Donna Begins A New Chapter in 2022, 3rd Quarter

"A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end.
You live several lives while reading."
--William Styron

It's been a great six months of reading!

Books Read in January
1.❤️A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Always 5 stars!
2. Naked in Death by J.D. Robb. 3.5 stars.
3. The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova. 3.5*
4. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. 3.8*
5. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk. 3.5*
6. Secrets of Happiness by Joan Silber. 3.5*
7. Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan. 3.5*
8. ❤️Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan. 4.5*
9. Kim by Rudyard Kipling; audio by Ralph Cosham. 3*
10.❤️These Precious Days by Ann Patchett. 4.5*
Total pages read in January: 3,153
2 Mine
2 NF
2 Classics

Books Read in February
11. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson. 3.8*
12. The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut. 4*
13. Bibliophile: Diverse Spines by Jamise Harper and Jane Mount. 4*
14. Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith. 3.2*
15. An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. 3.5*
16. ❤️The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna. 4.5* (Reread)
17. Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa. 3.5*
18. My Promised Land by Ari Shavit. 4.2*
19. Fight Night by Miriam Toews. 4*
Total pages read in February: 3,371
3 mine
3NF

Books Read in March
20. ❤️Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. 5*
21. The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran.
22. The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine. 4*
23. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer. 4* (reread)
24. The Siege of Krishnapur by J. G. Farrell. 4.2*
25. The Fell by Sarah Moss. 3.5*
26. The Dark Angel by Elly Griffiths. 3.5*
27. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. 4*
28. Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. 4*

Total Pages read in March: 2.542.
2 books were mine. 2 Non-fiction.

************************
End of First Quarter:
Read 28 books, 9,067 pages.
7 Mine, 7 Non-fiction.
************************

Books Read in April
29. ❤️The Promise by Damon Galgut. 4.3*
30. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam translated by Edward Fitzgerald. 3.5*
31. ❤️The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers. 4.5*
32. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. 3.5*
33. The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen. 4*
34. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. 4.2*
35. The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer. 3.5*
36. Simon's Family by Marianne Fredriksson. 4*
37. The Guide by Peter Heller. 3.5*

Total Pages read in April: 3,021
4 books from my shelves. One Non-fiction.

Books Read in May
38.❤️ The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki. 4.5*
39: Piranesi by Susanna Clark. 3.3*
40.❤️ The Sixteen Trees of the Somme by Lars Mytting. 4.5*
41. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. 4*
42. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. 4*
43. The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths. 3*
44. Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger. 3.8*
45. Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger. 3.2*

Total Pages Read in May: 2,811. Only 1 book was mine.

Books Read in June
46. Sovietistan by Erika Fatland. 4.2*
47. Sabrina and Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. 4*
48. French Braid by Anne Tyler. 3.5*
49. ❤️Zorrie by Laird Hunt. 4.5*
50. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar. Reread. 3.5*
51. ❤️Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. (audio) 4.6*
52. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. Reread. Book Group. 4*
53. Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon. 3,5*
54. The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar 3.8*
55. The Island by Adrain McKinty. 3.5*

Total Pages Read in June: 3,279. 2 books were mine. 2 rereads. 2NF.

***********************
First Half of 2022 Stats:
Total Number of Books: 55
Total Pages Read: 18,178
Mine: 14
Rereads: 7
NF: 10
***********************

Books Read in July
56. Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. 4*
57. ❤️Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. 4.2*
58. Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. 4*
59. A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin. 3.2*
60. 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei. 4*
61. The Bookwoman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson. 3*
62. ❤️Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley. 4.2*

Total pages read in July: 2,766. All were from the library. 2 Non-fiction.

Books Read in August
63. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths. 3.3*
64. ❤️Still Life by Sarah Winman. 4.3*
65. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. 3.8*
66. Hard-Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. 4*
67. Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller.3.5*
68. The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. 3*
69. ❤️Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamus O'Reilly. 4.2*
70. The Poet's House by Jean Thompson. 4*

My August reading fizzled out at the end of the month...
Total pages read in August: 2,536. One book was mine. 2 NF.

Books Read in September
71. Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo. 3.5 *
72. ❤️Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. 4.2*
73. Dawn Light by Diane Ackerman. 3.6*
74. An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo. 3.4*
75. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. 3.8* (reread for book group)
76. My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. 3.5* (reread)
77. Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. 3.5 * (reread)
78. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. 3.5*
79. ❤️Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. 4.2*

Books Read in October
80. Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. 3.7*
81. ❤️The Ski Jumpers by Peter Geye. 4.2*
82. The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths. 3.5*
83. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia. 3*
84. Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout. 4*
85. If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty by Eric Metaxas. 3.5*
86. A Passion for Nature by Donald Worster. 4*
87. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. 3.8*

Books Read in November
88. The Winners by Fredrik Backman. 4*
89. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. 3.8*
90. ❤️Driftless by David Rhodes. 4.6*
91. ❤️Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. 4.5*
92. Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson. 3.5*
93. The Highwayman by Craig Johnson. 3*
94. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. 4*
95. Northwest Angle by Wm. Kent Krueger. 3.6*

Books Read in December
96. A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan. 3.5*

Good Books
by Edward Albert Guest

Good books are friendly things to own.
If you are busy they will wait.
They will not call you on the phone
Or wake you if the hour is late.
They stand together row by row,
Upon the low shelf or the high.
But if you're lonesome this you know:
You have a friend or two nearby.

The fellowship of books is real.
They're never noisy when you're still.
They won't disturb you at your meal.
They'll comfort you when you are ill.
The lonesome hours they'll always share.
When slighted they will not complain.
And though for them you've ceased to care
Your constant friends they'll still remain.

Good books your faults will never see
Or tell about them round the town.
If you would have their company
You merely have to take them down.
They'll help you pass the time away,
They'll counsel give if that you need.
He has true friends for night and day
Who has a few good books to read.

Hi Donna, happy new thread!

Happy 4th and happy new thread, Donna!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Donna! Love your "books make me happy" photo.

It's so nice to have such welcome visitors.

>5 mdoris: Thanks for being my "first responder", Mary. :-) No prize but I do appreciate you.

>6 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I saw you back on my old thread as well. I hope you like The Secrets Between Us. It was a good sequel, not quite as grim as it's predecessor.

>7 drneutron: Thank you, Jim. You are on top of things around here. Thanks as always for all that you do to keep us up and running.

>8 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Who can argue with that, right? Books ARE my Happy Place!

Happy new thread, Donna.

>10 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. My numbers are not cooperating. Making new threads is not all that easy when one doesn't do it very often. Haha. You are such a pro at it.

>9 Donna828: Thanks Donna I greatly appreciate you too! Happy reading. Hope you are enjoying summer.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Donna.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Donna, and happy summer to you! Any word on Prague?

>12 mdoris: Summer is okay, Mary, but it would be so much better with some rain. I am watering plants daily. Expecting a week of record-breaking temperatures. Ugh!

>13 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori.
>14 BLBera: Thank you, Beth.
>15 figsfromthistle: Good to see you, Anita.

>16 AMQS: Thank you, Anne. Sadie probably won't know about the spring semester in Prague until she returns to Kansas State in the fall. Keeping my fingers crossed! (And maybe this will get me to renew my passport!)

Raining here and quite cool. The plants need it so I had better not complain. Reading the new David Sedaris book and I always like his writing.

Book No. 56. Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine. Library, 310 pp., 4 Stars.

Luz ('Little Light') doesn't become a woman until the end of the book but has packed a lot of living into her 18 years. The family was abandoned by her beloved father and then she lost her mother to mental illness when she and her older brother Daniel went to live with Tia (aunt) Maria Josie. They are living a hardscrabble life in 1930s Denver when Daniel is severely beaten after daring to love a white woman and must leave town or be killed. Luz works first as a laundry girl with her cousin, reading tea leaves on the side. She has the gift of clairvoyance as well as being smart enough (with her 4th grade education) to learn how to type and gain employment as a legal secretary at the age of 17.

I got a taste for the strength of Native American/Latina women in the author's National Book Award Finalist short story collection I recently finished. Now she has shown her skill as a novelist as she weaves back and forth through the family history of a very interesting and resilient young woman. I will be following her career to see what is next up her talented sleeve.

>19 Donna828: Great minds, Donna! I just started this one. I'll wait to read your comments until after I've finished.

>18 mdoris: Please send some of that rain our way, Mary. It is too early in the summer for the drought that usually plagues us in August and September. The only good thing is that I am getting some muscle from lugging full watering cans around our yard. I think I'll break down and hook up some hoses to make life easier.

>20 BLBera: Beth, I hope you like it as much as I did.

Hi Donna. I added Women of Light to my reading list.
>21 Donna828: It is dry where I live in Pennsylvania. I've had to water the flowers every day, and the ground is still dryer than usual.

Happy new thread, Donna!

>3 Donna828: Again book #55?
Your last one in June was also #55.

>24 FAMeulstee: good spotting!

Happy new thread, Donna. I’m more than happy to send rain your way from where I usually am or Scotland that I’m visiting.

Happy new thread, Donna!

I love the hearts you have next to your favorites on your book list. I think I may steal that idea, if you don’t mind! :)

It’s been dry here, too, but that’s an old story. Our monsoon moisture has picked up though, just in the last few days. We have a storm moving through at the moment. Barely any rain but lots of thunder. And very dark.

Sweet Thursday, Donna. Happy New Thread. Love the Good Books poem. I hope your July is off to a good start. Our intense heat and humidity have moved out, so we should be able to enjoy a few nice days.

Happy new thread, Donna!

Last summer was incredibly wet here (I never once had to water the garden) but this year is also very dry. Hope you get some good rain soon!

>23 Whisper1: Linda, I hope you enjoy Women of Light. It starts out slowly so don't give up on it. I'm glad we have plenty of water available. I wouldn't be surprised to see some restrictions put in place if the drought continues.

>24 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I will fix my numbers. You have a keen eye!

>25 LovingLit: Hi Megan! I need to look for your thread. Thanks for lurking. Haha.

>26 Familyhistorian: Lucky you, Meg. I loved our few days in Scotland many years ago. Our daughter was working in London and we took the train to Edinburgh. I learned the real meaning of awe when we climbed the stairs and saw the magnificent Parliament buildings and all the other cool architecture accompanied by the welcoming bagpipes. That was quite a welcome!

>27 Copperskye: Hi, Joanne. Feel free to steal my hearts. I think I got the idea from Beth. I remember those summer storms in Colorado Springs, often accompanied by hail.

>28 msf59: Mark, we all love our 'friendly' books, don't we? My reading is off to a slow start in July for some reason. I finally finished Arctic Dreams. It was slow going but I'm glad I had some support from the group read. I have Horizon on order so I can read about some of the other places Lopez wrote about. He is a wonderful nature writer.

>29 bell7: We had a wet spring, Mary, but when the hot weather started, the rain dried up. Typical for August not July. Our temps have been flirting with 100 degrees. We may reach that today. Hot hot hot!

Book No. 57: Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. Hoopla e-book, 496 pp., 4.2 Stars.

"It is the ice that holds this life together. For ice-associated seals, vulnerable on a beach, it is a place offshore to rest, directly over their feeding grounds. It provides algae with a surface to grow on. It shelters arctic cod from hunting seabirds and herds of narwhals, and it shelters the narwhal from the predatory orca. It is the bear's highway over the sea. And it gives me a chance to stand on the ocean and wonder."

That is a long quote from a wordy author. I read the book slowly to absorb all his knowledge and insights. I also had the support of some LT friends who added pictures and shared experiences in the group read started by Mark.

The book is a knowledgeable blend of science, history, and memoir brimming with facts and anecdotes about the Arctic. Lopez does an excellent job of sharing his brilliant observations of this cold desert filled with raw beauty. He goes into great detail to show his love for the land and its blessings. I wrote down many quotes from the book. Unfortunately, I can't give the page numbers because it was an ebook. Here's one more...

"I wish the order of my life to be arranged in the same way I find the light, the slight movement of the wind, the voice of a bird, the heading of a seed pod I see before me. This impeccable and indisputable integrity I want in myself."

>33 Donna828: Perfect book to read during a hot spell.

>33 Donna828: I greatly enjoyed my read of that one too, Donna.

>33 Donna828: That one sounds beautiful. : )

Sorry to ignore my thread. It's been an interesting and busy week. My Denver son and family were here for 4 days and our two local grand dogs have been staying with us for 8 days while their family was cavorting on the beach in Florida. Luckily the people and dogs all got along, even though Cowboy, the Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) has been known to bite children. Hope charmed him I guess because there were no major incidents. We had a great visit. Now we are ready to hunker down for the run of 100+degree days expected for the rest of the month! It has been 8 years since we've seen 100 degrees, although we've had 4 or 5 days of 99 degree temps in the past two weeks.


We took advantage of a slight break in the temperatures to visit our local Missouri Conservation Department and do the story walk on one of the shady trails. The very appropriate book was Wonder Walkers.

>34 RebaRelishesReading: It was perfect, Reba. I will have to look into some more Arctic books to keep me cool.

>35 alcottacre: I think the pictures and comments on the group thread made a good book even better, Stasia.

>36 Berly: Arctic Dreams was a lovely book, Kim. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased Horizon by Barry Lopez. I will get to revisit the Arctic as well as other places Lopez explored and wrote about, including the Oregon coast!

I managed to "sneak" out to my Tuesday Night Book Group while Hope played miniature golf with her parents. Our book was not the typical fare but our group of 7 attendees enjoyed it and had some interesting comments.



Book No. 58: Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman. Library, 480 pp., 4 Stars.

"Human beings are ultrasocial learning machines. We are born to learn, bond, and play." (Pg. 69)

Some might consider this a "self help" book, but it's really more of a scholarly look at some fallacies about human behaviors over time that were researched by a Dutch historian and social scientist. He presents historical examples wherein people seem cynical and sometimes downright evil, but then he digs deeper into what really happened and discovers that, in reality, most people are pretty decent. What a concept, right?

Personally, I have been sucked into the maelstrom of 24/7 news showing all the many ways that humanity is sinking into some sort of evil abyss, which makes me increasingly depressed about the state of our world. It was refreshing to get a more positive view of humanity and to realize that, while bad things do happen, people are inherently good and can thrive in a world they don't quite understand. We had an excellent discussion and all left feeling better about ourselves and others.

Book No. 59: A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin. Library, 280 pp., 3.2 Stars.

"He was a man accustomed to loneliness and to the torment of qualms and could always keep a cool head. Had he let his guilt overcome him, he wouldn't have been able to function in his daily life." (234)

Lilian's father was a Chinese spy married to a Caucasian woman living in Delaware. After her parents died, Lilian reconstructs the past with some interesting results. She knew he was an important spy in the CIA, but until she was given his lengthy diaries by his longtime mistress, she didn't know how painful and conflicted his life was. While she is in China on a teaching grant, she undertakes the mission to find his original family.

This is the 5th book by Ha Jin that I've read. He gives us a look into another world. This one was a slow starter for me. While it was a good character study, the story was a bit tedious and on the dry side.

Happy Sunday, Donna. Sounds like you had a good time with the grand dogs. Keep cool down there. It supposed to be a warm week ahead.

Hi Donna and happy new thread!

From your last thread, I read about you buying hostas for the deer to eat. *smile* I had a deer get to within 10 feet of the Sunroom door to chomp on my hostas last week - first time ever.

>39 Donna828: It sounds like you had a great discussion, Donna. I'll suggest this one to my book club. Like you, I find news depressing these days. This book might be a good antidote.

Sounds like you had a great visit. I can't believe how big Hope is getting. The grands grow up too fast.

Good luck with the heat; it's coming our way, too.

We need some heat! I have my down vest on and it rained all morning. Ugh.
We have the grands visiting 2 families of 3 and 1 year olds so life has been very busy and no reading done at all. I had to return the Lars Mytting book but will get it again from the library. Hope you are enjoying summer!

Looks like you are having a good summer, Donna. I'm back from Scotland now where we basked in the heat in Edinburgh - time in the rest of the country was rainy, just like here. I echo Mary's sentiments in >45 mdoris: We need some heat!

>33 Donna828: I really have to read Arctic Dreams- it is turning into a classic, I reckon!

Book No. 60: 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei. Library, 400 pp., 4 Stars.

"With art I opened up a space that was new to me, an abandoned space infested with weeds in wild and desolate ruin. Perhaps what I was doing was decadent and self-indulgent, but it offered the prospect of self-redemption and a path toward detachment and escape." (149-150)

This memoir roughly covers 100 years of personal and Chinese history, not the 1000 years in the title. That is part of a quote from the author's father's poetry. Ai Qing's poems were influenced by the sociopolitical upheaval in 20th Century. Weiwei (to be known as 'WW' in my thoughts here) was likewise influenced by his own struggles with human dignity. He lived with his father in "Little Siberia" from the formative ages of ten to fifteen during the "reeducation" process of cleaning latrines and living in an underground dugout.

WW wrote the book as a legacy to his young son because he didn't properly understand the repression his father endured until his own 81 days of incarceration followed by years of house arrest showed him that freedom is precious. Like father like son. WW turned to unconventional forms of art and a big internet presence to call attention to the oppression of human rights in China. When his passport was finally returned to him, he moved to Europe where he continues his humanitarian efforts.

"Because art reveals the truth that lies deep in the heart, it has the capacity to impact a mighty message." (362)

>41 msf59: Mark, I kind of miss the extra dogs. But I think Penny is happy to be the one and only dog again. We hit the magic 100 Degree temperature yesterday with more of those hot days ahead. Great reading weather!

>42 karenmarie: Our deer are behaving themselves so far, Karen. My hostas are planted in an island near the street, so Bambi doesn't get too close to the house. That was a fun surprise for you. ;-)

>44 BLBera: Humankind was a very good antidote to the cynicism that is creeping into daily life, Beth. Hope was delightful to have around for a few days. She projects enthusiasm! I gave her some "cool" suggestions for things we could do together, and her first choice was a visit to the library. Grandma's girl for sure.

>45 mdoris: Mary, July is always hot in Missouri. This year is just a little hotter than normal. I've learned to get things done early and enjoy the air-conditioning the rest of the day. I will get lots of reading done. I am glad you are surrounded by little ones. They will warm you up. :-)

>46 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg, I'm surprised you had warm weather in Edinburgh. I thought it was always cool in Scotland. I'm glad you had a fun and productive visit. I wish I had a way to send some of this heat north to my Canadian friends.

>47 LovingLit: Thanks for looking up my thread, Megan. Arctic Dreams was published in 1986 so has a few years to go to achieve classic status, but you are absolutely on the right track. Perhaps we could call it a modern classic? I do hope you get to read it.

Hi, Donna! Somehow I missed your new thread until today, when I was wondering where you've been. Heh. Anyway, happy new thread!

Hot in Missouri is a misery, at least it was in St. Louis where I spent many summers in my childhood. Of course, as a child, the heat didn't impact me as much as it would now. And my uncle belonged to a pool so we went swimming often after he got back from work and on weekends.

Hope sounds like my kinda girl too!

Have a lovely Friday!

>48 Donna828: I finished it just after you did, Donna. What an interesting take on life and art the author has! Glad it was one you enjoyed as well.

Glad to hear that your family visit went well!

>37 Donna828: Lovely photo! So far this year, we’ve had 4 days over 100°. :( Of course, as you know, it’s dry, so we bake rather than steam. :)

>52 Storeetllr: I was glad to welcome you home on your new thread, Mary. I don't get around like I used to but LT is still my Happy Place. A pool is a wonderful thing to have in Missouri. We have a nice big neighborhood pool that my children and I enjoyed years ago. I try to avoid wearing a swimming suit these days, though. The a/c and a book can keep me cool just fine. Thanks for stopping by.

>53 bell7: I have you to thank for mentioning this book on the Asian Author thread, Mary. I would have missed out on it otherwise. I am trying to read more non-fiction books these days and this was a good one.

>54 Copperskye: We sure enjoyed the visit with Hope and family, Joanne. She loves dogs and kept our two fur visitors entertained. We all needed a rest when they left! I remember that dry heat (and the cool mornings and evenings) in CO. Actually, our humidity hasn't been too terrible...yet. I can get Penny walked and my flowers watered before I break a sweat. ;-)

Book No. 61: The Bookwoman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson. Library, 335 pp., 3 stars.

This was a quick read for me because of the repetition. Honey, the 16-year-old daughter of Cussy, the original female packhorse librarian in the Kentucky hill country, is left on her own when her parents are arrested for violating miscegenation laws about mixed color marriages. Honey and Cussy both share the same gene-related disease that turns their skin color blue. The decades in the early 1900s were not very tolerant of any color deviation from white. There was much discussion about this in the previous book, and it was all new to me. As I said, it was repetitive. Honey ends up in her old neighborhood and becomes the new bookwoman. Same route, same old cranky mule carrying her on her rounds. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I had given more time between the two books.

>55 Donna828: Oh I'm glad to hear that, Donna. It was a little outside of my comfort zone, but definitely one I'm glad I read, and glad you enjoyed it as well.

Hi Donna! I have added >19 Donna828: Woman of Light to my list. Just this week she wrote an article for The Atlantic about Six Books to Guide You Through the Real American West.

>37 Donna828: OMG IS THAT HOPE???????

Dropping in to say hello! Hope you are staying nice and cool.

Surprise! Just dropping in to say Hi!

>37 Donna828: What a lovely image! It is hot here in NE Pennsylvania. Finally, we had a rain downpour yesterday. While it didn't last long, it was appreciated by my flowers and the very dry, crispy grass.

>57 bell7: I was out of my comfort zone, too, Mary. I like the Asian Author's Challenge for that very reason. I am reading about places I haven't visited, so I know very little about them. I love being an armchair traveler. ;-)

>58 AMQS: Hi Anne. Yes, little Hope is growing up. She will be in Third Grade this year. Time flies!

Thank you for the link. I was surprised to see Geek Love on the list. I bought the book at a library book sale for $2 years ago and haven't gotten the courage yet to read a book about circus freaks. The title says nothing to me about the American West. Haha.

My Antonia was on the list, too, and is one of my all-time favorites.

>59 figsfromthistle: We got a day of reprieve yesteray, Anita. Rain and cooler temps. It was wonderful.

>60 Nancy618: What a lovely surprise, Nancy. You made my day!

>61 Whisper1: I know what you mean about the flowers and crispy grass loving the rain, Linda. We got over an inch yesterday and things looked brighter to me this morning on our walk. We need more! Thanks for catching up. I am woefully behind on my return visits.

Book No. 62: Sister Mother Warrior by Vanessa Riley. Library, 471 pp., 4.2 Stars.

"Beyond Mountains there are mountains...beyond every problem was another." (Pg. 81)

This historical fiction book shows the Haitian Revolution through the lives of two women who loved the same man, Jean-Jacques Dessalines who was one of the leaders of the slave uprisings in the late 18th century. Marie-Claire was a free woman of color who fell in love with "Janjak" when they were both teenagers. Gran Toya was a trained warrior who was sold into slavery by her beloved King and became a trained warrior. She adopted JJ when his mother (and her best friend) died so she could help him become the new King of their people. "Women always did the things that needed to be done, from protecting kings to creating them." (143)

Sacrifice is a major theme in the book. What will people be willing to do or give up for their beliefs or for someone they love? This complex narrative covers 45 years of strife and demands close reading. Don't skip over the illuminating author's notes at the end. You might even consider reading this section first for some background of an intricate history of a fascinating country.

>64 Donna828: Looks good. I don't think I've read any novels about Haiti. May be time to remedy that.

Glad you're having a break from the heat. We seem to be too, although the humidity is just as bad, if not worse. Thank goodness my A/C is also a dehumidifier.

>65 Storeetllr: Hi Mary. I'm glad you're keeping cool these days. I don't know how people are surviving without air conditioners. I'm such a wimp. Other than an early morning walk, I stay inside most of the day when I can. I learned a lot about the conditions in Haiti before and during the Revolution of 1791-1804. That's a long time.

Book No. 63: The Lantern Man by Elly Griffiths. Library, 358 pp., 3.3 Stars.

Two years have passed since Book No. 11 in the series. Ruth and Kate have moved to Cambridge for a new job and a new life with Frank, an American professor who has finally wooed Ruth away from the salt marshes. I don't like change and missed the more familiar surroundings. I think Ruth misses her cottage, too, so we will see what happens there. The mystery was so-so and had the usual action-packed resolution. I can't wait to read the next entry to see if Ruth does indeed move back to Norfolk where she belongs. Haha. I totally read these for the character developments. I'm glad many of the peripheral characters were still involved in Ruth's life as she used her forensic skills to help solve the mystery of a serial killer.

>67 Donna828: I'm sure I'll try the series again, but I did not like the author's views on religion and her way of expressing them in earlier installments. She went overboard IMHO. It was a shame because I liked the series otherwise.

>67 Donna828: I've read all of the Ruth Galloway novels so far, Donna. I like the premise, where an archaeologist plays a part in solving crimes. Sometimes the archaeological link is kind of tenuous. But the character development is really strong and one of the things I enjoy most about the series. Ruth's personal story arc, as well as that of those around her, develops from one book to the next.

>67 Donna828: I'm another Ruth fan, Donna. I, too, read the books for the characters, and yes, Ruth does belong on the salt marshes.

>48 Donna828: The Ai Weiwei book sounds interesting, I might see if my library has it. I don't know much about him actually!

>68 thornton37814: I barely remember the first Ruth Galloway books, Lori. She does have the mind of a scientist which doesn't make her sympathetic to religious thoughts. I remember one of the early books that featured The Virgin Mary. Could that be the one that triggered you?

>69 lauralkeet: I agree, Laura. I get just enough archaeology to make it interesting. I tend to like books about strong women, and she certainly fits that description.

>70 BLBera: Hi Beth. I just love those descriptions about the shadows and fog. Very atmospheric. I have a hunch she won't be in Cambridge much longer. ;-)

>71 LovingLit: Megan, The most I knew about Weiwei was his part in designing the Bird's Nest Stadium for the Beijing Olympics. His art is pretty far "out there" but I do appreciate his efforts to use his talent to further his humanitarian efforts. Reading can be so educational. I am trying to read more nonfiction books this year.

Book No. 64. Still Life by Sarah Winman. Library, 452 pp., 4.3 Stars.

"...the world never turned out the way you wanted it to. It simply turned. And you hung on.”

I enjoyed this tribute to friendships of all kinds. It begins in war-ravaged Italy during WWII with a brief but memorable encounter between the charming British soldier Ulysses Temper and the 60-something art historian Evelyn Skinner. When the war ends, Ulysses returns to his wife Peg in London. A lot can happen during a 6-year absence. Peg has a young daughter named Alys whom Ulysses would like to claim as his own. They divorce but live together over a pub along with a clutch of ragtaggle characters that make life fun and interesting.

Ulysses and Alys end up in Florence running a boardinghouse and are joined by several of their friends over the years, including Claude, the parrot on the cover of the book. The story has lots more to it, but the real treat is exploring the relationships and the composite portrait of life they create.

It's been a while since I read a Ruth Galloway book and I have a few more to read until I get to The Lantern Men. I really need to catch up to see why Ruth came to leave Norfolk. Thanks for the nudge, Donna.

>48 Donna828: I will have to see if I can find a copy of that one. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Donna.

>56 Donna828: I was not a big fan of the first book, so I think I will be giving the second one a pass.

>64 Donna828: My local library has a couple of Riley's books, but not that one. Too bad.

>74 Donna828: Dodging that BB as I have already read it.

Have a terrific Tuesday, Donna!

>74 Donna828: I've just started this one, Donna, and I'm glad to see you rate it highly. Here's hoping I enjoy it as much!

Great comments on Still Life, Donna. I also loved it.

>75 Familyhistorian: It’s good to see you, Meg. Keeping up with a series or two is fun for me. Ruth’s move to Cambridge was a complete surprise. I think I have 3 more of the books and I’ll be caught up and looking for a new series. Waiting a year between installments tests my patience.

>76 alcottacre: Greetings, Stasia. I may be looking into Vanessa Riley’s backlog. She did such a good job with Sister Mother Warrior. It’s a recent release. Perhaps your library will get it when the “new” wears off.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

>77 bell7: Mary, I think you are in for a treat with that engaging cast of characters in Still Life. It was a life-interrupter for me! I had both the audio and print versions and went back and forth. The author did a good job reading her own work which isn’t always the case.

>78 BLBera: Wasn't that a fun and poignant book, Beth? I especially loved the nod to E.M. Forster. I may reread A Room With A View sometime this year. It’s one of my favorite classics.

Last night was Book Group and, as usual, we had an excellent discussion from our little circle of readers. There were only six of us so everyone had a chance to chime in with comments on...



Book No. 65: The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker. Library, 303 pp., 3.8 Stars.

“They've slept...the sleep of bad dreams and good dreams, the dreams they've shared and the dreams they haven't, and all the dreams they never remembered and never would, so many of which have traveled through their minds..."

This slow study of what happens in the midst of a fast-spreading sleeping disease was pretty good speculative fiction. It was interesting that the author wrote the book before Covid, but we couldn't help making comparisons about the uncertainty and sense of helplessness that occurs during a viral outbreak.

This one was limited to the fictional college town of Santa Lora, California, which was cordoned off to prevent the spread of the disease. There was a broad range of characters ranging from babies to young children to college students to old people. The only symptom was dropping off quickly into a deep sleep with very active dreaming patterns. The survivors had various experiences with the flow of time from the past, present, and future. We all agreed it was a heart-rending psychological drama which made us think about the precarious nature of life. It was rich in imagery and ideas and gave us much to reflect upon.

>72 Donna828: It wasn't anything to do with the Virgin Mary that triggered that. I'm Protestant rather than Catholic. It was just the manner in which she was constantly putting religion down.

Happy Saturday, Donna. Hooray for Still Life. I loved that novel. I remember also enjoying The Dreamers, although it has been a number of years. Enjoy your weekend.

>82 thornton37814: I understand, Lori. As a Christian, I am used to the putdowns in the books I read so I probably ignored it.

>83 msf59: We are dogsitting this weekend again. We took our circus act into the neighborhood for our morning walk. Dave takes Maverick (Golden Retriever) and I get Cowboy (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and Penny. We are getting better about not letting the leashes get twisted together. We get a lot of second looks and some compliments on our dog family.

>84 Donna828: Would love to see pictures Donna of your "circus act'. Sometimes just one dog is one dog too many! We have P's sister arriving tomorrow for a multi day visit with her new standard poodle puppy "Dave". I know it will be chaos.

Book No. 66: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. Mine, 400 pp., 4 Stars.

"Why did I cast off my past to come here to the End of the World? What possible event or meaning or purpose could there have been? Why can I not remember?

Murakami has created two parallel worlds. One is steeped in reality, the other has a more dream-like environment. In the first world of Wonderland (aka as Tokyo), the unnamed protagonist works as a processor of information using his subconscious brain. In Town (or End of the World), the narrator is separated from his shadow and reads dreams using unicorn skulls.

Sounds a little wacky? Well, it's Murakami. This is the sixth book I've read by him. I have learned to go in expecting weird and sometimes wonderful events. Go with the flow and you'll be fine. I couldn't decide if this one was more sci-fi, fantasy, or crime fiction about brain control and information warfare. Perhaps it is all three. I have given up trying to analyze his style. I just go along for the ride.

>84 Donna828: I always find it interesting that the people who preach "tolerance" are selective in their own tolerance in regards to religion and politics. They tolerate Islam, Buddhist, atheism, etc., but not Christians--particularly not evangelical Christians. They tolerate political views as long as they are reasonably aligned with their own.

Hmm, I haven't read Murakami yet, but that one sounds - interesting. Putting it on my TBR list.

There's a bit of nostalgia going on over on Joanne's thread that you may enjoy getting in on.

>84 Donna828: Sounds like a circus! Lots of fun - and clowns. :)

As for religion: I don't like to read books that bash anyone's religion, but I also don't like to read books that bash the reader on the head preaching their religion. As I get older, I'm getting better at DNFing books - for that and many other reasons.

Have a lovely rest of the day!

>87 thornton37814: Yes, yes and yes. Too true!

>81 Donna828: >86 Donna828: Already in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Donna!

>85 mdoris: Hi Mary. I would love to get a picture of the clown parade for you, but I have a dog on each arm and 80-pound Maverick is quite a handful for DH. Perhaps a kind neighbor could snap a shot of the mayhem.

>87 thornton37814:, >89 mdoris: Amen, Sisters. It would be a better world if we all worked on our tolerance levels.

>88 Storeetllr: Mary, I would list Hard-Boiled Wonderland as #3 on my list of six Murakami books completed. Kafka on the Shore is pretty accessible and my first venture, then comes The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle which made more sense to me on my second reading with my book group.

I agree with you about books with agendas. I have trouble giving up on books, however. I'm pretty much a completist unless I am very offended by something in a book. For the most part, I know pretty well what's inside before I start a book.

>90 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I'm glad you have a Black Hole to store your enormous pile of books to be read. We got some rain and cooler temperatures today so life is good here. I hope things are settling down for your family. I'll pay a visit after I write my book "report".

Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa by Karin Muller. Hot Springs, Arkansas, library, 308 pp., 3.5 Stars.

Before committing to her year in Japan, the author got this advice from her Asian-studies professor: "No problem. Just study Japanese etiquette for the next thirty years, speak through a ventriloquist, and wear a paper bag over your head." (From the introduction)

Karin Muller was in her mid-30s and had been studying Judo in the U.S. for eleven years with minimal progress. She was somewhat bored with her life and had a desire to acquire the harmony (Wa) that gives one underlying strength and calm. The naive belief that a year in Japan would give her this inner power led her into a frequently frustrating but always fascinating year.

Although I'm a contented homebody, I admire Muller's courage and optimism. It was unfortunate that her foster family didn't work out. However, she didn't give up and continued to explore Japanese culture on her own. I enjoyed my tagalong visits with Sumo wrestlers, sword makers, Geishas, and Buddhist monks. She ends the book with a grueling Judo session where she is repeatedly thrown down on the mat to the point of exhaustion. The very old and wise sensei ends the pain with these words: "Commit" and "Believe". Good advice.

Glad to hear there's another completist out there :) I keep hoping the book is going to get better in the next chapter and end up reading the whole thing, even if it never got better for me. I don't think I'm likely to ever "Pearl rule" a book.

Hi Reba, my fellow completist. I always can find something to admire about a book I have chosen to read. The vetting process helps keep me away from things I know I won't enjoy. And, like you, I hold out for the hope of improvement. So many books don't hit their stride until the middle section. Thanks for the visit.

Book No. 68: The Last White Man by Mohsi Hamid. Library, 180 pp., 3 Stars.

"Anders waited for an undoing, an undoing that did not come, and the hours passed, and he realized that he had been robbed, that he was the victim of a crime, the horor of which only grew..." Pg. 7. This was only the very beginning of one of the many long run-on sentences in the book. It didn't bother me, but I know some will be annoyed by the paragraphs broken up by only a few commas.

I really liked The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West by Hamid, however, this quick read left me wanting more. I could sum it up by saying that racism is bad, and love is good. Of course, there is more to the story about the people in an unnamed town waking up to brown/black skin. What a shock both to them and their friends and families. The author took us through the process of change and acceptance competently, although I didn't really feel much of anything other than a sense that there could have been more to the story. I kept waiting for the portals for them to go through to restore their natural skin tones. ;-)

Book No. 69: Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? by Seamas O'Reilly. Library, 231 pp., 4.2 Stars.

"Early on I remember someone telling me that even if you read a book a week for your entire life, and lived for eighty years and change, your lifetime haul would still only be about four thousand. I set out to beat that number." (142)

Katie recommended this memoir about family life, and it was a good one. The author's mother died from breast cancer when he was only five years old and the third youngest of eleven children. The title comes from his startling question to the many people who attended her wake.

The setting is Northern Ireland during the political violence in the 1990s which "saw fit to call this era the Troubles, as if it were not a brutal cycle of spiteful bloodshed but rather a period of intemperate hailstorms, or a breakdown in the country's system of planning applications." This rationalization helps explain why the author is "more comfortable talking about death in terms of its comical absurdities." O'Reilly has written an honest, warmhearted, and (yes) sometimes humorous tribute to his dead mother and the father who took over and provided the large family with an orderly and comfortable life.

Well, I double-posted. My message to Reba (>95 Donna828:) disappeared for awhile, then came back. Library Thing Gremlins?

>86 Donna828: BB for me. Sounds extremely interesting. I quite like Murakami's writing.

>99 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, If you like Murakami, I think you will like this one. It was pretty accessible and the ending made me think. Both good things! Do you have a favorite by him. There are quite a few of his books I haven't read yet.

>100 Donna828: I have only read Norwegian wood and the wind-up bird chronicles. I enjoyed the latter more. There is something about his writing style that just clicks with me.

>101 figsfromthistle: Murakami is an acquired taste for me, but I do want to read more of his books. I've already read the two you mentioned. I think I turned the corner to like/appreciation with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It helped that I read it for my book group, and we had such a good discussion about it.

Hi, Donna. I hope you had a nice weekend. I also enjoyed Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. You really can't beat early Murakami. He was on a roll. I am enjoying my reread of Angle of Repose. This dude sure could write!

We had similar reactions to The Last White Man, Donna. I still need to write somehting up about it.

Great comments, Donna. I became a Murakami fan after reading Kafka on the Shore for my book club. I need to read others by him.

Too bad the Hamid was disappointing. I'm on the reserve list at the library, so I'll probably read it at some point.

The O'Reilly sounds great.

>96 Donna828: Interesting. Do you think it would do okay as an audiobook? Because my eyesight is so bad these days, I've been doing most of my reading on audio.

>103 msf59: Mark, I am another Wallace Stegner fan. I may own a few that I haven't read. I'll have to take a look. That Murakami has been languishing on the shelf for quite a while. I need to give my old books some love.

>104 katiekrug: Hi Katie. I had to dig deep for something to say. I kept thinking I was missing something, but apparently not. I think we both liked The Poet's House much more.

>105 BLBera: Beth, I think Kafka on the Shore is a great introduction to Murakami. If The Last White Man had been my first Hamid book, I might have given up on him. It wasn't horrible, just not much to it. I know he's capable of better stuff and will keep on reading his books. Hope you enjoy the Irish memoir by O'Reilly if you can fit it in some time. It's a hard one to put down.

>106 Storeetllr: I'm sorry to hear about your vision problems, Mary. I have the beginnings of macular degeneration. Tuesday night at duplicate bridge, I kept getting my hearts and diamonds mixed together. I made an appointment with my ophthalmologist to see what is going on there. My eyes are very dry and require frequent eyedrops, but I can still read pretty well.

I think The Last White Man would be fine on audio. Kind of wish I had read the audio version of Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? because of the unpronounceable (to me anyway) names of some of the eleven Irish siblings.

Book No. 70: The Poet's House by Jean Thompson. Library, 305 pp., 4 Stars.

"The body is a house. Who lives within?
The body is a bed. Who las lain there with you?
Does anyone remember? Who has left their bones
behind, their memories tangled in the sheets?...
(pg. 276)

Carla is in a good relationship with a young man she adores but can't decide on a career. College didn't work out because of her reading disability (dyslexia perhaps?) so she is temporarily employed by a landscaping service in CA. She does some gardening for an acclaimed elderly poetess who takes an interest in her. The older woman gently introduces Carla to the beauty of poetry and changes Carla's life. The story itself has some weak spots, however it made me want to learn more about poetry, so it was a winner for me.

>108 Donna828: Sorry to hear about your adventures of living with MD. I have it too. the dry form. (Along with dry eye, which we apparently also share.) A half cousin (my mom's half brother's daughter) is blind from it, but she's 10 years older than me and has had it since she was in her 40s or 50s, I think she said. Mine began in around 2015. So far, I can see okay, but reading fatigues my eyes. Well, so does looking at a computer screen, but I do it anyway. I'm lucky to enjoy audiobooks or I'd have to choose whether to engage in social media or read books. Also, I think my lenses are off. I'm seeing an ophthalmologist in a couple of weeks and will ask for a new Rx and maybe get a pair of reading/computer glasses. These blended ones just aren't working for me.

Thanks, I've put both audiobooks on hold at the library.

Donna, my husband Will was an eye doctor. He often noted that macular degeneration is nasty if not given the proper care. I am glad you are keeping your eyes lubricated and that you can read.

Hi Donna. I'm sorry to hear about your MD. Take care. I'm glad you liked The Poet's House; I liked Carla so much that I could forgive a lot.

Happy Birthday, Donna! I hope you are having a wonderful day and also enjoying those books.

Happy Birthday one day late, Donna. I'm sorry I missed posting here yesterday.

I hope you had a wonderful day.

A late Happy Birthday from me, too.

I've enjoyed catching up with you.

>56 Donna828: I didn't realize the The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek had a sequel. Even though you only gave it three stars, I'll think I'll give The Bookwoman's Daughter a try. I've requested it, but then suspended it for three months. :) We'll be beginning the holiday season then (how is that for scary!) and a bit lighter read should appeal.

I've only read one Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore. I think my brain isn't wired quite right for his trains of thoughts/fights of fancy, but I know I should give him another try.

I'll be starting the first in Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway series this weekend. Hot and smoky out there and I am ready for a lighter read.

Belated happy birthday, Donna. Many happy returns.

It was a busy week around here last week, but I didn't realize I had been away from LT for 8 days! This year is going by too quickly to suit me. Whatever happened to those lazy hazy crazy days of summer?

>110 Storeetllr: Hi Mary, getting old is an adventure, right? Hoping that we both can see for a lot longer to enjoy our grandkids and life in general. And, yes, I too am grateful for the profusion of audio books. That's not my preferred method of reading, although I do listen to the occasional one and they are great for road trips.

>111 Whisper1: Linda, I keep eyedrops in my library and use them regularly. I also rest my eyes frequently by looking out the window at our lovely view of the pond in the backyard.

>112 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Agreed about Carla. She was an engaging character for sure.

>113 msf59: Thank you, Mark. This has been a week of celebrations. There have been several lunches with friends and family. Good times! Unfortunatly, my reading (and waistline) have suffered.

>114 karenmarie: Hi Karen. It's good to see you. My birthday was a good one. I wanted to keep it low-key; however, friends and family wanted to party! It will be good to have a relatively quiet week to start the new month off in the right direction with plenty of reading!

>115 streamsong: Janet is here! Hello, friend, it's good to hear from you. Lighter books sure have their places and I find myself reading more of them these days. I totally felt the same way about Murakami. His books are out of my comfort zone, yet I find the more I read, the more I want to read them. Enjoy the Ruth Galloway books. If you like the characters, you will soon be hooked.

>116 BLBera: Than you, Beth. I am ready for some quieter times and good books.

Book No. 71: Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo. Library, 226 pp., 3.5 Stars.

"Creating was prayer.
I followed one word with another.
Here on a tangled rectangle of a page stood a dreaming house. Here I made a room in which I could speak and saw whatever came to me to speak. Here I could sing, and it would not be forbidden." (114)

The title of this book makes perfect sense as Joy had to battle for her independence and self-esteem after being raised by an abusive stepfather. Her perseverance and dedication to her visual art, music, and poetry is admirable. She is a very talented women who recently served three terms as U. S. Poet Laureate. I am a big fan but enjoyed her earlier memoir, Crazy Brave, slightly more as this one was harder to follow due to the non-chronological style. I did like the poetry she included and have ordered two poetry collections from the library. Her words show how difficult it is to grow up as an indigenous American.

Book No. 72: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Library, 360 pp., 4.2 Stars.

"Darkness suits me. Each evening, I await the click of the overhead lights, leaving only the glow from the main tank. Not perfect, but close enough. Almost-darkness, like the middle-bottom of the sea. I lived there before I was captured and imprisoned. I cannot remember, yet I can still taste the untamed currents of the cold open water. Darkness runs through my blood." Page 1.

An unusual friendship between a 70-year-old woman and a Giant Pacific Octopus makes for a whimsical feel-good reading experience. Toya likes to stay busy, so she gets a job as a night-time cleaner in a small-town Aquarium in Northern Washington.

Toya talks to all the animals, but Marcellus seems to understand what she is saying. It may seem strange to have these brief narrations by an octopus. Just go with the flow and suspend belief for a bit and soon they might become your favorite bits of the book. That's what happened to me. Very heartwarming.

Happy Labor Day, Donna. I hope you are having a nice holiday weekend. Remarkably Bright Creatures sounds like a fun, light read.

>122 msf59: Hi Mark, yes on both counts. I think you would like it. Last week was busy and this week will be even busier. It makes it hard to keep up with LT. I'll do my best...

Book No. 73: Dawn Light by Diane Ackerman. Hoopla Audio. Read by Laural Merlington. 264 pp., 3.6 Stars.

This was my "winding down" book at the end of the day for the past few weeks. Very meditative essays about the natural world that calmed me down and, unfortunately, put me to sleep too many times. I think the narrator's voice was a bit too monotonous soothing.

I think I will check it out again and listen to it in the morning while I do my daily chores which I can do on auto pilot. One essay a day to better appreciate the beautiful writing and give me a chance to mull over the author's detailed observations about the cycle of seasons.

Book No. 74: An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo. Library, 117 pp., 3.4 Stars.

Poetry is still a challenge for me. I read only a few selections per day and read them multiple times to let them sink in...with mixed results. Some left me cold and other poems were meaningful. Here is the title poem:

We were running out of breath as we ran out to meet ourselves, We
Were surfacing the edge of our ancestors' fights, and ready to Strike.
It was difficult to lose days in the Indian bar if you were Straight.
Easy if you played pool and drank to remember to forget. We
Made plans to be professional--and did. And some of us could Sing
When we drove to the edge of the mountains, with a drum. We
Made sense of our beautiful crazed lives under the starry stars. Sin
Was invented by the Christians, as was the Devil, we sang. We
Were the heathens, but needed to be saved from them: Thin
Chance. We knew we were all related in this story, a little Gin
Will clarify the dark, and make us all feel like dancing. We
Had something to do with the origins of blues and jazz.
I argued with the music as I filled the jukebox with dimes in June.
Forty years later and we still want justice. We are still America. We.

I have another Harjo collection on the way and then will move on to a different poet. I should add that part of this collection was in prose and told the history of Harjo's people. I learned that there were multiple Trails of Tears as the natives were moved from their homelands to their assigned government reservations. So sad.

Hi Donna - I really enjoyed An American Sunrise, and your approach to poetry sounds like a good one. It takes practice, and some poets are easier than others!

The Ackerman essays sound like ones I would enjoy. Onto the WL it goes.

I also loved An American Sunrise. I am a big Harjo fan. I also recommend her memoir Crazy Brave, if you might be interested in that one. I love the poem you shared.

>121 Donna828: That sounds like a fun one! BB for me.

>121 Donna828: Wasn’t Marcellus a darling!? I’m glad you liked it (and him), Donna. :)

Happy Belated Birthday Donna!

>126 BLBera: I am excited about my poetry awakening, Beth. I am a big fan of Mary Oliver and like most of Billy Collins’ work. I know we have a lot of poetry lovers in this group, including you, and am receptive to recommendations.

>127 msf59: Crazy Brave was my introduction to Harjo, Mark. She has quite a story to tell. I am picking up another collection of hers in a few minutes when I go to my book group meeting. We’ll be talking about Anxious People.

>128 figsfromthistle: I predict you will love Remarkably Bright Creatures, Anita. Several other LTers have read and loved it so I knew I couldn’t go wrong. ;-)

>129 Copperskye: Joanne, I never dreamed I would warm up to an octopus. Marcellus was a fun and memorable character. You are one of the reasons I gave this one a whirl. Thank you.

>130 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda. We just finished the cake my sweet sister-in-law made for me. It was Banana Nut Cake using my late mother’s recipe. Yummy and sentimental.

>132 Donna828: I admit to doing a bit of internal eye rolling at the idea of an octopus's voice, but there you go...

>93 Donna828: Adding that one to the BlackHole. It sounds like one I would enjoy.

>96 Donna828: I did not care for The Reluctant Fundamentalist when I read it. I think I will give that one a pass.

>97 Donna828: I already have that one in the BlackHole, thanks to Katie. Good to see you enjoyed it as well.

>109 Donna828: I am adding that one to the BlackHole, but if it it makes me want to learn more about poetry it will be a miracle.

>121 Donna828: That one is already in the BlackHole and I sure wish my local library would get a copy in soon!

>124 Donna828: I like Ackerman's books, so I will look for that one.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Donna!

Just dropping my Hello!!

It has been a busy week. Not much reading getting done at my house. ;-( In my effort to get back to the pre-Covid status quo, I may have gone overboard and signed up for too many activities. I hope I can keep up with myself!

>133 Copperskye: Hi Joanne. Oh yeah, the internal eye rolling. I do that way too much. I dropped my judgmental nature and went with the flow at the very beginning of Remarkably Bright Creatures. I'm glad I knew ahead of time that there would be an octopus narrator. My biggest hurdle was that he could read! I think I might be entering my second childhood. I used to love talking animal books as a kid.

>134 alcottacre: I'm glad I could add a couple of books to the BlackHole, Stasia. I do hope that The Poet's House makes you want to read poetry. I wouldn't mind having another novice poetry buff to explore the genre with me. If that doesn't happen, I hope you like the book anyway.

>135 Berly: Hello Back, Kim! It's always a pleasure to have you stop by. I loved seeing the wedding pictures of your lovely daughter. Congratulations, proud Mama!

Book No. 75: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman. Library, 352 pp., 4 Stars.

I read this for Tuesday evening's Book Group meeting and have already returned it to the library so I don't have a quote to share. It was a reread for me and I left the rating the same as when I read and reviewed it two years ago. Parts of it were still silly, but in typical Backman fashion, there were those serious undertones that made my heart hurt. Our group of ten (with two new potential members) probably enjoyed it more than I did. As much as I like rereading books, I think I need a little more space between them.

I am eagerly awaiting the release of the third book in the Beartown trilogy, The Winners. They have been my favorites by Backman in addition to A Man Called Ove.

>138 Donna828: Congratulations on reaching 75, Donna!

I am as eagerly waiting for the last Beartown book. The Dutch translation will be released early December, so I expect to get it from the library in the second quarter of 2023.

It was Haley’s 12th Birthday yesterday. Last official year of childhood…although she has had the teenage mindset for a year or two now.




This is Haley’s Sycamore Tree which she got in 5th Grade a year ago on Arbor Day. It was twig-size and languished in a pot until last September when she gave it to us to plant down by the lake, her favorite place. We were shocked when it lived through the bitter winter and became a twig with a few leaves. With tender care and many trips up and down a steep hill carrying buckets of water this past summer, it has flourished. We plan to take yearly pictures of Haley and her tree. Guess we can never downsize to a smaller house now!

Hi, Donna.

I’m a dope for not getting here more often. I love your taste in books, and I’d forgotten how often our favorites overlap. I loved Woman of Light, Still Life and Remarkably Bright Creatures (although in the last the young man (Clarence?) annoyed me through a lot of the book). As you may remember, I’m a Murakami nut (similar to a Macadamia Nut), and Hard-Boiled Wonderland is one of his most difficult and most mind-boggling- in a good way.

It stung a bit to read Mark’s liking of M’s “early books”, i.e. not more recent ones, but I have to admit I also thought M’s last collection of short stories was a dud. Very unexpected. However, he’s already getting good buzz on his NF one coming out in November, Novelist as a Vocation.

I love the photos of your grands! I must admit I hoped to see more - I think you mentioned you have 6 grands? I’ll stop by more with hopes up.

P.S. I similarly enjoyed The Bookwoman’s Daughter, but also found it a bit repetitive of the most excellent first book.

Congrats on reaching 75, Donna. I can't believe Haley is 12! She was a baby yesterday. I feel the same way about Scout. Those grands grow up too fast.

Hard to believe Haley is 12!! Looks like a lovely young woman :)

Happy Birthday to Haley! We watched her grow up over here. I can't believe she is twelve.

And congrats on hitting 75!! Yah!

>140 Donna828: Happy 12th to Haley! Somebody sure has a green thumb.

Congratulations on reading 75 already, Donna!

I recently finished West With Giraffes and liked it a lot! Thanks for recommending it!

Congrats on hitting the goal!

Well done Donna on reading 75!

Wow! Haley's 12 already? Though she too looks a bit older than 12. And beautiful! Congrats on reading 75!

>139 FAMeulstee: It's good to see you, Anita, and thanks for the congratulations. My real goal is 100 books and it looks like I will make it before the year is over. The Winners is in processing at my library, which is not a fast process. They have ordered 10 copies, and I am No. 31 on the list. Patience is a virtue, right?

>141 jnwelch: Joe you are certainly not a 'dope', although I've missed your presence here. I have been lurking more than actively responding to the threads this year. I simply don't have the free time to post a lot these days. I'm glad to hear there is another Murakami book coming out in a few months. It looks like he might give us some clues to his imaginative thinking. I like getting my brain stretched occasionally! ;-)

I do have six grands, five girls and one boy. They are the apples of my eye and I regret not seeing as much of them as I'd like the past few years thanks to Covid. It's not as crucial as when they were babies and toddlers, but I do miss them. I will probably post more pictures as the holidays approach and we get together more frequently.

>142 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I totally agree that kids grow up way too quickly. It seems like yesterday that I was driving down to Dallas to see my Texas Rose. They moved to Springfield when Haley was about 18 months old and turned my world upside down in a good way!

>143 RebaRelishesReading:: Thanks, Reba. Haley is a lovely young lady. I hope the teenage years are gentle with her. Time will tell.

>144 msf59: I can't believe it either, Mark. I know Jack's first year went by in a whirl for you...better get used to it. It's always fun to reach that milestone of 75. I've read some wonderful books this year.

>145 Copperskye: I'm so glad you liked West With Giraffes, Joanne. It was a pleasant surprise for me last year. I don't have a green thumb, which is why I am so happy with the growth of Haley's tree. It will be fun to take an annual picture to mark the growth of both of them.

>146 drneutron: Thank you, Jim. And thank you once again for keeping this group flourishing. We appreciate you.

>147 mdoris: I just keep plugging along, Mary. I will never be one of the super readers in the group. I'd rather take time to absorb what I read in between books. 100 seems to be the number that I can handle without too much pressure.

>148 Storeetllr: Hi, Mary. Thanks for the visit and congratulations. Yes, Haley is 5'5" already and still growing. I'm still taller than she is...at least for the time being. She is running on the cross-country team this year and has a long stride. I'm glad she found a sport she can do without worrying about getting concussions. No more contact sports for her.

I have been rereading the first two Lucy Barton books in preparation for reading Oh William that is waiting for me at the library and Lucy by the Sea which I will be getting soon.



Book No. 76: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. Library, 193 pp., 3.5 Stars

I first read this book in February of 2016 and complained about the spareness that left too many gaps in Lucy's story. I am filling in those gaps by reading the four Lucy books in close succession. These are melancholy stories and I may be dragging when I get to the end of the tetralogy. I remember the poignancy of the five days Lucy's mother spent with her in the hospital and thought they illustrated how "we all love imperfectly". I was glad to be reminded about husband William's background and look forward to reading more about him in book #3.

Book No. 77: Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. Library, 254 pp., 3.5 Stars.

I read this one in 2017 and didn't remember as many details as I did of the first Lucy Barton book. It was more episodic and had a bigger cast of characters. I had more trouble connecting the dots and thought it was even more melancholy. I originally rated it 4 stars and reduced it to 3.5 for that reason. I do love the way she expresses those quietly meaningful scenes that give us the slow reveal of Lucy's loveless childhood. And I admire how she escaped her past, although the scene where she returns home after 17 years didn't turn out too well.

Book No. 78: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Library, 242 pp., 3.5 Stars.

"Ever since my mom died, I cry in H Mart... a supermarket that specializes in Asian food. It's the only place where you can find a giant vat of peeled garlic, because it's the only place that truly understands how much garlic you'll need for the kind of food your people eat." (Pg. 1)

This memoir was another mother-daughter story that didn't end well. Michelle was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to Oregon as a young child. She had a tumultuous relationship with her mother in her teenage years, although they declared a truce during their summers spent in Korea with family members. These visits were my favorite scenes in the book.

After graduating from college back east and the beginnings of a promising musical career, she got the call that her mother was ill and everything changed. Michelle dropped everything and returned to Eugene to become her mother's nurse and companion as her cancer progressed. There were so many personal details about this time, but little explanation for the complete change of heart. The emphasis on Korean food was wasted on me as I'm not a fan of raw fish and seaweed. I did appreciate its value as a practical way to show how much Michelle cared for her mother. Loved this ironic quote: "no one in this world would ever love me as much as my mother, and she would never let me forget it. 'Stop crying! Save your tears for when your mother dies'. This was a common proverb in my household."

Congrats on surpassing the 75 books read mark!

Hi, Donna. Funny, I loved Anything is Possible. I gave it the full boat. I liked Lucy Barton too and would like to get to Oh William. I was also a fan of H Mart. It was really good on audio.

>155 figsfromthistle:: Thanks, Anita. It's always good to reach that goal and still have a few months to reach my "real" goal of 100 books.

>156 msf59: Mark, I was in a bit of a reading funk when I reread the two Strout books back-to-back. I have Oh William checked out from the library and it will be my next book. I'm eager to get William's point of view and hear his story.

Book No. 79: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez. Library, 375 pp., 4.2 Stars.

“In Olga’s heart there was a pin-sized hole of infinite depth that made every day slightly more painful than it needed to be. She thought of it, this hole, as a birth defect. The space where, in a normal heart, a mother’s love was meant to be.”

Olga was a bit of a stretch for me at the beginning. It started out as a fluff piece about Olga's many boyfriends, crazy family, and her job as a wedding planner. When Olga's past was revealed, especially the abandonment by her activist mother, and her close relationship with her brother Pietro, I began to see her as a deeper person who I could care about. The addition of Matteo as her soulmate was the turning point for me.

The background about Puerto Rico's history and culture and its current status was enlightening. Reading about the impact of Hurricane Maria five years ago while I watched Hurricane Iam destroy communities in Florida made it even more meaningful. I ended up enjoying this debut very much and look forward to seeing what Ms. Gonzales has in mind for her next book.

Hi Donna! I've enjoyed getting caught up here. I cannot believe that Haley is 12! She looks so lovely and grown up, and I love the story about her tree.

Congratulations on reaching 75!

I listened to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek earlier this year and didn't love it. I loved parts of it, but I am discovering that if a book is problematic then the audiobook makes it even more problematic no matter how gifted the narrator may be. So I am not inclined to pick up the second one. I do already have Did Ye Hear Mammy Died and Olga Dies Dreaming on my list. Happy fall! We have had a very warm September but today feels like fall.

Oh,Anne! I loved Did Ye Hear Mammy Died, tho I disagree with Donna that the dad provided an “orderly” life (>97 Donna828:) exactly. It was a good life, but orderly?

Anyway, hi, Donna! Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I bought Did Yet Hear Mammy Died from Amazon recently. I think I'll start it once I finish my current audio.

I'm glad you liked Olga Dies Dreaming, Donna. I can't wait to see what Gonzalez does next.

>159 AMQS: I'm glad you stopped by, Anne. Thank you for the Haley compliments and congratulations on the milestone in reading. You have some excellent books to look forward to. As I said, the sequel to Book Woman is repetitive, so you are smart to pass it up, especialy since it wasn't a big hit with you in the first place.

>160 Storeetllr: Hi Mary. You have a point about the word "order". What family headed by a recent widower left with 11 children to raise could maintain order? Perhaps 'routine' is the word I was looking for. There had to be some type of management to clothe, feed, and get these kiddos off to school. The older children were a big help for sure. My weekend was quiet and allowed me to get some things done around here and have time leftover to read. Hooray!

>161 RebaRelishesReading: I look forward to your impressions of the O'Reilly memoir, Reba. It's ironic to think of a bereaved family as being joyful. Kudos to that wonderful father!

>162 BLBera: You know, I wouldn't mind reading more about Olga, Beth. Or perhaps a focus on one of her zany family members... Perhaps I'm reading too many Lucy Barton books where the characters overlap.

Book No. 80: Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout. Library, 242 pp., 3.7 Stars.

"Whoever really knows the experience of another?" (98)

And the saga continues...

Lucy Barton is aging and grieving the loss of her second husband, an accomplished cellist named David. She also still cares about her first husband William whom she divorced when their daughters left home so she could pursue her passion as an author. She is satisfied living in New York City which is strange because of her isolated upbringing in the poverty of a small town in rural Illinois. When William's wife leaves him, she steps in and helps as much as she can with having her own issues to deal with.

This is the third of this series of quiet little books about fairly ordinary people with mostly ordinary problems. I do like Strout's writing as I feel like she is sitting across from me getting me caught up with what is going on in her life. I'm eager for the next book because it is mostly set in Maine in Olive Kitteridge country. I'm quickly moving along in the queue for Lucy by the Sea. Can't wait!

Some quality reading going on over here, Donna, especially if one esteems Elizabeth Strout!
I only read My Name is Lucy Barton to date and, whilst it is well written and observed, it didn't leave a very lasting impression upon me. I do hope to read her Booker shortlisted Oh William! which I noted you rated a little higher than the other two you recently finished by her.

>166 PaulCranswick: Hey there, Paul. It's always a pleasure to have you drop in here. I think the Lucy Barton books are better if they are read as a whole. They are incomplete if one looks at them as individual stories. Each successive book fills in some of the blanks and paints a broader picture of Lucy and her family. I'm so glad I reread the first two so I could get a more complete picture of Lucy's life. Even though I'm enjoying the Lucy experience, I don't think Oh William! is Booker worthy.

Book No. 81: The Ski Jumpers by Peter Geye. Library, 398 pp., 4.2 Stars.

"A superstitious man might blame his diagnosis on the virulence of his memories. Might see his own life as the root of the sickness. But I'm not superstitious, and for every moment of misfortune from my childhood, I've been, in the years since, ten times charmed. Which only makes my prospect crueler, and the fact that the story will never be finished as bleak as the dimming years I have to look forward to." (Pg. 13)

Another solid story by one of my favorite authors. When Jon Bargaard got the devastating diagnosis of early-onset dementia, his thoughts go to his troubled past and how to mend the rift with his younger brother. They lost their father five years previously. This served as the catalyst that opened up the buried memories and offered a chance to repair the damage.

I loved Jon's relationship with his wife Ingrid and the descriptions of ski jumping a passion he shared with his father and brother Anton. I admit to getting a bit lost in his jumbled memories and never truly understood the lack of love for his mother. Family relationships are complex, and the past can be haunting. Reconciliation is difficult, but Geye is patient and persistent in telling this story of a man of courage and tenacity.

>168 Donna828: Good reviewing Donna. It makes me want to read his books!

>167 Donna828: That's a brilliant take on the Lucy Barton books, Donna. I hadn't thought of the books being incomplete as individual stories and (to my surprise when I looked today) I've rated every one of them 4.5 stars. But my appreciation for what Strout is doing has definitely grown with each novel.

Great reviews Donna!

I need to read more by Peter Geye; I really enjoyed his first novel. My book club will be reading Wintering in the next couple of months.

Catching up a little, Donna. Looks like you've been reading some good books.

Congrats on reaching 75+ books, and belated happy birthday to Haley! It's amazing to see how much she's grown over the years.

I am so glad to see that we both really enjoyed The Ski Jumpers, Donna. Hopefully, we can get a few converts to try him out. I missed 2 of his books so I hope to bookhorn in Wintering at some point.

Welcome to my lovely visitors!

>169 mdoris: Mary, I definitely think you would enjoy the books Peter Geye has written. They are all standalones so you can 'jump' in anywhere.

>170 lauralkeet: Thank you for those kind words, Laura. Like you, I appreciate the growth in each installment. I picked up Lucy By the Sea and look forward to spending more time with Lucy Barton and her story.

>171 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachael. It's so good to see you posting again. I will be paying you a visit soon to catch up with your busy life.

>172 BLBera: I will be interested to see your thoughts on Wintering, Beth. I don't think Mr. Geye can write a bad book! He is another local treasure for you. There must be something in the Minnesota water that develops writing talent. ;-)

>173 bell7: Hi Mary, I have been reading some enjoyable books this year. I can even find good things about the ones that haven't rocked my world. I've been reading so many years that I know my style pretty well by now. I'm going to Haley's cross-country track meet later today. She sure has grown up quickly.

>174 msf59: Mark, I think we both have good taste in books. Haha. I've read all the Geye books and loved them. Isn't it great when we discover an author that we can trust? I owe our friend Joanne in CO for turning me on to Peter Geye.

Book No. 82: The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths. #13 in the series, Library, 350 pp., 3.5 Stars.

Back on the atmospheric marshes of Norfolk, Ruth Galloway is now head of the Archaeology Department of the local university. The Night Hawks (a local metal detecting group) have found a body washed up on the beach. And then there is a supposed murder/suicide. There was a decent mystery, but this one was light on the archaeology I so enjoy. I am almost caught up with reading this satisfying series.

Book No. 83: The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Sylvia Mareno-Garcia. Library. Book Group, 320 pp., 3 Stars.

"The study of Nature makes a man at least as remorseless as Nature. Knowledge is not freely granted." Pg. 184.

I would describe this book as a mash-up of Science, History, Religion, and Politics. It has a beautiful lush setting in the late 19th century of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It is also a retelling of the H.G. Wells classic, The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I chose not to read because of his vivisection experiments on animals.

For me, the setting and history were the best parts of this novel. While I got used to, and even learned to like the hybrids that were the heroine's companions growing up, I am morally opposed to animal experimentation, so this book did not set well with me. The distasteful romantic angle didn't help.

Our book group agreed that the pacing was slow because of the dual narration. None of us loved the book. This is my second disappointment with this author. I am done.

>178 Donna828: Great comments, Donna. I have been wondering about this one. Maybe someday.

The Daughters of Doctor Moreau looks really interesting

>179 BLBera: "Maybe someday"...I hope you like it better than I did, Beth. Ms. Moreno-Garcia does have a following, but her books don't appeal to me.

>180 The_Hibernator: It was definitely 'interesting', Rachael, and you might love it. I am not a big fan of sci-fi or fantasy so I am not the audience for Garcia's books. I gave it my best shot. ;-)

Book No. 84: Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout. Library, 288 pp., 4 Stars.

"I walked around and around the house. I did not know where to put my mind."

Lucy's ex-husband and father of their two daughters wisely whisks Lucy out of NYC during the beginning of the Covid crisis. They move to a rental house in coastal Maine where Lucy is safe, but she it NOT happy with the seclusion. In typical Lucy fashion, she obsesses about it then she overcomes her depression and starts building a new life.

Once I settled into the rhythm of our one-sided conversation, I appreciated the Pandemic experience through her eyes. First, she had to revisit her tragic past before she could imagine hope for the future. It may be an understatement to say Lucy is a contemplative person.

The moody but beautiful setting was perfect, and I was glad to meet Bob Burgess again and get news about Olive Kitteridge. There are lots of connections and dark memories in the Lucy Barton books, along with the current scenes of family drama. Although I admire Lucy's resilience and quiet faith in humanity, I am ready to move on from her as a main character.

A friend and I were talking about (gasp) politics, and she recommended this book to me. It was a good refresher course about the history of the United States.



Book No. 85: If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty by Eric Metaxas. Library, 260 pp., 3.7 Stars.

The title comes from an encounter between Benjamin Franklin and a woman outside Independence Hall right after the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Her query of 'What have we got?' was answered: "A Republic, Madame, if you can keep it.”

I don't want to get into a political discussion, so I will just say this in-depth review of the beginnings of our country has a definite religious point-of-view because that's what our founding forefathers believed in. The book itself was written in a very forthright easy-to-understand style with some repetition. For me, it was a good refresher course of our early history as a country that looked beyond our past failures of slavery, The Civil War, Vietnam, etc. He urged that we look ahead to revitalizing our country by respecting authority, losing the cynicism, and loving America again.

Hi Donna
You are ready some great books. I want to add so many to my tbr list. For now, I am adding The Sky Jumpers and An American Sunrise.

Hayley is 12? I remember when she was a little girl with such a winning smile.

Congratulations on reading 85 books thus far this year!

Hi, Donna. I am so glad you enjoyed Lucy by the Sea. I love Strout but have not read her last 2. I need to get to Oh William.

Oh yeah- I had a very good time with Remarkably Bright Creatures. Very refreshing.

Hi, Donna!
Congratulations on reading over 85 books so far! I’m sure there will be lots more! I need to add mine up one of these days.
Love reading your thread!

Hi Donna, i am reading Lucy by the Sea right now and value your comments.

Hi Donna!

>138 Donna828: Congrats on #75! My RL book club is reading Anxious People for our November meeting. Nothing else by Backman except A Man Called Ove has appealed, and I’m actually looking forward to reading this one based on the description. I just put a request in for it at my Library. It’s available, so they’ll set it aside for me.

>140 Donna828: Kids are exposed to so much more so much earlier these days, so it’s no surprise that she’s had the teenage mindset for a year or two now.

>184 Whisper1: Hi Linda, I've liked all of Joy Harjo's books. They are a unique blend of poetry and Native American history. She was our Poet Laureate during the first two years of Covid. I remember the younger Haley, too. Haha. She still has that winning smile. ;-)

>185 msf59: Mark, I think we deserve those books like Remarkably Bright Creatures that refresh and uplift us. Strout's books are interesting and strangely fulfilling but they are oh so melancholy.

>186 Nancy618: Hi Nancy! I love it when you visit me here, especially since we've had trouble fitting in a face-to-face visit recently. Thank goodness for our phone chats.

>187 mdoris: I will be visiting your thread later today, Mary, to see what you thought about the latest Lucy Barton book. Many thanks for valuing my comments. Right back atcha!

>188 karenmarie: Hi Karen. I do hope you like Anxious People. It's not my favorite by Backman but we had an excellent book discussion about a whacky situation. I agree regarding the teenage mindset. Our kids are growing up way too quickly. I may still have been playing with dolls when I was 12! I certainly wasn't wearing makeup...

Book No. 86: A Passion for Nature by Donald Worster. Mine, 544 pp., 4 Stars.

I've been reading and savoring this book off and on for several months. As a longtime fan of John Muir, I was mostly familiar with his role as founder of the Sierra Club and his love for Yosemite and the mountains of California. One of my highlights of a San Francisco trip in the 1980s was a walk in the beautiful Muir Woods.

This in-depth biography by a historian gives the full picture of this Scottish immigrant including his harsh upbringing, his 1,000 mile walk as a young man to Florida where he almost died of malaria, and his deep love for Alaska which I share. I also learned he was a talented artist. Detailed sketches about his many journeys into the wild captivated me.

I mistakenly thought of him as a recluse but found out that he loved people and had many rich and influential friends, including Teddy Roosevelt. He was also at home with the "common" man or woman, especially if they shared his commitment to the natural world. He married in his 40s and was a good husband and father to two daughters. He had a passion for nature yet led a well-rounded life. Recommended.

>190 Donna828: Had to smile at dolls when you were 12. The Christmas two weeks after I turned 12 my mother honored my request to not get a doll for the first time in my life but then, in mid-January, she took me to a store and asked me to choose a doll because she couldn't stand the thought that I had out-grown them. I chose a Madame Alexander doll that is one of only two dolls I still have. Never really played with her but she is a lovely keep-sake.

>190 Donna828: I may still have been playing with dolls when I was 12! I was exactly the opposite as a child. All my dolls ended up naked and abandoned in a corner of my bedroom. I think the last time someone gave me a doll I was about 8. Now a construction kit was a very different story ...

Good review of A Passion for Nature. It sure sounds like something I would like. I hope your week is off to a good start.

You made your 75?!

Congrats on reading way beyond 75, Donna!

>191 Donna828: Looks really good! Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth, along with Big Sur and King’s Canyon, which is next door to Sequoia, and spent a lot of time in Berkeley and San Francisco, where his name still invokes reverence. I’ve never read a biography about him though.

I have an unscheduled day today. What better what to get it started than by getting caught up with LT Friends?

>192 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, thanks for sharing the story about your Madame Alexander doll. They are precious and so is your story. I have kept a few of my dolls but they are packed away. My Steiff teddy bear is still out, however, and a good reminder of all the stuffed animals I've loved over the years.

>193 SandDune: It's wonderful to see you here, Rhian. I'm afraid I have been an absent visitor lately...a problem soon to be fixed. I know that all little girls don't love dolls. I have five granddaughters that preferred playing with other things, although a few of them went through the Barbie stage.

>194 msf59: The John Muir biography is definitely in your wheelhouse, Mark. It's long and detailed so I stretched it out over the course of several months. That worked for me. I feel like I know the man and would have loved to visit him, but doubt I could have kept up with him on his long hikes. We got 3(!) inches of rain on Monday and Tuesday which was a great way to start the week. Our drought was getting serious.

>195 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. Yes! It was a great feeling...now I'm up for my usual 100+. I've read some long books this year and am not that concerned about the numbers.

>196 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg. I've been reading so many good books lately. Happy Reader here!

>197 Storeetllr: My parents lived in Southern California after my father retired from the army, Mary, so I'm more familiar with that part of the state. I would love to visit Yosemite someday. I'm so glad to hear the Muir name "still invokes reverence". It should. He was a great conservationist and deserves the accolades. I would like to read some of his writing. I think I'll start with his book about Alaska as I have such fond memories of our trip there for our 40th anniversary. That was 14+ years ago. Time to go back!

Book No. 87: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. 576 pp., 3.8 Stars.

18-year-old Emmett gets an early release from a juvenile reformatory in Kansas because his father died and he is the sole caretaker for his 8-year-old brother Billy. They have an old Studebaker, some cash left by their father, and a plan to follow the postcard trail to California left by their mother years ago. It's all good until two 'friends'--one a wily scalawag with a warped sense of justice and the other a detached rich kid--intervene with plans of their own.

Four people with different agendas lead to adventure, dashed hopes, and downright mayhem. I wanted another 5-star book, but this one tried to do too much and took too many side trips. The multiple narrators grew tiresome and repetitive. I thought the book ran out of gas at and did not live up to its potential. I left my signature quote for the end of my remarks to sum up my disappointment.

"Questions can be so tricky, like forks in the road...the next thing you know you're headed off in a whole new direction. In all probability, this new road will lead you to places that are perfectly agreeable, but sometimes you just want to go in the direction you were already headed."

And that's the problem I had with this book. I wanted the promised road trip to California rather than the fork in the road. Oh well, I still liked the book pretty well. After all, it's by one of my favorite authors so I should cut him some slack.

>201 Donna828: It's too bad it didn't completely live up to its potential.

Happy Friday, Donna. We had very similar feelings about The Lincoln Highway. Too many detours. I am just about finished with Courting Mr. Lincoln, which has turned out to be a nice surprise.

>201 Donna828: Totally agree

>200 Donna828: That's where I lived for 35+ years (SoCal), but I traveled to Northern California often during that time. My daughter's parental grandparents lived in Berkeley, and I was in love with Big Sur and Yosemite and visited as often as I could. I also did my first white-water rafting trip on the American River near Sacramento.

Wow, 14 years since you had your Alaska adventure. I don't think I knew you then, but I think I remember you talking about it when another LT friend was planning her Alaskan cruise. I could be wrong; it's just a vague memory.

Book No. 89: The Winners by Fredrick Backman. Library, 673 pages, 4 stars.

"Keep it simple. That's a common piece of advice in hockey, as it is in life. Never make things more complicated than they need to be, don't think too much, and ideally not at all. Perhaps that ought to apply to stories like this as well, because it shouldn't take long to tell, it starts right here and ends in less than two weeks, and how much can happen in two hockey towns during that time? Not much, obviously.

Only everything." (Page 2)

If you've read anything by Backman, you know you are in for an emotional and intricate story. At 673 pages, be prepared for a big commitment to a large cast of characters--some old friends (and foes) along with a few new faces and situations. Backman starts out with a ferocious storm in the northern forest of Sweden where the two neighboring towns of Hed and Beartown are continuing their intense rivalry over their respective hockey teams. There is a birth and a death that night that also tore the roof off Hed's hockey arena, forcing them to share the Beartown space until major repairs can be made. At least we know from the beginning that the small town dramas of the past two books in the series have escalated with complicated loyalties and connections in these two isolated towns where "life starts with hockey".

This book is a real life interrupter. The foreshadowing starts on Page One. I read with my 'heart in my mouth' for most of the book. This will be a 5-star read for many people who are able to persevere with unmitigated adversity. Personally, I took a star away because I felt manipulated by the exaggerated sentimentalism. I guess that's just another way of saying it was a little too intense for my tastes, although I will continue with this author and hope for shorter books in the future.

>206 Donna828: I haven't read any Backman since Anxious People, not that I didn't like it just not been on my radar. Four stars from you though makes me think I need to add this one to the TBR list.

>202 thornton37814: I had pretty high standards for Mr. Towles, Lori.

>203 msf59: I will have to look into the Lincoln book, Mark. I think I need to get away from long meandering books for awhile...

>204 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you, Reba. :-)

>205 Storeetllr: Alaska made a big impression on me, Mary. It is a wilder and more isolated version of the Northern California mountains. I hope I can get back there someday.

>207 RebaRelishesReading: Absolutely, Reba. Backman has an unusual style which I enjoy. I just felt a little beaten down by the negativity and melancholy in his last book. I did like it and recommend it for those with lots of time of patience. Haha.

Hi Donna! Hope you're having a good weekend!

>201 Donna828: I had trouble reading The Lincoln Highway. I didn't finish it. It came so highly recommended by my friends at the local library. I started it, but just could not get into it.

>208 Donna828: I hope you do get back to Alaska, Donna. It sounds wonderful! I never made it that far north (I may have mentioned that I'm not a fan of cold), and now doubt I'll do any more traveling. Even the thought of driving an hour to my daughter's father-in-law's in New Jersey for Thanksgiving is daunting. (I'm already thinking of ways to get out of going.)

Hi, Donna. Glad to hear you really enjoyed The Winners. I plan on getting to it, early next year. I liked Us Against You but did not love it. I am also a big Alaska fan. We hope to get back there again.

Book No. 89: Driftless by David Rhodes. Borrowed from St. Louis University Library, 429 pp., 4.6 Stars.

"After the settlers cut down the trees and dug up all the lead and gold they could find, many abandoned the Driftless in search of flatter, richer farming. Those who remained were generally the more stubborn agriculturists, eking a living from small farms perched on the side of eroded hills. Like the Badger State totem that burrows in the ground for both residence and defense, they refused to leave. For better or worse, their roots ran deep."

If you enjoy books that probe deeply into the characters' lives, you will probably love this one about the residents of the small, isolated community of Word, Wisconsin. There are many struggles faced by the people of Word, but there were many joys along the way. People helped each other and did big and small kindnesses without expecting anything in return. I found it very uplifting despite the injustices faced by the dairy farmers and one short chapter about dog fighting. It is labeled as such so I read it quickly with one eye closed. ;-)

Thank you to Bonnie Renzi, who is greatly missed here, for the recommendation. I put it off because I had to request it from a different library system, but it was well worth the little bit of extra trouble to get a copy. Now I have to look for the other books by David Rhodes, an author who combines great storytelling with sublime writing.

Thank you Rachel, Linda, Mary, and Mark for keeping my thread somewhat alive. I wish I had more time for LT these days just as I wish I had more time for reading. I see that I misnumbered my books upthread. I am seriously concerned about making my goal of 100. Oh well, I've read some great books and am happy about that.

>210 The_Hibernator: I fully intended to make it here over the weekend, Rachel. I did check in with you and read about your scary accident. Hope all is well.

>211 Whisper1: The Lincoln Highway was a disappointment for me, Linda, and I can see why you quit reading. I have to be seriously offended before I totally give up on a book, but I kind of wish I had those hours of reading back again.

>212 Storeetllr: I should be fonder of cold weather than I am, Mary, being of Norwegian descent, but I am a wimp on days like today. We walked in "feels like" 15-degree weather this morning. I was bundled up with multiple layers. So much work to keep our Penny happy.

>213 msf59: Mark, I am not in the top tier of Backman fans around here. He plays on the emotions with a heavy hand. I just finished a book I see you have read and liked. David Rhodes in Driftless left me like a wet noodle emotionally without effort. I guess I don't like being told how I should feel about things. I do like Backman's storytelling if he could just go easy on the editorializing. Sorry to sound grouchy. I don't think I'm getting enough sleep these days.

My dad is reading The Lincoln Highway, so I'll wait for his verdict before I completely write it off. But I'm glad you liked the next Backman -- I already have that on my radar. : )

Great comments on Driftless, Donna. I'm pretty sure Bonnie gets credit for bringing it to my attention too. I miss her presence here as well, although I know she lurks a bit because every once in a while she'll comment on my thread or elsewhere.

Anyway, the book was a 5-star read which doesn't happen often. I loved your comment in >215 Donna828:, that Rhodes' writing "left you like a wet noodle emotionally without effort." I've been meaning to look into his other books but haven't gotten around to it yet.

>216 Berly: Hi Kim. I hope you read The Lincoln Highway. After all, it is an Amor Towles book. Even though I didn’t like the direction it took (haha), it had some memorable characters and good writing. My disappointment doesn’t mean it was a bad book.

>217 lauralkeet: I saw Bonnie’s response on your thread about The Frozen Thames, a book that I own and love. It was good to see her smiling face and I am so happy for you writing those 1,000 reviews! That is an amazing feat. I rarely post a review these days…just quit for some reason.

Oh wow, thanks Donna. I honestly was paying no attention to the number of reviews I'd written; the writing itself had become a habit. And then one day a few months back, I noticed. And I realized that even with the slow reading year I was having, I would probably hit 1000 this year. I'm not sure what made me "see" the statistic but I'm glad I did. I would have been kind of bummed if the milestone had passed without me even noticing!

>218 Donna828: Of course I will give TLH a chance! I just have to know where to set my expecatio bar. ; )

>219 lauralkeet: Congrats on 1,000 reviews!! I have no idea what my stats are....

Happy Wednesday, Donna. I also warbled extensively about Driftless. I think a few of us read in about 2 years ago. We also read Jewelweed, the follow-up. Not nearly as strong as the first one but still a worthy read.

I MISS Bonnie too! We should sign a petition.

Great comments on Driftless, Donna.

>221 msf59: I'll sign!

>214 Donna828: Oh yes, yes, yes. I'm so happy you found something to love in Driftless, Donna. Such a great book. I have no idea how I came to own it but I'm glad I finally picked it up. The follow-up, Jewelweed was good but not the knock out that the first volume was.

>217 lauralkeet: >218 Donna828: So much to comment on here. I miss interacting with everyone on my own thread but I don't miss maintaining a thread. I just found it to be too time consuming and too hard. I don't expect I will do that anytime soon. I do like keeping a list of what I've read there though so still thinking about it. Like you Donna, I haven't written a review in a long time. I just quit too. And I don't expect I'll resume doing that anytime soon either. I just am not interested in writing reviews anymore. I was curious enough to look up how many I'd written when Laura posted that she'd written 1,000. I've only written 500, a piker by comparison and oddly, when I look back at reviews I wrote 5-10 years ago I can't even believe I wrote them. I know I'm not as capable any longer. I just want to read the books and enjoy them by saying nothing at all or possibly a sentence or two when I'm so moved. On the book page I use the edit your book feature to write a couple of sentences that are only for my consumption so I can remember what made the book memorable for me. Or not. Whatever my mood. I do and will lurk, however, and speak up when I have something pithy to say. Lol.

>221 msf59: >223 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Mark and Reba. I appreciate the high regard.

>224 brenzi: Bonnie, I really appreciate your comments about maintaining a thread. I used to have a book blog (which is what started me writing reviews in the first place) and then one day ... I just couldn't. And I stopped. Reviews are still a habit but I'm putting far less effort into them than back in my blogging days. I think I'm gradually moving towards something simpler and easier. I like your "write a couple sentences" method a lot and have made note of it as a possibility for me.

I'm just glad you're still here lurking and speaking up!

A CHQ friend posted a photo of East Aurora today! Holy snowmen, that's a lot of white for November!!!! Hope you're tucked up safe and warm with lots of books and plenty to eat.

>226 RebaRelishesReading: It's Snowvember Reba. Hahaha. I fought the hordes at Wegman's on Wednesday so I have plenty to eat and of course I have plenty of books. And I haven't lost power or internet. If I still lived at the house I was in before I moved in 2015 I would be buried like everyone else out there but fortunately at this location I have about maybe 6-8" which is nothing in the greater scheme of things. Driveway and street are plowed and it stopped snowing this afternoon. All good.

Hi Donna. I just realized that I was lost went I posted at 226! Sorry about that. Hope all is well with you too although I'm not quite as worried about you having 6 feet of snow outside like I was with Bonnie.

It's great to have a flurry of visitors, much better than snow this time of year with a holiday coming up. I used to put up baby pictures of my grandchildren to encourage visits, but now I just have to mention Bonnie. Haha.

>219 lauralkeet: You have developed a good habit, Laura. It made me curious about my reviews and found out I have posted almost 500. I just might pop a few old thoughts from past threads over there so I can make it an even number...and then rest on my laurels. I'm a much better reader than writer.

>220 Berly: That Expectation Bar is important for sure, Kim. Mine was set way too high. Enjoy The Lincoln Highway when you get to it. Many people have loved it.

>221 msf59: I probably missed your warbling, Mark, in my sabbatical year. One more reason to keep plucking along on LT. I will probably have an abbreviated thread again next year. I will request a copy of Jewelweed so I can keep up with you. Our tastes are very similar except for those picture books you like. LOL.

>222 BLBera: Thanks for thinking my comments were great, Beth. The book gets all the credit for greatness, though. I'm so glad I read it.

>223 RebaRelishesReading: I signed the virtual petition, too, Reba.

>224 brenzi: A Bonnie Visit! I am truly honored, and I completely understand taking a break. I don't post nearly as much as I used to as it takes away from my limited reading time. I'm glad you're still reading threads and got the urge to chime in. It's so good to know that you're still with us in a quiet way. xxoo

>225 lauralkeet: >226 RebaRelishesReading: >227 brenzi: >228 RebaRelishesReading: I am happy to host this mini-reunion. If I have more notice, I'll bake some cookies next time! And, Bonnie, it's good to know you're not completely snowed in, although 8 inches sounds like a lot of snow to me. Reba, you weren't lost at all. I'm glad you joined the party.

Book No. 90: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. Library, 288 pp., 3.8 Stars.

"I grew up in a world of violence, but I myself was never violent at all. Yes, I played pranks and set fires and broke windows, but I never attacked people. I never hit anyone. I was never angry. I just didn't see myself that way...I saw more than anything, that relationships are not sustained by violence but by love." (262)

For the record, I'm not completely losing my mind. I got my numbers mixed up because I neglected to post my comments on this absorbing memoir which I read for book group a few weeks ago. It got lost in the shuffle when I became immersed in >214 Donna828:. I wanted to be sure to include the response from members of my group. We all liked the book very much. There were several that didn't know much about apartheid and found it enlightening. My favorite aspect was the relationship Trever had with his mother. I thought the book itself needed more organization in the chronology of events.

I hope he will write another book about his early career as a stand-up comedian that led to his role on late-night TV. It's interesting that he's going back on the road again...methinks he is looking for an excuse to work on his next book. I sure hope so.

Book No. 91: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. Library, 416 Pages, 4.5 Stars.

""What is a game? ... It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever." (336)

This is a book I was going to pass on until my niece in Colorado (retired English teacher) assured me I would like it. She knows me better than I know myself. I got immersed in the relationship story between two youngsters in a California hospital where Sam was recovering from a crushed foot and Sadie was a somewhat bored visitor of her older sister who was undergoing cancer treatments. Their friendship was based on the explosive gaming industry of the 1980s, something which doesn't interest me at all...or at least it didn't until I read this book.

There were many ups and downs in this platonic friendship and the setting moved from Southern California to Boston and then back to CA again. I learned so much about the hard work of making a video game and the intense creativity that goes into it. "Tomorrow" will definitely be on my Best Books list this year. It really made an impression on me that I am still processing.

>231 Donna828: I have seen this one around in my local book store but was unsure about it. Glad it was a good read. I shall put it on my list.

Happy week ahead :)

Hi, Donna. Wasn't Born a Crime wonderful? He is such a talent. I also have Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on my obese TBR list. Just trying to bookhorn it in. I am so glad we will be reading Miriam Toews together. Have a safe trip to CO.

>224 brenzi: So nice to see you check in, Bonnie. We are just glad to hear that you are not abandoning us completely. You will always be one of our favorite LT pals.

>232 Donna828: Oh excellent, I'm so glad to see your positive reaction to Gabrielle Zevin's newest, Donna. It's gotten mixed reviews from my library patrons, but it's still on my list and I'm hoping to read it someday soon-ish. Maybe early next year? (Glances at ridiculous pile of library books waiting patiently)

Thank you as always for books, thank you for this group and thanks for you. Have a lovely day, Donna.

Happy Thanksgiving, Donna! Hope you’re enjoying your trip to Colorado.

>232 Donna828: I’ve been wondering about that one, Donna, and only recently added it to my wishlist. I was put off by the gaming industry aspect which also isn’t of interest to me, but I keep seeing good comments about it. Your review has clinched it for me.

You lucked out on the weather for your time in CO. Safe travels back to MO!

Book No. 92: Wait for Signs by Craig Johnson. Hoopla Audio, 228 pp., 3.5 Stars.

Short stories, some were Christmas related which was a fun surprise. They were easy to listen to and made the miles fly by on our 12-hour road trip to Colorado.



Book No. 93: The Highwayman by Craig Johnson. Hoopla Audio, 208 pp., 3 Stars.

I enjoyed this book about phantom transmissions from a Wyoming state trooper who died in a fiery wreck 50 years ago, however it was hard for me to pay attention as I was tired of traveling and I admit to dozing off a time or two. Perhaps that's why I was confused a bit. I'm afraid I wasn't a very good traveling companion for Sheriff Longmire.

Book No. 94: All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews. Hoopla Audio, 336 pp., 4 Stars.

This is my second book by Miriam Toews, and it was a very dark book.. Elfreda (Elf) is a talented concert pianist married to a wonderful man...and she just wants to die. The book opens in a psychiatric ward in Winnipeg so I'm not giving anything away. Her devoted younger sister, Yolanda (Yolie) doesn't have a very pretty life with two children by different fathers and no savings, but she is far from home in support of her sister. There is a lot of emotion in the story, and it will stay with me a long time. I love how this author makes me think and become immersed in the situations she writes about.

I am running out of steam and need to go to bed early again. I appreciate the messages from Anita, Mark, Mary, Paul, Mary in NY, and Joanne. I will reply in the morning after a good night's rest. Goodnight! *Big Yawn*

>240 Donna828: Hi Donna, All My Puny Sorrows is on my tbr pile for awhile. Your review prods me to read this book.

Welcome back, Donna. I would think the Longmire books would be perfect companions on the road. I used to love walking the route with Walt & Co. I am also behind on the series. I will have to add The Western Star to my TBR. I also want to reread All My Puny Sorrows. Hopefully early next year.

Hope you were able to get a good night's sleep and have a great day, Donna!

We decided to take Penny to CO with us to meet her nephew Duke. Big mistake. Despite repeated attempts in neutral territory, we couldn’t get Duke out of attack mode. He is super sweet with people and grew up with his brother Bo (think Dukes of Hazard) who died a few months ago of cancer. We would never have attempted this with two big boxers, but since Duke was missing his life-long companion, we thought he might accept Penny. Wrong! Penny wasn’t too traumatized. Once she got over her initial fear, she tried to ignore him.

This picture with Hope was taken on the same walk. We love this beautiful park in Brighton, CO, about a 10-minute walk from our hotel. We prefer to not stay with Mike, Rebecca, and Hope because they manage an AirBnB in their house! They live in the upstairs and rent out the walkout basement that has five bedrooms. a full kitchen, and a common area. I’m sure their neighbors love that. :-)

>245 Donna828: Oh dear!! So sorry for Penny and for you!!

No worries, Reba. We all survived. I need to find a good place to board Penny for our next trip out west. Our kids in town love her, but their yard isn't fenced and she's a runner when she gets the chance so that doesn't work well. We will figure it out.

>233 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, I don't think you will be disappointed in the Trevor Noah memoir. It was better than I expected it to be as I'm not too familiar with his type of comedy.

>234 msf59: Mark, the Tomorrow book will make my Top Ten this year. It was a pleasant surprise, although I was an A.J. Fickry fan.

>235 bell7: I can definitely see the mixed reviews, Mary. I chose to focus on the relationships in the book rather than the gaming aspect, although that was also pretty interesting as it was set in the 80s when the games I knew were in vogue. I had teenagers back then so Mario Brothers, etc. were part of the family. :-)

>236 PaulCranswick: I'm very thankful for you, Paul, and your wonderful contributions to this group. I'm looking forward to going to Africa with you next year. :-)

>237 Storeetllr: Hi Mary. Other than the dog situation, the only negative was not being able to fit in a meetup with Joanne, Anne, and Kris. I wish you were still out there because I'm pretty sure New York isn't on our list of travels unless one of our kids or grandkids move there.

>238 Copperskye: I'm not much of a book warbler, Joanne, but this one deserves it because the subject matter is kind of misleading imo. Gaming was definitely in there but I think you could substitute writing poetry and get the same effect. It's about working hard to make something work and appeal to people. Hope is quite the little Minecraft gamer so I have learned to see the value of those types of games that make kids plan and think things through.

I had to unwind after our whirlwind trip, so what better way than to pick up my favorite series and retreat to Northern Minnesota? Reading is my Happy Place.



Book No. 95: Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger, Library, 357 pp., 3.6 Stars.

"In all good is the possibility of evil, and in all evil the possibility of good." (130)

The Cork O'Connor books are like visiting old friends. I look forward to them and am sad when I leave. This was No. 11 in the series, and the good news is that I have seven more to look forward to. The even better news is that I own most of them and won't have to wait for them at the library.

There is a lot of suspense in this one. It was hard to figure out who the bad guys were. And there's always a bad guy in these books. Cork's oldest daughter Jenny had a lead role in the book and was supported by her dad and my favorite character, Henry Meloux. As usual, some of the action was over-the-top, but I just roll with it and get caught up in the story. I do love these books.

Hi Donna - I'm glad you got to see your family; it sounds like you had an action-filled trip!

I also loved Born a Crime; I listened to Noah read the audiobook and it was great. I'm happy to see your positive comments about the new Zevin. I've been wondering about it.

I also like Krueger; I'll have to check to see where I am in the series.

Still catching up...

>242 Whisper1: Keep the tissues handy, Linda. It's a sad story but very well done.

>243 msf59: I almost gave up on the Longmire books after the one set in Mexico, but I caught the "bug" again and will continue the series next year. I need to listen to Women Talking so we can talk about it, Mark. It will have to wait for a few days. I have duplicate bridge tonight and several things on tap for tomorrow.

>244 bell7: Sleeping is no problem for me these days, Mary. :-) The weather is pleasant today so I will get two Penny walks in. We both enjoy our walks.

>252 BLBera: Hi Beth. Looking back, it was a fun and worthwhile trip. I heard that the audio book was excellent. It would have been good to hear some of the African words pronounced, plus he has an excellent voice and delivery. I watched some Daily News shows on YouTube so I could get acquainted with his style before our book club met.

I will pay a visit to you and then take a break from LT for a few days. It's been fun catching up.

Book No. 96: A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan. Library, 373 pp., 3.5 Stars.

“Khattak asked himself the question whether it wasn't just Saint-Isidore, and whether there was a place in this world where any member of his community could live unencumbered and at peace.”

A mass shooting in a Quebec Mosque (unfortunately loosely based on a true event) has Canadian authorities calling in the team of Esa Khattak (a devout Muslim) and Rachel Getty to help the authorities in the small town with their investigation. They find a situation full of hate and panic.

While I enjoy reading about the friendship and respect between Esa and Rachel, I am tired of the focus on their romantic lives with others. It's distracting in a book with so many other more important details to consider. Just my opinion. Others might like the distraction from political and cultural themes.

I've been a fan of this series as well, Donna. It's been a while since I read this one, but I think you have a point about the personal lives intruding.

Hi Donna! It's good to catch up with you and all your reading.

I also really enjoyed Born a Crime. I'm sad that Thursday was his last day on The Daily Show. But it looks like he will be in Missoula this spring. I'll definitely plan to go!

Hey Donna! Hope things are going well. Wow! Is he still writing Cork O'Conner books? I read the first two because they're set in an area I'm very familiar with, but I don't have the patience for long series in the mystery / crime setting. I just like one now and then, not a whole bunch of them. :)

>251 Donna828: Okay, I need another series - seriously, I do! Your review makes this series sound good, so I’ve borrowed Iron Lake from the library. Thanks!

It's been a crazy busy ten days or so. I'm not complaining (too much) because it's mostly been fun stuff like Christmas lunches with friends and company Christmas parties.

Thank you Beth, Janet, Rachel, and Mary for keeping my thread from drying up and blowing away! I have missed Library Thing and reading in general. I stalled on McCarthy's The Passenger at almost 200 pages into it. My brain just couldn't take the digressions into Bobby Western's schizophrenic sister's life anymore. This is a book that demands 110% concentration! Then I picked up Horse and felt resentful about my limited reading time. I am ready for the holidays to wind down.

Happy Saturday evening. It sounds like you had ten busy days of a lot of fun!

The holiday is getting is taking away from reading time. I'll be sure to catch up in January when the snow flies and I warm and cozy inside.

All good wishes for a wonderful holiday!!!

>260 Donna828: Always nice to see you've posted when I log on and glad you're having lots of Christmas fun (or "mostly" fun :>). Hope you find a little more time to read in what's left of this year.-- How the heck did it get to be almost 2023 anyway?!?!

>256 BLBera: I seem to always have a little quibble with my books, even the ones I love. On the whole, the Esa/Rachel series has been a positive experience. They are a good team.

>257 streamsong: Lucky you, Janet, having an evening with Trevor Noah in your future. I can see why he might miss the live audience for his stand-up comedy routine. I do hope he writes a book about his career development.

>258 The_Hibernator: Rachel, I've been spacing those Cork O'Conner books over several years. I learned the hard way that I quickly tire of series books if I binge read them. I just love the Native American connection and the descriptions of Northern Minnesota. He even ventured into Michigan's UP in at least one of his books.

>259 Storeetllr: Good for you, Mary. I hope you and Cork get along. As with many series, the books get better as you get to know the characters and their quirks after spending time with them in various situations. You will have to let me know your reaction.

>261 Whisper1: Hi Linda, thanks for popping in. I didn't mean to sound grinch-like. I do love Christmas and spending time with people I don't see on an everyday basis. Like you, I am longing for some long cozy reading sessions in January.

Enjoy the joys of this season with Kayla and the rest of your family. Hohoho.

>262 RebaRelishesReading: Christmas sneaks up on me every year, Reba. The lunches and parties are fun for sure, but I've been eating more than I need to which affects my sleep. Haha, first world problems, right? Thanks for stopping by and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

>264 Donna828: Hi Donna. You did not sound grinch-like at all. Spending time with those we love is what Christmas is about!

Book No. 97: Winter Hours by Mary Oliver. Library, 109 pp., 4.2 stars.

"I could not be a poet without the natural world. Someone else could. But not me. For me the door to the wood is the door to the temple. Under the trees, along the pale slopes of sand, I walk in an ascendant relationship to rapture, and with words I celebrate this rapture. I see, and dote upon, the manifest." (98)

I almost decided not to rate this book. I plan to read more poetry collections in the upcoming new year and am not confident enough to rate poems. However, this one was more of an essay collection with some poems included so it will get the top of my "admirable" rating. I am a big fan of Mary Oliver and enjoyed her thoughts on winter, nature, writing, and the essays on some of her favorite poets. My favorite of these essays focused on Walt Whitman, and I retrieved my copy of Leaves of Grass. I had a bookmark at page 35. I think I will start over and read all 488 pages of it over the course of next year. Yes, she inspired me!

Book No. 98: Horse by Geraldine Brooks. Library, 401 pp., 4.5 Stars.

"He felt the warmth of the horse's body. He breathed the familiar sour-sweet scent. He didn't try to stanch his tears... Jarret wiped his nose on his forearm and reached for the brushes. Not because he cared about getting the horse ready for Scott, but because it was what he loved, and at that moment the only thing he could think to do to quiet his agitated heart. He leaned into Darley's flank and felt the horse respond with gentle acceptance. Only horses were honest, in the end." (117)

Geraldine Brooks has written yet another fine book that combines a riveting story and the historical facts that surround it. Lexington was a record-breaking race horse in the time of the Civil War who was trained and pampered by a young enslaved black man. It was interesting how Ms. Brooks shifted gently between several different time frames that spanned approximately 170 years. I much preferred the heartfelt story between a boy and "his" horse as they were both sold and moved around from place to place, but always depended on each other. There was a third party in this love affair, the aspiring young artist Thomas J. Scott who left us some beautiful paintings of a magnificent horse.



I appreciate how Brooks weaves real characters (such as Lexington and Mr. Scott) with fictional elements. She also does a fine job of combining natural science, art, and history in a format that even someone without an extensive background in these areas can understand. She brings history to life.

This was shaping up to be a 5-star book for me until the author's political views influenced the modern side of the story. Oh well, that's just me. I still highly recommend the book. Brooks is a wonderful storyteller and researcher. Be sure to read the Afterword and Historical Connections at the end.

Happy Sunday, Donna. Based on Joe's thoughts on The Passenger, I knew it was a difficult read. I am sure I will get to it one of these days. I am a big McCarthy fan. I am so glad to see but not very surprised that you loved Horse. Yah! I hope to get to it early in the New Year. I will also add Winter Hours to my list. I am also a big fan of Oliver and have not read this one.

Hi Donna - I know what you mean about finding time to read during these busy days. I read with my morning coffee, and sometimes that's the only time I have. I am a Mary Oliver fan and Winter Hours goes on my list. Horse was already there.

The new Lars Mytting book The Reindeer Hunters is now in my husband's hands. I may not get to it before it has to go back to the library but I will request it again. I am also reading and in the middle of Demon Copperhead and it is a whopper. Sadly I had to return Horse but I will request it again too. Best of the Christmas season to you and family!

>268 msf59: I hope you're having a good Sunday, Mark. I read Joe's review of The Passenger before I requested it. I like books that make me think so I will probably give it another go when the timing is right for me. Suttree is my favorite McCarthy book. Have you read that one?

>269 BLBera: I thoroughly enjoyed Winter Hours, Beth. Time spent with Mary Oliver's thoughts on life and nature relaxes me. I plan to read more of her earlier writing in the new year.

>270 mdoris: Thank you for those Christmas wishes, Mary. The same goes for you and your family. Will you be having company? I will have the new Lars Mytting book in my hot little hands very soon. It may be Book #100 for me. Or I may save it until after Christmas when I have more time to really savor it.

Donna, you are reading some great books. I'll be back to add some to my tbr pile.

In the meantime, I send all good wishes for a wonderful holiday!

Hi Donna! Happy holidays! I can't wait for the New Year!

Hi Donna!! Just catching up here. I am so glad you loved the Trevor Noah book -- I thought it was excellent and I would love for him to write the next one. I listened to it on audio and it was great to hear it all in his voice, including the African accents. Reading has been good this year (99 hoping for the magic 100), but I haven't had the energy or time to be here much. Talking to my Dr tomorrow cuz I think I have long-term Covid stuff going on. We'll see. Well, that's enough from me! Hope you enjoy the holidays!!

(and Bonnie)!!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, Donna!

Happy Christmas from my Christmas gnome!

It's almost here! And I'm almost ready! I just want to wish anyone stopping by over the next few days a wonderful Christmas. Things will be lively at our house this weekend with five grandkids around to make things merry and bright. I sure wish Hope could join her cousins, but we had our time together at Thanksgiving this year. I will try and get a few pictures to share when I get a chance.

>272 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. I send good wishes to you as well.

>273 The_Hibernator: Rachel, I too am looking forward to the new year and new beginnings.

>274 Berly: Hi Kim, I'm about to reveal my hundredth book... Can't wait to see what yours is. Good luck on that energy thing. I need some of that! Long Covid is scary. I hope that is not your diagnosis.

>275 Carmenere: It is SO good to see you here, Lynda. I must get back in the groove and check out your 2023 thread. Sorry we have lost touch. My bad!

276 Oh my, I love your Christmas gnome, Rhian. Is that your own creation? I know you are handy with a crochet hook. That was a striking blanket you finished awhile ago. I hope you have it out for Christmas.

I have a few books to list and then I will be off for a few days with family.
Happy Holidays to all my visitors and fellow book lovers!

Book No. 99: Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan. Hoopla Audio, 146 pp., 4 Stars

This was a melancholy realistic book by a reliable author for me. O'Nan writes these "slice of life" stories so well. The Red Lobster is closing and Manny the manager is trying his best to make the last night a good one for his employees and the few patrons that have ventured out on a snowy Connecticut night. I have not worked in the food industry, but I imagine it is one of those demanding jobs with few bright spots. I listened to this on a longish car ride to a Christmas party and it made me understand what lengths the restaurant staff goes to in order to make their customers happy. I will probably read it again in print form sometime. Thank you to Katie for the recommendation.

Book No. 100: Foster by Claire Keegan. Foster by Claire Keegan. Hoopla Audio, Narrated by Aoife McMahon, 128 pages, 4 Stars.

Claire Keegan has done it again. She wrote another tender story that melted my heart and made me want to read (or in this case listen to) it again. So I did.

My heart went out to the young girl telling her story about being sent to live with distant relatives when her mother was due to give birth to yet another sibling. She is petrified as her father dumps her like an unwanted puppy. She is confused because she seems to be wanted and not just another mouth to feed. I loved how she slowly emerged from her shell after receiving the love and attention she learned to crave.

Keegan packs a punch in her novellas. Best to have some tissues handy. I hope she writes a full-length novel someday.

>277 Donna828: Yes, it is my own work.

Hi Donna! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to keep in better touch with my LT friends.

>190 Donna828: I loved Anxious People and so did most people in my book club. I started wearing makeup when I was about 16, stopped ‘til my early 30s, then stopped again when I couldn’t wear contacts any more and could hide behind glasses. It's been marvelously freeing over the last 30 or so years!

>206 Donna828: exaggerated sentimentalism Ugh. Immediate turnoff. I want sentimentalism to be subtle and powerful.

>231 Donna828: I was stunned by Born a Crime when I listened to him read it in July of 2017. I do hope he’ll write another book, too.

>277 Donna828: Sounds like a wonderful time for you all.

Malaysia's branch of the 75er's wishes you and yours a happy holiday season, Donna.

Happy holidays, Donna! Hope your Christmas was merry, as it must have been with the 5 grands. Happy New Year!

Sounds like your Christmas was a busy one and enjoyable even if it kept you from the books. Have a Happy New Year and more reading time in January. Congrats on reading 100!

>279 Donna828: I got that one in the Christmas Swap. I haven't gotten around to reading it yet although I brought it with me because library holds decided to all come in at once!

>279 Donna828: I love both the look and the sound of that one! I will check if my library has it ...stat. :)

Happy New year!

Oh boy, just checked and the llbrary has 30 holds for one copy of Foster but now I'm in the queue.

>279 Donna828: Foster was so good!

Happy New Year, Donna!

Whew! It has been quite a month. I am so ready for a quiet January to unwind and get my reading back on track. I came here to update my thread and close up shop for the year and was delighted to find all these visits and good wishes.

Thank you Rhian, Karen, Paul, Kim, Mary, Meg, Lori, Megan, Mary, and Joanne. I wish all of you (and anyone else who stops by) a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Book No. 101: Trickster's Point by William Kent Krueger. Mine, 329 pages, 3 Stars.

Jubal Little and Cork O'Connor go way back to their school days when they were both in love with the same girl, a fetching Indian maiden named Winona. Years later, when Jubal died in Cork's arms, the memories of youth came back to Cork and Winona.

Unfortunately, I thought the plot was a little too convoluted. I usually enjoy Krueger's roundabout way of telling a tale, but my patience was running thin when I read this right before Christmas.

Book No. 102: Haven by Emma Donoghue. Library, 257 pages, 4 Stars.

I started out loving this book. It was so atmospheric as are all of Donoghue's books. She really got into the mind and heart of these three 7th century Irish monks of different ages and backgrounds who shared their strong belief in God. I do like a good adventure/survival story, but this one just made me sad. I wasn't so much surprised as I was disappointed by the Prior's actions. It was a quick read and one that will stay with me.

Happy New Year to you and your family! May it be blessed.