Ellen reads in 2017 - Chapter 9

Main Market Square, Kraków, Poland

I spent three months in Kraków, Poland, in 1981. My dad was teaching American Literature on a Fulbright scholarship and his then-wife, her two daughters, and I accompanied him on tourist visas. It was a transformative experience for me on many levels. I spent much of my time reading and exploring; I visited other Fulbright scholars in Warsaw and Wrocław, stood in lines hoping something good would be at the other end of it (we hoped for meat or toilet paper but bread was more likely), and studied the Polish language.

I was visiting a friend in Wrocław in December. We were planning a Christmas/New Years trip to Sweden, Prague, and Vienna. We woke in the morning to tanks and men with machine guns in the streets; martial law had been declared. I made my way by train back to Kraków and then, with my stepmother and two stepsisters, traveled to Warsaw. There we stayed with other American friends while we waited for a train to the U.S. It took five days but finally there was a plane to New York. We got on it. No one in the U.S. had heard from us so when we landed in NY I called my grandmother in Florida. I found a flight to Fort Lauderdale and she picked me up at the airport. My older sister burst into tears upon seeing me; it had been almost a week since martial law had been instituted and she had no idea whether we were safe. It was surreal (I knew I was safe but it was eye-opening to see how terrified she had been for me).

The Polish people were warm, gracious, and charming. Two memories stand out for me: walking into a department store and seeing nothing on the shelves except hundreds of umbrellas. That was the only thing that had been shipped any time recently. Another time, I was traveling alone by train from Kraków to Warsaw and I was sitting facing two older women. They were clearly somewhat curious about me so I decided to try my very elementary Polish. I told them I was a student from the United States, that I was traveling to visit friends, that I needed the XX tram westbound in Warsaw to get to the XX neighborhood. They were so welcoming and encouraging, not a single eye roll or grimace at my halting speech. In fact, they helped me find the right track once in Warsaw so that I would get on the right tram. I remember thinking how judgmental a typical American would be with a foreigner speaking very basic English.

In three months, I received four marriage proposals. Young Polish people were desperate to get out of the country. Living under the thumb of Soviet oppression was miserable.

Warsaw, Poland

My Rating Scale:

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

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

Top Reads in 2016

COMPLETED IN JANUARY 2017

1. The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
2. Nutshell by Ian McEwan
3. Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler
4. A Serpent's tooth by Craig Johnson audio
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. The Mortifications by Derek Palacio
7. I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio De Giovanni
8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles
9. Blackballed: The Black & White Politics of Race on America's Campuses by Lawrence Ross

COMPLETED IN FEBRUARY

10. The Gustav Sonata by Rose Tremain
11. Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan
12. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
13. The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
14. His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
15. Local by Brian Wood
16. The Assault by Harry Mulisch

COMPLETED IN MARCH

17. Offshore by Penelope Fitzgerald
18. The Warden by Anthony Trollope
19. The Lewis Man by Peter May
20. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
21. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
22. The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
23. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

COMPLETED IN APRIL

24. LaRose by Louise Erdrich
25. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
26. Witch Hunt (poems) by Juliet Escoria
27. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
28. I Shall Not Be Moved by Maya Angelou
29. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
30. The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race edited by Jesmyn Ward
31. AVP: Leading from the Unique Role of Associate/Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs edited by Amy Hecht
32. The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich
33. The Final Solution: A Story of Detection by Michael Chabon
34. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
35. The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems by Billy Collins

COMPLETED IN MAY

36. Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge
37. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
38. The Chessmen by Peter May
39. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
40. Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald
41. Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston
42. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
43. The Girl, the Gold Watch, & Everything by John D. MacDonald
44. Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love

COMPLETED IN JUNE

45. Hopper by Mark Strand
46. The Lauras by Sara Taylor
47. The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
48. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow audiobook
49. The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths
50. Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie
51. A Change of World: Poems by Adrienne Rich
52. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
53. The Leavers by Lisa Ko
54. The Blood of Emmett Till by Timothy B. Tyson

COMPLETED IN JULY

55. One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
56. Moonglow by Michael Chabon
57. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
58. Of Thee I Sing: Letter to My Daughters by Barack Obama
59. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
60. Hate Crimes in Cyberspace by Danielle Keats Citron
61. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
62. American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell
63. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
64. Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James McBride
65. Jam on the Vine by LaShonda Katrice Barnett

COMPLETED IN AUGUST

66. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
67. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

TENTATIVE plans for 2017

Rachel's Group Read: The Rise of Populism and Related Current Affairs

February: The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer ~ COMPLETED
April: Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild
June: Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance ~ COMPLETED
August: Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank
October: The Populist Explosion: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis
December: White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

I'm also thinking I'll finally read The New Jim Crow which has been on my radar for a while.
And I have Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis to read.

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I will host the 2017 Unregulated REREAD Challenge, for which I will reread at least four works.
Some ideas for rereads:
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison ~ COMPLETED
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Color Purple by Alice Walker ~ COMPLETED
My Name is Asher Lev by Chiam Potok ~ COMPLETED
Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie ~ COMPLETED

American Author Challenge IV

January- Octavia Butler -- Lilith's Brood ~~ COMPLETED
February- Stewart O' Nan -- Snow Angels ~~ COMPLETED
March- William Styron -- The Confessions of Nat Turner ~~ COMPLETED
April- Poetry Month - Witch Hunt by Juliet Escoria ~~ COMPLETED
- and I Shall Not Be Moved by Maya Angelou ~~ COMPLETED
May- Zora Neale Hurston -- Dust Tracks on a Road ~~ COMPLETED
June- Sherman Alexie -- Indian Killer ~~ COMPLETED
July- James McBride -- Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul ~~ COMPLETED
August- Patricia Highsmith -- The Talented Mr. Ripley ~~ COMPLETED
September- Short Story Month
October- Ann Patchett -- Maybe Bel Canto, which is on the TBR shelves.
November- Russell Banks -- I LOVED Cloudsplitter so maybe that will be a reread for me. Or I have Lost Memory of Skin on my shelves.
December- Ernest Hemingway -- Maybe A Moveable Feast

I have also said that I want to read, more intentionally, books by/about marginalized or oppressed peoples, diaspora, global regions that tend not to get represented in "mainstream" publishing circles. I don't have a clear picture of this yet but it is an intention that will guide my reading selections in 2017. I'm anxious to read A Tale of Love and Darkness by Amos Oz.

Three more books that I believe fit into my 2017 plans to read toward greater understanding of the political landscape (all are on my shelves):

The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics by George Lipsitz
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

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In April, I hosted the CultureCAT Challenge. My topic was Religious Diversity & Freedom.
I'm slowly making my way through Islam: A Very Short Introduction from the Oxford Very Short Introductions Series.

My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok - COMPLETED
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - COMPLETED

Recommendations from an excellent NPR article about fiction works that might help us better understand current events:

Jennifer Haigh's Book Recommendations:

Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell ~ COMPLETED
Burning Bright: Stories by Ron Rash
Preparation for the Next Life by Atticus Lish
World and Town by Gish Jen

Nickolas Butler's Book Recommendations:

Sweetgirl by Travis Mulhauser
The Round House by Louise Erdrich ~ COMPLETED
The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton
Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell

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Book Riot Around the Globe in 80 Books which I may use to guide some of my reading

Louise Erdrich Reading List:

February: The Round House - COMPLETED

March (optional): LaRose - COMPLETED

April: The Master Butchers' Singing Club - COMPLETED

June: The Birchbark House - COMPLETED

August: The Beet Queen

October: The Bingo Palace

December: The Antelope Wife or The Painted Drum (or both)

I'm so enjoying this dedicated focus on one notable author that I may add a few extras in between.

Personal Reading Challenge: Every winner of the Booker Prize since its inception in 1969

1969: P. H. Newby, Something to Answer For
1970: Bernice Rubens, The Elected Member
1970: J. G. Farrell, Troubles (awarded in 2010 as the Lost Man Booker Prize)
1971: V. S. Naipaul, In a Free State
1972: John Berger, G.
1973: J. G. Farrell, The Siege of Krishnapur
1974: Nadine Gordimer, The Conservationist and Stanley Middleton, Holiday
1975: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Heat and Dust
1976: David Storey, Saville
1977: Paul Scott, Staying On
1978: Iris Murdoch, The Sea, The Sea
1979: Penelope Fitzgerald, Offshore
1980: William Golding, Rites of Passage
1981: Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children
1982: Thomas Keneally, Schindler's Ark
1983: J. M. Coetzee, Life & Times of Michael K
1984: Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac
1985: Keri Hulme, The Bone People
1986: Kingsley Amis, The Old Devils
1987: Penelope Lively, Moon Tiger
1988: Peter Carey, Oscar and Lucinda
1989: Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
1990: A. S. Byatt, Possession: A Romance
1991: Ben Okri, The Famished Road
1992: Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient ... and Barry Unsworth, Sacred Hunger
1993: Roddy Doyle, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
1994: James Kelman, How late it was, how late
1995: Pat Barker, The Ghost Road
1996: Graham Swift, Last Orders
1997: Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things
1998: Ian McEwan, Amsterdam
1999: J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace
2000: Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin
2001: Peter Carey, True History of the Kelly Gang
2002: Yann Martel, Life of Pi
2003: DBC Pierre, Vernon God Little
2004: Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty
2005: John Banville, The Sea
2006: Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss
2007: Anne Enright, The Gathering
2008: Aravind Adiga, The White Tiger
2009: Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall
2010: Howard Jacobson, The Finkler Question
2011: Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
2012: Hilary Mantel, Bring Up the Bodies
2013: Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries
2014: Richard Flanagan, The Narrow Road to the Deep North
2015: Marlon James, A Brief History of Seven Killings
2016: Paul Beatty, The Sellout

I'll use this post to keep track of upcoming planned shared/group reads.

I'm read The Lauras by Sara Taylor, an ER book, with Mark and others in June ~~ COMPLETED

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison in July ~~ COMPLETED!

Kim and I are going to read Kafka on the Shore by Murakami in August. Mark and Mamie are planning to join us. Others are also welcome!!!

Also in August, Beth and I are going to read The Master and Margarita.

Currently reading:



Currently listening:

Safe yet?! Happy new thread!!!

>17 Berly: It's safe, Kim! What are you doing up this late?

59. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison




This beautiful early novel by one of our greatest modern novelists is a gem. With subtle elements of magical realism throughout, it is the story of the Dead family and most particularly the story of Macon "Milkman" Dead, the grandson of the first Macon Dead who obtained his name through a weird twist of drunken fate at the time of emancipation. Moving back and forth in time, illuminating the power of even unknown family past in shaping lives, and poignantly exploring the deep ties of family, friendship, and place, the novel remains remarkably timely even 40 years after its first publication. I'm so glad I reread this one.

(Carrying this over from my prior thread)

60. Hate Crimes in Cyberspace by Danielle Keats Citron




This in-depth investigation of cyber harassment is well-researched, thoughtful, and somewhat terrifying. A law professor, Citron spends significant time exploring possible legislative remedies for this ubiquitous and trivialized phenomenon, but she also considers ways for internet intermediaries, parents, schools, and even participants in on-line spaces to address the issue. She addresses concerns about first amendment protections and demonstrates the parallels between virtual and "real" spaces. She also references the struggle in the 1970s and 80s to get law enforcement officials, judges, and the public to take sexual harassment and domestic violence seriously; she argues compellingly that we are currently in a similar process with regard to online harassment which usually contains elements of sexism, racism, and other forms of identity-based oppression. Worth reading, even if you skim some of the middle chapters.

(Carrying this over from my prior thread)

I am a night owl and usually go to bed after midnight. This works pretty well in the winter where the sun is late to rise. In the summer, I tend to wake up earlier than I'd like. Oh well!! : )

Glad your toe is on the mend--wishing you back to twinkle toes ASAP!

>21 Berly: Ah. Well, left to my own devices I would probably sleep midnight to 8am but that doesn't work with my current work schedule. I do tend to stay up later than P and I rather enjoy the hour or so during which I have the quiet house to myself.

But, for now, it is bedtime. I am getting up by 6am to watch the women's Wimbledon final. Go Venus!

Happy weekend!

Sleep well and happy weekend to you, too!

Happy new thread, Ellen. Poland is still on my to do list. Fantastic photos. I hope to be there one day.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

>22 EBT1002: go Venus, indeed! I'm heading to the gym earlier than usual so I can be back in time to watch the match, which for us airs at the more civilized hour of 9am.

Happy new thread. Your toppers are beautiful! How old were you, to travel alone within a foreign country on a train? I love the architectural style of European countries. So much more elegant and beautiful that the slab concrete and glass monstrosity skyscraper towers we have almost everywhere here these days.

Enjoy your weekend of relaxing and watching tennis. Hope keeping your feet up this weekend helps you heal!

>22 EBT1002:, >26 lauralkeet: damn.

Happy new thread, Ellen!

Happy new thread, Ellen. You are doing really well with all of your tentative goals for the year.

I love your Poland stories. I also received many marriage proposals when I lived in the Dominican Republic. It is an eye opener to travel to a country without all the amenities we take for granted.

Have a great weekend. Maybe back to running next week?

Tennis. :(

Happy new thread! And thank you for the wonderful pics of Poland. I didn't realize how beautiful these cities are.

>20 EBT1002: My DD enjoys online interactive role playing games. She says that the sexual harassment on these sites (in the form of on-site private messages) is constant, XXX rated, unregulated and totally out of control. She has told me that the only way to avoid it, is to play a male character, act male and never never admit to even your closest in-game allies and friends that you are actually female.

Happy new thread, Ellen. By the time I woke up at 8, Venus had already lost. :-( Love the Poland anecdotes!

Happy new thread, Ellen. Interesting personal story there. It is amazing the difference between the news that gets out and what is really happening to most of the people on the ground.

Happy New Thread, Ellen.

Beautiful photos, and what stories. How old were you? (Did I miss that?). Four marriage proposals! Wow. That must have been a bit awkward!

I've been told that Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Poland. Lots of folks desperate to get to the U.S. found their way to Chicago.

The church in the neighborhood of our first Chicago house had a sign announcing three different Sunday services: one in English, one in Spanish, and one in Polish.

>2 EBT1002: wow! I didn't know that about you, what a fascinating experience. I love how travel opens up your eyes to the realities that others face. And fancy receiving four marriage proposals in three months!!!

>14 EBT1002: unrelated really, but I am reading Astonishing the Gods by Ben Okri, whose The Famished Road won the Booker in 1991. It is all part of me trying to read outside of my comfort zone- and it is way out of my comfort zone, so in that sense it is great ;)

Thanks for sharing your very interesting experiences in Poland with us, Ellen!

Happy new thread! Interesting stories about Poland.

>1 EBT1002: >2 EBT1002: Fascinating stories Ellen. I have a Polish friend who has lived in London since the 70s and she tells me of life in Communist Poland. My own maternal ancestors come from what is now part of Poland (previously Prussia).

>23 Berly: Thanks Kim and happy (rest of the) weekend to you, as well!

>24 Ameise1: Hi Barbara. I would love to return to Poland to see what it is like today. It was a beautiful and bleak place 35 years ago but I expect that it has changed a lot. Kraków was an interesting town in which to be anchored; it was the one major city that was not bombed to hell and back during WWII so the old buildings were original. That was cool.

>26 lauralkeet: I hope you had a good pre-Wimbledon workout, Laura. I was disappointed in the outcome but still, as always, impressed with Venus' grace under pressure and in the face of a loss.

>27 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. I was 21 years old when I visited Poland. I had lived my whole life in one small central Florida town, including my first three years of college which, for me, was the same small college at which my dad taught English. So I was initially pretty overwhelmed by travel in a foreign country, especially when I was alone.

Here is another great story from my 1981 Poland adventure:

Because my dad and his wife and her daughters had spent the summer planning this trip, and my decision to join them was a last-minute impulse, I had to stay behind in the US for about a week while waiting for my visa to get finalized. I flew by myself to Warsaw where I was to get a small plane for Kraków. It had all occurred so suddenly that I hadn't even studied the Polish language for one minute. I landed in Warsaw knowing not one word of Polish. I didn't even know how to say "yes" or "no" or "hello" or "good-bye." I landed in Warsaw and a representative from the US Consulate met me there to help me make my connection. She couldn't stay for the four hours or so that I had to wait so she left me with a piece of paper on which, I was told, the question "Can you please tell me whether the plane for Kraków has left?" was written. That is all I had to navigate this airport and getting the connection for my puddle-jumper flight to Kraków. I went up the window only once to show the man my piece of paper; the plane had not left yet and I did indeed make my connection. But what I remember was an odd mixture of fear and confidence. The fear came from so much unknown and my complete aloneness. The confidence came from being an American and already, in a matter of hours, recognizing the tremendous privilege that afforded me. It was so interesting.

Once in the country and starting to learn the language, I never felt afraid traveling alone. I probably felt safer traveling alone in that Soviet bloc country, as an American, than I sometimes feel traveling alone in the US. Nowadays I'm a very confident and comfortable traveler and I was extremely naive and unseasoned then, but I was never afraid and not once did I experience any mistreatment or harassment. Quite the opposite.

I'm rather enjoying these wanderings down memory lane. I hope folks know they can either read or not read. I'm responding to a couple of requests for more information about my experiences in Poland but I absolutely recognize that this is (a) not about books, and (b) only of interest to a few. So, thanks to everyone else for your patience (and your skill at skipping ahead to book-related posts).

>28 ChelleBearss: Thanks Chelle. I have had a good relaxing weekend so far. I have been on my feet a bit more but it's hurting less so I think I will be able to start running again on Tuesday. Yay!

>29 lauralkeet: Indeed.

>30 scaifea: Thanks Amber.

>31 BLBera: Hi Beth. I feel pretty good about how I'm doing with my reading plans and challenges this year. I won't get anywhere near all of them completed but I'm still using them as a guide for choosing my reading material and that feels satisfying.

"It is an eye opener to travel to a country without all the amenities we take for granted." I'll say! Another memory I have is the first time I wandered around a grocery store after my safe return from Poland. I was with my grandmother and we went shopping for Christmas dinner items. I was flabbergasted. There was so much food! And so many choices! Aisles and aisles of anything you could ever need or want! It was surreal.

>41 EBT1002: Indeed.
My disappointment in the women's final was mitigated by the amazing Roger today. Wow.

>32 streamsong: Poland is a beautiful country, Janet, more lovely than I expected. As I mentioned above, Kraków was particularly interesting because it was the one major city that had been spared bombing during WWII.

Your DD's experience with on-line role playing games exactly matches the information outlined in Citron's book. She even notes that one way to protect oneself is by using avatars in some virtual spaces, and notes that avatars that appear to be female or of color get harassed more than white male avatars.

Many years ago, when on-line spaces were still new (definitely pre-FB), I kind of got into playing Hearts on line. I loved that I could play this card game any time, day or night, with folks from around the world. And after a couple of months, I noticed that the culture was rude. The vitriol with which people would criticize one's play, or one's speed of play, was something I had never experienced in "real life" and which I would never tolerate in "real life." I stopped playing.

>33 ronincats: Hi Roni. It was probably just as well that you let yourself sleep in instead of watching Venus lose. The match was quite even early on but Muguruza made needed adjustments to her forehand and Venus just couldn't keep pace with her intensity.

>34 Familyhistorian: I agree, Meg. I had no idea what to expect when I went to Poland. It was a pretty dismal time in their history -- and I suppose that is saying something given their history of being invaded from various directions over the centuries. Their location makes them somewhat, um, central to international boundary disputes and alterations.

>35 jnwelch: I was 21 years old at the time, Joe. It was such an amazing learning experience for me. I do hope I can swing a return trip to Poland, and especially Kraków in the not-too-distant future.

The churches in Poland were amazing!!! I remember being struck by the clear dedication over the centuries of much of the relatively poor country's resources to building elaborate churches. I attended one Catholic mass in Polish; I'm not much of one for masses, as you can imagine, but it was actually quite a moving spiritual experience. Some of it had to do with the beauty of the cathedral and some of it had to do with the deep faith that the congregation so clearly felt.

Here is an image of the inside of the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków.

>36 LovingLit: Yes, Megan, I agree. I think travel is one of the best ways to learn more about the world. Nothing can replace first-hand experience of people.

I haven't yet read the 1991 Booker winner, The Famished Road. Laura recently sent me copies of the first two Booker winning novels and I need to return to that personal challenge. I have been neglecting it this year.

I applaud your effort to read outside your comfort zone. I don't know that it will change the world in a big way but I do believe that reading, like travel, can have a positive impact on our world view, expanding our experience, challenging our assumptions, and providing insight into other cultures.

>37 kidzdoc: You're welcome, Darryl. It's kind of fun, 35 years later, to be digging around in memories of what were transformative experiences at an important juncture in my life! I know not everyone is interested so I hope folks will skim through as their inclination directs them.

>38 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>39 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline. I bet your friend has some amazing stories! I was only there for three months and I carried with me the privilege of my American citizenship (what I could buy with just one US dollar was crazy) so my own experiences were certainly skewed by those dynamics.

Poland memory:
The Polish currency, złoty, were devastatingly useless. Through the official exchange, the ratio was approximately 35 złoty to the dollar. On the black market, the exchange rate was 700:1. Even if you had złoty, there was almost nothing to purchase. There were "dollar stores" here and there and if one had American dollars or English pounds, one could buy cigarettes, chocolate, spices, fabric, and other such luxuries. It was almost impossible for Polish citizens to obtain US dollars. When we ate in a restaurant, our bill was of course in złoty and we paid in that currency, but we would leave a tip for the waiter of a dollar or two. They were always so grateful.

>42 lauralkeet: Yes, Laura, I agree. I was pleased for Federer. I didn't get up at 6am to watch, but I did see the last game of that third set. :-)

In books:

This weekend I have been dividing my time between The Given Day by Dennis Lehane and American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell. Campbell's collection of short stories is excellent! I've only read the first three so far but they are memorable and engaging. This was one of Jennifer Haigh's recommendations in the NPR article I cite in >12 EBT1002: and I will definitely be recommending it for folks who want to participate in Mark's AAC challenge in September (Short Story Month).

>41 EBT1002: Yes, I always felt the same way when I was back in the US; the stores overwhelmed me. In fact, they still do. I have never learned to like shopping, unless, of course, it is for books. :)

>47 EBT1002: I'll add American Salvage to my list. Haigh's novel Heat and Light was also very good.

Your statement about being a confident traveler is telling and revealing. When I first moved to the South I made it a practice to go someplace every weekend so that I would get to know the area. When natives found out I had driven "by myself" to Atlanta or New Orleans they were appalled. I regularly heard things like "you drove by yourself in downtown Atlanta!" Or "weren't you afraid to drive all the way to New Orleans by yourself?"

The answers to these questions is no. I grew up in an environment in which independence, improvisation, action, and thoughtful decision making was valued. There was also the knowledge that things would sometimes go wrong, but that is part of life so you find a way to deal with it. This probably imbued me with enough confidence to be able to follow directions and a map and get where I was going. I was also taught to evaluate people and gauge them, so I am not a naive traveler either. I am aware of where I am and who is around me and act and react accordingly. Lastly, as a single woman, I simply refuse to life a life dictated and constrained by all those invisible walls and barriers with which my sex is forced to contend. I want to see and experience the world and life and I can't wait on the convenience of some man to do so. That does not mean I am consciously foolish or foolhardy, but it does mean that I realize I only have a set amount of time on this planet so I must use my time wisely and well.

a) not about books.. you can talk about what you want in your own thread Mrs!

>51 Caroline_McElwee:: Yes! I'm a firm believer of writing on my thread whatever I want and the reader has the choice to read, or not to read.

I am back to trying to keep up with your thread. I'm still finding my life being considerably different from what it was, and so I'm not getting much reading done, nor am I posting about reading much. But I am still interested.

I love your reflections on your time in Poland. What a gift to a young woman. I know that my brief Peace Corps time in west Africa was life changing for me, too. Travel is a great teacher, and fun besides!

>48 BLBera: I only like grocery and book shopping, Beth. Otherwise, I feel pretty much the same way you do: overwhelmed and overstimulated. I don't mind grocery shopping because, well, it's food. :-)

>49 BLBera: I haven't read anything by Jennifer Haigh yet but I'll look for Heat and Light.

>50 benitastrnad: I think we come to our confidence in travel through different routes, Benita, although I agree with you about the importance (for me) of such independence. I was not raised in an environment that encouraged independence, improvisation, or action. If anything, I developed my self-sufficiency in reaction against my mother's high level of dependence and fear of the world. Regardless, I'm glad I feel as competent to navigate the world as I do.

>51 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I know that to be true. I love that we get to write about whatever we want on our individual threads! Linda (laytonwoman) encouraged me on my last thread to write more about my experiences in Poland and it kind of inspired me. I'm enjoying sorting through the memories and reconsidering their impact on me. It's like another version of a reread. :-)

>52 maggie1944: Hi Karen and thanks for stopping by! I am hoping to see you this Tuesday and I'm very interested in the changes you are continuing to notice in your life. I'll likely arrive at Crossroads early, closer to 6:30, so if you are able to come a bit early, I'd love to start our conversation before everyone else arrives.

"Travel is a great teacher, and fun besides!" So true. My travels in Poland were not associated with any academic endeavors other than my father's and I never did an official study abroad. Throughout my career I have regretted that and I always encourage students to find a way to study abroad if at all possible. It's not always affordable and I hate seeing that barrier prevent a promising and curious student, but one from a financially restricted family, from having this experience. One thing that UW (and probably other schools do, too) does is month-long "exploration seminars." They usually occur in August and involve just four weeks of study abroad with a faculty program director.

How's the toe?

Happy new thread, Ellen.

I agree with much of the comment that our threads are pretty much whatever we want to make of them. As someone who spends as much time talking of self, life in Malaysia and my various thoughts and yearnings, I think to expect us only to discuss books would make this place a lesser one. Of course the books are important too or we would probably be discussing life elsewhere and those who only want to use their threads for book topics are entitled to do that and are often as revealing of themselves in their likes and comments on books as some of us who talk about all sorts of other things besides.

Have been to Poland in the 80s too (Crakow, Chestahowa, Zakopane and Auschwitz); in various ways a very affecting experience.

Happy Sunday, Ellen. Happy New Thread! Love the Kraków toppers and I love your history with the city.

Hope you had a fine weekend, my friend.

Howdy Ellen! Love all the talk of your time in Poland. What an incredible experience.

>55 BLBera: Thanks for asking, Beth. I think today was my last total rest day. The toe is much better! I plan to do normal Monday tomorrow and -- yay! -- go for a run Tuesday morning. I know it will feel great to get some exercise.

>56 PaulCranswick: Nicely put, Paul. We each disclose parts of ourselves as we choose on our threads and our talk about books is but one vehicle for creating community and sharing who we are.

I remember Zakopane (salt mines, yes?) and visiting Auschwitz was hugely impactful. I remember that it was a lovely September day with pure blue skies and a nice early fall chill in the air. And upon passing through the gates into that place, the world just seemed gray and I could feel evil imbedded in the wood of the preserved barracks and the very soil on which the camp stood. To say it was sobering would be the greatest understatement of my life.

>57 msf59: Hi Mark! I had a fine weekend and I'm only sorry that tomorrow is Monday. But the week will fly by as they always do and it will soon be once again the weekend. :-)

>58 luvamystery65: Hi Ro. I'm glad you're enjoying my stories of my time in Poland. You can tell it was a transformative experience.

>56 PaulCranswick: Okay, I had to do a bit of googling to remember Zakopane better. I knew I had been there.

During the first three weeks of our time in Poland, all the cohort of Fulbright fellows and their families were located in Kraków (we were the only ones who would be staying in that city, presumably for the year) for orientation, language lessons, and some tourism. We spent a weekend in Zakopane, a resort town a bit south of Kraków. I remember staying in one of the popular wooden chalets; the cohort of American Fulbright fellows all gathered around in someone's apartment and a couple of guitars came out and we sang old American folk tunes. We also drank vodka which we kept chilled by leaving the bottle(s) out on the balcony. We drank it in the local manner, a shot at a time, ice cold and tossed back all at once. It was great fun (although I suspect there were some sore heads the next morning).

>50 benitastrnad: Confident travel has eluded me, alas, but from time to time I do things that people are aghast I would have tackled. Not recently. I'd better get cracking.

And as to your remark about 'waiting for a man', I've just read Orlando and the gradual restriction the main character finds as she (ultimately) lives up to and through the Victorian age and acquires the rules of society is quite brilliantly described.

Ellen, your toppers of Poland are breathtaking. One of my grandmothers came from some part of Poland that was constantly being incorporated into Russia or taken back from them, but she never described the town, the countryside, anything. On my only trip to Europe so far, to Prague, I did notice the beauty of the landscape, no matter what area we were flying over.

Hello Ellen! I hope all is well with you.

>44 EBT1002: Beautiful photo from Poland!

>56 PaulCranswick: I wholeheartedly agree! This community has foundation in reading and the discussion of books, but it much more than that. Each thread can have as much or as little personal or reading detail as the user wants. Perfect.

>62 ffortsa: Time to do something to prompt aghast reactions! (What would that be???)
I've never read Orlando so now I'm rather interested.

>63 ffortsa: I think much of Poland has been incorporated, then returned, then incorporated again by various ambitious ruling orders. The countryside is beautiful!

>64 brodiew2: Morning Brodie. Thanks for stopping by. And I also wholeheartedly agree with Paul (and others who have affirmed the wonderful guiding principles of our little community here).

Interesting thoughts from people on thread content. I've started pulling back a bit from LT because I felt like I was oversharing, and that, along with some levels of sharing about people's personal lives that I actually found distasteful, made me uncomfortable. Different strokes, I guess...

>66 katiekrug: I guess we've got to go with what feels comfortable, and that may well change over time, and be different for each of us?

I'm enjoying the Poland stories, Ellen. I read a bio by a comic who was brought up by (British) strongly communist parents. They regularly holidayed across eastern Europe on specially organised programmes. Like a very different way of seeing the world, not that he didn't realise that they were given a particularly rose-tinted view of communism, even as a kid.

>67 charl08: - Most definitely.

Susan and I talked a bit about this at dinner last week, so it was interesting when it came up on Ellen's thread here.

I bought this after reading an interview with the author in Salon magazine. I've just started reading it. SO interesting.

>66 katiekrug: Interesting, Katie. I think I go back and forth myself. My posts about Poland are in response to an expression of interest from one LTer after I mentioned remembering reading Song of Solomon while in Poland. So often I will remember a book but won't remember reading it; this is changed when I read it in a unique situation or location. Anyway, I can totally appreciate the self-reflection on sharing: how much and when and what.

>67 charl08: Yes to all those thoughts, Charlotte -- maybe especially the idea that our level of sharing may change over time.

I'm glad you're enjoying the Poland stories. I may actually be running out of them now. :-)

So interesting to think of being raised by strongly communist parents. I feel a wee bit immersed in it right now as the book I posted in >69 EBT1002: refers to the soviet communist regime and the other book I'm reading right now, The Given Day, is set at the end of WWI when unions were emerging in the US and being tied to communist and anarchist sects.

>68 katiekrug: Serendipity. :-)

Hi, Ellen! I am thoroughly enjoying your recollections of your time in Poland, and I hope that you keep posting them.

Several of your recent comments ring true with me, and with my experiences traveling within and outside of the US:

I probably felt safer traveling alone in that Soviet bloc country, as an American, than I sometimes feel traveling alone in the US. Nowadays I'm a very confident and comfortable traveler and I was extremely naive and unseasoned then, but I was never afraid and not once did I experience any mistreatment or harassment. Quite the opposite.

Although I've never been to any of the former Soviet bloc countries I'm certain far more comfortable traveling alone outside of the US than within it, as a person of color. I'm continually amazed at the warmth and friendliness I've experienced throughout the UK, the Netherlands and Spain, which contrasts sharply with the treatment I've received in my own country, particularly in small towns and rural areas. Last month I spoke with several friendly locals in the English coastal towns of Aldeburgh and Southwold, who were pleased and seemed honored that an American would visit their part of the world on holiday. As I've said recently I wouldn't hesitate to travel by myself or with friends practically anywhere in Europe, but I am very hesitant to venture far outside of metro Atlanta, where Confederate flags openly displayed in many small towns in north Georgia.

I think travel is one of the best ways to learn more about the world. Nothing can replace first-hand experience of people.

Yes! It's so important for people, especially Americans, to get out of their little hamlets that contain people who look, act and think alike, and experience different cultures, races and cuisines. My mother has said that she wanted her two sons to be "citizens of the world", and although she gets a bit nervous when I travel she and my father are glad that I have started to venture abroad, although at a relatively advanced age. Unfortunately my brother, who I suspect was switched at birth due to our near complete lack of any common interests, doesn't share that belief; he has never been outside of the US, has no interest in traveling abroad (heck, he doesn't even like going to NYC even though he lives in New Jersey), and still doesn't own a passport.

>50 benitastrnad: Great post, Benita!

>69 EBT1002: Hmm - sounds fitting. I'll wait for your thoughts on it. I'm also going to check to see if it's available at my library.

Regarding sharing, I'm always a little leery of oversharing because of my job. People are so good at finding information on the Web. But I love your Poland stories. And I am happy to share F2F - we just have to have more meet ups.

>71 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl, and thanks for sharing some of your thoughts about your own experiences traveling outside and within the US. I can well imagine how uncomfortable you would feel in some locations within our own republic and, honestly, it hurts my heart to hear it. I have friends who feel the same way and it transcends regions (sadly). One of our best friends in Oregon would never travel to some of the small towns in central or eastern Oregon by herself. That she would go to those areas with P and me (as, essentially, white escorts!), but not alone, was so telling. In many ways, Jim Crow is alive and well.

Of course, my experience with eastern Europe is out of date anymore but, given your love of travel, I do hope you're able to visit Poland and some of the other small countries in that region. The architecture, history, culture, and people --- all are lovely. I so enjoy your thread/travelogue and I will continue to follow your adventures. And I hadn't realized that you plan to retire to Spain!

Isn't it funny that two siblings can turn out so differently from one another??

>72 BLBera: I'll definitely share my thoughts regarding On Tyranny as I go, Beth. Even though it is short, I think I'll be reading it in bits. It will take some absorbing.

And YES to more meet-ups!!!

>73 EBT1002: One of our best friends in Oregon would never travel to some of the small towns in central or eastern Oregon by herself. That she would go to those areas with P and me (as, essentially, white escorts!), but not alone, was so telling.

Yep. Roughly 25 years ago I spent a weekend at the house of a dear (Caucasian) friend of mine, who lived in Massilon, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. I drove from Philadelphia to Massilon on a Friday to his parents' home. They were waiting for me, and told me that Dave was playing in a church softball league game in a nearby town, Niles, I think. However, they warned me that it was a racist hotbed, and that I may not be welcomed there, even though the teams and spectators were nearly all members of local churches. They told me that they would support and, if needed, protect me from anyone who questioned why I was there, but gave me the option to wait there for Dave to come home if I didn't feel comfortable. I said that I wanted to go, especially since a friend of Dave's who I met and liked was also going to be there. Naturally I was the only person of color there, and although nothing happened there, I was nervous at the game and throughout my entire visit that weekend, which was a less than pleasant one. We've met since then, in Baltimore and Atlanta, but I won't go to Ohio to see Dave and his family. That and other incidents visiting friends in small Midwestern towns in Ohio and Wisconsin make me very leery of returning to those states, whether by myself or with "white escorts".

Poland and other central European countries are definitely on my bucket list! I'm most eager to visit Berlin, Prague and Budapest, and I hope to do so in the next year or two.

Isn't it funny that two siblings can turn out so differently from one another??

Right! My brother Dave is a cool and very likable guy, but we have almost nothing in common! I read more books in a week than he does in a year, whereas he sees more movies in a weekend than I do in several years. I love sports but he doesn't, as he didn't even watch the 1989 national championship game that his alma mater, Seton Hall, played against Michigan, which had to have been one of the greatest title games of all time (Michigan won in overtime, 80-79). He doesn't go to museums, and the play he, my parents and I went to for Mother's Day this year was the first one he has seen in decades. Fortunately we get on very well despite our differences, and I truly love him like a brother.

>74 kidzdoc: - Darryl, your description of you and your brother made me chuckle. I am the same way with my brother. We always joke that the only thing we have in common is our parents.

>74 kidzdoc: Thanks again for sharing your experiences, Darryl. I worry that things are only getting worse, too. We continue to see ugly exchanges between and among students. As some of my friends and colleagues of color remind me, the racism really had not "gone anywhere" other than underground. Now it is out and proud. Ugh. On the other hand, maybe (the Pollyanna says) it will enable us to address it more directly. We recently had a situation where a student had posted some racist and homophobic comments on Twitter and the community - other students - addressed it very effectively (including at least one of his own friends, who called him out on whether his behavior was "Christian," since he identifies strongly as a Christian). The student has deleted the offensive and vitriolic tweets and posted an (unconvincing) apology. I doubt he has changed his mind but he has at least learned that this community will respond; he has retracted and retreated. People responded without digressing into the same kind of offensive language and name-calling he had used, which I think is key in addressing such behavior.

I'm reading an interesting little book right now, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. I hope lots of people read it before it becomes illegal. :-|

Prague and Budapest were two cities my friend and I were planning to visit before martial law was declared and I just had to focus on getting out of the country. We were going to spend New Year's Eve in Prague. Those two cities remain on my bucket list, too!

I love your description of you and your brother and your clear affection for him even as the two of you pursue your divergent interests.

>75 jessibud2: :-)

Oh Ellen I hope you get to Prague. I have been lucky enough to visit several times and am always struck by how beautiful it is. My favourite trip was a wintry, snowy November - just like a fairy tale in the Old Town.

I have a work trip scheduled for Bucharest next June and am already planning where I want to go in Eastern Europe afterwards. So many options!

>77 charl08: That sounds lovely!

>78 katiekrug: I'm rather envious, Katie. There are SO many options, so many interesting places to see. I'll be curious about which cities you decide to visit.

Good morning, Ellen. It looks like a lovely day. Perhaps you can fit in a walk if your sore toe continues to keep you from running.

Happy Wednesday folks. I'm working from home today ~~ five annual performance reviews to write. Ugh. But it is one work task that I legitimately do more efficiently and effectively from home.

P and I have a friend staying with us for much of the summer. She is going through a divorce and is kind of in-between houses. She is an easy and delightful housemate. Last night she was sharing her temporary tattoos ~~ she has a tattoo with the name of her former partner that needs covering ~~ and I got kind of curious. I have sort of wanted a tattoo for a while, but a very small and significant one. So I spent a couple of hours last night looking for images that would resonate for me. Cats came up, as did books. As did symbols with meaning. I did put on one of S's temp tattoos; it's a compass with a heart in the Northwest quadrant and a fir tree. Bigger than I want but I'll enjoy it for a few days.

Anyway, that means I did very little reading last night so I will give myself permission to take reading breaks today. For every annual review I complete, I get to read one chapter. *smile*

Good luck with your reviews, Ellen.

>80 maggie1944: It is indeed a lovely morning, Karen! I have been thinking about whether I could go for a walk since my toe is clearly not yet healed enough for a run. I may give a short walk a try, see how it feels. I am going crazy not getting any exercise. Of course, I could use this situation to get myself back in the pool.....

ah, yes, the pool. I can't believe I have been neglecting to get into the pool which is just steps away from my home. And the hot tub, too.

Perhaps you will inspire me.... tomorrow.

Ooh definitely voting for a swim here.

Woo Hoo!!!!! All five annual performance reviews, DONE. My brain is tired.

I'll revisit each of them for final edits before providing them to my direct reports but the hardest part of the work is behind me for another year!

Oh, and I took a break in the middle to read Love That Dog. I LOVE Love That Dog!!!!!!!

>82 BLBera: Thanks Beth. They are done! *big grin*

>84 maggie1944: I had started swimming for exercise before my stroke and I need to get back to it. I assume I can swim with a broken toe even if I can't run or walk much.

So get out there, Karen! This weather is perfect for it! (Is it an outdoor pool?)
But really, you and I both know that if we get to the pool and get in the water, it will feel great.

>85 charl08: I thought more about the swim as I finished a walk earlier today that just made my toe hurt, Charlotte. I would probably need to be a bit careful pushing off the side of the pool but it would feel so good. I know this. SO - I'm going to do it.

61. Love That Dog by Sharon Creech




This is a novel in verse, written from the perspective of a schoolboy coming to terms with poetry. It's a delightful exploration of the process of developing a relationship with poetry as a form of expression. It's also a sweet story of a boy's relationship with his teacher and his dog. Wonderful. I'm keeping this and reading it again and again.

Huge thanks to Shelley for recommending this charming work!

>87 EBT1002: Great! I know how hard it can be to do evals.

>88 EBT1002: This goes on the list.

>88 EBT1002: What BLBera said. Right on the list!

>88 EBT1002: - Next up, its sequel: Hate That Cat. Go, Ellen! :-) I am so happy that you loved Love That Dog

Congratulations on the Evals. I know your colleagues will appreciate the careful thought you put into them.

Swimming tomorrow eh? Probably a very good idea.

Hi Ellen, Just read your wonderful review of Love that Dog. i just finished it today and thought it was wonderful too. Hope that you're enjoying summer. Just watched Hidden Figures tonight and it is another appalling story that needed to be told.

Good morning, Ellen.

I LOVE Love That Dog!!!!!!! Yes! It's a favorite in this house, and my mother loved it, too.

>88 EBT1002: Wishlisted! Thanks. Sounds like fun.

Enjoy your weekend, Ellen. It will probably be much easier to enjoy now that the evaluations are done!

Happy weekend! Hope you have a great one

Happy weekend, Ellen.

Just dropping by to say that I have found your Polish travel history interesting. I would imagine that you would find it very different if you went today. I remember my parents going to Yugoslavia before it split up (must have been a similar sort of time) and commenting how little there was in the shops and how boring the food was! Whereas we have been to both Slovenia and Croatia in 2009 and 2010 and found both the food delicious and the shops full of everything that you would expect.

62. American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell




I loved this collection of stories. The characters are unanimously working poor living in rural Michigan, many of them meth addicts or alcoholics. Themes of longing, anger, desperation, and the mistakes these conditions engender. Bonnie Jo Campbell's voice is consistent and true (and, in fact, when she shifts tone, it works less well, as in the story "Storm Warning"). She develops her characters with an unflinching sense of their flaws but also their humanity.

I can see why Jennifer Haigh recommended this collection as an example of fiction that may help us understand current events in this country. To some degree the characters embody the stereotype of rural white working poor -- racist, misogynist, paradoxically patriotic and disparaging of government. But Campbell's compassion for the individuals she creates overrides this aspect, providing the reader with vignettes of profound moments in the lives of three-dimensional Americans.

Highly recommended!

I also finished The Given Day last night so more about that in a while. First, I must go hang laundry and find some lunch.

Oh, and I had an x-ray yesterday; my left little toe is indeed fractured (although it's a wee fracture, so that is good).

Yay for performance reviews being done!!! Boo on the fractured toe. So are you in a boot now or is it too late for that?

Huh. I wonder why all the star images are broken.

>89 BLBera: Yes, Beth, getting the annual reviews written is a huge achievement and relief. It's an interesting and worthwhile exercise, though, as it does help me think through the strengths of the folks who report to me as well as aspects of their work or leadership that I'd like them to work on.

You will love Love That Dog. Shelley and Joe were absolutely right!

>90 brodiew2: Hi Brodie and yay! I'm going to be spreading Love That Dog love all over the place!

>91 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. You may recall that I didn't purchase Hate That Cat because it was only available in hardcover at Powell's (and I checked to confirm that the Seattle Public Library has a copy). But I think I'm going to want to own it if I love it as much as I love Love That Dog. I'm so glad you encouraged me!

>92 maggie1944: Well, Karen, I didn't get to the pool yet but I will be thinking about how to build it into my routine since the doc suggested that I have about four more weeks to go for my toe to heal.

>105 EBT1002: - Ellen, when I found the copy of Hate That Cat purely by chance on a shelf in the used bookstore, it was a hard cover copy. Makes me wonder if it ever made it to paperback. But it really is a necessary companion piece (ahem. Better to be a book pusher than a drug pusher, I always say...;-)

>93 mdoris: Hi Mary. I'm so glad you also read and also loved Love That Dog. It's one of those books that makes me want to warble widely!

I thought the film Hidden Figures was quite good. We have a friend staying with us for July and August. She is listening to the audiobook version and said it was a bit boring. She wasn't sure if that was an issue of the content itself or the narration. I encouraged her to find and watch the film.

>94 jnwelch: Good morning Joe! Well, by now it's good afternoon or good evening. I knew you and your family were fans of Love That Dog. What a great little book it is.

>95 charl08: Yay! I'm taking up Shelley's mantle and warbling about Love That Dog as much as I can!

>96 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg and thank you. Yes, the weekend is shaping up rather nicely so far. It's a relief to have those evaluations behind me. (I still have to do the meetings but 4 out of 5 of them will be enjoyable and rewarding conversations.)

>97 ChelleBearss: and >98 Ameise1: Thanks for the weekend wishes, Chelle and Barbara!

>100 SandDune: Hi Rhian. Yes, I have heard from people who have been to Poland more recently that the shops are full and the food is delicious. I bet things would seem much more colorful, too. The oppression of the soviet regime did not leave much room for color. I would love to return.

>103 Berly: Hi Kim. No boot on the foot. It's a small fracture and there isn't really much to be done other than stay off it as much as possible. He mentioned that eating Ben & Jerry's might help... (methinks he was kidding)

>106 jessibud2: I wonder the same thing, Shelley. I will definitely obtain a copy of Hate That Cat despite the fact that Abby, our adorable tuxedo cat, is aghast. :-)

63. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane




Set in Boston as WWI is wrapping up, this is a multilayered story of Danny Coughlin, a white police officer from a family of police officers, and Luther Lawrence, an African-American man seeking refuge after things just went plain wrong back in Tulsa. Their lives intersect as each of them struggles to sort through their beliefs and values, and the shame wrought on them by a society steeped in racism, afraid of immigrants and "terrorists," and determined to hold onto the structures that keep each man, woman, and child in their place. The powerful men who run the city send Danny undercover into the growing band of radicals, "Bolsheviks and anarchists" who are threatening the American way of life. There, he encounters ideas that counter his assumptions and people whose passion, warmth, and authenticity permeate his tough exterior. He and Luther develop a bond that is both touching and realistic given the rigid Jim Crow laws in place at the time.

The book covers a lot of territory, using the Spanish Influenza epidemic, the Great Boston Molasses Flood (who knew?), and the Boston police strike of 1919 as central drivers of the fast-paced plot. Oh, and Babe Ruth. Every few chapters are told from his point of view as he is developing his fierce identity as perhaps the best slugger of all time.

Currently reading:

>101 EBT1002: B.A.G. I hope this sparks more interest in this collection. It remains one of my very favorites. I have a keeper copy of American Salvage too.

Happy Saturday, Ellen. I just finished The Color of Water. It is a great memoir. One of the best I have read. I hope you enjoy the James Brown book. I liked that one a lot too. McBride was a good choice for the AAC.

>109 EBT1002: - Tell Abby not to worry. You will understand once you get your paws on it....:-)

>111 EBT1002: - I am also currently reading this. About to start chapter 10 and hope to make good headway this evening.

By the way, Ben & Jerry's would definitely help me...just saying...

>110 EBT1002: - I actually have this one as an audiobook on my table, waiting to finish the current audiobook, A Gentleman in Moscow. I love when LTers intersect this way! Hard to avoid, actually!

Hi Ellen - Sorry to hear about the toe. How long do you have to stay off it?

American Salvage goes to the top of the wishlist. I'll see if some of the stories are available online, so I can use them in class.

>110 EBT1002: I've never read Lehane, but this one sounds really good, too.

I loved The Color of Water. I read a novel by McBride that I didn't love as much. I'll watch for your comments.

Have a great weekend.

Well, I've had a lovely time reading all your memories of the trip to Poland. Thank you for sharing. In 1970, my husband went to Europe during the Beethoven bicentennial, with one of his music professors who had already been to Germany, Austria and particularly Switzerland several times. Among the "essential" places Mr. S. took him to was Dachau. It made an identical impression on him as Auschwitz did on you---he said he could feel the evil in the air. (There were other, much more uplifting experiences, including many fantastic musical events--he saw Bernstein and Von Karajan conduct, heard Fischer Diskau sing, visited cathedrals and ate very well...it was truly a trip of a lifetime.) I'd love to see that part of the world (and many others) but I'm not a good traveler, so it's wonderful to have the vicarious pleasure of hearing about other people's adventures.

>88 EBT1002: A novel in verse.
I have come across a few of these lately, and I think I like them more than poetry. In fact, having just finished Astonishing the Gods by Ben Okri, I think I only really started to enjoy it when I thought of it as verse (rather than a novel).

>101 EBT1002: sounds good! It also sounds like the work of Willy Vlautin. I love his books, they sing the song of the down-and-out underdog. And are short(ish).

>110 EBT1002: Glad to see that you liked it. I enjoyed that reading too. It gave me an insight of life at that time.

Novels in verse are a hot way of writing in the world of children's and YA books. This genre is so popular that the Library of Congress has opened a whole new range of numbers specifically for them. That is the PZ 7.1's. The Newbery medal winner Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse is a fine example of the genre. So is the National Book Award winner Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai.

I love all the talk about Love That Dog and have requested it through the library.

>118 benitastrnad: That's interesting, Benita. I had no idea. The only one that I've read which is probably in that category is Brown Girl Dreaming which I liked very much. I've made note of Out of the Dust and Inside Out and Back Again. Ooh, I love haunting other people's threads!

I love reading. But since my eye problems have made it a more difficult task, I read less and find it less fun. I'm beginning to understand how a child for whom reading is difficult, and who is facing a page of print can feel overfaced and avoid it rather than diving into the story. I wonder if part of the appeal is that novels in verse have a lot more white space on the page and look less threatening.

I loved Out of the Dust when I encountered it while teaching! Highly recommended!

Janet, I think I know what you mean. I catch myself resisting reading and I fear it is all about the eyes, although it may also be about my changes in life style.

>119 streamsong: - Just a suggestion: audiobooks. I realize that one needs to find/make space and time for that format but I would highly recommend it. I remember many years ago (at least 30 years ago, I would guess), when my grandmother began to lose her eyesight. She had always been an avid reader and when I suggested audiobooks, she was very resistant to the idea of not reading by herself. Eventually, though, she was won over. In those days, it was cassettes, but nowadays, the public library systems of most cities (I think) have a much larger and varied selection and if you are lucky enough to hook up with a good narrator, it can be a very enriching experience.

By the way, Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 is supposed to be pretty good.

#121
My sister and her husband have gotten into listening to books. So much so, that in May they dropped their cable TV subscription. They kept Netflix. They have gotten in the habit of sitting in the evening listening to books and she knits. She said that this summer they have been listening while sitting on their patio in the evening with their evening glass of wine. She told me it is amazing how many books you can read if you listen 1/2 hour a day.

>122 drneutron: I'll second Dr. Jim; I liked Dark Tide quite a bit and felt like I learned a lot but not in that boring lecture-y sort of way. I had no idea molasses had so many uses!

>121 jessibud2: Yes, I listen to audiobooks, too. But for me the experience is different than reading; somehow I am less engaged and my mind wanders a bit. I feel I (personal observation about myself, not necessarily generalized to anyone else) miss out on some of the richness of the written word with audiobooks. I also miss being able to easily reread or flip backwards to check out a previous passage.

I have to be doing something in addition, much like your mom, Benita. Driving is good. Cleaning is good.

>118 benitastrnad: Do you have insights on why the novels in verse are extremely popular? To me, they seem to be encouraging to a reluctant reader. I'm sure there are other reasons as well.

>125 streamsong: - Yes, just about the only thing I miss when listening to audiobooks is the ability to go back and mark a passage or reread one. And I also often try to do something else while listening such as driving or cleaning or some other in-the-house thing

Hi Ellen--As I mentioned over on Beth's thread you (and she) have inspired me to reread Song of Solomon, which I read many years ago and loved, but do not remember. You've also reminded me I need to find my copy of Kafka on the Shore for the August group read. (Can you believe it's already nearly August?)

I enjoyed your recollections of your time in Poland. I wholeheartedly agree that everyone should have the experience of foreign travel. I was born and raised overseas (mostly Aruba), and didn't live in the US until I came here to go to college. One memorable trip for me was when I was a senior in high school and living in London. My school offered a 3 week trip to Russia. This was at the height of the Cold War (1968), and we received all kinds of warnings about books and magazines we could not bring with us, i.e. 1984 or TIME magazine, etc. We traveled by train, through Poland, E. Germany (stopping a while in Berlin, where the Wall was less than 10 years old), through to Moscow. I remember many interruptions and stops where armed soldiers boarded the train and examined our papers. We also went to Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and Riga, in Latvia. A very eye-opening trip.

>116 LovingLit: I highly recommend Willy Vlautin too.

Hi Ellen, not much to say except rest up that toe and enjoy the doctor prescribed "Ben & Jerry's"!

Nice review of The Given Day, Ellen. I'll keep my eye out for it.

64. Kill 'Em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul by James McBride




"In the instant-information Internet age, every truth contradicts another truth: Brown was crazy. Brown was a genius. Brown was a woman basher. Brown was abused by gold-digging women. Brown was cheap. Brown would give away his last dime. Stick your finger in the dike to cover one lie and water bursts out of another hole. You have to choose what to believe. And therein lies the real story of James Brown, who was more southerner than he was black or white, more sensitive artist than he was superstar."

This is an interesting biography of the amazing James Brown, Godfather of Soul, well-researched and dispassionately approached. Locating Brown's controversial roller-coaster career in the racial and class politics of his time, McBride presents Brown's talent and creativity through the lens of a sophisticated musical theorist and historian. Each chapter centers around one key figure in James Brown's life: one of his wives, a member of the band, a manager, a friend, and so on. This brilliant approach allows us to see the musician's humanity, to learn about him through the eyes of those who knew him best. At first it seems that McBride only chose those who loved James Brown and that is to some degree true, but the story reads as true. The consistent theme is that James Brown was difficult to know, that his self-protective armor came down for no one. It is also that he was vulnerable and afraid much of the time.

My main quibble is that McBride repeats himself. It's as if he wrote each of the chapters after interviewing that particular person in James Brown's life but didn't bother to go back and identify some of the points already adequately articulated.

My second, less vehement quibble is that McBride too often lapses into soulless lists of people, usually musicians, who illustrate a quality or a historical trend or a theme in James Brown's life. What's great about this is that the artists he names matter ~ and too many of them are poorly recognized and/or were badly treated by an industry steeped in the racism and sexism of the broader society. What's not great is that the names remain lost without more context. McBride could have spent more time making whatever case the names support; these artists' place in the story of James Brown and, indeed, the story of American culture and music is interesting! It's worth telling. I wish McBride had spent more time telling the story of the context in which James Brown's life and work changed the world and less time telling me yet again that he spent three hours after each performance having his hair done before he would be seen again in public.

Still, it's a worthwhile read and an insightful examination of the Godfather of Soul and the society in which he made his mark.

>112 msf59: Hi Mark. I'm glad I dug into American Salvage and I will certainly look for other works by Bonnie Jo Campbell. I enjoyed the James McBride book (see above) although I'm kind of wishing I had read The Color of Water instead. Maybe later this year. :-)

>113 jessibud2: "Tell Abby not to worry." Done, Shelley. She yawned (being a cat).
I figured that Hate That Cat would not actually be a disrespectful diatribe about cats. That doesn't strike me as Creech's style. Which reminds me; I need to put it on hold at the library!

I'll come over to your thread to see how Kill 'Em and Leave landed on you, Shelley. I'm glad I read it; I learned a lot. But I think James McBride is a better writer than this biography demonstrates.

I think The Given Day will work well as an audiobook, although I suspect it is lots of hours long....

I have eschewed the Ben & Jerry's but our temporary housemate brought home Pistachio Gelato last night. It actually goes quite well with the amazing blueberries and raspberries we are getting by the gallons at the farmer's market this time of year!

>114 BLBera: Hi Beth. He predicted that it might take about six weeks for the fracture to heal; it's already been just over two weeks so I'm one third there. I am noticing that it's feeling better -- not great, just better as the days go by. I think the serious sprain is as much responsible for the pain as the small fracture is.

I was really impressed with the Campbell stories. If my copy wasn't a library book, I would send it to you. :-)

It's interesting to me that Lehane's works get classified as "thrillers." I sort of get it but the two I have read are more than that. It's not Faulkner but I do think he uses a suspenseful story as a vehicle for history telling and social commentary. I rather like that.

I need to read The Color of Water. I think it's probably a better book than Kill 'Em and Leave which, while worthwhile and interesting, suffered from what are probably editing deficits.

>115 laytonwoman3rd: Hi Linda! I'm glad you've enjoyed my trek down memory lane. It has actually been quite enjoyable for me to sort through memories, identify some of the most poignant or amusing moments. I love the story of your husband's trip to that part of the world. And I'm glad he had the uplifting experiences as well (and they sound remarkable!) to balance out the sinister feel of the concentration camp. I'm also glad, I think, that some of those places have been preserved for later generations to see and to feel. It is too easy for that history to fade from our collective memory, and I think it's dangerous for that to happen.

>116 LovingLit: Megan, I think a novel in verse is becoming a genre (is it a genre?) that I will willingly explore more. I've not much experience yet; the magnificent Brown Girl Dreaming is my other example and I think I gave it five stars, as well.

I don't know the work of Willy Vlautin but I will investigate....

>117 Ameise1: I had the same reaction to The Given Day, Barbara. I googled a few things and was so interested to learn about events occurring in Boston around 1919. I had certainly never heard of the Great Molasses Flood! If he had made that up I would have said it was a bit too far-fetched. Heh.

>118 benitastrnad: Thanks for those recommendations, Benita (if recommendations they be). And if the Library of Congress has opened a whole new set of numbers for them, I guess I am correct in calling novels in verse a genre. :-)

I'm not generally very interested in children's or YA literature (with some notable exceptions, I grant you) but I find the novel in verse thing enjoyable and appealing.

Have you read Brown Girl Dreaming?

>119 streamsong: Yay! Janet has requested Love That Dog! You'll not regret it, my friend.

I had the same reaction to Benita's post. I love learning from my LT friends! You'll see that I have also been referencing (with high praise, mind you) Brown Girl Dreaming and I have also made note of Out of the Dust and Inside Out and Back Again.

"I wonder if part of the appeal is that novels in verse have a lot more white space on the page and look less threatening." That makes sense, Janet, given the difficulties you have been having with your eyes. I also love your articulation of your increased empathy for a child who has difficulty reading, how overwhelming and terrifying a page of print must feel. As one who picked up reading early and well, I have probably not been much in touch with what that might have felt like for some of my classmates. I'm always so amazed when an adult tells me they haven't read a book in months, or something to that effect. It is incomprehensible to me. And, as Jane would say in the A&E production of Pride and Prejudice, "No, Lizzie Ellen, but not everyone is the same. You must make allowances for differences of situation or temper." If only we would all make more such allowances....

>120 maggie1944: Another vote for Out of the Dust. Thanks, Karen! I'm putting it on my wish list. :-)

I'm interested (and somewhat nervous) to hear about the changed relationship with reading that can develop later in life. I have been fortunate enough to have perfect vision for most of my life. In my 40s I started needing reading glasses and I am now absolutely dependent on them. This frustrates me no end after decades of being able to read whatever I wanted in whatever light conditions existed. I hate having to find my glasses before I can read something, anything! But my distance vision remains better than average. My solution so far has been to distribute reading glasses all over the house, in the car, in my office, and in my various messenger bags. Not only do I fear being caught without something to read; now I fear being caught without the glasses to enable me to read it!

>121 jessibud2: I think my experimentation with audiobooks in the past couple of years is practice for my (hopefully) very elderly years.

>122 drneutron: Ooh, thanks Jim. I will investigate. What an amazing episode in history to have completely escaped my awareness! (This is less remarkable than I would like to admit.)

>123 benitastrnad: I think audiobooks would be a great companion for a knitter.

>124 rosalita: Thanks for the second on Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, Julia. "I had no idea molasses had so many uses!" This cracked me up and made me awfully curious!

>125 streamsong: Yes, I agree, Janet. I have been enjoying the addition of audiobooks to my repertoire but it's a different experience for me. I also need to be doing something else, usually driving. Sometimes pulling weeds. :-)

I like the hypothesis of novels in verse being popular because they are encouraging to an otherwise reluctant reader. Certainly Hate That Dog is both a story about a boy learning to love poetry and a magnificent enticement to consider poetry's virtues.

>126 jessibud2: Yep.

>127 arubabookwoman: Deborah, I'm so glad Beth and I inspired you to a reread of Song of Solomon. I hope you enjoy the reread as much as I did.

"Can you believe it's already nearly August?" No.
I was updating some things on my reading challenge posts above a little while ago and thinking that I need to remind myself of my various August plans and commitments. It feels like another busy month of reading ahead (yay). I think before I go to bed I'll start the August plans post for myself.

Your recollections of train travel through that region in the late 1960s resonate deeply for me. Though it was over a decade later, the sense of oppression was the same and the routine presence of armed soldiers eye-opening. And the landscape was so lovely and the people warm and welcoming. I'm so glad I had the experience while still in my formative years.

I'm going to get my hands on a Willy Vlautin work. I see The Motel Life and Lean on Pete.... Great titles.

>128 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy. Thanks for the kind words and the Ben & Jerry's encouragement!

>129 kidzdoc: Thanks Darryl. I would be interested in your take on The Given Day. As I said to Beth above, it's interesting to me that Lehane's works get classified as "thrillers." I sort of get it but the two I have read are more than that. It's not Faulkner but I do think he uses a suspenseful story as a vehicle for history telling and social commentary. I rather like that.

I had planned to do some visiting by my computer battery is low since I forgot to plug it in any time recently. Also, it is bedtime.

One life update: I went for a swim today! It felt great!!! Running will always be my first love when it comes to exercise, but it felt good to get my heart rate up and it actually felt super good to use my upper body. I have set aside my Fitbit until I can integrate walking, at least, back into my routine.

In terms of books, I have no idea what I'm going to read next. I am in the not uncommon state of Library Book Overwhelm. (darn)

Yay for swimming! And I totally get ignoring the Fitbit until you can actually STEP again. Eeeny meeny can help you choose a book since you have a pile. : )

>140 EBT1002: I know the feeling about what book to read next. My solution (which is a messy one!) is to start lots of books and hope that I will naturally want to keep going with one in particular.

The downside: I think I have about 20 books on the go right now!!

>130 EBT1002:, >131 EBT1002: - Excellent review of the McBride book, Ellen. I have about 30 pages left and will likely finish it today. He really is a good writer but I also noticed the repetition and, not being a big James Brown fan, initially, I didn't know much about him or any of the other musicians mentioned (but not elaborated on!). I think I chose this book more because I loved the first of his books I read (listened to, actually, narrated by Andre Braugher), The Colour of Water. I actually do own his 3 novels and hope to get to them sooner rather than later but I highly recommend his memoir and if you can manage it on audio, Braugher's gorgeous voice is a treat.

Interestingly, I recently acquired a copy of Brown Girl Dreaming. I see it is a hard cover (just checked) which tells me that I found it either in a LFL (Little free library) or at the used book store as I almost never buy hard covers. Probably the warbling here on LT made me do it! ;-)

Good review of Kill 'Em and Leave. Sorry, it didn't completely satisfy you. I read it June of '16, so I can't clearly address your issues with it, but I remember really enjoying it. I do NOT think you will have mixed feelings about The Color of Water.

Hi Ellen - It sounds like the McBride would be better as a set of independent articles. I did love The Color of Water. It's the best McBride that I've read. I read one of his novels, which I didn't like as much.

Interesting comments on Lehane. I'll admit the thriller label has kept me away. I'll give him a try. Is Any Given Day a good one to start with?

Boo hoo for your broken toe. I'm glad you are getting to swim. I miss your kicking my butt with the steps, though. Oh well, soon enough you'll be back.

So, what are you going to read next?

I know what you mean about library book overload. I have 10 out right now, and most of them have reserves, so I can't renew them.

I started reading this last night:



It's a series of short essays describing incidents of violence against African Americans, set within the context of slavery and Jim Crow, but starting in detail as recently as 1998. The author is, I believe, still serving a decades-long prison sentence for a murder he remains adamant he did not commit. Interesting so far.

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

And this morning on my commute I started reading:



This has been enthusiastically recommended to me multiple times by a beloved colleague. So far, I think I'm going to appreciate his persistent nudge for me to read it.
Here is a great early passage:

After May-Belle, Papa, and them, Ivoe loved books best. Books were a friend to anyone who opened them. Blowing a whirligig to make the sails go 'round or talking up a storm to a corn-husk doll was all right for passing the time, but you never went anywhere new or met anyone special like you did in the pages of a book. In Golden-Haired Gertrude and Old Mother Hubbard she found steady companions and had traveled as far as Arabia without ever leaving Little Tunis.

August reading plans

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami ~ Group Read
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith ~ for Mark's AAC
Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank ~ for Rachel's Group Read: The Rise of Populism and Related Current Affairs
The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich ~ for my 2017 Louise Erdrich binge
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov ~ Group Read
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer ~ a cheerful reread for RLBG

And probably a few others.....

I'm going to be busy!

I think you will like the Murakami book you choose. I like him, and hope to read more. Also, you make Jam on the Vine look very attractive. I've always liked jam, anyways.

Lunch? before the autumn winds blow?

Denis Lehane made his name writing detective novels. The Kenzie and somebody novels. These were big sellers in the mystery genre. His breakout novel was Shutter Island. This one was one of the first of the "unreliable narrator" novels, of which Girl on the Train and Gone Girl are examples. He is from Boston and I heard him talk at one of the ALA meetings there. He said that his new novel was something different for him and the book that came out was Given Day. Technically Given Day is work of historical fiction. In that talk, Lehane said that he likes to explore moral ambiguity.

I have read half of your August books and we have a group read together: I think you are all set for a great month!!!

Get a Fitbit Flex 2 and you can wear it swimming. I saw it on sale for 59.99 today at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

>131 EBT1002: - As far as The Given Day goes, yes, it is a very long audiobook - 20 discs, 24 hours - and to be honest, I am not sure I will get to it. I am currently about half way through the audio of A Gentleman in Moscow and I want to finish that one before my friend arrives next week from the States. I was a bit surprised to find out that it is a *thriller*, not a genre I much care for. When I first heard about, here on LT, I thought it was a baseball book. Yet there is nothing on the blurb on the audiobook at all about baseball. I would still like to give it a try but I may either renew it or just return it and take it out another time. I will have little or no time to listen to an audiobook when my visitor is here and then, after her week here, we are travelling for a week so I think my audio listening will be on hiatus until at least mid- to late-August. I do hope to finish the Towles audio before next Wednesday, though. It's a good one.

Really good review of Kill 'Em and Leave, Ellen. Those criticisms make sense. Thumb from me.

I loved his Color of Water, but I haven't been strongly drawn to anything he's written since.

I think if anyone has suggested you should try Ben & Jerry's therapeutically, it's something you should pursue with maximum vigor. Really... :-)

I'll be curious to see what you think of Bulgakov. I really should try to read it as I've got a Europa Editions novel that is a riff on that, Mikhail and Margarita, sitting and waiting for me to read it, and I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'll get more out of it having read the original book, right???

Meanwhile, take a look at The Accusation, a short collection of short stories from, believe it or not, North Korea. Smuggled out. A great counterpoint to Barbara Demick's wonderful book, Nothing to Envy. There may well be better voices coming out of South Korea in absolute literary merit, but these short stories are eloquent, pointed and very character driven.

Hello Ellen!

>110 EBT1002: Excellent review of The Given Day! I have enjoyed Lehane here and there over the years and have heard his transition into historical fiction has worked very well. I am not surprised that he is sticking with the crime element. It's his wheelhouse.

>152 jessibud2: I hope you are enjoying A Gentleman in Moscow. I was absolutely captivated by it.

>155 brodiew2: - Hi Brodie. Yes, I am enjoying the Towles audiobook. The narrator is excellent. Very British, though it really works. The writing is witty, elegant and classy and in that way, I think the British accent lends a sophisticated element to the story that, say, a Russian accent might not quite pull off. I realize that sounds a bit weird, given that it is a story of Russia but that is the sense I have and it is quite good so far. I am on disc #5 at the moment (of 14)

I read your lovely review of The Given Day, Ellen. I thought, "That sounds really good, and I know I like Lehane because I've read all of the Kenzie-Gennaro series. Let me check out Kobo to see how much the ebook is." Where I learned that I purchased this book in 2013!

So thanks for hitting me with a book bullet that will not require me to spend any more money than I already have. :-)

>156 jessibud2: Spot on assessment of the narration, jessibud2. Witty, elegant. and classy. Amen.

>148 maggie1944: Hi Karen. I'm looking forward to Kafka on the Shore. It seems to be his most popular work (?) or at least his most emblematic.

It took me a little while to get into Jam on the Vine but it was strictly because work took a major nose-dive on Tuesday afternoon and I have been so angry and stressed out for the past three days that I couldn't read. My concentration was shot. Today was a bit better (things have a way of resolving themselves) and I got absorbed during my commute home this evening.

I have tomorrow as a vacation day. Yay!!! P is working, as is S, our temporary housemate. I have the house to myself and I can hardly wait. I plan to read and read and read. Well, I may hop on a bus and go swim laps at the Rainier Beach Pool, but we'll see. Tomorrow night we have a play at the ACT theater, the world premier of "Alex & Aris" by Moby Pomerance. Here is the description from the website:

World Premiere about the education of a king. Alex & Aris explores the four years that a young Macedonian prince—soon to become Alexander the Great—spent under the tutelage of one of the greatest minds the world has ever known: the philosopher Aristotle. Very little is written by the great historians about this time in the life of both men. However, it was just after this moment of connection that each embarked on their earth-shattering, world-changing trajectory.

It should be good!

Yes to lunch but it will be late September or early October. I will send you possible dates.

>149 benitastrnad: All makes sense, Benita. I would certainly categorize The Given Day as historical fiction.

>150 Berly: Yay! I think I have a pretty interesting line-up in place for August, Kim.

>151 ronincats: Hi Roni. I have a fitbit flex 2 which I bought exactly because you can wear it swimming. Have you done so? Does it work? I haven't tried it yet. I did walk to the light rail station and then home from the other light rail station at the end of my work day today. I am on the mend but I'm also really glad to be back in the pool. It is my second love when it comes to exercise.

>152 jessibud2: Shelley, The Given Day has baseball woven in as a subtext, a parallel story to the main story of the cop and the drifter whose lives converge in Boston. The opening chapter is full-on baseball and it is wonderful. Babe Ruth is the main character in the baseball segments and, while the narrative doesn't make me wish I could have known him, the story line is a solid second. That opening chapter. It's magnificent.

>153 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. I will read The Color of Water. The consensus seems to be that it is, to date, his most impressive work.

>154 Chatterbox: Suzanne! It's so great to "see" you!

Yes, I believe the Ben & Jerry's Rx is a reliable, evidence-based recommendation. I have strayed just a wee bit; we've been enjoying Talenti Pistachio Gelato. It's almost as good. :-)

Suz, I have that same Europa Edition of Mikhail and Margarita (I love Europa Editions)! One reason I'm finally getting around to reading The Master and Margarita is so I can read the other one. I agree with your hypothesis that the later work will be more enjoyable if one has read the original.

Thank you for the recommendation for The Accusation. I will check it out. For me, a collection of short stories done well is a treasure. I think the short story must be difficult to master as a writer. How do you capture a moment that matters, a story that holds together and touches its reader, in that short form? When it's done exceptionally well, it is a true pleasure to experience.

>155 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Thanks for stopping by.

I wish I could remember what I have read of Lehane's pure thrillers. I think I read Mystic River but I'm not sure I read anything else. In any case, even without much experience of his works, I would say that he has made the transition to historical fiction quite successfully. I will certainly read more by him.

I agree. A Gentleman in Moscow was a captivating and memorable read.

>156 jessibud2: I'm glad you're enjoying AGiM, Shelley. I think a British narrator would work well with the story.

>157 rosalita: Julia, I am glad to escort you back to a book you have already purchased! And when you read The Given Day, I hope you quite enjoy it. Until I was commenting to Shelley above, I had forgotten how magnificent the opening chapter is. That chapter is a baseball story (oh, but it is so much more than that), and a poignant one.

>158 brodiew2: :-)

To repeat what I said to Karen above:

I have tomorrow (Friday) as a vacation day. Yay!!!

P is working, as is TH (temporary housemate). I have the house to myself and I can hardly wait. I plan to read and read and read. Well, I may hop on a bus and go swim laps at the Rainier Beach Pool, but we'll see.

Tomorrow night we have tickets to a play at the ACT theater, the world premier of "Alex & Aris" by Moby Pomerance. Here is the description from the website:

World Premiere about the education of a king. Alex & Aris explores the four years that a young Macedonian prince—soon to become Alexander the Great—spent under the tutelage of one of the greatest minds the world has ever known: the philosopher Aristotle. Very little is written by the great historians about this time in the life of both men. However, it was just after this moment of connection that each embarked on their earth-shattering, world-changing trajectory.

It should be good!

For now, back to Jam on the Vine. I bet Ellie would have liked this novel.

Ellen--Happy Day Off!!! Your plan (read and read and read) sounds perfect. : )

Hope your day off is relaxing and enjoyable Ellen.

I hope you have a fabulous day off, full of swimming and reading!

Hi, Ellen!

Enjoy the vacation day, and some alone time!

Can't wait to hear about Alex and Aris. What a great idea for a play.

You've got me intrigued by Jam on the Vine, particularly if you bet Ellie would've liked it. (As I mentioned on my thread, yesterday I added to her memorial thread some material about her that Janet sent).

P.S. Oops, I see you already found the new Ellie material. I appreciate, as always, your thoughtful comments.

It sounds like you need a day off, Ellen. Enjoy the solitude and reading. I hope things at work cool off soon.

>166 Berly: Thanks Kim. So far this has been a wonderful free day. Two loads of laundry hanging on the line, I've renewed my drivers license and ordered all six seasons of "Call the Midwife" for P for her recovery period in September, and I've read some in Jam on the Vine. So far, so good!

>167 charl08: Thanks to you, as well, Charlotte. I've had a good morning and now I plan to do some catching up on LT.

>168 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. I think I'm going to forego the swim today because I just don't feel like taking the time via bus. My toe is healing and I hope to start walking more on Monday. I might even put my fitbit on by then! But I will continue swimming since I know I can't or shouldn't run for at least another couple of weeks.

>169 jnwelch: Morning Joe. I will definitely post comments about the play later this weekend. I agree that the idea seems promising.

>170 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I do need a day off. Here is what happened: in a meeting on Tuesday I "lost my temper" (I did not really lose my temper; I was furious and I let that be obvious as I essentially called out a close colleague in front of other senior university leadership by asking her to directly state what she was trying to compel me to do, rather than in the end-around manner she was doing it). I think I learned from the experience. I know my colleagues experience me as a team-player, a solid diplomat and an almost-always-positive and certainly always respectful peer. I think it was actually good for them to see that I also have limits and I have a backbone. I will go along with most things; I'm not territorial and I'm less interested in being right than I am in finding the best solution to whatever problem we're addressing. But I do not take kindly to being manipulated or having someone go over my head when they don't like the answer they have gotten from me so far. I think I made that clear and I don't think it will hurt my reputation. Ah, the joy of professional development.

Oh, and my boss who was in the room for most of it later asked me a question and when I told him I had overtly stated my displeasure with being "ambushed," he said "good." It felt great to know I had his support!

Things at work just run hot and cold; it's the way of the world. I did reach out to the colleague with whom I was so angry and I am absolutely confident that we will talk it through (we scheduled that for Monday) and our relationship will continue in a strong and positive manner. Still, this lovely sunny day with a cool breeze whispering through the window, a book and a mug of tea.... I'm a happy camper.

Good for you, Ellen. It sounds like you were entirely appropriate. But it is good to have a day off to decompress.
I was talking with Vanessa and Daniel last night about my retirement; I told them that I still love teaching but that the politics sometimes wear me down. And you're right about things running "hot and cold."

I hope you have some great, relaxing reading this weekend. Also, some alone time.

How's the toe.

The weather is beautiful here today, too. A light breeze, sunny and warm with how humidity. And I'm indoors trying to put my house back together after painting.

Here's a Scout story to make you smile. They took her to the fair yesterday. She went on the Ferris Wheel with her dad. When she told me about it, she said, "I could see the whole world."

The 2017 Booker Longlist has been announced. Here is the list:

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster (US) (Faber & Faber)
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Ireland) (Faber & Faber)
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (US) (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (Pakistan-UK) (Hamish Hamilton)
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack (Ireland) (Canongate)
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (UK) (4th Estate)
Elmet by Fiona Mozley (UK) (JM Originals) (no touchstone?)
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy (India) (Hamish Hamilton)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (US) (Bloomsbury)
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (UK-Pakistan) (Bloomsbury)
Autumn by Ali Smith (UK) (Hamish Hamilton)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (UK) (Hamish Hamilton)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (US) (Fleet)

I've read Exit West and The Underground Railroad; both were excellent. I allowed my library loan of Swing Time to expire before I could get to it. Rats. I never got around to reading Arundhati Roy's first novel and had planned to read it before I tackle The Ministry of Utmost Happiness but perhaps that is not necessary.

I think it's an interesting list and I will start prioritizing some of these although I will wait until the short list is released to let it take over my reading too significantly.

Hi Ellen! I hope you are enjoying your day off.

I appreciate you and Shelly banging the Love That Dog drum. It was such an amazing treat. I'm looking forward to Hate that Cat.

>173 BLBera: I wholeheartedly agree, Beth, that it is the politics that are wearing in working on a college campus. Maybe that holds no matter where one works. I love my work and I feel like I'm good at it, feel like I'm making a difference. But days off are good.

I LOVE that Scout story!!! It sounds like that little girl has tremendous capacity for joy. What a great quality to have and one to nurture and encourage. :-)

It sounds like we are both having crystalline summer days today. My toe is certainly improved but I don't yet feel that I can run and I'm trying to minimize my walking still. I feel like I'm in that zone where I could push it too hard because it feels better and that would delay my full recovery. So I'm forcing myself to continue to minimize my steps until at least Monday. That said, I did more walking yesterday than I have in three weeks and later today I will do a bit of walking as I get myself to the light rail station to meet P downtown for dinner and a play (see >165 EBT1002: for a bit about the play).

Have a great weekend, my friend!

>175 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Another Love That Dog fan. Yay! "...such an amazing treat" describes it perfectly.

>172 EBT1002: - Good for you, Ellen! One of the things that really began to wear me down before I retired was the politics at work. I loved working with my little students. Loved it. The grown-ups - not so much. Unlike you, though, I am not good on the fly, usually thinking of the best and right thing to say only much later, after the fact. But because I dislike and have never been good at confrontation, I usually said nothing and of course, stewed inside. Not healthy. I have to say, retirement was the best thing I have done for myself in a long time. And I am enjoying every minute of it. You will know when it's the right time. Hopefully.

>174 EBT1002: - I saw that list and coincidentally, just the other night, there was a very good interview on tv with Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West. I linked to it in Darryl's thread ... well, I was sure I did but can't find it now. If I can find it, I will edit the link in here, as well. It is on a Canadian tv channel, though, so not 100% sure you'd be able to view it but it would be worth a try. After watching it, I am eager now to read the book.

Ooooh, the Booker longest. It must be that time of year! 4 3 2 1 looks appealing, and I will read Arundhati Roy's latest too- at some point!

Happy Saturday, Ellen. I hope you enjoy your long weekend. Thanks, for supplying the Booker's list. (I am going to borrow it for my thread, if that is ok). I have read 5 and all were very good to great: Days Without End, Exit West, Lincoln, Autumn and Railroad. Looking forward to reading several others.

Here is the link I referenced in >178 jessibud2: :

http://tvo.org/video/programs/the-agenda-with-steve-paikin/exit-west

It's a good interview and I hope the link will work for you

>147 EBT1002: I have a copy of The Master and Margarita. I've wanted to participate in a couple of the group reads of this over that few years, but for some reason have never prioritized it. I'll be on the lookout for the thread. As soon as I'm done with the White Whale, I will start M&M

>147 EBT1002: & >182 luvamystery65: Oh, I'd love to re-read The Master & Margarita - it's one of my favourite books ever but it's been over a decade since I read it. Will definitely keep an eye out for the group read thread. I won't have time to join in the read but will enjoy reading what everyone thinks of it.

>172 EBT1002: Good for you, Ellen. Things always go more smoothly (for a while, anyway) after the air gets cleared like that. I had one or two of those moments in my career (stamped my foot at my boss once!), and never regretted opening my mouth.

Is there an actual time frame for The Master and Margarita group read? My daughter was expressing an interest in reading it with me just the other day (it will be a re-read for me, but a first for her).

>178 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley!

"Unlike you, though, I am not good on the fly, usually thinking of the best and right thing to say only much later, after the fact." Actually, that is much more like me; this was a step outside my usual. I, too, hate confrontation and conflict. It means that I am perhaps too ready to concede in the interest of harmony. And I also wholeheartedly agree that it's the grown-ups (a term I know we are both using rather loosely) who can make me crazy.

I do recommend reading Exit West, Shelley. It was deceptively subtle in its creativity. I have only read two of the 2017 nominees but I very much hope this one makes the short list in September.

>179 LovingLit: I think this year's long list is one of the most interesting and appealing I have seen in a while, Megan. I don't know that I'll get to every one but I am motivated to give it a try. I have several reading commitments in August already but I am going to try to squeeze a few of these in.

>180 msf59: Hi Mark and Happy Weekend! Of course you may borrow the Booker list (honestly, I copied and pasted from Darryl's thread since the list on themanbookerprize.com wasn't conducive)! I'm impressed that you have already read five of them! I'm tempted to put all the ones I haven't yet read on hold but I know what will happen ~ they will all come available in the same week. Ha.

>181 jessibud2: Shelley, thank you for that link! It worked and the interview with Mohsin Hamid is fascinating. He is an interesting man and an author worth reading, perhaps over and over again.

The segment when he talks about the dynamic of impending death -- something we are all in the midst of every moment -- and how we move on with normal life in spite of that..... and the reference to that photo of the man in the destroyed room, sitting on his bed listening to a record..... so interesting and profound.

"There's an emotional violence to moving."
and
"We have been gripped by a fear of the future."
Wow.

>182 luvamystery65: It will be great to have you join us in reading Master and Margarita, Ro! I guess I'll think about creating a thread this weekend. :-)

>183 PawsforThought: I'm glad you'll follow along with the discussion, Paws, and perhaps even chime in now and then. :-)

>184 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda. As much as I prefer to avoid conflict, I think you're absolutely right that sometimes the overt engagement can clear the air for better discussions and collaborative work moving forward. We have a couple of challenging personalities involved in this never-ending project and I need to keep finding my voice when it's most needed.

And I love that you stamped your foot at your boss once! :-D

We haven't narrowed down the Master and Margarita Group Read more specifically than the month of August. I will create a thread for it this weekend (and I'll put the link here for ease of finding), and perhaps those who plan to participate can discuss their preferred week-within-August to focus on. I think it's a dense read so we may be all over the map depending on reading speed and ability to dedicate and focus.

>188 EBT1002: Any chiming I'll do would just be a lot of "OMG it SO GOOD!" "I love the cat! The cat is SO COOL!" "I love this book!!!"

>188 EBT1002:, >190 PawsforThought: I'll chime in on that with Paws. It's going to be loud in that group read.

>190 PawsforThought: LOL, Paws. I will look forward to your enthusiastic warbling. And you're making me really look forward to the book!

>191 jnwelch: Okay, now I'm thinking that the Master and Margarita group read is going to be a PARTY!!!!! Gotta love that.

ETA: The word "party" is a weird one. It just looks weird.

>192 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen!

>192 EBT1002: Thank you Ellen.

Hi Ellen. : ) I assume you stomped your foot at your boss with the unbroken foot, LOL. Good for you for standing up for yourself! And also for not pushing the exercise too much. A set-back would be awful, so continue to take it easy. I've starred The Master and the Margarita! Happy Sunday.

I've read Master and Margarita last year. It was a five stars for me. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Happy Sunday, Ellen.

I love that you have the self-awareness to take care of yourself. I let things build at work, trying to put up with stuff and occasionally getting pushed too far. Until one day, I could. not. do. it. another. day.

I'll try to join in Kafka on the Shore. I love your August reading possibilities. I had also planned to reread The Talented Mr Ripley. The rest of my planned group reads I may have to abandon since I am so far behind on my LTER reads and my ROOT challenge.

Thanks for posting the Booker long list. I haven't read any of them, but am excited about doing so with several that have gotten major warbling here on LT.

I took the plunge and purchased a 207 Subaru Outback. "The Beast" is sitting in my driveway. Now what do I do with the other car? I am thinking of donating it to the NPR station at home.

>192 EBT1002: Starred the thread, Ellen. Not quite sure when I'll get to it. Thanks for organizing.

65. Jam on the Vine by LaShonda Katrice Barnett




"The nature of joy was her first lesson: how it loses savor without anyone to share it with."

This ambitious novel tells the story of Ivoe Williams, an African-American woman who as a child fell in love with newspapers and whose dream is to be a journalist. Living in Texas under Jim Crow, she experiences barrier after barrier but maintains her determination. Her spirit is buoyed by the strong women she encounters, most especially her teacher and future lover, Ona, who persistently nudges Ivoe to hold firmly to hope and to take responsibility for her own choices even in the face of such entrenched oppression. After Ivoe's father leaves to earn a living in a more hospitable part of the country, and with the promise that he will call for them when he has earned enough to support them, Ivoe moves the family to Kansas City herself. Unable to find employment other than, finally, in a chocolate factory, she starts an independent newspaper committed to helping African-Americans rise above their lot. She learns hard lessons along the way; both she and her family suffer under injustice and the white community's desire to silence Ivoe's spoken truth.

It's a worthwhile read but it suffers from Barnett's ambition: taking on too many issues over too long a period of time without resting in one place long enough for me to savor the scene. The narrative too easily descends into almost journalistic voice; I wished she would pause now and then, let the characters' experiences emerge from their own telling rather than from an omniscient third-person narrator who simply told me what they felt. By the end I just didn't care as much as I wanted to about Ivoe, Ona, and their family.

>194 laytonwoman3rd: and >195 luvamystery65: You're so welcome, Linda and Ro!

>196 Berly: Kim. I did not stamp my foot at anyone. It sounds like Linda did, though.... *grins*

>197 Ameise1: Barbara, your five star rating of Master and Margarita is promising! I feel like August is going to be a good reading month.

>198 streamsong: Hi Janet. I'm excited about my August reading plans. I just finished Jam on the Vine so I think I'll read The Talented Mr. Ripley next; it promises to be a quick read and I've long wanted to read it.

I've only yet read two of the Booker nominees, Underground Railroad and Exit West. I loved them both but Exit West gets my vote so far.

>199 benitastrnad: Welcome to the Subaru family, Benita! We had our Forester for 12 years and 125K miles. Now we have an Outback, have had it for about 5 years and it has about 52K miles on it. We love it.

>200 BLBera: We'll all get to Master and Margarita when we can, Beth. I'm looking forward to discussing with you and whomever else joins us!

So, I may have mentioned that we have a friend living with us for July, August, and September. She is going through a divorce and needed a place to stay. She is an easy housemate. Of course, she offered to pay us rent but we declined and asked that she just help around the house. She has already repaired our irrigation system, fixed our garage door, made dinner more than once, grocery shopped, taken out the garbage several times, and has sanded the basement stairs for painting in the next few weeks.

She is also an arborist. So she was happy to offer to prune our two large Japanese maples in the front yard. Today the three of us walked through the neighborhood, ending at Mio Posto for breakfast (yum), looking at examples of well-pruned Japanese maples (and a few not so well-pruned). When we got back, she and I donned work clothes and safety glasses, got the amazing extendable ladder we have, and set to it. We had pruned a few branches and were moving to another section of the larger tree, and she extended the ladder quite a ways up..... and I spotted her while she climbed up there and lopped off a branch....

At which point she leapt off the ladder, tossed her loppers to the side, and took off like a shot, calling out "bees, bees, bees!!!!" I ran too. We ran as fast as we could about a block up the street, and I let her know that one was still chasing her, we peeled off in different directions and each ran another block or (in her case) two. She got stung three times, I was lucky enough to escape unharmed.

A couple hours later, P went out there because she had to see the nest. We hadn't ventured anywhere near that tree yet. Sure enough, there is a football-shaped and football-sized wasp nest, lodged nicely onto the branch right next to the branch Sara lopped. If she had cut just. one. branch. to the left, mere inches away, the entire nest would have crashed 15-20 feet to the sidewalk, and I suspect that both Sara and I would have been brutally attacked. It was very well hidden among the maple leaves and now it is exposed. Tonight, after sunset (which I am watching out our front, west-facing window even as I write), we will go out there with spray and soak the nest in evil toxic poison. We're feeling very lucky and a bit shaken up.

Needless to say, the Japanese maples did not get pruned today.

But I finished a book. :-)

Oh my. I started reading Olio by Tyehimba Jess this evening. I can hardly put it down to go to bed.

>192 EBT1002: I just headed on over there and registered my interest (see how I cleverly avoided committing to the read!??).
I first heard of the book when it was on Bowie's top 100 list.

>204 EBT1002: yikes- close call with the killer bees nest!! My dad got repeatedly stung from accidentally stepping in a wasps nest, and he ran to the nearest stream (which thankfully was close) and dove in! He got a lot of stings on his head, and said his scalp hurt for weeks afterwards.

Congrats for finishing a book! A good feeling :)

Oh my goodness, what a close call with the wasps! You are so fortunate to have escaped relatively unscathed. I hope the nest-poisoning does the trick.

Wow that wasp encounter is scary as hell. When I was a kid a few of us were wasting time dropping pebbles on a soda can at the bottom of a stairwell. Turns out there were wasps in the can, growing increasingly unhappy with this pebble activity. Suddenly all of the kids except me ran like crazy. I didn't know why and was slow to react (this all happened in seconds), so I was stung a couple of times. That's minor compared to what you just experienced but I have given wasps a very wide berth ever since.

Oh, yoicks! That was a close call! I'm so glad you both came away with only a couple of stings between you!

Hi, Ellen. I'm glad you're having that reaction to Olio. If you're already caught up in it, you're in for an amazing ride.

Close call! How did the running affect your toe? Was this a sneaky way to test out whether you are fit to start jogging again? ;)

Seriously, though, I had a horse that either stepped on or poked her nose into a ground nest and had literally hundred of stings on her head and neck. That was one miserable mare!

>204 EBT1002: - Yikes! I got stung by a bee last week, and it HURTS. You are lucky to have escaped. How is the toe after the running?

I'll watch for your further comments on Olio.

<212> My question, too, .... how did the toe take to the running?

I am impressed with the quick thinking of your "arborist"; she obviously had a good take on what to do, and how fast to go....

OK, I'm caught up with you again. I let your thread pile on quite a few comments which I was busy not reading LT postings.

Have a great week. Glad you were able to show your smart assertiveness, at work, and I hope ambushes will decidedly decrease.

Crumbs that's much more drama than my pruning experiences. Thank goodness you both ran.

Yikes!! That was a close call. Who knew pruning was so dangerous?!

>204 EBT1002: Glad you and your guest survived the wasps Ellen. Sounds like the kind of house guest who would be well appreciated.

I've been enjoying your Polish stories too. I have a dear Polish friend who has lived in the UK since the 1970s, though I've only known her for about 10 years.

Good to hear that you are on the mend, Ellen. You'll be getting in those steps in no time. Sounds like you already had practice when you were pruning LOL. Are you affected by our smoke? We here in BC just thought we would share. Seriously though we have been smoked in for about 5 days now. This is one of the worst years for wildfires and so strange because we thought it would be remembered for the snowiest winter in decades.

Good to hear that you are on the mend, Ellen. You'll be getting in those steps in no time. Sounds like you already had practice when you were pruning LOL. Are you affected by our smoke? We here in BC just thought we would share. Seriously though we have been smoked in for about 5 days now. This is one of the worst years for wildfires and so strange because we thought it would be remembered for the snowiest winter in decades.

LT is behaving weirdly this morning. Sorry for the multiple posts!

>219 Familyhistorian: I thought it was me!

We here south of B.C. also thought we were having unusual weather: way more rain than normal and now way more dry, warmer than usual, days. Awk! Can we all think "climate change" together?

Good morning, Ellen! I hope all is well. I hear we have another hot one today, but it should taper off over the weekend.

Good morning, Ellen!

Hope all is well and you're setting up for a relaxing weekend. Those temps you guys are getting are unbelievable.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, dear friend. xx

>220 Caroline_McElwee: Nope, LT was grumpy getting up this morning. >221 maggie1944: Better the way more rain that you were getting than the months of snow that were dumped on us, Karen. We don't do snow and the cities blew their snow removal budgets and now the province is blowing its wildfire fighting budget - climate change indeed!

Good Saturday to you Ellen! I was enthralled by your Polish memoir up above. It's amazing to me how eastern Europe has transformed itself after years of oppression. It doesn't seem like that long ago but, my gosh, it was!!

>206 LovingLit: I'm glad you're interested in our group read of Master and Margarita, Megan! No commitments requested; join us if and as you are willing and able.

It was an extremely close call with the Bald-faced Hornets. We have since learned that they are (of course) a beneficial species, carnivores that eat mosquitos and yellow-jackets. But their nest was not in a good place.

>207 rosalita: Thanks Julia. It took three separate soakings of the nest in evil poison to do the trick but the nest is dead and removed, waiting to be carted away in our yard waste this coming Thursday. I'm still having wasp-nest nightmares.

>208 lauralkeet: Yikes, Laura, that sounds like a close encounter with wasps that is memorable. I was lucky not to get stung this time and thank goodness our friend and temporary housemate is not allergic! She says that she is still willing and even excited to prune the trees. I was ready to call in the professionals (and, please note that she is a professional -- she is an arborist! -- but I feel badly for her to experience this as a favor to us).

>209 scaifea: Thanks Amber. I think we were very fortunate!

And we certainly have a great story to tell. :-)

>210 jnwelch: Yes, Joe, Olio is quite a lovely work. I did set it aside and got caught up in some other things but I will return to it and complete it before it's due back at the library.

>211 streamsong: "Was this a sneaky way to test out whether you are fit to start jogging again?" LOL. Actually, luckily, that very day I had felt like I turned a corner with my toe. It is about 90% (maybe more like 95% by now, a week later) healed. I have not run yet (other than the 2-block sprint away from the wasps!) but I have been swimming instead. It is actually feeling quite good to use my whole body for my exercise. This week I will start wearing my fitbit again and I will be taking the light rail to work, which involves a fair amount of walking. And I'm planning to swim 3-4 times a week. Honestly, I feel ready to run now but our air quality is dangerously bad because of fires all the way up in British Columbia. We have been having a heat wave (90s, which Seattleites don't tolerate) along with smoke in the air. Ugh.

Janet, your poor horse! That sounds really miserable!

>212 BLBera: Beth, I feel very fortunate not to have gotten stung. How did you end up having an adverse encounter with a bee?

Many years ago, when we were still living in Oregon, I got stung by a yellow jacket between my toes. I didn't think much of it and rubbed some anti-itch ointment into it... Two days later my foot was badly swollen and I couldn't put any weight on it at all. It turns out that a bee/wasp/yellow-jacket sting is a puncture wound and I had essentially rubbed dirt in mine. It was badly infected and the doctor told me that if penicillin had not yet been invented I would definitely lose the foot and likely die. Sheesh. Luckily, I responded well to the antibiotics and the soaking in epson salts. So... careful with that bee sting!

I need to return to the amazing Olio but I have some other book-related updates to post after I catch up with all the posting hereabouts.

>213 maggie1944: Hi Karen! My toe seems to have reacted just fine; I'm mostly recovered. If it weren't for this heat and smoke that we are having, I would likely be giving runs a try. In the meantime, I'm taking to the pool and having a good time swimming laps. Last Wednesday morning I went to the IMA and had the entire pool all to myself for the first half of my swim! It was delightful.

Not only have ambushes decreased, but the colleague with whom I was so angry has really responded positively to my feedback. Our partnership in the project is still solid and I feel like we have both learned from the experience. Funny how appropriate assertiveness can have such a positive effect!

>214 charl08: LOL, Charlotte. I would like our continuing pruning efforts to be much less dramatic!

>215 Berly: Exactly, Kim. Sara, our arborist and temporary housemate, added "check for bees" to the safety checklist at work after our dramatic experience!

>216 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline. Yes, the temporary housemate is very much appreciated and so easy to have around. She is up in British Columbia for a few days, and P and I were agreeing that she is easy and fun to have around and it is also rather nice to have the house to ourselves for this weekend.

I'm glad the Polish adventures have been of interest. It has been fun to wander down memory lane.

>217 Familyhistorian: Oh, Meg, I have been thinking about you and Deb and others in the BC area. The smoke is definitely affecting us; our air quality is dangerously bad and the smoke is unlike anything I've ever seen. The only good thing is that it has been thick enough to shield us from the sun a bit; our otherwise expected upper-90s temps stayed in the lower-90s this week. Still miserable by Seattle standards, but less miserable than near-100F would have been. I have wondered about why this is such a bad year for wildfires in BC after a good wet winter. So far, the Washington and Oregon cascades have not had a bad year (last year was horrible). I do hope they get them under control soon! I feel so badly for the flora, the fauna, and the humans affected by such bad fires.

>218 Familyhistorian: and >219 Familyhistorian: No worries, Meg! Sometimes LT has a mind of its own! LOL.

Hang in there, my friend, with all the smoke.

>220 Caroline_McElwee: :-)

>221 maggie1944: Yep, Karen, it has been a weird year, weather-wise. I think we're on our, what, something like 50th consecutive day with no precipitation? Summers are always dry here but this is ridiculous. I just hope we don't develop fires in our mountains the way BC has been experiencing. I feel so bad for the humans, animals, and forests in that area.

>222 brodiew2: Hi Brodie. Friday definitely qualified as a hot one. Neither my home nor my office are air-conditioned so by 6pm yesterday (Friday) I was done in. Still, as I said above, the smoke helped keep it from getting as hot as it might have done. And today was definitely more reasonable.

>223 jnwelch: Evening, Joe. It's been a scorcher week but the smoke is the real story.
I don't know if this will compute, but remember that our air quality is usually super good, especially for a city.

This was how it looked this past week:

It has made for some amazing sunsets!

>224 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! So far, my weekend has been quite lovely. :-)

>225 Familyhistorian: It's all crazy, isn't it, Meg? I do hope the fires ease soon. I don't know if there is any rain in the forecast for you. It's early August, so I know it could be a few weeks yet until some rain moves in and helps with this.

>226 Carmenere: Hi Lynda. I'm glad you enjoyed my Polish memories!

66. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Kronigsburg




This is a delightful children's book about Claudia who decides to run away. She wisely takes one of her younger brothers with her and the two of them sequester themselves in the Metropolitan Museum Art. Here they encounter a mystery: is the small angel statue the work of Michelangelo? Their adventures and their pursuit of truth make for great reading. Suspension of disbelief definitely required.

67. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith




I have finally read this brilliant, creepy portrait of a murderer. Tom Ripley is sent to Italy by Herbert Greenleaf to find his son, Dickie, and persuade him to return home to New York. Dickie's mother is ill and his parents want him home to assume his place as successor to his father in their lucrative and successful business. Tom finds Dickie and a friend (girlfriend?), Marge, in an Italian seaside village; he befriends them and half-heartedly tries to persuade Dickie that he should return home. Instead of success at that mission, however, Tom ends up deeply intertwined with Dickie's carefree lifestyle, desiring for it never to end. One thing leads to another, Dickie ends up dead, and Tom's assumption of Dickie's identity becomes the main story. Fascinating and psychologically complex, this masterpiece deserves its reputation.

I have seen the film with Matt Damon starring as Tom; the images permeated my reading of the novel but in no way detracted from the experience.

Currently reading:

Your photos are looking like smog alert. It doesn't look good. I hope you'll get some rain that it washes it down.
Happy Sunday, Ellen.

Whew, a little bit of breeze coming from the west ? maybe helped blow away some of the smoke, but it has been brutal. I was surprised to hear yesterday on public radio that all people are advised to limit their outside time due to both the smoke and the heat. We have so few "air conditioned" homes here.

It is interesting here at Silver Glen, we have spots where the air-conditioning is going full tilt boogie and it is very pleasant to take a break and sit in a "cold" spot. The folks who have apartments on the top floors, facing the west are in for some tough times, but many of them have installed their own air-conditioning. I'm on the bottom, facing sort of north-east and in the shade. My apartment never gets really awful, and the dog walks are a bit shorter as the pup gets quite heated, and clearly is happy to go home and collapse on the sofa.

I've not yet taken advantage of the pool which seems quite silly, but it is what it is. I'm dealing with some fatigue which seems to not be really a life style thing, maybe a side effect of the medications. Gah! Talked with the Rheumatologist and she and I agreed that it is very hard to put your finger on one cause for fatigue as it is always very multi-factored. So, I'm trying to keep a detailed journal, food, exercise, stress, and how much sleep, both of nighttimes and of naps. Sugar is being avoided!

See you soon! I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society early this morning and it was a very satisfactory re-read. I called it a romantic novel first read through but now I think of it more as a good historical fiction. Very clever.

Hi Ellen! I am getting caught up. Love your photos and memories of traveling in Poland. I traveled in the USSR in 1989, and things were changing, slowly, but I have some very similar memories. We went in to shops that only had canned "meat" in the window display, and that was all they had in the store. We waited in lines to buy things that they refused to sell to us because we were American. We were strongly cautioned against trading with the teenagers that hung out around our hotel, but we played some games of soccer with them and all of us ended up with an assortment of Russian army gear, pins, etc. and they took away rock band t-shirts, CD's and other things. We couldn't drink the water, and after a few days, the hotel would only sell us mineral water. No more Cokes or anything else, just mineral water. The further west we went, from Moscow back toward Finland, the better things got. More people would talk to us, there was more stuff in shops. It was interesting. Back in the US, the first time I went to the supermarket with my mom, she sent me to pick out yogurt. She found me there, just staring at all the choices, completely overwhelmed. It was a very good experience for me.

>231 EBT1002:, >232 EBT1002:, >233 EBT1002: Wow. Hard to imagine this, Ellen. Thanks for the photos.

>238 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. We definitely have air quality warnings in place with all the smoke. There is no rain in the forecast. August is the driest month in Seattle and it's not unusual to get no more than a trace of precipitation in the month. We're hoping for a fluke rainy day. Or at least a breeze!

>239 maggie1944: "all people are advised to limit their outside time due to both the smoke and the heat." That is a tricky one with no air conditioning! My home isn't air conditioned and that is pretty normal, as you say, for around here. But neither is my office. If this continues, I'll have to eat lunch and/or dinner out just to get a break. Although the heat has eased a bit this weekend.

I'm glad you have cool spots in silver glen in which to get a break, Karen. Are they places where the pup can go with you? I feel badly for dogs in this kind of heat as I know they still have to be walked but you can see their tongues dragging.... Cats, I worry about less. It's important for them to be able to get shade and to have plenty of cool water to drink and I know they can get overheated, but Abby is amazingly happy with this. She reminds me that her ancestors probably hung out on the savannah....

You don't need me to tell you this and of course there can be lots of reasons for the fatigue, but just remember to be sure you're getting iron. As you know, we learned the hard lesson about the impact of anemia.

I haven't yet read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society this month but I did read it a few years ago so I may rely on my memory (which, for that one, is pretty good although I might at least skim it to remind myself of some details). I look forward to discussing it and seeing you and Karla and hopefully Bill and wife.

>240 nittnut: That is so interesting, Jenn. It does sound like there were similarities although I did not at all experience people being unfriendly or refusing us anything. In 1981 in Poland, I actually felt the opposite ~ and it was an uncomfortable feeling ~ that the people we met would give us the last bit of meat they had if it came to that. Stores were definitely empty and we stood in long lines for not much at the other end of it. Bread and onions and potatoes and a mild kind of white cheese were readily available but not much else. We were invited to dinner at a few people's homes and they would always serve us meat even though it was extremely hard to get and quite expensive if you only had Polish currency. But maybe in Russia in 1981 they were more afraid of governmental/official censure if they sold you meat or something else?

I love your story of playing games with the teenagers in your neighborhood and ending up trading with them. What a great experience.

I can totally relate to the experience of standing in the grocery store back here in the US, overwhelmed by the yogurt choices. My memory of my first time in a grocery store is much the same and still very vivid, even 35+ years later!

Thanks for sharing your memories of traveling!

>241 jnwelch: Morning Joe.

Last Thursday was P's last day at work until November 1. It's like a practice for retirement. :-D
So, I am letting her take on more household chores (I will still do laundry and dinner clean up, as well as cat litter and a few other things). This means time for reading!

I read Kafka on the Shore into the night last evening and I am caught up in it. What a great writer Murakami is!

Loving the Seattle photos. Gorgeous.

Happy Sunday, Ellen. As usual we are on the same reading wavelength. I am also reading Olio, (about halfway, through) and finding it mesmerizing and speaking of mesmerizing, this would also describe my reread of Kafka. The experience of so many reading this at one time, is truly awesome.

I just started Refuge this morning and it also grabbed me immediately. This woman can write and her passions always shine through. Have you read this one? Love me some TTW!

>245 msf59: Morning Mark and Happy Sunday to you, as well. The photos of Seattle may be gorgeous but the air is not! lol

I love that we are both reading and loving Olio and Kafka. Two great reads.

I haven't read nor heard anything about Refuge but I just followed your touchstone and it looks very interesting. Last summer I listened to The Hour of Land (thanks to your warbling) and I absolutely loved it. I will see about getting an audio of Refuge, especially if TTW is again narrating it.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Sunday so far:

Breakfast at Cheeky Cafe. Banana pancake and a poached egg. Yum.
REI for some ShotBlocks and a new pair of flip flops. :-)
Bartell's for some olive oil and Washington wines on sale.
Watching the Mariners pound the Royals in Kansas City.

And yet to come:
At 1pm I will go to the library to return several and pick up a couple.

The Blue Angels are in town for Seafair and they seriously buzz our house a few times during their show. Yesterday I stood on our garage roof to watch them; today I will likely just sit in the front yard and read, and I'll see them as they zoom overhead. I want to make some headway in both Olio and Kafka on the Shore.
And I need to make flight reservations for an October visit to my sister in Asheville.

The air quality is worse again today. Walking into our house, it smells like wood smoke. Weird. Oh, and I'm hanging laundry today so our towels and clothes may smell a bit smokey but what's a person to do?

Ellen, that stinks about your air quality (pun intended). I remember the fires in Colorado seriously messed with my outdoor time when we lived there. I'm surprised you are still reading outside, although it sounds like inside is smoky as well. Are there anymore hornets around? That was a funny story considering no one got hurt, but wasp and hornet stings are nothing to joke about. I was stung multiple times by the wasps nesting in our attic when we first moved here. They are long gone, but the pain is still fresh in my mind. Happy Reading!

>248 Donna828: Hi Donna. Yeah, since we don't have air conditioning, outside and inside are not much different in terms of air quality. Where I sit depends more on whether there is a breeze and where the shade is at that particular moment.

No more hornets. The nest is killed and down. It's rather sad; they are a beneficial species but they were in a location that we just couldn't let them stay. You're right that wasp and hornet stings are nothing to joke about. I feel lucky not to have been stung and grateful that our friend is not allergic. I imagine her three stings have been painful for the past week. My only complaint is mosquito bites (sigh) but they are mild irritants next to a hornet sting! Your story of getting stung multiple times by wasps nesting in your attic is frightening. I bet that memory will remain fresh for a long time, perhaps forever!

Okay, this is just too much! In addition to terrible air quality due to the fires in British Columbia, our new neighbors who have not yet moved in are having their wood floors refinished. For the second day in a row the toxic fumes from their floors are wafting over to our house. We have no air conditioning so it's really miserable to close all the windows. But that is what I have done, at least all the windows on that side of the house and the front and back. We have one window on the other side that I am leaving open. Ugh. And I'm definitely not going to sit outside for the rest of the day! Last night we were sitting out in our back yard and I kept having to hold my t-shirt up to my nose to breathe. They apparently came to put the second coat on today. UGH!

>246 EBT1002: - Refuge is a wonderfully written, but sad, book. It was the first (and so far only) book by Williams that I have read, to date but it's a book that stays with you.....

Hi Ellen--So glad to hear that you have been enjoying swimming and that the toe is almost ready to give running a try. You are definitely right to wait until the air quality improves though. Bummer about the neighbor's smelly floors. You'd think they could do it during the week when you were at work. Yeesh!

Ellen, it sounds like you are being put through the wringer at the moment, with your toe and the heat and the smoggy air and the neighbor's toxic fumes. I hope it all gets better sooner rather than later. I hadn't considered the problem of few places being air-conditioned. Here in Iowa, as you know, it's pretty much a necessity to survive the summers, which if this year is anything to go by are going to be getting hotter and hotter.

>251 jessibud2: Hmm, I wonder how it will land on me, Shelley. I love works like that but honestly I feel so heartbroken by what we humans are doing to our planet, the home of so many species other than ourselves, that I might not be able to tolerate the sadness...

>252 Berly: lol, yes, I would have preferred that the floor work had been done while I was not at home, Kim! It's now a couple of hours later and I have opened some windows. The smell has dissipated some, not totally, but it's better. And a bit of a breeze is kicking up. GO breeze!

>253 rosalita: Thanks Julia. I have sort of had a few things going on in the past week or so but it's really not as bad as all that. As I told Kim ^ a breeze is starting to stir the air a bit and that is good. Its a weird thing; in this part of the world almost no one has air conditioning (that is probably changing as new homes are being built) and it's almost never needed. But when it's needed, and one doesn't have it, it can be a bit trying.

It seems that some of the predictions regarding climate change are that things will become more extreme. For us this past year has been perhaps a taste of that: a wetter and colder winter than usual and a hotter and drier summer than usual.

I just spent the last couple of hours reading some of Olio. It is SO good. I love how he interweaves poems with two voices such that you can read them apart or together.... it's hard to describe but it's brilliant.

I hope your air quality improves soon, Ellen. Too bad about the wasps. I was pulling weeds and must have gotten too close to the bee. It has taken a few weeks to clear up.

I will definitely search for Olio. I wish I could reread Kafka on the Shore with you, but I don't think it's going to happen.

>256 BLBera: Hi Beth. The air feels clearer this morning. No rain but the breeze picked up last evening and I think that helped some. It's still hazy but not as bad. And sorry to hear about your bee sting! They are painful and definitely take some time to resolve themselves.

I think you would love Olio. It's one of the most creative works of literature/poetry I've ever read.

Good morning, Ellen! I'm sorry to hear of the toxicity of the air. I know what you mean about the smokey haze, but floor finishing is the worst. Paint is similar. I hope things look up for you.

>243 EBT1002: To be fair, it was really only the hotel employees and restaurants who were unwilling to sell us Cokes. The people we met on our tours and things were very nice. We were even invited back to the apartments of some of the teens we were playing soccer with. We weren't allowed to go, they were very strict about our interactions with people. I don't know if that was a group policy, US govt. policy, USSR govt. policy? No idea.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with toxic fumes AND smoke. Yuck! Wishing you a strong-ish breeze.

Hi Ellen - Our air quality is very bad here, too. It's been dipping in and out of the hazardous range.

I run several HEPA air filters 24/7 during fire season. The smoke carries super dry (fire roasted) particulate, so an air humidifier helps. (Which probably sounds very strange in Seattle, no?) I open my windows to cool off before I go to bed and then shut everything down before I fall asleep. In the mornings, I have fans blowing cool air into the house for a short time and then shut it all down again so the HEPA's can work. The local stores run out of filter units and replacement filters quickly. Thank God for Prime!

I found a hornet nest a little bigger than a cantaloupe under one of my eves yesterday. Where did that come from?? I noticed there are less wasps this year ... and less mosquitos too although I believed that to be due to the extremely dry weather. I'll try to get a pic. To spray or not to spray/ Sigh.

Hi, Ellen.

I love that you and Mark are reading Olio and Kafka on the Shore!

Olio is one of the most creative works of literature/poetry I've ever read. Me, too!

And I join Mark in really enjoying having so many people reading Kafka on the Shore at the same time. That's a fun group read thread.

You loved Hour of the Land, too? Oh my, that bb has really got me now. I'll get my hands on it soon.

Glad the air is a bit better Ellen.

>261 jnwelch: caved and ordered Kafka on the Shore Joe.

Hi Ellen! "Refuge" is wonderful. I hope you get to it soon.
The air here has been pretty bad as well. Uggh.

>262 Caroline_McElwee: Good! You'll be so glad you did, Caroline.

>258 brodiew2: Thanks Brodie. The floor refinishing fumes were really horrible. Luckily, they do dissipate and I expect to go home tonight to no problems at all!

>259 nittnut: Interesting, Jenn. It sounds like it was some kind of official policy but who knows.
The air is indeed clearing up a bit. The breeze must be shifting back towards the north (which is good for us but might not be so good for our friends in British Columbia!).

>260 streamsong: The whole air quality thing is weird, Janet. It does seem weird in this region to consider a humidifier but I know it would help at times like this.

Oh dear about the hornet nest. Here is a story from the Seattle Times about balancing our recognition of their beneficial qualities with our own need to inhabit the space. Ours were Bald-faced hornets (mentioned in the very first paragraph of the story!) and I wish we could have let them be. If we had a larger yard and they were hanging out in a tree that didn't need pruning, I'd have let them continue their occupancy. Under your eves? Ugh. Hard to say.

>261 jnwelch: I love that Mark and I are both reading Olio and Kafka on the Shore, too, Joe! It's rather rare to be so on the same page even though so many of us around here share reads with one another at various times. Oh, and The Hour of Land -- Yes! I listened to it and I have a hard time imagining it any other way. Her voice.... so lovely for narrating her own elegiac words.

>262 Caroline_McElwee: Yay! Caroline ordered a copy of Kafka on the Shore!

>263 banjo123: Hey Rhonda. I will definitely be looking at Audible to see about getting Refuge in audio format. Or, barring that, I'll buy it in the old fashioned format! :-D

>264 jnwelch: Yep, totally agree.

I'm looking forward to my train ride home this evening because I will get to read in Kafka on the Shore!

Our housemate will be home again (she's been gone for a few days) and I know that her presence will reduce my reading space at home. Don't get me wrong, she's not at all disrespectful. I just know we will share stories from the last few days while we eat and it is likely to bleed into what is usually my evening reading time.

Hope you got some Kafka reading time in. I am actually not finished yet (that was Caro I think)...about 75 pages to go. ; )

I look forward to our next Murakami read, too!!

I know what you mean, Ellen. I enjoy every minute with Scout, but I am now ready for some reading time.

>268 Berly: I stayed up way too late but I was so engrossed! I'm on page 171 out of 476 total pages in my copy. This morning I read about the raining fish. It's a weird and delightful novel!

>269 BLBera: I actually did get some reading time last night, Beth. Our housemate has some things going on and she was mostly taking care of those (poor woman -- going through a divorce and dividing worldly possessions is so painful!). And I stayed up too late reading Kafka on the Shore. :-)