Lisa (labfs39) keeps her eye on the page pt. 2

Currently Reading


Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien

AUDIO:


The Mighty Red by Louise Edritch, narrated by Marin Ireland


Persuasion by Jane Austen

Books Read in 2025

January
1. Prince Joe by Suzanne Brockmann (R, 2.5*, TIOLI 2)
2. Forever Blue by Suzanne Brockmann (R, TIOLI 6)
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (F, audio, 3*, TIOLI 6)
4. The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 8)
5. The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 14)
6. Journey to the Heartland by Xiaolong Huang (3*, TIOLI 15)
7. How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair (NF, 4*, TIOLI 3)
8. Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (F, 4*, TIOLI 15)
9. So Late in the Day: Stories of Women and Men by Claire Keegan (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 13)
10. Haven by Emma Donoghue (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 11)
11. His Excellency Eugène Rougon by Émile Zola, translated from the French by Brian Nelson (TF, 4*)
12. Ex-Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman (NF, 4*, TIOLI 4)
13. Frisco's Kid by Suzanne Brockmann (R, TIOLI 4)
14. Everyday Average Jones by Suzanne Brockmann (R)
15. A Kid for Two Farthings by Wolf Mankowitz (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 12)
16. Harvard’s Education by Suzanne Brockmann

January's Short Stories

February

17. Barbara Isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky, translated from the German by Tim Mohr (TF, 4*)
18. Hawken's Heart by Suzanne Brockmann
19. The Admiral's Bride by Suzanne Brockmann
20. The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (TF, 4*, TIOLI 12)
21. The Best American Short Stories 2009 edited by Alice Sebold (SS, 3*, TIOLI 3)
22. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (YA, 4*, TIOLI 12)
23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, narrated by Elijah Wood (YA, audio, 3*, TIOLI 8)
24. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson (F, audio, 4*)
25. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, narrated by Rosamund Pike (F, audio, 5*)
26. The Kill by Emile Zola, translated from the French by Brian Nelson (TF, 4*)

February's Short Stories

1. Ostracon by Alex Rose
2. The Peripatetic Coffin by Ethan Rutherford
3. Muzungu by Namwali Serpell
4. Grackles by Semyon Babayevsky, translated by Richard Ravenal

March
27. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, narrated by Frances Barber (F, audio, 3*, TIOLI 6)
28. The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński F, 3*, TIOLI 4)
29. White Shadow by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (TF, 4*, TIOLI 8)
30. Eyes of the Rigel by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (TF, ebook, 3*)
31. Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino (F, ebook, 3.5*, TIOLI 3)
32. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (F, ebook, 3*, TIOLI 5)
33. Emma by Jane Austen, narrated by Jenny Agutter (F, audio, 4*, TIOLI 6)
34. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson (F, audio, 4*, TIOLI 7)
35. Tunnel of Hope: Escape from the Novogrudok Forced Labor Camp by Betty Brodsky Cohen (NF, 3*)

March Short Stories
1. The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez

Book Club
✔ January: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
✔ February: continued
✔ March: How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
April: The Women by Kristin Hannah
May: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
June: James by Percival Everett

Paul's European Challenge
January/19th Century: His Excellency Eugene Rougon
February/Nordic author: The Unseen
March/Warsaw Pact countries: The Painted Bird

Holocaust Literature
1. The Painted Bird

Nobel Laureates

Graphic Works

Reading Globally

Books I've read in 2024 by nationality of author (a tricky business):

China/US: 1
England: 6
England/Australia/US: 1
France: 2
Ireland: 1
Ireland/Canada: 1
Israel: 1
Jamaica/US: 1
Nigeria/UK: 1
Norway: 3
Poland/US: 1
Russia/Germany: 1
US: 15 (7 in one series)

Check out my Global Challenge thread, labfs39 reads around the world, for a look at a cumulative list since around 2010. And I've broken out the US by state in my labfs39 tackles the states thread.

Book stats for 2024
I am trying to promote diversity in my reading and, for the lack of a more refined method, am tracking the following:

books:
total: 35 (7 in one series)
countries: 11
translations: 6 (17%)
in French:
nonfiction: 4 (11%)

Authors:
women: 25 (74%)
men: 9 (26%)
nonbinary:
both: 1

nonwhite and/or non-European/US/British Commonwealth: 5.5 (16%)
new to me authors: 11 (31%)

Genres:
literary fiction: 14
historical fiction: 3
contemporary fiction: 3
romantic suspense: 7
short story collection: 2
young adult: 2
memoir: 2
history: 1
essays: 1

I like the covers of these Bloomsbury Group editions. I have seven of them now.



A Kid for Two Farthings by Wolf Mankowitz
Published 1953, 128 p.

Wolf Mankowitz grew up in London’s East End, and that’s where he returns for this charming vignette of growing up in a Jewish community on Fashion Street. Six-year-old Joe has one wish, for his father to return from Africa. When he finds a baby wish-granting unicorn in the market, he brings him home to raise until he is old enough to grant wishes. Perhaps then his friend and neighbor, Mr. Kandinsky, can get his garment press, and his assistant Shmuel can get his girlfriend an engagement ring. While others might think his pet is only a goat kid with one horn bud, Joe knows the world is a lot more exciting than they realize.

I enjoyed this novella for its glimpse into a very specific time and place and the light-hearted view of that world through a child’s eyes.

Anyone else frustrated with the new book work pages? I'm having to do so much more clicking, and nothing is where I'm used to it being. I wish there was an option to default to the old style.

Morning, Lisa. Happy New Thread. You have some terrific books lined up for Book Club. Enjoy.

A quick look at some of the short stories I've been reading:

Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrik Backman
Published 2017, 96 p.

A father estranged from his son is dying of cancer and contemplating his life choices, including his last which involves a deal with a mysterious woman in a grey sweater.

I love Backman, but this story didn't move me as much as others. It wasn't bad, just not as good as I have come to expect from this expert writer of human foibles.

Them Old Cowboy Songs by Annie Proulx
Published 2008 in The New Yorker, 23 p.

A very young couple attempts to start a life on the Western frontier. Archie is forced to leave and seek work at a distant cattle ranch, while a very pregnant Rose struggles to keep the cabin and garden plot going in his absence.

I had a hard time feeling a connection with the characters in this Western. Everything seemed at a remove, despite the tragic plot.

"Mrs. Longfellow Burns" by Zsófia Bán, translated from the Hungarian (online version)
Copyright 2007, Published 2019 in her collection Night School: A Reader for Grown-Ups

Based on the real life events of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, a Maine poet and Great Man of Letters. In this humorous, but cutting short story, Bán pokes at his poetry, America's pretensions toward culture, and the absence of women in much of the literature of the time. Worth a quick read.

...the girls — the girls were absent, the girls were excused, the girls that day, as always, were convalescing

Wow - a second page already! Keep it up.

>7 labfs39: Yes! I wanted to add a note to a book yesterday and couldn't find the private comments field. Also had trouble finding the place to edit tags!

An earthquake in Maine? Wow. I must google

>7 labfs39: not a positive response to the new work pages. 🙂 I’m not sure how i feel yet.

Happy new thread (in January!)

>7 labfs39: You can reorder the screen a bit - banish the parts you never use to the bottom, resurface higher the ones that you want/use :) It will take some getting used to though...

>7 labfs39: Not a fan either. I guess I'll get used to things eventually.

>13 AnnieMod: I too am not enthusiastic about the new work pages. I am wondering if the developers consulted with any major users of LT in deciding how to redesign the page. It strikes me that this design might not have been with such consultation.

>8 msf59: Thanks, Mark. I'm not looking forward to the Strout, personally, as I didn't care for Olive Kitteridge. But several people, including Rachel/rachbxl had a change of heart after giving Strout a second chance, so I'll do the same.

>10 SassyLassy: January is always such a hoppin' time on the threads, and I've been reading a lot this month, so had lots to discuss. I'm sure it'll slow down soon.

>11 markon: I'm particularly perturbed because doing data entry and cleanup on LT is one of my favorite stress releases. Now my system is all messed up, and it's no longer relaxing to futz around on it. I'm sure I'll adapt, but I just don't see the point. The redesign doesn't seem to add features, but it does seem to add more clicks to navigate. Ah well, mine is not to reason why...

>12 dchaikin: My old thread was over 250 posts, so I was afraid it was going to start lagging.

Yeah, the earthquake was quite a surprise to me, so minor that I didn't even register it as a quake at the time.

>13 AnnieMod: Yes, I immediately did a little rearranging of field blocks and changed to having blank fields show. I had gotten quite fast at editing records, now I have to relearn the best ways to do it. I'm just grumpy, I guess. I don't see the value add.

>14 TadAD: I can think of many more bugs and design problems that I would have prioritized over a facelift, but perhaps I'm in the minority. As you say, I'm sure I'll get used to it. I'm just feeling so much stress over every Breaking News message I get when I'm online, that it's bad timing for me to have my safe place disrupted. But with so many people's lives being completely upended, I feel like a curmudgeon even griping about it.

A second thread already, Lisa! I look forward to continuing to follow your reading.

>15 JoeB1934: Sigh. I suppose we'll get used to it.

>17 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

---

I had to have an adjustment made at the orthodontist's today, and as a treat to myself afterward, I splurged on a few books. I had a gift card to the new Barnes and Noble in Portland, so that was the first stop. It was only my second time there, and last time I was shopping for the girls, so on entering I asked at the desk if they had a separate section for world literature or translated literature, and the assistant said, oh, we only have a few titles and they are all from Spanish. I said, not books in a foreign language, but translated to English. She said they didn't carry that sort of thing. Hmm. I think they need to do a little more training with their staff. Anyway, I came away with Alina Bronsky's latest, Barbara Isn't Dying (translated by Tim Mohr) and Stephen Mitchell's translation of Gilgamesh.

On my second stop, I picked up

The Red-Haired Woman by Orhan Pamuk
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones by Olga Tokarczuk

After picking up some Thai food, I headed home, my tooth feeling much better. :-)

Nice. The Vegetarian is terrific. And Plow is so fun.

>19 dchaikin: Oh I’m going to have to give The Vegetarian another go. And yes, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones by is terrific.

I wasn't aware of the private comments field! That's useful. Interested to hear what people use this for.

>7 labfs39: I'm also not a fan of the new book page. I used the 'conversation' link all the time and now it seems to have disappeared which means I now need to search in talk. Yesterday I had to ask bug collectors to fix a title as I had no idea of how to do that anymore.

>6 labfs39: I enjoyed A Kid for Two Farthings too.

>22 avatiakh: I found the former Conversations feature as ’Mentions’ under Community.

I’m also trying to find my way on the new book page but I’m hopeful we’ll get used to it, if not like it better. But changes are difficult when feeling stressed and you need your routines. I sympathize with you.

>18 labfs39:. Just read Barbara Isn't Dying as my second last book of 2024. I thought it was skilful how the tone changed over the novel, but wasn't keen on the ending, although it made sense (tried to write that without spoilers). Waiting to hear what you think of it.

>16 labfs39: Facelifts on software—or lipstick on a pig, as it were—seem to be an increasingly common way of trying to convince users that, "See, we're doing things!" I spent decades in software and watched mindsets slide perceptibly along the scale that runs from "If it works, it's fine" to "We have to make it new/different/glowier." I suppose it's because changing look-and-feel is far easier and far cheaper than changing fundamental behaviors of any complex system.

Great book haul, Lisa. I loved the Talty. His new one is even better.

I have noticed that Barnes and Noble assistants don't often seem very informed about books. When Louise Edrich's The Sentence was newly released, I went in to get a copy for a gift, and couldn't find it anywhere, and none of the clerks seemed to know who Erdrich is. She lives here in Minnesota, so besides being a notable author, one would think we could find her new works on the shelves.

>25 TadAD: That is definitely the way I and my health care colleagues felt when there were new updates to Epic, our electronic health record system. For several years I was an Epic physician superuser, which meant that I had to take (unpaid) time from my clinical responsibilities to help my physician and advanced practice provider colleagues learn how to use the updated system, which was especially challenging when they were slammed with patients and were particularly frustrated with the system and wanted me to enter necessary information so that they could work efficiently.

>23 Trifolia: Thanks for that hint. I had looked at that but mustn't have followed through.

>18 labfs39: The Barnes & Noble experience would have frayed my nerves.

>19 dchaikin: I'm looking forward to them, Dan.

>20 kjuliff: I'm a little scared of The Vegetarian, as it's marked as horror, but I'm going to try it.

>21 wandering_star: I sometimes use private comments to record condition of my copy, special provenance, or cost, but rarely. Does anyone else use that field?

>22 avatiakh: I've been dismayed at how long it takes for the covers page to load now. And sometimes I can't get all the covers to load, just some of them.

I found A Kid for Two Farthings to be a cute period piece. I thought the kid in the title was going to be a child, not a goat!

>23 Trifolia: Thanks for the tip, Monica. I had to search around for Conversations/mentions too.

>24 SassyLassy: I started Barbara Isn't Dying last night. I enjoy Bronsky's sarcastic humor, but I'm not finding Walter as interesting a character as her usual female curmudgeons.

>25 TadAD: To me, the redesign fails to be be more pleasing visually and clutters the page with more clicking required. With the exception of now being able to reorganize the fields, what is the value add? It makes the work pages longer, and I feel inundated with even more data that I can't hide. For instance, Quick Facts, author info in right side bar and almost identical info in main page. Popularity and ratings called out. I could hide 50% of the clutter and not miss it. KISS...

>26 BLBera: I had wanted to read Talty for an online book club discussion with the author in December, but I didn't make it. I'm looking forward to both his books.

Someone said that B&N is hiring mostly part-timers, so that probably explains the quality of the booksellers (if we can call them that). I am always pro-new bookstores, but I'm not sure I'll shop here again. The Bookworm (our local indie bookstore) is much smaller, but at least they know books, and they can order anything I don't need immediately.

>27 kidzdoc: I'm curious if casual users of LT (as opposed to superusers) are more appreciative of the redesign. I'm not sure why they would be, but perhaps I'm missing something.

>28 avatiakh: My nerves are already frayed. I'm afraid it doesn't take much to make me a donkey on the edge. A web redesign or an unknowledgeable sales assistant is enough to make me grind my teeth, and hence have to visit the dentist. Sigh. It's going to be a long four years.

>29 labfs39: I use Private Comments like you to record "special provenance"

I think maybe it's just how uninteresting and unresponsive Walter is that in a bizarre way, makes him interesting. However, as you say, he's nothing like her female characters.

>29 labfs39: I found “horror” to be apt in describing The Vegitarian - I only got a few pages in, but I’ve borrowed it again and hope to try it again.

>18 labfs39: A great haul! I'm looking forward to your comments on Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead when you get to it.

>29 labfs39: I've had that (The Vegetarian) on my Kindle for, literally, a decade and half. At the time I first saw it, it looked like a great idea and I downloaded it. But every time I think about reading it, I think of all the reviews I've read and the adjectives they use ... and I choose another book.

>30 SassyLassy: I quite liked Barbara Isn't Dying, and I thought the ending was in line with his clumsy attempts to do the right thing, as he now perceives it to be. I'm still thinking about it, but hope to write my review this afternoon. First, I'll need to clear the snow. It's supposed to stop in the next couple of hours. Are you getting much in this wave? We had roughly three more inches.

>31 kjuliff: That's not encouraging, Kate. I'm not looking forward to reading The Vegetarian, but feel obligated. What Kay calls book-shaming.

>32 rasdhar: Thanks, Rasdhar. I'm not sure when I'll get to Drive Your Plow, but the reviews I've read have been interesting, and diverse in response.

>33 TadAD: Ha! I worry that's going to be my fate as well.

It's February 1, and the first month of 2025 is behind us. I had an exceptional reading month, finishing 16 books (and 17 stories)! That must be a record for me. A couple of things stand out, first, I read 5 books in a series, unusual for me. The last time I did something similar was in March 2023, when I read 6 Cherry Ames books. It tends to skew my stats; I almost want to count them as one book. The second thing that stands out is that 81% of the books I read were written by women. Of course, the series skews that stat, but even if you count each author only once, it's still 75:25. No truly exceptional reads, but most were solid 3.5 or 4*. His Excellency Eugene Rougon was the biggest surprise. I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. Although I had a decent spread of countries (roughly 8), only one book was translated. Finally, although I was trying to read one short story a day, it worked out to a little more than one every other day. I'm still happy with this epic fail, because it's much more than I've accomplished in the past (sad but true). The stories in the anthology (Best American Short Stories 2009) weren't my favorites, but it's an easy way to knock off story after story. Electric Lit is proving to be a nice source of quality stories. And that's my month in a large nutshell.

>24 SassyLassy: >29 labfs39: >34 labfs39: I quite liked Barbara Isn't Dying, and found Walter a sympathetic character. He was a male who had been raised with certain expectations, clueless at first, but basically decent as he has to negotiate a new way of life in which he must be a care "giver" not "receiver."

>35 labfs39: Great month of reading to start the year, Lisa.

>7 labfs39: I hate the new pages! I only found out about Conversations about a week ago and now I can't find it anywhere. Why do they have to mess with things when they are fine the way they are.

>7 labfs39: The main reason I have used the book's page in the past was to go to the quick link to Amazon so I could find out more about the book--available for Kindle? Price? Read a few reviews? That came up well-highlighted in a column to the right as soon as the page opened. Now I have to scroll down and it's not so easy to find the link.
I do like that you immediately see if any of you LT friends or connections have reviewed the book and read the review.

yup

>35 labfs39: 16 books in January (as well as all the stories)??? Amazing.

>39 arubabookwoman: I like the new book pages though I found it hard to find things had moves position at first. I wonder why they can’t give members the option of Old format” as other sites have done. After all the database should be the same.

>35 labfs39: Hurrah for a great reading month! Your reading has been more diversity-balanced than mine this month. Lots of interesting titles.

I love when I get into a series like that. I usually can't read them back to back, but sometimes it helps. I guess it depends on how continuous the stories are or whether there is good recaps in the next book.
I think I can get used to the new work page. It'll take some thought, which is what can be irritating. I don't want to have to think, lol.

>36 arubabookwoman: I liked Barbara Isn't Dying too, Deborah. He was a jackass, but a jackass capable of growth.

>37 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

>38 Fourpawz2: Well, it's true that there are two benefits: the ability to reorder sections of data and the ability to see friends' reviews percolate to the top. I'm still unhappy about the redundancy, and the amount of clicking required.

>39 arubabookwoman: That's a good point about friends' reviews. Softens my attitude a wee bit.

>41 rachbxl: I guess the combination of not being admin and going on vacation for a week does wonders for my reading. The Brockmann books are fast and easy, which plumps the numbers as well.

>42 kjuliff: I would love the option for "old style", Kate. Although I'm sure I'll get used to the facelift sooner or later.

>43 raton-liseur: Thanks, raton. I don't choose my next book based on diversity, but I find it interesting to track my trends.

>44 raidergirl3: It's been nice to have a series of easy to read books to take my mind off what's going on in the US at the moment. I'm giving myself full permission to wallow in guilty pleasure. As you say, I don't want to have to think.

Today I took the older of my two nieces to see another Discovery Concert by the Portland Symphony Orchestra. Today was "Beethoven Lives Upstairs." We had read the book last year as part of our music curriculum. Now we had the opportunity to hear two actors speak the parts of Christoph and his uncle as they exchange letters about the eccentric composer who has moved into the apartment above Christoph. Behind the two actors was the symphony, which played excerpts from thirty different works by Beethoven including his symphonies, piano sonatas, Mozart variations, marches, etc. It was fantastic. Before the show, my niece had the opportunity to play the double bass in the instrument petting zoo. Such a great opportunity for kids to get excited about classical music.

You can hear the music on Spotify.

oh the instrument petting zoo is such a good idea!!! Id go for that alone!

>45 labfs39: Yes it’s easy to get used to the new layouts. You just need to be adventurous and keep clicking around. I’ve discovered new features this way - well maybe not new, but new to me.

>47 cindydavid4: The instrument petting zoo is a lot of fun, although it tends to be crowded. Members of the orchestra are in a room and kids can line up to play the different instruments. Last time, my niece played a violin and some of the more unusual percussion instruments. The line for the double bass is always long, but we stuck it out this time.

>48 kjuliff: I'm sure I will.

>46 labfs39: I loved Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Have you heard any of the others in the series? They include Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi. The Mozart one is particularly fun for young children (and the odd adult). They all used to be on CD, but who knows nowadays.

>46 labfs39: This sounds wonderful. What a good way to interest kids in classical music.

Definitely putting A Kid for Two Farthings on my to-read list, sounds like a fun one.

Making note of Beethoven Lives Upstairs and others for when my grandkid is a bit older. I'd been thinking though that she's ready for Peter and the Wolf.

>50 SassyLassy: I didn't realize the book, Beethoven Lives Upstairs, was derived from the Classical Kids CDs, not the other way around. I will definitely look into the others.

>51 BLBera: I had taken my niece to Carnival of the Animals by the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and it was done well too. I hope I can take them both in future. PSO does these Discovery Concerts a few times a year.

>52 mabith: Kid for Two Farthings was pleasant little story of a bygone place and time.

>53 Dilara86: I tried exposing my nieces to Peter and the Wolf, but they were frightened by the story. Have you seen The Story Orchestra series? The books have sound clips that play when you press the button on each page. The girls loved them when they were little. We have Swan Lake, Nutcracker, and Carnival of the Animals.

>35 labfs39: That is an exceptional reading month!

Here's an update on the best books from our most recent homeschool adventures in ancient Egypt:


The Unofficial Guide to the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife by Laura Winstone
Cicada Books, 2022

Bastet the cat, not the goddess, takes the reader on a tour of Duat, the underworld. Gives an overview of mummification, pyramids, key deities, and hieroglyphics. My eldest niece loved it.


Treasury of Egyptian Mythology: Classic Stories of Gods, Goddesses, Monsters & Mortals by Donna Jo Napoli, illustrations by Christina Balit
National Geographic, 2013

Each chapter focuses on a different deity, and the stories are fairly complex, so targeting middle school and up. The illustrations are gorgeous.



ETA: The latter books is part of a series which includes Greek Mythology and Norse Mythology. I'm seriously considering purchasing all three.

I really like Alina Bronsky's books, this is my fourth. When I read Deborah/arubabookwoman's review, I knew I had to acquire it first chance I had. I bought it at Barnes and Noble the other day, despite the sales attendant saying they didn't carry translations.



Barbara Isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky, translated from the German by Tim Mohr
Originally published 2021, translation 2023, Europa Editions, 182 p.

Walter Schmidt is used to things being a certain way, and his life running smoothly because his wife does all the things she is supposed to do. Imagine his frustration when he wakes one morning and does not smell coffee brewing. What can Barbara be thinking? Then he discovers Barbara lying on the floor in the bathroom. He has to make his own coffee, something that surely can't be that difficult, because Barbara can do it. From feeding the dog to cooking meals, Walter begins to realize that things aren't as easy as he thought and that his wife means more to him than even his reliance on her might suggest.

Like most of Bronsky's protagonists, Walter is not a sympathetic character, in fact he can be downright horrid. And yet, I find myself sympathizing with these characters, and Walter is no exception. Empathy is facilitated in this case because Walter does change over the course of the book. I would start to cheer for him a little, then he would open his mouth, stick his foot in, and alienate me again. But Walter is a product of 1950s expectations, and when I cut him a little slack, he does his best to reel me in again. Another solid read from one of my favorite authors.

I love that you're sharing a few notes about the short stories you are reading. I've often looked at those annual "Best" book collections with most interest in the essays and the short stories. I've never dug into them, though.

Barbara Isn't Dying looks good and I'm not familiar with Alina Bronsky. And it's a Europa Edition! I usually love those editions as held objects.

Congrats on a good January in terms of reading. The Count ate up so much of my reading time but now I am happily moving onto other works. I'm currently reading and quite enjoying The Bear by Andrew Krivak.

>58 EBT1002: And I need to get back to my short stories. I've been whipping through novels, but now that that furor has slowed, I need to start reading short stories again.

My favorite Bronsky is Baba Dunja's Last Love. Her humor can be quite dark:

"Sometimes I do readings and people can’t stop laughing, but I’m reading about pretty tragic things,” Bronsky says. “I think Soviet humor is a desperate humor, rather typical of very different nations, of Jewish people, Ukrainians, and of course Russians. It’s despair — just keep laughing, until you are dead.”

Those big classics eat up a lot of reading time, but I see that you loved it and gave it five stars, so that's good.

I'm continuing to enjoy The Unseen, a wonderful novel about life on a Norwegian island. It reminds me a bit of a more adult The Summer Book and even a bit of This Other Eden. Today I was reading about how they built a peat stack and went looking for images online. Beautiful and perfectly designed to allow the wind to pass through but to shed water.

>60 labfs39: that picture is cool. Happy you’re enjoying this book that i’ve never heard of…and which apparently touches my weak spot for islands. I’m intrigued.

I loved The Unseen. I have White Shadow waiting for me to get to it....

>61 dchaikin: Deborah/arubabookwoman recommended The Unseen. Several other CRers have read and enjoyed it too, so I'm surprised it hasn't turned up on your wish list yet. Never too late!

>62 EBT1002: I'm nearing the end of The Unseen and will be sad to leave this island. I think I remember reading that the sequels aren't quite as good, but I'm tempted nonetheless.

What a week! My four-year-old niece tipped one of my benches over onto her toe, breaking it, and necessitating several trips to the doctors. She is in a boot for the next few weeks, but is being a trooper about the whole thing. Then we had a small storm on Thursday, cancelling the dance performance that we had tickets to see. Last night we got an additional 10.5" of snow, meaning the entire day today has been about snow removal. I used the snowblower this morning, then have been shoveling porches and decks. Now I need to climb up on the workshop roof and clear it. If I can find a roof rake, I'll also clear the breezeway roof. Although this was a light fluffy snow, it's now more than 2' deep, so heavy. And we are supposed to get a nor'easter later this week. Remind me why I thought moving back to Maine was such a good idea, lol



The back deck with the workshop roof visible to the left.

We would take some of your snow, Lisa. Take care with the snow removal.

Wow, so much snow! The Unseen has been on my wishlist for a while, following a recommendation from hereabouts.

>64 labfs39: I'm glad that your niece is doing better, Lisa, and that she's getting the care she needs.

Here in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia last night's storm was mostly a freezing rain event. We're expecting some snow on Tuesday, but so far it seems as if it will be relatively mild.

>65 BLBera: We had a very light snow accumulation in December and January, but we're making up for it now.

>66 FlorenceArt: It's a quiet novel, but very evocative of place. I liked it.

>67 kidzdoc: Finally. She will see the pediatric orthopedist tomorrow.

Wednesday a front will pass offshore to our south, but then Thursday we are supposed to get a good amount of snow again.

The Unseen looks awfully good and there are 4 available copies available in my library system. I was surprised.

Tuesday/Wednesday overnight looks like a stinker down here on the south coast and Thursday a little worse than that. But - to the good - I have some crocuses foolishly trying to come up. Silly flowers!

>64 labfs39: Our part of that storm came Wednesday evening in the form of a rain that froze as it hit the ground. I had a meeting that evening that was canceled at the last minute because of the weather prediction, although it had not yet really started, and the people hosting it invited people to come over anyway, which we all did and by the time we left, everything was covered in a sheet of ice. Quite an adventure getting home. And we still have to do the actual meeting this Wednesday anyway.

I think that much snow might actually kill me and I would just have to let the roof collapse. Good luck with the removal! Fingers crossed for no more massive snows.

>60 labfs39: peat stack
Interesting.

>64 labfs39: being a trooper
I'd imagine photo evidence for storytelling rights in the future. But ouch, that sounds painful.

We got the freezing rain similar to Philadelphia.

>64 labfs39: oh my gosh, the roof rake! The winter of ‘15 we had record snow and roof rakes were in high demand. Bad memories, lol.
Nor’easters your way often head my way …

Short stories in February from the Best American Short Stories 2009:

Ostracon by Alex Rose
Published 2008 in Ploughshares, 10 p.

An ostracon is a shard of pottery with extant writing, and in this short story it represents an incomplete memory. Katya is an elderly Jewish woman preparing for the upcoming Passover seder, but she is suffering from dementia, and her mind skips from past to present and she can't remember where she put her glasses.

I like works dealing with memory, so this one resonated. Between paragraphs of the story, the author inserts snippets of information about scientists understanding of memory throughout history.

The Peripatetic Coffin by Ethan Rutherford
Published 2008 in American Short Fiction, 16 p.

In 1864, the Confederate CSS Hunley was the first combat submarine to sink a warship, the USS Housatonic. The author, a self-described submarine lover, uses the story to explore the mindset of the men who volunteered to operate her, despite the failures of the submarine to date, usually killing the crew. The bombing of Charleston, the futility of the lost cause, and the claustrophobic conditions are well-described. This was my favorite story of the collection.

Muzungu by Namwali Serpell
Published 2008 in Callaloo, 14 p.

A young girl flits around the edges of her parents' ex-pat party in Zambia. She doesn't fit in with her peers, despite her attempts, and ends up in the forbidden servants quarters, where she doesn't belong either. It's a story about all the ways one can be relegated to the fringes: mixed race, age, education, gender, socio-economic class, and non-native.

The author was born in Zambia, but moved to the US when she was nine. She was educated at Yale and Harvard, and then became a professor at UC Berkeley. Her father was white. The story is at least semi-autobiographical.

Happy Monday, Lisa. Sorry to hear about all your snow. Yikes. We have had very little snow all season so far. Glad you are enjoying The Unseen. I really liked that trilogy.

I've been having trouble with internet connectivity since the storm. I'll try to catch up on threads soon.

>69 Fourpawz2: I've glad The Unseen is well-represented in your library system. I wish my own carried more translated fiction. It's hard to imagine crocus blooming here, it feels like winter is only just beginning.

>70 RidgewayGirl: Yikes, I would rather have snow than icy conditions like that. Although the person who has the town plowing contract this year is doing a terrible job. The state roads are fine, but the rest are horrible.

>71 mabith: LOL. I couldn't find the roof rake, so I stood on the outside deck table and got as much as I could with a shovel. I didn't dare get on the very slippery workshop roof until I had a spotter, and my daughter wasn't home. Today I'm going to strap on some snowshoes and check the outbuildings at my dad's house. I think it may be there. I don't want to spend $60 on a new one, until I've exhausted all the possible hiding places.

>72 qebo: The photo of the peat stack that I posted doesn't look quite finished to me, as usually they are more dome shaped, allowing the rain to be shed easily. The herringbone pattern was described in the book.

>73 raidergirl3: Did you get hit by this latest storm? From the looks of the weather map, it stayed toward the southern part of the state, so may have missed you.

>75 msf59: Whoops! Cross-posted. Thanks for stopping by, Mark. I don't mind the snow, it's my back that doesn't care for the removal! We too had been having unusually low snowfall rates this year, so we were overdue. This morning I'll use snowshoes to tromp down a path to the feeders. Every winter I think I should move them closer to the house, but then the squirrels would be able to jump from the eaves, so I don't.

The Best American Short Stories 2009 edited by Alice Sebold
Published 2009, 347 p.

This was my first time reading one of these collections. I liked the ease of reading a collection—I always had a story lined up, so no excuse not to read at night—but I found the quality, as well as my interest in the stories, uneven. Although I want to continue my short story exploration, I'm wondering if I should skip around from more sources, or find an author I like and read more by one person.

Edited to add: I read some of the reviews on the work page, and evidently there was wide consensus that this was not one of the better collections from the BASS series.

>76 labfs39: I have a canister of salt/grit that I use on the walkways at home and I brought it with me, which meant the walk out to the car was not bad at all, but the drive home was slow and very slippery, especially on the block with a brick street. Amazingly, I saw one car going full speed and I hope they made it home okay.

>76 labfs39: - Those particular crocuses are always waaay ahead of time in blooming because they are up against the foundation and they have a southern exposure. I have lots of others that won’t show up until a more sensible time in March - which doesn’t mean, of course, that they won’t get snowed on too. Winter in New England - always fun. Especially if you don’t know what fun is.

>79 RidgewayGirl: I hate to see people taking icy roads without thought. Too often it's not just a single car that ends up in the ditch.

>80 Fourpawz2: I actually like winter. Snowshoeing, skiing (back before my hips were titanium), glistening white. What I don't like is post snow slush, brown and depressing. My snow removal woes are actually minimal thanks to my snowblower and garage. If I had to shovel my car out every storm, I might rethink my seasonal affections. :-)

---

Speaking of snowshoeing, I took my older niece out today. Beautiful sunshine, but the snow was so powdery that we still sank in almost a foot most places.

>63 labfs39: I thought White Shadow, the next book in the Jacobsen series, did measure up. It is also based in part on a real event.

I read it at the start of the RG "Around the World in 12 Months. I had kept the third book for the end of 2024, thinking it would end my RF circumnavigation, but I seem to be stuck in South America right now. I think I will read it now anyway, as there is apparently a fourth book, which should be available by the time I get back to Norway again on this voyage!

________
edited to change Touchstone

>82 SassyLassy: That's good to know, Sassy. I will see if I can order a copy.

I didn't participate in the Around the World Challenge, or rather I started to, but I was zigzagging and skipping around too much to make it a circumnavigation. It's a great idea though, and I was glad to see it continuing.

Btw, did you get any snow in this last storm or was it too far south?

>78 labfs39: I have one of these editions. I can't remember what year it's from, but it's the one that John Updike edited.

I've had it around 10 years and I'm only 2 stories in. The book's vast and its sheer size keeps putting me off returning to it (actually, I'm not entirely sure where I've put it now).

I can never quite decide if I'm a short story person or not. Some collections I've enjoyed, others not - even when by favourite authors (looking at you here, Ian McEwan). A favourite collection for me was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I also like some (not all) of Annie Proulx' collections - Bad Dirt was great.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fav of mine as well. there is another book with a similar story that they made into a film but cant find the name. Liked benjamin button better anyway

Oh Lisa, I'm finally catching up on your threads and I'm so sorry to hear about Ace. He was definitely a good boy, and had a good life with you and your family, but... damn it's hard to say goodbye.

And your poor niece, too... good thing she's being a good sport.

What a lot of good short fiction reading—I'm a fan of the short story, and love bingeing on them now and then. I should drag out one of my Best Americans one of these days, because I tend to forget they're on the shelf.

>84 AlisonY: I'm with Alison, not sure if I'm a fan of short stories or not. They do expose me to new authors, which is nice. I have three more of the BASS collections, edited by Rushdie, Kingsolver, and Jennifer Egan. I will try another, probably the Rushdie one, but first I'm going to switch things up with either a single author collection, or a regional collection.

>85 cindydavid4: Hyperion?

>86 lisapeet: Thanks, Lisa.

I've created a shelf in my bedroom with some short story anthologies on it, hoping that if I keep them in sight, I'll get to them sooner.

>78 labfs39: Hi Lisa. I find these anthologies uneven, too. I like linked short story collections. The biggest problem is that it always seems there are stories that I don't like.

>87 labfs39: no not that one. need to look at my shelves....

>83 labfs39: It was supposed to track south of here, but we still had about 20cm. That's not unusual; what is unusual is that it is cold enough for it to stay. Waiting to see what Thursday's threatened ice storm brings.

Thanks to Deborah/arubabookwoman for first recommending this book to me. I read it now for Paul's European Challenge. The woodcut on the cover, by Joe McLaren, is a lovely complement to the book.



The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw
Originally published 2013, translation 2016, 268 p.

The Barroy family has been the sole inhabitants of their island for generations. Fishers, farmers, and eider down gatherers, the family leads a subsistence life, either making what they need or buying it from the nearby trading post with the cash money Hans earns from his share of the annual catch. Martin is getting old and has turned over the running of the holdfast to his son, Hans. Also on the island are Hans' wife, Maria, and three-year-old daughter, Ingrid, and his unmarried sister, Barbro. Life is difficult, but harmonious, and Ingrid is content with the boundaries of her world.

But life is as changeable as the sea around them: a stranger visits disrupting their peace, Hans brings workers to the island to help build a quay, and Ingrid starts school on the mainland. Bit by bit the island and its inhabitants are changed, and each is confronted with the question of whether life on the island is all that they want.

I very much enjoyed this quiet novel of life on a Norwegian island. Hans and Ingrid are both interesting characters, and the setting is evocatively portrayed. It is the first in a trilogy, and I'm curious to see where the next book leads us.

I have a head cold, and feel as though I didn't do The Unseen justice in my review, but if I don't review it now, it won't get done. I would encourage fans of The Summer Book to check it out.

>88 BLBera: I haven't read a lot of linked short story collections, but I find them confusing in general. I'm not sure I understand why authors choose to write them and not just write a novel. For instance, Olive Kitteridge. I think I might have liked it more as a novel.

>89 cindydavid4: No problem. I haven't read Benjamin Button so have no skin in the game.

>90 SassyLassy: I hope we don't lose power in the upcoming storm. It's supposed to start as 3-6" of snow, but then turn to ice. I bought a generator last spring, but this would be the first time plugging it into the house. Hopefully I won't have trouble if I do need it.

>92 labfs39: Ugh. I hope your cold clears up quickly.

>91 labfs39: This is definitely a lovely book. The sequel is very different, I hope you'll like it but it will be for other reasons than why you liked this one.

>92 labfs39: You keep on referring to The Summer book, so I might end up adding it to my list!

I hope you'll get better, as well as your niece. Keep warm and let it snow!

Good grief! A second thread with 9 thousand posts already! Coming in late to the short story discussion, but a super favorite of mine is A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin. A simply gorgeous collection of stories.

>91 labfs39: I've got The Unseen and a couple of others of Jacobsen's novels on my shelf. I'm happy to know you liked this one. Have you read We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen?

>94 raton-liseur: summer book is wonderful!

I was watching a German mystery yesterday and during the show the lead detective was counseling a young man about correcting his course in life. When he was finished with a good outcome another detective asked what did you tell him?

His answer The Truth which is No one has the right to determine how you live. Not a Father, a Mother, a Religion, or a State

I sure wish more people lived by this

>93 RidgewayGirl: Sadly my cold is the kind that makes reading difficult. I've started The Kill by Zola, but can only manage a few pages at a time.

>94 raton-liseur: I will look for the sequel to The Unseen. I assume it is primarily about Ingrid. I see that the author has a fourth book out in the series, but it doesn't appear to have been translated yet.

I did like The Summer Book. It's about a young girl and her grandmother on an island in the Gulf of Finland. I wrote: Don't expect life-changing insights or a gripping plot, but rather the quiet joy of summer and childhood and a life well-lived.

>95 rocketjk: Thank you for the suggestions, Jerry. I've added both Manual for Cleaning Women and We, the Drowned to my burgeoning wish list.

>96 cindydavid4: Agree, Cindy.

>97 JoeB1934: Your quote reminds me of something I read recently, although I can't remember from where. Perhaps Stranger in Their Own Land. It said something like our government currently focuses on what people can't do—read certain books, make medical decisions for our own bodies, restrict gun ownership—instead of what we can do—live without fear of our children being shot in school, love without regard to the other person's sex or gender, speak without fear of reprisal. What a difference it makes when we flip our thinking from can't to can.

>91 labfs39: That cover reminds me of Edward Gorey's early covers for Doubleday... I wonder if it was a deliberate homage? It looks like it fits with the book's theme so well—the whole thing sounds soothing.

I hope you kick your cold soon. There's so much going around—we're closing an issue of the magazine today and one of our three-person team members has the flu and sounds miserable, so we're all scrambling to do some of her lifting.

>98 labfs39: We, the Drowned is definitely on my all time favourites list, even after more than 10 years.

Hope you feel better soon, but at least the weather is definitely a good excuse for just curling up to read.

I hope your niece recovers fast (usually, they do at that age!)

>54 labfs39: I tried exposing my nieces to Peter and the Wolf, but they were frightened by the story.
Now that you mention it, I remember that it scared my daughter too... We'll see how the grandkid feels about it. I was quite excited about the Story Orchestra series, and then I saw that the music clips last 10 seconds? That's not a lot!

Enjoyment of anything varies so much kid to kid. I adored my Peter and the Wolf recording age 4-7 especially and probably would have liked it earlier. My parents' targeted classical music listening certainly worked on me but not so much on the siblings.

I would say I was pretty inured to scary things though from being a 1980s baby and having four much older siblings. I think the only thing that properly scared me as a little kid was the Night on Bald Mountain sequence of Fantasia. Two of my older brothers were much more sensitive.

I'm sorry to see you're not feeling well. I hope it's over soon!

>102 mabith: Yes! I don't remember listening to it at the age of 4-7, but I loved Peter and the Wolf when I was in primary school, and presumably so did my mother since we listened to her childhood record. Grandkid is 3 but she has an incredible concentration level for music, and so I really want to build on this before she loses it.

I think the only thing that properly scared me as a little kid was the Night on Bald Mountain sequence of Fantasia
Where you scared by the music, or the animation?

>99 lisapeet: The Unseen was a good fit for my mood, not soothing exactly, but wholesome, if that makes sense. Good people just trying to live their lives.

>100 SassyLassy: Ok, then, that's two votes for We, the Drowned. I'll look for it.

>101 Dilara86: I should clarify that it was the story line that frightened the girls, not the music. My eldest niece cannot tolerate any type of suspense, even going so far as to read the end of the book first, if she thinks something bad might happen. I should have prepped her better before she went to the symphony. She had to be taken out of the room.

Yes, the Story Orchestra books are good for very young children who like to push buttons, but that's about it. We use SQUILT (Super Quiet Uninterrupted Listening Time) for our music curriculum. It comes with listening calendars for every month, and every month has a theme: classical, jazz, musicals, world music. The calendar has a link to a YouTube video of the music for that day, so the kids get to see the music performed as well as listen. This month I chose a month of Bach pieces to go along with Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

>102 mabith: Yes, tolerance for suspense or scary things varies so much kid to kid. My daughter had zero tolerance. The animation for Night on Bald Mountain was scary! As a kid, I also found the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz terrifying.

>103 Jim53: Thanks, I'm feeling better today, just a big froggy.

>104 Dilara86: My youngest niece is turning five next week, but she has enjoyed SQUILT and also all the Putumayo Kids music and the Beethoven's Wig series. I take them to see live music as often as I can, but the listening calendars ensure that they hear something good every day.

Hooray! I just noticed that the @ sign is gone from the links to posts. I found it very distracting.

>105 labfs39: Thank you for the link: the SQUILT programme looks very interesting. I'll mention it to the parents.
They're coming over for the winter holidays soon, so I had a look at the local events calendar because I'd really like to take her to a concert, but there's nothing going on at the right dates. It's just so frustrating. Pre-covid, there was a free church organ concert at 11 AM every Saturday, and a free early afternoon concert for families once a month at our local theatre, but they're all gone because of budget restrictions.

>105 labfs39: I was one of the votes for We, the Drowned. Just a note that it's a bit of a doorstop, so you need to be in the mood for something long. But it's entirely worth the time, in my opinion.

>104 Dilara86: Definitely the animation is the scary part for Night on Bald Mountain but the music supports/emphasizes it of course. Have you seen Listen to the Birds: An Introduction to Classical Music? Probably a little advanced, but perhaps the idea of a theme and still images to look at while listening to music (the ease of understanding the idea that bird song would inspire music might help too) is a good place to start? One could just use the pieces of music mentioned, search videos of the featured birds singing, and sort of DIY it. I do feel like understanding some of the inspiration, when it's very direct like that, is helpful at that young age.

>98 labfs39: I like this Lisa.

Sorry you're sick.

>91 labfs39: lovely review of Unseen. I’m inspired and you got a thumb

>106 labfs39: lol. I do like the notifications

Hope you feel better soon. Say warm, drink hot tea, get some sleep. Take care.

>104 Dilara86: I remember listening to peter and the wolf in elementary school and loving it. I even played it for my preschool classes, but they acted out the characters and the story went on so I think they were more comfortable with it

considering how much twilight zone scared me, its a wonder fantasia didnt. but I can see how it would fo others

>109 mabith: Thank you for the recommendation: Listen to the Birds: An Introduction to Classical Music looks perfect for her. I've just bought it online so she can keep it and listen to it as much as she likes. And I'll get Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music by the same author from the library when she comes over.

>112 cindydavid4: remember listening to peter and the wolf in elementary school and loving it. I even played it for my preschool classes, but they acted out the characters and the story went on so I think they were more comfortable with it
That is adorable!

>95 rocketjk: >98 labfs39: I've had A Manual for Cleaning Women sitting in a bookcase for a donkey's age. This prompts me to pull it out and read it. Of course, that's after I get done with Nervous Conditions, which I'm in the middle of; and A Farewell to Arms, which I'm in the middle of; and A River of Silver, which I'm in the middle of.

And why do we (or the British ’cause I think I picked that up from a British roommate) say "a donkey's age"? I mean, the interwebs says they top out around 40 years. Why not "a tortoise's age" or "a crocodile's age"?

All these unfathomable mysteries!

>91 labfs39: Adding The Unseen to my wish list - sounds great.

>107 Dilara86: That's unfortunate that local music programming has been cut. You might try local libraries, our regional library hosts concerts once a month. Or if there are music school recitals in your area. My nieces enjoy seeing other children playing music. Good luck!

>108 rocketjk: I have added We, the Drowned to my phone wish list for the next time I go to the bookstore.

>109 mabith: I've added a couple of Ana Gerhard's books to my list for the girls. The illustrations are quite lovely. Thank you for the recommendation (to Dilara). I'm stealing it too!

>110 markon: Thanks, Ardene. I'm already feeling better. Fortunately it was a short-lived head cold, no lung involvement.

>111 dchaikin: Ha, I turned the notifications off! I found them annoying. :-)

>112 cindydavid4: Yes, I think the fault was mine for not prepping them more. Their parents took them to see it with my encouragement, but I hadn't prepared them for it.

>113 Dilara86: I think having child-sized instruments around for kids to experiment with is good too. I've started a little collection. I remember my daughter being so fascinating with our cantor's accordion playing at Tot Shabbat, that we got her a little accordion too. Somewhere I have a photo of our lab (dog) at the time howling along as she played.

>114 TadAD: How are you enjoying Nervous Conditions, Tad? I read it as part of the Africa Challenge three years ago. I thought it was good, but not as good as some others I read from the region. I have the sequel that I've been meaning read.

Donkey’s years may have been chosen as a synonym for a long time simply because donkeys are long-lived animals. Lively Laddie, a donkey who had lived up to his name for many years while plying his trade on Blackpool Pleasure Beach was, until his death at age 62, a contender for the ‘oldest living quadruped’ title. Huh.

>115 AlisonY: The Unseen definitely hit the spot, Alison. Right book for my mood.

>114 TadAD: Most likely etymology is through rhyming slang (ear -> year - the original expression is “donkey’s years”). Or so my very muddy memories tell me. :)

I had never read this, so thought I should before tackling James with my book club next month.



The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, narrated by Elijah Wood
Originally published 1885, audio version 2010, 10 hrs

I listened to the audio version of this American classic, and Elijah Wood does a stellar job with the narration. If it hadn't been for his excellent performance I don't think I would have finished. I enjoyed the first few chapters, where we learn more about Huck's life after he and Tom Sawyer recover gold and about his relationship with his father. But once Huck and the Black enslaved Jim leave their island refuge and begin floating down the Mississippi, their life of hijinks quickly becomes repetitive and tiresome. They fall in with a pair of crooks, and their swindles are described in excruciating detail. When Huck meets up with Tom, and they plan an elaborate ruse on Tom's relatives, and again it dragged on and on. And while the slurs and patronizing tone used when describing Jim may have been commonplace in 1885, it grated in 2025. I can see why Percival Everett felt the need to modernize our experience of this iconic river voyage. I look forward to reading James soon.

I'm glad you liked The Unseen. The following books in the series take Ingrid through WW II. The fourth book has been translated, so there are four in all to read.
I'm glad to see the praise for We the Drowned. I've had it on my shelf for years and need to get to it. Like The Unseen, it has a beautiful cover.

>118 labfs39: - Hmmm. I have a copy of Huck Finn, and I do want to read it. Read Tom Sawyer probably about a dozen times, but I was a kid. Wonder if, at this great age, I will be able to tolerate/bear unending hijinks? And as for the other objectionable aspect - in order to get through them, I've always tried to read books from long ago with the awareness of how different things were then. You know - so I could glean the good stuff and separate it out from the bad/annoying/maddening stuff.

Am hopeful, but I would not be surprised if I can't get through it. Congrats for getting to the end.

>120 Fourpawz2: For whatever it might be worth to anyone, Toni Morrison was quite admiring of Huck Finn. She wrote about the novel in, among other places, a 1991 book Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination. I don't have the book on hand, but there's a good, short, summation of Morrison's takes on Huck Fin on the website Mark Twain Studies, written by Twain scholar Mark Seybold:*

“The hell it puts the reader through” is exactly the point, according to Morrison. The novel produces and reproduces “palpable alarm.” It discomforts. It triggers. It interrogates our preconceptions about childhood, morality, community, and, of course, race. It is resiliently controversial, and therein lies the evidence of its merit.

To be clear, only the text in quotes, here, are Morrison's exact words. The rest is Seybold's summarizing.

Anyway, obviously we each will have our own experience of our reading of the book. Morrison's is simply one interesting perspective on the novel, at least for me. These factors may also be what leads Everett to his stated admiration of Huck Finn:

Everett calls Twain's original a "wonderful novel", the first time in American literature there is "a character who really represents an adolescent America wandering through its own landscape, trying to come to terms with what has become the most defining feature of the American experience, which is race". . . . Huck's "trying to reconcile the fact that his friend is a person, Jim's his friend, but he's also property". . . . It's "a pretty remarkable achievement".
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68762352

* fwiw, Seybold's entire essay is here: https://marktwainstudies.com/put-the-reader-through-hell-in-memory-of-toni-morri...
His bio is here: https://mattseybold.com/contact/

The Twain section of Playing in the Dark does not seem to be available online, but here is a link to Morrison's spoiler laden introduction to a (I believe) 1986 edition of Huck Finn:
http://www.uctenglish.com/uploads/1/3/6/0/13601377/this_amazing_troubling_book.p...

>119 arubabookwoman: Thank you for clarifying that. I thought The Unseen touched on WWI and the depression, but it was never specified. The island is rather timeless, and life carried on much as it had for generations.

>120 Fourpawz2: I would classify Tom Sawyer as juvenile lit and HF as young adult. It's about Huck's coming of age and grappling with what it means to be a good person through his relationship with Jim. That part I enjoyed. The hijinks, especially the two parts I mentioned (the swindlers and deceiving Tom's family), just went on and on. I might have enjoyed it more as a teen, but probably not.

>121 rocketjk: Thanks for your thoughtful post and helpful links, Jerry. Scholars have debated the merits of HF for over 100 years. There must be enough there to satisfy the lit crits. In the American canon, it has it's place in history, no denying. As a piece of literature, I felt like a ruthless editor would have made it even better. If the hijinks had been toned down and the relationship between HF and Jim emphasized, and especially if Jim's internal life had been explored even a little bit, I think the novel would have been even better. Just my two cents.

I think too that HF suffered in comparison with the other book I am reading at the moment: Zola's The Kill. The Kill was published 13 years before HF, and the writing, sophistication, and characters are vastly superior, IMO. I realize that it is a comparison of apples and oranges, but since I was reading them simultaneously I couldn't help but notice the contrast.

Finally, I think Twain tended to be longwinded. Perhaps that's why my favorite works by him are his short fiction (Diaries of Adam and Eve is hysterical) and the wonderful, serious historical fiction work, Joan of Arc (Twain's self-declared masterpiece). It is very different in style from either his other novels or travel writings and feels like a more mature work.

>118 labfs39: As a child I was not given this book to read because my parents told me it was full of American racism. I started doubting this last year when everyone was reading James when so many were saying Tom Sawyer was an American classic. I have never read Tom Sawyer and now I believe my parents were fright in shielding me.

>122 labfs39: Sometime this year, I think, I'll engage in a reread of HF (I've read it only once, in an excellent high school junior year English class) prior to finally reading James. I would not be surprised in the least if I agree with many of your qualifications, here. Perhaps a lot of that is what Morrison meant by Twain "putting the reader through hell," but even if so, that doesn't mean we have to enjoy it in the reading.

As a child, growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, we would go visit grandparents in Missouri or Pennsylvania, or go to Los Angeles, all of which involved days of driving. My parents would hand me thick classics to read on the way and Huckleberry Finn was one I read several times. I think the length and episodic nature were benefits at the time it was written and it was remarkably anti-racist for its time, no matter how it makes us uncomfortable today. It's impossible to look at it without also looking at where and when it was written. And Huck's moral clarity -- that moment when he has to decide between doing what was considered right and Christian and committing a great sin by not turning Jim in and thereby, in his own mind, losing his salvation, packs a punch even today.

All that said, I'd recommend that people who want to read James just read the wikipedia or some similar summary of Huck Finn instead of reading the book.

>125 RidgewayGirl: I read James without reading Huckleberry Finnthough I vaguely knew the story. It wasn’t necessary for me and I enjoyed James immensely. I too urge people to read Jame’s. If you feel you need to know HF then you can google for information.

>123 kjuliff: To me Tom Sawyer is children's literature, and Huck Finn has more depth. Sort of like the difference between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. TS is a classic in the sense that many American children (now adults) have read it, so it is a common touchstone.

>124 rocketjk: Or you may find you love it just as much, and that's okay by me. It has been an interesting discussion that wouldn't have happened had we all thought it was wonderful. :-)

>125 RidgewayGirl: I agree with you that HF was anti-racist for its time, however I tired of hearing the n-word over and over, and when Tom Sawyer continues his game at freeing Jim, even though Jim's life was in danger, and he was beaten and clapped in chains, I failed to applaud at his fessing up that it was all a joke, and that Jim had been free the whole time.

I'm also not sure that Huck was all too concerned with salvation or being Christian. He did want to do what was right, but it seemed to me to have more to do with not wanting to disappoint the widow than a fear of the Almighty.

I'm glad I read HF, as it was one of those gaps I perceived in my literary education. And I finished it, as opposed to Uncle Tom's Cabin and Moby Dick, both of which remain big fat DNFs.

>126 kjuliff: I thought of just reading a summary of Huck, but I'm glad I read the book (or rather listened to it). Elijah Wood's narration was excellent.

I had read the graphic adaptation of Between Shades of Gray some time ago, and after reading two more of Sepetys' novels last year (Salt to the Sea and The Fountains of Silence), I wanted to loop back around to read this one. I found the cover arresting.



Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Published 2011, 352 p.

First line: They took me in my nightgown.

It's 1941, and Lithuania is occupied by the Soviets. Fifteen-year-old Lina's father has disappeared, assumed arrested, and not long after, she, her younger brother, and her mother are taken from their home and imprisoned in a cattle car with "Thieves and Prostitutes" emblazoned on the side. After weeks of travel, they arrive at a Siberian work camp and struggle to learn how to survive in the harsh conditions. They form a community of sorts with their fellow inmates, and even some of the local Altai women. But this is only a hiatus for the family, and soon they find themselves above the Arctic Circle building a camp on the shores of the Laptev Sea.

Sepetys has a knack for writing compelling young adult historical fiction that addresses some tough subject matter. This, her first novel, was inspired by her own family history. Many members of her grandfather's family were deported to Siberia, although he was able to escape with her father. She went to Lithuania and interviewed survivors and their children as part of her research for the book.

>116 labfs39: dont feel bad. the first time I showed the video the snoman, the children were entranced bh the music and story, until the ending which I didnt bother to check. they were screamingg and crying; once they calmed down I asked them what they thought the boy should do next "make a new one"was the answer many of them gave and they felt much better. so I learned to always pre watch a video even if I think i know what its about. I also decided to stop the video when the boy wakes up and ask the kids what they think he will find. then finish it by asking what they would do next. Made for a much better experience

>121 rocketjk: great post Jerry. And i like Everett’s take. Morison’s might be too rosy for me. 🙂 (the book you cite is NOT too rosy. Actually Morrison is never rosy, on anything.)

>118 labfs39: i’m glad you hung in there. I had a very similar experience. The last half was literally painful. Oye. But you will get to see how Everett plays with this stuff. It’s intentional. And he discards many of the worst written parts of HF, which I know you’ll appreciate and want to thank him for.

Fun trivia is that Louis XVI did float down the Mississippi. So the Dauphin has an historical reference

>129 cindydavid4: Thanks, Cindy. I take more pains now to properly prepare the girls before a live performance.

>130 dchaikin: Thanks, Dan. I was feeling inundated by HF lovers until your post, lol. I was thinking about listening to James, like I did to HF. Did you read or listen to it?

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The wind continues to howl today, but we haven't lost power thank goodness. In this cold, I always worry that we will lose some elderly people here in Maine when the power goes out. Toward the end of the week, temperatures may rise to freezing, which we haven't hit in weeks. It will be quite balmy!

Yesterday I started listening to Sense and Sensibility narrated by Juliet Stevenson. What a delight! I worked on a puzzle and listened for a long time. I wish her narrations were included in the Audible membership, instead I have to use a credit. After my free trial with Audible ended, I waited a few weeks, then received an offer for three months at half price. I could justify that, but I don't usually listen regularly enough to warrant a full-price membership.

>131 labfs39: I listened to the Flo Gibson narration of Pride and Prejudice on a long drive and loved it, but more than one person has said that Juliet Stevenson is the best. I read the other Austens in paper, so no experience there. I used to listen to audio books as I walked, but now it's rare. There are too many things I need ears for while walking now (traffic, bicycle riders on walking paths, etc.). I don't have an Audible subscription any longer because there are four or five in the backlog. That will probably last years at the current rate.

>131 labfs39: i read James. But imagine it would work well in audio

>132 TadAD: Juliet Stevenson is always the best. 🙂

>132 TadAD: Neuroscientists would say you're doing the right thing by walking without audio. One of the benefits is connection with the world outdoors, and you're not going to hear the wind, the waves, or the birds with things in your ears. Of course, I realise you're not going to hear them in the city anyway, but there are lots of other noises there for your brain to pick up on.

>133 dchaikin: I too read James in audio and loved it. It worked well.

>134 SassyLassy: Yes. I used to do a reasonable amount of long-distance walking like the Camino, walking Hadrian's Wall, etc., and that aspect of it was something very important to me. I never listened to anything on those. In fact, I only grudgingly had a phone with me for safety. However, when I walked around town, the sounds of gunned motorcycles, car horns, train whistles, car stereos turned up to 11, and the like didn't have the same appeal. I found it more restful to sink into a story—albeit one that didn't require huge amounts of attention because I still liked to look around. There's something very different about the world seen as you walk by versus through a car window.

>134 SassyLassy: right thing by walking without audio
I rarely use earphones because I like the ambient sounds of the park (baseball and soccer games more than nature) where I take a daily long walk, but I generally listen to an audio book or podcast. Multitasking, and it gets me through books that I'm only peripherally interested in (e.g. for RL book group) or are too dauntingly hefty as a physical object. The park is not as cognitively engaging as you may imagine. If I walk into the city, it's too risky to not pay full attention to traffic. I'm not doing it for the cognitive complexity, but because I don't want to be killed, which is a thing that does happen to pedestrians even in this small city. OTOH, if I'm gardening in my yard or my community plot, I'm focused on the work and the being outside, and electronic sound is irritating.

I never use earphones/plugs/whatever when I walk around. What I hate is when I want to make a comment to somebody standing next to me waiting for a traffic light to change, say, like, "Hey, look at that hawk!" or "Your dog is so well behaved," or "I like your tie," but then I realize the person can't hear me because he/she/they has ear buds in. The worst is when you make a casual comment like one of these and the person, entirely well-meaning, pulls out an ear bud and says, "Sorry, what?" And I have to say, "I was pointing out a red-tailed hawk, but it's gone now" or something equally lame. I can't get out of the habit of trying to interact once in a while. I believe people who want/like to wear earbuds out in public should do so. It's not a judgement on my part, it's just something I don't like.

>138 rocketjk: "I like your tie HaHa.

I don’t like it either - people walking around with earphones. For your reason, but also it makes me feel society is changing so. Nearly everyone seems plugged in to a place other than that where they are not. They aren’t in my world at all. It gives out a sense we are isolated from each other, living in our own worlds disconcerted from reality.

>139 kjuliff: Agreed. I remember when I was first living in San Francisco for grad school and I went to one of the earliest "Internet cafes," or whatever the first ones were called. There were screens built into the tables, and instead of talking to the people at the table right next to them, they were having email chats (again: or whatever it was called then) with people in some other cafe. I remember thinking, "This isn't going to end well."

>140 rocketjk: We say as we type to each other over the internet :-)

>140 rocketjk: Ha ha. I’ve seen people in the same rom texting each other. Apparently some text each other while having live conversations with friends in the same physical place. Like “Don’t believe what she is saying”. I’ve also heard key-board clicks when talking on the phone with friends.

>141 labfs39: Ha! Yes, I was not immune for very long at all.

I remember way back when walkmans first came out, people were worried about the same thing. now I listen to music on blue tooth but just at home so its just DH I have to warn. I like walking and listening to the sounds around me so I dont usually do that; it does bother me when I say hello and there is no response but have gotten used to it

>142 kjuliff: Oh, I will always text my husband (or kids if they are visiting) rather than yell or attempt to find them. But it's definitely the case that our phones too often take people away from living in the present moment.

>138 rocketjk: One of the best things about being out and about is getting to make those momentary connections about nothing at all.

>145 RidgewayGirl: Ha, I suppose I would have done that back in the day. Unfortunately I could only yell!

>145 RidgewayGirl: Now you can talk to your older self -
—a chatbot that looks like an aged version of the person. The idea is that if people can see and talk to their older selves, they will be able to think about them more concretely, and make changes now that will help them achieve the future they hope for. -Source WSJ

>147 kjuliff: I'm going to be 70 in July. I am my older self. And I talk to myself all the time, sans chatbot, even. I also talk to my younger self quite often and tell him to shape up! He never listens.

>148 rocketjk: 😊

>64 labfs39: That's a lot of snow and I would love it. And yes, I realize that's kind of cheeky as I sit here on my lanai in shorts and a t-shirt on the island of Kauai.

I love that you're finding well narrated audio versions of some classics. I might look into the Sense and Sensibility narrated by Juliet Stevenson. It sounds like she also narrates other Austen novels?

Happy Saturday, Lisa. Very good idea to read Huck Finn before reading James. You are in for a treat with that the Everett. Between Shades of Gray was my introduction this author. Made me an instant fan.

How are those feeders doing? Mine have been bustling but with just a few regulars.

>150 EBT1002: I don't mind the snow so much, but it has been bitterly cold with the wind chills. Yesterday I took my older niece snowshoeing and sledding, and I worried she would frostbite her cheeks the wind was so biting. We haven't hit freezing (32F) in two months. But it's supposed to break that barrier this week. I am very envious of your lanai! Poipu is such a nice spot. I remember taking my daughter to the "baby beach" there for snorkeling when she was three.

Juliet Stevenson does indeed narrate other classics and most if not all of Austen's books. I ran out of Audible credits, however, and am listening to Pride and Prejudice, narrated by Rosamund Pike, as an included Audible title (free with membership), and it is quite good as well.

>151 msf59: Have you read the graphic adaptation of Between Shades of Gray? It works well, especially since the protagonist in the novel is an artist.

Yes, the feeders are hopping, and the squirrels are energetically trying to jump over the baffle since the snow is so high. They haven't managed it yet, but one more storm and I'll need to shovel it clear or lose all my seed.

I'm sorry to report that our post office is lousy. I find mail lying in the snow, packages are left on the step in the rain or snow rather than pushed 18" more onto the porch proper, I routinely get other people's mail, and the clerk was so rude to me today that I have a mind to report him. :-(

I am in the midwinter doldrums and decided to revisit some favorite classics to cheer up.



Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
Originally published 1811, narration 2004, 12 hrs and 43 mins

I had not read this in a long time, although I've watched the British tv miniseries of 2008 many times. So it was with interest that I compared the two as I listened. I found the characters of Mrs Dashwood and Colonel Brandon to be less positively portrayed than in the movie, and the timeline of Marianne and Brandon's growing affection much more prolonged and then suddenly compressed at the end (after the conclusion of Eleanor's affair, rather than before). This was Austen's first published novel, and, as much as I enjoy it, I do think it is not as polished as her later works. The narration, as I have been saying everywhere, was delightful.

I've been thinking this is a good year to reread Austen as well, Lisa. I'm not yet sure what order I will choose.

>153 labfs39: Do you think the narration (tone, emphasis etc) influenced your view of the portrayals versus the miniseries or book?

>155 BLBera: I think I'm going to continue listening to Austen's works on audio. I am quite enjoying them while simultaneously working on a puzzle or editing records on LT. I am being quite haphazard about order, however. I finished P&P today.

>156 SassyLassy: Juliet Stevenson may well have been the source of tone for the miniseries, as I detected similarities in the way characters spoke. I wonder if that could be possible? In any event, it was not so much the tone that changed my appreciation of the characters of Brandon and Mrs. Dashwood, but the descriptions in the book. It had been a long time since I had read it, so the miniseries was much fresher in my mind. In the book, more is made of Mrs. Dashwood's tendency to be as overwrought as Marianne, and that they reinforced each other's heightened emotions. In the miniseries, this is the case at first, but in the miniseries she seems much steadier once removed to the cottage. As for Colonel Brandon, in the book he compares Marianne and his former love so much, that I almost felt as though she were a replacement. Also much was made of his wearing a flannel waistcoat and complaining of stiffness, signs to Marianne that he was ancient. In the miniseries, he is much more virile.

As I was out of credits on Audible, I chose to listen to a free audio version of Pride and Prejudice, narrated by Rosamund Pike, not Juliet Stevenson.



Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, narrated by Rosamund Pike
Originally published 1813, narration 2015, 11 hrs, 35 minutes

Oh, to sink into this novel is always such a delight, irregardless of the format. Although Pike's narration was not as spot on to my internal ear as Juliet Stevenson's, and a few of the voices were less well done than others, overall it was a serviceable narration. I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting this classic which is so eminently quotable. As for the writing, it seems much tighter than Sense and Sensibility, and it's hard to believe it was the next novel she wrote, so much better does it seem.

Since I've read the first two of Austen's books in the order in which she wrote them, I guess I will continue on that way. That means Mansfield Park is up next. Audible has two free (with membership) editions: one narrated by Frances Barber, the other by Wanda McCadden. I'll listen to snippets of each before deciding on one.

>158 labfs39: it’s amazing that one can never tire of Pride and Prejudice. Even the AI behind this text box suggests “Prejudice “ as soon as I type “Pride and”.

One thing I’ve never been sure of in all my experiences of P&P (film, audio, print) - who has the pride and who the prejudice- Lizzie or Darcy?

>159 kjuliff: I agree that I never tire of P&P. My take is that Darcy had the pride, and Lizzie the prejudice.

>160 labfs39: I usually swing that way. But Darcy is prejudiced and Lizzie is a little proud.

I always assumed that it was intentionally ambiguous who represented which trait.

I too am planning to read all of Austen this year and I'm looking forward to getting to P&P.

>148 rocketjk: Ha!

>158 labfs39: I'm glad that you're enjoying revisiting Jane Austen. You've inspired me to check out the audiobooks.

>159 kjuliff: et cetera

A few years back I finally read Pride and Prejudice and found it delightful, just as almost everyone does.

After considering who has which P., I wrote in my review:
“Elizabeth Bennet pays firm notice of Mr. Darcy’s prejudice; her pride is to interpret it prejudicially. Mr. Darcy’s pride is to have a stick up his hind side for the longest time.”

So my Austen rookie interpretation: Both characters do a darn good job of displaying both. As do I, too often, for that matter.

I agree with all that there is enough Pride and Prejudice in P&P for both Darcy and Elizabeth. :-)

I am continuing with Mansfield Park, but it is a bit of a slog. I think it's the only one, besides Lady Susan that I have not read before, and it's surprisingly different. For one thing, the protagonist, Fanny, is (so far at least) quite insipid. There is none of the fire or vivacity of her others. We are also not given much insight into her thoughts and feelings. I'm finding it quite difficult to like her, or care much about the fates of the characters. I know the story from the movie, which took enormous liberties and made Fanny much more interesting. I have several hours of listening to go, so perhaps things will turn around. I should add that Frances Barber's narration adds nothing, but I'm not sure even Juliet Stevenson could save Fanny from pallor next to Elizabeth, or even Eleanor.

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It's been quite the week in Lisa World. A snow day today is giving me a chance to catch my breath. I apologize for not visiting in your threads in a while. I hope to catch up soon!

>165 labfs39: Ah, Mansfield Park! It remains my favorite Austen. I did make a comment about something, but realized that I would spoil the ending and so am keeping it to myself until you finish the book.

>166 RidgewayGirl: What do you like about it, Kay? I'm finding Fanny so bland.

Oh, I know how it ends, having seen the movie. No worries!

>167 labfs39: The thing about Mansfield Park is that Edmund and Fannie end up with the wrong people (each other), since they desperately need more frivolous partners to keep them from being tiresome.

>168 RidgewayGirl: Yes, their extreme earnestness is tiresome. What do you like though? If you don't mind my pressing.

>169 labfs39: The first time I read this, I saw Frannie as not tiresome, but as a girl stuck as the poor relation and trying so hard to fulfill expectations while being very uncomfortable and shy. I've never shaken that view of her despite seeing how others could read her as insipid.

>170 RidgewayGirl: I guess I am more understanding of Austen's spirited heroines. Perhaps, too, having seen the movie first, I was expecting something different.

>171 labfs39: The movie is fun. No way is stogy Edmund as sexy as Johnny Lee Miller though.

Another lovely and apt cover illustration, this one by Gustave Caillebotte.



The Kill by Emile Zola, translated from the French by Brian Nelson
Originally published 1871, this translation 2004, 275 p.

This is the second book in the Rougon-Macquart series by publication order, but I read it in the recommended reading order, i.e. third, after Eugene Rougon. I thought this worked well as Eugene appears in this book.

"Yes, yes, that's what I said, whole neighborhoods will be melted down, and gold will stick to the fingers of those who heat and stir the mortar. Poor innocent Paris! Look how enormous it is, and how easily it falls asleep! How stupid they are, those great cities! I has no idea that an army of picks will fall upon it one of these fine mornings, and some of the big houses in the Rue d'Anjou wouldn't shine so brightly in the sunset if they knew that they've only got three or four more years to live." (p. 68)

He was the first to sell his name to a shady company, one of those companies that sprouted like poisonous toadstools on the dunghill of Imperial speculation. (p. 75)

The Kill is about the redesign of Paris by Baron Haussmann with all the attendant speculation and corruption. Aristide Rougon, reinvented as the wealthy businessman Saccard, is the epitome of grasping greed. He will do anything to keep gold flowing in and out of his legendary safe, always looking for the next big windfall. He marries for money and brings his son from a previous marriage to Paris to be raised by his new young wife. Renee spends money, not so much for enjoyment, but as an appeasement to her boredom, lethargy, and growing depravity. When money ceases to give her a thrill, she turns to her stepson, Maxime, now a handsome dilettante and dandy, to fill the emptiness.

Like during the fall of Rome, Paris during the Second Empire has become an "orgy of gold and women." Speculation has created a frenzy of extravagance that is equaled only by the unchecked excesses of pleasure-seeking. Zola reflects the depraved morality of the time in the nature that is contained within the Saccard mansion's hothouse: voluptuous, moist, and smelling like sex. His depictions of nature here are very different from those in the first book, where nature has an innocence and beauty reflective of Silvère and Miette.

Another interesting aspect of this novel was the use of gender in blurring the lines between the roles played by Maxime and Renee. Maxime is depicted as girlish, pretty, effeminate, and even a hermaphrodite. Renee on the other hand is at times bold, aggressive, and dominate with him, although not in general. Their relationship is but a symptom of a larger ill, but fascinating in a microcosm.

I have ceased to start a Zola book with expectations as to whether or not I will like it, because I am always surprised at the speed with which I am swept away. Whether in the company of Eugene and his love of power or the Saccards and their greed, I cannot help rubber-necking at the disasters that befall Zola's characters. Indeed I cannot look away.

>171 labfs39: is Mansfield Park the one where an impoverished family send their daughter to live in the house of a wealthy relative? If so that’s my least favorite Austen. I didn’t like the way the young woman was subservient to the rich relatives.

BTW I’ve never understood that “condescension “ thing the English had. Lady Whatever “condescending” to visit Y, as if it was a good thing to be grateful for. I realise that’s how it was then, but it annoys me.

>173 labfs39: This was one of my favourites in the series. Zola seems a master at matching the language pacing to the action, in the case so that the reader, as you said, is "swept away". Later, in The Sin of Abbé Mouret with the incredible descriptions of lush vegetation and growth everywhere, I found the same thing, but at an entirely different pace.

You mention the cover. I think whoever chose them for this whole series really thought it out, and did an excellent job of it.

After The Kill, I read Trollope's The Way We Live Now, as it is another exploration of nineteenth century financiers, and I wanted to do that old "compare and contrast" between greed, politics, and finance in the two countries. Although the Trollope was very good, it's no surprise that Zola won, hands down.

>174 kjuliff: I'm pretty sure the condescension thing annoyed Austen too, she doesn't have much time for snobs!

Great review of The Kill, Lisa.

>173 labfs39: Really enjoyed your reviexw of The Kill. It's the last I've read/reread on my Zola journey, which is the second for me as I'm reading in publication order. You are going much faster than I do!
The next one for me will be The Belly of Paris. I enjoyed it the first time I read if and should really make time to actually reading it rather than keeping on postponing.
What will be your next Zola stop (can't remember the recommended order, that nobody I know follows!)

>168 RidgewayGirl: Yes!

I ranked Mansfield Park at the bottom the first time I read it, but upon rereading it has become one of my favorites.

From my review the last time I read it, in 2022:

it grows on me every time I read it. I now think it's actually one of her more mature books, with tons of opportunity to read between the lines, really interesting set up of believable characters, and lots of subtle humor and authorial commentary.

Fanny herself has also grown on me. She is often described as meek and mild and maddeningly won't ever put herself first. But I didn't see her that way on this reading. I saw that she is quiet and introverted and has been taught that her opinion isn't wanted, but her interior comments are quite perceptive and intelligent. And humanizing her even more, her interior thoughts, when revealed, are often self-centered, can be petty, and stubborn. I like this.

>174 kjuliff: Yes, that's Mansfield Park. I continue on, and there is a little more insight into Fannie's thoughts, but I can't say that I am more enamored. But, I have five more hours of listening to go, so I may yet change my mind.

I wonder when the connotation of "condescension" changed from one of a favorable attention from one of higher rank to that of patronizing in a negative sense. I also wonder if the American distain for such at the time of the revolution, created a different between the two countries.

>175 SassyLassy: Though I read it long ago in college, Germinal made such a strong impression that I still consider it a favorite novel in general, as well as my favorite Zola. Of the three that I have read in the last few months, Eugene Rougon stands slightly above The Kill. I found him such an interesting character, and the pacing was perfect throughout, whereas I found the Kill to have a slight drag about a third of the way in. I am amazed at the rapidity with which Zola was able to churn out these wonderfully written novels.

I agree with you about the covers. Each so far has been perfect.

I have only read Barchester Towers, and so long ago that I have no recollection of it. I own the first two books in the Barsetshire Chronicles so I really have to excuse not to attempt that series too.

>176 wandering_star: I agree with you that Austen does not suffer snobs, but I do think she had (or at least most of her female protagonists had) a strong streak of practicality that made the desirability of being put forward by those of higher rank a necessity. In MP, Fanny is very grateful for her uncle's condescension toward William, even to recommending him to the Admiral, who further advanced William's status.

>177 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. I feel it's more of a collection of impressions than a true review, but I wanted to put in the things that most struck me so that I will remember in future. I forgot to use the new review feature in my post. I have mixed feelings about it, but will probably make the switch.

>178 raton-liseur: I have created a second series for the Rougon-Macquart series, the recommended order, and it's interesting to see where the differences lie. Sometimes there is not much difference, but The Belly of Paris is one greatly removed from the chronological order, from third to eleventh. I thank Tess and her group read for keeping me moving through the series at a decent clip. Although I'm always a little behind, I am keeping up so far. Next up is Money, continuing the story of Aristide, but you won't get to it for a while, as it is 18th in publication order.

>179 japaul22: I am just starting to feel as though the reader is getting insight into Fanny's thoughts. At the beginning she is talked about much more than talked with or even given an internal voice. I continue on in hopes of being persuaded. Thanks for sharing the snippet from your review.

My reading has dropped off over the last week or so, although the uptick in my audiobook consumption keeps my stats up. My youngest niece had her fifth birthday and her first friends party. It was a fair amount of work: I helped her write invitations, was in charge of games and crafts, and am now helping her with her thank you notes. She had a wonderful time, however, and the party gave her parents a chance to meet the three families of her closest friends. Her latest visit to the pediatric orthopedist was positive, and she has now graduated from the boot to a stiff shoe, which is nice. We've had a couple of wet snowfalls this week, which makes for heavy shoveling since it's too much for a snowblower. Somehow I managed to pull the muscles in my neck while doing so. How that is possible, I'm not sure, but I can't think of what else could account for it. So now I reek of menthol ointment and am as sore as the old lady I fear I am becoming, lol.

I have tried this year to avoid recommending a book to another reader, but I thought of you as I am reading The Curse of Pietro Houdini. This book is focused on the Nazi's, but more importantly the story as follows:

Heartfelt, powerfully engaging, and in the tradition of City of Thieves by David Benioff, The Curse of Pietro Houdini is a work of storytelling bravado: a thrilling action-packed adventure heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history, and a philosophical coming-of-age epic where a child navigates one of the most enigmatic and morally complex fronts of World War II and lives to tell the tale.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Art, World War II, Italy, Mystery, Audiobook It's a strong four Door book.

>173 labfs39: Your description of the Zola is convincing me to pick up this series, Lisa. Great comments.

Mansfield Park is the one Austen I have only read once, and I didn't find it compelling. I might give it another try this year, if I ever get started on my Austen-reading project. I don't think I've seen the film based on it, either.

I hope your neck feels better soon.

>182 JoeB1934: Thanks, Joe. I'll add it to the list.

>183 BLBera: I am quite enjoying the Zola so far, Beth. Twenty volumes has always been off-putting. I'm glad the raves about the Oxford translations and Tess's group read has finally gotten me started.

The 1999 film starring Frances O'Connor was entertaining, but took very great liberties with the plot as well as characters. I would suggest reading the book first, or, like me, you run the risk of having false impressions.

Thanks!

Saturday night, my sister and I did our part to support Canadian performing arts by attending a show by Step Crew. They are a dance and musical group that specializes in Ottawa Valley stepdance, Irish stepdance, and Tap. Two of them also play the fiddle, plus there was a percussionist, bass player, guitarist, and keyboard and pipes player. Cara Butler (center) was formerly the principal female dancer for The Chieftains. It was a very lively and entertaining show. If you have never seen a fiddle played with a hockey stick, well, leave it to the Canadians! I was unfamiliar with Ottawa Valley stepdance, but it was very fun to watch.

>185 labfs39: Now that sounds like a fun performance!

I have one movie left to see tonight for the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, I dance, but my heart is crying.

>186 markon: It was fun. Did you enjoy this year's film festival?

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, narrated by Frances Barber
Originally published 1814, narration 2008, 16 hrs, 50 min.

I'm afraid I never warmed to Mansfield Park. Jane Austen's third novel, it suffers in comparison to the first two (Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice). It was also my least favorite narrator of the three, although I don't think even a better narrator could have swayed my opinion of the work. I agree that Fannie shows more gumption toward the end in her staunch refusal of marrying Mr. Crawford, but her overall timidity and self-effacement were too much for me. I also found the ending odd, with Austen stepping in and giving a summation of the action, as though she too were tired at that point. I know there are some fans of MP here, and I'm sorry I wasn't able to join you in the fandom.

Next up: Emma, which I'm enjoying so far, although Jenny Agutter renditions of Emma and Harriet's voices are so similar that I sometimes need to backtrack to figure out who is speaking, if it's not readily apparent from context.

>185 labfs39: I have not seen a fiddle played with a hockey stick, but I would love to!

>188 labfs39: I've read people's comments to the effect of, "People think Mansfield Park is Austen's best or they hate it." I don't find that statement to be true; it fell somewhere in the lower-middle of her books for me. It doesn't come close to Pride and Prejudice or Emma, but Sense and Sensibility was probably the one that grabbed me the least.

>189 rasdhar: What was more astonishing, is that the fiddle was held and played by one person, but she would occasionally pause, and two other musicians would run up with an odd "bow" like the hockey stick, and take up playing, both at the same time on the same instrument.

>190 TadAD: So far, my ranking (on my audio revisit) from most to least favorite would be:

Pride and Prejudice
Emma
Sense and Sensibility
Mansfield Park

I am currently enjoying Emma so much, more than I remembered even.

---

Not much reading this week, almost none in fact. Life is throwing challenges left and right, and I am seeking comfort in my audiobooks of Austen works, jigsaw puzzles, and a mindless cleanup of LT series data.

It’s hard for me to choose between Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park for the honor of Austen’s worst novel.

Enjoying your Austen posts and chat. I hope things let up on you a bit.

>192 dianelouise100: I think it’s a tie between Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. In fact I confuse these two books. It’s like it’s the same people but rearranged .

>192 dianelouise100:, >194 kjuliff: I'm so glad to read this. I read Northanger Abbey a few years ago and found it dull as ditchwater.

Hello from sunny Florida! I’m on my phone, so this will be a brief update. I’ve escaped to some warm weather for a few days. Was able to do a lot of reading on the plane and today. Finished the very good but incredibly brutal book The Painted Bird and today read the entire second book in the Barroy Island quartet, White Shadow. Loved it! Perhaps even more than the first. Can’t wait to get the next one. Am nearing the end of Emma, but have less time for audio listening at the moment.

Hope everyone in the Western hemisphere can get a glimpse of the blood moon/lunar eclipse tonight.

of course we had a huge rain storm today (which was great) and its still cloudy so Ill have to miss the eclipse sounds like fun Enjoy your warm vacation

>196 labfs39: enjoy your holiday! (Hoping that’s why you’re in Fla)

>192 dianelouise100: >193 dchaikin: >194 kjuliff: >195 AlisonY: unfortunately I didn’t get any listening time in on my trip, so poor Emma was left hanging. I’m glad I had a break between Mansfield Park and Northanger Abbey or I might have stopped. Especially since I’ve read Persuasion recently.

>197 cindydavid4: We had a clear night for the lunar eclipse, but I was disappointed to be in an area with so much light pollution. I’m used to the dark northern skies.

>198 dchaikin: thanks, it was lovely to be able to nip down for a few days. I’m at the airport on my way home now. Did you get any tornados yesterday?

>199 labfs39: goodness, I wasn’t even aware of tornado danger. No, no major storms. Safe travels!

This is a book that has been on my radar for a long time, but I only acquired a copy recently. I found it a difficult book to read, often having to stop and put it aside until I recovered my equilibrium.

Published 1965, 234 p.

>201 labfs39: So the child is still being abused by those who choose not to understand, to care for , to even give him a small amount of sympathy. bah!I am glad you read it, its one I wouldnot be able to get thro, but I will now think of him all day, to give witness to him and millions of others

wonder if the author is still writing after all that

edit
He won the National Book Award for Steps in 1969 Blind Date tells the story of the Manson killings, which is where he would have been if he had not been stuck in JFK Airport dealing with improperly tagged luggage.

>201 labfs39: Great review of what sounds like a very difficult read, Lisa.

A read of The Curse of Pietro Houdini, which is one of my few Memorable Books of 2025, would go a long way for your having a more pleasant reading experience.

It undoubtedly isn't an accurate portrayal as The Painted Bird. It does portray with what seems to me to a more hopeful outcome for a young person. Of course, I don't have the background of understanding about WWII and the Holocaust that you have.

>203 cindydavid4: There was an afterward by the author (strangely placed before the story in my book), written in 1976, which talks a bit about the reception his book received. Here are some excerpts:

My purpose in writing a novel was to examine "this new language" of brutality and its consequent new counter-language of anguish and despair.

In response to claims that he didn't know English when he wrote the book, so thus must have a ghost-writer, he says:

The book would be written in English, in which I had already written two works of social psychology, having relinquished my mother tongue when I abandoned my homeland. Moreover, as English was still new to me, I could write dispassionately, free from the emotional connotation one's native language always contains.

As to any pretensions to autobiography, he writes (perhaps too defensively, in hindsight):

Because I saw myself solely as a storyteller, the first edition of The Painted Bird carried only minimal information about me and I refused to give any interviews. Yet this very stand placed me in a position of conflict. Well-intentioned writers, critics, and readers sought facts to back up their claims that the novel was autobiographical. They wanted to cast me in the role of spokesman for my generation, especially for those who had survived the war; but for me survival was an individual action that earned the survivor the right to speak only for himself. Facts about my life and my origins, I felt, should not be used to test the book's authenticity, any more than they should be used to encourage readers to read The Painted Bird.

Regarding some of the political criticisms:

Outraged editorials in State-controlled publications charged that American authorities had assigned me to write The Painted Bird for covert political purposes. These publications, ostensibly unaware that every book published in the United States must be registered by the Library of Congress, even cited the Library catalogue number as conclusive evidence that the United States government had subsidized the book. Conversely, the anti-Soviet periodicals singled out the positive light in which, they claimed, I had portrayed the Russian soldiers, as proof that the book attempted to justify the Soviet presence in Eastern Europe.

Ah, the Cold War.

>204 kidzdoc: It was unrelentingly brutal, Darryl, but interesting both in the literary sense with it's mythic elements and historically. Not so much in the sense of the Holocaust, as in what war and superstition can do to a populace traumatized by war.

>205 JoeB1934: I don't feel that there was much that is historically accurate in The Painted Bird, other than the feelings of horror it engenders. War and the glorification of the persecution of the Other are general themes, not specific. He never names the boy or the country that the book takes place in. The boy is alternately accused of being a Jew and a Gypsy. Only the two warring parties are named, setting the book in WWII.

I was just on your thread, and you've read some interesting books this year so far. I've made not of several, including The Curse of Pietro Houdini.

In this site the bio I reads seems to indicate that the book is about his experiences. He also notes that he was supposed to be in the Manson massacre but he missed his plan ( he writes a book about this) and his books stepwon the national book award in 1969, and commited suicide at age 57

Great review, Lisa. With all that horror it sounds like you took one for the team, there, although it is an interesting (albeit harrowing) plot line.

I read The Painted Bird when I was 16. I was much too young to have read it and while I wouldn't go so far as to say it traumatized me, it did embed itself in my mind and I've never forgotten it. I've never reread it (and probably won't) but whenever I'm asked about what the most memorable reads of my life are, The Painted Bird is on that list.

>207 cindydavid4: Actually Kosiński and his parents were sheltered by a kind Catholic family, and spent the war in the open, hiding behind false names.

>208 AlisonY: It took me a while to read, in part because each chapter was like a separate story (a different town or family that the boy stayed with), so it made for easy pausing, and in part simply to escape the violence.

>209 arubabookwoman: Phew. I can understand why you can't forget the book, Deborah. I think I would have been traumatized had I read it at 16. It was fairly awful at my current age!

I had read the first book in the Barroy quartet in February and enjoyed it so much that I immediately ordered the second. It arrived in time to take with me to Florida, and I read it in a day. I then borrowed the e-book of the third one, but was much less impressed. The fourth wasn't immediately available, but I do want to read it at some point.

And the third book:

>211 labfs39:, >212 labfs39: It's nice to follow your travel through this series. And it's fun to see how each one resonate differently, and how it's different from one reader from the other!
I'm waiting for the fourth one to be published in paperback to read it. I hope it will be soon!

>209 arubabookwoman: I read The Painted Bird in high school also—it was assigned, and a strange choice in retrospect. Probably the teacher wanted to get us spoiled children of the '70s out of our comfort zone, but still. It's also stuck with me, particularly some of the imagery.

Lisa, glad you got down to Florida for a breath of warm air. Do you still have snow cover? We're starting to get hints of spring, which means hints of yard work to come for me, but I'll enjoy it. I think.

>213 raton-liseur: I'm fortunate that the English translation of the fourth Barroy book is available both in paperback and e-book. I need to order one or the other.

>214 lisapeet: We only have the snow in shady areas and snowbanks left. I need to start picking up limbs and sticks this weekend. I don't want to rake until the ground is a little less spongy. I've already started planning what I want to plant in my raised bed this year. I think I'll do Swiss chard, lettuce, carrots, radishes, and nasturtiums. I will grow peas, beans, and cherry tomatoes in pots. I'm also going to try growing hanging pots of strawberries.

I read this ebook in a day, laughing out loud through the whole thing. A perfect read for vacation.

Published 2023, 334 pages, Lake Union Publishing

>215 labfs39: We often use Swiss chard to make capuns. I have nasturtiums in a pot. Not only does it look beautiful, but we also use the edible flowers for salads. We now only have hanging strawberries so that the snails can't get at them 🙈.

>216 labfs39: My first reaction to your review was to go and check if the library has it (they do) but then I stopped myself. I like lighter books in the middle of some of the heavier ones i am reading and I like vacation reads occasionally.

But I often struggle with this kind of books because of my lack of cultural background - not growing up with the same news-cycle and so on, it does not matter how much one reads, there is still something missing. There is also the problem of learning most of what I do know via books and TV and not via life - I tend to like books that reinforce that view of America and Americans and not the actual one. The end result is that I rarely find these summer reads entertaining - I miss half of the humor and some things just do not make any sense... Not sure if that even makes sense :) I think I may still get this one though and see how it goes.

>217 Ameise1: I thought the kids would get a kick out of growing flowers they can eat. Great point about the advantage of growing strawberries in a hanging basket. The slugs get enough to eat with my hostas.

>218 AnnieMod: I have to be in a receptive mood in order to make books like this fun reading for me. I do think readers familiar with Jewish attitudes might get some of the inside humor, but young adults rebelling against their parents and communities is, I think, relatively universal. How long have you lived in the US now, Annie?

This was my book club selection for March. I'll be interested to see what the members think on Monday. I have a feeling others will have appreciated it more than I.

Published 2024 by Mariner Books, 283 pages

>219 labfs39: 14.5 years (which is about half the time I spent in Bulgaria). What I miss tend to be things from the past that people know and writers don’t bother to write down. I was looking at an excerpt from a Bulgarian novel the other day and enjoying while thinking how this will never be translatable -not on the language level but because of all of the unsaid - i.e. a street name is mentioned and I know exactly what that is meant to say (for a simple example; human actions and feelings are even harder to explain easily).

I’ve requested that one from the library though so we shall see if it works. I also need to be in a special mood for that kind of books to appeal but we shall see.

>216 labfs39: This sounds like a lot of fun!
>221 AnnieMod: Really interesting point about all the additional texture that you get from knowing the context of a book. Not just imagining what the street looks like but knowing what it means.

>221 AnnieMod: I was reminded of a book that I feel is best understood by locals: Where'd You Go, Bernadette?. The first half of the book takes place in Seattle, and if you have never lived there, I think it would be hard to get the inside jokes, which to a local are very recognizable and funny. But then, it was a popular book, more than I thought warranted, so perhaps not.

>222 wandering_star: Like many of us, I like to read translated and world literature, and I know that I miss so much through lack of cultural knowledge and sometimes translation itself. Over time, if I read enough from that country, I start to understand more, but will never "get it" the way a native of that culture would. I find it especially difficult when a book references a lot of people that would be instantly knowable to others, but which I either have to gloss over, or look up.

I am nearly through my project of listening to all of Jane Austen's novels on audiobook. Here are the latest two that I have finished.



Emma by Jane Austen, narrated by Jenny Agutter
Originally published 1815, Audible 2008, 14 hrs and 45 mins

Emma is a fun book, perhaps Austen's lightest. I loved revisiting the novel, as opposed to the film, which I have seen in several variations more recently. Jenny Agutter was an okay narrator, but I think I would have enjoyed the book even more if read by Juliet Stevenson.



Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson
Finished 1803, published 1817, audiobook 2006, 8 hrs and 17 mins

This was the first time that I read Northanger Abbey and what a surprising delight! I thought it was extremely funny and witty. Austen's pokes at those who look down on novel readers and the supposed inferiority of the female mind were chortle-worthy, and her satire of gothic romances often made me laugh aloud. I don't think that I would have enjoyed it as much were it narrated by anyone other than Stevenson. What a great job she did conveying not only the different personalities, but the disparity between words and meaning.

Having enjoyed Stevenson so much in NA, I decided to wait on a copy of Persuasion with her narration. In the meantime, I am listening to something completely different, The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

>223 labfs39: loved bernadette! but hated the adaptation; it cut out so much that anyone who hadnt read the book would be loss. Pity

>224 labfs39: I've read & reread all the Austen books and Northanger Abbey is probably my favourite for rereading. My daughter loves it too. The 2007 film starring Felicity Jones & JJ Feild is delightful. Mansfield Park comes bottom on my list.

>225 cindydavid4: I haven't seen the movie, perhaps it helps understand some of the Seattle-based humor.

>226 avatiakh: I will have to watch the film with my daughter. She's a huge Austen fan as well. Mansfield Park is last on my list too.

Great comments on The Painted Bird; my reaction to it was similar; I read it years ago and would never revisit it.

I am sorry How to Read a Book didn't work for you; it hit me in just the right way at the right time, I guess.

I will be interested in hearing what you think of the Erdrich audiobook. Does the author read it?

>228 BLBera: My book club meeting to discuss How to Read a Book was postponed until next week due to the five inches of snow that fell yesterday afternoon. I had spent the weekend cleaning up the yard, pruning some shrubs, etc. and then wham! back to winter. It was very discouraging.

The Mighty Red is read by Marin Ireland. She does an okay job, although I do find her tone a bit much at times. I think she is channeling a teen who thinks she knows it all, which fits the book to a certain extent, but it does get a bit tiresome (as would listening to any teen with that attitude).

Thanks to Kerry, >226 avatiakh:, for recommending the 2007 film adaptation of Northanger Abbey. My daughter and I watched it tonight, and it was nearly as delightful as the book. Although more racy than the novel, it remains true to the sentiment and the dialogue. Felicity Jones & JJ Feild are perfect for the roles.

Speaking of adaptations, I have taken the girls to see two productions recently that were fun adaptations of children's books.

Red Riding Hood is very meta. An self-important actor is preparing to put on the play and is getting into the character of the wolf, when he is interrupted by an opinionated delivery person in a red beanie. In a series of turnabouts, the two actors play all four roles (wolf, Red, grandma, and lumberjack), and they also switch roles several times. Both nieces loved it, although the eight year old caught more of the humor. Very fun, and since we have been discussing fairy tale adaptations this year, it fit nicely into our curriculum.

A Year with Frog and Toad is a musical retelling of four of the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. In the spring, Frog and Toad wake from their hibernation, in summer Toad goes swimming in his funny bathing suit, in fall they rake leaves, and in winter go sledding, etc. Three additional actors play other woodland creatures. A jazzy score had me whistling as we left the theatre. Another hit!



Scroll down on both links for short videos.

Frog and Toad!

I want to come to your school!

I want to see the plays!

>215 labfs39: Years ago, my tenant grew strawberries in hanging bags, which she put up on the fence between our yard and the neighhbor's. I don't think they did great, probably because she didn't really tend to them. But she left a few when she moved out, and I'm thinking of giving them a try.

Interesting about the Seattle-centricness of Where'd You Go, Bernadette?. I read it and thought it was fun, but it left me a little flat... maybe that's why.

I LOVE Frog and Toad!

>229 labfs39: I asked about the narrator of the Erdrich book because I've listened to her read some of them, and her voice puts me to sleep.
Some authors shouldn't read their own work.

I am listening to Rachel Kushner read Creation Lake right now, and she is excellent. In fact, I think my attitude toward the narrator is more positive than it might be if I were reading the book.

>236 BLBera: I think my attitude toward the narrator is more positive than it might be if I were reading the book.
Not a high bar, heh... she's kind of a jerk on the page. But an interesting one, at least.

>230 labfs39: Oh so happy you liked the film, I have to watch it again. I generally watch some of the Austen films each summer, though I skipped it this year. There's an Austen challenge in the April TIOLI and I'm doing a shared read of Northanger Abbey, an Austen Project book by Val McDermid.

>231 labfs39: Those plays sound really fun.

>232 RidgewayGirl: >233 cindydavid4: >234 markon: One of the things I love about homeschooling my nieces is that I get to revisit some childhood classics, as well as become acquainted with new gems in children's literature.

>235 lisapeet: I'm afraid I may have jumped the gun with my gardening plans. After doing some garden cleanup last weekend, it snowed 5", but undeterred I continued cleaning up leaves after it melted, and now we are getting another spring snow storm. I ran around last night putting "blankets" on the few bulbs that had had the temerity to sprout, for without their leave covering, I was afraid they would freeze.

>236 BLBera: Some authors shouldn't read their own work. I agree, Beth. Colum McCann reading Apeirogon was a DNF for me. I had to switch to paper. Abraham Verghese and Brian Jacques, however, are two authors that I think do a fantastic job.

>238 avatiakh: I haven't looked at the April TIOLI yet (I usually just try to plug in what I am already reading, rather than plan per the challenges), but I tempted to join you on the McDermid book. I'm not ready to leave Northanger Abbey!

I know how much children's literature you read, Kerry. Do you also attend children's programming?

My reading has stalled since I returned from Florida. Between the news and the weather, I find myself once again in the doldrums. I'm also sleeping less, partially due to the time change? Anyway, I continue to pick away at Do Not Say We Have Nothing, which is a novel set in China during the 50s and 60s and the late 90s in Canada. A young girl is learning her family history, with her father suffering during the Cultural Revolution and her cousin on the run after Tiananmen Square. It has revived my interest in returning to Dikotter's histories, but I'm having a hard time focusing for long.

In audio land I have set aside The Mighty Red for a moment, because my hold on Persuasion, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, came into my Libby mailbox. Although I read it recently, I am enjoying listening to it as the final installation of my Austen audio project.

In homeschooling, we had a busy week outside the classroom with A Year with Frog and Toad on Monday, a class for kids on staying safe and self-defense against predators ("tricky adults") on Wednesday, and a visit to a Maple Syrup House on Friday. In class we are finishing up our first foray into Chinese history with Yu's canals on the Yellow River and the Xia and Shang dynasties, the older one learned to add and subtract fractions, the younger is rocking the concept of tens and ones, and we started a new daily art project with 365 Days of Art in Nature.

Some recently read books:



And finally, here's a photo of our final Stonehenge project. The rocks are made of sand dough, which when dried are as hard as rocks, and which we dyed for the proper blue tint on the inner rocks.



Last night, I went to a local high school performance of Grease, a fun musical. I was amazed at the quality of the singing and sets, as well as the five piece band that played on an elevated stage throughout the performance.

>240 labfs39: Stonehenge sure looks great!

You deserve an award as the G.O.A.T grandmother teaching her grandchildren, and of course her children, about being curious and diversified in life.

That high school performance sounds amazing, Lisa.

One of the things I loved about reading with my granddaughter was finding new children's books and authors.

I received this book as part of the Early Reviewer program. It took me a long time to make my way through this tome, but I'm finally done and posting an overdue review.

Published 2024 by Gefen Publishing, 655 p.

>244 labfs39: I can see that this is an important historical work and probably not for the regular reader without a special interest. Still, so good to have accounts like this, where people survived, on record.

I know you're a fan of this press and don't have a subscription, so:

Archipelago Books and its children's books line, Elsewhere Editions, recently joined New York Review Books as a distributed press. To celebrate, titles published by Archipelago Books and Elsewhere Editions are on sale now through Sunday, March 30 at midnight ET. Buy 2 books to save 20%, 3 books to save 30%, or 4+ books to save 40%. Spend $75 or more for free US shipping.

https://www.nyrb.com/collections/archipelago-books

>239 labfs39: I'm afraid I may have jumped the gun with my gardening plans.

you and me both with the crazy record temps then with surprise frost nips, I have no idea when to start. we used to have two plating season October for cool plants and February for warm.The plants and the bugs that depend on them are very confused

>241 Fourpawz2: Thanks!

>242 JoeB1934: Thanks, Joe, although it would be GOAT aunt, not grandmother. My sister was born on my 17th birthday, so although I'm technically old enough to be their grandmother, I'm not, a distinction I am quick to clarify! :-)

>243 BLBera: Although I have not attended many high school performances, I was impressed, especially when compared to my own high school's nonexistent theater.

I'm glad of the excuse to keep reading children's books. There are some excellent ones being published. I love hearing what you and Scout are reading, for it gives me some ideas for down the road. She is three? years older than my eldest niece, I think.

>245 RidgewayGirl: Exactly, Kay. It's the type of book I struggle to rate, as it is a book that I appreciated but did not enjoy due to it's format and size. A good example for Sassy's Avid Reader Question.

>246 ELiz_M: Ooh, thanks, Liz. I do love a good Archipelago sale!

>247 cindydavid4: Although spring snow is not uncommon in Maine, I really thought we were past it this year. We ended up with 4-5" yesterday and now we have intermittent rain/sleet/freezing rain for the next 24 hours. Next week should be warm enough to melt everything, I just hope we don't lose power today. The limbs are heavy with snow, and if we get freezing rain, we're sunk.

>240 labfs39: 365 Days of Art in Nature
This got my attention enough to click through for illustrations.

>248 labfs39: born on my 17th birthday
Huh. My brother was born on my 3rd birthday.

>249 qebo: The 365 Days of Art book is part of a series. It could definitely be used with adults as well as children. I photocopy the pages so that their media does not bleed through. I let the girls alternate picking a number, and we do that day's activity. I should have clarified that it was a book of prompts, not actual artwork. For the latter books I own that you might like include


Nature and Numbers: A Mathematical Photo Shooting by Georg Glaeser


Natural histories : notable illustrated books from the American Museum of Natural History Library

Their should be a term for siblings who share birthdays, just not the same one.

>250 labfs39: that you might like... Nature and Numbers: A Mathematical Photo Shooting
Sigh, BB.

>251 qebo: lol. Gotcha!

And I meant to add that Natural histories : notable illustrated books from the American Museum of Natural History Library is a box containing "40 extraordinary prints suitable for framing and facsimile items inside bound-in envelopes" as well as a book.

Scout is 11, Lisa. Right now she is reading The Hunger Games, which I wondered about, but her mom says she is fascinated, so...

Great comments on Tunnel of Hope; mine were similar. I found it to be a slow read, but it is important to document things like this.

>253 BLBera: And my niece is 8, so three years was right. Right now she is enamored with the Spy School books by Stuart Gibbs. She read D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, so I thought she would like The Lightning Thief. She's about halfway, but seems to have set it aside. I'll check in with her about it tomorrow. She was reading it aloud to me, perhaps she's waiting for me.

Tunnel of Hope is very valuable from that standpoint. I hope she created a database as well. So much information there. The book did a good job of individualizing the escapees, making them people and not merely a statistic.