Ellen (ebt1002) Reads On in 2016 - Chapter 8

I would love to have this experience. Maybe.

On the way to Camp Denali

I know folks may be skimming over this now that I've posted it a few times, but I hope you stop each time I start a new thread and just remind yourself of the signs that someone might be having a stroke.
And -- remind yourself that THE response is to call 911.

My Rating Scale:

= Breathtaking. This book touched me in a way that only a perfect book can do.
= A wonderful read, among my favorites of the year.
= A great read; truly enjoyable.
= Not quite great but I'm truly glad I read this.
= Pretty good, with a few things done particularly well.
= Average, and life is too short to read average works.
= A bit below average. A waste of time.
= Nearly no redeeming qualities. Really rather bad.
= Among the worst books I've ever read.

Honestly, I'm rarely going to complete any book earning fewer than two stars but I reserve the right to rate them based on my experience.

COMPLETED IN JANUARY

1. Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen
2. Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal by G. Willow Wilson
3. In Defense of a Liberal Education by Fareed Zakaria
4. Hell is Empty by Craig Johnston
5. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
6. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel**
7. Ru by Kim Thúy
8. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill**
9. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
10. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
11. The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown audio
12. The Manticore by Robertson Davies

COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY

13. Plumdog by Emma Chichester Clark
14. Epitaph: A Novel of the OK Corral by Mary Doria Russell
15. This is Your Life, Harriet Chance! by Jonathan Evison
16. The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
17. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
18. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
19. Bone: Out from Boneville by Jeff Smith
20. A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters audio
21. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

COMPLETED IN MARCH

22. A Cure for Suicide by Jesse Ball
23. And After Many Days by Jowhor Ile**
24. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak**
25. 78 Keys by Kristin Marra**
26. Dodgers by Bill Beverly**
27. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard audio
28. That was Then, This is Now by S.E. Hinton
29. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

**Off my shelves

COMPLETED IN APRIL

30. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson**
31. Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
32. 19 Varieties of Gazelle by Naomi Shihab Nye
33. The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng**
34. As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson
35. Without: Poems by Donald Hall
36. Sweetland by Michael Crummey
37. Mothering Sunday: A Romance by Graham Swift
38. The Translator by Leila Aboulela**
39. A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981 by Adrienne Rich
40. The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth J. Church

COMPLETED IN MAY

41. The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf
42. Ruby by Cynthia Bond
43. Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker
44. This House of Sky by Ivan Doig
45. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund**
46. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
47. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa
48. Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey
49. Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

COMPLETED IN JUNE

50. The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah
51. The Green Road by Anne Enright
52. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris audio
53. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
54. The Noise of Time by Julian Barnes
55. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith**
56. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
57. Last Orders by Graham Swift

**Off my shelves

COMPLETED IN JULY

58. Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden**
59. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
60. Life on Mars: Poems by Tracy K. Smith
61. The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien
62. White Sky, Black Ice** by Stan Jones
63. The After Party: Poems** by Jana Prikryl
64. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
65. Denali's Howl** by Andy Hall
66. The Arab of the Future 2** by Riad Sattouf
67. Excellent Women** by Barbara Pym

COMPLETED IN AUGUST

68. A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker

** Off my shelves

For all my challenges, I won't post planned reads; rather, I will post works as I'm either currently reading them or as I complete them.

American Author Challenge 2016 (AAC)

January- Anne Tyler
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant - completed
February- Richard Russo
That Old Cape Magic - completed
March- Jane Smiley
Charles Dickens - DNF
April- Poetry Month
19 Varieties of Gazelle by Naomi Shihab Nye - completed
and
Without: Poems by Donald Hall - completed
and
A Wild Patience Has Taken Me This Far: Poems 1978-1981 by Adrienne Rich - completed
May- Ivan Doig
This House of Sky - completed
June- Annie Proulx
July- John Steinbeck
August- Joyce Carol Oates
September- John Irving
October- Michael Chabon
November- Annie Dillard
December- Don DeLillo

Canadian Author Challenge 2016 (CAC)

January: Robertson Davies, Kim Thúy
- - - Ru by Kim Thúy - completed and The Manticore by Robertson Davies - completed
February: Helen Humphreys, Stephen Leacock
- - - The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys - completed
March: Farley Mowat, Anita Rau Badami
- - - Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat - completed
April: Margaret Atwood, Michael Crummey
- - - Sweetland by Michael Crummey - completed
May: Michel Tremblay, Emily St. John Mandel
June: Timothy Findley, Joseph Boyden
- - - Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden - completed
July: LM Montgomery, Pierre Berton
August: Mordechai Richler, Gabrielle Roy
September: Miriam Toews, Dany Laferrière
October: Lawrence Hill, Jane Urquhart
November: Michael Ondaatje, Margaret Laurence
December: Alice Munro, Rawi Hage

British Author Challenge 2016 (BAC) -- will occasionally imbibe

January: Susan Hill & Barry Unsworth
--- The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill - completed and Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth - completed
February: Agatha Christie & William Dalrymple
--- The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - completed
March: Ali Smith & Thomas Hardy
April: George Eliot & Hanif Kureishi
May: Jane Gardam & Robert Goddard
June: Lady Antonia Fraser & Joseph Conrad
July: Bernice Rubens & H.G. Wells
August: Diana Wynne-Jones & Ian McEwan
September: Doris Lessing & Laurie Lee
October: Kate Atkinson & William Golding
November: Rebecca West & Len Deighton
December: WEST YORKSHIRE writers
Wildcard: Rumer Godden and George Orwell

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

Global Reading

Quarter 1: January - March 2016 Writers from the Caribbean
Quarter 2: April - June 2016 Writers at Risk
Quarter 3: July - September 2016 Soviet and Post Soviet Writers
Quarter 4: October - December 2016 Dictators, Dictatorships and Other Forms of Tyranny

Personal Reading Challenge: Every winner of the Booker Prize since its inception in 1969
(For some reason, the touchstones won't work for this post.)

1969: P. H. Newby, Something to Answer For
1970: Bernice Rubens, The Elected Member
1970: J. G. Farrell, Troubles (awarded in 2010 as the Lost Man Booker Prize)
1971: V. S. Naipaul, In a Free State
1972: John Berger, G.
1973: J. G. Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur
1974: Nadine Gordimer, The Conservationist and Stanley Middleton, Holiday
1975: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Heat and Dust
1976: David Storey, Saville
1977: Paul Scott, Staying On
1978: Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea
1979: Penelope Fitzgerald, Offshore
1980: William Golding, Rites of Passage
1981: Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children
1982: Thomas Keneally, Schindler's Ark
1983: J. M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K
1984: Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac
1985: Keri Hulme, The Bone People
1986: Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils
1987: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
1988: Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda
1989: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
1990: A. S. Byatt, Possession: A Romance
1991: Ben Okri, The Famished Road
1992: Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient ... and Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger
1993: Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
1994: James Kelman, How late it was, how late
1995: Pat Barker, The Ghost Road
1996: Graham Swift, Last Orders
1997: Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
1998: Ian McEwan, Amsterdam
1999: J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace
2000: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin
2001: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
2002: Yann Martel, Life of Pi
2003: DBC Pierre, Vernon God Little
2004: Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty
2005: John Banville, The Sea
2006: Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss
2007: Anne Enright, The Gathering
2008: Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger
2009: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
2010: Howard Jacobson, The Finkler Question
2011: Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
2012: Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies
2013: Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries
2014: Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North
2015: Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings

Planned Shared or Group Reads:

May -- The Master and Margarita with Mamie and Mark

May or June -- Ahab's Wife with Ilana -- completed!

July -- A Brief History of Seven Killings with Joe (I said I'd start GR thread in late June -- yikes!)

And, not so much a shared read but I committed to reading My Struggle: Book One by Karl Ove Knausgård at the behest of one of our senior student leaders graduates. Mac saw it on my office shelves and just raved about it and I want to honor this commitment. Books are the great conversation starter.

Basically, I think I am scoring very low on the shared/group read landscape this year. My intentions are true but the library books keep rolling in and distracting me.

I want to return to more global reading as this year continues. To give myself some focus, I've stolenborrowed this from Darryl's thread:

2016 Man Booker International Prize longlist:

José Eduardo Agualusa (Angola), A General Theory of Oblivion, translated by Daniel Hahn -- completed
Elena Ferrante (Italy), The Story of the Lost Child, translated by Ann Goldstein
Han Kang (South Korea), The Vegetarian, translated by Deborah Smith
Maylis de Kerangal (France) Mend the Living, translated by Jessica Moore
Eka Kurniawan (Indonesia), Man Tiger, translated by Labodalih Sembiring
Yan Lianke (China), The Four Books, translated by Carlos Rojas
Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo/Austria), Tram 83, translated by Roland Glasser -- DNF
Raduan Nassar (Brazil), A Cup of Rage, translated by Stefan Tobler
Marie NDiaye (France), Ladivine, translated by Jordan Stump -- DNF
Kenzaburō Ōe (Japan), Death by Water, translated by Deborah Boliver Boehm
Aki Ollikainen (Finland), White Hunger, translated by Emily Jeremiah & Fleur Jeremiah
Orhan Pamuk (Turkey), A Strangeness in My Mind, translated by Ekin Oklap
Robert Seethaler (Austria), A Whole Life, translated by Charlotte Collins

I am worried about my inability to get into/appreciate some of these.

Currently listening:

I paused my audio of NeuroTribes to listen to Missoula. Touching a bit too close to the work that has consumed me for the past three years, it is gripping and painful to read/hear.



Currently reading:

I started reading The Little Red Chairs yesterday and could hardly put it down. I'm about 1/3 into it and it is absolutely engaging.

>1 EBT1002: Love the photo. I would love to see whales this close.

>1 EBT1002:, >14 Oberon: Yep, me too. mrsdrneutron and I had a mild shark experience in our kayaks on the Chesapeake Bay last month - got into a nest of baby sand sharks in some relatively shallow water. Orcas, though, wow.

Wow, if that top shot came to fruition for you that would be amazing!

A quick star-scan reveals that you have awarded quite a few 5 star ratings this year. A good reading year for you! I have given out 2, which is one more than last year :) Aparently I am hard to please!

I've never been that close, but did see lots of whales in Cape Town. You can park on the coast road and just watch them breaching. They're so big I think I'd be intimidated closer up though! (See also my previous post about bears. You may detect a theme here...)

>13 EBT1002: I'm kind of hoping for this the one morning we are going kayaking. But it's also a bit scary....

>14 Oberon: Okay, no to sharks! Orcas, yes. Sharks, no.
When we were last on Kaua'i, we went on a boat tour that was supposed to go to the Napali coast (reachable only by boat or on foot). The weather was too inclement for the boat to go all the way around but we saw a large school of Spinner Dolphins (SO cool!), a few Bottlenose Dolphins, and ONE SHARK. That fin made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

>15 drneutron: Amazing. Unlikely. But fun about which to fantasize.

You got me to count my five-star reads, Megan. I decided to review and evaluate my 5-star ratings so far this year:

Bring Up the Bodies -- yep.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd -- for what it is, yep.
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth -- probably. It was so powerful and so moving. But if I account for the fade, it might fall to 4.5 stars.
Destiny of the Republic -- again, for what it is, yes. Part of it is the excellence of the audio version. It's the best audio book I have yet listened to (to which I have yet listened).
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? -- absolutely. My favorite memoir to date (with the possible exception of Fun Home).
Without: Poems by Donald Hall -- Ha. Having just said that I don't generally rate poetry collections, this one is a no-brainer. I loved this collection. In its totality, perfect.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City -- I learned SO much from this one. It gets five stars because it educated me so effectively.
A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa -- hmm, if I'm totally honest, this one might lost a half-star. I remember loving it but it hasn't stuck with me at 5-star level.
Pax by Sara Pennypacker -- this is a SIX-star read! It made me weep with sweetness, joy, and sorrow. That makes it the ultimate perfect book.

Wow. Nine 5-star reads. That seems like a lot. It has felt like a truly awesome reading year but maybe I'm also just excessively easy to please. I have been called pathologically optimistic by at least one dear friend....

>17 charl08: LOL, Charlotte. I have seen so many whales and I really love them. I haven't been this close and I'm not sure I truly want to get this close (I talk a good game). Except that, if I survived it, it would be The Best Moment of my whole life.

Not gonna lie, your rating for the Christie novel surprises me a bit, even with the caveat :)

The Wayne had a good interview in Seattle last week, and now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that (a) he'll get an offer and (b) it will be enough to allow us to make the change!

I think I have one five-star read this year...Happy new thread, Ellen.

Happy New Thread, Ellen!

Love the topper. We got lucky and saw a bunch of whales when we were in the San Juan Islands a few years ago.

>18 EBT1002: Great list. Love your enthusiasm for Pax. Me, too. I hope the word for Evicted keeps spreading.

>20 katiekrug: Yeah, I kind of surprise myself, too, Katie. I mean, it's a great classic mystery novel, but it didn't "touch me in a way that only a perfect book can do." Ha.

Oh. My. Goddess!!!!! I would love it if The Wayne got a job in Seattle and you moved out here! More Meetups!!!!!

>21 BLBera: Now I'm starting to question myself. Only one, Beth? What was it?

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

I wonder what would happen if I downgraded almost all my reads by a half-star, letting only the very best and most emotionally satisfying reads keep that 5-star rating.....

>22 jnwelch: We've seen Orcas in the San Juans and Humpbacks off Kaua'i. I feel really lucky to have seen whales as many times as I have done.

You may remember me using this as a thread topper a couple of years back (it's a classic, thanks to KPLU):

>23 EBT1002: - I am trying not to get my hopes up, but I'd really like to make a change. I feel like I'm in a rut :-/

>25 katiekrug: Well, I won't get my hopes up for you, but my fingers are totally crossed. Truly, I think it'd be a good move for you (and for me!).
But I know there are still lots of unknowns and lord knows it's a terribly expensive city in which to live.

And, in case any of you skimmed through the end of my last thread (not you, though, Charlotte), I thought I'd re-post this.

I went to buy snacks for the van of colleagues who are driving to Bellingham later today. I just happened to stop by the U Bookstore that is in the Husky Union Building.
I purchased:

Avenue of Mysteries by John Irving
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (sale copy)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig (sale copy - set in Alaska!)
The Best American Essays 2015 edited by Ariel Levy (sale copy)

Lord knows why Moby Dick shows up as the touchstone for the last one in the list. Go figure.

>24 EBT1002: Great!

By the way. I am getting not one whit of work done today. (Well, maybe one whit.)

Ivan Doig in Alaska! Great stuff!

I'm well into The Summer Before the War and am finding it to be a great good summer book! I occasionally dip into Dark Money but that is not a beach book! Good but not a happy book, either.

ETA: Yes, I would like to borrow Three Day Road since my copy did not arrive chez moi!

>30 maggie1944: You got it. If you'll PM me your new address, I'll send it to you. OR we can do that lunch we've been talking about.....

Happy New Thread, Ellen! LOVE the topper. On our Alaskan cruise, killer whales followed alongside our ship but nothing like this. When do you leave for Alaska?

I am so glad you gave Olive another spin and really liked it this time. Not many of us, would do that, considering the mammoth size of our TBR piles. I applaud you.

Nice little book haul. I also have the same Irving & MDR in the stacks.

>32 msf59: Mark, we leave in just under 4 weeks - the first week of August. At dinner tonight, where I had a lovely Imperial Pale Ale at Boundary Bay Brewery,



I was talking with a colleague who grew up in Alaska. She had some good recommendations, especially for Fairbanks.

I'm really glad I gave Olive Kitteridge another chance. So many of my reading buddies loved the work, it seemed reasonable to give it another shot. Really good stuff.

I'm particularly interested in the MDH --- so different from her sci-fi or her western focus.

Well, I really wanted to make the rounds tonight but after a sloooow dinner out with colleagues, and with an alarm that is still going to ring in the morning, I can't keep my eyes open. So, more tomorrow!

Happy new thread, Ellen!

Good morning, Ellen!

Would you like to do A Brief History of Seven Killings before your trip? I'm thinking it might not be a vacation book, but maybe it would work for you.

Thanks for visiting my thread - I'd go for any of the two Patchetts you have already.

>35 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>36 jnwelch: Hi Joe. You know, I did just say that I'd take it to Alaska with me but it might be better read at home. Would you be willing to wait until, say, the week of August 22 to start it? I'll be back from vacay that week.

>37 charl08: Thanks, Charl. And I LOVE visiting your thread! It's one of my faves. :-)

So, I'm with ten colleagues from my campus, attending a 2-day training on Behavioral Intervention Teams (sometimes called Threat Assessment Teams). I do need to pay attention (some of it is review but some if it will help us improve our process) but I will likely multi-task a bit, too. So, I'll be peeking in and out of LT over the next couple of days. (yay!)

Have fun at your conference. Yay, for Ellen having time for LT.

>38 EBT1002: Yes, waiting until late August is no problem. My tbr shelves say thank you. :-)

>40 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. "Fun" might not be exactly the right word but so far it's interesting and I'm learning a lot. And I'm developing a sense of direction for our work team. (yay! more work to do!)

>41 jnwelch: Cool. The week of August 22 it is. (I say "the week of..." in case one or both of us are in the middle of another work that we need to close out before we dig into the Marlon James.

I might join you with A Brief History of Seven Killings - It's on the shelf at the top of my stairs and looks at me every time I climb them.

>42 EBT1002: Got it!

Happy New thread, Ellen! Love the toppers! The kayaking would be fun - but not if the whale got to close! :) Have fun at your conference

>43 BLBera: I hope you join us, Beth! Late August....

>44 jnwelch: :-)

>45 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! I am looking forward to the kayaking. Even if I don't see a whale (and I sort of hope I see them on days other than the day I'm kayaking), I imagine that I will just enjoy being on the water.

School is starting then, so we'll see. I might have to start it sooner.

Happy new thread, my dear. As always it is visually more than a little pleasing. xx

>47 BLBera: Well, we could make it flexible: an August read of Brief History of Seven Killings. That might work for more folks.

>48 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I'm glad you like the images I choose to post. And thanks for visiting!

Total self-indulgent decadence: I'm sitting in my hotel room watching "Pretty Woman" on AMC.

Well, that's 180 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

No, really, it was a fun movie to watch and I messed about on LT some while it was on (especially during the commercials). I had seen it when it was in the theaters but not since. And let's be honest, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts are two attractive humans.

Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez in "Shall We Dance" would be another guilty pleasure on which I would waste an evening.

I feel like I'm going to lose credibility points big time. Oh well.

Time for sleep.

Oh, I love both of those movies, tons!

We enjoyed those movies, too, Ellen. Sometimes you've got to follow the fairy tale. :-)

>52 scaifea: It was a fun self-indulgent hotel evening, Amber. It did make me want to see "Shall We Dance" again, not because it's a great film but because it's a great feel-good mid-life romance movie.

>53 jnwelch: "Sometimes you've got to follow the fairy tale." I agree wholeheartedly, Joe!

As a counterpoint to my evening with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, if you want to get a sense of what I'm learning about, you can visit schoolshooters.info.

Sigh.

Hi Ellen - I am a Richard Gere and Julia Roberts fan, but did not care for "Pretty Woman." I haven't seen "Shall We Dance" but would like to.

School shooters. Sigh. When will we be able to get rid of automatic weapons at least. What will it take?

>56 BLBera: Hi Beth. I don't know that I would give another two hours of my life to "Pretty Woman" but it was probably about what my brain could handle last evening. Regarding "Shall We Dance," I recommend leaving your critical mind at the door and just enjoying the story and the dancing. It is sweet.

I do wonder what it will take, too. I just don't understand the inertia to eliminating access to automatic weapons in our country.

Starting my list of Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie)
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.

Let's see, there was another one..... I said something on someone else's thread.... *thinking thinking*

I have 13 book sin my library tagged with "Alaska." I had planned to read The Great Alone (multi-generational saga, I think) while up there last month but that didn't happen :-P

>59 katiekrug: That seems like a lot, Katie. I have had fun finding books set in and about Alaska. I haven't focused on them as much as I'd like to have done (library books coming in too quickly). I've been wishing I hadn't read the Dana Stabenow series already. I loved Mutt.

Hooray for Alaska books! Denali's Howl is short and tight, it shouldn't take you long. One of my top Alaska reads is Drop City. Man, I love that book and it remains my favorite by Boyle.

I am so glad to see a G.R. of Seven Killings coming together. A perfect way to approach that book.

Hi Ellen! Happy new-ish thread! An Alaskan cruise would be a trip of a lifetime for me. >58 EBT1002: Those all look like great choices for vacation reading!

Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie)
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina

Let's see, there was another one..... I said something on someone else's thread.... *thinking thinking*

Okay, I didn't remember it yet but I did notice that on Judy's thread I said something about Still Midnight being a good summer time read. :-)

Just to note: The Group Read of Brief History of Seven Killings will happen in August but I won't start it until I return from Alaska the week of August 22.

Hmmm, I did say on Katie's thread that I would move Breath, Eyes, Memory up on the TBR stack but I'm not sure it's a vacation read. And I might not want to leave it behind after I finish reading it.

I just ordered Breath, Eyes, Memory, otherwise Katie would have been very angry and you do not want to see her angry, puts the Hulk to shame.

^^Did you see my recent comments up there?

Is there room for some Patchett in >63 EBT1002: ? Looks like a nice bunch of books as is though!

Ha! Found it! I said on charl's thread that I might take State of Wonder with me.

Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie)
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (thanks, Charl!)

>61 msf59: and >65 msf59: Mark! I had missed your comments!
P read Denali's Howl and really thought it was a good read. And now I will see if I can get a copy of Drop City.

>62 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie! Thanks for stopping by. We are going to Alaska but not on a cruise. The trip starts with a two-day ride on the Alaska State Ferry from Bellingham to Petersburg. I'm SO excited!!

>66 charl08: Hi Charl! I had gone over to your thread and saw my comment about State of Wonder. We cross-posted. So, yes, she goes on the "possibles" list. I predict that the list will get very long and then I will have to winnow it down. I need to take layers of clothing as well as books to read!

>69 EBT1002: A two-day ferry ride is sort of like a cruise without all the amenities. Hope you enjoy whatever you end up taking with you to read.

I found Still Midnight to be pretty " noir" and gritty, but overall an interesting read, if that helps, Ellen. It's plus was how timely is seemed in light of the prejudice people have towards muslim people, though it was written several years ago. How It All Began was excellent!

AHA! I can catch up with 72 but not 150....
So your toppers are breathtaking. It's those mountains that get me even more than the big fish. Have a wonderful time! Gawk a bit for me.
I own *7Killings*.......... Depending on how it goes, I could maybe even perhaps, possibly join the GR in August. I'm notoriously (at least in my own mind) bad about them though.

That's a great list, Ellen. I'm thinking of taking The Luminaries to my family reunion. Then, I think I wouldn't have to take any others.

>71 thornton37814: "A two-day ferry ride is sort of like a cruise without all the amenities." Well put, Lori! That is exactly what it will be, I think, and I'm terribly excited. And thanks for the book-wishes. I'm kind of having fun perusing my TBR shelves deciding what to take. I must remember that I'm only gone for two weeks and my reading will probably be less, not more, active than usual. I will be spending a lot of time watching the world around me, both on the not-cruise and as we tour about the rest of southeast Alaska.

>72 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the tip, Deb. Now that I'm home, I'm looking around and I don't seem to be finding Still Midnight on the shelves. I do have Field of Blood (what a cheery title!) and I think I was confused. I don't have Still Midnight in my To Read collection here on LT, either. That collection is abysmally inaccurate most of the time but I'm wondering if I took Still Midnight to one of our Little Free Libraries out of concern that it was too noir and grisly.

How It All Began is a strong contender for the Alaska-bound suitcase. I think I'll add Excellent Women to the list, too.

>73 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I'm glad you stopped by. I also love the mountains in my various Alaska toppers. And yes, the mountains all by themselves are breathtaking enough. Orcas would be gravy (so to speak).

I hope you feel up to joining Joe and me and company for a GR of Seven Killings in August. I very much want to read it and I'm thinking this GR will both motivate and support me in the endeavor. We'd love to have you join us. AND I totally resonate with feeling like you're "notoriously bad" at them. I absolutely overcommit to shared reads, challenges, and group reads around here. Luckily, we're all a pretty forgiving bunch. :-)

>74 BLBera: Beth, if you take The Luminaries on vacation, it is certainly the only book you'd need to take! I have it on the TBR shelves and I really want to read it. But it's so huge. When we were walking the West Highland Way two years ago (I can't believe it has been two years -- where does the time go??), a woman whom we befriended was reading it on her Kindle. She raved about it.

Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie) -- would need to acquire
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina -- would need to acquire
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (thanks, Charl!)
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Drop City by T.C. Boyle (thanks, Mark)

Ooh, Drop City...Sweet.

Love your "might go" list, Ellen. I'm with Brodie on A Catskill Eagle.

>77 EBT1002: Ah, anticipation is nearly as good as the event itself!

I love the "might take" list too.... Book lists are one of the best parts of trip-planning fun. I can't think of many books that would take you farther from Alaska than Excellent Women, but it's an excellent book. I recommend it for bedtime reading! And you remind me that I want to read The Blackhouse. I'm not going anywhere, so I wonder why I'm not doing it.......

Hi Ellen! Love your whales-- they're just awesome, aren't they? Love your "might go" list also. I know I devote much more time to by books than my clothes when planing for a trip:) When do you go (and for how long)?

>50 EBT1002: >51 EBT1002: ha ha! I watched that recently, for the first time in years. It was a fun ride! I love the scene at the races when she whoops!

>68 EBT1002: Alaska book vacation buddies! Almost as fun as the holiday! There is a chance my brother is in Alaska at the moment....weird that I am not 100% sure ay ;) He is a regular world traveller ad often goes to cool outdoorsy places to photograph for an outdoor clothing and equipment company.

Great list, Ellen. They all seem like they might be good vacation books.

I will be in Seattle July 30 to August 2, 2016. I am going on a blackberry picking and canning, cooking, and freezing expedition with my cousins who live in Everett and Muchiass (not sure about the spelling) area. I have wanted to go blackberry picking with them since I was a kid. They moved out to Everett in the 1970's and my grandmother and aunt would go blackberry picking each year when they would go to see the daughter and granddaughters, respectively. I recalled my uncle saying that he left a trail of blue all the way back from Washington state to Kansas. I always thought that would be a great way to spend a vacation and that is going to be my vacation. I am flying out on the red-eye on Friday night and hope to be ready to pick on Saturday.

I would like to get together if possible.

>85 benitastrnad: My neighborhood, for sure. Just FYI, it's Machias. :-) Have fun picking berries!

61. The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brien




This roman a clef is the story of Fidelma, an Irish woman who falls under the spell of Dr. Vladimir Dragan, who comes to their small town as a healer and "sex therapist". His character is based on Radovan Karadžić, the "Butcher of Bosnia". Told from various POVs, including that of Vlad as he tries to escape the consequences of his brutal murderous orders as a political leader in Bosnia, the narrative is at times poetic, at times simple, but always beautiful and moving. At least twice, I thought "well, she (O'Brien) has just gone too far afield now," but each time she exquisitely pulled me back to the main narrative thread and the characters, scenes, and story reconfigured as a cohesive whole. Never an easy read, I absolutely recommend it for its insight into the character, Fidelma, both victim and phoenix; she is captured through an impressionistic style blended expertly with pragmatic and vivid scenes of torture and murder. O'Brien's narrative never slides into gratuitous violence but neither does it flinch in the face of humanity's brutality and rage.

Currently reading:



White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones

To quote P, "not great lit'rature, but a fun read." Set in northwest Alaska, this mystery novel is, so far, a delight.

Loving your Alaska book list and I am also crossing my finger for Katie and a Seattle move!

>78 msf59: I haven't read any T.C. Boyle yet, Mark, but I have a few and he is an author I'd like to experience.

>79 jnwelch: Hmm, I should have gone into Magus, my local used bookstore, today instead of just picking up a $2 copy of Invisible Man today. I need to find a cheap copy of Catskill Eagle so I can take it with me!

>80 ronincats: Yep, and I'm kind of playing it up with myself. :-)

>81 LizzieD: Peggy, I love your consideration of my might-take list. Do you have a copy of The Blackhouse on your TBR shelves? And I kind of like the idea of reading Excellent Women while in the wilds of Alaska. My sneaky plan is to take a few books with me and to leave them in hotel rooms or other appropriate places. I imagine there are few copies of Into the Wild and Dana Stabenow mysteries lying about, so this would be a change.

>82 AMQS: Hi Anne! Thanks for stopping by! I already have my clothing for the trip picked out but the books collection is getting lots of thought. It's a great pleasure, as you say. Besides, I can wear the same pair of hiking pants many days but I can't (or won't) reread the same book over and over during the trip!

We leave August 5 and we're gone for 15 days. Three weeks from today....

>83 LovingLit: Megan, it sounds like your brother has a pretty cool job.....

>84 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. I'm having fun with the list. I'll find myself looking at the shelves and stacks as I brush my teeth, thinking "oh yeah, that would be good." It's kind of cool that I have a week-long vacation planned in September to visit my sister. It has been too long since I saw her; in the meantime, I have had a stroke and her 80-year-old spouse has had surgery for a pretty significant melanoma (no radiation or chemo required, thank goodness). We need to spend time together. And we'll read together a lot. :-)

>85 benitastrnad: Benita, let me know when your plans are solidified. If it works out, schedule-wise, I would love to do a meet-up. You come in on Saturday, 7/30, and depart Tuesday, 8/2? Is that right?

>86 brodiew2: I don't actually know Machias. I know Everett, of course....

>89 Berly: I'm having fun with the Alaska book list of possibilities, Kim. But Katie's Wayne did not get the job so I don't think they'll be moving to Seattle right away. :-( We just have to hope for another opportunity.

I received The After Party, a collection of poems by Jana Prikryl for Early Reviewers. I now have two ER books to read. Time to get on it!

It's the weekend. Here is what I have in store:

Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie) -- would need to acquire
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina -- would need to acquire
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (thanks, Charl!)
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Drop City by T.C. Boyle (thanks, Mark)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

You might be able to tell that I am leaning toward serious deep vacation reads. :-)

Happy Saturday, Ellen! I also liked White Sky, Black Ice. I read it, in my early days of LT but was not encouraged enough to continue the series. Obviously, I do love that setting though.

Ooh, The After Party. Sounds good.

>94 EBT1002: Love it!

So far, I'm definitely enjoying White Sky, Black Ice and the setting is a major character!

I'll add The After Party to the package I'm already going to be sending you, Mark, if you'd like. It's an Uncorrected Proof which I think could be interesting for a collection of poems.

Happy Saturday, Ellen!

Our washing machine died and the new one won't be delivered until Thursday so one thing on the agenda for today is a trip to the laundromat. Later, we'll be attending a housewarming party for a friend/colleague who bought a condo in our neighborhood. Tomorrow we have a Storm game and we're thinking about going to see the new Ghostbusters movie beforehand. And I woke up early worrying about all the projects I need to keep moving at work.

Vacation is in three weeks. :-|

>98 scaifea: Thanks, Amber, and Happy Saturday to you, as well!

Adding Solstice by Joyce Carol Oates to my Alaska Possibles list. She is the August author for Mark's American Author Challenge.

Books That Might Go To Alaska With Me

A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker (thanks, Brodie) -- would need to acquire
How It All Began by Penelope Lively (thanks, Beth)
The Sea Runners by Ivan Doig
Denali's Howl by Andy Hall (thanks, Mark) -- I might try to read this one before we go.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina -- would need to acquire
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett (thanks, Charl!)
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
The Blackhouse by Peter May
Drop City by T.C. Boyle (thanks, Mark)
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Solstice by Joyce Carol Oates

I have Solstice on my shelf, so maybe I'll join you.

And the new 'Ghostbusters' was a lot of fun!

>102 katiekrug: That'd be great, Katie. Solstice is a very strong competitor to make the final suitcase cut since Oates is the August AAC author.

I want to see the new 'Ghostbusters' and 'Finding Dory.' I think we're going to see the latter after work on Monday - at our favorite theater where you can purchase real food (I didn't say healthy food) and drink. :-)

Okay, all you fit-bitters: which fit bit do you have?

I have an Alta which is thin and narrow but worn around the wrist. It does not have a heart rate monitor which might be important to you. It also doesn't count stairs but apparently that measurement is so inaccurate on most- if not all- models, I decided not to bother.

>105 katiekrug: Hmm, I do think I want the heart rate monitor but, like you, I don't need it to count stairs. I'm looking at the Charge-HR but haven't put in my order yet.

Stealing this from Joe's thread. I just love this poem.

Good Bones

By Maggie Smith

Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.
For every loved child, a child broken, bagged,
sunk in a lake. Life is short and the world
is at least half terrible, and for every kind
stranger, there is one who would break you,
though I keep this from my children. I am trying
to sell them the world. Any decent realtor,
walking you through a real shithole, chirps on
about good bones: This place could be beautiful,
right? You could make this place beautiful.

>6 EBT1002: I agree with you regarding Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal. It is one of my favorites thus far this year. I want to read others of Jeanette Winterson, but fear I would compare them and be disappointed.

Nice book haul for Alaska, Ellen. I love your photos. Happy Sunday.

>107 EBT1002: A beautiful poem Ellen. I could see why right now it is particularly powerful.

Morning, Ellen! Yes, I love that poem, too.

Happy Sunday, Ellen! I see that the Alaska book-list is growing and growing...

>107 EBT1002: I do love that poem too. Thanks, Mr. Joe!

>108 Whisper1: Linda, I have felt similarly about wanting to read more of Winterston's works but worrying that they would fall short in comparison to her wonderful memoir. I have The Daylight Gate on my TBR shelves and will hopefully get to it sometime this fall.

>109 Ameise1: Good morning, Barbara. I'm having fun looking through my shelves and deciding which books might go on vacation with me. There are so many of them! Heh.

>110 charl08: I agree, Charl. I read the poem on Joe's thread and it took my breath away.

>111 scaifea: Good morning, Amber! I'm glad I decided to share the poem from Joe's thread.

>112 msf59: Good morning, Mark. Yes, the list grows. I don't know how many books I'll actually take with me on the Alaska trip, probably just 3-4. Maybe five.

Hi Ellen - I also received The After Party - the first few poems I looked at left me cold. I hope your experience is different. I'll pick it up again and reread, of course.

The Smith poem is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

You're going to need a suitcase for books.

I'm at my family reunion right now, and one of the first questions my cousins/aunts asked was when is our book club? My nephew's wife also asked for some recommendations. She wants to try some new genres.

August recommendations for Alaska

1 Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler (CAC August)

2 Black Dogs by Ian McEwan (BAC August)

Have a great weekend, Ellen. xx

Whew, just caught up with your threads, Ellen. Reading through all those posts I could feel the excitement for your Alaska trip building. How many books will make the final cut?

>104 EBT1002: I have the Fitbit One which counts stairs. I wanted something that would clip on my belt like a pedometer. I also like the stair counting feature. I live in a 3 level condo and wanted to see how many stairs I climb in a day. It also gives me a kick to see the amount of stairs it counts when I take a walk up hill. I live in a very hilly (mountainous) area and do a lot of up hill hiking.

>94 EBT1002: Oh, a perfect illustration!
>99 EBT1002: Thank goodness it didn't wait until 2 days before vacation.
>104 EBT1002: I have the Charge HR which I like, but I get tired of wearing it all the time instead of some of my wristwatches. I'm thinking of adding a Fitbit One for that reason.

After checking out the NW Arts section of today's Seattle Times, I just put four books on hold at the library (I know, I know):

Magic in Islam by Michael Muhammad Knight
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (on order, not yet released)
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (on order, not yet released)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (on order, not yet released)

Ooh, also excited about the Patchett and Donoghue!

I have several friends with the Charge HR, and they like it. I just wanted something a little less bulky because I don't normally wear a watch or bracelets or anything on my wrist.

That list of library adds looks great!

A new Ann Patchett? Duly noted. I'm reading her debut novel at the moment: The Patron Saint of Liars. Good stuff.

I've got the plain jane fit bit zip. The problem with it is that I have trouble getting it to clip onto a a belt loop on my pants or shorts. The clip tends not to want to unclip and re- clip onto different pairs of pants.

4 books from the library ---- oh, Ellen! You are so one of us!!!
Jeanette Winterson --- I am waiting impatiently for my ER copy of The Gap of Time to arrive. (One person in Texas has recorded that hers came; I'm fretting.) I haven't read anything of hers yet, and I WANT TO!

>94 EBT1002: awesome!
I like the look of that weekend. Mine Started with an almighty tantrum from my eldest. A rare (thankfully) event, but no less traumatising for all involved.

>118 EBT1002: you can do it, you can do it!

Wow! Those are a great bunch of books to look forward to from the library!

Ellen, I have a Jawbone, and I love it. Their customer service is excellent. It counts steps, monitors sleep, and counts heartbeats. Accurate? I don't know but I use it as a relative thing. Better than, or not so good as, you know...

Hi, Ellen!

Nice to see "Good Bones" up there. It gets me every time.

Right now I'm a bit dusty in my poetry reading, Aeneid Book VI translated by Seamus Heaney, but I'm loving it. It does remind me how much I need to improve my knowledge of Greek and Roman myths - I went into it thinking I was pretty well-grounded, but no . . .

Did you see the Sky-Storm game last night? I'm a big-time Elena Della Donne fan. What a wild game.

>114 BLBera: Well, that hardly sparks my enthusiasm to read the poems in The After Party, but I will get to them in the next week or so. It's a short volume.

I love being one of my colleagues' and friends' and family's go-to book recommenders!

>115 PaulCranswick: Trying to lure me back into participation in the challenges, eh, Paul? Both Black Dogs and Solomon Gursky was Here look really good. But I would have to acquire both of them.... Hmmm. You know I'm susceptible to suggestion!

>116 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! I think 3-5 books will make the final cut. The trip is but 15 days long and, honestly, it won't be as much of a reading holiday as some. But I don't want to run out of reading material, either!

P has the Fitbit One and loves it. I am trying to decide whether something that sits on my waistband vs. on my wrist would work better for me...

>117 ronincats: Hi Roni! "Thank goodness it didn't wait until 2 days before vacation" (speaking of our washing machine's untimely demise).....
Now, that is an effective reframe! I am excited to have the new one delivered this Thursday so I can do a load or two and hang them on the line. We did a massive run to the laundromat Saturday morning and I have to say that getting all the wash done in about half an hour, then coming home and hanging it all up to dry --- I was pretty much done by 9:30am -- was actually kind of nice!

Hmm, the Charge HR is the one that is calling to me. I no longer wear wristwatches (although I love them!) since my favorite one disappeared via the Emergency Department back in December.....

I really appreciate everyone weighing in with pros and cons for various FitBit models!

>119 msf59: I love getting excited about novels that aren't even published yet, Mark!

>120 katiekrug: Hmm, I had the Flex way back when and I didn't mind wearing it. Thanks for the input.
*still thinking*

>121 lauralkeet: I still have read only one by Patchett, Laura. I thought Truth & Beauty was pretty good. I am leaning heavily toward taking State of Wonder on vacation with me.

>122 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the info, Deb. I'm thinking a wrist-model might work best for me. P has the One and she sometimes just puts it in her pocket; says it works just fine (as long as she remembers it's there and doesn't toss it into the laundry basket at the end of the day!).

>123 LizzieD: Peggy, my library activity is exceeded only by my penchant for purchasing books. I'm starting to drool over the idea of retirement!
I still recommend Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? as one of my all-time favorite memoirs!

>124 LovingLit: I'm really pleased to have found that little drawing, Megan. It captures so much of what I love about life.
Ugh, a temper tantrum to start the weekend. I'm glad those are rare....

Luckily, the books I put on hold won't come in for a while. Only one of them is even in actual existence and for all of them I am sitting in a respectable queue.

>125 banjo123: Now, if the stars would align such that they don't all come available the same week in November! :-D

>126 maggie1944: Karen! We looked for you at the game yesterday but figured you weren't yet up for that much adventure afoot.

Jawbone, eh? I think I want to get a FitBit so I can compete with P. Heh.

>127 jnwelch: Joe. I was AT that game yesterday! Elena Della Donne was amazing. I could not help but appreciate her talent and performance, but when she nailed the 3-pointer to seal the deal, it was a bit heartbreaking for us Storm fans. Also, I think Brianna Stewart got TWO charging calls that were totally wrong. Very frustrating. I think both coaches were about to lose it with the refs. It was an exciting second half, I will say that.

Yes, I did not go to the game yesterday. I'm still in recovery mode, and I walk some, but quit when I get tired. And then, there's sitting. I can only sit for so long, and I have to get up a walk. You can see why a game might not work for me, just yet. I'm looking forward to the games in late August!

I get the competition thing. I am supposed to be getting a new Jawbone, cuz my old one's battery malfunctioned. Other wise, I might be tempted to get in on the competition. But I guess not. Best to compete against myself.

I'm now feeling the pull to go to Half Price Books and see if I can find a copy of Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal. That is a sporting event I can undertake... ha ha ha

>127 jnwelch: At the game! How lucky - although I'm sure you doubted that in the first half. What an unusual game it was. The TV commentators were talking about how quiet the Seattle fans were in the first half, because the Storm were playing so badly and fell so far behind. I'll bet it was exciting to be there for that big second half comeback. I think Sky fans would've been heartbroken if they'd lost after getting so far ahead and then losing momentum and composure.

EDD seems to be as good a person as she is a player. Her relationship with her disabled sister is inspiring. She has hit so many big end-of-game shots already in her career; to me, that's a major sign of an elite player.

>113 EBT1002: I hadn't heard of The Daylight Gate. It is now on the tbr pile. Thanks for this!

>131 maggie1944: All that is what I figured, but I wanted you to know that we looked for you. :-) It was an exciting but ultimately disappointing game!

Oh Karen, I think you would enjoy Why Be Normal When You Can Be Happy?. It's a wonderful read.

Keep staying strong on the road to recovery!

>132 jnwelch: "...although I'm sure you doubted that in the first half." I'll say! We were debating whether to stay for the second half. I'm glad we did stay (we aren't usually the kinds of fans who bail on our team when they most need us, but this one was tempting). It was one of the weirdest sporting events I've ever seen. In the first half, I said "this is like watching UConn play Stetson!"

I know very little about EDD so I'm glad to hear that she is a good soul. She was certainly lights out yesterday. Truly a magnificent performance.

>133 Whisper1: My work here is done. (although I haven't actually read The Daylight Gate yet! -- lol)

I started reading this during my first cup of coffee this morning. I wanted to call in sick and stay home reading all day. Two chapters in and I'm captivated!

62. White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones




This was an enjoyable police procedural set in a tiny village in the far northwestern corner of Alaska. State Trooper Nathan Active, who just wants to get back to Anchorage, comes up skeptical after two apparent suicides in as many days. Although the suicide rate is alarming among the Inupiat, odd similarities set off his mental alarm bells. Investigating the possibility of foul play leads him into direct conflict with some pretty high rollers in the region. Charming and fun, perfect vacation read.

>135 EBT1002: Yay! I have that one in my pile, and it's good to see you are enjoying it so much.

>129 EBT1002: I'm starting to drool over the idea of retirement! >135 EBT1002: I wanted to call in sick and stay home reading all day. I am starting to detect a theme here. Sounds like you are feeling like I am. I have been to three retirement dinners for my coworkers in the last 2 months. *sigh*

>135 EBT1002: You're gonna love it!!!

Morning, Ellen! I have Beautiful Ruins on my shelves waiting for me, thanks to our resident Warbler...

Hi Ellen, like Amber, I also have this book on my shelves. I have many out of the library right now, but when I'm finished with them, I'll read Beautiful Ruins. Thanks for the recommendation.

#138
I am drooling over retirement myself. I have 18 months left until I can do it, but have enough time - if my sick leave is included - to go anytime I am ready.

Would Sunday, July 31 work for a meet-up at the Barnes & Noble in Woodinville, WA? I am not sure about a time yet but was thinking that afternoon might work well for everybody. I won't be in the city, so I know that Woodinville might be a stretch for you.

O.K. BB at last for Beautiful Ruins. PBS has a copy coming my way.
As for retirement, once you start thinking about it, you'd just as well start working on it.

Just getting caught up. I would Love to swim with whales - lots of the islands over here in the South Pacific offer it. Just not Orca. :)
We did see a pod of Orca swimming through between our beach and Kapiti Island early last summer. It was really amazing. There's something about whales...

>137 AMQS: Anne, I'm about a third into it and it's a good read so far!

>138 Familyhistorian: Meg, I think the fact that P is chomping at the retirement bit has me thinking more about it. That, and work just being stressful. The reduction to "only" one job has eliminated some stressors but the backfill has happened pretty quickly! I expect that I'll need to work for another 9 years or so....

>139 Berly: So far you are exactly right, Kim!

>140 scaifea: Hi Amber. My sister is the one who recommended Beautiful Ruins to me. I had noticed it in bookstores and almost purchased it oodles of times, but her nudge finally got me to obtain a copy. I'm so appreciating the nudge!

>141 Whisper1: Linda, I understand the goal of finishing the library stack before digging into a book on the shelves. I'm not yet halfway into Beautiful Ruins so keep that in mind as you move it to the top of your stack. On the other hand, since you have a stack of others to read first, perhaps I'll have finished reading (and provided my "review) by the time you get there! :-)

>142 benitastrnad: It's an interesting tension for me, Benita. I'm drooling over retirement but I do NOT want to wish my years away. I know so exquisitely how precious each day is and I want to enjoy them. But I sort of want to enjoy them without having to go to work. Heh.

>143 benitastrnad: I'm not sure about a trip to Woodinville that Sunday, Benita. I might be able to do it but I won't know until we get a bit closer. That's the last weekend before our trip so it may depend on how prepared I've been able to get. SO - for now, consider me a probable. I'll let you and Karen know with enough notice for planning. I'd love to see you both.

>144 LizzieD: Oh good, I'm glad I got you with Beautiful Ruins, Peggy. As I've said to a couple of other folks, it's still early in my reading so take my warbling with a grain of salt. On the other hand, I am still loving it. :-)

"As for retirement, once you start thinking about it, you'd just as well start working on it."
We did attend a retirement planning seminar in the spring. It was very helpful to get a better sense of our financial situation which is perhaps better than I'd have said. Still, I have a decade or so yet to work. But I feel better knowing what some of the options are and having a sense of what I/we can do to enhance the ability to retire sooner rather than later. I still occasionally buy a lottery ticket. Ha.

>145 nittnut: Jenn, I totally agree that " there's something about whales..." I love them. I think we have a shot at seeing Humpbacks as well as Orcas. I'm kind of liking that I may see the "same" Humpbacks that I have seen off the coast of Kaua'i since they migrate back and forth along that pathway.

So, I'm still reading Beautiful Ruins but during a bout of insomnia last night, I started The After Party: Poems by Jana Prikryl. I have flagged a few individual poems that resonated in some way for me but for the most part these are going over my head.

And I'm working at home today. I have a handful of annual reviews to write and this is always better accomplished away from the office. Our new clothes washer will be delivered this afternoon, too. I went for a very lovely run this morning and stopped by the p-patch to water the beet seeds we planted and now it is time to work.

I will likely give myself permission to check in on LT here and there today as reward for each review I complete. I want to return the favor of thread visits!

Oh! And I ordered a FitBit Charge HR. I should receive it tomorrow or Monday so I'll be checking with you walkers to see if I can join the challenge group!

All caught up with you, Ellen, and what a lovely time I had doing it. I love your list of possible vacation reads, although I should mention that I absolutely hated A Catskill Eagle. Ha!

I am excited that you have ordered a Fitbit and will be joining our group! *happy dance* PM me your email when you get it set up, and I will send you an invite. There are twenty of us so far.

>151 Crazymamie: Mamie! Thank you for visiting!

Uh oh, if you hated A Catskill Eagle... that does not bode well. In any case, I did request it from the library but I will NOT be taking it on vacation with me. I'm only taking books I own so I can off-load them along the way. (If you ever check into a hotel and there is a random novel hanging about, it may mean I stayed there recently.)

TWENTY FitBitters!! That is really remarkable. Not only are we an erudite and well-read group, we are taking good care of ourselves by getting out and walking (or running)!! Love it.

Hi, Ellen! Hooray for working from home. And hooray for your part of the country, being the only place with comfortable weather. Yep, jealous as hell.

I hope you can get back into Beautiful Ruins. I am an evangelist for that one. Pushed all my buttons and tooted all my horns.

>149 EBT1002: Good luck with the fitbit.

Sounds like a good day planned workong from home.

I have been thinking about whales lately - they popped up in a NZ documentary, swimming in front of beautiful scenery. I think if I won the lottery I'd follow the whales around the world. But not in a boat. Especially not a small boat!

>151 Crazymamie:>152 Mamie said she quit Spenser because Susan was annoying and made terrible choices. I can agree that Susan is the weakest link in the series. However, Spenser, Hawk, Quirk, Belson, et al make the series worth it for me.

>153 msf59: I wish I could work from home more often, Mark. I feel like I get more done in less time which allows for a few other things, too: reading, LTing, having a washing machine delivered.... Heh.

I read a couple of chapters in Beautiful Ruins during my lunch break today. I'm totally enjoying it!

>154 charl08: Today was productive and a nice break from the office. Perfect.

I love whales. As Jenn said above, "there's something about whales..."

>155 brodiew2: Hi Brodie. I remember (vaguely) becoming disillusioned by Susan's idiocy, too. It felt a bit like the Kinsey Milhone and V.I. Warshawski syndrome -- otherwise smart woman goes into dangerous situation alone and without letting anyone know where she is. But I remember loving Hawk, in particular. Every smart detective needs a smarter sidekick.

I finished the collection of poems, The After Party: Poems and I don't know what to think. Mostly they left me baffled but a few resonated in sweet or interesting ways. Here an (untitled) poem that I liked:

As water
levels drop
and drop,
two islands
will become
one.

A tidally locked body
takes just as long
to rotate around its
own axis as it
does to revolve around
its partner.

Because the moon's mass is a considerable fraction
of the earth's, it exerts a gravitational force
on oceans as it orbits overhead, producing the
tides, or put another way, you can stand
on shore twice daily and witness the very
water flinging itself upwards.

...........................................

I still don't know that I "get" the whole thing but I love the last stanza.

More soon.

Ellen - I don't think it's you. I think these are not very good poems. Perhaps very personal, but so particular that unless you know the writer, they are meaningless. The best poetry, in my opinion, should resonate - even if it's about personal experience.

Hooray for another FitBit wearer. I haven't been doing well with steps this week. We're at the lake, not good walking paths and it is REALLY hot. I'll get back on track next week.

Howdy Ellen. I'm with Mamie about the Spenser book. It's not one for vacation. When we were doing our monthly Spenser read a couple of years ago, this is where the tide turned on Susan. We ranted for days! Epic rants. It's a great series and I'm slowly continuing with it, but this one is not for vacation.

I just finished reading A Brief History of Seven Killings. I LOVED it, but it is also not a vacation book. Glad you are waiting until you get back. It's long with multiple points of view and the plot does get muddled at times. It pays off in the end. I thought it was brilliant, violent but oh so brilliant. Marlon James has a wonderful voice. I follow him on FB and he tells it like it is. I am going to see if I can find his other books and I look forward to what's coming next from him.

I'm headed to Seattle in early October. I'll PM you my details. I hope I get to meet you. *fingers crossed*

>159 luvamystery65: These rants sound like interesting reading. Would you be willing to share a link?

>160 brodiew2: We didn't have a dedicated thread when we were reading these together. I wish I had thought of that. So they are everywhere in 2014. I found two of my rants and one of Mamie's thoughts that sums it up for me.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/172192#4636999

http://www.librarything.com/topic/185804#4985918

http://www.librarything.com/topic/185804#4984530

The rants and mini rants were all over the place. Just mention the books name and you can get me, Mamie & probably Julia started on a rant.

I know Joe loves this book too.

>161 luvamystery65: Thanks, luvamystery65. I'll check them out. This is tough for me given that ACE is my favorite Spenser novel and has been for years. I felt like the series lacked the earlier quality going forward. However, Susan made a terrible choice for bad reasons.

I also focus more on the male characters in the series. Susan is central no doubt, but her role has always been small and generally the same in each book. In fact, her dialogue is very similar in each book. I take with a grain of salt, because I am more interested in the bromance. ;-)

I talked to my cousin today and am thinking that perhaps I will be in Seattle downtown area on Saturday or Sunday. I thought that perhaps I would like to visit the Amazon store. Would that work out as a better location for you?

>161 luvamystery65: I am impressed that Roberta kept track of those rants - so well organised.

Have a great weekend, Ellen.

>164 PaulCranswick: I wish we had a thread but I just searched the book and clicked talk & looked for me Mamie Julia and Kim. Donna didn't rant about this one that I remember. You can see the cluster of activity when we remarked on it or discussed.

Not the easiest way to find a conversation but it worked since I knew the book we were discussing.

>152 EBT1002: Off loading books is my vacation strategy as well, Ellen. It works out really well because you can fill the spaces that were made by the books left behind with the new books you pick up on your travels - somehow there is a usually a bookstore or two to browse on vacation.

63. The After Party: Poems by Jana Prikryl




Tumbril

You have to hope we
soon exhaust all hope because
you sense one final hope
and maybe the true one
can be hoped for only
after every hope has lost
its head.

..........

Cute. Which is not a word I would use to describe any other poem in this very personal, inscrutable collection. Here and there an image would emerge from Prikryl's words that would leave me breathless but for the most part, I felt like I was at an after party (after what?) chatting with someone who is intriguing and charming but who forgets that I don't actually know any of the people or places she is telling me about.

...........

Here an (untitled) poem that I liked:

As water
levels drop
and drop,
two islands
will become
one.

A tidally locked body
takes just as long
to rotate around its
own axis as it
does to revolve around
its partner.

Because the moon's mass is a considerable fraction
of the earth's, it exerts a gravitational force
on oceans as it orbits overhead, producing the
tides, or put another way, you can stand
on shore twice daily and witness the very
water flinging itself upwards.

........

I still don't know that I "get" it but I love the last stanza.

64. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter




And because he felt like he might burst open and because he lacked the dexterity in English to say all that he was thinking -- how in his estimation, the more you lived the more regret and longing you suffered, that life was a glorious catastrophe -- Pasquale Tursi said, only, "Yes."

A common tag for this novel set in the Cinque Terre and Hollywood is "Richard Burton." The actor's famous playboy life and crazy romance with Elizabeth Taylor serves as an intriguing instrument around which Walter has built his love story.

It's 1962. Dee/Debra, a beautiful young actress, arrives in the tiniest of villages along the Ligurian coast, a village so small that it doesn't qualify as one of the five destinations in the famous Cinque Terre, but rather languishes just to the south and misses any and all tourist traffic. Here, Dee, who has just learned that she is dying of stomach cancer, seeks refuge while she waits for a man to join her to help her while away her remaining days. Pasquale Tursi, the young and idealistic owner of the only hotel (oh, let's be honest, it's not a hotel, it's a place with one or two rooms for rent), is enchanted by Dee and invests himself in her happiness. From there, this story moves back and forth between Italy in the early 1960s and Hollywood in the 1990s and various locations (Seattle, Idaho) in "the present day." Told from different perspectives and in different voices, the narrative points back at itself in delightful ways: one of the characters, a wealthy, mercenary Hollywood producer, writes a memoir which is never published because, among other reasons, it discloses secrets that even the most amateur lawyer could turn into a successful libel suit. I found myself wondering how close Jess Walter's novel came to that very issue.

I take issue with the reviewers who called this novel a "masterpiece," but this is an enjoyable and sweet love story about love stories.

Up next: (with thanks to Mark!)

Great comments about The After Party, Ellen. So far, my feelings are similar.

Beautiful Ruins sounds like a worthwhile read; I've wanted to try something by Walter.

Happy Sunday.

>170 BLBera: Beth, I have to give you credit for helping me crystalize my reactions to The After Party. So, thank you for that!

Happy Sunday to you, as well, my friend.

>158 BLBera: Beth, as I said above, your comments helped me sort through my reactions to The After Party. I'm learning about poetry as I go and this was not one of my favorite collections.

I was hoping my FitBit would arrive yesterday but no such luck. I think it will arrive tomorrow.

>159 luvamystery65: Oh, that is helpful confirmation, Ro. I have A Catskill Eagle on hold at the library and if it arrives before we leave and I feel like it, I'll read it before we go. If not, it will have to wait.

I'm also glad I decided to save Seven Killings until after vacation and that I'm going to do a shared read with Joe and anyone else who wants to join in. Thanks for your comments; they will help me hang in there when the plot gets muddled or the narrative gets confusing.

Early October -- oh yes, please DO PM me details as they get confirmed! I would love to meet up with you while you're in town!!!!

>160 brodiew2: I had the same question, Brodie. Thanks for actually asking it!

>161 luvamystery65: And thanks for posting, Roberta! I will definitely peruse these rants and mini-rants before I read A Catskill Eagle.

Have I mentioned recently how much I love LibraryThing and the 75ers? If not, consider it stated.

>162 brodiew2: "...I am more interested in the bromance." Love it. :-)

>163 benitastrnad: Benita, downtown Seattle OR the Amazon store would likely work better for me than Woodinville. The Amazon store is actually in the U Village shopping area (not downtown) and that is easy for me to get to (as is downtown). That is the last weekend before our vacation so the to-do list is, well, you know how that goes. But let me know as you finalize the details and I will do some errand-arranging to enable me to meet you downtown! I've never actually set foot in the Amazon store and I'd be interested to do so.....

>164 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I thought Ro did a good job of finding her rants. :-)

>165 luvamystery65: xo

>166 Familyhistorian: Meg, your comment cracked me up. Yes, the offloading of books makes space for the new ones you want to bring home from your travels! I'm going to try hard not to purchase new books but sometimes I have to wander into a local bookstore and, you know, a book just hops into my hands. It happens.

Today is laundry day. The new washing machine is a dream and it's warm and sunny so things will dry quickly on the line. We're also planning a trek to REI to pick up a few things for our trip: new Superfeet, some ShotBlocks for hikes, maybe a new pair of socks for P....

I'm supposed to do some housecleaning but I. am. not. in. the. mood.

Last evening P's brother and SIL, and our nephew and his gf came over for dinner. P spent the whole afternoon making a South Carolina style pulled pork, we had some salmon she grilled, as well as potato salad, cole slaw, corn, watermelon, and homemade cake and ice cream (we were celebrating both nephew's and gf's birthdays). Very fun and delicious but perhaps a bit higher on the cholesterol intake than I should be doing....

Yum, Ellen. I just returned from my family reunion, and this morning decided not to step on the scale but instead have a week of exercise and healthy eating first.

Your trip to Alaska must be approaching, as is ours. We leave on the ninth and will only be there for a week.

>175 BLBera: I'm happy that the FitBit will arrive tomorrow so I can start tracking my activity. I did go for a delightful run yesterday morning so I figure it balanced out. Well, maybe.

We leave on the fifth and will be gone for 15 days. The first two will be spent on the Alaska State Ferry, taking us up through the inland passage from Bellingham to Petersberg. I picture myself sitting on the deck with a book, gazing at the beautiful scenery as it goes by....

>174 EBT1002: Yesterday's meal sounds delicious! Any chance of leftovers? ;-)

>174 EBT1002: Carrie asked the question I was thinking! Sounds lovely.

You made me hungry Too!

Oh I know! I off loaded about two boxes of boxes to the local second hand book shop and yesterday I purchased 3 more books from said bookstore plus two new books. A never ending battle.

Edited to add -oh your holiday looks wonderful!

My FitBit arrived and I am off and running walking!
Actually, I will be running some, too. :-)

>177 cbl_tn: As a matter of fact, Carrie, we had delicious leftovers tonight! :-)

Here is some to share. (Look away if you're a vegetarian!)

>178 charl08: and >179 thornton37814: Charl and Lori, all are welcome to enjoy virtual leftovers here!

>180 vancouverdeb: Yep, Deb, I have been so good about off-loading books and then today I went to my favorite used bookstore and..... Now, to be fair, P had asked me to find a used copy of Into the Wild for her so she actually sent me on this mission! I got her said used copy. Could I help it if they had an amazing collection of Maigret books?? I only purchased three of them. Heh.

Oh, and in reading news: I stayed up way too late last night reading Denali's Howl. Andy Hall isn't the world's best writer but the story is so harrowing. I had to force myself to set it aside and go to sleep! I'll finish it tonight.

And I Have No Library Books In My House. Not. One.

I can next read whatever I want to off my shelves. This actually feels delightfully freeing!

>169 EBT1002: It's probably one that will interest me - morbid, but true.

>184 EBT1002: Ha! Sometimes you just can't look away.

No Library Books! Wow. Strangely liberating. *grin*

"Andy Hall isn't the world's best writer but the story is so harrowing." I agree completely, Ellen. It is also a textbook, of what not to do, while climbing a dangerous mountain. LOL. Those wind speeds floored me. Yikes.

Hope your week is going well.

"Have I mentioned recently how much I love LibraryThing and the 75ers?"

^I am not sure it could ever be stated enough. Just sayin'...

Wow, Ellen. No library books. Nice book haul. You've been good, so no guilt, right?

Have you decided what to take on your trip yet?

No library books in the house, hmmm? Well, I'll forgive you as you are soon going on vacation. But as a member of a public library's Board of Trustees I have to encourage circulation, so don't make a habit of this!

Wow - no library books!

But what a great way to read off your shelves - I'm going to have to think about this. My ROOT challenge this year is extremely anemic and sometimes I think it's gasping its last breath. I truly mean to read my own treasures, but then I read a thread and more books go on hold at the library. Bad Janet.

>190 streamsong: I have exactly the same problem. Every once in a while I just go browsing on my own shelves...it's quite a lot of fun, actually, and I usually turn up something I'm amazed to find in my own collection!

Hiya, Ellen!

Woo, I'd forgotten that Mamie and Roberta hated A Catskill Eagle. Susan might drive you crazy, too, but maybe not. I'm more forgiving of her foibles, I guess, and the bromance Brodie mentions works well.

You also might get a kick out of Looking for Rachel Wallace from the same series.

I've been selected to receive a copy of The Glorious Heresies by Lisa McInerney for Early Reviewers! Yay!

And I went for a 31-minute run this morning. Nice.

And I finished Denali's Howl last night. More about that in a bit.

What to read next..... *thinking*

Yay for the Fitbit! Have you joined the LT Fitbit group yet?

>193 EBT1002: Wow! That was such a great read. Well done the ER team on getting that one.

Karen and I have decided that we would like to see the Amazon store, so we would like to have the meet-up there. What time of day on Sunday would work for you? I was thinking the morning, but not to early.

>185 nittnut: Jenn, Denali's Howl was not so much a morbid read as a sobering and gripping one. It did not make me want to take up mountaineering. Ha.

>186 msf59: Mark, thanks for sending me the copy of Denali's Howl. I agree totally -- it's a great primer on what not to do when climbing a 20,000+ foot mountain. Well, from my perspective, stop around 6K or maybe on a really good day 7K.... Mountains like Denali and Rainier "make their own weather" and it can be absolutely unpredictable. Wind is my least favorite weather phenomenon. I would have hated being at the top of that mountain.

>187 msf59: Yeah, I agree. And I reserve the right to say it over and over again.

>188 BLBera: It is, as Jenn said, "strangely liberating" not to have any library books in the house. And it dovetails nicely with my upcoming trip. I feel like I get to read exactly what I want next (see? this is why we buy books. then they are in the house, ready and waiting at exactly the moment we want to read them!) and so that is what I'm doing. AND when next Thursday rolls around and it's time to choose the suitcase winners for the early Friday morning departure, I will choose the next handful of books I want to read. Liberation!

>189 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, have no fear. I have 19 books on hold at the library. Fables by Arnold Lobel is ready for pick up. A Catskill Eagle is on its way. Four more are not yet ready: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Swing Time by Zadie Smith, The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, and Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. And 13 others which I won't list here. :-)

>190 streamsong: Janet, I'm kind of surprised by the tension between reading off my shelves and reading from the library. I LOVE libraries. I believe they are the very foundation of a free society. And, of course, I love reading a free book. But as I use the library, I don't get to the hundreds of books that are in the house, that I purchased or received as a gift, and that I want to read. First world problems. But it is a constant source of tension in what is otherwise the great passion of my life. I do exactly what you do: I have oodles of books on my shelves and I read a review or hear about a new book I want to read and I put it on hold and the next thing I know I have a huge stack of library books on my bedroom dresser. Perhaps the answer is to just give myself a break from library holds once a year. Like: one month of each year I will read no library books. I don't know if that will work but it's an intriguing idea.

>191 laytonwoman3rd: "...I usually turn up something I'm amazed to find in my own collection!" LOL
Yep, I have that same experience: "oh cool! I forgot I had that one!"

>192 jnwelch: Hi Joe! What I remember about the Spenser series from years ago is loving Spenser and Hawk, and loving Susan until she took a weird turn. I don't remember the particulars of the weird turn but I remember being disappointed in her. Maybe this is just something women readers are more likely to experience -- that feeling that a strong and charming woman character turned into a caricature and sunk into weakness. But, as I say, I don't recall the particulars. A Catskill Eagle is in transit, on its way to me from the aforementioned ^ library, so I might read it before the train departs next Friday.

My life is totally centered around the train's departure next Friday. I can hardly wait.

Ooo, Ellen, you make me very happy that my copy of Beautiful Ruins is here! Now we'll see when I get to it.
Good for you for winning the McInery through ER! I got Hag-Seed, and I'm thrilled!
Meanwhile, the 5th approaches, and I'm happy for you.....and interested to see what you finally take to read if you can read in that gorgeous setting.

>194 Familyhistorian: Yes, Meg, I joined the LibraryThingers on Fitbit. Today was my first day. 18,652 steps so far. I ran this morning and then I took the light rail to work so that involves four walks -- home to the MB light rail station, UW light rail station to my office, back to the UW light rail station, and then home from the MB light rail station. I think that adds up to a total of 2.6 miles even if I don't do any more walking than that.

>195 charl08: Yes, I'm very excited to be getting a copy of The Glorious Heresies. Maybe it's paying off that I've tried to be good about writing reviews for the books I receive!

>196 benitastrnad: The Amazon Store in U Village works for me, Benita. P and I have a commitment in the Green Lake neighborhood at 1pm. I'm thinking I might light rail to the U District to meet you two and ask P to pick me up to go to Green Lake. SO - yes, Sunday morning but not too early. 10 or 11?

>200 LizzieD: ...if you can read in that gorgeous setting." That will be an interesting thing to see, Peggy. I predict that this will be less of a reading vacation than some. There will be so much to see and to experience!

65. Denali's Howl by Andy Hall




Andy Hall is not the world's best writer but this story is harrowing and compelling. Hall is the son of the man who was park superintendent at the time and lived in Denali National Park when 24-year-old Joe Wilcox organized a team of a dozen men to climb Denali, then known as Mt. McKinley, the highest peak in North America. The men varied greatly in experience and expertise and some of them barely knew each other. But they set out to accomplish a rare feat: summiting a glacier-covered mountain that exceeds 20,000 feet in height. The tragedy that ensued is an iconic bit of mountaineering and U.S. wilderness history: twelve men went up; five came back down. Andy Hall tells the story of what happened in between. Pulling from his own memories of the events (he was five years when the climbing expedition encountered one of the worst mountain storms in history) as well as interviews with those survivors who would talk with hime and others who were involved in managing the disaster and coping with its aftermath, Hall's narrative is both personal and nonjudgmental. I had a hard time putting it down to turn out the light and go to sleep.

With thanks to Mark!

Currently reading:



An Early Readers Advanced Copy.

66. The Arab of the Future 2 by Riad Sattouf




The second installment in Riad Sattouf's memoir of growing up in a vaguely secular family in the Middle East, this graphic memoir is touching and heartbreaking all at once. With a dispassionate respect for the aspects of culture that are like the air that we breathe, Sattouf depicts the small Syrian town in which he grew up with all its prejudices and its honors. His visual narrative shifts from the minutely personal introduction to boyhood brutality to the desperate need for a family to remain in good grace with local government officials. Long on details and short on dogma, this is at its core a personal memoir of a young boy's devotion to his imperfect father and his desire to belong -- such universal themes. Sattouf exposes his parents' foibles with compassion and love. Well done.

Wow! A 31 minute run tonight.! Great going, Ellen! I've had a compression fracture in my spine, due to osteoporosis, so I keep it to fast walking now. Frustrating to get at a compression fracture 48 and I had a jogged , hit the gym , skied, canoed, drank milk etc all of my life. Life's just not quite fair ;)

I finally caught up here, Ellen. Retirement: I have to work offcially another ten years, too. I hope I can stop a bit earlier. We are leaving for the French Alps today. We would have gone yesterday but due to the bad weather in the Alps we won't do our planned hikes arounf M8nt Blanc. This has to wait for a better time.
I wish you wonderful holiday in Alaska. Looking forward to your pics.

>205 EBT1002: Sounds good Ellen. I did enjoy the first one, hope that the library will get hold of this one too. Given the current events in Libya it was so interesting to read about what it was like to grow up/ visit there. I would love to know more about his mum's perspective though. What are her thoughts now looking back on so much travel to 'difficult' places?

So, we are talking about this Sunday at 10 AM (plus or minus) at University Villiage Amazon store. Right? I need to put it in my hand written old fashioned calendar or I will double book myself. Silly me!

Good morning, Ellen!

I've been wondering about Arab of the Future. Thanks for the helpful review. Putting it onto the WL.

Using the library: I've evolved into mainly using it for pricey graphic novels and children's literature/YA books that have piqued my interest but I wouldn't buy (unless I love one and buy my own copy later). Otherwise, I get myself into the kind of backup you describe. Part of the problem in that context is the unpredictable arrival time at the library.

Currently reading:

>209 maggie1944: Yes! I will probably be on the plus side of 10AM, Karen (so, closer to 10:30). It's our last weekend in town so the to-do list is inspiring. I have to get at least a couple of loads of laundry on the line before I hop on the light rail to meet you excellent women! :-)

I am sure I can spend a few minutes browsing through the shelves while waiting on your arrival. And I am pretty sure Benita will be able to do that, too.

Got the plans made. All set. 10:00 a.m. will work for me. I will meet you guys at the Amazon Store at University Village.

I even have my reading books decided for the trip. I will be reading another Aurelio Zen book Dead Lagoon. I will have book three of the Jenny Casey Sci/Fi series Worldwired and an old classic Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff. I think those three will last me for the Red-eye trip to Seattle on Friday and then back on Wednesday. And who knows maybe I will purchase another book at the Amazon Store?

The Arab of the Future sounds great, Ellen.

I loved Excellent Women! I'll watch for your comments.

I am loving Homegoing - I think it will be among my top reads this year.

Hi Ellen, I've had fun catching up on your thread after being away from LT for a couple of weeks. I see you are assembling your books for your trip, and with two days on the ferry while travelling up the coast, you should get plenty of reading time, although the scenery is pretty breathtaking. We cruised from Vancouver up to Seward, Alaska a few years ago then bused into Anchorage to catch a flight home. I spent most of my days outside on a chaise lounge with a book in my hand.

The Home Stretch before you leave!! So exciting! And you're all set with your Fitbit and books. And you have a meet-up this weekend (someday I will make it up there for a meet-up, but not this weekend). Man, life is good!

Catching up with you before you head North to Alaska, Ellen. I loved our trip there and want to return someday. I think I am going to order my Fitbit Charge HR this week end. I'm not sure how many steps I'll rack up in this heat and humidity but I want to get used to it before our trip to Northern Michigan in mid-August.

>213 maggie1944: and >214 benitastrnad: Awesome. I will be riding the light rail and then walking from the UW station (by Husky Stadium) so my ETA is truly estimated. I'll aim for between 10 and 10:30.

>215 BLBera: I'm rather enjoying Excellent Women, Beth, although it's a wee bit on the slow side for me. But worth the meandering. :-)

>216 DeltaQueen50: Judy! Hi!

"I spent most of my days outside on a chaise lounge with a book in my hand." That sounds delightful and exactly what I am hoping for!

Oh boy. One week and I can hardly wait.

>217 Berly: I ordered another Fitbit, too, Kim. I am coming to love my Charge HR but its battery has a pretty short life. I ordered a One that I can wear when I don't want something on my wrist, like around the house. And I think the One has a longer-lasting battery. I think that will help in Alaska. :-)

>218 Donna828: Donna, I love my Charge HR. It took a couple of days to get used to it and I was afraid I was going to fall into that group of people for whom it causes "irritation." But now it's just like part of me. Still, I want to take it off (along with my shoes and another unnamed garment) when I get home in the evening.

More soon, folks, but I want to get outta this office!

67. Excellent Women by Barbara Pym




"Virtue is an excellent thing and we should all strive after it, but it can sometimes be a little depressing."

"I wondered that she should waste so much energy fighting over a little matter like wearing hats in chapel, but then I told myself that, after all, life was like that for most of us -- the small unpleasantness rather than the great tragedies; the little useless longings rather than the great renunciations and dramatic love affairs of history or fiction."

This delightful comedy of manners is set in 1950s London where Mildred Lathbury, a single woman dedicated to doing good works, finds herself in the midst of several small dramas involving married and almost-married friends. The novel's pace is meandering which is absolutely perfect for an examination of the minute longings and aggravations that make up daily life, the slight shifts in perspective and conviction that occur as one makes one's way through an ordinary life. Mildred is close friends with the local vicar and his sister and it's evident to everyone that she and the vicar should be headed toward marriage. Julian and Mildred, however, always seem to be just out of step with one another when it comes to romance. As other possibilities come and go, the reader is treated to a humorous series of plot twists and turns, creating a pleasant sense of suspense. This isn't heart-racing suspense, but charming curiosity about where the story will go next. A very satisfying read.

Happy Saturday, Ellen. I hope you have an R & R weekend planned.

I just started Through Black Spruce. I think I am going to really like this one.

Alaska beckons, Ellen. Have a great weekend.

>220 EBT1002: Excellent Women was the first Barbara Pym I read, some 8 or 9 years ago, urged on by some excellent women of a different sort, around here. I love her, and believe I have a few yet unread...saving them for treats.

Great comments on Excellent Women, Ellen. I remember that quote well.

>223 laytonwoman3rd: urged on by some excellent women of a different sort, around here
Yes, me too! Then the Virago group celebrated Pym's centenary by reading her novels, so I've since read them all I believe.

Barbara Pym is loads of fun. Nice review.

Have a great, relaxing, inspiring time in Alaska, Ellen.

Hi, Ellen. How was the meetup?

Good review of Excellent Women. I liked that one, too. Some day I need to get back to her books.

What fun it is to visit here, poetry, thoughts regarding books read, and excellent reviews!

I hope your day is a good one!

Getting very, very close now!
Have the world's best time!!!!
(And I'm grateful that you've postponed *7 Killings* until your return. That removes a bit of pressure.)

Ellen, I posted a photograph of us on my thread! Looking good. One less day to work! for you!

If I don't get back over here: Bon Voyage!

Have an amazing trip Ellen!

68. A Catskill Eagle by Robert B. Parker




This is twelfth in the fun Spenser series, set in Boston and featuring hard-boiled and indestructible private investigator Spenser, his best friend, the fierce and enigmatic Hawk, and his psychologist girlfriend, Susan. At the outset, Spenser receives a letter from Susan. Hawk is in jail in a small town in California and Susan needs their help. Spenser gallops off to California, springs his buddy from jail, and sets about rescuing Susan from her odd predicament. All this in the first handful of chapters (there are 55 chapters in total). A fun, quick, summer vacation read.

I know Roberta and Mamie et al took issue with Susan's behavior. It has been over a decade since I read my last Spenser novel and I think I stopped because the turn Spenser and Susan's relationship had taken was so disappointing to me. I hated the infidelity, Susan's excruciating ambivalence, and all that went with it all. And I don't remember the details. I think the loooong hiatus in reading the series enabled me to just wholly enjoy this one. I might even read the next one in the series.

>221 msf59: Mark, I will be very interested in your reaction to Through Black Spruce. Both The Orenda and Three Day Road were so excellent, I am definitely interested in reading that one, too.

>222 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Alaska does beckon, that is for sure.

>223 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, I need to figure out if I have more Barbara Pym editions around the house. If not, I will certainly be acquiring more. I was also encouraged to read her by a group of excellent women! :-)

>224 BLBera: There was a faint red mark beside the quote, Beth. Yours? ;-)

>225 lauralkeet: And me too!

>226 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! And I agree. I will be finding more Pym to read. I had not even heard of her until this very excellent group of women (yes, you all!) encouraged me to read her.

>227 weird_O: Thanks, Bill! I hope "great, relaxing, and inspiring" does describe our time in Alaska!

>228 jnwelch: Hey Joe! Karen, Benita, and I had a good time. I spent most of my time in the Amazon store (a kind of weird place, really) checking out Kindles. Now, once again, I'm wanting to jump on the Kindle bandwagon and must decide whether I want a Voyage or an Oasis. I could save $90 if I get the Voyage and I think it would adequately meet my needs (ha).

I only bought one book: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami. I'm running again and this memoir has been calling to me.

Karen had a guy take some photos of us in front of the Starbucks where we sat and compared purchases. I need to visit her thread to see if she posted anything.

I quite enjoyed Excellent Women a few years ago. I've got a copy of Quartet in Autumn by the same author, but have yet to get to it.

I did! And we all have great grins on our faces!

>229 Whisper1: Linda, what kind words. Thank you for that. I have been terribly remiss in visiting others' threads and am unlikely to be able to change that much until after the vacation, but I am pleased to hear that a visit to my thread is a good experience.

>230 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy! "Have the world's best time!" -- what a sweet vacation wish for me.
I have put a reminder in my calendar to start Seven Killings on or about August 22. It will be an odd change of tone after the vacation I'm hoping to have!

>231 maggie1944: Ah ha! I thought you might have done, Karen. I will come over and see how we excellent women look. Thanks for that. It was great getting to spend a bit of time with you and Benita.
And I still owe you a lunch on the Ave. :-)

>232 luvamystery65: Thanks, Roberta!

>236 vancouverdeb: I don't think I have any other Pyms in my library, Deb, but I will read more of her in the coming year!

>237 maggie1944: Yay for great grins! :-)

All this fit talk is interesting. I have a simple Fit Bit Zip, and knock on wood, the battery has lasted quite a while. The problem is that it is very difficult to remove it from one pair of shorts/ pants to another pair ( I attach it to a belt loop on the pants). It tends to ruin the the holder for the actual fit bit thing. I've replaced the outside ' holder' a couple of times already.

>240 vancouverdeb: Deb, I am loving my Charge HR, and today my new One arrived. I'm charging it up and then I will be able to keep track of my steps even when I don't want something on my wrist. The Charge HR seems to have a short-ish battery life so I'm thinking I'll just take the One to Alaska with me. Of course, while we're on the ferry, getting steps will be a challenge. I plan to sit and watch the scenery go by a lot. But I'll walk some loops around the deck, I suppose. I'll let you know if the One works for me; it might be worth upgrading?

2016 Booker Prize longlist:

Paul Beatty, The Sellout (US)
J.M. Coetzee, The Schooldays of Jesus (South Africa/Australia)
A.L. Kennedy, Serious Sweet (UK)
Deborah Levy, Hot Milk (UK)
Graeme Macrae Burnet, His Bloody Project (UK)
Ian McGuire, The North Water (UK)
David Means, Hystopia (US)
Wyl Menmuir, The Many (UK)
Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen (US)
Virginia Reeves, Work Like Any Other (US)
Elizabeth Strout, My Name Is Lucy Barton (US) √
David Szalay, All That Man Is (Canada/UK)
Madeleine Thien, Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Canada)

I have some reading to do....

Currently reading:



Solstice by Joyce Carol Oates
It's a Virago!

>233 EBT1002: Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed A Catskill Eagle. I've read every darn one in that series and liked, to varying degrees, them all.

>235 EBT1002: I went through the same kind of thinking, although for me it was whether to get a Fire (my sister loves hers) or a Voyage. I figured I didn't need another tablet, so I got the Voyage, and I like it.

If you don't mind my asking, how was the Amazon store "weird"? I'm curious about it.

Any Murakami is a good Murakami, as far as I'm concerned. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running was a bit bittersweet for me; I had to stop running due to faulty hip bones. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the look inside his mind re running and writing.

>233 EBT1002: I'm glad you enjoyed this as well Ellen. I think reading one every month and being so angry with Spencer about what he did in LA was too much for us. Also, his relationship with Susan is at times annoying, but it works for them. Hawk being in jail set me off as well.

Hi Ellen - Did I send you the copy of Excellent Women? So the mark was mine. I do tend to write in my books.

Have you decided which books to take to Alaska?

It's been years since I read a Spencer book, but I think I have a couple on my shelves. They would be good vacation reads.

My Name Is Lucy Barton is the only Booker list nominee that I've read. I was happy to see more women represented this year, about half, right?

I just got Three Day Road from the library. I might take it to Alaska.

>244 jnwelch: Hmm, that you like your Voyage goes into the consideration hopper.

The store is built around a different marketing scheme than your usual bricks-and-mortar bookshop. They change titles weekly and base their stock very much on activity on Amazon.com as I understand it (Karen can probably give better information about this than I can). The books are nicely shelved with the front cover facing outward, which is visually pleasing. But it limits the stock they can carry. And, it just didn't have the "good bookstore feel" of an Elliott Bay Books or Women and Children First or Powell's....

I know you are a huge Murakami fan, Joe, and I want very much to read more of his works. This one appeals to me given how fundamental running is for my mental health and stress management. It is my favorite and best introspection/meditation activity.

>245 luvamystery65: See, all this adds up to the dangers of getting attached to the characters in our favorite series, right, Ro?

>246 BLBera: I do believe you sent me the copy of Excellent Women, Beth. But I have not yet decided which books to take to Alaska. P asked me to pick books that she, too, might like to read but I think I'm going to have to assert my independence and tell her she needs to choose her own books. Part of it is that most of the books that are on our shelves that I think she might like, she has already read! :-)

Three Day Road is a great read!

Another tie bit on the Amazon store. I was surprised at how crowded it was. Perhaps the model of marketing those which already are doing well is a cause, or perhaps because they also sell Kindles and Echoes.

But I did not feel comfortable browsing as I felt I was in the way of people who were there to pick up a book they came for, and leave.

>135 EBT1002: >168 EBT1002: Beautiful Ruins has travelled with me on holiday before, and came back unread! (I believe it was The Luminaries that won over on that trip, it was over my birthday and for my birthday present I requested 3 hours of uninterrupted reading time.)

>220 EBT1002: I really liked this one too. I have yet to follow it up with another of hers, even though I swore I would!

Love all the book chatter, Ellen. I am planning on having a Murakami March in 2017. Maybe, it will be an annual affair. B.A.G.

When do you leave for your trip?

>248 maggie1944: I had that very same experience. I kept feeling like I was in someone's way. In my favorite bookstores, there is certainly the stepping around one another or waiting until they are done perusing the Qs in the literature section so I can look for something, but it feels different. I'm not even sure I would go back to the bricks-and-mortar store to by a Kindle. But I might do it just so I can hold them one more time for that final decision. :-)

>249 LovingLit: "...for my birthday present I requested 3 hours of uninterrupted reading time." How cool is that.
When we walked the West Highland Way, a woman whom we befriended (she was from New Zealand!) was reading The Luminaries on her Kindle. She raved about it and I still want to get to reading it!

Yeah, I will read another by Barbara Pym but I can easily see it falling into a low-to-medium priority category. Not because I didn't enjoy Excellent Women. I did. But it is the sort of thing for which I need to be in the right mood.

>250 msf59: Ooh, a Murakami March? I'm in! It will provide the structure for me to get to more of his work. I own several that I have not yet read.

We leave in about 62 hours. Heh.

Time for a new thread. Follow me to Chapter 9!