Streamsong 2023 #2 Spring into summer

Spring Moon by artist Jo Grundy

Hi - I'm Janet.

I've been a member of LT since 2006.

I retired in the fall of 2016 from my career as a technician in an NIAID research lab. (Yes, that made Dr Anthony Fauci my ultimate boss .... way up the chain.)

I'm now enjoying all the things I never had time to do.

I live in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana along Skalkaho Creek.

I'm about half way between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks - so if you're traveling or vacationing in the area, I'd love to meet you. Give me a bit of warning, though - the house often looks like a bomb went off in it. Unless of course, you find cluttery piles of books interesting decor (as I do)

What do I read? A bit of everything. I enjoy literary fiction, mysteries and the occasional feel good cozy. I'm working my way around the world in a global reading challenge. I had started my way through 1001 Books to Read Before You Die (actually 1300 + books since I use the combined version spreadsheet), but that project seems to be on hold.About half the books I read are non-fiction.

I belong to two in-person book clubs and occasionally join a couple of online book clubs. A favorite online club for nature reads is the Glacier Conservancy Book Club here - https://glacier.org/glacier-book-club/ This is a fund-raising arm for Glacier National Park.

I have Appaloosa horses and usually raise a foal or two each year. No foals in 2022, but hopefully one on the way in 2023. Climate change, drought, and being 66 years old are changing how I do my horse business.

Expectant mama Paris aka Skipa Dew Dandy is due at the end of May or early June. She is a black Quarter Horse, but due to the genetics of my stallion she will throw a leopard or near leopard baby.

BOOKS READ 2023

✅ = Outstanding Book! ❤️ = Favorite

FIRST QUARTER

January

1. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Willa Cather - 1927 - ROOT acquired 2017; chosen from TIOLI #2 - Read a book in the public domain. The Sea of Tranquility - Emily St John Mandel - 2022 - library
3. The Colony - Audrey Magee - 2022 - Global Reading: Ireland - library
❤️ 4. Cold Earth - Sarah Moss - 2010 - Global Reading: Greenland - ROOT #2 acquired 2022
5. Bitter Orange Tree - Jokha Alharthi - 2016 - Global Reading: Oman - library
6. Four Fifths a Grizzly - Douglas Chadwick - 2021 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
7. The Ardent Swarm - Yamen Manai - 2017 - African Authors' Challenge/Global Reading: Tunisia - library
8. The Constant Gardener - John Le Carre -2005 - Global Reading: Kenya - ROOT #3 Acquired 2011
9. How the Penguins Saved Veronica - Hazel Prior - 2020 - Book Girls Regional Challenge: Antarctica - Global Reading - library
10. On the Bus With Rosa Parks - Rita Dove - 1999 - ROOT #4 - acq 2022
✅11. The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell - 2022 -Global Reading:Italy - library
❤️12. The 1619 Project - Nikole Hannah-Jones - 2021 - library

February
13. Other Birds - Sarah Addison Allen - 2022 - library
14. Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - 2022 - library
15. In the Country of Men - Hisham Matar - 2008 - Global Reading: Paul's North African Reading Challege: Libya - audiobook - library
16. The Raven's Gift - Jon Turk - 2009 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - Global Reading: Russia - library
❤️17. The Fell - Sarah Moss - 2021 - Reread for Newcomer's Book Club - ROOT #1 for month; #5 for year - acq 2022
18. Horse Sense and the Human Heart - Adele von Rust McCormick - 1997 - Monthly Root #2; Yearly ROOT #6 - acquired 2007 -
19. Still Life - Sarah Winman - 2021 - Global Reading: Italy - Library
20. As Good As Gone - Larry Watson - 2016 - Root #3 for month/#7 for year - acq 2017
21. Poets of Mozambique - Frederick G. Williams - year published? - Paul's African Lusophone Challenge/Global challenge: Mozambique - library

First Quarter Continued

March
❤️22. Best of Friends - Kamila Shamsie - 2022 - Global Reading: Pakistan -(Pakistani-USauthor/English/ Partial location) library
❤️23. Foster - Claire Keegan - 2022 - library
❤️24. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver - 2022 - library
25. The Summer House Party - Caro Fraser - 2017 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - purch 2022
26. Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History - Scott Andrew Selby - 2010 -Book Girls' Western Europe - Global Reading: Belgium - library
27. A Different Kind of Normal - Abigail Balfe - 2022 - library
✅ 28. The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi - 2020 - Newcomers Club - Global Reading: India - audio - Hoopla
29. Revenge of the Librarians - Tom Gauld - 2022 - library
30. Dance of the Happy Shades - Alice Munro - 1968 - Global Reading: Canada - ROOT #1 for month/ #8 for year - acq'd 2022
31. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson - 2010 Root #2 for month/ #9 for year; acq'd 2014
❤️32. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2006 - Paul's African Challenge/ Bookgirls World Tour- Africa - purchased 2023
❤️33. Small Country - Gael Faye - 2018 - Book Girls Global Tour: Burundi/Rwanda - library -

SECOND QUARTER

April
34. Tied Up in Tinsel - Ngaio Marsh - 1972 - library
35. Seeking Whom He May Devour - Fred Vargas - 1999 - Global Reading: France/French author - library
36. First Rangers: The Life and Times of Frank Liebig and Fred Herrig Glacier Country - C. W. Guthrie - 2019 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - purch 2023
37. One Year of Ugly - Caroline Mackenzie - Book Girls Global Tour: Islands: Trinidad - library
✅ 38. Burning Questions - Margaret Atwood - 2022 - library -
39. The Tale Teller - Anne Hillerman - 2020 - library
✅ 40. I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys - 2022 - Global Reading: Romania - library
41. Alex and Me - Irene M. Pepperberg - 2009 - audiobook - Newcomers' Book Club - library
42. Four Miles West of Nowhere - John Phillips - 2021 - library
43. Bird Summons - Leila Aboulela - 2019 - Global Reading: Sudanese author - library
✅44. Tolkien: A Biography - Humphrey Carpenter - 1977 - ROOT #1 for month/ #10 for year; acq'd 2006

SECOND QUARTER CONTINUED

May

45. The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi-Coates - 2020 - Root #1 for month/ #11 for year - acquired 2021 (loaned to me)
46. Jade Dragon Mountain - Elsa Hart - 2015 - Global Reading: China - library
47. Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul - Jack Canfield et all - 1997 - acq'd 2023
✅48. Last Stand" George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo - Michael Punke - 2007 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
49. Lone Wolf - Jodi Picoult - 2012 - audiobook - acqd 2023
✅50. A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2021 - Global Reading: Uganda - library
51. The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - 2008 - Global Reading: Moldova - Book Girls World Tour - acq'd 2023
52. Dust Tracks On a Road - Zora Neale Hurston - 1942 - ROOT #2 for month/#12 for year - acq'd 2018

June

53. Vignettes of Montana's Bitterroot Valley - L. Allen Strate - 2020 - library
❤️ 54. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy - 2022 - Global Reading: Northern Ireland/UK - library
✅55. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - 2022 - Global Reading: Canada - library
56. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History - Lea Ypi - 2021 - Global Reading: Albania - library (3.8)
57. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith - 2014 - library (3.7)
58. The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva - 1996 - Newcomers' Book Club - library (3.7)
59. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff - 2023 - Fic: US/India author/ set in India/library
60. The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict - 2019 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - Global Reading: Austria - partial location - US author - library
61. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2005 - Book Girls World Voyage: New Zealand - library
63. Old Timers Tales of Oregon - John Taylor - 2004 - ROOT #1 for month/#13 for year - acq'd 2008

July

64. The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-Dalton - 2022 - library
65. Down From the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear - Bryce Andrews - 2020 - audiobook - library
66. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall - 2012 - library
67. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell - 2007 - library
68. A Sharp Solitude - Christine Carbo - 2018 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - ROOT #1 for month/ #14 for year - acqd 2022
69. Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt - 2022 - Reread with audio - Newcomer's Book Club
70. Sissy: A Coming of Gender Story - Jacob Tobia - 2020 - library
71. If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk - John Pavlovitz - 2021 - purch 2023
72. Old God's Time - John Barry - 2023 - library
73. Unholy: Why White Evangelicals Worship at the Altar of Donald Trump - Sarah Posner - 2021-; ROOT #2 for month, #15 for year - acq'd 2022
74. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe - 1958 - Reread - Paul's African Challenge - Global Reading: Nigeria - library

August

75. First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung - 2006 - Book Girls' Book Voyage: Northern Asia/ Global Reading: Cambodia - ROOT acq'd 2016; Root #1 for August/#16 for year
76. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" - Zora Neale Hurston - 2018 - audiobook - library
77. I Have Some Questions for You - Rebecca Makkai - 2023 - library
78. The Conference of the Birds - Peter Cis - 2011 - Global Reading: Czech author, Turkish poem - illustrated book - library

**** 65 BOOKS COMPLETED IN 2023 **** Current to July 2

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
1 - 2006
1 - 2007
1 - 2008
1 - 2011
1 - 2014
2 - 2017
1 - 2018
1 - 2021
5 - 2022
6 - 2023
45 - library/Hoopla

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023):
13

FORMAT
56 - print
8- audiobook

GENRE

34 - Fiction (May Fit into more than 1 category)
1 - black experience
1 - climate change
7 - contemporary fiction
1 - dystopia
2 - espionage
2 - family
1 - fictionalized biography
1 - friendship
25 - Global Reading
7 - historical fiction
1 - historical mystery
1 - historical romance
2 - humor
2 - immigrants
7 - literary fiction
2 - magical realism
1 - Montana
1 - Muslim
5 - mystery
1 - Native Americans
1 - noir
1 - popular fiction
1 - religious fiction
1 - satire
1 - Science fiction/fantasy
1 - short stories
1 - Western genre
5 - Women
2 - WWII

- 13 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
---- 4 - animals
---- 3 - biography
---- 2 - Black history
---- 2 - books/authors
---- 2 - conservation
---- 1 - Essays
---- 5 - global reading
---- 2 - history
---- 1 - horses
---- 1 - learning
---- 8 - memoir
---- 3 - Montana
---- 1 - Oregon
---- 3 - nature
---- 1 - National Parks
---- 1 - neurodevirgence
---- 2 - psychology
---- 3 - science
---- 1 - spirituality
---- 1 - True Crime
---- 2 - wildlife

2 - Poetry

- 1 - Cartoons
---- 1 - Books About Books

AUTHORS

41 - Female Authors
18 - Male Authors
3 - Combination of male and female authors

42 - Authors who are new to me
17 - Authors read before
2 - Combination of previously read and new to me authors

1 - Rereads

Original Publication Date
1 - 1927
1 - 1942
1 - 1968
1 - 1972
1 - 1977
1 - 1996
2 - 1997
1 - 1999
1 - 2004
1 - 2005
3 - 2006
1 - 2007
2 - 2008
3 - 2009
4 - 2010
1 - 2012
1 - 2014
1 - 2015
2 - 2016
2 - 2017
2 - 2018
3 - 2019
7 - 2020
7 - 2021
15 - 2022
1 - 2023

GLOBAL READING

Nationality of Author:
1 - Albania
1 - Burundi
2 - Canada
1 - China
1 - Indian-American
2 - Ireland
1 - Libya
1 - Moldova
2 - New Zealand
1 - Nigeria
1 - Oman
1 - Pakistan
1 - Sudan
1 - Trinidad
1 - Tunesia
1 - Uganda
- UK
13 - US

Language Book Originally Published in:
2 - Arabic
33 - English
1 - French
1 - Moldovan

Setting of book if other than author's nationality
1 - Antarctica
1 - Italy
1 - Kenya
1 - Russia - Kamchatka

Nationality of Author/Language Book Originally Published/Setting of Book (starting w book 19)
19. Still Life - Sarah Winman - UK author/English/Italy & GB
21.Poets of Mozambique - Editor-US; poets Mozambique/ Portuguese-English (bilingual/ Mozambique
22. Best of Friends - Kamila Shamsie: Pakistani author/English/ Pakistan - partial setting
23. Foster - Claire Keegan: Irish author/English/ Irish setting
24. Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History - Scott Andrew Selby: US author/English/ Belgium and Italy
25. The Summer House Party - Caro Fraser - UK author/written in English/set in England &
Germany
28. The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi - 2020 - US/Indian author/English/India
30. Dance of the Happy Shades - Alice Munro - 1968 - Canadian/English/Canada - Ontario
31. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson - 2010 - British/English/Great Britain
32. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2006 - Paul's African Challenge & Bookgirls World Tour: Africa - purchased 2023 Nigerian author/English/Nigeria-Biafra
33. Small Country - Gael Faye - 2018 - Book Girls Global Tour: Burundi/Rwanda/French author/French - Burundi and Rwanda - library
34. Tied Up in Tinsel - Ngaio Marsh - 1972 - New Zealand author/English/set in England
35. Seeking Whom He May Devour - Fred Vargas - 1999 - Global Reading: France/French author/French - library
37. One Year of Ugly - Caroline Mackenzie - 2020 - Book Girls Global Tour (Islands): Trinidadian author/English?/ Trinidad
38. Burning Questions - Margaret Atwood- 2022 - Essays( Canadian author/multiple locations/ English)
40. I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys - 2022 - Fic: US author/Romania/English
43. Bird Summons - Leila Aboulela - 2019 - Fic: Sudanese author/ UK (Scotland) setting/ English
50. A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2021 - Fic: Ugandan author/ Uganda
51. The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - 2008 - Fic: Moldovan author/Moldova/translanted from Moldovan
❤️ 54. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy - 2022 - Global Reading: Northern Ireland/UK
55. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - 2022 - Global Reading: Canadian author & location
56. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History - Lea Ypi - 2021 - Global Reading: Albania NF: author/ location/ English
59. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff - 2023 - Fic: Indian-American author/ set in India/English
60. The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict - 2019 - Global Reading: Fic:Austria - partial location - US author -library
61. New Zealand Book #4: The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2006 - Fic (Maori author, location, English) - 6/2023

The Global Challenge: Read five books from each of the 193 UN members plus a few additional areas. (Ongoing project over **Many** years!)

Thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188308

COUNTRIES VISITED IN 2023

visited 28 states (12.4%)

Create your own visited map of The World

Countries new for me in 2023
Belgium Book #1: Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist In History - Scott Andrew Selby - 2010 - Non-Fic; (US author/English/Belgium) 3/2023
Burundi: ❤️ Small Country - Gael Faye - 2018 -Fic: (location, author) 3/2023
Libya: Book #1. In the Country of Men - Hisham Matar - 2008 - Fic (author, location) - audiobook 2/2023
Moldova Book #1 - The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - 2008 - Fic: Moldovan author/Moldova/translated from Moldova 5/2023
Tunisia Book #1 - The Ardent Swarm -Yamen Manai - 2021 - Fic (location, author - translated from French) - 1/2023
Uganda A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2021 - Fic: Ugandan author/ Uganda 5/2023

Countries Completed in 2023 with Five Books

Countries previously visited - working toward 5 books:
Albania Book Two: Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History - Lea Ypi - 2021 - Global Reading: Albania NF: author/ location/ English 6/2023
Antarctica (Actually additional to challenge - not a UN member) Book 3: How the Penguins Saved Veronica - Hazel Prior - 2020 Fic, partial location, UK author - 1/2023
Greenland (autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark): Book #2: The Cold Earth - Sarah Moss - Fic - (location/UK author) 1/2023
Mozambique Book #2 : Poets of Mozambique - Frederick G. Williams - year published? - Poetry (authors/ location/ translated from Portuguese) 2/2023
New Zealand Book #4: The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2006 - Fic (Maori author, location, English) - 6/2023
Oman Book #2 - Bitter Orange Tree - Jokha Alharthi - 2022 - Fic (partial location, Omani author) 1/2023
Sudan Book #3: Bird Summons - Leila Aboulela - 2019 - Fic/Sudanese author/UK (Scotland)/English
Trinidad and Tobago: Book #2. One Year of Ugly - Caroline Mackenzie - 2020 - Fic (location, author,) 4/2023

Additional books in countries already completed with 5:

Canada: Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - 2022 - Graphic Non-fiction - author, location - 6/2023
China: Jade Dragon Mountain - Elsa Hart - 2015 - fic: China/US author 5/2023
France: Seeking Whom He May Devour - Fred Vargas -1999 - (location, author, translated from French) 4/2023
India: The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi - 2020 Fic: US/Indian author/Indian location/English - 3/2023
Ireland: The Colony - Audrey Magee 2022 - Fic - (location, author) 1/2023
Nigeria ❤️ Half of a Yellow Sun -Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2006 - Fic: location, author) read March 2023
Pakistan: Best of Friends - Kamila Shamsie - 2022 - Fic (Pakistani author/partial location) 3/2023
Romania Book #3: I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys - 2022 - Fic: US author/Romania/English 4/2023

Russia: The Raven's Gift - Jon Turk - 2009 - Non-Fic (location/Komchatka, US author) 2/2023
UK: Multiple
US: Multiple

ALL COUNTRIES VISITED110


visited 110 states (48.8%)

Create your own visited map of The World

These numbers include the library books that I have at home.

As of 05/01/2023 542 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2023: 535 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2022: 530 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2021: 522 books on MT TBR

18 BOOKS ACQUIRED 2023

1. Nervous Conditions: A Novel - Tsitsi Dangarembga - Zimbabwe - Kindle (Kindle Special 1 - xx -2023
2. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng - BPL freebie 1/11/2023
3 - 5. Boxed Set Ivan Doig Montana Trilogy - BPL freebie 1/11/2023
- 3. English Creek
- 4. Dancing at the Rascal Fair -
- 5. Ride With Me Mariah Montana
✔ Read 6. Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul - Jack Canfield - BPL freebie 1/11/2023
✔ READ 7. The Summer House Party - Caro Fraser - Library Brown Bag Book Club - Feb 2022
8. ✔ READ First Rangers - C.W. Guthrie - 2019 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - 2/28/2023
9. Doing Good Better - William Macaskill - 2015 2/28/2023
✔ READ 10. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 2007 - 3/5/2023
11. The Shining - Stephen King - Bitterroot Public Library freebie - 3/09/2023
12.Montana Horse Racing: A History - Brenda Wahler - 2019 - 3/18/2023
13. Marcus Daly's Road to Montana - Brenda Wahler - 2023 - 3/18/2023
14. River Hippies & Mountain Men (Real-Life Adventures of the Texas Yeti) - Patrick Taylor - 03/23/2023
15.✔ READ Lone Wolf - Jodi Picoult - audiobook BPLib freebie - 4/06/2023
16. The View From Castle Rock - Alice Munro - BPL freebie - 4/19/2023
✔ READ 17. The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - Book Girls Eastern Europe/Moldova - Amazon 4/30/23
18. Radiant Truths - Sarah Beals Sager - 2023 - Mother's Day Gift 5/14/2013
19. If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk - John Pavlovitz - 2021 - 6/2023
20. The Heartbeat of the Wild - David Quammen - 2023 - 6/2023 for author talk
21. Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus - 2023 - acqd for Newcomers' Book Club

Template for monthly ongoing summary:

CONTINUING TALLY

**** BOOKS COMPLETED IN ****

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)



FORMAT

GENRE

- 2 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)

- Poetry

Original Publication Date

- - female authors
- - male authors
- - combination of male and female authors

- Authors who are new to me
- Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited


visited 0 states ()



Create your own visited map of The World

BOOK CLUBS

LIBRARY BROWN BAG BOOK CLUB

January 26 -- ( read previously) - The Last Bus to Wisdom by Ivan Doig
February 23 -- ✔The Summer House Party by Caro Fraser
March 30 -- *** Listening***The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
April 27 -- (read previously) The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
May 25 -- (read previously) Horse by Geraldine Brooks
June 29 -- ✔ The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict
July 27 -- Listening The Trial of Adolf Hitler by David King
August 31 -- How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa
September 28 -- (read previously)Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
October 26 -- Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey
November 30 -- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
December ??? -- Potluck and 2024 Book Choices

NEWCOMERS BOOK CLUB:
January -( read previously) The Bell in the Lake
✔(read previously)February - The Fell - Sarah Moss - my choice - read previously
✔March - The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi
✔April: Alex & Me - Irene M. Pepperberg
May:
✔June: The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva
✔ Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

GLACIER CONSERVANCY BOOK CLUB - (online)
✔ January - Four Fifths a Grizzly - Douglas Chadwick
✔ March - First Rangers - C. W. Guthrie (Purchased)
✔ May - Last Stand - Michael Punke -
✔ July - A Sharp Solitude - Christine Carbo

Paul's African Novel Challenge:

January - NORTH AFRICA
----✔ The Ardent Swarm - Yamen Manai - Tunisia
----✔ In the Country of Men - Hisham Matar - Libya
February - LUSOPHONE LIT
---- ✔ Poets of Mozambique - Frederick G. Williams - **Reading**
March - CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE or Buchi Emecheta
---- ✔ Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
April - THE HORN OF AFRICA
---- ✔Bird Summons - Leila Aboulela - (Sudan)
May - AFRICAN NOBEL WINNERS
----- Palace Walk - Naguib Mahfouz - (ROOT)
June - EAST AFRICA
---- ✔ A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - Uganda
July - CHINUA ACHEBE or Ben Okri
---- Reread Things Fall Apart
August - FRANCOPHONE AFRICA
September - SOUTHERN AFRICA
October - SCHOLASTIQUE MUKASONGA / NGUGI WA THIONG'O
November - AFRICAN THRILLERS / CRIME WRITERS
December - WEST AFRICA

Book Girls Around the World Book Voyage Challenge:
January: Arctic and Antarctic: ✔ How the Penguins Saved Veronica - Hazel Prior
February: Western Europe: UK: ✔Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson - ROOT
----- Belgium: ✔Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History - Scott Andrew Selby
March: Africa -
---- ✔Burundi: Small Country - Gaël Faye
---- ✔Nigeria: Half of a Yellow Sun
---- ✔Uganda: A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
April: Islands
---- ✔ One Year of Ugly - Caroline Mackenzie - Trinidad
May: Eastern Europe and Russia
----- ✔ The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - Moldova -
June: Australia and New Zealand
---- ✔The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2005
July: South Asia:
----First They Killed My Father - Luong Ung (Cambodia) - ROOT

I'm intrigued by everyone's lists of series. These are the ones I've read so far in 2023: I will add other series that I am also working on.

Series

Robert Galbraith - Cormoran Stike (1/7)
Anne Hillerman - Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito (5/8)
Alka Joshi - Jaipur Trilogy (1/3)
Ngaio Marsh - Roderick Alleyn (2/27)
Fred Vargas - Chief Inspector Adamsberg - 2/10

Favorites of 2022:

Here is the place where you can add your top 5 favorite books of 2022 to LT's list:

https://www.librarything.com/list/44209/Top-Five-Books-of-2022

My top 5 - almost impossible to narrow to five!
1. Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon by Malcolm Gladwell
2. Reservation Blues - by Sherman Alexie
3. The Fell - Sarah Moss
4. Horse - Geraldine Brooks
5. When Women Were Dragons - Kelly Barnhill

Currently the top book for all of LT is The House in the Cerulean Sea but there are only a few hundred members voting so far.

Honorable Mentions for Me:

The Sentence - Louise Erdrich
Reading Like a Writer - Francine Prose

The last review from my previous thread: (read in March)

Chosen as one of my March African reads for the Book Girls Global tour.

Author Gaël Faye was born in Burundi and claims Rwanda as his home. According to Wikipedia, this, his only novel, is based on his own teenage years. It has been translated into 36 languages and won five literary prizes.
Faye is a well known French/Rwandian rapper. His work can be found on You Tube including this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvPCfaqxCzc&list=OLAK5uy_nxpGW94uaYzm0YsY38T...



❤️33. Small Country - Gaël Faye - 2018
- Book Girls Global Tour: March/Africa: Burundi/Rwanda
- library



Gaby was a ten year old living in Burundi in 1992. His mother was a refugee from Rwanda, his father French. The neighborhood seemed pretty typical of middle class neighborhoods worldwide with the boys hanging out in a clubhouse made of an abandoned car.

But things never remain the same. Gangs infiltrated the area bringing guns and drugs. Although the neighborhood seemed safe, leaving it behind became problematic. Gaby’s beloved birthday bike was stolen.

And of course, there was increasing talk of unrest in Rwanda; this latter was especially concerning to Gaby’s mother who had relatives, including a sister and her family, still living there.

Gaby and his mother took a short holiday to visit the Rwandan relatives, hoping not only to see them but to persuade them to come to safer Burundi.

While they were there, intense fighting broke out and Gaby was immediately sent home; his mother decided to stay to see if she could arrange safe passage for her sister and her sister’s three children. She disappeared into the genocide and civil war, as did the rest of her family.

Although Gaby and his father remain in their Burundian neighborhood for months, hoping against hope for news of his mother, eventually it became clear that, even with their French passports, it was no longer safe there. They were forced to return to France.

Books played a vital part in Gaby’s imposed confinement as he waited in vain for news of his mother. Books brought not only entertainment but hope and an unexpected friendship with the elderly but odd neighbor who owned them. Books play an important role in the ending.

This is an intense look at another African tribal genocide (this time Hutu and Tsutsi) and the Rwandan civil war. It is brutal – although much of the brutality takes place ‘off stage’ as it were to be heartbreakingly described later.

For me this book was a learn-by-feeling and living experience. I literally cried at the ending.

Since I have not done my April reviews, here is the first one. I had hoped to read this in December, but it did not arrive in time, so it became an April in Christmas book



34. Tied Up in Tinsel – Ngaio Marsh - 1972 – library

A rather eccentric manor owner has commissioned Troy Alleyn (Agatha Troy) to paint his portrait. She agrees to remain over Christmas and so is part of the Christmas house party which includes the owner’s fiancé, and several old friends as well as the neighbors and their children. More interesting, however, are the manor’s staff – each has committed and been incarcerated for a single murder; the idea being that murderer provoked in a single moment of passion won’t reoffend and is therefore safe.

That’s before one of the staff goes missing soon after dressing up as a druid in tinsel for the holiday party. Fingers are pointed and Troy’s well known husband Detective Roderick Alleyn agrees to come to the manor to solve the case.
Even with the presence of a neighborhood gift party sponsored by the mansion, this is basically treated as a closed room murder. But who is the murderer? And where is the body?

Enjoyable cozy detective; great for a Christmas read.

Currently Reading:

That's all for me.

Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!

Happy new one!

Love the topper, Janet!

Happy new thread. xx

Happy new one!

>18 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

>19 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! I wish my place looked like that. We've gone from snow to 80F this week so things are popping around here!

>20 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

Happy New Thread, Janet! Wow to all your organization up there--I am envious.

Hi Roni - Thanks for stopping by!

I am waaaaay behind on all my lovely organization and my book reviews, too for that matter. I hope to catch up on my friends' threads, too.

This one is reviewed out of order, but I did want to post that I had read a selection for Paul's African reading challenge for April. Author Leila Aboulela grew up in Khartoum, Sudan.

Having read several recently that were about post-colonial upheavals and civil wars, I was looking for something different, and this fit the bill. I would read more by this author.

I did not know until I was writing this review that the hoopoe is an actual bird. Here's an African Hoopoe bird:



43. Bird Summons - Leila Aboulela - 2019
- Global Reading: Sudanese author
- Paul's African author challenge
- library



Three women, joined by friendship and their London Muslim Women’s group decide on an expedition to the Scottish highland to see the grave of Lady Evelyn Cobb, the first English woman to make the Hajj to Meccah. At first, they had thought to have a busload of women from the group; but due to opposition from spouses and some controversy over the grave itself, only the three friends ended up going.

The Hoopoe bird is mentioned in the Quran as a messenger; it is valued (according to Wikipedia) as being communicatve. It is also sacred in the Celtic literature of the Scottish.

The Hoopoe appears to all three of the women: Salma is the leader of the group, happily married to an Englishman but contacted by her first love in Egypt – was she mistaken when she left him?

Moni is the mother of a profoundly disabled son. Her husband wants her to join him in Egypt, but Moni believes that her son can get better care in England than in Egypt. Her life revolves around her son. After seeing the Hoopoe, she is also visited by a small speechless boy with her son’s first name and which other people cannot see.

Iman is startling beautiful. She has been married twice before and currently has a spiritual non-legal marriage to a third man. The third man’s parents demand he leave Iman. He meets her briefly on the trip, delivers her possessions and gives her the news. She is at a loss what next to do with her life; a magical cupboard provides her with a great many costumes that she tries out on her search.
All three women must make choices, and, as they change, their friendships also change.

Although I enjoyed the very diverse stories of the three women, something left me feeling ultimately a bit unsatisfied.

Happy new thread, Janet!

>1 streamsong: Lovely topper, feels very springlike with the blooming trees, birds, and horses. Not sure what animal is in the pasture on the left.

Found and starred!

Hi Janet!

>25 FAMeulstee: One of the stories in The Source by James Michener is called Psalm of the Hoopoe Bird, and it takes place 1040–970 BCE, during the last years of King David. If you’ve never read The Source, I recommend it – it’s one of a handful of books I give 5* to.

>25 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita!

That's a fox off to the right. We used to have a den of foxes in one of the back fields. That didn't last once I got my golden retriever, Ginnie, who soooooooo wanted to help take care of the fox pups and love on them. Mom and Dad Fox were not amused by the friendly dog that they regarded as a creepy neighbor and so soon moved their kits, never to come back.

>26 fuzzi: Hi Lor! Thanks for stopping by!

>27 karenmarie: I've read several of Michener's book, mostly I think back in the 70's and 80's, as I was working at a bookstore where they were very popular. But I have not read The Source. I'll keep an eye out for it. The hoopoe bird sounds like a neat connection. Have you read any of his work recently? I wonder how they stand up.

Here's another of Jo Grundy's paintings - this one shows spring a little more advanced.



We're not quite this far along. We had snow less than two weeks ago, but it's now been getting up to the 80's for the last few days. So the trees, flowers and creek are all popping. Hopefully the creek behaves itself and stays within its banks. We're supposed to cool down with showers later today and over the weekend which should slow the spring melt. There's a snow monitoring station called Skalkaho Snotel at the head of the creek on Skalkaho Summit. It shows that although we had just below average snow for the year, it's coming off very quickly which will not bode well for fires and irrigation this summer if the melt doesn't slow down.

As for me, the burst of blooms has set off the worst allergy attack I've ever had. I spent Monday sleeping most of the day; yesterday a friend urged me to try Zyrtec or Claritin in addition to my Flonase spray. I slept much better last night,

Happy new thread, Janet. I love the Grundy art. I enjoyed the Ngaio Marsh series. I listened to Tied Up in Tinsel recently and thought it made a good audiobook.

Hi, Janet. I was thinking of you when hearing terrible stories of calves not being able to survive birth because of frigid weather. And then I discovered how far behind I was on your threads. Sort of caught up now, and will try to stay that way. I hope things warm up for you soon, and you can get back on track with your knee as well.

We are all suffering from bad allergies here too. Sorry to hear the May flowers have caused you problems.

>32 BLBera: Hi Beth - I'm glad you enjoy the Jo Grundy paintings. They remind me a bit of Grandma Moses's work, but the setting looks almost like a beautiful stylization of what I wish my place looked like.

I've only read a few of the golden age mystery works such as those by Ngaio Marsh and Agatha Christie. I bet they would work well on audio books - I'll have to keep them in mind while traveling. Often, though, I get frustrated when I listen to mysteries - I don't think I listen closely enough to pick up the clues and attribute them to the proper characters.

>33 ffortsa: Thanks for stopping by my thread, Judy!

Although we had a lot of snow this year and it lasted into April, we didn't have the deep livestock-imperiling drifts that they had farther to the east as in the Dakotas. I think I mentioned in my previous thread that some long-time Hall-of-Fame Appaloosa breeders in their 80's who live in South Dakota decided that this winter was the one to make them decide to no longer raise horses. They had four foot snow drifts in April when they were beginning to foal out mares; there comes a point when challenges like that become impossible.

I'm sorry to hear that you are suffering with allergies, too. I have literally hundreds of cottonwood and willow trees on my ten acres along with various pines which all seem to be happily trying to replicate at once.

I'm also deep cleaning inside my house. I feel like an old time cartoon character stirring up clouds of dust while wielding my broom. Somehow I have not done this since before Covid - and so the clutter piles (are piles of books clutter?!) and the dust mountains are deep. I had two wonderful cleaning ladies help me on Friday and they will be back for two more hours on Monday. More-allergy making.

My son's in-laws will be traveling through this area in about ten days and would like to stop by and see my place. Nothing like the threat of company to make me clean the carpets!

Happy Sunday, Janet. Happy New Thread. I love the Spring Moon topper. I will have to check out more of Grundy's art. All good here. Finally enjoying some lovely spring weather and migration is in full swing, so seeing some good birdies. The books are treating me fine, as well.

Good luck with that deep cleaning.

>35 streamsong: Ah, yes, the incentives of visibility. We might be hosting one of our reading groups next week, and I've already hired a cleaner for that day, which means we need to do something about the piles of clutter, books included. They do sneak in everywhere. And with open bookshelves, we deal with (or don't deal with) a lot of dust, too.

>36 msf59: Hi Mark and thanks for stopping by!

I know from FB that you've been busy traveling and have seen some remarkable birds. I'll get by your thread soonish.

Deep cleaning is a pain. Neglecting cleaning is a pain. Better to read a book.

>37 ffortsa: ...the incentives of visibility Love that, love that, love that. Funny but oh so true.

Happy new thread! Thanks for introducing me to Jo Grundy.

>13 streamsong: I have yet to post my top five list for 2022. I did love Horse. When Women Were Dragons is pretty close to the top of this year's pile and it has been recommended by lots of people.

>37 ffortsa: >39 streamsong: When I lived in a small house, I could mostly keep up with cleaning. This old farmhouse is much more challenging. Depending on the amount of warning I've had (people in the south "stop by") and the weather, visitors may not be invited past the front porch.

>40 witchyrichy: I used to worry about my fairly clean but very cluttery house. Then one day, as I was apologizing to a couple I knew from church who'd stopped by, the young man said "But we're not here to visit your house, we're here to visit YOU!"

I've never forgotten his kind words. I still "spruce up" when expecting company but no longer apologize. Take me and my clutter as a package or not at all!

>40 witchyrichy: Such good advice, Lor! Kindness always should come first! But over the last few years my house became both not very clean and also cluttered. Not quite up to having an episode on hoarders' TV but close. I can see how people get a bit overwhelmed and then just don't start. The dust was getting pretty thick.

The horses, however, are looking well. :)

April review #2 - behind on reviews as well as everything else!

Why, do you ask, are murder mysteries a nice break from stories of civil war in post-colonial countries? Both involve death and grief and innocent victims. It's something I often ponder as my father was opposed to stories of people being murdered for entertainment - whether in books or on TV.



35. Seeking Whom He May Devour - Fred Vargas - 1999
- Global Reading: France/French author/translated from French
– library


There are people born without hair on the outside of their bodies; if you slit open their skin from throat to groin, you may find hair instead on the inside of the skin. This is the mark of a werewolf, or so the people of the remote French Alps believe. Unfortunately, much like the various tests to prove a woman is a witch, either way the suspect is dead.

So when a rather odd man, one who keeps to himself and who does not have body hair, disappears at the same time that livestock and people begin to be slaughtered, the old rumors re-emerge in this region of the French Alps where the incidents are occurring in a straight line seemingly heading to a purposeful destination.

Two workers, one elderly, one mentally challenged, had become family to a woman farm owner apparently slaughtered by the beast. They borrow a farm truck turned camper to follow the trail. They convince a young woman to be their driver along the narrow, twisty Alp roads.

Eventually, the case catches the eye of Chief Inspector Adamsberg, who believes there is more to the tale than a werewolf. And it doesn’t hurt that the driver of the old truck is a former lover.

I enjoyed this quirky mystery with the hint of the supernatural beast as the suspect and the angsty love.

Mysteries are my relaxation read; I intend to continue with this series.

I enjoy local history as well as non-fiction about the wild, so this selection by the Glacier Conservancy Book Club hit the spot for me. I need to read more of Teddy Roosevelt’s history and exploits. I think I would enjoy them.



36. First Rangers: The Life and Times of Frank Liebig and Fred Herrig Glacier Country - C. W. Guthrie - 2019
- Glacier Conservancy Book Club
- purch 2023


”The first of them, the ones that made good, were rugged and honorable men, and they had the best of life’s game. They had some power, some pay, and some glory. There were no volumes of written rules on how to do the job that choked out their own worthy thoughts or muddled their judgment. They were good men, deciding how a good job should be done as they went about it. They were the law, the trailblazer, the fireman. “ p 15

Frank Liebig and Fred Herrig both arrived in the US from Europe (Germany and Prussia) at the end of the 19th century. They both headed west, attracted by the spectacular scenery, the wide open views and the opportunities for young men like themselves.

Fred had met Teddy Roosevelt while Fred was working at an area ranch owned by the Marquis de Mores. The two became lifelong friends.

So in 1900 when President Teddy Roosevelt created the first forest preserves in the Glacier Area, Fred became the first ranger in the area now known as just west of Glacier Park. Frank became the first ranger in what is Glacier Park proper today.

Basically they were told ‘Go to it and Good Luck!” p 43. These accounts are taken from their journals and include stories of wrangling Cree Indians and recovering the body of a woman who fell into a glacier crevasse – part way through the recovery however, the body being dragged upside down by ropes regained consciousness. She recovered without further fanfare.

They fought forest fires, including the devastating Great Fire of 1910. Also In 1910, the area was established as Glacier National Park.

They saw civilization – often in the form of wives and children - creep into the area.

Frank became an accomplished biologist – describing plants, and animals and with an impressive collection of taxidermized birds native to the area.

This is well illustrated with many photographs of the times, the place and the people as well as drawings.
If you enjoy Glacier Park or stories of wilderness ‘back in the day’ when it was truly wilderness, I’d recommend this book to you.

I am so happy to see another Fred Vargas fan, Janet. I love those books. Which reminds me, I could read the next one...

>43 streamsong: I really enjoyed all Adamsberg books, Janet. Glad to see you like them too.

>45 BLBera: Thanks for stopping in, Beth! It's nice to know that I have a loooooong way to go with this series!

>46 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I've read two of them now and enjoyed them both. It's nice to have a (nother) series that I can go to and know that I will enjoy it.

Well drat- the allergies are something fierce. I have no idea if it's cleaning agents used by my housecleaning ladies or the all the pollen. Either way my throat (esophagus) is spasming. It's very painful as well as making it very hard to swallow. I'm on medicine to help calm it down and so far it seems to be working.

"Spasming" looks oddly spelled. Spellcheck wants to change it to "spamming" - but so far my throat is not sending me unwanted emails, so I'll just leave it as spasming and hope that is correct.

I know there are many religious faiths and opinions among my reader friends here.

I have mentioned that my Methodist Church has been caught up in the great divide which would remove churches from the United Methodist Church to the Global Methodist Church based pretty much on how the church views its LGBTQ members - can they be clergy or regional officers?

At services Sunday, our pastor announced that he and his wife have received death threats from two long time members of the congregation. :((((((( The regional counsel has decided not to turn these threats into law enforcement but instead try to bring the members 'back into the fold' as it were.

It seems to me that while the pastor and his wife are taking steps to keep themselves safe, shootings are never a surgical elimination of just one person and the rest of the congregation seems at risk to me.

Back to zoom for church services, I guess. This scares me as much as Covid did - although at least it's only in one area of my life and I can go to the grocery store.

MAY ONGOING TALLY

**** 8 BOOKS COMPLETED IN MAY****

45. The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi-Coates - 2019 - Root #1 for month/ #11 for year - acquired 2021 (loaned to me)
46. Jade Dragon Mountain - Elsa Hart - 2015 - Global Reading: China - library
47. Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul - Jack Canfield et all - 1997 - acq'd 2023
✅48. Last Stand" George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo - Michael Punke - 2007 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
49. Lone Wolf - Jodi Picoult - 2012 - audiobook - acqd 2023
✅50. A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2021 - Global Reading: Uganda - library
51. The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - 2008 - Global Reading: Moldova - Book Girls World Tour - acq'd 2023
52. Dust Tracks On a Road - Zora Neale Hurston - 1942 - ROOT #2 for month/#12 for year - acq'd 2018

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
- 1 - 2018
- 1 - 2021
- 3 - 2023
- 3 - library

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)
- 2 -


FORMAT
- 1 - Audio
- 7 - Print

GENRE

- 5 - Fiction May include more than one category
1 - black experience
3 - global reading
1 - historical fiction
1 - historical mystery
1 - magical realism
1 - nature
1 - satire
1 - women

- 3 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
- 1 - Books and authors
- 1 - Christianity
- 1 - Environment/nature
- 1 - Essays
- 1 - Inspirational
- 1 - Memoir

- Poetry

- - Cartoons

Original Publication Date
- 1 - 1942
- 1 - 1997
- 1 - 2007
- 1 - 2008
- 1 - 2012
- 1 - 2015
- 1 - 2019
- 1 -2021

- 3 - female authors
- 4 - male authors
- 1 - combination of male and female authors

6 - Authors who are new to me
2 - Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited

China
Moldova
Uganda

>49 streamsong: Awful. Awful. My heart goes out to you and the congregation. What a betrayal of faith and fellowship.

>49 streamsong: That is terrible. Law enforcement should definitely be involved. It doesn't sound very Christian...

>51 ffortsa: Judy, 'betrayal' is a such a good word to use.

>52 BLBera: Beth, not Christian at all. I do not understand the idea that the people next to you in church can 'contaminate' your own relationship with God if they do not share your exact beliefs.

DS has said that both he (as a mental health provider) and my DIL (Disney headquarters in FL) have just completed their periodic active shooter training.

As much as it pains me to suggest it, I am going to email our pastor and suggest that we also have this provided if in no other way that Youtube videos. We used to have regular active shooter drills at the lab where I worked, but I have been retired six years and have forgotten quite a bit. Two tidbits struck me from the videos I watched that I had forgotten: - do not try to hide in a bathroom since the doors cannot be barricaded and there is no other egress such as a window; if you are in the parking lot, shelter behind the engine section of the car since the motor will stop bullets, but the passenger compartment and trunk will not.

What a crazy world we live in!

Again, still having a bit of a backlash from the plethora of African postcolonial novels that I’ve been reading, I chose this title for the Islands group of books for the April Book Girls Global tour. The author is a native of Trinidad.



37. One Year of Ugly - Caroline Mackenzie 2020
- April Book Girls Global Tour: Islands: Trinidad
– library


Yola and her entire extended family leave the chaos of Venuezela at night by boat for nearby Trinidad. Although they are illegal, their lives progress smoothly until Yola’s Aunt Celia dies.

Then they find they are deeply in debt to a smuggler who arranged their passage. He goes by the name “Ugly”, and threatens bodily harm to them and their children unless they do exactly as he says.

The first requirement is that all three of the households must accept illegals day or night and treat them as honored guests until they are ready to be moved on.

But complications arise, and Ugly then demands the entire family work without pay at his brothel/strip club. Yola’s family are commandeered into positions such as makeup artists, caretakers and receptionists. It was surprising to me that none of the family was forced into sexual slavery – but that may have been due to Yola’s increasingly romantic feelings toward Roman, Ugly’s chief enforcer.

How to get out of the situation and keep everyone safe?

It was an interesting look at the problems of illegal immigrant eyes. I appreciated the strong family bonds and the often light hearted story, even if, at times it stretched my credulity.

However, I do see the justice in those who called this novel ‘cultural appropriation’ as the Venuzuelan immigrants were written by a Trinidadian author. This would be similar to a book written by a US author calling out the problems of illegal Latinx immigrants, and perhaps especially offensive if many of the hardships had a humorous turn.

>49 streamsong: Isn't that heart breaking and hard to understand? I am a Christian, Baptist, but I don't understand that sort of thinking at all . Jo Grundy is a new to me artist, but what beautiful images.

>49 streamsong:, >53 streamsong: How very awful and frightening. I'm sorry you have this situation in your life.

>48 streamsong: Spasming is a word! I have used it just this week regarding my back, which apparently endured too much yard work last weekend. Esophagus sounds more disturbing.

>55 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb. It's a tough time for our church and perhaps churches everywhere.

An older friend who moved to Spokane is attending a church where there are guardians - people armed with guns. I recently found out that there is a church in Missoula that also has a similar program.

Do I want to go to a church with gun-carrying guardians? No.

Do I want to be part of a church shooting? No.

Today I attended the zoom service of our church. I wish I wasn't such a chicken.

Jo Grundy is new to me, too. I really like the Spring Moon image in >1 streamsong: and may buy myself a print.

>56 qebo: Thank you for the support, Katherine.

The esophogeal spasms are very uncomfortable and scary, but according to Dr Google, not in any way life threatening. I had another one on Friday evening after mowing a very small part of my lawn without wearing a mask. I'll check back in with the doc on Monday because she had told me to do so if I had more. Like any spasm, the muscles are very sore afterward.

I am sorry for your back spasms. I have had those too, on occasion and know how painful they can be!

I did quite a bit of reading in April, and still have more April reviews to go.

I know this one was recommended by Beth.



✅ 38. Burning Questions - Margaret Atwood - 2022
- library


This book contains sixty essays, speeches, introductions and musings written by Margaret Atwood between the years of 2004 and 2021. This is such a wide variety of topics, both literary and current events, that my head is still spinning - it feels like a virtual fire hose of information.

Some were absolutely brilliant and spoke to me. I especially enjoyed her writings about the Hand Maid’s Tale and how it seems so prophetic today. I also enjoyed the writings about Alice Monro, another Canadian author who is a favorite of mine.

With this huge breadth of subjects, some did not resonate. I was not familiar with some of the authors she wrote about – I’m sure this is a lacking on my part and I should take as recommendations the unfamiliar-to-me authors she praises.

This woman is brilliant. Alas, she sometimes left me in the dust. Although I read only a few essays each day, I think I need to have a copy of this in my own library, to revisit even more slowly.

Four solid stars.

Hi Janet. That topper is gorgeous!!!

Esophogeal spasms sound uncomfortable and scary! I was having trouble swallowing last year. They went in with a scope and ended up stretching my esophagus a bit and it has been much better. There was a bit of scarring near the junction with my stomach from some acid reflux. Getting older is an adventure, is it not?

Seeking Whom He May Devour sounds like a fun one! I agree that mysteries serve as a mental and emotional break from the world and from other, heavier reading. Yes, there is death and sometimes mysteries can also be very emotional, but (usually) there is some resolution.

Hi Ellen! Thanks for stopping by!

I'm glad you like the topper - me too!

The sore throat and spasms are always worse at night and better in the morning. I'm still thinking irritation from allergies but I'll call the doctor today. Having problems that I've never even *heard* of is totally bizarro. I'm glad your swallowing resolved with a bit of intervention.

I'm always on the lookout for mysteries to read as in-betweeners. I just finished one that I read about on Jim's thread called Jade Dragon Mountain set in medieval China which was fun. I'll definitely follow up with that series.

Currently reading:

Main read:


Reading for Glacier Conservancy Book Club: (this one is much more interesting than I thought it would be. There is a reception for the author in Missoula on Wednesday which might be fun to attend.) The author also wrote the book The Revenant which was made into a movie.


And the rest of them:

Reading for a challenge since I've had this unread since 2006!


Supposedly listening while I'm cleaning in anticipation of company on Saturday:


Picked up to listen in the car:


Ongoing Christian Study

I had a Happy Mother's Day zoom call from my son and DIL yesterday.

DS had just been diagnosed with Covid and so we didn't talk long.

But my DIL, Sarah Beals Sager, who does life coaching, sent me a copy of this book which was recently published. She has written one of the chapters called "When the Phoenix is on Fire"



I'm very proud of her!

>62 streamsong: Your Glacier Conservancy Book Club book looks really interesting.

Hi Erik! I really like the GCBC because they often feature really interesting nature or wilderness history books that I would not see elsewhere. I'm not sure I have a place in this Wednesday's reception. It said it needed to be reserved a week before the event, but since the button still worked on the internet page, I signed up late. ETA: OOh I'm in! Just received an email from them. Now what to wear? Jeans and ? I really enjoy meeting authors and talking to them.

The Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo, and the Birth of the New West is fascinating. The establishment of Yellowstone National Park was a horror show with every one out to grab a piece of the land for their own Gilded Era dreams and no money requisitioned by Congress for enforcement.

Although I'm only halfway through the book, I know Grinnell eventually made it to Glacier National Park as I've hiked to Grinnell Glacier - sadly diminished by melting as all the Park Glaciers are.

Here's the link to the book club, which, since it's on zoom, has participants throughout the country.
https://glacier.org/glacier-book-club/

>59 streamsong: I'm glad you liked it, Janet. I do own a copy, and I will certainly revisit the essays. Atwood is brilliant, isn't she?

I think active shooter training is a good idea, but attending via Zoom also sounds like a good idea.

>66 BLBera: Hi Beth! Atwood is someone I would love to invite over to dinner, but I'm afraid her knowledge would leave me in the dust. Perhaps whoever coordinate these imaginary dinner parties of 'name three people you would like to invite for dinner' would also grant the conversational chops to keep up with them.

I am not sure what has happened with the church shooter. Talk has died down but I'm not sure anything has been resolved. There are definitely people I miss talking to during the fellowship time after church.

Out of town company this week means avoiding church altogether on Sunday. They actually attend the same denomination, so it would not be out of line to invite them - But I just can't see asking "Would you like to go to church? It could be quite exciting."

Onward with another mystery in April.

This series is part of the continuation of Tony Hillerman’s well known Leaphorn and Chee mystery series. It’s written by his daughter, Anne Hillerman, and although continues the stories of the now retired Lieutenant Leaphorn, the mysteries are focused on the detective skills of Jim Chee and his wife Benadette Manuelito.

I think this is a series that Ican safely abandom - with the proviso that if I read a terrific review, I may return.



39. The Tale Teller - Anne Hillerman - 2020 - library


Bernadette finds a body when she is out jogging along a popular trail.

Jim investigates a museum worker who became ill at work and unexpectedly passes away. During Jim’s investigation he discovers that she has been working on an anonymous donation of very fine Navajo artifacts, but that according to a note listing the contents of the box, some of them are missing.

The missing pieces include a valuable bracelet and an historically irreplaceable dress woven and worn by the wife of Manuelito, an early Navajo chief who led his people in 1864 on the Long Walk which returned them to Navajo territory.

As always, I enjoyed relationship between Chee and Bernie and the other members of their family as the dynamics are flavored by Navajo traditions. I also enjoy learning a bit of the Navajo history in each book – in this one the brutal Long Walk of 1864. I looked up Manuelito and the long walk and saw the very few pictures of his wife, who went by several names.

The mysteries themselves seemed a bit disjointed – almost as if two not-quite-long enough to be a-book plots ideas were joined together.

3.5 stars; up half a star because I enjoy the Navajo history.

--This one was one of my favorite reads of April. Thank you to witchyritchy and foggiedawn for recommending it!

✅ 40. I Must Betray You - Ruta Sepetys - 2022
- Global Reading: Romania
– library




In 1989 17 year old Christian lives under the iron fist of Nicolae Ceaușescu in Bucharest, Romania. His family and his friends’ families are often cold and hungry especially in the winters in their small concrete flats. But family and friends are everything, right? Why, then, is Christian’s mother angry at his grandfather for having cancer and why is there no medicine for leukemia?

Christian’s mother is a cleaning lady at the residence of the American ambassador. Christian agrees to make friends with the ambassador’s son and do some small reconnaissance spying at the residence in exchange for his grandfather’s medicine.

But once the line is crossed, Christian is asked for more and more spying assignments on his schoolmates, friends and family – each assignment presented with an iron fist with no way to refuse the request. As Christian becomes deeper in the web, he identifies that those around him are also spying on him – and Christian begins shutting them out of his life. But although he is truly surrounded by spies, he often has them misidentified.

As the rest of the Soviet Union falls, eventually it becomes Romania’s time for revolution. But who can be trusted? Who is speaking truth? Christian believes even his own family report his movements, but can that possibly be true? There seems to be no room for both freedom and safety.

This is promoted as a YA novel, but I found it an engrossing history of the time immediately preceding and the events during Ceausescu’s downfall. I’ll definitely be looking for more of Ruta Sepetys’ historical fiction.

After reading and enjoying Beth's review of The Marriage Portrait on her thread, I went back to read my own review since I had read it in January.

Oh dear, this is funny. And strange. And a bit scary.

But ..... the review wasn't posted here on LT. And .... it wasn't posted on GoodReads, either. I l looked at my thread --- nope, there were reviews for book 10 and book 12 on my first thread, but not The Marriage Portrait which was book 11. I remembered writing the review, darn it! I remembered puzzling for several days how to write the ending. But I guess I never posted it anywhere - just left it sitting in my Word document. (Unless - oh horrors! - I posted it on someone else's thread!)

I had several forgetful missteps in January with bills etc. I hope this isn't a warning of things to come. Perhaps it was also because I was rather struggling with the complicated 1619 Project review at the same time.

But I did enjoy it - wonderful book.

Here's the very tardy review:



✅11. The Marriage Portrait - Maggie O'Farrell - 2022
- Global Reading:Italy
- library


At age fifteen in 1558, Lucrezia (Lucrezia di Cosimo de’ Medici d’Ete, born in Florence); married Alfonso II of Ferrara.

Lucrezia’s father was cementing alliances. Alfonso hoped that by marrying the daughter of a woman celebrated for having many children, he too would have the children that so far had eluded him in the affairs before his marriage.

Lucrezia stepped from her quiet life in a nursery setting to a court full of intrigues. Alfonso’s mother had to flee from her son’s court and his two remaining sisters were jealous of each other and Lucrezia. Alfonso revealed himself as a brutal man who would murder those standing in his way.

And as a year passed and Lucrezia showed no sign of producing an heir, Alfonzo believed that Lucrezia was in the way of Alfonso’s need to secure his kingdom with children.

At sixteen, Lucrezia was forced to change from the frightened child. She had her favorite pastime of painting and one loyal maid to keep her company.

I enjoyed this story of medieval intrigue.

Great comments on The Marriage Portrait, Janet. I say you blame it on the computer...

I Must Betray You sounds great. I'll add it to my WL.

>71 BLBera: Ha Beth! I blame the computer for lots of things, but this one is tough.

I Must Betray You was very good. I really didn't know anything about the fall of Romania, although I do remember watching a news piece about the orphanages there. :(

Yesterday I was very happy to have my son's in-laws come to Hamilton as they were returning from a road trip through Alaska. I hadn't met my co-mother-in-law before as the DS & DIL were married in California during Covid and had only one witness to make the event legal, followed by a Zoom reception. I had met the father in SLC as the kids were traveling through there moving from California to Florida.

As they have a son who is especially vulnerable to Covid, we talked a bit about the pre-vaccine pandemic days - they had traveled from Denver to Atlanta several times during the height of that time to help with DIL's grandfather. They slept in their car and had made it a fine art to travel between the two cities without any human contact so as to protect both their son and the grandfather.

How odd to have come far enough from the pandemic (not gone forever, as my son currently has Covid) that we can share stories of 'that time' with both sorrow and relief.

Read 11 books in April. I'm hoping to be done with the reviews before May.



41. Alex and Me - Irene M. Pepperberg - 2009
- audiobook/Hoopla
-April Newcomers' Book Club
– library
3.8 stars

Irene Pepperberg had a PhD in chemistry, but found that she was more intrigued by the questions of intelligence in birds, which had been her pets from childhood.

She managed to wrangle some space in a behavioral research lab and soon acquired a newly hatched grey parrot, which, she chose completely at random to bolster her scientific results. She named the little chick Alex (Avian Learning Experiment) and began nurturing him to adulthood.

It was the 1970’s and people had discovered that chimpanzees could acquire human knowledge. But those same researchers believed that no lower form of life such as a bird - especially with brains like Alex's the size of a walnut - would be able to do more than mimic sounds.

Irene and Alex proved them wrong as Alex learned colors, shapes, concepts such as fewer, more and even zero as well as being able to request food and put words together in new ways.

The bird also had a highly mischievous side as he would sometimes stubbornly give wrong answers when he was tired of the researchers repeating questions. When younger birds became part of learning experiments, Alex would sometimes help the beginner with the right answers – and sometimes on purpose give the poor learner the wrong answer.

Altogether, Alex proved that grey parrots can acquire language equal to or even beyond what chimpanzees are capable of doing. I’ll never look at birds in quite the same way after reading this book.

>69 streamsong: Ruta Sepetys is a good writer, Janet.
I have read three others by her: Between Shades of Gray, Salt to the Sea, and The Fountains of Silence. All well worth reading imho. This book is already on my list to read soon.

>74 streamsong: I have this book but haven't read it. Maybe I should.

>75 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Thanks for the recs of other books by Ruta Septys.

Between Shades of Gray looks especially interesting to me since I haven't read any books having to do with Lithuania. For my global reading challenge linked in >8 streamsong: I 'allow' myself to use well-researched books set in a particular country, even if the author is not from that country. Septys certainly seems to fit the 'well-researched' requirement. I added I Must Betray You to my Romanian list, even though she is a U.S. author.

I thought I Must Betray You was absolutely excellent. I'll be interested in your review after you read it.

>76 qebo: Hi Katherine! Alex and Me is sort of the everyman's version of her research with Alex. She has another, more scientific book about the subject called The Alex Studies: Cognitive and Communicative Abilities of Grey Parrots which I am considering reading.

Alex and Me is a short, quick read - but you may enjoy the more detailed study.

Hi Janet!

>30 streamsong: I have not read anything by Michener recently. I have 9 books by him, but have only read The Source from what’s on my shelves. The first book I read by him was Hawaii while in high school, and it moved me deeply. I absolutely loved the first hundred pages or so where he described how the islands were created. I was and still am deeply disturbed about how the missionaries came in… I’ll just leave it at that.

>31 streamsong: Speaking of recent snows, Karen and I spoke last night and she said that they had the worst winter in 30 years and yours was even worse. She likes the idea of me visiting and you and I getting tattoos…

>35 streamsong: (are piles of books clutter?!) Hell no. They are extensions of your Library.

>48 streamsong: Spasming and spamming… sorry about the former and LOL about the latter.

>49 streamsong: Gads. Just … gads. I’d go back to Zooming too.

>63 streamsong: I’m sorry your DS was diagnosed with Covid, congrats to DiL Sarah. I just checked out the book on Amazon, and surprise to me! It’s on Kindle Unlimited and I’ve just borrowed it. I’ll find the chapter by Sarah.

>73 streamsong: Nice to have your son’s in-laws visit Hamilton and for you all to get caught up.

Karen told me to tell you that she just bought 2 books by a Christian author you have been discussing.

Her ears also perked up at the idea I might visit MT, with you and me both getting (small, tasteful) tattoos. I'm talking with my sister about possibly a Hawaii trip this year and would consider a visit to MT before returning to NC. It's all just a thought right now.

Hi Karen! I enjoyed all the comments catching up with you catching up on me.

Well, we certainly had a very loooooong winter, setting a record breaking number of days when the temps did not get above zero. But we did not get either the deep snow or long stretches of very cold (below zero). The leaves froze on my trees last fall and didn't actually fall until the spring - the last month or so.

>49 streamsong: No news on our threatening couple at the church. I hope it's over, but there's no way to tell. :( I'll probably attend services this week. I'm feeling very isolated right now with all the spring chores to be done that are keeping me home.

I had/have dusty untidy piles of books everywhere. It was a good call to get a housecleaning service in and give me a boost toward getting started. Even though the cleaner has offended me by continually saying I need to get rid of books (she envisions me having my own gigantic book sale), I feel like I am making progress in getting them in some sort of order. I tell myself that getting a handful sorted and ordered each day will eventually get me there - and it's fun!

That's so cool that you downloaded a copy of the book that DIL has a chapter! I believe it was a project she did to get her life coaching credentials. Life coaching is a bit of a mystery to me - but I did appreciate how she morphed her love of gaming into a strategy that gaming people can use in their non-gaming lives.

DS has recovered from Covid and back to the very last weeks of his psychology work. He will be Dr Dan at the end of June.

I'm playing with a tattoo design. I'm no artist, so I'm not willing to share it, but it's starting to please me.

Almost done with April reviews! This is a local memoir by someone new to the area



42. Four Miles West of Nowhere - John Phillips - 2021 – library


The author, as the former editor of Car and Driver magazine, is used to both wealth and power and a good degree of recognition. One of the blurbs on the back of the book is from car affecionado Jay Leno.

John Phillips and his wife moved to Darby, Montana, which is about sixty miles south of Missoula and twenty miles south of my hometown, Hamilton. (2021 census lists population of the town proper as 828). They moved to a mountain home on a private road four miles west of the town in a rather posh area that they proudly announce is next to a ranch used for the filming of a certain popular TV show.

They encounter the usual stuff all the other residents encounter – things like forest fire smoke and the threat of actual fires and having to do your own maintenance on a non-county road which includes dealing with snow in the winter.

The author mentions both local businesses and local people by their names. He does have the grace not to make outright fun of them. Although other reviews mention his low key humor, I don’t see it. I just have the feeling he doesn’t understand the locals and various situations. Who makes light of search and rescue people who are unable to search for survivors from a car crashed into a fearsome river during spring runoff?

Another aspect of the author’s lifestyle that I disagree with is that he feeds wild animals – deer, moose, elk, even bears that get into the feed for other animals. He humorously talks about the feud between those who feed and those who don’t feed. There is no feud. IT IS AGAINST MONTANA LAW TO FEED WILD ANIMALS. The reasons are numerous; from grain being harmful to deer to animals that are no longer afraid of people and congregate where they are a hazard to themselves and to drivers. Fed wildlife is dead wildlife.

His stories just aren’t that interesting or unusual. But I’ll give it a guarded recommendation if you have an interest in the area.

Getting caught up after being offline for a good bit of the month visiting family and friends.

>48 streamsong: I am sorry about the allergies.

>49 streamsong: I am also really sorry about your church. My elderly parents are lifelong Methodists and their little church is going through this although it seems like the minister, who is retiring, may be the only one who supports leaving. I know of one church that left because the UMC wasn't liberal enough.

>69 streamsong: I loved I Must Betray You. Salt to the Sea was also very good. She has a knack for picking more unusual bits of history and bringing them to life.

Hi Karen! Good to see you! I'll have to catch up with your thread to see what you've been up to.

The allergies are getting much better. What a bad year! Even my cat Cree has been sneezing his head off, which my vet has assured me is also allergies.

I'm looking forward to reading Salt to the Sea. It's so much fun to discover a new author and know that there is another door opening to wonderful reading.

I have heard nothing new about what's going on at the church - I braved going to services yesterday instead of watching on zoom and it seemed all very nice and normal. The pastor only has two Sundays left before he leaves, hopefully to a full time position, as our shrinking church will need to go to a part time pastor.

A month or three ago, I went to a talk by a local historian L. Allen Strate. I was intrigued enough that I checked out one of his books from the library titled Vignettes of Montana's Bitterroot Valley. It's a rambling thing and really needs an editor, but in light of what my Corvallis Methodist Church has been going through, I was fascinated by the following in a section detailing the KKK activity in the valley during the 1920's:

“-Klansmen Enter Church in Corvallis
Members of the Ku Klux Klan made their first appearance when five white-robed figures entered the crowded Methodist Church during services. As they entered the church, after arriving in an automobile, they commanded an usher to turn out the lights. After they had departed, it was found that a letter had been left addressed to the pastor, assuring him of the Klan’s support and offered its aid in enforcing law observances in Corvallis. Communications, the letter said, were to be addressed to the Corvallis Klan, a heretofore unknown organization.

“The visitors bore a lighted cross as they passed through the church. They entered as the pastor was introducing a former Corvallis young man, who had recently graduated from a theological school. The church was filled with his friends and family. No disorder marked the proceedings, but several women and children were frightened by the mysterious visitors.” P 104, 105

No date but KKK seemed to have been active in the valley in the early 1920’s. In the footnotes, this is attributed as “Unpublished research by Phil Connelly”.

Book #43 Bird Summons by Leila Aboulela is reviewed in >24 streamsong: since I wanted to complete the review for Paul's April African authors read.

This one was read for the TIOLI April challenge number 1: Read a nonfiction book concerning a person about whom you want to learn more. I'm trying to read at least two ROOTS off my shelves each month by doing TIOLI #1 and #2 and trying to pick books that I've had unread the longest.



44. Tolkien: A Biography - Humphrey Carpenter - 1977 - ROOT acq'd 2006

I fell in love with The Lord of the Rings when I was in high school. Nevertheless, this biography has remained unread on my shelves for over fifteen years. Why? Some authors are an absolute disappointment to read about. I guess I didn’t want to know if the Professor was one of them.

He’s not.

If you had to write a fictional biography for Tolkien it would look much like this.

Orphaned at an early age, he fell In love with a girl, also orphaned and living in the same boarding house.

His fascination with languages, learning ancient languages and even developing his own secret languages based on strict linguistical rules, showed themselves at an early age.

The only disappointment to me was that his fascinating circle of friends didn’t include women. He was a complete product of his time, attending boys’ prep schools and colleges. Only in the very later years is a female graduate student mentioned. This is often reflected in his books, where usually (but not always) women have secondary roles, leaving the adventuring and hero-ing to men.

Highly recommended.

Wordle 710 4/6 alien, gourd, steel, kneel; sometimes when my brain doesn't cooperate, I have to throw in a word that I know isn't the right answer like steel (no "n") to see if can rev the old gray matter back up

⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

A very rare two for me today thanks to my beginning word. alien, agile

Wordle 711 2/6

🟩🟨🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Finished two books last night - the one written by a Moldovian (!) author and Dust Tracks on a Road. My numbers are down for the month, but A Girl is A Body of Water was a bit of a chunkster at over 640 pages.

MAY TALLY

**** 8 BOOKS COMPLETED IN MAY****

45. The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi-Coates - 2019 - Root #1 for month/ #11 for year - acquired 2021 (loaned to me)
46. Jade Dragon Mountain - Elsa Hart - 2015 - Global Reading: China - library
47. Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul - Jack Canfield et all - 1997 - acq'd 2023
✅48. Last Stand" George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo - Michael Punke - 2007 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
49. Lone Wolf - Jodi Picoult - 2012 - audiobook - acqd 2023
✅50. A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi 2021 - Global Reading: Uganda - library
51. The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov - 2008 - Global Reading: Moldova - Book Girls World Tour - acq'd 2023
52. Dust Tracks On a Road - Zora Neale Hurston - 1942 - ROOT #2 for month/#12 for year - acq'd 2018

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
- 1 - 2018
- 1 - 2021
- 3 - 2023
- 3 - library

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)
- 2 -


FORMAT
- 1 - Audio
- 7 - Print

GENRE

- 5 - Fiction May include more than one category
1 - black experience
3 - global reading
1 - historical fiction
1 - historical mystery
1 - magical realism
1 - nature
1 - satire
1 - women

- 3 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
- 1 - Books and authors
- 1 - Christianity
- 1 - Environment/nature
- 1 - Essays
- 1 - Inspirational
- 1 - Memoir

- Poetry

- - Cartoons

Original Publication Date
- 1 - 1942
- 1 - 1997
- 1 - 2007
- 1 - 2008
- 1 - 2012
- 1 - 2015
- 1 - 2019
- 1 - 2021

- 3 - female authors
- 4 - male authors
- 1 - combination of male and female authors

6 - Authors who are new to me
2 - Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited

China
Moldova
Uganda

Great reading in May, Janet. Dare I admit I have enjoyed a couple of books by Mohsin Hamid? I noticed that you and others were not fans of his work on another thread. On the other hand, I'm not much of a fan of Margaret Atwood. That's feel like heresy from a Canadian. But it is true.

Congratulations on your son , the soon to be Dr Dan.

Hi Deb - thanks for stopping by! I remember that thread but I can't remember whose thread it was. But, it wasn't me that didn't enjoy Mohsin Hamid. I gave both The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West four stars. I wouldn't mind reading more of his work.

But I usually do like Margaret Atwood, even though I know she doesn't appeal to everyone. I only gave Wilderness Tips three stars, my least favorite of her books that I've read.

I'm proud of Dan's accomplishment. He was down with Covid for two weeks and I think is still struggling this week with aftereffects. Send good thoughts that he recovers soon.

45. The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates - 2019
- Root #1 for month/ #11 for year - acquired 2021 (loaned to me)

Hiram Walker was born into slavery – or tasking – as Coates calls it. Hiram’s father was the white owner of the plantation. Hiram barely remembers his mother who was sold when he was very young. He has a memory – or perhaps a vision - of her doing a water dance with her sister.

Hiram dreams of a better life. He is tasked to look out for his white half brother in matters of schooling and running the plantation. It soon becomes clear that he is much more capable than his brother and Hiram dreams for full acceptance – but even after an accident where the carriage careens into a river and his brother is killed, Hiram sees that he will never be accepted as a true son and perhaps heir of the plantation.

There was, however a very strange occurrence when Hiram and his brother were struggling in the water – a mysterious blue light and suddenly Hiram was a half mile away on dry land.

The accident was a turning point, and Hiram’s longing for freedom can no longer be ignored. Although his first attempt at escaping was a disaster, eventually he finds himself in free Philadelphia and working to help other slaves escape. He is frustrated that he is not able to free his foster mother and his love Sophia lest it might betray those who helping them to be free.

And then Hiram discovers he has the gift of ‘conductance’ where, using the force of water, he is able to travel long distances and even take others with him.

This novel is yet another facet of slavery; and a sharp picture of the frustrations and grief of not being recognized as human – at losing loved ones and being betrayed.

Two small quibbles – Coates continual use of the word ‘tasked’ instead of slaves. Some online reading pointed out that this may be due to the reluctance of using the word slave, which is so worn that readers can see it and pass it over. But when I looked it up to see if this was a common usage of the word, I found that ‘tasked’ is a commonly used to describe a less cruel method of slavery where bound people merely had to finish their assigned chores and not be driven by a slave driver. The US had both systems – and they even occurred within the same holdings such as the difference between house slaves and field slaves. But I do not think that Coates meant the word tasked to imply that Hiram was in a less objectional position, especially as he used tasked to refer to all the enslaved.

My second quibble is the use of a magical realism power. To me, this somehow takes away from those real conductors of escaping slaves like Harriet Tubman (also in the book) who, pursued by men and dogs, risked their lives and their families’ lives to sneak through woods and countryside to help their fellows to freedom

3.7 stars

I will keep an eye out for your Global Reading books, Janet, now I have started the same.
Not all titles you mention are available in Dutch translation, as I only read in Dutch. But it is fun to see how far we can get.

>91 streamsong: Thanks for the review. I've read Ta-Nehisi Coates' autobiographical non-fiction so I'd be inclined to read this too... and may still. I viscerally dislike magical realism, but in respect for the author maybe I should figure out why others appreciate it.

>92 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I've been working on my global reading for several years now. Did you look at my global thread at http://www.librarything.com/topic/188308 ? I really like that group because you can decide however you want to count a country. I try to read some authors from the country, but also use others authors with settings in countries other than their own.

May was good for my global reading since I read A Girl is a Body Of Water by Uganda's Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi as well as The Good Life Elsewhere by Moldovian author Vladimir Lorchenkov.

I'm currently reading Free: A Child and A Country at the end of History by Albanian author Lea Ypi.

>93 qebo: Hi Katherine. I really liked Ta-Nehisi Coates' non-fiction essays, too. I liked The Water Dancer well enough that I would read it if he writes another adult novel. I haven't tried any of his Black Panther graphic novels.

>90 streamsong: Sorry, Janet , for mixing up your thread with another one. As for Margaret AtwoodI have read The Handmaid's Tale, which I didn't particularly like, but I would like to read Alias Grace and perhaps the The Robber Bride.

>95 streamsong: Thank you, Janet, I have starred your global thread.

Like you I try to read authors from a country, preferable set there, but not necessary. I started with 59 countries done, going through the books I have read since 2008.

I have also thought of the opposite: going all over the world with only Dutch authors :-)

>97 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb- No problems. I didn't particularly like the Handmaid's Tale either, especially when I first read it. However, I've enjoyed the television series made from it. I've not yet read The Robber Bride.

Enjoying different books is what makes the world go round.

>98 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita - That's pretty much what I did - I started by listing the books that I had read since I joined LT. I'll be interested to keep track of what & where you are reading!

Lately I have been getting some ideas from the Book Girls World Voyage. This month focuses on Australia and New Zealand. I was surprised that they didn't list The Bone People which I see you are reading for the TIOLI challenge. I also have that one on my shelves, but for the Book Girls, I decided to go with the much shorter YA The Whale Rider https://bookgirlsguide.com/books-set-in-australia-and-new-zealand/

I love your idea of reading all over the world with only Dutch authors.

Found the rec on Jim’s thread; as Jim gave it his thumbs up, I have confidence that the astronomical details are correct. 😊

46. Jade Dragon Mountain – Elsa Hart - 2015
- Global Reading: China
– library




Li Du is a wandering scholar in the early 1700’s in China. He has been banished from Qing dynasty Emperor Kangxi’s Court, and must now present his credentials to the ruler of the cities he passes through. A cousin, Tulishen, is the ruler of Dayan, along the dangerous Chinese/Tibetan border. Li Du is hoping to present his papers and leave quickly.

Little does he know that the city is in the midst of preparing for the Emperor’s visit. The Emperor will ‘create’ a total solar eclipse for the inhabitants in order to help cement this border community’s loyalty to China. The secret of astronomy belongs to the Jesuits who have learned how to map the stars, including eclipses. In return the Jesuits are the sole foreign organization allowed in China.

But other westerners want a part of China: both other religious orders and trading companies vie for the riches of the country.

When a Jesuit priest is found dead, ruler Tulishen wants it quickly swept under the rug lest it spoil the gala spectacle that has been planned for the Emperor’s visit.

Although Li Du only met the dead Jesuit briefly, he feels that the setting of the murder has been staged, and although Tulishen is displeased that Li Du wants to investigate it, Tulishen allows him to do so as long as it is all accomplished in the few days before Emperor Kangxi’s arrival.

I loved the glimpse into this period of China before westerners were common; besides the westerners there are internal intrigues, such as officials from the previous Ming dynasty, plots within the palace itself, and bandits on the highly trafficked Tea Road. I also enjoyed the astronomy. I’ll be reading the next in this series for sure.

Aaaaarh - still waiting for my mare Paris to foal. All the signs of imminent foaling are there - except for the very last one, a waxy substance secreted from her teats, known as 'waxing up'. Some mares foal without this final sign. As she is new to me this year, I don't have a history on what she usually does. She is within her most common foaling dates (340 days would be yesterday, June 3; 344 days would be June 7th according to various online calculators.) But mares are contrary beasties and can go a month either way.

Some people say that colts (males) 'cook' a little longer than fillies .... it would be lovely to have a filly out of her.

The snob in me is a bit surprised that I read this and even more surprised that I enjoyed it.

47. Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul – Jack Canfield et all - 1997
- acq'd 2023
a surprising



This series of Chicken Soup for the xxx were quite popular twenty or thirty years ago. I picked this one up at a free site and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

I read an entry or two along with my morning devotion and it helped put me in an upbeat mood for the day. Some of the stories will seem familiar, some a bit corny, some seem downright impossible, but all satisfied that part of me that wants to believe that even with everything going on in the world today, people are at heart good.

RUNNING TALLY FOR JUNE

53. Vignettes of Montana's Bitterroot Valley - L. Allen Strate - 2020 - library
❤️ 54. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy - 2022 - Global Reading: Northern Ireland/UK - library
55. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - 2022 - library
56. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History - Lea Ypi - 2021 - Global Reading: Albania - library
57. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith - 2014 - library
58. The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva - 1996 - Newcomers' Book Club - library
59. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff - 2023 - Fic: US/India author/ set in India/library
60. The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict - 2019 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library
61. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2005 - Book Girls World Voyage: New Zealand - library
63. Old Timers Tales of Oregon - John Taylor - 2004 - ROOT #1 for month/#13 for year - acq'd 2008

**** 10 BOOKS COMPLETED

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
1 - 2008
9 - LIBRARY

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)
1


FORMAT
10 - PRINT


GENRE

4 4 - Fiction
2 - historical fiction
3 - Global Reading
- 1 India
- 1 New Zealand
- 1 UK/Northern Ireland
2 - literary fiction
1 - mystery
1 - thriller

- 4 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)

1 - animals
1 - biography
1 - conservation
1 - feminism
2 - global reading
1 - Albania
1 - Alberta, Canada
1 - Local history
2 - memoir

1 - graphic non-fiction

- Poetry

- - Cartoons

Original Publication Date
1 - 2004
1 - 2005
1 - 2014
1 - 2019
1 - 2020
1 - 2021
2 - 2022
1 - 2023

- 6 - female authors
- 3 - male authors
- 1 - combination of male and female authors

9 - Authors who are new to me
1 - Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited

1 - Albania - NF, memoir, location, author
1 - Canada
-----Alberta - NF, memoir, location, author
1 - India
1 - New Zealand



visited 1 states (0.44%)



Create your own visited map of The World

>102 streamsong: I hope Paris will decide to foal soon, Janet!

>101 streamsong: Glad you liked it! I've got the next two at home waiting on the shelves for me.

>105 FAMeulstee: Me too, Anita! She had another false alarm last evening which had me checking her a few times when I would wake up in the night.

I have a stall that opens into a shelter area that can create one big stall for mare and foal. Since rain is forecast the next few days, I am working on getting the larger area set up. Today will be finish cleaning and then sloshing down the dirt floor with bleach and a bit of water.

Once it's dry, I'll add a layer of sawdust for absorbancy and then straw on top.

Oh my achy muscles!

ETA: I'm reading a great memoir about growing up in Albania titled Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History by Lea Ypi.

>106 drneutron: - Thanks for the rec, Jim. I have the second Li Du, The White Mirror requested at the library, but it will take a while for me to get it -

>102 streamsong: Hang in there! Hope Paris delivers soon.

Me too, Kimmers. Me too.

✅48. Last Stand: George Bird Grinnell, the Battle to Save the Buffalo – Michael Punke - 2007
- Glacier Conservancy Book Club
– library


This is a triple header for the reader interested in conservation: a biography of early conservationist George Bird Grinnell, the story of bringing the American bison back from near-extinction, and the establishment and early history of Yellowstone National Park.

It begins with the story of the destruction of the bison/buffalo – from millions that covered the western landscape to under fifty animals within the borders of Yellowstone National Park. And although Yellowstone had been established as a National Park in 1872, even the handful that lived in Yellowstone were not safe. For the first decade that Yellowstone existed, Congress would authorize money for enforcement of laws and punishment of crimes within Yellowstone, including poaching. It seemed that the very last remnant of the wild buffalo would be hunted out of existence for their trophy heads, bringing $500 or more to those that would provide them to rich collectors. The feeling was that they were almost extinct – so “I might as well get mine.”

Although George Bird Grinnell had himself taken part in buffalo hunts, he had grown up with the influences of John Jacob Audubon’s widow Lucy who owned an estate near his parents. He became both alarmed and deeply committed to their rescue. As editor of Forrest and Stream magazine he was able to publicize their plight and engage other influential men to get Yellowstone protected by law. It was a change from the ‘what profits us now’ mindset of those who wanted to not only exploit the animals, but also introduce mines and railroads within the Park to the more long range conversation and preservation of a national treasure.

And then, at 49 years old, having saved Yellowstone and its animals, Grinnell was not content to rest on his laurels, but also was highly influential in the establishment of other National treasures, such as Glacier National Park.

This is a highly readable account, written by the author of The Revenant. It’s not only an important account of early conservation movement in America, but still is highly relevant today as conservation groups are having to battle mining and gas extraction on the borders and within national park boundaries – which seem to shrink each year.

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Tags : non-fiction, buffalo, bison, George Bird Grinnell, western US history, history, biology, Glacier Conservancy Book Club, nature, Yellowstone National Park, conservation, wildlife conservation

No baby yet?

Hi Janet!

>81 streamsong: I read the chapter by your DiL. I honestly don’t quite know what to think about it, as it wasn’t organized in a way that appeals to me. But it was interesting for all that. Glad that your DS has recovered from Covid. Dr. Dan soon, early congrats! I’m glad you’re having fun with your tattoo design.

>83 streamsong: I did not realize cats can have allergies. Sheesh.

When we got married in 1991, the Methodist church Bill and his parents were (are?) registered at had a temporary pastor. We really liked him even though he was a Duke fan and Bill is a UNC Tarheels fan. The minister wore his Duke suspenders to our wedding and they’re commemorated in our wedding photos album.

>84 streamsong: Yikes. Just… yikes.

>88 streamsong: The variety of your reading is always impressive.

>91 streamsong: I’ve never heard of ‘tasked’ being used to replace the word slave. Very interesting and thank you for the detailed discussion of it.

>97 vancouverdeb: and >99 streamsong: I have only read Atwood’s Alias Grace and Oryx and Crate and loved them. I really need to continue the Maddaddam trilogy and have several others by her on my shelves that I want to read, but never The Handmaid's Tale.

>100 streamsong: Jenna and I read The Whale Rider when she was 10 (I just looked up my Amazon orders and we bought both the book and the DVD in 2003, when she was 10) and both of us found them stunning. Perhaps not her word as a 10-year old, but she really loved them.

>102 streamsong: Fascinating stuff. I hope that she's foaling even as I write this.

>112 fuzzi: No, darn it. Average mare gestation is 340-344 days with a month early or late being normal. The mare is now at 346 - so we are in the sweet spot. Every day closer. :)

>115 streamsong: Hi Karen!

Hmm if I reply to your comments, it makes more sense to put my post number that I am replying to (to which I am replying?)

>84 streamsong: Fun bit of local history! I didn't realize the KKK was active in the area

>81 streamsong: I think the book was actually sort of a school project, put together by those working on a life coach certificate. I've only read Sarah's chapter and feel like a proud mama, although self help reading is not my thing, either. Thanks for giving it a try - you earned high star friend points for that!

I think the variety of books that I read make me a wild card for people to follow. I know whose thread I look at for black writers, or literary fiction or women's prize winners, for example. Mine is goulash.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review of The Water Dancer. I definitely enjoyed Ta-Nehisi Coates' non-fiction more. Maybe I should try one of his graphic novels. :)

I'm glad that you've liked the Margaret Atwood that you've read. There will be more in my future, although not the highest priority.

Yay for The Whale Rider! I'll be looking forward to it, and I'll be sure to check out the movie, too, after reading it.

Hi, I read your posts on the African Challenge and thought to check out your thread. Enjoying your reads, we have several in common especially Atwoood Looking forward to your review of a girl is a body of water

did want to comment on the death threats faced by your Pastor. I do hope the police are involved and like you think maybe some training might be in order. In the shul I attend we have had a few of those trainings. Scary but helpful. I so hate how guns rule in this country, and daily we hear of another shooting. I just do not understand

Happy Sunday, Janet. I sure miss seeing you around. I hope you are doing well. I will add I Must Betray You to the list. I loved her earlier books. The Marriage Portrait is already on the obese TBR. So many books...

>116 cindydavid4: Thanks so much for stopping by and introducing yourself.

Thanks also for the encouragement for my remarks on the African Challenge thread. Some of the posters over there are so darn knowledgeable and well read that I often don't think I have much to contribute.

I don't think the death threats against my pastor were ever reported to the police. I think they held their course, but whatever has happened is not being shared with the general membership. Today is actually my pastor's last day - nothing to do with the threats except in an oblique way as the church needed to go from a full time pastor to a part time pastor due to money issues - which I'm sure were made worse by the doctrinal split in the United Methodist Church.

I'll definitely check out your thread!

>117 msf59: Hi Mark! Good to see you. I have definitely worked myself into a hole time-wise.

I didn't realize you were a Ruta Sepetys fan. I Must Betray You was a great read, and I'm interested in reading more of her work.

The foal was born Friday night. He's a big red leopard colt.

We had a cloud burst about 9:30 that night - over an inch of rain in less than twenty minutes with a lot of very close lightning. The top thirty feet or so of one of the big cottonwood trees behind my house broke off and fell. It was such a loud crash that I thought it had been hit by lightning. Naturally the horses all went nuts - running and hollering.

The mare was in my shed stall because I knew she was very close to foaling. She was also panicked so I decided to let her out into the attached pen so she could see that it wasn't the end of the world. She immediately dropped down into the closest mud puddle and foaled.

Lots of drama. I had some concerns and so the vet was out Saturday and assured me that everything is looking good.

No photos yet, (well a few very bad ones) but I hope to have some soon.

>120 streamsong: Glad to read the foal is born, Janet. I kept looking for updates on your thread :-)
Well, that wasn't exactly the way you had in mind, and again not a filly. Good you called the vet. Now waiting for a picture.

Good news on the foal birth (despite the drama) Janet! You will be busy.

>120 streamsong: Congrats! Looking forward to photos.

Jodi Picoult is one of those popular authors that many people love. I was going to say that I had never read any of her books, but on checking the author’s page, I remember reading My Sister’s Keeper before I joined LT in 2006. I picked up this audio book from the free rack at the local library.



49. Lone Wolf – Jodi Picoult - 2012
- audiobook
- acqd 2023


-----
Luke Warren made his name as a wolf biologist by the unlikely strategy of inserting himself into a wild wolf pack and living with them for two years.

On his return to civilization, his marriage had fallen apart. Soon, an argument with his son sent the son to live in Thailand, no longer in contact with his family.

His ex-wife moved on and remarried; only his teenage daughter remained fiercely loyal to her father and lived with him, even though it was obvious that her father’s love for his captive pack of wolves rivaled the love he had for his family.

And then one night Luke’s daughter asked him to pick her up from a teenage party that had gotten out of hand. On the way home there was a horrific crash and Luke’s doctors soon declared that Luke was brain dead. But his daughter refused to give up, stubbornly believing that her father would regain consciousness. The son returns from Thailand with an old document that gave him the medical power of attorney when his father headed off to live with the wolves.

Who can best represent Luke’s medical preferences? And what is the secret the daughter is keeping that happened the night of the accident?

This raised a slew of ethical questions, which I guess is typical of many of Picoult’s novels. It was definitely not a deep portrait of the characters, but rather an event-driven novel of family and moral dilemmas. The twists and turns kept me guessing. I listened to the audio while driving and it provided just the right amount of diversion without requiring deep concentration.

And I even learned a bit about wolf pack behavior.

Congratulations on the birth of the foal, Janet! I'm glad all is well, and yes, I expect you will be busy.

>121 FAMeulstee: >122 mdoris: >123 qebo: >125 vancouverdeb: Anita, Mary, Katherine and Deb : Thank you all!

I upped the contrast on this photo - his spots are very light and hard to photograph.

>127 streamsong: He is lovely, Janet, thanks for sharing!

>127 streamsong: What a beauty! Lucky you.

This one was a late read for the April Book Girls' World Tour and an early read for Paul's Eastern African Challenge which is happening now.

It's my first book written by a Uganda author or set in Uganda.



✅50. A Girl is a Body of Water - Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi - 2021
- Global Reading: Uganda
- library



"“The ancients had such an irrational fear of the nature of women that they would try anything to keep them under control. They supported this story by pointing to the sea. Apparently, both women and the sea were baffling, changeful: today they are this, tomorrow they are that.

….”Water has no shape, it can be this, it can be that depending on where it flows. The sea is inconstant, it cannot be tamed, it does not yield to human cultivation, it cannot be owned: you cannot draw borders on the ocean. To the ancients. Women belonged with the sea like in marriage.”

…”Since then, women have been rootless- moved not just across places but clans, tribes, nations even races. Here in Buganda, they sold mainly girls and women into slavery with the Arabs. They were considered rootless.” P 66, 67

The ancients divided the world into four realms: Up – Heaven; Down – underworld; right- land and men; left - the sea and water and women. Land and men are solid and can have permanent boundaries. There are no boundaries to be drawn on water; women are ever changing and impermanent and therefore under the control of the tribe and of men.

Into this mix of ancient tribal beliefs and modern Uganda, is the girl Kirabo. She was brought back to her tribal village as an infant by her father, Tom, to be raised by her grandmother.

At age 13, she begins a search to find out who her mother was or is.

She also seeks to define herself which she recognizes has a second part which can fly. This is when she meets Nsuuta, who is known as a witch. The definition of a witch is someone who can make men bow down to her.

This is a wonderful, complicated novel as Kirabo struggles with balancing the old and the new; learning that relationships with women can be what save you, but can also sink you; learning that relationships with men are not always the ones that destroy or even control you. The same is true of course, of family and tribal affiliation.

And women everywhere.

Highly recommended.

loved those passages. I think my fav was about the different conccpt of time

'not everyone decride th disruption of Ganda time.Rich people became even more powerful. They were the ones who could afford to buy time and fasten it to their wrists after the British took the natural clock from the sky and and chopped time up into 24 segments Children were now seen running up and down asking rich people what time is it. Even when Ganda eventually accepted the hour as a a marker of time, they counted one hour with daybreak to when night fell. 12 hours of day 12 hours of night However the Ganda totally rejected the idea of 'keeping time' They carried on with their lives as if there was no hour, no minute. After all, the world would be aroung the next day'

this played havoc with their holidays, rituals and day to day business. I knew some of the affects colonialism had on people, this was a new discover and felt rather sad aboug it

Did you see my review yet?

Hi Janet, I've been out of touch, but oh so glad I am back to visiting threads. And, yours is filled with wonderful books to add to my TBR list. For now, I've added On the Bus With Rosa Parks by Rita Dove and Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Andrew Selby.

And, how lovely that a foul is born! Thanks for sharing this wonderful news and posting the image of a creature of incredible beauty!

Hi Janet!

>120 streamsong: and >127 streamsong: Too much drama, with the crash of the cottonwood and crazy horses. But, beautiful baby, all legs. I hope he and his mama are doing well.

CONGRATULATIONS!

>127 streamsong: oh my, all legs!

>120 streamsong: I've read many times that mares often foal in the midst of a storm, to use a somewhat safe time when predators aren't lurking.

>124 streamsong: if the subject of living with wolves interests you, I'd recommend Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. I never saw the movie but loved the book, read it more than once as I recall, though not recently.

>128 FAMeulstee: >129 mdoris: Thank you Anita and Mary!

>131 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! That's another great passage, one that I can relate to now that I am retired. It also gives more insight into what the Native Americans in this area call "Indian Time". She's a wonderful writer.

I just now read your review. I like the format you use. I agree that it was nice not to have the main focus of the book be Idi Amin's bloody reign.

I'll have to back to read the rest of your thread later today.

>132 Whisper1: Hi Linda! I'm always happy when you visit my thread - it makes me think that you are feeling at least a little better to get out and about.

I'm glad you found some books that sound good to you! Always happy to add to your stack of TBR books.

Thanks for the complement about the foal. It's a lot of work, but also fun.

>133 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Altogether too much drama. And a second cottonwood (smaller though) crashed down the next day.

Thanks for the complements about the colt.

A friend thinks he may actually be palomino which are often born with light red spots. I didn't think it was possible, but looking at the AllBreed pedigree site (which are all entered by users so subject to error), it looks like it may be. The colt's mother is registered as black but she could have the cream gene from her mother and actually be smoky black instead (which can be hard to tell) I'll have to do a bit of genetic testing to sleuth it out

https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/icepariscolt

>134 fuzzi: Thank you, Lor. Interesting thought about the predators not being out and about in a storm. On the other hand, if there was a predator, the mare would not be able to smell it during the rain, or hear it in the midst of the storm.

I worry the first few weeks with babies as I have coyotes and the very rare mountain lion here in my creek bottom. I have never seen a bear or a wolf on my place although both are in the area.

>135 fuzzi: I read Never Cry Wolf several times back in the 70's. Farley Mowat's books were eye-opening for me.

>137 streamsong: thanks! love that foal, beautiful! when I was 11 or so i was big on horse books, in a big way. Read Black Beauty Man O War, Red Pony are the ones I remember. Loved Sea Biscit as an adult. I moved on in my reading but still think they are among the most beautiful animals around

Lovely foal, and glad the wait is over. It will be interesting to see what coat color he ends up with as he grows.

>141 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy - I think I read every horse book available as a kid - although The Red Pony broke my heart.

Have you read Geraldine Brooks' Horse yet?

Thanks for the comps re the foal.

>142 ffortsa: Hi Judy! Thank you! The foals are lovely fun but loads of work when things go wrongish. I am not strong enough to lift up a new born that needs to be moved into a stall and it takes a while before they lead nicely.

>143 streamsong: its sitting on my tbr mountain. Ive tried a couple of times and for some reason its not grabbing me. But I want to read it and will try again!

>145 cindydavid4: It may just not be the right time or the right book for you. I love that we are all so different!

I was tickled to death to find a book and author from Moldova for my global reading challenge through May's Book Girls Book Voyage - Eastern Europe.
https://bookgirlsguide.com/eastern-europe-books/



51. The Good Life Elsewhere – Vladimir Lorchenov - 2008
- Global Reading: Moldova - Book Girls World Tour
- acq'd 2023


This is a satire about life in Moldova. As one of the poorest nations in Europe, everyone is looking for a better life – mostly in Italy. Even the more well to do are trying to get out, as are the politicians.

Lots of silly and sillier attempts to escape, including a religious crusade wandering from town to town.

At one point a law is passed that it is unlawful to speak of Italy as a real place. When one character’s daughter comes home to Moldova for a visit from Italy where she is a nun …. Well, there’s only one solution.

Unfortunately, satire isn’t my favorite genre. After a few chapters it can feel like the same joke is being told repeatedly. Still, there were some chuckles. And now, I can (probably) find Moldova on a map as well as having read a bit of its history from online sources.

I’ll give it 3.5 stars

What a beautiful foal! Have your got a name in mind as yet?

>148 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deb. No name, yet.

Sire: Truly a Cool Breeze (Ice)
Dam: Skippa Dew Dandy (Paris)

Extended pedigree here: https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/icepariscolt

A lot of the foals from this stallion, I've started with the name Truly ...

Ideas?

Well darn it all. We've had evening cloudbursts every day for the last week. My pens have lakes in them - to the point where even the stall/shed where mama Paris and baby whatshisname are staying, flooded as water came in the front.

It's been a struggle to keep them dry and warm.

Yesterday morning when I went out to assess the damage, there was a third head in the stall - my two year old stallion was in with them - mares come back into heat a week after they foal. And while I was debating whether or not to have any foals next year, this may have been taken out of my hands. The separating panel had been pushed open from the mare's side - in other words she invited him in. He was quite happy where he was and also quite reluctant to move back to his own quarters.

Today is another day of rain and then then hopefully it should dry up a bit.

Hooray! The last of the reviews for May. I chose this one as part of my self challenge to read off my shelves using the Take It Or Leave It Challenge. This one was for Challenge #3 - Read a biography of one of your favorite authors.

My copy which I purchased in 2018 is one of the lovely Olive editions that Ellen and others introduced to me.



52. Dust Tracks on a Road – Zora Neale Hurston - 1942
- ROOT #2 for month/#12 for year
- acq'd 2018


Zora grew up in Eatonville, Tennessee, the very first incorporated all Negro town.

Her father was the mayor and also a minister. Her mother, a school teacher died while Zora was young and her father quickly remarried. Zora and her stepmother didn’t get along so Zora found herself cast off and very independent from her mid teen years.

She had a series of dream visions foretelling her future. At many points in her life, she was able to confirm what was occurring by one of these foretellings.

She began her career as an anthropologist, collecting black folk tales and songs from the south.

Fiercely independent, with an absolute gift for laugh out loud funny, but often acerbic words: (“My grandmother glared at me like open-faced hell and snorted: I vominates a lying tongue.”)

This memoir was written in 1942 when she was at the top of her game as a writer, and a leader in the Harlem Renaissance.

Besides the memoir, there are three of her essays, including her thoughts on being a ‘race man’. I cannot but wonder if some of these thoughts led to her eventual obscurity in a time when blacks were eager to claim their rightful place after centuries of being treated as lesser.

“Light came to me when I realized that I did not have to consider any racial group as a whole. God made them duck by duck and that was the only way I could see them. I learned that skins were no measure of what was inside people. So none of the Race cliché meant anything anymore. I began to laugh at both white and black who claimed special blessings on the basis of race. Therefore I saw no curse in being black, nor no extra flavor by being white."

Highly recommended. I will be reading more by Zora Neale Hurston.

Currently Reading:



The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva - book club on Wednesday
The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff
If God is Love, Don't Be a Jerk - John Pavlovitz
Down From The Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear - Bryce Andrews - audiobook in car
Old Timer's Tales of Oregon - John Taylor & Joy Taylor
Diamond Eye -Kate Quinn - audiobook

>151 streamsong: I have that on my kindle. Look like thats what Ill be reading on our beach trip (not looking for a beach read and so this might be just fine)

>151 streamsong: Zora Neale Hurston
I've just ordered this... which doesn't necessarily mean I'll read it instantly, ask me in a decade... as I also have her Barracoon in the queue after reading The Last Slave Ship and watching Descendant.

Hi Janet.

>150 streamsong: I’m sorry about the flooding. And missy letting the stallion in – shocking. How soon can you know if she’s with foal again?

>151 streamsong: I’ve stolen that quote and posted it on my thread, giving you and Zora Neale Hurston credit.

>151 streamsong: and >154 qebo: I was going to mention Barracoon. I don’t remember if you’ve read it, Janet, but I was absolutely blown away by it when I read it in January of 2019. I gave it 4.5 stars, and as you know, I’m pretty stingy with 4.5 and 5 stars.

>153 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! It's a bit more serious than my usual vacation read, but I hope you enjoy it.

>154 qebo: Hi Katherine! I think I'd especially like to try one of her anthropological works. If you decide to read one that you already have, let me know and perhaps we could do a shared read.

>155 karenmarie: Hi Karen: - I'll have to see if I can get a picture of the handsome young stud that the cougar mare chose. :) He's really nice, but will have less of a chance of producing Appaloosa color than his sire does. Will know in about three weeks if she's in foal.

>155 karenmarie: >151 streamsong: Is that the 'Duck by Duck' quote that you liked? She's really well known for that. Or maybe it was the "I vominates a lying tongue" which is definitely relevant to today's political situation. :)

I have not yet read Barracoon. I'll definitely have to get to it.

>149 streamsong: Frosted Grass

>149 streamsong: Hi Lor!

Not bad at all - :)

I've come up with
Skipda Blizzard
Truly Skipda Blizzard
Blizzard in Paris

>159 streamsong: Truly Cool Dandy?

>160 ffortsa: I like that one, Judy! Believe it or not I keep lists of names so I can recall them in future years, too.

I missed my book club on Wednesday, a discussion of The Unlikely Spy by Daniel Silva. I had missed the May meeting and then forgot that they change venues in the summer months with a view to having it outdoors on a restaurant's patio. My bad. I will lead July's discussion of Remarkably Bright Creatures which was my suggestion in response to members wanting something light for the summer months.

Happy Friday, Janet. Congrats on the new foal! He is a beauty. How is he doing? If you are looking for more of Ruta Sepetys work, I highly recommend Salt to the Sea. I hope your current reads are treating you well.

Thanks, Mark.

The colt is doing well. I need to start halter training him so I can put him and his mother out in the pasture.

Salt to the Sea sounds wonderful. I'll definitely put that on my list.

There is more about this book, including an incident with the KKK at my church in >84 streamsong:



53. Vignettes of Montana’s Bitterroot Valley – L Allen Strate
- 2020
– library

This is a local historian writing about obscure historical byways of the Bitterroot Valley, Montana where I live.

There are lots of interesting incidents: the first automobile purchased by a resident of the area was blown up; Japanese incendiary balloons landed in the southern part of the valley during WWII; KKK activity in the valley in the 20’s. There are other more well documented accounts including WWW camps and the SheSheShe camps (the women’s equivalent started by Eleanor Roosevelt), various industries and people both well known and those whose names have mostly fallen by the way side.

My biggest negative of the book is that I think it needed better editing. It sometimes becomes confusing where one newspaper account of an event ends and a different account by another source of the same incident begins. You can get a feel for the writing style, just from the title of the book.

Still, I would recommend it to people living or interested in this area. I’ve lived in the Missoula and Bitterroot Valley for over fifty years and learned many new well documented stories of the area.

❤️ 54. Trespasses –Louise Kennedy – 2022
- Global Reading: UK/Northern Ireland
– Library

This is set during the Irish troubles in a town near Belfast. Although it’s an area with both Protestants and Catholics, the lines are fiercely drawn and defended.

Cushla is twenty four, Catholic and a teacher at a Catholic primary school. One of the boys in her class has a Protestant mother and a Catholic father. This makes him the target of bullying at school both by the students and the rather deranged priest in charge of the school. The family is harassed and hated by their neighbors.

This comes to a head, when the father is brutally beaten and left for dead. Although he survives, he has extensive brain injuries.

Cushla empathizes with her young student. She starts driving him back and forth from school to avoid the constant bullying and does what she can to help with the father incapacitated.

After school hours, Cushla helps out in her family’s pub. It’s mostly run by her brother as her mother is incapacitated by alcohol. The clientele is mixed with both Protestants and Catholics. It is while working there that Cushla meets an older sophisticated married Protestant man. She is strongly attracted to him and his well-to-do lifestyle as he opens the doors for her for music and art. Cushla falls hard, although she knows that he is married and his friends make clear that Cushla is only the most recent of many such young women that Michael has wooed.

The attraction turns into an affair – one that given the political powder keg, you suspect will not end well.

This is not a comfortable read – there is steadily escalating tension and the threat of more violence. As a woman, there are times I want to shake both Cushla and Michael for disregarding entirely Michael’s marriage and the excuses Cushla makes up in her mind for Michael's actions.

“ God did this you know, he (Michael) said. Put you in front of me when I’ve nothing to offer you. “ p148

It’s a portrait of a world gone wrong with society at each other’s throats and marital conventions also thrown to the wind.

And yet, it is a plot that makes the book hard to put down.

Four and a half stars for the most poignant picture of the Irish troubles that I have read.

>127 streamsong: Lovely foal!

>150 streamsong: Sorry for all the headaches with the weather. We have also had a long week of cool days and rain. My garden is a muddy mess and it may be a few days before I can venture in.

>163 msf59: >164 streamsong: My RLBG read Salt to the Sea and we all liked it, something that almost never happens.

>166 streamsong: What an interesting review. I just got a copy of the book, and your comments make me want to bump it up my Leaning Tower of TBR Books a bit.

Happy Saturday, Janet. I NEED to get to Trespasses. You sold it. Did you get my PM yesterday?

>167 witchyrichy: Hi Karen!

Thanks re the foal. He's growing well. I need to start working to get a halter on him so he can get out in the pasture and really stretch those lets.

Lots and lots of rain and mud here, too. I think we're supposed to have a few dry days now so perhaps things will dry up a bit here. I envy you your garden!

Hmm, maybe I should suggest Salt to the Sea for my RLBG when we make choice in December.

>168 PlatinumWarlock: Welcome! I'm glad you stopped by.

I hope you enjoy Trespasses when you get to it! It seems that the books that are most intriguing to me right now are the ones that revolve around women (and others) fitting into society.

Hi Mark- Happy Saturday back at you! I did get your PM and am thinking what to reply. Of course, I am happy happy happy if you make it to Glacier Park - I might even drag my old camper up to camp with you a night. I haven't been there since pre-Covid. October can be quite chilly and is hit or miss for snow. I'll get my thoughts together a bit more, and PM you with some ideas.

I think Trespasses would be your cuppa tea.

At just shy of 67, I am adding new skills to my resume.

Because of the huge influx of people moving into this valley, it's become almost impossible to find someone who wants to take a small job of fixing rather than the more lucrative new fencing jobs. The same holds true for handyman type fixing jobs as everyone is working on new construction.

So a friend and her mother and an older neighbor of theirs who knows how to do everything but had a stroke and no longer has the strength to do (but is absolutely great at directing the three of us ... and also brings his tools) ... have been working on my fence.

Whatta riot! But we put in a new post and rehung a gate yesterday. And I am so sore after an hour's work, that I can hardly type - er keyboard today - even though I mostly drove my Dad's old tractor. (Dad always said no one else drives your tractor or your woman -- bit of un-pc advice that remembering made me smile yesterday).

>173 streamsong: So satisfying to be able to do things yourself, isn't it? Even under direction.

>174 ffortsa: It's very satisfying! But the old bod is definitely complaining about my choices.

As Beyonce said "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" ..

>173 streamsong: Whatta riot!
Well that sounds more entertaining than hiring someone. And the muscle and skill development keep you healthy.

>176 qebo: :)

55. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands – Kate Beaton - 2022
- graphic novel (non-fiction)
– library


Author Kate Beaton graduated from college with a degree in anthropology and a seemingly unscalable pile of student loans. As her hometown in Nova Scotia didn’t offer the type of jobs which would allow her to pay off this debt, she did what many young Canadians did and investigated Alberta’s high paying oil sands industry, eventually taking a warehouse type job.

What she found was a ratio of 50:1 men to women and not much to keep the isolated workforce entertained but drugs and alcohol. Everyone was transient – living in dorms or company provided housing while leaving their families back where they had originally lived.

She also found a testosterone-fueled culture in which male workers continually sexually harassed the few women – and in the worst cases even assaulted them. Throughout it all, though, she continued to wonder if the men she knew in Nova Scotia or the university would act any differently, given the harsh conditions they worked under.

Gradually, she saw other costs of working there. The title comes from a flock of ducks that died on landing on a toxic pond. The landscape was stripped, and left more barren than it had begun, leaving it unlivable for the native Cree and other First Nations inhabitants.

Eventually she left the oil sands for a job in the beautiful city of Victoria, British Columbia. There she started her cartooning and graphic novel writing career which led to this beautifully drawn graphic memoir, rendered completely in shades of gray.

Although her memoir is the Canada Reads selection for 2023, it speaks to many issues in my own home area in the US. From the toxic Berkeley Pit in Butte, MT where extreme measures must be taken to keep wildfowl from landing there, to the male dominated fracking extraction industry of eastern Montana and the Dakotas, to the concerns of a new discovery of rare minerals on National Forest Land in the Bitterroot Valley where I live, her questions echo – what are we willing to have destroyed in terms of both environment and people in order to enrich corporations and maintain our own lifestyles.

I finished two books yesterday. The first was the story of Hedy Lemarr for my book club on Thursday, The Only Woman in the Room. What an amazing life! She went from being married to the richest man in Austria, a munitions maker supporting both Mussolini and Hitler, to escaping to the US because she was Jewish. She became very famous in Hollywood, and then went on to invent what would become the basis for cell phone technology.

I don't think I've ever watched a Hedy Lemarr movie, so I watched Algiers on Amazon prime. This was her first movie in the US. I may watch another one or two of her movies.

Beautiful woman, great actress, fascinating mind.

The second book is one that I read entirely yesterday: Whale Rider, by Maori author Witi Ihimaera my June Book Girls Global Voyage choice for June's Australia and New Zealand read. What a wonderful story! I'll rate this one 4.5 or 5 stars even though it was a YA book.

Karenmarie suggested I watch the movie for this, so I'll do that, too.

>179 streamsong: I tried to read the same book and had a real hard time with the writing. Candtremember why but it just put me off and I stopped reading However the story itself is so fascinating. I suspect there is a biography of her, should take look Glad you enjoyed it!

>181 cindydavid4: I can see someone not liking the book, Cindy. I thought the writing was only fair- choppy and a bit stiff. But I did not know a darn thing about Hedy Lemarr and her amazing story.

no question there!If nothing else the book adds to our knowledge of this amazing woman.

>183 cindydavid4: Very well said, Cindy.

Most of the book club enjoyed The Only Woman in the Room and are planning to read more of her boos. Four of us commented that we weren't crazy about the writing.

Several had watched a documentary about her life called Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story which was given high ratings and continued with her life past WWII. I'll probably stream it through Amazon sometime this weekend.

June Round Up
- 10 Books Read
- 1 off my shelf/ 9 from library

As of 07/01/2023, 540 books on MT TBR.
As of 01/01/2023: 535 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2022: 530 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2021: 522 books on MT TBR

53. Vignettes of Montana's Bitterroot Valley - L. Allen Strate - 2020 - library
❤️ 54. Trespasses - Louise Kennedy - 2022 - Global Reading: Northern Ireland/UK - library
✅55. Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands - Kate Beaton - 2022 - library
56. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History - Lea Ypi - 2021 - Global Reading: Albania - library
57. The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith - 2014 - library
58. The Unlikely Spy - Daniel Silva - 1996 - Newcomers' Book Club - library
59. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff - 2023 - Fic: US/India author/ set in India/library
60. The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict - 2019 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library
61. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2005 - Book Girls World Voyage: New Zealand - library
63. Old Timers Tales of Oregon - John Taylor - 2004 - ROOT #1 for month/#13 for year - acq'd 2008

**** 10 BOOKS COMPLETED

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
1 - 2008
9 - LIBRARY

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)
1


FORMAT
10 - PRINT


GENRE

4 4 - Fiction
2 - historical fiction
3 - Global Reading
- 1 India
- 1 New Zealand
- 1 UK/Northern Ireland
2 - literary fiction
1 - mystery
1 - thriller

- 4 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)

1 - animals
1 - biography
1 - conservation
1 - feminism
2 - global reading
1 - Albania
1 - Alberta, Canada
1 - Local history
2 - memoir

1 - graphic non-fiction

- Poetry

- - Cartoons

Original Publication Date
1 - 2004
1 - 2005
1 - 2014
1 - 2019
1 - 2020
1 - 2021
2 - 2022
1 - 2023

- 6 - female authors
- 3 - male authors
- 1 - combination of male and female authors

9 - Authors who are new to me
1 - Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited

1 - Albania - NF, memoir, location, author
1 - Canada
-----Alberta - NF, memoir, location, author
1 - India
1 - New Zealand



visited 4 states (1.77%)


Create your own visited map of The World

June was a good month of reading for you, Janet.

This is Cree, the last of my small critters.

This past week he was diagnosed with diabetes - which I had strongly suspected. It came on very quickly.

Cree and I are having a tough time. I am stressed. He is stressed. He dislikes the food. He prefers nibbling food all day to eating the whole meal at one time. The insulin injections are going OK, but they seem to make him feel ill within a half hour or so of the injection. Anyone with diabetic cat tips, please chime in.

>186 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. It was a good reading month - now I need to get cracking on the reviews; only three of the ten are done.

I think my current main book The Light Pirate was probably something I saw on your thread since I know you like dystopian novels.

>187 streamsong: I've had 2 diabetic cats. The food was tough (especially when I also had non-diabetic cats). For my only cat, I set out food 2x per day so he really had no choice, and I didn't worry about when he actually ate it. Neither cat seemed to mind the injections. For both cats, the initial few months were the most difficult, because the dosage wasn't yet determined and they had to be tested frequently, which involved stabbing them in the ear to draw a drop of blood, which they hated and resisted strenuously. Both eventually stabilized so testing once a month or so was sufficient to confirm.

>185 streamsong: how did you like bandit queens? looks like a lot of fun

>187 streamsong: oh no! so sorry to hear; hope you can find something to help

>188 streamsong: Thanks for the BB! I love dystopian & post-apocalyptic fiction, AND I grew up in Florida, so The Light Pirate sounds right up my alley.

Hi Janet! Sorry about Cree! I know that can be hard. We just lost Myra, and we never did figure out what was wrong with her, so I can sympathize.

The Light Pirate has been one of my favorite reads so far this year, Janet. It has stuck with me.

>189 qebo: Hi Katherine - Thanks for the encouragement!

The vet had said not to give him the insulin until he's done eating - but Cree just doesn't work that way. He's a nibbler. He handles meals like I handle Wordle - back and forth, let it sit, and back and forth. :)

Did you do your own ear sticks and testing? The testing isn't a problem, but the ear sticks will be as Cree, former feral cat that he was, resists being restrained in any way. He doesn't even let me lift him. I'm supposed to take him back in on Wednesday for the vet to retest and re-adjust meds.

The vet said he'd be there tomorrow, so I'll give him a call with some questions tomorrow.

>190 cindydavid4: >191 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! Thanks for the good wishes for Cree.

I thought The Bandit Queens was fun. Dark humor, implausible ending. Not that the whole thing wasn't darkly implausible!

>192 PlatinumWarlock: Oh, hooray! Another dystopian fiction lover. I'll have to check out what you've read.

I think you'll like The Light Pirate, especially with your background of growing up in Florida.

>193 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. I'm so sorry to hear about your Myra. The fur people really cuddle their way into our hearts. Thanks for the good wishes for Cree.

>194 BLBera: Hi Beth! I finished The Light Pirate this afternoon. Yes, I can imagine it sticking in my mind. It felt like a very plausible near-future. Sometimes I wonder if I should be doing something to prepare ... Solar panels? Buy more books?

>199 streamsong: Oh, DEFINITELY buy more books. What else will we do during the apocalypse but read???

>187 streamsong: Sorry to hear about Cree and the diabetes. That's hard. I am not a cat owner and don't have any tips, but best wishes to you and Cree. My sister has a fairly elderly cat named Harriet. She eats very little, and I can recommend a couple of possible foods that my sister has tried recently and her 15 year old cat liked. One a broth sort of thing in a pouch, this - https://www.proplanveterinarydiets.ca/consumer/products/hydra-care-feline-hydrat... My neighbour recommended it to me, as it all her 17 year old cat will eat. I think it's like Boost for cats. My sister also tried https://www.petvalu.ca/product/acana-premium-pate-chicken-tuna-kitten-recipe-cat...
. Of course you can purchase just one can at a time to see if Cree likes it. The purina feline hydration supplement I believe has to be purchased at a vets. My sister puts out food for here cat probably 4 times a day.

>195 streamsong: The vet had said
IMO vets can be overly idealistic about what is feasible in a regular household. I did what I could. In both cases, the cats lived for several years after diagnosis.

Yes, I had the setup for glucose testing at home with lances and strips and a meter. Both cats were fairly mellow but this did stretch their tolerance. My parents had a diabetic cat who was highly uncooperative, had to be wrapped in a towel to administer medication, and they did a urine test instead. This was a couple decades ago and I don't recall details.

The one major problem I had was with the first cat, who was diagnosed just a few weeks before an international trip that I'd scheduled long before and couldn't reasonably adjust. The vet assured me that the insulin dosage was erring on the side of caution, and the pet sitter (a service, not someone I knew personally) assured me that he had vet tech training and could monitor... and neither turned out to be true. The pet sitter didn't notice the signs of hypoglycemia and the cat had to be hospitalized in an emergency. He was ultimately OK, but $$$.

>200 PlatinumWarlock: Buying more books it is then! Most of my books come from the library so I would be devastated if whatever dystopian world took out the libraries.

>201 vancouverdeb: Thanks for your message and for caring Deborah! I've looked up those two products that you mentioned and I can get both of them from Chewie.com here in the U.S. Cree is doing much better eating his new food, but it's nice to have other options in my back pocket if I need them.

>202 qebo: Thanks, Katherine.

That's a good reminder about vets. I run into the same thing with my horses.

Since I am Type II diabetic I have the glucometer and the strips, so I could learn to do this pretty easily if Cree will tolerate the blood draws.

Wow, that was a nightmare with your petsitter. I'm so sorry it happened.

The first few days with Cree, he would get very distressed a half hour after I gave the insulin as his blood sugar came down. He would lose his equilibrium a bit and go hide under the very depths of the bed. I would wake him up every few hours to make sure he **could** wake up. Night times were the worst.

Things are getting better. Cree is no longer hiding and I am no longer crying. :) He's still skeptical about the new food, but is eating enough to keep furry soul and body together.

>205 streamsong: nightmare with your petsitter
A memorable phone conversation with the emergency vet from an internet cafe in India when I got the email... This was a university animal hospital and I was so impressed that I signed up as a volunteer for awhile, doing scutwork such as stocking supplies and retrieving laundry and carting dead dogs and cats to the morgue room, an interesting behind-the-scenes view.

I'm glad Cree is adjusting.

General Updates:

Fourth of July in Montana is open to every type of firework - it was worse last night than it's ever been. I woke up briefly at 3 am to hear them still going off. The horses are all OK - they had about a week's worth of fireworks before last night to get used to them.

Cree looked calm - but he woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me he was out of water. The vet had said that fireworks or other stress could make his glucose go high; he seemed chill last evening, but by the amount of water he drank, his metabolism is telling a different story. I was supposed to take him in today to get his glucose checked but I think I'll wait until tomorrow or Friday until he settles down again.

I'm currently writing this review:



I should have taken more notes as I read it as my recall of Albanian history is very sketchy.

And I'm reading these books:

I'm interested in Native American stories, so when Mark mentioned this older title on his thread, I thought I'd give it a try (so far it's pretty dark):




Reading off my shelves:

<208 Whoops! Brady Udall, author of The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint is not native - so this story of a half white/half Apache boy is not as authentic as I thought. And I have actually read one of Udall's other books, The Lonely Polygamist. So much for not doing a bit of research on the author before requesting the book from the library.

>207 streamsong: our three cats are pretty mellow when it comes to fw Its their owners that dont like it, not just the sound but how the air chokes us in the morning. Sigh. Hope all affected animals are calmer and things will be back to normal soon

(and like Montana, our legislature decided it would be a really good idea to allow people to buy any type of fw, in a very dry climate that catches fire easily. One famiy lost their home yesterday by fire, started by an errant fw. )

>210 cindydavid4: Cindy
am I just getting too old for fireworks? Sigh. When I woke up about 3am, they were still going off. Yesterday I thought Cree was doing so well - today he is very subdued. So I'll blame it on the fireworks and hope he feels more lively tomorrow.

Wow on the family who lost their home.

This is not a great review but I've been mentally stuck with it for several days. I should have taken more notes, as I knew nothing about Albanian history.

After Paul's comment in >213 PaulCranswick:, I strongly suspect his thread is where I found this book.



56. Free: A Child and a Country at the End of History – Lea Ypi - 2021
- Global Reading: Albania (Book # 2)
– library
- 3.7 stars

As a school child in the 1980’s, Lea Ypi learned the Communist slogans and a love for Uncle Hoxna (Enver Hoxha). But she noted there were puzzling aspects to her existence. Adults in her family talked of people ‘going to University’, but never coming back. And the ubiquitous portrait of Hoxna did not appear in her family’s home – when questioned, they always made excuses, such as saying they were waiting for the perfect frame before hanging it.

Student unrest grew and riots followed leading to a revolution in 1989 and the first multi-party elections in 1991.

Both of Lea’s parents tried to further Albania’s march toward Westernisation and the acceptance into the European Union and NATO. However, liberalization led to massive layoffs and unemployment. Western financial and peacekeeping forces seemed to add to the chaos. Many citizens lost fortunes in financial ponzi schemes which were often supported by the government.

I had shockingly little knowledge of Albania’s history when I started this book. I found this memoir of communism and the post communism era in Albania really interesting and often humorous.

Eventually the author moved to Italy where she studied philosophy. She is currently a professor of political theory at the London School of Economics.

>212 streamsong: I read that too, Janet, earlier in the year and I, like you, was sketchy a little bit on the history which the author did well to disclose in parts.

>213 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Thanks for stopping by! I wonder if your thread is where I 'found' this book. I'll have to go back and see if I can find what you said about it.

ETA: Ha! Found it in your very first thread for the year.

The allure for me for this one, was of course, the country. I love the global reading that I'm doing and Albanian authors are far apart here in small town Montana.

>212 streamsong: My partner did a bike trip in Albania last summer... he loved the country and the people, and came home with interesting stories from locals about what it was like to grow up under Communism and then transition out of it. It sounded like it would be a lovely and interesting place to visit. I'll tell him about this book in case he wants to learn more.

>212 streamsong: This one sounds good, Janet. Fine comments.:)

>215 PlatinumWarlock: Lavinia, that's very cool that your partner was in Albania last year. What drew him to Albania in particular? I think he'd enjoy the book - it seems to be a continuation of the stories he was hearing while there.

>216 BLBera: Thanks, Beth for your very kind remark. :) I like doing the reviews because it helps me to remember the book - it sort of fastens it in my mind as well as reference for down the road. But some reviews are much tougher than others for me to write.

Cree was at the vet yesterday for a blood sugar check. The insulin and new food are working and he was in the normal range. He'd also gained a bit of weight, which is good. And best of all he is acting more like his regular self everyday.

I've given many animals courses of injections like antibiotics for several weeks at a time. It's very daunting to me that this will be for the rest of Cree's life.

I think Cree's problems will inspire me to take better care of my own Type II diabetes. I'm very good about taking my medicine, but I really need someone to say "Nope, this is what you eat now. You may not like it, but you'll get used to it and love it".

So I attended an online AARP diabetic cooking class yesterday. I'll try the recipes - chicken salad made with Greek yoghurt, blueberries, celery and herbs in a lettuce wrap and oven baked battered green beans. I'll report back after I try the recipes.

Today my friends are coming over to help with fences again.

It looks like the weather will be nice, so I will probably attend (the last of the summer!!) community concert in an outdoor park this evening.

This is the first of the Cormoran Strike mysteries, recommended by Karenmarie and others here on LT.

And hooray! I'm now halfway through the June reviews with five down and five to go. Plus, of course, the two books I've finished for July.



57. The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith - 2014
– library
Tags: fiction, mystery, J. K. Rowling, London, private detective, supermodel, suicide
(3.7 stars)

Cormoran Strike is at the very bottom of his luck.

He returned from Afghanistan with one leg partially amputated. The detective agency he is trying to start has only one client. His rich, socialite girlfriend has kicked him out of her house and her life.

Cormoran is making do on a camp cot in his office with a bathroom down the hall.
But his life is ready to change.

First of all his new temporary secretary, Robin Ellacott, arrives. It turns out she has a lovely bit of intuition and also discovers a talent for a bit of detective work on her own.

Secondly, John Bristow arrives with a complicated case. His sister, supermodel Lula
Landra, has apparently killed herself by jumping off the balcony of her ritzy super secure building. Only John believes that it was murder.

I thought the characters were great – complicated with interesting back stories. The plot itself was twisty and turny.

I had avoided this series which JK Rowling wrote under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. As a fan of the Harry Potter books, I didn’t want to be disappointed. But I should have had more faith that Rowling, a master of character and plot could pull off this detective series. I’ll be continuing onward with the series.

>218 streamsong: I'm glad to read that you and Cree are getting into the swing of the injections and blood sugar checks and that Cree is doing well. When our second dog, Daisy, a bichon friese that we adopted at the age of 8 from our local animal shelter, started to drink like crazy and also pee like crazy that she might have diabetes. It took off to the vet after I realized it was more than just really thirsty due it being the middle of summer. The vet said it was not diabetes, but more was Cushing's disease Daisy could no longer hold her bladder, so we got dog diapers. The vet felt in light of her age , and the fact that she was partially blind due to glaucoma and was partially deaf, the medication would for Cushings would be too hard on her. So , sadly we had to put her to sleep after about 7 months due to the pain she was in. But I know of friend of my mom's who's cat managed well despite diabetes for 4 - 5 years. It sounds daunting indeed. Best wishes! I hope you own diet plans go well. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for my dog as she eats her dry kibble for dinner that we portion out. She does get a few treats, but I guess that is not so possible if your cat has diabetes. I'd like to lose 20 lbs. I'm sure my husband would be delighted to portion out my food, but not so much me.

>217 streamsong: Fair question, Janet! He has a cousin who, with her husband, has owned and operated an outdoor "adventure" travel company for 40 or so years... they're in their mid-70s and still lead trips all over the world (now mostly bike... they farm the other kinds of trips out to other leaders). We were going to be in Spain anyway, and they were leading a bike trip in Albania that started just three days after we finished in Spain, so I flew home (dogs to be cared for!) and he and his sister joined up with their cousins for 10 days in Albania. As a non-confident cyclist, I was not particularly envious about THAT trip, but I hope to get there someday.

>220 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the kind words Deborah. Cree is doing really well and is getting back to being his old self. This morning he woke me up at five to listen as the early birds begin to sing. I hid my head under the covers and he dug under the blankets for me. No use being asleep when life is happening out there!

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog Daisy. The fur persons lives are much too short.

I give Cree a few of his favorite treats when I inject his insulin. I need to investigate the freeze dried protein treats for cats which are healthier than those with grains.

I also have an old horse with Cushings. He's not doing very well and I plan to send him over the rainbow bridge before the winter weather closes in. In the meantime, he's grazing and hanging with his buddies - not in pain but very thin.

>221 PlatinumWarlock: Wow, that's wonderful, Lavinia! Biking would be an amazing way to tour a country, although, like you my biking is limited, and I don't think I could manage seeing a country that way.

I think I need to read some more modern Albanian literature.

>173 streamsong: same problem here in NC.

My son and I installed a new mailbox today. Not as involved as rehanging a gate, but with challenges.

Hi Lor - Good for you for fixing your mailbox! Hooray for new skills since the handymen have all disappeared.

My mailbox needs some work, too. But first, the fences.

Hi Janet!

>157 streamsong: Yes, the Duck by Duck quote.

>218 streamsong: Yay for Cree’s getting settled into the new food and insulin regimen. I hope you can make some of the recipes you learned about for your own Diabetes. Yay for fence work and the community concert.

>219 streamsong: I am so glad you liked The Cuckoo’s Calling. I’ve read the books once and am listening for the third time. JK is, as you say, a master of character and plot. Now we just need to convince Karen to read the series!

HI Karen! It's good as always to see you. The duck by duck quote is a good one.

I am amazed at how well Cree is doing. I'm taking it as a reprieve and enjoying his cuddles and purrs and his goofy waking me up at 6am at first light to tell me the birds are out there chirping ... I don't know how long it will last.

I definitely need to rearrange my schedule. I know I need to work on my own diabetes, but evenings I am so tired I usually eat whatever is easiest. It's a bad habit I know. I need to fix some chicken or something for salad earlier in the day to eat at dinner time.

It will be a bit until I get on to the next of the Robert Galbraith mysteries. I currently have several mysteries home from the library or scheduled for various book clubs. Summer is a great time for mystery reading.

Another June review. I'm slowly getting through them.

Spy novels are a bit outside my regular reading. This one was a choice for RL book club #2. It is Daniel Silva’s first spy novel.



58. The Unlikely Spy – Daniel Silva - 1996
- Newcomers' Book Club
– library

During WWII the successful British invasion of France depends on the Germans not knowing where it will happen. It also depends on a harbor for the ships to land and men to deploy. This limits the possible sites of invasion and makes it easier for the Germans to defend those few sites.

Until the British devise a plan whereby huge container ships can be floated across the channel and sunk offshore, creating a new harbor.

It’s a plan that must be kept from the Germans.

Although many of the Nazi spies have been rounded up and either killed or converted to British assets, there are still spies in England. Some have been established there for years and are sleepers until the time is right. One of the woman sleepers has killed a solitary woman and assumed her identity. One hates the British. He’s Irish and his brother was killed by them. Others can be brought in by submarine across the short stretch of channel and landed on desolate bits of coast.

Inside the halls of power, the Nazi spymasters have several competing spy organizations. The British also have competing units. It’s not clear where loyalties belong.

It’s a complicated and twisty story. I enjoyed the historical aspects the best.

>212 streamsong: Sometimes you have to post a sub-par review and move on. I run in to this problem a lot.

>187 streamsong: I am so sorry to hear about Cree but glad to know he is better and adjusting. We went through diabetes with our dog Major and struggled at the beginning. I think dogs might be easier as they are generally better eaters. My main advice is to try to relax as much as you can as I think our stress passes on to the pets. And, I got to the point where I would feed Major whatever he wanted just to make sure he was eating. At the end, I was cooking for him from scratch. Is there anything he really loves to eat? Sending good vibes your way.

I am really behind on reviews myself. Summer weather and recent events have kept me offline.

>229 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel - That's a very good point. I do the reviews mostly for myself, to help me remember the main plot points and my impressions. Otherwise, I can stare blankly at a book, know I read it, but not remember much else.

Of course, I'm thrilled when I really like a book and inspire someone else to read it. Talking about books is why I'm here.

It's a perfectionist tendency coming out in me, I know. "That word's not right, that phrase doesn't mean quite what I want it to, the whole review is off". Some people write such graceful reviews that it's a pleasure to read them.

>231 streamsong: Hi Karen! It's lovely to see you here.

Thanks for sharing your experiences with your dog Major. My DIL cooks for her dog from scratch, too. That takes a lot of determination. Her dog suffers from skin allergies and small tumors and also does better with home cooked food.

Right now Cree is eating OK. He seems happy enough with the dry kibbles from the vet and some low carb canned food although he does pick all day. I give him three of his very favorite treats when I inject him.

I knew that dry kibbbles could cause kidney stones in cats unless they also eat a bit of wet food. I didn't know that the regular brands of kibbles have high glycemic carbs in them like wheat and rice. Some people switch over to no carb kitty food entirely, but my vet thinks they do better with lower carbs with lower glycemic values like sweet potatoes and legumes.

I need to get over to your thread to see what you've been up to.

This was longlisted for the Booker and sounded fun.



59. The Bandit Queens - Parini Shroff - 2023
Global Reading: - Fic: US/India author/ set in India/
- library


Geeta’s husband disappeared five years ago. It was widely known that he was an abusive alcoholic. Since she is so much better off without him, there is speculation in the small Indian village where she lives that she murdered him. She is silent on the subject, but has removed her nose ring, the Indian symbol that she is married.

But other women in her micro-loan group also have abusive husbands that they would like to have disappear. A few of the men are even attacking vulnerable girls of the untouchable caste . The women threaten to tell the authorities that Geeta has murdered her husband unless she helps them do the same. And as bodies add up, so do blackmail possibilities.

It takes some major twists for the body count to end. And one of the bodies may be Geeta’s as she has acquired a powerful enemy.

This is not only a darkly humorous story about the plight of many women today in India’s male-dominated society, but a commentary on caste and the problems of alcohol.

Throughout the book, Phoolan Devi, the original Bandit Queen is held up as an example to women. I was very interested to read this author’s note at the end of the book:

“Author’s Note: Though Phoolan Devi (born Phoolan Mallah) was a real person, she lived a life flooded with extremes beyond credulity …

“Phoolan began life with a myriad of disadvantages: born poor, born low caste, born a woman. Nevertheless, at a young age, it was exasperatingly clear to her parents that Phoolan would neither be silenced or quelled. This is likely why they married a very young, headstrong, Phoolan to a man thrice her age, with disastrous results. After joining a gang of dacoits, she both committed and was subjected to a series of crimes. She eventually surrendered to the police and was imprisoned for eleven years. Upon her release, she became a member of Parliament and an activist until 2001 when she was assassinated at the age of thirty-seven.” P337

ONGOING TALLY - 4- BOOKS COMPLETED IN JULY

64. The Light Pirate - Lily Brooks-Dalton - 2022 - library
65. Down From the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear - Bryce Andrews - 2020 - audiobook - library
66. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall - 2012 - library
67. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Maggie O'Farrell - 2007 - library

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED

- 4 - Library

Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)



FORMAT
- 1 - audiobook
- 3 - print

GENRE

3 - Fiction

1 - literary fiction
1 - mental health
1 - Native Americans
1 - speculative fiction
1 - women

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>233 streamsong: I really enjoyed The Bandit Queens as well, Janet; it was so original. I enjoyed the humor as well.

>233 streamsong: reading this now and loving it! fits with my earlier read of first wife

Hi Janet!

>234 streamsong: I loved The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox when I read it for RL book club in 2009.

Glad you and Cree have figured out the cat insulin routine.

I just read a book, one of my romances, about Julian and his roommate Nora, who have a 25-lb ginger named Fishsticks. Fishsticks only loved James, Julian’s dead husband. He is diagnosed with diabetes early in the book and has to get insulin twice a day. He hates Julian and Nora, but loves Julian’s new romantic interest, Liam, and will sit still for Liam while Julian gives him the shot. Julian and Nora are in awe of Liam's cat whispering abilities.

Hi Karen!

I loved The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, too. One thing about not having discovered great authors five years ago is that I have lots of back catalog to read. :)

Friday afternoon I'll take Cree to the vet to get his blood sugar checked again. It's been two weeks, and while things are going smoothly, I feel sort of mentally drained right now.

Ha! You didn't tell me the name of the book you were describing. I might read that one. I tried searching on the tag "diabetic cat" but no result.

One of my, you know, MM gay romances with lots of gay sex... The Right Wrong Number by Katie Warren.

*smile*

I mentioned the bits with Fishsticks to Karen when we talked last night, and she cracked up.

Figured that was probably it. :)

>237 karenmarie: & >239 karenmarie: That sounds sweet and hilarious. And a TWENTY-FIVE POUND CAT??? Good heavens. 🤣

>241 PlatinumWarlock: I think there is room in contemporary fiction for more diabetic cat novels/pot boilers. Romance, superhero, dystopia, crime who knows? I'm reading two online diabetic cat groups and some of the owners are positively obsessed. :)

I am soooooo glad and grateful that Cree is back to being Cree - grooming, playing, cuddling, purring and doing all that good cat stuff. His vet blood glucose check on Friday was good - even a little low so they cut back on the insulin he is getting.

Friday was a several hour fence repair session, Cree to vet in afternoon and then two hours on a folding chair for the last (!) public summer concert of the year.

Saturday my back was so sore from the combination of fence and folding chair that I spent a good part of the day in bed, lounging and listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures on audio. I had enjoyed reading it earlier this year and suggested it as a nice light summer read for the RL bookclub on Wednesday. It's so popular right now that there isn't a copy to be had through the llibrary; luckily I got the audio through my library's Hoopla account. I need to lead Wednesday's discussion and had forgotten many of the details.

I'm reading six books right now.

I want to give a shout out to this one:



Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story by Jacob Tobia

It's funny and thoughtful - breaking many of my stereotypes of transgender people.

>237 karenmarie:, >241 PlatinumWarlock: I had a 25 lb cat... partly he was just big, and partly he was bigger than he should've been, but his sister was too skinny so I had to balance between them. Adopted from an abandoned litter that was dropped off at a colleague's barn. Neither was diabetic, that was a third complication in the mixture.

>242 streamsong: Glad that Cree has adjusted and is back to behaving like a cat.

we have had severl Main Coons over our lives, most of them have reached 25 pounds. they have been healthy, living to 15-18, both males and females

>242 streamsong: I'm reading two online diabetic cat groups and some of the owners are positively obsessed.

You literally just made my day. 🤣💜

>244 streamsong: I finished this just recently - LOTS to think about!!

I'm so glad to read that Cree is doing so well, Janet. What a big weight off your shoulders. I do hope you enjoy Old God's Time. That is the third book I've read by Sebastian Barry and I've enjoyed all of them. I sure hope you can sort out how to get to Banff to Vancouver during the day. As far as I know, only Rocky Mountaineer offers day time train rides from Banff to Vancouver.

https://www.rockymountaineer.com/routes_destinations?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChM...

I must say it is a pricey way to travel.

Glad Cree has been doing better! Sorry your back hurts.

>244 streamsong: I'm reading six books right now. Yes! That sounds so much like how I read, Janet.

Good luck with Cree. It sounds like he is doing well now. Your review of The Cuckoo's Calling was the one that finally got me to hit the hold button at my library.

>245 qebo: Hi Katherine! Twenty-five pounds is a lot of cat muscle. My feral cat Bob was that big, too.

Yes, it's nice to have Cree being back to doing Very Important Cat Things.

>246 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! Maine Coons are such beautiful cats. Lucky you to have been owned by several of them.

>247 PlatinumWarlock: >248 PlatinumWarlock: Hi Lavinia! Glad I made you crack a smile!

Yeah, lots of food for thought in Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story. Not always a happy story, but I am learning so much from it.

>249 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah - I'm glad to hear your good report on Sebastian Barry. I love finding new authors - and LT threads are rich with them.

Thank you so much for the link to the train from Banff to Vancouver. You are right - a bit pricey but it sounds like a nice way to travel by myself. And I'd love to see that part of Canada.

The big barrier to my traveling is my horses. Too many and a bit complicated to find someone to handle them (especially my stallion) for more than a day or two.

>250 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel! Good to see you and thanks for the good wishes. My back is getting better - I just need a younger one. :)

>251 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! I'm glad to meet another lots-of-books-at-a-time reader. I have several going that I'm reading only a chapter a day, a couple I feel obligated to read, and the one that is my 'main read'.

I hope you like The Cuckoo's Calling. Karenmarie is the one who convinced me to finally read it, so you can one-person-removed thank (or blame!) her.

There was some conversation about this one in >179 streamsong: & >181 cindydavid4:. Finally have the review done! I'm about eight reviews behind.



60. The Only Woman in the Room - Marie Benedict - 2019
- Library Brown Bag Book Club
- Global Reading: Austria (partial location)
- library

Heddy Lamarr was born Hedwig Kiesler in 1914 to an upperclass Jewish family in Austria. She loved acting from a very young age.

Soon after her appearance in an Austrian play she was spotted by Friedrich Mandl, one of the richest, most powerful men in Austria; he was an arms and weapon manufacturer with ties to Benito Mussolini. He was obsessed with her and insisted on marriage. Hedy’s father believed that even though Mandl was partly Jewish, he would be able to protect Heddy through the coming political struggles and so encouraged the match.

After her marriage Heddy felt Mandl did not see her whole person and treated her as a doll. She was often hostess to upper level political dinners with her husband and Austrian and Fascist leaders. As Hitler rose in Germany, he and other top Nazis also attended Mandl’s dinners. It became clear that Hitler intended to engulf Austria and proceed with his final solution for the Jews.

Heddy was held almost captive by her husband, but after several escape attempts was finally able to elude him. She ended up in Hollywood where she rose quickly as a film star.

Her desire to use her fine but untrained mind in addition to her gorgeous exterior, led her to work on various inventions. One, especially, she hoped would be of use to the US Navy directing torpedoes from submarines and help to win WWII. Although the Navy turned down her idea (the book implies it was merely because she was a woman), her idea of changing frequencies randomly became the basis of modern cell phone technology.

She was an interesting woman with an interesting story. I knew little about her and was quite intrigued. This was a choice for my Real Life Book Club, and while everyone enjoyed learning about this amazing woman, a few of us were not fond of the writing. To me, it felt episodic and unemotional.

Several people suggested watching the documentary Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story which continues covers the same period as this book and then continues her life story.

Last night I finished my audio reread of Remarkably Bright Creatures for book club on Wednesday. Since I have to lead it, I was tooling around for discussion questions and came about the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher.

This is absolutely amazing. The videography is wonderful; it's the most aesthetically beautiful film I have seen in a very long time - and if you doubted any of the things Marcellus could do in RBC, this will disabuse you of the idea that his intelligence was exaggerated in the book.

I'm glad the Rocky Mountaineer link proved useful to you, Janet. I took the train - VIA Rail from Winnipeg to Vancouver when I was in my thirties. I am flying phobic, so my husband and I and our two young kids drove to Winnipeg one way - it's a three day trip by car. My husband and kids flew home, while I went VIA Rail. It was a lovely trip! Two nights and two days. I can attest to the fact that it is a great way to travel alone, as I did just that. I did have my own roomette, but also had access to the Observation deck ( and anywhere else on the train I wanted to go ). People were very friendly and the scenery was great.

I caught a BB from you yesterday, Sissy: A Coming of Gender Story. My library did not have it, so I purchased it from amazon and it should arrive tomorrow. It a subject I need to know more about, as I think is the case for many of us. Thanks!

>257 streamsong: This sounds fascinating. I will move it up on my TBR pile.

Hi Janet, it was fun catching up with your busy life. Belated congratulations on that beautiful cold, whatever name he ends up with. I'm glad to hear that Cree is adapting to the diabetes treatment. Our pets are such an important part of our lives, aren't they? I also get perturbed about the weeklong fireworks. We were dogsitting with my son's Golden Retriever Maverick who is very scared about storms and strange noises. I ended up on an air mattress in the basement game room. It is soundproof and we both got some good sleep.

My book group just read The Bandit Queen. I hardly ever miss a meeting but Hope was here plus I didn't reserve the book in time to receive a copy. Sounds like a fun book so I will definitely read it sometime. I hope your book discussion goes well. Is it today? Remarkably Bright Creatures lends itself to a memorable discussion. Looking forward to your report.

Hi Janet, it was fun catching up with your busy life. Belated congratulations on that beautiful cold, whatever name he ends up with. I'm glad to hear that Cree is adapting to the diabetes treatment. Our pets are such an important part of our lives, aren't they? I also get perturbed about the weeklong fireworks. We were dogsitting with my son's Golden Retriever Maverick who is very scared about storms and strange noises. I ended up on an air mattress in the basement game room. It is soundproof and we both got some good sleep.

My book group just read The Bandit Queens. I hardly ever miss a meeting but Hope was here plus I didn't reserve the book in time to receive a copy. Sounds like a fun book so I will definitely read it sometime. I hope your book discussion goes well. Is it today? Remarkably Bright Creatures lends itself to a memorable discussion. Looking forward to your report.

>258 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Your Winnipeg to Vancouver trip sounds wonderful! I wonder if train travel will become more popular again what with the impact on climate from air travel. I'm told the fast speed bullet type trains in other areas are amazing, but my only train experience is a long time ago and very different. When I was a child in the late sixties, my mom, brother and I would take the train across the Dakotas to visit her family.

Good luck with Sissy. Parts of it made me want to applaud, parts of it made me want to cry and parts of it made me wish the author had sometimes had a bit more sense. I just finished it yesterday. Lots to mull over, and quite different than any other coming-of-age or coming-out story that I have read.

>259 BLBera: Hi Beth! Remarkably Bright Creatures is mostly light and fluffy feel good. Perfect for a summer read. I laughed when I read an author interview where she was pitching her book with an octopus main character as literary fiction. No, no, she'd assure them - not science fiction or fantasy but literary fiction.

>260 Donna828: Hi Donna! Everyone at the book club enjoyed RBC, although a friend declined to read it altogether as she said 'it didn't sound like her thing' and another woman said she would never have read it without the BC, but really enjoyed it. We ate lunch out on the restaurant's patio and it was really a perfect summer day.

As we were leaving a woman seated next to us said she was just passing through Hamilton, but otherwise would love to be a member of our group. I thought that was ever so sweet!

I hope you do read The Bandit Queens. I'll be interested to see what you think.

Cree continues to do well. Yesterday was blood sugar testing at the vet's again and they lowered his insulin again. He is continuing to add healthy weight. The night before he even did a short stint of cat zoomies up and down the hall. I hadn't seen that for a while.

This one was a suggestion from the Book Girls' June Global tour for New Zealand and Australia - and I must admit I read it partially because it was so very short - and a modern classic.

Here's a lovely interview with the author:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p00mn5ln

No, I haven't yet watched the movie, but I plan to do so.



New Zealalnd Book #4. The Whale Rider - Witi Ihimaera - 2006 - Fic (Maori author, location, English) - 6/2023

Maori chief Koro Apirana is an old man who feels his health and strength fading. He is desperate to have an heir of his own blood to pass on the things the next leader must know. But when his grandson produces the first child of the next generation, it is a disappointing girl. Koro vows to have nothing to do with her and to look outside his immediate family for the next heir.

The girl, Kahu, makes her great grandfather the center of her life and loves him like no other. She also has inherited some of the mystical Maori powers – apparently she can speak to the whales, echoing the Maori legend of Paikea who led his people to New Zealand on the back of a whale.

The story is told by Rawiri, Kahu’s uncle who is finding his own balance between the Maori traditions and the modern world. At one point he goes to work in Papua New Guinea, where, he finds that although the plantation owner’s son is his best friend, other dark-skinned people in the country are treated poorly.

The third set of characters are a pod of whales – we are inside the pod and hear their thoughts as they travel from the Antarctic northward to the fateful island of New Zealand.

This is much more than a children’s story, although it is often depicted as such. It’s a beautiful combination of the exquisitely sad and the beautiful with a strong element of humor thrown in (Go Nanny Flowers!) , which as the author says in an interview, is like “putting an arrow in the bum”(shooting someone with an arrow in the ass) to keep it from being too overwhelming to read.

5 stars with a few tears at the end.

This is a photo of the Bowles Creek fire which has blown up to about 1000 acres and is about ten miles upstream of my place on the head of Skalkaho Creek. Such fires tend to go uphill rather than down and so my place is probably safe - except from smoke which was really thick yesterday.

It's also been in the mid to upper 90's the last few days; the combination of heat and smoke is nasty. I go out as early as I can to work in the cool of the mornings (I am NOT! a morning person).

Yesterday afternoon I went to town to accomplish four errands. I screwed up three and a half of them (did not remember to take library books, one store was closed on Mondays, forgot to pick up my prescription). I did get a few groceries, but forgot to buy the TP (which is almost as bad as not buying cat food!).

As I was putting groceries away, my legs cramped up, I was a bit dizzy and incredibly sleepy. Obviously I am doing something wrong. Drink more water? Drink more electrolytes? Longer breaks in the house with a book or playing on LT?

It's supposed to be cooler today - low 80's, so I will attempt the errands again. :)

Ugh, that sounds like a stressful day! Hopefully things get better!

Not going to read through every post, Janet, but just checking in!

>265 streamsong: I am glad to hear that you are not in danger from the wildfire and hope that stays true! I hope that the dizziness turns out to be heat-induced and not something more serious. Drink lots more water!

My main book right now is The Trial of Adolf Hitler: The Beer Hall Putsch and the Rise of Nazi Germany by David King about Hitler's attempted coup in 1923. I'm listening to it for my RLBC on Thursday. I didn't think I would like it as I don't read much history, but it's fascinating in light of America's current politics. I'm listening to it on my library's Hoopla service, so I am taking *Pages* of notes to try and keep all the dozens of people straight.

I'm also reading Old God's Time, my first by Sebastian Barry.

>267 alcottacre: totally agree. drink more water than you normally, and if you are running around in full sun, a hat would work well

>265 streamsong: So sorry about the smoke, but goodness, Janet, the place where you live is lovely! Hope today is better on the hydration front. 😀

>266 The_Hibernator: >267 alcottacre: >269 cindydavid4: >270 PlatinumWarlock: Thank you Rachel, Stasia, Cindy and Lavinia.

I think you all are right and just not enough water yesterday. In addition to the unaccustomed heat, smoke particles are also very dehydrating since they have been recently superheated and could not be drier. I did not turn on my humidifier yesterday, which I usually do during smokey periods. And when coming in to cool off, I was sitting in front of my large HEPA filter since I don't have air conditioning. While the breeze felt wonderful, it was a case of very warm air blowing on me and probably dehydrating me further.

The problem of living by oneself is that sometimes you get into trouble without recognizing it. All my silliness during the errands yesterday, I just chalked down to being a bit overtired and perhaps having a bit of low blood sugar from my morning work. It wasn't until the cramps and dizziness that I knew something else was happening.

>270 PlatinumWarlock: Yes, I love where I live. I feel very lucky to live here.

Take care of yourself, Janet. Your conditions sound awful right now.

>265 streamsong: Sure hope you remain well clear of any approaching fires. It must always be a concern for you because of all your beautiful animals that you care for. Sorry about the dizziness too. i have just had another high heart rate episode that was managed by doublling up my medication so no need for a cardioversion. I only mention this because dizziness is the signal that I am having a racing heart as I cannot feel it. The advice to drink lots of water is a good on. Take care!

>265 streamsong: I'm almost 63, and have been experiencing leg cramps as well for several years, but not just in the summer heat. One of the causes is definitely dehydration, but I still get them at night when I've been drinking water all day. I tried making a concoction that I read about, "Golden Milk" (my physicians from India know about it) and I have not had ONE cramp at night if I drink it before bed. No kidding. The original recipe I tried called for almond milk but I am sensitive to almonds so I substituted oat milk. The recipe also calls for honey, coconut oil, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, cloves, and black pepper. It works.

Thanks, Lor. I have never heard of golden milk but will give it a try. It sounds very easy and yummy. Do you make it fresh each time? I see several recipes for making and keeping the powder, but I'm not sure how much of a time saver that is.

I drink a glass of gator-ade each day after working outside, but that always strikes me as a bit chemical. I also drink unsweetened ice tea, but not after the mid-afternoon so the caffeine doesn't keep me up.

Hooray! The last of the June reviews. I chose this book off my shelves as part of my pledge to read two ROOTS a month using the first two TIOLI challenges. This makes my book choices pretty random - and I'm getting to a few books that I wouldn't ordinarily choose. Sometimes (often?!) my choice takes me more than one month to complete.



63. Old Timers Tales of Oregon – John Taylor and Joy Taylor - 2004
- ROOT #1 for June/#13 for year - acq'd 2008

I enjoy stories of pioneers and early settlers. This book consists of memories of six people all who spent time in the area of Grants Pass, OR.

There are the usual, but interesting stories of early day logging, forestry and homesteading. One of the more amusing to me stories consisted of a report of a neighbor who held ‘pig drives', taking them to market in the same way another might have a cattle drive.

There are also more unusual stories of Mary Paetzel, an environmentalist who made her living collecting pollen, and of Victor Gardener, craftsman of over 400 violins, violas and cellos.

The subjects were quite interesting, but as I often wish with oral histories, I would have like a bit more editing.

This was probably recommended by Beth. There was some earlier conversation about the book starting with >199 streamsong:

And the first of the July reviews:



64. The Light Pirate – Lily Brooks-Dalton - 2022
– library


Hurricane Wanda was the beginning of the end for Florida. It was especially life changing for the Lowe family – a time of utter devastation as well as the birth of their daughter, Wanda, born prematurely during the storm and named by her mother with her dying breath.

As hurricanes became fiercer and more frequent, the water levels rose throughout Florida. With each storm more infrastructure was destroyed until public workers like Wanda’s father, linesman Kirby Lowe could not keep up. One by one, the utilities blinked off – electricity, cell phone. Roads as well as supermarkets and gas stations were abandoned. Eventually entire cities were deserted and Florida was left to become wild once more.

Although Floridians had no choice but to leave, climate change was wreaking havoc everywhere. While certain areas of the country were moving more slowly toward extinction, there was no doubt they were moving.
.
The child Wanda and her best friend, a retired prepper named Phyllis chose to stay in Florida’s swamp land.

And then there is Wanda’s gift – a touch of magical realism through the story that may help save or sink them.

One cannot survive by desperately clinging and trying to restore what was. It’s a bit of a Buddhist twist for me – suffering is caused by attachment to what was; the only path is moving forward.

Great comments, Janet. I still think about The Light Pirate, and it meshes well with one I just finished, The Memory of Animals.

>275 streamsong: it keeps for three days, so I make three servings and keep it in a mason jar in the refrigerator.

Golden Milk (Triple recipe)
3 C milk (recipe called for almond, I use oat milk)
2 Tablespoons honey
(1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla)
4 1/2 teaspoons coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/8 teaspoon ginger (I round it up to 1/2)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Warm slowly in a pan using a wisk to combine ingredients and keep milk from scorching. Do not boil. Will keep for three days in refrigerator.

I warm it up in the microwave for day 2 and 3.

>276 streamsong: looks interesting!

>279 fuzzi: Thanks for the recipe, Fuzzi... I'm going to try it!

Yes, thank you, Lor. I'll be trying it, too. I had looked up recipes on the net, all of which varied a little bit, so it's nice to know which one you recommend.

>280 fuzzi: I enjoy memoirs and biographies of pioneers. The challenges they faced are amazing to me.

>282 streamsong: >281 PlatinumWarlock: great! I look forward to your thoughts.

FYI: that recipe has a couple tweaks. I added cloves, switched coconut oil for almond butter, and I stopped using vanilla. I don't think it needs it.

>256 streamsong: I very much like the books written by Marie Benedict. I checked my reviews, and found that I didn't like this one. She seemed to ramble a lot. But all others are highly recommended.

>265 streamsong: This fire looks very dangerous. I pray your house will be fine.

>68 streamsong: I recently revisited the series, which I'd set aside several years ago, seeking something undemanding and reminded when the TV series Dark Winds based showed up in a streaming feed. The novels are nothing special (the new ones by Anne Hillerman; I don't remember enough about Tony Hillerman to say, read them decades ago), decent people but lacking psychological depth and written by an outsider, but the TV series is pretty interesting, as it emphasizes Navajo culture with a predominately Native American cast as well as writers and filming crew.

Hi Janet!

>245 qebo: My biggest cat ever probably weighed 16 lbs, so 25 lbs seems monstrous. We could never get a Maine Coon Cat because he/she would never fit through the kitty door we have built into the side of the house. Wash, big fluff that he is, barely fits, and he is definitely less than 15 lbs.

>254 streamsong: I know about the horse sitting thing – we were fortunately to have our friend and neighbor Larry take care of them for us – for a price of course – but we trusted him completely.

>255 streamsong: Oh yes, a younger back. Mine needs to be pre-21, when I was in a car wreck. I’m re-listening to Lethal White now, 4th of 6, in anticipation of the 7th, The Running Grave, coming out September 26 on audio book and the 27th in hardcover. I’m so glad you liked the first of the series.

>256 streamsong: I love the name of the book club – Library Brown Bag Book Club. I’ve always been fascinated by Hedy Lamarr, vaguely knew she invented (or almost invented) something in WWII. Onto the wish list it goes!

>265 streamsong: Bad news. It sounds like it won’t directly threaten you, but the smoke drifting is awful. Sorry about the 3.5 errands not getting done AND your health incident. I hope you’re fully recovered. Book and LT playing are both proven methods for at least mental stress reduction, if not physical stress reduction. *smile*

>277 streamsong: Another one onto the wish list.

>279 fuzzi: Thanks, fuzzi – I’m going to make some Golden milk this week to see if it helps with the inflammation of my SI joint and lower back.

>283 fuzzi: hmmm. I do have Type II diabetes, so I guess I'll have to try it with caution as several websites say tumeric is not recommended for diabetics as it can lower the blood sugar toooo much.

My insurance offers an optional blood sugar management program which I've never signed up for because your daily BS readings go to the company. Do I want my insurance company to know what every one of my readings is??

Nevertheless, I had another attack yesterday and the symptoms sound like low BS when I check it out on the net. After a bit over an hour of work, I start sweating profusely which proceeds on to confusion, weakness, dizziness, and eventually leg cramps. I had thought it was an electrolyte problem in the heat, so I'd drink Gatorade and feel better, and keep working only to have it recur a while later or even, like yesterday, off and on all day.

So I need to get this figured out.

>284 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! On your recommendation, I'll try another by Marie Benedict. I do like that she writes about impactful women largely forgotten by history. One of my RL book friends recommended The Personal Librarian - so I've just added it to the neverending library wish list.

Thank you for your concern about the fire and my house. I'm sure I will be fine ... just continuing to have smoke roll in some days. Last year there was a fire very close to the same area where the current one is burning. The peaks at the top of Skalkaho Canyon seem to draw a lot of lightning strikes.

>285 qebo: Hi Katherine! The original Tony Hillerman mysteries seemed revolutionary to me at the time I first read them - maybe twenty years ago. I agree that Anne Hillerman's are not as good as her father's, even though she is trying to correct some of the misinformation in her father's novels. My brother who lives in Phoenix (actually Tempe) was the one who first introduced the original series to me. Continuing on with the Anne Hillerman novels is one of the few places our reading overlaps.

Yes, there is always the problem with a non-native writing native books although I think the Navajos honored Tony Hillerman for his work.

I watched Dark Winds, too and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the Native actors, but wish more were actually Navajo. Zahn McClarnon's looks (Leaphorn) are actually jarring to me. I suppose there aren't enough Navajo actors with the resumes to pull it off.

I'm joining you in looking forward to season 2!

Have you read Shutter by Ramona Emerson? She's a Navajo writing a Navajo mystery series although I think this is the only one out so far.

>287 streamsong: 'I do have Type II diabetes, so I guess I'll have to try it with caution as several websites say tumeric is not recommended for diabetics as it can lower the blood sugar toooo much.

Ok all ears here: border line diabetic, take blood pressure medication (blood pressure is usually normal) and I take Tumeric to help with pain. Should I stop it? not having any low pressure symptoms except needing a nap every day but I think thats the heat here. suggestions

Take care, Janet. It sounds like you do need to get your blood sugar under control -- although the symptoms could be due to heat as well.

I see there is a season 2 for Dark Wind! I loved the first one.

>290 cindydavid4: I would say talk to your physician and if you choose to use turmeric, be cautious.

The black pepper and ginger and cinnamon are all anti-inflammatory, so try it without the turmeric if you like.

>292 fuzzi: second the check-in with your physician. Are you on insulin or just oral meds? Sounds like your meds might need adjustment, or your diet, or both. And yes, that attack did sound like my low blood sugar symptoms from years back. Scary to have that happen when you are on your own.

Years ago I worked with a guy who always had a bar of sugary something or other with him, for times when his control wavered like that.

Luckily I'm not diabetic, at least not yet!

>292 fuzzi: thanks will do that

>286 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I have a kitty door but keep it locked after a terrified feral cat made his way in one night. This poor kitty was literally trying to run up and around the walls of the living room. We let him settle down (actually we had no idea where he had hidden himself - I swear cats can poof into alternate universes when they want to) and, after he emerged were eventually able to open doors and encourage him out, much like you would do for a trapped bird.

Horse sitting is complicated when you have a stallion (and now two!) around the place since they need a different level of expertise. My insurance company would have my head on a plate if something happened and the sitter didn't have stallion experience. I do have a wonderful neighbor with lots of horse experience; she runs barrels and has appeared on the show Yellowstone doing so. One of the new neighbors, on recently subdivided land with nice new house and barn also stopped by to introduce himself and mentioned he also has a stallion so another possibility there.

But now of course, the diabetic cat needs insulin injections twice a day. I may never be gone overnight again! Or probably two different critter sitters.

I'm glad I got you with a couple of book bullets - I'll be interested to see what you think.

>290 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy - I think fuzzi gave good advice in >292 fuzzi: , but my completely non-medical guess is that if you have been using it without problems, you are probably OK.

I'll try fuzzi's advice of non-tumeric (non-golden?) golden milk and then perhaps start out with very small amounts of tumeric.

>291 BLBera: Hi Beth! Yes, I will definitely be working on getting the BS more under control.

Funny, but having the diabetic cat and reading all about feline diabetes on the online communities, has made me more aware of my own diabetes.

Yay for Season 2 of Dark Wind! Boo that it is only 6 episodes.

>292 fuzzi: Great advice, Lor and >293 ffortsa: Judy. My fence-building supervisor (friend) who is in his 80's had suggested the same thing - have something sweet in my pocket.

At my doctor's suggestion, I recently changed taking one of my blood sugar medicines from the evening (because it makes me sleepy) to the morning with breakfast because doc said it was more effective that way. I don't think taking it in the morning and then going out to work a couple hours before it gets too hot is a good strategy for me.

Nine fires here in western Montana blew up (increased hugely due to strong winds) last evening. I was getting quite bit of smoke last night and even some ash, but this morning it is much clearer. A few 'houses and other structures' were lost about 30 miles north of me.

I'm trying to finish up a few books before the end of the month, but I am also doing mondo cleaning as my brother and sister-in-law as well as my son will all be here later this week. None are staying with me due to other comittments (I think that translates into smoky house without air conditioning), but I will will still clean, clean, clean.

I was aware of this book for several years, but it took Mark mentioning it on his thread for me to give it a listen.



65. Down From the Mountain: The Life and Death of a Grizzly Bear – Bryce Andrews - 2020
- audiobook
– library


Author Bryce Andrews had been a ranch hand until he decided he would rather work with wildlife than the commercial meat chain.

He switched careers and became a biologist.

His work took him to the Mission Valley of western Montana on the Flathead/Salish reservation. The surrounding Mission Mountains are rugged and beautiful; they also have a high population of wildlife, including grizzly bears. When the bears leave the mountain slopes and come into the valley, they are inevitably the losers in human/grizzly encounters, even though the Confederated Tribes that own a great part of the land in the valley, revere the great bears.

Andrews began by addressing the problem of bears destroying a local dairyman’s corn crop, a necessity for the energy needs of the dairy cows. He researched and then devised a new way of configuring the standard electric fencing to better discourage the bears.

During this time, he became very familiar with one female grizzly who had been shot in the face with a shotgun as she came too close to humans. Over the course of several months he had to watch this poor bear become a walking skeleton that was unable to care for her cubs.

It is a truly sad story; although Andrews’ new method of bear-discouraging fencing showed a lot of promise, saving the dairyman’s corn crop was not enough to save the dairyman’s future on his land. Ultimately the land would be subdivided, perpetuating a guarantee of more grizzly/human conflict.

I’ve lived in the Mission Valley (my son was born there) and thought the author’s descriptions of the beautiful places, the people and the conflicts were very well done.

My only gripe was that the audiobook reader consistently mispronounced several of the place names. Nothing says "I don't really care" like mispronouncing place names.

>295 streamsong: there's a Robert Heinlein book The Cat Who Walks Through Walls...

>297 streamsong: my dh has diabetes, takes his main meds with supper.

I hope the fires don't get any closer, Janet. Take care.

Hi Janet. Take care with your medication for the diabetes. I'm glad things are getting easier for Cree. Mondo cleaning- that is never fun!

>300 fuzzi: Hi Lor! I will add The Cat Who Walks Through Walls to my never-ending TBR list. I haven't read much early science fiction, but the title is irresistible!

That's good to know that other people also take their medicine at night.

>301 BLBera: Hi Beth! The fires aren't getting much closer to me, but the smoke is quite thick. I think we're supposed to have a bit of a storm towards the end of the week with a small touch of rain. Although it won't put the fires out, at least it will clear the air a bit.

>302 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Thanks for your concern - I'm working at it. I haven't tested my glucose numbers for a while; I am doing so now and will show them to doc next week after the company is gone.

Yeah, I've never been very consistent with the cleaning. It leads to panic-cleaning when company is coming, although I do have a cleaning duo come in and do the basics once a month.

Sorry the smoke is so thick. We've had some bad days from Canadian fires, so I can't imagine what it's like with the fire so close.

Thanks, Rachel. We're expecting a bit of rain this weekend. It won't be enough to stop the fires, but hopefully will wash the air.

Oh Happy Days! My son is here from Florida for a few days. He'll be seeing a lot of friends, but I will cherish every minute I see him. Yesterday he helped set up my ROKU and started working on an issue I am having with the Blue Tooth in my car. We were talking about climate change and dystopian novels, and I convinced him to try The Light Pirate.

Tonight we'll be meeting my brother and SIL from Tempe/Phoenix for a quick dinner in Missoula. They are in Missoula for my brother's 50th high school reunion and will also be spending the next few days here afterwards. We plan to go through some of Mom's boxes while they are here.

Enjoy your visit with your son, Janet.

bet son and dil are very glad to be out of the heat!!!!

>257 streamsong: I just watched My Octopus Teacher. I'm about halfway through The Soul of an Octopus for my RL book group (a surprise selection because I can't usually get them to read anything sciency but they wanted a break from depressing social issues). It references a series of blog posts at http://www.giantcuttlefish.com/ by Peter Godfrey-Smith, which I've begun reading because I also have his book Other Minds sitting around.

>308 BLBera: Thank you, Beth!

>309 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy - Both my son from Orlando and brother and SIL from Phoenix/Tempe are happy to escape the heat. But wouldn't you know it .... we are having a rainy, cold spell with night time temps dipping into the 50's so I think all three of them are downright chilly. The best part is that the smoke is washed from the air.

>310 qebo: Hi Katherine! What did you think of My Octopus Teacher? I loved it, and especially enjoyed its beautiful cinematography. I will definitely check out the blog posts you mention!

Ha! on the depressing social issues comment. I suspect things may get worse before they (hopefully) get better.

So glad your son is visiting!

Enjoy your son's visit, Janet, as well as your brother and SIL.

>312 streamsong: My Octopus Teacher
The narrator was a bit too melodramatic for my taste, but I appreciated the concept of returning to the same spot every day to observe nuances, and the pyjama sharks were a cool villain.

I hope you had a wonderful time with family!

>232 streamsong: Once again, I posted and then dropped away. I hope you and Cree are doing better. I know you enjoyed being with your family.

>313 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel - Yes a grand time seeing son and brother and SIL - followed by a couple days down time and then a surprise visit by a cousin I haven't seen in more than ten years.

>314 vancouverdeb: Thanks for stopping in, and for the good wishes, Deborah.

>315 qebo: Sorry you didn't enjoy the documentary My Octopus Teacher as much as I did, Katherine! Different strokes and all that. The cinematography will keep it on my favorites list.

My son set up my Hulu while he was here, so my viewing choices will soon be expanding. I'm thinking it is time to Dump Dish.

>316 fuzzi: Thank you, Lor!

>317 witchyrichy: No problem, Karen! I haven't been on for over a week.

We are supposed to have another week of temps close to the 100's so I will get my new thread started this afternoon. This morning I need to get out and do some chore-y stuff while it is still a bit cooler.

>318 streamsong: I've started reading Other Minds, and discovered via a mention about octopus experiments that there is a local cephalopod expert. A neighbor is retired from the same university department, so I'll have to ask her about this.

That would be very interesting, Katherine! I'd love to know what she says.

AUGUST CONTINUING TALLY

87. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng - 2019 - acq'd 2023
❤️85. Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal - Paul Fleischman - ill Julie Paschiki - 2007 - library
❤️84. My Dear Cassandra - Jane Austen - 1990 - ROOT #3 for month - #18 for year - acq'd 2013
83. Iron Lake - William Kent Krueger - 2009 - library - Cork O'Connor #1
✅82. How to Stand Up to a Dictator - Maria Ressa 2022 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library
81. Wherever You Go, There You Are - Jon Kabat-Zinn - 1994 - ROOT acq'd 2006 - ROOT#2 for August/#17 for year
80. Harry's Trees - Jon Cohen - 2019 - library
✅79. Lessons in Chemistry - Bonnie Garmus - 2022 - NC Book Club - purch 2023
78. The Conference of the Birds - Peter Sis - 2011 - Global Reading: Czech author, Turkish poem - illustrated book - library
✅77. I Have Some Questions for You - Rebecca Makkai - 2023 - library
76. Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" - Zora Neale Hurston - 2018 - audiobook - library
75. First They Killed My Father - Loung Ung - 2006 - Book Girls' Book Voyage: Northern Asia/ Global Reading: Cambodia - ROOT acq'd 2016; Root #1 for August/#16 for year

**** 12 BOOKS COMPLETED IN AUGUST****

YEAR CATALOGED OR ACQUIRED
1 - 2006
1 - 2013
1 - 2016
2 - 2023
8 - library

3 -Total ROOTS read (acquired before 2023)



FORMAT
1 - audio
11 - print

GENRE

5 - FICTION
3 - contemporary fiction
1 - feminism
1 - literary fiction
2 - mystery
1 - Native American
1 - outdoors/nature

- 5 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
1 - African American experience
1 - Authors
2 - Global Reading
3 - Memoir
1 - Politics
1 - Spirituality

- 2 - Children's Illustrated

Original Publication Date
1 - 1990
1 - 1994
1 - 2006
1 - 2007
1 - 2009
1 - 2011
1 - 2018
2 - 2019
2 - 2022
1 - 2023

- 6 - female authors
- 5 - male authors
- - combination of male and female authors

8 - Authors who are new to me
3 - Authors read before

- Rereads

Countries Visited

1 - Cambodia
1 - England
1 - Philippines
1 - Turkey