Joe's Book Cafe 18

Art by Sally Storch

Some Edward Hopper influence, yes?

Welcome back to the cafe!

Books Read in 2019

Touchstone = particularly good

September

124. Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts
125. Straight by Dick Francis
126. Odds Against by Dick Francis
127. To the Hilt by Dick Francis
128. Whip Hand by Dick Francis
129. Come to Grief by Dick Francis
130. Danger by Dick Francis
131. Decider by Dick Francis
132. Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb
133. The Unkindest Tide by Seanan McGuire
134. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez
135. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
136. Murder in the Blood by Anne Cleeland
137. Shattered Warrior by Sharon Shinn*
138. Mythos by Stephen Fry
139. The Other End of the LIne by Andrea Camilleri
140. How to Love a Country by Richard Blanco
141. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
142. Oceanic by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
143. Come Closer and Listen by Charles Simic
144. 1919 by Eve Ewing
145. Land of Wolves by Craig Johnson (Longmire)

October

146. Magical Negro by Morgan Parker
147. Lazarus Third Collection by Greg Rucka*
148. SLAY by Brittney Morris
149. Fortune's Favor by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Liaden)
150. Shout of Honor by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (Liaden)
151. Halfling Moon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (")
152. Misfits by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (")
153. Skyblaze by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (")
154. Eidolon by "" "" ""
155. Technical Details by "" "" ""
156. Legacy Systems by "" "" ""
157. The Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
158. Bob by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
159. The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois McMaster Bujold
160. With Stars Underfoot by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
161. Heirs to Trouble by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
162. A Fortune for Your Disaster by Haruf Abdurrraqib
163. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
164. Bolt by Dick Francis
165. Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
166. Don't Eat Me by Colin Cotterill
167. Courier Run by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
168. Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami
169. Blue Moon A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child

November

170. The Can Opener's Daughter by Rob Davis*
171. The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace
172. Orphans Truth by Roberto Rechhio*
173. Third Girl by Agatha Christie
174. Sleeping with the Enemy by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
175. Maggy Garrisson by Lewis Trondheim*
176. Shattered by Dick Francis
177. Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
178. The Librarian by Salley Vickers
179. Sight Lines by Arthur Sze
180. Dominicana by Angie Cruz
181. Be Recorder by Carmen Jimenez Smith
182. Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri
183. The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Myerson
184. Later, at the Bar by Rebecca Barry
185. Catfishing on CatNet by Naomi Kritzer
186. Exhalation by Ted Chiang
187. Felon Poems by Reginald Dwayne Betts

Illustrated Books

80. Philip K. Dick NBM Comics by Laurent Queyssi
81. Stumptown Volume 4 by Greg Rucka (re-read)
82. Kill or Be Killed Volume 4 by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
83. Sleeper 2 by Ed Brubaker
84. Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale by Lauren Myracle
85. The Magic Order by Mark Millar
86. Criminal Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Ed Brubaker
87. Bttm Fdrs by Ezra Clayton Daniels
88. Blue Monday by Chynna Clugston Flores
89. Invincible Iron Man: Ironheart Riri by Brian Bendis
90. Altered Carbon Download Blues by Richard Morgan
91. Ironheart Those with Courage by Eve Ewing
92. Invincible Iron Man Ironheart Choices by Brian Bendis
93. Generation Zero We Are the Future by Fred Van Lente
94. Doctor Who The Thirteenth Doctor by Jody Houser
95. The Graveyard Book Volume 1 by Neil Gaiman (re-read)
96. Moon Called Volume One by Patricia Briggs
97. Catwoman Copycats by Joelle Jones
98. This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
99. Middlewest Book 1 by Skottie Young
100. Jessica Jones Purple Daughter by Kelly Thompson
101. Old Man Logan by Jeff Lemire
102. Batwoman Volume 4 by J.H. WIlliams
103. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell
104. Silk Vol. 0: The Life and Times of Cindy Moon by Robbie Thompson
105. Skyward by Richard Evelyn Byrd
106. Summit by Amy Chu
107. Abbott by Saladin Ahmed
108. The Sinners by Ed Brubaker
109. Die Fantasy Heartbreaker by Kieron Gillen
110. Whiteout Compendium by Greg Rucka
111. The Graveyard Book Volume Two by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell
112. The Nobody by Jeff Lemire
113. Firefly: Unification War by Greg Pak
114. Birds of Prey Volume 3 by Chuck Dixon
115. Sins of the Father Dr. Who by Nick Abadzis
116. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

Mama Narwhal with her Pirate. Photobombing by Maleta and most of Bolita



Papa Parrot with his Pirate

Favorite Books of 2019

The Long Take by Robin Robertson
Milkman by Anna Burns
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson
Tap Out by Edgar Kunz
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horowitz
The Rosie Result by Graeme Simsion
Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei
Mythos by Stephen Fry



Overall favorite so far: Good Talk by

Becca with some Halloween pals.

Are the doors open?

The doors are open, Linda! Treat, no trick, for finding us:



(I like this one better)

Happy new thread, Joe.

Have a great Sunday.

>10 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I hope your Sunday was a good one, and your week starts off well.

I like that Storch art, Joe. And I definitely see a Hopper influence.

Happy new thread!

>11 jnwelch: Thanks, Katie! Right? I love the quiet, still atmosphere she creates, like EH does.

>12 katiekrug: I agree...I thought the first one was Hopper.

>14 laytonwoman3rd: Yes, she even seems to use one of his settings in that first one..

I also thought of Hopper immediately, for your toppers, but with softer edges. Lovely.
Happy new thread, Joe

>1 jnwelch: Warm images for a cold climate.

Happy new thread!

Happy Sunday, Joe. Happy New Thread. Love the Storch toppers. I also immediately thought of Hopper. I will start my new thread, tomorrow.

We are visiting friends a bit later on, for drinks and games, but I did squeeze in some reading. Loving this Native American story collection. Terrific writing. Enjoy your lazy day.

Happy new thread, Joe. All the pics are a feast for the eyes!

Happy new thread, Joe, and lovely art toppers and Rafa photos, as always. Looks like he had a fun Halloween!

Happy new thread, Joe. What a great opening, so strong. I love your family pics.

This is fun: Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren are together on the Stephen Colbert Show, and he asks them to perform the transcript of Trump's phone call: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=130&v=yEikAwsLa3g&feature=em...

That part starts about a minute and fifty seconds in.

>16 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. With softer edges; I like that.

>17 quondame: Thanks, Susan! We can use some warmth right now, can't we.

>18 msf59: Happy Sunday, Mark. Yeah, it takes a bit of time to start a new one, doesn't it. I'm glad you like the Storch art. Good for you for squeezing in some reading, and have fun visiting your friends. The only time I play games these days is when we visit our son and DIL; they love to play them; board games, videogames, computer games, you name it. I'm guessing board games for you today?

Good to hear you're loving the Native American story collection. Ditto for me with The Librarian; she just listed her favorite childhood books that she's acquired for the East Mole (!) children's library, and a bunch of my favorites are on it. I'll try to make time to quote it later.

>19 Familyhistorian: Ha! Thanks, Meg. I try to start out with some eye-feasting visuals, and I'm glad they work for you.

>20 bell7: Thanks, Mary! Art and Rafa, what a good combo. You know, he's so darn young (18 months) that I suspect the Halloween joy will stick with him inside somewhere, but he'll need to see the pics himself when he's older to be reminded of it all. You may have seen it along the way, but we'll be visiting him for a week starting Tuesday, while his mom visits friends in Texas.

>21 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara. Aren't those strong paintings from Sally Storch? I'm glad you're enjoying the family pics. I'll post a couple more of Rafa soonish.

>22 jnwelch: I'd like you to do us a favour though....

>1 jnwelch: Agreeing, Hopperesque Joe. They are interesting, but as an artist, I'm not sure why you would want the first thought on seeing your work to be the name of a greater artist. Not even that your work is inspired or influenced by, which of course most work has tones of. But that you have intentionally intended it to be so.

Lovely latest photo of your little man on your last thread.

Off to a good start here, Joe.

>3 jnwelch: I saw this somewhere, Joe, and I couldn't figure out how it was done. Not one of those dimensionally challenging chalk drawings, is it?

Anyway, think about tomorrow morning:

Happy new one!

>1 jnwelch: Lovely!

>25 weird_O: Funny!

Happy! (new thread, that is)

I have always loved your threads my friend...

Hey Joe,

Happy New Thread! And I'm hijacking your thread, to get the word out...

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

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Joe!

I like the Hopper-like toppers, but the image in >3 jnwelch: appeals more, using stone to create such a soft image... I love it!
Rafa is, as always, an adorable little guy, growing up way too fast ;-)

>24 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! You sound so innocent when you ask for a favour, Caroline.

You know, I've been thinking a lot about her work's similarity to Hopper's. I don't know anything about her personally, but I'm thinking it may be somewhat heroic. Why? Well, if you wrote like Robert Frost and loved to write that way, how much energy would you want to put into being "different." Or your voice sounded like Frank Sinatra (Michael Buble, anyone?) It may be a statement of personal strength to say, this is the way I love to paint, it makes my heart sing, and I'm not going to worry about wasting my time trying to be somebody I'm not.

What do you think? Of course, I'm influenced by the fact that I like her work, and his.

>25 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. It just doesn't quite look like a chalk drawing. But it's very funny! Maybe we're getting a glimpse into alternate universe, which is populated by googly-eyed coffee beans? We have a cafe here in Chicago named The Wormhole - I'm thinking maybe it's a googly outpost for these guys?

>26 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>27 richardderus: Ha!

Thanks!

(Richard)

>28 mckait: Awww, thanks, Kath. Lovely to see you here. I'm hoping your schedule will let you visit some more.

>29 mahsdad: Thanks, Jeff!

No worries - I think of this type of thread-hijacking as more like putting a poster up in the cafe that lets cafe-goers know about a local event. Very appropriate.

>30 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda!

>31 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

Isn't the softness of that stone sculpture up in >3 jnwelch: a treat? Research indicates it's located in Antwerp.

This is from The Librarian by Salley Vickers, and it mentions some childhood favorites of mine. The main character has been hired to run the Children's Library in East Mole, and finds it in bad shape, without many books that would actually appeal to children.

"She had already ordered her own childhood favorites: The Just So Stories, Puck of Pook's Hill, Huckleberry Finn, The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, Emil and the Detectives, The Wind on the Moon, all E. Nesbit, and, in addition, Ferdinand,the Blue, Brown, Olive and Lilac Fairy Books, Swallows and Amazons, all the Borrowers and Mary Poppins, The Magic Pudding, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawn, Trust Chunky, Little Pete Stories, The Minnow on the Say, the Katy books and the collected Narnia."

Wow. OK, I haven't read any of the ones after Mary Poppins, except the Narnia books. Before that, I haven't read Puck of Pook's Hill, The Wind on the Moon or Swallows and Amazons. Should I? I was happy to see E. Nesbit featured, as I loved her books and ate up every one I could get my hands on.

Happy new thread Joe!

>34 jnwelch: I've only read Swallows and Amazons and the Katy books of the ones you say you haven't read. I'd say go for it; I would re-read them.

Although there may be some anachronisms in S&A that might not sit so comfortably now - it's about kids camping on holiday and pretending to be 'barbarians' or 'savages'. But I enjoyed it and have re-read it a few times - must look into reading the rest of the series some time.

And I wouldn't mind re-reading the Katy books. I had an omnibus edition with three or four of them at one point way back in my childhood which has disappeared along the way.

>34 jnwelch: I recommend Swallows and Amazons and The Minnow on the Say - I think you'd enjoy those.

Happy new thread!

>35 humouress: Thanks, Nina! You were inspiring for this one. :-)

Thanks - I've thought about reading Swallows and Amazons more than once, as it gets mentioned on LT and elsewhere. The Katy books are new to me.

I didn't know S & A was part of a series. If you've re-read it a few times, that's a good sign.

>36 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

OK, good. Swallows and Amazons was recommended by Nina, too. The Minnow on the Say isn't one I'd heard of; this seems like a solid list from Sylvia/Salley Vickers, doesn't it.

Rafa meets Elvis in Amarillo, Texas

Our thanks to our veterans on Veterans Day!

>39 jnwelch: I remember this statue in San Diego!

Morning, Joe. Happy Monday. I am sure glad to have the day off. It is going to be a cruddy day. Snow steadily at the moment. No bird strolls for me, but that also means a lot more reading time. Yah!

>40 msf59: Good for you, Mark. The statue is in San Diego.

Morning, buddy. A tip of the hat to you on Veterans Day! You planned this well, with tomorrow off, too. Yeah, it's snowing steadily here, too, darn it. But you're right - there's a silver lining of more reading time. We unfortunately have to run some errands after workout, and pack for our travels tomorrow. But I hope to have time for reading. I'm liking both my books right now (Dominicana and The Librarian)/

Happy new thread, Joe!

Excellent toppers and photos along the way, as always.

Have a wonderful time visiting Rafa.

>22 jnwelch: I've stopped regularly watching Colbert (YouTube snippets only even then) because it just gets me so upset. But that was hilarious.

>41 jnwelch:

Bet The Grandparents will be even more welcome after The Baby arrives -

Two Boys in Diapers = Whew!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! That snow is coming in our direction, or so I hear. I hope it waits until I get off work...

It seems I have been absent a long time. Things got busy at work and in life and somehow I missed a whole thread of yours. I did finish a book over the weekend. Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock by Gregory Alan Thornbury. It was something very different for me, and one I read for the November category in the Nonfiction challenge run by Suzanne (Chatterbox) here on the 75'ers. The category was "creators." Norman was one of the founding fathers of Christian Rock. The writing wasn't that good, but the subject material was. In some ways it was the story of a Rock Star - sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. But in others it was about a musician who was trying to be an evangelist, a business man, and a rock star.

>32 jnwelch: hmmm, I'll ponder. Never thought about it from that perspective before Joe.

>38 jnwelch: tee hee I'm all shook up!

>42 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I'm glad you're enjoying the toppers and photos.

We're excited to see Rafa - it's been since July for me, and they change so much so quickly at this age (now 18 months).

I know what you mean about regularly watching Colbert, but Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren were irresistible, weren't they. (And Trump going down for the count, if enough Republicans in the Senate can put obvious unlawfulness and the good of the country ahead of party). (Let's not hold our breath).

I was just talking to an actor about the memorizing involved in that profession, and we were sharing amazement about McKellen, who at 80 years old handled King Lear so beautifully. We've got a local actor, Mike Nussbaum, who at 95 years old is still active on the stage, and still very good indeed. His enjoyment of his craft is uplifting.

>43 m.belljackson: Ha! Yes, with two wee ones, Marianne, the two lovebirds will appreciate grandparent help more than ever. The second one is going to be a girl, actually, so it'll be: A Boy and a Girl in Diapers = Whew!

>44 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>45 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi! I hope the snow holds off for you. It's a mess here, although they've done a decent job clearing the main roads.

>46 benitastrnad: It happens, Benita. I'm glad you're able to join us on this thread. Sounds like you got a lot out of the Christian Rock book.

>47 Caroline_McElwee: I figure we're surely not the only ones who see the similarity to Hopper, Caroline, so she's probably hearing it on a regular basis. She's making a conscious decision to, I assume, stick with what she enjoys doing despite that, and I kinda admire it. These are only a few of her many paintings, but all I've seen have that flavor.

Isn't that funny with Rafa and Elvis? Luckily Rafa had his dad to hold him while he got all shook up hisownself. :-)

Happy new thread Joe.

>34 jnwelch: I tried Puck a couple of times as a kid but never got anywhere with it. Prof Branestorm is one of those zany books that I think kids find more charming than adults (he's an inventor who never quite gets it right). Katy suffers from being based around a rather horrendous picture of little girls having to do as they're told otherwise they might just get Something Terrible happen to them. And then when something terrible does happen, a picture of disability that isn't so great either (not allowed to be visibly angry, or frustrated, or look anything less than beautiful). I liked the sequel better - they went away to school and had Adventures, although like Narnia, it gave false expectations of furniture (not my line, although I've forgotten which comedian said it). I think the Magic Pudding is Australian?

>38 jnwelch: ohhh Rafa and Elvis! What could be better Joe?

>37 jnwelch: *blush* *simper*

>38 jnwelch: Woah - look out Joe! Looks like that Rafa has a thing for rock 'n roll!!

>48 jnwelch: Has it been July? You post so many photos of your kids and Rafa that I assumed you got together more often. It certainly doesn't seem that long (from over here).

>51 charl08: Furniture? There were no cupboards (only a swing). ;0)

>50 johnsimpson: Thanks, buddy.

>51 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte. That's very helpful. I'll check on The Magic Pudding. I love "false expectations of furniture." Ha!

>52 brenzi: Isn't that great, Bonnie? Hard to tell from the photo, but I'm guessing they're both wearing Blue Suede Shoes.

>53 humouress: Ha! How many people get to say they inspired a cafe, Nina?

I'm not going to be surprised if that Rafa is a rock 'n roller. He's nonstop action already.

I know, it surprised me that we haven't been together since July, but Madame MBH believes that's right. She's been to visit in the interim. It doesn't seem that long from here, either. Facetime helps. We've been in live action together many times, but not in the same space.

I'll let you and Charlotte sort out the furniture issue. I only know the Narnia one.

Well, by airplane. We're heading to the airport soon, and will be in Pittsburgh for a week Rafa-sitting. I probably won't be on LT as often, but I expect to check in. Feel free to enjoy the cafe while the proprietor is away goofing off.

Morning, Joe. Safe travels. I am sure you will treasure your Rafa-sitting time. Check in when you can. Hey, I started The Photographer. I mentioned this last time we got together. It has ties with The Initiates, since they met the author, in that book and discussed this GN. It begins very well. There will be more warbling on this one, for sure.

Safe travels, Joe!

Have a great week off. Hope you can keep up with Rafa!

Enjoy your grandfather time!



Apple cake with caramel icing, anyone?

Good morning, Joe! Let you a quick question on your previous thread, since it seemed to fit over there.

>1 jnwelch: I was thinking Edward Hopper!

A quick duck into the cafe this morning for me as I drink my 'oomph' brand stove-top coffee, don't you love that name?

>55 jnwelch: Enjoy goofing off with Rafa Joe.

I just finished reading Mira Jacob’s Good Talk and have to thank you so much Joe for leading me to this beautiful book. My girls will each be getting a copy for Christmas. And I know I’ll definitely be re-reading this one.

Happy grandparenting. And take advantage of those nap times by taking some yourselves!

^So great to hear about Good Talk, Anne! Isn’t that a wonderful book? You’re welcome!

We’ve arrived safely, and Rafa is a hoot. His parents are okay, too.:-)

Not much time for LT yet, but maybe later today?

P.S. The Color Purple is available on Kindle for $1.99 today.

>39 jnwelch: Interesting -



This statue is in Portsmouth harbour in the UK.

Enjoy your visit with Rafa and parents.

>54 jnwelch: Furniture: from admittedly fallible memory - Katy and/ or Clover (in What Katy did at School) have a chest of drawers in their room that they can push through to reach into their friend's room, so they could send each other things. I could never work out *how* that would work, but...

Hope you're having a lovely break, Joe.

Joe - today's online Lit Hub Daily (November 14) has an article titled:

"...why a writer should move to Pittsburgh..."

Also, Moby-Dick was published for the first time in the U.S. today.

Wish me luck - Madame MBH has the young man distracted. I’ll try to respond to a couple.

>56 msf59:. The Photographer sure sounds intriguing, Mark. Good for you for following up like that.

>57 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber! We’re safely arrived and enjoying being with the little man and his dad.

>58 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. One of Rafa’s favorite games right now is me chasing him around the house. He also likes riding on my shoulders. Who needs workouts?

>65 Familyhistorian:
And if I am not mistaken, that is the HMS Victory visible behind the kissers.

I hope you have a wonderful time visiting with Rafa.

>59 richardderus:. Ooo la la! That looks scrumptious, RD!

>60 streamsong:. Great question on the previous thread, Janet. Let’s not forget it - it may take a while to answer. It isn’t particularly calm and leisurely right now on my end. :-)

>61 LovingLit:. Hiya, Megan. I’m glad you could stop by. I love that brand name: Oomph!

>62 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. Rafa’s the busiest boy I know, and he’s a fun one.

>63 NarratorLady:. That’s so great to hear, Anne. Oh, I wish our Ellie could read this one! I’m glad your girls will be getting Good Talk for Christmas. I’ve been busy giving it to family members and spreading the word, too.

Ha! I know you understand the grand parenting biz. Yes, when he’s napping, we’ll be resting, too. :-)

Sweet Thursday, Joe. I am sure you are having a fine time with the little guy. Enjoy. I bit better here, in Chicagoland, but still dealing with ice. Ugh. At least, I have a couple of good books going.

>65 Familyhistorian:. Isn’t that a surprise, Meg. As you know, that’s from a famous American photo. How cool to see it in the UK!

>66 charl08:. Oh, I like that, Charlotte (sending things back and forth via a drawer that opens in both rooms. I can think of one way to make that happen.

My uncle’s very old house in Walpole, Massachusetts had “secret” passages between bedrooms on the 2d floor (closets that opened two ways). I loved that.

Charlotte, did you read The Librarian bySalley Vickers? I seem to remember you endorsing it. I just finished it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

>67 m.belljackson:. Hi, Marianne. I won’t be able to look for that article on why writers should move to Pittsburgh right now, but I like the sound of it.

I thought Moby-Dick was an October pub? Maybe not.

>69 benitastrnad:. Good eye, Benita.

>70 karenmarie:. Thanks, Karen. We’re having a blast with the little man. He’s having his lunch right now - wielding his own spoon with mac’n cheese and having cut-up pear. Don’t try to feed him - he’s an independent man and can feed himself, thank you very much.

>72 msf59:. Sweet Thursday, Mark. I’m glad you’re enjoying a couple of good books. It’s in the 40s here, so we can’t complain. We got the wee man to the park this morning, and he liked that.

Goofing around with Rafa, with Bolita photobombing

Hi grandpa and Rafa and Bolita.

>75 jnwelch:, Great photo of you and Rafa, mate.

>75 jnwelch: A grandchild and a dog! What joy!

>75 jnwelch: Have fun Joe! Rafa sure is having fun in that picture.

>75 jnwelch: Cuteness overload!

>75 jnwelch: Awww, what a sweet little guy. You guys look very happy to be together!

GOLLEEE, Joe, it's impossible to keep up with you! (channeling Jim Nabors as Gomer Pyle).
>39 jnwelch: Ah, I recognize that local landmark, right next to the Midway.
>75 jnwelch: Aaaaw, what a great photo, Joe!

>75 jnwelch: What a fantastic photo, Joe! Although you both could look a little happier... Please give that cutie-patoot a hug for me (and some ear scritches for Bolita).

>75 jnwelch: Lovely picture!

>76 Caroline_McElwee:. Hi to you, Caroline, from fuzzy, funny and furry.😀

>77 johnsimpson:. Thanks, buddy. It’s been a fun time here.

>78 quondame:. There’s even another cute dog here, Susan - Maleta, a Lhasa apso.

>79 EllaTim:. It’s nonstop with Mr. Rafa, Ella. He’s a fun little guy.

>80 laytonwoman3rd:. Right, Linda? I’m there to balance out all that cuteness.😅

>81 lauralkeet:. Thanks, Laura. We’re having a fun time together. He’s 19 months old now, and quite an independent little fellow.

>82 ronincats:. Ha! I remember Gomer, Roni. I thought of you with that San Diego statue. We loved that waterfront area.

Thanks re the photo; it’s courtesy of Madame MBH.

>83 scaifea:. I know, we’re a glum couple of bums in that photo, aren’t we, Amber.

I gave that cutie-patoot a hug, and Bolita says thank you for the skritches. We’ll see if we can get Maleta in the next photo or so.

>84 FAMeulstee:. Thanks, Anita!

>75 jnwelch: - Cute faces all around. The expressions, left to right: revelling, content, happy/mischievous!! ;-)

Morning, Joe! Happy Sunday! I am sure you are having a wonderful time. Last day, right? Extra hugs for Rafa!

Happy Sunday, Joe! Rafa will miss you and his Bubbe when you leave. Have a safe journey, and a happy homecoming.

>87 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. Happy/ mischievous is a good description of little Rafa. Right now he’s busy organizing wooden squares that fit inside each other.

>88 msf59:. Happy Sunday, Mark! Tomorrow is our last day here; we fly back Tuesday. We’re having a blast with the little guy and his papa, while mama is in Texas taking a break.

>89 richardderus:. Thanks, Richard. Happy Sunday! We got the grocery shopping done, and played outside for a while. After watching a Twilight Zone and playing some more, it’s going to be nap time. He’s been spending a lot of time with us (papa needs a break, too), so I suspect he will miss us. This is way better than Facetime!

Becca has commandeered our house, so she’d probably like it if we extended our stay beyond tomorrow.

Bargain: Masked City by Genevieve Cogman, the second in her addictive Invisible Library fantasy series, is available on e-readers today for $1.99. The first book is, natch, The Invisible Library. That one’s $2.99 on Kindle; I don’t know about the other e-readers.

Nice toppers, Joe! I hope all is well with you.

I saw the new Midway last night and thought it was pretty good

I'm finishing up Dune on audio this week.

I picked a new book, A Castle in Wartime, that looks to be a good one.

>92 brodiew2: Thanks, Brodie! Good to see you, buddy. It's been a month of Sundays.

I saw Midway was topping the movie charts. Remarkable. I'm glad to hear you thought it was pretty good. Oh, I love Dune. I heard they're going to try again to film it, this time as a tv series?

I don't know A Castle in Wartime, so I'll have to take a look. Are you a Jack Reacher fan? The new one is another can't-turn-the-pages-fast-enough. Blue Moon A Jack Reacher Novel. I think there's also a new Orphan X novel coming up, maybe early next year?

Lord Rafa of the Pumpkin Bucket

I started listening to the new Walt Longmire book over the weekend. So far so good, and a nice distracting story to entertain while I am driving around.

I also finished reading Unlikely Disciple and really liked the book. I thought it would be a screed but it wasn't. It was quite well done. It was written the spring that Jerry Falwell died and ended up being entertaining and informative about college life at Liberty University.

>94 jnwelch: *baaawww*

>93 jnwelch: Nice to be seen. Thanks, Joe. I am very excited about the new Orphan X, Out of the Dark coming in January. I've not been a huge Reacher fan and, strangely, I can't put my finger on why. However, on your rec, I may just look into the audio.

Midway was a great combination of acting, writing, music, special effects, and intensity. The obvious CGI did not bother me as much in this one because it all gelled so well.

As for a A Castle in Wartime, I saw it at Barnes and Noble and liked the gist of the story. History has been dominating my reading more of late and that is okay. I'm enjoying it quite a bit. Besides, WWII is a treasure trove of amazing stories, big and small.

>94 jnwelch: and above... the Lord Rafa pics are stellar as always. What an adorable kid. Getting bigger, that one! :-)

>95 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. I'd liked the latest Walt Longmire book, as I have the others. Some readers had trouble with far-fetched aspects of the one before, that took place south of the border, and I'm sure they'll welcome his return to more familiar territory. I'm glad that Unlikely Disciple ended up being entertaining and informative. Not my cuppa, but I'm sure it'll appeal to other readers.

>96 richardderus: Ha! We love that silly little guy, RD.

>97 brodiew2: You can probably tell, Brodie, I'm hooked on Reacher, and buy each new one as soon as it comes out. Out of the Dark, that's it, and January isn't all that far away, is it.

Yeah, CGI is still easy to spot, isn't it. I'm glad it didn't spoil an otherwise primo movie experience.

I know you love history books, and I agree, WWII is a treasure trove of amazing stories. This year I liked The Alice Network in particular.

Please thank Yoda re Rafa. :-) Rafa's gotten a lot bigger and smarter since I last saw him in person. We took him to a big playground yesterday, and we were struck by how well he figured things out at 19 months. The kid does not stop, ever, unless he's eating, or he falls into slumber.

Bargain The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin is available on e-readers for $1.99. I thought this was an exceptionally good collection of short stories.

>99 jnwelch: Thanks for the heads up, Joe. I've been an Ethan Canin fan for a long time now.

Hi, Joe! I am sure it is a sad day in Rafaland! Enjoy your remaining time with them. Are you seeing them again, before the end of the year? BTW- I highly recommend The Water Dancer. Your cuppa.

Hi Joe! I love the art work at the top of your thread and I definitely see Edward Hopper influence.

I love that photo in >75 jnwelch:. You and Rafa are both adorable and of course Bolita is a cutie in her own right. I'm glad you've gotten to spend time there taking care of that little grandson. And safe travels home!

Hi Ellen!

I’m glad you like the art at the top. That Hopper vibe is unmistakeable, right?

Thanks re the photo of Rafa, me and Boli. Debbi thinks Rafa is the cutest kid ever, and I’m leaning her way. We’ve had a blast with him; he’s Mr. Independent now and a crack-up. We just saw him off to school with his parents, who are then going to work. In about a half hour we head to the airport and the flight home.

The best news is we all reunite in a little more than a month for the holidays!

Yay, the Grands are home! Let's have a lush dessert spread!

Occasions need celebrations, I think.

>104 richardderus: Ooh, I'll take one of each.

>105 foggidawn: The beauty of the buffet: Help yourself!

>104 richardderus: Woo-hoo! Those are some mighty fine goodies, Richard. You lay out a mighty fine dessert spread, you do. I wish we got that kind of welcome in real life!

We're back safe and sound, and quite pleased about sleeping in our own beds. On the other hand, we miss our boy and his boy, and the lovely DIL. There's no little guy reading a book with us in bed to start the day. Boo!

>105 foggidawn:, >106 richardderus: There are forks aplenty, for those in need.

A bunch of my favorite poetry collections are on this LitHub list of the best from the last decade: https://lithub.com/the-10-best-poetry-collections-of-the-decade/

I was pleased to see it included Danez Smith's Don't Call Us Dead. Well-deserving!

You can also find links there to their picks for best novels of the last decade, best nonfiction, etc.

^You may have missed me up there, but I am not upset at all.

Morning, Joe. Happy Wednesday. Welcome back. I am sure you are sad to leave Rafa and Co. but I am sure it is nice being back, and getting into your own routine. I am enjoying the day off. I hope to get plenty of reading in but I may also slip out see a matinee.

>109 jnwelch: Ooh, I have to explore this.

>108 jnwelch: Sadly, Young Person, we DO forget so many things we just know when we're children.

>108 jnwelch: ^^^What Linda3rd said.

>69 benitastrnad: That is the Victory behind the statue, Benita, or at least a sanitized version of it. It was interesting to tour but strange to view that statue while on the Victory's deck.

Great Rafa photos, Joe. I'm sure it makes sleeping in your own bed for a change much better to know that you will see him in person again in a short while.

Hey, Joe. You may have missed me up there. I was here, but I didn't post anything, so how could you have known I was here. Ah ha ha. Nonetheless, I was upset. I shoulda said something.

It's only Wednesday, so here's something political:

Welcome back home, Joe!

>100 ffortsa: Hi, Judy. Isn't Ethan Canin primo? Although I'm reminded that I haven't read him in a long time!

>101 msf59: >110 msf59: Sweet Thursday, Mark. I missed you and Judy. Sorry about that. I guess I should be glad I didn't miss more while we were traveling.

Thanks re The Water Dancer. I'm still in the mood for more out of the mainstream books, but I'm sure I'll be reading that one at some point.

Speaking of out of the mainstream, I was happy to see the quirky A Convenience Store Woman on someone's Top 10 novels list - it might have been that LitHub announcement.

You'll enjoy perusing those LitHub winners and runners-up. I hope you had a good day off yesterday. Yes, it's great to be back and into our routines. Today I'm at the office clearing the deck, but hopefully I'll leave plenty early. I'm enjoying The Bookshop of Yesterdays (thank you, Meg) and Later, at the Bar (thank you, Katie).

Oooh, I hope you like my rec! I just off-loaded my copy to a friend :)

>111 laytonwoman3rd: Right, Linda? Sometimes I think a big part of happiness is getting back to viewing things the way we did as a kid, with fresh senses and an open heart.

>112 richardderus: Your new friend Keith Taylor remembered how to draw, Richard, and he seems quite the happy guy - although like most of us, he'd like to see Trump escorted out of the White House and our lives.

>113 Familyhistorian: Great to be back in our own bed, Meg, and you're right - knowing we'll see heartwarming Rafa and his folks in a little more than a month makes this latest parting easier.

>114 weird_O: Ha! I love that sign, Bill. I wonder whether we'll ever find out what Putin has on the drumpf.

I sensed that you were up there somewhere, even though you didn't post. I should've responded, except (1) I didn't know what you said; and (2) I couldn't figure out your ghostly ether number.

>115 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! It's good to be back.

>117 katiekrug: So far Later, at the Bar is hitting the spot, Katie. :-)

Glad to hear it!

>121 katiekrug: :-)

>119 jnwelch: Ha! Must be single, childless, and six-figured, he said bitterly.

Sweet Thursday, Joe. How did work go? Get plenty of LT time in? Grins...I had a decent work day, finishing up a couple of books, including The Souls of Black Folk, which turned out to be a nice surprise. Hard to believe it was written in 1903. I also did my PT on my shoulder, after work, so I am feeling that a bit. I plan on starting The Revisioners next. Have you heard of it? It has received terrific reviews.

>118 jnwelch: I thought you would get my drift, regardless of what I did or didn't say. I thought it was perfect.

I've finished reading The Master and Margarita, including the commentary and afterword. So much to sort through and absorb. Glad it was an entertaining tale, full of surprises. Back to ...Tristram Shandy now.

Been posting a few long-overdue book reports.

You may be home, Joe, but have you recovered yet? Spending a week with an 18-month-old can make one use up some reserve energy. I'm glad you and Debi had a wonderful time. Rafa is getting more photogenic if that is even possible. Welcome home!

Where is Mr. Joe? Our favorite proprietor? We are hungry and thirsty for some kind of sustenance, literary or otherwise.

Another chilly day out here...

>123 richardderus: I must be an exception to your rule, RD. Home was and is a place of happy for moi. A lot of that is due to Madame MBH's exceptionally high level of tolerance.

>124 msf59: Sweet Thursday, what a Heck of a Friday, and Are You Kidding Me, It's Saturday? to you, Mark. This proprietor laziness will not be tolerated! Punishment will include watching some college football and reading books.

Ha! Work went fine, but as you can tell, I needed days to recover. Goofing off on LT while at work did bring back many happy memories. :-)

That's encouraging to hear re The Souls of Black Folk. I've thought about reading it, but thought it might be too dated. Not so, I can tell from your comment.

I have read some about The Revisioners, and it has indeed all been positive. I'll look forward to your comments.

>125 weird_O: I had no doubt your nonexistent, ghostly post was perfect, Bill, as that is your métier. I did get your drift, I just couldn't locate from whence it came. I suspect it will haunt us well into the coming year.

Ooo, I love The Master and Margarita. Weird is my middle your name. Entertaining and full of surprises, as you say. I can't wait for you to explain Tristam Shandy to us.

>126 Donna828: Hiya, Donna. Ha! You know whereof you speak. Sure enough, once we got home, I caught a bit of a bug (mostly gone now), and Madame MBH pulled a muscle in her back. Wouldn't you know it. But that week with Mr. Rafa was aces. No doubt he spent no time recovering from us, and simply continued on with his very busy life. It's been hard not to start our day reading Jamberry and pointing at things in it, although I suppose we could get our own copy.

Funny thing about Rafa's photogenic-ness - a pro photographer took photos of him and the rest of his pre-school class, and they were boring, with Rafa looking quite glum about the whole thing. We threw them out! His parents do a much better job of it, as do we, for that matter.

>127 msf59: That Joe is one lazy mug, isn't he, Mark? I'm amazed he manages to keep this joint open. Let's start with some otherwise sustenance. I'm avoiding the chilly day outside for the interim. How about cinnamon roll muffins?

Bargain: Becky Chambers' very good sci-fi novel A Closed and Common Orbit is available on e-readers for $1.99. It's her second, after A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

Thanks for stopping by my FB book thread, Joe. I thought I would pop over here to see what you have been reading. Good Talk is certain to be on my end-of-year best of too.

>130 alphaorder: Ah, nice to see you here, Nancy! My pleasure re Facebook. What a good idea to ask that books for holiday gifts question. Yay for Good Talk! I'm happy that you're another fan.

Mark let me know you asked a poetry question on his thread. As you can tell, I'm still catching up. I'll look for it.

Thanks for the rec of Carmen Gimenez Smith. I have not heard of her.

>131 jnwelch: Love that. Reminds me of conversations with my son!

Have a great weekend, Joe.

>133 alphaorder: You're welcome, Nancy. I look forward to your reaction. Our DIL turned me onto it. She's reading a zillion poetry books as part of the LA Times critics picking the best of the year. She also suggested Sight Lines, which I was tepid about, and Felon: Poems, which started great, but I didn't have time to finish while I was at their place.

>134 PaulCranswick: Ha! Somehow I doubt that's a reminder of conversations with your son, Paul. I seem to remember an awful lot of books in piles around your place . . .

Thanks - I hope you're having a great weekend yourself.

>131 jnwelch: - Bingo! LOL

>136 jessibud2: Right, Shelley? I thought it was particularly appropriate for our bookish group, too.

Is anyone else watching the tv series His Dark Materials, based on the Philip Pullman books? Obviously a lot of money has gone into it, but so far it's not as stellar as I hoped. I'm only 3 episodes in, so there's room for that to happen. Both the Lyra and Mrs. Coulter actors are plenty good, I'm glad to say.

The movie, even with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman, was disappointing, IMO. I love the story, so I'm eager to see it portrayed well on tv/in film.

I just wish the subtle knife, permitting travel to other worlds, wasn't problematic. After reading the second book, I wanted to find such a knife and start traveling.

>138 jnwelch: Not watching the show, though I just finished reading the 5th novel. But my doll-collector self is hovering over a miss-labeled auction of a Mrs. Coulter that may be available for a reasonable price. I'll have to keep it away from my Lyra and Asriel.

>139 quondame: Hi, Susan. How'd you like the 5th novel? Because I'm a guy, we call them "action figures", but my doll collection includes Jane Austen, Mozart, and Dr. Strange. I didn't know that ones for Lyra, Asriel and Mrs. Coulter existed. Does Lyra have an alethiometer?

>140 jnwelch: I liked it. It's not quite as over-the-top adventure as The Golden Compass, and so far it's all on a recognizable earth, but for all it's length it doesn't seem too drawn out, mostly. Tonner doll did about 5 of the movie GC character dolls, with two Lyra's and 2 Asriels and about 5 Mrs. Coulters (wardrobe & hairstyle variations). I was outbid for the Mrs. Coulter, but I'm not that into blonds. Unless they are Daniel Craig. Yes, at least one of the Lyra's has an alethiometer. Also some have daemons.

>131 jnwelch: I LOVE this one! Go, Keith!

Hooray, our favorite proprietor has returned. Happy Saturday, Joe. We are watching His Dark Materials. I agree with you, that it really hasn't taken off...yet. We have watched 2, so far.

On the poetry front, I am well into Sable Venus. I admire her ambition but it really isn't grabbing me the way I hoped. I did see Felon: Poems at the library, just now, so I snagged it.

>116 jnwelch: Good to see that you are/were enjoying A Bookshop of Yesterdays, Joe. In return I read Good Talk which was as good as you said.

The cinnamon roll muffins look good, just the thing for a cold rainy day!

I had some really dull apples (not good for eating at lunch - kind of apples) so decided that today was the day to make apple crisp. I know mine will be better than anything the cafe has (because mine made my kitchen smell so good) but perhaps the kitchen ones have some for the other hungry customers?

Tomm and I *loved* His Dark Materials (we read them aloud to each other (and Charlie) while Charlie was in his crib at night. I haven't seen the movie, and we don't get whatever channel the new show is on, but I love the idea of Lin-Manuel Miranda being in it. Love him to bits.

Now that I think about it, it's about time for a re-read aloud with Charlie. That sort of thing is just up his street.

>141 quondame: I found The Secret Commonwealth read like a shorter book, Susan. It just carried me right along. I look forward to your thoughts when you're done.

Movie tie-ins - of course. That makes sense. I love the idea of one Lyra with an alethiometer, and ones with daemons.

>142 msf59: That's one of Keith's best cartoons up in >131 jnwelch:, isn't it, Mark. What a mind he has. As Debbi says, non-stop.

Happy Saturday/Sunday, buddy. Oh good, someone else watching His Dark Materials. I've watched three (not quite Debbi's cuppa - she tried the first). There's room for taking off. I would think the first three would be a bit confusing for someone who hasn't read the books.

Sable Venus: I admire her ambition but it really isn't grabbing me the way I hoped. Ditto. As you know, it was an NBA Finalist, and the idea is cool, but it didn't get liftoff for me either. Admiration, respect, but not enough oomph.

>143 Familyhistorian: I'm way behind on reviews, Meg, but yes, I enjoyed Miranda and The Bookshop of Yesterdays. Thank goodness she ditched soccer coach Ray! Not at her level, that guy. I'm glad Good Read was as good as all my squawking. (It's harder than most to get people to try this one, it's so different). What courage from Mira Jacob and the publisher - I'll bet anything that people at the publisher fell in love with it, too.

Looks like we'll have some apple crisp coming up, thanks to Benita.

>144 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. We're about to run out to the bakery to order some pies for Thanksgiving, but good idea re the apple crisp. Too bad LT doesn't have a "tasting" function, so we could try yours. Since there's no way of matching the goodness level of yours, we've got something a little different - Apple Crisp Ice Cream pie.

>147 jnwelch: Oh myyyyyy

Yes, please, one to go, please, and I'll eat that one here.

>148 richardderus: Ha! And one more for emergencies, RD?

>145 scaifea: Oh, how great, Amber. What a cool story for you and Tomm (and Charlie) to read together. Yeah, I'm sure Charlie would get a lot out of a re-read. I'd like to do that myself some time.

Lin-Manuel hasn't shown up in the tv series yet. Can't wait! I share your appreciation of him.

Have you read the new ones, La Belle Sauvage and Secret Commonwealth? They're also really good, with the first a prequel and the second with Lyra at age 20.

>149 jnwelch: I listened to Michael Sheen read La Belle Sauvage (wonderful, of course), but I haven't read the second one yet. I need to get round to it soon.

>150 scaifea: Oh, good. OK. I'd liked the second one even more than La Belle Sauvage.

Happy Sunday, Joe. I had a busy morning. Spend a chunk of it, mulching & mowing the leaves in the front yard. Big job, but my first time of the season doing it and I had to take advantage of the nice weather. Now, watching the Bears game. Another frustrating performance but at least they are winning. I hope to get to my book reading soon. I think you will like The Revisioners.

Glad to hear we feel the same about Sable Venus. It either clicks or it doesn't, right? I am sure I will have more success with Felon: Poems.

Happy Sunday, Joe! Love the pictures of Rafa. And >75 jnwelch: is sweet.

Hi Joe!

>108 jnwelch: I love that. As one who is struggling to release her inner artist, I can certainly attest to the fact that YES, they forget!! :-)

>138 jnwelch: I have seen the ads for His Dark Materials and wondered about it. But I don't need another tv series to follow. I am looking forward to binge watching season 3 of The Crown one of these days soon.....

>152 msf59: Happy Sunday/Mmphmumbleday, Mark. Good for you for getting that big job done in your big yard. You'd think the birds would help after all the free food you've given them.

The Bears hung on and beat a not-very-good team. Better than losing, that's for sure. I'm glad The Revisioners is going well.

Yeah, Sable Venus was, for me, disappointing, after all the critical acclaim. It either clicks or not, right. I need to track down a copy of Felon: Poems after that good start to it. Looking forward to your comments.

>153 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! This lazy guy has tumbled all the way over into Mmphmumbleday. Thanks re the Rafa photos; we Facetimed with him yesterday and he was cute and funny all over again. His parents are very patient about being jungle gyms and climbing walls. Isn't >75 jnwelch: a sweet one? Bolita loves that spot up there.

>154 EBT1002: Hi Ellen!

I know, right? Most of us forget that love of drawing we had, and the total love for whatever the heck we created, seems like. There's a lesson there somewhere.

Ha! I know, this tv channel proliferation is great, but another tv series to follow? How are we going to do it? We're into season 2 of The Crown now, and it's so good. Among so many other things, I had so little knowledge of Princess Margaret and what she went through. Superb acting all round.

Some peace at the week's start

Hi Joe and happy day that it is.

>119 jnwelch: I like that a lot. I always threatened to call in to work well instead of sick, but never worked up the courage.

>131 jnwelch: Chuckle out loud.

We're watching season two of The Crown, too, and are absolutely fascinated. I wasn't interested in it until I heard that Olivia Colman would play the Queen during season three, so now we're happily in catch up mode. Can't watch too many at a time because although we're serious binge watchers as a rule, these episodes are so intense.

Hi Joe, happy "What're Y'all Workin' Stiffs Whining About"day.

>157 karenmarie: Good job of avoiding naming The Day Which Shall Not Be Named, Karen.

I love the idea of calling into work "well" instead of sick. We're trying to convince our conscientious daughter, who never misses a day, that a mental health day is perfectly legit.

>131 jnwelch: got a COL (chuckle out loud) from me, too.

The Crown is fascinating, isn't it. Just like you, the news of Olivia Coleman as the Queen in the third season kicked us into gear; we'd been talking about watching, but that took us from talking to action. So good!

>158 richardderus: Hi Richard. I still have the mental aversion to Mmphmumbledays, even though I'm not a working stiff any more. Part of it is we go from sleeping in over the weekend to getting up early to work out. Part of it is . . . all those years!

>159 jnwelch: I think my (involuntary) retirement was long enough ago now (11 years!) that I'm over the emotional aversion; it was never that strong in me in the first place, I guess.

I'm pretty much a slug most of the time, morning walking is the exercise I get now that Rob's moved to Brooklyn.

>156 jnwelch: Love it!

Hi, Joe. Gorgeous day in Chicagoland, right? See? We don't ask for much. I stopped at my after work watering hole. They have a Half Acre takeover going on, with 7 of their beers. I will behave.

Who inspired you to read, Later, at the Bar? Sounds like my cuppa.

>160 richardderus: I'm not quite 3 years into nearly 100% retirement, so that probably makes a difference, RD. And the Mmphday aversion was strong in me in the first, second and third place.

Good for you for getting out for a morning walk with Rob in Brooklyn. I imagine it ain't easy for you.

>161 msf59: Isn't that a beaut in >156 jnwelch:, Mark? What clarity.

It was a nice one today, for sure. Sounds like a mighty fine after work watering hole; you know I'm a Half Acre fan. Don't worry about behaving - nobody expects that from you. :-)

Katie was the one who inspired me to read Later, at the Bar. Her review was molto enticing. I do think it's your cuppa - or glass or tankard. You might want to read it with a beer and a shot handy. Seriously, they're really well done linked short stories.

P.S. Have you ever tried Three Floyd's "Space Station Middle Finger"? I bought it on a whim; I found the name compelling. :-)

Hi Joe, I just said to my daughter, well I never thought I'd say this but there are now too many tv choices. I cant even keep track of what I'm watching. I of course managed to finish off season 3 of The Crown and it was just as good as I expected. It took two years to get this third season so I suppose we'll have another long wait for the next season. Oh well, there's way too much other stuff to watch to moan about that.

>162 jnwelch: Adding this one to the wishlist, as I must have missed it on Katie's thread!

>163 brenzi: It's amazing to me how, after cutting the cable-cord many years ago (2011), I now long for the simplicity of "plans" that limit the dizzying variety of TV shows I can access.

But not hard enough to sign back up for it.

Hi Joe, how's tricks this Tuesday?

>163 brenzi: Hi, Bonnie. I remember our having five channels when I was a kid (and, of course, a black and white tv). The big three, a Canadian station, and, eventually, PBS. This explosion of channels and streaming platforms since then is mind-boggling, isn't it. We have trouble keeping track of what we're watching, too. Our last trip to London a young Londoner was surprised and pleased that we watched Broadchurch and the Great British Bake-off (did I get the latter name right?) They've been used to watching American shows for forever - and, it seems to me, find us familiar in part because of it.

Good to hear re the third season of The Crown - and not surprising. Ha! Yeah, at least there's plenty to entice us while waiting for Season 4.

>164 charl08: Oh good, Charlotte. Later, at the Bar is quite a book. I'm so glad Katie pointed the way. I'll look forward to hearing what you think of it when the time comes.

>165 richardderus: Hi, Richard. Tricks this Tuesday are a bit bleary-eyed (out late last night) but otherwise a treat. I'm packing up soon for a trip to the cafe. Ah, life is but a dream.

I hope tricks are making for happy on your end. There is some appeal to the more slender menu of tv shows of yesteryear, but I wouldn't go back to it either.

Morning, Joe. Sorry, about the Bulls loss. Hoping for a string of wins, after that spectacular win, the other night.

Yes, I am a fan of Three Floyd's Middle Finger. Good choice.

For those of you who have become interested in cartoonist and artist Keith Taylor (who does the crack-up Trump cartoons like >131 jnwelch:), here's a lovely interview with him on a local show, in which he talks about his cartooning and his recent battle with cancer (yes, he was drawing cartoons in the hospital): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seaAJvGd6jY&list=UU1EZovakS7e_kepUJgVdb3A&am...

From "Amanda Rose" on Facebook

>167 msf59: Hiya, Mark. Yeah, I was just saying to Debbi, it was the Bulls 3rd game in 4 nights, and the one after that big, emotional win Saturday night. They were flat; they tried to fight against a very good team, but they just didn't have the oomph they needed. The NBA has finally eliminated 4 games in 5 nights (!), but 3 in 4 is tough, too.

Good to hear re the Three Floyd's beer, thanks.

>166 jnwelch: I just got the best Thanksgiving inducement for hosannas and orisons of joy: Old Stuff is leaving tomorrow for his son's place in Connecticut, and won't be back until SATURDAY!!!

>169 jnwelch: Oh my, yes indeed. I'd be so much more confused by the sudden influx of cash than I ever was by my utter absence of interest in the doins of the youff of today.

It does afford Rob some opportunities to laugh at me guilt-free, so there's that benefit.

>156 jnwelch: Aaahh, a cormorant Fisher. Very peaceful Joe, thanks.

Imelda Staunton has been announced to take over as the Queen in series four.

>170 jnwelch: Congrats on Old Stuff skedaddling, Richard! I'm sure that will make for a much easier few days, and will be at the top of your list of thanks when the holiday comes. :-)

I've got absent-minded-professor-itis, so >169 jnwelch: rings true for me, too. People, including I'm sure Rob if I knew him, seem to have no reservations about laughing at me.

>172 Caroline_McElwee: Isn't >156 jnwelch: lovely and peaceful, Caroline?

I only know Imelda Staunton from her scary (and compelling) turn in the Harry Potter movies, so it's a little disconcerting to hear about her portraying the Queen ("the Ministry is quite concerned about your behaviour, Margaret, as am I!") I'm sure you've seen her in other roles, and that she'll be great, as entering the cast of The Crown seems to make that inevitable.

>146 jnwelch: The publishers may have taken a chance on Good Reads, Joe but I think it is paying off if my library’s hold list is anything to go by. We are gearing up for Black Friday here. It might be a crazy busy one traffic wise as the buses are planning a total shut down strike for the next 3 days.

Imelda Staunton played Maggie Smith's adversary in the recent Downton Abbey movie. I'll be disappointed if she's the one for season four. I thought we were going to get two seasons of Olivia Colman

>168 jnwelch: Great interview with Keith! Thanks for sharing it over here. Such a fine, talented guy. I remember him telling that story, about his car, the cancer and the work being done at his house.

Is anybody reading this thread going to be in Augsburg or Munich, Germany between December 20 and 24, 2019? I will be in that area and would be happy to meet any LT’ers who happen to be around.

>174 Familyhistorian:. Oh, that’s good to hear about your library’s hold list, Meg, for Good Talk. I keep wanting to grab people and say, “Have you heard about this book? You must at least find it and take a look. It’s terrific!” I probably should carry a copy around with me. I still feel like far too many people have no idea it exists.

Oh my, that bus strike will probably make the usual Black Friday mess even messier. There is no bargain that would get me into a besieged store on Black Friday. I don’t think even free books could do it. Why people actively seek out that craziness is beyond me.

>175 brenzi:. I’d love to have more Olivia Coleman, Bonnie, but from what little I know, Imelda Staunton it is for Season 4. Have you seen Broadchurch? Olivia C. is great in that.

>176 msf59:. Isn’t that a great interview with Keith, Mark? I don’t know whether you saw my comment on his post, but I said the interview reminded me of our gabbing with him at the Maplewood. I remember him telling that story, too, about the day he found out he had cancer.

“A face made for radio” - ha!

>177 benitastrnad:. Not me, Benita. Please report back on it, though. What a time to be there.

>178 jnwelch: We've been on the same mission, Joe, with Good Talk! I read it the night it came out and have been a little lax of late, but now is the perfect time to get back at it.

I have my Shop Small Saturday FB post all ready. I sent it to the owner of our local indie (whom I worked with a while back) and he said they would make sure to have all of my books in stock. I also talked to the buyer there and he is a big fan of Good Talk.

You are likely to see my post on Saturday, but since I have it ready, here it is:

If you are heading to your local indie bookshops today for #ShopSmallSaturday, here are some suggestions based on books I have read and loved this year.

Fiction
Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk
The Great Believers
The Dutch House
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

Nonfiction
The Invention of Nature
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

Poetry
How to Love a Country
The Carrying

Graphic Novels/Memoirs
Good Talk
The Best We Could Do
They Called Us Enemy

PS: I checked stock online at Boswell Book Company this morning. All are available; some in limited quantities.

>179 alphaorder: Ha! Great to hear, Nancy! Let's keep spreading the word on Good Talk. There are so many more readers out there who are going to enjoy it. I love the idea of Small Shop Saturday, I'm glad the buyer at your local indie is a Good Talk fan, too. So you've worked at a bookstore? Hoorah! It's not BookstoreWorkerThing here, so I'm not sure there are very many of us - you're the first I've heard from.

Great suggestions on your read and loved this year list. Three great graphics there. I've not been good at NF this year. Have you read Deaf Republic and Magical Negro this year? Those were two I liked a lot.

I'm glad that you have The Bookish Life of Nina Hill on there. I have it, but then had someone point out it's about an introspective woman and might not be for me. What do you think? I don't see that as a problem.

P.S. My favorites list is up in >5 jnwelch: and needs to be updated. As you can see, I've got The Long Take, Lord of the Butterflies and Tap Out on it.

>180 jnwelch: - Thumbs up!

>181 jnwelch: - I worked in a bookstore twice in my life, once, when I was younger, full-time, and once, before I got my full-time teaching contract, part-time. Well, three times actually, because I left the big box store to work part-time in a small indie store until I began teaching full-time. Truth: I'd rather be a customer in a bookstore than an employee! Mind you, as an employee, we build up a lot of good *customer* stories..... ;-)

>181 jnwelch:

Schwartz Bookshops was a group of independent bookstores in Milwaukee for 82 years. I was their marketing director for 20 years until they closed in 2009. Our buyer at the time was able to keep one of the shops going and he now owns Boswell Books. I loved that career. Met so many interesting people.

Tell me about your bookselling history!

Deaf Republic was on my wishlist, but now I will purchase it. I will also get Magical Negro on your recommendation.

Yes, Nina Hill is from an introspective woman's point of view, but it is also smart, funny, and bookish. You may not enjoy it as much as I did, but I still think you will find it fun.

>181 jnwelch:

I like to say that you can take the girl out of the bookstore, but not the bookseller out of the girl.

>182 jessibud2: Right, Shelley? The percentage of women in science and tech has grown a lot, but we're still a long ways from 50-50. The framework for kids has gotten a lot better.

All right, nice to hear from a fellow bookstore worker. The pay was, hmm, less than stellar, but that employee discount was heaven. I loved working in ones in Ann Arbor, NYC and Chicago, but the pay wasn't going to work for a family. One customer story I remember: a film company guy came in and wanted a shelf of hardcovers, whatever we wanted to pick, cost no object. That was fun, and a very good day for the store. Oh, another one - I won't tell the long version. Muhammad Ali came in unexpectedly, thinking we were an Islamic bookstore that was on the same street, but further south. So I got to meet him and let him know he was a hero of mine.

It was Centicore Bookstore in Ann Arbor, New Morning Bookstore in Soho in NYC, and three different Barbara's Bookstores in Chicago and Oak Park. Unfortunately the first two are long gone, and you only find Barbara's in airports now.

>183 alphaorder: Oh, darn. I never got to go to a Schwartz's bookstore. I'm woefully under-knowledgeable about Milwaukee. Marketing director - ooo, we'll have to talk about that some time.

See >182 jessibud2: for my stores. I managed Centicore, assistant managed New Morning, and managed two Barbara's (on Wells and in Oak Park) and assistant managed the one on Broadway. It was great. Debbi and I met at the Oak Park one, where she was the storyteller. :-)

Thanks re Nina Hill. I thought so. I've got plenty of introspective girl in me.

>184 alphaorder: Ha! Yup. Madame MBH and I still straighten shelves and tables as customers, and fix the faceouts. One of the reasons we love London so much is they have so many great bookstores.

>185 jnwelch: - My only famous encounter in a bookstore was when Rachel Ward came in (remember her? She's an Australian actress who played in, among many other films, The Thorn Birds, opposite Richard Chamberlain). She was filming in Toronto and staying at a place near the store, I guess. At the time, she had 2 small kids and was looking for suggestions for kids' books for them. Right up my alley! She was lovely. And left the store happy, with a bagful.

This was back in the day before computers for searches and we had those 3 massive tomes called Books in Print. So when the (inevitable) customer would come in, asking for a book whose title and author they couldn't quite remember, "but it had a red cover", we had a fun time paying 20 questions, to try to narrow it down somewhat, because Books in Print doesn't have a *by colour* section! Ah, those were the days.

One of our regular tasks was to tidy shelves and re-shelve books on the cart. Once, I got everything looking great and I (tongue in cheek) said to no one in particular, now, if we can only keep the customers away, it might stay this good for awhile. My co-workers chuckled. The manager didn't. He was a bit of a drip, without any sense of humour. Thankfully, he didn't last long and other managers we had were great.

ETA - Over on my thread, there was a bit of a discussion about books that face out. Madeline (SqueakyChu) was saying that she can't even look at a book that has trump's name or mug on it. I revealed my secret solution to this: I turn it face down or back facing out. I do this, of course, when no one is looking, and I do realize that some poor staff will have to rectify my covert disrespect later, but hey, why ruin my bookstore visit, right? ;-)

Morning, Joe. Happy Wednesday. You guys might be working out. I am working out too, fighting a fierce headwind. Glad your current reads are humming along. Mine are too.

>179 alphaorder: Ooh, I like these picks, Nancy. Good job. I am not familiar with the Nina Hill. Great choices on the GNs.

>185 jnwelch:

My husband and I met at the bookstore too!

Funny story - we grew up about 1/2 mile from each other in De Pere, but didn't meet until at the bookstore in Milwaukee. (He is nine years older than me.) There is a part of the Schwartz company remaining and still owned by the family - it is mostly an online business that specializes in custom and bulk orders: porchlightbooks.com. Since my husband Shawn was doing HR and accounting for the whole company when the Schwartz bricks and mortar stores closed, he stayed on. I was doing marketing for Schwartz Bookshops side only, so I lost my job. Shawn has been with them for 30 years now!

When did you work for Barbara's? I went down there for a few events in '90s: Julian Barnes and Alice Munro were a few (although for some reason her event was canceled that day - don't remember why. I did get a chance to meet her when I hosted her at one of our shops. I was speechless...)

Re: Milwaukee. You and Mark should come up for a brewery lunch sometime. We'll stop at Boswell. It feels a lot like it did when it was a Schwartz Bookshop.

>186 jessibud2:

So many great stories! We definitely need a sub LT meet up of former booksellers to share stories.

Pay is low, but the discount was good, and oh, the ARCs! And, as we know, book people are the best!

>188 alphaorder:- You know that Alice Munro and her first husband owned and operated their own bookstore, Munro's, in Victoria, British Columbia. I have never been there but if I ever get out there to visit my cousin, who lives in Victoria, I will definitely go! They no longer run the store (he died and she moved away) but I think I remember reading somewhere that some of the original staff have either bought it outright or just run it.

https://munrobooks.com/

I like your idea of a former-bookstore workers- meetup! :-)

>189 jessibud2:

I've been to Murno's! It is a lovely shop. It was the same trip that I met fellow LTer Nickelini in Vancouver!

It has been years since I have been to Toronto...

>190 alphaorder: - Toronto's beautiful Ben McNally Books is about to close due to idiot downtown construction. They are determined to find another location and I only hope it can be half as beautiful as their current one:

https://benmcnallybooks.com/

I'm envious of your visit to Munro's!

>191 jessibud2: That looks like a beautiful shop!

Jeez, does anyone remember whose thread this is? Is it Shelley's, or Nancy's? I'm confused. Plus it's making a lot more sense than usual - what's up with that?

>187 msf59: Happy Wednesday, Mark.

Yeah, we were working out, and we had to pick up a couple of pies at Rudy's Bakery.

I'm glad you're enjoying Felon: Poems. I expect to get back on it later today.

That wind is crazy wicked, especially when it gusts. Not the kind of workout you'd prefer, I suspect. We're glad to be out of it. I hope it's not screwing up too many T-Giving travel plans; I know some flights have been canceled at O'Hare.

I agree on Nancy's good picks, and I love to see those GNs on her list.

>188 alphaorder: It just goes to show how romantic bookstores really are, Nancy. :-) Very cool that Shawn is still with that part of Schwartz's.

I was at Barbara's in '79 - 81, so only a decade or so before your visit. Alice Munro left you speechless, eh? Who would do that to me - Murakami, maybe.

I like your plan for Mark and I visiting Milwaukee, and I'm sure he will, too. Maybe a brewery afternoon instead of a brewery lunch? Once we get yakking, we need plenty of time.

LT bookseller meetup! Wouldn't that be great.

Low pay, good discounts and . . . ARCs! Good addition at the end. Debbi or I (can't remember which) got an ARC for Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy way back when, and passed it down to our HHTTG-loving son, who is a very happy camper about it.

>189 jessibud2:, >190 alphaorder:, >191 jessibud2:, >192 alphaorder: Munro's, Ben McNally Books, got it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Maggy Garrisson by Lewis Trondheim, translated from French, with its clever fledgling private eye and fun, tricky plots. Maggy makes plenty of bad choices, including smoking, drinking and swiping things, not to mention her choice of bedmates. But she has plenty of get-up-and-go and an instinct for solving tricky crimes and situations. She's been described as "part Philip Marlowe and part Bridget Jones", and that's about right. She lives in a rundown part of northwest London, and illustrator Oiry has a wonderful knack for detail as she travels around town.



She's been living off the dole, but gets a chance with private eye Anthony Wight, who is initially dubious but becomes convinced. She finds herself increasingly deeper in a noir world, and learns she's a natural there.

>195 jnwelch: That's intriguing!

Night Boat to Tangier got Booker-longlisted, and I enjoyed it, although not as much as Mark and many others. The main characters Charlie and Maurice are former drug dealers from Cork, once successful but now down on their luck. A big part of the book's appeal is their funny banter. I thought of a couple of gabby Samuel Beckett characters; imagine Vladimir and Estragon being loquacious in their back and forth. Somewhere I saw I'm not the only one to see a kinship to Beckett. “The years are rolling out like tide now. There is old weather on their faces, on the hard lines of their jaws, on their chaotic mouths. But they retain – just about – a rakish air.”

In 2018 they're in southern Spain, watching for a girl named Dilly who will be traveling on a night boat to Tangier. Why they're watching becomes clear, and the book also goes back in time to their more successful - and romantic - days. There's a bit of a purgatory feel in 2018, as we wait to see whether they'll pay for earlier sins.

“It’s freedom, she says. It’s poverty, Charlie says. Poverty is always for free."
****

"arse isn’t right since the octopus we ate in Malaga.
Is it saying hello to you, Charlie?
It is, yeah. And of course the octopus wasn’t the worst of Malaga."
They look into the distance . . .
****

“The roads after the rain were black, sliding tongues and gleamed.”
****

“There was a papery film, like mothskin stretched over his eyes. He slithered about making goldfish gasps as if traumatised by an otherworld invisible but to his eyes."
****

It isn't just great banter and atmospheric writing; there is a strong emotional pull of choices made and harm inflicted, with a bang-up ending.

>196 quondame: I hope you can find Maggy Garrisson to give it a peek, Susan. I got a big kick out of it.

The Librarian by Salley Vickers: Sylvia, 24 years old, is hired to be the children's librarian in a small British town in the 1950s, and finds the East Mole library in dire need of help. I posted before about the many favorites of her own she brings in - the budget was previously unused, so she has buying power. The Princess and Curdie, At the Back of the North Wind, E. Nesbit, and many other favorites from my youth are included. She has a challenge convincing local schoolchildren to use the library, but her enthusiasm is contagious. She has to deal with an antagonistic neighbor, local busybodies looking for gossip fodder, a romance that needs to be hidden, and an unreasonable and defensive boss. When there's a theft from the library and property damage, prejudices come to the fore and she needs to sort out the truth in order to save her children's section of the library.

The book is charming, and a bit of a love letter to libraries, librarians and books.

I liked this bit from a clever young girl unhappy that she was to be sent away to an elite boarding school:

"If you propose sending me to that sort of school, then I shall need to be adequately prepared." Megan opened The Jolliest School of All. A smell of fungus rose from the brown spotted pages. "I say, Megsie, old chum. Wouldn't it be a tremendous jape if we could snaffle old Greenie's tuck box? She has some simply scrumptious buns stowed away there."

As you can tell, this one is a natural for LTers.

Whew, you get the full panoply of the immigrant experience in Dominicana by Angie Cruz. 15 year old Ana is pressured by her Dominican family to marry 32 year old Juan Ruiz, who's making a go of it in New York City while retaining his D.R. roots. The move from her rural D.R. home to live with him in a tiny NYC apartment is a big jolt, and her new husband doesn't want her leaving the apartment. Without knowing any English, she is trapped. But his departure on business gives her a chance to learn her new neighborhood and language, and to determine how to deal with his abusiveness.

The reader is given a strong insider's look at what immigrants go through to survive in this country, and ultimately thrive. Juan and his dishy brother Cesar are in constant pursuit of temporary jobs and money. With the help of Cesar, Ana is able to sell fried pastelitos to workers on their lunch break, and she also makes money doing simple tailoring and sewing. She says, "I don't need anyone to save me", and she proves it.

Hi Joe! Glad you got some one-on-one time with Rafa, what a cutie. And I am jealous of all you bookstore workers. Man, what a lot of books I would bring home then! Ha! Hope you find lots of great things to eat tomorrow. ; )

>195 jnwelch: looks like a good 'um, Joe - thanks for the tip

Goodness! Meet-cute stories with books. Aww.

>195 jnwelch: Almost got me.

>197 jnwelch: Not quite the peak read for you that it was for me, then.

>199 jnwelch: Mr. Golightly's Holiday was the last Vickers I read and I did not like it for its overt christian message. I'm deeply leery of her now, which is too bad since I loved Instances of the Number 3 and Miss Garnet's Angel.

>200 jnwelch: Hm, ATD on that one too...just nothing new about the subject or the writing to bolster my impression of its midlistness.

Happy Turkey Day! Rob's working, so I'll see him Friday. He's requested green goddess seafood rice for our dinner. Carrot cake with pineapple cream cheese frosting *drool* and whatever he brings to drink. And no effin' Old Stuff!! Yay!!

>201 Berly: Hi Kim!

We had a great time with Rafa; he's a crack-up, that little guy. It was a blast being a bookstore worker; the only hindrance to bringing a lot of books home back then was the skimpy amount of dollars in the wallet. Still, the discount helped a lot, and my shelves were happy.

Debbi's cooking up a storm, so there'll be lots to eat tomorrow. A couple of the bachelor guys coming are bringing their laundry(!) It'll be a heck of a lot better than using the coin-op.

I hope you have a delicious and relaxing Thanksgiving yourownself.

>202 magicians_nephew: Oh, good, Jim. You're welcome. I'm glad Maggy Garrisson looks like a good 'un to you.

>203 richardderus: Oh, you make me proud. Almost got you with a GN? Well, all right.

A Night Boat to Tangier - yeah, I liked it fine, but I wasn't wowed as much as you and the Booker Committee were.

The Librarian - I don't remember any overt christian message. (I have to get back to your thread and see how you explained God and the Tablets). I'll steer clear of Mr. Golightly's Holiday - Christian is fine by me, but it does often make for tiresome and "enough already" reading. Marilynne Robinson would be one exception, and I'm sure there are others.

Dominicana: you may have read more like this than I have. Her immigrant story gave me grittiness and insight that was new to me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, buddy, and Happy Rob-on-Friday.

>178 jnwelch: Last ditch negotiations averted the bus strike, Joe, a big relief for many people. Black Friday is only a some stores here and not the big deal like it is there. I just want to see if there are any deals in stuff that I want, if not there is always Boxing Day or Boxing week, as it has become.

You got me with Maggy Garrisson and my library has a copy once I got the spelling right.

Happy Thanksgiving, Joe, to you and yours

Happy Thanksgiving to you Joe, your family, and everyone reading your thread!

Have a great holiday, Joe. Your menu sounds mighty tasty! Enjoy!

Love the flurry of mini-reviews! I hope you are saving me Maggy Garrisson, for the next time we meet. Sounds like my cuppa. I am so glad you gave Night Boat a try. Great quotes too. I want to read more Barry.

Darn it, LT blinked out on me. Let me try again.

>205 Familyhistorian: Oh, I'm glad the bus strike averticulated, Meg (new word for the holiday). I was a noodlehead - I should've thought of folks who enjoy retailing on Black Friday, and that it doesn't necessarily involve hordes like here. I hope you find some deals that fit. We saw Boxing Day in Ann Arbor, but neither of us have seen it here.

Great to hear re Maggy Garrisson. I've had that problem with the title - every other time I only use a single "s" in that last name. I look forward to hearing your reaction.

>206 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. Happy Thanksgiving! We're off soon to our neighborhood's "Turkey Trot", a walk or jog to a local school and back.

>207 alphaorder: Thanks, Nancy. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

>208 msf59:, >209 msf59: Happy Thanksgiving to you, buddy. Bless Debbi for all the good vittles. I'd better get back to helping her set up. I've definitely got Maggy Garrisson set aside for you!

Happy Thanksgiving Joe.

Joe - Do you have American Dirt on your radar? If not, it should be. Release date is January 21.

Hi Joe mate, hope you, Debbi and the family have a really lovely Thanksgiving Day and send love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Happy Thanksgiving, Joe!

>213 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. It was a good one.

>214 alphaorder: I do have American Dirt on my radar, Nancy, but I appreciate your making sure. I hope it's as good as it looks!

>215 johnsimpson: Thanks, buddy. Very nice of you to remember our American holiday. It was a lovely holiday, and we're enjoying the long weekend. Love and hugs to you and Karen from us, my friend.

>216 quondame: Thanks, Susan! I hope you had a mighty fine one yourself.

Lots of yellow from our friend Vincent

>218 jnwelch: I love this!

Morning, Joe. Happy Saturday. I wish I could be home, curled up with the books. Sighs...

I take it you will recommend Exhalation? Are you enjoying Felon: Poems? I sure am.

>219 msf59: Isn't that yellow Van Gogh collection great, Mark?

Morning, buddy. Happy Saturday. Yeah, what a lousy day to be out there. My sympathy. We canceled walking up to Lincoln Square for small business day - it's just too cruddy out, with lots of cold and rain where we are.

I am enjoying Felon: Poems, and my next poem is the one you mentioned you loved (can't remember the title). I do recommend Exhalation, especially since you enjoyed Stories of Your Life and Others. It has some gems; I found a couple longer than needed, IMO (I would've liked more zip), but the good ones are really good. The title story in particular. He's always thought-provoking, and what a wide-ranging imagination.

The Rebecca Solnit for me is dense and challenging; I've got to bring my "A" reading game to A Field Guide to Getting Lost, but it's well worth it.

I LOVED the GN Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki (one of my favorite GN authors). High school age, and maybe too simplistic for some. Not me. I found it a page-turner and touching. I'm going to end up buying a copy.

>218 jnwelch: Thanks for sharing, Joe, it is beautiful with all those shades of yellow together.

>218 jnwelch: I love that mosaic of madness!

It's already well on the way to sunset and it's barely 3.30pm! This is the penalty of living in the north of the Northern Hemisphere.

The four of us, before the neighborhood 1K (!) Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving. In a thrilling finish, we came in last. There was a lot to sniff and smell along the way.



A grammarian's horror, but lots of enthusiasm at the starting, and finish, line for the Turkey Trot

>156 jnwelch: That is truly beautiful.

>223 jnwelch: And that is a lovely image, as well!!

>200 jnwelch: Adding that to my wish list!

>221 FAMeulstee: Isn't >218 jnwelch: beautiful, Anita? I love that someone collected so much of his yellow work.

>222 richardderus: Would he have been as great an artist if he wasn't mad? I wish he could know his popularity today, like that moving Dr. Who episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubTJI_UphPk (you can get rid of the ad pretty quickly).

I know, it's so weird to have darkness fall so early. We're still adjusting.

>224 EBT1002: >156 jnwelch: is gorgeous, isn't it, Ellen. One of these days we'll have you meet Becca and her furry sidekick Indy (shown in >223 jnwelch:). That was quite a day.

Oh good. I'll look forward to your reaction to Dominicana when you get to it.

I started my Christmas baking today. Got two lemon blueberry pound cakes done. Tomorrow will be banana bread and gingerbread rum bundt cake.

>223 jnwelch: Love the photo. And "In a thrilling finish, we came in last." LOL!

>227 benitastrnad: Sounds good, Benita. Those sharing with you or receiving them are lucky.

>228 Berly: Ha! The crowd was quite excited as we sprinted (well, walked) to our last place finish, Kim. Indy was a star.

Our neighbors have run that event for several years now, followed by food and drink at their place. We've been out of town for Thanksgiving for the last couple of years, so it was fun to get back into the neighborhood groove.

Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri (translated from the Japanese) offers a deep fictional look into homelessness in Tokyo. The main character, Kazu, haunts a park near the metro station after his death, and we learn how his life led to homelessness, and how he survived as long as he did. A gift from the emperor, Ueno Imperial Gift Park has a zoo, museums, and a big market. The homeless live in tents there, and must pack and store their tents and possessions - and get out of the way - when the emperor's family comes to visit.

Kazu feels connected to Emperor Akhito; both were born in 1933, and their sons were born on the same day in 1960. Kazu has to find harvesting and construction work away from his family to support them. He finally is able to be with his wife when he retires. A tragedy eventually leads to homelessness in the park. The writing, with a good translation by Morgan Giles, is poetic and flowing. When Kazu becomes a ghost, "I can no longer touch. Noises, colours and smells are mixed up, gradually fading away, shrinking; I feel if I put out my finger to touch it, everything will disappear."

The gap between rich and poor in Japan is demonstrated without polemics. We understand Kazu's slide and what those in his position must endure to survive. I imagine this was a bombshell in Japan; I've never read anything like it from that country.

Hey, Mr. Coffee Place Operator. Granddaughter Claire is working several evenings a week at the campus coffee shop. A student lined up at 11:15 PM and ordered six (6) double espressos, all in one BIG cup. "Six!?" asked Claire. "Are you sure." Yes, yes, yes, she was assured. "But it's after eleven o'clock!"

Just thinking about it gives me the jitters.

>231 weird_O: Ha! Some folks' tolerance of and enthusiasm for espresso boggles the mind, doesn't it, Bill. Could the student have been embarking on an all-nighter? At least this is better than Red Bull, IMO.

Your granddaughter Claire is going to end up with a good collection of stories, I'm sure.

The Bookshop of Yesterdays is a well done debut novel by Amy Meyerson. Miranda's beloved but long lost uncle Billy has unexpectedly left her the financially struggling Prospero's Bookshop in LA, along with clues to help her figure out why, and to solve a family secret she has long wondered about.

Billy was a skilled seismologist and world traveler, and he would create riddles for Miranda to solve. He disappeared after her 12th birthday; the clues he left after death lead her to books with significance and flagged passages, and people from his past in LA. She begins to piece together his life and involvement with her family, at the same time she is intrigued by Prospero's manager, with whom she works to shore up Prospero's finances and attract more customers. Her boyfriend back in Philadelphia starts becoming impatient, as her quest extends her time in LA. Meanwhile, she increasingly enjoys her time with Prospero's oddball employees and longtime patrons, and begins to ferret out family lore that has long been hidden from her.

Believable characters and relationships, solid writing, and attractive descriptions of LA and the bookstore make for a charming read.

>233 jnwelch: I added this to my Christmas list after you mentioned it earlier. I hadn't heard of it before, but certainly sounds like a book for me!

Curious if you have heard of Creation. As you know I have really started appreciating graphic novels/memoirs this year, but I have just dipped my toe in the water.

>230 jnwelch: How very interesting you make that sound! What a pity I can't possibly bookhorn another read in.

>233 jnwelch: Or that one, isn't it a shame. *tsk* I am getting so much better at bobbing and weaving your book-bullets!

tiredly trudges off to Ammy

>223 jnwelch: I LOVE the Welch family photo! Now, that is a Christmas card!

Happy Sunday, Joe. I kind of like it, with the Bears not playing. It really opens up my afternoon, which will be mostly devoted to the books, if I can stay offline long enough. Getting ready to crack Sabrina & Corina.

I hope you can track down the most excellent, The Photographer. I am sure you will be thanking me afterwards. Just sayin'...

Did you read the Tamir Rice poem?

>234 alphaorder: Yeah, I'm a sucker for books set (at least in part) in bookstores. Meg's review got me trying this one, Nancy, and I think you'll have a good ride with it.

I had not heard of Creation by Sylvia Nickerson before; it looks intriguing, doesn't it. I added it to the WL.

Oh, you have so many excellent reads ahead of you, if you're just starting to appreciate graphic novels/memoirs. Your three favorites that you recommend for the holidays are great examples of what can be done in this form.

>235 richardderus: Ha! Understood, RD. Maybe in 2020?

I'm glad >233 jnwelch: has you trudging to Ammy. Fun with a bookshop story -what's not to like?

>236 msf59: Ha! Thanks, Mark, re the family photo in >223 jnwelch:. If only we had the Pittsburgh branch in there, we'd go for it as a holiday card. It helps to have "bandana model" Indy in there. (She really is, thanks to Becca - a company gives Indy free bandanas in exchange for Instagram posts; she has 3000 followers!)

Good luck with Sabrina and Corina. I'm watching the Steelers - Browns game, but at least I'm getting some reviews done. What do you think of them? There's one for Later, at the Bar below.

Yeah, I'll add The Photographer to the WL, and get to the Tamir Rice poem.

Later at the Bar is another debut "novel" (interlinked short stories), and what a debut for Rebecca Barry it is. It's a gritty and sympathetic look at small towners who gather at Lucy's bar. Some hope to be a hero, just for one day, as Bowie sang. Some rekindle old flames, or try to, or give romance with someone new a whirl.

“You know, Martin, most of us learn in grade school that saying things like 'I'm so lonely' doesn't impress women."

“...a dangerous heat came off of her, murky and wild, like a swamp."

“He drank his shot and remembered that Madeline had called her last boyfriend a drunk, and he had a good feeling about that, too. In his experience, women who said they hated drunks went home with them over and over again."

Lucy's is in upstate New York, with its tough winters. Lucy, post-breakup, runs her bar "full of music and drinking, where bad behavior within reason was perfectly acceptable." She knows how to use the baseball bat and the gun under the bar. The stories are linked, with the bar's regulars as continuing characters, and it feels like the chapters could be read in any order, although there is an underneath progression that leads to a moving finish.

Linda Hartley and Harlin Wilder (he deserves that last name) are two of the main characters. She earns just enough as an advice columnist, which is ironic, given her own romantic problems. Harlin is strong and charismatic, but keeps getting into trouble - and jail - over minor offenses that someone without his passion could avoid. The characters are all desperately seeking some kind of solace, however temporary, at their friendly (and sometimes fiery) local tavern. It's a fast-paced, often funny, relatively short read. Highly recommended for those who don't mind getting down and dirty.

>239 jnwelch: - Well said, Joe. Glad it was a winner for you!

>239 jnwelch: Thanks again for recommending it in your review, Katie!

>230 jnwelch: Adding this to my wishlist too. Thanks so much for all the additions this weekend.

Tokyo Ueno Station sounds like a good one and so does The Bookshop of Yesterdays, when I am ready for a lighter than usual read. Grins...

You definitely sold me on Later at the Bar, which is waiting for me at the library. It sure is calling my name. I should get to it in the next couple of weeks.

Sounds like a fun Thanksgiving Joe. I've added The Book of Yesterdays to the list. I am glad I read Tokyo Ueno station and not just because it means I am only adding one book to the WL! (Later at the Bar is on it already...)

>242 alphaorder: Oh good, Nancy. My pleasure. I've been wanting to catch up on reviews.

I'm reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill now, you'll be glad to hear. Charming so far.

>252 jnwelch: Thanks, Mark. Yeah, Katie and I both have thought Later, at the Bar is calling your name. Just your cuppa, buddy.

>244 charl08: 'Twas a fun Thanksgiving, thanks, Charlotte. I think you'll have a good time with The Book of Yesterdays. I'd forgotten you'd read Tokyo Ueno Station. What did you think of it?

Stopping to say "Hello", Joe. Love the photos of your recent time spent with your grandson. As you said, they grow so quickly. ;-)

Hope you enjoy what is left of your Thanksgiving weekend, Joe.

Yesterday I read The Perseverance by young, deaf poet Raymond Antrobus. Strongly recommend you look it up buddy.

Great photos, great reviews.

I had hoped to join in the local Turkey Trot this year, but the drumstick just isn't quite cooperating yet.

I'm also currently reading The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Jinx!

Joe (and Mark): I found some new-to-me poets in here. Also, other books I hadn't heard of and added to my wishlist. https://www.newstatesman.com/best-books-this-year-2019

>218 jnwelch: Well you knew I'd love that one Joe.

>223 jnwelch: Lovely photo of you all.

>246 lkernagh: Hello, Lori! Thanks for stopping by.

We had a grand time with our grand son and our grandson. And we get to see them again in three weeks! I'm glad you like the photos.

>247 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I'll look up The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus. Thanks for the tip. "Young, deaf poet" made me think of Deaf Republic by a young, deaf poet on this side of the pond, Ilya Kaminsky. It's very well done, up for best of year over here, and I think you'd find it intriguing.

>248 streamsong: Thanks, Janet. Good to hear the photos and reviews worked for you. We would've loved to have you at the Turkey Trot, bum drumstick and all. :-) We could've vied for last place, although I think we would've had the edge, even with non-bum drumsticks.

Go Nina Hill! I hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. Growing up, our "jinx" was "You owe me a Coke". I have no idea why.

>249 alphaorder: Oh, thanks, Nancy. I shall peruse that linked list and do a p.s.

P.S. Thanks again for the link. I added to the WL Surge by Jay Bernard and Peaches Goes It Alone by Frederick Seidel. I was happy to see Deaf Republic come up multiple times, and the tip of the hat to Kate Atkinson's new Jackson Brodie novel.

>250 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! Our man Van Gogh. That's a wonderful mosaic of some of his yellow paintings, isn't it, Caroline.

Thank you re the photo. I hope you get a chance to meet the lovely Becca and her furry sidekick some day.

Indy with her best friend Murphy, at the daycare she goes to once a week. She's an alpha, and the trainer says she "has a lot of Murphys" (i.e. a lot of male dogs) who follow her. Murphy's owner says it's a good match, as Murphy "likes to be told what to do." Ha!

>252 jnwelch: Always good to have a friend at daycare :-)

>252 jnwelch: Best buddies! Yah!!

Hi, Joe. Late day, check in. Busy day, at the P.O. Sabrina & Corina has been terrific. You are a fan of Lucia Berlin, right? This talented, young author seems to get going in that admirable direction, although her characters are generally younger than Berlin's incredible cast of characters.

BTW- I requested Laura Dean.

>252 jnwelch: Aww! Indy's got her a sub! That's very sweet.

Happy week ahead, Joe. I whomped up three reviews for a space-opera series I like by an Aussie writer. That, and Rob showing up to surf (!!), ate my day in the nicest possible way.

Hey Joe! Love those toppers and yes! definitely Hopper influenced. They are the kind of paintings you just want to step into and spend a little time.
Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with the fam.

Joe, I believe you are a Blanco fan, right? Have you read For All of Us, One Today? I am reading it now and enjoying it.

>253 FAMeulstee: Right, Anita? Apparently Indy's best pal is Murphy, but she has lots of others at daycare. Becca says when they go, Indy barely has time to say good-bye to Becca, as she's so eager to go in and join the gang.

>254 msf59: Ha! Indy and Murphy, best buds. What a pair, Mark.

Good to hear about Sabrina & Corina. Yes, I am a Lucia Berlin fan.

I'm glad you requested Laura Dean. I wasn't wowed by her sister's Boundless, but Mariko Tamaki is on top of her game.

>255 richardderus: Isn't that a sweet pal for Indy, Richard.

Thanks re the week, and I hope you have a good one yourself. I'll look for those space opera reviews. Isn't this a chilly time of year for surfing in your part of the country? I'm sure Rob's a wetsuit guy, but still . . .

>256 Carmenere: Hey Lynda! Thanks re those Hopper-influenced toppers. You know, I hadn't thought of it that way, but you're right. I'd love to step into those paintings and hang out for a while.

It was a great Thanksgiving with the fam, and we had some orphans over, too, who really enjoyed themselves.

>257 alphaorder: You know, Nancy, Blanco is, for me, respect but not big love. The only one I've read is How to Love a Country, and he also turns up in the New Yorker. If you end up liking For All of Us, One Today a lot, I'll track it down.

Like Mark, I just finished Felon: Poems, and that's one I'd recommend. We both were knocked over by it.

Surf's up in Chicago, too

>259 jnwelch: Great image!

Morning, Joe. Happy Tuesday. Hoping the sun appears, and it will take off this chilly edge. At least, my books are keeping perfect company. I am so glad we both shared the same adoration for The Felon collection.

>230 jnwelch: - Oh no! Book Bullet. You read so many Japanese novels have you ever considered a trip to Japan? I liked the review that you did of Later at the Bar. I already had it on my wishlist so didn't have to get hit by that BB.

I'm reading a good one now - Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Book Store by Robin Sloan. It has been out since 2013 and was on several Adult books for Young Adult's lists so I bought it for the library. Last summer a student came in and I happened to be here. She said that the author was from her home town in Michigan and went to the same High School that she did, so she was curious about the book and wanted to read it. Of course, that made me curious about it, so now I have it checked out and am about half done with the book. Last night I shut the book, turned off the light, and snuggled under the covers and turned my head. I couldn't figure out what that blue glow was coming from. (I don't keep my cell phone in the bedroom.) It turned out it was the cover of the book. It is phosphorescent. Pretty neat. Bet that cost the publisher a pretty penny. But it is catchy - if the room is dark. I wonder what it looks like on the shelf of the library after the lights go out?

>260 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Isn’t that a great image? Our ever-changing lake.

Happy Tuesday, buddy. We’ve got sun, but it’s still chilly. 30s, and feels like 20s says my phone. I’m glad the books are treating you well. Felon Poems was mighty good, wasn’t it.

I returned to Toi Derricotte New and Selected Poems, and I’m liking her more recent ones much more than her starting-out ones.

I’m thinking about reading the collected Keats. He’s impressive, and I’ve never done a comprehensive read.

I’m also still working through The Ode Less Travelled. I’m constantly struck by what a brilliant guy Stephen Fry is.

>261 benitastrnad:. Ha! I’m glad that Tokyo Ueno Station is a BB for you, Benita, and that you already had Later, at the Bar on your WL.

Yeah, I’ve thought many times about going to a Japan, and even have an invitation from someone in Kobe (a former client; it’s on the coast about 6 hours from Tokyo). Unfortunately, Madame MBH has zero interest, and I circle her like the Earth circles the Sun.

I loved Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore. Nice to hear you’re having a good time with it. A Michigan author? I grew up in Ann Arbor, MI. I’ll have to look into this further.

P.S. Ah, Robin Sloan grew up in Troy, MI, and went to Michigan State. So our paths didn’t really cross, although I’ve visited MSU to see a best bud. Ken Burns is an Ann Arbor guy; I knew his younger brother Rick.

>262 jnwelch:
The student didn't say what town or what High School so I can't help you there.

Japan fascinates me. There is a really neat Nippon TV production about Japan that is shown here on my PBS station it is called "Journeys in Japan." It comes on my TV at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and I love spending that half hour in Japan. There is a web site for it and you can stream the shows. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/journeys/

There is also a Japanese cooking show that is fun to watch. "Dining With the Chef." https://www.nhk.or.jp/dwc/

I have a cousin who has lived in Japan for the last three years. I should go visit her, but that will have to wait until I get money saved for an international adventure. The trip to Munich for the Christmas markets is going to deplete the funds.

Hi Joe! Lunatic BF surfs in a wetsuit all year, because the North Atlantic is c-o-l-d when you're out in it for an hour or more at a time.

Space operas. Gaia, Queen of Ants. I been busy.

Morning, Joe! *Love* the Chicago photo!

>258 jnwelch: Ah, good to know about the Blanco. I loved How to Love a Country. I read Looking for the Gulf Motel, but don't remember caring for that as much as I did his newest collection. The memoir is beautiful prose, as you would expect from a poet. :)

Did you read Bullets into Bells? I think I got Mark to read that one. I thought it was a really powerful collection for our times.

Magical Negro is on its way to me, thanks to you. Looks like Boswell has a copy of Felon, so if it is still there when I shop this weekend, I will pick it up.

Have a good Wednesday!

>263 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. Japan fascinates me, too, as you can tell. Thank you for the links; I'll take a look.

I hope you get a chance to visit your cousin in Japan. Having a local connection is always a good thing, isn't it. You're getting close to time for your Christmas trip to Munich!

>264 richardderus: Man, talk about a diehard surfer! Year round in the North Atlantic is impressive. Maybe he can make some dough being sponsored by the wetsuit manufacturer? Hard to imagine a better promo.

I'll look for your Gaia Queen review on your thread. Time for you to come back to Earth now?

>266 alphaorder: Yeah, a lot of folks loved How to Love a Country, and I wish I'd connected more with it. Did you finish the one of his you were reading?

Mark did recommend Bullets into Bells to me, and I lost it in the shuffle. Thanks for reminding me. I'm thinking about taking on the collected Keats, which is over 500 pages - a lot of poetry! When I mentioned not knowing how I'd fit it in, my much better half suggested I make it a 2020 project. I think that's what I'll do. He's impressive, and I've never done a comprehensive read of him.

I'm glad you've got Magical Negro on the way. I loved that one. Her one about all the white guys named Matt that she's gone out with still runs through my mind. As I probably mentioned, besides getting the Seal of Warble (or maybe Song of Warble? This may need some tinkering) from Mark and me, Felon Poems showed up as an NPR best book of the year, as did Be Recorder. I'm glad you may get your hands on it.

I hope your Wednesday's a good one!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in Gingerbread

>268 jnwelch: Wow!

Hi Joe, I am slowly making my way around LT. In fact, that seems to be how I do everything these days - slowly! One thing I really need to do is get back to reading more graphic novels - I've picked up a number of recommendations here so my plan is to add a couple of GN to next year's monthly reading lists.

>268 jnwelch: I wonder what they used as fieldstones. Looks like the colors of those buttery melty mints, but those'd crumble...hm...

Happy Hump Day!

>268 jnwelch: Way cool!

>270 richardderus: My guess is candy bricks. Check 'em out on Ammie.

>269 DeltaQueen50: >268 jnwelch: is a wowser, isn't it, Judy.

Yeah, sorry you're hobbled and have to proceed slowly these days. I love hearing that you want to read more graphic novels! Nancy identifies three great ones up in >179 alphaorder: - The Best We Could Do, They Called Us Enemy, and Good Talk. I'm going to try to do a quick review of Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me today, by the talented Mariko Tamaki, who's one of the top GN authors these days, as far as I'm concerned.

We seem to be in a Golden Age of Graphic Novels, so it's a good time to start reading more of them!

>270 richardderus: I wondered about the fieldstones, too, RD. And the waterfall and tree and bushes - what are those made out of? Fondant, marzipan?

>271 karenmarie: I like that idea, Karen, for the fieldstones; candy bricks.

You may want to hide in the corner of the cafe for a bit; we're starting to talk about the great graphic books out there. :-)

Are you in the mood for a light, fun, bookish book? Give The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman a try. Nina lives in LA, and in her 20s is working at Knight Books in the Larchmont neighborhood. She was raised without a father, as her award-winning photographer mother had him sign off on never seeing her daughter. Nina is happily introverted, and not looking for changes, but they come looking for her, including family members she never knew she had, and a potential romance which unfortunately threatens to disrupt her carefully scheduled life.

The book is filled with book love and humor. I highlighted more funny lines in it than I have done in many a day. Here are some quotes:

"Do you know the best feeling in the world?" "Uh..." Nina shook her head, despite having some ideas. Liz glowed. "It's reading a book, loving every second of it, then turning to the front and discovering that the writer wrote fourteen zillion others.”

****

“Reading isn't the only thing in the world, Nina."
"It's one of the only five perfect things in the world."
"And the other four are?"
"Cats, dogs, Honeycrisp apples and coffee.”

****

“Oh my God, she thought, it’s hard to be human sometimes, with the pressure to be civilized lying only very thinly over the brain of a nervous little mammal.”

****

“Are you sure?” Liz looked worried. “I mean, I get that the universe whirls in mysterious yada yada, but wouldn’t you rather travel the world?”

“No, I’d rather stay home and read.”

****

I'd add that another best feeling (there can be more than one best feeling in the world, right?) is being enthralled by the first book in a series, and finding out that the writer wrote fourteen zillion others in that series.

If you feel like a change of pace, or just enjoy fun reads involving book talk, take this one out for a spin, why don't you.

P.S. As Katie mentions in >274 katiekrug:, Nina is a whiz at pub trivia and plays on a competitive team; those scenes are some of the best in the book.

>273 jnwelch: - I enjoyed that one, too, Joe, especially the bits about the pub trivia. The Wayne and I used to play once a week at a local dive in Dallas (and even got engaged there). It can be very cut-throat!

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, a graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki, is another one with a lot of well done humor in it. Tamaki also did the top tier Skim and This One Summer, and has become one of my favorite GN authors.

One of the things I liked about this one is it features a high school lesbian romance, and the same sex relationship is no big deal for anyone in the story. The more of that in books and our culture, the better! Laura Dean is popular and always having fun, but she's also self-absorbed and thoughtless. Frederica (Freddy) is her girlfriend and in love with her, but as the steady and thoughtful one in the relationship, she has to endure Laura Dean's charismatic flightiness and their frequent break-ups. She tries to get help from an advice columnist, and her friends stick with Freddy as best they can, while suffering with her the emotional fallout from the on-again, off-again relationship. “For almost the past year I’ve been in love with a girl named Laura Dean. Which is the hardest thing I’ve ever been. Because…Laura Dean…keeps breaking up with me.” There's wit and banter, and loyal friendships, and crushworthy new characters, as Freddy sorts out her feelings and how to move forward. Set in Berkeley, there's diversity of all types, and kindness abounding. I hope plenty of readers get their hands on this one.

>274 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. Yes, I didn't mention the pub trivia, and how good Nina is at it. I loved those parts, too.

I've never seen the cutthroat variety; good for you for doing it at the local dive in Dallas.

P.S. I added a P.S. about the pub trivia parts to the review.

>273 jnwelch: Oh gosh, will you look at that, a big blank spot just where a temptation-to-buy-selfishly would reside! How perfectly corking.

*skedaddles*

I'm glad you like The Bookshop of Yesterdays, Joe. It was a good one. You can't get me with your review for The Bookish Life of Nina Hill because someone else already did. I brought it home from the library on Monday. Yeah well, you did get me to crack the cover though which is fatal because I have two other holds that need to be finished this week.

>218 jnwelch: Wow! What a wonderful collage of Van Gogh's works.

>277 richardderus: >273 jnwelch: is all filled back in, Richard, if you want to revisit. And, oh look, a lovely GN review in >275 jnwelch:. :-)

>278 Familyhistorian: Ah, that is dangerous, Meg. If you're like me, you're going to have trouble extricating yourself from The Bookish Life and finishing the two other holds.

I did indeed enjoy The Bookshop of Yesterdays. Thanks for the nudge. This has been a good year for books involving bookstores and libraries, hasn't it.

>279 Whisper1: Right, Linda? I love that collage of VG yellow paintings, too.

I hope all is as well as can be. Nice to see you here.

"Are you in the mood for a light, fun, bookish book?" Who? Me? Grins....Hey, you never know, right?

Hiya, Joe. Heavy day at the P.O. and then PT after work, so a little late getting around. I have requested Laura Dean. It sure sounds good and I really enjoyed This One Summer. I finished and loved Sabrina & Corina: Stories. Nothing better, that discovering a fresh, new voice, right?

After finishing the terrific Felon: Poems, I slid into The Simple Truth: Poems, the Levine collection you lent me. He has an interesting style, with a more narrative structure. I like it so far. And, I am finally starting The Alice Network, which I know you enjoyed and I have had on shelf for eons.

>281 msf59:: If you (or Joe) need some more poetry, here are some suggestions: https://themillions.com/2019/12/must-read-poetry-december-2019.html

Didn't I tell you how much fun Nina Hill is?

>273 jnwelch: Oh Great Joe. Coincidentally, I downloaded the audio book earlier today. Now I'm looking forward to it even more.

>281 msf59: Sweet Thursday, Mark!

As I said over on your thread, at some point you have to come out of the dark, however briefly, into the light, and Nina Hill will be waiting for you.

You'll like Laura Dean. I really enjoyed her This One Summer, too. I'm glad Sabrina & Corina went well. Philip Levine should be just your cuppa. Fingers crossed. Yay for The Alice Network! What a story - based on real life. Who knew?

>282 alphaorder: Interesting, off-the-beaten-path (for me, anyway) suggestions. Thanks, Nancy.

You were indisputably right about how much fun The Bookish Life of Nina Hill was! I can't remember the last time I chuckled that much over lines, and highlighted them. Abbi Waxman has two other books, I think - I wonder whether they reach this level.

>283 brenzi: Can't wait to hear what you think of The Bookish Life, Bonnie. You're in for a fun time.

>285 jnwelch: ...Frida...is that you...?

Happy Thursday reads!

>285 jnwelch: Love it!

Sweet Thursday, Joe. Sleepy Bear here...grins. Quickly shaping up to be a very nice day. Best of the week. Last work day of the week for me too. Looking forward to the weekend. I have read and enjoyed, one or two of Levine's other works. I can't remember which ones. Enjoy your day.

>285 jnwelch: - WOW!

>286 richardderus: - ROFLMAO!

>285 jnwelch: Wow. That's amazing.

>285 jnwelch: Ha, Great.

I finished Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore today and enjoyed it. After I was done I checked some things on Wikipedia just to see if they were true and found out most of them were fictitious. (Not surprising - the book is fiction.) However, I also discovered that the book was named one of the 10 Best Designed dust jackets of 2012. (the year it was published) Nice! It deserved it. I also discovered that the author Robin Sloan is also the author of Sourdough - another book on my gigantic TBR list. Sourdough had good reviews and was also on my TBR pile. I just found my next book to read - Sourdough. And the public library has the recorded version of the book, so guess where I am stopping after work since I am just about to finish the recorded book I have going in my car - Fox Inheritance. (That is another YA book I am reading for work. It is book 2 in the Jenna Fox series. Pretty good Sci/Fi series about genetic manipulation.) Of course, I also need to finish listening to Most Dangerous the book about Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers for YA's. So many good books to listen to - it is a good thing I will have a road trip coming up.

Lots of activity here. Have you all gotten into the Red Bull?

I'm still recovering from yesterday's book sale. The place was mobbed and I found myself surprisingly drained. Decent payoff, though. Got copies of The Overstory and Evicted, Pulitzer winners both and much warbled about here. I also snagged a vintage Modern Library edition of Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson, inscribed "Xmas 1932" on the front endpaper. Damn! The book's older than me.

Keep the lights on, Joe.

>286 richardderus: "No, it's me - Salvador!"

Sweet Thursday, RD.

>287 msf59: Isn't that cool, Mark? Sweet Thursday, buddy. Is it time yet for the Sleeping Bear to come out of the dark cave and read the light Bookish Life? :-)

That was a beaut of a day. I was out in it a lot, I'm glad to say. Your last work day of the week?! That's great! Enjoy it. This volume is the best Levine I've read; I hope it comes through for you.

>288 jessibud2: Right, Shelley? That's a wow! for me, too. That RD . . .

>289 charl08: Hi, Charlotte. Agreed. I have trouble believing it was serendipity, but if >285 jnwelch: was somehow photoshopped, that's a wow, too.

>290 Caroline_McElwee: Hiya, Caroline. Isn't that something?

>291 benitastrnad: I'm glad you enjoyed Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, Benita. Me, too. I'm didn't know about Sourdough; I'll look forward to your comments when you get to it.

Oh, I liked The Adoration of Jenna Fox. I didn't know there was a book 2. Please let me know what you think when you're done. Gosh, it's been a long time since I've thought about Daniel Ellsburg and The Pentagon Papers. A YA book about it? Hmm.

>292 weird_O: We've been doing espresso shots, Bill. The younger crowd in the back is zooming through the Red Bulls.

You are an ace at book sales. You always come away with good 'uns. I'm one of those enthusiastic warblers about both The Overstory and Evicted. How cool to find a vintage copy of the Boswell Johnson. That's even a year or two older than me.

Bookish Life of Nina Hill caught my eye as well. I put it on my wishlist. If it turns out to be as good as Elinor Oliphant that will be a very pleasant surprise.

I started An American Marriage today. So far it is really good. I didn’t expect it to be that engrossing.

I am happy that so many people are finding their way to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Makes sense, as we are all bookish people here, but it such a fun, smart, bookish book I am writing another post in the hopes that more people who are looking for a little light these days will pick it up. A great read for the holiday break!

I haven't read the Nina Hill one but I am currently reading a book that sounds similar in that it's fun, funny and well-written. It's also the author's debut novel: Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce. I am a little past the half way point, and am really enjoying it. It's a story about a young woman who wants to be a war correspondent and applies for a job at a newspaper only to find herself answering reader letters to the advice column. When her boss refuses anything *Unpleasant*, Emmy begins to secretly take some of the more serious the letters home and respond on her own, signing the boss's name. The story, which makes me laugh out loud sometimes, can also be quite poignant as it gives a real life look at life in war time London. Not sure if others here have read it, but it's really worth a look at, if anyone is interested.

>295 benitastrnad: Glad to hear it, Benita. I think you'll enjoy The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. I can't put it up there with Eleanor Oliphant, but it's a fun one.

I know nada about American Marriage, so I'll look forward to your comments.

>296 alphaorder: Me, too, Nancy - I'm happy that so many people are finding their way to The Bookish Life of Nina Hill. Good for you for giving it an extra push. It is a great read for the holiday break. Its sunshine while the weather turns wintry is welcome, isn't it.

>297 jessibud2: Hi, Shelley. Dear Mrs. Bird, eh? Fingers crossed it stays high quality through the end. I've had some let down. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

These trolls showed up in our local Arboretum (Morton), too.

By Danish artist Thomas Dambo



Here's more: http://canyouactually.com/giants-made-from-wood/?fbclid=IwAR0aTqN3T8aF13yRN__KKy...

>299 jnwelch: - Wow, those are wonderful!! So clever, imaginative and whimsical!

>300 jessibud2: Right, Shelley? So fun to see them in the woods. I'm a big fan of sculptures in gardens and arboretums, and these have such widespread appeal. You can see more via the link. I love the one of the troll stacking rocks in Colorado.

>299 jnwelch: Hooray for the Trolls! I enjoy these guys, whenever I visit the Arb!

Morning, Joe. Happy Friday. I am sure you are getting ready to go for your workout. I did a short workout here, (I have not done much, these past couple of weeks, while doing my shoulder exercises, but I am easing back into it) and I have PT at 11 today. Chores and errands too, but I hope to fit in some time with The Alice Network, which is off to a promising start.

Great Bears win! I am sure it is their best game of the season and Mitch looked great. We just need this kind of consistency out of him. Glad to see him running too. That always seems to fire things up.

Are you starting a new thread soon? Hmmmmmmm?

>299 jnwelch: oooh, I love your trolls. Good topper for your next café Joe?

>299 jnwelch: Amazing!!!

>303 Caroline_McElwee: ^^^what she hinted.

>285 jnwelch: That is quite the image, Joe. Really effective when you scroll down into it!

I only looked at the first page of Nina Hill before I closed the cover so I am safe and finished one of the holds I was working on Nature's Mutiny. Many of my holds are nonfiction and I find myself longing for a good fictional story so Nina Hill is edging its way up on the hold list but Good Omens is in front of it, so there is that.

>302 msf59: Right, Mark? We saw the Trolls when we were at the Arb with you. I wish the Arb was closer for us; I'd be there more. You're a lucky guy.

Happy Friday, buddy. Yup, we were at our workout. I think I'm doing pretty well for a 102 year old. Our trainer likes to tell people the shape I came in right after retiring, after 30+ years behind a desk. Not pretty, and very stiff. Debbi's been doing this for a long time, but he's made a big difference for us both. (He was there with his girlfriend to watch the Super Bowl when you joined us). Yeah, how is your shoulder doing? I keep forgetting to ask, because I'm a heartless self-centered so-and-so. I don't even know how you banged it up!

Ah, if The Alice Network is off to a promising start, you're going to have a grand time. For me, it just got better and better.

Great Bears win! I can't believe how impatient fans have been with a third year quarterback. I've been defending him right, left and sideways. People forget he had two game-winning drives last year, including one in the big playoff game, only to have the field goal kicker blow it. I've glad to see him starting to come into his own; you're right, consistency is what it's all about. The same thing happens in the NBA - the players are so much bigger and faster and talented than college, it takes a while, usually 2 or 3 years, to figure it all out. I loved his running last night - selective and well-timed. That touchdown run was a hoot; I don't think that defensive back expected a quarterback to put a move on him like that.

Man, I was hoping I could string it out a bit longer as far as a new thread goes. It means I have to be not-lazy for a while, and I love being lazy. But you, Caroline and RD aren't wrong; it's time. After these responses.

>303 Caroline_McElwee: Good idea, Caroline, re the trolls. I had planned on something else, but I like your idea.

>304 richardderus: Right, RD? I love what this Danish guy does.

I think Caroline hinted that I should have a wonderful holiday season, or was it something else?

"flees to the vacant lot where a new cafe is underway, or is about to be, anyway, if the lazy doofus running this joint remembers*

>305 Familyhistorian: Isn't that a great image, Meg? I've been on a fiction binge this year, and have neglected the NF. Ah, well, there's always next year. Good Omens - what a treat. You're finishing the year in style. I think bookish Nina would have no problem waiting for you to finish the Neil and Terry book.

The new cafe is open. See you there!