Berly's Books Chapter Four

Swept away on the sea of books!!

For those of you who don't know me, I am a mom of 3, married to a great guy (he introduced me to LT) and besides books, I love TKD, working in glass, and chocolate. I have had an eclectic "career" in nerve regeneration research, advertising, the NBA, and editing. Now I work with my husband cleaning industrial processed water and stormwater, getting it up to EPA standards. I do the marketing and the financial stuff.

There are more books coming in than going out and I am making but a small dent in the TBR piles; I haven't given up hope yet though! I can't because books are everywhere. Some are under the window in my bedroom, some are stacked by my night table, in the study, downstairs in the bookcases, and then there is the Kindle....I know you all understand. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way. ; )

Reading Now

These Truths Part 3 & 4
The Library Book by Susan Orlean -- RL #1 bookclub April
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai -- RL #2 bookclub April
Lost Children Archive (400 pages) by Valeria Luiselli

And Soon...

mid-April--Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk with Karen, Janet
April--Irma Voth with Twin
April--The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey with Brynn

And Longer Plans for Reading
These Truths Part 4 by Jill Lepore
Four-month Group read
Jan Part 1 (1-150 pages) https://www.librarything.com/topic/301417
Feb Part 2 (151-307, 156 pages) https://www.librarything.com/topic/303118
March Part 3 (308-517, 209 pages) https://www.librarything.com/topic/304319
April Part 4 (518-789, 271 pages)

June--Pachinko With Twin and Ellen and Morphy
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra with Morphy
The Mars Room with Twin
A Visit From the Goon Squad (340 pages) by Jennifer Egan

Read in March / ??? pages / Total Read
C) These Truths Part 3 (308-517, 209 pages)
28. I'm Fine and neither Are You (266 pages) by Camille Pagan
27. The Trouble with Twelfth Grave by Darynda Jones
26. Her Royal Spyness (348 pages) (K) by Rhys Bowen
25. The Twin (343 pages) by Gerbrand Bakker
24. Eleventh Grave in Moonlight (321 pages) (A)(Charley Davidson #11) by Darynda Jones 3.9
23. The Sympathizer (Pearl Ruled at 50 pages) by Viet Thanh Nguyen
22. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (337 pages) by Gail Honeyman 4.5
21. Fatal Remedies (A) by Donna Leon 3.0
20. Stitches: A Memoir (333 pages) by David Small 4.0
19. Freedom Road (377 pages) (K) by William Lashner 3.0

Read in February / 3,570 pages / Total Read 6,225 pages
B) These Truths Part 2 (151-307, 156 pages)
18. I Will Never Leave You (K) (338 pages) by SM Thayer 2
⭐️ The Snakes (438 pages) by Sadie Jones 4.25
16. Noir: A Novel (A) by Christopher Moore (PR after 1 1/2 hrs or 100 pages)
⭐️ The Fire This Time (224 pages) by Jesmyn Ward with Twin 4.5
14. One Good Turn (541 pages) by Kate Atkinson, Jackson Brodie #2, 4.0
13. Preacher (436 pages) by Camilla Lackberg #2, 3.75
12. Future Perfect by Victoria Loustalot (Pearl Ruled at 71 pages)
11. Start without Me (288 pages) by Joshua Max Feldman, LTER, 3.5
10. Nerve (313 pages) by Dick Francis (Thank you Mamie!) 3.5
9. Rock Needs River (K) (185 pages) by Vanessa McGrady 3.0
8. Once Upon A River (480 pages) by Diane Setterfield 3.75

Read in January / 2655 pages
A) These Truths (150 pages -- Section One) by Jill Lepore 4.25
7. A Ladder to the Sky (384 pages) by John Boyne, INDIEspensable #77 4.0
6. How To Be A Woman (320 pages) (A) by Caitlin Moran 4.0
⭐️ Sometimes I Lie (264 pages) (K) by Alice Feeney 4.25
4. Pavillion of Women (316 pages) (K) by Pearl S. Buck 3.75
3. Ice Princess (420 pages) (K) by Camilla Lackberg 3.5
2. Becoming (448 pages) by Michelle Obama 4.0
1. The Curse of Tenth Grave (353 pages) (A) by Darynda Jones 4.0

⭐️ Favorite(s) of the month
Masterpiece 5.0
Stunning 4.5
Excellent 4.0
Very Good 3.5
Good 3.0
Average 2.5
Eh 2.0
Don't Bother 1.5
Bad 1.0
Anathema 0.5

A=Audio
L=Library
GN=Graphic Novel
IR=Indiespensable Readers
K=Kindle
LT=LibraryThing Early Reviewer

RL Book Club #1
✅ February - Becoming by Michelle Obama
April - The Library Book - Susan Orlean
June - In the Midst of Winter - Isabel Allende
August - The Immortalist - Chloe Benjamin
October - There There - Tommy Orange
December - Choose books!!

RL Book Club #2
✅ January - Becoming by Michelle Obama
February - The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama
✅ March - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
April - The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
May-
September -
October -
November -

Powell's Indiespensable Readers Challenge

Hubby signed me up for this. Over the years I have received 79 installments, but I haven't read all the books yet. Not even close! In an effort to catch up -- I want to read 12 this year. The complete list (such as it is) can be found here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/301060#

Maybes
April-- Irma Voth with Twin
October--There, There by Tommy Orange
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra with Morphy -- Month TBD
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt

Done
✅1. A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne
✅2. The Fire This Time in February
✅3. The Snakes by Sadie Jones
✅4. Stitches by David Small
✅5. The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker
6. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli -- reading
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

And to get me to read more Books I already own....



Color Challenge
Black -
Brown -
Green -
Yellow - One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
Blue - Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman
Purple -
Pink -
Grey -
Metallic -
Orange -
Red -
White -

Old or new, it's just fun to check off a box!



1. Author uses middle name or middle initial ~ Pavillion of Women by Pearl S. Buck
2. Debut novel ~ Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
3. Book about/featuring siblings ~ Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney
4. Read an LT book bullet ~ How To Be a Woman Caitlin Moran (Crazy & Katie's Fault)
5. Book mentioned in another book you have read
6. Topic or character related to medicine/health
7. Animal on cover/in title/plays a significant role ~ Nerve by Dick Francis
8. Book with an artistic character - Start Without Me by Joshua Max Feldman
9. Eastern European author or setting ~ Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
10. Children’s/YA book, or reread a childhood favorite
11. Alliterative title
12. Part of a series ~ The Curse of Tenth Grave by Darynda Jones
13. Read a CAT
14. Prize-winning book The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker
15. Weather (title contains a weather word, or book involves/centers around a weather event)
16. Short stories or essays ~ The Fire This Time
17. Book made into a movie
18. Fairy tale ~ Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
19. Graphic novel ~ Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
20. Main title has 6 or more words in it
21. Cover has at least two human figures
22. Book in translation ~ Preacher by by Camille Lackberg
23. Food-related title or topic
24. Book has an LT rating of 4.0 or more ~ Becoming by Michelle Obama
25. Title contains a homophone word

And I can't forget the...



https://www.librarything.com/topic/301134

✅ January - Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg
✅ February - Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon -- reading
✅ March - Preacher by Camilla Lackberg
April - Friends in High Places by Donna Leon
May - Stone Cutter by Camilla Lackberg
June - Sea of Troubles by Donna Leon
July - Gallows Bird alternate title Stranger by Camilla Lackberg
August - Willfull Behavior by Donna Leon
September - Hidden Child by Camilla Lackberg
October - Uniform Justice by Donna Leon
November - Drowning by Camilla Lackberg
December - Doctored Evidence by Donna Leon

https://www.librarything.com/topic/301134
Dick Francis Horsey Adventures

✅ January-February — Nerve
March-April — Forfeit
May-June — Reflex
July-August — Rat Race
September-October — Break In
November-December — Bolt

I can't resist buying new books!!

I seem to manage to read around 50% of my newbies.

2017 47/85
2018 45/88

Let's see how I do this year!!

2019 10/35 Read

✅ Becoming by Michelle Obama, G*
✅ One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (Thank you, SS Paul!) G*
3. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (Thanks, SS Paul!) G*
✅ A Ladder to the Sky by John Boyne, INDIEspensable #77 *
5. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, INDIEspensable #77 *
✅ How To Be A Woman by Caitlan Moran* (Crazy & Katie's Fault) AC*
✅ Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption by Vanessa McGrady AP*
8. Smoke and Summons (Numina Book 1) by Charlie Holmberg AP*
9. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk: A Novel Kathleen Rooney
✅ Nerve by Dick Francis (Thank you Mamie!) G*
11. Happiness by Aminatta Forna (Thank you Paul!) G*
12. Self-Care for the Self-Aware by Dave Markowitz
13. Empathipedia by Dave Markowitz
14. Fluke by Christopher Moore
✅ Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield (Reba got this one, too)
16. A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
17. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
18. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
19. A Killer In King's Cove by Iona Whishaw (Thanks, Twin!)
20. Reader, I Married Him edited by Tracy Chevalier (And this one, too!)
21. Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama
22. The Library Book by Susan Orlean
23. Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley, INDIEspensable #78 *
✅ The Snakes by Sadie Jones, INDIEspensable #78 *
25. The Bold World by Jodi Patterson, ARC *
26. Freedom Road by William Lashner *
27. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
28. Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
✅ Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
30. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Wendy Vanderah AP*
31. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
32. Calypso by David Sedaris
33. I'm Fine and Neither Are You by Camille Pagan AP*
34. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Lyiselli, INDIEspensable #79 *
✅ Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones AC*

* = Free (which means I didn't buy it so I don't have to feel guilty!)
G=Gift
I=INDIESpensable
AC=Audible monthly credit
AP=Amazon Prime Kindle Read

✅ = read

This Year's Favorites

Favorites from 2018:
Fiction
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Queen of the Tearling (the whole series! -- done) by Erika Johansen
First Grave on the Right (the whole series!!) by Darynda jones
Beartown by Fredrick Backman
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
Hounds of Spring by Lucy Andrew Cummins

Non-Fiction
We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

Series I want to continue...

#10 Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs
#3 The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman
#12 Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones
#6 The Deepest Grave Fiona Griffiths by Harry Bingham
#5 Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith
#1 44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith
#4 E...by Sue Grafton
#6 Jodi Taylor
#4 The Chronicles of Kazam by Jasper Fforde, 2019??
#11 Charlie Davidson series by Darynda Jones
#2 The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman
#8 Thursday Next by Jasper Fforde
#2 The Rule of Many by Leslie and Ashley Saunders
#4 Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson, Started Early, Took My Dog

"Swept away on the sea of books!!" Ain't that the truth?

Happy Sunday, Kim. Happy New Thread! I plan on getting to The Fire This Time next month.

Happy New thread!!

Happy new one, Twin. Love the topper. You're doing pretty well with your INdispensible books.

Happy new thread, Kim!

Happy new one, Kim!

Happy New Thread, Kim!

Ha! I love the Dick Francis category title, “Horsey Adventures”. I’ve really been enjoying the re-reads, so I think I’m going to get my hands on Decider (not listed for the Group Read), so I don’t get too far ahead in the GR.

Happy new thread, Kim. Hope this weekend is treating you well.

Happy new thread, Kim!
Lovely topper, just hope it wasn't a good book that was used ;-)

Hiya, Mark! Thank you for being first to my thread. I know you are going to appreciate The Fire This Time when you get to it. And perhaps one of these for later....?

>13 figsfromthistle: Hi, Anita! Welcome.

>14 BLBera: Twin! I am enjoying the INDIEspensable books and I am glad I am making them a focus this year.

>15 karenmarie: >16 katiekrug: Hi Karen and Katie!! Thanks for being frequent visitors. : )

>17 jnwelch: I am glad the Dick Francis reads are every other month or I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I sure do enjoy them! You should definitely sneak an extra one in there--have fun horsin' arund!

>18 RebaRelishesReading: I spent yesterday at the office and am heading off there again in a bit, but then most of the tax stuff should be done and the accouting will be up to date. I think I may take Monday or Tuesday off.

>19 FAMeulstee: Maybe it was made from old newspaper?! : )

Happy new thread and a belated happy birthday, Kim. You mentioned Manhattan Beach on your last thread, did you already read it or is it upcoming? That is my book club's pick for next month.

>23 Familyhistorian: I just bought it. When does your bookclub meet next month? : )

I am spending too much time at the office, so this is how I am going to make housecleaning go faster. ; )

>25 Berly: Kim, I have a fridge magnet that says: 'You are welcome to admire my dust, but please don't write your name in it'.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Kim!

Happy new thread!

>25 Berly: :)

>26 Caroline_McElwee: Divided opinions on dust management! Who knew this was so complicated? Does this mean I am wrong and we should just dust? (Say no.). LOL

>27 thornton37814: >28 lkernagh: >29 quondame: Welcome guys!! Thanks for keeping me company.

>30 BLBera: : )

Finishing at the office and headed out for the birthday dinner! I am famished.

Happy New Thread, Kim!

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Kimmers!

Beautiful image in >1 Berly:; >25 Berly: has been my "dusting mantra" since I got my own home. Unless the service does it, it don't get done.

Though I'll grieve for the messages missed in your third thread, I'll try to tag along with this new one.

Thanks for persuading me to join the group read of These Truths. I'm enjoying it. But I ripped my pants when I slipped off the fence.

>6 Berly: your bingo card is almost full! After a bumper reading January I have stalled with my reading this month. I blame Breaking Bad.....yes, I am rather late to the party on that one!!!

>31 Berly: Hope you had a wonderful dinner and that you're, indeed, going to take today and tomorrow off and enjoy yourself a bit. You've certainly earned it!

>32 ronincats: >33 drneutron: >34 PaulCranswick: Thank you, thank you, thank you!

>35 richardderus: The only thing good about dusting is I like the smell of Lemon Pledge. : )

>36 weird_O: No grieving now. Only happy thoughts. ; ) Sorry about your pants. LOL

>37 LovingLit: I am doing well at Bingo, but my Alpha and Color challenges are dismal. As usual, I keep neglecting my shelf reading in favor of shiny new reads. I am doing well on my INDIEspensable reads though.

Have fun with Breaking Bad!! Better late than never. : )

>38 RebaRelishesReading: Dinner last night was fun. I had a yummy risotto. And I am not going in to work, at least for today. Yay!

>31 Berly: No. pffft.

Happy new one, Kim!

Happy new thread Kim my dear.

A new thread! Did I miss the old one? Hope you are well and enjoying all your reading! I'm keeping up with Alpha Kit but need a CAT for the bingo card. Oh, life is complicated! I'm reading all the fiction I've collected that I know I will be able to cull and finding some nice surprises.

>41 Caroline_McElwee: Phew! Although I wound up doing some dusting anyway. My daughter and I want to go shoe shopping on Wednesday (I have a birthday coupon that expires the end of the month) and DSW gives credit if you turn in old shoes. So I purged today! Which meant pulling everything out of the shelves and then giving them good wipe down before putting back the keepers. I am getting rid of about 6 pairs, some of them were unwanted ones from other people and I just never ever wore them. Goodbye!!

>42 Crazymamie: Hi Crazy!!

>43 johnsimpson: Hi John!

>44 witchyrichy: I have no idea if you missed the old one, just happy to see you here. It's okay to have complicated reading challenges, LOL. Enjoy your fiction reads and good luck culling! I have another stack building. Some day soon I need to make a trip to Powell's and trade them in.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine showed up on my doorstep today. Yay! It is my RL bookclub read for March.

Eleanor Oliphant was my book club book for February. My book club meets on Saturday, March 23 for the Manhattan Beach read, Kim. We usually meet on a Friday but we are doing a Saturday as we will also be making gnocchi.

Hi Kim my dear, my turn to try and catch up on your thread and see what I have missed. I checked with Karen this morning what her total reading is as she finished another book last night, she has read 14 so far this year and hopes to finish another before month end. I have finished 13 books but should finish another tomorrow, she is enjoying keeping a tally of her reading, me not so much ha ha.

We don't cull books as such but once we have read a book we check with each other if we want to read it and if not we decide if it is to be saved or it goes into a box, once the box is full I let Amy know and keep it until she comes over and then she has a look through to see if there are any she wants to read and what is left in the box usually goes to one of the charity shops or I take it to the Friends of Nostell Priory secondhand shop. This is in the old courtyard of the Stately House along with the Gift shop and café and other shops run by English Heritage who own the house although the St Oswald family still live in the house. The house was built on the site of a medieval priory in 1733.

We are both well and had a lovely week last week, having a couple of date days and getting a few jobs done. Hope all is well with you and the family dear friend and send love and hugs to you all.

>45 Berly: congratulations on the mini-purge Shelley, I know how satisfying that can be. I did it on handbags/tote bags this month.

>50 Caroline_McElwee: Happy belated new thread, Kim! A good purge is so liberating, don't you think?

>48 Familyhistorian: Gnocchi sounds fun! Not sure I can squeeze in Manhattan Beach so soon, but we'll see...

>49 johnsimpson: Karen is definitely giving you a run for your money!! LOL I definitely need to purge not only my shoes, but some books as well. I have a stack waiting to go. I'll wait until I have a full bag and then make a trip to Powell's.

We got snow last night and it was so pretty to wake up to this morning. Just an inch or two, nothing big. An hour south of us got dumped on though. Record-breaking I think.

Happy Wednesday!

>50 Caroline_McElwee: Next on my list to whittle down is probably my shirts and blouses. But who knows when I will get to that! LOL

>51 Carmenere: Hi and thank you! I am just going to live in the glory of my shoe purge. : )

So, after a month's absence due to feeling like *$%!, I finally made it back to TKD. Thank goodness it was not a night of cardio and fitness (which I would have barely been able to wheeze through), but rather the new curriculum for forms and nunchucks. I did all right at the form (I kinda taught myself the steps from YouTube and luckily the one I chose matched pretty well), but the nunchucks were something else. Whew--they are going to take some study and practice. It was way worse than rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time! But it felt so good to be back.

I am sad though, because my Master of ten years is moving to Seattle to open up his own Dojang. The new guy is pretty good, but I've just known the other guy for so long. I mean I hosted a baby shower at my house for his first child! He will be greatly missed, but I also wish him the best of luck.

For those of you ready for Part 3, the new thread is up. And I know people are still posting on 1 & 2--it's not too late to join us!!



These Truths: A History of the United States, by Jill Lepore

January--Part One, The Idea, pages 1-149 (1492-1799)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/301417#6718681

February--Part Two, The People, pages 153-310 (1800-1865)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/303118

March--Part Three, The State, pages 311-520 (1866-1945)
https://www.librarything.com/topic/304319#

April--Part Four, The Machine, pages 521-789 (1946-2016)

Good job getting back to your old butt-kicking form, Twin. Sorry you're losing your Master. I am reading The Great Believers right now because it's a library book with lots of people waiting, but when I'm done with that, on to The Sympathizer!

>56 BLBera: Waiting for my copy of The Sympathizer from the library....

I found myself at Barnes and Noble today, and, well...

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Calypso by David Sedaris

: )

Belated happy new one, Kim. I love the topper
>25 Berly: LOL, my words.

Hi, Kim. Eleanor Oliphant seems to be getting mixed reviews here on LT. I liked it and I hope you do too. I just finished The Refugees, a story collection, by the author of The Sympathizer. I loved both books. Just sayin'...

Happy new thread, Kim!
I'm glad to hear that you've been able to make it back to TKD, and workin' the nunchucks. Good luck with them, and may you be recognized for the badass that you are. I was a blue belt in Aikido when I was a kid, but then my Sensei died and I quit. I wish I'd kept with it.

I've picked up the whole run of Harry Potter on Audible read and acted by the amazing Jim Dale. Just halfway through the first book - fun to meet a old friends again

>57 Berly: Sounds like a plan.

Hi Berly! Hope you're having a great day.

Hi Kim! Happy new thread! Congrats on making it back to TKD! I hope you feel well from now on...

>57 Berly: Your restraint is admirable. *smooch*

Happy new thread!

>25 Berly: That has happened at our house before! Chloe likes to draw on the TV stand if I don't stay on top of things. She also likes to draw on the bathroom mirror when it is steamy, which drives me bonkers!

>47 Berly: Enjoy!!

>57 Berly: Only two is indeed remarkable restraint!

Have a lovely weekend, Kimmers.

Congrats on getting back to TKD!

I brought back Manhattan Beach from the library but I haven't started it yet. I am behind in the These Truths read, too. It seems I am behind with most things these days. Congrats on getting back to TKD, Kim.

I started The Sympathizer, and it seems like it will be a good one. Love the narrator so far.

I read Manhattan Beach last month. You might want to keep an eye out for water in this one.

>37 LovingLit: my current distraction is Game of Thrones. I might catch up before the last season finishes, but my numbers here will certainly suffer.

Nearly a week away?

Hope you are ok Kimmers.

>58 Ameise1: Hi there! Thanks for stopping by and I am glad you like my housekeeping attitude.

>59 msf59: I still haven't gotten to The Sympathizer, although I did finally get my copy. Glad you liked it!

>60 mstrust: Ha! I love that you think of me as a badass!! I am going to run with that. ; ) Sorry you dropped out of your Aikido, but it is hard when you lose your Master. The goodbye party for my Master is tomorrow. I have studied iunder him for over almost 10 years. I am so sorry to see him go. He is opening up his own dojang for World Champion TKD near Seattle.

>61 magicians_nephew: I would love to revisit the whole HP storyline again someday. Maybe audio is the way to go! Enjoy.

>62 BLBera: I know you already started the Sympathizer and I am guessing you already completed it. Any good?

>63 The_Hibernator: Between when you posted and now, life has had its ups and downs, but today was a good day! Hope it was for you, too.

>64 nittnut: Hello! I am still working on being healthy. I was good for about a week,; did TKD 3 times, and then I got hit with RL stuff and a bad allergic reaction. On Recovery Road again. : )

>65 richardderus: Sometimes I am good. Only sometimes. : )

>66 ChelleBearss: LOL. Love that Chloe. Nothing like kid's drawings on the mirrors or in the dust to prompt cleaning.

>67 PaulCranswick: I can show restraint on occasion, but don't expect it all the time! LOL I am taking your good wishes for the weekend (intended for the last one) and using them this weekend, again!

>68 banjo123: I am so much happier when I do TKD. My next belt test is April 6th, so I have one month to get it together. : )

>69 Familyhistorian: I just started up again on TT. Finally starting Part 3. It's a little longer section, so I am trying to get 10 pages in a day. Not sure when I am going to get to Manhattan Beach -- let me know hwat you think.

>70 BLBera: I knew you were ahead of me!! LOL.

>71 ffortsa: Keep an eye out for water -- duly noted!

>72 PaulCranswick: Thanks for keeping my thread warm!!

Sorry I was in absentia this past week. Got the Company taxes reviewed by our outside firm and hey came back with only 1 correction (!) -- they are now officially sent on their way to the government. Done! Phew. And now I am almost finished with February in-house. Entries are almost all in and now I just have to reconcile. Feeling VERY on top of it at work!

Big trade event show in May, so we spent the morning discussing marketing needs. That will be next week's focus for me.

Rough week allergy and Colitis wise as in both Benadryl and Oxycodone were needed. Blech.

With little energy once I got home, I have been having fun cataloging books. I went through all (and there are a lot of them!) the TBR piles in my bedroom and made sure the books were properly logged and accounted for. They were mostly recent buys and in pretty good shape. Today I started the shelves downstairs, which included much-needed dusting and much data entry. Two down and only 46 to go! Of course, then there are the bookshelves in the kids' rooms...

I am wiped out, but okay otherwise. No TKD classes until Monday and by then I should be functional again. Wishing my Master of 8 years goodbye tomorrow. Sad for me, but excited for him and his family. : )

I am way behind on reviews (what else is new). But I am currently reading these beauties:

Just starting
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (RL bookclub)
The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker with Ellen, Megan
The Sympathizer (K) with Twin and Ellen

Well into
Fatal Remedies (A) by Donna Leon
These Truths Part 3

Happy weekend everyone!!

Lovely to see you back, Kimmers!

I am NOT finished yet. I like it, but The Sympathizer is not a fast read. I didn't realize it was satire, and that works for me in limited doses. Still, it's worthwhile. What do you think?

Take care of yourself. I hope you are well on the road to wellness.

>79 PaulCranswick: Paul--It is so nice to have you on the frequent visitor list again!!

>80 BLBera: I am all of 3% (Kindle) in, so I don't really have a feel for it yet. I am watching Madame Secretary on TV with Hubby, and I am not sure how much more politics and intrigue I can take! LOL

Hi Kim!

Yay for the taxes and data entry, boo for the allergies and colitis.

I'm so glad I'm participating in the These Truths group read - thanks for setting it up and inspiring me to join.

>82 karenmarie: Hi Karen--so glad you are enjoying These Truths! I have learned so much and it is by far and away the best history book I have read. Happy weekend.

The Snakes by Sadie Jones, INDIEspensable book, 4.25

Just finished The Snakes and it was gripping. A daughter tries to honorably make her way in life without giving in to the easy money of her inheritance. Truly a novel about power corrupting and the web of family and how both can try to pull you under. The ending was unforgettable.

I Will Never Leave You by SM Thayer 2.0

A rich couple can't get pregnant. Enter the mistress. On the day she gives birth, the husband introduces his wife to her and the child in the hospital. Everyone assumes the wife is the grandmother and the birthing nurse gives her a baby ID bracelet which allows her to sneak the child out of the hospital. But she hasn't planned anything and things go downhill rapidly. Meanwhile, the husband can't decide which woman he wants to be with. He definitely wants the child. Improbable and not well written. Glad I didn't pay anything for this one.

>84 Berly: Unforgettable endings = immediate procurement.

>85 Berly: Oh yawn. Not my favorite kind of tale, so glad to plonk it firmly in the "nuh uh" bin.

Freedom Road by William Lashner 3.0

Book Plot from Amazon--"Oliver Cross is fresh out of jail. His plans for the future are to live out his days in regret, back pain, and a bottle of Lone Star. But when he finds out his granddaughter, a wild child who reminds him of his late wife, has vanished—bless her hell-raising heart—Oliver jumps parole. With a sketchy teen and an abandoned dog, he hits the blacktop to find her.

"On the road and on the run from a vengeful Russian drug dealer, Oliver finds himself on a trip across America and into his own past, fueled by fumes from a Ford F-250 and a reason to live. But from an exclusive club in Chicago to a seedy commune in the Rockies, a series of disastrous choices sends Oliver spiraling further from his goal and deeper into danger. It’s a journey that could all end in redemption or a hail of bullets. And either’s okay by him."

Not bad. The start was a little rough, but it got better as the book went along. I liked the grumpy grandfather and his conversation with his departed wife.

>86 richardderus: Ricardo!! So nice to see you here. How's the weather out by you? We got a dusting os snow last night. Might be the last one of the year. It's all gone again this morning.

"Nuh uh" is the correct bin for Thayer's book!!

Forewarning you that The Snakes has some incest in it....

>87 Berly: I did the math...in all likelihood, I have ~236 months left on Earth. "Not bad" is not gonna get me to procure/read anything with that few eyeblinks ahead!

>88 Berly: We're positively sunstruck today, and it's 40°!! I'm ecstatic.

Oh, well then...no no and more no on that read.

>89 richardderus: I really liked it, but I think it is not for you. Glad to have saved you the time. : )

Enjoy the "warmth" and the sun!!

You might enjoy the next one I am writing up....

Stitches: A Memoir by David Small 4.25

David Small is a successful author and artist who has received the EB White Award, the Caldecott Medal and the Christopher Medal. This graphic novel is a poignant look at his dysfunctional family and his childhood illness. Without being told that he had cancer, David awakes from a surgery to find half his vocal cords gone.

From the inside flap: "Believing that they were tring to do their best, David's parents did just the reverse. Edward Small, a Detroit physician, who vented his own anger by hitting a punching bag, was convinced that he could cure his young son's repiratory problems with heavy doses of radiation, possibly causing David's cancer. Elizabeth, David's mother, tyrannically stingy and scolding, ran the Small household under a cone of silence where emotions, especially her own, were hidden."

So many other things are explored in this amazing book, but I don't want to give it all away! Read it.

So glad your office woes are gone and you're back on top of things. Hope you'll also be feeling well again very soon!

Hi Kim, glad all the office work and Taxes got done and sent off my dear, nothing worse than having these things to do and then having to deal with the allergies and colitis, not good at all.

I see you have been busy with book cataloguing, that is something I need to do with the Cricket book collection. Along with re-doing my notebook on the Cricket book collection I am on with new updated notebooks of the authors I like so that I know what books by them I have got and avoid duplicating. I am using Fantastic Fiction and am up to the letter F so far.

Hope you and the family have a great weekend my dear and send love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Nice review of Stitches !

And happy weekend. Hope you enjoy the sunshine.

Stitches is the only graphic book I've liked so it has a distinction I guess Kim.

I really liked Sadie Jones' The Outcast when I read it back in 2011 so I may give The Snakes a go.

>91 Berly: I LOVED Stitches: A Memoir. This was one of those GNS that really got me kick-started on the form, way back when. I believe he has new one coming out soon?

Happy Saturday, Kim. I hope all is well. My BIL is having a 50th Birthday Blow-Out tonight, so we are all going, ( I LOVE it, when all 4 of us, go somewhere like this. It doesn't happen often enough). The beer choices will be lacking but I will suffer in silence. Grins...

I just finished Stitches and agree with your assessment. Didn’t realize the next section of TT is longer. Guess I better finish with last month’s section ASAP.

>84 Berly: That book will NEVER hit my TBR pile. I'm phobic of the title (and cover image).

>92 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! It feels great to be caught up at the office. : ) Now if I could just catch up on my books.....like that will ever happen!! And I don't know what I'd do if it actually did. My TBR pile is kinda like my security blanket. LOL

>93 johnsimpson: John--I have never heard of Fantastic Fiction--I think you have one-upped me in the organization department. Who is ahead with the books currently? You or Karen? ; )

>94 banjo123: Rhonda--Thanks. I am LOVING all the sunshine. I think (fingers crossed) that we have had our last snow of the year.

>95 brenzi: Bonnie--Graphic novels are not a genre I tend to read a lot of, but Stitches is definitely one I can recommend. And I have also read Sadie Jones' The outcasts and I gave that a four also. Guess I like her stuff!

>96 msf59: Mark--Hope your BIL's big 5-0 celebration was a success last night.

David Small actually has two new books out. One in 2018 and another for 2019. Might have to get myself one of these...



Wildly kaleidoscopic and furiously cinematic, Home After Dark is a literary tour-de-force that renders the brutality of adolescence in the so-called nostalgic 1950s, evoking such classics as The Lord of the Flies. Thirteen-year-old Russell Pruitt, abandoned by his mother, follows his father to sun-splashed California in search of a dream. Suddenly forced to fend for himself, Russell struggles to survive in Marshfield, a dilapidated town haunted by a sadistic animal killer and a ring of malicious boys who bully Russell for being “queer.” Rescued from his booze-swilling father by Wen and Jian Mah, a Chinese immigrant couple who long for a child, Russell betrays their generosity by running away with their restaurant’s proceeds. Told almost entirely through thousands of spliced images, once again “employing angled shots and silent montages worthy of Alfred Hitchcock” (Washington Post, on Stitches), Home After Dark becomes a new form of literature in this shocking graphic interpretation of cinema verité.



A dazzling depiction of the connection between diverse readers of all ages and their books, from beloved author-illustrator team Sarah Stewart and David Small. This Book of Mine is a celebration of the power of reading, of the ways in which books launch our adventures, give us comfort, challenge our imaginations, and offer us connection. From new mothers to fantasy lovers, butterfly hunters to musicians, the readers of This Book of Mine all share a common passion for favorite books―whether freshly discovered at the library or bookstore or saved from childhood and reread across a lifetime. A unique gift for bibliophiles young and old, This Book of Mine trumpets a simple truth: A well-loved book in hand brings color to any reader’s life.

>97 Familyhistorian: Meg--Timing is everything! Glad you liked Stitches, too. Good luck getting caught up on These Truths! I had to make a push to finish Part 2 and I am already behind again on Part 3, but I am really enjoying it.

>98 thornton37814: Sorry, Lori. I don't like snakes either. Although they appear in the book, it really is the people who are the snakes. Cover your eyes anyhow!

So, I have managed to catalog all the many piles of TBRs in my bedroom, including these....



There are a few more piles under the windows and I have two stacks by my night table. I also alphabetized them. (This is the before picture in case anyone checks out the alphabet.)

Now I am on to the downstairs....



This first set of shelves is all TBR and I have not been good about entering them, so this is taking a while. The little yellow sticker is my current place holder.

And this is how much more I have to do...



So 4/50 shelves done. Ummmm...see you next month! LOL

Do you have the ISBN scanner? When I started here, I got the CAT and zipped through all but the oldest of my books, shelf by shelf. Saves a lot of typing, and peering at small print.

>102 Berly: >103 Berly: >104 Berly: I do love Shelfies Kim. Good luck with your project.

>105 ffortsa: Hi Judy--I do have the LT scanner app, but first I have to check to see whether I entered the book previously and then see if the ISBN matches the copy I have. When I mark a book on the WL, the ISBN doesn't always match the copy I wind up with. But, yes, the scanner saves lots of time with new books. And eyestrain. : )

>106 Caroline_McElwee: Caroline--I am having fun with it. I mean, it's books! And I forgot how many fun books I have to read. So far, I have only found 3 duplicates, but that's one of the reasons I want to get them all entered, so I can pull up my collections when I am at the bookstore and see what I need to get.

>99 Berly:, Hi Kim, we are level at the moment on the reading front but if Karen had read as long as I have she would be at book 30 at least as she reads pretty quickly. When we go on holiday we will have to take at least eight books that we can both read but she will end up reading more than me during the 14 days we are away.

Hope you are having a good weekend my dear, sending love and hugs.

I now have bookshelf envy! I wish I had a place to put 50 bookshelves! I desperately need to replace bookshelves. The weight of books plus cats has destroyed a couple of my bookshelves. I need sturdier (and more) bookshelves.

>99 Berly: I know what you mean about security blanket. I try not to let Mt. TBR get toooooo crazy but really I think I would panic if I had no books waiting.

>108 johnsimpson: John, just go with the fact that you are even. LOL

>109 thornton37814: I love my bookshelves, Lori. And they are not built-ins, so if we ever move I can take them with us. I hope you find a way to get your hands on sturdier bookshelves -- can't have your books or cats in danger!

>110 RebaRelishesReading: Exactly, Reba. I think my Mt. TBR is about as big as I can handle, but I wouldn't want it to get too small either. It is a delicate balance.

Wow, 50 shelves! That'a amazing but so much work!
Hope you are feeling better!

Your shelving pics are great! I know it's a lot of work, but I'm glad you're enjoying it.
I've put David Small on my WL. Thanks for the recs!

we will have to post a photo of our living room - two six foot six shelf bookcases and the poor TV stuck in the middle

Wow! Beautiful shelves, beautiful books (mostly hardback?) and a huge (but fun!) job. 4/50 is a great start. Well done!

I love cataloging my books because I get a kick out of looking at my author and tag clouds.

Inquiring minds want to know: any idea how many books are in your TBR pile?

>112 ChelleBearss: Right? I am hoping to do at least a shelf a day. So, I have a month's work ahead of me. And today is a good day. : )

>113 mstrust: Glad to share visual proof of my book love. Hope you enjoy David Small. I really want to get my hands on another one of his. Soon!

>114 magicians_nephew: Eagerly awaiting your photo!! (Poor TV....)

>115 streamsong: Thank you! A lot of them are hardbacks. I actually finished the first 6 shelves last night, which means I have logged all my TBRs (not counting Kindle) and my grand total is 314!! So, I have at least three to four years of books to read even if I don't buy a single new one. No wonder I can never get caught up. Best problem ever!

Hi, Kim.

Debbi and I both committed to shrinking our tbr this year. I thought I was doing pretty well, but realized that reading of the tbr just makes me think of other books I want - e.g., I just finished two Travis McGees off the tbr, and then felt I had to get the next two. So I'm not sure how much progress I'm really making.

Nice bookshelf pictures! Have fun cataloging :)

Happy cataloging! That's a lot of shelves :)
I adore my little scanny thing. It brings me joy...

>117 jnwelch: Well, I haven't done much to shrink the TBR piles, and I keep buying books, but I have managed to purge a lot of read books this year, including a lot of parenting books that I no longer need and my kids don't want. I mean they are at least 20 years old and I am sure there are more current issues/theories and besides no one is in immediate danger of having their own kid, so bye bye!! Culled 65 so far. : )

>118 figsfromthistle: Thank you! I am having fun with the cataloging this time round. It doesn't feel like a chore, but more of a trip down memory lane.

>119 nittnut: I LOVE the LT scanny thing! It is saving me so much time entering my books.

My only gripe is I have discovered that the sticker Powell's put on their books for resale is 1) always placed directly over the book's publisher bar code, and 2) scanning their sticker brings up absolutely nothing, and 3) they are really hard to get off! GRRRR! Oh well. Coping.

>100 Berly: Duh! I had a library copy of Home After Dark and completely spaced it. I just started it. Very dark and spare. Reminds me of Jeff Lemire.

Love the bookshelves! WOW! My kind of people.

>116 Berly: 314! A worthy total indeed. *smooch* for getting that huge lump of work done.

>121 msf59: You are welcome for the reminder--that's the one I want to read next. And the feeling is mutual. : )

>122 richardderus: 314 is a great total, right? Thanks for the smooch. I think I might add some vino to complete the celebration. I deserve it. ; ) Then tomorrow I can keep on going on.

Hi Kim!

>84 Berly: Ya got me! A book bullet to the heart! I just pre-ordered it on Amazon. It will be my June birthday present to myself.

>102 Berly: >103 Berly: >104 Berly: I like how you eased us into the entire wall of shelves by starting small. *smile*

I loved putting my catalog into LT and continue to love adding books and moving things around. I need to go back and get the right member-uploaded covers on some of my earliest entries – if there isn't one that exactly matches my book I scan it and import it in if I have to.

>120 Berly: I usually take stickers off my books with Goo Gone. Sometimes I have to put some on and leave it a bit, but it’s always worked for me.

Nice work, Kim and so relaxing too (cataloging), don't you think? Then it's nice to step back and just admire all the beauty contained on your shelves.
The Snakes sounds like a book I could get into but I can not imagine holding a book with that slithery animal on the cover. I may have to purchase on Kindle to avoid it.

>124 karenmarie: Yay! I hope you enjoy it.

I eased you and me into the project nice and slow. LOL

Ooooh! Thanks, I will have to find me some Goo Gone. That, and take off the stickers as soon as I buy a book. They come off easier when they are new.

I can usually find the right cover, but then it asks if I want to change the ISBN, which means I haven't found the right one and need to upload a new cover or try one of the other available ones. I have only struck out a few times.

>125 Carmenere: I do like the satisfaction of getting the books in completely right. Okay, and I like to admire my work when I am finished, too. ; ) See, there are advantages to the fact that Kindle doesn't open with the front cover showing all the time! Good option.

Wow! I love the pictures of your newly reorganized bookshelves. Good job, Kim! It’s “fun” dusting all those books, isn’t it? You’ve inspired me to take my own pictures. I’ll put them on my new thread later this month.

I’ll be reading The Sympathizer for next month’s book group. Tonight we’ll be discussing Circe. Good times!

Love the book art in >1 Berly:, and your bookshelves! I have so many scattered shelves in so many rooms that organization is difficult. I try, but there's always an overrun here and there.

Sorry you had a bad week (I know this is a delayed response to that message), and sorry that the Powell's stickers are placed right over the barcode. How annoying!

Congrats on your completed cataloging. I have logged all my audiobooks but I don't have the bravery to attack my unread books shelves. It would take me about a year to read all of my audiobooks, but I want to continue reading books from the library and keep some books in my unread library for emergencies.

>127 Donna828: Can't wait to see your books next thread! Hope you had a good book discussion and by the time I finish The Sympathizer you'll probably be ready to talk about it, too.

>128 laytonwoman3rd: Hi there! I have a few books in other places aand I am not even talking about all the children's books which are everywhere. One thing at a time! LOL

>129 The_Hibernator: This week is much better. I went to TKD last night. I did fine on everythig but the nunchucks--I sucked! But I have a friend coming over tonight to help me one on one.

I haven'te even started the audio or Kindle books. Just concentrating on the physical books right now. They'll be next.

You have to have some unread books around in case of emergency, for sure!

Okay, I have to brag.

My daughter works on the med school student program in Family Medicine at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University) and the U.S. News 2020 Best Graduate School rankings just came out...

OHSU is in the top 10 in Family Medicine!!!

Whoohoo! Proud Mama. : )

Now I am complaining....

So yesterday's cataloging problem was scraping off resale stickers to uncover the ISBN bar codes for scanning. Now I am back to hand-entering the numbers because apparently my books are old enough to not have bar codes. In fact, some of them do not even have ISBN numbers, just library card numbers. Oh!!!!

>131 Berly: Congratulations to your daughter and to OHSU!! Of course you're proud!

>132 Berly: Ya, I had that problem too. I had to go to Library of Congress numbers for quite a few. Good news is that books I add now almost never have that problem even though I often buy used books.

Great news about the OHSU ranking, Twin.

>104 Berly: !!! I don't suppose you want to come to Minn. and help me when you're done?

Thanks for checking on me while I was on vacation. :)

So, any headway on The Sympathizer -- I'll make some comments and start a new thread later.

>131 Berly: That's great! Congrats :)

Hi there Kim - it's so nice to have warmer weather around here!

>91 Berly: OK I will.

I'm so jealous of your bookshelves. Okay, not your bookshelves really. Just the books ON the shelves.

We used to have a lot of bookshelves. But then MrMorphy wanted a man cave and I wanted a crafting area...

We did a huge purge and now all our books are in numbered book boxes piled high and deep in a big closet. When you see a box number in a Tag, that's where it is. We used to have all the romances in the 30s, fantasy in the low 40s, etc. but that went by the wayside long ago.

How do you organize your shelves? Strictly by author? Or by genre then author?

Good luck with your book cataloguing project, Kim. I didn’t discover the social side of LT until a few years after I joined. I used it to catalogue my books so they were all done and I keep up to date by piling up my new acquisitions during the month and posting the list and entering them on LT when the month changes.

>131 Berly: Congratulations to the proud mama and her daughter!

>133 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba!! She is pretty pumped. And, of course, the high rating will get them more students applications.

I have only found a few books with no ISBNs so far. Not too much of a problem. ; )

>134 BLBera: When I come to MN we are NOT doing your bookshelves. You are on your own, Twin. xoxo

I got distracted by my RL book, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, which I just finished yesterday. (Loved it!) Although I think my library loan on The Sympathizer is about to run out. Is it good? I have to admit the beginning did not grab me. Nor did I see the humor everyone is talking about. What should I do?

>135 ChelleBearss: : )

>136 SuziQoregon: Oh, I am loving the 60s temps and the SUNSHINE! I had a great weekend. Three weeks until my next belt test and I had a crash course on the nunchucks led by my friend's son, who is a higher belt than I am and knows more than me. LOL We did it outside!!

Twinnie - If it isn't grabbing you, you have my permission to return it to the library unread. Did you look at my comments? I thought it got better toward the end, and I did think some parts were pretty funny (fish sauce), but I didn't love it. Life is too short to read things you're not that taken with.

Are we still on for Irma Voth in April?

>137 Morphidae: Boxes of books in a closet!! I would never find my books again. Obviously you are more organized than I am with your numbering system. : )

I had lots of categories: Poetry, Memoirs and Bios, TBR, Milkweed Editions (from when I worked in publishing there), Health, Decorating, Child Rearing, College stuff, etc....

But I was having a hard time finding things. So, I put most things together and now I only have separated out: TBRs, Milkweed collection, and INDIEspensable collection. I have also purged about 100 books this month. Who needs Child Rearing stuff? I have either succeeded or failed in that arena by this time. LOL

>138 Familyhistorian: Ah! So you are all caught up on the cataloging!! Jealous. : ) I have completed 19 shelves out of 50. Making progress!

>139 vancouverdeb: Thank you! {beams}

>142 BLBera: Okay, passing on The Sympathizer, Twin. I think it is my third time trying to read it and I just don't make it far. Done!

Yes, still on for Irma Voth in April. Also slated for Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk with Karen and Janet,
and The Boy on the Bridge by M. R. Carey with a RL friend. Not to mention finishing These Truths. Whoohoo!

You overachiever, you.

Think about a tome for the summer...

>145 BLBera: Ha! I just this over on your thread and was intrigued. Guess what showed up in the mail today? INDIEspensable book #79!!

Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli



In Lost Children Archive, Valeria Luiselli documents an unnamed family's journey from New York to Arizona, to reach Apacheria, the region formerly inhabited by the Apache people. Their winding story is told through introspective, journal-like entries that not only detail the characters’ progress towards Apacheria, and their many stops along the way, but also highlight the complex relationships within the family unit. An unfolding news story about refugee children provides another layer of stress and urgency to their travels. Lost Children Archive features a chorus of extremely rich and satisfying voices, while Luiselli’s timely message and original, heartfelt storytelling invite readers to step into the car and join the family’s journey.

The snow is gone and Michelle Obama is back! Off to see her tonight with a few friends. : )

Say hi to Michelle for me. :)

>147 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, enjoy seeing Michelle Obama and say hi to her from me, lol. What a surprise getting a fountain pen with your INDIEspensable order. Sending love and hugs to you and the family dear friend.

>147 Berly: - Lucky you! Can't wait for the report!

>141 Berly: Great venue for TKD, Kim. Have a great time at the talk tonight.

Joining in for the wishes for a great time with Michelle Obama tonight!

Can't wait to hear how the Michelle event went!!

Thanks everyone! Michelle Obama was amazing! What an inspiration. We need more people like her. : )

LUCKY YOU!

Absolutely! : )

How great, Kim, that you got to see Michelle O. That's one smart woman, with her heart in the right place.

We still haven't read Becoming in our house - we need to fix that!

P.S. Anything stick out for you in what she said?

>141 Berly: Great picture! Looks like lovely weather for an outside session!

>154 Berly: what a lovely opportunity Kim. I really liked her book.

Hi Kim!

>131 Berly: Congrats!

>154 Berly: So glad you got to see her. As soon as I get through a couple of group challenges (These Truths and David Copperfield) I will read Becoming.

So great that you had the opportunity to hear her, live!

>154 Berly: Hooray for the Michelle Obama event! I would have expected no less, from this smart and classy lady.

Sweet Thursday, Kimmers! Miss seeing you around. I want to read Lost Children Archive. i have it book-marked for audio.

Glad it went well (and great pictures!).

Even though I'm jealous as heck, I'm so glad they were able to reschedule Michelle and that the weather cooperated on the new date so that you got to see Michelle.

Caught up now, though I expect I'll fall behind and be utterly lost in another week.

Cataloging books was probably the biggest draw of LT (for me). Started the task at GoodReads, and it made me nuts. No flexibility. I've found the ISBNs in some of my books conflict with data for the number in the LT base. I do have a fair number of books that don't have ISBNs. I've never had a LC book number that elicited a hit. Do they work for you? What might I be doing incorrectly?

You bookcases are most excellent.

>157 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Michelle shared lots of anecdotes about growing up, meeting Barack, life in the White House, parenting with security men around. She also talked about how we need to be kind to one another, to be inclusive, to be hopeful, things she has always said. She made a few oh so subtle jabs at the current administration, which I appreciated, but it also made me tear up. She said eight years is the most any family should spend in the WH and that it was very hard when they left, knowing that her kids spent most of their childhood there and they had to leave it behind. I just really enjoyed listening to her tell her stories.

You will enjoy reading Becoming!

>158 ChelleBearss: Chelle--We had unseasonably warm weather for a week or so. Now we are back to normal temps and the rain is back. Oh well. It's good for business. : )

>159 Caroline_McElwee: Caroline--Thanks! It was a great event and I am glad I go the chance to go.

>160 karenmarie: Karen--You are reading great books as it is, so whenever you get to Becoming will be the right time.

>161 jessibud2: Shelley--I was lucky my friend won some sort of lottery giving her the chance to buy tix in advance. I don't think I would have gotten in otherwise!!

>162 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark! I just started Lost Children Archive and I love the style already. So far, no one has a name. There are the parents and two children. Each memory or thought has a header: Time, Family Plot, Items, Vigil. And there are no chapters, but larger sections. I am only about 50 pages in, but so far so good!

>165 weird_O: I've had LC work on a couple of books, but had to select for it to search from the LC data base.

>163 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte!

>164 RebaRelishesReading: Reba--I appreciate the stifling of your jealousy long enough to share in my joy! : )

>165 weird_O: Bill--The LC # didn't help whatsoever. I just used the oldest ISBN # I could find to pull up the book, changed the cover to match mine and then entered the LC # into the field for ISBN and updated as much of the other info as I could.

I also found one book that listed its ISBN, but when entered that pulled up a different book. Tried it 3 times. Even added the current US prefix 978, but that didn't help either. Faked Muddled through that entry, too. So far, I have only had 3 books I couldn't enter to my complete satisfaction.

Catalog update: 13/50 shelves completed!!

>169 quondame: Q--Ooooh! Duh! Why didn't I think of that. Now I have to remember which book it was and give it a try. Thanks!

I just had my latest board meeting for Literary Arts and I handed out a summary of Jennifer Egan's discussion with HS students. Here it is!

Jennifer Egan

It was awesome to hear Jennifer talk with the High School students. This is my best attempt to share a few of her insights here. I really should have taken a class on transcribing—I am so slow!!




Reading is a muscle. Do it every day!

Jennifer Egan likes to write by hand. It allows her meditative mind to take over--she looks to be surprised by what she writes: tumbling forward. Her handwriting is illegible (her words!), so she can’t easily go back and read what she has written; she just has to carry forward, letting her unconscious lead the way. She says this is way more effective because the conscious mind can only hold so much.

Her inspiration for A Visit From The Goon Squad was a real life incident. She was in NY and her wallet was stolen, leaving her no ID for travel. She turned this into the first chapter. The Crazy Music Boss led to the second chapter and then his tennis-loving wife needed her own story. What started out as a SS, evolved into a trilogy and then a book.

She calls writing her Several Stages of Grief:
After handwriting her first version, Egan then types it in to the computer to get her first draft.
From this she rearranges things in an outline.
She then revises and numbers each draft. Some chapters can have 50-60 drafts!
Outline again
Revise
Ultimately, Egan finds the work develops its own gravitational pull.

She finds architectural integrity even in the smallest unit and progresses:
Word
Sentence
Paragraph
Section
Chapter
Jennifer thinks editing and writing are the same thing.

Egan doesn’t put herself in her books. Boring. She prefers the illusion that she is discovering it all for the first time.

Her settings, however, are often times and places from her own life -- Atmosphere first. Characters/people come later. Then their actions or a conflict lead the way. She follows them. The characters, once they come, arrive complete with names. Backgrounds. Mode of speaking. It’s almost instant -- A lot like improv.

Doesn’t always work. But….!

Egan is part of writing group. They read their work aloud. The big question is does it feel ALIVE.

Being a journalist gives her new material and enriches the textures she can draw from.

Egan recommends following your reading cravings. Her personal recommendations include:
Edith Wharton, House of Mirth
Don DeLillo
Invisible Man

Egan is currently working on a companion to the Goon Squad (but she is scared she will get hammered if it doesn’t live up to first). I say bring it on!

KAW 2-21-2019

>172 Berly:. Wow. Thank you, Kim. I love learning authors’ routines and processes for writing.

>173 jnwelch: Joe--I am glad you enjoyed my (sparse) notes. I find it fascinating to hear author's talk about their process--it is always so different!

Also, cataloging update: 21/50 complete! (I forgot I already did all my INDIEspensable books that are at the very end of the bookcases.) I did two more shelves today. Making progress. : )

>174 Berly: Good job! You're almost half-way there :)

>175 RebaRelishesReading: Well, you are an optimist, LOL. It's only 2/3, but still pretty good. : )

We just chose our next book for bookclub, and it is one of the NYT best books of 2018: The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. "Set in the Chicago of the mid-80s and Paris at the time of the 2015 terrorist attacks, Makkai’s deeply affecting novel uses the AIDS epidemic and a mother’s search for her estranged daughter to explore the effects of senseless loss and our efforts to overcome it. Her portrait of a group of friends, most of them gay men, conveys the terrors and tragedies of the epidemic’s early years and follows its repercussions over decades. Empathetic without being sentimental, her novel amply earned its place among the contenders for the Booker Prize and the National Book Award."

They all look interesting! I have only read Educated and I have There, There waiting for me.

NYT best books of 2018

>165 weird_O:, >170 Berly: I've never had any luck using the LC numbers to add books either. If the book doesn't have an ISBN, I just enter all the information manually. That isn't "faking it"...it's being very precise about entering your data, and it contributes overall to the completeness of the site data. I've scanned a good many covers myself too, when there wasn't a good match already.

>178 laytonwoman3rd: Okay. You are right. "Faked" is definitely not correct. (I changed it to "muddled through.") I am content that I have, to the best of my ability, accurately entered the data, but it still feels weird without an ISBN.

Cataloging is taking me so long, because when I first started using LT, I used to just choose the book by the cover image and that frequently does not bring up the correct ISBN, so I am now manually checking that I have entered the right one and often deleting and re-entering the book so that all the other data matches up.

>179 Berly: oh that sounds like a lot of work. You make me feel a little lazy as I just need to get my finished books onto the proper shelves in alphabetical order. Meh.

>180 ChelleBearss: I don't know why, but I have a sudden urge to get it RIGHT. Trying not to be too OCD, but I want it to be the book I actually have in my library. Alphabetical sufficed for years! LOL

Looks like you have attended some great literary events recently, Kim. I like your notes on Egan's process. Good luck with the cataloguing.

Your experience seeing Michelle Obama sounds wonderful ! I think she was in my city last night, but alas, I did not go. And you've seen Jennifer Egan. Sounds like a couple of great days.

>182 Familyhistorian: I have been very lucky to attend these fun, literary events!! And I am really excited about next year's Literary Arts authors, but it is all hush hush until the big reveal April 4th. I did just buy a ticket to the Oregon Book Awards, which is being hosted this year by Cheryl Strayed of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail fame ( I loved it). Should be fun!

>183 vancouverdeb: It has been very fun, but I totally overdid it. I was complaining over on Richard's thread that I caught the lurgy and spent yesterday and today in bed with a fever and sinus infection. The antibiotics just kicked in about 3:00 today. Thank goodness!! Maybe I'll get to enjoy my weekend after all...!

>102 Berly: >103 Berly: >104 Berly: I love these pictures :) I was sitting admiring my shelves today, in a rare moment of peace and quiet in the house. It was lovely just to see all the books.

>177 Berly: cool display! I have Educated on the self, a gift from a relocating friend. I am hesitating to start it for some reason. Then again, I acquired Thirteen Reasons Why today too, and am even more reluctant to start that! Maybe I will just read A Quiet Girl in a Noisy World again :)

Hi Kim! I'm sorry to hear that you've got the lurgy, glad the antibiotics kicked in. There have been several times when a particular antibiotic didn't work for me, so after three days I'd call the doctor's office and they'd prescribe something different, which always did the trick.

I fret that my oldest LT entries don't necessarily have the right ISBN # and/or cover. Before they fixed it, if you changed covers it automatically changed the ISBN number. I really need to go back and confirm/change some of my older entries.

>179 Berly: A lot of my early entries need cleaning up too, Kim. I'm not sure entering the ISBN was even an option when I first started, but in any case many of the books in my possession in 2005 when I joined LT were from the decade or two just before those numbers came into use. (It's rather frightening how the size of my library has increased in the last 13 years!) BTW, I just noticed that our Thingaversary dates are only a day apart (although not the same year).

Hi Twin - I hope you are not overdoing it. Congrats on the cataloging progress. I still think you could set aside time in the Minn. trip to help me...:) And, by the way, how are plans for that coming?

Great notes on the Egan talk, and even greater news she's working on a companion to Goon Squad. Can't wait. And she's probably right, there will be haters who think it isn't as good as the original.

Thanks for the notes on Egan's talk... really interesting. I skipped Literary Arts this year, for budget reasons, and now I am sorry. But maybe I will listen to the podcasts.

Hope you feel better soon.

Cataloging It's fun, ain't? Quite recently I found that examining the list of books on an author's page will locate a mate for the exact edition you hold in your hand. I got a nifty little hardcover of Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield, with a jacket but without an ISBN or any other cataloging benchmark. A look at Ollie's page revealed 194 books attributed to him, including many editions of The Vicar. Sampling different editions turned up a match.

I also endorse the trick of manually entering the author and title, then changing whatever cover the system assigns to match yours. And then edit the various attributes and data that accompany the cover.

I just finished Ali Smith's Autumn—two thumbs up!—and I'd like to wedge in one last book for March before taking up These Truths. Once I restart it, I want to drive straight through to finish in April.

>177 Berly: always on the lookout for good Book Club books - will have to give that one a look.

>185 LovingLit: Wow! Peace and quiet AND time to admire your bookshelves. Sounds perfect. I really enjoyed both Educated (as did my daughter's bookclub--they just talked about it last night) and Thirteen Reasons Why. Both can be emotional, but they are worth it. And I really want to get my hands on A Quiet Girl in a Noisy World!

>186 karenmarie: So I have been updating the ISBNs and it almost always deletes the book cover. Then I have to re-add it back in. Depending on the cover I choose, it will sometimes ask if I want to change my ISBN to match it. Then I have to look for another photo of the cover. OR add one a photo on my own. So far, so good.

>187 laytonwoman3rd: I love that our Thingaversary dates are so close together! It's kinda like being Pisces or Leos together. LOL

My library has definitely expanded since I joined LT, as has my yearly reading and the scope of my reading. All good things in my book! (See what I did there?)

>188 BLBera: I totally haven't figured out any details about my MN trip. But you will be the first to know when I do! Glad to know someone enjoyed my Egan notes. I haven't read her Goon Squad yet but I can't wait now.

>189 banjo123: Definitely listen to the podcasts! Not quite as good as being there, but close. ; )

>190 weird_O: I have tended to use your second cataloging technique: "I also endorse the trick of manually entering the author and title, then changing whatever cover the system assigns to match yours. And then edit the various attributes and data that accompany the cover." It's going pretty well!

I am behind on my own group read, but I am still enjoying These Truths. I have to finish up a few books so I can get back to it. I'll put up the new thread soon.

>191 magicians_nephew: I haven't read The Great Believers, but it sounds really good! I will have more to tell after next month's bookclub meeting. ; )

Cataloging Update So, I thought I had finished 21/50 shelves, but then realized I had found all the books and alphabetized my INDIESpensable collection, but not cataloged them. Sigh. So that put me back to 15/50 shelves yesterday. But NOW I have finished cataloging 21/50 shelves. Phew! I am actually glad I went through it so carefully. I created a new category for them, and all the totals match up and I have numbered them all. And I thought I had only read 30 of them, but actually I have read 51!! That's 51 out of 115 total. There have only been 79 shipments, but many had more than one book. So, feeling pretty good about things now. {{grins}}

>195 Berly: Always good to realize you are further ahead than you thought, Kim. I now have to dust most of my books after the workmen finished my basement repairs and created a whole bunch of dust where I keep most of my books. If its not one thing its another!

>196 Familyhistorian: Yes! So sorry you have to go through the dusting stage, but does that mean the repairs are finally finished? That's exciting!!

Hi Kim!

You're doing great on the cataloging. Congrats.

>193 Berly: I’m in the western part of the Twin Cities.

Just checking in on your 'old' new thread in time for your 'new' new thread :)

Kudos for the Indispensable reading AND the cataloging.

>181 Berly: I completely understand that. When I buy a new book I try and use the LT app scanner and scan it in so I have the correct copy. I didn't do that for a long time though so most of my books pre-LT app probably aren't the correct edition.

>199 Morphidae: Well, I WAS doing great. I have skipped the last few days. ; ) I'll get back to it when it feels fun. As long as I keep track of what comes in, I won't mess up where I am.

>200 alcottacre: Your timing is perfect! I just set up my new thread.

>201 BLBera: Thanks, Twin!!

>202 ChelleBearss: From now on I will be using the ISBN and NOT the cover to enter my books. LOL

Come join me on my new thread!!