richardderus's thirteenth thread of 2019

1949 Pontiac Streamliner 4-door sedan with an UBERswanky automatic transmission!
That golden Indian-head hood ornament lights up when the headlights are on. *sigh*

I'm bowing to reality. My new goal is to write 150 reviews for my blog, meaning real reviews not impressions or squibs. At this point I barely won't make it. My ancillary goal remains to create some sort of post about the Pearl-Ruled books explaining why I am abandoning ship; I'll set an arbitrary count of 100 of those since goodness knows I abandon a lot of books.







My 2018 Reviews Are Here:
Reviews 1-25 are linked there.

Reviews 26-31 are linked here.

Reviews 32-39 are linked there.

Reviews 40-54 are linked over here.

Reviews 55-70 are linked over here.

Reviews 71-101 (I misnumbered) are linked over here.

Reviews 102-110 are linked over here.

Reviews 111 - 123 are reviewed over here.

Reviews 124-127 are there.

2019's Reviews Are Here:
Reviews 1-4 are here.

My first Pearl-Ruled notice and two reviews are found here.

Reviews 7-15 plus some Pearl Rules are in this thread.

Reviews 15-19 and a Pearl Rule are here.

Reviews 20 & 21 are are here.

Reviews 22-32 are back there.

Reviews 33-38, Pearl Rules 6 & 7, and a random review are all back yonder.

Reviews 39-50 and Pearl Rule 8 got left behind.

Reviews 51-57 sont derriere.

Reviews 58-66 and three Pearl Rules are thataway.

Reviews 67-82 plus three Pearl Rules are swiftly receding.

Reviews 83-104 and two Pearl Rules estan por detrás.

This thread's reviews are:

105 Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears was fun and nostalgic and exactly what I wanted, post 35.

106 The Lady from the Black Lagoon was disappointing, I guess inevitably so, see post 59.

Pearl Rule 18 1177 B.C. was an attempt at ear-reading, post 100.

Well-Loved Read Dragonwyck is a sudsy story by a snoozer biddy, post 128.

107 The Comedian gives us a picture of Plautus in post 169.

108 The Silent Patient wasn't silent enough, post 210.

109 The Lines made me smile, post 211.

110 The Naked Blogger of Cairo is timely and trenchant, post 218.

Well-Loved Read Tisch was a good reading memory, RIP Author Dixon, post 240.

Well-Loved Read (and a Kindlebargain!) Rubyfruit Jungle amazed and delighted me, post 241.

111 Young Man from the Provinces was equal parts charming and revolting, post 251.

Via Bookish, here's a list of challenges to #KillYourTBR (note that I've modified a few entries to make them possible for me to meet):

1. A book you bought for the cover
Any Old Diamonds

2. A book by an author you’ve met
The Front Runner

3. A book you’re embarrassed you haven’t read yet


4. A book that is under 220 pages
The King's Evil

5. A book that came out the year you were born


6. A book whose title uses alliteration
When Saigon Surrendered

7. A book in your best friend’s favorite genre


8. A book from an independent publisher
What About This: Collected Poems of Frank Stanford, Copper Canyon Press

9. A book you borrowed from the library
The Reluctant Widow

10. A book featuring a fictional language
Friday Black: Stories (final story, "Through the Flash")

11. A novel that includes a recipe (Bonus points for making the recipe)
With the Fire on High + bonus points for making the bread!

12. A book won in a raffle/giveaway
With Walt Whitman, Himself

13. A book about going on a quest
The Burning Page

14. A book set in a city you’ve visited
Young Man from the Provinces

15. A book with a dust jacket


16. A book by two or more authors


17. A book that is over 1000 pages
Ducks, Newburyport

18. A book that’s been out for less than a month
Black Light: Stories

19. A book with a name in the title
The Other Boleyn Girl

20. A book from a genre you want to read more of
The Murders of Molly Southbourne

21. A book written by a Native American author
Heart Berries

22. A book with an asexual character
Convenience Store Woman

23. A book you were given as a gift
The Art of Dying

24. A book translated from Spanish


25. An award-winning graphic novel
Tom's Midnight Garden Graphic Novel

26. A book featuring a false confession
The Testaments

27. A book you meant to read in 2018
West

28. A book featuring a memorable companion animal
The Demon Breed

29. A book set in South America


30. A book with a cover you kind of hate (but a story you love)
Glass

31. A book by an author you’ve never heard of before
Coming Through: Three Novellas

32. A book of short stories
Lot: Stories

33. A book featuring a nonbinary protagonist


34. A book you’ve been waiting for forever


35. A book about intersectional feminism


36. A book with a place in the title
Our Man in Havana

37. A book bought at/from a physical bookstore
Elect Mr. Robinson for a Better World

38. A book by an author you’re thankful for
The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri (RIP)

39. A book with gorgeous descriptions
Night Boat to Tangier

40. A book signed by the author


41. A book set in Africa
The Making of the African Queen

42. A book about mental health
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

43. A book written by an immigrant
Dominicana: A Novel

44. A retelling


45. A book about incarceration/internment
They Called Us Enemy

46. A book recommended by an author


47. A book with a person of color on the cover
My Sister, the Serial Killer

48. A book by an author who uses a pen name


49. A book whose title includes a verb
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd

50. A book recommended by a librarian


51. A book being adapted in 2019


52. A book you found in a Little Free Library

And now it's up to y'all.

How about here? *smooch*

And here? *goofy handshake"

I'm all out of octopi to put here!

Where's the car already??

>5 ronincats: Hi Roni! You get the Chief Pontiac First-in Award!

>6 jnwelch: Hi5!


>7 quondame: I'm okay with the previous ones...still drooling and palpitating over that sculpture!

>8 laytonwoman3rd: Just got it in, Linda3rd. The one I chose first was http resourced so wouldn't show up. This one, I note with pleasure, lives in Patchogue. Not far from here!

>1 richardderus: OK....absolutely love it. And the garage ain't half bad either. When I first visited my husband-to-be's parents/grandmother, they lived in a lovely big house fashioned after the southern plantation houses his great-grandfather saw when he fought in the Civil War. There was a five-car garage at the end of the driveway (although they had only one car at the time), and I thought I had fallen into the setting of a novel.

Happy new thread, Richard! Erika says she needs that car.

>11 laytonwoman3rd: It's a beauty all right. I love the cream paintjob and the big ol' Silver Streak down the whole car.

Patchogue has some swanky homes, eh? Not *quite* plantation-home level, but nicer than yer basic Levitt shack.

>12 harrygbutler: I agree with Erika...she needs that car. Make it so!

This is so completely me.

I thought of you RD when I was watching Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Going for Coffee on Netflix.

I'm pretty sure that some of the cars he has featured have or will appear here too!

Happy new thread.

Happy new thread, Richard!

Cool loooking that car, I must admit I never drove a car with automatic transmission. I didn't know they were around for so long.

Happy New Thread, Richard! Love the Streamliner toppers! A real beauty. I hope you had a fine Sunday. I might just finish 10 Minutes 38 Seconds today and I have been quite impressed with my introduction to Safak.

Happy new one, Richard. Great topper! And, I just have to say, >14 richardderus: is me, too... and then some!

Good morning, RD, and happy new thread.

That is a beautiful car. And the hood ornament...

>14 richardderus: I'm going to send that to Jenna later today. I like it a lot.

>14 richardderus: LOL!

A hood ornament that lights up when the lights are on?!? I want one! I'd like to have the rest of the car, too, please.

Oooh, a new thread!

Good morning, RD.

Happy new thread!

>15 PaulCranswick: Ha, yes, I've seen some of Seinfeld's lovely old iron. I will never say never.

>16 FAMeulstee: In the US, most drivers look at manual-shift cars with true terror. This seems to be especially true in hilly cities, where starting on an upgrade is...challenging.

>17 msf59: Thanks, Mark, it's a lovely old survivor, isn't it? I'm still contemplating the architectural Safak.

>18 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! I suspect most readers fall somewhere in that ruminating spectrum, though I don't have data to back it up.

>19 karenmarie: Morning, Horrible, happy "yeah-so?"day! *smooch*

>20 jnwelch: Hi Joe! You'd think that, in an era when cars cost the earth, the moon, and the stars, they'd put cool stuff like lighted hood ornaments on 'em. But noooooooo

>21 katiekrug: It is AND it's Lucky #13 to boot. Or do I mean the Judas thread....

>22 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

NOW.

Has everyone been to my blog to read about Flames already? Hmm? Why, whatever do you mean "didn't know you had a blog"? Here, dear, it's at this link: https://tinyurl.com/yy8uqtmh
That's where I give 5-of-five stars to this Tasmania-set magical-realism-imbued debut novel. Go and read about it! Quick sticks, possum.

>25 richardderus: Flames sounds irresistible, Richard. Thanks for shrieking. Interesting that Flanagan blurbed it, because his Death of a River Guide seems to have come out of the same magic satchel. I absolutely loved that one.

>26 laytonwoman3rd: I agree with your assessment of the Flanagan title's close cousinship to this one...and that makes me even more eager for you to read it. The beauty of the Tasmanian world is so much on display here. That the author makes it alive seems more, to me at least, of a close observation than an invention...like Flanagan.

Happy new thread!

>28 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!
***
Coode Street Podcast with Jonathan Strahan and Gary Wolfe discusses the eternal if ephemeral divide between literary and SFF fiction through the lens of The Testaments. Some very interesting views expressed.

Hi Richard, Happy new thread dear friend.

Hi John! Thank you, and I'm glad to see you here.

>31 richardderus:, Hope you are well Richard, we are both fine and Karen did quite a bit of baking yesterday, I am a very lucky boy with all the goodies to eat, ha, ha.

'Morning, RD and happy Tuesday to you.

Jenna loved >14 richardderus:, as I predicted she would.

>32 johnsimpson: Baking! Always a good thing, baking. Yummy results, I'm sure, and I hope you're enjoying them.

>33 karenmarie: Hey Horrible! How could she not, really, it's so relatable. Word people are, I think, among the most prone to that kind of obsessiveness.

Happy Tuesday! *smooch*

105 Sweet as Cane, Salty as Tears by Ken Wheaton

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: A freak accident forces a New Yorker to return to Louisiana and confront her Cajun past

There is nothing more dangerous than a spooked rhinoceros. It is just before lunchtime when Huey, the prized black rhino of Broussard, Louisiana, erupts from his enclosure, trampling a zoo employee on his way to a rampage in the Cajun countryside. The incident makes the rounds online as News of the Weird, and Katherine Fontenot is laughing along with the rest of her New York office when she notices the name of the hurt zookeeper: Karen-Anne Castille—her sister.

Fifty years old, lonely, and in danger of being laid off, Katherine has spent decades trying to ignore her Louisiana roots. Forced home by Karen-Anne’s accident, she remembers everything about the bayou that she wanted to escape: the heat, the mosquitoes, and the constant, crushing embrace of family. But when forced to confront the ghosts of her past, she discovers that escape might never have been necessary.

I RECEIVED THIS BOOK FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS-PLUS. THANK YOU.

My Review: It's funny how The Book for a particular mood will lurk until that moment hits. I needed an undemanding read, one that had nothing to do with the present-day mishegas I find both distasteful and unseemly; I found this book set in Obama-era New York City and central Louisiana. About a funeral, and coming to terms with what family means, what being in a family requires, how it is that Facebook has metastasized across nations and cultures.

Published in 2015, the book follows Katie-Lee, fiftyish and full of the fear that gives single people, as she returns to bury her little sister in the wake of a Facebook-meme-able death. In fact, she finds out about the life-ending from her colleagues at (unnamed but obvious) Advertising Age, their titters and chuckles about a humorous tale of a zookeeper trampled by a rhino morphing into a dreadful reality: That's her baby sister. The shamefaced colleagues try to make it right, but she's already launched the boat onto the Styx.

She has to Go Home. Not a flying visit. The Native has to Return. O frabjous day.

Must be done. She does it. Hijinks ensue; her Louisiana family, of her generation that is, are all au courant with the world as they see it on Facebook, which is a large player in the novel. No political crap yet, as this book was written and published before the 2016 debacle revealed how much influence the platform has over far more than one's personal life. No Instagram, glancing mentions of Twitter, and Katie-Lee's a screen addict whose phone running out of bars is a Biblical-level disaster. She has more in common with the grandkids of her sisters and brother than with them.

She honestly has no idea what to do with her sadness. Facing mortality for the first time is a life-changing experience. I did it in my 20s when the AIDS epidemic decimated the gay guys I knew and loved. I remember the emotions, the detachment from reality that realizing your own death is, inevitably and inexorably, coming closer and closer. Youth is gone in that moment, calendar be hanged. And Katie-Lee's life in Brooklyn isn't such that she's cushioned from the yawning emptiness of survivorhood.

Dig we must, chere.

The healing in this tale is family-wide, and inclusive. The tragedies of the past are present again as they always are at funerals; so are the fun memories that inject themselves into the geology of one's life. People whose acts are literally unforgivable are not forgiven, though that day will clearly come. But the truly unforgivable ones are the least likely to see themselves as needing forgiveness. THAT resonated. Author Wheaton nailed that. But he did so in a format, following a structure, and thus made sure the Lesson isn't A Sermon (and he includes one of those, a real dilly of a tone-deaf nightmare-from-Hell one at that) and moves on to the next laugh.

There's the rub. This is a nightclub act written as a book. These moments are Wheaton's Brooklyn party pieces connected into a gender-swapped story to make them cohesive. (In fact, Katie-Lee's ex Howie sounds to me like Wheaton's ex only maybe not gender-swapped, if you take my meaning.) They're not less real or funny for that, but the structure of the book does nothing to hide this fact from knowing eyes. I'm from South Central Texas, I had a mamaw and she was transplanted Cajun stock, and in the days when I had party pieces, they fit together much the same way as Wheaton's do. So my eyes weren't fogged up but rather cleared by reading the present action-memory-lesson structure.

I hurry to remind y'all that 3-1/2 stars is a positive rating. I'm not trying to blast the author; in fact I liked the rhythm, was comfortably on board with the predictability of it, and felt completely relaxed and happy and at home. Nothing much happens. No excitement apart from a funeral games scene that about popped my eyeballs out from trying not to wake my roomie up from the laughing.

So do I recommend this read? Sure, so long as you're a storytelling-voice addict. It's $8 on your ereader and that's not a lot to spend on four or five hours' vacation without moving. But if you're not in the mood to listen to stories, this will not be a successful trip to Opelousas. (Where Mamaw's family came from! Now, I don't *know* that any Tullises married any Wheatons, but I bet if we....)

Happy Wednesday, Richard. Good review of Sweet as Cane. I will definitely keep this one in mind. I did finish up with the Black Lagoon book. What a nice surprise and I like how she tied it into the Me Too movement. Hooray for Millie!

>35 richardderus: - Nice review!

And good morning. Sorry about the troublesome knee :(

>36 msf59: Hey Mark, glad to see you. I'm pleased with the review.

I was UNhappy about the turn O'Meara took in The Lady from the Black Lagoon because I felt it was shoved in willy-nilly! Things never look the same to different eyes, do they.

>37 katiekrug: Hiya Katie, glad you're out and about...yeah, it kinda stinks to have to sit here looking at sunshine and pretty! I wanna go for my walk. pfui on this

Please, as members of the chattiest group on LT, go look at the redesigned site that will be rolling out soon. Be sure to scroll through the commentariat's issues!

Tim has assured me that the new "Community" tab will open directly on to "Talk" which is where I myownself have my landing page set.

Just went there and commented, RD. Thanks for the head's up.

I went and skimmed the re-design thread. Change like that doesn't bother me, and I normally wouldn't have posted. But Good Lord! Some of those comments... SMH. (Not yours, obvs!)

>14 richardderus: LOL!! Love the car up top and your review. Off to check out the redesign. Knee be well!!! Smooch.

>40 karenmarie: Quite welcome, of course.

>41 katiekrug: I Know, Right?! "I don't like it because it doesn't look exactly like I think it should"...how old are you?!

I agree about the colors, they ain't purty. I look forward to seeing what they do about that.

>42 Berly: I love that brain-vs-person comic! I'll pass your command onto the stubborn knee, goodness knows the damn thing doesn't listen to me.

Seeeeee.....I LIKE the colors......*wah*. Seriously, they know what they're doing up there, and I trust 'em. I will read the thread in its entirety in a day or so, when family matters currently occupying my time are completed. So thanks (for the second time today, I think!) RD, for keeping me current.

>44 laytonwoman3rd: If my copious free time is good for anything besides sobbing over the roads not taken and wailing about how nobody cares if I live or die (no one told me sixty was so much like sixteen!), then I am content. :-P

So sorry to hear the gout is acting up again, Richard. And you know we care!

I'm in! >14 richardderus: Oh lord, another sleepless night tonight!

>46 ronincats: Heh. Yes, I know, and thanks for reminding me. :-)

>47 SomeGuyInVirginia: I know, Larry, it's all fun and games until 1am....

I know you've moved on to Pontiacs, but I spotted this '49 Merc ragtop. The driver and passenger are dressed for Halloween.

Well I don't mind change so much, unlike many people of my innumerable years. So I'll look forward to it. If they do something about how it looks on my phone I'll be ecstatic. Thanks for the info Richard.

Change is always going on, on the internet. It is probably time for an update. I hope that they don’t make it too hard for me to find my library.

>49 weird_O: Priceless! I particularly adore the tights-so-thick-they're-trousers that bag at the knee.

The ragtop's a purty ol' beast.

>50 brenzi:, >51 benitastrnad: I'm fine with it now that I know the "Community" tab will open onto talk. I *really* hope they change the awful colors, and ANYthing is better than the current phone app. I uninstalled it after two days. I never got the hang of Litsy, so that didn't help me, either.

I don't have a fancy mobile phone, and only use LT on the laptop. I know phone apps are used more and more, Google is nagging me about my own website for some time now. So it is time to make LT more accessable on mobile phones. I am fine with everything as long as I can find my own books and Talk in the Dutch version of LT.

>53 FAMeulstee: I see a lot of folks get up in arms, and snarky about it, at the mere notion of change. The truth is that this site looks almost the same as the one I joined in 2006 and there is literally not one other site that can claim the same.

I just hope they'll get rid of the depressing brown while they're tarting stuff up. "Chewed-up chocolate" wears on me.

Happy Friday, Richard. Glad you revisited The Lady From the Black Lagoon, but sorry to hear it fell short for you. I agree with your "gee whiz" observations, but it just didn't bother me as much.

I am very close to starting Night Boat to Tangier. I might bookhorn in Ghost Wall first, since it is a shorty and on my Kindle. Did you read that one? Looks like another dark and creepy one.

Good morning, Richard. I’m looking forward to the tarting up of LT, too. You’re right - it’s 2008 for me, but I can’t think of any other site that has changed so little over that time. Enough with the chewed up chocolate brown! Good think we all bring so much color here.

'Morning, RD! I hope your knee has stopped giving you fits and that you get a lot of good reading in today!

Have you ever used the Internet Archive Wayback Machine? It's a lot of fun. Here's the link for the screen snapshots of LT:

The Wayback Machine - Librarything

*smooch*

>55 msf59: It's not that it's a bad book, Mark, it's that it's not a good biography. If you're marketing a book as a bio, make it one. The digressions, the disquisitions, the divagations all got in the way of Milicent Patrick's life. Of course it's clearly true that Patrick left little to no footprint to report on. A lot of that is down to sexism and professional jealousy. So don't market this as a bio of someone whose life story is so minimally documented. Make it a chapter in a polemic about women in the film industry being denied their proper credit.

The writing is so...let me be kind...unpretentious that it loses authority, which makes a difference in biography. Edmund Morris was playful about parts of Teddy Roosevelt's life and personality (see Theodore Rex particularly) without losing an overall voice that conveyed how deeply serious he was and how well he knew his subject.

Looks like I just wrote my review!

>56 jnwelch: Greetings, Joseph. Yep, it's us'ns what colors this place up, indeed. Happy Friday Reads!

>57 karenmarie: Hi Horrible! Yeah, the Wayback Machine is a hoot. Happy Friday Reads! *smooch*

106 Lady from the Black Lagoon by Mallory O'Meara

Rating: 3* of five

Milicent’s incredible life should have earned her an honored place in film history. But few even recognize her name. There’s still time to change that.

It's not that this is a bad book...it's that it's not a good biography. If you're marketing a book as a bio, make it one. The digressions, the disquisitions, the divagations all got in the way of Milicent Patrick's life. Of course it's clearly true that Patrick left little to no footprint to report on. A lot of that is down to sexism and professional jealousy. So don't market this as a bio of someone whose life story is so minimally documented. Make it a chapter in a polemic about women in the film industry being denied their proper credit.

Here's another example:

There are few women with as great an influence on Southern California’s reputation as a hub of twentieth-century American art than Nelbert Chouinard. She was, as they say, one bad motherfucker.

The Disney Studio probably wouldn't exist without the hearty help and unstinting financial generosity of Nelbert Chouinard of the Chouinard Art Institute, today called CalArts. Follow those links...Chouinard's legacy is immense, her biography paltry. It is a travesty. Here's a subject for O'Meara's talents as a researcher and tone as a writer...women buried by Time and Patriarchy. Polemical listicles, capsule bios, indignation at the self-evident, undeniable injustice of it.

The writing is so...let me be kind...unpretentious that it loses authority, which makes a difference in biography. Edmund Morris was playful about parts of Teddy Roosevelt's life and personality (see Theodore Rex particularly) without losing an overall voice that conveyed how deeply serious he was and how well he knew his subject. Do you get that sense about O'Meara's writing, using this representative squib on Milicent's mother's travails moving her family from South to North America?

If you have ever looked with pity at a mother consoling a crying baby on a flight, imagine Elise traveling by car, train and ship through four countries with a baby, two small children and no disposable diapers or air conditioning.

It's okay, it's about a person whose life was stolen from her by her gender role in a world even more unfair than out stinkingly unequal one, and I just don't think it's a whole entire book's worth of biography. There are too many side bios of William Randolph Hearst and Julia Morgan and La Chouinard and...well, you get my drift.

It's a solid B. Good effort, properly identified topic and subject, unfocused and scattershot while being entertaining.

>58 richardderus: >59 richardderus: You are so smart and insightful. I wish I was just a tiny bit that articulate. I have to agree with these observations, but I am not sure O'Meara was shooting for a straight bio. It is a memoir, some fan-girl musings, a bio and a social commentary, all inexpertly blended together. A concoction that worked for me.

Good review of Black Lagoon! Actually I liked the Hearst stuff. Some of it, I had not known about.

>59 richardderus: There are tooeversomany chapters in that sad putative volume. But in a way those were the women who did remarkable things, and so, were still better off than their stifled and silenced sisters.

>60 msf59: *blush* Thank you for the compliment, but don't sell yourself short!

>61 quondame: Ain't there just, Susan, it's really infuriating as well as nauseating on top of depressing.

>1 richardderus: Now that is one streamlined car!

>29 richardderus: the rule of thumb with the lit crit mob always seemed to me to be 'If its any good it can't possibly be that SF monsters and ray guns crap"

I took a look at Walter Issacson's new book on Leonardo de Vinci. It's the same problem - we don't really know bugger all about his early life so the book is all "Leonardo may have" or "It's possible that . . . ",and so on. Makes me tired.

Biographer's aren't paid to say "I don't know" . But sometimes that's what they should say.

>63 magicians_nephew: It is, isn't it?

The utter vapidity of that sort of vapour being blown up my bottom is wearing on me as well. The biographer is up against it when dealing with the less-than-obsessively-documented person's life...but padding and puffery will reduce the usefulness and pleasure of reading the end product.

>54 richardderus: Chiming in a little late. I agree LT's overdue for a facelift. It's functional if you are on a desktop, but I haven't found a lot of site functions such as chat through the app, and it's not very mobile friendly at the moment. Hopefully their overhaul will be functional.

>65 thornton37814: The consensus is similar to your sentiments as of now, Lori. Check the thread out.

Ack! I am just getting to your new thread and it's already humming along.

Back to your prior thread (which I did skim before hopping over here), I saw two, count them, TWO 5* book reviews in the last 60 posts or so. How fun for you!
I'm also in favor of a facelift for LT --- and I would be willing to pony up some funds to help it along.

>67 EBT1002: Yes indeed, Q4 has been plain ol' great at fattening the "yum" stack. It's only going to get better as we head into Booksgiving, too!

Best go over to the thread and weigh in, then, because the PTB are all up in it.

I don't need any changes on LT, but if they can make it more accessible to newbies, thereby generating more cash to keep LT going, then I am in!! As long as I get my talk button.

>69 Berly: I'll spare you the heart failure: "Talk" is no more; instead, there's a "Community" button that, when clicked, splashes you down on Talk.

Apropos of this discussion and after going over and reading the thread, although I rarely use the phone app, I went to Mysterious Galaxy yesterday in celebration of my Thingaversary. Asked the guy behind the counter to check on whether I'd already bought a certain book there (I had) and he was talking about how he had trouble keeping track of what he already had too. So, demonstrating LT to him, I actually catalogued my two new purchases right then and there. Yay! My problem is that I usually don't catalog a book until I read it, but now I'm going to catalog them as I purchase them! Easy peasy!

>71 ronincats: The phone app was, in an earlier iteration, not very useful to me. When the redesign is done, I'll try it again, but it'll have a bad taste to overcome.

'Morning, RD! Have a Totally Excellent Saturday.

I use and will continue to only use the phone app to determine if I already have a book since I only catalog what's on my shelves. Everything else is on my computer. As long as I don't lose functionality and can eventually find what I most frequently use, I'll be happy. Colors and fonts can be what ever TPTB want them to be. What we have doesn't bother me although it doesn't thrill me either - it just is.

>73 karenmarie: Hey, Horrible! How's by you? I'm having a perfectly pleasant Saturday, thanks...and ya know what, that's good enough.

I would enjoy another color scheme more than this one, but it's not a deal-breaker...and the phone app would just make doctor visits a little less tedious, since cataloging has slackened to "what I need to post reviews for."

*smooch*

Agreed re the old phone app; not worth using much. How did you know about Community replacing Talk? Is there some place that describes the changes?

Richard linked earlier. The discussion is going on this thread https://www.librarything.com/topic/312250

Tim's reply to Richard about Community/Talk was

When you click on "Community" you will be thrown into Talk. That is, there will be no top-level community page. Groups will be another subnav option within Community.

>75 jnwelch:, >76 calm: Thanks, calm! I appreciate the clarification.

WOW. Reading The Wolf and the Watchman a second time time to review it is...disturbing. Even wrenching.

A Swedish friend of mine was pretty dismissive of the author's native-language writing. This, then, is a rare bird: A book well-served by its translation. Fewer of those than I'd've expected.

>76 calm:, >77 richardderus:. Gracias!

>39 richardderus: Thanks for the heads up on the LT new community page, Richard. I’ll give it a look once I have a computer in front of me. Happy newish thread.

Happy newish thread, Richard, and thanks to the link of the current design change thread. I tend to avoid using the site on my mobile devices, but I would do it more if I get cleaner pages like the examples on my phone and Kindle.

Happy reading weekend! *smooch*

>78 jnwelch: :-)

>79 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg, and enjoy your trip through that looonnng thread. Post #186 is a great starting point.

>80 bell7: Thanks, Mary! *smooch*

'Morning, RD! *smooch*

Hey Horrible, have a shiny Sunday...we're getting rain all day, but 'tis the season so can't really bitch too hard. And look at SoCal for a grisly alternative!

Happy Sunday, Richard. I have been running around this morning but now it is time for books and Bears football. They have been suckin' lately, so we are hoping for a turn around. I will finish a book you did not like, Ghost Wall and start another, you did like, Night Boat to Tangier. Enjoy your day.

Thanks, Mark, it's a day of nothing-much since I'm so squicked by The Wolf and the Watchman this time through...I know what's coming and EEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW...that I've stalled out on reading The Lines and Big Sleep Boogie too. I'm guessing it's a mood thing, so it'll pass.

Most everyone else seems to have loved Ghost Wall so I'm the outlier again. The Barry book...well...I hope it sits well with you like it did with me. Restful reads!

Well, this time it worked.

I'm putting together a book club. You should come.

>86 SomeGuyInVirginia: ...pretty much guaranteed...yum
***
Happy Monday all. No more rain, which is pleasant, and one brief doctor's visit, which isn't unpleasant; beyond that I'll be reading so I can get pre-Halloween reviews posted.

Hi RD!

Your Monday sounds fine.

We've got blue skies and some crisp fall weather. Low 70s most of the week, it's 51 now.

I've started Busman's Honeymoon, last novel of my year long personal challenge. After this I'll read the short stories. She's one of the few people whose short stories I can tolerate.

Morning, RD! Glad to hear the pain is gone.

ETA: Oops, you said no more *rain*. My bad...

>88 karenmarie: Heh. Not a short story person, definitely a c-a-t person, and yet I still love you. Truly a testament to the Power of Reading Addiction. *smooch*

>89 katiekrug: If all my pain went away, Katie, I'd be convinced I was dead. Hasn't happened since, hmm, well now...ever.

Spend a splendiferous one!

>90 richardderus: I love Karen because she's loveable. Irresistible force.

Harold Bloom could read 400 pages an hour. Dolf Lundgren has an IQ of 160. A friend of mine's son dated Zachery Quinto (friend said they were just friends but no.)

It's a world of wonders.

>91 SomeGuyInVirginia: FOUR. HUNDRED!

*fantods*

My sustained-reading record was 90pp/hr when I was in my middle 30s until I was about 40; dropped since, averaging about 75pp/hr now. I'd've loved to have made triple digits!

...I used to date a pornstar's dad...does that count?

>86 SomeGuyInVirginia: I'd have a hard time paying attention to the pages, of the books, that is.

>93 quondame: Heh. Books? What books?

'Afternoon, RD!

I sorted books this morning, so got to touch and hold books for 2 hours - heaven. Then lunch with the book sort team, the PO to mail a box o'books to friend Karen, now home to clean windows inside and out and the house power washed.

And now to read.

>90 richardderus:, >91 SomeGuyInVirginia: You guys... *blush*

Hi Richard!

I just wanted to say that several years ago you would dip into my thread and give sagely life advice that I frequently denied and rejected.

Even though you were right most of the time, I'd like the record to show that I am still denying and rejecting all of it.

Hope you are well!

>95 karenmarie: *smooch*

>96 Ape: Steven, as I live and breathe, surprise me! Yeah, well, more people don't take good advice than do.

Blogger, my platform of choice for hosting my primitive little book blog, has introduced a new interface with their analytics suite. It looks different, which is where I assumed the changes ended; then I poked around a bit and found that there are substantive changes in the analytics...and I *like* them!

This is a rare enough occurrence, a change made to a free site's functionality that's an actual improvement, that I felt an announcement was warranted. Yay! I love days that have good changes in them.

Hey, RD. I NEED to get my mitts on The Wolf and the Watchman. It sounds amazing. I should finish Night Boat to Tangier tomorrow. What a wonderful novel. I stopped bookmarking passages, because I was tagging nearly every page. His prose is gorgeous. Have you read any of Barry's other work? I would really like to try some of his short fiction.

Pearl Rule #18 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric Cline 31% of 8+ hours

Being a foolish old man, I'm trying to ear-read it because I got a free audiobook. The only way I can hope to make this work is if I try to keep lecture notes. This should be "fun" but I really want to read this book and, well, free.

**The book has 484 minutes of sounds. I'm using percentages of how far I've gotten...eg, 46:41 = 46.75; 46.75 ÷ 484 = .096, or 10% "read."

Front matter thru Preface: older scholarship pointed to culprits being Sea Peoples, modern says they prob were refugees fr/catastrophes & needed new lands; were Srdn--Shklsh fr/Sardinia--Sicily or go there after RamIII-Egyptians defeated them? Do earthquake storms fr/archaeology records have more to do w/it?

And: Fail. I fell asleep somewhere early in chapter one, I think the reader had said "the Whoosheesh" for like the fourth time in five minutes and, well, *snore*

>99 msf59: Hi Mark! No, no Kevin Barry yet; Beatlebone will probably be the next one I'll pick up.

>91 SomeGuyInVirginia: Someone who could read 400 pages an hour??!! Wow!
I wish I could read that fast, I used to be happy with my 60 pages an hour...

>92 richardderus: Even you can read faster than I can, Richard!

I had boss who turned out later to be a big fraud... no other mentionable contacts to throw in ;-)

>100 richardderus: @31%
Fail. I fell asleep somewhere early in chapter one, I think the reader had said "the Whoosheesh" for like the fourth time in five minutes and, well, *snore*

>102 FAMeulstee: Hm...I think my porn-parent sounds like more fun than a fraudster!

>103 richardderus: Yeah, I think I would have had a problem with that one on audiobook too. (It doesn't help that I'm a bad ear-reader even of thrillers, and thrilling 1177 B.C. is not.)

>100 richardderus: Good luck with the ear read, Richard. I don't do audio books, myself, I have a hard enough time remembering info given over the phone let alone a whole book.

'Morning, RDear and happy Wednesday to you.

>100 richardderus: Good luck. *shudder*

Impressive audio pick, Richard - and the price can't be beat. Looking forward to hearing what you learn. Can I borrow your notes to study for the exam?

I took your plea to heart and spent the entire day (feels like it) going through the first re-design thread and now I'm too tired to do ought else than wave limply. *waves*

Hi everybody! See >103 richardderus:, I failed. No way in hell can I ear-read something I'd have to keep my eye-wits about me to comprehend. Plus the reader was prone to Doing Voices. Pharoah thunders; client-kings whimper. Yuck.

>104 swynn: Yeah, it was a bad choice for a reluctant ear-reader.

>105 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg!

>106 karenmarie: Happy Humpday, Horrible, may it bring you copious amounts of silence and some excellent reads.

>107 jnwelch: "The Sea Peoples didn't do it."

>108 humouress: *limp wave back* Those folk will drain all the joy out of life, won't they.

Hi, Richard. Awful day on the route, with the incredibly unpleasant weather. I fell, jarring my shoulder and my feet got wet, with all the slush and snow I waded through. What saved me, was, of course, the books. I finished the most excellent, Night Boat to Tangier, (what a perfect author discovery) and my audio of 21 Lessons, which kept me perfectly distracted with the smart and insightful facts, he consistently presented.

I hope you had a better one!

>110 msf59: Hey Birddude, sorry to hear that it was a grim one. That shoulder issue is ugly, I hope nothing makes it worse as winter progresses.

My day was spent indoors and recumbent since it's damp and ucchhy out there. I simply can't. But I'm snug and comfy, so....

Blessed Samhain, everyone!

'Morning, RD!

Second day of rain. We still need rain to get out of our abnormally dry situation and since all I have to do today is take my HOA dues to our Treasurer on our road, it isn't too bad.

>112 richardderus: I can't see the image here, but copied the location to a new tab on my browser and was able to see it - I like it.

*smooch*

>113 karenmarie: Hey, Horrible, sorry about your rainy uccchhhy weather...though that balancing-the-drought thing's pretty important too. We're doing monster-movie fog today, which makes a nice change from drippy drizzle.

*smooch*

>114 weird_O: Cool! I love the jack-o-lantern tradition. And am I ever glad it's not carver turnips anymore...imagine the stench of burning turnip!

>112 richardderus: Soup!

>116 humouress: Heh, with LETTUCE?! Ewww

Day of the Dead greetings!

Hiya.
I got *seriously* behind on your thread and didn't even realize there was a continuation.
Love that '49 Pontiac hood ornament. How entirely cool. Why can't cars have hood ornaments anymore? Oh yeah, cause they get stolen.

Re the LT design, I made a comment (#86) on my Talk thread. I just read that I am not alone in being amazed at the vitriol (too strong a word?) from some members.
Okay already, we all know change is hard and sometimes learning our way around a new website is frustrating.
I suggested (on the LT redesign talk page) a game to teach us how to navigate. With a fun book-icon if you solve at least one "find your way" clue.

I'm in a series of rather poor novel reads and have been indulging in garden books, as an antidote.
I acknowledge your curled lip that 'what did I expect when I persist in reading the Ruth Galloway saga?' Well, yes, but I did find The Stone Circle engaging and rated it 4½ ★s.

I'm also currently soldiering through The Grey Sisters from the September batch. It was a grab your attention opening chapter, but halfway through the book, it is by turns a yawn and total weirdness. I don't like the narrative much, although the author writes appropriately for the YA genre. I'm avoiding the reviews so far (being too easily influenced), but I'm more and more tempted just to see if there's a compelling reason not to skim the rest of the novel.

Are you handing out treats tonight? Or tricks? It has been snowing here, the temps arose above zero (Celsius, ya know?) and now it is truly *miserable* with drizzle. No kid in their right mind will want to go outside. Oh wait! The lure of free candy!

Happy Halloween RD!

Spring lettuce soup

Morning, Richard! Happy Friday! Our weather has been awful- rain, snow, slush, wind and cold. A bit more moderate today, but still chilly. Looking forward to having Monday off. At least, my books have been keeping good company. This is always a plus.

'Morning, RD!

It's a nice bright 38 here. The Sunroom's 63, so I turned on the propane space heater and have my first cup of coffee at hand.

I hope you have a good Friday. Not the religious one, just a Good.Friday. *smooch*

Good morning, Richard!

>119 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, I was surprised at the level of, oh, negative excitement over the proposed changes here at LT. I’m not wild about change for its own sake, but it really is time for an overhaul. I’m sure that after a few fiddling and mildly cursed-filled forays into the new wilderness, we’ll all be fine.

Also >119 SandyAMcPherson: Thank heavens! I thought I was the only one who disliked the Ruth Galloway series. I quite liked the first one, but the second entry clearly indicated the both Ruth and the series were going down a path that I’m not interested in. Too bad, too, because the mystery parts were interesting.

I hope your gout isn’t giving you fits, and that you’re able to enjoy the brisk weather.

>121 humouress: French peas:

Just because it *can* be done doesn't mean it *should* be.

>122 msf59: What a different experience it must be to work through your day with the pleasures of a good ear-read instead of rattles, clunks, and hums. Yay audiobooks!

After fog and drizzle yesterday, it's turned positively sunstruck today, and ten degrees colder...50° for a high...but I don't have to do anything to get out in it. I'll take my walk in the afternoon, more to bask in the glory than anything else.

>123 karenmarie: Unless I've misremembered the whole religious schedule, we're quite a ways off the "Good" version of Friday so I shall content myself with having a pleasant, amiable one instead. *smooch*

>118 quondame: That's a first, Susan, I've never seen an octopod calaverased. Thank you!

>119 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! What a GREAT idea. Almost everyone on the site loves the hunts, so why not use that taste to get them to stop whining and start thinking!

I'm sorry the Treggiare didn't translate into sustained fun. Haw haw.

>120 SomeGuyInVirginia: *smooch*

>124 Matke: It's brisk alrighty all right! I'll be out in it this afternoon to soak up the sunshine. I love this moment...getting colder, not yet cold...and like all fleeting moments, it's a wee bit sad as well.

Gout's been crappy for a while. I started losing weight and didn't consider that there's always a gout attack lurking in lighter weights...less fat to hide uric acid in? dunno...so I failed to take proper precautions and, well....

Well-Loved Reads from My Past Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

Rating: It's a four-star memory
***$1.99 on Kindle TODAY 1 NOVEMBER 2019***

I plucked this off my mother's shelf in, oh let's say 1973-ish (before reading Green Darkness, anyway). She quirked an eyebrow at the choice, but (as was her habit) made no demur to the borrowing. I'd had some, well, sulphrous things to say about Taylor Caldwell. The term "snoozer biddy" might have been bandied about. However much I was unimpressed by later forays into these 40s icons of sudsy historical (loosely) fiction, I was captivated by this read.

Miranda the Plucky Lass is very clear-sighted (look at the name, no one said Ma Seton was subtle) which makes her a lovely change to the dimwitted, slow-moving Johanna in the eyes of her husband Nicholas, the cold and calculating Master of Dragonwyck. The absolutely bog-standard plot of Wicked Man does Bad Things to get his filthy, lustful paws on Innocent Maiden, succeeds but not for long, and Kind, Decent Man (whose presence isn't subtly heralded, let me just say) Rrrescues Herrr from A Fate Worse Than DEATH!! (Being married to a Bad Man is worse than death. *sigh*)

I lapped it up. Seton's strength as a writer is the facility with which she wraps her ordinary stories in well-chosen words and richly textured imagery. Would I love it again, forty-five years on? Probably not anywhere near as much...but I'd give it a go which is a lot more than I'd do for most stuff I read in 1973. (-ish)

>126 richardderus: I'm glad you liked my game suggestion; some people over on the design talk thread were sour on the idea, but Tim thought it was great. So I'm satisfied for his support.

I'm not going to follow that talk thread anymore. It seems so negative and I like coming here to enjoy what folks have to say. I don't need to have every comment that I make agreed with, but there's ways to think through disagreement that are more productive.

Also at >124 Matke:, I will confess to liking some of the Ruth Galloway books. My favourite character is actually Cathbad, with his tantalizing, almost-clairvoyant abilities. The Crossing Places remains one of my favourite stories, though there were two others I enjoyed a lot. I love the Bronze/Iron age details. I think those mysteries are what really keep drawing me back to reading the novels. They're comfort reads, really, since I can zip through them without having to concentrate.

Apologies to Richard for yakking on his Talk thread about a book series in reply to bohemima. Is that bad manners on LT? I'm still discovering various subtle unspoken "rules" of engagement.

>129 SandyAMcPherson: It's no fun to interact with many of the people whose investment in the site is more possessive than ours is, so I find the thread more than a little wearing as well. I'm dipping in and out to see if more Official Posts showing what's coming are made.

Many will take exception to chatter not directed at the host; I think that's weird. A party has many conversations and all are welcome, IMO, unless they involve c-a-t-s, gawd, or 45. In those cases, move it elsewhere.

>130 richardderus:, 45?
I must have missed something.
The c-a-t-s I understand.

>129 SandyAMcPherson: "45" is a US thing...a way to refer to a certain ... ummm... person in high office (the 45th to hold it, you see) without actually using his name.

I like your game idea for navigation too. Those of us who have been on LT since before there was a lot to navigate learned it as it rolled out. I do think it's a bit overwhelming for newer members because, after all, there is an awful lot to see and do here. I'm pretty sure I'm not using all the features that might appeal to me, especially some that have sneaked in when I wasn't paying attention. And I agree with RD, carrying on a chat with a third party on MY thread is fine with me, as long as it isn't a rant, an argy-bargy, or an incitement to extensive political discourse.

>129 SandyAMcPherson:
I don't want to move all that thread talk over here, but what I find sad is that there aren't a whole lot of places left on the Internet that do what LT does - and that is provide a place to catalog books. I kinda think that LT should charge more to join and stop allowing the 250 for free thing, but in talking with Tim about it, finances are not the problem, as LT has income from the work they do for ProQuest in particular.

I never liked GoodReads much, but I know that more than a few of the LT'ers also use that site. I think I might have been more favorable to Good Reads had it not been purchased by Amazon, but I like the format and the ease of use over here. I started in LT in 2008 and bought a lifetime membership in 2009. It took me about 5 years to get onto the social networking side of LT, and, to my surprise, I love that. Even though I don't have my own thread, and don't post pictures, I have met some really neat people, and been allowed to talk at will about books. I missed Richard when he was absent for a period of time and hungered for news of him until suddenly he reappeared. There is a fine sense of community here and all based around books. Even so, the main reason I do LT is still, after 11 years, the cataloging and maintenance of my collection. Things like color scheme and font size and style don't worry me too much. What I want is the cataloging to remain simple and easy to do. As long as they keep that easy to do, the other changes will be OK.

132: Yes...like Voldemort!

>134 Ape: Very much the same, indeed.

>133 benitastrnad: I kinda think that LT should charge more to join
This sentiment has also occurred to me, too. IMO, by having an upfront, one-time joining fee, LT might create something of a barrier to the trouble-makers and spammers, but not exclude the genuine bibliophiles and those interested in the excellent catalogue activities. Nothing is foolproof, of course.

and, I have met some really neat people, and been allowed to talk at will about books
My sentiments exactly! I was surprised at my enjoyment of the social networking side of LT, perhaps because I discovered so many like-minded souls. I was never interested in Twitter and only very briefly had an account on Facebook. After about two months, I discovered too many aspects about FB that I detested, so deleted my account.

I'm thinking that for 2020, I might not have my own 75-er thread. It is one reason I didn't follow up the suggestion from someone about joining another needlework Talk group. I'm always aware of the immense time-suck that online camaraderie poses. I seem very easily addicted!

Thanks to RD for letting me rabbit on about LT generally rather than some reading in particular!

>133 benitastrnad: I prefer LibraryThing to GoodReads for things like inventory of my personal collection and tagging/subject finding, but GoodReads has some features I liked once I began using it more. I've been a member of both for years and really had not used GoodReads that much until the last two or three years. GoodReads keeps track of the number of books read and number of pages read per year (although AudioBooks don't always reflect the numbers accurately). I also enter several GoodReads giveaways and occasionally win one.

>128 richardderus: The past is a strange place. Currently Amazon is insisting that I can't buy this because I can borrow it for free. Maybe I will, if not from them.

>133 benitastrnad: >137 thornton37814: I joined GR to follow authors I liked, and when I joined LT it turned out handy to have a list of books I'd read to import. I've tried at least two other cataloging apps before LT and was delighted at how easy it was to use and I really do look forward to being able to add a book without having to wrestle with the vagaries of Add Book

I wonder if a filter could be implemented on threads to comb out all posts by members with fewer than 250 books cataloged? Clearly some filters exist.

>137 thornton37814: I just take the books with the year read. Very easy to keep track that way.

>126 richardderus: Calaverased, cool new vocabulary word embarrassingly enough for this life long So Cal resident. So I guess Alebrije are calaverased animals.

Hey there Mr. Where's the Foto Friday Post at 9am on the West Coast, I haven't seen you around today. The post was there pretty much on time. I was expecting a big reaction, did I gross you out too much? ;-p.

I hope you're having a fabulous evening. Hope its not too cold, not too warm - perfect fall weather.

>130 richardderus: Surely Chuckles and "poultry" are off limits too, RD?

Although I do recall piquing your admiration with Simon Armitage who has gone on to be Poet Laureate of the UK.

Have a great weekend, dear fellow.

>131 SandyAMcPherson:, >132 laytonwoman3rd:, >133 benitastrnad: Now...see? What harm has that conversation done me, or anyone else whose thread it might've appeared in? Yet I know some folks whose response would be to complain that it "doesn't belong here." For the life of me, I can't think why.

Goodreads is an inferior cataloging tool for any user whose library includes obscure, off-beat, or old books. LT is an inferior discovery engine...it's almost as though they don't want you to see the reviews members write. Where is there a book description? (I know where it is, don't tell me, but I've been here 13 years.) Want to know what ISBNs are associated with a work? Good luck!

As for the social parts, outside the 75ers the place is a tomb peopled by poison-spewing mummies. I've been "shamed" for using Amazon as a data source ("Why would I listen to someone whose catalog has Kindle 'books' in it?" was the comment that slammed Club Read's door behind me for good and ever), for not using Firefox ("The problem is you're using IE, install Firefox and maybe we can help you," which is when I stopped participating in debugging threads) or some other geek-approved browser, for...well, let's just say that there are a gracious plenty of users here whose acquaintance I go out of my way to avoid.

I've had quite a lot of meaningful book discussions on Goodreads, I've found a lot of good people there, and like anyplace online I've been set upon by flying monkeys there too. (I will not go into the bad experiences of earlier this year here.) They're different places for different purposes, each with its strengths and weaknesses. But the proposed tarting-up of the dated visuals has reminded me of how truly awful and unwelcoming a place this can be for someone whose excitement at finding this bookish nook leads them to violate unstated and inscrutable "norms" in some innocent way.

Just checking in, Richard dear, to wish you a happy weekend. I hope all is well with you.
*smooch*

>134 Ape:, >135 laytonwoman3rd: Heh. Perzackly.

>136 SandyAMcPherson: Strongly disagree re: fees. If someone said to me, "That'll be $50" or some other minuscule-to-y'all amount, I'd be locked out for good. I don't have credit cards, a bank account, or an income. In an entire year, I possess less in cash than most of y'all spend on Starbucks. Using cash to buy the VISA gift cards costs 2% of my monthly cash...which is why I use Ammy to the exclusion of all other sites (and they deliver canned goods for free, a goddess-send!), their cards are free to buy.

How many book-lovers are in the same boat? A surprisingly large number. Many are excluded even by the modest $25 a lifetime unlimited membership fee presently charged. That's too bad, but inevitable in a country that hates its poor people as much as this one does. That attitude is so pervasive that kind and decent people perpetuate it without the tiniest shred of awareness that they're doing so. It happens all the time, so I do my best not to call it out when I see it as no one likes a scold. Here, on this, I'll speak up because it's that important to me.

'Morning, RD!

I'm like you - I like people to visit and make comments and sometimes they go off on their own and it's fine with me.

I've never been tempted to join GoodReads and keep perfectly good track of my books and pages read without having another online source tracking something else about me.

I use Amazon regardless of those who don't. I haven't been Ammy-shamed as have you.

I posted a bug about exporting my library earlier this year and got the same 'why don't you use a different browser' - not by someone who works for LT but by a user - and TPTB never even responded to my bug at all. It was phenomenally irritating, but either the bug got fixed quietly without letting me know or fixed itself.

I was attacked for defending someone who had been attacked in the Green Dragon group so stopped playing over there a very long time ago. Relatively minor for 12 years on LT, when all's said and done.

But the proposed tarting-up of the dated visuals has reminded me of how truly awful and unwelcoming a place this can be for someone whose excitement at finding this bookish nook leads them to violate unstated and inscrutable "norms" in some innocent way. Amen, brother. I've never blocked a member but have been tempted.

In other news, it's Saturday, and I hope you have a good one.

*smooch* from Madame TVT Horrible

>137 thornton37814: Wow. You win Goodreads giveaways?! I haven't won one in years so I quit trying.

>138 quondame: Your Prime membership lets you borrow up to ten books, and return them when you reach the limit so you can borrow more. But the BUY button is still there, just moved down to the bottom of the main right-hand box.

I don't use "Add Book" often. I'd prefer to find the ISBN or LCCN and catalog the actual edition I own. If it's something I got out of the library, I'm a little less sticklery about it.

You can imagine my lip curling at your final sentence, I'm sure.

>140 quondame: ...and Fragonard's écorchés are Frenchly calaverased! It's a surprisingly useful neologism.

>139 Matke: Hi Gail! *smooch*

>141 mahsdad: Hey Jeff, I wasn't around much yesterday. I'll toddle over to look soon. It's a beautiful day today! Much happiness with sunshine and cool temps.

>142 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, no question I'd be hard-pressed to confine myself to anodyne utterances in the face of an extended discussion of the "merits" of Chuckles the Dick's dreck, or of the "poetry" of Rupi Kaur...but this being my space, I'd be more likely to make merciless fun of the perps than I would be to order them out or demand they belt up.

I'm glad that Hani's back and y'all're seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.

>144 FAMeulstee: Good Saturday to you, Anita! Life progresses in a generally positive direction, thanks, and for you as well, I hope.

>146 karenmarie: Hey Horrible, I suspect you weren't objecting to someone very sure of the Rightness of their Sacred Opinion attempting to impose it on you because your own opinion was expressed while committing the sin of being male.

Yep, I remember that dust-up. I wonder if Esta is still among the living. I still can't imagine anyone finding an excuse to go after a very elderly soul who figured out how to get on the Internet (as we used to capitalize it), log on to the site, and participate in discussions here! I thought she deserved a medal.

*smooch*

Happy sunshine-y morning, RD!

We wathed the GBBO finale last night. I think the right person won in the end. Poor Steph. What a collapse!

>150 katiekrug: I agree about the winner. I was so pleased they actually showed him getting his "I'm proud of you" kiss from Nik! Those écorchés...I mean soufflés...I could've cried for Steph!

Don't you just love this moment? Sunshine, cool weather, leaves turning...*aaahhh* Like taking off tight shoes.

>151 richardderus: - My favorite weather!

Morning, Richard. Happy Saturday. Last work day of the week for me. Yay! As you know, I also use Good Reads quite a bit and have maintained some friendships over there, although the social content remains pretty lame.

Glad you are enjoying the late fall weather.

>152 katiekrug: :-)

>153 msf59: It's all what one does with it...but the delight is that there's something for everyone's tastes in this world.

Happy it's-Friday-at-last!

Morning, Richard. I'm enjoying the LT discussions.

I'm just glad that the 75er group is so congenial. I agree, other social groups on LT haven't been the same experience, although Green Dragon seems okay to me - just not as interesting. Darryl has a lot of friends in Club Read, but that one hasn't lit my fire either. I was nonplussed by the Science Fiction group (I can't remember the name) - there was a surprising amount of fighting over each other's hot air.

>145 richardderus: You've convinced me!
I withdraw the suggestion of fees. It is always a plus (in my world) to be shown a different point of view. Otherwise I would unknowingly have a viewpoint that was unexamined for its restricted knowledge base.

Also, the comment: But the proposed tarting-up of the dated visuals has reminded me of how truly awful and unwelcoming a place this can be for someone whose excitement at finding this bookish nook leads them to violate unstated and inscrutable "norms" in some innocent way. reiterated by Karen (>146 karenmarie:) is an important philosophy to recognize.

My beginning experiences on LT, when I discovered 'Talk' were rather horrible, so it wasn't until I stumbled across Lucy's (sibyx) comments somewhere (and liked her pov so much) that I ventured into this group.
I have met nothing but kindness and encouragement here. For that I am very grateful.

(Yeah that was a bit schmaltzy; but too often I neglect to be positive and focus on what's great! So here we are). And it's a mild Saturday morning in November. I hope the sun breaks through the clouds!

>155 jnwelch: I'm sure the Club Read crowd is just fine. People with demanding schedules will find the 75er ethos a bit much, no doubt.

Green Dragon and Science Fiction days are spent in camaraderie, I divine, so go to it is my take. My participation was not requested and is not required.

>156 SandyAMcPherson: It's a sign of a true 75er to wander in all unknowing, look around, and say "...aaahhh...at last."

The issue is that the perps of the "UNWANTED UNCLEAN GO THE FUCK AWAY" attitude do not see it, or do not see it as a problem. They're defending what's theirs, in their view; as I am not required to interact with them, I don't. Everyone is happier that way.

Schmaltz is perfectly fine here! *smooch*

>155 jnwelch: there was a surprising amount of fighting over each other's hot air.

Isn't it strange what can push people's irate buttons? Book choices and opinions are such a personal taste, the sum total of one's life experiences.

I think that pov reveals why the Pearl lady suggested that as your age moves beyond 50, the reader can subtract the number of pages read before DNF-ing the book. (Ooops that had a rude sound to it, DNF-ing! Ha).

I haven't explored many other groups on LT after I landed by accident at the 75 group in 2008.
Only a bit active in the Dutch groups at first, but no activity there for a long time now. I still participate in the yearly ROOT (Read Our Own Tomes) group. The last one is much more quiet, and that is a good thing, as it serves a purpose to me (keep on reading my own books), and it would be impossible to keep up with two chatty groups.

I will always be grateful I found this group. It is my secure place on the internet, where I can share a bit of life, and of course share my reading!

The 75ers are some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. The world is filled with such intolerance today, and the fact that everyone in the group still puts up with me is a shining example of their patience and fortitude.

>147 richardderus: I did have to read the small print to find buy, thank you for the pointer. Isn't the add page what you use to enter the ISBN or ASIN? Well, yes, I can. Filters are dangerous, but every now and then...

>156 SandyAMcPherson: >157 richardderus: >159 FAMeulstee: I think I ended up in 75 by a logical non-logic of thinking people who flaunted yearly totals as high those I get out of pure addiction probably aren't my sort, (or I have enough of my own sort at hand) but 75 indicates serious valuing of books as a center pole of life while still having room for well, life.

>158 SandyAMcPherson: F&SF is a dangerous place since no one in it seems to agree on what is F and what is SF and what should be SF or why it should be, and if an author can declare her books not to be SF (or F). And too many of us are or were technogeekish and well, opinions.

>147 richardderus: I've won a total of 26 books from them. My success in winning was pitiful there for awhile, but lately I've probably won a book every month or two from the 864 giveaways entered. That's a 3% success rate.

>161 quondame:, I had to go and lay down on the sofa after that exhausting effort to decode what y'all said about F & SF.

I'm book-nerdy alright, but very laissez faire about pigeon-holing book genre. I could never categorize, for example, Diana Wynne Jones oeuvre!

>163 SandyAMcPherson: It's all fantasy to me, though I try to be polite to those who think they write hard SF.

Just catching up!

Hope you are having a great weekend :)

>160 Ape: I know, Stephen. You're so trying.

I wish I could read 400 pages in an hour.

I wish I could read 200 pages in an hour!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I've just enjoyed skimming through the conversation about fees, LT, social networks, etc. I don't recall how I "found" the 75ers but I know it was relatively soon after joining LT in January 2011. I'm quite sure I had not read 75+ books since middle school, at least, but I found here a congenial community (with only one or two exceptions) and a validation and encouragement of my love of books and reading. I've made the 75 mark every year since and I feel like I have book-loving friends scattered about the globe. Regarding fees, I am a believer in "sliding scale" honor systems in this context. At the current moment, I am fortunate enough that I afford to contribute to the support of LT and I would be most happy to do so on a voluntary basis. I would oppose anything that excluded anyone who was not in the position to contribute financially. It's why I love public libraries. Everyone gets to read. Or that is how it's supposed to work, anyway!

I swear to God, I wish Queer Eye was an actual government program. I'd vote for that and be happy to pay taxes to support it.

107 The Comedian by Clem Martini

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: (from Goodreads) Titus Maccius Plautus' career is on the decline. Once renowned for bringing Greek comedies to the Roman world, now he struggles to stage a single play. Unlucky with money and unlucky in love, Plautus faces the world with wry dignity. This could be the performance that brings back fame and fortune, or the one that ends it all.

Engaging, thoughtful, and funny, The Comedian dives into the rough and tumble world of arts in its infancy. Clem Martini draws on his talent and experience to bring to life the signs and sounds of a world where playwrights suffered and succeeded--but mostly suffered.

(from the book's webpage) In the Roman Republic, comedy is a serious business. Nobody knows this better than Titus Maccius Plautus, the principal comic playwright of his time. Licking his wounds after a series of artistic flops and financial disasters, Plautus returns from his refuge in the country to Rome, desperate to produce a new play.

With limited financial backing provided by tough and striking bar owner Casina, Plautus recruits a company of actors from the amateurs and cast-offs he can afford. Led by a disreputable drunk who just happens to have a pedigree with one of the most respected traveling Greek acting guilds, the motley company unites an eccentric cast of characters on and off the stage. From Orestes, Plautus’ dour, thrifty director to the eager but untrained neophyte, Fronto, to the debt-plagued Plautus himself, each has a role to play, and each is not quite what they seem.

Can this company of misfits come together in time – and remain together long enough – to find success on the stage? With his creditors closing in, can Plautus stay one step ahead, or will he be finished, once and for all? Redolent with the sights and scents of the ancient world, this novel is a rowdy, boisterous ride through the realm of theater in its infancy.

THE PUBLISHER GAVE ME A DRC OF THIS BOOK THROUGH EDELWEISS. THANK YOU.

My Review: I salute you, Clem Martini, for taking a lifetime's interest in theater, its history and its incredible impact on each of us, and turning it into yet more (thirty plays authored and/or produced, standard texts on theatrical history authored, a graphic memoir with his older brother as artist) than you could reasonably be expected to. Plautus would approve: humor, tension, a spicing of sex, and an ending to break a smile on the reader's face.

"I admit," {the elderly actor} says, "I got a little lost—"

"A little??"

"—for a moment," he allows, "for a few moments, but we recovered—"

"Recovered?" Orestes continues, his lips hitting each consonant. "Is that what you call it? Recovered? You," he says poking the old actor in the chest, "are an ancient, derelict billy goat, burping, farting, baaing, and in general eating up the scenery. If you were more intent upon your actions, your actions as we have rehearsed them, rather than upon preening for the audience, you wouldn't forget your lines. And by all that's holy, if you can't remember the lines, then at least improvise something clever. By Jupiter Maximus and all his punishing power, that stammering and umming and awing was pitiful."

If you've ever been in a play, you'll recognize every single beat of that peroration; if you haven't, you'll recognize that the author has and does. Bonus points to Author Martini for getting a good likeness of Plautus in his dialogue, as well.

Reflecting on the self-evident to writers impossibility of making others laugh, of conveying subtleties of meaning across language and time barriers, Martini's Plautus wryly says:

It's irksome how essentially untranslatable humour can prove. Lines that cause great hilarity in Greek lie down like sheep with colic, to sicken and die, in Latin.

So beautifully done...anyone who's tried to write, or translate, or perform humor gets it instantly; Plautus (and of necessity Martini) belongs to our fraternity; the bucolic ancestry of the Roman playwright is reinforced in such a way as to remind the reader of the temporal displacement of the story from us as well. After all, not a lot of twenty-first century people pull out sheep-death similes in pursuit of a point.

It isn't perfect. At times the impression is of reading a novelized play, with action taking place offstage or being relegated to "the chorus" to narrate:

Orestes urges me to keep writing, stay healthy, and abstain from garum. With that he claps me on the back, drains his cup, stands, and bids us both good night. Naevius nods as my Greek friend slips past him. I reflect as he leaves that there's always been a certain reserve between those two that I honestly don't understand. I know Orestes respects Naevius as a poet, and Naevius has praised Orestes's musical abilities to me many times. Still it's undeniable, there's tension when they sit together.

All of that reads as though it's stage directions and actor asides. It isn't bad, it isn't flawed in some way, but it distances the reader by removing us from the immediacy of experiencing the story with the characters (dialogue plus some of that narration) into straight narration of the story to us. Further distancing, at least for some very tradition-minded readers of my acquaintance, comes from Author Martini's use of non-standard dialogue tags:

"I think so," I admit.

He nods a moment, then takes another drink. "And you're satisfied with that?" he asks.

"What?" I reply.

This is one example among many where I found myself wishing that he'd simply left off these tags entirely. However, the times when they're useful, what's wrong with "said" and, when something's a question, simply allowing this dingus: "?" to alert the attentive reader that an interrogative tone is to be used in their sub-vocal verbalization? (See what I did there?) (Oops, did it again!)

However, that very quality of stageiness is used to marvelous effect when Plautus has the creative soul's inevitable Dark Night of Self-Doubt:

Let all the gods strip me naked and flail me with a leather lash if I ever pick up a wax tablet to write again, let the god Dionysus plunge me deep in a vat of wine and hold me under if I ever pick up a stylus again, I am done, I am done, by all the gods who ever pulled their togas aside to piss on humans, I am done with this.

Success or failure, triumph or humiliation, every single writer who has ever lived will recognize this moment. You're released from the divine madness of creation; the human side of you has no bloody clue what to do now, or next; and yet the chasm of Reality yawns at your feet and you're suddenly subject to gravity again. That. Rots. On. Ice.

The effect of the whole is, I think I've shown, engrossing and entertaining. Definitely recommended for classic-aged audiences and cautiously so for those of middle years. It's strong meat indeed Author Martini serves us, a taste of what we're in for, and that's probably not going to go down well with younger audiences (it made my Young Gentleman Caller cry):

The body is simply a leather mask that the spirit slips on when we are born. This is never so evident as when a person passes away, and you observe the shell stripped of its animating inner force.

>157 richardderus: Isn’t that the truth. I joined, like so many book nerds, to be able to catalogue my books without using three notebooks, a spreadsheet, and assorted used envelopes, receipts, and paper napkins. It’s been marvelously successful for me from that point of view.

Like others, I stumbled into the 75’ers by chance:
Hmm. 75. Surely I read 75 books a year. Well, let’s see just what I am doing with all these books.

Richard quickly and kindly welcomed me and I’ve never looked back. I do find the chat opportunities overwhelming at times, but no one seems to take offense when I drop out temporarily.

I’ve just peeked in on some other groups, but they were too people-y or scary or whatever. Mostly I just want to talk about books and have a few laughs.

Which I think is my new life’s motto.

>170 Matke: My fave things about the 75-ers:
Quote ~
1. "no one seems to take offense when I drop out temporarily"
2. "Mostly I just want to talk about books and have a few laughs"

Amen, Sister!

.167 "It's why I love public libraries. Everyone gets to read." For this, you get a

>158 SandyAMcPherson: "DNF-ing" is the same as fanciers, particularly males, of Philip K. Dick's novels who look at, "oh, I love me some Dick!" and realize they need a work-around..."oh, I love me some PKD!"

>159 FAMeulstee: For years I was the spark that kept the weekly "What Are You Reading Now?" thread going, and tried to gin up some activity in the Short Stories graveyard. It gets wearing.

>160 Ape: The 75ers are some of the nicest people I've ever met in my life. Ain't that the truth?

>161 quondame: Isn't the add page what you use to enter the ISBN or ASIN? The "Add books" *page* isn't what the group was discussing, Susan; it was the "Add book to your library" feature on Work pages. The one where, when you click on a touchstone, you land and there's a button at the top right you can click to go to the "Add books" page with the title already filled in.

There are multiple problems with adding a book that way. It's not a feature I use because of those problems.

>162 thornton37814: WOW!! I don't think I've requested 864 books in 10 years there!

>163 SandyAMcPherson: *chuckle*

>164 quondame: *guffaw*

>165 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita!

>166 humouress: To put it *mildly*, Nina. Mild as milk.

>167 EBT1002: I wish I could read 400 pages in an hour. It is to be envied, no?
I've made the 75 mark every year since and I feel like I have book-loving friends scattered about the globe. And, when you come to meet them in the flesh, you realize...they're exactly as sweet and good as they were online. Quite an education, that!

>168 SomeGuyInVirginia: Oh my heck YES! *smooch*

>169 richardderus: ...BRILLIANT! I am *gobsmacked* at how...
...
...oh yeah...nevermind

>170 Matke: Which I think is my new life’s motto. There are many worse mottos one could adopt, Gail. *smooch*

>171 SandyAMcPherson: :-)

>172 laytonwoman3rd: +1

>174 richardderus: I think you mis-read >162 thornton37814:...

>177 laytonwoman3rd: No...a 3% success rate is roughly what I've experienced but on many, many, many fewer requests.

>173 richardderus: Bleh. I wish I could type good. I was talking about the same problem, but that one step further, where, yes you find yourself on Add Book with a title and 18 entries that aren't what you want and no way like in touchstone to get to more choices. It will be great to have a 1 click Add Work button. It is one of those completely obvious things to have that somehow aren't obvious in the actual coding of the app.

>169 richardderus: I like Roman historical novels, I've enjoyed play production novels, so can I read this for the story and setting or must I set my appreciation for deep and meaningful?

Happy Sunday, RD. I hope it's been a good weekend.

Thanks for the entertaining review of The Comedian. Nice excerpts, and you're right, lose the tags. Why is humo(u)r so hard to translate? It makes me appreciate those Montalbano books in English even more, and Sartatelli's translating skills.

>179 quondame: I've been having "Add book" grief this afternoon.

I hope the new design addresses these sorts of problems.
I wrote at length on my thread, #99, so I won't bog down the conversation, here.
If someone with more 'nous' has an idea what's screwing up the 2 similar additions (different authors, same book reference series), please chime in there. Thanks!

(Maybe it's a coding bug?)

>179 quondame: These issues are frequently hard to articulate, aren't they? Robert Benchley, a humorist of the dead past whose work I enjoyed as a youth, did an entire New Yorker piece on the audiences in movies, the ones on-screen that is not the ones watching the film, you see? That's a hard concept to get across...he spent the first 200 words explaining what he was talking about and then only 500 making his point!

>180 quondame: I'd say yes, read it for the story but don't get too deep into its lines.

>181 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Rob had some collywobbles, we spent the afternoon just being together and he left feeling more grounded. Apparently I'm good at eliciting that feeling from him.

So much of humor's success is a shared frame of reference. Not the easiest thing to convey across cultures and generations. Zazie dans le Métro was a *BEAR* to translate...I read the editorial letters, ye gawds and little fishes!...and it's a period piece in France now, in need of translation for 2019's Parisians. (It's written in a species of Valley Girl-speak, which is also a seriously dated concept; that movie wouldn't make a 2019 audience laugh like it did in 1983.) Mark Twain makes Rob, quite a sophisticated 1990s-born person, wrinkle his nose and go eeewww a lot of the time.

Humor is as ephemeral as beauty. And The Blessèd Sartarelli is indeed an underappreciated genius of rendering humor as it is intended.

>182 SandyAMcPherson: ...anyone...?

It to me quite a few years to find out there was a social side to LT. I had no idea how many books I read in a year but surely I read 75. I joined the 75ers on a limited way the first year but the next year I followed so many threads I couldn’t keep up. Still can’t but isn’t it great talking about books and life with the book lovers here? Meet ups are great too!

Somebody pointed me to LT as a cataloguing site, something I had been looking for for several years, even buying a couple of those programs with the problem being you had to enter all the info by hand (or computer). LT was a euphoric discovery--ISBN and everything is there for you!! I discovered Talk 7 or 8 months later when I was home for three weeks after breaking my wrist, and there was no 100 Book Challenge group that year (2008) and I was already at 84 books, thanks to the aforementioned break, and Stasia and Linda were welcoming everyone in the group. I think there were under a hundred members that year, and I loved talking about books with people.

And yes, the most frustrating thing on LT is being on a work page and clicking the Add Book button and that work is nowhere in sight!!

ETA I was wrong; there were 137 members that year. 335 this year.

>184 Familyhistorian: It's often the way, Meg, that a quick peek in will morph into an entire social revolution!

>185 ronincats: The group seems to function best around the 300 mark, Roni, or so it seems to me. We don't need a lot of people, just the right ones whose attitude is more positive towards the group's ethos.

>185 ronincats: The numbers have gone down quite a bit over the last few years, Roni.

2013 we topped 1,000 members if I am not mistaken.

Morning, Richard! Did anyone mention the "What Are you Reading Now" group, here on LT? That is the one, that started it all for me- where I first met you, Donna and Joanne, among others and that led to the Challenge groups. The rest is history.

Not much time on LT yesterday but I did stay busy doing my other interests, including a successful bird outing. The only low point was another awful Bears performance. Our city very disappointed in this team. We had high hopes. I am enjoying the day off, and, of course a bird stroll is in the plans, since the weather will be decent. Then the afternoon will be reserved for the books. B.A.G.

>187 PaulCranswick: The best part of it, though, Paul- is that we are still here. Lower numbers or not. Nearly 12 years in. That is a revelation, right?

>174 richardderus: I sometimes request more marginal things from GoodReads, especially if it's a first in a series that I might or might not like. I've just kind of made looking at the newest requests part of my daily routine. It doesn't take long to do.

>187 PaulCranswick: Wow! 1,000...I'd forgotten that fact.

>188 msf59: The group's still active, sort of; it was (I think) the genesis of this one because it was a bit *too* active for effective socializing.

The Bears imploded all right. So amazingly sad. Have a soothing books-and-birds day!

>189 msf59: :-)

>190 thornton37814: There's a zero downside to requesting stuff, and as efficient as you've made the process, it's not even effortful. Delighted!

'Morning, RD!

Excellent discussions. I joined LT in Oct of 2007 (found a link on Joe Hill's website) and somehow stumbled onto the 75ers just in time to start recording my books for 2008.

*smooch*

>192 karenmarie: Hey Horrible! I'm surprised to remember how lackadaisical I was when I found the place. I was fired up about it when I read the squib in Poets & Writers magazine; got here, set up my account, and promptly bumped into one of the copious and ever-renewed supply of snotty jagoffs when I asked a technical question.

Geeks need to understand that they're the source of their own bad press.

It took a while before I got into the swing of avoiding the nasties. But here we all are!

Looking forward to reading The Comedian Thanks for the tip Richard

Yay! And yes! But here we all are!
A classy alternative to the *not* well-moderated other online places which I used to browse.

>194 magicians_nephew: I hope it works for you...and in case your last Latin class was a long time ago, let me strongly recommend the Kindle version. The ease of discovery is worth it.

>195 SandyAMcPherson: The most thankless task in the entire Universe must be that of moderator. It's a good thing someone bothers to do it. It's impossible to make up for the personality deficits of the hoi polloi and attempts to do so aren't ever welcomed or appreciated.

>196 richardderus: Well, yes, there is that... ("The most thankless task in the entire Universe")

>196 richardderus: >197 SandyAMcPherson:
Indeed. I’d hate to do it.

>197 SandyAMcPherson:, >198 Matke: :-)


A little late, but the sentiment's sincere.

Lovin' the how-I-got-here talk! My biggest find with the 75ers, as has been said, I'm always amazed folks are just as nice in person as they are here. Need had a bad meetup yet!

>200 drneutron: Ain't that the best!

I didn't mention how I found the 75er group - I was invited by Ellie (elliepotten)!! I was in the 50-book challenge group, my thread was just a string of posts listing everything I read with the rare post by Ellie. There wasn't a lot of social interaction there at the time, but at the end of the year she told me I should join 75 for the following year. I protested, because I had never read that many books in a single year, but she insisted that it didn't matter and that I should join the group.

She's a wonderful person, and as you can tell, a terrible judge of character.

Thank you Richard (#199).
Now all I need is a "May your Winter be short"!

>200 drneutron:, I always have wondered how those in-person meet ups go. It is super great that you've enjoyed them.

When I used to write novels during NaNoWriMo, I went to a few meetings in my area. At first, it was really fun. The group could really geek-out in books, writing and the angst of being novices at this activity. It was a pretty basic operation in those days (1997-2000, I only participated for 3 years).

As the NaNo event caught on (worldwide, in fact), the group grew like the proverbial topsy. Ultimately, in my last year (2000), it was less congenial somehow and I didn't necessarily find that I fit in anymore. I think I have a small-group-meeting personality. Which is okay, just that I'm now a little reclusive, yet I would love to meet up with some 75-ers in a rural sort of location. I'm not jazzed by big city meet ups (too many conferences when I was still working).

Ok. I love Queer Eye. I do and it's as fact. That said, this is not my first rodeo and I'd like to see them go in on some Hot Mess where it ends in tears and bellowed acrimony and mascara. Keep Austin Weird, people! Not just pretty words.

Much love, Richard.

Up there, the comments about the number of 75ers. I sometimes worry "what if this on-line book community goes away?" I don't know what I would do. I wonder if the numbers are affected by the slightly behind-the-times format, colors, etc. And, it doesn't have to be 1000-strong. I'll take 335 committed book lovers any day.

Hi Richard! *smooch*

>204 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hm. I think the logistical issues involved in getting an unsuspecting straight guy to agree to be set upon by a bunch of lovely co-religionists of ours might prove...testy, shall I say.

>205 SomeGuyInVirginia: *smooch*

>206 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! *smooch*

>204 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hah!
I too love Queer Eye.
Have you tried RuPaul’s Drag Race? There’s some drama there, plus great costumes and, again, lots of laughs.

>208 Matke: Hi Gail! *smooch*

(I'm really passing out the smooches today, how fun for me!)

108 The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Rating: 1.5* of five

I received a DRC from the publisher via NetGalley. I don't owe them (or the author) a review, but as this might actually be nominated for a Goodreads Choice award, I wanted to get my negative opinion out there now.

Just...no. You'd have to have been living under a rock since Gone Girl (which I disliked with vigor because of its ending) came out to be surprised by the Big Twist. Add in a pervy, icky obsessional-male-gaze vibe...well...not for me. I'm not a woman-good-man-bad cultist, but I think I might be heading that way when a man authors this unironic celebration of the things that drive women to feel that way.

It's clear that the author has writing chops, since I finished the book; in fact, I was clearly involved by it since I feel compelled to opine upon it and its award-worthiness. But each of the characters is nasty, and no I don't mean "I don't like them" nasty I mean "...and how do you plead to the charges?" nasty. They're all, to a creature, embodying values and attitudes I dislike. I can't say exactly how without major spoilers. That's not fair to future readers, and don't ask for clarification because spoiler tags are easily ignored.

Anyway. If this gets on the ballot for this award that increases and increases in visibility and importance, it will not be for lack of my shouting "don't vote for it! it's squicky!" at y'all.

109 Oh yeah! The Lines by Anthony Varallo

Rating: 4* of five

The review's TL;DR for here. Go to my blog to read it...and I hope you will, but people being inexplicably (to me, anyway) click averse, it's a really good read.

Hi RD and happy Tuesday to you. I've had fun handling books for 2 hours with the book sort team then having lunch with them. They are, every single one, fascinating people. I'm lucky to have a real life group I can have an interesting discussion with. Here, on LT, and especially in the 75ers group, that's a given, but real world can be dicey.

>212 karenmarie: Can't it just...can't it just...

*smooch*

It looks good to me. Three or four days of use and it will seem like it has always been that way. I do realize that I am saying that as a person who no longer shows up here daily, but still.

>214 mckait: ...KATH...IS...THAT...IS...IT...

Good gracious! You're here! What happened?!

*smooch*

^ Ha!

*eyeroll*

110 The Naked Blogger of Cairo by Marwan M. Kraidy

Rating: 4.5* of five

It's another TL;DR for this space. Got photos of ladies without they clothes on, too, just like the title promises and this space frowns mightily upon.

Any road, go look at the review on my blog because this book's a HUM.DINGER. The author is a most august personage who knows his stuff cold; he's an eyewitness to the upheavals of the Arab Spring; the result is a book that takes art into a new cyberdirection, "creative insurgency," that's the latest and greatest iteration of William Hogarth's satirical and ironic and often facetious visual opinionating.

>216 mahsdad: :-)

>217 mckait: :-*

Wow. Get cut off from those Internets for four days and you can't ever catch up. You've had a nice chat going about LT and the 75 group. I like it here.

>220 weird_O: Things move quickly around and about the internet, they do, and four days is six news cycles for the *slow* lane. Anyway, I'm very happy that you've rejoined the twentieth century at last.

>204 SomeGuyInVirginia: Huh?

Is that ‘Queer Eye for a Straight Guy’? Is that still going? I haven’t seen it since we lived in NY about 20 years ago.

>222 humouress: We're on to a whole new generation of men doing their gay best to cure style defects, only now around Atlanta and Kansas City! Now in its fifth season, so it's still working.

Wow, the joint has classed up now that Kath is here.

Debbi and Becca love the new Queer Eye group. I watched the originals, but haven't gotten around to the new edition.

Hi, Richard. Just peeking my head in to say hi. I am so far behind and probably have missed too much to try to catch up. Next thread...;-)

>110 msf59: Someday-Swamp'd. Thanks for the rec!

>224 jnwelch: Good morning, Joseph. I am most pleased to discover your shining self in attendance at this humble gathering.

>225 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! Happy you're here, and I know what you mean...I end up lurking when I've missed too much to even know where to start.

>226 swynn: Which one? I hope it's Night Boat to Tangiers!

One of the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" cast members, Carson Kressley is a local. He was two or three years ahead of our oldest in high school. His grandmother had a pony farm, and Carson is, I understand, a top-flight equestrian. We bought a used Land Cruiser from his dad, who runs a car business started by his father.

And speaking of cars...



I took my driver's test behind the wheel of a '53 Pontiac, and it was an awful car, in my estimation. Not far removed from that topper. That blue. Same frame and suspension, same transmission, probably the same flathead straight eight. A real barge. Cars weren't durable back in the day. I was so glad when I made that last drive to Hoffman Brothers junkyard, collected something like $25 for it, and walked home.

Within a decade, Pontiac was transformed into a hot-rodder's dream. One of my dream cars has been—still is—a '61 Ventura two-door hardtop, tri-power V8, four on the floor, flashy alloy brake-drums.

 

>228 weird_O: I do love a '61! the 1953 Silver Streak-era Pontiacs were, well, not the best cars...like turning corners with Jell-O for springs.

MY 1968 Pontiac Bonneville:

A different shade, one called "Spanish Olive," but it was that lovely old beast with its 425cid 4bbl moved FAST. Corners? Plan ahead. Straightaways? Stand back!

Kressley was a top-ranked equestrian for a long time, and it just never fit the narrative of the Queer Guy so people largely ignored it. Makes me impatient with our little 2-volt nervous systems.

>229 richardderus: Oh yeah! That's what my mother had (Pontiac Bonneville, and it was green - probably Spanish Olive), and I got to drive it once in a while as a teen. My friends loved to ride in the "ragtop". I bet it would seem huge compared to today's cars.

>230 jnwelch: No joke! They were 18-1/2 FEET long...six and a half wide...that 428cid engine drank a gallon of premium every 7-1/2 miles...*immense* machines.

>229 richardderus: Land yacht!

>228 weird_O: >229 richardderus: Love the classic cars! I especially like the Ventura & the Bonneville!

Hey, Rd! I hope you are having a good day. My work day went smoothly. I am enjoying The Man Who Saw Everything, but it took a strange turn, at the halfway point. I rarely explore the Booker Longlist, but I am so glad I did this year. So many gems. Funny, my least favorite, so far, is the Atwood.

Hi, Richard! I won't say I'm caught up, but I'm venturing out to threads other than my own this evening. Sorry to hear The Silent Patient is such a downer. It was voted in as a book club pick for next year - thank goodness, I'm pretty sure I scheduled it for January so we'll get it over with!

>215 richardderus: The first time I saw Rocky Horror was at a midnight show in Salt Lake. I walked out in a daze, thinking "I don't know what's in my heart, but I just saw it on screen. I've known those people all my waking life."

Hi RD!

Okay, I'll admit it - I've never seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Perhaps one of these days...

>231 richardderus: Thank goodness gas was cheap back then!

I can remember being on a car trip (different car) with pals in what must have been the early 70s, and being outraged by the gouging gas price of 50 cents a gallon. We were up on a mountain near a national park, with no other gas station within miles. The gall!

>232 weird_O: That it was. I also called it "the Wallet Wagon" and "Pygge" for its appetite.

>233 msf59: It was a day, Birddude, it was all 24 hours of a day. Less reading that I'd've liked and more sleeping than same. Allergy season is starting for me, a few conifers have shed their pollen, so benadryl consumption has begun. *snore*

>234 bell7: Ew, gross. Well...don't let my aversion to that particular kind of twist ending prejudice you, he hinted. *smooch*

>235 SomeGuyInVirginia: I saw Tim Curry's dramatic reveal with my girlfriend in the balcony of the Varsity theater in 1975. We were both utterly changed. It was a lot of fun!

>236 karenmarie: ...but maybe less so for adults. I think you'd find it unimpressive, Horrible, so don't sprain anything finding a copy. *smooch*

>237 jnwelch: I remember the 1979 crisis when it went to a harder-to-find $1 a gallon. Took $30 to fill it up and go about 200 miles, or three days, on the tank. That was a painful adjustment.

Well-Loved Reads from My Past Tisch by Stephen Dixon

Rating: 3.5* of five

The recently deceased author of this book was a strange figure. He was famous...if you knew who he was. He loved language's byways. It was never boring to read his work. After Interstate, it's no wonder that only Kate Gale of Red Hen Press would take this on: Art is her métier. Commercially Dixon would never deliver, artistically he did.

This book, this little bitty book, was 1,000 pages of obsessive ruminating scary claustrophobically internal focus in under 200 pages of book. Vale, Stephen Dixon, we won't be given another chance at understanding what made you tick.

Well-Loved Reads from My Past Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Rating: 5* of five

After Six of One, my favorite of lesbian legend among women Rita Mae Brown's witty, delightful books. The fact that the young woman protagonist is a film student, and the film that she's shown to have made, kept me riveted to the page. (I dated a lot of film students in 1970s Austin.) The fact that not a lot of women went to film school, at least not that I saw at their sausage fests, made the fiery transgressiveness of the whole tale all the more exciting. Break every boundary, ignore every norm, he hummed to the Sound of Music tune.

It's a STEAL at $1.99 today, 7 November 2019.

Loved Rubyfruit Jungle when I first read it.

Have enjoyed some of the historical novels that Rita Mae Brown has put out since - even one that made me more or less sympathetic to fox hunting

Can't read her cosy (ikky) cat themed mysteries. But a writer has to write.

>242 magicians_nephew: Agreed re: Sneaky Pie the cat...and being listed as the CO-AUTHOR was just, frankly, revolting.

>238 richardderus: I'm afraid I'll be averse to it without your prejudicing me against it. My thoughts on Gone Girl were quite mixed, and I felt like I should give her 3 stars just for making me read the second half in one sitting (while cooking/baking, so there's a visceral memory of the exact afternoon too) and not having the slightest clue what was going to come next. Impressive, twisty writing chops. But I hated it, I was pissed at the ending and wanted to light the book on fire when I was done but restrained myself (it was a library book). *ahem* I didn't like anybody and felt like I needed to wash my brain out with soap when it was all over. So I don't hold high hopes for The Silent Patient.

>244 bell7: Yeah, well, me neither for you but miracles can happen...it might wow you hard...
...
...nope, not even convincing myself here. So sorry, sweetness,
***
I give, back to passive staring w/o scrolling, gout's too painful today. Boo hiss, and bye-bye until tomorrow.

Parts of Brown's Runnymede (Wheezie & Juts) series are okay, parts are rather rotten.

Six of One 4* - my fav, too
Bingo 3.5*
Loose Lips 3.5*
The Sand Castle - read before 2008, can't find where I rated it, got rid of it so obviously didn't like it too much
Cakewalk 2.5 OMG - not linked in LT as part of the series

I also liked Dolley, High Hearts, and Southern Discomfort

I've got a revolting story for you - when I went to see and hear RMB speak on 2/20/2008, I took my tattered copy of Six of One and my had-to-buy-to-get-into-the-event The Purrfect Murder. She signed both, and she stamped Sneaky Pie's 'signature', thank goodness only on The Purrfect Murder. I don't know why I keep it...

...

>239 richardderus: My attempt to educate my daughter via The Rocky Horror Picture Show sometime before she was 10, left her confused, but she seems to have absorbed my intended message, that no one is sane where sex is concerned, pretty well. Her diverse social group keeps me alert to pronoun usage. I encountered RHPS in the halcyon days of The Z Channel, and for a while it was daily fare.

I’m so sorry the bout has done you dirty today, Richard. Hoping for a more comfortable tomorrow.

>245 richardderus: Boo on the gout! Feel better. Smooch.

I have been enjoying the LT update discussion -- As long as I get to keep track of my books and the 75ers live on, I am happy.

>246 karenmarie: "Sneaky Pie" seems to live twice as long as most cats. ;-)

111 A Young Man from the Provinces by Alan Helms

Rating: 3.5* of five

Beloved Boston cultural institution Alan Helms had a wildly exciting past! See the film! Admire his art collection, appreciate his cultured and elegant way of speaking, his breadth of cultural knowledge, and his charming sweetness.

What does a young, abused man from flyover country do the moment he realizes he's queer? RUN! Get to New York City as soon as possible. He got to Columbia University in 1955, leaving behind a life in Indianapolis, Indiana, that could charitably be described as "uncongenial." A father who thought his son was a bitter disappointment...how many of us queer boys can relate to that...a mother whose situation wasn't a lot better than his, a younger brother whose close brush with death was the single moment in his childhood when peace reigned. None of this is a recipe for a healthy adulthood...and add in the author's understandable, if off-putting, self-absorbtion and you get a difficult-to-empathize-with narrator.

But he was So. Beautiful. Look at that face on the cover! Hoo-ee!

And the awfulness of that...wow...to be so pretty and so readily available and so snobby, who can claim to be surprised that he wasn't a pleasant person? His sexual awakening came at the price of being raped. His family life prepared him for a life of abuse. He dived into it in the glamorous world of closeted gay life pre-Stonewall. Pretty sexually available intelligent boys found innumerable lovers, and the author wasn't about to say no. (I totally relate to this and would've done precisely the same in his shoes. Damn the bad luck of not being pretty!) So a decade and a half passed in what I imagine was a golden haze...this book's largest part. It's a bit less charming to me than it might be to a younger reader. I look at the wreckage he glosses over and think, "there's the real story."

Yes, sleeping with famous Hollywood stars and titled Eurotrash is all very well. But the people you stood up, the ones whose parties weren't quite glam enough that you said you'd attend, and so on and so forth? How did you sleep, look in the mirror, launch yourself at the next big fish in your hifalutin' pond without thinking about them?

The Fall took place when he was thirtyish, and some semblance of human feeling broke the ice he'd cultivated to keep his agony at bay and under the surface of a freezing cold lake he called his heart. Escape to Boston and the tender mercies of a shrink who began the process of waking the author up from his frozen state. Then it happened: His body aged. He wasn't the hot young muffin anymore; he wasn't even visible to the hot young muffins. That had to be a bad, bad day.

Now, let me not try to hide my glee here. This event has occurred in my life, too. I can not imagine how much worse it was for a formerly gorgeous creature, feted and celebrated and wined and dined, to be cut off from that gushing geyser of distractions. Luckily for his sanity, Helms had a brain and a deep love of the life of the mind that he'd never left behind or neglected. While learning what he'd never known, that feelings are best felt in the moment and not in retrospect, I'm sure he left more carnage behind in his wake. But the fact that no one ever killed him means that he learned enough to at leas fake his way through professional, if not personal, relationships. So hope still shines for him to pull his head out of his ass and recognize that, in his swan-paddle through youth, he got into some ugly emotional habits that would be wise for him to shed before he's patted in the face with a shovel and 120 cubic feet of dirt dropped on him.

I guess it shows that I don't like the man too much. Yes, part of it is envy: I would've LOVED to live among those glittering parties and glamorous people, and I'm jealous that he won nature's looks lottery. But more of it is the sense that grew and grew as I read his (ampersand-laden) memoir that he wasn't sharing his journey with me.

He was bragging that it happened.

I suppose I would too, and that is a disappointing self-revelation that elicits deep sadness in my shallows. Read the book, o ye queer boys over 50 to relive a lovely, dead time when we were few but fabulous; QUILTBAG youth, especially young and pretty ones, definitely think about your history; y'all straight folks, mm, on balance I'd say not unless your Gay BFF approves it for your personal tastes.

>246 karenmarie: Oh, that's just awful. How cutesy-poo. Blech!

*smooch* Happy whatever-I'm-retired day!

>247 quondame: Oh, the Z Channel! What a wide shadow that little-bitty operation cast.

Your daughter should be delighted now that her younger self got inoculated with right-thinking viruses early.

>252 richardderus: She certainly delights in bending her ohsocis mom.

Glad to see you back posting today, RD. *smooch*

>248 Matke: Hi Gail, thanks for the good wishes. It's been a lousy couple days. The flare-up is receding so I'm being extra careful not to aggravate it again.

>249 Berly: Hey smoochling, glad you're seeing the value of discussion...some have said it's time to quiet down already, though I can't say I agree. That thread is a major turn-off, isn't it?

>250 thornton37814: If she's honest, I expect Brown would say that the name's a ruse for a trust set up to care for her animals after she passes. If "Sneaky Pie" is a co-author, then royalties must be paid, and so a chunk of money will certainly survive her demise.

>253 quondame: Ha! Yes, I'm sure she does, Susan, and I am inclined to feel the same.

>254 karenmarie: Thank you, sweetness. *smooch*

Hope you are feeling much better, RD.

Hello there, my fine friend...

I'm hijacking your thread to get word out...

Its 75'er Christmas Swap Time! : https://www.librarything.com/topic/312848

Hope you are doing well today, Richard. It’s about time that gout left you alone for a while.

Yeah well, I may as well say hello, seeing as I am here, 259 posts too late for this thread. Anyhow, I think I hear the Thread Police going so Ima gonna scarper!
Hope you're well, even though previous few posts point to the g-word getting in your way. Gggrrrrr. Dang that G-word.

Just checking in to see whether humouress set loose those felines!
Looks like you're safe at the moment.
Meanwhile, I need to wake up some more, , despite it being -22 oC (an icky -8 oF).

>257 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, thanks for the (unrealized) wishes. May they come true soon.

>258 mahsdad: By all means!

>259 Familyhistorian: If you'd like to bring that very welcome opinion to the gout's attention, I'll be most grateful, Meg.

>260 LovingLit: Hey Megan! I run thread to ~300 posts these days, so there's a bit of time left.

>261 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy, well now Winter's sharp fangs have loosened here...for the moment. It's 60° or about 15.5C today, much nicer than the prevailing 45°/7C yesterday. YAY!!!

There is RADISH scented handsoap.

SMH

Happy Monday, RD!

I'm reading two books of short stories and one of poetry. Will wonders never cease? To balance all this strangeness I'm reading a Dick Francis for @rosalita's year-long shared read. Comfort reading at its best.

>263 richardderus: Radish! How rad! I think would love some, at least better than floral or herb. What are the others?

Hi, Richard. More snow in Chicagloand, and falling temps. Low teens tonight. Glad I am off today and tomorrow. I am having a perfectly lazy day with the books. I hope you are doing the same.

Just stopping by to say "g'day, mate." Joining Mark's hope that you're having a lazy, bookish day.

>263 richardderus: - What's SMH? Soon More Happiness? Smell My Hands? (be) Still My Heart? Some More Hokum? Salad Mayonnaise Hand-lotion?

;-)

>264 karenmarie: That *is* weird. Can you keep a secret? I've ordered and paid for with my own United States dollars a...gulp...graphic memoir! My second of the year!

These are The End Times indeed.

>265 quondame: Almost anything, I think. The blue one's bluebell, the green one's parsley (my fave), they make basil, lemon verbena, rosemary....

>266 msf59: I'm mostly watching History Timeline shows in our warm weather, since the shows demand so little of me and I have little to give. Darn it.

>267 jnwelch: Hey there, Joe, lazy it is but little reading darn it.

>268 jessibud2: Salad Mayonnaise Hand-lotion?! Shaking My Head at such Canadian raillery.

>269 richardderus: - Just a hopeless non-techy trying to problem-solve.... creatively. :-)

>263 richardderus: Please tell me there's also a horseradish scented soap because I'd be able to get that rebirth and bitterness of slavery thing down to about 45 seconds instead of 45 minutes. "Stop talking. Wash your hands. Let's eat."

>263 richardderus:, Waaah! I can't see the image.
I tried in Firefox *and* Safari...

>263 richardderus: And rhubarb! I almost bought that one.

>270 jessibud2: *chuckle*

>271 SomeGuyInVirginia: No horseradish that I can discern, thank all those useless gods.

>272 SandyAMcPherson: Try this one:


>273 laytonwoman3rd: ...hmm...

>275 laytonwoman3rd: ...weird...really really weird...

The more I think about it, the more I want it.

I thought I was strange for using parsley!

>273 laytonwoman3rd: >275 laytonwoman3rd: Yes, Rhubarb caught my attention as well.

>279 quondame: "Acorn Spice" and "Mum" are some truly strange seasonal ones.

I'm off to put on a new Fentanyl patch. It looks like I'm on day 4 of a 3-day patch, which explains my gout pain! Careless of me.

>280 richardderus: I hope the fresh patch does the trick, Richard dear.

>274 richardderus: Beautiful! Thank you so much.

I see that brand in our shops here but never have I seen such an array of fragrances. I would so love to try some of those... I think...

I have a very acute sense of smell so in-store, I'm the one who unscrews soap bottles for a sniff-test. lately, many have the tops sealed so I can't do that. I understand the reasoning, but couldn't we have a tester? I asked at one place about the distributors providing some small test bottles, like ~ 2 mL because I'd try them and not feel I had to find somewhere to donate an unusable scent.

Anyway, I think the Rhubarb would be nice to try. Fairly gentle scent.

>261 SandyAMcPherson: ... for now...

>263 richardderus: Why?

>274 richardderus: Very pretty; unfortunately I can't see the flavours.

>280 richardderus: Ahh! I hope that worked.

>282 SandyAMcPherson: The shops here usually have one sample open and labelled 'tester'; how odd that they don't do it in Saskatchewan.

>281 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! It's certainly made a difference, so I'm happy with that.

>282 SandyAMcPherson: ...do you know, I can't remember ever *smelling* rhubarb by itself. The cut pieces don't, at least in my memory, have any particular odor. I wonder how it smells? Not enough to buy some, but I am curious.

>283 humouress: One does wonder why some of the odder scents were tried, but I suppose there's no better way to stand out in a crowded field, like home products, than to do the unexpected.

Like you, I wonder at the absence of testers. Especially for unusual scented personal-care products. That's a place where the smell matter like crazy.

>284 richardderus: I can't remember ever *smelling* rhubarb by itself.
I'm one of those "HSP" types and have a very sensitive sense of smell; some people (likeThe Man) have such a poor sense of smell that he can't smell the gasoline when it gets on his clothing, whereas I can't get in the car without having all the windows a little bit down down, even at -22!

I didn't know rhubarb scent and flavour was a thing until we were visiting the Netherlands (Amsterdam mainly) every 7 or 8 months (grandchildren arrivals do that to your plans, doncha know?).
We had the scent in bar soap and in lip balm. In the Pure Markt that set up in Frankendael (Park in Watergraafsmeer), there was a vendor with handmade chocolates. The rhubarb flavour was my nearest favourite (after raspberry!).

Since it is apparently a fun thing to post off-book titles and we're exploring scented weirdness...

here's a delightfully fun combination ~

Grapefruit/rhubarb...now that is *weird*...I can see it working, I suppose, two very tart/sharp scents. But not two I'd've ever put together.

While I was in The Bin for a few months during 2014, I had two roommates suffering from schizophrenia. It is an awful, debilitating illness. Author Clem Martini, whose novel THE COMEDIAN I very much liked earlier this year, had two older brothers who lived with the diagnosis and all it means. He and artist/brother Olivier Martini collaborated to make this book, Bitter Medicine.

Being broke, I bought it used; being suspicious, I checked the ex-library copy on arrival for the all-important "WITHDRAWN" stamp and found it. Libraries are being robbed of our community's property and the stolen books sold to online customers. If you bought an ex-library book and it does NOT have the "WITHDRAWN" stamp, report the purchase to the seller. They need to know we care or they have no reason to stop the practice.

Morning, Richard. Happy Wednesday. Back to the frigid grind today, after a sweet 3 days off. It sure was nice spending quality time with the books, but I did miss a bird stroll or two.

>287 richardderus: Thanks for mentioning Bitter Medicine.
I read the 2 reviews that are posted and the book sounds very impressive. I especially admired BirdBrian's synopsis. It was a sympathetic and informed overview.

I know I don't have the emotional resilience to read the book, but I'm glad someone has written such an insightful commentary on this dreadful affliction.

'Morning, RD!

*smooch* from your own Horrible

Bad night. My ceiling sprang a leak. The radiator above my bed and next to all the artwork I have on my wall leaked.
Google won't let me post the image but the link doesn't require sign-in. Lots of busy-ness moving things and, since I can't move my art by myself, I was worried all night that the bubble would pop and everything would be ruined.

It didn't happen and the bubble has shrunk greatly. The maintenance man is looking into the radiator above my room as the source of the leak. Cross y'all's crossables for a swift, permanent, easy-for-me resolution?

>287 richardderus: Thanks for pointing out the importance of that "Withdrawn" stamp, Richard. It's not something most people would ever think to look for. As a library trustee, I appreciate you sharing this information.