Joe's Book Cafe Door 24

Book art by Günter Tauchner, Roxanne Coble, Karen Kunc, and Jade Pegler

Welcome back to the cafe!

2017 Books

January

1. The Strange Death of Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham
2. Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon (poetry)
3. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
4. Love Story with Murders by Harry Bingham
5. Four Swans by Winston Graham
6. This Thing of Darkness by Harry Bingham
7. Tell Me by Kim Addonizio (poetry)
8. Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love
9. A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install
10. The Dead House by Harry Bingham
11. Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
12. Suspended Sentences by Patrick Modiano
13. Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
14. The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke translated by Stephen Mitchell
15. The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

February

16. The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
17. City by Clifford Simak
18. Eggtooth by Solia Carrock
19. The Black Moth by Georgette Heyer
20. A Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer
21. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
22. Binti Home by Nnedi Okorafor
23. Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer
24. The Dry by Jane Harper
25. I Will Have Vengeance by Maurizio De Giovanni
26. The Simple Truth by Philip Levine (poetry)
27. Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace!!!
28. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
29. Away with Fairies by Kerry Greenwood
30. The Sandman Omnibus Vol. 1 by Neil Gaiman*

March

31. News of the World by Paulette Jiles
32. My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris*
33. Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold
34. Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald
35. The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey
36, There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce by Morgan Parker (poetry)
37. The Assault by Harry Mulisch
38. Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
39. Scriptorium by Melissa Range (poetry)
40. World of Edena by Moebius*
41. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
42. The Girl, the Gold Watch and Everything by John D. MacDonald
43. Rolling Blackouts by Sarah Glidden*
44. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
45. Lucifer at the Starlite by Kim Addonizio
46. Echoes in Death by J.D. Robb

April

47. The Deep Blue Goodbye by John D. MacDonald
48. I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong
49. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
50. Tender: Stories by Sofia Samatar
51. We Are Legion by Dennis Taylor
52. The Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer
53. Just So Happens by Fumio Obata*
54. Wild Nights: New & Selected Poems by Kim Addonizio
55. I Must Be Living Twice by Eileen Myles
56. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
57. A Purple Place for Dying by John D. MacDonald
58. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders
59. Sylvester, or the Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer
60. The Quick Red Fox by John D. MacDonald
61. Nutshell by Ian MacEwan
62. Orphan X by Greg Hurwitz

May

63. A Deadly Shade of Gold by John D. MacDonald
64. The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
65. Eggshells by Caitriona Lally
66. Bright Orange for the Shroud by John D. MacDonald
67. Incendiary Art by Patricia Smith
68. Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
69. Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer
70. The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon
71. The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla
72. The Nowhere Man by Greg Hurwitz
73. The Toll-Gate by Georgette Heyer

June
74. Vicious Circle by C.J. Box
75. No Middle Name by Lee Child
76. 99 Poems by Dana Gioia
77. The Angry Tide by Winston Graham
78. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomer
79. The Deepest Grave by Harry Bingham
80. Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke*
81. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder
82. Planetfall by Emma Newman
83. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
84. Czeslaw Milosz Selected Poems Revised
85. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
86. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths

July

87. Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter
88. The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths
89. Olio by Tyehimba Jess
90. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich
91. Dr. Mutter's Marvels by Cristin O'Keefe Aptowicz
92. No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay
93. Room Full of Bones by Ellie Griffiths
94. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
95. Robert B. Parker's Kickback by Ace Atkins
96. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
97. Crooked House by Agatha Christie
98. Never Go Back by Lee Child
99. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
100. The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff
101. Leviathan Wakes by James S. Corey
102. Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
103. Arabella of Mars by David D. Levine
104. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

August

105. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
106. Brand New Ancients by Kate Tempest
107. The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui*
108. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
109. The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee
110. The Windfall by Diksha Basu
111. leadbelly by Tyehimba Jess
112. Selected Poems of W.H. Auden, selected by Edward Mendelson
113. The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemesin
114. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
115. The Jane Austen Project by Kathryn Flynn
116. Horse and Rider by Melissa Range
117. Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
118. To Siri, With Love by Judith Newman
119. Stag's Leap by Sharon Olds

September

120. Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander
121. Nest of Vipers by Andrea Camilleri
123. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemison
124. Knockemstiff by Donald Pollock
125. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
126. Glass Houses by Louise Penny
127. Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb
128. Words Under the Words by Naomi Shahib Nye
129. Autumn by Ali Smith
130. Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
131. The Miller's Dance by Winston Graham
132. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz
133. Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright
134. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer
135. Electric Arches by Eve Ewing

October

136. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
137. The Legend of Light by Bob Hicok
138. The Western Star by Craig Johnson
139. Pale Gray for Guilt by John MacDonald
140. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
141. Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
142. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo
143. Regency Buck by Georgette Heyer
144. Rain in Portugal by Billy Collins
145. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
146. Whistling Vivaldi by Claude M. Steele
147. The Punch Escrow by Tal Klein
148. Giving Godhead by Dylan Krieger
149. Murder in Grub Street by Bruce Alexander
150. The Loving Cup by Winston Graham
151. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories by Washington Irving
152. Lightning Men by Thomas Mullen

November

153. Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
154. Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo
155. The Virginian by Owen Wister
156. Fort Not by Emily Skillings
157. Spinning by Tillie Walden*
158. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
159. Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudine Rankin

Graphic Novels and Illustrated Books

1. Jessica Jones Pulse by Brian Michael Bendis
2. The Singing Bones by Shaun Tan
3. Whiteout by Greg Rucka
4. Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt
5. Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu
6. The White Donkey Terminal Lance by Maximilian Uriarte
7. Paper Girls Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan
8. Ms. Marvel Vol. 6 by G. Willow Wilson
9. The Flight of the Raven by Jean-Pierre Gibrat
10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson and Denise Mina (re-read)
11. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larrson and Denise Mina (re-read)
12. Radiant Child by Javaka Steptoe
13. Coward by Ed Brubaker
14. Bandette Volume 2 by Paul Tobin
15. Saga Volume 7 by Brian K. Vaughan
16. Criminal Volume 3: The Dead and the Dying by Ed Brubaker
17. Lazarus Vol. 3 by Greg Rucka
18. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest by Stieg Larrson and Denise Mina (re-read)
19. Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret C. Sullivan
20. Cinnamon by Neil Gaiman
21. Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan
22. Black Widow S.H.I.E.L.D. Most Wanted by Mark Waid
23. Big Appetites by Christopher Boffoli
24. Lucifer Book Five by Mike Carey
25. One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
26. Vagabond VIZBIG Edition, Vol. 11 by Takehiko Inoue
27. Tales of Honor On Basilisk Station by David Weber
28. The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg
29. Wonder Woman Volume 1 The Lies by Greg Rucka
30. Dresden Files Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
31. Dresden Files Downtown by Jim Butcher
32. Buffy The High School Years by Kel McDonald
33. Lazarus Volume 4 by Greg Rucka
34. Wonder Woman Vol. 5: Flesh by Brian Azzarello
35. The Adventures of John Blake by Philip Pullman
36. Roughneck by Jeff Lemire
37. Wonder Woman Bones by Brian Azzarello
38. Archie Volume 1 The New Riverdale by Mark Waid
39. Tokyo Ghost by Rick Remender
40. Guardians of the Louvre by Jiro Taneguchi
41. Sleeper Season Two by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
42. Batman Hush by Jeph Loeb
43. The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe
44. The Girl from the Other Side 2 by Nagabe
45. Black Hammer by Jeff Lemire
46. Scene of the Crime by Ed Brubaker
47. Spill Zone by Scott Westerfield
48. Quest by Aaron Becker
49. Return by Aaron Becker
50. Stumptown Vol. 4 by Greg Rucka
51. Ms. Marvel Vol. 7 by G. Willow Wilson
52. Valerian Complete Collection 1 by Pierre Christin
52. Valerian Complete Collection 3 by Pierre Christin
53. Paper Girls Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
54. Surreality by Caleb King
55. Monstress Volume 2 by Marie Liu
56. Catwoman Volume 3 by Ed Brubaker
57. Fatale Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker
58. Birdsong: A Story by James Sturm
59. Valerian Complete Collection 2 by Peirre Christin
60. Jessica Jones Uncaged by Brian Michael Bendis
61. Fatale Vol. 5 by Greg Rucka
62. Lazarus Vol. 5 by Greg Rucka
63, Witchblade Vol. 3: Borne Again by Ron Marz
64. Fatale Vol. 3 and Fatale Vol. 4 by Ed Brubaker
65. Criminal: The Dead and Dying by Ed Brubaker
66. Lady Killer by Jamie S. Rich
67. Baking with Kafka by Tom Gauld
68. The Golden Compass Vol. 1 by Philip Pullman
69. The Golden Compass Graphic Novel, Volume 2 by Philip Pullman
70. The Wheel of Time Eye of the World Vol. 2 by Robert Jordan
71. Level Up by Gene Luen Yang
72. The Wheel of Time Eye of the World Vol. 3 by Robert Jordan
73. The Girl on the Shore by Inio Asano
74. Shade The Changing Girl by Cecil Castellucci
75. Giant Days Vol. 1 by John Allison
76. Louis Undercover by Fanny Britt
77. Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book by Jomny Son
78. Shh! We Have a Plan by Chris Haughton
79. Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang
80. In Real Life by Cory Doctorow
81. Pashmina by Nidni Chanani

Joe Poem. The first line comes from a poem by Emily Skillings in Fort Not.

More Broth, Please

I have been drinking too much possessed broth.
I feel it taking over my veins.
Nanos of oddity
Aligning magnetically to a
Pole, somewhere in the Pleiades. A place
Unimaginable from where we sit, in this
Outdoor cafe on the Banks of
Ernie, the head of the
Tallulah, looking
Normal, aren't we? Maybe
Not. I can feel those
Possessed stars flowing up the
Dermis: "you have such a
Glow today", as if the
Gray everywhere can be
Stretched tight and shattered in
Rubbery shards, the
Warmth of electron friction
Generated by little aligned
Scamperers responding to that
Distant celestial call
Swelling our ethos across the
Table to your fingers, touching
Mine, as we begin to rise and
Swim in the air, above what
Traffic lazily glides by.

Happy new one, Joe.

I have read "More Broth, Please" already thrice and like it but don't yet quite follow.

>6 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul.

Oh man, you're a heckuva guy to give it the thrice treatment. Two of the playful references probably were confusing - Ernie Banks was a beloved Chicago Cubs baseball player, and Tallulah Bankhead an oldtime movie star.

Hmm, it's about being possessed in a good way by outside/inside forces. Maybe that'll help?

You deserve some fine Yorkshire pudding for being first in the slightly relocated new door, and for excellence in poetry reading.

>7 jnwelch: Yorkshire puddings are, unsurprisingly, a favourite, Joe and no-one does 'em better than my dear old mum (although Hani runs her close).

I got the Bankhead reference but of course not the Ernie Banks one.

>7 jnwelch:>8

Those look delicious!

Whenever I read "Yorkshire pudding" in a story, I always figured it was some terrifying Olde English kidney thing.

>1 jnwelch: Books and a cat! Yay!

Happy New Thread, Joe. I'm glad you left that spammer in the dust.

Happy New Thread, Joe. That spam thing was very strange and a bit scary. Has this happened before? I have not run across it.

>8 PaulCranswick: You're lucky to have two women in your life who make great Yorkshire pudding, Paul. I've never had it - can you believe it? I need to fix that.

>9 m.belljackson: Don't they look delicious, Marianne?

Whenever I read "Yorkshire pudding" in a story, I always figured it was some terrifying Olde English kidney thing.. LOL! I love that! And I understand your terror. Blood pudding? What the heck is that?

>10 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. What a weird spammer.

I love that books and a cat one, too! We're so lucky to have folks like this guy who make beautiful, interesting art in public spaces.

>11 msf59: Thanks, buddy. I know, it was a weird and kinda scary spam takeover of the continuation link. I've never seen it done before like that, and I don't even know why someone would do it. No one is going to want to click on it.

Blood pudding is the black stuff, a kind of sausage. The square ones are "ordinary" sausage, as if any of the Beneficent Goddess of All Good Things would create something ordinary!

Happy new thread, Joe. May it stay healthy!

I love those book art pics in >1 jnwelch:. I have taken a few courses over the years in book-making and book-binding and have made a few cool ones, myself. But nothing like those up there! Beautiful

>14 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. Oof. My ancestors probably loved it, but it's not for me.

>15 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. Amen to that.

Oh good. I get such a kick out of hand-made, hand-bound books. It's great to have a fellow appreciator, and I'd love to see the cool ones you made.

>16 jnwelch: ...more for me...

:-)

>16 jnwelch: - Ok, Joe, you have given me an assignment. I know I have pics somewhere. If I can find and access them, I will add the to my gallery and let you know.

>17 richardderus: :-) Fill yourself up, RD, so I can have some more of those caramel muffins and apple cider donuts you've been posting.

>18 jessibud2: Yay! Please do, Shelley.

>12 jnwelch: The next time we are together buddy, I shall make sure that you sample my county's most pleasurable fayre.

Blood pudding or black pudding as we call it in Yorkshire is a hugely popular food whose basis is pig's blood. I do not partake.

>19 jnwelch: - I am nothing if not a woman of my word (ok, a bit obsessive, too). Pictures are now on my gallery. I haven't seen that book in quite some time so my next project is to find where I have put it! I have made at least 2 others (one accordion style and another, I forget) but I don't think I have photos of those. It really is a fun craft and I think I may be inspired to revisit it again soon!

So whatever happened to the automatic link to your new thread? Happy New Thread, anyhow!

>12 jnwelch: Next time you're in London Joe, get thee to Simpsons on the Strand for some Yorkshire Pudding.

>4 jnwelch: loved the word play Joe.

As ever, great artwork in this café.

Did you get more broth?

Btw, the cat food in the top image looks like my beautiful Jasper, many years departed.

Morning, Joe! Happy new thread!

I do love a good Yorkshire Pudding...

Joe, please tell the kitchen staff I *had* to stop at that raunchy little Waffle House to get caffeine before I got here...I was lurching into lampposts and police cars were following me...it's no patch on the excellent coffee I get here, I swear! After...well, you know, not being allowed in for a year, I wanted to make *sure* they knew it wasn't personal!

Go. See. "Loving Vincent."

That is all.

xo

>24 Caroline_McElwee: The cat in >1 jnwelch: also looks a bit like my Dorian, also many years departed.
I think Jasper is a great name for a cat!

>20 PaulCranswick: I like the sounds of that, Paul. May the reunion be soon!

Understood re the pig's blood. We don't eat red meat, so blood pudding would be out for us, too.

>21 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. You're not only a woman of your word, you're quick! I want to go back and look them over some more, with your helpful explanations. How many finished books do you have? Where do you keep them?



I didn't think you'd mind my showing one of them. So cool you did a bookmaking/bookbinding course, and I don't mean learning to take bets.

>22 ronincats: Some spammer/scammer/hacker rewrote the continuation link on my last thread, Roni. It's easy to see if you go back to the end of it. Goofy.

Thanks!

>23 NarratorLady: Ah, good tip, Anne, thanks. I'll alert Madame MBH. Simpsons on the Strand for Yorkshire pudding. Oh my. Just saying it makes me want to be there now.

>24 Caroline_McElwee: Oh good, Caroline, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed the wordplay in >4 jnwelch:. That's just meant to be a fun one. Oddly enough, the Emily Skillings one, whose first line inspired it, was anything but.

Ha! I'm still looking for some more of that delicious possessed broth.

I'm glad you like the artwork. When artists turn to making "books", some amazing ones result.

Ah, I expect Jasper was SOME CAT, as spider Charlotte might say. I love the alertness of the cat in the street art.

>25 scaifea: Morning, Amber! Thanks!

I suspect you make your own wonderful Yorkshire pudding, yes? Here's some more from the cafe kitchen.



>26 richardderus: Ha! Sounds like a public service, Richard. Although careening about town could be fun without those pesky police. Wait, on second thought, uncaffeinated, no. Not fun that way. Here's some of the excellent cafe coffee. The kitchen staff understood, and happily forgave you.

>27 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. I'm. Working. On. It! Our schedule gets so darn full. I sent Madame MBH the Music Box theater times for it, so that's a start.

>28 EBT1002: Was Dorian a gray cat? I can almost Picture her. Jasper is a great name, and a tip of the hat to you and Caroline, because the cat in >1 jnwelch: looks like he'd/she'd be a smart and good pal.

>32 jnwelch: *whew*

THAT is coffee, no ghastly percolator mess.

>33 jnwelch: Oh, Joe...(universally understood downward note delivery)...that Pun.

>32 jnwelch: I do, indeed, make my own Yorkshire Pudding. It turns out pretty well, if I do say so; it's one of Charlie's favorite things.

>34 richardderus: Ha! I get that universally understood downward note delivery a lot from Debbi and the kids. In his heyday my dad was just as bad good annoying handsome. He'd probably respond, which door, Ian?

>35 scaifea: Charlie's got excellent taste, we know; some day I'd like to hear A Few of His Favorite Things. I'm glad your no doubt toothsome Yorkshire pudding is among them.

Happy new thread, Joe!

>33 jnwelch: Dorian was indeed a gray cat and he was the handsomest cat I've ever owned. He was a sweetie although not as affectionate as my Edgar was. I always felt a bit sheepish about his name but it was one of those things: it occurred to me when I was in the process of naming him and it just fit.

He had some Russian Blue in him but I don't think he was "pure." He was a large (not fat) cat. People would walk into our house in Oregon, in which we also had the most beautiful wood floors I have ever seen, and they would say: "what lovely fl.... that's a big cat!"

>38 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie!

>39 EBT1002: Dorian sounds like a most excellent cat, Ellen, as does Edgar. Ha! I love how guests would react to Dorian.

Before we found out daughter #1 was allergic, we had two rescue cats: Dora and Grace. Dora was all black, with a bifid (Mr. Spock Live Long and Prosper) paw, and Grace was mostly white. Dora tiny and feisty, and Grace big but very . . . shy. We suspect Grace was mistreated before we found her, and Dora was a dissenting voice in the cat parliament.

I apologize for the absence of apple cider donuts, Joe, but my current batch might meet with your approval:

Lemon-blueberry with lemon zest icing. They don't stink.

That was strange having your thread hijacked like that, Joe. I found you and starred you again.

I was very interested in what Eve Ewing and Danez Smith had to say about poetry when they told you, Interpretations are for readers, they say. The writer's job is to make it true and have the words work together in form and rhythm. "Ah ha", my 13 year old self said, "I knew every poem didn't refer to Christ on the cross, like my English teacher said. There was no way that a writer would be thinking of that while getting the words and rhythm to work."

>41 richardderus: Mmmm. They look even better than not stinking, RD - although that's high praise, indeed. Their Brobdingnagian size is impressive, too. I could make a couple of meals out of one of those.

>42 Familyhistorian: I'm glad you found this new thread, Meg. I alerted LT's spam police (there's a whole thread dedicated to catching and blocking spammers), so I'll post it if anything interesting comes up.

Ha! Your English teacher was a wise one. It makes sense, doesn't it? It's hard enough to get the words and rhythms to work.

>43 jnwelch: *enlarged to show detail

>44 richardderus: *proprietor happy to eat enlarged detail

Proprietor would be ecstatic to eat these...the deli where I got my kielbasa today has fresh-baked donuts once a week and their lemon blueberry ones, while not quite like these, are outrageously scrummy. They've added the fresh donuts in the last three months of the year as a test to see if they can make money on them. I am torn: should I go and eat them every Saturday thus influencing them to keep on keepin on or should I nail my shoes to the floor every Friday night and not budge until Sunday afternoon thus ensuring I remain under 300lb?

>46 richardderus: Lots of good people are over 300 lbs, Richard, I'm just sayin'. Of course, I'm being a total hypocrite, as I only load up on virtual donut calories that are invisible (as far as I can tell) in RL.

My big question: do they sell duffnuts?

The first LT spamfighter comment on the continuation link spam on the last thread: "Wow. Somehow they broke into the CSS for the page? These guys are getting hard core!"

>47 jnwelch: No, they're rabidly Murrikin over there so they sell ordinary donuts.

>48 jnwelch: Ha!

Happy new thread, Joe!

Lots to see on your new thread, I like your topper best :-)

>49 richardderus: Well, I'm all for rabid Murrikins - I'll take a knee for them any time.

>50 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Isn't that a fun one up top?

Anyone can use the continuation link at the bottom of a thread once it reaches 150 posts. The spammer didn't have to break into anything, just click on it and then change the thread title. I think.

>51 jnwelch: *chuckle* I'll tell 'em just to see how close to scarlet their faces will get.

>52 katiekrug: Kickass Katie speaketh sooth.

>29 jnwelch: - Wow, thanks for that, Joe! I know for sure that I have 3 handmade books from various workshops/courses, all completely different styles. I used to know where they were when I kept my supplies together but it's been a few years since the last one and I have rearranged my *stuff* a few times as I had one closet redone with new shelving put in so they could still be in a box somewhere. You know, in a *safe place*....

But I think that once I get home from Montreal next week, I will actively search them out again. Thanks for the nudge.

>52 katiekrug:, >53 richardderus: Maybe the mischief-maker only changed the title of the continuation link - I don't want to click onto it to find out!

If so, that's a weird title to change it to - but then, it's been weird from the get-go. Why do it?

>54 jessibud2: You're welcome for the nudge, Shelley. They're well worth finding, seems like.

Yes, we've put many things in the perfect safe place that we'd always remember. Wish I knew where it is.

>43 jnwelch: No my English teacher was not wise, Joe. He was the one who said everything was related to Christ on the cross. I was the skeptic who thought that the poets didn't have all that in mind when they were playing with words and rhythm. I relate my difficulty with poetry to the over-analysis that poems were subjected to in my English Lit classes.

>55 jnwelch: Oh, I misunderstood, Meg. Well, then he was a doofus. Everything also relates to Kris Kringle, for example.

You're the wise one. Thank goodness we have skeptics willing to speak up.

Over-analysis has killed a lot of joy in a lot of contexts, hasn't it. That's one reason why I don't mind my family's "Mr. Oblivious" nickname for me.

Well, I’m glad you got a new home thread. By the way, the continuation thread got deleted a while ago, so if someone clicks on it, there’s nothing there.

>58 drneutron: Thanks, Jim. I'm glad to hear that the continuation thread got deleted and now there's nothing there. I didn't like that spammed continuation hanging out there.

BTW, Why Buddhism is True is one of Publisher Weekly's Best Books of the Year, as is Danez Smith's Don't Call Us Dead. Both very worth your time.

>55 jnwelch: "Why do it?"
People get kicks out of weird things, Joe. I've never understood the joy some folks obtain by messing about with other people's lives. Thankfully, this one led to naught of import. I think most of your LT buddies have found your real thread.

I want to start reading Why Buddhism is True when I return home. I want to read it at a slow pace, maybe a chapter a week or something like that.

Morning, Joe!

Good morning, Joe!

Yum to all the food and beverage pictures. Boo, flunk, to the spammer and glad to see that it's been resolved, if not explained. I didn't click on the link for fear of put bad juju on my computer.

>61 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. I guess it's the "thrill" of messing it up for others, you're right. What a way to live a life. I'm glad it came to naught, too.

Oh good, I'm glad you're going to give Why Buddhism is True a go! I was quite taken with it. That's sounds like a sensible approach to reading it. I ate it up, but I've been reading in this area for a long time.

>62 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>63 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen! I'm glad you steered clear of the spammer link; that's been drummed into us, hasn't it - who needs the bad juju.

Yum to all the food and beverage links, yes. Maybe we should do some more.

Houston

>60 jnwelch: I would like to read Why Buddhism is True, Joe, no translation available yet :-(
My library has a copy of the Dutch translation of The moral animal, maybe I can start there?

>65 jnwelch: - Funky! Is that a nod to Canada's Calgary Stampede, there in the middle boot? It looks like a Canadian flag near the top

>64 jnwelch: Very nice breakfast table, thanks Joe.

I’m waiting for Why Buddhism is True to come out here, 14 December according to Amazon.

>64 jnwelch:

True Buddhism is difficult for most people > walking around ants,

eating no meat,
being kind, compassionate,
and meeting suffering with incredible strength...

Where do we have to travel to for THAT brunch!?

Morning, Joe. Somehow, I never starred your new thread. I thought the Cafe may have been shuttered. The Trump Police swept in, closed it down. They hate happy places, you know. Whew!

Hope your week is going well. I am so glad to hear that your started Mahattan Beach. The warbling paid off.

Strolls off into the sunshine, humming softly...

>64 jnwelch: Ooohhh yes please!

>65 jnwelch: My toes hurt in memory of the times they squeezed into similarly shaped boots.

>66 FAMeulstee: Hi, Anita. I hope they get you a translation of Why Buddhism is True sooner rather than later. It's a good sign that they have translated his The Moral Animal. I haven't read it, but I can say he's a good writer, and that he uses that new science of evolutionary psychology that's discussed in it as a major foundation of "why Buddhism is true".

>67 jessibud2: Hi, Shelley! Funky goodness out there with the boots, right? I don't know whether that's a Canadian flag or a nod to Canada's Calgary Stampede - maybe we'll have a Houstonian, or someone who visited there, stop by and let us know.

Happy Wednesday, Joe!

Found you and starred!! Love the boots and now I am hungry...

>68 Caroline_McElwee: I'm glad you're enjoying that breakfast table, Caroline. And I'm very happy to hear that Why Buddhism is True will make it to your part of the world mid-December. Can't wait to hear what you think. I really liked the way he pulled it all together.

>69 m.belljackson: Nice thoughts on Buddhism, Marianne. I know the Dalai Lama and others would emphasize the kindness and compassion part - if we have people pursuing that, we're better off already. (My wife and I were just talking about how happy we are that our kids have those qualities).

To me, the hard part is meditating on a regular basis. As Wright says, and in better words, it ain't exciting. But it changes everything. The rest starts to just fall into place, IMO.

This probably is a good time for a poem I was just working on, about the difficulty, and the elusiveness of the ultimate goal.

Awakening with Zeno

Determined, I approach the
Gateless gate, halving
The distance again,
And again, and again . . . until
I'm so near, but still not there.

Zeno assumed I never will be.
Dr. Math says, logically, of course
You will. Just like a
Runner halving the distance to
First base, over and over,
Always eventually gets there.
Finite limits on infinity -
That's what our world is
Composed of - left,
Right and sideways.

But this gateless gate - is it
Worldly, or infinite?
Is that a useless question?

And let's not even talk about
Whether there's really a gate,
Or it's really gateless, or whether
There's any point to this
Trying, again and again.
Or that's it's all about the journey.
Please. That's the worst. Even if
It's true, I just
Can't take it.
It's enough to drive a fellow nuts.

>70 msf59: Ha! Hiya, Mark. We survived the Drumpf trying to shut down this happy place. How about those election results? Democrats winning, Virginia going the right way, a transgender woman beating an anti-LGBT Repub. Great stuff. So much more is needed, but at least we've started off well in rejecting the world view of Trump and his supporters.

Yes, I'm about 1/3 of the way through Manhattan Beach, and having an intriguing time with Anna and Lydia and Dexter. They're about to head to the beach together.

>71 richardderus: Yummy, right, Richard?

Yeah, I wore boots like that in Michigan for a while, way back when, and I remember the discomfort. Maybe they're better made now?

>76 jnwelch: Maybe they're better made now?

*bwaaahaaahaaa*

"One must suffer for beauty," to quote my late mama.

>73 Crazymamie: Happy Wednesday, Mamie!

>74 Berly: Oh good, Kim. I know it takes some work to find this new cafe. Hungry? Hmm. I'm leaning toward cookies, but if you're hungry, maybe tomato soup and grilled cheese?

>77 richardderus: I think Beyonce made the same point as your mama, that you have to suffer for beauty. Not in my book. (The title of which is, "You Don't Have to Suffer for Beauty").

Madame MBH wears all sorts of cool non-high-heeled shoes. I've always gone for comfort in my shoes, even dress shoes. But I've wondered about boots - making comfortable ones that look like what we're seeing in >65 jnwelch: would be tough.

Absent genetic engineering to modify the human foot, I'm goin' with "impossible." My black boots were custom made for my feet and are *astoundingly* comfy...in the cold parts of the year. The rest of the year gets flops. Sometimes with socks, if it's a wee bit chillers outside.

Le fashion-plate, c'est moi.

I'm pretty sure they mention you a lot on Project Runway, RD. The standard by which the rest of us are measured?

*bwaaaahaaaahaaaa* That subbtle straight-guy hewmore slays me every time. Imagine me ascending to the clouds of gay heaven and being mentioned by no less than Our Lawd'n'Saver Tim Gunn! I would plotz, kvell, and decompensate, in that order, twice!

Ha! There’s a lot of love for Tim Gunn in our house. He would make a fine gatekeeper, wouldn’t he? He’d let us down easy if we didn’t quite qualify for eternal bliss. (I’m also hoping gay heaven has an attractive suburb for the bumbling heteros).

>75 jnwelch: I like. Will cogitate some and return.

The boots are fab - reminded me of the lamb bananas in Liverpool.

>83 jnwelch: Of course there is! All the 600 square foot fixer-upper bungalows are zoned historical structures and can't be remodeled, of course, and any "improvements" from the 1920s-level services require a public vote on each separate "improvement," and the trash gets picked up when we can be bothered, and there are no leveled-up schools since, well, y'all don't need them do you?, and there's one supermarket but it's not on the bus line and there are no garages on the house lots oh and y'all can't park on the street because the snowplows might not be able to plow (not that they'll make it there before July anyway, but the principle is the same)...in short, it's the gay ghetto!

>78 jnwelch: A perfect midnight snack! How did you know?

Morning, Joe!

I'm a big fan of Tim Gunn, too. He seems so kind, and, of course, I like that.

Good morning, Joe!

I really like your Awakening with Zeno. Thanks for sharing.

>85 charl08: Oh, I like those, Charlotte. How in the world did they get the name lamb bananas?

>86 richardderus: Ah, that sounds so not heavenly, Richard. Who knew it'd be just like where we came from? I hope at least we also get access to the superb gay library? Or do we have to make do with the storefront library with about 100 books?

>87 Berly: Ha! Excellent, Kim. Seemed like a safe bet for the hunger that assailed ya.

>88 scaifea: Yeah, what a mensch that Tim Gunn seems to be, Amber. Madame MBH and your BFF are big fans of Project Runway. I keep telling them that if someone comes up with a combined cooking and fashion show, they'll ace the ratings.

>89 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen. Oh, I'm glad you liked Awakening with Zeno, and thanks for letting me know. I generally can't tell how a poem will go over, and especially when it's brand new. (Sometimes I do enough revising that the poem's been around for a while - not that one).

Morning, Joe. Sweet Thursday. It is supposed to get colder later but not bad at the moment.

Hope you are still having a good time with the Egan. That will be on my best books of the year list.

>90 jnwelch: Library! LOL Library, he says. Order from Amazon.

Second-class services like bad libraries cost the world, and the USA least excusably of all, so much undeveloped talent and untapped potential. My county is in the top ranks of the US league tables. There are *still* underserved communities and a widening education/opportunity gap.

Our recent elections did a bit to encourage my cynical heart to hope the balance might be shifting.

>93 msf59: Morning, Mark. Sweet Thursday, buddy.

It's colder than I expected. We're continuing our cafe safari - this time we're trying Wormhole in Wicker Park.

I'm enjoying the Egan. I'm not quite halfway in. Poor Lydia just passed away. I'm also getting a kick out of the re-read of The Windup Bird Chronicle.

>94 richardderus: Ha! That's one tough heavenly suburb, RD.

Yesterday's election results encouraged me, too. There's a long ways to go, but if those elections had gone the Trump way, it would've been hard to retain hope. Two of the best were the transgender beating the anti-LBGT guy, and the woman beating the man who inspired her to run because he denigrated the Woman's March.

Persist in resisting!

>96 jnwelch: #ReadingIsResistance

Happy or is it sweet Thursday, Joe! It's nice to hear that your political scene is making a shift away from the current political reality.

>97 richardderus: Love it! Truth.

Plus, if we could turn the many not-reading Drumpf supporters into readers, their vision would broaden, their empathy grow, and their openness to our human possibilities increase. Rigid, authoritarian close-mindedness is hard to maintain once you start reading. Better to just watch Fox News it you want to keep a tight grip on it.

P.S. The flaw in that thinking is authors like Bill O'Reilly, another harassment creep, whom they can read and still maintain their delusions.

>98 Familyhistorian: Ha! I love "Sweet Thursday", Meg, so I'll take that. :-)

At least it's the start of a political shift. I think a whole lot of folks have looked at what's happening and felt in every cell that this is not the direction they want our country to go in. But the proof is in the pudding, and there's a lot left to be done. He and his have managed to "Make America Awful Again", and if we don't stop them, who's to blame?

Bargain Alert The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley, an excellent detective noir rec'd to me by a now-deceased good friend, is available on the USA Amazon for $1.99: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Good-Kiss-James-Crumley-ebook/dp/B01CWZH7JC/ref=sr_1...

So is Adam Gopnik's From Paris to the Moon, which I really liked.

Whoa, I'm about halfway through Claudia Rankine's Citizen: An American Lyric, and it's heartbreakingly good. Has anyone else read it? Our son recommended it, and I just thanked him.

Book Bullets everywhere, Joe. Thanks? Probably.

Sweet Thursday, Joe! Thanks for the bargain alert - I snagged it.

>102 ffortsa: Ha! That's what we love about LT, right, Judy?

>103 Crazymamie: Sweet Thursday, Mamie! You're welcome.

I love those $1.99 bargains. I often can't resist, even if I already have it in paper. I picked up The Last Good Kiss for a Kindle re-read.

I've never said no to $1.99 for a book. Never.

Cellularly resistential,
Richard the Curmudgeonly

I also liked Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik. If you like essays, for that price - buy the book.

Morning, Joe!

I agree that the election results are encouraging, and those two you mentioned in particular are good news, I think.

>105 richardderus: Ha! Hopefully, we've got big numbers of cellularly resistential folks, Richard.

$1.99 for a good book is a dream come true, isn't it.

>106 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. Agreed.

>107 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Right? It feels good to be a bit encouraged by election results, after all the discouragement. Let's keep it going!

>100 jnwelch: I love seeing The Last Good Kiss mentioned here. It is one of my all time favorite crime novels. I even have a copy on my keeper shelf. I have been meaning to revisit it forever. Whenever, you are ready, Mr. Joe!

Morning, Joe. Happy Friday. I picked a good weekend to be off, right? I have some running around to do but I plan on spending the rest of the day with the books.

BTW- I have a copy of Why Buddhism is True from the library. I hope to bookhorn it in, in the next 2 weeks.

I also requested Citizen: An American Lyric.

And lastly, I plan on starting Turtles All the Way Down on Monday. I have heard nothing but glowing reports.

Looking for a little Veteran's Day reading? I just finished When Books Went to War, an account of the massive effort to get books into the hands of GIs during WWII to ward off boredom. This was the birth of paperbacks, called pocket books then, because they would fit into a guy's back pocket. The GI's fave read in 1942? A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! And did you know that The Great Gatsby was a flop until the GIs started to gobble it up?

The book has lists of titles chosen for special ASEs (Armed Services Editions) and letters sent from the war zones describing how vital reading was to the soldiers' morale.

I found an old forgotten favorite on the list (Mary Lasswell's Suds in Your Eye) and a couple that I'm compelled to read because they were so popular then: Chicken Every Sunday and The Education of Hyman Kaplan.

I should add that although I've mentioned mostly lighter fare, ASEs included works by Shakespeare and Plato as well as biographies and non-fiction titles on subjects that inspired soldiers to pursue careers when they returned and took advantage of the GI Bill.

I'm getting a little verklempt reading about all the good government did vs. all that's being slashed away now.

>112 Caroline_McElwee: Fascinating Anne. And glad the GIs liked Gatsby too. I’ve just read it for the 35th time, and I still love it (I read it once a year now).

>111 NarratorLady:

For Veteran's Day (husband was a Vietnam Sergeant and Ranger),
I'm reading John Dos Passos' Three Soldiers set during World War I when Armistice Day began.

#111
You got me with a book bullet.

Shepard of the Hills was one of those books that my father read when he was young. It was a big hit in his home. They had few books and this was one that they actually owned. The works of Harold Bell Wright were very popular in the 30’s and 40’s in that rural part of Kansas. He told me that anything by Wright was passed around and read by everybody.

The book is set in the Ozarks and was turned into a drama that attracted lots of tourists to the Eureka Springs area.

Years ago I had a student who loved Harold Bell Wright and collected first editions of his work. He was just mad for E-Bay because it made collecting those books so much easier.

Hi Joe, I found your new thread and have placed a star. I was very happy to read that you loved The Virginian as I thought it was a pretty amazing read. Hope you have a great weekend.

>78 jnwelch: Oh , that grilled cheese and tomato soup look very good right now, Joe. I've yet to eat dinner. I hope that you can find Sleep No More. Happy Weekend!

Morning, Joe!

>110 msf59: Ah, great to hear it, Mark. The Last Good Kiss is one of my all-time favorite crime novels, too! I've also got a keeper copy on our shelves. Great idea to line up a re-read. Let's do it in '18? Might be fun in the depths of winter.

Oh yeah, good weekend to have off! This weather is lousy. Perfect for reading. :-)

Oh, I hope you like Why Buddhism is True. He nails it, IMO. The way he looks at it matches the Western way I do.

Can't wait to hear what you think of Citizen: An American Lyric. Man, being black in this country - it's easy (and sad) to see why Darryl talks about moving to Spain.

I've seen nothing but glowing reports about Turtles All the Way Down, too. I envy you starting it on Monday. We've got it, and I'm dying to get to it, but it won't be too soon, darn it.

>111 NarratorLady: When Books Went to War sounds great, Anne. I love the info in your first paragraph! I remember the origin of pocket books, but hadn't heard about A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I can see why soldiers would like it) or The Great Gatsby. Both so different, but both very American.

I'll have to look for Suds in Your Eye - any old favorite of yours is bound to be good.

Verklempt! I love that word - didn't know it until my wife tuned me in. Yeah, there's something soothing even hearing about the good the government did back then; we've got to get through this awful time and get back to that.

>111 NarratorLady: Suds in Your Eye! Gracious me. My family read all of her books about Mrs. Feeley, Mrs. Rat-mutton...er Rasmussen...Miss Tinkham and Ol' Timer. I still love Let's Go for Broke, where the ladies pick up N. Carnation.

I'm scared to re-read them, though, as I'm pretty much certain they'd fail the 21st century test. But thank you for calling up a great old memory for me, Anne.

>112 Caroline_McElwee: I’ve just read The Great Gatsby for the 35th time. Wow! That's true love, Caroline. I can't say that about any book - Pride and Prejudice would be my closest, and I haven't hit double digits.

Cafe patrons: what book have you re-read the most?

>113 m.belljackson: Good for you, Marianne. In honor of your husband and other veterans:

>114 benitastrnad: Anne's awfully good at dealing out the book bullets, isn't she, Benita.

>115 benitastrnad: Good info, Benita. I'm looking forward to trying Harold Bell Wright's book.

>116 DeltaQueen50: Hi, Judy, thanks. I'm so glad Amber pumped for The Virginian and got me to read it. I'm happy to have a fellow appreciator - it is an amazing book, isn't it.

Hope you're having a good weekend, too.

>117 vancouverdeb: Ha! Doesn't that grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup look good, Deb? We were inspired, and are having egg salad sandwiches with tomato soup today. :-)



Thanks for the reminder on Sleep No More. I'm going to check with the esteemed seasonsoflove.

Have a good weekend, too!

>118 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>121 richardderus: I'm going to give Suds in Your Eye a go at some point, Richard. Good to know there's more enjoyment to be had with the protagonists if I like it.

>126 jnwelch: My now-po-faced christian sister, she of the bookshop, gave me Suds in Your Eye one birthday with the inscription, "I hope we grow up to be old people just like these!"

...that ship has sailed...

>119 jnwelch:

Spain would be an weird choice for any of us seeking to avoid racism.

>121 richardderus: Scared, Richard? You? Nah. Despite the books being dated, I think I'm going to have another gander at them. (I'm reaching for the appropriate 1940s vocabulary here.) What is "the 21st century test" anyway? Bet I'd fail.

>122 jnwelch: Not altogether surprising that Pride and Prejudice is my most often re-read book as well. I'm not much of a re-reader but that's my go-to. You are the only person on earth Joe who could get me interested in The Virginian. It's definitely on my list now.

I'm about 100 pages into Manhattan Beach and so far it's interesting but not grabbing me yet. Went to the author's book signing last week which was fascinating. She talked about her years of research for the book and about her writing process. Second to actually reading books, I love listening to smart people talk about them.

>127 richardderus: I'm with your sister, RD. We still have time to get older, don't you think. The other part is harder, of course.

Seriously, that's another great endorsement of Suds in Your Eye. We should get your sister on LT.

>128 m.belljackson: I'll let you talk to Darryl (kidzdoc) about Spain and racism, Marianne. His experiences there have been good. Ours in Barcelona wouldn't contradict that.

P.S. He's also fluent in Spanish, which no doubt helps.

Happy Saturday, Joe. I just returned from a bird walk at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Boy, it was COLD! Now, I am curling up with the books, until the Freeburg clan heads out on a brew/pub crawl.

Sadly, I do not do enough rereading but my hands-down winner, would have to be The Grapes of Wrath. 4 times, I believe?

Happy Saturday, Joe! Good question about rereading - I reread all the time, so I am not sure which book I have reread the most. Probably Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby or Of Mice and Men.

>131 msf59: Happy Saturday, Mark. Good for you; your bird walking dedication always makes the day feel better. Yeah, it's chilly out there. I walked to the library for more graphic novels.

We're staying in today - yesterday was packed. We saw a really interesting version of Taming of the Shrew last night, with an all-female cast and a framing story involving Chicago suffragettes (!). I'll try to say more about it in a bit.

Grapes of Wrath - good one! Four re-reads is impressive. I re-read Cannery Row (can I live there, please?), and want to re-read Sweet Thursday.

>132 Crazymamie: Happy Saturday, Mamie! That's one heck of a lineup for re-reads - Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men are three of the best ever. I'm a P & P guy, as you saw.

Another one I've re-read a lot is Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. I love the story and the London underground. His Graveyard book and Sandman series, too.

>134 jnwelch: I love Gaiman and haven't read any of those! I better read them so I can then re-read them. Happy Saturday! Thanks for all your links on The Windup Bird Chronicle thread!!

>135 Berly: Ha! Happy Saturday, Kim! I was just over on The Windup Bird Chronicle thread responding to your good thoughts. So I return your thanks.

Oh, yeah, read them Gaimans when time permits. He's such a great storyteller.

What book(s) have you re-read a lot?

As we asked up above, what book or books have you re-read many times?

The Secret Garden is probably my biggest re-read. Maybe four times? That and books I enjoyed as a kid and then re-read to my youngsters. Lots of those!

>138 Berly: Oh yeah, I'm with you on The Secret Garden. I've re-read that one a couple of times, including when I got an edition illustrated by Inga Moore - I like hers a lot.

You're right, I hadn't even thought about the ones I re-read with the kids. Those included the Nancy Drew books with our daughter, and The Wizard of Oz books with our son.

We saw a very interesting production of Shakespeare's famously problematic Taming of the Shrew last night at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It had an all-female cast, and a framing story involving it being put on by a Chicago Women's Club in 1920 as Congress is considering whether to give women the right to vote. The humor in the framing story was decidedly local - e.g., something being about as likely as a Ferris Wheel appearing on Navy Pier (there is one now), and the Cubs continuing to be perennial losers.

It all helped, but the "taming" was still discomfiting, and rebellious Kate's final, submissive speech abysmal - the dismayed look the two main actors share over it said it all.

That's Kate and Petrucchio in the photo up above. Alexandra Henrickson and Crystal Lucas-Perry were outstanding in those parts.

>139 jnwelch: Those would be some of the same ones for me! I have my entire Wizard of Oz collection downstairs; a lot of my Nancy Drews are still at my parents and I read them to the kids when we went there for vacations. Oh, and A Wrinkle in Time!

>141 Berly: Wonderful, Kim. Our son now has my entire Wizard of Oz collection; I think it's worth a freakin' fortune now, based on the pricing we see at book fairs. I loved A Wrinkle in Time, too. For what it's worth, A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel is a surprising faithful and good way to re-experience it. And, of course, we've got the movie coming out soon, right?

What?! A Movie?

>143 Berly: Next March, Kim! Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ3bYBPlR2g

>140 jnwelch: Glad the production of Shrew was a good effort, if not a total success Joe. It’s one of WS’s plays I’ve neither seen, nor read, beyond bytes from the Taylor/Burton production.

>129 NarratorLady: The 21st-Century Test: No Niggers, No "Girls" over 13, No Faggots, Banish the Heteronormative, Women Are Heroes Too, and Whitewashing Is A Thing.

>122 jnwelch:

Start of most re-read Fiction books =

FERDINAND
Mac Beth
MidSummer Night's Dream

Death of Ivan Illych
Bible
Moby-Dick

OUTLANDER
Feast of Love
Whistling Season
Track of the Cat

And more, then there's Poetry
and Non-fiction (Bible here too)
and Biography (Uncle Tungsten!)

>129 NarratorLady: Yikes. Some kind of cross-posting made me late with this response, Anne, I guess, Anne. Although mine is a half hour later, so I'm not sure what happened.

You are the only person on earth Joe who could get me interested in The Virginian. It's definitely on my list now. Ha! I'm honored, Anne, thanks. Please let me know what you think once you get to it.

Of course we both put Pride and Prejudice at the top of the re-read list! I get a lot of teasing from my kids for my never-ending affinity for Ms. Austen. That, and for My Neighbor Totoro. I'm not sure what, if any, connection there is between the two, but they know I'm a sucker for both.

RD explains his 21st century test in >146 richardderus:. It's hard to have beloved books fail on those kinds of things. I couldn't recommend the Dr. Doolittle books to our kids because of it, and I loved those as a kid. I'll try to tolerate the time period with Suds in Your Eye.

Manhattan Beach isn't wowing me, but I'm enjoying it. I'm where Anna and Dexter get reunited. How cool that you got to hear Jennifer Egan speak. I can imagine she's way smart. Also that a lot of research went into Manhattan Beach.

>145 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I've never really come up with an angle that makes The Taming of the Shrew work. Why did he write it? Why go with that premise? Petrucchio loves her fire, and then squelches it, and the squelching is held up for admiration?

This production certainly raised all those questions and more. I like the framing idea, and it all was . . . almost . . . great. Certainly, by far, the best production I've seen of it. I've haven't seen the Burton-Taylor movie. I can't imagine her giving that final speech of Kate's!

>146 richardderus: Legit, legit. I hate it when that happens to good books. I'll give Suds in Your Eye a go, knowing I'm going to have to wear my tolerance togs.

>147 m.belljackson: Wow, that's some idiosyncratic list, Marianne. I remember our friend Ferdinand the Bull. The re-reading of Shakespeare is impressive; the one I go back to for re-reading, for some reason, is Twelfth Night. For multiple performances, it's The Tempest (we've seen it four times, and walked out halfway through a fifth), including the best of all last year with a magical version, with the magic supplied by Penn of Penn and Teller, at Chicago Shakespeare.

Outlander was one of the few books where I felt like, as a male, it wasn't really for me.

I'll look forward to Mark and RD commenting on your list if they see it.

Stopping by the cafe to say h.! Gosh, I'm an outlier! I rarely re- read a book and can't think of single book I've re- read. But I have a hard letting go of a great read. Okay, the Bible is a book I've re- read and that's about all I can think of .

Hi Joe. The production of The Taming of the Shrew sounds quite interesting.

I'm not much of a rereader, so I won't be contributing to that discussion much.

I think I'm in a book funk. I'm reading and, honestly, enjoying both The Windup Bird Chronicle and the third in the Three Pines series, The Cruellest Month. Even though I am enjoying both of them, I'm feeling cranky. TWUBC feels too much like Kafka on the Shore and the Louise Penny is landing on me the same way: it's the same book as the first two with minor changes in personnel and season. (And, I realize that one can say this same thing about almost all series!)

Anyway, maybe it's just the gray cold weather that's got me cranky.

>152 EBT1002:. Hiya, Deb. Hey, it’s impressive you re-read the Bible. No two readers are the same.

>153 jnwelch:. I chalk it up to the gray cold weather, Ellen. I’m reading The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and it sure doesn’t feel too much like Kafka on the Shore. Unless you mean Murakami’s style, which would be a shame, as I love that style.

As I’d mentioned before, I can understand those who aren’t transported by Louise Penny’s mysteries. For one thing, the plots are ridiculous, IMO. Three Pines and the characters and her writing carry me along.

You would’ve been intrigued by that Taming of the Shrew production. They’re onto something; I hope someone else develops it further.

Like Ellen, I rarely re-read books. That said, I did 2 rereads recently: James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, and Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, though in truth, I had read both those books so long ago that I had very little memory of them, beyond the fact that I knew I had read them. I prefer to try to work my way through all the books currently waiting on my shelves (and all the books I seem incapable of NOT purchasing...!). So many books, so little time, pretty much sums it up for me!

Joe. Hello. Took a week off and y'all have transported to a new era or galaxy or area code or something. I guess I'll just ignore all that talk prior to 11/11/17, and just carry on.

>122 jnwelch: Most re-read: Pride and Prejudice-- probably double digits.
Close second is a tie between Jane Eyre and Persuasion.
Third would be a tie between Middlemarch and Bleak House; I've read each at least 3 or 4 times, if you count listening to the audiobooks.

I've re-read Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl (nonfiction) several times throughout my life. Always humbling and inspiring.

Most re-read books, besides some YA books, only available in Dutch, my top 3 is:

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Letter for the King and The Secrets of the Wild Wood by Tonke Dragt

Morning, Joe! Happy Sunday! I've thought of another book, and I reread it every year, so it's cracking me up that I didn't think of it first thing when you asked the question - A Christmas Carol!

>154 jessibud2: Right, Shelley. That's part of what interests me - we've all got so many books we're looking forward to reading, so it's interesting to hear what folks find so compelling that they'll go back and re-read it.

The Fire Next Time and To Kill a Mockingbird are a couple of high quality picks. I suspect a lot of LTers re-read ones that they loved but read so long ago that they want to renew the acquaintance.

>155 weird_O: It's a new era, area, galaxy and cafe, all rolled into one, Bill. We had a weird spammer who caused us to disconnect from the continuation link.

My recommendation is to go back and carefully study every post prior to 11/11, but that's up to you. You're such a natural that you can probably pass the quiz without it.

Happy Sunday, Joe!

I'm not much of a re-reader, even though I hold onto a lot of books thinking I'll want to re-read them some day. Off the top of my head, I can think of only a few I've read more than once - Jane Eyre, Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, and Heart of Darkness. The last I've probably read 5 times, the others maybe 3? And all are ones I first encountered in high school, a couple I had to read again in college, but I've read all at least once since leaving school.

>156 kac522: Jeez, we're kindred spirits, aren't we, Kathy. Must be the Chicago air. :-)

I read Man's Search for Meaning a lot of years ago and liked it, and your others would be on my list of favorite books ever. I've re-read Persuasion nearly as many times as P & P, and that's my second favorite Austen, too. I do plan to re-read it again soon, so it may end up tying P & P some day.

I've also re-read Jane Eyre, but only once. I would like to do it again. And I'm so impressed that you've re-read Middlemarch and Bleak House multiple times. (Yes, listening to audiobooks has to count!) I've thought about re-reading both, but woo, they're long, aren't they.

>159 jnwelch: Great discussion on re-reads.

Top ten books I want to re-read:

Plainsong
A Fine Balance
I, Claudius
The Hobbit
Night
La Bete Humaine
If Not Now, When?
A Tale of Two Cities
The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Old Man and the Sea

Presently most re-reads

3 Lord of the Rings & Of Mice and Men

>157 FAMeulstee: Wow, multiple re-reads of The Lord of the Rings, Anita. Do you know how long that series is? Oh yeah, I guess you do. That's really cool.

I've re-read them, but it's a bit daunting to think of doing it again.

I don't know The Letter for the King or The Secrets of Wild Wood - what makes them such favorites?

>158 Crazymamie: Happy Sunday, Mamie!

Can you believe I've never read A Christmas Carol?! It makes perfect sense that it would be a multiple re-read for you. It's one of those where I think I know the story so well because of seeing the wonderful old movie so many times. I've told myself more than once to read it; maybe this will be the year.

>162 PaulCranswick: Hiya, Paul. I'm glad you're enjoying the re-read discussion. I love your list of ones you'd like to re-read. I join you in that desire for Plainsong in particular. I don't think I could re-read A Fine Balance. That one tore my heart out.

I had to look up If Not Now, When. I liked his The Periodic Table a lot.

Three times through The Lord of the Rings is impressive, and it's going to see another Steinbeck book get the multiple-read treatment. Mark's is The Grapes of Wrath, and I'm going to re-read Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday at some point.

>160 katiekrug: Hiya, Katie!

I hold onto a lot of books thinking I'll want to re-read them some day. You know, it's funny, I hadn't even thought about that part. We've got a ton of books in our house, and I'd say that for most of them. I keep so many thinking, that was really good, I want to re-read it some day. I guess we should be glad we actually get to some of them!

Wonderful to see Jane Eyre, Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice in your re-reads - we can start to form a re-read fan club with Kathy up in >156 kac522:.

I don't think I could re-read The Heart of Darkness - you have a strong reading stomach.

>163 jnwelch: The Letter for the King is very populair YA over here, a middle ages fantasy with knights, The Secrets of Wild Wood is the sequel. They were recently published in English translation. I must have read them more than a dozen times in my youth. Last re-reads were in 2008 and 2015.

I used to read The Lord of the Rings every four to five years since my first read when I was 12.

>166 jnwelch: Amen, my brother, a-bloody-bedamned-men!

Sunday greetings and welcomes.

>162 PaulCranswick: Good reread list. Maybe we could do a reread of Plainsong next year. Sadly, I have not read either I, Claudius or La Bete Humaine. Bad Mark?

And keep in mind, Hemingway is coming up for December's AAC.

Happy Sunday, Joe. I was going to hit the Arborteum this morning for a short jaunt, but the light rain and the house chores, kept me indoors.

Go Bears! NEED to win this one.

>167 FAMeulstee: Yup, that’s been my most frequent re-read over the years.

Hi Joe,

I hope you don't mind some polite spamming on your thread. I want to cast a wide net this year, so I'm shotgunning the most prolific threads. We might not believe it, but...

Its Time!

Christmas Swap is coming, Christmas Swap is coming....

The thread is up. Come one, come all and join the fun...

https://www.librarything.com/topic/274870

>167 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I see that Letters for the King has gotten a lot of positive reactions over here, too. I added it to the WL.

>168 richardderus: Right, buddy? Our real age can't begin to contain our mental exuberance, anyway.

Thank you for the timely greetings and welcomes. Back atcha.

>169 msf59: Good idea re Plainsong, Mark. I haven't read those two either. Bad Joe?

Poor Bears. I don't think the football gods are on their side this year. Weird calls canceling Bear touchdowns seems to be a theme.

>170 drneutron: Looks like Lord of the Rings and Pride and Prejudice are leading the re-read Derby, Jim. Their thematic similarity probably explains it. I love it when Darcy gives Lizzie the ring and she throws it into Mount Doom.

>171 mahsdad: Any spam from you is welcome, Jeff, and I know folks love the Christmas Swap.

Re-read? Pride and Prejudice !!!
My father always reread certain books every few years- his favourite- The Black Rose by Thomas Costain.

>165 jnwelch: Yep, I love rereading favorite books. I feel like I get so much more out of the book on a second (or third or ....) reading, especially fiction. Since I already know the story, I pay attention to the writing and language and characters in a new way. I find passages that I sped through on the first reading (to get to the "story") that are so much more meaningful on the repeat journey.

I know for some it seems like a waste of valuable reading time, but for me it's like watching a favorite movie again, or playing that beloved album one more time.

Leaning across you Joe, >176 kac522: you nailed it Kathy. I always say ‘you never read the same book twice’. Rereading a book begins a relationship.

Morning, Joe!

I don't re-read a ton, but I did when I was a kid: The Westing Game and the Narnia books and the Little House books are at the top of that list.

>175 torontoc: Hi, Cyrel! Thanks for pitching in on this.

It's good to see the Pride and Prejudice re-read love. There's something about it, isn't there. So witty, for one thing.

I'll have to find out more about The Black Rose. I see it has a lot of fans.

>176 kac522: Thanks for those thoughtful comments on re-reading, Kathy. I'm with you. The first time I'm often flying through those pages, eager to find out what happens next. As you say, a re-read allows a fuller appreciation of the finer points, and often I get a lot more out of it.

>177 Caroline_McElwee: Well put, Caroline. Rereading a book begins a relationship. I like that!

>178 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Ha! Yes, you just finished re-reading The Westing Game, I know. That one would probably be at the top of our daughter's re-read list. I think she re-reads it every year.

The Narnia books and The Little House on the Prairie books - I loved the first, and we're in our first time through the second. I can see they're both ripe for re-reading.

Hi Joe and happy Monday to you.

>122 jnwelch: I re-read my favorite authors: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, J.K. Rowling (both the HP series and the Cormoran Strike series), the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, Georgette Heyer, and the occasional nonfiction including Bill Bryson. I'm on my 4th listen to the HP series, in the car. It's going to end up taking me a year since I retired and don't have 1 1/2 hours every day to listen on the commute, but that's okay. Prior to LT (and hence not recorded) I've also re-read quite a bit of Jane Austen, other romance writers than Georgette Heyer, Rex Stout, and another nonfiction author I love, Frederick Lewis Allen.

>182 karenmarie: Hi, Karen. Happy Mmphmumble Day (I have a hard time saying the real name!)

You've got a bunch I love there. We're off to work out, but I'll be back to add to this.

P.S. OK, we're back, tired but no doubt better off for it.

Great list of re-reads. I have re-read Dorothy Sayers (particularly the Harriet Vane ones), Agatha Christie (a lot, now that I think about it. Her books make for great re-reads - most of the time, even if you think you remember whodunnit, you don't, and for those you do, the way she gets there is so much fun), and Lee Child (I'm a pushover for Reacher). I expect I'll be re-reading some of my favorite Heyers once I get through her Regencies.

I haven't been able to get into Michael Connelly's books or the Sookie Stackhouse series. I guess I have re-read the Harry Potter books, as we got them on audio for car trips, after Madame MBH read them to us from print. And I love the Comoran Strike books, although I haven't re-read them. How is she going to resolve that last cliffhanger? Robin and Comoran, I mean.

I do get a kick out of Bill Bryson, but I probably won't be re-reading his.

Morning, Joe!

Off to post this in Mamie's thread too.

*evil Muttley laugh*

I finished my "lunch book" on Friday night. This is the book I leave at work and only read during my lunch hour. This one was Carnival by Elizabeth Bear. On Friday after lunch I had about 30 pages left so decided to take it home and finish it. It was not her best work, but it did keep me reading till the end.

I am now going to start the YA non-ficiton book Superman Versus the Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers as my lunch book. I have had my eye on that one for a while and hope to finish it before the Christmas break.

>184 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie! Don't look directly at >185 richardderus:; it's pretty awful.

>185 richardderus: Oh, you heartless rogue, Richard! (Sorry for the harsh language). Celebrating this day of the week is like celebrating Tax Day. What the heck's the matter with you?

>186 benitastrnad: Good for you, Benita. I'm sure that improves lunchtime. I've never found an Elizabeth Bear that's drawn me to read her. Do you have a favorite?

Superman versus the Ku Klux Klan looks really interesting. Please let us know what you think of it when you're done.

>187 jnwelch: Why whatever might you mean, Joe?

Moi a heartless rogue for honoring the beginning, the fresh start of a delicious new book-reading marathon?

Whoa! That woke me up, RD. A crazed Tim Curry - who needs caffeine?

What is this delicious new book-reading marathon of which you speak?

Found you :-)

>190 jnwelch: This week! We're retired, mon vieux, lest it had escaped ton mémoire, therefore we have naught but fresh starts for reading marathons should we but desire to grasp them.

>191 Ameise1: Yay! I know, unusual circumstances, Barbara. I'm glad you found your way to this new cafe!

>192 richardderus: Now, that's beautifully put, buddy. I'm in! I'm about to finish Manhattan Beach, and then I need to get back to The Windup Bird Chronicle. Grasping that fresh start as we speak.

>193 jnwelch: In all seriousness, Joe, it took me over a year of being here in this demi-paradise to realize that I had achieved what I said was my goal in life: No money worries, no ridiculous job demands, no distractions from my solitary time spent reading.

It looks nothing like I wanted it to, except that it's all exactly what I've always said would make me happy. And guess what, it does! Now that I'm willing to let it.

>193 jnwelch: I'm very glad to hear that, RD. I know you went through an awful lot to get to the demi-paradise. I'm glad you survived it, and that you now can experience that longed-for happiness!

>195 jnwelch: :-)

Back to the question of re-reading: I've read a lot of mysteries more than once, sometimes to refresh my mind on a series, sometimes just because they were interesting or handy or funny. Knowing who-dun-it never bothered me, especially when the characters were solidly built.

Aside from them, I've reread a bunch of books for my various book groups, including Moby Dick, which I first read in high school, waking up to finish it at 3AM because I couldn't help myself. The second time I used bigger type. There were various re-readings of Austen, the Brontes, some Russians here and there. I've read Gatsby several times. My bookshelves are probably about half and half read and unread, and some of them read multiple times.

>175 torontoc: Oh, I haven't heard of anyone reading Costain in years! In my teens, I went through my library's collection of his work - I can actually picture the location of the shelf with the 'C' authors on it. Wonderful historical novels, if sometimes a little gruesome.

Hi, Joe! Late check in. Long, heavy day today. I hope Manhattan Beach ends strong for you. Sorry, it didn't ring as many of your bells as it did mine.

I am all ready into the second half of Turtles All the Way Down. Another winner by Green. I am sure you will love it.

Getting close to wrapping up my current GN, Park Bench. It is an entertaining, wordless story about a bench in a park. Have you read Chaboute before? This is my first.

We just saw Loving Vincent - great! Amazing to see the paintings come to life, and it’s a well- told story involving the mysteries surrounding his death.

A little more on Buddhism - the DEC/JAN issue of SAVEUR

has a beautiful and inspiring feature on "Temple Cuisine in Kyoto."

>199 jnwelch: i've been waiting for someone to see Loving Vincent to tell me about it! I'm glad you enjoyed it, I'll try to fit it in this weekend.

I'm having a little trouble with Manhattan Beach unfortunately. Listening to the author at a book signing last week make me look forward to it and although the writing is excellent, I'm having a hard time connecting with the characters. How about you?

I don't know when it was, recently, but...

I got this here contusion, I say, contusion, never mind where. Just nevah mind where, ya hear? You and your pal of the old west, that, that Owen Wister guy. So I got out two (2) copies of The Virginian. Gonna read one of 'em.

>197 ffortsa:. Good for you, Judy. Lots of authors I enjoy in there, and some I’ve re-read. You’ve probably seen that Moby-Dick is not for me. One read of it was perilously close to too many.

At some point, I plan to take that Costain out of the library. It sounds like it could be fun.

>198 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Sorry to hear you had a long day. And this is a tough week, right?

Manhattan Beach was fine, but for me no great shakes. I do appreciate all the research she put into it.

I don’t know Park Bench or its author. I’ll check it out when I’m not on the phone.

Can’t wait to read that new John Green.

>200 m.belljackson:. Good info, Marianne, thanks. I don’t know whether I’ll ever make it to Japan. My esteemed better half has little interest.

>201 NarratorLady:. That was my problem with Manhattan Beach, Anne. Well-researched, and well-written, but I just wasn’t very engaged by it.

P.S. Loving Vincent was excellent, and we’re so glad we saw it on the big screen. Can’t wait to hear what you think of it.

>202 weird_O:. Ha! Sorry about that contusion, but I’m glad to hear you’re going to read at least one copy of The Virginian, Bill. Please report back.

Thomas Costain! Only book of his I'm sure I read was The Tontine, which always struck me as one of the dumbest ideas anyone ever had for an investment opportunity.

>206 richardderus: Richard, we didn't own a lot of books in our house growing up (my mom was a library girl like me) but we did have The Tontine in two volumes. I remember reading it and enjoying it. I thought the premise was fiction until I found out that people really did buy into them!?!? Absolutely dizzy.

>204 jnwelch: Oh dear, it sounds like you finished the book and still couldn't' connect with the characters. I might have to move on.

Hi Joe! I am taking advantage of a four day long weekend to see if I can get caught up with some threads. Continue to love all the great street art images on display here, and the thread toppers.

So very, very sorry to read the sad news regarding Sherlock. R.I.P.

>41 richardderus: - I cannot believe I just ate and this image is making my mouth water!

Four threads later (and ignoring that rather odd topic continuation thread back one thread), I "believe" am all caught up!

>207 NarratorLady: No joke, Anne! Like walking into Sea World, slicing open a vein, and hopping into the shark tank thinking "fiddle dee dee! how scary can a tame shark be?"

>208 lkernagh: Lori, anyone who *doesn't* drool a little when spotting homemade lemon blueberry donuts is frankly so lost to life's small pleasures as to be dead.

> 204 Glad you loved Vincent Joe. I thought the visuals were stunning. It took 100 artists to achieve it.

Morning, Joe!

Good morning, Joe!

>183 jnwelch: Re the Cormoran Strike series: I was devastated when Robin married her asshole fiancé. I hope and hope and hope that Rowling has a heart and gives us what most of us seem to want - Cormoran and Robin together. However, she has been happy to not give happy endings out to some of her characters (Dumbledore, Sirius, Tonks and Lupin, Fred Weasley, even Snape), and I don't trust her to give us our candy-coated happy-ever-after.

>206 richardderus: Sure is a motive for *whispers* murder! Last one alive wins, right?

>207 NarratorLady: This probably falls into the category of "some people will buy into anything", Anne. It does seem like a crazy investment.

I don't want to dis a well-written book, Anne. Lots of people love it, and Mark and Ellen gave it high marks. But for me, you're right, it didn't fully connect.

>208 lkernagh: Hey, good to see you, Lori! I'm glad you're getting some time to catch up. Four threads! Good job! I'm glad you're enjoying the street art and the toppers.

Thanks re the mighty Sherlock. We miss that little guy.

Isn't >41 richardderus: mouth-watering? And at that size, it probably could sustain us for days.

>209 richardderus: Ha! How scary can a tame shark be?

Just hearing the words "homemade lemon blueberry donuts" has me dreaming, Richard.

>210 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline. I saw that it took 100 artists in the credits. The visuals in Loving Vincent are stunning, you're right. We were talking about the ones we know that came to life in front of our eyes. I said to Debbi that I'd be watching a scene and look at the background and think, that's just beautiful.

We really wanted to see it on a big screen, and I'm glad we did.

At some point I need to research how this ended up getting made. A little town in Poland was critically involved? (I assume it's little; I sure didn't recognize the name).

Poldark and Demelza were in it! Well, I mean, Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson were in it.

Thanks for the early heads-up that it was a good 'un!

>211 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>212 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen!

Ha! I totally agree with your spoilery remarks, including your apt description of her asshole fiance. I'm hanging onto hope, but you're right, she's shown she doesn't mind crushing us.

Morning, Joe! Glad that you enjoyed Loving Vincent - I really want to see that one.

Morning, Mamie! We did indeed. I hope you get a chance to see it.

Morning Joe! Yum, the sound of lemon blueberry anything sounds delicious. A bakery near me makes lemon blueberry loaf ( like banana loaf, but better! )

I saw these heteronym sentences posted elsewhere, and thought the cafe gang would enjoy them.

Reasons Why the English Language Is Hard to Learn

The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

>219 vancouverdeb: Morning, Deb!

Mmm, lemon blueberry loaf. Who da thunk it? Let's give it a try.

>220 jnwelch: :-)
>221 jnwelch: triple :-)

>222 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! I think, Caroline, that adds up to quadruple :-) Or maybe there's some kind of multiplier effect, and we'll be smiling all day?

>220 jnwelch: - I really love things like this and have collected an entire folder of them. Here's perhaps the next chapter of the one you've posted:

Why English Is Hard To Learn (anonymous)

We'll begin with box; the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, and two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose is never called meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a house full of mice;
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
The plural of man is always men,
But the plural of pan is never pen.

If I speak of a foot, and you show me two feet,
And I give you a book, would a pair be a beek?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't two booths be called beeth?

If the singular's this and the plural is these,
Should the plural of kiss be ever called keese?
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his, and him;
But imagine the feminine... she, shis, and shim!

>221 jnwelch: I’m just going to have to bake one of those soon!

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/30596/lemon-and-blueberry-loaf-cake.aspx

>221 jnwelch: I'll take a loaf to go, please, the beach is calling my name:

>224 jessibud2: I tutor English as a second language once a week. These are the heartbreakers.

>227 ffortsa: - I also taught ESL for a bit, many years ago. What's really heartbreaking is when it isn't the ESL students writing like this.....;-p

>226 richardderus: LIKE!

Morning, Joe. Not bad out here for mid-November. The partial sunshine helps. Hope you are getting out for a walk.

I am on the homestretch with both the Green and my Warbler book. Both very enjoyable.

Morning, Joe. (It's still morning where I am.) My first thought on the reread topic is that I don't reread but after perusing the posts on your thread I realized that I do reread Agatha Christies on occasion and, of course, the Regency Heyers and I have revisited the first installment of the In Death series Naked in Death.

>221 jnwelch: Yes, please.

>224 jessibud2: Oh, that is most excellent, Shelley. It's got to be the next chapter on Why English is Hard to Learn. Love it!

>225 Caroline_McElwee: You're more ambitious than me when it comes to baking, Caroline. I find it so much easier to make lemon blueberry cake virtually than actually. But thank you for the link; others will be inspired, and maybe some day I will, too.

>226 richardderus: Oh, that looks idyllic, Richard. Here you go; take what you want:

>227 ffortsa: I'll bet, Judy. Good for you! We're taking Spanish and, while it seems to have fewer head-scratchers than English, we're still struggling with the ones that are "just because." ESL learners must just have to memorize a lot of these oddities.

>228 jessibud2: Ha! Yeah, at least the ESL folks have an excuse, Shelley. We're hoping Spanish speakers will cut us some slack when we goof.

Where do I sign up for the cake, Joe? Did you manage to find a colour copy of Poppies of Iraq?

The English is hard to learn poems are great. Bonkers language we speak.

>229 msf59: Morning, Mark. Yes, we've been out for a couple of walks on this not-too-shabby day - we took our car in for maintenance on Ashland and walked back, then later did some grocery shopping within walking distance and went over and picked up the post-maintenance car. ($37! These guys are so honest).

I'm glad you're having a good time with both the Green and the Warbler books.

>230 Familyhistorian: Good morning, Meg. You know I'm with you on those re-reads - Dame Agatha, the Regency Heyers, and in Death. I want to go back and re-read that first in Death one. What a series. I don't know how she keeps the quality up, with all the book-writing she does.

>231 Crazymamie: Dive in, Mamie - we've got more.

Loving all the hard-to-learn English examples!! And the yummy breakfast.

>235 charl08: Hi, Charlotte. Grab a fork up there!

I haven't located a colour copy of Poppies of Iraq yet; thanks for the reminder. I'll go to the library site right now, and see whether they have it.

P.S. They do, so I requested it.

>237 Berly: Ah, good, Kim. I'm hoping someone may add to our hard-to-learn English examples. Feel free to use one of those forks above for the yumminess.

Tell me to stop, any time, Joe:

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig..

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.


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

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?
Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends.
And we use it to brighten UP a room; we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.
We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP!
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary.
In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.
It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.
When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.
When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.
When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP,
for now my time is UP,
so.......it is time to shut UP!

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

:-)

And of course, there is this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H-vPoDc

>239 jessibud2: *bwaaahaaahaaa* Never seen the UP one before! Love that.

>239 jessibud2: Love it, Shelly, thanks! I would like to try to make an amend some time.

Like Richard, I'd never seen that UP one before. Terrific.

>240 jessibud2: Ha! "It's quite apparent, your grammar's errant, you're incoherent". He's such a clever guy. And no unclothed vowels prancing around. Weird Al has a big dictionary, doesn't he.

>241 richardderus: Right, RD? I join you in your bwats . . bwar . . .bwarl . . . Shoot. Well, I join you in spirit, man.

>236 jnwelch: I go back and read the first In Death book just to remind myself how it all started. It's interesting to revisit, Joe.

Morning, Joe!

>243 Familyhistorian: I remember the button, Meg. :-) That's a good idea. I'll probably follow your example at some point.

>244 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Damn, didn't know there'd be pancakes. I had a breakfast burrito on the way to work! :)

>248 drneutron: Ha! We have very strong feelings about pancakes here, Jim, as you can tell. Work up an appetite, and swing back by on a break from the rocket science.

Flapjacks!

>250 katiekrug: That's the kind of enthusiasm we're looking for, Katie. Come on in and grab a stack!

Ooh, my order came just how I wanted them! The kitchen knows how to pamper the eaters.

Morning, Joe! The pancake love is reminding of a song the kids used to love when they were little, and we still sing the first verse of it whenever we make pancakes - it's from a song by Tom Knight:

Here's a little riddle
For those who use a griddle
What's flat across the middle
And round around the edge
Easier than pie, why don't you just try some
I can't tell you why, everybody likes 'em
'Cuz they're pancakes, pancakes
Those sunny little tancakes
Stack 'em high right to the sky
And I'll be happy until I die
Oh pancakes, I love you so!

Here's a link to the song, which is full of charming: Pancakes

Mmm, pancakes but you can hold the bananas.

>245 jnwelch: Ah yes, the button. Robb occasionally brings it up in the later books as Roarke keeps it in his pocket. She is good at tying the series together.

>252 richardderus: Mmm, mmm, mmm. I'll have what you're having, RD!

>253 Crazymamie: Ha! Love it, Mamie. Thanks. I'll swing back to the link.

>254 Familyhistorian: I'll take your bananas, Meg. Nature's perfect fruit, as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure I can find something to trade for them - chocolate pecans?

I noticed the button in Roarke's pocket in the later books. It fits their relationship well - she has no clue (or interest in) how to dress, so he takes care of that for her.

At the end of a brief phone conversation, you tell the manager you are speaking with that you will come by his office to sign the form. When you arrive and announce yourself, he blurts out, I didn't know you were black!

I didn't mean to say that, he then says.

Aloud, you say.

What? he asks.

You didn't mean to say that aloud.

Your transaction goes swiftly after that.

******

I knew what ever was in front of me was happening and then the police vehicle came to a screeching halt in front of me like they were setting up a blockade. Everywhere were flashes, a siren sounding and a stretched-out roar. Get on the ground. Get on the ground now. Then I just knew.

And you are not the guy and still you fit the description because there is only one guy who is always fitting the description.

******

because white men can't
police their imagination
black men are dying

******

Your friend is speaking to your neighbor when you arrive home. The four police cars are gone. Your neighbor has apologized to your friend and now is apologizing to you. Feeling somewhat responsible for the actions of your neighbor, you clumsily tell your friend that the next time he wants to talk on the phone he should just go in the backyard. He looks at you a long minute before saying he can speak on the phone wherever he wants. Yes, of course, you say. Yes, of course.

Being black in America. Claudia Rankine brings that home in a way I haven't experienced before, in Citizen: An American Lyric. It's an amazing, heartbreaking book.

>256 jnwelch: I’m about 2/3rds through that volume Joe, but I moved some books arounfpd before my holiday, and buried it. Must track it down and finish it.

I’m on the last 50 pages of Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi which is a very fine book IMO. Have you read it yet?

>252 richardderus: May I share RD? Those look good.

>256 jnwelch: - Powerful endorsement, Joe. Looks like a must-read. Another BB...

Hello Joe. I hope all is well with you.

>256 jnwelch: I will have to check this one out. It speaks for itself.

>256 jnwelch: Lovely. Painfully lovely.

>257 Caroline_McElwee: You can have the other two. I am *full*!

*waves to good buddy from London Town*

>257 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline. Oh good, I look forward to your thoughts on Claudia Rankine's book.

Yes, I read Homegoing and thought it was excellent. I'm glad you're having the same kind of reaction to it. (Touchstones don't seem to be working.

>258 jessibud2: It deserves that endorsement, Shelley. If the excerpts work for you, it'll bowl you over.

>259 brodiew2: Hey, there's Brodie! How are you, buddy? All is well here.

Oh good, do check out Citizen: An American Lyric. It's a standout.

>260 richardderus: Exactly, Richard. Painfully lovely. The book's full of that.

You're a generous guy. Those look awfully good in >252 richardderus:.

>261 kidzdoc: *waves to pal Darryl in Londontown* Oh, we wish we were there with you! Loved seeing the photo of you with Claire, Luci and Heather. Not to mention the glorious bookstore photos. Have a blast, my friend - I know you are!

I forgot to mention Stranger Things. So good. I am down to the finale. There a couple of things I would have preferred go differently, but overall, a stellar sophomore season.

Hi, Joe! Happy Wednesday. Love the quotes you chose from Citizen: An American Lyric. Potent stuff. You will be glad to hear, I have my copy from the library waiting nearby. All thanks to you.

It looks like the touchstone issue is continuing...

>266 msf59: I noticed that earlier today, Mark.

Hi, Joe. Or high, Joe. I'm one or the other. I'm reading The Virginian, but I have to say I'm not as taken with it as I think you were. Doesn't seem at all familiar. I guess that despite having bought a copy back in the 1960s I have never read it.

>264 brodiew2: We're three episodes into Stranger Things' sophomore season, and liking it a lot, Brodie. I hear the second half of the season is even better than the first.

>265 msf59: Aren't those potent, Mark? I'm glad you had the same reaction. And that you have a copy of Citizen: An American Lyric! Can't wait to hear what you think of it.

>266 msf59: Ha! Yup. Still true re the touchstones, darn it.

>267 weird_O: Sitting way up on a raised chair, Bill? Hi/High, buddy.

Sorry The Virginian isn't warming the embers for you yet. Do get through the scene on the train, where he tells the frog story. I was a little at sea until that got cleared up afterwards.

I thought of you when I saw this one. You'll probably figure out why.

Hi Joe, I brought my own fork and I am ready to dig into a short stack! Regarding your question of re-reading, I actually have a category for re-reads this year at my category challenge and I have been reading books that I read many years ago. The one book that I have probably re-read the most is Gone With the Wind. I was quite taken with that book when I was younger. Another favorite for re-reading is Of Mice and Men.

For some reason the highlighter does not recognize either of the above mentioned books. It must be taking a short break!

So far behind, Joe! You actually have seen my favorite rereads in my list on my thread for each year of my life, as all of those are favorite rereads. Also books older than me, mostly classics like A Little Princess and The Secret Garden, Little Women and the other Alcott children's books. I am such an inveterate re-reader that it is hard to single out what I have reread the most. Certainly the first books of favorite long series are candidates because I tend to reread the whole series when a new one comes out!

Morning, Joe!

Adding Citizen to the list.

>270 DeltaQueen50: Hi, Judy. Good - dig in!



We'll see whether the touchstones are working this morning. I've never gravitated toward Gone with the Wind, but I know it has many fans. Good for you for multiples with Of Mice and Men; Steinbeck has done much better on this re-read question than I would've guessed.

>271 ronincats: Hi, Roni. Ah, okay. I'll check your "every year" list for your re-reads. I loved A Little Princess and The Secret Garden; it's good to see the former mentioned. I also enjoyed Little Women.

You may be our most accomplished re-reader. I've reread series when a new one comes out, but it's been a while. The one I stopped doing that for was Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series; the books got longer and longer as the series went on, and it ended up, I believe, at 14 in total! That got to be more re-reading than I was willing to take on.

>272 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Glad to hear you're adding Citizen: An American Lyric to the list. I'm still feeling that one strongly. And shaking my head.

>256 jnwelch: Great quotes Joe. I picked this up a while ago, and I was so glad I did. She writes so beautifully, and so sharply, about such important issues. I should pick it up again, I think. Too many books.

I ordered a copy of Whistling Vivaldi thanks to your and Ellen's endorsement. Looking forward to reading that.

>275 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. Citizen: An American Lyric is just full of great quotes, isn't it. I'm really glad you read it. I'll pick it up again at some point, too, I'm sure.

Yay for Whistling Vivaldi! I'll look forward to your reaction to it.

Thank Thoth it's Thursday.

I am extremely sore today, Joe, so will you please consult with the kitchen's baking staff and see if they can whomp me up a carrot cake the size of Missouri? Oh, and a Panama or two of coffee of course. I'm going to Eat to Forget, which has fewer residual problems that Drinking to Forget does. Amazing how few people value direct and uncompromising honesty when push comes to shove.

>277 richardderus: We've got you covered over on the new thread, RD.

The new cafe is open! See everyone there.