Joe's Book Cafe 9

Street Artist Julieta XLF

Books Read in 2019

January

1. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (re-read on audio)
2. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
3. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
4. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
5. One Hundred Poems from the Japanese by Kenneth Rexroth
6. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
7. Milkman by Anna Burns
8. Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
9. The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman
10. Nerve by Dick Francis
11. Killer Collective by Barry Eisler
12. Little Oceans by Tony Hoagland
13. Tales from the Inner City by Shaun Tan
14. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
15. The Promise by Chaim Potok
16. Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano

February

17. Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson
18. Out of the Dark by Gregg Hurwitz
19. Forfeit by Dick Francis
20. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
21. Last Friends by Jane Gardam
22. Educated by Tara Westover
23. The Madness Vase by Andrea Gibson
24. The Overnight Kidnapper by Andrea Camilleri
22. Amelia Cole Omnibus by D.J. Kirkbride*
23. American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
24. Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
25. The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

March

26. Battle Angel Alita by Yukiko Kishiro*
27. Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson
28. Decider by Dick Francis (re-read)
29. Bryant & May Hall of Mirrors by Christopher Fowler
30. Darker Than Amber by John D. MacDonald
31. One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald
32. Slow Horses by Mick Herron
33. A Gentlewoman’s Guide To Murder by Victoria Hamilton
34. Recent Changes in the Vernacular by Tony Hoagland
35. Alice Payne Arrives by Kate Heartfield
36. Wolf Pack A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box
37. Murder in Just Cause by Anne Cleeland
38. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
39. Trial Run by Dick Francis
40. When My Brother Was An Aztec by Natalie Diaz
41. Connections in Death by J.D. Robb
42. How Long Til Black Future Month by N.K. Jemisin

April

43. Tap Out by Edward Kunz
44. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
45. Passing for Human by Jody Scott*
46. The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
47. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
48. Indecency by Justin Phillip Reed
49. Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Life by Maria Hesse*
50. The Initiates by Etienne Davodeau
51. Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz
52. Number9Dream by David Mitchell
53. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson
54. An Elegant Defense by Matt Richdel
55. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson
56. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer

May

57. The Rosie Result by Graeme Simision
58. The Truth as Told By Mason Buttle by Leslie Connor
59. Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
60. Sharks in the Rivers by Ada Limon
61. Sync by K.P. Kyle
62. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
63. Reflex by Dick Francis

Illustrated Books

1. Jane Austen's Emma by Nancy Butler
2. Snotgirl by Bryan Lee O'Malley
3. Girl Town by Carolyn Nowak
4. On a Sunbeam by Ti llie Walden
5. Livestock by Hannah Berry
6. Tom's Midnight Garden by Phillipa Pearce and Edith
7. Anne of Green Gables A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden
8. Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung
9. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 4 by Nagabe
10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Reckoning by Joss Whedon
11. Space Boy Vol. 1 by Stephen Macranie
12. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 5 by Nagabe
13. New Lone Wolf and Cub Volume 2 by Kazuo Koike
14. Book Love by Debbie Tung
15. Royal City Vol. 3 by Jeff Lemire
16. The Snooty Bookshop by Tom Gauld
17. The Day the Buddha Woke Up by Andrea Miller
18. A Bride's Story Vol. 10 by Kaoru Mori
19. Jane Austen Her Heart Did Whisper by Manuela Santoni
20. Legacy: House of Night by Daniel Krall
21. The Love Bunglers by Jaime Hernandez
22. Stumptown by Greg Rucka (re-read)
23. Becoming Unbecoming by Una
24. Velvet Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker (re-read)
25. Mina vs. the Monsoon by Rukhsanna Guidroz
26. Woman World by Aminder Dahliwal
27. Samaris by Benoit Peeters
28. Velvet Volume 2 by Ed Brubaker (re-read)
29. Stumptown Volume 2 by Greg Rucka (re-read)
30. Lulu Anew by Etienne Davodeau
31. Heavy Vinyl by Carly Usdin
32. Captain Marvel Alien Nation by Margaret Stohl
33. Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
34. Trish Trash Roller Girl of Mars by Jessica Abel
35. Weatherman by Jody LeHeup
36. Death or Glory Volume 1 by Rick Remender
37. Berlin by Jason Lutes
38. The Initiates by Etienne Davodeau
39. Is This How You See Me by Jaime Hernandez
40. Good Talk by Mira Jacob
41. Brody's Ghost by Mark Krilley
42. Out of This World: Leonora Carrington by Amanda Hall
43. X-23 The Complete Collection by David Lafuente
44. The Outfit by Darwyn Cooke (re-read)
45. Black Hammer Vol. 2 by Jeff Lemire
46. Black Hammer Vol. 3 by Jeff Lemire
47. American Gods Volume 2 by Neil Gaiman
48. Museum of Mistakes by Julia Wertz
49. Gideon Falls Volume 1 by Jeff Lemire

*Also an illustrated book

Rafa and His Mom

Best Illustrated Books So Far

The Initiates by Etienne Davodeau
Lulu Anew by Etienne Davodeau
Berlin by Jason Lutes
Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung
The Snooty Bookshop by Tom Gauld
Good Talk by Mira Jacob

Photo by Debbi. We got to see this cardinal up close and personal for a long, long time as it tried to woo a female counterpart. Closest and longest I've ever been next to one. This was at Montrose Harbor's bird sanctuary in Chicago.

Becca and Indy, shot by her pal Jill

Another by Spanish street artist Julieta XLF

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>7 jnwelch: Oh, that one's my favorite!

Happy new thread >1 jnwelch: >7 jnwelch: Colorful and playful, but I wonder what's with the closed eyes. I have a thing against closed eyed female renderings.

I am deep into reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and am really enjoying this National Book Award nominee. I have to confess that I started out reading this book and thought it was never going to get going. Then about 120 pages (almost double of what library herioine Nancy Pearl recommends) it started to work. It is one of those kind and gentle books that just slowly unfolds like a flower in one of those 8mm time lapse movies. It is also a decades long family saga, and combined with the slow unfolding it might have been a death knell from lots of readers. However, 250 pages into the book I can't wait to get back to reading it.

Is that warbling? If it is - I think I have the wrong thread.

>8 foggidawn:, >9 streamsong:. Thanks, foggi and Janet! I’ll IOU you for an edible or drinkable of your choice, foggi, as first one in the door. 🙂

>10 Morphidae:. Isn’t >7 jnwelch: a good one, Morphy? I’ll probably post some more of hers as we go along. The 4th in >1 jnwelch: is probably my favorite.

>11 quondame:. Thanks, Susan. I don’t know why the closed eyes; it’s her style.

>12 benitastrnad:. Good to know about Pachinko, Benita. I’ve seen such mixed reactions to it.

Ha! There’s a lot of warbling that goes on over on Mark’s thread, but it’s fine to warble here - even he does, on occasion.😄

Happy new one, Joe! I see that you capitulate to Kidzdoc. LOL

>1 jnwelch: excellent toppers! I love the vibrant colors. I believe my favorite it #2 with the elephant.

>3 jnwelch: Such a cute kid! keep the Rafa coming!

I've started Foe and will keep you posted. I think I may stay in this realm of apocalyptic tension/suspense for a while. I'm getting some traction which is saying something. Depending on 'Foe', I plan to read Josh Malerman's Inspection next.

>5 jnwelch: great shot Debbi. As I say on Mark's thread, often, I'm envious of the US's colourful birds.

Hi Rafa, Becca and Indy.

Lovely new café Joe, can I get a hot chcolate and some cake please...

Merry New Books Day! (and thread)

This new thread was certainly worth the wait. I love the work of Julieta XLF, and the family photos are excellent. Since you're a Cubs fan I do question the photo of a cardinal, though.

>12 benitastrnad: Barack Obama would be happy to read your glowing comments about Pachinko, Benita, as it's one of three books that he recently recommended.

Happy new thread, Joe!

Happy new thread Mate.

Happy New Thread, Joe. Love the Rafa toppers. Nice cardinal photo. It never gets old looking at them. I am so glad you guys strolled around Montrose. Incredible place.

I just started The Darwin Affair. I really think this will be your cuppa. It has a good protagonist, a sinister plot, Queen Victoria, along with Albert, some Dickens, including Inspector Bucket, and of course, Mr. Darwin. Not far in, but it is highly readable and takes on a playful tone.

Love all the photos, Joe.

Happy new one, buddy!

Happy new thread.

Really love the street art :)

Joe - a review in Madison's ISTHMUS of A GOOD AMERICAN FAMILY by David Maraniss made me think of your Grandfather with the many mentions of HUAC.

Joe--Happy new thread and I love all the great family photos and street art. : )

>15 brodiew2:. Never give up, never surrender, Brodie. I refuse to capitulate to kidzdoc and his nefarious Beets of Doom.

Thanks re the toppers and young Rafa. I’m glad you and others don’t mind a besotted grandpa posting the Rafa pics.

Foe and John Malerman’s inspection are both new to me, so I’ll look forward to your comments. I’m about halfway through a Seanan McGuire urban fantasy called Discount Armageddon, but I’m not sure yet whether I’d recommend it. I love her Mercy Thompson books, but this is a new series for me.

>16 Caroline_McElwee: I’ll tell Debbi about the cardinal photo, Caroline. Thanks.

Rafa, Becca and Indy say hi back. Hold onto that hot chocolate and cake thought; the cafe is having technical difficulties with visuals.

P.S. As many of you know, I was forced by a mixed martial artist to say that Seanan McGuire wrote the Mercy Thompson books, when we all know that Patricia Briggs wrote them, and that SM wrote the excellent October Daye series.

BTW, the new Mercy Thompson book, called Storm Cursed, just came out.

>17 richardderus:. Thanks, Richard!

>18 kidzdoc:. Thanks, Darryl. Ha! I’m actually a White Sox fan living near the Cubs park, but the Cubs are okay by me. They just walloped the Cardinals, so that’s a sympathy post for the downtrodden.

I’m glad you like that Julieta XLF street art. She’s Spanish, and I’d love to see it in place.

I didn’t know Obama also recommended Pachinko. I’m getting mightily influenced here.

>19 katiekrug:. Thanks, Katie!

>20 johnsimpson:. Thanks, mate.

>21 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I never get tired of looking at cardinals. This one was special - I’ve never been that close to one for that long. We loved the Montrose sanctuary. I was last in it so many years ago that it was just wild with long grasses and
maybe one trail, as I remember it.

The Darwin Affair sounds intriguing. I’ll take a look and watch for your comments.

>22 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, mate! I’m glad you’re enjoying the photos.

>23 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. Oh good - I wasn’t sure how the street art would go over. Her style is unusual, and I love it, too.

>24 m.belljackson:. Huh. Thanks, Marianne. That’s a new one to me. I’m in the midst of emailing with cousins and sisters about how my grandfather grew up on a farm in Primghar, Iowa, the son of a sailor and an indentured servant who came over from England. People think of him as a proper Bostonian, but that came much later.

>25 Berly:. Thanks, Kim! Becca’s friend is a really good photographer, and she outdid herself this time. I’ll try to post some more along the way. And I’d like to post some more of Julieta XLF’s art, too.

Joe - you may recall our resident groundhog, The Real McCoy...

He finally reappeared a few days ago and I explained that both Punx and Jimmy The Groundhog
had long ago conceded that, for 2019, HE was The Real McCoy, the only one with the correct prediction...
so, it was time to let the forces of nature arise and give us SPRING!!!

He promised the next week would bring The Real Thing,
but said he was still consulting with some underworld lady and her daughter.

Happy new thread, Joe! Love the art and family photos!

>29 jnwelch: my grandfather grew up on a farm in Primghar, Iowa, the son of a sailor

...where...how...sailor...Iowa...?

>21 msf59: does everyone know that Inspector Bucket is the detective from Dickens' Bleak House?

Happy new thread, Joe. Here's some more street art for the new digs:



Boekenkast (bookcase) in Utrecht, Netherlands
by Jan Is De Man and Deef Feed

More here:
http://www.openculture.com/2019/04/street-art-for-book-lovers.html

Hot choc was good, now for the strudel...

Hiyah, Joe! Happy new thread!

>35 Caroline_McElwee:. You’re a princess, Caroline. Thank you for finding the kitchen on your own. I’m getting working through, with a friend, getting a new pc.

>36 drneutron:. Hiyah, Jim! Thanks!

Bargain: Dark Matter on Kindle for $1.99. Standout sci-fi.

>30 m.belljackson:. Kudos to your pal The Real McCoy, Marianne. I always liked him better than The Real Hatfield anyway. We deserve SPRING! We’ve been waiting oh so patiently, haven’t we.

I should think the underworld lady and her daughter are more than ready, too. Does Mother Nature have a daughter? We’re all more than ready!

>31 ChelleBearss:. Thanks, Chelle! We’ll try to keep that art and the family photos coming.

>32 richardderus:. Hi, RIchard.

The family lore is that my great-grandfather was a sailor from Pilsden, England who liked to drink (egads!). My great-grandmother was a strong-willed woman (a tradition in our family) who took them to Iowa because back then it was a dry state. My grandfather grew up on a farm there with four brothers. How he got from there to Grinnell and Harvard Law and the Senate hearings is an interesting story, but not a shortie.

>13 jnwelch: Ooh, when you're up to posting pictures, some lemonade sounds like a tasty choice, now that the weather seems to be thinking about warming up.

>33 magicians_nephew:. I don’t know what Mark will say, Jim, but I’m thinking, if they didn’t know about Inspector Bucket before, they do now.🙂

>34 kac522:. Thank you, Kathy. I love that!

Our friend Darryl has been to Utrecht (he stayed there when we were visiting Amsterdam and meeting up with Anita and Ella). But I happen to know that he hasn’t seen that street art yet. If it had been there when we were, I might well have hopped on the train with Darryl just to see it.

>41 foggidawn:. My pc is balking, foggi, so I’m not sure when the lemonade might show up, but I’ve got it in mind.

>26 jnwelch: No, no, and no. Seanan McGuire is not responsible for Mercy Thompson, the credit goes to Patricia Briggs. Or was this discussed in an earlier thread. I know I'm is serious Déjà vu here!

>40 jnwelch: That poor man! Some controlling nightmare of a reformer grabs him, drags him as far from the ocean as she can, makes sure he can't drink to make his meager existence...can't call it a life...endurable, then ties the noose still tighter by having babies.

Sounds hellish.

>44 quondame:. I did it here, too? Jeesh. Yeah, I mixed up Seanan McGuire and Patricia Briggs on RD’s thread, too. I was thinking of SM’s October Daye series, which I’m also hooked on. I just got the new Mercy Thompson, and I’d have to be an idiot to mix that series up with the October Daye one. Did I just say that?

I’ll put a P.S. on >26 jnwelch: for those who might miss this scintillating exchange.

>45 richardderus:. Ha! And yet, he apparently was over the moon about it. Such romantic foolishness has continued down through the generations. I’m a way better man than I was when I met Madame MBH, and I keep coming back for more. Go figure.

>45 richardderus: But from context we learn that time was spent in Boston-or was he just from Boston and used that as a club to harass simple mid-westerners.

>46 jnwelch: An advantage of compulsively touchstoning authors and titles is that it's an extra guard against going over such cliffs.

>47 jnwelch: "That's what she said" is singularly apt here...of course, Debbi is as far from a dour, drink-hating termagant as it's possible to be or she'd never have become a storyteller! You definitely scored a big win in the matrimonial lottery.

>48 quondame: One chooses the clubs one has to hand.

>48 quondame:. No touchstone could’ve kept me from going over that Mercy Thompson cliff, Susan. It was a case of CRS (Can’t Remember Sh . . . Stuff). Although I rarely experience CRS when it comes to books. I just had Mercy in place of October in my mind.

Boston is what my grandpa became known for; that’s where he worked when he got out of law school, and he raised my dad and his brother nearby in Walpole. He’s thought of by many as “a proper Bostonian lawyer”. So that came well after Primghar. We get a kick out of his actually being a farm boy from the Midwest; you never would’ve known it.

>49 richardderus:. True, Debbi ain’t those things, I reckon. 😄 And you’re so right about my winning the matrimonial lottery.

Clubs to hand: unless, of course, you’ve got spades, hearts or diamonds. Terrible pun? So sue me, man.

>26 jnwelch: I'm boggled I tell you. Boggled.

A thousand lashes with a wet noodle!

Howdy, Joe! Happy belated new thread!

>50 jnwelch: Ouch.

I predict many flailing clubs in your future...then a heart-ectomy...followed by some serious spade-work.

Morning, Joe. Sweet Thursday. Balmy out here, at the moment. It will be very nice, once the sun makes an appearance.

I am continuing to have a good time with The Darwin Affair. You'll enjoy this one.

>51 Morphidae:. Ha! That’s a lot of lashes, Morphy!

>52 Carmenere:. Thanks, Lynda!

>53 richardderus:. Right, Richard? I think I’m such a card, but you probably would like to deck me right about now.🙂

>54 msf59:. Sweet Thursday, Mark. Not bad out! Debbi carried an umbrella, to make sure it didn’t rain. We were just at a local cafe, and I finished that Ada Limon collection, Sharks in the Rivers. Definitely more misses for me than her newer books, but the hits were good and thought-provoking.

I’m having trouble getting excited about the Carol Ann Duffy collection, so I’m probably going to read Megan Falley next. She’s the one who performed with Andrea Gibson and was so good.

Glad to hear it on The Darwin Affair.

>42 jnwelch: I saw it on my weekly Jane Austen Centre news email. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was "you."

>55 jnwelch: Three words: Cut. The. Deck. (njust slightnly mnisspnelled)

Hi Joe, just stopping by to say hello, hope you and Debbi are having a good week so far mate. We are both fine and dandy apart from the weather which is wet and miserable, it is to pick up by the weekend and then from Monday it should be getting warmer with temperatures getting back to 20C. My reading is going well and I am in front of Karen on books read at the moment but that wont last for long so I am enjoying while I can. It has not been too bad a day today for me as three fountain pens I bought from a friend on our FP Group on Monday arrived, two of them will be Father's Day presents from Rob and Amy so at least I get something that I like.

Sending love and hugs to both you and Debbi mate from both of us.

>55 jnwelch: Very cool, Joe. I read your post while working on my review for Lord of the Butterflies which I loved when I read it in April (Joe's fault/Mark's fault). I will be looking forward to seeing what you think of Megan Falley.

>50 jnwelch:


*rimshot*

>56 kac522:. You know me well, Kathy! >42 jnwelch: combines two of my favorite things - no, not parking signs and bicycles.

>57 richardderus:. Uh-oh. Did I overplay my hand that time, RD? You know me, I wear my heart on my sleeve (and the rest up it).

>58 johnsimpson: Hi, John. I’m glad you and Karen are doing well. It’s been a good week for us, too, all in all, although wet and miserable also sums up our weather.

Ain’t it a pleasure to be married to a book-reader? I know you have an expert’s appreciation for well-made fountain pens, so that sounds like a perfect Father’s Day gift from Rob and Amy.

Love and hugs from Debbi and me to you and Karen, buddy.

>59 streamsong:. Hi, Janet. Wasn’t Lord of the Butterflies great? I’ll keep you posted on the Megan Falley book - based on her performance, I’m optimistic.

>60 Morphidae:. Ha! If RD goes after me with this Sue, Morphy, I may have to let him catch me. Maybe he’ll Sue for peace?

>39 jnwelch:

Well, up here where it was around 37 degrees last night,
it seems that Hades is balking and Demeter is stalling,
while Persephone is maybe still having too much fun with her handsome, indulgent god...?

>62 jnwelch: There are several Megan Falley performances on YouTube with and without Angela Gibson. Unfortunately, I have not found out how to get sound on YouTube with the new puter. Embarrassing, embarrassing, but eventually I'll get it figured out.

Hello Joe! I hope all is well with you.

I watch the film 'Glass ' last night. Stayed up too late for a film that was sadly disappointing. As a wrap up to a supposed trilogy, I was torn. It was nice to see the characters/actors from Unbreakable, again, but this story was convoluted enough without a botched, unsatisfying ending. Too bad.

>63 richardderus:. 😄

>64 m.belljackson:. What in (by) Hades is going on, Marianne? It’s an Eleusinian Mystery to me. Persephone is taking her own sweet time showing up, isn’t she.

>65 streamsong:. Oh good, Janet. I was thinking of you. Andrea and Megan are touring all over the place, including across the pond, but Montana is a tough one. I may check out YouTube a bit after reading hers.

>66 brodiew2:. Hello Brodie! All is well.

I know, we have a friend who’s a big fan of Unbreakable and Venom, and he was disappointed by Glass, too. Too bad. Shyamalan has a ton of talent, but sometimes he swings and misses.

We did see Avengers Endgame, and loved it.

>67 jnwelch: The Glass was half empty. Hardy har har. :-P

As for Avengers: Endgame, there was a lot to love and, unfortunately, a couple of things that bugged me. A straight B from me.

What an incredible photo up close of a beautiful male cardinal. Sunflower seeds seem to draw them to the bird feeder in the yard.

I love to hear their distinct sound when they communicate. They seem to make a clicking sound and then warble. My daughter bought a special seed mix and now she is so excited at the different birds that it draws. She sends images to me and identifies the bird.

I think it would be easy to be like you, Mark, Debi and Breanna.

>68 brodiew2: Woo, bad puns are flying around the cafe, Brodie.

If you feel like saying what bugged you about Endgame under a spoiler cover, I'd be interested.

>69 Whisper1: Hi, Linda! Nice to see you here.

Isn't that a great close-up of the male cardinal? In this case we were in a bird sanctuary by Lake Michigan (Montrose Harbor), and the male was courting a female, so we got to see both for a long, long time. That's the closest to a cardinal I've ever been, and the longest I've been able to spend with one. Great photo by Madame MBH.

Yeah, I love the cardinals' bird song, that clicking intro and then the warble. I'm glad your daughter is having so much success with the bird feeder.

Mark's way further up the birder scale. We're dilettantes compared to him, and we got most of our identifications from friendly birders around us. But it sure made for a beautiful morning.

Our daughter got some nice portraits like this during this Teacher Appreciation Week. :-)

Do you think I can take Judy to see "Avengers: Endgame" when she hasn't yet seen

(1) "Avengers: Infinity Wars"
(2) "Ant-Man and the Wasp"
(3) Captain Marvel

?

>72 magicians_nephew: I think infinity war is an important piece, but the other two are not required viewing. My two cents. That said, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a fantastically fun film.

Joe, perhaps you can shed some light on what makes Name of the Wind so good. I've had trouble getting into it. Help?

>72 magicians_nephew:. You can, Jim, but I think not seeing Infinity War first will detract from her experience. I see that Brodie is saying the same thing. I’ve only seen Ant-Man; I haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet.

>73 brodiew2:. Agreed on Jim’s question, Brodie.

Name of the Wind. Hmm. I don’t know how far into it you are, but it may take you a while to get situated. Kvothe is telling his own story, and the world Rothfuss creates is, for me, spellbinding. I also think he writes beautifully. The second book, The Wise Man’s Fear, is really good, too.

It’s no shortie, so if it’s not snaring you, you may want to cut it loose (or, if we’re talking snare, cut yourself loose). To me it’s at an elite level in the fantasy genre. Although it’s taking him a heck of a long time to come out with the third one. He did a kind of interlude book that was okay, but for me not great: The Slow Regard of Silent Things.

Hi Joe, lovely chatty (and punny) newish thread here. Glad to see all the shiny new pictures. I see you are into the birds, too. I sure enjoy their cheery songs on my morning walks.

My husband kind of wants to see Endgame, but we may pass it up as the only Marvel movie we've seen is Iron Man. There's just not enough time to do everything I want to do and movies come in pretty far down on the list, although I am beginning to look forward to the newest Star Wars movie later this year.

>75 Donna828: Donna, how strangely cool would it be if the only two films you have seen to date would be the first and the last (so to speak). Never mind that Hulk movie with Edward Norton. ;-P

As for Star Wars, that teaser trailer is certainly exciting!

>74 jnwelch: Oh, it's going to be one of those evenings. I'm not a Rothfuss fan. I find him readable but pretentious and not nearly so inventive and well thought out as 90% of the contemporary women fantasy writers I follow who have been, in comparison, ignored. But they have been producing steadily and will probably outlast his 15 minutes.

Chiming in as a big fan of Rothfuss so far. I'm about 3/4 through Name of the Wind and it's fabulous. I agree with you that he writes beautifully and that the world he's created is wonderful, with characters to match. My one quibble so far: Kvothe will do something and I'll think, "Oh, that guy is so *dreamy*!" and then I'll remember that he's only 15 (where I am in the story right now, at least) and I feel so wrong...

Also, 10 points to Gryffindor (or are you Ravenclaw? I think of you more as a Ravenclaw.) for the reference to the Eleusinian Mysteries! *raises kylix of kykeon*

>70 jnwelch: I also love the cardinal warble. I sort of think of it as water burbling.

>67 jnwelch: >78 scaifea:

Hope I don't wind up in Hufflepuff = I remembered The Elysian (Elysium) Fields, but had to look up Eleusinian Mysteries.

Despite the spelling differences, they are connected via Demeter.

>75 Donna828:. Hiya, Donna. Thanks re the new thread.

Who doesn’t like birds? Well, our neighbor, for one. We love her, but don’t get her started on birds. It’s all kind of a Hitchcockian conspiracy to her.

We’re walkers, and spotting the birds and geocaching are the latest additions to that constant.

I like Brodie’s idea that you get to watch the first and last of this Marvel cycle of movies if you want. We like going to the movies, and tend to look for ones that’ll work well on the big screen. The spectacle of Endgame and its predecessors fits that. It reminds me that Avatar remains the one movie I’d recommend people see in 3D if they can. The story is no great shakes, but in 3D the visuals are awesome.

>76 brodiew2:. I like your idea for Donna, Brodie. I need to find that trailer for the new Stars Wars movie. I’m happy they’ve refreshed the story the way they have.

>77 quondame: Huh. I don’t think of fantasy reading in that genderish way, Susan. It sure seems like a lot of female fantasy writers are having major league success. Some folks (not naming any cafe proprietors) even have mixed up a series by Patricia Briggs with one by Seanan McGuire. Who do you think is being neglected?

>78 scaifea: I’m glad you’re having a good time with Name of the Wind, Amber. Isn’t it a great ride? It’s funny, I’ve had that age problem with the precocious Flavia De Luce in Allan Bradley’s series, but Kvothe’s youth didn’t bother me for some reason. Maybe a realistic context vs. a fantasy context?

I always thought I was in Gryffindor because of the three pals, but I like the idea of Ravenclaw. What makes you think I’m in the latter?

Thanks re the Eleusinian Mysteries; we have our moments here in the cafe. I had to look up the kylix of kikion, though - I believe you’re breaking your sacred fast with an elixir we happen to have in stock here.

I just thought of you while reading Reality is Not What It Seems - the author is quite complimentary of Lucretius, and quotes a good bit from De rerum natura in the early going.

>79 Morphidae:. Yes, I have the same kind of water association with the cardinal’s song, Morphy. Lovely.

>80 m.belljackson:. Why wouldn’t you want to be a Hufflepuff, Marianne? I thought of them as pretty harmless and well-meaning.

The Elysian Fields always seemed like a great place to cavort, don’t you think?

I don’t know what the Demeter connection is. Ah, I see - going there was promised to the initiates of her cult. OK. In our time, it’s known as “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and is promised to members of a famous band’s cult.

Happy new-ish thread, Joe, and love the new photos of Rafa and others in the family. Hope you're having a good weekend.

>82 jnwelch: I don't think of them as being neglected exactly, but while all the fuss was being made over Game of Thrones and Name of the Wind, Kate Elliot and Julie Czerneda were not showing up on the "Best" lists. Once past Anne McCaffrey whose books are only occasionally actually good, Lois McMasters Bujold, and C.J. Cherryh the published lists are often quite short of women. My guess is that the lists are written up without much research by men between the ages of 25 and 40. I feel the need for interactive lists weighted by age, and how much you have read.

>85 quondame:
What about N. K. Jemisin and Elizabeth Bear, Sarah J. Maas, Laini Taylor, and Madeline l’Engle. All of these are top notch fantasy authors.

I thought that Name of the Wind was really well done. Kvothe was really young during the story told on the first day and that is the point. The stories are about his life and why he ended up at the Inn with only three days to live.

I think it has become fashionable among the George R. R. Martin crowd to take years to publish their novels. WHile I don’t think that a series needs to come out on a one book per year schedule, and I certainly don’t think that readers should expect that. I do think that Martin and crowd should keep their mouth shut and just say nothing about their next book. Instead they love the adulation of the fans and to keep them frenzied they dribble and dribble bits and pieces to keep things stirred up. Why don’t they just stay home and write?

>86 benitastrnad: None of them showed up on those lists. Madeline l'Engle like Andre Norton is not a current or recent past writer, and often classified as juvenile. Elizabeth Bear who was publishing right along with GRRM & PR wasn't on any of those lists. N.K Jemisin hadn't yet had the nerve to win 3 Hugos in a row. and I can't speak to Sarah J. Maas, Laini Taylor - I hadn't heard of them, which likely means they weren't on the best lists either.

Mostly what I am saying is that there have been at least a half dozen women doing work at least as good as GRRM or PR who don't even show up on best of lists between 2000-2014 which have those two up close to Tolkein and maybe C.J. Cherryh somewhere below the mid-line.

And this is why I find all such lists (and most prizes) utterly meaningless. It's all subjective. My reading motto is "Read what appeals, stop reading what doesn't, and don't worry what anyone else thinks."

>89 katiekrug: And on a human level, that's the best, wisest course to follow. BUT the lists are the public face of the genre. If the public face mirrors almost exclusively straight white men, the message is clear to Others: Do what you want, you ain't gonna see yourself up here.

It doesn't necessarily stop people not-straight not-white not-men from writing what they love. It does cap their expectations of commercial success at a low level, and it does fail at making conquests of readers who might love the genre who see more of the same only set in a different place when they see that face.

And not least, it decreases the odds of straight white men discovering amazing, vibrant, exciting new reads from faces that don't reflect them. Best way to open minds is to sneak through unlocked window of entertainment, slip into the living room, and sit on the couch next to the homeowner with some hot, yummy popcorn like you've always been there.

Nobody can resist hot yummy popcorn.

>82 jnwelch: I wonder if the age issue for me is because Kvothe is relating his own story, and so it's couched in a more 'adult' language? *shrugs* Anyway, it doesn't detract from the story for me at all, which is wonderful.

I think of you as a Ravenclaw because of your bookstore connections and your brains. Those Ravenclaws are smart cookies.

Ancient Greek mystery cults are a hoot. Two of my professors at OSU (now friends) are experts in the field and have written some amazing stuff on the subject: Fritz Graf and Sarah Johnston. I particularly recommend Sarah's The Restless Dead, and Fritz's Magic in the Ancient World is a perfect introduction to the subject.

It sounds like I need to add Reality Is Not What It Seems to the list...

For all our mothers in the cafe

>84 bell7: Thanks, Mary. I'm glad you're liking the photos. I'll try to get some more up soon. We facetimed with Rafa this morning, and he waved and blew us a kiss (in his own inimitable way). His mother was getting to take a long Mother's Day shower, which Madame MBH remembers was the best present ever when ours were young.

We are having a good weekend, thanks. I hope you're having a good one, too. We were dressed up at a fundraiser gala last night for our temple. It was at the Newberry Library, with old books holding up the centerpiece flowers. Perfect for LTers. This morning our daughter and I took Madame MBH to the restaurant of her choice for her Mother's Day breakfast, and this afternoon we all see a friend in a preview of a musical that's opening here - it's based on the Chicago Cubs World Series-winning year. He thinks he can join us for dinner afterwards.

>85 quondame: I guess it also depends on which "Best" list and how old it is, maybe, Susan? I did a quick 2018 Best Fantasy search and got lots of women authors like Naomi Novik, Becky Chambers, Mary Robinette Kowal, Tomi Adeyemi and more. (I do think of some as sci-fi writers rather than fantasy, but that's another discussion).

>86 benitastrnad: Right, Benita. And we haven't even mentioned the Queen, J.K. Rowling. If we base it on sales, rather than idiosyncratic "Best" lists, I wouldn't be surprised if the women writers end up outdoing the men.

>87 benitastrnad: Agreed on Name of the Wind, Benita. I don't know exactly why George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss take so darn long to come out with next books. Are there others? For Rothfuss, I read somewhere that he's very painstaking and self-critical, and wants the next one to live up to the quality of the first two. But still . . . For Martin, our son is a fan, and says the last season of the TV series is based on Martin's outline, and that the book will have the same general storyline, but with differences in some of the details. He also said that the books are so complex that Martin supposedly works with a book series nerd who knows every word. When, e.g., Martin's uncertain about whether a new development will conflict with something that happened earlier in the series, he checks with the nerd. Ha!

>88 quondame: Benita and I both read a lot of YA fantasy, so I know the authors she's talking about, and also that they're widely read by adults. They show up regularly on bestseller lists. I suppose J.K. Rowling could be called YA, too, even though every age reads HP. I don't know, Susan, maybe we just need better "Best" lists. I imagine there are ones with the perspective you're bringing that are more worthwhile than ones focused on old white guy authors. We're in an era where problems with old white guys are cropping up all over, aren't we. It even frustrates me, and I'm an OWG myself.

>89 katiekrug: Amen, Katie. Well said.

Putting it differently, I like "Best" lists because they sometimes give me ideas of new ones to try - checking a variety of graphic novel "Best" lists is pretty standard for me, in addition to paying attention to what ones LTers recommend. Checking a variety overcomes the subjective perspective problem to some extent. Even if Neil Gaiman or J.K Rowling did a "Best Fantasy Books" list, I'd take it with a grain of salt, because folks latch onto favorites for different reasons, and NG or JLK may admire something about a particular book that doesn't resonate much with me.

>90 richardderus: Right, RD. And we can have "Best" lists or recommendations featuring works by or about not-straight not-white not-men. We probably already do, right? Maybe as readers we need to cast widely for our recommendations. In the graphic novel genre (sorry, but at least we're not talking about Dickens), the Best lists tend to cross all categories or boundaries. Maybe that's because it's been an "outsider" genre for so long, I don't know.

>91 scaifea: I'm glad the age issue with Kvothe doesn't detract from the Name of the Wind story for you, Amber. It has for me with Flavia De Luce; I haven't read past the first one, while your BFF has joyfully read one after the other.

Thank you re Ravenclaw! Best reasons ever. I'm sold.

Ooh, thanks for the recs. I might start with Fritz, as a perfect intro to the subject sounds about my speed.

Wait for word on Reality Is Not What It Seems. It's about quantum gravity, and I don't even know what that means yet!

>90 richardderus: - Important points. I think I was coming at the issue purely from the perspective of a reader and not thinking of that of a writer.

>95 jnwelch:, >97 katiekrug: Readers need to know about the choices available to them, and lists make some people who haven't got the interest to (let's say) read reviews or who don't know about (for example) LibraryThing and its astoundingly deeply cultured user base aware of alternatives.

We're DROWNING in choices! There's a scary number of them out there! How do I make one? Oh, here's a list. Okay, I can cope with 3, 7, 15 choices, so I pick....

Speaking of which, from InsideHook's 7 Books to Read in May, I would like to draw y'all's collective attention to Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, which everyone who even faintly loves reading should buy and consume with the greatest possible celerity.

Happy Birth-is-the-Easy-Part day to Debbi! You, well...next month. No happy until then.

ETA wonky touchstone

>90 richardderus: >97 katiekrug: Thank you Richard for putting the arguments so well. I come at it from both sides not because I am an author or even because I have friends and family who are, but because some of prolific amazing authors I read have died of poverty - which is to say they were in too much of a financial bind to get proper health care in a timely manner. The stress of financial worry and illness has also caused a number of authors, mostly women to drastically lower, sometimes to the point of ceasing, their writing altogether. Do you remember Jo Clayton?

>93 jnwelch: >94 jnwelch: I started being royally pissed at the lists I was seeing around 2007 and have pretty much not looked at such a list since 2014. I started being royally pissed at (a majority of) men's not being able to remember women among the top writers about 1980 when a group who put on SF conventions was pondering guests of honor within ear shot and didn't consider any women despite standing directly in front of a shelf with Anne McCaffrey's books. I hope the lists are better now.

Does anyone remember the website where books/authors were displayed in a sort of web where the more similar ones were the fewest strands away? That's the sort of thing I'd like to see, but as mentioned weighted at least by what books a person had already read.

>97 katiekrug: :-)

>98 richardderus: Thanks, RD. Yes, so many choices! Thanks for the Bette Howland tip; I'd read about that somewhere, but hadn't taken the bait. Now I'm #8 on our library's request list; not too bad.

Ha! It took 25 hours for our daughter to show up, but you're right - I'm sure Debbi would agree that birth was the eas(ier) part. :-) I'll pass your happy wishes on to her.

Dadgarnya, I plan to be happy until Pappy's Day, and beyond. So there.

>98 richardderus: I don't like celerity. Even if it's the greatest possible. I get the stringy bits between my teeth and it simply isn't possible to chew those puppies enough to swallow. And you can't eat them plain anyway. BoooOOoring. You have to have peanut butter, too.

>99 quondame: Do you mean Literature Map? Here's the map for one of my favorite authors, Anne Bishop.

https://www.literature-map.com/anne+bishop.html

>98 richardderus: >100 jnwelch: I'm third in line for three copies but they are on order. Who knows when they will come in.

>101 Morphidae: YES! What a lovely present! Wow I love this idea. It's been awhile since I visited so I'll have to go play for a while!

>90 richardderus:
You could be describing the Board of Trustees at the University of Alabama. They, like the people who put together most lists, perpetuate themselves. They even get to appoint their own successors if they decide to step down. Which explains why they promoted/hired a new Chancellor of the University of Alabama system (3 major Universities) with the words. "We like him. He's one of us." Not kidding - that quote is from the Tuscaloosa News reporting of the annoucement. The self-perpetuation also explains why this group of predominately white men (one African American and one white woman in a group of nine) recently voted to end the mandatory retirement at age 70 of its members.

I am going to take a hard right turn from SciFi/Fantasy to historical fiction. I just finished Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and I am going to warble, warble, warble! I ended up giving it 5 stars even though it started out to slowly and I almost gave up on it. I cried at the end and a book that elicits that kind of emotion is a really really good book. Pick this one up and stick with it for a very satisfying read.

>99 quondame: Oh my yes, poor Jo. Cancer, wasn't it? Maybe breast cancer? I don't remember, it was in the 90s though. Did lack of fund play a part in her death? I don't remember that either.

That anecdote about cluelessness makes me simultaneously boil with anger and freeze with despair.

>100 jnwelch: No! No happiness until your appointed Day. Until then, grey limbo be your lot.

>101 Morphidae: *grin*

>103 benitastrnad: Another anecdote of chilling, awful cluelessness. "He's one of us."

Horrifying.

>99 quondame: Yes, breast cancer left undiagnosed past the time it metastasized, I believe. I once read a GN artist go into a diatribe about people so careless they don't tend to their own health needs and budget for insurance, but I still consider it a failure of US society that guilt trips people after treading them in the mud for anyone of dozens of issues, gender, weight, not having the right parents, having been abused, having too much melanin or too little English, non-symmetric facial features, uses that to pay them pittance for their work or art, and then blames them for not being together enough jump thought the bastard hoops of our health care system.

>106 quondame: OooOoooh. Can we talk about weight and the medical “profession”?

“I have viral laryngitis.”

“Have you thought about weight loss surgery?”

“...”

>107 Morphidae: Oh, we have. And despite all the publications that say 1) major weight loss is very rare & 2) Not listening to fat women is killing them, we cannot once go to a Dr. without being told directly or by followup email that we must loose weight. I know of only 2 or 3 women who have undergone weight loss surgery who haven't regained 2/3 of the weight after 5 years. And as a SF fan I've known lots of women who have had weight loss surgery. That may be better than straight dieting as I know only one person who has never regained much after finishing Jenny Craig, but it's not better enough to risk major surgery.

>106 quondame: "How DARE you be ill-equipped to cope with the insanity and greed of capitalist society! On your own head be it that you're dying of a treatable disease at 58 because you didn't think ahead and realize one day you could be in this bind!"

STFU, neoliberal Aynhole.

>101 Morphidae: I'm pretty sure we planted celerity in dispatch or the other, Morphy.

I remember Literature Maps; I haven't done that in a while and will check it out.

That's the one problem with requesting new books at the library, isn't it. I'm hoping #8 for Bette Howland doesn't mean eons from now.

>102 quondame: :-)

>103 benitastrnad: Arggh. So hard to dislodge a system like that, Benita. Sorry to hear it.

>104 benitastrnad: Oh, good to hear, Benita. Coincidentally, I just started Pachinko. Some LTer's review with the word "gentle" in it convinced me. The review helped me get a grip on what the book was about. I'm liking it so far.

>99 quondame: I do think the lists have gotten better more recently, Susan, as awareness has grown of the kind of bias you describe.

>105 richardderus:



Still working on the "grey" to go with the limbo.

>106 quondame: Well said, Susan. Among other things, our health system apparently is now the worst among the "developed" nations. We need to rework our priorities, big time.

>107 Morphidae:, >108 quondame:, >109 richardderus: :-(

We love this photo of the lovely Becca, taken by her pal Jill

At last some work is being done on our health care system. Cheers to the state's attorneys general who are suing drug companies for everything from promoting addictive drugs to collusion and price fixing. Also for arresting doctors and pharmacies that have written and sold outlandish numbers of prescriptions for these addictive drugs. It seems to me that a great deal of the fault for our faulty health care system is with the outrageous prices for health care that we have been willing to pay. That means that we ourselves are often at fault, but that does not excuse the blatant manipulations of BigPharma and the medical profession.

One of my biggest concerns is the failure of our medical teaching facilities to get doctors to go into General Practice and to move out of the big cities into the more rural areas with small hospitals and people who often drive a hundred miles or more to get to medical care. I don't think we should return to the kind of medicine of a hundred years ago, but getting more doctors out of the big salaries in the big cities would help all of us be healthier. Here in Alabama there have been 8 small rural hospitals close in 2018 and there have been 3 already in 2019. I find that unacceptable.

I wanted to like this ER book Sync, but the author's decision to leave key plot lines unresolved left me unsatisfied and frustrated.

Middle-aged, divorced, bored Brigid spontaneously decides to pick up a young hitchhiker named Jason, and he turns out to have escaped from a research lab. So begins a mulitverse sci-fi tale. It's a reasonably well-written debut novel, but we end up with key characters who don't participate in the denouement, or leave it without resolution, and a relationship left up in the air. I can't figure out why, unless an unnamed sequel is planned. If so, and the sequel turned out to be any good, then my reaction might well change. But for now, this is a two star book that I can't recommend.

>116 jnwelch: Joe did you get that as a LT Early Reader Book? I got it and have it and have been struggling to get into it.

Nice start nice premise can't make up it's mind what it is - and the editing is a crime against nature.

I will have to put up my review of it soon (groan)

>115 benitastrnad:. Hi, Benita. Agreed re outlandish prices and need for better rural healthcare.

>116 jnwelch:. Yes, Jim, that’s how I got Sync. Ha! Man, do I sympathize with your groan about reviewing it! I just don’t understand the deliberate choices that were made after that nice start nice premise. Was it easier not to think through and resolve the plot lines?

Tip o' the hat, Joe. On my way...ah...somewhere.

Hi, Joe! Finally stumbling my way over here, after getting hopelessly behind on the threads. It only takes a few days. We had a good time camping with Bree & Sean, despite the chilly weather. And it looks like you had a lovely day with Debbi, for her Mother's Day celebration.

I am so glad Benita got you interested in finally reading Pachinko. I think I will follow your lead, after I finish Huck Out West, which I have had on the audio stacks forever. So far, it has been a fun re-imagining of Huck Finn's later life.

I got no reading done over the weekend, but hope to make a nice dent in The Darwin Affair, which continues to entertain.

>119 weird_O: A tip o' the hat back atcha, Bill. Good luck getting . . . hmm . . . wherever. :-)

>120 msf59: Ha! I know what you mean about getting behind on the threads, buddy. Strong the Force is in this group!

Welcome back! It looked like a fun camping trip. Sorry that Mother Nature has taken a chill pill recently. Yes, that was a lovely Mother's Day with Debbi. I thought of you with the play we went to - it's called Miracle, and it's a musical about the Cubs 2016 World Series-winning year. Lots of fun, and it seems likely to be a particular hit with Cubs fans!

Pachinko continues to be really good, I'm glad to report. It actually was some 75er's review with the word "gentle" in it that got me off the fence (she doesn't seem to have put it on the book page), but Benita's enthusiasm was great to hear. I'm glad you're having a good time with Huck Out West. That's an intriguing premise. I've never read Robert Coover.

Good to hear re The Darwin Affair. Unless something goes wrong for you at the end, I'll work it in.

>122 jnwelch: Heh. I'll bet Franklin would've LOVED the connected world. Curious about something? Get out your phone and look it up.

>114 jnwelch: Lovely photo of Becca. I also love Rafa's cool shoes up top!

Having just returned from Berlin, I've ordered Berlin by Jason Lutes per your recommendation. I had quite a strange experience visiting this now ultra modern city. I kept trying to figure out where The Wall had been and whether I was standing in West or East Berlin. (It wasn't even close to the relatively straight line I had imagined.) Not something that young people living there bother about, nor should they as they live their lives.

>123 richardderus: Ha! You're right, RD. Our friend Ben would've loved all the info access we have.

>124 NarratorLady: Isn't that a lovely photo of Becca, Anne? She's really enjoying life. Those cool shoes up top are Rafa's favorites; he wants to wear them every day. His dad's a shoe collector (sneakers with pizzazz), so I expect that tradition will continue in some form.

Welcome back, by the way! Any highlights from your trip? It was great to hear from you along the way.

I hope you like Berlin; it's very well done. Charlotte pointed the way for me.

How interesting regarding the Wall dividing East from West. It must seem so bizarre to youngsters who learn about it. I figured that the Wall would be well-marked and highlighted due to tourist interest, but maybe that's not one they're inclined to feature? Yeah, the young people there . . . their elders are probably happy that the young ones don't bother about it. It was so important for such a long time, and now it goes into history's dustbin . . . Good!

>123 richardderus: I'm sure you're right. That phone looks right at home in his hand.

>126 laytonwoman3rd: :-)

Bargain: Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles is available for $2.99 on e-readers. I haven't read it, but it sounds good. Publishers Weekly called it "Compelling".

The only Robert Coover I know is The Public Burning a strange mad alt-history take on the Julius and Ethyl Rosenberg case back when you could still make a case that the Rosenberg's might have been innocent.

I loved it and highly recommend it just for what happens to Richard Nixon at the end of the book

>125 jnwelch:, >126 laytonwoman3rd: :-)

>129 magicians_nephew: One of the main reasons I love the book even now. Please don't say more...

>122 jnwelch: My daughter just showed me this one and a whole bunch of other funny statue photos today! Love it.

Morning, Joe. Happy Wednesday. I am sure enjoying this delightful turn in the weather. Back to shorts. Yah. Continuing to have a good time with The Darwin affair & Huck Out West. I also like my current poetry collection, Dear Darkness, but it is taking me awhile to get through it. You have read Young, right?

I have not started a GN yet, but I have one at hand.

>129 magicians_nephew: That's the one, Jim. I remember The Public Burning's popularity from my bookstore days.

>130 richardderus: Hmm. Intriguing, Richard.

>131 Berly: Ha! Yes - the one I posted in >122 jnwelch: is from that same bunch of funny statue photos your daughter showed you, I'm sure, Kim. I posted the whole bunch on Facebook.

>132 msf59: Morning, Mark. Happy Wednesday.

Yeah, man, "At last . . ."

At last the skies above are blue
My heart was wrapped up in clover the night I looked at you
I found a dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to

Etta James

I have read Kevin Young's Brown: Poems. I'd like to read his Blue Laws, which is his selected and uncollected poems up to 2015. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of Dear Darkness. I'm LOVING Megan Falley's Drive Here and Devastate Me. It's got several she (I'm pretty sure she's a "she" and not a "they) performed here. I think it's one you'd thoroughly enjoy, similar to Andrea Gibson.

>133 jnwelch: - Awww, 'At Last' was part of our wedding ceremony - such a great song!

Hi Joe!

Very belated happy new thread, Joe.
I enjoyed skimming through.

On the healthcare discussion: the same is happening over here. Our local hospital went broke, was taken over by an other hospital, but we lost 24/24 emergency care. The max time for getting to a hospital has been upped, so the "care" is still guaranteed :-(

>124 NarratorLady: Visiting Berlin seems populair these days, we returned from Berlin last Sunday.

>134 jnwelch: HA!!!

Happy Hump Day, Joe.

>135 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Love that song - good choice for your wedding ceremony.

>136 FAMeulstee:. Thanks, Anita. Welcome back from your Berlin trip!

Well, misery loves company, so in that sense I’m glad you’re having similar healthcare problems where you are. But we all need to fix that, don’t we. Why have a prosperous country if you’re not taking care of your citizens’ health, right? It’s fundamental.

>137 richardderus:. I’m glad you got a kick out of >134 jnwelch:, RD. Thanks - Happy Hump Day to you. We can slide right into the weekend after this one.

All the hump day remarks brought this scene to mind...



To enlarge, click image.

I used to pose in front of statues like that.....have to see if I can dig one up, one of my faves from in front of a cancer wellness centre, here in Toronto. Stunning statue, goofy LTer...

Joe...I don't want to alarm you...I posted two 5-star reviews of poetry collections today...now, sit down slowly! Head between your knees...breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth!

I haven't hosted a series or an author for a while. I'd like to do so this summer, during a month when the most interested folk have the time to do at least the targeted book, which is only 200 pp. long. I'd like to expose as many people as possible to the works of James H. Schmitz, a science fiction author who wrote from the late '40s through the 1970s. He is best known for The Witches of Karres, but imho has written much better works. Here is my bookshelf.


Many of his works, especially his shorter ones, were very hard to find for quite a while, but in 2000 and 2001, Baen published almost all of his oeuvre in a collection of 6 books, seen to the right of the shelf above. The book I would like to feature is Demon Breed, also found in the Baen collection The Hub: Dangerous Territory. Schmitz is known for his kick-ass female protagonists long before they became the current ubiquitous status quo in his stories about Telzey Amberdon, Trigger Argee, and the hero of Demon Breed, Nile Etland.

See my thread for more info if interested!

>139 Morphidae: LOL! Sweet memories, Morphy. And I love the magic click enlargement!

>140 jessibud2: Oh, I hope you find the statue with pose photo, Shelley. I've never been clever enough to think of something like these, but maybe these will inspire me.

>141 richardderus: *retrieves jaw from floor* Holy Guacamole! I'll have to find out what warranted you reading the two poetry books, Richard, not to mention their impressive stardom.

>142 ronincats: Good for you, Roni. I've never read James H. Schmitz. I'll take a look on your thread.

Morning, Joe. Sweet Thursday. Cloudy and breezy but mild. I will take it. Rain moving in, but I hope it hits later on, preferably when I am done.

I am starting Pachinko. I hope the audio format works.

>143 jnwelch: - Hi Joe. I found the pic. Actually, it's 4 pics assembled together. I posted it on my thread so as not to clog up this one. I wasn't sure how big it would end up being. Not too, as it turns out!

Got lost on my way to...ah...somewhere. >119 weird_O: You know how it is.

We've got a chunk of the Berlin Wall, encased in plastic, a gift from an exchange student from West Berlin we hosted. Her dad was a dentist, as I recall. I think the West German government offered all sorts of incentives (read: tax breaks) to keep their part of the city well populated.

>134 jnwelch: I can see my twin grands doing exactly that.

Experimental post with new pc.

>147 jnwelch: A qualified success. The new PC appears to have capitalization issues, and it lacks subtlety and depth.

>148 richardderus: Ha! Thanks, Richard. I believe the problems you mention have more to do with the user than the pc. It seems so far to be working well, other than numbskull user issues.

>149 jnwelch: I suspect you're experiencing what are colloquially referred to as "learning curve dips." Only computer professionals are entitled to use industry jargon like "numskull user" and "keyboard gorilla."

>144 msf59: Hiya, Mark. Sweet Thursday. I'm hopefully well tech-equipped now.

I think Pachinko should go well on audio. Narrators can make a big difference, of course. I'm very much enjoying it, although I'm spending more time with Reality Is Not What It Seems, the quantum gravity book, because it is both intriguing and challenging at the same time. This Carlo Rovelli has everything that author of An Elegant Defense missed out on; a superb ability to simplify and connect with the curious but unschooled reader, and a lovely writing style.

>145 jessibud2: Oh, thanks, Shelley. You could've posted it here, no problem, but I appreciate the thought. I'll get over to your thread and check it out.

>146 weird_O: Hi, Bill. I'm glad you found your way back.

Isn't >134 jnwelch: a hoot? I'm now officially an admirer of your grand-twins. My sister and I used to make our mother roll her eyes on a regular basis.

How cool to have a chunk of the Berlin Wall from the exchange student you hosted. What a big freakin' deal that was back in the day; something George Orwell might write up that was real life.

>150 richardderus: There's definitely a learning curve! It looks like the posting is going okay, so, phew! I'll use the non-industry "bonehead" (a favorite of my mother's) instead.

Hi, Joe. I am happy to report that Pachinko is off to a good start and it is working well on audio. As expected, keeping track of names is always a challenge. Of course, I run into this in print too, but visually seeing names is a bit easier.

I have a feeling you will really enjoy The Darwin Affair. I will pass it onto you and Becca should also have a good time with it, since this is her cuppa.

>147 jnwelch: Hi Joe!! Seems to be working just fine. : )

>153 msf59: A couple of us are aiming to read Pachinko in June--glad it is starting off well.

>153 msf59: Yes! That was my reaction, Mark, except in print. I know what you mean about names - I don't know how some people read "A Brief History of Seven Killings" on audio. That one was tough enough in print as far as names go.

Sounds good re The Darwin Affair. I've got some Andrea Gibson I can lend you.

>154 Berly: So far, so good, Kim, in pc-land. Thank goodness. It was getting frustrating. Lots of freezing and non-access.

Oh, good for you. I'll watch for your comments in June on Pachinko. I'm quite taken with it, and it sounds from Benita like the beginning is slower than the rest - or, putting it differently, that it only gets better.

Jesse and Rafa geocaching

>156 jnwelch: It almost looks like Rafa discovered the bottle in the stump!

>157 bell7: Ha! I - and Rafa, I'm sure - wish he had, Mary!

His dad loves to take him geocaching, and has said he can't wait for the day when Rafa finds the cache. Rafa just took his first few steps yesterday! Everyone has warned his parents that everything changes now. :-) He's also talking a blue streak, but still not in any language we recognize.

I was a bit disappointed by Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island. I've enjoyed other Bryson books, and I'm a bit of an Anglophile, so it seemed like a natural for me. This hot review by an LTer named bragan is about the sequel to NFASI, The Road to Little Dribbling, but it struck me that it applies well to the first one, too.



"This is a sequel of sorts to Bill Bryson's 1996 book Notes from a Small Island, about his travels through Great Britain. It features more recent travels though Great Britain, visiting some places he'd never been before and others he was once very familiar with.

I remember liking Bryson's earlier travel books, and enjoying his snarky sense of humor, but I have to say... Either he's lost his touch with the snarky humor or I've lost my appetite for it, because far too much of this one just felt like a grumpy old fuddy-duddy angrily shaking his cane at trivial inconveniences and anything that dares to have changed in the last twenty years.

Mind you, it's to Bryson's credit that he gets equally worked up about the things he likes as the ones that he doesn't. But the things he gets worked up about, positive or negative, tend to be largely the same wherever he goes, and in the end I feel like I've come away from this book knowing a lot about his tastes, but much less about the places he visited. And his experiences in all those places tend to be pretty samey, too, and not terribly exciting. He takes a walk, drinks some tea and some beer, makes a note of what kinds of shops there are, maybe stares at a house some vaguely famous person used to live in, and, if we're very lucky, visits a museum. It very quickly all began to blur together.

All of which makes this sound worse than it is, probably. Bryson does share some interesting information here and there, and some of his bits of praise and criticism are actually well-taken. And it's pleasant enough to imagine oneself strolling down some of those pretty English country lanes. But overall, I did find it a bit disappointing. I imagine it would have been a lot more interesting if I'd known some of the places he was describing, or more worthwhile, perhaps, if I were planning a trip though some of these places and wanted an idea of what to expect.

bragan | May 14, 2019 "

Madame MBH rightly didn't like the tone of Notes from a Small Island. His snarky humor can be a lot of fun, but in other books there's been a modesty to it that helped it go down smoothly. In NFASI, there's a lot of "I'm better than these people" in his observations that bothered me, too.

>159 jnwelch: - I have read most of Bryson's books and though I don't remember details from Notes, I can tell you that I almost actively disliked The Road to Little Dribbling. I felt his *voice* had turned nasty, which is so not like the Bryson I have come to know and love over the years. I must say that I have also listened to many of his books on audiobook because he narrates them and that has been a treat. Little Dribbling was narrated by someone else (don't know why) and that narrator's voice also irritated me. I stuck with it only because it was a Bryson book but was greatly disappointed.

I once found at my library a 4-part tv-special Bryson did many years ago, walking around Britain, talking to people, and talking about the history of the places he was visiting. It was video-cassette, so you can imagine how long ago it was but it was truly delightful. It was made for the BBC at the time.

>114 jnwelch: Lovely! And such a pretty coloured dress!

>156 jnwelch: That looks like fun! I'm hoping to get a small hike in with Nate and the girls tomorrow

Catching up...

>114 jnwelch: Lovely photo of Becca, and as I've said before, I can see both you and Debbi in her, Joe.

>147 jnwelch: Glad your new toy is working well.

>159 jnwelch: I'm with you on this, the joke ran out half way through for me.

And clever statue photos too.

>156 jnwelch: *baaawww* I wanna smooch his widdle cheekies! (Rafa, I hasten to add, not Jesse.)

>159 jnwelch: Bryson's got the Curse. He got old, his shtik got old, he didn't grow any new corners so there's just more of the same to look at...not appealing.

Hi Joe! Happy belated new thread.

>93 jnwelch: I took my mother to see Bleacher Bums in the San Fernando Valley in … ? … 1985 or so. We both loved it.

>159 jnwelch: I discovered that I can’t read too many of Bryson’s travel books close together because they become interchangeable.

Finally caught up with you, Joe. Many more threads to go, though. That's what I get for having limited internet for 12 days. I can sympathize about the PC woes. My desktop computer decided to pack it in 2 days before I left on this trip. All the printing was routed through that computer which made getting ready to go challenging. Hope you are enjoying your new toy.

>160 jessibud2: Yeah, your Little Dribbling experience sounds an awful lot like what mine was with Notes From a Small Island, Shelley. And the tv series sounds like the "good" Bryson I've enjoyed. I remember having a great time with A Walk in the Woods and enjoying In a Sunburned Country, although it tailed off a bit for me in the second half. No nasty tone in either of those.

>161 ChelleBearss: Isn't that a lovely photo of Ms. Becca, Chelle? Perfect Spring dress.

We're all having a good time with the geocaching. What's the joke about golf, "a good walk spoiled"? This is a good walk with added fun.

>162 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I love that photo of Becca. It's funny, with both kids, we'll get told they look like each of us. But Becca gets a lot of "Debbi" comments. A funny thing is she looks like she's the sister of one of her cousins, who's the mother of Sam. Little Sam has made appearances in the cafe. Sam even got mixed up one time Facetiming with Becca - he wasn't sure which one was his mother!

The new toy is working well, thanks; we installed anti-virus and malware protection today, and I'm hopeful of keeping it from getting gummed up like its predecessor.

Right? Too bad about Notes from a Small Island, as a trip around Britain and Scotland with the "good" Bryson likely would've been fun.

I'm glad you enjoyed the silly statue poses. I'll try to post another one tonight.

>163 richardderus: Ha! Sometimes I want to smooch the little cheekies of both of them, Richard.

I'm afraid you may be right about Bryson's shtick having gotten old, and this is what we're going to get from now on. Too bad.

>164 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen.

And thanks again for supplying me (again!) with the Georgette Heyer link. It's heartening that my next, The Talisman Ring, is one of your top-rated ones. I had a good time with Faro's Daughter.

Yeah, this new play about the 2016 Cubs made me think of Bleacher Bums, too (also about those "lovable losers"). I never saw BB; I wish I had. "Miracle", the new one, opens tonight (we saw a preview), and reportedly Ryne Sandburg, a famous Cub from yesteryear, is going to appear on stage during it. I so hope it does well, mainly so our friend can get a good paycheck for a while. Such a tough career to take on!

Yes, I agree, I need to put a good bit of time between reading Bryson books, too. I actually don't have one that tempts me now, which is a shame.

>165 Familyhistorian: Hi, Meg. Thanks for checking in from across the pond. Sorry to hear you experienced your own PC woes. I'm thrilled with the new one. It's a lightweight laptop (good for cafes!) with a large screen, and it's fast.

I look forward to hearing about your time in London, and the upcoming meetup with Darryl.

>156 jnwelch: How intense he (Rafa) looks! >158 jnwelch: Talking can take interesting turns. I thought my daughter Becky hardly talked at all until a caretaker repeated all sorts of family 'stories' she came up with, this at just under 2. Later she went through 2 bouts of speech therapy, the first at our instigation and the second at hers. Up until 3 her care takers and we, her parents, understood what she meant even if we couldn't make out (didn't bother to listen to) her words so entering preschool it was a bit of a shock that she was incomprehensible. The first sessions helped a bit, but it was the second group which she asked for when she was 4 that made a huge difference.

>159 jnwelch: I liked Notes from a Small Island, perhaps because snark is my native dialect. And it did make me want to walk all over England, though I hardly walk anywhere since ever so long.

>168 jnwelch: HA!!

>158 jnwelch:

Are you taping any of his conversations?

It would be intriguing if, when he speaks "our" languages, he can then translate his own words.

>166 jnwelch: I remember seeing a photo of Becca's cousin and how alike they are. Funny that little Sam even got confused.

>168 jnwelch: Ha, that would have taken some effort to achieve.

>156 jnwelch: Great photo.

Morning, Joe. This erratic weather is getting tiresome. I know tomorrow might be stormy, but I hope it hits later in the day. I will be watching closely.

I am enjoying Pachinko. I might hit the halfway point, at the end of the day.

Morning, Joe!

Charlie and I tried the geocaching thing once and failed utterly. We want to try again this summer, but we're nervous that we just don't know how to do it properly. I need BFF to come visit and take us out hunting, I think...

>169 quondame:. Thanks, Susan. In Rafa’s case I think it’s toddler exuberance.

I’m glad you liked Notes from a Small Island. I like snark, but his self-love in this one didn’t work for me.

>170 richardderus:. 😄

>171 m.belljackson:. Her-her. That would be fun, Marianne. We certainly have Rafa on video yakking it up.

>172 Caroline_McElwee:. Isn’t that fun with Becca and Meg, Caroline? The two of them get a big kick out of it.

I was thinking the same thing about >168 jnwelch:. She must have put in some thinking and effort to get up there!

>173 msf59:. Hey, Mark. I’m glad you like that Jesse/Rafa photo. They’re good partners, those two.

I know, this stupid weather is stupidly stupid. Let’s get into some dry 60s and 70s and stick with it for a while.

Yay for Pachinko! I’m enjoying it, too. I’m about halfway, after the war.

>174 scaifea:. Morning, Amber. Oh yeah, I think you and Charlie would love geocaching, but it helped so much to go through it initially with someone experienced. Jesse’s a good teacher, and he took us through everything. Becca was skeptical, but immediately fell in love with it.

Same thing with Escape Rooms - I would have been clueless (ha!) without him and Adri to show us how they work.

Geocaching is a creative, fascinating, and interesting use of the cellphone. I'm not able to participate, obvs, but would eagerly dive in if I could.

Waaaaaay back when, there was a similar thing that some artist did, hiding a treasure...money? gold?...in a weird location and leaving clues where to find it in his picture book. I don't remember if that started the idea of geocaching or popularized it, but that gimmick to sell books wasn't repeated IIRC.

>177 richardderus: I think this is what you are thinking of Richard:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-47671776

>156 jnwelch: Love, love, love that photo! And Rafa walking!!!!

Watch out world, here he comes!

>177 richardderus: I'm glad geocaching intrigues you, RD, and sorry no cell phone precludes you participating. Maybe with a pal some day?

Right - as Caroline points out, it was Kit Williams and the picture book Masquerade. I was working in bookstores back then (late 70s), and remember what a big deal it was, even in the U.S. I'm surprise someone hasn't tried that more recently.

>178 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for that link, Caroline! I never did know how it all turned out. What a shame it was "solved" by someone with insider information, before those legit solvers could get to it.

>179 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! He's a swell little fellow, that Rafa. Ha! Watch out world is right! And his parents better have their speed shoes on.

>178 Caroline_McElwee: EXACTLY!!
Countless lawns were dug up, and fed-up landowners put up signs warning off fortune-seekers. The book was even cited in divorce proceedings.
This is what I remember best about the book, the titanic kerfuffle surrounding the puzzle-seekers' bad behavior. Thanks, Caroline!

>180 jnwelch: No no, Joe, no Luddite me. I have a smartphone with more computer processing power than the first three computers I owned combined. I just can't go out and walk, bend, dig, etc etc anymore.

In today's climate of litigate then think, ANYONE whose property was trampled by treasure-seekers would sue the publisher, the artist, the copyeditor, the distribution clerk, the bookstore buyer....

>177 richardderus: wasn't it a case of Canadian Club? Or am I really dating myself?

Canadian Club Search still going on

Hi Joe, maybe I ought to do a travelogue of the places that Karen and I visit although most of them would be in God's Own Country so they might be a bit biased, lol. Hope that you and Debbi are having a good weekend mate and we send love and hugs to both of you from both of us dear friends.

>184 magicians_nephew: No Jim, this little marvy was the prize from Masquerade:


I'd've put some welly into a search for Canadian Club!

As always, your thread is a delight. I love the street art at the top. The artist may be Spanish but the art could almost be what you might see here in Taipei. They love their cute animals here. As an example, I have never understood Hello Kitty. Well, I'm telling you. It is everywhere. It's her 45th birthday and there have been stores celebrating it....

Rafa is still adorable, I see. I have a good friend who Geocaches with her husband; it seems to be a good way to see some out-of-the way spots.

I love >113 jnwelch: (I'd take him for a walking tour!) and the statue photos are pretty hilarious.

I impulsively ordered a copy of Lord of the Butterflies before I left home. I think it was your fault. Anyway, with Janet chiming in, I'm looking forward to reading it when I return to the states.

Bargain. The Pulitzer-winning book Prairie Fires, by Caroline Fraser, about Laura Ingalls Wilder, is available on e-reader for $1.99 today. I thought it was really good.

We’re out and about, so I’ll catch up later.

Joe, I must have missed where you told us you acquired a new toy. What kind of computer is it? I'm thinking of replacing my old laptop, so of course I'm curious as to what you decided on.

I am glad you are reading Pachinko. It was one of my favorites from last year.

-Blackburnian Warbler

Happy Sunday, Joe. I am so glad you were able to join me at the Montrose Bird Sanctuary, for an amazing morning of birding. Many great looks at many special birds, including the stunning Blackburnian. Since, you live much closer to this birdy paradise, I hope you are to visit more often.



^You missed it! I also had a Black-Capped Chickadee land on the palm of my hand, looking for seed. So darn cute! This is the first time this has ever happened to me.

>183 richardderus: Ah, gotcha, Richard. Yes, lots of walking for geocaching, and they're of course stowed in out-of-the-way places.

>184 magicians_nephew:, >186 richardderus: :-)

>185 johnsimpson: You are in God's Own Country there, John. Thanks for the love and hugs from you and Karen; Debbi and I send the same back, buddy.

>187 EBT1002: Hiya, Ellen! Thanks for checking in from Taiwan!

I'm glad you're enjoying the thread. Yeah, I've never understood Hello Kitty either. It must be an odd feeling being surrounded by it.

We loves that adorable Rafa. You're right - geocaching has taken us to places we likely wouldn't have seen. That's a major part of the fun. Although we've also enjoyed discovering ones we didn't know about tucked away on regular routes.

Ha! The furry guy in >113 jnwelch: is looking forward to giving you a tour.

Great impulse buy of Lord of the Butterflies! You'll love it, methinks.

>189 ffortsa: Hi, Judy. I got an LG Gram laptop. Superlight - less than 3 pounds., and superfast. It also has 19.5 hours of battery life. The Microcenter guy (whom I liked) said they'd tested it themselves, and that was accurate, but that different activities like gaming would drain it faster. I'm really happy with it so far - it ticked all the boxes for me. If you have questions, just pm me.

>190 banjo123: Oh good, Rhonda. Pachinko is going really well; I'm getting near the end.

>191 msf59: Ha! Wonderful to see the bird photos, Mark. Yes, that Blackburnian is the one I was excited about. What a vivid bird!

Sorry I missed the Black-Capped Chickadee landing on your hand! You're becoming a Bird Whisperer. Pretty soon they'll all be visiting you. :-)

I thoroughly enjoyed our morning. Thanks for inviting me. One of my favorites of the day was that Yellow-Breasted Chat that kept hanging around the thicket.



As I recall, that's one you were hoping to see and man did we.

Magnolias, an oriole, a catbird, a blue-gray gnat catcher, cardinals, redwinged blackbirds - what else did we see? What an amazing bird sanctuary that is. Nice folks out there, too - sort of the LTers of the bird world.

We may take our out-of-town friend there next weekend; we'll see how it goes.

Happy one-of-seven-days-of-the-week, Joe!

>164 karenmarie: and >167 jnwelch: I should have qualified my statement above – I can’t read too many of his travel books close together. I could happily re-read A Short History of Nearly Everything, Shakespeare: The World as Stage, or One Summer: America, 1927 any time.

Yay for Rafa walking and your new computer.

>194 karenmarie: Ha! Thanks, Karen. Your discretion in day-naming is much appreciated!

Right - I did like Bryson's Shakespeare book. I have to admit I got bored by his A Short History of Nearly Everything and DNF. Those don't have the travel book similarities to one another, do they.

Go Rafa! And thanks re the new laptop. I'm going to get some things added to it at work tomorrow so I can tie into my office from home, and then we'll be all set.

I know this feeling . . .

>196 jnwelch: Perfect. I just know she's reading a Dorothy L. Sayers mystery.

Monday orisons!

>197 richardderus: Right, RD? By George, I think you've got it - Dorothy L. Sayers. Or By Georgette, maybe a Heyer.

Happy orisons! Is that orisons I hear from the horizon, sifting through the mid-afternoon air?

>196 jnwelch: >198 jnwelch: Heyer would not raise that level of 'glow'. But does the cover imply she's getting her workout vicariously? That image brings lots of questions to mind.

>198 jnwelch: I believe those are referred to colloquially as "thunderstorms" that you're hearing.

>199 quondame: Heh...no, Heyer's not a pulse-pounder.

“Living everyday in the presence of those who refuse to acknowledge your humanity takes great courage.”

“There was consolation: The people you loved, they were always there with you, she had learned. Sometimes, she could be in front of a train kiosk or the window of a bookstore, and she could feel Noa's small hand when he was a boy, and she would close her eyes and think of his sweet grassy smell and remember that he had always tried his best. At those moments, it was good to be alone to hold on to him.”

“In Seoul, people like me get called Japanese bastards, and in Japan, I'm just another dirty Korean no matter how much money I make or how nice I am. So what the f*ck?”

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee has gotten mixed reactions on LT, but I fall into the camp of those who greatly enjoyed it. It's a multi-generational story of a Korean family, beginning in the 1920s. In an afterword, the author explains that it was 30 years in the making, and that she scrapped it completely and started over in 2008 after interviewing many Koreans living in Japan and finding her first draft was off target.

I didn't know that Korea was occupied by Japan during WWII (my bad), or that Koreans historically have been looked down upon by many Japanese. (Amazing how prejudice can take so many different forms). This story begins with good-hearted but cleft-palated Hoonie, who normally would never get married because of his deformity, but does because of the dire economic times. His daughter Sunja grows up carefully watched over in their boarding house near the port city of Busan. When at age 15 she becomes coveted by Hansu, a sophisticated businessman, her life changes, and then changes once again when a Christian priest enters her life and the family moves to Osaka, Japan.

There are lovely moments and terrible ones, and many hardships overcome, often through family effort. Sunja proves hard-working and resilient, and her family the same. All the characters are skillfully drawn, and the writing is smooth - drafts of the book apparently were run by what seems like a cast of thousands, including early enthusiast Junot Diaz. If you're looking for a reading experience set in a different part of the world, with an interesting clash of cultures and memorable characters, this one fits the bill. Yes, like many long books, it could have been shorter without harming the story, but I'm one reader who says, so what.

>199 quondame:, >200 richardderus: To me, our cover exerciser has stopped treadmilling and put her feet on the sides because she's so captivated by what she's reading that she can't be distracted, and might fall if she kept trying to do both. So both Sayers and Heyer would fit for me. "OMG, what's happening, and what's going to happen next?" Many other guest star authors would fit, too!

>201 jnwelch: It's good to get your take on Pachinko I'm still debating whether to read it, so I'll just add it to wish list rather than going directly to check out from the library.

>203 quondame: Sounds fine to me, Susan. I'm actually a bit mystified by those who didn't like it. I probably should read through some of the dissident reviews.

>201 jnwelch: Count me among the advocates, Joe. No review because reasons but I think it was a magisterial achievement. I was utterly transported and enthralled. The Japanese Empire subsumed the Korean Peninsula in 1910 and the story of the occupation is...instructive...about WWII and its consequences.

In point of fact, the war should've started in the Pacific between the US and Japan circa 1937, with the Rape of Nanking. Generalissimo Chiang detested the Murrikinz and let 'em know, or it might woulda started then.

>205 richardderus: Good to hear, Richard. Utterly transported and enthralled by Pachinko - love it! That's intriguing re Chiang. I think of the U.S. as so "let's stay out of it" back then, and needing Pearl Harbor to get triggered.

>206 jnwelch: *snort* Roosevelt was no dummy. The way out of a depression is a war. He'd've been Right There if the effin' isolationist Repulsivecans hadn't shot down the military build-up in his budgets. Think how scary-close the 1940 election was...no third terms was already firmly entrenched...and effin' Lindbergh the Nazi sympathizer was peddling the snake oil that we should stay out of the Brits' war. If Roosevelt had New Dealed the Pacific War and pinned it on the Philippines (which we controlled then) being threatened by Japanese aggression....

Such are the vagaries of history. Like the delightful what-if of Alexander the Great barfing up the overdose of hellebore that killed him.

>193 jnwelch: Wow! I love that chat. Such a cool bird. I wish one of my photos came out that good.

>196 jnwelch: Love it!

Good review of Pachinko, Joe. I have a feeling you and Benita will like it more than I did, but so far I think it is pretty good. I am into the second half now.

>201 jnwelch: Different strokes Joe. I read Pachinko over a year ago and was enthralled for 3/4 of it. Excellent writing. But at that point I started to check several times how many pages were left. As you mention, more editing wouldn’t have hurt and for me, the last quarter was a bit of a slog. Funny how with some books you can overlook that and with others you just can’t.

>196 jnwelch: Ha! Love that!

>201 jnwelch: Excellent review of Pachinko, Joe. I'm reading it with Kim and Beth and Morphy (and someone else, I think) in June and now I'm looking forward to it. Of course, Asian cultures are very different from one another but I'm interested to read it so soon after my rather in-depth experience of Taiwan. I'm guessing there will be nuances I resonate with differently than I would have done otherwise.

>207 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. I can tell I have some studyin' to do. It's good to have that different, bigger picture perspective.

Hmm, what would Alexander have accomplished . . . ?

>208 msf59: Isn't that a great photo of the chat, Mark? You may have to get one of those fancy big cameras some day, my friend. Or convince some of your bird friends to hold still for a while! I didn't even try with my smartphone - they were too quick and usually not out in the open enough.

Thanks re the Pachinko review, Mark. Looking forward to hearing your reaction. I enjoyed following Sunja in particular.

>209 NarratorLady: I can understand your feeling that way in the last quarter, Anne. I wish I could remember the one short side story in that part where I thought, really? It involved none of the main characters, and I thought, do you really need this? But like the rest, it was well-told and shed light from a different angle on that Korean-Japanese conflict. And it was the only time I felt that way. Overall, that's one remarkable book, IMO. Sunja will be in my mind a long, long time. Hoonie and Baek Isak, too. And Kyunghee and . . .

>210 EBT1002: Ha! Right, Ellen? I love that cover, too.

Thanks re the Pachinko review. That should be a fun mini-group-read with Kim and Beth and Morphy and a guest star to be named later. Your experience in Taiwan/Asia will undoubtedly add to your reading of this. I'm glad you've had such a good trip!

Bargain I wish they'd taken another dollar off, but Cordwainer Smith's Nostrilia is available today on e-readers for $2.99. I loved this sci-fi story when I was young.

Great review of Pachinko, Joe. As long as Rachael says that I can read it I'll look for it soon.

>212 jnwelch: Norstrilia! What a mindfuck. Northern Australia the last bastion?! Humanity's screwed. Sadly forgotten, is our Cordwainer. Dying early isn't always a great career move.

Thumbed your review of Pachinko. I agree - I enjoyed the long generational story and exposed to history that I was ignorant of (participle dangle much?). Richard's historical comments make perfect sense, but somehow I hadn't put it all together.

>213 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. Did you and Rachael get married, or does she have some other sort of power over your reading Pachinko?

>214 richardderus: Ha! I had a feeling you'd know our friend Cordwainer, Richard. Ain't Nostrilia grand? At least shrimp on the barbie was still around.

I'm sure you also read his short stories - I loved The Best of Cordwainer Smith and I'm thinking I should look into his Complete Stories.

I don't know what he died early of, but what a shame. He'd probably be better remembered if he hadn't.

>215 streamsong: Thank you for the thumb, Janet. I'm a frequent participle dangler, so feel right at home. Sometimes rules are just obnoxious, not helpful, don't you think? I still haven't put it all together, although Richard's comments sure have my wheels turning. I should put it together better; among other things, my Dad was a Navy guy who fought in the Pacific Theater.

>216 jnwelch: Ha! No, Rachael is happily married with three lovely children and a damned impressive though very down to earth husband (https://www.crick.ac.uk/news/2019-04-23_introducing-rupert-beale-clinical-researcher), so she'd be beyond stupid to give that up. She has become my most reliable source of book recommendations, due to our common tastes in reading and her London literary connections (most of the books she reads are advance review copies that she receives months in advance), and is also a good gauge of what I shouldn't read.

Several years ago, prior to an afternoon tea meetup at the London Review Cake Shop, which as you know is within the London Review Bookshop, I was queueing in a line to purchase books. Rachael came in, looked at my proposed purchases, and told me that I shouldn't buy one of the books, Vauxhall by Gabriel Gbadamosi, a coming of age novel about a boy of mixed (Nigerian and Irish) descent who lived in modern day London. As she went to get a table for us I made my purchases—but didn't put back that book, as the story sounded interesting to me. Rachael looked at my purchases in closer detail, noted that I had still purchased Vauxhall despite her strict instruction not to do so, shook her head and called me "incorrigible". I read it shortly afterward—and I didn't like it. I admitted that to her the next time we met, and she gently scolded me for not listening to her.

Rachael did recommend two books to me when we met for tea at the Cake Shop yesterday, and you can be blippin' sure that I'll purchase them before I leave! (They both sound right up my alley.)

>201 jnwelch: Glad you liked Pachinko Joe - our book group took a shot at it and mostly liked it. Perhaps too many cooks stirring this soup over the years made parts of the broth seem thin and perhaps a little bland at spots.

But a history I didn't know much about and people i grew to care about very much so OK by me.

>207 richardderus: Not to fight World War II again but there is a cusp moment the day after Pearl Harbor where the US declared war on Japan, and then two days later Hitler declared war on the United States and FDR followed suit and we were off to the races. If Hitler had kept his mouth shut - well who knows.

You don't hear much about after the Hiroshima drop where Russia came into the war against Japan and then mopped up the Japanese forces in Mainland China and Korea. There were a heck of a lot of Japanese forces on the mainland. Pachinko gets a lot of post-war Japan right. it's a good read.

Hi, Joe. Late day check-in. With the cooler temps, not a lot of bird activity on the route, although I think I spotted a Magnolia, feeding near the water's edge at my BBS.

I should finish Pachinko tomorrow and I am continuing to really enjoy the Faulkner bio. I know you are not a fan but he is a really interesting guy and Parini is a terrific writer.

>217 kidzdoc: It,s great to have someone like Rachael who understands your reading tastes, Darryl. I hope she gives her blessing to Pachinko. Makes sense that she'd stick with the brainiac (I'll have to check out the link). What two books did she recommend at the LR Cake Shop?

>218 magicians_nephew: Good to hear, Jim. Interesting thought on the many cooks stirring Pachinko's broth. Right, the result, with history I didn't know and people I grew to care about was ok by me, too. As you say, the book sure seems to get a lot of post-war Japan right, and it's a good (for me, excellent) read.

Hmm. I hadn't thought about what if Hitler kept his mouth shut. A Pacific War only? What an alternate history that might have been.

>219 msf59: Hey, late day check-in guy. It's supposed to climb almost thirty degrees today, so maybe the birds will stop shivering under the covers and come out on your route. I now know what a Magnolia is (!), but I can't quite get Beautiful Bird Feeder out of the acronym BBS. What is your BBS?

Go Pachinko! Yeah, the odds of my reading a Faulkner bio are slim to none, but I'm glad you're enjoying it. I will keep an eye out for Parini's writing.

Bargain: The terrific book The Things They Carried is available on Kindle today for $2.99.

>220 jnwelch:

Years ago, I was reading through all of Faulkner after As I Lay Dying (unforgettable in many ways),
then my daughter read one of his direct quotes stating, roughly, that white people were still way smarter.

I'm still looking online for the quote. If he ever refuted it, he would be a welcome one to start over and read again.

>216 jnwelch: "my Dad was a Navy guy who fought in the Pacific Theater."

My father was, too, Joe. He was a sonar man on the USS Howard. He would not talk about his war experiences, though, except for a few funny incidents. However, in in his later years,he did tell my son that he had witnessed a kamikaze attack.

>221 jnwelch: Heh! Love that.

>222 jnwelch: Wow! Love that!

The internet ate my long post responding about China in WWII and I just haven't got the heart to try to recreate it. Suffice it to say that I think the subject is forgotten at our national detriment if not peril.

>223 m.belljackson: It sounds as though you're saying you think Faulkner is worth re-reading, but you won't do it unless you can find that he refuted a quote that you cannot locate. If you want to know what William Faulkner said about race, or anything else, go to the source. Read his works, and those of legitimate scholars and historians. Searching the internet will give you any number of quotes attributed to him that he never said. The same is true of Mark Twain or Franklin Roosevelt or anyone else you might mention. Goodreads quotes Faulkner as saying “A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station….”, which is almost certainly a joke that came into existence in the 1990's, decades after Faulkner was dead and gone. Not only does it use a term that refers to a specific type of computer he would never have heard of, it expresses a very un-Faulkner-like thought.

>220 jnwelch: BBS, is Birding Break Spot. I usually hit this location about 9-930.

Morning, Joe. Speaking of my BBS, I just saw a Wilson's Warbler (w/the black cap), a couple of yellows and a redstart. All in about 15 minutes. I bet Montrose is hopping today.

Warming up quickly out here and I am dressed for it.

Hi Joe!

>201 jnwelch: Pachinko is on my shelves, waiting for it’s turn…

>221 jnwelch: *smile*

>216 jnwelch: and >224 streamsong: My dad was an infantryman who slogged all over the Eastern European theater in WWII. He was going to have to go fight in the Pacific when Truman had the bombs dropped and was grateful for the war ending before he had to go. He also didn’t talk about the war except for two funny incidents, although very late in his life he admitted that he’d killed more than one German.

>226 laytonwoman3rd: -

_________________________________

Morning, Joe!

>226 laytonwoman3rd: Nice, Linda. I agree.

>228 karenmarie: >216 jnwelch: >224 streamsong: Paul Fussell wrote an essay called "Thank God for the Atomic Bomb" offering his heart-felt defense of the decision to use the weapon. Like your dad, Karen, Fussell was in combat in the European theater and knew he was destined to participate in the assault on the Japanese mainland. That eventuality was expected to be an absolute bloodbath.

ETA: >229 katiekrug: Bingo! :-)

My Dad was an electricians mate on the U.S.S. Blower a Balao class submarine. (Clearly near the end of the war they were running out of fish to name submarines after)

The invasion of Japan (Operation Olympic) was considered so dangerous that married men were excused from sailing on that mission.

"Thank God for the Atomic Bomb"? I won't go that far. But I won't second guess Harry Truman for making the call either.

Richard Rhodes' The Making of the Atomic Bomb has a good precis on the argument for and against.

>223 m.belljackson: I'm the anti-Faulknerian in the group, Marianne, so I don't want his quotes direct or otherwise. (This breaks the heart of my English prof BIL, as does my finding Moby Dick over-whaled and meh). I will say Faulkner's white people sure didn't seem very smart to me.

>224 streamsong: Cool, Janet. I know, a lot of WWII survivors don't like to talk about it. Madame MBH's uncle helped free a concentration camp, but wouldn't talk about it. My dad was a communications officer, with breaking coded messages between ships as part of his duties. His ship shot down a kamikaze, and the pilot ended up in the sea, alive. He refused to be saved, and drowned. What a time.

Mine was on the U.S.S. Bullard, a destroyer - any chance yours was on it?

>225 richardderus: Right, Richard. What the heck are those things, and what a bargain for The Things They Carried. :-) I've read a bit about Nanking and the Japanese in China; I know you're right about that, too.

>226 laytonwoman3rd: I'll just hold my tongue, Linda, and not be a smart aleck. As you know, you'll find no Faulkner on our shelves.

>227 msf59: Morning/Afternoon, Mark. Thanks for clearing up what BBS is - don't ever read An Elegant Defense. All the acronyms floating around in our bodies will drive you crazy.

Sounds like a mighty good bird-spotting day. Like us, they're probably saying, finally, some warm weather.

>228 karenmarie: Hi, Karen. Oh my, I'll bet your dad saw some tough duty slogging all over Eastern Europe in WWII, and I'll bet he was happy when the war ended. The one issue mine would get upset about was when I questioned bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki; he said I had no idea how happy everyone was to have that war ended. He was so young - he graduated college early and immediately enlisted.

>229 katiekrug: Ha! i love that quote from Lincoln, Katie. Such a wise man, and so prescient. He was right on target with this one.

>230 weird_O: My Dad would agree entirely with Paul Fussell, Bill.

>231 magicians_nephew: As I said to Bill, Jim, my Dad would agree entirely with "Thank God for the Atomic Bomb", and I'm not going to second guess him or Harry either.

That's quite a name for a submarine! Yeah, there would have been a lot of lives lost in an invasion, too. But . . . innocent civilians . . . would be on the other side of the argument. I'd never heard of married men being excused before.

Hello Joe! I hope all is well with you.

After having finished, Bird Box, I've been looking around for something similarly spooky, but not outright Horror as I'm not about the gore. I've tabled Malerman's follow up, Inspection novel for now, but have picked up Pines and The Haunting of Hill House. We'll see which way I go.

I finally finished Presidents of War. I should have a review up soon. I found it compelling given that it focused on the political side of our Presidents in war; their dealings with Congress, the enemy, and, specifically powers granted by, and exceeding, the Constitution.



Finally, I stumbled onto a new show last week. I was desperate for something different and did a Google search for Canadian TV dramas. I am so thankful I did this. I discovered a show called X Company. It is a historical fiction series set during WWII. It follows a group of spies, trained in the real Canadian facility called Camp X. Each weak they have a mission. Each member of the team has their specific skill. The main setting is Occupied France. The acting, writing, and production is fantastic. I have completed the first of three seasons. Sadly, it did not go further. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

>232 jnwelch: I'm sure the spirits of the ancestors are pooping their ghostly pants over this Brexit silliness.

>235 brodiew2: At 750 pages, I'll be saving that one for retirement.

...wait...I'm retired...ruh roh

>236 richardderus: It's a biggie for sure, Richard. I need to lay off these tomes. They are wrecking my already low production numbers. :-P

>237 brodiew2: I've given up on tree books that big. My hands and wrists just can't do that anymore, at least not more than once in a blue moon, so I'll wait for the Kindle version to go on sale. I just hope it happens before I die.

>216 jnwelch:

Yep, I've been hoping the new David Mariness (zero on touchstone = see title above) book would inspire a telling of your Family's story.

My father was in the Pacific too - a Marine radio operator.

Why did Japan need to be invaded? Howard Zinn states the leaders were more than ready to surrender before we incinerated them.

>220 jnwelch: Right, Joe. Rachael recommended Lanny by Max Porter, which seems like a good probability for this year's Booker Prize longlist, and The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia by Nathan Filer. I bought the novel by Porter at Daunt Books this afternoon just before I had lunch with Claire, and I'll look for the book by Filer at the London Review Bookshop tomorrow, before or after our group meet up at The British Museum.

Rachael's recent recommendations to me include The Luminaries by Eleanor Cotton, Bodies of Light by Sarah Moss, Life After Life by Kate Atkinson, and Gillespie and I by Jane Harris, all of which I gave at least 4-1/2 stars.

>226 laytonwoman3rd: >229 katiekrug:

As for going to "the source," authors have written words for the public which they privately do not believe or later come to disavow. Zinn's book overflows with these.

If I find the missing quote, I'll post it here, but for now have a train station full of TBR books.

The Faulkner quote when originally read was NOT online. It was in assigned high school or college print reading.

>239 m.belljackson: Hmm. Are you thinking of A Good American Family by David Maraniss, Marianne? The subtitle is The Red Scare and My Father, and it covers the Communist witch hunts and the McCarthy hearings.

Isn't it fascinating how many 75er fathers were fighting in WWII in the Pacific, or were about to? Did your father talk about it?

I don't know what to make of Howard Zinn's view; it doesn't square with what else I've read, but maybe he knows something I don't.

>240 kidzdoc: Hi, Darryl. Thanks for letting me know. Lots of good rec's from Rachael. I don't know the Max Porter book, but now I'll take a look. At Bianca's recommendation, I read a novel by Nathan Filer called The Shock of the Fall. It was very good. I was not a big fan of The Luminaries, but many LTers were. I did like Life After Life a lot, and I don't know the Sarah Moss or Jane Harris books, although I do remember some buzz about Gillespie and I. Man, that's one of the great parts of visiting London; I love the bookstores (we never miss stopping at Daunt!), and all the good reading recommendations from pals and bookstore staff.

>241 m.belljackson: I'll let Linda and Katie respond if they want, Marianne.

Hello Joe. Did you miss me in >235 brodiew2:? I had a picture and everything. :-)

>235 brodiew2: Sounds like some good spooky reading, Brodie. The one I've read is The Haunting of Hill House, which i thought was really good. Shirley Jackson had a knack for creating such a creepy, something's right around the corner, type of mood.

Thanks for the tip on X Company. Sounds like one Madame MBH might appreciate, too - she likes "team" shows like Mission Impossible and the recent one with Tim Hutton and a band of con artists, and the recent one with Katherine McPhee and a team of geniuses.

>236 richardderus: There were a couple of Brits on the El train to work this week, Richard, who were laughing that in the year 2300 the Brits would be debating the latest Brexit initiative from Theresa May. You can see some logistical problems with that timeline, but they happily riffed for a while on the idea.

>237 brodiew2:, >238 richardderus: I'm like Richard these days, Brodie, and I tend to put the whopper-sized books on Kindle. There are exceptions, like Murakami, where I want a hard copy, but otherwise many pages tend to lead to e-reading. Another exception was Infinite Jest, where there's no way I could have dealt with all those fakakta footnotes on an e-reader.

>243 brodiew2: Whoa, you're fast, Brodie! Nope, just did them out of order, as you can see.

>242 jnwelch: Not all though. My uncle was in the Pacific as Dr. in the navy and when he died a few years back at 102 they sent a color guard to his funeral. My grandfather and father were officers in administration - when my dad's health broke down in 1944 they had to find three people to replace him. He was in St. Louis handling all the supplies going from west of there into the European theater. For some reason he didn't want to take advantage of his physics Ph.D and work on one of the weapon development groups. Which is strange, because for many years he was a if not the world expert on the spin and wobble of a moving projectile. Ballistics isn't quite rocket science, but close.

>231 magicians_nephew: A submariner during WWII?! Lordy. There's a WWII-era sub parked beside the U.S.S. Olympia at Penn's Landing in Philly. I took the tour. Claustrophobia! Just horrifying.

A prep school classmate of mine was drafted into the Navy right out of med school. He volunteered for submarine duty, and told me he spent most of his time listening to stressed-out sailors. Went into psychiatry upon discharge.

>226 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Very well said, as usual.

>229 katiekrug: *snork!* Just exactly where my head went, too.

Morning, Joe!

>246 weird_O: Bill, years later my Dad took me and my brother to the New London Submarine Base for a tour - first of a WWII boat then of the Nautilus. They had some of the Japanese midget subs there too. Quite amazing Don't think I could have done it.

There used to be a Gato class boat on display in San Francisco (was it the Pogy?) too which I toured years ago.

The guy who said "war is six months of boredom followed by six minutes of abject terror" must have been thinking of submarine duty.

223 Wrong number! >232 jnwelch: Nope, our fathers must have been ships that passed in the night. (Sorry couldn't resist).

Thursday again, Joe. What are you going to do about it?

>242 jnwelch:

Yes, that's the A Good American Family review I recommended to you up there in #24!

Recent newspaper excerpts have been enlightening.

My father said little about our role in WWII. His Mom stopped speaking German completely.

Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, though from the 1990s, still makes jaw-dropping reading.
('There was no reason to drop a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. None.'

To end a World War, you bomb 2 cities of civilians? Maybe that's where we learned to napalm Vietnam...)

He would likely have apoplectically updated it with 20 volumes for the current reigning lunatic.

>242 jnwelch: its all of a piece with what we were talking about around Pachinko.
The Japanese occupied large chunks of China and Korea. They wanted to surrender but hang on to their war gains. Neither the United States who saw China as an allay or the Soviet Union who saw China as a threat on their back doorstep was going to be happy about that.

How much dropping the bomb had to do with Japan and how much had to do with Joe Stalin can be debated, for true

Ive read Zinns analysis -- i think hjs biases are showing on this one

>245 quondame: Cool that vet uncle made it to 102. My Dad made it to 95. As with concerns with the dwindling number of Holocaust survivors, our numbers of WWII vets are dwindling. We're all trying to capture the stories.

Your father sounds like a special guy. Interesting choice he made, not to do the ballistics.

>246 weird_O: I can't imagine serving in a submarine, Bill. I can imagine it creating psychological problems. Man, nowhere to go, no way to get out.

There was a successful pro basketball player named David Robinson who volunteered for Navy submarine service, but grew to 7 feet tall after volunteering. The Navy happily used him for promo purposes (he was and is a great guy), but I don't think he ever did serve in a sub.

>247 scaifea: Morning, Amber!

>248 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. See my previous comments - even more so for a "mini" sub!

>251 m.belljackson:
We learned to napalm Vietnam because we fire bombed Toyko, Osaka, and other Japanese cities to the point that we don't know how many people died. We can thank General Curtis LeMay and the US Army Air Corps for that.

There is a quote in Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang, a Chinese Nationalist refugee who moved to Tokyo after 1947 about Post-War Japan, and later became a famous American restaurateur in San Francisco. She says in that memoir/cookbook that one day while walking down a street in Tokyo she was forced to stop because of a fire truck responding to a fire. All of the firemen were women. She wondered why. When discussing it with her husband he pointed out that Japan didn't have enough men left after the war. They had died in the war or were still imprisoned in China or in Soviet held Japanese territory. (many of them weren't released from China or the Soviet Union until in the 1950's. The German, Romanian, and Italian, prisoners from Stalingrad weren't released until Stalin's death in 1956, and the Japanese prisoners were released about the same time.) After that she noticed that the police were largely women, the people directing traffic were women, the people cleaning the streets were women, the people rebuilding many of the destroyed buildings were women. Interesting what you can learn from a cookbook.

My friends in Germany also say the same thing. Alfred says that part of the reason why Berlin is so dog friendly is because of all the war widows. Most single women had no companionship after the war. But they had dogs. The dogs went everywhere with them. Including into restaurants and many public buildings.

My French friend pointed this was also true in France. She said that it was after WWI when the French war widows started taking dogs with them everywhere. France lost almost half of its male population between the ages of 18 - 25 during the years 1914 - 1918.

I would also like to point out that those of us who have read Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami should have taken note that a large section of that book is devoted to the discussion of Japanese treatment of the Chinese, and the indigenous peoples of the northern islands of Japan. One of those northern islands is Sakhalin Island. That island was Japanese territory until 1945, when the Soviet Army swept in after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to "help" the American's defeat the Japanese. Sakhalin Island is now part of Russia. It was conquest pure and simple while the U. S. looked the other way. Of course, it is debatable under whose jurisdiction the native Inuit people would have done better under, as Murakami accuses Japan of being a very bad steward and trying to get rid of these indigenous peoples through forced assimilation (using the U. S. native American assimilation model) or forced removal.

>252 magicians_nephew:
I recommend Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936 - 1945 by John Toland. Toland says much the same thing as Zinn, but he said it long before Zinn. Toland uses Japanese war department records as his bases for his thesis regarding the end of the war. However, that said, the facts remain that civilians were being trained to resist the American invasion, as was pointed out in Pachinko. The Japanese do love their last stands, as is also pointed out in Pachinko. I thought that the author of Pachinko did a masterful job of talking about the war from the perspective of the Average Joe who just went to work everyday and was trying to survive on restricted rations in between bombings. In Pachinko, the family was moved out of the city to a farm in the country far from the city. The city in question was Osaka, which at the time was a major industrial/manufacturing city. Check out this entry on the city found in Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Osaka

Then check out this Wikipedia entry on the firebombing of Tokyo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo

The bombings in Japan were far worse than Dresden, Hamburg, or Berlin. Mostly because buildings in Japanese cities were primarily constructed o wood.

>249 streamsong: Ah, too bad, Janet. Well, that's just water under the . . . ships.

>250 richardderus: I'm just gonna say "Sweet Thursday, Richard", and tip my hat to you. It's always been one of my favorite days of the week - the weekend is well in sight.

>251 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne. Food for thought. The latest humorous Andy Borowitz report has Pelosi using the reigning lunatic's distractedness over truthful accusations to steal the nuclear codes - I think we'd all feel safer if the story were true.

>252 magicians_nephew: Thanks, Jim. Yeah, I don't anyone other than Japan was interested in their keeping those war gains. I'm aware to some extent of Zinn's viewpoint, and wondered whether that might be the case.

>254 benitastrnad:, >255 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. Lots of good info. These really aren't directed to me, but I agree with you about Pachinko, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle came to my mind, too. That's actually a part of TWBC that some readers have trouble with because of the content.

>257 jnwelch:
The Japanese had lots of trouble with Wind-up Bird because of that content. It was a very controversial book in Japan, and Murakami said that he intended it to be. He wanted to make the Japanese think about what they had done and acknowledge it.

I'm right there with you on Faulkner. I put him right up there with Charles Dickens. On the shelf - never look at again.

>255 benitastrnad:

Thank you for the historical background - when my borrowed Zinn A People's History of the United States
resurfaces, I'll check to see if Rising Sun is listed as a source.

>258 benitastrnad: Very interesting, Benita, thanks. I didn't know that The Windup Bird Chronicle was controversial in Japan because of that disturbing section. I can see why. Good for Murakami. Pretending it never happened isn't good for anybody. I want to re-read TWBC some time.

>259 benitastrnad: Ha! You got me on that one, Benita. I can't even put Faulkner up on the shelf, but I've got Dickens up there and enjoy and on occasion re-read him. CD's storytelling works for me. Don't let Richard know. I don't want to upset him. :-)

>260 m.belljackson: :-)

By Julieta XLF

>264 jnwelch: Love the street art!! All caught up again here and glad to hear Pachinko was a good read for you. I am reading it in June with a few others. Glad I snuck in before you start up a new thread. ; )

>263 Berly: Thanks, Kim! I hope you enjoy Pachinko as much as I did. You're right about the new thread. I'm attempting it with my new pc, so we'll see how it goes. I'm still not all that ept with it.

You can do it!!

>265 Berly: Done! Woo.

OK, the new cafe is open. See everyone there!

Ha! Well, something did screw up. The new one is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/307306

The link at the bottom for some reason will take you to a dead end.

>239 m.belljackson: Marianne, if you ever run across it I would recommend the fictional The Burning Mountain: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan by Alfred Coppel.