jessibud2 - Late to the Party... #3

I guess the last thread was getting a bit long. Good thing I don't know how to add photos or it would have been downright bulky to load!

So, #3 begins!

Hmm, it seems I have forgotten all about my Canadian reading goals. I will need to update it!

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

Great review of Einstein's Beachouse - bet the author will enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to your reviews of the other books -
the clown phobia one sounds pretty strange.

Happy new thread!

Hi Shelley, happy new thread my dear.

Happy new thread, Shelley. How's your Canadian reading coming along?

Happy new thread, Shelley.
No pictures maybe but always a nice place to come visit. xx

I think you need a picture...I am along for the ride!! Happy new thread!!

>4 m.belljackson: - Thanks, Marianne. I did send it to him and received a thank you back. I do hope to get to the other 2 books sooner rather than later but will give myself time to try to finish up the other 4 or so I find myself in the middle of at the moment.

>5 drneutron:, >6 johnsimpson:, >8 PaulCranswick: - Thanks, Jim, John and Paul, for stopping by.

>9 Berly: - Kim, you crack me up!

>7 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg. Well, it's slower going than I had hoped. I bought and read 2 collections of Aislin political cartoons (reviewed at the end of my last thread. Terrific stuff, especially the stories behind each and his own story. I also bought, started but am hoping to finish this week, a new book by David Suzuki, called Letters to My Grandchildren, which I also talked about a bit back in my last thread. I bought this book in Montreal a couple of weeks ago and it intrigued me particularly because I have a connection there. One of his 6 grandchildren is disabled and was my student for a year. David's letter to Jon was not long but still lovely. I am interested in the rest of the book as well, as in addition to the individual letters to each of his 6 grandkids, he writes some general ones as well, on specific topics of concern. He is sure an articulate man. I read his first autobio many years ago, too, Metamorphosis and one or two of his other many books.

I also intended to read The Life and Political Times of Tommy Douglas for the non-fiction challenge for May but never got to it so I hope to start that one this month, too. Just as soon as I finish reading Kurt Browning's autobiography (it's old, written in 1991 when he was in his early/mid 20s). It's an easy read but interesting to me because I really followed figure skating much more closely back in those days than I do now.

The year is still young, so to speak, so I know I will reach my goal of 25 Canadian books.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

Happy new thread, Shelley!

Happy New Thread, Shelley! Big, warm waves from Nashville. Hope to do some birding this morning.

>12 jessibud2: I didn't realize you had a specific number of Canadian books that you want to read, Shelley. 25 seems doable. Having said that I think I have only read 5 so far this year. Hmm, maybe I should increase my Canadian content.

This is the political cartoon today from the Montreal Gazette. It will change tomorrow so this link will only be good for today. Pretty much sums up what the world thinks of trump. And what he thinks of the world. It is mind-boggling how he continues to redefine the meaning of the word *a-hole*:

http://wpmedia.montrealgazette.com/2017/06/2june2017borisweb1.jpg?quality=55&amp...

Edited to add that maybe this link won't change. I am noticing that the date is embedded in the link and it is still here today (a day after it was published), even though there is a new one online at the website this morning.

>17 jessibud2: Brilliant cartoon, and yeah, an accurate summation of what we think of the orange clown.

>18 PawsforThought: - It really is a clever one, isn't it? I saw another, as well, but don't know how to link to it as it was on the twitter feed of our local morning radio guy. I'd love to see other political cartoons reacting to his latest stunt. Much like the world of political cartoons reacted to his election, I'd bet this *event* would be getting a fair bit of reaction globally, too, as it really does have a ripple effect.

If anyone has links to other political cartoon reactions, I'd love to see them

>17 jessibud2:

Even more mind-boggling is that there is no unified nation wide movement to stop him.

In place of Make America Great, he has restored us to the mentality of "The Birth of a Nation."

Montreal cartoon is great!

>20 m.belljackson: - Marianne, I heard on the radio this morning that there is a league of cities, whereby mayors of several cities (I think Canadian, American as well as European) are vowing to counter or ignore trump's idiocy by continuing their cities' efforts at making the environment a priority. I know Toronto's mayor has said as much. If I can find a link to this, I will post it.

>21 jessibud2: Sadiq Khan (the London mayor) has also talked about co-operating with American cities re the Paris Accord. I think I read that New York and Pittsburgh are in it too (or at least that they intend to stick to the accord, maybe not working with other cities).

Happy new thread, Shelley! That cartoon of trump is spot on.

>21 jessibud2: - Here is a link to the Toronto mayor's announcement:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-to-stay-the-course-on-fighting-cli...

I'm still looking for a broader view from other cities

Here's and article on Sadiq Khan's statement: http://voice-online.co.uk/article/sadiq-khan-we-must-unite-tackle-climate-change

"I remain committed to the Paris Agreement and working with other world cities on solutions to tackling emissions, harmful pollutants and safe guarding the environment."

>25 PawsforThought: - Thanks, Paws. I am sure many others are in accord with these guys. As they should be!

trump still believes climate change is false news.....

>17 jessibud2: What a great cartoon. Spot on.

And Happy New Thread!

>27 EBT1002: - Thanks, Ellen. It's a real talent that political cartoonists possess to be able to say so much in a single picture. Talent and wit, such a potent combination

>28 jessibud2: I totally agree.

I am so depressed about 45. Each day brings a new horror. I'm hoping my city of Rockville will also be one of those cities which will follow the Paris Accord.

My husband and I follow the political cartoons of Tom Toles in The Washington Post. He is unafraid to draw what many of us are thinking. These change every day so you might want to bookmark this page.

http://www.gocomics.com/tomtoles/2017/06/04

I really want to say thank you to you, Shelley, and other LT members world-wide who take an interest in our terrible situation here in the United States. Each day, it seems as if more and more of our democracy gets eroded. I am very fearful for my future, the future of my family, and the future of my country. Unlike many others the world over, I've never before lived without feeling totally free. I feel fortunate to at least live in a district whose congressman and whose senators represent me in total. I fear, though, that the damage that 45 is doing to our country will be long-lasting. I never dreamed I'd be living in my senior years fearful of what my own government has in store for me and my family.

2 mini reviews:

Kurt - Forcing the Edge - Kurt Browning -

It was interesting to read this autobiography, published in 1991, when Kurt was only 25 years old and still had a good chunk of his career ahead of him. I was a huge figure skating fan back in those days and so many of the names he mentions, his competitors and team mates, are names that are familiar to me. It was also fun to see him predict a big and great career ahead for *newcomers* such as Elvis Stojko, among others!

Kurt is a Canadian icon, from a close-knit family, with solid and decent values, and a good, if somewhat unorthodox work ethic. There are plenty of anecdotes, and the chapters are interspersed with *Other voices*, David Dore, Kevin Albrecht, Browning's long-time coach Michael Jiranek,, among others. There are also 2 sections of photos.

Kurt's overall positive attitude and humbleness were summed up nicely at the very end of the book, when he says, "Today, I am still a world champion. I've been at the top for three years. There'll be a time when I'm not there any more. I'll deal with that when it happens. I was doing fine without the fame, and I'll do fine when it ends."

Overall, a nice read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tales From the Berlin Wall by Marianna S. Katona -

This was an interesting read. Published in 1997, after the wall came down, the author tells 25 short vignettes of living in West Berlin and having to cross the wall many times over the years. She herself was born in Hungary, then lived in the USA for many years. Her husband is German, and half his family was in East Berlin, half in West. Their oldest daughter was born in the US, their youngest, in Germany.

I honestly had no idea that crossing was even possible. I had been under the impression that once the wall went up, that was it, families were divided and didn't see each other for those 28 years until the wall came down. Instead, I have learned, crossing was possible, if not insanely inconvenient and troublesome. This wasn't high literature but more like a personal journal. Quite an eye-opener for me.

I actually visited Checkpoint Charlie and its museum in 1988, and rode the subway through one of those *ghost* stations that Katona mentions. It was an eerie experience.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am also currently listening to I Contain Multitudes on audio. I will admit that much of the hard-core science is way over my head, especially the Latin names. However, the writing is so good, the analogies he makes and pictures he paints make it compelling listening, in spite of the subject matter! I am a bit more than halfway through and one example that I remember, is when Yong says, when talking about fibre and food, America is a constipated nation. If you have small stools, you have large hospitals. Meaning, of course, the impact that a low fibre diet has on health... Another example was when he was talking about antibiotics. He called them shock and awe weapons, akin to nuking a city to deal with a rat.

I am a big non-fiction fan and enjoy a fair bit of science. Still, I don't think I'd have chosen this particular book if it hadn't been for all the warbling here on LT. It helps that the reader is lovely to listen to. I don't think I'd be doing as well if I were reading the hard copy!

After being on the waiting list for over a month (maybe 2), I finally got the call and picked up Birds, Art, Life from the library. I started it already and am loving it so far. I aim to finish it up this weekend.

Hi there! Okay, the Trump cartoon is brilliant, but it made me so sad. I wish we could un-elect him. Your reviews are great and I know I would enjoy the Kurt Browning autobiography. Hope you enjoy your library selection...happy weekend!

Hi Shelley, Sure appreciated your review of the Kurt Browning book. When I was a kid I used to figure skate (lots of falls on the tail bone!) so always am interested in books about the figure skating heroes. Expecially liked your mention of his character that will get him through after the "hero' stage is over. That must always be a challenge for athletes.

I often look at this link
for non fiction ideas. How I would love to be in walking distance of this bookstore.

Happy Sunday, Shelley. Very hot here, so I am staying inside with the books.

Glad you are enjoying I Contain Multitudes. I also had a good time with that one. His sense of humor, kept the subject matter palatable.

>36 mdoris: - Hi Mary. Yes, it was a fun read. I also took figure skating for 2 years when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I learned it all in my head but my feet simply wouldn't cooperate. So I settled on being a spectator/fan. I still watch Kurt occasionally, as he does colour commentary for the events that are broadcast on tv. After reading the book, I googled him to see what he was up to these days. There are some cute youtube videos of him performing with his 2 young sons. Not sure they have the innate talent of their dad but it was sweet to see. He lives here in Toronto, and I am reminded of an incident from a few years ago, not the sort of publicity he wanted, I wouldn't think. He was apparently trying to dry the inside (the seats) of his car in his driveway, using a hair blower. Caught fire, fire trucks came. No injures, no real damage, just rather embarrassing, overall, I think. ;-)

That bookstore looks dangerous, if you ask me, for the likes of us....! :-)

PS - I also have a book by Torvill and Dean on the pile of Mt. TBR!

>37 msf59: - Hi Mark. Yep, hot here too. I enjoyed sitting outside in the back yesterday with a book and a cat (I put a collar and leash on her when we go out in the back but don't tie it to anything. She thinks she is attached so she is content to stay put on the lawn chair and let the breeze waft over her, heehee) but today, it's an indoor reading day, for sure. I have only 2 discs left on I Contain Multitudes and will finish it probably tomorrow or the next day (it's in the car, and today, I'm not). I am hoping today, though, to finish Birds, Art, Life.

Thank goodness for A/C

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good weekend my dear.

>39 jessibud2: Shelley you would be highly favoured by M. Atwood. Have you read her recent GN Angel Catbird? It is a major plug for having a cat indoors or on a leash as you are doing. She is a great lover of cats but wants to limit their damage to our bird pals. Good on her I say!

>41 mdoris: - Um.... I am actually not a fan of Ms. Atwood, if truth be told. I have read only 3 of her books (and only liked one of those) and tried but couldn't get through a few others. That said, she can be very witty and funny. I have enjoyed her articles that she has sometimes written in the newspaper or in magazines.

But I am in complete agreement with her about indoor cats (or outdoors on leashes). I have a few neighbours whose cats I have seen in my yard more than once. I have no problem chasing them with my spray bottle (water inside only, no worries)

>42 jessibud2: I agree with you Shelley. I have difficulties with Atwood and I am not really sure why. I liked Alias Grace but have struggled with pretty much everything else.

>43 PaulCranswick: - Paul, that was exactly the one book I liked, and I listened to it on audiobook. Thankfully, it was read by the wonderful actress Elizabeth McGovern, not Atwood, whose voice is awful.

>44 jessibud2: Great minds and all that...... :D

I know exactly what you are saying about Ms. Atwood. I really liked her early novels but when she got into "doom and gloom" I was less committed with the reading experience but always impressed with her cleverness. So the dystopian ones, I'm not much of a fan. I did read Hag-Seed and really liked it for its play-like cleverness. I am thinking too that her short story The Stone Mattress was superb, one I will never forget. So for me she is all over the place! I loved the idea that she has joined the GN world and with a good message to give too.
Keep spraying those roaming cats!

I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong

Well, I finished this book and I have to say, I am proud of myself. I don't think I'd have gotten through it if I hadn't chosen the audiobook format. I do enjoy science and non-fiction but there was an awful lot of technical jargon in this one (Latin names, etc, and plenty of un-pronounceable names of bugs and viruses and whatnot), that made me very happy to have someone else do the decoding. Charlie Anson has a lovely accent and did a great job of conveying Ed Yong's humour and enthusiasm in this audio version. If I had any problems with it at all - and it's no fault of reader or author - it's that the audio sometimes sounded as if one speaker was suddenly turned off for a few sentences at a time so that it sounded flat or echo-y. Minor issue, really, in the overall scheme of things.

Admittedly, a lot of the hard-core science went over my head but, the *ick* factor of some of the details aside, it truly was fascinating to learn just how much we know (that is, how much scientists know) about the goings-on in the highly invisible but incredibly active world of microbes. On the one hand, learning about diseases and possible solutions to them is amazing; on the other hand, it seems that man-made influence, interference and climate change are causing damage and distress at a rate that almost matches the rate of progress. Still, I am truly grateful that there are so many people so dedicated to this field. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it. And I'm glad it isn't me. I have a tough enough time when I find a bug in my house.

Good review, Shelley. Glad you hung in there. I really enjoyed that one too.

>42 jessibud2: I am with you on Atwood, Shelley. I must admit that I have never read anything of her's but the descriptions of her works have never tempted me.

Hi Robin!

I'm back after a month in California. Mom's mail is forwarded, her safe deposit box permanently closed, and the house on the market. Back to retirement!

Drawing a line in the sand, and just moving forward seems wisest, otherwise I'd never get caught up!

I do thank you, however, for visiting my thread while I was away. it was greatly appreciated.

A few quick reviews:

Hyena in Petticoats - The Story of Suffragette Nellie McClung - graphic novel by Willow Dawson

Nellie McClung was one of Canada's first and most important fighters for women's rights. This brief graphic novel is a good introduction to her story and was an eye-opener for me when I saw the timeline of when women were given the right to vote, province by province. It is appalling, to say the least. My own home province of Quebec was one of the last to allow this, in 1940. Most Aboriginal men and women would not be allowed to vote without giving up treaty rights until 1960! I find this shocking. And just awful. This graphic novel was only 90 pages long. I have a much more comprehensive bio of Nellie McClung, called Firing the Heather by Mary Hallett and Marilyn Davis (300 pages) which I am now keen to read.

Birds, Art, Life - Kyo Maclear - This deceptively gentle book began as a sort of memoir by the author when her father becomes ill and she searches for a way to deal with this. She befriends a musician who also happens to photograph birds and follows him for a year. In the process, she learns not only about birds, but about herself, and her family. A lot of insight and wisdom is packed into this lovely little volume. Apropos to a recent conversation over on Joe's thread, here is a short passage from Maclear as she contemplates her sons' independence and freedom to be kids:

"We had been coming to our tiny cabin for ten years, trading modern conveniences for cool, sweet lake water. Any issues I had with communal dining, theme nights, bonfire singalongs (camp is an introvert's nightmare) were offset by the joy of watching my sons wander independently on the land. Most days, they left in the morning and returned - grubby, scuffed, and sometimes bleeding - after nightfall.
It was this self-reliance and freedom, so familiar to my own childhood, that I hoped to kindle. By the time I was nine, I roved freely around the neighbourhood until dark. My mother, busy minding her Japanese art gallery, left the leash long.
Thirty years later, in the same city, my children rarely strayed from our home or garden. As a parent who sat somewhere in the middle of the helicopter-laissez-faire spectrum, I wondered what it meant for their independence to be so severely compromised. I wondered and yet I found it hard to let them go. Other parents probably wondered too. Maybe we were just worried about the cold opinion of our peers if we didn't cosset our children enough. All I know is the neighbourhood was full of incarcerated children.
Having entered one of the most profoundly chaperoned moments in history, I wanted my sons to experience the kind of unstructured play that builds courage and curiosity. So late summer had become a time of jailbreak. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Fog - Kyo Maclear - I received this lovely children's book as a Library Thing Early Review copy. The story is ostensibly about pollution, told through the eyes of a bird who is a people-watcher. It is a story of coming together to solve a larger problem and its gentle humour and delightfully whimsical illustrations are very engaging. The message(s) of this book can be seen on many levels and I can see this book being a great introduction or conversation-starter for all age levels.

Touchstone not working for this last one

>51 jessibud2: Nellie McClung was a very interesting woman, Shelley. Her story is part of Canadian history. I read another autobiographical book of her's, The Stream Runs Fast.

>52 Familyhistorian: - Yes, Meg, I have always known of McClung but had not known all that much about the details of her life. I had planned on reading Firing the Heather or the bio I also have of Tommy Douglas, for the non-fiction challenge in May but never got to either at that time. However, I intend to read both before this reading year is over and both are still on my night table. Although there is still a long way to go for *real* equality for women and other minorities, and although we have certainly come a long way since McClung's time, it still boggles the mind when I read of just how ridiculous and entrenched the laws were in those days. I wish her story had been taught in school when I was growing up. I wonder if it is these days. It's really important to know this part of our history.

>51 jessibud2: I loved your thoughts and the quote you shared, about Birds, Art, Life. It is a little gem, isn't it?

Happy Sunday, Shelley! Enjoy your day.

>54 msf59: - Thanks, Mark. Her new children's book (The Fog) is good, too. You'd enjoy it and you would LOVE the illustrations, especially on the endpapers. Just saying.... see if your library has it. It will take you all of 15 minutes to read it but you'll savour those illustrations!

Hi Shelley! I'm glad you read and appreciated Birds, Art, Life. Mark loaned his copy to me and it is one of my top reads of this year.

Hope you're having a good Sunday!

>53 jessibud2: Perhaps if McClung's story and the story of the discrimination the suffragettes had to battle was taught in school more people would see how precious the right to vote is.

>30 SqueakyChu: So bookmarked.

>53 jessibud2: "I wonder if it (McClung's story) is (taught in school) these days. It's really important to know this part of our history." I don't think it is but I could be wrong. Or just cynical.

I had Birds, Art, Life from the library a while back but never got to it. Your review revives my interest. I love this self-description by the author: "As a parent who sat somewhere in the middle of the helicopter-laissez-faire spectrum..."

I'm adding Hyena in Petticoats to my wish list, and also perhaps Firing the Heather.

2 more quick books read today, one a re-read. I am going to start several years ago and work my way to today. In 2008, a bookcrossing friend sent me a book called Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. It is a kids' book, easily read in one sitting, about a boy named Jack. The book is written as a sort-of journal, or notes to his teacher. His teacher is introducing the class to poetry and Jack is resisting. We only read his side of this story. But by the end, the reader is completely charmed, in tears and amazed at the creativity of Creech's style. So much revealed in such a compact and surprising manner; completely magnetic. This book stayed with me a long time. And I reread it today.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago. I was browsing the shelves at a used bookstore and found a book by the same author. Almost identical cover, even similar title: Hate that Cat. I brought it home and read it, again, in one sitting. Jack apparently is back with Miss Stretchberry for another year of poetry. Let me insert at this point a fact that some of you may already know: poetry is not a genre I naturally gravitate to. It isn't that I don't like it but rather that I don't often understand it. Although I have dabbled and written some, myself, many years ago, I just don't read it enough to appreciate it. Maybe if I had had a Miss Stretchberry in my school life, things would be different but it is what it is. What I love about these 2 books is how, in spite of himself, Jack is absorbing the poetry his teacher brings to him, and he responds not only to the sentiments and the messages in them, but he thinks about them and dares to be inspired by them, in his communications with Miss Stretchberry. I can't say more without a spoiler alert but trust me on this.

I can't say enough about these 2 companion books. I have often felt that I shouldn't be counting such short books (as kids' books often are) for my count here on LT. It feels almost like cheating. Yet I know that's absurd. This is literature, and these 2, in particular, are really good literature, in a way that is imaginative and so different from much of what I read. If you can find them at your library or elsewhere, they will take you no longer than half an hour to read, total. But they may easily stay in your mind and heart for much longer than that. Years....

>59 jessibud2: Totally awesome review! I want to run right out and find them NOW! Thanks.

I am going to see if they have copies of Love that Dog and Hate That Cat at Powell's. Your story and reaction to the two of them is inspiring!

>47 jessibud2: I will listen for that glitch when I really start listening to I Contain Multitudes in earnest. I listened to a wee bit of it last week but I haven't been in contexts which lend themselves to listening to audiobooks since, so I've not really engaged with it yet.

I primarily listen to audiobooks when I drive and I drive as little as possible. I do sometimes listen when I garden, as well, and as summer weather actually arrives in Seattle, that should happen a little bit more.

>59 jessibud2: I have read and loved Love that dog and own the Dutch translation. Didn't know there was a next one, and available in Dutch translation. Added to mount TBR :-)

>63 FAMeulstee: - I hadn't known about the follow-up either, Anita, until I chanced upon it at the used bookstore. Absolutely well-worth the read and it is as engaging as the first.

I picked up the audiobook of Trevor Noah's Born a Crime from the library yesterday and am very eager to start it. I am actually in the middle of another audiobook in the car at the moment so I am thinking, I may just listen to the new one in the house. It may help me get through inside chores a little better, over the weekend... ;-)

>59 jessibud2: I think you've caught me with Love That Dog and Hate That Cat. I'm pretty sure I've heard Sharon Creech praised before...time I did something about it!

From my page-a-day calendar, the Thought for the Day:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. -George Orwell, writer (25 Jun 1903-1950)

(Orwell, born on this day)

>66 laytonwoman3rd: Let me know what you think, Linda!

Hi Shelley and happy Sunday to you!

>67 jessibud2: Unfortunately, àpropos.

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

Hi Shelley, I hope you are enjoying this week leading up to the 150 celebration. There are a lot of red and white signs out there!

>71 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg, yes, big things planned in our city. Not least of which, for me, are American visitors! Do you know Madeline (SqueakyChu)? She is arriving tomorrow with her husband and friend. They will be here until Sunday when they move on to St. Catherine's before heading home. We have a meetup planned on Saturday (Canada Day) with a few other LTers and a Bookcrossing meetup on Sunday. She is the one who brought me over here to LT from BC, and although we have been friends for years via email, this will be the first time meeting in person!

Now, if only the damned rain would stop!! Today is the only day since last week, and into next week, where no rain is expected at all. It's been really crazy here with this. That said, I am loving the cooler temps. Only 12C upon waking, both yesterday and today, but I hear that is changing today. I love having the windows open, with a breeze from outside, and not having to turn on the A/C. How is the weather out at your end of the country?

Also, tonight is Mansbridge's final broadcast on CBC (except for Canada Day special). End of an era. Wonder who will take over?

Not quite done yet but I have to say, I am really enjoying Trevor Noah on audio, narrating his own memoir, Born a Crime. He is so very articulate and of course, he injects life into the pronunciation of words and phrases from the several languages he speaks, something I'd no doubt be skipping over if I were reading them on the printed page. I will admit that I have never stayed up late enough to watch him on tv but I have heard him interviewed and wanted to read this one. So far, it's living up to all expectations.

Hi Shelley!

Hmmm. Our book club will be discussing Born a Crime in September. I have never bought an audiobook of a book club book, but based on your reading experience, I think that's what I'll do with this one instead of buying the book. Yay. I can hardly wait!

>74 karenmarie: - Karen, I rarely buy audiobooks as I find them far too expensive. But our library system has a huge audio section and if one branch doesn't have a copy, they will bring it in from another branch. I was on the wait list for this one for weeks before it arrived at my branch. Borrow time is the same as for regular books, 3 weeks. The audiobook is unabridged and 7 discs.

Hi, Shelley! Just checking in. I also LOVED the audio of Born a Crime. Noah does a terrific. narrating his memoir.

No bird news to report. Just the usual summer activity. How about you?

>72 jessibud2: We're on our way to see you! Now we're bunked in a cozy Bed and Breakfast in the beautiful forested mountains of northern Pennsylvania. My husband and Barbara are watching CNN news. I can't stomach watching the news. I brought some books of short stories to read this week and quite a few other books to leave with other BookCrossers. Our plans for tomorrow are to have Breakfast here and then head north. It will
take about six hours driving but I expect the border crossing might take a while. I'll text you after we cross the border. We'll probably not get to you until at least late afternoon. I'm very excited about getting to meet you, other BookCrossers, and seeing my LT friends. See you tomorrow!

testing



Never mind. Not working

>72 jessibud2: Enjoy your LT meet-up, Shelley! Sounds like fun.

Thanks, Meg. Madeline (SqueakyChu) is here in Toronto and was trying to teach me earlier, how to embed pictures into a post. It didn't work. Oh well.

Looking forward to tomorrow's celebration events. Are you celebrating in any way?

>80 jessibud2:

Happy CANADA DAY to all!

Hope you have a great time at the meet-up! Totally jealous. : )

Happy Canada Day and I LOVED the Trevor Noah book Born a Crime, especially on audio.

Try checking out this thread to figure out how to do things like post pictures...good luck!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/177029

Hi Shelley, I use the "junk box" for loading pictures from the desktop of my computer. Do you have junk box ? You will find it as an option in your home page. I use it a lot because it automatically sizes images and then you copy the address of that image (I have a mac and can tell you how to do that if you have a mac) and use the instructions in the topic 177029 (the img src bit) and it gets imbedded. The info has to be typed exactly or you get the dreaded question mark.

It is a lot of fun and took me a while to figure out and use but now there is no looking back. Hope it works for you! Probably lots of other ways too that others use. Good Luck!

Happy Canada Day! It is a stunning day on the west coast.

>81 m.belljackson:, >82 Berly:, >83 mdoris: - Thanks, and Happy Canada Day to all. We have had a very full and busy day, ending with a really fun and lovely dinner meetup with Madeline (SqueakyChu), her husband and friend, Cyrel, and _Zoe_ and her husband Mark. We did a lot of walking today, a lot of eating, and got caught in a flash downpour. I have a few pictures but will end up posting them in my gallery instead of my thread because that is what will work. Madeline tried to show me how to do it here but something on my computer is preventing the formula from working so I will have to ask my computer guy to see if he can figure that part of it out. I know about that info/instruction page, Mary, thanks but the problem seems to be on my computer so we'll see if I can get that resolved.

Anyhow, it's late and I am heading to bed so good night to all.

>67 jessibud2: I love that George Orwell quote.

I have heard several people say that the audio of Born a Crime is really well done. I read it on my kindle and quite enjoyed it in that format, as well.

Thinking more about the Orwell quote, the other day I was seeing some posts on FB (honestly, I mostly try to avoid that social media outlet but sometimes I get sucked in) about the white men making decisions about women's health care in the U.S., and their complete lack of knowledge and understanding (they simply have NO idea what Planned Parenthood actually does -- or they don't care, which is even worse).... and I thought of 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale and it all feels very surreal. I never thought we would be worrying in 2017 about the possibility of complete disempowerment of women over their own bodies. And I'm not even talking about abortion; I'm talking about birth control and cancer screenings and access to healthcare....

*steps down off soapbox*

We live in interesting and scary times.

>84 jessibud2: Well, we will all just have to go to your gallery to see the photos! :-)

Wishing you a lovely long weekend Shelley with your nation's proud celebration of a 150th birthday.

>86 EBT1002: - Haven't got them there yet but hopefully, tonight

>87 PaulCranswick: - Thank you, Paul. We have our flaws (as everyone does) and a long way to go to repair some mistakes and inequalities of our past history, but in all honestly, I am truly proud and eternally grateful to have been born and live in this wonderful country of mine. I have lived in 3 other countries besides this one, and Canada is always HOME.

>67 jessibud2:
>85 EBT1002:

In 1906, Sinclair Lewis wrote THE JUNGLE.

It would be welcome in 2017 if someone would write THE SWAMP to equally electrify Americans.

Hi Shelley and Happy 4th of July to you!

Morning, Shelley! How are those current reads treating you? Any bird sightings of interest, to report?

I finished Trevor Noah's Born a Crime today. I have never stayed up late enough to watch him on tv but I have to say, I really enjoyed this audio version. He speaks several African languages and does insert words and phrases from many of them into the narrative. I loved that authenticity as, had I been reading it on the printed page, I not only would likely not have been able to pronounce any of the words or names, but certainly, the expression, emotions and nuances would have been completely absent in the reading - all of which came across so well in the audio.

And what a life he had! Despite poverty, violence and *delinquency* in his youth, he seems always to have had a positive attitude. He credits his relationship with his mother for instilling in him the strength, intelligence and values he has, and I am truly happy to see him succeeding today. That outcome was not always a given.

One other thing. After finishing the book, I had to google, of course. I have no idea how to check facts or how to edit an entry, but at one point in the Wikipedia article on him, it says that when he was younger, his mother converted to Judaism. I am fairly certain that is not true. For one thing, his mum was very, VERY religious and went to church several times a week, believing in Jesus almost to the point of fanaticism. And if she had even considered converting to Judaism, he most certainly would have mentioned it in the book. Which he did not. So I feel fairly confident that this statement, wherever it came from, is simply untrue.

>91 msf59: - As for other readings, Mark, I am about to begin James McBride's Kill 'Em and Leave which will happily cover both the AAC and the non-fiction challenges for this month. I have not done a lot of reading over the past week as I had visitors and other distractions. But I plan over the next couple of days to finish up another book, Letters to my Grandchildren by David Suzuki, and also zip through a short book in the *Last Interview* series, this one, Nora Ephron - The Last Interview.

As for the birds, just the regular suspects: many goldfinches, house finches, Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal, mourning doves, and I have seen a couple of chipping sparrows around lately, too. Lots of twittering babies, as well. I love how they flutter their wings on the branches, waiting and begging to be fed. Also, the red-breasted nuthatch and a chickadee or two have been less frequent but still present. And I am hearing but not always seeing robins and blue jays.

I guess I missed Canada Day. And the Fourth of July has been very quiet for us in here on the Schochary Ridge. Here's some virtual banging and booming. Hooting and hollering.

>93 weird_O: - Thanks, Bill. I think! We had the fireworks on Saturday night up here. :-)

Quote form today's Quote of the Day calendar:

The qualities of a great man are vision, integrity, courage, understanding, the power of articulation, and profundity of character.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

I guess it will be another 8 years, at the very least, until any of those boxes can be ticked again. :-(

Happy 4th to my American friends. Hang in there. Your country still needs you, more than ever!

>95 jessibud2: Only 3 years until the next presidential election! And things may well have changed a lot then (House of Reps election next year!)

Just yesterday, I posted (up a bit, in >92 jessibud2:), my review of Trevor Noah's memoir, Born a Crime. This morning, I turned on the radio to hear an encore of an interview the host of the show did with him in December. It was excellent, as I expected it would be. Almost like having another chapter to listen to!

If you are so inclined, it's worth a listen:

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-july-5-2017-1.4189847/encore-...

Hi Shelley and happy Thursday to you.

I can't wait to listen to Born A Crime, but I always wait until the month before the discussion to read a book.

Excellent bird report. I've been seeing quite a few House Finches at the sunflower seed feeder in the last several days.

>95 jessibud2: God, I hope not! Frankly, I hope he gets impeached or removed under Article 25, section 4. I don't necessarily see either happening, but one can hope. However, that still leaves the Republicans in office and with an anti-LGBT zealot as President, with most of those boxes above still unchecked. I just hate where my country is politically right now.

Re >92 jessibud2: - I just found some scraps of paper where I had jotted down some quotes from Trevor Noah's book (not an easy feat when listening to the audio, but I did stop the CD and wrote only when I was parked!). I have tried my best to make these quotes as close to verbatim as possible, without the benefit of the printed text in front of me to copy from.

- "In society, we do horrible things to one another because we don't see (their) faces...Apartheid keeps people out of sight because if white people ever saw blacks as human, they would see that slavery was unconscionable"

- "Language, even more than colour, defines who you are"

- "People don't want to be rich - they want choice. Money gives choices"

- "The law isn't rational at all - it's a lottery" (I think this was in reference to the guy Noah met in jail, the one he referred to as *The Hulk*, such a sad and tragic story and such thoughtful insight on his part when retelling this one)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyhow, these were just a few of the insights that stood out for me. He really is such an articulate and thoughtful man.

>99 jessibud2: Trevor Noah's Born a Crime sounds good, Shelley, and I see a Dutch translation was published this year. I have put it on my library wishlist.

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good weekend my dear.

Just finished Nora Ephron - The Last Interview. It's a slim volume (under 100 pages) and consists of 4 interviews, one from 1974, one from June 2007, one from 2010 and the final one, from 2012 (the same year she died). They were interesting and revealing interviews (each by different interviewers, by the way), and ran the gamut from talking about her early years, her background, home life, right up to her method of writing, and the difficulties for women in the industry. I had read her last 2 collections, I Feel Bad About My Neck as well as I Remember Nothing but oddly, I have very little recollection about those books, other than their title essays. I also read, a while ago, one of her earlier books, and of course, have seen several of the movies she wrote/directed and liked those much better.

Anyhow, I am happy I read this one for the insights it gave. There are other *Last Interview* books in this series. I bought the one on Oliver Sacks when I was in Montreal the last time (in May), and I'd love to get my hands on the one with James Baldwin, among others.

(I think the touchstones have the weekend off... they appear to my right as I am typing but once I hit send, they don't seem to be in my post at all, even after refreshing the page. Oh well. Whatever...) Oh wait, now they are back

eye roll

Morning, Shelley! Happy Sunday! I am so glad you had a good time with Born a Crime. What a terrific memoir and the audio version was fantastic.

Hope you are enjoying the weekend.

>98 karenmarie: - I look forward to your impressions of the Trevor Noah book, Karen. I am happy that you will be listening to the audio version. :-)

>100 FAMeulstee: - It doesn't surprise me that Noah's book is translated to other languages. I hope you can get your hands on a copy, Anita. I'll be interested to hear your impressions.

>101 johnsimpson: - Hi John. Hope your weekend is going well, too

>103 msf59: - After finishing the audiobook, Mark, I googled him and found a lot of clips from various shows to watch and listen to. Cool beans!

I had mentioned earlier on Mark's thread that yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the mysterious death of Canadian artist Tom Thomson. I read a very good NF book about his life last year, Tom Thomson Artist of the North by Wayne Larsen. I watched 2 specials on tv last night about him, as well. Not sure if the links will be viewable by everyone but if so, I highly recommend them.

West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson

http://tvo.org/video/documentaries/west-wind-the-vision-of-tom-thomson

Painted Land:

http://tvo.org/video/documentaries/painted-land-in-search-of-the-group-of-seven

I saw the latter in the theatre as part of the Hot Docs film festival last year and watched it again last night as the scenery was spectacular. What was done in this one is that a professional photographer spent years retracing the areas in northern Ontario where not only Thomson but other members of the Group of Seven painted, then photographed the exact spots, and in the doc, the photos morphed into the paintings. It is such a lovingly and well put-together film, and such a beautiful antidote to *busy* and noisy, if you know what I mean.

Ignorant tech question here: do you have to have iTunes in order to listen to podcasts, even if they are free? Or can you listen to them just on the computer? I have no clue. One of my favourite authors, Malcolm Gladwell has a podcast that is just beginning its second season and it's getting a lot of buzz. I heard an interview with him about it yesterday and I now want to listen to them all! It's called Revisionist History and gives a second look at events in history that one might not otherwise think to look at again. So, I guess I am asking, if I do have to download iTunes, what does that involve, or can I just manage without it? Use small words and pretend I know and understand nothing. You would be right....

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/revisionist-history/id1119389968?mt=2

Many podcasts are available through websites as well as through iTunes/Podcast. Here's yours:

http://revisionisthistory.com

Looks like all the episodes are there. You should be able to listen using a standard web browser.

Looks interesting, by the way!

>107 drneutron: - Thanks, Jim. So, I just clicked on the link and it asked me if I want updates or to subscribe. I clicked updates and it subscribed me (I think). Then when I clicked subscribe, it basically asked through what, iTunes, Google play, etc. iTunes is the only one I recognize and I appear to be back to square one. I guess that answers my question. Sort-of. So, my next step must be to download iTunes. Um....how do I do that?

(believe it or not, I *do* know how to turn on my computer! Some days, though, I wonder....)

Never mind. I just got an email confirming my subscription and I can now watch/listen to each episode. That was easy! ;-)

Thanks again Jim

>109 drneutron: Great! Glad it's working for you.

My favorite podcast is "On Being" with Krista Tippett. No iTunes required. Here is the link.

I'm glad you so enjoyed Born a Crime. I also thought it was excellent.

Hi Shelley and happy Thursday to you. I decided to order Born a Crime instead of try to get it from the Library. I usually buy our book club books, even if I end up donating them to the thrift shop or the Friends for our semi-annual book sales if they're not keepers.

I can't wait to listen to it - I'll see if I'm strong enough to wait 'til August or not.

>111 karenmarie: - You won't be sorry, Karen. It's worth it to listen to the audio version. And don't wait! ;-)

Morning, Shelley! Thanks for sharing those links for the Thomson docs. Unfortunately, they will not play here but I am going to keep watch for them. They both look excellent.

>110 EBT1002: - Thanks for that link, Ellen. Gladwell's will be the first podcast for this techie luddite but I have saved your link and will explore. :-) I really like Gladwell; he is so smart and all his books basically do this, look at things from a slightly off-centre and different perspective. Sounds like his podcasts have picked up where his books left off. Your link to Tippett's sounds like it is a similar type of mindset. Thanks again

>113 msf59: - Mark, I believe that the Thomson docs are probably Canadian and therefore, that's why they are unavailable to you. That happens to me too, sometimes, with American links. However, maybe you can find them through Netflix or maybe if you have some doc specialty site or tv station in the States. I promise you, you will love them, especially Painted Land. It is really spectacular. I almost bought the dvd at our Hot Docs cinema (where I saw it the first time) but resisted. I have already seen it twice already but it's one of those that is a nice addition to the library, if you know what I mean.

LOL! Tonight on Jeopardy, there was a category on podcasts. I just felt it in my bones and sure enough, one of the questions was about the name of Malcolm Gladwell's new podcast! I shouted it out and of course, I was right. :-)

You wouldn't believe how smart I can be from the couch in my living room, with no competition.... ;-)

>116 jessibud2: It's amazing how satisfying knowing a Jeopardy category is! Congrats.

For a very short time a couple of years ago when husband and I were still watching Jeopardy regularly, I'd feed my sister some of the answers/questions via text. I live on the east coast and she lives on the west coast and she had fun confounding her husband with her amazing knowledge. She eventually confessed all. *smile*

>117 karenmarie: - LOL! Actually, I was laughing because of the exchange I had with Jim, above, in >106 jessibud2: to >109 drneutron:, and then, the very next day, the Jeopardy question came on. Not sure you caught that.

Yes, I did, actually. I bookmarked the link Jim provided.

Now, here's a surprise. From my Word A Day newsletter:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
"Literature encourages tolerance -- bigots and fanatics seldom have any use for the arts, because they're so preoccupied with their beliefs and actions that they can't see them also as possibilities." -Northrop Frye, writer and critic (14 Jul 1912-1991)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(and maybe, they can't/don't read) - me

>116 jessibud2: "You wouldn't believe how smart I can be from the couch in my living room, with no competition." Oh, I believe it----I have the same rare ability! Even my husband sometimes says "How do you KNOW that?" And the secret, of course, is that I didn't KNOW it--there's a trick to reading the clues sometimes so you don't have to know, you can deduce. But good for you for getting that podcast clue. I just had a conversation with my daughter this morning about the "how do you listen to podcasts" questions. She keeps mentioning these fascinating things she listens to, and I haven't picked up the podcast habit yet.

>120 jessibud2: That is so totally true! Great quote!

...and, um...yes...they don't read! :/

>122 SqueakyChu: - And, just in case you were curious, the author of that quote, Northrop Frye, was a famous Canadian literary critic. Just saying... ;-)

>123 jessibud2: My goal for the rest of this year is to try to read more books by Canadian authors. I was able to get another book by Chad Pelley when I was in Fran's book shop in St. Catherine's last week. I was very excited about that. I left my first Chad Pelley book with Bookgirrl, I think.

By the way, I was at a Bookcrossing meetup today and emailed a picture of it to you and Bookgirrl. ResQGeek was not in the picture because he came late. I'm not in the picture because I was taking the picture.

I am also planning to get send you a snail mail letter. Look for it in the mail in the near future! :)

Thanks for the Tom Thomson/Gp of Seven video links. I have bookmarked them and will watch later.

Hi Shelley--Just catching up here. So glad you loved Born a Crime--definitely one of my faves this year. And I enjoyed I Feel Bad About My Neck, so I probably should look for another Ephron. I am horrible at Jeopardy--somebody better explain how to deduce the answer form the question! LOL And my daughter just downloaded an app on my phone for me with her favorite podcasts yesterday, so I better start listening to them soon!

>124 SqueakyChu: - Madeline, no emails from you are in my inbox. Not recently, anyhow.

Madeleine was here this weekend. She came yesterday as we had tickets to a concert at a local coffee house but it was cancelled at the last minute due to illness in one of the performers but we hung out anyhow. We went to dinner at Sushi Supreme (where I took you guys when you were here), hit a few LFLs. And played Literary Scrabble.

If there are any Scrabble geeks out there, here is fair warning. You might be taken down a notch or two if you play this version. It plays like regular Scrabble but there are also literary bonus cards, for extra points, and extra rules to allow for using proper names, i.e. first or last names of authors, characters in books or titles of books. You have to verbally identify the name/book you are putting on the board to qualify for those extra points. Here's the kicker (and Madeline will back me up on this): it is beyond thinkable how your mind goes BLANK when you are trying to think of authors, titles, characters! We are LTers/Bookcrossers and could only scramble to think of anything! It's hilarious (well, better laugh than cry). I played again last night and this afternoon and it was a bit easier but not much. Sitting in a house surrounded by books....... Crazy

>125 mdoris: - Hi Mary. I will be interested to hear your impressions of the 2 films.

>126 Berly: - Hi Kim. I have listened to my first of Gladwell's podcasts and it was terrific. I think I will not be disappointed in any of them as I have loved pretty much everything he has written so far. Let me know if you come across any good ones out there (not that I need more distractions. But that hasn't ever stopped me!)

>127 jessibud2: I'll try sending the email to you again tonight.

I wish I were still in Canada so I could hang out with you and Madeleine again. I LOVED playing that literary Scrabble. If you were here in Maryland, I'd beg you to bring it over and play it with me again. Bring it when you come to Maryland! Barbara always declines to play board games. She'd rather do Washington Post puzzles when she comes to visit. While she does that, I register BookCrossing books! Haha!

I really do have to start back into actually reading a book through to its ending one of these days. I've been reading the same book of short stories all month long.

>128 jessibud2: I will have a peek at the Gladwell podcasts. Thanks for those! Anything of his I have read, I have greatly enjoyed.

>129 SqueakyChu: - I also seem to be in the middle of several books at the moment. At least 3 or 4 that I can think of, off the top of my head and I know there are at least that many with bookmarks in them where I left off and just haven't got back to. Somehow, I don't think this would be shocking to anyone here....

Good morning, Shelley! I hope you have a wonderful Monday.

Literary Scrabble! And I thought all I had to worry about around here were book bullets! I have to have this game.

EDIT: YIKES! I just looked for it on-line---new editions of the game on Amazon go for over $100.00. What makes it so pricey?

>133 laytonwoman3rd: - Wow, that's nuts. I can promise you I did not pay that! I think I bought it for myself as a birthday present one year. I bought it at the book store and am pretty sure I would not have paid more than $30, max, for such a thing. That was several years ago but check with your big box bookstores and see if they have it. Or look for it, used. I bet a lot of people who bought it also unloaded it as being *too hard*, lol!

>133 laytonwoman3rd: It's expensive because it's out of print. There's a copy on ebay for $74, but that's probably still too much: https://www.ebay.com/i/142424813082?chn=ps&dispItem=1

That said, I wonder how hard it would be to make up your own bonus cards or whatever, and play using a regular Scrabble set? It looks like the basic board is the same?

>135 _Zoe_:, >133 laytonwoman3rd: - Yes, Zoe, the board is the same as the regular basic Scrabble board except the colours of the squares are different, as are the colours of the actual tiles although the distribution and point values are all the same.

I am happy to share the bonus points info and would even, if I can figure out how to, scan or copy and share the Plot Twist cards. I am going to trust that my LT cohorts won't turn me into the Scrabble police. Let me know, Zoe and Linda (and others) if you are interested. Also, keep your eyes open at garage sales, charity shops, etc. I always see board games there and even bought another regular scrabble at Value Village once for around $5, just so I could have extra tiles, in case I lost any, and also I thought I'd maybe use them in craft projects

Actually, checking now, the game is actually called The Book Lovers Edition, not Literary Scrabble, as I referred to it earlier.

Um, I don't know if I should tell you that there is also a Book Lover's edition of Trivial Pursuit.... Categories: Children's, Classics, Non-fiction, Book Club, Authors, Book Bag.......

Hi, Shelley. Just a quick check-in. I hope the week is off to a good start and your current reads are treating you well.

Hi Mark. I have just started the audio of A Gentleman in Moscow. So far so good! Also, I am nearly at the halfway point of Kill 'Em and Leave

:-)

>136 jessibud2:

Samples of the questions would be really welcome so we can all see how challenged we'd be!

Thank you.

>140 m.belljackson: - In the Scrabble game, there aren't actually *questions*, per se. You can play as you would regular Scrabble, scoring as normal. But if you make any literary word (as mentioned, author, title, character), there are Literary Bonus points in addition to the regular points-value of the letters and squares on the board. For example, a 2-letter (literary) word gets you an extra 3 points on top of the regular score, a 3-letter word equals 5 extra points, and so on. In addition to this, each player is dealt 3 cards known as Plot Twist card. There is an instruction on each and the player can choose to use a card (one per turn) at any time, putting it at the bottom of the pile and replacing it with a new one after using it. Here are a couple of examples of Plot Twist cards:

- Spell a word in a foreign language.
- Place a literary word anywhere on the board, independent of the existing crossword puzzle
- Play a word with an alternate spelling and get points for both spellings (i.e. won/one)
- Spell one of the following words and receive an extra 20 points: Eyre, Finn, O'Hara, Bennet, Holes, Gatsby
- Spell the first or last name of an author. Double your score and the literary bonus

It's really not as easy as it might seem because, ultimately, you are still limited by the letters you draw and the configurations on the board. Plus, thinking up the names of authors, characters or book titles that fit into all that is crazy.

On the other hand, the Book Lover's Trivial Pursuit, is all about the questions. Here is a sample of just one card. Every card offers the player a choice of selecting a question from one of 6 categories:

CH (children's): What question does a baby bird ask of a dog, a cow, and a steam shovel, in PD Eastman's classic?

CL (classics): What did Raymond Chandler describe in *The Long Goodbye* as "a city rich and vigorous and full of pride, a city lost and beaten and full of emptiness"?

NF (non-fiction): Whose second memoir, *The Play Goes On*, opens with his wedding to Marsha Mason?

BC (book club): What 1989 novel had its title character's name changed for the film *Simon Birch* when the book's author objected to the adaptation?

AU (authors): What author began life as Adeline Virginia Stephen, but was called *the goat* by her siblings?

BB (book bag): What pen name did married co-authors Judith Barnard and Michael Fain adopt for their debut collaboration, *Deceptions*?

Let me know if you want the answers...;-)

Edited to add that I paid $19.99 for this Trivial Pursuit game. I know because I just noticed that the price sticker is still on the box

** Edited again to add that, for the Scrabble, an example would be that you could play the word/name John, for example, but you would have to state out loud John Grisham or John Irving, to qualify for the literary connection. Same with *house*. You'd have to name a book title with that word in it, such as *The Birth House* or *The Cider House Rules*. You see what I mean

Ooh, I hope love A Gentleman in Moscow as much as most of us do. A real gem. How do you like the McBride?

>142 msf59: - I am enjoying the McBride so far. He writes so well. How are you enjoying The Color of Water?

I am listening to The Golem and the Jinni. This is a long one but very good so far. I will start The Color of Water right after.

>137 jessibud2: Awww, geeeez.....

We have a game called It Was a Dark and Stormy Night, which plays a lot like Trivial Pursuit, with categories, etc.. The object is to identify a book by its first line(s). I think you have the option of naming either the book or the author. It is apparently in the same high-priced territory.

>141 jessibud2: I know the answers to the first five of those; don't know the last one.

> 145 - Linda, :-)

It's Judith Michael. I didn't know that one, myself, without looking. :-)

Don't know if you caught my edited comment about the price of the Trivial Pursuit game, in that post, added as you were posting. Much better than the Scrabble, if it's still out there to be found. Good luck. I never heard of that Dark and Stormy Night. I don't think I'd be very good at that one. I don't think I ever paid attention to first lines....

Ah, yes, I see your edit now. There are a number of sets of the TP game available used, in the $40+ range. You can get the Scrabble for that too, used. Still pretty steep, unless you're a collector of board games, like our @alcottacre. She probably has both of them!

>147 laytonwoman3rd: - Growing up, we played Trivial Pursuit a lot. In fact, I do own several different sets and it was fun to play using one box of cards from one game and another box of cards from a different game, to allow for more choice. We loved board games, as a family, but weren't averse to mixing it up like that. We didn't *cheat* but bending the strict written rules sometimes makes for more fun. I don't have nearly as much opportunity to play these days as not many of my friends are into board games. But I can't bear to get rid of them.

Hi Shelley!

Interesting discussions of 'literary' Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit. Alas, my husband is not a board game person. He won't play cards, either. I played a lot of games with daughter when she was young. Daughter and I played Apples to Apples with my sister, BiL, niece/wife, and nephew while in CA a while back and I loved it.

>141 jessibud2:

Thank you for these MAJOR challenges!

>147 laytonwoman3rd: Ours was a game-playing family growing up too. Chinese checkers, Parcheesi, Scrabble and Yahtzee were our favorites. I played a lot of Monopoly with some of my cousins, but my mother hated that one--she said it never ended. (I always thought it was very funny later on when she embarked on a career in real estate after retiring from banking!) Pinochle was our favorite card game. I'm in the same boat with my husband, who isn't a big fan of games. He did relent and play some as our daughter was growing up, though. They played chess together, and I think he came to enjoy Trivial Pursuit (although not the Star Wars version, at which no one can touch her). We have a good time playing Ticket to Ride together with her and her husband too.

>151 laytonwoman3rd: - We also played Chinese checkers and Monopoly but mostly board and word games such as Scrabble, Boggle, Perquackey and of course, several variations of Trivial Pursuit, often (as I mentioned earlier) mixing the boxes from different games. We often played TP in teams, sometimes kids vs adults, or men vs women or our family vs the cousins/aunts/uncles. My grandmother, who lived with my aunt and uncle, was always washing the dishes in the kitchen and refused to take sides and join a team yet she somehow always managed to call out answers from the kitchen! For both teams. :-)

>148 jessibud2: I don't have nearly as much opportunity to play these days as not many of my friends are into board games. But I can't bear to get rid of them.

Save your "Literary Scrabble" for my next visit to Canada! That game was so much fun. I also had lots of issues thinking up literary words and author's names with the letters I had. You'd have thought I'd never read a single book before! That really made me laugh!!

If I ever see that game in a thrift shop, I'll be sure to grab it. I think it would be fun to play at my BookCrossing group's holiday party. I would also love to get that game for my friend in St. Catherine's who owns the used book store. I know she loves board games because I saw many of them in her home...including Scrabble on a shelf in the room in which we stayed! :)

Love Trivial Pursuit but haven't played it in years. I didn't know there was a literary version. Sounds interesting. Just want to let you know that I received a copy of Tom Thomson's Fine Kettle of Friends: biography, history, art and food. It looks really interesting from the few passages that I have read and it has lots of pictures in it.

>154 Familyhistorian: - Thanks for the info, Meg. I am going to guess that my library would not (yet) have a copy of it but I am going to request that they purchase one!

>155 jessibud2: Hopefully they get it in soonish, Shelley.

Morning Shelley. Sweet Thursday. Warm and muggy here but I am hanging in there.

Hope your week is going well.

I was out running some errands when the skies opened up here. I got caught in the deluge part way through. I decided to just come straight home and save the rest for tomorrow because I absolutely HATE being on the road in such conditions. I made it home in one piece and that's all I care about. I had one experience, a few years ago, of hydroplaning in such conditions and spinning 180 degrees. Thank goodness there were no cars coming in the opposite direction at that moment but it scared the shit out of me and I do not want to ever repeat that. I can only control my own car (and not always, apparently) and the thought of someone else not driving to the conditions and plowing into me if they can't stop, well, let's just say, I am happy to be home, inside, where it is dry and safe. I am a weather wimp at the best of times, but most especially on the roads.

I had been listening to my audiobook but even had to turn that off to stay focussed!

You know how, when you really like an author and you have finished reading the last book they have published and now you have to wait for another? It can sometimes be years before that next one comes out. It can feel like running out of gas on the highway: oh no, now what?!

I am like that with Malcom Gladwell. I have read all 5 books he has published, listening to him read 4 of them to me in audiobook format. Loved them, but if I had to choose, I'd say Outliers was my favourite. I just like the way he thinks.

I recently discovered his podcasts and have just finished listening to the 4th one, from season one (he is only in the middle of season 2 right now so it shouldn't take long for me to catch up). There really isn't any reason to listen chronologically, but I just wanted to, thus the binge-listening. So far, I am mesmerized. *Revisionist History*, when sometimes, things deserve another look, is just sooo Gladwell. Maybe I should slow down, though. I don't want to run out of podcasts before he does!

For the link, see >107 drneutron:, thanks to Jim for helping get me on track. I am not sure my little tech-deficient brain would have figured it out without help. But I am loving it

I have yet to listen to podcasts. My daughter keeps recommending them to me, but I don't seem to have enough time! LOL Glad you are enjoying them.

Hi Shelley, hope you are having a good weekend my dear and you will enjoy The Love Song of Queenie Hennessy. I tried to be careful in my review so as not to spoil it for anyone who has it but hasn't read it yet. Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Here is a list of Canadian books that are recommended reads for right now! (*borrowed* from Gypsysmom on her bookcrossing thread and possibly on her LT thread, as well). So many excellent choices here and I am embarrassed to admit how few of them I have read (although a few are sitting patiently in my physical TBR piles):

http://www.cbc.ca/books/the-great-canadian-reading-list-150-books-to-read-for-ca...

Edited to add that because I am anal about things like this, I actually went back through the list and discovered that I have read 26 of the titles listed, and own but have not yet read 18 others. There are a few that I know of but do not appeal to me at all so they are not titles I would ever pick up and there are others I had not heard of but might like to give them a try at some point. And needless to say, there are plenty that I have read and loved that are not on the list at all. C'est la vie!

Still a measly percentage, given that I am Canadian.

>162 jessibud2: That's a great list! I am going to host a challenge for August's TIOLI challenges (not posted yet) involving reading books by Canadian authors. I'll ooint the challengers to your link.

>163 SqueakyChu: - Madeline, can you link me to your TIOLI challenge for that one? Maybe it will be the kick in the rear that I need.

After going through the entire list, I see there are more than I initially thought that I have actually read (as well as more that I own but have yet to read).

Hello jessibud2! I hope all is well with you.

I lost track of a conversation about RF Delderfield and swear you were part of the thread. Does this ring a bell?

Hi Brodie, welcome! Sorry to not be able to help out on this one but I don't think it was me. I am not familiar with that author at all. Perhaps I should be? I am still enjoying the Towles audiobook, though! :-)

Darn it! ;-) I'll find them, I'm sure.

That audiobook is now in my top 5 favorites.

>165 brodiew2: There was a conversation on Colleen's (NanaCC) thread about Delderfield, Brodie. Is this the one you're looking for?

>164 jessibud2: I post the newest TIOLI challenge as a surprise at some time at the end of the month. I don't announce it. I will link you to it when at least one other person finds it. If you find it first, you can link yourself. Hint: I post it on the 75 Books Challenge for 2017 group. :)

We are now working on the end of July's TIOLI challenge which can be found here.

>120 jessibud2: Well, that is spot on.

Also, I love the stories and comments about Jeopardy and how easy it is from a distance. I'm actually rather bad at Jeopardy but P is amazing. I keep thinking she should try to get on the show but she points out that it's much easier, as you say, on your couch with no competition. But even on the couch with no competition, I am lousy at recalling things. I recognize them (as in, "I knew that!") but I can't pull information out of my brain very well. Although, as karenmarie says, sometimes it's about reading the clue within the clue and I am pretty good at that.

>159 jessibud2: You know, I have never read anything by Gladwell but you are persuading me to consider giving him a try. I think I'll start with downloading the podcast (I love the title) although I will see if I can land a copy of Outliers since that is your favorite.

Happy Friday, Shelley!

>170 EBT1002: - Ellen, I am much less smart (that sounds like bad grammar) than I am just good at deciphering the clues within the clues, as you say. And of course, there are categories that just call to me, and others that absolutely don't. And I am a much better living room player, of course! ;-)

Do give Gladwell a try. I would strongly suggest his audiobook versions as he narrates them and is a really good narrator. You will get a taste of that if you try the podcasts. I am LOVING them. Outliers is not his first book; I think it's his 3rd (of 5). He is also a regular contributor to The New Yorker.

BTW, your link to Outliers is not quite Gladwell, lol!

Hi Shelley and happy Friday to you!

>152 jessibud2: A group of us used to play Trivial Pursuit at lunch at work in the early 1980s. It was so much fun. I still have my original game somewhere.

>168 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I put a note on Brodie's thread to refer here to your help in finding that link for him.

>169 SqueakyChu: - Thanks, Madeline. I will check that out later this afternoon. I am just taking a quick break here in the middle of running errands.

>171 jessibud2: Oh my, that is hilarious. I was in a hurry, as you can tell. I fixed that touchstone now. Heh.

>174 EBT1002: - ;-)

>172 karenmarie: - Happy Friday and weekend to you, too, Karen

I have to report that my down and out Toronto Blue Jays have just done something that is a first in franchise history and I would be surprised if it has ever been done in baseball history: we (well, THEY) entered the 9th inning, down by a score of 10-4. That's down by 6 runs. They managed to claw their way back and for the SECOND time in 4 days, won it in the bottom of the 9th on a walk-off grand slam home run! By the same player: Steve Pearce. Unbelievable. To be watching the game, you'd think they had just won the World Series. It was that crazy and that exciting. And deservedly so. Pity we are still in last place. I am aware of that but still. It was great.

Ok, I am calm now.

Edited to correct my math. Never my strong suit...

>176 jessibud2: That sounds wonderful. What an exciting game that must have been!

I had the pleasure this past Wednesday evening to watch on television the USMNT (United States Men's National Team) win the GOLD Cup in a North American/Central American soccer competition. The only sports teams I follow are the USA national soccer teams (both the men's team and the women's). I used to love baseball as a kid, but no one in my family likes it so I no longer follow it. I used to be an avid Orioles fan because I grew up in Baltimore. Jose likes to watch American football in the fall. I stopped watching it years ago because of all the commercials, my hearing problem, and free agency which changed any sense of the individual players being part of a "team".

Happy Sunday, Shelley. Hope you had a fine wekend. Go Blue Jays! Hope this is a promising sign.

TT has been a big hit on my thread. I appreciate you turning me on to him.

>178 msf59: - Sadly, I think our season is lost already. We haven't been out of last place once this season. But games like this one go far to keep the fans happy (ish). I am a diehard fan anyhow so it's ok.

I love that you are enjoying Tom Thomson's art. You have chosen some of his best for your toppers. :-)

Hi Shelley!

Congrats on your Blue Jays making such a marvelous come back! And sorry that they aren't doing better.

I'm a diehard Carolina Panthers (US football) fan and last season was abysmal. We still watched and still hoped.

Hi Karen,

Today is the baseball trade deadline. I would hate to see any of our players go but the inevitable will happen. It always does. I am guessing, though, that the man of the hour, Steve Pearce, though new to the team this year, can breathe easy that after the week he has had, he isn't likely to be on the trading block this time.... I hope I haven't just jinxed anything....

I hope you haven't, too. *smile*

I was instrumental in Roger Federer winning Wimbledon, you know - I had my shrine set up just before the final began. It worked.

>182 karenmarie: - Of course it did! :-)

Pearce didn't get traded but the Jays blew a 6 run lead and lost last night. Oh well.

I caught that link you posted on Mark's thread about the top 10 things hardcore bookworms do. LOVE IT! I have to repost it here, in case someone misses it there. Personally, 10 isn't enough to cover it, for me, though..... ;-)

https://litreactor.com/columns/10-things-only-hardcore-bookworms-do

Shelley--Hurray for two exciting games with grand slams! Those are so rare and so much fun! Good luck with your Canadian reads and thanks for reposting the bookworm list. Ha!

>162 jessibud2: Ooh, thanks for the link to that Canadian reading list! I also immediately wanted to see which ones I'd read, knowing in advance that it wouldn't be very many:

Station Eleven
Love You Forever
Fifth Business
In the Skin of a Lion
Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures
Anne of Green Gables
Jillian Jiggs
The Book of Negroes
Lullabies for Little Criminals
A Complicated Kindness
I Want to Go Home
Secret Path (IIRC, this one barely has words, and I read it quickly in the bookstore, but I think it probably still counts)
The Paper Bag Princess
Life of Pi

So, only about 14. I suspect I've read Sing a Song of Mother Goose as well, since my mother was a children's librarian and I think I even had a poster from that book on the wall of my childhood bedroom, but I have zero recollection of the actual book. I may have to participate in this month's TIOLI. Although I'd never actually try to complete that whole list of 150 books; I'm just not sufficiently interested in literary fiction. But there are definitely lots on the list that I do want to read.

From today's Word A Day newsletter:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have. -James Baldwin, writer (2 Aug 1924-1987)

(James Baldwin, born on this day)

My goodness, that Baldwin sure nailed it didn't he? I wonder what he would of thought of our current administration. Shudders...

Morning, Shelley. Have a good day.

Hi Mark. Yes, the writer of this newsletter always chooses quotes by people born on the day of the newsletter and he seems to select the most timely, doesn't he?

It's a hot and steamy one here today (all week, actually) so I am hoping to run my errands early, before I melt. My friend from the States arrives this afternoon so I am looking forward to this visit. It's been a few years since we last saw one another.

Hi Shelley! Stay cool and enjoy your friend's visit!

>188 jessibud2: You sure are busy with house guests this summer! Have fun with your friend from the States. I'm assuming she's a temporary escapee...as were we! ;)

Shelley--Excellent quote! Have fun with your friend. And from one hot zone to another-stay cool!

>185 _Zoe_: - Hi Zoe. My total read is only slightly higher than yours but I do own several of the and am determined to get to those first. I think Songs of Mother Goose may be the one illustrated by my favourite local artist, Barbara Reid. She does all her illustrations using plasticene. Pretty creative and just plain gorgeous. You might be able to google her work to see it. She has written and illustrated many books

>198 jessibud2:, >190 SqueakyChu:, >191 Berly: - Hi Karen, Madeline and Kim - Yep, it's a warm one out there today! I am not good in extremes (hot or cold) but I do prefer cooler over this, that's for sure. Thank goodness for A/C. I also have table fans in just about everyone room, if needed. And yes, Madeline, she is as eager as you were to escape to *sanity*, heehee. I shouldn't laugh but when even our staid newscasters can barely keep straight faces you know something is out of whack... ;-) Hang in there, my friends!

>192 jessibud2: OMG! Out of whack is such an understatement. When 45 cannot pass his agenda, he then thinks of something even more evil to do. This week it's legislation against immigrants. That's unbelievable because he is the son of an immigrant from Scotland. He wants only "educated" immigrants?! If so, can we deport him?! Despite any college education he may have had, I don't consider him educated in the least.

All I know is that, during WWII, there was legislation that made immigration to the US be dependent on sponsorship (Read: money). My dad came to the Unted States penniless and only escaped Nazi Germany because a wealthy jewelry store owner (S&N Katz) in Baltimore, Maryland, sponsored Jews with the surname Katz (cohen tzedek, of the priestly tribe Cohen). My maternal grandparents of Yugoslavia died in Auschwitz because my mom and her brother did not have enough time to save sufficient money to bring over their parents. What 45 wants is racist, xenophobic, hateful, and against all principles upon which this country was founded. If he does not want immigrants, he should leave the country immediately and take with him all non natives. I'll willingly go to Canada or Israel. Save my room downstairs! ;)

*end of rant*

I thought of you yesterday because someone left a book in my Little Free Library called How to be a Bad Birdwatcher so, of course, I have to read it although I promised myself not toread more than one book at a time this month. I also ended up reading an amazing Israeli cookbook which I found at the library this week. Check it out (no pun intended!). It's called Zahav. I think I'll have to buy it...and I almost never buy books any more.

I finally got some solar eclipse stamps. Did you want a mint stamp or a sheet of mint stamps? If you don't need a mint stamp, I can snail mail you a letter and then I can use three of those stamps to get the letter to you in Toronto. Let me know.

>193 SqueakyChu: - Woohoo! Snail mail is fine and no, I am not that kind of collector, so mint or even a sheet is not necessary. Just the one would be wonderful. Thank you! A snail mail letter is on its way to you as we speak :-)

You have to take three stamps because that's what the postage is! LOL I'll wait until I get your letter first. It's really fun to be able to do "real" mail again.

From today's Word a Day newsletter. Happy birthday to the birthday boy. We sure miss him (and I am not even American and I do!):

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

To be an American is about something more than what we look like, or what our last names are, or how we worship. -Barack Obama, 44th US President (b. 4 Aug 1961)

Hi Shelley!

We miss him here too, as things get more clownish, corrupt, and dangerous. Sigh.

Hi Karen. The more corrupt, the more scary, the less clownish and funny. :-(

>196 jessibud2: We are already looking back on his Presidency as a golden time of tolerance and calm compared to his successor in office.

Have a splendid weekend, Shelley.

Hi Paul. Good to see you out and about again! Have a good weekend!

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

>176 jessibud2: That would have been an amazing game to have watched!
The closest thing I have in memory is the time the Mariners were ahead 12-0 in the 8th(?) inning and lost the game. It was terrible. It was also over a decade ago. But having the same guy save the game two nights in a row with such huge deficits to overcome ~~ truly remarkable.

>196 jessibud2: Sigh. I do miss that man. Beth posted on her thread a link to a great essay by Roxane Gay; it's about the new HBO show, "Confederate," but it also makes reference to Obama's leadership:

There are many critiques that can be made about Mr. Obama as president, but for two terms, he served this country well. He was competent and intelligent. He made progress on several fronts. Though he made decisions with which I disagreed, I never worried that he was incapable of serving as president. I never worried that he was incapable of understanding what he did not know and doing what was necessary to address such knowledge gaps.

Yep.

>202 EBT1002: - Actually, it was 4 days apart, not 2 consecutive days but still, an amazing feat. Only 2 other players have hit 2 walk-off grand slams in the same season, in all of baseball history, but Pearce is the only one to do it in the same week. Nice, and quite amazing. That said, we went into today's game with a 6-3 lead in the 9th, and lost the game 7-6 (in the 9th, no extra innings). Which goes a long way to explain why we haven't been out of last place this season. Oh well. I was actually out all day and got into the car, coming home, just in time to hear that 9th inning.

Sigh...

And yes, that is some quote you posted there. My friend from the States is visiting right now and it's hard not to talk about the current state of affairs. :-(

Well, I am finally home from my vacation: 3 days in Ottawa, our nation's capital, then 4 days in Montreal. Aside from being a fun road trip with a friend I hadn't seen in a few years, and meeting up in both cities with friends both of us hadn't seen in even more years, we were just so lucky with the weather. Rain was predicted for every single day of the week yet it only actually materialized once, while we were inside a restaurant! Amazing, and that surely made for a much more pleasant and leisurely time walking around the cities.

The trip included lots of art and that was a pleasure. In Ottawa, we stayed at a place a few blocks away from the Byward Market, where (aside from the fresh fruit and veggies I couldn't resist), artists and artisans displayed their crafts. One lady recycled (upcycled?) old vinyl records, both LPs and 45s, into purses, bowls, buttons, clocks and they were so wonderful and whimsical. Another woman made purses and wallets out of leather and fabrics but in such unique and creative ways, that I actually bought one! She used to be a professional musician before she switched *careers* and music and nature are constant themes in her work, which is exquisitely crafted.

We also went to the Museum of History (formerly known as The Museum of Civilization) . I was the only one of the 4 of us who had not been there before and could have easily spent the entire 3 days just in this magnificent place. The architecture is gorgeous, the exhibits were so good and we didn't have time to visit the gardens, which my friend who lives there says are worth a visit all their own. Oh well, next time.

Being from Montreal, this leg of the trip was a bit of a treat for me as I played tourist and stayed at a hotel for the first time ever in that city! Right downtown, too. That was fun. I did stay at my mum's for an extra days after my friend left to drive home to Massachusetts, though. This is the year, not only of Canada's 150th birthday, but also of Montreal's 375th birthday so there were lots of celebratory things going on. Montreal is a city of a lot of street art and for me, I just couldn't get enough of it. Sculptures everywhere you turn on the sidewalks, on the streets, in parks, in front of buildings, and ON buildings! One of my friends took us to see the 9-storey mural on the side of a building, of Leonard Cohen. It boggles my mind how someone can do such detail work on such a scale but my mum, who is an artist (of smaller stuff, lol) told me she did a one-day course once on this and learned that it is often done as a stencil-type of approach, or something like that. No matter. I still think the talent involved is enormous and it was truly awesome (I don't usually like to use that over-used word but this time, it applies).

We walked around the section of the city known as Old Montreal, down near the port. With its hilly cobblestone streets and narrow old buildings, in summer, especially, it is great because of the artists and artisans there, too. I bought a little bit of artwork by one artist whose work already hangs in my house from the last time I was in Old Montreal, during the jazz festival, easily 15 years ago, as well as another by a new-to-me artist. Also took in some street performers singing the songs of Edith Piaf - and boy, was she good!! She sang and played accordion and her partner played guitar. I love this stuff.

The highlight (maybe; hard to choose, actually), was the exhibit we took in at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Called *Revolution* (as in, "so you say you want a revolution...." - John Lennon).

https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/on-view/revolution/ - scroll down a bit for a 30-second clip

All about the 1960s. It was groovy, man! :-) You know how you are often given headphones at museums as an audio guide? Well, surprise! The only *audio* coming out of these headphones was music! The soundtrack of the 60s! Very cool. After walking through and viewing posters, clothing, archival magazines and articles, among many other things, we came to a room that was a replica record store. Bins of vinyl records (the album jackets were empty and were shrink-wrapped closed, for obvious reasons, but wow, what a trip down memory lane). I still own more than a few of them, too! I never got rid of my albums and recently bought a turntable again. There were classic posters on the walls and so much memorabilia. It was loads of fun. Just about the only thing missing was the *aroma* of the 60s, but in truth, it is not yet legal here, though it will be, sooner rather than later....

And yes, I did take a ton of photos but it's going to take me awhile to sort through and get them into the gallery here. Hopefully before this year is over! But it will get done....

I did mange to read a bit, too. I nearly finished a book called Lives of Mothers and Daughters by Sheila Munro. She is the oldest daughter of Nobel winner Alice Munro and it is a memoir. I really enjoyed not only the anecdotes from her own childhood but also the insights into Alice's past and childhood and how that informed her development as a writer. I wanted to give the book to my friend, who is teaching a CanLit course (her second) this year and so, I will get the book again from the library to finish the final 20 pages.

I also read just over half of Rose Tremain's first novel, Sadler's Birthday while travelling home on the train. I expect to finish it tonight or tomorrow, at the latest. I also brought with me the book for this month's CAC, A Tale For the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki and though I doubt I'll finish it before the end of August, at least I will be able to start it and get into it a bit.

I also had to return my audiobook to the library before I left on the road trip. It was due the next day and I was unable to renew it online. Not sure why but since I was only half way through, I have already requested it again. I just hope it doesn't take forever to get back to my branch. It was Amor Towles' A Gentleman in Moscow. In the meantime, I took out 3 other audiobooks: another by Towles, Rules of Civility, Who Rules the World by Noam Chomsky, and the one that I am just listening to now, by Christina Baker Kline called A Piece of the World. I like historical fiction when done well and really enjoyed the first one by her that I read, called Orphan Train. This one is about Andrew Wyeth's famous painting called *Christina's World* and she uses that to create a story of the story behind it. So far, I am really enjoying it.

>205 jessibud2: It sounds like you had a good time, Shelley.
Wow, a 9-floor mural of Leonard Cohen sounds great!

I hope your audiobook finds its way back to you soon.

>207 jessibud2: - Anita, until I get around to putting photos on my gallery, here is an article and pictures I found by googling. The finished result is great but I enjoyed reading about the process, too:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/leonard-cohen-mural-st-laurent-montreal-2...

Ohh you do have a thread , Shelley! I enjoyed Orphan Train too. Sounds like you had a great time in Montreal. A wonderful time in fact. How is your mom doing?

>209 jessibud2: - Thanks for asking, Deb. She is doing pretty well. The lymphoma is confirmed as the diagnosis and she is being treated only with prednisone. They started her at 100 (mg? not sure of the measure) and every 3 weeks she has her blood levels checked to try to reduce the dosage to the smallest amount that will keep her stable. The doctor seems pleased and has reduced her by 20 each time. Right now she is at 60 and her next bloodwork is next week. The only side effects so far are some insomnia and - naturally - fatigue. But no pain and her appetite has returned, which was a big concern as she had lost a fair bit of weight. Knock wood.....

Yes, the vacation was a lot of fun. And wouldn't you know it, it rained for several hours here in Toronto this afternoon! Haha

This new book by Baker Kline is good, right from the beginning. I like her writing.

Sounds as if you had a fabulous trip, Shelley. I'm so glad your mother is doing well.

>211 jessibud2: - Thanks, Madeline

Hope your mom continues to respond to the Prednisone and they can lower the dose. Too much prednisone is never fun. I know!! Glad you had a good trip and that reading is going well for you. I really liked Orphan Train. : )

Hi Shelley!

Your trip sounds fabulous, and thanks for sharing.

I'm glad your mom is responding to the Prednisone.

We're going to be reading A Gentleman in Moscow for bookclub's October discussion. It's supposed to arrive any day now, and I can't wait to start. There have been a lot of positive comments here on LT.

Hi Shelley, your trip sounds great and thanks for sharing it with us, hope you have a great weekend my dear and send love and hugs.

You have been busy this summer, Shelley. Sounds like a fun time in Ottawa and Montreal. Interesting places both of them. Your post to Mark about his Thomson toppers reminded me that I am reading a book about Thomson now for some challenge or other. Joan Murray's Tom Thomson: Trees is a short book about Thomson's art and, you guessed it, full of trees, specifically coloured plates of the trees that Tom sketched and painted.

>208 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the link, Shelley, Leonard Cohen was so special.

I'm glad that your mom is doing well right now, Shelley, and I hope it continues to be the case. We got our furnace installed yesterday and it went smoother and more quickly than we expected. Glad that is done!

Morning, Shelley! Thanks for keeping my thread warm, while I was away. Sorry, about your Jays. It can be so frustrating, watching your favorite team flail. Hope your current reads are treating you fine.

>210 SqueakyChu:

Sure hope your Mom responds well to treatment!

Today's NYT Obituary for Dick Gregory notes that he sent his Lymphoma into remission
via changes in diet, exercise (and one other that I can't remember)...I'm not suggesting
these to replace your Mom's Chemo, just to say that maybe a combination of treatments
can improve her chances.

My daughter takes Metho (long name) chemo to treat RA and eats mostly Vegan,
Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, low or no sugar, fruits with low sugar, no alcohol...and
has reached, not remission, but a very low flare stage.

>220 jessibud2: - Hi Marianne. My mum is so far not on any chemo, just prednisone (which is not, I don't think, considered chemo). For quite some time after getting out of the hospital, she had no appetite and lost a fair bit of weight but the appetite has now returned and she is eating well and beginning to regain some weight. She is keeping as active as she is able, given her fatigue but she is up and walking every day and they sometimes go away for the weekend which is far more than she was capable of just a few short months ago, so overall, improvement in almost every area. Knock wood, or something....

Thanks for the input. Every perspective contributes to the big picture, in my view.

>221 m.belljackson:

Vitamins was the third thing added.

It sounds to me like your mom is doing very well, Shelley. There are so many types of lymphoma as I found out when my dad got peripheral T cell lymphoma . It is a very aggressive type of lymphoma and as I have mentioned he had all of the radiation therapy that he was allowed, and he had three different protocols of chemotherapy. One of his closest friends had " B-Cell lymphoma" and had a 8 year remission between treatments, unlike my dad. And one of my closest friend's dad had " Mantle Cell Lymphoma" which was very difficult to battle. And there are some more " indolent" lymphoma's that need less treatment, or sometimes watchful waiting, I understand. I ended up learning a lot about lymphoma. ;-)

Best wishes to both of you!

>220 jessibud2:, >222 vancouverdeb: - Marianne, I believe she takes only a couple of vitamins and the doctors seem ok with that. So far. I hadn't read the obit for Gregory so didn't realize that he had had lymphoma, too.

>223 jessibud2: - Not sure if I mentioned it before but the diagnosis for my mum is called
Angioimmunoblasic T-call lymphoma. A real mouthful, and when I read about it, it sounds not too great. But so far, so good and I suppose that's what we have to go by. She looks good, especially compared to what she looked like earlier this year. She will be 84 in November and we have to remember that, too. But, one day at a time, as they say.

Good to hear that your mum is doing better, Shelley.

Hi Shelley!

I'm glad to hear that your mum is doing better, too.

>224 Familyhistorian: I looked up Angioimmunoblasic T-call lymphoma. Yes, sorry to hear that. I'm really glad that your mom is doing so well. I agree, age has to taken into account and how a patient responds to treatment. I have a neighbour who has her dad living with her since this January of 2017. He has a second round of prostrate cancer and as he is 96, they are treating it quite conservatively. The first time round they did surgery, but at the age of 96 , I think it is agreed that too much aggressive treatment would not give him much quality of living. He is taking some sort of oral medication as well as hormonal medications. Her dad has his name in for an assisted living place, but it is proving to be quite a long wait. Fortunately her dad is very easy going and charming, and she tells me that they get along well.

I just did something today that I haven't done in, oh, maybe 30 years or so. I (together with a friend) bought a subscription to the theatre for the 2017, 2018 season! I am quite excited about it. The 7-show schedule includes these titles:

North by Northwest (Hitchcock) - I am curious if it has somehow been turned into a musical as most of the other shows in this series are, but we shall see)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - I am certain I heard someone here warbling about this at some point. I think I wondered how it would work on stage (I liked the book a lot) and was assured it absolutely did!

Dr. Seuss's The Lorax - Never too old for the good Doctor!! :-) (I once took my class to a show for kids called *Seussical the Musical* and it was as fun and terrific as you would expect)

Come From Away - the hit show that is just finishing up its Broadway run and returning home! It's the one that I most wanted to see from this series

Muriel's Wedding - The Musical - Looks fun

An American in Paris - such a classic

The King and I - ditto

>225 karenmarie:, >226 vancouverdeb: - Thanks Meg and Karen. So far so good.
>227 jessibud2: - Thank goodness my mother has a husband. I live too far away to be there for her 24/7 (though I would if there was no other choice). But she and I have always tended to get along better when not living together so there is that....anyhow, we'll take it as it comes....

>228 jessibud2: That looks like a great season! I don't know if I ever posted anything about The Curious Incident, but it's definitely a great play (and I didn't even love the book). And of course I loved Come From Away. I was a bit surprised by your comment that it's finishing up its Broadway run, because as far as I knew it was still an open run, and very successful, with the Toronto production getting a whole separate cast to run simultaneously.

I'm hoping to see The Lorax when I'm there over Christmas break.

>230 jessibud2: - You could be right about that, Zoe. It may well be a whole new cast. In the link, it says "returns to Toronto" so I guess I just *assumed*. :-) Anyhow, I am looking forward to the season

https://www.mirvish.com/subscriptions/shows/come-from-away

https://www.mirvish.com/subscriptions/2017/

And maybe it was from you that I heard about Curious Dog, can't remember but I know it was on LT! Was it a musical or just a straight play?

That sounds like a great line up for the theatre.
I remember seeing the movie of Muriel's Wedding many years ago. It was fun and quirky as I recall.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

Ten years ago, I saw the Oscar-winning documentary by Al Gore called An Inconvenient Truth. It was a devastating look at what we are doing to our planet. Today I saw An Inconvenient Sequel. And it terrifies me.

http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=66824~fff311b7-cdad...

How this man still has an ounce of optimism left in his being is beyond me. He was actually making some good progress until trump came into power. Hard fought and hard won progress, but baby steps progress, nevertheless. I despise trump even more now than I thought possible, because of his willful ignorance. And he is too stupid to even know how ignorant he is.

But Gore presents facts and proof without ever mentioning trump. Just showed one small clip of the orange gasbag proclaiming his stupid put-down of *climate change*. Any half-wit with eyes or ears or half a brain cell has to know that climate is changing, and not for the better. Just read the headlines TODAY, for crying out loud. Texas. Does that ring a bell, mr. brainless?

I am sorry for being so rude and I promise to keep such bad manners confined to my own thread, but at the end of the movie this afternoon, I just wanted to weep. I sat there with my friend and I couldn't move. As a species, we seem hell-bent on self-destruction. I am selfish (and cowardly) enough to admit that I don't want it to happen in my lifetime but honestly, who knows? It is not beyond imagining. Thank goodness for people like Al Gore, who has been training people for years and years who exponentially go out in to the world and train & educate more people and actively do something about it. Instinct makes me wish he were president now but in truth, he is accomplishing far more doing what he is doing, than he ever could in politics. And way better.

Please, if you have the opportunity, SEE THIS FILM. If you have children or younger people in your life who you care about, it is their future that is at stake here. This film needs to be mandatory viewing for every politician, even before it needs to be mandatory viewing for every human, everywhere. Time is ticking...

...steps off my soapbox....

(another thought: I bet if Obama joined him, things would move forward....Sometimes, grassroots people power is more effective than the stranglehold of politics)

>233 PawsforThought: I've been looking forward to seeing An Inconvenient Sequel ever since I heard of its existence. I've admired Al Gore for a long time and think it's amazing what he does and as you say - that he still has so much optimism. I'm an optimist at heart but in today's world it's sometimes very, very hard to stay that way.

>234 jessibud2: - Paws, if anyone out there is looking for a *cause*, I can't think of a more important one than this.

I am not American so I am embarrassed to admit that before his first film, 10 years ago, Gore wasn't much on my radar. But I have so much admiration for him, for his integrity and his determination not to give up, to bring solid evidence and science to his arguments, and to just do the right thing. What an amazing man.

Your theatre plans sound lovely, Shelley! I watched the trailer to An Inconvenient Sequel. I quite agree - anyone with a few brain cells has to be able to notice that climate change is real.

>235 vancouverdeb: I'm not American either so only knew him by name and job title before An Inconvenient Truth but that film floored me (obviously I was well aware of the problem before, but still). Since then, I've kept an eye on what he's up to.

>233 PawsforThought:
>234 jessibud2:
>236 PawsforThought:

It sounds like Al Gore has affected you in the ways that this article made me feel:

nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans

>238 jessibud2: - Marianne, that link doesn't work for me. Takes me to a *page not found*. But yes, the whole topic gets me hot under the collar (no pun intended)

>236 PawsforThought: - Yes, Deb, I am really looking forward to this theatre season. It's been years and years since I've done an actual subscription. I've been to plays and shows off and on over the years, of course, but not a subscription season. I did that only once, when I first moved to Toronto, in 1980 but not since.

I should add that my one of my brother's used to fly a plane under contract for the Canadian Government ( pre Harper! ) . He and one other guy flew the plane, while the guys in the back did two things - scientists that measured the temperature of the High Arctic waters and places in the oceans in Canada, as well as estimated the ice pack up North to aid in the decide when " ships" or whatever they are could travel to the remote North to deliver supplies to the north from southern Canada. My brother would talk to us year after year about how much earlier that the ice was melting up north and also how the temperatures of the sea was rising and that he was concerned that the sea levels would soon be rising. Climate change is very much on my radar. Living on the Fraser Delta as I do, I think it about it in that context too. My brother says he would never return to living in Richmond BC to leave for fear of rising sea levels. I really love it here and moving is such an expense and a hassle, I just live with the same way I live with the idea that potentially we could get the " big one" aka earthquake here too. I think my brother and family would return to the rocky part of Vancouver, but they are happily settled in Edmonton ( oh how can that be?:)

>228 jessibud2: How fun! Those are great plays and I want to hear back on how The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime works on stage. I will see if I can find Gore's latest. You-know-who makes me so mad!!

>228 jessibud2: Ooh, theater tickets. Yay! We have season tickets to three different venues here in Seattle for the coming 2017-18 season. It's too much but I got carried away. We'll let at least one of them expire after this season.

And ... Come From Away!!!!!!!!!!! We saw that at the Seattle Rep last fall and when it ended, the moment it ended, the entire audience spontaneously leapt to our feet in enthusiastic standing ovation. It was one of the most wonderful theater performances I have ever witnessed and I would go to it again and again. Not to warble too much, not to set you up with unrealistic expectations. Just sharing my experience. :-)

I'm glad your mum seems to be responding well to the Prednisone. It's not a namby-pamby medication but it's certainly less invasive than chemo. I have my fingers crossed that she continues to do well.

>240 Berly: - Deb, we complain about our hot summers and our cold winters and snow and everything in between, but in all seriousness, when it comes right down to it, I don't think I would want to live anywhere else but where I do right now. I'm such a chicken!

>241 EBT1002:- I wondered about the adaptation to stage, myself, Kim. But I did hear from someone here (can't remember who) that it worked really well, so I am looking forward to that. And.... unrelated to this subscription series, a friend and I are going to see Beautiful, the Carole King story, this Saturday! I am so excited about that one!! It ends its run here on Sept. 3 so we got in just on time!

>242 jessibud2: - Yes, I think theatre subscriptions could definitely be addictive (sort-of like books...!). I am getting excited. See also my last comment to Kim, above! I have also heard not one negative word, not one, about Come From Away.

Thanks also for the good wishes for my mum. I spoke to her last night and all remains steady.

Timing is everything and sometimes, it can be eerie. The other day (before Hurricane Harvey hit), I picked up a slim book from my tbr shelf. I am currently in the middle of 2 chunksters and wanted something slim and lightweight to take downtown on the subway, in my bag. Safe As Houses by Canadian YA author Eric Walters is a fictionalized imagining of 3 young kids, a 13-year old babysitter and her 2 younger charges, who happened to be caught at home on the night that (real life) Hurricane Hazel hit the west end of Toronto back in 1954. I am somewhat water-phobic and it is terrifying to read this. I cannot read it at night or I know I'd be having nightmares. I cannot imagine how people in Houston are coping right now. I only hope that people can stay safe.

>246 jessibud2: I am sad and sickened by the devastation in Texas. Did you ever read Isaac's Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History by Erik Larson? That was a novel based on the deadly 1900 hurricane that struck Galveston, Texas. That was a terrifying read even though I read it many years before Hurricane Katrina struck Louisianna. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like to be in that part of Texas now. David Egger's book Zeitoun was a painful read about Hurricane Katrina. His book was nonfiction. Although these are disturbing reads, both give a sense of what it must be like to live through such devastation by water/rainfall/sea surges.

>246 jessibud2: - Yes, I read the Larson book a few years ago. I really like his writing a lot, and yes, it was terrifying. This one, by Walters, though a YA book, is every bit as frightening. It gives me the willies just thinking about it.

I prefer bedtime reading to be my current bio of the Kingston Trio, lol! Makes for better dreams.

I have not read or heard of Zeitoun. That word is Hebrew for *olive*. Do you think there is some connection? Seems a stretch...

>247 SqueakyChu: Oh..the Kingston Trio..."Scotch and Soda"... *sigh*

I just had to go back and play that song on Utube! *sings along*

I thought the word in Hebrew for olive was zayit and the plural was zitim. I'll have to go look it up. In the book, Zeitoun was a surname, if I'm remembering correctly.

>248 jessibud2: - Oh, you could be right about that. Probably are. Close but no cigar, on my part, lol! It's been awhile....

Hi Shelley!

>245 SqueakyChu: Being from the West Coast, I never had hurricanes on my radar until 1990 when I got engaged to a North Carolinian and immediately heard about how Hurricane Hugo went inland to near Charlotte. His mother lost 80 pine trees on her property, had some (minor) structural damage, and was trapped in her house for 12 hours until the trees could be cleared enough to get her out. I've survived Hurricane Fran myself, pitch darkness and overnight rain, thunder, lightning, and trees going down, 3 days without phones, 5 days without electricity.

I've heard of Hurricane Hazel. I've seen family photos of how it devastated Garden City Beach and destroyed husband's family's beach house, but never realized that it came inland in South Carolina and traveled all the way up to Canada. 95 people died in the US, but 81 died in Canada. And of course, Haiti bore the brunt of it.

Hi, Shelley----what a lot has been going on since I last visited, just a couple weeks ago! Your vacation trip sounds wonderful. I've seen so little of Canada--only the bit around Niagara Falls, like any other American tourist. Despite the fact that my mother-in-law grew up in Vancouver, BC, we've never been out there. My parents took a lovely no-kids vacation in Ottawa with another couple in the early '60's, and they also toured Montreal later on. My dad and his brother used to go hunting "in the bush", in Manitoba, I think. What's wrong with ME, then? Well, anyway, it was fun to explore the two cities a bit with you. Thanks for sharing!

I'm glad to hear your mother is feeling better, and able to do a few things she enjoys. My own mother is 86, and tries to keep a positive perspective on life, even when she faces the ordinary restrictions of aging. To have a difficult diagnosis, though, and yet still be able to find some pleasure in life, takes strength. As another Canadian friend on LT often says "We go, we do." What else can we do?

Hurricanes---when we lived in New Orleans back in the '70's, we took them very seriously. My husband was stationed with a Coast Guard search & rescue unit, so he could have been on the front lines, so to speak, but as it happened we did not experience much in the way of that kind of weather while we were there. There was one occasion when it looked like a bad one might be aiming directly for the area, and we were scheduled to go home to PA on leave. We were pretty anxious sitting on the runway waiting for our plane to take off in the mid-day dark and heavy rain, but we made it. The storm changed course and did very little harm in the end. Ironically, we were married in May of 1972, and left for Louisiana just about a month before Hurricane Agnes slammed into Pennsylvania devastating much of the Wyoming Valley, which was part of my husband's home territory. We were concerned about living in lower Louisiana, and Mother Nature showed us how capricious she could be. My husband remembers Hurricane Hazel, which hit PA when he was a child and did a fair amount of damage to trees on their property. Power was out for quite a while, too.

>245 SqueakyChu: Hi Shelley, Hurricane Hazel, I remember it well, trees down like match sticks and live electical wires were everywhwere. Now I'm dating my self......

If I were a religious person, I'd be bowing down and giving thanks this morning. It is currently 13C (that's around 55F). I have opened all the windows in my house, first time in weeks! Just wonderful! I can breathe again. We have had recording-breaking heat here for pretty much every day since last week (for this date on the calendar, that is, not *ever*. I mean, it's practically October, and we have barely had temps lower than 30C!

So, in that spirit, a friend just sent me this crazy video, posted on The Weather Network. Cracked me right up.

https://websiteoak.theweathernetwork.com/videos/gallery/it-was-so-hot-in-ontario...

I do like that feeder, though. Looks like it could actually be squirrel-proof.

In other news, my theatre season has begun. The first one in our subscription series was Hitchcock's *North by Northwest*. I was surprised at how good it was. The story was a bit preposterous but the acting and the stage sets were excellent. Great fun. The next play is in 2 weeks and it is one I am really looking forward to: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. I still can't imagine how this book makes the transition from page to stage but I have heard from people that it does so very well.

An ER book arrived in my mailbox yesterday. I had forgotten that I won it (though, it happens so rarely, you'd think forgetting would not be an issue). It's a YA novel, called The Painting by Charis Cotter. I will start it as soon as I finish my current read, a short story collection by Susan Vreeland, called Life Studies. I am enjoying that one quite a lot. Fuller report once I'm done but Vreeland writes about art in her novels and in this collection, she continues this theme, in often surprising ways.

oops, posted in the wrong thread!! My own wrong thread. Guess I'm not really awake...