Mary (bell7) reads extravagantly in 2019, a fourth thread

Wow... I think the last time I started a fourth thread this early, I had a record-breaking six-thread year. We'll see if my reading & commenting pace can keep up or surpass that. In the meantime - welcome, and please feel free to talk all things bookish, and maybe a bit about life as well :)

If you haven't met me or read any of my early introductions, hello, I'm Mary a librarian in western Massachusetts. I have no spouse or kids but I do have a very busy life, and you'll often seen me commenting on work, my niece & nephew, Bible study, knitting, or sports. Wimbledon is going on now...football season is starting soon. I read somewhere between 100-120 books a year, a lot of fantasy, but also contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and mysteries as well as a smattering of other things that have interesting characters and engaging writing. For nonfiction, I especially love books about books, history and more. There's a lot I'll try, though I'm picky about romance and don't particularly go for horror. One thing I am trying to do consciously this year is read more diversely. You can track my progress in this spreadsheet.

I love that people's reading taste is so individual and I love hearing what makes a book work or not work for you, so even if you disagree with my take on a particular book, I'd love to hear what you think!



As promised, a new photo of Mia & Matthew from my last visit when I was at ALA a couple of weeks ago. They were sliding around on the floor and my sister told them to go, "Faster! Faster!" Mia being nearly 2 years older could go much faster, and eventually stopped and said, "But Mommy, I don't want to go faster because Matthew is my friend and I want to slide with him." First they tried him sitting on her lap, but them being almost the same size she couldn't move that way. This was their compromise and they seem to be enjoying themselves.

One of my job responsibilities is facilitating one of our library book clubs (there's 3 - an afternoon one with my boss, an evening one with me, and a classics one with a volunteer). I'll often comment on the discussions we have since they give me a greater appreciation for what we read together and people have seemed to enjoy that the last couple of years. Here's what we're reading in 2019 -

January - My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, pH.D. COMPLETED
February - Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese COMPLETED
March - Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks COMPLETED
April - Evicted by Matthew Desmond COMPLETED
May - Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon COMPLETED
June - The Radium Girls by Kate Moore COMPLETED
July - Sea Glass by Anita Shreve COMPLETED
August - The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead COMPLETED
September - Educated by Tara Westover
October - Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran
November - Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
December - A House Among the Trees by Julia Glass

Currently Reading
Nest by Esther Ehrlich
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
Everyone's a Theologian by R.C. Sproul

Devotionals/Bible reading
A Year with C.S. Lewis
Proverbs, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles & Romans

August
73. Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie
72. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
71. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London originally in Britain)
70. Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
69. The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
68. Laguardia by Nnedi Okorafor

July
67. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
66. Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
65. Medicus by Ruth Downie
64. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
63. The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt: A Tyranny of Truth by Ken Krimstein
62. I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
61. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
60. For Every One by Jason Reynolds
59. The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
58. The Bay Path and along the way by Levi B. Chase
57. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Earlier in 2019:

June
56. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
55. The Wartime Sisters by Lynda Cohen Loigman
54. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
53. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
52. Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine
51. The Radium Girls by Kate Moore
50. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
49. With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
48. Mere Humanity by Donald T. Williams

May
47. Escape to Witch Mountain by Alexander Key
46. The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
45. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
44. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
43. Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
42. Ruined by Reading by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
41. Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon
40. Cape Cod Collected by Jim Coogan and Jack Sheedy
39. Sooner or Later Everything Falls Into the Sea by Sarah Pinsker
38. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

April
37. A Bollywood Affair by Sonali Dev
36. Fire Shut Up in My Bones by Charles M. Blow
35. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
34. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
33. Red Bird: poems by Mary Oliver
32. Evicted: poverty and profit in the American city by Matthew Desmond
31. Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper
30. Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley
29. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

March
28. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
27. Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman
26. The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis
25. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
24. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
23. How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin
22. The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney
21. All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
20. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
19. 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam

February
18. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
17. The Skin I'm In by Sharon Flake
16. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
15. The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore
14. Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
13. I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
12. The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay

January
11. Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung
10. The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King
9. The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren
8. Stars Uncharted by S. K. Dunstall
7. Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan
6. When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
5. The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
4. Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks
3. My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D.
2. The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott
1. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Well, eventually I will edit to get those touchstones to work but for now...

*throws down the welcome mat*

Happy new thread, Mary!

Hiya...Sujata Massey talks to Nancy Pearl on the Tube of Youb.

It's just *gross* outside so my library books'll have to wait. Just NO.

Happy New Thread!

>7 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

>8 richardderus: Oooh, off to check that out. It's funny, I like Nancy Pearl very much for her librarianship and love of reading, but we look for very different things in our stories and I often don't love her recommendations (though I love hearing her talk about it all the same). It's gross out here too (85 degrees at 6:30) and showing little signs of getting better. I'm holing up inside with AC, food and books.

>9 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb!

Happy new thread, Mary! Enjoy the rest of your long weekend!

>8 richardderus: Just coming back to say that was a video well worth watching. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

>11 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

Yesterday with family was fun (and, apparently, tiring). We got a bunch of us together at my great-aunt's house about an hour away from home, and I got to see some cousins I haven't seen in awhile. Both my sisters came, and it was the first time some of the adults had met my niblings, so that was fun. I offered my youngest sister a lift back to the parents' house so we could catch up a little, and left my parents house around 5:30. I started laundry, got dinner and pretty much crashed. I napped for a bit, sleeping with the lights on for about an hour, went downstairs to move the laundry into the dryer, and went back to bed. I got just under 11 hours of sleep last night. Today was hot and muggy and my day off, so I spent most of it reading and watching Wimbledon and enjoying lunch out with a friend. I'm just relaxing for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow's plan is to head over to my parents to hang out with them and my sister before she goes back to her summer research project. We're most likely tag saling all morning, and possibly visiting my grandpa.

>12 bell7: Oh, excellent! I think Massey's a very intriguing person. I love their geeking out about libraries together moment!

Have a great time this longie.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Happy Saturday, Mary. Happy New Thread! I am sure you are enjoying the long weekend. I loved The Radium Girls. I hope you felt the same.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new thread, Mary! I hope that the weather cooperates with your weekend plans.

Happy new thread, Mary

>13 richardderus: Richard, I found it fascinating that there's a library in Minnesota with a collection of books on Indian law. What a fun tidbit! Wasn't their little geek out lovely? :D

Thanks, Misti, Anita, Mark, Katie, Darryl and Paul for the new thread wishes.

>16 msf59: I was most fascinated by the beginning when radium poisoning was still a medical mystery, but it's one I'm glad I read, Mark. Too bad only one other person made it to that book club meeting...

>18 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl, it mostly did. We had some severe thunderstorms right around the time my sister and I were going to head out to my brother's for a visit but we got all our tag saling with my folks in and we just delayed our trip 'til the rain slowed a bit.

Today is another hot one and the heat wave is showing no signs of slowing down. I met my newest cousin today at church - my aunt has been in the process of adopting her for years and was able to pick her up in Haiti just last week. I've got the World Cup on the TV and am going to head up the hill to a local museum for an ice cream social. That will be the extent of my sociability for the day, and I'm planning on spending the rest packing for this week's dogsitting gig, balancing my checkbook and reading.

>20 bell7: So glad you're air conditioned in this soup of a summer. Heigh-ho it's off to work tomorrow, so have a good week at work.

>21 richardderus: Heigh-ho indeed, and a long week because my boss it out and I'm working Saturday. But I'll get through - walking the dogs will force me to exercise, too, and that'll make a difference in my stress level for sure.

58. The Bay Path and along the way by Levi B. Chase
Why now? A library patron had lent it to me before I left for ALA and I figured I'd better take a look at it - I hadn't exactly meant to read it all in a day, but that's what happened

In this quirky, self-published account, author and Sturbridge historian Levi B. Chase traces the original Bay Path through Massachusetts from Springfield to Boston.

Settlers in what's now Massachusetts and Connecticut followed paths from Boston to Hartford and Boston to Springfield in the 1600s and 1700s. Chase painstakingly put records together to trace the exact path, which at least in part started with local Nipmuc and Wampanoag tribes' use of walkways around and through natural barriers (mountains, rivers, etc.). Using previous records, he works his way from Springfield back to Jamaica Plain and accounts with many quotes from earlier sources for his tracing it the way he does, along with several accompanying hand-drawn maps showing a town or two at a time as the path meanders through Monson, Brimfield, Sturbridge, and all along. In the middle, he inserts several accounts of settlers' encounters with said tribes and "Indian deeds" of property in the area, as well as skirmishes in the 1600s. Exactly what this part had to do with the Bay Path is something this reader could not tell you. However, as a historical record of both the time he was writing in 1919 and the origins of the path which he's tracing it's quite a unique little piece of local history and interest.

A library patron of mine who is a fellow local history lover loaned me the book and thought I might enjoy paging through it. I looked up the author after the fact and discovered this photograph and note that he had been an American Civil War soldier and a local historian. As a book, I was interested in some parts and less than others. I would've liked more comparisons of "then and now" along the Bay Path and what streets it coincides with (I know at least part of it does follow a current road) in 1919. It got repetitive: at least one of the quotes he used showed up more than once. And he didn't really give a lot of context for history; he kind of expected you to keep up with the references to King Philip's War and the English leaders of the colony. But it had a sort of charm to it and I found it fascinating as an artifact, in a sense, of what someone would self-published 100 years ago to suit his own interests.

Happy new thread!

>1 bell7: I am so glad that Matthew and Mia continue to bring joy to you!

>24 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>25 Whisper1: Aw, thanks, Linda. They're the best. Mia was "reading" to me the last time I was visiting, making up stories based on the pictures and even getting them to rhyme most of the time. She knows all her letters now and she'll be starting preschool in the fall. Matthew is a delightful, laid-back kid who already has a good arm and loves coming up with games involving throwing or kicking balls around. He doesn't like to be left out, though, and if someone's getting their hair in a ponytail or fingernails painted, he wants the same.

Happy New Thread, Mary! So cool that Mia was "reading" to you. Sounds like another book lover is growing up. And Matthew sounds like a great kid - if he's like our son, he'll see Mia reading and figure he wants to do the same.

>27 jnwelch: It was so fun to have her "read". Her parents tell me she doesn't read much at home, unless it's with me. She definitely has particular things that she associates doing with specific people. Reading - and enjoying language (I taught her the word "buoyant" when we went swimming at the hotel and she definitely enjoyed the sound of that) - seems to be "our" thing. I think Matthew will indeed be like your son and not want to be left far behind once she gets started.

Happy New Thread, Mary. I hope the week is off to a good start for you.

>29 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Yesterday was busy but good, and I expect the week to fly by.

I'm up early this morning and have crossed a few things off the to-do list...not by actually doing them, mind you, but by putting them off. I was going to cook some vegetables and instead stuck them in the freezer for later. It counts. I also sent a couple of emails that had been hanging over my head, so there's that.

I'm getting ready to dogsit for a couple of days, am mostly packed but have a few things to tidy up around the apartment - changing sheets, possibly vacuuming - to finish getting ready. I think my list is mostly things I'm anticipating taking a long time or being a pain that will really go faster once I get started. So what I'm really hoping to do today is watch Wimbledon and read before heading off to work.

Happy Wimbledoning! I hope your favorite player wins.

Dogsitting for new dog(s) or one(s) already known?

Awesome Librarianing achievement: Unlocked.

>33 richardderus: Giggles.

Happy New Thread, Mary!

>23 bell7: I love little known books of local history.They are often such fun windows into the past.

Have fun with your dog sitting!

>32 richardderus: Federer is still my favorite, but he'll have a tough semi against Rafa. Should be some fun tennis ahead! They were known dogs, yes, a bunch of labs that get walked a lot. Unfortunately (happily before I got there) one of them ate something she shouldn't and had to go to the doggy ER so my plans got canceled, but I'm home, unpacked, and have done a grocery shopping.

>33 richardderus: Hehehe

>34 MickyFine: *waves at Micky*

>35 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! It is fun to glean bits of information from local books, isn't it?

59. The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
Why now? It was an ARC I received at ALA and I heard the author speak on a panel on diversity in science fiction, so this one moved to the top of the pile.

After World War III, the world has changed and has separate tasks for each race. Arika is one of the Kongo but rather than being a worker in the fields, she is a Record Keeper, and allowed to learn without fear that her memories will be erased. She's hoping to be not only valedictorian in her class but to take the open Senate seat in the Assembly. Then a new student arrives, threatening to upend everything Arika has known.

Gomillion has said in interviews that she started writing this as a neo slave narrative, and you can definitely see the parallels. Set in the future, however, The Record Keeper gives her the opportunity to write a female character that could not have existed during slavery while questioning the power system of our own culture and a possible future. Arika's character growth was believable and strong. The story as written may stand on its own but also leaves an opportunity for future development. This was Gomillion's debut, and a strong start to what I hope will be many books to come. If you like Nnedi Okorafor, definitely check this out. 4 stars.

Only not sure I'd reread it because of a couple of passages with violence that I'd skip myself, but otherwise a 4.5 star read.

Hmmm, still can't get the multiple touchstones in the book lists to load. Ah well.

The dogsitting job fell through at the last minute, so I was home to sleep last night and tonight on my way home from work I did a grocery shopping (I'd been putting it off so as not to have a bunch of food go bad while away). I was too tired and hot to cook, so made a smoothie and had a bowl of cereal and called it dinner. Tomorrow I think I'll make some rice in the InstantPot and make chicken salad with the rotisserie chicken I bought.

I've been kind of slow reading this past week with life being so busy, but I did finish The Record Keeper and now have to start Sea Glass for next week's book group. Anyone an Anita Shreve fan? This'll be the first book of hers that I've read.

I started reading The Curse of Chalion just a little at a time at night because I own the book and borrowed the library audiobook to listen to before bed. Also, and I almost forgot this until I was reading through threads just now, Roni had recently reread it and there was some continuing chat on her thread. I've owned the book unread for years...no good excuse! This will now switch to being my "fun" book that I can read after I finish. let's see, approximately 75 pages a day in Sea Glass. I was thinking of starting a nonfiction book to add to the rotation too, but after doing that math I think I'll wait on that.

I've liked most of the Shreve novels I've read - mainly her older stuff. I haven't read Sea Glass, but if you like it and want recs for others by her that are worth a read, let me know!

>39 katiekrug: Will do, thanks, Katie!

>38 bell7: Be ready to be forgiving as you read Sea Glass. I was deeply enwrapt by the read almost 20 years ago.

>38 bell7: >39 katiekrug: >40 bell7: Another fan of Shreve here. I especially liked the historical ones.

I think you'll love The Curse of Chalion, Mary!!

>41 richardderus: Thanks for the heads up, Richard. The first 40+ pages flew by for me last night, so at least I'm no longer worried it'll be a challenge to finish it over the weekend.

>42 charl08: Oh excellent! I'm not sure how this ranks in her fairly long list of (many bestselling) titles, but I suspect she may have been on the minds of both the library book discussions because she passed away last year. Our other book discussion, facilitated by my boss, read The Stars are Fire this year.

>43 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! I'm only about 3 chapters in because I've been reading/listening right before bed, but so far so good. I'm looking forward to taking some time to really sink into it after the book club book is read.

SPeaking of the weekend...I got a CARE package of readables from a librarian of my acquaintance to whom I wish to extend fondest, if drippiest, thanks.

>45 richardderus: Oh wonderful! Enjoy.. and add to your TBR pile boundlessly :D

60. For Every One by Jason Reynholds
Why now? It fit a potential Summer Reading Program bingo square "read a book of poetry" and I heard Jason Reynolds speak at ALA and wanted to read a book by him

It is, perhaps, cheating to count this one poem, written on 101 pages with lots of blank spaces, and read in a morning - devoured, really, while I sat and kept going instead of making my breakfast or getting ready for work - a book. But it's a powerful little piece written by young poet and author Jason Reynolds. In it, he encourages the dreamers, not that the narrator of the poem knows anything, but still tells the readers that to dream and strive is worth the struggle. It's beautifully written and will stay with me for a long time. 5 stars.

From the publisher's website at Simon & Schuster: "Originally performed at the Kennedy Center for the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and later as a tribute to Walter Dean Myers, this stirring and inspirational poem is New York Times bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Jason Reynolds’s rallying cry to the dreamers of the world."

And because I *have* to link to some videos of this young man, whom I've recently come to admire greatly:

An interview after the release of Sunny and For Every One (they start talking about For Every One about 13 minutes in and he starts reading some a little over 15 minutes in).

And I may have posted it on my last thread, but it's worth posting again: Jason Reynolds at ALA. The officially videos are better quality but only short clips; this one has the whole keynote. It's good stuff!

And now, I'm going to go read For Every One one last time before I return it to the library tomorrow.

>47 bell7: I don't think that there is anything wrong with including poetry in our book lists of completed books, Mary.

Poetry demands a different level of reading concentration to appreciate its nuances.

Have a wonderful weekend.

>48 PaulCranswick: Poetry demands a different level of reading concentration to appreciate its nuances.

That is true, Paul. I guess my reluctance was because it was one poem instead of a collection. But it's in book form, and I typically count every one of those, regardless of format (audiobook, graphic novel, children's book), so I guess I shouldn't feel odd about including it. Plus, there have been plenty of things I haven't counted, such as short stories I've been listening to in podcasts. So it's an imperfect way of measuring my reading, regardless of how I do it. Hope you have a great weekend as well!

Happy Saturday!

I actually got up with my alarm today, so I'm taking a few minutes to catch up on threads before getting breakfast & coffee and getting ready for work. My morning routine is actually kinda goofy as I do everything at once, put the coffee on while I go take my allergy meds, stick the oatmeal in the microwave and go get dressed and make the bed... But anyway, I digress. I'll work 9-2 today and my plan for the afternoon is to read, do laundry, and take a long walk in the neighborhood. My knee has healed up well since my biking fall in May, and while I still have a red spot of new skin where the abrasion was, I can walk a couple of miles on hilly roads and not be in pain.

I have to finish up Sea Glass this weekend, and work and church times mean I'll probably miss much of the tennis finals, but it should be a fairly calm weekend otherwise before delving back into a full week. I'm having a meeting with a potential "little" for Big Brothers, Big Sisters on Monday.

>50 bell7: Spend it wisely, Mary. I'm gathering that Sea Glass hasn't fully captivated you?

>50 bell7: Sounds like excellent afternoon plans. Wishing you a shift that feels fast and excellent weather when you're done work.

>51 richardderus: I'm intrigued to find out what happens next - I think last night I got to the part where the stock market crash is starting to affect the characters, but nobody quite knows how much yet which certainly leaves me as a reader anticipating drama to come. I'm a little bit of a contrarian and I'm in the mood to read a lot of different things - the e-books on my Kindle, the library book stack! - and I'm kicking against the goads of a "have to" book. But when I actually have the book in hand, oh yes the pages turn quickly. Sexton annoys me a bit, but I like bouncing back and forth among the various characters.

>52 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! So far so good, though it's been a little quiet for a Saturday. I'm checking in briefly, and going out to the reference desk for the final hour of the work day.

It's looking like another hot, humid day so we'll see how motivated I am to take a walk when I get home. Laundry and reading are definitely happening.

Hi Mary. I'm stopping by to say hello. It is another hot, humid day here as well. What a summer...rain, rain, rain, hot, hot, hot, too hot, rain, too hot.

ugh.

Happy newish thread, Mary. Hope that you click with your potential little on Monday. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

>54 Whisper1: It's been quite a rough summer for us, too, Linda. It stayed cold and rainy well into June and all of a sudden got hot and muggy and stayed that way. I'm thankful I work indoors and have AC at work and home!

>55 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! I'm equal parts nervous and looking forward to tomorrow :)

Happy Sunday!

My brother last-minute invited me to watch him play at a local bar last night, so I went out for a bit after finishing Sea Glass. There weren't many people there, though it's possible some came after I left. I only had the energy to stay out 'til about 10 and said goodbye to my brother's girlfriend, who was really the only person I knew other than my brother and his bandmate. My tire pressure light came on while I was driving on the highway, so I took the back roads back and prayed for the best. On a visual inspection this morning, none of them *look* deflated, but I'll drive carefully today and hope it holds out 'til Monday morning when I can drive to the place I get my oil change and have them take a look before I go to work.

It's going to be another busy week of work; my boss gets back on Friday, hooray! And I'm planning on driving straight from work on Friday to visit my sister T. (the college-age one) where she's working on a summer research project. We're planning on camping and hanging out for the weekend, and I've definitely got to start looking at reservations if that's going to happen. Possibly a project for this afternoon, we'll see!

Will I get to see the Wimbledon final? Possibly going over my parents to see the replay and going to *try* to stay away from seeing scores until then. Go Roger!

>47 bell7: Ooh, I want to read this one. I have only read one of his books, but I was impressed.

Happy Sunday, Mary!

>53 bell7: Oh my yes, Sexton's one annoying man. Seriously irritating, but...well...no Shreve character has just one note on his staves.

>57 bell7: Have a wonderful day!

>58 msf59: I hope you enjoy it, Mark! I could see Jason Reynolds' work being right up your alley.

>59 richardderus: I didn't absolutely hate him, but...yeah. And thank you, I did! I'm enjoying relaxing at home a bit now with some reading and knitting this evening.

61. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
Why now? This month's book discussion pick

In a small beach town in 1929, a young wife and husband, Honora and Sexton, move into a fixer upper. A young rich woman named Vivian suffers a bit of ennui. A mill worker, McDermott, gets involved with starting a union and looks out for eleven-year-old Alphonse. Each of these characters are so different, yet we see parts of the story of that one year from each point of view as they intersect and weave in and out of each other's lives.

Though I'm familiar with Anita Shreve's name and some of her bestselling titles, I've never read any of her works so I have nothing to compare this particular piece of historical fiction to. From what I've read, the house on Fortune's Rocks comes up in a couple of her titles. It's set in a fictional town but based on a real place, and details of the seaside, hints of the Depression, and the reality of mill work were rendered well. But I think the best part of this story, for me, was that Shreve takes fallible characters and makes their ordinary lives epic. You feel so deeply for them as they get pounded by the surf of life, yet come out on the other side much like the sea glass Honora collects. 4 stars.

I'm going to take some time tomorrow and the next day to look over the discussion questions and prepare for Wednesday's book club, and it's possible I'll revise my rating a little bit. I think the small knockdown from an instead 4.5 stars and I'll reread it in a heartbeat was that, though I really enjoyed it while I was reading it, I wasn't immediately drawn to pick it up - this might be how contrary I am about reading a book I "have to" read - when I wasn't. And Sexton really annoyed me. Little niggling things is all. I would try another of her books for sure.

62. I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
Why now? The library recently got my latest order of graphic novels, and this was one of them. I decided I should take a couple home, and this was the one I chose to read tonight.

Malaka Gharib is the American child of two immigrants, her father from Egypt and her mother from the Philippines. In her graphic novel memoir, she relates her experiences growing up in two sometimes similar and sometimes very different cultural backgrounds, in addition to the influence of American pop culture. From early childhood to adulthood, she explores her growing understanding of who she is.

This was a really eye-opening story for me to read about this young woman, who's close to my age, navigating a complicated family history and cultural background. As a white woman who grew up in very white small towns, I appreciate stories like these that open my eyes to a wide variety of experiences. Malaka Gharib does so with a lot of self-awareness and openness about feeling different. She also tackles some tough topics such as why "What are you?" is a sensitive question and examples of microaggressions. And she does so with both frankness and humor. This is her story, and it's truly enjoyable. 4.5 stars.

>61 bell7: Poor, misunderstood Sexton. Every effort he made came ricocheting back into his teeth. *sigh*

I hope the club likes the read even more than you did.

>61 bell7: Intrigued to hear what the book club makes of it - I guess the depression is unlikely to be lived experience, but certainly their parents' experience? You made me want to pick it up again.

Hi, Mary.

You got me with For Every One by Jason Reynolds. I'll be reading it.

Way back in college I got to hear Anne Sexton read/perform her poetry. She was surprisingly glamorous in person, and smart. I've never been a big reader of her poetry, and don't know anything about the life she lived, unfortunately.

Good luck with the tire. I know my tire pressure sensor is super sensitive and my tires can go through the normal loss of air that comes with fluctuations in temperature and it will go off when the tire is nowhere near close to flat. I've got my own tire pressure gauge in the car and I should really get a foot pump so I can do quick spot-inflations as needed. :)

>63 richardderus: Well, yes, but he also made some slippery talk and I couldn't help question his motives. It seemed like being a salesman defined him so absolutely, he wanted to be liked and important rather than, well, having good character and being a likeable guy and he sold himself, in a way. Hope he learned his lesson in his next life.

>64 charl08: All the folks in my book club are at least a generation older than me, so yes, either their parents went through the depression or they were quite young during it, which will probably make it more immediate for them than it was for me. I'll definitely report back on the discussion - and hope I get more than one participant!

>65 jnwelch: Oh excellent, home you enjoy it, Joe! I've never read Anne Sexton, and it's interesting to me how what we know or don't, like or don't, about an author can affect how we read them. I've gone to enough book festivals to know that some of them make good speakers and some are much better at expressing themselves by the written word - which isn't a judgment, as I think I'm the same.

>66 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I did indeed have a screw in one tire, but it was an inexpensive repair rather than replacing them. And it didn't go flat over the weekend, it just made my Monday a little long!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Yesterday was very busy, starting early with a tire repair, a little late to work, and then straight to meet my Little for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). She's a quiet but curious young woman and I think we'll make a good match. Our first outing will be in a week and a half.

After I got home, I had dinner and actually had the energy to make the rest of a rotisserie chicken I bought last week into chicken soup which went immediately into the freezer, so I'll be set with food for awhile. It made for a long day, but I am making up for it this morning with having very little I *have* to do. I decided to take the morning to exercise - did 20 minutes of sun salutations and now I'm off for a walk in my neighborhood. It's really pleasant right now in the 60s. Then we'll see how much time I have for anything else, but I think I'm going to make a veggie stir fry for lunch before heading to work.

Oh, and I should probably call the car dealership and bother them about my car. The oil consumption test was done over a month ago and I still haven't heard back if they're going to cover the cost of the engine rebuild or not, since it's technically not under warranty with a salvage title. :::sigh:::

Yesterday I was able to get the exercise I wanted in. Today I'll make that veggie stir fry and I called the dealership. They won't do the work on the car. Not entirely unexpected, but I'm annoyed I didn't have an answer sooner to try to get it taken care of while I was away for a week and a half or something. Now I have a call in to a local place that works on Subarus to try to figure out what can be done. I don't really want to pay for an engine rebuild, though I can afford it if it comes to it - I paid cash for the car, so if it runs many years down the road it could be worth it. What's really going to be painful is figuring out having a car to drive while the work on mine gets done, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

In the meantime, I've got book club tonight, a regular 9-5 day tomorrow, and after I get out of work at 2 on Friday afternoon I'm headed to the Finger Lakes region of NY to camp with my sister at a state park for the weekend. Should be fun! I'm checking my oil before I leave and after I get there...

It's already close to 80 degrees out and I can't motivate myself to take a walk, so I'm going to cut potatoes and cook them up with some broccoli and garlic and a coupla fried eggs for a nice healthy brunch and read a bit before heading to work.

Edited for clarity.

Currently reading -

Everyone's a Theologian by R.C. Sproul is the written form of the Sunday School lectures we've been doing in our adult class, starting last fall. I don't think I'll finish it before I have to return it to the library, so I may either purchase the book or just stop when I've gotten through the lectures we've already done. I think his style works better in lecture than on the page, at least so far.

The Curse of Chalion is really the only one I'm focusing on now that I finished up Sea Glass. I'm listening to the audio, which is passable but I fall asleep very quickly to it, and reading my own copy of the book that I think I got for SantaThing years ago. It's a very good read, right up my alley with high fantasy and political intrigue (with a main character who'd very much like to stay out of it, but doesn't have much choice if he wants to live). If I haven't finished it, I'll pack this and probably one other for our camping trip.

>68 bell7:, >69 bell7: Car woes are so dreadful. I'm sorry that you have to experience all this crud.

>70 bell7: Lois McMaster Bujold is one heckuva nice person online, and I liked her Vorkosiverse books, but her fantasy novels weren't quite my jam. Sadly.

Have the day wonderful despite the heat.

>71 richardderus: Car woes are dreadful. It's been a learning curve, for sure. Most of the problem, granted, has been the oil consumption so it's been a year-long slow burn while I confirmed it was actually a problem before finding out that nothing could be done. I...would have taken care of it a year ago, had I known? Well, that'll teach me not to buy a car without thoroughly researching it on my own, won't it? Carfax, Googling class action suits, everything I can think of. At least I don't have a loan on top of it, and if I sell it and take a loss, well, lesson learned.

I want to try the Vorkosiverse next, but I don't read a ton of SF and I'm not sure how much I like space operas, so we'll see. I like the writing in this one, though, and that may be enough to carry me through.

63. The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt by Ken Krimstein
Why now? Picked up a couple of new graphic novels from the library's collection, and this one looked interesting - read last night to be able to return a book and it fit my summer reading bingo of "Read a book about a historical person."

Hannah Arendt may not be well-known outside of the philosophical world, but she had a huge impact on how we understand the world, including coining a word that we use on a regular basis.

This graphic novel blends nonfiction biography and makes it somewhat fictionalized by writing as if Hannah's speaking to the reader and talking about her life. It touches on her controversial relationship with an apparent Nazi sympathizer. The "three escapes" bring an interesting structure to the story, as she endures Nazi persecution and ultimately moves to the United States. She was friends with many well-known people in the philosophical and arts worlds, and footnotes give the reader a brief biography of each of these folks, again as if Hannah herself was writing them and making comments about their Jewish backgrounds or other snippets of information. An author's note at the end details both Arendt's writings and biographies that a reader could use to learn more about her. This biography gives a nuanced look at a complex woman. 4 stars.

I bet I wouldn't agree with her about a lot of things, but she sure sounds like an fascinating person to talk to.

Happy Monday, everyone!

I spent the weekend with my sister on a camping trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York. I left right from work yesterday and we arrived in the evening with just enough daylight to pitch our tent and eat. We didn't have a lot of paper so didn't have a successful fire to cook, so dinner was peanut butter sandwiches. Saturday was very hot, but we spent much of the day reading on the lake and it was really pleasant. In the afternoon to get a little AC, we went to a matinee showing of Spiderman: Far From Home, which we both enjoyed. Sunday was still hot but we were able to hike up a gorge and I've got tons of beautiful pictures of the waterfalls, as well as the photos from camping. After I have a chance to catch up on laundry and unpacking, I'll post a few.

Today is right back to work, I'm headed out in a few minutes and I'll do a grocery shopping on my way back home. I think we have one more sign up for a children's program starting today, so it may be a busy morning. My boss is back (hurrah!) and I'm just working a normal 35-hour week.

I didn't finish any books while we were away, but I made good progress in The Curse of Chalion and while I was driving to pick up my sister, I listened to most of Medicus by Ruth Downie. I have a little over 2 CDs to go, and I figured I'd knit and listen to the rest this week.

Happy Monday! Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend! I didn't do much besides go with my sister and my father to get blood work done. Now I am dog sitting this week for my daughter. I was able to relax and get a book finished this weekend. You are making wonderful progress on your books this year. Have a great day!

>74 bell7: What a lovely time. It was the proper place to be in this heat, out and away from paved metropolitan areas.

Enjoy the newly shiny comforts of home.

>75 crazy4reading: Thanks, Monica, we had a blast! Your weekend sounds nice too, though I hope the blood work wasn't too serious. Enjoy your dogsitting! I'll be doing that myself in a couple of weeks.

>76 richardderus: Yes, it worked out really well. A few people were nervous that we'd be outside in the heat, but I think being near lakes really helped and we conserved our energy. Isn't it funny that even after a short trip like that coming home is nice and comfortable too? I did my grocery shopping and have laundry going now.

Oh, and while we were away we stopped in a store before the movie and I bought black flats with memory foam because they were marked down and I needed a new pair for work (my current pair was looking pretty beat up). I wore the new shoes to work today - they are the most comfortable shoes ever and I'm now officially spoiled.

We keep talking about going up to the Finger Lakes for a long weekend - there is both a wine trail AND a craft beer trail, so we can both be happy. And of course, I'm sure it's lovely, too :D

I got a little behind on my own thread and forgot to post about my book discussion. Again, only one other person showed up - a different person from the last month. She thought Sea Glass was alright, but she tends to like meatier books in general and liked it less than I did (I gave it four stars, which loosely means I enjoyed it and would recommend it, but probably wouldn't reread it unless under special circumstances).

I'm not really sure why so few people have made it, whether because it's summer or the last couple of books were disliked by many. And, though I do encourage folks to come even when they didn't finish or don't like a book, they don't always like to do so. We've lost some regulars over the last few years to moves and not wanting to drive farther in the dark, and I have another woman (who I believe is the ride for a second) who often doesn't come during the summer because it conflicts with another commitment. I decided to put out a flyer to advertise in-house. I noticed that several copies of The Underground Railroad which I put aside for next month have gone out, however, so I hope that means an uptick in interest.

September's choice is supposed to be Educated, if I can manage the holds list right to get them for everyone by the August meeting. There are still a fair number of holds in the library system (and a local college made it the fall semester's read for the students), so I may have to swap the reading around if I can't get enough copies in time.

>78 katiekrug: Yes, as my sister says in the Finger Lakes there's hiking and wine tasting and that's about everything there is to do. I didn't notice the signs for the craft beers, but that would make sense. We stopped at one place for a wine tasting that had mead and hard ciders, too. And the area is certainly gorgeous. Both of us agreed we'd be willing to go back and see more places we missed.

>78 katiekrug:, >80 bell7: Seneca Falls! Seneca Falls!!

>79 bell7: Poor, poor Sexton. *unhappy sigh* So misunderstood. I wonder if summer isn't the time to stop doing book club?

>77 bell7: I do enjoy dog sitting but I miss my dog immensely. My daughter's dog is a sweet just a little more jittery and energetic then was my dog.

>79 bell7: I have a book club through our library and we do not meet in July and August. We pick up our book for September in mid August. I won't know what we are reading until that time. I miss it during the summer and yet understand since so many people take vacations and are away. I have read a few of Anita Shreve's books and like them and would recommend but not always re-read either. I have not read Sea Glass and I see that I have two of the books in that series. Is that a series that you need to read in order?

>81 richardderus: Yeah, Seneca Falls was one of the places we didn't get to on this trip. Hm, I don't know that I come down on Sexton being misunderstood. But his character was kinda a foil for...everything. He felt less real than some of the others. A couple of people at work have asked about skipping summer; the other book clubs are going strong, and oddly enough summer is when it's light out when we meet, so I would expect many of my group (mostly seniors, other than me) to prefer it. But two months in a row of one person is new. Actually, there was one other in February where only one person showed, but that was due to snow. I may consider it for next year.

>82 crazy4reading: Sorry about your dog, Monica. I enjoy dogsitting but don't have any pets of my own, so there's mostly comparisons between jobs for me, not for a beloved pet. All three of our book clubs are year-round, but mine has the smallest attendance of all of them. I'm hoping marketing it a bit more will increase numbers in general - we average 4-6 people - and see how the end of the year goes. I usually let them vote on this kind of thing, so I'll ask them if they want to take a break for the summer next year. I think the "series" is loosely based on the house located at Fortune's Rocks, so no, there's no reason to read them in any particular order. You'll just be introduced to events that happen in the same place in a different order.

I started a new knitting project last night - a Christmas stocking for my cousin's baby, due in October. I think I've mentioned before that my great-grandma saved some patterns and stockings kits over the years from the 60s to the 80s, which she knit for all the grandkids and great-grandkids born in her lifetime. A couple of us in my generation knit and are keeping the tradition alive, knitting for our own nieces and nephews and splitting up cousins as we go. I gotta get a move on, though, I don't know when her baby shower is and I'd like to be done by then if possible.

>79 bell7: The book club I attend is run by one of my co-workers, and at the last meeting it was just her, myself, another co-worker, and one member of the public -- this, in a group that usually has 6-8 people in addition to us library staff. It will be interesting to see if we get a better turnout tonight.

Sounds like a fun camping and hiking - and reading! - trip with your sister, Mary. I'll look forward to the photos. Must be a beautiful area.

Sorry about the low attendance at the book discussions. I would guess (and hope) that The Underground Railroad and Educated would draw some more; both popular, both containing a lot to talk about.

>85 foggidawn: I typically get 4-6, including me, so it wouldn't hurt to expand a little bit (in contrast, our volunteer-run Classics Book Club gets more like 9-10). I hope you get a good turnout tonight!

>86 jnwelch: We had a really fun weekend, relaxing and lovely scenery. I'm thinking The Underground Railroad will get more attendees, as all but 2 of the copies I had put aside for our group went out, and that's...actually pretty unusual, because most of my group puts their own holds on. Educated in September will be interesting, because it's been such a popular book that it's up in the air we'll even get the holds I put on in time. I'll know in a coupel of weeks if we're postponing it or not - my director's book group had to switch out a popular one, too, as they were going to read Little Fires Everywhere earlier this year, but there were just too many holds to get enough copies in time.

64. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
Why now? Roni was talking about it on her thread, so when I was browsing through available audiobooks from my library, it caught my interest. I own the paper book (SantaThing 2011), so I actually read most of it.

Cazaril returns from working as a slave on a galley ship to find respite with his old friend, the Provincara, thinking he can live out his days in quiet on her estate. Her granddaughter, a royesse and relative of the ruler of Chalion, is in need of a secretary-tutor and the Provincara neatly puts Cazaril into that role. He attempts to keep his head down and avoid the men who were out to kill him, but forces outside of his control seem to be pulling him into politics and the ultimate outcome of the ruling family of Chalion.

Oh, this fantasy hit all the right spots for me as a reader. It was complex, throwing you right into Cazaril's situation and ever so slowly opening up to reveal the religion, political intrigue, and titular curse of Chalion. It's intricate worldbuilding at its best, bringing you to an intense finale. If you love high fantasy, good characters trying their best to make tough decisions, and a smattering of humor, definitely give this a try. 4.5 stars.

Oh happy day, it's a trilogy and there's a whole 'nother series set in the same world! It took me awhile to read because I had to put it aside to read my book club book. I also kind of savored it and didn't want it to end. The audiobook is...passable. The narrator does a pretty good job with a range of voices, including women who sound different (which can be hard for a male narrator, I've noticed), but the recording quality is meh, and you can hear him take a deep breath or, once, turn a page.

Happy Wednesday!

It's truly hump day this week, as I'm not working Saturday. I do have a busy rest of the week planned and have to cook some things tonight if I'm going to at all. I have a couple of new InstantPot recipes to try, and I'm going to try to fit a walk in too.

Work has been busy but good. I have a major annual report I've been working on and it's almost done, except that I'm playing a waiting game to get the rest of the numbers I need to add to it. I'm also starting to prepare for some fall programs that I'll be doing related to local history and genealogy, and I'm going to start putting together my "research" for a few different topics to show folks how to use our local history section.

This morning started off properly with some shopping on Barnes & Noble online to use up some gift cards. I paid about $7.40 and should have a few books shipping to me soon. Hooray!

Tomorrow after work, I'm headed over to my brother R's for a Christmas in July party his girlfriend is putting on. Friday I'm going to visit a family I dogsit for - they've moved, so I will see the new house and get a key for a couple of weeks that I'll be watching their animals in August. It'll be a longer commute for me, but the pay is very nice because of that and they're easy going people so I don't feel bad, well, working and being away when I need to. And finally, on Saturday I'll be going out with my Little for Big Brothers Big Sisters for the first time. We're going to start hanging out at her place and go from there. I'm planning on bringing a few items that list places we can go in the area and see if she's interested in trying to do some in the future.

And now I'm off to get my coffee and prepare for the rest of the day. I'm reading more books at once than I like, but if I focus on Medicus I should be able to finish it tonight.

>88 bell7: Ooh, you're making me want to reread that one!

>90 foggidawn: Doooo it! :D

Hi Mary - sounds like some excellent reading going on.

Tomorrow the library book club I attend is meeting. The book this month is Where the Crawdads Sing. I think it will be well attended since it's a popular book - a good summer read. There are a ton of holds in the system. I had to end up buying a copy.

I have still not read The Underground Railway. One of these days!

I'm envying your camping trip. It sounds beautiful.

You do sound very busy! Hope you have fun picking some places to go with your 'little sister'.

Our next bookgroup meeting is a summer swop, so I better try and think of some books I don't mind culling, but can recommend. Quite a hard combination!

>92 streamsong: Oh I hope you get a good turnout for Where the Crawdads Sing. I very much enjoyed that book, and I managed to snag one while it was popular but not...as popular as it is now! Plus, our high school put it on their list of (optional) summer reads, so we've had a really long holds list for awhile now. The camping trip was a lot of fun, and I'm feeling inspired to actually buy myself real gear in the near future (besides the tent, which was a serendipitous tag sale find and I've definitely got my $5 worth).

>93 charl08: Yes, like does seem busy but then I balance it out realizing all the reading I'm doing, and I think I'm getting enough downtime in there! Sunday will be quieter, thank goodness. Oooh, a book swap sounds fun! I'd love to know what you decide to bring. Do people know who brought the book, or is it anonymous?

65. Medicus by Ruth Downie
Why now? I needed an audiobook on CD to listen to in the car while I drove the 9-hour round trip to NY and back by myself. This one has been on my radar for awhile, but I was holding out for the audio because it's narrated by Simon Vance.

Gaius Petreius Ruso would rather just do his job as a medical doctor for a Roman legion in Britain, but when some locals bring in a dead body - unsure what else to do with it - he finds himself drawn in to find out who she was and what happened to her.

This first in a series of historical mysteries featuring Medicus Ruso incorporates details of setting and medical procedures of the time that will satisfy historical fiction fans. Ruso is the kind of character who is rather reluctant to get involved, but does what he believes to be the right thing, whether that's buying a young, attractive slave girl with a broken arm, or continuing to look into the murder after those with real power have washed their hands of it. Secondary characters such as Ruso's scribe, Albanus, and his fellow doctor and erstwhile housemate, Valens, make for some fun moments as the story keeps up a compelling but not frenetic pace. 4 stars.

I would read more in the series.

Happy almost-weekend! Today was going to be busier, but tonight's party was cancelled so I came home, took a long walk while listening to Levar Burton Reads and just enjoyed dinner. I can't quite decide if I want to knit or read, but I'm going to decide very soon and relax for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow's a short day and t hen a trip out to see one of my dogsitting client's new house and get a key for a dogsitting job in a couple of weeks. I'm debating hiking somewhere nearby them rather than coming home for my normal walk. I also have to do a little cooking, and I have a new recipe to try making veggie risotto in the InstantPot.

>95 bell7: I've got it on hold at the library. It's just not possible to resist the set-up!

>96 bell7: Veggie risotto! Sounds scrummy. Have fun out at the new house. When will you be dog-sitting for them again?

>97 richardderus: Oh excellent, hope you enjoy it! The risotto has leeks (not sure how I feel about that? I'll try it), spinach, broccoli...The recipe sounded yummy, anyway. I will be dogsitting for them from August 7 to August 20. It'll more than double my commute, but that goes into my price, and somehow when I'm not home I manage to find more time to read.

Better late than never - some photos from the camping weekend.

Saturday was our full day there, and we spent a fair amount of time at the lake and relaxing. We ventured out in the afternoon when it got hot to sit and watch a movie in air conditioning, and then went out to dinner. The place where we went served local wines, and I had a Niagara which was delicious, but told my sister I really should wait before I drove, so we walked around the village a bit. We found a library that had closed hours ago, but it was a neat little building with a gazebo outside for programs and a Little Free Library that we had to explore:



She took a book that one of her roommates that summer had been reading, A Thousand Splendid Suns. That's probably my favorite by Khaled Hosseini, so I hope she likes it. She hadn't been reading for awhile, but in the last semester or so it's really picked up and lately she's been reading a lot about Korea since she's going there for her final undergrad semester in a few weeks. I bought Island of the Sea Women for her, and she recommends it.

When we got back to the campground that night, we decided to go back to the lake for the sunset.



And then we went back to our site for the night. The next day was still going to be hot, but not as bad, so we decided to go hiking in Watkins Glen. Apparently that was a popular destination that day - I was really surprised by how many people were on the trail with us. There were so many gorgeous places and waterfalls on that hike (1.5 up a gorge). Here's just one - from both sides, looking up and then from behind it where the trail went across.





We finished the hike around 1 and headed up the lake back to where she's researching this summer. We stopped on the way at one winery to have a tasting - it included mead and cider - and then got a late lunch near her place and briefly went swimming nearby. Fun times!

>88 bell7: Not a trilogy but a duology--the third book is set several hundred years earlier in the same world but a different area. The second book is Ista's and just as good as Caz.

>100 ronincats: Oh good to know, thank you! I'm excited to read more about Ista, she was intriguing for all she was not in the story much.

I seem to be reading a lot of first books in series that I *need* to pursue lately. I'm currently reading Ancillary Justice, my first by Ann Leckie, and Magic for Liars which just came out and I don't know if it's going to be a series or standalone, but in any case new author if I end up liking it.

>99 bell7: Oh my, I do love the Watkins Glen photos! I loved it there. My pilgrimage was to honor the 1950s road races, though, so I was a little less hike-n-bikey than y'all.

>102 richardderus: I took so many photos at Watkins Glen that my phone almost lost its charge and I had to let it charge up at my sister's for the rest of the afternoon so I could use the Maps app to get home. Growing up my vacations were never hike-n-bikey, but my sister and I both enjoy that and appear to be making up for it in our road trips.

It looks like you had a nice camping trip, Mary. Very nice photos. Love the waterfalls. We are camping next weekend, in Indiana.

BTW- Molokai is off to a very good start. An easy and engaging narrative.

>104 msf59: Hey, Mark, thanks for stopping by! The waterfalls were gorgeous, and we had fun for sure. I even got to use an app on my phone I downloaded that records and analyzes bird calls - so one morning while they were singing away, I recorded and it tells me almost definitely an American Robin was singing. Hope you enjoy your own camping trip! Good to know that Molokai is off to a good start. I will have to see if I can book horn it in sometime soon. Maybe I can suggest it to my own book club for next year?

66. Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Why now? It was a LibraryReads pick for June and sounded intriguing

When a teacher from the local magic school turns up dead, Ivy Gamble is called in as a PI to investigate. She just so happens to be the sister of one of the other teachers, and is nursing a grudge for being, well, not magical herself. But this is what she's good at, and she's determined to get to the bottom of it.

This mashup of mystery and fantasy has hard edges to it. This is high school with all its drama and cliques for all that they teach magic alongside physics. Ivy herself is a hard-drinking, foul-mouthed investigator who has her own crap to deal with. It's also a very entertaining story, and once I really got going in it I could barely put it down. If the setup intrigues you, definitely give it a try. 4 stars.

I finished a book this morning. I was going to be all productive and clean my apartment or cook or something and I changed my mind and relaxed with my landlords and a cup of coffee instead. In a little while, I'll head out to hang out with my "little" and then I signed up for volunteering with a few other folks to serve dinner at a local senior center. Tomorrow will be less busy, as I don't have any particular plans after church (that cooking will have to get done, but that's about it) other than calling my niece to wish her a happy birthday.

>106 bell7: Oh, Sarah Gailey! I liked her hippowesterns. This will make its way to me at some point.

>107 bell7: Sounds like a lovely day! Enjoy it.

>108 richardderus: Sarah Gailey has another book coming out next year called When We Were Magic that sounds intriguing. Hippo...westerns. I looked up the books and I'm still a little confused. Do you think I'd like them?

It was a lovely day and I had a lot of fun. My little and I mostly played games and talked and laughed over silly things she could get Siri to say on her phone by asking random questions. In a couple of weeks we're planning on going to a museum. After our time, I left and then in the evening was serving at a dinner-dance at a local senior center with some other folks from my church and another volunteer from the local rotary. We had a fun time and I got a kick out of watching folks dance - some of them were super talented!

Tomorrow will be more low key. I have some cooking I have to do, unfortunately, as it's going to be up in the 90s. I'll see if I can turn the AC on if the folks who own the house have plans after church. But then I should be pretty much set for food for the week, so even if I have to sweat it out it'll be worth it.

Mostly focusing on Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie and I've been dipping into The Bollywood Bride just a bit, mostly listening before I go to bed and reading here and there. It's not gripping me, though, so I may put it aside to possibly pick up at a later date and try one of the other library books from my stack.

>109 bell7: Glad you had a great time with your ‘little!’

>110 foggidawn: Thanks, I did! We're both introverted and feeling each other out, but I think overall it's going to be a good match and just take a few visits for us to build up rapport and enough to talk about in 3-4 hour visits.

Today is a relaxing, not much has to be done day. I spent the morning at church, got to say hello to several folks and hang out for a bit, then headed home for the day. I cooked myself an Instant Pot meal of Veggie Lemon Risotto, turned the AC on, and now I'm hanging out in the cool, thinking about reading and knitting for the rest of the afternoon. My niece is 4 today and I'll hopefully get a chance to Skype this evening and say happy birthday.

In case you're interested, here's the recipe from Lexi's Clean Kitchen:

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, sliced thin
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup fresh peas or snap peas
2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 cup leek, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
4 cups vegetable broth
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup spinach
1/2 bunch chives, sliced thin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons lemon juice, more to taste

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 °F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add asparagus, broccoli, and peas to the baking sheet. Coat with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, toss well. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until broccoli is fork tender. Once done, remove from oven and set aside.
2. In an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, press SAUTÉ. Add remaining extra-virgin olive oil and let the pot heat up. Once hot, add in onions, leeks and garlic. Let cook for 2-3 minutes or until onions start to turn translucent.
3. Add rice and stir for 1-2 minutes to toast.
4. Add vegetable stock, butter and thyme. Stir well.
5. Turn the pressure cooker or instant pot off. Secure lid in place, turn valve to sealing, press manual, and modify time to 7 minutes.
6. Once the time has lapsed, and the pressure cooker is done, turn the valve to venting to quickly release the pressure. Open the lid and stir well.
7. Turn the setting to SAUTE. Add spinach, chives, roasted veggies, and spices to the rice. Stir for 1-2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning. Top with lemon zest and additional chives.
8. Serve warm!

My spinach had gotten soggy I'd had it so long, so I skipped it and added extra chives. I also only had frozen peas, but that worked a charm and the mix of veggie flavors was excellent.

I've got this and some chicken soup to hold me over for a few days where we're supposed to have highs in the 90s, so I won't be much interested in heating up the house. Then I'll make the lentil soup that Darryl first introduced me to and probably do a grocery shopping later in the week to have some fresh veggies and fill out some meals.

>112 bell7: That sounds delicious! If I had an instant pot I would definitely try it, but adapting the recipe to traditional methods is beyond my capabilities at present. (I'm sure I could figure it out with trial and error, but...)

>113 foggidawn: I think this one would be fairly easy to adapt, but I've only ever made Arborio rice in the Instant Pot pressure cooker and have no idea how long to cook it otherwise. My landlords have an InstantPot I use, and I'm planning on buying one when I move out because I've really enjoyed it.

>114 bell7: I've never made Arborio rice -- how does it differ from other types?

>115 foggidawn: it's an Italian white rice that cooks really creamy. I've made a couple of risottos with it in the last couple of weeks, which is the first time I had it.

I make risotto the old fashioned way and it's really easy (if much more time intensive). I just fry the spices and onion with the rice first and then add cup by cup of chicken stock (plus some wine) until the rice is done. Really like it as a way to use up leftover chicken.

Hope your niece had a lovely day.

>106 bell7: You hit me with Magic for Liars, Mary.

Sounds like you had a great weekend so hopefully the transition back to work today wasn't too painful.

>117 charl08: Ooh, I haven't tried it with chicken, but that sounds delicious too. I've tried one recipe with some wine, though the veggie one didn't have that. I do like the flavor it added, so I think I'll be making more risotto in the future. Unfortunately I did not get a chance to talk to her, but I think she had a busy day with her family and grandparents. I'm hoping to call tonight.

>118 MickyFine: Oh good, hope you enjoyed it! I think I had just the right weekend balance of plans and relaxation, so going back to work today was pretty okay. I kept busy, and now I'm home for the evening and looking forward to a movie.

>109 bell7: I think you'd get a kick out of the story...based on historical fact!...but I think the essential connection for you wouldn't be readily available because the motivations are sketched in with an orange crayon on a Big Chief tablet. If you're hankerin' after a dose of silly-salts, maybe pick one up. Not for dessert reading.

>112 bell7: The InstantPot is a.maz.ing. and I'm delighted to have it! It doesn't do bread very well, but cake mixes are fine and quick breads adapt well (eg, zucchini bread, which actually comes out just exactly as well as in the oiven).

Whew, back to work it is! I'm working kinda an odd schedule, not working a night at all (my days are going to be so mixed up) and off on Friday for working Saturday. So tomorrow with my unexpected evening off, I'll watch my brothers play softball. On Friday I'm hoping to get together with a cousin for lunch.

I made progress in Ancillary Justice but didn't finish it over the weekend. My plan for the evening is to hopefully call my niece and watch Five Feet Apart (I decided to watch it and see if I like it enough to try the book - it's funny, but I find myself getting pickier about YA reads as I get closer in age to the characters' parents...).

>120 richardderus: I will put it on my list with the note that I should read it when in the mood for something silly. Thanks! I've really enjoyed what I've made in the InstantPot. I've been a bit hit or miss with Pinterest recipes (though that one was excellent, the last one I tried left the rice perfect and the chicken undercooked). But I found a gem of a cookbook in the library collection, Instant Pot Obsession. I've tried multiple recipes from this one and every one of them is a winner.

>122 bell7: Zimmerman has another cookbook for InstantPots: The Ultimate Instant Pot Cookbook for Two which is a godsend for those of us with small pots.

I find myself getting pickier about YA reads as I get closer in age to the characters' parents
...wait'll you're their grandparents' age...

>123 richardderus: Ooh, I shall have to look for that. Ha! Yes, when I'm their grandparents' age I'll definitely feel weird. I appreciate that YA, generally speaking, gets to the point and gives you a good story where adult fiction can start slowly and waffle a bit, but... I did read one a few years ago where I was older than the parents, and that was a weird feeling. 'Course, I was a good decade older than any of the characters in Sea Glass and that was an interesting experience too.... And Jane Austen's novels for that matter.

Okay, I'm going to stop now.

I did indeed manage a short conversation with my sister's family. It's almost impossible to Skype with two toddlers before they get totally distracted, but I did at least get to wish Mia a happy birthday and hear a little about the day. Matthew stared quite a bit at first, and I pointed out my haircut which I think was the culprit. But he warmed up after a short while and showed me the shovel, which, he reminded me I used to get the rock out of the tree (there was a misshapen broken tree limb he was fascinated by and sure that people had put a rock in the tree somehow... I threw the shovel at it and managed to knock it down, which apparently left an impression.) Then they...jumped on the bed, knocked over the phone and generally got rambunctious 'til we ended the call.

I watched Five Feet Apart yesterday. I realize this kind of teen drama is no longer (was it ever?) my thing because - though I cried at one part and cared enough to get mad about some of the characters choices - I spent most of it grousing over the impulsivity of youth. And...well, that was kind of the point of the story, wasn't it? There were a few rather unbelievable moments, but for the most part it was a sweet story about impossible love. So a mixed bag, but I'm glad I watched the movie instead of reading the book (I think technically the movie writing came first in this one, anyway).

I'm in the same boat, Mary. I'm finding YA reads that I used to devour in my early twenties less palatable as I get deeper into my early thirties. Glad you enjoyed the movie generally.

>125 bell7: Had to chuckle at the blow by blow of Mia's birthday Skype call. Nice photos of your camping weekend. Looks like you lucked out with good weather. Enjoy getting to know you little, Mary, sounds like it is a good match

>127 MickyFine: It's funny, and I don't denigrate YA at all, I do think there are phenomenal books out there and I could only wish is was as vibrant a publishing space when I was a teenager. But I do get super picky as I get older. I wonder if it's the same as that phenomenon with pop music - everyone just stops liking it as they get older (average of age 33 - I read this in a book once and while I don't remember much about the rest of the book, that fact jumped out at me).

>128 Familyhistorian: Haha, thanks Meg. I think as the kids get older it will get easier to have conversations, but for now, well... they're toddlers. I think the match is a good one. I'm looking forward to our trip out in a couple of weeks, and we signed up for the BBBS summer picnic too, so we'll have a couple weekends in a row to hang out.

Happy Wednesday! After work today, I'm planning on hanging around for a ukulele program. It'll be the one program I can attend during summer reading (the rest were while I was working) and it didn't fill up as fast as it has in the past, so I'm hoping to jump in. Should be fun!

I don't expect to finish any more books by the end of the month, so at some point I'll post a month in review too. Ancillary Justice only has about 160 pages left, but with my getting home a little later tonight...well, we'll see how the evening goes.

The rest of the week is fairly normal. I'm working tomorrow, off on Friday and meeting my cousin for lunch, then working Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, I'll head over to my parents for a cookout with the family.

>130 bell7: Split weekends are rough but it sounds like you've got some great things lined up for your days off.

Do you have a nice spot for outdoor reading to squeeze in?

>131 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I have a split weekend every other weekend during the school year so I've become pretty used to it. In September, I'm switching back to 9-2 on Monday and taking it off when I work a Sunday, but because I have to be paid for holidays it works out to a lot of Mondays off :D I do have a nice spot for outdoor reading. The folks I lived with decided they wanted a bit of shade on their deck, so built a partial second-story deck and created it off my apartment, so I have a nice little seating area where I put out my pots of herbs. I've gone out a few times, and may just do that tonight.

67. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Why now? So this was one of those really meandering things. I heard about Ann Leckie when The Raven Tower came out, and I was eyeing it for my own reading and potentially buying it for the library. Then I saw one of her books at the library book sale and bought it only to find it was not the first book in the series...so I found the library e-book copy and put a hold on it. And finally, it fit a Summer Reading category to read a book about space (though I guess I stretched that definition a little).

An AI that used to be a ship and many ancillaries (human bodies) that could be many places at once is now a single entity, on a mission to right a wrong.

The story is so stylistically complex that it's a little unfair of me to boil it down to one sentence, but I don't really want to give anything away because part of the beauty of it is how perfectly everything unfolds, like a puzzle being put together until the Aha! moment when you can suddenly see how all the pieces fit and place them in pell-mell. That's what reading this felt like. The AI - Breq or One Esk or Justice of Toren - is narrating the story, which goes back and forth between the narrative present when she's on her quest and events about 20 years prior that explain why she is doing what she's doing. She also runs into a soldier who lived 1,000 years ago and was also a part of her (the ship's) past. So there's a lot of intricacy in the world building and narrative right away. Added to that, the different cultures touched on as they travel from place to place allow an exploration of gender norms. The AI calls everyone "she" and complains how hard it is to differentiate when a language has multiple pronouns and she has to guess the right ones. This makes for an interesting reading experience because I was never quite sure which the characters were either, and finally decided it didn't matter I could picture them however I choose. A satisfying story and I'll definitely continue reading the series. 4.5 stars.

Odd note on format: I had the library e-book and it was running out when I was barely into the story so I switched formats and got the book.

July in review

Coming soon... I'm running out of time to get to work and haven't had my coffee yet!

67. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
66. Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
65. Medicus by Ruth Downie
64. The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold
63. The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt: A Tyranny of Truth by Ken Krimstein
62. I Was Their American Dream by Malaka Gharib
61. Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
60. For Every One by Jason Reynolds
59. The Record Keeper by Agnes Gomillion
58. The Bay Path and along the way by Levi B. Chase
57. The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Books read: 11
Fiction/Nonfiction/Graphic Novels/Poetry/Plays: 7/1/2/1/0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 0/2/9
Library/Mine/Borrowed: 8/2/1
Rereads: 0

Standouts: The Curse of Chalion and Ancillary Justice completely hit the spot for me this month

Thoughts: I finished 8 books, 1 poetry/poem book and 2 graphic novels, which was way more than the first half of the month indicated. My reading was kind of all over the place and I can't really think of much coherent to say about it. I've started a couple of new series (just what I needed, right?) that turned out to be phenomenal books.

My goal for the next month is to read down my library books and start tackling my ARCs in paper and on the Kindle.

I suppose I should attempt to answer the meme making its way along the threads. If I got this right, it originated with BookBub...and I've seen Richard and Joe answer it:

1. The persons who helped me fall in love with reading were:

Most likely my parents. Mom would read us stories as little kids, and my dad would tell us The Three Little Pigs and the like, so as soon as I was able to read for myself I took to it like a fish to water.

2. One book I love to give as a gift is:

Any book that I think would be a good fit for the reader...though probably my favorite was telling my brother for ages that he'd enjoy Haruki Murakami, and he'd never pick one up so I finally just gifted him The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. He loved it! (I have yet to read a book by Murakami...that was pure librarian magic right there.)

3. If I could write like one author it would be...

Possibly Jane Austen. She had a way of conveying character and humor in a very tongue-in-cheek and witty way that I admire.

4. One book I think deserves more attention is . . .

I was having a tough time coming up with titles, so decided to do this "scientifically" and look through books in my library that I gave 5 stars to that have less than 1,000 copies in LT. This brings up a very quirky list that's mostly books about books, so here are a few:

For every one by Jason Reynolds, Bibliophile: an illustrated miscellany by Jane Mount, I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan and Books for Living by Will Schwalbe (we'll stop there, as I'm getting into books read in 2016)

5. The friend(s) I always turn to for reading recommendations is/are. . .

Mostly LT friends whose tastes I've come to know, one of my good friends that reads a lot of fantasy (though honestly I usually give her recommendations), and my brother's girlfriend (also a librarian, not the same brother in q. 2)

6. What do you do about a book you're not liking

Usually if it hasn't grabbed me I'll put it down around page 50, though I've done it before and after that depending on various circumstances. If it's one I heard good things about, I may revisit it later (this worked well with Cutting for Stone). The only books I'll force myself to finish are those I'm reading for my book club. I facilitate it for work, so it's kinda hard to *not* read the book.

7. One book that absolutely shocked me was:

I'm going back to last year, but Gentleman in Moscow was a "I should read this because it's consistently popular with my patrons" pick and I absolutely loved it. Gone Girl was a more unpleasant shock, the twists and turns kept me reading and surprised me but I absolutely wanted to throw the book when I was a done (as it was a library book, I refrained).

8. My favorite place to read is:

I usually read on my bed, but I also have a cozy chair in the living room and an outside deck to change things up a little. Let's be honest, I will (and have) literally read anywhere.

9. If I could read only one book for the rest of my life it’d be:

I'm going to go completely boring with this answer and say the Bible and the complete works of William Shakespeare (yes I know that's...twoish).

10. The books I’m currently reading:

Everyone's a Theologian by R.C. Sproul
The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

68. LaGuardia by Nnedi Okorafor
Why now? I recently discovered Nnedi Okorafor's SFF books and have really enjoyed what I've read; I heard about the graphic novel she wrote while I was at ALA and had to purchase it for the library and read it for myself.

Future, a young pregnant woman who's Nigerian-American, flees Nigeria to come to the U.S> and stay with her grandmother, smuggling an alien plant along with her. Their various adventures ensue.

Nnedi Okorafor is one of my favorite recent SFF authors because she takes complex concepts and brings them to a whole new place so you can examine them from a new point of view. Sometime in the future, LaGuardia airport is a place where not only humans but also alien lifeforms and human-alien blends might find themselves. There are protests, there are people who want a "pure" country, and finally there's a travel ban in the U.S. or human-only hospitals to contend with. It's an interesting spin on immigration and allows you to think of it in a way that perhaps it hadn't occurred to you before. The stories are very episodic, working pretty well for comic book form, if a little uneven. The artwork is well done, too. I didn't like it quite as much as other books I've read by the author, but it's still well worth a read 3.5 stars.

>135 bell7: I don't think your Q3 was on my own meme that I lifted from Joe's thread, Mary.

I would have to choose Dylan Thomas so long as I could understand everything I wrote too!

Have a great weekend.

>137 PaulCranswick: I almost missed it myself, realized the numbering was off and went back to check what I missed! I should go back and try some Dylan Thomas; I haven't read his poetry since college in those painful classes where we had to pick apart poems and hope to make a 3-page paper out of a paragraph of text. :::sigh:::

>135 bell7: #7 "Gone Girl was a more unpleasant shock, the twists and turns kept me reading and surprised me but I absolutely wanted to throw the book when I was a done (as it was a library book, I refrained)."

+1 about a squillion times.

Happy weekend reads!

>139 richardderus: I was actually just talking about it with one of my co-workers, which is probably why it came to mind. We were both agreeing that this book and the other domestic thrillers that have come out haven't really been our cup of tea and why. My patrons read them voraciously, however, so I buy a lot of them. *shrug*

Happy Friday! Today was a lovely day off, balancing catching up on stuff at the apartment with fun. I went out to lunch with one of my cousins, and we stopped at a used bookstore where I found a copy of The Personal Heresy, which I'd never heard of. But apparently C.S. Lewis and E.M.W. Tillyard debate each other - each chapter switches one and the other - over whether or not the author's biography and background needs to be included in literary interpretation. I have a little mini-collection of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and books about their books, so I had to nab it. Plus I'm a recovering English major who remembers a lot of my teachers giving us background on the author, so I'm really interested in the whole debate. I'm not sure I'd be fully convinced either way. Sometimes I can enjoy a story without knowing anything about the author. Other times, it can be essential - think about reading The Things They Carried and not knowing that the author had himself been in Vietnam. So I won't promise this book will make it to the top of the "books to read next" list but it was one I was very happy to add to my personal library.

I also stopped at a yarn store and bought some nice sock yarn that I might make into a pair for one of my brothers after I finish a couple of projects currently on the needles.

And then after I got home I put off house cleaning to read on the back deck. There were so many birds and bird songs that I very much enjoyed myself. I did a little tidying up in the apartment today, but I do still need to vacuum. Ah well, maybe tomorrow. My plan for the day is to work and then go somewhere for a walk. I have a feeling that if I go home after work I won't feel like it, but if I make myself take a walk before I get home I'll feel better for it. I haven't been getting as much exercise as I should lately, and I think it's affecting my energy level.

>141 bell7: It's summer, of course you don't feel like exercising! How could you dream of wanting to in this horrid, awful heat.

Happy perambulations.

>142 richardderus: Yes, I suspect that's been part of the problem. I'm also super picky about what I *like* to do and it's...just... so... easy NOT to. But I'm starting to slide into overweight territory (darn BMI, I don't quite believe in it, but at the same time my cholesterol numbers are also climbing) and don't want those trends to continue. More importantly, I find that my total energy level and sense of well-being increases when I make it a priority to walk a couple of times a week.

Well, storms attempted to defeat me but I got that walk in! I went to a local reservoir that has a paved trail. It was blocked off at the two-mile mark for some tree work they're doing, but that still means I got a 4-mile walk in. I had to wait out a storm in my car, and then the last 3/4 of a mile or so was in the rain, but by then I was sweating buckets and it didn't much matter. The reservoir is very pretty and the bird song was nice too.

Plans for the evening? For now, just laundry and either reading Fate of the Tearling or watching Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.

Well, after a busy but productive weekend I have no reading progress to report. I did read/listen to a bit of The Fate of the Tearling yesterday while knitting. I decided that, while it's not this particular narrator's fault (each book has had a different one), I don't particularly care for the audio version because NONE of the characters sounds remotely like they do in my head. I had church and a visit to my parents today, and I left tired around 6:30 or so. I've been puttering around at home ever since and can't seem to either sit still with a book or be satisfied with any other project. I think I'm mostly restless knowing it's going to be a busy week, as I leave Wednesday for a two-week dogsitting job. Despite a longer commute, I actually expect a fair amount of reading time and I'm already planning what audiobook I might have for the car (my 15-minute commute is a bit short for audio, but 45 minutes should be about perfect for getting regular parts of the story in).

My current knitting projects, I think I mentioned before, are a Christmas stocking for a cousin's baby (due in October) and a sweater for a friend. I finished the back, I'm working on the front, and I really like how the pattern is coming out. My only concern now is going to be fit, as this guy has really broad shoulders and I'm kinda trying to make an L pattern into an XL by using bigger needles. Though it involves cabling, it's a very repetitive pattern that I can do while chatting or listening to an audio.

I'm debating whether or not to take either of these to the dogsitting job, as they have four cats and it may be more trouble than it's worth. Some of the cats don't care, but the youngest (not really a kitten anymore) was curious about what I was working on the last time.

Hi Mary! Knitting is hard with cats around, that's the truth. The struggle is real. So you didn't watch Into the Spiderverse? I loved that movie.

>146 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! Yeah, and some dogs can be nosy about it too haha. No, I haven't watched Into the Spiderverse yet, but I have it out from the library and I've got another week or so that I can get to it. I might try to fit it in tomorrow night.

Happy Monday! I am back to a full work week and in two days will be leaving for a two-week dogsitting job. Today's plans after work are loose, and depending on how much energy I have I may talk a walk and cook up some lentil soup. That's my hope, anyway, so we'll see how it goes. i think we're supposed to have a high of 80 and depending on the humidity that may make both of those options miserable.

>144 bell7: Well done on the walking. I was out this weekend and was reminded how much I enjoy it (so hard to get off the couch though...)

As miserable as walkies is in sticky heat, it *really* makes a difference to keep it up. Spoken by someone whose reasons not to walk are pretty durned convincing...so...get on the trail, Mary!

>149 charl08: I agree, Charlotte, once I'm out there I'm very happy but getting off the couch is the hard part!

>150 richardderus: Well thank you for the push, Richard, it was what I needed to get out the door today. I ended up walking some small trails near my house, then up the street a little ways. Not a long walk, but a couple miles all around to get me to 10,000 steps.

I've decided to move around my cooking plans and am making eggs and toast tonight instead.

Hi, Mary. I enjoyed the Tearling trilogy. I hope you can bookhorn in The Things That They Carried. It is an excellent read.

>152 msf59: Hey Mark, I actually just finished The Fate of the Tearling and have a review to write! I did read The Things They Carried a couple of years ago for book group, and it was truly excellent. I think the comments you may be referring to were actually about The Personal Heresy in which C.S. Lewis debates E.M.W. Tillyard over whether or not an author's biography should be included in the study of literature. I haven't read the book yet, but I was talking about my own ambivalence over the idea. I think The Things They Carried would be an example of a book where the author's background was essential to fully understanding/appreciating it.

69. The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
Why now? I read book #1 in the trilogy years ago and never finished, so I had this book out from the library after my June trip and am finally getting to it a little over a month later.

Kelsea Glynn, Queen of the Tearling, is now a prisoner of the Red Queen of Mortmesne while the Mace has been left behind as Regent. The Mace is determined to bring her back. Meanwhile, Kelsea continues to get flashes of the past, this time learning about Katie, a young girl who knew Jonathan Tear and Row Finn.

Well. This trilogy has been a roller coaster ride, let me tell you. The Fate of the Tearling challenges us to think about whether or not a utopia could really exist, given human nature. She also has some rather pointed things to say about religion that I very much disagree with. That being said, I really enjoyed the ride overall. The author makes some bold narrative choices and brings the various threads she's placed throughout the trilogy together in a satisfying way. 3.5 stars.

Happy Tuesday! I woke up yesterday morning feeling in a bit of a funk, but after working yesterday and taking a walk in the evening that seems to have mostly dissipated. My body reacts in funny ways to stress - I may not even feel it in a sense, but I'll be sick to my stomach at the same time - and I think that might have been what it was. So every time I was able to accomplish something, I felt that much better. This morning I did some packing for dogsitting, looking through possible fall Bible study options, and I took a walk. I think that's put me in a pretty good place, and I feel better prepared for tomorrow.

Today is a 12-8 day, and one of my co-workers has a program on the national parks that has a lot of people signed up. I'll also be showing our newest hire some bookmarks and shelf talkers for display that she'll be taking some responsibility on.

Tomorrow will be packing up, going to work and a dogsitting job that will last two weeks. I'm packing my pile of library books, Playing in the Dark by Toni Morrison, and my Kindle ARCs. I'm packing some knitting, but I haven't decided yet if I'm actually going to bring it into the house (4 cats...). And I've decided for food, I'm going to bring some dry goods and enough to make lentil soup tomorrow night, then go grocery shopping for other items after I arrive.

Currently reading Two Steps Forward and A Year in Provence, but haven't gotten far enough in either to have much of an opinion yet.

I liked Fate of the Tearling and the trilogy, too. What a bold choice in that third one by the author! I still think about it. What was gained, what was lost.

>156 jnwelch: yes, it was interesting to see that while the society was probably better off, Kelsea herself was not as important an individual as the Queen of the Tearling. You wonder what kind of regrets one would have at 19 feeling like the most important choices of your life were behind you.I agree it'll be one I think on for a long while.

Well, today begins a string of busy weeks, though I'm sure once I start I'll get into the day-to-day, week-by-week swing of things and not have as difficult of time as my imagining looking at all the stuff that's coming up between now and the end of October. I'm leaving for a dogsitting gig after work today. The car is packed up and I'm enjoying my coffee a little bit before hanging out to work. One of my co-workers gave his notice and today is his last day, so we're having a bit of a treat with pizza. There's also our monthly staff meeting today, so I'm looking forward to hearing about what my colleagues are up to with programming.

My commute is almost 3x as long with where I'm dogsitting, so I'm going to try an audiobook or two for the ride. The dogs and cats I'm watching are pretty laid back as far as the care they need, so I'm hoping to get some good reading in too. For some reason, I can read better when I'm not at home getting distracted by tasks such as tidying or just generally puttering around.

Hope you all have a wonderful day! I'm bringing my laptop this time, so I may be able to check in fairly frequently.

Enjoy the longer commute and the pizza! :)

More ear-reading time = Good Thing. Have more fun than is strictly speaking allowable.

>159 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! The pizza was good and I'm pretty sure we have leftovers for tomorrow. We'll see how the longer commute goes. I mostly know how to get here, but my maps app was not fully functional when I was driving. I only missed one turn and eventually repetition will get it.

>160 richardderus: We'll see, Richard, I have an audiobook (and the book, 'cause I don't always fully pay attention while ear-reading) on request from the library and it will hopefully arrive by the end of the week. I've got a few CDs to cycle through as well, I'm always listening to music even when it's only a 2-3 song commute. Oh fun will be had - I have plans for a full moon night hike, family dinner at my brother's & his girlfriend's, a meetup with Marianne (michigan_trumpet), and plans with my Little both Saturdays.

Tonight was familiarizing myself with the house, cooking dinner and sitting through thunderstorms. I feel like I could already go ready for bed, but I want to let the dogs out a little later and hopefully not get up exceptionally early tomorrow morning. Apparently the puppy likes to start whining at 6. But *shrug* I have to leave by eight, so it'll give me time to feed all the animals and possibly take the dogs for a walk. Just be a bit of an adjustment and I'll probably start going to bed around 9:30.

Our thunderstorms came crashing through between 4.30 and 7.30. It was lovely! Cleans the schmutz from the air. It makes me happy.

>162 richardderus: Me too! I wasn't sure how the dogs would react, but they were pretty chill last night. I've already had to clean up a couple of "accidents" and woke up to the whining of the littlest one a couple of times during the night. But hopefully tonight will be better and we'll get into a bit of a routine, even if it does mean I'm getting up earlier. I have to leave for work earlier, too, so it's not like that's a terrible thing.

Today's plan is simply work, dogsitting, and a small grocery shopping. I brought enough food and made enough yesterday to be set for a couple of days 'til I can do more major planning and here I'm always free to help myself too, so it's usually smaller grocery runs to have produce I enjoy. There's a Trader Joe's nearby so I'm going to treat myself.

>164 bell7: It sounds a most pleasant plan for a day, Mary, and I hope it remains so.

>165 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I got all the things I wanted to completed and am "home" for the evening. More storms, but the dogs are playing on their own and don't seem to be upset that they're not walked. I'll definitely try to get one in for them tomorrow, since it's been stormy the last couple of days and I haven't.

Happy Friday! And a very happy day it is. I'm only working 5 hours, followed by a trip home to pick up some birthday gifts that need to get mailed out and a trip to the bank to deposit what I've made dogsitting. I attempted to take the dogs for a walk this morning which was a grand failure and only served to get the dogs and leashes in a tangled mess and me grumpy. But I learned my lesson - the miniature Yorkshire terrier doesn't like going down the front steps, so we'll go out the back door, and I'll never take them for a walk at the same time again.

Tonight is dinner with the family at my brother and his girlfriend's. I knew my parents were planning on going over, and then a few hours later I was invited. Not sure if my other siblings will be there, but with this many people from the family for the first time I'm half-expecting some Grand Announcement. Or we may just be having a nice family dinner - from what I've seen, my brother's gf does really enjoying cooking & hosting folks.

Last night after grocery shopping, I managed to watch a couple of episodes of Stranger Things 3 and I'm planning on binge-watching that for the rest of the weekend in between all my plans, so there's that too.

>167 bell7: The last time my brother and sister-in-law made a Grand Announcement over a Big Family Dinner it was to say they got a dog, so fingers crossed for you ;-)

Wishing you an excellent Friday and an excellent family dinner, whether there's an Announcement or no. :)

>167 bell7: That sounds omnibus....

Happy doggie time! *smooch*

Happy Friday, Mary! Enjoy your weekend. Your dinners and your binge-watching. Hope that includes some time with the books too.

Well, I was wrong and there was no Announcement. We just had a fun time with a family dinner and playing games in the evening. They have Jukebox TV that you use along with your cell phone/tablet/computer to play different games, so we tried a couple of them. We liked quiplash where we each had to put in an answer for a couple of questions and then everyone voted between two different ones - the more votes you get, the more points. My brothers generally won these games, and my brother's girlfriend got one too. We had a great time. Only downside was I forgot my phone charger so today's going to be interesting.

>168 norabelle414: Hahahaha that's great. She already had two cats coming into the relationship so I think I'd have a fit of the giggles if they told me they were getting a dog too. (One of the cats adores my brother, who was not a cat person before this, and it's hilarious)

>169 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky, it was a fun time!

>170 richardderus: Nah, I like her a lot and if she officially became sis-in-law I'd be very happy. She's a fellow librarian, what's not to like?

>171 msf59: Thanks, Mark, so far so good. It's a VERY busy day if I don't get a few pages of reading in there somewhere. Since I've got a longer commute for a little bit, I started listening to Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch yesterday. It's got similar appeal to Jim Butcher's Dresden series, except it's set in London and the narrator never encountered the supernatural until he finds a ghost witness to a murder and gets pulled into it all.

Today I am taking my little to a museum, reading or bingewatching Stranger Things, and going to my (other) brother's concert in the evening. And getting my phone charger back somehow.

Books I'm reading:

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle - the Monthly Author Read in July (yeah, I know, I'm behind) was Mayle, so I decided to read his classic account of a year - quite literally, January to December - that he and his wife pulled up stakes from the UK and bought a house and lived in Provence. Amusing and reminds me a little of Bill Bryson at times.

Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist - people aren't rating this as highly as The Rosie Project and so far (about a third of the way in) I can see why. Each chapter switches perspective between Zoe, a newly-widowed American woman with adult daughters who's come to France to deal with the loss, and Martin, a British divorcee kind of between jobs and lacking direction about his future. Both find themselves on the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage road to the shrine Saint James in Spain, for various reasons and their paths keep crossing. Zoe in particular annoys me, and I think it's because I don't believe in her as a 50-something-year-old woman (her kids are in their twenties, so I'm guessing). She has the self-awareness of a 20-year-old and her name is VERY unusual for someone of her age, like, not even making the top 1000 on the Social Security Administration's website of US baby names for several of the years she might have been born. I mean, it's possible - one of my sisters has a very unusual name - but for a name that's much more popular for, well, 20-year-olds today it was an odd choice. I'll finish it because it's an Edelweiss/Above the Tree Line ARC that I'm reading late, but I'm very meh about it, can you tell?

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch - I started listening to this yesterday on my ride to work. Peter Grant is working his probation period to become a cop in London when he meets a ghost that witnessed a murder. He is very scientific and doesn't believe in ghosts and ghouls and such, but he finds it hard to distrust his own eyes. Then one of the other cops totally believes him and takes him on as a trainee, telling him that a lot more than ghosts actually exist - not magic vs. science but magic AND science. Fun stuff - I've laughed aloud a couple of times. A good readalike for Jim Butcher's Dresden series.

And very soon I'm going to have to pick up The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead for book club. We'll be discussing it in a week and a half.

>172 bell7: Well then, I hope that's what's happening!

>173 bell7: Sounds like a lovely day indeed.

>174 bell7: I liked Peter Grant. I didn't like Harry "Drippy Sexist Sad-Sack" Dresden.

The Underground Railroad will take care of that laughing-out-loud problem. *smooch*

>175 richardderus: I only read the first book in the Dresden files so hard to know what I would've thought of the series. Codex Alera, being more traditional fantasy, was more up my alley. And yeah, I'll definitely need something lighter alongside The Underground Railroad. This is a reread for me, which will probably work out for the better.

Is it Monday again? Alright then...

After a fairly busy Saturday, yesterday was truly a day of rest. The puppy's had me up before 6 most mornings and I was so incredibly tired. I came home from church, finished Stranger Things 3, and took a nap. I woke up around 7? And had enough time to eat and finish a book before going to bed again.

I was able to shut out the dog's whining 'til close to 6:40 this morning (still started before 6) and finally got up because I knew it would take me awhile to take care of the animals and get myself ready for work. So now I'm checking out threads and having breakfast.

This week should be fairly low key other than continuing to dogsit and work. My boss is out this week until Friday so I'm in charge. And I'm bringing The Underground Railroad to work to start on my lunch break, as I need to read it over the week for book club next week.

Now that I've finished Stranger Things 3 I'm on to the second season of Derry Girls.

70. Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
Why now? First on my radar because I liked The Rosie Project, so back in 2018 I downloaded the ARC onto my Kindle. My goal this month is to start reading some of those titles and get caught up on reviews and such, so between that and the audio being available to put me to sleep at night, it was time to read this one.

Zoe, newly widowed, comes to France to visit her old college roommate, Camille, and - though she's super anti-Catholic and anti-religion - lets fate send her on a pilgrimage down the Camino de Santiago where she's sure she'll learn something. Martin, a British divorce, has his own reasons for walking the Camino: he's going to test out a cart rather than the traditional backpack and see if he can sell his design. The two meet and the wrong kind of sparks fly, but then on the trip though they wind around in different ways, they often seem to meet back up and even start a tentative friendship.

The husband-and-wife writing team definitely know the Camino and have walked the routes they describe themselves. The secondary characters are a fun bunch of oddballs with their own histories and reasons for walking. But this middle-aged finding second love romance otherwise fell flat for me. Zoe in particular was unbelievable in many ways - not least of which, at 45, she has a name that didn't reach its popularity until the late 90s-early 00s, at least in the U.S. Possible that her parents were forward-thinking in giving her an unusual name, but her self-awareness struck me as about as clear as most 20-year-olds too. In short, she did not read her age to me at all. It probably didn't help that she was all the things that annoy me most - very "fate will decide" and impulsive, quick to make snap judgments about people, and self-righteous in her world view. And yes, the Camino does change her, but because I started out with an "Are you kidding me?" attitude I'm afraid some of the events that were supposed to evoke a very emotional response in me just got a shrug. Disappointing. 2 stars.

I probably would've quit it had I just read the book instead of requesting the ARC. For those of you who review ARCs, what's the etiquette for this when it's a dud for me? Do I just post the review and mark it read alone, or does the publisher still want me to share it with them when it's negative? (I'm generally inclined not to, especially since it's a backlist title at this point, but I don't really know what's expected/preferred.)

>178 bell7: I never share reviews with the publisher; I just post them here and on Goodreads and figure that the publisher will find them if they want to. But I've never asked the publishers if they want to see reviews even if they're negative, so maybe someone else will have more info on that angle?

Publishers *must* say they want your "honest and complete" review. They can't say anything else or they blow up their credibility with reviewers and buyers alike.

If you didn't like a book, post the review, mark it read, and do nothing to call attention to it. Completed reviews matter when you're being considered for DRCs, not really the contents of the review.

What did you think of Stranger Things 3?? It was my favorite season so far.

>179 foggidawn: Thanks for weighing in, Foggi. I get my ARCs primarily through Edelweiss Plus and will check of the "Send my review to the publisher" box when it's timely and mostly positive. I didn't for this one.

>180 richardderus: That's helpful, thanks, Richard. As it's also published over a year ago, I can't imagine my review, whether positive or negative, will affect sales any so *shrug*.

>181 norabelle414: I found the first several episodes a little harder to get into, maybe because I was going in with high expectations. I was disappointed that they never brought up the other-people-like-El thing again because I really liked that one off episode last season. But that ending was So. Good. and worth all the mixed reactions leading up to it. And of course I immediately looked up if/when there's to be a season 4. I could've just been tired and grumpy, though. The yappy dog's been getting me up early and I wasn't at my best this weekend. I suspect I might have different thoughts if I were to rewatch the three seasons.

So here's a funny note. At work today I decided to look up the reviews of Two Steps Forward and I was (morbidly?) curious what Kirkus made of it - they gave it a rather glowing review which makes the second book this year that I was very critical of (the other was The Woman Who Would be King by Kara Cooney) and they had all-positive things to say.

Even when we purchased Kirkus professionally, I didn't really give their reviews much weight because the books they panned were going to be popular anyways and the ones they tended to like are very Literature, good for book clubs, but not the type of books that fly off the shelves so I buy fewer of them. These two books were somewhere in the middle in terms of popularity/literariness, so it's interesting to see how much my reaction and theirs diverge.

>182 bell7: Understandable, they definitely did drop the whole storyline about El being special in favor of one about El being normal. I heard that the one-off episode from last season (which I liked as well) was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a spin-off if it was reviewed favorably, which it was not. I was a little bit surprised that Hopper was being a jerk this season... but I remembered what a HUGE jerk he was in the first few episodes of the first season so I guess it tracks.

I forgot to mention that >178 bell7: the name popularity thing would have really bugged me if I had read that book!

>183 bell7: Kirkus has changed a lot. Their focus is on providing so many services that their legendary grouchiness has modulated into a breathless boosterism that's even more reliable.

Paid, professional book criticism is a dying field of endeavor, I am sad to say.

>184 norabelle414: Yeah, I was disappointed by how much of a jerk Hopper was in this season. I don't mind El being normal, in fact, I really liked the way she and Max became better friends when she was broken up with Mike (even though I really hate those kind of mind games of acting a certain way to try to get a significant other to apologize instead of just, um, TALKING. I'll be interested in seeing where it goes from here, though I'd like to see a different "bad guy" or more of an explanation about the Upside Down instead of defeating the same villain...again, in a slightly different way. I did like that the parents had a part to play in the big defeat instead of sitting on the sidelines while the kids did it all. Nice to know I'm not the only one bothered by the name thing! It's one thing if you're Sarah Dessen and always pick unusual names for your character, but not one that's hugely popular for a totally different demographic than your character.

>185 richardderus: Paid, professional book criticism is a dying field of endeavor, I am sad to say.
It's interesting, because professional book criticism seems to be less favored over popular voices, blogs, and the like. Which on the one hand, I am a reader (and librarian) who reviews and tries to write up why I like a book or come up with other, similar books for people. But I want...both. How is a book being critically reviewed AND how do I expect my readers to respond? With something like Kirkus - notoriously curmudgeonly - I didn't pay all that much attention to their criticisms because I knew my readers. But Library Journal is invaluable to me as someone who purchases fiction for a public library collection. And if I see a book popping up on LT a lot, it's probably one I'm going to check against our library catalog and see how many holds there are.

71. Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch
Why now? I had a list of recommended reads from a local library that I recently rediscovered and decided to read through. This one was at the top and linked to the catalog record of the audio edition, so I decided to get it for my first audiobook to listen to on my longer commute while I dogsit.

Peter Grant is a probationary constable for the London police. It looks like he's going to be just a paper pusher until by chance he discovers an eyewitness to a murder who just happens to be a ghost. Thrown into a world of magic, Peter works hard to understand everything he can while pursuing the murderer, unraveling the clues, and trying to work out a feud between Mama Thames and Father Thames, the two spirits of the river.

If you love a mashup of genres, this one's for you. It's police procedural meets fantasy a la the Dresden files but set in London with a newbie to the world of magic learning as he goes along. A lot of fun, if a little gory, and the audiobook is well done too. The narration is a little rough with audible breaths, swallowing and the like, but it fits the character, a mixed-race son of an immigrant and a former jazz musician with addiction who isn't exactly from the right side of the tracks. I stopped the audio last night with the equivalent of 50 pages to go, and had to just read it and find out what happened. 4 stars.

ANOTHER series starter, what am I getting myself into here?

>186 bell7: When it comes to professional reviews for non-fiction, I basically ignore Kirkus. I find LJ, Booklist, and even Publisher's Weekly much more useful and reliable.

>186 bell7:, >188 MickyFine: It's the lack of a Michiko Kakutani, a John Leonard, that's most unsatisfactory. The professional journals will most likely continue to provide their various sorts and types of guidance for the perplexed; the public, the people whose reading habit(s) form the basis for the library and the publishing industries, are no longer served by cicerones with deep, broad bases of knowledge about books and culture and the craft of writing. It is a loss.

>187 bell7: You're in for a darn good time, is what you're getting yourself into!

>188 MickyFine: I did the same when we had the multiple journals. Now, we get Library Journal and Ingram Advanced which has all the reviews on each book page. I also subscribe to a lot of bookish email lists from BookPage, Book Riot and more.

>189 richardderus: the public, the people whose reading habit(s) form the basis for the library and the publishing industries, are no longer served by cicerones with deep, broad bases of knowledge about books and culture and the craft of writing
There is a lot of truth to that, and I think the reasons for that are many and complex, not least that the humanities aren't really given a high importance. I think that there's so much content now, too, that it's just impossible to keep up. I can't read every classic, let alone every book, so rather than a lot of people having a canon from which they draw on cultural touchstones, each of us has more of a freestanding mental library that might overlap more or less with other people - or at least other readers. I can't say I fall very strongly on one side or the other of the canon literary debate, but it has a far-reaching impact that we may really start to see in a generation or two, and I think it's tightly connected to the idea of having professional reviewers. (I hope I'm somewhat clear in my brevity. Someone much more erudite than me could write a book about the subject, I'm sure.)

>190 richardderus: LIKE.

>191 bell7: Someone much more erudite than me could write a book about the subject, I'm sure.

The Closing of the American Mind
The Western Canon
and on
and on
and on

I only read Kirkus for the giggles — they do still administer the sick burn every once in a while.

>192 richardderus: I have The Lifetime Reading Plan by Clifton Fadiman on my TBR pile at home (one of the older editions). One of these years I want to make it a project to read through and at least attempt to read, if not finish, all the texts he goes through. It's gotten some grief for being old white men and has gone through some revisions since it's original printing, but I like his theory that anyone can be well-read. That being said, there are some classics that I have never read and don't really care that I never will - like Ulysses.

>193 foggidawn: I admit I kind of enjoy their sick burns even if I mostly disagree with them :D

Today I'm working a short day (rather than my usual Friday) because I made plans for a night hike with my sister. There's a place a little over an hour from here, and on the full moons they do these hikes where the guide shows you how to pay attention & listen to sounds and such that you can find only at night. It sounded different and a fun event to try, so I signed us up. And to give me time to take care of the dogs before getting there, I'm working a short day.

The rest of the week should be pretty par for the course, working 9-5 and reading mostly my book club book, The Underground Railroad. Since I finished Midnight Riot, I took out Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie (book #2 in her Medicus series) on audio to listen to on my commute for the next week or so. On Saturday, I'm going to a BBBS picnic with my little.

>195 bell7: That sounds great. We have rare nocturnal frogs near us (or maybe toads?) and there are late tours to see them, but I've never managed to be organised enough to go. I should, really!

ETA Toad: https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/amphibians/natterjack-toad

>194 bell7: Yep, that's my attitude as well. I actually keep a file on my computer titled "Sick Burns from Review Journals," where I copy and paste the best ones. Kirkus provides the majority, but every now and then some of the other journals get in on the action.

>196 charl08: Oh how neat! I hope you get a chance to go. The timing we had was such that the sun was setting when we set out and by the time we got back the moon had risen and because we had not turned on flashlights and adjusted to our night vision it was so incredibly bright.

>197 foggidawn: "Sick Burns from Review Journals," Oooooh, that's fabulous - I've thought of doing that off and on but never kept it up and would find the two I'd pasted in months later.

The hike last night was officially titled "A Transcendental Night Hike" and featured a walk through the trails at Fruitlands, the communal living/farming experiment headed up by Branson Alcott (Louisa May's father) and Charles Lane, along with some transcendental friends. The location has become a museum of Fruitlands, the Shakers, American Indians... I think there's four small museum buildings in total? And there are different plaques all along the trails, too, to see the former locations of houses and such. I've never been when it was open, and I'll definitely have to go back. (In fact, I was telling my sister in the spring I might take a few days off from work to go to Concord, Walden Pond, and Fruitlands and have a Transcendental vacation.)

We met around 7:30, when the sun was setting, and had a large group of about 45 people of all ages (there was even a mom with a couple of teens). As we went along, the guide would stop and point out places of interest - the farmhouse where the Alcotts lived, a place where invasive plants had been torn out and you could see the stones that marked a path for a railroad that never quite got finished - and read to us excerpts from Henry David Thoreau's essay "Night and Moonlight." We were encouraged to keep flashlights off or pointed to the ground and use our night vision and other senses to observe. It was actually quite loud with peepers and maybe some kind of cicada as we walked through the woods and it got dark. We got to an open area where they normally see the moon, and it was not quite late enough for it to have risen. Some folks were pointing their phones to the sky and I was getting annoyed until I realized they were using an app to identify constellations and planets - they pointed out Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.

When we got back to where we started, the moon had risen enough that we could see it and it was BRIGHT. I've read about navigating "by the light of the full moon" and being somewhat flummoxed by this reference as it never really seemed light enough. When you've been tramping through the woods as day turns to night, it really is. It was a really fun experience, and I'm glad I did it. I guess their last one had been in March and I'd be willing to try it again at that time of year just to see the difference of being entirely in darkness rather than having the change.

Today's plans are just to work, cook dinner (chicken and cauliflower rice), and recover a bit from the late night. Because of the drive and bringing my sister, I didn't get back 'til after 11 and yappy dog still got me up crying a little after six. I was really hoping she'd sleep in but no, she even barked after I let her out and attempted to go back to bed for another half hour or so. So I'm up and slowly but surely getting ready!

>199 bell7: That sounds like such a neat hike! I'd love to do that some time; I've read a bit about Alcott and the Transcendentalists.

>199 bell7: How fun! Full moon hikes are big around here recently, too, though I haven't done one yet.

>199 bell7: That sounds pretty fun. I was supposed to go on a moonlight snowshoe hike in the Rockies a couple years ago but we had to cancel due to bad weather on the weekend we planned to drive out. One day maybe.

>199 bell7: A very enjoyable evening. I like the idea of doing it again in Spring or Fall to see how different the experience is.

That Night Hike sounds great, Mary. How thought-provoking to see where the Alcotts lived, and I can just imagine that bright moon.

I went to Walden Pond in the fall when I was a lad, and I remember it as being beautiful there.

>199 bell7: Sounds really lovely. And you're right, I need to pull my finger out and go see those natterjacks.

>200 foggidawn: It was fun! I have read some and want to read more about various Transcendalists - maybe because it was a local movement, maybe because my textbooks hated them, I've always found them fascinating.

>201 norabelle414: Oh how cool! My sister enjoyed it but commented how "small town" it seemed, so I'll have to tell her they have them in the DC area ;)

>202 MickyFine: Ooooh, that does sound like a good bucket list item. I'd love to see the Rockies (U.S. or Canadian) someday.

>203 richardderus: Thanks, Richard, I doubt I'd get my sister to go along again but I would definitely do it solo now that I know approximately what to expect.

>204 jnwelch: I have to get to Walden Pond one of these days, Joe! I'm seriously considering taking a trip out to Concord myself for a few days and seeing several houses where these folks were living.

>205 charl08: I hope you do and let us know how it goes, Charlotte!

Yesterday was boring in comparison, I worked a full day, cooked, took care of the dogs and made progress in The Underground Railroad. Today should be much the same, except add in a grocery shopping.

Tomorrow is a picnic for BBBS so my little and I will be attending. Should be a fun way to meet some other folks who are doing this and maybe learn from them while having a fun time together.

No books to report on finishing. I'm making progress in my reread of The Underground Railroad for next week's book club and should finish it comfortably over the weekend. I'm about halfway through the audio of Terra Incognita so shouldn't have any trouble finishing it up before my dogsitting job ends. I'll be able to focus on A Year in Provence and The Golem and the Jinni after book club, but I'm starting a new dogsitting job on Friday (this one will be a week long) and working Saturday, so no promises about getting finished over the weekend.

>206 bell7: I sometime I forget how spoiled I am having been to the Rockies many, many times growing up. They are gorgeous and well worth visiting. :)

Happy Friday, Mary. Have a great weekend. Hooray for The Underground Railroad. Whitehead has been on a great roll.

>208 MickyFine: It's one of my travel dreams. My first goal is going to get to all four tennis majors.

>209 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I've got The Nickel Boys on my TBR list but probably won't get to it for awhile yet while the holds are crazy for it. I've got a nice stack of library books and ALA ARCs to keep me busy in the meantime.

Happy weekend, all! Hope your day has been good. I spent the morning puttering around and cleaning up a bit, in anticipating of finishing the job on Tuesday. My little and I went to a BBBS picnic and had a fun time. We said hello to a few folks and played some games, but didn't talk a ton with new people. Still, it's nice to have the reminder that we're part of a community. After I got back to the dogs, I took them each for a walk (it's torture to try to walk them together, the male dog pees everywhere and the yappy one gets all tangled up excited and has no sense of self-preservation from cars or my feet). I've got a load of laundry in and I'm going to sit down with The Underground Railroad for a bit. I'm enjoying it much more this time around. The narrative is elegantly structured and some of the sentences so perfectly crafted they make me sit back and take notice. Here's one:

"Crossing a single street transformed the way people talked, determined the size and condition of the homes, the dimension and character of the dreams" (170).

I hope we get a good turnout next week after a couple of months of only one other person showing up. This is a really excellent read, and has a lot to say about the past and the present for the reader to think about.

>211 bell7: It's been a lovely Saturday, Mary, and yours sounds pretty much like mine: Little of this, bit of that, some of the other thing and where did the day go?

I hope the Whitehead group is packed!

>212 richardderus: Yep, it's made for a pleasant day all around and much like you describe. I'm going to curl up with The Underground Railroad and see if I can't finish it and give myself a guilt-free do-whatever-i-want (possibly nap) day tomorrow.

72. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Why now? My book club is reading it and discussing it on Wednesday

Cora, a woman enslaved on a plantation in Georgia, runs away with a man named Caesar to find freedom by traveling the Underground Railroad - in this story, an actual set of rails underground that lead to different locations.

I first read this story back in 2016 at the height of its popularity, and at the time - perhaps my expectations were simply high or different - I was underwhelmed. This time was a completely different reading experience, as I remembered some of the outline of the story and could concentrate instead on other parts, such as the beautiful, evocative writing and the complex narrative structure. Whitehead uses the railroad motif along with the structure of a slave narrative to explore the various aspects of racism, blatant to insidious. Some of the horrors of slavery are described matter-of-factly: this is just life experienced, making it all the more horrifying and heartbreaking to read one what human can do to another. As Cora travels, she learns to read, ponders the meaning of freedom, and learns to remake her life with every new location. Interspersed between these locations, we learn the story of several different characters, giving us a broad view with an omniscient narrator who can tell us their motives and histories. Exceptionally well-done and deserving of all the acclaim. 4.5 stars.

A little iffy if I'd read it a third time, but I wrote down so many quotes and got so much more out of it this time, I'm bumping the rating up a full star from my original rating. This one will stay with me for awhile. And just for comparison, here's my first review (which will eventually be replaced by the one above on the work page):

Cora is a slave in Georgia and when a man named Caesar asks her to run away with him, at first she refuses dismissively. However, she eventually decides to do it and the two take a train on the (actual) underground railroad to try to escape their lives of bondage.

A lot of people here on LibraryThing, in reviews, and in my library have sung enthusiastic praise for this book, so I went in with very high expectations. The writing is excellent, evocative and challenging and not just talking about one historic moment. I could buy the more fantastical elements of the story as it has a level of internal consistency that makes them work. I had a really hard time feeling like I knew the characters, however. Maybe it was intentional distance, or maybe I've just become used to having a character as a narrator or, barring that, a really close third-person point of view that gave me a lot of a character's thoughts and motivations behind their actions. This had some of that, but it was done in such a way that it jarred me out of one story and into another's. I often felt unsettled by the story or storytelling method, which was probably part of the point but as a result I never felt fully immersed or invested in it.

Well I didn't quite get a nap in today, but I did go back to bed for a little while after letting the dogs out at 6:20 or so (the latest I've been able to sleep in awhile now). After church we had a group leader's meeting, so I stayed for that & lunch, then headed to my parents for a bit. They both went out for awhile, but my youngest sister was around and we hung out and took a walk, tried to walk some trails but managed to get off one and were mostly just walking in the woods parallel to my parents' street. Oops. At least we knew where we were... She's off to South Korea for her final semester of undergrad in a few days, so I wanted to get in the visit and will also be going over in a couple of days for a family pizza party to say goodbye.

I got home around supper time, took care of the dogs, ate dinner and finished my book. Tomorrow is back to work and will probably involve some packing up. I've been doing enough driving that I'm on the final CD of Terra Incognita and expect to finish it tomorrow. I'm not sure I'll continue with the series at this point - I enjoy the historical time period, but Ruso is a bit of a bumbling lughead while Tilla is headstrong and uncommunicative and they both drive me crazy as stereotypes of their sexes. And I realize part of that is the setting & time period, but I think if I want to read any more about Roman Britain I may pick up a history book instead. Unless someone who's read them wants to convince me it gets better?

Anyway, that's what I'm up to, and I'm going to read for a bit more before heading to bed.

Good Monday morning! The dogs got me up about 6:15 this a.m. so I've been up and had my coffee and oatmeal. I'm going to see if I can't read a few pages in A Year in Provence before getting read for work.

Today is a 9-5 and I'm planning on cleaning up from the dogs a bit and packing tonight to be mostly ready to go tomorrow morning. I'm excited to sleep in my own bed for a few days (and possibly sleep in a bit on Wednesday). One of my housemates was pregnant when I left and had the baby while I'm away, so I may or may not get to hold a newborn this week. (They're often busy/away when I'm at home, so I really don't run into them much.) On Friday, I'm off for working Saturday but I start another dogsitting job. And tomorrow I'm meeting up with Marianne (michigantrumpet). So basically as much is going on in life as ever for me, but as long as I'm still reading I'm happy as a clam.

73. Terra Incognita by Ruth Downie
Why now? I needed an audiobook for the car after finishing Midnight Riot. I'd reasonably enjoyed book 1 of this series, and as this was available at my library I picked it up.

Gaius Petreius Ruso, a medicus with the Twentieth Legion in Rome's Britain, travels to a small outpost near where his slave girl, Tilla, lived before her abduction by a rival tribe. When he arrives, he finds that a "stag man" has been hounding the Roman troops there, and a man has been killed in the traditional way of the tribes. There are several possible suspects, including the doctor of the clinic, so Ruso is asked to put the clinic in order as well as help solve the mystery.

I enjoy the setting the most in these books, as Downie has clearly done her research but inserts it so cleanly into the story that you almost don't notice. Ruso and Tilla are starting to get on my nerves; he's a bit of a bumbling buffoon who won't really listen to her, and she chooses not to tell him things and will answer his questions exactly rather than addressing what he actually means. The close third-person narration mostly follows Ruso, but also Tilla at times, making the reader more aware of what's going on than the investigator. I didn't find the ending very satisfying - and admittedly, I'm very much not a fan of the "issues we could've figured out if we had a five-minute conversation" plot device and since I was listening to it, I do tend to miss details and may not have picked up on things that were more subtle - and I probably will stick to histories of Britain at this point. But the dialogue is sometimes quite humorous and Simon Vance does an excellent job narrating, as always. 3 stars.

Edited to fix the touchstone.

>217 bell7: Oh dear...but hey, only two to go until you're There!

>218 richardderus: That was...very much my reaction as a reader and reflects a couple of things that just annoy me in general (TALK to each other for crying out loud!). And ear-reading is not as precise for me. Just for kicks and giggles, I looked up the Kirkus review and they love it, so I think I'm 3 for 3 now in being more curmudgeonly than them. But yes - only two to go, and most likely #75 will be a winner (if my reading goes as I anticipate, it'll be The Starless Sea).

>219 bell7: The Starless Sea! *swoon*

I haven't read it, but Erin Morgenstern would have to write something as ghastly as Sons and Lovers to earn my heaping steaming immense mounds of contumely.

>220 richardderus: I really loved The Night Circus and I'm hoping her sophomore outing lives up to it, but even if it's not quite up to that, well, yes, what you said :)

Good Tuesday morning! I'm off from work today and have a fun-filled day including a trip to meet up with Marianne (michigantrumpet) and have a family pizza party to wish my sister T. safe travels on her semester abroad. Will hopefully be back with photos soonish.

After I write this, I'll be powering down the computer to complete some final clean up and packing from dogsitting. The dogs were in fine form already this morning getting me up before six (I let them out and fed them, then went back to bed for an hour) and pooping in the house. Think they know something's up? Their owners will be back later this morning. I'm looking forward to my own bed tonight!

I have one more audiobook that I brought along to listen to in the car today, Nest by Esther Ehrlich. I'm just over halfway through A Year in Provence and it's due back on Wednesday so I'll probably be focusing on finishing it as soon as I can.

The next book I'll start will be an ARC a colleague sent me of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I also have a history of Kidderminster that I asked for as a true interlibrary loan (what we call it when it's totally outside of our library system) that's due back in a week, so that's high on the list too. I at least want to look at the chapter on nonconformists in the town, since that's where my Methodist Bell ancestors were from.

Tomorrow I have to unpack, do laundry and repack for my next dogsitting job, so don't be surprised if I don't check in. I have book club that night, so have the morning to adjust to being home, and will of course report back on how the meeting goes.

>222 bell7: Happy homecoming! Please say "Hi" to Marianne from me when y'all meet. And The Starless Sea *swoon* should be a wonderful read.

Sending hugs!

Have a wonderful day, Mary. I'm sure anticipating not getting up before 6:00 am tomorrow will add to today's enjoyment!

The moonlight hike sounded great. I wonder if they do them around here? Hmm, maybe too dangerous?

>223 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! We had a great time. I'm looking forward to diving into The Starless Sea soon, but my goal tonight is to finish up A Year in Provence. (It was due back today, but if I finish it and bring it in tomorrow before 9 it will be backdated and therefore not late.)

>224 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! I slept in 'til close to 8 this morning and it was glorious. We were in wooded trails that the guides clearly new well and they did a good job of keeping us all together (only had a group split once and it was a short wait for those of us in front to get the "behind" group back). You'll have to let us know if you find one near you!

Book club tonight, and again only one person showed, probably at least in part due to the thunderstorms we got tonight. She very much liked the book, and we talked about the structure, the use of the real underground railroad and the sort of unsettling experience you have as a reader, starting to get used to one place when something happens and the characters had to move on. We compared it a little to Slaughterhouse-Five and the "unstuck in time." She said something really interesting, that she likes to feel as she's reading that the author is smarter than her. This particular participant is a very smart reader, adept at analyzing and making comparisons (I can get my most English-majory with her), so I thought that was a fascinating way of explaining what she looks for in her reading.

I got an email from someone who's planning on coming to next month's book discussion with a friend, so I expect we'll have two new folks. The person who came this month and last month will be away. So...we'll see how it goes in September.

It's time for a new thread and I hope you'll all join me over there.