Mary's (bell7) Reading in 2025, Page 5

Welcome to my fifth thread!

If you haven't already been following me, here's my introduction: My name is Mary and I'm a librarian. I read widely and eclectically, some for work (I facilitate a book group) and most for fun. I tend to choose fantasy, historical, and contemporary fiction, while also enjoying some mystery and romance, and a bit of nonfiction besides.

My reading goals for 2025:
-Over half of books read to be by authors born outside of the U.S. (so far I'm doing well with this one)
-Read 12 books by indigenous authors. (I have started my first of the year! A little catch up to do here)

Outside of reading, I enjoy watching sports and knitting. I started a project last year of listening through the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list (2023 iteration) and I’ve been going roughly chronologically through it (I’m up to 1971 now). And I have a large family of parents, siblings, and niblings who will be mentioned frequently.

2025 Book Club Reads

One of my work responsibilities is facilitating one of our book discussions. Here's what we're reading in 2025 (we take a break for the summer):

JANUARY - South to America by Imani Perry - COMPLETED
FEBRUARY - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon - COMPLETED
MARCH - Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva - COMPLETED
APRIL - Devotions by Mary Oliver - COMPLETED
MAY - Teacher Man by Frank McCourt - COMPLETED
SEPTEMBER - The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
OCTOBER - The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
NOVEMBER - Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo
DECEMBER - The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Best of 2025

5 stars
The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver

4.5 stars
A Far Better Thing by H. G. Parry
Water, water by Billy Collins
Till Human Voices Wake Us by Victoria Goddard
Rivermouth by Alejandra Oliva
The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Balancing Stone by Victoria Goddard
Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takacs
Terec and the Wild by Victoria Goddard
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Random things I'm tracking

Articles of interest and book lists:
1. How to Critically Read a Press Release from the Federal Government
2. International Booker Prize Longlist 2025
3. Most Banned Books in the 2023-2024 School Year
4. Ontario librarians discuss book banning
5. More Borrowed Library Books in the US in 2024
6. Translation prizes from the Society of Authors
7. Kirkus Reviews best books of the 21st century
8. British Science Fiction Awards
9. How to Recommend Books Like an Expert

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 graphic novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 graphic novels)
2016 - 141 (I stopped counting graphic novels separately)
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138
2022 - 131
2023 - 180
2024 - 131
2025 - ???

Global reads in 2025 (author’s country of origin):
Argentina - César Aira
Canada - Victoria Goddard, Heather Fawcett, Premee Mohamed
Denmark - Olga Ravn
France - Alexandre Dumas, Virginie Grimaldi
Hungary - Bogi Takacs
India - Sangu Mandanna (currently lives in UK)
Ireland - Sarah Crossan, Frank McCourt
Mexico - Isabel Zapata
New Zealand - H. G. Parry, Rebecca K. Reilly
Romania - Antigone Kefala (lived most of her adult life in Australia)
Taiwan - Yang Shuang-zi
UK - Adrian Tchaikovsky, Elizabeth Macneal, Richard Osman

All time (since 2022):


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

Currently reading
Patterns of the heart and other stories by Ch'oe Myong-ik
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Bible/Devotional Reading
Genesis, Job, Matthew

DNFs in 2025
1. A Broken Blade by Melissa Blair
2. The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

June
59. The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
58. Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

May
57. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
56. Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
55. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
54. Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
53. The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Levai
52. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
51. American Teenager : How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang
50. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
49. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
48. Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
47. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
46. Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
45. Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
44. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
43. The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
42. The Glassblower by Victoria Goddard
41. A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry

April
40. Festival & Game of the Worlds by Cesar Aira
39. The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
38. Masks and Shadows by Stephanie Burgis
37. The Island by Antigone Kefala
36. Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
35. Devotions: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver by Mary Oliver
34. The Hemlock Queen by Hannah Whitten
33. A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi
32. Murder by memory by Olivia Waite
31. Water, water by Billy Collins
30. Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan
29. In the Hour of Crows by Dana Elmendorf
28. In the Realms of Gold: Five Tales of Ysthar by Victoria Goddard

March
27. In Vitro: On Longing and Transformation by Isabel Zapata
26. Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi
25. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
24. Till Human Voices Wake Us by Victoria Goddard
23. Beneath the Rising by Premee Mohamed
22. South to a Very Old Place by Albert Murray
21. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
20. Rivermouth: A Chronicle of Language, Faith, and Migration by Alejandra Oliva
19. A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
18. The Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison
17. The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
16. A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

February
15. Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
14. The Employees by Olga Ravn
13. The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
12. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
11. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
10. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
9. Balancing Stone by Victoria Goddard
8. Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takacs

January
7. The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
6. Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
5. The Forbidden Book by Sacha Lamb
4. South to America by Imani Perry
3. Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky
2. Terec and the Wall by Victoria Goddard
1. Serving Herself: the Life and Times of Althea Gibson by Ashley Brown

46. Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
Why now? Shared read for a TIOLI challenge

Happy new thread Mary!

Happy new one, Mary!

Happy new thread, Mary. xx

Happy New Thread, Mary! Sounds interesting, Everyone knows your mother is a witch : a novel.

Happy new thread, Mary!

>11 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

>12 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>13 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>14 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah! It was an interesting read, hope I've enticed you to try it :)

>15 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

I was out much of the day today, going to church and then to my parents' house to visit for Mother's Day. My brother and his family was there for a bit, 'til their daughter was ready for her afternoon nap. My parents bought a little mini Adirondack chair for her at a tag sale down the street, and she was delighted with it. Instead of sitting in the chair looking at all of us, she put her feet through the side and babbled out the window - it seemed like she was telling me a meaningful story, but I could not follow a bit of it.

I got home in the early evening, baked bread and listened to a CD my mom found of my grandmother interviewing her mom and uncle about family history. I'm going to try to bring it to work tomorrow and copy over things for my cousins to have access to it too. Now I'm super curious about where the "Cummings platter" they were discussing ended up, as well as the "cane sword" that apparently once belonged to Theodore Roosevelt? (Not sure how accurate that was, but that was the story!)

I'm just about ready to head to bed and have a full week of work ahead of me.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard (Note to self for later: I started these on 5/10)

Listening: "Every Picture Tells a Story" by Rod Stewart

Crafting: Weaving in ends on the baby blanket

Oh and I almost forgot, a bird note for Mark - I saw a rose-breasted grosbeak on my feeder this morning. A first of the year!

Happy new thread, Mary!

>19 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene!

Heading out shortly to a fairly full day. I'm going to try to be to the library early to let folks in to start taking all the leftovers from the book sale and then work 'til 2. I've got a massage appointment next, then yoga.

Reading/Listening/Crafting: all same as yesterday

Happy New Thread, Mary. I hope you had a good weekend and I hope you have a fine, uneventful work week.

>22 msf59: Thanks, Mark! It was a pleasant weekend and let's hope you're right about the uneventful work week :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Mary!! Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch sounds interesting.

Happy new thread!

>24 foggidawn: Thanks, Misti!

>25 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! It was a good read :)

>26 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

Happy Tuesday! I'm off to work shortly for my regular 9-5 and hoping to go to my brothers' softball game afterwards to keep score (they got rained out last week).

And I'm officially allowed to announce - my brother and his wife are expecting another baby girl, due in November!

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard and Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

Listening: "Led Zeppelin IV" by Led Zeppelin (I also listened to a John Prine album once through yesterday)

Watching: last night I finally put on "Instant Family" which was a title that came up in our foster care MAPP trainings - it was pretty close to what they went over in the training for all that it was a comedy (if I was going to be super picky, I could say the timeline was fast, but that kind of thing happens in book and movie narratives all the time)

Crafting: I finished all the weaving in of the blanket for my new niece, and continued working on the sweater for my cousin's coming baby - I've got the body done and started on one sleeve

47. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Why now? Wanted to read the new book by the author of Braiding Sweetgrass and am finally reading books by indigenous authors

Congratulations to your sibling and to you on being an auntie again! November babies are awesome (I say as someone with a November birthday, lol).

Crossing my fingers you get to enjoy the ball game tonight.

>29 bell7: Great review!

>30 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! We are all very excited, though because the due date is early November and she'll probably have a scheduled C-section this one *may* turn out to be a late October birthday. We shall see! I got to the game, and unfortunately they lost, but it was fun.

48. Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
Why now? Whittling away at the ARCs on my Kindle, this one came out last year and is on the short list of novellas up for a Hugo Award this year

This is my 2,000 review on LibraryThing!

>32 bell7: 2,000 reviews? That is most impressive! Congratulations! And more congratulations to your brother and his wife as well for their news.

>33 atozgrl: Well, the very first was in 2008 and I just kept going from there. And thank you! The family is pretty excited :)

>32 bell7: I have this on hold - and it may, just may come in before the end of the month, though it would take some luck.

>35 quondame: I hope you get the luck, Susan, and that you enjoy it whenever you read it.

Good morning! I woke up with a little bit of a sore throat and a cough, and in an abundance of caution I'm thinking I'll go pick up a Covid test when I get a prescription that's read for me, just to be sure I'm good. And if I am, I want to go to the gym before working 12-8. Work will include a department head meeting and running my regular Ancestry Library Edition program.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards and Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

Listening: "Led Zeppelin IV" by Led Zeppelin

>28 bell7: Hooray for November nieces! My brother and sister-in-law are expecting as well, and just had the ultrasound to learn that it will be a girl.

>38 foggidawn: Oh how exciting! Congrats to your family as well. I just found out that one of my brother's friends (he plays softball with them, so it's literally the only time I see him, but I know him too haha) and his wife are expecting their second in October, so I expect there will be playdates in their future.

Work went by fast today. The Covid test was negative and I didn't cough at all while at work, though I wore a mask to be on the safe side. I think it might be my allergies acting up, but since one person was already out sick, I didn't want to chance it. I had the department head meeting and an Ancestry training tonight. We were full up at 14, which was more than I'd anticipated (I was pretty sure I'd capped it at 11? But it worked), and a few people stayed right 'til the end and were talking about coming back, which is always a good sign.

Tomorrow I need to do payroll and I'm meeting with a couple of volunteers about a local history project we've been working on. I had the very good luck of having a college-age volunteer who still helps out on her school breaks reach out and ask me if we have a database management and local history project that she could work on. As it happens, we do! I have a senior tax worker who's been putting information from a name file (literally a card catalog of people who are mentioned in various history books and what page number the reference is) into an Excel spreadsheet so that we could create the database, and we are at that point where we're ready to go. But we didn't have anyone with database experience to help us get to that next step, so the fact that she's looking for exactly this kind of project is a potential godsend.

The listening report -

"Every Picture Tells a Story" by Rod Stewart
My first Rod Stewart album (I have, in fact, heard of him and "Maggie May"). I liked some songs more than others, but I did add "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" and "Mandolin Wind" to my playlist. Brett Schewitz goes into more detail song by song (including a note that the opening song is a bit sexist/racist, which I didn't catch 'cause I can't usually hear all the lyrics to songs unless I'm reading along with them). #177 on the list

"John Prine" by John Prine
Okay, so every time the musical intro would come on, I'd think, "Oh I like the guitar on this" and then the singing would come in... And nope, don't like the nasal twang. So I only listened once through. Brett Schewitz admires his lyrical ability, but I admit I couldn't appreciate it over my other reactions. #149 on the list

I'm nearly done with Led Zeppelin IV and then I've got a few new albums that just arrived today (perfect timing) to choose from next. Including the Led Zeppelin, I'm just past the halfway point of 22 albums in 1971 and have ten more to go.

duplicate post

>28 bell7: Congratulations on an impending new addition to your family! I know that your family is very important to you, and I'm sure you will enjoy the baby girl when she makes her entrance in the world.

All good wishes to you and your family Mary!

>43 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! Good to see you here.

Morning, all! I think my wifi has been wonky, because I keep double posting and I *know* I didn't double click on "Post message". I have nothing much to add to my run down in >40 bell7: of what I'm planning to do today. I didn't go to the gym yesterday, I'm going to see if I can make it today, and it's been a few weeks so it'll be rough.

Reading: Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly and Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, and I really need to start Teacher Man because we're discussing it in book club Wednesday

Listening: "Led Zeppelin IV" which I expect I'll be finishing as I drive in to work today

Good morning! TGIF. It's been a week of extra-busyness with my boss out. I have a couple of things to wrap up that she would normally do, but it's actually been a fairly smooth week overall (it's an ongoing joke that everything goes wrong when the director is away). I did not go to the gym yesterday and I have resolved not to even mention it until I actually go because I feel like I end up talking about it a lot but never going haha.

The plan is to meet with a friend for a walk after work unless it's raining. I did a bunch of cooking yesterday (both before and after work) so once I get back I just have leftovers and a quiet evening ahead.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

Listening: "Electric warrior" by T. Rex

>45 bell7: LibraryThing has been having server issues for about a month that are causing the frequent double-posts. Should be fixed soon I think.

>47 norabelle414: Oh that's good to know, I was starting to be convinced that it was an Internet issue on my end.

Happy Saturday! I have nothing terribly pressing that needs to get done today but a few things I would like to do, which is a nice place to be. It's a grey day with some storms forecast for later this afternoon, so it's extra nice that I get to be leisurely. I'll head out shortly for the gym (first time all month...) and will make sure to read at least 50 pages in my book club book, have a small grocery shopping I want to do, and have some recipes I want to make today.

I had an interesting discussion with one of my co-workers who is also trying to read more globally this year. I asked her how she would "count" Frank McCourt - he was born in New York, but his family returned to Ireland when he was 4 and he grew up there until he was 19, when he came back to the US and lived here the rest of his adult life. She said she'd lean towards saying he was an Irish author since he spent his formative years there. I have done something similar in the other direction - I read, for example, an author who was born in Canada but came to the US as a toddler, and counted her as a US author. But several of these authors can be hard to pin down, and it seems to me that several international authors who are published in the US (whether translated or not) have lived in more than one country and it can be challenging to pinpoint where they're "from" with any consistency.

Tomorrow I'm back to my regular busy-ness with church, time with my Little, and my small group in the evening.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt - I'm getting into the story in the first book, finally, after only reading a few pages at a time for several days. Greta & Valdin is my e-book before bed (and when I wake up in the early morning) so I'm reading that steadily and am almost halfway through. And Teacher Man, if I read approximately 50 pages a day, will be finished on Monday in perfect time for my Wednesday book club.

Listening: "Electric warrior" by T. Rex, which I expect to finish today

Crafting: I knit the second arm for the baby sweater last night and anticipate finishing weaving in ends and sewing on the buttons today

>32 bell7: Brava for breaching the double-diamond, Mary! Saturday *smooch*

>49 bell7: I believe our cataloguers classify place of origin (for us we mark if a creator is Canadian in our fiction collection and for belles lettres in the 800s) based on where the author lives at time of publication. But it's definitely fuzzy and I remember having discussions about it in university (in that case it was about Michael Ondaatje as both Canada and Sri Lanka tend to claim him).

>17 bell7: How cool that you have a CD of your grandmother interviewing family about your family’s history. Nice that it was preserved. A great aunt of mine was into genealogy but I’ve only been able to find one type written sheet of information she found.

>50 richardderus: Thank you! I knew last year that it was likely I'd get to that milestone, but I'm pleased it was so early in the year. I enjoy seeing the "100" milestones, but I don't anticipate getting to another 1,000 for ten years or so.

>51 MickyFine: Oh that's interesting. So would Salman Rushdie be American instead of Indian? For my purposes this year, I will generally count where someone grew up as their country of origin, rather than where they lived as an adult. It's not always cut and dried, as you can see in my notes about where different authors were from.

>52 Familyhistorian: It is pretty neat, and I'm glad we managed to keep it after my grandparents passed away (my mom had it and gave it to me on Mother's Day). I was able to rip the CD and upload the files to a shared Google folder for other family members to be able to listen as well. There was a LOT of info that she had accumulated in researching the family, and one of my cousins and I became the keepers of those materials, which we still need to go through and organize.

A little late, but here's the promised photo of the baby blanket I was working on:



I'm working on blocking/stretching it a little bit so it's more even with the width of the bottom. I've very pleased with how the colors worked out. The chevron is great because it looks intricate, but it's a very simple pattern of two rows I could keep in my head while I listened to or watched something.

And then the baby sweater is my go-to pattern that I've been using for years. My cousin's baby is due in August, so I did long sleeves and the 3 mos. size, figuring she could wear it in the fall season change.

>54 bell7: They're both wonderful! The chevrons are easy? Wow...they do not look it.

>53 bell7: I mean, that's work cataloguing standards so I say, claim who you like, lol.

>54 bell7: Both projects are gorgeous. The sweater is adorable and I love how the chevron blanket turned out.

>54 bell7: Mary, you are very talented! I imagine these projects provide a lot of solace.

>55 richardderus: Yeah, it's a fairly simple pattern, but it looks super pretty, doesn't it? The hard part was weaving in all the ends from changing colors hahaha.

>56 MickyFine: Cataloging standards are interesting, though I admit I could never be a cataloger because, as detail-oriented as I am, at a certain point enough is enough. So yeah, it's arbitrary but I'm trying to be consistent at least haha. And thank you! I used a couple of Ravelry patterns for both. Baby boy or girl top down DK jacket is a regular in my rotation of patterns, and I usually have a few finished ones that I can choose from when a friend gets pregnant.

>57 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! I do get a lot of enjoyment and relaxation from knitting. It's a great way to give unique gifts, too.

Happy Sunday! It was a busy but good day. Church in the morning, then hung out with my Little going out to lunch and a local museum, came home to bake the bread (it was mentioned in the sermon which made me laugh - Pastor mentioned that our small group regularly has bread, and described both my sourdough and a sweet braided one that someone else brought last week), and then went to small group. It was a very small group tonight, but it was a good discussion and I'm really getting to know a few in the group very well. Some have been at the church for some time and others are newer than me, so it's a good mix and doesn't get cliquey with "old" and "new" folks as these group can.

Tomorrow I'm working 9-2, have a little time in the afternoon, and then the last yoga class in the series I've been doing. It'll be nice to have one more night free, though I'll miss the class and want to incorporate more of a regular practice at home.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly, and Teacher Man by Frank McCourt

Listening: Finished "Electric warrior" by T. Rex, listened to "Maggot brain" by Funkadelic twice through, and started "Sticky Fingers" by the Rolling Stones (I was driving a lot today)

Crafting: I've started on a cowl to give myself a quick and different project with some yarn I bought from a local seller about a year and a half ago

Happy Monday! I finished Teacher Man yesterday and Greta & Valdin this morning and have reviews to write, but it's time for me to get ready for work so it'll have to wait (darn work getting in the way of everything else in life!).

I'm working 9-2 today and the big thing will be completing payroll. I had some questions for Accounting before I finished, so I'll call them up first thing. I'm on the desk 11-1, with just enough time to eat and wrap up things (possibly start a desk schedule, but I won't push it) before heading out. My friend can't walk today, so I'm planning on coming home and possibly making rhubarb jam before heading out to yoga.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards and the fun of picking out another book to start

Listening: "Sticky Fingers" by the Rolling Stones

Crafting: will probably work some on the cowl today too

49. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Why now? My book group voted this one in, and we're discussing it on Wednesday

Full disclosure: I tried to read Angela's Ashes back when it was popular, and could not get through it, so I haven't read any of his other memoirs, and this is the third. Can't say I'm planning on going back and reading more though.

50. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
Why now? I think I heard about this on BookRiot or another podcast I was listening to, and was interested in reading it when I learned it was a debut about gay siblings in New Zealand. The author (and characters) have indigenous heritage, too, so it met multiple goals

>62 bell7: There is nothing like a mental-health crisis to clear the decks. Lucky Valdin to come through it with support!

McCourt's stuff would never tempt me into a re-read, so I get where you're coming from entirely. Like Shecky Green or Don Rickles comedy...maybe it was funny back then, can't really say, but now it's awful.

>63 richardderus: Indeed! Xabi as it turns out was afraid he was the cause of it, but still loves Valdin. I really liked the side characters and their relationships as we see them through Greta and Valdin's eyes. Their parents are Maori (mother) and Russian (father), and they find out that their dad's family came to New Zealand as a refugees, so there's complicated identities but it's just kinda presented as the way things are, which is refreshing.

I'd been thinking about going back and trying to read Angela's Ashes again, because besides the bleakness what I really remember getting annoyed about was all the swearing, and I'm not as annoyed by that as I used to be (though I still don't like a ton). But I can't say I want to bother now. Too many other books on the list calling my name.

>63 richardderus: Indeed! Xabi as it turns out was afraid he was the cause of it, but still loves Valdin. I really liked the side characters and their relationships as we see them through Greta and Valdin's eyes. Their parents are Maori (mother) and Russian (father), and they find out that their dad's family came to New Zealand as a refugees, so there's complicated identities but it's just kinda presented as the way things are, which is refreshing.

I'd been thinking about going back and trying to read Angela's Ashes again, because besides the bleakness what I really remember getting annoyed about was all the swearing, and I'm not as annoyed by that as I used to be (though I still don't like a ton). But I can't say I want to bother now. Too many other books on the list calling my name.

>64 bell7: There's nothing that YA won't tackle now, so no wonder the scream machine is set to full shrieking hatred.

*sigh*

I found Teacher Man the weakest of his three memoirs. I really loved Angela's Ashes, which I read soon after it came out. I'm planning to re-visit it soonish (on audio this time).

>66 richardderus: Yeah, it's definitely the kind of book that would draw the book banners' ire. It is an adult book, but one I could see appealing to teens. I was using "young adult" more literally since they're in their late 20s I think? But I don't want to go back to my 20s much more than I'd want to go back to my teens, tbh.

>67 katiekrug: That's good to know, Katie. I may not completely count out Angela's Ashes yet, but I'll look forward to your review.

>54 bell7: What a wonderful weather. It will keep the new addition to the family warm and stylish!

>70 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I'm going to make another one soon for my coming niece (due in November), and am thinking of making it purple with white bunny buttons.

Happy Tuesday! Today I'm working 9-5 and planning on going from there to my brothers' softball game. I expect my boss back today for at least a meeting in the afternoon.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz and American Teenager by Nico Lang

Listening: "Master of Reality" by Black Sabbath (I don't expect this to take me long)

Crafting: knitted cowl

Morning, Mary. Slowly making the rounds with my pals after the camping trip. I finally started the "N"'s in my music collection. It should be much shorter than the "M"s. I am surprised you are giving Black Sabbath another go. Are you slowly becoming an Ozzy fan? 😜

I am enjoying Brave the Wild River.

>73 msf59: Hahaha no, don't think I'll ever be an Ozzy fan. But I'm (so far) not skipping any of the albums on the Rolling Stones Top 500 Albums list. If I really hate a song, I have skipped to the next, and if I really dislike an album I'll only listen through once. So far, "White Light/White Heat" by the Velvet Underground has been the one I've disliked most strongly.

Glad you're enjoying Brave the Wild River. I have no idea if I can take any credit for it on your TBR list or not, but it was definitely an enjoyable read for me and I can see it being right up your alley.

Love the knitting projects! I might pick up Greta & Valdin at some point but I'm not sure it's calling my name right now.

>75 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! Totally get not having a book call your name at the moment, but hope if it does at some point it's a good read for you.

Happy Wednesday! I can take a more leisurely time this morning getting up and getting breakfast since I'm not working 'til 12. I'll be leaving in a bit to go to the gym. Work should be pretty straightforward today. I'll be updating lists and prettifying the new books section, and I've got book discussion tonight. I'm interested to see what the others made of Teacher Man.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, and American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Listening: "Blue" by Joni Mitchell

Crafting: knitted cowl

It is Thursday, and I'm very near the end of my work week and a week of staycation. What joy!

Today I worked 9-5 and by the time I was done, I did not feel like cooking so I picked up a frozen pizza at the grocery store on my way home. My boss is back after being out sick but she's still coughing a bunch (and was masked), so the rest of us masked up too as an added precaution. One of our co-workers recently completed her work towards her Master's in Library Science, so we did a little celebration for her in the afternoon. This evening should be fairly quiet. The pizza is cooling and I've done some dishes. After I eat, I'll probably do a little tidying and then sit down with a book or my knitting.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, and American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Listening: Unfortunately I couldn't finish "Blue" even one time through because it was skipping so badly, so I've re-requested a new copy of it, and started listening to "Who's Next" by The Who

Crafting: knitted cowl - I'm about halfway through and should finish this weekend

My nephew is following in the footsteps of his uncle (my brother R.) and grandfather (my father) before him in his passion for football and ability to remember detailed facts about what he's learned and the games he watches. The other day, I had a video call with him because it was his birthday - he turned 8 - and I got to watch him open the gift that I'd shipped down. He did so, and was pretty excited to see the DVD I'd got him of highlights of Super Bowl LII, the first Super Bowl his team, the Eagles, won. He told me, "I don't know anything about the game, except the last play the Patriots threw a Hail Mary, and they didn't get it." A little later he added, "They still would've needed a two-point conversion, though. The Eagles won by 8." For reference, he was a little over 8 months old when that game was played.

I told my dad and he laughed but said that when he was in second grade (my nephew's age), he knew all of the NFL Championship scores from the year he was born to the then-present, "And I would tell the kids in my class, as if they cared."

I told my brother R. and he questioned whether or not the last play was a Hail Mary at all. So I Googled it and we watched a YouTube play, which sure enough, was Tom Brady throwing a Hail Mary as time expired and Gronk couldn't come down with it. The Eagles won 41-33.

So now I fully expect to be regaled with even more info about that game when I next see my nephew, and he officially knows more than I do about football.

>79 bell7: I drove my family nuts with facts about cars...model names, number of cylinders, displacements, names of paint colors...until ordered to shut up. Boys are just like that, I think.

Happy New Thread, Mary!

>79 bell7:. I love this kind of trivia. That was a high-scoring, exciting game. Not many teams can say they beat Brady and the Pats.

>80 richardderus: Oh there's a few people in my family (me included) who can be like that with what we're passionate about. My dad and brother and nephew take it to a whole new level with football in the amount of detail they can remember. My dad and brother can tell you the final scores of all of the Giants games they've seen, and my dad amazed his friends once when one would put on a random video from his collection of taped games and after a couple of plays, dad could tell him what game number it was of what year and what the final score was. I love it, personally, though I half-heartedly complain that I'm extremely knowledgeable about sports outside of my family, but inside my family I'm somewhere in the middle. The truth is, though I watch the Giants games that I can, I can't be bothered to remember all the details of who needs what tiebreaker throughout the season, and I'll look it up in some article if I care to know. My dad (and now my nephew) will pretty much have it memorized throughout.

>81 jnwelch: Isn't that great? He's got a mind for both details and the strategy, and it's not the first time he's come up with something like that because he pays such close attention. Last year, my dad explained how NFL conference standings worked in seeding the playoffs, and weeks later he insisted on watching a Thursday night football game the Detroit Lions were in because he knew the results mattered for the Eagles.

TGIF! After I work 9-5 today, I'm off for a week. It's still rainy out, so I think I'll stop at the gym to walk on the treadmill before heading home for leftover pizza and a relaxing evening.

Next week when I'm off, plans are starting to shape up. Tomorrow I have an appointment to give blood, and while I'm out I'm planning on buying the rest of the baby gift for my cousin, whose shower is in June. The big day for me is going to be Wednesday, when I have both a meeting with a social worker for the beginning of my caregiver assessment and a job interview.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, and American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang - right around the halfway point in all 3 now

Listening: "Who's Next" by The Who, and I should be just about finished today or tomorrow

Crafting: I didn't pick up the cowl yesterday, but it's still very likely I'll finish this weekend

The listening report -

"Led Zeppelin IV" by Led Zeppelin
I surprised myself how much I enjoyed this since it's generally harder than the music I gravitate towards, but either they're growing on me or really hitting their stride with this album. I added "Rock and Roll, "Stairway to Heaven" and "Going to California" to my playlist. Brett Schewitz's review goes through song by song. #58 on the list

"Electric warrior" by T. Rex
Meh, this one kind of bored me. I didn't hate it but wouldn't go out of my way to listen again either. Based on what Brett Schewitz says about the influence Velvet Underground had on it and how it was a precursor to Glam Rock and David Bowie, I think it might be a case of listening to it too late to understand what an impact it had on the musical world. #188 on the list

"Maggot brain" by Funkadelic
Mmm... There were parts of certain songs that I liked, but everything had something that I disliked enough not to add anything to my playlist. One song, for example, had a really good beat and rhythm for most of it, but the opening included a baby crying and a man complaining how he had to get to work. Not something I'd want to revisit. Brett Schewitz, on the other hand, was really impressed. #136 on the list

"Sticky Fingers" by the Rolling Stones
Quintessential "sex, drugs, and rock & roll" of the time, though generally not to my taste. Brett Schewitz informs me that the band had a lot of creative control over this album and he had things to say about individual songs as well that y'all may enjoy. #104 on the list

"Master of Reality" by Black Sabbath
I listened to this one twice through and still generally don't like them - quelle surprise - but they don't rise to the level of visceral distaste that I have for the first two albums by The Velvet Underground. I actually considered adding "Solitude" to my playlist because I liked the overall sound of it, but ultimately decided the lyrics are too depressing to have it come on randomly some morning as my alarm. Brett Schewitz's review. #234 on the list

"Who's Next" by The Who
Another one that surprised me with how much I liked it. The overall sound and difference from song to song is appealing to me, nothing boring or too same-y that blend together. The singles are the best songs imo - "Baba O'Riley" (better recognized perhaps as "Teenage Wasteland", that title will forever flummox me), "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". Brett Schewitz calls this their "most 'pop' and most accessible" album, and I'd agree with that. #77 on the list

>84 bell7: I studied Baba O'Riley in music class in college so I know about the title! It's named after two guys, one with the last name Baba and one with the last name Riley. Riley was a minimalist composer and he inspired the part where the song is just the same few notes over and over again, building up very slowly over a long time (the original version of the song was THIRTY MINUTES). It's funny - an ambitious feat of minimalist composition but then the fans were like "actually we just like the part where you sing the words" and everyone calls it Teenage Wasteland instead. (That probably means everyone prefers the Baba half of the title, because he was a spiritualist who also coined Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" (which is the full extent of what I know about his beliefs))

Hi, Mary. Enjoy your week off!

Led Zeppelin wear well over time, don’t they. They were my first concert ever, in Cobo Arena in Detroit. Have you ever heard Robert Plant’s songs with Alison Krauss? Surprisingly good. Not a team-up I ever would have imagined.

I’m reading two fantasies right now, Raven Scholar and The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. Both good so far.

>83 bell7: Wednesday Next is set to be a big'un. I wish you enough busyness until then to keep you from worrying about any of it, and still being productive.

>86 jnwelch: Agreed! Robert Plant and Allison Krauss are surprisingly good together.

>82 bell7: My brother and I can be like that too when it comes to football (soccer) and our beloved team Leeds United. I don't think that there are many facts about the club that we wouldn't know.

We can spend hours on the phone debating which players we think the club should sign.

>84 bell7: Most of those are heavier than I generally like to listen to too, Mary, but all of them contain some good tracks too. The exception being Who's Next which is one of my favourite albums.

Hi, Mary! I'm glad to read that you're donating blood tomorrow. I rescheduled my donation for this coming Wednesday, after I couldn't donate two weeks ago because my resting heart rate, which is usually in the low 50s, was greater than 100 bpm, to my great surprise. I developed a fever after I returned home and was sick with some sort of infection for several days, which thankfully is now behind me. After I made an appointment I was assigned to Team Rutgers, which I found odd because I didn't remember mentioning my alma mater.

Have a great weekend, and I hope that things go well on Wednesday.

>85 norabelle414: The original version was THIRTY minutes? Ooof. The first time I listened through the album, I remember thinking the intro was extra long and I must've been used to the radio cut haha. I actually don't mind the synthesizer on this song, and I can really dislike that instrument depending on how its down. Interesting about Baba - I like "Don't Worry, Be Happy" too.

>86 jnwelch: They're growing on me, Joe, I liked IV better than I or II. I haven't heard Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, but I'll add their albums to my "to listen" list, which continues to grow. I have a copy of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and have been meaning to read Natasha Pulley for awhile now, so I'll look forward to your thoughts on both, but that one especially.

>87 richardderus: I have a lot of things on the to-do list, but one of them is READ (I have seven books I'm going to attempt to finish by the end of this month), so I think I will be pretty well balanced with "doing" and resting. But yeah, Wednesday will be a busy one!

>88 drneutron: I'll make a note that both you and Joe recommend, Jim!

>89 PaulCranswick: We tend to remember the details of things we care about, don't we? I watch all the American football games, especially the Giants, but definitely don't remember all the details as well as some others in my family. There are other things I do, though, like family history details and book titles haha.

>90 kidzdoc: Nice to see you, Darryl! Yep, the app makes it easy, especially if I want to return to where I was last, so I scheduled it knowing this weekend would be a good time. I had to not give blood because my heart rate was too high once, too. I'm sorry that it was indicative of your infection, but glad it meant you had all the blood cells to fight off the infection. Interesting about the team, I saw that I could select one but haven't been assigned to anything. Hope your appointment on Wednesday goes well too!

Happy Saturday! I woke up around 4:30 and needed a little extra sleep after my alarm as a result. But I've had breakfast, gotten dressed, mixed the bread dough and left it to rise (will bake tomorrow), and am starting to plan out my day.

I had initially thought I'd go to the gym this morning, but my abs were still sore last night from the workout on Wednesday so I decided to give myself another rest day. I have an appointment to give blood at noon, so the morning will be making sure I have had food and plenty of water. I will shop in a nearby Target either before or after giving blood to get some baby clothes for my cousin's baby shower and complete my gift. And then I need to take it fairly easy after the blood donation, so anything around the house will be cooking or non-strenuous tidying up. I'll try to get to the gym after church tomorrow, as they're closed on Monday. Edited to add: but I won't do the regular circuit/resistance training set that I do until Tuesday.

I expect I'll finish both my e-books today; my paper book Small Ceremonies has been a bit of a slower read than I expected, though I am enjoying it. I'm going to try to see if I can complete a TIOLI sweep this month, but that means I have about 7 books to finish between now and the end of the month. Doable, if I finish three 3 books I'm reading over the weekend, but it'll be a close thing.

Reading: Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards, The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz, and American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Listening: I should finish "Who's Next" today and the next album will be The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East

Crafting: I plan on working steadily on my cowl today; I got the second skein of yarn wound and ready when the current one runs out

Sounds like a pretty chill Saturday by your standards, Mary. I hope your blood donation goes smoothly and your day is generally restful.

Also best of luck with your interview on Wednesday!

>94 MickyFine: Yes, definitely chill by my standards! Everything went well giving blood and now I just need to keep drinking water so I don't have a headache by the end of the day. And thank you! I'll keep y'all posted about the interview, of course.

51. American Teenager : How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang
Why now? Combed my TBR list for a book with "joy" in the title to fit a TIOLI challenge and settled on this one, which I'd come across in the October BookPage

>96 bell7: - Thank you for bringing this one to my attention. I'll check my library for it. I have a cousin (more like a nephew) who is trans, currently in college in Texas, and I worry for him.

>97 katiekrug: You're very welcome, though I warn you it'll probably leave you steaming mad about the state of things. I don't blame you being worried about your trans cousin, I'd be worried for him too.

52. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
Why now? Shared read for TIOLI challenge "Read a book that has won an award by a new-to-you author" (but I'm matching with Chatterbox, as I have read another book by Annalee Newitz before)

Congratulations Mary for passing 1,000 posts on your thread this year.

And after that, I'm ready for something a little more lighthearted. I'm still reading Small Ceremonies, and next up is The Night Library of Sternendach (paper) and Deacon King Kong (e-book).

>100 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

While I'm off this week, I'm going to attempt a sweep of the TIOLI Challenges. Here's where I'm at now (those in bold are completed, those in italics I'm reading now, *is a shared read) -

Challenge #1: Read a book you really *should* read now
Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
*The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

Challenge #2: Read a book where one of the main characters is under 21
*Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards

Challenge #3: Read a book whose title includes a place you might find a book
The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Levai

Challenge #4: Read a book by or about someone who has been to prison
Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Challenge #5: Re-read a book or read a book by an author you've previously read
*The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison

Challenge #6: Read a book by an author with consecutive double letters in their name
A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry
*The Glassblower by Victoria Goddard

Challenge #7: Read a book that has a word in the title that is also in an author's name
Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly

Challenge #8: Read a book by an author who is South Asian or has heritage from South Asia
*All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Challenge #9: Read a book that has won at least one award by a new-to-you author
*The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz

Challenge #10: Read a book that has been nominated for a Hugo Award
Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard

Challenge #11: Read a book by an author who has three (or more) names
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Challenge #12: Read a book that includes any word for "mother" in the title or author's name
*Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen

Challenge #13: Read a book in honor of MrMorphy
Onion John by Joseph Krumgold

Challenge #14: Read a book where one of the main characters is in their old age
Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Challenge #15: Read a book with a title of 3 or more single-syllable words
*How to Read a Book by Monica Wood

Challenge #16: Read a book by/with/about "joy"
American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang

Three books currently reading to finish and two more books to read this week - it'll be a challenge, but I might be able to pull it off!

Update 5/26: With the books I finished over the weekend, I'm in very good shape to make my goal. I'm currently reading Deacon King Kong as my e-book and I'll start Stride Toward Freedom and How to Read a Book today.

Happy Sunday, Mary. Loving your musical journey. Led Zeppelin IV & Who's Next will always be my 2 favorite rock albums. Funny, Rolling Stone panned all these Zeppelin albums when they were first released, giving them one or 2 stars. Boy, were they WRONG! Sticky Fingers is another favorite of mine. I am sure Exile on Main Street will be on that list too. Enjoy, my friend.

>85 norabelle414: Thanks for this info on Baba O' Reilly. I don't recall ever know that story. One of the great rock anthems.

>86 jnwelch: What year was that, Joe? That is awesome. I saw them 3 nights at the Chicago Stadium in 1977.

>104 msf59: It seems to happen with some frequency, doesn't it, that art was panned in its time and only later can we appreciate how good/important/groundbreaking it was? Exile on Main Street is on the list, I'll be listening to it soonish. Looking forward to hearing your responses as I continue listening!

52. The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Levai
Why now? My co-worker discovered this title when looking for novels in verse for adults, and I thought it sounded outlandish enough to check out - looking forward to checking in with her after I get back to work and see if she's read it yet

54. Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
Why now? First saw the title in emails I was reading about new books at work, and it fits both my goals to read Indigenous authors and authors from outside of the U.S.

Edited to correct the book number

Good morning! It's Memorial Day, and I will be commemorating the holiday by walking to the cemetery down the street for the flags being placed at veterans' graves (my great uncle and great-grandfather are among them) and then staying in the area for my town's parade. After that, I should have a fairly quiet day at home, working away in the garden, cooking, and reading. The weekend was a productive one for finishing the three books I'd been reading all week, plus one more. That leaves me in really good shape for getting a TIOLI sweep this month, as I only have three books to go and six days to read them.

The French Open started yesterday and it's on a TV channel / streaming service I don't have, so I've been listening to Radio Roland Garros to keep up on all the matches I can. I may stop at a library on Tuesday to print out the draws and return the books I'm finished with.

Reading: Deacon King Kong by James McBride (I'm planning on starting Stride Toward Freedom and How to Read a Book today)

Listening: "The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East"

Crafting: I'm nearly 3/4 of the way through the cowl and expect I can finish it today

Morning, Mary. The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East is another landmark album. One of the great live albums ever made. Your first foray into Southern Rock?

I loved Deacon King Kong. I hope you feel the same.

>106 bell7: I don't know which thing's existence I find more astonishing: "adult novel in verse", "vampire opera", or "Lanternfish Press."

Enjoyable review, Mary. Memorial Day orisons.

>109 msf59: I think my first Southern Rock was Creedence Clearwater Revival, but it wasn't long ago, so pretty close. So far I'm really enjoying Deacon King Kong. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store was one of my favorites last year, so I'm looking forward to reading more McBride.

>110 richardderus: Always pleased when I can bring something new to your attention, Richard, though somehow I think it will very much be Not Your Thing. *smooch*

>111 bell7: It is vanishingly likely I'll ever encounter >110 richardderus: in the wild and, as you no doubt expected, I view this eventuality with utter, soul-encompassing indifference.

>112 richardderus: In consideration of that, I take it as the highest compliment you found my review enjoyable. Wishing you good reads this week!

>113 bell7: I'm mostly in August's books, and so far so dull I'm afraid. I'm even edging towards a vampire opera in poetry without giant urticaria blotching my body....

I read all three of the Frank McCourt memoirs back in 2011 and enjoyed them. It is easy to forget that the books were first published in the early 1990's and lots has changed since then. They are about his life (he was born in 1930) and his life as a teacher from 1957 onwards. I looked at them as a picture of his life and times. What I found hard about them as that they jump back and forth in time and in my notes on the books I commented that I had to consult Wikipedia often just to keep the timeline straight and to figure out approximately when events he was describing were happening.

As a former classroom teacher and from a family of teachers the concept of a "good teacher" is often relative. There are always successes and failures, triumphs and regrets. To me a "good teacher" is one who is reflective and mourns those failures that are, try as we might for the outcome to be different, inevitable.

>103 bell7: TIOLI is quite fun, isn't it?

Happy reading!

>114 richardderus: Well, dang. Hope they start to pick up soon.

>115 benitastrnad: Thanks for you thoughts, Benita. The jacket quotes were misleading, I thought, in that I expected a lot more about the classroom than the book actually was. My comments on him being a "good teacher" are a mix of my own subjective opinion - the way he describes meandering through the lessons would've driven me batty as a student - and his own doubts about his effectiveness. I do think he hit his stride in the Creative Writing class, from what he recounted.

>116 figsfromthistle: It is! I am generally nowhere close to having a sweep, so it'll be a fun challenge this week to see if I can finish the three final books I'm reading. Though I can already feel my contrary nature about being told what to read rearing up and I expect I'll read whatever I feel like in June, whether it fits a TIOLI challenge or not.

>114 richardderus: Well, dang. Hope they start to pick up soon.

>115 benitastrnad: Thanks for you thoughts, Benita. The jacket quotes were misleading, I thought, in that I expected a lot more about the classroom than the book actually was. My comments on him being a "good teacher" are a mix of my own subjective opinion - the way he describes meandering through the lessons would've driven me batty as a student - and his own doubts about his effectiveness. I do think he hit his stride in the Creative Writing class, from what he recounted.

>116 figsfromthistle: It is! I am generally nowhere close to having a sweep, so it'll be a fun challenge this week to see if I can finish the three final books I'm reading. Though I can already feel my contrary nature about being told what to read rearing up and I expect I'll read whatever I feel like in June, whether it fits a TIOLI challenge or not.

Happy Tuesday! This is the first *official* day of my vacation week since yesterday was a holiday. I really enjoyed the long weekend and had a good blend of things to do and relaxation. I was starting to feel a little restless yesterday evening, so I'm glad I have plans to meet up with a couple of friends this afternoon and go to softball and generally be social today. I'll leave in a bit to run some errands, make lunch, and then go out for the afternoon.

I've been enjoying listening to Radio Roland Garros in lieu of watching the matches, and one of my errands includes stopping at the library to print out the draws.

Reading: Deacon King Kong by James McBride, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, and Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Listening: "The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East"

Crafting: finished the cowl and working on a matching hat

>119 bell7:
I have enjoyed every James McBride book I have read. He is an excellent writer. It is interesting that the one I didn't rate as highly as the others was Good Lord Bird and that is the one that seems to get so much attention.

>120 benitastrnad: Heaven & Earth Grocery Store was the really popular one at my library, and it was one of my top reads in 2024. It's the only one I've read to date, though I own Good Lord Bird and The Color of Water.

Happy Wednesday!

I have just finished a home visit regarding the caregiver assessment. I may have one other visit, whether by phone or in person, and a few questions from the written assessment to elaborate on via email, but I'm nearing the end of the licensing process. I have a little time at home to putter around, and then I have an interview for the director position late this afternoon. I'm planning on going to the gym afterwards to work some of the stress of it all out.

Reading/Listening: same as >119 bell7: - I'm finishing the Allman Brothers today and starting a new album

Crafting: finished the hat (it looks wonderful if I do say so myself) and started on a duck for niece R.

Big day today! The stress relief of the gym is a good idea.

>122 bell7: All crossables crossed for you to get both outcomes. Much luck, dear lady, if anyone deserves this shot to make a positive difference it's you.

Hi Mary, wow, you have a lot going on today! I wish you well in both endeavors.

I've just returned home from donating blood today. Did you receive an American Red Cross rechargeable lantern after your donation? I love getting freebies from them.

I was disappointed that my hemoglobin dropped from 14.3 to 13.1 between donations, despite taking daily supplemental iron capsules that contain 18 mg of elemental iron. My hemoglobin was barely high enough for me to donate (13.0 being the cutoff for men to donate), so I'll start taking two capsules of iron daily (36 mg of elemental iron) and work on increasing my dietary iron intake.

>123 katiekrug: Yeah, I forgot the sheet where I keep track of all the circuit stuff, so I'll go back for that tomorrow, but 40 minutes on the treadmill was good!

>124 richardderus: Thank you, Richard! The timeline for both seems to be on the same track, but as one of the references for the job said, "Well, one thing about you is when you're in, you're all in!" It's going to be a wild summer regardless of where everything lands.

>125 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! It was a hectic day, but both went well and I felt like I gave it my best shot.

I did get a lantern! It's sitting in my window solar charging and I can see it being very useful if there's ever a prolonged electricity outage. One of the better freebies I've received, I think. I had to check my hemoglobin numbers, as it's usually good and I've never really worried about it - as I'm sure you know, 12.5 is the cutoff for women to donate. A couple of months ago I was 13.9 and Saturday I was 13.2. I'll have to keep an eye on whether it starts lowering more or not, and if so, I'll probably start making sure to eat more iron-rich foods prior to giving, especially if I start doing it regularly more often than the once-a-year or so I did prior to the pandemic.

>126 bell7: I'm glad that you also received a lantern, Mary. I charged mine last night, and I'll try using it today.

I assume that a transcutaneous hemoglobin device was also used to detect your hemoglobin level. I was unaware of these devices, and I'll have to research the medical literature to determine their accuracy. Transcutaneous pulse oximeters are increasingly less accurate in people with greater amounts of melanin in their skin, so I'm curious to find out if the same holds true with these transcutaneous hemoglobin devices. In any case the reading yesterday was reasonable, given my repeated episodes of iron deficiency anemia over the past two years, and considering that I'm definitely anemic now (removing a pint of blood drops your hemoglobin by 1-2 g/dl) I'll start taking iron tablets with 65 mg of elemental iron daily and stay on this amount until my next blood donation in late July or early August, and make a concerted effort to increase the amount of iron rich foods in my diet. I'll also check with my primary care physician to see if I should take more than one iron tablet daily. I was wiped out after my blood donation yesterday, but I feel much better after a good night's sleep.

ETA: I had forgotten that the treatment for iron deficiency anemia is one tablet of 65 mg elemental iron three times a day for 3 months, so I'll start on that regimen if my PCP gives me his approval.

>127 kidzdoc: Yes, and that was a first for me. I was really surprised, but as long as it's accurate, I'm happy to have that instead of the finger prick (that generally hurts worse than the blood draw). I'll be curious to learn what you glean from the medical literature. I hadn't known that about pulse oximeters - does it tend to underestimate or overestimate the pulse?

I sometimes get a headache by the end of the day after a blood donation, so I need to be especially careful to hydrate before and after. I definitely noticed even the next day (Sunday) that I couldn't be too strenuous working in the yard, so I took it easy that afternoon. I did some walking/gardening on Monday and went back to the gym yesterday without any ill effects, so I think I'm back to my normal rhythm now.

Oh, and one thing I thought was interesting was the tech mentioned the needle can hurt going in when it goes through the scar tissue. I asked if there's ever so much scar tissue that they have to switch what arm they take blood from, and she said yes, they do sometimes.

Happy Thursday! I was up early this morning, so I've already had my coffee, am listening to Radio Roland Garros, and sent a thank-you email to the folks who interviewed me yesterday. I'm meeting a friend to walk at 9 a.m., we might get a bit of drizzle, but nothing too bad. And then I'm planning a fairly quiet rest of the day to recover from yesterday - a trip to the gym (remembering my paper this time for what I set all the machines to), making mushroom risotto, and reading a bunch.

Reading: Deacon King Kong by James McBride, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood, and Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Listening: "There's a Riot Goin' On" by Sly and the Family Stone

Crafting: finishing up the duck for R. ("Five Little Ducks" is one of her favorite songs and she likes to quack)

Sweet Thursday, Mary. Ooh, glad to see you started How to Read a Book. What a treat that one is. If you are enjoying McBride, you have to read The Color of Water. One of my favorite memoirs.

>130 msf59: Yes, I think it was your warbling that first put it on my TBR list, Mark. I haven't gotten far, but I'm hoping to read a chunk of it today. And I own The Color of Water and really enjoy memoirs, so I should get to it one of these days - maybe we should make it another group read :D

>128 bell7: I was also surprised, Mary. I assume that this transcutaneous hemoglobin device has been thoroughly tested and approved for use by the American Red Cross, but I had never seen or heard of them before, even though I last gave blood at the end of March. I agree, the worst part of donating blood is the finger prick to check your hemoglobin level; you may already know this but the reason is that there are far more sensory nerves in fingertips and other sensitive areas of the body than the antecubital skin where the needles for blood draws and blood donations are inserted. It makes perfect sense that the more subcutaneous scar tissue you have around an antecubital vein the more pain you'll experience from insertion of a needle, and there may come a point when that vein is no longer usable; Jenny (lunacat) and I were discussing blood donations and problems with donation on Facebook earlier this year. I had a venipuncture on Monday of last week, and I developed a small hematoma (collection of blood outside of the vein) in my left arm shortly afterward. It was barely visible yesterday, so the phlebotomist told me that she couldn't access the vein, since the wall of the vein was likely still weak. Fortunately I had two good veins in my right arm, the troublesome one, which were more visible to her and me thanks to my weight loss over the past 18 months, and it took just under 6 minutes to collect a pint of blood.

The transcutaneous pulse oximeters check the percentage of oxygen in your blood. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism, but they tend to either overestimate or underestimate the amount of blood oxygen in darker skinned individuals, regardless of race. I'll peruse the medical literature and let you know what I find out.

It makes perfect sense that you might have headaches after blood donation, as many of them are due to changes in blood volume. I drank a 16 oz glass of water just before I drove to the donation center, and drank another 16 oz bottle of water once I was released to the recovery station. I was briefly lightheaded immediately after I stood up from the bed I was lying on, but that passed in no more than 10 seconds. I keep forgetting to ask if I can donate from a reclined position, rather than lying supine. It may be that blood flows more rapidly from the supine position, and that may be why donations are routinely done that way.

I'm glad that you quickly returned back to normal. Other than taking my mother to see her neurologist later this morning I have nothing else on my plate, so other than caring for her I'll take it easy today.

>122 bell7: I hope your interview went well!

You have lots going on as always, Mary! I hope the interview went well :)

>132 kidzdoc: Apparently the transcutaneous hemoglobin device has been rolled out by the Red Cross over the last few months. I fortunately have very "good" visible veins in both arms, so while I generally ask for it to be taken from my left, I think taking from my right arm should be fine. I'm glad you only had a little lightheadedness. When I gave blood earlier this year, I picked up some of my things from the floor and after standing straight, was lightheaded for probably the first half of the 15 minute wait. It's really unusual for me to have that at all, so it took me by surprise. Fortunately this last time was fine (and the person who took my blood picked my stuff up for me). It took me 9 minutes, and that's pretty fast for me, so I figured I was well-hydrated.

I may have spoken a little too soon about getting back to normal. I've been sleeping poorly and started my period yesterday. I woke up around 5:30 this morning (it's become typical, sometimes I can use the bathroom and go right back to sleep, sometimes not) and then slept in until 9:30, which is very unusual for me. I've been playing "am I hungry, tired or nauseous?" all day. I can eat normal foods, but feel sapped of energy, and I think it might just be a perfect storm of everything throwing me off. Hopefully things will be back to normal tomorrow.

>133 norabelle414: and >134 curioussquared: I think it did, thanks, Nora and Natalie! I knew everyone on the panel, had good examples for all the "tell us about a time when" questions, and was getting smiles and nods in responses to answers, too. I really felt like I put my best foot forward. I should hear next week if I made it to the next round, which is an open meeting (open to the public and recorded) with the Trustees in June.

Happy Friday, all! I think sleeping poorly and starting my period caught up with me a little bit today. Last night I took a nap around 5-6, but still went to bed just a little before 11. After waking up for a bit around 5:30, I went back to sleep and slept in 'til 9:30 which is very unusual for me... But I've been really low energy today and have spent the day reading and knitting as a result. Hopefully I'll be back to my regular self tomorrow, as I have plans with my older Little to go out for a picnic.

Reading: Deacon King Kong by James McBride, How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (I have about 30 pages left and should finish it soon), and Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Listening: Radio Roland Garros, since I haven't left the house

Crafting: I started an octopus that I plan on adding to the baby gift for my cousin

>136 bell7: Ooo lucky baby! I love my purplepus.

Rest well this weekend.

>137 richardderus: I'm glad :) I will try my best to rest, though I do have plans with both my Littles, one on each day. *smooch*

55. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
Why now? Mark first warbled about this, and since then I've seen several folks on LT read and enjoy it; it met the TIOLI challenge for a book with a title of 3 or more single syllable words (and was a matched read to boot)

>135 bell7: That makes sense about the transcutaneous hemoglobin device rollout, Mary. According to my Blood Donor mobile app I last donated blood on March 12, and I underwent a finger prick to measure my blood hemoglobin at that time.

One person in Atlanta described my left antecubital vein as either a "pipe" or a "hose," as it stands up on its own and is incredibly easily to access; I don't think anyone has ever had to perform two venipunctures on that vein. It's much better to know that I now have at least two easily accessible antecubital veins, along with one prominent accessory vein in my right antecubital area.

I have had a few episodes of extreme dizziness and nausea when I bent over to help my mother pull up her pants over the past few months, and I'm pretty sure that I briefly fainted one of those times. Twice I used our automatic blood pressure cuff, and both times my blood pressure was shockingly low; one of the measurements was 72/44. I'm sure what happened is that I wasn't getting enough blood flow to my brain on those occasions. I do take a medication for high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, and sometimes in the morning my blood pressure is on the lower side of normal, in the 100s/60s, so it doesn't take much for me to have symptomatic hypotension. I've learned to bend at my knees to help my mother out, instead of bending at the waist. It took several minutes for my blood pressure to return to normal, so I wonder if you had the same phenomenon.

ETA: I assume what happened on Wednesday is that my body didn't have time to adjust to the rapid loss of one pint of blood, and that led to a brief spell of dizziness. Next time I'll sit up for at least 30 seconds before I try to stand up.

I'm sorry that you've been feeling poorly today. Will you be able to rest at home this weekend? As you said, hopefully it's not the start of something significant. Keep us posted.

I am a veteran Red Cross blood donor. I received a 1 gallon pin and one bar from them back when they gave pins and recognized a person for donating. I have very good veins that stand up nicely, and was told that this is somewhat unusual for a woman. I also am usually well hydrated and give a pint in a small amount of time. This hydration also keeps me from getting light headed after a donation. I have not been able to donate since the Red Cross out here stopped doing the finger sticks and went to the centrifuge system for determining iron levels. It has been very strange for me not to be able to donate. Premenopausal I had no problem keeping an iron level high enough to donate. Postmenopausal has been just the opposite. I can't take iron tablets as they just stop me up so badly I have to take laxatives. I have tried eating copious amounts of iron heavy foods, such as beans, broccoli, leafy greens, etc., and that has not worked either. The result is that for the last ten years I have not been able to donate, even though I make appointments and show up.

I started donating in my teens because I have B+ blood and a high percentage of my relatives also have the blood type. I also have a large number of relatives, neighbors, and friends who needed blood for one reason or another and I and all 5 of us in my immediate family, and a myriad of local cousins, would be called on to donate blood. This carried over to when I went to college and after. I made it a practice to donate every 3 months or so. When I turned 50 that practice came to a screeching halt due to the low iron problem.

The Red Cross likes to come out to this part of the country because there is a high rate of participation in blood donations out here. It is one thing that the vast middle of the country can be proud of. Here in Munden, a large number of community members trek in to donate blood whenever the Red Cross comes to town.

Best of luck with all the ambitious changes you are attempting, Mary, and good for you for donating blood. I had to check out Alison Krauss and Robert Plant singing together and they do sound good.

>140 kidzdoc: Ah, yeah, I could see a lowering of blood pressure doing that. I've occasionally felt dizziness from getting up too quickly (even when I didn't just give blood) or when working out, but I've never fainted. My blood pressure is naturally on the low side of normal, usually somewhere around 100/70. Wow to your 72/44. The lowest I've ever had mine taken is 88/54 and the person doing wanted to know if I felt faint (I did not). And thank you, I was able to rest quite a lot yesterday and I'm feeling better today. I've made plans with my older Little today and my younger Little tomorrow, but I'm still taking it easy and not doing anything strenuous.

>141 benitastrnad: Sorry to hear your iron levels have been low postmenopause, Benita. That may very well be the case for me in the coming years, but so far my iron levels have almost always been in a healthy range (I do recall one time when I wasn't able to give, and another when they poked a different finger and the iron level turned out to be okay). Pretty cool that there's a high rate of participation where you are, too. The last time I went, it looked like it was going pretty steadily, with lots of people making appointments and a couple of drop-ins to boot.

>142 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg! I'm glad you enjoyed Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. I have yet to look them up myself, but will try to do so soon.

Happy weekend! I woke up at my normal time, listening to my alarm (I set it to the Spotify playlist that I'm always referencing when I'm giving my listening reports) for about ten minutes 'til it goes off, and then getting up to start the day. I'm coughing and sniffly, but it feels more like allergies than a real cold, and my energy is up even though it's a rainy day.

I finished How to Read a Book and Stride Toward Freedom yesterday, so only have Deacon King Kong left to meet my goal of a TIOLI sweep. I have a little over 2 hours to read today, according to my Kindle, which should be very doable. I need to do a small grocery shopping this morning, and I have plans with my Little (the college-age one) to go on a picnic. Hopefully we'll get a break in the rain to do that, but if not, we'll have to discuss alternate plans. After that, I'll bake the bread and make a black bean salad for a cookout tomorrow, but that should still leave me plenty of time for reading and knitting and relaxing in general.

Tomorrow I have toddler nursery, time with my younger Little, and a cookout with my small group. And then my vacation is up!

Reading: Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Listening: "There's a Riot Goin' On" by Sly and the Family Stone and Radio Roland Garros

Crafting: I should be able to finish the octopus today

>144 bell7: I've read so much praise for Deacon King Kong that specifically calls out the ending for praise that I really can't wait to hear what your impressions of it are.

Happy weekending! Lots of fun-sounding plans there. It's cloudy, windy, and chilly here so I am the oldster most contented. (Just read a Poirot story, sorry.)

>143 bell7: I'm glad that you're feeling better today, Mary. You are wise to take it easy, to play it safe.

Yeah, that 72/44 blood pressure was quite a surprise; anything below 90 systolic or 60 diastolic is abnormal, so I'm not surprised that the person who noticed your 88/54 blood pressure wanted to know if you were okay.

Another factor that probably contributed to my dizziness on those occasions is my normally low resting heart rate (typically in the upper 40s at night to the low 50s if I'm awake and moving; it's 52 bpm now), which is due to a combination of weight loss and the medication I take. My Fitbit buzzes when my HR drops below 45 bpm, and it's not unusual for my watch to buzz around sunrise, as it did today when my resting heart rate was 41 bpm. The medical assistants and nurses are sometimes mildly concerned when they check my vital signs until I tell them that this is normal for me. When I was working I not infrequently cared for teenagers with eating disorders who worked out excessively to burn calories, and their resting heart rates were routinely in the mid 30s, which was an indicator of how sick they were. World class athletes, especially long distance runners, also have low resting heart rates.

>145 richardderus: I finished it last night, Richard, and have to write a review, but Stride Toward Freedom took me so long that it'll have to wait 'til I get a spare moment later today. It was really good though! *smooch*

>146 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. I'm still kinda watchful, but generally feeling good. It's interesting to me that some things like heart rate and blood pressure can really vary and it's often knowing what's normal for you rather than sticking to the averages we usually think of as "normal".

Happy Sunday! It's time for me to leave shortly, but I have one review done of the two books I finished in the last two days so I'll post that and then get outta here. My Little and I went out picnicking yesterday, but it started to rain and instead of just drizzle as it started we had an absolute downpour and an almost half-mile walk back to the car. We went to my place where I gave her a change of clothes and we played Exploding Kittens while our clothes were in the dryer and I brought her back home. A memorable, and mostly fun time!

Today is nursery, time with my other Little (I'll ask her about alternative plans if it rains, since there is a small possibility today), and a cookout in the evening.

Reading: Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Listening: "There's a Riot Goin' On" by Sly and the Family Stone, which I should finish today

Crafting: an octopus - I ran out of the sparkly purple yarn I was using, so some of the tentacles will be a different color, but I think I can make it work

56. Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Why now? This has been on my TBR list for fourteen years, since I read Strength to Love and found it mentioned there. When one of the TIOLI challenges this month was to read a book by or about someone who has incarcerated, I figured it was the perfect time. And, actually, I'm glad I've read a few books before this one, including Moral Man and Immoral Society as a joint read with Darryl last year, as it was helpful in having more context for the book than I would have in 2011.

>149 bell7: This spirit of morally guided resistance got a bad rap with the #BLM fiasco that I strongly suspect was not organic in its emergence. I hope the scumbags in charge are not so lucky this time.

Sunday orisons!

>147 bell7: I'm glad that you're feeling better, Mary. Yes, it's important that we listen to our bodies, learn what is normal for us, and act accordingly if our signs or symptoms become worrisome.

Fabulous review of Stride Toward Freedom; I'll have to get around to reading it.

>150 richardderus: I don't know enough to speak to #BLM in particular, but my overall impression of current protests is that they are not as well organized or clear on the outcomes that they want, as well as including some who are willing to use violence to get their point across. The bus boycott was impressive in their ability to keep going for over a year, with clarity of purpose and continued commitment to nonviolence.

>151 kidzdoc: Thank you, Darryl, I hope you enjoy it when you do.

57. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
Why now? I'm interested in reading more of his books after enjoying Heaven & Earth Grocery Store last year; this one fit in the TIOLI challenge to read a book with an older character - and in finishing, I did indeed manage a TIOLI sweep this month

>153 bell7: It really is a larger-than-life story. If any of his stories make to any screen, thus one's my pick.

May in review
57. Deacon King Kong by James McBride
56. Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
55. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
54. Small Ceremonies by Kyle Edwards
53. The Night Library of Sternendach by Jessica Levai
52. The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
51. American Teenager : How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang
50. Greta & Valdin by Rebecca K. Reilly
49. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
48. Navigational Entanglements by Aliette de Bodard
47. The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
46. Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch by Rivka Galchen
45. Onion John by Joseph Krumgold
44. All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
43. The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison
42. The Glassblower by Victoria Goddard
41. A Far Better Thing by H.G. Parry

Books read: 17
Did not finish: 1 (The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields)
Rereads: 0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 1/1/15
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 13/4/0/0

Because I want to awards:
Hardest to describe - The Night Library of Sternendach
Most "feel good" read of the month - How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
One I want to recommend to everyone - Stride Toward Freedom by Martin Luther King, Jr.
May come in handy when I'm fostering - American Teenager: How Trans Kids Are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era by Nico Lang
Excellent wrap up to a series - The Tomb of Dragons by Katherine Addison

YTD stats -
Pages read: 17,062
Avg pages a day: 112
Books by authors of color: 19 (33%)
In translation: 6 (10.53%)
Indigenous authors: 3 (5.26%)
Countries of origin: US - 31 (54.39%); Canada - 8 (14.04%); UK - 3 (5.26%); France - 3 (5.26%); Hungary - 1 (1.75%); Denmark - 1 (1.75%); India - 1 (1.75%); Taiwan - 1 (1.75%); Mexico - 1 (1.75%); Ireland - 2 (3.51%); Nigeria - 1 (1.75%); Romania - 1 (1.75%); Argentina - 1 (1.75%); New Zealand - 2 (3.51%)
DNF: 2

Thoughts: Looking over my May reading, it's hard to believe I started the month with a DNF. It's the most books I've read in a month so far this year (20 is the most since I started keeping track month by month), and I managed a TIOLI sweep to boot. To make that sweep, I did read more books by US authors as I found books that met the criteria for the challenges, but I have several books in translation that are coming to me in June, so I plan on swinging that back to under 50% soon. I also read my first three indigenous authors all in this month, from the US, Canada, and New Zealand.

This was also a really strong reading month in the books that I read - I really enjoyed most of it, and the only one that I rated less than 3 stars was my book club book.

Now that I've completed a TIOLI sweep, I will be reading whatever I feel like in June whether it meets a TIOLI challenge or not haha.

>154 richardderus: It was so much fun to read. And I know you don't ear-read, but I did listen to some of it and the narrator was really fabulous. It was hilarious to hear the discussion between Joe Peck and Elefante when Peck asked him about the events on the pier and revealed that Sportcoat was his mother's gardener.

>156 bell7: Makes me wish I could ear-read....

>157 richardderus: I use it more as a supplement to reading, myself, as I don't concentrate well when just listening.

>158 bell7: That's the main reason why I haven't tried audio books... I just don't think I would concentrate very well, and I'm afraid I would miss part of the story. But maybe I should give the listening a chance, as accompaniment to reading, particularly when the audio narration is supposed to be really good. The issue with that is paying for two formats.

Happy vacation, Mary. I used to be a fan of the McCourt books but I can certainly see why not everyone would be attracted to such dark times. I did enjoy How to Read A Book recently. I tend to love books about books which is probably no surprise to anyone in this group. haha.
Congrats on a fantastic reading month in May.

>159 atozgrl: I tend to listen to audiobooks to help me fall asleep. I get an e-book and an audio via Libby from my library, and will read the e-book and then set the audiobook to play for a half hour, which is generally more than enough for me to fall asleep. Since I pick up the e-book where I left off, I don't miss anything that way. But I do enjoy e-books alone sometimes. I tend to be very particular about them, often choosing to reread via audio or listening to children's books. Either way, I don't have to catch every word to follow the story.

>160 Donna828: I think I will still try Angela's Ashes one of these days when I'm in the right mood, Donna. And it still made for a good discussion, so in that sense Teacher Man was successful. I agree, I love books about books, too, and How to Read a Book was a solid entry in that subgenre (I debated calling it that, but I think there are definitely enough books I can think of in contemporary fiction that have "connection with others due to the power of reading" that we can label it as such).

Morning, everyone! I'm back to work today, but only 9-2, so I don't anticipate doing much besides catching up on email, working on the desk, and possibly getting started on a desk schedule draft. I'm off tomorrow and made plans with friends to go hiking, and then I'm back to work for the rest of the week. I have a few thoughts on after-work tasks, but we'll see how the afternoon plays out.

Reading: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Listening: "Blue" by Joni Mitchell - I should wrap this up today and then I'll put on Marvin Gaye

Crafting: didn't pick up the octopus yesterday, but it's among my potential Monday afternoon tasks to finish it up

Morning, Mary. Wasn't the McBride a fun read? Hooray for Joni Mitchell and Marvin Gaye! What's Going On is one of my all-time favorite LPs. I am back to donating blood too. As a matter of fact, I should do that soon.

>162 bell7: Oh, "Blue" is such a big part of my musical development. I hope you're enjoying this trip through the 1970s as much at the end as you started with!

Wow, 9-2 are good hours! Unless, of course, you want more. I, of course, work overnight asleep, which I guess is relaxing amount of awake time, too. Lol. Good luck on the octopus!

>163 msf59: The McBride was a really fun read, a great way to wrap up May. Enjoying the music I'm listening to overall, and I should write up a listening report of the last few albums soon. The app makes it super easy to donate, especially when it helps you look for the next scheduled drive near where you donated last. Good luck!

>164 richardderus: I've been enjoying the project a lot, Richard, and it's fun to occasionally hear a song (like "White Rabbit" recently when my brother and I went out to support friends of ours playing at a brewery) and go, oh, I know that one now. I won't say too much about "Blue" until I write up the listening report, coming soon!

>165 The_Hibernator: I work a total of 35 hours a week (that's full-time for the town I work for), and the way we schedule it is a five hour day and four 7.5 hour days of 9-5 or 12-8 with a half hour unpaid lunch break. And if I work a Saturday (another five hour day), I take the five hour weekday off. I very much like having Monday be my short day, despite the fact that it means I usually have "shorter" holidays. It's completely worth it. And thanks re: the octopus.

The listening report -

"The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East"
I have a hard time with live albums, and I just want to put that out there as a caveat. There were elements of the music that I felt like I should like, but while occasionally I thought, "Wow, that's impressive guitar playing," for the most part one song ran into the other, I didn't know the songs they were playing, and I couldn't really get into it. Perhaps listening in the car wasn't to its best advantage, either. I didn't dislike it, but nothing jumped out for me. Brett Schewitz appreciates it much more thoroughly than I do. #105 on the list

"There's a Riot Goin' On" by Sly and the Family Stone
I found this one a mixed bag, but I liked "Luv n Haight," "Poet" and "Thank you for talkin' to me Africa" enough to add them to my playlist. Brett Schewitz has more on both the background of the album and the influence it had, as several songs were used in samples. #82 on the list

"Blue" by Joni Mitchell
My reaction to this one was very similar to Dar Williams - I like Mitchell's voice (for the most part), the guitar and piano, but... the words don't "fit" the tune in the way I expect them to, where a line will just keep going and it doesn't flow for me. It's the sort of singing I probably would like now if I had grown up with it and knew exactly how the song goes, but since I don't, I find it irritating and impossible to sing along with. But that's more about me and my picky listening. Brett Schewitz goes into the really personal lyrics and relationships that inspired them. At #3 on this iteration list, it's the highest place of any female solo artist.

Edited to add: I'm listening to "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye now, need to listen to "Hunky Dory" by David Bowie next, and then I'm on to 1972

In the future if ever you want a list of live jazz albums I absolutely adore please let me know!

>141 benitastrnad: congratulations on being a regular blood donor!. An important thing to do and something that I should really begin doing as well. An easy way to save someones life.

>144 bell7: How to read a book has been popping up everywhere lately. I really must see if the library has a copy.

Happy week ahead

>167 bell7: If you are ready for far out Creative New Music, go to Youtube Roscoe Mitchell or The Art Ensemble of Chicago!

>168 kidzdoc: I will always take recs from you, Darryl. I'll add 'em to my "to listen" list that I'm currently keeping on my phone, and have plans at least to try everything folks have recommended while I'm working on this project.

>169 figsfromthistle: It certainly seems to be making the rounds in the 75ers, which is what put it on the list for me, too. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it, Anita!

>170 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne, I'll put both on my "to listen" list.

>167 bell7: I took the Joni Mitchell red pill æons ago. I don't have any mmmfff about it any more, if I ever did, and I have no memory of that feeling.

"What's Going On" was another formative listen for me. Whew I'm old.

Today was a busy one, I had to get going early to meet up with a couple of friends to hike. We went up a mountain that I'm familiar with but a trail that I was not. It was very wet and buggy going up, but at the top and along the way I saw three Lifers that made it worth it - an indigo bunting (got a really good look and heard its song awhile), black-and-white warbler and an Eastern wood-pewee. The view at the top was also beautiful, and we enjoyed that and ate lunch before taking the paved road down to avoid the mosquitoes.

I got home with enough time to get ready to go out to my brothers' softball games. They tied in the first game and got mercied in the second to one of the better teams in the A league. I kept score. I won't make the next two, so it was nice to go there.

Tomorrow is back to work 12-8, I'm going to try to go to the gym in the morning.

Reading: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Listening: "Hunky Dory" by David Bowie

Crafting: nothing today - I finished the knitting part and have some sewing left

>172 richardderus: I'll listen to more of hers, Richard, so still may be won over. "What's Going On" was a fun album, though I apparently didn't hear the words well enough to realize it was a concept album of a soldier coming back from Vietnam, which almost makes me want to listen to it once more. I've been talking with my parents about some of the albums I've been listening to, as I've reached their formative music time frame too.

Duplicate post

>174 bell7: Lots of concept albums in my youth. I've internalized it to the point I make YT playlists with concepts! They get fuzzier as I add to 'em but they had one to start.

Hi Mary, trying to stop in and see what's been going on with everyone while I've been ... somewhere. I really don't know exactly where all the time went but I guess that's the way life goes.

I have listened to Blue now about 3 or 4 times, spread out over various lists and I have resigned myself to not being one to enjoy it. I did enjoy a couple of her others much more. A little frustrating to have The One be unappealing to me though!

>174 bell7:
That's the problem with so many of the albums from that time - they had messages.

>171 bell7: Great. I'll give this some thought and get my list to you in a day or two.

>176 richardderus: Oh I like that idea, Richard. I always appreciate the intentionality that goes into making an album with one overarching theme/story like that.

>177 ursula: I really don't know exactly where all the time went but I guess that's the way life goes. Right there with you, Ursula. I'm glad that i'm not the only one that couldn't quite connect with Blue, and I'm encouraged to hear you liked some others better. There were elements to many songs that I liked, but it never quite came together for me (and I really do have a hard time when the music and lyrics don't quite match beat for beat).

>178 benitastrnad: Fortunately I like concept albums, Benita. It would be hard not to have a song with a message, but having a concept album tell one cohesive story takes a lot of creativity and it's something I generally appreciate.

>179 kidzdoc: I'll look forward to it, Darryl!

Happy Thursday! It's been a hectic week, and I echo Ursula's thoughts of how time goes...

Yesterday I went to the gym, did a very quick grocery shopping and picked up my prescription before going into work. I've made it to the next round of interviews and have one with the Trustees in a couple of weeks. There are 3 finalists, and I'm pleased to be among them.

Today I'm working 9-5. I would like to do some gardening tonight, but I slept poorly and am tired, so we'll see what my energy level is like when I get back. There is weeding to be done, and I know I won't get to all of it, but I'd like to make a start before the weekend, as the next few weeks will be packed.

Reading: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis

Listening: "Hunky Dory" by David Bowie

Crafting: finished the octopus last night and need to think about what my next project will be (or do I go back to the socks I was working on? Hmmm...)

Congrats on making it through for the next round of interviews!

>181 bell7: Huzzah for the next round of interviews! I hope gardening happens, knowing how weeds think..."she's not yanking us up, boys, let it rip!"

Stay cool on this too warm summer day.

Congrats on making it to the next round of interviews!

>182 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

>183 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! Yeah, I was hoping to get out there before the next time the guy comes out to mow my lawn, but it's looking unlikely at this rate. We'll see what things are like on Monday. Edited to add - it was more the heat that was a turn off than my energy level at least. It was about 90 degrees when I got home from work today, and I'm not weeding in that.

>184 norabelle414: Thank you, Nora!

Congratulations, Mary!

I saw that you liked the photo of the Spanish pinto bean soup that I posted on Instagram this afternoon. Here's a link to the recipe:

https://spainonafork.com/heartwarming-pinto-bean-soup-recipe/

Spain on a Fork is a great source for authentic and healthy Spanish recipes, which are mostly vegetarian. Albert posts his recipes on his website, on Facebook, and his YouTube channel.

>186 kidzdoc: Thank you on both counts, Darryl. I'll have fun checking it out and always love trying out new recipes.

TGIF! The work day didn't exactly speed along, but the rest of the day did. I stopped at the gym on my way home, talked to my mom about possible day trip plans in early July while I made dinner, then finished a book while the thunderstorms came through. And now it's time for bed. I'm working tomorrow and then should have a quiet late afternoon & evening to get some reading and knitting done.

Reading: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and I'm going to start The Berry Pickers as my next e-book/audio combo

Listening: "Close to the Edge" by Yes

Crafting: baby sweater for my coming niece

58. Spitting Gold by Carmella Lowkis
Why now? I'm trying to read through some of the ARCs that have been sitting on my Kindle for awhile, and this was one I could get as an audiobook to read/listen at night before bed.

>189 bell7: Ooh, Spitting Gold sounds good! I’ll have to track that down.

Have a great weekend!

Karen O

Glad I could put it on your radar, Karen, and hope you enjoy it!

Fun weekend, Mary! It's dank and ugsome here. I'm glad I got my Sunday blog reviews done. For no obvious reason both were fighting me All the way. It feels so much more of an accomplishment to get the stubborn ones done.

Happy Saturday! I worked today, 9-2, and now have a fairly quiet afternoon & evening ahead of me. At some point I'll have to think about what dinner will be, so I'll probably do some meal planning and head out to the grocery store sometime soonish.

Reading: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Listening: "Close to the Edge" by Yes

Crafting: baby sweater

>192 richardderus: Yeah it's rainy and blah today, but no big wind and such as some forecasters were concerned with, so can't complain. Glad the reviews were eventually done. I do love it when they just roll off my fingertips, but I agree, it's very satisfying to get the tough ones done.

Congrats on getting to the next round of interviews, Mary. Have a great rest of the weekend!

>194 bell7: That's a lovely moment, but not what happened this weekend...maybe Monday's will cooperate.

>195 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

>196 richardderus: Hoping that whether the reviews flow or take awhile to come together that you feel the accomplishment of their completion. Happy Sunday!

Morning, all! I've been up since 6 and have had breakfast, coffee, and a short walk. I don't have to leave for church for another hour or so, so I'll read for awhile and take my sweet time getting ready. I may or may not try to accomplish anything this afternoon, but have no definite plans (which feels amazing).

Reading/Listening/Crafting: same as yesterday

>198 bell7: Ooh an afternoon with no plans! I hope it's fabulous!

>198 bell7: You're a tornado today! I'm just thrilled it's no longer soupy outside, though it's cloudy. Got to go out in it but it doesn't feel all awful, like being licked by cats, the way it did yesterday. My Monday reviews are inspiring me to write so that's good. BlueSky decided the bookcover of Jeremy Atherton Lin's book needed to be censored...I really deplore their anti-body bias.

>200 richardderus: Soupy is a great description of certain days.

Hope the rest of your weekend has been at least up to expectations.

>199 MickyFine: It was nice and relaxed!

>200 richardderus: Busy morning, but lazy afternoon/evening to make up for it. Glad the weather was a bit of an improvement for you. We saw some sun here yesterday, while so far today it's pretty cloudy. Boo on BlueSky for not liking book covers. I quit Twitter and am barely on Instagram, but I don't feel like learning any new social media at this point.

>201 PaulCranswick: Nice to see you, Paul!

Since I worked on Saturday, today is the second day of my "weekend." Yesterday was really lovely. After church, I was able to watch the second half of the men's French Open final, which was a really fabulous battle that could've gone either way. My brother R. and I were texting throughout. After that, it was nearly time for dinner so I popped in some stuffed mushrooms for the grocery store and spent the rest of the evening desultorily reading and watching "Say Yes to the Dress."

I finished The Spellshop yesterday and have a review to write

Reading: Patterns of the heart and other stories by Ch'oe Myong-ik and The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Listening: "Close to the Edge" by Yes (I expect I'll wrap this up today)

Crafting: baby sweater

Morning, Mary. I remember enjoying The Berry Pickers. I read it last year. I have not heard Yes in ages but that one is an early classic and probably their most accessible.

>203 bell7: Such a memorable intro to that Yes album! I suspect I'd respond a lot less positively to it now, but then...! Things that feel "new" don't always wear that well. Really it's just an overture, first movement, etc. but played on funny instruments.

Enjoy the week-ahead's busyness and shenanigans.

>204 msf59: I'm enjoying The Berry Pickers so far, Mark. Yes was... interesting. Not boring, but ultimately not for me, either.

>205 richardderus: They're certainly different from, well, anything I've heard. Not really my thing, overall, though it certainly wasn't boring. And thanks, I hope to!

Come join me on my new thread!