PAUL C IN 23 (18)

PLACES I AM READING

The African Novel Challenge ventures into Southern Africa this September. This is the Kalahari:

The Opening Words

I am starting this month with the debut novel by Indian author Deepa Anappara, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line



"When Mental was alive, he was a boss-man with eighteen or twenty children working for him, and he almost never raised his hand against any of them. Every week he gave them 5Stars to split between themselves, or packs of Gems, and he made them invisible to the police and the evangelist-types who wanted to salvage them with hungry eyes as the children hurtled down railway tracks, gathering up plastic bottles before a train could ram into them."

Interested.....................?

BOOKS COMPLETED - Q1

January
1. The King's Fool by Mahi Binebine (2017) 125 pp Fiction / ANC / Morocco
2. The Golden Ass by Apuleius (c 170) 216 pp Fiction / ANC / Tunisia / 1001
3. Driftnet by Lin Anderson (2003) 262 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 1
4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (1954) 292 pp Fiction / BAC
5. Free : Coming of Age at the End of History by Lea Ypi (2021) 310 pp Non-Fiction / NF Challenge
6. The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi (1993) 305 pp Fiction / ANC / Algeria
7. Bloodlines by Fred D'Aguiar (2000) 161 pp Poetry / BAC
8. Borstal Boy by Brendan Behan (1958) 372 pp Fiction / 1001
9. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (2008) 300 pp Fiction / AAC
10. U.A. Fanthorpe : Selected Poems by U.A. Fanthorpe (2013) 153 pp Poetry
11. In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar (2006) 245 pp Fiction / ANC / Libya
12. Foundation : The History of England Volume 1 by Peter Ackroyd (2011) 462 pp Non-Fiction
13. Closed Circles by Viveca Sten (2009) 451 pp Thriller / Sandhamn 2
14. The Albemarle Book of Modern Verse edited by FES Finn (1961) 181 pp Poetry
15. Brooklyn Heights by Miral al-Tahawy (2012) 220 pp Fiction / ANC / Egypt
16. The Midnight Bell by Patrick Hamilton (1929) 221 pp Fiction
17. The Siege of Pleasure by Patrick Hamilton (1932) 118 pp Fiction
18. The Plains of Cement by Patrick Hamilton (1934) 188 pp Fiction
19. The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov by Vladimir Nabokov (1995) 663 pp Fiction / Short Stories
20. The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray (2019) 267 pp Non-Fiction
21. The Death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa (2017) 102 pp Fiction
22. Foster by Claire Keegan (2010) 88 pp Fiction

February
23. Torch by Lin Anderson (2004) 230 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 2
24. Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy (2003) 163 pp Non-Fiction
25. The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa (2004) 180 pp Fiction / ANC / Angola
26. Dearly by Margaret Atwood (2020) 122 pp Poetry
27. The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante (2002) 188 pp Fiction
28. The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy (2018) 187 pp Non-Fiction
29. The Lost Art of Sinking by Naomi Booth (2015) 86 pp Fiction / BAC
30. Poetry of the Thirties edited by Robin Skelton (1964) 287 pp Poetry
31. The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason (2017) 338 pp Thriller / Scandi
32. The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (2006) 345 pp Fiction
33. The History of England Volume II : Tudors by Peter Ackroyd (2012) 471 pp Non-Fiction
34. Male Tears by Benjamin Myers (2021) 264 pp Fiction / Short Stories
35. Woman of the Ashes by Mia Couto (2015) 254 pp Fiction / ANC / Mozambique
36. Real Estate by Deborah Levy (2021) 297 pp Non-Fiction
37. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (1971) 569 pp Fiction / 1001 Books / Pulitzer

March
38. Deadly Code by Lin Anderson (2005) 261 pp Thriller / Rhona MacLeod 3
39. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2003) 307 pp Fiction / ANC / Nigeria
40. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell (1956) 308 pp Non-Fiction / Memoirs
41. What Goes On : Selected and New Poems 1995-2009 by Stephen Dunn (2009) 195 pp Poetry / AAC
42. I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel (2022) 203 pp Fiction
43. Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey (2006) 46 pp Poetry / AAC

BOOKS COMPLETED - Q2

April
44. Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan (2019) 282 pp Non-Fiction / BAC
45. Hotel of the Saints by Ursula Hegi (2001) 170 pp Fiction / AAC
46. Dark Flight by Lin Anderson (2007) 392 pp Thiller
47. Boulder by Eva Baltasar (2020) 105 pp Fiction / Spain
48. Moscow by Nick Carter (1970) 155 pp Thriller
49. Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun Short Stories / ANC / Sudan
50. The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot (1922) 32 pp Poetry
51. Felicity : Poems by Mary Oliver (2014) 81 pp Poetry
52. Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin (2023) 238 pp Fiction / Vietnam
53. Justice on Trial : Radical Solutions for a System at Breaking Point by Chris Daw (2020) 264 pp Non-Fiction
54. The Jewel in the Crown by Paul Scott (1966) 488 pp Fiction
55. Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka (2010) 451 pp Thriller / Japan

May
56. Taste : My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci (2021) 299 pp Non-Fiction
57. Tell Me the Truth About Life curated by Cerys Matthews (2019) 177 pp Poetry
58. Those Feet : An Intimate History of English Football by David Winner (2005) 268 pp Non-Fiction
59. The Arctic : Poems by Don Paterson (2022) 82 pp Poetry
60. Suffer the Little Children by Donna Leon (2007) 342 pp Thiller
61. The Missing Months by Lachlan MacKinnon (2022) 63 pp Poetry

June
62. Easy Kill by Lin Anderson (2008) 390 pp Thriller
63. Civil War : The History of England Volume III by Peter Ackroyd (2014) 470 pp Non-Fiction
64. Ruth Pitter : Collected Poems by Ruth Pitter (1996) 299 pp Poetry
65. Dance of the Jakaranda by Peter Kimani (2017) 350 pp Fiction / ANC / Kenya
66. England's Green by Zaffar Kunial (2022) 70 pp Poetry
67. Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (2020) 302 pp Fiction / Bulgaria
68. The Illustrated Woman by Helen Mort (2022) 82 pp Poetry
69. Oxblood by Tom Benn (2022) 245 pp Fiction
70. The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt (2011) 263 PP Non-Fiction
71. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (2005) 309 pp Fiction
72. The Breast by Philip Roth (1972) 74 pp Fiction 1001 Books
73. Heritage by Miguel Bonnefoy (2020) 149 pp Fiction / Venezuela
74. Doctor Who : The Androids of Tara (1978) 143 pp SF / BAC
75. Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (1998) 210 pp Fiction /1001 books / Brazil
76. Collected Later Poems by Anthony Hecht (2003) 238 pp Poetry
77. Zazie in the Metro by Raymond Queneau (1959) 177 pp Fiction / France
78. Quiet by Victoria Adukwei Bulley (2022) 81 pp Poetry / ANC / Ghana
79. Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra (2006) 74 pp Fiction / Chile
80. Pyre by Perumal Murugam (2013) 194 pp Fiction / India
81. Small Country by Gael Faye (2016) 183 pp Fiction / ANC / Burundi
82. Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko (1996) 161 pp Fiction / Ukraine

BOOKS COMPLETED - Q3

July
83. Lenin on the Train by Catherine Merridale (2016) 291 pp Non-Fiction / Reading through time
84. Selected Poems by W.H. Auden (1979) 319 pp Poetry
85. Paradais by Fernanda Melchior (2022) 118 pp Fiction / Mexico
86. Final Cut by Lin Anderson (2009) 344 pp Thriller
87. John Heath-Stubbs : Selected Poems by John Heath-Stubbs (1990) 144 pp Poetry
88. Kingdom of Characters by Jing Tsu (2022) 280 pp Non Fiction / Taiwan
89. Cemetery Lake by Paul Cleave (2008) 347 pp Thriller / New Zealand
90. Fly Away, Peter by David Malouf (1982) 142 pp Fiction / Australia
91. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (1952) 602 pp Fiction / 1001 Books
92. Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy (1955) 226 pp Non-Fiction / AAC

August
93. Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (2022) 309 pp Fiction
94. August 1914 by Bruno Cabanes (2014) 196 pp Non-Fiction
95. The Shameful State by Sony Labou Tansi (1981) 116 pp Fiction / ANC / DRC
96. Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid (2007) 71 pp Fiction / ANC / Chad
97. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (2023) 304 pp Fiction / Malaysia
98. Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees by Sarah F Wakefield (1863) 87 pp Non-Fiction
99. Winchelsea by Alex Preston (2022) 334 pp Fiction / BAC
100. Blue White Red by Alain Mabanckou (1998) 147 pp Fiction / ANC / Congo
101. The Trees by Percival Everett (2021) 308 pp Fiction / AAC
102. Bound to Violence by Yambo Ouologuem (1968) 182 pp Fiction / ANC / Mali
103. The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah (2018) 438pp Fiction
104. Standing Heavy by Gauz (2014) 167 pp Fiction / ANC / Ivory Coast
105. So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (1979) 95 pp Fiction / ANC / Senegal
106. The Following Story by Cees Nooteboom (1991) 98 pp Fiction
107. Requiem for a Wren by Nevil Shute (1955) 250 pp Fiction
108. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell (2022) 436 pp Fiction

September
109. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (2020) 344 pp Fiction
110. Assembly by Natasha Brown (2021) 100 pp Fiction
111. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides (2021) 356 pp Thriller /BAC /Cyprus
112. Careless by Kirsty Capes (2021) 317 pp Fiction
113. The Cry of Winnie Mandela by Njabulo Ndebele (2004) 146 pp ANC / South Africa
114. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes (1947) 222 pp Thriller / AAC

African Reading Challenge 2023



Plans

January - NORTH AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/347131 read 5
February - LUSOPHONE LIT https://www.librarything.com/topic/348039 read 2
March - ADICHIE or EMECHETA https://www.librarything.com/topic/348955#n8081025 read 1
April - THE HORN OF AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/349799 read 1
May - AFRICAN NOBEL WINNERS https://www.librarything.com/topic/350564
June - EAST AFRICA - https://www.librarything.com/topic/351192 Read 2
July - ACHEBE or Okri https://www.librarything.com/topic/351931
August - FRANCOPHONE AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/352728#n8220656 Read 6
September - SOUTHERN AFRICA https://www.librarything.com/topic/353344 READ 1
October - MUKASONGA / NGUGI WA THIONG'O
November - AFRICAN THRILLERS / CRIME WRITERS
December - WEST AFRICA read 1

Total : 19

BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - Rosemary Sutcliff & Fred D'Aguiar Eagle of the Ninth by Sutcliff, Bloodlines by D'Aguiar
February - Novellas & Short Stories - The Lost Art of Sinking by Booth, Male Tears by Myers
March - Vita Sackville-West & Tariq Ali
April - British Queens - Anne Boleyn : 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan
May - RF Delderfield & Jan Morris
June - Time Travel - Doctor Who : The Androids of Tara by David Fisher
July - Nadifa Mohamed & Tom Holt
August - Seafaring Stories - Winchelsea by Alex Preston
September - Campus Books - The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

AMERICAN AUTHOR CHALLENGE



January - YA Books - Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
February - Richard Powers
March - Poetry - What Goes On : Selected and New Poems by Stephen Dunn
April - Ursula Hegi - Hotel of the Saints
May -
June - Wildcard - No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
July - American Presidents - Profiles in Courage by John F Kennedy
August - Percival Everett - The Trees
September - Crime Queens - In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes

AROUND THE WORLD IN BOOKS IN 2023

Countries : 46 (6 September 2023)


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

BOOK STATS

Starting Stats of the Year :

Present TBR : 5,679 books
Pages to Read : 1,943,264
Average Book Length : 342.18

Books Read 113 (6 Sept 23)
Pages : 27,039
Pages per day : 108.59
Average Book Length : 239.28 pages
Female Authors : 45
Male Authors : 65
Various : 3
Countries Read : 46 (UK, Morocco, Tunisia, Albania, Algeria, Guyana, Ireland, USA. Libya, Sweden, Egypt, Russia, Netherlands, Angola, Canada, Italy, Iceland, Mozambique, Nigeria, Spain, Sudan, Vietnam, Japan, Kenya, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Brazil, France, Ghana, Chile, India, Burundi, Ukraine, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, DRC, Chad, Malaysia, Congo, Senegal, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Cyprus, South Africa)

Fiction : 56
Thriller : 13
Non-Fiction : 19
Sci-Fi/Fantasy : 1
Poetry : 19
Short Stories : 5

1001 Books First Edition
Read 6 (333)

Nobel Winners
Read : (75)

Booker Winners
Read : (38)

Pulitzer Fiction Prize
Read 1 : (21)

Women's Prize
Read : (7)

Books Added in 2023

340 (6 Sep 2023)

Books Read in 2023

113 (31 Sep 2023)

Books Culled in 2023

116 (31 August 2023)

Welcome to my 18th thread of 2023!

Happy New Thread. I figured it was emminent

Happy new thread Paul!

>1 PaulCranswick: For me that's an unfamiliar combination of what looks like large animal tracks and large vehicle tracks. The lovely desert landscape is more familiar.

>12 mahsdad: Thanks Jeff. Looks like you got stuck between two words there - one of them is true and I will happily settle for the other!

>13 quondame: The modern and traditional worlds are colliding in Africa and nowhere more starkly than parts of South Africa. xx I do like desert photos, Susan. x

Happy New thread Paul.

>15 Kristelh: Thank you dear Kristel.

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353351

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Grandpa!

>17 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver.......and

>18 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver!

>19 amanda4242: Thank you dear Amanda.

>20 ChrisG1: Thanks, Chris and.........still not old enough!

Nami "Pip" (obviously happy with her Dad)

>23 PaulCranswick: Oh the sweetie!

Hi Paul and congratulations on becoming a Grandpa! Nami is beautiful and makes a lovely addition to your family.

>23 PaulCranswick: Thanks Susan (oh you mean my Granddaughter!)

>24 quondame: She looked extremely fierce in her first photos, Judy, but now seems to have found the habit of a smile. Lovely to see you here, Guru. xx

Happy new thread, Paul!

>23 PaulCranswick: Your granddaughter has a lovely smile.

>27 FAMeulstee: I think so too, Anita even though it is - to date - very rarely seen!

Happy new one!

>1 PaulCranswick: the sand looks like it on fire!

>23 PaulCranswick: Very cute :)

>29 figsfromthistle: It is striking isn't it, Anita?!

I think she is cute too!

Happy new thread, Paul.

Nami looks so cute, she could make you melt of love!

>31 DianaNL: Lovely to see you, Diana.

I have melted already!

>23 PaulCranswick:, she is so precious!

Happy new thread, Paul.
I was hoping for a new photo! She is adorable! And, as they say, maybe it's just gas, but a smile is a smile and hers is lovely!

Happy new thread!

>23 PaulCranswick: What a cutie!

>23 PaulCranswick: Oh, how precious!

Happy whatever, Grandpa Paul!

Happy new thread, Paul. The newest picture of Nami just melts my heart. Can’t wait to see a family picture that includes you. I know you are eager to meet your first grandchild.

>33 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel - she is indeed!

>34 jessibud2: Hahaha Shelley - I hadn't thought of that but, yes, it could have been gas. xx

>35 foggidawn: I would like to claim the power of genes, Foggi, but I am assured that Pip doesn't look much like her grandpa!

>36 alcottacre: Thank you, Juana. xx

>37 Donna828: Thanks Donna. I don't much care for my photo being taken but I would be happy to be in a position to have that one snapped. xx

Happy new one, Paul! I have Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line in the stacks but no idea when I will get to it.

>23 PaulCranswick: Such a sweet photo! I love the nickname you have given her.

>41 Crazymamie: I am one for a nickname as my family well know, Mamie.

So far Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is a good read.

>14 PaulCranswick: Imminent vs Eminent Ha! You are absolutely right. I did mean the former and around here you are so the later!

Have a great weekend!

>43 mahsdad: Ha! I was just pulling your leg, buddy, but the thought is most appreciated.

I have just turned 57 here (it is a bit past midnight here) and I managed to have a video call with all the gang (including the latest addition).

Hey that's right, Happy Birthday Grampa! I too, hit the 57 milestone a couple weeks ago. Hears to ya!

>45 mahsdad: Thanks Jeff. I actually am ok with my birthday this year and at least I am in good company age wise!

>42 PaulCranswick: I need to get started on the book too!

HAppy Birthday, Paul!

Happy New Thread!!!

Happy new one, Paul!

Happy birthday!

>23 PaulCranswick: oh what a cutie!

Happy birthday, Paul!

On your side of the Oceans, it's Happy Birthday already - and your Line is continuing with that Little Pip's Birthday smile for You!

Happy Birthday, Paul!

>47 alcottacre: Still got time to finish it before I do if you start it shortly my friend.

>48 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. xx

>49 hredwards: Thank you, Harold

>50 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>51 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi. 57 years young.

>52 RBeffa: Thank you, Ron! (Oh I see, you mean, Nami!)

>56 PaulCranswick: Highly unlikely given how many books I am currently reading :)

Happy birthday, little brother. . .

>53 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I have caught you up a little bit again for a while at least.

>54 m.belljackson: It is indeed Marianne. I have just surfaced on my Saturday morning and have taken the day off. Pip's smile is a wonderful present but the family also bought me a nice pen (I will try not to lose it as I am hopeless at keeping pens).

>55 quondame: Thank you dear Susan.

>56 PaulCranswick: Thanks Sis! I have faith in you to read just as many books as you like. You are among half a dozen or so ladies in our group (Suz, Susan, Amanda, Anita and Silver also) whose reading over the years constantly has me slack-jawed.

Happy birthday, Grandpa Paul!! Belated congratulations to all. Nami is absolutely precious, with the cutest little smile.

>62 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda. We were blessed with the photo as apparently she doles out scowls much more readily than smiles. xx

Happy new thread!

>23 PaulCranswick: And happy beautiful baby! Wonderful news and sending love to you and the whole family.

>64 witchyrichy: Thank you Karen. Lovely to see you here as always. xx

>23 PaulCranswick: Welcome to the newest 75er!

Oh, and happy new thread boopah.

>66 richardderus: Thank you, RD.

I certainly do want her to be a reader.

Friday lunch additions :

336. Cuddy by Benjamin Myers
337. Babel by RF Kuang

Happy Birthday, Paul!! And congrats on grandparenthood!

>69 ronincats: Thank you, thank you dear Roni xx

Happy new thread, Paul!

>23 PaulCranswick: Nami is absolutely precious, and that's a wonderful photo!

>71 tymfos: Thank you, Terri xx

Birthday blessings Paul!

>73 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel. About to shower and then go take lunch with Belle.

Goodness, another thread! I couldn't keep up with your last one, and already over 70 posts into the new one. Happy new thread, and happy birthday as well!

>23 PaulCranswick: What a pretty child, and that really is a beautiful smile! A wonderful picture! I know how proud you must be.

Happy new thread and a belated happy birthday, Paul. Nice picture of Pip, from that secret smile it looks like she knows something we don't.

>75 atozgrl: The last couple of threads have rattled along merrily, Irene.
Thanks for your lovely comments - I am a proud Grandpa.

>76 Familyhistorian: It would appear to me that she is chuckling to herself that her dad doesn't carry any milk but somehow she still got her fill.

Happy New Thread and happy Birthday, Grandpa!
>23 PaulCranswick: A beautiful picture of a beautiful girl.

>78 SirThomas: Hahaha thank you, Thomas.

Birthday restrained book additions:

338. The Button War by Avi
339. Coming Up for Air by George Orwell
340. The Inexplicable Logic of my Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The last book is because the author was plugged by Marianne and is included in December's AAC. Orwell is Orwell and Avi's book caught my eye.

Hi Paul! Happy new thread! Happy Birthday!

From your last thread, This is the second book I have read by Ms Hannah and it confirms to me that she does not write literature but can spin a good yarn. An important distinction.

Well, if we like it or not, Nami is the nami selected so I and Hani will learn to get along with it! My friend Jan dislikes both names chosen by her middle daughter for HER daughters – Emerson and Madeleine – Emerson because it’s non-gender specific, and Madeleine because everybody will try to mispronounce it as Mad-eh-lin instead of Mad-eh-line. I love the name Nami.

>1 PaulCranswick: Stunning pic.

>2 PaulCranswick: Reminds me of Oliver Twist – Fagin taking care of the boys, albeit with thievery as a life lesson, who otherwise were abandoned.

>10 PaulCranswick: Impressive stats, really looks like you’ve got good mojo going this year. And more books culled than read? Impressive.

>23 PaulCranswick: Awww, sweet pic. Look at that smile.

>81 karenmarie: What a joy on my birthday to get one of your detailed posts, Karen!

I am growing used to the name actually although she will always be Pip for me now I guess. They were toying with Luna as a middle name and I think that they have fathomed that it doesn't sound too well together with the first name and then their cumbersome family names too.

There is something Dickensian about the urchins and the squalor but the author is a very modern writer (and I mean that in a positive way).

I can only dream of your reading stats, Karen. Suddenly way ahead of the field!

Happy Birthday, Paul!

Happy birthday, Paul!

Restrained acquisitions, indeed!!

>80 PaulCranswick: Birthday restraint indeed...but practical as you'll just have to pack them all to return to the UK before too terribly long.

Hoping your advancing years start to make grampsing more real as an identity basis. ;-P

Belated Happy Birthday wishes, Paul! Hoping it was full of fabulous.

>85 richardderus: Your post made me laugh!

>80 PaulCranswick: What? Only 3? I need to head over there and take your temperature, Juan.

Happy whatever!

>83 DianaNL: Thank you dear Diana.

>84 jessibud2: Three for my birthday, Belle was flabbergasted.

Thanks Shelley.

>85 richardderus: Well the identity crisis is real enough, RD. Otherwise how on earth did I come away with a mere three books?

>86 Crazymamie: Still well within time, Mamie.

Lovely to see you posting. xx

>87 alcottacre: I know, Juana. I felt a bit light-headed going out to pick up my car!

Happy birthday, Paul, and congratulations on being inducted into the Proud Grandparent Club! What a gift! Nami is absolutely beautiful, as is her name (though I love the nickname Pip). Congrats to Hani and Yasmyne and your entire family, and especially Nami who is so lucky to have been born into such a loving family. You are going to have so much fun as an indulgent grampa!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, Paul. I am sure you treated yourself to a nice bundle of books.

>23 PaulCranswick: LOVE IT!! So Sweet! ❤️❤️

>1 PaulCranswick: Happy new thread!!

>91 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary. Yesterday she went to see my father (the last surviving Great Grandparent) and my sister and her family. Hani will be tired taking them all over but she is very proud at the same time just now.

>92 msf59: Thanks Mark. I had a lovely meal in my favourite restaurant with two of my favourite people (Belle and Erni) but did miss Hani and my eldest two.

She is a cutie no?

>93 ocgreg34: Thanks Greg. Always a pleasure to have you drop by here, Sir!

>90 PaulCranswick: I just bet you did, lol. You are not used to so light a load of books.

>96 alcottacre: Belle following me around the bookstore with plenty of admonitory glances did not inspire my book buying, Stasia. xx

>23 PaulCranswick: What a major cutiepie! And belated birthday wishes to you Paul.

>98 mdoris: Thank you Mary. My genes don't seem much to the fore although the shape of Pip's head mirrors Yasmyne's quite perfectly.

August 2023 in Review

World Events
More wildfires including catastrophically in Maui, Hawaii. The local response was a failure and Biden's "No Comment" response to the people of Hawaii was just as shameful as him checking his watch as the Gold Star veterans were arriving from Afghanistan.
Trumps indictment continued in a flurry including a mugshot of him in Florida which both sides will seek to make capital from. Personally I just wish he would go away. Two of the prosecutors push for hearing dates on the day before Super Tuesday and the smell of bananas in the American republic gets stronger.
Saudi Arabia appears to commit the genocide of Africans crossing its border with Yemen - but hey no news there because it isn't Ukraine. There is a coup in Gabon a day after an election but ditto it isn't newsworthy because Gabon doesn't have anything to give the West.
A plane crash killing three overweight Russian mercenaries is, however, big news.

Read
July : 16 books (108 year to date)
Ave Book Length : 221.13 (241.72)
July pages : 3,538 (25,776)
Daily Average : 114.13 (106.07)

Longest Book : 438 pages The Great Alone (663 pages Complete Stories of Vladimir Nabokov)
Shortest Book 71 pages Told By Starlight in Chad (32 pages The Waste Land)

Author Origins
40 UK
19 USA
3 Various
2 Ireland, Netherlands, France, Australia
1 Canada, Guyana, Brazil, Venezuela, Chile, Russia, Sweden, Iceland, Albania, Spain, Bulgaria, Italy, Albania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mozambique, Angola. Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Burundi, Nigeria, Ukraine, India, Japan, Vietnam, NZ, Mexico, Taiwan, Chad, Ivory Coast, DRC, Congo, Mali, Malaysia, Senegal

Gender

MALE 11 (63)
FEMALE 5 (42)
VARIOUS 0 (3)

GENRE

13 (52) Fiction
2 (19) Poetry
2 (19) Non-Fiction
2 (12) Thriller
1 (5) Short Stories
0 (1) Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Book of the Month :
I really liked the Booker longlisted House of Doors but Maggie O'Farrell stole it on the last day of the month with The Marriage Portrait

>23 PaulCranswick: Beautiful, and like her nickname too.

Belated Birthday wishes Paul.

>101 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. xx

BOOK #109



Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara
Date of Publication : 2020
Origin of Author : India
Pages : 344 pp

This book is not about Djinns or public transport really although they get a mention a time or two.

This is obviously a debut novel and is in places quite clumsily created but the creation of the child POV and especially the interplay between him and his obviously smarter female "assistant" lends an endearing touch to an ultimately sad and perplexing story.

Certainly not the best thing I have read in 2023 but it is a worthy book nonetheless and shines a light on a subject of corruption, poverty and child abduction in India which is important to be so highlighted.

Tentatively recommended.

>103 PaulCranswick: If I'm brutally honest, the only reason I gave it four stars was its glaring spotlight on the gemütlich notion rampant in the US that childhood is a "safe space" by right and any parent who fails to provide this is a failure. Not even here is that true. It's a cruel and awful lie in most of the world. It's a flawed book with an excellent message and an amusing kid protagonist.

>104 richardderus: Exactly my point of view, RD, only better expressed.

>105 PaulCranswick: Huh?... Kids aren't supposed to be safe and parents aren't accountable?

>106 m.belljackson: Talking about what is and not what should be, Marianne. In the barrios and slums on street corners in a failing and violent world it is a fact that children aren't safe having parents with no money, no hope and no chance living in circumstances way below any measurable poverty line and where the rich devour the poor. The book deals essentially with how the rich prey upon the poor and how the powerful crush the vulnerable.
I have the means - to a limited extent - to protect my kids - but there are things (desperation, drugs, black-hearts, mental illness, brainwashing) I cannot legislate against.
Kyran was mugged by two guys on the London underground and fortunately they only took his money. I was not culpable for that was I?

>107 PaulCranswick: Duh.

>108 m.belljackson: No problem Marianne. Taken in isolation and without knowing about the book it would have been easy to conclude as you did! xx

By the way I found a book by Benjamin Alire Saenz in good time for December!

BOOK #110



Assembly by Natasha Brown
Date of Publication : 2021
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 100 pp

Observational fiction is an acquired taste but this one works.
It is probably more correctly defined as fact-tion as it seems culled pretty directly from the author's own life experience.

What does it mean to be British?
Old money against new money and does the old have responsibility to the new.
Race and colonialism.
Cancer and mortality.

All told
In easily digestible
Chunks.

Rec
Commended.

I am really struggling with LT this morning due to very, very slow access issues - unique to the site (all my other normal visit places are fine).
Is anybody else experiencing this and what the heck is going on?

>111 PaulCranswick: This is the first time this afternoon (for me) that I have been able to get to a thread page. I still have on been able to get to one small wiki page. LT is up, but clearly not well.

>112 quondame: It took me seven goes just to load this page, Susan. A bit of a disaster and the month had started like an express train across the threads! At least it isn't just me. xx

LT has been under attack Paul. I shared their message on my facebook.

>114 RBeffa: I figured that it must have been something like that, Ron. I do hope that things will get back to normal soon. I realize that I am a little bit lost without it!

Happy New Thread, Paul! Sorry for the delay. LT - as you know, has been very slow or down. It's still very slow right now. Wonderful photo of beautiful Nami! Pip is a great nickname for Nami.

>116 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb. It is a bit frustrating waiting for threads and the page itself to load. I did notice though - touch wood - that is does seem to be getting better.

>117 PaulCranswick: Slowing down here again, Paul. It was better earlier this morning.
Tim said in the Talk about LibraryThing group that it is a DDoS attack, and doesn't think it is over yet.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/353424

>118 FAMeulstee: I have no idea what a DDoS attack is other than it being extremely annoying, Anita! Thanks for updating.

>109 PaulCranswick: Which Saenz book?

Yesterday, LT stopped in the middle of my review of David Clewell and totally cut off.

>100 PaulCranswick: I know that Laura really liked The Marriage Portrait too. I am going to have to get my hands on a copy!

>103 PaulCranswick: I have about 50 more pages to go in that one - Catey is here visiting so my reading has slowed somewhat - but on the whole, I agree with your assessment. I very much like the character of Jai.

>110 PaulCranswick: Adding that one to the BlackHole!

Happy whatever, Paul!

>120 m.belljackson: The Inexplicable Logic of My Life, Marianne.

>121 alcottacre: The Marriage Portrait is a real winner, Stasia.
Assembly is a mere two hours of reading but has its moments in those pages.

Happy New Thread, Paul, and hooray for The Marriage Portrait. Nami is beautiful.

>123 banjo123: Nice to see you Rhonda as the site slowly gets back to normal.

Happy New Thread, Happy Birthday (both belated), and yes, I too couldn't get on to LibraryThing yesterday.

I hadn't heard anything about what I take from the comments above to have been a DDOS attack - but OTOH, I also didn't look for any explanation.

>23 PaulCranswick: Lovely picture

I was unable to access LT for two days and I was bereft. It seemed like all my book buddies went silent. Since everything else on my laptop worked I figured that it had to be some kind of technical problem and am glad to hear that I was correct.

>125 ArlieS: Again, info about the DDoS attack is here. https://www.librarything.com/topic/353424 Someone is trying to get them to pay to not be attacked again. So not just malicious intent for the heck of it, creating an information traffic jam as an annoyance, but actual greed.

>125 ArlieS: Thanks Arlie. Yesterday was a wash-out completely. As you probably know I keep stats pertaining to the busiest 140 personal threads in the group. Yesterday at 143 posts in the day was the smallest number this year so far. For interest The smallest I ever recorded was two years ago with 126 posts.

>126 benitastrnad: When you are denied something you miss it more, Benita! A bit like me and coffee flavored ice cream!

>127 tymfos: Indeed greed is a motivation for much wrong-doing, Terri.

Happy new thread, happy belated birthday, and love seeing the happy baby pic.

Hope you're having a good day, Paul.

>130 bell7: Thank you, Mary. My day is just starting and I have just arrived at work and have twenty minutes or so before I have to get down to it.

September 1966 was my birth month. Cher was making her own music and released the album simply Cher when I was but three days old.



She couldn't quite escape her man though as the album starts with the song "Sunny" - well it would wouldn't it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTatk7uCbDg

September 1967 saw the release of the groundbreaking Something Else By the Kinks.



Thirteen nuggets including some of my absolute favourite album tracks "Harry Rag", "David Watts" and "Two Sisters". It is the album closer though that has to be included here and I would guess that it is the most played track in my collection and in my top ten songs of all time - definitely a Desert Islands Disc. Of course it is "Waterloo Sunset". This is a live version recorded some six years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIlxLO-XjX0

Another great British band of the era Procol Harum released their sophomore album Shine on Brightly



This is the lead track - Quite Rightly So and my favourite from the excellent record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKY-woBvgs

September 1969 was a great month for music with landmark albums by The Band, Isaac Hayes, Laura Nyro and Fleetwood Mac but it has to be The Beatles brilliant last hurrah Abbey Road that is featured.



An iconic album cover and an iconic album and I could have picked several tracks (other than the simply awful Maxwell's Silver Hammer). Golden Slumbers and You Never Gave Me Your Money by Paul and George outdoing them with Something and Here Comes the Sun. But John still managed to get the best song on the album with the hip and fascinating "Come Together".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45cYwDMibGo

BOOK #111



The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
Date of Publication : 2022
Origin of Author : Cyprus / UK
Pages : 356 pp

Very well plotted with a decent driving narrative this was an absorbingly quick read for me.

Lovely and largely unexpected twist in the tale of the story which was shocking but satisfying at the same time. I will, of course, not tell you what that is - go and read it yourself.

If I could level any criticism it would be in the slightly one dimensional recreation of Cambridge, but to be fair it was written largely during the pandemic.

>136 PaulCranswick: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again!

>137 alcottacre: I reckon you will like that one, Stasia.

What an awful day, I couldn't access LT for the whole day and it has been so frustrating. Finally at 8 pm local time I finally got through. Don't know what they have been coping with but I hope to heck it is done and dusted.

> Hi Paul. I have been going through withdrawals from LT and it has been painful. I hope things are fully resolved. I have The Maidens on my list of books to read this month.

>140 Kristelh: I KNOW! I finally got myself on here, Kristel, and then had no idea what to do next!

>141 PaulCranswick:, I was afraid to do anything because I might see that page that said LT was not available.

>142 Kristelh: I know, I couldn't concentrate on my work at all today!

>139 PaulCranswick: What you said, Paul! I literally was able to get on long enough to post on your thread and my thread and that was about it. I was checking in all day long to see if the site was back up. I told Kerry I was going through LT withdrawal and he laughed at me. I told him I was serious!

Happy whatever!

>136 PaulCranswick:
I read Maidens when it first came out and liked it. It isn't my favorite mystery of all time, but I loved the idea of it being literary based. And the Greek Classics at that! That is a creative approach to the mystery genre. I then read Silent Patient, which was his first book, and was delighted to see that it too featured a literary mystery at its heart. The two books are related but are not sequels or prequels. I thought that the main character in Maidens was a bit on the whiney side and the whole ending seemed weird. However, both books are good weekend entertainments. If you can find Silent Patient you might want to read it. For a reader of your caliber it won't take long to read.

>136 PaulCranswick: Looks interesting.

>144 alcottacre: LT is an important part of my schedule and I feel like I have a disconnected transmission without reading, reviewing, and posting here. At least I had the comfort of knowing it was intentionally down for most of my afternoon.

>146 quondame: I told Kerry the same thing - I try and block out an hour in of my time in the morning to check threads and such. I also will occasionally check in throughout the afternoon and evening. I am not a happy camper when LT is down!

>144 alcottacre: All is good with the world this morning here, Stasia, as I had no problem coming onto the site. xx

>145 benitastrnad: You hit the nail on the head, Benita. I liked it too with the one downside being that the so called empathetic main character was on the whiney side! Lovely to see you and I will look out for The Silent Patient.

>146 quondame: Times like these makes me realise just how much I depend on this group and how much I would miss you guys if I was prevented from my daily interactions. xx

>147 alcottacre: I sort of always have the site open and refresh it and see who is posting several times a day so when I refresh and it glitches then so do I!

Happy new thread and belated happy birthday Paul!

>23 PaulCranswick: Very cute!

Happy whatever, Paul!

>150 humouress: Thanks Nina. xx

>151 alcottacre: Thank you, Juana.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353486

Thank you dear Silver.

BOOK #112



Careless by Kirsty Capes
Date of Publication : 2021
Origin of Author : UK
Pages : 317 pp

Sort of redemptive in the end I guess.

There is a feel of YA fiction about this stemming from being told from the POV of the fifteen year old young lady who discovers she is pregnant in the opening scenes of this book. That is not however a criticism and it suits the way in which the story unfolds and helps explains some of the wonky life choices made along the way.

A major strength of this Women's Prize longlisted novel is in its characterization with the foster parents being in particular very well drawn.

Not in my opinion a classic of literature but a worthy book in shining a light on youth pregnancy, the difficulties of the care system and the dysfunctions of a postindustrial urban society.

Recommended.

BOOK #113



The Cry of Winnie Mandela by Njabulo Ndebele
Date of Publication : 2004
Origin of Author : South Africa
Pages : 146 pp

This is a very interesting premise which would clearly have floundered over a longer format.

The author takes as his starting point the story and example of Penelope whose fidelity and wifely virtue or chastity towards her husband is described in The Odyssey.

Ndebele takes four examples fictionally from modern South Africa and shows how four ladies are rewarded for their version of an updated Penelope and finally juxtaposes all of them with the most prominent possible African Homeric example in this sense : Winnie Mandela.

We come to consider firstly whether Penelope's example was a good one or indeed a possible one to follow for its own reward and then how well did Winnie do in her fulfilling of the role.

Didn't much care for Winnie Mandela before reading this and I care for her even less having read this.

>155 PaulCranswick: CARE LESS sounds like a possible continuation of the first story, "Choose Your Own Genetics"
in Jacob Appel's inviting book SCOUTING FOR THE REAPER.

>155 PaulCranswick: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Paul!

>156 PaulCranswick: That one sounds interesting too. I will have to see if I can find a copy.

Happy whatever, Paul!

>157 m.belljackson: Apel's book does look interesting, Marianne, but I don't see the connection with Capes' book?

>158 alcottacre: The first one is an enjoyable relatively quick read whereas I could not have read the second one if there had been another 100 pages of it.

I enjoyed and appreciated Careless back when it was current on the Women's Long list. I thought it portrayed an accurate picture of what teenage pregnancy could be. I looked at my old reviews and it is the only one on LT.

>160 vancouverdeb: I did notice your review yesterday, Deb, when I was copying the cover picture for my brief review here. Our views largely coincided I see and we both made the YA fiction comment.

An update of my NOBEL reading with an example of a work I have read:

1901 Sully Prudhomme -
1902 Theodor Mommsen -
1903 Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson -
1904 Frédéric Mistral -
1904 José Echegaray y Eizaquirre -
1905 Henryk Sienkiewicz -
1906 Giosuè Carducci - Poems : Carducci
1907 Rudyard Kipling - Kim
1908 Rudolf Christoph Eucken -
1909 Selma Lagerlöf -
1910 Paul Heyse -
1911 Count Maurice Maeterlinck -
1912 Gerhart Hauptmann -
1913 Rabindranath Tagore - He (Shey)
1915 Romain Rolland -
1916 Verner von Heidenstam -
1917 Karl Adolph Gjellerup -
1917 Henrik Pontoppidan -
1919 Carl Spitteler -
1920 Knut Hamsun - Growth of the Soil
1921 Anatole France - The Gods Will Have Blood
1922 Jacinto Benavente
1923 William Butler Yeats - The Tower
1924 Wladyslaw Reymont
1925 George Bernard Shaw - Pygmalion
1926 Grazia Deledda - Reeds in the Wind
1927 Henri Bergson
1928 Sigrid Undset
1929 Thomas Mann - Death in Venice
1930 Sinclair Lewis - Main Street
1931 Erik Axel Karlfeldt
1932 John Galsworthy - A Man of Property
1933 Ivan Alekseyevich Bunin - The Village
1934 Luigi Pirandello - Six Characters in Search of an Author
1936 Eugene O'Neill - Long Day's Journey into Night
1937 Roger Martin du Gard
1938 Pearl S. Buck - The Good Earth
1939 Frans Eemil Sillanpää
1944 Johannes Vilhelm Jensen
1945 Gabriela Mistral
1946 Hermann Hesse - Steppenwolf
1947 André Gide - Fruits of the Earth
1948 T.S. Elliot - The Waste Land
1949 William Faulkner - As I Lay Dying
1950 Bertrand Russell - Why I am not a Christian
1951 Pär Lagerkvist - Barabbas
1952 François Mauriac - Viper's Tangle
1953 Sir Winston Churchill - History of the English Speaking People
1954 Ernest Hemingway - For Whom the Bell Tolls
1955 Halldór Laxness - The Atom Station
1956 Juan Ramón Jiménez
1957 Albert Camus - The Plague
1958 Boris Pasternak - Doctor Zhivago
1959 Salvatore Quasimodo
1960 Saint-John Perse
1961 Ivo Andric - Bridge over the Drina
1962 John Steinbeck - The Grapes of Wrath
1963 Giorgos Seferis
1964 Jean-Paul Sartre - Iron in the Soul
1965 Michail Sholokhov
1966 Shmuel Yosef Agnon -
1966 Nelly Sachs - The Seeker and other Poems
1967 Miguel Ángel Asturias
1968 Yasunari Kawabata - The Master of Go
1969 Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot
1970 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - Cancer Ward
1971 Pablo Neruda - The Captain's Verses
1972 Heinrich Böll - Billiards at Half Past Nine
1973 Patrick White
1974 Eyvind Johnson
1974 Harry Martinson
1975 Eugenio Montale
1976 Saul Bellow - Herzog
1977 Vincente Aleixandre
1978 Isaac Bashevis Singer - Enemies : A Love Story
1979 Odysseas Elytis - Selected Poems 1940-1979
1980 Czeslaw Milosz - Selected and Last Poems
1981 Elias Canetti
1982 Gabriel Garciá Márquez - A Hundred Years of Solitude
1983 William Golding - Rites of Passage
1984 Jaroslav Seifert - The Poetry of Jaroslav Seifert
1985 Claude Simon - The Flanders Road
1986 Akinwande Ouwoe Soyinka
1987 Joseph Brodsky - On Grief and Reason
1988 Naguib Mahfouz - Palace Walk
1989 Camilo José Cela - The Family of Pascual Duarte
1990 Octavio Paz
1991 Nadine Gordimer - July's People
1992 Derek Walcott - Omeros
1993 Toni Morrison - Jazz
1994 Kenzaburo Oe - A Personal Matter
1995 Seamus Heaney - Station Island
1996 Wislawa Szymborska - Poems New and Collected
1997 Dario Fo - Accidental Death of an Anarchist
1998 José Saramago - The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis
1999 Günter Grass - Cat and Mouse
2000 Gao Xingjian
2001 Vidiadhar Surjprasad Naipaul - A House for Mr. Biswas
2002 Imre Kertész - Kaddish for an Unborn Child
2003 John Maxwell Coetzee - Disgrace
2004 Elfriede Jelinek - The Piano Teacher
2005 Harold Pinter - The Caretaker
2006 Orhan Pamuk - My Name is Red
2007 Doris Lessing - The Grass is Singing
2008 J.M.G. Le Clézio
2009 Herta Müller - The Appointment
2010 Mario Vargas Llosa - The Storyteller
2011 Tomas Tranströmer - The Half-Finished Heaven
2012 Mo Yan
2013 Alice Munro - Too Much Happiness
2014 Patrick Modiano - Missing Person
2015 Svetlana Alexievich - Voices from Chernobyl
2016 Bob Dylan - Chronicles
2017 Kazuo Ishiguro - An Artist of the Floating World
2018 Olga Tokarczuk - Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead
2019 Peter Handke - The Goalkeeper's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
2020 Louise Gluck - Averno
2021 Abdulrazak Gurnah - Paradise
2022 Annie Ernaux - A Girl's Story

read: 76
remaining: 43

119

Congratulations, that's a very good ratio.
For me it's the other way round, I've only read 49, so I still have a long way to go.

Congratulations! What a beautiful baby! May she bring joy to all.

>162 PaulCranswick:. I will be taking a look at these maybe later today, Paul.

>159 PaulCranswick: Appel's story offers a young girl's choice to become pregnant - CARE LESS could be the followup.

>162 PaulCranswick: Impressive! Any favorites?

My book club recently read How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa. Have you followed her story at all?

>163 SirThomas: It was your new thread, Thomas, that lead me to update that one.
I have slowed in the last couple of years. I do have work by another 14 laureates on the shelves so I ought to get to those first at least.

>164 Whisper1: Every time I called them recently, Linda, Pip has been asleep! All seem to be coping fine though to be fair.

>165 Kristelh: I will keep a look out for that, Kristel, as stats always fascinate me so!

>166 m.belljackson: Oh I see, Marianne, I didn't get that from the book blurb so thanks for that. x

>167 streamsong: That is a tough question, Janet. I certainly couldn't really rank them properly and I think that poets in translation are difficult to appreciate sometimes as the language nuances cannot often be fully replicated. Of poets Heaney and Eliot stand out for me. Of the novelists Steinbeck, Marquez and Solzhenitsyn.

>162 PaulCranswick:. I've only read 40 of them Paul and I have a few on my shelves waiting to be read.

Did you not read Quo Vadis For some reason I thought you had.

Hi Paul, a belated Happy New Thread mate and if i didn't wish you a happy birthday, then a belated happy birthday old boy.

Unusually hot weather for September here mate, melting today.

>171 Kristelh: Still a respectable number, Kristel.
No, I haven't read Quo Vadis yet although it is on the shelves.

>172 johnsimpson: Thank you mate. Hani is enjoying the weather too! I'm sure that she will try to meet up with you guys when she has a chance to do so.

Friday Lunchtime Additions (and Open Library reads)

341. The Cry of Winnie Mandela by Najbulo Ndebele (Open Library)
342. My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologises by Fredrik Backman
343. The Story of Russia by Orlando Figes
344. In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes
345. The Furrows by Namwali Serpell
346. The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

BOOK #114



In a Lonely Place by Dorothy B Hughes
Date of Publication : 1947
Origin of Author : USA
Pages : 222 pp

Genuine atmospheric crime noir from the 1940s.

Air Force pilot Dix is demobbed and in California where a series of strangulation murders have taken place. His army buddy is the detective on the case and Dix is fascinated to find out how much they know.

A bit in the mould of Francis Iles this sort of inverts the mystery genre and do so super successfully.

Quite possibly my favourite album of all time was released in September 1970 because it evokes my early working days driving long distances to project sites in Scotland and North West England. It is Abraxas by Santana.



This is a live version of the magnificent "Samba Pa Ti"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Up8dFnp04c

My heroes in music growing up were Jeff Lynne (ELO), Bob Dylan and primarily John Lennon. I will never forget that December morning in 1980 when the radio announced his death. Possibly the pinnacle of his solo output was Imagine released in September 1970.



Since I am anti-organized religion his universal message of peace and brotherhood "Imagine" is a stripped-back classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugrAo8wEPiI

Glam Rock cool was the order of the day in 1972 and Mott the Hoople came out from under Bowie's shadow and went to the top of the charts with his composition "All The Young Dudes". The album of the same name was about more than that one song.



This is their lead singer with a little help from Brian May performing the famous song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwafkDtOmfY

>173 PaulCranswick:. I read 99 works (probably more) by Nobel winners which I think is quite respectful. Yesterday I listened to Bob Dylan, Shadow Kingdom on Spotify. Released during lockdowns. It was released as a video but I could not find it.

>179 Kristelh: I have it on my Spotify too - voice has gone but he can still make records.

I quickly totalled up 213 distinct works by Nobel winners, skewed by the fact that I have read most of the output of Eliot, Yeats and Heaney, Steinbeck, Camus and Hemingway too.

Further additions after dinner with Belle:

347. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
348. A Hunger by Ross Raisin
349. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
350. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Thanks for the Nobel list, Paul. I've read some of the titles listed, more of the authors. When I assemble the two, I'll give a count.

>182 ffortsa: I do need to make some more progress with it, Judy.

Ah, here we go. I've read 43 of the authors on the list, some multiple works. Unfortunately, there are MANY I haven't heard of at all, almost all European authors, many poets. I forgive myself poetry in translation most of the time. But so many others I haven't even heard of! And many I've heard of but haven't read. I mainly read authors who write in English, or novelists in translation. Too narrow. I need to expand my scope. Thanks again for posting the list.

>175 PaulCranswick: OMIGAWSH

Is that your first Dorothy B. Hughes read? If so, you totally lucked out! It is, IM-never-remotely-HO, the best work of hers to lure you in and ensorcel you with her terrific way with misdirection. I really hop yu'll be pursuing her œuvre. Such delights!

Totally agree with you about ABRAXAS.

>184 ffortsa: To be fair, Judy, I have struggled with some of the poets too, finding them for one and also engaging with the work in translation too.

>185 richardderus: There is a new series released by Penguin in the UK, RD, featuring classic crime & espionage books. It was a revelation to me to be honest and one of the best of its kind that I have read in a long, long time. I will definitely look for other books by her.
Other authors featured in the first batch of ten include Davis Grubb and Edogawa Rampo both of whom I am not familiar with, but will try.

>176 PaulCranswick: One of the best musical compositions that ever was.

>187 RBeffa: I am surprised, Ron, that it doesn't feature on more "best of" lists.

Paul, I would think Stasia would be happy to have you join a joint read of Prophet Song , though I should not speak for others. I am hopping to finish my current read tomorrow, so perhaps we could try starting Prophet Song on Tuesday, if that works for Stasia. I am reading so slowly lately, I will aim for only 30 pages a day, and if I can read faster , I will. We'll see if that works for Stasia. Meanwhile, I'd better crack on with The Raging Storm, which is very good, but I have found myself busy with life.

>189 vancouverdeb: It is fresh from the bookstore and still on my dining table so no time better than Tuesday for me. xx

>175 PaulCranswick: I think I may actually own that one. I am going to have to check. I know for sure I have not read it if I do. . .

>181 PaulCranswick: Woot! Nice haul, Juan. My latest is on the "This Just In" thread.

>189 vancouverdeb: >190 PaulCranswick: Looking forward to Tuesday!

>191 alcottacre: Richard is right, Stasia, the Hughes book is tremendous.

Will go and scan your latest haul. I heard of boxes arriving from Blackwells (a favourite bookshop of mine).

Mr, Lynch on Tuesday. xx

>192 PaulCranswick: Yes, Deborah turned me on to Blackwell's as a source for books I cannot get here (and can no longer order from Book Depository *sob*) and I have now placed several orders through them.

I checked and the Hughes book is in the BlackHole - I do not actually own a copy and my local library does not have it either. Hmmph.

>193 alcottacre: Blackwell's will have it, Stasia! Just been reprinted in the UK.

>194 PaulCranswick: Cool beans! I will be adding it to my next order then. Now, I really must get to bed or I will not be fit to live with in the morning - and Kerry is still home with COVID.

>195 alcottacre: Give him my best wishes on a speedy recovery and DO GET SOME SLEEP!

>196 PaulCranswick: I will tell him, Paul. I was busy on Blackwell's website - but now I am done.

>197 alcottacre: I somehow thought you would be, Stasia. Did you find it?

>197 alcottacre: Yep and a book by David Grubbs, The Night of the Hunter, so that I can manage to scare myself in October for Halloween.

>197 alcottacre: Ooh I plan to buy that one on Friday!

Hej Paul, just came round to say hallo

>201 paulstalder: Always a pleasure, Paul. I miss you not being as active in the group as before.

Hi, Paul. I loved The Gift of Rain. Other than this one and his previous novel Evening Mists I had not read any novels set in Malaysia. I think he captured the country perfectly. Have you read these novels? If so, would you agree?

I think I was amongst the first of the group to read the first two and I read the third last month, Mark. Loved all three.

Hi Paul!

>100 PaulCranswick: Love, albeit in a depressed way, your World Events review in August. Congrats on 100+ books read.

>176 PaulCranswick: Abraxas still gives me the shudders. Amazing album. My favorite song is Oye Cómo Va.

>205 karenmarie: I would pick a different favourite from the album daily, Karen. Almost every song is a gem.

>205 karenmarie: >206 PaulCranswick: It is the rare album that I can still remember the thrill, 50 years on, of putting it on the stereo for the first time. As I mentioned above, it is one of the best things ever, musically.

>200 PaulCranswick: Well, maybe we can read it together in October so I will not be so scared, lol.

Happy whatever, brother!

>207 RBeffa: Indeed Ron. I can distinctly remember my then boss putting it on his car stereo and pumping up the volume as we drove across country to Sellafield. I was speechless!

>208 alcottacre: That is a date, Juana.

Here is an update on the Books Read Table for all those over 100 posts.
Has usual disclaimers and apologies if I have misinterpreted anyone's updating (Shelley in particular I was confused as to reading number) and I won't have captured anyone's updates over the last few hours.

Some startling numbers this year:

1 SilverWolf28 327
2 Chatterbox 283
3 karenmarie 267
4 quondame 233
5 alcottacre 225
6 Dreamweaver 210
7 amanda4242 200
8 FAMeulstee 198
9 hredwards 180
10 klobrien2 167
11 curioussquared 157
12 Familyhistorian 152
13 katiekrug 135
14 bell7 132
15 witchyrichy 130
16 SirThomas 129
17 CDVicarage 128
18 Whisper1 127
19 foggidawn 120
20 kristelh 117
21 scaifea 117
22 PaulCranswick 114
23 swynn 112
24 CrazyMamie 105
25 richardderus 105
26 vivians 103
27 ArlieS 101
28 kac522 97
29 lyndainoregon 97
30 avatiakh 96
31 aktakukac 94
32 BLBera 94
33 figsfromthistle 93
34 jnwelch 90
35 msf59 90
36 streamsong 90
37 The_Hibernator 88
38 chrisG 85
39 MickyFine 84
40 Berly 79
41 SandyMacpherson 78
42 storeettlr 77
43 tiffin 76
44 weird_O 75
45 lyzard 74
46 mahsdad 72
47 thornton37814 71
48 cbl_tn 69
49 Donna828 69
50 fuzzi 69
51 chelle 68
52 jessibud2 67
53 drneutron 66
54 Whiteraven.17 66
55 AMQS 63
56 cecilturtle 63
57 RebaRelishesReading 62
58 PersephonesLibrary 60
59 banjo123 58
60 booksaplenty 56
61 Caroline_McElwee 56
62 ffortsa 56
63 laytonwoman3rd 56
64 PlatinumWarlock 56
65 sibylline 56
66 ursula 53
67 copperskye 51
68 DianaNL 51
69 mstrust 50
70 ronincats 47
71 laurelkeet 46
72 mdoris 46
73 SandDune 45
74 humouress 44
75 sirfurboy 42
76 EBT1002 41
77 oberon 41
78 LizzieD 40
79 Rbeffa 37
80 Ella Tim 36
81 Carmenere 33
82 lycomayflower 33
83 LovingLit 32
84 Ravenswoodwitch 32
85 johnsimpson 31
86 Squeaky_Chu 31
87 atozgrl 27
88 norabelle414 27
89 vancouverdeb 27
90 PawsforThought 1

Paul, are your totals for books read so far this year? If so, I am at 67 but haven't been posting much on my thread about books read, I admit. If the totals are for just the past months or so, I have no idea. In my own little notebook where I record such things, I only write the title, author and genre, not the dates.

Those same 90 threads in terms of posting numbers

1 PaulCranswick 4,607
2 richardderus 3,823
3 katiekrug 3,714
4 msf59 3,109
5 scaifea 2,391
6 karenmarie 2,240
7 alcottacre 1,970
8 CrazyMamie 1,953
9 laurelkeet 1,924
10 bell7 1,823
11 FAMeulstee 1,609
12 Familyhistorian 1,574
13 figsfromthistle 1,448
14 jnwelch 1,414
15 klobrien2 1,303
16 MickyFine 1,286
17 jessibud2 1,238
18 curioussquared 1,191
19 RebaRelishesReading 1,100
20 EBT1002 1,082
21 Berly 1,052
22 BLBera 951
23 quondame 894
24 LizzieD 863
25 Carmenere 820
26 vancouverdeb 820
27 Whisper1 768
28 drneutron 767
29 The_Hibernator 759
30 lyzard 753
31 streamsong 709
32 foggidawn 684
33 mahsdad 640
34 johnsimpson 625
35 SandyMacpherson 614
36 ursula 568
37 kristelh 552
38 SandDune 550
39 Caroline_McElwee 547
40 SirThomas 538
41 humouress 517
42 laytonwoman3rd 503
43 thornton37814 493
44 norabelle414 481
45 atozgrl 473
46 ArlieS 472
47 PlatinumWarlock 471
48 mstrust 467
49 storeettlr 443
50 Dreamweaver 424
51 weird_O 424
52 witchyrichy 403
53 ffortsa 391
54 mdoris 375
55 Squeaky_Chu 371
56 copperskye 365
57 Donna828 340
58 banjo123 330
59 swynn 320
60 avatiakh 319
61 Whiteraven.17 311
62 Ella Tim 282
63 Chatterbox 261
64 Ravenswoodwitch 261
65 cbl_tn 256
66 hredwards 231
67 ronincats 226
68 sibylline 224
69 DianaNL 208
70 AMQS 197
71 CDVicarage 188
72 oberon 187
73 amanda4242 181
74 kac522 169
75 vivians 168
76 tiffin 167
77 lyndainoregon 162
78 chelle 156
79 LovingLit 147
80 fuzzi 146
81 Rbeffa 128
82 aktakukac 127
83 SilverWolf28 126
84 chrisG 117
85 booksaplenty 116
86 PersephonesLibrary 116
87 sirfurboy 112
88 lycomayflower 108
89 PawsforThought 106
90 cecilturtle 102

>211 jessibud2: Thanks for that Shelley, I will update it. I meant to PM you actually and forgot to do so. xx
It is books read in the year.

ETA Already updated

Top Sixes in terms of Posting

Top Six American Residents

1. Richard
2. Katie
3. Mark
4. Amber
5. Karen
6. Stasia

Top Six Canadian Residents
1. Meg
2. Anita
3. Micky
4. Shelley
5. Deb
6. Sandy

Top Six European Residents
1. Anita
2. Ursula
3. Thomas
4. Ella
5. Diana
6. Kathe

Top Six UK Residents
1. John
2. Rhian
3. Caroline
4. Kerry
5. Sir F
6. Tony

Top Six Asia-Pacific
1. Paul
2. Liz
3. Nina
4. Kerry
5. Megan
6. Adrienne

Top Six Females
1. Katie
2. Amber
3. Karen
4. Stasia
5. Mamie
6. Laura

Top Six Males
1. Paul
2. Richard
3. Mark
4. Joe
5. Jim
6. Jeff

>210 PaulCranswick: Top ten! Woo hoo!

>215 amanda4242: Top 7 in fact, Amanda!

It is amazing though to note that both Karen and Stasia are in the top seven in both lists and I don't know how they manage to do that!

>216 PaulCranswick: I swear I did not do it, officer :)

>217 alcottacre: Hahaha don't worry, Stasia, you don't have to have a Georgia style mug-shot!

>218 PaulCranswick: Well, that is good!

>219 alcottacre: I will start Prophet Song this evening.

I am part way through The Dictionary of Lost Words

Have started The Furrows by Zambian born Namwali Serpell and am closing on the finish of The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.

Connections
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First time I tried playing the connection game thingy today and seemed to get the hang of it eventually.

I’ve been bombing out rather badly at Connections the past few days . Let’s hope today is better. Good for you , Paul.

I am trying not to get too drawn into games recently Deb.

Thanks for the stats, Paul!
Very pleased to find myself at #8 and #11.

It was surprising to me that Karen, Stasia, Meg Katie and yourself are all in the top dozen or so in both lists!

>220 PaulCranswick: - I saw that Pip Williams has a new book out! I am looking forward to it, maybe from the library: The Bookbinder

Very interesting to see the updated stats, Paul, and I see I managed to break into the top 10. Posting often seems to drop off at the end of the year, so we'll see if I end up there or just edged out like last year.

And I see I updated my thread/reviews just in time! I think I'm up to 35 graphic novels out of that total, but it's still a respectable reading rate this year no matter how I count them up.

>220 PaulCranswick: I am starting Prophet Song tonight. I am very much looking forward to it.

I have already read The Dictionary of Lost Words so you are going to miss me with that BB :)

I hope you continue to enjoy The Covenant of Water and I will curious to see your thoughts on The Furrows. The reviews on that one seem to be very diverse.

Happy whatever, Paul!

Thank you for the Status, Paul.
I am happy to discover myself in it...

>226 jessibud2:
That Pip Williams book Bookbinder has a different title in the UK. It is the Bookbinder of Jericho. The touchstones here on LT go to that title, but it is the same book.

>220 PaulCranswick: The Dictionary of Lost Words was a book group book for me back in May 2021, although it feels more recent than that, and the group liked it but had some criticisms: we felt she put too much in it, a common first novel issue, I think - and I have just got a copy of The Bookbinder of Jericho, which I hope to start soon.

I just started playing Connections. Yesterday’s (first try) was a complete bust. I did ok today—only two wrong tries.

Thanks for doing the stats. I seem to be where I usually am in both categories, right in the middle, which is just fine with me.

Have a great rest of the week!

>226 jessibud2: I will look for that Shelley for sure. Her writing is like a throwback from Edwardian times. That is a compliment not a criticism.

>227 bell7: You are continuing to raise your numbers year on year, Mary, which is not something most of us can say!

>228 alcottacre: Started it and read the first chapter of thirty or so pages, Stasia. A slow burner but I think it will be a good one.

I am enjoying Pip Williams and savouring Verghese. I am also intrigued by The Furrows which started off very conventionally but has gone off at an unusual tangent or three.

>229 SirThomas: You feature top 20% in terms of books read and in the top half for posting, Thomas and third amongst non-British Europeans.

Tremendous I would say!

>230 benitastrnad: A pet hate is the choice of different titles, Benita. It is usually but not exclusively a change in title to suit the American market. I don't see why the removal of "of Jericho" would make any difference to sales across the pond.

>231 CDVicarage: I like it, Kerry, as I think stylistically she has done a good job in writing a story that doesn't feel like it was published this century! Far from perfect as most first novels are but it is a pleasing book, I think.

>232 Storeetllr: I think your today is my yesterday, Mary, if that makes any sense! I made one mistake and carelessly so really.

Yesterday was 9/11 as we even call it in the Non-American world and Mr. Biden misremembered it in Alaska on his way back from discussing climate change in Vietnam (has he not been before to Vietnam for Pete's sake - they couldn't care a jot for climate change in Hanoi?)

He has a very discomfiting habit of placing himself front and centre in any crisis or tragedy. Recently he was explaining that he had empathy with the people of Hawaii as he almost lost a family pet to a kitchen fire in his home - hugely inappropriate. Yesterday he claimed falsely to have been at Ground Zero on the day after the attack (he was in Washington DC) just as he has had almost everyone of his tall tales debunked.

This is from the UK's Spectator and I have to say it is very much the case that most in the Western World silently beseech America to put two alternative candidates forward in lieu of Senile v Penile in 2024.

Anyone who watched his performance in Hanoi and still maintains that Biden is fit enough for another term is in need of the same medical attention that the current POTUS requires.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/joe-biden-has-become-a-global-embarrassment/...

Hello Paul. Thanks for reporting on the stats. Hope all's well with you. What news of beautiful new baby Pip?

Well , Trump is far worse than Biden , Paul. What to say.

As far as Prophet Song goes, I'm at page 142 right now and anticipate getting another 10 pages or so read this evening. My pace will slow tomorrow as Dave is back to work and I'll less time to read. I'm loving the book so far!

I'll look forward to your comments on the Verghese. I own it, but the length is a bit intimidating so far.

Each day I'll let you and Stasia know how far I've gotten in Prophet Song on Stasia's thread.

>238 mdoris: Mary, lovely to see you dear lady.

I will try to post up a more recent picture of Pip later.

>239 vancouverdeb: Gradations of awfulness, Deb, and I certainly don't want the other fellow back.

What a choice to be leader of the free world - More than two thirds of the American people don't want Biden to stand more than half don't want The Mango Monster. Two people who for quite different reasons should not be President - God help us.

Five days expected reading in one sitting, Deb, means a big thumbs up for Prophet Song. He is a very good writer and chooses and uses words in a quite unique way, I think.

I really liked Maggie O'Farrell's The Marriage Portrait, Louise Kennedy's Trespasses and Tan Twan Eng's The House of Doors but Verghese's book is my favourite of the year. Wonderful stuff but it is indeed very, very long.

Connections
Puzzle #94
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Less successful but safely home

>237 PaulCranswick: No, Biden is not that great of a President,

but to compare him in any way with trump is a loser game:

look up all of Joe's accomplishments, as well as undoing the horrors that trump and gang perpetuated

as they still attempt to destroy our democracy.

>240 PaulCranswick: the media thrive on creating unrest. I am not a Biden fan but his administration is doing a much better job than what we have had and there was a lot of damage done by the prior pack of crooks. Biden needs to choose a very strong vp candidate and then things might be ok.

>242 m.belljackson: Marianne, we are thinking and sayjjng the same thing at the same time

>242 m.belljackson: I wasn't talking about the administration, Marianne, I was talking about Joe Biden's capacity to continue to do the job. He really shouldn't stand again and I agree (rarely for me) with Romney that both parties should look to the next generation. The Mango Monster should be taken off the ballot after how he dishonoured the office of President during the transference of power whether that was unlawful or not. It saddens me that the Rublicans are still seemingly intent on picking him complete with all the baggage that entails.

>243 RBeffa: As anyone familiar with my thread knows, Ron, I would never trust the media on either side not to make agendas and try to mould opinions rather than report facts. They have not done their jobs properly since the 1970s.

My view of Biden's cognitive decline is observational and anyone who thinks he is physically and mentally up to four more years is, I'm sorry, delusional.

I had high hopes of Kamala but she has been a disappointment and I think a Shapiro or a Whitmer is needed.

>244 RBeffa: Your views - even in stereo - are always welcome here Ron / Marianne!

Connections
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That was pretty easy to be honest!

>245 PaulCranswick:
I think that Harris is doing a fine job. In the US the job of VP is that of waiting and backing up the president's policies. In that capacity she has little power to do her own thing. Many of her speeches have been interpreted as being very radical and as a woman and a person of color she has my full support. However, as was proved in 2016 a woman is going to get little support and the voters made it clear that they did not want a woman with opinions in the position of president. As for being a person of color - just look at what having a person of color previously did for the country. No matter what a person thinks of the job Obama did, or didn't do, the voters have determined that the US will NOT have another person of color in the top office.

As for your suggestions for the next VP, I think you have left off some very important people from the list. Amy Klobucher for one and Pete Buttigieg. However, either of those two would make the right see red and they wouldn't get elected.

The question here is electability - not suitability. That is why Biden was the nominee to start with. He is a safe choice.

We just need to face facts - the US is not a gambling country. We like safe people and only vote for radical change when forced to do so. Radical change as in Who would be better than a person of color? Another person of color - orange haired bullies and gasbags.

The saving grace of the US at this point is the younger voters. If they will come out and vote in the primaries then change will happen. If they don't - the rest of the world can say whatever it wants, but the color of the persons hair, or even if he has hair, won't matter. Neither will his sex. The next president of the US will be an old white man.

>248 benitastrnad: You may or may not remember I was enthusiastic in my support of Harris getting nominated.
My opinion has changed based on two things and neither are policy:
1 - that terrible cackle; and
2 - her propensity to word salad.

I really hope that you are wrong about race, colour and gender ensuring that it will always henceforward be an old white man. Surely we must aspire to select the best person for the job period.

I like Klobuchar and I think that she is electable but not by the Democrats as she is probably seen as too centrist these days. I personally think Buttigieg has been an awful transport secretary in admittedly difficult times. His visibility failure during the East Palestine incident was close to dereliction of duty.

If it was my choice (which it will never be) I would plump for Whitmer and I believe that she would trounce the Mango Monster.

>249 PaulCranswick: I like Klobuchar and would have voted for her in the primary last time but she withdrew before I had a chance. (I will note that I'm registered unaffiliated.) I don't believe she will run this time as long as Biden remains a candidate.

Those of us who are centrist aren't getting much representation any more.

>249 PaulCranswick:
So you are basing your dislike of a government official based on some physical characteristic? and not the job they are doing? That is typical of the US voters. That is why they vote for people who look and sound just like them. It has often been said that if FDR, John, or Robert Kennedy were running for office today they would not be elected based on their accent. Is that the same thing as Harris's cackle? Or Hilary Clinton's pantsuit?

>246 PaulCranswick: >243 RBeffa: Quotes (without all sources - can't find)

which apply to that former president:

"Stupidity oozes out of his eyes,
Mozart once said of the Viennese employer's brother,
Archduke Maximilian."

"The world is only broken into 2 tribes:
the people who are A-holes and the people who are not."

"...ruled the country with the sombre imbecility of political fanaticism."

>250 atozgrl: Well Biden was supposed to be a centrist but he has definitely been moved to the left.

The polarisation of politics in the USA is the problem and one of the reasons why the populace is so dissatisfied because the majority are not in the extremes of either side but are also not politically active, Irene.

I guess the two party system is to blame but is still entrenched.

>251 benitastrnad: Another problem in the political discourse is the absence of a sense of humour, Benita. My comment about her cackle was obviously tongue in cheek.
I will note that Ms Harris has a worse satisfaction rating in polling than even her visibly deteriorating boss. Only 35% of Americans in consistent polls agree with you in being satisfied with her performance. You can say it is because she is non-white and a woman but may it also be because she simply has been a poor communicator?

>252 m.belljackson: Unlike Mozart, Marianne, I am not a fan of the grating music made by POTUS45.

>254 PaulCranswick: Hey - being as politically divisive as the latest Bring Back Barack American,

I could have written "...the people who are A-holes and the people who are not Republicans."

Hi Paul, thanks for the stats mate, 85th on books read and 34th on posts and then i find i am top UK resident. The books i hope to improve on, i hope to get into the top 30 on posts and maintain being top UK resident, Cheers mate.

>255 m.belljackson: In all seriousness that is part of the problem. Obama had flaws but was Presidential for sure and an extremely likeable person. He was tremendously respected internationally.
Maybe tongue-in-cheek but do you really think all Republicans are a-holes?!

I am not American so I do tend to look at things in a British context. I have been a Labourite virtually all my adult life, despite dissatisfaction from time to time but there are some a-holes in my party. I am philosophically opposed to much of the Conservative Party platform but have to acknowledge that there are some (a minority certainly) of thoroughly decent and well intentioned people on their side. The absence of common ground and the polarisation of political discourse is why our choices of leaders is moribund.

>256 johnsimpson: The active participation of some of our UK based friends in the group has waned significantly over the last few years for some reason. Charlotte moved groups, Susan disappeared, Genny and Luci don't keep threads anymore, Heather has slowed down - therefore it is good to see you (and Caroline, Rhian, Stephen, Kerry etc) still here flying the flag so to speak.

>257 PaulCranswick:, I will still be here mate, i just love the community here and the friends that i have made. It is lovely to see what folks are reading and doing. I think i need to go back to how my posts used to be but for some reason i cannot quite put my finger on, the year has been strange both on the home front doing jobs and my reading.

I had thought that getting started with a chunkster would set the year off well but, although i really enjoyed the book, i only seemed to be reading 30 to 35 pages a day and that seems to have stuck. This month has been better but is a little late for the targets i would like to hit. I am beginning to look ahead to 2024 for the reading and going back to how i posted.

>258 johnsimpson: I have had some pretty good reading months this year, John, but I have tended toward the inconsistent.

I hope you will remain a fixture here for many, many years to come.

>253 PaulCranswick: I believe the extreme gerrymandering that Republicans have undertaken this century has a lot to do with the problem. They have made districts that are so heavily Republican that extremists can run and get elected now. Unlike the past when candidates needed to be reasonable to appeal to a wider range of voters. And as a result, everyone hates Congress. They think their own reps are fine, so they keep voting for them, but they think there are too many in Congress on the wrong side. Unfortunately, it appears that in some places where Democrats are in power, they are also resorting to gerrymandering, only making the problem worse.

I personally would like to see a third party emerge in this country, but we can't have that right now. I'm afraid if we get that now, it would only ensure the re-election of the Mango Monster, and that must not be allowed.

Paul , humour is very hard to detect in an online format . I am very careful when I text with people as much can be taken wrongly via text or online discourse. I thought the very same as Benita when I read your comment yesterday. I try hard to stay away from discussing politics on LT or online . In real life , talking with others , we can readily detect if we are offending someone , or if some means something tongue in cheek , but that is not the case here. If I meant something tongue in cheek online , I would add a ;-) or 😉

>260 atozgrl: Gerrymandering is a major problem in Malaysia too whereby many rural seats have very few electors and urban seats have huge numbers for the same seat numbers. This is because traditionally the opposition was strong in the towns.

Your system as in the UK with its first-past-the-post and winner-takes-all outcome is not geared to third parties. I agree that a third candidate, especially in the centre wins the election for the Mango Monster.

>261 vancouverdeb: I don't really agree that humour is that difficult to pick up on - anyone who knows me knows that I would not have such a frivolous reason for slating someone as a politician.

There is nothing offensive, Deb, about saying you think someone has an annoying laugh, unless thin-skinned humans now proliferate everywhere. Some of the things that have been posted to me in response to a valid viewpoint have been genuinely offensive (never by you I hasten to add) but I have always accepted it without rancour other than the one time when one of our group stated that all adherents of my faith were barbarians and in all seriousness. I did respond firmly on that occasion and that person is no longer, sadly, in the group.

I will reiterate that she, Ms Harris does have an annoying laugh and agree that this does not make her a bad politician. It is her inability to speak coherently that makes her a disappointment as VP.

Politics is a fraught subject on that most of us can agree and I would also much prefer to talk about books.

Speaking of which Prophet Song continues to rumble along with atmosphere in abundance.

>210 PaulCranswick: Only 31 books read for me! Hahahaha!

I have been reading for the past two months (and probably for months going forward) three chunksters. I am enthralled by all three so my numbers are not going up very much in the future. I'll be lucky if I hit 40 books this year. Chunksters are so unlike me, but the three I'm reading have grabbed me and won't let go:
---Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons
---Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
---Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

I do look forward to the day I'll be reading books of more variety, but I'm deep into these chunksters now!

This could be worse. One of my friends is now rereading Ullyses by James Joyce! I was actually looking into that book (but I doubt if I'll actually try to read it). :)

>264 SqueakyChu: Obviously, Madeline, book length will really affect the number of books read. The raw numbers are a very indifferent guide to someone's reading pace.
I read Ulysses in college and have it on the shelves as a "read again" although when I will be brave enough to try to do so, I cannot guess.

Lovely to see you. x

>263 PaulCranswick: Good point Paul., anyone who follows you regularly on your thread would agree I think. It is possible to express tongue-in-cheek in writing, and other subtleties., especially for those of us who have experience and love of books.

>266 mdoris: I think so, Mary.
I must emphasize that I would never go out of my way to offend or intentionally cause offence and will always seek leave for any unintentional offence caused, but as someone who used to do stand-up occasionally, humour is best when it is not too obviously telegraphed.

Connections
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Slight slip at the beginning

>210 PaulCranswick: Amazing! I'm at the top of the list even with my reading down some because of Mom being in the hospital.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353633

>269 SilverWolf28: We can agree, Silver. Your numbers are definitely amazing!

>270 SilverWolf28: Thank you.

>263 PaulCranswick: Harris' problems go way beyond her annoying cackle, er, laugh, or even her incoherence. It's her interpersonal skills - her campaign in 2020 was a disaster - her staff HATED her - and she has had the same problem with her VP office staff. The fact is, she's not a very talented politician. She was literally an "affirmative action" choice - hey, she's a black woman, that checks the boxes.

The Democrats are incredibly frustrating right now - an overwhelming majority of their own voters don't want Biden to run for re-election & everybody knows his running mate is a drag on the ticket, but nobody has the guts to do anything about it. Insane.

>264 SqueakyChu: >265 PaulCranswick: I always figure that the author of the book took as many pages as they felt the book needed and, as a reader, I am not responsible for the number of pages. I almost never look to see how many pages a book is before I start on it and figure that by the end of the year, the number of chunksters I read balances out the smaller books I read, lol.

Happy whatever, Paul!

Paul - too bad The Kennedys, The Jimmy Carters, and The Obamas don't have

kids or decent relations to Make The Change we need.

I'm playing catch-up on the threads and trying to comment on this one before you create a new one! My posting is is down this year. I think I'll make it to 100 this year, but I don't think I'll get to 125--at least not unless I read a lot more children's books than I plan to read.

>257 PaulCranswick: Mitt Romney the only exception?

>272 ChrisG1: It does seem self-defeating, Chris, doesn't it? I would have thought that they should have been looking for the best candidates and not virtue signalling (I thought that Harris was that best candidate at the time).

>273 alcottacre: I don't think you need worry about word count, Stasia! There are a number of our group who just amaze me with their ability to finish books and you are definitely on that list.

>274 m.belljackson: Well one of the Kennedy's is vying for the Democratic nomination, Marianne?

>275 thornton37814: Your numbers are down this year, Lori as you are normally close to the top ten in books read.

>276 m.belljackson: Hahaha, you are harsh, Marianne - the only exception?

>278 PaulCranswick: Paul = note the word "decent"...

>274 m.belljackson: I'm very much unenamored of political dynasties, perhaps because I am Canadian. Pierre Trudeau held power for a long time; perhaps as a result of this we now have his son, Justin. AFAICT, the father's main attraction for the voters was charisma (sex appeal?); the son doesn't even have that - his main attraction other than his parentage is perhaps that he's not Stephen Harper.

>280 m.belljackson: Decent has several definitions, Marianne, and I have no reason to believe that someone is decent in terms of decency rather than decent in terms of competence. I think it is far easier and fairer to comment on the second definition rather than the first.

>281 ArlieS: I agree entirely, Arlie. Pitt the Younger was probably the last time it worked. Neville Chamberlain a great example that it doesn't; Trudeau too. At least there will never be a Biden dynasty in political terms although its attempts at patronage indicated it had hoped otherwise.

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that I finished Prophet Song today.

Also, my latest BAD list is on the 'This Just In' thread if you want to take a peek. I am anxiously waiting to see what you have picked up this week.

>278 PaulCranswick: I suspect cross-stitch and FlossTube are getting in the way of reading. I might be listening to an audiobook while stitching if it were not for FlossTube.

I still think that the problems with Harris are sex based. If she were a man nobody would be making remarks about her office management style or her laugh.

I suspect that many of the differences in outlook being discussed here are sex based and I maintain that in the US we have a problem with women politicians. Most of the other first world countries (if we can even use that term with any meaning) have moved on to accept women politicians and didn't makes remarks about the physical attributes of a Mrs. Merkle or the fuddy-duddy ubiquitusness of her pantsuits, but here in the US they were the cause of articles in newspapers. I am sure that Germans thought our obsession with Mrs. Merkle's pantsuits was quite humorous. However, the US media is full of spiteful stories about US women politicians and their fashion style as well as their management style. If they are efficient, they are seen as having a one-track mind. If they are demanding, they are portrayed as being dictatorial or worse, shrill. If they aren't in the news for politics then they can be in the news for their fashion sense, or their cackling laugh.

I think that Harris is doing as good of a job as any US VP has done in quite some time. She certainly hasn't horned her way into the top news stories over here like Biden did when he was VP. It appears to me that she is being shut out of any sort of job where she can effect policy because the Biden camp wants no opposition in the coming election. If Harris were to prove to be effective then, given Biden's age and her position as VP, she would be the logical better candidate. Could it be that all the news about her gaffs, as well as her physical attributes, are being played up by people who want to keep an old white man in power?

I happen to agree that Biden is not the best candidate and he should step aside. Biden has brought normalcy back to the American Presidency, but he picked Harris as his running mate. He and his advisors should be grooming Harris for being the lead candidate. They should be giving her the same opportunities to shine as Biden got when he was VP. Instead they are falling prey to a great deal of hubris in thinking that Mr. Biden is fit to run again.

What is happening to Harris is sexism in action. I expected that due to the fact that Harris is the highest ranking female to ever hold an elected office in the US.

Excellent post , Benita .

>283 alcottacre: Well done, I thought you'd get there first, Stasia. I will finish it today (Saturday), for sure.

I will put up my newest additions (for what they were) on my impending new thread but I will go over and admire yours first!

>284 thornton37814: Yes and your cross-stich creations are striking at the least, Lori. I wouldn't get much reading done if my fingers were quite to nimble!

>288 PaulCranswick: I don't agree at all, Benita that my observations are based on gender or race at all. Her incoherence has nothing at all to do with it and I have nothing but good will towards her and would love for her to do well. The fact is for many she has not been an inspiration in the role. Better than Pence, I suppose, but still - at least Pence was on the right side at the end.

My choice would be Whitmer as President - hardly an old white man.

>289 I agree Deb, it was a good post. I agree even though I don't agree with its conclusions.