klobrien2 Karen O Reads in 2023 -- Part 1

I live in Minnesota, where this really happened the other day:



Welcome to my 2023 reading thread!

I've been with the 75-bookers for many years now, and I enjoy so much the camaraderie and book talk that happens here. I'm very glad to join with you all again!

The year 2023 has continues to be a terrific time for reading. I find myself reading pretty much as the spirit leads. I participate in the American Author Challenge, and plan to continue with them. A long-term project of mine is to accomplish reads from the "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die" book, so that may guide my reading a little. Current 1001 Books count: 215.

What directs my reading more are my friends here on LT, so keep those recommendations coming!

This is my fourteenth year participating in the 75 Books Challenge. In 2009, I read 94 books; in 2010, I made it to 148!; 153 in 2011; 160 in 2012; 114 in 2013; 92 in 2014; 109 in 2015; 145 in 2016, 210 in 2017, 200 in 2018, 180 in 2019, 225 (3 x 75!) in 2020, 242 in 2021, 286 in 2022. In 2023? Maybe I'll shoot for 287?

In addition to reading books, I've also discovered the world of Great Courses DVD lifelong learning courses. I love them! Below is a list of the courses I've completed, and I will try to always have at least one course going all the time.

A list of the Great Courses I have done can be found here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/331920

I've also begun some serious magazine reading, using my public library as source once again. I keep track of and read some fifteen magazines, on a range of topics: science, quilting, nature, birding, cats, news, etc.

I read three newspapers, two daily (St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune), and one more on Sundays -- the New York Times). I also read a lot of daily newsletters from the NYTimes.

Here's where I'll list the books I read (the number at the end of each line represents the post number where I listed the book).

The books I read in January:

1. Yellowrocket by Todd Boss -- 3
2. Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness by Gary Schmidt -- 24
3. Flying Solo: A Novel by Linda Holmes -- 29
4. Murder in the Dark (Phryne Fisher #16) by Kerry Greenwood -- 40
5. The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk -- 56
6. Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (Agatha Raisin #7) by M. C. Beaton -- 57
7. Molly on the Range: Recipes and Stories from an Unlikely Life on a Farm by Molly Yeh -- 66
8. Game of Thrones, Vol. 4 (Graphic) by Daniel Abrahamson -- 79
9. The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson, MD by Nicholas Meyer -- 80
10. Noah's Ark: From Genesis, Chapters 6 - 9 ad. by Linda Falken, from Metropolitan Museum of Art -- 86
11. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance by Larry Millett -- 91
12. Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose (Cat Kid Comic Club #3) by Dav Pilkey -- 96
13. Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young &@&*! by Art Spiegelman -- 100
14. The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn Jr -- 104
15. Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations (Cat Kid Comic Club #4) by Dav Pilkey -- 108
16. Captain Carter: Woman Out of Time by Jamie Mckelvie -- 111
17. Moonflower Murders (Susan Reyland #2) by Anthony Horowitz -- 123
18. Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway by Theodor Kittelsen, trans. Tiina Nunnally -- 124
19. Milk Street: The World in a Skillet by Christopher Kimball -- 129
20. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum -- 130
21. Selected Poems by U. A. Fanthorpe -- 132
22. Number One is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin, illus. Harry Bliss --141
23. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Agatha Raisin #8) by M. C. Beaton -- 145

The books I read in February:

24. Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar -- 148
25. The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi -- 150
26. Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love by Molly Yeh -- 154
27. Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Richard Brettell -- 155
28. A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin -- 164
29. Bleeding Heart Yard: A Novel by Elly Griffiths -- 165
30. "Modulation," from Best American Short Stories 2009, by Richard Powers - 174
31. Foster by Claire Keegan -- 175
32. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, ill. by Kevin Hawkes -- 176
33. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (Agatha Raisin #9) by M. C. Beaton -- 178
34. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, ill. Robert Ingpen -- 179
35. Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons by Ben Fong-Torres -- 180
36. Where the Wild Things Are: The Art of Maurice Sendak by Maurice Sendak -- 187
37. Agate: What Good is a Moose? by Joy Morgan Dey and Nikki Johnson -- 192
38. A Hole is to Dig by Ruth Krauss, ill. Maurice Sendak -- 193
39. Enola Holmes: The Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer -- 203
40. Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein -- 205
41. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Agatha Raisin #10) by M. C. Beaton -- 206
42. Verity by Colleen Hoover -- 218
43. Small Batch Bakes: Baking Cakes, Cookies, Bars and Buns for One to Six People by Edd Kimber -- 221
44. The Cathedral (Great Courses) by William R. Cook -- 226
45. Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- 230
46. Marigold and Rose: A Fiction by Louise Gluck -- 236
47. Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi -- 237
48. No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Pauline Porizkova -- 254
49. Creature: Paintings, Drawings, and Reflections by Shaun Tan -- 259

Here is where I'll list the authors selected for the 2023 American Authors Challenge, the books I will read, and if I complete them (here's hoping!)

2023 AAC
JANUARY: Children’s classics: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum - COMPLETED
FEBRUARY: Richard Powers: short story "Modulation" -- COMPLETED
MARCH: Poetry: The Best American Poetry 2021, ed. David Lehman -- Reading
APRIL: Ursula Hegi
MAY: John Edgar Wideman
JUNE: Mary Gordon
JULY: US Presidents as authors
AUGUST: Percival Everett
SEPT: American Ladies of Crime
OCT,: Dorothy Canfield Fisher
NOV.: Canadian authors
DEC.: Benjamin Alire Saenz
WILD CARD: AAC 2014 REDUX

My 2003 "Books Read" list (casually kept, and probably incomplete): http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2003-reading-list.html
My 2004 "Books Read" list (see above caveats: things get better!):
http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2004-reading-list.html
My 2005 "Books Read" list (most pathetic list yet): http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2005-reading-list.html
My 2006 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2006-reading-list.htm
My 2007 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2007-reading-list.html
My 2008 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2008-reading-list.html
My 2009 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2009-reading-list.html
My 2010 "Books Read" list : http://librata.blogspot.com/2012/04/karens-2010-reading-list.html

Here is a link to my last thread from 2011: http://www.librarything.com/topic/122919

Here is a link to my last thread from 2012: http://www.librarything.com/topic/138897

Here is a link to my last thread from 2013:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/156012

Here is a link to my thread from 2014: http://www.librarything.com/topic/163564

Here is a link to my thread from 2015: https://www.librarything.com/topic/186139

Here is a link to my thread from 2016: http://www.librarything.com/topic/211096

Here is a link to my last thread from 2017: http://www.librarything.com/topic/268142#

Here is a link to my last thread from 2018: https://www.librarything.com/topic/298557

Here is a link to my one-and-only thread from 2019: https://www.librarything.com/topic/301738

The books I've read in the first half of 2020 (115 of them) are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/314888

The books I read in the second half of 2020 are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/322010#

The books I read in the first half of 2021 are here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/328372#

The books I read in the second half of 2021 are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/333390#

The books I read in the first quarter of 2022 are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338204#n7791489

The books I read in April and May of 2022 are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340601#n7851702

The books I read in June, July, part of August of 2022 are here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342092#

The books I read in August through part of October of 2022 are here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/343494#n7961305

The books I read from October to the end of year are here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/345382#

Good reading to you!

I keep a weekly log of my reading, and here is the final log from last year:

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (12/30/2022):

Actively reading

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance by Larry Millett -- p. 40 of 302
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz -- p. 15 of 357
Yellowrocket: Poems by Todd Boss
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 56 of 210
Flying Solo by Linda Holmes -- p. 63 of 284
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death by M. C. Beaton -- p. 2 of 199

On the Short List for Getting Read

Trust by Hernan Diaz
Before I Forget (Leonard Pitts, Jr.)
The Trees by Percival Everett -- p. 12 of 325
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
Murder in the Dark (Phryne Fisher #16) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 0 of 260
The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
The Canary Trainer by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 10 of 224

So, there--it's January 1st and I have set up my thread on the 2023 75 Books thread! I look forward to seeing you all around the threads and maybe even here! I did well at keeping up with the threads last year, and enjoyed it so much. Here's to 2023!

First Wordle of the year!

Wordle 561 4/6 irate, gnome, niche, whine

🟦⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟦⬜⬜🟧
🟦🟦⬜🟦🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>4 klobrien2: I had CHINE not NICHE, as in "crêpe de"; still a little shocked that it took! in my 4 today, Karen O.

Happy week-ahead's reading!

1. Yellowrocket: Poems by Todd Boss



I've been reading Todd Boss's poetry collections all out of order, because here I am with the first, and I'm reading it last. Oh, well. Lovely book, and I'm sure to return to it.

Here's one of my favorites:

The Truth

is a chewy
treat, like
toffee, only
less sweet,
and slightly
nutty, like
birch bark,
with a salty
aftertaste as
steely as a
flint-spark,
best doused
with straight
whiskey or
dark coffee.

And a small (in lines) poem that ends the book:

Enough

Enough is as good as a feast.
A bird is as good as a beast.
A morning is as good as a day.
Love me in your own way.

Happy new year, Karen!

>5 richardderus: I had to look up your word, Richard, and it has a couple of real meanings, and is a verb and a noun! I learned something today, so I don't have to learn anymore!

So good to see you here, and I'll be looking for your 2023 thread next.

Happy new year!

>6 klobrien2: Happy new year to you, too, Katie! I'll find your thread over here in 2023!

Enjoy your 2023 reads!

Happy new thread and new year, Karen. That's quite the topper! Is that your home?

Also, how did you get those colours in >4 klobrien2:? When I do wordle, it's always yellow and green

Happy New Year, Karen. I LOVE your photo. As a Minnesotan, I understand. I am also a Todd Boss fan. I read Pitch last year and loved it.

Wishing you a comfortable reading year in 2023, Karen.

That is indeed an impressive Minnesotan topper!

Welcome back, Karen!

>11 jessibud2: My topper picture is by opelife.com which is a tshirt company based in Minnesota. There was a day last fall when this weather situation happened in the state, and I just love the picture. I WISH that was my house!

And about the Wordle colors—the orange and blue are considered “high contrast mode” and can be chosen in the Settings of the Wordle game. I just like the colors better than the standard green and gold.

Great to see you here!

>13 PaulCranswick: I’m not seeing your photo, Paul…but I bet it’s a good one!

>12 BLBera: Thanks for visiting! See you around!

>14 drneutron: Great to see you here! Thanks for getting us a place to play!

>1 klobrien2: Excellent topper!

Happy new year :)

Love the topper, especially as a former Minnesotan!!

Happy new thread for the new year Karen!

>18 figsfromthistle: >19 Berly: >20 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you all for stopping by to chat!

Wordle 562 3/6 irate, third, skirt

🟦🟦⬜🟦⬜
🟦⬜🟧🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wishing you a happy 2023! I see you have big plans for the year!

2. Mara's Stories: Glimmers in the Darkness by Gary Schmidt



Stories of the Holocaust and other times, presented beautifully as the tales that Mara, a concentration camp inmate, tells to the children. Her aim is to comfort, but also to carry the history forward, to remember.

It is emotionally difficult to read these stories, as cruel and as hateful as their villains are. It is so important, however, that we never forget. This book is meant for a juvenile audience, but is meaningful and appropriate for adults, as well.

I believe I learned of this book from whisper1--thank you!

I've got a pot of soup going--my highly modified version of Hoppin' John, with spinach and tomatoes added to the mixture, and some spices left out. I mean no sacrilege to the spirits of Cajun cooking by making these changes !

The soup does smell pretty darn good! I was supposed to make it yesterday, to ensure good luck, et al., but today is close enough to the first of the year. Bon appetit!

Started this one (first 3 guesses) pre-caffeine (what was I thinking?!)—very happy to solve at 6!

Wordle 563 6/6 irate, waist, laity,
aphid, attic, antic

🟦⬜🟦🟦⬜
⬜🟦🟦⬜🟦
⬜🟦🟦🟦⬜
🟧⬜⬜🟧⬜
🟧⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

I want to stop in and say thank you for being a subscriber to Autumn Lives Here!

>27 mstrust: I've really enjoyed reading it, so I thought I'd try to reimburse you for the fine job you do. Do you think you'll ever run out of subject material? You haven't yet!

3. Flying Solo: A Novel by Linda Holmes



Charming story of a woman just about to turn 40, returning to her home town in Maine after a time away, after she has pulled the plug on her upcoming marriage. A journey of self-discovery for her and the first love she reconnects with. But this isn't a cookie-cutter romance or mystery. Liked it fine.

>26 klobrien2: Considering there was a caffeine deficit, you're darn good and lucky not to get skunked and no mistake. Imagine! No caffeine! *shudder*

But all's well that ends well, like with Hoppin' John on the 2nd.

Have a lovely Wednesday to come, Karen O.

>28 klobrien2: So far, I have no shortage of ideas and it's just a matter of arranging things for length. So as long as I have readers I think I can stay creepy for a long time.

>1 klobrien2: Happy New Reading Year!!

I also enjoyed Flying Solo. Have you read her other novel ( Evvie Drake Starts Over)? It's also very good.

Hi fellow Wordler! Good luck with your reading in the new year!

>31 mstrust: That’s great to hear!

>32 ocgreg34: Thanks! And the best to you!

>33 katiekrug: Ooh, thanks for the heads up! I was thinking I’d look into the second book. Now, I know I will.

>34 Carmenere: Hi there! Thanks, and the same to you!

Thank you all for stopping by to chat! I love seeing you all here!

Wordle 564 5/6 irate, eager, waver, paler, layer

⬜🟦🟦⬜🟦
⬜🟧⬜🟧🟧
⬜🟧⬜🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟦🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wordle 565 4/6 irate, ebony, cheek, sleek

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟦
🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>24 klobrien2: I read that one several years ago, Karen, and completely agree with your assessment.

Happy New Year! (if a belated one)

>38 alcottacre: Happy new year to you, too, Stasia! Thanks for stopping by!

4. Murder in the Dark (Phryne Fisher #16) by Kerry Greenwood



Entertaining entry in the Phryne Fisher series featuring a multi-day, highly posh (and dangerous) party at the New Year.

Realized I hadn't returned your visit yet, Karen. Duly starred. :)

>41 MickyFine: Hi! Great to see you here. Thanks for stopping by!

And, once again (sigh)...

This post will be a work area for my planning of Nicholas Meyer and Larry Millett books:

The five Sherlock Holmes books of Nicholas Meyer:

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The West End Horror
The Canary Trainer -- reading now
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols
The Return of the Pharaoh

An article in the the PioneerPress on Larry Millett (local author) says that his last “Shadwell Rafferty” book is being published, so I want to reread/read them all again:

Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance -- reading now
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes
The Magic Bullet: A Locked Room Mystery Featuring Shadwell Rafferty and Sherlock Holmes
Strongwood: A Crime Dossier
Sherlock Holmes and the Eisendorf Enigma
Rafferty’s Last Case

I’ve also read The Mystery of the Jewelled Cross: A Shadwell Rafferty Mystery. I believe it was a limited edition, but I have a copy somewhere, so I’ll probably read it again just for the completist in me.

Hi Karen. I finally opened my own 2023 thread. As usual, I made it difficult (for myself). Thumbs up for you as you have already finished four books. Way to begin the year. I've got three books working, but have yet to complete one.

Happy New Year, Karen. Happy New Thread. Love the Minnesota topper. That says it all. I plan on trying Fairy Tale on audio, early this year. I love King in this format. I also plan on reread of Eventide. Maybe this will inspire you to pick up the pace. LOL.

You Sherlockian fiend, you! I hope the Millet re-read goes well.

Cheers!

>44 weird_O: I’ll make sure I have your thread starred! Don’t you love when the multiple books you have going seem to finish up in quick succession?! That’s what happened to me with my first books pf the year. Now the pace is slowing…

>45 msf59: Hi, Mark! I don’t know why I’m struggling with Eventide— just can’t get it going. I hope your reread will get me moving.

>46 richardderus: Hi, Richard! Millet (and now Meyer) are advancing…my book stack is actually shrinking! Ye gods!

Thank you all so much for stopping by!

Wordle 566 4/6 irate, smile, bilge, belie

🟦⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟦🟦🟧
🟧🟦🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>48 klobrien2: Yay! I had a 4day today, too. Happy weekend, Karen O.

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (01/06/2023):

Actively reading

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance by Larry Millett -- p. 58 of 302
The Canary Trainer by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 10 of 224
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz -- p. 30 of 357
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death by M. C. Beaton -- p. 38 of 199
Game of Thrones, Vol. 4 (Graphic) by Daniel Abraham -- p. 38 of 210
Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@#$! by Art Spiegelman -- p. 27 of 81

On the Short List for Getting Read

Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell -- p. 11 of 221
Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 38 of 199
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 20 of 201
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn -- p. 10 of 249
Do Lets Have Another Drink!: The Dry Wit and Fizzy Life of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother by Gareth Russell

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
The Trees by Percival Everett -- p. 12 of 325
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler -- p. 13 of 419
Sacred Nature by Karen Armstrong
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Wordle 567 4/6 irate, emend, melon, lemon

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟦
🟦🟦⬜🟦⬜
🟦🟧🟦🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>50 klobrien2: That is some list, Karen!

Have a wonderful Sunday. x

>52 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

Wordle 568 4/6 irate, early, dream, opera

⬜🟦🟦⬜🟦
🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜
⬜🟦🟧🟦⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wordle 569 5/6 irate, glide, fiche, pique, pixie

🟦⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟦⬜🟧
⬜🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

5. The Lost Soul by Olga Tokarczuk



Beautifully illustrated kids' book about the relationship of body and soul. Lots to think about here!

6. The Wellspring of Death (Agatha Raisin #7) by M. C. Beaton



Nice installment in the Agatha Raisin series! This reader was definitely on the side of Agatha against nasty townfolk, lurking killers, and terrible weather.

Wordle 570 3/6 irate, wring, grimy

🟦🟧⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>56 klobrien2: This sounds interesting.

Happy Wednesday, Karen. I hope you can make more time to read Trust. Love to hear your thoughts on it. I also have "The Trees" on my to-read list for 2023. I also want to read Booth. I am a fan of Fowler.

>59 BLBera: The Lost Soul is a gorgeous book, both in its illustration and in its message. Hard to describe, but it’s multi-layered and deep in meaning. I hope you get a chance to take a look.

Thanks for stopping by!

>60 msf59: Hi, Mark! So many books, so little time, I guess. And they all seem so interesting.

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

Wordle 571 4/6 irate, amend, laden, sedan

⬜⬜🟦⬜🟦
🟦⬜🟦🟦🟦
⬜🟦🟧🟦🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Hello, Karen! Dropping a star, and stopping in to say thanks for visiting my thread.

>56 klobrien2: This was my first read of the year, and I agree about the beautiful illustrations.

>64 Crazymamie: Thank you so much for bringing The Lost Soul to my attention! I'm still thinking about the book! And thanks for visiting here!

7. Molly on the Range: Recipes and Stories from an Unlikely Life on a Farm by Molly Yeh



Not just a cookbook, but a memoir/early life history from Molly Yeh. She grew up in the Chicago suburbs, moved to New York (Manhattan and Brooklyn) for her college years, then moved to Grand Forks, ND (a farm on the North Dakota/Minnesota border). In her early years she also traveled globally, and she talks about where she went--Israel, Paris,... Her heritage is fascinating, too--Chinese and Jewish. She has amalgamated and adapted so much from her background and made cookery her own.

There are quite a few intriguing and delicious-sounding recipes in her cookbook; I might have to get my own copy of this book. I took note of recipes like "Asian Scotch Eggs," "Spring Vegetable and Quinoa Hotdish," and "Mom's Schnapps Brownies." I love the sassy and thoughtful modifications and switches.

Yeh is really funny, really upbeat, and kind in her stories. This was really a good read!

I've watched her show on Food Network a few times and enjoyed it. I'll look for this one

>67 katiekrug: And I'll have to look for her show!

Hi KarenO! I'm dropping a line to thank you for leaving warm, comforting wishes by the sickbed...still not well, but getting closer!

I think it's called Girl Meets Farm or something like that.

Happy reading in 2023, Karen!

>69 richardderus: Thinking of you a lot, Richard, and wishing you better, soon!

>70 katiekrug: I’ll look for Girl Meets Farm today. Thanks!

>71 FAMeulstee: Thanks, and same to you!

Wordle 572 3/6 irate, teach, leapt

⬜⬜🟧🟦🟦
🟦🟧🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>66 klobrien2: this sounds good as well.

>67 katiekrug: I watched the first episode of “Girl Meets Farm” yesterday, and really enjoyed it. I felt as if I knew Molly Yeh just from reading the book! She certainly has a sparkling personality, and the show was well made, but so down to earth. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention!

>74 BLBera: Molly on the Range is very good: I hope you get a chance to give it a look-see! Thanks for stopping by!

Wordle 573 4/6 irate, aglow, sauna, human

⬜⬜🟦⬜⬜
🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟦🟦🟦⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>75 klobrien2: - You're welcome!

8. Game of Thrones Volume 4 (Graphic) by Daniel Abraham



Excellent graphics, as ever. The story (by George R. R. Martin) contained lots of battle scenes/war/politics, but one can move through those passages a little more quickly, as the spirit moves.

The second book in the Fire and Ice Series, A Clash of Kings, has also been done up in a graphic series, and I've got the first volume requested.

9. The Canary Trainer by Nicholas Meyer



This Holmes pastiche (I've learned a new word!) is set in Paris and it is, by and large, a "Phantom of the Opera" story. Holmes is incognito as a Swedish violinist at the opera, and Irene Adler (Holmes' love) shows up. There is murder and mayhem. Nice story, very good writing by Nicholas Meyer.

UPDATED post: work area for my planning of Nicholas Meyer and Larry Millett books:

The five Sherlock Holmes books of Nicholas Meyer:

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The West End Horror
The Canary Trainer
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols
The Return of the Pharaoh

An article in the the PioneerPress on Larry Millett (local author) says that his last “Shadwell Rafferty” book is being published, so I want to reread/read them all again:

Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance -- reading now
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes
The Magic Bullet: A Locked Room Mystery Featuring Shadwell Rafferty and Sherlock Holmes
Strongwood: A Crime Dossier
Sherlock Holmes and the Eisendorf Enigma
Rafferty’s Last Case

I’ve also read The Mystery of the Jewelled Cross: A Shadwell Rafferty Mystery. I believe it was a limited edition, but I have a copy somewhere, so I’ll probably read it again just for the completist in me.

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (01/13/2023):

Actively reading

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance by Larry Millett -- p. 84 of 302
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz -- p. 85 of 357
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@#$! by Art Spiegelman -- p. 27 of 81
The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn -- p. 10 of 249

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In January, we are reading Children's Classics, so I chose to read: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum -- p. 0 of

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art -- finished 2 of 24.

Coming to me this weekend:

The Foundling by Ann Leary
Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway by Theodor Kittelsen
Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M. C. Beaton

On the Short List for Getting Read

Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 38 of 199
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 20 of 201
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
The Trees by Percival Everett -- p. 12 of 325
Booth by Karen Joy Fowler -- p. 13 of 419
Sacred Nature by Karen Armstrong
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Quite surprised by this one but, hey, I’ll take it!

Wordle 574 3/6 irate, slack, koala

⬜⬜🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟦🟧⬜🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wow! Another surprising Wordle! I am quite chuffed!

Wordle 575 2/6 irate, spire

🟦🟦⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

More my standard…

Wordle 576 5/6 irate, proud, brown, groom, frock

⬜🟧⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

10. Noah's Ark: From Genesis Chapters 6 - 9 ad. by Linda Falken, from Metropolitan Museum of Art



Beautiful reproductions of museum artworks representing the story of Noah's Ark. Thanks to Whisper1 for another terrific "kids" book, valuable for all ages.

>40 klobrien2: That's a series I want to try. The problem is the title of the first in the series turns me off. I'm not a big fan of noir, and since it deals with drugs, I'm not sure I can handle it.

>87 thornton37814: Phryne Fisher might not be the series for you. She is definitely a free spirit, and does pretty much what she wants to.

Luckily, there are plenty of other books!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wordle 577 5/6 irate, natal, about, afoot (reading a lot of Sherlock Holmes lately!), adopt

⬜⬜🟦🟦⬜
⬜🟦🟦⬜⬜
🟧⬜🟧⬜🟧
🟧⬜🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Phew! Got it just in time. Bizarre choice for the solution!

Wordle 578 6/6 irate, spark, award, board, guard, chard

⬜🟦🟧⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

11. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance by Larry Millett



Finally made my way to finishing this book! Definitely had a slow start, and seemed to bog down at times. But great characterizations of Shadwell Rafferty and Sherlock Holmes, and the partially-fictional characters of Gilded Age Minneapolis. It wasn't all golden, that's for sure, and this book has insight into the all-too-real fight for unionization and the dangerous work at the flour mills of Minneapolis.

UPDATED post: work area for my planning of Nicholas Meyer and Larry Millett books:

The five Sherlock Holmes books of Nicholas Meyer:

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution
The West End Horror
The Canary Trainer
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols -- READING
The Return of the Pharaoh

An article in the the PioneerPress on Larry Millett (local author) says that his last “Shadwell Rafferty” book is being has been published, so I want to reread/read them all again:

Sherlock Holmes and the Red Demon
Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders
Sherlock Holmes and the Rune Stone Mystery
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Alliance
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes -- READING
The Magic Bullet: A Locked Room Mystery Featuring Shadwell Rafferty and Sherlock Holmes
Strongwood: A Crime Dossier
Sherlock Holmes and the Eisendorf Enigma
Rafferty’s Last Case

I’ve also read The Mystery of the Jewelled Cross: A Shadwell Rafferty Mystery. I believe it was a limited edition, but I have a copy somewhere, so I’ll probably read it again just for the completist in me.

>92 klobrien2: Almost finished with the Meyer tales of Holmes and Watson, I see. Good on you. I received The West End Horror from Carrie, my LT Santa, and I read it before the new year. Still in the market for Meyer's other three.

Perhaps I should take a good gander at Larry Millett's versions. Not that I'm looking for reading material. :-)

>93 weird_O: Hi there! It feels great to be making progress with my Meyer/Millett project. I had to go to the used book source ABEBOOKs to find the Meyer books--not at any of my regular library sources. I wonder...I have read that others pass books on to other readers. Would you like me to send The Canary Trainer and The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols (still reading) to you? Would you be up for sending them back when you finish with them? Just let me know!

Now Millett--his books are good, but interesting to me because they are set in Minnesota. To be honest, the books don't get a lot of love on the library reviews. The Shadwell Rafferty character is a good one, though.

Let me know about the Meyer books, okay?

And thanks for stopping by!

Pfui! Guessy-guessy time today…

Wordle 579 X/6 irate, mound, mushy, muggy, mummy, muzzy, (mucky)

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟧⬜🟦⬜⬜
🟧🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧⬜⬜🟧

12. Cat Kid Comic Club: On Purpose (Cat Kid Comic Club #3) by Dav Pilkey



Dav Pilkey is a favorite of my little grandsons (and of me!) The books keep getting better, and the illustrations are superb. Very funny and there's always a message.

Hi Karen! M10 loves Cat Kid books. I've never read them before, but maybe I should start in with IL4. I just bought him some "beginner novels," written at a level that a first or second grader should be able to get through. Obviously, I don't expect IL4 to read them himself, but I thought it would be a good start for getting him to sit through longer books. :) Do you think the Cat Kid books would be appropriate?

>97 The_Hibernator: It appears that the Cat Kid books work for 6-7 year olds (as well as adults who retain some…childishness? hehe) I think they’d be great books to have on hand for IL4. They are formatted in chapters, there are some bigger words, but lots of context for figuring them out. Very fun books!

Great to see you here!

Here we go again…current streak of ONE!

Wordle 580 4/6 irate, teary, after, alter

⬜🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜
🟧⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

13. Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! by Art Spiegelman



"I'm glad Breakdowns is getting one more spin around the block as a deluxe paperback fourteen years after the Pantheon hardcover edition and about forty-five years(!) after the original edition. Some may look at my first book as a mere artifact of its time--with all the failings that changing perspectives may bring to any work. But for me, Breakdowns is a manifesto, a diary, a crumpled suicide note and a still-relevant love letter to a medium I adore." (Art Spiegelman)

The original publication of Breakdowns was in 1978. Included were an assortment of short comics from Speigelman's early years (1072-1977). The highly autobiographical content read to me like a memoir; I could see the influences on the early artist. These influences can be seen as a history of comics in a way, and as I read the book, I would find myself saying, "Oh, yeah, I remember that!" (e.g., MAD magazine, Charlie Brown's striped shirt).

There is a warning on the cover: "Adults Only!" There are a few very pornographic panels in a few of the comics. I was shocked, truth be told, but they fit the nature of the book, so I passed on.

This is a very well-made book, and merits reads and rereads.

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (01/20/2023):

Actively reading

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz -- p. 231 of 357
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn -- p. 72 of 249
Troll Magic: Hidden Folk from the Mountains and Forests of Norway by Theodor Kittelsen
Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M. C. Beaton -- p. 6 of 196

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In January, we are reading Children's Classics, so I chose to read: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum -- p. 43 of 267

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art with Richard Brettle -- finished 8 of 24.

On the Short List for Getting Read

The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238
Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood
Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 38 of 199
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 20 of 201
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Coming to me this weekend:

Home is Where the Eggs Are by Molly Yeh
Selected Poems by U. A. Anthorpe
The World in a Skillet by Christopher Kimball
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
The Foundling by Ann Leary
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

Wordle 581 5/6 irate, gourd, churn, spurs, blurb

⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

14. The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn, Jr.



Enjoyed this reread, but it is strange how dated this book feels. And how violent and crazy the students seem. I loved the television series that was based on the book, but there were no female classmates in the book, and Hart's relationship with Kingsfield's daughter seems so twisted and ugly. These are problems I had with the book, but it read fast, and I found myself really caring about what happened next (it's been decades since I read this).

Dracula Deluxe Edition by Bram Stoker, illus. Edward Gorey



Not counting this one in my book count, as I just looked at the pictures (by Edward Gorey)! Which were very nice, but I wish there were more!

I've just read Dracula recently (haha! TEN years ago!), so I'm not rereading it now. But this edition is lovely, well-made and beautiful to look at. Lots of extras, including a list of movies (I've got a few requested already).

Wordle 582 3/6 irate, tamed, matey

⬜⬜🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟧🟦🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>105 klobrien2: Nice going! I did it in 5 :( argh!

>106 Carmenere: I was really surprised at the solution. Just couldn’t think of any other word that worked. And Wordle-in-5 is great!

Thanks for stopping by!

15. Cat Kid Comic Club: Collaborations: A Graphic Novel (Cat Kid Comic Club #4): From the Creator of Dog Man (Cat Kid Comic Club #4) by Dav Pilkey



These kids' graphics keep getting better! In this one, the theme is Collaboration, and here's what the back cover says: "We're better when we work together! Sometimes...the smallest things...can often make the biggest difference."

Pilkey presents different comics, made with different techniques, and is always helpful in explaining the techniques and the thinking behind the "morals." If I was a kid who dreamed of making graphic books, I would eat these books up.

Wordle 583 5/6 irate, smoke, nudge, exude, elude

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟦🟦⬜🟧
🟧⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wordle 584 4/6 irate, doubt, mount, count

⬜⬜⬜🟦⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

16. Captain Carter: Woman Out of Time



Thanks to mickeyfine for bringing this lovely new graphic to my attention!

In the reality of this book, Captain Margaret Carter received the takes the Super Soldier Serum in the place of Steve Rogers. She has just been recovered from the frozen Arctic and struggles to find her place in the world. Very exciting, and full of female heroes (both super- and just really cool!) and Tony Stark shows up! Very fun read, and I can't believe there isn't another volume yet!

I've got three "cookbooks" home from the library, and they are all in demand, so I'm thinking I'll focus on those a little bit now:


Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love by Molly Yeh


Milk Street: The World in a Skillet by Christopher Kimball


Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar

>112 klobrien2: - I love the Milk Street cookbook! I got it for Christmas, and we've liked everything we've tried (okay, it's only been 3 things, but still!)...

>112 klobrien2: And I KNOW I got tipped off to the book by the conversation on your thread! LT is such a rich source of reading ideas. Thank you for bringing the book to my attention!

I didn't know Zabar's had a cookbook! They make the most delectable strudels and coffee!

>114 klobrien2: - Glad to be of service!

Hi, Karen. I have never read The Paper Chase but I remember enjoying the film version. It was from the early 70s.

>94 klobrien2: It is a tempting offer, Karen. Why not? Sure. I'll PM you my address, and when you're done send them to me (with your return addy). I'll return them after reading.

By the bye, ya got me with that early Spiegelman. Your name is now in the "blame" column of my WANT! List™ spreadsheet.

>115 mstrust: The Zabar’s book has recipes, but is very much a history book too. I’m getting a real sense of place and people (although I’m basically just starting). I’d really recommend the book to you!

>117 msf59: I loved the Paper Chase movie and the TV show as well. I saw that my library has DVDs of the TV show, which I might have to borrow…

>118 weird_O: Great! I’ll wait to send the two books until I finish the second one, hopefully not too long a wait (8>). I’ll let you know when I mail them!

I love that feeling when I play a word that I think cannot possibly be THE word, but it is! That happened today.

Wordle 585 3/6 irate, aside, maize

🟦⬜🟦⬜🟧
🟦⬜🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

17. Moonflower Murders (Susan Ryeland #2) by Anthony Horowitz



Really enjoyed this read of the second book in the "Susan Ryeland" series (first book was Magpie Murders, which was also a terrific book and a great TV series).

Similar format to the first book, a book-within-a-book, so twice the mystery for the same buck! The fictional fiction book at the center of Moonflower Murders is "Atticus Pund Takes the Case" and it was great to see that great fictional detective again.

Susan has her task set to re-solve an eight-year-old murder and determine if and where a missing daughter has gone. Lots of mysteries to be solved here.

18. Troll Magic: Hidden Folk From the Mountains and Forests of Norway by Theodor Kittelsen, trans. Tiina Nunnally



From the book cover: "Tailoring his whimsical artistic style to each tale, Kittelsen's stories in Tiina Nunnally's nimble translation, reveal a Nordic world of wonder, myth, and magic as real as imagination allows."

Wonderful stories, beautifully illustrated with detailed sketches and paintings.

Here's a passage from one of the stories that I really liked:

"He (a mountain troll) sat down at the top of Mount Raatanuten to ponder the matter.

"Yet pondering isn't that easy either; it can be just as grueling as trying to find a sun. And a troll with twelve heads can have a hard time reaching an agreement with himself. There's never any peace when all the heads are talking at once. It leads to nothing but bickering and squabbling."

>111 klobrien2: Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Big “UGH!” today, but I got it…

Wordle 586 5/6 irate, lemon, depth, segue, beefy

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟦
⬜🟧⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧⬜⬜🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>121 klobrien2: That's fine; no rush necessary. Stop by my thread for a look at all the new books I'm adding to the TBR. Then you'll understand. But I'll wedge the Meyer novels into the reading cycle as soon as they arrive. :-)

Wordle 587 4/6 irate, mourn, sorry, worry

⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧⬜🟧⬜
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

19. Milk Street: The World in a Skillet by Christopher Kimball



Wonderful cookbook, full of recipes that will make your mouth water in the reading. Thanks to katiekrug for the recommendation!

Photographs are spectacular, instructions are clear and full of special reminders and "heads up" notes. Index by ingredients and by recipe title. And all of the recipes can be made in a 12" skillet or skillet-compatible. Bon appetit!

20. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum



This was a very pleasant reread for me: I read it for January's American Author Challenge, and my first pick for Children's Classic.

The afterword to the "Books of Wonder" edition that I read (again) says that, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow is widely acclaimed as the first truly American fairy tale. Though other American authors had written fairy tales prior to Baum, theirs were styled after traditional European tales, with princes and princesses, dire consequences, and fearful morals. Baum was the first to craft a wonderland out of uniquely American concepts and familiar items."

>129 klobrien2: - Yay!

21. Selected Poems by U. A. Fanthorpe



PaulCranswick had read this little poetry book and his review piqued my interest. I'm always up to read a poet new to me. I was so glad to read this one, although it took a little ILL-ing to get hold of a copy.

I really liked her poems. The most startling to me were the poems about hospital patients (Fanthorpe worked in a hospital for a while); for instance, "CaseHistory: Alison (head injury)." A title like that makes me sit up and take special notice. Or the set of four, entitled "Only Here for the Bier," poems about four of Shakespeare's female characters (and for that we can forgive Fanthorpe the pun).

Here's one of my favorites:

The Sheepdog

After the very bright light,
And the talking bird,
And the singing,
And the sky filled up wi' wings,
And then the silence,

Our lads sez
We'd better go, then.
Stay, Shep. Good dog, stay.
So I stayed wi' t' sheep.

After they cum back,
It sounded grand, what they'd seen:
Camels, and kings, and such,
Wi' presents--human sort,
Not the kind you eat--
And a baby. Presents wes for him.
Our lads took him a lamb.

I had to stay behind wi' t' sheep.
Pity they didn't tek me along too.
I'm good wi' lambs,
And the baby might have liked a dog
After all that myrrh and such.

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (01/27/2023):

Actively reading

Bleeding Heart Yard (Harbinder Kaur #3) by Elly Griffith -- p. 29 of 254
The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft -- p. 1 of 50
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238
Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar
Home is Where the Eggs Are by Molly Yeh -- p. 34 of 338
Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham by M. C. Beaton -- p. 6 of 196
Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 26 of 220
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 17 of 201

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In February, we are reading books by Richard Powers (author of Overstory). What to read??

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art with Richard Brettle -- finished 12 of 24.

On the Short List for Getting Read

Burning Questions by Margaret Atwood
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Coming to me this weekend:

The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Wild Things are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.
The Foundling by Ann Leary
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

>123 klobrien2: I also enjoyed that series. I think I like it better than the Hawthorne and Horowitz series.

Have a great weekend!

>134 figsfromthistle: I've requested the first Hwthorne and Horowitz! And I see that he has written some Sherlock Holmes books, so I think I have to look at those, too! hehe

Thanks for visiting!

Wordle 588 4/6 irate, right, skirt, flirt

🟦🟦⬜🟦⬜
🟦🟦⬜⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Happy Sunday, Karen. I know you have been enjoying some poetry. I have to recommend "Sporadic Troubleshooting" by Clarence Major. No touchstone, for some reason. I am still making my way through it and it has been excellent.

>137 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I’ll see if I can find it! Happy Sunday to you, too!

Update: I’ve had no luck finding this book 8>(. Where did you find a copy?

Didn’t like this one too much, but the streak continues…

Wordle 589 5/6 irate, biddy, lippy, jiggy, fishy

🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟧⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!

Wordle 590 2/6 irate, crave (I used richardderus’s “alphabetic order” principle to chose “crave” over “grade”—my first hunch)

⬜🟧🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

22. Number One is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin, illus. Harry Bliss



Excellent "memoir"/cartoon collection featuring the writing of Steve Martin and the artistry of Harry Bliss, cartoonist.

The first part of the book is, indeed, glimpses of Martin's movie career, and it is lovely. Lots of anecdotes about other famous people and the world of cinema.

The second part of the book mirrors the second part of Martin's life, when he has decided to not make movies anymore. This is the "Other Diversions" of the title. Lovely one-panel cartoons, very reminiscent of the New Yorker, on all kinds of topics.

This was a surprise read for me; it was not expected from my library list, but it was greatly appreciated. Highly recommended.

Martin went to my high school, Garden Grove High School, which no one has ever heard of. There was a glass case in a corner of one of the buildings that had black and white photos of him as a cheerleader and the Prom King.

>142 mstrust: very cool! I’ve always liked his comedy and acting! I’d forgotten that he made so many movies.

Nice tree shape in my solution…

Wordle 591 4/6 irate, group, frown, cross

⬜🟧⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

23. Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Agatha Raisin #8) by M. C. Beaton



Fun entry in the series; kept me involved and wondering what would happen next.

My usual first word gave me nothing, but second guess was very helpful!

Wordle 592 3/6 irate, cloud, scold

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟦🟦🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>146 klobrien2: Nice going! I feel so defeated from the start when my first word turns up nothing. Actually though, I like the clean second chance it gives me.

24. Zabar's: A Family Story, with Recipes by Lori Zabar



Wonderful history of the Zabar's place and the Zabar family. Lots of photos, a few recipes (but they look terrific). I'm thinking a lot about seeking out the Zabars online site!

I like the little top hat shape!

Wordle 593 5/6 irate, robin, chirp, (bird theme going here for a bit), whirl, shirk

🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜
🟦⬜⬜🟦⬜
⬜🟧🟧🟧⬜
⬜🟧🟧🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

25. The Twilight Man: Rod Serling and the Birth of Television by Koren Shadmi



I never knew Rod Serling's story until reading this book. The story is well-paced, the drawing is clean and clear, and the placing of Serling's story within a very "Twilight Zone"-esque frame is brilliant. Thanks to msf59 for the head-up!

Stupid guessy-guessy, but the streak continues…

Wordle 594 6/6 irate, salty, hasty, nasty, pasty, tasty

⬜⬜🟦🟧⬜
🟦🟧⬜🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>150 klobrien2: Oooh, I love Serling and TTZ, so that's a BB for me!

Yay! I hope you like it (but I'm sure you will!)

26. Home is Where the Eggs Are: Farmhouse Food for the People You Love by Molly Yeh



Another great cookbook from Molly Yeh!

Yeh starts off with a couple of really helpful sections, "Ingredients that I love and use often," and "Tools that make my life easier." And then the recipes are presented by type, so that breakfast-type things are all together, hotdishes are all together, etc. Lots of great recipes and ideas for modifying and inventing new twists. And her writing is wonderful; she incorporates her life and events on the farm and from her travels, such a nice narrative.

Here's my favorite recipe: "One! Chocolate! Cupcake!": the idea is, that you make a chocolate cake mix, and then use the mix as the basis for ONE cupcake. The fat content is a small amount of mayonnaise that you add in before baking the one cupcake (or however many you want). What a clever idea!

I read Yeh's first book, and this is her third book; now, I'm waiting for her second.

27. Museum Masterpieces: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Great Course) by Richard Brettell, 24 episodes of 30 minutes each



Wonderful course, lots of great art (of all kinds). I don't know when I could expect to visit this museum, but this is a great consolation prize. Professor Brettell is very knowledgeable and he presents very clearly and interestingly.

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (02/03/2023):

Actively reading

Bleeding Heart Yard (Harbinder Kaur #3) by Elly Griffith -- p. 138 of 254
Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons by Ben Fong-Torres -- p. 28 of 222
The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi -- p. 30 of 209
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Wild Things are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak -- p. 13 of 248
The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley -- p. 2 of 238
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In February, we are reading books by Richard Powers (author of Overstory). I am reading a short story, "Modulation."

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is The Cathedral by William R. Cook-- finished 0 of 24.

On the Short List for Getting Read

Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 26 of 220
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 17 of 201
Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden by M. C. Beaton -- p. 22 of 172
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Coming to me this weekend:

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
Birds and Us by Tim Birkhead
A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection by Harry Bliss
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Giant's Bread by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie)
Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
The Foundling by Ann Leary
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

Good luck with all that reading over the weekend, Karen!

Eking out a Wordle today! Liked the segue from word 4 to word 5…

Wordle 595 5/6 irate, thing, pinto, until, unlit

🟦⬜⬜🟦⬜
🟦⬜🟦🟦⬜
⬜🟦🟦🟦⬜
🟧🟧🟦🟧🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>157 PaulCranswick: You, too, Paul! Have a great weekend!

>155 klobrien2: That looks like an interesting course. 30 min each episode is quite doable as well.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

>155 klobrien2: This course sounds great. The Zabar book sounds interesting as well.

Changed my order of doing things, so almost forgot Wordle, fer cryin’ out loud! 8>)

Wordle 596 5/6 irate, above, sauce, lance, dance

⬜⬜🟦⬜🟧
🟦⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟧⬜🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wordle 597 4/6 irate, blitz, filth, ninth

🟦⬜⬜🟧⬜
⬜⬜🟦🟧⬜
⬜🟧⬜🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

28. A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin



Very funny and entertaining collection of one panel cartoons (and a little writing).

29. Bleeding Heart Yard: A Novel (Harbinder Kaur #3) by Elly Griffiths



Harbinder's first case as lead detective. Murder takes place at a school reunion and a twenty-year-old murder is revisited.

I generally liked the plot and the pace of this novel, but the resolution, not so much. The plot dragged a little, and I found myself confused and distracted. Still, I'm willing to put up with a little confusion for Elly Griffiths!

Hi, Karen. I am so glad you enjoyed The Twilight Man. I also had a good time with A Wealth of Pigeons. What a collaboration.

>166 msf59: Hi, Mark! I really enjoyed the Steve Martin/Harry Bliss books—I hope there will be more coming!

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

Lots of guessing today…

Wordle 598 5/6 irate, above, amuse, angle, apple

⬜⬜🟦⬜🟧
🟧⬜⬜⬜🟧
🟧⬜⬜⬜🟧
🟧⬜⬜🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>168 klobrien2: - But you got there in the end :)

Have a great day, Karen!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted our TV watching, and there certainly has been a bit of it!

“Shrinking”—we watched the first 2 episodes, and it is terrific. Apple+.

We watched the sixth episode of the third (final) season of “His Dark Materials” (HBO Max) last night. The show has been so dark, but there was a little light at the end of the tunnel. Two episodes to go. It really is worth the watch.

Enjoying the heck out of “National Treasure Edge of History” (Disney+). We’re waiting to watch episode 9 until episode 10 (final) is out there as well, to make kind of a bigger finale out of it.

We got the DVD of “Everything Everywhere All at Once” from the lib and were so glad to watch it. Terrific, beautiful film, wonderful acting all around. Definitely will be rewatched (so much to see).

“Poker Face” (Peacock) is so enjoyable, and Charlie (Natasha Lyonne) is a terrific hero for truth and justice (and smarts). We just watched ep 5 of 10.

So, lots of stuff to watch in breaks from reading and adulting as we wait out the cold here on the arctic tundra (Minnesota).

Shocked that my second guess was it! I haven’t had many 2s! I can’t stop using exclamation points! 8>)

Wordle 599 2/6 irate, flail (I was pretty sure that there was an “ai” pair in the middle)

🟦⬜🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>171 klobrien2: - Definitely exclamation point worthy :)

Wordle 600 4/6 irate, stake, stale, stage

⬜⬜🟧🟦🟧
🟧🟧🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

30. "Modulation", short story from Best American Short Stories 2009, by Richard Powers



Richard Powers is the February choice for the American Author Challenge. I wanted to participate in the challenge, but I didn't necessarily want to read a tome by "a writer of long, challenging novels brimming with complexity." So I went looking for a short story. I don't think that Powers has written a lot of short stories, but "Modulation" was included in the 2009 Best American Short Stories. The story was originally published in "Conjunctions," a literary journal.

"Modulation" is a story about the spread of a malignant digital musical file, as experienced by multiple characters, who we revisit throughout the story in sections headed by tones of a musical scale (the "do re mi" scale).

There's a lot going on the story (refer back to the "brimming with complexity" statement) above, but more than enough to convince me that I made the right choice in picking this short story to get a taste of Richard Powers.

31. Foster by Claire Keegan



This is a reread for me, as much a lovely treat as the first time I read the short story from Best American Short Stories 2011. The story was published in New Yorker magazine back then, and I'd read that some edits had been made to the original, edits that were now restored to the newly published edition. I wanted to make sure that I got all of the good stuff from the story.

I'm not confident about being able to identify any differences; I just know that I recognized the same musicality of the prose, and the heartbreaking sadness. Such a beautiful book!

32. Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, ill. by Kevin Hawkes



Lovely, funny, beautifully illustrated book about a lion who finds his home in a library. Thanks to whisper1 for another terrific recommendation!

Wordle 601 4/6 irate, leaky, heavy, heady

⬜⬜🟧⬜🟦
⬜🟧🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

33. Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden (Agatha Raisin #9) by M. C. Beaton



Another fun installment of the Agatha Raisin "cozy" mysteries, this one set in a nearby seaside town where Agatha has retreated after a bad hair incident. Murder, of course, follows behind her.

34. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, ill. Robert Ingpen



Beautifully illustrated volume, with thick paper and saturated colors. The book format spaces out the chapters, allowing for slow accessing of the classic story of the troublesome little marionette.

35. Hickory Wind: The Life and Times of Gram Parsons by Ben Fong-Torres



I'd read this biography of Gram Parsons before, but found it as well-written and informative as ever. Very sad story, but important one.

>180 klobrien2: You got me humming without even trying to, Karen - I know what I will be listening to this weekend!

>180 klobrien2: (Smiling)...good music, but just think of how much more there could have been!

Thanks for visiting, and have a great weekend!

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (02/10/2023):

Actively reading

Wild Things are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak -- p. 136 of 248
Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray -- p. 9 of 386
Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley -- p. 2 of 238
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In February, we are reading works by Richard Powers (author of Overstory). I read a short story, "Modulation."

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is The Cathedral by William R. Cook-- finished 6 of 24.

On the Short List for Getting Read

Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 26 of 220
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 17 of 201
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett -- p. 0 of 340
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Coming to me this weekend:

The Westmacott-Christie Reader (Six Novels)
Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham
No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova
Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy of Photographs from the Pyramids to Cleopatra, ed. A. R. Williams

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
The Foundling by Ann Leary
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

>175 klobrien2: That was quite a good novella!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Wordle 602 4/6 irate, blend, embed, debug

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟦
🟦⬜🟦⬜🟦
🟦⬜🟧⬜🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Happy Saturday, Karen. You are always reading and watching some good stuff. I really want to watch "Poker Face" but I am hesitant to add another streaming service. It gets frustrating. I am enjoying "Trapped" on Netflix. Have you seen it?

I am also a big Gram Parsons fan, so I am interested in this bio. Boy, was he ahead of his time.

36. Wild Things Are Happening: The Art of Maurice Sendak by Maurice Sendak



"As a child I felt that books were holy objects, to be caressed, rapturously sniffed, and devotedly provided for. I gave my life to them..."

I've always loved the art of Maurice Sendak; his wonderful portrayals of children (especially his wide-faced babies). His drawings are so gorgeously detailed and have such a sense of humor. Sometimes, they just observe. And, sometimes, they are scary.

"The people who say Maurice is like a child have it ass backwards. Children are like Maurice...So, he has a strange kind of responsibility to pursue an extreme emotional connection to things that most folk would not undertake."

The sections in this book, in addition to showing such a wide range of Sendak's work, also showcase interviews with those who knew the artist and who shed such great light on his life. This book is a real feast for the eyes and the heart. I very much recommend this to all fans of art, humor, and books (not necessarily children's books!)

>184 figsfromthistle: I loved Foster! It’s a classic. Thanks for visiting!

>186 msf59: I’m going to check out “Trapped”—thanks for the recommendation!

I’m still grieving for the short life and foolish ways of Gram Parsons. Such a waste…

Always great to see you here, Mark!

Wordle 603 3/6 irate, plait, giant

🟦⬜🟧🟦⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟦🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Phew! Grasping at straws there…

Wordle 604 5/6 irate, flame, phase, snake, usage

⬜⬜🟧⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧🟦🟧
🟦⬜🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Eked out a Wordle today. So many possibilities…

Wordle 605 6/6 irate, cloud, bound, found, mashy, sound (fifth guess was to find the correct first letter—should’ve done that earlier!)

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟦🟦🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
⬜🟧🟧🟧🟧
⬜⬜🟦⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

37. Agate: What Good is a Moose? by Joy Morgan Dey, ill. Nikki Johnson



Beautiful, beautiful book featuring animals illustrated by color-drenched watercolor paintings that feel so good to look at! Agate, the Moose leads us through his circle of animal friends, and discovers the importance of self-worth. Lovely book!

38. A Hole is to Dig: A First Book of First Definitions by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Maurice Sendak



I gave this book a full five stars because it is so charming and amazing in its being. From the inside cover:

"What would you say about eyebrows? Miss Krauss and the many children who made suggestions, revisions, additions (and subtractions) to this book say, "Eyebrows are to go over eyes." A face? "A face is something have on the front of your head." Also, "a face is so you can make faces." Hands? Well, hands are to hold. And also "a hand is to hold up when you want your turn."

"A party is to say how-do-you-do and shake hands" and also "a party is to make little children happy." Of course, a brother is to help you, a package is to look inside, arms are to hug with, and a book is to look at.

"And children will take this book of words and pictures to their hearts."

Of course, the illustrations by Maurice Sendak are wonderful! They're so tiny! But so funny and lovely.

I took a mid-week break to watch "Roman Holiday" and it was so wonderful! I think I've seen at least parts of it before, but this time I focused on the whole thing and enjoyed it so much. I've requested other movies by the director, William Wyler, and am looking forward to them -- "Mrs. Miniver" and "The Best Years of Our Lives."

I adore Roman Holiday!

Happy Wednesday, Karen. William Wyler is a favorite of mine. Both "Mrs. Miniver" and "The Best Years of Our Lives" are wonderful. I would also recommend Wuthering Heights, Little Foxes and The Heiress. He also directed Ben Hur. I am due a rewatch of Roman Holiday.

>195 katiekrug: >196 msf59: I think I’ll be having my own William Wyler film festival! Thanks for your comments!

My solution today looks like a little boat puffing along…

Wordle 606 4/6 irate, cloud, balmy, salsa

⬜⬜🟦⬜⬜
⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>192 klobrien2: This one looks beautiful.

>199 BLBera: Agate is exceedingly beautiful—I hope you have a chance to take a look!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wordle 607 4/6 irate, daily, cabin, magic

🟦⬜🟦⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟦⬜⬜
🟦🟧⬜🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wordle 608 3/6 irate, cloud, cache

⬜⬜🟦⬜🟧
🟧⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

39. Enola Holmes: The Case of the Missing Marquess (Enola Holmes #1) by Nancy Springer



Lovely mystery featuring Enola Holmes, sister to Sherlock and Mycroft, starting her career in detection and finding lost things. Great read, reminded me of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce books.

Juvie series, so reads quickly but cleverly.

I was amazed at how closely the TV movie adhered to this first book! Looking forward to the next in the series.

Happy Friday, Karen.

Same Wordle score for me too.

Enola Holmes is in my queue on, is it Netflix?, HBOMax? Not exactly sure but I'll be able to find it when I need to.

Have a great weekend!

40. Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein by Shel Silverstein



This was a reread for me; love this book, with its mix and poems and drawings.

Loved this quote from the inside cover: "...where the sidewalk ends, Shel Silverstein's world begins."

Here's the eponymous poem:

WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
and there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

THE UNICORN

I'd forgotten that Silverstein had written this song, later made "famous" by the Irish Rovers (1967). Silverstein actually recorded it himself, in 1962: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XQfGmBnlMU

41. Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryham (Agatha Raisin #10) by M. C. Beaton



Agatha has taken a break from the Cotswolds and is staying in Norfolk, and of course, murder seems to follow her there. As does Sir Charles.

Interesting insights into Norfolk, and a few funny bits about mystery novels and authors. Agatha attempts to give the reason for her being away from home as she is an author and is writing a novel.

This is a fun little mystery.

>204 Carmenere: Enola Holmes is on Netflix, I think. I really enjoyed the first two movies and I sure hope there are more on the way! Since reading the first book, I think I want to watch the first movie again!

Thanks for visiting!

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (02/17/2023):

Actively reading

Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy of Photographs from the Pyramids to Cleopatra, ed. A. R. Williams -- p. 30 of 393
Verity by Colleen Hoover -- p. 83 of 321
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend -- p. 8 of 548 (little pages)
Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 26 of 220
Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout -- p. 80 of 201
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor -- p. 14 of 138

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In February, we are reading works by Richard Powers (author of Overstory). I read a short story, "Modulation." In March we are reading Poetry. I plan to read: The Best American Poetry 2021

I usually am reading/watching a Great Course. My current course is The Cathedral by William R. Cook-- finished 16 of 24.

On the Short List for Getting Read

The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley -- p. 2 of 238
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett -- p. 0 of 340

Coming to me this weekend:

Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi
Marigold and Rose: A Fiction by Louise Gluck
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell by M. C. Beaton
Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes
The Last House on Needless Street by Catrina Ward
Molly on the Range by Molly Yeh

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham
No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova
Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King
Trust by Hernan Diaz -- p. 10 of 322
The Foundling by Ann Leary
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk -- p. 10 of 274

Wordle 609 5/6 irate, cloud, quail, snail, avail

🟦⬜🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
⬜⬜🟧🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>203 klobrien2: I'd been wondering about the Enola Holmes books. I love the cover. I might give this one a try.

Wordle 610 4/6 irate, cloud, biome, kiosk

🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟧⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟧⬜⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>210 BLBera: Oh, I hope you do give Enola a try! Lots to love, and they’re a quick read. I’ve started the second one.

Happy Sunday!

My word 3 sure seems to follow from the first 2! Didn’t realize this until after! Ha!

Wordle 611 3/6 irate, steam, sweat

⬜⬜🟦🟦🟦
🟧🟦🟧🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Wow, you are juggling a lot of books!
I just finished The Last House on Needless Street, and I really liked Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont. But, of course, I'm looking forward to your review on the Lugosi book!

Happy Monday, Karen O. I'm venturing out and about more as I get more used to right-hand only typing. It's wearing, but it works....

So glad to see you here, Richard! I appreciate your using your typing to say “hi” to me! Have a great week, and know that you are an inspiration, especially for your great attitude.

Virtual hugs to you, buddy!

>216 klobrien2: You're too kind, Karen O. I'm not one to mope for long, it's true...I've lost more time over the years to not getting on with Life than I care to think about, so I feel good when I'm Doing Stuff not just waiting.

42. Verity by Colleen Hoover



The author Colleen Hoover is a phenomenon in the publishing world, and has been for a while. She has 4 or 5 books on the NYTimes best-seller list right now and this book is one of them. I believe that most of her books are on the soft "romance" side of things, this one has more of a "chiller" vibe to it. I read this book because I wanted to see what all the uproar is about.

Not my cup of tea, I guess (I drink coffee, anyway). Sex scenes were not hot, just made me angry and a little queasy. Twisted plot, not very believable. Characters not believable. I think I need to downgrade my rating. And you know that I'm usually very easy to please. I rarely give a book less than four stars.

This may be one of those books that you either really love or really don't love (and the ratings on LT seem to confirm that).

>218 klobrien2: I know Colleen Hoover is hugely beloved on TikTok but from excerpts I've read, I know her style just isn't for me and so I've passed on the trend. Happily there's plenty of other great books out there. :)

>219 MickyFine: Most definitely there are so many great books out there, but now I am better informed about the Hoover trend.

43. Small Batch Bakes: Baking cakes, cookies, bars and buns for one to six people by Edd Kimber



Lovely, fun cookbook with recipes for small batches--what a great idea! Put me immediately in mind and feeling of using my Easy Bake Oven when I was a child (yes, I had an Easy Bake Oven!). These recipes are all grown up, though, and they look and sound fantastic.

I might have to get my own copy of this book.

Half of me thought, “that can’t be it!” And half wanted to go with the hunch! Yay! For hunches!

Wordle 612 3/6 irate, cloud, ruddy

⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟦🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

As for our TV viewing…we watched “Elvis” last night (finally!) It was a visually beautiful movie, but such a sad story, and I never warmed to Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom.

We’ve started “Entrapped,” “Party Down,”“Picard,” and I’m watching “Cunk on Earth” (Art not interested). All are very good, each in their own way.

We finished “His Dark Materials” (the third season, and thus, the whole series) and it was great! There were some very dark moments in this last portion (corresponding to The Amber Spyglass portion of the trilogy, I would guess) but things got better. Beautiful series! I think I need to read the books again!

Here in Minnesota, everyone and everything is shutting down in preparation for a big behemoth snowstorm. We got an Evil Corp delivery today—trail mix and toilet bowl cleaner. I guess we’re set! (Art also did some shopping today and picked up a prescription for me). Stay safe out there!

Wordle 613 5/6 irate, cloud, resin, river, riper

🟦🟦⬜⬜🟦
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟧🟦⬜🟦⬜
🟧🟧⬜🟧🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

44. The Cathedral (Great Courses) by William R. Cook, 24 lessons, 12 hours.



William R. Cook presents this series on cathedrals throughout the world. Fascinating insights into their development, especially their Gothic designs. Mr. Cook is a great speaker and shows a love and interest into the architecture and history of these buildings. I can't see a picture of a Gothic building without analyzing the parts and elements of its design! Oh, and did I mention the great design elements? Stained glass! Statues! Painting! Mosaics! Feast for the eyes.

>221 klobrien2: I think Edd Kimber deserves a parade...figuring out what recipes can and can't be halved or doubled successfully isn't for sissies. Shirley O. Corriher's Bakewise and Cookwise were my go-to wedding gift cookbooks for ages. She explains stuff like that really well.

Happy "it's -too-cold-to-move" days, my Minnesotan friend. *smooch*

The Mandalorian Season 3 (Disney+) starts up 3/1

Call the Midwife Season 12 (PBS) starts 3/19

Ted Lasso Season 3 (Apple) starts 3/15!

>227 richardderus: “I think Edd Kimber deserves a parade...figuring out what recipes can and can't be halved or doubled successfully isn't for sissies”

I agree! Kimber said this book was a pandemic project, so the enforced slowdown gave him the leeway to concentrate on the task…

So good to see you here! I read your thread every day

Best to you, my friend!

45. Triple Jeopardy (Nero Wolfe #20) by Rex Stout



A three-pack of short stories (novellas?): (1) Home to Roost (threat of "Commies" leads to murder), (2) The Cop-Killer (there is a murder of a policeman and two undocumented refugees are accused, and (3) The Squirt and the Monkey (strange tale of a murder among an office group who produce a comic strip, "Dazzling Dan.")

All three of these stories seem to be quite tied to the times in which they are set. Enjoyed them all!

Interesting bio from the frontispiece to this book:

"Nero Wolfe owes his knowledge of practically everything to the amazing background of his creator who has been, among other things: banker, barker, bookworm, bookkeeper, yeoman on the Presidential yacht, boss of three thousand propaganda writers in World War II, gentleman farmer, big businessman, cigar salesman, pueblo guide, hotel manager, architect, cabinet-maker, crow trainer, jumping-pig trainer, mammoth-pumpkin grower, politician, potted-plant wizard, gastronome, president of the
Authors Guild, usher, ostler, and pamphleteer.

"Rex Stout is also one of the best mystery writers who ever lived, and Nero Wolfe is one of fiction's truly great detectives. TRIPLE JEOPARDY is up to their standard."

Watched “Mrs. Miniver” as part of my William Wyler festival. Great movie! It won 6 Oscars in 1943, including Best Picture.

Wordle 614 4/6 irate, abode, halve, vague

⬜⬜🟦⬜🟧
🟦⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜🟧⬜🟦🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Hi Karen! I like ve listening to Great Courses now that I've gotten over the weird inclination to read all the books in each "suggested reading" section. That was a huge hangup

>233 The_Hibernator: Ha! I can see where that would slow you down! I sometimes add the books to my reading, but only when it seems really a good idea. Although reading all of the books in the "suggested" list would probably deepen one's understanding! There's just not enough time.

Do you have any favorites among the Great Courses you've taken?

Thanks for stopping by to chat!

46. Marigold and Rose: A Fiction by Louise Gluck



From the inside cover: "Louise Gluck's astonishing chronicle of the first year in the life of twin girls. Imagine a fairy tale that is also a multigenerational saga; a piece for two hands that is also a symphony; a poem that is also,...an incandescent act of autobiography."

I used the blurb from the cover because it states so well what this book is: this tiny little book is so amazing, so pure, it's a gem. Very re-readable, I feel I would glean something new from it with each new read. There is humor, there is love, there is joy. Marigold and Rose are twin babies, but they have their own personalities. Marigold seems to be more of a thinker; Rose is a people person.

From an early page: "Marigold was writing a book. That she couldn't read was an impediment. Nevertheless, the book was forming in her head. The words would come later. The book had people in it but it also had animals. All books, Marigold felt, should have animals; people were not enough."

This is a very fun, sweet book. Highly recommended!

47. Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula by Koren Shadmi



I'd read The Twilight Man, Shadmi's graphic of the life of Rod Serling, and I liked it, so I decided to give this Lugosi biography a try. Now, Serling, as presented, was no angel, but Lugosi was a horrible person, and it was difficult to keep reading, what with the womanizing, misogyny, drug use, and narcissism of the man.

The book is informative, however, and for historical purposes, this might be a good read for you. I need another Marigold and Rose to clean my mind and refresh my reading palate. Maybe some Enola Holmes would do the trick!

Marigold and Rose sounds wonderful. I love Glück's poetry so I'll give this a try.

>237 BLBera: Oh, good! I am so sure that you'll love it. The little chapters read like poetry, I swear. And I don't think I've read any of her poetry, so I'm off to track me down some!

Thanks for stopping by!

>231 klobrien2: Did you catch That scene? After Dunkirk, Walter Pidgeon (Mr. M) is in his jammies when he's returned from helping the evacuation and hops into bed with Greer Garson...and falls out of his jammies. The editor never caught it because it was such a small (!) moment, but it's in prints of the film even today.

/prurient gossip

Don't freeze solid!

>239 richardderus: What? I still have the DVD from the library, I’m going to have to try to find that! I didn’t catch it when I watched. I love film trivia! Thanks!

Sweet dreams!

Edited to add: You are right! It’s a split-second occurrence, but there it is (literally). I’ll be smiling about that all day. Does IMDB know about this? I will research.

Wordle 615 4/6 irate, cloud, groan, arbor

⬜🟧🟦⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟦⬜⬜
⬜🟧🟦🟦⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Friday Reading Roundup!

Because I rely on libraries so much for my reading (and do so much eBook reading), what I'm reading at any given time changes often, and changes quickly.

Karen's current reading (02/24/2023):

Actively reading

Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy of Photographs from the Pyramids to Cleopatra, ed. A. R. Williams -- p. 67 of 393
Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell by M. C. Beaton
Murder on a Midsummer Night (Phryne Fisher #17) by Kerry Greenwood -- p. 50 of 220
Prisoner's Base (Nero Wolfe #21) by Rex Stout
Enola Holmes: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady (#2) by Nancy Springer -- p. 33 of 234
Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember by Lauren Graham
No Filter: The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova -- p.61 of 220
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood

I try to participate in the American Authors Challenge. In February, we are reading works by Richard Powers (author of Overstory). I read a short story, "Modulation." In March we are reading Poetry. I plan to read: The Best American Poetry 2021, Tracy K. Smith, editor.

I usually am reading/watching Great Courses. Possibilities for my next course: 1066: The Year That Changed Everything. The Rise of Rome, and Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization. Which will I get from the library first??

On the Short List for Getting Read

The Off-Islanders by Nathaniel Benchley -- p. 2 of 238
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend -- p. 8 of 548 (little pages)
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor -- p. 14 of 138
The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols by Nicholas Meyer -- p. 3 of 238
Eventide by Kent Haruf -- p. 41 of 281
The Disappearance of Sherlock Holmes by Larry Millett -- p. 0 of 340

Coming to me this weekend:

Fen, Bog, and Swamp by Annie Proulx
An Immense World by Ed Jong
West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

Not-So-Time-Sensitive-But-Still-Want-to-Get-to-Them (so, these are readily available to me although I might not be reading them quite yet or may have had to return them to the library; most are my own books).

Ragtime (1001 Books) by E. L. Doctorow -- p. 58 of 210
Marple: Twelve New Stories by assorted authors
Fairy Tale by Stephen King

>242 klobrien2: What a great reading roundup! You certainly have a lot on the go.

Have a great reading filled weekend!

>243 figsfromthistle: Thanks for the nice wishes! The same, right back to you. Thanks for stopping by!

Yay! I got a Wordle-in-3! Good (lucky) guessing.

Wordle 616 3/6 irate, filth, fifty

🟦⬜⬜🟧⬜
🟧🟧⬜🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

>234 klobrien2: Well, right now I'm listening to Great World Mythologies or something like that, which is super long, but has a good cover of African mythology along with the more classically studied mythologies. I'm hoping they have Indigenous people of America, too.

Been here. Catching up on your reading and viewing pleasures, Karen. Got sidetracked by a very long Wiki piece about Gram Parsons. The name is familiar, but I couldn't connect him to any particular bands, yahda, yahda, yahda. Holy Moses, what a (short) life. (The effort of friends to cremate his body in Joshua Tree, CA, brought to my mind the scenes in the Blake Edwards' film S. O. B. in which Felix's friends steal his body.)

Anyway, I did complete A Master of Djinn last night before turning out the light. First book finished in two weeks. Hope this is the (re)start of something good!

>246 The_Hibernator: If I'm looking at the same Mythology Great Course, yes, they DO cover the ancient Americas! That course sounds great--I will hope to listen/view it sometime (some of these courses are in both audio and DVD).

>247 weird_O: A Master of Djinn looks great! I already had it in my TBR, but now it's there even more firmly!

Thank you both for stopping by!

Finished watching another film in my "Watching William Wyler Festival"! "The Best Years of Our Lives"was stunning, a beautifully-made and -acted film. I repeatedly shed a tear or forty even in the early moments of the film (tears of sadness AND joy).

This film won several Oscars in 1946 (three years after "Mrs. Miniver" did that same thing). It is a longish film (a little less than three hours), but it is showing us three different stories, though they are all interwoven. It doesn't lag at all. I was just amazed at how un-dated this movie is, how what is presented is clear and honest. So unlike most modern movies.

Wordle 617 4/6 Okay, now I’m hungry for pancakes! Irate, cloud, shrug, syrup. I used the 2309 word list (thanks to karenmarie bringing it to my attention). It is a great help! I thought it was funny that the solution was the LAST word listed under the “S”s.

⬜🟦⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟧⬜
🟧⬜🟧🟧⬜
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

Hi Karen. Gaack. Here I am posting for the first time to your first 2023 thread. Oh well, better late than never, right?

>1 klobrien2: Only three seasons? *smile*

Skippety-skip skip

>242 klobrien2: I’m jealous of your having Treasures of Egypt: A Legacy of Photographs. I don’t have it on my shelves and my Library doesn’t have it. Yay for Rex Stout. Oh my goodness – I’m literally on the last CD of 1066: The Year That Changed Everything by Professor Jennifer Paxton. I’m fascinated by it, love her voice and what she’s saying. Great minds, eh? I only listen in my car, and plan on finishing it up tomorrow since I have to be out in the afternoon.

>250 klobrien2: You’re welcome re the list. It’s out there, easily available on the Wordle page, so why not use it, I say? Congrats on your 4 – we got the same today. Pancakes sound lovely, but maybe another day this week for me.

>251 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Great to see you here!

Treasures of Egypt is gorgeous! My local-local library doesn’t have it, but the system slightly to the west of me did. And we’re all part of the same metro-wide association, so everything’s accessible. I hope you get a chance to read it!

Jennifer Paxton was the lecturer for the very first Great Course I did—The Celtic World—and it started me on my journey. She was great with that one, so I’m anxious to get “1066.” You and I matched up previously, I recall—the John McWhorter The Story of Human Language, and now I follow him on NYTimes. Great minds, definitely.

So nice to see you here! I read your thread every day, so I’ll see you in a bit!

Wordle 618 3/6 irate, rouge, worse

⬜🟦⬜⬜🟧
🟦🟧⬜⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

48. No Filter: The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful by Paulina Porizkova



The author tells it all (all about her life, that is), from her early years in Cold War Czechoslovakia and her becoming a supermodel starting at age 15. When she was 19, she met and soon after married Ric Ocasek of the rock band, The Cars. The marriage ended after 30 years and two children, and they were in the process of divorcing when Ocasek died of complications after surgery. He was not kind to her in his last will, made just a few weeks before his death. Porizkova rebuilt her life and shares her hard-won wisdom in this book, a set of essays.

"In the war for self-acceptance, I have to battle myself, not to erase but to acquire confidence, self-assurance, and acceptance. I want to be seen for all that i am: the good, the bad, the beautiful."

This was a very readable book, but there is a little repetition, and it sometimes feels like it's wandering a little. I did enjoy the read, and I recommend this book.

Struggled a bit with this one! I had little, and it was all in the wrong place. Very glad to get it in 5!

Wordle 619 5/6 irate, among, havoc, offal, polka

⬜⬜🟦⬜⬜
🟦⬜🟦⬜⬜
⬜🟦⬜🟦⬜
🟦⬜⬜🟦🟦
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧

The next film in my “Watching William Wyler” festival was Jezebel starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda. This film was screened in 1938, quite a bit earlier than the others I’ve watched, and Davis won the Oscar for Best Actress for it. The film is set in antebellum Louisiana, and seeing the culture of that time and, indeed, the late 1930s, was bizarre. Glad I watched it to have seen one of Davis’s iconic roles, but don’t think I’ll ever watch it again.

I remember seeing 'Jezebel' on TV one weekend afternoon when I was a teenager. I've never felt the need to seek it out again... I do love Bette Davis in Dark Victory and All About Eve, though.

>257 katiekrug: Davis's acting was probably the only thing I liked about the movie (well, the dresses were gorgeous!) It was more the times depicted and the slave-holding culture that made me sick. I'll look forward to catching Dark Victory and maybe a rewatch of All About Eve.

Thanks for stopping by!

49. Creature: Paintings, Drawings, and Reflections by Shaun Tan



Shaun Tan collected 25 years' worth of drawings, paintings, and recollections in this one huge volume. It is a gorgeous and mind-blowing collection.

"Throughout many ups and downs it's been consoling to fix upon the theme of "creature" as at least one anchor in a sea of apparently random freelance projects: gallery painting, science fiction illustration, picture books, cartoons, comics, film design, stage plays, and other things harder to define."

Tan collects his illustrations into sections, each featuring a short "essay": "Lost Things," "Companions," "Myth and Metaphor," and "Birds" (The paintings in the "Birds" section are fantastic, and I can imagine the birding-types in LT would really like these). The verbiage portion can help to explain the visual portion (if one requires explanation).

There are Artwork Notes, a Selected Bibliography, and list of Selected Exhibitions to add to the understanding of the art. This is a book that could be perused again and again, and something new gained each time.

Again, my thanks to Joe (jnwelch) for bringing this book to my notice!

Wordle 620 5/6 irate, globe, phone, evoke, moose

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧⬜🟧
⬜⬜🟧⬜🟧
🟧🟧🟧🟧🟧