Weird_O Bill's Real ADD Library

Accept no substitutes. This here is the REAL Weird_O Llbrary.

       

Books I've Read in 2024

January 2024 (10 read)
1. About Alice, Calvin Trillin. Finished 1/1/24.  
2. Egon Schiele: 1890-1918: Desire and Decay, Wolfgang Georg Fischer. Finished 1/1/24.  
3. Time and Again, Jack Finney. Finished 1/7/24. 
4. Finna, Nino Cipri. Finished 1/15/24.  
5. Oranges, John McPhee. Finished 1/17/24.  
  The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain.
6. The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, Elif Batuman. Finished 1/19/23. 
7. The Color of Magic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/26/24.
8. Make Russia Great Again, Christopher Buckley. Finished 1/27/24. 
  Snark, David Denby.
9. The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/30/24
10. The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/31/24.

February 2024 (9 read)
11. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb, R. Crumb. Finished 2/4/24
12. Gun, with Occasional Music, Jonathan Lethem. Finished 2/8/24
13. Doisneau, Peter Hamilton. Finished 2/14/24.
14. H. P. Lovecraft Tales of Horror*, H. P. Lovecraft. Finished 2/16/24.
15. The Biggest Bear, Lynd Ward. Finished 2/18/24.  
16. Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!, Art Spiegelman. Finished 2/19/24.
17. Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi. Finished 2/23/24.
18. The Iron Man, Ted Hughes; illustrations by Chris Mould. Finished 2/24/24.  
19. Lethal White, Jo-Bob Rowling-Galbraith. Finished 2/29/24.

* The Touchstone for this book is kinda sorta beyond normal (yes, and even abnormal) access. It won't supply you with any useful info, so why bother? Just one of LT's quirks.

March 2024 (10 read)
20. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, Steven Millhauser. Finished 3/5/24.
21. Answered Prayers, Truman Capote. Finished 3/11/24.
22. A Commonplace Book of Pie, Kate Lebo; illustrations, Jessica Lynn Bonin. Finished 3/14/24.
23. Kafka, R. Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz. Finished 3/16/24.
24. The Canary Trainer, Nicholas Meyer. Finished 3/17/24.
25. More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, Molly Roden Winter. Finished 3/20/24.
26. Judge This., Chip Kidd. Finished 3/21/24.
27. Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots. Finished 3/25/2024.
28. The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead. Finished 3/27/24.
29. Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy, Bill Griffith. Finished 3/28/24.
30. Greenwich Village: A Guide to America's Legendary Left Bank, Judith Stonehill. Finished 3/29/24. SnackBook.

In 2023 I read 99 books. In addition I finished two books, About Alice and Schiele, that were so close to the plunge of the lighted ball that I put 'em down as the first books of 2024. I rated the 99 as follows:

1 
0 
1 
6 
27 
26 
34 
2 

I also dismissed 2 books, stamping them

My list of the best of the 99 reads, a kind of Weird_O Dozen. In no particular order, of course.


Lessons in Chemistry, Bonnie Garmus


Voices from Chernobyl, Svetlana Alexievich


Sapiens, vol. 2, Yuval Noah Harari, illustrations by David Vandermeulen and Daniel Casanava


Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver


A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles


Good Talk, Mira Jacob


The Netanyahus, Joshua Cohen


Fun Home, Alison Bechdel


Fen, Bog & Swamp, Annie Proulx


Tabula Rasa, Volume 1, John McPhee


Smut, Alan Bennett


The Unquiet Ghost, Adam Hochschild


Foster, Claire Keegan

  
Regeneration Trilogy: Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, The Ghost Road, Pat Barker

       

       Christopher Walken takes his favorite librarian out dancing.

Yeah yeah yeah. In a Kempton minute. (Like, maybe, TOMORROW)

How about a Kempton day?

I think I'll take a chance and leave it at this.

Welcome back!

Hi Bill!

Happy new year, Bill!

>2 weird_O: - Good old Roz!

Happy new thread and new year. Any more shelves to be built this year? Any rooms left for them? We'll want photos, ya know!

Happy reading in 2024, Bill!

Happy 2024!

Merry New Year, O Weird One. Many, many good reads and expansive sprees be yours in 2024.

Happy new year and happy reading!

Happy New Year Bill!

Happy new year!

Happy New Year, o weird one

Happy New Year!

Happy new year, Bill! Your topper is quite relatable.

Happy new year, Bill.

Hiya, Bill! Happy New Year and first thread of 2024.

>3 weird_O: Wow. Already. Bravo.

>4 weird_O: - >8 weird_O: Waiting anxiously for you to do your homework.

Happy New Year, Bill. Looking forward to spending another year with my favorite weirdo. I love your best of choices. Wow! Funny, I just finished Tabula Rasa. I have never read him before. Have you and if you have what do you recommend?

Hey! It snowed. An appreciable amount. Don't know if the Subie will get me out, but I've no place I really want to go. So... I'll try another day. Spend some time with Time and Again.

Yes, I tell you, it snowed overnight. But it's in the low 40s, so it won't last. Phone photo from the deck; looks like a black & white photo, but it's not.

Envious of the snow, Bill. Hope you're hanging in there.

Happy new year! And >27 weird_O:. lovely picture.

>5 weird_O: I admit that I obsessed about Chernobyl. I read as many books as possible regarding the topic. I think Voices from Chernobyl, Svetlana Alexievich was one of the best!

I had snow and ice last night. I am very thankful for my neighbor who helps me tremendously. I couldn't stay in this house without his help.

I hope 2024 is a healthy year for you and your family.

Happy New Year, Bill.

>5 weird_O: Great list.

>27 weird_O: Nice photo. We have no snow on the ground here -- in Minnesota! In January!

>27 weird_O: That is one spectacular photo.

>5 weird_O: Some really good reading there, Bill. Thanks for sharing the list! I am hoping to get to Barker's trilogy at some point this year.

>27 weird_O: I love snow! I love the photo too.

Happy 2024, Bill.

Ah, a little snow in NYC. It looked like enough in the air, but it disappeared quickly, leaving the sidewalks slippery. I stayed upright.

Here I sit, almost snowed in. I was surprised by the amount of snow that fell and stuck. I had two bills that I pay by check that wanted to get mailed, so I rev'ed up the Sube and drove up the drive, then on down to the street. A little bit of wheel-spinning, but I got out, mailed my payments, and got right back in again. Today, I sat tight. It's raining now, with an occasional wind gust.

I finished reading Time and Again by Jack Finney Sunday night. Then I spent too much time looking for A) The Gilded Age, which Mark Twain wrote with Charles Dudley Warner, or B) Roughing it or C) The Innocents Abroad. "A' is successfully hiding from me. I found "B" Roughing It. Read a few chapters and felt that Twain was trying too hard to entertain. So down the basement I raced to sweep "C" The Innocents Abroad into my arms. I'm about 50-60 pages into it, and it'll do. (Ha. I knew all along where "C" was, but I was just not wanting to read it.)

Found you!!

>2 weird_O: LOL comic
>5 weird_O: Love your top list from last year -- read about 1/3 of them and agree they were great!
>6 weird_O: Awesome -- dancing with books. I'm in!
>35 weird_O: Enjoy "C" and good luck with the weather. ; )

Hi Bill!

>35 weird_O: You are intrepid! You and the Sube made it. Glad you finally settled on a Twain. Have you ever read Life on the Mississippi? It’s a wonderful memoir, IMO. There’s also his 3-volume autobiography, of which I have the first volume. I need the other two…

>27 weird_O: Oooh! How lovely.

Happy mid week

Found your thread, Bill! Happy new year!

A good part of today I spent fetching a nifty floor lamp for my library. From Ikea. In Plymouth Meeting, PA. I've mostly avoided Ikea, but I read a NYTimes piece that tagged this particular lamp as the best. And every time I checked the Ikea website, it wasn't available. Not in stock. We ain't got any. Yesterday I checked for the first time since before Thanksgiving. Strike whilst the iron is hot.

>40 weird_O: Hope you enjoy being lit up!!

I almost didn't find you this time Bill! I was over on some other threads and saw evidence of you, so came looking :)

oooh Foster by Clare Keegan, The Ghost Road by Pat Barker, and The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen....I am drooling over here. Loved them all three.

>40 weird_O: You deserve a medal for braving Ikea, Bill! I'm familiar with that very same Plymouth Meeting location and am guessing it's not exactly right in your back yard. Plus, those stores are a labyrinth. I hope the new lamp is everything you dreamed of.

>40 weird_O: what ^^^Laura said, Your Weirdness. IKEA scares me to death. Noise, lights, STUFF EVERYWHERE!!! nightmarish. How is the lamp? Up to the hype?

Be warm and safe while it all melts.

>25 msf59: I've let time go by, Mark, neglecting your request about John McPhee. My scattered brain. McPhee's mastery of the long magazine article is evident in the collections of said pieces. So here are four collections:

Pieces of the Frame (collection, 1975) ISBN 0374514984
The John McPhee Reader (collection, 1977) ISBN 0374179921
Giving Good Weight (collection, 1979) ISBN 0374163065
Table of Contents (collection, 1985) ISBN 0374520089

Thought I'd cite a few books are aren't collections and realized that two of these three ARE collections. Oh well.

Oranges (1967) ISBN 0374226881
The Control of Nature (1989) ISBN 0374128901
Uncommon Carriers (2006)

>28 karenmarie: >29 banjo123: >30 Whisper1: >31 BLBera: >32 laytonwoman3rd: >33 alcottacre: >34 ffortsa: Ah, the snow, the snow. Twenty-four hours after posting this photo, the snow was pretty much gone. Ah, climate change.

>31 BLBera: >33 alcottacre: I admit to reading fluff just to get to 99, but I also read good stuff. All the books in >5 weird_O: are top shelf.

36> >37 karenmarie: >38 figsfromthistle: >39 curioussquared:

>42 LovingLit: I loved 'em too, Megan. And I have an assortment of promising books zooming around my brain, buzzing and seeking attention in 2024.

>43 lauralkeet:, >44 richardderus: Being inside IKEA was nothing compared to getting to the place, then getting away from it and onto the Turnpike for my escape to the north and home. Scattered as I am, I managed to be one lane to the left of the exit lane at the critical moment. Next exit: the Schuykill Express. Next exit from the eastbound Schuykill: Manayunk. Round trip distance: surely two hundred gazillion miles. Damn!

But...I got there, and I picked up the lamp that was waiting for me. Yes, I did enter the store and immediately remembered Finna by Nino Cipri, a bb I took on a visit to drneutron's thread (this several years ago). I didn't slip through a mysterious portal, as did the elderly shopper in the book, but I am elderly and I DID wonder where the hell I was and whether Ava and Jules would be standing by to rescue me.

As I said, I did get the lamp, assembly was straightforward. It adjusts pretty well. But the 60 watt LED bulb recommended is harsher, colder than I like; I will be scouting for an alternative bulb.

>45 weird_O: Love to read Oranges for the third time!

>49 weird_O: oh god no, not the Schuylkill! You deserve an extra medal for that.

>51 lauralkeet: The Schuykill itself wasn't bad, but discovering how far I had to drive to get off and then get back on going west. THAT was nutsy.

>50 m.belljackson: Now that you mention it, Marianne, I just might reread Oranges. It's been decades.

And with rereading being bandied, I did pluck (very carefully) Finna out of the stack of books I read in 2021. That stack is literally 7 feet high; happily, Finna was very near the top. I've read several chapters, and, ohhh yeah, it's IKEA!



Speaking of reading, I'm finding The Innocents Abroad tedious. I think I'll wrestle it under control 'til the month ends. I'm alternating the Twain with The Possessed by Elif Batuman, which isn't what I thought it was. But it IS entertaining, though a bit dense at spots.

Oh, The Possessed sounds good. I'll have to tackle it.

>52 weird_O: Batuman is an author I have not been able to get my reading teeth into for some reason. I found most of Twain needs to be taken in doses, like medicine, to stay enjoyable...I am not his natural reader when it comes to fiction.

Your bookstack is a thing of beauty to me!

>54 richardderus: For your enjoyment, Richard.



The books stacked on the right are most of those I read in 2022. Those on the left I read last year (2023). The panel in between was carved by Lucille Leh Fatzinger, my late wife's mother.

To all who shared their good wishes to my daughter Becky, who had her skull set to rights by a neurosurgeon five weeks ago, she is now catching rainbows on the Atlantic coast at Quincy, Mass.

              

>56 weird_O: YAY BECKY!

>55 weird_O: That is a beautiful sight, Your Weirdness. The panel is very nice, too.

Wow, what an adventure just to get to IKEA! I've never been there, the closest I've been is reading Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix, though Finna is on my TBR.

>55 weird_O: The book stacks and carving are both fantastic.

>56 weird_O: Love that, so glad that Becky's doing well!

>56 weird_O: That's wonderful news, Bill.

>55 weird_O: Great book pic, Bill. I love that gorgeous panel too.

Great news about Becky.

Thanks for the John McPhee info. Some of these titles were mentioned in Tabula Rasa. I will add Oranges to the list.

My thanks go out to Richard, Mary, Laura, and Mark. Becky is our wonder woman. High spirits she's got, and she's sticking to the guidelines set up by those brain surgeons.

IKEA is not a place I'll willingly return to, Mary. (Although I'd be able to exit the superhighway and swing into the store lot without a hitch. "I am a man. But I can change. If I have to. I think.") I didn't explore the entire layout, but I "experienced" enough.

While the subject is still in play, I DID swiftly reread FINNA. I was entertained. A good read. I'm now swiftly rereading Oranges. Such a torrent of facts. True, the book was copyrighted in 1967, so it isn't cutting edge. McPhee is very thorough. >50 m.belljackson: Very good idea, Marianne, to reread Oranges.

Trivia! I was in the stacks in the basement, looking for my copy of The Known World, and I spotted The Gilded Age. There's time to wedge it into the ReadingStream.

Just so I know what I'm doing, I am focused for today on Oranges. Still carrying The Possessed around with my laptop as my "show" drifts from library to bedroom to living room to odd little corners in Chez Weird. Same same The Innocents Abroad.

O yeah. Snow. I posted a snow pic (>27 weird_O:) on the 7th. By the 8th, that snow had vanished. It's back on the 16th.

That's enough, ain't.

I confess to loving IKEA, but I haven't been there since I read Finna. I wonder if it would change my impression...

What lovely stacks and the carving is delightful. Great to hear good news about Becky!

>56 weird_O: Beautiful photo! Rainbows and joy!

>56 weird_O: what a happy picture! Glad Becky is doing well.

>55 weird_O: did someone say precarious!!?? Great stacks, Bill. And the carved piece is lovely too!

I began preparing a post this morning. After the interwebs, which were out when I got up and started me coffee, returned. Then, of course, the interwebs went back to wherever they hide, thus my paragraph joined those pesky connections. It's back now.

First is thanks to those who not only stopped by, but left comments. Yay. I'm meaning Natalie, Susan, Robyn, Anita, and Megan. Thanks for art appreciation and for encouraging daughter recovering.

In book stuff, I finished Oranges by John McPhee. Going back to The Possessed now. I also checked my collection and determined that I have 9 Pratchett books (including both a hardcover and an MMP of Monstrous Regiment.

Grocery shopping lies in my immediate future. Ehhhhhhh, foooooood.

Possibly because Oranges is about food, I conflated John McFee with Harold McGee. Not even close.

>67 weird_O: If you think you'll be interested and such, there's a Humble Bundle going right now for 38 Pratchett ebooks for 18 dollars. Delivery is through Kobo, but they have an Apple, Android, and desktop app for what it's worth.

I'm reading The Possessed by Elif Batuman, primarily, but doing a lot of sampling. But that isn't forcefully leading me onward. Buckle down. Buckle down!

>68 quondame: Ooo. Never heard of Harold McGee, Susan.

>69 elorin: I'm not an e-book devotee, Robyn. Thanks for the suggestion though.

My project to get my hearing improved collided with a supply chain. I'm now on line to see a hearing aid maven...on May 18. A couple of weeks ago, I got an appointment to have an MD specializing in Ear-Nose-Throat issues to dredge the crap out of my left ear. But getting fitted with a hearing aid takes longer.

It is snowing now.

>70 weird_O: Similar supply chain problem for my Dexa scan. It seems the necessary machines are being used for more 'urgent' matters, whatever they are. Might one of the over-the-counter options help you out?

Sorry about the delay for the hearing aids, Bill. That is frustrating.

>70 weird_O: I have much love for Harold McGee, not surprising because food.

I finished Elif Batuman's book about Russian literature. I didn't know what I was getting into when I put this on my WANT! List™. I got through it. But moving on.

>73 quondame: Is Harold McGee a real-life Elizabeth Zott? Chemist/cook?

Because, ok? Just because, I did all the vegetable chopping, and beef prep this evening, and stashed these ingredients in the fridge. In the morning, I can toss them in the crockpot and let them cook all day. I'm thinking it may be good for an evening meal in front of the telly.

>72 katiekrug: >71 ffortsa: I've waited a lot of years, so a few more months won't kill me. (Jeez, at least I hope not.)

Happy Saturday, Bill. How are you handling the weather? How are those books treating you. I am interested in your thoughts on Oranges, since it recently landed on my TBR.

>70 weird_O: No worries! Acquiring Terry Pratchett can be a hobby in itself. The UK covers have so much more personality than the US book covers! Even if you just explore with library books, I hope you find the pleasure with Pratchett that I do.

>74 weird_O: McGee got into food through writing about it, and he has been able to do so engagingly. I first read the handful of long, discursive essays in The Curious Cook and was rather taken aback by the compact plethora of the entries in On Food and Cooking, which I understand is the opposite of the typical reactions. Both are informative and delightful, but quite different in presentation.

>75 msf59: I'm managing in the snow and cold, though I'd rather not have to. Somebody commented that he/she hoped this "isn't the new normal." I'm convinced it IS a new normal. What have WE done? And continue to do.

I liked Oranges. But I'm cognizant that it's more than 50 years old. And has the world ever changed in those 50 years. Oh Boy! The book is readable, enjoyable, informative. It's a paragon of journalism. History, science, politics, commerce, international affairs. And short—only 150 pages. One could say it's only modest investment in reading time, yet the rewards are exceptional.

>76 elorin: I'm committed to exploratory Discworld reading with materials on hand. I started reading The Color of Magic and stumbled at the very beginning. I switched to a graphic novel edition of the first two Discworld books, reading the first chapter of the first book. Then I switched back to the novel, and I do like Pratchett's prose better than the visual adaptation.

>77 quondame: Well, it behoves me, I guess to taste Mr. McGee's writing.

>78 weird_O: I love the Colour of Magic, it is where I started reading Terry Pratchett over 30 years ago and I reread it here a few weeks ago. Some people don't find Rincewind to their tastes, but he is not in every book so if you find yourself disliking him you can try another novel where he isn't in the cast.

Hmmm. Still snow everywhere, even though the temp's crept above freezing. I did traverse my unplowed driveway yesterday so I could eat my son's homemade (from scratch type homemade) pizza, to celebrate a couple of bon voyages. The Grand Gracie is going back to college for her second semester on Tuesday. And the Others—i.e. my DiL's parents, a.k.a.the other grandparents—are skipping off to Spain for a couple of months at the end of the week.

I'm pretty certain that Twain's The Innocents Abroad will be black-flagged and scored . I've found The Gilded Age; maybe that will satisfy me.

It seems that some parts of the US are experiencing some significant snow! Exciting (I hope, as opposed to inconvenient or worse).

I realized that I have, like, a half-dozen books I'm reading. Seems that I pick up a book—"Oh! This looks interesting."—and soon I'm kinda sorta engaged. But then I've got to bookmark it, and return to the priority books. I'll get them done.

Tomorrow a visit at the PCP. I hope to get a script for Vestibular Therapy. I think more blood-letting is in my future.

After the doc, I have to race to a book rescue site (Bethlehem Library sale). The day is just packed.

Bill, I am sorry to learn that you had a double whammy. You were/are ill, as well as your daughter's ACM surgery. What a year!

I hope you fill your Canvas tote to the brim tomorrow at the Bethlehem Library sale.

>55 weird_O: What a lovely carving in the middle of your hand-made book case! There is such talent in your family.

>55 weird_O: Love the book stacks and the carving in the middle.

>56 weird_O: And hurray for Becky!! Great photo and I am glad she has such great attitude through all this. Best wishes to you all. : )

Hi Bill, I was reminded that I hadn't visited in a while after reading your post on Kim's thread about your driveway. I'm glad you haven't been housebound, but too bad you haven't found a book that fully "clicks" for you right now.

Good luck at the doc appointment today.

>81 LovingLit: Since your post on the 2nd, Megan, the snow I had has almost completely disappeared. Comes, then goes. A long snowy driveway is a deterrent to ill-considered jaunts hither and yon.

>83 Whisper1: Don't know where you might have heard I was ailing. Maybe the message was that I was disturbed, but I've been disturbed most of my life. Ha! I didn't go to the sale on Wednesday.

>84 Whisper1: >85 Berly: That carved panel that Judi's mother created was almost lost. She had carved several panels for Bethlehem Steel's offices, and they disappeared when the Steel collapsed. The one I have was given to a churchy group in Colorado. Judi's sister, who was in that group, rescued it from a shed, then transported it to New Hampshire. After two divorces, she opted to move west and gave it to Judi.

Yes, Becky's much improved. Her dad needs to call her tomorrow, just to check up.

>86 lauralkeet: Not housebound, Laura, but not particularly interested in "just going for a drive."

The reading is proceeding, but not fast fast. I've got The Color of Magic going in both text and graphic versions (TIP: Text is better.) Also a Christopher Buckley snack titled Make Russia Great Again. I've also sampled a collection of H. P. Lovecraft stories (never read anything by him), a long essay by David Denby titled Snark, and last but not least The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb. The jacket is marvelous: "The first book of the Bible graphically depicted! Nothing left out!" and "Adult supervision recommended for minors." I also look occasionally at pitcher books, currently a collection of French photographer Robert Doisneau's work and paintings by Pablo Picasso.

So there it is. Subject to change at any time.

>87 weird_O: - Ooh, I hadn't heard of that Christopher Buckley book! I've enjoyed several of his political satires...

>87 weird_O: >88 katiekrug: I too have read several of Buckley's books. Like him quite a bit. Make Russia Great Again is going on the list!

Wha-ho! How do you like those apples. Jury awards E. Jean Carroll $83+ million. Keep the ball rolling, all you prosecutors.

>88 katiekrug: >89 mahsdad: One of the joys of library sales. I never heard of it either, but there it was. Aiming to finish it tonight.

I did complete Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic in both print and graphic editions. Utterly nuts. I plan to shop for the second book, The Light Fantastic tomorrow. The graphic edition I own presents the first two books in the series. To wrap up the graphic edition, I have to have the text version to read before looking at the graphic.

I'm finding hard to NOT think about tomorrow's library book-sale event. I bailed on the Wednesday sale.

>91 weird_O: How did you like The Colour of Magic? I've never read any of the graphic novel versions of Terry Pratchett.

>87 weird_O: well, hither and yon is rather risky. Maybe just hither when its snowy on the long drive ;)

>91 weird_O: As promised, I shopped for and bought (new!) a copy of The Light Fantastic. It's just a whim to read the second in the Discworld novels and the graphic edition of it in tandem. I got the graphic versions of the first two books in a single hardcover edition in 2016. After that, I picked up several Pratchett works in text. I do wanted to finish the graphic edition, but I'd prefer to read the text edition first.

While I was at the bookstore, I got a gently used copy of Jonathan Lethem's Gun, with Occasional Music, which has been on The WANT! List™ since I read The Writer's Library a couple of years ago. (I seem to remember that CrazyMamie read it.)

I got these two books shortly after the Amazon deliverer left a me a copy of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, 3rd edition. It had a visceral impact on RichardDerus. How could I avoid the BB? How could I not take the economic hit, man?

My reading path is laid out for me.

Greetings from the Deep South! Birdya nd I are wanting to explore those Discworld books this year but are unsure about where to start. The only Pratchett we have read was his collaboration with Neil Gaiman, Good Omens, which we both loved.

Excellent memory! I did read Gun, with Occasional Music - I also loved it. I really wish he would write a sequel to it. I also picked it up after reading The Writer's Library - the interview with Lethem was my favorite, and I took a lot of BBs just from that section.

>56 weird_O: That photo is full of joy! Hooray for Becky, and may she continue to be healthy and happy.

Hoping your Sunday is full of fabulous, Oh Weird One!

>95 Crazymamie: If I may, one place to start with the Discworld is in publication order, but some people don't enjoy starting there. There are subseries within Discworld that might catch your fancy better. The witches starts with Equal Rites and there's a 75ers group reading the witches subset this year. Another subset is the city watch which starts with Guards! Guards!

>96 elorin: Thanks so much for that! We have decided to go with Equal Rites. I have starred the group read thread so we can investigate that, too.

It's Monday, Oh Weird One, try not to make eye contact with it. You know how I feel about Mondays.

I'm wondering if I am still here.

I'll get to your posts in pretty short order. Organization is the word for this Friday.

I have two books I am enjoying. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb is an oddity, I guess, being a mashup of the complete text of the first book of the Holy Bible and drawings by R. Crumb, whose typical genre is fantasy and horror, with drooling creeps and pulchritudinous women. Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Ark, Abraham and Isaac. Burning bloody creatures on sacrificial altars. Polygamy, slavery, deceit, double-dealing. Good God!! It's all here. Nothing, I say, nothing left out. Marvelous!

The second book is a collection of H. P. Lovecraft stories, a book commissioned by Barnes & Noble and titled H. P. Lovecraft Tales of Horror. I've never read anything by Lovecraft and I hope the six stories are representative of his oeuvre.

In other news, I spoke with me daughter, Rebecca. She has a followup visit with her brain surgeon on Monday. Her upstairs neighbor will accompany her and take notes. (What a good idea!) Becky's hope is that she'll be allowed to return to work; half days at first, increasing her hours as she acclimates to the work she stopped more than two months ago. A sidebar: Becky told me that when The Grand Gracie heard that Becky has the surgeon's post-operation report, she was giddy to get a copy of it. Gracie's in a pre-med course of study in college. Becky didn't comprehend half of it, she told me, but it comports with Gracie's intended career path.

That enough for now, kids. I'll get to your posts shortly.

That consarned RichardDerus! He posted his review of a book about industrial pollution and the first thing that popped into my mind was Minamata, which is in Japan. After the conclusion of WW II, a chemical factory was built in Minamata. Into the adjacent river, of course, the chemical company drained all its waste fluids. The wastes dispersed throughout Minamata Bay, sickening marine life, thus polluting the local food chain.

In the late 1960s, famed photojournalist W. Eugene Smith and his wife and collaborator Aileen Mioko Smith moved to Minamata to investigate. In 1975 the Smiths published Minamata. I think the visceral photos that are central to the book are essential to the story. This photo may be the most iconic:

  

So I have the book off the shelf and will delve into shortly.

>78 weird_O:
I wanted to jump in earlier in the discussion about the John McPhee books and didn't have time. I read Oranges and it is a stand alone book with only one magazine article in it. It is one of his older book, but still worth the time to read it. There is a huge amount of information about Florida and its geography and geology that is indispensable to understanding the future of Florida that doesn't involve Ron DeSantos.

Control of Nature is a book with three of McPhee's magazine articles in it. It is super interesting. Each article is about what man has done to change the earth and the climate and he leaves the reader to figure out if that is good or bad. I read this book about the time of the wild fires that were raging through California in 2020 and one of the three entries in Control of Nature helped to explain why the fires were so destructive. The article about volcanoes in Iceland was great reading.

I also have a copy of McPhee's Pine Barrens and it is a stand alone magazine article as well made into a book. I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

January Reads

1. About Alice, Calvin Trillin. Finished 1/1/24.
A collection of short pieces Calvin Trillin wrote about his wife, Alice Stewart Trillin. It was published on the fifth anniversary of her death. I picked this very short book to read as 2023 was winding down and I was struggling to tally 100 books for my year's reading. Trillin is a well-modulated storyteller, not strident, not bombastic, given to humor.

"There was one condolence letter that made me laugh," Trillin writes in his opening piece. "Naturally, a lot of them made me cry." The letter's writer:

She was nice and she was concerned and she was smart and when she talked to you, she was thinking about you, and, also, she was so very pretty…I always thought of you as a wonderful guy, but I still couldn't figure out how you managed to get Alice. Harris [a mutual friend] once told me it was just dumb luck.

"When I read that, I burst out laughing," writes Trillin. "Harris had nailed it again."

 I needed this.     

2. Egon Schiele: 1890-1918: Desire and Decay, Wolfgang Georg Fischer. Finished 1/1/24.
Tripping through an alternate habitat—Tumblr#8212;I would happen upon paintings attributed to Egon Schiele, mostly dated from the turn of the century through World War One. I kinda liked the paintings, but I didn't know anything about him. I happened upon this book, published by Taschen, at a library book-sale, i.e., for cheap. Now I know more.

Born in Austria in 1890, Schiele was a talented and ambitious and thus troublesome student, chafing at the strictures that art educators imposed in the early 1900s.. He idolized Gustav Klimt, sought him out as a mentor, and ultimately became his protege. (The book compares and contrasts their work.) He worked constantly, using live models—his sister, his lovers, his wife, and often himself. In many paintings, the model is naked. Occasionally, the nudity is downright pornographic. Schiele's intensity is ever evident. His life ended in 1920, just a few days after his wife died, both victims of Spanish Flu.

 Portrait of the Publisher Eduard Kosmack 1910 Oil on canvas

Portrait of Friederike Maria Beer 1914 Oil on canvas 

 Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Standing 1915 Oil on canvas

The topic is good, and this book is well-written, informative, and, of course, nicely produced.

        

3. Time and Again, Jack Finney. Finished 1/7/24.
Simon Morley, an illustrator for a small ad agency in Manhattan, is…ah…hmmm…is…

             

4. Finna, Nino Cipri. Finished 1/15/24. [A reread]
After a frustrating trip to the nearest-to-me Ikea, the short novel Finna by Nino Cipri came to mind. Well, I thought, at least at Ikea I didn't get eaten. Once home, I plucked my copy of Finna from the stack of 2021 reads. The story is about a labyrinthine but seductive big-box store operated by a Scandinavian concern. Misdirection is a peril of the store's layout; customers risk getting swept off course into sinister dead ends. It has happened to Ursula Nouri: She's disappeared and her adult daughter wants her back. Ava and Jules, the lowest-paid employees, are tasked with finding Mrs. Nouri. It's a quick read.

I rated it in 2021, and I feel the same about it in 2024.

5. Oranges, John McPhee. Finished 1/17/24. [A reread]
I've always admired John McPhee's work. Recent chats about McPhee on LT included a number of references to Oranges, an early book. My copy is a first printing of the first edition, copyrighted in 1967. I don't know when I got it, since I was in the Army that year and the next. It's the third book (and last) listed opposite the title page. In his newest book, Tabula Rase, Volume 1, lists 34 books, including the three in Oranges.

If you want to learn about oranges, this is your book. Yes, it is 57 years old. The value lies in the thoroughness of McPhee's research; in the wisdom shared by historians, researchers, businessmen, orchard pioneers, scientists, production-line engineers, logistics mavens, quiet but alert observers, and, of course, consumers that he interviewed and watched; in the clarity of his writing and the intelligent and entertaining presentation. I'm sure changes have come in the science and commerce of oranges. The book's not wrong, just a little out of date.

              

  The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain.
For January's AAC, I settled on The Innocents Abroad, an unread Mark Twain book in my library. It's an account of Twain's travels through the Mediterranean countries of Europe and the Middle East in the mid-1800s. A forerunner of today's cruise industry, a shipowner sets out an itinerary of stops in Spain, France, Italy, blah blah blah, offering passage for suitable—read "well-heeled"—adventurous travelers.

A reading adventure it was not. The book's time has passed, it is the age of global travelers like Rick Steves, who want to learn about the countries being visited, the customs, the cuisine, the lore, the art, and so on. I got tired of Twain's bloviating, grousing, and belittling comments about every aspect of the journey. I abandoned the trip in Italy (page 142).

       

>101 weird_O: Finna sounds fun.I'm quite odd in that I've always quite enjoyed trips to IKEA!

>101 weird_O: You still might like to give Life on The Mississippi a try.

Yes, there are a few slow strange sections, but making Steering a Steamboat fascinating is worth the time.

>99 weird_O: Moi? Je suis absolutemente innocente! I did *not* time-travel to 1975 and frogmarch you to the cash register to buy that deeply sad, hugely angering book! It does still give me the most acute case of gastric rebellion when I think about the subject, though.

>101 weird_O: Schiele's nudes are the least pornographic body images I have ever seen in my life. Even...maybe especially...the explicit ones.

>92 elorin: I'm working it up. Or working up to it. Soon, at any event.

>93 LovingLit: Hither and yon together is fine, innit? You make that left toward Hither, and at the STOP sign, you turn right toward Yon. Aw, I do it all the time. Snow? If the grundsow is spot on, we're through with snow, at least until Fall.

Hallo, how art thou Bill?

>95 Crazymamie: Mamie!! Thank you by stopping by. I missed having you around. Hope all is well in the Pecan Paradisio. You know, after I read that Nancy Pearl book, I picked up Lethem's Amnesia Moon at a library book-sale. Read it in 2022. Was it weird? Oh, yes it was. Now here we are rasslin' with Terry Pratchett.

Becky had a post-op visit with the brain surgeon just this morning. She's been cleared to return to work, which she segue into via half-days for a few weeks. Of course, her boss presently has COVID. It's always something, right? Becky was very pround of walking 3 hours on Saturday. The doc cautioned her not to overdo it.

Side note for you. The Grand Gracie is in her first year of college, and her goal is to be a pediatrician. When she heard that her Aunt Becky had a copy of the surgeon's report on the operation, she was all giddy to get a copy.

>96 elorin: I know your post was directed to Mamie, Robyn, but I happened to see it. Interesting. I think I am reading in pub order (except for Mort, uh...uh...uh...well, just because. I'm not contemplating a Discworld binge, but I will drop books in here and there in my overall reading comprehensive plan. *snork*

>97 Crazymamie: I got up this morning and stared Monday right down to a quivering puddle. I ain't scared of no Mondays.

>108 weird_O: I am happily devouring a publication order reread of the Discworld at the moment, except for the witches subset which I am reserving to read with the group. Read what strikes your fancy, I hope you like what you read. Thankfully the majority of the novels are standalone enough that you can indulge as the mood strikes with no loss.

Howdy, Bill. Glad to see some reading going on over here. May this continue. Also glad to learn that Becky is on the mend and congrats to Gracie. I am happy for your family.

I am fully immersed in The Bee Sting which I am doing a shared read of.

I'm really glad to read that Becky is doing so well after her surgery. Congratulations to Gracie! I read on your another thread that you are waiting to see an audiologist for hearing aids. I hope that goes well, I am sure it will .My mom uses hearing aids and hers also sync with her cell phone. She is in her early 80's , so she has some trouble with computerized aspect of her hearing aids. It's genetic thing from my mom's side of the family, so it could be in cards for me too, in the future.

I'm glad you sashayed aboard my thread,Bill.

FYI- Ellen, Beth and Kim are reading The Known World in June. Great book!

Gun, With Occasional Music is a marvelous book. As a promotional quote on the paperback's cover says, it is "a high-octane blend of Philip Chandler and Philip K. Dick," providing "a wry, funny, ruefully knowing near-future vision." I finished it yesterday. Highly recommended by me. (But, you know, I'm kind of weird.)

I returned to a collection of H. P. Lovecraft stories I've been grappling with not very enthusiastically. Progress is halting...fits and starts. Don't know if it's the genre or Lovecraft. I'll keep after it. But after an hour...

I switched to a fat biblio-book I've started, A Gentle Madness. It's about books and collections and collectors.

And that one didn't have the same drive as the yarn I'd just completed, so I looked inside the covers of a Colson Whitehead novel titled The Intuitionist.. So...there it is.

>100 benitastrnad: My apologies, Benita, for letting the weeds grow up around me that that acknowledge your contribution. I've read all three of those books, and I agree your your assessment of Oranges and Control of Nature. I haven't followed the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland, but I haven't seen any reportage talking about cooling the lava with firehoses. I should reread that book too.

And also The Pine Barrens. I've read it, but I don't remember when (it was before my keeping records of such activities). The Pine Barrens are not far from where I live.

>102 SandDune: If Ikea had more stores, I'd probably visit them. One location is 56 miles away, a second is 75 to 80 miles away, a third is 103 miles. It has to be an item that's unique to Ikea for me to fire up the auto. Finna is a fun read, and it's short. :-)

>103 m.belljackson: I agree with you, Marianne. Life on the Mississippi is one of Twain's good books. I read it sometime between my birth and 2010, the year I began recording my reads.

:)

>104 richardderus: Mental more than physical, Richard. I don't know when I acquired Minamata; I'll bet it was this century. But your excellent, passionate review of The Cancer Factory just clicked as comparable with the Smiths' book. The photos make Minamata more visceral. Not only like the photo I posted, but photos of victims confronting the company president—squatting on the boardroom table in the president's face.

One dislikes when cries for help meet intransigence. As much as anything, it's human.

I was thinking too, when reading your review, of Love Canal. Did that get any mention? Same Niagara Falls siting, though different company.

>105 richardderus: If Schiele's images were photographs, would that make a difference? I'm not offended by them, but over time there have been complaints, and of course, the Nazis tried hard to sweep all of his work into The Bonfire. (Unsuccessfully.)

>107 Owltherian: Depends on who you ask, Lily. I think I'm ok to good, if a bit slow. The sloth is evident in my requiring a week to answer a simple question.

>109 elorin: I've got the chronologically first books in Discworld complete, with and without visuals. The text editions were, in my estimation, superior to the graphic edition. To fit the stories into the comic-strip format, episodes were abridged or eliminated, and a few characters were expunged.

I enjoyed the text versions of both The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic, but my docket is crowded, and few of the cases are tractable.

>110 msf59: Thanks for the tip, Marko. I've actually alerted both Kim and Ellen. Now I just have to lay my hands on the book.

>112 msf59: I love Nicholas Basbanes's column, "A Gentle Madness", in Fine Books and Collections magazine. But he is very erudite, and not what you'd call "light" or fast paced, indeed.

>117 laytonwoman3rd: I've found that out, Linda. Slow and steady, with a medley of snackbook breaks, will get 'er done. I'm counting on it.

"snackbook breaks" I take a good many of those myself.

>116 weird_O: Love Canal is mentioned en passant, never delved into because the author did not report on it as he did Niagara Falls. That cry for help met with lawyerly concern for the corporation and its potential liability cause me grave, lasting rage.

>116 weird_O: I'm delighted to read you enjoyed The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. I hope you have a chance to read more and enjoy them too, whatever the timeline.

>119 laytonwoman3rd: I woke at about 4 to 4:30 this morning, vexed by a persistent dream that some villain had seized control of my thread here on LT and was feeding gibberish, just an endless scroll that I was unable to interrupt. The solution for me was to turn on a light and fetch a book about cartoonists with lots of sample cartoon panels and strips. I didn't try to read it, I just fed on the visuals. A kind of snackbook. (You were wondering if I had a point and wondering whether or not I'd ever get to it.)

That's it. Heh heh. Snackbook.

>120 richardderus: Just an association, RD. Fodder for medical communities, movies (remember Michael Clayton?), legal terriers. I don't know how much of these situations I want to sample.

>121 elorin: Excellent diversions are the Discworld yarns. Why, they are snackbooks. I'd kind of like to read them in order, so I'll have to keep and eye out for the books whenever and wherever I snoop around for gently used books.

----------------------
I think list-o-mania is lurking out there, awaiting in ambush, just for me. Lists of books, lists of bookcase building materials, of home repairs to tackle, health issues. Here's a list of books I've sampled just lately, jurying them for a seat in the Green Room:

    The Sellout, Paul Beatty (Booker winner)
    The Gilded Age, Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner (January AAC)
    The Volcano Lover, Susan Sontag (February AAC)
    The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead (not just sampling, really reading)
    House Made of Dawn, N. Scott Momaday (Pulitzer winner)
    In the Studio: Visits With Contemporary Cartoonists, Todd Hignite
    H. P. Lovecraft Tales of Horror, H. P. Lovecraft (another that's beyond the sample)
    A Gentle Madness, Nicholas Basbanes (doorstop for the ages, in the reading rotation already)
    Krazy Kat: The Comic Art of George Herriman, Patrick McDonnell, Karen O'Connell, Georgia Riley de Havenon (well sampled, seated in the Green Room, waiting...)

>122 weird_O: I love the term, "snackbook"! That's a great word for those books that I just want to read, without having to think too much or feel too much. For myself, I would include most graphic books, cookbooks, picture books, Agatha Raisin books...

Karen O

Snackbook is wonderful!
popcorn book
potato chip book

>122 weird_O:
I watched American Masters on PBS Friday night and the subject was N. Scott Momaday. I had always thought of him as a poet, so was very surprised to learn that he won the Pulitzer for his novel. I immediately put it on my TBR list since I have never read House Made of Dawn - or anything else by him. I need to remedy that.

Like the snackbook.

>125 benitastrnad: I caught that documentary by accident and found it terrific. I haven't read any of Momaday, and plan to rectify that lapse soon.

>124 quondame: I used to call them "candy", or "bubblegum", but "snack" is so much more inclusive.

Snackbook it is!! So this is now the...

I also had a good time with Gun, With Occasional Music, Bill. I want to read more of his earlier work.

I like Lethem, He's another of my will read anything by him authors

I've read...
Gun, With Occasional Music
Men and Cartoons - short stories
Fortress of Solitude
Gambler's Anatomy
Motherless Brooklyn.

All really enjoyable, with the exception of Gambler's Anatomy, it was slightly less so.

I have 2 on the shelf
Feral Detective
The Wall of the Sky, the Wall of the Eye - collection of stories

I'm back. Too much heavy snow took down too many trees. Power ceased to flow into my house at about 8 a.m. Tuesday morning. You know the results: no shower, don't flush, no coffee, no hot breakfast (or lunch or supper). No internet, phone's discharged, refrigerated food is warming. Facing a second night without juice, I abandoned my house and am being warm in my son's house.

I didn't get much reading done Tuesday or today. I'm surprised y'all like the term "snackbook". I really like that logo, Kim. Hmmm. Snackbook Cafe.

             

: )

>131 weird_O: Bill, While roads were difficult to drive through, the neighborhood where I live only had one pine tree with a large number of branches in the road. I had power, water and internet. Sorry that you have a second night without "juice." I hope you are having a relaxing time at your son's house.

Sorry for the confusion regarding your being ill. I think someone (cannot remember who) mentioned you were ill and I think it was during, or around the time of your daugther's ACM surgery. How is she doing?

Hello Dear Kim. I read many posts that you write scattered throughout the threads. I always smile!

Hi Bill, I hope your power returns soon, or maybe already has. I'm glad you were able to decamp to your son's house though.

I wish to record that 15 minutes ago—2:17 p.m. on Thursday, February 15—the linemen (and perhaps linewomen, for all I know) have opened the sluice gates to release the juice to flood through the wires, powering the furnace to make heat, and putting the refrigerator to work, and to cause light bulbs to glow. I've got a flask of my favorite brew at hand. Ahhhhhh.

Huzzah to returning power!

>136 weird_O: Hurray!! Power on!!

>134 Whisper1: xoxo

>136 weird_O: woo hoo! That's great news, Bill.

>129 msf59: >130 mahsdad: To salve my bruised psyche, so harshly battered by MetEd, my electric utility's failure to keep my home well-supplied with Juice, I stopped at a mega-parking lot fringed by eateries and emporiums. Was I surprised to see a B&N that was open for business? Well, no, I was not. Nor was I surprised to see a Lowe's, and a Panera.

When I left the B&N, I had a copy of Hench and a copy of The Arrest under my arm. The latter book was written by Jonathan Lethem (only title by him in the store). Published in 2020. Smells a lot like a snackbook. I'll be sure to report back after my nosh.

>140 weird_O:
OHHHHHHHH! you should like the weirdness of Hench. I did, but I might not be as weird as you. It is a fun read.

Drumpf got whacked again. Yipeee.

>132 Berly: I see you, Kim. :-) And I raise you.

>133 Whisper1: Just be careful out there, Linda. Despite projecting having electric restored by midnight Wednesday, MetEd didn't switch it on until after 2 p.m. Thursday. I always remember that MetEd owned and operated the Three Mile Island nuke. So missing a self-declared deadline is meh. Could have been worse.

                                 

>135 lauralkeet: See >133 Whisper1: above. But also >143 weird_O: below. I survived.

>137 elorin: >138 Berly: >139 lauralkeet: Ditto >143 weird_O:. I did survive.

ETA: Becky's back at work. Just half days to start, but doing the commute and seeing co-workers.

Also adding: Granddaughters Helen and Claire enjoyed sledding in Central Park New York. Their sister Gracie was miffed because Northampton, MA didn't get any snow. Neither did Becky, just south of Boston.

ETAA: I finished the collection of H. P. Lovecraft stories I was reading. I didn't much enjoy it, but I tasted it. Don't have to read any more. I don't much like that fantasy/horror schtick.

Now there's a grin!! I expect it to stay in place when you read Hench. ; ) Happy Friday!

Yeah, I'm still here. I'm warmed through at last. My reading of The Intuitionist is advancing at a snail's pace. I should devote time today to straightening up the place. Oh, and laundry. The house elf took leave of the place just when the electricity ran out. Now I really need he/she to return and get busy.

I'm hoping today's highlight will be a total surprise, but the fall-back is a delivery from Amazon including a kitchen gizmo and four (4) snackbooks. I'll have to treat myself to a cuppa to accompany the opening of the package.

I also need to start a new file: 2024 BOOK ACQUISITIONS.

What's your day going to amount to?

       

I got some books today from Amazon. From left to right, The Biggest Bear, Lynd Ward; Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, The Man Who Created Nancy, Bill Griffith; Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a %@&*!, Art Spiegelman; The Iron Man, Ted Hughes, illustrated by Chris Mould.

ETA: I'll have to treat myself to a cuppa to accompany the opening of the package. This I wrote in >146 weird_O:. So yes, I wrote it, then I did it. The coffee was good, and so was The Biggest Bear, a winner of the Caldecott Medal, first published in 1952. I've "read" a couple other books by Ward; Vertigo and God's Man, both of which were "novels in woodcuts", lacking both text and words.

3. Time and Again, Jack Finney. Finished 1/7/24.
Simon Morley, an illustrator for a small ad agency in Manhattan, is invited to join a secretive government project, hiding behind a phony moving and storage business housed in an enormous and seedy waterfront warehouse. Inside, the building is a sprawling hive of activities that don't seem to add up. From the moment he walks in from the street, he's being observed, tricked, tested, and graded, which he quickly deduces.

Cut to the initial chase (and yes, there are a multitude of chases to come), Si is invited to participate in a time-travel experiment. No time machine. But a heavy workload in a classroom (he's the lone student), learning how New Yorkers talked, how they dressed, how they traveled throughout the city, and so much more, all preparing him to pass as a genuine New Yorker of the 1880s. He's assigned his mission, which is to observe the mailing of a blue envelope and to find out who mails it. To do that, of course, he's got to somehow get back to 1882 in NYC. Remember, there's no time machine, there's no precedent to guide him. Nobody's ever done it.

Until Si Morley does it.

His trip begins in a sumptuous apartment in the iconic Dakota on Central Park West, an apartment rehabbed to be like it would have been in 1882. No central heat or electricity, for example. He goes to bed, sleeps, and wakes up in 1882. Uh huh. Just like that! He ventures out, walks through the park, heads south, engages a few people in buying food and beverages, then returns to the Dakota and 1970.

Si returns to 1882 several more times. He rents a room and interacts with the other roomers and the ladies who run the place. The trick is to avoid saying or doing something that would alter history. As Doc Brown warned Marty McFly:

No! Marty! We've already agreed that having information about the future can be extremely dangerous. Even if your intentions are good, it can backfire drastically!

Published in 1970, when a variety of clandestine (and clearly questionable) government operations were going on, Time and Again presents just that sort of op. For some of the op's leaders, the opportunity to manipulate history is awfully tempting.

        

8. Make Russia Great Again, Christopher Buckley. Finished 1/27/24.
As you probably know, Christopher Buckley, a son of William F. Buckley, writes satirical novels. This one takes on Donald Trump and his circle of incompetents. The narrator is Herb Nutterman, a veteran of the hospitality business, who Trump plucks from relative obscurity and elevates to his Chief of Staff. The engine in this yarn is Vladimir Putin's landslide loss to the candidate backed by the Communist Party. Trump, of course, is terrified that Putin will suspect that America is responsible, and that he will withhold his (clandestine) support from Trump in the upcoming US presidential election. Unbelievable? Certainly! Stay with Herb as he reveals all from his cell in a federal prison.

 

Still here, still reading (not obsessively). I needed a snackbook. The Intuitionist is fine though a bit slow. So I snacked on The Biggest Bear, a Caldecott Medal picture book by Lynd Ward. I'm thinking that I'd've been 8 when it was published in 1952. I probably would have thought of it then as a kids' book. Quite a few contemporary readers see it as depressing; I see it as a satisfactory solution. The style is a vivid contrast to Ward's previous books—woodcuts telling the story, no text at all. Something to think about.

Last evening I finished Art Spiegelman's collection, Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a %@&*!, a major departure from Maus. Just a snack, but a surprisingly meaty one.

Followed that by dipping into Whitehead's elevator wars, but then taking up John Scalzi's Redshirts, a story with drive.

                             

By the bye, I set up Weird_O's 2024 Books-Read Stack today. Only 16 books to date, but it's a start.

Sweet Thursday, Bill. Nice book stack. Just a heads up: I just picked up my copy of Martin Dressler. I know you were interested in joining us in March. I will probably start it, early in the month but of course start it anytime you want.

>152 msf59: I've got my copy of Martin Dressler right where it should be, preparing to step into the on-deck circle. I got, like, two weeks before the calendar flips to March. I've also located my copy of The Known World, which I know is not your group read. A simple matter of conceding that the author's name is Jones, not Young. I abandoned the search in Y and immediately spotted it among the Js. Duh!

Almost done with Redshirts. I just have the three codas to read.

>55 weird_O: I love the panel, Bill.

>56 weird_O: Yay for Becky and the rainbows!

Skipping a lot. . .

>150 weird_O: I have not yet read The Intuitionist although I expect I will at some point as I have read several of his other books.

>147 weird_O: Yeah, for buying a Caldecott winner. Awhile back, I vowed to read all Newberry and Caldecott winners. I have an entire book case of these books. Your post reminds me that it's time to start reading some of them.

I'm glad you stopped by, Stasia. Even if you did skip a lot. I do that; unless you make reading LT posts, you've got to skip and skip, until some ripe post grabs your scanning eye.

I've taken a couple of breaks from reading The Intuitionist. I liked almost every Whitehead book I've read. (Hmm...Apex, Sag Harbor, Underground, Nickel Boys, Zone One, Colossus of NY; three in my collection to go.)

>152 msf59: >153 weird_O: I too have my copy of Martin Dressler in the on-deck circle. I'll probably finish up Kindred, which is my current DTE book today or tomorrow, then go into a holding pattern with my current kindle book. I'll be ready to go come March.

>154 alcottacre: >155 Whisper1: I too have enjoyed Whitehead's stuff. I had not heard of The Intuitionist, it will have to go on the WL. I have Zone One on the shelf that I'm sure I'll get to eventually.

Hiya, Bill!

Mostly skippety-skip.

>55 weird_O: Oh my. That panel. Absolutely stunning. And how it got to you in >87 weird_O: is amazing and serendipitous.

>56 weird_O: Yay for Becky’s continuing recovery.

>70 weird_O: Sorry about the delay ‘til May to continue the hearing aids process.

>78 weird_O: Your new lots of snow is related to my having a single flake, ice pellet, or frozen rain droplet so far this winter.

>80 weird_O: Skipping off to Spain sounds wonderful.

>82 weird_O: I have many books I’ve returned to my shelves with bookmarks in them. Some I leave, some I take out from embarrassment.

>131 weird_O: Yay! Snackbook Café.

>145 Berly: I’m glad Becky’s back to work.

>151 weird_O: Weird_O's 2024 Books-Read Stack is always fun to see.

^A March reminder. I snagged my copy from the library.

The Unknown World is fantastic! Enjoy!

>153 weird_O:
Is Known World a group read? If so, when is it scheduled?

The Known World is subject to a Group Read in June, Benita. So far, the group consists of Kim, Ellen, Beth, and me (Bill). I think Kim is the honcho.

>159 msf59: I'm ready. The book's at my fingertips, figuratively.

>155 Whisper1: Linda! I neglected you. Sorry sorry. I got The Biggest Bear because I wanted to see something of Lynd Ward's work outside of the woodcut realm. My elementary-school librarian (ret.) advisor couldn't locate her copy, so I got my own. It's dandy. The Caldecott Metal is deserved, in my opinion.

>157 mahsdad: I liked Kindred, Jeff. I'm sure I acquired another of Butler's books; don't see it on the shelf beside Kindred, so it must be in a box. Too indolent to look for it.

>158 karenmarie: Oh oh. Mostly skippety-skip. If you read all my posts, you can count them as a book on your books-read stat-sheet. Just a suggestion.

#55: Judi felt that her dad gipped her out of works she treasured, so she was happy to get that panel.

#80 Skipping off to Spain could, yes, be wonderful. But don't forget the carryon with your laptop, tablet, and kindred, and leave it on the plane. Cause the plane's next stop is in a different country, and customs slows its return. The airline won't return it to your current address, only to the airport where your flight terminated. Lots of paperwork. Extra wine doesn't really heal the hurt.

>159 msf59: Ha. :-) "The Unknown World" may be fantastic, Mark. But my reading will take me to The Known World. (Somehow, the touchstone for "The Unknown World" takes the curious to Ghosts by Christopher Maynard. Ah...the typo that keeps on giving.

>161 weird_O:
I would like to join that group read. As soon as I get back to Alabama I will nabbed that book off my shelf and put it at my fingertips. I want to be ready for June.

>162 weird_O:
It is nice to see that somebody appreciates the art work in Biggest Bear. Most of the people I worked with couldn't, or wouldn't, remember that the Caldecott medal is given for artwork that adds to the interpretation of the text. It is NOT given for the story. It is about the art.

The sad part of the Caldecott award is that some truly awful stories have won Caldecott medal's for their authors, while some outstanding artwork has gone unrewarded.

I finished reading The Iron Man, a children's book written in 1962 (or thereabouts) by Ted Hughes, the British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998. I love the illustrations created by Chris Mould for this quite recent edition.

I'm fully engaged in Lethal White written by Jo-Bob Rowling-Galbraith. Just past the half-way point. I'm cuddling in the fantasy that I'll finish by Thursday, last date o' the month. Who knows? Weird things happen in this ADD Library.

Yo Bill! Hope you are keeping well.

>164 weird_O: You managed to make me smile, Bill, as always.

Up I am. Coffee'd and fed. But my eyelids are sagging. Maybe a few moments spent supine will alleviate that annoying tic. Then pouring some attention over Lethal White will be productive.

>151 weird_O: Quite an impressive start!

>170 weird_O: Oh my! Enjoy that chunkster.

I'm investing a goodly block of time in getting Lethal White read all the way to and through the last line of text on page 647. Currently on page 484. I've got an absolute deadline of Midnight Feb 29. O thank god for Leap Year!) If I miss that deadline, I won't qualify for the Group Read of Martin Dressler, starting at 12:01 A. M. Friday, March 1. Or anytime thereafter in March 2024.

In Other News...

Seems the Stepford Justices are going to slow walk all the federal court cases against Drumpf.

>168 richardderus: How can I keep well with the Stepford Justices stumblef_cking around. What flavor is their Kool-Aid? Where's that cranky, angry Old Testament God? The one with the lightning bolts and floodwaters and salt deposits and fire and brimstone.

>169 PaulCranswick: Keep on smiling, Paul. Somebody's got to.

>171 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita. I'm hoping that stack will reach to the clouds. Lethal White is promising, and it'll add some tallness to the Tower.

I'm duh...une. Read all 647 pages, plus the "Acknowledgements" (2 more pages) and the "Credits" (1 more page).

                   

And I still have 14 hours or so to fool around before having to begin Martin Dressler at 12:01 a.m. March 1. Oh boy, oh boy. I might take a nap. That's why those alchemists or astrologers or Nancy Reagan created The Leap Year, so I could take a nap today.

>173 weird_O: Yay! You finished, in plenty o’ time! I laughed through your entire post—you have such a good wit.

Best wishes on your start of Martin Dressler. I’ve got my copy from the library coming to me today, so I might read along with you all (or, should I say, “y’all?)

Happy Thursday, weird_o!

Karen O

>172 weird_O: I miss that OT/OG Gawd just now, as well. The horror of the modern world is that we can look back in clangor to times we like better than the present. So can They, of course. Theirs is the one I want to wipe off the bits and bytes and library shelves like They are doing with the world I want.

Congrats on finishing the mammoth Lethal White, Bill. I dipped into Martin Dressler today to get a feel for it. A fairly easy narrative. I think you will like it.

Surely my masterpiece find in >115 LovingLit: didn't go unnoticed? ;)

>172 weird_O: how did the reading deadline go? Edited to add- I see you did it - nice!

My wristwatch (Casio, digital) is all confused and is now a day ahead of itself. It's Y2K chaos all over again ;)

  

Probably the dominant perception of Lynd Ward's portfolio is represented by the above three book covers. Moody woodcuts. And yet, he earned a Caldecott Medal in 1952 for this children's book…

# 39. The Biggest Bear by Lynd Ward Finished 2/18/24

A Weird Report^TM  

Ward wrote the story and created the illustrations for this classic and still popular book, intended for children, yet shelved in a lot of personal libraries (like mine). The human protagonist is young Johnny Orchard, a farm boy who wants to bag a bear so he can display its hide on the family farm's barn. When he's deemed old enough, armed with his gun, he heads into the woods. When he spots a bear, it's a cub, and a friendly one at that. So he proudly adopts the critter as a pet. But as the bear grows and grows, he creates chaos and enmity in the neighborhood.

 

         

His bear tendencies pull him to food, or should I say FOOD! Mrs. Orchard's kitchen and pantry, a neighbor's cornfield, a different neighbor's smokehouse, and yet another's maple sugaring grove. These men—as well as Johnny's mother—address their displeasure to Johnny's dad, who discusses the matter with his son.

   

When schemes to relocate the bear into the wild fail (the bear always finds his way back to the Orchard's farm), the father and son put their heads together. Johnny agrees to dispatch the bear. He leads him into the woods, then pauses to load his gun. The bear gets a whiff of...well, maybe it's FOOD!. He takes off running, dragging Johnny along.

Is this more trouble!?? Read it and find out.

>177 LovingLit: Oh no, Megan. I noticed it and I though, "Boy, that's WEIRD." I didn't say it out loud, lest it would hurt your feelings. Bad decision.

>174 klobrien2:, >175 richardderus:, >176 msf59: Well, shoot! I have a distinct memory of replying to all three of you. Sorry, it isn't a word-for-word memory. Not that distinct. Where in hell did it go? It might be in some hot corner there (if you really want to look for it). I checked under the bed ('cause I wrote it in the bedroomish workroom away from the primary workroom), but didn't see it.

To Karen O., I said something like, if you pick up the library copy, start reading it and join in the fun. You can comment here, or at Mark's or Jeff's threads. Come on. It'll be fun!

To Richard, I said something trite like, "Well said." Or "Amen." But it was heartfelt. Really.

And to you, Mark, I wrote a remarkable and poetic som'thing. But I can't remember a word of it. The loss is neither yours or mine alone, but the world at large. Oh, shoot!

>179 weird_O: I got my copy of Martin Dressler and I even read the first chapter, so I think I am joining you in your read. I really enjoy shared reads, with the added impetus to keep reading.

Karen O.

Hey, good_o, Karen O. Great to having you reading along. I'm only in chapter two. I think I nodded off, and the book is on the rug beside the sofa.

How far did you get today with Martin Dressler, Bill? I finished the reading day, at the 95 page mark. I am enjoying Martin's journey. A real go-getter, right? I am curious where this story will go.

Hah. Page 95, huh? I am deeeeeep into chapter 2. So far, not much has happened. *giggle*

6. The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them by Elif Batuman Finished 1/19/24

A Weird Report^TM  

Dare I say it? The best thing about this book is the Roz Chast cover. A lot is promised:

If you are going to read just one book about conference planning, Isaac Babel, Leo Tolstoy, Boys' Leg Contests, Giant Apes, Uzbek poetry, the life of the mind, and resignation of the soul—Seek No Farther:
  THIS IS THE BOOK FOR YOU!!!

What's not explicitly clear is that the book is a mashup of New Yorker articles, and there's no context to clarify that. At the time she wrote this book, Elif Batuman was a graduate student at Stanford University, working toward a doctorate. She had to deal with crazy academic rules and guidelines, many of the "experts" in the historical eras and obscure linguistics seemed to be…ah…loons. The narrative struck me as disjointed. The guffaws and cackles I expected didn't develop. Well, sorry. YMMV.

I did read it all the way through, and I'm awarding it a .

>99 weird_O: Bill, This photo is so very hauntingly sad. I've added Minamata to mylist. Though, I admit reading this may spark images of Chernobyl, of which I read a lot about. Thanks for posting about the event and your explaination.

I'm taking time to go back through threads I hadn't read. Yours is on the list. I'm glad I'm slowly going through threads.

I still have a few reading hours in this Saturday. I read, so far, about 10 pages in MD. But I collected most of my Truman Capote books, and I read the introduction to Answered Prayers. The intro, written by Joseph Fox, briefly traces Capote's life, his writings, and reveals the sad episodes that collectively caused Answered Prayers as Capote envisioned it, to auger in, taking Capote with it.

That brief introduction brought to my mind The Two Mrs. Grenvilles, Dominick Dunne's novelization of a high-society case in which wife shoots husband. But, but...the husband's mother, his own mother, took his killer under her wing. Yes, the killer got off. I seem to remember that when I read Dunne's novel in 2015, there was a connection made to Capote's virtually nonexistent AP manuscript.

I haven't found the perhaps-only-in-my-head connection. Stay tuned for further updates.

I also chatted with Becky, who is recovering from her first week of full-time work. She was tired and achy; it will take other week or two to get reacclimatized to 40-hours a week.

Howdy, Bill. I am nearing the halfway point in Martin Dressler. It has been a good solid read so far. I don't quite see Pulitzer Prize material here but that is perfectly fine too. Martin seems to be decent human being so far. I wonder if that will change.

I agree with your assessment, Mark. You are ahead of me in the story, but I'm not experiencing a Pulitzer-winning package here. Martin's awestruck tour-guide is good for revealing the state of the city. Martin's regular visits to a shabby bordello don't speak well of him, particularly in the light of his squiring of Mrs. Vernon and her lovely daughters. And it's so low-key in its development.

I'm in until the end.

>178 weird_O: C'mon - does The Bear pick up the rifle and hold them all off til he can get to the far wilderness...?!

*snort* The bear does not, Marianne. He's most interested in the comfort—and the easy access to FOOD—offered by farm life. The wilderness not so much. :-)

Hey, Bill. Just wanted to mention that I went to a Keith Haring exhibit last week, here in Toronto. Posted some pics on my thread (206, or thereabouts, I think). Just fyi, in case you are interested....

Yes. It is true. I finished reading Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer. During the darktime. Also yes-it-is-true: The book, though it garnered the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, is a disappointment. How could this tale be the best novel published in 1996? More to come about this.

Taking stock: I've got several reads started, many others jostling and elbowing each other (you know books have elbows, don't you?) for promising position in the Read-Me-Next! register. I shan't bore y'all with that indexing.

Howdy, Bill. I just posted my review of MD. I am glad you hung in there and finished it and in a timely manner to boot. Which book has elbowed its way to the front line?

Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring by Brad Gooch is in my hands, Mark. Shopped for a few supermarket items after spending an hour or so at Firefly Bookstore. At the latter location, after asking because I didn't see the book right by the door, I was led to "The Keith Haring collection" where I was handed the book. (I also found Subtle Bodies by Norman Rush (for a dollar) and a fresh new copy of Peter Pomerantsev's How to Win an Information War. RD posted a link to Pomerantsev's article about the book in The Guardian.) So.

The Big Buy was the Haring biography.

Drove home, carried my stuff in the house, and stocked up the pantry and fridge. Picked up The Book. After paging through the two photo inserts, I turned to the first chapter. Only a few hours later, I closed the book and said, 'Wwwow!!!!" Ok, that last sentence is a fib. I read maybe 5 pages, then said, "This reading makes me hungry." Putting down the book, I sliced and fried a block of cornmeal mush. Then I ate.

I do believe the several books I have going—The Secret Lives of Introverts, Answered Prayers, The Intuitionist, and some others will just have a pause. Like, like...I don't know, like the characters in John D. McDonald's The Girl, the Gold Watch, and Everything. Or Nicholson Baker's Fermata. It's like that. "Smoke break! Light 'em up, if you got 'em, Books. I'm going to slide over, uh, here...pat, pat, pat...and get comfy and read about Keith Haring. 'K? I'll be back quick like a bunny."

>178 weird_O: what lovely depth there is to the sepia images!

>179 weird_O: haha. Thank you. I am quite needy when it comes down to it, I guess ;) But, weird is good, right???

HI Bill.

>173 weird_O: Glad you finished Lethal White by your self-imposed deadline. So many books, so little time – pushing yourself isn’t a bad thing.

>186 weird_O: I’m glad to read that Becky has returned to full-time work. What a roller-coaster ride she and your family have been on!

>194 weird_O: Hmmm. You mentioned salacious smut on my thread the other day, and here you are, with The Fermata in your sights.

Having turned phone sex into the subject of an astonishing national bestseller in Vox, Baker now outdoes himself with an outrageously arousing, acrobatically stylish "X-rated sci-fi fantasy that leaves Vox seeming more like mere fiber-optic foreplay" (Seattle Times). "Sparkling."--San Francisco Chronicle.

*smile*

>195 LovingLit: That's true. Ward was an excellent illustrator; very versatile.

Yes, weird is good. But I concede that not all "weird" is good. YTMV. Your Taste May Vary.

>196 karenmarie: Yes, I read it. Lethal White is a perverse book in that it presents a mystery than you want to see resolved, but it is also scattered with delays and distractions and dithering (all deliberately conceived and exceptionally well executed). It's perverse too in keeping Strike and Robin locked in their separate cages. (I once went to a "meller-drama" at a dinner theater, a deliberately hammy production of East Lynne. The hero kept holding off the clinging, smitten heroine. And someone in the audience yelled, "Oh George! Kiss 'er!" That is the feeling I have had in reading Jo-Bob's mammoth novels. I'm not sure I'll read the two that remain on my shelf.

Yah, Becky's doing well. At this point, she gets in a full day's work, but it exhausts her. But her stamina is improving.

Nicholson Baker. What a writer! He's written a marvelous story, Mezzanine, that records one man's lunch hour in exquisite detail. Some important essays collected in The Way the World Works. An astonishing collection of excerpts from newspaper articles on wars, titled Human Smoke. The physical newspapers he accumulated in researching that book he stored in a huge old factory in New Hampshire, until he was able to collect grants to finance a research library at Duke University (just down the road from you, Karen). And yes, he's written Vox, The Fermata, and House of Holes: A Book of Raunch. I read the latter two in 2012 and 2013. Famously (infamously?), Monica Lewinsky gave Bill Clinton a copy of Vox, I guess to juice up their fling.

In checking on Baker as I wrote the above, I saw a list of his books. Now I've got to do some shopping.

Bill, that's a great description of the Robin-Cormoran dynamic by the time you get to Lethal White. I abandoned the series after reading it, for that very reason. Oh Cormoran! Kiss 'er!

Enjoyed my postponed visit to your thread, Bill, you made me smile and laugh. Thanks!

>197 weird_O: Indeed a good description keeping Strike and Robin locked in their separate cages.
Still I enjoyed the next two books, and now waiting for my turn at the library for the latest.

So good to see your post, Anita. I hope you can stop by more frequently. Smiles and laughter are responses that make me happy.

Friday and today have been fairly disrupted days, I sense. Don't know why, especially. I slept long and long, and after being up and caffeinated I dozed off. On Saturday I released the March 11 issue of The New Yorker from my mailbox. A review of Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring by the magazine's art critic actually mentioned the book several times, but read to me like a fairly dismissive review of Keith Haring and his oeuvre. *THBBFT!*

I made some headway in that biography, and also in Answered Prayers, which is the Capote I've chosen to read for March's AAC. Capote writes so well, but at least the first of only three chapters, "Unspoiled Monsters" is awfully downbeat, leaving a sour aftertaste. And so it goes.

I'm trying to write up at least three or four of the great books I read in February. It should be fun, but I'm making a mess of it. Just got to keep on truckin'.

I was reading in Answered Prayers last night when the lights went out. Again!! I got out my LED flashlight, then my LED headlight. Thinking about driving 45 minutes to Easton, when I heard a chainsaw. (No one goes out in the dark and cuts down a tree, do they?) So the linemen are close. So lights came on, and I went to bed.

Making headway in three or four books.

>200 weird_O: I will try, Bill, I am still having better and worse days.
On worse days it is hard to keep up with the threads. On better days... well way better :-D

>202 weird_O: Share your love for Keith Haring.

The Weird Report^TM   Ted Hughes

 Chris Mould

Very recently, my home heating system went on the fritz, and two technicians—guys in their 20s, I'd say—arrived to get the system off the fritz. The repair done, the pair headed for the door. Then one looked down at a book beside my feet and exclaimed, "I love that book!" The book was The Iron Man. I wouldn't have pegged the guy as a reader in school, but the story of the mechanical man, assembled from odds and ends of scrap cars and appliances and farm equipment, had gotten his attention. Years later, it still could arouse his enthusiasm.

What more could you ask of a kid's book?

          

The Iron Man

The Iron Man came to the top of the cliff. How far had he walked? Nobody knows. Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows.
  Taller than a house, the Iron Man stood at the top of the cliff, on the very brink, in the darkness.
  The wind sang through his iron fingers, His great iron head, shaped by a dustbin but as big as a bedroom, slowly turned to the right, slowly turned to the left. His iron ears turned, this way, that way. He was hearing the sea. His eyes, like headlamps, glowed white, then red, the infra-red, searching the sea. Never before had the Iron Man seen the sea.

Poised on the brink, the Iron Man stepped forward into nothingness.

 

                    

Just before dawn, as the darkness grew blue and the shapes of the rocks separated from each other, two seagulls flew crying over the rocks. They landed on a patch of sand. They had two chicks in a nest in the cliff. Now they were searching for food.
  One of the seagulls few up—
He had seen something. He glided low over the sharp rocks. He landed and picked something up. Something shiny, round, and hard.

 

The seagull had found one of the Iron Man's eyes. Before long, the other seagull picked up a heavy and quite animated object, like a strange sort of crab, one with five legs. It was the Iron Man's right hand. Quickly, the hand clutched the eye and began scanning the beach. It spied the left hand. The right hand scuttled to it, seized a finger, and lead it along, until the second eye was found and tucked into the left hand. More searching, more parts found. Eventually, The Iron Man was complete. Except for an ear.

    

Far below, the Iron Man searched and searched. Looking at the sea, he wondered if his elusive ear had been carried away from the shore. He walked into the surf and paused to get his footing.



            

Don't fret. This is but the first of the five nights in the story.

>205 weird_O: I loved The Iron Man (alternative title, The Iron Giant), the movie made from the book, and how the movie was used in Ted Lasso (the team decided to watch the movie for a quiet night in before a big match). It’s lovely.

Karen O

I LOVE the illustrations in the Iron Man adaptation, Bill.

>205 weird_O: How great that the book lived in the memory of an unexpected reader, and inspired you to read it. It looks *great* so I can see the appeal to all ages.

Enjoy the week-aheads reads!

I started a reply to Anita (>204 FAMeulstee:) and when I clicked on "preview" so's I could size an image, the whole thing vanished. Disappeared. In my present mood, that's a really annoying setback. I'll get back to it, and to various reactions to The Iron Man later. A bit of a nosh and a reading break will fix me up.

And also, a good night's sleep...

Here it is, Pi Day. How appropriate a day to report I received a copy of A Commonplace Book of Pie in yesterday's mail and finished reading it today. In line with that, I am going to cook pie for supper—Cottage Pie.

The book looks like this. 

 The supper will look like this.

>210 weird_O: Both the book and the foreseen supper look great!

Karen O

Richard waved this t-shirt in my face (and everyone else's that visited his site). It suits me.

           

Here it is, all but 8 p.m. on Pi Day and my celebratory cottage pie will come out the oven in less than 10 minutes. Of course, I must open the oven door and pull the concoction out with my hot-pad protected hands.

'Twas a lot of work, that cottage pie, and it didn't meet my expectations and hopes. Too soupy. But the chef was satisfied and consumed two helpings. Plus one for late lunch today. The taste is a-ok.

Gotta do some grocery buying, as well as some hardware and tool buying (if I can find the right stuff).

Have yourselves nice weekends.

I love the t-shirt, Bill. Sorry your cottage pie didn't measure up, but at least it wasn't a total loss!

I also love the shirt, Bill. You are looking a bit scruffy there, my friend. I hope we can inspire you to finally read some MDR.

>214 weird_O: "Too soupy." Did you let it sit a few minutes after taking it out of the oven? Sets things up a bit.

>204 FAMeulstee: I'm going to try again, Anita. I'm having a better day today than I did, what?, a week ago. Of coursee, I don't remember what I had written other than that I hope your better days outnumber the worse days. I envy you having a walk partner.

Glad to hear you love Haring's work. The only actual Haring painting I've seen was in a museum in Amsterdam, when I accompanied my older son's family on a whirlwind race from Copenhagen to Amsterdam, and Dublin. There posters everywhere for a museum with Warhol and Haring and Banksy. Turned out to be one Warhol, one Haring, and many by Banksy.

Keith Haring 

>206 klobrien2: >207 msf59: >208 richardderus: The Iron Man by Ted Hughes. This was first published in the U. K. in 1968, with illustrations by George Adamson. The U. S. publisher, Harper & Row, changed the book's title to The Iron Giant to avoid confusion with the Marvel Comics character Iron Man. The American edition was illustrated by Robert Nadler. In 1985, the British publisher, Faber & Faber, reissued the book with drawings by Andrew Davidson. The reissue was published in the U. S. under the "Iron Giant" title. Since then, the novel has been re-illustrated by at least two others, Dirk Zimmer and Laura Carlin.

In August 2019, an updated illustrated version was released in the UK with new illustrations from artist Chris Mould. This is the version I got (from Amazon). No American publisher, apparently, has produced an "American" version.

Keeping up here is a formidable challenge for me. I'm at least updating my list of books read (>3 weird_O:). I am keeping several books in play. Now playing: Radiant: the Life and Line of Keith Haring, Keith Haring, and The Intuitionist. I'd like to swallow them by March 31.

>209 weird_O: Sorry your first repy vanished in cyberspace, Bill, that is very annoying.

>218 weird_O: But I see you bouced back!
Still I have better and worse days, but the worse days are getting better :-)
I have seen a few more Haring paintings through the years, and his works almost always make me smile.

>218 weird_O: Those of us still with a Landline are really enjoying Haring's version!

Reading a bunch these past many days. Most actively reading Truman Capote's The Muses Are Heard and Colson Whitehead's The Intuitionist. I started a graphic bio Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy by Bill Griffiths. And of course I have Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, along with the visual supplement Keith Haring, simmering on a back burner. I'm more than halfway through both of those.

The last book I finished, that on the 25th, was Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots. Yes, it's every bit as good as promised. I churned through it so fast I'm tempted to label it a SnackBook. At 400 pages, Hench doesn't weigh in as a SnackBook, but it sure did read like one.

Howdy, Bill. Happy Wednesday. I remember enjoying the Bushmiller GN. I also remember loving Hench. Good choices. My books are also treating me just fine. Have you read Nick Offerman? I am currently reading enjoying his latest, Where the Deer and the Antelope Play. This guy is a National Treasure. I think you would love him.

>223 weird_O: Oh YAY! You liked Hench too! It still makes me smile to think of it.

Humpday orisons, Weird One.

>223 weird_O:
I also read Hench and enjoyed it. A whole different take on superpowers!

Glad I could bring such joy to so many of you. Yes, I enjoyed Hench too. So to all of you...yes, all three of you
         >224 msf59: >225 richardderus: >226 benitastrnad:
My thanks. That said, I guess I'll get back to work. (These books must be shelved. I think that's in the Constitution.)

I've completed a couple or three books in as many days.

  The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead.
  Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy, Bill Griffith.
  Greenwich Village: A Guide to America's Legendary Left Bank, Judith Stonehill.

I am working with Truman Capote's The Muses Are Heard currently. I'll finish it today or tomorrow, then return to Keith Haring.

ETA: I should be working on a new thread for to which to kick off the second quarter of the reading year. Am I right? Right. Right. (Of course, I could be setting up some April Fool's Day prank.)

>228 weird_O: Pranking? You? Watch out everyone!! : )

Glad you finished The Intuitionist and whizzed through Hench (loved that one!). I hope your power cooperates and stays on for a bit. Is that too much to ask for? Wishing you a happy weekend.

Pranking us for April Fools Day? I look forward to it, Bill. It happens to my brother in laws birthday. What a day to be born.

Happy Weekend Ahead!

>229 Berly: >230 vancouverdeb: You realize, don't you, that the lack of a prank could BE the prank. Heh heh.

Amazing (even to me) was my visit yesterday to a refurbished Goodwill store in my area. My book catalog doesn't list any purchases there after May 1, 2023. In the lead-up to that milestone, the thrift giant was tinkering with its pricing, abandoning its 99¢ price for almost every book; it's now $2.99 for any book. I did spend some money there.

What I bought is pressing me to define what—to me—is a SnackBook. Hmmm.

I've but 50 pages left to read in The Muses Are Heard by Truman Capote. I'll get 'er done today.

For April Fool's Day, I've booked a visit to the dentist. Just routine. But she'll find something.