Bookmarque’s Padded Cell 2025 - Gathering my marbles (2)

New thread time. Just came away from the bench making some earrings and listening to



sort of glamorous and stilted at the same time. It's a hotel for hustlers for sure. All the women staying there needed a place like that with the enormous restrictions on women that would slightly ease with time while it was still a women's only hotel. Right now I've learned way too much about Sylvia Plath. Unlike many girls when I was a teenager, I was never captivated by her. I was astonished to learn how Eileen Ford, the founder of the Ford Modeling agency, rejected Grace Kelly saying she had "too much meat on her". What?? Just bizarre.

Happy new thread.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy new thread. That's a beautiful cover.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy New Thread!

Happy new thread! I seem to remember finding the bits of The Barbizon that were about less famous women to be more interesting. I also thought the book got better as it went on.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy new thread. I remember hesitating over The Barbizon when it first came out. Still haven't quite gotten around to it.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy new thread!

And oh, do I love this cover. Snazzy!

Thanks guys. Yeah it's a pretty nice cover. Not finished yet, but it has been interesting even though I think some of the details could have been pared back.

Am traveling to Nashville today to hang out with a bunch of friends this weekend and so started this to make sure I was into it before I got on a plane -



Follow Me was a First Reads book from Amazon a month ago I think. @clamairy downloaded it too, so I'm happy to say that it's definitely interesting and well-written enough that there aren't too many eyerolls. Because it's about the "mommy culture" prevalent these days with it being a competitive sport played in social media by women young enough to be my daughters, I'm reading it as I would an anthropologist studying another culture. A lot of it is cringeworthy in the sense of what women do to each other; the sniping, mean girl tactics and manipulation and is making my list of reasons I'm glad I never had kids very much longer than it already was. Am only about 20% into it so things could change, but so far so good.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy New Thread!

>8 Bookmarque: I actually did not snag that one. I chose Voice like a Hyacinth that month, I believe. I hope you continue to enjoy it. It's torture being on a plane without a good book.

Edited to add: I was incorrect. I think this was your March book, and I snagged The Beauty of the End.

>1 Bookmarque: Happy new thread!

Belated happy new thread!

Have fun in Nashville! Love that city.

I think I snagged Follow Me, too. I'll have to check to see.

We did have a lot of fun and little drama, but with one of our crew it's not too surprising considering his age and profession. But I'm back.

For one of those 'First Reads' kind of things, Follow Me ended up being quite good and a little surprising in how polished it really was. Recommended even if it isn't still free. Reading some of the info about the author, this book has already been optioned for a film project of some kind and I think it would do well in that medium.

So I've started the biggie in my Stephen King project -



It's been 20 years or more since I last read it and although I've technically chosen the expanded version, I may switch into the original edit in the middle, mostly to keep the Trashcan Man down a bit. My two hardcovers are the 1978 edition and the uncut which came out in 1990. I also have an ebook that I got for zilch from an airline companion in 2013 or so. All three come into play. It will be interesting to read with the Covid thing in the rear-view mirror.

>14 Bookmarque: Keep us in the loop as you go along, please.

I'm curious I know if anyone ever got to watch the miniseries that was released in 2020, with Alexander Skarsgård. It has much lower ratings than the older version. I still can't watch it without paying a rental fee, so I don't think that will be happening.

>14 Bookmarque: What >15 clamairy: said, please keep us posted! I agree with you on the post-covid experience, I would think it would be different.

>15 clamairy: We watched that Stand miniseries, I thought it was very good. Compared to Wheel of Time, for example, I thought it was appropriately shortened while still staying true to the story.

No I haven't seen that adaptation and can barely remember the one with Gary Sinise either. I've heard that the version of It with Skarsgård is good, but I'm not tempted to watch it. I think there's a graphic novelization of The Stand, but haven't searched for it. That could be good depending on the art style and the flow with so much probably having to be cut.

Right now I'm at the place where Stu is giving out and demanding info before he'll have one more blood pressure cuff put on him. The idea that he could be locked in is palpable with hindsight from having read it a few times already. That and the parallel with Flagg and the prison. That scene I remember from the early TV series.

I just went to Amazon and found the graphic novel - it looks to be based on the uncut version given the opening scene it depicts. Personally I think the original opener is freaking perfect - it preserves the mystery of what's really going on with the family in the car. With the tacked on opener, a lot of the unknown and the dread of it is completely lost. The original opener is so cinematic in execution that you can see it in your head effortlessly. It's brilliant and subtle in tone and showcases so well how Uncle Steve can put pictures in your head.

But I could be tempted by the graphic novels. We shall see.

>19 Bookmarque: This has been my main nit with the expanded version - I find the cut opening brilliant. I agree about the mystery. It's instantly created - who are these people? From where? Going where? Obviously taken by a horrible illness.

The uncut version opens the novel by answering all those questions.

Will be interested in hearing your thoughts as you move along. :)

Nice to see you're all going to hang with me for The Stand. No takers to do a group read huh? LOL. It is a doorstop.

I'm only a little over 100 pages in and am remembering some of the characters that will be coming. Just met Lloyd and Poke, two that go in the Flagg camp. So far as I remember Lloyd becomes Trashcan Man right? Nick getting the crap beaten out of him by rednecks who think deafness is a punishable sin was tough to read, but I did like the extra little vignette with Larry and his mom who calls him on his shit by saying that he's a taker. Not necessarily a bad man, but a taker. It isn't in the original version and neither is the big fight Fran has with her mother with dad standing up for her and calling his wife on her terrible attitude and actions. So with those coming into play, I'm trying to keep a running list of the extra chapters in the expanded version. Some that are broken out into chapters were just sections in the original version, so it might be hard to catch them all, but I'm trying.

Was at the bench yesterday making this mostly -







It's a very substantial turquoise ring with leaf embellishments that is turning out fairly well. Not 100% perfect, but hopefully good enough to sell.

Oh and can you guys chime in on Kaiju Preservation Society please? It's on sale at audible and I'm pretty tempted.

>22 Bookmarque: Lovely colour!

>23 Bookmarque: That one is fun! I read it though, so I don't know how the audio is. Is it read by Wil Wheaton?

>23 Bookmarque: This was very nice! My book club read it when it came out.
Entertaining and fun. I chuckled a lot :)))
Give in to the temptation, maybe?

>25 clamairy: Yup, it's Wheaton. And it's $4 so I might just pull the trigger. I'm not interested in his space opera stuff and this one isn't that - a covid novel basically, but with pan-dimensional beings or whatever. Like mice or the color blue.

>23 Bookmarque: I thought it was a fun read.

>22 Bookmarque: Ooh, that's lovely!

>22 Bookmarque: Maybe I'll jump in on The Stand, I'll see if I can get it on Kindle or Nook for a reasonable price.

>23 Bookmarque: That one is just fun. Maybe even sillier than Starter Villain, but still enjoyable. Lots of suspension of disbelief required.

>23 Bookmarque: and >29 Karlstar: What he said. Much suspension of disbelief.

Ok, I'll grab it. Just finished this -



And found it quite enjoyable since skeletal structures and mechanics fascinate me as does forensic anthropology. It's narrated by the author which works in this case although I admit her pronunciation of some words stuck out at me as an American. Not in the sense that I didn't know what she was saying, but that I'd never have said the word that way and I noticed. Oh and it's hilarious that there is a foot pictured on this cover - she hates feet! LOL.

Written in Bone

Also finished the ring and put it in the shop at a discounted price because it is a slightly imperfect prototype. Someone will get a real bargain and if it doesn't sell I can wear it.

Oh and @Karlstar, if you can't find The Stand at a price you like, PM me.

>31 Bookmarque: Oh, I have a copy of Written in Bone on my Kindle waiting for me. Was it the way she said skeletal? LOL So many of the anthropology books I listen to are narrated by Brits, and I just can't get past the way they say that word. Of course they probably snort when they hear us say it, too.

>22 Bookmarque: Gorgeous! Turquoise is one of my favorite stones.

Re: Lloyd in The Stand. Two separate characters is what I remember.

>23 Bookmarque: This one's still on my bookshelf. Will probably be next after I finish Possession.

>32 clamairy: I had to look that up and listen to the difference. I have always pronounced it the British way. Maybe an east coast/west coast thing? Although I've also had several people wonder if I'm from Canada. :P

It was skeletal, but also cervical and lumbar and a host of other medical terms. Just a bit odd and some I don't think I've heard other Scots pronounce that way. Definitely ear-catching if you know what I mean.

>34 MrsLee: Seriously? You would refer to your pet skeleton as 'skel-eee-tal?'

>35 Bookmarque: Yes, I do find some other words a little jarring, but probably because of the high frequency of use skeleeetal really catches my ear.

>36 clamairy: In the two versions I listened to, it didn't sound like a hard "e" and the American version sounded almost like two syllables instead of the three syllables I say.

>37 MrsLee: I say it with three syllables, like they say it here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeletal

But the autobooks we were talking about say it like the SECOND British pronunciation here: https://www.oed.com/dictionary/skeletal_adj?tab=factsheet#22365323

>38 clamairy: OH, nope. That second way I'd hard to come by. All the other samples I found were the first sample.

I like the way they say aluminum. :)

I watch a lot of video tutorials about silver smithing and solder is one that is funny. Why Americans ignore the L is beyond me. Just the way language evolves I guess. We don't say saL-mon either. Or fil-im as I've heard some Irish and Scottish folks say. Do we hate the letter L? LOL - newp.

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So I'm at the point in The Stand where people close to our main characters are starting to die off. It makes it very real. I've also noticed that the expanded chapters often include a reference to the time frame of the update which is about 1990. So we have Freddy Krueger and AC/DC's Who Made Who record which was done at the behest of Uncle Steve so he could use it as the sound track of Maximum Overdrive, his sole directorial effort based on his short story Trucks which I believe was in Night Shift.

>40 Bookmarque: Haha, yes there's a bit of fun reading this now and seeing the various cultural references. He could have left it alone- maybe it's not noticed by some readers?

I remember Trucks - I have an old hardcover of Night Shift around here somewhere. *runs to check*

There's a short story in Night Shift called Night Surf. It contains the first mention of Captain Trips that I'm aware of.

From the Acknowledgements in the front of the book: "Grateful Acknowledgement is made by the author to the editors of the following magazines, where many of these stories first appeared, for permission to reprint...."Night Surf" appeared in Cavalier, August 1974."

That's a long time for a germ (see what I did there?) of an idea to fester in one's brain.

Oh! And "Jerusalem's Lot" is in there, too!
Wonder what else is in there.

Night Shift is a fantastic collection of his very early short stories. I often think his best work is in his short stuff; he just excels at it and I think he experiments more with them.

>43 Bookmarque: Agreed - it's fascinating to see how much some of these evolved.

>40 Bookmarque: I have the book now, I tried to get the ebook from our library system, but they didn't have it. The e-book version I have is 1348 pages!

It's a monster isn't it? I'm doing a combination of ebook and my hardcover from 1990. I'm on chapter 31 and totally forgot that the expanded edition has some b&w illustrations by the late, great Bernie Wrightson who also did the illustrations for Cycle of the Werewolf. It was supposed to just be a wall calendar, but Uncle Steve got a bit carried away so it's a novella. I think he worked with King on other projects as well, but I can't quite come up with one.

Oh duh! Creepshow!!

Oh, do you want a separate reading thread? I could do one in the Stephen King group. Anyone else want to climb Everest with us?

>47 Bookmarque: Totally up to you, I won't make significant progress in reading it until tomorrow night, after my family leaves.

Am working at the bench today and usually I have an audio book going. Gave up on this one. Was lured in by the great reviews on Audible.

Started The Kaiju Preservation Society a couple hours ago. My favorite bit so far -

"They have vegan cheese.”
“No, they don't. They have shredded orange and white sadness..."

>50 Bookmarque: I remember that now, it is a great line.

>50 Bookmarque: LOL Yup. I'm positive that one stuck in my head, and ended up in my review as well.

>50 Bookmarque: Ah, yes. It's a great one 😆

>46 Bookmarque: I am at page 182 in The Stand. I haven't compared it to my paperback edition yet, but it seems like the three characters so far, Larry, Frannie and Nick, all have very expanded backstories. Not sure I needed more of Larry's.

Yeah, Larry's kind if a jerk...you're no nice guy indeed. But they can't all be angels and he does try. Seem to remember he gets his head out of his ass later in the story. But Rita is a bit much, at least I find her that way. Her denial is just so thick. Hard to penetrate.

Larry's definitely one of the main characters who will be around for awhile, and he goes through a lot.

I like that King took time fleshing out several of them in the beginning, so readers can appreciate how much - and in what ways - these events change them.

Such a fun read. ❤️

>55 Bookmarque: I had forgotten a lot about Rita's character, but under the circumstances, some amount of denial/PTSD would be expected.

Books written later, like John Ringo's Black Tide Rising series, do a better job with the collapse of civilization part, in my opinion.

You're right about Rita, plus her pharmaceuticals habit couldn't have done a lot for her mental stability. I'm on chapter 41 and she's just overdosed in the tent.

Notes & thoughts leading up to this point -

Ch 25 - shame the original didn't have the scene where Nick deals with Jane Baker's death. It's touching & tells us a lot about Nick.

Ch 26 - funny - the original phone numbers are now 555 numbers. It's also cut down some.

Ch 29 - Stu got a VERY lucky break and puts me in mind of the scene where Lloyd meets Flagg and the time in the cell leading up to it.

Is removing all of Ch 31 an attempt to keep Flagg more mysterious?

"He thought best in scenes like these. In scenes like these, any man could be Iago." p 273

Ch 35 - Larry muses about "you're a taker" being lobbed at him by his mother, but the entire scene is missing from the original. Weird.

P 312 - part of the Lincoln Tunnel scene (which left an impression on me from earlier readings) and this bit - "They would let him get half-way and then they would all begin to stir...to come alive...he would hear car doors clickign open and then softly chunking closed...their shuffling footsteps..." - big time images of The Walking Dead and then a couple sentences later, he writes - "strangled by the walking dead.

Original Ch 28 has been expanded and he drops in a reference to Bobbi from Tommyknockers. He loves to do that shit.

Ch 37 - the semi-meet cute between Stu, Kojack & Bateman reminds me of the one between Edgar & Wireman in Duma Key. He also loves to do this shit.

Note - Glen and Harold will talk themselves to death if they ever have a conversation. Ugh. Gasbags. One lovable, one not.

As gigantic as this book is, it hums right along. Reading Nick's repeated bad luck is really tough. Now we have a deaf and dumb guy with only one eye. Jeez.

All of Ch 38 is oddly fascinating and horrible at the same time and I can imagine his glee in giving us back these tidbits of death - a plague echo of bad luck and even worse timing. He loves to do this shit.

Anyway...that's where I'm up to. Rita's gone and our various parities are on the move, soon to meet in Vermont if I remember correctly. Nick has had a dream of Mother Abigail. Oh and I know the dream stuff is important as the factions divide themselves, but I HATE dream sequences in fiction and always skip them. These I'm skimming.

Oh and Wrightson's illustrations are good and a bit odd, too. Neither of these two characters were like this at all in my head for different reasons. I don't remember Fran being a weight lifter -



And this scene describes old Lloyd as being pretty skeletal after 8 days without much to eat except a rat and soon Trask's leg -

>58 Bookmarque: We are right about at the same spot now. I agree with your thoughts on Ch 25 about Nick. Additional Nick content is good stuff. This definitely is a quick read.

I enjoy the dream sequences and I'm glad they are starting - at least the good ones.

I may not get to it today, but maybe Sunday. I can't remember from past readings, but it seems the 'good' people have dreams of both Mother Abigail and Flagg and the 'bad' people only have Flagg dreams. At least that's what's happening so far.

Isn't the way he depicts Nick and Tom just amazing? I can't get over how Tom riding the bike for the first time is so overflowing with joy. Plus Nick's determined hunt for the bike in the first place. And that Nick won't leave him even though it's the ultimate odd couple situation. There is just something about the way King writes friendship - such warmth and humanity, trust and honesty in most of them. He also writes the complete opposite extremely well and that's what makes the books sing for me. He understands both sides and has some kind of magical conduit to channel both.

>61 Bookmarque: Yes, I like the relationship between those two as well. I just got past the part where they encounter Julie.

Eek. Haven't cracked it in a couple days since I've been at the bench making stuff. Got through the meeting with Abigail and their departure. Really want to take Harold and smack him. Might get back to it in the next few days, but I have stuff going and I'm kind of on a roll. Here are some of the latest, but one has sold -

>63 Bookmarque: Beautiful!

I have been reading, I'm over halfway done now.

>63 Bookmarque:
Those are very nice pieces.

>63 Bookmarque: Little works of art!

>63 Bookmarque: These are beautiful! I am impressed.

Thanks peeps. Here's another cutie-patootie that I finished yesterday -



My first reversible pendant. The stone is Rhodochrosite.

I'm a fan of William Boyd's novels, but I hadn't heard of any radio adaptations until I went hunting for Bill Nighy and Alan Rickman on audible - they are both in this collection and I can't stop smiling with joy while listening. The first adaptation is A Good Man in Africa and Rickman plays the lead character Morgan Leafy. He hits the loucheness absolutely perfectly.

>63 Bookmarque: Words that come to mind when I look at your creations; elegant, graceful, clean, refreshing, and of course, lovely. Thank you for sharing the photos with us.

Thanks so much for the nice words about my jewelry. I'm finally getting to a place where I'm making what I've wanted to for years. Well starting to anyway.

Oh and the heart pendant has sold. Might be a record for the least amount of time from listing to sale.

>63 Bookmarque: & >68 Bookmarque: Lovely stuff!

I love your jewelry! I need the link to your store again so I can support your habit. :)

awww, thanks. You can head to www.twsjewelry.com and click the shopping links. They're not totally up to date as a lot of stuff didn't sell and I just stopped listing it at the store. If any of those strike your fancy, let me know.

Two things bugging me about the Judge's part. I'm about 2/3 done.

Why did the Judge drive up to Idaho then back south? Did he have to avoid Utah for some reason King doesn't explain?

Also, there's a clear error. The Judge leaves Boulder in a new Land Rover - several people see it and remark on it. When he appears in Oregon, he's driving an International Scout - without ever switching vehicles, so it wasn't a deception.

Ok. Am going to settle down to read this afternoon. Have been at the bench working on new pieces. Also had a nice month sales-wise and so inventory has been depleted a bit. Nice problem to have.

I'm not as far as you Jim, the gang is just gearing up to leave with Abigail.

>76 Bookmarque: I had a quiet week, plenty of time to read.

So I'm listening to what I presume to be the American version of Rawblood which is Catriona Ward's first novel. Lucky for me I snagged a British version of the hardcover which doesn't have the execrable new title The Girl from Rawblood (eyeroll), but this audio version does and I was semi-following along in my print copy and noticed this excision from Charles's journal -

"That poem sings in my mind, half recalled...American, of course, but there you are. Something about moonbeams. Something about being old in the autumn, and sleeping in the cool night, with another's arm flung over you...No, no good. All I can recall is the end of the verse, which is: And that night I was happy." p 172

Weird. Did they imagine I'd be offended at this? Would any American with any sense? Strange. Not sure how many other deletions or additions are in there, but I picked out this one.

Oh and the audiobook is part of the Audible Plus catalog, at least for now. Highly recommended.

Just saw that the print version has this -



I love little additions like this and maps.

Ok. More than 1/2 way through The Stand - here's some notes & observations from Ch 41 -

Why cut out that uber creepy scene where Nadine tells Joe not to stab sleeping Larry? It's so great and L's rambling insanity shows his state of mind well - it's almost stream of consciousness. I think without some of these set up moments, N's later behavior comes out of left field.

p 437 Does N think L might be 'the one' because he's walking?

p 466 Following Harold's directions/spoor builds a picture and a story for Larry, but as I recall he's pretty disappointed even though he knows what he imagines won't be close to reality.

Ch 44 When people start realizing they're having the same dream is pretty jarring.

p 542 Fran really needs to tell Harold to knock it off.

Generally there is more of F's journal - the whole bit about Mark and his appendicitis and death is cut out of the original as is some of H's proprietary possessiveness which is really gross.

p 552 - meeting the women is entirely reframed in the original, but men have been enslaving women for sex for thousands of years, it shouldn't come as a surprise to have it here. The shoot out is pretty great, but I don't think they suffer enough after effects. Maybe they are just numb to horrific violence and death now.

p 585 'Bad guys' who dream of Mother A have the same reaction to her as the 'good guys' have to Flagg.

p 588 Trashcan man's time with The Kid is completely gone in the original version, where the sadistic sexual violence is kept to basically one scene with an old man. There is so much repetition with Trashy though, I don't think the wolves in the junkyard scene needs to be here so it makes sense to cut the whole character.

"The beauty of religious mania is that it has the power to explain everything. Once God (or Satan) is accepted as the first cause of everything which happens in the mortal world, nothing is left to chance...or change. Once such incantatory phrases as "we see now through a glass darkly" and "mysterious are the ways He chooses His wonders to perform" are mastered, logic can be happily tossed out the window. Religious mania is one of the few infallible ways of responding to the world's vagaries, because it totally eliminates pure accident. To the true religious maniac, it's all on purpose."

p 622 No crucifixion scene in the original.

p 669 Nick is remarkably astute about people & has Harold's number pretty damn quick. Leo has the same ability. Amazing his transfer of affections to Larry and away from Nadine. He must feel the otherness getting stronger in her.

p 744 OMG I forgot that Glen left poor Kojack to fend for himself. Just when we think we're done with the reunion scene, King gives us his story from the dog's POV. Harrowing and gut wrenching.

Phew. After a couple hours at the bench, I'm planning to sit on the deck and read more. I'm at the point where a few people see the duality in Harold and his weird secretiveness. They're fleshing out some kind of government and a plan to send spies to Flagg's camp. I think this is the Judge part that you were talking about Jim. I'll click the hidden text in your post up there when I've gotten to that part.

>80 Bookmarque: I didn't recall most of The Kid and Trashy's time together in the original version, thanks for confirming it wasn't all there. I haven't done any checking in the original version.

I thought the scene with the men and women on the road was too brief, but I thought they did a good job with it in the TV series.

Am now up to the point when the Judge has just left for the west and Nadine has thrown herself in with Harold. I guess they deserve each other.

I do keep getting interrupted when I read outside though, first a chipmunk having a bit of a bath -



and a Rose Breasted Grosbeak who came close, but would not come lower down. Bah.

Those are nice interruptions to have! Great photos!

>82 Bookmarque:
I love the interruptions and the pictures.

>82 Bookmarque: Great shots of the Grosbeak from that distance! The few I've seen are maddeningly shy. You got this one to pose regally for you, so good job!

Your 'munk friend is adorable. :)

Nadine + Harold...goes about as well as you might guess. They understand one another.

>82 Bookmarque: You have the best interruptions :)

Thanks guys. I think so, too. Here's the latest little disrupter -



It's a White breasted nuthatch coming out of its nest. Luckily for me it's right on the edge of the lawn and only about 7 feet up. I'll try for better pics in the morning when the light will be on this side of the tree.

Those are wonderful interruptions. :)

>87 Bookmarque:. I really like the color and the texture evident in that one.

>87 Bookmarque: Love those birds. Great shot!

>82 Bookmarque: Great pictures. Yes, Harold and Nadine do deserve each other, but her story is really tragic.

Thanks guys. They're a lot of fun to have around. Always doing something or vocalizing in their charming way.

Am on the home stretch with the stand - the bomb has been detonated, Tom has found Stu and we have to see where it all goes. I don't remember there being such a small confrontation between the two sides. Flagg basically goes nuts because of Glen then Larry laughing at him and then Trashy shows up and he ups stakes and leaves like a sideshow in the night. Coward.

Like many other books this one has a runaway train of an ending (having recently read Salem's Lot & Duma Key, those are more good examples). Once the decision is made to walk 500 miles (and walk 500 more) they go off in a big hurry. Flash to Flagg's unraveling - it is not pretty.

Just before all this touched off, I got a little shiver with Wise Tom, Inside Tom. He's so scared and sad. The sacrifice must be willing? This isn't that exactly, he knows, but he doesn't really know.

I had an impression there was more of a direct standoff or battle at the end. Maybe it's the illustration on the cover that plants that idea, but in reality, what's left of our band from the Zone is picked off or picked up. Just when you think they really will be torn to pieces by the crowd, Trashy shows up with the warhead and Flagg sets it off and then buggers off. What a coward. Like a sideshow hack sneaking off in the night.

Truly Nadine's fate was tragic though and I nearly felt sorry for her. Nearly. Ditto with Harold and I think the pilgrims felt about the same. Kojack's magical abilities are a bit much to take, but I don't know how else Stu could have survived long enough for Tom to find him. I guess with so many others having psychic abilities, giving some to the dog was only fair.

The end though...I don't know. It seemed abrupt and disconnected in the fact that Flagg didn't quite know who he was or what he was, but that he was there to cause some trouble, that much he did know.

All in all it was satisfying, but so much a product of its time where the women are just there to further the men's character arcs and plot lines - none had any importance unless you count being walking incubators and that's just a bit too close to reality right now, thank you very much. Also there didn't seem to be anyone left except white people unless you count the brown skinned folks there at the end, either cowering or capering in awe of Flagg. Hm. I don't think it's deliberately malicious, but certainly a reflex borne of a lot of privilege. Do men of this type have this insistent blindness about basically the rest of the world? Ugh. I'll stop there.

So I have a book hangover now to be sure.

>93 Bookmarque: I agree, I thought the end was abrupt and the concept of sacrifice was a bit too vague. Sure, they volunteered and yes they did it, but did what, exactly? Walked?

Your observations are on point, I noticed the same things while reading, I guess it was a product of the times? Not sure that's a valid excuse.

Still have a bit of a book hangover, but it's ok because I've got other stuff to occupy me. My lovely husband alerted me to this guy hanging out on a rocky slope next to the house -



My first toad sighting of the season. I've been hearing them for a couple of weeks now, singing away day and night, so it was nice to see one. They come in so many colors and this one is a lovely rusty brick shade.

>95 Bookmarque: Love it!

>95 Bookmarque: Oh, so cool!

>95 Bookmarque: He looks a bit grumpy. Like he has not yet had his morning coffee. :)

>95 Bookmarque: What an adorable grumpy little face! Great capture.

Glad you like my toady friend. They are so wonderful and I love them to bits. Not only do I sweep the grass before husband mows and relocate any amphibians I find, we go out just before bed with flashlights and look for them in the garden and driveway. They are so fun and try to be as tall as they can when hunting. So funny and endearing.

In other news - PSA!!!



The Phryne Fisher series is available as part of Amazon Prime Video right now!!! I'm so excited and plan to binge watch it at night while the husband is gone next week.

>100 Bookmarque: That series is not only good fun, it is visual candy.

>95 Bookmarque:
Fantastic picture. I think it is an image of my first History teacher. We called him Hadrian after Hadrian's Wall. He was that old.

Ah how funny. Toads do seem to have jowls sometimes. They aren't really crabby, they're just drawn that way.

Am watching my 2nd Phryne episode. Wonderful stuff. Just what I need even though I had a good day...this just makes it more so.

>103 Bookmarque: Small prize for anyone who gets the reference in your first line.

I have to admit that as an Australian I'm kind of proud of Miss Fisher. I've read some of the books but never seen the series — there doesn't seem to be any streaming service here that's carrying it at the moment. But I spent some time looking at the pictures on IMDb.com, and it looks gorgeous. And Essie Davis, with what one reviewer called her "killer cheekbones", is perfect.

Cheekbones ahoy! The woman gives great face. And I love that she isn't 20 years old, but double that age or a bit more. After about 30 women become invisible so it's a nice change of pace. Definitely a highly stylized, but a feast for the eyes in terms of sets, costume and lighting. Oh and all the gorgeous people.

And yeah...I just couldn't help that reference. I am stuck in a certain period for movies and am content to stay there.

>105 Bookmarque: According to Essie Davis's Wikipedia page, she's 55 now, so your estimate is about right.

As to being drawn that way, it was Kathleen Turner who uttered the relevant line, although she wasn't credited for it.

ETA More fool me. I've just watched the trailer — the series is still available (free even!) on ABC iView. Yes indeed, she gives great face. If anyone's struck by the apparent difference between the "Australian" accent of today (Crocodile Dundee being an extreme example) and Miss Fisher's or Inspector Robinson's accents, I think the series gets the accents about right for upper-crust Melburnians in the 1920s. If you look at newsreel footage or other sound recordings of Australian voices from that time, it's surprising how "English" they sound.

>100 Bookmarque: The costuming in the Miss Fisher! I love our heroine's outfits.

>103 Bookmarque: and >105 Bookmarque: Jessica. You're thinking of Jessica!

Yeah I know - her clothes are to die for. I'll be at the bench for another couple hours, but then, Miss Fisher here I come.

And yeah...that was Jessica. Turner did a fab job with her character.

>108 Bookmarque: Captain Obvious here, just for anyone who didn’t get it and is confused by this: “Jessica” is Jessica Rabbit, wife of Roger Rabbit, in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Jessica is an incredibly slinky, busty redhead, and her voice was a sultry, smoky purr, provided by Kathleen Turner, uncredited. Her great line was “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”

>82 Bookmarque: >87 Bookmarque: & >95 Bookmarque: Gorgeous vibrant colors! Thank you for sharing.

Thanks guys. I haven't been out with the camera much. A Red-bellied woodpecker picked off the entire Nuthatch nest and I was gutted because I actually saw one of the nestlings get carried off by the female woodpecker. So sad and the little Nuthatches were absolutely powerless in that situation. Not sure if they're trying again elsewhere, but that nest is a failure.

I've been at the bench working on learning some new techniques and I listened to The Witch Elm for a a couple of days. It was on sale at audible and I didn't totally hate it the first time when I borrowed it from the library, but oh I wish it was shorter -

The only character I actually liked was Uncle Hugo, the rest were basically insufferable sociopaths, but the writing was great as always and there was enough interesting human behavior on display (even if most of it was pretty despicable) that it works for me.

>111 Bookmarque: Oh, those poor nuthatches! And to witness it. I’m so sorry!

>111 Bookmarque: Very difficult to see how nature actually behaves. I watched a pair of bluebirds destroy a nuthatch nest in our birdhouse while the poor nuthatches screeched from nearby. I moved the birdhouse so I wouldn't have to see that again.

>111 Bookmarque: Oh no. :o( I didn't realize that Red-Bellies ate baby birds. I see them gorging on my suet, though, so it makes sense. Hopefully mine are getting enough suet to fill their bellies so that my local nuthatches stay safe.

I am surprised you decided to listened to this one. I think it's my least favorite book of hers. Did you lower your rating of it the second time around?

Yeah, it surprised me, too, though it shouldn't have really. So many birds are carnivores, most famously corvids, but there it is.

I've actually never read a Tana French book with my eyes, only my ears. Mostly it's the variety of accents that get me, but also because the majority of my reading is audio these days. This narrator did a piece of a Liz Nugent novel, too, and I like his delivery. The character...not so much. But it's ok. My least favorites are the new ones ... the seeker or whatever? I think there is a third which I am not tempted by in the least.

Oh and just before the new book from Uncle Steve arrived (Never Flinch), I finished this eye-popper of a ring with a lovely Lapis Lazuli cabochon -



Phew!

>116 Bookmarque: That’s a stunner! You'll sell this beauty in a flash.

Around here we see the blue jays and grackles getting chased out of the yard by our smaller locals. I didn't know the red bellies would go for their nests, too.

Nature seems cruel. I prefer watching them at my various feeders and pretending they all get along.

>116 Bookmarque: Marvelous!

>116 Bookmarque: Wow! This one is stunning.

>111 Bookmarque:
The Wych Elm was the first Tana French book I read and I was impressed how accurately she captured the Dublin characters. I was amazed at how she understood the unique prejudices of Dublin and is geographic snobbery.

>115 Bookmarque:
The Searcher was set in rural Ireland and unlike The Wych Elm and her Dublin Murder Squad books, The Searcher showed she did not understand Irish rural communities. It put me off the new one too. She should stick to Dublin for her stories.

Well, not everyone can be an expert in everything I suppose.

Have finished Uncle Steve's latest, Never Flinch and it was decidedly meh. I've never been a big fan of his character Holly Gibney and now I'm frigging sick of her and the whole Scooby Doo pack of characters. Too many things going on, too many political agendas and opinions, no supernatural element which is fine if you can actually nail a thriller like this and he didn't. He was channelling John Sandford pretty hard in some ways, but damn it really shows that with this genre, Sandford is the master. I did like the shout out to him with a Toxic Prey sighting. Anyway...it's ok, but no where near his best. Somehow the sparkle and the character was missing from the writing. Having just come off The Stand and Duma Key, the difference was pretty glaring.

Oh and I just realized that Sandford has become enamored with a character of his that I really wish he hadn't - Letty Davenport. Ugh. I just find her humorless and robotic. Come to think of it, Holly is, too, but has additional unpleasant traits. Bleah. What is it with these two?

While I finished Never Flinch I was on the deck watching for this guy -



Sorry it's such a busy picture, but he's pretty skittish and the gorget only reflects like this at certain angles to the sun, otherwise it looks basically black. I find they are more skittish than the females who raise their chicks on their own so are a bit less fussed about anything going on while trying to eat. Plus the boys seem to leave mid-summer as I never seem them basically after the Fourth of July.

Anyway...planning to go kayaking today and even though it's going to be pretty windy, I might get some time with wildlife. The lake I plan to hit is pretty reliable for lots of birds.

What a fun little guy!

>122 Bookmarque: Great picture. We've seen a few hummingbirds this year, but most of our plants aren't set out yet, it has been too chilly.

>122 Bookmarque: Wow, this is a great photo!

>122 Bookmarque: An absolutely stunning photo! I love humming birds.

>122 Bookmarque:
As usual, a beautiful picture. Hummingbirds are amazing.

>122 Bookmarque: Very nice!

>122 Bookmarque: The contrast of colors in that photo is absolutely striking. I really like it.

Thanks guys. Storms heading our way today, so I put the kayak in the water yesterday and this is the first Painted turtle that didn't plop back into the water immediately on sighting me.



Another busy shot, but this where they hang out so...

>122 Bookmarque: What an amazing photo!

>130 Bookmarque: Aww, I love turtles! What a beauty!

>130 Bookmarque: I love spotting turtles that travel through my yard. I haven’t spotted a painted turtle, but I’ve seen pond sliders, river cooters, and box turtles. Stumbled upon 2 box turtles mating a few days ago. The sliders and cooters may be looking for mates as well, but they apparently like burying their eggs in my yard. Once a year in May, I usually see a big snapper cross my driveway. That’s the only time I usually see it.

Turtles are so fun. Mating box turtles?! How cool. I've never seen one and still would like others to, but since I avoid the woods in high summer because of the bugs, it's unlikely. I do see them from the kayak though and the other day a big snapper surfaced by the dock while I was out there reading. One sometimes can be found on the side of the road I live on laying her eggs, but raccoons always get them.

That's what I got through in June May. Only 10 things and two are short stories. New England White and The Witch Elm are both very long as is The Stand, so it makes sense. Also didn't read any comic books which usually makes my monthly lists longer. Rawblood was a freebie on Audible Plus, but it didn't work as well for me as when I read the hardcover. Both the William Boyd collection and the Unlicensed Season 3 audio are dramas and I'm really looking forward to the next Unlicensed even though they are now, licensed. Should be fun. Three Martini Lunch was good the second time around as well. Corked is a non-fiction podcast about the shenanigans in the American Sommelier certification process. A quite satisfying month.

>134 Bookmarque: *psst* I could be wrong, but I believe you meant May. We still have a lot of time left in June. And that's a decent list!

Oh bother. Can't keep track of the days of the week sometimes, but now months? Ha.

Wonderful photos! That looks like Cardinal flower attracting your hummer friend. Ours is up, but so cool we have no blooms.

Waiting for them to take off, along with the honeysuckle and bee balm, is getting me twitchy. I have a decent pollinator garden, but this has been one chilly spring. Can't believe it's actually June, since the garden looks more like early May.

>130 Bookmarque: Hello, turtle! Wonderful shot :)

Thanks guys.

The hummingbird is actually eyeing some Cuphea hybrid flowers. They are annuals up this far north, but they grow all over where the birds over winter - Mexico and Central America. I put out pots of annuals on the deck, not just for us to enjoy, but for the hummies as well.

>139 Bookmarque: I like attracting hummies with flowers. We have too much of an ant problem to use sugar water, and I figure attracting them with natural food is better. I have good luck with Torenia and Lantana. Lately, I’ve seen one coming to my blooming hostas, and it eats mosquitoes, too.

It’s turning out to be a wild year for turtles. Found a big cooter in my swimming pool this morning, which I’ve been trying to catch or flush out with my net, but not having good luck yet. This is first time in 20+ years we’ve lived here that I’ve found one of the big ones in my pool.

Well I hope you scoop it soon. Wouldn't want it to get too tired and drown. A friend of mine had that happen with a squirrel and her pool. They felt really bad about it and left something in the pool for critters to climb after that.

>140 ludmillalotaria:, >141 Bookmarque: In the UK people put ramps in their ponds in case hedgehogs fall in. It's a good idea.

Yay for climbing rigs. My friend across the street has window wells for letting natural light into the basement and kept having to fish frogs and toads out of there all the time. Now she leaves a branch in each one and they get out themselves.



That's one in the backyard patiently waiting for me to stop it already.

>143 Bookmarque: This is a good quality glare! Great shot.

>143 Bookmarque: Fierce and yet cute! The skin texture has come out so clearly!

>143 Bookmarque:
Super photo.

>143 Bookmarque: I sense a distinct lack of amusement on that face. Great capture!

Thanks peeps. Glad you like these little guys. They fascinate me and I love them.

I went kayaking yesterday and found a pair of these guys -



and these guys -



all great and good, except for some reason the Loon family is smack in the heart of the Eagle territory. Quite near the nest which right now the parents stay close to because there are probably kids up there. Several times before seeing the Loons I heard one of them sending up alarm calls and when I looked in that direction either a yearling or an adult eagle was flying overhead. Ugh. Very stressful. And the calls will just pierce your heart. So when I finally cruised by the Loon family, I stayed back and didn't stay long. They stuck VERY close to the chick and I imagine only one feeds at a time. Not only will an Eagle grab one, but snapping turtles will happily do the same from underwater. I like this pose for the story it tells of the vigilance the parents must maintain until the chick can dive and fly on its own. Right now they bob and flap, occasionally riding on mom or dad when tired or in need of more protection. I wonder at them deciding to nest so close to Eagles. Could be they were pushed out of more established territories and beggars couldn't be choosers. Good luck Loons and may the Eagles stick to fish.

>148 Bookmarque: The drama! And breathtaking photos. As always, thank you for sharing your part of the world with us.

>149 MrsLee: It is a blessing, isn't it? Her area is so different from the high desert.

>143 Bookmarque: hee hee, fantasist shot of this little guy!

>148 Bookmarque: Both are great shots, thank you. Good luck to the loons!

What lovely photos and exciting sightings! Holding my thumbs that the parent loons' vigilance pays off and the chick grows to adulthood.

Thanks everyone. I'm planning to go back there in a week or three and see what's transpired. I'd love it if both parents still had their kids. I'm not sure there are eaglets up there, but I suspect. Need them to get to the flapping and yelling stage to tell.

Here's another shot of them a few seconds later -

Started this yesterday -



and before you get all excited, I'll tell you it's a bit of a slog for me as much as Adams's writing usually lights up my brain. I think it's two reasons - I'm not English and I'm young enough to be his daughter. The humor the he found in current events c 1966 just doesn't strike me as anything...just words on a page. Luckily I don't think it's the kind of book you have to read cover-to-cover, but can dip into sections that interest you as a reader. That's what I'll do. It's got life-sized facsimiles of so much ephemera from Adams's life and while those are fun visually, who wants to read the playbill from some obscure drama put on by the Cambridge Footlights? Or his work on Doctor Who which is a series I never got into and have no knowledge about other than a scarf and the Tardis. Maybe some, but not this little gray duck. Just warnin' ya. If it changes as things move on to his novel writing phase, I'll let you know.

>156 Bookmarque: Thanks for this update! I can appreciate that it's not going to hit everyone the same way.

And as much as I love Brit humor, I freely admit that some of the references go right by me.

Keep us posted, I'm curious! :)

As you know if you've been reading my threads for a while, I love radio dramas and of course the BBC does them very well. I somehow got onto some from Julian Simpson - The Lovecraft Investigations were my gateway drug and I was hooked. A sort of spin-off of that series is one involving a mysterious figure - Aldrich Kemp. Now I see it's releasing on Audible -



Woo hoo! These are so fun. They and others roll up into the Pleasant Green Universe and I hope they all become available as it was kind of a pain to listen to each of the sub-series and I had to use (I think) 3 different streaming services.

Look who hung out in a dahlia flower all day -



A tiny Spring Peeper just 2 cm long. It was there all day only moving off about 1/2 hour ago - I saw it scaling the garden wall. Believe it or not, that's a 93 image stack. Too much soft and bumpy detail to do less.

>159 Bookmarque: Great shot!

>159 Bookmarque: The perfect bed for a princess, or maybe a prince. :)

>159 Bookmarque: What a cute little guy! It looks very comfy.

>159 Bookmarque: What lovely photo! :)

>159 Bookmarque:. Is he (or she) apt to get bigger?

Thanks everyone. It was so adorable. So glad it wasn't scared to death in the end. Spring Peepers only get to about an inch or so at most and I've only seen one that size; the rest are all about 2cm.

So I just got to the end of this audio drama -



and it ended kind of in the middle of things, but not so much that it is a cliff hanger or didn't have anything major unresolved. The turmoil, misunderstandings and family drama will just roll on in our imaginations if it ended. But it didn't and there are two more collections going out to episode 13. Yay! I love when I find stuff like this. It just makes me so happy. Ah simple pleasures of a simple life.

>159 Bookmarque: Gorgeous shot. Love these guys, and I really miss them. It's too dry around my place for them to visit. :o(

>159 Bookmarque: that is adorable! Love the contrasting colours and the texture of the skin.

Thanks Claire/Clares - that loses something with the different spellings, but I had to swing for it. These guys look very smooth to the naked eye, but with macro this close, it has a lot of texture. Hard to believe they make so much noise!

>159 Bookmarque: That photo is spectacular.

>169 Bookmarque: Ha yes. Several hundred peepers in the woods behind our house was enough for my son to insist his bedroom window be closed when he was small. I tried to explain that the frogs were the size of the tip of my pinky, but they were so loud I think he thought they were huge. And the peepers had nothing on the tree frogs volume-wise. It only took one of those nearby to keep me awake half the night.

>159 Bookmarque: I love your Peeper!

I confess I never knew what they were called. I came across a tiny, itty-bitty little perfect guy at a river in Georgia and he sat on my thumb, not being much bigger than my thumbnail. I think we'd still be sitting there if my husband hadn't insisted I set him down so we could leave. I was charmed, and haven't seen one since.

Terrific shot!

It's like that with Wrens, too, tiny and loud. I love them both.

Got to the end of the whole series of No Commitments and really enjoyed it even if some of the gags were repetitive. Only some of the series featured Bill Nighy as round-shouldered husband to Victoria, Roger and honestly he was the best. The part of Charlotte was played by two actors as well, but their voices were so close it was hard to tell until she laughed. Anyway...now it's over I'm going to fill in with some podcasts until I can tackle something else. In the mean time, here's some turtles -