karenmarie, addictively turning pages, chapter 11

Welcome to my eleventh thread of 2018. Thank you to all my visitors!

Being retired is the berries! It’s aces, snazzy, hot, smooth, sweet, swell, keen, and cool. It’s also the fox’s socks, the cat’s pajamas, the bee’s knees, the eel’s hips, the monkey’s eyebrows, the sardine’s whiskers, the gnat’s whistle. I do not miss working at all.

I read, am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, now in its 21st year, am Treasurer for our local Friends of the Library (henceforth abbreviated FoL), and manage our home, finances and etc. as my husband heads off to work Monday – Friday. Being an introvert (you’d never guess it from these pages!) I need and cherish the alone time to recharge my batteries.

I have been married to Bill for 27 years and am mother to Jenna, 25, living about 3 hours away and working on a 2-year business administration program at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington. We have two kitties, 18-year old Kitty William and 11-year old Inara Starbuck. We live in our own little corner of paradise on 8 acres in central North Carolina USA, currently down two trees because of Hurricanes Florence and Michael.

This is another photo of my G- G-Grandmother Alice Maud Hopps Patrick, undated, no photographer’s identification. It would have been taken in Nebraska, since the family moved there before the 1860 census. I can’t tell by dress style how old she was/what year it was taken. (Not G-G-, just G-).




My goal is to read 105 books in 2018, 5 more than I read in 2017. I’ve read 80 so far. I missed my pages read goal of 34,000 pages by 525 pages last year, so will keep the same pages goal. I don’t think I’m going to make it, and next year will not have a pages read goal, I think.







And, in honor of Sue Grafton, I am going to re-read all her Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series books this year. Alas, there will never be a Z. I’ve read A-M so far.




A few quotes about libraries that mean a lot to me:

Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark. The pleasure they give is steady, unorgastic, reliable, deep and long-lasting. In any library in the world, I am at home, unselfconscious, still and absorbed. Germaine Greer

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book. – When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library. Jane Austen

I like libraries. It makes me feel comfortable and secure to have walls of words, beautiful and wise, all around me. I always feel better when I can see that there is something to hold back the shadows. Roger Zelazny

And finally, very few books are worth slogging through when the inspiration to read them has gone. I abandon books with glee.

My theme for 2018, addictively turning pages, comes from an image on Mark’s thread first thread of 2018. In this case, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Read

1. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly 12/27/17 1/6/18 *** 467 pages trade paperback
2. Kinsey and Me by Sue Grafton 1/6/18 1/9/18 **** 283 pages hardcover
3. The Country Girls by Edna O'Brien 1/1/18 1/10/18 *** 1/2 175 pages trade paperback
4. You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack by Tom Gauld 1/1/18 1/15/18 **** 160 pages hardcover
5. Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff 1/6/18 1/17/18 *** 1/2 328 pages hardcover, Kindle
6. No Middle Name by Lee Child 1/17/18 1/19/18 **** 418 pages hardcover
**abandoned after 90 pages** Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi 1/9/18 326 pages trade paperback ER Book
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 12/3/17 1/22/18 **** audiobook, 19 hours
8. The Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrews Cummin 1/23/18 1/23/18 ****1/2 160 pages trade paperback
9. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman 1/20/18 1/26/18 **** 337 pages trade paperback
10. The Far Side Gallery 5 by Gary Larson 1/24/18 1/27/18 159 pages trade paperback 1995
11. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton 1/26/18 1/30/18 ***1/2 209 pages hardcover
12. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens 1/1/17 1/31/18 **** 780 pages plus 9 pages introduction
13. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley 2/1/18 2/5/18 ****1/2 367 pages trade paperback
**abandoned after 32 pages Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright 2/1/18 266 pages hardcover
14. B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton 2/5/18 2/6/18 **** 186 pages hardcover
15. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton 2/7/18 2/8/18 **** 181 pages hardcover
16. D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton 2/8/18 2/9/18 **** 184 pages hardcover
17. E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton 2/9/18 2/10/18 ***1/2 180 pages hardcover
18. F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton 2/10/18 2/13/18 ***1/2 182 pages hardcover
19. Dead Wake by Erik Larson 2/14/18 2/19/18 *** 359 pages trade paperback
**abandoned after 56 pages Plainsong by Kent Haruf
20. Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb 2/19/18 2/22/18 **** 404 pages hardcover
21. The Power by Naomi Alderman 2/23/18 3/1/18 *** 382 pages hardcover
22. G is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton 3/2/18 3/4/18 ***1/2 227 pages hardcover
23. H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton 3/5/18 3/8/18 **** 202 pages hardcover
24. The Godwulf Manuscript by Robert B. Parker 3/10/18 3/12/18 *** 153 pages hardcover
25. God Save the Child by Robert B. Parker 3/12/18 3/14/18 **** 145 pages hardcover
26. Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker 3/14/18 3/18/18 **** 157 pages hardcover
27. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson 2/25/18 3/20/18 ****1/2 396 pages trade paperback
28. I is for Innocent by Sue Grafton 3/14/18 3/22/18 **** 224 pages hardcover
29. God's Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher 3/22/18 3/26/18 ****1/2 228 pages trade paperback
30. J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton 3/26/18 3/31/18 *** 254 pages hardcover
31. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling 1/22/18 4/2/18 **** audiobook
32. The Shining Girls by Lauren Buekes 4/1/18 4/5/18 **1/2 368 pages hardcover
33. Promised Land by Robert B. Parker 4/5/18 4/6/18 ***1/2 218 pages mass market paperback
**abandoned after 132 pages The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
34. Euphoria by Lily King 4/6/18 4/10/18 ****1/2 257 pages trade paperback
35. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella 4/10/18 4/12/18 **** 433 pages trade paperback
36. Blue Monday by Nicci French 4/13/18 4/18/18 **** 322 pages trade paperback
37. The Last of the Bighams by J.A. Zeigler 4/18/18 4/21/18 *** 230 pages trade paperback
38. Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson 4/20/18 4/23/18 277 pages trade paperback
39. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley 04/23/18 04/29/18 *** 318 pages hardcover
40. A Perfect Match - Jill McGown 4/29/18 4/30/18 **1/2 186 pages mass market paperback
41. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 4/3/18 5/3/18 **** 13.5 hours audiobook
42. The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews 5/2/18 5/4/18 **1/2 trade paperback
43. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore 5/5/18 5/11/18 ***1/2 307 pages hardcover
44. Longbourn by Jo Baker 5/11/18 5/18/18 **** 332 pages trade paperback
45. The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson 5/20/18 5/25/18 **** 354 pages trade paperback
46. K is for Killer by Sue Grafton 5/26/18 5/28/18 ***1/2 238 pages hardcover
47. The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery by Agatha Christie, edited by Mathew Pritchard 5/28/18 5/29/18 ***1/2 376 pages hardcover
48. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie 5/29/18 5/31/18 ***1/2 232 pages hardcover
**abandoned after 60 pages Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement
**abandoned after 25 pages Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
49. L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton 5/31/18 6/2/18 ***1/2 225 pages hardcover
50. Until Proven Guilty by J.A. Vance 6/2/18 6/3/18 **** 310 pages mass market paperback
51. Injustice for All by J.A. Vance 6/3/18 6/6/18 **** 342 pages mass market paperback
52. Trial by Fury by J.A. Jance 6/6/18 6/7/18 **** 322 pages mass market paperback
53. M is for Malice by Sue Grafton 6/7/18 6/10/18 **** 244 pages hardcover
54. Montana by Gwen Florio 6/10/18 6/11/18 **** 256 pages hardcover 2013
55. The Story of Human Language by John McWhorter 5/4/18 6/13/18 ****1/2 audiobook 18.25 hours
56. Calypso by David Sedaris 6/12/18 6/13/18 **** 259 pages hardcover
57. End of Watch by Stephen King 6/13/18 6/18/18 ***1/2 431 pages hardcover
58. The Quiet Child by John Burley 6/20/18 6/23/18 **** 288 pages trade paperback
**abandoned after 40 pages Gumshoe on the Loose by Rob Leininger
59. Death Without Company by Craig Johnson 06/24/18 07/05/18 ***1/2 271 pages trade paperback
60. Dakota by Gwen Florio 07/14/18 7/17/18 ***1/2 264 pages trade paperback
61. Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer 7/18/18 7/23/18 ****1/2 309 pages trade paperback
62. Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz 7/15/18 7/29/18 ****1/2 391 pages hardcover
63. The Call by Yannick Murphy 8/1/18 8/9/18 *** 222 pages trade paperback
64. Less by Andrew Sean Greer 8/11/18 8/15/18 ****1/2 261 pages trade paperback
65. N is for Noose by Sue Grafton 8/17/18 8/18/18 **** 248 pages hardcover
66. O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton 8/18/18 8/19/18 **** 274 pages hardcover
67. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 6/23/18 to 8/20/18 318 pages hardcover - read on Kindle
**abandoned after 83 pages Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosely
68. The Storied Life of A. J. Fickry by Gabrielle Zevin 8/20/18 8/22/18 *** trade paperback
69. P is for Peril by Sue Grafton 8/21/18 8/26/18 ***1/2 hardcover
70. The Bridge by Doug Marlette 8/26/18 8/31/18 *** trade paperback
71. Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French 9/1/18 9/6/18 **** 371 pages hardcover
72. The Long Fall by Walter Mosley 9/7/18 9/15/18 **1/2 339 pages trade paperback
73. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy 9/7/18 9/18/18 **** 333 pages hardcover
74. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith 9/18/18 9/23/18 **** 647 pages hardcover
**abandoned after 64 pages Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
75. Every Day by David Levithan 9/25/18 10/2/18 **** 324 pages trade paperback
76. The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain 10/2/18 10/2/18 ***1/2 199 pages trade paperback
77. Lisey's Story by Stephen King 10/3/18 10/12/18 ****1/2 509 pages hardcover
78. Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton 10/11/18 10/16/18 ***1/2 386 pages hardcover
**abandoned after 78 pages The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
79. The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel 10/18/18 10/19/18 **** trade paperback
80. November 22, 1963 by Adam Braver 10/19/18 10/21/18 ****1/2 206 pages trade paperback
81. R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton 10/22/18 10/25/18 ***1/2 352 pages hardcover
82. The Outsider by Stephen King 10/25/18 10/29/18 **** 561 pages hardcover
83. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 10/26/18 10/31/18 ***** 343 pages hardcover
84. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders 10/26/18 10/31/18 ***** 7.5 hours audiobook
85. Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie 10/30/18 11/2/18 *** 212 pages hardcover
86. Tell No One by Harlan Coben 11/3/18 11/5/18 **1/2 370 pages mass market paperback
87. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny 11/5/18 11/6/18 **** 386 pages ARC trade paperback
88. Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer 11/6/18 11/8/18 **** 310 pages trade paperback
89. Past Tense by Lee Child 11/8/18 11/10/18 **** 382 pages hardcover
90. Force of Nature by Jane Harper 11/10/18 11/12/18 **** 324 pages hardcover
91. On Writing by Stephen King 11/13/18 11/14/18 **** 430 pages hardcover
92. S is for Silence by Sue Grafton 11/13/18 1118/18 ***1/2 374 pages hardcover

Currently Reading:

Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession and the President's War Powers by James F. Simon 10/24/18
The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers edited by Carole Vanderhoof 11/10/18 235 pages trade paperbook 2018
Jesus for the Non-Religious by John Shelby Spong 11/19/18 293 pages hardcover 2007
T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton 387 pages hardcover 2007
Brimstone by Preston & Child 11/23/18 728 pages mass market paperback 2004
Red:A History of the Redhead by Jacky Colliss Harvey 6/28/18 218 pages hardcover
Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari 5/5/18 464 pages hardcover, Kindle

Added

January - 16

1. SomeGuyInVirginia - True Tales from the Annals of Crime and Rascality by St. Clair McKelway
2. Thrift Shop - Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb
3. BookMooch - Guardian Angels & Spirit Guides by Brad Steiger
4. BookMooch - God's Fires by Patricia Anthony
5. Circle City Books - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman for Feb Book club
6. Circle City Books - Plainsong by Kent Haruf for March Book club
7. Amazon - Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright
8. LT ER - The Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrews Cummin
9. BookMooch - The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black
10. Thrift Shop - The Princess Bride by William Goldman
11. Amazon - A Trail Through Time by Jodi Taylor e-book
12. Amazon - Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff e-book
13. B&N - Persons Unknown by Susie Steiner
14. BookMooch - Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
15. Amazon - Kindred by Octavia Butler e-book
16. Amazon - Not Perfect by Elizabeth LaBan e-book

February - 9

17. Jenn - Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
18. Scuppernong Books - A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
19. Amazon - The Power by Naomi Alderman
20. Amazon - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
21. dianekeenoy - My Name is Venus Black by Heather Lloyd
22. Amazon - The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White
23. Friend Sherry - Rebel: My Life Outside the Lines by Nick Nolte
24. Friend Sherry - The Journal of Best Practices by David Finch
25. BookMooch - Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson

March - 10

26. Amazon - The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor
27. Amazon - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling
28. Amazon - Enter Spenser by Robert B. Parker
29. Thrift Shop - I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella
30. Amazon - God's Kingdom by Howard Frank Mosher
31. Circle City Books - Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
32. Circle City Books - Promised Land by Robert B. Parker
33. Amazon - On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder - ebook
34. Amazon - The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - ebook
35 Amazon - True Fiction by Lee Goldberg - ebook

April - 69

36. ER - Gumshoe on the Loose by Rob Leininger
37. The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker by Mankoff, Robert
38. 20,000 years of world painting by Jaffé, Hans Ludwig C.
39. Legends: The Century's Most Unforgettable Faces by Jordan, Killian
40. Tutankhamun: His Tomb and Its Treasures by Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen
41. An Acceptable Time by L'Engle, Madeleine
42. Blanche on the Lam by Neely, Barbara
43. Enjoying Purple Martins More: A Special Publication from Bird Watcher's Digest by Wolinski, Richard A.
44. A Cure for Dreams by Gibbons, Kaye
45. Still Life with Bread Crumbs by Quindlen, Anna
46. The Best of Will Rogers by Sterling, Bryan
47. Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002) by Sedaris, David
48. Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Carwardine, Richard
49. Theodore Rex by Morris, Edmund
50. The Hush by Hart, John
51. A Very Private Enterprise by Ironside, Elizabeth
52. Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories by Winchester, Simon
53. The History of Ancient Egypt by The Great Courses
54. The Story of Human Language by Professor John McWhorter
55. Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932: A Novel by Prose, Francine
56. Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Vowell, Sarah
57. What Happened by Clinton, Hillary Rodham
58. The Black Death by Ziegler, Philip
59. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Noah, Trevor
60. Did Lincoln Own Slaves?: And Other Frequently Asked Questions About Abraham Lincoln by Prokopowicz, Gerald J.
61. Sunday Silence by French, Nicci
62. Charles Jessold, Considered as a Murderer: A Novel by Stace, Wesley
63. The Ladies' Man by Lipman, Elinor
64. Jane Austen's Novels: The Art of Clarity by Gard, Roger
65. Recipes & Remedies From The People's Pharmacy by Joe & Terry Graedon
66. Into the Wild by Krakauer, Jon
67. Mrs. Bridge by Connell, Evan S.
68. National Geographic Complete Birds of the World by Geographic, National
69. The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Keene, Carolyn
70. The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Keene, Carolyn
71. The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Keene, Carolyn
72. The Secret at Shadow Ranch by Keene, Carolyn
73. The Whispering Statue by Keene, Carolyn
74. The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Keene, Carolyn
75. The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Keene,Carolyn
76. The Clue in the Old Album by Keene, Carolyn
77. The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Keene, Carolyn
78. The North Carolina Birding Trail: Piedmont Trail Guide by North Carolina Birding Trail
79. Damascus Gate by Stone, Robert
80. Gump & Co. by Groom, Winston
81. The Astronomer: A Novel of Suspense by Goldstone, Lawrence
82. The Last Enemy by Brophy, Grace
83. The Truth According to Us by Barrows, Annie
84. Language & Thought by Chomsky, Noam
85. Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Spitz, Bob
86. The Malcontenta by Maitland, Barry
87. Necessary as Blood by Crombie, Deborah
88. Changing Places: A Tale of Two Campuses by Lodge, David
89. The Accomplice by Ironside, Elizabeth
90. The Sheltering Sky by Bowles, Paul
91. The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Angier, Natalie
92. Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays by Didion, Joan
93. The Underpainter by Urquhart, Jane
94. The Cold Dish by Johnson, Craig
95. Ten Dead Comedians: A Murder Mystery by Van Lente, Fred
96. Shrimp: a Savor the South® cookbook by Pierce, Jay
97. Early Man and the Ocean: A Search for the Beginnings of Navigation and Seaborne Civilizations by Heyerdahl, Thor
98. King Solomon's Mines, She and Allan Quatermain by Haggard, Henry Rider
99. This Is NPR: The First Forty Years by Roberts, Cokie
100. Tartuffe by Moliere, Jean Baptiste Poquelin de
101. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Kinsella, Sophie
102. Iced by Siler, Jenny
103. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Ellis, Joseph J.
104. For the Time Being by Dillard, Annie

May - 5

105. Mom's house - The Mike Roy Cook Book by Mike Roy
106. Friend Tamsie - The Whip by Karen Kondazian
107. Friend Louise - Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
108. Friend Louise - Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
109. Amazon - The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North

June - 9

110. Friend Jan - Until Proven Guilty by J.A. Jance
111. Friend Jan - Injustice for All by J.A. Jance
112. Friend Jan - Trial by Fury by J.A. Jance
113. QuailRidge Books - Calypso by David Sedaris
114. Amazon - Montana by Gwen Florio
115. Amazon - Tuesday's Gone by Nicci French
116. ? - Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottaline
117. Amazon - Healthy Aging by Andrew Weil, M.D.
118. ? - The Quiet Child by John Burley

July - 92 (119 - 211 - Montana trip summer 2018)
119. Visual Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs by Dixon, Dougal
120. Battlefields & Blessings by Cook, Jane Hampton
121. The Indian Mutiny by Spilsbury, Julian
122. The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Sharlet, Jeff
123. Reincarnation: the Missing Link in Christianity by Prophet, Elizabeth Clare
124. The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story by Ackerman, Diane
125. Three Continents by Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer
126. The Vine of Desire by Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee
127. A Story Like the Wind by Van der Post, Laurens
128. O'Hara's Choice by Uris, Leon
129. The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Wiesenthal, Simon
130. The Secret Life of Bees by Kidd, Sue Monk
131. Saving Fish from Drowning by Tan, Amy
132. Over Sea, Under Stone by Cooper, Susan
133. Animal Portraits by Rouse, Andy
134. The Rape of the Great Plains: Northwest America, Cattle and Coal by Toole, K. Ross
135. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana by Lemmon, Gayle Tzemach
136. Fairy Tales for Angry Little Girls by Lee, Lela
137. That Old Ace in the Hole by Proulx, Annie
138. American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America by Hedges, Chris
139. Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters First 100 Years by Delany, Sarah
140. Stones into Schools by Mortenson, Greg
141. The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook by Steel, Flora Annie
142. The Valley of Amazement by Tan, Amy
143. The Christ of the Indian Road by Jones, Eli Stanley
144. The West: An Illustrated History by Ward, Geoffrey C.
145. The Apocrypha of the Old Testament by
146. Compass American Guides: Montana by Tirrell, Norma
147. Close Range : Wyoming Stories by Proulx, Annie
148. The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount by Gorenberg, Gershom
149. Mrs. Caliban by Ingalls, Rachel
150. The Uncensored Truth Bible for New Beginnings by Wilhite, Jud
151. The Hundred Secret Senses by Tan, Amy
152. Eerdmans' Handbook to the Bible by Alexander, David
153. Between the Lines; A View Inside American Politics, People, and Culture by Alter, Jonathan
154. Concordance to the Holy Scriptures by Cruden, Alexander
155. The Christian Calendar by Cowie, Leonard W
156. Less by Greer, Andrew Sean
157. Red: A History of the Redhead by Harvey, Jacky Colliss
158. Betrayal of Trust by Jance, J. A
159. Failure to Appear by Jance, J. A
160. Judgment Call by Jance, J. A
161. Cold Betrayal by Jance, J. A.
162. Deadly Stakes by Jance, J. A.
163. Cruel Intent by Jance, J. A.
164. Left for Dead by Jance, J. A.
165. Straight on Till Morning: The Biography of Beryl Markham by Lovell, Mary S.
166. The God Dog Connection by Healy, Marti
167. The Whole Truth and Nothing But by Hopper,Heda
168. In the Dark Streets Shineth: A 1941 Christmas Eve Story by McCullough, David
169. Real Boys: Rescuing Our Sons from the Myths of Boyhood by Pollack, William
170. No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva by Chödrön, Pema
171. Bloody Crimes by Swanson, James L.
172. Charlatan by Brock, Pope
173. Face Time by Wilde, Patrick de
174. The Island of the Colorblind by Sacks, Oliver
175. The Bartender's Tale by Doig, Ivan
176. Magic or Madness by Larbalestier, Justine
177. War of the Worldviews: Science Vs. Spirituality by Chopra, Deepak
178. Yellowstone: A Journey Through America's Wild Heart by Quammen, David
179. A Dangerous Man:: A Novel of William Wild Bill Longley by Johnstone, William W.
180. Taking the Fifth by Jance, J. A
181. Not the Way It's Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin by Jr., Cornelius Plantinga
182. Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Gould, Stephen Jay
183. Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds by Gordon, Lyndall
184. Letters from Yellowstone by Smith, Diane
185. This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Levitin, Daniel J.
186. Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Weiner, Tim
187. Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth by Alexander, Lloyd
188. The Farfarers: Before the Norse by Mowat, Farley
189. Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks by Eilperin, Juliet
190. The Catsitters by Wolcott, James
191. Making Haste from Babylon by Bunker, Nick
192. Sarah's Key by Rosnay, Tatiana de
193. Silver on the Tree by Cooper, Susan
194. Many Lives, Many Masters by Weiss, Brian L.
195. Magic Lessons by Larbalestier, Justine
196. Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential by Myss, Caroline
197. Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin by Gould, Stephen Jay
198. Outlaws and Lawmen of the West Vol 1 by Macpherson, M. A.
199. Thunderstruck by Larson, Erik
200. The Times We Had : Life with William Randolph Hearst by Davies, Marion
201. The Surgeon by Gerritsen, Tess
202. Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush by Dean, John W.
203. Secret Smile by French, Nicci
204. The Story of Jack Ballister's Fortunes by Pyle, Howard
205. Bucking the Sun by Doig, Ivan
206. The Power Is Within You by Hay, Louise
207. A Distant Mirror by Tuchman, Barbara W.
208. Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Milford, Nancy
209. Same Kind of Different As Me by Hall, Ron
210. Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas by Mayer, Jane
211. Dakota by Florio, Gwen
212. Amazon - Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer

August - 51 (217 - 263 - Larry)
213. Circle City Books - The Call by Yannick Murphy
214. ER book - Day of the Dead by Nicci French
215. Bookmooch - My Happy Life by Lydia Millet
216. Quail Ridge Books - The Fact of A Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
217. The Collector's Encyclopedia of R.S. Prussia by Mary Frank Gaston
218. Collector's Encyclopedia of Nippon Porcelain, 3rd Series by Joan F. Van Patten
219. A Treasury of American Clocks by Brooks Palmer
220. Birds of North America: A Guide To Field Identification by Chandler S. Robbins
221. With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by E. B. Sledge
222. Prisoner's Base by Rex Stout
223. The Golden Spiders by Rex Stout
224. Three Witnesses by Rex Stout
225. Black Orchids by Rex Stout
226. Champagne for One by Rex Stout
227. Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout
228. Murder By the Book by Rex Stout
229. Fer-De-Lance by Rex Stout
230. The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout
231. Death of a Doxy by Rex Stout
232. The League Of Frightened Men by Rex Stout
233. Some buried Caesar by Rex Stout
234. Before Midnight by Rex Stout
235. And Four To Go by Rex Stout
236. Trio for Blunt Instruments by Rex Stout
237. A Family Affair by Rex Stout
238. Too Many Cooks by Rex Stout
239. Three Men Out by Rex Stout
240. The Black Mountain by Rex Stout
241. Death of a Dude by Rex Stout
242. The Rubber Band by Rex Stout
243. Over My Dead Body by Rex Stout
244. Triple Zeck: A Nero Wolfe Omnibus by Rex Stout
245. The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout
246. The Father Hunt by Rex Stout
247. Gambit by Rex Stout
248. Easy Go by Michael Crichton
249. Binary by Michael Crichton
250. The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley
251. Utopia by Lincoln Child
252. Death Of A Peer by Ngaio Marsh
253. Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy by Frances Mayes
254. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
255. Hooking Up by Tom Wolfe
256. Night at the Vulcan by Ngaio Marsh
257. Barrier Island by John D. MacDonald
258. Fletch by Gregory Mcdonald
259. The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton
260. Artists In Crime by Ngaio Marsh
261. Murder, She Meowed: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown
262. 361 by Donald E. Westlake
263. Mr. Pottermack's Oversight by Austin Freeman

September - 114 (264 - 275 friend Karen)
264. The Rising Sign: Your Astrological Mask by Jeanne Avery
265. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
266. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
267. Freebird by Jonathan Raymond
268. Barbed Wire Heart by Tess Sharpe
269. Nothin' But Good Times Ahead by Molly Ivins
270. Psychic Children: Revealing the Intuitive Gifts and Hidden Abilities of Boys and Girls by Silvia Browne
271. The God of the Hive by Laurie R. King
272. In Search Of Our Mothers' Gardens - Womanist Prose by Alice Walker
273. Servants of the Map: Stories by Andrea barrett
274. It's Always the Husband by Michele Campbell
275. Holy Blood, Holy Grail: The Secret History of Christ & The Shocking Legacy of the Grail by Michael Baigent
276. LT ER - Day of the Dead by Nicci French
277. Amazon - Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
278. Amazon - My Happy Life by Lydia Millet
279. Friend Louise - South of Broad by Pat Conroy
280. Friend Louise -Camino Island by John Grisham
281. Friend Louise -The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond
282. Amazon - Every Day by David Levithan
283. Friend Louise - Half Broken Things by Morag Joss
284. Amazon - The Long Fall by Walter Mosley
285. Amazon - Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
286. Friend Rhoda - Sleeping in the Ground by Peter Robinson
287. FoL Volunteer book - Friday on My Mind by Nicci French
288. FoL Volunteer book - Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
289. FoL Volunteer book - Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier
290. FoL Volunteer book - The Gate Keeper by Charles Todd
291. FoL Volunteer book - Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith - audiobook
292. Friends of the Library Sale - The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - audiobook
293. Friends of the Library Sale - Lincoln and Chief Taney: Slavery, Secession, and the President’s War Powers by James F. Simon - audiobook
294. Friends of the Library Sale - Selections from Nicomachean Ethics and Politics by Aristotle
295. Friends of the Library Sale - Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
296. Friends of the Library Sale - Discourse on Method, Meditations on the First Philosophy, The Principles of Philosophy by Descartes
297. Friends of the Library Sale - Selections from Protagoras, Republic, Phaedrus, Gorgias by Plato
298. Friends of the Library Sale - Selections from Plato by Socrates
299. Friends of the Library Sale - Unbelievable by Katy Tur
300. Friends of the Library Sale - Ship of Theseus by V.M. Straka
301. Friends of the Library Sale - The Dead of Winter by Rennie Airth
302. Friends of the Library Sale - Sea of Glory by Nathaniel Philbrick
303. Friends of the Library Sale - A Murder, A Mystery, and a Marriage by Mark Twain
304. Friends of the Library Sale - Force of Nature by Jane Harper
305. Friends of the Library Sale - Dinosaur in a Haystack by Stephen Jay Gould
306. Friends of the Library Sale - Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
307. Friends of the Library Sale - King Arthur by Norma Lorre Goodrich
308. Friends of the Library Sale - Merlin by Norma Lorre Goodrich
309. Friends of the Library Sale - What Every American Should Know About American History by Christine Lunardini, Ph.D.
310. Friends of the Library Sale - Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman
311. Friends of the Library Sale - A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
312. Friends of the Library Sale - A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
313. Friends of the Library Sale - In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
314. Friends of the Library Sale - The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
315. Friends of the Library Sale - Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey
316. Friends of the Library Sale - The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
317. Friends of the Library Sale - A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
318. Friends of the Library Sale - The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
319. Friends of the Library Sale - The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey
320. Friends of the Library Sale - To Love and Be Wise by Josephine Tey
321. Friends of the Library Sale - Exploring The Roots of Religion by Professor John R. Hale - audiobook
322. Friends of the Library Sale - Mr. Lincoln: The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Professor Allen C. Guelzo - audiobook
323. Friends of the Library Sale - No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life by Professor Robert C. Solomon
324. Friends of the Library Sale - The Foundations of Western Civilization by Professor Thomas F.X. Noble - audiobook
325. Friends of the Library Sale - Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition, 2nd Edition by Various Professors - audiobook
326. Friends of the Library Sale - Great Artists of the Italian Renaissance by Professor William Kloss - audiobook
327. Friends of the Library Sale - The History of the Supreme Court by Professor Peter Irons - audiobook
328. Friends of the Library Sale - Poetry for Cats by Henry Beard
329. Friends of the Library Sale - Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff
330. Friends of the Library Sale - The Alice Behind Wonderland by Simon Winchester
331. Friends of the Library Sale - Benjamin Franklin by Walter Isaacson
332. Friends of the Library Sale - A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters by Julian Barnes
333. Friends of the Library Sale - Beastly Tales from Here and There by Vikram Seth
334. Friends of the Library Sale - The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett
335. Friends of the Library Sale - The Ringed Castle by Dorothy Dunnett
336. Friends of the Library Sale - Checkmate by Dorothy Dunnett
337. Friends of the Library Sale - Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz
338. Friends of the Library Sale - The Founding Fathers by Encyclopedia Britannica
339. Friends of the Library Sale - Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts
340. Friends of the Library Sale - Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts
341. Friends of the Library Sale - The Lost City of Oz by David Grann
342. Friends of the Library Sale - The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain
343. Friends of the Library Sale - After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
344. Friends of the Library Sale - Grasshopper by Barbara Vine
345. Friends of the Library Sale - FoL Volunteer Book - The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter
346. Friends of the Library Sale - FoL Volunteer Book - Justice Hall by Laurie R. King
347. Friends of the Library Sale - One Dish Meals by Reader's Digest
348. Friends of the Library Sale - Shout! The Beatles in Their Generation by Philip Norman
349. Friends of the Library Sale - The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen L. Carter
350. Friends of the Library Sale - The Vanishing American by Zane Grey
351. Friends of the Library Sale - Arizona Ames by Zane Grey
352. Friends of the Library Sale - The Border Legion by Zane Grey
353. Friends of the Library Sale - Four Colors Suffice: How the Map Problem Was Solved by Robin Wilson
354. Friends of the Library Sale - Jesus for the Non Religious by John Shelby Spong
355. Friends of the Library Sale - Angels of Destruction by Keith Donoghue
356. Friends of the Library Sale - The Cloud Sketcher by Richard Reyner
357. Friends of the Library Sale - The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour
358. Friends of the Library Sale - The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank
359. Friends of the Library Sale - The Museum Guard by Howard Normal
360. Friends of the Library Sale - The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
361. Friends of the Library Sale - Soil by Jamie Kornegay
362. Friends of the Library Sale - Tripmaster Monkey by Maxine Hong Kingston
363. Friends of the Library Sale - The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay
364. Friends of the Library Sale - A Study in Treason by Leonard Goldbert
365. Friends of the Library Sale - Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
366. Friends of the Library Sale - The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch
367. Friends of the Library Sale - S. by John Updike
368. Friends of the Library Sale - Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith
369. Friends of the Library Sale - Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars by Miranda Emmerson
370. Friends of the Library Sale - Aftermath by Clara Kensie
371. Friends of the Library Sale - Roman Fever and Other Stories by Edith Wharton
372. Friends of the Library Sale - Angels of Destruction by Keith Donoghue
373. Friends of the Library Sale - Spadework by Timothy Findley
374. Friends of the Library Sale - Eva Moves the Furniture by Margot Livesey
375. LT ER book - Never Cry Halibut by Bjorn Dihle
376. LT ER book - One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith
377. Amazon - Blackbeard's Sunken Prize: The 300-Year voyage of Queen Anne's Revenge by Mark U. Wilde-Ramsing & Linda F. Carnes-McNaughton

October
378. Amazon - The Outsider by Stephen King
379. Bookmooch - Coming into the Country by John McPhee

November
380. Amazon - The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers: Selections from Her Novels, Plays, Letters, and Essays
381. Amazon - Elevation by Stephen King
382. Amazon - Past Tense by Lee Child
383. BookMooch - Wallis in Love by Andrew Morton
384. BookMooch - The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld
385. Kindle - The Dry by Jane Harper
386. Amazon - Becoming by Michelle Obama

Culled

1. Every Dead Thing by John Connolly first of a series I will never continue
2. Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi
3. Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright - references to The Matrix and powdered sugar donut analogies left me cold
4. Plainsong by Kent Haruf didn't hold my interest
5. The Power by Naomi Alderman daughter expressed an interest and I have no desire to keep it on my shelves for some reason
6. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes 2.5 stars, not a keeper
7. I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella good but not worth using the shelf space to keep
8. Audubon Bird Guide - Eastern Land Birds 1946, outdated
9. The Clue of the Tapping Heels by Carolyn Keene - duplicate, poorer quality
10. The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk by Carolyn Keene - duplicate, poorer quality
11. The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene - duplicate
12. The Secret at Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene - duplicate, poorer quality
13. The Underpainter by Jane Urquhart - duplicate
14. Waiting by Ha Jin - 2.5 stars, time to go
15. The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera - time to go
16. Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot by Al Franken
17. A Perfect Match - A Mystery by Jill McGown
18. The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews
19. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore good book, don't need to keep
20. Night and Day by Ann Stuart
21. Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement blech
22. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - gift to friend Karen
23. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - gift to friend Karen
24. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis - gift to friend Karen
25. The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis - gift to friend Karen
26. The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis - gift to friend Karen
27. The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis - gift to friend Karen
28. The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis - gift to friend Karen
29. The 26 Letters by Oscar Ogg (such a lovely name!)
30. Sentenced to Die by J.A. Jance - duplicate of first 3 J.P. Beaumont books - didn't know I had it
31. A Voyage Long and Strange - large print edition, replaced with one from MT trip
32. The Unquiet by John Connolly - don't like the Charlie Parker series
33. Ten Dead Comedians by Fred Van Lente - started, don't like
34. The Bridge by Doug Marlette - read, liked, don't need to keep
35. Sentenced to Die - first 3 J.P. Beaumont mysteries by J.A. Jance - got 3 paperbacks as birthday present and will keep them instead
36. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley - abandoned
37. The Long Fall by Walter Mosley - finished it, but will not continue with the series
38. Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue - duplicate
39. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - finally realized I'd never read it
40. Prince of Dreams by Lisa Kleypas read, won't reread
41. Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander - started, abandoned
42. Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles - duplicate
43. Bushworld by Maureen Dowd - things are so much exponentially worse with drumpf that Bush is irrelevant
44. The Time in Between by Mary Duenas
45. The Siege by Stephen White
46. A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall - religious stuff
47. The Face Changers by Thomas Perry
48. The Eye of the Leopard by Henning Mankell
49. Great Tales of Mystery & Suspense
50. The Excursion Train by Edward Marston
51. The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt
52. The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
53. The Old Farmer's Almanac of 2000
54. A Christmas Treasury edited by Jack Newcombe
55. Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
56. The World of Mr. Mulliner by P.G. Wodehouse
57. Irving Berlin by Mary Ellin Barrett
58. A Blunt Instrument by Georgette Heyer - 58-68 will never read the unread ones, given to a good home!
59. Behold Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer
60. Death In The Stocks by Georgette Heyer
61. Duplicate Death by Georgette Heyer
62. Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer
63. Footsteps In The Dark by Georgette Heyer
64. No Wind Of Blame by Georgette Heyer
65. Penhallow by Georgette Heyer
66. The Unfinished Clue by Georgette Heyer
67. They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer
68. Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer
69. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
70. The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout duplicate
71. Let it Bleed by Ian Rankin - won't read any more of the Rebus series
72. Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin - ditto
73. The Falls by Ian Rankin - ditto
74. The Book Club Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp - meh
75. South of Broad by Pat Conroy - will never read
76. Tell No One by Harlan Coben - will never reread, not part of his Myron Bolitar series

Statistics Through October 31

83 books read
10 books abandoned
24194 pages read
79.5 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 80
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 291

Author
Male 44%
Female 56%

Living 62%
Dead 38%

US Born 76%
Foreign Born 24%

Platform
Hardcover 49%
Trade Pback 36%
Mass Market 6%
Audiobook 6%
e-Book 2%

Source
My Library 96%
Other 4%

Misc
ARC/ER 1%
Re-read 29%
Series 48%

Fiction 88%
NonFiction 12%


Author Birth Country
Canada 1%
England 16%
Ireland 2%
Scotland 2%
South Africa 1%
Sweden 1%
US 76%

Original Decade Published
1810-1819 1%
1830-1839 1%
1900-1910 1%
1920-1929 2%
1960-1969 1%
1970-1979 5%
1980-1989 12%
1990-1999 17%
2000-2009 17%
2010-2018 42%

Genre
Comics 2%
Fiction 16%
Historical Fiction 5%
History 4%
Linguistics 1%
Humor 1%
Memoir 4%
Mystery 47%
Politics 1%
Romance 4%
Social Commentary 1%
Supernatural 12%
Thriller 1%
True Crime 1%

Welcome!

Happy new one, Karen! Jumping on the newest thread before I catch up with your previous one.

Hi Mamie! Thank you.

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Karen!

>1 karenmarie: Such a very cool picture, I love old photos.

You're one book ahead, but I imagine you're going to increase the lead pretty sharply now.

Much love, we had frost last night!

Adding to the discussion of "November 22, 1963" from the previous thread: I was 9 months old. I always tell people I was in the play pen in the living room when Kennedy was shot. It is a likely location for where I was. They would put my playpen just to the right of the television where it was out of the line of vision for everyone in the room. It was one of those television where you had to adjust an outside antenna with a device on top of the TV rather than the rabbit ears which came into favor.

Thanks Rachel and Katie! (heading over to pay a long-over-due visit, Katie!)

Hi Larry! Thanks. I love old photographs, too. I'm fortunate to have so many. About mid-month I think I'm going to try to find the one of her husband, my g-g-grandfather Robert A. Hopps (1821-1903) so I can use it for November.

I'm really set on reading 105 books this year. 25 to go - 8 of them will be Sue Grafton, one will be a re-read of Lincoln in the Bardo for November book club discussion (and if I read it AND listen to it too, like I plan to do, I'll count it twice!). We didn't have frost here at the house, but it was pretty darned cold this morning.

from the previous thread: I was in what is now called 'middle school', 8th or 9th grade, and a teacher came running into my classroom crying. We had a general announcement after that, and school was dismissed. When I walked home, I found my mother on the couch crying, and said to her 'now there will be chaos' and she immediately replied 'no there won't'. Of course, she was right, but it felt like no sympathy. I can still see the scene.

Hi Judy. Wow, powerful. Your mother, fortunately, was right - the transfer of power (so far, at least) in this country is one of its most admirable strengths. I'm sorry she didn't seem sympathetic or empathetic.

One time when my wallet was stolen (I was 17, left it in the car when I went into the library and the car's wind wing was broken) I told my parents that "some f***er stole my wallet." This was in 1970, and they had absolutely no sympathy for me - they were jut upset with how I told them. Told me that I was hysterical and to go upstairs. Of course, with parents who didn't even allow "yeah" or "shut up", I can see how it must have shocked them to hear such filth from their daughter's mouth.

Happy new thread, Karen!

It can be very difficult to judge dates in old photos from clothing, because people tended to own their (relatively few) clothes for long periods of time, and hand-me-downs were common, too, so the "Sunday clothes" could be around for quite awhile. I recall a discussion of a 19th-century family photo someone had shared where those with knowledge of costume dated the picture a decade or two earlier than it could have been taken (based on the identities of those in the photo, according to its owner).

Thanks, Harry! Interesting about the photo date vs the clothes date.

Those are good points about few clothes held on longer and handed down. I can't even really tell her age - perhaps her hair style might be a hint too.

Different but related - growing up in a suburb of Los Angeles, there was a clothes rotation for the girls: Neighbors Terry and her sister Pammy, then me, then over to Janna, then Colleen and Kathy across the street, then to my sister Laura. Not everything of course, but there were some things that were a neighborhood item for sure.

Happy new thread my dear.

Hi Karen, hope you and Bill had a really good weekend and that you have a good week ahead, sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

I was in 4th grade when the Kennedy assassination happened. My mother had taken my brother and I to visit my grandparents in California exactly one year to the day, the year before, and my grandparents had a photo of Kennedy on their living room wall. Maybe that was common in the States but in Canada you just don't see that sort of *patriotism*. I remember our school principal coming around to every classroom, calling the teacher out into the hall to tell them, then the teacher came inside to tell us. I don't really remember much of what went on in the class after that, re discussion but I do know that when I got home, we watched tv non-stop for the entire weekend, including seeing Oswald getting shot by Jack Ruby. Such shocking stuff, especially back then. But that is really my first memory of being aware of the big world out there and politics. I began to pay attention after that.

ps - Happy new thread, Karen! :-)

>18 johnsimpson: Hi John! Thank you. We had a very good weekend. This week is looking good, too. Sending love and hugs to you and Karen.

>19 jessibud2: I don't know if photos of presidents on walls was common in the US then - I don't remember seeing any in any friends' houses at all. I do remember having a school-wide Presidential vote in 1964 and Johnson won. (18 class rooms of approximately 30 students each).

I don't remember much about that weekend, didn't see Ruby shoot Oswald. Monday we watched the funeral. I don't think the whole world became apparent to me then, unfortunately. We were very sheltered and very innocent, I'm afraid, even in Los Angeles in 1963.

>20 jessibud2: Thank you!

Happy new thread, Karen!

Like Lori >12 thornton37814: I was nine months in November 1963. Although I have very early memories I dont remember any of that day. Most impact on me had the death of president Allende in Chili, september 1973...

>12 thornton37814: Hi Lori - timing! I missed seeing your post, sorry. You were just teensy, weren't you? We had rabbit ears on our TV, as I recall. No remote control, of course. Black and white until we moved in 1967 and got a color TV.

>22 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. You and Lori are just about the same age and ten years younger than I am. Even though I was 20, I don't specifically remember Allende's death. I do remember the political turmoil in Uganda because of some dear college friends from there. I think that's the first real visceral eye-opener for me about the larger world.

Happy New Thread, Karen. Love the Grandma Alice Maud topper! How special! I hope you had a good day. It was a beauty in Chicagoland.

Happy new thread!

Looking forward to this new thread, Karen! Read! Read! Read! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!

>26 LizzieD: lol!

Hi Karen, happy are thread :)
Those life moments are interesting, where you were when JFK was shot, 9/11, for us, the 2011 earthquake. It is one way to get a conversation started.

>24 msf59: Thanks Mark. When I was putting up this thread yesterday I was thinking about HER daughter, my grandmother. “Mom” lived with us until she passed away when I was 10, and it’s her writing on the back of the photo. So many questions I could have asked! If I could go back in time I wouldn’t want to meet famous people as much as I’d want to meet family and ask them questions.

I had a good day although after blowing leaves and weed eating a bit my back complained. Glad your day was a good one.

>25 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>26 LizzieD: I’m flattered, Peggy. I’ve got some good’uns on tap – the next in my re-read of the Alphabet series by Sue Grafton R is for Ricochet, The Outsider, which came in the mail yesterday, and a combined listen/reread of Lincoln in the Bardo for November’s book club discussion. I know you don’t like LitB, but I’m eying a few on my shelves that might speak to me when the time is right and perhaps appeal to you.

>27 LovingLit: Thank you, Megan. It is definitely a good way to get the conversation started. With JFK I don’t remember it attaining that Life Moment status until my 20s or 30s.

Karen, talk about Life Moment. On 9/11, I was teaching. It was a Tuesday, still at the very beginning of the school year. 5 of my colleagues and I noticed, shortly before the bell rang for the kids to come into the building, that we were all wearing red and black. It just seemed funny at the time, so we ran out to the front of the school and had someone to snap a photo of the 6 us. It must have been around 10 minutes to 9 a.m. Almost exactly the time one of the planes was hitting. The sun was shining, the sky over our heads was blue. New York is not so very far from Toronto. It is still stunning to me that life could be so different under the same sky, on the same day, at the same time. Every time I see that photo of us, it gives me chills. I always think of red and black as red for rage, and black for mourning.

It was very shortly after that that my friend and colleague next door to my class ran into my room and told me to turn on the radio.

Hi Shelley!

Wow, what a juxtaposition. Sad, too.

Morning, Karen. I finished The Outsider. I think you will enjoy this one and it didn't feel as padded as some of his other recent work.

Cool start here, but lots of sunshine and blue skies.

Hi Mark! Yay and good to know.

Cool here, too, but going to get to 70F today.

Just came back from getting my flu shot.

Happy New Thread, Karen!

Good for you for getting your flu shot. I worry that we get ours too early (we got it last month), but my bride is insistent, and it's worked fine so far.

Thanks, Joe!

And, thanks. We always get flu shots. There are arguments on both sides, but we tend to follow our doctor's recommendations for mid-October, although we waited an extra week out of laziness. As long as it's always worked fine for you then keep your bride happy!

Happy new thread!

Thanks, Jim.

>28 karenmarie: I didn't not like, *LitB*, Karen. I just thought that it was overrated and something of a curiosity rather than a solid piece of literature. Certainly, one scene of Lincoln with Willie is forever etched on my psyche. I think it's worth your time, book club or not.

>28 karenmarie: So many questions I could have asked! So true. My smarter younger brother got our mother to ramble on about her family and recorded it. Got it transcribed. So he, our sister, and I have a transcription. (Hmm, I'm wonder what became of the tape?) In doing some basic record gathering, I caught a whooper or two she told, but also confirmed a favorite story about her grandfather.

Happy new thread Karen!

Those old pictures are interesting aren't they? Could you guess her age? My guess would be somewhere in her teens, but people even age differently nowadays.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I faithfully get my flu shot too. I hope to get it soon.

>37 LizzieD: Ah, got it, Peggy. I know the scene you’re talking about, too.

>38 weird_O: Hi Bill. Yes, a smart(er) younger brother. The tape would be wonderful to get transferred to a CD. I can’t imagine the luxury of being able to listen to either of my grandmothers voices, much less some of the greats. And then, of course, you think you have time and then you don’t.

>39 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella! I love my old family photos. I was thinking teens too. She was born in 1856 so perhaps 1869-1875? My Great-Uncle Karl was born in 1880 don't really know, so definitely before then, I’m thinking. If only my grandmother had written a date on the back!

>40 msf59: ‘Morning Mark, and thanks. Good for you.

…
I’m going to be heading to Wilmington in a while to (finally) take Jenna’s 2017 Christmas present of not-yet-built bookcases and visit a dear friend who’s in a rehab center after a second stroke. She’s 94. I asked her son what I could bring her and he said “she seems to like a regular Hershey’s chocolate bar from time to time.” That I can do. If I’m too whupped after driving 3 hours, visiting Frances, dropping off bookcases and having a meal with Jenna, then I’ll get a hotel for the night, otherwise I’ll head on back to central NC. Jenna is self-conscious about her apartment, don't know why, but the one time I spent the night there the couch WAS rather uncomfortable, and her bed even more so. I love Best Western Hotels and there's a nice one in Wilmington.

Every Christmas, my Mom bought a large Hershey candy bar for my Grandmother. It was a tradition and seems simple, but I remember Mom making a mental note to pick one up sometime in the weeks leading into Christmas.

Happy new thread, Karen. That is a lovely photo of your great grandmother. She does look like she is in her late teens or early twenties. What year did she get married and how old was she then? If you know that, it might give you a better idea of the date because I notice she has no ring on her finger.

When JFK was assassinated, I was 11 and remember them playing the scenes over and over on TV. It felt somewhat remote because it happened in another country far away enough that people could ride in open cars in November - not something you would do in Montreal, where I was.

For 9/11 I heard the news when I got in my car to go to work. We were hours behind where all the action was happening at that point. Shortly after that planes started landing at Vancouver airport from all over.

I hope that you get everything done in Wilmington today without a hitch.

I had a phone interview to conduct on the morning of 9/11 and by God I was going to complete it. The city was going nuts, my building was going nuts, I was going nuts but I held on. "What's that sound?" "It's the loudspeakers, I didn't even know we had them. Apparently we're evacuating the building or the city or something, I didn't catch it all. Now tell me, ..." "Hang up the damn phone and run!" We were fine, although at the time the rumor was that parts of the city were on fire, and we walked out of DC over the Key Bridge in Georgetown. The last time that happened was probably a river crossing in the same location during the war of 1812 and I swore that I'd never do it again. Baring the zombie apocalypse that is. When hell is full and the dead walk the earth to feed on the living all bets are off.

>42 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! Sometimes the simplest things are best, aren’t they? That’s a sweet memory.

>43 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! Good catch on no ring. She was born in 1856 in Illinois. I just looked on familysearch.org, and there’s a marriage record for Alice and Frank Patrick in Oct 1880 in Otoe County, NE, which makes sense. Birth records for Karl and Nellie, my grandmother, are inconsistent across censuses, which I’d never noted before. Sigh.

I can imagine that something in another country wouldn’t seem as immediate. It’s funny you mention the disconnect with the weather/open cars, because I’m from Southern California and it seemed perfectly natural to me that the car would be open.

I guess planes would get diverted. I have never even thought to ask cousin Rebecca about 9/11 – she was working then and is still working for American Airlines. I wonder if she was working that day? I’ll have to ask her.

>44 SomeGuyInVirginia: Oh my goodness, Larry, you were focused. You walked out of DC? Amazing. And of course all bets are off with the zombie apocalypse.

…
I had a good visit with Frances. She’s in a rehab facility, and very frail. She’s almost completely blind now, just sees a bit of light. It took her a minute to ‘remember’ me, but then we were fine. She’s bedridden but remarkably cheerful. She did get a bit confused, sometimes thinking she was home and sometimes knowing where she was. She loves visitors but frets that she can’t write thank you notes for all the treats and flowers! She's so kind-hearted. While I was there two local friends dropped in for a couple of minutes – I had brought the recommended Hershey bar and her friends brought one, too.

I met Jenna at her apartment, and she lugged the not-yet-built Ikea bookcases inside. We had a late lunch at Red Robin and did a bit of wandering in at the World Market whereI bought friend Karen a way cool birthday card. Then it was back to Jenna’s apartment, where I said goodbye and hit the road home. It was early enough that I wanted to be home, and Jenna had two tests to study for. Long day, productive day. Fortunately, I have no obligations today so can just relax and hang out.

Morning, Karen! Sounds like yesterday was a complete success. Now you get to sit back and enjoy a quiet day - my very favorite kind. Hoping it is full of fabulous for you.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. It sounds like you had a nice visit with Frances and Jenna.

>46 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! It was. Yesterday was restful, just a bit of laundry and reading The Outsider.

>47 msf59: 'Morning to you, Mark. It was very nice.

It's raining today. I woke up at 6:30 and immediately decided that I didn't want to get up, so went back to sleep until 8:27 (the joy of cell phones).

First sip of coffee taken, trying to get energized.

I'm going to conduct an experiment today. My RL book club will be discussing Lincoln in the Bardo on the 4th. I read it when it came out and gave it . I have both book and audiobook and want to see if reading and listening is an enhanced experience to an already more-than-stunning read.

>45 karenmarie: I can imagine that something in another country wouldn’t seem as immediate Although I was in London and have never been to New York in my life 9/11 seemed very immediate to me. I was working in an investment management company in the City at the time. The colleague sitting on one side of me was on the phone to our Wall Street office, when the phone just went dead and we couldn’t reconnect. The woman on the other side of me was terribly upset as her best friend was married to a New York fireman: she had just been to their wedding. And above all there was a sense that it was people like us, people working in financial institutions exactly the same as where we worked. And I found out later that someone I used to share an office with had been in the building next door. And all the London train stations were closed for a while because of bomb scares and Canary Wharf was evacuated. It seemed quite close. I remember I left work exactly on time, as did pretty much everyone else, as we were all so shaken up. When I got home, I remember Mr SandDune being surprised as I’d said I’d be working late - he’d hadn’t got the same feeling of almost being personally effected. For him, it was horrible but distant, but it didn’t feel like that to me.

Oh, my, Rhian. I can hardly imagine disconnected phones and your co-worker knowing her best friend's husband was on the front lines, as it were. The impact on you was so much worse than on me. Here in central NC it was a distant disaster to our country that was almost unbelievable but with no immediate impact on what was happening physically around us. My husband nailed it, though, when he called me as the Twin Towers were burning, "Things will never be the same, ever."

My second foray into the stunning world of Lincoln in the Bardo is going well. I have the book open and am following it while listening to the audiobook. I raced through it the first time because it was such a brilliant way to discuss death and such a stunning display of Saunders' ability to deftly portray people, moods, and scenes so vividly. This combined reading/listening is more deliberate because the audiobook is forcing me to slow down and savor the voices and story.

Happy Sunday, Karen. What a great way to revisit Lincoln in the Bardo. I will have to keep that approach in mind, when I am ready for a reread.

We are hosting a family get-together today, to celebrate my wife's birthday, (she is a Halloween baby). And there will be football too...I hope to get some reading in, sometime this A.M.

Happy Newish thread, Karen. As usual, I'm behind on LT.

>48 karenmarie: Our book group will be discussing Lincoln in the Bardo on Nov. 13. I haven't read it yet. Our leader said the audio book was amazing with a large cast of narrators. I'll stick to the book and try not to get too weirded out. I think it's one of those books that you either love or not. I hope to be in the first group.

>52 msf59: Hi Mark! Thanks. It's a great way to revisit - I'm halfway through the second disk of seven. I'll come wish Sue happy birthday on your thread. Football, parties, and books sound like a wonderful day.

>53 Donna828: Hi Donna! I read the book when it came out last year and gave it one of my few 5-star ratings (like I only have 7 books out of all my books with that rating). I do hope you like it - it took me a bit to get used to the format, but don't give up. The emotional content is lyrical and true.

There are 166 different members of the cast. I'm particularly pleased with David Sedaris and the author himself so far.

...
Although I didn't get to see them play, my Panthers beat the Ravens 36-21. Bill said they looked the best they've looked all season. On the up side, I went to lunch and a play with friend Louise. The play is not one of my favorites, alas, but it did grow on me. The acting was excellent, the set perfect, the subject matter sad and gritty.

Skeleton Crew

By Dominique Morisseau

Where do you go when the line stops moving?

At the start of the Great Recession, one of the last auto stamping plants in Detroit is on shaky ground. The long hours and demanding shifts have turned the line workers into a family, but the stress and strain of an uncertain future threatens to do more than just gum up the works. Part of her career-spanning series of odes to the Motor City, Dominique Morisseau takes us deeply into the difficult choices each blue collar worker must face as they see the writing on the wall.

Dominique Morisseau is the recipient of the MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" for 2018.

Morning, Karen. Gulping down my second cup of coffee, before heading out. Go Panthers! Go Bears! Both winners yesterday!

'Morning, Mark! Yay for our teams.

Good morning, Karen! I hope your Monday is off to a good start.

This week I expect to tackle some rearrangement of books in the library, and that will probably yield some books to set free, too. Cataloging the movies we have on commercial DVD has definitely uncovered a few duplicates, too.

Hi Harry! Yes, I've done two productive things and one fun thing so far - the fun thing being continuing to read The Outsider. Touchstones are seriously wonky right now.

82. The Outsider by Stephen King
10/25/18 to 10/29/18





From Amazon:

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can.
Why I wanted to read it: Self-indulgence, pure and simple. It came in the mail the other day, all new and shiny, and I couldn’t resist.

Warning. If you want to read the Bill Hodges Trilogy, read them before this one. There are spoilers here.

Although this book has elements of the supernatural about it, what made this compulsive reading for me were the likeable and fallible human beings who inhabit the pages. They make mistakes, they have prejudices, they strive to be good and right wrongs. Of course there are also the unlikeable and fallible human beings who King writes about with equal underlying truth and believability.

When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can. Well, no, actually, I wasn’t shocked, so much as impressed with the completely believable ‘case’ King builds for what is essentially unbelievable. Things do, after all, go bump in the night. That’s why I couldn’t read this book after dark.

Another solid entry by Mr. King. Not stunning or masterpiece, but definitely more than worth the time spent reading it.

I felt the same way about The Outsider, a solid book but it didn't have the frisson of Salem's Lot. George Saunders is on my Desert Island Authors list- what 5 authors would you want to be able to read if you were marooned on a desert island?

I've been meaning to ask, do you have a favorite Penhaligon's fragrance?

Happy new thread, Karen!
Glad to see that you enjoyed The Outsider! I've loved the last few that King has published

>60 SomeGuyInVirginia: Yup, a solid book. I still haven't read Salem's Lot, still have the 1975 book club edition we discussed sometime after I got it at the FoL book sale in 2010. Not a first edition, not signed, but still.

Five authors if I was marooned on a desert island. This is off the top of my head, you realize.

Agatha Christie
Mark Twain
Shakespeare
Dorothy Sayers - fiction AND nonfiction
Stephen King

And if I wanted to cheat, I could say Charles W. Eliot, editor of the Harvard Classics, 5-feet of books, which I have. I'd have to exclude Dickens, I think, because I could only take about one a year, and Jane Austen because her output is relatively small.

What about you, what are your 5 authors?

And Penhaligon - after I used up all of the 4 scents of the sampler I bought at your instigation last year (year before?) Jenna bought me a 5-scent sampler for my b-day this year. The one I'm using right now is Artemisia, which I really love. I also love Halfeti, haven't tried Empressa, Iris Prima, or Vaara yet.

>61 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle! Thank you. I haven't read the one he did with Owen yet although it's on my shelves, but the Bill Hodges trilogy, 11/22/63, Under the Dome, The Stand, the uncut version, Duma Key, and The Green Mile, and the just-read Lisey's Story are all outstanding.

...
We watched Ordeal by Innocence tonight - the three-parter with Anna Chancellor, Bill Nighy, and etc. Extremely well done, now I've pulled the book to re-read. Bill's all excited about watching different movies/series based on Dame Agatha's characters, so we should have some fun for a while.

>62 karenmarie: Five authors if I was marooned on a desert island
I am going to need a few weeks to gather this list :)
Buy...off the top of my head...
1. Chaim Potok
2. John Steinbeck
3.Cormac McCarthy
4.Lionel Shriver
5. um..... can't think now!

Morning, Karen. Happy Tuesday. I have the day off. Yah!!

Five Desert Island Authors:

1) John Steinbeck
2) Toni Morrison
3) Larry McMurtry
4) H Murakami
5) Stephen King

^This is very tough to narrow down and it could easily change tomorrow. I would like to include Alice Munro.

My five desert island authors, subject to change, of course:

William Trevor
Penelope Lively
Stewart O'Nan
John Steinbeck
Edith Wharton

Happy Tuesday, Karen!

Larry – you’ve sparked a bit of interest here.

>63 LovingLit: Hi Megan. Excellent authors. I read quite a bit of Chaim Potok when I was in high school, but I don’t have anything by him on my shelves now. I have only read three by Shriver and didn’t realize she is so prolific. I also didn’t realize that she’s got a few opinions I don’t support. So as always, the question is, Should we love the sinner and hate the sin?

>64 msf59: Hi Mark, and happy day off. Let’s see – bird walk, books, beer. Did I miss anything?

Excellent list – I think everybody’s list could change tomorrow. Believe it or not, I’ve never read anything by Toni Morrison. What book by her would you recommend if I could only read one by her?

>65 katiekrug: Hi Katie and thank you. You have two authors who are new to me (I’ve heard of them but not read anything by them – Trevor and O’Nan). I do have The Story of Lucy Gault on my shelves, but nothing by O’Nan.

...
Speaking of authors, tonight will be a bit of fun. Friend Jan mentioned that she was going to an event tonight, sponsored by a local historical preservation society. Her friend on the board speaks once a year about a local cemetery and after someone told her that Clyde Edgerton’s family are buried at this year's cemetery choice, she got in touch with him and he wanted to speak. So I'll get to hear Clyde Edgerton speak tonight. Three of my interests are represented – cemeteries, genealogy, and books.

The Story of Lucy Gault is one of my all-time favorite books.

Good to know, and so I've just gone into my Library, pulled it from shelf L75, and it's now here in the Sunroom. In sight, in mind.

I do need to finish Lincoln in the Bardo for Sunday's discussion, and read some more of Blackbeard's Sunken Treasure because one of the authors will be speaking at the Library on December 1st.

Hi, Karen.

Hmmm. Five authors when stuck on a desert island. I'm thinking quantity (lots of pages) + quality + variety.

Murakami
Dickens (sorry Richard Derus)
Shakespeare
Bujold
Gaiman

Hi Joe!

I, too, was thinking quantity, quality, and variety. I've never heard of Bujold before. Speculative fiction is not my favorite genre, so my knowledge of it has a few holes. I've read several of each of the authors you have listed except for Bujold.

I wonder if your choice of Dickens might bring RD out of the woodwork.....

I don't think I could survive on a desert island...you, know, without electricity and internet, ice cream and cold beverages, decent bathroom facilities. Without my wife. Yah, having good books to read would definitely be nice, but I'd have to have more variety in authorship than five.

>70 karenmarie: As you've probably seen, I read a lot of speculative fiction, and Bujold's mighty good at it. No worries about it not being a favorite genre. If you ever try her, try the Vorkosigan series.

>71 weird_O: Practically speaking, Bill, I probably couldn't either, however, it's a fun way to think about favorite books and authors. I like electricity, running water, the internet, my cell phone, etc. Nobody ever mentioned whether spouses/SOs could be there. *smile*

>72 jnwelch: I know, Joe. I like certain types of speculative fiction. It's hard to explain though, what I like. Thanks for the starter-tip on Bujold.

...
Last night at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center I heard Clyde Edgerton speak about the local cemetery where many of his mother's people are buried. He's an engaging, enthusiastic, and interesting speaker. The room was packed and an hour seemed too short. Quite a few of his cousins were there, as well as his daughter. He and his daughter sang a beautiful hymn at the end - she melody, he harmony.

I deliberately did not take one of his books to sign and regretted it after, when other people had books for him to sign. I did, however, get him to sign the Page-Walker brochure.

Morning, Karen. Happy Halloween. I will get back with you on the Morrison. Busy day at the P.O....

Hi, Karen! Happy Halloween.

>73 karenmarie: Just as I'm typing, I see Mark's promise to get back to you "on the Morrison." Morrison is, I think, one of five for my desert island reading room.

(I believe you asked Mark what Morrison novel you should read if you could only read one. I'd recommend Beloved; it is the first that I read, with my wife's encouragement. Not an easy read; I kept backing up and re-reading passages when I realized I'd missed something and didn't now understand what was going on. Very elated when I finished it. The accolades Morrison has received for the book are well deserved.

(If you are only going to read one of her books, read the best one.)

But okay. My five:

Toni Morrison
Salman Rushdie
and three others

...pick 3 from, say,

David McCullough
Philip Roth
Elmore Leonard
Marcel Proust
William Faulkner
Jasper Fforde
Chuckie Dickens
David Halberstam
Walter Isaacson

I want some serious fiction, some history and biography, some rousing paper-turners, and some laughs. I am closer? Okay, I am. Only six over.

>62 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I could pick desert island cds more easily that desert island authors. It makes wonder about how I would choose them. would I choose an author to fit different moods or simply choose them based on prestige. I am just not that big of a high literature guy so my choices might be more popular than literary. However, I like >76 weird_O: inclusion on Elmore Leonard.

I also wonder if it were 10 books, rather than 5 authors, how that would work out. Authors certainly adds quantity.

Here are a few:

Elmore Leonard
JRR Tolkien
Jan Karon
Arthur C. Clarke
R.F. Delderfield


ACK! this author thing is hard given I want to think about individual books rather than the author's works as a whole.

I also recommend Beloved if you can read only one T. Morrison.............

My 5 authors - tonight -

Charles Dickens
Dorothy Leigh Sayers

uh oh - like Bill, I say, "Choose 3!"

Rose Tremaine
JRR Tolkien
Claire Tomalin
Alistair Reynolds
Sheri S. Tepper
Neal Stephenson
Tad Williams
Deborah Crombie
Elizabeth Taylor

That's more than enough!

Fun question Karen!

I think living alone on an island for a longer time I would have two big problems: boredom and loneliness.

So I wouldn't take a lot of authors that I already know well.
My first choice would be Shakespeare as that means lots of choice, I know I like his plays, but I haven't read lots of them. And they are a challenge!

Then Tolkien for a comfort read.
Steinbeck
But those two are familiar, hm.

Some poetry! I'd prefer it not to be by one author, but a choice.

Reading The Overstory right now, would love to read more by this author, so maybe Richard Powers

And then one book (sorry) for inspiration on how to deal with both loneliness and boredom:

Alleen op een eiland (Alone on an island)

Years ago Dutch radio did a kind of experiment: two Dutch writers (Godfried Bomans and Jan Wolkers spent a week each alone on a small island. Every day they talked on the radio about what it was like, how they liked it, what they did. Two very different personalities.

I listened to it all week, as I was doing a boring job right then, and we had the radio on all the time. It was fascinating to hear how different they were in their reactions to the loneliness, nature, the lonely nights, and everything. I think it would be very inspiring reading. Bomans, because he talked about his feelings, loneliness, fear. Wolkers for crazy, creative ideas on what to do, and positive energy:-)

>74 msf59: Hi from yesterday, Mark! I was so focused on listening to/reading Lincoln in the Bardo that I didn’t make a chance to respond to messages. Then it was time for dinner with a friend, then saying hi to Bill before it was time to go to sleep.

>75 harrygbutler: Hi Harry! Halloween is sort of a meaningless holiday here at our house, we only bought some candy corn almost a month ago and that was it.

>76 weird_O: Beloved it is. It’s the one recommended downstream here, too. Good authors there, personally I’d pick McCullough, Elmore Leonard, and Proust for my last 3 from your list.

>77 brodiew2: My choices aren’t high brow either (well, except for the Harvard Classics which is cheating because it’s not one author, it would be #6 which is not fair, it’s one editor – I put it out there to see if I’d get a rise). Authors do add quantity – that was one of my first thoughts. But other authors have a depth and challenge even if not so many books. That’s why I included Sayers.

Authors does make you look at it differently, for sure. Again, thanks to Larry.

>78 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. I’ve just put Beloved on my spreadsheet and my Bookmooch wishlist. Dickens is a given for you. Sayers – didn’t realize you loved her books that much. Yay. I have never read any of her nonfiction because it’s all church and religion based, but I did just get a book called The Gospel in Dorothy L. Sayers Edited by Carole Vanderhoof with an Appreciation by C.S. Lewis. I’d include that on the desert island, too.

Of your ‘choose three’ I have only even heard of 3 – Tolkien, Tepper, and Stephenson. I actively dislike LOTR so that let Tolkien out, but have read one Tepper and three Stephenson. I have his Baroque Cycle on my shelves, just waiting to be read.

>79 EllaTim: Hi Ella. It is, isn’t it. I agree about choosing an author that you don’t know well – that’s why I included Shakespeare and Twain. Comfort and volume would be Christie, comfort plus intellectual curiosity would be Sayers, and King for volume and not having read everything by him.

You mention Shakespeare and then some poetry – I thought of Shakespeare’s sonnets for poetry when I included him.

Alone on an Island sounds intriguing. Did either of them mention reading?

…
Today is lunch with my old IT department.

edited to add: October statistics: October Statistics

83. AND 84. Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
2/20/17 to 3/1/17





The description from Amazon:

February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln’s beloved eleven-year-old son, Willie, lies upstairs in the White House, gravely ill. In a matter of days, despite predictions of a recovery, Willie dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery. “My poor boy, he was too good for this earth,” the president says at the time. “God has called him home.” Newspapers report that a grief-stricken Lincoln returns, alone, to the crypt several times to hold his boy’s body.

From that seed of historical truth, George Saunders spins an unforgettable story of familial love and loss that breaks free of its realistic, historical framework into a supernatural realm both hilarious and terrifying. Willie Lincoln finds himself in a strange purgatory where ghosts mingle, gripe, commiserate, quarrel, and enact bizarre acts of penance. Within this transitional state—called, in the Tibetan tradition, the bardo—a monumental struggle erupts over young Willie’s soul.

Lincoln in the Bardo is an astonishing feat of imagination and a bold step forward from one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. Formally daring, generous in spirit, deeply concerned with matters of the heart, it is a testament to fiction’s ability to speak honestly and powerfully to the things that really matter to us. Saunders has invented a thrilling new form that deploys a kaleidoscopic, theatrical panorama of voices to ask a timeless, profound question: How do we live and love when we know that everything we love must end?

My original review in February of 2017:

Five stars. In my rating system, a masterpiece. Only the 6th book I’ve rated at 5 stars out of my many, many books. One of a kind.

For me, no normal review will work. The “thrilling new form” is brilliant and demands concentration. The chapter where one character describes the weighing of the soul and heart and the determination of heaven or hell are the most terrifying I’ve ever heard, the many descriptions of grief and sorrow that weave in and out of the book are heartrending, and the ending is wholly satisfying.

I bought this book after seeing George Saunders on Stephen Colbert's show and Had To Have It.

My thoughts now, in November of 2018.

Why I wanted to read it again. My RL book club will be discussing it on November 4th.

Why I wanted to listen to it. I bought the audiobook in June of last year and knew that the next time I 'tackled' it I would both listen and follow along in the book.

Reading while listening was a marvelous experience for me. It forced me to slow down and savor the words. I had forgotten so much of the emotion, so much of some of the actual events.

It all takes place in one night, the night of the day Willie Lincoln is (temporarily) interred in the Carroll Mausoleum in Washington, D.C. We meet spirits who, for whatever reason, haven't 'moved on'. Good spirits, evil spirits, immoral spirits, lost spirits, sad spirits. Once again I must say that the ending is wholly satisfying.

What I found interesting this time is that I have been listening, in the car, to Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Secession and the President's War Powers by James F. Simon. Never, in all the history courses I've taken or books I've read about the Civil War, have I actually and directly read that as early as 1849 and as late as his first year in office, Lincoln never wanted to emancipate the slaves in the existing slave states. He only wanted to prevent slavery extending to new territories and states. I also have learned that on his inauguration day in 1861 seven states had already seceded. This book/audiobook is an absolute eye opener for those interested in Lincoln, Dred Scott, Judge Taney, or the early days of the Civil War.

So, back to Lincoln in the Bardo. With this reading and in conjunction with listening to the Lincoln/Taney book I think Saunders planted an intriguing hint that after Lincoln's experience in the cemetery that night, he gained more immediate and personalized knowledge of slavery and that it became more than NOT extending to territories and states but became more about ending it completely. Maybe not, but it's an intriguing thought.

Thumbs up for that review, Karen. I've got the book, and its quite visible from the ground, out there in the Landfill TBR. For the first time, I have a sense of the story. I've skimmed a lot of reviews here, but I never had an inkling it was a civil war era story of Lincoln. (Yeah, I know. The name is in the title. Duh.) I think now I'll get to it sooner rather than later.

Sweet Thursday, Karen. Another terrific review of Lincoln in the Bardo. I ope to revisit it, in print, one of these days.

Back to T. Morrison- I will go with Beloved, but I could easily go with any of her earlier novels, Song of Solomon or The Bluest Eye.

I saw my kinglet buddy again today...

>82 weird_O: Thanks, Bill! Makes me feel good that my review has communicated the sense of the story to you. I'll be interested in hearing what you think about it.

>83 msf59: Thanks, Mark! It's been a sweet day so far - lunch with friends, a bit of FoL check writing, a bit of finances. No reading yet, but I plan on remedying that in a bit. Thanks for the tip of the hat for Beloved. That makes it unanimous among the friends who have given their opinion.

Yay for your kinglet buddy. I'm seeing the usual suspects, not even any migratory birds. *sad face*

Karen--Here you are reading Lincoln in the Bardo a second time already, and I have yet to read it once! And I own a copy, so I have no excuse. I should fix that, huh? Five stars from you says a lot.

>82 weird_O: I agree with Bill, Karen! Wonderful review, and you have given me a solid idea what the book is about. And now it sounds like a Must Read.

I'm also realising that I don't know much about American history, will I be needing an idea about Lincoln and his background?

>85 Berly: Hi Kim! RL book clubs are good in the same way LT is good - both cause one to read things one might not. In this case I didn't want my March of 2017 vague feelings to be all I could talk about.

Well, of course having just praised it to high heavens, I say read it. I must admit that the audiobook makes it easier to follow an individual character's story because of the unique voice each narrator brings. As an example, I've listened to many of David Sedaris's books read by him, so immediately recognized his voice and continued to recognize his voice. Also, it was nice to know that The Reverend Everly Thomas is read by Saunders himself.

>86 EllaTim: Thank you, Ella! I'm flattered to think that it's become a Book Bullet for you because of my review.

For desert island authors, I'd have to go with Chuckles, since he wrote so damn much, and I really do think Great Expectations is one of the Great Western Novels. So-

1. Chuckels


2. George Saunders


3. Samuel Johnson


4. Shakespeare


5. Wild card

>88 SomeGuyInVirginia: Oooo! Wild Card! I forgot about her. Her writing is sooo diverse, sooo ranging. Yes. Definitely have to include her.

She's a God to me.

>88 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! Chuck is a good choice - I didn't include him because I can only handle about one a year. George Saunders - I only know him for Lincoln in the Bardo but I guess he's better known for short stories, right?

I'm with Bill - Wild Card. She's a winner, no doubt about it.

>89 weird_O: You're perceptive, Bill, gotta give you that.

>90 SomeGuyInVirginia: You mean Goddess, right? *smile*

...

I just got back from seeing Bohemian Rhapsody and it was soooo good. Even the little I know about Freddie Mercury makes me realize that the movie only hit the high spots. The movie encompassed the years 1970-1985, the year of Live Aid.

>91 karenmarie: - The film is getting mixed reviews here, Karen. Both reviewers I heard on the radio today say that the actor who played him was superb but that the story just glosses over what could have and should have been a much more in-depth look at him, not just the Hollywood version. The writers, apparently, even toyed with the facts (!!), in that he did not tell his bandmates that he was diagnosed with AIDS just before going onstage to perform at Live Aid, as it appears in the film, but rather, he told them privately at another time. If you are going to tell a story, tell it. No need to sanitize the facts for an audience of grown-ups. Oh well. I will still go see it, if only for the music.

I'm glad you enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody. I happened to catch the actor that plays Freddy Mercury in the movie , last night, watching James Cordon on TV. He was a guest. An interesting character in his own right.

Oh dear. I forgot Shakespeare. (duh.............and I an English major!) Add him to my list.
As for DLS, I get Lord Peter and the other mysteries, her religious writings, her letters, AND her translation of Dante - enough to keep my busy for quite a few desert island days. I almost put C.J. Cherryh on the list, and I almost would since she's so prolific. Her good ones are wonderful.

Happy Saturday, Karen. I took the day off, so we could attend Xtreme Raptor Day, at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, north of Milwaukee. It should be a great day with the birds.

I am glad you enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody. I want to see it too. I saw Queen twice. Once in the late 70s and again in the early 80s.

>92 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! I never, ever, listen to, watch, or read movie reviews before seeing a movie at the theater. I make my own decisions about what to pay money for and go into the theater expecting to like a movie 100%. I accidentally saw that Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 61, but didn't read any of the detail. I'm sorry that the reviews have tainted it for you. Me, being a very recent but sincere Fangirl, was very pleased with it.

>93 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Yes, Rami Malek. I have seen several interviews of him on YouTube discussing the role and his preparation. He is an interesting and thoughtful person.

>94 LizzieD: Ah, yes, the English Major forgot Shakespeare! I included him because I'm almost (but not quite) ashamed to admit that I've only read a couple of his comedies and all his sonnets, none of his tragedies. How did I get through college-prep English starting in 9th grade and going through two more years in college never being assigned a Shakespeare tragedy? That's why I want him on the desert island - to fill in my significant gaps.

Of course, ALL of DLS' works. Haven't read any of C.J. Cherryh as speculative fiction is a genre I rarely dip into, but was interested to read why the initials (to disguise that she was not male) and Cherryh because "Cherry" sounded like a romance author. She even has an asteroid named after her, a charming detail.

>95 msf59: Hi Mark! Ooh, that sounds wonderful. Have a wonderful raptor-filled day!

...
Nothing exciting today, just an eye-exam for Bill and our normal errands. In fact, we have to leave in about 25 minutes, so I'd best get going.

>96 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. I am also a newbie when it comes to Freddie Mercury, and like you, I don't usually let reviews taint anything for me, whether it is a film or a book. I will still go see Bohemian Rhapsody, regardless of what the reviewers said because I think I will learn something new and I am sure I will enjoy the music. Besides, both reviewers I heard on the radio are two with whom I often don't share *taste* in films, lol.

Well, Karen. If you DO decide to dip your mind into speculative fiction, Cherryh is a great place to start. Her style can be a bit elliptical, and conversely, repetitive, but she also deals with human complexities and writes a great story to boot. If you could do space opera, I'd recommend the Union/Alliance series beginning with Downbelow Station or Cyteen (if you want to start with the best). Otherwise, you can't go wrong with Foreigner, which seems at first as though it might be space opera but quickly proves itself not to be.

>97 jessibud2: I hope you like it. I might go see it again next week.

>98 LizzieD: Thanks for the recommendations, Peggy.

Morning, Karen. We had a great time at Xtreme Raptor Day and I will be sharing more photos. It looks like today will be reserved for books and football.

Go Bears! Go Panthers!

Hi Mark! Yay Panthers! Yay Bears!

Tonight's book club to discuss Lincoln in the Bardo.

Have fun in the ghostly cemetery!!

Lincoln. I've got to read that. But...

Salman Rushdie is impeding me, but not in any disagreeable way. His Joseph Anton is a long book, and it has set me up to read Haroun and the Sea of Stories. He wrote the book for his son Zafar, at Zafar's request. When Rushdie showed him the first 40 pages, he read through it excitedly, but didn't convince his father than he really liked it. Challenged, Zafar repeated that he liked it, but after a pause said, "Some people might be bored...I'm just saying some people might..."

"What's the boring bit?"

"It's just that it doesn't have enough jump in it."

Rushdie thought this was "an astonishingly precise critique." He said, "Jump? I can do jump. Give that back."

And he redid the manuscript.

So yesterday, whilst roaming unescorted to the egg farm, the butcher, and the grocery, I—totally by accident, I swear—found myself in the local used-book emporium and quite surprisingly found a copy of the first American printing of Haroun in my hands—My God! How did that get there!—and couldn't get out of the store without paying for it. Well, you know how that is.

And now, I guess, I'll have to read it.

Morning, Karen. It looks like we had a good football day! Go Bears! Go Panthers!

>102 Berly: Thanks, Kim. The discussion was surprisingly detailed, given some of the senior member memories in the group! Of the 9 there, one didn't finish it (she had a serious stroke earlier this year and is having difficulties processing the written word, so imagine how confusing this one would be!), one didn't read it (her husband's book club was reading it at the same time - lame, and surprising for her), two were rather 'meh, sorta liked it', and four, including me of course, loved it and were profoundly moved by it.

>103 weird_O: Being in the middle of Rushdie, of course it wouldn't be time to start LitB.

I'm so glad that you unintentionally ended up at the local used book store. It's amazing how that happens doesn't it Bill? Cars take control, our inner book consumer comes to the fore... Maybe I should read my copy, now, too. It's in my Library, on shelf 2, row 7 (being as how I use location tags).

>104 msf59: We sure did, Mark. Panthers are 6 and 2. I just looked up your Bears, 5 and 3. Unfortunately Atlanta and NO both won too, so we didn't gain within our conference.

...
I did not want to get up at 6:41. My body, of course, said 7:41, which was much more respectable. First cup of coffee halfway consumed.

>105 karenmarie: I did not want to get up at 6:41
Know the feeling, Karen, we changed the clock a week earlier. It took a few days but now I am back at getting up around 8:00 instead of 7:00.

Time change - why do we still do it? The sunset here is pretty but it is shortly after 4 pm!

Here I am, up much too late again. However, it's all in a good cause. I've been a great Rushdie fan, but I didn't know about Joseph Anton, and now it's on it's way to me in used pb format from AMP. Thanks, Karen!
Meanwhile, I'm making desultory progress in Looking for a Ship, thanks to you and Bill again.

>106 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. Dratted artificial time change. I'm glad you're back to your normal routine, clock-wise. This morning I woke up at 5. I'm going to be a poll watcher at my precinct for 2 hours, , from 12 p.m. - 2 p.m., so I think I'm already a bit overexcited.

>107 Familyhistorian: I wish we didn't do it, Meg. It's not as bad for me now that I don't have a young child and don't work, but you're just trading one time of light for the other.

>108 LizzieD: You seem to be a night owl in general, Peggy, but midnight after 'fall back' is a bit late for sure. We must thank weird_o for the Rushdie love.

Speaking of McPhee, I just bookmooched Coming into the Country, a book about Alaska and Alaskans, which, as sometimes happens, is coincidental to an ER book I just recently received, Never Cry Halibut: and Other Alaska Hunting and Fishing Tales by Bjorn Dihle. Maybe I can "Alaska" it by the end of the year.

>81 karenmarie: fantastic review. I really want to read that now.

Hi Rachel. Thank you.

87. Kingdom of the Blind by Louise Penny
11/5/18 to 11/6/18





From Amazon:

When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder.

None of them had ever met the elderly woman.

The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane?

When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.
But it isn’t the only menace Gamache is facing.

The investigation into what happened six months ago―the events that led to his suspension―has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception.

Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers.

As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.

Why I wanted to read it: Friend Sarah, who works at an indie, brought the ARC with her to book club 11/4 and asked if I wanted to read it. Who was I to say No? I wasn’t planning on buying any more of the series, but to be able to read it for free, well.

I was pleasantly surprised at the way the story immediately drew me in and kept me enthralled so that I read compulsively and finished it in two days.

There are the usual quibbles that I have with her writing, and I noticed Every. Single. Sentence Fragment. Used to. Make a dramatic point. There are the occasional sickening sweet sentiments and leaps of faith, but I must say that this was well done all around. There were enough scenes with my favorite characters – Ruth and Rosa, Myrna, Clara, Gabri and Olivier, Reine-Marie, Annie and now Honoré – to satisfy me, and enough detecting and mystery and confusion to test my mettle. Some things were telegraphed, to me at least, but all it did was to make me feel satisfied that I was clever enough to figure Penny out without making me want to put the book down.

Sigh. I hope friend Sarah brings the ARC of #15 in the series to me at a book club in the next year or two. I’ll actually be looking forward to it.

Hi, Karen! I hope you've been having a good week so far.

I don't know whether Erika has Kingdom of the Blind pre-ordered, but if not, I expect she'll pick it up soon after its release, as she likes the series. I've not tried it yet.

Hi Harry! I am having a good week so far, thank you.

If I find Kingdom of the Blind at a thrift shop or at next year's spring book sale I'll snag a copy just to have it. I used to love the series unreservedly, now with a bit of salt. I forgot to mention above that if I have to hear Rosa the Duck say "Fuck, fuck, fuck." as many times in the next book as I did in this one, THAT may be the end for me. We get it. The duck is as blasphemous as the old lady.

We broke the super majority in the NC House, meaning that the Governor's vetoes will not be automatically overridden. Two amendments that were Republican power grabs also failed.

And, of course, nationally, the House returned to Democratic control. Among other things.

...
Today I'm getting a haircut and fangirling - going to see Bohemian Rhapsody again. I know, I know... *smile*

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I have the day off. Not sure I will do much birding but I am going horseback riding with Bree. She is a co-owner of a horse. It will be chilly but I will bundle up.

The Spirit Catches You is off to a good start. I am going to like this one.

'Morning, Mark! Happy horseback riding.

Make sure you have Kleenex for the occasional discrete dab at your eyes. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is amazing.

I've put a lie-berry hold on it. Sounds good.

Hi Larry!

Hi Karen! I'm poking my nose in to a few threads tonight. :)

>91 karenmarie: My sister really liked Bohemian Rhapsody as well. I probably won't see it. Not that we don't indulge in Queen every so often. Not that my kids know Every. Single. Word. of the song, but for some reason I am reluctant. Maybe I have enough RL drama. LOL

My 5 Authors for the desert island I wish I could be stranded on right now:

Juliet Marillier
Georgette Heyer
David McCullough
Elizabeth Gaskell
Isaiah - if we are being very picky - otherwise I say The Bible over Shakespeare and I'm going with the King James version. *grin*

Seriously. Could I be stranded on a desert island? Please?

>112 karenmarie: Ooooh! This actually makes me want to start the series up again. I would be up for Bohemian Rhapsody!! Sometime soon I hope.

>51 karenmarie: I decided to give Lincoln in the Bardo another go as well, Horrible. The YGC loved it and has foisted his copy on me with puppydog eyes and small, heartrending whimpers when I dismiss it. The things we do for love.

I am most exceptionally pleased to report that Call Me by Your Name is just as pretty, but tedious, as the film version was. I love being right.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday! We have snow! Boo!! Only an inch or so, mostly on grassy surfaces, but still...

Dare I hope that I'm finally used to the return to Standard Time? I didn't get up 'til after 7.

>119 nittnut: Hi Jenn! Good to ‘see’ you.

I’ve had those ‘for some reason I am reluctant’ feelings about movies or books. I go with them – the feelings, that is! There are enough of each in the world, fortunately. Your RL drama may be the reason, for sure.

Juliet Marillier is new to me, but I just re-read Devil’s Cub for the umpteenth time and Heyer’s a great choice. I’ve only read Cranford by Gaskell, but it was quite wonderful. Yay for David McCullough – still have eight by him on that I haven’t read yet. I’m not surprised that you’d choose the Bible over Shakespeare. You don’t have to be very picky, I’ll concede the whole Bible. That's an interesting notion, though. If one could pick one book from the Bible, which one would it be for me? Hmm... Later, 'gator, on that one.

I wish I could snap my fingers and you’d be dipping your toes in the surf, with books piled high, a comfy chair, and etc. I also wish things weren’t all coming at once for you. Most especially I hope your mother comes through the surgery safely and recovers quickly.

>120 Berly: Hi Kim! It was one of the better in recent memory for me and Go! See Bohemian Rhapsody. I’m still fangirling.

>121 richardderus: Well as I live and breathe! Darling RD here on my thread. Yay. So good to see you out and about.
YGC with puppydog eyes and heartrending whimpers is to be applauded for his persistence. Oh yes, the things we do for love.

I haven’t heard of Call Me By Your Name. Have you seen BoRhap, as the band members called it once or twice in the movie of the same name?

Speaking of love, a large measure of it and smooches from your own dear Madam TVT Horrible

>122 msf59: Morning, Mark! Snow? Already? Well my goodness.
…
Well, I gave up at the halftime last night with the Panthers down by 17, I think – they ended up losing 52 to 21. What I saw was that the offensive line simply could not protect Cam, and he took a couple of rough hits and had 2 sacks by the half. It was late, that was my excuse, and, I’m sticking with it.

I’ve started the new Jack Reacher, Past Tense. I’ve got a short call with Edward Jones, the investment firm, for Friends of the Library this morning. We have 3 3-month CDs with them (among other things), and have timed it so that one comes due each month. Getting 1.65 to 2.1% interest beats the pennies we were getting on our monies in Money Market funds. I’m having lunch with former coworker Don and his wife Judy, then getting my nails done. A fun-filled retirement day.

I will warble away all day about Gaskell if you allow me, but my favorite is North and South. If you were going to pick up a Juliet Marillier, I'd maybe recommend the Blackthorn & Grim books, starting with Dreamer's Pool. If you like fairy tale re-imaginings, she writes that too. I liked Wildwood Dancing. She's fantasy in a similar vein to maybe Marion Zimmer Bradley? But she doesn't do Arthurian legend. Maybe next time I see you, that's what I will bring. *grin*
I will look forward to hearing which book of the Bible you'd pick. LOL

Thanks for the recommendations, and if I get a chance to see you anytime soon, I look forward to one of her books. I think you're harder to choose for than I am... I need to start giving this some thought in case we can squeeze in a visit sometime in the next several months, although obviously after your mother's surgery.

Since you know my opinion about the Christian Bible (i.e., New Testament) from our discussion at Scuppernong, the four Gospels, church politics, then all hell breaks loose - i.e., Revelation, you may not be surprised that I'd choose one of the Gospels. Although I'm not Christian, I was raised in a parents-raised-Christian as opposed to parents-raised-non-Christian, so my immediate thought was to choose from the Christian Bible as opposed to the Hebrew Bible, i.e., what Christians call the Old Testament.

Most likely I'd choose the Gospel According to John. It's either that or the Gospel According to Matthew, as opposed to the two others, who were not direct disciples of Jesus. John more likely, though. No major reason except that it's not one of the synoptic gospels and I am forever and always a teensy bit of a rebel at heart.

Hi Karen, I'm hijacking the top threads around here to spread the word. Its time to join the Christmas Swap festivities. Come on over...

http://www.librarything.com/topic/298577

>125 karenmarie: Love your summary of the New Testament. Concise. :) I had never thought of the NT as Christian vs. the OT as Hebrew, even though it is definitely a history of the Hebrew people. I consider the Old Testament as both Hebrew and Christian, meaning that my belief is that Jesus is found all throughout the OT and the divergence between Judaism and Christianity occurs in the New Testament when Jesus comes and doesn't fit the general Jewish expectation of a King. But that's really a generalization anyway, as the first "Christians" were also Jews. Which goes to the danger of putting everyone in a group based on one thing. Wouldn't that make a scholarly pretzel of a discussion? Also, it's a quarter to 12, and I'm probably not all that coherent. Anyway, my choice of the Bible, other than the general comfort it gives for my spiritual self is that it is a fascinating work of history and literature in its own right, and would keep me busy for a long time.

>126 mahsdad: Hi Jeff! I'll check it out. Thanks.

>127 nittnut: 'Morning Jenn! As I'm not Christian I'm also not Jewish; I heard the term Hebrew Bible a long time ago and since I spent many hours last year reading The Literary Study Bible for a group read of The Bible as Literature, I started thinking about it again. Christians will consider the Hebrew Bible the 'Old Testament' and I do agree that from the Christian point of view the NT is a continuation and culmination of the OT/Hebrew Bible.

and the divergence between Judaism and Christianity occurs in the New Testament when Jesus comes and doesn't fit the general Jewish expectation of a King. I can't speak to the reasons why Jews didn't accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. However, I'm pretty sure Jews would not consider the divergence in the same way your Christian-centric statement summarizes it. No offence meant, as I'm sure you know. *smile*

In the interests of a label, I suppose that I'm a liberal theist. I used to consider myself a monotheist, but that was too narrow.

That all took about half a cup of coffee and references back to my last thread of last year. Today is errands and reading Past Tense the newest Jack Reacher.

It's hunting season. Our friend Carl called last night, with a report that he killed an 8-point buck. I know, I know... and I'm hearing rifle shots this morning. If I were to drive around I'd see vehicles (mostly trucks, to confirm a stereotype) parked on the sides of smaller roads, hunters in the woods waiting for a good shot. The deer start coming into our little 15-house subdivision when hunting season starts since our covenants expressly forbid hunting on any of the land in our subdivision.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. I am bundled up for the day. At least I will be off the next 2 days, with the holiday on Monday. I like those shortened work weeks.

Enjoy your day.

Hi Mark! Yay for two days off, starting tomorrow. Brrr in Chicagoland.

>128 karenmarie: How many deer usually find your hunt free subdivision?

Hi Anita!

This time of year we'll see mini-herds of 5-8 or so. Haven't seen a buck in a while. Carl lives 16 miles away, so he didn't kill any of 'our' deer, the bucks are more cautious than the does, apparently.

I'm more careful this time of year as I drive down our driveway to the concrete pad/garage because one of the paths the deer take is between the tree line and the house and goes across the driveway. I always slow down and edge down so they can see me if they're there - sometimes they panic and then run across the road but I just stop and wait for everybody to cross.

My record is a herd of 13 does in one of our pastures. I just kept counting and counting and was thrilled.

Morning dear, my second cup is down so I can brain again, what's BoRhap anything like BoJack Horseman which is excellent and so is Outlaw King not just for Chris Pine's naughty bits and maybe some more brain juice will help this fog *smooch*

Karen, hi. I've got cynical friends who get pleasure from calling Pennsylvania "the dead deer state." That stems from the volume of the road kill, not the hunt. Judi and I drove to Reading yesterday, a trip of roughly 35 miles. We counted about 10 deer corpses beside the road, a couple minced by truck after truck passing over them. I don't think deer season has opened here yet. It is divided into bow-and-arrow season, blunderbuss season, buck season, doe season. Our daughter elicited disbelief from friends in Boston when she told them that public schools in our neck of the woods close for the first day of deer season. Accommodating both students and teachers and administrators. Ah well.

>133 richardderus: Hallo, RD! Yay for braining. Bohemian Rhapsody. Don't know BoJack Horseman, although a duckduckgo search (eschewing google) prevents me from pleading ignorance any more. I'm sort of past animated stuff, so meh. I never watched The Simpsons either, or any other 'adult' animated series. However, Chris Pine's naughty bits in Outlaw King may be worth the effort. *smooch*

>134 weird_O: Hi Bill. Heh. The dead deer state. It applies here, too. NC has three types of season, and there are 6 regions. NE, SE, Central, SW, and W. For our region these are the dates:
Archery: Sept. 8 – Oct. 26, 2018
Blackpowder: Oct. 27 – Nov. 9, 2018
Gun: Nov. 10, 2018 – Jan. 1, 2019

Our friend Carl bragged one year that he got deer with all four types of season: archery, blackpowder, rifle, and road kill. He was serious, too.

School doesn't close here for first day of deer season, but many families have a tradition of hunting on Thanksgiving - mostly but not always the men and boys. I would imagine that some folks take off work and some take their kids out of school for first day of deer season.

Bill and I saw one deer by the side of the road today in our 20 miles of driving.

>3 karenmarie: WOW! That's a lot of additions.

Hi Linda. So nice to see you 'out and about'!

I should have put 'addiction feeding' in >3 karenmarie:. If I'm around books, it's hard to not acquire some.

We had a hard frost last night - it's 26F now. Most trees are down to bare branches now, but the oaks are still holding out, as always.

Morning, Karen. I said Happy Sunday yesterday. I was off a day. LOL. Well, have a nice one today too. Probably won't get out to bird this A.M. I have a couple of chores to do and I want to get a chunk of reading in before the Bears start at noon, plus it is very chilly here, so staying in, ain't a bad thing.

Hi Mark! Yay for chunks of reading and football. I'm football-less this weekend since the Panthers played Thursday (and lost so badly).

I finished the new Reacher last night - Past Tense. Review to follow.

89. Past Tense by Lee Child
11/8/18 to 11/10/18





From Amazon:

Family secrets come back to haunt Jack Reacher in this electrifying thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child, “a superb craftsman of suspense” (Entertainment Weekly).

Jack Reacher hits the pavement and sticks out his thumb. He plans to follow the sun on an epic trip across America, from Maine to California. He doesn’t get far. On a country road deep in the New England woods, he sees a sign to a place he has never been: the town where his father was born. He thinks, What’s one extra day? He takes the detour.

At the same moment, in the same isolated area, a car breaks down. Two young Canadians had been on their way to New York City to sell a treasure. Now they’re stranded at a lonely motel in the middle of nowhere. The owners seem almost too friendly. It’s a strange place, but it’s all there is.

The next morning, in the city clerk’s office, Reacher asks about the old family home. He’s told no one named Reacher ever lived in town. He’s always known his father left and never returned, but now Reacher wonders, Was he ever there in the first place?

As Reacher explores his father’s life, and as the Canadians face lethal dangers, strands of different stories begin to merge. Then Reacher makes a shocking discovery: The present can be tough, but the past can be tense . . . and deadly.

Why I wanted to read it: I always read the newest Jack Reacher as soon as possible.

There is a time in almost every Jack Reacher book when I feel a little frisson. That little frisson is because I know who all the bad guys are and know they’re going to get Reachered. It’s eminently satisfying to have the rest of the book to see it played out.

This book touches an interest of mine, which is genealogy. It’s a bit ham-fisted, frankly, although the interpretation of the 1930 and 1940 censuses rings true. I guess the Laconia NH public library does not provide Ancestry and other genealogy services to patrons as does my town’s library. Oh well, the story moves along nicely with the information provided.

It also, surprisingly, touches another interest of mine, birding. Jack’s father was, apparently, a lifelong birder, and there are a few bits relating to birding that enlivened and moved the story forward.

This book’s writing was much less irritating than the previous book or two in that there weren’t so many sentence fragments. Here’s one of the rare examples:

If he went there, who would see him? Maximum two or three passersby on a single downtown block, in a town like Laconia, at sundown. Plus the customers in the coffee shop. Plus the wait staff. Who had already seen him once, at lunch time. Not long before. Which was not good.

And here’s an amazingly interesting tidbit. Let me preface this by saying that I did not get German Measles (rubella) when I was young. When I was deciding to start a family, my doctor made sure I was vaccinated because rubella can cause serious birth defects if the mother has it during pregnancy. Don’t know about the TB preventative, though. So here’s the tidbit from the book:

”You remembered which kids got sick.”

Only because people talked about it all the time. It was like a county-wide bulletin, every damned morning. Somebody’s got this, someone’s got that. People were afraid. You could get polio. Kids died of things back then. So you had to know who to stay away from. Or the other way around. If you got German Measles, you got loaned out to go play with all the little girls. If they were laying blacktop somewhere, you got sent to sniff the tar. Then you wouldn’t get tuberculosis.

All in all a good entry in the series. A tad disappointing in that Reacher doesn’t have a little romance, but a quick, meaty, satisfying read.

>112 karenmarie: I am so jealous that you have an ARC of this one! I have to wait until publish day on the 27th :(

>140 karenmarie: I'm ok with Reacher not having a romance in this one as it was getting a little cliche in a few of them. Glad that he helped start someone else's romance this time!

Hi Chelle!

I'm lucky that my friend works for Quail Ridge Books, an indie in Raleigh NC. It was a wonderful surprise to get it, and a relief to actually like it, given my irritation with her last several books before this one.

You must have seen a review - starting a romance wasn't in the Amazon stuff or my review. *smile* But yes, it's a very nice little development, the romance between two people in town. I don't know if Child is eschewing romances for Reacher or that it just didn't fit in with the pace and storyline.

Happy Sunday, sweetness. Let's have some poinsettias while the elves whomp up pancakes or waffles or something.

>137 karenmarie: Frost! Really? Good weather for reading at the fireside, I guess. Have a nice Sunday!

>143 richardderus: Oooh. I have never even heard of a Poinsettia. I must go buy the ingredients this week. Yay! And of course, the elves will make breakfast. Not as elegant as waffles or pancakes, I'm afraid. We're going to have homemade chipped beef on toast. Just waiting for Mr. Bill to rise and shine. *smile*

>144 EllaTim: Yes, Ella, frost. Neither picture I just took shows it well enough to post - it looks like a very light snowfall.

Today is not structured. I'll try to find a new book to read since I just finished up the Reacher last night. Might work a bit on FoL payments, might do some youtube fangirling of Queen. I'll make some Beef Vegetable Soup for either lunch or dinner and a batch of cornbread to go with.

Oh, I like chipped beast! Be there in a few.

Hurry up, RD! Bill's having seconds....

It's his house, so I'll resign my place in line. I have an instant pot now so I can manufacture my own chipped beast while making enhanced hocho in the crock pot. Coffee, Dutch process cocoa, peppermint schnapps...mmm

Awww, maybe next time.

You are going to blow my alcohol budget for the year - champagne, Cointreau, and now peppermint schnapps.

They're all worth it. I've been making poinsettias for decades and was astonished to learn more people hadn't heard of them. I will often substitute a dram of Drambuie for the Cointreau when I'm making gardenias. (Grapefruit juice in place of cranaby, with more cava/prosecco than juice.)

Oh, and also try Galliano in an apple blossom! (Apple juice.) (Like, duh, Richard.)

A case of champagne, then. I used to drink Galliano. Harvey Wallbangers, a serious and fun-filled part of dangerous evenings.

Oh my! I wasn't much of a cocktail consumer apart from martinis, but a Harvey Wallbanger is a taste treat indeed.

Martinis were what my parents drank. I didn't like gin at all, still don't, and vodka martinis don't particularly thrill me.

My dad named one of our unmentionable animals Martini - she was white with green eyes - just like two olives, my dad always said. Which is how he always ordered his martinis. Dry, with two olives.

How unusual to have a green-eyed dog! I know you can't mean...one of *those*...because your father, perforce a male, was interacting with it. Ahh, gin...mother's milk...a gin and tonic on a hot summer day is rapture in liquid form...a Negroni on a humid summer's night, sheer bliss. Vodka, OTOH, never did a darn thing for me. Everclear's quicker if you're after a drunk (and a hangover) and has the same lack of taste. But scotch is my single favorite tipple because, like wine, it's complex and layered in its taste and telegraphs its effects early enough to make stopping before disaster possible. Not necessarily probable, but possible.

Ha. I think my dad gave up on dogs after his beloved Coaly died, date unknown to me. *those* animals came into the house courtesy of moi, my having found a stray kitten in the neighborhood and keeping it hidden in the garage for a week before Mom and Dad finally figured out there was a you-know-what there. After that there was no looking back. Please forgive me, RD, for something I did 57 years ago, not knowing I'd be apologizing today because you Can't Abide C-C-C-.... them.

I've tried Campari once, and consider it on par with the idea of drinking nail polish remover.

Everclear was an important part of my education in 1977 or so, and nevermore.

I have never drunk straight scotch to my knowledge. I am envious of people who appear to savor it and appreciate it. Perhaps one of these days... I know Dad loved single malt, but don't know the true significance of that, even after looking on duckduckgo (as I continue to eschew g**gle).

Well, goodness me, even *I* can't blame a mere child of 30 for bringing home a stray k-word 57 years ago! One would have to be heartless to do such a thing.

Campari isn't to everyone's taste. I was inoculated by a dram of genziano on a train ride in the 1960s, so it wasn't the brutal shock to the palate it seems to be to others. Everclear *shudder* is a great way to turn a ~meh~ drinker into a tee-totaler for sure!

It's a matter of taste about scotches. Single malts are very clear in their taste signals, and blended scotches are more soothingly rounded. It might be one of those tastes best left unacquired because it's really not very rewarding to get a taste for something one is alone in admiring!

A mere child of 30. Oooh, your claws are showing, darling RD!

Genziana has always been considered the queen of herbs due to its therapeutic properties.
Proposed today as an exceptional Grappa with excellent digestive qualities. Sounds like cough medicine.

Some people think ouzo is like cough medicine, but it's a taste that I like - also remembering train rides in Europe, and being on Greek islands, although my train rides and island visits were 1979ish.

I wanted to like Campari - it seems like a cool thing. I haven't had Everclear since those wild days in New London CT.

Since I've already blown the alcohol budget for a year or so what with a case of champagne, and etc., I think I'll not acquire a taste for scotch, single malt or blended.

..
Well, I was just talking with daughter Jenna and while we were on the phone one of the unmentionable animals, the senior 18-year old one, brought in a 12" worm snake. The rule is that the person who sees the animal/urp/poo/etc. first gets to handle it, so Bill grabbed a towel, wrapped the snake in the towel, and escorted it outside. All three of us lavishly praised said animal. He's mostly deaf and losing his eyesight, so we felt that this was quite an accomplishment.

Now, off for a bit of reading and quite possibly a nap after all the excitement. *smile*

Reading and nap plan strongly seconded! I hope Serpy the Snake survived her forced visit to the people-warren. *smooch*

Serpy the Snake survived his/her indoor adventure quite nicely. Reading and nap went well.

Soup's souping and in about half an hour or so I'll start the corn bread.

>128 karenmarie: Well, I know very well you're not Christian or Jewish, but we both love a good academic discussion. :) I suppose it could be construed as Christian-centric, although I have had similar discussions with Jewish friends, and while I can only speak to those personal experiences, we generally agreed that the main divergence in belief centers around whether Jesus Christ was the Savior or not. I like how Hebrew scholars divide the OT into three distinct sections, which is really useful in terms of study and context, IMO. The more I have studied the OT, the more I realize how much Judaism and Christianity have in common. Which is something that is probably true about many groups of people...

It got cold, cold, cold last night. Ugh.

Hi Jenn!

I sorta put the not Christian and not Jewish out there for anybody else reading it. I agree that the main difference is whether Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming Messiah.

Last night got to 31F, but Saturday night 'down south' we got to 26F. Either way, brrrr.

Morning, Karen. It looks like you are getting chilly weather too. Only low 30s here today. Our normal temps, should be around 50.

I am enjoying my second day off, in a row. I am meeting my cousin for lunch but I hope to take a little bird stroll beforehand. The afternoon is reserved for the books.

Happy Monday, dearie. It's a beautiful sunshiney 40° morning! I love these early-winter bright days.

Everclear. Everclear? In college in Virginia we held an annual springtime Jonestown party with a huge tub of grape koolaide spiked with Everclear. A LOT of Everclear. True to its namesake, people would pass out, splayed and face down, in the yard.

I though I'd posted this earlier, but I don't see it. Freddie Mercury has always been one of my household gods, along with Janis Joplin and George Orwell.

>163 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! It's a tad coolish today, high of 47F, possibly rain in the afternoon, evening. Lunch with your cousin sounds wonderful, as does the afternoon reading.

I just finished 90 minutes of FoL check writing - each request has to be printed out, invoices/receipts printed, too, check request form filled in, check written and recorded in checkbook, check recorded in payment detail AND actuals of budget spreadsheet (until I can implement QuickBooks). Tedious, but I listened to the BBC and so got my quota of intelligent news for the day.

>164 richardderus: Thanks, RD! Brr. I wish we at least had the blue skies. It's overcast here. I love the sun angles of this time of year, when I get sun, that is.

>175 richardderus: Yup. Grape koolaide. Yikes. Jonestown party. I can understand it, though - the passing out portion. I never did pass out from Everclear because I was afraid of dying so was moderate, but other drinks, other times, a different story. And then there's the famous 21st birthday party my roommate threw for me in 1974, where there were passed-out people all over our apartment come morning.

Freddie Mercury has been one of my household gods, as you put it, since May of this year when I saw his performance of You Take My Breath Away at Hyde Park in 1976 on YouTube. I always liked Queen, mostly the hits everybody's familiar with, but now I'm expanding my knowledge and liking whole bunches of things. I'm fangirling. What can I say? Even 65-year olds get to fangirl.

Other household gods are Cat Stevens and also Janis Joplin. I frequently watch her performance/interview on the Dick Cavett show in 1970 on YouTube. Alas, I never got to see her. I did see Cat Stevens perform in LA, though.

...
I need to go buy corn meal and strawberry preserves and get my nails done. I don't want to go out, but will. I wonder if I can avoid stopping in at the thrift store (it may not be open, that would be good.) And I will be playing Queen on the CD player, of course. *smile*

Hi, Karen! I hope your week is off to a good start despite the need to go out on errands.

Yes, good start, thanks Harry. Nails done, food purchased, home safe and sound. It's raining pretty steadily now, 44F out, so am glad to be back in.

Reading is next on the agenda.

90. Force of Nature by Jane Harper
11/10/18 to 11/12/18





From Amazon:

Five women go on a hike. Only four return. Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry, asks: How well do you really know the people you work with?

When five colleagues are forced to go on a corporate retreat in the wilderness, they reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking down the muddy path.

But one of the women doesn’t come out of the woods. And each of her companions tells a slightly different story about what happened.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing hiker. In an investigation that takes him deep into isolated forest, Falk discovers secrets lurking in the mountains, and a tangled web of personal and professional friendship, suspicion, and betrayal among the hikers. But did that lead to murder?

Why I wanted to read it: The cover caught my attention at the Friends of the Library Sale. It was a mystery, so I bought it. Two days ago it called out to me.

This is a beautifully written and well-paced mystery, full of vividly delineated characters, strong emotions, and a thumping good mystery.

The chapters alternate between the days when the 5 women leave the lodge for their retreat and the story of their time in the bush and the police effort of two agents who are peripheral to the actual investigation of the missing woman but heavily involved in a fraud investigation of the corporation.

I’m not Australian and cannot therefore say how accurate the description of the bush is, but describing the desolate nature and the sheer size of the area she could be lost in are done well enough to make me afraid of stepping foot off a trail or trying to accurately use a map to get unlost. The writing is atmospheric and menacing on occasion.

There’s a bit of Lord of the Flies here, too, with frayed tempers, harsh conditions, deprivation, and personality clashes.

This is the second in a series, which I didn’t realize as I was reading it. I’ll go back and read The Dry, the first Aaron Falk mystery. Harper also has another book, The Lost Man, a standalone (or perhaps first in a series, don’t know) coming out next February. I’m looking forward to that one, too.

Morning, Karen. Lots of sunshine today but it will barely crack 30. WTH? At least I'll have my books a long and I am sure I'll be seeing some cranes.

I may give this Aaron Falk series a try, if I can find it on audio.

Hi Mark!

I hope you find an Aaron Falk and like it.

Good morning, Karen! Enjoy your Tuesday!

>169 karenmarie: The description of that one appeals to me--until it gets to the alternating chapters. Those simply don't usually work as well for me. I think it is because some authors pull it off far better than others. Still I think it's on my radar, and perhaps, I'll eventually read it.

>172 harrygbutler: Thanks, Harry! A few small Friends of the Library errands in town, then home.

We got 3.5" of rain yesterday, .5 inches overnight, and it's supposed to rain again this afternoon. Definitely a day to do some good reading.

>173 thornton37814: Hi Lori! The nice thing about this book that I neglected to mention is that the chapters that deal with the actual 5-woman retreat start off with the Day #, Day of the week, and rough time of the day. Example: Day 2: Friday Afternoon. You do still have to go back and forth in your mind, but it's very clear what you're reading.

Good morning, Horrible, don't drive through standing water.

'Morning, darling Richard!

I won't. A very big slogan during Hurricanes Florence and Michael this fall was "Turn Around Don't Drown".

It's already raining, although so far it's light.

I'm futzing, trying to find a book to read.

Hi, Karen. I always read the newest Jack Reacher as soon as possible. Me, too! This was another fun outing, wasn't it. We'll have to remember to tell our friend Mark that there's birding in it. I know what you mean about that moment when it's all lined up, and you know the bad guys are going to get Reachered. I particularly enjoyed the couple heading to their new life with all the loot.

Hi Joe!

Me too. I had visions of them driving that SUV with the money AND the comic books all the way to Florida. Did you think that the suitcase contained drugs? I did.

Memo to self: Check for critters before bringing in plants before the first frost. This guy has been hanging out, literally, since Saturday. Guess what Bill gets to do tonight when he gets home? (No, not KILL him, just escort him outside!)

>174 karenmarie: I read one recently where there was absolutely nothing to identify the alternating time. Talk about confusing! I'm glad this one delineates it.

Cold and rainy here. I am literally staring at the clock willing it to jump ahead.

>181 SomeGuyInVirginia: I'm busy as all get-out reading Cold Earth and drinking hocho while looking out at the clouds threatening to dump rain on all y'all poor saps who have to work.

Just like a Medici- tale fascino, tale crudeltà.

>180 thornton37814: Sounds like a book I'd have abandoned with glee, Lori.

>181 SomeGuyInVirginia: Tick tock. It's cold and rainy here, too. Time hasn't stopped, but is moving rather slowly indeed. I'm chilled but don't want to put the propane heater on because I don't want the praying mantis to wake up too much and perhaps get active enough to move off the plant to Somewhere Else in the Sunroom.

>182 richardderus: No hocho here, but I'm busy as all get-out too, reading On Writing by Mr. King. It's quite well done, a nice combination of memoir, how to write, and aw shucks ma'am, I'm just a humble writer. It's a sad commentary on what my brain chooses to retain that I immediately knew that was Mutley without having watched a cartoon in more than a decade.

>183 SomeGuyInVirginia: I had to look it up, Larry, but yes, our RD is just like a Medici. Or, I could once again say, invoking his least-favorite animal, that his claws are showing. Fortunately we both love feline fur kids.

I like the sound of the Harper too, Karen.
AND I took a cutworm back out last night, having come upon it lying black on my mama's carpet not far from the begonias. I feared the worst, but it was not puppy poop, so I'm good.
The river is up again - hasn't gotten back to normal since Florence. I am eager for some sunshine one of these days.

Hi Peggy!

I'm trying to not be totally self-indulgent and buy every book I want immediately. After all, Christmas is coming and I've already acquired 382 books this year while only culling 76. It's hard though.

Do you or your Mama have a puppy?

The Haw, Deep, and Rocky Rivers are still higher after the hurricanes, and the 3.5"+ we've gotten in the last two days can't help. More on schedule for today and tomorrow, too, alas. It's bleak and overcast, but the oaks still haven't shed their leaves. The crape myrtle outside my Sunroom window is almost completely denuded.

That first sip of coffee is heaven. I was a cruel cat mom this morning - I made KW wait until I'd started my coffee before feeding him. He was vocal in his disapproval.

91. On Writing by Stephen King
11/13/18 to 11/14/18





From Amazon:

Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, Stephen King’s critically lauded, classic bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work.

"Long live the King" hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

Why I wanted to read it: AAC challenge, Non-Fiction Narrative. I had pulled it out for the Stephen King AAC challenge but read Lisey’s Story instead. This book was on my mind. I’ll never be a writer, but as far as reading goes, I qualify.

Stephen King is a charming devil, and this book is quite charming. The style is confiding and sharing. You could imagine sitting in a comfortable room and him just randomly saying this book as if it came off the top of his head. The point of the book, though, is that writing fiction is a passionate and serious endeavor.

There are four parts.

C.V. is the story of the things he has brought to writing through family, school, jobs, marriage, and children. It’s necessarily brief, which as we learn later, is one of his Writing Gods. In my Large Print edition, it is 155 pages.

The Toolbox discusses the components of writing in English. Included are vocabulary, grammar, and the rules and tools, mentioning The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. This section is 40 pages.

On Writing, the third part, is the longest at 169 pages. “What follows is everything I know about how to write good fiction.” He uses examples of good and bad writing, his own and other authors, expresses opinions of other authors, and basically does a memory dump of what he feels are helpful approaches and skills needed to be a good writer of fiction.

On Living: A Postscript is the final part, 48 pages. This section discusses in great detail the accident in which he was hit and nearly killed while walking in Maine. This book was in process at the time, but he was stuck. As soon as he could sit long enough to write a bit, his wife set up a writing den in the back hall so he could be wheeled in there in his wheel chair to continue this book.

I could quote endlessly from the book because there’s something quotable on almost every page. Here are a few for flavor:

Now that I was away from the administrative offices of Lisbon High, I felt able to muster a little honesty. I told Mr. Gould that I didn’t know much about sports. Gould said, “These are games people understand when they’re watching them drunk in bars. You’ll learn if you try.” p 77

I don’t want to speak too disparagingly of my generation (actually I do, we had a chance to change the world and opted for the Home Shopping Network instead), … p 87

The Grapes of Wrath is, of course, a fine novel. I believe that Blood Meridian is another, although there are great whacks of it that I don’t fully understand. What of that? I can’t decipher the words to many of the popular songs I love, either. pp 167-168

If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. p 209

Reading takes time, and the glass teat takes too much of it. p 215

And, joy, rapture, a list of the best books he read over three or four years during the period he wrote The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Hearts in Atlantis, On Writing, and the (then) unpublished From a Buick 8. 81 authors, 96 books. And of course I had to count my achievements against this list. For the record, it’s 25 authors and 14 of the books.

Anybody who likes Stephen King or the craft of writing will appreciate this book, I think.

>183 SomeGuyInVirginia:, >184 karenmarie: My claws are always showing.


>187 karenmarie: One of the most successful writers of all time tells all. I really mean it, this is all the stuff he did and it. worked. I tell aspiring writers to do what King did and then accept the judgment of the marketplace.

Good morning, Karen!

>179 karenmarie: I'd be tempted to add a pet to our menagerie, though I don't know how much I'd care to make treks to the pet store for crickets to feed it.

>188 richardderus: Good morning, RichardDear. I love that velociraptor. At least, I think it's a velociraptor. Okay, we will allow as you have v-claws instead of u-a-claws.

He did lay it out all nice and neat, even as far as how to get an agent and get your stuff read. Examples of letters to write and publications to use.

>189 harrygbutler: Hi Harry! When our daughter had Jeremy the Albino Leopard Gecko, she fed him crickets and meal worms, which I had to keep in the refrigerator. I'm glad to not have hamsters, rats (although I loved the pet rats), geckos, and fish (beautiful when the tank was freshly cleaned but too much work).

Good review of On Writing. I have read it, more than 8 years ago. Perhaps I should re-read.

>189 harrygbutler: A lot can to be said in favor of a pet rock, Harry, including its diet. :-) You don't have to take it for walks (though of course you can). No cage or pen to clean. It's quiet. And you don't have to worry about it turning on you.

Yeah, I always defend King and am sure he'll be read in 200 years. I also follow the exploits of Molly, aka The Thing of Evil, on Twitter.

>188 richardderus: Do you teach writing?

>192 SomeGuyInVirginia: I was a literary agent and editor in NYC all during the 90s. Then had a writer's group in Austin during the Aughties. My gal Nicky Drayden is my happiest success story!

>191 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. A lot can also be said in favor of an invisible dog, too.



>192 SomeGuyInVirginia: King will be read in 200 years if Earth is still around. Same as Queen will be listened to.... obviously still fangirling over here.

Who is Molly, aka The Thing of Evil? I don't 'do' Twitter.

Errands run, lunch consumed. Our friend Carl, he of the 8-point buck fame, asked me to take a picture of him with the buck today, being that he doesn't have a smart phone or a real camera. This reminded me of the time he asked Bill for the same favor and drove over in his pickup with the dead buck in the back. I wasn't thrilled for a repeat, but a friend is a friend, so I said sure. I was very happy that instead of an entire dead animal, he only had the skull and antlers.

It sounds like you're getting a lot of rain and maybe snow, still. Unfortunate. We were up at Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y. for a long weekend of puzzle aficionados, and had beautiful weather, but we were told it had been raining for WEEKS before then. We got lucky. It's supposed to rain and maybe snow a little tomorrow, but not get down to freezing yet. You're south of us, but inland too, right? Brr.

>178 karenmarie: Past Tense: Child threw me off by saying how heavy the suitcase was. That made me think, not drugs. But I couldn't think of what would weigh a lot, but not be gold bricks or whatever (too heavy). So he fooled me. I never thought of comics.

>193 richardderus: Yay RD.

>195 ffortsa: Hi Judy! We've gotten about 5" since Monday, but it's been mostly just steady. Cold, damp, mid 40s. No snow. Good timing for your weekend. Isn't it nice to hear about the icky weather BEFORE you get somewhere?

I live in central North Carolina, south of Chapel Hill, 8 miles from a smallish town, Pittsboro. It won't be smallish for long, because a huge development, Chatham Park, is already changing the town and surrounding area. Fortunately it is east of town and I live west of town, so I can reap the benefits without the problems. I hope.

>196 jnwelch: Hi Joe! He threw me off, too, but I couldn't think of anything except drugs that would make them think it would be worth going to NYC for. They were terribly sweet and innocent, but boy howdy! could they do damage when they wanted to between torching the place and killing people.

Great review of On Writing, Karen. Thumb!! I loved this book, as well. I spotted a GHO, on the way home from work today, so that made my day.

Hi Mark! Thank you. I appreciate the thumb. I read it for so many hours yesterday that I had a slight case of eye strain last night and told Bill that I had read too much. He said he's never EVER heard me say that in our 27 years of marriage.

Yay for a GHO. My friend Karen in Montana sent me a photo purportedly of 4 Bald Eagles, but they were actually behind part of the car's door frame and so she didn't get the shot. Of course she only has a flip phone and the quality is never good anyway, but four blobs would have been better than a snap of the driver's door frame. I would have loved to see them. This is on top of the two HUGE turkeys in her yard the other day and the herd of Sand Hill Cranes two weeks ago.

Today I saw many Cardinals and several Carolina Chickadees.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I am off today but I have an annual physical scheduled early this A.M and a couple other errands planned, so I may not get out for a stroll today. Sad face.

Hooray for the 4 Bald Eagles! What a sight!

'Morning to you too, Mark! Sweet, cold (42F) and raining, but alive, getting coffee-infused, and nothing on the docket today except to putter around the house and read. Annual physicals are a necessary evil for sure, but wonderful when they're past and all the news is good.

edited to add: Here's a photo of a herd of elk in front of friend Karen's house a couple of weeks ago. It's blurry, but all those little fuzzy things just above the light straw-colored band are elk.

Good morning, Karen. Your friend has a pleasing prospect! Quite cool here, too, with a threat of rain or possibly even snow.

Hi Harry! Oh yes, she does. I loved visiting her this summer. Snow? Wow. Is it early or within the normal range?

I think it is a little early, but not a lot. I don't expect it will accumulate if we get any, as the ground will be too warm.

>201 karenmarie: ELK!! WHat are elk doing in Nawthkehahlahnah? Imagine...elk!

>204 harrygbutler: I've been hearing bits and pieces here and there that at least here in the south it's going to be a wet winter. Read: snow and ice.

>205 richardderus: Belgrade, Montana, RD. I was there for almost 3 weeks this summer (June 23 - July 13) visiting met-in-1971-at-Pepperdine-LA campus friend Karen. I hadn't seen her since 1987, so it was a calculated risk that we'd get along in person, but it was a perfect trip. She also sent home 4 boxes of books with me (UPS'd) - duplicates and a few I bought while there.

Well, the creek is more flooded now, getting closer to Florence and Michael levels, but nowhere near the house. I'm just hoping that we don't lose any more trees down there.

Hi Karen, your thread is really flying along these days…as are the books you're reading. I am currently reading Force of Nature which is a breath of fresh air after being in the Bardo. I really wanted to love the Saunders book after your rave review. I'm just not a fan of alternate history so couldn't muster up much affection for it. Oh well, I know you won't hold that against me. I think the only one in our Book Group (eleven were in attendance on Tuesday night) who loved it was our librarian leader. The other opinions ranged from abandonment to mediocre to "interesting"…

Magnificent elk…Montana, right? We have several herds that were reintroduced to northern Arkansas which are thriving. It wouldn't surprise me if they moved into southern Missouri before long.

ETA: Cross-posted. It took me awhile to find and reread your Lincoln in the Bardo review. Wish I had liked it better.

>206 karenmarie: OIC

Yes, Montana makes a lot more sense for an elk sighting. A four-boxes-of-books friend is a friend indeed!

*smooch*

>207 Donna828: Hi Donna!

Yes, I've got lots of visitors. *happy dance* Thank you for being one of them. I'm zooming along, working hard to attain my goal of 105 books by year's end. At only 14 to go, I think I'll saunter past the finish line.

I'm sorry you didn't like LitB - it seems to be a love it or damn it with faint praise book. My sister, who has not done much reading since having a heart attack .... 8?.... years or so ago, said she'd get a copy after I told her how much I loved re-reading/listening to it. I had an extra copy, purchased at the FoL for $3. I gave it to one of the women in my book club, but gave it back to me at the meeting so I sent it off to my sister. I don't know if she's started it yet or not. I told her it wouldn't hurt my feelings if she didn't like it. ATD, after all. (Agree to Disagree, right @RichardDerus?)

Yes, Montana. Once upon a time I had a boyfriend who loved to hunt, and we went camping in New Mexico in 1985. He wanted to get an elk with his compound bow. He got one, but not a death blow. The elk ran away, and stupidly, Mark came back to camp to eat breakfast. He thought he could track it.... not.... and we heard several days later that a local had found an elk freshly dead with an arrow in it.

Elk are gorgeous. I'm glad to hear that they've been successfully reintroduced. Their call is very strange to me, an eerie bugling sound.

>208 richardderus: 'Morning, RD! Karen has more books than I do, and I'm trying to get her to join LT. Every time she finds a duplicate, I tell her that if only there was a website one could use to catalog one's books and prevent purchase of duplicates..... no dice yet.

>209 karenmarie: Of course one must indulge others in their wrongheaded enthusiasms, my dear, it is not possible to lead a horticulture and still make her think.

Elk and loons. Weird calls that send fearful shudders of Ruralness through my entire citified being. An old friend used to describe himself as "Wisconsolate" for the sound of loons. I suppose I'd have to be Texasolate for the sound of mourning doves or cicadas or summat.

>210 richardderus: *drum roll* *rimshot*

>210 richardderus: RD, you are endearingly provoking! Just because I didn't like the Inspector Montalbano books and do, occasionally like Chuckles the Dick you malign me.

I love that - Wisconsolate. Texasolate is likeable but cumbersome to say and we have mourning doves and cicadas here in good old Nawthkehahlahnah too; however, I wouldn't attempt to -solate it.

>211 weird_O: Yup.

>211 weird_O:, >212 karenmarie:


And merely commenting upon a friend's, um, character flaws doesn't constitute malignment! A spirit of kind and constructive ridicule engagement is required.

>169 karenmarie: Force of Nature sounds like a great book. Your review is wonderful.

Hi, Karen. Too much water here too! It's 7 or 8 feet below Florence level, but some people are surely flooded out again.
I miss bob-whites and whip-poor-wills and wood thrushes. I hope never to hear a peacock again.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I like the herd of elk up there. Always a majestic sight. Finishing up my second cup of coffee and getting ready to head out. I am enjoying my Rash story collection.

>213 richardderus: Of course you're amazing, RD. Although if I look at that gif too long I start thinking I should switch parties or something else bizarre..... *smile* I, on the other hand, am too kind to mention that, always remembering that I had a bad experience in my last job before retirement working for Boot-People, any series about or by them is anathema to me.

>214 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! I was happily surprised at how quickly it pulled me in. Good writing does that.

>215 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Ah, your poor, poor town. This event was basically unheralded. We ended up getting about 6" of rain, I think. Our weather station resets at midnight and if Bill doesn't remember to look, I can't keep a running total. The fauna have been traumatized up here, too. Are there that many peacocks out by you?

>216 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Friday to you, too. Thanks. Friend Karen's pic, cropped by me. I've never seen a herd of elk, just one at a time in New Mexico. Yay for the Rash stories.

...
First sips of coffee down, old yowly cat fed, younger girl kitty still upstairs. I am meeting with the FoL Prez this morning. He took it upon himself to load our membership data into Wild Apricot membership management software, and it's taken a lot of time and a lot of consulting with their customer service reps to get it in and right, apparently. I kept telling him that I used to do this type of thing for a living and wanted to help, but I didn't want to do it when he did in August, so think this is his passive-aggressive way of punishing me and I will now have to live with the results. Hopefully the data imported correctly.

I'm going to try to persuade Bill to go out to see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald this weekend. It's out today, but I can't imagine he'd like to go out tonight.

Morning, Karen. Just pulled up at work. It is lightly snowing here and will be, throughout the day, but very little accumulation. Maybe, we will have November weather in December?

Boo!

(Did I scare you?)

>218 msf59: Hi Mark! I hope your lightly-snowing workday goes well.

>219 richardderus: Not even a teensy bit, RD! Sorry to disappoint you. I've had a half a cup of coffee, fed the UA, and had the discussion about Fantastic Beasts with Bill. We're going to wait 'til next weekend when Jenna is home.

Today will be normal errands.

Happy Saturday, Karen!
How is Jenna doing at her school, after missing a month due to the flooding?

Hi Anita!

Thank you for asking - it's been stressful, but she's been 'adulting'. She doesn't usually cope well with change, poor darling. When things got stressful in high school and two previous attempts at college, she shut down with disastrous results. This time she's been disciplined and determined to get through the semester with As and Bs. I'm proud of her.

Thanksgiving shopping and Jenna-coming-home-Tuesday shopping done. S is for Silence on tap for the afternoon's reading pleasure.

>222 karenmarie: Glad to read Jenna is dealing better with stress now, Karen. I hope the third attempt will be the charm for her.

I'm adding to the chorus of happy for Jenna's ability to cope with change better. And pouting just a wee, tiny bit about your fearlessness.

>223 FAMeulstee: and >224 richardderus: Thanks Anita and RD!

RD - you're not a bug and you're not a spider. You're not a redneck with a gun, and you're not an icky slime monster under the bed, so yeah, I'm fearless. *smile*

Karen, are you going to pick anything up for Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

GOOD for Jenna!
As for peacocks, there was a flock (?) (seems as though there ought to be a word) at the church camp I attended for 7 summers. They scream "HELP!" like a child, and no matter how many summers I heard them, I never became accustomed to them.
I took a picture of the water in the park today but haven't gotten it to the computer yet. It's at 17+ feet as opposed to 24 for the big storms. That's still enough to reflood lots of folks.

>1 karenmarie: This is the first time I've read your lukewarm evaluation of retirement. So understated. I can't wait to see if I can outdo your experience (at least four years to go, maybe five or six or seven).

>201 karenmarie: "...nothing on the docket today except to putter around the house and read."
See. That just sounds wonderful.

P is retired and she loves it as much as you do. :-)

I recently acquired The Dry and look forward to reading it. I see that you are a Jane Harper fan.

>226 SomeGuyInVirginia: ‘Morning, Larry! Well, not books, having already acquired almost 400 this year so far. *smile* I’ve already started my Christmas list and Bill and I have discussed things we need. They will become Christmas presents since none of them are urgently needed, and we’re cutting back on gifts for each other this Christmas. It’s going to be the Christmas of Mats – Bill needs new front seat floor mats for his car and a new plastic floor mat for his carpeted office, and I want a ‘standing mat’ for in front of the kitchen sink. I’m not sure any of those items will be BF or CM items, but it won’t hurt to wait and see. I’ve got a call or two to make to our cousins to see what she and her daughter want/need and Jenna will be home and I can either worm things out of her or ask her directly. What about you?

>227 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Ah, childhood peacock trauma. I’ve heard them scream on videos, never in RL. And I’m so sorry about the continued water assault on your poor town.

>228 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Yes! My screed against retirement. I anticipate one more thread this year for sure, and will find something else to describe how I feel about it for thread 12. One of my absolute favorite parts of retirement is the continuing Monday – Friday pleasure of not having to get up to an alarm. Whether I wake up early or late, the important part is that it’s not to an alarm.

Your new job and town and enjoyment of P’s retirement will keep you happily busy ‘til it’s time to retire. You’ll know when the time is right.

I need to find a copy of The Dry. I’m an inadvertent Jane Harper fan – hadn’t heard of her when I found Force of Nature at the FoL sale. She’s got a standalone coming out on February 5, 2019 and I just pre-ordered it on Amazon.

Off to visit your thread – somehow I’ve ‘lost’ you in the shuffle.

…
First cup of coffee started, Kitty William fed. He’s quiet instead of yowly, so I don’t have to lock him up with me at this end of the house so he won’t wake Bill up.

Bill changed his mind and wants to see Fantastic Beasts:The Crimes of Grindelwald. We’re going to the 10 a.m. showing since the Panthers play at one and Bill’s grown strangely reluctant to drive at night except as he drives home from work.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. Have a good time at the movies and Go Panthers! Our Bears play the Vikings tonight. A big game for the division rivals. I have chores and things to do today but I should get in plenty of reading time too.

'Morning, Mark! Football and reading are good. Go Bears! Go Panthers!

Happy Sunday Karen! Hope you enjoy Fantastic Beasts!

>229 karenmarie: You're off Grindelwalding, so when you get back, try maneuvering Bill into a strong light indoors. Then glance at his eyes from an angle. You might see nascent cataracts, dirty-looking shapeless things, in his pupils. If you have to guess whether they're there, they're not. Night driving w/cataracts is uber scary.

Happy Sunday, Horrible dear, from your gun-totin' redneck worst nightmare! (Did I scare you that time?)

>229 karenmarie: Sometimes I think getting oranges and peppermint in my stocking should be enough for Christmas. I've got a couple of "big ticket" items I want. They aren't really that expensive, and with all the genealogy client work I've done here at the end of the year, I should be able to afford both. I just have to decide if I will get them or not.

>232 souloftherose: Hi Heather! Thank you. We did enjoy Fantastic Beasts. It was not stunning, but it was definitely worth the price of admission. Lots of interesting story and relationship building and a few stunners near the end.

>233 richardderus: Thank you, RD. Bill had his annual eye exam 3 weeks ago. He's got cataracts, just not enough to justify surgery yet. I've noticed his eyesight is not as good as it was even as recently as 2-3 years ago, but we love our eye doctor and trust his judgment.

I had cataract surgery 4 years ago, now, almost to the month, and I'm ever so pleased with my vision right now. I'm grateful, for sure.

Oooh, I'm scared. Hide from RD.... wait. Well, no. Still not scared. Sorry.

>234 thornton37814: Hi Lori! Ah, we didn't get peppermints in our Christmas stockings, but we got an orange and an apple each, nuts (the kind you have to crack) and ONE small personal type food we loved - I remember one year getting a small jar of pimento-stuffed olives and was over the moon. Oh - we also got $1 in coins in the bottom of our stockings.

Big ticket items are fun to contemplate, even if you hold off for Christmas. Anticipation is half the pleasure, after all.

...
My Panthers lost. Stupid plays, and Graham Gano missed a field goal AND an extra point. Then, when we scored a touchdown to make the game 19-20, instead of letting Gano redeem himself and tie the game (hoping to hold them off with the minute left in the game), Rivera calls a 2-pt conversion, which we missed. Blech.

>235 karenmarie: Well, there you are then! Poor guy, that moment between discovery and removal stinks on ice. I'm there with him in my left eye.

Rats. I'm clearly a failure on the scary-monster front.

I remember the late night-in-the-dark drives home from work as being terribly scary, what with the halos around oncoming headlights and all. No more! Plus, I've been taking lutein for years now and that's helped, too.

Sorry about the post-discovery-pre-surgery mode for your left eye. You're right, it sucks.

You, my dear, may be scary with words and reviews, but other than that you're a loveable waggy-tail puppy dog.

*smooch*

*gasp*

The disrespect, nay the lèse-majesté!! Ruining my fearsome rep in public like that!

Oh well, you know me too well for me to expect to be able to scare you anyway. *sigh* Doomed to dullardly predictable oldness. A whitebread baloney-and-Velveeta sammy, that's me. *woe*

>235 karenmarie: We also got the kind of nuts you had to crack in ours.

I'll simply say that a whitebread baloney-and-Velveeta sammy is truly scary.
I keep forgetting lutein, and I need it for incipient MD if nothing else. I'm going to give up and call my eye person for cataract surgery in the new year.
Yes to nuts in stockings, oranges, and kumquats. Kumquats???? Really.

Hi Karen--Just catching up on everything here. You are definitely losing on your purge/buy ratio this year! LOL. I want to go see Fantastic Beasts; it just didn't happen this weekend. Maybe next? And dang the Panthers. Hugs.

>229 karenmarie: Congratulations on adding 400 books to your library this year. I think 2018 was one of the years that I accumulated less than any other year. Of course, the Bethlehem Library sale is the 28th of November, and that is one of the better sales. I truly want to go through what I have before purchasing more. But, that is problematic as my retirement give was a rather large amount in a Barnes and Noble gift card, and an additional nice sum in a gift card for Bookoutlet.com.

It won't take long to spend these. I hope I can wait until the new year, but I doubt it. Do you accumulate most of your books from sales?

Memo to self: Do not eat chocolate chunk cookies after 4 p.m. Insomnia will ensue.

>238 richardderus: I do know you too well, darling Richard. Doomed to dullardly predictable oldness. Now you’re just fishing for compliments. Never dullardly, predictable, or old. You’re a sharp-witted, wildly unpredictable young twinkie compared to my 65-year old self.

I gave up white bread 43 years ago, except for the recipe you gave me one time for Curry Cheese Appetizers with Chutney. Baloney perhaps the same number of years or even more, Velveeta, except for my mom’s mac’n’cheese, which I don’t have the recipe for, always.

>239 thornton37814: My favorite has always been almonds, so I’d trade sibs Doug and Laura walnuts for their almonds. I also remember cracking walnuts on the back porch when we were kids so Mom could put them in homemade brownies. Now I keep pounds of them in Tupperware in the freezer, store bought and just as tasty.

>240 LizzieD: Agree, Peggy. Lutein is good. If your cataracts are giving you fits, you’ll be pleased and grateful once they’re gone. Make it so!

Kumquats are a fruit that I’ve never actually ever, EVER, had. Do tell.

>241 Berly: Hi Kim! This year has been way cool for acquiring books. In addition to the normal impulse buying (Book Bullets are a bane) and two Friends of the Library Sales per year, this year I received an additional six boxes of books courtesy of friend Karen in Montana and our own dear @SomeGuyInVirginia, Larry; this in addition to gifts from other friends here and there. But yes, acquisitions outweigh culls by a ratio of more than 4-to-1. Fantastic Beasts will be waiting there for you. Hugs back to you!

>242 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda. We’re the opposite then, aren’t we, because this year will be my largest acquisition year in recent memory, perhaps forever. Yay for retirement gifts. I think you should spend them as the spirit moves you.

This year’s book acquisition breakdown is as follows. 382 books total, and for the life of me, I cannot remember where I got The Quiet Child by John Burley. Maybe it just wandered in.

Amazon 30
Book Store 9
BookMooch 7
Early Reviewer Book 6
Friends of the Library Sales 156
Friend 170
Thrift Store 3
Unknown 1

382 books? Wowza!!

Morning, Karen. sorry to hear about your Panthers. Fortunately my Bears won big last night. I had a good day yesterday with the books. I am scheduled off this coming weekend, which is sweet with the holiday, but we might be short-handed with folks being on vacation, so they may ask me to work one or both days. We will see...

'Morning, Mark! Yes, a stellar book-acquisition year.

Yay for your Bears and your books.

Good Morning. Congrats on your book haul! Looks like you will have no shortage on finding reading material.

Hi Anita and Good Morning to you, too! Thank you. If I read at the rate I'm reading right now (~100 books a year), I have twenty years worth of not-yet-read books on my shelves. Literally. It's like my husband Bill, who has a gazillion shows/stations to watch on satellite, and sometimes complains of there being nothing to watch. Sometimes it's hard for me to find what I'm in the mood for.

Morning, Karen.

we did enjoy Fantastic Beasts. It was not stunning, but it was definitely worth the price of admission. Lots of interesting story and relationship building and a few stunners near the end. Good description - that fits the way we felt about it. It's the 2d of 5 Fantastic Beast movies, according to Rowling, and it felt a bit like that - more story to come. I was happy that Johnny Depp didn't overact; I thought he was very good as Grindelwald.

Hi Joe!

Your opinion is always valuable, and I'm glad we're in agreement on this. Not that it would be the end of the world if we weren't...

He didn't overact and his not-American accent seemed to work well. Durmstrang and Nurmengard and an English Great-Aunt Bathilda Bagshot made for an interesting mix accent-wise.

Now we have to wait several years for the 3rd one.

>248 jnwelch: Looking forward to Johnny Depp as Grindelwald! We have this one on the looking forward to be seen list.

What healthy stuff you all received, mandarins, nuts, no sweet tooth-ache inducing chocolate or marzipan? Here are our favourites: chocolate frogs and mice filled with fondant. Not for Christmas, this was for St. Nicholas.

Hi Ella!

Yummy, chocolate frogs and fondant-filled mice. (I wonder if JK got her Chocolate Frogs candy idea from these? As someone in the US it wouldn't have been obvious, but perhaps to Europeans reading the books Chocolate Frogs were perfectly understandable, just made more interesting?)

Not to say we didn't get way too much candy as children, as my filling-and-crown-filled mouth attests. We had other sweets at Christmas, mostly baked goods. Easter and Halloween were candy time.

I'm a teeny-tiny minority in that chocolate isn't and never was a favorite of mine, so I got Aplets and Cotlets as my treat candies. They cost the earth, but I got some a few months ago just cuz and they're as yummy as I remember them.

I did love a Mrs. See's chocolate called a Burgundy (I think). A truffle shaped like a loaf of bread with a brandy-flavored fondant. They had chocolate jimmies all over 'em, too. I don't think they're made any more.

'Morning, RD! I've had Aplet and Cotlets, and they are very good, just not See's. I looked on the See's website and there are no results for fondant, much less brandy-flavored fondant.

Drat. Now I want See's. Dark chocolate California Brittle, Dark Chocolate Raspberry Creams, Dark Chocolate Scotchmallows, and Dark Chocolate Nougat. Custom one-pound box. My sister just might come through for Christmas......

>253 karenmarie: Go Sis! Go Sis! Make with the See's, Sis!

Sis boom bah!

Let's save the "bah" for the unpleasant eventuality of her failure to deliver the See's.

I'm sure she'll come through - she gets a bonus early December and is very generous with Christmas for her (and my) ever-decreasing Christmas gift list.

Oh sure. Mention See's and make my hungry late at night! LOL

Morning, Karen. Working on my second cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs, before heading out. I got some good books going, especially Virgil Wander. I have been on a great roll lately.

Enjoy your day.

Happiness is warm caffeine and milk products accompanying sugary baked goods.

I am happy. I hope you are too.

>258 Berly: Only the best chocolates in the world, right, Kim? I'm so glad I don't live in SoCal anymore (for a variety of reasons). There are so many more See's shops around - there was even one 3 miles from my mom's house in Diamond Bar. You used to have to go to the big malls.

>259 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Yay for brekkie and coffee. I hope your work day goes well. You are almost always on a great roll with your reading choices, so good for Virgil Wander.

>260 richardderus: Glad to hear the happiness quotient is high for you, RD! I'm etsi ketsi, mas o menos, fair to middling. Thanksgiving happiness, Jenna happiness, but an eensy underlying upset, nothing personal but depressing nevertheless, that is keeping me awake at night.

How about black coffee and homemade peanut butter cookies? I have no other baked goods in the house. And 3 strips of bacon for the all-important protein and fat.

...
Jenna is going to be here early afternoon. *happy dance* In the meantime my cleaning ladies are here, only 2 more times in December before I start the new year sans-cleaning ladies in order to save $$. So the house will be in very good shape for Thanksgiving on Thursday. I have a few FoL errands this morning, then will go into festive holiday mode with Miss J.

>261 karenmarie: How wonderful that Jenna arrives today! And black coffee is my dote but one I'm not wise to indulge in anymore. Simply too much for my system these days.

Homemade peamuntbunner cookies!! YES PLEASE

She's on the road. She always calls once she's gotten a to-go-drink and some kind of protein-carbohydrate-fat brekkie item. Now all I have to do is get organized enough to run 3 errands before she gets here. She has a key, so if she gets here before I do, that's okay.

You are wise to know the limits your body can handle, even if it means giving up black coffee.

As soon as Pam came into the house this morning and got to the kitchen, she said "Peanut Butter cookies" and immediately went to the Tupperware and took one. Her mother doesn't like PB cookies and would have been happier had I made any other kind. The doubled recipe made 52. Of course I had to eat the extra 4 before putting them up so I could have an even 4 dozen in Tupperware...

Oh, they're already Tuppered! Excellent. My address is...

Persistent, aren't you? We'll see.....

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I am supposed to be off this weekend, but we are short-handed this week, with folks on vacation, so they made need me one of the days or both. We will see...

I am starting Where the Crawdads Sing today. This might be of interest to you, since it has a N.C. setting. Just sayin'...

'Morning, Mark! I hope you get enough time off to get some good reading in.

Where the Crawdads Sing doesn't overwhelm me with an urge to get it RIGHT NOW, but I'll see how it plays out on your thread. I hope it's a good'un.

...
Today is some preliminary cooking - getting the sweet potato casserole ready to pop into the oven tomorrow, making the marinated corn salad, making pie crusts and 2 of the three pies, I think, plus setting the dining room table, etc.

Now, off to read a bit an drink coffee before Miss J wakes up.

glrglf
shhmmnnggnn
(translation: coffee oatmeal eye doctor day)

Hi not-yet-coffee-infused-RichardDear!

Except that I've already had 2 peanut butter cookies with my first cup of coffee, oatmeal sounds good. I hope your day goes well, with good results at the eye doctor.

I've been toying around with the idea of buying a yooge tee-bee as a personal Christmas gift. If I do, that's the only object I want. At this stage of the game, it's all about intangibles. So, stocks, bonds, taxable municipal securities. I want the same thing Pearl Bailey said she wanted, 'a five pound box of money, honey.' Mom and Dad saw her at her last performance before she retired, as Dolly in 'Hello Dolly'. After the show, and five curtain calls, she came out on stage, took a stool and talked to the audience for a long time. Both Mom and Dad fell in love with her a little bit.

God, I hope we have snow for Christmas this year. Rahly I do.

Hi Karen, it's nice that you have cleaning people...sad that you have to give it up. You're right, even Aaron has suggested that maybe we should just get the house cleaned for a little while my health improves. Too late for Thanksgiving though!

Hi Larry!

I think you should indulge yourself. A yooge smart tee-bee would be a great gift. As you know, that's what I got Bill for his birthday last year, and between Dish, Netflix, and Amazon Streaming Video, we're set. Bill more than me since I can't remember the last time I watched TV during the day by myself - perhaps not any time after I retired in 2016.

I'd like a 5-lb box of money. Nice memory of your parents and her last performance.

I'd like snow this year, too. I saw somewhere that the mid-Atlantic and/or Southeast are supposed to be wetter than usual this winter, which here will probably translate into ice. Which, as long as we can be home and Jenna can be safe in Wilmington will be just fine.

Jenna's up, breakfast is being consumed, sweet potatoes are being gently boiled to make sweet potato casserole for tomorrow. We are going to be totally self-indulgent and go out for sushi/Thai food for lunch, just the two of us.

I'm thinking that 5 lbs of pennies doesn't add up to much. I guess you have to trust that the gift-giver understands that "5 lbs of money" means 5 lbs of Benjamins.

For me, today is a kind of goof-off day. Monday and Tuesday I attended Grandparents Day doin's at the school my three Pennsy granddaughters attend. (My other three granddaughters are Jersey girls.) I had to rise at 6:30...a.m. ... in the morning ... before the sun was up. What a Gramps is I.

But today, I just need to stay out of the kitchen so others can prep tomorrow's feast. We are hosting 14 (including Judi and I). I'm going to try to finish Citizens of London and squeeze in one more before the beginning of December.

Hi Bill!

Five pounds of $100 bills would be a cool $227,000. I'd take that in a New York Minute.

However, five pounds of 1909 S VDB pennies in certified mint state (MS+) would be worth $1,397,000. (147 pennies per pound, MS+ at ~$2,200 each) That's even better.

Good for you, Gramps! I never knew either of my grandfathers. One died in 1929, when my dad was almost 8, the other died in 1957 when I was 4. We have a picture of Mom's dad holding me when I was less than a year old, but I have no memories of him. Sad. You're giving your granddaughters a special and precious gift of time with you.

Staying out of the kitchen is a good idea unless you're willing to lend a hand - sounds like you're better off reading. *smile*

Jenna and I made the sweet potato casserole all ready to bake tomorrow and the marinated corn salad which we keep stirring to get all the flavors to blend. We're going to tackle pies next - pumpkin and pecan. We'll also make 2 additional pie crusts so we can keep one in the freezer for sometime in the future and one will become a banana cream pie tomorrow.

I'm resisting the urge to order a copy of Where the Crawdads Sing right now. My spouse praised it, Mark and now Joe have warbled about it, it's set in North Carolina (where i have emotional roots and a sister).... how am I to resist?

I'm thinking about coming to your house for PB cookies.... if there are any left. :-)

>275 EBT1002: HEY!! PAWS OFF MY COOKIES THAT'RE IN THE MAIL TO ME NOW aren't they Hint: there's only one correct answer and it starts with Yes dear

>274 karenmarie: Those pies sound really good! Have a nice day tomorrow!

>275 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Thank you for Snoopy - except for the two Dobermans I had 1983-1986 he’s my favorite dog.

Another PB cookie fan. If you come, I will bake some. You’ll only be about 4 hours away. *smile* Real butter, crunchy peanuts-salt-only peanut butter, Eggland’s Best eggs. Unbleached flour too. I don’t remember where I got the recipe, it’s hand-written in my recipe notebook. I don't add sunflower seeds anymore to make complete proteins, so around 1977, for when I was adding sunflower seeds.

I’m trying really hard to resist books that don’t absolutely take over control of my fingers and force me to order them, what with 2,047 tagged ‘tbr’ and Becoming by Michelle Obama showing up on my doorstep yesterday and not yet cataloged. WtCS hasn’t taken over.

>276 richardderus: Tetchy, aren’t we?

>277 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella! We had a lot of fun baking. Thank you. Bill and Jenna are still asleep. The old kitty yowled twice about 7 a.m., so I hurried downstairs to keep him quiet. I fed him and he’s in this side of the house with me behind a closed door.
…

The pumpkin has a teensy dip in the middle – don’t have any idea why.

Dip = cooling custard. There's some sort of physical reason a colloid does that but I can't remember why. One cup of coffee doesn't make braining easy. *sip* Workin' on it.

^Happy Thanksgiving, Karen. Have a great day with the family. Go Bears! They play very early today.

>279 richardderus: Hallo RD! Agreed, braining isn't easy on one cup of coffee. But mine NEVER dip. The only thing I can think of is that I baked it in my big gas oven instead of my smaller electric wall oven. But really, that shouldn't make a difference.

>280 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Same to you! Go Bears, Go Cowboys! (for Bill and Geoff).

Banana cream pie made. Tablecloth and napkins ironed, good china and good flatware out. Thanksgiving decorations out. Daughter will set the table. Rolls out to thaw (Mrs. Shubert's Parkerhouse Rolls, Jenna's fav). Corn salad stirred. Relish plates out for olives and pickles. Bowl out for potato chips (sigh). Turkey going in the oven at 11:30. Cork pads out for hot dishes on counter for buffet-style spread. So many things to coordinate at the last minute!

Banana cream pie. And PB cookies! It's all sounding just wonderful. Enjoy!

Happy Turkle Dee!

>282 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen!

>283 SomeGuyInVirginia: Thank you, Larry! Same to you and Parker.

Just saw Bohemian Rhapsody last night and I have to agree with you, it was really good. I am far behind in the threads and it took be a while to catch up with yours, you have been busy. Funny how retirement does that. Your book acquisitions for the year make mine look puny, thank you for that. I forgot this was your thanksgiving (ours is on a Monday). Have a great holiday and enjoy the feasting.

Hi Meg! Yay for BoRhap.

In retirement, fun things expand to fill in all the hours we previously worked, don't they?

Always willing to oblige people to make their book acquisitions seem puny. *smile* Although I don't anticipate next year even being close, because I'll be six boxes less for sure and I will try to curb my acquisitions at the book sales. (yeah, right)

We had a wonderful day. Busy in the morning but not frenzied as in other years, a nice small group of 6, good food, good talk, and, since the Cowboys beat the Redskins, good football. Ann, Diane, and I did the dishes and put all the food up after, so the kitchen is almost completely under control.

Time to go get my first cup of coffee.

edited to add: Just as we were sitting down to eat yesterday, we saw a Red-Shouldered Hawk on the old satellite dish in the pasture. He pounced and was on the ground and then he zoomed onto the fence. This morning a hawk crashed into the glass here in the Sunroom - I think he was going for the cat sitting on the dresser and visible from outside. He retreated to the Crepe Myrtle and before I could get the binoculars trained on him he had gone over to the Magnolia and was lost to sight.

Morning, Karen. It sounds like you had a nice Thanksgiving gathering. We had a good time too. I am off today and tomorrow, but I was expecting them to call me in, due to folks being on vacation. They did not call, so it looks like I will enjoy my LONG weekend.

I loved your hawk story!!

>286 karenmarie: Poor hawk. How typically feline, tease and pretend to be available, only to cause pain and confusion and difficulties breathing in the end.

>288 richardderus: Ha!

Morning Karen! Sounds like your Thanksgiving was a good one. And your kitchen is under control already! LOL Sorry the cleaning ladies have to go for next year. My mom used to have one come every week and I have use them on and off. Right now its off and I miss them! Especially in the bathrooms. I don't like cleaning bathrooms. : P Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend. And Jenna.

With two artificial knees I can't really knee which makes doing showers and bathtubs really, really difficult. That's my reason (excuse) for having cleaners every other week :)

>287 msf59: Hi Mark! I’m happy to hear that you’ve got a long weekend with no work. Thanks re my hawks.

>288 richardderus: Well, RD, she was smirking a bit…..

>289 SomeGuyInVirginia: Our Richard is a hot mess, isn’t he?

>290 Berly: Hi Kim! Oh yes, it was swell. There’s about 15 minutes left in the kitchen, which I haven’t done yet. We’re all still in jammies. We just finished watching 3 episodes of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, are taking a bit of a break. Bill and Jenna are chatting in the living room and the tone is good, so no arguing. :)

Our cleaning ladies are/were every 2 weeks. Frankly it’s gotten to the point where instead of coming the two hours they started out, they’re down to about 1 ¼ hours. The mother has cancer and is moving extremely slow, can’t see well, and I was hoping that they’d stop cleaning houses before I had to cancel. Hasn’t happened, so the money is legit, but so is my desire to not have a slipshod job and have to pay for it. I could probably find someone good, but it’s a small town and it would get out. I’ll see how disciplined I am and go from there. Hmm. My least favorite housecleaning jobs are mopping floors, baseboards and ceiling fans.

>291 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! I can understand your reason. I’m going to see how well I do. I need to make a chart since we have 3.5 baths, 3 bedrooms, and 7 other rooms plus hallways. If I get to everything once a month plus weekly vacuuming and bathrooms, I’ll be happy.

My neighbor Louise has two artificial knees. She’s 84 and her husband of over 60 years passed away this summer. He was in a memory unit but it’s still obviously hit her hard. Between her health and her husband’s death she doesn’t have energy or motivation to clean but still takes care of her 3-bedroom home. I admire her greatly.

Happy Day After, Karen.

I'm having coffee and slowly climbing out of post-Thanksgiving torpor. We've got a lot of folks here at our son's house in Pittsburgh, and we're all taking it easy, playing with dogs and the grandbaby. It was good football for us yesterday, too, with the Bears winning. It sounds like your Thanksgiving was aces. Enjoy the long weekend!

>292 karenmarie: Oooh, The Doctor Blake Mysteries! I really enjoyed that series. I think Craig Whats-it was bamboozled by the overzealous application of #MeToo...don't think we'll be seeing a sixth season.

Hi Karen! MMMMMM pies and cookies and Jenna - sounds like a great Thanksgiving!

I had a nice one too, topped off with a walk along the river in the spectacular full moon yesterday evening.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about Becoming. I am on the library wait list.

You make me feel better about my tbr piles, too. My friend that I walked with last night is an avid reader, but doesn't want any books in her home. When I was telling her about LTER, she asked if that was why I had such a huge bookcase in my living room. Oh dear, it's not all that big and one of a dozen or scattered through the house ....

>293 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe, same to you! We ate a complete second Thanksgiving meal today for dinner and are in another stupor. We’ve watched Doctor Blake all day, except for the occasional foray into football for Bill and Jenna. Tomorrow Jenna and I will see Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - 2nd time for me, first for her. We’ll have fun. Bill doesn’t want to see it again.

>294 richardderus: Yes, we’re really enjoying it a lot. Yikes. #MeToo for Craig McLachlan? He’s sued ABC, Fairfax Media, and one of three women who accused him for defamation; apparently he won’t return but the series will, retitled The Blake Mysteries. I never know what to believe – overzealous application, or true harassment/abuse.

>295 streamsong: Hi Janet! Yes, it’s been fabulous. I’m glad you had a good one, and yay for a walk. I have only toddled around the house. I am in the middle of a couple of other books, but might read it in mid-December.

How can she not want any books in her home? That boggles the mind. I love looking at my books, anticipating reading them, remember them fondly, or consider re-reading them. Most people I know outside of LT rarely read, except for my book club. I’m always stunned when I go into a home without books.

Hooray for Thanksgiving meal #2! It was maybe even better than yesterday. I do love leftovers.
A home without books doesn't deserve the name; it's a house where people have to live.
I walked yesterday and swam today, so I feel better even though I'm fat. I do so look forward to some reading time tomorrow.

Hi Peggy!

Leftovers can be, and were in this case, excellent. I do love the microwave sometimes.

Yes, a home without books is only a house where people live.

You are to be admired for walking and swimming.

As much as I love my daughter and husband, Monday will be sweet. I've hardly read at all since Tuesday.

New thread's open for business!