The Hibernator Snuggles Down for the Winter

Hi, my name's Rachel (the_hibernator), and I got my PhD in biomedical engineering studying hibernating bears. :) Right now, I'm working in the medical industry. I'm passionate about reducing stigma about mental illness. I have bipolar disorder and talk about it a lot because I think more people need to know that mental illness is something that you don't have to be ashamed of.

If you want to follow me on other media:

Twitter: @hibernatorslibr
Litsy: @the_hibernator
blog: http://hibernatorslibrary.blogspot.com

Top 5 of 2015:



Books Read in 2016

1. Curio, by Evangeline Denmark
2. Something Rotten, by Jasper Fforde
3. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Jung Chang
4. Rolling Stones, Robert A. Heinlein
5. The Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland boys, and the Dawn of a New America, by Gilbert King
6. The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells
7. Little House in the Big Woods, by H. G. Wells
8. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford
9. Burning Midnight, by Will McIntosh
10. The Little Book of Circle Processes, by Kay Pranis
11. War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells
12. The Nine Lives of Jacob Tibbs, by Cylin Busby
13. Among Murderers, by Sabine Heinlein
14. You Were Here, by Cori McCarthy
15. The Aeronaut's Windlass, by Jim Butcher
16. Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf
17. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
18. The Reivers, by William Faulkner
19. A Passage to India, by E. M. Forster
20. The Serpent King, by Jeff Zentner
21. A Midsummer Night #nofilter, by Brett Wright
22. Moon Over Soho, by Ben Aaronovich
23. The Last Week, by Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan
24. Red: The True Story of Red Riding Hood, by Liesl Shurtliff
25. Shadow Magic, by Joshua Kahn
26. Persuasion, by Jane Austen
27. Unfair, by Adam Benforado
28. Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic, by David J. Schwartz
29. Holding Smoke, by Elle Cosimano
30. Death Weavers, by Brandon Mull
31. The Corinthian, by Georgette Heyer
32. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
33. Silver Linings Playbook, by Matthew Quick
34. Just Mercy, by Brian Stevenson
35. Grave Peril, by Jim Butcher
36. Bullet Catcher's Daughter, by Rod Duncan
37. The Screaming Staircase, by Jonathan Stroud
38. Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
39. The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, by Nancy Farmer
40. Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers, by Robert Sapolsky
41. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
42. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling
43. The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing
44. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 3, by Kanata Konami
45. Stiletto, by Daniel O'Malley
46. Death Note Volume 10, by Tsugumi Ohba
47. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 4, by Kanata Konami
48. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 5, by Kanata Konami
49. Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward
50. Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips
51. Death Note Volume 11, by Tsugumi Ohba
52. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 6, by Kanata Konami
53. Death Note Volume 12, by Tsugumi Ohba
54. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 7, by Kanata Konami
55. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 8, by Kanata Konami
56. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 9, by Kanata Konami
57. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 10, by Kanata Konami
58. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 11, by Kanata Konami
59. Chi's Sweet Home Volume 12, by Kanata Konami
60. Bone: Volume 2 The Great Cow Race, by Jeff Smith
61: Bone: Volume 3 Eyes of the Storm, by Jeff Smith
62: Dino Bites, by Algy Craig Hall
63: Bone: Volume 4, by Jeff Smith
64. A Confusion of Princes, by Garth Nix
65. Economist: The Trump Era
66. Stress and Your Body, by Robert Sapolsky
67. The Price of Silence, by Liza Long

Wide open for posts! I guess I should have waited until people commented on my review for Fifth Child before setting up this thread, but I really wanted a fresh start for the last few months of the year.

ETA: Why Moby Dick for the Fifth Child touchstone?

Happy new thread, Rachel! I may be renewing mine soon too. :-)

Hi there, Rachel!

The touchstone system has been an absolute mess for awhile now, which is why you get weird things like that all the time. It does seem to have gotten a little bit better recently though, so maybe they are close to fixing it?

Happy new thread, Rachel!

Nice to see your threads zinging along this year Rachel. Happy new one my dear.

Happy New Thread, Rachel!

Happy new thread!

Congrats on your shiny new thread, Rachel. Lovely topper.

Happy new thread!

>3 The_Hibernator: I get 1984 for We which is at least understandable as they are both dystopias but Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for Publishing Romance?

ETA: One book bullet for The Fifth Child

Supercute topper picture Rachel. I have been sucked into Litsy, but feeling a bit disloyal to LT. Once I work out how to picture the posts on my phone I'll feel less torn I think.

The litfluence feature makes me laugh - tables like that bring out the competitive bit in me. I'm fighting it though. And oh man, the wishlist...

Don't get me started on the touchstones The Gene comes up as Pride and Prejudice. What?!

>4 brodiew2: Thanks Brodie! It's refreshing to have a new thread. Especially when I have so many big pictures in the last one.

>5 Ape: Let's hope so. I keep forgetting to check what they've tagged for me. I have too much faith.

>6 cbl_tn: Thanks Carrie!

>7 PaulCranswick: And Paul!

>8 ronincats: And Ronnie!

>9 banjo123: And Rhonda!

>10 Ameise1: And Barbara!

>11 drneutron: And Jim!

>12 Morphidae: Yeah, it's pretty crazy right now. I hope you enjoy Fifth Child! There seem to be some people who dislike it and others who really like it.

>13 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! I don't feel disloyal to LT because it's a pretty different forum. I don't see how you can get the supportiveness that you get here (though I've seen comments saying it's a very supportive community), but I enjoy the way conversations revolve around particular books and so they're more compartmentalized. Also, it's nice to have nice short reviews to glance through. And I love all the pictures.

I'm sure you'll get more litfluence when you figure out the pictures. What kind of phone do you have? Mostly I just take pictures onto my camera roll to put in, but sometimes I do a screenshot or save something off the internet (i.e. depositphotos or my blog. But all the pictures come out of the camera roll in the end, you just gotta learn how to get them in there.

Thanks for the heads up about Litsy! I've joined and started posting stuff, I'm off to friend you there right... about... now. :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Rachel. Hoping your weekend is full of fabulous!

Ooh, I had never heard of Litsy, but I can always use another book site. Especially one that has a place for extended conversations about individual books?

...but wait, is it a website or only an app?

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, Rachel.

>15 ursula: Hi Ursula. Good to see you on Litsy. Isn't it fun?

>16 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi!

>17 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie!

>18 _Zoe_: Yeah, Zoe, it's just an app, but it's a fun app. And the conversations aren't really extended, that makes them sound long. Sometimes they are, and but most of the time they're about 6-7 interactions for a real conversation. But the app makes it easy to scroll down and comment on other people's conversations about the same book. I think it's fun, anyway.

>19 Ameise1: Thanks Barbara!

Happy Sunday, Rachel! Happy New Thread! Fifth Child is now firmly on the list.

>20 The_Hibernator: Hmm, I don't know if I can deal with typing *any* sort of conversation on my phone. But I tried to download the app anyway. And I had no room because I've taken an excessive number of photos lately, so I'll try again after I've cleared those out.

>21 msf59: Good, I hope you like it as much as I did Mark. I know there's a lot of mixed reviews about it. But it's a short, quick read!

>22 _Zoe_: Yeah, the conversations are limited to 2 or three sentences for each exchange, at most, because of the format. It's has a limit of the number of characters you can post. I don't know the number off the top of my head, but I think it's a few hundred.

Hero with Chi Three

This week was a lot of fun. I had three days off in the middle of the week, and got lots of reading done. I'm also stockpiling my TBR of graphic novels for Dewey's readathon (coming up on the 22nd). No, I don't plan on only reading graphic novels, but I know that if I sit reading for 24 hours straight my eyes are going to be blurring over at the end. Thus, easy reading choices.


Selfie with Supermoon

On Saturday I went to The Trail of Terror with my best friend and my boyfriend. We got to enjoy the supermoon. The supermoon is supposed to be at its best at moon-rise this (Sunday) evening, so check it out! The Trail of Terror was fun - it was a set of maybe five little fun/spook houses, a wooded walk (shortened because of flooding), and a heated "maze" all surrounding a karaoke bar. There were also spooktacular rides, games, food booths, and three bars.

I didn't really find anything scary, but there were a couple of times I felt thoroughly lost in the spook houses and maze when there were too many strobe lights or too little light. I have this weird thing where my vision starts flashing whenever there's not enough light, making it even harder for me to find my way in darkness. (Apparently I have an inner strobe light?) I had to just hang on to my boyfriend to guide me through those parts because they were very disorienting. But I guess that's the point.

Today I plan on carving pumpkins with my nephew and my best friend. I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share in my next update.

Books Completed

I finally finished Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which I hadn't been making very quick progress on despite loving it (again). I then sprinted through The Fifth Child, by Doris Lessing - I didn't expect that to be such quick reading. And because my eyes were getting blurry from all that reading, I settled down to read one of my graphic novel stack: Chi's Sweet Home Volume 3. Adorable!



Watched

I watched the first two Terminator movies with my boyfriend.



Currently Reading:

Hope everything is going swimmingly with you, Rachel. Have a lovely weekend.

Thanks Paul! You too!

Well, this was a busy week for me. It started out on Sunday with a pumpkin carving party with my friend and my 12-yo nephew. My nephew's pumpkin is on the left and mine is on the right. My pumpkin has already been devoured by squirrels on my front porch.

The work-week was good. I'm settling in to my new job well and am feeling more confident in the patient care aspect of it.

I tried out the Serial Reader app because I saw so many people on Litsy using it. It gives you a short (maybe 10 page) "issue" of a classic novel of your choice to read each day. Figured it would be a great way to bully through some of the longer books that I look at wistfully and never pick up. So far, it's been fun but a little difficult to stop reading at the end of the issue.

As many of you know, Saturday was Dewey's 24-hour readathon, where people all around the world join in to read as much as they can in 24 hours. I was hoping to read for the full 24 hours (with some breaks), but I got tired and fell asleep after 16. It's probably for the best. People with bipolar disorder, like myself, should be getting their full allotment of sleep lest they tip their mental health scale accidentally. So I'm happy today with the amount that I read - which was about twice as much as I would usually read on a lazy Saturday. I read:

2 Serial Reader Issues of North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell
2 hours of Stiletto, by Daniel O'Malley
3 hours of Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward
Death Note Vol 10, by Tsugumi Ohba
100 pages of In the Woods, by Tana French
50 pages of How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel

This week I watched The Addams Family and Home, both during the pumpkin carving party:



I finished listening to Stiletto, by Daniel O'Malley and Death Note Vol 10, by Tsugumi Ohba



I'm currently reading Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward with my Social Justice Book Club; Death Note, by Tsugumi Ohba; In the Woods, by Tana French; How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel; and North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell as my serial read.

What got you into Death Note? Was that a book club read? I can't remember. I do know I read the entire series and thought it was pretty good.

And YAY for finishing Stilletto!

Happy Quite New Thread, Rachel! OMG, what a cute thread topper! And Hero in >24 The_Hibernator:! :))))

I just downloaded Litsy, but I don't know yet how or if at all I'll use it as I quite hate typing on the smartphone. Maybe for the old iPad mini if there's any space left.

That trail of terror wouldn't be for me. When I rode the most harmless ghost trains as a kid I had my eyes closed and my hands over my ears all the time, I don't think I'm much better now. :)

>28 Morphidae: Hi Morphy, Death Note was one of our book club choices (my pick, actually). You're the only one that finished it. But I borrowed a bunch of graphic novels from the library when I was preparing for the readathon, picking series that I had already started and not finished. I figure since I have them out I might as well finish them.

>29 Deern: Thanks Nathalie! I think it's a pretty good photo myself. I'm not the one who took it, though. I'm not that good at catching them doing stuff like that. My sister is around them a lot more, though, so she's going to have more opportunity.

Yeah, I understand that Litsy isn't for everyone since typing on the phone isn't ideal. But I'm sure it'd work on your iPad as well.

My nephew refuses to go anywhere scary, too.

Congrats on the marathon reading, and glad to hear that the job is settling down.

Serial sounds like a great idea. I'm feeling guilty about Middlemarch and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - this could be the solution...

Good morning, Rachel! Now, I'm missing the Bible commentary. Is it coming back? I hope all is well with you.

Hi Rachel! Way to go with the reading marathon. :) Are you enjoying North and South? It's one of my most favorites. :)

>31 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! Middlemarch is definitely one of the books that's on my serial TBR list. And Vanity Fair, too. Nice long classics that I should read and never seem to be able to convince myself to pick up.

>32 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Yeah, I miss the Bible commentary too. You'll be getting a lot more of it next year when I'm reading the bible cover-to-cover. The commentaries up till now have been notes on How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel. At first there was a lot of stuff to write notes on, but his commentary on the law books is less delightful to me (mostly because I think stories are more interesting than laws), so I've not much to say. But I'm sure things will perk up again soon with this book, I hear it has some ups and downs. It IS 800 pages after all.

>33 nittnut: Hi Jenn! Yes, I'm enjoying North and South a lot. I'm having trouble not just watching the miniseries so I can find out what happens next. But somehow being kept in suspense is both aggravating and fun.

Well, I passed 50 books yesterday. Only 22 more books to read to get to 75. If I throw in a LOT of graphic novel action, that's certainly doable. :)

ETA: Nah. I don't think I could read that many graphic novels and still enjoy what I'm reading. I'm a fan of moderation.

>34 The_Hibernator: That makes total sense. :-)

Congrats on 50! Whoo hoo!

Enjoying is better than a number. 50's great! Anything else is gravy. :)

>36 brodiew2:, >37 Morphidae:, >38 drneutron: Thanks all!



I thought I'd share a picture of this relic I happened to find. Just in case you're strolling down the intersection of Dale and Lexington in Roseville one night, need a phone, don't have yours, happen to remember the number you're calling, and have a quarter with which to make that call.

This was a good week. I went to Sense and Sensibility with my mom and best friend - and we loved it. It was the Kate Hamill adaptation so Elinor was a bit more lively than I'm used to. But it was a fantastic production and I'm so glad I got to go. If I had the money, I'd do it again this week! But, alas!

Today I was planning on going to a corn maze with my boyfriend and nephew but it seems that plan is out (it's supposed to rain). So it'll be a lazy day for me.

This week I finished volumes 4-9 of Chi's Sweet Home by Kanata Konami, the last two volumes (11-12) of Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba, Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips, and Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward.



I temporarily set aside Kugel's How to Read the Bible in favor of The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, which I'm going to try to finish by the end of November (no bad feelings if I can't). Haidt's book is about the psychological and moral reasons behind the polarization of America. I'm also reading The Price of Silence by Liza Long, which is about the state of the mental health system in America, and Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, which is about the history and present of Autism. (I thought I'd had a nice variety for Nonfiction November, but upon typing this up all three are about psychology and social awareness. Sigh.) My real life book club choice is The Stand by Stephen King, and my serial read is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell.

>39 The_Hibernator: Only a quarter? The last time I looked at a phone booth (found one, I should say), I think it was 35 cents. But that was quite a while ago.

Lol. To be honest I didn't get out and check. Just figured it was a quarter. :)

Congrats on reaching 50 books, Rachel! I'll do the same as soon as I finish the book I'm reading now, if only I could manage to get through more than 10-15 pages per day...

Liking the Serial approach a lot (I'm at 1% :-) wish you could add your own books in to be serialised - would have been so handy as a postgrad.

Hi Rachel. I love the Stand and I have a feeling you will too. It is well written and has many great chacters, good and bad. :-)

>39 The_Hibernator: relic
How did we ever manage with such a primitive system?

I think the last payphone I saw was 50 cents!

I used a payphone at the airport about 5 years ago. I wonder if they still have them there; I'd imagine there are still some people who accidentally put their charger in their checked bag or just want to avoid excessive roaming fees when travelling internationally.

I can't remember the last pay phone I saw. I do remember searching for them, though, years ago when I was out and needed to make a call. I'm glad we are spoiled with our cell phones. I feel much safer and connected now. Congratulations on 50 books. You are a very busy person and 50 is a commendable number. As Jim said, the rest is gravy…

Have a great week, Rachel!

>42 Ape: Thanks Stephen! Hopefully you'll get to your 50 soon. :) I'm still half-way hoping to get to 75 with the help of graphic novels this year, but we'll see what happens.

>43 charl08: Hi Charlotte! Yeah, it would be nice to have some other books serialized as well! But I'll take what I can get. Glad you're enjoying the serial app. I think it's really useful myself. Hopefully you make it through Middlemarch!

>44 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! I have high hopes for The Stand, I loved the miniseries when I was a teen, but I never read the book because the sexual content and language put me off. I'm a little better able to handle that stuff now. :)

>45 qebo: My cousin said that he used to not have a phone at all. He just had a pager and used the payphone outside his home!

>46 _Zoe_: I don't know how much this one cost, or even if it worked. I just remember them costing a quarter. lol. I'm sure they're still at airports, though I haven't seen them in a while.

>47 Donna828: Thanks Donna! I'm glad I got to 50, that's a big milestone. Somehow it feels I should make it to 75 since I'm in the 75ers, though I know that's not a requirement. We'll see how I do, but I'm not going to force it.

The first prompt in Nonfiction November is to relay my year in nonfiction. Well, there it is, above. Those are all the nonfiction books I completed since last Nonfiction November. Of those, my top 3, in no particular order are: Half the Sky, by Sheryl DuWunn; Men We Reaped, by Jesmyn Ward; and Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

Half the Sky is about the world-wide struggles of women for equality. We learn about human trafficking, poor healthcare during childbirth, and inequality in education. The authors educate us on what we can do to help the situation and why such help is needed.

Men We Reaped is a memoir about several black men in Jesmyn Ward's life (including her brother) who died too young. It describes the difficulties of living as a minority in a lower socioeconomic class and how these difficulties can lead to premature death and destruction of families.

Wild Swans is a biography / memoir about three generations of women in Jung Chang's family and how they survived the war and uprising of Communism in China.

Interestingly, all three of my favorite books are on social awareness topics. I'm learning something about myself as I type this. :) The two topics that I wish I had read more of last year are politics and medicine.

What are your favorite nonfiction books of last year?

>49 The_Hibernator: A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Our Kids by Robert Putnam, and Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Team of Rivals is the book that Spielberg's Lincoln is based on. Our Kids is an excellent look at how less likely kids that are born in lower social economic situations are to rise to the middle class. Red Notice is about modern Russia under the Putin regime and how the Russian state has basically become a criminal organization.

I have to get back to you on that question. My goal for the next two weeks is to get my books recorded/entered for 2015 and 2016. I have them written down but they are in different places and not where they "should" be.

>50 Oberon: Hi Erik! I have Team of Rivals on my shelf and really should read it. Thanks for the recommendation. I haven't heard of the other two books. I'll look in to them.

>51 Morphidae: Hi Morphy, I've not been keeping up my spreadsheet very well this year, but luckily I've been keeping pretty good track of the books on the tops of my threads. Thus, I can put them in later.

Stiletto is the sequel to the fantastic book The Rook, by Daniel O'Malley, and the review contains spoilers for the first book. In Stiletto, Myfanwy Thomas' truce with their enemies the Grafters is beginning to solidify, but the anger and fear on both sides is difficult to dispel. However, they soon realize they have a mutual enemy to fight.

Instead of focusing on Myfanwy Thomas, as The Rook does, Stiletto jumps between several main characters. In fact, Myfanwy is rather a minor character in this second book. Despite my interest in the other characters, I was missing Myfanwy's unique perspective on things. Instead of explaining the Checquy through the eyes of an amnesiac learning the ropes, this book went off on rather dull divergences about the history of the Checquy and the Grafters. This made the book rather longer than it ought to have been. That's added to minor subplots and incidents which could easily have been left out of the book. I don't mean to say that I didn't enjoy Stiletto, only that I enjoyed it a lot less than The Rook, and feel that it would have been a better novel if shorter.

Hi Rachel. >1 The_Hibernator: That opening picture is adorable! And congrats on reading 50 books!

From your last thread, sorry to hear you're volunteering at the text crisis centre ended in that way :-(

>54 souloftherose: Thanks Heather! Yeah, it sucks that my volunteer opportunity ended that way. I still volunteer for the MN Department of Corrections, though, so it's all good. There are lots of places that I can give my time. And, really, it's easier to only have one volunteer gig going on at a time - I was getting exhausted.

First of all, I will have difficulty in this review expressing how good this book is. It is a memoir about the deaths of several young black men that grew up in a lower socioeconomic class. It shows the difficulties of navigating in a world which most of the readers are unfamiliar with. In Men We Reaped, Ward elicits grief and frustration in the readers which makes it a very difficult book to read. I teared up a few times. Definitely a must read for anyone interested in social issues or emotional memoirs.



This is a final discussion post for the Social Justice Bookclub hosted by Kerry at Entomology of a Bookworm.

1) Men We Reaped is described as a memoir. While it draws on Ward's personal experiences, it also explores themes much larger than one woman's life. Do you agree with this genre classification?

I would call this book part memoir part social awareness genre. In fact, I think taking away the title of "memoir" would subtract from the power of the book. The genre "memoir" suggests that a book is very personal. And describing these deaths was very, very personal to Jesmyn Ward. That much was clear from the narrative.

2) In what ways do you think Ward's personal approach to this subject makes Men We Reaped stand out from other books that address similar issues? Did this make the book appeal to you more or less, or were you indifferent?

I admit that I don't read a lot of memoirs. I'm not sure why except that I like that style that many people reject: the "sounds-like-a-textbook" one. The reason for that is because I prefer the information to be well-researched and accurate. Most books I read on similar issues, therefore, do not have this personal feeling to them. They sometimes try to add to the personality by including stories about people they've interviewed, but this is not the same thing as listening to a first-hand account. On the other hand, it was the personal aspect of this book which made it so powerful. Therefore I'd say I'm ambivalent to the memoir format.

3) In more than one instance throughout the text, Ward writes about feeling silenced and voiceless in the face of overwhelming systems of inequality. Do you think Men We Reaped changes that position by giving her a voice?

It does and it doesn't. Ward is given a voice because she "rose above" her background into a situation in which she could have a voice. She was talented, intelligent, and lucky. There are so many people out there without these gifts and although they are not able to express themselves as clearly and fully as Ward, they still deserve to be heard.

4) Though Men We Reaped is about the loss of young black male life, it is also, in many ways, about the black women left to stand witness to the lives and deaths of those in their community. How does this gendered perspective change the story of the high mortality rate among young men of color?

I think most books on this subject tend to focus on the black males because they are the ones that are dying and imprisoned in droves. This book is special because it allows you to what's going on in the mind of one female survivor of these tragedies. It gives one voice to the thousands of women out there who are surviving this messy system.

5) If you could ask Jesmyn Ward any one question about this book and/or the experiences she recounts within it, what would it be?

I already gave a partial answer to this question based on my own thoughts on this subject. But I would ask "How much of your success is due to luck? And how many intelligent, talented women and men do you think are out there who could have been as successful, but didn't find the connections or resources to "rise above?"

I'm not reading the spoiler text as I'm hoping to get to read this myself, but just the intro makes it sound a serious, weighty book.

>56 The_Hibernator: We read Men We Reaped for my library book discussion last month and had a *phenomenal* discussion about it. Glad to see it struck a chord with you too.

>57 charl08: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Charlotte!

>58 bell7: It makes for really good discussion, doesn't it, Mary!

This week was a good one. I didn't do a lot of stuff, so I had lots of extra time to read. I didn't do anything for Halloween since I'd expected to work (in fact, the electricity went out and I got to leave work early, but I was tired when I got home and used the extra time to relax). I'm looking forward to election day coming up. This has been an exhausting election season! I hope you all take the time to have your voice heard on Tuesday. Vote!

Books Completed: In the rather stubborn desire to complete my goal of 75 books this year, I've added graphic novels to my daily reading. That'll probably continue into next year since the Bible group read will significantly reduce the number of other books I get read. And how can I make a goal of less than 75? I finished the series Chi's Sweet Home, by Konami Kanata, and continued reading the series Bone, by Jeff Smith.



Acquired: Despite my intent to use one of my last two Audible credits to buy White Trash, by Nancy Isenberg to supplement my Nonfiction November reading, I spent both credits on the 2-for-1 sale. Good job Rachel. But I got some good books. White Trash will have to wait.



Currently Reading: North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell is my current serial read. I'm listening to Neurotribes, by Steve Silberman, but have set aside The Stand, by Stephen King for December when I won't be trying to pack in as much nonfiction. I'm also enjoying The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt, and The Price of Silence, by Liza Long. The graphic novel I'm currently working on is Bone: Volume 4.

Good morning, Rachel! I hope all is well with you. I haven't seen Bone in years. I hope you are enjoying it.

You got my attention with The Righteous Mind. I look forward to your thoughts on that one. If there is an audio, I will listen. It is an interesting subject to explore.

Hi Rachel! You picked up some good audiobooks. I loved Kindred when I listened to it last year.

I have good intentions of reading North and South but haven't managed to start it yet. Maybe I can think about it after I finish Middlemarch.

I loved Wild Swans when I read it a couple of years ago. I recently read Do Not Say We Have Nothing and it reminded me a lot of Wild Swans even though it's a novel.

The best NF I've read this year:
The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel
Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold
The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding
Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World's Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick; illustrated by Sophie Blackall (winner of the 2016 Caldecott medal)

I loved North and South!

Hi, Rachel! I hope you had a nice weekend. It was gorgeous in the Midwest, wasn't it?

I also loved Men We Reaped. glad you felt the same. Did you read Salvage the Bones? If not, it was a very strong novel.

>61 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! I'm loving both Bone and The Righteous Mind. TRM is food for thought. Definitely recommended.

>62 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie! I picked Kindred because I read another book by Octavia E Bulter and loved it. Maybe I'll serial read Middlemarch after finishing North and South. :) That's on my serial list. Though I think I might go short and sneak in Heart of Darkness first.

Thanks for your list of favorite nonfiction from last year. I'll check them out.

>63 sibylline: Hi Lucy! I'm loving it too.

>64 msf59: Hi Mark! I had a great weekend, it was beautiful. I have not read Salvage the Bones though I know it won at least one prestigious award. I should probably read it...and the new Booker winner too, while I'm reading novels on race issues. I know they'd be very different books, though!

The second prompt in Nonfiction November is:

What are you looking for when you pick up a nonfiction book? Do you have a particular topic you’re attracted to? Do you have a particular writing style that works best? When you look at a nonfiction book, does the title or cover influence you? If so, share a title or cover which you find striking.

I try very hard to get a variety of non-fiction in my reading. Some years I succeed and some years I don't. Last year I think I did a pretty good job. Until last week, I thought the topics that interested me the most are science and medicine - with an emphasis on empirical rather than personal. However, while I was answering last week's question I realized something - those preferences have changed. Two of my top three favorite books are memoirs! And all three of them were about social awareness.Of course I already knew that social awareness was an important topic to me, but I hadn't realized how much it had affected my reading choices.

In the past, I have preferred books that are researched so well they almost read like a textbook. And I still have a leaning towards the empirical rather than the personal, though memoirs on certain subjects (mental illness, for instance) are more and more appealing to me. I read so many empirical books about mental illness that I'm afraid I'm losing the people that are affected by the illnesses. Same for social justice issues. I can read textbook information all I want, but if I don't read memoirs, then I'll never know how people feel about these things - only what they think about them.

And YES, the cover and title are a huge influence over me. Ever hear the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover?" Of course you have. And I do. I think the cover and title should be chosen carefully to indicate what sort of book is inside. It is the publisher's first line of attack in getting someone to pick up the book and read the blurb in the first place. One book that I picked up mainly because of the cover and title was Severed, by Frances Larson:



What about you? What are you looking for in your nonfiction?

I love your montage of non-fiction covers. in >49 The_Hibernator:!

My favorite non-fiction for the year:

- Lab Girl - Hope Jahren
- The Song Poet - Kao Kalia Yang
- Engineering Eden - Jordan Fisher Smith -

I'm currently reading Between the World and Me which will jump to the head of the NF list.

I especially enjoy memoirs. It's fascinating how many different views of the world there are.

>67 streamsong: I've heard great things about Lab Girl and I have Between the World and Me out from the library at the moment, though I'm not actually reading it. If I have time during Nonfiction November, I'll throw it in. I know it's really short. Did you know Ta-Nehisi Coates now writes comics? He's the author of the new Black Panther Marvel comics. Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet.

Death Note, by Tsugumi Ohba

When Ryuk the Shinigami (Japanese god of death) gets bored, he decides to liven up existence by dropping his Death Note on Earth. This Death Note has the power to kill whomever's name is written in the book, as long as the person can visualize the face while writing it. A teenager named Light Yagami finds the book, and decides to use the book for good by killing murderers who have gotten away scott free. But he doesn't account for the police force (including his father as assistant chief) teaming up with L, a mysterious crime-fighting genius. The law wants to keep the law in its own hands, and Light needs to outwit his pursuers.

Well, at least, that's what the first book is about. There are 12 of them altogether, and the series is thankfully finished. I could go on and on describing this twisty plot. This is my first manga and I enjoyed it on and off, though I can't really compare it to other manga. I really loved the beginning and enjoyed the ending. The middle seemed to get a bit too twisty and had some I-can't-believe-that-just-happened moments. Overall, an excellent choice. And I hear the anime is fantastic as well.

Huh, I didn't know there was an anime. I'll have to check it out... someday.

>66 The_Hibernator: Genius book title and cover. I want to read that.

>68 The_Hibernator: Nope, I had no idea. I've requested Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet from the library, but there is only one library in western Montana that has it on their 'Being Acquired' list, so who knows when I might get it.

Hooray for 50+! Hope your week is going well. :)

Happy Sunday, Rachel.

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on non-fiction reading choices. My brain is a bit too scattered to pull thoughts into anything coherent, but I'd say I most drawn to nf that mixes some reflection (often memoirish) with information, so, yep, cross-genre you might say. On the other hand, rip-roaring adventure narrative tends to grab me and often I really like essays, especially when they wrap loosely around a theme. At present I am reading a book about Athena, before that it was a very informal biography of Montaigne that I hugely enjoyed. I am most likely to put down a non-fiction book if it isn't working, more quickly than a piece of fiction.

Hey Rachel, hope you're having a good week.

Hi everyone. Thanks for stopping by. I'm currently lying in bed with my three cats and typing LT messages on my phone.

I've been in a bit of a depressed mood ever since the election. I've felt sick and scared. I haven't picked up a book since the election, and even returned a bunch to the library without reading them. I subscribed to The Week and The Economist so I could be educated while the world fell apart around me. So I guess in addition to reading the Bible through next year, I'll be reading a lot of magazines. Can I count them as books? The Economist is longer than a graphic novel.

In addition to Trump depression, I'm also feeling low because I'm not sure my relationship with my boyfriend can last through a Trump administration. He doesn't even believe in global warming and is vocal about it on FB! Plus, he defends Trumps misogynistic and racist comments.

Thought I'd emerge from my funk and say hi. Maybe I'll take an idea from Charlotte and read something lighter to cheer me up. So much for Nonfiction November.

On a high note, I'm really proud of my Congressman Keith Ellison for considering the DNC Chair position. He's a really great guy and has come through for our family in response to letters more than once.

I'm glad you're back! And yeah, you can count them if you like. :)

>77 The_Hibernator: Can I count them as books?
Yes! You can count whatever you want. I've made various rules for myself over the years. My current rule is 1 book = 1 month of magazines, whatever I'm currently subscribed to, reading whatever articles I want to. I used to require cover-to-cover, but ended up sinking too much time into topics I didn't care enough about to remember, so it was pretty much wasted.

not sure my relationship with my boyfriend can last through a Trump administration
On the plus side, the election has revealed significant differences between you sooner rather than later.

Keith Ellison
A question is whether the DNC needs full time commitment. Whether this particular position happens, he's surely moving up in national prominence.

Hello Rachel. It is good to see you. I am sorry to hear that the election has put you in a low place.

Reading is fundamental. :-) As long as you are reading, that's the important thing.

Regarding your boyfriend: It is one thing to discount global warming. It is another to DEFEND Trump's questionable comments. Even as a conservative, I would not support some of things he had said; especially the comments about women and race. I can see how this would be hard on you.

Rachel, good to see you back. Sorry about the news. I'm still half expecting to wake up...

Definitely count The Economist though.

Hi, Rachel. There are a lot of us in the dismals with you. We will survive. {{{{Rachel}}}}

Hi, Rachel! Good to see you returning to the flock. You are not alone, on the Post-Election Blues. Plenty of company there. I am also taking a breather from FB. For some reason it makes me sad instead of joyful.

I am sorry to hear about your boyfriend issues. I can see how troubling that can be. I have friends and family to deal with it that department and it can make you uncomfortable and uneasy. There is no reason for this division.

Glad to hear from you Rachel but sorry to hear you're not feeling good. Re the election, you're definitely not alone. Thinking of you.

>77 The_Hibernator: As Katherine so rightly says the rules on what you count as a book is entirely up to you. List it down and it'll wend its way into my stats!

I haven't counted magazines and periodicals myself before mainly because I have always tended to dip in and out of them. There is certainly plenty of reading in The Economist (which I buy regularly), Foreign Affairs (which I buy without fail) and New Statesman (which I have subscribed too). I used to subscribe to The New Yorker too but I haven't read it for a while and never amazingly read nay of their short stories.

I may well count this Bi-Montly edition of Foreign Affairs which is mainly focused on populism as I have read most all of it this time.

As to your boyfriend it is neither fair nor reasonable for me to comment on him but, given your description of him, his sole redeeming feature appears to be in his choice of girlfriends.

Have a lovely weekend, Rachel.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful comments. I feel a little better today, and am about to embark on a 4.5-hour (each way) road-trip in the wake of a blizzard to visit my family in Iowa for their yearly Thanksgiving. Luckily, the storm didn't hit the Twin Cities too badly, and I think I'm safe driving South. Hopefully.

>78 drneutron: Thanks Jim! That's good to know. Feels a little like cheating, but what with my year-long Bible read and magazines I feel like I'm not going to get much in the way of stats next year! Though maybe I could just lower my goal to 25 books. Somehow that number doesn't have the ring of 75. :)

>79 qebo: That's a good idea, Katherine. I'll count each month of The Week as one book, and each The Economist as one book.

On the plus side, the election has revealed significant differences between you sooner rather than later.

That's true. I may not have realized how much his politics bothered me otherwise.

I would be willing to lose Ellison as my Congressman to see him successfully moving up. I wish the best for him, as he proved very helpful to my family.

>80 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Well, the global warming thing bothers me a bit more than it should, perhaps, but I'm worried about the future of our planet and to see him gleeful about Trump's plans to defund environmental issues (something I'm despairing about) is difficult.

As for defending Trump, it's clearly cognitive dissonance. He voted for Trump not because he loved Trump, but because Trump was running on the Republican ticket. He wanted Cruz. But I think he feels he needs to defend his choice.

>81 charl08: Hi Charlotte. Yeah, I decided to count The Economist. It's long and will take up a lot of my reading time.

>82 ronincats: Thanks for the hugs Roni!

>83 msf59: Hi Mark! I agree that there is no reason for this division, and that people should be able to get over their political differences. FB is especially depressing as I've seen several people delete their accounts because Trump won. And others who asked every Trump supporter to unfriend them or else. Friends shouldn't be lost over this.

>84 souloftherose: Thanks for the kind words, Heather!

>85 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! My dad subscribes to Foreign Affairs and I read a bit of it sometimes. I might pick it up more frequently now that I'm reading magazines again. He also subscribes to The Atlantic and Lapham's Quarterly. I love Lapham's Quarterly. Like Foreign Affairs, it's a lengthy publication, but it has an interesting literary selection in it.

Lol about my boyfriend's one redeeming feature. Actually, he has a lot of redeeming features. He is the most calm, level-headed person I know, and he puts up with my bipolar rages and irritability. A lot of men wouldn't do that. He's the same religion as I am. He gets along well with my friends and family. He and I have many similar interests and feel very comfortable either talking, being silent, or doing some activity. In short, he'd be perfect for me if not for the politics and cognitive dissonance about Trump's misogyny.

I will be out of town this weekend, but plan on visiting everyone's threads next week. I won't take time to catch up on everything - I'm simply too far behind. But I'll start afresh. :)

I know how you feel, Rachel. My mom and her husband are Trump supporters, and it has made things...well, just a little tense. I've said in the past that I think some form of IQ or competency test should be required for a vote to count, and I think this proves it. =/

Hi Stephen! I'm feeling a little better now. :)

My head has been spinning lately with the election season trying to understand what is happening to our country. I respect the fact that Trump will soon be our president despite outwardly not agreeing with his politics. However, I don't understand the populist movement behind Trump's win. In order to better understand, I wanted to create a list of books to read. My list had gone through several renovations before I discovered this article in the New York Times listing 6 books to help understand Trump's win. Someone did my research for me! Fantastic. Why reinvent the wheel when I had already decided upon three of the six books on the list? So in addition to dedicating next year to reading the bible cover to cover (join us with the group read if you want!), I will also be reading these 6 books. That, plus my bible readalong, plus my magazines will keep me more than busy. 2017 will be a heavy reading year for me!

January - February: THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America, by George Packer

March - April: STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild

May - June: HILLBILLY ELEGY: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

July - August: LISTEN, LIBERAL: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank

September - October: THE POPULIST EXPLOSION: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis

November - December: WHITE TRASH: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

Hi, Rachel! I love Thomas Frank. I just heard him on a podcast recently discussing the election. He saw this coming, as he has watched the democratic party move further and further away from being the People's Party!

If you have not read What's the Matter With Kansas?, try to do so. It is definitive reading.

Happy Thanksgiving, my friend.

Thanks Mark! I put that What's the Matter with Kansas? on my Christmas wishlist, though I don't know if I'll have time to read it next year since I've got so much going on. I'll have to leave SOME room for fluff.

I already had a couple of those on my list for next year - so yeah, I'm in.

Good morning, Rachel!

>60 The_Hibernator: Did you get a chance to finish The Righteous Mind? How did it go for you?

>89 The_Hibernator: Wow. That is quite an undertaking. I have started Just Mercy and do a couple more of the like in 2017.

>92 drneutron: Great Jim! Ggid to have you!

>93 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! I'm about half way through The Righteous Mind. I had a post-election reading slump. I'm about to pick it up again and hope to finish it by the end of December.

Yeah, I've pretty much planned out my entire year of reading now. But I think it will be worth it.

>89 The_Hibernator: Looks like my RL book group may read Hillbilly Elegy in 2017, month not yet decided.
>93 brodiew2: And my RL book group may read Just Mercy also. I had already started it when someone else suggested it. Another on the list of possibilities is The New Jim Crow.
An issue with populism is disentangling the economic stuff from the racial/ethnic stuff; I recently read an article by Arlie Russell Hochschild the gist of which is that the resentment is not merely of feeling left behind, but of feeling left behind while watching other groups "cut ahead in line". That perception isn't so simple to address.

>91 The_Hibernator: Yeah, I was about to say. What about book club! LOL.

>95 qebo: I read Just Mercy this year. It was good. I have The New Jim Crow and Dog Whistle Politics ready to read. I just need to do it. I'll check out the article when I get home from work.

>96 Morphidae: I've reserved my audiobook time for book club.

>89 The_Hibernator: What I think would fit in perfectly with this group, Rachel, is Evicted, which, might be my favorite book of NF, in '16 and since I read a lot of very good NF, that speaks for itself.

And since I am on a warbling roll, I will also throw in Truevine, which I recently finished and highly recommend.

>98 msf59: I'd second the recommendation for Evicted, which my RL book group read a few months ago.

Hi Rachel. I'm glad you're feeling a bit better. I'm * Not * giving you relationship advice, but given what you said about how great your bf is in most aspects, I will tell you that my husband of 23 years and I started out as one registered R and one registered D. We've had our areas of disagreement over the years, but we are now both happily registered Independent. Years of thoughtful listening and discussing have shifted us toward each other more than not. So, it's possible to overcome the political dissonance. :)

>98 msf59: >99 qebo: Yeah, Mark and Katherine, I saw Evicted in Darryl's list of books to read next year and added it to my Christmas wishlist. The wishlist is almost entirely nonfiction with The Sellout and The Underground Railroad thrown in. :) In fact, I think I added most of Darryl's list to my Christmas list. He has good taste. :) My RL book club with Morphy tends to be a bit fluffier than your and Katherine's. :) Though I do sometimes participate in an online nonfiction book club and another online social justice book club.

>100 nittnut: Hi Jenn! Yeah, I know that it's possible to overcome political dissonance, but discussion is not the way to get around it right now. Not sure if I mentioned this above, but my bipolar disorder starts acting up around October and lasts through Thanksgiving (this time it seems to be going a bit longer); this leads to extreme irritability on my part. It's totally not him that can't talk about it calmly. It's all me. So we just agreed to not talk about it until my "episode" wears off.

I had to use the same Turkey Day picture as last year because between my new car and my kittens I don't have the money to renew my account at DepositPhotos right now. But some day I'll be back on track. Hopefully by New Year! Or else I'll have to use the same Christmas and New Year pictures too!

But I guess y'all probably wouldn't have noticed if I didn't say anything.

Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel!! Enjoy!

Happy turkey genocide day, Rachel! :D

>102 The_Hibernator: Nope, wouldn't've noticed. Happy Thanksgiving!

Catching up on all things Rachel!! You have been reading some awesome books--I am intrigued by Severed (because of the cover, too, LOL). Hope your political truce with you BF is working. Love the haunted house experience. Anyways....

Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel!

Happy Thanksgiving Rachel!

Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel! Have fun with your family!

I'm impressed with your reading list next year. I want to get to Evicted this year, too.

The Thomas Frank book is good. In Listen, Liberal he does for Democrats what he did for Republicans in What's the Matter with Kansas?.

Happy Thanksgiving, Rachel! How did I fall so behind with your thread? Sorry about that! I hope you are feeling a bit better post - election. I've found it stressful and I live in Canada. I confess I'd have hard time if my husband and I disagreed politically. My mom doesn't see much of a big problem with Trump and I find that hard! :)

I find this a difficult time of year too, with the short dark days. Take care, Rachel.

Hope you have a lovely break Rachel. I'm another one who struggles with shorter darker days.

I am thankful for your presence in the group, Rachel.

Hi Rachel, I think I always had a touch of SAD when I lived in England, especially when the clocks changed. As for politics, I think my husband and I would vote in opposite directions, but I don't get a vote in Singapore.

Thanks for visiting my thread and for the message of support. It's much appreciated.

>89 The_Hibernator: Great collection of reading! I might join you in some of them if I can make the time (what is it about retirement that makes me so busy??).

There's a really interesting essay in Mother Jones, about Trump supporters in Louisiana
here

Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Rachel. I hope all is well with you and the family!

Hi Rachel! Hope that you had a great thanksgiving, and that things are going well for you.

Thanks for all the Thanksgiving wishes everyone!

>106 Berly: Well, we haven't gotten into an argument, but we found not talking about politics to be impossible. Or, I did, anyway. It's just too much on my mind, and it seems that everything I wanted to talk about had SOME political implications.

>114 humouress: You don't have a vote? Doesn't that frustrate you? I don't think I could live like that.

>115 ffortsa: You're welcome to join us on any of the books you please. It should be an interesting year of reading.

I had lots of pictures to share with you - this one is a bit creepy with the light shining on that missing turkey head. I tried the upside down bird-cooking technique this year. I flipped the bird for the last hour. It turned out very juicy indeed. And it was still crisp and brown on the breast side when flipped. The only asthetic difference it made is that the legs were very spread-eagled, which my family tolerated in exchange for the juiciness of the turkey.

This was a good week for me. I'm finally breaking out of my post-election funk and getting on with life.

I also ate three Thanksgiving meals and turned one down this week. I drove to Iowa last weekend with my nephew and spent time with my large family of cousins down there. Then on Thursday I had a little surprise - I didn't have to go to work after all! So I spent that afternoon with my boyfriend's family. Friday I cooked for my parents and boyfriend. And the rest of the weekend will be spent READING! yay! (And maybe cleaning. Boo!)

Completed this week:



Currently Reading:



I forgot to add a picture of my serial read - North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell

Three Thanksgiving Dinners!!! I'm surprised you could even look at a turkey by Friday. I haven't heard of the upside-down thing, but it makes perfect sense. I may give it a go next year. I had this year off from cooking and almost missed it…almost.

I'm glad you're sort of over the election. It is hard when you and your boyfriend are on different political sides, but it's not the end of the world. These things are cyclical which I think is a very good thing. I wish we had a different leader and I hope Trump's outrageousness is a thing of the past.

>101 The_Hibernator: I wish I was as self-aware as you are. :) I'm glad you had a good Thanksgiving, and lots of it. :)

>120 Donna828: Hi Donna! Yes, elections are cyclical and this one will be over soon. Problem is, I spend a lot of time reading the news and thinking about social issues. So it'll always be a problem, albeit not as pressing in a few months.

>121 nittnut: Thanks Jenn!

Found an impulse read for December! We Need to Talk About Kevin. Fits in with my read of Fifth Child and Price of Silence. Also hope to finish In the Woods.

>118 The_Hibernator: Well, as a Libran I usually dither a lot about making decisions, but my vote wouldn't make a difference either way (the majority is truly a majority). I've kind of got used to the status quo after all the years I've lived here.

:) I'm a Libra too.

Nice current reads, Rachel. Glad you are finally reading In the Woods. I am a big fan of this series.
I have been wanting to read Neurotribes. Maybe, next year.

I just finished Neurotribes and started The Stand again. In the Woods has suffered from my fickleness, but it has my attention now. 😁

>125 The_Hibernator: I remembered before I posted; but it's the indecisiveness in me versus the passion for justice in you :0)

>128 humouress: Yes, if you're indecisive about voting, then I guess it probably wouldn't bother you that you don't get a vote. I understand different cultures work different ways and I'm influenced by my own culture. I can't imagine moving somewhere where I didn't have a vote!

Chi's Sweet Home (volumes 1 - 12), by Konami Kanata

Well, it's time to catch up on my reviews. I'm behind by 5, and expect to finish one or two more books by the time I catch up on those. :) Upcoming are Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips; Confusion of Princes, by Garth Nix; The Price of Silence, by Lisa Long; and Neurotribes, by Steve Silberman.

This is a minireview of the graphic novel series Chi's Sweet Home, which was absolutely adorable. It's about a "newborn" kitten who loses her mommy and is found and adopted by a nice family. The family has many troubles with Chi because they are not allowed to have a kitten in their apartment. The story covers her adventures growing up for what I would assume is several months (though she doesn't seem to grow much in size). She has many kitten-like adventures, and makes some good kitty friends along the way. The little boy in the family is also adorable, though his age is indeterminate.

The art for this book was so, so cute. And the story was "realistic" in the sense that the author clearly knows a lot about how kittens act. It reminded me a lot of my own kittens. Especially the one I found lost in a street gutter a few years ago. She was so forlorn and scared! And she was always chewing through cords.

Anyway, if you like graphic novels for kids, this is a great one to pick up.

>128 humouress: Why wouldn't you have a vote?

Chi's Sweet Home sounds quite fun to me. My sister is a big fan of cats and kittens and I'll have to mention this one to her. She just mentioned a cat book that she purchased and quite by accident it turned out to be a child's book but she enjoyed anyway.

>131 Morphidae: Because she lives in Singapore, where (I assume) they don't give votes to women.

>132 vancouverdeb: It is quite adorable, you should tell your sister about it. :)

Gods Behaving Badly, by Marie Phillips, read by Rosalyn Landor

It's hard for the Greek gods in the modern world. They've lost most of their power, and are stuck living in a dilapidated house in London. In order to make a living, Aphrodite answers sex calls, Apollo is a TV psychic, and Artemis is a dog walker. They still treat humans with the same snide disregard, though. When Apollo insults Aphrodite, she decides to take revenge on him by making him fall in love with a homely young woman, Alice, who is their housemaid. This sets off a storm of bad luck for everyone involved.

This was a funny book with an interesting twist on gods-in-modern-world sub-genre. It had its ups and downs as far as writing went, though. It was funny, as I said, but I didn't care about any of the characters - I didn't dislike the naughty ones and I found Alice to be a bit insipid. Of course, she was meant to be insipid, and Phillips did a good job of portraying that. :) I read most of this book months ago, put the book down when I got bored, and picked it back up again recently.

Normally with how bored I was by the book, I'd give it three snowflakes, but I'll give it an extra half a snowflake for humor.

>133 The_Hibernator: Hmm, I assumed it was a matter of being a foreigner—I live in the US and don't have the right to vote (despite paying taxes!).

I assumed when she said in >114 humouress: that she doesn't get a vote in Singapore that she lived there?

DAH! I'm so close to 75, but so far away! Only 8 more to go, but I realistically see myself finishing 5. I better up my game.

Good morning, Rachel! I'm glad you got your Thanksgiving fill.

>127 The_Hibernator: How did you enjoy The Stand this time? Did anything new jump out at you?

Still working on it! Just started, in fact. Which is why the length is intimidating me!

Got it. I remember enjoying the original edit, which was just short of 700 pages. I know the expanded edit is over 1000. I liked the characters of Stu Redman and Nick Andros the best. I actually liked Rob Lowe's performance as Nick in the tv mini-series.

I loved the miniseries when I was a kid!

For those of you who are interested in indie novels, a great one just came out. It's called Chaos, by Julian Kincaid. It's a very meta thriller with a blog written by the psychopath. Enter the Maelstrom. Check out the blog, and if you like what you see try reading the book.

It's on sale for Kindle and Kobo for $2.99 and will be available on Nook very soon. The paperback is coming out in January.

(Yes, I know the author, but that doesn't make the book any less great. I had a chance to beta-read it a while back, and loved it. I'll reread the finished copy and give a formal review.)

Hi, Rachel! I've mentioned your idea of reading the six books to help understand Trump's victory in the presidential election on Club Read and Facebook, and roughly half a dozen LTers are interested in participating, including Ellen, Judy, ?Jim, Katie, ?Madeline, Kay (@RidgewayGirl) and myself. Are you planning to set up a discussion thread for this theme?

Hi Darryl! My plan was to set up a discussion thread for the each book as it came along - waiting, of course, for Jim to set up the 75ers group for next year. Did you want a discussion thread for the theme itself, so that people can discuss it generally? I'm happy to have one of those, too, but if I set it up now it would be stuck in this year's group. :) Let me know if you think there would be an interest in such a thread.

Happy Sunday, Rachel! Hope you find time for the books today. Thanks for the heads-up on Chaos. Sounds interesting.

Doesn't she look pissed?

This was a pretty good week for me, though not so much for my Hero. I spent a fortune getting her fixed on Thursday. She was sent home wearing an Elizabethan collar, which made her look really cute and forlorn in the kennel, but as soon as she was out she started freaking out and running around the room backwards. Then she kept trying to drink some water, but couldn't get at it. Within a half hour of returning home, I took the darned thing off. Now, she and I are sitting on the bed in the spare bedroom, and she's happily purring away. So things have gotten a bit better.

I finished reading this week's issue of The Week, Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, and The Righteous Mind, by Jonathan Haidt. Reviews on their way.



I acquired Packing for Mars, which I'm listening to as part of the "quirky nonfiction" challenge.



I'm currently listening to The Stand, by Stephen King and Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. I'm also listening to a couple lectures a week of Reading Biblical Literature, to help prepare for next year's cover-to-cover Bible reading. The Stand will likely take me a long time since it's so very long! I'm reading In the Woods, by Tana French for my RL bookclub, and North and South on my Serial Reader app.

>144 The_Hibernator: Your plan sounds good, Rachel. I don't think that a general discussion thread is necessary, and a thread for each book sounds like a good idea, especially since some of the LTers I spoke to indicated that they may not get to all of the books in the designated bimonthly slots.

>145 msf59: Hi Mark! Hope you're having a great morning too! If you're interested in Chaos, give it a try, but I'd check the blog first. The book is rather gruesome. I think it's really creative of him to create a real-life blog so that the FBI investigator can discover it in the book.

>146 The_Hibernator: Some good stuff there, Rachel.

Have a great weekend, my dear, as you close on 1,000 posts on your thread this year.

Poor Hero! That doesn't sound like much fun. Sounds like it's on the mend now though, which must be a relief.

Your plans for non-fiction read for next year sounds great. I'll be following the threads if not the books.

>149 PaulCranswick: Thanks! Hopefully I make my 1000 posts as well as my 75 books. I was hoping for 5000 hits on my blog last month, but I got 4963. Oh well, there's always next month. :(

>150 charl08: Yeah, I'm excited about my plan for next year - even if I'm a bit over-committed now!

My boyfriend and I were talking yesterday...not about politics, thankfully...about how we both wanted to write a novel at some point in our lives. I told him about how I considered writing a Harlequin Romance. Not that I read HR - I don't. In fact, I rarely read romance. But HR seems a good place to start as far as novel writing goes. I've only written short stories, so length is intimidating - HR are short. Then there's finding an agent and getting it published or the effort of self-publishing. HR doesn't require an agent. The books are formulaic, and therefore fairly easy to write as far as "practice" novels go. And they're the perfect length to fit into a NaNoWriMo.

Not that my dream is to write Harlequin Romance, but I only have a few really good ideas for books right now, and I don't want to spoil them because I haven't had enough practice writing novels. I need to fail a few times before I can successfully write what I want to write. Failure is what teaches best, after all.

I laughingly told him that maybe one year I'd dedicate to reading one HR per week, and then in November (for NanoWriMo) writing an Harlequin Romance. He said I should do it. And I'm tempted. Not next year, of course, but maybe the year following. Anybody have thoughts? Should I skip the practice and try to write a "real" book? Should I say "shame on you" for suggesting that HR are not "real" books and go for it? :)

Go for it! I think you can read a HR in an hour, so easy enough to read a few before November. And maybe you can do a HR about how a liberal falls in love with a Trump Supporter and later finds out he's really a FBI plant, but he is swept away by love for her and joins the ACLU, and then they get married in a bookstore surrounded by books and cats.

>153 banjo123: lol. That's quite the plot Rhonda! But I'd need some bunnies in there with the cats to make it auto-biographical.

My dad seems to think no publisher would ever take me seriously again if I published an HR, but I don't think that's the case.

>155 The_Hibernator: I think they'd take you more seriously if you'd published *anything* rather than nothing, so HR seems like a fine starting point to me.

>152 The_Hibernator: Write the book that you want to write. Trust that your few good ideas will expand as you consider them in more detail, and important themes can be developed over time. If you write a book that you don't want to write, you still have to apply effort that will distract you from the ultimate goal.
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No advice from me on writing books, but a cheerful wave and a hope that you've had a good weekend. :)

I've got no idea either about writing fiction. If you enjoy writing, why not try different genres and see which suits?

>156 _Zoe_: I agree on that. A publication is a publication, right?

>157 qebo: You've probably got a point there. Though part of my problem is that my creativity goes down exponentially when I'm on my bipolar meds. All those fantastic book ideas I used to have? They're all written down in notes, but I don't feel any creative spark left in me. I need the extreme emotions in order to be creative, I guess. I thought maybe writing something might get the creative juices going again. Or, I could just go off the meds.

>158 nittnut: Hi Jenn!

>159 charl08: Well, YA science fiction (NOT dystopia) is probably what suits me the best. And Harlequin even has a line of YA books, but they are one of the few Harlequin lines that require an agent, lol. But, as Katherine said, maybe I should just go for it. I have a couple years to get my creative juices flowing. We'll see. I'll probably end up doing the practice HR run, anyway. I don't see myself actually looking for an agent ever.

>154 The_Hibernator: I was afraid the rabbits would eat the books. We used to have guinea pigs, and they liked to nibble on pages.

That's a bummer about the medications and creativity. Better to stay on them, I think, and hope that they come up with better medications sometime in the future.

>161 banjo123: Yeah, I wish they'd come up with better meds. They really get in the way of my feeling any sort of spark whether that be religious, creative, etc. Surely it's not how neurotypical people feel all the time?

The bunnies do eat books, as well as anything else that they can get their sharp little teeth into. Tim just keeps the books out of reach.