Berly, Happily Buried in Books-9

Life is good! Enjoying the last days of summer. Welcome old friends and new. That applies to people and books. ; )

(Daughter, Sarah, is on the right. Oregon Coast.)

November Hopefuls
Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
Mercy Thompson novel ???
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter Bowie's Top 100




Read in October
68. Dark Matter (342 pages) by Blake Couch
67. Dry Bones by Craig Johnson (sounds very Halloweenish, but this is a western! LOL)
66. Universal Harvester by John Darnelle
65. Ninety-Nine Stories of God (200 pages) by Joy Williams 1.0
64. Maximum Muscle, Minimum Fat (135 pages) by Ori Hofmekler
63. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben
62. Mrs. Poe (318 pages) by Lynn Cullen
61. A Dirty Job (384 pages) by Christopher Moore

Read in September
60. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies(Kindle) (398 pages) by J.B. West 3.75
59. Orphan Train (298 pages) (Audio) by Christina Baker Cline
58. The Golem and the Jinni (484 pages) by Helen Wecker
57. Americanah (588 pages) (OS) (read 150 pages) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie--Pearl Ruled
56. A History of the World In 100 Objects (657 pages) (OS) by Neil MacGregor

Read in August (August 558 pages/17,517 Total)
Very little because I watched the Olympics!!
55. Flaubert's Parrot (190 pages) by Julian Barnes
54. Any Other Name (Audio) (368 pages) by Craig Johnson 3.0

Read in July (July 1463 pages/16,959 Total)
53. End of Watch (Audible, 448 pages) book 3 in Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King 4.0
52. Andy Warhol Was a Hoarder (292 pages) by Claudia Kalb 3.5
51. Last Exit to Brooklyn (L) (read 100) by Hubert Shelby, Jr (pearl ruled)
50. A Man Called Ove (337 pages) (OS) by Fredrick Backman 5.0
49. The Butterfly Garden (286 pages) (Audible) by Dot Hutchinson (Audio) (N) 4.0

Read in June (June 2,337 pages/15,496 Total)
48. White Noise (326 pages) by Don DeLillo 3.0
47. Career of Evil (489 pages) (N) by Robert Galbraith 4.5
46. My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry (370 pages) by Fredrik Backman 3.75
45. A Serpent's Tooth (368 pages)(L) by Craig Johnson 3.5
44. Girl Waits with Gun (448 pages) (K) by Amy Stewart 3.75
43. Departure (Audio, 336 pages)) by A.G. Riddle 4.0

Read in May (May 2,776 pages/13,159 Total)
42. Unseemly Science: The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, Book 2 (K) (368 pages) by Rod Duncan 4.0
41. The Guise of Another (Audio, 269 pages) (N) by Allen Eskens 4.5
40. Library of Souls (458 pages) by Ransom Riggs 4.5
39. The Psychopath Whisperer (268 pages)(N) by Kent Kiehl 4.5
38. Another Bowie Book...The Bird Artist (289 pages) (L) by Howard Norman 3.0
37. The Good House (Audio, 320 pages) by Ann Leary, Narrated by Mary Beth Hurt 4.5
36. The Boys in the Boat (370 pages)(OS) by Daniel James Brown 4.0
35. The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter (384 pages)(K) by Rod Duncan 4.0
34. Talking God (Read 50 pages) by Tony Hillerman, pearl ruled

Read in April (April 3,460 pages/10,383 Total)
33. Tell No One (370 pages) (OS) by Harlan Coben 4.0
32. The Eagle Tree (270 pages) (N) by Ned Hayes for Autism awareness month 4.0
31. The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes (Audio, 522 pages) by Diane Chamberlain, Cris Dukehart narrator 3.0
30. Frost Burned (292 pages) (OS) by Patricia Briggs 4.0
29. Fables: Wolves (129 pages) (GN) (L) book #8 by Bill Willingham 4.0
28. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with The Sea (181 pages)(L) by Yukio Mishima 3.5
27. The Life We Bury (Audio, 303 pages) (N) by Allen Eskens 4.5
26. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges (Audio) (N) by Amy Cuddy
Pearl-ruled, not because this isn't done well, but because this is not an area I need right now
25. As the Crow Flies (Audio, 352 pages) (N) by Craig Johnson 4.0
24. The Museum of Extraordinary Things, (384 pages) (OS) by Alice Hoffman 3.5
23. Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl (244 pages) (N) by Carrie Brownstein 3.5
22. Good Omens (413 pages) (N) by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchet 5.0

Read in March (March 2,635 pages/6,923 Total)
21. City on Fire (944-read 400 pages) (IR) by Garth Risk Hallberg pearl ruled
20. Defending Jacob by William Landay (Audio, 448 pages) (OS) by William Landay 3.5
19. Eleanor (376 pages) (LT) by Jason Gurley 4.5
18. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (81 pages) (N) by Carlo Rovelli 3.75
17. Fingersmith(582 pages) (N) by Sarah Waters 5.0
16. The Goblin Emperor (Audio, 512 pages) (N) by Katherine Addison 3.75
15. Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal (236 pages) (OS) by Jeannete Winterson 5.0

Read in February (2,182 pages Feb/4,288 Total)
14. The Art of Virtue: Benjamin Franklin's Formula for Successful Living (144 pages) (N) by Benjamin Franklin 3.5
13. Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter! (323 pages)(N) by Jutta Profit 3.0
12. And Again (Audio, 320 pages) (N) by Jessica Chiarella 4.5
11. In Cold Blood (343 pages) (N) by Truman Capote 4.0
10. The Mermaid's Sister (Audio, 236 pages) (N) by Carrie Ann Noble 3.0
9. I Am Malala (352 pages) (OS) by Malala Yousafzai 4.0
8. Secret Star (384 pages) (N) by N. Roberts 3.0

Read in January (2,186 pages)
7. Black Man in a White Coat (N) (304 pages) by Damon Tweedy 3.0
6. Hell is Empty (audio) (N) (352 pages) by Craig Johnson 4.0
5. As I Lay Dying (178 pages) (L) by Faulkner 5.0
4. Dying to be Me (186 pages) (N) by Anita Moorjani 4.0
3. Skinwalkers (282 pages) (L) by Tony Hillerman 3.75
2. The Silkworm (Audio, 464 pages) (OS) by Robert Galbraith 4.0
1. Cross Justice (420 pages) (OS) by James Patterson 4.0

L--Library
OS--Off My Shelves
N--New/Gift
GN--Graphic Novel
IR--Indiespensable Readers
K--Kindle
LT--LibraryThing Early Reviewer

David Bowie's Top 100 Reads:

READING with Megan (IreadthereforeIam) and other folks
Jan - As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner ✔ ✔
February - In Cold Blood by Truman Capote ✔ ✔
March - Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ✔ ✔
April - The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with The Sea by Yukio Mishima ✔ ✔
May - The Bird Artist by Howard Norman Reading ✔ ✔
June - White Noise by Don DeLillo ✔ ✔
July - Last Exit to Brooklyn by Hubert Selby, Jr.
August - Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes ✔ ✔
September - Madame Bovary ✔ ✔

October Nights At The Circus by Angela Carter
http://www.librarything.com/topic/233811

November
December

Kim has already read
1984 by George Orwell
The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Divided Self by R. D. Laing
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Herzog by Saul Bellow
Iliad by Homer
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Inside The Whale And Other Essays by George Orwell
Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
The Outsider by Colin Wilson
Passing by Nella Larson
The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
The Stranger by Albert Camus

STILL TO GO
Interviews With Francis Bacon by David Sylvester
Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
Room At The Top by John Braine
On Having No Head by Douglass Harding
Kafka Was The Rage by Anatole Broyard
City Of Night by John Rechy
Tadanori Yokoo by Tadanori Yokoo
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin
Mr. Norris Changes Trains by Christopher Isherwood
Halls Dictionary Of Subjects And Symbols In Art by James A. Hall
David Bomberg by Richard Cork
Blast by Wyndham Lewis
Beyond The Brillo Box by Arthur C. Danto
The Origin Of Consciousness In The Breakdown Of The Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes
In Bluebeard’s Castle by George Steiner
Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
Infants Of The Spring by Wallace Thurman
The Quest For Christa T by Christa Wolf
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
The Master And Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Puckoon by Spike Milligan
Black Boy by Richard Wright
Darkness At Noon by Arthur Koestler
The Waste Land by T.S. Elliot
McTeague by Frank Norris
Money by Martin Amis
Strange People by Frank Edwards
English Journey by J.B. Priestley
A Confederacy Of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Day Of The Locust by Nathanael West
The Life And Times Of Little Richard by Charles White
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock by Nik Cohn
Mystery Train by Greil Marcus
Beano (comic, ’50s)
Raw (comic, ’80s)
Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom by Peter Guralnick
Silence: Lectures And Writing by John Cage
Writers At Work: The Paris Review Interviews edited by Malcolm Cowley
The Sound Of The City: The Rise Of Rock And Roll by Charlie Gillete
Octobriana And The Russian Underground by Peter Sadecky
The Street by Ann Petry
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
A People’s History Of The United States by Howard Zinn
The Age Of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz
The Coast Of Utopia by Tom Stoppard
The Bridge by Hart Crane
All The Emperor’s Horses by David Kidd
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos
Tales Of Beatnik Glory by Ed Saunders
Nowhere To Run The Story Of Soul Music by Gerri Hirshey
Before The Deluge by Otto Friedrich
Sexual Personae: Art And Decadence From Nefertiti To Emily Dickinson by Camille Paglia
The American Way Of Death by Jessica Mitford
Teenage by Jon Savage
Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh
The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
Viz (comic, early ’80s)
Private Eye (satirical magazine, ’60s – ’80s)
Selected Poems by Frank O’Hara
The Trial Of Henry Kissinger by Christopher Hitchens
Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont
Mr. Wilson’s Cabinet of Wonder by Lawrence Weschler
Zanoni by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Transcendental Magic, Its Doctrine and Ritual by Eliphas Lévi
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Leopard by Giusseppe Di Lampedusa
A Grave For A Dolphin by Alberto Denti di Pirajno
The Insult by Rupert Thomson
In Between The Sheets by Ian McEwan
A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes
Journey Into The Whirlwind by Eugenia Ginzburg

Plans for Reading


RL Book Club #1
February - Black Man in a White Coat, by Damon Tweedy ✔ ✔
April - The Museum of Extraordinary Things, by Alice Hoffman ✔ ✔
June - H is for Hawk, by Helen McDonald
August - A Man Called Ove, by Frederick Backman ✔ ✔
October - Mrs. Poe, by Lynn Cullen ✔ ✔
December - choose new books!

And RL Book Club #2
February - I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai ✔ ✔
March - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeannete Winterson ✔ ✔
April - Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir, by Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia!) ✔ ✔
May/June - The Boys in the Boat ✔ ✔
Summer - Off ✔ ✔
September - Americanah ✔ ✔
October - Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain ✔ ✔
November -

And Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project
January - Skinwalkers ✔ ✔
February - Hell is Empty ✔ ✔
March - A Thief of Time
April - As the Crow Flies ✔ ✔
May - Talking God Pearl Ruled
June - A Serpent's Tooth ✔ ✔
July - Coyote Waits
August - Any Other Name ✔ ✔
September - Sacred Clowns
October - Dry Bones ✔ ✔
November - The Fallen Man
December - Wait For Signs: Twelve Longmire Stories

Favorites from last year:

The Uninvited (340 pages) by Cat Winters 4.5
The Boy Who Went Away (230 pages) by Eli Gottlieb 4.5
Finders Keepers (audio) (448 pages) by Stephen King 4.5
Wonder (404 pages) by RJ Palacio 5.0
Leaving Time (audio/496 pages) by Jodi Piccoult 4.5
All the Light We Cannot See (530 pages) by Anthony Doerr 4.0
Fables: Legends In Exile My first GN Series!! by Bill Willingham

New last year were Graphic Novels and listening to books on audio--I enjoyed them both!

I am going to start entering those series I still want to follow. This list will evolve over time...

#2 Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
Cormoran Strike--#4 whenever that comes out
Alex Cross--I have read (17) and (23)
Alpha and Omega--Next is Dead Heat (4)
Author Terry Pratchett, Discworld, Wyrd Sisters Souloftherose's fault ; )
Longmire Series: now on (9)
The Gaslit Empire Series: (3) The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire
Morgue Drawer by Jutta Profit on book (5)
Mercy Thompson by Patricia Briggs--next up is Fire Touched (9)

End of Watch in Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King: Finished
Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children: Finished

New Books in 2016

Gifts
1) Mr Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt, Indiespensibe #57
2) Fever at Dawn by Peter Gardos, Indiespensible #57
3) Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore, Birthday
4) A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin, Birthday
5) The Monopolists by Mary Pilon, Birthday
6) Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein, Birthday ✔ ✔
54) The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan (Thank you,Mark)
55) I Am No One by Patrick Flanery (Thank you, LT Early Reviewers)
56) Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer (Thank you, Hubby, Powell's Indispensable #58)
57) Universal Harvester by John Darnielle (Thank you, Hubby, Powell's Indispensable #58) ✔ ✔

Thingaversary Treats...these don't count!
7) Dying To Be Me by Anita Morrjani ✔ ✔
8) Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron
9) Stars of Mithra book 3 ✔ ✔
10) The Science of Discworld: The Globe by Terry Pratchett
11) Black Man in a White Coat by Damon Tweedy ✔ ✔
12) Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs ✔ ✔
13) The Psychopath Whisperer, The Science of Those Without Conscience by Kent A Kiehl ✔ ✔
14) The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls ✔ ✔

Purchased. Now anything below this line, guilt might set it in. Notice I used "might"!!! LOL
15) The Bullet-Catcher's Daughter by Ron Duncan ✔ ✔
(Richard's Fault, with a second from Crazy, and a final push from Kidzdoc for the $1.99 Kindle pricing)
16) Unseemly Science the sequel by Ron Duncan (ronincats's fault for the push and the $1.99 Kindle pricing alert) ✔ ✔
17) The Last Girl by Joe Hart -- Free!
18) The Mermaid's Sister by Carrie Ann Noble ✔ ✔
19) Christopher and Columbus by Elizabeth von Arnim.
20) Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter! by Jutta Profit ✔ ✔
21) Maximum Muscle, Minimum Fat by Ori Hofmekler (For TKD Test!) ✔ ✔
22) The Art of Virtue by Benjamin Franklin (For TKD Test!) ✔ ✔
23) The Queen's Poisoner (The Kingfountain Series Book 1) by Jeff Wheeler (Free! Kindle First, Amazon)
24) Clink or Cooler by Jutta Profit (Kindle)
25) The Art of Virtue: Benjamin Franklin's Formula for Successful Living by Benjamin Franklin (For TKD) ✔ ✔
26) Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli ✔ ✔
27) Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ✔ ✔
28) The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison ✔ ✔
29) Mislaid by Neil Zink (Crazy)
30) The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
31) Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, pearl ruled ✔ ✔
32) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (how is that for a duo?!) ✔ ✔
33) The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss, whom I have never heard of but had 3 books in Powell's favorites collection
34) The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
36) The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes, Free! ✔ ✔
37) The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes (Audio) by Diane Chamberlain, Cris Dukehart narrator 3.0 ✔ ✔
38) The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown ✔ ✔
39) Girl Waits with Gun by Amy Stewart (Mark and Crazy) ✔ ✔
40) The Guise of Another by Allen Eskens - Free Audio!! ✔ ✔
41) The Serpent's Tooth by Craig Johnson ✔ ✔
42) The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison ✔ ✔
43) White Noise by Don DeLillo ✔ ✔
44) A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (August RL Bookclub read) ✔ ✔
45) Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes (Future Bowie Top 100 Read) ✔ ✔
46) The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman (love her books)
47) The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (just looked interesting)
48) Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith/JK Rowling (3rd in series and I love these) ✔ ✔
49) End of Watch by Stephen King (3rd in Trilogy) Free!! ✔ ✔
50) In Any Other Time by Craig Johnson Free!! ✔ ✔
51) Any Other Name (Audio) by Craig Johnson ✔ ✔
52) Upstairs at the White House by J.B. West ✔ ✔
53) Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline ✔ ✔

Uh-Oh! I have purchased more than I have read. ; )

Happy New Thread, Kimmers!!

Ellen--You're first and you're back!!! I am way behind on the threads, but I will head over to yours soon. : )

You might need this for Wednesday through Friday...

Happy new thread, Kim!

Nice jumpy new thread, Kim!

Happy New Thread, Kimmers! I LOVE, LOVE that topper! A celebration of life.

I also love those current reads. I have been meaning to read The Golem and the Jinni forever. Maybe, you will be my inspiration. I also hope to finally get to Americanah in the coming weeks.

What a wonderful opening image!!!! Thanks for starting my day on such an upbeat way!

Happy day to you Kim!

LOVE the topper! Full of fabulous! Happy new one, Kim!

Did you know that you have The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie in both the have read and the still to go lists?

You were sad the Olympics are over. The Paralympics are on now though. My university has a swimmer participating. He has a shot at winning the 100 meter race apparently. His time going into the Olympics was only 1 second behind the guy from Russia. We're hoping for a gold! So watch and cheer Robert Griswold onto gold!

Happy new one, Kim!

Another fan of the lovely topper. Happy new thread.

Congrats on the new thread, Kim!

>1 Berly: "Like" Great summer photo.

I got hooked on those two Patricia Briggs' series, too - especially Mercy Thompson - but unfortunately I'm all caught up on them.

How are you liking Flaubert's Parrot?

Happy new thread, Kim. I LOVE the topper. You have ambitious reading plans!

Hi Kim, happy new thread! LOVE your opening photo! I'm loving every minutes of summer I can ... it's my thing, LOL!

Happy new thread, Kim! And what a joyful thread-topper!

Hi Kim, happy new thread my dear and I just love the thread topper photo, sending love and hugs.

>11 scaifea: Thanks Amber! I am no where close to the number of threads you have posted, but I am setting a personal record for me this year!!

>12 kidzdoc: Well put Darryl! Glad you like my topper.

>13 msf59: Hi Mark! Another fan of my topper...yay! I am enjoying The Golem and the Jinni so far. Now that the Olympics are over, I might make more progress. ; )

>14 Whisper1: Hello Dear Linda! I am glad the topper brought you some joy. It is only fair to return the favor you know.

>15 Crazymamie: I will take "Full of Fabulous" praise any day. Thanks Crazy! And I have fixed my Bowie list. Thanks for the attention to detail. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is now only and appropriately under the "Have Read" column. May need to update my library....off to check...

>16 thornton37814: Lori--I know! I will have to see if I can catch some of the Paralympics. I can't believe you know someone named Robert Griswold. I used to date a Bob Griswold in high school! Too funny.

>17 katiekrug: Hi Katie!!

>18 charl08: Thanks Charlotte. : )

>19 jnwelch: Hiya Joe. I am trying to pace myself on the Mercy Thompson novels so I don't run out. Not many left though. I am actually really enjoying Flaubert's Parrot. I can't believe how different each chapter is. Left a few comments on the thread yesterday.

>20 BLBera: Hi Beth! Glad to see you here. My actual reading doesn't always follow "The Plan," so I am actually not all that ambitious. Hope you don' think less of me, LOL!

Happy new thread Kimmers. Lovely topper by the way. xx

>21 lit_chick: Nancy--Here's my wish for you--Indian Summer!!

>22 tymfos: Thanks, Terri. I am glad everyone is loving my topper as much as I do. It makes me very happy.

>23 johnsimpson: Hello, John! Glad you like my topper and love and hugs to you.

>26 PaulCranswick: And Paul! I almost missed you there. Glad to see you here. : )

>10 Berly: Wednesday through Friday .... An innocuous enough set of words for you probably? For me, it is Americana through and through. I just wanted to mention that as me saying that just makes me laugh at the absurdity of it. I (we, as NZers) would say 'from Wednesday through to Friday', or 'from Wednesday to Friday'.

Lol, the strangest of things amuse me :)

Oh, and, I finished Flaubert's Parrot just now. Loved it! So glad Joe made me read on, as it felt a struggle early on.

^ Great, Megan. Worth it, right? I loved it, too.

Hi, Kim! Glad you're also enjoying Flaubert's Parrot. I know, I'm still sorting out all the different formats (not even sure that's the right word) he used in it.

*Waves* Hi Kim!! :D

>29 LovingLit: Megan--Thanks for the linguistics comparison!! It is always interesting to learn about the those little differences. And it is always good to have a sense of humor, especially over the little things. ; 0

So glad you liked Flaubert's Parrot! I will finish by the end of the month, but I am having a hard time finding reading time. Tonight I am off to a Josh Groban concert with my oldest. Can't wait!!

>30 jnwelch: Joe--I am not sure I have ever read a book with such widely disparate styles/formats in each chapter. And he does such a good job with each one! Thanks for cheering everyone one with this one.

>31 Ape: Stephen!! So nice to see you here. Come more often!! :D

Going tonight!!! Can't wait.

Happy New Thread, Kim. Lots of that happening this week--thanks for catching the double post on my new thread! And Josh! Did you ever see the last Muppet Movie, the one with Ricky Gervase? Groban's cameo in it was so hilarious.

Hi Roni--Yup. Lots of new threads this week, yours among them!

So, I am convinced Josh Groban could be a comedian if he wasn't such an amazing singer: and, yes, his cameo in the Muppets was priceless. Tonight he cracked joke after joke in-between his song sets. So glad we got to go. Jess found the tix at a huge discount just yesterday and we couldn't pass it up! Josh only sang four songs from his own albums and then sang everything from Somewhere Over the Rainbow to Broadway hits, which might have normally ticked me off, but he made every song just beautiful. He could sing anything and I would be happy! In fact, he sang My Ding-a-Ling tonight. He started it off as a joke, and then turned it into something amazing. If he can do that with Ding-a-ling, well, he's a genius. : )

Sweet Thursday, Kimmers! I am starting Flaubert's Parrot today. See? I am a team player.

I plan on mailing out The Sunlight Pilgrims today. Sorry for the delay.

Morning, Kim! Glad the concert was a delight - sounds like a lot of fun. I started Flaubert's Parrot, so I am also a team player.

Wow. Everyone who is anyone is reading Flaubert's Parrot! If I weren't so happily engrossed in Brief History of Seven Killings (which is anything but brief), I might just jump on the bandwagon.

I don't know Josh Groban. Must google.

And I want to loop back about the lit and arts series in Portland. My memory is that scheduling was going to be a challenge but I should revisit. I could ride the train to Portland again. :-)

>36 msf59: It is an interesting, eclectic read. Cam't wait to see what you think of Flaubert's Parrot! And I will make sure to check the mail box -- thanks!!

>37 Crazymamie: Yay! Another Team Parrot member!!

>38 EBT1002: What's the matter? Can't you read two books at once?! LOL

Let me make it easy for you...here's the group read thread.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/228526

Happy new one, Kim. I'm already back to work. The new school year started last Monday.

>41 Berly: That sign made me laugh. Great to see all the parrot enthusiasm. I feel like an early adopter (for once) having read it (although so long ago I remember nothing useful. Maybe time for a reread?!)

Hi Barb! Hi Charlotte!

I am sick as a dog. Stayed home from work because no one wants what I have. Sneezing my head off. Hoping a good night sleep will be the cure.

Sniffle.

Oh, Kim! So sorry to hear that you are sick. Hoping you feel much better very soon, my friend.

Hi Kim, so sorry to hear you are unwell my dear, hope you get better soon and sending love and hugs dear friend.

>44 Berly: Get well soon!

>45 Crazymamie: Love it!

>44 Berly: Oh no! Hope you're in a comfy bed with lots of drinks on tap.

(Autocorrect suggests "drugs" instead of drinks. Yikes. Although I guess as appropriate, of course...)

Feel better soon, Kim!

Sick? What? Noooooooooo...Sending healing vibes from the Great Midwest. These are powerful, so brace yourself, Kimmers.

Thanks Crazy, John, Lori, Charlotte and Katie. Your well wishes are very much appreciated and I have taken all your medical advice to heart:

A long sleep
A good laugh
Comfy bed
Drugs (Benadryl and Cold Calm)
Drinks (Tea)

I am happy to report that I am on the mend. The sniffles are gone. Now I am just wiped out with a headache. I am still home today, but expect a full recovery by tomorrow and I plan to keep up the medical regime just to make sure, although if I am feeling better by this evening I may swap out the tea for red wine. My Dad swears it fixes everything. LOL. Also, I won a book through LT, so that always lifts me up!

I Am No One by Patrick Flannery

And I did finish two books this month. (Dang Olympics!) Flaubert's Parrot and Any Other Name. Reviews to come later...when I can think again. : )

>50 msf59: And healing vibes from Mark! That will surely tip things in my favor. ; )

Take care, Kim. Feel better soon.

Glad you're feeling better already! Hope the recovery continues apace.

>51 Berly: cripes, I hope you are further improved today. In sympathy for your ills I volunteer to take over thread startup duties for the Bowie group read. If you can wait til tomorrow I will set up the Madame Bovary group read thread.

Glad you are feeling better, Kim! :)

Morning, Kim! I hope you are feeling less of the crummy today.

And, the Madame Bovary thread is up. See, I keep my promises. I hope you are feeling comparatively better, at least.
http://www.librarything.com/topic/231253

Join one join all for September's Bowie read!!

Kim? OH, Kiiiimmmmmm....

>36 msf59:, >37 Crazymamie:… good job, Mark and Mamie. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one lagging behind on Flaubert's Parrot. But I'm ahead on Madame Bovary. I read it with my book group a few years ago. The professor that led the group then considered it one of his very favorite books and led us in a very deep discussion.

Did you take the beach picture of Sara? Great capture! I love the exuberance of the young. I used to be able to jump that high but I'm vertically challenged now. Haha. Feel better soon, Kim.

I hope you are feeling better, Kim. I don't think that Flaubert's Parrot is for me, though I can see it has been very popular on LT! Lucky for me , I read Madame Bovary last year. Not a bad read and fairly quick too. Enjoy!

Hi Kim, hope you are feeling much better my dear and hope you and the family have a lovely weekend. sending love and hugs dear friend.

>53 BLBera: >54 ursula: Thanks, Beth and Ursala. Still not feeling up to par, but working on it. ; )

>55 LovingLit: Thank you for volunteering for thread duty on the Bowie read!! You are hired!!

>56 Ape: Working on it Stephen. No symptoms per se, just still feeling wiped.

>57 Crazymamie: Less of the crummy! I like that. LOL And it's true. I am just not victorious yet. I did get my 10,000 steps in yesterday though. Think it was the first time in weeks! I am sure your totals are down with the broken toe. Sadness...

>58 LovingLit: Madame Bovary!! I am in, of course, for this month's Bowie's Top 100 Read ; ) Thanks for setting the thread up.

>59 Crazymamie: Here!! : )

>60 Donna828: Donna--Well, I hope you will chime in and share your insights on Madame Bovary! And I thoroughly enjoyed Flaubert's Parrot. It was memorable and intelligent and more on that later. I will write a review...I swear!! LOL Glad you like the photo and I do love how it captures youthful exuberance. I can still jump, but it is definitely lower than high school.

>61 vancouverdeb: Deb--Another reader of MB! Please do come visit the thread. And I am glad to hear it is a quickie because I need to boost my book numbers after last month's Olympically-challenged pitiful month of two. : )

>62 johnsimpson: Hi John and thank you for the hugs and well wishes. You are the best. Hugs from across the pond.

Headed out to dinner at the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant, for Jack's 16th birthday. Apparently, we have never taken any of the kids there and they are all totally excited! I'll let you know what we feast on...

Hi, Kim! Sorry you were ill, and glad you're on the mend.

Happy Birthday to Jack. 16 is an important one. Have a great dinner!

Happy birthday to Jack. I can't wait to hear about your dinner. I hope you are feeling better. And I'd love to see your comments on Flaubert's Parrot.

Happy Sunday, Kimmers. Happy Birthday to Jack.

Hope you have fully recovered.

Happy Birthday to Jack! And glad you are felling less of the crummy, but hoping that you get to feeling even better very soon. My steps are definitely down. *sad face*

Happy birthday to Jack! And glad that you are feeling better.

Hi Kim, I hope you'll feel recovered soon.

Checking in for the first time in awhile. I see, as usual, we are reading similar books. I liked The Golem and the Jinni (8/10 stars).

Loved A Man Called Ove though I can't remember what I rated it. It's one of those rare books that I wanted to start at the beginning and read all over again. It both broke and filled my heart.

I've currently got Unseemly Science from the library and should be reading it in the next couple of weeks.

I loved Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, liked Hollow City, but was only lukewarm about Library of Souls. I think it's was because the pictures weren't working for the story. They didn't seem to fit as well as they did for the first two books.

So the Fondue restaurant lost our reservation and they were booked until 10:00 at night. Not cool. And the other Fondu place was booked until 9:00. Sadness. So we went to a very German restaurant and they had fondue there, plus really amazing desserts!! That and we had the accordion man dressed in lederhosen come over and sing Happy Birthday to Jack. It was very cute and Jack was totally embarrassed. I loved it. We had crab and cheese fondue, with delicious green beans and carrots. And the best was Pretzel pieces dipped in the cheese! Jack had a complimentary apple strudel for dessert. It was a success. : )

Mmmm, fondue. Interactive eating.
Happy birthday Jack!

Sounds like a great meal!

>67 Berly: >75 Berly: I used to live in a city with a Melting Pot. I enjoyed going there with friends occasionally (for special occasions). I haven't set foot in one for years.

I know I'm weird, but fondue skeeves me out.

But I'm glad Jack's birthday celebration worked out well in the end! And a little public embarrassment is never a bad thing - toughens 'em up! My husband still hasn't forgiven me for the surprise birthday lunch at Babe's Chicken House, where they make you wear a beak and do the Chicken Dance on your birthday. Heh.

"I know I'm weird, but fondue skeeves me out." Ha!! Me, too - I wasn't going to say anything because I thought it was just me.

Kim, so happy that you got to eat and that it was good. The "accordion man dressed in lederhosen" will be a fun memory!! You just don't see that much anymore. Or ever.

I love the birthday embarrassment. I remember once we took my daughter to Red Lobster, and she sobbed the whole time they sang happy birthday (She was shy.) - a miscalculation on my part.

As much as I love cheese, you'd think I'd have tried fondue by now, but I haven't.

MrMorphy still hasn't forgiven me for the 3' card and bunch of balloons I brought to the bowling alley for his 30th birthday decades ago during his work's weekly bowling league. :D

ETA: Wait. 3" is 3 inches or 3 feet? I meant 3 feet.

Yikes, I think I'm a thread behind. Lost you there for awhile but now I've found you again.

I didn't get much reading done in August due to the Olympics, particularly during the swimming week. I did finally finish the ultra long Lonesome Dove which had been at the top of my TBR pile for forever.

My niece is now in the middle of HS swim season. Last year, due to injury, she became her HS team's breaststroke specialist. She hasn't declined but the injured girl is back and a new freshman was a state champ, or close to, in the 13/14 age group in that event.

Anyway, her role this year could well be different, as their free distance specialist graduated. In the first three duals of the season, she's been doing a lot of 200 and 500 free races, as well as both free relays. She's been doing OK but a junior who was on JV her first two years has come out of nowhere and is swimming unbelievably well in the distance events. Interestingly, that girl, a neighbor, is the one who now drives my niece to swimming practice so it's good that they're competitive but not outside the pool.

Morphy: " is inches, ' is feet. The way you remember it is the word INCHES has 2 syllables, so it has 2 marks, and FEET has 1 syllable, so it has 1 mark. If the card was was 3 feet, it was 3'

>84 Ape: Thanks! Corrected.

>84 Ape: Hey, that's a good way to remember that. I always get that mixed up, too.

Okay so I'm probably not going to get there for one of the Lit nights but P and I are discussing a weekend in Portland. Will keep you posted.

Meanwhile ----

"...we had the accordion man dressed in lederhosen come over and sing Happy Birthday to Jack."
It's amazing that young man will speak to you. :-)

How is Madame Bovary coming along? It seems like a perfect follow up to Flaubert's Parrot, yes?

Berly.....hello?
Just dropping in to say that I started Madame Bovary last night. I am keen to read this one to completion and think I might actually manage that this month, even though it's long and I have lots to do :)

Morning, Kim!

Hi Kim, catching up here from a long way behind. I had so many things to say, but now I've made it to the end of the thread, I can't remember them.

What a wonderfully exuberant thread topper! (And you learn something every day - I hadn't realised that Oregon has a coast.)

Happy birthday to Jack!

>38 EBT1002: Apparently, I'm not anybody ;0)

Um....did I see you encouraging Stephen to visit you more often? Bit dangerous, isn't it?
>84 Ape: Oh, but then, he does have some useful information. Good tip - though I'm metricated. Mostly.

>90 humouress: Well, I'm not anybody, either, Nina, so we can stand in solidarity in this regard. :-)

Hi Kim, hope you had a good weekend my dear and are having a good week so far. I am getting around the threads now after our trip down to Oxford. Sending love and hugs to you and the family.

>91 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen.

We do have a macaw next door I could share with you. He certainly shares his opinions over the fence :0)

Hi Guys. Going through a bit of a rough patch. Allergic reactions and intestinal stuff. Yesterday my insides got all twisted up and only liquid was making it through. A hydrocodone day for sure. Today is a liquid Ensure day to give everything a rest. So sore!

On the reading front, I am reading Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West and Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben.

Oh dang, Kim. I hope you're feeling better soon!

Finished Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West. It was an interesting look at the White House from inside. Told from the Chief Usher's* point of view, this book chronicles family life within the White House from 1941 to 1969 and how each First Lady handled their busy lives, both public and private. I have decided that these are two jobs I never want to hold--First Lady or Chief Usher-- but I thought it was fascinating!

* Yes, that is an official title which also means executive director of the executive mansion and grounds. Chief Usher, JB West, supervised the large permanent staff that provided for every personal want and need for six President's and first ladies, including state dinners, weddings, funerals, school rooms and playgrounds and redecorating for each new family presiding at the White House.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

There are tons of reviews on this book, so let me just say that this is a wonderful story juxtaposing the lives of two orphans, 17-year-old Molly and elderly Vivian, and how each gains something from meeting the other. It is a compelling historical exploration of the Orphan Trains which used to run children from the East Coast out to the midwest to find them new parents and homes. Needless to say, not all pairings were ideal. A good read!

>95 scaifea: Thanks Amber. In bed for the third day in a row, but ate my first solid food for lunch today. I am hoping all goes well!!

Happy Sunday, Kimmers. Boo to allergic reactions and intestinal issues. Hope you are feeling better, my friend.

I also enjoyed Orphan Train.

Hope you feel better soon!!

Oh dear, still not feeling well? I hope you feel better soon! I enjoyed The Orphan Train too.

>96 Berly: Is this more a real insider's look of what happens back stage or rather a history of the White House?

>99 msf59: So far so good on the eating front. Yay! Sticking to easy to digest carbs.

>100 lindapanzo: No hydrocodone this afternoon, so things are looking up. Just incredibly sore from all the involuntary muscle cramping as my body tried to clear the blockage.

>101 vancouverdeb: I had two separate bouts that lasted about 4 hours each, so I can't even guess how many situps that might correlate to--let's just say I overdid it, shall we?! ; )

>102 Morphidae: Upstairs at the White House is told from an insider's point of view. Of course there are references to past Presidents and to the building and construction of the White House, but the book focuses on the natures of the first ladies and the changes that each administration brought to the house. I had no idea about the workers, the budgets, the shifting styles of entertaining, the changes in room purposes and decorations and the challenges of working with such very different, dynamic women. I really did enjoy this one!

Hoping you feel better soon!

More good health wishes from me too. I also enjoyed The Orphan Train - just one of those books that made me wonder how some people survived such hard times.

Kim, so sorry to hear that you have been dealing with allergic reactions and intestinal stuff - no fun. Hoping that you feel much better very soon, my friend. Take care of you.

>105 charl08: >106 Crazymamie: Thank you for the get well wishes--I'll take them! The good news is that, although I do not feel even close to 100%, I am feeling better today and well enough to take advantage of my day off work and visit some LT friends!! Yay!! Lately I have not had either time or energy to do much of that so I plan to enjoy my sick day today, : )

>103 Berly: Okay, book bullet it is!

>108 Morphidae: Yes!! Upstairs at the White House is a hit!

Checking in to answer your question on my thread. Craig Johnson will be at the Powell's Cedar Hills store tonight at 7pm.

>110 SuziQoregon: Ha! Just checked on your thread about this. I am not sure I am up to it, but maybe if I nap a lot today.... A girl can try. : )

"In bed for the third day in a row..." NOT good. I hope you feel better SOON!!!!!

I seem to be fighting some kind of GI thing this morning my own self.... if it doesn't improve, I'll be going home early. :-P

Sorry, Ellen. I hope your troubles mend themselves quickly and let's just be clear...you didn't get it from me!! LOL Good luck.

Hi Kim - I have my fingers crossed; I hope you're on the mend.

I'm another fan of Orphan Train; we read it for my book club, and one of the member's aunt was an orphan. She was basically adopted into the family and had a great experience.

I'm going to use it in a class this fall; I wonder how the students will like it.

Hi Kim, glad you are feeling well enough to get on here and trawl the threads my dear. I must say that you have been missed by everyone on here and I have missed our banter. Make sure you look after yourself and that the family are taking care of you. I seem to be on a roll at the moment on the reading front and have a plan for my October bedside reads, I am going to read the Narnia series so that will boost my total.

Take great care of yourself dear friend and I am sending special love and hugs to help your recovery.

>114 BLBera: Beth--Thanks for the crossed fingers. Recovery is slow going, but I can deal with that, as long as the trajectory is going the right way. What bums me out is that I missed out on my RL Bookclub Friday and my TKD referee training on Saturday. They only do the training once a year and I have taken it before, but they won't bump me up a level now. And of course I missed a fabulous discussion of Americanah, not to mention the nibbles and wine. >: (

I am glad the aunt had a good Adoption Train experience; it sounded like a fair number of kids had dubious placements. I think this would be a good book for class, because of the two different generations. I will await their verdict!!

>115 johnsimpson: John--Thanks for missing me. I always miss LT (and you!) when I can't be here. I love your nighttime reading plan of Narnia and I am sure that will further boost your numbers, not that you seem to be needing any help in that department. I am just happy that I am still on track for 75!

Happy Dance--I got books!

The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan (Thank you,Mark)
I Am No One by Patrick Flanery (Thank you, LT Early Reviewers)
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer (Thank you, Hubby, Powell's Indispensable Readers Collection)
Universal Harvester by John Darnielle (Thank you, Hubby, Powell's Indispensable Readers Collection)

This last one came in a plastic video box and it is a creepy story, perfect for an October read. A video store has customers returning videos saying there is something wrong with them--there's another movie in the middle of the tape, shot in a barn with only the sounds of breathing in the background. Hmmm....

I am also reading Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen for my second RL bookclub. Poe is creepy, so another good read for October!!

>117 Berly: Nice little book haul, Kimmers. I also have a copy of I am No One, from ER. NEED to get to that one. I have the Foer book saved on audio.

Congrats on the Darnielle. I read his last one and it was quite the mind-blower. Curious to see what he does next.

>116 Berly:, Hi Kim, thanks for missing me, I do miss you my dear as I enjoy our little posts, it would be so nice to be able to have a LT meet up as well as being able to meet up with other friends in the States. Oh well I will just have to keep hoping for a decent lottery win then Karen and I can do a lengthy tour of the US meeting everyone.

Hope you are having a good week my dear and looking after yourself, hope the family are all ok as well. Sending love and hugs.

>35 Berly: What an amazing opportunity.
>107 Berly: I hope you are feeling better my friend.

Hooray for a nice book haul!

Are you thinking of going to Wordstock this year? I am trying to decide.

>118 msf59: Mark, that is a lot of books we have in common. I always knew you had good taste!

>119 johnsimpson: John, I am crossing my fingers for the lottery and the US tour. Say hi! to Karen for me.

>120 Whisper1: Linda, so nice to see you here! I know you are busy now that you are back at work full-time. You seem to be handling things pretty well. Not too exhausted?

>121 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. I am actually going to Wordstock AND volunteering this year. Don't have my exact assignment yet, but pulling a four hour shift. Once I know when I am free, maybe we can meet up. : )

Hi, Kim! I hope that you're feeling better.

>123 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. I am going in to work today...we'll see how long I last!! Also taking Sarah in to talk to Disability Services to see what kinds of cool things they have for students with dyslexia. More on that later...

Hope you are settling back into RL after all your amazing travels!

Hi, Kim. Hope the work day goes okay, and you feel better.

Yet another fan of Orphan Train here. My wife convinced me to try it, and I'm glad she did.

>125 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. I am going to try and pace myself. I'd say wish me luck, but you already did!

I hope your day went OK yesterday, and you are continuing to feel better, Kim!

Nice book haul!

>127 tymfos: Thanks. I made it 'till 2:00, came home and took a nap, picked up son and went to the grocery store, made dinner and then crashed!!!

Glad to make a first visit to your spankin' new thread, Kim. I like to keep on top of things.

Hmmmm...

I'm catching up here too. I hope you're feeling better, it sounds like you've been hit pretty hard.
And I've never heard of Wordstock.

>129 weird_O: You mean better late than never?! LOL Glad to see you, as always. : )

>130 mstrust: Doesn't it feel good to be all caught up? But it is so darn fleeting...
I am slowly gaining ground. It has been a really rough spell, but I am not defeated!! Just way behind on getting ready for my TKD test. Oops.

Now, as to Wordstock....

http://www.literary-arts.org/what-we-do/wordstock/2016-festival/

Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival will be held at the Portland Art Museum and at venues in the surrounding South Park Blocks area on Saturday, November 5, 2016.

The festival will include author discussions and activities for readers of all ages, an extensive book fair, pop-up readings and concerts, a beverage garden, and local food trucks.

This year, the festival expands to six new venues in the South Park Blocks, including The Old Church, Oregon Historical Society, Northwest Film Center, and three of the stages of Portland’5: the Brunish Theatre, the Winningstad Theatre, and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. We will also return to the Portland Art Museum and the First Congregational United Church of Christ. The new partner venues and stages more than DOUBLE the seated capacity for the festival. Other updates to the festival include an expanded book fair and more programming and activities for children and youth.

And for anybody interested in the monthly Bowie read, Megan (IreadthereforeIam) and I have chosen Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter, appropriate for the weirdness of October and Halloween. It is also on the "1001 books you must read before you die" list, so how can you go wrong?

Come join us!!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/233811

Hi Kim, hope you are having a good day my dear and all is well with you and the family. Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Wordstock sounds fun - will you feel like going to some of the events? I hope you continue to feel better.

>132 Berly: Thanks for the info. I so wish I lived in a more literary city that had stuff like that, but then in February we have the massive charity book sale.
Have a great time working the event!

>97 Berly: I have that book, I think I even read the first page a while ago and then went on to another BB. I must get on to that one, by the sounds....

I ordered the latest Bowie read n Book Depo, had to.

>133 Berly: Sorry I skip the next Bowie read, Kim, I don't own it and the library has no copy either :-(

I hope you finally feel better, Kimmers.

Hope you have fun at the book festival. The Twin Cities book festival is on October 15th, which is a day I work. :(

Hmmm, November is a busy month for me but Wordstock is tempting. Is it such a big event that getting a hotel might be difficult?

I hope you're feeling better, m'dear.

*waving hello*

>135 BLBera: I certainly hope I will get to some of the events!! I have to find out my assignment first and then scope out which lectures I want to attend.

>136 mstrust: "Massive charity book sale" sounds awesome!! ; )

>137 LovingLit: I still have to go get my Bowie book, Nights at the Circus. I am looking forward to it!!

>138 FAMeulstee: Well bummer! You can still lurk on the thread and see if it is something you might like later.

>139 DianaNL: Thanks! I am feeling better, but still only at about 75%. Seeing the doctor today to see what's going on.

>140 The_Hibernator: I think you should take a very long lunch break that day so you can attend the MN book festival. Or maybe you'll be sick...?!

>141 EBT1002: I don't think it will be a problem getting a hotel room. If so, you could always stay in our guest room. Hint, hint.

>142 katiekrug: Hello!!

And you'll report back, right? Good luck at the doctor's.

Speaking of allergies, my son-in-law had a scare last week. He got stung by a bee, and his leg ballooned up to double its normal size. He went to the ER and got a shot. I imagine he'll need to carry an epi-pen from now on.

And the doctor said?

Wordstock sounds like a great event. I think if I won the lottery I would travel to see whales and book festivals!

What happened with Sarah at Disability Services?

Wordstock? Love the idea of it.........maybe one day.

Finally got caught up a bit Kimmers. Please forgive my recent absences as I have seemingly been travelling nonstop since the beginning of September.

Glad you went to the doctor. Hope you are on the way to feeling 100% good soon.

>134 johnsimpson: John! I missed you back there. Sorry. Hugs and happy Wednesday.

>144 BLBera: Dang! That is scary. Bees is one allergy I do not have, but it sounds like you SIL does. Yup, I am thinking Epi pen from now on.

>145 ronincats: Took a panel of tests. Waiting or the results...

>146 charl08: I am all for winning the lottery and I like your priorities! ; )

>147 Morphidae: They have such a great disability department! She has this awesome new pen that works with a special notebook. You tap the pen on these markers on the page and they turn on/off the recording function on the pen and then it coordinates the recordings with whatever notes you take on the page. Totally wild! I saw an early version, but it has come so far now. It's called Livescribe. They also showed her what she has to do to get audio books, extra testing time, a notetaker in class. etc. Very impressed.

>148 PaulCranswick: Paul!! Nice to see you here. I know you have been extremely busy, so no worries. We are buds. And I really do hope you make it to my neck of the woods someday, with or without Wordstock!!

>149 SuziQoregon: Thanks. I am working on it. : ) I am not "sick" per se. Just not operating at full strength. So, I am sure we can figure it out and tweak something to get me back to 100%. The only bummer is that the intestinal blockage I had...there's nothing I can really do to prevent it. I am already modifying my diet. And it may just be twisting unrelated to what I ate. Or stricture due to scar tissue. The latter might need surgery to alleviate, but man, luckily, I do not get it often. When it happens, it sucks. So painful.

I am off and running with my creepy, dark October reads. I just finished Mrs Poe and loved it. Yes, it involves the writer Poe and "The Raven." And I am halfway through A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore; poor Charlie has just been drafter to help Death collect souls. And my Halloween decorations are up!! One of my favorite holidays.

Hi, Kimmers! Hope you are doing well. I have wanted to read Mrs. Poe for awhile now. You might give me the right nudge...

And hooray for book festivals.

>150 Berly: Wow. That's fabulous!

Howdy Kimmers ;)
Just floating by to check in.
Awaiting the arrival of my Bowie book by post *excited*

>150 Berly: Oh, I will make it one fine day, Kimmers. Too right we are Buds!

Have a wonderful weekend, even with your creepy reads. Kyran my one and only son would pick Edgar Allan Poe as his favourite writer without hesitation and he is always bugging me about how wonderful, The Raven is.

My suggestion for a great October/Hlloween wine. And very appropriate after reading Mrs Poe and the Raven. LOL. Corvina vineyards.

>143 Berly: It would be a delight to be "sick" on the day of the book festival - unfortunately it's my first Saturday of my new job, and I think that would appear rather suspicious. :)

Sarah has a "smart pen." So cool. Our disability services office gives them out a lot -- and they're trying to figure out a way to make them even more broadly available. I'm glad Sarah got one.

Hoping for "good" (helpful) test results....

I'm about to launch into the busiest and wildest October-November combo I've perhaps ever experienced, so I think Wordstock is out of the question. I've told P that I will reintroduce myself to her around Christmas.

BUT, we are still talking about a weekend in Portland in the winter or spring. So, we'll see.

In the meantime, enjoy your creepy October reads and know that I'm hoping for good health news for you. xo

Hi Kim! Way behind, as usual. And sorry to see you've had more than your share of medical stuff to deal with these past few months. I do hope the rest of the year is easy on you.

Jim and I are going up to the Boston Book Fair this coming weekend, meeting Marianne (Michigantrumpet) and Caro as well. Not sure if Suzanne is making the pilgrimage this year. Will report back!

Hi Kim, sorry to read that you had such a rough month. I hope you feel much better now. I was absent several weeks from LT but try to do better in the future.
I wish you a wonderful week.

Kimmers, missing your vitality around the threads this month. Hope you are not too rushed off your feet and will find time for your army of admirers soon. xx

Hi Kim, missing your lovely comments on here my dear, hope you have had a good weekend and send love and hugs.

Hi Kim,
My Bowie book arrived today, finally! I'm already reading a few, but will book horn this one in- stat! Time is a-running out!

>157 The_Hibernator: Good point. I think you have to show up on your first day of work.

>158 EBT1002: The only problem with the smart pen is it doesn't seem to be charging very well. Might have to get a new one from the office...

Sorry you are so busy, but I can totally emphasize. I am still not up to snuff, work is crazy and so is life in general. Phew! I would love to see you whenever you and P can break away. Just keep me in the loop. I hope P remembers who you are at Christmas! LOL

>159 DianaNL: Thanks and much appreciated!! : )

>160 ffortsa: Totally jealous of your impending meetup--post pictures!!!

>161 Ameise1: So nice to see you and your lovely photos here again!! Missed you.

>162 PaulCranswick: You are too kind! My "army of admirers." LOL. I have missed you all horribly and wish that RL wasn't getting in the way. I will visit when I can. Hugs!

>163 johnsimpson: Hello there! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Thanks for keeping my thread going. I will pop in as I can, but my time right now is already up!

>164 LovingLit: I still don't have my Bowie book. I have to go see if Powell's has it because my library and local bookstore are a no go. Sigh...

I hope you're feeling better. Any trips to Minn. soon?

Hi Kimmers! Nice to see you check in. I have missed your face. I hope you feel better, my friend.

Hi Kim! wishing you a good week.

Hi Beth, Mark and Rhonda!! No energy and allergy sensitive, but otherwise OK. : )

I have my TKD belt test in one month, so I hope this improves soon. I did manage to compete in a friendly tournament this past weekend. It only took a minute to perform, so it wasn't too tasking. ; ) Three of us competed in the team forms. We did Yuk Jang and won gold! I spent the rest of the day as a referee in the board breaking and sparring. It was a totally fun day.

>169 Berly: Way to go, Kim! Impressive TKD outing. That's a fun photo. You're smart to keep fit for optimal reading, too. :-)

Hi Joe! Yes, keeping fit is very important for book readers. How else are we going to lift the many tomes and reorganize our shelves?

A lot of my free time has been spent with my middle daughter. She is taking three college course and has severe dyslexia, so I have been doing some of the reading with her. The reading class has been using some great short articles out of Lapham's Quarterly for discussion: Thoreau, Plato, Nietzsche and Wells among others. I am thoroughly enjoying it! Her writing class has her composing a work of fiction and she has to include 10 vocab words--she is working it into a dream sequence, which is pretty cool.

Great picture, Kim! Great idea to keep fit to read! I suspect we readers would just as well read a book than exercise, for the most part. But we do need to try to exercise our bodies too. Joe has the idea! :)

>172 Berly: Reading along with your middle daughter sounds great. I've not read any of the writers you mention (beyond extracts). I must have a good look at the online courses again :-)

Hello, Kim! Love the look of that wine up in >156 Berly:. That pen your daughter has sounds so awesome, and so does her mother. So great you can share the reading with her. And congrats on the TKD gold - WHOOT! Hoping you are feeling much better and that you have much more energy very soon, my friend. Keeping you in my thoughts.

>173 vancouverdeb: Morning Deb! Yes, it is true. My eyes are in great shape and can flick back and forth over words with amazing speed! But my pushups and sit-ups are a little lacking. LOL I would much rather read than work out, but I do feel better if I keep the body in shape, too. : )

>174 charl08: Hi Charlotte! Well, I am enjoying her reading class selections WAY more than her book Homeland Security: The Essentials!! It's Presidential Directive this and PD that. And I am not a big history buff. Still, it is kinda interesting to see the machinations of government at work.

>175 Crazymamie: Hi Crazy! I got some test results back and I am low on Vitamin D, B and iron, all of which can contribute to fatigue. They are also sending me in for a sleep study. So I am off to the store today to get some supplements. I have to get the B in injection form since that is mostly absorbed through the large intestine, which I no longer have. I just love shots--NOT! Especially ones that have to go in the buttocks. LOL. But, heh, if it helps I am in!!

I wish I had thought of this when my kids were young...best Halloween costume ever!!

>177 Berly: LOVE that!

Bummer about the injection, but hoping that it works wonders for you. I take additional Vitamin D every day, and I do think it makes a difference.

>178 Crazymamie: I have high hopes!!

I hope the supplements work for you, Kim. I LOVE the costume. Scout is going to be a cat this year, but maybe I can start pushing that idea for next year...

Sweet Thursday, Kimmers. Hope the week is going well.

>180 BLBera: Thanks Beth! Isn't that a fun costume? It tickled me.

>181 msf59: Thursday was a great day, Mark. : ) Hope your week is going well, too.

Chiming in to say that I hope the supplements help, too! I, like Mamie, take an extra D every day, too, plus an extra B, since apparently the B helps the body absorb the D? So complicated...

Happy Friday, Kim!

I also take Vitamin D every day, owing to having osteoporosis , but I am not sure if they check for low amounts of Vitamin D and B here in Canada. I'll have to ask my doctor. Iknow someone who swore by her Vitamin B 12 shots for energy. Something to try for certain.

Supplements - Hani rattles when she walks cause she takes so many.
Me? Garlic pills, dandelion root, hawthorn and olive leaf extract as in combination they naturally safeguard blood pressure and clean some of the organs.

Have a lovely weekend, Kimmers, dear.

>172 Berly: There is some heavy stuff for that discussion. Reminds me at my grammar school time.

>176 Berly: Since I'm taking on a daily base vitamin D I feel much better. The iron pill I have to take once a week.

>177 Berly: Beautiful!

A few years ago I had some really weird (and scary) issues with forgetfulness, not just the standard variety, but forgetting what a conversation was about while having it, forgetting basic words, that sort of thing. The doctor said lack of vitamin D could cause some of those problems and so I started taking a supplement. It seemed to clear things up.

Interesting that you're going in for a sleep study - those seem intimidating to me, although I can fall asleep just about anywhere so doubt I'd ever need one!

>177 Berly: OMG that diction-fairy is amazing!! I will have to save that photo for when Chloe is old enough! She has turned into a nice little book nerd like her mommy :)

I have a sleep study coming up as well.... I hear they are easier these days, and I get to do it at home. Also, low D--I hear pretty much everyone in our part of the world has this. I hope the vitamins help.

>183 scaifea: I know! All these supplements...and which one you have to take with that one, but not that one. LOL As long as they help!

>184 Crazymamie: Happy Tuesday, Crazy!

>185 vancouverdeb: Well, I have been a regular vitamin D user, but apparently I just wasn't taking nearly enough! So that's an easy fix. : )

>186 PaulCranswick: LOL. Tell Hani I am close behind her now in the rattle department. Do you take all those separately or do they come in a combo magic pill? I am not sure I could even find dandelion root...

>187 Ameise1: My daughter is thrilled! She took her first test using the audio reader for her Homeland Security class and she got an 87! It is not an A, but since this class is excruciatingly focused on historical dates and the exact number of Presidential Decisions, etc, none of which are her cuppa, she is pretty happy. Yay!

>188 ursula: Man, I hope the Vitamin D helps with my brain function...keeping all my forms for TKD straight is becoming challenging! I am up to 18 forms to remember, along with 28 one-step sparring and self-defense moved, and 15 nunchucks. That doesn't include any of the Demo Team stuff. ARGH!!!! ; )
This is also the time suck which has lately been taking me away from LT. I have less than a month until my belt test, so it is practice, practice!

>189 ChelleBearss: Congratulations on raising a book nerd!! Job well done, mom.

>190 banjo123: I am pretty convinced I sleep well, but since I am so tired, they just want to make sure nothing is wrong in that department. I can't ask my Hubby because he is already using one of those machines at night, so he can't even hear me over the noise of his to tell me whether or not I snore or am restless. My Fitbit pretty much says I crash within seconds and I am out for the count. We'll see. Good luck with your sleep test!

I have not been a complete book slacker. So far this month, I have read 6 books, and I will try to to do a quickie review of them this afternoon...!

Hope the tkd practice is going well - sounds like you have a lot of moves to remember.

I would also be intrigued to know about how I sleep - I seem to wake up to every which noise these days, but used to sleep like the dead! More to the point, hope the docs can fix the tiredness.

>191 Berly: Congrats on your daughter's success.

>189 ChelleBearss: I must be doing something wrong, my boys are not book nerds at all. Boo hoo. Ah well, they might develop into it in later life like I did. There is hope!

>192 Berly: 6 books! Not me, I have half read three, and completely read one aloud to W.

Sounds like your daughter got a hard-fought-and-won grade for her tough test! Go her!

Sweet Thursday, Kimmers! Reading some fine books. Loving my Cubbies! Enjoying my bird-watching. Life is good.

Hope your week is going well too.

Ninety-nine stories of God by Joy Williams 1.0

So, this author has been nominated for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. And this book left me cold. Each entry is anywhere from a sentence to two pages in length and I guess they are supposed to be pithy, intropsective, wise...but they fell completely short for me. Nada.

For example, #6: "You know that dream of Tolstoy's where he's in some sort of bed contraption suspended between the abyss below and the abyss above? You know that one? Well, I gave it to him, the Lord said. SEE THAT YOU REMEMBER"

What?! This one is not for me. Perhaps I am not smart enough...

>193 charl08: Hi Charlotte. I am not winning the tiredness battle...yet. Another ER room visit on Thursday for me. Everything looks good except an indicator for allergies. Which seems to be steadily climbing. Grrrr. Did I mention that there are leaks in our office again? Sigh. I think we may have to move offices. I spent yesterday in bed sleeping most of the day.

Today is a big day. TKD class, then off to training for my volunteer position at Wordstock for Literary Arts, watch the first state playoff game in HS soccer for my son's team (they are ranked #5) and then off to a friend's bday party. Hope I last!! LOL

>194 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! She also heard from her writing teacher that he is impressed, she is doing really well in his class and that she should retake the English level test (with her accommodations this time) and if she does better than when she took it in high school she can skip the next level of writing class. She is thrilled!

>195 LovingLit: Megan--I know, right? None of my kids are junkies like I am, but my biggest book fan is my one with dyslexia. She loves graphic novels and audio books. And will go to Powell's with me anytime, so I count that as a success! And my oldest seems to be reading more now that she is out of school. My youngest? Not even faintly interested. Although he did say that books was probably the best addiction you could have. : )

>196 msf59: Mark--Sorry about the Cubs last night, man. Don't let it ruin the weekend--they can still do it!!

>191 Berly: Different pills, Kimmers. Hani has some sort of gig with GNC and she gets me all the stuff.

Have a lovely weekend, you rattler, you!

>199 PaulCranswick: A gig with GNC--lol. That made me smile. Have a wonderful weekend yourself. : )

So, I wheezed my way through class, but I made it. Phew. Now I get to make breakfast for all the sleeping teenage boys who are still here...and they eat a lot!

Hey Kimmers - I hope you kick this soon! You don't have time to be tired. The God stories sound like something I can safely skip. Thanks for taking one for the team.

I fell behind here, but I just want to say that A Dirty Job was my introduction to Christopher Moore, thanks to multiple ladies here on LT recommending it, and I absolutely loved it, and sympathized with the main character's beta male nature. :)

>201 BLBera: Beth--You are telling me!! LOL. And I am happy to take one for the team, as long as I don't have to do it too often. ; )

>202 Ape: Stephano!! Nice to see you here. Thanks for popping in. I think I have loved every Christopher Moore I have ever read. And beta males are cute, too, ya know. : )

>203 Berly: I've really liked the two I've read, Lamb and Practical Demonkeeping. What should I try next?

Hey Kim, sorry your energy level is down. After reading about all that you do, I think I would have low energy, too! It is so cool that you are reading along with your daughter. I want one of those cool pens she has. I can't write fast enough to keep up with my brain! Take care, my friend.

Hi Kim! Bummer about the fatigue. The Vitamin D might really help -- it did for Banjo, jr. I did the sleep test, and it was pretty miserable to sleep with all the wires and stuff. Glad that parts over.... I don't get the results for about a month.

Are you still going to be at wordstock, and do you know your schedule? I have my ticket and it looks like lots of fun.

Love the Diction Fairy

>204 Morphidae: Morphy's back!!! Hi you! : ) I also really liked Fool: A Novel and Sacre Bleu: A Comedy D'Art by Christopher Moore. Have fun reading more by him.

>205 Donna828: Hi Donna. Thanks for saying hello. I guess I do a fair amount of things, but I an normally handle it and now it's just wearing me down. I should hopefully start to see some results soon since I have been on the vitamin supplements about a week now. Crossing my fingers!!

>206 banjo123: Rhonda--Oh goody! Now I can hardly wait to take the sleep test. Hope they figure out something for you. Honestly though...how hard can it be to sleep?? What's wrong with us? LOL

I am helping to set up Wordstock on Friday afternoon and then I will be at the Church venue on Saturday from 2-5 somewhere near the author signing area. Not sure if I can go in the morning. Jack's team won their first round in the state cup so they are playing Wednesday and then if they win that one they will probably play sometime Saturday....I'll let you know....

>207 The_Hibernator: Rachel-- : )

Did anyone have any great Halloween costumers stop by? At my last house we would get about 150 kids and sadly, at our current address, we get almost none.

Fool has been added to Mount TBR!

Sorry to hear you've been back in the ER.

Have fun at Wordstock.

Hi Kim, I am doing the rounds as I have been a bit neglectful of late. I am sorry to hear that your energy levels are still on the low side my dear but hopefully you are getting back to full strength. Hope all the family are well my dear and send love and hugs dear friend.

>209 Morphidae: YES!!! A direct hit. : )

>210 SuziQoregon: This week is going much better. ; ) And I plan to!! Are you going?

>211 johnsimpson: Hi John! Nice to see you around these parts. I have been a bit neglectful on the rounding myself. No hard feelings? I am slowly trying to make amends.

Morning, Kim! Delurking to say that I am thinking about you and sending you positive mojo. Hoping that your week is full of fabulous!

I hope you're feeling better!
And you'll have to tell us all about your Wordstock experience. I hope you have a lot of fun.
I got three times my number of trick or treaters as last year, but no really unusual costumes, unless you count the grown woman who wore regular clothes and just smeared some lipstick and eyeliner around her mouth to resemble blood. But I had some very cute little princesses.

Yes, Kim, we expect to hear about Wordstock! It sounds like fun.

Hi Kim, what are we thinking about October Bowie-wise? I have Darkness at Noon on the shelf...I may dip in.

>216 LovingLit: Great book Darkness at Noon - recommended but read it so I won't join you gals.

Have a great weekend, Kimmers

>217 PaulCranswick: Ooh I've not read that one. Sounds good! Hi Kim!

Happy Saturday, Kimmers! Miss seeing you around. I hope you are feeling better, my friend and your books are treating you well.

Happy weekend Kim!

>177 Berly: I love that!!!!

I hope Wordstock went well!

>197 Berly: Ugh. NOT for me.

I hope you are doing well.

Bad day here....Jack's HS Soccer team lost in the semifinals (they had to play the number one team and rotten refereeing didn't help) and it looks like a Trump win. Frowny Face.

>222 Berly: trump. I cannot believe it. I actually cannot believe people voted him in.
I guess a lot of people will be rethinking their decision to NOT vote HRC now!

Also, I cannot give his name a capital letter...he will form now on be referred to in lower case only. My personal protest...

>224 LovingLit: I'll join you in that, Megan.

I am stunned. And not happy. Protests here in Portland got ugly last night. I have cried several times. I can only hope that our system of government, with its sometimes annoyingly slow checks and balances will serve its purpose and reign in any rash decisions trump tries. I just hope he doesn't get to appoint too many justices to the Supreme Court and set back important decisions like Roe v. Wade.

Sorry to hear about the protests! Hopefully things will settled down soon or maybe we will all get lucky and Trump will back out!

Hi Kim! It was great to see you at Wordstock.

The election has me in knots... I don't think there is much hope for Roe vs Wade. We told Banjo, jr that if she was going to have an unintended pregnancy she should do it before January. (black humor, here)

>226 Berly:, Hi Kim, so sorry that this election result has made you cry several times my dear as it has several other LT ladies and hope that he doesn't cause trouble with what he says he is going to do. I am worried that he lulled thousands of folks to vote for him with his vitriolic rhetoric and now seems to be trying to lull the Democrat voters with his new conciliatory tone and then reverts to type come 21st January. His sidekick is just as bad and we are as worried as you are that if he does some of the things he has said we will suffer some aftershocks and also it seems that the far right of Marine Le Pen in France and Geert Wilders in the Netherlands seem to think they have a good chance in their elections in 2017.

Sending lots of love and hugs to you, your family and friends from both of us my dear.

Just stopping by to say thinking of you Kim (and all my American friends).

Hugs, Kim.

>226 Berly: (((hugs)))
You know, last night in the wee small hours when me and my lovely other were listening to radio broadcast covering the 7.5 mag earthquake that had shaken us out of bed, I really felt like between that and trump.....the world might actually be ending. Hearing this swarm of earthquakes reported from not only my area, but as far north as the top of the country, it felt like some kind of apocalyptic meltdown was happening. Now, in the cold hard light of day I can see things more clearly, but boy- it felt like all was wrong in the world at 2am.

Hugs you guys!!! I think it is time for a new thread and a fresh start.

>232 LovingLit: Megan-- A 7.5 earthquake!!! Yikes! Glad you are OK.