Linda Hopes to Pick up the Pace in Quarter TWO of 2024
This is a continuation of the topic Linda Begins 2024 as She Means to Continue.
This topic was continued by Linda Aims for 80 in the Third Quarter.
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2024
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1laytonwoman3rd
Everything that comes into the house must meet with Molly's approval---even the Royal Mail is under suspicion until properly inspected.
Hi, I'm Linda, a retired paralegal, though that says very little about me nowadays, as my work life ended in 2015. I live in Northeast Pennsylvania, with the above four-footed tyrant, and my husband, @flamingrabbit. Since giving up the legal grind, I have kept busy with volunteer work centered around libraries, cemeteries, and genealogy. I serve on the Board of Directors of the Scranton Public Library, and several of its committees. I am President of the Equinunk Cemetery Association, which is located in my home village along the Delaware River, and do as much grave-hunting and photographing as time and weather will allow for the website Find-A-Grave.com.
LT has been an essential part of my life since I joined in 2005, after my daughter @lycomayflower told me about "this site where you can catalog your books." My response was something like, "Why would I want to do that?" HA! I simply can't imagine life without it anymore. I never knew how much I needed a reading community, until I found one. There are links on my profile page to my earlier reading threads.
I've been hosting an American Authors Challenge in the 75 Book Challenge Group since 2019, and details of this year's monthly challenges can be found downthread.
Finally, as some of you know, I'm averse to gifs and list-serve-type greetings, but I LOVE visitors who comment on my reading, or on other topics introduced here. Everyone is welcome to lurk or engage, as you see fit.
2laytonwoman3rd
The ticker where I will keep track of my numbers, and how pitifully I fall short of my 100 book/year reading goal. (For four years after retiring, I routinely surpassed that goal. The pandemic, for some reason, plunged me back to the low 80s, which is less than I was reading those last several years when I was still working full time.) I actually made a list of my totals for the last dozen years, and was surprised by the consistency:
2023: 81
2022: 82
2021: 85
2020: 84
2019: 104
2018: 110
2017: 100
2016: 112
2015: 86
2014: 100
2013: 82
2012: 88
3laytonwoman3rd
Here will be a list of the books I read in the current quarter of 2024.
I use some shorthand to help me keep track of my reading trends:
ROOT identifies a book that I have owned for at least a year at the time I read it.
CULL means I put the book in my donation box for the library book sale after finishing it, or otherwise gave it away.
DNF means I didn't finish the book, for one reason or another, usually explained in the related post.
ER means I received the book from LT's Early Reviewer program.
GN refers to a graphic novel, GM a graphic memoir This is not a category I use much.
An * asterisk indicates a library book.
LOA means I read a Library of America edition;
SF means the book was a Slightly Foxed edition, (NOT science fiction, which I so rarely read);
VIRAGO means it was an original green-spined Virago edition from my own collection;
FOLIO indicates a Folio Society edition.
AUDIO and e-Book are self-explanatory, and probably won't appear very often.
AAC refers to the American Author Challenge.
NF indicates a non-fiction read.
TR indicates a work in translation
RR means it's a re-read for me
Clicking on titles in this post will take you to the message in which I reviewed or commented on that book.
APRIL
22. Harm Done by Ruth Rendell CULL
23. ZABAR'S by Lori Zabar NF, AAC, ROOT, CULL
24. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres ROOT
*25. The Hunter by Tana French
*26. Kissed A Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie
27. The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams NF, CULL
28. A William Maxwell Portrait by Charles Baxter et al. NF, AAC
MAY
*29. Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
30. Rain Breaks No Bones by Barbara J. Taylor
*31. The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier YA
*32. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris
*33. Northern Fried Chicken by James T. "Chimsey" Williams NF
34. The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell LOA, AAC, ROOT
*DNF The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller
JUNE
35. Octopus Mind by Rachel Carney
*36. Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke
*37. Selected Works of Audre Lord NF, AAC
38. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
39. Currents in the Electric City various authors
40. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby AAC, NF
41. The Virgin and the Gypsy by D. H. Lawrence BAC, FOLIO, ROOT
*DNF The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
42. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf ROOT
*43. Thirst by Mary Oliver AAC
*44. Morally Straight by Mike DeSocio NF, AAC
I use some shorthand to help me keep track of my reading trends:
ROOT identifies a book that I have owned for at least a year at the time I read it.
CULL means I put the book in my donation box for the library book sale after finishing it, or otherwise gave it away.
DNF means I didn't finish the book, for one reason or another, usually explained in the related post.
ER means I received the book from LT's Early Reviewer program.
GN refers to a graphic novel, GM a graphic memoir This is not a category I use much.
An * asterisk indicates a library book.
LOA means I read a Library of America edition;
SF means the book was a Slightly Foxed edition, (NOT science fiction, which I so rarely read);
VIRAGO means it was an original green-spined Virago edition from my own collection;
FOLIO indicates a Folio Society edition.
AUDIO and e-Book are self-explanatory, and probably won't appear very often.
AAC refers to the American Author Challenge.
NF indicates a non-fiction read.
TR indicates a work in translation
RR means it's a re-read for me
Clicking on titles in this post will take you to the message in which I reviewed or commented on that book.
APRIL
22. Harm Done by Ruth Rendell CULL
23. ZABAR'S by Lori Zabar NF, AAC, ROOT, CULL
24. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres ROOT
*25. The Hunter by Tana French
*26. Kissed A Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie
27. The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams NF, CULL
28. A William Maxwell Portrait by Charles Baxter et al. NF, AAC
MAY
*29. Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
30. Rain Breaks No Bones by Barbara J. Taylor
*31. The Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier YA
*32. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris
*33. Northern Fried Chicken by James T. "Chimsey" Williams NF
34. The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell LOA, AAC, ROOT
*DNF The Antique Hunters Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller
JUNE
35. Octopus Mind by Rachel Carney
*36. Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke
*37. Selected Works of Audre Lord NF, AAC
38. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
39. Currents in the Electric City various authors
40. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby AAC, NF
41. The Virgin and the Gypsy by D. H. Lawrence BAC, FOLIO, ROOT
*DNF The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
42. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf ROOT
*43. Thirst by Mary Oliver AAC
*44. Morally Straight by Mike DeSocio NF, AAC
4laytonwoman3rd
My first quarter reading went like this: (Title links should take you to the post in the previous thread where I commented on the book.)
JANUARY
1. Sula by Toni Morrison ROOT, CULL
2. Heading North by Holly M. Wendt
3. In Between; Creativity Set Free by Don Freas NF
*4. Force of Nature by Jane Harper
5. Calico Lane by Judy Kiehart
*6 Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
*7. Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie
FEBRUARY
*8. North Woods by Daniel Mason
*9. Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
10. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman CULL
11. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk CULL, TR
12. The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell ROOT
13. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ROOT, NF
14. The Commonplace Book of Pie by Kate Lebo ROOT, RR, NF
15. No, I Won't Bow Down on That Dirty Ground by Maurice Martinez ROOT, NF
16. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe NF
MARCH
17. Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote AAC, ROOT, CULL
18. The Broken Shore by Peter Temple ROOT, CULL
19. Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard ROOT
*20. Dry Bones by Craig Johnson
21. The Black Box: Writing the Race by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. NF
JANUARY
1. Sula by Toni Morrison ROOT, CULL
2. Heading North by Holly M. Wendt
3. In Between; Creativity Set Free by Don Freas NF
*4. Force of Nature by Jane Harper
5. Calico Lane by Judy Kiehart
*6 Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
*7. Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie
FEBRUARY
*8. North Woods by Daniel Mason
*9. Track of Sand by Andrea Camilleri
10. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman CULL
11. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk CULL, TR
12. The Tree of Hands by Ruth Rendell ROOT
13. Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. ROOT, NF
14. The Commonplace Book of Pie by Kate Lebo ROOT, RR, NF
15. No, I Won't Bow Down on That Dirty Ground by Maurice Martinez ROOT, NF
16. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe NF
MARCH
17. Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote AAC, ROOT, CULL
18. The Broken Shore by Peter Temple ROOT, CULL
19. Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard ROOT
*20. Dry Bones by Craig Johnson
21. The Black Box: Writing the Race by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. NF
5laytonwoman3rd
Here is where I will keep a list of my new acquisitions throughout the year. Trying HARD to keep this total down, given the size of my TBR collections.
1. In Between; Creativity Set Free by Don Freas
2. Conamara Blues by John O'Donohue
3. Blind Descent by Nevada Barr
4. The Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
5. People of Darkness by Tony Hillerman
6. Colorful Palate by Raj Tawney
7. Upcountry by Chin-Sun Lee
8. A Widow's Curse by Phillip DePoy
9. James by Percival Everett
10. Sammy Two Shoes by Phillip DePoy
11. Sinister Graves by Marcie Rendon
12. Girl Gone Missing by Marcie Rendon
13. The Black Box: Writing the Race by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
14. Five Novels by Ursula Le Guin
15. Stony the Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
16. The Light of Truth by Ida B. Wells
17. Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles
18. The Prospector by LeClezio
19. The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
20. An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell
21. God's Englishman by Christopher Hill
22. The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago
23. Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelson
24. So Much Life Left Over by Louis de Bernières
25. The Guardians by John Grisham
26. Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić
27. Believe Me by Eddie Izzard
28. Atlas of World War II by Richard Natkiel
29. The Orchard by Adele Crockett Robertson
30. Midnights by Alec Wilkinson
31. The Last Chairlift by John Irving
32. Currents in the Electric City by various
33. Making Mountains by David Stradling
34. Rain Breaks No Bones by Barbara J. Taylor
35. Autobiographies and Other Writings by Helen Keller
36. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan
37. The Meadow by James Galvin
38. Fencing the Sky by James Galvin
39. Night Train by Lise Erdrich
40 Sacred Wilderness by Susan Power
6laytonwoman3rd
In an attempt to ameliorate the consequences of >5 laytonwoman3rd: above, and to prevent something like THIS from happening, I have an ongoing mandate to move books out of the house,
,
so I will keep a list of those titles here.
1. The Rag and Bone Shop by Jeff Rackham **
2. Sula by Toni Morrison
3. The Optimist by Joshua Mehigan
4. Collected Poems of Edith Sitwell
5. Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon by Pablo Neruda
6. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
7. Consolation by Garry Disher
8. Mercy of a Rude Stream by Henry Roth
9. A Diving Rock on the Hudson by Henry Roth
10. Requiem for Harlem by Henry Roth
11. From Bondage by Henry Roth
12. When the Frost is on the Pumpkin James Whitcomb Riley, Ill. by Glenna Lang
13. When a Wolf is Hungry by Christine Naumann-Villemin
14. Giant Treasury of Peter Rabbit
15. Giant Treasury of Beatrix Potter
16. Sarah and Simon and No Red Paint by Edward Ardizzone
17. A Wolf's Tale by Eva Montanari
18. The Weather in the Streets by Rosamund Lehmann
19. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
20. The Little Ottleys by Ada Leverson
21. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann
22. Elegy for Iris by John Bayly
23. The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch
24. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
25. The Bell by Iris Murdoch
26. Changes at Fairacre by Miss Read
27. Cry Wolf by Aileen LaTourette
28. Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
29. The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch
30. The Strange Necessity by Rebecca West
31. through 50. are itemized in >96 laytonwoman3rd: of my previous thread. And I will continue here with:
51. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
52. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
53. In America by Susan Sontag
54. Essays of the 1960s and 70s by Susan Sontag
55. Later Essays by Susan Sontag
56. Sontag by Benjamin Moser
57. Writing Lives ed. by Mary Chamberlain
58. Michael Chiarello's Bottega
59. The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell
60. The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustved
61. Intuition by Allegra Goodman
62. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King
63. Gunnar's Daughter by Sigrid Undset
64. Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
65. In Memory of Junior by Clyde Edgerton
66. Werewolves in Their Youth by Michael Chabon
67. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
68. High Country by Nevada Barr
69. Borderline by Nevada Barr
70. Winter Study by Nevada Barr
71. Classic Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens et al.
72. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
73. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
74. Zabar's by Lori Zabar
75-110. Box of books left with LEK and she purged a few more of hers that were here (most were not in my catalog, but they WERE in my house, and now they are not, so I'm countin' 'em.)
** I actually kept this one on hand, thinking I might give it a second chance. I Pearl Ruled it initially.
,so I will keep a list of those titles here.
1. The Rag and Bone Shop by Jeff Rackham **
2. Sula by Toni Morrison
3. The Optimist by Joshua Mehigan
4. Collected Poems of Edith Sitwell
5. Full Woman, Fleshly Apple, Hot Moon by Pablo Neruda
6. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
7. Consolation by Garry Disher
8. Mercy of a Rude Stream by Henry Roth
9. A Diving Rock on the Hudson by Henry Roth
10. Requiem for Harlem by Henry Roth
11. From Bondage by Henry Roth
12. When the Frost is on the Pumpkin James Whitcomb Riley, Ill. by Glenna Lang
13. When a Wolf is Hungry by Christine Naumann-Villemin
14. Giant Treasury of Peter Rabbit
15. Giant Treasury of Beatrix Potter
16. Sarah and Simon and No Red Paint by Edward Ardizzone
17. A Wolf's Tale by Eva Montanari
18. The Weather in the Streets by Rosamund Lehmann
19. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
20. The Little Ottleys by Ada Leverson
21. Invitation to the Waltz by Rosamund Lehmann
22. Elegy for Iris by John Bayly
23. The Red and the Green by Iris Murdoch
24. Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
25. The Bell by Iris Murdoch
26. Changes at Fairacre by Miss Read
27. Cry Wolf by Aileen LaTourette
28. Dear Ijeawele by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
29. The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch
30. The Strange Necessity by Rebecca West
31. through 50. are itemized in >96 laytonwoman3rd: of my previous thread. And I will continue here with:
51. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward
52. Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
53. In America by Susan Sontag
54. Essays of the 1960s and 70s by Susan Sontag
55. Later Essays by Susan Sontag
56. Sontag by Benjamin Moser
57. Writing Lives ed. by Mary Chamberlain
58. Michael Chiarello's Bottega
59. The Mitford Girls by Mary S. Lovell
60. The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustved
61. Intuition by Allegra Goodman
62. A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King
63. Gunnar's Daughter by Sigrid Undset
64. Walking Across Egypt by Clyde Edgerton
65. In Memory of Junior by Clyde Edgerton
66. Werewolves in Their Youth by Michael Chabon
67. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
68. High Country by Nevada Barr
69. Borderline by Nevada Barr
70. Winter Study by Nevada Barr
71. Classic Ghost Stories by Charles Dickens et al.
72. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
73. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
74. Zabar's by Lori Zabar
75-110. Box of books left with LEK and she purged a few more of hers that were here (most were not in my catalog, but they WERE in my house, and now they are not, so I'm countin' 'em.)
** I actually kept this one on hand, thinking I might give it a second chance. I Pearl Ruled it initially.
7laytonwoman3rd
Here's the line-up for the 2024 American Authors Challenge:
(I put links here to each month's thread as it is created.
And, I will update this post periodically with my personal choices and completions in the challenge.)
JANUARY: Mark Twain
January thread is here.
FEBRUARY: Susan Sontag
Her thread is here.
Read and skimmed portions of the Moser biography and first section of "Against Interpretation" Enough.
MARCH: Truman Capote
The Capote Thread
Finished Other Voices, Other Rooms
APRIL: General Non-Fiction (with host Caroline @Caroline_McElwee)
Here is the April thread
Finished Zabar's by Lori Zabar
MAY: William Maxwell
The Maxwell Thread
Finished A William Maxwell Portrait and A Folded Leaf
JUNE: Queer Authors (with host Dr. Laura Koons @lycomayflower) Here you will find the thread for Queer Authors.
Finished Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby and Selected Works of Audre Lord
DNF The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
Finished Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts by Mike de Socio
Finished Thirst by Mary Oliver
JULY: Susan Power a/k/a Mona Susan Power
AUGUST: Jeffrey Lent
SEPTEMBER: Living American authors who were born outside the US but adopted this country as their home.
OCTOBER: Katharine Anne Porter
NOVEMBER: Jewish American Authors (with host Kristel @kristelh)
DECEMBER: The Heartland (regional authors from the middle of the country)
WILD CARD : 2015 Redux Pick an author from the 2015 Challenge Wild Card Thread for 2024
EXTRA POINTS CHALLENGE
Complete the challenge by reading at least one work from the author or category featured each month AND one work from the Wildcard list each month.
(Just like the main challenge, this earns you no points whatsoever.)
The general discussion thread for the 2024 AAC Challenge is here.
(I put links here to each month's thread as it is created.
And, I will update this post periodically with my personal choices and completions in the challenge.)
JANUARY: Mark Twain
January thread is here.
FEBRUARY: Susan Sontag
Her thread is here.
Read and skimmed portions of the Moser biography and first section of "Against Interpretation" Enough.
MARCH: Truman Capote
The Capote Thread
Finished Other Voices, Other Rooms
APRIL: General Non-Fiction (with host Caroline @Caroline_McElwee)
Here is the April thread
Finished Zabar's by Lori Zabar
MAY: William Maxwell
The Maxwell Thread
Finished A William Maxwell Portrait and A Folded Leaf
JUNE: Queer Authors (with host Dr. Laura Koons @lycomayflower) Here you will find the thread for Queer Authors.
Finished Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby and Selected Works of Audre Lord
DNF The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund
Finished Morally Straight: How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts by Mike de Socio
Finished Thirst by Mary Oliver
JULY: Susan Power a/k/a Mona Susan Power
AUGUST: Jeffrey Lent
SEPTEMBER: Living American authors who were born outside the US but adopted this country as their home.
OCTOBER: Katharine Anne Porter
NOVEMBER: Jewish American Authors (with host Kristel @kristelh)
DECEMBER: The Heartland (regional authors from the middle of the country)
WILD CARD : 2015 Redux Pick an author from the 2015 Challenge Wild Card Thread for 2024
EXTRA POINTS CHALLENGE
Complete the challenge by reading at least one work from the author or category featured each month AND one work from the Wildcard list each month.
(Just like the main challenge, this earns you no points whatsoever.)
The general discussion thread for the 2024 AAC Challenge is here.
9Owltherian
Happy new threadddd!
10richardderus
New digs look nice, Linda3rd.
11alcottacre
Happy new thread, Linda!
12Caroline_McElwee
>1 laytonwoman3rd: I am glad to see senior Post Mistress Molly has her eye on the bag! That wouldn't be a book would it!
You have fewer in than me this year, and more out. I need to get back to regular evictions Linda. Not being a driver slows that down.
You have fewer in than me this year, and more out. I need to get back to regular evictions Linda. Not being a driver slows that down.
14MickyFine
Happy new thread, Linda.
Offering up some ear scritches to Molly if she accepts such things.
Offering up some ear scritches to Molly if she accepts such things.
18PaulCranswick
Happy new thread, Linda. x
19FAMeulstee
Happy new thread, Linda!
20BLBera
Happy new thread, Linda.
>3 laytonwoman3rd: I like that your plan is flexible.
>4 laytonwoman3rd: I always enjoy new threads because it gives me a chance to review the year-to-date reading. You've read some great ones. I loved Sula and look forward to reading some Gates.
>3 laytonwoman3rd: I like that your plan is flexible.
>4 laytonwoman3rd: I always enjoy new threads because it gives me a chance to review the year-to-date reading. You've read some great ones. I loved Sula and look forward to reading some Gates.
21thornton37814
Happy new thread!
22laytonwoman3rd
So many lovely visitors! Shortly after I created this thread, we lost power, due to a wicked long windstorm. Although we have a generator for necessities, we try to limit our electricity usage while it's online, for various reasons. So I haven't spent much time on the computer the last couple days. Commercial power was restored earlier this afternoon---YAY!
So, welcome, Foggi, Lilly, Stasia, Richard, Caroline, Katie, Carrie, Shelley, Susan, Paul, Micky, Beth, Anita and Lori! Thanks for stopping by. AND...
>10 richardderus: I admire your civility, RD, as I'm sure you grimaced ever so slightly over the sweetest babeh kitteh evah.
>12 Caroline_McElwee: The bag did indeed contain bookS, Caroline. It was a Christmas gift order from a few years back. The Royal Mail no longer sends things in the pouch, I guess, because the last few orders from the UK came in boring shipping boxes. Although Molly does enjoy those once emptied.
>13 cbl_tn:, >16 jessibud2: Inspection and Security are Molly's primary duties. She even opens cupboards on occasion to make sure the pots and pans are in good order, and monitors the yard, porch and patio from all accessible windows.
>14 MickyFine: Molly absolutely adores skritches, although it might take you several years to get her to accept them directly from you in person...she is shy with people other than those who live here.
>20 BLBera: I keep that list mostly for myself, but I like knowing someone else finds it useful. Sula wasn't my favorite of Morrison's novels, but she never produced a dud.
So, welcome, Foggi, Lilly, Stasia, Richard, Caroline, Katie, Carrie, Shelley, Susan, Paul, Micky, Beth, Anita and Lori! Thanks for stopping by. AND...
>10 richardderus: I admire your civility, RD, as I'm sure you grimaced ever so slightly over the sweetest babeh kitteh evah.
>12 Caroline_McElwee: The bag did indeed contain bookS, Caroline. It was a Christmas gift order from a few years back. The Royal Mail no longer sends things in the pouch, I guess, because the last few orders from the UK came in boring shipping boxes. Although Molly does enjoy those once emptied.
>13 cbl_tn:, >16 jessibud2: Inspection and Security are Molly's primary duties. She even opens cupboards on occasion to make sure the pots and pans are in good order, and monitors the yard, porch and patio from all accessible windows.
>14 MickyFine: Molly absolutely adores skritches, although it might take you several years to get her to accept them directly from you in person...she is shy with people other than those who live here.
>20 BLBera: I keep that list mostly for myself, but I like knowing someone else finds it useful. Sula wasn't my favorite of Morrison's novels, but she never produced a dud.
23laytonwoman3rd
22. Harm Done by Ruth Rendell Rendell overdid herself a bit with this one. Two young women (teenagers, really) disappear and then return home, refusing to say much at all about where they've been. Both insist they were not molested or physically harmed in any way other than being mildly drugged initially, but were confined, required to change into "more appropriate" clothing, and ordered to perform household chores for several days before being allowed to leave. Inspector Wexford and his team piece things together bit by bit, but as it truly appears there was "no harm done", and the victims aren't interested in pursuing the matter, the cases are about to be buried in limbo when a 3-year-old disappears from her cot in the middle of the night, reminiscent of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping generations before. Neighbors of a convicted pedophile, absent any evidence or likelihood whatsoever, convict him again without benefit of trial, certain he has somehow snatched the toddler from the bosom of her family almost immediately upon being released from a lengthy prison term. Protests in front of a police station get ugly, and a policeman who is not even involved in the investigation is gruesomely killed by a petrol bomb thrown by an unidentified member of the mob. Too many subplots, secondary characters, back stories and red herrings; too little detecting. A lot of social commentary, dysfunctional families, willful ignorance and class prejudices running amok in all directions. Although I truly wanted to know the who, how and why of all the separate crimes, I felt this novel was a tangled-up mess. If it had been cut in two, with each half given fair treatment, that might have resulted in two much better novels.
25laytonwoman3rd
>24 Berly: Thanks, Kim! Our new whole house generator (installed last summer) got a good workout, 45 hours without commercial power. It's the first time we had to rely on it, and we were very well pleased. In fact, I called the gas company to let them know we were running the generator and would probably need a fill-up before our next scheduled delivery, and they came the same day!
26laytonwoman3rd
23. Zabar's by Lori Zabar Exacty what it says there on the cover..."A family story, with recipes", this is the history of the Zabar family from the early 20th century (when Louis fled the the pogroms in Ukraine that had killed his father, wounded his mother, and left him a hunted man) through the next hundred years of retail endeavors in NYC culminating in the gigantic, iconic purveyor of smoked fish, caviar, artisanal breads, imported cheeses, coffee, housewares, deli meats and coffee on Broadway. Zabar's has appeared or been referenced in any number of TV shows and movies, is beloved by resident New Yorkers, celebrities and tourists, and prides itself on offering high quality products at reasonable prices. It was an interesting read; I learned a few things (the difference between smoked salmon and true lox, for example), and intend to try one or two of the classic recipes included. Written by a granddaughter of its founder, it is something of a book-length ad for Zabar's products and services, but the author pulls no punches in describing some of the personal failings, familial conflicts and legal battles over policies and ownership through the decades. Sadly, Lori Zabar succumbed to cancer just a few months before her book was released.
27jessibud2
>26 laytonwoman3rd: - I think I saw a piece on this, perhaps on CBS Sunday Morning, or maybe elsewhere. I like this sort of book and will seek it out.
28Berly
>25 laytonwoman3rd: Isn't it awesome when things work out right? : )
30ursula
Happy new thread and I love the photo at top! Ours are all about investigating anything that comes into the house too.
31laytonwoman3rd
>27 jessibud2: I wish I had seen that piece. We nearly always watch CBS Sunday Morning, but occasionally have to miss it for one reason or another.
>28 Berly: Indeed!
>29 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul! I've had a craving for a bagel with smoked salmon and the fixings ever since reading it.
>30 ursula: Today Molly's inspecting a new paint job in the kitchen...not sure she's approving of it just yet!
>28 Berly: Indeed!
>29 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul! I've had a craving for a bagel with smoked salmon and the fixings ever since reading it.
>30 ursula: Today Molly's inspecting a new paint job in the kitchen...not sure she's approving of it just yet!
32laytonwoman3rd
24. Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres A historical novel of the very best kind...full of actual history, human stories of love, sacrifice, joy and sorrow sweeping the reader along with all the emotions. I saw the movie based on this novel, and remember being relatively unmoved by it. That probably kept me from visiting the book for years, unfortunately. I read it now as part of the Memorial for Rosalita project in the 2024 ROOTS CHALLENGE.
In World War II, a Greek physician and his lovely young daughter on the Isle of Cephalonia live through the occupation of their paradise by both Italians and Germans; the privations and horrors associated with war in general; the treachery and brutality of an army on the verge of defeat; and the ultimate insult added to those injuries: the massive earthquake of 1953 that destroyed their homes. Through it all, the islanders manage feats of bravery and resistance; find some sympathy, friendship, and even love among the occupiers; question the ancient gods, philosophers and poets; endure. The lively irreverent Captain Antonio Corelli and his mandolin lighten the mood, and encourage hope for the future, but circumstances do not bode well for any sort of happy ending. Reviewers have aptly compared this novel to Tolstoy and Dickens, for it is tragic and comic in equal measure. Sometimes it's hard to know which mask you're seeing. My first 5 star read in a while.
In World War II, a Greek physician and his lovely young daughter on the Isle of Cephalonia live through the occupation of their paradise by both Italians and Germans; the privations and horrors associated with war in general; the treachery and brutality of an army on the verge of defeat; and the ultimate insult added to those injuries: the massive earthquake of 1953 that destroyed their homes. Through it all, the islanders manage feats of bravery and resistance; find some sympathy, friendship, and even love among the occupiers; question the ancient gods, philosophers and poets; endure. The lively irreverent Captain Antonio Corelli and his mandolin lighten the mood, and encourage hope for the future, but circumstances do not bode well for any sort of happy ending. Reviewers have aptly compared this novel to Tolstoy and Dickens, for it is tragic and comic in equal measure. Sometimes it's hard to know which mask you're seeing. My first 5 star read in a while.
33Caroline_McElwee
>32 laytonwoman3rd: I can't believe I have still not read this Linda, though it has been on the shelf for years. Your 5*s will get it shoehorned in this year.
34BLBera
>32 laytonwoman3rd: I've had this on my shelf for years as well, Linda. Time to dust it off, I guess.
35laytonwoman3rd
>33 Caroline_McElwee:, >34 BLBera: You both make me feel better about letting my copy languish unread since 2007!
36laytonwoman3rd
25. The Hunter by Tana French A winner, follow-up to French's The Searcher, in which we learn more about Trey's family situation when her long absent father returns to a lukewarm welcome, with a scheme that aims to involve the whole town in an enterprise Cal is certain will come to no good. Every conversation in it is full of subtext, sometimes to the detriment of the narrative flow when a character ruminates on what So-and-So was actually saying. Other than that technique being a bit overdone, I loved the way the Irish modes of expression worked here, especially in pub scenes. Grand.
37lauralkeet
>36 laytonwoman3rd: I'm happy to see this review, Linda. I'm still waiting on a library copy.
38Familyhistorian
>36 laytonwoman3rd: You remind me that I haven't read the Tana French books already on my shelf, Linda. I really should do something about that.
39laytonwoman3rd
>27 jessibud2: My library hold came through a lot sooner than I expected. Hope you get yours before long, Laura.
>38 Familyhistorian: Oh, I'm a little jealous of having some unread...I really enjoy spending time in her world.
>38 Familyhistorian: Oh, I'm a little jealous of having some unread...I really enjoy spending time in her world.
40laytonwoman3rd
Picked up a few new titles yesterday. Unfortunately, the small hybrid independent bookstore/library branch our public library had been operating for a few years in the downtown mall closed, as the revenue didn't justify the operating expense any longer. (Initially, the mall owner donated the space to us, but that stopped a couple years ago, and paying rent made the whole thing unsustainable.) @lycomayflower and I brought home a few bags of bargains from their last day.
These are mine:
These are mine:
41laytonwoman3rd
26. Kissed a Sad Goodbye by Deborah Crombie No. 6 in the Kincaid/James series. A beautiful, successful businesswoman is found dead in a London park. The careful way her body and clothing are arranged suggest she was killed by someone who knew her, and there is no lack of potential suspects when Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James begin their investigation. A lot of family history comes into play, and Gemma wonders how far back in time the cause of this murder may extend. Interspersed with the modern mystery are sections telling the story of how three of the characters came to know each other as children, after being evacuated from London to an estate in the countryside during WWII, and how their lives became entwined, leading to the current situation. A few too many "bits" and complications here, in the personal lives of the victim, the suspects and the investigators; it's a minor quibble, but I do wish Crombie had left just one or two plot elements out.
42lauralkeet
>41 laytonwoman3rd: I need to get back to this series. I enjoyed the first book and have every intention of continuing, but got distracted by Sean Duffy.
43katiekrug
>41 laytonwoman3rd: - I just finished a Crombie (#17, I believe) and felt she threw a bit too much into that one. I don't remember much about Kissed a Sad Goodbye, but it sounds like it had a similar issue.
Still, I love the series.
Still, I love the series.
44laytonwoman3rd
>42 lauralkeet: And I need to get back to Sean Duffy! Trouble there is my library doesn't have those...
>43 katiekrug: I think I've whinged about this issue before, Katie. It doesn't put me off, but it does mildly annoy me. I love the main characters and their life story line, too.
>43 katiekrug: I think I've whinged about this issue before, Katie. It doesn't put me off, but it does mildly annoy me. I love the main characters and their life story line, too.
45laytonwoman3rd
27. The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams Subtitled "A Survival Guide for Trying Times", this volume is based on several conversations between the authors about how important it is to humans to have hope for the future, and how we can sustain that hope in the face of wars, pandemics, political upheaval, personal tragedy, climate change and other global catastrophes. Full of examples of positive change through individual and communal efforts, it is a pep talk for anyone who thinks we are doomed by our own stupidity, and that humanity is beyond (or not worth) saving anyway. Goodall is no Pollyanna, and her life experiences have shown her plenty of unpleasant realities, but she has also seen the good we can do when we unleash our "amazing human intellect...the power of youth, and the indomitable human spirit". Her view that these three human attributes, together with the resilience of nature, are grounds for hope that the planet may be brought back from the brink. Definitely a worthwhile read, although I found the style a bit clunky---Abrams took the many hours of discussion between him and Dr. Goodall, and attempted to make a narrative dialog, which sometimes felt forced. Nevertheless, the content rises above that, and the final chapter, written by Jane Goodall herself, is a call to action we should not brush off. Recommended.
46katiekrug
>45 laytonwoman3rd: - That sounds a worthwhile read. Goodall visited my high school when I was a.... junior (?), and she was wonderful.
47laytonwoman3rd
>46 katiekrug: I'd love to have heard her voice in my head while reading this--her own words are vibrant and enthusiastic. I'm sure I have heard her speaking in documentaries about her work years ago, but the voice just wasn't there -- it would have helped ameliorate the style issues for me.
48jessibud2
I have seen and heard Jane Goodall speak here in Toronto 3 times over the years. She is such a calm, soft-spoken person, that when she does her chimp call/hoot, it comes as a surprise! She also sometimes has a slide show and she can be quite funny, also (for me anyhow) coming as a bit of a surprise. The was a terrific documentary film made of her, in 2017, called *Jane*:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRlUJrEUn0Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRlUJrEUn0Y
49alcottacre
>26 laytonwoman3rd: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again.
>32 laytonwoman3rd: Same with that one. . .I am sorry for the reason you are reading it now though. *sigh*
>36 laytonwoman3rd: Another new series I need to start one of these days.
>40 laytonwoman3rd: Nice reading there. I will especially curious to see what you think of the Ida B. Wells book. Courageous lady.
>45 laytonwoman3rd: My local library has a copy of that one. I need to get to it soon!
Have a wonderful weekend, Linda!
>32 laytonwoman3rd: Same with that one. . .I am sorry for the reason you are reading it now though. *sigh*
>36 laytonwoman3rd: Another new series I need to start one of these days.
>40 laytonwoman3rd: Nice reading there. I will especially curious to see what you think of the Ida B. Wells book. Courageous lady.
>45 laytonwoman3rd: My local library has a copy of that one. I need to get to it soon!
Have a wonderful weekend, Linda!
50cbl_tn
>26 laytonwoman3rd: I've come across a mention of that one before and thought it sounded interesting.
>32 laytonwoman3rd: I'll be keeping an eye out for Corelli's Mandolin. It sounds like a winner!
>41 laytonwoman3rd: It's been long enough since I've read that one that I really don't remember much about it. The one right before it, Dreaming of the Bones, is one of my favorites in the series, and the next one is the one, A Finer End, is the one I've liked least in the series.
>40 laytonwoman3rd: That's a nice haul! I read The Songlines last year. It's different and really interesting.
>32 laytonwoman3rd: I'll be keeping an eye out for Corelli's Mandolin. It sounds like a winner!
>41 laytonwoman3rd: It's been long enough since I've read that one that I really don't remember much about it. The one right before it, Dreaming of the Bones, is one of my favorites in the series, and the next one is the one, A Finer End, is the one I've liked least in the series.
>40 laytonwoman3rd: That's a nice haul! I read The Songlines last year. It's different and really interesting.
51richardderus
>45 laytonwoman3rd: I could use a sunshine enema...sounds like the right time to read this one.
Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Linda3rd.
Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Linda3rd.
52Caroline_McElwee
>40 laytonwoman3rd: Nice haul Linda. I loved Songlines but some while since I read it.
53RBeffa
>40 laytonwoman3rd: That is sad. I recall you mentioning this library/nook thing some time ago and it sounded like a good thing.
54laytonwoman3rd
>48 jessibud2: I sought out some videos, Shelley, and now I do remember her voice. She mentioned in the book that she was initially terrified of public speaking, but came around to enjoying it quite a lot.
>49 alcottacre: I have read the introduction to the Ida Wells book, Stasia. I didn't know an awful lot about her before. She was indeed courageous, and resolute.
>50 cbl_tn: I think I'll try to dispatch the next Crombie fairly soon, if my library has it; I do better with series fiction if I don't space them out toooo far (but don't read several of them back-to-back, either).
>51 richardderus: Sunny, with scattered clouds...it should work for you, RD.
>50 cbl_tn:, >52 Caroline_McElwee: Good to know Songlines has approval...I'm pretty sure it was you, Caroline, who introduced me to Chatwin.
>53 RBeffa: As a Board member of the library, I had very mixed feelings about closing Library Express. There isn't another independent bookstore in the vicinity (we have a BAM, but that's so different). When we embarked on the experiment, it was bringing in some revenue, but once we had to pay rent, it was costing us money, and we just couldn't justify keeping it open.
HOWEVER, we are still affiliated with Bookshop.org (as are many other indie bookstores), so we can reap some small benefit from shoppers who go that route and pick Scranton Public Library as their beneficiary. And this weekend, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping, so there's no reason to go to that other site...
>49 alcottacre: I have read the introduction to the Ida Wells book, Stasia. I didn't know an awful lot about her before. She was indeed courageous, and resolute.
>50 cbl_tn: I think I'll try to dispatch the next Crombie fairly soon, if my library has it; I do better with series fiction if I don't space them out toooo far (but don't read several of them back-to-back, either).
>51 richardderus: Sunny, with scattered clouds...it should work for you, RD.
>50 cbl_tn:, >52 Caroline_McElwee: Good to know Songlines has approval...I'm pretty sure it was you, Caroline, who introduced me to Chatwin.
>53 RBeffa: As a Board member of the library, I had very mixed feelings about closing Library Express. There isn't another independent bookstore in the vicinity (we have a BAM, but that's so different). When we embarked on the experiment, it was bringing in some revenue, but once we had to pay rent, it was costing us money, and we just couldn't justify keeping it open.
HOWEVER, we are still affiliated with Bookshop.org (as are many other indie bookstores), so we can reap some small benefit from shoppers who go that route and pick Scranton Public Library as their beneficiary. And this weekend, Bookshop.org is offering free shipping, so there's no reason to go to that other site...
55laytonwoman3rd
DNF Beach Read by Emily Henry A romance novel, my daughter's description and review of which led me to think I might enjoy it as a bit of candy, even though I am rarely taken with the genre. I was wrong. Couldn't make myself care about the journey to the inevitable happy ending, and I found the main character's immaturity quite annoying. (She was old enough to KNOW better, y'know?)
56EBT1002
Hi Linda. I love the photo of Molly in >1 laytonwoman3rd:.
>40 laytonwoman3rd: Nice haul! I'm a fan of Paulette Jiles.
>41 laytonwoman3rd: I'm interesting in digging into this series. It has been on my "series I'd like to read" list for a while.
And I have a copy of The Searcher that I really need to read so I can read The Hunter as well! lol
>40 laytonwoman3rd: Nice haul! I'm a fan of Paulette Jiles.
>41 laytonwoman3rd: I'm interesting in digging into this series. It has been on my "series I'd like to read" list for a while.
And I have a copy of The Searcher that I really need to read so I can read The Hunter as well! lol
57laytonwoman3rd
>56 EBT1002: Molly appreciates the love!
I enjoyed the movie version of News of the World, but haven't yet read Jiles.
I enjoyed the movie version of News of the World, but haven't yet read Jiles.
58richardderus
>57 laytonwoman3rd: I saw an interview with Jiles and found her really interesting. I read News of the World back before I started writing reviews religiously, so I must not've liked better than 3 stars or less than 2 stars. Who knows now. I'm very interested in Chenneville.
59Caroline_McElwee
>54 laytonwoman3rd: I suspect it was me Linda, I've long been a fan.
60laytonwoman3rd
>58 richardderus: I want to read Chenneville too. MAN there are a lot of books waiting in my wings right now.
>59 Caroline_McElwee: Thought so!
Here's the William Maxwell thread for May's AAC.
>59 Caroline_McElwee: Thought so!
Here's the William Maxwell thread for May's AAC.
61alcottacre
>54 laytonwoman3rd: I read a biography of Wells several years ago (To Tell the Truth Freely) and was very impressed by Wells courage.
62laytonwoman3rd
28. A William Maxwell Portrait edited by Charles Baxter et al.
A collection of reminiscences of the novelist/editor William Maxwell by various people who knew him mainly near the end of his long life. The words "generosity", "love", and "attention" appeared over and over in these appreciative pieces, which made me regret intensely that it has taken me so long to make Maxwell's acquaintance. I have known of him through reading Eudora Welty and her biographers...he was the editor of her magazine fiction published in The New Yorker, and they maintained a long term correspondence which has been collected and published by Suzanne Marrs, What There is to Say, We Have Said. Maxwell is the subject of the May American Authors Challenge, and I read this short volume in preparation for my introductory post there. Now I am really looking forward to reading his fiction,much of which has been languishing on my shelf for years...and those letters between him and Miss Welty.
A collection of reminiscences of the novelist/editor William Maxwell by various people who knew him mainly near the end of his long life. The words "generosity", "love", and "attention" appeared over and over in these appreciative pieces, which made me regret intensely that it has taken me so long to make Maxwell's acquaintance. I have known of him through reading Eudora Welty and her biographers...he was the editor of her magazine fiction published in The New Yorker, and they maintained a long term correspondence which has been collected and published by Suzanne Marrs, What There is to Say, We Have Said. Maxwell is the subject of the May American Authors Challenge, and I read this short volume in preparation for my introductory post there. Now I am really looking forward to reading his fiction,much of which has been languishing on my shelf for years...and those letters between him and Miss Welty.
63kac522
>62 laytonwoman3rd: I can concur that, especially in the stories and novels set in small-town Illinois, you can feel that generosity and love, even as the characters are acknowledged to be complex and sometimes difficult.
64cbl_tn
>62 laytonwoman3rd: I am really looking forward to getting to know Maxwell this month. I'll be reading a memoir and not fiction, though. I have roots in small-town Illinois so I think I would identify with anything he wrote that is set there.
65laytonwoman3rd
>63 kac522:, >64 cbl_tn: Smalltown, USA, is one of my favorite settings, so I'm expecting to enjoy Maxwell when I get to his fiction. First, I have a review copy of a local author's third novel (Barbara J. Taylor's Rain Breaks No Bones) that I need/want to get to. I received it through the Early Reviewer's program here on LT, and have been anticipating its publication for a while. The launch party will take place this Friday at a Scranton venue, and I hope to go...and hope to have finished the book by then.
66laytonwoman3rd
29. Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah Gurnah has been on my radar for a few years, and I believe I have a former bookseller and LT stalwart, @avaland, to thank for enthusiastically recommending his work even before he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021. Afterlives is the first of his novels that I have read, and it may not be his best...I did have some issues with it, and as I read other reviews here I see that I am not alone. Nevertheless, this is a powerful story, and it has confirmed for me that Gurnah deserves the acclaim he has received.
Like any good historical novel, Afterlives presents a living picture of a specific time and place, which the reader views through the eyes of contemporary participants. In the early 20th century in the part of Africa that is now Tanzania, German colonial rule was under attack by native tribes rebelling against efforts to force them to grow cotton for export. Although Germany had never had the "hearts and minds" of local populations, the uprisings were doomed because, widespread as the unrest was, it was never co-ordinated, and stood no chance against German organization and weaponry. Many young African men joined local mercenary units, known as Askari, for the usual variety of reasons. We learn what life was like for one of those men, Hamza, both during his service and after his traumatic separation from his unit following brutal abuse by a commanding officer. We are also introduced to Ilyas, who was kidnapped as a child by an Askari group, and taken away to be educated in a German school. Later on, Ilyas learns he has an orphaned little sister he did not know about, and for a time he becomes her protector, eventually leaving her in the care of others when he goes off to fight for the Germans as World War I breaks out. The heart and soul of this novel concerns the "afterlives" of Hamza, and of Ilyas' little sister Afiya, both of whom have suffered physical and psychological traumas. Their love story comprises the third of four sections of the novel, and is the strongest, most engaging of them all. Afiya's yearning to know what became of her brother, who was never heard from after he went off to war, is passed on to her son, who eventually solves the puzzle, some 40 years later, as revealed in the novel's abrupt and somewhat disappointing ending. This could easily have been a 5 star read for me, but parts of the early sections were repetitious and boggy, for which I subtracted a half star; the ending took away another half, still leaving me with a solid 4 star experience, and the intention of reading more of Gurnah's work.
Like any good historical novel, Afterlives presents a living picture of a specific time and place, which the reader views through the eyes of contemporary participants. In the early 20th century in the part of Africa that is now Tanzania, German colonial rule was under attack by native tribes rebelling against efforts to force them to grow cotton for export. Although Germany had never had the "hearts and minds" of local populations, the uprisings were doomed because, widespread as the unrest was, it was never co-ordinated, and stood no chance against German organization and weaponry. Many young African men joined local mercenary units, known as Askari, for the usual variety of reasons. We learn what life was like for one of those men, Hamza, both during his service and after his traumatic separation from his unit following brutal abuse by a commanding officer. We are also introduced to Ilyas, who was kidnapped as a child by an Askari group, and taken away to be educated in a German school. Later on, Ilyas learns he has an orphaned little sister he did not know about, and for a time he becomes her protector, eventually leaving her in the care of others when he goes off to fight for the Germans as World War I breaks out. The heart and soul of this novel concerns the "afterlives" of Hamza, and of Ilyas' little sister Afiya, both of whom have suffered physical and psychological traumas. Their love story comprises the third of four sections of the novel, and is the strongest, most engaging of them all. Afiya's yearning to know what became of her brother, who was never heard from after he went off to war, is passed on to her son, who eventually solves the puzzle, some 40 years later, as revealed in the novel's abrupt and somewhat disappointing ending. This could easily have been a 5 star read for me, but parts of the early sections were repetitious and boggy, for which I subtracted a half star; the ending took away another half, still leaving me with a solid 4 star experience, and the intention of reading more of Gurnah's work.
67laytonwoman3rd
30. Rain Breaks No Bones by Barbara J. Taylor I discovered Barbara Taylor's first book on the "Local Authors" display at the late, lamented Library Express bookstore about 5 years ago. And what a find she was. It's hard to imagine that she did not intend originally to carry on the Morgan family's story from where she left them at the end of Sing in the Morning, Cry at Night, or even after completing All Waiting is Long. Apparently, the characters kept themselves alive in her soul, until she had written this novel, billed as the last in the Scranton Trilogy. (I hope she isn't tired of them yet, because I certainly am not.)
A full review is percolating, as this was an ER win. I'll be attending the launch party for the book tomorrow evening, and am really looking forward to meeting Ms. Taylor. I have loved all three of these books.
A full review is percolating, as this was an ER win. I'll be attending the launch party for the book tomorrow evening, and am really looking forward to meeting Ms. Taylor. I have loved all three of these books.
68alcottacre
>66 laytonwoman3rd: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Linda.
>67 laytonwoman3rd: Oh, I love finding new authors to love! I am glad that Taylor has turned out to be one such for you!
>67 laytonwoman3rd: Oh, I love finding new authors to love! I am glad that Taylor has turned out to be one such for you!
69laytonwoman3rd
31. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier A YA novel published in 1974. Highly praised, and equally controversial, the story involves a "secret" society known as The Vigils (which everyone knows about) in a Catholic high school where "leadership" translates to manipulation, humiliation and exploitation. Both students and faculty are motivated entirely by self-interest, and neither Christianity nor good ol' fashioned morality are evident anywhere. Youthful hi-jinks have a cruel edge, and the Vigils encourage their de facto leader, Archie, in his sadistic assignments which amount to continual hazing. An annual school-wide fundraiser takes on serious significance when Brother Leon announces that this year the price of a box of chocolates will be twice what it was in the past, AND the goal for the sale is to move 20,000 boxes, which is also a doubling of the previous goal. Brother Leon solicits Archie's help in bringing the Vigils on board with this daunting undertaking, so naturally Archie decides to "assign" one of freshmen to refuse to participate in the sale. All hell breaks loose when Jerry decides to continue his refusal past the one-week assignment.
This is a profound exploration of issues basic to adolescent life. Herd mentality; peer pressure; personal integrity; identity; conformity; respect for vs. blind acceptance of vs. rebellion against authority; sexual expression/fantasies/repression; bullying...no wonder there have been so many attempts to ban it. It's about REALITY, for cryin' out loud. Kids shouldn't be exposed to that. They can't handle reading about the kind of stuff so many of them deal with on a daily basis. My only quibble with this story is that there are NO responsible, caring adults in it. I think I understand the author's decision (and it must have been intentional) to leave them out. The school is a closed society, even though the boys go home at the end of the day; what happens at Trinity stays at Trinity. It's obvious that the boys are without sincere guidance at a critical point in their lives. (There are brief references to Jerry's Dad, who works nights, and whom Jerry doesn't want to worry, possibly included to explain the apparent overall lack of parental involvement in these kids' lives.)
A tough read, with an important message. Ironically, it might be most important for the adults who would ban it to get that message themselves.
This is a profound exploration of issues basic to adolescent life. Herd mentality; peer pressure; personal integrity; identity; conformity; respect for vs. blind acceptance of vs. rebellion against authority; sexual expression/fantasies/repression; bullying...no wonder there have been so many attempts to ban it. It's about REALITY, for cryin' out loud. Kids shouldn't be exposed to that. They can't handle reading about the kind of stuff so many of them deal with on a daily basis. My only quibble with this story is that there are NO responsible, caring adults in it. I think I understand the author's decision (and it must have been intentional) to leave them out. The school is a closed society, even though the boys go home at the end of the day; what happens at Trinity stays at Trinity. It's obvious that the boys are without sincere guidance at a critical point in their lives. (There are brief references to Jerry's Dad, who works nights, and whom Jerry doesn't want to worry, possibly included to explain the apparent overall lack of parental involvement in these kids' lives.)
A tough read, with an important message. Ironically, it might be most important for the adults who would ban it to get that message themselves.
70richardderus
>69 laytonwoman3rd: Ironically, it might be most important for the adults who would ban it to get that message themselves.
I keep wondering what the hell these idiots read when they were young...the answer is, not this, and they should've. Book-banning is reprehensible. No, I don't think the middle-school library should have 120 Days of Sodom, but there *has* to be a way to shut these numskulls down!
I keep wondering what the hell these idiots read when they were young...the answer is, not this, and they should've. Book-banning is reprehensible. No, I don't think the middle-school library should have 120 Days of Sodom, but there *has* to be a way to shut these numskulls down!
71laytonwoman3rd
>70 richardderus: It's my theory that most book ban advocates do. not. read. anything. Including the books that get them so riled up. I've had two interesting discussions on the topic lately. I had lunch with a friend whose son and daughter-in-law live on Long Island, and they had been discussing a move out of a school district notorious for banning books, before their little girl reaches middle school. (Sorry, I don't know exactly where they live now.) Today, at our library board meeting, I talked to our District Consultant, who works closely with the PA Library Association, and in fact was its president in 2020, about the dire state of affairs. I don't often do this, but I'm about to climb up on
2023 was the worst year on record for book challenges, beating out 2022, which previously had the highest number of book challenges since the ALA began compiling the data over 20 years ago. At least two states, Louisiana and West Virginia, have laws in effect or under consideration that would impose criminal penalties on librarians for allowing minors to "come across" books deemed obscene (not necessary for them to READ them or try to check them out), or for holding membership in the ALA. This is terrifying stuff.
Anyone who wants to join the fight against this kind of regressive crap will find help in any number of places. Here are a few:
https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/
https://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity
https://pen.org/issue/free-the-books/
https://www.booksonfirst.com/we-sell-banned-books
Go to your library. Check out a banned book. Encourage your book club to discuss controversial books. Read in public. Attend a school board meeting. Find out what your local legislators are up to. Get out your checkbook if you are able.
2023 was the worst year on record for book challenges, beating out 2022, which previously had the highest number of book challenges since the ALA began compiling the data over 20 years ago. At least two states, Louisiana and West Virginia, have laws in effect or under consideration that would impose criminal penalties on librarians for allowing minors to "come across" books deemed obscene (not necessary for them to READ them or try to check them out), or for holding membership in the ALA. This is terrifying stuff.
Anyone who wants to join the fight against this kind of regressive crap will find help in any number of places. Here are a few:
https://uniteagainstbookbans.org/
https://www.ala.org/bbooks/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity
https://pen.org/issue/free-the-books/
https://www.booksonfirst.com/we-sell-banned-books
Go to your library. Check out a banned book. Encourage your book club to discuss controversial books. Read in public. Attend a school board meeting. Find out what your local legislators are up to. Get out your checkbook if you are able.
72lycomayflower
>71 laytonwoman3rd: Hear, hear!
Here's another resource. Kelly Jensen at Book Riot does some great coverage on developing book bans and censorship news around the country. Here's her contributor splash page at BR.
Here's another resource. Kelly Jensen at Book Riot does some great coverage on developing book bans and censorship news around the country. Here's her contributor splash page at BR.
74Caroline_McElwee
>71 laytonwoman3rd: We don't quite have the problem you have Linda, but when my sister was a children's librarian she did have to deal with individual parents and most book ban advocates do. not. read. anything. Including the books that get them so riled up. is definitely the case. Em had read the books so knew they hadn't, they were just picking up on other peoples rage mostly. Unfortunately a lot often weren't the brightest either, which made it hard to rationalised with them.
75laytonwoman3rd
>72 lycomayflower: Thank you for that link.
>73 richardderus: Yeah, she's OK.
>74 Caroline_McElwee: I think people tend to get worked up about things they don't understand, partly because what they don't understand frightens them.
>73 richardderus: Yeah, she's OK.
>74 Caroline_McElwee: I think people tend to get worked up about things they don't understand, partly because what they don't understand frightens them.
76laytonwoman3rd
32. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris Meh. I just don't think this is my flavor.
Days before the Prince of Wales is to be made Regent in light of his father's increasing madness, a brutal murder is discovered in the Lady Chapel of the ancient parish church of St. Matthew in the Fields. Circumstances and a witness's testimony settle suspicion on Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, whom the reader knows to be innocent. Sebastian escapes into London's underworld, determined to solve the mystery of the young actress's murder, while the authorities are equally determined to bring him to justice without rocking any royal boats. Elements of foreign intrigue, sinister machinations, doomed and/or illicit romance and derring-do are parceled out through the novel's pages, and I was enjoying it OK until about page 200, when it all just began to be piled too high and deep. The Regency has never been my favorite time-setting, I don't care for the "damsel in need of rescue from impossible peril" trope, and I didn't fall for this particular hero. I will leave the rest of this series to those who feel otherwise.
Days before the Prince of Wales is to be made Regent in light of his father's increasing madness, a brutal murder is discovered in the Lady Chapel of the ancient parish church of St. Matthew in the Fields. Circumstances and a witness's testimony settle suspicion on Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, whom the reader knows to be innocent. Sebastian escapes into London's underworld, determined to solve the mystery of the young actress's murder, while the authorities are equally determined to bring him to justice without rocking any royal boats. Elements of foreign intrigue, sinister machinations, doomed and/or illicit romance and derring-do are parceled out through the novel's pages, and I was enjoying it OK until about page 200, when it all just began to be piled too high and deep. The Regency has never been my favorite time-setting, I don't care for the "damsel in need of rescue from impossible peril" trope, and I didn't fall for this particular hero. I will leave the rest of this series to those who feel otherwise.
77laytonwoman3rd
33. Northern Fried Chicken by James T. Williams A self produced "history" of the Black community in Scranton, PA, written by a member of that community in about 1993. It's a novelty, with questionable reliability except for the parts that are pure reminiscence. There are no sources quoted, no footnotes; a few egregious factual errors. The author acknowledges several people for their assistance, but I'm fairly sure there was no editorial input at all, nor even a second pair of eyes going over the text before it was printed. Not to put too fine a point on it, as a high school history project this would have rated a "D". And yet, when ex-con, champion power lifter and international record-holder Jim 'Chimsey' Williams wrote it, nothing like a true history of Scranton's Black community existed; he saw a need, and did his best to try to fill it. I applaud the attempt, and would give him an "A" for the concept. Scranton now has a much more articulate and effective promoter of Black history, art, culture and contribution in the person of Glynis Johns, Founder and CEO of Black Scranton Project, who is well on the way to setting the record straight and filling in all the blanks.
78laytonwoman3rd
34. The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell Read for the AAC, from a Library of America volume.
An exceptional picture of adolescent-into-young manhood life in the 1920s, with subtle but unmistakable undertones of male romance. The story unfolds slowly and gently, as the title suggests, and it is remarkable to watch the two protagonists grow as they deal with feelings they do not understand or have the tools to process. At the same time I was fully engaged in the narrative, a portion of my brain was registering awe at the author's skill here. Highly recommended.
An exceptional picture of adolescent-into-young manhood life in the 1920s, with subtle but unmistakable undertones of male romance. The story unfolds slowly and gently, as the title suggests, and it is remarkable to watch the two protagonists grow as they deal with feelings they do not understand or have the tools to process. At the same time I was fully engaged in the narrative, a portion of my brain was registering awe at the author's skill here. Highly recommended.
79richardderus
>78 laytonwoman3rd: Oh gosh, that's one I'll really have to get into my eyeholes soon.
80laytonwoman3rd
>79 richardderus: Please do that, Richard. I'll be interested in your perspective on it.
81laytonwoman3rd
DNF The Antique Hunters' Guide to Murder by C. L. Miller I picked this up in a library shelves browse, and hoped it might be something along the lines of the Thursday Murder Club series. Well, no. The main difference being Osman can write, and Miller tries hard. The characters have characteristics, rather than personalities; the author doesn't trust the reader to remember that Carole is Freya's aunt or that Arthur committed some horrid betrayal decades ago which cannot be forgiven (nor revealed to the reader). So many repetitions in 40 pages...it was enough already.
82laytonwoman3rd
Nearly June, and our guest host for Pride Month in the American Authors Challenge, @lycomayflower, is on the ball. Here you will find the thread for Queer Authors.
83laytonwoman3rd
Just sayin'
84jessibud2
Hehe, the political cartoons: on your mark, get set, GO! fast and furious now, I expect! ;-)
85laytonwoman3rd
I've already seen a couple!
87laytonwoman3rd
>86 richardderus: Glad I could give you a chuckle, Richard.
88laytonwoman3rd
35. Octopus Mind by Rachel Carney A collection of poems, many with a theme of neurodiversity. As usual with poetry, a couple of these were astonishing, many were OK, and many were just baffling to me. "Octopus Self" was the best, I think, and it begins..."It took me years to tame the octopus of me, to lure her out, to show her that the world is safer than she thinks it is." I have not tried to reproduce the format, which in this case does enhance the words; Carney is very fond of placing the words just so on the page, and usually the effect is totally lost on me. In this poem, I get it, and it's quite brilliant.
89laytonwoman3rd
36. Flags on the Bayou by James Lee Burke I said farewell to Burke a few years ago, feeling he had done all he could with Dave Robicheaux but hadn't had the sense to let the man die, or retire at the very least. (Also, his cavalier routine killing-off of Dave's various wives pissed me off.) But there's no disputing that in his late 80's the man can still write circles around many of the authors being published on a regular basis. This novel, set in Union-occupied Louisiana during the U. S. Civil War (but not ever on a battlefield), drives that point home. The prose is exquisite; the subject matter grim, graphic and profound. A difficult read, with characters both unlikeable and complex, many of them struggling with guilt over actions they could hardly have avoided. Redemption and self-forgiveness are still Burke's stock-in-trade, and he has handled them very well here.
90Caroline_McElwee
>88 laytonwoman3rd: I enjoyed this volume too, and I agree re the best poem Linda.
91laytonwoman3rd
>90 Caroline_McElwee: Poems are so personal, often so intimately inspired, that I usually feel quite satisfied with a collection if a handful of them speak to me at all.
92laytonwoman3rd
I might have indulged in a book sale and a Greek food festival this week...
93quondame
>92 laytonwoman3rd: Good and better!
94laytonwoman3rd
>93 quondame: And I managed not to get the books sticky!
95laytonwoman3rd
37. Selected Works of Audre Lord
This was one of my choices for the June AAC, in which we feature queer authors. I cannot say I read it all, but I did finish most of the essays, skimmed the cancer diary sections, and read here and there among the poems. Her intellect is daunting, and I sometimes felt as if I were reading from a textbook in a subject whose vocabulary I hadn't learned. But when I got what she was saying, it was awesome. She was clearly a non-nonsense, courageous woman. Her address to a symposium she had been invited to, and at which she turned out to be a token black woman, was a red-hot poker. She will be worth revisiting.
This was one of my choices for the June AAC, in which we feature queer authors. I cannot say I read it all, but I did finish most of the essays, skimmed the cancer diary sections, and read here and there among the poems. Her intellect is daunting, and I sometimes felt as if I were reading from a textbook in a subject whose vocabulary I hadn't learned. But when I got what she was saying, it was awesome. She was clearly a non-nonsense, courageous woman. Her address to a symposium she had been invited to, and at which she turned out to be a token black woman, was a red-hot poker. She will be worth revisiting.
96laytonwoman3rd
38. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan Ryan is one of those authors who can write about the ordinary stuff that happens to all sorts of people, and make you understand why it all matters. Four generations of women in a small Irish village carry on famously with only the occasional (usually unfortunate) involvement of men in their lives. Nana, Mother, Saoirse and Pearl share a house with all the usual ruckus attendant on mothers and daughters under the same roof--occasionally their outbursts raise the roof and startle the chickens--but their love for one another is fathoms deep, and not to be challenged.
97richardderus
>95 laytonwoman3rd: I never could face The Cancer Diaries, and would rather be buried under a ditch than read poetry. So, Lorde and I are unacquainted. I suspect we'll remain that way, given your responses.
>96 laytonwoman3rd: I've got the DRC lurking on my Kindle waiting for #PrideMonth to be over. I'm more eager than I was before, now!
>96 laytonwoman3rd: I've got the DRC lurking on my Kindle waiting for #PrideMonth to be over. I'm more eager than I was before, now!
98alcottacre
>92 laytonwoman3rd: I cannot say that I blame you for indulging, lol.
>96 laytonwoman3rd: I read Ryan's From a Low and Quiet Sea several years ago and quite enjoyed it. I will have to see if I can get hold of a copy of that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Linda!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
>96 laytonwoman3rd: I read Ryan's From a Low and Quiet Sea several years ago and quite enjoyed it. I will have to see if I can get hold of a copy of that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Linda!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
99laytonwoman3rd
>97 richardderus:, >98 alcottacre: I read From a Low and Quiet Sea a few years back, and it put Ryan on my list of "I'll try anything he writes" authors. This is the first one I've read since, only because there are SO. MANY. BOOKS. EVERYWHERE. I have a copy of his Strange Flowers on my Irish shelf, waiting.
100Caroline_McElwee
>92 laytonwoman3rd: I have the Izzard in the pile, should nudge it up Linda. That cake looks yum.
101Familyhistorian
>92 laytonwoman3rd: That “Atlas of World War II” looks familiar, Linda. Good on you for juggling books and dessert without harm.
102laytonwoman3rd
>100 Caroline_McElwee: I'm going to try to fit Eddie in this month---he won't count for the American challenge, but for my broader Pride Month reading list.
>101 Familyhistorian: My husband just asked me where I shelved that Atlas, and I had a good laugh. It's still in a pile on the floor of my "office", waiting to be assigned a bunk. Maybe he'll pick it up for a peruse, and postpone the problem!
>101 Familyhistorian: My husband just asked me where I shelved that Atlas, and I had a good laugh. It's still in a pile on the floor of my "office", waiting to be assigned a bunk. Maybe he'll pick it up for a peruse, and postpone the problem!
104laytonwoman3rd
Hi back, Bill. Good to see you here.
105laytonwoman3rd
39. Currents in the Electric City An anthology of work by local authors, some of whom I know to a degree, or at least know of. Poetry and essays, many with a common theme of "being from here", by people who left, people who stayed, and people who came back to this ever-changing city that most residents have a degree of ambivalence about. Some very excellent writing (and some mediocre stuff still making excellent points). If you think you know Scranton from watching The Office, there are alternative perspectives here. I regret the absence of any piece written from my perspective--that of someone who voluntarily moved here as an adult and chose to stay indefinitely. Maybe I'll write that one someday.
106laytonwoman3rd
40. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby A collection of essays by a queer black city girl 30 years my junior shouldn't resonate so well with me, and truthfully, some of it doesn't. But a lot of these are so relatable, and FUNNNNNY (in that laugh-to-keep-from-crying way). In a serious vein, Irby has dealt with poverty, depression, anxiety, discrimination and chronic disease for most of her life. And she's as surprised as anyone by her own (she would say accidental) success. Sometimes, she sounds as though she's trying to make the reader dislike her, being blatantly forward about her own shortcomings, but I'm sure she's defensively warding off rejection, and just possibly exaggerating for effect. She can be indelicate...wait, no...she can be downright gross at times. And her language will put a lot of people off. But she has things to say that we probably all need to hear. You can sample her work on-line if you have an Instagram account.
107richardderus
>106 laytonwoman3rd: Meaty: Essays made me laugh...uncomfortably. She is definitely a funny writer.
108katiekrug
>106 laytonwoman3rd: - This sounds like just the sort of thing I like to listen to on audio and happily, my library has it!
109alcottacre
>106 laytonwoman3rd: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again. My local library now has a copy so hopefully soon?
Have a fantastic Friday, Linda!
Have a fantastic Friday, Linda!
110laytonwoman3rd
>107 richardderus: Her references in this book to Meaty made me glad I didn't pick that one as my introduction to Irby...sounds like it's even more raw (see what I did there).
>108 katiekrug: I expect you will hoot mightily over the audio, Katie. I think she narrates it herself, yes? A lot of her stuff began on stage or over podcasts, so I bet her delivery adds a lot to the experience.
>109 alcottacre: Hooray for your library, Stasia!
>108 katiekrug: I expect you will hoot mightily over the audio, Katie. I think she narrates it herself, yes? A lot of her stuff began on stage or over podcasts, so I bet her delivery adds a lot to the experience.
>109 alcottacre: Hooray for your library, Stasia!
111lycomayflower
>110 laytonwoman3rd: You so funny, Mimsie.
112laytonwoman3rd
>111 lycomayflower: 's a gift, really. *wink*
113laytonwoman3rd
So....lie around and read.
115laytonwoman3rd
>114 katiekrug: Or, like 120 WONDERFUL people this morning, run a 5K charity event in support of the Friends of Shady Lane Cemetery, an abandoned and nearly-lost-to-nature burial ground near me which has been marvelously recovered, and continues to be maintained by volunteers.
Was the pizza good, at least?
Was the pizza good, at least?
116lauralkeet
>113 laytonwoman3rd: It's beastly, isn't it? I hope you heeded your won advice, Linda.
>115 laytonwoman3rd: That's some dedication!
>115 laytonwoman3rd: That's some dedication!
117laytonwoman3rd
>116 lauralkeet: I mostly did, thanks. I seem to have a bit more energy today, but moderate activity will be the goal. As for those racers yesterday, I was amazed. Some of them had their little 'uns in strollers (with awnings extended). Their path was mostly along a trail that parallels the Lackawanna River, and has a lot of shade, but still.
118richardderus
>117 laytonwoman3rd: Better massive, overwhelming inactivity until the heat dome dissipates, Linda3rd. Not just yucky but dangerous for us'ns out there.
Sunday *smooch*
Sunday *smooch*
119katiekrug
>115 laytonwoman3rd: - We didn't sample much pizza because it was so freaking hot - just enjoyed the free water and sodas in whatever shade we could find :)
120laytonwoman3rd
>118 richardderus:, >119 katiekrug: It cooled off nicely here today, although we had wicked wind most of the day. Hope you two have had a bit of relief as well.
121laytonwoman3rd
41. The Virgin and the Gypsy by D. H. Lawrence For the BAC. I picked up a Folio edition of this a couple years back at a used book store. It's a quick and powerful read about the upheaval of sexual awakening. Very metaphorical. Some lovely descriptive language. Also some cringe-worthy casual anti-Semitism that marred what could have been a near five.
122laytonwoman3rd
DNF The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund I tried this one for the AAC, but it just wasn't working for me. And it wasn't the magical realism, but the "real world" stuff that seemed a bit off.
123laytonwoman3rd
42. Where You Once Belonged by Kent Haruf I believe this is the last of Haruf's works that I had not yet read. It may be his most Faulkner-ish in tone and characterization. Pat Arbuckle, editor of the Holt Mercury, tells the reader the life story of his contemporary, Jack Burdette, man child with no moral sense at all, who wreaks havoc on his home town in general, and eventually on Pat himself. Elements of this story are very reminiscent of the Snopes Trilogy, as townspeople discover the treachery of one of their own, and find themselves helpless to avenge it. Almost entirely lacking in the warmth and humor that tempers life's set-backs and sorrows in Haruf's later work, this one is still potent and darned near perfect. The ending will dissatisfy many readers, I'm sure, but it is fitting and tragically believable.
124lauralkeet
>123 laytonwoman3rd: Excellent review, Linda. Your comparison to Faulkner is interesting.
125laytonwoman3rd
>124 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. It was an observation I made looking back after closing the book for the last time. I had noted that familiar tone early on, but at the end, I felt Haruf had Faulkner standing over his shoulder while writing. Not surprising, as I think he taught Faulkner in his university courses.
126laytonwoman3rd
43. Thirst by Mary Oliver in which she explores questions of faith, and reaches for the hand and voice of God in the wake of the death of her long-time partner and literary agent, Molly Malone Cook. Her ever-present awe for the natural world is as lyrical and moving as ever in these selections, but I didn't connect with her as I usually do, as I neither seek nor sense the existence of the god she speaks of so often here. Read for the AAC.
127RBeffa
>123 laytonwoman3rd: I read this back in 2015 and still remember it. Of the 5 Haruf novels I read I think this was the second best one behind Plainsong. Def a dark tone with this one.
128laytonwoman3rd
>127 RBeffa: It won't be long, I feel, before I re-read Plainsong.
130Caroline_McElwee
>121 laytonwoman3rd: I think I read this in my teens Linda, can’t really remember it now.
>122 laytonwoman3rd: As you know, this worked better for me than you.
>122 laytonwoman3rd: As you know, this worked better for me than you.
131msf59
Happy July, Linda. I hope everything is going well for you. I have you down for the shared read of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Are you still considering joining us?
132laytonwoman3rd
>131 msf59: Is that on for July, Mark? I will try to join in. Thanks for the reminder!
133laytonwoman3rd
44. Morally Straight by Mike De Socio Subtitled "How the Fight for LGBTQ+ Inclusion Changed the Boy Scouts--and America" If you think that's a lot of words, take it as a mild warning about the content of this book. It's an important and fascinating subject, and some of the bravest, kindest and most "morally straight" people you'd ever hope to meet were behind the fight described here. The amount of detail involved about every protest, every court case, every reaction to every protest and court case, every news item, multiple conversations, etc. is a bit daunting, and probably more than the average reader wants to wade through. Again, it's important, and it should be this well documented, especially considering that the author was virtually stone-walled by the BSA during his research for this book.
I admire the persistence of so many young people who fought for their rights, and often for the rights of friends or beloved Scout leaders who had been banned by the BSA for being openly gay or supporting others who were. The fight for inclusion lasted for over 4 decades; the first challenge to its unpublicized but entrenched policy of "no gays in the BSA" came in 1980, when an Eagle Scout applied for a position as a Scout leader, and was turned down because he had appeared in a series of articles about gay teens published in the Oakland Tribune. It was not until 2013 that the BSA voted to end the ban on gay members; not until 2015 that the organization voted to allow gay leaders; not until 2017 that it ended its prohibition against transgender members. Women have been active as Cub Scout leaders since the 1950s, and girls have been welcomed into the BSA sponsored Exploring and Sea Scouts programs since the 1960s. In 1995 a girl filed a legal challenge in California after being denied full membership in the Boy Scouts...that failed. Girls were not approved for membership in the Cub Scouts until 2018, and were finally allowed to work toward the Eagle Scout rank the following year. The first female Eagle Scout, a gay woman, had her Court of Honor in 2022, the day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The struggle continues.
I admire the persistence of so many young people who fought for their rights, and often for the rights of friends or beloved Scout leaders who had been banned by the BSA for being openly gay or supporting others who were. The fight for inclusion lasted for over 4 decades; the first challenge to its unpublicized but entrenched policy of "no gays in the BSA" came in 1980, when an Eagle Scout applied for a position as a Scout leader, and was turned down because he had appeared in a series of articles about gay teens published in the Oakland Tribune. It was not until 2013 that the BSA voted to end the ban on gay members; not until 2015 that the organization voted to allow gay leaders; not until 2017 that it ended its prohibition against transgender members. Women have been active as Cub Scout leaders since the 1950s, and girls have been welcomed into the BSA sponsored Exploring and Sea Scouts programs since the 1960s. In 1995 a girl filed a legal challenge in California after being denied full membership in the Boy Scouts...that failed. Girls were not approved for membership in the Cub Scouts until 2018, and were finally allowed to work toward the Eagle Scout rank the following year. The first female Eagle Scout, a gay woman, had her Court of Honor in 2022, the day after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The struggle continues.
134laytonwoman3rd
>133 laytonwoman3rd: That concludes my June AAC reading, but as noted in the challenge thread, several more books/authors have come to my attention on the subject of inclusion, pride, gender identity, etc., so I will continue to devote time to those throughout the year.
I know it's time for a new thread, as the 3rd quarter is well underway. But the numbers don't yield the continuation link yet, so...you know what you have to do. Quit LURKING and say something!
I know it's time for a new thread, as the 3rd quarter is well underway. But the numbers don't yield the continuation link yet, so...you know what you have to do. Quit LURKING and say something!
135Caroline_McElwee
Waving at you....
136richardderus
>133 laytonwoman3rd: Progress is always fragile. Terribly, appallingly fragile. *sigh*
137jessibud2
Hi Linda. Hope you are not sweltering this *new normal* summer we are experiencing. Best stay inside and read...
138alcottacre
>123 laytonwoman3rd: I still need to read that one. I think I have read all of Haruf's other books. Thanks for the reminder, Linda!
140laytonwoman3rd
>137 jessibud2: Definitely staying inside as much as possible. Also, trying to figure out why we in NE Pennsylvania have so much higher humidity than our daughter in the middle of Virginia.
>138 alcottacre: I live to serve. Haruf's books are worth re-reading, and I expect I will do so.
>138 alcottacre: I live to serve. Haruf's books are worth re-reading, and I expect I will do so.
141lycomayflower
I say, what?
142lycomayflower
Quite so.
143laytonwoman3rd
>141 lycomayflower:, >142 lycomayflower: You silly. But thanks!
144lycomayflower
>143 laytonwoman3rd: Anytime.
145kac522
>143 laytonwoman3rd: Yes, but you should answer one message at a time, like this:
146kac522
>141 lycomayflower: Thank you!
147kac522
>142 lycomayflower: Thank you!!
148kac522
>144 lycomayflower: We're almost there!
150laytonwoman3rd
>145 kac522: YES! I thought of that...after the fact.
151laytonwoman3rd
>148 kac522: So thank you!
152laytonwoman3rd
>149 weird_O: AND you!
153Caroline_McElwee
You're there...
154laytonwoman3rd
>153 Caroline_McElwee: I AM! And I'm working on the new thread right now!
155laytonwoman3rd
And so, with a little help from my friends, I'm moving on to the New Thread. Like it says over there, y'all come by when you can!
This topic was continued by Linda Aims for 80 in the Third Quarter.
