Joe's Third Book Cafe of 2025

The Pittsburgh clan: Adriana, Rafa, Fina and son Jesse (JNW III) at Niagara Falls

December 2024

111. The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami. Five stars. See review in a prior cafe.

112. Pacita Abad edited by Victoria Sung. A 30 year retrospective of this outstanding fabric artist’s work, with scholarly and journalistic commentary. Go see this Filipino-American’s art if you get a chance.

113. Love Everlasting Vol. 1 by Tom King.* A collection of unusual romance stories. Joan Peterson repeatedly falls in love and gets marriage offers, but something odd is going on. And if she says no to the proposal, she gets shot and killed by a mysterious cowboy, only to pop up again in a new romantic situation.. The end of this volume hints at an explanation, but I’ll have to read the next one to find out what the heck is going on.

114. Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I loved this warm little charmer. The vignettes from its premise of brief time travel visits feel genuine and deep, particularly the last one about an unfulfilled romance. There are two more books after Before the Coffee Gets Cold and this one. I plan to track them down.

115. I Refused to Be a War Bride by Howard Norman. An ARC. A quirky noir-toned GN that I got a kick out of. Detective Jonathan Levy and art photographer Alexa intend to get married, and banter like Nick and Nora. An elderly woman enlists their help to find her daughter. The scope of the story is modest but well done, as are the drawings. It reminded me a bit of Britten and Brulightly. Howard Norman is the talented author of The Bird Artist.

116. The Bletchley Riddle by Ruth Sepetys (Salt to the Sea) and a partner. Teen siblings Jakob and Liz are invited to help at Bletchley Park during WWII. Both are insightful decoders, although Liz ends up as an among-the-huts messenger due to her age. She is convinced that her mother didn’t die when the Nazis invaded Poland, and is determined to find her. Coded messages that show up indicate that she may be right. Their efforts to help crack the Germans’ Enigma coding machine, to thwart the Nazis plans to invade England, and to find their mother, make for another engrossing story from this top YA author.

117. The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose. A sweet holiday charmer featuring her investigative maid Molly Gray.

118. Chaos Agent by Mark Greaney. This thriller featuring The Gray Man (whom Ryan Gosling played in a recent movie) was okay. A military AI is developed that can run ops without human intervention and, predictably, it sheds all control and becomes a danger to all of us.. This book kept me turning the pages , but had two much detail about nonhuman everything - guns, software, hardware, warehouses, offie buildings. It’s the humans that interest me.

119. Life is Strange Forget-Me-Nots by Zoe Thorogood. In the second Life is Strange GN lesbian couple Alex and Steph have left their hometown and gone on the road with their Manic Pixies band. They soon meet up with a troubled little girl named Lily who has psychic powers and needs their help. She can take away people’s sad memories, but they then store in her and are overwhelming her.. Their adventures in helping her are a large part of their story, with them temporarily returning to their hometown town at the end. No great shakes, but pretty good. Still a GN author worth watching after her more ground-breaking Loneliness at the Center of the Earth and Impending Blindness of Billie Scott.

120. John the Skeleton* by Triinu Laan. An award-winning children’s book translated from the Estonian. John is a classroom skeleton finally retired to Grandma and Grandpa’s farm. There he becomes part of the family, going on car drives and hanging out on the porch, even scaring away criminals at one point. A quirky, matter of fact story about the joys of a family, including chosen family.

121. Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers. A children’s book about living on Earth featuring his friendly, spontaneous-seeming illustrations. Very appealing. The messages are there is plenty to learn and ask about, and you are never alone.

122. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok. What a wondrous, wonderful book. This author understands, and loves, art. Asher Lev is an Orthodox Jew filled to the brim with artistic creativity, which puts him in conflict with his religion, his parents, his family, his community. And yet God has given him a gift: he must draw, he must paint, even though it may offend or confuse others. Returning from his peaceful home in the south of France to Brooklyn for a beloved uncle’s funeral, he is re-immersed in all the conflicts he had seemingly escaped. Meanwhile, his children bond strongly with his parents, and his Holocaust-survivor wife finds joy and friendship in the Hasidic community. He is torn both artistically and emotionally. What a rich world Potok gives us, and what an unforgettable story. I must read more of this author. His follow-up to The Chosen, called The Promise, is next on my list.

2025

January 2025

1. God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A pretty good mystery about two children from the same well-off family who disappeared in the woods about ten years apart. I was a little disappointed after the raves and commercial success. It was fine, but it felt like the set-up of all the pieces went on and on. I did like several of the characters, including young detetective Judyta Luptack, who has to deal with sexism and being underestimated because of her age. I would read another one featuring her.

2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey. A beautifully, poetically written novel centering around six men and women astronauts on an orbiting space station, observing the beauty of our world from high above as they take scrupulous care of their new orbiting home. In the book’s one day they experience sixteen sunrises and sunsets as they hurtle on their path. We get into their daily routine, including hard exercise to maintain some muscle tone in weightlessness, and get glimpses of their lives and loved ones back on earth. What makes this one stand out is how the author draws us in to her rhythmic language and a high altitude perspective on our tiny, vital lives and the spectacular universe we live in. A spacewalk outside the station is transcendingly lovely. My first 5 star read of ‘25.

3. When the Sea Came Alive: an Oral History of D-Day by Garrett Graff.

Much of the D-Day planning was a chess match, as the allies attempted to disguise (sometimes elaborately) their libration assault on France’s coast, an assault Hitler and his generals knew must be coming.

“The final major secret at the core of Operation OVERLORD was that the Allies didn’t plan to capture or target a key harbor in the opening of the invasion. German officials believed that places like Pas-de-Calais or Cherbourg would be vital early targets of the Allies in order to secure the port facilities.”

As I mentioned along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed this oral history of WWII’s D-Day, including events preceding and after. Graff has skillfully woven together what was said at the time by soldiers, sailors, pilots, civilians, generals, admirals, politicians, the lowest levels and the highest, and media reports. His concise transitional bridges give the essentials without fuss. The result is a great way to arm chair experience one of the most momentous times in our history, and a turning point in WWII.

4. Now or Never by Janet Evanovich. The 31st Stephanie Plum mystery, centering around her pursuit of a killer (who jumped bond) who thinks he’s a vampire. I stopped reading the series for several books but resumed with the one before this one, without having missed much. This one’s predecessor really caught my attention when the eternal love triangle between her, Joe Morelli and the dangerous Ranger actually moved toward resolution, with both of them proposing to her. In this one, she accepts one of the two..

The plot formula remains much the same, with lots of chuckles with Lula and others, but she introduces a new character, Herbert, who’s infatuated with Stephanie and a loquacious pest. His rambles about his high self worth and desirability, and opinions about nearly everything, are funny and wear well. Debbi and I hope he becomes a continuing character in the series.

5. Brittle Joints by Maria Sweeney. A good GN about the poor author’s highly unusual brittle bone disease about how she painfully negotiates every day, endures ignorant comments, and manages to put together a sustainable life.

6. Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. For readers of this author’s Inheritance Game series, this collection of short pieces is rewarding reading. It includes the prequel novella
The Same Backward as Forward. That novella is one of the highlights of the book, as it winningly explains the relationship between the main character Avery’s mother and adoptive father Toby Hawthorne/Harry the homeless man who plays chess with Avery. . The series books give only glimpses of why some things are the way they are, in favor of keeping the plot sleek. These stories fill in many of the blanks, and have their own charm. I particularly enjoyed Avery and Jameson using the streets of Prague as a personal board game. The book, like the series, is filled with puzzles to be solved, with the solutions well-explained. Good book for those enduring cold winter days.

7. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarrows. This is the third in the author’s Fourth Wing series, and as with the first two, she has readers flying through the pages. Her writing is propulsive and wry, rather than poetic.

“To the ones who don’t run with the popular crowd, the ones who get caught reading under their desks, the ones who feel like they never get invited, included, or represented. Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.“

*****

“Oh gods, just stop flirting and fuck already,” Ridoc says. Every head slowly turns in his direction. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” he asks me in a hushed whisper. “Oh yeah, you did,” I reply, patting him on his back. “Garrick’s going to blow you off the mat.” “Now that I might enjoy, depending on the method he chooses—” Ridoc winces. “I’m going to stop talking now.”

****

One again, Violet and her powerful paramour Xaden have to climb on their telepathically-connected dragons to battle the good people gone bad venin, while also pursuing diplomacy with reluctant potential allies.

There are many interesting characters besides those two in this rip-roaring saga, including Theophanie, a storm-wielding Mage hoping to convert lightning-wielding Violet to the venin cause.

There is humor, heartbreak, family drama, romance and more in these effulgent books, and bookish Scribe-wannabe Violet, pressed into leadership, is a character worthy of our commitment. Can’t wait for the next one!

8. Rare Flavours by Ram V. An ifrit (demon) recruits a young filmmaker to accompany him as he visits various eating establishments and talks about the history of the food and its flavor. The young man is thrown into a quandary when he learns that the ifrit includes people in his diet. This unusual premise results in a very fine graphic novel, complete with mouth-watering recipes (recipes for eating people not included). A fun recommendation from brother Mark.

February 2025

9. Halcyon by Ron Rege. An unusual GN, both graphically and in its storytelling. The graphics have been described as “psychedelic”, but that’s not quite right, nor is “swirly-vescent”, which isn’t even a word, for goodness’ sake. (This book forced me to make it up). A boy and a girl (who are intended to be nonbinary) are on a journey that turns out to be spiritual. Following that journey was challenging at times, as there are few words. For a large swatch of it we seem to be in a bizarre videogame. This is an idiosyncratic and distinctive book. Those up for a challenge will experience something different from the more typical GN fare.

10. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. An imagining of the circumstances of the never-explained 11 day disappearance of famous mystery writer Agath Christie. It is quite plausible, focusing in part on the misdeeds of her first husband. A good read for Dame Agatha, with true-to-life nuggets like her learning to surf(!)

11. First Test by Tamora Pierce.* Good graphic adaptation of the story of young Kel, a rare girl in a program full of boys training for knighthood. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her hero Alanna, the Lioness, a female knight and Protector of the Kingdom. We used to read the Alanna books with iur young daughter back in the day, swapping copies around and iscusding the stories. Kel has much of Alanna’s charisma and determination, and in intervening against bullying, manages to organize the bullied into an effective counter to their tormenters. I enjoyed this revisit with Pierce’s storytelling.

12. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. A beaut of a book recommended by brother Mark. Charlotte grew up as an outsider after a childhood of abandonment, but fate brought her to a man who appreciated and deeply loved her differences.

13. Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb. A former member of “the Twelve”, a skilled rebel group during the Urban Wars, feeling mistreated, wants to kill the other members many years later. Dallas and Peabody are after him, although his acquired skills make him slippery. Another good one in this long-running series.

14. Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish.* An affecting story of two lonely women, one a single mom, trying to make their way in a difficult world. One hopes for more from the relationship than the other is initially prepared for. The strongly colored graphics are a plus, with idiosyncratic character depictions.

15. Brittle Joints, a graphic memoir by Maria Sweeney.* The author suffers from a rare combination of two diseases that make her bones extremely fragile and painful. Very much a “count your blessings” and “how in the world does she keep pushing” kind of book for me. In well done art we find out how she negotiates life, continues seeking relief, and finds periods of joy, including finding a patient, caring boyfriend. Well worth the read.

16. Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire.*. An entertaining sci-fi noir GN. Like Mark, I’m a Jeff Lemire fan. He’s known for gritty blue collar graphic stories like Essex County, so this is a departure, although he also did the very good Descender/Ascender sci-fi GN series.

>17 katiekrug:. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. What an excellent and extremely moving book this is. Set in German-occupied France during WWII, it follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabella, as they try to survive the deprivation, cruelty and atrocities. Vianne is determined to protect her daughter and home to which she hopes her captured soldier husband will return; Isabella is determined to somehow strike back against the Germans. By bringing us into their daily lives, Hannah vividly shows us how much we need to count our blessings. It’s a harrowing read, but also extremely rewarding. The treatment of the Jews is the stuff of nightmares. The sheer persistence of the sisters is heroic, and they also manage to help others threatened with death and deportation. This is one of those where I’d give more than 5 stars if I could.

18. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore. This is a pleasant read about a passionate teen romance that left one devastated and the other either dead or far, far away, and an abandoned foursome of siblings being raised by the eldest sister. The characters, including a grumpy old neighbor who goes through a lot of challenges and changes, and a survivalist teacher who’s charming but hiding something, grew on me, and the many book references added to the casual good time.

19. Blurry by Dash Shaw.*. A GN about pretty mundane moments in people’s lives that somehow makes it all interesting. It covers:

A man can’t decide between two dress shirts for a wedding.
A woman questions the style of her new glasses.
A teacher considers quitting teaching.
A figure-drawing model considers quitting modeling.
A man drives into a fog bank and is unsure how to get home.

Maybe its secret sauce is that we can all relate.

March 2025

20. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. A novel by the author of The Midnight Library. Grace Winters has become stuck in mud due to unwarranted guilt over her young son’s bike-riding accident and a brief betrayal of her late husband. Than a small house is left her on the gorgeous island of Ibiza. What she finds there reminded me of my old days of reading Carlos Castaneda. It results in quite an awakening and departure from the mud, as Grace is enlisted in a fight to save the island’s natural beauty from overly aggressive hotel development.

Haig is adept at maintaining the reading momentum. I enjoyed this morality tale that reminds us about how guilt from the past can hobble us, and the pleasures freedom from it can bring.

21. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. A fascinating look at bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder by a clinical psychologist who suffers from it herself. She’s frank about her struggles to lead a productive (and strikingly successful) life, and her foolish mistakes along the way. One was resisting taking her necessary medication. She has another book about the fine line between exceptional creativity and madness (e.g. Van Gogh), called Touched With Fire, which I’ll add to my wishlist.

22. Water, Water by Billy Collins. Another excellent collection from our country’s premier poet (IMO). Some poems are slight and fluffy, but not many. My copy is bristling with post-its for ones I want to revisit. He’s known for his poems’ accessibility, but they often have surprising depth. And he often sends me to Google or the dictionary to better understand what he is referencing. What a gift - He’s one of three people I’d like to be. (Springsteen and Yo- Yo Ma are the other two). (Also Mary Oliver when she was alive).

23. The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman. The third short novella in her Bookstore series. Okay but not as satisfying as the first two.

24. Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty. The eighth Sean Duffy mystery is set in Northern and Southern Ireland, and partially in Scotland where Duffy now lives. What a corker! What appears to be a carjacking turned fatally violent is actually a disguised murder that Duffy and his CID pal Crabbie doggedly pursue. Duffy is a virtuoso at annoying everyone but the reader and his common law wife Beth. His unflagging curiosity and often reckless bravery make for a joyous read, one of the best in the series.

25. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. A pleasant read, but no great shakes. Female members of the Detection Club of mystery writers band together to solve a real life murder: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and the Scarlet Pimpernel author, Baroness Orczy. It’s a fun way to learn a little about each and their lives, and to imagine all of them using their mental prowess to take down a real life murderer. Sayers is the narrator, and we learn more about her than the others. Fans of this era of mystery-writing will have a good time.

26. We Do Not Part by Han Kang. A Nobel Prize winner relating to the effect on three women (mother, daughter, daughter’s friend) of a little known piece of South Korea history - the 1948 massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The U.S. was in charge, and the impetus was fear that Communism was taking root. Carried out by young right wing Koreans, it reminded me of Hitler’s lackeys: ruthless, barbaric, power-mad.

The writing is poetic, the story drifts between dream and reality. The book is worthy of much respect, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. This took me back to the days of homework for class.

27. Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz. The new Orphan X thriller. Orphan X, aka The Nowhere Man, is an omnicompetent former assassin who now helps those who have no other hope. Normally stoic and efficient, the author after several series books is expanding his emotional range, first by pitting him against his one close friend, Tommy Stojack, a bespoke arms manufacturer.

What to do when a close longtime friend crosses the line by helping a dangerous villain? In X’s world, do you have to kill him? X even helps his 17 year old hacker assistant Joey with her social problems, just because she means enough to him.

There’s still plenty of bang bang gunplay, with the latest gun tech, and plenty of close hand to hand combat, with both X and Tommy accommodating a long list of past injuries. Perhaps the best part for me is the insider’s view of a small gang of racist young Maga types, who, as a sarcastic sister says, are busy trying to protecting white ethnocentricity from the couch while unemployed. One of the Magas is a friend’s son who Tommy is trying to help while skirmishing with X. He and X try to figure out a just result while figuring out whether one of them has to die.

28. The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry edited by Stephen Mitchell.i

29. Firebugs by Nino Bulling.*. A well done graphic novel about a queer woman, thinking about transitioning to a man, and her girlfriend, and how their relationship evolves. I liked the loose, flowing artwork.

30. The Women by Kristin Hannah.

31. Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. Well done historical novel by the author of The Paris Library. American Heiress Anne Morgan is determined to help France recover after the first World War, and building libraries in the bombed out north, and training librarians are featured in her plan. She enlists the help of young Jessie Carson fron the NYPL, who quickly matures into a force, transforming France’s library system.

The old system, run by men, ignored children and reflected the belief that the upper class and working class read different books and would not mingle. Carson overcame much resistance in creating children’s sections and open stacks, and training students in American library principles. The book brings to life a neglected historical figure, along with Morgan and others. A pleasant read that reminded me of the author Marie Benedict.

32. Time of the Child by Niall Williams. A very Irish tale, set in the author’s fictional coastal town of Faha, last visited in his This is Happiness. Ther are two prominent story threads: the local church’s beloved Canon is descending into dementia, and a baby is abandoned by the church gate. What to do?

The baby is brought to the town doctor and his daughter, who fall in love with it but know they normallly wouldn’t be allowed to keep her. At the same time, the Church’s young curate is pressing the doctor to sign off on institutionalizing the Canon, which the doctor resists. The storytelling is like gently running water, with regular glimpses of shining wisdom gems. Very soothing on a cold spring day. The resolution makes sense and fits Faha. This author has the gift of the gab, and a lot of insights into Faha’s inhabitants which both entertain and have application in the wider world.

33. Midnight Black by Mark Greaney. A solid new thriller featuring the Gray Man trying to break his sweetheart Zoya, also a skilled agent, out of a Russian prison. Even getting into Russia undetected is near-impossible, and freeing her on his own probably a suicide mission. Luckily he picks up some help along the way including from Russian resistance fighters hoping to impede and to some day topple the Putin-like Russian leader and to help the Ukrainians in the ongoing war with Russia. The first half struck me as overly detailed in its setup, but the action-packed second half made up for it.

34. Diviners Bow by Sharon Lee. A welcome new entry in the long-running Liaden Universe series. Shan yos Galan and his daughter heir Padi are on the long-isolated planet Colomeny, hoping to turn it into a thriving trade post. The planet’s inhabitants seem in favor, but someone is pulling dirty tricks to obstruct. Meanwhile the planet’s power-affecting ambient Ribbons have to be dealt with as they cause diverse, sometimes dangerous effects. As always I enjoyed the relationships and problem-solving. The series always features kindness and caring, and interesting characters. Here, many new characters are introduced which,at times, were a challenge to remember and place. Another good adventure with Clan Korval. Can’t wait for the next one.

*Signifies a graphic or illustrated book

Poem: "Books," by Billy Collins, from Sailing Alone Around the Room (Random House).

Books

From the heart of this dark, evacuated campus
I can hear the library humming in the night,
a choir of authors murmuring inside their books
along the unlit, alphabetical shelves,
Giovanni Pontano next to Pope, Dumas next to his son,
each one stitched into his own private coat,
together forming a low, gigantic chord of language.

I picture a figure in the act of reading,
shoes on a desk, head tilted into the wind of a book,
a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie
as the suicide of lovers saturates a page,
or lighting a cigarette in the middle of a theorem.
He moves from paragraph to paragraph
as if touring a house of endless, paneled rooms.

I hear the voice of my mother reading to me
from a chair facing the bed, books about horses and dogs,
and inside her voice lie other distant sounds,
the horrors of a stable ablaze in the night,
a bark that is moving toward the brink of speech.

I watch myself building bookshelves in college,
walls within walls, as rain soaks New England,
or standing in a bookstore in a trench coat.

I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves,
straining in circles of light to find more light
until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs
that we follow across a page of fresh snow;

when evening is shadowing the forest
and small birds flutter down to consume the crumbs,
we have to listen hard to hear the voices
of the boy and his sister receding into the woods.

Today’s Bargain: The Hard Way by Lee Child for $1.99 on e-readers. I love the Reacher books, and this is a good ‘un.

Happy new thread, Joe!

Happy New thread!

Happy New thread!

>7 drneutron:. Thanks, Jim!

>8 SandDune:, >9 SandDune:. Thanks, Rhian!

Happy new cafe, Joe. You've been reading up a storm this year.

Happy new thread!

>2 jnwelch: Aww. Quite adorable and they look like they get along.

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread Joe. Love and hugs to you and Debbi from both of us mate.

>11 ffortsa:. Thanks, Judy! So many good books out there! I’m now very much appreciating An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison, a clinical psychologist writing about treating bipolar disorder and her own experiences while suffering from it. Fascinating.

>12 foggidawn:. Thanks, foggi!

>13 figsfromthistle:. Ha! Thanks, Anita! Those two do get along. He’s two years older and used to push her around a bit when they were younger, until she stood her ground and he realized she was as strong as he was.😀

>14 johnsimpson:. Thanks, buddy. Love and hugs from Debbi and me to you and Karen.

Happy new one, Joe

Happy new thread, Joe.

Happy New Thread, Joe. All we need for a topper is Rafa & Fina. ❤️

Like I mentioned in a text, I am having a good time with The Illustrated Man.

Happy new thread Joe!

>16 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley.

>17 katiekrug:. Gracias, Katie.

>18 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I did think Rafa and Fina were the most important thing to have in the new cafe. What could be better? Maybe more Rafa and Fina. Check back later.

I’m so glad you’re reading and enjoying The Illustrated Man! A very fond memory from my early years.

I finished the most excellent An Unquiet Mind. I think I’ll read some Alice Hoffman next.

>19 quondame:. Thanks, Susan!

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison.

A fascinating look at bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder by a clinical psychologist who suffers from it herself. She’s frank about her struggles to lead a productive (and strikingly successful) life, and her foolish mistakes along the way. One was resisting taking her necessary medication. She has another book about the fine line between exceptional creativity and madness (e.g. Van Gogh), called Touched With Fire, which I’ll add to my wishlist.

>21 jnwelch: Touched with Fire sounds like a likely candidate to be enshrined on The WANT List™, Joe. I'll present it to the committee.

Happy new thread, Joe.

>2 jnwelch: Gorgeous kids! A rightly proud Grandpa.

>4 jnwelch: That is one of my favourite of his collections in my possession. Pitch perfect.

>22 weird_O:. Doesn’t Touched With Fire sound intriguing, Bill? Best of luck with the committee.

>23 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, Paul.

Agreed re those grandlittles. We’ve decided to keep them.

Isn’t that a good one from Billy Collins? I love that collection. Did you ever read his Victoria’s Secret poem? It’s too long to post, but Debbi and I found it hilarious.

Here it is:

https://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/cae_core/links/collinsvictoria.htm

>24 jnwelch: I know the poem, Joe, and can confirm that I have spent less time with the catalogue than Mr. Collins obviously has!

This is my favourite part from it, I think:

Perhaps her ice cream has tumbled
out of its cone onto the parquet floor.
Perhaps she has been waiting all day
for a new sofa to be delivered,
waiting all day in stretch lace hipster
with lattice edging, satin frog closures,
velvet scrollwork, cuffed ankles,
flare silhouette, and knotted shoulder straps
available in black, champagne, almond,
cinnabar, plum, bronze, mocha,
peach, ivory, caramel, blush, butter, rose, and periwinkle.
It is, of course, impossible to say,
impossible to know what she is thinking,
why her mouth is the shape of petulance.

>25 PaulCranswick:. Your excerpt made me chuckle all over again, Paul. I love his descriptions of the models and what they’re wearing. Such a clever poem! There must have been some research involved; I don’t remember the catalog having the kind of descriptive detail that he provides for the lingerie.

I’m glad you enjoyed that one, too. I was going to wish you a good day, but with the time difference I suspect you’re well into nighttime.

>26 jnwelch: I'm not much of a sleeper, Joe, so wishes are always timely for me!

>27 jnwelch: I love that. I think reading to my kids at bedtime were some of my happiest times as a Dad. All three read still although the very bookish Kyran prefers his books to be of the audible type.

>28 PaulCranswick:😀. Good to know nighttime hours are not a problem, Paul. Debbi and I are in a local cafe having coffee and tea, reading and writing.

I’m with you on reading to the kids. Becca loved being read Nancy Drew and has displaced me as the highest volume reader in our family (I’ve slowed down). Jesse loved being read the Oz books and the Magic Treehouse books. He also reads a lot as a grownup, in particular sharing my affinity for sci-fi and graphic novels. Now his son Rafa is voraciously reading the Magic Treehouse books on his own. (Jesse read the Oz books to him).

Today’s Bargains: Wool by Hugh Howey for $1.99 on e-readers, and The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa for $2.99. The post-apocalyptic first was adapted into the popular Silo tv series, and, like The Martian, was first self-published. The second is a charming story of a professor with short term memory problems who befriends his young housekeeper and her son. I’d actually rather you buy it in hard copy ( lovely cover), but this way you can read it cheap and, if you agree with me, can buy your hard copy later.

I’m very much enjoying Billy Collins’ newest collection of poems, Water, Water.He’s deceptively simple and accessible; his wide range of knowledge keeps sending me to Google and the dictionary- which adds to the pleasure of reading him.

>30 jnwelch: I saw The Housekeeper and the Professor and immediately went to my library to request it. I read that there was a movie made from it (in English, The Professor and His Beloved Equation) but it’s not available on any streaming service that I can see.

I really enjoy seeing what treasures you find—thank you!

Karen O

>30 jnwelch: Thanks for the nudge. I thought I had the Ogawa, but didn't, so I went over and picked it up on Kindle.

Whew! Finally caught up on the threads and now I have a booklist - another one.
Haven’t thought of The Prisoner and dishy Patrick McGoohan in years. He was also in Disney’s ”Thomasina” which I loved.

Anyway, happy new thread Joe!

>34 NarratorLady: The one i miss and wish i could see again is McGoohan as The Scarecrow in "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh"

Another Disney try at creating another "Zorro" but McGoohan was so great in it

>32 klobrien2:. Hi, Karen. Oh, that’s great to hear. I enjoy featuring book trips I’ve taken, or want to take (for a good price!), and it makes me happy that you enjoy seeing what treasures I find. If time permits, please let me know what you think of the Ogawa. That one was located on a little side road among the trees, and I couldn’t resist taking a look.

I didn’t know about the movie (that odd title must be a translation) so I’ll be on the lookout for it, too.

>33 ffortsa:. Great to hear, Judy. Please let me know what you think of it if you get a chance. Are you and Jim still thinking about an April visit?

>34 NarratorLady:. Thanks, Anne! I wondered what else dishy Patrick McGoogan had done. He’s excellent in the Prisoner, which I’m rewatching now, thanks to Amber.

I must say, on rewatch, Patrick may look dishy, but the women’s outfits and hairstyles from that era are singularly unappealing.

>35 magicians_nephew:. Wow! I loved the Scarecrow! I’d completely forgotten that, Jim. You could charge money for that memory of yours. The Scarecrow! I wonder whether we can find that anywhere streaming. McGooghan was great in that, agreed. Oh man, i hope it’s retrievable somewhere.

Today’s Bargain: Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh for $0.99 on e-readers. The author is one of the Queens in Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime, and this one sounds like fun. I think we’re all boycotting Amazon this week, so I’m busy rationalizing the dollar minus one.

A list of Top Ten Historical Novels that I can heartily endorse:

https://likewise.com/articles/10-greatest-historical-fiction-novels-of-all-time

I loved each one of these.

>2 jnwelch: As always, I find the family's pictures lovely and the grandchildren's pictures adorable. Grands are grand, aren't they?

>41 mckait:. Hiya, Kath! Yes, having grands is grand. Looks like we’re going to have them here next month. Can’t wait! Among other things, they crack me up.

>35 magicians_nephew: I have never heard of “The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh”!

But I found it on YouTube! Thanks so much. I’ll be watching soon.

>43 NarratorLady:. I’ll let Jim respond, but I just say thank you for the detective work, Anne . I’ll look on Youtube.😀

>36 jnwelch: Regarding our travel plans: We are scheduled to attend the Mensa Gathering in Chicago over the July 4th weekend. I generally poke a nose into the list of sessions and if I find one that sounds interesting, I'll attend. Jim has more varied interests than I do, I think. But we definitely need to save time for seeing you.

Water, Water by Billy Collins. Another excellent collection from our country’s premier poet (IMO). Some poems are slight and fluffy, but not many. My copy is bristling with post-its for ones I want to revisit. He’s known for his poems’ accessibility, but they often have surprising depth. And he repeatedly sends me to Google or the dictionary to better understand what he is referencing. What a gift - He’s one of three-four people I'd enjoy being. (Springsteen and Yo- Yo Ma are two more). (Also the late Mary Oliver).

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. A novel by the author of The Midnight Library. Grace Winters has become stuck in mud due to unwarranted guilt over her young son’s bike-riding accident and a brief betrayal of her late husband. Then a small house is left her on the gorgeous island of Ibiza. What she finds there reminded me of my old days of reading Carlos Castaneda. It results in quite an awakening and departure from the mud, as Grace is enlisted in a fight to save the island’s natural beauty from overly aggressive hotel development.

Haig is adept at maintaining the reading momentum. I enjoyed this morality tale that reminds us about how guilt from the past can hobble us, and the pleasures freedom from it can bring.

>43 NarratorLady: This group has hidden depths. Thanks for seeking this out! I'll be watching

>40 jnwelch: I've certainly enjoyed the 7 I've read, though I might not put The Pillars of the Earth in the same league as Wolf Hall. I probably should get to the other 3, but 20th century hardly seems historic to me, and the Civil War isn't a draw.

>43 NarratorLady:,>48 magicians_nephew:. I found The scarecrow on Youtube! I’m watching the first episode. Man, that was the longest introductory theme song - I couldn’t believe it. But now we’re into fighting the king and his foolish, pompous lackeys.

>45 ffortsa:. Thanks, Judy. I got my visit months mixed up. I think someone else had plans for April. July is still a long ways away, but’s good to know that’s the weekend you’re planning on. Yes, we should be able to meet up somewhere somehow. We’ll stay in touch about it.

>49 quondame:. Pillars of Earth made me hesitate, too, Susan. It’s the weakest of the lot, but I did enjoy reading it.

I was trying to figure out what three you hadn’t read. Seems like Cold Mountain was one of them. I liked that one a lot; wife Debbi didn’t like it at all. If one of your not-reads was Pachinko, I freaking loved that one and hope you give it a try.

>50 jnwelch: I loved Pachinko as well.

>51 quondame:👍😀

Today’s Bargain: A Prayer for Owen Meaney by John Irving for $1.99 on e-readers. One heck of a novel; maybe his best after Garp. The effect of an unfortunate childhood incident over time.

>40 jnwelch: Some great books in this list. I DNFed Pachinko, probably because it seemed fraught with ethnic discrimination. I needed to put it aside.

And for some reason I keep confusing the title Pillars of the Earth with 7 Pillars of Wisdom. Why do I do that?

Haven't read Cold Mountain yet, nor All the Light We Cannot See, nor Lonesome Dove, although Jim sings its praises regularly.

>54 ffortsa: I'll put in a plug for All the Light We Cannot See, Judy. I'm not a big historical fiction fan, but this was an outstanding novel about WWII. And I liked it so much more than Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, which I read right before Doerr's book.

>55 kac522: Thanks. Noted!

>54 ffortsa: Lonesome Dove is amazing. I did grow up when westerns were dense on the screens, both movie and TV, and this one went somewhere else while visiting all the same scenery.

I love the pics of your grandkids, Joe. Little Lenny (aged 13) refrained from hanging with the baby of a friend at a neighbourhood dinner last night, somewhat weirdly saying "I only like babies that are in our family".
Kids huh? You just never know what they are going to say!

>54 ffortsa:. Hiya, Judy. I hope Pachinko resurfaces for you in a good way. It’s quite a book.

Pillars of the Earth seemed like such a strange animal to me, as I knew Ken Follett from the couldn’t-be-more-different thriller Eye of the Needle (which I loved). To his credit, he does a fine job of slowly marching through time in Pillar. There are three sequels and a prequel. I only managed to read the first sequel, which also was pretty darn good.

I can’t shed any light on your Pillars confusion, beyond the obvious. There aren’t many books with Pillars in the title, are there.

I’m with Jim on Lonesome Dove. I was a reluctant reader, having had it pushed on me too many times, but that was foolish of me. It’s immersive, and deserves all the praise.

All the Light You Cannot See is marvelous and moving. I think you’d get a lot out of it. It’s one of the highlights in my reading life.

I deleted what was a rare double post. LT has been very glitchy for me the last couple of days. I suspect the IT folks have been kept busy.

>55 kac522:. Thanks, Kathy. As you can probably tell, I feel the same about All the Light We Cannot See. Whoa, I’m getting a bold 405 Not Allowed message. I’d better do this in a new post.

>55 kac522:. Agreed re All the Light We Cannot see, Kathy. With The Nightingale, I probably benefitted from reading it much later and not comparing - I loved The Nightingale and was impressed by her writing.

>56 ffortsa:😀

>57 quondame:. Yes, well put, Susan. Lonesome Dove does take us some place different and amazing. I really got deep down into it with those characters.

>58 LovingLit:. Thanks, Megan. I’m glad you enjoyed the pics with the grandkids.

I think 13 year old Lenny’s baby response was honest and pretty much what most guys think when they see a baby that’s not family. My experience is that Debbi and Becca get much more delight from seeing someone else’s baby than I do, although i usually try to join in the spirit for the sake of the parents. Babies don’t talk or run around , and just sitting there looking cute like all the other babies doesn’t do as much for grumbly me.

>59 jnwelch: Lonesome Dove is just such a remarkable achievment of stiry telling - works so well on so many levels.

I have great sympathy for the critic who got to the last page of this Looong book and said plaintively "That's All? Isn't there any more?"

>63 magicians_nephew:. Ha! Ditto, Jim. That may be the highest compliment for a book, that is, when it’s really long and you nevertheless wish it was longer.

>61 jnwelch: From All The Light:

"Doing nothing is as good as collaborating."

I hope that increasing threats to Medicare and Medicaid will propel an end to this monstrous takeover

of our former Democracy of Sharing.

>65 m.belljackson:. I like that quote, Marianne. I may use it the next time Debbi catches me doing mothing.😀

Yeah, let’s hope the Repubs don’t succeed in slashing Medicare or Medicaid. They’re looking for ways to offset tax breaks for the rich.

Hey, Joe. I can't remember if I mentioned it to you before but my sister who was bi-polar raved about An Unquiet Mind and even corresponded with the author. I ended up reading it too, to give me a better understanding of what my sister was going through. I thought it was very insightful.

Ooh, Lonesome Dove. I love hearing those 2 words. My second favorite book of all time. Yeah, I kinda liked it.

>67 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. No, we never had a chance to talk about your sister and An Unquiet Mind, or that you had read it. I also found it fascinating and helpful.

You were the one who finally convinced me to read Lonesome Dove. Your enthusiasm was impossible to resist, and the book itself was most excellent.

What’s your favorite book? If I know, I can’t place the memory. Haruf?

>68 jnwelch: The Grapes of Wrath. That one will be tough to dethrone. 😜

And nothing against Haruf...just sayin'.

>69 msf59: My Steinbeck go-to is East of Eden though it is long and drags here and there.

Have seen a few wonderful plays from Grapes of Wrath (one from Steppenwolf) and of course the movie.

>63 magicians_nephew: I have the idea that Lonesome Dove was the second of a quartet.

Yes. After a trip down the stairs into the stacks, I hold in my hands:

Dead Man's Walk (477 pages in hardcover) Cover blurb: "The first adventures of Gus and Call, the heroes of Lonesome Dove © 1995.
Lonesome Dove (755 pages in book-club* hardcover) © 1985.
Streets of Laredo (589 pages, hardcover) Cover blurb: "The sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lonesome Dove" © 1993.
Comanche Moon (752 pages, hardcover) Cover blurb: 'The final Volume of the Lonesome Dove saga." © 1997.

Curious it is that seven or eight years after LD, McMurtry cracked his knuckles and pounded out a sequel, featuring Gus and Call. Then he continued writing, producing a prequel ten years after the original, then a final in 1997. (Hmmm. Cashing in on a hugely successful book, whose lead characters survived the story's end.) I've only read LD, so I cannot vouch for the subsequently written three Gus and Call epics (epic at least in page counts).

* Doubleday operated The Literary Guild^® as a competitor to Book of the Month Club. Part of the pitch was that LG selections were printed on special presses. You got the books unabridged but in a smaller trim size, thus saving you money, uh huh, uh huh. (And I have some Tesla stock to sell you.)

>71 weird_O: My recollection, casting back waaaay before LT, is that both Streets of Laredo and Comanche Moon were disappointments after the wonder that was Lonesome Dove.

You read 'em so I wouldn't have too. Thank for so much, Linda. It's what friendship is all about!

>62 jnwelch: I guess that is true Joe! And there I was holding back from grabbing said baby to cuddle it as hard as it could withstand. Lenny managed to reference a sociological phenomenon in one short statement! Bravo to him (and you).

>70 magicians_nephew: Thanks for chiming in on Steinbeck. I reread East of Eden just a couple of years ago. It's flaws keep it from being a top tier Steinbeck for me. So many fine ones- Of Mice and Men, In Dubious Battle and Travels with Charley. Probably my favorite American author.

>72 laytonwoman3rd: What Linda said. I read Streets of Laredo, so you don't have to.

>69 msf59:. Ah, good ‘un, Mark. I didn’t know 1Grapes of Wrath was your#1. My favorite Steinbeck is Cannery Row, although GOW is awfully good.

>70 magicians_nephew:. Hiya, Jim. East of Eden is not one of his that I enjoy; maybe it’s the draggy parts. An offbeat one I like is The Log from the Sea of Cortez, an NF narrative of a trip he took with his pal Ed Ricketts, the inspiration for the character Doc in Cannery Row. What a writer.

Ah, that Steppenwolf adaptation of GOW. Glad you got to see that. The film is a classic, too.

>71 weird_O: Good reminder, Bill, thanks. Much as I like those characters, I’ve never been tempted by the rest of the quartet. The response to it wasn’t exactly rapturous, and I was happy to leave my love for LD in the clear.

Thanks for the intriguing Literary Guild history, and kudos to you for having the quartet in the Weirdo library.

>72 laytonwoman3rd:. Thanks, Linda. That sounds about right for the LD add-ons. Too bad.

>73 weird_O:. Agreed, Mr. Bill. Gratitude to Linda for blazing the trail and letting us know to take a different one.

>74 LovingLit:. Right, Megan? Lenny sounds like a keeper, even with the Y chromosome limitations. I used to tease enthusiastic Debbi by saying, “It’s just a baby.”😀

>75 msf59:. Right, Mark. The flaws did me in for East of Eden, too. So many good Steinbeck books! I’d add Tortilla Flat to our pile. I wonder whether he’s widely read outside of the U.S.? I hope so.

>75 msf59:. Good to have your added undorsement, Jim. What is the opposite of “endorsement”? “Condemnation” seems a little strong. Undorsement might be a good addition.

Today’s Bargain: The Guncle by Steven Rowley. Richard recommends this one, and its wit and humor receive a lot of enthusiasm. I have it, thanks to him, but haven’t read it yet (bad Joe).

I’m reading Han Kang’s We Do Not Part and so far (about 1/3 of the way) I’m bored. Insensitive and loutish of me, I suspect.

You are allowed to not like a book!

>82 torontoc:. Good reminder, Cyrel (did I get that right?), thanks.😀. This author and book are highly regarded (it won the Nobel prize last year) so I’m a bit sheepish about not liking it much. Beautifully written, but yawnsome so far.

>83 jnwelch:
None of the blurbs about Han Kang's books have appealed to me so I haven't read a single one. So far nothing has changed to make me want to read one.

The same cannot be said about East of Eden. I liked that book. I thought it was powerful and a direct product of its times. It was published about the time that the reading public fell in love with and consumed great huge amounts of epic historical fiction. ( Remember Michner? the Poldark series, the Balkan Trilogy that I just waded through are examples.) People were more likely to put up with an author's digressions and musings while immersed in the novels. We are a different kind of reading public nowadays. My favorite Steinbeck remains Grapes of Wrath but I doubt that the reading public of today would pay any attention to such an overtly political novel. Let alone make a great movie out of it that would star a top tier movie personage.

Of the two Nobel winners from the US (Steinbeck and Faulkner) of that great literary post World War II era, in my opinion Steinbeck is the better author. I can't abide Faulkner. And yet, he gets great amounts of attention these days.

Hi Joe! Of Mice and Men andGrapes of Wrath are my current two favorite Steinbecks. I should read some more!! : ) Happy Wednesday.

>84 benitastrnad: Shake hands! I also cannot stomach Faulkner whose turgid prose just curdles before my eyes.

>84 benitastrnad:. This Han Kang book sounded more palatable to me, Benita, but so far I can’t say you’re missing much. I’m determined to finish it - i’m not going to DNF a Nobel winner. I want to at least have an idea of what they saw in it. I remember I was underwhelmed by Patrick Modiano when he won it, too.

East of Eden just ain’t my cuppa. I know there are many who like and love it, but I’m not one. I even saw a stage adaptation and didn’t like that either.

I’m more optimistic than you about the reading reception Steinbeck would get today. Reading a lot of him for the now long-ago Steinbeckathon was so impressive. Maybe my leaning his way politically factors in, but I think his writing is timeless and will always be great.

Do I really have company here in not liking to read Faulkner?! I’ve received some polite flack here for my distaste for him. The sound and the Fury is the only book I’ve ever thrown away (well, left behind on the plane on purpose). Looks like Jim in>86 magicians_nephew: has similar sentiments about Faulkner.

>85 Berly:. Happy Wednesday, Kim. Those are two most excellent Steinbeck books, and probably his most famous.

Yes, he’s worth reading more of, and I think you’d get a kick out of the relatively slender Cannery Row.

>86 magicians_nephew:. Huzzah! Great to have some company, Jim, regarding that curdling turgid Faulkner prose. Just be ready to duck and cover - I’ve been through this before.

A poem from Japanese poet Ryokan(1758-1831), translated by Stephen Mitchell:

First days of Spring—the sky

is bright blue, the sun huge and warm.

Everything’s turning green.

Carrying my monk’s bowl, I walk to the village

to beg for my daily meal.

The children spot me at the temple gate

and happily crowd around,

dragging on my arms till I stop.

I put my bowl on a white rock,

hang my bag on a branch.

First we braid grasses and play tug-of-war,

then we take turns singing and keeping a kick-ball

in the air:

I kick the ball and they sing, they kick and I sing.

Time is forgotten, the hours fly.

People passing by point at me and laugh:

“Why are you acting like such a fool?”

I nod my head and don’t answer.

I could say something, but why?

Do you want to know what’s in my heart?

From the beginning of time: just this! just this!

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman

whistles far and wee

and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring

when the world is puddle-wonderful

the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing

from hop-scotch and jump-rope and

it's
spring
and

the

goat-footed

balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

-- e. e. cummings

Is it too late to say happy new thread? You're speeding through threads and I'm just now getting here.

Love the art in >5 jnwelch:

I will eventually get to Onyx Storm but have a rather large pile of library books to get through first. My library patrons are gobbling it up in the meantime, however. We had one come in the other day to make sure they were still on the list. I assured them they were and said they were 184 in the total queue but would get the next one that was returned to us... which then arrived a few hours later, and they came in very excited to read it.

" The sound and the Fury is the only book I’ve ever thrown away (well, left behind on the plane on purpose)" "curdling turgid Faulkner prose." Oh, Joe, you wound me! I have no less than nine copies of The Sound and the Fury and have read it at least three times. BUT NEVER ON A PLANE. (What were you thinking?) *sigh* Well, you have other appealing qualities...

>90 magicians_nephew:. Nice one, Jim. I remember it from
my far and wee youth. I’m sure the Ryokan poem inspired that for you. I like it when two poems speak to each other across the ages.

>91 bell7:. Thanks, Mary. It’s never too late for a happy new thread wish as far as I’m concerned. Isn’t that tea-pouring street art a delight? I love it when our artists make an ignored space beautiful.

>92 laytonwoman3rd:. 🫤. Sorry , Linda! I thought of you when Jim and I were waxing mean about Faulkner. Ha! I love your thought that the problem was my reading The Sound and the Fury on a plane. 😀. You have nine copies! You read it three times! That’s getting close to my idea of hell.

Oh well, there’s nothing wrong with loving Faulkner books. You have loads of company, including I’m
pretty sure my English professor BIL. It’s lugs like me that need other appealing qualities. I’m glad you see some. I’m just not a southern Gothic kind of guy.

We Do Not Part by Han Kang. A Nobel Prize winning novel involving the effect on three women (mother, daughter, daughter’s friend) of a little known piece of South Korea history - the 1948 massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The U.S. was in charge, and the impetus was fear that Communism was taking root. Carried out by young right wing Koreans, it reminded me of Hitler’s lackeys: ruthless, barbaric, power-mad.

The writing is poetic, the story drifts between dream and reality. The book is worthy of much respect, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. This took me back to the days of homework for class.

The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. A pleasant read. Female members of the Detection Club of mystery writers band together to solve a real life murder: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and the Scarlet Pimpernel author, Baroness Orczy. It’s a fun way to learn a little about each, and to imagine all of them using their mental prowess to take down a real life murderer. Sayers is the narrator, and we learn more about her than the others. Fans of this era of mystery-writing will have a good time. A little more depth for each author might've raised this above pleasant.

>40 jnwelch: What a great list.

>95 jnwelch: I enjoy Benedict's writing. I will have to see if I can put a hold on that one at the library.

Happy weekend!

>96 figsfromthistle:. Hi, Anita. Isn’t that a great list of historical novels up in >40 jnwelch:? Refreshing to see one on all fours with what I’ve enjoyed.

I like Benedict’s writing, too. You’ll have fun with that one. Both our daughter and I enjoy that era of mystery writers. Allingham is the odd woman out for both of us.

^ I am not sure if anyone else heard, but Martin Scorcese is doing adaptations of all 4 Gilead books. For some reason he is starting with Home, the 2nd book in the series.

^I posted this on my thread. We leave for our trip today. I hope all is well there.

Happy Saturday, Joe.

>98 msf59:. Very cool. Love those books, although Jack not as much.

Thanks for posting that here, Mark. Have a great trip!

Today’s Bargain: Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield for $1.99 on e-readers. A darkly enchanting, atmospheric tale of a miracle at a riverside (The Thames) inn. Enthralling.

Joe & Mark & Linda =

Can't yet find the author of this little classic:

"But I didn't realize voting for a tiger would mean most people get eaten."

>101 m.belljackson:. Ha! Good one, Marianne.😀

>40 jnwelch: I’ve read five from this list with All the Light… and Lonesome Dove being all time favorites. (I’ve tried 3 Kristen Hannah titles including The Nightingale and have decided she is just not the writer for me.)

As for “Pillars”… I recall wanting to kick it across the room but decided its heft would break my foot. I trudged through it for book club but believe it was a rape scene from the point of view of the rapist that did me in.

>103 NarratorLady:. Isn’t that a good list in >40 jnwelch:, Anne? You mention two standouts, for sure, All the Light and Lonesome Dove. The other don’t miss, IMO, is Book Thief. I want to re-read that one.

I’m sorry that Kristin Hannah doesn’t work for you. I loved The Nightingale, so you’ve certainly gotten the results from the cuppa test.

On Debbi’s recommendation I’m reading her The Women, featuring the Vietnam War, and it is terrific so far. But it’s hard to recommend it to you if you didn’t like The Nightingale.

Any recent read that you’d recommend? I miss the days of you and Ellie teaming up on me.😀

P.S. Pillars of the Earth: pfft. The least on the list. I’ve mentally blocked out that rape scene, but it sounds awful.

>104 jnwelch: I did try The Women Joe. Unfortunately that was my “3rd strike and you’re out” with this author. Years ago I narrated one of her early books for the National Library Service. Can’t remember the title, just that I didn’t care for it.

I do realize I’m part of a minority though and it certainly wouldn’t be the first time! Like you, I’d love Ellie’s take on this!

My favorite recent read is Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers, a novel about the AIDS crisis. It was published in 2018 and I don’t know how I missed it. The characters are with me still, a month after finishing it. Amazing writer!

I also greatly enjoyed This is Happiness by Niall Williams. Between him and Claire Keegan, the Irish are having a moment! Well lots of moments… they’re both pretty prolific though Keegan’s books are as small as Williams’ are large.

>105 NarratorLady:. Wow, you’ve made the effort, Anne. Too bad. Jeez, I’m devouring The Women. And it’s filled with tough vignettes from the Vietnam War. Her writing reminds me of Rebecca Makai. I loved The Great Believers and also I Have Some Questions for You.

Just goes to show you, you never know. If you and I were together in person, I’d explore why Hannah doesn’t work for you. Our tastes so often are so similar. Ellie’s probably smiling somewhere about the unknowableness of so much that goes on down here.

Our similar tastes include Niall Williams. This is Happiness is a terrific book. I stalled out on his Time of the Child, but I’ll pick it up again at some point. And you already know I’m a big Claire Keegan fan. I must make time somehow to read more of her.

Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz. The new Orphan X thriller. Orphan X, aka The Nowhere Man, is an omnicompetent former assassin who now helps those who have no other hope. Having been raised without parents to be a killer, X is normally stoic and efficient; the author after several series books is expanding X's emotional range, first by pitting him against his one close friend, Tommy Stojack, a bespoke arms manufacturer.

What to do when a close longtime friend crosses the line by helping a dangerous villain? In X’s world, do you have to kill him? As another sign of growing maturity, X even helps his 17 year old hacker assistant Joey with her social problems, just because she means enough to him.

There’s still plenty of bang bang gunplay, with the latest gun tech, and plenty of close hand to hand combat, with both X and Tommy accommodating a long list of past injuries. Perhaps the best part for me is the insider’s view of a small gang of racist young Maga types, who, as a sarcastic sister says, are busy trying to protecting white ethnocentricity from the couch while unemployed. One of the Magas is a friend’s son who Tommy is trying to help while skirmishing with X. He and X try to figure out a just result while also figuring out whether one of them has to die.

I finished listening to Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman and enjoyed it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention again. I had added it to my gargantuan TBR list back in 2018. I put notes in it that Ronnie had read it and recommended it. When you said you had read it and enjoyed it, I decided to place an ILL request for it. To my surprise WorldCat said that there was a recorded version of it, and that the Atcheson, Kansas public library had a copy of the recorded book. I placed my request and listened to it in the car. It was a good way to spend automobile time. Thanks for bringing to the fore.

>108 benitastrnad:. Oh good, Benita. I’m glad you enjoyed The Bookish Life. A light-hearted one for us bibliophiles. I didn’t know that Ronnie also was a fan. A good audiobook can really help the miles fly by, can’t it. I hope that you continue to enjoy your retirement. It can be a sweet time indeed.

>109 jnwelch: Loved the opening of The Bookish Life enough for another 5 star re-read!

>110 m.belljackson: great to hear, Marianne! Isn’t that a good one?

After some balmy days, the snow has returned. All is white. Boo! We were enjoying those green shoots coming up. But they’ll appreciate the water.

My new book is Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. One storyline features an academic researcher in the present, the other is back in 1918, where wealthy socialite Anne Morgan and now world famous librarian (oxymoron?) Jessie Carson (real historic figures) are helping war-devastated France rebound.

“We all went through it. Nurses back in the world are second-class citizens. And, big surprise—they’re mostly women. Men keep us in boxes, make us wear starched virgin white, and tell us that docs are gods. And the worst part is, we believe them.”

From The Women by Kristin Hannah

Today’s Bargains: Now or Never by Janet Evanovich and Andrew Carnegie by David Nasaw for $2.99 each on e-readers.

You may have given up on the sometimes repetitive Stephanie Plum mysteries; I did for several books. On a whim I came back to this one, and had a good time with it. Madcap hijinks that make you laugh, with a Team Joe and Team Ranger love triangle. Who couldn’t do with a little bit of that these days? As for the second book, I’ve long wondered about Andrew Carnegie who, among other things, has such a strong presence in Pittsburgh, and this biography was widely touted. So I picked it up.

Joe - War with China - why didn't the Democrats think of that?

>115 m.belljackson:. Brilliant, right, Marianne? War with China seems like just the thing to raise our spirits. Elon can help us figure out what to do. Arggh, our national nightmare continues.

>116 jnwelch:
And that doesn't even touch on the executive order to close IMLS. (Institute for Museum and Libraries Services) This is the same kind of government agency as is NIH (National Institute of Health) and NSF (National Science Foundation). IMLS gives out grants to libraries with the bulk of it going to small and medium sized libraries all over the U.S. This money is done in grant form, similar to the way research grants are done. If Congress doesn't step in and stop the Great Orange Gasbag funding for libraries will dry up and go away. This is a backdoor attack on the First Amendment. We need Congress to step up and do its job and put a stop to this kind of thing.

I hope that Moscow Mitch McConnell is happy.

>105 NarratorLady: A lot of people recommended The Women to me and i got a hold of it, but it seems like nothing new about the topic and lots of cliches, and it is hanging fire on my Kindle to be finished some day in the sweet bye and bye. Or not.

I hope the book doesn't take it personally

>117 benitastrnad:. Right, Benita. It’s terrible. He’s damaging, ruining our country any way he can think of. The Repubs are gutless and pandering, purposefully deaf to what is happening. (Gods forbid they hear what’s happening at a town hall meeting - better cose those down asap).

No John McCain’s out there with honest to goodness principles. Cheney and Romney speak up but havee no clout; she’s been ousted, and he’s been sidelined. Opportunists like Lindsay Graham just say what’s needed to stay afloat.

Mitch McConnell has long been my #1 karma culprit. The sleazy, unprincipled way he handled Obama’s nomination of well-qualified Garland to the Supreme Court is something we may never recover from. But these days he just seems like a toothless turtle. I guess that’s all we’re getting for karma.

The Repubs have that double, albeit slim, majority in Congress. We need to change that at the midterms.

>118 magicians_nephew:. I’m surprised, Jim. But then I was surprised by Anne, too. It’s like I just had a great meal and two friends with me found it disappointing and not worth finishing. Sigh.

I wasn’t looking for anything new on the topic; I was looking for an immersive reading experience that brought me a new understanding, and that I got. Also, for me, her angles on in particular the medical care there and the return home to spitting and disdain were much more visceral and new for me than other reads. I became attached to Frankie, and empathized with the jarring pain she experienced on her journey.

Cliches: they tend to bother me when the writing is poor; this writing is excellent. I imagine all our eternal truths could be cast as cliches. Some people probably roll their eyes at the Eight Noble Truths and “Jesus is our Savior”. Certainly Trump-supporting Christians seem to take Jesus’s teachings as outdated cliches safely ignored. I actually didn’t experience any cliches in The Women, for what that’s worth.

We’ve been around a while now, so even less-than-eternal truths can be viewed as cliches. “There’s nothing new under the sun”. For me, great storytelling brings them to life, and for me, this was great storytelling.

Sorry The Women didn’t work better for you and Anne. I continue to believe that this is an important book for those who lived through the Vietnam War era, and continue to wish that you two had experienced the great meal that I did. But, as far as I know, there’s no book that ever received universal approval.

P.S. Our daughter has that unusual allergy to cilantro. Mexican food that tastes great to Debbi and me tastes like soap to her. So weird. Anyway, you and Anne may be allergic to something in The Women that is invisible to me.

>117 benitastrnad:, >199 alcottacre: Speaking of libraries...look what's happening to this library on the US-Canadian border--just one more reason to be an embarrassed American:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7laEepRfY-k

>121 kac522: What garbage.

>121 kac522: Good for the library working to provide access and fundraising for a door on the Canadian side, but what an absolute shame that they're having to do it at all.

Happy Saturday, Joe! Glad you enjoyed The Women. I gave The Nightingale a so-so rating, but haven't completely ruled out reading more of Kristin Hannah's works. She's certainly very popular at my library.

>121 kac522: Thanks, Kathy. So stupid. We’re all embarrassed by this kind of crap.

>122 ffortsa:. Agreed, Judy.

>123 bell7:. Yes, thanks, Mary. The Nightingale caught my eye right way for its interesting French Resistance content, and then Debbi read it and recommended it. I gave it a rating much higher than so-so. The Women caught my eye because it was so darn popular, hanging on on or near the top of bestseller lists for such a long time. Then, again, Debbi read it and recommended it, as did a neighbor of ours. Kristin Hannah is very popular at our library, too.

>122 ffortsa:, >123 bell7:, >124 jnwelch: I wanted to pass this on, just because it highlights that even small decent places that are meant to be unifying and non-partisan and bearers of goodwill are made into political footballs.

>125 kac522:. Yes. I can’t believe the clueless new border czar Homan went there and called Canada the 51st state. I don’t know whether we’ll be able to apologize enough for the behavior of these yahoos once they’re gone.

Unifying, nonpartisan, helping goodwill grow, most of us are all in favor.

Good Sunday morning. All is well here. I’ve resumed Time of the Child by Niall Williams, which is singing to me in Irish. My mind continues to boggle over the final episode of Severance. What a show.

>127 jnwelch: I know! (about Severance) so many unanswered questions, but so much behind the scenes remains unknown You know that a third season is coming, and we probably won’t wait as long?

Severance is a great show (I think) but you can’t explain that to someone who doesn’t think that. Oh, well.

Karen O

>128 klobrien2:. Thanks, Kathy. Yeah, I’m so glad that Severance was renewed for a third season and we won’t have to wait three(!) years. ( We timed it right and didn’t watch Season 1 until right before Season 2 came out).

What a clever finale! Didn’t you love Mark speaking to Mark via the camcorder? And Milchick leading the Marching Band?

P.S. Although those aren’t really spoilers, I’ll put a spoiler cover on.

Joe - Today, on March 23rd, 1769, William Smith was born in Oxfordshire!

He observed how fossils varied in rock layers and so changed the Biblical birth of the world from 4004 BC to an infinite time.

He laid the foundation for the entire History of Geology.

He created THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.

And so, we can celebrate this canal digging man who predated Darwin's theory of Evolution.

Maybe someone has a Rock Cake recipe to share?!?

>129 jnwelch: I did the same as you regarding Severance until news came about the second season coming out. Wise move because the wait between season two episodes seemed really long!

And the finale was great! Milchick is one of my favorite characters. The marching band celebration was crazy but very cool. Dylan was a real hero.

Now, Joe, you keep calling me Kathy, and that’s not my name. I bet you knew a Kathy O’Brien at some point and link the first and last name inextricably? If you remember, I (at first) called you “John” because the biblical “John” gets abbreviated “Jn” ofttimes. I promise to call you Joe if you call me

Karen O

p.s. THRILLED to know somebody who’s a Severance fan!

>59 jnwelch: I have been long eyeing Lonesome Dove on my shelf Joe, maybe this year is it's year.

>129 jnwelch:, >131 klobrien2: Add us to the Severance Fan Club. We're late adopters: our daughter Kate recommended it to us just as season 2 was coming out, but we weren't sure. Then there was discussion on this thread comparing it to The Prisoner, and that made me curious enough to insist we watch at least one episode. I was hooked right away; it took Chris about 3 episodes. We're still working on season 1 so I appreciate the use of spoiler tags about season 2.

>130 m.belljackson:. What an interesting story, Marianne, thanks. I didn’t know about our Mr.Smith. From menial labor to changing the world. Made me think of Tracy Chevalier’s most excellent novel, Remarkable Creatures, about two unlikely women whose fossil hunting turns the scientific world upside down.

>131 klobrien2:. Oh, i just kicked myself, Karen. What a dope I am sometimes. It’s not an O’Brien, it’s a K for goodness’ sakes. I mix you up with kac522, a Chicago Kathy, which is a head-shaker. I thought I’d gotten beyond that; how embarrassing. Make sure to call me John if I screw up again; i’ll sure try not to.

What terrific acting by the guy playing Milchick. He does great interviews, too. I think they’re all having a blast and are thrilled by the show’s success. Dylan’s character has steadily grown on me from modest beginnings.

I’m tempted to watch Season 2 all over again, now that I know what i know. Can you imagine waiting three years for the next installment? I’m so glad we won’t have to.

>132 Caroline_McElwee:. Lonesome Dove is so good, Caroline. You’ll be glad you opened it up once you do. As I said, I had to overcome my own initial reluctance. Here’s hoping this is the right year for it.

>133 lauralkeet:. Glad to hear it, Laura. Late adopting has its benefits. Our trainer was an early adopter, and had to wait the three long years (Covid, writer’s strike) for Season 2.

I’m happy that The Prisoner discussion piqued your interest in Severance. I’ve been having fun revisiting the old Patrick McGoohan series on Prime. (It’s just too weird for my spouse).

It always pays to use the spoiler tags. You make me feel even better about it. Oh, you have so much great tv watching ahead of you! You make me think again of the Season 1 finale, and then the wildly creative Season 2.

Today’s Bargains: Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie and The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse for $1.99 each. The first is one of Dame Agatha's best; Miss Marple tackles the perfect crime. As for the second, if you haven’t read any of Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories, you’re in for a treat. Humor at its charming best.

>134 jnwelch: Hi Joe - yes THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD is fascinating, notably if you can find a Large Print Edition
which features even bigger Ammonite illustrations.

THE MAP also mentions James Hutton THE MAN WHO FOUND TIME - and a whole new world opens up for intrigued readers!

REMARKABLE CREATURES has long had a place on my save shelf. I enjoy hearing from LT who visit their location.

>138 m.belljackson:. 😀👍. Thanks, Marianne.

“His tone and manner were unlike himself. That he had not used that voice since he had held his daughters, he did not acknowledge, for we are all young when no one can see us.”

From Time of the Child by Niall Williams

I love this Irish author’s gentle insights. “We are all young when no one can see us.” Here a solemn older doctor is carrying a baby and acting like a smitten young father in his parlor.

Today’s Bargains: Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World by Miles Unger and Dry Bones by Craig Johnson each for $1.99 on e-readers. The first looks well done about young Picasso and the rapid evolution of 20th century art. The shocking painting is Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.. I picked it up. The second is a good Longmire mystery, for those that enjoy tales of the Western sheriff.

More Bargains: The entire Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, each for $1.99 on Kindle. The Simarillion, too.

I thought you'd be interested in this Joe:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/mar/28/at-60-the-bulk-of-your-life-is-live...

>143 Caroline_McElwee:😳. Wow, Caroline, thank you! Among other things, that’s a great article. I love Juliette Binoche. What an ideal choice for Penelope. And her friendship with Ralph Fiennes - whar a wonderful thing to be able to capitalize on in the movie.

As you well know, I’m captivated by the story of Odysseus. This is such welcome news. I’m now looking forward to the Pasolini/Fiennes retelling, and now I also know that Christopher Nolan is doing a much bigger budget retelling. Do you happen to have any idea when either is being released?

I think the Return was supposed to have come out Nov/Dec last year Joe. Assuming soon with the articles appearance. Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOQQ45ddYdk

The Christopher Nolan 'The Odyssey' is released in 2026.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4RLJ2LZsK8

>144 jnwelch: I have seen Binoche on stage a couple of times, in Antigone, and in a contemporary dance event, and Fiennes doing his one man show The Four Quartets. All brilliant.

Time of the Child by Niall Williams. A very Irish tale, set in the author’s fictional coastal town of Faha, last visited in his This is Happiness. There are two prominent story threads: the local church’s beloved Canon is descending into dementia, and a baby is abandoned by the church gate. What to do? We get a thorough steeping in the village of Faha as we find out.

The baby is brought to the town doctor and his daughter, who fall in love with her and keep it a secret. They know they normally wouldn’t be allowed to keep her. At the same time, the Church’s young curate is pressing the doctor to sign off on institutionalizing the Canon, which the doctor resists. The storytelling is like gently running water, with regular glimpses of shining gems of wisdom. Very soothing on a cold spring day. The resolution makes sense and fits Faha. This author has the gift of the gab, and a lot of insights into Faha’s inhabitants which both entertain and have application in the wider world.

“He did not know if he believed in the Holy Spirit, but if asked he would have said that night was the closest he came, that there was an otherness, a largeness apparent and invisible there at the same time, something that did not exist in the textbooks but was the same thing that had been since the beginning, which was that there was something more than the perimeter of flesh, something else and beyond explanation, and which was felt in that part of us that, for lack of any better, was given the word soul."

“The doctor had lived long enough to understand that, in an island country, sideways was the way all stories wanted to go, roundabouts the native way of getting anywhere, and that there was a good reason there was no straight road in the parish.”

“Wonder was a word thinned from use, but it was what she felt watching the girl feed in that night kitchen with the single bulb burning and all Faha asleep.”

>245 jnwelch:. You’ve made my day, Caroline, thanks. I’ll watch the trailers. I so envy you seeing Binoche on stage, and Fiennes reading The Four Quartets. Can you comment in any way on the latter? The setting, the evening.

This is one of the many times I ‘ve wished I lived where you live, i’d give a lot to see Binoche and Fiennes perform on stage.

Then again, you don’t get to experience the chaos of the Orange Disaster. It’s a shame (not) that you don’t get to experience the wonder of that.

>144 jnwelch: Omeros, Derek Walcott's poetic revamping of The Odyssey offers some strange takeaways.

>148 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne. I was aware of his, i’m just not a big Derek Walcott fan. I probably should give Omeros a chance.

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. Well done historical novel by the author of The Paris Library. American Heiress Anne Morgan is determined to help France recover after the first World War, and the building of libraries in the bombed out north, and training librarians, are featured in her plan. She enlists the help of young Jessie Carson from the NYPL, who quickly matures into a force, transforming France’s library system.

The old system, run by men, ignored children and reflected the belief that the upper class and working class would read different books and would not mingle. Carson overcame much resistance in creating children’s sections and open stacks, and training students in American library principles. The book brings to life a neglected historical figure, Jessie Carson, along with Morgan and others. A very pleasant read that reminded me of the author Marie Benedict.

>143 Caroline_McElwee: Oh, so cool. Or hot, or interesting. This caught my attention, anyway.

>145 Caroline_McElwee: Those are so different. Everyone who goes down The Odyssey mine comes up with different jewels.

>147 jnwelch: Nearing the end of the pandemic theatres couldn't afford to put on big productions, so there were a number of one man/woman shows on spare sets, or casts of 3-4, and this was one (full audience masked). And you could hear a pin drop Joe.

Here's a tiny bite of Fiennes performing The Four Quartets Joe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7F7hmlelTk

I also saw Gabriel Byrne perform parts of his memoir.

>151 quondame: I shall probably see both movies Susan. Some material will offer up such a variety of imagination and interpretation.

I am only 150+ posts behind, Joe, lol. Sorry but that is what traveling gets me - a whole lot of thread to visit!

I hope you and Debbi have a wonderful weekend!

>152 Caroline_McElwee:. Wow, that sounds great, Caroline, thanks. Thanks for the link, too. I love the spare set. That must have been a spellbinding performance. He’s impressively good.

You’re inspiring me to re-read The Four quartets (again).

The Odyssey: it has always struck that the big O comes back after seeing so many of his men die, and feels he must slaughter Penelope’s suitors. Maybe he just fell back into soldier mode, or maybe it was a torment.

>151 quondame: Those trailers are very different, aren’t they, Susan. Colossal budget vs. not much. That Christopher Nolan odyssey is going to get a lot of buzz. I hope The Return at least surfaces over here.

>153 Caroline_McElwee:. If time permits, Caroline, please let me know what you think of the two.

>154 alcottacre:. Hiya, Stasia. Appreciate your catching up like that. I know the problem!

Debbi is in Pittsburgh with the grandcuckoobirds, so I know she’s having a good weekend. I’ve got March Madness basketball, so I’ll be okay. I did have a lovely visit with a favorite cousin yesterday, on her drive back from the west coast to Vermont.

>156 jnwelch: Ah, too bad you did not get to go to Pittsburgh too, Joe. I hope you are better than OK while she is gone :) I am glad you had a lovely visit with your favorite cousin!

>157 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia. They visit us here mid-April, so I’ll see them then. Debbi’s providing a much-needed extra hand right now.

>149 jnwelch: Omeros is the only Walcott I have read - you might enjoy my LT review.

Hi Joe. I left you a private message concerning Chicago. Would love your input.

>160 ffortsa:. Ah yes, Thanks, Judy. Sorry I’ve been slow to respond. Thanks for the nudge.

Hiya Joe. You're doing a good job here. Enjoy the basketball. Have you a favorite? I'm reading the Facebook expose, which is pretty darn good.

>162 weird_O:. Thanks, Bill. My best pal is a Michigan State grad/crazy man, so I’ll be pulling for them. Which one is the Facebook expose? I’m having a good time with A Dog’s Quest to Be a Buddhist by Gary Heads, as the author treads the fine line between cute and treacly.

>155 jnwelch: I feel there is a sort of background chord in The Odyssey which places the suitors in violation of the spirit of guest right. They are using the custom of being guest to the detriment of the host's family, making slaughtering them a sort of justice.

Still, slaughtering 3-100 times as many people than get saved by the violence is something I always dislike in modern fiction, but those Greeks were not nice guys.

>163 jnwelch: Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams. The author, a New Zealander, worked in several minor diplomatic jobs in New York City (UN) and Washington. She got herself hired hired by Facebook, into a job she invented and pitched to whoever at Facebook would listen. Took several years, but she got hired. Odd coincidence, in that yesterday, whilst an earthquake was shaking the bejabbers out of Bangkok and Myanmar, I was reading Wynn-Williams' account of a journey to Myanmar she made, charged with connecting with a junta-member and persuading him to release the internet in Myanmar so Facebook can sell its service there.

What caught my attention were newstories reporting Facebook's efforts to suppress marketing (and of course sales) of the book.

The insider motto of Facebook: "Move Fast and Break Things."

>164 quondame:. Agreed, Susan. The relentless suitors were arrogant and in the wrong. Those Greeks handed out tough justice, didn’t they.

I wrote a poem about this that I’ll try to dig up.

Found it:

Odysseus Strings His Bow

String your bow, brave Odysseus.
Launch your arrow through
Eyes of
Axes, through these

Honorless men. They must
Die. Mustn't they?
Penned by suffering and doubt, you
Found your way out,
Enslaved by cunning and power,
Found your escape,
Ensnared by temptation and
Ease, found your way here.

None can hold
Your bow, none string it -
None can lace the
Arrow through axe loops to
Win your wife, to save his life.

Their ending has
Sailed toward these
Suitors all their gluttonous
Years.
Son of Pain,
Pray for them now,
They have no way out.
The doors are locked.
The deals are done.
They cannot reach their
Shields and spears.

So many of your comrades
Lost along the way.
These suitors know
Even less, they do not understand.
They stumble, pleading,
Crying, to a
Shadowy, ignorant death.
As yet another life, for you,
Begins

>165 weird_O:. Hmm, that does look like a mighty interesting book, Bill, thanks. While our son was at Amazon I read and liked a woman’s memoir about being at Amazon, Exit Interview by Kristi Coulter, that sounds similar. I may ride the wave you’ve created and visit Careless People. I’m also interested in Myanmar and anything Facebook tried to suppress.😀

Joe - from our mutual book THE GARDENER'S YEAR comes this -

"To-day, on the 30th of March, at ten o'clock in the morning,

the first tiny blossom of forsythia opened."

>166 jnwelch: I see you brought up a different jewel yet from those depths.

>163 jnwelch: Well, all those gazillion teams in the Big Ten, and not one made it to the Final Four.....

>168 m.belljackson:. Oh, that’s a nice one, isn’t it, Marianne.

We had forsythia in the backyard of the house I grew up in. Beautiful. Debbi had it, too, and we’ve talked about getting it for our home together here.

>169 quondame:. 😀. It was nice to have a reason to look at that jewel again, Susan.

>170 kac522:. Hiya, Kathy. Yeah, lots of Big Ten representation in the tournament, but they all got winnowed out. They lacked the star (exceptional player) power needed to get through. My Michigan State friend thinks Duke will win the championship because of Cooper Flagg - he’s the best player in college ball right now. I do find the “one and done” (one loss and you’re out) format exciting.

On the women’s side, UConn has the phenomenal Paige Buekers, and that’s why I favor them to win it. Having someone who can handle the pressure and make a critical play when needed helps a lot.

Today’s Bargain: The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie for $1.99 on e-readers.

One of her best; clever and well-written. About to be adapted by Netflix.

Grandmischiefmakers Fina and Rafa

>174 jnwelch:, What a fabulous photo of two cheeky mischief makers.

>174 jnwelch: What a lovely duo, who clearly love being together Joe.

>174 jnwelch: She looks ready to invent new levels of mischief that he seems quite capable of managing.

Such cuties! Does Rafa wear glasses all the time now?

>174 jnwelch: Awww. Adorable.

>174 jnwelch: Absolutely marvellous. So much joy jumps out at you.

>158 jnwelch: Well, since it is April 1 only a couple of more weeks to wait!

>174 jnwelch: I just cannot believe how big they are getting! Time sure does fly!

>175 johnsimpson:. Thanks, John. This is now my favorite photo of them. They are such cheeky little monkeys.

>176 Caroline_McElwee:. They do love being together, Caroline. Sometimes they drive each other crazy, but it’s a strong bond.

>177 quondame:. Ha! Good description, Susan. Both true, I think.

>178 jessibud2:. Hi, Shelley. Rafa wears his glasses in class and while reading, but otherwise not, I think. Usually, anyway.

>179 figsfromthistle:. Right, Anita? I join your Awww.

>180 Ameise1:. Hi, Barbara. They’re a joyful duo, those two.

>181 alcottacre:. True that, Stasia. They seem to grow every day. We just hope Fina keeps her adorable voice as long as possible. It gets us every time.

Today’s Bargains: The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner and Platinum Pohl The Collected Best Stories, each for $1.99 on e-readers. The first is a fascinating Pulitzer winner about the rapid, measurable evolution of finches on an island in the Galapagos where Darwin first started developing his theory. The second contains stories by a recognized sci-fi master who I’ve under-read.

Today’s Bargain: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Murray Christopher for $2.99 on e-readers. I loved this novel. Based on a real historical figure, Bella da costa Greene, a black American, has to pass as white in order to be J. P. Morgan’s librarian for his prestigious personal library. Thoughtfully and engagingly written. My intro to Marie Benedict, and I give props to her black co-author, too.

ON WISCONSIN !!!!!!!

>186 m.belljackson:. Go Cheese People! Such great news about the Dem judge being elected to the SCt and Elon’s big spend not carrying the day!

>186 m.belljackson: >187 jnwelch: Wasn’t that wonderful news?! Political happenings have been so horrible since Jan 20, I was so anxious that it would turn out differently. Praise be!

Karen O

>174 jnwelch: What a fantastic photo!

Hope things are going well for you, Joe. I'm going to try to get some March Madness watching in this weekend. My men's bracket is busted, but I have a slight statistical chance of winning if all the rest of my picks go right in the women's bracket.

>188 klobrien2:. That was wonderful news indeed, Karen not Kathy. (Success!). I’d sure like to think that sensible people can regain the majority. The failure of Elon’s big spend was welcome reassurance that just pouring money into a candidate isn’t by itself enough, i.e. that we can’t buy elections. All the money he poured into Trump with seeming success was one of many reasons Trump’s election was disturbing. Thank you Wisconsin. Praise be!

>189 bell7:. Thanks, Mary!

We’re doing well. Debbi graduated from her cardio rehab yesterday (finished her last session) and has really rebounded physically. We’re not totally out of the woods yet - they’re going to continue to monitor for afib for three months- but she’s definitely into a safety zone worth feeling good about.

March Madness: hard not to pick Duke now, under the leadership of fantastic freshman Cooper Flagg. I think it’s the Women’s Final Four tomorrow night (UConn with Paige Bueckers and Sarah Strong my favorite) and the men Saturday night. Exciting! Good luck on your bracket. (As a retired guy, I am bracketless).

Today’s Bargain: The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith for $1.99 on e-readers. The first in a popular detective series by the author of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books. I found the Precious Ramotswe series charming, but wasn’t as taken by this one featuring amateur detective Isabel Dalhousie. Other readers were. Worth reading at this price to find out what you think. They qualify as cozies, IMO, rated G or PG at most.

>191 jnwelch: I am of the same opinion, Joe. Grittier mysteries are my preference, except for the No. 1 Ladies, that is.

>192 ffortsa:. We’re on the same wavelength, Judy. He’s so adept at making the folksy No. 1 Ladies series engaging. Debbi and Becca love the good cozies - Laura Childs is a particular favorite. We also liked very much the TV adaptation of No.1 with Jill Scott that unfortunately did not get renewed.

This poem is what got me started reading this talented poet. My favorite collection of hers besides this one is The Dream of a Common Language.

Diving into the Wreck
Adrienne Rich

First having read the book of myths,
and loaded the camera,
and checked the edge of the knife-blade,
I put on
the body-armor of black rubber
the absurd flippers
the grave and awkward mask.
I am having to do this
not like Cousteau with his
assiduous team
aboard the sun-flooded schooner
but here alone.

There is a ladder.
The ladder is always there
hanging innocently
close to the side of the schooner.
We know what it is for,
we who have used it.
Otherwise
it is a piece of maritime floss
some sundry equipment.

I go down.
Rung after rung and still
the oxygen immerses me
the blue light
the clear atoms
of our human air.
I go down.
My flippers cripple me,
I crawl like an insect down the ladder
and there is no one
to tell me when the ocean
will begin.

First the air is blue and then
it is bluer and then green and then
black I am blacking out and yet
my mask is powerful
it pumps my blood with power
the sea is another story
the sea is not a question of power
I have to learn alone
to turn my body without force
in the deep element.

And now: it is easy to forget
what I came for
among so many who have always
lived here
swaying their crenellated fans
between the reefs
and besides
you breathe differently down here.

I came to explore the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.
I stroke the beam of my lamp
slowly along the flank
of something more permanent
than fish or weed

the thing I came for:
the wreck and not the story of the wreck
the thing itself and not the myth
the drowned face always staring
toward the sun
the evidence of damage
worn by salt and sway into this threadbare beauty
the ribs of the disaster
curving their assertion
among the tentative haunters.

This is the place.
And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body.
We circle silently
about the wreck
we dive into the hold.
I am she: I am he

whose drowned face sleeps with open eyes
whose breasts still bear the stress
whose silver, copper, vermeil cargo lies
obscurely inside barrels
half-wedged and left to rot
we are the half-destroyed instruments
that once held to a course
the water-eaten log
the fouled compass

We are, I am, you are
by cowardice or courage
the one who find our way
back to this scene
carrying a knife, a camera
a book of myths
in which
our names do not appear.

>193 jnwelch:
I agree. I really enjoyed the television version of Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency and the woman who starred in it. I liked it so much that I started reading the books. I was sorry that it wasn't renewed. I also liked the Isabel Dalhousie series, but recognize that it is a very different kind of book than is the No.1 Ladies Detective books. If you like mysteries that straddle that middle ground between pure cozy and blood and gore, Alexander McCall Smith fits right into that notch.

>195 benitastrnad:. Good to hear, Benita. It’s good to know a fellow appreciator of the Number One Ladies tv adaptation. That star actor in it was singer Jill Scott, and that makes it doubly disappointing that it wasn’t renewed. She was so good in it, and I don’t know of anything she’s acted in since. She returned to her singing career. Here’s her Youtube channel: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCBSrBbJVzhTr2HExOKABUBQ

Yes, the books are in that middle ground between cozy and blood and gore. Well put. I felt comfortable giving them to my strait-laced no-violence mother when she was alive.

P.S. Well, Google tells me I was wrong about Jill Scott; she does still act, including in movies such as the James Brown bio, and she recently was in an episode of Abbott Elementary. Talented woman!

Todsy’s Bargain: March by Geraldine Brooks for $1.99 on e- readers. Does anyone here recommend this Pulitzer winner about the Little Women’s father in the Civil War? It’s tempting at this price.

>197 jnwelch: I've read most of Brooks' works (including the recent and wonderful Memorial Days about the sudden and untimely death of her husband, Tony Horwitz, and I thought March was terrific. Highly recommended!

>190 jnwelch: Great news about Debbi! I am hoping to meet both of you in August :)

i hope you have a wonderful weekend, Joe!

>197 jnwelch: Trivia, Joe. Two books titled March were finalists for the lit Pulitzer in 2006. E. L. Doctorow's novel about a Union battlefield surgeon (a character also appearing in The Waterworks) and Geraldine Brooks' March, which copped the prize.

>200 weird_O: Oooh. Kudos to me for post 200. Doesn't take much to lift my spirits.

Happy Saturday, Joe. Still making the rounds after our epic trip. You can see more highlights over on my thread, although I shared a few things with you via text. I love the Rich poem. I should revisit that collection. I started The Women, based on your warbling and I like it in the early going. You and Debbi may also like How to Read a Book. Keep that one in mind.

I hope all is well with the Welch clan.

Wishing you and yours a great weekend, Joe

Today’s Bargains: Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and Dain Curse by Dadhiell Hammett, each for $1.99 on e-readers. The first is the remarkable novel about Thomas Crowell in the 16th Century, maneuvering in the world of Henry the Eighth. The second is a hard-boiled classic featuring the Continental Op. Lots of sharp dialog from a master.

>198 vivians:. Very helpful, Vivian, thank you. With your well- read recommendation, I scooped it up. I certainly enjoyed Little Women and her Year of Wonder, and I’m curious about this one.

>199 alcottacre: Hi, Stasia. Thanks re Debbi. She had her last procedure yesterday (hurrah!), inserting the loop recorder to monitor for afib for 3 months. She was understandably gunshy about being operated on again, but the doctor and nurses were sweethearts and made it as anxiety-free as possible. It’ll be a Tylenol day today.

We’re having a good weekend; I enjoyed the women’s final four last night and my favorite, UConn, made it through to the championship game, and we just did a long walk on a cool spring day. Inside for a late breakfast now. I hope you have a good one, too.

An August meetup sounds good!

>200 weird_O:. Ooo, good book trivia, Bill. What are the odds that Doctorow and Brooks would each come out at the same time with a Civil War novel titled March? The touchstones say hers sold better.

>200 weird_O:. Well done, man. The usual prize is a most excellent weekend. I hope you have one.

>202 msf59:. There’s our upside down traveler! Hiya, Mark. Good to have you back. I will travel threadward to see more wonders from what looked like a fabuloso trip.

Yes, I’m sure you remember Ad. Rich and Diving into the Wreck from our early days of poetry exploration. I’m glad The Women is off to a good start for you. You may have heard Debbi and me warbling together about that one. How to Read a Book sure sounds familiar. I’m glad it worked well for you.

All is well with the Welch clan; the Pittsburgh chapter arrives in around ten days. We’re glad the Freeburg clan is back safe and sound!

>204 jnwelch:. Thanks, Paul. We wish the same for the Dickensian Cranswickians. We’re doing well. As mentioned above, Debbi successfully had her last heart-related procedure yesterday, so we’re having a relaxing low key weekend of recovery.

>206 jnwelch: - Hi Joe. Speaking of titles, wasn't John Lewis's trilogy/graphic memoir also called March? Of course, not about the civil war, but about civil rights....

Joining in the No Buy Resistance Movement, I'm planning to re-read all my Ivan Doig books in order.
That should slow Amazon down, eh?

Sure wish today's Resist was located closer to home - maybe the next one will expand locations.

>208 jessibud2:. You’re right, Shelley! I forgot about those excellent John Lewis GNs. Hmm. Sometimes the stars align in weird ways, don’t they.

>209 m.belljackson:. Well done, Marianne. This one didn’t grab me like the boycotts; we were probably too distracted. I don’t have a Doig collection like yours, but I could live for a long time on my Walter Mosley and Murakami collections.

Today’s Bargain: Night Circus by Erin Morganstern for $1.99 on Kindle. All four family members, with diverse tastes, loved this one. Enchanting.

Love the picture of the young ones. They look ready for anything. Have a great rest of your weekend!

>212 Familyhistorian:. Ha! Good morning, Meg. I like that: “They look ready for anything.” Yes! With mischief at the top of the list. We’ve a niece who’s an actress, and demonstrative Fina reminds me of her at that age.

Today’s Bargain: Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume Two by Julia Childs for $1.99 on e-readers. My much better half (Madame MBH) loves cookbooks, so today’s bargain is in her honor. Will she go for it? A cookbook on Kindle? French Cooking? Julia Childs? Volume Two? A lot of questions will need to be answered before the day is through.

I am enjoying Diviners Bow, the new Liaden novel. It involves a neglected outpost in the universe that’s ripe for development, and Master Trader Shan yos’Galan and his bondmate Priscilla are there to help it along. Do we have any Liaden Universe fans here? Sharon Lee and her late hubby Steve Miller cranked out these satisfying concoctions for years and years, and I am a happy and faithful adherent.

>215 jnwelch: I am a Liaden® fan, a bit on the guilty pleasures spectrum, it being a bit more cute and cozy than my taste in SF. In fantasy it would be less of an issue. I'm waiting for Diviner's Bow to be available at the library.

Hope you are having a marvelous Monday, Joe!

If you love pure spirits and lovely, crystalline poetry, try Basho’s Haiku Selected Poems of Matsuo Basho translated by David Landis Barnhill. I’m thoroughly enjoying it, and feel more peaceful just thinking of the guy.

>216 quondame:. I can see Liaden books being thought a guilty pleasure, Susan. I can’t argue with cutesy, although the words in my mind are “a little sentimental”. and “too touchy feely for some”. A bit twee?

I do enjoy the problem- solving and the Liaden politeness. Descriptions of the Tree and its fruit, the interior worlds needing colorful weaving for healing, characters like Shan and Padi and now, Blays, are fun to read about. A quibble with the newest, Diviners Bow, is so many new characters are being introduced, with their not-like-ours names, that sometimes it’s hard for an old guy like me to sort out who is who. But doable. And it’s always a pleasure to dive into a Liaden story.

>217 alcottacre:. Hi, Stasia. I hear from Mark that there may be a Cubs game in our future.

Thanks re Monday. I hope yourswas marvelous. Ours felt packed - first workout of the week (after the weekend off ) plus lots of to-dos, but today is slower and more my style. We’re at a cafe reading Basho and writing (me) and TCB and writing (Madame MBH). Costco later in the day.

I hope the marvelosity carries over to your Tuesday.😀

>218 jnwelch: On my Poetry Shelf, I have Hiroshige's Tokaido, prints and poetry - Basho would make a nice companion.

While lining up the Ivan Doig books, I'm still reading a few pages of OMEROS every morning,
finishing A Gentleman in Moscow,
read both CYPRUS and ISLAMIC EMPIRES for the European Challenge,
Arthur for the Very First Time for a kid's book = definitely handy
as I read deeper into Joseph Anton.

I dropped Midnight's Children after the dog episode - while Joseph Anton is definitely not a barrel of laughs, it illuminates both
the disastrous political inactions back then for Salman Rushdie, both Muslim and The Rest, and severe implications for USA Today.

Also, keep THE MAP THAT CHANGED THE WORLD open to the Ammonite drawings, one by one.

There are multiple bargains today: Foundation by Isaac Asimov; The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, and Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, all for $1.99 on e-readers. The first is classic sci-fi with an exhilaratingly broad vision of time and events; I haven’t read the second, but it was muy popular on LT, and the third is a memoir I loved by a woman scientist breaking new ground in the field of botany.

>220 m.belljackson:. Sounds like a lovely reading smorgasbord, Marianne. You’re like me, enjoying having multiple books underway. Hiroshige’s Tokaido has requested that I peruse it. I haven’t read Midnight’s Children, so I don’t know the dog episode, but I bet others have found that a turn-off. I want to make time to read his Knife, which sounds gripping.

P.S. Maybe of interest to others is that Midnight’s Children is a bargain book today for $2.99 on e- readers. Tolerance for the dog episode required.😀

>208 jessibud2:
I read the Geraldine Brooks March when it first came out and enjoyed it. It expands on the world of Little Women and stays true to the real life of the Alcott family. It inspired me to read the Eden's Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father by John Matteson. Matteson won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Biography with that title. Reading Eden's Outcasts is the reason I can say with some authority that Brooks' book, even though it is fiction, stays true to the real life of Bronson Alcott and his family.

>219 jnwelch: Yep, those qualities are what I'd call subcatagories for my classification of Liaden as cute. Priscilla is the character I consider the most underused, though I've never been charmed by the re-incarnation aspect.

>223 benitastrnad:. Good to hear, Benita, thanks. Both your thumbs up for March and your confirmation of its accuracy.

>224 quondame:. 👍. Priscilla is in the new one, Susan, but I would’ve liked more.

Geraldine Brooks' March (and its fun to see how many books of the same name pop up under LT's touchstones) was a big hit with our book club a few years ago. Helps to have the events of "Little Women" in your head while reading it.

>226 magicians_nephew:. Thanks, Jim. Good to hear about the big book club hitness. Little Women was an in the past few years read, so I remember it pretty well. March will come up soonish. Right now I’ve started How to Read a Book on Mark’s recommendation.

>219 jnwelch: Yes! I am so looking forward to that Cubs game!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Today’s Bargain: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf for $1.99 on e-readers. My favorite VW book.”Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” Party prep turns into an amazing slice of life. This renewed my interest in reading VW after being frustrated by To the Lighthouse.Among other things, they never do get to the lighthouse! Troglodyte that I am, I kept wanting a shot to ring out, and a detective to show up.

>228 alcottacre:. Ditto, Stasia! Mark has more info for you; we talked last night.

Workout is done and I’m ready for a wonderful Wednesday. Spanish on Duolingo is up next. I’ve started How to Read a Book at Mark’s suggestion, and I’m already excited about reading it.

Now if we could just talk Spring weather into showing up . . .

>230 jnwelch: I sent you a PM when you get a chance to read it :)

>231 alcottacre:. Thanks for alerting me, Stasia. I’m a slow roller when it comes to LT messages.

>229 jnwelch: your spoiler comment about To the Lighthouse made me laugh, Joe. Some might say the same about Mrs D but I really enjoyed both books.

>233 lauralkeet:. Hi, Laura. I’m glad the To the Lighthouse comment gave you a chuckle. I’ve liked other VW books, particularly A Room of One’s Own. The problem with TTL was that nothing happened, and it just kept on not happening. It drove me crazy.. This, from a guy who reads a lot of poetry!

Okay, you were correct: I had not noticed the transition to this thread, or seen your (thankfully too late) warbles for Julia Child's second cookbook, and Mrs. Dalloway on sale. *whew* two bullets dodged!

>235 richardderus:. 😂. Thanks for the visit, amigo. Do you have any thoughts on To the Lighthouse?

>236 jnwelch: I liked it more than The Waves, as much as Orlando, and less than Mrs Dalloway.

Is Spoon River Anthology a classic? I think the answer’s yes.

It’s discussed a fair bit in Monica Wood’s novel How to Read a Book, and that reminded me what a remarkable piece of work SRA is. How in the world did Edgar Lee Masters do it? I'm going to have to bifurcate my brain into two so that I have time to re-read it.

>238 jnwelch: SRA has also been staged as a play and can be very moving and deep and solid.

I agree a remarkable piece of work. So many wheels turning together and apart. Hurrying off to a re-read.

>235 richardderus:
Now wait a minute ---- I cooked one of the most memorable meals I, and the guests, had ever eaten from both volumes of Mrs. Child's cookbooks. It was a meal to remember. And, the first time I ever cooked anything from Mrs. Child's books. I think a group of us were celebrating her birthday - or something like that. It was a magnificent meal.

How to Read a Book is on my radar too. Good to see you are enjoying it Joe.

>240 benitastrnad: Her cookbooks are legendary for a reason, Benita, but I covet them uselessly, as I have no kitchen.

Happy Friday, Joe. I am glad you are enjoying How to Read a Book. It evolves nicely and poetry is introduced. Looks like I need to read Spoon River Anthology.

I will return to respond to posts but, oh man, did I love How to Read a Book! Frank, Harriet, Violet, all part of my family now. I’m a sentimental guy, and it hit me in my sweet spot. Great recommendation from Mark.

>243 msf59:. Happy Friday, Mark. As you can tell, I LOVED How to Read a Book. Best book recommendation I’ve ever gotten? It sure ranks up there at the top.

Yes, how could you resist Spoon River Anthology after the Book Club enjoyed it so much?. The book does evolve nicely, with poetry introduced and they love Yeats! That made me very happy. Me, too.

Enjoy the day, brother. Job well done.

Today’s Bargain: The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin for $1.99 on e-readers. One of his famous ones. I grabbed it.

>237 richardderus:. Thanks, Richard. You’ve got me on the track of two VWs I haven’t read. The Waves is my goddaughter's favorite VW book, so I need to read that one. I should try Orlando, too. I think my hetero-ness caused me to hesitate on that one. (I can hear you laughing at me).

Did you enjoy A Room of One’s Own? That and Mrs. Dalloway are my faves of hers.

>239 magicians_nephew:. Man, I would love to have seen/heard SRA on stage, Jim. I envy you your robust theater scene. It certainly could happen in my town, but I think the odds are better in yours.

I’m glad this has motivated you to revisit SRA. Me, too.

>240 benitastrnad:, >242 richardderus:. Mmm, your guests are so lucky, Benita. I’m sure your guests greatly appreciated your high level hosting.

My sympathy re your lack of kitchen, RD. That seems particularly unfortunate given your enthusiastic appreciation of well-made food. There is much, up with which you must put. Thank goodness for the rewards of reading which save us all.

Another Bargain: Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck, a book recommended by our resident Warbler Mark, is available for a bargain $2.99 on e-readers. Given the recommender, I snapped it up.

An interesting Bookbub list of readers’ saddest books ever: https://www.bookbub.com/blog/heartwrenching-books-readers-share

I’m glad to say I’ve read most of them. Although I can see why the reader picked it, A Gentleman in Moscow would not have been on my saddest list.

>247 jnwelch: I'm not hugely a fan of A Room of One's Own because it's a given...needs no argument. Acknowledging that not all the world thinks it's self-evident that women are forced into subservience by misogyny, I'm just not interested in the argument as reading pleasure though I'll shove the book into others' hands to pry their brains open.

>251 richardderus:. Fair enough, Mr.D. I’m thinking she was out there in A Room of One’s Own with equity earlier than most, and I loved the writing. Yeah, I imagine we have plenty of goombah heads who still need their brains pried open; I think that actually explains our most recent election.

You will be pleased, I hope, to hear that I just started Twist and he’s got me on board (see what I did there?) already. Your review was Warble level persuasive. Ireland must have the highest per capita rate of good authors of any country in the world, mustn’t it? That gift of gab just keeps on giving.

>252 jnwelch: Oh good! Twist will repay you for your eyeblinks spent. I'm pretty confident you'll get the bug early and rip through it like a tornado.

>253 richardderus:. 😀 👍. So far it’s working well.

P. S. Have you given up on touchstones? I imagine there’s a story there that I missed.

>254 jnwelch: Twist has about a squillion choices to wade through, so I quit. If it takes more than three or four entries I won't bother unless it's the title entry on my review.

>246 jnwelch: Thanks for the mention of that one, Joe. I have not yet read that Baldwin so I grabbed the deal too!

Have a wonderful weekend!

>250 jnwelch: Joe A Gentleman in Moscow is a comedy compared with HERITAGE by Miguel Bonnefoy.

>250 jnwelch: Interesting list, Joe. It's yet another list of books I own but haven't read. I have lots of such lists.

I'm currently reading John Scalzi's latest, When the Moon Hits Your Eye, wherein the moon turns into cheese. When I bought the Scalzi, I also got How to Read a Book; the mentions of it here and elsewhere on LT have me looking forward to diving into it.

>255 richardderus: oh yeah, I’ve gone through that touchstone frustration and even for a while participated in a touchstone improvement group on LT. Supposedly the most popular near-titles float to the top, but even that seems maybe sometimes to me. I suggested as a simple starting point putting direct matches at the top, but that went nowhere. I understand now; I don’t enjoy hunting for the right touchstone either. Your italics solution is a good fallback.

>256 alcottacre:. Right, Stasia? I’m under-read with Baldwin, and that sure sounds like a good one.

Thanks for the weekend wishes, and I wish you a wonderful one, too. Our daughter arrives soon, so that’ll move it up on the wonderfulness meter.

>257 m.belljackson:. Hi, Marianne. I don’t know Monsieur Bonnefoy’s book, but A Gentleman in Moscow does have a gentle humor running though it, doesn’t it. And I didn’t find the ending sad.
Sophia in America: we all have to let our children go as they grow up. And he reunites with Ana. The ending is open, if anything.

>258 weird_O:. It’s probably a lighter load to have lists of unread books than gather all the unread ones on your shelves like our friend Paul does, Bill. The latter is more majestic and fun, though, if you have a sufficiently tolerant spouse.

I look forward to your take on the new Scalzi. I’m sure our son will be reading it. That premise of the moon really being made of cheese sounded like more fun for the author than the reader to curmudgeonly me.

“When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it.“

Mark Twain in The Autobiography of Mark Twain. Available today for $2.99 on Kindle.

>261 jnwelch: Agreed. Our brains edit the world constantly and, as we age, more and more to suit our emotional needs. *sigh*

>262 richardderus:. I join your sigh, Richard. The part about remembering things that never happened worries me a bit, but I guess I’ll have to accept whatever comes.

Towards the end my father explained to me and my sisters that there were 24 houses nearby that neighbors had set up and decorated to look just like his, to help him feel welcome in each. Memorably bizarre, but well-suited to his emotional needs.

Murderbot is coming on Apple TV! Callloo! Callay!

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=murderbo%20official%20trailer&source=sh/x/...

Today’s Bargains: The Third Realm by Karl-Ove Knausgaard and Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris. The first goes for $1.99 and the second for $2.99 on e-readers. The first is well-received 2024 fiction by the renowned author of the 6 volume autobiography My Struggle. (Any readers of that here?). I haven’t read him, and this looks like a reader-friendly place to start. The second is a highly regarded biography of a fascinating President.

Brother Mark Freeburg is reading Sailing Around the Room, my favorite poetry collection by Billy Collins. if you want to read a bunch of really good, accessible poems, this is a treat.

>265 jnwelch: Joe - I rated My Struggle Book 1 as one star - details in my review.

>261 jnwelch: I'm digging into (and digging!) Ron Chernow's new book on Mark Twain.

I read Twain's own autobiography years ago, should probably revisit it along side reading Chernow. Twain's wife looked over a lot of his writing and "edited" it - not always for the better.

>267 m.belljackson:. Ha! I’m going to make a leap and assume you didn’t like the first volume of My Struggle, Marianne.

He certainly has his enthusiasts.

>268 magicians_nephew:. Ron Chernow on Mark Twain sounds like a potentially stellar combo, Jim.

Ha! You’d have to be in a strong position to try to “edit” Mark Twain.

Your reading endeavors are commendable, my friend. Twain was my dad’s favorite author, so I read a lot of him as a kid.

Today’s Bargains: Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut and Holes by Louis Sachar, each for $1.99 on e-readers. The first is one of his best, featuring an American spy in Nazi Germany and challenging our morals. The second is an exceptionally good middle grade novel enjoyed by adults.

Two dictators walk into a bar.
The ground opens up beneath them.

>271 m.belljackson:😂. We wish, don’t we, Marianne. I’d pick Drumpf and Putin, and would be just fine with never seeing either of them again.

>244 jnwelch: Oh man! I should have jumped at the chance to buy this book when I was at the used book store. Perhaps it will be there next time.

Happy week ahead

>273 figsfromthistle:. Such a good book, Anita! I hope a bargain How to Read a Book resurfaces for you.

Happy week ahead for you, too! So far it’s been pretty darn good on my end.

Mother Night is a good one. I read Player Piano in college (His first novel) and then galloped through all the Vonnegut in the library in a few weeks.

Player Piano is about a man dealing with a super computer. Seems oddly prescient looking around today

>275 magicians_nephew:. Hiya, Jim. Yeah, like you, I went on a Vonnegut tear in high school, although I haven’t read some of his later ones. Breakfast of Champions may be the last I read. He certainly encouraged a healthy, humorous skepticism about the world around us, and even imparted some wisdom. I’m sure Cat’s Cradle influenced my views on religion.😀

Ye, Player Piano does seem prescient re the super computer. Our son thinks true AI is further away than enthusiasts claim, and that we need a better understanding of our own brains before we can realistically think about true AI. It’s refreshing to have his skepticism.

>275 magicians_nephew: Vonnegut was the answer to Final Jeopardy last night!

Thought I'd point out that Robert Reich has given the "Joseph Welch Award" (which he might have just made up, but which ought to be a thing) to Harvard for standing up for academic freedom. Let's hope a few more colleges and universities take the hint.

>277 laytonwoman3rd: - I love this! If those *awards* are made up, they ought to be for real! They remind me of what Borowitz is doing in his Borowitz Report. He has the *Quisling Awards*.... But I do love the idea of the Joseph Welch Award! ;-)

>276 jnwelch:. Yay! Keep his name alive. I’ve got a re-read of Sirens of Titan on a soonish mind shelf.

Wow! How cool. Thanks, Linda! He’s likely referring to my grandpappy. I’ll check out the link and find out more. I’ll have to alert my sibs and cousins. One of my cousins is really good about spreading the word to us all (Jnw’s other son besides my dad is her dad), so she’ll probably beat me to it. I was just talking to her sister about how Pop continues to be remembered.

I like Robert Reich and generally share his views. I’m glad he’s the one that came up with this.

>279 jnwelch: He's definitely referring to Joseph the Elder, Joe. It was no small thing your grandfather did, and reminding people of it makes it more likely some will stand up and follow his example, I hope.

I saw the Reich reference this morning too and of course I thought of "our" Joe and meant to share the article, but got sidetracked. Thanks for posting it Linda.

>280 laytonwoman3rd: Yes, he is, thanks, Linda. Yes, it was a big, important deal in which he managed, under a national spotlight, to encapsulate in a moment of high drama what so many thought was wrong with McCarthy and McCarthyism. I hope others stand up and follow his example, too. Buttigieg is the one who stands out for me, with his guts and intelligence, and calm under pressure.

I wish the first JNW had lived longer - I was six when he died.

>281 lauralkeet:. Isn’t that cool, Laura? Adding my thanks to yours. I’m honored to be “your” JNW. Our son Jesse is the third JNW.

>278 jessibud2:. I love it, too, Shelley. He went to Harvard Law, and would’ve been very happy that Harvard received the award for refusing to capitulate to the Orange Disaster.

Today’s Bargain: Reality Is Not What It Seems by Carlo Rovelli for $1.99 on e-readers. I love this Italian author’s ability to succinctly explain science to laymen, and grabbed this one in a jiffy.

Here’s one from the remarkable Spoon River Anthology:

Cassius Hueffer

They have chiseled on my stone the words:
“His life was gentle, and the elements so mixed in him
That nature might stand up and say
This was a man.”*
Those who knew me smile
As they read this empty rhetoric.

My epitaph should have been:
“Life was not gentle to him,
And the elements so mixed in him
That he made warfare in life
In the which he was slain.”
While I lived I could not cope with slanderous tongues,
Now that I an dead I must submit to an epitaph
Graven by a fool!

*”His life. . . a man” is from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Marc Antony saying this of the dead Brutus.

From a great article by Samuel Wynn Ward, “MAGA Can’t Handle the Real Donald Trump”

“The truly fascinating part isn't just that Trump supporters believe in their mythologized version of him – it's that they actively reject the real thing in favor of their creation.

The actual Trump, who struggles with basic sentences and throws temper tantrums on Truth Social, is less appealing than their fanfiction version who's supposedly fighting an underground war against lizard people while simultaneously solving world hunger.”

https://www.newsletter.samuel-warde.com/p/maga-cant-handle-the-real-donald?utm_c...

>279 jnwelch: We need another person with the gravitas to say, "Have you at long last no shame?" when the mikes and cameras are pointed at Them.

>286 jnwelch: - This is hilarious AND brilliant. But he is preaching to the converted. No matter. We need the entertainment.

Joe! There's more from Robert Reich!! You said you were going to alert your cousin ...

PS: From Joseph Welch's granddaughter

>289 lauralkeet: I just saw that too!

>289 lauralkeet: The link seems to come back here???

ETA: found it: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/ps-from-joseph-welchs-granddaughter

>291 kac522: thanks for posting the link. I had a typo in my post, which I’ve now corrected.

>291 kac522:. Ah good, thanks, Laura. I shall peruse. That has to be my cousin Nancy Welch ( the cousins are all on the east coast where my dad and his brother grew up in Plimpton Massachusetts not far from Boston). She sent us the nice response from Robert Reich, which probably shows up in the link. If not, I’ll post it.

It wasn’t there. Here’s RR’s classy response:

Dear Nancy Welch,



I'm honored that you saw fit to write to me. Your grandfather was a great man who almost single-handedly ended the horrific reign of Joe McCarthy. His bravery and decency won the day, We need more of his kind today.



Thank you.



Robert Reich

Amazing. Thanks for sharing that Joe.

>295 lauralkeet:. 👍😀

>285 jnwelch: Good one, Joe. Giving me another nudge toward that anthology.

>294 jnwelch: That is awesome.

>297 msf59:. Glad you liked that Spoon River poem, Mark. In one sense, they’re all like that. Super-accessible. He uses the epitaphs to explore our foibles and the poignancy of our lives.

Isn’t that a cool development with Robert Reich? What a mensch. I hope you got to see Nancy’s well-written letter to him, and the photo of Pop liftinh her by her ears!

Okay, the new cafe is open. See you there!

>276 jnwelch: Keeping up with AI Research has been a sort of Retirement hobby for me.

I agree with your son. Some of AI is already baked in to modern computer technology, some new pieces will be stirred in over time, and some of it will remain laboratory curiosities for another generation. But incremental not revolutionary.

>190 jnwelch: So glad to read of Debbi's graduation Joe. Happy dance.