jessibud2 - Late to the Party...

I am baaaack!! Man, oh man...

On Christmas Eve, my hard drive crashed, making Dec. 23 the last time I was able to access and post on LT. One week later, I had a new hard drive but when I returned to LT and tried to log in, the site would not recognize my name or password. I followed the regular procedure to reset my password but nothing worked. I contacted the powers that be and had one reply, asking for info regarding my server and browser. I provided this information but
never heard back from them. Yes, I found this somewhat disappointing but I realize that they are probably swamped with requests for tech support. So I tried to figure it out on my own (good luck with that! You all know what a non-techie I am!). I even tried to pretend I was a newbie, signing up for the first time, using a totally different name, and different password, yet still, no luck. I was able to see the site, and by scrolling through Groups, then 75ers, I could find and read the threads I once had starred but needless to say, this was a PITA, if you know what I mean...

Ilana suggested trying a different browser but in that, I ran into a problem I didn't know what to do with. So I finally phoned my trusty computer guy and, miracle of miracles, he managed to fix it! I am still not sure how, but we changed my password (it worked for him, but not when I tried it, earlier last week). He changed something in the way it was saved on my computer (he accesses my computer remotely, thank goodness), and voila! I'm back. And with that, I've already told you more than I understand! Lol!

So, instead of sitting here, as I have been for nearly 2 weeks, in LT limbo, I will set this up, and get back to business. I have an ER book to review, a thread to organize, others to star, and challenges to join!

Happy New Year, everyone

To celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation, I am going to make a concerted effort to read more Canadian books this year:

My main goals this year are, first and foremost, to do better than last year, which wasn't a good reading year for me, numbers-wise. Apart from that, I have selected a few categories that will guide my reading throughout:

Can Lit - books by Canadian authors and/or that take place in Canadian settings.
Biography/Memoir - a genre I love
Non-fiction - (science, medicine, history, language, politics, whatever)
Nature - environment, animals, birding, etc
General Fiction - no shortage of choice here
Bookcrossing TBR books - plenty to get through here, too
Audiobooks - I always try to see if I can find an audio version of a book on my physical shelves as I seem to get through audios faster. But I live about equidistant from 4 libraries (all within 5 minutes of my house) and they all have a decent selection to choose from and what isn't available at one branch, can easily be brought in from another if it's in the system.

Don't ask me about acquisitions. I always try not to and always fail. I'm sure people here will be shocked at that confession. ;-)

This is, of course, subject to change without warning!

I will also try and participate as much as possible in the AAC, BAC, CAC, and Non-fiction challenges, as well. I have to find them, though....

>1 jessibud2: That was a lot of computer trouble... glad you got some help.

Happy reading in 2017, Shelley!

>6 FAMeulstee: - Thanks, Anita. It felt like withdrawal, and I'm not even nearly as addicted to technology as many people I know. I don't do facebook or twitter, I don't have a smart phone, but the few sites I do frequent, well, I guess I AM addicted...!

Feels good to be back. Now I just have to remember how to find things and do things. ;-)

Happy New Year and welcome back, Shelley!

>8 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl. Happy new year to you, too!

Hi Shelley, happy new year, and happy reading to you!

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

Welcome back!

Hi Shelley and a Happy New Year my dear. It seems as if you have had a bit of a trauma with the hard drive and whatnot but you are here and that is what matters.

Haha! I see you finally got in. I had no idea how addicted you've become to LT. I guess that's partly my fault, but this is such a great addiction. I've starred your thread so I don't lose you this year since we've been acquainted for sooooo long through BookCrossing.

Have a wonderful new year!

Hey! I just got a book by a Canadian author at our annual holiday BookCrossing party. Have you heard of Chad Pelley? I'm reading a book of short stories by him now. His writing is dark, but so good. Canadian authors don't seem to be very widely read here in the U.S. except for a few well known ones.

>10 EllaTim:, >11 PaulCranswick:, >12 drneutron:, >13 johnsimpson: - Thanks, all. It's good to be back. I still have plenty of catching up to do, on many fronts. But I would love to finish my current book tonight so the catching up may wait till tomorrow

>14 SqueakyChu: - Hi Madeline! Yes, it's all your fault, hehe... ;-)

I have not heard of that author, but since I don't often read short stories, that may not be saying much, for me. I plan to read more CanLit this year, in honour of our sesquicentennial so who knows what will cross my path. I am currently reading a Canadian book that I had not heard of before a couple of friends told me I HAD to read it. It was published in 2011 and is the author's second novel. It was a winner or finalist for a whole whack of awards so I am not sure how it escaped my notice but after I finish it tonight, I will review it. It is really good. Called Half-Blood Blues.

I will star your thread, too, once I find it!

>16 jessibud2:. My thread is practically dead now! I just use it for posting book reviews because I spend most of my LT time on the main monthly TIOLI thread. I have to because I host it! :). Nevertheless, I'll try not lose track of you this year since you are a devoted fan of both LT and BC!

I'm hoping to follow your thread a bit better this year, Shelley. I'm trying to read more Canadian lit myself, since so much of it is outside what I'm been previously exposed to. I heard a lot of good things about Half-Blood Blues a couple years ago (or more) here on LT, and Edugyan was considered, or at least suggested, for this year's CAC.

>18 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. Do you have a thread I can star? I am trying to get back in the loop!

Half-Blood Blues was a winner of the Giller Prize, plus, was a finalist of the Man Booker, the GGs (Governor-General Awards) and the Rogers Writers' Trust (another Canadian prize). Interesting when I had a peek at the reviews here on LT, some were so-so, while others were good. Personally, I am enjoying it quite a bit. I hope to finish it tonight.

Every Sunday morning, my inbox delivers a little gem, a bright spot of yellow sunshine, called *Brain Pickings*.
I don't remember where I discovered this newsletter - might have been from someone here or from another book site I frequent, Bookcrossing - but wherever it was, I am eternally grateful. There is the slight problem, though, of the BBs. Every time I read it, I wonder how I will ever get through the books I already have and want to read, when Brain Pickings offers up a smorgasbord of delights that seem to be demanding my attention. In today's issue alone, for example, there is a collection of their *Best of*s from 2016. In the kids' section, I absolutely HAVE TO find that book, The Sound of Silence. And that reminded me that I WILL read Susan Cain's Quiet this year, as well. Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit also sounds like a must-read for me.

And I have barely made it through the half-way mark in this newsletter today....

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=13eb080d8a315477042e0d5b1&id=bf0b02d89f&...

Shelley is back! Shelley is back! Hooray! You have returned from LT Limbo, which is a dark and ominous place!

Happy New Thread! Happy New Year! Looking forward to following you around in your bookish pursuits.

>20 jessibud2: That book Quiet is so worthwhile reading. It gave me a new appreciation for the two of my children who are introverts. I am an introvert myself, but I have learned that being social is more to my benefit in getting along in our world. This book also made me deeply sad to think how many people are quick to judge others by their unwillingness to "follow the crowd". I wish we had more of that in our daily life now when our world seems to be run by whoever is most popular on social media. *sigh*

Oh gosh, Shelley, LT limbo sounds terrible! I'm glad you're back now!

>19 jessibud2: My 2017 thread is here Shelley. Thanks for asking!

Ok, here I go again. I just tried to log my first book and I see that instead of 2 different and separate tickers, they both seem to be the same. I have tried editing the style and number details but they come up as the same again. I went back and deleted one, changed it completely and used the proper code to edit a new one back in but it doesn't seem to be working. I put them into different posts but that isn't helping either. I did it last year so I know it can be done. Anyone have any ideas?

edited to add: never mind. It seems to be working now. I think. I just did it again. Nothing different but I guess third try is the charm...

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. This story toggles back and forth between Berlin in 1939, Paris 1940 and Berlin in 1992 and centres around a group of young jazz musicians, some from Baltimore, some from Germany; some black and some white, one Jewish, and one, Hiero, a German-born man, from a white German mother and a black African father, considered *stateless* in Nazi-era Germany. Edugyan paints a vivid picture of the times; her language is visual, sensual and allows the reader to hear the voices, see and smell the fear of being on the run, and feel the passion of the music. The *present day* 1992 sections serve to peel back the layers of the back stories and give closure. I was quite drawn in and wanted to read and not put it down. (Louis Armstrong features in this story too). Yet, at the very end, I felt confused, almost let down. I am not really sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what I found. Overall, I would recommend the book. I do need to call my friend who insisted I read it and talk about that ending. Maybe I just missed something.

This is Edugyan's second novel, published in 2011, and although it won and was a finalist for several prizes, it only now came onto my radar. I will seek out her first novel, though, because her writing is really beautiful.

>26 jessibud2: That sounds like an interesting (but depressing) book!

I see that you're making up for lost time, Shelley and posting up a mini-storm.

I will read Half-Blood Blues this year as I think the author features in the CAC at some stage.

>28 PaulCranswick: - Actually, Paul, I don't think it does. It may have been one of the authors considered but I don't see her name on the final list. But I would still say it's worth a read if you can squeeze it in

>22 SqueakyChu: - I have had Quiet on my shelf for awhile and have been wanting to read it for ages. I am an introvert, myself, maybe the only one in my family, and have always felt out of the loop, socially. I can do *social* in small doses and do have a small circle of friends; I'm not a hermit or anything, but always feel more *myself* when I am truly by myself. A few years ago I read another book called The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney. It's interesting - and good - that this personality trait is becoming more recognized, and hopefully, understood. Just being able to find books about it actually normalizes it and that can only be a good thing.

>30 jessibud2: What I really love about Quiet isn't just that this book "normalizes" being an introvert, but it stresses what extraordinary people introverts are. In the mayhem of this world, so much is happening that no one takes the time to really discover what introverts have to offer. This book also comes up with some great suggestions for helping an introvert "bloom" all within that individual's protective shell. Having been a shy child who was often asked "if the cat had my tongue", I could relate to a lot of what was being said in this book. Enjoy it!

>30 jessibud2: To fix the touchstone, click on "Edit". Then move to the right and click on "others" (under the wrong book name). Scroll down and click on the correct book name. That locks in the correct touchstone. Now click "save message". Voila!

>32 SqueakyChu: - Wow, it worked! And it was easy! Thanks, Madeline!

>33 jessibud2: Haha! I knew you could do it!

You'll get to be a techie yet! :)

Uh-oh. Potential road bumps ahead. I just had an email from LT support, belatedly. They apologized for the delay and in an attempt to resolve my lockout issues, they have changed my password, temporarily, to ensure that it works and requested that I log in with the new one, then change it again. I dread that process, since what I have now, works and I don't want to mess with it again. But I may have no choice. So, just in case I seem to disappear again, this may be why. Hopefully, nothing will come of all of this.

Holds nose, jumps in.....

In other news, in case you weren't watching this, live, last night (I actually fell asleep before this came on), you have to see it. It's a bit long but well worth watching every minute of. Meryl Streep is a powerhouse, and a treasure.

Watch this whole thing: Viola Davis's intro and then Streep's entire speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTmZHfoqYI

>35 jessibud2: Keeping my fingers crossed that all went smooth, Shelley.

>37 FAMeulstee: - Thanks, Anita. So far, I haven't done anything. I did respond to the email I found in my inbox this morning, explaining my current situation and we will see what they say. I don't log out of LT on my own computer and so far, that is fine but if they have changed my password from their end, I may have to do so and try to log in with their new one, in order to change it again, which is what they suggested, and which would be a royal pain and I fear might create a repeat of whatever it was that happened just recently with the password stuff. But I won't do anything just yet. No hurry to mess with it!

I just watched the Streep speech this morning, and it's glorious. Love her tons.

Yes, the Meryl Streep speech was terrific!

>25 jessibud2: That happened to me when I was setting up my 2017 thread, too. I was using the "create another ticker" link, and it just overrode the previous one. So I started from scratch three times, and got 3 distinct tickers.

>41 laytonwoman3rd: - Yes, I think that's what happened to me. If I could remember what I do from one minute to the next, computer-wise, I'd probably have half my problems solved, lol!

;-p

The Last Painting of Sara de Vos by Dominic Smith, read on audiobook by Edoardo Ballerini.

I listened to this book in audiobook format, unabridged. About halfway through, though, I did something I rarely do: I borrowed a hard copy from the library as well, as there were parts I wanted to look back at and that is the one thing that is not easy to do with an audiobook. This proved to be a good decision.

This is almost time travel story. In 1631, Sara de Vos is the wife of a landscape painter, and is a talented painter in her own right, the first woman admitted to Amsterdam's Guild of master painters. Although women usually only paint indoor still lifes, Sara is mesmerized by a scene she has witnessed of a lone girl standing beside the river, watching skaters at dusk, and decided to paint it. After the sudden death of their young daughter, the life that Sara and her husband lead begins to unravel and eventually, comes apart. The painting, however, survives. Fast forward to the 1950s, where a wealthy New York lawyer, Marty de Groot, has owned the painting that has been in his family for generations. It hangs over his bed until one day, he suddenly discovers that it has been replaced by a forged copy. The mystery of how or even when, this happened, or where the original might be, obsesses him and he hires a private detective to try to find out. The events that lead him to the truth haunt him in ways that he could not have expected. It isn't until the year 2000 that the circle closes, that the forger and Marty make peace.

Throughout the book, the chapters alternate between Sara's story and Marty's story (as well as Ellie -- the forger's -- story). I have to say, the reader of this audiobook, Edoardo Ballerini, is excellent. His voice is quiet, understated but eloquent and he is masterful at accents and giving voice to the characters. But most of all, the writing is beautiful. I want to include just 2 short excerpts here, from the very end of the book, as a sample:

"The cold air burns her cheeks as she skates along, pushing into long glides, her hands behind her back, the sound of her skate blades like the sharpening of a knife on a whetstone. She wants to skate for miles, to fall until midnight into this bracing pleasure. The bare trees glitter with ice along the riverbank, a complement to the winking stars. The night feels unpeeled, as if she's burrowed into its flesh. Here is the bone and armature, the trees holding up the sky like the ribs of a ship, the ice hardening the river into a mirror too dull to see the sky's full reflection. Everything flits by except the sky and her thoughts, both of which seem to widen and gyre in a loose, clockwise procession...Everything is strung together on the line of her skates, swooping curves and perfect delineations of her wistful thinking. She is light upon the ice, a weightless passenger."

"Every work is a depiction and a lie. We rearrange the living, exaggerate the light, intimate dusk when it's really noonday sun..."

I really enjoyed this book.

Hi, Shelley! Great review of the Last Painting. Thumb! I have it saved on audio but I will keep your print book thoughts in mind.

I have to watch the Streep video. I heard Trump had a hissy fit about it. Shocking, right?

>43 jessibud2: The last painting of Sara de Vos sounds great. I loved the first excerpt. beautiful description.

When everything is going well, do you really need to change that password?

>44 msf59: - Streep is a class act, Mark. Her speech was on the same level, in my opinion, with Michelle Obama's, of a few days ago. As for Baby Trump, I honestly don't know how he will find time to do his job. He's like a teenager who can't be pried loose from his twitter feed. He is such a liar and an ignoramus. I wonder if he has ever even seen a single film of Streep's (he called her an over-rated actress, as if he knew anything). I wonder if he has ever read a book... I really don't want to get started on him again. ;-p

In (somewhat) related news, I just found out about this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/thousands-are-knitting-pussy-hats-for-the-wo...

I know some people in Florida who will be marching there. I just sent the link to them. I think this idea is hilarious (though it's probably not cold enough there to need such a hat, but still...;-)

>45 EllaTim: - Hi EllaTim - Well, I wouldn't have thought so but the people in support were trying to help me and they did it from their end. In the end, I did follow their instructions to log out with my *new* password, then log back in with their temporary one. Then change it to a password I want. Anyhow, it worked, no problem, so I am going to assume that I am good to go now! :-)

>46 jessibud2: "Anyhow, it worked, no problem" YAY!

So glad that you 're back and that you are still here. I'm very lucky that my son is my computer guy - otherwise I am not sure what would have happened when I changed over from my old computer to my new one back in early December.

I really appreciated Meryl Streep's speech too.

Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life by Rabbi Harold S. Kushner

I have always had an uneasy relationship with religion, both my own and in general, as a concept. I have many friends who are much more religious in their own lives than I could ever be and I find it amusing that we are good friends, in spite of that fact.

So it might sound odd that I chose this book from the shelf at the library yesterday. Most books that deal with religion or God would not generally appeal to me but I happen to like and respect the author, Rabbi Harold Kushner (he wrote When Bad Things Happen to Good People, among other books) and I figured it might be a good idea for me to open my mind a bit and listen to the wisdom he has to impart. It was a relatively short audiobook (4 discs), read by the author.

I liked listening to him. He has an easy way of speaking and of using stories and real life experiences to interpret biblical stories and religious doctrines and show how they can be relevant in facing everyday challenges. There are still some premises that I disagree with, just can't wrap my head around or buy into. I didn't expect that to change. But there were also some really interesting points of wisdom that I particularly liked. I can't remember now if these specific examples were his words or if he was citing some other sources, as he did frequently, but in one example, he explained the difference between knowledge and wisdom as knowledge being how to do something and wisdom, knowing when or whether to do it (followed by a story to illustrate this). Another time, he was asked whether it was bad to question God, and he said that no, not only was it not a bad thing but he considered it a permissible obligation to do so when one is troubled by some of the things one was taught. The only thing not acceptable (to him) about that is to reject it outright without examination, and to close one's mind to further speculation. These are all good food for thought, which, I expect, is the point.

I also really liked his final piece, his Letter to the World, where he outlines why he loves the world in spite of and because of everything it has meant to him.

Overall, while this book has not really changed my view on religion or God, it was a very worthwhile read and I am happy that I read it.

>49 jessibud2: Nice review, Shelly, I never heard of Rabbi Harold S. Kushner before.
Some of his previous books are available in Dutch, so I will look if I can find one at the library.

>49 jessibud2: I liked your review of that book, Shelley. I have mixed feeling about religion, but treasure my Jewish heritage which goes much deeper than just religion. All of my three children at some point in their lives attended Jewish private school. My hope was that, whether or not they incorporated their religion into their daily lives, they could never say it was because they were never educated about it.

>51 SqueakyChu: - I'm with you on the heritage thing, too, Madeline even though I grew up in a very non-religious household. We celebrated the various holidays but not much more than that. I have just never felt that I *fit* with the constraints of religion and God. I tried, I read, I wanted to learn, but it just never quite felt right for me.

Oh dear. I just started listening to How To Be Both, a book I had heard mentioned here on LT and was curious about. It is a quirky book, in its concept, and although I think many people have raved about it, I have to say, so far, I am not enjoying it. It is an audiobook, 8 discs and I am not quite finished disc #1, but already it is annoying me. I will persevere, though, at least for another disc or so and hope it gets better. I really hate when a book doesn't pull me in right away. Is my attention span shrinking? Yikes, I hope not.

On the other hand, the non-fiction book I am reading for the Non-Fiction Challenge is excellent so far. Diane Ackerman's One Hundred Names for Love is about her husband's stroke and the loss of his language abilities, and how he heals from that. I have always loved her writing and this one is no exception.

>53 jessibud2: I would have thought that was difficult to listen to. Isn't it the one where its two parts start in different order depending upon which edition you buy? How do you get that effect with audio?

Have a lovely weekend, Shelley.

Yes, Paul, that's the one. It states that it is irrelevant which section one starts with as the book is structured so that either section can be read first. In the hard copies, some editions begin with one section (called *Eyes*), and others, with the other section (called *Camera*). In the audio, each section is given 4 discs. I happened to start with Camera and even though the narrator has a decent voice, it is the story itself that I am finding annoying so far. But I will give it a fair shake and see what happens. Sometimes it take a bit for a story to get going. I will hope for the best.

Have a good rest of your weekend, too, Paul

Stopping by to say hi, Shelley! I hope you are enjoying your weekend and that the weather is okay.

Good morning, Deb. Our high today will be zero and will remain above for the next 5 days! Dare I say, almost spring-like. I hope there won't be a winter *crash* after that.

Hope you are feeling on the mend

Happy Sunday, Shelley! I hope you have a relaxing one planned. I am really enjoying Nutshell. You might enjoy this one.

>58 msf59: - Hi Mark. I will have to check out Nutshell. I am really loving the book I'm reading now, One Hundred Names for Love and Kindred is next up!

Gradually feeling on the mend, Shelley. Ohh! Up to zero - do you use F or C? I use C , unless I'm converting for the " Americans' here on LT. I'm nearly bi-lingual with Celsius and Fahrenheit :) The taught us Imperial up til about grade 6 and then swapped over to Metric. Now I am accustomed to temps in C. We are up to 5 C!!!! And rising up to 9 or 10 C and looking forward to rain. Yes to rain!

>60 vancouverdeb: - I grew up in Montreal but have been here in Toronto since 1980. I don't actually remember when we made the switch to Celsius. I think we used Imperial when I was in elementary school but we've been using Metric for so long, it's basically second nature now. The only thing I never converted is weight (as in, MY weight, on the scale, lol).

Great review of Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life, Shelley. I read When Bad Things Happen to Good People many years ago, probably in the 1980s, and I remember enjoying it. I'm moderately religious and was raised in a Lutheran family, although I don't attend church services regularly. Now that I think of it, the last service I attended was in the Monestir de Montserrat north of Barcelona in 2015, which was conducted in Catalan! By the time I realized that the service was taking place I was already seated in a pew, and I didn't feel comfortable leaving. The people seated around me recognized that I wasn't Catalan, but most of them smiled and welcomed me, and guided me through the service. It was quite a moving experience, and certainy the most unique service I've ever participated in.

>62 kidzdoc: - I can imagine that that would have been an interesting experience, Darryl. Not just the language but being in a foreign congregation. Interesting!

I admit that I don't often go out of my comfort zone in my reading but once in awhile, it's a good thing. I once took a religion course in university in the hope that if I learned more, I might be drawn in more but while it enlightened me, on the knowledge front, I didn't really *get religion*, if you know what I mean. I consider myself a good person and I try to live my life as such. I never really felt I needed more, and if there are big life questions that I don't know answers to, well, I have come to terms with the fact that that's the way it is; I am ok with not understanding many things in life.

>53 jessibud2: - Ok, I'm done with How to be Both. I made it about halfway through the second disc and it just isn't getting any better, for me. I have 3 other audiobooks sitting on my kitchen table, waiting, so I will call it a day with this one. C'est la vie... win some, lose some. There's always the next one......

Hooray for Kindred! It is so nice to see so many of my pals reading and enjoying that one.

>65 msf59: - I was going to read 2 books simultaneously, Mark; Kindred and the other one I am currently reading, One Hundred Names for Love but I just got so wrapped up in the latter, that I decided to wait on Kindred. I should get to it in another couple of days, with time to spare for January in the AAC!

I found myself watching tv last night, 3 and a half hours, straight, rather unusual, for me. I am not a big tv watcher. I do watch *Jeopardy* religiously, mind you, but right after that was a one hour special on PBS about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, followed by (also on PBS) a show called Frontline. It was a 2-hour, part one of a special called The Divided States of America, about Obama's rise in politics and his first term. Not being American myself, I felt this would be time well-spent, a sort of mini course on American politics. Tonight is part 2, the rise of you-know-who. Much as I feel it's probably important for me to watch and learn, I honestly don't know if I have the stomach for it. It was difficult watching last night, seeing how much nastiness and pushback there was against Obama, right from day one of his Presidency. I had no idea (well, I did have an *idea*; I am not totally naïve but still), of how much stress he was under and how narrow-minded the Republicans were in blocking every move he made to try to, at least, have dialogue, and at best, some compromise and consensus. For the Republicans, it was our way or no way, block everything Obama says or does and do NOT vote for any of it. Even if it might, in fact, be reasonable and good for the country. The country doesn't seem to matter as much as their side *winning*. Yeah, I realize how simplistic my *understanding* sounds, and I do know that politics everywhere, even here in my beloved Canada, is never smooth and polite, but UGH. Just UGH. (we have Kellie Leitch and Kevin O'Leary coming up in the Conservative wings; thanks, trump, for paving the way for those creeps).

I bet the Obamas are happy to be leaving at this point. Of course mistakes were made, and of course he probably was somewhat naïve, himself, at the beginning. But given what he inherited, what had to work with, and against, he has nothing to be ashamed of, and plenty to be proud of, from what I can see.

Even though I am not American, it feels as though the world is teetering on a precipice at the moment. And nobody better sneeze...

End of rant. Back to the books....:-)

>61 jessibud2: I find the C vs F temperature thing hard to deal with. That's probably because all through school everything was in Fahrenheit and Celsius didn't come in until later. Where in Montreal did you used to live? I grew up in Dorval and Pointe Claire.

>67 jessibud2: That show about The Divided States of America sounds really interesting, Shelley. I will see if my PBS station is showing it (once I'm home again on Sunday) although I'm not sure I'll be able to stand it. I recently saw a post from someone who said they didn't remember Obama having so much resistance when he hadn't yet even taken office. I just wanted to say "do you not remember the whole kerfuffle about his birth certificate????" Sigh.

I hope you enjoy Kindred. I quite liked it when I read it a couple of years ago.

>68 Familyhistorian: - I grew up in Laval (Chomedey). I left Quebec after finishing CEGEP (Vanier) in 1973. Hehe, to the rest of the world, that probably sounds like a code!

>69 EBT1002: - I just finished watching part 2 of The Divided States of America. It was mostly about the remainder of Obama's second term, with only brief bits of Trump, as he entered the picture (thank goodness). There was a ton I didn't know, the details of the major players and their tactics etc. I will admit that I dozed off here and there (I think I need a new couch; this one just swallows me up the minute my feet leave the floor...). It was really interesting and well put together. I expect that Americans will get much more out of it than I did but in many ways, it is probably more enlightening for someone like me. It boggles my mind just how contentious the last 8 years have been. How on earth does ANYTHING get done in politics???

>70 jessibud2: Ah yes, CEGEP. I went east to continue my education so I didn't have to deal with that. For years I had nightmares about them kicking me out of University because I only had grade 11. Everyone in NS seemed to have gone to grade 12.

>72 Familyhistorian: - Yes, here in Ontario, too, grade 12 and even 13 was the norm. Quebec may be the only province that ended at gr. 11. But I did get one year university credit for CEGEP when I entered York U, many years later.

My mom told me about going to school for grade 13 in Manitoba? At least I think she did. Or maybe she meant grade 12? So do you speak French and English?

>74 vancouverdeb: - Well, I speak English (lol!) but French, not so much. I understand better than I can speak but it was never taught properly to us. When I was young, we only began French instruction in grade 3 and we were taught conjugation of verbs and some vocabulary before basic conversation and before I even knew what conjugation meant in English. A child learns language by hearing it spoken (and speaking/imitating) for the first 5 or so years of his life before he begins reading or writing (or conjugating verbs, for crying out loud). I never had any fluency all through school because I was always so self-conscious about making some grammatical mistakes. A pity, really. When I asked my mom why she never sent me to a French school or one with a French immersion programme, she told me that when I was in school, there were no immersion programmes and unless we were Catholic (we weren't), we couldn't go to a French school. Oh well...

>71 jessibud2: The Divided States of America. Ugh! is correct. There are no words to express the ugliness of our political divide over the past eight years and going forward. This most recent election has made me viscerally ill. The results of it will have tremendously adverse effects on my family as we will struggle to afford health care and then try to protect what little there will be left of Social Security and Medicare. I try not to think about it because we are living through a tremendously negative time in the United States. Those who are the newcomers to elected to office are doing all they can to protect their own greedy interests and are working hard to adversely affect the middle class, working class, and less affluent people in my county as well as our environment. I fear for my country. In all of my life, I have never felt this way before. Even during the riots in the 60's, I felt as if we were making headway. Now I see how mistaken I was. Racism, sexism, misogyny, and anti-Semitism are rearing their ugly heads unchecked. Yesterday, once again, there were 30 (coordinated!) bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers all over the United States.*

The point is that NOTHING got done in politics over the last eight years that the incoming administration is not going to destroy immediately. I feel very disheartened.

*Last week, my three-year-old grandson's preschool at the Jewish Community Center in my own community was one of 16 others targeted that day. When I picked him up from another school on that very cold day where he had been evacuated without lunch, he told me they had had a "fire drill". I wanted to burst out crying. This is the fear I now experience from day to day.

>76 SqueakyChu: - Yes, it is a very scary time. I remember when I first went to Israel, my grandmother (who lost her parents and youngest sister in the holocaust before she and her other siblings escaped and came to Canada), was so distraught that she had fled Europe and I was going there. I tried to explain that times were different but when I look around at what's going on right here, these days, I have to wonder what the hell is wrong with the human race. People seem to learn nothing from history, and seem, that for every step forward, they take at least one or two backward, in terms of *evolving* as sane and intelligent beings.

On the news tonight, they showed a clip from trump's pre-inauguration speech tonight, where he was saying something to the effect of how the people in that room tonight have a combined IQ that is higher than... and then I hit the mute button. He is such a dimwit! I also read an article recently that mentioned how his, shall we say, lack of being articulate, can be measured by the number of times he uses the words *very* and *so* to describe things. Almost like a trump version of a teenager using *like* all the time.

I won't be watching the inauguration tomorrow. I will be getting my hair cut (and hoping they don't have it on their tv). And even though I know in my heart that protests accomplish nothing concrete, it heartens me to hear that so many people will be protesting in Washington and in literally every other city, even here in Toronto. A group of local artists and actors are on their way to DC in a chartered bus, as I type.

You, Madeline, and all Americans, are in my thoughts, always, as the next months unfold. I am sad that so many people were duped by this jerk as I honestly can't and don't believe that he really has the best interests of the people in mind. I think many people will be sadly and rudely awakened when all his promises amount to nothing. Trump's true nature came through during his campaign and it was painfully clear to me that his only interests are those that benefit him in some way. Words are cheap and undoing all the good that Obama might have managed to accomplish, despite so much opposition, will only serve to show trump's *might*, and not much more. Maybe I am naïve and ignorant but that's sure how it looks to me, from the outside looking in.

It's very scary, about your grandson's school. No one should have to live in that kind of fear.

>77 jessibud2: Shelley, I can't watch that man on television or the internet. The less I see of his face, the better. I try to get my news from The Washington Post and from the Facebook pages of my state senators (two) and congressman (one). All three are liberal Democrats who oppose Trump. They are handicapped in what they can do as they are in the minority in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. I also subscribed to The Nation which is the oldest U.S. magazine and is a progressive magazine so it comforts me. Other than that, the rest of the news that flies about terrifies me.

I don't think times are different. Anything can happen anywhere as we know from Nazi Europe when and where my mom lost her parents. We swing both ways, but this is the worst I've seen in my own country in my lifetime.

I will be at my niece's birthday party on Saturday. I will watch the march on television. I do not wish to be in downtown DC this inauguration weekend. I will participate in other marches, just not this one.

The problem is not only the incoming president but also his cabinet of individuals who are totally inappropriate for those jobs. Listening to their confirmation hearings is excruciating so I listen for a few minutes and then turn them off. I don't know how intelligent, decent people can accept this state of being.

"I won't be watching the inauguration tomorrow." You will not be alone, Shelley. It is damp & gloomy here today. Fitting weather, don't you think?

>79 msf59: - True, Mark. Very appropriate weather, indeed. As it should be.

That cartoon you posted on your thread makes me wonder why one of them isn't retching into a barf bag. I missed a huge chunk of my morning radio program this morning because, obviously, a lot of it was devoted to the *events* of the day, south of the border and I can't even listen, so I kept turning off the radio. I have a couple of books to finish this weekend and a bunch of dvds borrowed from the library to get through (this is fairly new to me; I rarely borrow dvds from them but got a bit carried away!). It's also going to be unseasonably warm here this weekend, with or without the sun so I hope to also spend a good bit of time outdoors. I heard about a new art installation on our Harbourfront so I may check that out. It isn't a place I normally think to go in winter, but in fact, that's the point of this art; it's called Ice Breakers.

LOL! Now that would be great! It would probably be Abe.

>80 jessibud2: Well the Trump era has started. Let's hope it will not be as bad as most fear.

Have a great weekend, Shelley.

Good morning, Paul. I have a meetup this afternoon (with friends from my other book site, Bookcrossing). We meet regularly, about every other month, to eat, chat and exchange books. We all bring books, spread them out on the table. I always hope to come home with fewer than I bring. It doesn't always work out that way, however....

Someone posted this pic and it cracked me up. I suspect we could have a field day, creating captions:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C2qnqB5WIAEZVd3.jpg

;-)

Have good weekend, you too.

Stopped by to star you and to say how delightful to make your acquaintance. We will have to bring you to the Boston Area sometime, soon! When I lived in Michigan, we used to get to Toronto fairly often. Especially easy with the train from Windsor.

When I was a student at U of M, I did a political internship in Queen's Park there, working for Stuart Smith, then Leader of the Liberal Party. My husband, a fellow UM student in the program, and I met there. He has an embarrassing story about me on stage at the Brunswick House (does that even still exist?) singing He's Got the Whole World In His Hands with a midget. :-)

We even had our honeymoon in Toronto! We'll have a Lime & Lager for old time's sake, every once in a while.

>84 michigantrumpet: - LOL! Yes, I even drove right by the Brunswick House this afternoon. But, sad to report, Honest Ed's closed its doors this past Dec. 31. Sad day for the city. Do you remember the Bloor Cinema? It's now a dedicated documentary cinema (The Hot Docs Cinema) and I am a member and am there frequently. I just saw a terrific documentary tribute film to Leonard Cohen there on Thursday, called I'm Your Man.

Not sure when I will get back down to the Boston area. My last trip there was such a great road trip. We drove from TO to Corning, NY, then to Boston where we stayed for a few days at a lovely hotel right near Fenway. We took in a Red Sox vs Toronto Blue Jays game (and we won, of course), then drove on up to Cooperstown, to the baseball Hall of Fame.

Anyhow, if you ever make it back this way, do let me know!

>84 michigantrumpet: singing He's Got the Whole World In His Hands with a midget.

Please tell me there's video... :D

>86 drneutron: thank heavens it was a pre-smartphone innocent time. It is a pretty hilarious mind picture, though!

All I can say is that I was set up.

>84 michigantrumpet: - The name Stuart Smith doesn't ring a bell. When was that? I moved here in 1980.

I know that not many people visit my thread, but for what it's worth, I wanted to add something good and beautiful to all the ugliness and freakishness out there in the world lately. Last week, I saw an excellent documentary film that was a tribute to Leonard Cohen. Our local doc cinema had a tribute series of 3 films; I saw the first (it was basically lousy, a film of a European concert tour in the 70s, when he was in his 30s, and I didn't like it), I missed the second film but this one, called *I'm Your Man* was just wonderful. The audience actually applauded at the end. There were a lot of clips of Cohen talking, and a lot of actual concert pieces. His backup band, especially his 2 backup singers, Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla, are magnificent, with or without him! So, I googled Perla Batalla and came up with a couple of clips I'd like to share here. Enjoy.

Anthem: (these are Cohen's 2 backup singers, Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla and this was from the actual film)": https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=perla+batalla&view=detail&mid=5E879...

Cohen himself (and you can just see the chemistry between him and the women):
Dance Me to the End of Love: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=perla+batalla&&view=detail&mid=...

>89 jessibud2: I love Leonard Cohen and those two clips are great, thanks for sharing them Shelley!
Watching Leonard perform "Dance me to the end of love" (and two other songs) at the BBC with Jools Holland in the 1990s made us fall in love with him. Shortly after that we bought his CD "The future" that was for years semi-permanent in the CD-player in our car. Still one of our favourite CDs.

Thanks for the Cohen clips! I saw "Bird on a Wire" recently, at a benefit for Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. I really liked it.

>91 banjo123: - *Bird on a Wire* was the one I saw last week that I couldn't remember the title of and wasn't that crazy about, to be honest. I guess I didn't like the grainy, *coloured* lens filters and style, and other than following him from venue to venue, there wasn't much focus. Also, the horrific war clips in the middle of it felt gratuitous and completely unnecessary for a concert tour film. And his *crying* and walking out in the middle of his final concert - what the heck was that all about?

The one I missed last week was this one: http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/list.aspx?epguid=a1a41036-cbe1-4f35-b...; and it looked like it was a good one. I hope they bring it back to our doc cinema (they often do have repeat showings).

The one I saw and loved was this one: http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=58720~fff311b7-cdad...;

Remember when we could go the Blockbuster video and rent a movie? Those days are long gone but I have recently discovered (yeah, I know, as usual, late to the party...), that our local libraries have DVDs that you can borrow for free. As many as you want, though the borrow time is only one week, as opposed to 3 weeks for books and audiobooks. Anyhow, I went a bit crazy last week and took out a bunch. I have 3 left to watch before they are due back tomorrow.

I still tend to lean toward documentaries or non-fiction and found some really good ones. A doc film that I missed seeing at last year's Hot Docs festival here in Toronto was called Best of Enemies. It chronicled the classic tv debates in 1968 between lifelong enemies Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley Jr. Oh. My. Goodness. I found that watching it yesterday, through the very new filter of the trump era politics, gave it a level of meaning that I likely would not have got if I had seen it last year. It not only showed quite a bit of each debate but also of the politics of that time, the rise of the Republican movement as it has *evolved* (and I use the term very loosely) to what we see today. *shudder*. Admittedly, I have never read anything by either of those men and am not sure I want to but I have certainly heard of them.

Another doc that I watched last night was from the PBS show Frontline and featured Dr. Atul Gawande talking about how he came to write his amazing and important book, Being Mortal. I read the book a couple of years ago and seeing this doc was such a surprising and excellent complement to it. It first aired on Frontline in February 2015.

Morning, Shelley! Hooray for libraries! I remember seeing Best of Enemies, earlier last year. Good stuff.

And yah, for Being Mortal! Such a good book.

> Hi Mark. I should have added, above, that the one hour episode on the dvd was like having an extra chapter in the book, Being Mortal. It showed Gawande talking with his mom about his dad's illness, showed some home movie clips of his family, plus he talked about how difficult it was for himself, to have those tough, end-of-life conversations, not only in his practice but in his own family. And how he decided to interview and follow some palliative physicians, experts in doing just that, in order to learn how to talk to, and listen to patients. It showed actual patients (I think there were 4 or 5 that we saw throughout) having these conversations. It would be the perfect follow-up to view right after reading the book. In fact, it would be great if it actually came with the book, kind-of as a final chapter!

This came up earlier in Marianne's (michigantrumpet) thread, and I was suddenly reminded of a rally song from a few years ago. I have decided to post this on my thread, too, for all my American friends, as a sort of *next step* idea, post-marches. Here is what I posted on another site this evening:

So, now that the marches are over and have been so successful, the question is, what's next. I was discussing the news (what else) with some American friends today and I remembered a few years ago (2015), before Justin Trudeau succeeded in ousting Harper as our Prime Minister. Harper had a lot of bad politics and was, among other things, muzzling scientists from reporting their findings on a variety of subjects. There was some creative pushback and it took me a bit of googling to find it but this song spread across the country like wildfire. A friend of mine reminded me that she participated in a singalong that gathered in her local town to sing it, sort-of like the marches but on a much smaller scale. After finding the link this afternoon, I listened to it again and it astounded me how timely it is for the current political situation Americans are facing. Maybe this could be a next step, changing the words slightly to fit your situation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei50lM6ab1c

(read the back story, too):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIJmW6yjnC8

I'm sure Canadians here will remember this!

Confession time, Shelley! I donated to Leadnow and the Liberals and I was all about STOP HARPER, but I'd never seen that video or backstory before. Perhaps because I live on the West Coast? I have to say that Harper was a lightweight compared to CRAZY TRUMP, but yes, so glad Harper is gone! First time I began donating to political parties and even Leadnow, just designed to get Harper out by strategic voting. ( Leadnow) still has other initiatives, as I am sure you know.

>97 vancouverdeb: - Confession time for me too, Deb. I never heard of Leadnow! Maybe it was a west coast thing?

Shelley--I have enjoyed your comments over on the Obama thread and now I have starred your thread here. In summary--Sorry about your password trouble --glad you overcame; Good luck reading more this year; and I didn't vote for Trump. There's more, but this should let you know that I read your thread and moving forward I will try to stay caught up. ; )

I'm so hopeful (which sounds odd) that the resistance to Trump and the other far-right politicians will do some good. We're (even those across the pond who have less of an immediate vested interest in it) in for a bloody rough 4 years but by keeping active, and being proactive, I feel we can make it through the blip. It will be excruciating, and it may cost a lot, but all things must pass!

>99 Berly: - Thanks, Kim! Welcome. My thread is the slow lane, compared to the highway speeds on some other threads but every now and then, I hit the gas pedal, ;-) You are welcome to hop on board any time

Wow, how odd. I just posted my last comment and looking back, I see the are 2 threads with #99. How did that happen??!

Never mind. It just corrected itself. That was weird. And no, I did NOT hallucinate it. Lunacat's post was also labeled #99.

Never mind...

Yesterday, I finished One Hundred Names for Love by Diane Ackerman.

Highly acclaimed author Diane Ackerman has written many books about a wide variety of subjects, from science to poetry to gardening. She had just finished writing a book about the workings of the brain An Alchemy of Mind when, as fate would have it, her husband, also a very prolific author and wordsmith, suffered a massive stroke that left him aphasic. Aphasia is the loss of language, of the ability to speak, sometimes also the ability to read and write or even understand language. Devastating for any one of us to imagine, but for 2 people whose very lives revolve around words and language - hard to think of a worse fate.

This book is her chronicle of his rehabilitation, her own struggles as his primary caregiver and the creativity and energy she called on to help him recover. There is no *cure* for stroke but there is a lot of valuable insight, knowledge and work here for anyone who has been - or might one day have to be - faced with the daunting task of being a caregiver in such a situation. Ackerman draws on her own knowledge of the brain, and uses language that is readable and understandable to the lay reader, to explain the hows and whys and where (to the extent that we know these things) the brain processes and stores language, and habits and even movement. As a teacher of kids with brain injuries and language disorders, this covered a lot of areas of particular interest to me but also, I can see this book as being a valuable resource and roadmap for the medical profession and caregivers; and also, a source of hope and encouragement to think outside the box when it comes to tailoring a rehab program to fit the patient. One of Ackerman's main messages in this book, arrived at perhaps more by chance than design, was to focus on the interests of the patient, to appeal to what most excites them in order to get them actively participating in regaining their language and engaging in communication.

http://www.dianeackerman.com/one-hundred-names-for-love-by-diane-ackerman

If you scroll down a bit, there are 2 short videos with Diane and Paul, talking about the stroke.

I was surprised to learn that the stroke happened in 2003. The book was published in 2011. He died in 2015, of pneumonia, at age 85, a full 12 years after it happened.

This was really an excellent read.

>102 jessibud2: I had that happen on my thread, and Paul says it happens when lots of entries are being made all at once and then, yes, it does fix itself.

>103 jessibud2: My neighbor at my old house had a stroke that left him aphasic. I know him well enough that I can still talk to him and he can use yes/no headshakes and his eyes to answer me, but it is so hard to see him speechless. He is such a gregarious person and now that's not easy for him.

Imagine a Night, Imagine a Day, Imagine a Place words by Sarah Thomson, magnificent illustrations by Rob Gonsalves.

I wasn't sure if I should include and review these books as they are technically children's books and don't have much text. But then I figured, why not. They are beautiful, and the text that goes with each illustration is poetry. And I love them

So, here goes: Imagine a Night
Although Thomson is American, Gonsalves is Canadian and I am including these books as Canadian reads, for my own purpose of reading more Canadian books this year. 2 of the 3 have won a GG (Governor General) award, a Canadian award for excellence and distinction in literature.

Gonsalves' artwork is described as magic realism and is somewhat reminiscent of Escher or Magritte but in my opinion, his work is much more ethereal yet photographic, at the same time. He studied and worked as an architect as well and that comes through in the work, too. His images are so evocative, so imaginative, and, together with the short poetic words of Thomson, make these books absolutely mesmerizing. I wondered which came first: did Gonsalves read the words and interpret them in his images or did Thomson see the art and interpret it in her words? But in this, the first book, it does say, at the end, that the images came first, and inspired the word.

Imagine a Day -
The second in the *Imagine a...* series of books, a masterful collaboration between illustrator Rob Gonsalves and writer Sarah Thomson. My favourite image from this book is interpreted by these words:

*Imagine a day... when a book swings open on silent hinges, and a place you've never seen before welcomes you home. Imagine...today.*

Imagine a Place - The third in the *Imagine a...* series. My favourite book image from this volume is interpreted by these words: *Imagine a place...where words shelter you, ideas uphold you, and thoughts lead you to the secret inside the labyrinth.*

There is also another painting that is striking, a winter scene in the deep of night: *Imagine a place...where water is solid, light is liquid, sky a frozen river flowing under your feet.*

I just learned that there is a fourth book, called Imagine a World. I will be looking for that one next week!

LOL! I have one of those page-a-day calendars for my desk this year. Its theme is Great Quotes by famous (or inspirational) people. The quote for yesterday was this:

"As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey." - Thomas Edison

I would add, and reading is better than work! ;-)

Stopping through to say howdy. I loved that Vidal/Buckley documentary. They seem so utterly erudite compared to the level of political discussions these days. outliving Buckley, one might have said Vidal had the last laugh. Although, given the tenor of the times, perhaps Buckley did.

The weekend went by quickly, didn't it?

To the Canadian LTers out there: this morning, on the CBC radio show *q*, host Tom Power will introduce the five notable Canadians who will make up this year's Canada Reads panel and the must-read books of 2017 that each of them will champion. Does anyone know (I forget, from year to year, apparently!), are the five final books already chosen or is that down the road a bit?

"Late to the Party" is apropos of my message - I can't believe I didn't have you starred, Shelley.

Glad your computer woes are over, glad you despise the Bloviating Orange Gasbag, and I didn't vote for him either.

Happy Tuesday!

Huh? Sneak peak for Canada Reads. One of the panelists who will be revealed later this morning, is on the morning show, as I type. The book he will be defending (I guess that answers one of my questions), is Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis. I must be going a bit crazy because I am having a deja vu. Wasn't this book already on Canada Reads? Or somewhere? I could swear I've heard someone talking about/defending it before

>109 karenmarie: - Hi Karen! The door is always open here! Welcome!

>107 michigantrumpet: - Ha! No kidding, Marianne! The *level* of political discourse these days tends to be, well, below sea level (except for Obama; he never *went low*). I actually found another dvd at the library, just about Vidal but I will have to watch it tonight as it's due back tomorrow and I don't think they allow renewals on dvds.

>110 jessibud2: Shelley, Fifteen Dogs won the Giller Prize and the Roger's Trust prize in 2015, but for whatever reason did not make it onto the Canada Reads list ( not sure how all of that works.0 I enjoyed it, thought it was unusual. For Canada Reads, I'm hoping for The Break by Katherena Vermette. I thought The Break was very timely and was a fascinating look into First Nations people living off the reserve , in the North End of Winnipeg. Hmm- not sure if it is down to the 5 finalists or not . Just full of opinions on the few books I have read on the long list :)

Ah, just checked and the 5 finalist for Canada reads have been announced!

I heard a really interesting interview this morning on The Current, a current affairs radio program on CBC. The host interviewed David Frum. I am not sure how many of you would know who he is. Originally Canadian (he was born here in Toronto, and his late mother, Barbara Frum was a well-known and well-respected journalist/broadcaster on the CBC for decades). Anyhow, he now lives in the States and is a staunch Republican (worked for the Bushes, I think, was W's speech writer). However, he is about as anti-trump as you can get, and that's a good thing. I think it can only be good when Republicans openly and vocally speak out against trump. He was also the first of the guest speakers in that 6-week morning lecture series I was in, last fall, before the election.

He also writes for the Atlantic. What he says is scary but I think he is worth listening to as he speaks and writes from a base of a lot of knowledge and knowing how the system works from inside. He also does offer some real options, some real ideas for action, beyond just demonstrating, and hang-wringing, at the end of his interview here. I think that is what is needed now, next steps that make sense. Apparently, this interview is based on an article he wrote in the current issue of The Atlantic. If you have the time, it's a bit long but worth the listen:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-february-2-2017-1.3962070/how...

(click the *listen* button)

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. Hope you are having a good week.

I will have to stop back and listen to the Frum piece. Sounds interesting.

Hi Shelley--Just keeping up here. Would like to read one of the Canadian authors. And also interested to listen to Frum...

>115 msf59: - Thanks, Mark. Tomorrow's Friday! :-)

The Frum piece is worth a read/listen. Oddly, he only came onto my radar recently. I was a huge fan of his mother's - she hosted the nightly tv news show *The Journal* for many years before her death. Interviewed leaders from around the globe. I even went to her memorial after she died and the atrium in the downtown CBC building is called the Barbara Frum Atrium. She died in 1992, at the way too young age of 54.

Anyhow, his interview is good. I may try to pick up a copy of The Atlantic, to see if there is more.

>116 Berly: - Hi Kim. I am not sure about the 5 books up for the Canada Reads competition, this year. Is that what you are referring to? Of course, I shouldn't be judging without reading, but they just don't seem to appeal to me, this time round. I am currently in the middle of at least 3 or 4 others so I am in no hurry to add more, at the moment

The Atlantic is one of those publications that is doing important work right now. I subscribed to it years ago, and then let it lapse. I have recently subscribed again and encourage others to do so in support of quality journalism.

>118 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I just got home and of course, forgot totally to look for the magazine. I will put that on my list for tomorrow, as this edition has just come out so I don't think it will be difficult to find.

Hi Shelley, just passing by to see how you are doing my dear and hope you have a lovely relaxing weekend. Sending love and hugs.

Happy Sunday, Shelley! Hope you are enjoying your weekend. How are those current reads?

>120 johnsimpson: - Hi John, thanks for stopping by. I need to catch up on your thread too. Hope you are well

>121 msf59: - Good morning, Mark. I just finished an audiobook, The Theft of Memory and should have my review up soon. I will likely finish The Mammy this afternoon. Should have finished it yesterday but I spent way more time than I thought was necessary yesterday afternoon assembling a new floor lamp I bought. The instructions were very IKEA-like (I bought it at Lowe's) and normally, that wouldn't phase me, but one of the pieces just wouldn't attach properly and I was determined not to have to disassemble the whole thing and bring it back so I persevered. And persevered. And persevered. Eventually, it paid off and it is now standing. The shade is a bit crooked but that's fixable and until I get the proper light bulb later today, I am not going to sweat it. Ha!

I am also really enjoying my book for the non-fiction challenge, Explorers House, about the establishment of National Geographic. Did you know that Alexander Graham Bell was one of the original presidents? I didn't! It's a good read so far. And of course, I will get back to Kindred. I didn't make it for January, but I started it and plan to finish it before this month is up!

Happy Sunday Shelley!

Good for you for persevering on the lamp.

Shelley--Happy Sunday!! It feels good not to give up, to beat those inanimate objects into submission, doesn't it? LOL Glad your lamp is assembled. Happy reading.

I am not a football person at all, so for all you other non-*bowl* people, here's an alternative. ;-):

The Puppy Bowl: http://www.vox.com/culture/2017/2/4/14480722/puppy-bowl-explained

The Bunny Bowl: http://mashable.com/2017/02/02/bunny-bowl/#T.qChwI2yOq3

The Kitten Bowl: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/kitten-bowl

>124 Berly: - Yep, it does. I swore a bit, but just a bit. In the end, I won! :-D

I hope you enjoyed The Mammy as much as I did, Shelley. I have to start looking for book 2.

The Theft of Memory

I listened to this book as an audiobook, read wonderfully by Sean Runnette. This is the story of the author's relationship with his father (with both his parents, really), in his father's final years, as his decline from Alzheimer's takes its inevitable toll.

Jonathan Kozol is an educator and established writer in his own right, often writing about the state of education in the United States. His father, Dr. Harry Kozol was a neuropsychiatrist, highly respected and accomplished in his field. His clients included some rather high-profile names, as well, but, as his son Jonathan recounts, in going through his father's papers, notes and files, the elder Kozol was a highly ethical man in his dealings with all his patients and always treated everyone with the same care and respect. I did wonder about some of the details revealed about some of those high profile patients (Eugene O'Neil, Patty Hearst, the Boston Strangler), but I am going to assume that Kozol, being a seasoned writer himself, did due diligence when it came to permissions and patient confidentiality, I enjoyed the trips down memory lane for Jonathan, as he revealed his father's (and to a lesser degree, his mother's) early lives. Both parents lived long, full lives (both dying at 100+ years). This memoir chronicles with great love, lives well-lived and the tragedy of this insidious disease. He also chronicles the tremendous amount of care (and expense) required to allow a life of dignity to proceed to its natural end. He was fortunate that he had the resources, financial and otherwise, to allow this to happen for his parents, as I suspect that many - maybe most - people would not have such means available to them. The quality of care, too, for the very elderly, and infirm, is another source of very real concern, as Kozol experienced first hand from his father's primary physicians. I wish this was an area of medicine that was making better progress, as we age, ourselves. Overall, I enjoyed this book. The reader's voice was excellent, soft-spoken, and loving.

The Mammy by Brendan O'Carroll

Such a sweet, down-to-earth story. Agnes Browne is newly widowed, a working class Irish mom of 7, just trying to get through her days in the 1960s Dublin, with dignity, and hope and humour. She is best friend to Marion, supportive mom to her eldest teenage son, and Number One Defender to her young daughter in a bullying incident at school that had me laughing out loud. She is at once an innocent but also life-savvy. This deceivingly short novel encompasses the gritty but poignant and tender moments of life. It is the first of a trilogy of books about the Browne family. I look forward to the next 2!

Loved the Puppy Bowl!

>129 jessibud2: Ooh, that sounds good. Adding it to the wish list.

The alternative Bowl games are a hoot! We do need levity in these times.

>114 jessibud2: Thanks for that link. I will listen this afternoon. And I have already renewed my subscription to The New Yorker, The New York Times (on line), The Guardian.... but I think I would like to get The Atlantic again, as well. I used to get it and let it lapse (like Linda). It is a time to support honest journalism.

Hi Shelley!

I didn't watch the Kitten Bowl this year, so thanks for the link. I'll have to catch up on it.

I've never heard of the bunny bowl. Live and learn!

>132 karenmarie: - I will be honest, Karen I'd never heard of any of those *bowls*. A friend who knows I am not into football sent those links to me, to be funny. :-)

Hi, Shelley. Just stopping by to say hi. Look's like you've had a great start to the year. Best of luck to you with your reading.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. So glad you enjoyed The Mammy. I passed on my copy to my friend in AZ, who is Irish and a big reader. Now I need to track down book 2.

>135 msf59: - Hi Mark. Yes, I'll keep my eyes open for book 2, as well. I passed on the author and title to my friend who is a huge fan of Roddy Doyle and his book, The Commitments. I told her about The Mammy and she thinks she will like it.

>134 ASplashOfMusic09: - Hi there, and welcome. Either I am having a senior's moment (though I seldom admit to that), or I am just not recognizing your name. In any case, welcome! :-)

This afternoon, on cbc radio, on the noon time call-in radio program, the host, Rita Celli, had a lit prof from University of Toronto on. They were talking about why people are turning to dystopian literature these days, as in, 1984 is sold out on Amazon. Such an interesting conversation. Octavia Butler's name came up (not for Kindred, but for other titles by her). Also, a book that I have somewhere, and really want to read now, The Plot Against America, as well as films that deal with the current political climate. One that was mentioned, that I have not seen but have heard about, *Wag the Dog*.

If you are interested in the conversation, here is the link:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/programs/ontariotoday/why-you-re-reading-dy...

(I find it a bit weird that, with a lit prof on, the link has the word *literature* misspelled, lol).

In this link, along the right side, is the twitter feed; if you read from the bottom, up, you can see some of the suggestions that came up during the conversation:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/programs/ontariotoday

Hmmm, food for thought: I subscribe to the online newsletter called A Word A Day. At the end of each day's email, there is a thought of the day. Anyhow, how's this for timely (chosen, I'm sure, deliberately):

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else. -Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President (1858-1919)

That's pretty spot on. I really love that... paragraph. I don't know what to call it, haha. Other people should read that. The president wouldn't know how to improve his reign when nobody tells him(or her) his mistakes. That said, the president should listen to his citizens when they give advice or suggestions and not just snub them.

And I'm new to the group, so you wouldn't recognize me.

>139 ASplashOfMusic09: - Well, that's good. At least I am NOT having a senior's moment, lol! Welcome. Yes, I thought that was a pretty interesting quote. Though, it's unlikely trump would listen to anyone, so it's more wishful thinking, I guess

>138 jessibud2: Thanks for sharing that. I'm going to "borrow" it myself.

Thanks, Shelley, for all the interesting links especially the one about Frum.

Here's a favor in return: The Washington Post has been doing some excellent investigative reporting. If you are an Amazon Prime member, you can 6 months of the WP for FREE. Here's how to sign up:

http://gizmodo.com/amazon-prime-gets-you-the-washington-post-for-free-but-178765...

>141 laytonwoman3rd: - Go right ahead, Linda. I was especially impressed by the author of the quote and the date!

>142 michigantrumpet: - Thanks for thinking of me, Marianne. I am actually not a member (or, particularly, a fan) of Amazon, so I'll pass on that one but I did pick up a copy of the Atlantic this afternoon. My local bookstore was all out of the New Yorker so I'll try another place when I go downtown on Saturday. I try to read as many articles online as I can and my friends in the States are always forwarding links to me. I've noticed that the Washington Post won't let me read articles online unless I sign up, even for the *free* ones. I find that rather odd. If they are free, then why block the reader? I'll sign up if I'm paying for something but not if I'm not. It just seem to be yet another way to gather *user info* and who knows where that ends up. Anyhow, it's probably not a bad thing for me to have one less online addiction....
;-)

I was browsing around my local bookstore this afternoon, as I often do, to see what's new and exciting. I jot down authors and titles, so I can remember them.

With all the recent buzz about Orwell's 1984, I was quite intrigued to see another book getting some attention. It is called 2084, by an Algerian author, Boualem Sansal, translated from the French. It was published in 2015, and I had never heard of this man before. When I got home, I googled and found some interesting info on Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boualem_Sansal

This book, by the blurb on the back, is about how, in 2084, the world is run by Islamic fundamentalists, everyone must believe in one god, but, hidden away, off their radar, are a group of older people, from *before* this edict. The main character, from what I could tell, somehow finds them and wants to join them. It might be an interesting read, for the comparison value, if nothing else. I may see if my library has it.

I also saw another book that I had not heard of, non-fiction, and this one appeals to me enough that I would buy it, but would wait for it to come out in softcover. It's called Steal Away Home by Karolyn Smardz Frost, about a woman who escaped on the Underground Railroad to Canada, only to keep in touch, via a 20-year correspondence, with her former owner. It sounds pretty intriguing. (none of the touchstones available for this title are right)

http://www.macleans.ca/culture/books/why-a-slave-whod-escaped-to-canada-kept-in-...

I'm keeping my eye on this one.

>138 jessibud2: Wow. I agree, totally spot on. I might copy and paste it somewhere....

I am interested in reading The Plot Against America. Shortly after the inauguration, I read an interview with Philip Roth about being a novelist in these times. It was very interesting (and I'm not sure I can find it). Anyway, perhaps there is broader interest in a group read later this year.

Oh, I will keep an eye out for Steal Away Home, too. It sounds very interesting!

> Listening to the CBC piece. I love the CNN correspondent giving Kellyanne serious grief for her assertion that we need to give the president a break, and saying "what about the demonstrably false statements coming out of the white house? None of those have been retracted!" Or words to that effect.

>145 EBT1002: - I've never participated in a group read, Ellen. If you think that it might happen, please let me know. I would definitely be interested

Shelley--Theft of Memory and The Mammy both sound wonderful! Okay, so does Steal Away Home. This place is dangerous!! I'm leaving. ; )

>144 jessibud2: I read The German Mujahid by Sansal this year, Shelley, and my library has 2084, I will look for it as it sounds interesting.

>149 FAMeulstee: - Oh, good to know. He is an author I had never heard of but reading about him in that Wikipedia article, I am interested in reading his work, too.

Hi Shelley! I am going to borrow >138 jessibud2: too.

>151 karenmarie: - Happy to share, Karen. Spread the good word! :-)

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

From my page-a-day calendar, for yesterday (the theme of this calendar is inspirational quotes by famous people):

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Martin Luther King Jr.

(of course, I'd have preferred the pronoun *person* instead of *man* but will concede to the times...)

>154 jessibud2: Morning, Shelley! Happy Sunday! Thanks for sharing the MLK quote.

We were talking about the nominated films awhile back. I have been slowly making my way through them. We just watched Arrival. I liked it but not sure it should have been nominated. I have Manchester By the Sea, Fences, Lion to see yet. My favorite so far, is La La Land, followed closely by Moonlight. I also saw Hacksaw Ridge, this past week. Okay film. Should not have been nominated.

Thoughts?

Hi Mark. Happy Sunday to you, too. I have seen Hidden Figures (by far, my number one favourite). I also saw Manchester by the Sea and just yesterday, I saw Lala Land. It was good, fun, but not (in my opinion) Oscar material. But then again, I am not on the voting committee, hehe. I read the book that Lion was adapted from and the book was outstanding. I have wanted to see the film for awhile and hope to, maybe this week. Also want to see Fences and Jackie. Haven't seen the others you've mentioned.

Stopping by to say hi! Enjoy your Sunday! We have Monday off in BC, for ' family day", but of course my husband is working. At least the snow is gone.

Hi Deb,

It's snowing hard as I type! It was supposed to be +8 today but apparently, soeone got that wrong! We could get 10 cm before it's over.

Another quote for the day, from the AWAD (A Word A Day) newsletter:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The people of these United States are the rightful masters of both Congresses and courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.
-Abraham Lincoln, 16th US President (12 Feb 1809-1865)

I forgot to mention Hidden Figures. It is a very good film and I would put it right at the top. I highly recommend reading the book too, since the film only covers a small portion of that story.

There was a freshness to La La Land, that I really admired and the leads were terrific. It is very rare to see jazz featured in a film too, which I really I found very satisfying.

I also want to see Jackie!

When I went with my friend yesterday, our intent was to see Jackie but, believe it or not, it was sold out! So we opted for Lala Land instead.

It's been snowing heavily and steadily for the last few hours and isn't looking to stop, any time soon. My friend is out of town for a few days and I have been going over there to feed her cats. I also noticed yesterday, that I have in my wallet a $!0 gift card for Chapters (our local bookstore) which, oddly, expires today. I have to use it today or lose it. So, the booklover's dilemma. I am a major winter wimp when it comes to driving in bad weather. On Friday, when I went to feed the cats, even though it's a very short drive, I had a difficult time stopping at one stop sign. The idiot behind me was driving way too close and it's only a miracle that he didn't slide into the back of my car. So, this morning, I am debating whether to drive to B's house, or walk. It would be at least a 20 minute walk each way, possibly more because of the snow. But if I drive then I could go to the bookstore right after and would then only be going out in this mess the one time. Can't get to the bookstore if I walk. Do I go now, in the hope that there might not be much traffic, or wait till later in the day, in the hope that maybe the snow will have stopped and roads plowed?

I know that a $10 gift card is hardly worth risking a drive in bad weather, but who among us hasn't obsessed at the chance to spend a gift card in a bookstore? Of course, it's my own fault for not remembering that this one had an expiry date. Sigh... I think I already know my own answer... :-(

Update: I am home now. I decided to drive to my friend's, just to see how bad the roads are. It is one straight street, pretty much, from my house to hers, though it has a gentle slope. There were no other cars, going there so I didn't feel too guilty about not coming to a full stop at one stop sign. I made it there safely. After finishing up, though, I realized I had left my brush in my garage to dry off so I had to use my mittens to clear snow off my car to go home. The drive up the little hill was not fun. The one car on the road ahead of me clearly did not have snow tires and had absolutely no traction on the slope. I was afraid he'd slide back into me and I was worried about trying to pass him on the left in case another car came in the other direction and couldn't stop. Fortunately, there were no other cars so I took a deep breath and did it. I made it home safely but unless the snow actually stops and there is some serious road plowing before I have to go back for the evening meal, there will be one less book in my house today.

I really hate winter driving

Can anyone tell me how to find a thread that isn't a 75 group? I used to have it starred - in's called In Memorium. I can't seem to find it now, I guess it somehow got unstarred, maybe when had my computer issues. I went to the groups page but don't see it there

>162 jessibud2: Don't lose it for heaven's sake - t'would be a tragedy!

>163 jessibud2: You can trace it from the record of your previous activity. Your groups should also help you. Use the top left hand side of your page Captioned "Your World"

>162 jessibud2: - Well, I had some luck today. The snow eventually did stop for a short while, enough for the plows to clear the roads. I decided to walk to my friend's house anyhow and it was still snowing then but really beautiful out anyhow. It was not cold at all and there was no wind so it was just lovely to walk in. It took me 10 minutes to walk there and 15 minutes to walk back. I had a strategy, though. I was able to see that the roads were clear and on my way home, I noticed that one of the side streets was also cleared. That clinched it for me. I knew that if I took that street, I could avoid the part of the road with the hill that caused the problem this morning. So, I got home, grabbed my car keys and off I went. I purchased the book I mentioned in >144 jessibud2:, called Steal Away Home (the one that has no touchtone to link to). But that article I linked to in that post tells about the book and the author. It was a good book to purchase for Black History month although I probably won't get to read it this month; at least it's in my possession. Also, I like that it's by a Canadian author, and a new one, to me, at that! I also saw on the shelf, a book about Michelle Obama (published in 2015) but I limited myself to the one book today. I also managed to drive home before it was completely dark outside, so that was good, too. Poor visibility in this weather, on the roads, was not something I needed or wanted to deal with.

>164 PaulCranswick: Paul, I tried that and no luck. I can't find that *In Memorium* thread anywhere. Maybe there isn't one any more? Seems odd to me

Here is a list of all of the groups on LT . Maybe you can find it there? https://www.librarything.com/groups/all Or do you mean the *in memorium* thread that is on the 75's thread - which is here http://www.librarything.com/topic/243783 .

>167 vancouverdeb: - You know, Deb, I am not sure if it was a thread in the 75ers group. I think I just noticed it once and starred it. That was last year, when the year began with so many celebrity losses. I starred it and followed it all year, whenever an author or someone famous died. I noticed today that in recent days, the Indian American author Bharati Mukherjee had passed away and I wanted to see if the thread had noted that or if not, then I would post it. That's when I realized that it was no longer in my list of starred threads. I tried a few different ways to look for it but had no success. Mukherjee was married to Canadian author Clark Blaise

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/01/books/bharati-mukherjee-dead-author-jasmine.h...

Shelley--I show the same link as Deb up in >167 vancouverdeb: for the In Memoriam thread for 2017.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/243783

Glad you safely made it out and grabbed your book!! Phew.

>169 Berly: - That's it! Thanks, Kim. And, oddly, it is still starred for me. I wonder why it didn't show up as starred the first time I looked for it. And Deb, did you edit in that same link after you originally posted >167 vancouverdeb:? Or did I just not notice? No matter, thank you both!

>170 jessibud2: : )

>172 lunacat: - Heehee. I am retired! Mondays no are longer a threat..... ;-)

"I am retired!" I can not wait to utter those words, Shelley. My time will come...

Enjoy your day, my friend.

>Hi Mark. Yes, your time will come. In honest truth, I NEVER thought I'd live to see the day, myself, never thought I'd be able to afford it. But never say never! :-)

I just saw this article. "Teenagers Who Vandalized Historic Black Schoolhouse Are Ordered to Read Books."

What a wonderful and thoughtful *sentence* the judge handed down to a group of teenage vandals in Virginia. And what a reading list!

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/us/black-school-racist-sexist-graffiti.html?s...

>173 jessibud2: I don't know, even as a retiree (I'm not, but I am signed off of work because of medical conditions so similar), Monday can still sneak up and give you a kick at times!

>166 jessibud2: The In Memoriam thread is one of the ones I keep on our group wiki page here: http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/Groups:75booksin2017

You can always get to the group wiki and the Threadbook from the group home page.

>178 drneutron: - Thanks, Jim. I will save that link, too. I hadn't realized the In Memorium was part of the 75ers group or that might have made my search easier. Even though I spent a considerable (read: ridiculous) amount of time going through all the titles of threads I found via the *Groups* tab, I might have missed it and really wasn't sure how else to search. So I asked. That usually works best! ;-)

I am still mystified how it didn't show up in my own list of starred threads yet, when I eventually did get there, it WAS still showing as starred by me. I access the threads via the *talk* tab.

Live and learn... thanks again

>159 jessibud2: That is a powerful quote in today's times.
I had the MLK quote you posted in >154 jessibud2: as part of my auto signature on my work email for a while. I've returned to the Buddha quote: "When words are both kind and true, they can change our world." I may have to switch to Lincoln now....

After a movie mini-binge in December, I have fallen behind again. I still want to see Fences, Jackie, Lion, and Manchester by the Sea. I *loved* Hidden Figures and also Moonlight.

>180 EBT1002: - Fences, Jackie and Lion are still on my gotta see list.

I can never seem to stay awake long enough to catch Saturday Night Live, well, live. And for some bizarre reason, every time I try to find the clips online, either by googling, or on youtube or even on the NBC site, I get the message that those clips are not authorized for viewing in my region. I even called my computer guy to see if it was a browser issue or if there was something I could tweak in my settings. He checked from his house and he got the same thing. I can't understand why.

But... never mind. Someone on another site I frequent just posted this, and it is GOOD! Hilarious in fact. I have never heard of this guy but am going to watch some of his other *interviews* (from the right sidebar). Extra fun if you loved *Fiddler on the Roof*:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLaYDmJYE8k

I love great satire and great satire and fodder for the humour mill may just be the only good thing to have come out of the election. And it appears to be a bottomless well of material....;-)

Just caught this:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/15/us/bookstores-stoke-trump-resistance-with-act...

I know several of you are going the postcard route. Because this article highlights a bookstore, I thought it was pretty cool. Real community...working together for the greater good, or better future, or just solidarity.

Canadian-centric: RIP, Stuart McLean. Only 68.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/stuart-mclean-dead-obit-1.3984826

McLean also published several books of The Vinyl Café stories, among his other many accomplishments. His voice was an acquired taste, but there is no doubt about his storytelling talent and his humour. He won the Leacock Award for Humour 3 times, among others.

Wow, this is a big loss to Canada, nation-wide. For Americans, I'd compare him to Garrison Keilor.

:-(

edited to add this link: Canadians remember: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/stuart-mclean-remembered-1.3984928

>183 jessibud2: Love that. I like the part about folks wandering into the bookstore the day after the election for solace, "just to pet the books." I can so understand that!

>182 jessibud2: We have decided to start recording SNL because we can't stay up that late, either! And I love that bit by Randy Rainbow. He is a hoot.

>176 jessibud2: Nice to see you've linked to the Times article about the teen vandals. I saw it about the same time and also posted a link. The book list the miscreants can choose from has some powerful books on it.

I noticed your mention of The Plot Against America. I read it several years ago. I recommend it highly.

>187 weird_O: - Hello Bill. Thanks for stopping by. I have read only 12 books from the list for the young vandals. I wonder if they will have to write reports or reviews, or at least, discuss them...

Yes, the Roth book was highly recommended to me, as well. I think I will make it my next one, after I finish the 3 I am plowing through at the moment. It seems to be timely....

Continuing from >184 jessibud2: -

Here is just one of many quotes popping up tonight. This was from when he was presented with an honourary degree at McMaster's University's Arts & Science and Humanities Convocation in 2014.

"Your graduation from is also a graduation to; when we walk away we walk towards, it marks your graduation to citizenship. Reflect on the duties and responsibilities that come with that. We have been our best selves and done our best work when we have come together. As humans we are inefficient, but we continue to seek the deepening gift of education."

RIP, Stuart

Just keeping current here...

: )

Hi Shelley!

I loved 'Fact Checker Fact Checker' on its own, but am a serious Fiddler fan so thanks!

Just checkin' in. I hope you are well.

>192 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen,

Thanks for checking in. I hope you are fully recovered!

I haven't been posting much but have been lurking and reading.

In keeping with my post at >182 jessibud2:, a friend just sent this to me this morning. I love good satire, done well. That one used Fiddler on the Roof, very cleverly. I will guess that enough of you here are close enough to being as old as me to remember Nat King Cole, *Unforgettable*. I was a big folkie, way back when, and so, this just made me laugh out loud! Enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKOzwNzPek

I love that Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary, RIP Mary Travers) are still active and doing what they do best!

Oh! I just read about this series coming to HBO in April: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

https://bookriot.com/2017/02/18/first-trailer-immortal-life-henrietta-lacks/?utm...

I read about this in Book Riot.
Any Canadians out there know if/how we can see it here?

The book was riveting and heartbreaking. I must see this!!

From the AWAD (A Word A Day) language newsletter today:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure. -Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice (1908-1993)

Morning Shelley! Sweet Thursday. I was reading an editorial in the paper and they were asking the question- Where was the liberal media during the Obama years? Resting on it's lofty laurels? They were sure not scrutinizing the president, like they are poor Mr. Trump. Of course, I am paraphrasing. Sighs...

>194 jessibud2: I LOVED Henrietta Lacks. I sure hope they do the book justice.

>197 msf59: - I listened to the book on audio a couple of years ago while I was on a road trip. We didn't want to get out of the car!! I wish we had HBO here in Canada. I will have to see if it will be available in some format here. Maybe on PBS? Do they do that sort of thing, mini-series?

>198 jessibud2: HBO puts out a lot of its stuff on DVD, so eventually you might be able to buy it, if that helps.

Morning, Shelley! Happy Saturday! I watched Fences last night. Good film but a bit stagy and overlong. Denzel was fine but Viola Davis was terrific.

Hi Mark. I haven't seen that one yet but do want to. From all I've heard, and the clips I've seen in previews and such, it sure looks like she is deserving of an Oscar. She is a powerful actress. I also watched a couple of interviews with her about the role and she is great. I am trying to think of what else she has been in that I might have seen. Was she in The Help?

It's a damp morning here today. Just 2 days ago a friend and I spent a few hours walking around at the zoo, without jackets on, it was that warm and sunny! Not today... ;-)

>199 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I will watch for that. Also, that reminds me that maybe our library will have it in DVD format, if it does come out that way. But of course, I don't want to wait that long!

I have been trying to find a copy of James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time. I read it many, many years ago and wanted to reread it since there is now a new book out called The Fire This Time, a sort of response to Baldwin's original. So far, I haven't been successful in finding a copy in the store but am on the wait list for it anyhow at the library. Meantime, while at the bookstore yesterday, I happened to see a brand new book called I Am Not Your Negro, which is also a brand new documentary film, just out in theatres this week. It is directed by Raoul Peck and is entirely based on texts and speeches of James Baldwin. I listened to an interview yesterday morning with Peck and this film sounds outstanding. There is no dialogue, no actors. It is comprised of either actual film footage of Baldwin, or passages read (in voiceover) by actors.

Synopsis from the imdb site: "In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, "Remember This House." The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives and assassinations of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin's death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished."

Here are a couple of links:

clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNUYdgIyaPM

full interview on Q (the CBC radio program): http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/friday-feb-24-2017-raoul-peck-reginald-edmund-and-more...

I plan to see this film sooner rather than later. I am very happy to have found the book!

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a great weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a great weekend and just checking to see if you set up your next thread. I see the continuation link is right after the "add a message" stuff.

I am planning to read Fences next month, Shelley and I hope it gets some recognition in the Oscars. La La Land is apparently very good but is Hollywood fluff, August Wilson was top notch.

Have a lovely weekend.

Happy Sunday, Shelley! Hope you have a nice day planned. I WANT to see "I Am Not Your Negro." I have heard good things.

>205 Familyhistorian: - Thanks, Meg. I probably should have noticed that and been able to figure it out on my own. I will give myself some time this afternoon to play around with setting up a new thread. No time this morning as I will soon hop into a shower then head out for an 11 o'clock movie downtown.

>207 msf59: - Hey Mark. I am hoping to catch that film maybe even next week. For today, though, I will be heading out soon to my local doc cinema to see this film: What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann

It looks good. It's an otherwise cold and gray morning here but no snow, so no complaints! Have yourself a good one!