richardderus's fourth 2024 thread

Gulistan makes these images of flowers, I do not know how, but they are *stunning*. She is an Arab artist on Tumblr.

Reviews 001 through 008 are linked here.
Reviews 009 on thru 017 are linked here.
Reviews 018 to 026 are linked there.

THIS THREAD'S REVIEWS

027 The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World in post #99.
028 The Perfume Thief in post #177.
029 Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table in post #179.
030 Salem's Cipher (A Salem's Cipher Mystery #1) in post #195.
031 The Wisdom of Plagues: Lessons from 25 Years of Covering Pandemics in post #211.
032 Tolkien: Lighting Up The Darkness in post #249.
033 Monkey Grip: A Novel in post #288.

All my threads in the 75ers linked somewhere here
My Last Thread of 2009 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2010 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2011 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2012 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2013 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2014 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2015 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2016 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2017 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2018 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2019 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2020 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2021 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2022 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.
My Last Thread of 2023 Is Here:
Reviews are back-linked there.

All previous Burgoine reviews linked here.

THIS THREAD'S BURGOINE REVIEWS:

#010 Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science in post #128.

All previous Pearl Rule reviews linked here.

THIS THREAD'S PEARL RULE REVIEWS:

#005

Seriously...not a great venue for normies here.
My 2023 goals are here, for reference.

See >5 richardderus: for 2023 achievements.
My January 2024 summary is here.

This is it...your time to shine!

Happy Saturday, Richard. Happy New Thread. I like that topper. Our Jackson adventure is over. We sure had a good time with him.

>1 richardderus: What a stunning image

>8 msf59: Thanks, Birddude. Here is your Thread King crown:

>9 elorin: I Know, Right?! She has many more a lot like it on her Tumblr. They are so gorgeous.

‘Morning, RDear! Happy new thread, happy Saturday.

>1 richardderus: They are stunning.

*smooch* from your own Horrible

>1 richardderus: that's stunning.

>5 richardderus: *snort*.

Happy new thread, Richard

Happy new one, RD!

Happy new thread Richard! (Stand still for a few minutes, can't you?)

>1 richardderus: More gorgeous ... well, I can't call it 'greenery' but you know what I mean.

Hi Richard!

>12 karenmarie: Morning, Horrible! *smooch*

>13 Helenliz: ...well...? Do I seem wrong in what I am saying? *smooch*

>14 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie!

>15 humouress: I think Vegetative Matter will work. I am regularly delighted by her images on Tumblr.

Standing still is boring.

>16 Owltherian: Morning, Lily!

Happy new thread, Richard! Wonderful topper, and gorgeous crown/helmet!

Happy weekend to you!

Karen O

>21 richardderus: Good morning, i stayed up reading yet again but i got a few more books done. How are you?

>22 klobrien2: Morning, Karen O., and thanks! Aren't they all pretty things? I do so love having pretty things around the places I spend my time. Have a lovely weekend! *smooch*

>23 Owltherian: A few more books done sounds like a good result to me, but I think reading is more important than sleep. Then again, I am closer to 70 than I am to 50.

I am enjoying my morning coffee, a couple cookies I saved back, and some unusual quiet because my roommate is not here for some reason. I do not care why, I will savor it while it lasts.

>25 richardderus: Yeah, i have to hear a bunch of people move around while i try to sleep or do anything really

>18 richardderus: No, completely correct in your assessment. A badge I'm happy to wear. Alongside my usual one of "trouble maker". It's all necessary trouble, you understand...

>26 Owltherian: Developing coping strategies to keep noise from driving you round the twist is very important, so take my advice and start early! Ear plugs are cheap....

>27 Helenliz: I fully understand. Troubling the oblivious is both necessary and pleasurable to me.

>28 richardderus: Like they tell me to be quiet as a mouse 24/7 but they stomp around like a hoard of elephants

>30 Owltherian: Herds of elephants are actually amazingly quiet. Unless one of them is angry, that is.

>31 richardderus: Really? Huh thats suprising

I have largely ignored the AI art fuss because I never thought it would get around my BS filters.

This is "Sir Gawain" by Emile Corsi, 1881 (selfportrait)" from Tumblr user "shutteredgallery" and it is one of many images by this artist I have reblogged because I just love them.

There never was an Emile Corsi.

All the images are AI generated. And only because I went looking into the history of an artist I could not believe was so utterly in line with my male-centered Beaux-Arts aesthetic and still unknown to me did I discover this. This should send chills all through you. I do not expect I need to explicate why.

Right on! Write on!

>32 Owltherian: It is indeed. The YouTube video from some African park ranger that I saw ages ago stunned me...these HUGE animals just *appeared* from a forest into a clearing with a watering hole in it, silently, without disturbing the hollering birds and monkeys for a second!

>33 richardderus: Cheers, Your Weirdness, glad to see you here.

>35 richardderus: Thats actually quite intresting, i would have assumed that since they are huge they would make a bunch of noise

>1 richardderus: You're totally correct -- that is a STUNNING photo!!

and...happy new one my friend

Happy new one, Richard! Absolutely gorgeous topper.

Happy New Thread, Richard! Lovely topper and what a fabulous crown for Mark . Weekend *smooch*

Happy new thread, Richard dear!
>1 richardderus: So beautiful.
>5 richardderus: Glad to be friends :-)

>20 richardderus: 'Vegetative matter' is far too prosaic.

Now you sound like my kids.

>33 richardderus: In hindsight, the man looks too much like a photo especially the hair across his forehead, but I never would have guessed it was AI. Nice 'painting' though.

>1 richardderus: A definition of GORGEOUS!
>33 richardderus: Likewise, HOLY MOLY! So AI can do that, eh? I surrender.

I hope that OS stays out all day and that you don't have to pay for it all night. That's what I hope. *smooch*

New thread salutations RD.

As an artist, AI renditions of art disturb me on many levels. As humans, they should disturb us all. What is real is becoming increasingly difficult to figure out.

I’m a coffee drinker all the way, but herbal tea in the evening helps me relax.

Happy new thread!

>37 Owltherian: I assumed the same thing, Lily, and only after I saw it did I believe it was possible.

>46 richardderus: That would honestly be intresting to just watch

>38 RebaRelishesReading: They are all like that, Reba, each is ethereally lovely...that one was just that bit more perfect in my eyes.

>39 drneutron: Thank you most kindly, Doc!

>40 vancouverdeb: Hiya Deb! *smooch*

>41 FAMeulstee: Heh, happy we found each other all the way across the North Atlantic, too.

*smooch*

>42 humouress: It does actually feel too prosaic, but what can we call this quintessence of frailty?

After seeing so many Bouguereau and Waterhouse images over the years I do not automatically read that level of surface perfection as photographic anymore. Maxfield Parrish too reaches those heights of blemishlessness.

>43 LizzieD: Hey Peggy! It really unnerved me to realize I just trusted that I saw reality. Uh-oh.

He rolled in drunk just before noon, and is asleep in front of the TV. I muted the damn thing after a time and not even a peep out of him.

>44 PaulCranswick: Thank you PC!

>45 Storeetllr: Of course you are, Mary! Coffee is Life Itself at our age.

Reality...is slippery now. Moreso than ever. *sigh* Thank you for the thread wishes.

From your last thread (#150)..."this manic pixie girl as love object of depressed dudebro makes me want to scream".
I love this. And I can relate to the fact that some books just induce rage. :)

>56 LovingLit: Its just so LAZY and tedious! Not worth my eyeblinks. *smooch* Glad to have you visit, Megan.

Happy new thread, Richard, and happy weekend!

>1 richardderus: That is indeed stunning

>33 richardderus: As is this one, and I agree, AI making it even more difficult to parse truth and lies, reality and unreality is...terrifying. I say this as a librarian already familiar with most folks' lack of media literacy.

>58 bell7: It chilleth my core, Mary. I know more than most and *I* got taken in completely. Run-of-the-mill netizens are doomed. *smooch*

So what made you delve into the history of the artist and make your discovery?

That painting actually reminds me of some other painting I have seen, but I can't remember what it was.

I thought I was getting in early on this thread, but #60? Dude, you move too fast!! *smooch*

>60 benitastrnad: That painting actually reminds me of some other painting I have seen, but I can't remember what it was.
That is exactly the reason I went looking for more information, it felt weirdly familiar and yet unusually new to my eyes. Had to know so I found out. *shiver*

>61 ronincats: The speed of life is going up and there seems to me to be no effective limit. Gets a bit scary, no? *smooch*

>5 richardderus: ROFLMAO

Happy new thread.

p.s. "I am the person your parents warned you about".

>33 richardderus: Hmm, I wish I had the means to block shutteredgallery from my life entirely, for lying and abetting an AI bot (and its creators) in doing the same.

If the image had been honestly attributed to the chat bot, and perhaps whatever it used as its sources, I might not reject it out of hand. That's what *you* did, but apparently not what "shutteredgallery" did.

Happy new thread, Richard! Love the thread topper - wow!

>5 richardderus: my mom always said that if you can't set a good example, you can at least serve as a horrible warning:)

My goodness, I had fallen behind a few days on your last thread and barely got caught up yesterday, and now you've got a new thread today and already up to 66 posts! I just won't be able to stay caught up.

I too am amazed by >1 richardderus: and horrified by >33 richardderus:. >58 bell7: said it all.

Happy new thread!

>52 richardderus: I can’t draw* - as I go along, my dimensions seem to warp and the results are … odd - especially not anything in the animal kingdom. So any artist who can paint something so realistic has my admiration.

* and now, apparently, I don’t have to.

>61 ronincats: See? That’s what I said!

>1 richardderus: Wow! Those dew drops are spectacular. Happy new one!

Wait, so >1 richardderus: is also an *AI* generated image?

I guess I can enjoy the beauty without having to source or credit human artists...which is truly tragic for human artists going forward. And sends a pretty dismal message about our species, about what is valued about being human.

>64 ArlieS: So you are, Arlie, and that is why you are always welcome here.

>65 ArlieS:, >58 bell7:, >67 atozgrl:, >68 humouress: Interesting update. I checked Tumblr this morning, and shutteredgallery had this amazing image posted:

...with these tags underneath it:
"Sobek" by Emile Corsi, 1877

#1800s
#emile corci art
#victorian aesthetic
#emile corsi
#ancient egypt
#egyptian mythology
#egyptian gods
#egyptian
#egyptology
#sobek
#ai art
#fictional artist
#not historical
#fictitious dates
#AI GENERATED!!!

All of them were ones I hollered at the account owner about in a private message yesterday. I think I got through to them about the need to be clear, because now I have no issue withe admiring the gorgeousness. I checked other images and these tags are now on all of them I looked at.

>66 AMQS: Mom was so right! More often than not I think we serve as both.

>67 atozgrl: Morning, Irene! The concept "caught up" needs to be expunged...start where you find yourself and keep going! Then, do it again. No one with a life can stay "caught up". *smooch*

>68 humouress: Well, I have no plan to tell folks to stop coming to visit, so see >74 richardderus: for my best solution to the issue.

>69 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! The other flower images she creates are less astounding to me, but these...!

*smooch*

>70 jessibud2: Not to my knowledge, Shelley, but given how shockingly good the other AI stuff is, it is not impossible....

‘Morning, RichardDear. Happy Sunday. Sixty Five Messages since yesterday morning.

I hope OS’s away time was extensive, although I do not wish ill towards him any more than the ill for how he makes your life miserable.

>33 richardderus: I am properly chilled. So much is photo shopped these days – I thought the four leaf clover from your last (?) thread was doctored up somehow. Cynical or spot on?

>74 richardderus: I myownself prefer skippty-skip-skip.

*smooch*

>78 karenmarie: Horrible! *smooch*

Old Stuff rolled in drunk and snored in front of the goddamned TV.

Cynical or spot on? Jury is out. No obvious other signs, like with "Emile Corsi."

I myownself prefer skippty-skip-skip. Same diff....

Here is some nice fudge Richard, to show you it's not a bit like chocolate:

Good morning, Richard! Good rest of the day too!!

GOOD for you for having a word with the perpetrator of Emile Corsi. I was about to make a political comment, but since it would be stating the obvious, I'll refrain.

*smooch* for your day

Hi Rdear, what a great topper, one can only marvel at it. Thank you so much for visiting my thread, it was a great pleasure.
I'm not coming empty-handed and wish you a good day. *smooch*

>80 SandDune: I'm guessing the pink one is ruby chocolate, which I quite like. The medium-gamboge one standing upright looks like penuche. Not sure when I last had penuche was, but it was tolerable. So "chocolate fudge" is not redundant after all....

>81 LizzieD: Good diurnal anomaly, smoochling! It surprised me to see this, since I expected whoever runs that account just to ignore my bleat of dissatisfaction.

>82 Ameise1: GLORY BE!! Coffee, croissant, and Barbara visiting me, all at the same time! *smooch*

>83 richardderus: I'm guessing the pink one is ruby chocolate No - not at all - Raspberry sorbet fudge

>86 SandDune: ...
...
...
...wut

>72 richardderus: Good for you, RD! And good for them for listening. Indeed we can enjoy the beautiful images if it's clear that they are AI.

>74 richardderus: Very true! I do need time for RL, after all. *smooch*

Monday sees me with coffee, just to start the week right.
mmmm. Fudge.
Love a rum & raisin fudge. Or coffee.

>87 richardderus: Not. Chocolate.

There's no cocoa in fudge - unless you're making chocolate flavoured fudge.

>88 atozgrl: It felt odd to have that evidence of being heard, TBH.

Keep on in that vein, Irene! No point letting LT turn into another problem in a life that annoys one in a million tiny jabs all day.

Hiya, RDear! Happy Monday to you.

>79 richardderus: Ugh. Drunk and snoring. Sorry you had to put up with it.

>80 SandDune: and >83 richardderus: My mother used to make penuche – I quite like it. However, chocolate fudge is my favorite. Never had raspberry sorbet fudge, but I wouldn’t mind trying it.

*smooch*

Ooh, coffee and fudge. Looks like I landed at the right place.

Morning, Richard. Frosty start out there but it will get back into the 40s today with sunshine, so no complaints here. It feels like we are a month ahead. Even the migrating birds think so. Today- Kids Kab & Trail Watch.

>89 Helenliz: Coffee is also at my elbow. I am starting my day with glee bcuz the anti-Taylor girlhater brigade that yelled about her ruining the KC team getting 2 in a row got their idiocy handed back in a gold-wrapped bag. They got #2!

I think that confectionary could be amazing...*drool*

>90 humouress: The fact that fudge ≠ chocolate only got into my brain under 48h ago!

>92 karenmarie: No penuche lover, me...okay-not-great in my book. Lovely-Monday *smooch*

>93 msf59: Have a great time today, that line-up will keep you grinning all day long! The 40ish day ought to be ideal for it all.

>5 richardderus: I am in deep trouble around these parts. . .

>33 richardderus: There is a lot of debate about AI art in the board gaming world too. Art for board games is one of the highest expenses for a publisher so they are going to cut costs where they can and AI art is one way to do it. I do not see this brouhaha going away any time soon.

Happy new thread, RD! ((Hugs)) and **smooches** for today

027 The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: This must-have sequel to the bestselling parody book The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America proves that all birds are fascinating, wonderful, idiotic jerks—no matter where in the world they reside.

Following in the tracks of the first uproarious and beloved bird book in the series, this hilarious sequel ventures beyond to identify the stupidest birds around the world. Featuring birds from North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, author Matt Kracht identifies the dumb birds that manage to live all over the freaking place with snarky yet accurate names and humorous, anger-filled drawings. Offering a balance of fact and wit, this uproarious profanity-laden handbook will appeal to hardcore birders and casual bird lovers (and haters) alike.

ENTERTAINING AND EDUCATIONAL: This laugh-out-loud funny spoof guide to all things wings includes a matching game, a bird descriptor checklist, and tips on how to identify a bird (you can tell a lot by looking into a bird's eyes, for example). Plus, each entry is accompanied by facts about a bird's (annoying) call, its (dumb) migratory pattern, its (downright tacky) markings, and more.

POPULAR AUTHOR: Matt Kracht is an amateur birder, writer, and illustrator who enjoys creating books that celebrate the humor inherent in life's absurdities. Based in Seattle, he enjoys gazing out the window at the beautiful waters of Puget Sound and making fun of birds. Other amusing titles from Matt include The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America and OMFG, BEES!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Do you love a birder? You do?! Why? Couldn't you find a normal person, one that doesn't glue (super expensive, need upgrading all the time) binoculars to their face at the smallest rustle of a leaf?

Well, it's your life, you do you. Or them, I suppose....

As Valentines Day is coming up very, very quickly, you might need a last-minute gift idea since you have the terrible taste to hang out with a bird nut. No doubt forgetting it's the romantic holiday is completely within such a goofball's capabilities. If the hinted-after super-de-dooper binocs are outside your budget, but something bird-y is still required, believe me when I tell you a reference book ain't a lot cheaper than the binoculars. Go for this book, it's more fun than you usually have with the bloody birds, and it's about $20.

Enjoy the artwork.




Even *I*, no bird-fancier bones in me anywhere, got a ton of good laughs at the expense of all these dumb birds from all over the entire stupid world.

>98 alcottacre: Morning, me deario. No brouhaha that is existential can possibly go away. I have no idea how, or even if, such a conundrum can be resolved. Luckily for me, I have no role to play in that lunacy.

*smooch*

>100 richardderus: I am not sure that the conundrum is going to be resolved any time soon, at least not in the board gaming world. The debates continue. . .

So fudge isn't necessarily chocolate? It's a brave new world. I'm off to look at recipes.

*smooch* for the day, Richard. It's a Grade A Gray Day here.

Heh. Love the dumb bird book! 😀

>101 alcottacre: As they should, since the stakes are so very high. This issue is major and needs the attention of all stakeholders until some kind of agreement is reached.

>102 LizzieD: Go know from this, right?! Maybe your recipe search can begin at penuche.

*smooch* me lurve

>103 drneutron: I know, right? Good to have a laugh...I got kinda grim for a bit and needed to come out of it.

>99 richardderus: Better hide your review from Mark, then ;0)

>95 richardderus: >102 LizzieD: Why the confusion between fudge and chocolate? I know they both have high sugar content, but still. Not enough Enid Blyton in your book diet?

ETA: >95 richardderus: ooh, where did you get that 'not equal' sign from? That could be useful.

>107 humouress: I never saw anthing called fudge that was not chocolate, ever...and that was across the entire US and several decades. Uncertain why that should be, but it is....

Birddude knows.

If you want to use HTML more, the tables are here: https://www.toptal.com/designers/htmlarrows/
If you just want the ≠ sign, do this without spaces: & ne ;

Happy start to a brand new week! I started mine with a nice cafe latte and a chocolate croissant (and a protein shake with berries & cherries). Mmmmm!

If you offer me fudge, it better be chocolate or we’ll be having words. 😂

>99 richardderus: Oh, you got me with a BB for the bird book, as well as for the first Field Guide. A bit of bird news and humor sounds great!

Have a great week!

Karen O

>108 richardderus: Huh. It’s possible I may have seen chocolate fudge in my travels but nothing comes to mind.

Thanks for the ≠

>109 Storeetllr: Hiya Mary! Howzabout some pistachio rosewater fudge for a change of pace?

Lovely and green and nutty with rosewater to give it some zing! *smooch*

>110 klobrien2: Thank you Karen O.! *smooch*

>111 humouress: The reek of chocolate at fudge shops in US malls in the 1960s and 1970s was...epic...awful...ickshudder

‘Morning, RDear! Well, well. Late season snow storm. I’m glad you get to stay inside, safe and warm.

>99 richardderus: I have the first book, received as an ER book in 2019. I loved it, and just bought this one in trade paperback. Thanks for the BB.

*smooch*

>115 karenmarie: It is quite a storm...snowing sideways outside my window! Kinda cool to look at from indoors.

I am very glad you got yourself a copy of >99 richardderus:, Horrible! Enjoy it. He is really a funny guy. *smooch*

>117 richardderus: I love this! I laughed aloud! (out loud?) As I think the kids say, "Whatevs!"

Happy snow day, Richard!

Karen O

>118 klobrien2: Thank you, Karen O. You are not having one, but "Happy snow day" to you, too! *smooch*

>99 richardderus: Lovely review. Not going to bite, however; I'm not a birder and don't think I know any.

>120 ArlieS: Well, made ya look, anyway so that counts Arlie. You would know if you knew birders...their obsession is not hide-able. All that unnatural neck-craning, and twitching as soon as some damn bird chirps....

>121 richardderus: I might know one or two online? Can't see the twitches and neck-craning through the screen.

>117 richardderus: Um ... good doggie?

Cute ladybird though.

(The canine is a bit unnerving, though. Can't tell whether they're smiling ... or not.)(Otherwise, also cute.)

>123 humouress: Good doggie indeed! That is deffo a smile, not a growl. The ladybug is adorbs on puppynose, no?

>122 ArlieS: Of course you would know! The birbby boys and gelz are all about the birbs. You would hear about them.

>124 richardderus: In that case, I'm in love.

>112 richardderus: I’m not looking. I’m not listening. (Actually, that does look and sound tempting. I think it’s the “fudge” appellation that bothers me, child of the 50s and 60s that I am.)

Happy snow day! I couldn’t even see out my windows this morning, the snow was covering them. Had to go out to see the snow coming down.

BURGOINE #010

Tripping on Utopia: Margaret Mead, the Cold War, and the Troubled Birth of Psychedelic Science by Benjamin Breen

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: A bold and brilliant revisionist take on the history of psychedelics in the twentieth century, illuminating how a culture of experimental drugs shaped the Cold War and the birth of Silicon Valley.

"It was not the Baby Boomers who ushered in the first era of widespread drug experimentation. It was their parents." Far from the repressed traditionalists they are often painted as, the generation that survived the second World War emerged with a profoundly ambitious sense of social experimentation. In the '40s and '50s, transformative drugs rapidly entered mainstream culture, where they were not only legal, but openly celebrated.

American physician John C. Lilly infamously dosed dolphins (and himself) with LSD in a NASA-funded effort to teach dolphins to talk. A tripping Cary Grant mumbled into a Dictaphone about Hegel as astronaut John Glenn returned to Earth. At the center of this revolution were the pioneering anthropologists—and star-crossed lovers—Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson. Convinced the world was headed toward certain disaster, Mead and Bateson made it their life’s mission to reshape humanity through a new science of consciousness expansion, but soon found themselves at odds with the government bodies who funded their work, whose intentions were less than pure. Mead and Bateson's partnership unlocks an untold chapter in the history of the twentieth century, linking drug researchers with CIA agents, outsider sexologists, and the founders of the Information Age.

As we follow Mead and Bateson’s fractured love affair from the malarial jungles of New Guinea to the temples of Bali, from the espionage of WWII to the scientific revolutions of the Cold War, a new origin story for psychedelic science emerges.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: What a complete clusterfuck the right wingnuts made of the 20th century. There were glimmers of a better, more open world that could have been...then the generals and religious nuts got hold of it, and choked it into the pale, selfish idiocy of the New Age.

What did not work for me was the sense that Mead and Bateson were ciphers...what about them made them worth setting at the center of a book, I do not know, because it felt like they were not there. The research, and its aims, are very interesting. The opponents to the use of this research are more carefully, and luckily damningly, limned than the people whose names are on the jacket.

Interesting story with a weird hollow at its core, yet still worth reading for the facts you are very likely not to have known before regarding the US attitudes towards psychedelic drugs and their theraputic uses. A story steeped in tragedy for cures and benefits lost.

>126 humouress: Yeah, who could resist?

>128 richardderus:
Sometimes I think that publishers push authors to use famous names in subtitles just because that will attract lookers. Looking might lead to a purchase. I have often found that the use of the famous names in subtitles isn't justified because the book isn't about them, or if I am lucky, very little is about them. I wish the publishers would just stop that practice.

>127 Storeetllr: I just looked out the window and the snow is over. There are mini-snowplows scooping up the sludge already in our parking lot. Still a bit cloudy, so permaybehaps we could see more later.

>117 richardderus: I, too, love it and am laughing out loud. I want to hug that dog!! Enjoy your snow!!

>130 benitastrnad: I do, too, Benita...but Margaret Mead is hardly a celebrity these days, so what was gained, I have to wonder.

>132 RebaRelishesReading: Is that not a punkinpweshus of a boop-snoot, Reba? Such a lovely way to celebrate being alive, by laughing with a critter clearly having fun.

Thanks for the ladybug dogface laugh today! And I am glad the snow is stopping. Phew.

>135 Berly: The snow was pretty while it lasted, Berly-boo, but it was better as a short-duration event IMO to keep the risk of power outages low.

I can attest to the no-funness of power outages. Also, forgot to say I love the flower pic up top!!

>137 Berly: You are the site's SME on them at this point, for certain. Delighted that my paranoia was unjustified, or is so far at least...awful thought. I think her translucent/transparent florals are amazing! They make me smile every time I see one. *smooch*

>128 richardderus: Just added that one to the Overdrive wish list - and now gonna reserve it. I agree that the choice of "central characters" is odd, but it still sounds like one I'd find interesting and informative. Nice review!

>99 richardderus: Eyeing this as a present for a birder neighbor of mine currently bedridden - would give her a giggle i think

>139 drneutron: Thanks, Doc! I wish I had been better connected to them, but the story was fascinating...and infuriating.

>140 magicians_nephew: I can think of few who would not get some giggles and snorts from it, Jim. It is also really handsome as a whole book.

Hey, RD. Staying safe & snug after all that snow? We were back in the 40s today.

Avert your eyes , Richard, but if I am going to eat fudge, it best be chocolate. The pistachio rosewater fudge does look good too.

I love it when real life and fiction intersects. I have been reading through the Bruno, Chief of Police mystery series by Martin Walker with another group here on LT. This afternoon I got into my car to head to town and the local Nebraska NPR station was on the radio. The show was "The World" with Marco Werman and the reporter I heard had a French accent. It was a story about the French government releasing the news that they have identified a major disinformation campaign and traced it back to Russia. This is not the first time they have traced these kinds of disinformation campaigns to Russia, but this time they are telling the world about it. The last couple of Bruno books have had plots that were about this very thing - Russian disinformation against the French government and the EU. Listening to the report was like a rerun of a couple of the Bruno books. You gotta love mysteries - they tell us much about the world we live in.

Happy newish thread, Richard. Hard to keep up with you these days. Strange that you came to equate fudge with chocolate, not the same at all. I like fudge, just not chocolate flavoured fudge.

Unidentified AI is a big problem. Recently a young lawyer in BC presented a case using AI generated case law, i.e. fake case law. The lawyer is now under investigation by the Law Society of BC and the possibilities are sending shudders through the legal system.

>143 msf59: It is 30deg; now, really windy, and might get to 35 or so by afternoon though still with the wind. I am totally NOT going outside, that wind is like ice-knives! Thank goodness the power has stayed on...not even one flicker. Gotta love modern conveniences, and I do!

>144 vancouverdeb: My eyes averted, my coffee held as close to my nose as I can get it, and no breathing until absolutely necessary, Deb.

Those flavors are very Turkish, used together like that. It is really interesting to me how much use of flower essences there is in Western Asia, and how arid the place is...maybe it is a contrast-to-reality thing, but it intrigues me.

>145 benitastrnad: What a lovely piece of serendipity, Benita! I think the fact that Martin Walker is so firmly rooted in France makes his storytelling so much more compelling to read...I trust him to get it right. Annoyingly, media literacy is so poor all over the world that public opinion is incredibly easily led. I think, though I can not be certain, that book-readers are a bit less likely to fall into disinformation traps because we are familiar with how stories are built so we see the joints and holes in their disinformation like we would any first draft.

>146 Familyhistorian: This is not the first time a lawyer has done that...scary. But hey, if the Supreme Court of the US can hear a case made up of hypotheticals, why ever not just make it up from start to finish? *shudder*

Hiya, RDear. Happy Wednesday to you. How’s the world outside your window after (?) the storm?

>128 richardderus: Onto the wishlist, but not an immediate BB from Amazon. Whew!

*smooch*

>151 karenmarie: Morning, Horrible, happy Wednesday back. It is windy and slushy out there, so there will be ice very shortly. I expect there to be some falls as the day goes on because taking the snow off the sidewalk will do little to prevent the moisture from freezing in the cold winds.

If >128 richardderus: goes on Kindlesale any time soon, that would be the best investment. I think you will get a lot out of the read. *smooch*

A very good morning, Richard. I'm glad you can stay in and warm and unslippingonice.
I'm off and away. *smooch*

Wednesday drive by * smooch*. Hopefully you are able to remain indoors. The weather your way sounds nasty.

>153 LizzieD: Morning, Peggy! I am deLIGHTed not to be required to go out in the windy cold. It is entirely cold enough here in the room, even with the heater on. Be safe in your day of doings! *smooch*

>154 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! Glad to see you flying past as I hunker down. It is a bit unpleasant out there...hoping nothing gets in the way of my power staying on.

Hi Richard -- hope you continue to enjoy the snow from inside and that your power stays on.

>128 richardderus: Flawed or not, I despair when I think about what the mammonolatrist militants have made and how it Did Not Have To Be This Way.

I probably won't get around to it, especially with the observation about its hollow core, but yes. Sigh.

Hi Richard, a belated Happy New Thread my dear friend.

>157 RebaRelishesReading: No issues, Reba, thank goodness. Cold as anything, but it is February, so that is as expected. Hoping you are keeping well.

>158 swynn: It is something I often think about...my atheism burst upon me at five, but could I have ever talked myself into being one of Them if they had chosen to be decent human beings instead of contemptible scum...I doubt it, but at least it is not risible to contemplate.

>159 johnsimpson: Thanks, John! Welcome.

We have another storm warning this evening, so spending Valentine's safe at home. Smooches!!

>163 Berly: It seems to be packing all the winter into a month over here! Storms storms storms. Well, when a system as big as the planetary weather gets destabilized, trouble will follow. It is coming to pass....

Stay safe and warm dear fellow.

You are comfortably over 1,000 posts already on your threads this year, RD. (This is post 1,062).

>165 PaulCranswick: It has been an especially busy year, indeed...had no idea it was *that* busy, though.

Warmth is elusive with the winds as they are, but there appears to be no real risk of power outage because there has been no ice accumulation in trees or on powerlines, thank goodness!

>166 richardderus: Wrap up warm, my friend, I am a bit worried about your health in the bad weather. Take care of yourself.

Boo to ice-knives. Yikes. Keep warm & snug, my friend. We are leaving for a long weekend in New Orleans. We are going with our camping group contingent, but this will also include Bree and Sean. Their first getaway from dear Jackson. It should be a blast.

It sounds bad out there. Good thing you don't have to go out in it, Richard. Stay safe!

Happy Thursday, Richard dear, I hope the weather doesn't get worse.

>117 richardderus: Awww, thanks for sharing!

My life in a nutshell.

>167 PaulCranswick: My cotton cardy is ever on; likewise the heater; the wind blocked from slithering in by ungraceful but effective removable pads, so I am very much not taking chances!

>168 msf59: The bad thing is the lull outside right now has me longing to get out there...but the next blast is already on the way. Enjoy Nawlins!

>169 Familyhistorian: With every fiber of my being, Meg! *smooch*

>170 FAMeulstee: Another storm is even now on the way, but it is an Alberta clipper...moves fast, has winds that get gusty, drops little snow. Well within the infrastructure's capacity to deal with handily.

*smooch* Happy Thursday!

>175 richardderus: I'd never heard of an Alberta clipper before so had to look it up. Sounds nasty, good thing those winds don't blow in this direction.

028 The Perfume Thief by Timothy Schaffert

Real Rating: 3.8* of five

The Publisher Says: A Gentleman in Moscow meets Moulin Rouge in this stylish, sexy page-turner about Clementine, a queer American expat and notorious thief of rare scents, who has retired to Paris, only to return to her old tricks in hopes of protecting the city she loves when the Nazis invade in 1941.

Clementine is a seventy-two year-old reformed con artist with a penchant for impeccably tailored suits. Her life of crime has led her from the uber-wealthy perfume junkies of belle epoque Manhattan, to the scented butterflies of Costa Rica, to the spice markets of Marrakech, and finally the bordellos of Paris, where she settles down and opens a legitimate shop bottling her favorite extracts for the ladies of the cabarets.

In 1941, as the German's stranglehold on the city tightens, Clem's perfume-making attracts the notice of Oskar Voss, a Francophile Nazi bureaucrat, who comes to demand Clem's expertise and loyalty in his mysterious play for Hitler's favor. Clem has no choice but to surrender fully to the con, but while she knew playing the part of collaborator would be dangerous, she never imagined it would be so painfully intimate. At Oskar's behest, and in an effort to win his trust, Clem recounts the full story of her life and loves, this time without the cover of the lies she came to Paris to escape.

Complete with romance, espionage, champagne towers, and haute couture, this full-tilt sensory experience is a dazzling portrait of the underground resistance of twentieth-century Paris and a passionate love letter to the power of beauty and community in the face of insidious hate.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Lush, lovely prose telling a story that made me squirm so hard I wore a hole in my upholstery.

Stories about coercion of trans folks using their identity as trans are not comfortable reads. I do not think this was intended to be a comfy-cozy kind of a read but it was clear in its empathy for its trans main character. So, blessedly, I was not left with the rather unclean film of exploitive appropriative use of trans identity as a negative signifier on my lens into the story.

Still, this story causes me horripilation. As things that have Nazis as the antagonist should.

The felt-like-he-was-factual Oskar Voss, nasty boss Nazi spymaster, based like the rest of the story—as per the author—on real people who were in Paris to escape the judgments of Society in the safety of the big city. Then, the worst-possible worst result happens to them all when the vileness of the Nazis come barging in with their giant, outsized hatreds, and their very overblown sense of purpose. Oskar is typical of the cynical bandwagon-hoppers that puritanical movements attract like horse apples attract dung beetles. He is very much not interested in the ideology of his paymasters. He wants power over others. His means of getting more of his drug is to use whoever and whatever he can to buy himself a seat at a higher-placed table.

Enter Clem(entine). And a lot of Clem's fellow misfits. They need to survive, and their Otherness has equipped them to do this any and every way they possibly can including stealing and blackmailing any and everyone they need to. Oskar wants to ensorcel Hitler with some super-special scent, which TBH just fell flat for me as a motivation...but it led to butch lesbian/transman Clem recounting, for honestly flimsy reasons, her lifetime's-worth of stories to the rapt Oskar. Whatever excuse made that happen is good enough for me.

Clem, a very old person for that era at seventy-two, has Lived A Life, maybe three or even four, in those years. A born tale-teller, as anyone making a living as a con artist and thief operating among the very rich must be, Clem completely wraps Oskar up in the memory palace of the past. How much of it would pass the fact-checking of the internet age, well...who cares. I do not really buy into the motivations of Oskar for any of his actions, but that left me no less delighted to spend time with Clem.

The horrors of Nazi-occupied Paris, the horrors that were to come, all seemed to Clem to be clear because these puritanical control freaks are just like the others from the past. None of it is downplayed, and there are terrible passages in this story, but the way it is presented feels...convenient. Oskar is easily led by his greed for power, Clem is easily swayed by a murky sense of responsibility that all just jelled a bit too patly for this reader.

I will not, though, say anything to discourage anyone who longs for ancestral representation for their own kind to get stuck in right away. I think the transmasculine Clem, while imperfect, is perfectly delightful to spend page time with. The hurts and betrayals of lives long over make for great stories, even knowing they were painful and hard to live. You will come away edified for knowing the honorable, sensible, deeply relatable hero that is Clem.

>176 Familyhistorian: They are loud and fast, Meg, and one blows outside my window even now. *brrr*

029 Honey, Olives, Octopus: Adventures at the Greek Table by Christopher Bakken
(illustrated by Mollie Katzen)

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Combining the best of memoir, travel literature, and food writing, Christopher Bakken delves into one of the most underappreciated cuisines in Europe in this rollicking celebration of the Greek table. He explores the traditions and history behind eight elements of Greek cuisine―olives, bread, fish, cheese, beans, wine, meat, and honey―and journeys through the country searching for the best examples of each. He picks olives on Thasos, bakes bread on Crete, eats thyme honey from Kythira with one of Greece’s greatest poets, and learns why Naxos is the best place for cheese in the Cyclades. Working with local cooks and artisans, he offers an intimate look at traditional village life, while honoring the conversations, friendships, and leisurely ceremonies of dining around which Hellenic culture has revolved for thousands of years. A hymn to slow food and to seasonal and sustainable cuisine, Honey, Olives, Octopus is a lyrical celebration of Greece, where such concepts have always been a simple part of living and eating well.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Recipes galore...one per chapter...and lush descriptions of the author’s extensive travels around the foodie paradise that is Greece.

The entire read was a fever dream of drooling and craving and meal-planning, then scrapping the plans because no one else wants this cuisine where I am. The ways that food is entwined into Hellenic culture no matter where it finds itself rooted make me think that the whole Hellenic world is onto something all of us would do well to attend to: center the glorious gifts of food culture in your daily life, do not stop being aware of what and how you are eating, use food and its rituals to strengthen your ties to others with pleasant, ongoing memories.

Bakken bring us with him on a journey in space, as well as time, delineating the cultural origins of the food rituals he brings to us. He is careful to offer his gleaned knowledge as an eager amateur, not a native expert, which sensitivity made me trust his insights more than a more learnèd, academic approach would have. I was a little afraid I would find him more on the Subject Matter Expert side, seeing as this is a book from a university press, but that was never for a moment his authorial stance.

What else would you ask for? Inquiring mind eats his way around one of the West’s oldest cultures, brings us at home his findings, and shares a trained mind’s obervations. All the way around it is a win!

>179 richardderus:
Well that was a BB. I just can't bypass a wonderful travel memoir food book.

>180 benitastrnad: #sorrynotsorry Benita. You will most likely really enjoy the read.

>104 richardderus: I agree. The stakes are high.

>177 richardderus: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, RD.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** for today. Have a wonderful weekend!

Thinking of you, Richard ;0)

Happy weekend, Richard! Hope you're reading some good books.

>182 alcottacre: Enjoy The Perfume Thief, Stasia! The story centering someone trans in WWII is startling.

*smooch* for a delight of a weekend.

>183 humouress: Oh look. a rancid, disugsting thing looking out at the beautiful snow. My rancid disgusting roommate whined about snow outside making his morning cigarette uncomfortable just now.

>184 bell7: *smooch* I hope so, too, Mary.

Dropping off long weekend smooches!

Now, Richard, be nice. That is a beautiful kitty gazing at pristine snow...not your grumpy, difficult roommate. 😉

>189 RebaRelishesReading: The thing is (if you follow the link and he hasn't edited it) he called himself an indoors cat. I had to share that :0)

>188 MickyFine: Morning, Micky! Thanks for the weekend wishes! *smooch*

>189 RebaRelishesReading: I did nice once.

It still hurts.

*smooch*

>190 humouress: I keep forgetting that a Supervillainess walks among us....

>1 richardderus: Beautiful topper.

>5 richardderus: Ha.

>10 richardderus: Such craftsmanship.

>33 richardderus: Wow, the light is amazing. Agree though that it should be clearly marked as created by AI.

>112 richardderus: ooo, pistachio ... yum.

>171 richardderus: Me too, I'm hoping for the 'die old' bit, as long as I'm still compos mentis.

>179 richardderus: Only had octopus once, pre vegetarian days, in my yoof. Knowing how amazing they are now, not proud of that.

>183 humouress: She dared... *snicker*.

>193 richardderus: I feel a reminder now and then doesn’t go amiss.

>194 Caroline_McElwee: She did :0D

030 Salem's Cipher (A Salem's Cipher Mystery #1) by Jess Lourey

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A troubled codebreaker faces an epic plot reaching back through centuries of America's secret history

Salem Wiley is a genius cryptanalyst, courted by the world's top security agencies ever since making a breakthrough discovery in her field of quantum computing. She's also an agoraphobe, shackled to a narrow routine by her fear of public places. When her mother's disappearance is linked to a plot to assassinate the country's first viable female presidential candidate, Salem finds herself both target and detective in a modern-day witch hunt.

Drawn into a labyrinth of messages encrypted by Emily Dickinson and centuries-old codes tucked inside the Beale Cipher, Salem begins to uncover the truth: an ancient and ruthless group is hell-bent on ruling the world, and only a select group of women stands in its way.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Secret history novels are always fun for me...they put a spin on the facts that usually makes very little sense, but has the lovely quality of being off-the-wall...and this outing into that garden of fantasy is no disappointment.

If James Rollins had written a woman-centered story, this is what it would feel like. Since I like James Rollins, I think of that as a compliment. Salem and Bel, with their matrilineal cultish secret society, The Underground, are in opposition to the male-dominated world-spanning cult, The Order...don't you love the harkening back to the antique world's division of authority into women/Earth::men/land?...each side ready to lie, cheat, and kill to accomplish their goals. The two (so far) stories in Salems world make it clear that the nightmare of christian nationalism and fascistic order/totalitarianism are only going to be effectively opposed by women organizing and taking their power back into their own hands.

This being a message I am totally on board with, I say go get you a copy and learn what one intelligent, observant woman thinks is worth fighting for, and how to do it. I won't say it's a roadmap since we live in mundane reality not Conspiracytopia, but I will say I agree that the stakes are existential.

When the next woman is nominated to run for president I will not be surprised if she faces some sort of threat very similar to this story's plot. There is no reason to think that the incels and MAGAts will change in the next four years. I hope that somewhere there is an actual real-life cabal of powerful women ready to blast the patriarchy that will come gunning for her. If they had the quasi-mystical powers that the Underground...do you not just love the echoes of Persephone in that name?...and if they could just use Emily Dickinsons poetry a a cipher, too....

The idea of power in the hands of women scares some men so badly that they will stoop to anything to stop it from occurring. This being amply demonstrated by the events of 2016, when the first version of this book came out, the anxiety that propeled this story reads as relevant today as it ever has. Absent some Great Dismantling of the patriarchy, the plot of this story will remain evergreen.

An excellent investment of a minimal amount of money, for very solid return of pleasure in the read.

>194 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caro! That is one thoroughgoing message.

Being compos mentis is my own sine qua non, as well...dying above the neck before I do below it is my awfulest thought. Well, next to locked-in syndrome.

I do love pistachios, though pecans will always reign supreme in my tastes.

I think I would just say no to octopus these days, as well. I don't claim any virtue for that because I do not process iodine well anymore and thus avoid seafoods and fishes.

>195 humouress: *sigh* It is upon me to recall the Supervillainess walks among us....

>198 richardderus: *evil laugh*

Return *smoochies*, Richard dear. I rather think you did a fly-by and didn't see that I had actually posted some POTTERY a few posts above! I just spent a few hours out in the studio throwing, it being 57 degrees outside, and plan to spend more this week as the next four days promise to be in the 60s (We had an inch of snow on Friday). So hopefully I will be posting more pottery in the near future.

I'm getting behind on threads again. How do I know? You have a new one, and my post will be at least number 200 on it!

>200 ronincats: I zoomed past something cat-related, was that the pottery? Glad to see you here.

>201 thornton37814: Not even the most diligent among us can honestly say we are all caught up, Lori, so no worries. All my reviews are always linked in >2 richardderus:, >3 richardderus:, >4 richardderus: on each thread if you just want to see what I have been reading.

>203 richardderus: Thanks for the tip!

Hi, Richard! Just letting you know I secured the Helen of Troy book you mentioned on my thread. Now.......to find time to read it!

Enjoy the week ahead and this weeks reads, Richard! * smooch *

>204 thornton37814: De rien, ma amie.

>205 Tess_W: Oh, I am pleased! I will wander by to see what news of your progress once in a while. Thank you for telling me, Tess!

>206 vancouverdeb: Weeeellll...maybe "enjoy" runs a bit hot. "Appreciate" certainly, also "respect"...those are parts of the gestalt of enjoyment, right? I just hope I do not blow a gasket....

*smooch*

031 The Wisdom of Plagues: Lessons from 25 Years of Covering Pandemics by Donald G. Mcneil Jr.

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: Award-winning New York Times reporter Donald G. McNeil, Jr. reflects on twenty-five years of covering pandemics—how governments react to them, how the media covers them, how they are exploited, and what we can do to prepare for the next one.

For millions of Americans, Donald McNeil was a comforting voice when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. He was a regular reporter on The New York Times’s popular podcast The Daily and told listeners early on to prepare for the worst. He’d covered public health for twenty-five years and quickly realized that an obscure virus in Wuhan, China, was destined to grow into a global pandemic rivaling the 1918 Spanish flu. Because of his clear advice, a generation of Times readers knew the risk was real but that they might be spared by taking the right precautions. Because of his prescient work, The New York Times won the 2021 Pulitzer Gold Medal for Public Service.

The Wisdom of Plagues is his account of what he learned over a quarter-century of reporting in over sixty countries. Many science reporters understand the basics of diseases—how a virus works, for example, or what goes into making a vaccine. But very few understand the psychology of how small outbreaks turn into pandemics, why people refuse to believe they’re at risk, or why they reject protective measures like quarantine or vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic was the story McNeil had trained his whole life to cover. His expertise and breadth of sources let him make many accurate predictions in 2020 about the course that a deadly new virus would take and how different countries would respond.

By the time McNeil wrote his last New York Times stories, he had not lost his compassion—but he had grown far more stone-hearted about how governments should react. He had witnessed enough disasters and read enough history to realize that while every epidemic is different, failure was the one constant. Small case-clusters ballooned into catastrophe because weak leaders became mired in denial. Citizens refused to make even minor sacrifices for the common good. They were encouraged in that by money-hungry entrepreneurs and power-hungry populists. Science was ignored, obvious truths were denied, and the innocent too often died. In The Wisdom of Plagues, McNeil offers tough, prescriptive advice on what we can do to improve global health and be better prepared for the inevitable next pandemic.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: "The innocent too often died" in plagues...that is one of those evocative sentences that sound good until you start unpacking them. Does this excuse the public-health indifference around the fate of the incarcerated, as we presume them to be guilty? (Of what, and why, let’s leave for another book review.) Of course not...at least I hope those reading my reviews agree that this is not acceptable...but it illustrates a fact of the author’s writing such a book reveals.

How we talk about plagues, and public health in general, is deeply fraught and will, no matter how carefully phrased, offend and insult someone.

What Author McNeil chose to do with that realization was write the facts of plagues...origins, spreads, containments...in the context of a long career’s take-aways about what works, what doesnt, and how to effectively stop the inevitable rise of some highly infectious and contagious disease from becoming another pandemic. I tell you upfront, you will hate the answer. It involves infringing, to an astonishing degree, your liberties.

The author has covered the topic for an adult human lifetime. He has seen what effective responses look like. The US did not mount an effective response to COVID, and many died who need not have done. I live in an assisted-living facility with many, many smokers. Over thirty of the residents...out of two hundred-ish...died. Many, including me, got sick. Many of those, though not me, went to the hospital to treat their infections. We were lucky it was not a lot worse because the leaders locked us down, passed out masks like candy, made social-distancing rules that they enforced, and still people got infected.

But we live in a state where those measures were put in place quickly and enforced. Fewer died, and got seriously ill, because the patchwork of regulations and responses worked in our favor. That was good luck, which was in short global supply. But we live in a state where those measures were put in place quickly and enforced. Fewer died, and got seriously ill, because the patchwork of regulations and responses worked in our favor. That was good luck, which was in short global supply. There were even then other challenges concurrent with COVID, eg monkeypox, that never became pandemics despite having the makings of such. One big reason is the public-health response was faster, more openly communicated, and more united. This limited the pathogens’ natural ability to spread.

What the author says to us is that solipsistic selfish behavior in defense of your little "liberties" is fatal in the context of a pandemic. Sometimes Life is not fair, but to save the lives of others you must be ready and willing to accept the loss of unlimited, unrestricted personal "liberty." Sarcastic tone implied by quotes very much intended.

Author McNeil is a bona fide expert on this subject. He knows from being there what is needed to stop a pandemic from arising. I sometimes found his explications, deeply grounded and reported with clarity, to be repetitive, so can not offer a perfect five-star rating. I devoutly hope that some who did not read The Daily during 2022 will still find this book and respond to his "I was there, I saw it happen," account of pandemics past, and re-evaluate their stances on responding to the absolutely inevitable and guaranteed recurrence of a pandemic.

A boy can dream.

>211 richardderus: Oh, you got me with a BB for The Wisdom of Plagues!

I’ve started getting the WordDaily email, and a few days ago, the word was one I’d never even heard—

Pococurante

ADJ 1. Indifferent or unconcerned.
NOUN 1. An indifferent or unconcerned person.

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

"There are a few pococurante board members, but most of the parents at this school are very involved."
"Unfortunately, the historic building was owned for decades by a pococurante landlord who failed to do standard maintenance."
"I went on a terrible blind date with a pococurante who didn't seem to like anything."

You have the largest vocabulary of anyone I know. Have you heard of this word?

Karen O

>212 klobrien2: Never. It would, if I heard it in conversation, cause me to stop the speaker to request clarification. What a strange borrowing from some Latinate source, what linguistic problem does it solve? It seems to me distinction without difference to, say, sociopath. Cool find, Karen O.! *smooch*

>196 richardderus: Got me.

>211 richardderus: It drives me nuts that the crowd who demands an uninfringeable liberty to spread plague strongly overlaps the crowd who demands an uninfringeable liberty to infringe on the liberty to read freely or the liberty to make one's own medical decisions. Or even the liberty to exist. The McNeil book sounds like a valuable assessment of the consequences of appeasing that crowd.

>214 swynn: It is always *their* liberty that must remain sacrosanct, as you know and state. They are like eternal adolescents, wanting all the privileges but not responsibilities to go with them.

Enjoy the Lourey!

>192 richardderus: ;-)

>197 richardderus: Much the same. Becoming non compos mentis would suck. I had enough of people "taking care of me" "in my best interests" as a child; I don't want a second helping.

>201 thornton37814: In what universe will I ever manage to be "all caught up" without skipping lots of posts, or at best skimming them, and not replying because it seems far too late?

>211 richardderus: Sadly, it doesn't matter to most of us if Those People die. Sometimes we'd even prefer it. Or it doesn't matter more than an unhappy ending in a book of fiction. Whereas it does matter that we can continue to do things that make us happy, help us control our stress, etc. etc.

Worse, it's hard for people to make sacrifices, even if they do care - particularly though when they see others shirking, and getting away with it.

The only difference, to this cynical misanthrope, is who we consider to be Those People, and who we actively care about. But even then - too often we care about people we know and like, not abstract people we don't know, even if they are "fellow citizens" or "coworkers", let alone if they are merely "fellow human beings".

Yes, some care for fewer people, and/or sacrifice less for those they do care about. There's a reason many societies honour those who care more, and give more. (We call them "heroes", "saints", etc.) More of that behaviour is better for us all. But it's not so good for the one who performs it, unless it's reciprocated. And even then, a dead hero is still dead. (I've been reading about wars a lot recently.)

Here to lighten your day with a bookworm porn bomb! *smooch*

>216 ArlieS: I hereby dub you Marcx Aureliex. Fine Meditations there.

What matters to me, at least, is the idea that Those Folk simply think of others as expendable extras in the movie that is their life. Yuck.

>217 ronincats: Good book-porn, Roni! *smooch*

quick Monday *smooch* before you move on to your next thread

Almost-Tuesday *smooch*
I'm reading along jut about daily, but no book bullets to report on lately.

Morning, Richard. Just checking in after our trip. Lots of catching up to do but I will take my time. Nice to be back in my usual routine. It is also nice to give my liver a break.

I hope you are doing well, my friend.

Hiya, Rdear! Happy Tuesday to you.

>171 richardderus: Me, too!

>179 richardderus: I adore Greek cuisine, having had a Greek boyfriend in Connecticut for 3 years and traveling to his home island of Andros in the summer of 1979 to stay with his mother for a month. Authentic much? The only thing food-wise I balked at was when they brought out the goat’s skull the day after Tony’s Name Day party and were getting ready to crack it for the brains. Nope. Just nope. I told Tony to excuse me to his family and fled. Eating goat was fine. Eating brains… nope. Not in my wheelhouse.

>183 humouress: and >186 richardderus: You’re a brave woman, Nina. I wouldn’t dare put a photo or gif of One of Those on your thread, RD.

>211 richardderus: Excellent review. Too close to home, so I will pass.

*smooch*

>220 EBT1002: Monday *smooch* back, Ellen...this thread is moving at a spanking pace, isn't it. 2024 apparently will be a busy one around here!

>221 bell7: Tuesday *smooch* and a horrified pearl-clutch that I have yet to book-bullet you! How is that possible?! The lushness of the buffet of literary delights that I have spread before you for your delectation is somehow inadequate? *broken sobbing*

>222 msf59: Morning, Birddude, and welcome home to sanity and abstinence. Two things Old Nawlins does not offer. Things are ticking along just fine with me, thank goodness, no hints of new, darker troubles. Of course I am reading a goodly number of eat-your-spinach books lately.

Dig we must in parlous times.

>223 karenmarie: *gasp* You declined such a deeply symbolic offering...well, Horrible, this is a terrible light on your character indeed. I hate brains, nasty spongy soapy-tasting things, so I woulda done it too.

Yours in labyrinthine living, *smooch*

>196 richardderus: Secret history novels are always fun for me Me too, so into the BlackHole it goes! Thanks for the review and recommendation, RD.

>211 richardderus: Another one going into the BlackHole. I should know better than visiting your thread! I always get hit with multiple BBs.

>217 ronincats: Oh, yeah. I want that room.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** for today

Tuesday smooches!

>217 ronincats: What an inviting, restful space!

Sorry to be so absent, RD. Real Life stuff, mostly aggravating, some downright unpleasant. I do love the sentiment in >171 richardderus: above...I have two female relatives from two separate lines in my family tree (a second cousin and a maternal great-aunt) who lived past their 100th birthdays, so I hope I get to "die old" as they did-- they both lived pretty well to the end. I do admit to having purged a whole slew of books from the house just lately, but there are still PLENTY to create a labyrinth.

>228 alcottacre: Howdy do, luvvie! Enjoy the reads when you get to them. *smooch*

>229 Storeetllr: Hiya Mary! *smooch*

>230 laytonwoman3rd: Hi Linda3rd! The thing about Life is that we do not get to just ignore it. LT we can safely set aside for a while because it will keep moving anyway. Life, not so much...I hope the unpleasant bits are settling down into normalcy.

Happy you visited, hope you can come back by soon! *smooch*

>1 richardderus: omg that is beautiful!

Good afternoon, Richard. Before I head off to get as wet as my ma in her shower, I'll add my different bit to the Those People discussion. This is a tangent which you or Arlie may have covered, because I was skimming....

Many of us also "care" for faceless categories of folks - unborn babies, poor people, immigrants - enough even to throw some money their way. (And we hope it does some good.) It's another thing entirely to meet and work with individuals (well, not unborn babies) who may or may not want what we think they need. Actually, I don't know why I felt obliged to say this, but I'll leave it since I took the trouble to say it. Feel free to ignore it, everybody.

"pococurante" = "caring little"? Sounds like somebody's pet neologism to me.

I took a BB for *Cipher* but it will have to wait as I have just spent too much $ on other books. A new month approaches though.

Be warm! *smooch*

>234 The_Hibernator: Agreed, Rachel!
Here another one:

They just make me happy.
*smooch*

>235 LizzieD: A new month in a mere ten days, me lurve. Truly scary to me how time flies.

I concur with your expanded theme-building. The fact is that we do not do more than the minimum all that often. Agreed also about neologism, even pleonasm in fact. The adding together of letters that makes the least sense to me is in this kind of overnaming of an idea.

Be well! *smooch*

Hi Richard!

>238 Owltherian: Good evening, Lily! Thank you for coming by today.

>239 richardderus: Your welcome! How is your day going?

>240 Owltherian: I am so old that its over by this time...I get to sleep shortly after nine so I can get up by seven to do my routine body care. Much to my shock having strokes in 2023 made me a lot tireder all the time.

>241 richardderus: Oh wow- none of my parents or anyone has had a stroke in my family, but my grandpa on my dads side died of a heart attack sadly.

>242 Owltherian: Both of my parents had strokes, and both died later from their complications, so I am really, really lucky that medicine has come so very far treating them. *whew*

‘Morning, RDear. Happy Humpday to you.

>227 richardderus: Labyrinthine it is… for both of us.

>235 LizzieD: and >237 richardderus: In less Covid-brain times I might be able to respond intelligently, but alas. My brain hurts from trying to parse. Carry on…

*smooch* from your own Horrible

>244 karenmarie: Morning, smoochling. Recovering your brainpower will come...meantime just rest more than you think you should because COVID is sneaky and can crawl back out of wherever it is hiding to smack you down without warning...too much rides on your getting that new knee to take risks!

>243 richardderus: Oh no i am so sorry.

>246 Owltherian: Thank you, Lily. I was very, very lucky, and am so grateful I got that lucky break and recovered.

>247 richardderus: your welcome, i know what its kind of like to deal with the death of a family member, especially a parent

032 Tolkien: Lighting Up The Darkness by Willy Duraffourg, illus. by Giancarlo Caracuzzo

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: JRR Tolkien was not always the old Oxford professor, pipe in the mouth, refining his extraordinary work.

In 1915, at age 23, he left for the front with his high school friends, whom he loved like brothers. They take part in the Battle of the Somme which will kill 450,000 people. The horror of war will brand his relationship to friendship, love and creation.

This graphic novel explores the youth of the author of The Lord of the Rings, and his traumatic experience of the battlefields of the First World War, which will forge the imagination of his literary work.

For fans of The Hobbit & Lord of The Rings looking to learn more about the genius behind their favorite epics.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Okay. This is how you know for certain that we are in the End Times.

I am recommending to you, dear reader, a comic book. A format I avoid because I do not "get" it. One that is, to boot, about the author of The Lord of the Rings. A book series that I famously dislike with the utmost vigor.

Have the GQP released some personality-altering chemical into the atmosphere? It feels like that is not out of the realm of possibility, given how many of my shibboleths I am smashing by recommending this read to you. The issues I have with graphic works always comes down to, what am I supposed to do, read its words or look at its art? I am not wired to do both...I read fast, so am the right audience for subtitled film and TV, and less so for sequential story-telling which is, of necessity, light on words.

Then we come to Tolkien. Not my jam, as the middle-aged whippersnappers say. I never caught the Middle-Earth bug, despite my love for The Hobbit in childhood. I seem to have acquired sterile immunity to Tolkien from that story-inoculation. No idea why, really. It should have been so totally my thing, only it wasn't.

What led me to get this DRC was the fact that, despite my dislike of his stories and his conservative, anti-progressive politics, I think I need to know about the man that changed the entire publishing industry, and the popular culture I grew up in, with the stories that were inspired by his experiences in the Great War. The fact that this is a translation from the French, and is illustrated by an Italian master of sequential storytelling art, made the prospect of reading the story much more attractive to me.

The artwork speaks for itself in the samples from the publisher posted below. It is, to my art-savvy eye, lovely stuff. It is well-chosen to make its storytelling points succinctly, and very aesthetically pleasing.



I think the light shined on the origin of the world-beating work done by Tolkien makes this graphic treatment of his life all the more interesting. The plight of a WWI soldier is, as always, interesting to me. That it is the story a soldier who went on to use the horrors of his time at war to write effectively of the cost of battles on the unprepared and unsuited people who always have and always will predominate among the combatants...priceless.

Kudos to the writers and to the publisher for seeing that this take on the life of JRR Tolkien is important, illuminating, and quite beautiful.

>249 richardderus: Welp, you got me with that one. Though it's not in my library system, sadly, so I'll have to see what I can do to get my hands on it.

>248 Owltherian: The older you get, the more you expect your parents will pass in the not-too-distant future, but for a teen like yourself it would be very, very shocking.

>251 richardderus: Yeah, my biological mother passed when i was 5 while my father is saying i will give him a heart attack and i hope i don't and i know i shouldn't think like i will.

>250 bell7: It only came out three weeks ago, Mary, so It *could* show up in time. But my advice is, order it and shelve it prominently because the Tolkien people will love it immoderately. I mean, if it got to ME, it will be catnip to them!

*smooch*

>252 Owltherian: No, you won't give him a *literal* heart attack, but you most likely will scare him a lot, any number of times. Fathers do, I promise, get used to that fact.

>254 richardderus: I fight with my brother a lot so that stresses him out and i guess that's what causes heart attacks or something.

>255 Owltherian: No, that kind of stress does not cause heart attacks. High blood pressure from stress, over the course of many years, can cause heart troubles of different sorts. The stress of your kids fighting is temporary. That does not cause heart attacks because your brain sends calming messages to your heart before it lasts long enough to cause any kind of problem.

>256 richardderus: He always says that but he gets mad easily and thinks he will have a heart attack just like his dad which makes me anxious because it makes me feel like i will be the reason for it.

>257 Owltherian: You dont need to worry about that, ever. If your dad has a heart attack, it will not be because you did or didnt do such-and-such a thing. Does not happen IRL, only in books.

>258 richardderus: Yeah, and my biological mom k*lled herself and same with my uncle and i blame myself for her death because i feel like i could have stopped it.

>259 Owltherian: No indeed, you did not. You can not save people. It is not your responsibility, your job, or your duty. You take care of you first.

>260 richardderus: Yeah, although she was dealing with a whole bunch of depression at the time.

>261 Owltherian: That is very, very sad. Her life ended long before it should have, and being sad about that is the usual response most people will have. However it is urgent that you remember her life was not *just* being a mother, so you can not tell what her feelings were, or even might have been, influenced by.

>262 richardderus: Yeah, a bunch of my family died when i was young, including my grandpa, mother, uncle, and another grandpa from 'covid' in 2020 or 2021

>236 richardderus: I think those are flowers but they remind me of jelly fish and I love jelly fish so that one is my favorite so far.

Thursday drive by *smooch*

Sweet Thursday, Richard. Good review of Tolkien: Lighting Up The Darkness. Sounds great. Looking forward to seeing Jack today and tomorrow. It has been nearly 2 weeks. What the heck?

The INternet Culture Project posted this article by Cory Doctorow on Tumblr...here https://www.tumblr.com/communistkenobi/741786205460545536/as-much-as-i-hate-to-r.... I encourage you to give it a read. It is very long, but here is a bit to get you to pay attention.
***
Cory Doctorow 8 Feb 2024

Last year, I coined the term “enshittification” to describe the way that platforms decay. That obscene little word did big numbers; it really hit the zeitgeist.

The American Dialect Society made it its Word of the Year for 2023 (which, I suppose, means that now I’m definitely getting a poop emoji on my tombstone).

So what’s enshittification and why did it catch fire? It’s my theory explaining how the internet was colonised by platforms, why all those platforms are degrading so quickly and thoroughly, why it matters and what we can do about it. We’re all living through a great enshittening, in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit. It’s frustrating. It’s demoralising. It’s even terrifying.

I think that the enshittification framework goes a long way to explaining it, moving us out of the mysterious realm of the “great forces of history”, and into the material world of specific decisions made by real people; decisions we can reverse and people whose names and pitchfork sizes we can learn.

Enshittification names the problem and proposes a solution. It’s not just a way to say “things are getting worse”, though, of course, it’s fine with me if you want to use it that way. (It’s an English word. We don’t have ein Rat für englische Rechtschreibung. English is a free-for-all. Go nuts, meine Kerle.) But in case you want to be more precise, let’s examine how enshittification works. It’s a three-stage process: first, platforms are good to their users. Then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers. Finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, there is a fourth stage: they die.

There is an extensive case study of the many ways this process works and what could stop it from happening. I have little faith in the world doing something about it, but it soothed my angriest outbursts to realize I am not a paranoid old man screaming at clouds like Abe Simpson in the meme.
Doctorow adapted this from his Marshall McLuhan Lecture, delivered at the Embassy of Canada in Berlin in January 2024.

>263 Owltherian: Lots and lots of losses all packed in to a short time. That is very disorienting and unsettling. I am glad you became a reader! It helps figure out emotional states to read a lot.

>264 RebaRelishesReading: I had not thought of it in that light, but yeah, I see it! Cool. The images are so...ethereal...they make me experience ephemerality in a new way.

>265 figsfromthistle: *smooch* back, Anita!

>236 richardderus: Oo, that one makes me happy too!

>249 richardderus: I need to get hold of that one. Thanks for the review and recommendation, RD.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** for today

>266 msf59: Hey there Birddude. Enjoy your time with Jack today. Thanks re the Tolkien! I was pleasantly surprised to like it so much.

>271 alcottacre: That is great, Stasia! I know you will get a lot out of that read, more even than I did because you are more available to the graphic style of storytelling.

*smooch*

>268 richardderus: Yeah, i usually get good grades in reading but not at the moment sadly

>274 Owltherian: It is hard to focus, I would guess. Keep trying, it is worth the effort.

>275 richardderus: I keep spacing out and i know its bad because I'm in Honors English and i shouldn't be spacing out at all

>249 richardderus: You would know if you thought about it, that I am a great Tolkien lover for decades - love most of those Inklings, in fact. I will be looking for the comic, which will be a first for me after even more decades. Thank you, Richard!

>276 Owltherian: Lily, is your English teacher a person you can talk to? I'll guarantee that good teachers know when their students are not 100% present in class and are grateful for a chance to talk about what's going on.

>277 LizzieD: Yeah, kind of but when i do she says she cant give me another assignment in place of the assignment i spaced out on.

Salem's Cipher sounds like a good one - will BOLO for it. Book One of a new series? Well, OK.

Whatever you want to say about Tolkien, The Battle scenes in the LOTR books really capture the mud and the blood and the terror - even when it's elves and dwarves going at it. Guy was there.

And the graphic novel format, which i grew up with, has grown into a powerful and affecting story telling modus. Glad you gave this one a look at.

>273 richardderus: Good to know. Thanks, RD!

>276 Owltherian:, >277 LizzieD: What our friend means, Lily, is we think it would be a good idea to talk to the English teacher...or another one...about how what you are feeling is acting on your ability to focus on your work. Teachers can often do a lot to help you out, but you are the only one who can do the asking.

>281 richardderus: Yeah, i guess but its hard for me to ask due to having extreme social anxiety.

>277 LizzieD: I am aware of your shuddersome lack of taste, smoochling. I hope you love the read, because it is really a fascinating dive into the emotional reality of JRRT as a veteran. And it is really beautiful.

>282 Owltherian: The anxiety is a reason to do the asking...but maybe instead of verbally, write your teacher a letter or text. You are very articulate and you can revise something written before you send it. This is something less anxiety-inducing since you are very at ease with text...thank GOODNESS! You are not trapped or blocked in.

>280 alcottacre: more *smoochings*

>284 richardderus: yeah, i can very easily email her about anything i need and its a lot easier for me than verbally talking to teachers

Sorry to arrive a bit late today, Richard dear, happy what is left of your Thursday.
>249 richardderus: BB, I hope for a translation, but I think I'll be able to read it in English.

033 Monkey Grip: A Novel by Helen Garner

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: The novel that launched the career of one of Australia’s greatest writers, following the doomed infatuations of a young, single mother, enthralled by the excesses of Melbourne's late-70s counterculture

The name Helen Garner commands near-universal acclaim. A master novelist, short-story writer, and journalist, Garner is best known for her frank, unsparing, and intricate portraits of Australian life, often drawn from the pages of her own journals and diaries. Now, in a newly available US edition, comes the disruptive debut that established Garner's masterful and quietly radical literary voice.

Set in Australia in the late 1970s, Monkey Grip follows single mother and writer Nora as she navigates the tumultuous cityscape of Melbourne’s bohemian underground, often with her young daughter Gracie in tow. When Nora falls in love with the flighty Javo, she becomes snared in the web of his addiction. And as their tenuous relationship disintegrates, Nora struggles to wean herself off a love that feels impossible to live without.

When it first published in 1977, Monkey Grip was both a sensation and a lightning rod. While some critics praised the upstart Garner for her craft, many scorned her gritty depictions of the human body and all its muck, her frankness about sex and drugs and the mess of motherhood, and her unabashed use of her own life as inspiration. Today, such criticism feels old-fashioned and glaringly gendered, and Monkey Grip is considered a modern masterpiece.

A seminal novel of Australia’s turbulent 1970s and all it entailed—communal households, music, friendships, children, love, drugs, and sex— Monkey Grip now makes its long-overdue American debut.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Novels belong to times and places. This novel is absolutely a product of its time...the 1970s...and place, settler-colonial Australia. Now we are fifty years (close enough) on from that time, we see it very differently. The term "settler colonial" as an example had not been articulated in any but the most ardently leftist circles and is now much more a part of the cultural conversation. What Garner has to say about a liberated woman of the 1970s hits very differently now than it did then. Nora’s descent into sexual obsession and drug abuse was transgressive in a different way. Now, in a conservative social landscape developed in reaction to that bright bohemian moment, Nora seems appallingly neglectful, pretty much criminally culpable for her treatment of Gracie as an expendable accessory to her own life. We think that differently about children and their needs. Thank goodness.

A point that was clear then that we of the 2020s often seem to ignore is that Gracie...of necessity...has a dad. Nora is living her own life without so much as a thought for Gracie. And so, I remind is all in our desire to tut over this, is Gracie’s dad. In the 1970s that was so ordinary an outcome that nothing whatever is made of it, nor is Javo’s hostile indifference to anyone’s needs except his own. He is, after all, A Man. Nora, by the end of the tale, is the only sufferer for her actions. Her resentful neglect of Gracie, product of an unhappy stab at marriage, really stood out for me as she simultaneously pined after the job of riding herd on Javo of the wild blue eyes and the clearly terminal smack (heroin, for the youths who might read this) addiction. As always, the inconvenient thing about children is that they need meals, clothes, baths, every day. Junkies like the adult-but-younger Javo, in contrast, can be left in their own mess, and no one does a double-take.

The reason this book sprang out at people back in the day was that it was still very much Not Done for a woman to write about women’s desires for sex, and about the bright shining fact that the reason drug culture took hold was that taking drugs feels really good. It gets a user out of their doubtless boring and routine life. That it also takes them over and ruins that boring tedious necessary engagement with living one’s life slowly emerges as Nora stays focused on herself and her addictions to sex and drugs. The shock value of this, then, was that it was a woman writing about it without stuffy moralizing and overt message-making. Yes, she has been in this out-of-control relaationship but she does come to know it must, and is at the, end. Nora does not ever think about the impact of any of this on Gracie.

I do not pretend to like Nora, or to think I would voluntarily pick up a book about her. I’m glad that I read Monkey Grip because the prose is terrific...elliptical, imprecise, and poetic...and the fact that this is based off Garner’s own life is much better known now. This adds a depth of field to my reading of the nearly plotless events that occur. The fact that Garner spent her energy in this difficult-to-sell way, then transmuted that sort-of wasted life into a work of very loud art in a very beige cultural landscape, made me admire her for her honesty, and for her clarity of purpose in writing it as a novel. She could have written a mea-culpa memoir, and been forgotten in a year.

What we get instead is a book that, for its story and its storyteller, was a loud BANG! of brightly-colored paint in that very beige cultural landscape. It would take over a decade for Australian writers to follow Helen Garner into the Fitzroy Baths and soak some of the settler-colonial stiffness out of their storytelling muscles.

Hope friday treats you well, RD.
I read one of Garner's selection of essays, with mixed reaction.
>267 richardderus: I will put that to one side to read later.

>288 richardderus: Well, I have never heard of Helen Garner, so obviously the acclaim is *not* universal, lol. I will have to see if I can track down a copy of that one.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** and wishes that you have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Unfortunately, the Tolkien GN isn't available here yet. WTH? ☹️

>286 Owltherian: That is the best way to get the advice you can use to help dealing with the concentration issue, then.

>287 FAMeulstee: Friday orisons, Anita! *smooch*

>289 Helenliz: Hiya Helen. Happy to see you here. I do not think Garner's essays are necessarily indicative of her novelistic talents, but this was her first novel and it very much shows. Maybe a library borrow would be best.

>290 alcottacre: Not to worry, Stasia, this book, in fact Garner whole and entire, will not appeal to you much. This story in particular will make you a crazy person, so skip it...and if I'm honest, her. *smooch*

>291 msf59: You mean at the library, I guess, but that is no surprise because it was published on 23 January. Give it soe time, and certainly request it from them so they know someone wants to read it.

>292 richardderus: Yeah, i will do that in a minute or so.

>281 richardderus: >297 Owltherian: Yes, Richard, that's what I meant, thanks. Lily, that's a brave step, and I hope that your teacher is worthy of your trust.

>288 richardderus: I won't read that one either. I did read The Spare Room and was deeply involved in it but didn't mark it as "read," so I have no idea what I thought at the time. I'll have to go back and track it down on my 2010 thread. I certainly couldn't reread it now.

I know I've asked before, but I can never remember what you say. My book of the last decade was Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest. It remains the most authentic writing about WWI that I've read as far as I can tell. It's so much more though, with geology, science, culture, and adventure. I'll reread it if I live long enough. Have you read it???

Meanwhile, Tolkien graphic in hardcover will have to wait. It's pricey, of course.

*smooch* for your day Hope it's not as wet and gray as mine.

>297 Owltherian: Wonderful!

>298 LizzieD: I have not read it, but I have wishlisted it now. Thanks. No. Really. Thanks for adding another thing I want to read to my woefully unpopulated TBR. So thoughtful of you.

*smooch*

‘Morning, Rdearest, and happy Friday to you.

>245 richardderus: Jenna warned me about the same thing sort of – said that I was still sick even though I wasn’t testing positive any more. And another friend reminded me about Paxlovid rebound Covid, so I’m not being around ANYBODY except J & B til I enter the hospital on the 29th. Oh yes, I definitely need this new knee. Ain’t modern medicine the Ii>bee’s knees, so to speak?

>249 richardderus:, ah, this is the GN you wrote about on … Peggy’s?.. thread.

>267 richardderus: Enshittification doesn’t seem to apply to LT, fortunately.

*smooch*

>301 karenmarie: Morning, Horrible! Glad you are listening to the wisdom of others about COVID...this knee surgery is a MUST.

LT is not run by the vulturous scum of the tech industry. Blessedly. And yeah, that is the one...and only...GN review I have in the future of 2024. So far, anyway.

>298 LizzieD: I read that, it is good. Wideranging for sure. Unfortunately I read it in a period off LT, so have no review.

>263 Owltherian: Have a belated virtual hug. And I agree with Richard. It's common to feel guilty when bad things happen to people around us, but that doesn't mean we are responsible for the bad things that happened.

>304 ArlieS: thanks, i wish my family never died anyway....but they did