Lisa (labfs39) keeps her eye on the page pt. 4

Currently Reading


Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong, translated from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt

NONFICTION:


The Beak of the Finch by Jonathan Weiner

EBOOK:


The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen

AUDIO:

GRAPHIC WORK:

Books Read in 2025

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

January's Short Stories

February

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

February's Short Stories

March
27. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, narrated by Frances Barber (F, audio, 3*, TIOLI 6)
28. The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński (F, 3*, TIOLI 4)
29. White Shadow by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (TF, 4*, TIOLI 8)
30. Eyes of the Rigel by Roy Jacobsen, translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw (TF, ebook, 3*)
31. Don’t Forget to Write by Sara Goodman Confino (F, ebook, 3.5*, TIOLI 3)
32. How to Read a Book by Monica Wood (F, ebook, 3*, TIOLI 5)
33. Emma by Jane Austen, narrated by Jenny Agutter (F, audio, 4*, TIOLI 6)
34. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson (F, audio, 4*, TIOLI 7)
35. Tunnel of Hope: Escape from the Novogrudok Forced Labor Camp by Betty Brodsky Cohen (NF, 3*, TIOLI 1)
36. Persuasion by Jane Austen, narrated by Juliet Stevenson (F, audio, 4*, TIOLI 14)

March's Short Stories

April

37. Redwall by Brian Jacques (JF audio, 5*, TIOLI 17)
38. Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna, translated from the French by Helge Dascher (TGNF, 4*, TIOLI 4)
39. The Mighty Red by Louise Edritch, narrated by Marin Ireland (F, audio, 3.5*)
40. Memed, My Hawk by Yaşar Kemal, translated from the Turkish by Edouard Roditi (TF, 4*, TIOLI 9)
41. The Women by Kristin Hannah (F, 4*)

May

42. Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories by Cho Nam-Joo, translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang (TF, 3*)
43. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah (F, 3*)
44. Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, translated from the Spanish by Frances Riddle (TF, 4*)
45. Cold Crematorium: Reporting from the Land of Auschwitz by József Debreczeni, translated from the Hungarian by Paul Olchvary (TNF, 4.5*)
46. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, narrated by Nicholas Boulton (F, audio, 4*)
47. Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (F, 3*)

June

48. Children of the Resistance. Volume 5: A Nation Divided by Dugomier and illustrated by Benoît Ers, translated from the French (TGF, ebook, 4)
49. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (F, ebook, 5*)
50. Children of the Resistance. Volume 1: Opening Moves by Dugomier and illustrated by Benoît Ers, translated from the French (TGF, ebook, 4)
51. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (F, 3*)
52. The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated from the Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa (JTF, 3.5*)
53. James by Percival Everett, narrated by Dominic Hoffman (F, audio, 4*)
54. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (F, 2.5*)
55. The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin (JNF, 4*)
56. Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (F, 3.5*)
57. Children of the Resistance. Volume 2: Crackdown by Dugomier and illustrated by Benoît Ers, translated from the French (TGF, ebook, 4*)
58. Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn (F, ebook, 3*)
59. Women Talking by Miriam Toews (F, 3*)

July

60. The Young Bride by Alessandro Baricco, translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein (TF, 3*, TIOLI 3)
61. Women, Seated by Zhang Yueran, translated from the Chinese by Jeremy Tiang (TF, 4*, TIOLI 12)
62. All for Nothing by Walter Kempowski, translated from the German by Anthea Bell (TF, 4.5*, TIOLI 7)
63. Isola by Allegra Goodman (F, 4*, TIOLI 5)
64. How to Get Your Child Off Refrigerator: Homeschooling Highly Distractible, ADHD, or Just Plain Fidgety Kids by Carol Barnier (NF, 3*, TIOLI 9)
65. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (F, 4*, audio, TIOLI 1)
66. White Bird by R. J. Palacio (GF, 3*, TIOLI 8)
67. Western Lane by Chetna Maroo (F, 3.5*, TIOLI 16)
68. Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey (F, 3.5, TIOLI 10)
69. I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death by Maggie O'Farrell (F, 5*, TIOLI 11)

August

70. The Vegetarian by Kang Han, translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith (TF, 3*, TIOLI 13)
71. My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List: A Memoir by Rena Finder with Joshua M. Greene (JNF, 3.5*)
72. The New Retirement by Jan Cullinane (NF, 4*)
73. The Old Man Mad About Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai by François Place, translated from the French by William Rodarmor (JF, 4.5*)
74. The Hidden Girl: A True Story of the Holocaust by Lola Rein Kaufman with Lois Metzger (JNF, 4*)

September

75. I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi by Gina Siciliano (GN, 3*, TIOLI 13)
76. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (JF, 4.5*, TIOLI 14)
77. The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from the Dutch by David McKay TF, 4*)

Book Club
✔ January: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
✔ February: continued
✔ March: How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
✔April: The Women by Kristin Hannah
✔May: Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
✔June: James by Percival Everett
✔July: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
August: Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki
September: Alias Agnes by Elizabeth DeWolfe
October: The Road to Dalton

Paul's European Challenge
January/19th Century: His Excellency Eugene Rougon
February/Nordic author: The Unseen
March/Warsaw Pact countries: The Painted Bird
April/Ottoman Empire countries: Memed, My Hawk
May/Non-native language:
June/Italian author: The Young Bride
July/German author: All for Nothing
August/Benelux author: The Remembered Soldier
September/European locale:

Holocaust Literature
1. The Painted Bird
2. Tunnel of Hope: Escape from the Novogrudok Forced Labor Camp
3. Cold Crematorium
4. White Bird
5. My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List
6. The Hidden Girl

Nobel Laureates
1. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

Graphic Works
1. Year of the Rabbit
2. Children of the Resistance Volume 1-2, 5
3. White Bird
4. I Know What I Am

Short Stories
1. Good Stories by Ken Liu
2. Worst Wingman Ever by Abby Jimenez
3. Rand0m1ze by Andy Weir
4. Slow Time Between the Stars by John Scalzi
5. Persephone by Lev Grossman

My Global Travels in 2025

Argentina: Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro*
Belgium: Children of the Resistance by Dugomier and Ers*
Cambodia/France: Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna*
Canada: Women Talking by Miriam Toews
China/US: Journey To The Heartland by Xiaolong Huang, Women, Seated by Zhang Yueran
England: A Kid for Two Farthings by Wolf Mankowitz, six Austen novels, Redwall by Brian Jacques, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
England/US: The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen
England/India: Western Lane by Chetna Maroo
France: His Excellency Eugène Rougon and The Kill by Émile Zola*, Old Man Mad About Drawing by François Place*
Germany/Russia: Barbara Isn't Dying by Alina Bronsky*, All for Nothing by Walter Kempowski*
Hungary: Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni*
Ireland: So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan, I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
Ireland/Canada: Haven by Emma Donoghue
Israel: Tunnel of Hope by Betty Brodsky Cohen
Italy: The Young Bride by Alessandro Baricco*
Jamaica/US: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Japan: The Village Beyond the Mist by Sachiko Kashiwaba*
Korea: The Vegetarian by Han Kang*
Netherlands: The Remembered Soldierby Anjet Daanje*
Nigeria/UK: The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
Norway: The Unseen, White Shadow, and Eyes of the Rigel by Roy Jacobsen*
Ojibwe/US: The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich
Poland/US: The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosiński, My Survival: A Girl on Schindler's List by Rena Finder, The Hidden Girl by Lola Rein Kaufman
Russia/US: The Genius Under the Table by Eugene Yelchin
South Korea: Miss Kim Knows and Other Stories by Cho Nam-Joo*
Turkey: Memed, My Hawk by Yaşar Kemal*

Total: 45 from 22 countries

US: 31

* denotes translated books

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

Book stats for 2025

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

books:
total: 77 (7 in one series)
countries: 22
translations: 22 (28%)
in French:
nonfiction: 12 (13%)

Authors:
women: 54 (69%)
men: 22 (31%)
nonbinary:
both: 1

nonwhite and/or non-European/US/British Commonwealth: 14.5 (20%)
new to me authors: 35 (42%)

Genres:
literary fiction: 36
historical fiction: 12
contemporary fiction: 5
romantic suspense: 7
short story collection: 3
memoir: 8
history: 1
mystery/espionage: 2
essays: 1
education: 1
retirement: 1

Target Audience
young adult: 6
children: 6

Formats:
audiobooks: 13
ebooks: 12
graphic novels: 6

Second Quarter Reading Summary:

I was in a funk for most of April and May, but my reading finally picked up this month. The highlight of the quarter was Demon Copperhead, which I adored, but also Cold Crematorium. I've managed to keep up with my book club reads (The Women, Tell Me Everything, and James). I also read four graphic novels and an Early Reviewer book. I listened to some good audiobooks this quarter: Redwall narrated by Brian Jacques and cast; David Copperfield, narrated by Nicholas Boulton; and James narrated by Dominic Hoffman. This continues to be the year of woman authors for me: 66%!

Currently I'm reading Kills Well with Others and continuing with the Children of the Resistance graphic novels series.

Published 2025, 359 p.
Sequel to Killers of a Certain Age

I was wondering about the book because title is entertaining

>10 dchaikin: Raybourn can be very funny.

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I started reading Women Talking this morning. I've been intrigued by LT reviews, but put it off fearing overhype syndrome. So far I'm struggling to keep the characters straight, and I'm a bit surprised that the narrator is a man, but I'm not far into it.

Homeschooling update: We have finished up the school year and enjoying some summer fun. The girls have several alternating weeks of farm camp, so I have first one than the other. During my first week with the oldest, she did her annual standardized testing to fulfill state requirements. She blew it out of the park as usual. My week with the youngest was busy with water-themed play dates due to the heat, the kickoff to the summer reading program craft event at the library, attending the YMCA's largest swim lesson in the world, and a trip to the Children's Museum to play and see the performance of "Baby Shark" at Maddy's Theater. Coming up are performances of "Schoolhouse Rock, Jr." and "Annie."

Some interesting recent books were



Next year will be more of the same. Continuing ancient history starting with the Vedic Age in India and the Ramayana, more chemistry/physics, SQUILT for music, etc. The youngest is enjoying learning to read with Reading Eggs. The oldest will continue with keyboarding and learn cursive. Lots of performances including:

Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster
Maddi's Fridge
Recycled Percussion
Les Ballets Africains
The Peking Acrobats
Wabanaki Stories
Dig Up! A Dinosaur Expedition

Happy Saturday, Lisa. Happy New Thread. I really liked both Women Talking & Tom Lake. I hope you are enjoying both.

Hi Lisa - It sounds like the girls have a busy summer. >11 labfs39: Scout loved the Clementine books. They are very funny. If your girls like those, they might also like Dory Fantasmagory, another series about a girl who seems to get into trouble.

It does seem odd to have a male narrator for Women Talking.

>12 msf59: Thanks, Mark. I've been distracted today, because I started a life list on the Merlin app. Having fun adding to that.

>13 BLBera: We are listening to the Clementine books on audio while driving. They appeal to both kiddos despite the age difference. I'll check out Dory Fantasmagory. They liked Pippi Longstocking and loved the Ramona books. All have strong girl protagonists, which I try to offer, but when my niece chooses books to read to herself, it is almost always books with a boy protagonist (Galaxy Zack, Ninja Kid, Spy School, Farmer Boy).

>14 labfs39: There simply are more books with boy protagonists, particularly in certain genres, unfortunately. They're out of print now, but you might keep an eye out for used copies of the Vesper Holly books by Lloyd Alexander. Vesper Holly is a sort of a combination of Indiana Jones and Sherlock Holmes and I just adored her as a kid (she is not stealing artifacts for museums though, no worries there).

>14 labfs39: I was just talking about this with my sister, who has her nine-year-old granddaughter for a month up in Maine. I mentioned the Cece Rios books by Kaela Rivera and, in the Lemony Snicket books, two out of three of the main characters are girls. It gets a little easier to find protagonist girls as chapter books become the norm.

>15 mabith: >16 TadAD: I should clarify that my niece chooses boy protagonists, not out of a lack of options, but she prefers reading about (and playing with) boys. :-) To counterbalance her choices in her own reading, I keep introducing girls in our reading together: the ones mentioned above as well as Anne of Green Gables, the Penderwicks, Little House, Maroo of the Winter Caves, and soon The Birchbark House books. I don't want her preferences to bias her into thinking strong girls don't exist.

Gotcha! I was much the same as a kid for a while. If you're not familiar with her, Karen Cushman is great for strong girls and historical settings done well.

My daughter always looks for girl protagonists for Scout as well. Another series she liked, was the Zoey and Sassafras series, which is STEM oriented.

We all love Kate DiCamillo. My favorite is The Beatryce Prophecy.

And if you are every looking for recommendations AMQS, Anne of the 75ers has great ones

https://www.librarything.com/topic/367186#n8885168

>18 mabith: Thanks for reminding me of Karen Cushman, Meredith. I'll try to pair some of her historical novels with our history curriculum, although it will take us a while to get to her time periods. This year we "only" covered human evolution through Tutankhamen.

>19 BLBera: My sister read the Zoey and Sassafras books to them. On you prompting, I've picked up a few more of Kate DiCamillo's books. I'm reading Orris and Timble to the little one now. Edward Tulane is in the wings.

>20 BLBera: I've been following Kerry/avatiakh for children's book recs forever. I'll start following Anne/AMQS as well. Thanks!

I look forward to reading more by Toews, especially All My Puny Sorrows and Fight Night.

Published 2018, 216 p.

I’ve been enjoying The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place but I have no idea what age bracket they are aiming at. It’s certainly a fun read for this 60-something!

>23 FlorenceArt: This looks fun! I've added the audiobook to our Spotify library.

I loved All My Puny Sorrows though it is a hard book. Fight Night was great, too. I have loved the Toews books I've read, so I look forward to Women Talking.

>25 BLBera: It was interesting, Beth.

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I read this next novel as part of the European Reading Challenge for June—Italian authors.

Translated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein
Originally published 2015, English translation 2016, 174 p.

Here's another quote from The Young Bride that I liked:

And in fact, at moments like those, when we are called on to endure secret, or not easily expressed, sorrows, it's secondary characters, of programmatic modesty, who from time to time break the isolation we have forced ourselves into, with the result that we find ourselves, as happened to me only a few days ago, granting strangers irrational entrance to our labyrinth, in the childish illusion of being able to gain from it a suggestion, or an advantage, or even just a fleeting balm.

He goes on to describe confiding in a grocery clerk.

>26 labfs39: interesting! Goldstein translated Ferrante, and re-translated some Elsa Morante. She creates a lovely English-language prose.

>26 labfs39: It sounds interesting but I was hoping it would be more at the level of Silk which I really enjoyed. After seeing that you were reading The Young Bride I decided to try to get a copy, but it’s not yet available in audio.

>28 dchaikin: Yes, I have Goldstein's Ferrante translations as well as From the Land of the Moon
by Milena Agus, which I really enjoyed. She seems to be the current go-to translator for Europa and NYRB.

>29 kjuliff: The Young Bride was very different from Silk, in it's metafictional aspect, but also in its portrayal of sex. The Young Bride is more graphic, unromantic, and either morally suspect or liberating, depending on your point of view.

Thanks to Kay/RidgewayGirl for bringing this book to my attention. I will definitely be looking for more of Zhang Yueran's work.

Translated from the Chinese by Jeremy Tiang
Originally published 2023, English translation 2025, 198 p.

>31 labfs39: Enjoyed your review. Jeremy Tiang has also translated Zhang Yueran's Cocoon which I read last year and really enjoyed. Tiang's own novel about Singapore is also very good (State of Emergency).

>31 labfs39: Great review. I’m waiting for Women, Seated - Zhang Yueran to come out in audio in August. I love crisp clean prose with short paragraphs.

>32 rasdhar: Thanks, Rasdhar. I did enjoy State of Emergency, and I feel like there is something else by him that I read, but I can't remember what... a short story perhaps. I will look for Cocoon.

>33 kjuliff: I'll be curious as to who does the narration for Women, Seated. Zhang's prose made such a strong contrast with the preceding book, The Young Bride.

A friend of mine whose reading advice I always take talked up Women, Seated and her previous book, Cocoon—both on the list now.

>34 labfs39: I checked and though there is a publication date given there’s no detail on narrator.

>31 labfs39: I thought you'd like it! I hope to read Cocoon soon.

>35 lisapeet: I think you will like Women, Seated, Lisa. I'm looking forward to reading Cocoon.

>36 kjuliff: Thanks for checking.

>37 RidgewayGirl: I did, thanks!

Thanks to SassyLassy for recommending this one. I'm so glad I finally read it.

Translated from the German by Anthea Bell
Originally published 2006, English translation 2015, 343 p.
Connective tissue: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

>39 labfs39: I too, am currently reading All for Nothing and also thanks to SassyLassy‘s recommendation. it’s really impressive and I’ll probably finish it pretty quickly because I don’t want to put it down. I’ll wait to read your review Lisa till I finish it.

>39 labfs39: >40 kjuliff: So happy you are both getting so much from it. I have to give credit and say I came to it from a review here on LT, possibly by rocketed

Excellent review of All for Nothing, Lisa. Onto the obese TBR it goes.

>40 kjuliff: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Kate.

>41 SassyLassy: Wherever your inspiration came from, your review is the one that hooked me. Thanks!

>42 msf59: It's a good one, Mark. I'm now reading Isola, a book you and several others raved so about that I had to get a copy.

All for Nothing is on my list now too, thanks.

>39 labfs39: That sounds quite interesting. I'll have to add that to the pile.

>44 lisapeet: >45 TadAD: I hope you both like All for Nothing. I thought it quite good and look forward to finding more of Kempowski's work.

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Much has been said about Isola since it was published earlier this year, although I think Kay/RidgewayGirl's was the first review I read. Years ago I read Douglas Glover's mythical version of Marguerite de la Roque de Roberval's life called Elle. Personally, I much preferred this historical novel much more.

Published 2025, 346 p.
Includes a small bibliography and historical notes.

For completion's sake I will add this book to my thread, although I know it will be of limited or no interest to my visitors. Feel free to skip!

Published 2000, 112 p.

>47 labfs39: bummer

>46 labfs39: terrific review. Glad you were inspired to read it. I might. I appreciate the context you provided.

I first learned of this book watching a program by The Museum of Jewish Heritage called "Drawing It Out: Graphic Novels, Teenagers, and the Holocaust"—interviews with David Polonsky, illustrator of Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation, Ken Krimstein, author of When I Grow Up: The Lost Autobiographies of Six Yiddish Teenagers , and R.J. Palacio, author of White Bird: A Wonder Story. At that time I thought Palacio was the weak link, especially because she was so self-promoting. Reading the book only made me more uncomfortable with the author and the book.

I get it. I hate that kind of stereotyping too.

>48 dchaikin: Isola wasn't earth-shattering literature, but competent enough and historically interesting.

>50 dchaikin: I think it's so important, especially with kids, not to simplify things, because we want them to think a certain way. Yes, we want kids to know how and why the Nazi regime was evil, but not all Resistance fighters were angelic, and not all kids with collaborator parents were unmitigated devil-spawn. Nothing is ever so simple, and I think we do our kids a disservice by polarizing history. I also think there is danger in equating Jews with immigrants in people's minds. "Alligator Auschwitz" is not helpful.

>46 labfs39: I am about 1/3 through Isola and without a doubt it will go on my most memorable list. You mention later that it isn't earth-shattering literature, which I will leave it up to the literary cognoscente among us to decide. From my personal perspective the writing is superb and the opening up about what occurred to women in those times is totally convincing.

Is it all that much better today?

This is a 5-star book in my world, but that doesn't mean others would rate it as high in their world.

>52 JoeB1934: I would agree with you, Joe, that it is memorable and that it opens up the 16th century world of women a bit to a modern reader. By not earth-shattering literature, I meant I suppose that I don't see it becoming a classic of English literature, taught in classrooms, and argued over in literary criticism circles. I enjoyed it and would be inspired to read more about Marguerite's life, if there were more to read. There is a single biography that I've seen, but it's largely based on conjecture, as the three contemporaneous accounts contradict one another. My comment to Dan was based on my knowledge of his preferred reading projects, one of which is tackling major works and authors in the Western canon. I don't see this book fitting into that illustrious group, although he may shoehorn it in somewhere as a between book.

>49 labfs39: One of the fifth graders I read with was reading this book and he was really into it in a way he hadn't been for his other choices.

Wow, that was weird. A message I wrote for a TIOLI question showed up on my thread instead. How did that happen??

>54 RidgewayGirl: I’m always glad when a kid gets excited by a book, any book. I had issues with it, but many people, including adults, thought it a five star read, so as always YMMV.

Edited to fix numbering

I realized last night that I had skipped the review for my last audiobook. Better late than never!

Narrated by Meryl Streep
Published 2023, audiobook 2023, 11 hrs 22 min

Some recent purchases for the girls from Better World Books:



And Amazon:

And if you're interested in our curriculum plans for next year, you can see an outline here.

>57 labfs39: glad you enjoyed this. I sampled it and felt Meryl Streep just wasn’t loud enough to for me to hear her well over car noise. So i got a different book

>60 dchaikin: She does have a quiet voice. I just love her though.

>46 labfs39: I'm currently reading Isola and getting quite absorbed by the story.

>62 avatiakh: I thought it started a little slow, but then I was hooked. I saw on TIOLI that you were going to be reading it as well.

Tonight was our fourth annual homeschool open house. I invite the extended family over to celebrate all the girls have accomplished this past year. I have work hung on the walls and spread throughout the house, I give a curriculum tour, and have a slideshow of our activities. The girls love showing off their projects, and it has helped get the extended family on board with the idea of homeschooling. It's fun, but tiring. Now I can put away their portfolios, declutter, and get ready for the next year!

How lovely!! Best aunt ever 🙂

>64 labfs39: How truly wonderful, Lisa.

>64 labfs39: Congratulations on a year well spent! Enjoy your summer holiday.

>65 dchaikin: >66 kjuliff: Thanks!

>67 FlorenceArt: Just to clarify, the girls have been on break since June 23. I, however, still have the girls all summer. No rest for the wicked! The girls have a few separate weeks at day farm camp, so I only have one at a time for about half the summer, and we are just doing fun activities unless the little one asks to do math, which she does a fair amount. They are taking apart a broken fan to see how it works. Today we are going blueberry picking. And of course lots of swimming at the pond.

Happy Friday, Lisa. Glad you enjoyed Isola. It will be a top read of the year for me. I also loved Tom Lake.

>52 JoeB1934: I am with you on Isola, Joe!!

Wow! Congratulations on the open house!

>69 msf59: I've had a streak of good books lately. Long may it last!

>70 markon: Thanks, Ardene.

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I picked up this small book recently because it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. I also liked the cover. A small gem of a book by a talented debut author.

Published 2023, 150 p.

>64 labfs39: That sounds great, Lisa. The girls are lucky. Have fun getting ready for the next year. I love following your adventures. The curriculum planning is the part of teaching I miss.

>71 labfs39: oh, so nice to see. I’m glad you took to this. I’m moved just reading about it. A beautiful book

>71 labfs39: ooh, thanks for this. I was already intrigued by the squash story, but now that you say that it’s quiet and understated I’m in.

>71 labfs39: I loved Western Lane when I read it. It so perfectly shows that it's often what isn't said that is important. Never directly mentioning the missing central character was masterfully done. I can't wait to see what she writes next.

>72 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. Curriculum planning is my favorite part too.

>73 dchaikin: How does it fall in your Booker ranking, Dan?

>74 rachbxl: As Kay says in >75 RidgewayGirl:, it's a book where the unsaid is the most important. And nothing is explained, you take from it what you will. I found parts very moving because I found myself filling the silences with my own feelings.

>75 RidgewayGirl: I'm looking forward to reading more from her as well.

---

My next book is one I picked up off the library's new book shelf. I absolutely loved Eowyn Ivey's first book, The Snow Child. Her second book was different, an historical fiction piece, set in Alaska, of course, and also well-done. In this, her third book, she returns to legend and myth for her inspiration. 80 pages in and I'm curious to see how it will play out.

>76 labfs39: Western Lane is one of those books that makes me glad I’m reading the Booker. I don’t think i read it otherwise. It came out in 2023, which was one of my two favorite Booker years. I don’t know where I would rank it, but it’s quietly a prose masterpiece. Nothing striking, but it’s elegant, creates a mood and manages the reader.

>53 labfs39: I just finished Isola and I wanted to mention something about the book that places it, for me personally, in the ranks with Possession.

Your review, as well as other reviews, does an excellent job of setting the historical details about this phenomenal true event. I was impressed with the complex story even if there is uncertainty about some of the details.

My praise is for the work done by Allegra Goodman in her portrayal of the emotional development of the heroine. It is almost like I was listening to her thoughts as they progressed from her youth, through her survival and ending with her encounter with the Queen.

All along that journey I lived in her mind and experienced the same fears, joys and reactions to small events in her daily life. Her thoughts in the session with her Queen was so real to me.

Taken in the whole this is a very strong portrayal of a Woman that all feminists can treasure.

I need to pick up the second Ivey book. Like you, I really liked The Snow Child.

>77 dchaikin: Western Lane was certainly a delightful find for me as well. So assured for a debut novel.

>78 JoeB1934: I didn't find Marguerite's voice quite as compelling as you did, Joe, but I do think the author did a great job in respecting the source material and avoiding the trap of making the 16th century character have modern sensibilities.

>79 BLBera: To the Bright Edge of the World was a little different than her other two novels, I thought. It's based more on an historical event and less on myth than her other two books. I liked it.

And speaking of Ivey, here's my review:

Published 2025, 306 p.

Good review of Black Woods, Blue Sky: A Novel. I am a fan of Ivey and this one sounds good. I did not realize she had a new one out. Thanks.

The Snow Child is one of my favorite books and I liked To the Bright Edge of the World as well. Black Woods, Blue Sky was a bit too gritty/gruesome for me. I still loved the writing, but the story was just not to my taste.

>81 msf59: Thanks, Mark. Ivey is one of those authors whose works I will read no matter the premise.

>82 japaul22: It was your review that alerted me to her new book, Jennifer, so thanks! I can understand your aversion to the "gritty" aspects. For me, it seemed like she was depicting the nature of violence in nature, not humans, and for me that makes a difference. I grew up in a culture that hunts for food and have backpacked in bear country, so I think that made me less averse as well. Luckily we don't all like the same books, or things would get boring around here. :-)

>83 labfs39: That makes sense. And I did still like the book, it just didn't measure up to The Snow Child for me.

>84 japaul22: Oh, for sure. Snow Child was a 4.5* read for me and Black Woods a 3.5*. Even To the Bright Edge of the World was a 4*.

I have an ethical question for folks. I purchased a copy of Just a Mother from an online used bookstore. The copy I received is an Advance Readers Copy. In the US, it is illegal to resell these. I wrote a review expressing my displeasure. Now, should I keep the book or return it, hoping the seller doesn't simply resell it again?

I'd say, if you return it to the same seller you're just giving them the opportunity to sell it again. Even if they have to return your money - do you trust the next buyer to do the same thing? Either discard it or put it in a LFL - but again, once it's out of your hands you don't know what the next person will do with it.

Was this through Amazon, or directly? If Amazon, your review may never be seen - they wipe out reviews of sellers on products (you're supposed to be reviewing the item you bought, not the seller, or shipping, or...). You can put feedback on the seller themselves, and that will stick around.

>86 labfs39: >87 jjmcgaffey: I totally agree with Jim. They’d probably just sell it again. But I would complain in someway with a review or to the seller or seller’s online store.

I would reach out to customer service, not just leave a review. I would expect that they refund your money and have you keep the book. If that’s their resolution, then I would just end the cycle by keeping it myself or only passing on to friends.

>86 labfs39: Good to have written the review expressing displeasure with the sale.

It's not legal to sell ARCs in Canada either. A local bookstore which sells second hand books, has a pile of them. They are free, but there is a donation can beside the pile for a local charity. This seems to work well.

When I've tried to return books to sellers (missing pages, only one volume of a two volume set, etc), they have told me to keep the book, as it is of no use to them, and then replaced it for me, but I realise this is not the situation here. As others have mentioned, you have no way of knowing whether they would just sell it again or not. Perhaps you could return it with the front cover torn off, making it unsellable, thus registering your displeasure, but giving them the problem of disposing of it.

Seconding that in general in those situations they tend to refund your money and tell you to keep the book (unless it was a pricey book I guess).

Thank you to everyone for your input. I placed a review of the seller (not the book) online. The seller initially pushed back on the legality of the sale, but when I sent photos of the "NOT FOR RESALE" statements on the book, he offered my money back. So hopefully that's done.

Saturday night my sisters and I had a big milestone birthday party for my mom. We had a good turnout, and my mom had fun, but it was exhausting. Then Sunday I took the girls to see Annie. The little one in particular enjoyed it, singing along and making her asides in a stage whisper: "Is that the Mona Lisa??" Yes, it is. :-)

Last night I went to hear an author talk by Marpheen Chann. I had reviewed his memoir, Moon in Full, a couple of years ago, then my book club read it. His topic: "The Empathy Effect: How to Have Conversations that Lead to Change".

So it's been a busy few days!

I am looking for some recommendations. I would like to learn more about the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, and the Ecuadorian Amazon. Where should I start?

What about the Galapagos? I read, a while ago, a fascinating book called The Beak of the Finch, about some scientists studying birds on various islands in the Galapagos. It's not focused so much on the islands as on the birds and the scientists' discoveries, though.

>93 labfs39: What about Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend which is based on Frances Conway’s activity during WWII where she was working as a spy living the Galápagos with her fake husband in order to uncover suspected German activity.

It won International Dublin Literary Award (Longlist – 2018) and Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize (Longlist – 2017). It’s mostly about her relationships rather than the islands though.

>93 labfs39: I have the kid book Island: A Story of the Galapagos by Jason Chin but see that you have it also. Another vote for >94 jjmcgaffey: The Beak of the Finch as a book though not necessarily for your purposes. >95 kjuliff: Enchanted Islands looks like it could be a book for me too. Are you asking for the nieces? Yourself? Planning to travel?

>94 jjmcgaffey: >95 kjuliff: Both of these sound very interesting, and I will check them out. Thank you.

>96 qebo: I am actually planning a trip with my middle sister for next March. Darryl/kidzdoc started me thinking about my plans for the next phase of my life, and I talked to my financial advisor. I love to travel, but haven't been anywhere since I got divorced a decade ago. So many things happened: my daughter got sick, Covid, buying a house. I wasn't sure I could afford to travel and not jeopardize my retirement. Long story short, I've decided I need to travel now while I still have my health, and I'm heading to the Galapagos and the rainforest for 16 days in March! Woo hoo!

>97 labfs39: Galapagos and the rainforest
Oh, cool!

>97 labfs39: Great idea Lisa to travel at the first opportunity. Do they have eco-friendly lodges in those islands?

Lovely! We went to Quito for a friend’s wedding and to Galapagos for a 4 day cruise back in 2007. I say cruise, but it was a small boat with 12 passengers plus about 4 crew and a naturalist guide. It was my most amazing travel experience!

>97 labfs39: That sounds amazing, Lisa. I agree; we must travel while we are still healthy.

>97 labfs39: Darryl/kidzdoc started me thinking about my plans for the next phase of my life, and I talked to my financial advisor.

Bravo, Lisa! I'm glad that my posts were the inspiration for your decision to travel. You certainly deserve to do so.

I didn't realize that retirement was such hard work! 😂

>98 qebo: I am very excited. Cool, indeed!

>99 kjuliff: Like Jennifer in >100 japaul22:, I will be staying on a small boat with about 15 passengers, plus crew and naturalist guide. We will use zodiacs to visit islands, but will not stay on them.

>100 japaul22: I'm so glad to hear that you had a positive experience, Jennifer, as it sounds quite similar to what we will be doing. My sister has travelled with this company before, to Africa, and she liked the small group size, the focus on nature and culture, and the smallish footprint (knowing of course that no international travel is without environmental cost).

>101 BLBera: I used to love to travel, and I'm glad I don't need to hang up my Merrells yet. I want to experience a few more places while I can. And think of what I'll be able to share with the girls when I return!

>102 kidzdoc: You were indeed the inspiration for a fateful call to my financial advisor. I have been working with him for about five years now, but we had never explicitly talked about retirement goals and plans. I'm so glad I finally had that conversation, because I am in a much better place vis a vis retirement than I thought. Thank you for sharing your path, because it finally got me thinking about mine!

>97 labfs39: Ohhh that sounds fabulous! And something to look forward to during the cold winter.

>97 labfs39: That sounds fabulous. Lots of time to read between now and then. I'll suggest a look in Reading Globally group as they usually have lots of good suggestions for fiction from everywhere.

>104 labfs39: You're welcome, Lisa! I'm glad that my posts proved useful to you. As you said I'm also in a much better position to retire than I could have imagined before I examined my portfolio and spoke with my new financial advisor.

>107 kidzdoc: That's so encouraging, Darryl. I think a lot about retiring... but I'm not ready yet.

>105 lisapeet: March will still be the rainy season there, but that's the best time to see the animals, so I'm okay with that. After living in Seattle for 20 years, I have lots of raingear!

>106 avatiakh: Great idea, Kerry. I'll check RG. I know some folks in CR are science-y, so I thought they might have good ideas too.

>107 kidzdoc: I might check out books on retirement that you recommend too.

>108 lisapeet: I'll be busy homeschooling my nieces for a while still, but the great thing is that it's flexible, so I can take time to travel if I want.

I finished reading Maggie O'Farrell's memoir, I Am, I Am, I Am: Seventeen Brushes with Death last night and was so incredibly moved by the last chapter where she talks about her daughter's illness. That chapter moved my rating from four to five stars. I was impressed by the only other book I've read by her, Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, and now I'm even more eager to read some of her other fiction. I have Hamnet and Marriage Portrait on my shelves.

>110 labfs39: I’ve read all of the books you mentioned and loved them all. They are all quite different, though.

Congratulations on the travel plans Lisa! That sounds like a wonderful trip.

Maggie O'Farrell is one of my favorite authors, Lisa. I love both Hamnet and The Marriage Portrait. I recently reread the later for my book club, and loved it even more on the reread. I need to read the memoir.

Are you going with OAT? My parents went, a good few years ago, and loved it - except they had to pry themselves loose from the group to do some market shopping (for cool local goods). The description of your trip sounds a lot like theirs. Enjoy!

>97 labfs39: Oh, that sounds fantastic. We were in the Galapagos 36 years ago when we travelled across South America on our six-month honeymoon. We really enjoyed it.

I read this way back in 2008, and I copy-and-pasted my review from that time:
Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America
A well-written book on the biology of the rainforest, with many interesting points to ponder if you're a life sciences geek like me. It's written for the layperson, but it was still heavier science reading than I was expecting.

>111 japaul22: Good to know. I'll bump them up on my TBR.

>112 markon: Thanks, Ardene!

>113 BLBera: O'Farrell's memoir was good, Beth, but a couple of chapters were excellent. One caveat, it may be that those chapters spoke to me personally, and so might not seem as amazing to someone with different experiences.

>114 jjmcgaffey: The trip is with OAT. I'm glad to know your parents had a good experience. My sister and mom did when they went to Africa with OAT a few years ago. According to the current itinerary, there is some free time built in while in Quito.

>115 Ameise1: That sounds like an amazing honeymoon, Barbara. I've been to Mexico once, but that's the only time I've been south of the US border. I'm super excited to do some more travelling.

>116 karspeak: I'm adding this book to my trip TBR, Karen. It looks good. This is the list the travel company sent:

Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin (1839, Natural History/Exploration). The adventurous account of a young scientist on a five-year sea voyage that changed his life—and our understanding of life on earth. First published in 1839, this book is still essential reading.

The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time by Jonathan Weiner (1994, Natural History) An accessible take on the ongoing debate over evolution that garnered the 1995 Pulitzer Prize.

Satan Came to Eden: A Survivor’s Account of “The Galapagos Affair” by Dore Strauch (1936, Memoir) Perhaps Satan did not come to the Galapagos, but in 1929 the eccentric German doctor Frederick Ritter did, along with his mistress, the author. These naturists were soon joined by other, more prudish settlers who disapproved of their peculiar ways—and a mysterious, whip wielding baroness and her two lovers. It was a bad mix, and the ensuing scandals and murder caused an international sensation in 1934. The mystery still reverberates today.

Traveller’s Wildlife Guide: Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands by David L. Pearson and Les Beletsky (1987, Field Guide) A comprehensive, all-purpose field guide for your Galapagos cruise. The Boy on the Back of the Turtle by Paul Quarrington (1997, Travel Narrative). Humorist, novelist, and family man on a quest, Quarrington offers an entertaining account of a Galapagos voyage in the company of his seven-year-old daughter and seventy-year-old father.

The Panama Hat Trail by Tom Miller (1986, Travel Narrative/History) Miller’s entertaining and insightful social history of Ecuador revolves around its iconic hat and the story of its creation. It’s a classic example of travel writing, and one of the best things written on Ecuador.

I haven't read it, but for an Ecuadorian perspective, maybe, if it can be found:

Cumanda: The Novel of the Ecuadorian Jungle

>117 labfs39: The Panama Hat Trail sounds particularly interesting to me, I hadn’t heard of that one. I remember I preferred Tropical Nature to Beak of the Finch, although I enjoyed both. My sister and I traveled in Ecuador and Peru and the Galapagos back in 2000, I think it was. I speak passable Spanish, and Ecuadorians kept asking me how I felt about the fact that the US now ran their country. The Ecuadorian government had recently switched to using the US dollar as its currency, and this decision apparently included letting some US troops operate in the jungle areas supposedly fighting drug rings. My sister and I hadn’t known about any of this and always felt awkward as we inadequately answered the very earnest and justified questions.

>119 karspeak: That’s a very interesting account of your trip, especially the questions you got from Ecuadorians. I haven’t been to Ecuador, but I remember getting similar questions when traveling to countries in Europe.

I read this short story following a link by chlorine on the short fiction thread.


Good Stories by Ken Liu, a story in The Digital Aesthete: Human Musings on the Intersection of Art and AI

...she works as a robot’s helper, where her symbolic contribution has nothing to do with her artistic vision or skill, but is solely based on her ontological status as a human.

Clara is a wordsmith for Good Stories, a company turning out AI-generated works. In order to copyright the stories, and thus make money from them, they need people to change a small percentage of words from an AI-generated text. Clara finds herself falling behind on her quotas, because she can't help but edit some of the most egregious passages. In conversations with her boss, Clara learns the extent to which books and reading have become obsolete.

I found this piece thought-provoking, because while it highlights the need for human creators, it also addresses the way people can interact with and co-create works of their own in a way impossible with traditional pieces. I also liked the comparison with the effect of photography on the painted portraiture business, although there are limits to the comparison. More human agency is required with photography. I'll include the entire author's note here, as I found it interesting:

Author’s Note: I wrote this story using only my own human cogitation, with no computational input, except for the excerpts of Good Stories’ machine-formed fictions, which were generated by ChatGPT 3.5 (May 3, 2023 version).

Why did I do this? Because it seems perverse for me to pretend to write like a machine when machines are already capable of doing so. Modern life does enough to make us feel like machines; I don’t want to cosplay as one. As well, if we’re going to speculate about the future of machine-generated art, we should be as transparent, honest, and open-minded as possible.

Those machine-generated passages have been incorporated into this story verbatim with no edits whatsoever (save the bolding of certain words for artistic effect). I assert no copyright claim over these passages (and have not been paid for them, as they were excluded from the word count of the story).

>118 ELiz_M: Yikes, pricey to purchase, but I'm adding it to my list. It's not available locally through the library, but perhaps OCLC.

>119 karspeak: I thought Panama Hat Trail sounded interesting too. Thanks for sharing your experience. Preparing for the trip, I was surprised to learn that English is the official language and that they used the USD. Clearly I need to learn some Ecuadorian history.

I read The Vegetarian now, because I've wanted to read a book by Nobel Laureate Han Kang, and I purchased this one recently. It's been on my radar even before she won the Nobel, because of the intense buzz when it was published in English translation. Mixed feelings.

Translated from the Korean by Deborah Smith
Originally published 2007, English translation 2015, 185 p.

>123 labfs39: Good review, Lisa. I completely agree with your comments. As I wrote on the other thread 'what are you reading', it wasn't a book for me either and I really don't understand the hype around it.
But then, so many readers equals so many different opinions on the same book.

>123 labfs39: I enjoyed your review Lisa, though not the book. I like reading what other people saw in The Vegetarían. . I did enjoy another of her books -We do not Part which I reviewed recently.

>124 Ameise1: I'm glad I read it, because I had heard so much about it, but that's about it.

>125 kjuliff: I will try some of her other works thanks to your and Kay's reviews, but I'm not in a hurry.

I picked up a copy of All the Colors of the Dark today, in part because of reviews by Jennifer/japaul22 and Mark/msf59 and in part because someone at book club was talking about it. I also purchased an ebook, The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen. It's set in northern Scandinavia during 1851 and is the love story between a Sámi reindeer herder and the daughter of a Lutheran minister. It was longlisted for the National Book Award. I realized I hadn't added several recent ebook purchases to LT yet, so I'm getting caught up.

>127 labfs39: I absolutely loved All the Colors of the Dark, Norwegian Wood and Old God's Time. However, as you know I'm not a reviewer.

>128 JoeB1934: IMHO, every time you share you impressions or likes/dislikes of a book, that's a review. I think sometimes we get too hung up in what constitutes a review. Personally I like hearing simply whether or not you enjoyed a book, over reading the analysis or summary by some person I don't know. I'm glad to know that you thought well of these books, because it increases the likelihood that I will too!

Hi Lisa, just to let you know that I've been following your thread and enjoying your comments as always. I read Elena knows back in January and thought it was a great novel, a real punch in the face. I still have to review it but it still resonates with me which is rare.

I've added a few of your books to my TBR-pile, Isola the one I really look forward to. I can second JoeB1934. Old God's Time is a wonderful book. I haven't read the rest although I really should read Murakami. It's one author I keep putiing off.

I'm not used to posting on LT again yet, but at least I'm reading again, and more importantly, I'm enjoying it.

You and I have conversed many times about my efforts to analyze what books I read and why I read certain ones. Here I am at 91 and I finally have converged on a method for achieving my goal.

Let me know what you think by going to:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/372913#n8917558

This analysis wouldn't be right for you, or anyone else, but it really satisfies me.

>130 Trifolia: I'm glad you are back on LT, Monica, I miss you, but the most important thing is, as you say, that you are enjoying reading again. Reading funks are the worst, and are usually indicators that something is amiss in my world.

Isola was interesting. Definitely worth a read. I wish Marguerite de la Roque had left her own version of what happened to her. That would be an interesting memoir. I've found my reactions to Murakami's novels to be all over the place. I didn't care for Wind-Up Bird Chronicles so much, but loved Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. 1Q84 was good, but very long. I have Norwegian Wood and Hard-Boiled Wonderland on my e-reader waiting for me.

>131 JoeB1934: I'm looking forward to catching up on your thread, Joe. I've fallen behind, and the longer it gets, the more I procrastinate. Sorry!

Happy Saturday, Lisa. I enjoyed All the Colors of the Dark. I hope you like it. I also LOVED Old God's Time. Of course, I also liked the Murakami.

What a busy week it's been! Trips to the Desert of Maine and the NH Aquarium with the girls, booking the trip to the Galapagos with my sister and dad, which has not been a straightforward process, and today is our town's semiquincentennial. The family is hosting the birthday float, so that's been some work. Last weekend I went to a Mary Chapin Carpenter concert and to a car show/craft fair/village fair at the old Parsonsfield Seminary. I'm really looking forward to a down day tomorrow!

I started reading The End of Drum-Time on my e-reader, but keep falling asleep. I'm also listening to My Friends by Fredrik Backman, and I've started The New Retirement at the recommendation of Darryl/kidzdoc.

>132 labfs39: There isn't any rush, I just thought you would be interested in seeing where my genre hunting process has finally concluded. Stick with your busy schedule!

I found The Vegetarian much as you did. There are so many books that I know won't really be for me but I read anyway because they either seem to be important in the moment or just to shake up my ideas (and really one never knows what will unexpectedly stick).

>132 labfs39: Isola intrigues me, but I still feel a bit hesitant to read Murakami. For some reason, I've never been drawn to his books, but maybe that will change if I read one. But oh well, that hesitation and plenty of other books to read, you know:-)

>134 labfs39: A trip to the Galapagos Islands sounds fun! When are you going? It might be a good opportunity for me to read Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle, which has been touring my bookshelves, but which I still need to read.

I checked out The End of Drum-Time and it reminds me of The Prophets of Eternal Fjord by Kim Leine, another book I have yet to read. It's a doorstopper, so I keep putting it off. But it might be interesting to compare the two. Looking forward to your comments!

Another busy week here with little reading time. The towns semiquincentennial was fun, although beastly hot. The girls had fun riding on the float. The younger one ate most of the candy she was supposed to be throwing, and then went to the bouncy house. I feared the worst, but that girl's stomach is cast-iron. It's been so hot that almost every day, I've taken the girls swimming. Yesterday I did watch an interesting Zoom lecture on Matisse & Picasso, their relationship and their influences on each other's art.

>135 JoeB1934: I did finally make it to your thread, Joe. I'm woefully behind on LT, but will try to get around to everyone soonish.

>136 mabith: From some of the reviews, I was expecting The Vegetarian to be more gory or horror-ish than it was. Instead it was more about mental illness. So strange though... I'm still not sure I understand some of it.

>137 Trifolia: Murakami can be strange/surreal, certainly that is the case for Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and 1Q84. Both took me a while to get through, and I might have bailed on WUBC, if it hadn't been a group read. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, on the other hand, is a straightforward novel, and one I think you might appreciate.

>137 Trifolia: continued. We are going to the Galapagos in March. I'm really enjoying The Beak of the Finch, what I've read of it anyway. I hadn't realized that Darwin was only there for 16 days, and never saw evolution in action, only the results of it.

I've been too tired at night (this heat is draining) to read much of The End of Drum-Time. It has yet to snag me, although I do like the setting. I hadn't heard of The Prophets of Eternal Fjord. I'll take a look.

My daughter has moved out, making me an official empty nester. Woo hoo! She decided not to take her bookcases with her, so I am busily moving books around. I want to move history and art out of the classroom and move all my juvenile lit into that room. But I decided I wanted to keep history close, so it's going into my bedroom with all the Holocaust books (I know, weird to keep the Holocaust in my sleeping area). That means moving the social sciences and genre fiction into the now spare room. I brought one small bookcase down to the dining room, put it next to the big biography/memoirs bookcase, and loaded it up with art books and a shelf of cookbooks. Odd pairing, but oh well. I also shifted books about books and Shakespeare out of fiction, so that I don't have to double shelve the fiction, at least for the moment. It's a huge (somewhat dusty) game of musical chairs.

>140 labfs39: There's something very satisfying about moving books around, rearranging, getting a new start with them.

loaded it up with art books and a shelf of cookbooks. Odd pairing Sometimes cooking is art! Or, art can inspire you to get into the kitchen. Check out the work of Mary Pratt.

Congrats on the empty space to fill up.

>141 SassyLassy: There's something very satisfying about moving books around, rearranging, getting a new start with them.

There is. It's always fun to rethink groupings of books, which make good neighbors, which I enjoy looking at most often. I'm still in the process of moving books upstairs, which is less fun, and more sweaty, but I'm really looking forward to organizing the classroom afterward. Arranging the juvenile lit—which books at which height, grouping the girls will be enticed to explore, freeing up some space for nature shelves—will be super fun.

Today was a great day: beautiful weather, a book sale, and especially meeting up with Katherine/qebo for the afternoon. We last met in person 11 years ago, so it's been a while. We drove to Fort William, explored the Children's Garden, Portland Head lighthouse, and hiked the cliff trail. Then we scooted over to Kettle Cove to check the rather disappointing tide pools and hike a little more. As can be expected, the conversation touched on books, bugs, and Darryl's inspirational retirement plans. :-)

>140 labfs39: I call the rearrangement of books "book fondling," and I try to save it for when I'm feeling stressed about something. The activity of holding and moving my books around is great for calming my mind.

Congrats on being an empty nester! I love my children deeply but it is so satisfying to see them spread their wings. And there is something very nice about being alone in the house -- and you'll be spared any loneliness by your time homeschooling the girls.

>143 labfs39: It's great to see two of my favorite LTers together!

>140 labfs39: It's always fun to rearrange books.

>143 labfs39: It sounds like a wonderful day. LTers are the best.

>144 RidgewayGirl: Yes, "book fondling" is perfect. I do love massaging my book collection, but the best stress reliever for me is data cleanup in LT. :-)

Congrats on being an empty nester! Thanks! It's very gratifying to know that my daughter is "adulting". Today we had a pleasant morning doing something we had never done before: antiquing for her new house. She chose a tea cart and I got a darling spiral library stepstool. I'm using it as a table between two chairs.



>145 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! Were your ears burning yesterday? Your name came up quite often.

>146 BLBera: I am enjoying the book shifting, despite the steep New England staircase between floors.

I love LT meetups ❤️

I've acquired a few books this weekend.



And checked out a few more out from interlibrary loan:

>148 labfs39: I'm excited to find out what you think about the book about Artemisia Gentileschi.

>145 kidzdoc: Ha! Was that what that was?!

>147 labfs39: Love the table/stepstool.

>147 labfs39: I'm going for the NYRB shelves, but the steps are wonderful.

>147 labfs39: This looks like such a nice, cosy place to sit and read. I love your step-stool-table.

>149 RidgewayGirl: I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew, as far as simultaneous ILL books. They all look good but the Gentileschi and Daanje are both hefty, and I'm in my slow summer reading mode.

>150 kidzdoc: I hope we get to see you in person again soon, Darryl. Maybe the next NYC meetup will work for all of us.

>151 markon: The stepstool was tucked in the back with some baskets and things on it, but as soon as I saw it, I was enamored.

>151 markon: I do like shelving the NYRB and Europa Editions together because their covers are so colorful. I realize I did a poor job with the photo, for while the steps are clear, the covers are blurry. I do love browsing other people's shelves and usually try to facilitate the process for others.

>152 SassyLassy: Those chairs aren't the most comfy for reading unfortunately. Since they swivel, they are nice for folks chatting in that room, but for reading, I prefer the recliner end of my couch. Not as attractive, but quite comfortable with a reading lamp and side table for all my reading paraphernalia. When reading aloud to the girls, I'm either in my rocker in the classroom, or in a big overstuffed leather chair with wide arms on which the girls perch like squirrels.

The girls and I are listening to a very interesting series of children's books called The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place. A Victorian gothic tale of a governess who is hired to look after three children, but upon arrival at the estate learns that the children are feral, having been raised by wolves, and only recently captured. The narration by Katherine Kellgren is wonderful—I especially love the voices of the children as they learn to speak. The nine-year-old is enthralled, and I wish I had chosen the first book for a novel study. There is wonderful consonance and sophisticated vocabulary, and frequent references to irony, metaphors, similes, etc. Perhaps in the future. I can't remember who recommended this series, but thank you!

>155 labfs39: That would be me 😊 Glad you and the girls are enjoying it!

>156 FlorenceArt: I'm glad you spoke up, as I was hoping to thank the person who recommended the series. We are really enjoying it! The scene depicted on the cover of the second book was so funny. We had a good time looking up photos of beefeaters.

>157 labfs39: The children are so much fun, and they have a great way with words! I must take up the series again, I paused after volume 3 or 4 I think.

>143 labfs39: We drove to Fort William
Glad you suggested it (and did the work!) because without a car I wouldn't've gotten there.

>147 labfs39: darling spiral library stepstool
Sweet!

>158 FlorenceArt: We ran out of time on our Spotify audiobook time for the month, so I need to see if I can get the audiobook from the library.

>159 qebo: I'm glad you enjoyed the park. It's a fun spot to take the kids too.

I paid more for the stepstool than I would have for a table, but it's rather unique and a nice conversation piece, as well as practical! I no longer need to bring the stepstool from the basement when I need to dust or reach the books on top of the cases.

Manu Raju of CNN interviewed Graham Platner, the Democratic oyster farmer from Maine who is running against 🤬 Susan Collins in the upcoming Senate race. I found the conversation to be very refreshing, fiery and inspirational, as he was openly critical of the Israeli government, as he agreed that it is guilty of committing genocide and war crimes against the citizens of Gaza, as other experts have said, he said that American tax dollars should not be spent on supporting the immoral Israeli war effort, and he told Manu that he did not support Chuck Schumer and much of the stale and entrenched Democratic Party leadership, which needs to go back to its roots as the party of the working class. I hope that he is part of a new generation of Democratic leaders, and I intend to donate to his campaign in the 2026 senatorial election.

I apologize for being AWOL on my thread. First week of school business, plus a back-to-school virus that took us out, one by one. Very little reading accomplished this week, although I continue to peck away at The Beak of the Finch. It's very interesting, and I've been taking notes.

With the kids, we continue listening to The Hidden Gallery, and I'm reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane aloud.

I did finish one short Holocaust memoir for middle schoolers:

Thanks to Darryl/kidzdoc for recommending this book and for inspiring me to start thinking about my own next steps.

>163 labfs39: I just read this also. It'll be in my next batch of reviews but I'm a month behind. It has inspired me to make an appointment with a financial planner, and to start the process of house improvements so I'll be in a better position to sell in a few years.

>163 labfs39:, >164 qebo: I'm glad that you both found The New Retirement as useful as I did. I agree with Lisa; get the 2022 version, and buy the print version instead of borrowing it, as it's a book you'll undoubtedly dip into repeatedly after you initially finish it.

Thanks to raton-liseur for recommending this lovely book.

Translated from the French by William Rodarmor
Published by the inestimable David R. Godine
Originally published 1997, English translation 2003, 106 p.

From the age of six I started drawing all sorts of things. At fifty I had already drawn a great deal, but nothing that I did before my seventieth year was worth any great note. It was at seventy-five that I began to understand the true shape of animals, insects, and fishes, and the nature of plants and trees.

Therefore, at eight-six I will have made more and more progress, and at ninety I shall have penetrated even further into the essence of art. At a hundred I will certainly have reached a marvelous stage, and at a hundred and ten each dot and line of my drawings will have a life of its own.

—One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji

Maybe there is hope for me yet!

>164 qebo: Sometimes I feel like my house is a money pit, but I try to think of it as an investment.

>165 kidzdoc: I will definitely be referring back to this book in the months to come. I also talked my middle sister into buying a copy. You should get a commission!

Another children's book about the Holocaust, better written than the one I reviewed above.

This is the dress Lola wore in hiding, made by her mother, and now on display at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.



You can read about her here.

>169 labfs39: I should, Lisa! I'll write a review of it soon, and post it here, on my local library's site, Goodreads, and Amazon.

If you're looking for more children's/YA memoirs/non-fiction about the Holocaust, I'd recommend In the Mouth of the Wolf for another different angle. Zar and her brother get false papers and escape from their ghetto. They have to separate, so the book is about Zar's time hiding in plain sight, largely in Krakow, if I recall correctly.

Hi Lisa. Just skimming through and making a note of The Old Man Mad About Drawing. It sounds like a good investment of time and money.

>163 labfs39: I'm kind of curious about that one even though I'm well into my second year of retirement now. Do you think it would be interesting at this point in the process? Of course, I also find myself thinking about how much things may change with the current administration's approach to, well, everything.

The number of unread posts was a bit daunting, but I am finally up to date on this thread! I always enjoy your reviews and reading about your life and homeschooling adventure.

>166 labfs39: I read The Old Man Mad About Drawing a few years ago and was really impressed.

>140 labfs39: >163 labfs39: Becoming an empty nester and thinking of retirement... those are big steps. Good luck!

>169 labfs39: And also a time pit.
>166 labfs39:, >170 labfs39: Soo many books, I have to filter out, but these look good! I read the more detailed story at the link; thanks.

>172 kidzdoc: It's a good resource, Darryl. Next time I go through the book, I'm going to do so with a highlighter.

>173 mabith: I had not heard of that one, Meredith. Onto the list it goes! In Hidden Girl, the author talks about children who were visible vs invisible while in hiding to differentiate the two.

>174 EBT1002: I liked The Old Man Mad About Drawing, but it is a children's book. Hard to know whether it would satisfy you, an artist.

As for the retirement book, I'm not sure how much benefit you would get at this point. It talks about what to spend time doing while retired (you took up watercolors and travel, for instance), when and where to retire (you've got those covered), and how to plan financially. The last chapter on getting together all your paperwork (will, directives, etc) might be of help, but you can find that info in articles online too.

>175 Dilara86: Similarly I enjoy your thread with the diverse countries covered, and the food and lit project. I don't cook, but I enjoy your photos of global meals very much.

>176 avatiakh: I thought it was so well done, but story and artwork. Have you read anything else by this author?

>177 Trifolia: Thanks, Monica! Both being an empty nester and facing retirement came sooner than I expected. For now, I'll keep homeschooling the girls, but it's nice to know where I stand vis a vis being able to retire.

>178 qebo: Yes, time is a big factor in the house upkeep. This weekend besides working in the yard, taking down several small trees, I was also up on the roof, cleaning the valleys and gutters and buying spray to prevent moss. Sometimes house chores seem Sisyphean.

Last night I started reading the graphic novel, I Know What I Am: The Life and Times of Artemisia Gentileschi. Not exactly light bedtime reading, as the author covers the Inquisition, rape, beheadings, martyrdom, imprisonment, and the like all in the first 50 pages. I have been inspired to learn more about Caravaggio's life, however.

I finished this one today, although I must admit that I did not read all forty pages of end notes.

Published 2019, 277 p.

>181 labfs39: Although I am not generally a graphic novel reader (there should be a term for graphic non-fiction!), this is going directly on to my list.

>182 RidgewayGirl: I'm not sure I would call it nonfiction, as the author does fill in gaps to make a story of her life. Adding dialogue and thoughts, when none exist. But it certainly is very historical, so I don't know.

I hope you like it when you get to it!

Tonight I started The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje. It's about a shell-shocked soldier who has spent the last four years in an asylum, unable to remember anything about his life. The book opens with him waiting for three women to come into the room, one at a time, and see if he is their missing husband. I've only read this first chapter, but immediately I felt such empathy for this character. It's rare that a book makes me feel such a strong connection so quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

>184 labfs39: This sounds like a good read.

>185 avatiakh: I'm hoping to have time to read tonight. I learned of the book from Richard on Mark's thread.

When I first looked at your comments on the graphic novel about Artemisia, it sounded familiar to me, but I realized that I read a different graphic novel about her life Artemisia. Interesting that two people approached it the same way.

The Soldier Remembered looks good.

>187 BLBera: How interesting and unlikely seeming that there have been two graphic novels written about Artemisia.

The Remembered Soldier is good but long, and I've lost steam due to distractions. I need to focus and finish.

I finished reading this to the girls today and decided to post an informal review here. It's a wonderful story, sweet but far from saccharine. It's especially apropos for us currently because the little one has lost her special lovey and is having a very hard time. We talked about how perhaps, like Edward, Lambie is on a journey but will someday make her way home, but in the meantime she is learning more about the world and how to love. It's heartbreaking to hear her talk about how much she misses it.



The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
Published in 2006, 192 p.

I loved this story of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit, beloved by a little girl named Abilene, but who is too self-absorbed to return her love. When he is swept overboard on an Atlantic crossing, he begins a long journey both physically and emotionally.

The illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline complement the story beautifully.

>189 labfs39: love that book!!!!so sorry for your little its such a hard lesson to learn for all of us I think tho this book will help hugs to her

Have you (collective) read the Knuffle Bunny books? Sweet short picture books on the same subject. I'm well past the age they're aimed at but I enjoyed them.

>190 cindydavid4: It's a great book, and the illustrations were lovely too. I need to read more of Kate DiCamillo's books.

>191 jjmcgaffey: I have not, but I'll look for them. Thanks!

---

I'm still reading The Remembered Soldier, and I still like it, but I find myself only able to read 10 or so pages at a time before my attention wanders. I'm tempted to start another book, but I'm afraid that then I won't finish TRS, and it's too good not to finish. It's also a library book, so I'm on the clock. I'm 228 p. into it, and not quite half way.



The girls and I started the third volume of the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, and they continue to entertain all three of us. So far in this one, we have touched on similes, rhetorical questions, and puns. I love how the author weaves in these grammar lessons so seamlessly that the kids don't even realize they are there. Speaking of grammar, the 8 year old is studying prepositional phrases and compound subjects. Where does the time go? (rhetorical question) It seems like only yesterday she was learning to read...

Why oh why do I continue buying books when I have so many already on my shelves? It's a curse.



At Large and At Small: Familiar Essays because I read Ex-Libris by Fadiman and enjoyed it very much.
The Nightingale because I read The Women for my book club, and this one is set in WWII.
The History Book because the opening chapters cover topics I've studied with the girls.

>193 labfs39: Ooh, those look good! The History Book in particular is something I might have to pick up for some of the kids in my life -- it looks like a great jumping-off point for finding things they're interested in.

I'd never heard of Anne Fadiman, but Ex-Libris sounds delightful.

>192 labfs39: I ended up reading all the Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place books after dropping off for a couple of years. She manages to keep it interesting to the end.
>193 labfs39: I took a pile of library books back to the library after sifting through a few boxes of books I own and coming across so many really good looking reads. I can request the library books again at a later date hopefully (my library invests much energy to culling books).
I've had The Nightingale on my shelves for a long while, mixed reviews keep me from picking it up.

>194 JesseMC: Thanks for stopping by, Jesse! The History Book is definitely one to dip in and out of and find interesting tidbits. Ancient history topics include: cave paintings at Altamira, Catalhoyuk, Hammurabi, Abu Simbel. There are many topics that are familiar to most folks, but still fun to browse through, and for a kid who likes history, this would be a treasure trove.

>195 avatiakh: I need to stop ordering books through interlibrary loan. Because they are specially ordered, I feel obligated to read them, but sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. And sometimes several come in all at the same time.

This week we started up our history studies again. We finished Tutankhamen before the summer break, and picked up this year with the Vedic Age in India. We are building on our studies of the Indus River Civilizations from last year. Here's some of the books we are reading:

>193 labfs39: >194 JesseMC: I greatly enjoyed Ex Libris and liked the other essay book of hers I read (same one you just got, Lisa). The Wine Lover's Daughter was far less interesting - I've found that with Stephen Jay Gould too, while I love his essays the books he's written on a single subject don't catch me at all. At book length, the telling and retelling get a bit much, for both of them.

>181 labfs39: When I saw how many pages of end notes there were I skipped those myself, but it was good to know how much research went into the book at least.

>199 valkyrdeath: I tried using the end notes to find specific information about a page, but they weren't helpful for that. They did provide a lot of information, but not targeted. I think the artist needed to trust that her graphic novel was enough to stand on its own.

Hi. Love these books for young readers you’ve been reading. Congrats on the empty nest. My younger, my son, is in college now. But he’s been home every weekend so far. He’s an hour away. So he have sort of a part-time empty nest.

>201 dchaikin: We are also reading about Hinduism in and Indian myths in . Those two books are "spines", books we use throughout the year. Our main spines are and . History Quest is a little dry, but Curiosity Chronicles is great. The text is also available on audio and is a dialogue between two people. The older one loves the Minecraft tie-in activities.

Although my daughter has moved out, she still works 1/4 mi away and stops by a couple of times per week, usually for food. :-)

She’s easing out. Those books look so fun.

>202 labfs39: "usually for food." I was certainly guilty of that while I was in college, less than an hour from my parents.

>203 dchaikin: It's nice to see her moving on with her life.

History is fun. My oldest niece is also enjoying her new science curriculum, Beast Academy Science. She's currently exploring weight vs air resistance with dropped objects. We've dropped full and half full bottles of water off the porch, a feather and a cup vs a feather in a cup, balls of different sizes and weights, and cut up a half dozen toilet paper rolls into various shapes then seeing which falls slowest. We are also experimenting with paper airplane designs. She initially predicted that heavier objects would always fall fastest, so it's been fun experimenting.

At home she listens to a lot of astronomy podcasts. Yesterday she was telling me about what would happen if a black hole and a white hole collided (besides making a grey hole, lol).

>204 Jim53: At least she doesn't bring laundry :-)

>205 labfs39: in physics class, I’d have them drop one penny and 5 Pennies taped together (same shape, different mass) and then a piece of paper cut exactly in half, but one part crumpled up, the other flat (same masses). Great look at controlling variables.

>205 labfs39: >206 raidergirl3: these are all terrific lessons. (Ethan brings his laundry…)

>206 raidergirl3: We did the paper experiment too, except our crumpled piece was half the size of the flat piece of paper. At first they tried to convince me the crumpled piece weighed more, but when unfolded again, it struck them that no, it weighed less. Eureka moment. The penny experiment is like the two water bottles with different amounts of water in them. Same shape, different mass. My favorite is dropping a water bottle of water with holes cut in it. When dropped (in the shower), no water falls out of the holes while it's falling. For a while we were dropping things all over the house!

>207 dchaikin: Rites of passage...

Today I took the girls to Boston on the train to go the Science Museum. They had a blast, but it made for a long day. 40 minutes each way driving to the train station, two hours each way on the train. Highlights included the homo erectus skeleton, the human body exhibit, and the 4D show on animal habitats and another on the animal kingdom. They both picked out NASA sweatshirts from the gift shop.

What a wonderful day for the girls!

>209 labfs39: Glad you got there, as you'd mentioned the possibility. I walked over to the MIT museum (recommended!) when I was in Boston last month, but didn't have time for another.
>202 labfs39:, >205 labfs39: As always, appreciating your school. Enjoy your reports of activities.

>211 qebo: I didn't even know about the MIT Museum, thanks for the tip. I also want to take the girls to the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography and the Gardiner Museum. Now that the youngest is no longer a runner, I feel more confident about taking them both. I might even try an overnight next. It takes so long to get there that day trips are long and fatiguing. Especially for auntie!

Well, this next book was a real disappointment. Welcome to the life and times of AI-generated text.

Yuk!

>213 labfs39: Ugh. I hate that those things are allowed to be sold on Amazon.

>213 labfs39: this is a terrible thing

Finally I finished this tome about a WWI soldier with amnesia. Although it took me a long time to read, the last section flew by, and overall it was well worth the time I invested. Thanks to Richard/richardderus for the recommendation!

Translated from the Dutch by David McKay
Originally published 2019, English translation 2025, 563 p.

>217 labfs39: that sounds so good!

>217 labfs39: I might try this one. It sounds good, but it’s rather long. Is this the book you posted about earlier? That was hard to concentrate on because of its length?

>217 labfs39: That does sound good, Lisa.

>213 labfs39: That stinks. Can you complain to Amazon?

It sounds like your classroom is a blast.

>218 dchaikin: It was, Dan.

>219 kjuliff: It did take me a long time to read, but I think it's because of my own inattention, not the book necessarily. Another LTer read it in one sitting! He must be a superspeed reader.

>220 BLBera: I'm always learning, Beth. We are currently studying pendulums, and today we watched a video on the pendulum inside the Taipei 101 building that helps prevent excess sway. I had no idea!

For all you science geeks out there, I need some advice. We created two pendulums with equal string lengths, but different masses. I was hoping to prove that the heavier weight does not effect the period. Unfortunately, we did the experiment twice with five trials on each pendulum, and both times the pendulum with the greater mass took longer to complete 10 periods. Not the result I was hoping for! Any idea what the problem could be?

We then shortened one of the strings and got the correct result: a drastically faster swing.

FWIW: we used washers for a bob and dental floss for the string. We suspended both off the side of the dining room table.

>221 labfs39: i’ve been like that with many books I read lately, and feel that I have categorized too many as DNF. I nearly gave up on the book. I’m currently reading. It’s not a great book but is certainly not a DNF as though it nearly became one. It’s just now that it became very interesting. It was well-reviewed by someone whose books I generally like. The Coast Road so that he’ll keep me going.

If I have a lot of problems, I tend to stray away from concentrating on a book. This is partly because they are audiobooks.nI find I need to concentrate really hard on a couple of chapters and then I can get into the book again and appreciate it as it deserves to be appreciated.

>222 kjuliff: and appreciate it as it deserves to be appreciated

That's it. For a while, I felt like the book deserved more than I was able to give it. But then the stars aligned and I got sucked back into the vortex.

>221 labfs39: I used to do this experiment, with washers, but not dental floss, lol. There were often differences in the same length, different number of washers but I’d guess they were within experimental error, thinking about reaction times to start and stop the timer.
The times for the different length pendulums were always significantly different. So, 1, 3, 5 washers might have periods of 0.72s, 0.81s, 0.86s which look like they are increasing. But for lengths of 10cm, 20cm, 30 cm the periods might be 0.3s, 0.5s and 0.75 s. (I made up all these numbers, but this would be the trend) Reaction times can be +- 0.15 s
When individual students look at their results I understand why they make their conclusion. But when I look at 60 labs, I can see that experimental error is affecting the periods of same length/different masses.
Thus was such a great lab- simple but elegant.

>224 raidergirl3: Thanks for this, Elizabeth. I did wonder if bias played a role. If she expected the heavier bob to take longer, did she unconsciously start and stop the timer differently. I guess this is a good time to talk about margin of error and bias both. The average difference in 10 periods was a second for the pendulums with different masses, and 3-4 seconds with different length strings, so enough of a difference to make the point that string length is the key.

>221 labfs39: Suspending off a dining room table would give a fairly short pendulum, maybe 30-ish inches? So, one can see how even a slight variation in reaction times would make a proportionately high difference. Add in that the variation in visual appearance of more/less washers might make the "exactly when do I click?" of starting and stopping the timer vary. You could try suspending it from the top of a door frame to more than double the pendulum length and see if that smooths things out.

>226 TadAD: Another good idea. Our next project is to build a portable pendulum timekeeper. She is brainstorming right now, but everything is on a small scale. I just told her to think of up to a 4' string to try and jar her thinking.

I see you are reading Wolf Totem. I started that one a few months ago but had to put it aside to read library books. I must look it out again.

>213 labfs39: Gosh, this is really going to be a problem, isn't it?

>217 labfs39: This sounds really interesting.

>229 rasdhar: It certainly is. I recently nearly bought a book written by in Japanese writer. It had won an award and looked interesting. Then when I read about it I discovered the writer had used AI to write parts of the novel. Unfortunately I’ve forgottenthe name of the book, the writer and the name of the prize..

>230 kjuliff: I know exactly what you're talking about. I just read an article about this. It was Rie Kudan's novel Tokyo-to Dojo-to (Tokyo Sympathy Tower) which won the Akutagawa Prize.

>225 labfs39: I was thinking, if you increase the periods, the effect of reaction time is less. Larger samples are always better to mitigate measurement errors. I made them measure 20 periods.
I remember doing a mass on a spring lab and having them count 100 periods. Oh, the complaining!

>231 rasdhar: Yes that’s the very same book!!!

>228 avatiakh: Wolf Totem is quite engrossing, although when I try to think of how to describe it, it sounds quite odd: a 19-year-old's obsession with the Mongolian wolf while working as a sheep herder. I'll look forward to your thoughts, Kerry, if you return to it.

>229 rasdhar: Rasdhar, you might find The Remembered Soldier interesting, and you're a fast reader.

>230 kjuliff: >231 rasdhar: Interesting about Tokyo Sympathy Tower. I read a review on Kevin/stretch's thread recently and thought it sounded interesting. When I looked up some articles about the book, it sounded like the author used AI to come up with the text for the AI in the book.

The characters in the novel use a generative AI model called “AI-built” to look up the definition of words and edit texts. Qudan says she used generative AI to help write the lines for AI-built, adding that these sentences only total around one page of a 143-page novel. One sentence is copied verbatim from generative AI.
-Japan News

This doesn't sound much different that what Ken Liu did in "Good Stories". Liu is very clear about which lines were AI-generated.

To corral her thoughts, Sara {the protagonist} turns to that most unreliable of narrators, an AI chatbot. Qudan has used her own interactions with ChatGPT — and discomfort at its limitations — to explore how meanings and definitions can be diluted and confused.

While calling for clarity of expression, Qudan also asks what it says about a species that it is willing to outsource its own intelligence.

Last two quotes from Financial Times

Personally, I don't think that this use of AI, in a book about AI and its limitations, is egregious. I guess as a reader I would like to know when an author does this; I don't know if she says in the novel.

>232 raidergirl3: Our next project is building a portable pendulum time-keeper that can mark 60 seconds. The string can be up to 4' long, so I think that will help. Since she's only 8, almost 9, asking for too many reps is asking for her to tune-out, but we might manage 20. ;-)

>234 labfs39: >229 rasdhar:Human Post
I can’t remember where I read about the AI segments in Tokyo Sympathy Tower. Can you remember @Rasdhar? But unless the AI generated part of the book was highlighted in someway, I don’t think I could bring myself to read it. It’s not just a matter of using it to correct spelling and grammar, but AI puts his own slam on phrases and sentences. It’s not the human writer doing this. It’s a machine.

When I started to explain some feelings to a friend in an email, I was finding very difficult because as both of you know, I have a problem typing. It was quite a complicated email about something technical and something to do with my feelings, purely out of interest I let it run through chatGPT and could not use it because although it did a very good job, it changed in tone. And then it asked me is that OK and if I would like something shorter, or technical, expressed with more feeling or more business like. It was really quite scary. I didn’t use what he gave me, but it certainly look good just as some of those videos showing age-related people such as Vermeer painting Girl with Pearl Earing It’s excellent, but it’s not a human producing it.

Now I’m going to run this post through ChatGPT in order to see if anything changes apart from obvious spelling and grammatical errors.
In a way I’m using AI now with speech to text, but it’s converting word for word what I am speaking with typos when it doesn’t understand something. It’s not looking at the whole post and fixing it. With that said I’ll now put this boring post to ChatGPT to see what comes out of it.
end of human part

chatGPT post
234 >229 rasdhar:
I can’t remember where I first read about the AI-generated sections in Tokyo Sympathy Tower. Do you recall, @Rasdhar? Unless the AI parts were clearly marked out, I don’t think I could bring myself to read it. It’s not just a matter of fixing spelling and grammar—AI reshapes sentences in its own way. That’s not the author’s voice, it’s a machine’s.

Recently, I tried to explain something to a friend in an email. It was complicated—partly technical, partly personal—and as you both know, typing is hard for me. Out of curiosity, I ran it through ChatGPT. The result was polished and coherent, but the tone shifted. It even asked if I wanted the message shorter, more technical, more emotional, or more businesslike. That felt unsettling. I didn’t use its version, even though it looked good—just like those videos where Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is re-created by AI. Impressive, yes, but not human.

In a way, I’m already relying on AI now, since I’m using speech-to-text. But that’s different—it converts my words directly, with mistakes when it mishears, rather than rewriting my meaning. Anyway, I’ll run this post through ChatGPT and see what changes, aside from the obvious spelling and grammar fixes.

>234 labfs39: >229 rasdhar: These are two chatGPT versions of the above post, including its comments.
Got it — here’s a forum-style version, casual but clear, like you’d post in a thread:
Me:Forum
⸻
Got it — here’s a forum-style version, casual but clear, like you’d post in a thread:

——
I can’t remember where I first read about the AI sections in Tokyo Sympathy Tower. Do you remember, @Rasdhar? Honestly, if the AI-written parts weren’t clearly marked, I don’t think I could read it. It’s not just correcting spelling or grammar — AI has its own way of twisting sentences. That’s not the writer’s voice, it’s the machine’s.

The other day I tried to write an email to a friend — half technical, half personal. As you guys know, typing is tough for me. Out of curiosity I ran it through ChatGPT. It came out super clean, but the tone was off. Then it even asked me if I wanted it shorter, more technical, more emotional, or more business-like. That was kind of freaky. I didn’t use it, even though the result looked good — same feeling as watching those AI “recreations” of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Impressive, but not human.

Thing is, I’m technically using AI right now with speech-to-text. But that’s different — it’s just transcribing word for word, typos included when it mishears. It’s not rewriting what I mean. Anyway, I’m going to throw this post through ChatGPT and see what changes, besides the obvious spelling and grammar fixes.

⸻

Do you want me to make it a little sharper/snappier, like Reddit-style, or keep this longer, thoughtful flow?
Me - Rredit
Alright, here’s the same thing in full Reddit-snark mode — short, punchy, and a little irreverent:

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234 >229 rasdhar: Heard Tokyo Sympathy Tower has AI-written bits. @Rasdhar, you remember where that came from? If they didn’t mark it, hard pass. AI doesn’t just fix spelling, it rewrites in its own “voice.” That’s not the author, that’s Clippy with a thesaurus.

Tried it myself writing an email. Typing sucks for me, so I threw it into ChatGPT. Came out smooth but… wrong. It even asked if I wanted it “shorter, more emotional, more business-like.” Like, thanks robot, but no. Didn’t use it. Felt like those creepy AI “Vermeer” recreations — looks good, but it’s fake.

Yeah, I use speech-to-text, so technically AI’s already involved. But that’s just word-for-word dictation with typos, not a rewrite of my thoughts. Big difference. Anyway, running this post through ChatGPT now to see how much it screws with me.

⸻

Want me to make a super-trim version (like 2–3 blunt paragraphs, pure Reddit energy), or keep this mid-length one?

Do you want me to make it a little sharper/snappier, like Reddit-style, or keep this longer, thoughtful flow?
Me - Rredit
Alright, here’s the same thing in full Reddit-snark mode — short, punchy, and a little irreverent:

⸻

234 >229 rasdhar: Heard Tokyo Sympathy Tower has AI-written bits. @Rasdhar, you remember where that came from? If they didn’t mark it, hard pass. AI doesn’t just fix spelling, it rewrites in its own “voice.” That’s not the author, that’s Clippy with a thesaurus.

Tried it myself writing an email. Typing sucks for me, so I threw it into ChatGPT. Came out smooth but… wrong. It even asked if I wanted it “shorter, more emotional, more business-like.” Like, thanks robot, but no. Didn’t use it. Felt like those creepy AI “Vermeer” recreations — looks good, but it’s fake.

Yeah, I use speech-to-text, so technically AI’s already involved. But that’s just word-for-word dictation with typos, not a rewrite of my thoughts. Big difference. Anyway, running this post through ChatGPT now to see how much it screws with me.

⸻3

Want me to make a super-trim version (like 2–3 blunt paragraphs, pure Reddit energy), or keep this mid-length one?

Tokyo Sympathy Tower is a book basically about AI but the author uses AI only to create the voice of the AI character. The book and writing is entirely hers so it would be a shame to dismiss her book only due to the mention of AI.

>238 lilisin: Did you enjoy the book? I think I’ll have to read it myself to work out what I think. According to a number of reviews, 5% of the book was Generative AI, and those parts were not just the words of the AI character. I suppose it’s a matter of transparency, and that while reading the book we know which parts are human and which parts AI-generated. I was amused with one review that ended with a disclaimer
Note: in keeping with the source material – roughly 5% of this review was generated with AI.
The Speculative Shelf

>237 kjuliff: Just really interested by this (and mildly alarmed at the ability of AI to generate "pure reddit energy").

>234 labfs39: >238 lilisin: I should say I haven't read the book itself, so I can't really comment on the contents. The article I read was actually an interview with the author: "Author Rie Qudan: Why I used ChatGPT to write my prize-winning novel" (The Guardian, Aug 18, 2025) by John Self. She says:

But the book also grabbed attention because Qudan said that part of it – 5% was the figure given, though she now says that was only an approximation – was written using artificial intelligence. This, she tells me, comprised parts of the novel which are presented as a character’s exchange with ChatGPT. But Qudan also “gained a lot of inspiration” for the novel through “exchanges with AI and from the realisation that it can reflect human thought processes in interesting ways”. Qudan’s use of AI, in other words, seeks not to deceive the reader but to help us to see its effects.

So I think it isn't just that she used it to generate the dialogue of the AI - she seems to have written atleast part of the book by 'exchanges with AI'. I did some googling and in other articles (like thisone)it is more emphatic: "Kudan said that, in her own life, she would consult ChatGPT about problems she felt she couldn’t tell anyone. “When the AI did not say what I expected,” she said, “I sometimes reflected my feelings in the lines of the main character.”

Reading this, I think about how several studies show AI not only flattens, but Americanizes language. Perhaps we should be thinking about what that means for language, and literature, more generally - especially as the article goes on to mention that Qudan's novel discusses also on how the Japanese language is changing as English words become incorporated. There was this great piece in the Verge which discussed some of this research, noting:

"The study revealed that AI doesn’t just prefer Standard American English, it actively flattens other dialects in ways that can demean their speakers. This system perpetuates inaccuracies not only about communities but also about what “correct” English is. So the stakes aren’t just about preserving linguistic diversity — they’re about protecting the imperfections that actually build trust. When everyone around us starts to sound “correct,” we lose the verbal stumbles, regional idioms, and off-kilter phrases that signal vulnerability, authenticity, and personhood." .

My thoughts on this aren't evolved enough to take a stance. I suspect that if she had in fact used AI only to generate dialogue for an AI, I wouldn't care- but that is not the case. I think we should paying attention not just to what AI is capable of doing, but what it is also taking away from us.

>240 rasdhar: This detail from the interview struck me: Kudan said that, in her own life, she would consult ChatGPT about problems she felt she couldn’t tell anyone...

I am not convinced that sharing your deepest secrets with a computer program designed to use your own words in its algorithm and run by corporations that are not necessarily primarily concerned with your privacy is the wisest of moves. Sure, therapy costs more, but there are ethical guidelines established there.

>241 RidgewayGirl: I agree with you Kay. I can see how people can get hooked into AI. It answers in a flattering way. I can see how lonely people get hooked in, “talking” to it every day as has happened.

Currently in Australi there is a law suite from parents of a boy who killed himself after talking to one of the AI apps about his problems. Reading how the apps tried to help him, there was really nothing wrong in the suggestions, but the boy took it the wrong way apparently after months of communicating with the AI it told him to do as he saw fit and not to worry about what others might think. Wrong thing to say. A human therapist would never say that with a suicidal person.

I fear AI although I can see its huge benefits. It has been a big help to me, saving me having to scroll through your websites to find a simple fact, and I can see it’s great for research. It’s creative. But I can see disadvantages and it has to be used with caution.

Stephen Hawking anmong other scientists, has claimed it to be an existential threat to mankind.

I believe that literature is produced by humans and I don’t see that AI has a place other than research and help in spelling and grammar checks. . The only exception would be quoting AI responses and using it for an AI character’s voice.

Sorry everyone. Right as the conversation gets interesting, I disappear off the face of LT. Things got wonky here, and I haven't had the oomph to read or participate much. Hopefully I'll get back on track this weekend. In the meantime, happy October!

>243 labfs39: Lisa, I hope things return to normal for you soon, or get wonkier, if you meant wonky in a good way.

>243 labfs39: Your thread got slightly commandeered by the discussion! Sorry about that. Hope things get better soon. Happy October.

>243 labfs39: Sorry Lisa.I got abit carried away. I must admit I’m a little obsessed with AI at the moment. I’m having trouble even scrolling my screen because I can barely see. I have this trouble scrolling up and down now since I had the MOHS surgery near my good eye.

>246 kjuliff: I have a lot to say about how the techbros and corporations are forcing AI at us for unnecessary tasks and for tasks that need humans, but your situation is exactly one of the things AI is good for and I'm glad it exists to make your life just slightly less impossible.

>236 kjuliff: >237 kjuliff: Thanks for sharing these examples, Kate. Despite my dislike and distrust of some of the directions that AI is going, the developments in the last 40 years are incredible. When I started using computers, we still used Boolean expressions, natural language querying was just starting. We've come a long way toward making technology accessible and user-friendly, but I feel like we are just toddling, and we still don't have the ethical infrastructure to support these initial forays.

>238 lilisin: That was my impression as well, Lilisin. But I have not read the book, so I can't say a lot, other than what I read in a half dozen articles.

>239 kjuliff: I agree with you, Kate, that transparency is key. In his short story "Good Stories", Ken Liu added an author's note that clearly let the reader know which parts were generated by AI and that he did not include those sections in his word count, and thus was not paid for them.

>240 rasdhar: I did not interpret this article the same way you did, Rasdhar. To say that the author "gained a lot of inspiration" from her exchanges with AI, does not mean that those sections where a woman interacts with AI were written by AI. Instead I see inspiration as meaning ideas, for instance, her idea that we should not be "outsourcing our intelligence". If I were going to write a book about AI, I would spend time with it too, testing its limits in various ways. That is not the same as AI generating the text, in my mind.

I think we are going to be learning and hearing a lot about the disastrous downsides to AI as more people use it. I hadn't thought about its effects on language itself, I've been more worried about how it is effecting relationships between humans. Upticks in suicides, incels creating AI-girlfriends, its effect on children (one woman in a homeschooling forum was looking for an AI tutor for their child). The list of problems is long.

>241 RidgewayGirl: I couldn't agree more. Corporate involvement and datamining, privacy, and a whole host of ethical issues that have not even begun to be addressed.

>244 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, Kay. Wonky bad has evolved into wonky better. Today is my eldest niece's 9th birthday.

>245 rasdhar: The AI discussion was great, I'm just sorry I missed most of it! Hopefully I can get my act together and be present more.

>246 kjuliff: Speech-to-text and text-to-speech are two of the best developments of the last 40 years. I remember early days of DragonDictate and the like. It was awful! One of my classmates was blind, and I would read aloud texts to him, a slow and difficult to coordinate process.

>247 RidgewayGirl: It's getting hard to be on the internet and not get bombarded by AI "Assistants".