Joe's Book Cafe Door 11

Street art by various artists

Welcome back to the cafe!

January, 2018

1. Artemis by Andy Weir
2. Bella Poldark by Winston Graham
3. Loose Woman by Sandra Cisneros
4. God Stalk by P.C. Hodgell
5. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
6. The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie
7. The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
8. Bizarre Space A Kid's Guide by Jenn Dlugos and Charlie Hatton
9. Lessons on Expulsion by Erika L. Sanchez
10. Binti The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor
11. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
12. Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
13. Warcross by Marie Lu
14. Hardcore Twenty-Four by Janet Evanovich
15. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

February 2018

16. The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson
17. Neogenesis by Sharon Lee
18. The Pyramid of Mud by Andrea Camilleri
19. Girl in a Plain Brown Wrapper by John D. MacDonald
20. A Tan and Sandy Silence by John D. MacDonald
21. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
22. Shock by Shock by Dean Young
23. A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
24. Lightning Blade by D.N. Erikson
25. Absolutely on Music by Haruki Murakami
26. Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
27. The Power by Naomi Alderman
28. Light Boxes by Shane Jones

March

29. Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley
30. In Pursuit of Memory by Joseph Jebelli
31. A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire
32. For We Are Many by Dennis Taylor
33. All These Worlds by Dennis Taylor
34. One Goal: A Coach by Amy Bass
35. We Are Okay by Nina Lacour
36. Artificial Night by Seanan Macguire
37. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
38. Where Now New and Selected Poems by Laura Kasischke
39. Wires and Nerve* by Marissa Meyer
40. Wires and Nerve Volume 2* by Marissa Meyer
41. A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
42. And the earth did not devour him by Tomas Rivera
43. The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel
44. Camp Austen by Ted Scheinman
45. The Beauty: Poems by Jane Hirschfield
46. Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

April

47. Hellbent by Gregg Horwitz
48. The Disappeared by C.J. Box
49. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
50. The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman
51. Prairie Fires by Caroline Fraser
52. Selected Poems of Langston Hughes by Langston Hughes
53. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
54. Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Espenbeck
55. Quesadillas by Juan Pablo Villalobos
56. The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman
57. Sandman Omnibus Vol. 2* by Neil Gaiman
58. Book of Dust by Phillip Pullman
59. Less: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer
60. Brazen Rebel Ladies* by Penelope Bagieu
61. The Lost Plot by Genevieve Cogman

May

62. Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith
63. It Happens in the Dark by Carroll O'Connell
64. Late Eclipses by Seanan McGuire
65. Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
66. One Salt Sea by Seanan McGuire
67. Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg
68. One Robe, One Bowl by Ryokan
69. Chimes at Midnight by Seanan McGuire
70. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Illustrated Books 2018

1. Saga Volume 8 by Fiona Staples
2. Black Panther Avengers of the New World by Ta-Nehisi Coates
3. Black Panther Book Two by Ta-Nehisi Coates
4. Moon Knight by Jeff Lemire
5. Henchgirl by Rita Stradling
6. The Adventures of Dieter Lumpen by Jorge Zentner
7. Death The Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman
8. Going into Town by Roz Chast
9. Black Panther Book Three by Ta-Nehisi Coates
10. Black Panther World of Wakanda by Roxanne Gay
11. After the Rain by Andre Julliard
12. Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say
13. Leave it to Chance by James Robinson
14. Thornhill by Pam Smy
15. Lumberjanes Vol. 4 by Noelle Stevenson
16. The Green Hand and Other Stories by Nicole Claveloux
17. Orphan Black Helsinki by Graeme Manson
18. Nemi by Lise Myrhe
19. Jane by Aline McKenna
20. Eye of the World Volume 5 by Robert Jordan
21. Andre the Giant by Box Brown
22. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
23. The Discworld Graphic Novels by Terry Pratchett
24. Starseeds by Charles Glaubitz
25. Why I Hate Saturn by Kyle Baker
26. Josephine The Dazzling Life by Patricia Hruby Powell
27. Ada Twist Scientist by Andrea Beaty
28. Paper Girls Vol. 4 by Brian K. Vaughan
29. Serenity No Power in the 'Verse by Chris Roberson
30. Hawkeye Kate Bishop Anchor Points by Kelly Thompson
31. Alpha Abidjan to Paris by Bessora
32. Drawing from Memory by Allen Say
33. Orphan Black Deviations by Heli Kennedy

*Also an illustrated book

Rafa, the newest Welch

2018 Favorites So Far

Fiction

The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Less: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer

Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

Poetry

Where Now by Laura Kasischke

Selected Poems of Langston Hughes

Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith

Nonfiction

One Goal: A Coach, A Team by Amy Bass

Prairie Fires by Carolyn Fraser

Young Adult

We Are Okay by Nina Lacour

Vincent and Theo by Deborah Helligman

Science Fiction

The Power by Naomi Alderman

Binti The Night Masquerade by Nnedi Okorafor

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Mystery

Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley

Illustrated Books

Silent Days, Silent Dreams by Allen Say

Sandman Omnibus Volume 2 by Neil Gaiman

Brazen Ladies by Penelope Baglieu

Street art foolery

I took a book bullett. Several in fact on your other thread. I had never heard of Andrew Sean Greer and was surprised to find out that he has written several novels. They all sounded interesting - so of course, I had to add all of them to my extensive "to Read" list. And now that I have started with Illuminae and am finding it interesting I had to add two more titles to my growing wish list. Wouldn't you know it! It is the first in a trilogy.

Happy New Thread, Joe! Love the artwork above, but Rafa is by far the most original of them.

The street art! Wowee toledo!

New thread orisons.

>5 jnwelch: Brilliant! I was completely fooled.

Happy New Thread, Joe!

Just poking my nose into the new cafe before it gets crazy. :) Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Joe! Love that gorgeous little Rafa.

Felicitaciones abuelo!

Happy new thread Joe and a great photo of Rafa, what a cutie.

>6 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. I know what you mean! I just started the Andrew Sean Greer book that Richard and Anne recommended.

>7 ronincats: Ha! Thanks, Roni. Rafa is a work of art, isn't he.

>8 richardderus: Isn't that fun street art, Richard?

Gracias re the new thread.

>9 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! >5 jnwelch: gets me every time. Brilliant is right.

Happiest of new threads, Joe. Welcome to the littlest Welch! What a cutie!!
More outstanding street art as well! Thanks for posting those, they would have surely gone under the radar!

>10 MickyFine: Ha! Thanks, Micky. It's hard to find a time when the cafe isn't going crazy. Seems to be that kind of a place, doesn't it. Its proprietor is pretty whacko, I know that much.

>11 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. That Rafa is a sweet one. His parents say he's a bit cranky today. Probably missing Debbi and me. :-)

>12 luvamystery65: Gracias, Roberta. Yo soy un orgulloso abuelo. :-)

>13 johnsimpson: Thanks, John. That's my favorite photo so far of Rafa. You get some idea of his long fingers and toes from it, too.

>16 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda. We sure are glad that the littlest Welch showed up. He's one week and a day old today.

I'm glad you like the street art. Yeah, there are so many good pieces out there, and new ones are cropping up all the time. One area in Chicago is inviting street artists to apply, as they want to "liven up" the neighborhood's appearance.

Happy New Thread, Joe!

>5 jnwelch: had me totally fooled, too, but Roni nailed it in >7 ronincats:. The street art is absolutely but fades in comparison to >3 jnwelch:

I'll also have to check out Andrew Sean Greer; haven't read anything (yet) by him.

An all-time fave of mine.

Happy New Thread, Joe! Like those toppers and love the new Welch addition in #3!

You mentioned you enjoyed The Book of Dust. A fun read, right? I hope the rest of your current reads are treating you well.

Just about done with Career of Evil. Very dark and twisted but another solid one from Rowling.

>3 jnwelch:. I guess I must’ve missed your announcement Joe but what a little sweetie. Congratulations! Let the fun begin😀

>20 streamsong: Thanks, Janet. I'll take Rafa over street art any day, too. :-)

I'm enjoying Less: A Novel. The author is new to me, too.

>21 richardderus: Whoa, that guy's ready to jump out of the photo, isn't he, RD.

>22 msf59: Thanks, Mark. That's my favorite photo of Rafa so far in >3 jnwelch:.

I did enjoy The Book of Dust very much. Thanks for the nudge. I had liked the Dark Materials trilogy so much I had an irrational fear that TBOD would be a letdown. Au contraire. I really liked the duo of Malcolm and Alice. Can't wait for the next one.

>23 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. Thanks! There are more photos of young Rafa on the last cafe thread.

Happy new thread, buddy.

Happy new thread! Wonderful street art!

>25 jnwelch: I have a copy of Book of Dust and I read His Dark Materials ages ago. (Actually I listened to the brilliant multi-cast audiobook with Pullman as narrator.) My question: do I need to come up to speed again with HDM to enjoy BoD? My memory is a bit sketchy since it was years, and many books, ago.

Frantic catching up on my part here, the 30 hour labour is *incredible*. I mean, really. I laboured 8 hours, and then had an emergency Caesarean, and that 8 hours felt a long time!!! But 30!!??

Loving the street art, as usual :)

Morning, Joe! Happy new one!

>26 PaulCranswick: Thanks, mate.

>27 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary!

>28 NarratorLady: Hi, Anne. My answer is "No." It's a prequel, so you don't need to remember specifics about the DM trilogy. It'd been a good while since I read Dark Materials, too. Some will come back to you, no doubt - Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, Lyra. If you loved DM, you'll be happy with The Book of Dust. I should try the trilogy on audio some day. Your reaction to it is inspiring.

>29 LovingLit: Ha! You're right, Megan. 30 hours of labor seems crazy long. But I guess it was a slow build - she says the pushing only took about 10 minutes.

Our daughter took 25 hours of labor to show up; her mom periodically reminds her. :-) Neither of us will ever forget it.

I'm glad you're loving the street art. Something about unexpected art like this in public spaces always gets me.

>30 Crazymamie: Good morning, Mamie! Thanks!

Happy new thread! >5 jnwelch: is way cool!

30 hour labor?! That's at least 29 hours more than the average red blooded male could handle.

Hi Joe! Happy new thread.

Love the new pic of Rafa and the street art.

Happy new thread, Joe!
30 hours of labour sucks! So did 28 hours of labour with two hours of pushing and then a C section when stubborn Chloe wouldn't come out! Kids, sheesh!

Love the Rafa pic up top! :)

Morning, Joe. Happy Wednesday. A bit cooler today and breezy, but all the sunshine is nice. I have the weekend off, so short work week. Looking forward to it. Lots of birding planned.

Enjoy your day.

>33 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! Isn't >5 jnwelch: amazing?

>34 kidzdoc: Ha! I was just talking about that with a male friend, Darryl. Yeah, an hour of labor would be way more than I could handle, I imagine. Debbi talks about the amnesia that sets in, so that women can go back and do it all over again with another baby.

>35 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I'm glad you like the Rafa pic and the street art.

>36 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle! Oh, that sounds rough with Chloe. Ouch. Good thing there's a reward at the end. Thanks re the Rafa pic - someone today thought he looked like me. I said he's too good-looking - he must look like my wife. :-)

>37 msf59: Morning, Mark. Glad to hear the Career of Evil audio worked well for you.

A weekend off! Excellent. You don't get enough of those, IMO. I'm sure the USPS would value my opinion on that.

Lots of sunshine helps. We're supposed to get a major warmup starting Sunday or so.

>38 jnwelch:

No amnesia here - after 12 hours, ending with 2 of the 'just kill me!' -
my beautiful Atala was destined to be the one and only!

>41 m.belljackson: Ha! Understandable, Marianne. Just one of many reasons I'm surprised we have a human race. (The complete helplessness of babies is another). I'm glad you had the beautiful Atala, and I'm sure she's glad she has you.

Bargain of the day: Slaughter-house Five is available on Kindle for $1.99.

>34 kidzdoc:, >38 jnwelch: - Well, you know what they say. If men had to go through childbirth, there would have been something invented by now to alleviate *labour* for sure! ;-)

Some great street art as ever Joe. Nice to see the little guy taking up his corner in the café too >3 jnwelch:, time to get him used to all the regulars who come and go.

>44 jessibud2: Right, Shelley. I always thought Lois McMaster Bujold had a good idea in the Vorkosigan books with "uterine replicators", and it looks like I'm not the only one: https://www.tor.com/2017/04/28/science-straight-out-of-the-vorkosigan-saga-uteri...

>45 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I do love street art - can you tell? We're going to do another street art tour in London this fall, as it's always changing.

Ha! The regulars here can teach Rafa a lot, I know that much. Maybe we'll get him on LT for real when he gets old enough.

OK, time for some mini-reviews.



I got a big kick out of All Systems Red. Sci-fi readers shouldn't miss this one, the first in the developing Murderbot series. "Murderbot" actually is a cynical but softhearted security bot who likes to watch soap operas in his spare time, and is leery of face time with humans. It has managed to disable its "governor module" without anyone knowing, meaning it can act with free will. When that turns out to mean his not behaving like a mindless bot, and helping humans in danger, the crew starts to look at him differently.

In this one the crew's mission goes awry, with apparent dark manipulations going on. Murderbot has to stretch his capabilities if he's going to successfully help.



Translated from German, Go, Went, Gone is the story of stodgy, widowed Richard, a retired German classics professor stuck in a mire of routine. “The next day he mows the lawn, then opens a can of pea soup for lunch, then he rinses out the can and makes coffee. His head hurts, so he takes an aspirin.” Then he becomes intrigued by refugee protests in Berlin. Curious, he begins to interview the refugees individually, which creates an understanding of the bleak lives they live. Among other things, they aren't allowed work in a country other than the one they came from, and all of them have come from elsewhere. It's only a matter of time before most of them will have to leave.

This book excels at showing the reader the faces and hearts of the refugees, and in showing the transformation of previously disconnected Richard into someone who cares and is determined to help.

>46 jnwelch:

Maybe Rafa and Melissa will look back on LT and enjoy the years when they were the featured Grandkids!

>48 m.belljackson: I like that idea, Marianne!

The Burning Page is the third in the Invisible Library series, which features a secret group of skilled Librarians who bring unusual books into the Library from alternate worlds.“The atmosphere of the place soothed her automatically; the rich lantern lights, the sheer scent of paper and leather, and the fact that everywhere she looked, there were books, books, beautiful books.”

It's a fantasy series, with Dragons and the Fae squared off against each other, and humans in the middle somewhere. There are plenty of other fantasy types who crop up. “And if she’d been able to choose her options a few hours ago, being trapped in a dead vampire’s private study with an angry Fae would not have been one of them.”

Our heroine, Irene, is low on the Library totem pole, but is the daughter of Librarians and very capable. Her quick-thinking in dire circumstances is believable and effective, her companions intriguing, and the pages fly. I'm already looking forward to the next one.



I've already mentioned how good The Book of Dust is. Pullman has created another great young duo in the determined Malcolm and the dour, skeptical Alice, who are bonded by their desire to help baby Lyra. Readers of the Dark Materials trilogy, which starts with The Golden Compass, will remember Lyra from an older age. This is a prequel, and is very well done. Familiar characters like Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are seen from a different perspective, and many other interesting characters take their turn on the stage. If you loved the trilogy, you'll be happy with this book, and eager for the next one to come out.

Happy new thread, Joe, and congratulations with the newest Welch!

>47 jnwelch: Good review of Go, Went, Gone, that book is doing well in our group. I hope to get to it soonish, I read her The End of Days earlier this year and loved it.

Hi Joe, I am back getting around the threads, I am so far behind that today is my starting point mate. Hope all is well with you and Debbi and send love and hugs to both of you from both of us.

Hi Joe. Great pic of the newest addition. Such a cutie.

I took two book bullets. Go Went Gone sounds like a winner as did End of Daysi when I looked at it.

Morning, Joe!

I'm so glad that you liked La Belle Sauvage - I read somewhere that the next book will have Lyra at around age 20. I can't wait, although I'm hoping that we haven't seen the last of Malcolm...

>51 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita, and also thanks re the Go Went Gone review. I'll have to look for her The End of Days.

>52 johnsimpson: Good to see you back posting, John. I hope you're feeling improved. I'll let Debbi know, and we send the same to you and Karen.

>53 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda. I'm glad you're back posting after that successful hospital visit! Rafa is a cutie, isn't he.

>54 benitastrnad: Right, Benita? Based on Go Went Gone, she's quite an author.

>55 scaifea: I loved La Belle Sauvage, Amber. Thanks for the nudge. Lyra at 20! I'd like to read that. I had the same thought you did about Malcolm. I loved what Alice said about him toward the end - if he says he's going to do something, she believes him. He sure brought her around from where they started.

A Poem by Tracy K. Smith from her new book Wade in the Water

The Angels

Two slung themselves across chairs
Once in a motel room. Grizzled,
In leather biker gear. Emissaries
For something I needed to see.

I was worn down by an awful panic.
A wrenching in the gut, contortions.
They sat there at the table while I slept.
I could sense them, with a deck

Of playing cards between them.
To think of how they smelled, what
Comes to mind is rum and gasoline.
And when they spoke, though I couldn’t,

I dared not look, I glimpsed how one’s teeth
Were ground down almost to nubs.
Which makes me hope some might be
Straight up thugs, young, slim, raw,

Who bounce and roll with fearsome grace,
Whose very voices cause faint souls to quake.
— Quake, then, fools, and fall away!
— What God do you imagine we obey?

Think of the toil we must cost them,
One scaled perfectly to eternity.
And still, they come, telling us
Through the ages not to fear.

Just those two that once and never
Again for me since, though
There are — are they? — 
Sightings, flashes, hints:

A proud tree in vivid sun, branches
Swaying in strong wind. Rain
Hurling itself at the roof. Boulders,
Mounds of earth mistaken for dead

Does, lions in crouch. A rust-stained pipe
Where a house once stood, which I
Take each time I pass it for an owl.
Bright whorl so dangerous and near.

My mother sat whispering with it
At the end of her life
While all the rooms of our house
Filled up with night.

I spent yesterday getting things ready for the End-of-the Semester party in my Curriculum Materials Center. On Sunday night at 7:00 p.m. I will be reading out loud to the faithful students in the Teacher Education Program. The theme this year is “It’s A Box.” I will be reading the children’s picture book Not A Box by Antoinette Portis and the students will be putting together a house made of cardboard. My trusty student assistant and I cut the pieces for the house yesterday so that all the students have to do is tape it together. The book is intended for a pre-school audience but I am showing them how they can upgrade this type of book to a 4th grade level by turning it into several different projects that use up elementary grade math skills.

Ok - that is a fancy way of saying that arts and crafts use math skills aplenty, and it is easy to forget that.

>31 jnwelch: Thanks Joe. Book of Dust comes to the top of the pile. Just beginning Camp Austen per your recommendation.

>60 benitastrnad: Good for you, Benita. That sounds like a very worthwhile and enjoyable presentation. Good luck!

>61 NarratorLady: Great, Anne! I hope you enjoy Camp Austen as much as I did; I suspect you will. I was just saying that I have another Austen book, Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, waiting for me after I finish Lilac Girls. I'm right at the end of the very good Less: A Novel.

Sounds like you are a Dark Materials fan. You're in for a treat with The Book of Dust.

Great art especially the pic in >3 jnwelch:, Joe. Happy new thread.

>64 jnwelch: Thanks, Meg. Young Rafa makes for a good photo, doesn't he.

>47 jnwelch: he has managed to disable its "governor module" without anyone knowing, meaning it can act with free will
Great premise!
My governor module is disabled with excess wine ;)

>59 jnwelch: Brilliant. This volume is at the top of the pile Joe, this weekend for consumption... I have you to thank for Smith. Ta, ta, ta.

Morning, Joe!

>57 jnwelch: I agree about Alice. In fact, for a while there at the start, I thought she would possibly go over to the other side. I feel slightly manipulated on that point, but I'm okay with that.

>65 LovingLit: Ha! Isn't that a great premise, Megan? I think my governor module got disabled at a young age, although I do like the idea of disabling it with wine.

>66 Caroline_McElwee: Yay! Tracy K. Smith is so good, isn't she, Caroline. That poem rewards re-reads. I like it better every time I read it. I'm glad she strikes a chord with you.

>67 scaifea: Morning, Amber! Yeah, I can see what you mean. We definitely got set up to be skeptical about her. It's also mainly an "Amazing Race", but he does it so well!

Art Deco poster by Stephen Fuller, Napier, New Zealand

>69 jnwelch: Good morning, Joe. Love the art deco.

>50 jnwelch: I must get round to The Book of Dust. It’s one that I bought in hardback when it came out first, as I loved The Northern Lights trilogy, and then of course something came up and I didn’t read it.

>70 Familyhistorian: Good morning, Meg. I'm glad you're loving the art deco. Apparently Napier, NZ is a mecca for art deco enthusiasts. I wish it wasn't so darn far away. We got to Australia a few years ago and loved it, but the length of that trip is daunting.

>71 SandDune: Oh yes, Rhian. You'll enjoy The Book of Dust. I was a bit skeptical going in - that trilogy was so good! - but he's right back in the writing groove.

Finally had a chance to browse through the photos on your previous thread - that new grandbaby is a cutie.

>47 jnwelch: The Murderbot series sounds fun and the ebook was available at the library so - Yay!.

Happy Friday, Joe. Finally visiting my pal. Haven't got around to many threads lately. Love the flurry of mini-reviews. This is what I NEED TO DO!! I really want to read Go Went Gone. Sounds great. So glad you enjoyed The Book of Dust, although I am not surprised, in the least.

Ooh, I like the Smith poem. Thumb! I hope to crack it this weekend.

I can not warble loud enough about When They Call You a Terrorist. It may be the best book I have read on the racial issues, in this country. It is a constant gut-punch, but a very important one.

>73 SuziQoregon: Ha! I'm glad you enjoyed the grandbaby pics, Juli. I'll post another one with his parents today or tomorrow.

The Murderbot series gets off to a great start with All Systems Red. I'm looking forward to the next one.

>74 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark. No worries re the thread travels; enjoy those days off!

You'll like Go Went Gone a lot, methinks, when you get to it. What a relief to have The Book of Dust be that good; I didn't want it to detract from my enjoyment of the trilogy.

Isn't that a great Tracy K. Smith poem? I love ones I can come back to and get even more out of them. So far this volume is even better for me than Life on Mars.

When They Call You a Terrorist: It may be the best book I have read on the racial issues, in this country. It is a constant gut-punch, but a very important one. Wow, that's saying a lot - I know you're well-read on racial issues in this country. It may be a little while, but I'll look for it.

“Strange to be almost fifty, no? I feel like I just understood how to be young."
"Yes! It's like the last day in a foreign country. You finally figure out where to get coffee, and drinks, and a good steak. And then you have to leave. And you won't ever be back.”

In Less: A Novel, our unforgettable protagonist Arthur Less is a somewhat successful author who views his own writing as mediocre in contrast to that of his long-time romantic partner and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Robert. Yes, part of the fun here is that this novel just won a Pulitzer, and Robert's winning the Pulitzer is addressed in the book.

Arthur is turning 50 and has just lost a boyfriend he had taken too much for granted, one who is getting married to another man. To distract himself and avoid the wedding (he's invited), he puts together a multi-country tour with author appearances, teaching, and hopefully time to salvage a rejected manuscript. Arthur is appealingly humble about himself, and filled with anxiety about life's challenges. He's also very funny.

“It is a traveler’s fallacy that one should shop for clothing while abroad. Those white linen tunics, so elegant in Greece, emerge from the suitcase as mere hippie rags; the beautiful striped shirts of Rome are confined to the closet; and the delicate hand batiks of Bali are first cruise wear, then curtains, then signs of impending madness.”

He expects to be embarrassed and humiliated at times on this journey, and life delivers. But he's also noble and endearing, with other men attracted to him, and his books have a surprising number of fans. Greer is a graceful writer, and has a deft hand with the humor. In Germany, Less has a higher opinion of his fluency than is justified, and announces in German to surprised students at his first class that, "I am sorry, I must kill most of you." This is just one of many linguistic bobbles.

The students nonetheless are quite taken with him, and the reader is, too. As he travels around the world, Arthur comes to some important realizations about his life, and the ending is satisfying. This is a smart, witty, enjoyable read.

P.S. Many thanks to Richard for emphatically recommending Less: A Novel.

>76 jnwelch: Sounds like fun, and it's RD approved, so...how can I resist?

>78 Storeetllr: Ha! That's exactly what got me to read it, Mary. :-)

I guess if I read enough reviews of a book it becomes a BB. Looks like my number is 2 reviews in the case of Less: A Novel. It looks like it is popular at my library too, 89 holds. It might take me a while to get to it.

>80 Familyhistorian: Multiple positive reviews can get me, too, Meg, although sometimes it just takes one persuasive one. I suspect that, after the Pulitzer win, Less: A Novel is going to be popular all over the place. I read an interview with Andrew Sean Greer and liked him, so I'm happy for him.

>76 jnwelch: Great review Joe. I found Arthur Less as endearing as the Count in A Gentleman in Moscow. Very different characters and stories but I was pulling for them both. It's not necessary to feel affection for the protagonist in order to enjoy a book but it makes for very pleasant reading when it happens.

>82 NarratorLady: Thanks, Anne. What an endearing character. That's an interesting comparison - I was pulling for both Arthur and the Count, too. Believe it or not, Arthur made me think of the crusty Ove in A Man Called Ove. Sort of his temperamental opposite (very sensitive), but like him beloved because of his integrity and heart. You're right, the affection for Arthur made for very pleasant reading.

'Morning, Joe and happy Saturday to you!

>50 jnwelch: Oddball that I am, I couldn't get into The Invisible Library and abandoned it after 145 pages. It just didn't click.

>76 jnwelch: Ya got me! On to the wish list it goes.

>84 karenmarie: Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday!

No worries re The Invisible Library. I've had the same happen. I wasn't sure whether I'd like it or not, but I liked Irene, and then I got caught up in it.

I'm glad the review enticed you to try Less: A Novel. It's a special one.

If you have time today, visit your local independent bookstore(s). We're going to have breakfast out, and then visit three near to us.

>86 jnwelch: - I only found out about this today but, I did make 3 little purchases yesterday at a lovely indie store here in Toronto. It's called Ben McNally Books and I purchased We Should All Be Feminists, Farewell Speeches by Michelle and Barack Obama, and The Reason I Jump. The first two are about the size of On Tyranny and the last one is a bit bigger, and is about *the inner voice of a thirteen year old boy with autism*. I needed some retail therapy yesterday after waiting for 2 hours in line for a movie and then not getting in.

Happy Independent Bookstore Day, Joe. It just happens that I have a lovely gift certificate to my local bookstore so I think I may just make a visit to it today. :)

Came back just to give the store a shout-out - Albany Books in Delta, B.C.

I am so pleased that my quiet and understated urging of you to read Less: A Novel resulted in such a successful read! I read it and thought, "This is a grown-up's version of Call Me by Your Name! C'mon, Hollywood, make this into a big-budget film!"

Never happen, of course, main character's too old, but what a fun romp it could be.

Have fun bookstoring! Debbi's keeping us apprised on FB.

>86 jnwelch: Haul?

Happy Saturday, Joe. Good review of Less: A Novel. Thumb! It is firmly on the list.

I hope you are enjoying the day. Watched another great Cubs performance and now I am trying to get some reading time in.

>87 jessibud2: Hiya, Shelley. Wow, waiting 2 hours and not getting in - that must have been Avengers Infinity War?

I've been in Toronto (years ago now), and feel like I know Ben Mcnally's bookstore. Good book picks. I liked We Should All Be Feminists a lot, and also The Reason I Jump. I thought the latter was illuminating about severe autism, but my speech pathologist wife is skeptical the young man really wrote it. I'll be interested to hear what you think.

Well done in supporting indie bookstores!

>88 DeltaQueen50: Perfect, Judy. Enjoy using that gift certificate at Albany Books.

>89 richardderus: It took me a while to figure out what you meant, Richard. "Drop everything else and read Less: A Novel right now". Did that mean stop everything else I was doing and read it immediately? Without delay? Not tomorrow, but today? Not whenever I happened to get to it, but right now gawdurnit? Was there some hidden message I was missing?

I finally decided that what you meant was I should drop everything else and read it right away. I'm glad I did. It was a pleasure to read a grownup smart book, and it does make a sharp contrast to the sudsy, Air Supply soundtracked Call Me By Your Name. It would make a great movie - who would play Arthur? Maybe someone will give it a go.

We had a blast bookstoring. Such good people running these stores. Debbi put the third one up a while ago.

>90 Caroline_McElwee: Mainly we hauled for Rafa, Caroline, so board books and a "Book Nerd" onesie were the order of the day. But I did manage to pick up one for our darling Becca's birthday that I can't name, since she reads this thread, and two for me: The Ordinary, Extraordinary Jane Austen, a well-done kids' book that I'd just read about, and When They Call You a Terrorist, a memoir that Mark just called one of the best books he's read about racial issues in this country.

>91 msf59: Hiya, Mark. Go Cubs!

The Bears had a good draft the last three days, too.

We enjoyed the day muchly. We were able to walk to two of the indie bookstores (Roscoe Village Books and the Book Cellar) on this sunny day, and the third (Women and Children First) is one of our favorites in town. They were all full of customers, I'm glad to report.

As you'll see up above, after your strong endorsement, I picked up When They Call You a Terrorist.

Thanks re the review - and thank you for the thumb! You'll enjoy Less: A Novel when you get to it.

Enjoy the reading. I just finished the really good Brazen Rebel Ladies, and I'm thinking I should look at the other GNs Penelope Bagieu has done. I know you liked it a lot, too.

>92 jnwelch: - No, Joe, the film I was waiting to see was for the doc festival, called Three Identical Strangers

I remember reading about this story when it first appeared, in the 1980s and being mesmerized by it. Then, about 10 years ago or so, I read a book called Identical Strangers, about 2 women in New York who met and realized that they, too, had been twins, separated at birth and adopted out separately. The book documented their research and it was rather horrifying and disturbing to discover that this adoption agency was *experimenting* and separating many (I forget how many, maybe 25 or so?), multiple birth babies, adopting them out separately. So I was really intrigued to see this film. But I suspect it will come around into regular circulation, after the festival, at our Hot Docs theatre. Over the last couple of years, I have often stood in line (reading) while waiting to get in free to films at festival time and I can only recall twice that I did not get in (and both times, the films eventually showed up in the regular schedule).

As for the autism book, I will let you know. I recently also picked up a copy of Daniel Tammet's newest book, Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing. I really loved his Born on a Blue Day when I read it years ago and I have no doubt that he wrote this one himself.

I am really concerned about a *new* stigma that may be added to those on the autism spectrum, specifically Asperger's (as if another stigma is needed). The guy who drove the van into the pedestrians here in Toronto earlier this week, is said to have Asperger's and I really hope that this won't cause more unnecessary grief for that community. We will have to wait and see how that plays out, but what happened was tragic on so many levels; I think this is the tip of the iceberg.

>95 jessibud2: Wow, I was going to be dumbfounded and impressed that such a documentary, as fascinating as it sounds, would be sold out, Shelley. But "free" makes everything different. I hope Three Identical Strangers does make it into regular circulation for you. Not a good move by the adoption agency (splitting siblings for an "experiment"?!!), but I do wonder how similar the twins were after different upbringings.

P.S. I cross-posted a bit with you. As far as I know, it's extremely unusual for someone on the autism spectrum to commit that kind of violent act. I'm with you in hoping this tragedy doesn't cause unnecessary grief for that community. You can have 99% peaceful people in a community, but except maybe in rare circumstances, depending on the "community", I don't think it ever gets to 100%, unfortunately.

>93 jnwelch: it does make a sharp contrast to the sudsy, Air Supply soundtracked Call Me By Your Name Heh. Air Supply. Haha. *chortle*

It would make a great movie - who would play Arthur?

I vote Gerard Butler. Especially since his superstardom never quite took off...he'd be well advised to make a career-defining Acting for Actors type of Fillum.

Hi - though you may already have seen it, my daughter and I watched the David Letterman interview
with President Obama today, out on Netflix. What a wonder to see and hear him AND John Lewis!

Gerard Butler should have been one of the major players in OUTLANDER!

>98 m.belljackson: Agreed, Marianne. The series is fun, but what an impact Sir Gerard could've made.

>97 richardderus: Ah, good choice, RD. That might be just the ticket for his career, too. I was thinking Hugh Grant, but he's probably too old for it now.

>98 m.belljackson: I have not seen that Letterman- Obama interview, or John Lewis, Marianne. Thanks for mentioning it; I'll look for it.

I haven't watched the Outlander series, but I can imagine GB in it from reading the book.

>99 richardderus: He needs you and Marianne working as his agents.

I liked the Obama/John Lewis interviews too.

>102 jnwelch: Thanks, Caroline. I'll have to find them.

Happy Sunday, Joe. I have enjoyed my long weekend and now it is winding down. Trying to get some reading in, while watching the Cubs game. Hoping for a sweep against the Brew Crew.

Really looking forward to this warm up coming. We have been waiting awhile for this.

>100 jnwelch: Yeup. Hugh Grant is 5 days older than me, Butler's 10 years younger. Almost the 50 that Less himself is.

Well, I see I'm going to have to read Less: A Novel. I've requested the audiobook version from the library. I am #106 on the wait list. *sigh* (I'd be #201 for the ebook.) Also, When They Call You a Terrorist. I checked with our library, and that one's "instantly available" as an audiobook on Hoopla. So.

Hope you are having a great weekend, Joe!

>103 msf59: The Cubs pulled it off, Mark. I think they're determined to start this year off better than last, and be in it at the end. They've sure got the pitching and players for it.

I'm glad you had such a good weekend, especially the bird walks. We were pretty low key yesterday, with some good porch time even in the cooler weather. I finished Exit West, which I thought was good but not great. I know others have been more enthusiastic about it.

>104 richardderus: Yeah, I like the Gerard Butler choice better, Richard. Tom Hiddleston is too young for it, Hugh Grant too old.

>105 Storeetllr: Ha! Good to hear, Mary. Less: A Novel is worth it. Mark's strong endorsement got me on When They Call You a Terrorist, too. Right now I'm reading Lilac Girls, a heartbreaking WWII one, and Space Opera to balance it.

>107 jnwelch: How wonderful!

>107 jnwelch: LOVE this!

Morning, Joe! Sounds like I need to add Less to The List. I read All Systems Red yesterday and loved it - very fun. I cannot wait for the second installment.

>107 jnwelch: cute.

>107 jnwelch: Cute!

Big waves from over the pond.

Happy Tuesday Joe! Hopefully things are well today!

>108 richardderus:, >110 Caroline_McElwee:, >111 kidzdoc: Thanks, Richard, Caroline, and Darryl. Isn't that wonderful? She's got a good reading pal.

>109 Crazymamie: Ha! Yay! Me, too, Mamie.

I'm glad you enjoyed All Systems Red as much as I did. I know, I'm chomping at the bit for more to come out. Less: A Novel is one you'll like. Arthur makes for good company.

>112 Ameise1: Big waves back at you, Barbara. Good to see you!

>113 The_Hibernator: Rachel! It's been a while. How are you doing? Happy Tuesday! All is well on my end; we're about to head to the real life cafe for some refreshment and reading and writing. Beautiful day here. I hope you're getting some of this good weather.

Hi Joe!

>107 jnwelch: Stolen er borrowed. Or something. And now you know how to get me out of lurkdom.

Dare we believe it's Spring at last?

Gennady Privedentsev, Still-life "Book Bridge"

>116 jnwelch: How about this one, Joe?

>117 streamsong: Ha! It's good to have you out of lurkdom, Janet, and sharing the photo around.

Let's see if we can keep you unlurked a bit?

>118 richardderus: You know me well, Richard. Love that!

Spring is springing, finally. Lots of flowers out here, and we're in the low 80s. Ahh, that feels good.

>119 weird_O: Nice one, Bill. Looks like he's getting ready to get out on the dance floor with his pals in >116 jnwelch:.

I have a friend who used to wear a hair pick like that in his 'fro. The ultimate in cool, right? And I had hair down near my shoulders. Ah, sweet youth.

Here's our outdoor table at Delicious Cafe today. Beautiful day here.

>121 jnwelch: And I had hair down near my shoulders.

LOL! Jeez, I'd have to go back into the archives for that one, Darryl.

>123 kidzdoc: I think Joe posted one with long hair last year... Yes, I found it:

>124 jnwelch: Dang.

>125 FAMeulstee: Anita to the rescue! I missed seeing that photo.

Joe with long hair!

Way cool.

>125 FAMeulstee: - Long? For the day, that was, at best, average! We want to see LONG! ;-)

>128 jessibud2: Well all Joe said in >121 jnwelch: was: I had hair down near my shoulders
And I think it is rather LONG in Joe's universe ;-)

>116 jnwelch: haha, you and Debbi .... hip.

>125 FAMeulstee: Great photo. Young, carefree and free-wheeling. Nice hair too!

Happy Tuesday, Joe. How about those temps today? It felt like July out there and I have to say, it felt damn good.

>125 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! That also is the only visual evidence I've found of my pink bell bottoms from the same era.

This is not me (!), but will give you an idea:

>126 kidzdoc: Man, I played basketball with all that hair, too. The coach must've thought I was nuts. Although I guess I wasn't the only hirsute one on our team. Our Greek center had curly hair much longer than mine, and played with a headband.

>127 karenmarie: You're kind, Karen. I've got lots of memories from that time, when I tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to impress the girls. Good thing we were able to laugh at ourselves!

>128 jessibud2: That's about as long as it every got, Shelley. What can I say? I never even got to a pony tail stage. But pink bell bottoms - that's got to be worth some bonus points?

>129 FAMeulstee: You're right about that, Anita. In my universe, that was very long! In college, it actually got shorter, although it looked pretty much the same.

>130 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! I'll tell Debbi you see us in >116 jnwelch:. She'll get a kick out of it.

OK, I did and she laughed. She said (1) she does have white-rimmed sunglasses (which I love, btw), and (2) that could've been us at that recent wedding reception, when we danced all night.

>131 msf59: Ha! Thanks, Mark. What a time that was!

Great temps today. We sat outside at a local cafe, reading and writing, and hung out on our porch a lot, with a long walk to our library somewhere in the middle. We met Becca by the library, and walked her home from teaching. Nice day. I'm glad you finally got a good one at work.

>116 jnwelch:, >119 weird_O: Love these!

>107 jnwelch: Adorable! She's reading to the horse. Both look so intense.

Happy spring weather, Joe!

>125 FAMeulstee: Nice hair, Joe! LOVE the tie.

Morning!

Good morning, Joe! Great photos to get me chuckling this morning.
Finally the weather is cooperating with my mindset. Nice to start the day having coffee and a donut on the deck with birds chirping and sun on my face, book at the ready. Ahhhh!

>125 FAMeulstee: NIIIICE!

>136 Storeetllr: Morning, Mary!

I know, what is that book that has them both so intensely wrapped up in >107 jnwelch:? Makes me want to look over her shoulder, too.

I'm glad you're enjoying the green bushy hairstyles.

>137 scaifea: Ha! Thanks, Amber. Your BFF, our lovely daughter, endeared herself to me forever (as if she hadn't already) when, as a young girl, she looked at a photo of younger me and said, "You had way too much hair, Dad". A girl who appreciates the sleek look.

I had ridiculous great taste in ties back then. The wilder, the more likely I wanted to wear it, if I was going to have to wear a tie.

>138 Carmenere: Hi, Lynda. I'm glad we could start you out with a chuckle this morning. That's got to be at least as important as vitamins.

Nice to start the day having coffee and a donut on the deck with birds chirping and sun on my face, book at the ready. Ahhhh! That sounds perfect! I'm vicariously joining you.

>139 ChelleBearss: Right, Chelle? Ah, what a lad.

The circle of life. Three generations of Welch - the third is still very tiny.

>140 jnwelch: Ha! BFF knows where it's at.

>142 jnwelch: OHmygoodness, look at those little feet sticking up! So sweet. And what a great photo of the Three Welch Men.

Charlie's class has celebrated poetry month all through April and they're having a poetry slam on Friday. Here's one of the two poems Charlie wrote and will be performing (I thought you'd appreciate it):

Time
Time passes so fast that you don't know where you are.
It is a magnificent thing.
Too fast, too slow,
it is tempo that time is.

His second poem is called Love Letter to the Forward Exam (the name of the Wisconsin state standardized test - he LOVES them (no, really, he does)).

>143 scaifea: Thanks re your BFF and the Welch men.

I was just over on your thread! I love the Charlie poem, and his title for the second deserves some kind of award. I first assumed it was satirical, but I get the Hermione connection . . .

>144 jnwelch: Ha! Nope, no satire - that kid gets so excited when it's a testing day. Crazy. But lovable.

>142 jnwelch: - Aww, great shot. If at all possible, try to get another with the 4th generation in there: your dad! Now, THAT would be a photo! :-)

Wow - visual feast here. Love the pic of the three generations.

You had mentioned on the Portland meetup thread that you were planning a Portland trip around June 30th? Is that still on? Or have you decided to spend your traveling visiting young Rafa? Lots of events going on in your life!

>142 jnwelch: LOVE! The circle of life, indeed.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. Feels balmy out here, which is perfectly all right with me. I hope your week is going well. Despite this being my long work week, I am making the very best of it. Oh, look! A bird...

>145 scaifea: It's great, Amber. We've known kids with test anxiety, and it's wonderful that Charlie has the opposite.

>146 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. You're a mind reader. That's the plan, although it's going to take a while to get all four generations in the same place.

I finished listening to Illuminae last night and the end was a great big flash! Loved it, Since you are a space opera fan and a graphic novel fan, you need to get this book and check it out. Very interesting format. Story line is pretty standard, but the way the authors pull it off is very different.

I immediately started on book 2 in the series Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff.

>147 streamsong: Hi, Janet. Aren't those great? It's such a trip to see our son as a dad. He and his bride are dedicated to being good parents. Rafa's a lucky guy.

Yes, my Portland trip is still on! June 30 is the Saturday, right? I plan to be there, ready to meetup and visit (finally!) Powells books.

>148 msf59: Ha! Thanks, Mark.

Oh, you gave me another laugh. Look, a bird! That should help the work day. I'm glad you're getting some decent weather for it. We went out early for a long walk, both to beat the higher temps later in the day and the predicted rain. The latter hasn't shown up yet.

>142 jnwelch: Nice picture of grandfather, father and son (or should I say: father, son and grandson?)

Great photo of the Welch men, Joe! The guy in the middle has big feet for such a tiny guy.

Hi Joe!

>142 jnwelch: Very nice.

>142 jnwelch: lovely photo of three generations.

>150 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. I'm glad you're having a good time with the Illuminae series. I looked at the first one and read a bit of it, and decided it's not for me.

>152 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. Ha! Those both work. Some would say, there's a photo of Rafa with two other guys. He's the focus of a lot of attention right now!

>153 Familyhistorian: Right, Meg? He's got long toes and long fingers. His abuela (DIL's mom) thinks he has my hands. On the stat sheet, he's high percentile for height, but very lean. His doctor just gave him the all-clear, so they don't have to go in every week any more.

>154 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Thanks. Two of my favorite guys ever there.

>155 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. We love that son of ours, and now we get to ooh and ahh over his. I hope maybe you get to meet them both some day. If we win the lottery, we plan to get a big flat in London, and we'll bring them all over.

This is such a great graphic book. It contains short biographies of 30 exceptional women, many of whom I'd not heard of, like groundbreaking forensic scientist Frances Glessner Lee, and others, like Josephine Baker and Tove Jansson, I knew less about than I thought. Pénélope Bagieu has a wonderfully free and witty graphic style, and impressively conveys an awful lot of information in relatively few words.





I've given this book to both my sisters, and would recommend it to anyone, even those who usually resist graphic books.

Brazen sounds fascinating. I'm going to borrow it from the library (if I can) and maybe buy a copy for my daughter.

>159 Storeetllr: You'll love it, methinks, Mary. As will your daughter.

This is the best book yet from our poet laureate Tracy K. Smith, even better than her Pulitzer Prize-winning Life on Mars. Trumpsters will want to avoid it, as she burns the pages with tales of racism and dismay with the current regime.

The worst in us having taken over
And broken the rest utterly down.

(From "An Old Story).

They plundered her youth, then moved on.

These awful, awful men. The ones
Whose wealth is a kind of filth.

(From "The World is Your Beautiful Younger Sister"). Her amazing "Angels" poem is posted up in >59 jnwelch:. This book also features a number of found poems based on heavily researched letters and other documents from African-American Civil War soldiers and their families (complete with original spellings).

From, "I Will Tell You the Truth About This":

Mr abarham lincon
I wont to know sir if you please
whether I can have my son relest
from the arme he is all the subport
I have now his father is Dead
and his brother that wase all
the help I had he has been wonded
twise he has not had nothing to send me yet
now I am old and my head is blossaming
for the grave and if you do I hope
the lord will bless you and me
tha say that you will simpethise
with the poor he be long to the
eight rigmat colard troops
he is a sarjent
mart welcom is his name

Some poems are wonders from her childhood, including this one, "Urban Youth", that ends with her learning to ride a bike:

But it was you and Dad and Mike teaching me to ride,
Running along beside until you didn't have to hold on.
Who was afraid? The hedge thrummed with bees
That only sang. Every happy thing I've known,

You held, or ran alongside not having to hold.

****

This is a beautifully composed book; I loved it.

Sweet Thursday, Joe. So good to see glowing reviews of Brazen and Wade in the Water. I have not started the latter yet, but it will be soon and you got me stoked.

Sweet Thursday, buddy. You're going to love Wade in the Water, and I know you were just as high on Brazen Rebel Ladies as I am.

>142 jnwelch: Great photo of the Welch men, especially Rafa's feet! Now you need to get one with your father in it.

Nice reviews of Brazen and Wade in the Water. I'll be on the lookout for Tracy K. Smith's latest poetry collection.

I read your post above about Independent Bookstore Day. I missed the day but had to Google to see if there were any independent bookstores in my area. There is one which I visited today so I have you to thank for that, Joe.

Morning, Joe!

>164 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. Yeah, we're thinking it'll probably be Christmas time when we get a photo of the four Welch men. I just spoke to my dad, and he's doing well - even working on a jigsaw puzzle for the first time in ages. That was good news about your mother!

Thanks re the reviews. Tracy K. Smith is really impressing me.

>165 Familyhistorian: Oh, I'm glad, Meg. How did you like your local independent bookstore? There was a time when I thought they might largely go extinct, with the big box stores and all the other outlets. But so far so good.

>166 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

Continuing with another hair style post:

Happy Friday, Joe. Great street art and personal photos.

'Morning, Joe!

>169 Ameise1: Happy Friday, Barbara. Thanks re the street art and personal photos. It's been an exciting family time for all of us.

>170 karenmarie: 'Morning, Karen!

>142 jnwelch: Great photo of you three lads. Hope the wee one is doing well!

>168 jnwelch: That's a great one! Love it

>172 ChelleBearss: Thanks re >142 jnwelch:, Chelle. Two of my favorite lads there. The wee one is doing very well indeed, and he just received the "all clear" from the doctor. They don't need to go back for 8 weeks.

Isn't >168 jnwelch: a hoot?

Morning, Joe. Happy Friday. If you could take the gusty wind out of the question, it would not be a bad day out here. Maybe, later?

>174 msf59: Yes re later for the wind, as far as I know, Mark. It's pretty darn nice out here right now, with little wind.

Happy Friday. I'm going to head for the library soon - do you know the GN How to Be Happy? It just came in. I've been skeptical, but it turns up on "Best" lists. We'll see.

>167 jnwelch: The local independent bookstore just opened in the last 6 months, Joe. Definitely bucking the trend there. The owner is enthusiastic and we realized that we had met because she had a stall at the local farmers market last year. It sounds like she has a good strategy of tapping into the small town feel of the city next to mine. Western Sky Books also has a presence online which is necessary in this day and age.

>176 Familyhistorian: Good for the owner, and good for you, Meg. It's funny how these connections are made. My wife met the owner of one of our independent bookstores (the Book Cellar) when both were getting their hair done. The owner, a nurse (if I remember correctly), was talking about opening the store, and Debbi didn't know whether it would happen or not. That was maybe 15 years ago, and the store is going strong.

I'm glad Western Sky's owner has what sounds like a good strategy. Some of the best people around own these stores, and it's a labor of love for them.

Alpha: Abidjan to Paris is an Early Reviewer book. This graphic novel's title character is a cabinet maker in the Ivory Coast who takes on a refugee trip to try to find his wife and young son, who have left their poverty for Paris, hoping to join the wife's sister who has a beauty salon there. (The Ivory Coast, Cote d'Ivoire, also is the setting of the very good Aya graphic novels by Marguerite Abouet).

After his efforts to get a tourist visa get nowhere in the maze of reluctant bureaucracy, he determines to join others traveling there illegally. This GN movingly and troublingly conveys the danger and physical stress in such a journey, which requires money and (sometimes taken advantage of) trust at every juncture.







With others like a woman who prostitutes herself to get the money, and a young boy whose sister begs Alpha to take him from their poverty, Alpha travels from Abidjan to Mali to Algeria to Morocco, closer and closer to his intended destination, staying in refugee camps along the way. He thinks of himself as "an adventurer". A man who travels with him carries his family's hopes that he will play for Barcelona's football (soccer) team, but he must take this illegal, visa-less route to try to get there.

What particularly fuels the story is the desperation and determination of the travelers, who all are simply trying to find better lives for themselves. In keeping with books like the novel Go, Went, Gone, this gives the reader a picture of what illegal immigrants suffer through, what drives them, and what obstacles are brought to bear to keep them out. The art adds to the accessibility of the story. For those who want to know more about the refugee experience, this is a good one to read.

#156
I know what you mean about Illuminae. I put off reading it for several years because I didn’t like the looks of it. I listened to it instead - and that worked. I was skeptical about that due to the format, but the full cast helped. It is certainly an unusual novel and, when I first looked at it, I found it intimidating. It didn’t seem to be a novel for me and not one I would have read a few years ago. I never thought I would be an enthusiastic reader of science fiction. I only read it when I had to, but look at me now. It all stemmed from a desire to get out of my rut with my reading when I couldn’t get do anything about my situation at work. Science Fiction was something so far out there that it worked to take me to a different space when I got home in the evenings. Whole new worlds were out there just waiting to be explored and I found them! It has been fun and definitely widened my reading horizons.

>177 jnwelch: I definitely got the feeling that it was a labour of love for the bookstore owner I talked to.

Nice review of Alpha: Abidjan to Paris, Joe. I'll add it to my wish list.

>179 benitastrnad: Good for you, Benita. I applaud your broadening your reading experiences. You know I love sci-fi - it's been a fave genre of mine since I was a lad, for the reasons you give.

>180 Familyhistorian: I'll bet, Meg. Madame MBH and I dreamed of owning a bookstore for years (having met while working at one), but the timing wasn't right. Now we just enjoy going to them!

>181 kidzdoc: Oh, good, Darryl. Thanks - I'm glad the review of Alpha: Abidjan was inspiring. I look forward to hearing what you think of the book. In a way, I'm returning the favor, as you were the one who motivated me to read Go, Went, Gone.

All caught up with you, Joe! I love the photo featuring three generations of Welch - those feet!! And it sounds like I need to add Wade in the Water to The List.

Glad you loved Brazen Ladies - I knew you would! Birdy, Abby, and I all thought it was full of fabulous.

>182 jnwelch: You're welcome, Joe; and thank you. Current day stories about immigrants from poorer to richer countries are very interesting to me, so this GN is right up my alley.

>182 jnwelch: I think that the dream of owning a bookstore might be better than the reality of all the hours it takes, Joe.

Are you reading Drawing from Memory? I liked it but because of my western background found it odd that he was allowed to live on his own at such a young age.

>183 Crazymamie: Ha! Thanks, Mamie. Isn't the 3 gen photo cool? Wade in the Water is excellent. I wondered whether she could follow up well on Life on Mars, and she did.

Brazen Ladies was great. The first time I saw it mentioned was by our LT pal Charlotte, and I know Mark's a fan, too. I'm hoping my sisters get a big kick out of it.

>184 kidzdoc: Ditto, my friend.

>185 Familyhistorian: I think that the dream of owning a bookstore might be better than the reality of all the hours it takes, Joe. You're right about that, Meg! I used to manage some bookstores back in the day, and that was a lot of work. Ownership=all the more so, plus more worries. I really appreciate the folks who take it on.

Yes, I'm enjoying Drawing from Memory; RD gave it a plug a while ago after reading his Silent Days, Silent Dreams about the folk artist James Castle. I agree with you; it was startling that his parents let him live on his own in Tokyo at such a young age. And I give Say a lot of credit for so boldly approaching his favorite cartoonist to learn. I'm maybe 3/4 through the book.

>186 jnwelch: Yep. Me, too. Charlotte’s thread is dangerous that way.

Today was graduation day at UA and tonight is party night. I live in a neighborhood close to campus so the night is full of party noises. My next door neighbors daughter graduated from the community college here in town and they are having a big to-do. As a result I am at Starbucks drinking coffee and hoping that the noise level mitigates as the night wears on. I am glad for my neighbors but I want to sleep tonight and the weather has been so pleasant this last week that I could sleep with the windows open. Oh well - its not like they party every graduation day!

Rafa is such a darling , Joe! What a lovely grand-baby! I'm glad he is growing so well and has the all clear for 8 weeks. Great news.

>142 jnwelch: What a perfect picture, with all three generations. The circle of life, indeed.

Wishing you and your good lady a wonderful Sunday, Joe.

>187 Crazymamie: Truth! I love Charlotte's eclectic reading.

>188 benitastrnad: Sorry you had to deal with all that party noise, Benita. I'm hoping you're now in some quiet time, relaxing. You were smart to get out into the cafe while they were celebrating. Were you able to do some reading there?

>189 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb! We were able to Facetime with Rafa yesterday. He is getting bigger fast. We joke that he likes to "work on his core" - he is always raising his legs the way he is in that >142 jnwelch: three generations photo.

>190 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. It's off to a wonderful start. My good lady just made us toast with egg and avocado for breakfast (delish), and we're heading out soon to grab some coffee, take a long walk on a nice day here, and get some groceries at a store called Trader Joe's. Most people in the States love to shop at Trader Joe's - good people, good prices, good quality - and we have friends and relatives who are envious that we're only a short walk from ours.

I hope you and Hani have a great Sunday, too - are you still in different parts of the world?

P.S. And a neighbor just brought us six freshly-made donuts she bought at a church sale. So good!

I like your neighbour Joe!

The worst in us having taken over
And broken the rest utterly down.

Wow if that doesn’t say it all Joe. I will look for this one for sure.

Love the three generations shot too.

Just stopping by to wish you a great week, Joe. Rafa is adorable! Love the three-generation photo.

Like the generational photo, Joe. All you GUYs. I don't have a grandson, but I'm only slightly jealous. I have six granddaughters.

I finished Miss Pym Disposes by J. Tey this morning, which you remarked on at my place. So nicely written. I think my reaction was colored by the cover copy that promised a death made suspicious by subsequent doings. So I read and read, wondering who was going to be bumped off and who would be the bumper. And all that comes in the last 50-60 pages. Had the right person, but the twisted ending...ahhh. Fun to read.

>193 Caroline_McElwee: We do, too, Caroline! Her mum also is lovely.

>194 brenzi: Aren't those lines a knockout, Bonnie? She's powerful. Wade in the Water was even better than I hoped.

Thanks re the 3 gen shot. I already miss both those guys, although Facetime helps.

>195 tymfos: Thanks, Terri! Good to see you. That tiny youngest gen of the three is a welcome addition to the family. His waving those feet is typical for him.

>196 weird_O: Six granddaughters is so cool, Bill. We're glad this little guy is with us now.

Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed Miss Pym Disposes. Isn't that a fun read? And Tey writes so well.

London

Hi, Joe. Happy Monday. I am enjoying the day off. It is gorgeous here. Not enough spare time to visit many threads lately, but I will catch up.

Good review of Alpha: Abidjan to Paris. Thumb! This is my next GN. I hope to start it soon, along with the Smith poetry collection. Time has been slippery lately. Hardly read at all over the weekend, which is rare for me.

Morning, Joe!

>200 msf59: Hiya, Mark. Debbi mentioned you were in the Arboretum - what a beautiful day for it.

Thanks re the review and thumb! You'll be glad you read Alpha Abidjan. Having a good time is the best reason to have time to not read, right? I'm finally going to get to Jane Austen at Home by Lucy Worsley, which I've been itching to read for way too long now.

Off to a routine doctor appointment early, but at least I get to walk to it.

>201 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>191 jnwelch: 'Eclectic'? All over the place I think!! Thanks guys for the nice comments.
Glad Brazen is getting so much love here - I am impatiently waiting for her book about Mama Cass to arrive. No sign so far.

Good morning, Joe!

Imagine walking to my doctor's office - 9 miles away. You're lucky that things are so close. Even when I loved in various parts of LA there wasn't anything really within walking distance because I mostly lived in the 'burbs.

Morning, Joe!

>203 charl08: Ha! I enjoy your all-over-the-place reading, Charlotte. It makes life interesting, and you come up with good 'uns that I might not have known about otherwise. Like her Mama Cass book. I didn't know there was such a thing!

>204 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen!

I am lucky - I can walk to both the dentist and the doctor, and it's less than 9 miles. :-) Yeah, LA isn't a walkers' town anyway. We have our nieces out there that we visit, and we usually have to drive places, although our niece Meg has a good restaurant nearby that we walked to.

I'm just not a suburban kind of guy, although we have plenty of pals who live in the Chicago suburbs. I love living in the city. I couldn't have done the suburbs of LA for long.

>205 Crazymamie: Morning, Mamie!

I just finished the 5th October Daye book, and had another good time. Thanks again to you and Roni for getting me started.

Morning, Joe. I hope you had a nice stroll to the doctors office. It is another beautiful day. Keep 'em comin', I say.

>207 msf59: I did have a nice stroll to the doctor's office (and back), Mark, thanks. What a beaut out there. Not a trace of snow anywhere. :-)

Review of Lilac Girls coming up.

Madame MBH recommended Lilac Girls to me, and it's remarkable. It's set during WWII, and is based on the true stories of three women whose lives crossed in connection with Ravensbruck, the concentration camp for women. Caroline Ferriday is a socially aware woman from a privileged New York background who is determined to help those affected by the war, and hopes to rescue her lover trapped in France. Herta is a young German doctor at Ravensbruck who has to decide how to handle her role in atrocities there. The third woman, Kasia, is helping the Polish resistance when Ravensbruck enters her life, and the lives of her mother and sister. The book alternates among the three women's points of view.

It's the result of more than 10 years of research by Martha Hall Kelly. I found it well-written, well- researched and well-structured. The book does not hold back on the dark aspects of their experiences, but it also conveys the altruism and determination. It consists largely of naturally-flowing dialogue, and it's a page-turner; each chapter ends in a way that had me eager to find out what happened next. For those who can handle the dark with the light, this is a compelling read.

Hello Joe! I hope all is well with you.

>3 jnwelch: That is one adorable baby on a pretty cool pillow too!

>5 jnwelch: the street art you posted through out is great, buit this one takes the cake. Such a mind trip.

I'm still making my way through the Grant Chernow biography. It is so well done and narrator Mark Bramhall is brilliant.

Hiya, Brodie. Good to see you! What have you been up to?

Thanks - Rafa is quite the little guy. His mom's theme for his room is the sea.

I'm glad you're enjoying the Grant Chernow book. I should read one of Chernow's biographies. I know our daughter liked the Hamilton one (she's a big fan of the musical based on it).

Isn't >5 jnwelch: amazing?

I'll try to find and post another interesting one this morning.

Chalk street art

Happy Wednesday, Joe
>212 jnwelch: very cool art!

>212 jnwelch: Great art but not recommended for Rafa’s sea themed nursery!

>213 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle. Happy Wednesday.

Re >212 jnwelch:, right? Another amazing art illusion.

>214 NarratorLady: Ha! It's so tempting to get that done in Rafa's nursery, Anne . . .

That looks like an orca whale, doesn't it? We could get a photo of Rafa riding the orca whale. He already likes to grab things with his hands. We could make this work. If only his room wasn't smallish compared to that art, with a wood floor.

>215 jnwelch:

Well, there's your Make-a-Million$ idea for the day = create Street Art Rugs!
With the bonus of adding a photo!

>186 jnwelch: My BB for Drawing from Memory came from RD as well. Surprising, considering it is a GN!

>209 jnwelch: LIKE!!

Happy Wednesday night, Joe! Late check in. I am heading up to Wisconsin after work tomorrow, for a Bird Festival at Horicon Marsh. Friday, will be an all day event, busing, walking and boating, all to observe birds. Saturday's will be til noon. I will then meet Nancy in Milwaukee for a late lunch and brews. Really looking forward to it, but I don't think I'll be online much, until I get back.

I am glad you are enjoying Sing, Unburied, Sing. I love Ward. Have a good one, my friend.

This isn't really street art, though the photo of it was taken out on the street. And it should be a part of every American city's muriel program.

Good news, Joe. My library has "Brazen:Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World" on order, and I have Lilac Girls on my Kindle patiently waiting for me. :)

>219 weird_O: - Ooo, this is good! Where was this?

>216 m.belljackson: Ha! Street art rugs - great idea, Marianne! I'm not much of an entrepreneur these days, but I'd be first in line to buy one.

>217 Familyhistorian: I know, Richard has his ways of surprising us, Meg, doesn't he. I'm glad he got drawn (oops) into the world of Allen Say. Drawing from Memory was a treat.

>218 msf59: Hiya, Mark.

Thanks re the review!

Your weekend sounds great. Lots of birding, and a meetup with Nancy. I look forward to hearing how it goes.

I'll be gone, too, for a memorial service in Massachusetts for my dad's brother. I won't be on LT much either, I expect. I'll be visiting with a lot of relatives on my dad's side, many of whom I haven't seen in decades.

>219 weird_O: Such a good one, Bill, thanks. I wish we had the guy on the right, and didn't have the guy on the left.

>220 DeltaQueen50: That is good news, Judy. Brazen Rebel Ladies and Lilac Girls are so different, but both are great reads. I look forward to your takes on them.

>221 jessibud2: Looks like one of the recent marches, doesn't it, Shelley.

Yes, coffee time!
Wishing you a good weekend, Joe!

>226 EllaTim: Hi, Ella. Right? I'm running a bit late today, and on my second cup.

Thank you for the weekend wishes. It'll be interesting - I'm flying out tomorrow for a Saturday memorial service in Massachusetts for my dad's brother, who died at 98 years old. Lots of relatives will be there, and his was a long, happy life, so they plan an upbeat celebration. I wish the weather was going to be a little better for them. It's going to be about 12 C (54 F) and rainy there, but it's in a tent, so it should be okay.

I hope you have a good weekend, too, Ella.

Good afternoon, Joe!

>225 jnwelch: Nice!

>219 weird_O: Love that one!

Afternoon, Joe! Wishing you safe travels tomorrow.

>228 brodiew2: Good afternoon, Brodie. Thanks!

>229 Crazymamie: Right, Mamie?

Afternoon. Thanks re tomorrow. It'll be good. I've already seen my sisters more this year than many a preceding one, and they'll be there this weekend, from Montana and Pittsburgh. And we feel a tight bond with my dad's side of the family, even though we haven't seen many of them in a long time.

Paul Cranswick listed his top ten poets, and that of course got me thinking. It took me a while to sort it out, but here are my top ten poets. I'm aware of, and unhappy about, Eliot's anti-Semitism, but he's written some of the best poems I've ever read. Here we go.

Homer

W.B. Yeats

T.S. Eliot

Sharon Olds

Tracy K. Smith

Cold Mountain (Han Shan)

Billy Collins

Pablo Neruda

Ryokan

John Berryman

It's hard to leave off high quality candidates like Robert Frost, Mary Oliver, and Adrienne Rich (and many others), but there it is.

If I was going to do one for up-and-coming poets, I'd for sure have Danez Smith and Tyehimba Jess on there. For some, I'm waiting to see their staying power, like Melissa Range, who wrote the excellent Scriptorium.

>231 jnwelch: hmmm, I'm going to have to give this some thought. Certainly Neruda and Eliot would be on my list Joe.

>227 jnwelch: I hope the celebration of a life well lived goes well too.

>232 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. It's fun to think about, isn't it. It's at times like this that I miss our Ellie Moses, who'd no doubt have her own list. I know she'd put Mary Oliver in the top ten, and probably more West coast poets like Ferlinghetti. She inspired me to read a lot more of Oliver's poetry, and it was hard not to put Oliver in my top ten.

I was of two minds about putting Homer on there, but it is poetry, and it knocks me out, as you know.

I'll let you know about the celebration of my uncle's life. I won't be able to get on LT much in the next couple of days, but maybe Sunday night or Monday.

P.S. It's also hard to keep Shakespeare off a list like this, but he means more to me as a playwright than a poet.

Please enjoy the premises while I'm in Massachusetts (no, this is a photo of somewhere else entirely)

Adding Brazen to the wish list. No. Just ordering it from Amazon.

And adding Wade in the Water to the wish list. :-)

I hope you're having fun in Massachusetts!

I've got Lilac Girls in my TBR pile. I'll move it forward. I just finished a book and I'm not quite sure what it next. Whatever grabs my fancy.

Safe travels, Joe!

I'm headed to MA myself on Monday :)

One of these days we'll meet up Joe! You'll be in my neck of the woods this weekend but I'm sure your time is filled. And I'll miss you in Portland by a scant 3 months! (We're visiting for the first time in late September.)

Safe travels. Wish we could order up better weather for tomorrow.

Just stumbled across your thread. I absolutely love the street art!! Really neat and clever!

>235 EBT1002:. Excellent, Ellen. You’re going to love Brazen Ladies. I’m glad you’re adding Wade in the Water to the WL, too. The NY Times (Charles Simic) just gave it a boffo review, too.

Waiting for my sisters and their hubbies to arrive in MA.

>236 vancouverdeb:. I know what you mean when it’s “what next” time, Deb. I’m very glad I read Lilac Girls, and I’ve no doubt you will be, too, when you get to it.

>237 katiekrug:. Thanks, Katie. It’s nice to be back in the Boston area. I spent a lot of time here in younger days.

>238 NarratorLady:. One of these days, Anne! I look forward to it. I’m in Foxborough - I’m guessing they picked here as logical for folks driving from nearby areas.

What fun it would be to meet up in Portland!

Yeah, it’s supposed to be crummy weather tomorrow. But the good company should make up for it.

>239 figsfromthistle:. Welcome, figs! I’m glad you found us. Street art shows up pretty regularly here, so swing back by when time permits.

Have a great weekend with family, Joe. Like you, my retirement has freed up time to see family and old friends. Isn't it great?

>243 Familyhistorian:. Thanks, Meg. It’s been a great weekend with the family. They hugely appreciated our coming, and it was a beautiful memorial for my uncle. He was a character, and there were lots of funny stories and much affection. It was a treat to catch up with our East Coast cousins, some of whom I hadn’t seen for more than 30 years. Plus meeting their families. There was a one year old cutie named Lucy I know Madame MBH would’ve wanted to steal if she’d been there.

Driving to Logan Airport shortly to head home. Hopefully the traffic won’t be an issue on a Sunday morning.

Retirement makes all of this so much easier! We’re already talking about getting all of us back together.

Great to see the family reunion go so well buddy.

Hope the rest of your weekend is not too tiring with you travelling safely back to Chicago.

Happy Sunday, Joe and safe travels. I did not realize you were also out of town. I am glad you were able to attend your uncle's memorial. It is great to catch up with family. We will talk soon.

>245 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul. Thanks. It really was a family reunion, with a celebration of my uncle's life at the memorial.

Madame MBH and I were tired puppies yesterday. On Saturday, while I was out in Foxborough, she hosted a large memorial at our house for a recently (and unxpectedly) passed storyteller (great guy, and great storyteller), and then attended our temple's gala that night, in which they were honoring past gala chairs, which included us. Very full day!

>246 msf59: Happy Sunday/Mmphmumbleday, Mark. The traveling was fairly smooth, although mazy on the Boston/Logan Airport end. Getting to the return center, returning the rental car, getting to the terminal by shuttle to check in, and then to the gate in a different building, was crazy complicated. These older airports can be goofy.

It was great to catch up with family. My computer is having some hiccups right now - maybe the stormy weather - but when I get back later on I hope to post a photo or two.

I think that might be my floating head . . . naw, too good-looking. Mine must be elsewhere.

>248 jnwelch: LIKE!

Morning, Joe. Hopefully, the rain moved on for now. I could use a dry-spell for a few hours. Enjoy your day.

>249 msf59: Goofy, right, Mark?

Morning, buddy. The rain has stopped here; I hope the same is true for you. Looks like we'll have a bit of a lazy afternoon here; fingers crossed!

The three Welch sibs reunited: me, Judy, Angela.

We spent Saturday morning in the beautiful Borderland state park, where this was taken.

>151 jnwelch: yay for the Portland meetup! I've been wanting to make it to one of these for several years, so will try my darndest to be there.

>168 jnwelch: Love, love, love!

>178 jnwelch: Great review of Alpha Abidjan and a thumb from me. I had requested it through LTER, but didn't win it, although I am very much looking forward to reading the book I did win that month.

>251 jnwelch: lovely to see you all.

>253 Caroline_McElwee: - What she said. What is the birth order?

>252 streamsong: Oh, I hope it works out for you to be there for the Portland meetup, Janet. I can't wait!

Isn't >168 jnwelch: great? I love the combination of cleverness and skilled art.

Thanks re Alpha Abidjan, and especially for the thumb! Maybe that'll help spread the word. With any luck, you can find the book at your library.

I found zero ER books of interest on the May list. Did you find anything to request?

>253 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. You would get a big kick out of my sisters. It has been a very good year for all of us to get together so far. It helps that Angela and her hubby live in Pittsburgh, home of the newborn Rafa. And we saw Judy out in LA when she and her hubby were taking a yoga workshop there (they both teach yoga).

The new cafe is open. See you there!