Streamsong 2025 #1 - Winter cozies

Last fall I read Margaret Renkl's book The Comfort of Crows. In it, the first bird she sees for the year becomes her talisman for the year.

Love it!

So this is my first bird seen in 2025 - a California Quail. They are not native to Montana; they were probably released on a local game farm and spread throughout the valley. In a way they are ironic, since this valley has a high proportion of people who have moved in from other places. The ex-Californians seem to be especially abundant and to identify one's self as being from California brings scorn.

This is not an unusual bird for me. I seem to have fifty or so on my property that scurry around in flocks mostly on the ground. Nevertheless, they are fun and jaunty with that quirky topknot.

Symbolic meanings: https://worldbirds.com/quail-symbolism/

- Quails symbolize community and parenthood. Another spiritual meaning of the quail may be cooperation or social harmony. Quails look after each other so that they can all thrive as a group. So their symbolism is often connected with important bonds like teamwork and family.

-Quails are surprisingly hardy. California Quails, as a matter of fact, can even survive without water indefinitely. They can only do this if they have enough moist greens and insects to get their hydration from, but it’s still an impressive survival skill. So, quails symbolize resilience and hardiness.

- Quails often communicate verbally with each other. There are a variety of calls that male and females use, but what’s even more interesting is that quails sometimes do something called “antiphonal” calling. This means that the male and female will alternate calling. This call and response pattern means that quails symbolize love, romance, and communication.

- In Native American cultures, quails represent modesty, humility, and the earth.

-In Celtic cultures, birds often represent the Otherworld.

Hi - I'm Janet.

I live in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana along Skalkaho Creek.

I'm happily retired after working in an NIAID research lab for thirty years as a microbiologist (technician).

I raise Appaloosa horses and usually have a foal or two each year.


This is Lita, my filly born in 2024.

I'm about half way between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks - so if you're traveling or vacationing in the area, I'd love to meet you. Give me a bit of warning, though - the house often looks like a bomb went off in it. Unless of course, you find cluttery piles of books interesting decor (as I do).

What do I read? A bit of everything. I enjoy literary fiction, mysteries and the occasional feel good cozy.

I'm working my way around the world in a global reading challenge and often get suggestions from the Book Girls World Voyage.

I belong to two in-person book clubs. A favorite online club for nature reads is the Glacier Conservancy Book Club here - https://glacier.org/glacier-book-club/ The Glacier Conservancy is a fund-raising arm for Glacier National Park.


Here's the link to my last thread of 2024: https://www.librarything.com/topic/364763#n8711854

In 2024 I read 99 books - fewer than I usually accomplish. I still have December reviews to write and post.

Bit apprehensive about the new US administration and the increasing number of cases of Bird Flu

BOOKS READ FIRST QUARTER

- January 2025

1. Wandering Stars - Tommy Orange - 2024 - library
2. The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald - 1977 - library
3. West With Giraffes - Lynda Rutledge - 2021 - Newcomer's Book Club - library14. The
4. Mindful Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Simple Path to Healing, Hope, and Peace - Seth J. Gillihan - Great Courses - audio - library
5. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino - 1982 - Library Brown Bag Book Club

- February 2025
7. Fire on the Rim: A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon - Stephen Pyne - 1989 - Root #1 acquired 2013
8. Small Things Like These - Claire Keegan - 2021 - library
9. The Arab of the Future Vol 1 - Riad Sattouf - 2015 - library
10. Land of Milk and Honey - C Pam Zhang - 2024 - library
11. Dust Child - Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai - 2024 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library

March
12. Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - 1859 - group read ROOT #2 - acquired 2011
13. One Second After - William R. Forstchen - 2011 - library
14. The Enigma of Room 622 - Joël Dicker - 2020 - Global Reading: Switzerland & France - library
15. One Year After - William R Forstchen - - library

BOOKS READ SECOND QUARTER

April
15. Tell Me Everything - Elizabeth Strout - 2024 - library
16. Bear - Julia Phillips - 2024 - library
17. The Dry - Jane Harper - 2018 - library
18. The Final Day - William R. Forstchen - 2017 - library

May
19. Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness - Scott Jurek - 2013 - library
20. Good night, Irene - Luis Alberto Urrea - 2023 - Newcomers' book Club - audio - library
21. Playground - Richard Powers - 2024 - library
22. The Lost City of Z - David Grann - 2010 - Newcomers Book Club - Root #2 acq'd 2018
23. American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins - Brown Bag Book Club - Global Reading: Location Mexico -Kindle app/acq'd 2025
24. How to Keep House While Drowning - K.C. Davis - 2022 - library

June
25. The Way: A Novel - Cary Groner - 2024 - library
26. Papillion - Henri Charrière - 1969 - Global Reading:France/French Guiana - library
27. Exiles - Jane Harper - 2022 - Global Reading: Australia - library
28. The Devil's Highway - Luis Alberto Urrea - 2005 - Newcomer's Book Club - library (ROOT?)
29. James - Percival Everett - 2024 - Reread - Newcomers' Book Club - Reread - Kindle purchase
30. God of the Woods Liz Moore - Library Brown Bag Bookclub - Kindle
31. Five Years After - William R. Forstchen

BOOKS READ THIRD QUARTER
July

32
Open Season - C. J. Box - Reread - Library Brown Bag Book Club -

August

September
October
November

Being Mortal - Atul Gawande - Reread NC Book Club

2025 Books Read:

4 BOOKS READ
- 0 BOOKS REVIEWED

YEAR ACQUIRED
- 4 - Library

FORMAT
- 1 - audio
- 3 - print

- 3 - Fiction (May Fit into more than 1 category)
- 1 - Animals
- 1 - Historical Fiction
- 1 - Humor
- 1 - Native American
- 1 - Women

- 1 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
- 1 - Psychology

AUTHORS
2 - Female Authors
2 - Male Authors
- Combination of Male and Female author(s)
- Non-binary

1 - Authors who are new to me
3 - Authors I have previously read
- Combination (Anthology) of previously read and new to me authors

- Rereads

Original Publication Date
- 1 - 1977
- 1 - 2021
- 1 - 2022
- 1 - 2024

The Global Challenge: Read five books from each of the 193 UN members plus a few additional areas. (Ongoing project over **Many** years!)

Thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188308

Countries new for me in 2025

Countries Completed With 5 Books in 2025

Countries previously visited - working toward 5 books per country in 2025

Additional books for countries completed with five books in 2025:

ALL COUNTRIES VISITED: 116


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Library Brown Bag Book Club:
January: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino
February: Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Phan Que Mai
March: The Measure by Nikki Erlick (reread)
April: On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (reread)
May 29 -- American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
June 26 -- God of the Woods by Liz Moore
July 31 -- Open Season by CJ Box (reread)
August 28 -- The Worth of Water by Gary White and Matt Damon
September 25 -- The Women by Kristin Hannah (reread)
October 30 -- What makes us Human by Lain Thomas
November 20 -- The First ladies by Marie Benedict and Christopher Murray

New Comers' Book Club:
January: West With Giraffes - Lynda Rutledge

Book Girls Global Tour
January: Arctic and Antarctica: Endurance Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing

Glacier Conservancy Book Club (Bimonthly)
January: Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo - Sally Thompson

Including library books at home the number of books I have physically in my TBR stacks and piles:

January 1, 2025 - 595 books

Number of Books from my shelves read in 2025

Books Acquired 2025:
1. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler - Italo Calvino - 1982 - LBBBC - print & Kindle

Series

Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon - (4/19)
Ann Cleeves - Shetland (2/11)
Robert Galbraith - Cormoran Strike (1/7)
Elsa Hart - Li Du (2/3)
Jane Harper - Aaron Falk (1/3)
Anne Hillerman - Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito (5/8)
Ragnar Jónasson - Dark Iceland (1/6)
Alka Joshi - Jaipur Trilogy (1/3)
William Kent Krueger - Cork O'Connor (1/ )
Ngaio Marsh - Roderick Alleyn (2/27)
Dorothy Sayers - Lord Peter Wimsey (2/?)
Nita Prose - Molly the Maid (2/2)
Fred Vargas - Chief Inspector Adamsberg - 2/10

Welcome back, Janet!

>12 streamsong: Faster than a speeding bullet, Jim! Thank you!

Happy New Year, Janet. I look forward to some great suggestions from you this year.

Happy New Year, Janet!

Happy 2025, Janet.

Let's hope all our apprehension at the coming year is unfounded or at least not as bad as many of us fear.

Happy New Year, Janet!

That quail is really a sweet and lovely bird!

My FOY was a woodpecker.

Happy new year, Janet! Hope it's full of good birds and books. I forgot to note my first of the year, but I'm pretty sure the one I saw and recognized on my feeders on the 1st was a cardinal. If not, it was the pair of titmice and black-capped chickadees in one of my bushes the next day.

I really enjoyed If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, and hope it makes for a good book discussion.

>1 streamsong: I have not heard of the California quail. Cool looking bird!

Happy reading in 2025!

Happy New Year, Janet! Speaking of avian flu, we have a shortage of chicken eggs right now, due to culling chicken in my area . I don't eat eggs that much, other than if they are in a food, but Dave eats a couple each day, so he is noticing the lack of eggs.

>15 BLBera: Thank you Beth. I get great suggestions from you, too. Happiest of New Years!

>16 norabelle414: Thank you Nora!

>17 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year, Paul! I certainly hope you are right in your hopes for a smoother-than-anticipated New Year!

>18 EllaTim: Hi Ella! Did you try to look up any of the symbolism of woodpeckers?

I purchased a copy of Leaf Cloud Crow which gives several pages to write about each week of the year, as well as a bit of a nature prompt. It actually started December 21st so I'm a bit behind.



There's a really fun interview with Margaret Renkl at Ann Patchett's Parnassas Books here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NzNoOtZqF4 I like the fact that she calls herself an observer and doesn't hold herself to knowing many scientific facts about what she is seeing.

>19 bell7: Hi Mary! Chickadees are so much fun with their distinctive patterns and calls. Busy little guys!

I'm glad you liked On A Winter's Night a Traveler. I'll be starting it soon.

>20 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! The little top knot on the quail are really cutel. I think I like the idea of being humble and resilient like the quail this year.

>21 vancouverdeb: Happy New Year, Deb! Eggs are getting scarcer here, too. I'm afraid it might get worse before it gets better. I'm going to experiment with freezing eggs by cracking them into ice cube trays and adding a little salt on top. I've also heard that the cartons of egg whites freeze well.

I bought two packages of N95 masks from evil Amazon in case the flu jumps into human to human transmission.

Had a moose visit yesterday. It was lying down at the edge of my lawn. It stayed there several hours; I was beginning to wonder if might be hurt, so I made some noise. It got up and was walking fine and started browsing on the cottonwood. They are very short tempered and very fast so I neglected topping off two of the horse troughs last night. I did tiptoe around and get everyone fed.

After I came inside just at dusk, it passed very close to my front windows. I was sooo surprised that this 'little' moose's back was taller than my head.

I hope it's gone this morning.

Great photo, Janet. Do you normally get moose? I always think of them as being more northerly.

>1 streamsong: I love the picture of the quail and all the quail facts, Janet! Thanks for sharing them.

>2 streamsong: What a gorgeous filly!

>3 streamsong: Yeah, you could put me in that picture too.

Happy New Year, Janet! I do hope you have a terrific year, reading and otherwise.

Happy New Year, Janet! Love the moose photos.

Happy New Year, Janet!

How great to get moose visits! At the edge of your lawn and at the window?! Wow.

>27 BLBera: Hi Beth - There are definitely moose in the area, especially in the park in town that follows the river. I've seen a few on my place, but usually over on the creek, never sleeping in my back yard. This one was a bit too close for comfort. The picture of it lying down was taken through my kitchen window.

>28 alcottacre: Hi Stasia and Happy 2025! I hope it is less eventful than I fear - my son says I do too much doomscrolling on social media. I hope he's right. :)

I'm expecting one or two foals again this year, but not until later in the spring.

I know I'll have a great year of reading, guided in great part by all the wonderful books that you and everyone else reads here!

>29 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie - good to see you and Happy New Year! The last time I had a moose story on my thread, I didn't have any photos; so I knew I had to get some this time, even though they certainly won't win any awards.

>30 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by! I agree that the moose was a wow to start my new year. As it glided past my living room windows in the dusk, I thought how it could come right through those windows if it really wanted to. Luckily, it didn't want to, and I all got was an extremely close spectacular view of a moose walking past.

Currently reading



finishing up (which I've been reading for a Loooooong time)

and trying to make weekly observations in

I have a few reviews left to do from last year, so here is the first of them:



91. The Poppy War – R. F. Kuang – 2018
- library

Rin is an orphan, being raised by a family whose business is illegal drugs. When an elderly man offers to buy her as a wife, it looks like her future is sealed. But she convinces her family to give her one shot at taking a national exam to go to school. She studies frantically and scores well enough to get into the most elite academy in the capital city.

There she finds her hardships just beginning. Instead of the opportunity she longs for, she finds she is one of a few students chosen to show that only the children of the rich and elite with years of private tutoring can succeed. She has had no instruction at all in combat and her temper soon gets her into trouble.

Determined to succeed, she tries to learn martial arts from books. There she catches the eye of Jiang, the most paradoxical of the masters. And although shamans are thought to be mythical, Jiang seems to be one. As is the student Altan, seemingly the last of his race of Speerly – gifted fighters and mystics.

But soon war breaks out when the Federation invades and the academy’s students are pressed into service.

Here is where the plot takes a turn as the events are drawn loosely from the Second Sino-Japanese War. The war is brutal and bloody; trigger warnings include rape, murder, infanticide, genocide and the racism of painting the enemy as wholly other.

Jin makes monstrous choices, leaving behind the spiritual side of shamanism to embrace its raw power.

I read this after reading Yellowface in a book group. The leader mentioned this young author’s range of writing, and the number of genres she has undertaken This is Kuang's first book and an amazing effort with complex characters. I won’t go on with this trilogy – ultimately it was just too bloody for me. I read a review calling this military fantasy/alternate history – it’s a subgenre I will avoid.

But I will pursue others of this versatile and gifted writer.

3.5 stars

Happy New Year, Janet. Happy New Thread. Hooray for the FOY California Quail. What a beauty. I also LOVE the moose sighting, as well. I hope you like Wandering Stars more than I did. It just didn't completely work for me.

Great moose pics! Moose are delightful (from a safe distance)

>35 msf59: Hi Mark! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad you enjoyed the quail post. I got a little carried away, but they are fun little birds.

I'm not sure how I feel about Wandering Stars yet. I really enjoyed Tommy Orange's first book, There, There and also enjoyed listening to him speak about non-reservation Indians a few years ago. The timelines are strange in Wandering Stars as he mixes prequel and sequel to TT. There are sentences that literally take my breath away, but it's somehow got to turn into more than a sum of good sentences.

>36 norabelle414: Hi Nora! The moose was fun, but scary. Over the years, I've been chased twice by them and don't really want to do it a third time, especially living here by myself. They are really hard to see in the dark, which also makes me wary after dark. In addition, they are perfectly capable of hopping over fences, but they also are equally likely to go through them, trailing wire and posts behind them. All in all, I'd prefer admiring them from a distance.

>25 streamsong: Good idea, Janet. Dave found eggs today at the store, so he stocked up. Hopefully they will be back reliably soon. The Poppy War sounds interesting if a little dark. I'll keep that in mind.

Hi Janet! Happy new Year. Nice to hear you are expecting a couple of foals in the spring.

The Poppy War sounds uncomfortable to me, so I'll probably skip it, unless one of our book clubs selects it. I'm not squeamish as a rule, but violence can be tiring to read about these days. There's so much of it around in real life, after all.

>26 streamsong: Hi Janet, so glad you got some pictures of your moose visitor. The only ones I’ve seen in person were fenced in. They are huge animals. I’m glad we have several deer in our neighborhood. They are relatively tame and they didn’t eat my hostas last year so we are friends.

Happy New Year to you. May your books keep you company during these long dark days. I’m looking forward to seeing your new foals in the spring.

>34 streamsong:
This series is one that I have on my TBR list. The series was quite popular when I was a YA Librarian.

I am always surprised by the level of violence that I find in YA novels. I only read the first book in the Hunger Games series and last night I watched the movie version of the novel on TV. I still have trouble reconciling the story with its YA classification due to the subject matter.

>38 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Fingers and toes crossed that the avian flu passes quickly, but I fear it will continue and be T's first test of office. I'm reading on a couple FB groups that I belong to, that the avian flu is all Biden's fault since his advisors chose not to destroy infected dairy herds. They are already setting up the blame game. Sigh.

The Poppy Wars is definitely interesting but a little dark. Perfect choice of words on your part.

>39 ffortsa: Hi Judy and Happy New Year! Fingers crossed on the foals - thanks for your good wishes.

I'm also choosing not to go on with The Poppy Wars at this time. It was really interesting to me to read something so different from the author of Yellowface.

>40 Donna828: Hi Donna and Happy New Year! Thanks for stopping in! The moose was exciting, but a little scary. It seems to have moved on for which I am glad. Moose do exactly what moose want to do and there isn't an easy way to shoo them out of the back yard. I also enjoy watching the whitetail deer, but yours are much more polite than mine - they love both my garden and flowers. It's a real challenge.

Yay for each day being a little longer and a little closer to spring and yay for books! I'm doing a bit of decluttering in the evening. Currently shredding old papers so I can get the New Year more organized.

>41 benitastrnad: Hi Benita! I'll be interested to see what you think if you read the series.

I also read The Hunger Games when my daughter was reading it, but I did not go on with that series either. Kids killing other kids did not appeal to me either.

Another from December:



92. Force of Nature - Jane Harper - 2017
– library
3.8 stars

Opening lines: "Later the four remaining women could fully agree on only two things. One: No one saw the bushland swallow up Alice Russell. And two: Alice had a mean streak so sharp it could cut you."

Five men and five women head off into the outback of Australia for a company’s team building exercise. The men and women travel separately, have slightly different paths and different destinations. Nevertheless, the men hike over to the women’s camp on the first night for a bit of a party and some serious conversations.

Although the men successfully arrive at their destination, the women have vanished. When they are finally found, one of their number, Alice, is gone.

There are allegations of money laundering within the company and Alice had been working as an informant for Police Agent Aaron Falk who is brought into the case.

But there are many more twists and turns complicating factors within the group. There are rivalries and hatreds between the men and the women.

The area itself is known to be former haunt of a serial killer of women hiking alone. Now the murderers’s son is believed to live in the area.

And so the search begins.

I enjoyed the backwoods camping aspect of this story, but am skeptical that the organizing adventure/work encounter company would turn people loose in the woods, when few of them were experienced campers or hikers. Still it made an enjoyable tale and I would like to read more of this series.

Hi Janet, and Happy New Year!

>2 streamsong: Nice intro, as always. Best wishes for a good reading year.

>4 streamsong: I’m beyond apprehensive about the chaos demon and his minions/cohorts. A new friend from the ROOTs group just told me about the Top Risks 2025 published by the Eurasia Group, so I registered and downloaded it. I just read a Forbes article about bird flu, which I found interesting. The comparisons with the Covid pandemic are disturbing.

>12 streamsong: I’ve read every Peter Wimsey book, novella, short story, and authorized sequel, and except for the authorized sequels and Five Red Herrings have pretty much loved every single one.

>26 streamsong: I remember visiting Karen in 1987 (wasn't 1997, as originally posted). We were randomly driving, I don't remember where and were on a two-lane with a river/swampland on the right. We stopped and stayed behind the car per her instructions and observed a cow and her calf. Stupid folks were trying to get up close and personal, but fortunately they weren’t close enough to threaten mama moose or her calf.

>34 streamsong: I have Yellowface by Kuang, and really need to try to get to it this year.

>44 streamsong: I enjoyed this one as well, Janet. She does a good job of immersing one in the setting.

>45 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Happy New Year and always great to see you.

I found the Top Risks article and read it. I'll spend a bit more time with it later. I find the orange Caligula incredibly frightening - it's impossible to know what he will do and so hard to know how to prepare. The bird flu *is* frightening as I don't think we'll have good leadership on how to get through it. It's time to stock up a bit on N95 masks, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, bleach, gloves etc - all the things that were impossible to get during Covid.

Good to know about the Peter Wimsey books. I think I'll be doing a lot of comfort/distraction reading this year.

The moose returned two days ago but stayed over by the creek to the north of me. The horses are terrified of it. I wonder if it will be having a calf this spring.

Yellowface is interesting, but not terribly feel good. I had the feeling of impending disaster throughout the book. Kuang is amazing with the variety of genres she has written.

>46 BLBera: Hi Beth! I'll definitely read more by Jane Harper. Mysteries are one of my go to comfort reads. We've both enjoyed apocolyptic books - I wonder if they will feel too close to home this year.

Still writing reviews from December. This was one of my favorites from that month.



93. How to Say Babylon – Safiya Sinclair - 2023
- Global Reading: Jamaica
– library
4 stars

I really enjoyed this memoir of growing up Rastafarian in Jamaica. I had little to no knowledge about this Abrahamic sect and social movement. Men in the movement believe they each have Jah (God) inside them and so each are the personal individual arbitrators of the religion they practice.

Many, including the author’s father believe that Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 was the second coming or reincarnation of Christ, although Selassie himself (now deceased) denied this.

Safiya’s father was very strict toward the women in his family. In an effort to keep Babylon (the Western world that corrupts a woman’s purity) at bay, he forbade more and more interactions. Eventually Safiya, her sisters and her mother were kept entirely at home, (as the published blurb says), wearing only long sleeved dresses, no pants, head wraps to cover their hair which was twisted into dreadlocks and never allowed to be cut, no make-up, no jewelry, no opinions, no friends.

Although Safiya’s mother strictly followed her husband’s edicts,she gave her daughters the gift of books, including poetry. Safiya dove into her studies, eventually received a scholarship first in Jamaica and then in the U.S. and realized her dream of becoming a poet while lighting the way for other family members.

Here we go! I finished the first book of the New Year, Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars. Like others in this group, I had mixed feelings about it. There were parts I loved and parts I endured.You can pretty much tell how much I enjoy a book, by the length of time it takes me to read it. WS took a week for an average sized 300 pages.

I'm still behind in reviews, so will keep working on my December reviews before I start this year's. Other years, I have just started right into January reviews and didn't ever get the December reviews done.

I've started Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop. It's a nice short book and I've never read anything by her before. Any Penelope Fitzgerald fans out there? I see several of my friends have this one in their libraries. I can't remember who gave me the suggestion - did one of you read it in the last few months?

I have several of Penelope Fitzgerald's books in my TBR list and I own a copy of The Bookshop. It isn't in one of the boxes I have unpacked. Somehow I think that Fitzgerald is one of the author's who was recommended in Michael Dirda's book Bound to Please. I can't check that because all of the titles by her in my TBR list were added before 2021. That means that she is an author I have been watching for some time.

Janet, what a beautiful filly Lita is! Happy New Year. I vow to visit threads more often in 2025!

Sweet Thursday, Janet. I also loved How to Say Babylon. Terrific memoir.

Here is the link to Club Read's poetry thread. I hope you can stop by and contribute now and then.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/366887#n8725198

Happy new year!

I love the first bird tradition, and your quail is lovely! Can't beat the fascinator attached to its head.

>51 Whisper1: I make a similar vow but already feel behind. On the other hand, I have been reading. There's always a trade off.

>26 streamsong: No Moose here in Token Creek, Wisconsin -

yet on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,
a Buck, three Does and a Fawn sat in the deep snow outside our kitchen window -

What a Welcome Family!

>50 benitastrnad: Hi Benita! Thanks for mentioning Michael Dirda's Bound to Please. It sounds very interesting.
I am acutely aware that there are all sorts of holes in my knowledge of literature. I am enjoying The Bookshop - according to LT, it was on the Booker shortlist (published 1978 so a while ago).

>51 Whisper1: Happy New Year, Linda! Thanks for stopping by. I hope to do better keeping up with everyone this year, too.

>52 msf59: Hi Mark! I may well have gotten the rec for How to Say Babylon from Babylon from you.Thanks!
I hopped over to the Poetry Thread and enjoyed reading it. Dropped a star and looking forward to see what comes.

>53 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! Happy New Year to you, too. "quail is lovely! Can't beat the fascinator attached to its head. " What a great word for that little feather on its head - fascinating indeed.

>54 m.belljackson: Hi Marianne! Happy New Year! I like your word picture of the deer. We have quite a few whitetails and a few muleys here on the place. I wish they were a bit less common and would make it easier to have a garden or flowers. This year I have fewer of them - I think because I don't have any pure alfalfa hay in my haystacks. Still, I see lots of tracks.

We have about 5 inches of snow. The bulk of the snowstorm over the last weekend was south of us, and it seems that there is a new snowstorm causing problems in Arkansas and Tennessee today. The snow here didn't bother me, but it did get inside the carport and I had to brush snow off the tops of my stacked up boxes. Oh well - I don't think it will do much damage, but it does tell me that I need to get my stuff moved into the house ASAP.

>50 benitastrnad: I've just acquired Dirda's Classics for Pleasure. According to the table of contents, he doesn't get much past the 1950s authors. Bound to Please sounds interesting if it covers more recent writing.

>57 benitastrnad: Hi Benita - 5 inches of snow! We haven't had that much this year, although the snowpack in the mountains is running about normal.

Perhaps you could buy an inexpensive tarp to cover your boxes until you can get them all moved inside.

>58 ffortsa: Hi Judy! Classics for Pleasure sounds interesting. A lot has happened in the literary world since 1950, but I imagine his views on the classics are still valid. The 1950's sounds so long ago, and yet I was born in that decade.

I see that Bound to Please has had at least one update in 2007.

>58 ffortsa:
Bound to Please was published in 2004 and covers books published up to that time. In fact, the entire book is a gathering of Dirda's book reviews (all short essay length) from those days at the Washington Post. In my opinion, the great strength of the book is that it covers many of the important writers from the last half of the 20th century. Many of these are authors, critics, and literary figures about which I knew little. There is a section on the Classics, and one on European authors, but I think the most informative parts are the ones on the 20th Century.

>60 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita! I'll look for it.

>1 streamsong: I love that. One thing we miss about living in eastern Oregon is the families of California Quail who regularly visited our back yard. We get to see Kingfishers flying and chattering along the Metolius River here, but those quail are special.

Wishing you all the best in this new year, Janet.

>60 benitastrnad: >61 ffortsa: Thanks for the additional details Benita and Judy! It does sound like a good one!

>62 EBT1002: Hi Ellen and Happy New Year! I'm glad you enjoy the California quail like I do! I can't think of them as "invasive" even though some of my bird friends do. I have bald eagles, great horned owls and various hawks here along the creek - and I'm sure part of the attraction are these plump little birds. The flock that lives here has several dozen members taking advantage of all the natural cover along the creek, so I think every thing is in balance.

How fun to see Kingfishers!

Finished The Bookshop which I found had a very down ending. If someone is wanting to try Penelope Fitzgerald and you're feeling a bit stressed, this may not be the place to start, no matter how appealing a story about a haunted book store may sound.

I'm about 150 pages into the book for Wednesday's book club, West With Giraffes, which is light and wonderful and very loosely based on a true story about hauling two giraffes across the US during the Depression in order to start a herd in California. The protagonist is a young orphan who lost his family in the dust bowl in the Texas panhandle. He reminds me a bit of the stories my Mom used to tell about growing up on a Dakota homestead during the era. **But** I had no idea that 'dust bowl' orphans were a common phenomena with little or no resources to help them. I'll have to check into this a bit.

I think I'll start writing my 2025 reviews and intersperse them with the last of the 2024 reviews. Reviews are so much more fun to write when I've just finished the book and not a month later!

I'm having to get together legal documents for a lawyer representing me against a local ditch company that has a ditch along the back part of my place. About a week before Christmas, the company tore down one of my fences without telling me. I can't even imagine doing this to someone (in the Old West it would have been a hanging offense), and they are definitely in the wrong. For them this is a 'minor miscalculation'. For me it is a $150K land grab. I need to make this a big enough deal that they cease and desist as the legal term goes not only now, but in the future.

This is when I miss having a partner to talk things over with. It's scary and stressful, but I don't see any other way through. Talking and handshakes only last with this company until the next supervisor takes over.

Will I leave this post up? The next time you come back it may have disappeared and been replaced with a cute bunny photo.

>64 streamsong: I loved The Bookshop, Janet, but you are right that it is so sad.

>65 streamsong: We cross-posted. That is horrible about your fence. Sorry you are having to deal with it on your own.

>54 m.belljackson: Marianne, What a gift you received for Christmas! How very special to see all those deer so close

>65 streamsong:, Ohh, sorry about the fence issue, Janet. That's a lot of money. I hope things getting sorted out in your favour. Sorry you are dealing with it on your own. sigh from me to you.

>65 streamsong: That's so frustrating. I'm glad you are standing up for yourself instead of letting the company talk you down.

>65 streamsong: What a bummer, Janet. Stuff like this is time consuming and takes up a lot of head room as well. Fingers crossed that you resolve it quickly.

>65 streamsong: Forgive me for being a Pennsylvania urbanite... What is a ditch company? What does tearing down your fence get them?

>66 Crazymamie: Mamie, I enjoyed the writing and the wit in The Bookshop. The ending was not what I need right now - and triggered all my little guy/gal against arrogance that I have going on right now. I'll definitely read more by Penelope Fitzgerald.

>68 Whisper1: Linda, thank you for stopping by. I agree that was a lovely post by Marianne.

>67 Crazymamie: >69 vancouverdeb: >70 norabelle414: >71 BLBera: >72 qebo: Thank you all for the support!

>71 BLBera: " Stuff like this is time consuming and takes up a lot of head room as well" Beth, that is a perfect description of what is going on! I'm doing a lot of meditation type things to help with the head room. I can't see it working out in favor of the other side, but I can't relax about it either.

>72 qebo: Katherine and all: Back when this valley was settled and developed back in the late 1800's, Marcus Daly (big deal in Montana history) formed corporations to bring water from the nearby lakes and mountains to the valley farmland. Informally they are called ditch companies. There is one main ditch, medium size ditches, and small ditches to deliver the water.

My piece of land is shaped like half a pie with one of the medium sized ditches (water about 4 feet deep) along the entire edge of the curve. Most of the documents say the easement for the ditch and access for them to maintain it is sixty feet wide. My deeds and documents say that the sixty feet easement is thirty feet on each side of the middle of the ditch. For some reason, the most recent ditch supervisor decided that the sixty feet meant from the edge of the ditch going sixty feet into my property and so tore down my fence without letting me know beforehand and without discussing it. Due to the length of the curved edge of my property, his interpretation would take several acres of my land, which is where the monetary loss would come.

This is the short version of course, since I have lived here thirty years and there have been other discussions, including a lawsuit several years before we bought this place. Story has it that the first murder in the valley was over a water right dispute when the loser got brained with a shovel.

The moonlight on the snow was so bright last night that I couldn't sleep. So I made good use of not sleeping, and think I have all the documents ready for the lawyer. I hope this winds up soon. My lawyer doesn't think it will go to court.

>74 streamsong: Thanks for the education!
without discussing it
Yeah, I'd've expected that the presence of a fence would at least register as reason to question the interpretation. Sorry you have to deal with this.

>65 streamsong: >74 streamsong: Sorry for the issues. Hope it goes away quickly, and they are made to pay for the fence! Maybe you need to find a copy of the article about the murder and send it to him along with a shovel? Just a warning that Montana women are not to be messed with?

>74 streamsong:
I had the same trouble with my western facing bedroom window and the full moon! I have been awakened about 3:30 AM for the last three mornings because of all the light in the room. It will be that way for another night or two and then won't be a problem. All that silvery light on that white snow just makes the night really bright.

Happy Wednesday, Janet. Sorry to hear about these legal issues. What a hassle but good luck with this David & Goliath story. I hope you are finding comfort with the books.

My daughter is buying an Appaloosa. A beautiful gelding. I will share photos when I get them.

>65 streamsong: Wow! Thats ridiculous. No one can tear down a fence unless it's on city or another persons property but notice does have to be given. I agree when dealing with companies or government your only recourse is to talk to a lawyer and get some advice. I hope things pan out in your favour.

>73 streamsong: I totally understand, Janet.

So crazy that they would just tear down your fence without even approaching you first. Hoping your lawyer is right and it doesn't go to court.

>75 qebo: Hi Katherine! No problem - it's amazing how diverse our group is. I need 'city' things explained all the time. It's part of the joy of this group.

I could have gone into a little Montana history. Marcus Daly was one of the Copper Kings of Montana. After he destroyed the environment around Butte with his mines and copper smelter, he built his mansion and horse farm here in the Bitterroot Valley so his family would have a healthier place to live.

>76 witchyrichy: Oh Karen! I can't tell you how your comment made me laugh! I am sitting on my hands not to act on it - I have the feeling that any more communication with this guy could foul up whatever my lawyer needs to do. Perhaps I'll do it once this over, though!

>77 benitastrnad: Hi Benita - The moon light on the snow is absolutely amazing, isn't it! I used to love going on moonlit horseback rides both in the summer and when it was warm enough in the winter.

>78 msf59: Hi Mark and thanks! I can't wait to see your daughter's new Appaloosa!

>79 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! Yeah, it was absolutely stunning to me that they did this. They did sort of replace the fence, but they did a cr*p job. I also need to have them replant some trees and grass.

>80 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! The good thing about all this, is that with the cold weather this is a less busy time for me outside, so I have more time.

Busy day today:

I listened to an online Whole Food Plant Based class this morning. I continue to eat more plant based, but I cannot yet call myself vegetarian (much less vegan) although I do have some days without eating meat, eggs or dairy. This class has a challenge to eat thirty vegetables a day - luckily spices count in the total.

At one is my bookclub and lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. I usually have the tuna quinoa bowl which is wonderful (so long being a vegetarian today!) And the book we are discussing, West With Giraffes, was really fun. I'd recommend it to anyone who is an animal lover, especially if you enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures - and need a little something lighter to read.

And then at four is my wonderful liberal politics wine group.

So with all that I'll hardly notice going to the local copy shop to send off the 100 pages of documents to my lawyer.

I'll also do a few of the usual errands when I'm out and about - library, CAT TREATS etc.

Poor horses will be somewhat ignored today.

I hope you enjoyed your day and let the issues just sit for a bit.

Have you read The Monkey Wrench Gang, the classic about ecoterrorism? I remember loving it!

>65 streamsong: How infuriating!!! I hope there is justice in your future.

I'm adding West with Giraffes to my wish list. I surprised myself by wholly enjoying Remarkably Bright Creatures and, of course, we all know how much I love animals!

A liberal politics wine group! That sounds lovely , Janet. I don't actually care for wine, but the liberal politics sounds great.

I very much enjoyed West With Giraffes. I added The Monkey Wrench Gang to my list to read soon.

>84 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! I had a great time at my book club, but had to forgo the wine group due to time constraints.

I actually haven't read The Monkey Wrench Gang but remember how popular it was when I was working at a bookstore in the 70's. I'll have to do so.

>85 EBT1002: Thanks for stopping by, Ellen and Happy New Year! Yay! Justice for Janet! New Slogan!

West With Giraffes was fun. I hope you like it.

>86 vancouverdeb: It's a fun group, Deborah, but it can be hard to make it on days when I have something else also planned. Not everyone drinks wine or even drinks at all, but it's at a local wine bar.



>87 Whisper1: Linda, it doesn't surprise me a bit that you liked West With Giraffes. It sounds like we'll both be reading The Monkey Wrench Gang soon.

Only a few more reviews for 2024! This is one that I wouldn't have picked up, but was chosen by my second in-person book club that often reads lighter books.



94. The Guncle – Steven Rowley - 2021
- Newcomers' Book Club
– library
- 3.5 stars

Patrick is a no-longer working actor who is still recognizable for his role in a madly popular TV series. He’s been drifting without purpose since the show ended, especially as his beloved life-partner had died in a car wreck.

Patrick is over-the-top flamboyantly gay; so much so that at the beginning I wondered if he was more caricature than character.

And then his best friend Sara dies. Sara is married to Patrick’s brother Greg. Greg needs to go to rehab as, over the course of Sara’s illness, he became addicted to coping substances. That leaves Greg and Sara’s two young children needing a place to live while Greg is in rehab. While Greg and Patrick’s sister would love to take them and fold them into her highly structured environment, Greg believes the unconventional Patrick is the better choice. Patrick has no experience with kids, and is reluctant to do so.

But of course Patrick does take the two kids and dubs himself the guncle (short for gay uncle). The three of them embark on an unusual summer while Patrick finds a hidden aptitude for parenting.

It’s not often you read a novel about grief that is also quite funny. This book is light, entertaining and heartwarming. It’s not terribly deep and my book club didn’t actually find much to discuss after reading this, but we all agreed that it was fun.

Ha! Only two reviews left to do from 2024 - not that I am reading different sorts of books in this new year, but I will try to read more off my shelves. (Standard January resolution) My memory seems to be getting a bit spotty - if I don't write reviews sometimes I have only the barest recollection of reading something or the fuzziest memory of liking or not liking it, but not why I felt that way.

I see several of my 75'er friends have this one in their library, so I'm not sure who gets kudos for recommending it to me. I enjoy post apocalyptic fiction and also wilderness stories, so this was a natural for me to read.



95. The Bear – Andrew Krivak - 2020
– library
- 3.8 stars

A girl and her father live in an idyllic setting in the mountains, at the edge of a lake. They appear to be the last two humans on earth after some sort of apocalypse, although we are never told what happened or when.
Whatever it was, this beautiful place they live shows no effects; only the people are gone with nature and animals seemingly intact.

The father and his daughter, live a spare but secure life, with the father teaching the girl the survival skills she will need. When she is approximately eleven, they journey to the ocean to get salt and the girl finds herself unexpectedly alone. She determines to return to her mountain home, when she is approached by a great bear who helps her accomplish her journey.

Beautifully descriptive and with a spiritual element as, in a ruined world, nature and the bear enable the girl to draw in what she needs. I found this haunting, but also a bit puzzling. Could one live in an absolutely beautiful place without another human around? Is she truly the last human on earth? Would one go in search to try and find another or stay in a place of beauty where physical needs are met?

>90 streamsong:
I read Krivak's memoir Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life a year ago, and enjoyed it. Krivak was almost ordained as a Jesuit priest and the book is about that part of his life. If you can find a copy of it, or get one through ILL, I would recommend it as a memoir on a subject that doesn't have lots written about it.

>91 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. I will definitely look for that one. Have you read The Bear?

>92 streamsong:
No. I am not big on apocalyptical novels, so didn't add it to my TBR list. However, his trio about his immigrant forbearers was added to my list.

>90 streamsong: This sounds like one I would like, Janet. I do love end-of-the-world novels although I might have to rethink that in the next four years. :(

great comments

Hi Janet! I hope you can get past the horrible ado with the ditch company. I didn't know what that was either, but I get it now. What absolute oafs.

You tickled my curiosity:
"This class has a challenge to eat thirty vegetables a day." Did you manage? Thirty?! I once read a recipe for a medieval salad that had thirty-something herbs in it. People knew exactly what they could pick and eat from the plants growing around them. But it hasn't become easier, I think.

Bear sounds interesting!

>93 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. The trilogy sounds interesting. You'll have to let me know if/when you read it.

>94 BLBera: Hi Beth and thanks. Yes on the apocalypse novels. You know that I enjoy them too, but I also have fears about what is to come. The Bear is very different from anything else I have read.

>95 EllaTim: Hi Ella! Not much is happening with the ditch right now - I'm waiting for my appointment with the lawyer. There won't be any activity around the ditch itself until spring as the water is turned off during the winter.

I don't think I've achieved eating thirty plants a day, but I got sidetracked and forgot to keep counting. :) Thanks for reminding me - I'll start keeping track again. Good thing each spice counts as a plant! That herbal salad sounds amazing.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of The Bear if you read it.

The countdown continues! Only one more 2024 book to review after this one.



2024- 96. Funeral Songs for Dying Girls - Cherie Dimaline - 2024
– library
3.5 stars

I am interested in Native and First Nations authors, so was intrigued to read this YA novel by Cherie Dimalie, a member of the Metis Nation of Ontario.

Winifred lives in a cemetery with her father who is a worker there. Her mother, who passed when Winifred was born, was a member of a Canadian First Nations tribe, but her father is white. Her rather unusual life among the dead has marked her as an outcast at school, except for her increasing unrequited crush on Jack, her only friend.

When business at the cemetery slows down Winifred decides to do a bit of haunting in order to entice ghost tours as paying customers. She gets more than she bargained for when a real ghost appears. She had been hoping all along that her mother would appear; instead this is the ghost of a murdered teen-age girl.
An evil cousin, not minding a little exploitation to earn some money, Jack’s rejection of Winifred’s advances followed by Winifred’s paranormal romance with the ghost girl make up the rest of the story along with a bit of murder solving.

It’s complicated, and although it follows Winifred's grief and confused self-searching, it ended up falling short for me. Perhaps I’m not the right age to read this; perhaps the overall feeling of sadness in this book just did not greatly appeal at this time. 3.5 stars

Lovely zoom book club meeting Wednesday evening with the Glacier Conservancy Book Club and a book called Disturbing the Sleeping Buffalo with author and PhD anthropologist Sally Thompson. These are little known stories about Montana history and the Native People who lived here. I'm only about half way through.

I had not realized that she also wrote People Before the Park: The Kootenai and Blackfeet Before Glacier National Park which I had enjoyed last year - LT had not combined this book into her other works. So I did my first LT librarian-ish combining deed for the year after the meeting. There are several more books that sound like they could be hers, but I will have to check first.

Thanks to Lori Thornton who bought me this book as part of my 75'ers Secret Santa!

The next Glacier Conservancy Book in March will be A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery by Diane K. Boyd who is billed as the 'Jane Goodall' of wolves.

Description: "When she started in the 1970s, she was the only female biologist in the United States researching and radio-collaring wild wolves. With her two dogs for company, she faced the rigors of the Montana winter in an isolated cabin without running water or electricity.

"Boyd fearlessly forded icy rivers, strapped on skis to navigate thick stands of lodgepole pine, and monitored packs from the air in a tiny bush plane that skimmed the treetops so she could count wolves and see what they were feeding on. She faced down grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolverines—and the occasional trapper—as she stalked her quarry: a handful of wolves that were making their way south from Canada into Montana. Resilient and resourceful, she devised her own trapping methods and negotiated with locals as wolf populations grew from the first natural colonizer to more than 3,000 wolves in the West today."

Sounds like a good one! Wolves are not popular with the locals. Unfortunately, most Montanans still see them as vermin and livestock killers. I am very glad that I don't have any near enough that I would have to worry about my foals, but I think they are fascinating.

>48 streamsong: I read that one and it hit a bit too close to home for me: "Safiya’s father was very strict toward the women in his family." That is pretty much how my father was with his wife and daughters. Everything had to be 'proper.' I enjoyed the book overall though and am glad to see that you did as well.

>49 streamsong: Yay for getting book number 1 of the year under your belt!

I have read The Bookshop but it has been several years ago at this point.

I keep getting time out errors on your thread, Janet, so I am not going to be able to full catch up, but I hope you have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend.

>99 alcottacre: Hi Stacia! Thanks for stopping by.

It's interesting how How to Say Babylon reminded you of your own father. I'm glad you enjoyed it, anyway. I have a real soft spot for memoirs, spirituality and international authors so this one was a triple interest for me.

Yes, now I just need to get going on reviews.

Time out errors? Do you think one of my photos might be too big or do you think it is an internet or LT problem?

Hi Janet -

The Ditch company issues must be very stressful. I think I first heard of them in a mystery novel set in Wyoming - water rights are such a contentious issue so many places these days, it's more than a little frightening.

I'd been thinking of joining you for The Bookshop, but I saw your mention of a down ending - I do not need that right now. Thanks for the warning - I'll pass for the moment.

And I need to knock out some reviews, too!

Enjoy the rest of the day. :)

Hi Dejah! Happy New Year! I finally have an appointment with the lawyer for our face to face consult, but it won't be until the middle of February

Yes, The Bookshop had much going for it, but the ending was a bit of a downer.

Thanks for stopping by! Here's my last review of 2024

97. On Call – Anthony Fauci – 2024
– mine
4.5 stars

When I spent my career as a technician at an NIAID research lab, Dr Fauci was of course, the ultimate head of the lab, although he would only visit here in Montana once or twice a year. I attended many of his seminars and it was a real privilege to do so. He’s one of the great research minds of our generation.

This is a longish and detailed memoir of his amazing life, from his boyhood and medical training, to his early work on the AIDS virus to his final acts of helping to steer the US and the world through Covid-19. In between, it touches on many other of his research and public health projects including his work in Africa through WHO which helped bring hope to not only in that continent, but helped diseases from spreading throughout the world
.
Here in early 2025, the political situation is overly fraught and unfortunately Dr Fauci has unfairly become one of the targets. Reading his memoir, I hope you’ll see him as not only a great scientist but a great humanitarian, working to ameliorate disease that cause suffering on so many of fronts.

>103 streamsong: I've been wanting to read this, so thanks for the review.

There's a new feature on the member's page called MDS.

Here's mine:

https://www.librarything.com/stats/streamsong/share/u27e54978.ufdc00aa0

and here is what it means:

https://www.librarything.com/stats/streamsong/share/u27e54978.uda088fb2

Wish I could figure out how to post the images - maybe later after I've had some coffee.

I have books in every catagory ... I wonder if that's common

Hi Katherine! I t's good to see you!

I think you'll like On Call. My heart bleeds over the smear job by the current administration.

I'm going to send him a bookplate with a SASE to see if he'll sign it for me.

>105 streamsong: Very cool! I just checked out mine. I don't do as much tracking as others so always happy with LT.

Nice review of On Call, Janet. I'll definitely read it, either this year or next.

>105 streamsong: That's fun.

The Fauci book sounds great.

>105 streamsong: I just checked out the new feature, Janet. Fun!

>105 streamsong: Interesting that it's based on the Dewey Decimal system. I had thought most libraries had switched to LC categories. Must check my local branch to see how they categorize things.

I wrote this post yesterday, and it disappeared before I finished. :(

>107 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! It is fun - I just wish it was easier to post it on our threads. Wouldn't be fun to have all our friends in a line on one post!

>108 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl. Thanks for stopping in. I think the Fauci book is very important in light of the current demonetization of everything science. I hope you'll find it fascinating.

>109 BLBera: Hi Beth - It's a fun new feature. It reminds me of the one they did at the end of the year. I guess they've decided to keep it going.

I hope you read the Fauci book. As I said, I think it's important.

>110 vancouverdeb: Glad you like it, Deborah!

>111 ffortsa: Hi Judy. I am ignorant about the current way libraries organize their books - I can't tell you which system my local library uses. I would guess that this is the system LT has used for years and it would be a a time and $$$ investment to change it. I'll have to look into the LC system and see what the differences are.

I think I'll start posting my wordle puzzles again. Often, I'll read someone else's thread several days later and can't remember how I solved it. Oh, my poor aging brain.

Wordle 1,323 4/6

⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, torch, miter, rivet

So when I updated that I had finished If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, I see that the works page have been completely reworked.

I usually don't read the blog posts but the description is here: https://blog.librarything.com/

And the talk about it is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/368057

It's different, so I'll have to play a bit before I decide if I like it or not. What do you think?

I don't like the date boxes. There aren't any options with this version, but it isn't worth complaining about.

>100 streamsong: I think it was an LT error. No idea for sure though.

>103 streamsong: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Janet.

I hope you have a super Sunday!

>112 streamsong:
Most public libraries use the Dewey Decimal system. Only very large public libraries use LC.

LC (Library of Congress) Classification is used by most academic libraries and the Library of Congress. The reason large academic libraries use it is because it allows for more refined classifying than does Dewey. That kind of fine tuning isn't usually required in a smaller library simply because the number of items on the shelves doesn't need it. Public library collections turn over all the time with weeding of the books that aren't circulating so it doesn't pay to fine tune the classification of materials.

Another good book on science doubting is Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming by Naomi Oreskes. In that book Oreskes, a science historian, theorizes that the science doubting started in the late 1950's with the Tobacco Wars. The tobacco companies cast doubt on the science and that doubt has carried over to other big dollar issues like climate change. The book is not an easy read. It is rather academic in tone and is very detailed with footnotes everywhere - the author has said in speeches that the huge number of footnotes was needed because she knew there would be backlash about the book. It took me several months to read it, but it was worth it.

If you don't want to read the book here is a link to the TED talk she gave.
https://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_oreskes_why_we_should_trust_scientists

Here is the YouTube link to one of her lectures.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrqz065J_is

Both of these should make you feel better about trusting science.

Wordle 1,324 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, yours, torch, chore

And this from the bot: What other Times readers did:
No one in our sample of 1,789,121 completed Wordles faced this scenario!

In other words, no one else solved it this way out of 1,789,121 puzzles solved at 7am. My brain is unique. I get this message at least once a week.

>115 benitastrnad: Hi Benita - I hadn't noticed the date boxes. I'll have to check them out.

I really liked being able to give half stars.

And the pages seem really bland - too much black, white and gray.

>116 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! It seems like they are doing major updates to the site, so perhaps that is what happened.

I hope you like On Call.

>117 benitastrnad: Thanks for the info on LC versus the Dewey Decimal systems. I learned a lot from your post.

Thanks also for the recs for Merchants of Doubt. I've partially read a similar book that I received through the LTER program comparing a lot of the pro-smoking techniques with the deniers of climate change. I'll definitely check out the links you provided.

As a thirty year career veteran in an NIAID research lab that was headed by Fauci (way up the chain) I have great faith in science and the scientific method. I'm really dismayed by all the anti-science.

>119 streamsong:
You can still give half stars. Just do what you did before. Double click on the star and it turns to a half.

I agree the pages seem bland, and not as easy to get around on. It might be that I have my screen size set bigger but I don't think so. I will mess about with it some more and maybe change some things, but I am not liking this as much as I did the old screen.

Hi there! Better late than never, I found you. : ) I'll try to keep up now.

I don't like the new book info page layouts very much. We'll see if it gets better as I get used to it.

Happy Monday!

I agree. The new page layout is hardly intuitive and not interesting to the eye. I wonder why they changed it?

Huge snow storm here starting Monday evening. I now have about three feet of snow, deeper in drifts. The temps were down near 0 degrees F last night.

Wading through this type of snow to take care of horses is exhausting. I think we have another week of this weather and then hopefully we'll start melting into the beginning of spring.

Wordle 1,330 4/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, yours, sheet, steep

January 2025 reviews



1. Wandering Stars - Tommy Orange - 2024 – library

This is an odd one. I really enjoyed Tommy Orange’s first novel There There about Indian youth who had never lived on a reservation. They were growing up in a city with no connections to their tribe, or their culture – and yet they were not accepted by other racial groups and bore all the usual slurs against native people.

This book is both a prequel and a sequel to There There. It begins with two boys escaping the horrific Sand Creek Massacre and fleeing for their lives. We continue to follow their lives and through the next generations as they endure many of the injustices such as incarceration in retaliation for crimes committed by other Indians and the tragedies of the Indian boarding schools.

And then we come to the families detailed in There There. The second part of the book continues with the events after the life changing events that occurred at a powwow the boys attended.Their lives have been changed forever and spiral into addiction and poverty.

It’s an interesting look at how two intertwined Native families’ lives descended from the time before the whites to the poverty and disconnect many Native Americans feel today.

I really enjoyed seeing the generational ‘big picture’ of this family. However the outcome seemed rushed to me and we see the results after a period of some years instead of watching the struggle happen. I’m not sure if this novel would resonate if I hadn’t read There There first.

3.8 stars

>124 streamsong: Oh my. I can't imagine wading through 3 feet or more of snow to get to the horses. Or rather, I can and it must be exhausting. I hope you can stay warm and dry and the horses are ok.

Hi, Janet. I hope all is well in MT. I just didn't connect with Wandering Stars, although it did work for some of my other LT pals. Were you still joining us on The Woman in White? I started the novel yesterday and can tell that this will also be a fun, entertaining read.

Wordle 1,332 6/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, yours, booty, woody, moody, goody

whew! as the bot said.

>121 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. For some reason I have to click twice to leave a half star??? I still prefer the old system.

>122 Berly: Hi Kim! Good to see you! It's a treat when you stop by.

>123 ffortsa: I agree, Judy. I used to rush home with my library pickups eager to catalog them. Now, not so much. I get them cataloged as I read them. I suppose it will get easier as I use the new pages more.

>126 ffortsa: Yes, the snow is a definite problem. It's snowing again today and is supposed to get down to about 0 F tonight. Unfortunately my hay sled tracks often have hidden deer tracks under them making it very easy to fall. Although you can't really get hurt falling in three feet of powder, it can be a challenge to get back up. I carry a broom with me to use as a prop when I fall. I have not been outside my driveway since last Monday when the storm started.

>127 msf59: Hi Mark! I'll try to get started on The Woman in White soon. Thanks for reminding me. I have several books going right now but none of them are calling out to me get to the next chapter. Hopefully WIW will get me more interested. Not doing much on LT or reading as the snow has me exhausted.

>128 streamsong: Me too.

Whew, made it!

I hope the Ditch situation works out properly. My first thought when you said they removed your fence was worrying about your horses running off!

Glad that didn't happen.

>130 ffortsa: Hi Judy - I'm not sure which post you're agreeing with - Wordle? cataloging? winter? Broke my streak on yesterday's Wordle but here is today's.

Wordle 1,335 4/6

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟨🟩⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, yours, auger - dumb pre-coffee choice, rumba

>131 fuzzi: Hi Lor! Thanks for stopping by - I'm glad you're back after your exceptionally difficult time losing your husband. I've been thinking of you.

The pasture with the fence down is one I swap between my stallion and broodmares. Luckily, both sets were in their corrals for feeding when the ditch company decided to take down my fence.

My talk with the lawyer went well yesterday. The back part of my property is not surveyed since the legal boundary is the middle of the ten foot wide ditch. She feels that I should have it 'monumented' meaning surveyed with my land boundary and right-of way boundaries clearly indicated to prevent further unpleasantness. It can't be done until the spring when the snow melts and the ground thaws. In the meantime, she'll write an official letter to the ditch company and advise them of what they need to do. She agrees that taking my fence down without notifying me was absolutely crazy - and sigh - says the whole thing with the fence being removed and the supervisor yelling at me probably wouldn't have happened if I had been a man. Good ole Montana chauvinism.

i feel so relieved after talking to her.

2. The Bookshop - Penelope Fitzgerald - 1977
– library
4 stars

Florence Green decides to sink her savings into remodeling an historic building into a book shop in the picturesque English town where she lives. There are no other book stores in the town or the surrounding areas. It seems like the perfect place for Florence to realize her dream even if she has no business experience and little working capital.

It seems like things are proceeding; she has a part time school girl to help, and establishes a popular subscription lending library, which in 1959, was before public libraries had been commonly established.

Unknown to her, one of the denizens of the town had had her eye on Florence’s very building to create a culture center. Unexpected road blocks are thrown in Florence’s path both as to business and historical permits as well as unexpected book competition.

This is written beautifully, with bright unexpected sparks of humor. The somewhat discouraging ending however, is probably preordained in the small town where a newcomer’s ideas, no matter how worthy or beneficial to the town, aren’t always welcome.

Hi Janet.

>65 streamsong: I hear about land and water rights grabs from Karen. She finally had to hire a land rights/water rights lawyer to protect her from some of the things her neighbor wanted her to do that would ‘benefit both of them’ but were really only in his interest.

No bunny photo, so I hope you’re sticking to your guns and making them cease and desist forever.

>133 streamsong: So glad you’ve gotten good legal advice.

I'm really glad you are feeling better after talking to the lawyer, Janet. What a hassle. We have had a bit of snow, but it has mostly turned to mud as it melted in the paths were I walk Muffin, so it's kind of a mess.

>133 streamsong: there's a bit of that chauvinism attitude here in NC as well, but it's balanced with chivalry.

I'm glad you got legal advice and plans for preventing further stupidities.

Finally, thanks for your kind words. I miss him, we were married 44 years.

>135 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by and giving your support. I'm determined to get this sorted out once and for all so I don't have to deal with it again down the road when a new ditch supervisor takes over.

I'm sorry your friend Karen had to deal with a similar issue. I'm glad she got the legal help she needed.

At one point "my" ditch supervisor said to me very angrily "Why do these things always go to court?" Well, hey, I've never felt the need to hire a lawyer before (except my divorce of course) but I won't be bullied. I suspect some people attract legal action and some people choose other methods of working things out.

>136 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! Thanks for the support.

The snow keeps coming. I made it out of my driveway yesterday, but I think the car may be stuck and need to get another plow job to remedy the situation. I went almost two weeks without a grocery store visit - you wouldn't believe the amount of salad items I bought! Mostly I was out of bread, fresh fruit and green stuff. I think I could live off my pantry for a really long time.

>137 fuzzi: Hi Lor - There is a bit of chivalry here, too, but it's when you meet the chauvinism without the chivalry or even a veneer of politeness that things get ugly.

44 years is amazing. I'm so sorry.

>132 streamsong: Yes, I was responding to the 'whew' of Wordle. Took me 5 today, and for a while I thought I'd miss it entirely.

>137 fuzzi: I hope the courts make that ditch guy pay your costs and maybe even kiss your shoes. Idiot.

I am glad you talked to a lawyer and feel some peace of mind.

Great comments on Wandering Stars; you reinforce my idea that I should reread There, There before tackling it.

I would take some of your snow. We finally got a dusting, but as my daughter says, winter with just cold and no snow is no fun.

Congratulations on meeting with your attorney re: the Ditch. It sounds as though she has things in hand, although I'm sorry you have to go to the trouble and expense of a new survey. At least it's a solution.

Have a lovely weekend, Janet!

Wordle 1,337 6/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, yours, brood, proof, groom, crook - reading through the Wordle Bot after solving it also listed vroom as a possibility on step 5 but that word isn't on the online list of Wordle words that I use. Also the bot said I should have used "pygmy" instead of "proof" on step 4. Oh to be able to know "all" the possible words left as the almighty bot does.

Another whew!

>139 ffortsa: Hi Judy! I've had several 5's and 6's on Wordle the last few days, which is not my usual. I'm overwhelmingly a 4 guess person.

Hey, I like that! Instead of asking for damages for not being able to use the pasture, etc, I'll ask for a shoe kiss!

>140 BLBera: Hi Beth - yes the anger is gone after talking to the lawyer and having a plan in place.

I'm glad I read Wandering Stars although not many people here in the group seemed to have liked it.

The snow continues to fall; we're expecting several more inches over the weekend.This is the first measurable snow we've had all winter. The surrounding mountains are approaching average snow pack for the year, which will make for a less smoky summer, and enough irrigation water. I think my plow guy will be here today. I need to go to the library and also the farm supply store.

>141 Dejah_Thoris: Hi Dejah! Definitely too much ditch drama and not enough reading around here.

Hope you have a great weekend, too!

>120 streamsong: Yeah, I am thinking that might have been the reason although why only on your thread, I have no idea.

Thanks!

>125 streamsong: One of these days I will get to that one. It has been in the BlackHole for far too long, lol.

>134 streamsong: I have already read that one, so I am busily dodging. . .

Have a wonderful weekend, Janet!

Currently Reading:


Joining in the group read - only about a hundred pages in


Started Several weeks ago - not really engaging me, but not bad enough to give up on altogether. Trying to read books I own.


Little known stories of Montana history. Didn't finish before the Glacier Conservancy Book Club, but I'm enjoying the book. This was a gift from my 75'ers Secret Santa Lori


For TIOLI #1 - a book with 'Cat' in the title - another one that's been on my shelves quite a while

>145 streamsong: For me, the best part of TiOLI is reading books that have been languishing on my own shelves :)

I hope you enjoy The Woman in White. I very much enjoy it.

>138 streamsong: thank you.

Wordle 1,338 4/6

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, stare, shape, suave - would have had it quicker if I had used my standard second word 'yours' but I often skip it if I have two vowels in the first guess

Monday:
Wordle 1,339 2/6

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, trail

Tuesday:
Wordle 1,340 5/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟨⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, niece, snipe, inure, indie -- guess 3 was a whoops no coffee guess

>146 alcottacre: Hi Stacia! I do that, too. I pick Madeleine's first challenge each month and try to read something off my shelf. Schrodinger's Cat is a bit much for me, but I'm trying to keep my brain busy.

I'm loving The Woman in White but reading is going very slowly for me right now.

>147 fuzzi: Hugs, Lor.

>149 streamsong: thank you.

I'm dog shopping this week. Cleo was ailing, but held on for several months, probably as Ron was the love of her life. She had a good run, she was 7-8 years old when we adopted her 6 years ago. I miss having a dog. And her best cat buddy misses her, too...Debbie has been sleeping on Cleo's last used blanket.

There are lots of dogs out there, just looking for the best match.

>149 streamsong: I am sorry to hear that reading is going very slowly for you, Janet. I hope things pick up for you in the near future.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hi, Janet. Jeez, what a story with the aggressive ditch-digging supervisor who took down your fences without notice. I’m glad your lawyer’s handling of it is bringing some peace of mind. Kudos to you for staying calm during all of this.

You worked in a bookstore in the 70s? I somehow missed that before. Me, too! It was actually 4 for me - one in NYC and 3 in Chicago, all connected (“Barbara’s Bookstores”) I have so many good memories from that; I enjoyed it thoroughly, and made enough money to pay the rent (barely). My wife and I met while working at 1 of the 3 Chicago area stores.

Like you, i was a bit disappointed by the sad ending of The Bookshop. It’s probably unfair and unrealistic of me, but with a more upbeat ending it would’ve been one of my favorite bookstore-centered stories. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry comes to mind.

I finally got around to reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Set in Nazi-occupied France during WWII, it’s harrowing but terrific.

>150 fuzzi: That's great, fuzzi, that you are looking for a dog. Are you looking for a puppy or an older one? I have been thinking seriously about one, too. They are great companions and make me laugh.

>151 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - Thanks for stopping by! Yes, reading is going slowly for me, although I'm enjoying The Woman in White very much. Three weeks of over three feet of snow and no melting was extremely exhausting to get the outdoor chores done. I was even too tired to read or visit LT in the evenings and watched a lot of TV - which meant way too much news and drama of the day.

Today, it's above freezing and forecast to melt quickly in the next few days. Fingers crossed that it won't flood along the creek!

>152 jnwelch: Hi Joe - Good to see you and thanks for stopping by!

Way too much drama with the ditch company. This week I need to head to the local court house to find a judgement the previous owners of this place had against the company, as the documents are too old to be online. I also need to get out to the back fenceline to check the repairs they did. I can see from my back yard that they are not right, but didn't have the energy to strap on snowshoes or cross country skis to go check.

Yes, I worked in a bookstore in the mid 70's while I was going to college in Missoula. I met my ex-husband there, as well as several interesting authors such as Norman Maclean and A B Guthrie as well as most of the English professors at the University. Good times, but I was always broke as my pile of books to be purchased was always HUGE.

Those are my exact thoughts on The Bookshop. I haven't read The Storied Life of A J Firky. Should I?

I've been surprised by Kristin Hannah. Her books have much more meat to them than I expected, and like you, I also enjoyed The Nightingale.

Wordle 1,344 6/6

🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Brain slow today alien, yours, earth, bread, wreak, cream

>154 streamsong: Hi - I recently posted a Norman Maclean anecdote about T.S. Eliot on Karenmarie's thread.

I am hoping that tomorrow it will get above freezing here in Kansas. We have been a week below freezing and in this day and age that is rare. (when I was a kid, it was common for winter. Ah, climate change.) We had three days without the temperature getting above 0. I am so glad that I don't have to go out to chop ice for livestock. Getting myself out of bed on a below zero morning is hard enough. At least I still have the Post Office job. For now. That might change next week.

>156 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne! I'll go look for it.

>157 benitastrnad: Hi Benita! You are having nasty, bitter cold for sure! We dipped down below zero during the nights,but it rose during the day. Today it is in the 40's and raining, so, although I'm grateful the three feet of snow is disappearing, it's going to be very soggy here.

Best of luck with your job situation. He's insane. The way the cuts are happening make no sense at all. Cutting out waste is not happening with this system.

Wordle 1,345 5/6

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Nother squeaker. alien, yours, order (which the bot didn't like as a guess), other, otter

I've started a new book for Thursday's in-person library book club, Dust Child. Not that I've finished any of the other four that I'm reading (sigh - >145 streamsong: )

It is hard to even read fiction in these unsettled times. I find that I have periods where I can't seem to sit quietly and read and it used to be so easy for me to slide into the world of whatever book I was reading. Uncertainty on this level is not a good thing for any of us.

Happy Monday, Janet. How is everything going in MT? How was your winter and how are the horses? For some reason The Nightingale fell off my radar a few years ago but it is back on there.

How are you coming along with The Woman in White? I ended up really loving it.

I really liked Dust Child, Janet. It has been warm here, too, but we didn't really have much snow to melt. I will take the warm weather. That subzero stuff got old fast.

>161 benitastrnad: Yes. Alas. That low background panic hum.

>153 streamsong: I had to put the dog search on hold until I retire. I took a lovely dog home on trial for 24 hours, but had to return her. She needed time and supervision to adjust to our home, and I will not put a dog in a crate all day while I am at work. I'm hoping to retire sometime this year, so it's not too long a wait.

She made me laugh, too.

When I realized that I was not going to be able to keep her I allowed her to get in my lap...all 28 pounds of her. She took a nap with her head shoved in deep between me and the chair, and took a little bit of my heart.

>154 streamsong: unreal what you're having to handle re: the ditch company. I wonder, did they think the "easier to ask forgiveness after than permission before" was the proper mindset?

Hi Janet! Sorry the ditch company is still being a pain but I'm glad you've got a good lawyer.

I have a Montana question for you - my family and I are planning a trip on the Amtrak Empire Builder train from Seattle to Chicago but we can't decide if we should go in the summer or fall. We're big fans of snowy landscapes and cold weather so the fall is appealing, but the increased daylight hours of summer would also be nice for looking out the window. Do you have an opinion?

>167 norabelle414: oh, I ENVY you! I'd love to do a train ride through Canada. There's lots of videos posted online, makes me so want to go.

Maybe when I retire...

February was a blur: I am sorry to hear of the ongoing issues with the ditch company. Having a lawyer is a good thing.

>154 streamsong: So, did you ever meet Kim Williams? I have her cookbook and can still hear her chiming in on NPR: Kim Williams from Missoula, Montana.

>145 streamsong: It's been a while since I visited!

I read that one for TIOLI as well. It has been sitting there forever just waiting for this challenge :) I must admit that these challenges are helping me read books that have been long forgotten in my collection.

Anyhow, happy Wednesday!

Thank you everyone for stopping by!

I've been popping in and out of the anxiety/depression rabbit hole. It started with being pretty much snowed in for the entire month of February, and really struggling to get the necessary outside chores done in the deep snow. And of course, during that time, I watched way too much national news and have deep concerns for my small town and the country in general.

>161 benitastrnad: Benita, that sounds very stressful indeed. I can't imagine pulling up stakes, moving and having your job on the line.

>162 msf59: Hi Mark Winter seems to be (at least temporarily - this might just be false spring) on the way out. I'm still reading Woman in White. I'm past page 500, enjoying it, but have no concentration for reading right now.

And yet I know, that reading and visiting LT would help bring a bit of fun back, so I will do so.

>163 BLBera: Hi Beth! I enjoyed Dust Child, too, as did our book club. Most of us are 'of an age' to have mostly negative feelings just hearing the name Viet Nam. This was an interesting look at a variety of people affected by the war. I feel differently about the people of Viet Nam after reading it.

>164 ffortsa: Hi Judy "That low background panic hum" describes it perfectly. Yesterday it was sending Ukrainian refugees back to Ukraine. Today it is closing embassies/counsel offices in Europe.

>165 fuzzi: >166 fuzzi: Hi Lor! Good luck with your pending retirement! If you decide to stay on a bit longer, would that be a possibility? I've been told it's sometimes better to wait a bit - even up to a year - after a death to make major lifestyle decisions.

Yes, I understand your concerns about leaving a dog while you're working.

I've been slow handling the ditch company stuff. One more visit today to yet another county office to try to unearth the previous owners' lawsuit.

>167 norabelle414: Hi Nora! I have not ridden the train for years. I have thought about taking it to Seattle just for the fun of it, but it travels both east and west in in the dark of night as it travels through Glacier Park country. I'd also love to take it to the Lake Louise country in Alberta. Fall may be hit or miss for snow. The longer daylight is a big plus for me. But I don't really know, having not done the trip. It seems like Deborah had done some train travel a while back - I know she sent me lots of lovely information when she knew I was interested.

>168 fuzzi: Ha Lor! Maybe we'll have to have a train-riding meet up!

>169 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! I never met Kim Williams in a personal way, but I did hear her talk several times and probably had a hand shake or two. She was quite a treasure.

>170 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! Yes, exactly on the TIOLI challenges! So so many books sitting on my shelves.

>173 streamsong: Hi Janet, I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling with anxiety and depression lately. I have been as well, due to my situation at home, my usual wintertime seasonal affective disorder, and the sh!tsh*w taking place in Washington. I saw my psychiatrist on Wednesday, and in our conversation she uncovered the extent of my symptoms, especially since my interest in pleasurable activities, including reading, has greatly decreased over the past few weeks. I'll try picking up two new books, in the hope that doing so will help me get out of this rut.

I hope that you have a pleasant and restorative weekend.

>172 streamsong: I hadn't read about closing consulates and possibly embassies, but looked it up after your post. I also discovered the plan to deport thousands of Ukrainians back to the war zone, not to mention Haitians fleeing a failed country, Venezuelans, and other refugees. It hurts to be a citizen of this country now.

>174 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl - Thanks for your kind words and support. I've been trying to pull myself up by my bootstraps, but it's obviously not working. Time to get some counseling. Psychiatrists are a rare bird in this area, but I do have a counselor whom I haven't seen in several years. I totally relate with your lack of interest in pleasurable activities. I get way too caught up doomscrolling.

>175 ffortsa: Hi Judy - Very well said. It's so hard to tell what Muskrat and the Dumpster fire are serious about and what they are saying just to keep us all off balance. I use the Call 5 app to contact my reps several times a week but never hear back. Today I think I'll drive to Missoula to go to a local meeting of a national resistance group.

Wordle 1,358 2/6

🟨🟨⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, navel Looking up!

>176 streamsong: You're welcome, Janet. Hopefully you can get an appointment with your counselor soon. Can you make a telehealth appointment with a psychiatrist, or are they in especially short supply where you are?

>176 streamsong: Call 5 app to contact my reps several times a week but never hear back
I've gotten no responses to phone calls, which go to voice mail for senators and a live staff person for the representative (who merely takes notes and expresses no opinion aside from impatience), despite slowly spelling out my home and email address. I get form letter responses if I compose a few sentences of text to send via the official web page. Completely unsatisfactory responses, but still I think worthwhile to keep up the volume.

counseling
FWIW, I went through BetterHelp about a year and a half ago and was pleasantly surprised. Costs $, but it was just for a few months to get out of spiraling in my head. I went this route because I live in a small city where everybody is just a few degrees of separation from everybody else.

>176 streamsong: I've used the 5calls app a few times, but not as regularly as I mean to. I've left messages, but also talked to staff who were very receptive and polite. At this point I don't know if calling or writing is more impactful.

And of course, my rep and Senators are fully on board anyway. The most I can let them know if what issues most concern me at any one time. The firehose of edicts is meant to destabilize us, and I want to be specific.

I was actually caught up in a relatively small Women's March near me in Greenwich Village today, but didn't stay for speeches I can rarely understand under the stressed microphones. Still, it was something. And I got a super picture of one of the other protesters. I'll try to post it tonight on my thread.

Hi Janet. Sorry to read about you feeling anxious and depressed. I hope at least you are not snowed in anymore?

I am scrolling X too much as well. It must be worse living where you are. I’ve been watching Timothy Snyder’s lectures on YouTube as well, so informative.
He does advise getting together! Being active, getting together, both.

Take care Janet. I hope you can find some help.

Hi, Janet. I am sorry to hear about your depression issues. I hope things are improving and you are finding help. Keep us updated, my friend.

>173 streamsong: That is helpful, thank you!

>176 streamsong: Thirding the recommendation for telehealth mental health appointments, if that makes it easier for you! I don't think calling members of Congress to give feedback is intended to get a response. There's usually someone else who works in "constituent services" who will respond to people who need it or request it, but otherwise they just keep a tally of which side of a bill or issue the callers/mailers are on.

Did you end up going to the resistance group meeting?

>178 qebo: I also went through Better Help as face to face counseling is not available in my rural community. I needed some support, someone to talk to whose job was to just focus on my concerns and needs without being a friend. It helped to have her caring but neutral viewpoint as I navigated general life challenges from my husband's depression to my elderly parents. I only did it for a couple months ast year but still think about those conversations and her insights.

>176 streamsong: I'm so sorry to hear about your mental state.

When the news/politics gets to me I go outside and sit with my chickens. Or read. Or dig in my gardens.

I'm sorry to read about your depression and anxiety, Janet. That is hard. I hope you can find some counseling that helps. I've largely been avoiding the news, because read / hear about Trump. I think / hope that a lot of what Dumpster says is hot air. My husband has gone a bit crazy avoiding purchasing anything made in the USA. A clerk at a pet food store that I was at today , where I mentioned I was looking for Canadian dog snacks are per my husband, told me a customer had tossed an American made free sample back at her. I took it quite gratefully. I'm trying to buy less US stuff , but I try to be measured/ sensible about it.

Thank you all for the messages and support.

Katherine and Karen I did listen to your advice about counseling through Better Help and checked it out. I had my first teleconference yesterday. I was very skeptical about the teleconference not being the same as being in the same room with a counselor, but I liked my counselor very much and believe that she and I will connect very well. As you all know, I am also in a very rural area and counseling options are very limited.

I finished Woman in White and also read a classic dystopian novel One Second After. I'll start doing comments/reviews soon as well as replying individually to your wonderful comments.

I'm currently reading Hope in the Dark which I know must have been a 75'ers recommendation. I'm also reading The Enigma of Room 622 for a bit of light murder and mystery. :)

>186 vancouverdeb: I think / hope that a lot of what Dumpster says is hot air.
I don't think he can can tell the difference, whatever is in his head is "reality", and he is surrounded by enablers. I wish I could dismiss the 51st state thing as a rhetorical distraction from the wilding spree, but the more he gets away with, the more he tries.
>187 streamsong: Better Help
Glad it's a success so far. I had filled out the criteria without much optimism, but ended up with someone about my age whose backdrop was floor to ceiling shelves of books, and whose father was a scientist (she mentioned at some point).

Hi Janet, I sure hope you are feeling better very soon. I think many of us will greatly benefit when spring is finally here with some sunshine and warmth and lots of time outside. I know you have lots of time outside with your chores and looking after your beautiful horses but spring will no doubt give us a lift!

>187 streamsong: I am glad you found a counselor, Janet. Hang in there.

>187 streamsong: Glad you have found someone that you like! Hope you start to feel better soon. How is the light murder mystery going?

I'm glad you are getting some help for your depression, Janet. I have some slight issues almost every winter and find that my SAD lamp helps a bit. I think a real person would help a lot more. Take care.

>187 streamsong: Sigh. Glad you're talking to someone. It's always good to ask for help.

I had thought my bipolar stuff was under control, but the depression side is increasing. Can't tell yet if this is due to levels of medication or the current political situation or something entirely different. Therapy is ongoing, medication consult is in the works, country is - well - you know.

I hope things are going better for you, Janet. Take care, and I hope spring is helping a bit .

I hope all is well with you, Janet. Take care.

I hope things are going well for you, Janet, and that the weather has lightened up.

Checking in. hope you are feeling better.

>187 streamsong: Janet, I am sorry to have been so remiss in not visiting your thread for a while and I am sorry to see that things are a bit tough for you at the moment.

As someone prone to depression myself I am heartened that you have sound counsel around you and so many friends in this group that care about you and always wish you well.

Take good care of yourself dear lady.

Has anyone heard from Janet?

I am concerned.

>199 fuzzi: It has been a while, hasn't it. I hope it's just spring chores that is keeping her away.

Hi Janet. I hope all is well.

Janet is posting on Facebook, so she is fine , perhaps just busy or taking a bit of a break from LT . I don’t know if she is still struggling with depression and anxiety, but she is on Facebook.

>202 vancouverdeb: thank you for letting us know.

That is good to know, because I was getting worried. I will be going to Montana in June and was going to do a bit of checking so that I could meet with her again. We had such a good time last time we met.

>187 streamsong: I am sorry for not getting back to check on you. I am glad you pursued Better Help and hope you are taking time for yourself.

My sister just sent me an e-mail regarding the cuts to the Lab where Janet worked. I don't know if these cuts affected her or not. According to what I could find out about the budget cuts to the Hamilton Lab they will probably result in the closing of that facility.

My sister also said that parts of Yellowstone Park will be closed to tourists and hikers and backpackers because they do not have enough people to maintain the spaces, patrol the spaces, or to monitor the areas. They have put notices in the Bozeman papers already that several of the gravel roads into the backcountry of Yellowstone will be closed this summer. My sister says that everybody in Montana is just hoping that it will be a wet summer or the state will be in great trouble.

I am sure that all of this is affecting Janet.

Glad to hear Janet is on Facebook.

>206 benitastrnad: Such bad news.

I hope all is well with you, Janet.

Thanks so much, everyone. I came in to update my April reading in >5 streamsong: and found all your lovely messages.

Four books in April! Very very low, but getting better.

April
15. Tell Me Everything - Elizabeth Strout - 2024 - library - 4.5 stars
16. The Bear - Julia Phillips - 2024 - library - 4 stars
17. The Dry - Jane Harper - 2018 - library - 4 stars
18. The Final Day - William R. Forstchen - 2017 - library - 4 stars

May
19. Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness - Scott Jurek - 2013 - library - 4 stars

I'm currently reading and enjoying (very slowly) Playground by Richard Powers.

>206 benitastrnad: That's very true about the cuts to the lab where I worked. It doesn't affect me personally, although it affects friends who still work there. There are 500 workers at this lab in a town with a population of 5000 people. With pending Medicaid cuts, the nursing homes and memory care facilities as well as our local hospita lwill also be affected. We may turn into a ghost town.

We did have fun last year, Benita, and I would love to see you in June if we can work it out. I have a mare foaling in June, so if she has not foaled, I may need to hang closer to home.

-----
To everyone:

Progress: The fifty or so trees have finally (!) been removed from my yard and the fence replaced - all damage from the storm last August. It was important that they be removed before this year's fire season starts.



The ditch right of way dispute marches onward. My property has been surveyed and monumented. I'll be meeting with a ditch company trustee after he reviews the survey. The trustee is a man that I have a working relationship with, having purchased significant amounts of hay from him for the last few years. Hoping we can de-escalate the whole thing and it won't go to court.

Yes, I am spending time on both FB and BlueSky, mostly with some private political groups as well as another private group. But I do try to comment on my friends' posts there. :)

Bad news: I lost my stallion about a week ago. He was 23, so of a good age, but I had hoped to have him for several more years, so it was a shock as well as a sadness. I got him when he was about six months old. The foal to be born in June will be his last offspring. I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with broodmares now he's gone. Stallions can be very unpredictable, and at 68 yo, I feel I am too old to have another stallion.

Here he is with one of his mares and babies.

Oh, too bad about the stallion. Would you have to buy a stallion to continue breeding, or could you make arrangements to 'rent' a stallion for a season or so?

>210 streamsong: I'm so sorry about your stallion! I hope the ditch situation can be resolved but it really sucks it's taking this long!!

>210 streamsong: That’s one lovely looking foal! Sorry for your stallion.

Glad to hear from you. All fallen trees removed, that’s good news.

When I was younger we had one broodmare and one foal a year. That was enough of that for all of us. We were working and it takes time to develop those young ones and train them. Stud fees can be really high, but if you are only going to do one foal a year that might be a good answer to the problem.

I am sorry to hear about your stallion, Janet.

>210 streamsong: sorry about your stallion. That's a long time to have any horse.

Hoping his last foal is healthy.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear of the loss of your stallion, Janet.

Happy Mother's Day, Janet. We sure miss seeing you around but thanks for the update. Glad those trees finally got moved. Very sorry to hear about the loss of your stallion. Hope those books are treating you well.

>154 streamsong:. Wow, I probably told you that I met my wife when we were both working at a bookstore, just like you and your hubby. It certainly laid an important foundation: future spouse must love to read.😀

I’m a big Norman Maclean fan - I envy you meeting him. Was he dryly humorous? That’s the way I imagine him, especially after that letter he wrote to Knopf (?) about, not even if they were the last publisher on earth.

I hope you’ve been having a good weekend.

>210 streamsong: Hooray for getting everything cleared. Crossing my fingers that the saga about the ditch can be resolved soon

Sorry to hear about the loss of one of your stallions.

Thank you for all the messages.

I'll try and start a new thread tonight or tomorrow. I miss talking books. :)

and Wordle
Wordle 1,442 3/6

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

alien, worst, habit

Did you start a new thread and I missed it? I wandered by today, already feeling like I had let too much of 2025 slip by without visiting, and it seems that I've missed the connection to your new thread. I will see if I can find it in the group listing.

Hi, by the way!

Hi Janet.

I have been remiss in visiting, of course.

I’m sorry to read that you lost your stallion after having him for 23 years. I hope the mare and foal are doing well.

I wondered about the foaling? Do you have a picture or two to share?

I am so sorry about your stallion and the ongoing issues with the ditch.

I wandered away from LT in August but am back teaching online so spending more time on my laptoop. Sending love to you.