Katie's Reading Retreat - Chapter 5

Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ
There are more cherry blossoms - and a wider variety of them - in BBP than in Washington, DC. I'm hoping to get to the park soon for the annual Cherry Blossom Festival. Happy spring!
_____________________________________

For anyone new to my thread, I’m Katie: reader, wine drinker, food appreciator, shenanigan-ator, and non-sufferer of fools. I live outside New York City with my husband, "The" Wayne, our cat, Leonard, and our dog, Nuala/Noodles.

My reading varies widely - I love genre fiction (romance and crime), contemporary and historical fiction, and narrative nonfiction. I try to balance my reading in all these areas. I also use my thread as a bit of a life journal, which mostly means I talk about what I’m cooking, eating, drinking, watching, doing, and avoiding doing.

Thanks for being here!

Currently Reading
(Print) (Audio)

BOOKS COMPLETED

Books Off My Shelf: 25
Books Off My Kindle: 8
Books from Audible/Chirp: 13
Library Loans (print/e-books/audios): 32
Friend Loan:

MAY
078. How to Capture a Countess by Karen Hawkins (3 stars)
077. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (audio) (4.5 stars)
076. Taft 2012 by Jason Heller (3.5 stars)
075. The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahamd (3.5 stars)
074. White Nights by Ann Cleeves (3.75 stars)
073. Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros (3.75 stars)
072. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin (4.25 stars)
071. Digging In by Loretta Nyhan (audio) (3.25 stars)
070. Fantasy in Death by JD Robb (3.5 stars)
069. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (4.25 stars)
068. The Tree of Forgetfulness by Pam Durban (4.5 stars)
067. Phase Six by Jim Shepard (4 stars)
066. Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy (4 stars)

Did Not Finish (YTD)
05. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
04. The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso
03. The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev
02. The Servants' Quarters by Lynn Freed
01. Lazarus Man by Richard Price

QUARTER 1 COMPLETIONS

JANUARY
Favorite(s):

017. The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan (audio) (5 stars)
016. Sky Full of Elephants by Cebo Campbell (3.5 stars)
015. Make Russia Great Again by Christopher Buckley (audio) (3.75 stars)
014. Governess Gone Rogue by Laura Lee Guhrke (audio) (4 stars)
013. The Other Passenger by Louise Candlish (3.75 stars)
012. The Last Night at the Ritz by Elizabeth Savage (3.5 stars)
011. Righteous by Joe Ide (audio) (4 stars)
010. A Five Letter Word for Love by Amy James (4.25 stars)
009. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (audio) (4 stars)
008. On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder (3.75 stars)
007. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (4 stars)
006. Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (5 stars)
005. One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams (audio) (3.75 stars)
004. Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin (audio) (3.25 stars)
003. The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning (3.75 stars)
002. North to Paradise by Ousman Umar (audio) (3.5 stars)
001. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (4 stars)

FEBRUARY
Favorite:

033. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (4 stars)
032. Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen (audio) (3.25 stars)
031. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (3.75 stars)
030. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (audio) (3.5 stars)
029. D is for Deadbeat by Sue Grafton (4 stars)
028. Habits of the House by Fay Weldon (audio) (3.25 stars)
027. Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami (4.5 stars)
026. Sense & Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (audio) (3.75 stars)
025. Unwrapping Her Perfect Match by Kat Latham (3.5 stars)
024. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves (3.5 stars)
023. The Age of the Strongman by Gideon Rachman (audio) (4.25 stars)
022. The Spoilt City by Olivia Manning (3.75 stars)
021. Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton (audio) (3 stars)
020. Community Board by Tara Conklin (3.5 stars)
019. Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (audio) (4.25 stars)
018. Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter by Kate Conger and Ryan Mac (4 stars)

MARCH
Favorite:

051. God's Away on Business by Adrian McKinty (audio) (3.75 stars
050. The Marriage Contract by Cathy Maxwell (audio) (3.5 stars)
049. The Odds by Stewart O'Nan (3.5 stars)
048. I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney (4.5 stars)
047. I'm Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi (Audio) (3.5 stars)
046. Henry, Himself by Stewart O'Nan (4.5 stars)
045. Hang On St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty (audio) (4.25 stars)
044. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden (3.25 stars)
043. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker (audio) (4 stars)
042. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (3.5 stars)
041. Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom (4 stars)
040. Calico Joe by John Grisham (audio) (4 stars)
039. The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins (audio) (3.75 stars)
038. Friends and Heroes by Olivia Manning (3.5 stars)
037. Election by Tom Perrotta (audio) (3.5 stars)
036. The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz (4 stars)
035. We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (audio) (4.5 stars)
034. River of the Gods by Candice Millard (audio) (4 stars)

QUARTER 2 COMPLETIONS

APRIL
Favorite:

065. The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen (audio) (2.5 stars)
064. The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram (2.75 stars)
063. Oral History by Lee Smith (3 stars)
062. The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang (4 stars)
061. Funny Story by Emily Henry (4.25 stars)
060. Euphoria by Lily King (3.5 stars)
059. Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman (audio) (3.5 stars)
058. Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare (3.75 stars)
057. Hotel Sarajevo by Jack Kersh (3.5 stars)
056. Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus (audio) (3 stars)
055. All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison (4.5 stars)
054. The End of Her by Shari LaPena (3.5 stars)
053. Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (audio) (5 stars)
052. Foster by Claire Keegan (3.75 stars)

My Ratings (revised, once again, as I continue the fruitless search for the perfect scale...)

5 stars = Perfect, for me
4.5 stars = Excellent read
4 stars = Good read
3.5 stars = Not a waste of time
3 stars = Some redeeming qualities, but I wish I’d read something else
2.5 stars = Didn’t work for me
2 stars = Why didn’t I DNF it?

(Anything below 2 stars is unlikely to be finished)

Glad to have you along for the ride!

Merry Trivia Tuesday, and a happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>8 richardderus: - Thank you kindly!

>9 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita!

Happy New Thread! I hope you enjoy Foster. I really liked it.

I love the cherry blossoms Katie. just have to ask though: are there fewer cherry blossoms in DC bc that asshat has gone after them too?!!

Happy new thread, Katie! Hooray for cherry blossoms.

>11 SandDune: - It was a good read, Rhian.

>12 lauralkeet: - LOL! I don't think so, though I am usually happy to blame him for anything :)

>13 Familyhistorian: - Thanks, Meg!

Morning, all!

I'm still struggling with a bit of a cough but otherwise feel fine. We came in 5th of 14 teams at trivia last night. Very tough music and TV/movie rounds... We raised a glass to Senator Booker (home state Senator!) when he beat the record for longest speech on the Senate floor. What a marathon, and I appreciate his effort to call attention to all the harm being done to this country and its citizens.

Today I have to get to the grocery store, and I have my 6-week follow up with the oral surgeon. Everything seems fine and I'm confident she'll give me the go-ahead to schedule the crowns with my dentist. Dinner tonight is Sort-Of Bánh Mìs.

Books:
I finished Foster this morning and will now return to The Crimson Petal and the White for Part 2. Still listening to P&P on audio.

I’ve always liked Cory Booker, and now more than ever. That was amazing.

I was thinking of you with Cory Booker being one of your representatives. Impressive.

There are more cherry blossoms - and a wider variety of them - in BBP than in Washington, DC
Oh you're trying to start a fight, huh?

>16 lauralkeet: - Yes, he's not without fault, but he seems like a good guy. Our other Senator, Andy Kim, is also very good.

>17 japaul22: - And a shout-out to Senator Murphy of CT who stayed in the chamber with Booker (almost?) the whole time!

>18 norabelle414: - Merely stating facts, Nora :D Apparently, Macon, GA has both of us beat, though, in sheer number (though not variety).

>15 katiekrug: Good on him. Chuck the Schmuck from NY could learn at least some moves from Sen. Booker.

Happy new thread, Katie!

I was following Booker's progress with awe yesterday. 25 hours is wild and I so appreciate him standing up for all of our rights.

>19 katiekrug: The tidal basin, yes, but not all of DC! There are thousands more around the city and the National Arboretum has 31 varietals

>20 richardderus: - The Wayne is feeling very smug lately, as he's never liked Schumer...

>21 curioussquared: - Thanks, Natalie! And I totally agree about Booker.

>22 norabelle414: - Let's just agree to hate on Georgia...?

Happy new one Katie. We're on-line together as usual :)

Happy new thread, Katie!

Checking in on the new thread before I lose you again :)

Happy new one, Katie!

>24 RebaRelishesReading: - *waves to Reba*

>25 drneutron: - Thanks, Jim!

>26 alcottacre: - Hi Stasia!

>27 bell7: - Thank you, Mary!

Grey and drizzly here. I've already ventured out to take Nuala to day care and to drop off books at the library and pick up a prescription at CVS. Feeling quite accomplished already :) Today's only "must do" is washing towels which is easy enough. I expect I'll spend some time at my puzzle board, and I really should tidy up my dressing room. We'll see... I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight so no cooking. Last night, I made Sort-Of-Banh-Mis or Lazy (Wo)man's Banh Mis or whatever you want to call them - toasted a baguette under the broiler, spread with sriacha aioli, layered up with chicken, shredded cabbage, shredded carrot, red onion, and thinly slice cucumbers. Delicious! Next time, I'm going to do a quick pickle of the cabbage/carrot/onion I think...

Books:
I've decided to DNF The Crimson Petal and the White. I made it through 200 pages and it wasn't bad and I could continue to plod through, but I was really just sort of dreading it and never looked forward to picking it up, so no. I have to say the relief I felt once the decision was made was pretty validating :) In its place, I've started The End of Her, a popcorn kind of book but will contribute to my goal of reading physical books I own. On audio, I'm still enjoying my re-read of P&P.

>29 katiekrug: I never finished The Crimson Petal and the White either.

"I've a neater sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land" applies to books too.

>29 katiekrug: Good call on DNF'ing a book that isn't bringing you joy, Katie.
Enjoy your dinner tonight!

Happy new thread, Katie. I love the cherry blossoms. I like Cory Booker as well.

>29 katiekrug: It's good to ditch books that aren't bringing you joy, I think. Life is too short.

Sweet Thursday, Katie. Happy New Thread. Funny, I was just going to remind you about The Crimson Petal and the White. Sorry, to hear that you had to DNF it. Bummer. Hey, at least you gave it a gallant attempt. 200 pages is a chunk. We will see how I do...Enjoy your freedom. 😜

>29 katiekrug: Sorry to hear that you DNF The Crimson Petal and the White, Katie, but completely understand. I read it years ago - no idea how long ago but it is at least 20 years - and I have less tolerance for reading books I am not enjoying now than I did then, so it will be interesting to see if I continue on with it. I want to finish it since the book is a group read, but not holding myself to doing that :)

>30 magicians_nephew: - Glad I'm not alone, Jim.

>31 lauralkeet: - Thank you, Laura! Your review of TCPatW contributed to my decision to set it aside :)

>32 BLBera: - Cherry blossoms and Cory Booker - and people say nothing good comes out of Newark :) (It also has excellent Spanish and Portuguese food.)

Life is definitely too short!

>33 msf59: - Hiya, Mark! I'm glad I gave it a try. At a different time, I might have persevered. I hope it's a winner for you.

>34 alcottacre: - I'll also be interested in seeing what you make of it on second reading, Stasia.

Happy Friday! It's still grey and damp here, and it was very hard to get out of bed this morning. I had a really nice time at dinner last night with my friend, Rebecca, whom I hadn't seen in over a year. We talked about books (I first met her through a book group I was in) and theater (and made plans to go see some things together) and London (which she visited for the first time a year or so ago and has since been back to twice!). The food itself was forgettable, but the conversation was great. While I was out, The Wayne had walked down to a local place for dinner, so I met him there and watched part of the Yankees game and had a glass of wine. It was a nice evening all around.

Today I'll be getting a pedicure, picking up some wine, and going to Michael's to get supplies to make my sign for the protest I'm going to tomorrow. I am trying to think of something clever to put on my sign... I really love the one I saw online from an earlier protest that had a picture of Trump on it and read "Does this ass make my country look small?"

Lemon-garlic linguini for dinner tonight.

Books:
Still reading The End of Her and listening to Pride & Prejudice.

>36 katiekrug: What's on your theater list Katie? I just saw (and loved) Operation Mincemeat and I have tickets for We Had A World. I'm trying to go more regularly and would love some recommendations!

>36 katiekrug: Perfect sign! Borrow it and tell truth to power. Protest hearty!

>37 vivians: - For my birthday, The Wayne got us tickets to 'Glengarry Glen Ross' which I am VERY excited about. Rebecca and I talked about seeing 'Macbeth in Stride' at BAM and 'Irishtown' at the Irish Rep. And I still want to see 'Hadestown.' Oh, and 'Angry Alan' which I think starts in May or June.

>38 richardderus: - That might tax my limited crafty skills, but we'll see...

What a great idea for a sign! Will you go into the city for the protest or stay local?

>29 katiekrug: I'd say you were brave and constant to stick with a book you weren't really liking for 200 pages!! You get a sticker for that along with wishes that. The End of Her goes better.

Margie and I are going to the Vancouver protest tomorrow along with some other friends. I suppose I should think about making some signs but I think I'll drive along the river for some wine and lunch instead.

Hope you have a good one!!

Love your plan for your sign!

Catching up around here, Katie. Yay for ditching a read that wasn't bringing you joy.

Looking forward to seeing whatever sign you end up making for the protest.

Trying not to be too envious over all your blooms. Flowering trees don't start popping until May around here.

Happy New Thread, Katie! My city just had a Cherry Blossom festival too. I didn't make, but Dave and Muffin did. Dave said there were thousands of people out. He went back today, - we live near to it. , but there was quite a down pour and he mainly went to walk the dog. But they enjoyed sniffing the food trucks, or at least Muffin did.

Hello, stopping in to catch up. Yay for cherry blossoms, we went to a palace around here that had a grove and the scene was complete insanity. I'm pretty sure all the blossoms have blown away now, so I'm glad we went when we did.

>41 lauralkeet: - I was planning to attend a local protest (more below).

>42 RebaRelishesReading: - WIne and lunch along the river sounds lovely!

>43 curioussquared: - I went with something a little simpler... (see below).

>44 MickyFine: - I'm sure the wait will be worth it, Micky :)

>45 vancouverdeb: - I also enjoy sniffing around food trucks, Deborah :D

>46 ursula: - They never do last very long, do they, Ursula? So pretty while they're here, though...

Welp, it's been a minute since I was here! I had a weird weekend... I felt like doo-doo on Saturday so didn't make it to the protest :( And Cory Booker spoke at our local one! I had made a sign - I just painted "What Cory said" on a piece of cardboard. I guess I'll save it for another time, maybe. I felt better on Sunday, and we went to a concert of Rodgers and Hart music at Jazz at Lincoln Center. It was very good. These "Songbook Series" concerts are every other month, and we've been going to them since last June. Always a nice time. Then I felt gross again last night and had trouble sleeping, so I had to cancel on a friend who I was going to go to a movie screening with tonight. I plan to take it easy the next couple of days and hope I can kick this crud to the curb.

Books:
I finished The End of Her and Pride & Prejudice and have moved on to All Among the Barley in print and Nothing Else But Miracles on audio. I also started a historical romance novella yesterday (Lord Dashwood Missed Out) on Kindle to have something to read on the train. I'll read a chapter a day in that this week.

Katie, I am so sorry that you have been feeling poorly. Good luck with kicking it to the curb. Your romance novella sounds fun.

>49 Crazymamie: - Thank you, Mamie.

#52
Foster by Claire Keegan
Hardcover (mine)
3.75 stars

#53
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Audiobook (mine)
5 stars

#54
The End of Her by Shari LaPena
Paperback (mine)
3.5 stars

I'm sorry you didn't make it to the protest, Katie. I hope you feel better soon.

>51 katiekrug: I liked Foster a bit more than you but I agree with you re undeveloped characters. If you haven't seen it, I recommend 'The Quiet Girl," the movie based on the novella.

Given how dank and awful it's been, I'm really not surprised the protest had to fall off your list. I'm not moving very fast and could very well be bed-bound if it keeps this crap up. *grrr*

I love your protest sign idea.

Hope you feel better quickly.

Nice lot of reading you've been doing -- I must get going on bookclub book (Frozen River

>55 vivians: seconding this! It's very good, and brought the characters to life more IMO.

Sorry didn't make it to the protest because of feeling crappy, Katie. Feel better soon! I'm just starting The Crimson Petal and the White and hope I find it more appealing than you did.

>54 lauralkeet: - I was disappointed to miss it, Laura. They had a great turnout, though, so that was good to see/hear.

>55 vivians: / >58 lauralkeet: - It's already on my To Watch list!

>56 richardderus: - Well, today has turned out to be beautiful here! I hope it's the same in your neck of the woods :)

>57 RebaRelishesReading: - Thank you, Reba!

>59 Familyhistorian: - I hope you like it more than I did, too, Meg. I didn't hate it - just wasn't invested enough to continue for 600+ more pages!

I'm really loving All Among the Barley. I have no idea how it ended up in my hands - my LT catalogue says I purchased it from The Book Depository so I think it must have jumped out at me when I was on that site ordering something else. I love happy accidents like that :)

Happy Tuesday, Katie! Hope you're feeling better.

>60 katiekrug: *Really* windy, but sunshiney as all get out. I'll call it a win.

>61 katiekrug: The best kind of impulse purchase!

Sorry you missed your protest. My daughter and I went, and there were some great signs. Of course, I don't remember what any of them said...

I loved Foster as well; it was the first thing by Keegan that I read. She can keep writing novellas.

Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion are my favorite Austens as well.

Maybe on the 19th...?

I loved this sign!

>65 richardderus: - Snort!

>37 vivians: Just to pop in and say "We Had a World" at the Manhattan Theater Club is truly a must see for the top drawer acting and for sharp clever compassionate writing. Seeing the great Johanna Gleason in a small theater up close and personal is just wow!

We saw "Hadestown" a few years ago on the last night of theatre before Broadway shut down for COVID. It's a great piece and a powerful score. Patrick Page sang the lead and had us shivering with his powerful bass baritone voice. Looking forward to hearing your reactions.

>51 katiekrug: Have you read Keegan's Small Things Like These yet, Katie? I thought it was the better of the two books.

>52 katiekrug: Well, I can safely dodge that BB.

>61 katiekrug: I have never heard of that one so I will be curious to see what you make of it in the end.

I hope you are feeling much better by now! Maybe they could stage another protest just so you could attend. . .

>67 magicians_nephew: - I don't know when I'll get to see 'Hadestown,' Jim, but it's definitely on the list!

>68 alcottacre: - Good morning, Stasia! Yes, I've read STLT - twice now, once in print and once on audio. I love it.

I am feeling better, though my cough is lingering. But it's better each day, so I can't complain!

Maribel is here cleaning, the dog has gone to day care, and I'm settled in for a quiet morning at my desk. Later today, I'll pick up Nuala and stop to get some wine. We are meeting friends for dinner at a BYOB place (https://dervishnj.com/) tonight. Last night, we played trivia and came in first, despite an abysmal first round (we always suck at music...) and despite NO ONE LISTENING TO ME when I said Jodie Foster had won two Best Actress Oscars. Hmph.

Yesterday, I finished All Among the Barley and Nothing Else But Miracles on audio. I've now started a listen of Then She Found Me and picked up Hotel Sarajevo in print.

>70 katiekrug: I had no idea La Foster had won two Best Actresses. That's a big up on you for coming in first despite the others' faithless abandonment.

>71 richardderus: - "faithless abandonment" - Yes!

The question was to name 4 actresses who have won Best Actress twice since 1985. Foster won for 'The Accused' and 'The Silence of the Lambs.' Others were Frances McDormand, Emma Stone, and Hilary Swank. We put Meryl Streep as one, but her first win was before 1985. I don't remember who our other guess was, but we missed Hilary Swank, too.

#55
All Among the Barley by Melissa Harrison
Paperback (mine)
4.5 stars

#56
Nothing Else But Miracles by Kate Albus
Audio (library)
3 stars

>70 katiekrug: Congrats on your trivia win. Looks like you're just breezing through the audio books -- wow! Hope your day goes well.

>72 katiekrug: I had utterly forgotten The Accursed even existed. It dings a teeny-tiny tinny little bell.

>73 katiekrug: You came *this*close* to breaking my "no new books" rule. Had it a Kindle edition, I'd've been resetting my "days without buying another book" counter to zero.

>70 katiekrug: You guys are doing good at trivia lately. How many people were on your team?

Congrats on the trivia win, Katie. I hope the next crop of reads are treating you as well as the ones you just finished.

>75 RebaRelishesReading: - I do tend to get through audio books rather quickly, mostly thanks to my bad jigsaw habit :)

>76 richardderus: - BB dodged, darn it! Though your reasoning is sound of course. It's weird there's not a Kindle version. My library actually has her first novel (on audio), so I've put that on my list.

>77 Familyhistorian: - We have highs and lows at trivia, often depending on the size of the team! This past week, there were six of us, which can make it slightly chaotic as we debate answers...

>78 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky!

We're having yet another rainy, cold day here. I don't mind too much, though an occasional glimpse of the sun would be nice. Maybe tomorrow?

Nothing much going on around here. Thursday's dinner with friends was great fun. The food was excellent, though they were out of doner, which was disappointing. I got a chicken thing which was fine, but I had stuffed myself on baba ghanoush (sp?) and hummus and piping hot flat bread, so most of the chicken came home with me and TW had it for lunch on Friday. Friday was very chill and I was super lazy.

Big plans for the weekend include TW *finally* doing our taxes. He assures me it will be the simplest ones yet, since he no longer has to worry about also doing NY state and NYC taxes. Fingers crossed there are no hiccups in the process. I think we are going to a new-to-us Neopolitan pizza place for an early dinner. We've been meaning to try this place for a while, and they are having a special bulgogi pizza tonight, so I decided it was time.

A special note for all you Austen lovers out there - the 2005 Pride & Prejudice is having a limited re-release in theaters for its 20th anniversary. My best friend and I got our tickets yesterday, and it will be the kick-off to my birthday week later this month :)

Books:
I've finished Hotel Sarajevo and Lord Dashwood Missed Out and will start Euphoria for book club next week. On audio, I'm almost finished with Then She Found Me.

>80 katiekrug: Ooh thanks for the heads up about P&P. I'm definitely going to try and go see it. I have fond memories of seeing it in theatre the first time. ❤️

>80 katiekrug: Thanks for the tip about P&P, Katie! I'm passing this along to Kate. I took her to see that when it was first released. She was 12, and it had a huge impact on both her reading and writing.

P&P news is most tempting. I'll have to keep an eye out.

>80 katiekrug: Your book club read, Euphoria looks interesting. I think I might check that out.

Happy Monday, Katie. Good review of All Among the Barley. Sounds really good. Somehow, I am hanging in with Crimson Petal. I still find it oddly readable but WTH is it 900 pages long? I bet it could have worked at half the length.

Have you or anyone you know started watching the adaptation of Long Bright River? I have heard mixed things.

Hi Katie and 👍to Cory Booker - hope he keeps up the good fight!

>81 MickyFine: and >82 lauralkeet: - I'm sure I must have seen it in the theater when it first came out, but I have no memory of doing so. I checked, and it came out in November of 2005, so I had just moved into my apartment in Dallas (I had been living with my aunt and uncle since July) and started my job the previous month. Guess I was busy :)

>83 RebaRelishesReading: - Around here, it's playing at AMC theaters. Not sure if that's the only place or not...

>84 Familyhistorian: - It was an interesting read, Meg. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of it.

>85 msf59: - Happy Wednesday now, Mark! I'm glad you are finding TCatW good enough to stick with. I haven't started the LBR series yet, and haven't heard anything about it from anyone.

>86 DeltaQueen50: - Nice to see you, Judy! We need more good fight-ers these days!

>87 katiekrug: Kate's going to see it at Alamo in Brooklyn. I hope you enjoy, Katie!

Oops, looks like I haven't posted since Saturday. That's okay. My life isn't very exciting and probably doesn't necessitate frequent updating :) I've been off and on LT skimming threads the past few days but find I have nothing much to add to the conversation...

Let's see - the weekend was good. Sunday was sports-filled with the Bahrain Grand Prix (F1) and The Masters (golf). I blame Netflix and their excellent sports docuseries for making me care about these competitions :) I was very pleased to see Rory McIlroy win the latter, and in such dramatic fashion. The Wayne and I were at a restaurant, watching the last several holes at the bar, and it was riveting.

Monday, Leonard had his annual check-up at the vet and other than his teeth (Which he won't let me brush), he's fine. They recommended doing a "senior cat" blood analysis and everything came back fine. In other exciting medical news, I had a virtual appoibtment with a gastroenterologist in advance of my first-ever colonoscopy. Can't wait! *smirk*

Our team won at trivia again, and this time it was at the "hard" place (more teams, more serious players) so we were very proud of ourselves.

And that's the update.

Books:
I am several reviews behind. Since Saturday, I've finished Euphoria and started The Rape of Nanking. I'll be breaking up that grimness with Funny Story, which I'll start today. On audio, I'm a couple of chapters into The Rumor Game.

>89 katiekrug: Trivia victory again! Excellent. Your recent reads were certainly grim...or at least unhappy-making.

See you around!

>89 katiekrug: The Rape of Nanking was absolutely harrowing, quite possibly more than any other non-fiction book I've ever read. I've also read her book The Chinese in America: A Narrative History, which also received 5 stars from me. One of my closest medical school classmates, who is also Chinese, knew Iris Chang in childhood, as both parents were in graduate school around the same time. Anlin, my friend, told me about Iris either shortly before or after her suicide, which was an absolute tragedy.

>89 katiekrug: Wow.The Rape of Nanking is a tough read.

I read it when it first came out and it so upset me i was then unable to keep the book in my house.

Be curious to hear what you make of it. Be curious to know what led you to pick it up.

What Darryl said.

>89 katiekrug: We've never done trivia except on cruises but enjoyed it there. I imagine the competition is tougher where you are -- more dedicated, regular, teams, etc. So extra congrats for winning at the "hard" place!

Katie, are you still watching UC? The quarterfinals wrapped up this week which means there will be semifinals on 4/21 and 4/28 and then the final. It's almost as exciting as Formula 1 !!

I saw on StoryGraph that you were starting The Rape of Nanking. Difficult indeed. I remember quite well both reading the book and also when she died, as I was working at the Borders in Palo Alto, so she was essentially a local author.

I love that you won at the "hard" place! That would also feel like a bigger victory to me.

I worry about our cats' teeth. No one is letting us in there to brush.

>90 richardderus: *waves to RD*

>91 kidzdoc: - Interesting connection to Iris Chang, Darryl! I had forgotten she committed suicide. The book is , indeed, harrowing. I'm currently on the section about the international neutral zone.

>92 magicians_nephew: - I've had it on my shelf for ages, Jim, and then it came up in a conversation with a friend, who had read it. So I pulled it down and put it on the "read soon" pile and here we are. I think I originally bought it because I had heard of it, saw it on the bargain shelf at a used bookstore, and knew very little about the topic...

>93 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba!

>94 lauralkeet: - I fell off the UC wagon, Laura. It sort of seemed endless. Now that I've had a break, I'll probably tune in for the semis and final. Which is your favorite team?

>95 ursula: - Ha! You've reminded me that I have connections on StoryGraph and should check their updates occasionally :)

The trivia win this week definitely felt like more of an accomplishment.

Leonard has had at least one tooth extracted and a deep cleaning, both while under anasthesia. The Wayne is scared to put him under again, given that he's getting on in years, but we also don't want him to be in pain from his teeth, so.... I need to talk to the vet again I guess.

I had a fun surprise driving to book club yesterday evening when I felt one of the "caps" on my implants vibrate and realized it was about to come out! Cue stomach clench/mild panic for a few minutes... When I got to book club, I excused myself and texted TW to Google what I should do and if it meant I was going to die (my standard assumption when anything happens to any body part that I don't expect). I got the cap out and stowed away in a plastic bag in my purse and called the oral surgeon first thing this morning. Got in at 11am and 5 minutes lates, after anasthetic spray and some mild discomfort while she re-placed it, I was on my way. Apparently, the gum grows very quickly so it's important to get the cap back in place as soon as possible. So yay?

It's spring break for a lot of schools here, so book club was rather small as a lot of members were out of town. We had a good discussion of Euphoria with a lot of differing viewpoints and levels of appreciation for it.

This afternoon should be pretty quiet. The weather is gorgeous, and I should go out and enjoy it, but probably won't, as I have rediscovered Super Mario 3. The story of this game and me is a long one which I won't bore you with, but I'm playing it rather obsessively. Oh well.

I'm making tortellini with prosciutto and peas for dinner tonight (NYT recipe).

Books:
Funny Story is a lot of fun so far. The Rape of Nanking is no fun, but fascinating. And the audio of The Rumor Game is entertaining.

>96 katiekrug: I don't have a clear favorite this year, Katie. Last year there were one or two teams that really stood out; this year there are specific contestants I like so I guess I'm cheering for them. There have been a few really close matches but also some blow-outs. Anyway, you can't go wrong watching the semis and the final.

>97 katiekrug: ewww re the tooth. I'm so glad they could fix it right away. I'm having a bit of pain in one of my molars and hoping it holds out until my regular visit on the 29th. Not that they'll fix it on the spot, but I don't feel like making a separate appointment just for diagnosis.

>97 katiekrug: Yum on dinner, boo on surprises...I hate 'em all...and *big* ups for finishing Nanking without having a mental-health crisis. Harrowing read. How could actual human beings do this?

Chew gingerly.

>97 katiekrug: Oh no! Sorry to hear about the cap coming off. How annoying.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend

>97 katiekrug: I'm glad to hear you're having fun with Funny Story. Have an excellent weekend, friend!

Glad you survived the loose cap!! I know that procedure was no fun to begin with and the repeat most unwelcome!

It's been a little quiet around here. Everything okay at Casa Krug?

>69 katiekrug: I am glad to hear that you enjoyed STLT so much, Katie!

>73 katiekrug: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks so much for the review and recommendation!

>91 kidzdoc: I wholeheartedly agree with Daryl's assessment of The Rape of Nanking. It is one of those books that, despite rating it very highly, do not ever want to read again, it is just that harrowing.

I hope you are having a marvelous Monday!

>98 lauralkeet: - A good reminder to watch tonight's match!

I hope your tooth pain stays manageable until your appointment.

>99 richardderus: - I haven't finished The Rape of Nanking, yet. I am reading about a chapter a day or every other day...

I'm back to regurlarly scheduled chewing :)

>100 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita! All good now but it was certainly disconcerting.

>101 MickyFine: - I really liked Funny Story, Micky. I'm now about half a dozen books behind on commenting... *sigh*

>102 RebaRelishesReading: - Thankfully, it took all of 5 minutes for the oral surgeon to put it back in place. Apparently, the gum grows very quickly, though, so I already had some partially covering the implant, so she used a spray anisthetic and gingerly replaced it. It wasn't painless, but not too bad.

>103 lauralkeet: - All good, I just don't feel like I have much to say here or on most threads :-P Tomorrow will be pretty quiet, so I will try to catch up on some things here, including some comments on finished reads! Thanks for checking in :)

I'm glad the lose cap has been secured, Katie. My Easter adventure was getting into my car after walking the dog, and somehow it seemed I had lost my car keys. I knew they must be somewhere close, as I had just unlocked the car. I look under the car, in the glovebox, on the seats and underneath the towels we have on the seats for Muffin. No luck. So I texted Dave to come and look for me. Before he arrived I found my keys in the pocket of my fleece jacket. Duh!

>105 katiekrug: I get it, Katie. Just don't disappear entirely, okay!? I hope you enjoy your quiet day.

I mean this with all the positivity I can muster: Chew well at trivia tonight! xo

>106 vancouverdeb: - I'm glad your adventure ended well, Deborah!

>107 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura!

>108 richardderus: - LOL. But we are playing trivia tomorrow night :) I will keep that advice in mind, though!

Yesterday, I started my birthday week celebrations with my best friend. We met in the city and saw the 2005 Pride & Prejudice adaptation ont he big screen and then went for a late lunch and chatted a while. We both felt quite decadent going to see a movie at noon on a Monday. She was off work for Easter break (she's a teacher at a Catholic school). In the evening, The Wayne and I watched s1e1 of 'The Diplomat.' I've watched the first season already, but I think he'd really like the show, so we started at the beginning.

Today will be devoted to catching up on things around the house, especially the laundry. Leftovers for dinner. Tomorrow, we'll play trivia in the evening, Thursday I have an appointment to renew my driver's license, and Friday night we are going to a game night at friends'. Saturday is my actual birthday, and if the weather is nice, we'll go to the farmer's market, maybe play mini-golf, and go out for dinner somewhere (note to self: where do you want to go?). Not sure what we'll do Sunday, but birthday celebrations last a week in our house, so I'll think of something :)

Books:
In the interest of clearing the slate, I am just going to post my recent completions and ratings, maybe with some comments. I am currently reading Oral History for the AAC, The Rape of Nanking, and The Rumor Game (audio).

#57
Hotel Sarajevo by Jack Kersh
Paperback (mine)
3.5 stars

A war orphan during the siege of Sarajevo tries to keep her body and hope alive.


#58
Lord Dashwood Missed Out by Tessa Dare
Kindle (library)
3.75 stars

My favorite of the Spindle Cove novellas. The characters were more fully fleshed out in this one, and Dare's signature humor shone throughout.


#59
Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman
Audio (mine)
3.5 stars

This was okay but not as good as the other Lipmans I've read. It was her debut novel; I'm glad I didn't start with this one or I might not have read any others.


#60
Euphoria by Lily King
Kindle (library)
3.5 stars

Based in part on the life of Margaret Mead, this was beautifully written but left me a bit cold. One of those books I appreciate more than truly enjoy.


#61
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Kindle (library)
4.25 stars

I seem to prefer every other one of Henry's novels. The first was good, I didn't like the second as much, really enjoyed the third, didn't much like the fourth, but really liked this one. It's a weird pattern... Anyway, this was a delight. I loved both main characters, especially Miles, and the secondary characters were a highlight for me.

Nice! I'm glad you had a good time with Funny Story. I'll be interested to see if the trend holds with Henry's newest novel. I'm currently #28 in my local library's holds queue so it'll be a few months before I get to it.

>112 MickyFine: - The description of her newest doesn't grab me... I'll be interested in your thoughts on it!

>111 katiekrug: I have read only one of Henry's books to date, I think, Book Lovers, and really enjoyed it. I will have to give Funny Story a shot!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Katie!

Glad all is well at Casa Krug. What did you think of P & P?

>114 alcottacre: - It was a fun read, Stasia! Hope you're having a good day, too!

>115 RebaRelishesReading: - I loved it just as much, if not more, than I always do :)

I can report that Kate and her friend Rachel greatly enjoyed P&P in the theater last weekend. Because they were both 12 when the film was first released, they decided to revisit their childhood by ordering cookie milkshakes (delivered to their seats, as Alamo does). But they both still cried at all the usual spots, like when Elizabeth's father grants permission for her to marry.

>113 katiekrug: It was on the Bestseller Express shelf when I visited my local library today so that report will be much sooner than I thought. 😁

I think I'll see if Hubby and/or a friend want to go and see it with me.

>117 lauralkeet: - I love Alamo. We had one about a mile from our house in Dallas and went there a lot. We have been known to drive to Yonkers now to go to the one there :-P Glad Kate and her friend enjoyed it!

I am always fascinated by Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and depictions of them. While she's annoying, he's no great shakes himself...

>118 MickyFine: - Oh, lucky break!

>119 RebaRelishesReading: - Or you could go by yourself - I *love* going to movies by myself :)

The Wayne and I played trivia on our own last night, as our usual team members were otherwise occupied. We ended up winning, but there were only 4 teams, and our point total was laughingly low. But a win's a win!

Maribel is here cleaning right now and Nuala is living her best life at day care. I have an appointment later this afternoon to renew my driver's license and finally get the 'Real ID.' I am trying to understand why, if a passport is good enough to fly, I can't just bring my current DL and passport and get the stupid upgraded ID. I also have to bring my Social Security card and a utility bill *eye roll.* ANYWAY, after I deal with the state bureaucracy, I'll pick Nuala up and settle in for the evening. We have leftovers to eat for dinner, so no cooking required :)

Books:
I am planning to finish up The Rape of Nanking today and get close to the end of Oral History. I also need to listen to a chunk of The Rumor Game, since it's due back to the library in a few days...

>121 katiekrug: A win's a win indeed! Y'all were still better than three other teams.

Adult your way into a cheery mood, and beat the odds. I'm counting on your good example setting.

Hi, Katie. I just read your email post. You had some great reads last month!

>121 katiekrug: Katie, I wish you the best as you enter the hell that is the DMV. Are you doing this because your DL needs to be renewed anyway? Or is there another reason? I've been thinking that if I need to fly anywhere I'll just bring my passport even if it's a domestic flight. But I want to make sure I'm not missing something important.

>120 katiekrug: You're right. I could. I have never done that and, truthfully, am unlikely to. More likely would be just wait for it to be on TV and then watch it alone from comfort of my own chair :)

Several years ago I had to renew my CA drivers' license and got the "real ID" then. When we moved to WA (4 1/2 years ago now!! gasp!!!) we got one too. Fortunately, in each case I needed a new license so it was no more trouble to get a "real id" one than the plain one. Hope your visit goes smoothly too.

And, yes, a win is a win. Sounds like fewer points than you hoped for reflected on the questions not on you!!

>122 richardderus: - I'll do my best :D

>123 ffortsa: - Thanks, Judy! I didn't think anyone read my Substack anymore ;-)

>124 lauralkeet: - My license is expiring, and under normal circumstances, I could renew it online, but since NJ is *finally* being forced to do the RealID thing, I figured I'd go ahead and do it...

>125 RebaRelishesReading: - Well, ok, but there is something to be said for seeing it on the big screen. I noticed a lot more.

The Wayne got his renewed pretty efficiently last month, so fingers crossed my experience is just as painless. NJ kept asking for and receiving extensions on implementing RealID, so it wasn't possible to get it for several years. They finally got their act together...

I see we're having another live conversation this morning :). I like that.

I agree that seeing a film on the big screen is much better and I also could use an outing so I'm going to try for that.

Hope your DL experience is indeed painless.

Have a good one.

>121 katiekrug: *Canadian raises hand* What's a RealID?

>128 RebaRelishesReading: - I love our "live" conversations :)

I survived the MVC (DMV). But it took longer than I expected...

>129 MickyFine: - Short version: it's performative security that is totally meaningless.

Long version: it's a more "secure" ID that will be required for domestic flights and to enter secure federal facilities. You can get away with not having one if you have a passport, but I don't want to have to carry my passport when I'm not going anywhere international.

>130 katiekrug: Iiiinteresting.

>131 MickyFine: - You spelled stOOpid wrong 😂

>130 katiekrug:, >131 MickyFine: I think most other countries require a passport to fly anywhere, domestic or international. At least, that was my experience in Europe. So we've been kind of spoiled here, being able to use another form of ID. Lots and lots of people have never needed a passport.

>130 katiekrug: >133 lauralkeet: It's so long since I've flown anywhere domestically (back in the 80's) that I started wondering if you did need a passport here. Apparently, you don't for domestic flights but you do need other photo ID such as a driving licence. But most people have a passport so would use that anyway.

>134 SandDune: Thanks Rhian. I realize now I never flew a domestic flight in Europe. My travels took me from the UK to another EU country and occasionally outside the EU.

>121 katiekrug: I got a RealID in California when we moved back there, and it was like a good news-bad news situation. Good news: I could just "renew" my old expired license, get back the same number, etc. Bad news: not only did I need my Social Security card and a bill, and my passport - I also needed my marriage license because my last name had changed. To the name on my passport, bill and Social Security card. And my then-current Colorado driver's license.

>133 lauralkeet: - But there is no reason to change things now. If it were some urgent security issue, states like my own wouldn't have been able to delay it for years. It's just dumb, and given the rigamarole I saw several people going through at the MVC yesterday related to name changes, immigration status, etc., it's needlessly burdensome.

>134 SandDune: and >135 lauralkeet: - Makes sense.

>136 ursula: - I had my unexpired passport, current DL, Social Security card, and a utility bill with my name and address on it. At first, the woman checking docs thought I had an issue because my maiden name is now my middle name, so she wanted my marriage certificate, and I was like, um, no. My middle name is now *this* as you can see from the SS card. Luckily, one of the staff sitting next to her set her straight...

Today's big excitement is game night at our friend Ed and Alice's. Unsure what game(s) we'll be playing but there is going to be a hot dog tasting, buffet of various toppings, and - rumor has it - possibly a hot dog-shaped cake for my birthday. That seems rather ambitious on Alice's part, so I am not going to count on it :) I need to pick up some wine for the evening, as well as some nibbles, since I am incapable of arriving somewhere empty-handed. It should be a fun way to kick off my birthday weekend!

Books:I
I finished The Rape of Nanking yesterday while at the MVC (sort of put the annoyances in perspective, tbh). I should finish Oral History today - I'm ready to move on from it but have less than 100 pages now. And I really need to do some audio listening! I did none yesterday, as I was dealing with the DL renewal for longer than I expected.

Good morning Katie!! Just dropping by to see if you're "here" and to tell you that my high school BFF (who moved here a little over a year ago), Hubby and I have tickets to see Pride and Prejudice at 11:40 today :)

Glad your driver's license wasn't too big of a deal and that you have it done and dusted.

>133 lauralkeet: If you're flying domestically in Canada you can do it with just government-issued photo ID (typically a driver's license or identification card).

Have an excellent birthday weekend kick-off, Katie. Personally I prefer burgers to hot dogs but I'm glad you're excited. :)

>137 katiekrug: oh I totally agree with you, Katie about there being no reason to change now. I was just making a sort of adjacent comment.

>139 RebaRelishesReading: - Hi Reba! I'm here now :)

Enjoy the film!

>140 MickyFine: - I like both burgers and hot dogs, but one of our hosts is a big hot dog afficianado.

>141 lauralkeet: - Got it!

"I had my unexpired passport" I thought having a passport meant you had REAL ID, and didn't need to do anything more, like updating your Driver's license. Because, what about people who do fly, but do not drive, and never have? The whole thing is a bureaucratic nightmare, as proven by the "official" who didn't know how to deal with you.

>143 laytonwoman3rd: Pennsylvania offers non-driver photo IDs that meet Real ID standards; I would assume that other states do the same thing.

Katie, I think that the Giants were one of the big winners of day 1 of the NFL Draft.

>144 kidzdoc: Yes, I know that, Darryl. But people who go through the process of getting a passport have already satisfied the requirements of Real ID, and shouldn't have to do it again.

>145 laytonwoman3rd: Ah. Good point.

>137 katiekrug: The Republicans seem to like putting as much pain-in-the-ass into voting as they can. "Needlessly burdensome" is putting it mildly.

I fear this will discourage people from voting - honestly not sure how that will cut in the tabulated results.

Katie, I've been up since the crack of dawn making this for you. I hope you have a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Happy Birthday, Katie! Hope your day is exactly what you want it to be.

>143 laytonwoman3rd: - You can just use your passport and not "upgrade" your DL or just not have a DL. That's what I was planning to do, but I had to renew my DL anyway, so I figured I'd just go ahead and get the RealID one.

>144 kidzdoc: - NJ has non-driver IDs, as did Texas.

I am shocked that Shoen and Daboll didn't eff up the draft ;-)

>145 laytonwoman3rd: and >146 kidzdoc: - SInce I had my passport and a valid DL, I thought it was ridiculous that I had to bring my SS card and a utility bill.

>147 magicians_nephew: - Not to mention that a passport isn't a panacea, given their cost to obtain...

>148 lauralkeet: - Aw, that's kind of you, Laura! Thanks!

>149 kidzdoc: - Thanks, Darryl!

>150 figsfromthistle: - Thank you, Anita!

Happy Katie's Birthday to all who celebrate! Ha!

I'm having a very lazy start to the day and expect it to continue so. I've decided I don't want to do much today other than read, puzzle, get pizza for dinner, and watch TV with The Wayne. Last night with our friends was fun, and Alice made the hot dog-shaped cake! And it was lemon inside, which is my very favorite! So nice of her. I should post a pic - I was really impressed with how well it came out. It was a late night, with much wine, hence taking it easy today :)

Books:
I finished Oral History and have started The Summer We Ran, which I got through LT Early Reviewers. I might finish the audio of The Rumor Game today...

I'm not much of a baker and you already have a beautiful cake from Laura so I'll just send wishes for a very happy birthday!!

Happy Katie's Birthday Day!!

Happy birthday, Katie!

Happy birthday, Katie! I hope it's full of all the best things!

Happy birthday, Katie. Many happy returns. I hope your day is full of celebration.

I laughed at your finishing The Rape of Nanking at the DMV. Perfect place for it. I'm glad it was relatively painless. I swear my blood pressure goes up every time I have to go there.

>152 katiekrug: My carol book appears to have vanished but I'm puttin' up the birthday-celebration tree with lights and baubles as we speak.

HB HB! Hope the whole weekend was fun.

RE RealID - I did the DMV visit last month and was convinced the $110 fee (despite my license not being expired) was a significant motivation behind the whole charade.

>153 RebaRelishesReading: - Thank you, Reba!

>154 norabelle414: - Thanks, Nora!

>155 bell7: - Thank you, Mary!

>156 MickyFine: - It was full of lazy, so no complaints :)

>157 BLBera: - Thank you, Beth!

>158 richardderus: - Glad to hear it :)

>159 vivians: - Thanks, Vivian!

$110?!?! I paid $35...

New week, same old me...

My birthday weekend was uber-lazy. I didn't get out of my jammies on Saturday. I read and played games and vegged out with TW. We ordered a pizza for dinner. Sunday was marginally less lazy - I showered and got dressed. And we went out for dinner.

So back to the regular routine today. I've been to the grocery store and done some food prep. I might start the laundry, but I could do that tomorrow... Today's weather is gorgeous, so I think I'll do some reading on the deck. Roast chicken club sandwiches for dinner, with Asian slaw on the side.

Books:
I *still* haven't finished The Rumor Game, but I was able to renew it, so I should finish up by tomorrow. In print, I'm reading The Summer We Ran, which is an ER book so I feel like I should finish it, but it's not very good.

>160 katiekrug: Well, that's New York for you.

>162 vivians: - I'm surprised the difference in cost was so significant, as it's not like NJ isn't known for nickel-and-diming its residents, too!

#62
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Paperback (mine)
4 stars

#63
Oral History by Lee Smith
Paperback (mine)
3 stars

#64
The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram
Paperback ARC (mine)
2.75 stars

#65
The Rumor Game by Thomas Mullen
Audiobook (library)
2.5 stars

>167 katiekrug: I read the first two of Mullen's Darktown series, and then Pearl-ruled the third one. They all should have been so much better than they were, given the premise, and by No. 3 I realized he just wasn't doing what I think he set out to do. Too bad.

>164 katiekrug: One of the hardest reads of my entire reading career. I'm glad I read it, grateful it exists, and will be boiled alive before reading it again.

Your Lee Smith experience is the one I dread the most. Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand was this one for me, a book I loved but did not hold up to thirty more years of reading-eyed Richard.

Nice spate of work, even if not all the reads were successes.

That's some reading you've done there, Katie. I think I'll pass on Nanking, although I admire those who have read it. As far as Mullen goes, I've only read Darktown, rated it 3 stars, and decided not to continue. Thanks for taking one for the team.

Happy Wednesday, Katie. Just checking in with my pal. I NEED to get to The Rape of Nanking. Why I haven't read this one is a complete puzzle. Too bad about The Rumor Game. Mullen is usually much more reliable.

Thanks for explaining what " real id" is. I think as a Canadian flying just in Canada , you just need a Drivers License. A belated Happy Birthday, Katie!

>164 katiekrug: The Japanese government's refusal to acknowledge the horrors of Nanking - to this day - was almost harder to read than the reports of atrocities.

Kudos to you for finishing it.

>168 laytonwoman3rd: - I have the first one but am not in any hurry to read it now!

>169 richardderus: - I need a really good read, STAT! Too much meh makes me cranky...

>170 lauralkeet: - It seems Mullen's earlier books garner more enthusiasm. I have two of them to try at some point. I don't think the historical mystery is his strength.

>171 msf59: - What Mullens have you liked, Mark? I have The Last Town on Earth and The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers on shelf, as well as Darktown on my Kindle.

>172 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Deborah!

>173 magicians_nephew: - Agreed, Jim.

>174 katiekrug: May I suggest Perspective(s), Laurent Binet's latest? It was so very engrossing. Or permaybehaps you need a solid reread? They do perk us up in a big way, us seasoned readers.

I hope you find a solution before you get too much happy leached out.

>175 richardderus: - I've picked up Dark Roots, a short story collection that I know Mamie loved years ago. I've read two stories and so far, so good! I am also about 1/6 of the way into No Ordinary Time, which is fascinating. So things are looking up :)

April in Review
(Numbers in parantheses are YTD)

Books Read: 14 (65)
(Puzzles Completed: 4 (21))

Mine: 9 (36)
Library: 5 (29)

Male authors: 2 (21)
Female authors: 12 (45)
Non-Binary: 0 (0)

New-to-me authors: 6 (34)
Authors of Color: 1 (11)
US/UK authors: 13 (59)
Other: 1 - Ireland (7 - Canada, Ghana, Ireland x3, Morocco, Nigeria)

Print: 7 (22)
Ebook: 3 (14)
Audio: 4 (29)

General/Popular Fiction: 2 (12)
Literary Fiction: 3 (8)
Historical Fiction: 3 (7)
Romance: 2 (7)
Crime/Thriller: 1 (11)
Juvenile/YA: 1 (3)
Classics: 1 (2)
Speculative: 0 (4)
Nonfiction: 1 (11)

Publication:
New (2024 or 2025): 3 (12)
2020-2023: 2 (14)
2010-2019: 4 (22)
2000-2009: 0 (4)
1980s-90s: 4 (6)
1950s-70s: 0 (4)
1900-1949: 0 (1)
19th c.: 1 (2)

Re-reads: 2 (4)
DNFs: 1 (5)

Best of the month (not counting re-reads): All Among the Barley
Worst of the month (not counting DNFs): The Rumor Game

A lower number of completions this month (both books and puzzles!), which I am blaming on my current obsession with Super Mario 3, which is taking away puzzling/listening time. But this too shall pass... The month started off pretty strong with some good-great reads, but it really fizzled out, as I finished up 3 pretty "meh" ones. Here's hoping for a more consistently good new month!

"Musts" for May:
No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin for the AAC
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami for RL book club

>174 katiekrug: I was about to tell you I think you deserve a really good read RIGHT NOW and then came across this and see that you already figured that out lol. Hope you find one because you really do deserve it.

Fingers crossed for your next read to be better!

>176 katiekrug: Liked No Ordinary Time a lot. Enjoy!

>178 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks for the support, Reba :)

>179 norabelle414: - Appreciate it, Nora!

>180 magicians_nephew: - It's quite a tome, Jim, but very readable and I am learning a lot.

I'm back from my dentist, where he performed the first part of the crown implant process. Easy peasy. But now I have to wait 3 weeks. I'll be so glad when this is all over...

Not much else going on here. I made a tasty dinner last night, a riff on the Bon Appetit recipe for a quick chicken and white bean chili. Apparently, I am now the kind of person who can riff on recipes. Go me. Tonight I'm mkaing the NYT spicy skillet grount turkey and snap peas.

Tomorrow, we are going into the city to see Glengarry Glen Ross, which was my birthday present. I am SO excited. It's got a great cast (Bob Odenkirk, Bill Burr, and Kieran Culkin). Afterwards, we might journey down to Soho to go to Bibliotheque a book store/wine bar that I am probably not hip enough to enter but whatever.

Books:
Very much enjoying the stories in Dark Roots, and learning more about FDR and Eleanor in No Ordinary Time. On audio, I've started Phase Six, which I think was a recommendation from Richard? Maybe?

>182 katiekrug: You might not be hip enough to gain admittance, but your wallet is, never fear.

>182 katiekrug:. Your birthday present sounds wonderful. Hope you're having a great time!

I hope your birthday gift outing is full of fabulous!

I hope you enjoy your birthday present Katie, and I am glad that first part of your dental is underway and hope all will go well.

I was confused by the whole REAL ID thing too. Is that also something that's need to be able to vote as well?

Have a great birthday outing!

>183 richardderus: - Ha! Good point.

>184 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba! We did :)

>185 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky!

>186 vancouverdeb: - Appreciate those good thoughts, Deborah. Thanks :)

>187 Familyhistorian: - Voting requirements vary by state, Meg. In some places, a government ID is required but not in all.

We had a great time in the city yesterday. We got the train into Penn Station and walked to a bar in Hell's Kitchen, where we shared a flat bread and had a couple of drinks before heading to the theater. The play was very good - a little uneven in parts, but the acting was excellent (except for one minor part). Afterwards, we took the subway to Soho to go to Bibliotheque, which was lame. It's just a wine bar with books as a gimmick. We didn't linger and instead wandered up to Mercer Street Books, which was small but crammed full of used books. We each got a couple (one of my picks was for a friend, so I only bought one for myself, exercising amazing self-control) and then walked along Bleecker St. to Peculier (sic) Pub, which neither of us had enough tattoos (zero between us) to feel comfortable in ;-) From there, we headed to Christopher St. and an Asian-fusion place we'd been to before. We shared some excellent dumplings and then we each got a sushi roll. The sauvignon blanc was nice and cold and refreshing, which was a delight since the temps were in the 80s. After dinner, on the way to the subway, I decided I needed gelato, so we stopped at Julietta. We got back to Penn in perfect time to hop on a train back across the river without waiting. All in all, a very nice day and wonderful way to end my birthday celebrations.

"which neither of us had enough tattoos (zero between us) to feel comfortable in" Made me chuckle.

Sounds like an utterly lovely day on the town, Katie!

>174 katiekrug: I enjoyed all 3 of those Mullen titles, so if you want to give him another chance.

Happy Monday, Katie. It sounds like you had a nice weekend.

>189 katiekrug: "A History of the World in Seven Restaurants"

>189 katiekrug: It sounds like a wonderful day, Katie.

>189 katiekrug: Sounds lovely!! Glad you had such a great day.

New Elon insult incoming: "Edolph Twitler"

I love it! Hope you aren't molding over in this dankness.

>190 laytonwoman3rd: - :)

>191 MickyFine: - It was!

>192 msf59: - I will probably give one of them a try at some point, Mark.

>193 magicians_nephew: - Ha!

>194 BLBera: - It definitely was, Beth.

>195 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba!

>196 richardderus: - I was so sick of the rain! Enjoying the sunshine this morning :)

"Edolph Twitler" is great!

Sounds like a great day out!

Happy mid week :)

>198 figsfromthistle: - Happy almost end of week to you, Anita!

Reading Update:
I am almost finished with the audio of Phase Six, which is very good. In print, I am still making my way through No Ordinary Time; I'm breaking that up The Tree of Forgetfulness, which is also very good so far. This weekend, I will start The Dream Hotel for my RL book group, which meets a week from today.

Other Stuff:
We came in second at trivia last night. I got a new-to-me sandwich off the menu - a panini with chicken, roasted red peppers, baby spinach, mozzarella, and pesto sauce. Delish! It might be my new favorite, which is saying something because all their sandwiches are excellent. In other culinary news, I made a nice braised beef in the Instant Pot and had it in tacos one night and then over rice with roasted broccoli on the side another night. The Wayne made a fabuslous Thai curry on Sunday, and we'll have leftovers for dinner tonight. Tomorrow, I'm doing turkey club sandwiches for dinner, because I've been craving one :)

I am trying to make a plan for tackling some of the organization projects I want to start. I'm in a very purge-y mood and want to take advantage of that. I think the biggest impediment is making space for what gets purged and being efficient about getting it out of the house once the decision in made. I just need a little self-discipline. My problem is that my enthusiasm always fades after the initial rush, and I get distracted and leave things half-done. *sigh*

Hope everyone enjoys the downhill slide into the weekend!

#66
Dark Roots by Cate Kennedy
Paperback (mine)
4 stars

>201 katiekrug: Sounds most interesting! Tomorrow I'm posting Spaniard Sara Mesa's Bad Handwriting, light on funny but heavy on heartbreaking and replete with puzzling. Good stuff...of course not quite as good as your sammy from triviation sounds.

Weekend-ahead orisons.

>203 katiekrug: - I'll check out the Mesa. thanks for the heads-up!

Oh, look. It's raining again :-/

#67
Phase Six by Jim Shepard
Audiobook (library)
4 stars

It's raining here too, Katie. We had really heavy rain last weekend, but the rain is back today. Looks like tomorrow will be nice but then we're in for more wet days. It's good for the garden, but our grass is a mess and I'm sure our lawn mowing guy is getting further behind every day. I know, that's a real first world problem.

We've had the driest spring on record I think but we are promised a little rain tomorrow (I think). I need to do some minor stuff in the garden but it really isn't my thing and kneeling hurts so I'm putting it off...promise of rain is encouraging me though.

Hope you have a successful purge, Katie.

Happy Friday, Katie! Your sandwich at trivia sounds delish.

>203 katiekrug: De rien, ma amie.

>205 lauralkeet: - We also had a lot of rain last weekend, Laura. Thankfully, not heaby or prolonged enough to raise worries about the river. Our front and back yards are a mess, but this weekend looks to be sunny so I'm hoping TW will get out there with the mower...

>206 RebaRelishesReading: - We've been in drought conditions, I think, Reba, so the rain is needed, but it sure is annoying!

Thanks for the good thoughts re: the purge. I hope it'll be successful... if I ever start it :)

>207 curioussquared: - Hi Natalie! I am already looking forward to getting the sandwich again. I had brought half of it home with me, and it was even good right out of the fridge!

>208 richardderus: - xxoo

I see That Person has popped up again on your thread. Wanna play Whack-a-Mole?!?! ;-)

>209 katiekrug: I've reported and flagged...but there was a ban placed, so how this is even possible I don't know! Please do flag that post.

People ::eyeroll::

>210 richardderus: User removed.

>211 laytonwoman3rd: Thank All y'all. How that happened again is beyond me.

>210 richardderus: - I flagged it. I'm not sure how bans are enforced, though I assume it has something to do with IP addresses?

>211 laytonwoman3rd: - Good riddance.

>212 richardderus: - Sorry you periodically have to deal with it...

#68
The Tree of Forgetfulness by Pam Durban
Paperback (mine)
4.5 stars

The rain moved out yesterday, and today is sunny and breezy and beautiful. Last night, we kept the windows open, and I got seriously cold, despite a light wool blanket on top of the sheet and quilt!

This afternoon, TW and I ran some errands - wine/liquor store (he's hosting his whisky club next Saturday), Home Sense, Home Goods (I was in search of stemless wine glasses, as we are down to 2) and the pet store to replenish the doofuses' food reserves. He is now mowing the lawn, and once that's done and he's cleaned up, we are headed out for an early dinner, hopefully al fresco... Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Books:
I am caught up on reviews, go me. Still plugging away at No Ordinary TIme, which is very good, just very detailed and long. I was a bit shocked there were only 2 pages devoted to the internment of Japanese-Americans... Seems like kind of a big deal... On audio, I'm listening to Digging In, which is fine so far. I am planning to finish the chapter I'm reading in NOT and start The Dream Hotel sometime later today.

>213 katiekrug: It is the IP address, and my assumption is that when there's a periodic Cloudflare acting-up event it's possible for them to sneak in again. The part that utterly baffles me is why, after fifteen years, this is still an active obsession.

>216 richardderus: - It's pathetic.

>217 katiekrug: Agreed.

What a stunningly perfect early-summer day! I'm happily becardiganed, walked the boardwalk for a while to stare at the North Atlantic, and am now settled in to some Ladee Hubbard stories.

*happy sigh*

>218 richardderus: - Yesterday was lovely! I also took a walk :)

We're back to grey and damp weather today, ho-hum. But it was beautiful yesterday, and I took a little walk, which was nice. The animals didn't appreciate it, as it made me a whole 8 minutes late in giving them dinner... Nothing much (still) going on here. I've got some errands to run, and I need to figure out dinner, as we decided to play trivia tomorrow night. My errands will take me by a nice little Mediterranean grocery, so I'm thinking I might just do a mezze plate for dinner. So lazy!

Books:
I'm almost done with The Dream Hotel, which has been a really good read. I've stalled a bit on Digging In, as I haven't felt like puzzling much lately. And I continue apace with the Goodwin tome on the Roosevelts...

>219 katiekrug: It was built for being outside, that gorgeous day. Today's sticky, grey, and ugh. Oh well, I'll take even this come July!

Enjoy your beautiful weather!! We're having some much-needed rain but that's OK because it's.. yep, much needed :)

>221 richardderus: - And today was like Tuesday... Blech.

>222 RebaRelishesReading: - I am SO tired of grey and damp!

Let's see... what's been going on the last couple of days? Trivia was cancelled because the Knicks were poised to win their play-off series against the Celtics (they didn't that night), but Jianna sent us the slide deck of questions, and our trivia team played at Ed and Alice's while stuffing our faces with Chinese food. Good times :) Last night, I had book club to discuss The Dream Hotel. As usual, it was a very good conversation. Afterwards, I met The Wayne at a restaurant by our house that he had walked to for dinner and had a night cap. Today, I've been a bit lazy, though I did run to the grocery store for a lemon and almond coffee creamer, and I just got back from getting a pedicure, after which I treated myself to a dirty chai latte and mini olive oil cake with orange cream. A nice Friday for sure! I'm making cod for dinner, because TW has agreed to try fish again and our dill plant has exploded. I'lls serve it with asparagus and some baby red potatoes.

Tomorrow, we are going to a big used book sale in the morning and then the afternoon will be devoted to getting ready for him to host whisky club. Our friends, EJ and Felicia, will be coming for it - we actually first met them at the local distillery where the leader of whisky club works. I expect that, like me, Felicia will mostly be drinking wine :)

I expect Sunday will just be a recovery day from all the fun (and spirits!)...

Books:
I finished The Dream Hotel on Wednesday and have started Fantasy in Death. I am closing in on the end of No Ordinary Time - only about 130 pages left. I've done no audio listening/puzzling for the past several days so I am going to try to remedy that in a bit.

>224 katiekrug: TW has agreed to try fish again
OMG the pressure!!!!!!!

>224 katiekrug: I expect Sunday ...
will be spent watching the F1 race, perhaps?

>225 norabelle414: My thoughts exactly, Nora.
How does TW feel about salmon? I find it more flavorful than cod. But I'd be interested to know how you're preparing it, because it's readily available and would be a nice way to work more fish into our diet.

>225 norabelle414: - I KNOW!!!

>226 lauralkeet: - Yes! We will definitely be watching the race :)

So TW is very weird about fish. He wouldn't touch it when I first met him. Now he loves sushi and seared tuna and the like. He ate halibut once at a wedding when it was the only thing being served, but he didn't love it. He says he likes salmon, and swordfish, but he never orders them when we're out. And he won't even attempt shellfish any more at all.

I got the cod because it's pretty mild. I'm going to cook it in the oven in foil packets, with a little butter, fresh dill, salt and pepper, and lemon slices on top. WIsh me luck! I don't have a lot of experience cooking fish because he'd never eat it before. But since he's discovered that he likes broccoli now, after hating it for years, he is trying to be open-minded...

Cod is also great in a curry sauce over rice. We do foil packets pretty often also. We do salmon, cod, and shrimp pretty regularly.
I think a lot of people who don't like fish never had it cooked well!

>227 katiekrug: Have you clarified butter before? It's kinda the opposite of beurre noisette, and though I like both, I'd suggest using the clarified kind on cod. Doing it yourself is dead easy. Buying ghee at the market's easier....

Best of luck on codding The Wayne's tastebuds happily.

>227 katiekrug: Good luck with your recipe, Katie. It sounds pretty tasty to me!

>228 japaul22: Cod is also great in a curry sauce over rice.
That's a great idea Jennifer. IMO, everything tastes better smothered in a curry sauce. It's a good way to sneak fish into your diet.

>228 japaul22: - I will have to try "hiding" the fish in curry next time :)

>229 richardderus: - I just did regular butter - never occurred to me to use the ghee that was actually sitting on the counter :-P

>230 lauralkeet: - Welp, he ate about half and I could tell he didn't love it. But it was a valiant effort!

Book sale this morning!



The Strout is a duplicate - I meant to put it back but got distracted. Oh well. And I've read Small Mercies and How to Find Love in a Bookshop but wanted copies of both for my personal library. The former is by the brother of a college friend of mine, and I read it out of a bit of obligation but really enjoyed it.

ETA: Tomorrow is $5 Bag Day, so I might head over again...

I have to get back and look at J. D. Robb again.

>232 katiekrug: ooooo

Luscious! Speaking of luscious, how'd the cod go down? I hope well enough to try the ghee with some dill...it makes a difference in how that delightful tartsour taste comes across.

>227 katiekrug: Hubby won't eat fish of any kind, ever. Sad because I really like shellfish, salmon, and light fishes like cod -- so I just order them when we're out. Sounds like your latest try with TW wasn't a complete disaster.

Book sale looks like a it was a big success though!

Looks like a lot of great finds at the book sale!

>232 katiekrug: Wow. That's a great stack! I do love Roddy Doyle, especially the early books.

I'm another fish curry fan.

>233 magicians_nephew: - I enjoy the Robb books as "in betweeners" when I want something reliable and not too challenging. I'm reading one now in between chapters of the Roosevelt tome...

>234 richardderus: - I thought the cod was fine, but TW remains unimpressed :)

>235 RebaRelishesReading: - Same, Reba. I mostly get my seafood fix when we eat out.

>236 MickyFine: - It was an hour well spent!

>237 charl08: - I've not read any Doyle, though I have one or two on the shelves...

I'm really wanting fish curry now!

A good weekend has come and gone... Whisky club was crazy - there were about 10 people in attendance and they sampled 16 different ones. Then pizza was ordered and cigars were smoked on the deck and things didn't fully wrap up until about 2am. Needless to say, yesterday was a lost day, as we were both totally exhausted.

The week ahead is a little busy - I've got a shift at the food pantry tomorrow afternoon and TW and I have various and sundry appointments. We're planning on playing trivia on Wednesday, and we're having a game night with friends on Friday.

Books:
Less than 100 pages to go in No Ordinary Time! It's good, but I'm getting a little tired of it. Today, I should finish Fantasy in Death, and I *might* finish my current audio, too - Digging In.

>239 katiekrug: things didn't fully wrap up until about 2am
Hoo boy, I don't know how you did it, Katie. I'm glad you had a rest day on Sunday.

Wow -- sounds like Whisky Club was quite a party. Hope you've recovered now.

>224 katiekrug: Hooray for fresh asparagus! Tis the season for it here as well. I usually keep it simple and just lightly coat it with butter, lemon and pepper.

Books sale! I hope you were able to come away with a lot of interesting finds.

Looks like a good book sale haul! Hope the busy week goes well.

>240 lauralkeet:, >241 RebaRelishesReading: - I am fully recovered now, but I am definitely getting too old for that sort of thing!

>242 figsfromthistle: - I adore asparagus and also keep it pretty simple, though I use a Penzey's seasoning blend and olive oil.

The book sale was great!

>243 curioussquared: - Thanks, Natalie!

Happy mid-week, one and all. The weather has turned gloomy again. We've definitely had a very moody spring. I volunteered at the food pantry yesterday. It was insanely busy, so the 4 hours passed quickly but it makes me sad that so many people need help. Speaking of which, I may be starting a new (in addition to the pantry) volunteer gig with a local non-profit that works with school districts to provide mental mealth services for students in low income areas. My friend founded it and started with just one counselor in a local school, but she is seeking grant money to expand and is thinking of selling her private practice and devoting herself full-time to the non-profit. Anyway, I'm excited about the prospect of helping with that, so fingers crossed...

We are playing trivia tonight, but might be on our own, as some of our teammates have finked out. Which is fine, because I'm just there for the food ;-) We've been eating well here at Casa Krug - Monday, TW made a lovely pasta dish with olive oil, tons of garlic, Calabrian chilis, and fresh basil from his garden. Last night, I made cilantro-lime chicken and seasoned black beans. And my great triumph of the weekend was a tasty appretizer I made for whisky club - cheesy thumbprints with pepper jelly. They were SO good. I'll be making more for game night on Friday, since I still have most of a jar of the jelly.

In viewing, we started the Murderbot adaptation on AppleTV and really enjoyed the first two episodes. We've listened to the first three books on various car trips the past few years and had fun with them, but don't remember much about the plots themselves, so we're just enjoying the show for what it is. We've also started season 2 of 'The Diplomat,' which remains excellent, and we are keeping up with the current season of 'Top Chef.' I expect we'll start the new season of 'Welcome to Wrexham' once TC wraps up in a couple of weeks. TW is also watching some other things on his own, but I've pretty much only been watching TV when he wants to put on one of our shared shows.

Books:
I finally finished No Ordinary Time! It took me three weeks, but I was deliberately pacing myself. I am about 4 reviews behind, so I'll probably try to catch up tomorrow when Maribel is here and I'm confined to my office. In print, I started a contemporary romance - Great and Precious Things, which is a nice light read. On audio, I plan to start Brideshead Revisited today.

>245 katiekrug: I liked No Ordinary Time because it fitted in and filled in details on top of other books i had read about FDR and about the war years.

Agree that the later years are less interesting.

>245 katiekrug: The mental health non-profit sounds challenging and rewarding, Katie. I hope it becomes a mighty force for good.

>245 katiekrug:, >247 laytonwoman3rd: What Linda said. I can't wait to hear more.

>245 katiekrug: Trivia luck be with y'all tonight!

>245 katiekrug: Yay for The Diplomat!

Also enjoying Murderbot.

New vol role sounds important / rewarding too. Hope it works out positively.

>246 magicians_nephew: - The amount of detail Goodwin found and included was certainly impressive. I would have liked a reference for all the abbreviations used :)

>247 laytonwoman3rd: - Felicia is really dedicated to growing it, and I just hope I can contribute in some small way.

>248 lauralkeet: - Stay tuned... :)

>249 richardderus: - Well, it was actually cancelled so we are going tonight!

>250 MickyFine: - Love it!

>251 charl08: - We're already looking forward to the next episodes...

And thanks!

#69
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Ebook (library loan)
4.25 stars

#70
Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb
Ebook (mine)
3.5 stars

#71
Digging In by Loretta Nyhan
Audio (mine)
3.25 stars

#72
No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Hardcover (mine)
4.25 stars

>256 katiekrug: Sara Delano Roosevelt is one of those people who just need killin'. Poor Eleanor.

>257 richardderus: LOL I might not go that> far, but she really was a pain wasn't she?

>258 RebaRelishesReading: I'm stickin' to my guns...off she goes, and I'll just tell god she died.

>245 katiekrug: We also watched the first two Murderbot episodes. I am on the fence, Morgan enjoyed it. But I'll be watching, regardless.

>257 richardderus: - She should serve as a warning to all those parents who are WAY too invested in their children, even when they're adults...

>258 RebaRelishesReading: - Indeed!

>259 richardderus: - LOL.

>260 ursula: - I love the Sanctuary Moon scenes...

Hiya - I just watched the first two Murderbot episodes and love it! They've really managed to retain the humor and snarkiness (so far). Enjoy the freezing weekend ahead!

>253 katiekrug: The Dream Hotel sounds like a good one. Looks like you're getting dangerously close to the magic number, Katie!

>262 vivians: - Glad you're enjoying the adaptation, too! We watched the 3rd installment last night and are looking foward to more.

This weather is just annoying. We were planning to go to The Cloisters, and it was sunny and nice when I woke up this morning, but it turned grey and overcast so we've tabled the plans.

>263 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg! Yep, 75 is just around the corner :)

I hope you enjoy The Dream Hotel, if you cross paths with it.

#73
Great and Precious Things by Rebecca Yarros
Paperback (mine)
3.75 stars

>265 katiekrug: Love the tradition though :)

Happy Monday, Katie. You got me with The Dream Hotel. On the obese TBR it goes. I also watched and enjoyed the first 2 eps of "Murderbot". Sue and I are also enjoying Long Bright River. Good cast but like many shows it could have been trimmed down an episode or 2. I am loving "Your Friends & Neighbors", with the most excellent Jon Hamm. That one I highly recommend.

Don't throat punch anyone today. 😜

>266 RebaRelishesReading: - Me too :)

>267 msf59: - Hiya, Mark! I have LBR on my "To Watch" list, but I've heard such mixed things about it, it hasn't been a priority. I will have to take a closer look at YF&N... We started watching 'The Residence' last night, and it was silly and fun, which was exactly what we wanted.

I promise not to throat punch anyone, unless they say the dreaded words... :D

>268 katiekrug: LBR moved down my priority list too, Katie. I think maybe I'm better off just fondly remembering the book.

>269 lauralkeet: - That's how I'm leaning, too, Laura.

Have you and Chris watched 'The Diplomat?' I think you might like that one - lots of intrigue and drama; it's American but with a definite British flavor to it.

Also, I think you'll be glad to see my next review...

#74
White Nights by Ann Cleeves
Paperback (mine)
3.75 stars

>270 katiekrug: Hi Katie! We watched one or two episodes of The Diplomat (season 1). We both felt like it would be our kind of show, but for some reason we just weren't into it.

>271 katiekrug: And yes, I'm happy to see this! I've just started book 6, but then I'm trying to read them all before the new Jimmy Perez book is released at the end of September.

>272 lauralkeet: - Morning, Laura! Too bad about 'The Diplomat,' but different strokes and all that...

I've put Red Bones on my library WL...

Beautiful day here, which seems appropriate since it's (un)officially summer now. I'm volunteering this afternoon at the food pantry, so I'll be stuck inside, but oh well. We had a low-key weekend. The weather was weird - alternately really nice and then grey and overcast with rain on and off. WE enjoyed a fun game night with friends on Friday and played a new game - 'OK, Genius' - which proved to be a lot of fun. The Wayne and I had wanted to go to The Cloisters (part of The Met, focused on medieval art and architecture) Saturday or Sunday, but the iffy weather deterred us. Another time...

The Wayne worked part of yesterday because he's a nerd, so I mostly did boring stuff like laundry. We did have an excellent dinner - hot Italian sausages off the grill, with sauteed peppers and onions and melted provolone, on Italian rolls. I made a new-to-me potato salad, which we both loved. TW doesn't like mayo, so this was perfect. I highly recommend giving it a go - flavorful and light, perfect for summer. We have an excess of dill, so I used some of that in addition to parsley.

https://cookieandkate.com/herbed-potato-salad-recipe/

Tonight, I'm making the NYT lemon-garlic linguine, with the addition of Calabrian chilis because we have an open jar in the fridge.

Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment for the FINAL stage of my implant process - two crowns will be "installed." And then trivia in the evening.

Books:
Currently reading The Wandering Falcon and listening to Brideshead Revisited.

>274 katiekrug: What a great idea for getting the creaminess without dairy! Slick, mayo-heavy "salads" are nice enough side dishes once a year or so, but salad? Nein, mein herr. This would really do both tricks. Cool find!

Another very changeable day today, so it seems. At least it's not too hot yet...only 70° today is forecast. I hope the weather goddess is under some binding spell to keep it this way.

>274 katiekrug: My mom's allergic to eggs, so I make a mayo-less potato salad, too, with cilantro rather than parsley (I can't remember if you're a cilantro fan or not). I like the idea of reserving the starchy water to make it creamier, I'll have to try that.

Hope you have a pleasant day!

>275 richardderus: - I was so pleased with how the salad turned out. It was good still warm, but also after being refrigerated. I can see making it a lot...

It's going to be a bit warmer here - 75F - but I don't mind. That's about the top of my heat tolerance scale :)

>276 bell7: - I was surprised how well it came together, and I thought the reserved water step was genius. It worked a charm. (I am a cilantro fan, so I'll keep that in mind...)

Hi, Katie. I've just skipped about 150 posts - sorry, I might go back and read all about you. But I did read your substack entry for April. Sorry the month was not a super one for you. I hope May has been better so far. I guess if I go back up the line I'll find out!

>274 katiekrug: Katie, have you seen the 1980s TV adaptation of Brideshead with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews? It's a visual feast.

>228 japaul22:, >231 katiekrug: Hi Katie, I'm back this morning to follow up on Jennifer's fish curry recommendation as a flavorful way to serve cod. She inspired me to look for recipes and last night I made a dish from NYT Cooking: Malaay Qumbe (coconut fish curry). We loved it. It calls for a spice blend that isn't in our supermarket, but the recipe includes directions for making it yourself. I made 1/2 recipe of the spice blend, which made a little more than was called for. Next time I'll just use it all, and I suspect you would, too. It's actually more about flavor than heat anyway.

>278 ffortsa: - Hi Judy - nice to see you! Yeah, April wasn't great, though I've had worse months. Same with May. But I have high hopes for June :)

>279 lauralkeet: - I've seen bits of it, but if I *ever* finish the audio, I'll definitely be seeking it out to watch.

>280 lauralkeet: - Excellent! Thanks for sharing. Weirdly, I think we might have some of that Somali spice mixture. TW loves to buy interesting things from Penzey's...

#75
The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad
Paperback (mine)
3.5 stars

>280 lauralkeet: I’m glad that recipe idea worked out!

>282 katiekrug: oh hell

*trudges off to Ammy*

Your weather sounds like ours, warm and then cold and rainy so it's hard to plan for outdoor things. Today it was 28C though, kind of a surprise!

>282 katiekrug: Congrats on reading 75 books!

Congrats on reaching the magic number!

Congratulations on 75!

Congrats on reaching 75, Katie. I am also enjoying Murderbot. I think they have captured the tone pretty well.

Katie...do you realize it isn't even June yet? I'm stunned (and impressed) that you have reached 75 already. Congratulations!!

Congrats!

>290 RebaRelishesReading: Yes....me too!

Well done, Katie. I got close last year (73), but haven't reached or exceeded 75 since 2020, and we all know what that year was like. Reading was a lifesaver.

Happy Sunday, Katie! Congrats on hitting our magic number. I may not hit it until the end of July. Yep, I'm a poky one...😜

>282 katiekrug: Happy 75, Katie!!

Thanks for the congrats, everyone, but numbers are meaningless! And keep in mind, I don't do much but read most days :)

I owe three reviews of books I read in May, so I'll do those before I post my May stats. And I guess I haven't checked in here recently, so I'll post a life update this afternoon. Our very busy (for us) June has begun....

#76
Taft 2012 by Jason Heller
Paperback (mine)
3.5 stars

>297 katiekrug: Wow, that's quite a premise!

>298 norabelle414: - Right?!?! I really enjoyed the first half of the book...

#77
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Audio (library)*
4.5 stars

* But I'm counting it as a book read from my shelves, because I make the rules.

#78
How to Capture a Countess by Karen Hawkins
Paperback (mine)
3 stars

>297 katiekrug: I never made it to the 20% mark, which is my Kindle substitute for Nancy Pearl's 50pp. Got tired of the gag. Quirk has never again graced me with a DRC...thirteen years is a long grudge!

Gorgeous summer day here today, makes the world feel a teensy bit less...like it is.

>301 katiekrug: - That is quite a grudge!

Loving the gorgeous day...

>297 katiekrug: Interesting cusp point for American History. Does James Sherman serve out Taft's term? He was pretty much a party wheel horse largely unknown outside of upper New York State, who made some good backroom deals and curiously died in office. .

and no Taft at the Supreme Court tips the balance on some very interesting ways. Taft was a major voice in streamlining the Court's docket management and made the Court much more powerful and a much more co-equal to the other two branches.

Not sure the book is worth reading but it has made me stop and think on this quiet day.

May in Review
(Numbers in parantheses are YTD)

Books Read: 13 (78)
(Puzzles Completed: 2 (23))

Mine: 10 (46)
Library: 3 (32)

Male authors: 4 (25)
Female authors: 9 (54)
Non-Binary: 0 (0)

New-to-me authors: 7 (41)
Authors of Color: 2 (13)
US/UK authors: 10 (69)
Other: 3 - Pakistan, Morocco, Australia (10 - Australia, Canada, Ghana, Ireland x3, Morocco x2, Nigeria, Pakistan)

Print: 8 (30)
Ebook: 2 (16)
Audio: 3 (32)

General/Popular Fiction: 2 (14)
Literary Fiction: 1 (9)
Historical Fiction: 2 (9)
Romance: 2 (9)
Crime/Thriller: 2 (13)
Juvenile/YA: 0 (3)
Classics: 1 (3)
Speculative: 2 (6)
Nonfiction: 1 (12)

Publication:
New (2024 or 2025): 1 (13)
2020-2023: 2 (16)
2010-2019: 6 (28)
2000-2009: 2 (6)
1980s-90s: 1 (7)
1950s-70s: 0 (4)
1900-1949: 1 (2)
19th c.: 0 (2)

Re-reads: 0 (4)
DNFs: 0 (5)

Best of the month (not counting re-reads): The Tree of Forgetfulness
Worst of the month (not counting DNFs): How to Capture a Countess

The Roosevelt bio took up a good chunk of space in my reading life this month, but it was worthwhile. Overall, a pretty decent month of reading - I am mostly pleased with the spread/balance of genres, which is probably the one stat I pay the most attention to. The end of the month saw me get back into the habit of puzzling while listening to audiobooks, so I'm hoping that continues into June.

"Musts" for June:
Mansfield Park for my Austen's birthday re-reading project
All Fours for RL book club
The Motel Life for the AAC

>304 magicians_nephew: - Glad I could get the old gears turning for you today, Jim :) In the book, Taft disappears just as Wilson is being inaugurated, so no need for someone to fill out his term. Taft's desire to be on the Supreme Court is a major theme in the book - along with how he didn't really want to be President. In a funny coincidence, I am planning to read the final volume of Edmund Morri's TR trilogy this year, which should shed some more light on the Taft-TR relationship...

New thread's up!