and willingness to stick her neck out just that wee bit was at the time so extraordinary and so deeply encouraging to black people. Gordimer is so brilliant! Nothing simple or unsubtle about that story. I should find the name of it, and I will.

Thank you for starting a new thread, I get so intimidated when I am hundreds of posts behind! I had starred Darryl's review of Being Mortal when he first recommended it, but have hesitated at picking it up for fear it would be too depressing at the moment. What say you?

>21 sibylline: Are you thinking of Burger's Daughter?

I haven't read TKAM since I was a youth! I should re-read it. I think the thing that impressed me the most at the time was that Scout got sandwiches made of sugar and butter. Or maybe it was lard?

>22 labfs39: Being Mortal is nowhere near as depressing as Blood of the Tiger... It's not depressing, really; the parts I remember are more about how to get aging and dying right.

>23 banjo123: yeah sounds like Burger's Daughter. Nadine Gordimer is amazing.

That's a whole novel, isn't it? Maybe I am. I read a LOT of Gordimer in the late seventies and I remember that one coming out around then?? What a good writer!

qebo, where are you?

Gardening, I hope.

Over here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188928 . Lotsa work, little glory so far.

I'd hoped a three day weekend might yield a few reviews, but alas, that's looking unlikely with two days already gone. I have been reading, behind schedule but catchable uppable, but don't have enough leftover energy to channel toward my brain cells.

But I won another ER book anyway: Life on the Edge.

I saw that, and was tempted. I enjoyed Al-Khalili's book The House of Wisdom. But I asked for two others, and got the one I didn't expect! But it should be interesting--Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice. I thought I would get Saving the Original Sinner because of all my reading in the area of religion.

>31 ronincats: Unfair
Hmm, a woman in my book group, sociology professor focused on troubling aspects of the criminal justice system, would be interested in that, probably already knows about it especially since the author is a Drexel professor so semi-local. I'll look forward to your review.

Aww. This was my elementary school. (Not sure this image is generally visible. Let me know?)

>33 qebo: Nice! I stumbled upon another LFL in my mom's neighborhood today, so I'm going to add it to LT now.

How sweet to dedicate a LFL to a retiring teacher! We have our first LFL in the neighborhood. It was quite exciting to come across it. I should try to post a picture of it.

>34 norabelle414: I've been told there's another "somewhere near" or "somewhere along" named locations. I hope to stumble upon it by walking round and round in the general vicinity. Shouldn't be difficult, but I was unable to find another similarly described.

The list >4 qebo: of new (e-book)s continues, which you can take to mean that I remain brain dead. I'm about halfway through another ER, it's pretty good and I could finish in a few days but I'm managing about a chapter per week because it contains information that I can't seem to hold in my head, and of course dragging out the time isn't helping.

>35 labfs39: He is, I gather, a much appreciated teacher. You should add your neighborhood LFL as a LibraryThing venue!

Life on the Edge sounds interesting. I'll be looking forward to reading your thoughts, too. I had missed it on the ER list

I absolutely, absolutely wasn't going to put in for anymore LTER books until I get the current ones caught up and reviewed. But I put in for just one - The Theft of Memory and am very pleased to have won it. Don't these people know that I am six months behind with reviews??

>36 qebo: This one must be new, because it was on a street I ride down often and was extremely visible from the road:

Three of the four LFLs on the map in this city are me, my sister-in-law, and my other sister-in-law's brother.

>40 norabelle414: Lovely!

Just stopping by to say hello!

Someone(s) took all but two books from my Little Free Library between 6pm and 8pm today.

>43 qebo: Is that good or bad?

>44 weird_O: That is probably bad. Would've been about 25 books, which typically last a week, maybe somewhat less this time of year. All within two hours suggests a raid for reasons other than reading. Hasn't ever happened before.

>45 qebo: Maybe it's good because there were two books left? what were the two books? I'm hoping it's a good thing.

>46 norabelle414: The two books were... unremarkable mass-market paperbacks. I don't recall titles, too lazy to walk downstairs and see if they're still there.

And again. Same time frame, not as many books, about half of them. I've added a sign asking people to take no more than 3 at a time. I stocked up with a range of books on half price day at the library book sale a couple weeks ago, and estimated that I had enough books for the summer, but not at this rate.

>48 qebo: Hmmmm. Can you set up a camera trap or something?

>49 norabelle414: Tempting. Unfortunately I can't see the LFL or the sidewalk from my upstairs window; porch roof blocks the view. I could try watching from downstairs during the relevant time, can sit so I can see out but people won't notice me, annoying though because that's when I'm usually out for a walk/run or at the community garden. I'll see whether this is a temporary blip or a continuing problem.

50 posts behind???? Good grief.
I'm sorry about somebody's abusing your generosity with the LFL. I hope that it was a one-time deal. Polly-Anna says, "Maybe it's a poor somebody who doesn't know about LT and yet loves to read a lot," but I (another P.A.) doubt it.
Meanwhile, I'm looking for a word about *Hare/Amber Eyes*. I have it thanks to a generous LTer, but initially had trouble with the writing. Maybe you'll spur me on?

>51 LizzieD: And I've barely posted at all this month, haven't reviewed a book in two months. :-)

Sorry, no spurring here re The Hare with Amber Eyes. I started it, interested in the family saga aspect, but set it aside, have felt no inclination to pick it up again. I'm finding it pretentious and name-droppy. Perhaps if knew or cared more about late 19th century Paris art and literature... I'm told that it gets more interesting after this phase. I may or may not give it a chance.

As of 9pm this evening, the LFL books are still there...

Saw that xkcd today. I'm so excited too! :)

I want more books that have just more of that scene.

Even I loved The Martian, but I'm not sure about a movie........

Love the cartoon!

>40 norabelle414: Oh, how beautiful. I recently visited by small home town and saw a free library on the corner of a large house. Funny, because I always looked at my little town as backwards. It was quite an awakening and a realization that my perceptions are not always correct.

Mentioned on Darryl’s thread: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell on BBC America starting tomorrow. I'd heard it would be on TV, had no idea that it was imminent. This link helpfully has the schedule and a channel finder.

http://www.bbcamerica.com/jonathan-strange-and-mr-norrell/schedule/

>60 qebo: I'm so excited!!

>54 qebo: LOL!

Stopping by with hellos and a bit stunned that someone has been raiding your LFL.... maybe they come from a family that doesn't understand the concept of 'sharing'? Just a thought.

>54 qebo: - LOL, and I am equally stoked that the movie is being made!

>63 lkernagh: Immediately fter the second LFL raid, I put up a sign: please no more than 3 books at a time. Of course completely unenforceable, but the rate of books taken has returned to a normal level. Which this time of year is high, about 5 books per day, so I'll have to find more books somewhere soon. A sign requesting donations has been effective in the past.

I took a look at your gardening thread which you linked somewhere. Wow! It's amazing, and no wonder your posting re books has dropped for the summer.

>65 arubabookwoman: Yeah, the question has been asked "How does anyone work and have a life?" And the answer is, something's gotta give. Alternatively, servants or a personal assistant.

Hi, Katherine!


glitter-graphics.com

>67 tymfos: Thanks! Summer indeed it is.

I've started Middlemarch for a RL book group, and see there have been a coupla 75er group reads. I was afraid it'd be a slog, but so far, at about 10% through, I'm finding it rather entertaining.

>69 qebo: I enjoyed Middlemarch. I read it in segments -- a few chapters at at time -- and had another book on the go as well, which I think helped initially. But at some point I got caught up in the story and read it straight through.

>69 qebo: I've got Middlemarch on my TBR "A" list for this year. I have an elderly hardcover that made it seem, you know, an average 300 pager. But -- Wow! -- it's close to 800 pages. Daunting. Guess I'll try the part-works approach. The fact that you are finding it "rather entertaining" is encouraging.

>71 weird_O: Pithy commentary on characters' foibles and self-delusions.

I LOVE that little cartoon about The Martian movie! I'm looking forward to it. Heh heh about Matt Damon.

#18: Blood of the Tiger by J. A. Mills -- (March 29)

why now: January ER.

Even if you are aware of the alarmingly plummeting population of wild tigers (and elephants and rhinoceroses) this book is enlightening, written by a professional activist (the author began as a journalist, married a bear expert, and via a trip to China segued to tigers), covering two decades of negotiations among government representatives and conservation advocates. You might not expect a series of international conferences to be a page-turner, but it is, because the stakes are high, the players are passionately engaged, the disagreements are rampant even among people essentially on the same side: sticklers for protocol vs maverick muckrakers, purists vs compromisers. And it is not all meetings. But be warned: it is infused with disturbing scenes of gruesome cruelty to animals.

#22: The Theft of Memory by Jonathan Kozol -- (May 1)

why now: March ER, requested because I’ve read pretty much everything else by Jonathan Kozol, mostly in the deep past before LT.

Harry Kozol was a neurologist and psychiatrist, acutely aware of the diagnosis and prognosis when he developed symptoms of Alzheimer’s at age 88. He lived to age 102. This book covers his deterioration in a nursing home that fell short of ideal (though it was the best that a prominent doctor and his famous son could arrange), and eventual return home (where his wife, slightly older and very frail but mentally intact, referred to him as “the baby”) after a team of caretakers had been established, entwined with episodes of his career (reconstructed from notes and interviews, perhaps selected to represent his public persona but tinged with name droppiness) and the relationship of father and son (an ambitious immigrant at the top of an elite profession was not fully supportive when his son opted off a similar path to advocate for civil rights through public education). It’s not, and not meant to be, a complete portrait of person or family; father as doctor seems viewed from a distance, mother and sister have minor roles. This is both a weakness, raising questions, and a strength, a narrow focus on loss.

I hadn't reviewed a book in three months, and was feeling particularly guilty about the ERs, so here they are. I'm still behind, stalled halfway through one (it's a decent book, I'm just not in the mood) and haven't started two.

Both of those sound good, Kstherine, and are going into the Someday Swamp.

Pathetic. I finished only two books this month. I have three others in progress. I did not win an ER, so that's opportunity to catch up. In a general life slump. I’m looking for a house with a significantly bigger yard, spent last summer traipsing around the county and in the end decided that I’d rather stay pretty close to where I am, but nothing with the (admittedly narrow) criteria is showing up. Meanwhile, I’m not motivated to apply much attention elsewhere.

ETA: I was in equally bad shape book-wise, and worse shape life-wise at the end of June 2013, and managed to reach 75.

Middlemarch is dragging. I think I'd be enjoying it more if not for the time pressure. The book group meeting is July 15.

Sorry to hear about the life slump, Katherine. May not be the worst you've been through, but it still sounds unfun. Hoping for better times ahead. Better books too, apparently.

Life slumps are tough. Two books read in June is still two books more than none. I know when I have multiple books on the go it takes longer for me to finish books. Good luck with Middlemarch and house hunting.

Nice review of The Theft of Memory, Katherine. I'll have to get my review of it posted later this month.

I'm sorry to hear about your book and life slump. I hope that July treats you more kindly than June did.

>78 qebo: qebo, I too had an abysmally slow reading month in June and a somewhat-life slump (although things are looking up!) so I can sympathize. I hope things improve for you too, reading- and life-wise, and you find the house you're looking for soon!

More sympathy, Katherine. You'll turn everything around, but slumps are a bitch while they last. COURAGE!

Slumps are a drag. I'm not quite in a slump, but I am a little lost with my big project done. I've been focusing on the thing at hand and not think too much. And trying hard to be disciplined about catching up on all the things I've neglected as well as music practice.

I hope yours abates soon!

>85 sibylline: Yeah, always an adjustment to reorganize your innards when a project is completed.

I hope your slump ends soon!

Nice review of Theft of Memory. I had similar thoughts.

Notice things are a tad quiet around here so stopping by to wish you a wonderful July 4th!

Hi, Katherine! Just stopping by to check in.

>75 qebo: I like your review of The Theft of Memory.
perhaps selected to represent his public persona but tinged with name droppiness)
Exactly my reaction!

Still not much going on book-wise, reading two for local book groups and one for LT ER, but I managed some life catchup over the holiday weekend so the to-do list is somewhat less daunting. Investigated the source of a leak that appeared during a recent heavy rain, so I felt informed enough to call someone to fix it, set up an appointment for tomorrow. Assessed the cat who who has been on the periphery of my attention, perhaps lethargic (or is it just summer?) and losing weight (appetite seems OK, are the other cats eating more than their share?), and was alarmed enough (normally schizzy and feisty, she let me pick her up without struggling, and she’s thinner than she looks) to make an immediate appointment with the vet. The diagnosis is hyperthyroidism, confirmed by a blood test. The vet was reassuring about treatment: pills, which fortunately can be crushed and mixed with food, and all she can eat, should improve significantly within a few weeks. So now it’s separate feeding, vigilantly monitored, sick cat on the kitchen counter with high calorie food every couple hours, other cats on the floor with low calorie food morning and evening.

I'm not surprised at the lack of reading, given all the gardening and butterfly mentoring you've been doing! Glad you got a few things caught up last week.

Hallelujah. I have FINISHED Middlemarch! Though I'll be reading the SparkNotes summary before the book group meeting on Saturday.

A (the?) Little Free Library pilferer caught in the act, a man I'd seen previously but wasn’t 100% certain was the culprit. I happened to glance out the window when he had about 8-10 books in hand, including a few hardcovers. So I opened the door and walked over to him and pointed to the sign that sets the limit to 3. He was pissed, handed the books back to me, drove off. I got the license plate #, not that it means much. I hadn’t intended to be confrontational... Selling the books? So I should stamp them?

People, sheesh.

I like the idea of a stamp; what do other LFLers do?

I also like the idea of a stamp.

>93 qebo: That's so weird. He didn't try to explain himself? I suppose he must be selling them, in which case a stamp might work depending on how he's selling them.

There's a LFL stamp that I have just ordered.

I'd had a friendly-seeming conversation with this guy awhile back; I happened to be exiting the house and he was rummaging through the LFL, said he was getting books for his kids. This was not long after the wipeout, so I was on the alert, and there was something off about his demeanor, tense and quick; most people are ambly, select a book and read the cover blurb or flip through pages, express brief appreciation or curiosity if I say hello. He didn't offer any explanation today. His car was stopped in the street with the engine running, and he had in hand the books in best condition. He wasn't sneaking, it was early evening and still light. And technically the books are free...

>97 qebo: I like the stamp idea even more now that I've seen one. And "Always a gift / Never for Sale" is so much better than the slogan I was thinking of: "It's free. Don't be a jerk."

Wow.... never thought someone would do something like that. I like the LFL stamp and the idea to stamps the books is a good one.

>99 lkernagh: It's apparently a common problem. Wasn't a problem for me for a year and a half, and then I guess my LFL was discovered. Really this guy should target the more upscale LFLs. I rarely get hardcover books.

Taking a pile of books, and then has the nerve to be angry at you when you catch him? :(

#34: I Wonder What a Rainforest Is by Annabelle Donati -- (Jul 17)

why now: It was donated to my Little Free Library and I began paging through. I finished Middlemarch last week. This 32-page book is partial compensation.

This is a book for kids about plants, with nicely illustrated basics: seeds, leaves, roots, flowers, trees, and "amazing but true" extras. The title is odd; the last page describes a rainforest, but examples until then are peas, peanuts, potatoes, peaches, poison ivy, cacti.

>93 qebo: People are so... weird sometimes. His behavior just baffles me, I mean, I can think of a couple of people I know who loves books and sell them online but would be extremely apologetic if it were pointed out to them that they should please only take 3 at a time. Why he would get pissed at you about handing out free books on those terms is beyond me.

>103 bell7: Yeah, I don't care about specifically 3, but intend the sign as a reminder that you are not the only person on earth and this is a shared resource. For now, I'm putting out only one hardcover at a time (I don't have many). The stamp should arrive within a couple of weeks.

I was idly looking out my front window when a police car parked at the corner. Oh? What's up? A policewoman got out, deposited two books into the Little Free Library, got in, drove away. Occupied about 30 seconds. Gone before I opened the front door open to say thanks.

Cool!!

Oh, that's neat!

Awesome!

>105 qebo: Uh oh. It's probably some kind of a sting. Better be careful. Ha ha ha ha. Just kidding...

#36: Among Chimpanzees by Nancy J. Merrick

why now: April ER.

Nancy Merrick was awestruck by Jane Goodall in college, spent a semester working at the Gombe preserve, then turned to medicine as a career. 35 years later, she returned to Gombe with her husband and teenage children, on a trip to Africa to see the current state of chimpanzees. The current state is alarmingly fragile, with plummeting population a consequence of habitat destruction and poaching. Though memoir is inserted as background and credential, the book is primarily a survey, describing the various fates of chimpanzees in the wild and used for human purposes, and efforts to save them, either as a species by education and law, or as individuals by providing sanctuary for former medical subjects and movie stars. Alas, it isn’t quite the book it could be, with moral intensity conveyed in stock phrasing.

LOVE the stamp and the policewoman; sorry about and for the jerk.

>110 qebo: Too bad---it sounds like it had the potential to be pretty interesting.

Enjoy the weekend! And I hope any more LFL drama is positive.

You should try to get the policewoman to have a little chat with the guy taking all the hardcovers.

>113 norabelle414: Yeah, I thought the same thing. :-) Haven't seen that guy since, and now I have a LFL stamp.

The stamp is really, really cute, but for me, if a book was stamped, I wouldn't take it. I pass a few books on to friends, but most I donate to Goodwill, the Friends of the Library, trade in at the used book store - all venues where in its next journey the book will be sold and so might be refused or even tossed in the trash (local Good Will) store if it was stamped as free or from Bookcrossing. I'd start my own Little Free Library, but living in the country, I don't think it would be seen.

I'm really, really sorry that you met the nasty seller. He sounds like the type of guy that will go into a library sale, clear an entire shelf of books and then look up values for his hoard, discarding (ie not reshelving) 90% of it. There are some real pieces of work out there.

Did you see the book about LFL's on Donna's thread? It looks lovely!

I have a review copy of The Theft of Memory from the second round of LTER giveaway when the paperback came out. Must. Read. In. AUGUST.

>115 streamsong: Yeah, that's a concern, because I want libraries and charitable organizations to be able to sell the book. I dunno. Maybe I can add a note, or another stamp... anyway, I won't use the stamp for everything, just for hardcovers and spiffy new paperbacks. I haven't used it yet.

>78 qebo: I mentioned awhile back that I’ve been looking for a house. Well I found one, been on the market for quite awhile and I’d initially rejected it, excellent house but claustrophobic yard not suitable for gardening, then last week I reassessed and changed my mind, didn’t match my image of ideal but really lots of potential there. Contacted the real estate agent, and... someone else beat me to it by a few days, listing hadn’t yet been removed but a contract was in place. This has put me in quite a foul mood, because I don’t see anything else remotely of interest. There’d been ample time to act, and I hadn’t, now am churning through all the what-ifs when I should be sleeping.

>117 qebo: Oh, bugger! I hate that "coulda shoulda woulda" thing. Almost like an earbug. I've been prone to it all my life, and being a procrastinator...Akk. Something will turn up for you.

>118 weird_O: Yeah, it's not the only house on the planet, or even in the city, and I'll get over the disappointment. I'm mostly pissed off at myself for mentally closing off a viable possibility, and not reconsidering at several opportunities over the past couple of months. I tend to mull mull mull then suddenly things gel and I make a decision. Which is exactly what I did here, but since I hadn't expressed interest to the real estate agent, she didn't contact me with a heads up when someone else entered the picture.

Drat, hate it when that happens! Have faith that another will come up eventually that is even better.

Rats. I'm sorry to hear that, Katherine. As others have said, hopefully an even better house will be available to you soon.

Oh yes, too bad about the house, but maybe the perfect house and garden still await you out there.

>60 qebo: Thanks for this great link.
>117 qebo: I am sorry that the house you wanted isn't available. Real Estate can be quirky. Who knows, the people who have a bid on it might not be able to obtain a loan. Good luck. I agree with the comments above, the right house may find you in the not-too-distant future.

>123 Whisper1: Chiming in to agree about real estate being quirky. Lending standards are insanely tight right now so there is always a chance the transaction will fall through. More common than a lot of people expect.

>123 Whisper1:, >124 Oberon: Yeah, quirky, a complete fluke that someone else showed up just as I was making a decision, but still my fault for not making a decision much sooner. I really had ample opportunity.

So I don’t actually believe in miracles, but... The contract for the house was canceled; it was a woman from another city who offered cash then decided she couldn’t afford it. The real estate agent said she’d suspected things weren’t all that stable, but couldn’t say so to me. She emailed early this afternoon, I walked through the house two hours later, and I’ll be making a formal offer tomorrow morning. There’s no competition, I’m offering full price, I have a mortgage pre-approval, and the agent is a friend of the family who will vouch for reliability. Shouldn’t be a problem...

I did actually get to sleep last night, this morning was still disappointed but ticking through alternative scenarios instead of mired in regret, but this sure does improve my mood.

Oh. My. GOODNESS!
Congratulations!!!!!!!!!

Woo hooooo! It's not a miracle, it's the LT mojo working for you. That is amazingly wonderful!!!!

De-lurking to say, Wow, that's great! Fingers crossed that it all goes through smoothly!

Great news!

Great news, congratulations!

Official offer made this morning. The owner is away for the weekend so no signed agreement until Monday, but the real estate agent got his OK by phone. Financial bureaucracy begins on Monday.

Wow, congrats!

Ha! Quirky pays off

Congratulations!
Great news about the house. (But you worked so hard on your yard--won't you be sad to leave it? And what about your LFL?)

>135 arubabookwoman: My yard is maxed out. Not so much fun any more because I can't add anything to it. The new house has about 6x the yard space; it'll provide entertainment for years. The LFL, if new owners want to keep it going then I'll leave it and start another, otherwise I'll take it. The new neighborhood doesn't have any LFL, and I'll be on a strategic crossroad with lots of pedestrian traffic.

Well. There you go! As I said >118 weird_O: Something will turn up for you. Glad it didn't turn out that I'm a liar. :-) ..

Congratulations! A few friends who are realtors tell me they never expect the commission and that the house is sold until the papers are signed and sealed and the key is in the hand of the new owner.

I am very happy for you!

>138 Whisper1: Yeah, I won't expect the house until it's a done deal either... Will feel more comfortable when the agreement is signed tomorrow. Then mortgage. I have a pre-approval, credit check's been done, income has been verified, immediately available cash plus the value of my current house (which I bought for cash) would pay for the new house and then some. But... the world is fickle.

Congratulations on the house, Katherine!

>140 swynn: Not. A. Done. Deal. I hope I'm not jinxing it...

>141 qebo: Oops, skimmed right over #139. Zipping lips and crossing fingers.

I have my fingers crossed for your new home purchase, Katherine!

The agreement is signed and submitted to the settlement office. The inspection is scheduled for next week.

Hope it goes smoothly from here on out!

What a turn of events! You go, girl!

Yes, I agree with Oberon, I really hope that it is smooth sailing for you as you make the final round of paperwork to purchase your dream home.

Wow!!!!! Can't wait to SEE it!

>148 sibylline: Tempting to post a couple of photos, house and yard, but that really would jinx it. I'll wait until settlement.

:-)

Appointment with mortgage broker yesterday, so bureaucracy is on its way...

I am vaguely remembering that this is a book cataloging & discussion site. I think I can still get to 75 read by the end of the year if I choose wisely (i.e. short), but reviews are looking less and less likely. Too many distractions. Over on the garden thread, it's monarch season.

ok, it's a book site, but monarch and new houses are interesting too! :)

I stopped writing book reviews in March when community garden bureaucracy began eating into computer time. With the garden entering harvest and cleanup stage, I’d normally be coming up for air around now, but I’m buying a house, which has meant a spring and summer of searching and anxiety, and now means that I’ll be preparing the new house for occupancy and preparing the old house for sale. The houses are 3/4 of a mile apart, so I can walk back and forth, and offers for help with moving abound, but most of the burden is on me to decide and arrange and hire... and to keep the going-on-2000 books organized through the transition. I’m not that keen on writing book reviews even when ample time is available, and the pileup has gotten ridiculous. So I’m conceding to reality. Brief comments follow, and that’ll be that.

The list is heavy on RL book group selections. There are two book groups, one strictly non-fiction and one miscellaneous. I’ve been generally happy with the books, but with ER too that’s 3 books each month that are semi-obligations, an uncomfortably high proportion of the 6 or so I can manage to read. The local community connections are nice and I want to keep them, so I’ll probably exit ER.

#16: The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert -- (Mar 19)

why now: RL book group selection for March. Actually my selection, and I was surprised and pleased that not only did others go along with the idea, but were glad to have done so.

Don’t be put off by Eat, Pray, Love. (I’ve seen the movie. I’m told the book is far superior.) This is a detailed historical fiction of a botanist born in 1800, based on no single individual but drawing from various women of the era, and from the moss research of Robin Wall Kimmerer. The setting is a Philadelphia estate, modeled on the mansion at Woodlands Cemetery, which is now across the street from the trolley portal of West Philadelphia. High praise from a member of the book group: “I wanted her to be real.”

#17: Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman -- (Mar 24)

why now: Picked up at the grocery store out of mild curiosity.

Piper Kerman, fresh out of college, got caught up in romance and adventure as a bit player in the drug smuggling business. A decade later when her life had stabilized, the law caught up and she was sentenced to a year in minimum security prison. She was well off in comparison to fellow inmates, with a supportive family and career prospects. This is a fish out of water view of the indignities and dysfunctions of prison life, told with humor and compassion. It got me watching the Netflix show, which starts off with a similar scenario and rapidly ascends/descends to soap opera.

#19: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande -- (Apr 4)

why now: RL book group selection for April.

We’re all going to die, and there are better and worse ways of going about it. This is a critique of flawed institutions, a survey of of improved alternatives, a vision of possibilities, with the author’s father at emotional core. The bottom line: clarify what makes life worth living, and make sure people in a position to make decisions for you are aware.

#20: Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne -- (Apr 5)

why now: Reread for RL discussion group.

Reviewed last year. Better with discussion.

#21: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- (Apr 17)

why now: RL book group selection for April, in anticipation of Go Set a Watchman.

I read this 40+ years ago in school, and memories were vague. So now memories are less vague. It’s a classic, but not especially my sort of thing.

#23: An Inconvenient Wife by Megan Chance -- (May 4)

why now: RL book group selection for May.

Set in New York City of the late 1800s. A woman of a prominent family marries for what she believes is love, and doesn’t understand why she chronically suffers from an illness of nerves, alternately fatigued and volatile. A young doctor who advocates hypnotism enters her social circle. In desperation she gives it a try, and discovers repressed passions. A page-turning story of murky motives gradually revealed.

#24: On Writing by Stephen King -- (May 8)

why now: RL book group selection for May.

I haven’t read anything else by Stephen King. I’m told that he doesn’t necessarily stick to his own advice. He seems like a decent guy.

#25: Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey -- (May 10)

why now: A few positive reviews caught my attention when I was scouting around for something to read. Instant gratification e-book.

Maud is losing her mind to Alzheimer’s but has grasped a single fact that must be conveyed to anyone who can help: her friend Elizabeth has gone missing; is not at home, does not answer the phone. Maud’s daughter is exasperated. Elizabeth’s son is angry. Apparently they have explained to no avail, but we, the readers, remain unsure because all conversation is filtered through Maud, who writes notes to herself but cannot piece them together, and doesn’t trust what she’s been told. All mixed in are memories of Sukey, Maud’s sister who disappeared decades ago. A sympathetic portrait and a mystery.

#27: Voyage of the Basilisk by Marie Brennan -- (May 20)

why now: Continuation of a series I’ve enjoyed.

And I enjoyed this one too.

#28: Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George -- (May 28)

why now: Need for something light, and I’m far enough along in the series that I may as well stick it out to the end.

One more to go...

#29: Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George -- (Jun 5)

why now: Continuing the series.

And now I’m caught up.

Well done, Katherine. I should do something similar this month.

I'm glad that you liked The Signature of All Things. It was chosen for the 2014 Wellcome Trust Book Prize shortlist, and I have it on my Kindle, so I'll try to get to it next year.

>164 qebo: It's my favorite book so far of this year. Wish I could do it justice with a more thorough review, but my wishing does not involve putting forth the effort.

Loved your minireviews! I recently caught up with Believing the Lie too and have acquired Just One Evil Act. I liked the series much more earlier, but like you, I"m sort of hooked now.

>167 rebeccanyc: Yeah, I'm hesitant to start new series, but for a few that have been around awhile I kinda want to know what happens to everyone.

Great mini-reviews! I am one that has completely avoided the whole Eat Pray Love book/movie. I hd seen mention that her new book was worth reading and your comments regarding The Signature of All Things would hold this to be true so I think I will add it to my future library reading list.

>169 lkernagh: In my defense, the movie showed up on TV one idle evening a couple years ago; I didn't seek it.

You are reading at a rapid clip. Especially given the fact that gardening and buying a new house can be quite consuming.

All the best to you!

Like Lori, I've never wanted to read Elizabeth Gilbert's earlier book Wild. I think I was put off by all the hype. But hearing you say that The Signature of All Things is your favorite book so far this year made me take notice. I read a little bit of the beginning of the book on Amazon and liked it so it's now on hold at the library. Thanks for the recommendation!

And good luck with moving into the new house and getting the old house ready for sale. That's a huge job and I'm glad you have lots of offers of help. Hope they turn out to be useful.

I will miss your reviews because they were always so thorough and well-thought out but I can easily imagine how time consuming they must have been to write. First things first as they say.

>172 phebj: Thanks. I'm an excruciatingly slow writer, can take hours to produce a paragraph. I'd hoped to get faster with practice, but it hasn't happened, and for half a year I've let the books pile up unreviewed because I kept expecting to reach a chunk of spare time, but with the decision to move no chunks are in sight. Reading is relaxing, but writing is a chore. I'm much more techie than literary.

The house inspection was today. I was there, some minor issues, no surprises. So things are moving along. I was hoping to get measurements and photos, but I also wanted to see what the inspector was inspecting, and he was efficient, no dawdling for me, so I did a circuit of each room to get snapshots and sketched a floor plan, but didn't get precision. Still, should be enough to kinda figure out what can go where. Not lotsa options for bookshelves...

Oh, it's always possible to find room for bookshelves!

http://bookriot.com/2015/08/11/book-storage-in-tiny-houses/

>175 _Zoe_: Inspiring!

>175 _Zoe_: - Now I want to live in a tiny house!

That crawl-in book cubby is fantastic.

My parents found that if you remove one side of a drywall wall, leaving the studs, and wrap the studs in - well, the carpenter used thin oak plywood - and drill holes down the sides, you can put in pegs and shelves, and have shallow shelves deep enough to hold paperbacks, that look great, and fill space that would otherwise be blank wall. They put it on the side of the staircase going upstairs (on the other side of the wall is the staircase going downstairs - it didn't steal any storage space). Mom did the same trick of setting shelves into the wall for a spice rack and an oil and vinegar rack on two walls of the kitchen. I want to do the same thing in my hallway, but haven't gotten around to it.

I recently saw this style of bookcase online and thought it might be worth checking out:

http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Spine-Book-Tower/2682148/product.html?searc...

I'm loving all the ideas!

>173 qebo: I'm definitely in a reviewing funk, too. I can't make up my mind whether to set a timer and just do it for fifteen minutes a day or to call a hiatus until summer's over.

>179 streamsong: I haven't had that, but I had a smaller, wooden one (4/5 shelves), which eventually died - the weight of books on the shelves pulled the "spine" out of the base and it tilted until it fell over forward. I put it back with a shim under the spine (to tilt it backward and ease the stress) and it lasted another couple years before it got too wobbly and I got rid of it. This one's metal, and may be stronger, but I'd be wary of it.

>180 jjmcgaffey: Ah, that's disappointing! I had just the corner to put it in .....

Yeah, it's pretty pricy to try. On the other hand, my wooden one did last for 4-5 years. I don't know.

All exciting!
You're writing as much for reviews as you need to, I think. You're also 2 ahead of me in the E. George series.....or maybe 3. uh oh

Philadelphia meetup today. Photos here.

>175 _Zoe_: Thanks for posting this link Zoe. I loved all of the book nooks, but I especially liked the pull out, under the bed large drawer!

How I wish I could have made the Philadelphia Meet up. I had such a lovely time a few years ago in Philadelphia!

I continue to think of you and your new home Catherine. I hope all goes well for you.

Good luck with the new house!

Our house was also one that, initially, we were told was under contract to another buyer -- but the contract fell through. I still have the real estate brochure where I wrote "sold" (as in to somone else) after my initial inquiry, but it wound up "sold" to us!

Appraisal done. Mortgage approval done. Now we're on to fussy details. Wish this could happen faster; it's gonna be a looong four weeks until settlement.

It's good that you've got the mortgage approval done this far before settlement. Ours was a real nail-biter, as our stupid bank sent a record to the mortgage company of an account we'd closed and forgot to send info about the one we actually had a little money in . . . :(

>188 tymfos: Well so they're saying anyway; I have this via casual email. Really no reason there'd be a problem, but I'll still feel way more comfortable when it's official.

Most prominent issue now is the roof; the current owner added a sunroom, or rather closed in an existing porch, and its roof is in poor condition. Not a big deal to replace, but raises questions about the rest of the roof, which is in better condition but aging. The owner wants to minimize price, I want control over aesthetics and quality, probably he'll contribute to the cost but I'll make the decisions. Not so much an issue financially, but a nuisance time sink, and the real estate agent is mediating, would be simpler to talk with the owner directly. I can't consult a roofer until I own the house, so the delay is frustrating.

Meanwhile I need to hire someone to repair basement walls in my current house, and all the masonry people are busy with outdoor jobs, not responding to email and phone calls, so I may have to wait until winter. Well, maybe not all, but the top three recommended by neighbors, and it was the fourth who actually answered the phone and told me what's up.

I should also repair the porch, which is shared with the attached house next door, which is rented. The owner lives nearby in an upscale suburb but has a history of taking the cheap way out, and I dread trying to coordinate, been there done that, so I think I'm going to leave this for the next owner. Not ideal, but OTOH I've put money into the house that I won't get back, and I'm leaving the next owner with fewer problems than I inherited.

>187 qebo: Great news, Katherine!

WL'ed the Gilbert. I listened to EPL and it was all right, bits of it in fact have stuck with me for a long time, images of the various gurus she visited. I know Woodlands quite well, plus Bartram Gardens just up the river a bit, plus plenty of other Philadelphia botanical stuff, so this should fit right in nicely. You've read Andrea Barrett's lovely novels, some abt. similar topics?

Very exciting about your new abode too, although I am still waiting hopefully for pix!

>191 sibylline: Andrea Barrett... not familiar. Hmm, looks like I should remedy that.
>192 sibylline: When it's mine...

#26: Conundrum by Jan Morris -- (May 16)

why now: Mentioned on a thread awhile back, and I’m aware of Jan Morris from travel books. I read this before Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner was in the news, so the timing is coincidence.

James Morris served in the British Army during WWII, then traveled the world as a journalist reporting on adventures and crises while his wife and children remained at home. But beneath this masculine façade, he thought of himself as a woman in disguise. In the 1960s he consulted a doctor whose attitude was accepting: some people believe they were born into a body of the wrong gender, experience has shown that no amount of medication or therapy changes the mind, so as a practical matter it is simpler to change the body. By the early 1970s, James had become Jan with hormones and surgery. Jan Morris wrote this book soon afterward, and it shows in dated attitudes, for example, her rather romanticized view that women are “protected and cherished”, with no indication this isn’t necessarily a 100% positive thing. I finished this book convinced _that_ the sense of gender dysmorphia is intense, without much insight into why.

#30: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr -- (Jun 17)

why now: RL book group selection for June.

Marie-Laure LeBlanc is the daughter of a locksmith for the Museum of Natural History in Paris; when she goes blind, he builds a scale model of their neighborhood so she can navigate independently. Werner Pfenig and his sister are orphans in a group home in a small German town; prospects are dim, but when he repairs and old radio they discover the wider world. WWII intrudes and disrupts. Marie-Laure and her father escape, perhaps with a jewel that the museum hopes to save, or perhaps with one of several decoys, to Saint-Malo where relatives reside and where she has a role in the resistance, carrying coded messages to be broadcast by radio. Werner is recruited into the Nazi army for his engineering skills, and is trained to track the source of radio broadcasts. The stories alternate with hints of convergence in Saint-Malo, and brief insets of a Nazi officer who is seeking the jewel. There’s cool stuff with radios and models and puzzles and codes, and sympathetic characters met as children and maturing to young adults entangled in international conflict on opposite sides. What is the point of the jewel? It’s associated with a curse, of course, and it’s a MacGuffin. It mostly annoyed me. The convergence is... glancing, but with consequences, apparently a postmodern thing reflecting the era depicted.

#31: Welcome to Shirley by Kelly McMasters -- (Jul 11)

why now: RL book group selection for June.

Shirley NY is situated south of Brookhaven Laboratory on Long Island. The author’s family moved there in the 1980s for the same reason as many others; Shirley was away from the city and considerably less expensive than the nearby Hamptons. It was downscale and disdained by outsiders, but supportive of insiders. And then a key resident died of cancer, and suspicion grew that cancer rates in Shirley were disproportionately high. This book is more about an idyllic childhood than about science, and pales in comparison to, say, Toms River. It is memoir, not investigative journalism, but it conveys well the frustration of class division.

#32: Middlemarch by George Eliot -- (Jul 12)

why now: RL book group selection for July.

Initially engaging, as young idealistic Dorothea Brooke, seeking a higher purpose, marries aging scholar Edward Casaubom, endlessly researching and never quite getting around to writing his key to mythologies, and is disillusioned. Then looong, circulating among the various characters of Middlemarch and environs, a small world where everyone is somehow connected to everyone else, a soap opera of honorable and dishonorable navigation through social constraints and ideals. Struck me as psychologically modern; characters may not be fully self-aware, but their pithy and caustic observations of others are spot on.

Well now I'm only a month and a half behind in reviews, which is an achievement, except I've been reading more so the backlog remains somewhat daunting.

I love your two latest reviews, Katherine. I wouldn't have thought of *Light* as postmodern, but you may be on to something. And I think you're spot on about Middlemarch. Keep 'em coming as you can!

>199 LizzieD: postmodern
Read it somewhere. :-)

>195 qebo: I am currently reading All The Light We Cannot See. Thanks for your excellent review.

And, again, I send good wishes that your transition to a new abode will go well.

I have to consider the Doerr now after reading your review!

Ah, I can imagine that Conundrum is dated -- it didn't seem so when I first read it eons ago--then it seemed rather amazing and I probably glossed over the romanticized bits. (I wonder if Jan has found any of that to be as she expected it would be?) The one bit that has stuck with me is describing how she felt as she started taking the hormonal cocktail as part of the process of changing into herself. As a man she really didn't feel the hair on her legs if the wind was blowing, as the hormones took hold she did.

Of course research now is finding that even making the change doesn't always help and the person still feels ... not a true self. What I wonder is if some folks are . . . just NOT one or the other, that there is no need or reason to choose . . . that it is sort of silly how we insist on it. I wonder if that will be the next thing. Certainly my daughter and her friends think the two gender insistence is a kind of entrapment not allowing people to just figure out who they are in a broader sense with no reference to male or femaleness. I'm trying hard to catch up with her.

Hi Katherine! Lots going on around here. Great news about the house! And all of the reading you're doing, too - WOW!

>203 LauraBrook: Reading... Sorta getting back to it...
I've dug out of the hole, only 4 books behind schedule with 4 months to go, so 75 is feasible. I haven't read a magazine since March, so we'll see how that goes.

I'll start a new thread tomorrow.

>201 Whisper1: Hi, Linda... I've following along on your thread as you return to work, even if I'm not commenting much.
>202 sibylline: Well there's certainly a behavioral continuum. I dunno quite what to make of the body mismatch, and at the moment don't have the mental capacity to consider it much. Maybe I'll read something written more recently.

Gah. Two Amazon boxes were stolen from my porch, torn open and dumped up the street, where someone found them and called the police. Haha, they contained... books! Which are still there.

That's ridiculous! But I'm glad your books are still there.

That's great and a little funny that the books were still there. I know Amazon delivers a lot of other things beside books but that's what I always think of when I see an Amazon box and probably the only reason I can think of for trying to get at the contents.

On another random day, it might've been a camera.

It seems every week the news broadcasts are showing security cam footages of people walking up and stealing packages from homes around here! Sorry it happened to you, but it's great that they looked to see what they had right there and then left them. Had they taken them off, you'd never have gotten them back.

Well, on the plus side, the person who found the torn package recognized my name and address from the Little Free Library. She called the police, who returned the package while I was out for a walk. My next door neighbor came by shortly after I got home to tell me that the police had put the package in the back; I wouldn't've otherwise have noticed until tomorrow. So it's all nicely neighborhoody. The timing of the found package suggests kids walking home from school. Annoyingly, I was home all day, and apparently whoever delivered the package just dropped it on the porch instead of placing it inside the storm door (which I typically hear open and close) and didn't bother to knock.