Mary (bell7) Reads in 2023 - Thread 6

Welcome to my 6th thread of the year!

I'm a librarian living and working in western Massachusetts, who also dog sits on the side. I just turned 40 and I'm enjoying living on my own in a home that happens to be in the neighborhood my ancestors were living in 100 years ago. I knit, research genealogy, enjoy watching sports and read - a lot. You'll get a little bit of everything here, so I hope you'll join in the conversation.

I am too tired to think of a slightly new intro each time lol, so this is what you're stuck with for awhile.

2023 Book Club Reads (library)
January - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - COMPLETED
February - The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris - COMPLETED
March - Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown - COMPLETED
April - Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr - COMPLETED
May - All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson - COMPLETED
June/July/August - a low key "what are you reading now?" meeting where participants can tell us about their current book(s)
September - The Overstory by Richard Powers
October - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
November - Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
December - The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

2023 Book Club Reads (SIL and friends)
January - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - didn't reread, but did go
February - The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan - COMPLETED
March - The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer - Nobody read it, we just met for dinner

Best of 2023 (so far, and not counting rereads):

4.5 stars
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton
The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten
Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux
Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez
Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul by Victoria Goddard
Say I'm Dead by E. Dolores Johnson
The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Scieszka
Index, a history of the by Dennis Duncan
Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo
This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire

5 stars
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds

Random things I'm keeping track of -
Bookish articles:
1. Alternatives to Book Depository

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

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 Graphic Novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 Graphic Novels)
2016 - 141
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138
2022 - 131

Currently reading
Sunshine Nails by Mai Nguyen
Witch King by Martha Wells

June
93. Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
92. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
91. A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
90. Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
89. Stone Speaks to Stone by Victoria Goddard
88. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
87. Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard
86. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
85. Well Matched by Jen DeLuca
84. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
83. The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

May
82. The Bookbinder by Pip Williams (looks like the non-US title is The Bookbinder of Jericho)
81. The Humans by Matt Haig
80. Rust in the Root by Justine Ireland
79. The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
78. Well Played by Jen DeLuca
77. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
76. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
75. The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
74. Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
73. Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard
72. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

April
71. This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
70. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 4 by Natsuki Takaya
69. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 3 by Natsuki Takaya
68. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 2 by Natsuki Takaya
67. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
66. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
65. Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner
64. Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo
63. Fruits Basket Volume 23 by Natsuki Takaya
62. Fruits Basket Volume 22 by Natsuki Takaya
61. Fruits Basket Volume 21 by Natsuki Takaya
60. Fruits Basket Volume 20 by Natsuki Takaya
59. Fruits Basket Volume 19 by Natsuki Takaya
58. Index, A History of The by Dennis Duncan
57. Fruits Basket Volume 18 by Natsuki Takaya
56. Fruits Basket Volume 17 by Natsuki Takaya
55. Fruits Basket Volume 16 by Natsuki Takaya
54. Fruits Basket Volume 15 by Natsuki Takaya
53. Fruits Basket Volume 14 by Natsuki Takaya
52. Fruits Basket Volume 13 by Natsuki Takaya
51. Fruits Basket Volume 12 by Natsuki Takaya
50. Fruits Basket Volume 11 by Natsuki Takaya
49. Fruits Basket Volume 10 by Natsuki Takaya
48. Fruits Basket Volume 9 by Natsuki Takaya
47. Fruits Basket Volume 8 by Natsuki Takaya
46. Fruits Basket Volume 7 by Natsuki Takaya
45. Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
44. Fruits Basket Volume 6 by Natsuki Takaya
43. Fruits Basket Volume 5 by Natsuki Takaya
42. Fruits Basket Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya
41. Fruits Basket Volume 3 by Natsuki Takaya
40. Fruits Basket Volume 2 by Natsuki Takaya
39. The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Scieszka illustrated by Julia Rothman
38. Fruits Basket Volume 1 by Natsuki Takaya
37. Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni
36. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
35. My Years at The Gotham Book Mart with Frances Steloff, Proprietor by Matthew Tannenbaum

March
34. Say I'm Dead by E. Dolores Johnson
33. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
32. The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul by Victoria Goddard
31. The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare
30. Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
29. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
28. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
27. Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson
26. Musical Tables by Billy Collins
25. Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown
24. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
23. Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez

February
22. A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux
21. The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten (out Mar. 7)
20. Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld
19. We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds
18. A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung (out Apr. 4)
17. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
16. The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
15. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
14. The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard
13. Normal Family by Chrysta Bilton
12. Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper

January
11. So Many Beginnings by Bethany C. Morrow
10. Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
9. The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
8. No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson
7. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
6. Petty Treasons by Victoria Goddard
5. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
4. The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
3. The Emma Project by Sonali Dev
2. The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
1. Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

DNF
1. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (it was a reread and I wasn't in the mood)
2. Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
3. Independence Day by Steve Lopez

Global reads in 2023 (author's country of origin):

Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Unites States - most of my reading
Canada - Petty Treasons by Victoria Goddard
Japan - Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
UK - Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld
France - A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux
Indonesia - Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

All time (since 2022):


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, France, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

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

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

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

A very belated April in Review:

71. This Is What It Sounds Like by Susan Rogers and Ogi Ogas
70. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 4 by Natsuki Takaya
69. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 3 by Natsuki Takaya
68. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 2 by Natsuki Takaya
67. Fruits Basket Another, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya
66. Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price
65. Moira's Pen by Megan Whalen Turner
64. Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo
63. Fruits Basket Volume 23 by Natsuki Takaya
62. Fruits Basket Volume 22 by Natsuki Takaya
61. Fruits Basket Volume 21 by Natsuki Takaya
60. Fruits Basket Volume 20 by Natsuki Takaya
59. Fruits Basket Volume 19 by Natsuki Takaya
58. Index, A History of The by Dennis Duncan
57. Fruits Basket Volume 18 by Natsuki Takaya
56. Fruits Basket Volume 17 by Natsuki Takaya
55. Fruits Basket Volume 16 by Natsuki Takaya
54. Fruits Basket Volume 15 by Natsuki Takaya
53. Fruits Basket Volume 14 by Natsuki Takaya
52. Fruits Basket Volume 13 by Natsuki Takaya
51. Fruits Basket Volume 12 by Natsuki Takaya
50. Fruits Basket Volume 11 by Natsuki Takaya
49. Fruits Basket Volume 10 by Natsuki Takaya
48. Fruits Basket Volume 9 by Natsuki Takaya
47. Fruits Basket Volume 8 by Natsuki Takaya
46. Fruits Basket Volume 7 by Natsuki Takaya
45. Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
44. Fruits Basket Volume 6 by Natsuki Takaya
43. Fruits Basket Volume 5 by Natsuki Takaya
42. Fruits Basket Volume 4 by Natsuki Takaya
41. Fruits Basket Volume 3 by Natsuki Takaya
40. Fruits Basket Volume 2 by Natsuki Takaya
39. The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Scieszka illustrated by Julia Rothman
38. Fruits Basket Volume 1 by Natsuki Takaya
37. Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni
36. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
35. My Years at The Gotham Book Mart with Frances Steloff, Proprietor by Matthew Tannenbaum

Did Not Finish:
None

Books read: 37
Rereads: 23
Children's/Teen/Adult: 1/30/6
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 31/4/0/2
Country of origin: US - 8, Japan - 27, UK - 2
Massachusetts Center of the Book Challenge: Make Me Rain by Nikki Giovanni and This Is What It Sounds Like (early for May)

Because I want to awards:
Sounds boring, but trust me it wasn't - Index, a history of the by Dennis Duncan

YTD stats - (As of May 16, because this comes from my reading log)
Pages read: 13,056
Avg pages a day: 96
Books by POC authors: 45 (60%)
In translation: 29
DNF: 2

Thoughts:
Well, as you can see, I reread a manga series and its sequel, and that's skewed my numbers somewhat in total books read, in translation, and by authors of color. I didn't count Fruits Basket towards pages read, though, so that number may more accurately reflect the amount of reading I did in April, which was still over 3,000 pages and not bad. Surprisingly, much of the books I finished that weren't Fruits Basket were nonfiction and poetry. Index, a history of the and This Is What It Sounds Like were both standouts.

May has had a slow start so far, but once I have book club finished up tomorrow and start traveling, I expect it to pick up some.

Happy new thread Mary!

Well I was not sure if it is safe to come in and wish you a happy new thread....I would have been first but I was waiting patiently for a welcome but somebody ^^ skipped the sign ;)

Happy new one!

>11 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

>12 figsfromthistle: Ha! Yeah, I almost had a sign ready and ended up making it my April in review instead. Welcome in any case, Anita!

*dusts hands*

Welcome, all! It's safe to come in.

I have some music listening to catch up on as well. This is going back a bit into April and not really in the order listened to:

Dar Williams - Listened to The Honesty Room and Mortal City
I like the timbre and the melodies. The songs are pretty and so is her voice. However, lyrics matter more to her than melody. I found myself getting frustrated that there was no song I could sing along with because the lyrics would just take over a line and she’d say whatever she wanted to say instead of, well, following the melody. Which makes her just okay for me - I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek it out, nor would I object to hearing it.

Sara Bareilles
I continue to really enjoy her albums as a whole. Little Voice was her first and sounded to me as if she hadn’t quite nailed down her style yet and tried different things with varying success. But I liked “Love Song” (already familiar with it from the radio), “Between the Lines,” “Many the Miles” and “One Sweet Love”.
The Blessed Unrest was stronger (her fourth album), and having a song like “Chasing the Sun” playing while I was driving to the genealogy conference was apropos. I already had “Brave” on my playlist, and I added “Chasing the Sun,” “Hercules,” “1000 Times” and “I Choose You.”
Kaleidoscope Heart - her third studio album, and interesting as a whole because it does really seem like a kaleidoscope of a heart, the good, the bad, and the ugly. My favorites were “Uncharted,” “Gonna Get Over You,” “Hold My Heart” and “The Light.”

Harmony - Josh Groban
Ehhhh… I like Josh Groban’s voice a lot, but it generally doesn’t suit pop songs, and that’s primarily what he’s singing here. I did like “Both Sides Now” (duet with Sara Bareilles, and no I didn’t do that on purpose, this was a whimsical library pickup) and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”.

Tapestry - Carole King
My favorite of this one is “You’ve Got a Friend” but the whole thing is kinda a nostalgic listen because my mom had the album and I remember hearing it as a very young kid. I really should try some of her other albums.

The Civil Wars - Self-titled album
I like their overall sound of music and vocals and harmony. Some of my favorite songs from the Hunger Games soundtrack were theirs. This collection was pretty good. I liked “Devil’s Backbone” and “Sacred Heart” the best. The first is such a strong story that I can kinda picture it instead of just the performance of it like I usually do. And the second is French and simply beautifully sung, primarily by Joy Williams. I guess they only recorded two studio albums, and this was the one that came out shortly before the musical duo broke up.

Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens
The acoustic guitar picking on some songs was beautiful. His voice reminds me a bit of Simon & Garfunkel at times. It’s unlike what I usually listen to, between the pretty music and the sometimes surprising lyrics really making me want to pay attention throughout, and I appreciated that about it. But it was hard, as a result, to rate it in terms of like or dislike. My favorites were “Death with Dignity,” and “Should Have Known Better”. I’d try something else by him.

Now I'm listening to "Sleep through the Static" by Jack Johnson.

Happy new thread, Mary!

Sorry Dar didn't work better for you! I love singing along with her, but nothing works the same for everybody 🙂

>15 bell7: Ah cool, I am glad you found things to enjoy in the Sufjan Stevens. "Should Have Known Better" is definitely the standout on that album, a song I often find stuck in my head. :)

Happy new thread, Mary!

>10 bell7: Your reading in April was impressive. I have never read any manga, maybe I should try some day.

>16 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene!

>17 katiekrug: I was glad I tried it and did like the sound. But absolutely, nothing works the same for everybody, and in music as books and other art, I find it fascinating just trying to figure it out and explain why I like what I like ;)

>18 ursula: With how different our music tastes are, Ursula, I'm a little surprised we agree on that song haha. But yeah, I agree, it's one that gets stuck in my head (pleasantly so).

>19 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Manga can take a bit of getting used to since, in addition to the graphic format, a lot of it is translated from Japanese and the panels should be read from right to left. But Fruits Basket is one of my favorites, and I revisit it semi-regularly. Hope you find something you like if you try the format!

Wordle 697 3/6

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ARISE, POUTY, PLANK. Surprised myself with that today.

New 🧵 orisons, Mary! Your April was pretty darn good, and your listening had a band I like, too...The Civil Wars. "Sacred Heart" was a favorite for me, too. Enjoy the beautiful day (again). *smooch*

>15 bell7: Like Katie, I love Dar Williams but I can absolutely understand why it doesn't resonate with you. I've always been a lyrics-first kind of listener so she's very much my jam.

I wasn't at all familiar with Sara Bareilles until I recently started watching the Peacock series Girls5Eva, which she stars in. She has a great voice. I should seek out some of her regular stuff on Apple Music.

>22 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I'm a little sad they only have two studio albums, but I'm looking forward to listening to the other one at a later date.

>23 rosalita: I totally get that, too, Julia! Up until recently, I've thought of myself as a lyrics-oriented listener, and while it's a factor in my enjoyment, turns out I pay attention to other things first. I did not realize Sara Bareilles starred in that show and may have to check it out. Thanks :)

It has been a busy morning of cutting rhubarb, cooking, and storing food in the freezer in advance of my vacation. I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the beginning, but I'm pleased with what I was able to get done.

On the downside, I'm not finishing my book club book by our discussion tonight. Oh well. I can't do everything, much as I try some days.

Working 12-8 with volunteers and book discussion tonight, and then I'm off through Memorial Day. There were some things I needed to do prior to my leaving on vacation, but I got them accomplished yesterday (making sure I asked for the Sundays off when I'm going to Giants games, setting my autoresponder for email).

After work, I need to pack and want to make a (easy) rhubarb jam to stick in the freezer before I leave. Tomorrow will be comparatively lazy. I need to bring trash to my friend's dumpster so it doesn't fester for two weeks in the heat on my porch, I have the annual dermatologist appointment in the morning, and then my parents are going to take me to the airport, where I'll hang out and read until it's time for my flight. Getting ready for vacation (and catching up coming back from it) is exhausting lol.

Happy new thread, Mary!

I hope you have a wonderful vacation, Mary!

Happy new one!

>26 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie!

>27 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

>28 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

By the way, the vegetarian stuffed peppers recipe I made this morning is worth sharing. Some will be my lunch tomorrow, and the rest I froze for when I get back.

76. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Mathis and Katharine K. Wilkinson
Why now? Work book club pick for this month

This collection of essays, most written by women of color, address the crisis of climate change and what we can do about it. Interspersed are some poems and quotes, and at the beginning of each thematic section, art. The essays showcase a wide variety of experiences and responses to climate change, and some are more optimistic than others, but all have one thing on common: a call to climate activism, getting organized, and making changes at the policy, not just the personal, level.

For doing what it sets out to do and doing it masterfully, the book deserves 5 stars. If the description interests you, I highly recommend it. For me, though, it was a "have-to" read for book club, and I rushed through it when I should've started it early to let myself read more slowly and absorb everything. I didn't enjoy the experience of reading it, with both the book-club deadline and the heaviness of the topic. So, my personal reading reaction is only 3 stars.

I didn't quite have it finished by book club last night. We did have an excellent discussion, and I thought we might. Two folks hadn't read the book and mostly listened, out of the six there, but as always we found plenty to talk about and went a little over time.

Good morning! I am now officially on vacation through Memorial Day. I'm mostly packed, have a few errands I want to run, and then have a 10:30 dermatologist appointment (just an annual check, nothing serious). I'll head over to my parents' from there, and they'll give me a ride to the airport at their convenience. My flight is for 5:30 and I only have carry on. I will most likely have plenty of time to read prior to boarding, and will be prepared accordingly with book and Kindle. Then after I get down there, I have books waiting for me at the library near my sister's house. I am still so pleased to bits that they allow out-of-state cards... I love being able to put books on hold before I leave home and have them ready for me to pick up when I get down there.

Wordle 698 5/6

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Surprised me how many options there turned out to be. ARISE, POUTY, SCORN, SWORN, SHORN.

>5 bell7: I am starting The Sinister Booksellers of Bath today. I hope I enjoy it as much as I did the first book.

>32 bell7: I hope you have a great vacation! Read a ton!!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Enjoy your vacation!!

Have a great time visiting with your sister and the niblings!

Safe travels and happy homecoming, Mary!

>34 alcottacre: I'm hurting a little for not having it fresh in my mind, but I am really enjoying it, especially now that I'm not distracted by my book club book 😊 And thank you, I am hoping to read a bunch for sure, possibly including a chair book with my niece.

>35 foggidawn: thanks, foggi!

>36 curioussquared: thanks, Natalie!

>37 MickyFine: thanks, Micky!

>38 richardderus: thanks, Richard!

Wordle 699 3/6

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ARISE, FRIED, GRIEF.

Good Friday morning from DC! Vacation kicks off with a girls' day hanging out with my sisters. I've had my first coffee of the morning with my youngest sister and we're heading out soon to meet up with the middle one and get brunch together. It's my nephew's birthday so we'll end the day with a celebration.

Have a great day out with your sisters and happy birthday to your nephew!

>41 bell7: Eat lots of cake and feel no Guilt because birthday cake has no calories.

*smooch*

>42 MickyFine: thanks, Micky!

>43 richardderus: I like how you think, Richard! *Smooch*

Wordle 700 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, FLASH, FLASK.

>32 bell7: Hi, Mary. I hope you have a wonderful vacation! How cool that the library there lets you use your out-of-state card!

>33 bell7: My final three guesses on that Wordle were exactly the same as yours. It was an unexpected number of options!

Have fun on your time off!

>46 atozgrl: thanks, Irene! Yeah, I really like the convenience of picking up some books after I get here, both for me to read and for reading to the kids (mostly Mia, Matthew isn't really into it).

Right? Sometimes I'm surprised when I'm sure I've got it, and that was one of those days.

Wordle 701 3/6

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ARISE, MONTH, BRASH.

77. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
Why now? Ummm... I don't really remember either what put it on my radar or why I chose to start reading it now, other than if I were going to nominate it for LibraryReads I needed to by June 1

*Free e-book ARC made available by the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

Margo worked as a circulation clerk at the Carlyle Public Library, where she takes as much care of her patrons as she did as a nurse, Jane, in her previous life. She's put that past, as well as at least one body. Then, a new reference librarian is hired and Patricia, who sees herself as a failed writer, finds herself fascinated by the elusive Margo.

The dual narration of Margo and Patricia often overlap but keep the tension high in this creepy tale of a library where I would never want to work - or at least, with co-workers I'd never want to work with. There is enough realism in the patron interactions that I had a hard time reading at first, either judging Margo and Patricia's reactions or feeling the hairs on the back of my neck rise, knowing things were off-kilter from the get go. Still, I was interested enough to want to know what happened in the end, and while I wasn't exactly surprised, I was not disappointed. 4 stars.

78. Well Played by Jen DeLuca
Why now? I liked the first book in the series, and figured this would make an excellent e-book/audio combo while on vacation

Stacey has loved working the Ren Faire every summer since she was eighteen. Now in her mid-twenties and feeling stuck in the small town where she stayed when her mom had a health scare, she sends a drunken text to Dex MacLean, the eye candy she hooked up with the past two summers who has a "wench at every fair". But then she gets a message back - and it's much deeper of a response than she ever would've expected from Dex.

I enjoyed getting to learn a little bit more of Stacey's story - she was the other "wench" who seemed pretty happy-go-lucky and showed Emily the ropes in Well Met. Stacey and the man she messages (it's... pretty obvious early on who it actually is) have a fun back-and-forth a little reminiscent of You've Got Mail and while I don't know the original Cyrano de Bergerac beyond the Wishbone episode, English nerds Emily and Simon make sure that we don't miss the connection. I also liked seeing their reappearance and the continuation of their story as side characters in this one. Cute and enjoyable, perfect beach reading. 4 stars.

>50 bell7: Considering how dismissive I just was to a very popular read, I might just give this one a big ole pass.

>49 bell7: Maybe not this one, though. Creepy seems to be my "thing" these days.

Happy Sunday*smooch*

>51 richardderus: I don't blame you on the first and will be interested in your thoughts on the second. Got it on Edelweiss, it comes out in July. Sunday *smooch* back

Happy Sunday! I've stepped outside to take a bit of a breather. It's been a busy weekend with the family, and a super active newly six-year-old and his almost eight-year-old sister. Added to that, I haven't slept great the last few nights (thus all the e-books I've finished), there's music on, the beagle is barking while the family eats and I just got overstimulated and needed a break in the relative quiet outside.

It has been fun, don't get me wrong. The kids think I'm a rock star and have been loving every minute. We watched the Goosebumps movie with Jack Black over the last few days, and they were both really excited to go to the library today and pick out some Goosebumps and other scary books. We read a couple of Stinetinglers when we got back, though Matthew soon lost interest and played "keep the balloon off the ceiling" (Mylar, inflated with helium...) in the same room. So it's been... a lot haha.

Tomorrow the kids are back to school and my BIL to work. My sister is working from home, and I'll spend a chill day with her and probably read when she's actively working. Tuesday I'm headed to the archives to do some research. The days like that are a little easier for me, some alone time and family time balanced out well.

>53 bell7: *fans self* This makes your usual whirlwind of activity seem soporific. I'm gonna go take a nap now.

>53 bell7: I feel you on the intensity of young niblings. Whenever mine come to visit or we go to visit them, I'm highly appreciative of the quiet when it goes back to just Mr. Fine and me.

I hope you get some good recharging time today.

>54 richardderus: Indeed. My sister's family makes me look like a slouch in comparison lol.

>55 MickyFine: Yup! Love them to death, glad it's in small doses. They're adorable and funny, though, I do love visiting. My sister told me before he went to bed that night, Matthew was saying, "Best birthday ever," so I think he enjoyed the family time with us all. He got Pokemon cards and a binder from his parents, and I think that was his favorite gift. I gave him a Yahtzee Frenzy game that he's enjoyed playing a few times too.

Wordle 702 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, IONIC, IGLOO.

79. The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
Why now? I liked The Left-handed Booksellers of London and was excited to read the sequel

When a mysterious map turns up at the book shop and Merlin is accidentally brought into it, Vivien knows that their friend Susan will be able to help get him out, drawing her own map to bring them back. While there, they realize that an entity has created a pocket in time and they need to figure out what they want before the next victim - very possibly Susan herself - is claimed.

Poor Susan just wants to live a normal life, but events conspire to keep her from that at every turn. It's been awhile since I read the first book, and though I couldn't really remember a lot of it, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of this one. Entertaining and action-packed, a fun read in a world almost - but not quite - like our own. 4 stars.

>58 bell7: I possess LEFT-HANDED on my Kindle, so I just need to open it and get to reading it soon... alongside the 54455378 others...

*smooch*

Happy New Thread, Mary. We are back and I am trying to catch a bit on LT, while also catching up on some reading. A fine balance, indeed. I hope your work week is off to a good start.

>59 richardderus: a problem I can relate to, for sure! I hope you enjoy it whenever you get to it, asking with the 54455378 others. *Smooch*

>60 msf59: welcome back, Mark! It's a vacation week for me, and I'm headed to the National Archives soon to look at some Civil War pension records. A fine start to the week, if I do say so myself. Hope you have a pleasant day!

Wordle 703 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, MERCH, CLERK.

Wordle 704 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, MUTER, UTTER.

Good morning! I'm just about finished with one leg of the trip. I said goodbye to the kids before they left for school today, and I'm hanging out for a bit while my sister works from home. I'll leave in the afternoon to meet up with my other sister, get dinner together, and stay at her place before taking the train to Philly.

Yesterday at the archives was a bunch of fun. I got three pension applications and three combined military service records for relatives of mine. I had hoped that the one for an uncle of mine whose mother got his pension would shed some light on who her parents were, but that was not to be. Instead, I had a little rabbit trail to follow figuring out if Cornelius Combs really died during the Civil War (the answer was yes, he was injured in the fighting of the siege of Port Hudson in late May 1863, and died from a gunshot wound through his thigh some days later in June, but I had to pull a other 'nother record to see that, since one thing said he was mustered out in 1864 and the pension record said he died...). The other rabbit trail I will now have to follow is what happened to his father, Oliver. According to the pension application, Adaline's husband abandoned the family some 12 years before she put in for the pension in 1890-1, and she believed him to be dead. So instead of looking for a death record, I'm now... well, I don't know exactly yet. Widening the search, in any case.

Another pension application was a failed one and they didn't find it at first, but I got it in the end. Allen Bishop was this guy's name, and it didn't have his wife or children listed, but he made the application in 1879, described an injury with an adze to the foot, and they ultimately determined that the old injury shouldn't prevent him from working as a carpenter so they rejected the application. I'm lucky they kept it, actually, since sometimes the rejected applications weren't saved. I'm pretty sure it's the right guy, since I can find the family in the 1880 Census living in Brooklyn on the same street as the guy from the pension, with the same occupation. I still have a lot of work to do putting the Bishop family together, though.

The one that especially excited me was James Rodgers or Rogers. He had a failed pension application as well, but his listed Ellen Trodden as his wife, and six living children who match with the man who was my direct ancestor. His failed because he deserted in New York City in 1863. Poor guy - in 1900, he was already suffering from "senility" according to these records, and he died five years later at the age of 71. He worked as a laborer in Massachusetts, Canda, Maine, and back to Massachusetts, after coming here from Ireland during the potato famine and according to some census records could read but not write. The records I've found for him always have a mark rather than a signature. The best part, though, is that his military records specified that he was born in County Armagh, so I'm a step closer to confirming where in Ireland my ancestors are from. It also ups the chances that the naturalization papers I found were for this James Rogers, since that also said County Armagh and was in the right location for "my" guy. I checked on the way out though - it actually was not a prerequisite for someone to be a naturalized citizen before they served in the war.

I took photos of everything and when I get home I'll go through them pretty carefully, making note of various details, place names, and witnesses, to figure out next steps in researching these folks. And I'm already planning next records to request - my direct ancestor, Irving Combs, married Josephine Stalker and at least one of her brothers also served in the Civil War.

>64 bell7: What a productive archival search you've had! I hope the remaining mysteries get solved. All hail the gifts of determination before the solid wall of paperwork!

>65 richardderus: aw thanks, it was fun and rewarding for all that it gave me another mystery to try to clear up (disappearing husband instead of a death). I've already made a list of the next set of records to get when I get there next haha.

Wordle 705 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, BALED, BAGEL.

>66 bell7: I know from experience that the staff loves having people like you who use their collection to its fullest and need enough help to be interesting but never get whiny or clingy.

My local librarians used to love my constant stream of ILLs and requests for specific titles on their purchases because I always have reasons. Post-COVID I don't go into the library and post-strokes I don't have the stamina to walk there, so I've sort of lost my "in" sad to say.

>68 richardderus: yeah, they did seem to have that attitude in answering my questions, that it was enough help to be interesting but not annoying. Sorry you haven't been able to get to the library to utilize their services lately. Do they have a delivery service you can utilize? My library has someone on staff that does home drop offs for folks that can't get to the library, even temporarily.

Wordle 706 5/6

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ARISE, SPITE, SLIME, SNIDE, SWINE. My sister got it faster than me today 😂

Weirdly silent am I. I tip-toed through this "new" thread, marveling at all the activity. Now I slip away. Tah-tah.

>69 bell7: The last time I used the library drop off service the woman said that I didn't look like I was disabled and I should get off my computer and walk over to pick up my own books.

She got fired for that, as well she should have, but that put me off trying it again.

Happy weekend ahead's reads, Mary! *smooch*

>71 weird_O: Nice to see you, Bill! Hope you have a good weekend.

>72 richardderus: Aw, I'm sorry. Librarians shouldn't be saying such things but there are, sadly, some not so good ones (as there are in every profession). Good wishes for the weekend, Richard.

80. Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
Why now? I enjoyed her duology Dread nation and Deathless divide, so wanted to read her newest book; picked it up at the library as one of my vacation reads, and switched to the e-book when I left for Philly

It's 1937, and young Laura has moved to New York with a dream of earning her mage's license and becoming a baker, but she's almost out of money and hasn't been able to crack the system yet. Then, she meets the Skylark, who reluctantly takes her on as apprentice and gives Laura the opportunity to join the Colored Auxiliary of a government branch that repairs Blights. There's trouble brewing in Ohio, though, and it seems more dangerous than just any Blight.

This alternate history is really fantastically done. It's rewarding to follow the story of Laura and the person she becomes as she discovers her abilities, as well as learn more about the society in which she lives and its parallels to our own. The story wraps up as a standalone, though I would read more in this universe in a heartbeat. 4.5 stars.

>74 bell7: Ouch! BB!

>75 quondame: hope you enjoy it, Susan!

Wordle 707 6/6

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Oof. Tough one for me today. ARISE, POUTY, REBAR, RACED, RAVEN, RAMEN.

>74 bell7: I've clearly got to get Ireland into my Kindle! Thanks for the book-bullets, Mary, you wicked librarian you.

Sunday *smooch*

>77 bell7: Ooh, but you got it! It seemed a little tricky today.

Have a great weekend!

Karen O

>78 richardderus: Hope you enjoy it, Richard! Rust in the Root was the best of the three I've read. *smooch* back

>79 klobrien2: It was tricky, wasn't it? Today was easier for me.

Wordle 708 3/6

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ARISE, POUTY, SKIMP.

Good Sunday morning! (Well, it's morning as I type this part, if not when I post the message...)

The last week and a half of vacation was a bunch of fun and I did a lot, both visiting with family, getting some research done at the National Archives, and visiting Philadelphia with my youngest sister. We packed a lot into just a few days, but I got to see Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the first U.S. Congress building, and the cemetery where Ben Franklin and others from early Philadelphia are buried. I was surprised by the latter, it was $5 to get in, and many of the stones were illegible, apparently having so much limestone that the inscriptions wore away (I looked it up, as I was surprised - many of the stones in western Mass that are just a tad newer are still quite readable).

I also finished a couple of books, as you saw from my reviews. I have another one coming soon, as I read the majority of The Humans on the train ride back and have only a little left to go today.

I already had my morning coffee, went to church, did a very quick & immediate grocery shopping, and came home to have lunch. I'll putter around a little at home watering the plants and such, and then I'm headed out to spend time with my Little. Dinner will be leftover stuffed peppers that I have taken out of the freezer. Tomorrow's goal will be to tidy up the house a bit and finish unpacking, then mow my lawn. I have folks from my Bible study coming over for games and hanging out, but it should be pretty low key. Then I'm back to work on Tuesday, and I'll be in charge for a couple of weeks while my boss it out.

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Fun progression there. ARISE, POUTY, LOUSE, MOUSE.

Thanks for reminding me about Justina Ireland -- I need to read both Deathless Divide and Rust in the Root!

Glad to hear the trip was fun and productive, Mary. Enjoy your recovery days before you become adultiest adult in the building (at work). :)

>84 curioussquared: Oh yay, hope you like both, Natalie!

>85 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

Well, I did what I needed to tidy up yesterday, but I'm still not fully unpacked nor have I mowed the lawn - and I'm okay with that. I needed the relaxation yesterday, and I enjoyed what I did. I walked into town to see the local Memorial Day parade. And I had some friends over in the evening. We were planning on playing games, but we got to talking and went 'til they left a little after ten. I went right to bed after that. And I'm not at all sorry I took it easy for a day.

I'm working 12-8 today and starting two weeks of being in charge. I have a couple of volunteers coming in this afternoon, so the first thing I'll do is see what projects are available for them, followed by catching up on my emails. That is my only plan for the day.

I could've tried to be ambitious and mow my lawn this morning, but I will not. It can wait 'til tomorrow.

Wordle 710 5/6

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ARISE, POUTY, BELCH, KNELL, KNEEL.

Morning, Mary. I hope you had a nice holiday weekend. It has been dry here, so I do not need to mow. 😁

>89 msf59: Morning, Mark, and hope you had a good weekend as well! I think I lucked out being gone during fairly dry weather, but it'll be about two weeks since I last mowed, and the dandelions if not the lawn have gotten a bit long. By the way, while I was away we went to Rio, which is a place with a playground, walking paths around a pond, and shops. I saw a wood duck, cormorant, and blue heron. The first two were lifers.

81. The Humans by Matt Haig
Why now? My brother gave it to my for my birthday and was asking me about it whenever he saw me, so I decided that travel would be the perfect time to read it. It was my book to read on the train ride back from Philly.

An unnamed narrator alien goes to earth on a mission: the professor he replaced has solved the Reimann hypothesis, a mathematical question related to prime numbers. Humans as a species are not ready for this information, so he needs to destroy everything related to the discovery and every human who knows about it. But then, arriving at earth and meeting the wife and son that Andrew left behind, he starts to see what's so special about these non-logical, emotional, sometimes violent but also loving, people.

I went into this book, which came out ten years ago, slightly reluctantly after being disappointed with the much-hyped, bestselling book, The Midnight Library. The Humans covers some of the same concerns - Andrew's son, Gulliver, is depressed, for example - but I enjoyed the story more. The alien and his explanations of humans is really funny, and I liked the progress he makes in understanding what makes humans tick, making the story predictable in a comforting sort of way. 4 stars.

>91 bell7: Happy Tuesday orisons, Mary! I'm glad it was a 4* read for you. Author Haig and I are a poor alchemical fit somehow. You can now recommend this one to your patrons with an unclouded brow, which always feels like such a relief, no?

It's almost Pride Month with its review-a-day schedule. I'm going to try to keep it up this year, but will forgive myself if I fall short due to health and stress exigencies. I suspect that I'll be visiting a little less this month, too.

*smooch*

>92 richardderus: I think it was mostly a 4-star read because I did not expect much going in; can't say I'm really intrigued enough, personally, to read any others by him *shrug*. But yeah, I can recommend it to others (especially looking for something after The Midnight Library and be able to honestly say I read it and liked it if anyone asks (and they do).

Best of luck with your Pride Month reviews, and while I hope you're able to meet your goal, I equally hope that you will give yourself a break if needed. I will understand if you'll be visiting a little less - and thank you for the heads up, as i would've worried. For my part, I shall try to visit others' threads more this June.

*smooch*

What I've (been) reading listening to:

Sleep through the static - Jack Johnson
Listened to this one on the days leading up to vacation. It was nice, calming background sort of music, and while I didn't dislike anything in particular it was all very much the same and none of the songs stuck out for me enough to add them to my playlist.

Girls and Boys - Ingrid Michaelson
I can't really put my finger on why I didn't like this more, as all of the pieces were things that I like but somehow it added up to just a little off for me. Only listened to it twice through and returned it to the library. I might try something else by the artist to see if it was just this album, since I kept thinking I should like it more than I did.

I have a few more albums on their way to me and I'll pick up one more at work today 'cause I was only radio today.

>91 bell7: The Midnight Library fit my sweet spot for do-over stories. So I might try The Humans but then again I have a sour spot for "humans have worth" stories. Funny that I like to give individuals plenty of opportunity to evaluate and have another go, but think the species in general incapable of getting it right.

Wordle 711 4/6

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So many options! ARISE, ABIDE, ALIVE, AGILE.

>95 quondame: Oh that's a really interesting perspective, thank you, Susan! As someone with relatively few regrets, and the perspective that even my mistakes have brought me where I am today, I had a tough time relating to Nora in The Midnight Library. So I had rather the opposite reaction to the books that you describe, but I appreciate how different readers could come to both. Added to that I'd had a year or two of patrons telling me how amazing TMN was, and I think I went in with too-high expectations.

Good morning, all! I'm up early because I have a service window of 7-9 a.m. where the company should be coming to finish my dryer repair. They're on their way now. One small step to finally having the appliance work/replacement behind me...

So I'm up and dressed. Oh well... I'm hoping to finish up reading my ARC of The Bookbinder today, and then I'll probably put on some Radio Roland Garros since I don't have any streaming services that carry the live tennis (It's pay-for on Peacock).

I did a lot of catch-up stuff at work yesterday, and have a few things I'd like to do today, but mostly it's going to be taken up with volunteers and being the adultiest adult in the building. I will come home, get changed, and attempt to mow my lawn if it's not too hot and the mower turns on after I hit it with the car backing out of the garage yesterday. I knocked out the air filter and managed to put it back together, but haven't actually seen if it will start after taking the beating.

Reading: The Bookbinder and Three Apples Fell From the Sky. Kind of paused on Esperanza Rising and deciding if I want to finish it or not.

Watching: Doctor Who, Series 8 (the first one with Peter Capaldi)

Listening: just got Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine out from the library last night, and I'm on my first listen through

82. The Bookbinder by Pip Williams
Why now? I requested it as an ARC from Edelweiss when I learned it was coming out - I loved The Dictionary of Lost Words and was very excited to read another book by the author

*Free e-book ARC made available by the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

Peggy works at the Oxford University Press in the bindery, folding pages alongside her twin sister, Maude, who is developmentally challenged and uses repeated words and phrases to communicate. When World War 1 begins, Peggy and her family and friends find their world turned upside down, but one thing remains the same - the women's stories are the ones untold, and a working woman like Peggy has a hard road ahead of her.

I adored The Dictionary of Lost Words, and enjoyed seeing the cameos of characters from the first book, but this one very much stands on its own and tells a different story. I liked Peggy, Maude, and the other women whose stories are front and center in Williams' work. Their experience of war is different from what's highlighted in history books, volunteering for the Red Cross and meeting refugees far from home. Peggy also dreams of more, reading the books she's supposed to be folding, and hoping for women's suffrage. The research Williams has done for this book is tremendous but doesn't get in the way of her storytelling. Readers of Marie Benedict who appreciate historical fiction about the people who often get overlooked will enjoy this story. 4 stars.

In the U.S., this comes out on August 1. In several other countries, under the name The Bookbinder of Jericho, it came out March 28.

May in review

82. The Bookbinder by Pip Williams (the non-US title is The Bookbinder of Jericho)
81. The Humans by Matt Haig
80. Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
79. The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
78. Well Played by Jen DeLuca
77. How Can I Help You by Laura Sims
76. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
75. The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
74. Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire
73. Stargazy Pie by Victoria Goddard
72. Well Met by Jen DeLuca

Did Not Finish:
None

Books read: 11
Rereads: 0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 0/2/9
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 10/1/0/0
Country of origin: US - 6, UK - 3, Australia - 1, Canada - 1
Massachusetts Center of the Book Challenge: None, I finished it the end of April

Because I want to awards:
Favorite fiction of the month - Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
Favorite nonfiction of the month - Once Upon a Tome by Oliver Darkshire

YTD stats -
Pages read: 15,584
Avg pages a day: 104
Books by POC authors: 47 (57%)
In translation: 29
DNF: 2

Thoughts: After a rather odd month in April (where most of the books finished were a manga series reread), I am back to my consistent 2023 self with 11 books read in May. I am pleased with the mix of genres, and generally liked the books I read with the most common rating I handed out being a four. Only two got 4.5, and only two got three stars (and one of those was my book club book), so all in all a pretty solid month. Next month, I'm hoping to raise the number of books in translation and read more authors of color than I did in May.

>100 bell7: You had a great reading month!

>99 bell7: I can't wait for that one!

Happy rest of the week!

>101 figsfromthistle: thank you, I thought so! Really lucked out with a few good reads over vacation, too. Hope you enjoy The Bookbinder when it comes out, Anita.

Edited to fix touchstone

Wordle 712 X/6

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Too many possibilities and I ran out of guesses. ARISE, POUTY, BADLY, WACKY, FANNY, HAMMY. The answer was JAZZY. And my 80+ streak is broken. Ah well

>99 bell7: Ooh, I will be looking forward to that one!

>103 bell7: Today's word broke my Wordle streak, too.

Welcome to June. May your stellar reading continue.

>108 bell7: I got skunked today as well.

>104 foggidawn: I hope you like it as much if not more than I did, foggi! It was a tough one, I wouldn't be surprised if it broke several folks' streak.

>105 weird_O: Thanks, Bill! Happy June, and hope it's a good reading month for you.

>106 MickyFine: I betcha a lot of people are in the same camp!

Happy June!

The week is flying by and I'm nearly through the first of two weeks being the adultiest adult in the building (thanks, Micky, for that description - it fits). I'm working Saturday, so not quite there yet, but then it just means four days next week, so I'm good with that.

I'm headed out shortly to have dinner at a friend's house. And apparently left my phone at work... ugh. At least I didn't particularly need it tonight, and I'll get it tomorrow.

Happy Friday! I can't do my Wordle this morning since I left my phone at work. I'll be getting dressed and out of here probably a little on the early side to find it and charge it.

While I have coffee and breakfast, I'm listening to Roland Garros radio streaming online. I can't watch it not having any TV service (and my online streaming stuff doesn't carry it), but will follow along with the draw anyways.

Work is 9-5 today. I have a few volunteers to corral and need to do payroll and turnover. Those are my only goals for the day.

Wordle 713 4/6

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Late, but got it. ARISE, POUTY, MUSIC, HUMID.

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*Sigh* gonna take me a little longer to start a new streak, I guess. ARISE, POUTY, JANKY, FANCY, HANDY, MANLY. The answer was NANNY, which means I had all the letters by the third guess.

>111 bell7: - I also didn't get Wordle today, Mary. Solidarity, sister!

Have a good weekend!

>108 bell7: Happy to provide a handy term. 😊

Hopefully there's no dire need for you on your days off!

>112 katiekrug: *fist bump* Good luck to both of us today lol. Hope you have a good weekend too!

>113 MickyFine: Well... I'm leaving two reference people on for the entire day if one person it out sick tomorrow, but they'll just have to use pagers to step away at times and I'll bear the complaints on Tuesday *shrug*. It sounds harsh, but if I give up Monday as my day off for working yesterday, I still have to take a day off this week to make up the time, and there's no good day to do it. They'll figure it out.

Wordle 715 4/6

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Guessing game, but at least I got it! ARISE, LEAST, FEAST, BEAST.

>115 bell7: Heck, it's a good score, Mary...far from a skunking.

Happy-Sunday orisons.

>116 richardderus: Indeed, four is my most common and generally what I hope for in a given morning. Sunday *smooches*

The morning was busy with nursery and church, but I came home to possible plans and ended up having a somewhat productive and fairly quiet afternoon at home. I cooked some, did the dishes, repotted a couple of plants, and worked on a hat I'm knitting. Now I've watched a couple of episodes of Doctor Who and will relax a bit longer before bed.

Tomorrow being my day off for working Saturday, I'm planning on heading out to a friend's for a visit. She's had a baby who is still in the NICU, and I'll spend some time with her and meet the baby.

Reading: Three Apples Fell from the Sky and The Golden Spoon. I should finish the latter pretty soon.

Listening: just finished up Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine. I like their style, some similarities to Simon & Garfunkel with the harmonies. I added "Naked as We Came," "Cinder and Smoke," "Teeth in the Grass," "Free Until They Cut Me Down" and "Passing Afternoon" to my playlist. I just realized how old the CD is, as I looked at my library copy and realized it's my handwriting on the CD - when I was a page, I put all the stickers and wrote the library name and barcode on the CD to identify it if it ever got separated from the case. For reference, I haven't had that job in over ten years, so as a result I'm surprised the CD was so clear with no skips.

Barton Hollow (The Civil Wars) is in my car CD player now; I've listened to it about once through.

Watching: Just finished up my rewatch of Series 8 in Doctor Who, and the Christmas special that followed. I remembered the Christmas special pretty clearly, so I think it was some time in Series 9 that I stopped watching (my friend with BBC America moved away).

Crafting: Started on a sweater (theoretically for myself, we'll see what I think when I've finished) and a hat to give away.

Wordle 716 5/6

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ARISE, MONTH, LINED, GENII, ENNUI. Rather pleased with myself that I got it at all.

>119 bell7: It was a pause and come back to it several hours later kind of day for my Wordle.

>114 bell7: That sounds completely reasonable.

I hope you have a lovely visit with your friend today.

>120 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I didn't get any texts from work yesterday, so I'm assuming everything went as smoothly as it can.

I could definitely see how yesterday's Wordle would be a pause and come back kinda puzzle.

Wordle 717 5/6

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ARISE, POUTY, STOUT, SHOUT, SCOUT. The number of options surprised me a little.

Good morning, all! Yesterday was my day off for working Saturday, and I went to a friend's place a little over an hour ago to help her out after her baby was born prematurely. The last couple of weeks have been extremely stressful for my friend, as you can imagine, and we took it easy while I did a small grocery shopping for her and took her to the hospital for visiting time. Baby is doing well, he's small and on a CPAP, but everyone at the hospital was commenting about how good he was. I got home a little after nine and was ready for bed.

I owe a couple of reviews. I finished The Golden Spoon on Sunday night and Esperanza Rising this morning (I'd started reading it with Mia and paused awhile before deciding to finish it). I was going to start the audiobook of Shiloh before I realized I'd already read/listened to it already. So this morning (I woke up early...) I did some searching for a new audio, and decided to read the next book in Jen DeLuca's series, so Well Matched is my current e-book/audio read.

Today I'm going into work 9-5 instead of 12-8, and hoping one of my co-workers isn't out sick (if she is, I'll be working a split). If I can work the 9-5 shift, I'll head out to my brother's softball games after work. Either way, at the end of the night, I'm stopping at my other brother's girlfriend's to let the dogs out and feed them before heading home for the night. (And if you think that's busy, just wait 'til I give you tomorrow's plan.)

>123 bell7: I hope everything continues to go well for your friend's baby.

Crossing my fingers no split shift is required for you today. Those are no fun at all.

>124 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky, I do too. I'm hoping to go again in a couple of weeks.

And thanks re: the wishes for my shift today. I am working a split, I went in from 9-11, and now I'm going back in for 2:30 and essentially working on reference the rest of the night. The evenings tend to be quiet, at least.

83. The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
Why now? I don't recall what exactly first put this on my radar, but I think it was one of those "new books" promotions (either email or webinar) that I get for work - downloaded it from Edelweiss Plus, but didn't get to it until after the publication date

*Free e-book ARC made available by the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!* (NOTE: I am, in fact, basing the review off the library e-book)

Betsy Grafton, the longtime host of Bake Week and "America's Grandmother", discovers a dead body in the baking tent. We're then transported a couple weeks back to meet the six baking show contestants, who each have their turn narrating this story that Janet Evanovich described as a mashup of "The Great British Bakeoff" and Clue.

An intriguing premise for a first novel, but unfortunately suffers from the drawbacks of the same. The baking and competition description are the best part of the novel, while the characters were a little flat to me and the secrets that started coming out were not all that surprising. Despite the dead body in the first chapter, we don't even know who died until well over half the book, and the mystery of what happened is not the point after all, as we're told only a few chapters later. A light and fast read, but skippable. 3 stars.

84. Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Why now? A co-worker recommended it to me as a book I could read with my niece, and in fact, I started it as a paper book I read to her while I was visiting, paused for a bit while I decided if I wanted to finish it, and then ultimately read most of it as a library e-book over the last several days

In the 1930s, Esperanza is the daughter of a well-to-do landowner in Mexico, where her family has servants and vineyards, and she has never wanted for anything. Then her beloved Papa is killed, and his brother Tio Luis proposes marriage to her mother. With their world turned upside down, what will Esperanza do?

The beginning of this book was so terribly sad that I almost stopped reading entirely. One tragedy after another rocks the family, until Esperanza and her mother immigrate to the U.S. I was helped along by the author's note, which mentions that some of the story is partially based on her own grandmother's experiences. And though Esperanza's life becomes hard as she's poor and works in migrant camps, it is ultimately one of hope and the power of family and friends to come together. 3.5 stars.

I'm ready for something a little happier now.

Wordle 718 5/6

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Should've had my coffee first. Oh well. ARISE, POUTY, CLEAR, TAMER, HATER.

Today's original plan was to get to work a little early, head out to a genealogy society meeting, and then go to my brother's girlfriend's to let the dogs out, and going home (and to bed).

Well, it certainly started out that way. I got to work about 10 minutes early, and some of my co-workers and the Friends volunteers for the book sale were already there. It was a busy morning and I kept myself busy. But the genealogy meeting got moved to online only, so I went home and had time to put in a load of laundry and do some dishes, get supper, and set up my computer. The speaker messed up the date, too, so we're watching a webinar. When we wrap up, I will go let the dogs out.

Tomorrow is work and grocery shopping and will feel pretty calm after the last couple of days.

Dropping in to say Hi! and try to keep up from here. Fingers crossed. Glad life is feeling calmer -- Happy Wednesday!

>130 Berly: Happy Wednesday, Kim! Good luck with staying caught up ;) I'm better at posting here consistently than I am at getting to others' threads these days, but hopefully will have some time to catch up in the coming days.

Wordle 719 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, GRUFF, CRUMB.

TGIF!

It's been a long week, but I'm nearly through being the adultiest adult in the library when my boss comes back on Monday. Today I have some time on the desk helping cover for someone who won't make it in today, I need to do turnover on the cash register and bring it to Town Hall, and I need to submit the attendance form (though if there are any changes, it's not a payroll week so it's the easier one to correct). Oh and I also have a bunch of volunteers throughout the day, so finding projects for them will be fun.

Outside of work is keeping me busy today too. I am currently waiting for the delivery of a new cooktop for my stove, since it got a little banged up in delivery of the whole range (admittedly, my house is a tough set up for such deliveries). The delivery window is 8-10, so I'm dressed for work and eating breakfast while I wait. They'll check in on my dryer as well, since it decided not to heat up after repairs were made last week (same company). If my appliances could just cooperate and stop breaking down, that would be most lovely.

While I was grocery shopping last night, my dad came by to check my mower, which I had hit with my car backing out of the garage last week, and he agreed that it wouldn't start (please note that I can generally start it, but it can take awhile because I have to pull the cord with my non-dominant hand), so I have to figure out what to do about that too. Repair? Or buy new?

Tonight I start a dogsitting job, but it's an easy one, I will pick up the dog and bring her home with me for a long weekend. She might insist on a walk to the cemetery, in which case I will oblige. Poached fish for supper tonight, and then a quiet evening of Doctor Who and reading, just like last night. As you can imagine, I haven't had the energy for much else.

Wordle 720 5/6

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Not too shabby. ARISE, POUTY, CLASH, SALSA, BALSA.

If you decide on a new mower, Mary, I recommend an electric one. They start with the push of a button and are much quieter than gas-powered ones. I love ours. I think it's a Ryobi.

Have a great weekend!

>135 katiekrug: I will consider that, thanks, Katie! I'd probably like to get a self-propelled one next time around. Being able to store it in my walkout basement instead of the garage would be a plus, as well.

Happy last-days-of-alpha-adulting, Mary! *smooch*

>136 bell7: - Ours has a self-propel function, and it folds up for easy storage :)

ETA: Iit runs on batteries, so you don't have to worry about a long cord or anything.

>58 bell7: Glad to see that you ended up liking the book, Mary. I actually preferred the second book to the first. I cannot wait to see where Nix takes the series(?) Not sure if two books actually constitutes a series or not. . .

>133 bell7: Sorry to hear you're still having appliance issues. I hope they are all resolved soon! We also have an electric mower, but ours is Ego brand. My husband is the one who uses it, and he loves it. It also runs on battery power. Electric mowers are definitely quieter.

Your chill evening sounds like an excellent way to end the week. I hope your canine companion liked Doctor Who. 😊

>137 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I'm glad to have it behind me.

>138 katiekrug: That does sound excellent. I'll see what I can manage with dogsitting money this summer. Thanks, Katie!

>139 alcottacre: It's been awhile since I read the first one, Stasia, so it's hard to say which I liked better. I did enjoy the story, for sure, and I'm looking forward to the next book!

>140 atozgrl: Thank for the sympathy, Irene. I'm getting there - the new stove top is on and everything works well. I'm waiting for some parts to come in to finish a couple of jobs. The problem with the dryer is all under warranty, so once yet another part comes in, I should be good to go. My clothesline is getting some good use today, however.

>141 MickyFine: Nora (that's the doggo) didn't seem to mind at all. She's spoiled as all get out at my place since I let her on the couch, and she's happily sleeping on a sunny spot on it right now.

Wordle 721 3/6

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Did it this morning, but I was rushing outta here so just posting now. ARISE, MONTH, AGAIN.

Happy weekend, all! I spent the morning with my Little, got home and had lunch, hung up the wet clothes that had been waiting for dryer repair (thank goodness for the clothesline out back and that the previous owner set up in the basement), and watched a couple of episodes of Doctor Who while knitting a hat. I'm finally to the point in relaxing where I can wrap my head around a couple of reviews I want to write up for a couple of books I've finished over the last few days.

The evening should be pretty quiet as well. I've got leftovers to heat up for dinner and may take the dog for a walk. Reading or more Doctor Who watching when it gets dark.

85. Well Matched by Jen DeLuca
Why now? When I was looking for an e-book/audio combo, I decided to continue reading the Ren Faire series I've been enjoying

April Parker raised her daughter Caitlin as a single mom, and now that Cait is graduating she's ready to sell the house and move out of the stuffy small town where everyone gets into her business. Then Mitch, the gym teacher and hunk who wears a kilt at the local Ren Faire, asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend for a visit to his grandparents', so that maybe his family will take him seriously for once. But perhaps their fake relationship is more real than April is willing to admit.

I liked this the least of the three I've read so far, which is a shame, because I really like the fake dating trope in rom-com movies. I was disappointed with its execution here, which didn't have the slow burn of realizing one's feelings for each other were genuine. Instead, it's super obvious to the reader early on, and April seems to lack a lot of self-awareness, as well as being oblivious to her daughter's and Mitch's feelings about her choices, for all that she's supposed to be a mature 40-year-old. Also the Ren Faire doesn't factor into the story until closer to the end, and that setting is part of the appeal to me. 3.5 stars.

I'll probably still read Well Traveled eventually, but I'm going to give myself a bit of a break from the series first in case I'm being extra picky from reading them too close together. But Micky and foggi, you've both been reading through the series. Thoughts on this one? Am I being too hard on April?

86. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Why now? I think this first came to my attention because my library patrons - notoriously picky about their fantasy, as a whole, being more of a mystery/thriller/historical fiction kinda place - were putting it on hold. Read now because my turn came up for the e-book and audio and I was ready for that format.

Viv is an orc who worked with a crew, but now she's hung up her sword and has a dream of starting a new life as proprietor of a coffee shop in the town of Thune. With a stone that might give her luck and the help of friends she makes along the way, she may just be able to pull it off, though she has to deal with threats from the local strong arms and someone from her past.

A heartwarming, cozy fantasy with found family and humor. I enjoyed the characters and the process of Viv's setting up shop. The subtitle does tell you that it's "a novel of high fantasy and low stakes," and it is, but sometimes that's the perfect weekend read with a cup of tea - er, coffee - and a few hours to relax. 4 stars.

What I've (been) listening to:

The Lumineers - self-titled album
Hmmm... I liked the sound of the music, but wasn't a fan of the lead singers voice, overall. I recognized (and like) "Hey Ho" from hearing it on the radio, and I did add "Stubborn Love" to my playlist, but didn't feel the need to listen to it again.

Passenger - Tara MacLean
Opposite problem with this one, I liked her voice a lot but didn't love the musical style which was very late '90s pop and some electronic/synth-sounding stuff as well as guitar. I would try something else but unfortunately this is the only album of hers in my library system.

Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars
I liked this one a lot. I need to listen through it once more to decide what songs to add to the playlist and will add which ones after I do that. Too bad that there's not albums to listen to now, as I really love their harmonies.

Happy Saturday, Mary. I like hearing your "listening" choices. I need to do that more. I am a big music lover but books take most of my attention these days. The Lumineers have never really grabbed me. Looks like I need to delve into The Civil Wars more.

>147 bell7: They did a couple EPs and there's a live album (Live from Eddie's Attic, I think it's the title). Some of the tracks duplicate from their two albums but there's unique stuff there as well. Their cover of Billie Jean is one of my faves. The EPs might not be available on disc but depending on your streaming service access, you might be able to listen to them that way.

>145 bell7: I haven't made it to this one yet so no opinions to share. I'll try and keep your question in mind when I do get there.

>147 bell7: Cleopatra is my favorite Lumineers album. I really, really love that album but the rest has never really spoken to me.

>147 bell7: I loved The Civil Wars… so sad when they split up. Sounds like they were far more compatible musically than personally.

>148 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I don't know your music taste enough to say you'd like The Civil Wars, but I do think they're worth trying out.

>149 MickyFine: I've been old school listening to CDs I can borrow from the library hahaha. I generally listen to music only while driving and my car has both a CD player and an aux input, but most of the time I will listen to CDs rather than stream. My best bet is probably to go through Pandora, though I have the free version so I need to watch ads in order to pick the song I want to listen to. Spotify doesn't really let me pick, I can listen to an album but it's not in order. Maybe YouTube, I'll have to check.

And I'll look forward to your thoughts and hope I didn't color your impressions too much :)

>150 ursula: I'll try that one, Ursula, thanks for the recommendation! Funny how sometimes we like everything by an artist and other times we're very specific - not just musicians, but authors and other art, too.

>151 PlatinumWarlock: Well, at least I knew going in that there were only a handful of albums I could listen to. I would've been incredibly disappointed as a fan if I'd been listening in "real time" so to speak. Thanks for visiting my thread!

>147 bell7: Good stuff there, Mary.

Have a splendid Sunday. xx

Wordle 722 5/6

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ARISE, POUTY, LUNAR, QUARK, GUARD. I feel like that progression gives you a pretty good look into how my brain works 😂

>153 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! Hope you have a wonderful Sunday too.

Another weekend day with a nice blend of plans and downtime. I'm leaving shortly to go to nursery (I'm point person for the early service for a couple of weeks while the usual person/scheduler is on vacation) and then stay for second service. One of my friends is having a "Sunday Supper" potluck at noon, so I'll head over from church with the broccoli salad I made yesterday. Not sure how long that will go, but I don't have any more plans after that, and they're folks that I can be pretty relaxed with so I anticipate staying awhile without being completely peopled out. I do have to get back in time to feed the dog her supper, and I expect I'll take another walk with her tonight too.

Reading: Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley, and Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard.

Watching: Doctor Who, just finishing up Series 9, which I binged very quickly over the last week or so while I knit up a couple of hats. It was a strong one overall, though I'm still a little confused by that four-billion-years passing while in the confession dial in "Heaven Sent". Does that make The Doctor still about 2,000 because he "reset" himself, or is he 4 billion now? And does it matter? Also, I liked Clara, and though I knew it was coming, I'm sorry to see her go. Maisie Williams' character is a highlight. I remembered a lot of the individual episodes in this one, and my guess is that's because I'd seen it most recently, primarily watching one episode a week, and talking about them with friends afterwards, which probably solidified them a little more in my mind. I'm very close to the episodes I've never seen before, which I think is just a few episodes after the next Christmas special, "The Husbands of River Song." I'll probably that watch tonight.

Listening: I've been between CDs and just listening to what little radio I get in my car.

Crafting: a couple of hats with sock weight yarn - a friend of mine asked for socks and a hat, so I'll giver her a couple of options in the next week or so; the beginning of a sweater for myself.

Wordle 723 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, GROOM, WRONG.

Happy New Sunday, to steal Richard and Mamie's term :)

I'm hoping my dad will swing by with a mower sometime this morning so I can mow for the first time in about a month. It's the last day of dogsitting and I'm working 3-8, so my plan is to drop her and her stuff back to her house on the way to work. My boss is back and I am no longer the adultiest adult in the library so *phew* to that.

And yesterday I was enjoying Bee Sting Cake so much that I read it all among everything else I wanted to do that day.

Reading: Three Apples Fell from the Sky and Warrior Girl Unearthed

Watching: Christmas special "The Husbands of River Song" last night, which is one I really like

Listening: Meh, just radio

Crafting: Nearly finished weaving in the ends of the last hat, then back to the sweater for me

>158 bell7: New-Sunday orisons, Mary! I truly miss River Song/Alex Kingston. Such a great character and La Kingston did her justice.

You made it through the trial-by-fire of being the Acting Grown-Up! I'm not surprised but I am glad for you that it was reasonably uneventful...no one immolated themselves on the steps, no meteors crashed into the roof, all in all pretty dull I'd say....

*smooch*

>145 bell7: I enjoyed Well Matched well enough, but the previous book had knocked down my expectations a peg or two, so maybe that has something to do with it. A break from the series is probably a good idea, if you're feeling grumbly about that one. :-)

>159 richardderus: It's a truism that staff acknowledges that something always goes wrong when I am the one in charge. Could be small, like a water heater failing and needing to coordinate its replacement with the facilities manager, or something large like shutting down the library to the public when COVID hit the area (that was my first department head meeting). I figure it's all preparing me for being officially in charge library director somewhere, someday. Then a bunch of complicated things can happen to my second-in-command lol. But yeah, this time around was, indeed, relatively uneventful.

>160 foggidawn: For whatever reason, I was a little more forgiving of book #2. Maybe in my head April is my age so should think and act more like I do? Hahaha. Anyway, it's always fun to see what different readers get out of different books.

Huzzah to being back to second in command!

>158 bell7: I enjoyed Jemis and Hal rather more than Jemis and Dart.

>162 MickyFine: Haha, yes, glad to no longer be the buck of "the buck stops here".

>163 quondame: I agree, Susan!

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Well then. ARISE, POUTY, PLUNK.

Happy Tuesday morning!

Last night and this morning I started thinking of all the things I *should* do before work today, and reminded myself that I took the next two days off and don't have to rush to fit everything in today. So, I've taken my time over my coffee and breakfast, and in a bit I'll do a really quick grocery shopping (I need olive oil...) and get a little cooking in. I'm working 12-8, have some volunteers coming in, and am working on getting a bi-monthly email about books out to our subscribers.

Tomorrow I have the day completely off, and I'm hoping to get out to a library and cemetery about an hour away to do some genealogy research. It will probably be more general historical research about the time and place, particularly the Irish Catholic population and churches in in the mid-late 1800s, rather than specific to my family, but I'm hoping that the context will be useful in putting together more of their story. I'm not sure what to expect when I get to the cemetery, honestly, but I know several of my family members are buried there, and I'd like to look at the graves in the vicinity to be able to start mapping out possible family and friends. In fact, now that I think that through, I might try to get to the graveyard before the library in case I find someone I want to research.

>165 bell7: Stupid word, wasn't it?

>166 bell7: Your pace is slackening, Mary...it must be summer. I myownself order Pompeian olive oil, the regular kind not the EVOO, in a 48oz jog from Amazon for $13. It lasts one person a good while and is on sale for $11.69 now.
https://www.amazon.com/Pompeian-Perfect-Grilling-Naturally-Non-Allergenic/dp/B08...

Have a terrrific Tuesday.

>167 richardderus: It was an odd one for sure, but the only possibility I could come up with after what letters I'd eliminated and the placements I had. Made me laugh, actually.

Edited to add: I realize you're joshing me about my "slackening pace", but in some ways I'm usually busier in the summer with dogsitting jobs and the like. I think this month has been a little less than normal, mostly because of vacation time I've been taking off, allowing me to be a little easier on the days I'm working.

87. Bee Sting Cake by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Next in the series and a dual read with Stasia (alcottacre)

Jemis and his friend Mr. Dart are still recovering from the events of the previous weekend as described in Stargazy Pie, when new adventure finds them. This time, a dragon appears and gives Jemis a riddle that seems to be connected to his family, and his old college roommate Hal happens upon his doorstep and has shocking news about what really happened to Jemis's father, Jakory. All Jemis wants to do is keep his head down 'til the reading of his stepfather's will, but adventure - and town gossip - seems to follow him wherever he goes.

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in a day. Not a day I had no responsibilities, mind you, but one that I fit reading around and then, in the evening, chose not to do anything else so that I could finish the book. The banter between Jemis and Hal (really more of a personality than Mr. Dart in this one) was delightful, and I loved getting more hints of Jemis's family story, both his father and his maternal grandmother. The Kindle version is not perfectly copyedited, but I was forgiving because I was having fun. Very much looking forward to reading the next one. 4.5 stars.

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ARISE, PRIDE, TRIKE, CRIME. That guessing game could've gone on awhile.

Happy Wednesday! I'm off from work today and most of tomorrow (more on that below), and I'm taking advantage today by going on a day trip to do some genealogy research. I'm really fortunate that a lot of my family was living near where I do for awhile, and that there are really good research facilities in either direction from me about an hour, an hour and a half away.

Anyway, the plan today once I finish my coffee and get outta here is go to to a cemetery and a library that has some historical information about my Irish Catholic family side. I figured I'd go to the graveyard first to take pictures of stones in case I turn up any more people I want to look up at the library. Most of what I expect to find in the library is more about the church, community, and history than about my family specifically. I'm hopeful it might give me an idea of the Irish patterns of immigration at the time, though, so I have an idea of who and what to look for.

I realized the other day as I was plotting this out that next week I'll be headed in the same direction for a show, but I'm going anyways, figuring if there's anything I turn up I want to go back for, now I have an extra day to do it.

Tomorrow I had originally taken off from work, but then I signed myself up for an online training for the annual library report I fill out and send to the state board of library commissioners. I've done the training ever since I've been the assistant director, so it's a bit of old hat, but there's always something new and I always learn something useful by attending another training. But now at least there's limited work from home options, and I'll use that tomorrow. It runs from 10-12:30. Then, folks are coming back to fix my dryer (again...), and the window for that is 1-3. I expect I will spend that day puttering around at home, tidying and the like.

DNF #3 (is that it? huh): Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who've Done It and Some Who Never Will by Steve Lopez

I'd heard about this on NPR, a journalist (he wrote The Soloist which was made into a movie) contemplating retirement decides to interview a bunch of folks and get their perspectives. I was hoping for something a little more... rigorous. Thirty-five pages in, it was much more introspective than I was expecting, as he goes back and forth about what would be good about retirement and what he would miss. Fine for what it is, but while I wouldn't say I am counting down days to retirement (it's waaaaay too early for that, and I enjoy what I do), I'm planning on retiring and I have plans for my time when I do. I was much more interested in reading statistics, others' perspectives, and at least in the early chapters it's mostly Lopez's perspectives with a few nuggets from friends tossed in here and there.

Oh well... I've got plenty of other books waiting patiently for me.

Wordle 726 5/6

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My brain was just not going there today. ARISE, POUTY, YACHT, EAVES, MAYBE. I used my third guess to eliminate placement even though I knew it wasn't right, and three was to see if there was an extra "e" that was missing in either of the places it could go. My final guess, believe it or not, was an accident. I picked "m" as a starting letter just to fill the spot and look at various ending combos besides "ayle" and "ayne" were possible, and all of a sudden I was staring at the answer.

Sweet Thursday, all! I have the mostly off from work, but I'll be doing an online training shortly for a state library report I will start working on after July 1. It runs from 10-12:30, most of it will be familiar, so I'm planning on knitting in front of it and maybe taking some notes for the nugget(s) I get.

I already spent some of the morning tidying up because I was restless. After the online training is over, I have some cooking I want to do. And I have a 1-3 p.m. window for some folks to come and fix my dryer, so I expect some laundry will happen later too. It sounds busy, I suppose, but I kind of like that sort of "homey" day of chores and I haven't had one in awhile. Oh, and I do want to run out to the post office at some point today too. A friend of mine asked for a hat and sock set, and I made three different ones thinking I'd give her the choice, but she decided she'd like to buy them all, so I'm mailing them out to her today.

I hope the training flew by and the rest of your at-home day is enjoyably productive.

>175 MickyFine: Ehhhh, it was pretty tedious, but I got the info I needed and because I was work-from-home I was able to keep myself occupied instead of zoning out when I got restless.

The rest of the day has been very enjoyable. I've cooked, done dishes, and have laundry going now that my dryer is working (*fingers crossed* it keeps going just fine this time). I mailed out what I wanted to. And I even, just now, went through all my pet sitting clients and made up index cards from them with name, address, names of pets, whether or not I keep a key... it's been an organizational idea I've had for awhile and just haven't done, but since one of my regulars moved and gave me her new info, it was the impetus I needed to organize it a bit more.

I kinda finished up what I thought I wanted to do today earlier than I expected, so now I have to decide where my brain is, if I have other things I want to organize or if I can focus on a book or what.

88. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley
Why now? I LOVED her first book, Firekeeper's Daughter, so this moved near the top of my TBR list as soon as it came out.

Perry Firekeeper-Birch wasn't planning on being an intern in the tribal summer program like her twin, Pauline, but when she crashes the Jeep their Auntie Daunis gave them for their 16th birthday, this is how she's paying back the repairs. She's assigned to Cooper, a man who runs the tribal museum and who is a bit quirky, and she soon learns about the local college's archival collection of indigenous bodies and burial artifacts. She promises to bring the one known as Warrior Girl back to Sugar Island for a proper burial.

This novel tackles a lot: not just the history of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, but also the indigenous girls and women who go missing, and the ways in which laws about jurisdiction on tribal land can be twisted to mean rape goes unprosecuted and unpunished. Perry is a great character, passionate and as impatient as you might expect a teenager to be with Cooper's steady, by-the-book progress in fighting for the return of indigenous bodies and artifacts. The plot, in my mind, wasn't as clear and easy to follow as Firekeeper's Daughter, but the end brought the various threads together in a satisfying way. 4 stars.

>176 bell7: I hope your dryer is finally fixed for good this time! Is the replacement cooktop also installed? Keeping my fingers crossed for you that you don't have any more appliance issues for at least the rest of this year.

>178 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene! Yes, the cooktop was installed last week and they checked on the dryer and confirmed that it 1. wasn't working and 2. was within warranty. I'm just amazed that the part came in this quickly - supply chains have made delivery times wacky, and the first time took a couple of months. This one arrived within days, and its installation was very timely too.

The one thing I'm waiting for now, after all the work that's been completed, is a ground fault circuit interrupter circuit breaker that needs to go in for the line the oven is on.

My library's book sale happened last week, and I'm finally adding the books I bought to LT. I accidentally got at least one, possibly two, that I already have, but in any case, here's the haul:

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones (read years ago and loved)
Bibliolepsy by Gina Apostol
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
The Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre
Constance by Patricia Clapp (read as a kid, a book my grandma let me borrow since the eponymous Constance Hopkins was our Mayflower ancestor)
The Monster of Florence by Douglas J. Preston (a book I've been borrowing from my brother's landlord for waaaaay too long, so now I can continue not reading my own copy)
How the States Got Their Shapes by Mark Stein
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Ceremony by Leslie Silko

I *may* already have a copy of The Merlin Conspiracy, but I'm not sure. I'm not counting The Color of Water, which I discovered when I went to add it that I already had. Oops. It'll go in the Little Free Library that's getting set up here soon.

>180 bell7: Well, you got me with a BB. I saw some episodes of How the States Got Their Shapes on History channel years ago, but I never realized there was also a book. Somehow I missed the episodes that covered the states I had lived in longest, so I was still curious about some things. Now that I know there's a book, I'll have to go find a copy.

>181 atozgrl: oh excellent, I'll look forward to your thoughts when you get to it. I was thinking it would be interesting reading and possibly useful to refer to when working on genealogy, since I know of at least one place where some birth records said Vermont and others said Massachusetts, but it was a border dispute (and eventual change) rather than the family moving that caused it.

Happy Friday, Mary. Nice haul up there. I especially like Sing, Unburied, Sing. My mission is to move books out of the house. LOL. Have a good weekend. Seeing anything at the feeders? Mine have been slow.

>183 msf59: Morning, Mark! Haha yeah, like you, I should be looking to move some books out (some might say I have too many books, I say I don't have enough bookshelves), but I couldn't help myself adding a few there. What I've read by Jesmyn Ward has been really good, so I was delighted to find Sing, Unburied, Sing on fill-a-bag for $3 day.

I need to fill my feeders again. I filled the mixed seed and suet last weekend and it was empty within days, though I'm pretty sure a squirrel got into it. Most days I can see sparrows, catbirds, grackles or starlings and the occasional downy woodpecker.

Wordle 727 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, TRAPS, STRAP.

Happy Friday, everyone! I woke up on the early side and am leaving soon. One of my former library co-workers had a parent pass away, and the calling hours are this morning, so I'm headed there on my way to work.

The main plan for work today will be catching up on emails after being gone for a couple of days, giving volunteers tasks (and telling them all not to come next week), and finishing up a monthly email about books & reading to schedule to go out early next week. Then I have a three day weekend with plans each day, but hopefully enough downtime to still be restful.

Reading: Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan and Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango

Watching: Doctor Who. I've gotten to new-to-me episodes with Series 10, and I watched episode 5 yesterday. I like Bill. And Nardole. Suddenly Matt Lucas looking familiar on the Great British Baking Show makes perfect sense, since he was in the last Christmas special I'd seen of Doctor Who.

Listening: "Cleopatra" by the The Lumineers, which I liked much better than the first CD I tried. Next up will be some Sarah McLaughlin (I like her voice and her radio singles, but haven't heard much more than that). I got one CD in only to realize it was a Christmas album and returned it again right away, but a couple others came in while I was off from work.

Crafting: Sweater for myself and a hat just for jollies

I hope your Friday goes swiftly and your long weekend has plenty of restful moments.

>169 bell7: I was just thinking that Wen Spencer's book have some of the same qualities I enjoy in Victoria Goddard and Martha Wells. Just saying.

>187 MickyFine: Thanks for the wishes, Micky! The day went by fast, for sure, and I've got a lot prepped for tomorrow, so at least in the morning I can be pretty relaxed.

>188 quondame: Ooh, thanks for the tip, Susan! I'll look her up. Any suggestions on where to start?

89. Stone Speaks to Stone by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Joint read with Stasia, continuing an author/series we've been enjoying

This short novella covers the story of what actually happened to Jakory "Jack" Greenwing when he was in battle. Fast-paced and exciting, though not a lot I can say without giving spoilers. 4.5 stars.

90. Iveliz Explains It All by Andrea Beatriz Arango
Why now? It's been a long-term goal of mine to read all the Newbery Award and Honor books - mostly keeping up with the most current ones, and this was one of the honors in the most recent award year

Iveliz is in seventh grade and is having a hard time. She's easily angered and getting in trouble with school, taking meds for her PTSD, and now her Mimi has Alzheimers and has come to live with her family. In her journal, she writes poems to work through everything, but right now life is pretty dark.

This was tough to read, though I know it's important for kids and teens to be able to address mental health and see it portrayed in their reading. My heart broke for Iveliz trying to work through so much on her own and not fully trusting that anyone really cared about her. The ending was positive without feeling like everything was magically okay. But ooooffff... I'm ready for something a little lighter now. 4 stars.

>189 bell7: If you like SF at all Endless Blue. I love spending time with Tinker and her associates, a series still in progress with some great laughs especially in Project Elfhome, not to be confused with Elfhome.

>192 quondame: I do enjoy SF, and have added Endless Blue to the list. Thanks!

Wordle 728 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, CHARM, RANCH.

Good morning, all! When I got home from work last night, I got everything ready for today so that I could take a leisurely morning. And I did - losing myself in a bit of genealogy work, before I looked up and suddenly realized I had to go.

The plans for today are to head out shortly for my friends' twins' 5th birthday party, then from there my mom and I are going to my cousin's bridal shower. I should be getting back home sometime late afternoon and will either have leftovers for dinner or cook something from Melissa Clark's Dinner in One, depending on what I feel like when I get back. The evening should be a quiet one of reading/knitting/watching Doctor Who.

Tomorrow is church, nursery and Father's Day cookout at my parents'.

>193 bell7: I hope you'll enjoy it!

Wen Spencer has stated creating a wide world for Endless Blue was a huge effort and she's not doing that again. Understandable, but sort of sad.

All of her fantasy can be classified as urban fantasy, taking place in an alternate modern word with one or another fantasy (even though it's shape shifting space aliens in one series) elements. But Spencer has a lot of humor and while she'll pick up any trope lying about, it's hers when she's finished.

Wordle 729 4/6

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Well that could've gone a lot worse. ARISE, POUTY, SLYLY, SHYLY.

>196 quondame: Definitely sounds like my jam. Thanks for the tip!

Good morning, happy Sunday and happy Father's Day!

I'm relaxing with my coffee before I get moving for the day. I'll be leaving shortly to go to church, then have nursery for second service, and then I'm headed to my parents for a cookout to celebrate Father's Day. I'm not sure if my grandfather is going to be there or not, so I may stop in at his place for a bit too, depending on when we finish at Mom & Dad's.

Yesterday was fun celebrations with family. The twins were very excited to see me (it's been six months, between my schedule and their family getting sick off and on) and the girl, V, was very excited to open gifts. I had Christmas gifts for them - knitted octopuses, one purple and one multi-colored. They opened those first thing, and they were a huge hit. I've learned that A's favorite color is orange or yellow and V loves bath bombs, which I shall keep in mind for future ideas.

Next was my cousin's bridal shower. My mom and I ended up driving separately, as she wasn't sure with her food allergies if she'd be able to stay or not. Fortunately, she was fine. Despite a rain shower in the afternoon, it was outdoors and catered so if we had to move indoors, that would've been okay too. I ended up needing a jacket through most of it, but then the sun came out and warmed things up. We figured out that my cousin's cousin is only two years younger than me (almost to the day), and we were laughing together about how people are stuck at a certain age in our heads - including ourselves, at about mid-twenties - but some of us are starting to hit middle age. My youngest cousin on that side is about a year older than my youngest sister, and we chatted off and on about various things (I think of the three cousins on that side, we probably have the most in common). I showed her some of the genealogy finds I've had lately and we made tentative plans to get together with our fathers and record some of the family stories.

Welp, that's enough about my weekend. I gotta finish up my coffee and get ready for the day. Juneteenth is tomorrow so I have a long weekend. I'll be getting together with my Little and we're planning on going to some shops about 40 minutes away for some window shopping.

Sounds l like a lovely weekend, Mary. Have a great time with your family today.

>200 MickyFine: thanks, Micky! Hope you had a lovely weekend too.

Wordle 730 5/6

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A little annoyed with guess 4 but that's what I get for doing it before coffee. ARISE, POUTY, CANON, MODAL, KAZOO.

I hope you liked Three Apples Fell from the Sky at least as much as I did, Mary.

Happy week-ahead's reads! *smooch*

>203 richardderus: I'm enjoying it when I pick it up, but I'm not always great about doing so when I've got some time on my hands (I've been reading a fair amount of children's and digital books lately). I should read more this evening, though so thanks for the reminder. Glad to see you peeking into some of the threads at least, and hope you're free from tooth pain soon. *smooch*

91. A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
Why now? Because reading Newbery Honor books digitally seemed to be working well for me, so I thought I'd continue

The summer of 1960, Hattie is turning 12 and her parents drop a big surprise on her: she has an uncle, Adam, whose existence she never knew about because he's been away at a school for kids/young adults like him. Now that his school is closing, he's moving back in with her grandparents for the summer while they figure out what to do with him next. Though Adam seems odd and sometimes childlike, super happy one moment and angry and inconsolable the next, and repeating lines from "I Love Lucy", Hattie has a special relationship with him and they seem to understand each other in a lot of ways.

I enjoyed the first half of this more than the rest. Hattie portrays Adam with a lot of compassion and sort of understanding, but it's very hard to read how people treated Adam (even his own family). So much about how we think of "mental illness" has changed even since the book was written in 2002, let alone since the book was set. Adam's repetition of people's phrases and the "I Love Lucy" quotes read to me like autism, but it was hard to say for sure and no author's note delved into it. And of course, reading as an adult, some of Hattie's choices and narrative foreshadowing made me wince. Most of all, I was really annoyed that the big twist was Adam's suicide. I just... there are so many other ways that could've gone short of the poor sad, odd person killing himself. 3.5 stars.

92. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
Why now? Newbery Award winner, audiobook - I had been listening to it and falling asleep without really progressing through the story, so finally just listened to the 2-hour-long narration this afternoon

Well, here's another book showing its age, though it came out in 1986. A didactic fable-like story about a boy named Jemmy who's whipped in place of Prince Brat (what everyone calls him, I'm not sure we are told his real name) whenever the spoiled prince pulls pranks or acts out. When the prince decides he's had enough and leaves the palace, he brings Jemmy along with them and the two of them fall in with outlaws. The outlaws can't quite believe that the prince is really who he says he is, so they treat Jemmy as the prince instead. Will the boys band together or will Jemmy make a break for it?

Meh. The story was pretty bland, predictable and well, kinda dumb. I listened with half an ear to the narration, and that wasn't a great production either. Spike McClure does a reasonable job of all the voices, but he sounds very much like an old man trying to sound like a boy, I could hear the effort of the narration (breathing or swallows, perhaps), and the thing that sticks with me most is that he pronounced the voiceless "w". I didn't hate it, but I'll probably forget most of it by the end of the month. 3 stars.

And with that read, I've got to all but two of the Newberys that were awarded in my lifetime. (Lincoln: A Photobiography and The Hero and the Crown are the two I have left).

I have 38 left altogether, and plenty of Honor books to read.

Catching up here after my trip! Sounds like you've been keeping busy as ever :)

>206 bell7: I think I read that one in elementary school and it absolutely did not stick with me.

>207 bell7: Oh, I hope you LOVE The Hero and the Crown. That's a comfort read for me :) And congrats on your Newbery progress!

>208 curioussquared: I seem to be harsher on The Whipping Boy than the more recent reviews on the page but *shrug*. Thanks re: The Hero and the Crown. I own it, so there's really no excuse for me to wait much longer to read it.

Wordle 731 3/6

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Nice start to the day. ARISE, POUTY, FROST.

Good morning, and happy Tuesday! I'm back to work today, 12-8, and have no pressing plans for the morning. I'll probably try to wash the dishes, though. They're piling up and it's starting to annoy me.

I've got another weird week, schedule-wise. I'm working 12-8 today AND tomorrow, when my book club would normally meet, but we're doing a "What are you reading now?" meeting instead of reading a specific book. I haven't decided what book I'm going to talk about yet, but I should do that soon. I took Thursday and Friday off. I'm going to a live recording of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, and was originally going with friends who were going to stay over and we'd have Friday to hang out together. Now, they can't go, but I checked how many hours I have left of vacation and personal time, and decided to keep the two days fully off. So I have fun and fairly relaxed plans for both those days, now. And then I'm working on Saturday.

So... I'm going to be really confused about what day it is all week. And it's been bliss working 3-4 days a week, but I'll be back to "normal" next week, and I expect things to be busy in July and August as we're back to a full slate of programs for Summer Reading.

That definitely sounds like a tough week to keep track of what day it is, but it also sounds like it'll be lovely.

Evening shifts aren't my favourite but at least you don't have to do the yo-yo of evening to day shift.

I liked The Whipping Boy better than you did, but I read it as a child, so that probably made a difference. Also, bad audio narration can really kill a book for me.

I'll second the love for The Hero and the Crown -- you have a treat to look forward to there!

>212 MickyFine: evening shifts are not my favorite either. I'm a little spoiled by my schedule, honestly, for having to work evenings and weekends. Monday is only a five-hour day and I get it off when I work a weekend. Tuesday is 12-8, I yoyo back to 9-5 on Wednesdays, and then it's 9-5 Thursday and Friday. Plus (for the summer) every other Saturday, 9-2. So a lot of Mondays off, especially once holidays are factored in.

>213 foggidawn: I was actually trying to figure out of I'd read it before as a child or not, and while I couldn't remember (there was a period of time I was reading several Newbery books as a kid, it's part of why I'd read so many of the 80s and 90s titles), I'm reasonably certain I would've liked it better then.

>211 bell7: Oh, I love Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me! How fun to go to a live taping! I hope you enjoy it, even without the company of your friends.

>211 bell7: I do love Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! I'm sure you'll have lots of fun.

>215 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene! I went several years back with this friend, and I hadn't heard WWDTM at all before going. Now it's one of my regular podcasts in rotation (though... I'm currently 3 months behind), so I'm looking forward to going with a new perspective.

>216 quondame: I'm sure I will too! The hardest part will be getting out the door and going by myself hehe. But I'm planning on spending the afternoon at a nearby bookstore and making a fun day out of it.

>206 bell7: Hi Mary. I agree with you regarding The Whipping Boy. I read this awhile back when I was on a quest to read all the Newberry medal and honor boks. I made a dent, but soon learned it was an almost impossible task.

Your comments match my thoughts years ago.

It sounds like you are very busy with events. Your life sounds good....and full.

Much Love to you!

*smooch* just cuz

>218 Whisper1: I may never get to all of them, but having the goal helps me occasionally dip into children's literature when most of what I'm hearing about is adult books because of my job. I keep up with the most current ones in any case, and occasionally get to one of the older ones.

Life is good and full. It's wonderful to see you here, Linda, and hope all is well with you.

>219 richardderus: *smooch* back

Wordle 732 4/6

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ARISE, TRACE, CRAVE, CRANE.

93. Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan
Why now? Apparently this didn't get officially added to my TBR list, but this one was Richard's (richardderus) fault. I also don't remember what prompted me to get it out of the library when I did, but I think I vaguely remember it being on a display and deciding it was time to read it.

Anatolia is 58 and one of the villagers of Maran, a village in the mountains of Armenia that's had its share of disaster and heartbreak. When Anatolia starts bleeding, she prepares to die, and thus begins the story of not just Anatolia but many of the villagers, their family and history.

The old Armenian saying that's the epigraph for this book gives it both title and structure:
And three apples fell from heaven:
One for the storyteller,
One for the listener,
And one for the eavesdropper.

The beginning is slow and I wasn't sure what to make of the story. I didn't always think to pick it up, but when I had more than a few minutes and could really sink into the story, I enjoyed it greatly, getting to know the villagers and their stories. Their lives are simple, and the village has been through so much: mudslides, famine, and war. But there is so much hope, and the day-to-day life of Anatolia, Vasily, Yasaman, and so many more are given dignity and importance in the storytelling. Before I knew it, I became invested and cared deeply about each of them. 4.5 stars.

Most of the time, I was thinking I'd give the book 4 stars, but I really liked the ending and ultimately decided it's a book I'd reread, thus the 4.5 stars.