Mary's (bell7's) Reads in 2022 - Thread #3

Time for a new thread!

If you've never met me, hello and welcome, my name's Mary and I live and work in western Massachusetts. I'm a librarian, a home owner, the oldest of 5, and Auntie Mimi to Mia and Matthew. I'm a fan of Giants football, Bruins hockey, and tennis. I read all sorts of fiction and nonfiction, though SFF and books about books are among my favorites. Horror is about the only genre I avoid on the whole (I am a wimp).

If you've been following all year, welcome back! I hope you'll find lots of bookish discussion here.

My 2022 reading goals:
-Read at least half books by authors of color
-Complete the BookRiot ReadHarder challenge
-Read at least one book a month in the Asian Book Challenge
-Read at least twelve books from countries outside of the US/UK

As you can see, some of those goals will overlap significantly. I also have a lifetime reading goal of reading all the Newbery Award and Honor books, so you’ll see me whittling away at that as well.

Favorite Books of 2021 -
I couldn't narrow down my top ten titles of 2021, so here's a top ten fiction and a few more categories as well:

Fiction
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Nonfiction
This Time Together by Carol Burnett
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Nine Nasty Words by John McWhorter
Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

Graphic Novel
Umma’s Table by Yeon-Sik Hong

Poetry
The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems by Billy Collins

YA
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Cordova

Middle Grade
Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

2022 Book Club Reads

For work -
January - Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri - COMPLETED
February - Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - COMPLETED
March - Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - COMPLETED
April - Pale Rider by Laura Spinney
May - People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Summer break
September - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
October - Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
November - The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
December - Nomadland by Jessica Bruder

The Other Book Club with my SIL and friends -
January/February - The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal - COMPLETED
April - Taste by Stanley Tucci

Random things I'm keeping track of -
Bookish articles:
1. Books Like AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (includes a Japanese book recently translated that may make an interesting Asian Book Challenge choice)
2. Japanese Books in Translation (BookRiot)
3. New and Upcoming Must-Read Memoirs by Black Authors

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 Graphic Novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 Graphic Novels)
2016 - 141
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138

Asian Book Challenge

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors
Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (Lebanon)
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
Read Dangerously by Azar Nafisi
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
OCTOBER - INDO CHINE - Authors from Indo-China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian and Filipino Authors
Fairest: a memoir by Meredith Talusan
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri (she was born in the UK to parents from India and grew up in the US; this book was written in Italian and set in Italy)

Other countries I've visited in my reading:
It can get a little dicey to figure out if a book fits as a "global" read or not, so here's how I'm counting it -
-The country I'll identify is that which the book was published in or the author is from, rather than the setting of the book
-The author currently lives in their country of origin, which for my purposes is not the U.S. or U.K.
-If the work had to be translated into English, regardless of where the author is currently living
-If the author is an expatriate, they had to move in adulthood (as a college student, refugee, or any other reason), and I'll count the country of origin as where the book is "from"

Portugal - Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo
Spain - City of Mist: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Ireland - Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Trinidad and Tobago - When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

BookRiot Reader Harder Challenge

Read a biography of an author you admire

Read a book set in a bookstore

Read any book from the Women’s Prize shortlist/longlist/winner list

Read a book in any genre by a POC that’s about joy and not trauma
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Read an anthology featuring diverse voices

Read a nonfiction YA comic
Dare to Disappoint by Ozge Samanci

Read a romance where at least one of the protagonists is over 40

Read a classic written by a POC
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

Read the book that’s been on your TBR the longest

Read a political thriller by a marginalized author (BIPOC, or LGBTQIA+)

Read a book with an asexual and/or aromantic main character

Read an entire poetry collection
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Read an adventure story by a BIPOC author

Read a book whose movie or TV adaptation you’ve seen (but haven’t read the book)

Read a new-to-you literary magazine (print or digital)

Read a book recommended by a friend with different reading tastes

Read a memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary

Read a “Best _____ Writing of the year” book for a topic and year of your choice.

Read a horror novel by a BIPOC author.

Read an award-winning book from the year you were born

Read a queer retelling of a classic of the canon, fairytale, folklore, or myth.

Read a history about a period you know little about.

Read a book by a disabled author
Paperboy by Vince Vawter

Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat!
City of Mist: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (a collection of short stories)

Currently reading
The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty

Bible reading/Devotionals
Psalms, Romans

March
29. The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie
28. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
27. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
26. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
25. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

February
24. Fairest by Meredith Telusan
23. Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
22. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
21. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
20. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
19. Wow, No Thank You by Samatha Irby
18. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
17. Oddball: A Sarah Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen
16. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
15. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
14. Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds with artwork by Jason Griffin
13. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
12. Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues by Steven Rogers

January
11. Paperboy by Vince Vawter
10. The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker
9. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci
8. Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times by Azar Nafisi
7. City of Mists: Stories by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
6. Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk
5. Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
4. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
3. The River of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks
2. The God of Lost Words by A.J. Hackwith
1. Ballad for Sophie by Filipe Melo

DNF in 2022
1. Hell of a Book by Jason Mott
2. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
3. Frontier Justice by E. Fuller Torrey

Well, thanks for keeping my threads hopping, everyone! This is by far the earliest in the year I've made a third thread. I was thinking of doing it over the weekend, but figured I'd still some time in the evening instead, knowing that the next couple of days will stay pretty busy.

Perhaps this is on my mind because Mark just came back, or because it's cold and I like thinking about not-cold places in the winter, but my question for you tonight is: where will you go - or stay - on vacation this year? Alternatively, what would be your dream vacation?

I hope I am not too early to wish you a happy new thread, Mary. x

>10 PaulCranswick: Congrats on being first, Paul! And thank you for the new-thread wishes!

My pleasure, Mary. x

Happy new thread!

Congratulations on three threads already Mary!!!

Happy new thread, Mary.

In answer to your question, Mr. Fine and I recently booked plane tickets to go to Newfoundland in September. My first visit to the Rock and I'll be meeting a lot of my in-laws for the first time as well.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new thread Mary. Given all the recent restrictions on travel, I'll be glad to get anywhere beyond our national borders, but will take any kind of "away" at this point as a win.

Happy Saturday, Mary! Happy New Thread! Enjoy that book time.

>12 PaulCranswick: xo

>13 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>14 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda!

>15 MickyFine: Oooh, how exciting, Micky! Hope everything goes well with it and you have a great time.

>16 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

>17 charl08: I get that, Charlotte. I hope you're able to sooner rather than later.

>18 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I will do my best to get some book time in, if only to finish my book club book in time :)

Happy Saturday! I got up early enough to feed the dogs without mishap (one of them threw up bile from hunger yesterday and I didn't want that to happen again), then went back to bed for a little though I didn't actually sleep. I'm now up and have the Olympics on for an hour or so before I need to walk the dogs, run some errands and hang out with my Little for a few hours. We're planning on making tie-dye t-shirts, which should be a lot of fun.

No further evening plans, other than hanging out with the dogs and cats, and reading my books. The main focus now is Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison for book club on Wednesday. I'm listening to The Lager Queen of Minnesota before bed now, so making a little bit of progress in that as well as my e-book When We Were Birds. I put These Precious Days: Essays on pause because the next one is fairly long and I want enough time to read it one sitting.

Oh, and in answer to my own question... I will use most of my vacation time as staycation, probably working on the garden at various times of the year. But I am also hoping that it will work out for me to get to the National Book Festival in DC in September.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Vacation: There's a good chance that Charlie will get chosen to start marching with the high school band as an 8th grader next year, and if that happens he'll actually start this summer, which then means that he'll probably go with them on their summer trip to Disney World. If that happens, Tomm and I have decided to go too, but not as official chaperones (to a bunch of high school kids? Um, no.) but just to tag along trip-adjacent, mostly doing our own thing, but also be able to watch their performances.

I really liked Song of Solomon when I read it last year, Mary. It should generate some good discussion with your book group!

Happy new thread! Right now, a vacation somewhere warm and sunny sounds nice to me, but alas, I have no real vacation plans until my honeymoon in September, when we're planning on renting a cabin in Hocking Hills (a pretty area in southern Ohio). I have lots of dream vacations, including Ireland, Australia, and taking a train across Canada.

Vacation? What's that? Hahaha... We have missed our trips to Northern Michigan during these two years of Covid and fervently hope that we can get out of the Missouri heat in late July and visit family on the shores of Lake Superior. It's a 14-hour drive but so worth it.

I enjoy reading about your time with the three Labs, although I can't imagine why someone would leave their dogs for such a long time. I'm already missing Penny for the week we plan to be gone in July.

I recently finished These Precious Days and loved it. You made a good call to read the long essay in one sitting.

Have fun with your Little today. I'll be curious to see the results of your tie dying. :)

Checking in with the new thread, Mary, before I get hopelessly behind on it like I did on the last one!

Happy new thread! We just a couple of days ago put down a deposit for a cruise that goes from Singapore to Bali and back. Gonna be a very different December for us!

Hi Mary! Happy weekend.

>27 drneutron: that sounds amazing, Jim!

>24 Donna828: That is what I was thinking, Donna. As it stands at the moment I need to quit my job to get an overseas holiday.

>27 drneutron: If I am still in Malaysia, Bill and travel restrictions are lifted I will come down to Singapore and meet-up with you and your good lady. A visit to Nina is long, long overdue.

Happy new thread, Mary. You are starting the year off with some great reading.

Well, I can tell from your answers I'm not the only one getting a little cabin fever! Love all your destinations, both imminent and someday.

>21 scaifea: What a great time that would be, Amber! (Kudos to skipping on chaperoning) And I bet Charlie would appreciate the support, too. When do you find out if he's chosen to march?

>22 katiekrug: I'm about 2/3 of the way through and confident that if I don't finish it today, I will tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to the discussion!

>23 foggidawn: The honeymoon plans and dream trip plans both sound lovely, foggi. Australia is on my list, too - I want to go to the Australian Open and also tour some of the New Zealand locations used in the LOTR and Narnia movies.

>24 Donna828: I do hope you're able to take your trip again soon, Donna. I usually travel down to DC a couple of times a year to visit family there, too, and aside from a weekend trip with all my siblings last June when numbers went down, I haven't been able to do that in the last couple of years either. I'm hoping this September, if airline prices go down.

I think the dogs are a little different for these folks, since they have five and they're part owned with a breeder. They took two with them, left the male dog for the first time, and the other two females are the ones I always watch. Delaney doesn't travel well, and she needs company.

And thanks, I'm looking forward to getting back to These Precious Days after I finish Song of Solomon, so hopefully I'll get a chance to read the next essay tonight or tomorrow.

>25 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I have yet to take a picture of the shirt, but I'll post it for you when I do.

>26 alcottacre: Glad to see you, Stasia! Happy Monday

>27 drneutron: Ooooh, that sounds like a really memorable trip, Jim. Enjoy! (I'll look forward to your report on it later this year)

>28 AMQS: Hope you had a great weekend, Anne!

>29 PaulCranswick: Sorry trips aren't anywhere in your immediate future, Paul. I'll be staying pretty close to home this year, too, and if I go anywhere it'll be to my family in DC.

>30 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! Yeah, I'm slower this month but still really enjoying the books I'm getting to, so it's been a good start to the year.

Morning, Mary. I hope you enjoyed the weekend. I am immersed in The Memory of Love. How is When We Were Birds? Of course, I love the title.

Good Monday morning! I've gotta get my butt in gear soon and walk the dogs before heading out to work, but at the moment I've just finished breakfast and have the Olympics on.

The weekend was fun, if busy. Saturday was a little more relaxed, allowing me time to tidy up at the house before going home to check in, pick up mail, and water the plants. I hung out with my Little for the afternoon, and we messed around with a tie-dye kit to dye shirts. We needed to leave them wet in a bag for several hours after, so I brought mine home and finished it that night. The evening was spent watching Olympics and reading Song of Solomon.

Yesterday was a bit more constant. Church in the morning, came back to get lunch together and make a pineapple pico de gallo and collect chips and dip (store bought) to bring to the Super Bowl party in the evening. After the dogs were walked and fed, I headed over to my brother and SIL's, and spent the evening with siblings and friends. Me, my brothers, and one of the friends were probably the most into the game, but all of us enjoyed the company and chance to catch up with folks. I got back to let the dogs out one more quick time, and went to bed.

Today is work 9-2, I'll come back to walk the dogs and do a little meal planning and try to squeeze a grocery shopping in. I'll be reading my book club book and have Bible study in the evening.

>33 msf59: Hiya, Mark! When We Were Birds is good, a sort of magical realism set in Trinidad (the author is originally from there, now living in the UK) and I'm hoping to have more time to focus on it in the coming days, as I'm still only a fifth of the way into it. It comes out in March, if you're intrigued enough to keep an eye out for it. Hope The Memory of Love continues to be good!

15. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
Why now? The book club with my sister-in-law is reading it and discussing Feb 24 (moved from January)

Edith works in a nursing home kitchen and suddenly is propelled to fame when her pies get written up in the newspaper as the third-best in the state, but her life becomes hard when first her husband gets sick and then her son and his wife die leaving her to care for her teenage granddaughter, Diana. Helen is Edith's sister and very unlike her, discovering at 15 that she loves beer, and working through college and by marriage to be able to brew her own. The sisters aren't speaking to each other in the present, and through their stories (and eventually Diana's, too), readers discover what pulled them apart, and what happened to both families as a result.

Stradal's sophomore book focuses on a family and good ol' Midwestern values, and was enjoyable enough. The details about brewing beer and crafting IPAs were interesting. The narrative skipped around a lot: Edith and Diana's chapters are one timeline, and Edith's jumps back in time and eventually makes its way up to 2018 to coincide with Edith and Diana. And even within one chapter, you might get skipped ahead to the next big event in the character's life. I'm sure my reading it over two weeks instead of the few days I'm accustomed to added to this sense of disjointedness. There was nothing that I particularly liked or disliked about it - the characters were fine, the story was predictable but mostly engaging. But neither did anything about it particular stand out as stellar and make me want to seek out more of the same. 3 stars.

16. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Why now? Read for my work book club - discussion to be held tomorrow

Macon Dead, Jr. was born the day another man jumped from the cupola of the hospital wearing homemade wings and couldn't fly. When he's a young boy, he gets the nickname "Milkman" when a man comes in and sees that his mother still nurses him. These are just pieces of his story, as he grows up and becomes a man, falls in and out of love, and learns about family.

I am convinced that Toni Morrison writes everything with a precision of language that is truly remarkable. This is only the second novel of hers that I've written besides Beloved. It was written fifteen years earlier and on the surface is very different, with a lot of dialogue and less descriptive passages. But it is stunning. I hesitate to say too much because the way the last third of the book unfolds is amazing. Did I like it? I don't know, but it will definitely stick with me for a long time. An excellent book club pick. 4.5 stars.

17. Oddball: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen
Why now? I've read all her other Sarah's Scribbles comics, so was excited to read her newest. I picked it up today to read over lunch and dinner because after finishing the last two books this morning, I wasn't ready to pick out a new fiction book before heading to work.

The latest in the Sarah's Scribbles collection is a hilarious bunch of comics touching on anxiety, cats, fixations, and just living in the world today. I laughed several times and related a lot.

I spent the morning reading the book club books, and am working 12-8 today. Much of the off-desk time was spent on practice searches in Ancestry as I prepare for the demonstration/hands-on workshop that I'm giving next month (if anyone signs up). One of my co-workers had given me some family information on her maternal grandparents, and I couldn't find much on her grandfather but I went to town on her grandmother and saved a bunch of images and started an Ancestral Chart for her. I gave her those and a family group sheet to go back and have fun with filling in the blanks.

Now I'm going to spend the last hour here prepping for tomorrow's book club, going back to relax (?) with the dogs, watching the Bruins and the Olympics and continuing to read These Precious Days.

>37 bell7: I can't really say I "enjoyed" Song of Solomon. I didn't "enjoy" Beloved, either. They're magnificent achievements, they're beautifully crafted and eloquently expressed prose art, and they're important documents of twentieth-century interethnic and intranational sociology.

I think they're stories responsible literary citizens should take on board.

But "enjoy"? It's just not the proper frame to put around the image.

*smooch*

>40 richardderus: Oh yeah, "enjoy" is definitely the wrong word. But I thought Beloved was brilliant (in that sense I liked it?), and Song of Solomon isn't far behind. I think what's behind my asking myself "Did I like it?" is because of how I tend to rate my reads by my personal reactions to them, not always by the fact that this book made me happy but more as "Did it measure up? Would I reread it?" For Song of Solomon, the answer is yes (I originally gave it 4 stars and bumped it up to 4.5 on further reflection). But there's definitely still an element of "What did I just read?" as I process it, which I think is closer to what I meant by "Did I like it?" than "Was this book enjoyable?"

Anyway, that's my rambly way of trying to explain. I certainly didn't have the same ambivalent, "Well, it was nice" response that The Lager Queen of Minnesota evoked.

Good Wednesday morning! I "cheated" on the early morning dog walk and just let the dogs run about in their pen for a bit, waiting for it to get a little warmer and closer to when I leave to do a longer walk. I've spent most of the morning cooking poaches fish with tomatoes, and now I'm boiling potatoes to use in corn chowder tomorrow. That'll keep me covered for meals for a bit, and I have the fixings for a spinach, tomato & pesto quesadillas to make tomorrow night as well.

Today is book club, so another 12-8 day for me. I have volunteers to keep busy and I've got to start looking at what I'll do for the volunteer breakfast this spring. I have a date scheduled but haven't done anything, and I want to ask my boss if she really wants to have food or do something a little different this year.

Tonight will be curling up with These Precious Days: Essays and watching the Olympics before last dog walks and bed. (Oh, and I read that "long" essay this morning - it wasn't as long as I thought, it was the talk she gave to deans about graduate school and was very funny.)

>41 bell7: Well, good gravy NO! Imagine something that piffling being considered on the same brain-wave as Beloved!

I mean, I enjoyed Love & Saffron. But I've already forgotten some of the details (the husband's name, the place the single woman works, etc etc) and expect to be blankly astonished when I see the title on my year-end stats. "I read that? When? Why?"

OTOH I remember where I was when I finished Beloved the first time. In 1988. (The world's ugliest armchair...brown velvet with fake-chrome stripes on the arms! *ptooptoo*)

>43 richardderus: That's the challenge of rating anything, isn't it? Turns out that 4.5 stars ("I would reread this book") don't always compare to each other - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, another brilliant-but-not-enjoyable book, is never going to be read for the same reasons Murderbot is, though there's certainly reason enough to reread both. And though I rated it 3.5 stars, The Sympathizer and my feelings while reading it will stay with me longer than The Reading List by Sarah Nisha Adams.

It always amazes me what books stick with me long term, and which don't when I look back over books, threads or reviews from past years. Some of them, I remember very clearly: the one I thought of when I read what you said about Beloved made me think of where I was when I finished The Sparrow for the first time. I was at a mall waiting for our Brazilian exchange student and sitting on a bench when I decided to pull it out, and I was holding back tears as I read the end. (Probably less comfortable but prettier than your armchair.)

>44 bell7: Yes indeed, the ending of The Sparrow wasn't ideal to read in such a well-lit and heavily traveled spot. Which, of course, you couldn't've known before reading it.

>45 richardderus: Ha, no it was not and no I couldn't've. But it was definitely one of those memorable reading moments :)

Book club tonight!

I had a couple of regulars who couldn't make it for various reasons, so only one other person showed up. But. You all, this lady is one who joined us late last year and usually reads nonfiction when left to her own devices so this was her first Toni Morrison and she was blown away. We had such a great discussion, talking about flying and myth, the depth of characters and a portrait of a community, the importance and meaning of various names. Far-ranging and very little that had to do with the actual plot. There was so much to discuss, and we both agreed that Song of Solomon would reward rereading. This was not quite my first Morrison - I read Beloved and Playing in the Dark - but I mentioned to her that I didn't fully get Beloved when I read it for class, and appreciated it a lot more on a recent reread. She said that her daughter had read Song of Solomon in high school for an AP class and that she thought it would take a special 18-year-old to really grasp everything. But we also agreed that it's successful at it's most basic story level, and then has a lot of depth that makes for a rich reading experience if you're willing to do the work to piece things together, research, or reread. Though it was just the two of us, we easily talked ten minutes past eight and could've kept going.

She's going to read Beloved next, and I asked her to let me know what she thought.

Good Thursday morning, all. I've been a little spoiled with having mornings off the last two days, and have to get my butt in gear today walking the dogs after I've finished eating breakfast and getting out to work. We've got a high around 60 today which is terribly unseasonal, but I'm kind of looking forward to the comfortable weather for walking (especially when I get back from work, when it will still be a little light and I will most likely give them long walks down the street to really stretch their legs).

Today's work plan is that dang volunteer breakfast, which I still have to talk to my boss about. We didn't get much of a chance to connect yesterday. I forgot I had an orientation for the compensation study the town is doing for non-union employees yesterday, and then I had desk hours, volunteers to keep busy, and book group so I didn't touch the volunteer breakfast at all. And now I also have a questionnaire to fill out for the compensation study.

Tonight I'm making spinach, pesto and tomato quesadillas for supper and corn chowder for over the weekend. The weekend just got busier because my mom texted to say my sister's family, including my niece and nephew, are coming up for a visit. I expect much of Saturday will be visiting them as much as possible between dog walks.

And for those of you knowing I need a day off: I did indeed take a day off, March 2, in which I am planning to go home for what would have been my 9-5 work shift and have some time to myself. I'll wait and see if I feel like working on any home projects (like pruning the grapes and raspberries), but either way having no people and no labs around for the day will be rather relaxing. And I may just decide to read and knit all day, we'll see.

Morning, Mary. Sweet Thursday. Enjoy those mild temps. Winter returns here today, with snow and falling temps. I love your Morrison reading. I hope to do a couple of rereads of hers this year, including Song of Solomon.

>48 bell7: Glad to hear you've got a do nothing day on the books, Mary. It's more than well-deserved.

Also, I'm so pleased that even though it was only a book club of two you still had a great discussion. Small attendance library programs are always the hardest.

>48 bell7: I think the best discussions come when you're least expecting them, don't they?

*smooch*

>49 msf59: Winter will be back over the weekend, Mark, but I am enjoying the warmth today! I have several of Morrison's works left to read, and I will enjoy delving into more in the coming years, I think.

>50 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky. I am looking forward to it... a little sorry that it turns out it's the last day of a colleague, but it's legitimately the only day I could think of to take off before the dogsitting job ends anyways, so I'm keepin ng the day off. And thanks! Yeah, low attendance can be a challenge, so I was very glad she had a lot to say and it turned out to be very easy to just talk back and forth about it.

>51 richardderus: Indeed they do, Richard! I knew that several regulars couldn't make it for various reasons, so I was happy someone showed up! *smooch*

TGIF! Busy day today. I got the dogs all set for the morning. It was warm but rainy and blustery, so I let them out in their pen and cleaned up some of the poop in the yard that was visible after the snow melted. The plants are watered and the food set out for the dog walker who's coming later in the day.

Work is 9-5, and I'm joining my Little's birthday celebration tonight with her family instead of my normal Friday night volunteering. Not sure when I'll get back from that, but when I do, I'll feed the cats, clean up their litter boxes, and run the dishwasher before heading to bed. My sister's family is getting to my parents tonight, and it looks like it won't be likely that I can get the dogs set before they go out for breakfast tomorrow morning, but I'm hoping to get over on Saturday afternoon/evening to visit. My youngest sister is coming up too. And Sunday night, since we'll actually all be together, we're celebrating my dad's birthday.

Enjoy your family time, Mary!

>53 bell7: *fans self*

I'll be lying on my fainting couch with the sal volatile to hand.

*feeble hankie-wave at Mary's dust-trail*

>54 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>55 richardderus: I know, I know. Fridays are especially difficult with the dogsitting stuff. But I will have a relatively quiet Saturday morning and I'm off on Monday for the holiday, which will help.

18. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
Why now? A fine hit with a book bullet - I can't remember which review put it over the edge, but so many people here on LT were enjoying it, I decided I needed to check it out too

Ann Patchett's latest collects 23 essays, many which were previously published (sometimes in a slightly different version), in a lovely rumination on life, love, and friendship.

It was, quite simply, a delight to read through these personal essays. I enjoy Patchett's writing style, simple yet often beautiful or profound. My favorite essay was "The worthless servant," which was a beautiful homage to a priest who served the poor and homeless. The title essay, "These precious days" was the longest but so worth the read, as she reflected on how she became close to Sooki (who just so happened to be Tom Hanks's assistant) during her cancer treatment. Reflective, lovely prose that made me smile and cry by turns. 4.5 stars.

>53 bell7: Enjoy your family filled weekend!

>57 bell7: Sounds wonderful, and I have it waiting for me on the reservation shelf at the library. Result!

The book group discussion sounds worthwhile despite it being the two of you. I ordered the book for my book group (held last week) and it never turned up, was really sorry to miss it. But hopefully it's just got a bit delayed in the post. I hope your members who couldn't make it still enjoyed the book.

Glad to read you have a day off booked. I hope it is lovely and relaxing, whatever you decide to do.

*fearful peep* ...h...hello? is Mary's unconscious emaciated threadbare self here...?

>58 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>59 charl08: Oh excellent, looking forward to your thoughts on it, Charlotte. Yeah, it was definitely a fun discussion even if only two of us. Sorry your last book club book didn't make it - I hope it turns up, even if you can't read it in time for the group!

>60 richardderus: I'm here, Richard, tired but well satisfied after a busy day.

Saturday night report:

I spent the morning getting the animals and chores all set for the day, including some weekly tasks like changing out a large water jug for the cats and replacing the litter. After midday walks, I headed to my parents and visited with my mom and youngest sister until my sister, her husband, and the kids showed up with my dad (they'd gone to a playground to run out some energy). I spent a few hours hanging out with everyone; we played Yahtzee and then Sorry on teams with the kids. Mia had me read her the books I'd taken out from the library. For one of the books, I had her read me the words she knew first, and then I'd read the whole sentence. She's getting pretty good with her sight words and (probably with an assist from the illustrations) consistently read "elephant" from A Sick Day for Amos McGee.

Then I had to come back to walk and feed the dogs. I talked my youngest sister into coming with me so I could be even faster, and Mia wanted to come too. She was actually vibrating with excitement on the car ride in, talking about how they would lick her and wag their tails and be so excited. I had her sit in the recliner when I let them out of the kennels, and sure enough they did all of that. A couple times they would jump up on the recliner to lick her face, but instead of getting scared she was laughing and absolutely in her element. We got them fed, and then went for walks. I gave Mia some dog treats and had her call the dogs to follow her and get the treats as we walked along.

I fed the cats, too, but they made themselves scarce. The long-haired one was in the bedroom she usually haunts, and deigned to let us pet her. The short hair that usually is my buddy and says goodnight to me absolutely disappeared and I could not find her. When I came back tonight, though, she came right over so I was able to give her her meds (and stop worrying that she'd managed to get out).

Matthew was pretty sad that I didn't take him to see the dogs, too. I felt bad, but I also don't think I could've handled both of them and the dogs walking down the street and keeping everyone from getting him. I told him I'd take him special just him & me on a trip tomorrow to pick out a present for my dad.

Now I'm back at the dogs' house, and it's just about bed time. I've got the Bruins on, but I'm ready to let the dogs out for their last pee break and go up to bed. I'll be up tomorrow to go to nursery, church and work. I'll come back to feed and walk the dogs, and then I'm spending the evening with the whole family (!) celebrating my dad's birthday. So, um, don't expect to see me 'til Monday. It being Presidents' Day, I'm off for the holiday. I need to get some groceries, but other than that I'm not leaving the house. Just reading and walking the dogs.

Saturday Obligations/Sunday Felicitations

A weekend of cats and dogs
Days of slippers and clogs
Between the hearth and the field
Between the take and the yield.
Days of turning pages
Then nights lost in stages
To the jousts of dream and slumber
The bouts of fear and wonder
And the counting hours find a way
To bring about a dawning day.

Suggested by post >62 bell7:

Hope that Sunday is restful xx

>63 PaulCranswick: Aw, thanks Paul, I love that!

Well, Sunday was not restful, but it was a good day. I had nursery for first service, went to church and left early enough to get to work in time to eat lunch before opening and working 12-5. My brother-in-law met me at the library to put Matthew's booster seat in the car and I took him to the dogs' house to "help" me feed and walk them. He was a little overwhelmed when the dogs kept jumping up on the couch to lick his face, but he told me afterwards that Charles was his favorite 'cause he licked him the most. We had to go looking for the kitties, and he was disappointed that he wasn't able to pet one, but I told him that even though Mia pet one, he got to hold a leash (inside, while I put my gloves on, not outside) and she didn't, so they each got one special thing.

Then we headed back to my parents' to celebrate my dad's upcoming birthday and hang out for the last evening they were visiting. Matthew had three balls that my youngest sister had crocheted him and wanted Grandpa to show him how to juggle, which morphed into a game that somehow Mia started directing, where Matthew would go down to the landing of my parents' raised ranch and throw the three balls over the wall into the living room where we were sitting ready to attempt to catch them blind. It was absolutely hilarious. Mia would get us all ready, announcing, "Hands up!" We sat on my parents sectional and raised our hands, waiting for the "Go!" command that meant the three balls would come flying up all at once. I was off to the side of the common trajectory they took, so at one point Mia told me I needed to "Try harder," and I got a few practice catching in with a puzzle piece. Grandpa ended up winning (mostly because they couldn't read the difference between "Grandma" and "Grandpa" so he got a few extra points in the count) and his reward was drawing his own self portrait in a square that Mia put on the score chart.

While we were sitting cuddling together, Mia told me that she'd like me to live closer, and if she had a party, would I come to it? So now of course I want to see if I can make the finances and timing work to go down for her birthday. She has a whole plan for a party with the "sides" of the family and another day that she's going to have a sleepover, though I have no idea if this is actually in the works.

Today is a holiday and my recovery day! I have fed the dogs and let them out in their pen, and had breakfast. The only things I really need to do are a quick grocery and gas run, and virtual Bible study tonight. In between dog walks, I'll just be reading and relaxing a lot.

Have a lovely day.

>64 bell7: You are welcome. x

>67 PaulCranswick: That sounds like the best R&R day ever! Of course now you need recovery time...and that's exactly what Presidents' Day has always meant, since time immemorial, right? The chance to completely Become One with the sofa?

*smooch*

>67 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. So far, so good. I'm very tired though and may work an actual nap in.

>68 richardderus: Oh yeah, become one with the sofa, maybe even one with the bed. I'm really looking forward to next week Wednesday just leaving to go home for the 9-5 work day. *smooch*

Glad your family visit was so fun! The catching game sounds hilarious.

>70 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! It was a blast, we laughed so much.

Morning, Mary. I hope the work week is off to a good start. I always enjoy your personal updates. Hooray for the Patchett collection. Did you read her previous one? If not, it is just as good.

>72 msf59: Thanks, Mark! My thread becomes a diary of sorts, and it's always fun to get the interaction that brings. The week's been good so far. Sunday was very busy, yesterday was very relaxed, and today will be in between :) The only other book I've read by Ann Patchett is Bel Canto and though it's beautifully written and constructed, it's not a book that I loved reading like I did her essays. But I will seek others out now, in particular her other essay collection.

19. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
Why now? It fits the BookRiot prompt to read a book by a POC about joy and not trauma, and was available as an e-book and audio from the library (and I do enjoy a good humor book read by the author)

Samantha Irby is a blogger and writer, even working in the writers' room for the first season of Shrill. But as she'll tell you, she's never really had ambition or drive and most of her day is procrastinating her writing. In this series of essays, she covers all sorts of things about her life as a middle-aged Black and queer woman, whether it's talking about how aging has affected her ability (and desire) to party, her Crohn's disease, or her hands-off parenting approach to her stepkids.

Humor is hard to hit just right, and I have an odd sense of humor where I don't always love what everyone else seems to - I can't watch The Office or Arrested Development, though I did enjoy Schitt's Creek. With that caveat, I'll say that for me, personally, the essays started at amusing but after awhile, I found them more awkward. She writes with no holds barred discussing bodily functions, sex, and her past experiences of poverty. She swears a lot and cracks jokes over difficult things - which, to be clear, it's her book and her life and she can write about whatever she likes, and there is absolutely an audience for this kind of book. But in the end, it wasn't making me laugh. 3 stars.

Good Tuesday morning, everyone! Today is my 12-8 shift, so I have a slightly easier morning to get breakfast and dog walks in before heading out to work. After I finished the above book, I started really reading (I'd read the first chapter a couple days ago) The Last Cuentista, and I am really enjoying it so far! I'm going to spend much of my morning reading it before heading out to work, if the dogs will leave me alone enough to do that (as I type this and try to have my coffee and chia pudding, they keep nosing in, nearly knocking over the small table the laptop is on and trying to get me to pet them instead of doing anything else).

I have two volunteers coming in this afternoon, so I'll probably have to come up with a couple of projects, though we may have more shelving and be busier than usual since yesterday was a holiday. My mind's going blank of other work projects, but I'm sure I'll find plenty to do when I actually get in the building.

Good Morning Mary. Your thread reminds me of John Simpson's in that it is a daily list of occurrences, things done, and things to do. I enjoy visiting here. Your life is full of delight.

I very much like the ending sentence of your review of Wow, No Thank you. "But in the end, it wasn't making me laugh!" This statement made me laugh.

I hope you day is a good one. I am off to the surgeon's office to see why the spinal incision isn't healed and there is fluid leaking. What an adventure this whole experience is! First, the tubing was difficult to find, then it snowed enroute to the hospital as far in the distance the large building was shrouded with spooky snowy gof, then a return hospital stay t because of a hematoma development, and now the darn incision in my lower back will not heal. My good friend said "Why does this happen to you?" And, in the end, that statement wasn't making me laugh.

>76 Whisper1: Thank you for your kind words, Linda. You've dealt with setback after setback with such grace and good spirits (though I know you've had some down days, too). I hope you're able to get some answers today and that healing continues.

I have finally caved and did my first Wordle today

Wordle 248 3/6

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>78 bell7: You did very well for a first try!

I'm impressed that your first try was a three! And Samantha Irby's a treasure, isn't she. Meaty was fun to read, too.

>79 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori! I was pretty proud of myself :D

>80 richardderus: Though her humor wasn't quite for me, Samantha Irby reminded me a lot of one of my good friends who will also talk openly about poop problems and other embarrassing things. I could see us just hanging out and her getting me to crack up despite myself.

Work went by fast. I finally bit the bullet and started working on the volunteer breakfast planning. I finally started updating our shelving manual that I give to new volunteers (lots of things have moved in children's). I sent a press release out for my Ancestry program next month. And we had a program where I was going to introduce the speaker, but everyone who showed up was someone he knew, so he told me to go ahead and skip the intro and he just presented.

I developed a headache and feel a little crappy, so I've been sucking down peppermints to settle my stomach. The dogs are sleeping or chewing on toys, and one of the cats is sitting on the arm of my chair. I'll read a little in The Last Cuentista before letting the dogs out for their final pee and heading to bed.

It's absolutely pouring rain here, though it's in the 50s and not supposed to get any colder overnight. Tomorrow morning by the time I get up and walk the dogs, it'll just be cloudy and we'll have a high of 61. At work, I'll be working on much of the same projects, and that night I'll be making some dinner and prepping tater tot hot dish to pop in the oven and take to book club on Thursday. I'll probably check in in the evening rather than the morning, and there's a slight chance I'll finish a book too.

Wordle 249 5/6

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I might've done slightly better if I'd realized I had four letters right on the second guess, but apparently my coffee hasn't kicked in yet 😅

>47 bell7: Wow, it sounds like you had a great discussion for Song of Solomon. And I'm glad you enjoyed These Precious Days - it's a great collection. I am still thinking about some of the essays.

>74 bell7: That's about how I felt about We Are Never Meeting In Real Life, which sounds very similar to how you describe Wow, No Thank You. I found parts of it funny, but not enough to pursue her other books.

>84 BLBera: We had a great discussion, Beth. And These Precious Days had some real gems. I had one of my co-workers read the beginning of one of the essays, and he's going to borrow it eventually, but is in the same boat as most of us - too many books, too little time!

>85 foggidawn: Yeah... I wonder if I would've liked it better in small doses instead of reading straight through, but mostly just not for me. Ah well, I'm on to other books and have a review for The Last Cuentista coming shortly!

Ahem.
Wordle 249 2/6

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So. That happened.

I've put up two new reviews on my thread since your coronation. *smooch*

Happy Wednesday, Mary. I am continuing to avoid the Wordle craze and so far, have no problem with that.

>76 Whisper1: Yes that is perhaps true, Linda, but with far less pots of tea in bed!

>78 bell7: I had a feeling you might!

>87 richardderus: Nicely done! I made the mistake of missing that I'd gotten the "o" right but in the wrong place in the second guess, and my fourth guess was "trope". But I'm still 2 for 2 so can't complain.

>88 msf59: Hope you had a good Wednesday, Mark! I won't try to convince you, but it is honestly right up my alley.

>89 PaulCranswick: Yeah, it's definitely my kind of game, Paul. I do drink some tea, but not in bed :)

>90 bell7: I started with just Wordle, but now I also play Worldle, Quordle, and Octordle daily and... I might have a problem?

20. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
Why now? This was the 2022 Newbery Award winner, and I nabbed our library copy when it came in, as that's an award I try to keep up with (and am going back and reading the rest of the titles too)

Petra Peña and her family are leaving Earth behind in 2061, joining one of three spaceships going to a new planet, Sagan, before a comet hits and destroys life as we know it. She dreams of becoming a cuentista, a storyteller, but her parents want more practical things for her. However, when things go drastically wrong and the Collective - a group that wants everyone to be the same and forces harmony - takes over the ship, Petra will have to use all her creativity to thwart their plans.

This was an excellent read, and I'm so glad that its Newbery win put it on my radar. Petra was a great character, and I enjoyed watching her story unfold as she puts together what's happening on the ship and what she's going to do about it. It's a celebration of the importance of stories in processing our world, and hoping for a better future. 4.5 stars.

Some elements reminded me a little of A Wrinkle in Time, but it's a unique story, too, and one I would enjoy sharing with my niece in a few years.

>91 curioussquared: I... am going to try to avoid the other two three. I don't need more than this and my daily dose of Candy Crush lol.

Edited because I can't count.

>91 curioussquared: Natalie you are a lady to be avoided. Because of my regular visits to your thread I am also stuck with Wordle, Worldle, Quordle, Octordle on a daily basis! xx

>93 bell7: Candy crush?! - there is a sugar rush from the past.

Now that I've finished a couple of books, here's a quick rundown of what I'm reading now:

When We Were Birds - yeah, still reading it. I'm enjoying it when I read it, but I mostly read e-books before I go to bed and I've just been too tired to get far in one sitting before I'm ready to fall asleep.

Fairest: a memoir by Meredith Talusan - on my radar from the BookRiot list of memoirs by a trans or non-binary author, and a few days ago I listened to a Code Switch podcast episode on race and albinism, in which Meredith was interviewed, so I sought out the e-book and audio through the library to also start reading before bed. Just barely started last night.

Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua is the book I'm finally reading for this month's Asian Book Challenge. It's a collection of personal columns Kashua wrote for the Hebrew paper Haaretz from 2006-2014, detailing his family life as a Palestinian in Israel.

>95 PaulCranswick: Hahahaha, yeah, I've been playing it for years now. Sometimes I'll take breaks for awhile, but it's part of my evening routine. I get ready for bed, play 'til my 5 lives are up, and read a book/e-book before turning out the light and falling asleep to an audiobook.

>93 bell7: Probably for the best, lol.

>94 PaulCranswick: I'm addicted, Paul, I can't help it! I love doing them in the morning with my coffee. It's like, exactly the type of stimulation my sleepy brain wants when I'm waking up.

>96 bell7: Native : Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life looks interesting, Mary. I'll go and have a look for that.

>98 curioussquared: :)

>99 PaulCranswick: oh good, Paul, I hope you enjoy it! If you happen to get to it this month, I've put it in the TIOLI challenge for a book that doesn't bring up the right touchstone first (when I skip the subtitle).

Wordle 250 4/6

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I was a little flummoxed when my first word gave me nothing, but recovered well, I think.

Sweet Thursday, all! (And now, thanks to Joe, I get the origin of that phrase!)

I gotta get moving soon and get the dogs out for the morning before heading to work. We are hoping to find out this afternoon if the town will close tomorrow for the snowstorm we're supposed to get. I would not be sorry to have an extra day to hunker down and read. I've been working on the volunteer breakfast in April, and the goal today would be to finish the guest list with the final names of Friends volunteers that came in, and send out the postcard (and one email) invite.

Tonight after work, I'm coming home to feed and walk the dogs, feed and medicate the cat, and make tater tot hot dish. Then the hot dish and I are heading out to a local brewery to meet up with my SIL's book club and discuss The Lager Queen of Minnesota.

>92 bell7: I'm so glad you liked it!

Like Paul, I'm tempted by Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life. I'll see if there's a copy available here.

Sweet Thursday, Mary. Glad you are "in the know" now. Grins...We have snow arriving in a few hours too but hoping for a minimal amount again. Fingers crossed.

I am so envious of places that get snow days. We definitely get a snowstorm or two every year but our library system has never closed due to weather in my whole time here. Fingers crossed if you get a bunch of snow that you get a cozy day at home.

>103 foggidawn: When I read the description, I thought it would be right up my alley, and it did not disappoint!

>104 charl08: Oh good, I'll look forward to your thoughts on it, Charlotte.

>105 msf59: Hope you didn't get too covered in snow today, Mark!

>106 MickyFine: We're closed tomorrow! Past town administrators have been very reluctant to close, but this one not only will make the call, he will sometimes let us know the day before instead of 7 a.m.

The library's closed tomorrow, so I am staying home in the snow with the dogs and cats, who will probably enjoy my four-day weekend as much as I will. I've got good reading lined up and may try to catch up on This Is Us as well. Saturday I expect I'll be getting together with my Little, and Sunday is church, but as you all know that's a pretty low-key weekend for me. I'm hoping to make a dent in my currently-reading pile, and read Small Things Like These tomorrow.

>108 bell7: Enjoy your low key weekend! Your stay at home day sounds nice and relaxing :)

>109 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I'll have dog walks in the snow and laundry to keep me moving a bit, but yes, much more relaxing than it would have been otherwise!

Well, that was a close one! Wordle 251 6/6

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Happy Friday, Mary! Enjoy your quiet day with the "kids". We did get a few inches of fresh snow. Sighs...It looks like a mild one next week, so that makes up for it.

Sue and I finally watched the 1st season of "This is Us" and we really enjoyed it. We plan on starting the second season soon.

>111 bell7: I was headed there, too...then on guess #3 TIMES I had the correct answer in a flash.

Yay for a snowy day off! Hope you enjoy your extra long weekend.

Enjoy your day off!!

>112 msf59: Thanks, Mark! The snow has slowed down but it still coming down, and I'm glad to be home with the "kids" instead.

>113 richardderus: Guess number four for me was PICKY and at that point, I figured out that there were two I's but I still had to guess RIGID (even though I'd already used an R and knew it wasn't right) to finally be able to put it all together.

>114 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! So far it is delightful.

>115 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! I've enjoyed my quiet morning and I'm looking forward to getting some more reading in.

21. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Why now? So many people on LT were reading and recommending it, so how could I resist?

Bill Furlong grew up the child of an unwed mother in Ireland, but was fortunate enough to experience love and care from the woman who employed his mother, and has grown up to have his own wife and five girls, working as a coal deliverer. In the days leading up to Christmas he discovers that all is not as it appears in the nearby Magdalen laundry run by influential nuns, and must decide whether to do something or keep quiet.

This quiet novella packs a punch. I may have never heard of the Magdalen laundries, but haven't we all experienced a small, everyday event of injustice or abuse or downright evil, and had to decide what - if anything - we were going to do about it. I was invested in Furlong's dilemma, and will be thinking about his story for awhile. 4 stars.

Hard to rate... in the immediate end, knowing the full story, I'm not sure if I would reread it or not.

22. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Why now? I probably first came across this in some sort of publisher's email giving me access to the DRC on NetGalley - reading this month because I'm trying to whittle away both at the books I've requested that are upcoming and the ones whose publishing dates have come and gone

*E-book ARC received from the publisher through NetGalley - thank you!*

Yejide grows up a member of a very special family, who has the ability to fly and to talk to the dead, having an important role in keeping things balanced, but one that Yejide's mother, Petronella, didn't want any part of. Darwin is a Rastafarian who becomes estranged from his mother - and the man he thought he was - when the only job he can get is as a gravedigger. Their stories, connected by the dead in ways they don't realize, eventually become intertwined.

I really enjoyed this debut novel from Banwo, who is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now lives in the UK. The book starts slowly, laying the groundwork of the lore and stories of each of our protagonists, but wow, does the second half really pick up the pace 'til I was impatiently turning pages. If you enjoy magical realism and prose that begs to be read aloud, this is a fantastic book to try. 4 stars.

It took me three weeks to read, or I might've rated it higher - and that was on me, not the book, because of the way I was reading (or not reading) e-books before I go to bed. The book is available in the UK now, and coming out in the US and Canada on March 15.

Good Saturday morning! After a super quiet day of dog walks, reading, and even a nap, I'm hanging out with my Little today but otherwise keeping it low key. (And even our hanging out this week is just going to my house, probably watch a movie or play games.)

Wordle 252 3/6

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I got a little lucky with my second guess to get it in three.

>119 bell7: I took four but am still pleased.

Lovely weekend planned, so enjoy it! *smooch*

>120 richardderus: thanks, Richard! I'm certainly enjoying it so far *smooch*

Wordle 253 4/6

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I almost used up guess #4 just trying to eliminate more letters, but suddenly the word that used those same three letters a, t, and h in different places came to me.

Yesterday was the busy day of the weekend, spending a few hours with my Little. We went to my house and had Chinese food for lunch, shared funny videos and started working on a puzzle. I realized last night that I left the heat turned up, so I'll stop by today to turn it down.

I've had breakfast and fed the dogs and cats. In a minute, I'll get up and walk the dogs for their morning walk, and get ready to head first home and then to church. That's the only plan for the day, so I expect to have a quiet afternoon and evening reading. On Friday, I was able to finish a couple of the books I'd been working on for awhile. I should be able to finish Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life today, and I have A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking ready as my next read.

Funnily enough, the books I've been reading for the Asian Book Challenge have had small connections. In one article, Sayed Kashua mentions that he'd been spending time with Orhan Pamuk in Istanbul (Istanbul: Memories and the City), which I'd read in January. And in another, he tells his daughter that her name is in a poem by Kahlil Gibran, whose poetry book The Prophet is one I plan to read in March.

March! Tuesday is March, good heavens how the heck did that happen while I was thinking about it finally being February. Time does indeed process differently when one is older.

>123 richardderus: The year is flying for me, and I suspect it will go even faster as one year becomes a smaller and smaller percentage of my life.

My hold on The Prophet activated today and it'll be ready for me when I go to work on Tuesday, and meanwhile I'm running out of February to read books by Israeli and Palestinian authors. I sneaked Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life in, finishing it today, and I'm debating whether or not to hang onto Scenes from Village Life or just return it to the library unread. I have a few books all due within the first 10 days of March with no renewals, so I either have to read fast or make some decisions!

23. Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
Why now? Read for the Asian Book Challenge this month, to read a book by an Israeli or Palestinian author in February

A collection of personal columns Kashua wrote for the Hebrew paper Haaretz from 2006-2014, detailing his family life as a Palestinian in Israel, sometimes funny and sometimes depressing as he continues to be considered an outsider in his own country.

It's hard to summarize this collection of columns, which started off reminding me of Bill Bryson a little bit in his sardonic observations and making himself out to be a bumbling sort of father and husband, and then became more and more pointed (or maybe I was just noticing more) in the everyday slights Kashua and his family endure. In some ways, it reminded me a lot of what many people of color experience in the U.S. - the distrust at the airport, being slighted at book fairs, or even the threat of violence. Kashua writes in Hebrew and starts out optimistic, hoping that he can educate, but the later articles show his own growing despair that anything can change. 4.5 stars.

I rather want to read some history of the region now, but it'll have to wait until I've finished a few more books off my library stack.

One thing I found really funny was in one of the last articles in which he described filling out the paperwork to go to the U.S. He discovered that in the "race" category, there was no place to put "Arab", and when he looked up the definitions of race for the form, he realized that as someone from the Middle East he was supposed to put "white", even though he never thought of himself as white. It's something I, too, had discovered when I was trying to figure out whether these first writers in our Asian Book Challenge were considered "white" or not for my reading spreadsheet, which is calculating for me the percentage of authors that I'm reading that are people of color. I had kinda sorta started going with the U.S. census definition (which is what Kashua is referring to as well) just to have some kind of systematic way of doing it without becoming an arbiter myself of who was white and who was not, so reading that was a moment of rueful recognition of how much a social construct the whole system is.

>125 bell7: Interesting, although unavailable through my library resources.

I guess I can understand why he would be looking for Arab in the race category, although I would never call Arabs a race. I have thought about how to define a "person of color" for my own record-keeping purposes too, and I haven't come to any hard and fast rules, just been going with my gut in each case.

In the sample of Palestinians and Syrians who have been in my Turkish classes over the last year, based on appearance I would only classify one of them as someone who would be perceived as a person of color in the US.

>126 ursula: that's too bad you can't access a copy, Ursula.

It's interesting, isn't it, to realize how fuzzy the definitions of race become when it really comes down to it? I've been mostly using those census categories, but also including Hispanic/Latinx authors, sort of trying to include anyone that would experience life in the U.S. as "not white". Appearance can be tricky, too. I recently listened to a Code Switch episode all about albino people of color, and am now reading a book by one of the interviewees. She's Filipino, but has light skin and blond hair and "passed" as white through much of college.

Wordle 254 3/6

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Well that was fun!

Morning, Mary. Sounds like you had a nice weekend. I think I was more smitten with Small Things Like These than you but there is nothing wrong with a 4 star read.

>129 msf59: It was hard to rate, Mark, really a lovely and challenging little book and I'd read more by Keegan for sure. And thanks, I did have a nice weekend! I'm off today for working last Sunday (since last Monday was a holiday, I get to take another day off), so I have a little more reading time before going back.

Happy Monday! (It's always easy to say that when I'm not working...)

The dogs are fed and I have had breakfast. I'm going to take them for their morning walks soon, but it's hard to get moving when my phone says it's 17 degrees out with a windchill of 5. I have an oil change and a dentist appointment today, and I want to do a small grocery shopping on the way back. Bible study tonight. Other than that, I am relaxing and reading some more.

I'm still reading Fairest: A Memoir and am more than halfway through, so I may charge my Kindle and focus on it this afternoon. I just barely started Frontier Justice about the Loomis gang in New York. And I'm debating which fiction book I should start next, and what to return unread to the library tomorrow.

It's always nice when a day off falls on cold days when you don't really want to go out much. Hopefully it warms up a bit before your appointments.

I hope nothing irreplaceable freezes off while you're outside doing the unavoidable drudgery of life.

I think your inmate population would like Catriona Ward's new book. Very psychologically eerie, very mother-saves-daughter.

*smooch*

>132 MickyFine: Yes indeed! I gave the dogs longer walks after I got back from the errands.

>133 richardderus: Nah, I managed. I'd double booked myself for the oil change and the dentist appointment (both were at 11), so I showed up early to the oil change to give myself enough time to walk about a mile down the road to the dentist, but they took pity on me and gave me a ride instead. And then after the cleaning (very straightforward), I got a ride from my parents (who live minutes from the dentist) to get back to my car.

I purchased Sundial and it's currently in process, I'll have to see how it does in checkouts. My patrons can be funny about horror titles, some go out pretty regularly and others languish on the shelves. I always try to buy a few a year, though, and Stephen Graham Jones is an auto buy.

Wordle 255 4/6

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After 8 days playing, 3 times each I've guessed in 3 and 4 tries, once I got it in five, and once it took all six. This one had me stumped for a bit, but with the third guess of "prude", I suddenly realized I had all the letters.

24. Fairest: a memoir by Meredith Talusan
Why now? Fit the BookRiot challenge to read a memoir by a trans or non-binary individual, and the e-book/audio combo was available at the library

Meredith recounts her life - primarily pre-transition - growing up in the Philippines as an albino, moving to the U.S. and being assumed white, going to Harvard and discovering the LGBTQ community there.

This was a mixed bag for me. The first part on childhood, how her difference made her stand out, was interesting and highlighted a culture I don't know much about. But when Meredith gets older and goes to Harvard, the book shifts to being almost entirely about her relationships and I just didn't particularly care to have the details of her various sexual encounters. She cares a lot about what other people think about her and how she's perceived, and while that's perfectly normal in young adulthood and beyond, I would've been interested in learning how things had changed (if at all) in the ensuing years - the book stops approximately in 2003, though it was published in 2020. In fact, over 80% of the story is her life pre-transition, and I found myself more confused about her pronouns (she/they) after reading the book, because she talks about herself as a boy/man. There are a few glimpses of the future, approximately 2018, inserted throughout the text when it's thematically relevant, but I couldn't quite connect the Meredith that wanted people to perceive her a certain way with the Meredith that saw herself as all she is. 3.5 stars.

February in review

24. Fairest by Meredith Telusan
23. Native: Dispatches from an Israeli-Palestinian Life by Sayed Kashua
22. When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
21. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
20. The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuera
19. Wow, No Thank You by Samatha Irby
18. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett
17. Oddball: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen
16. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
15. The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
14. Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds with artwork by Jason Griffin
13. Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
12. Letter to My White Friends and Colleagues by Steven Rogers

Did Not Finish
None this month

Books read: 13
Rereads: 0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 1/2/10
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 6/6/0/1
ABC Challenge: One book by a Palestinian author

Because I want to awards:
These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett was probably my favorite, most enjoyable read of the month
Oddball: A Sarah's Scribbles Collection by Sarah Andersen for being a very funny collection of comics that I enjoyed perusing
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison for just superlative writing and the work of a true master
Ain't Burned All the Bright for being a cathartic read, one long poem and artwork exploring the pandemic year(s) and ending with hope

YTD stats -
Pages read: 6643
Avg pages a day: 112
Books by POC authors: 10 (41%)
DNF: 2

Thoughts:
Much like last month, I'll start by saying I read some excellent books this month and have am still happy to have read the books that got more mixed reviews from me. I am amazed that I read more books in February than I did in January, and that I read as many nonfiction as fiction. Again I did an excellent job of meeting my global reading goals: I've read a total of six books not originally published in the US or UK, five of those in translation, and even some of the ones that were published in the US or UK (such as Fairest: a memoir and When We Were Birds) were written by immigrants from other countries. In other goals, I read more by people of color this month and have that percentage closer to the aim of 50% that I gave myself for 2022.

One thing that has surprised me so far this year is the genre breakdown. Thirty percent of my reading was general fiction, followed by memoirs (21%), historical fiction (17%), and general nonfiction (13%). Fantasy and science fiction, usually my bread and butter, are at a measly 9% and 4% respectively. I don't plan my reading out too far ahead, so I don't know if that's going to change over the course of the year or not. I definitely leaned into SFF reading as comfort reads in 2020-21, so it could be that I'm being more adventurous so far in 2022, but it's really too early in the year to say. I can say that, based on what I have out from the library right now, those percentages probably won't shift much over the next month. In fact, much of what I have planned - including my next book club book - is nonfiction.

The color line is always a fuzzy one. When I moved to Alabama it disturbed me that library patrons were always described in terms of color. I didn't do that. I would describe the people. It would confound my colleagues. The only person who ever asked me why I did that was the one minority woman who worked in our library office. She did so because one day I described a library patron and finally I used the world black and she replied "Oh, he was Black. Why didn't you say so?" Turned out she had encountered him as causing her a problem in the past, as well.

I have also encountered the question of race/ethnicity/color with Indian students as well. Many of them consider themselves to be persons of color, but here in the U. S. they are not considered to be a different race. So my question is why is ethnicity and race so misused as a term? I am Bohemian. That is my ethnicity. That is not my race. And why does ethnicity matter so much? When I was teaching school back in the 90's students had a hard time understanding the Bosnian War because as one student put it "They are all White, so why are they fighting?" Telling the students that the Serbs and the Croats thought of themselves as distinctly different was a very difficult concept to explain and it was equally clear that these high school students associated ethnicity with color.

Hi, Mary.

I tend to read much less nonfiction, so I applaud you for it taking up a large percentage of your reading this year.

I enjoyed your review and the discussions of Song of Solomon. You’ve put it back on my radar, and WL.

The Last Cuentista.sounds good, and I’m adding that to the WL, too.

>138 benitastrnad: I'm not really talking about avoiding talking about or describing someone by race or color of their skin. I'm reminded of a scene in Americanah where a white woman at a store avoided using race to describe two clerks, much to the amusement of the Black women shoppers who wondered why the woman couldn't just ask if the clerk who had helped them was white or Black. But I'm very uncomfortable making distinctions when someone is, say, 1/4 Chinese and I'm trying to decide if they're an author of color or not. I try to default to how the person identifies or experiences life in the U.S., but it's often not cut and dry.

I can see why your students would have trouble distinguishing between race and ethnicity. I didn't learn the distinction myself until college when I took an Intro to Anthropology class and we read articles addressing it. Even then, it isn't always clear cut, as those articles made clear, often using the example of Judaism as a faith versus having Jewish heritage.

Anyway, just to make things more confusing, here's an NPR article that talks about the complications of treating people of Middle Eastern and North African descent as white.

For my own stats I decided that in some cases I am going to default to the U.S. census definition of "white" when it comes to Middle Eastern authors, but that ultimately means that I'm seeking out even more by Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and Asian authors to reach my goals, which is not a bad thing.

>139 jnwelch: I'm a little surprised myself to see how much of my reading so far this year has been nonfiction, Joe. It'll be interesting to see how those percentages shift (I'm assuming they will some, if not drastically) over the course of the year. I hope you enjoy both Song of Solomon and The Last Cuentista! I hope to read more of Toni Morrison's books over the next few years.

>137 bell7: A good February indeed! Yay for that, and may it be an omen for March to be even better.

>136 bell7: I think, on balance, I shall pass.

>135 bell7: One weird word, this one.

>142 richardderus: I was very pleased with my February numbers, especially after such a slow start to the month. I would be thrilled should March be even better! I think Fairest: a memoir might be... a bit to angsty for you, so probably a fair pass. Tough review to write, though. And yeah, today's was a weird word. I was pretty pleased to get it in 4, honestly.

Any Brandon Sanderson fans out there? You may want to see his latest news.

(Saw on foggi's thread, shared by Susan)

Wordle 256 4/6

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I like my steady progress of figuring out now letters on this one.

>137 bell7: You do a great job with your monthly recap. I guess I am just lazy. 😄

Happy Wednesday, Mary. In regard to Julia Alvarez, if you would like to do a shared read of Afterlife (I think I have it on my Kindle), I would be up for it. Just pick a month, preferably summer or after.

>145 bell7: Once I had the second letter in place, and knew two others, I was sure of what I *wanted* it to be and lo and behold...
Wordle 256 3/6

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>144 bell7: I've never read any Sanderson, though a couple of his books are on my TBR, but the video made me want to be a Sanderson fan!

>146 msf59: Thanks, Mark. The year-to-date stats are done for me in a reading spreadsheet set up by BookRiot - https://bookriot.com/2022-reading-log/

I modify a few columns to suit my needs, but all of the calculations are done for me, which makes the stats easier.

And I'd definitely be in for an Afterlife buddy read! How does August sound to you? Later in the summer, and I don't have book discussion. But I'm flexible with the rest of the year as well if you'd like to push it out later.

>147 richardderus: Oh very nicely done, Richard! I'm impressed you got three with the starting word; I change mine every time just for hahas.

>148 curioussquared: I've only read two, Natalie, but it definitely reminded me that I want to keep going in the series!

Today is a day off, taken just because. I'm getting tired from the long dogsitting job and wanted some time to myself without animals. So, I went home to the mice instead.

I took my time walking the dogs this morning because I didn't have to rush to work, went home and yes, set mouse traps and put them around in the basement and first floor. I've come home twice now to them getting into the Keurig cups, so I stuck that whole thing in the fridge for now and I'll deal with it later. And then I went into the sunroom (which was nice and warm from the morning sunshine), and knit a sock and listened to podcasts. Bliss. I am now at work to have a lunch party for a co-worker's last day with us. After that, I'll go back home and read 'til about 5 and head back to the dogsitting job.

Sunday or Monday they're coming home, and I will very much enjoy having some time to myself again (I like dogs, but three labs are SO much energy wanting SO much attention, and I am an introvert even with animals apparently), even if I am going to have to deal with the mice.

>150 bell7: It's a long, long stretch to be out of one's shell, for an introvert, and all other things being equal it would *still* be a huge challenge come this point in the exercise. Home soon! And plenty of rodenticide to occupy your spare moments, it sounds like. After the state made this place seal up the many, many holes in weird places we've had no more mice. It's bliss.

>151 richardderus: I was dealing with mice before I left, so the traps in the basement (and my bedroom closet) are nothing new, but the Keurig cups were. I suspect that's because there wasn't as much human smell around the coffee and tea nook after I'd been gone for nearly two months. I will probably be talking to one of my brother's friends soon who's in the extermination business and has offered to help me seal up some of the holes. Even so, looking forward to going home. Sunday or Monday at the latest, and I'm off on Monday so I'll have a little time to unpack and settle in.

Wordle 257 4/6

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This one stumped me for a bit. It's a good thing they don't count words not in the list as guesses, because I messed around fitting in letters a couple of times.

I didn't sleep great and one of the dogs ate poop and threw it up so it's already been a morning 😑

I've walked them, cleaned up, and am getting them all fresh water before heading to work. I'll have leftovers for dinner tonight and will only have to make some tuna salad for tomorrow's lunch.

Glad to hear the end of your dogsitting gig is in sight. It's a long stretch to go of not being in your own space and unwinding properly.

Sorry to hear about the less than great start to your day. Hopefully the day only improves from there.

>154 MickyFine: Yeah, this one is pretty tiring, though the past couple of years it's been about half of what I make dogsitting all year, so it's not one I want to turn down really. And thanks for the improving-day wishes! The work day went by very fast and now I'm relaxing with the dogs.

25. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Why now? I'm...not entirely sure, because apparently I thought it was on the TBR spreadsheet but it's...not. So it's Natalie's and Anne's and foggi's fault, and maybe a few others. I was in the mood for a light fantasy read, and this one fit the bill (and just so happens to be due back at the library next).

The last thing Mona expected when she went to the bakery to open that morning was a dead body. But then she's accused of the murder herself, and she decides to get to the bottom of things, uncovering a much more involved plot. What can she do as only a 14-year-old, a magic wielder but one who can only work with baked goods and has a carnivorous sourdough starter and odd gingerbread man as familiars?

This fantasy, though often dark, had me laughing out loud and reminded me a bit of Diana Wynne Jones. Mona was great, and I loved her creativity and discovering what she could do with her magic. She doesn't want to be a hero, and in fact criticizes the adults for not stepping up, but she does what she needs to do for herself, her family, and her city. 4 stars.

Doesn't quite hit the "would I reread it" mark, but this was a very enjoyable book that I devoured (see what I did there?) in three days. I'm also very excited to discover that T. Kingfisher/Ursula Vernon has a substantial backlist for me to work through, in addition to the new book coming out in April.

>137 bell7: Those are some impressive stats!

>150 bell7: Hopefully your quiet time welcome soon!

>157 figsfromthistle: thanks, Anita! As I told Mark, my spreadsheet figures it out for me. I'm pleased with how February reading went overall. And yes, if they come back on Sunday, I'll have Monday off and get to catch up on some things at home. I'm looking forward to it!

Wordle 258 4/6

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Four is pulling ahead as my most common result. I was a little surprised at how many options there were with the last three letters.

Long day today: work, then volunteering at the church. Work will probably go as fast today as yesterday. I'm in charge while my boss is out and I have a senior worker coming in the afternoon that I'll be giving projects to. I'll be getting back around 8:30-9 in time to feed the cats (the dog walker doesn't) and let the dogs out for their evening stroll before heading to bed myself. Should only be a few more days before the owners arrive, barring any car trouble, so much of tomorrow will probably be packing and bringing some stuff back home.

Morning, Mary! Happy Friday! Good luck with your long work day. I have us down for Afterlife in August. BTW- Loving Firekeeper's Daughter.

>156 bell7: Is that book a YA? Richard dinged me some months ago, and it's on my WANT! list. Now I'm wondering if it's one I could read, then pass along to a granddaughter.

>162 weird_O:, >156 bell7: I'm glad you liked the read! And yes indeed, Bill, reading and repassing is a great way to experience the book.

>159 bell7: All six. AND I had the first letter in the proper place from the first guess. Oh, the pain the pain, to quote Dr. Smith.

I hope you're dragging your tailfeathers across the finish line by now...or soon, anyway.

>161 msf59: Excellent, Mark, I've placed a "suspended" hold so I'll get it in April. Looking forward to joining you in the read! And hooray for Firekeeper's Daughter! I realy loved that book.

>162 weird_O: Yes, Bill, though the libraries in my system have it all over the place (children's to adult), I would probably most easily categorize it as YA. Hope you (and your granddaughter) both enjoy it!

>163 richardderus: Oh nooo, how frustrating! Yeah, I go straight from work to a volunteer thing that's technically 6:15-8:00 but I bring supper and kinda sorta relax in between instead of trying to go home first and rush out the door. I got in around 8:45 and got the animals all sorted, and now I'm just resting a short while before I give them their final pee for the night and go to bed. When I'm home, I usually get home between 8:30-9, and get right in my PJs and start reading in bed, do not try to accomplish anything, pass GO, or collect $200.

Wordle 259 3/6

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Well, that was fun! So close to having my first solve in two.

>165 bell7: I almost came to grief with that one because I didn't have the first four and was faced with so many options with the letters I did have. Made it with my final guess to keep my 100% record.

Have a great weekend, my dear Mary.

*ahem*
Wordle 259 2/6

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>166 PaulCranswick: Whew! I started later than you, but I also want to keep my streak going :D

>167 richardderus: Okay, what was your first word? my second was "bring"

>168 bell7: Sometimes think that it is pure luck, Mary, but isn't it funny that the more you play the more lucky you seem to become.

True! Though I confess I promptly forget the word after I'm done each day haha.

>170 bell7: Yeah, why does that happen?

>171 PaulCranswick: I'm not entirely sure, though for me one of my co-workers will tell you it's because it's a word and not a number (I have a ridiculous memory for numbers, to the point where I still know the beginning barcode of new books when I started working at the library 20+ years ago, and I have my own library card barcode memorized...).

I'm not working or volunteering today, so I've started packing and bringing stuff home that I won't need tomorrow (or any following days if the dog owners run into delays on the ride home). I walked in to a dead mouse in a trap in the middle of the dining room, so that was fun. The traps I left out on Wednesday were pretty productive, so I set a few more today as well.

I made a pizza for lunch and put together tuna salad and tomato soup, so I'm all set for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow. Now I'm just getting a final load of laundry finished, and I'll probably keep whittling away at packing so I can mostly load the car tomorrow. I have a kid's ministry training before church, service, and work tomorrow. I'm planning on coming back to the dogs' house after that, but I'd like as much as possible already packed in case they show up before I get out of work or soon thereafter.

>172 bell7: I am the total opposite! I have accidentally memorized entire poems, but I only know about 6 phone numbers by heart -- five of those are my immediate family and the sixth is my husband's, and it took me about six years of dating him to get to that point. And do NOT ask me to remember one of those two-factor authentication codes if it's longer than 6 digits. I will definitely transpose some numbers in between flipping between the app I'm trying to get into and my text messages.

>173 bell7: Excellent use of your time! Almost to the finish line, yay!!

>168 bell7: I always start with the same word: AEONS

>174 curioussquared: Oh too funny! I have bits and pieces of things memorized, but that takes more concentration or putting to to music than numbers and patterns do for some reason. I can't really remember those codes either, I always copy them from my text message :D

>175 richardderus: Yes, almost there! Ah, okay, I wondered if you'd managed to get the "e" in the first guess, which makes sense, but still impressive to get it in two.

DNF #3 Frontier Justice: The Rise and Fall of the Loomis Gang by E. Fuller Torrey, M.D.

I gave this a good 140 pages before I gave up. I was interested in the story of the Loomises, who were outlaws in the mid-19th century and very distant cousins of mine, and there's only a handful of books out there about them. It was... not great, just enough to keep my interest for about half the book. The first chapter lays out the ways white settlers swindled the Oneida tribe and was sympathetic to the tribe's situation.

But eventually the issues just piled up. It's not well-written, it's repetitive and oddly topical in the early chapters before switching to chronological at about 1858. There's a whole chapter entitled "Milieu" that talks about the U.S. in the 1850s and ends with a long tangent about John Brown and Harper's Ferry. It doesn't talk about the "rise" of the Loomis Gang at all, it starts in the middle in 1852 when Wash Loomis took over after his father died, instead of talking about how George and Rhoda Loomis started a counterfeiting and thieving ring in their house and raised their children in the family business. Torrey says of Rhoda, "She was thus among the best educated and most widely read women in the area, which did nothing to detract from her beauty" (34) and suggests that she was the matriarch of the family because "By wiles, charms, and subterfuge a man like George Loomis could be controlled." Just...ew.

But the final straw was, in discussing the American Civil War contemporary with the Loomis's activities (and, I have to say, in going into more detail about battles than seems warranted), he refers to the Black Union soldiers as "Negro" in a book published in the 1990s and quotes at length from contemporary soldiers using the n-word repeatedly. I'm out.

26. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
Why now? Fulfills the ABC challenge this month to read a book by an author from the "Arab world" - Gibran was from Lebanon - and does double duty as a book of poetry for the BookRiot Read Harder challenge

Almustafa takes his leave of a city after twelve years to sail back to the isle of his birth after, but first a seeress and the townspeople gather to hear his words of wisdom about love, marriage, children, work, religion, death, and many other subjects that encompass the human experience.

Though the contents list several poem titles, this is really one long prose poem. I have a hard time understanding even simple concepts in this type of poetry - something about versifying it makes it automatically less comprehensible - but though there were nuggets of good lines here and there, mostly it seemed like mystical vagueness trying to sound profound.

I was also amused to discover that a previous borrower (this was a library book) had annotated, putting little dots, sunbursts, and two comments, next to certain lines. It's in pencil and I left it there for the next person to contemplate.

Wordle 260 5/6

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I'm blaming lack of coffee this morning for thinking of "zloty" before "cloth". Now to get caffeinated...

>179 bell7: ...wow...never, not once! would I have so much as allowed your spoiler to crease my cranium. This game fascinates me on so many levels.

>178 bell7: This is pretty much how I respond to most, really almost all, poetry.

ETA width

>180 richardderus: my brain can be weird with words sometimes 🤷‍♀️ Also since "rupee" was a choice a few days ago, I think that helped it come to mind?

Me too re: poetry, though there are a handful of poets I enjoy reading. I keep attempting to like others, generally trying one or two in or around National Poetry Month.

Wordle 261 6/6

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This one was surprisingly challenging.

I am home! I slept like crap last night but slept in a little to make up for it and took my time getting coffee and breakfast in the morning. Then I went all productive: grocery shopping, unpacking, and went through all my tax documents and brought them to my accountant. Whew!

Now I'm gonna relax and read for a bit before heading out to Bible study. We're in person for the first time this year, and we're gonna enjoy dinner together, so I'm looking forward to it. If I remember when I get home, I'll catch the tail end of the Bruins game.

Yay for being home at last! It took you six tries today...it was a strange word.

*smooch*

Not trying to catch up, Mary, just wanted to swing by and say "Hello." I hope you get a better night's sleep tonight!

Congratulations on being back in your own home, Mary! It sounds like it will take a little time to settle back in. I hope you sleep better tonight. You will probably miss those Labs...such sweet dogs.

Was this your first time reading The Prophet? I have read it many times and feel that it works better for me as kind of a daily devotional after reading the parts about waiting for the ship, etc. Read "On Love" one day, then move on to the other 26 topics. Just a suggestion...

>184 richardderus: it did, but I was relieved that I got it! Today's was a challenge too:

Wordle 262 5/6

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>185 alcottacre: welcome back, Stasia! Though you're off again soon, aren't you? I did sleep a little better, thank you, getting to sleep a little earlier and slept through, but waking up a bit early and reading before getting started for the day. I'm about to get up and get my coffee before tackling my to-do list.

>186 Donna828: thanks, Donna! Thankfully, I've got some time to settle in now - I'm not going anywhere for a month. I end up missing one of the cats more than the dogs 😂 they are sweet, but so much energy! And yes, it was my first time reading The Prophet and I read it all in one sitting. Your method may indeed work better if I were to try it again.

Bit of a whirlwind day (aren't they all?), but I did get some exercise in! I got out and pruned my grape vines, including cutting a few that I'm hoping a co-worker of mine can propagate. I then took a long walk out to the graveyard not far from my house where some of my relatives are buried, and had a look around though it took me awhile to find their graves and I had to hightail it back home to make it to work on time. Grabbed lunch, and left.

My 12-8 shift went by fast, getting a few projects for volunteers, reading through the newest LibraryJournal and adding to my August and September fiction purchase lists. I came home to try to sort out some dogsitting jobs (I had put someone down for a weekend and agreed to a job leading up to it, only to find out they actually wanted to leave on Tuesday, not Friday). Hopefully that'll get set by the end of this week.

Annnnd I'm done! I'm in PJs and getting ready to settle down for the evening with a book. I started Braiding Sweetgrass for book club next week, I'm nearly done a reread of At Home in Mitford, and I will probably have to mostly put aside The Cooking Gene until I'm done Braiding Sweetgrass, but we'll see.

Tomorrow's plan is work, take a walk, and make shrimp etouffee and roasted veggies. I may or may not watch Encanto which just came in from the library too.

Wordle 263 3/6

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Well that was satisfying.

>188 bell7: I love going through reviews and summaries to select books. I ran across one the other day that I knew we would need. For once, we were able to get it at a pre-order discount because I found it!

>189 bell7: Wordle 263 3/6

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'Twas, 'twasn't it.

*smooch*

>190 thornton37814: Me too, Lori! I get to select all of our regular print fiction and mass market paperbacks, and it's one of my favorite things.

>191 richardderus: *smooch* back, Richard, and hope you're feeling better soon.

I forgot to set my alarm last night, but as it was I'm still on dog time and woke up at 6:40. I took my time getting out of bed (I'm so not a morning person), and got my coffee, and had time to take a quick 20 minute walk around the block before heading to work. The day went by fast, between hours on the desk and having volunteers come in, and then I came home in the snow (it'll melt tomorrow), and made shrimp etouffee for dinner.

Now I'm sitting down with my book club book, Braiding Sweetgrass. I've kinda sorta put aside The Cooking Gene to focus on one nonfiction title (especially since I have a deadline), but I'm enjoying it when I pick it up as well. And now that I finished the first Mitford book, I'm going to start The Raven Tower tonight as my e-book/audio combo (I technically listened to it before bed last night, but as I fell asleep quickly and have no idea what happened, I'm going to count it as started today when I crack open the e-book).

27. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
Why now? A friend mentioned recently that it's her go-to comfort reread, and I thought it would be fun to reread myself and see how it held up.

Father Tim Kavanagh, the nearly 60-year-old priest in what some think of as the sleepy town of Mitford, lives and works and loves his town of eccentrics, from Barnabus the dog who calms down to the recitation of Scripture, to his new, pretty neighbor and a needy boy who moves in with him.

If you enjoy small town, Christian fiction you will find a lot to appreciate in this series, which began in 1994. Father Tim and his flock and funny, maddening, and lovable. When I first read the books in my late teens, I remember being impressed that I could relate to a character who was so very different from me and my time of life. Are they perfect books? No. There's one Black character, for example, and she's... hm, stereotypical and dated, and the story her white friend tells of their growing up together in the '20s is pretty cringy. That does keep me from wholeheartedly recommending it to readers, but I will say that it stands out from the Christian fiction of its day for being, yes, very much faith-based but not having the come-to-Jesus moment of the main character be the climax of the book. 4.5 stars.

Wordle 264 4/6

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I had to think long and hard between words three and four, but finally it occurred to me.

Today I'm working 9-5, and I'm hoping to get a walk in sometime after work and before it gets too dark to see. We'll see what happens.

I have some tuna salad to make a sandwich at work for lunch, and leftovers of the etouffee for dinner tonight. I'll try to roast some veggies as well. Then I should have a fairly quiet evening with my book club book.

Glad to hear you're getting a few quieter days now that you're back at your place, Mary. Hope the 9-5 goes quickly today!

>197 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! After this dogsitting job I always feel like I have so much more free time even though my schedule doesn't really change hehe

Alright, genealogy story time people!

Some of you may remember that after I put an offer on what would eventually become my house, I realized that my family had lived in the neighborhood over 100 years ago. Well, I've been filling in some details in their story. I contacted the town clerk and got a marriage record for my great-grandparents, and found the description of their wedding in the local paper. And then towards the end of my work day today, I thought, I should find the guy who built my house.

Now, I already knew that he worked with my great-great-grandfather Arthur Bell. Arthur came from Kidderminster to the U.S. as a teenager, and ended up in Philadelphia where he married and my great-grandfather was born. Somehow, he ended up in Massachusetts. Why he moved from Philly to western Massachusetts, I don't know, but he worked at the carpet mill that was down the street from my house. This neighborhood was the "carpet mill district" as the local paper put it. He was a weaver, as was the owner of my house, so I figured they knew each other and probably walked where I walked, coming over for dinner or a work picnic or something.

So today I looked up the first owner of my house, Walter. He was born in Kidderminster, and not only that, like my Bell ancestors in Kidderminster his family was "non-conformist" Wesleyans. They might have known each other in Kidderminster and attended the same church or otherwise run in the same circles before either of them (Arthur in 1880 or so and my friend Walter in 1892) emigrated. Walter settled here first, and who knows, he might've been the one to tell Arthur and his brother John that there were jobs to be had here. Or maybe there are other people from Kidderminster that worked for the mill... so much more to look up now!

(Some details eliminated so my location isn't completely available on the Internet, but if you're curious for details and PM me, I can fill more in.)

>199 bell7: That is so cool! That's the kind of story that makes genealogy exciting to me.

>199 bell7: isn't it cool? I was absolutely floored to realize that the first homeowner was from the same hometown as my ancestors.

Wordle 265 4/6

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A little bit of luck in this one to get it in four, as there were a couple of beginning letter options.

>199 bell7: Great story, Mary!

Happy Friday, Mary! Our red-winged blackbirds are beginning to arrive in large numbers. All males, per usual, so being very vocal.

>199 bell7: Wow! That is a wonderful family story!

Happy Friday, Mary.

I’m another fan of Firekeeper’s Daughter. I’m glad you enjoyed it. What a fast-paced finish!

I’m looking forward to your thoughts on Braiding Sweetgrass, as I’ve been thinking about reading it.

>199 bell7: Neat story, Mary! Happy Friday!

>201 bell7: I also luckily managed it in four after getting all but the first letter on attempt 3. *sigh of relief*

Cool genealogy tale!

Crazy weekend ahead or do you actually get some down time?

Such a cool story about your house! You reminded me I'd like to get to Braiding Sweetgrass at some point; I got it for my grandpa for Christmas and it would be fun to discuss with him. Luckily one of my libraries has unlimited audio copies, so I snagged one to listen to when I get through my current audio picks.

Definitely a cool story!

>202 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

>203 msf59: Happy Friday, Mark! Oooh, I love red-wing blackbirds, we used to see them quite often when I grew up near swampland, but I don't get to see them as much anymore.

>204 jnwelch: I think you would like Braiding Sweetgrass, Joe. It's more reflective and less science-y than I expected, but mostly just lovely meditations about the earth and our relationship with it. It makes me think of all the gardening I'll be doing this year!

>205 aktakukac: Thanks, Rachel, hope you have a good weekend!

>206 MickyFine: Right? There were so many options, it was not guaranteed. Um, fairly busy weekend. I'm out with my Little tomorrow and I'm having a friend over for lunch after church on Sunday.

>207 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! I look forward to your thoughts on the audio. One of my patrons (who hasn't come to book club in awhile but who's still following along with the reading) enjoyed the audio, and said she liked hearing the author's voice, that it was quite soothing.

>208 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

So I have a bit more to do in looking into the neighborhood history, but for preliminary fun this afternoon I went through a few pages of the 1920 Census to figure out where all the neighbors were from, and wrote down everyone who was originally from England. It looks like at least two other men who were working at the carpet mill were also from Kidderminster, so somehow this must have been a location on their radar to come for jobs. (Kidderminster, btw, was also a big carpet weaving place at the time.) The next time I go to my town library, I want to see what I can piece together about the history of the mill.

It really solves a mystery for me (why did Arthur move from Philly to western Massachusetts), and I'm delighted that I can tie it into the history of my house and neighborhood. For what it's worth, though I've lived in small towns in western Massachusetts all my life, we're not so small a town that this is a common coincidence.

Weekend agenda:

Tomorrow is a rainy, snowy all around crappy day. While our original plans were canceled, my Little and I are going to hang out at her place and watch videos and play games.

Sunday I have a kids' ministry training, then church service, and I'm having a friend over to lunch.

I'm fitting in reading my book club around those plans, and happily I'll still get a bit of downtime in between events.

Wordle 266 6/6

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Whew! Finally managed to get it, though guess #4 was a thoughtless one.

>210 bell7: Interesting story about the carpet mills and the tie-in with your family and house history!

Wordle 267 6/6

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Challenged me this morning!

>213 foggidawn: thanks, foggi! I've been having fun looking up both when I have a chance.

Wordle 268 4/6

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A little luck today

Wordle 269 3/6

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I got today's in four I tried YEAST before TEASE but was delighted not to take all six. It just felt like that kind of a day.

>218 richardderus: I had the advantage of having letters 1, 3 and 5 in the right place, and it still took me a good think before I came up with the third guess.

Not as fortunate today
Wordle 270 6/6

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>219 bell7: Well, I wasn't at all far behind!
Wordle 270 5/6

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Sorry to be nearly missing except for posting my Wordle scores. I'd like to say things will get a little less busy now that I've finished my book club book, but y'all know that's not how I role.

Monday I worked 9-2, went grocery shopping, and had Bible study. Yesterday I spent the morning finishing my book club book and worked 'til 8. I got home and did a little puttering around.

Today I'm working 12-8 because I have book discussion. This morning I got up will cold-like symptoms and a Keurig that wouldn't work properly. I took a Covid test just to be on the safe side and I'm negative. I did a Dunkin run for coffee and brought out my trash while I was at it. The main plans for this morning, though, are cooking salmon and pruning my raspberries. The raspberries are proliferating - taking over, really, in some places - so I promised a couple of people I'd dig some up for them, and I'll bring them to work. (One bunch is for my co-worker's wife and the other is for a patron.) I have a couple of books to pick up at the library in the town where I live on my way to work today, and then at work I'll have time on the desk, volunteer projects to organize, and book group. And then I will come home to be very unproductive for the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow is work followed by St. Patrick's Day dinner at my brother and SIL's, and Friday is work and volunteering.

>220 richardderus: There were just so many options for where those letters could go!

Morning, Mary! I hope you have a good book discussion tonight.

Wordle 270 3/6

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*buffs nails*

>223 katiekrug: *grumble*

>222 bell7: Indeed, and I was genuinely sweatin' it because of the multiplicity of options. So glad it was a five not an X!

>223 katiekrug: nice!

>224 richardderus: yeah at this point I'm in competition with myself to keep the streak going

Wordle 271 2/6

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Got my first in two today!

>225 bell7: - Way to go! I haven't Wordle-d yet - still caffeinating...

>226 katiekrug: And I am still pre-caffeinated...my Keurig stopped working the other day (looks like the water isn't going through right?) so I'm bringing a pod to work when I leave in a few.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I'm heading out to work (and coffee, my Keurig is not cooperating lately) in a few minutes, then to dinner at my brother and SIL's. Not sure how late I'll be staying out, so I'm not really planning on any house projects for today.

Yesterday's book discussion went really well. We had a few returning folks so there were five of us altogether, and two regulars met in person for the first time. We had a lot to say about Braiding Sweetgrass, and everyone had good things to say about the structure of the book, the writing, etc. Interestingly, the more "practical" discussion questions - "How can we use a gift economy in our own lives, and what would change if we did?" got a little bit more silence, not from lack of wanting to change things but, I think, feeling a sort of helplessness in going against the grain of our own culture and norms. Lots of food for thought for us all in this one, for sure.

On to Pale Rider next month... it'll be interesting to see what everyone has to say about the 1918 flu epidemic and I'm sure we'll have a lot of compare/contrast to the experiences we've had over the last two years. I'm bracing myself a little, I admit.

Hope the work day goes quickly and that dinner with your brother and his wife is an excellent time for all.

>227 bell7: WHAT?!

I think you should bash it with a hammer while chanting MISTER COFFEE MISTER COFFEE MISTER COFFEE until it sees the error of its ways.

>225 bell7: Yay for a two-day! I tried MOXIE before MOVIE, so it was a four for me.

I haven't attempted Wordle yet today but your score gives me hope. The solutions have been a bit of a struggle lately.

Your genealogy discoveries are very interesting. I love finding the reason behind why people moved. It usually makes so much more sense when that's discovered.

>199 bell7: Love the story, Mary!

>225 bell7: Nice! Only in two tries.

Hope you have a great St Patrick's day dinner :)

>229 MickyFine: thanks, Micky! We had a good time.

>230 richardderus: I know, it's been rough. But I have a pod of hazelnut waiting for me at work today and I'll attack the Keurig tomorrow to see if I can fix it (I'm hoping it's something simple, like some grounds got into a stupid place when I cleaned it out with vinegar the other day).

>231 Familyhistorian: hope Wordle cooperated for you, Meg! I'm glad you enjoyed the genealogy story 😊 I'd been really curious why he moved and never expected to successfully figure it out.

>232 alcottacre: thanks, Stasia!

>233 figsfromthistle: I was very excited to have it in two tries, Anita! And thank you, dinner was lovely.

Wordle 272 3/6

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Busy day today with work and volunteering, but tomorrow had turned into a quiet day since my Little ended up with other plans. I don't get many free Saturdays and will have to have a good think about what I intend to do.

>235 bell7: I got it in four.
Wordle 272 4/6

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I picked SABRE before SAUTE.

>234 bell7: ...could the Keurig be punishing you for force-feeding it vinegar...?

>236 richardderus: Ah yes... as you could probably see from the pattern, I had figured out the "t" placement in guess #2 and had only one other place the "a" could fit, so I had it without too much trouble. Re: the Keurig, maybe haha though it had given me the message that it was time to descale.

Wordle 273 5/6

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Happy Saturday, Mary. Do you have an R & R weekend planned or another busy one?

>238 bell7: Me too:
Wordle 273 5/6

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As always, trying the fancy one first just meant a 5 not a 4. AGLOW then ALLOW.

*smooch*

>239 msf59: Happy Saturday, Mark! It's kind of a mix - relaxed day today, busy tomorrow, and then fairly relaxed on Monday since I'll be off for working Sunday.

>240 richardderus: Same! I fit in both AGLOW and ABLOW before coming up with the obvious. *smooch*