Reba Relishes Reading in 2025 - part 4

I joined LT in 2007 because I wanted to catalog my library but didn't truly appreciate the full wonder of the place until I found the 75'ers in 2012 (I think that's the year). It's a favorite part of my morning now. I also love meeting other members in person when possible.

For those of you I don't know, I'll introduce my self a bit. I'm a Californian by birth and have lived there much of my life but late in 2020 Hubby and I decided it was time to leave our condo in the Uptown district of San Diego and move to some place quieter and, most importantly, nearer our youngest grandchild. We have two older grandchildren who we adore but he's finishing up his pre-nursing requirements and applying for nursing school and she graduated from UC Merced last January and is starting work on a masters next month. Chances are they wouldn't be living near us anymore even if we had stayed in San Diego. The youngest is seven now so we will have many years enjoying him growing up as we did the other two. So I've added Washington State to the list of places I've lived at various times in my life (California, Arizona, Connecticut, the Netherlands, England, the Netherlands, California, Ireland, California) and I'm enjoying becoming a north-westerner.

I read mostly fiction with a helping of biography or history thrown in. A couple of years ago I finished a personal challenge to read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning fiction and I make a point of keeping up with that as the winners are announced each year.

My ranking system:
Superb *****
Excellent ****1/2
Very good ****
Good ***1/2
Average ***
Don't bother **
Terrible *

I try to keep this in mind when I'm assigning stars but I know I'm also influenced by my current mood, etc. so don't take it too very, very seriously.

JANUARY
1. Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan ***1/2 (audio)
2. James by Percival Everett *****
3. The Answer is NO by Fredrik Backman **** (audio)
4. The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer ****
5. We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman****1/2
6. Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney**1/2 (audio)
7. We Three Queens by Rhys Bowen ***1/2 (audio)
8. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah****1/2 (audio)

FEBRUARY
9. In winter I get up at night by Jane Urquhart****
10. The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel****1/2
11. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen reread/Audible adaptation
12. Murder at an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor *** (audio)
13. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton ****1/2 (audio)
14. The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan ****1/2 (audio)

MARCH
15. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters ****1/2
16. Snow Angels by Stewart O'Nan ****1/2
17. The Lake House by Kate Morton ****1/2 (audio)

APRIL
18. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah *****
19. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawson ***1/2
20. The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri ***1/2
21. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore ***

MAY
22. The Things We Do For Love by Kristin Hannah**** (audio)
23. Saving Freedom by Joe Scarborough ***1/2 (audio)
24. Tracks by Louise Erdrich ***1/2
25. The Searcher by Tana French ****(audio)
26. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie ***1/2 (audio)

JUNE
27. The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan (reread for bookclub) ****1/2
28. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (Audio) ***1/2
29. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie*** (audio)
30. How we Learn to Be Brave by Mariann Edgar Budde ****1/2
31. The Murder of Robert Ackroyd by Agatha Christie*** (audio)
32. Shakespeare: The Man who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench ***1/2
33. My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende ****
34. These Days by Lucy Caldwell ****

JULY
35. My Friends by Fredrik Backman*****
36. Sula by Toni Morrison*****
37. The Hunter by Tana French ****

AUGUST
38. The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich ****
39. Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich ****
40. The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich ****1/2
41. Astoria by Peter Stark *****
42. Witness by Jamel Brinkley ****

SEPTEMBER
43. Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson ***1/2 (audio)
44. Afterimage by Helen Humphreys*****
45. French Braid by Anne Tyler****1/2
46. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler ****1/2
47. Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan *****+
48. Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen **** (audio)

Welcome to the second half of 2025!! Finding messages on LT is my favorite part of the morning so please visit often and share your life and reading!!

>5 RebaRelishesReading: "Finding messages on LT is my favorite part of the morning"....me too! Happy reading, Reba!

Happy new thread, Reba!

Happy new thread, Reba - and moving from San Diego to the PNW, you definitely went from beauty to beauty!

Happy new thread, Reba.

New thread orisons, Reba!

Happy new thread, Reba!!

Happy New Thread!

Happy New Thread, Reba!

Eight new messages ! :). What a lovely way to start the day. Thank you for visiting Linda, Susan, Chris, Paul, Richard, Katie, Rhonda and Deborah!! Wishing you all a happy second half of '25.

>8 ChrisG1: Well, TO beauty at least, Chris. I lived happily in San Diego for 30+ years but I wouldn't really call it beautiful.

I've finished my morning run through the Times, the puzzles, my email, and my thread here and need to leave to go to an exercise class at the gym. This afternoon the cleaners are coming and I always "hide out" at my computer while they're here so I'll check back then. I hope to make some more progress with Backman's new My Friends then too.

See you this afternoon.

Happy new thread, Reba!

Happy new thread, Reba!

Happy new thread, Reba!

Happy new one!

Thank you Meg and Anita. It's always nice to have mail :)

So, my granddaughter is coming to visit...next Tuesday...for a WEEK!!!
(I'm so excited) and today our local craft shop was having 30% off all of their puzzles (and they have hundreds) so I went over and got two for us to do while she's here...




The bottom one is called "Turn The Page Bookclub"

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Close the spaces, replace "{" with "

I've done the top puzzle, and it's a fun one!

Have fun with your granddaughter!

>22 RebaRelishesReading: fun! I know you'll have a great time with those puzzles Reba.

How delightful to have your granddaughter coming for a visit!

Stopping to thank you for stopping by my thread!

Fun puzzles, Reba! I own the Turn the Page Book Club, but have yet to do it. Enjoy your granddaughter visiting.

Happy new one, Reba!

We've begun putting out puzzles in the library. We've noticed the students like the more colorful puzzles best!

>29 drneutron: Thanks Jim :)

>30 thornton37814:. Hi Lori. I get why people would like more colorful ones best. I picked these partly because they looked relatively easy to do (she'll only be here a week and there are other things we want to do) and also because they had a book theme (more for me than for her).

I need to close the computer, pour myself another cup of tea and make some progress with Mr Backman's new book because I don't think I'll be reading much in the next week.

Enjoy your time with your granddaughter!

>32 RebaRelishesReading: I hope that's exactly what happened, Reba.

>33 katiekrug:. Thanks Katie. I'm sure I will. She's a totally delightful young woman (and I'm sure it's not just her grandparents who think so ☺️).

>34 richardderus: and, yes, Richard I did make a little progress but not as much as I would have liked nor will I be making much progress in the coming week but I'm happy to make that trade-off for spending a week with my granddaughter.

So I was scheduled to have a much-looked-forward-to massage this morning. I got up a little earlier than necessary though and logged on to my email to find a message saying they had to cancel :(. My achy back was really looking forward to it too. This is a new place to me but I may be looking for another soon. I went for a massage about a month ago and really liked the masseuse so I booked with her for a month later only to get a notice that they had to book me with someone else because she was no longer there. That's the massage that should have been today except now "due to provider's unexpected absence" they need to reschedule.

Sounds like that business has problems. I'm sorry your massage was canceled - hope you can get one soon!

>37 AMQS: Hi Anne. Love finding you here.

I agree that business may have problems. It's clean and bright and big for a massage place and more spa-like than many of the smaller ones which attracts me so I'm torn. Right now I'm enjoying a visit from my granddaughter so I'm not really thinking about it. I'll call them sometime soonish and try one more time I think.

Meanwhile my granddaughter is visiting for a week and we're having a lovely time. Her college roommate (whom she hasn't seen since their graduation last January) lives in Portland now so she met us for lunch at the waterfront today. Hubby and I came home and the "girls" are out having fun on the way back. I'll worry about the massage next week after granddaughter is back in San Diego.

That sounds wonderful! Callia is in Portland now, too. She and Sven took their vacation in British Columbia first, then flew to Portland to stay with Callia's college best friend. Sven was not able to get the second week off, so he has already returned. Callia spent the day today in Cannon Beach. What a special place.

Callia will be back in Portland for Thanksgiving week. Her best friend and her husband are expecting their first baby in October:)

Hi Anne. Sounds like your daughter and s-i-l are having a nice trip. We've been having beautiful weather this spring. Sunny with some puffy white clouds and a high in the low-80's. We sat outside at a favorite lunch-spot at the waterfront yesterday and it was truly delightful.

Enjoy, Reba! Her pictures look like they've enjoyed beautiful weather. It was foggy and misty on the coast yeaterday, which she loved.

My Friends by Fedrik Backman*****

There are so many excellent reviews of this book out there that I will just say it's beautiful, it's funny, it's memorable...read it :)

So granddaughter and I went to our local bookstore today. I specifically wanted a copy of Jane Austen's Bookshelf but I also found a copy of Sula by Toni Morrison which followed me home as well. :)

We're waiting for granddaughter's college roommate to arrive. She'll be spending the weekend with us and we're planning to kick it off with a cookout : Beef skewers, Rice a Roni and Sweet Kale salad with lemon/blueberry tart for dessert :)

With a joint effort from granddaughter, roommate and me we managed to finish the first puzzle:

and then at the bookstore today granddaughter spotted another one that needed to be added to the collection

>43 RebaRelishesReading: Lemon-blueberry tart gets my undivided approving...even covetous...attention. Enjoy it all, Reba, and save me just a big piece, please.

>46 richardderus: Sorry Richard. It was so small we divided it into 4 pieces and they are all gone now :(

>47 RebaRelishesReading:

Great bookstore haul, Reba! Sounds like you're having such a fun visit.

>48 richardderus: exactly, Richard!!!

>49 lauralkeet:. Thanks Laura. We are :)

>44 RebaRelishesReading: Great puzzle, Reba. I got The World of Jane Austen as a birthday gift a couple of years ago and of course I have already done it. It was fun!

>51 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. My granddaughter, her college roommate and I finished it this morning. It was fun and a lot less frustrating than the two book themed ones I bought.

Last evening we went to a German/Swiss restaurant that is a favorite of ours and had a delicious meal (with lots of leftovers for the fridge and coming week). My granddaughter claims they have the best Shirley Temples on earth so she was pleased not only with her meal but with the accompanying beverage.

Granddaughter and ex-roommate are making good progress with the puzzles. My back objects to too much bending over the table so I helped with the first two but haven't done much on the third one. The two book-related ones I bought turned out to be pretty difficult but the Jane Austen one provided some relief in the middle. That's my puzzling for the year though I think.

It's going to get very quiet around here this afternoon. Granddaughter's friend left for work about an hour ago and Granddaughter's flight back to San Diego is late this afternoon. Meanwhile, here are the results of our puzzling marathon (I actually finished the Book Club one by myself while the young women were out running some errands yesterday evening)



It's been fun but I'm glad we have a break for a few days until San Diego friends arrive this weekend.

Darling granddaughter went back home yesterday so the house is very quiet today. There is nothing on my calendar (except maybe a trip to the gym to do the quick work-out machines. I'm hoping to catch up a bit at my desk and read the rest of Sula. Hope it's a good day for all of you.

>55 RebaRelishesReading: Happy quiet time, Reba...it's great to have the fun, and doubtless a relief to be your ordinary self for a few days.

Enjoy your downtime between guests, Reba.
I enjoyed Sula and gave it 4 stars, but oddly didn't review it. Have you read other books by Toni Morrison?

>56 richardderus: Hi Richard -- you have it just right but it will only be a few days because CA friends are arriving Friday for a long weekend visit. We're delighted to see them and loved having granddaughter and friend here but it is busier than usual.

>57 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. Yes I have read some other books by Toni Morrison. I still have The Bluest Eye and Beloved liked them both (but it was before LT and I didn't review or rate them). I'm liking Sula with an added bonus of amusement by the characters with names from my family: the cafe is "Reba's Grill" and characters named "Nel Wright" (my mother was Nell Wright)), Eva (one of my mother's sister's name), and Helene Wright (a cousin named Helen Wright) -- and I'm only half way through the book!

As to down time...I went to the gym yesterday for a quick run through the "major muscle group row of machines" and then this morning for a tough aerobics class. I'm also trying to catch up on laundry and figure out what we're going to eat this weekend. Cleaners are coming this afternoon. Shopping will happen tomorrow.

No complaints though -- these are all people we love to spend time with and there will be plenty of time to catch our breath afterwards.

>54 RebaRelishesReading: Great looking puzzles, Reba! I'm itching to get my hands back on my current puzzle. I usually listen to an audio book at the same time, so it feeds my two addictions at one time.

>59 vancouverdeb:. Hi Deborah. I don't really puzzle by myself but doing it with my granddaughter and friend was a lot of fun. I do listen to audio books while I'm knitting though.

>60 RebaRelishesReading:
Sometimes I listen to recorded books while I am knitting, but most of the time I stream old cooking shows from PBS, or old Martha Stewart shows. If they are available, I will binge watch old BBC shows as well while knitting.

>61 benitastrnad: Hi Benita. I watch TV with hubby in the evenings and am generally knitting while I do that but during the day I prefer a light book to listen to.

Sula by Toni Morrison*****

Set in the Deep South in the early 20th century this is the story of life in a poor rural (that's probably redundant) black town. Sula and Nel become friends as children but their lives separate as Nel follows the traditional path of marriage, motherhood and subservience while Sula is a rebel who moves away to the big city. This book has much to say around the story of these two, however. It's touching, though-provoking and beautifully written.

It is good to know that Snoopy is a reader. What a fun way to open your thread.

>42 RebaRelishesReading: Oh my heart! I love Backman's books and got my name on the list for his latest. Thank you for mentioning it. I will have to work on my patience, but I am acquiring a longish list with my few visits around the thread. I've missed you and this wonderful place to talk about books.

Sounds like you had a great time with your granddaughter. My 11-year-old granddaughter just left after a week-long visit. She is very active! I'm kind of glad they brought their new boxer puppy with them as he was a good match for her energy.

Sounds like you had a great visit with your granddaughter, Reba. Nice puzzles!

>65 Familyhistorian: We did and a couple of days later friends from San Diego arrived and stayed until this morning. It was great seeing them all but I'm ready for a couple of quiet days now.

A granddaughter and> a puppy -- sounds wonderful. My granddaughter is crazy about dogs (as am I) but she flew up so it wouldn't have been practical for her to bring either of her two :)

Way, way behind again unfortunately, Reba, but it is good to hear that you are busy with family, puzzles and books! You remind me that I still need to read Sula at some point.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hi Stasia! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you have a good Wednesday too. (and do read Sula...it's a quick read)

Hi Reba! Catching up and glad to see you had a fun visit with your granddaughter. Puzzles were a great idea - you can work on them and chat at the same time!

>45 RebaRelishesReading: That one looks fun! I have The World of the Brontes and The World of Agatha Christie. I haven’t done the Christie one yet and it’s been months since I’ve puzzled. I’ll get back to it soon.

Enjoy your quiet, no-visitors break!

>69 Copperskye: Hi Joanne. It has been a lovely month but I am indeed ready for some quiet time mow. The puzzles were fun and, yes, there was a lot of chatter going on with them. We liked the Austen one best (and this is her 250th year so it seemed appropriate)

>70 katiekrug:. Thanks, Katie. It has been fun but I'm ready for some quiet now. I have a massage and facial booked for this morning (must leave in a few) so that will be a wonderful start to the quiet time.

Ooh a massage and a facial. What a treat! And well deserved after all that visiting.

I've gotten a little behind on your reading, Reba. What have you read/are you reading post-Sula?

>72 lauralkeet: You really aren't far behind, Laura (lol) I just have had too much company to read much. Our friends from San Diego left yesterday though and I started The Hunter which I'm enjoying a lot. As soon as I finish here I plan to move to the rocker on the deck to spend the rest of the afternoon with Ms. French.

>73 RebaRelishesReading: That sounds like an excellent plan Reba.

>73 RebaRelishesReading:
That blub sounds interesting. I will add it to the ever growing gargantuan TBR list.

I had a lovely afternoon on the deck with Ms. French yesterday and continued reading a bit more after dinner. So far I'm not liking it as well as I did The Searcher but definitely enough to keep going. Back in the '80's I lived in Dublin for two years -- a very different Ireland than the one she is writing about but it's possible such places exist I imagine.

No serious plans for today except to possibly go to a "Habit" that just opened near us (only the second one in the area and the other only opened a couple of months ago) for dinner. One of our favorite fast food places.

>73 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, your touchstone led me to another book with a similar title, not the Tana French one.

>77 ffortsa: Thanks Judy. I don't know what the problem is. When I click on "others" it gives me a screen with pluses down the side but no books. I tried adding "a novel" (because I've found it that way somewhere) but it didn't help. Also strange that The Searcher comes up the right way with no problem. Maybe I'll try to fix it again tomorrow and see if it's in a better mood :)

>63 RebaRelishesReading: I remember Sula was very good. I was thinking that I should re-read some of Morrison's work, and just bought a copy of Song of Solomon, which I remember being a favorite.

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Reba.

>77 ffortsa: Well I tried again to fix The Hunter and get the same blank list when I ask for "others" . Also odd that the title shows up in black even though I put it in brackets. This is going to take someone at a higher pay grade than mine to fix :(

>79 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. This is only the third Morrison I've read so rather than re-reading I should probably just read more of hers. I haven't read Song of Solomon so I think I'll put that on my list for "read soon".

>80 richardderus: Thanks Richards -- you too :)

>78 RebaRelishesReading: Oh, definitely a puzzle. I checked to make sure the Tana French title was in LT, and it certainly is. I think there's a way to force the issue, but it's beyond my pay grade too. Oh well.

The way to force it is to get the work number (the first long number in the URL when you're looking at your book, or the only number if you don't have the book). Then create the touchstone with

bracket work number colon colon book title bracket

That will force it to that specific work. No idea why Others isn't working, though.

The Hunter Huh, worked for me. I got an Others list with Tana French about halfway down the first screen (I've had to search for the author in some lists...).

The Hunter by Tana French****1/2

I said the other day that I wasn't enjoying The Hunter as much as I enjoyed The Searcher but by the end I liked them both a lot.

In this sequel to The Searcher, Trey's dad, Johnny, comes back to town bringing an Englishman with him who claims to be interested in finding traces of his Irish heritage and testing the truth of a tale his grandmother told him about there being gold under the land in their village. In the beginning the villagers are excited about the possibility of finding riches on their land but Cal is suspicious. Johnny is pushing the story and urging the villagers to put up money to buy some gold to sprinkle in the creek to encourage the visitor to go further and perhaps find real gold in the area.

The suspense builds and had me in its grasp by the second half of the book. Apparently the book was named the "New York Times Best Thriller of 2024"...I wouldn't call it a thriller but it's a gripping good story.

AND...yipee!!! the touchstone is working for me today :)

Hi Reba! Now that you've finished The Hunter, I'll chime in and say my feelings about it followed a similar arc. Nice review.

>85 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura! I'm very pleased you think so.

I'm glad you enjoyed The Hunter , Reba. I've recently finished The Searcher and I plan to get to The Hunter eventually.

>84 RebaRelishesReading: I have not yet started that series by Tana French but I imagine I will get to it eventually considering how much I like the Dublin Murder Squad series. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed this one as much as you did the first book.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

Thanks Deborah and Stasia.

I long been a fan of Louise Erdrich but I didn't like The Mighty Red. Then I decided to read her North Dakota Quartet and started with Tracks. I didn't really like it very much either and have had a hard time getting myself to pick up any of the other four...but yesterday I started The Beet Queen and I don't want to put it down. So glad to be enjoying her work again.

>90 RebaRelishesReading: I've only read two of Erdrich's books, but she is on my list of authors to pursue.

>91 ffortsa: Hi Judy. I look forward to hearing what you think when you get to her :)

>90 RebaRelishesReading: I am currently reading through her Love Medicine series. I have read up to The Bingo Palace, book 4, but The Beet Queen, book 2, remains my favorite of the ones I have read thus far. I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Speaking of books that we enjoyed, a huge 'thank you' for your recommendation of How We Learn To Be Brave. It is such a great book! For me, it was very timely. So again, thank you.

>93 alcottacre: You're welcome, Stasia. I'm so glad you read (and liked) How We Learn To Be Brave. With such a fine human as author how could it miss?.

I'm over half way into The Beet Queen and still like it a lot. Have you read Tracks yet? If so, what did you think?

Delightful weekend-ahead's reads, Reba!

The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich****

It's 1932 in the upper Mid-West. Karl, aged 14, and his sister Mary, aged 11, find themselves alone in the world so they hop a freight train to get to their aunt in North Dakota. The story that follows a complicated set of relatives and friends to 1972. (The first page of my copy provided a very helpful family tree which I flagged and referred to often.). Themes include ambition, friendship, love, sexuality, loyalty, and search for identity presented in a series of chapters each told from the perspective of one of the characters.

A solid, enjoyable read.

Posting The Beet Queen I see that I only read 3 books in July!!! That may be an all-time low for me. It was, at least in part, because of the company we had and they were definitely worth it!!

Now on to a better August.

Happy to see you enjoying the Love Medicine novels, Reba. Erdrich is a really interesting author; the writing in these books and the way she tells her stories seems unique to me.

>98 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. Erdrich is on my "favorites list". She's definitely interesting. I'm hoping to start The Bingo Palace this afternoon.

OK, puzzles finished. Now I'm off to the farmers market (where I haven't been for months) hoping to find some fresh local corn, some tiny tomatoes and some inspiration for meals this coming week.

I happened to be near White Oak Books this morning so of course I stopped in. I checked all of my wish list books (most entries are a result of LT recommendations) and got:

The Light Pirate (Katie and Laura)
Song of Solomon (discussion about Sula)
The Secret Lies of Church Ladies

These are all soft-cover editions so I'm going to put them aside to take on the cruise we've booked for next January!!! (oh, hadn't I mentioned that 🤗?)

Oh, nice ! A cruise in January ! A perfect reason to purchase books.

>102 vancouverdeb: Indeed Deborah!! Also a lovely thing to think about in the meantime :)

>22 RebaRelishesReading: Just catching up with you.

How was the visit with your granddaughter?

Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich****

According to the cover of my book this is the first novel in Erdrich's "Native American series" but I have seen the order listed differently elsewhere so it ended up being the third one I read. The book follows two large families through the 20th century with an emphasis on the various forms of love in their lives.

I'm an Erdrich fan and enjoyed this book but it isn't my favorite.

Hi Reba. It's good to see another Erdrich fan. I've read over 20 books by her and wouldn't mind doing some rereads this winter. They are comfort books for me. Looking at my ratings, I see most of them got a solid 4 stars, but The Round House got 4.5 stars. I tend to like her earlier works better than the more recent ones.

I see you bought a copy of The Light Pirate. I just started reading it and can see that it will be calling out to me this afternoon.

Darn, I guess I will have to take a look at the newish Tana French series. So many books...

Hi Reba! I need to try more Erdich. Where are you going on the cruise?

>106 Donna828: Hi Donna. This was my 9th Erdrich book and, checking back, most of them got **** from me too. The one I liked best was The Painted Drum with *****. With no doubt the one I liked least was The Mighty Red ("least" as in I didn't like it).

I've packed The Light Pirate away to take on our January cruise. If I keep it in that bag I'll be lest tempted to start it now (besides there are stacks of other books that I've had much longer).

>107 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. You can see from the above that Donna and I would both recommend Erdrich :)

Cruise is to Mexico and Hawaii. It's a nice long one with lots of sea days. Hubby won't be up to much (if any) going ashore and I love the relaxation of days at sea so we couldn't resist. You get an idea from how anxious I am to go from the fact that I'm already putting books to take into a tote. Nothing else packed (or even really thought about) but I'm packing books :>

I completely missed your mention of the cruise. How fun! We're hoping to go someplace warm for a week this winter, still mulling over destinations and itinerary.

>110 lauralkeet: Well, Laura, the first week of our trip is actually sold as a separate cruise -- in and out of San Diego and visiting several Mexican ports in between. That will be warm and relaxing :). just sayin'

The Bingo Palace by Louise Erdrich****1/2

I've been seeing different ideas of the sequence of books in Erdrich's "love series" but this one is definitely the last. It deals mainly with the later generations and does bring a measure of closure to their stories. Overall this series touches on the difficulties of native Americans living in a largely-Anglo world. Some traditional ways are shown as they are challenged and change. Underlying this however is the love between family members and between romantic partners but also the love felt for disappearing traditions. Along with the story of love, however, in the appendix to this book Erdrich is quoted as saying that this is "...a novel that was all about rich and luck -- chance, risk and luck."

My favorite of four novels of the love series.

So, it's been hot here in the north west but despite that there were some errands I really needed to do yesterday so I went out. Leaving the Costco parking lot to merge into heavy traffic I cut the corner a bit too sharp and destroyed the rear left tire on our car. Continuing on to find a place to stop that was both safe and somewhat shady (it was 100 degrees at the time) I had to go further than I would have liked and finally settled for a somewhat shady spot. Fortunately I had enough charge in our EV to keep the AC running but I also had to get out of the car from time to time to check what size the tire was, deal with the tow truck driver, etc. All ended well with a skilled tow truck driver loading the car onto his truck efficiently and driving me and it to the tire store where the nice Schwab folks efficiently fitted a new tire and sent me on my way. Still a bummer of a way to spend the afternoon :(

Temps this afternoon have dropped to 84 and we're expecting low-'70's tomorrow -- That's a lot more like it!!

Thank you Deborah!! I found Mrs. Spy on Audible so I'll enjoy it while knitting and walking.

Oh , sorry about the tire, Reba! I’m
glad you were able to replace it quickly. It is really hot where you are . It is 81 F with the humidex here today . I think it is supposed to cool off somewhat tomorrow, and the. rain on Friday.

>115 vancouverdeb: Looks like we're on-line at the same time today. It has been pretty hot for the last few days and I'm really looking forward to the cool-down. Hope it reaches you soon too.

(and looking forward to Mrs. Spy )

I’m really glad you were able to find Mrs Spy. I really loved it and hope you do too . I’m heading out with Muffin . She has a play date with another dog ! The things you do for your dog . Weekly playdates. 😀

>117 vancouverdeb: Hope you like the other dog's human :)

So sorry about the tire--a miserable day for that. Glad it could get fixed quickly.

>119 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda. It was definitely not my favorite day. But isn't today a huge improvement and tomorrow supposed to be even better :)

>113 RebaRelishesReading: U.G.H. I'm sorry that tsurres happened.

Better days ahead, and cooler ones too.

Oh no so sorry about the car incident Reba. I’m glad you’re okay and the repair process didn’t take too long.

>113 RebaRelishesReading: Such car troubles are tsuris enough when the weather is behaving, in heat or rain they really make the day a pain. I'm glad it was a contained catastrophe!

Thank you Richard, Laurel and Susan. Sympathy always helps :>. All's well that ends well, right? Tire is replaced. Car is fine. Weather has cooled off (and we may even have a little rain today). I meet with my knitting group this morning, which is always nice, and then ran home to pick Hubby up and meet D1 and her hubby for lunch. Sunshine following the rain.

Hope you all have a lovely day too.

Oof, sorry about the tire but glad it wasn't worse!

Your plans for today sound lovely :)

It seems that car problems always happen when the weather is miserable. I am glad that it was taken care of in a speedy manner.

Thanks for the sympathy Katie and Benita. It's all fine. It would help if I could figure out where the rear wheels track on this car (is it the electric-ness? the four-wheel-drive-ness? the small-car-ness?) because I seem to always park too close to the right line in parking lots and have bumped the curb with right-rear-tire a few times on the curbs around landscaping in parking lots. We've had this car for well over a year and I still struggle a bit ... I've been driving for many, many years -- you'd think I would have figured it out by now lol

So...happier topic. I have a mani-pedi booked for 45 minutes from now. It's MUCH cooler (66 outside right now) and actual rain is expected for the next couple of days (for which the plants are grateful and which I hope will help wash the cherry pits on our driveway away).

I started a new book last night: Astoria by Peter Stark. Subtitle is "A Tale of Ambition and survival on the Early American Frontier. It's about John Jacob Astor, Thomas Jefferson and the expansion west. "Astoria" is the town at the mouth of the Columbia River -- only about 90 miles west of here. So far very interesting.

>127 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I had my pre-wedding pedi today *twinning* !! I'm getting a manicure on Tuesday. I made appointments on two different days because I didn't want to take up the time needed for both on Tuesday. We travel Thursday so there will be much to do.

>128 lauralkeet: Love "twinning", Laura. I've never had a mani-pedi all at one appointment before and I couldn't believe how long it took (she did do a very nice job though). I thought I would go to the grocery store next to the salon to take advantage of some of their "Friday deals" before picking up promised burgers to take home for lunch but I was there for 2 hours and groceries had to happen in the afternoon.

Good luck with all of your wedding prep. You must be excited -- I certainly would be!!

Yeah … my mani pedi also takes 2 hours. I did both on my first visit to my current nail salon and have had manicures every 2 weeks since. I thought I’d get a pedicure in late spring/early summer but that was a busy time for me so I decided to do without until wedding time. This probably explains why I’ve never colored my hair lol.

And yes: I am soooo excited!

Nice that your tire was a quick fix even if it was not the way you envisioned your day going, Reba. Did any of our rain sneak across the border and get to where you live? We had enough to share.

I think my car attracts dents, Reba. It is a 2018, so it's had time to do so. I never had a car that attracted dents like this one. Some scraped the side of it in a parking lot some years ago and I had to take into a body shop and have it fixed and painted. Then I accidentally backed into a parked car at the library. I got out, looked at my car and the other car , and could not see any damage, and I even asked a passerby if they could see anything, but no. But my husband could see the imprint of the license of the other car on my bumper and buffed it out. Then, I back up into a dumpster in a parking lot where Muffin goes to doggie daycare. It's not bad, just a thin line without paint, but my heart sank and of course Dave noticed. I am trying hard not to attract any further dents.

>131 Familyhistorian: Sadly, Meg, the forecast promised but somehow so far nothing more than a little dampness on the concrete has happened. We really could use a nice rain -- especially with the thread of wild fires ever present.

>132 vancouverdeb: Poor Deborah, your poor car seems to be seeking attention :). I had given our poor right rear tire a lot of bumps with my tendency to hit the corner of planter curbs but the only dent we have happened when the car was just a couple of months old. We were driving on the interstate and were passed by a huge truck that threw up a rock which hit our car about mid-way back just at the bottom of the body. The impact and noise was so loud that I thought for a minute his trailer has swerved over and hit us but, nope, just a large dent.

So today is off to a roaring start. About 6:30 we woke up to the house alarm going off. After a few minutes it stopped by itself. I got up to investigate and found everything in order but decided that I was now so awake I might as well stay up. Just as I came out of my nice hot shower the fire alarm started....and a few minutes later stopped itself too. I would suspect steam from my shower except there is no sensor in the bathroom, the door to the bedroom was closed and the only sensor there is at least 20 feet from the door to the bathroom. Anyway, it got me up and going and there is nothing apparent that would have caused either alarm to go off. Ghosts?

>134 RebaRelishesReading: well that's annoying! Are they battery powered? One of our smoke alarms went off randomly more than once. I resisted changing the battery because I thought it would "chirp" if that were the issue. But we changed the battery and the problem went away.

>135 lauralkeet: Several of our smoke alarms (including the one that went off) are way up on vaulted ceilings where our normal domestic ladder can't reach. The electrician who changed the batteries last year put in ones that are supposed to last 10 years so we don't have to deal with that for a while so I hope that wasn't it. Also it stopped on its own and hasn't made a peep since. The house alarm is plugged in to an outlet. The door sensors have batteries but those were changed just a month or two ago -- besides, that stopped on its own too. I'm still thinking ghost (lol)

Hmmm ... maybe it IS a ghost!

Brownouts? Though that shouldn't affect battery things. Weird!

Maybe, Laura, maybe (lol)

Other electric things weren't affected so I don't think it was a brown-out Jennifer. Just weird.

I do have to get up at about 6:30 tomorrow morning because I have to report for jury duty at 7:45 -- maybe our house ghost is just trying to get me ready for that...

About jury duty -- I got "summoned" last year but the whole thing ended up being just calling every evening for a week to see whether I needed to report the following day...I never needed to. This year I got the same sort of post card in the mail but then yesterday I got an email telling me that I'm on a "selection panel" and have to report tomorrow. I assume this means I'm in the group the attorney's for a particular case select the jury from (not sure, never made it this far in Washington before). Anyway my time available for LT may be quite limited for a while if I end up on a jury.

I had trouble with my fire alarms in Tuscaloosa. It was always the battery and the alarms were hooked into the electrical systems. The batteries were just a back-up. Turned out that there was a mistake made in the wiring and the alarms were actually being powered by the batteries. I didn't want to pay for rewiring a rented house so I just changed the batteries when they did that intermittent alarm thing. That would cure the problem. Bottom line for me was that even though the alarms were wired into the electrical system they were still battery powered. The batteries would last about a year.

Long day at the court yesterday. They're still in the process of jury selection and I'm in the half or so of the candidates still in the pool so have to take off. Waiting around for things to happen I did finish Astoria yesterday --- very good book especially for anyone interested in American history, the north-west, or fur trading. I'll report later.

So...jury duty is taken care of for this year :). I was pretty far down in the randomly assigned numbers (42 out of 73 or so) so it wasn't too likely that I would be selected and I wasn't. It was a criminal trial for a fairly serious crime so I'm not unhappy to miss it.

Astoria by Peter Stark*****

John Jacob Astor had an unhappy childhood with his mother dying when he was five leaving him with a father who enjoyed visiting taverns and a step mother who didn't love him. At 16, after two years assisting his father in his butcher shop, John Jacob left home. He spent a few years helping an older brother in his musical instrument business in England and then. at age 21 he set out for the United States meeting a passenger whose business was trading "trinkets" for furs. Many years later, already a wealthy man, Astor decided to to enter that business himself. He decided to establish a post at the mouth of the Columbia River in order to trade inexpensive "trinkets" for furs trapped in the area. The plan is to have ships which will pick up these furs, take them to China where they can be sold for silk fabric and other luxury goods which the ships will take on to Europe where they can be sold for a huge profit. This book is the story of this business venture and, especially, the establishment of Astoria.

Not only is this an interesting story about Mr. Astor and business in the Guilded Age it is also a gripping adventure story and a darned good read.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: I just listened to a lecture on the American West and the fur trade, in which of course Astor features prominently. Poor beavers.

>144 ffortsa: Not just beavers -- sea otters were a big deal too

My car and it's need for attention, yes , that's it , Reba! I hope it won't require any more attention.

>146 vancouverdeb: Stroke it and talk softly to it as you go by and perhaps it will be happy lol

Hubby and I went out for a delicious lunch today to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary. The weather has dropped from a high of 100 to 89 (at 2:00 p.m.) and I just had a long chat with a dear friend who lives in San Diego. What a delightful day:). I think I'll celebrate by watching some tennis while sipping my iced tea and knitting.

Hope you all are having a fine day too!!

>148 RebaRelishesReading: Happy anniversary, Reba and MrReba!

37 years - WOW! Glad tidings sent your way.

Happy Anniversary! What a lovely day you had.

Thank you Richard, Benita and Linda!! Yesterday was a lovely day...and, yes, 37 years ... it's hard to believe. Feels more like 17 or so.

Today is supposed to be a bit cooler than yesterday -- hopefully back to the realm of "nice weather" rather than "outdoor sauna". I have some errands to run and hope to actually get some reading done today. I'm working on Witness by Jamel Brinkley which I've had so long I'm not sure where the recommendation came from. It's short stories -- not bad short stories but I'm not a fan of short stories so I find a lot of things I "need" to do instead of finishing it :(

Have a good one everybody!!

Wow. 37 years. And such a nice celebration. Congratulations.

>153 ffortsa: Thank you Judy. It is hard to believe it's been that long.

Wow, 3 days since I've posted. I've been busy but in a good way (except I haven't done much reading). Party of the "busy" is planning for a choir party at our house on 9/6. So far there are 22 people coming and I still haven't heard from about 7 more. We have a very large deck on the back of our house so we'll be out there. We will provide things to grill and the rest is pot luck. Should be fun but does take some planning.

I've also spent some time on "self care" the past two days. A lovely massage on Tuesday and hair cut yesterday.

Managed to watch some tennis each day -- WOW that Djokovic/Svajda match certainly started with a bang. Can't wait to see what that young man does in coming years.

With all of that you won't be surprised to learn I haven't read much. Hope to finish up Witness today and then to move on to something I like better. It isn't that Witness isn't good but I much prefer full length books to short stories (why did I buy this one? you ask?! Not sure any more).

Happy Thursday everyone.

>155 RebaRelishesReading: Wise to self-care when there's a stressor like a party coming up. Fun, or less so, it's a heap of work.

Have a lovely Thursday, Reba. I hope our 72° and sunny makes it down there.

Hello, Reba! I'm working my way around the threads, trying to catch up on everything. I'm sorry to hear about your trouble with the tire, but glad to hear that it was relatively simple to get it replaced. Still, it wasn't fun.

On the other hand, congratulations on your anniversary! I hope the nice weather returns for you.

>155 RebaRelishesReading:
I am planning a tea for about 40 people and will be doing most of the food. One of my friends volunteered to bake two cakes, but the scones and sandwiches are going to be my part of the thing. Plus, brewing the tea. I am hosting it in honor of Grandparents and it will be on September 6th. I purchased the grocery supplies needed yesterday. I thought about making clotted cream, but have decided not to do so, since it involves more cooking, but I did get orange marmalade. I thought that would be perfect with the yellow and orange/sunflower color scheme I am using.

>156 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the wishes but so far the NW is still pretty danged warm!!

>157 atozgrl: Thanks for visiting and for the nice thoughts, Irene.

>158 benitastrnad: Wow, Benita, scones and sandwiches for 40! A lot of work but the party sounds lovely and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time.

Party planning is going well here. A friend with a pick up truck has volunteered to pick up and deliver a long folding table and 10 chairs which will mean everyone can eat at a table on the deck (almost anyway, one table for 4 will be just inside the sliding door leading to the deck). It should be fun.

Today is the first day for a while that I have nothing on my calendar. I'm hoping to watch some tennis but I should check if I have enough plates, glasses, etc. for the party. Otherwise perhaps actually read a bit (I still haven't made much progress with Witness)

I did just read that a Thursday Murder Club movie is being made. That should be fun! That along with a second Downton Abbey movie may actually motivate me to go to a theater this fall....that and movie popcorn.

>159 RebaRelishesReading: The Thursday Murder Club movie is out on Netflix now! I enjoyed it, but I'm pretty easygoing.

Karen O

.>160 klobrien2: Thanks Karen. I saw that over on Laura's thread after I wrote my note and Hubby and I just watched it as our lunch-time treat. It was delightful. I hope they film the whole series.

>161 RebaRelishesReading: I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Chris did too, and he hasn't read the books and generally prefers grittier stuff. So I took that as a good sign.

>159 RebaRelishesReading: The one coming out in the fall is actually the third Downton Abbey movie. I missed the second one, unfortunately. Our local movie theater closed, so I don't know if I'll make it to the theater for this one.

>163 atozgrl: Hmm. I missed the second one too. I wonder if it's available on Netflix.

Witness by Jamel Brinkley****

>164 RebaRelishesReading: It showed up on one cable channel last month, but it started so late (maybe 11:00PM) that I could only watch the first 1/2 hour or so. I believe it's on Peacock, and may be available for renting on Amazon Prime and some others.

>165 RebaRelishesReading: I'm not one for short stories--for the most part--either, so I know what you mean.

Hi Reba.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: That sounds quite interesting. We are watching "The Gilded Age" on Prime these days and quite enjoying it. And can't help thinking about the fact that the current occupant of the White House wants the USA to return to that age. It was pretty good for the small number of obscenely wealthy robber barons, train line and coal mine operators, etc.

I'm looking forward to watching the new production of The Thursday Murder Club, too.

>166 atozgrl: Thanks for the Downton tip. I may look that up one of these days. We watched the Thursday Murder Club a couple of days ago and really enjoyed it. I hope they make movies of the entire series!

>167 EBT1002:. Hmm. I haven't seen The Gilded Age -- must check that out (although I hope it doesn't make me think about The Jerk in Chief too much or my TV may be in danger.

>167 EBT1002: & >168 RebaRelishesReading: I'm thinking of starting the series so that I can appreciate the TV series more. I noticed my Sister-in-Law was watching it over the weekend but I studiously avoided joining her on it.

A belated Happy Anniversary , Reba. I'm watching Hostage on Netflix right now. I tried a few minutes of The Thursday Murder Club, but for the most part I like my tv to be tension filled and full of killings etc . I mean not too gruesome, but I do like a fast paced show.

>169 PaulCranswick: It's a quick, fun read Paul. I read the first four a coupe of months ago but decided that was enough so haven't read the fifth (yet anyway). I think the film and the books each make the other better Paul so think that's a good idea.

>170 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. I had to chuckle at your post -- if you like "tension filled and full of killings" I don't think The Thursday Murder Club is for you. (and there are lots of other tension filled/full of killings offerings out there for you).

I pulled Anne Tyler's French Braid out of Mt. TBR the other day and put it next to "my chair" to be my next read. I've been busy prepping for a party we're hosting Saturday night and knitting so haven't started it yet.

>163 atozgrl:. Irene, I looked for the second Downton last night and found a couple of previous ones. I thought we had seen the first one in the theater so chose the one dated 2022. It turned out to be the one we had seen but I watched it anyway. Guess it was the first one I missed...will try again one of these days to see what I can find. Meanwhile looking forward to the third/final one.

>172 RebaRelishesReading: ooh, I liked French Braid. Hope you do too!

I imagine I have it because you liked it -- would have to look it up to know for sure. I'm a bit overwhelmed with non-book things at the moment so not sure when I'll start it but your reminding me how much you like it is a very good encouragement to get going!!

>172 RebaRelishesReading: It sounds like you saw the one we missed. I would have liked to see it, but it took us a long time to get back into movie theaters after COVID. Also, my DH wasn't into Downton Abbey, so it wasn't one I could really talk him into going to see.

I did see the first movie, and it tied up so many stories from the series that I thought it was the final thing. And we've had two more movies since. I wonder if this one really will be the final one.

>175 atozgrl: I found the first one on Netflix too and watched it today. As I did I realized that we had seen it too -- but I think we saw it on TV rather than in a theater. Anyway...in reverse order but we're now caught up lol

We have a big deck, about 10' wide, across the entire back of our house (about 1/3 of it has a roof) which is rarely used. So, when my choir started talking about having a fall kick-off potluck, I volunteered our space and then arranged to borrow tables and chairs enough to seat 26 people out there and bought a stack of bradworsts and a bunch of chicken thighs to grill. All was going so well...until this morning's weather forecast for tomorrow evening..."showers'!!! So, party will go on but now be inside the house. Poor deck...still very underutilized.

>177 RebaRelishesReading: oh dear! Your poor neglected deck lol. Well, have fun anyway.

Actually we have set it up for 10 people to eat out there if they want to (I've intentionally set more places than expected guests so they can move around more easily). Almost everyone can eat inside if they want to though.

It's currently 72 degrees and hasn't rained at all yet..but then the forecast was for "showers after 2 p.m.". Anyway everything is ready to go and I'm resting my back for a while before taking a shower and getting dressed. Should be fun.

>179 RebaRelishesReading: Good luck with the weather. Oh, I'd love to have a deck like that!

>180 ffortsa: The weather was perfect. Just before we ate some energetic folks moved one more of the card tables outside so nearly everyone ended up out there. The threatened "showers" never happened so we could have just gone ahead as originally planned -- oh well. It was a very nice time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I got the deck cleaned up before I went to bed last night along with the under-used tables inside. Some nice guest had loaded the dishwasher so I turned it on before going to bed and put perishable foods in fridge.

This is younger daughter's birthday and her partner always gives her a day free of mother-duties as part of her birthday present so we took her out for a lovely Japanese lunch. Then we came back to have cake with partner and son. Meanwhile the kitchen is still a totally disaster (dishwasher still contains the clean dishes). I really need to go in there and get to work but my back has been hurting and I hadn't been on LT yet today so....in a little while :)

I did manage to watch a little bit of the women's Open finals yesterday and have seen results of that and the men's. Dang, drat and phooey!!

I'm glad your gathering was a success Reba! As for your kitchen, it could have been worse -- at least those dishes were already clean! I hope you were able to relax and recover last night.

I also hosted a group of people. We had a Grandparents Tea on Saturday at the church as our contribution to the Grandparents celebration day. 26 people had said they were coming, so I made way too much food becuase only 10 showed up. We had a great time and did a fine tribute to our Grandparents.

We did a menu I found in an old Tea Time magazine. The menu was perfect and the two other people who made food (one made the cake and one the cookies) agreed that the recipes were very practical. There were lots of ways to do a little bit of the cooking each day and the final essembly on the morning of the tea. We had 3 different kinds of tea, and most of the guests liked the white tea from Simpson & Vail the best. It all worked out very well, and I had a great time.

I really like Grandparents day because as a single person with no children the other holidays bother me. But, everybody has grandparents so this is one celebration day I can get behind.

I'm glad your gathering went well, Reba. I'm glad you also enjoyed your younger daughter's birthday. The thought of birthday cake is making me hungry!

Thank you Laura, Benita and Deborah. The kitchen is now restored and the floor swept (we have hard floors throughout)...It needs more cleaning than just sweeping but the cleaners come tomorrow afternoon and I don't want them to be bored (lol).

Your grandparents day celebration sounds really nice Benita. I've never celebrated that ... perhaps because I never knew any of my grandparents...but such a nice idea to do so. (I'm not sure my grandchildren know it exists).

Good news about the birthday cake was I had, and enjoyed, a small slice while they were here and then it went home with them so I didn't have it in the house tempting me :>

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson (audio) ***1/2

I had some knitting I wanted to work on so I decided it was time for another audio book. This clever, light book was a perfect choice to entertain me.

I have been trying to listen and knit for one hour after I get off of work. I have a couple of hats I want to get done for Christmas presents and thought that your idea of knitting and listening was a good one. I am listening to Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. It is book four in the Wayfarers series. The series is a SciFi space opera of sorts and has a good narrator.

>188 benitastrnad: Hope you enjoy the knitting/listening combination, Benita. It works for me :)

>188 benitastrnad: Love Becky Chambers - her stuff is fantastic (in several senses). I can't do audiobooks (can't keep focus on spoken word), though, so I have to have other things to do while knitting (did some while waiting to give blood yesterday - I carry a bag with a project with me just about everywhere).

>188 benitastrnad: Nice idea. I sometimes do that too. And I often knit while 'watching' TV, especially when it's a 'talking heads' show. Of course, I'm knitting very simple things, so no need to keep track of a pattern.

Hi. Jennifer!! Nice to see you! and HI Judy too!

The past couple of years I've mostly knitted the same baby sweater and hat over and over and over again so I can listen to books or "watch" TV pretty easily while doing it. I have been known to get too involved in the entertainment and get a bit lost in the pattern but I know it well enough to find my way out of the problem pretty easily when that happens.

>181 RebaRelishesReading: Glad the weather held up and you were finally able to put that big deck to use!

Happy weekend

>193 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita.

My son is visiting and yesterday we revived an ancient iPad for my husband to use to read on. Turned out it was so old that we can't update it enough so we're off to shop for a new one for him. He's losing his vision and has been unable to read for pleasure for quite a while. We're hoping the ability to download books and then enlarge the font will help that.

>195 RebaRelishesReading: Oh that is too bad. The iPad screen and the font flexibility will (I hope) help. Does he enjoy audiobooks?

>195 RebaRelishesReading: Oh wow, I hope the tablet helps! I can't imagine how distressing that must be for him.

>196 ffortsa: Unfortunately, Judy, his reading taste is limited and leans towards railroad history and academic geography -- not a lot of audio or ebooks to choose from.

>197 lauralkeet:. Thanks Laura. I hope so too. We've loaded Astoriai on it and he can enlarge the font enough to be able to read it comfortably -- now just hoping we can find enough books that interest him in digital form.

French Braid by Anne Tyler****1/2

>199 RebaRelishesReading: Does anyone write about family better than Anne Tyler? It's been awhile since I've read her - need to get back to her.

>200 ChrisG1: I'd only ever read one other book of hers (Breathing Lessons) and that was quite a while ago. This one certainly supports your point though :)

I just read Digging to America by Anne Tyler this summer and enjoyed it very much. Actually, I listened to the recorded version and the narrator was very good. It would be a good knitting listen. I listened to it in the car and it kept my interest. I am happy to make a recommendation for that book.

I've enjoyed quite a few books ( more than that ) by Anne Tyler. One day I need to get to French Braid. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Hi Benita and Deborah! Always nice to log on and find I've had visitors. I definitely must get some more Anne Tyler books -- audio would be nice because I can see where they would be good to knit to (or drive or walk).

I am also an Anne Tyler fan. But I haven't yet read French Braid

>205 banjo123: Good morning, Rhonda. I don't know why I haven't read more of her works -- must correct that. Do you have a favorite?

I have a soft spot for the first that I read, Homesick Restaurant. Though it has been many years since I read it, wonder if it would hold up? I also liked Digging to America and Breathing Lessons

Your deck gathering sounded like fun, Reba. I enjoyed Run for the Hills when I read it too.

>207 banjo123: I read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant about three years ago and loved it. I'd read only one of Tyler's books at that point and that was over 20 years ago. I couldn't believe what I'd been missing! I've read 5 more of her books since.

afterimage by Helen Humphreys*****

This book grabbed me and held on in a way no book has done for a long time.

OK y'all -- Homesick Restaurant is on my list. I think I'll see if I can get it in digital and take it on the trip in January.

I'm having a truly lovely day. I started this morning with a massage at a new salon I'm trying -- this is my second one from Marylyn and she is excellent. Went home afterwards and read a bit then Hubby and I went out to get a document notarized for him and lunch at Panera. I had the strawberry poppyseed salad.-- a summer favorite of mine. Came home and moved out to the deck where I'm writing this while sitting in a rocking chair because the weather is perfect (about 80 degrees, not-humid and with a breeze) and I want to get some more use out of it before it gets to cold and wet.

>208 Familyhistorian:. The deck party was fun, Meg, and it was nice to put the deck to proper use for once. It's lovely this way too even though the party was more fun :>

I'm another fan of Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant 🙂

>211 RebaRelishesReading: What a lovely day! And you're going to love Homesick Restaurant.

Homesick Restaurant is one of those Tylers I haven't yet read, for some reason. Bumping it up the list. AND, you've got me with the Helen Humphreys. Adding that to the Tottering Pile of Soon.

OK, with all of that love for Homesick Restaurant I decided I'd better get busy reading it ...

>215 RebaRelishesReading: lolol you caved! I was skeptical you'd make it til January ...

>216 lauralkeet: Yep!! I easily give in to that kind of pressure. I ordered it and it's supposed to be delivered today and I may have time to jump right into it - lol

Hubby and I went to see the new Downton Abbey movie yesterday afternoon and I enjoyed every minute of it :). Given that it was a 4:40 p.m. showing on a Tuesday it wasn't a huge surprise that we had the theater entirely to ourselves - meant we could comment to each other without worrying we would disturb anyone else -- sort of like watching at home with a HUGE TV set.

>218 RebaRelishesReading:
That happened to me when I went to see Oppenheimer. My friend and I were the only people in the theater on a Tuesday afternoon, so we could make comments. We found it a very enjoyable experience.

>219 benitastrnad: Yep!! :)

We went to Oppenheimer at a new-to-us theater (we had just moved to Vancouver) and found the seats very low to the floor (and I have fairly long legs). The theater was pretty full, the seats were not comfortable (for me at least) and the movie was very long...probably a good movie but not a good experience for me.

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant arrived yesterday and I've made a good start. With luck I may finish it this afternoon :)

>221 RebaRelishesReading: Hurray!

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant****1/2

Thank you to all of you who encouraged me to read this one.

>223 RebaRelishesReading: I'm so happy to see that 4.5-star rating, Reba.

>224 lauralkeet: Happy to make you happy Laura :)

*smile*

>223 RebaRelishesReading: I am glad you enjoyed Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant . I read it a long time ago and I liked it. Enjoy The Book Club for Troublesome Women, Reba. Karen aka Witchy Richty read it lately and created a great review, so that is maybe why it is familiar sounding to you.

>210 RebaRelishesReading: Your review of Afterimage made it sound really good, Reba. I'll have to hunt that down.

>227 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah. I've put The Book Club for Troublesome Women on my Kindle and plan to read it in January.

>228 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg. I was most impressed by it. Hope you like it too. (Come down for lunch and you can borrow mine 🙃)

Brotherless Night by V. V. Ganeshananthan*****

>230 RebaRelishesReading: That was a compelling book.
And I completely reject the comments you made on my thread about being unable to write good reviews. Thumbed!

>231 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura. (You'll note, however, that a good chunk of it was a quote lol)

>230 RebaRelishesReading: I loved that one when I read it! I am so very glad to see that you enjoyed it, Reba!

>233 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. One of many nice things about LT is sharing enthusiasm for great books with friends.

Reba, I am so glad your husband can enjoy reading on his new iPad. I hope he finds some great books to listen to. Maybe nonfiction topics including biographies would appeal to him.

You are lucky that you have a lot of Anne Tyler books in your future. I’ve read most of them and didn’t find a dud in the bunch!
Brotherless Night was on my Top Ten list last year. 👍🏻

>235 Donna828: Hi Donna!

Sadly, so far not much is happening with the new iPad :(. As far as I know he has read a couple of pages of Astoria (in which he had expressed an interest which was part of the reason for buying the iPad) and otherwise not touched it. He has always preferred non-fiction to fiction though....we'll see.

I'll keep Brotherless Night in mind

Have a wonderful weekend, Reba!

Thank you Stasia!!

We had our Covid shots yesterday and my arm started hurting within an hour -- also developed a bit of a headache. I slept for a solid 9 hours last night. My arm is still sore this morning but otherwise I think I'm pretty much over the side-effects.

I spent the afternoon yesterday listening to The Correspondent and loving it. Thank you Laura!!

No plans for today (except reading). Hope you all have a good one.

>238 RebaRelishesReading: You're welcome Reba! BTW, Katie posted that The Correspondent is only $1.99 on Kindle today.

>238 RebaRelishesReading: I too got my Covid shot, and had more of a reaction than usual, a lump on my arm and, in my case, insomnia. Oh well, it feels better now and doesn't interfere with my violin work.

>239 lauralkeet: Yes, I saw that Laura but I have to say I would recommend listening to the audio -- it was exceptionally well done and, I thought, added to the book. It felt so personal with the wonderful voices and the emotions they portrayed.

>240 ffortsa: I woke up with a raging headache this morning but Excedrin took care of that. My arm is still tender to the touch but not yelling at me like it did yesterday. Interestingly, I got an exceptionally good sleep last night. Hubby had no reaction at all 🤷‍♀️. Hope you're over your reaction too by now.

Mrs. Endicott's Splendid Adventure by Rhys Bowen****(audio)