Joe's Ninth Book Cafe of 2025
This is a continuation of the topic Joe's Eighth Book Cafe of 2025.
This topic was continued by Joe's Tenth Book Cafe of 2025.
Talk 75 Books Challenge for 2025
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2jnwelch
January 2025
1. God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A pretty good mystery about two children from the same well-off family who disappeared in the woods about ten years apart. I was a little disappointed after the raves and commercial success. It was fine, but it felt like the set-up of all the pieces went on and on. I did like several of the characters, including young detetective Judyta Luptack, who has to deal with sexism and being underestimated because of her age. I would read another one featuring her.
2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey. A beautifully, poetically written novel centering around six men and women astronauts on an orbiting space station, observing the beauty of our world from high above as they take scrupulous care of their new orbiting home. In the book’s one day they experience sixteen sunrises and sunsets as they hurtle on their path. We get into their daily routine, including hard exercise to maintain some muscle tone in weightlessness, and get glimpses of their lives and loved ones back on earth. What makes this one stand out is how the author draws us in to her rhythmic language and a high altitude perspective on our tiny, vital lives and the spectacular universe we live in. A spacewalk outside the station is transcendingly lovely. My first 5 star read of ‘25.
3. When the Sea Came Alive: an Oral History of D-Day by Garrett Graff.
Much of the D-Day planning was a chess match, as the allies attempted to disguise (sometimes elaborately) their liberation assault on France’s coast, an assault Hitler and his generals knew must be coming.
“The final major secret at the core of Operation OVERLORD was that the Allies didn’t plan to capture or target a key harbor in the opening of the invasion. German officials believed that places like Pas-de-Calais or Cherbourg would be vital early targets of the Allies in order to secure the port facilities.”
As I mentioned along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed this oral history of WWII’s D-Day, including events preceding and after. Graff has skillfully woven together what was said at the time by soldiers, sailors, pilots, civilians, generals, admirals, politicians, the lowest levels and the highest, and media reports. His concise transitional bridges give the essentials without fuss. The result is a great way to arm chair experience one of the most momentous times in our history, and a turning point in WWII.
4. Now or Never by Janet Evanovich. The 31st Stephanie Plum mystery, centering around her pursuit of a killer (who jumped bond) who thinks he’s a vampire. I stopped reading the series for several books but resumed with the one before this one, without having missed much. This one’s predecessor really caught my attention when the eternal love triangle between her, Joe Morelli and the dangerous Rangeractually moved toward resolution, with both of them proposing to her. In this one, she accepts one of the two. .
The plot formula remains much the same, with lots of chuckles with Lula and others, but she introduces a new character, Herbert, who’s infatuated with Stephanie and a loquacious pest. His rambles about his high self worth and desirability, and opinions about nearly everything, are funny and wear well. Debbi and I hope he becomes a continuing character in the series.
5. Brittle Joints by Maria Sweeney. A good GN about the poor author’s highly unusual brittle bone disease about how she painfully negotiates every day, endures ignorant comments, and manages to put together a sustainable life.
6. Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. For readers of this author’s Inheritance Game series, this collection of short pieces is rewarding reading. It includes the prequel novella
The Same Backward as Forward. That novella is one of the highlights of the book, as it winningly explains the relationship between the main character Avery’smother and adoptive father Toby Hawthorne/Harry the homeless man who plays chess with Avery. . The series books give only glimpses of why some things are the way they are, in favor of keeping the plot sleek. These stories fill in many of the blanks, and have their own charm. I particularly enjoyed Avery and Jameson using the streets of Prague as a personal board game. The book, like the series, is filled with puzzles to be solved, with the solutions well-explained. Good book for those enduring cold winter days.
7. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarrows. This is the third in the author’s Fourth Wing series, and as with the first two, she has readers flying through the pages. Her writing is propulsive and wry, rather than poetic.
“To the ones who don’t run with the popular crowd, the ones who get caught reading under their desks, the ones who feel like they never get invited, included, or represented. Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.“
*****
“Oh gods, just stop flirting and fuck already,” Ridoc says. Every head slowly turns in his direction. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” he asks me in a hushed whisper. “Oh yeah, you did,” I reply, patting him on his back. “Garrick’s going to blow you off the mat.” “Now that I might enjoy, depending on the method he chooses—” Ridoc winces. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
****
One again, Violet and her powerful paramour Xaden have to climb on their telepathically-connected dragons to battle the good people gone bad venin, while also pursuing diplomacy with reluctant potential allies.
There are many interesting characters besides those two in this rip-roaring saga, including Theophanie, a storm-wielding Mage hoping to convert lightning-wielding Violet to the venin cause.
There is humor, heartbreak, family drama, romance and more in these effulgent books, and bookish Scribe-wannabe Violet, pressed into leadership, is a character worthy of our commitment. Can’t wait for the next one!
8. Rare Flavours by Ram V. An ifrit (demon) recruits a young filmmaker to accompany him as he visits various eating establishments and talks about the history of the food and its flavor. The young man is thrown into a quandary when he learns that the ifrit includes people in his diet. This unusual premise results in a very fine graphic novel, complete with mouth-watering recipes (recipes for eating people not included). A fun recommendation from brother Mark.
February 2025
9. Halcyon by Ron Rege. An unusual GN, both graphically and in its storytelling. The graphics have been described as “psychedelic”, but that’s not quite right, nor is “swirly-vescent”, which isn’t even a word, for goodness’ sake. (This book forced me to make it up). A boy and a girl (who are intended to be nonbinary) are on a journey that turns out to be spiritual. Following that journey was challenging at times, as there are few words. For a large swatch of it we seem to be in a bizarre videogame. This is an idiosyncratic and distinctive book. Those up for a challenge will experience something different from the more typical GN fare.
10. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. An imagining of the circumstances of the never-explained 11 day disappearance of famous mystery writer Agath Christie. It is quite plausible, focusing in part on the misdeeds of her first husband. A good read for Dame Agatha, with true-to-life nuggets like her learning to surf(!)
11. First Test by Tamora Pierce.* Good graphic adaptation of the story of young Kel, a rare girl in a program full of boys training for knighthood. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her hero Alanna, the Lioness, a female knight and Protector of the Kingdom. We used to read the Alanna books with iur young daughter back in the day, swapping copies around and iscusding the stories. Kel has much of Alanna’s charisma and determination, and in intervening against bullying, manages to organize the bullied into an effective counter to their tormenters. I enjoyed this revisit with Pierce’s storytelling.
12. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. A beaut of a book recommended by brother Mark. Charlotte grew up as an outsider after a childhood of abandonment, but fate brought her to a man who appreciated and deeply loved her differences.
13. Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb. A former member of “the Twelve”, a skilled rebel group during the Urban Wars, feeling mistreated, wants to kill the other members many years later. Dallas and Peabody are after him, although his acquired skills make him slippery. Another good one in this long-running series.
14. Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish.* An affecting story of two lonely women, one a single mom, trying to make their way in a difficult world. One hopes for more from the relationship than the other is initially prepared for. The strongly colored graphics are a plus, with idiosyncratic character depictions.
15. Brittle Joints, a graphic memoir by Maria Sweeney.* The author suffers from a rare combination of two diseases that make her bones extremely fragile and painful. Very much a “count your blessings” and “how in the world does she keep pushing” kind of book for me. In well done art we find out how she negotiates life, continues seeking relief, and finds periods of joy, including finding a patient, caring boyfriend. Well worth the read.
16. Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire.*. An entertaining sci-fi noir GN. Like Mark, I’m a Jeff Lemire fan. He’s known for gritty blue collar graphic stories like Essex County, so this is a departure, although he also did the very good Descender/Ascender sci-fi GN series.
>17 jnwelch:. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. What an excellent and extremely moving book this is. Set in German-occupied France during WWII, it follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabella, as they try to survive the deprivation, cruelty and atrocities. Vianne is determined to protect her daughter and home to which she hopes her captured soldier husband will return; Isabella is determined to somehow strike back against the Germans. By bringing us into their daily lives, Hannah vividly shows us how much we need to count our blessings. It’s a harrowing read, but also extremely rewarding. The treatment of the Jews is the stuff of nightmares. The sheer persistence of the sisters is heroic, and they also manage to help others threatened with death and deportation. This is one of those where I’d give more than 5 stars if I could.
18. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore. This is a pleasant read about a passionate teen romance that left one devastated and the other either dead or far, far away, and an abandoned foursome of siblings being raised by the eldest sister. The characters, including a grumpy old neighbor who goes through a lot of challenges and changes, and a survivalist teacher who’s charming but hiding something, grew on me, and the many book references added to the casual good time.
19. Blurry by Dash Shaw.*. A GN about pretty mundane moments in people’s lives that somehow makes it all interesting. It covers:
A man can’t decide between two dress shirts for a wedding.
A woman questions the style of her new glasses.
A teacher considers quitting teaching.
A figure-drawing model considers quitting modeling.
A man drives into a fog bank and is unsure how to get home.
Maybe its secret sauce is that we can all relate.
March 2025
20. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. A novel by the author of The Midnight Library. Grace Winters has become stuck in mud due to unwarranted guilt over her young son’s bike-riding accident and a brief betrayal of her late husband. Than a small house is left her on the gorgeous island of Ibiza. What she finds there reminded me of my old days of reading Carlos Castaneda. It results in quite an awakening and departure from the mud, as Grace is enlisted in a fight to save the island’s natural beauty from overly aggressive hotel development.
Haig is adept at maintaining the reading momentum. I enjoyed this morality tale that reminds us about how guilt from the past can hobble us, and the pleasures freedom from it can bring.
21. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. A fascinating look at bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder by a clinical psychologist who suffers from it herself. She’s frank about her struggles to lead a productive (and strikingly successful) life, and her foolish mistakes along the way. One was resisting taking her necessary medication. She has another book about the fine line between exceptional creativity and madness (e.g. Van Gogh), called Touched With Fire, which I’ll add to my wishlist.
22. Water, Water by Billy Collins. Another excellent collection from our country’s premier poet (IMO). Some poems are slight and fluffy, but not many. My copy is bristling with post-its for ones I want to revisit. He’s known for his poems’ accessibility, but they often have surprising depth. And he often sends me to Google or the dictionary to better understand what he is referencing. What a gift - He’s one of three people I’d like to be. (Springsteen and Yo- Yo Ma are the other two). (Also Mary Oliver when she was alive).
23. The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman. The third short novella in her Bookstore series. Okay but not as satisfying as the first two.
24. Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty. The eighth Sean Duffy mystery is set in Northern and Southern Ireland, and partially in Scotland where Duffy now lives. What a corker! What appears to be a carjacking turned fatally violent is actually a disguised murder that Duffy and his CID pal Crabbie doggedly pursue. Duffy is a virtuoso at annoying everyone but the reader and his common law wife Beth. His unflagging curiosity and often reckless bravery make for a joyous read, one of the best in the series.
25. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. A pleasant read, but no great shakes. Female members of the Detection Club of mystery writers band together to solve a real life murder: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and the Scarlet Pimpernel author, Baroness Orczy. It’s a fun way to learn a little about each and their lives, and to imagine all of them using their mental prowess to take down a real life murderer. Sayers is the narrator, and we learn more about her than the others. Fans of this era of mystery-writing will have a good time.
26. We Do Not Part by Han Kang. A Nobel Prize winner relating to the effect on three women (mother, daughter, daughter’s friend) of a little known piece of South Korea history - the 1948 massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The U.S. was in charge, and the impetus was fear that Communism was taking root. Carried out by young right wing Koreans, it reminded me of Hitler’s lackeys: ruthless, barbaric, power-mad.
The writing is poetic, the story drifts between dream and reality. The book is worthy of much respect, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. This took me back to the days of homework for class.
27. Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz. The new Orphan X thriller. Orphan X, aka The Nowhere Man, is an omnicompetent former assassin who now helps those who have no other hope. Normally stoic and efficient, the author after several series books is expanding his emotional range, first by pitting him against his one close friend, Tommy Stojack, a bespoke arms manufacturer.
What to do when a close longtime friend crosses the line by helping a dangerous villain? In X’s world, do you have to kill him? X even helps his 17 year old hacker assistant Joey with her social problems, just because she means enough to him.
There’s still plenty of bang bang gunplay, with the latest gun tech, and plenty of close hand to hand combat, with both X and Tommy accommodating a long list of past injuries. Perhaps the best part for me is the insider’s view of a small gang of racist young Maga types, who, as a sarcastic sister says, are busy trying to protecting white ethnocentricity from the couch while unemployed. One of the Magas is a friend’s son who Tommy is trying to help while skirmishing with X. He and X try to figure out a just result while figuring out whether one of them has to die.
28. The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry edited by Stephen Mitchell.i
29. Firebugs by Nino Bulling.*. A well done graphic novel about a queer woman, thinking about transitioning to a man, and her girlfriend, and how their relationship evolves. I liked the loose, flowing artwork.
30. The Women by Kristin Hannah.
April 2025
31. Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. Well done historical novel by the author of The Paris Library. American Heiress Anne Morgan is determined to help France recover after the first World War, and building libraries in the bombed out north, and training librarians are featured in her plan. She enlists the help of young Jessie Carson fron the NYPL, who quickly matures into a force, transforming France’s library system.
The old system, run by men, ignored children and reflected the belief that the upper class and working class read different books and would not mingle. Carson overcame much resistance in creating children’s sections and open stacks, and training students in American library principles. The book brings to life a neglected historical figure, along with Morgan and others. A pleasant read that reminded me of the author Marie Benedict.
32. Time of the Child by Niall Williams. A very Irish tale, set in the author’s fictional coastal town of Faha, last visited in his This is Happiness. Ther are two prominent story threads: the local church’s beloved Canon is descending into dementia, and a baby is abandoned by the church gate. What to do?
The baby is brought to the town doctor and his daughter, who fall in love with it but know they normallly wouldn’t be allowed to keep her. At the same time, the Church’s young curate is pressing the doctor to sign off on institutionalizing the Canon, which the doctor resists. The storytelling is like gently running water, with regular glimpses of shining wisdom gems. Very soothing on a cold spring day. The resolution makes sense and fits Faha. This author has the gift of the gab, and a lot of insights into Faha’s inhabitants which both entertain and have application in the wider world.
33. Midnight Black by Mark Greaney. A solid new thriller featuring the Gray Man trying to break his sweetheart Zoya, also a skilled agent, out of a Russian prison. Even getting into Russia undetected is near-impossible, and freeing her on his own probably a suicide mission. Luckily he picks up some help along the wayincluding from Russian resistance fighters hoping to impede and to some day topple the Putin-like Russian leader and to help the Ukrainians in the ongoing war with Russia . The first half struck me as overly detailed in its setup, but the action-packed second half made up for it.
34. Diviners Bow by Sharon Lee. A welcome new entry in the long-running Liaden Universe series. Shan yos Galan and his daughter heir Padi are on the long-isolated planet Colomeny, hoping to turn it into a thriving trade post. The planet’s inhabitants seem in favor, but someone is pulling dirty tricks to obstruct. Meanwhile the planet’s power-affecting ambient Ribbons have to be dealt with as they cause diverse, sometimes dangerous effects. As always I enjoyed the relationships and problem-solving. The series always features kindness and caring, and interesting characters. Here, many new characters are introduced which,at times, were a challenge to remember and place. Another good adventure with Clan Korval. Can’t wait for the next one.
35. Battle Mountain by C.J.Box. The newest Joe Pickett thriller. Another solid outing. Villain Axel Soledad is up to his old tricks, having recruited a small army and hoping to take down a bunch of mucky-mucks gathered for a party/convention on the titular mountain. Nate Romanowski and Geronimo Jones team up to thwart him and get revenge for soledad’s attacks on their families. Joe gets involved, at the request of Governor Rulon, trying to track down someone kidnapped by Soledad. It all plays out satisfactorily in darkness and confusion on the mountain.
36. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. She can’t write a bad book (knock on wood) but I didn’t need the extra effort to create story twists in this one.
37. Murder in Mercy by Anne Cleeland. Kathleen Doyle grew up poor in Ireland and then joined the London police force. Inspector Acton there, of noble descent, became infatuated with her and rushed her into marriage. She has a very useful talent: she can tell when people are telling the truth. ( she’s part fae). She’s religious-minded and Acton is willing to sin in order to bring about justice or add to the family fortune, so she is constantly trying to get him to mend his ways. Their family keeps growing while Kathleen sorts out crimes and keeps after Acton. These are quite the joyful comfort reads if you’re a mystery buff.
This one involves murder and art theft, and i was a little disappointed that one major thread wasn’t resolved. The good news is she’s publishing two of these a year (!) and the next one that will resolve it isout in the fall. The first one is Murder in Thrall.
May 2025
38. Basho’s Haiku translated by David Landis Barnhill. His wonderful, spare poems. He was dedicated to experiencing the moment in his journeying, and capturing them in his brief poems. It does make me think of Impressionist painting. One thing I like about this translator’s translations is he includes Basho’s brief journal entries/intros to the poems, which have a charm of their own and give context.
39. Naked City by Eric Drooker.* An exceptionally well-drawn graphic novel tracing Isabel’s journey into New york city, hoping to make it as a singer/songwriter. To make rent money she poses as a nude model for a talented painter while also busking. She gets to know the underside of the city, and befriends a street dancer who inspires her to persist with her music. A big quiet window cleaner recognizes her and saves her one night in the subway. They will meet again. She gains a fan base, but sometimes longs for simpler times. Reminds me a bit of Brian Wood’s Local and his NYC books, but with less grit and less detailed storytelling.
40. Necessary Stranger by Graham Foust. His poems. Meh. A mentor for my poet-goddaughter. I hoped to like it more.
41. The Full Moon Bookshop by Mia Mochizuki. Too fluffy for me. A disappearing coffee shop, 6 foot tall talking cats, and lots of astrology.
42. The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. A well done fantasy involving several animal-based clans (e.g., Bears, Ravens, Tigers) vying for power as the emperor following tradition retires.
43. Haruki Murakami Manga Stories, third volume. This one has two excellent stories, Scheherazade and Sleep. As a consequence, i liked it more than its predecessors. While enjoying reading his weird stories in comic book style, i wish the visual art was more realistic. Part of the fun with his novels and stories is the contrast of the weird happenings with the deadpan, straightforward narrative. Something similar could be done visually: here is a realistic, straightforward visual depiction, but wow is this story taking some strange turns.
44. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. A very well-done fantasy.
June 2025
45. The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose. Loved it. A great time with Molly the Maid and her paramour Juan, and the now familiar cast, including molly-fan and hotel manager Mr. Snow, selfish and off-putting Cheryl, Molly’s lovely Gran, the doorman Mr. Peterman, and many others, including Detective Stark.
46. Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin. A fun but formulaic romance in which a bookstore owner by inheritance learns to love books, and also to love the handsome as all get out author of one of them.
47. Relentless by Mark Greaney. Another good Gray Man thriller.
48. Generosity by Richard Powers. A young woman, Thassadit A, has survived Algeria’s civil war, and is infectiously brimming with enthusiasm and joy. She quickly becomes the star of her university writing group, and soon begins to attract interest outside of it. As it becomes clear that her happiness is genetically-based, the scrum begins to control her and to develop and market the gene. As usual, his researching skills enable the author to give a convincing portrayal of gene editing and the competitive battle. The descent into reality tv and one-upping social media posts, while well done, depleted my reading enthusiasm and left me missing the book that might have been: Thassdit as a celebrity happiness guru and how our current world might handle that, kind of a 2025 Brave New World. Oh well. It was still good and thought-provoking.
49. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey. An interesting romance.
50. This Beautiful, Ridiculous City by Kay Sohini. A pretty good, four star graphic memoir. The author grew up in India, entered an abusive relationship, ad left it and India behind by moving to NYC. It was a perfect healer, and the last half of the book abounds with her love of it. Pretty good art: realistic.
51. Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood. A new romance by an author I’ve enjoyed. Hazelwood uses STEM characters and this time it’s a young Biotech star Maya who’s in love with Conor, her brother’s 15 years older than her friend. The average difference has Conor convinced that they cannot be together, that it would unacceptably damage Maya’s life. They’re thrown together at a Sicily wedding and hilarity and heat ensue.
52.King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby.His darkest one yet - and quite possibly his best. The disappearance years ago of their mother traumatized the three Carruthers siblings, Roman, Dante and Nevilah, as well as their father. The sibs have grown up, but remain traumatized. Nevilajh runs the crematorium business for her father, but has no personal life besides some shabby sex with a married cop; Fante lives from drug to drug (and alcohol), trying to escape his emotional misery. Roman is a successful investment advisor, but has to deal with his anxiety byregularly visiting a dominatrix who shames him.
When Dante miscalculates on a drug deal, Roman has to come save him from some local gangsters.He uses his investment savvy to grow closer to the head gangsters, with a plan/hope to eventually turn the tables on them. The plotting has a gritty realism that has the reader rooting for Roman, even as the bodies pile up. The ending has surprising poetic resonance.
53. Somadina by Akwaeke Emizi. A magical fantasy set in West Africa. Somadina and her twin brother are becoming teens and their powers are beginning to appear. Because the twinning makes those powers even more valuable, a dark fellowkidnaps her brother and plans to entrap her when she tries to rescue him. . The plot was a little too predictable, unfortunately. It's a YA, so maybe the younger readers will forgive that.
54. Decagon House Murder by Yukito Ayatsuji. Japanese mystery that's an homage to the golden era of mystery writing with Agatha Christie and others. Fun!
July 2025
55. Mrs. Porter Calling by AJ Pearce. The third of four charming Emmy Lake novels, with the 4th coming out soon. Emmy is the advice columnist for a Women's magazine in London during WWII. Jaunty and charming, with an endearing cast of characters. The constant presence of the war, with loved ones' lives threatened, adds poignancy and significance to all they do.
56. Mae: The Definitive Edition by Gene Ha.*. A large, full color volume of Ha’s stories about sisters Mae and Abbie. Abbie finds a portal to a different planet where fantasy reigns: monsters, unusual creatures small and large, greedy, scheming nobility and sometimes villainous scientists. Abbie becomes the hero Ani there, showing impressive warrior skills accompanied by sarcastic banter. Mae shares her gift for sarcasm and, it turns out, at least some of her warrior skills. Their father has disappeared onto the planet and Mae joins Abbie’s search for him.
Nothing particularly novel here, buy the storyline and banter are fun, and the colorful artwork is engaging. The author knows how to “draw anything” and gives some tips on that in the book’s after-material.
57. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the NBCC Award - but by the end ogf the book I still hadn’t figured out why.
The novel weaves together the stories of at lesst a dozen characters, with all of them having ties to record producer Bennie and his assistant Sasha. The general theme is the ways in which time alters youthful dreams, yearnings and aspirations. There is a lot of ill-timed and ill-fated love, along with some happy couplings. Accomplishments vary. In an interview, Egan explained that "time is the stealth goon, the one you ignore because you are so busy worrying about the goons right in front of you."
My guess is the smooth skill of the interweaving of so many life stories led to the prize-winning. The book did successfully make me think about the webs of connection we all have, maybe to some extent unknowingly, and how small moments can determine how it all sorts out. This panoramic vision of how we live now doubt also contributed to yhre book’s prestigious prize recognition.
The book’s structure was considered experimental at the time. I did enjoy the Powerpoint chapter presented as a schoolgirl’s journal. . But otherwise the structure didn’t seem all that experimental. There’s a lot of switching back and forth in time. Time-switching happens in a lot of books. Here, the quantity of the characters and the smooth intricacy of connecting their stories while also time-jumping must’ve impressed the prize judges.
58. Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi. Pretty good noir fantasy. a private detective in a western African town has a bleeding woman stumble into his office, asking to be hidden. Later he sees her floating in the air, dead and artistically displayed. Pushing to uncover her story leads him deeper and deeper into a high-up conspiracy, calling his old friendships into question and endangering his life. I have to admit that I loved the premise but was hoping for better delivery from this highly regarde, award-winning author.
59. Bodies by Si Spencer. Apparently his graphic novel already was adopted by Netlix. Jack the Ripper-type murders in 1890, 1940 and 2014 with a bizarre supernatural "long harvest" background. I appreciated the ambitiousness of the story and wanted to like the book more, but it was often disjointed and difficult to follow.
59. Proust’s Overcoat by Lorenza
60. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.
61. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.
62. My Mindful Walk with Grandma by Sheri Mabry, The Treasure Box by Dave Keane,
August 2025
63.The Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I enjoyed the heck out of this one, which once again features a book within a book. Sue Ryeland is the editor of a continuation of the Alan Conway mystery series that almost got her killed in the last Horowitz book. Detective Atticus Pund is hot on the killer’s trail in the continuation, which once again has eerie parallels to what is happening in Sue’s RL, along with a hidden agenda and clues to a real life murder. Sue becomes a murder suspect, and has to work with the Inspector pursuing her to clear her name. The resolutions in both books make sense, and this is a very successful two-fer.
64 Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra jackson- Oputu. Savvy runs a soul food restaurant on Chicago’s South Side whose food sounds delectable (recipes at the back of the book). A patron dies, and her instincts tell her something is wrong. While she is exlporing how might have murdered him, someone else dies under similar circumstances. A lot of tbe fun is the interactions of this black community, as some try to help Savvy find the truth, and some try to stymie her. Not a traditional cozy, but it did win an award for best debut traditional mystery.
65. Bringing the Beach Home by Laura Atkins, illustrated nicely by Evgenia Penman. This ARC was accompanied by a lovely note from Kaitlyn Lutes at the publisher, which says in part, “We hope you enjoy this tender story of love, memory and family that helps children explore the emotions and changes that come with aging family members while celebrating the traditions that keep us connected across generations.” As you’ll see, the aging family members and celebrating traditions parts didn’t stick out for me. But if they’re also there, all the better.
Rowan appears to be an 8 or 9 year old child of divorce. We can tell from the first illustration that the mother and father parent well together. It’s Friday, Rowan’s day with his father, and his father has a surprise. Unfortunately, it involves a long drive and Rowan has grown to hate long drives. So by the time they get to the beach, he hates it, too. The father, I’m glad to say, stays chill and just does little things to help Rowan enjoy the experience.
The spell of the beautiful beach starts to sink in, and Rowan has such a wonderful time that he doesn’t want to go home (of course!). The father suggests one last satisfying activity, and then Rowan wishes that they could somehow bring the beach home. They gather some of the pretty things they’ve found at the beach, and on the way home Rowan has an inspiration. He races into his Dad’s house on fire with his idea, and together they mak a lovely reminder of the beach.
I really liked this one, and think all sorts of kids would enjoy it. For those with still married parents, it’s a chance to get a positive glimpse of the life of a child whose parents divorced. For a child of divorce, it’s a chance to see parents working well together and that happiness and lovely experiences remain possible. For parents, it’s a reminder of the rewards of staying chill and not getting annoyed (tempting as it may be), and how transcendent a love-filled day with your child can be.
66. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together is an exceptionally well done 482 page graphic memoir. It’s the life of successful gay illustrator Maurice Veelekoop. The illustrations are very high quality, and he keeps the reader quickly turning the pages as his story develops. Much of it revolves around his struggles with his homosexuality and his desire to find a partner he can love. As a heterosexual, it was a bit weird to read about, and witness, his yearnings for male sex and male love. But as someone must’ve said, sex is sex and love is love. And Vellekoop is a beguiling storyteller, honest to a fault about his shortcomings, and the sometimes absurd human frailty in his relationships. With the help of a skilled therapist, he’s able to sort through it all and bring his boat into harbor.
67. It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei.*. An excellent graphic memoir from the author of They Called Us Enemy.
68. People Like Us by Jason Mott. What an exciting author! I immediately segued to his Hell of a Book. Needs a review from the cafe owner.
69. Motherlover by Lyndsay Ishihiri.*. Delightful GN about ace housewife Imogen, mother of four, and her lesbian neighbor Alex, who has a daughter. Imogen’s awful husband uses her to make his life easy while he cheats on her. Imogen and Alex become close supportive friends and when Imogen learns of the cheating, neighbor Alex takes her and the children in. Will their close friendship become something more? Read it and find out. Excellent colorful illustrations.
September 2025
70. Life Drawing by Jaime Hernandez.*. A good, chatty, sarcastic one by the author, with his brother Gabriel, of Love and Rockets stories. This one centers around knockout Vivi and her plainer sister Tonta, as both pursue and find romance.
71. Hell of a Book by Jason Mott. The NBA winner. What an exciting writer! Five Stars. Needs a review by the cafe owner.
72. Framed in Death by J.D.Robb. The author continues to amaze as she delivers another engrossing police procedural/thriller as tough-as-nails Lieutenant Eve Dallas goes after an artist-wannabe serial killer who poses his victims.I only wish readers were invited to the celebration of a job well done barbecue at the Dallas-Roarke NYC mansion.
73. More Perfect Than the Moon by Patricia Maclachlan. A well-told tale of how youngest child Cassie is at times frightened by Sarah’s pregnancy, and initially resents the idea of a new sibling. Told as always by this author with emotional insight and economy of language. The whole family helps Cassie, especially Grandpa.
74. Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by CB Lee. Comments in the last cafe..
75. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rejulak. Comments in the last cafe.
76. Raven Boys* by Maggie Stievwater. A YA bestseller that didn’t move the like meter at all for me.
77. Gray Dawn by Walter Mosley. Maybe my favorite Easy Rawlins mystery yet. Full of wisdom and great writing, as Easy’s early life circles back to him and his found family grows. More in the last cafe’s review.
October 2025
78. Song of a Blackbird by Marie Lieshout.*. An excellent GN about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. My impression is that we don’t often think of the Dutch experience with the Nazis, even though Anne Frank was in Amsterdam. This was enlightening and well done.
79. Katabasis by RL Kuang. This highly intelligent author takes us on a Dante-esque tour of the Underworld, as Cambridge graduate students Alice and Peter try to retrieve their influential faculty mentor to help their careers. The many mythological references had me calling up Google a lot. The plot was more straightforward than her mind-stretching novel Babel, and that was welcome.
80. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. A female android companion bot has been upgraded to have higher intelligence and more independent thinking. Her owner is kind but possessive and obsessed with privacy. After his friend talks her into sex, she regrets it, and keeping that secret causes her to think more and more independently, to the point where she can function on her own if she wishes. A very fun book that i ate up in a day. Reminded me of the movie Ex Machina, in which a darker androd developed independent thinking.
81. No One Slept* by Rafael Sica and Hey, Wall* by Susn Verde. In the first a large extended family live in a house, but cannot sleep because of a ghost that likes to scare them in the middle of the night. Little Kooky, a little girl in the house, has a good book. When she reads it out loud, everyone falls asleep and the ghost gives up. A very simple and sweet book, with fetching black and white drawings.
in Hey, Wall, a young boy notices that a once-beautiful block long wall has become cold, old and empty. He’s inspired to change that, and with his friends draws up what it could look like. The whole neighborhood gets together to paint a colorful mural on the wall with lots of people and kids and a mailman and an ice cream truck. The book is cheerful and engaging, with lively colors and characters. Fun for little artists.
82. The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith.
83. Murder in All Patience by Anne Cleeland.
84, The Trial of John Garrity by Milton Bass.
85. Mugshots by Jordan Thomas.
November 2025
86. Merlin’s Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson
87. Honoria by Janice Shapiro.*. Very well done graphic novel in which 9 year old Ida is sent to France to stay with her parents’ friends while her parents work on salvaging their marriage. Their friends had recently lost their son to a contagious disease, and his sister Honoria, whilo is Ida’s age, is sad and snippy and often unkind to poor Ida, who is an admirable little girl. The villa where they live is beautiful, with a private ocean beach, and fascinating guests come to stay for a while, like Picasso, Hemingway and Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Ida and Honoria gradually grow closer and the story moves along well. I’m not sure who the audience for this one is. Its length, 342 pages, was a bit much for me with the characters’ ages. A good reader clder to their ages might well love it.
88. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. An exceptionally engaging book about female astronauts at the beginning of NASA’s space shuttle program. The relationships that develop are compelling.
89. Startlement: New and Selected Poems by Ada Limon. A terrific collection by my favorite living poet.
90. Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree.
91. Civilized Behavior by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
92. Silver and Lead by Sean McGuire. A new October Daye fantasy. It has the elements and characters I enjoy, But I felt that it was too discursive. A lot of the discursions were funny and gave helpful backgound, but for me there were too many of them; overal they detracted from the story's momentum.
December 2025
93. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. The newest Thursday Murder Club mystery. Its strengths are its humor and charming characters, and its core mystery is serviceable. I did appreciate the practical solution for a particularly loathsome abusive villain.
*Signifies a graphic or illustrated book
1. God of the Woods by Liz Moore. A pretty good mystery about two children from the same well-off family who disappeared in the woods about ten years apart. I was a little disappointed after the raves and commercial success. It was fine, but it felt like the set-up of all the pieces went on and on. I did like several of the characters, including young detetective Judyta Luptack, who has to deal with sexism and being underestimated because of her age. I would read another one featuring her.
2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey. A beautifully, poetically written novel centering around six men and women astronauts on an orbiting space station, observing the beauty of our world from high above as they take scrupulous care of their new orbiting home. In the book’s one day they experience sixteen sunrises and sunsets as they hurtle on their path. We get into their daily routine, including hard exercise to maintain some muscle tone in weightlessness, and get glimpses of their lives and loved ones back on earth. What makes this one stand out is how the author draws us in to her rhythmic language and a high altitude perspective on our tiny, vital lives and the spectacular universe we live in. A spacewalk outside the station is transcendingly lovely. My first 5 star read of ‘25.
3. When the Sea Came Alive: an Oral History of D-Day by Garrett Graff.
Much of the D-Day planning was a chess match, as the allies attempted to disguise (sometimes elaborately) their liberation assault on France’s coast, an assault Hitler and his generals knew must be coming.
“The final major secret at the core of Operation OVERLORD was that the Allies didn’t plan to capture or target a key harbor in the opening of the invasion. German officials believed that places like Pas-de-Calais or Cherbourg would be vital early targets of the Allies in order to secure the port facilities.”
As I mentioned along the way, I thoroughly enjoyed this oral history of WWII’s D-Day, including events preceding and after. Graff has skillfully woven together what was said at the time by soldiers, sailors, pilots, civilians, generals, admirals, politicians, the lowest levels and the highest, and media reports. His concise transitional bridges give the essentials without fuss. The result is a great way to arm chair experience one of the most momentous times in our history, and a turning point in WWII.
4. Now or Never by Janet Evanovich. The 31st Stephanie Plum mystery, centering around her pursuit of a killer (who jumped bond) who thinks he’s a vampire. I stopped reading the series for several books but resumed with the one before this one, without having missed much. This one’s predecessor really caught my attention when the eternal love triangle between her, Joe Morelli and the dangerous Ranger
The plot formula remains much the same, with lots of chuckles with Lula and others, but she introduces a new character, Herbert, who’s infatuated with Stephanie and a loquacious pest. His rambles about his high self worth and desirability, and opinions about nearly everything, are funny and wear well. Debbi and I hope he becomes a continuing character in the series.
5. Brittle Joints by Maria Sweeney. A good GN about the poor author’s highly unusual brittle bone disease about how she painfully negotiates every day, endures ignorant comments, and manages to put together a sustainable life.
6. Games Untold by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. For readers of this author’s Inheritance Game series, this collection of short pieces is rewarding reading. It includes the prequel novella
The Same Backward as Forward. That novella is one of the highlights of the book, as it winningly explains the relationship between the main character Avery’s
7. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarrows. This is the third in the author’s Fourth Wing series, and as with the first two, she has readers flying through the pages. Her writing is propulsive and wry, rather than poetic.
“To the ones who don’t run with the popular crowd, the ones who get caught reading under their desks, the ones who feel like they never get invited, included, or represented. Get your leathers. We have dragons to ride.“
*****
“Oh gods, just stop flirting and fuck already,” Ridoc says. Every head slowly turns in his direction. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?” he asks me in a hushed whisper. “Oh yeah, you did,” I reply, patting him on his back. “Garrick’s going to blow you off the mat.” “Now that I might enjoy, depending on the method he chooses—” Ridoc winces. “I’m going to stop talking now.”
****
One again, Violet and her powerful paramour Xaden have to climb on their telepathically-connected dragons to battle the good people gone bad venin, while also pursuing diplomacy with reluctant potential allies.
There are many interesting characters besides those two in this rip-roaring saga, including Theophanie, a storm-wielding Mage hoping to convert lightning-wielding Violet to the venin cause.
There is humor, heartbreak, family drama, romance and more in these effulgent books, and bookish Scribe-wannabe Violet, pressed into leadership, is a character worthy of our commitment. Can’t wait for the next one!
8. Rare Flavours by Ram V. An ifrit (demon) recruits a young filmmaker to accompany him as he visits various eating establishments and talks about the history of the food and its flavor. The young man is thrown into a quandary when he learns that the ifrit includes people in his diet. This unusual premise results in a very fine graphic novel, complete with mouth-watering recipes (recipes for eating people not included). A fun recommendation from brother Mark.
February 2025
9. Halcyon by Ron Rege. An unusual GN, both graphically and in its storytelling. The graphics have been described as “psychedelic”, but that’s not quite right, nor is “swirly-vescent”, which isn’t even a word, for goodness’ sake. (This book forced me to make it up). A boy and a girl (who are intended to be nonbinary) are on a journey that turns out to be spiritual. Following that journey was challenging at times, as there are few words. For a large swatch of it we seem to be in a bizarre videogame. This is an idiosyncratic and distinctive book. Those up for a challenge will experience something different from the more typical GN fare.
10. The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. An imagining of the circumstances of the never-explained 11 day disappearance of famous mystery writer Agath Christie. It is quite plausible, focusing in part on the misdeeds of her first husband. A good read for Dame Agatha, with true-to-life nuggets like her learning to surf(!)
11. First Test by Tamora Pierce.* Good graphic adaptation of the story of young Kel, a rare girl in a program full of boys training for knighthood. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her hero Alanna, the Lioness, a female knight and Protector of the Kingdom. We used to read the Alanna books with iur young daughter back in the day, swapping copies around and iscusding the stories. Kel has much of Alanna’s charisma and determination, and in intervening against bullying, manages to organize the bullied into an effective counter to their tormenters. I enjoyed this revisit with Pierce’s storytelling.
12. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy. A beaut of a book recommended by brother Mark. Charlotte grew up as an outsider after a childhood of abandonment, but fate brought her to a man who appreciated and deeply loved her differences.
13. Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb. A former member of “the Twelve”, a skilled rebel group during the Urban Wars, feeling mistreated, wants to kill the other members many years later. Dallas and Peabody are after him, although his acquired skills make him slippery. Another good one in this long-running series.
14. Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish.* An affecting story of two lonely women, one a single mom, trying to make their way in a difficult world. One hopes for more from the relationship than the other is initially prepared for. The strongly colored graphics are a plus, with idiosyncratic character depictions.
15. Brittle Joints, a graphic memoir by Maria Sweeney.* The author suffers from a rare combination of two diseases that make her bones extremely fragile and painful. Very much a “count your blessings” and “how in the world does she keep pushing” kind of book for me. In well done art we find out how she negotiates life, continues seeking relief, and finds periods of joy, including finding a patient, caring boyfriend. Well worth the read.
16. Cosmic Detective by Jeff Lemire.*. An entertaining sci-fi noir GN. Like Mark, I’m a Jeff Lemire fan. He’s known for gritty blue collar graphic stories like Essex County, so this is a departure, although he also did the very good Descender/Ascender sci-fi GN series.
>17 jnwelch:. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. What an excellent and extremely moving book this is. Set in German-occupied France during WWII, it follows two sisters, Vianne and Isabella, as they try to survive the deprivation, cruelty and atrocities. Vianne is determined to protect her daughter and home to which she hopes her captured soldier husband will return; Isabella is determined to somehow strike back against the Germans. By bringing us into their daily lives, Hannah vividly shows us how much we need to count our blessings. It’s a harrowing read, but also extremely rewarding. The treatment of the Jews is the stuff of nightmares. The sheer persistence of the sisters is heroic, and they also manage to help others threatened with death and deportation. This is one of those where I’d give more than 5 stars if I could.
18. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore. This is a pleasant read about a passionate teen romance that left one devastated and the other either dead or far, far away, and an abandoned foursome of siblings being raised by the eldest sister. The characters, including a grumpy old neighbor who goes through a lot of challenges and changes, and a survivalist teacher who’s charming but hiding something, grew on me, and the many book references added to the casual good time.
19. Blurry by Dash Shaw.*. A GN about pretty mundane moments in people’s lives that somehow makes it all interesting. It covers:
A man can’t decide between two dress shirts for a wedding.
A woman questions the style of her new glasses.
A teacher considers quitting teaching.
A figure-drawing model considers quitting modeling.
A man drives into a fog bank and is unsure how to get home.
Maybe its secret sauce is that we can all relate.
March 2025
20. The Life Impossible by Matt Haig. A novel by the author of The Midnight Library. Grace Winters has become stuck in mud due to unwarranted guilt over her young son’s bike-riding accident and a brief betrayal of her late husband. Than a small house is left her on the gorgeous island of Ibiza. What she finds there reminded me of my old days of reading Carlos Castaneda. It results in quite an awakening and departure from the mud, as Grace is enlisted in a fight to save the island’s natural beauty from overly aggressive hotel development.
Haig is adept at maintaining the reading momentum. I enjoyed this morality tale that reminds us about how guilt from the past can hobble us, and the pleasures freedom from it can bring.
21. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. A fascinating look at bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder by a clinical psychologist who suffers from it herself. She’s frank about her struggles to lead a productive (and strikingly successful) life, and her foolish mistakes along the way. One was resisting taking her necessary medication. She has another book about the fine line between exceptional creativity and madness (e.g. Van Gogh), called Touched With Fire, which I’ll add to my wishlist.
22. Water, Water by Billy Collins. Another excellent collection from our country’s premier poet (IMO). Some poems are slight and fluffy, but not many. My copy is bristling with post-its for ones I want to revisit. He’s known for his poems’ accessibility, but they often have surprising depth. And he often sends me to Google or the dictionary to better understand what he is referencing. What a gift - He’s one of three people I’d like to be. (Springsteen and Yo- Yo Ma are the other two). (Also Mary Oliver when she was alive).
23. The Bookstore Family by Alice Hoffman. The third short novella in her Bookstore series. Okay but not as satisfying as the first two.
24. Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty. The eighth Sean Duffy mystery is set in Northern and Southern Ireland, and partially in Scotland where Duffy now lives. What a corker! What appears to be a carjacking turned fatally violent is actually a disguised murder that Duffy and his CID pal Crabbie doggedly pursue. Duffy is a virtuoso at annoying everyone but the reader and his common law wife Beth. His unflagging curiosity and often reckless bravery make for a joyous read, one of the best in the series.
25. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict. A pleasant read, but no great shakes. Female members of the Detection Club of mystery writers band together to solve a real life murder: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and the Scarlet Pimpernel author, Baroness Orczy. It’s a fun way to learn a little about each and their lives, and to imagine all of them using their mental prowess to take down a real life murderer. Sayers is the narrator, and we learn more about her than the others. Fans of this era of mystery-writing will have a good time.
26. We Do Not Part by Han Kang. A Nobel Prize winner relating to the effect on three women (mother, daughter, daughter’s friend) of a little known piece of South Korea history - the 1948 massacre of hundreds of thousands of civilians. The U.S. was in charge, and the impetus was fear that Communism was taking root. Carried out by young right wing Koreans, it reminded me of Hitler’s lackeys: ruthless, barbaric, power-mad.
The writing is poetic, the story drifts between dream and reality. The book is worthy of much respect, but I can’t say I enjoyed reading it. This took me back to the days of homework for class.
27. Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz. The new Orphan X thriller. Orphan X, aka The Nowhere Man, is an omnicompetent former assassin who now helps those who have no other hope. Normally stoic and efficient, the author after several series books is expanding his emotional range, first by pitting him against his one close friend, Tommy Stojack, a bespoke arms manufacturer.
What to do when a close longtime friend crosses the line by helping a dangerous villain? In X’s world, do you have to kill him? X even helps his 17 year old hacker assistant Joey with her social problems, just because she means enough to him.
There’s still plenty of bang bang gunplay, with the latest gun tech, and plenty of close hand to hand combat, with both X and Tommy accommodating a long list of past injuries. Perhaps the best part for me is the insider’s view of a small gang of racist young Maga types, who, as a sarcastic sister says, are busy trying to protecting white ethnocentricity from the couch while unemployed. One of the Magas is a friend’s son who Tommy is trying to help while skirmishing with X. He and X try to figure out a just result while figuring out whether one of them has to die.
28. The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry edited by Stephen Mitchell.i
29. Firebugs by Nino Bulling.*. A well done graphic novel about a queer woman, thinking about transitioning to a man, and her girlfriend, and how their relationship evolves. I liked the loose, flowing artwork.
30. The Women by Kristin Hannah.
April 2025
31. Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles. Well done historical novel by the author of The Paris Library. American Heiress Anne Morgan is determined to help France recover after the first World War, and building libraries in the bombed out north, and training librarians are featured in her plan. She enlists the help of young Jessie Carson fron the NYPL, who quickly matures into a force, transforming France’s library system.
The old system, run by men, ignored children and reflected the belief that the upper class and working class read different books and would not mingle. Carson overcame much resistance in creating children’s sections and open stacks, and training students in American library principles. The book brings to life a neglected historical figure, along with Morgan and others. A pleasant read that reminded me of the author Marie Benedict.
32. Time of the Child by Niall Williams. A very Irish tale, set in the author’s fictional coastal town of Faha, last visited in his This is Happiness. Ther are two prominent story threads: the local church’s beloved Canon is descending into dementia, and a baby is abandoned by the church gate. What to do?
The baby is brought to the town doctor and his daughter, who fall in love with it but know they normallly wouldn’t be allowed to keep her. At the same time, the Church’s young curate is pressing the doctor to sign off on institutionalizing the Canon, which the doctor resists. The storytelling is like gently running water, with regular glimpses of shining wisdom gems. Very soothing on a cold spring day. The resolution makes sense and fits Faha. This author has the gift of the gab, and a lot of insights into Faha’s inhabitants which both entertain and have application in the wider world.
33. Midnight Black by Mark Greaney. A solid new thriller featuring the Gray Man trying to break his sweetheart Zoya, also a skilled agent, out of a Russian prison. Even getting into Russia undetected is near-impossible, and freeing her on his own probably a suicide mission. Luckily he picks up some help along the way
34. Diviners Bow by Sharon Lee. A welcome new entry in the long-running Liaden Universe series. Shan yos Galan and his daughter heir Padi are on the long-isolated planet Colomeny, hoping to turn it into a thriving trade post. The planet’s inhabitants seem in favor, but someone is pulling dirty tricks to obstruct. Meanwhile the planet’s power-affecting ambient Ribbons have to be dealt with as they cause diverse, sometimes dangerous effects. As always I enjoyed the relationships and problem-solving. The series always features kindness and caring, and interesting characters. Here, many new characters are introduced which,at times, were a challenge to remember and place. Another good adventure with Clan Korval. Can’t wait for the next one.
35. Battle Mountain by C.J.Box. The newest Joe Pickett thriller. Another solid outing. Villain Axel Soledad is up to his old tricks, having recruited a small army and hoping to take down a bunch of mucky-mucks gathered for a party/convention on the titular mountain. Nate Romanowski and Geronimo Jones team up to thwart him and get revenge for soledad’s attacks on their families. Joe gets involved, at the request of Governor Rulon, trying to track down someone kidnapped by Soledad. It all plays out satisfactorily in darkness and confusion on the mountain.
36. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. She can’t write a bad book (knock on wood) but I didn’t need the extra effort to create story twists in this one.
37. Murder in Mercy by Anne Cleeland. Kathleen Doyle grew up poor in Ireland and then joined the London police force. Inspector Acton there, of noble descent, became infatuated with her and rushed her into marriage. She has a very useful talent: she can tell when people are telling the truth. ( she’s part fae). She’s religious-minded and Acton is willing to sin in order to bring about justice or add to the family fortune, so she is constantly trying to get him to mend his ways. Their family keeps growing while Kathleen sorts out crimes and keeps after Acton. These are quite the joyful comfort reads if you’re a mystery buff.
This one involves murder and art theft, and i was a little disappointed that one major thread wasn’t resolved. The good news is she’s publishing two of these a year (!) and the next one that will resolve it isout in the fall. The first one is Murder in Thrall.
May 2025
38. Basho’s Haiku translated by David Landis Barnhill. His wonderful, spare poems. He was dedicated to experiencing the moment in his journeying, and capturing them in his brief poems. It does make me think of Impressionist painting. One thing I like about this translator’s translations is he includes Basho’s brief journal entries/intros to the poems, which have a charm of their own and give context.
39. Naked City by Eric Drooker.* An exceptionally well-drawn graphic novel tracing Isabel’s journey into New york city, hoping to make it as a singer/songwriter. To make rent money she poses as a nude model for a talented painter while also busking. She gets to know the underside of the city, and befriends a street dancer who inspires her to persist with her music. A big quiet window cleaner recognizes her and saves her one night in the subway. They will meet again. She gains a fan base, but sometimes longs for simpler times. Reminds me a bit of Brian Wood’s Local and his NYC books, but with less grit and less detailed storytelling.
40. Necessary Stranger by Graham Foust. His poems. Meh. A mentor for my poet-goddaughter. I hoped to like it more.
41. The Full Moon Bookshop by Mia Mochizuki. Too fluffy for me. A disappearing coffee shop, 6 foot tall talking cats, and lots of astrology.
42. The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson. A well done fantasy involving several animal-based clans (e.g., Bears, Ravens, Tigers) vying for power as the emperor following tradition retires.
43. Haruki Murakami Manga Stories, third volume. This one has two excellent stories, Scheherazade and Sleep. As a consequence, i liked it more than its predecessors. While enjoying reading his weird stories in comic book style, i wish the visual art was more realistic. Part of the fun with his novels and stories is the contrast of the weird happenings with the deadpan, straightforward narrative. Something similar could be done visually: here is a realistic, straightforward visual depiction, but wow is this story taking some strange turns.
44. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley. A very well-done fantasy.
June 2025
45. The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose. Loved it. A great time with Molly the Maid and her paramour Juan, and the now familiar cast, including molly-fan and hotel manager Mr. Snow, selfish and off-putting Cheryl, Molly’s lovely Gran, the doorman Mr. Peterman, and many others, including Detective Stark.
46. Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin. A fun but formulaic romance in which a bookstore owner by inheritance learns to love books, and also to love the handsome as all get out author of one of them.
47. Relentless by Mark Greaney. Another good Gray Man thriller.
48. Generosity by Richard Powers. A young woman, Thassadit A, has survived Algeria’s civil war, and is infectiously brimming with enthusiasm and joy. She quickly becomes the star of her university writing group, and soon begins to attract interest outside of it. As it becomes clear that her happiness is genetically-based, the scrum begins to control her and to develop and market the gene. As usual, his researching skills enable the author to give a convincing portrayal of gene editing and the competitive battle. The descent into reality tv and one-upping social media posts, while well done, depleted my reading enthusiasm and left me missing the book that might have been: Thassdit as a celebrity happiness guru and how our current world might handle that, kind of a 2025 Brave New World. Oh well. It was still good and thought-provoking.
49. Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey. An interesting romance.
50. This Beautiful, Ridiculous City by Kay Sohini. A pretty good, four star graphic memoir. The author grew up in India, entered an abusive relationship, ad left it and India behind by moving to NYC. It was a perfect healer, and the last half of the book abounds with her love of it. Pretty good art: realistic.
51. Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood. A new romance by an author I’ve enjoyed. Hazelwood uses STEM characters and this time it’s a young Biotech star Maya who’s in love with Conor, her brother’s 15 years older than her friend. The average difference has Conor convinced that they cannot be together, that it would unacceptably damage Maya’s life. They’re thrown together at a Sicily wedding and hilarity and heat ensue.
52.King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby.His darkest one yet - and quite possibly his best. The disappearance years ago of their mother traumatized the three Carruthers siblings, Roman, Dante and Nevilah, as well as their father. The sibs have grown up, but remain traumatized. Nevilajh runs the crematorium business for her father, but has no personal life besides some shabby sex with a married cop; Fante lives from drug to drug (and alcohol), trying to escape his emotional misery. Roman is a successful investment advisor, but has to deal with his anxiety by
When Dante miscalculates on a drug deal, Roman has to come save him from some local gangsters.He uses his investment savvy to grow closer to the head gangsters, with a plan/hope to eventually turn the tables on them. The plotting has a gritty realism that has the reader rooting for Roman, even as the bodies pile up. The ending has surprising poetic resonance.
53. Somadina by Akwaeke Emizi. A magical fantasy set in West Africa. Somadina and her twin brother are becoming teens and their powers are beginning to appear. Because the twinning makes those powers even more valuable, a dark fellow
54. Decagon House Murder by Yukito Ayatsuji. Japanese mystery that's an homage to the golden era of mystery writing with Agatha Christie and others. Fun!
July 2025
55. Mrs. Porter Calling by AJ Pearce. The third of four charming Emmy Lake novels, with the 4th coming out soon. Emmy is the advice columnist for a Women's magazine in London during WWII. Jaunty and charming, with an endearing cast of characters. The constant presence of the war, with loved ones' lives threatened, adds poignancy and significance to all they do.
56. Mae: The Definitive Edition by Gene Ha.*. A large, full color volume of Ha’s stories about sisters Mae and Abbie. Abbie finds a portal to a different planet where fantasy reigns: monsters, unusual creatures small and large, greedy, scheming nobility and sometimes villainous scientists. Abbie becomes the hero Ani there, showing impressive warrior skills accompanied by sarcastic banter. Mae shares her gift for sarcasm and, it turns out, at least some of her warrior skills. Their father has disappeared onto the planet and Mae joins Abbie’s search for him.
Nothing particularly novel here, buy the storyline and banter are fun, and the colorful artwork is engaging. The author knows how to “draw anything” and gives some tips on that in the book’s after-material.
57. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the NBCC Award - but by the end ogf the book I still hadn’t figured out why.
The novel weaves together the stories of at lesst a dozen characters, with all of them having ties to record producer Bennie and his assistant Sasha. The general theme is the ways in which time alters youthful dreams, yearnings and aspirations. There is a lot of ill-timed and ill-fated love, along with some happy couplings. Accomplishments vary. In an interview, Egan explained that "time is the stealth goon, the one you ignore because you are so busy worrying about the goons right in front of you."
My guess is the smooth skill of the interweaving of so many life stories led to the prize-winning. The book did successfully make me think about the webs of connection we all have, maybe to some extent unknowingly, and how small moments can determine how it all sorts out. This panoramic vision of how we live now doubt also contributed to yhre book’s prestigious prize recognition.
The book’s structure was considered experimental at the time.
58. Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi. Pretty good noir fantasy. a private detective in a western African town has a bleeding woman stumble into his office, asking to be hidden. Later he sees her floating in the air, dead and artistically displayed. Pushing to uncover her story leads him deeper and deeper into a high-up conspiracy, calling his old friendships into question and endangering his life. I have to admit that I loved the premise but was hoping for better delivery from this highly regarde, award-winning author.
59. Bodies by Si Spencer. Apparently his graphic novel already was adopted by Netlix. Jack the Ripper-type murders in 1890, 1940 and 2014 with a bizarre supernatural "long harvest" background. I appreciated the ambitiousness of the story and wanted to like the book more, but it was often disjointed and difficult to follow.
59. Proust’s Overcoat by Lorenza
60. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor.
61. The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami.
62. My Mindful Walk with Grandma by Sheri Mabry, The Treasure Box by Dave Keane,
August 2025
63.The Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I enjoyed the heck out of this one, which once again features a book within a book. Sue Ryeland is the editor of a continuation of the Alan Conway mystery series that almost got her killed in the last Horowitz book. Detective Atticus Pund is hot on the killer’s trail in the continuation, which once again has eerie parallels to what is happening in Sue’s RL, along with a hidden agenda and clues to a real life murder. Sue becomes a murder suspect, and has to work with the Inspector pursuing her to clear her name. The resolutions in both books make sense, and this is a very successful two-fer.
64 Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato Crimes by Sandra jackson- Oputu. Savvy runs a soul food restaurant on Chicago’s South Side whose food sounds delectable (recipes at the back of the book). A patron dies, and her instincts tell her something is wrong. While she is exlporing how might have murdered him, someone else dies under similar circumstances. A lot of tbe fun is the interactions of this black community, as some try to help Savvy find the truth, and some try to stymie her. Not a traditional cozy, but it did win an award for best debut traditional mystery.
65. Bringing the Beach Home by Laura Atkins, illustrated nicely by Evgenia Penman. This ARC was accompanied by a lovely note from Kaitlyn Lutes at the publisher, which says in part, “We hope you enjoy this tender story of love, memory and family that helps children explore the emotions and changes that come with aging family members while celebrating the traditions that keep us connected across generations.” As you’ll see, the aging family members and celebrating traditions parts didn’t stick out for me. But if they’re also there, all the better.
Rowan appears to be an 8 or 9 year old child of divorce. We can tell from the first illustration that the mother and father parent well together. It’s Friday, Rowan’s day with his father, and his father has a surprise. Unfortunately, it involves a long drive and Rowan has grown to hate long drives. So by the time they get to the beach, he hates it, too. The father, I’m glad to say, stays chill and just does little things to help Rowan enjoy the experience.
The spell of the beautiful beach starts to sink in, and Rowan has such a wonderful time that he doesn’t want to go home (of course!). The father suggests one last satisfying activity, and then Rowan wishes that they could somehow bring the beach home. They gather some of the pretty things they’ve found at the beach, and on the way home Rowan has an inspiration. He races into his Dad’s house on fire with his idea, and together they mak a lovely reminder of the beach.
I really liked this one, and think all sorts of kids would enjoy it. For those with still married parents, it’s a chance to get a positive glimpse of the life of a child whose parents divorced. For a child of divorce, it’s a chance to see parents working well together and that happiness and lovely experiences remain possible. For parents, it’s a reminder of the rewards of staying chill and not getting annoyed (tempting as it may be), and how transcendent a love-filled day with your child can be.
66. I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together is an exceptionally well done 482 page graphic memoir. It’s the life of successful gay illustrator Maurice Veelekoop. The illustrations are very high quality, and he keeps the reader quickly turning the pages as his story develops. Much of it revolves around his struggles with his homosexuality and his desire to find a partner he can love. As a heterosexual, it was a bit weird to read about, and witness, his yearnings for male sex and male love. But as someone must’ve said, sex is sex and love is love. And Vellekoop is a beguiling storyteller, honest to a fault about his shortcomings, and the sometimes absurd human frailty in his relationships. With the help of a skilled therapist, he’s able to sort through it all and bring his boat into harbor.
67. It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei.*. An excellent graphic memoir from the author of They Called Us Enemy.
68. People Like Us by Jason Mott. What an exciting author! I immediately segued to his Hell of a Book. Needs a review from the cafe owner.
69. Motherlover by Lyndsay Ishihiri.*. Delightful GN about ace housewife Imogen, mother of four, and her lesbian neighbor Alex, who has a daughter. Imogen’s awful husband uses her to make his life easy while he cheats on her. Imogen and Alex become close supportive friends and when Imogen learns of the cheating, neighbor Alex takes her and the children in. Will their close friendship become something more? Read it and find out. Excellent colorful illustrations.
September 2025
70. Life Drawing by Jaime Hernandez.*. A good, chatty, sarcastic one by the author, with his brother Gabriel, of Love and Rockets stories. This one centers around knockout Vivi and her plainer sister Tonta, as both pursue and find romance.
71. Hell of a Book by Jason Mott. The NBA winner. What an exciting writer! Five Stars. Needs a review by the cafe owner.
72. Framed in Death by J.D.Robb. The author continues to amaze as she delivers another engrossing police procedural/thriller as tough-as-nails Lieutenant Eve Dallas goes after an artist-wannabe serial killer who poses his victims.
73. More Perfect Than the Moon by Patricia Maclachlan. A well-told tale of how youngest child Cassie is at times frightened by Sarah’s pregnancy, and initially resents the idea of a new sibling. Told as always by this author with emotional insight and economy of language. The whole family helps Cassie, especially Grandpa.
74. Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by CB Lee. Comments in the last cafe..
75. Hidden Pictures by Jason Rejulak. Comments in the last cafe.
76. Raven Boys* by Maggie Stievwater. A YA bestseller that didn’t move the like meter at all for me.
77. Gray Dawn by Walter Mosley. Maybe my favorite Easy Rawlins mystery yet. Full of wisdom and great writing, as Easy’s early life circles back to him and his found family grows. More in the last cafe’s review.
October 2025
78. Song of a Blackbird by Marie Lieshout.*. An excellent GN about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam. My impression is that we don’t often think of the Dutch experience with the Nazis, even though Anne Frank was in Amsterdam. This was enlightening and well done.
79. Katabasis by RL Kuang. This highly intelligent author takes us on a Dante-esque tour of the Underworld, as Cambridge graduate students Alice and Peter try to retrieve their influential faculty mentor to help their careers. The many mythological references had me calling up Google a lot. The plot was more straightforward than her mind-stretching novel Babel, and that was welcome.
80. Annie Bot by Sierra Greer. A female android companion bot has been upgraded to have higher intelligence and more independent thinking. Her owner is kind but possessive and obsessed with privacy. After his friend talks her into sex, she regrets it, and keeping that secret causes her to think more and more independently, to the point where she can function on her own if she wishes. A very fun book that i ate up in a day. Reminded me of the movie Ex Machina, in which a darker androd developed independent thinking.
81. No One Slept* by Rafael Sica and Hey, Wall* by Susn Verde. In the first a large extended family live in a house, but cannot sleep because of a ghost that likes to scare them in the middle of the night. Little Kooky, a little girl in the house, has a good book. When she reads it out loud, everyone falls asleep and the ghost gives up. A very simple and sweet book, with fetching black and white drawings.
in Hey, Wall, a young boy notices that a once-beautiful block long wall has become cold, old and empty. He’s inspired to change that, and with his friends draws up what it could look like. The whole neighborhood gets together to paint a colorful mural on the wall with lots of people and kids and a mailman and an ice cream truck. The book is cheerful and engaging, with lively colors and characters. Fun for little artists.
82. The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith.
83. Murder in All Patience by Anne Cleeland.
84, The Trial of John Garrity by Milton Bass.
85. Mugshots by Jordan Thomas.
November 2025
86. Merlin’s Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson
87. Honoria by Janice Shapiro.*. Very well done graphic novel in which 9 year old Ida is sent to France to stay with her parents’ friends while her parents work on salvaging their marriage. Their friends had recently lost their son to a contagious disease, and his sister Honoria, whilo is Ida’s age, is sad and snippy and often unkind to poor Ida, who is an admirable little girl. The villa where they live is beautiful, with a private ocean beach, and fascinating guests come to stay for a while, like Picasso, Hemingway and Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald. Ida and Honoria gradually grow closer and the story moves along well. I’m not sure who the audience for this one is. Its length, 342 pages, was a bit much for me with the characters’ ages. A good reader clder to their ages might well love it.
88. Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. An exceptionally engaging book about female astronauts at the beginning of NASA’s space shuttle program. The relationships that develop are compelling.
89. Startlement: New and Selected Poems by Ada Limon. A terrific collection by my favorite living poet.
90. Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree.
91. Civilized Behavior by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.
92. Silver and Lead by Sean McGuire. A new October Daye fantasy. It has the elements and characters I enjoy, But I felt that it was too discursive. A lot of the discursions were funny and gave helpful backgound, but for me there were too many of them; overal they detracted from the story's momentum.
December 2025
93. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman. The newest Thursday Murder Club mystery. Its strengths are its humor and charming characters, and its core mystery is serviceable. I did appreciate the practical solution for a particularly loathsome abusive villain.
*Signifies a graphic or illustrated book
4jnwelch
Debbi sitting on a bench with an enthused Dismaland Employee and some poor exploded birdwoman
5jnwelch
DIL Adriana Ramirez on the controversy over Latino Bad Bunny being the Super Bowl halftime show in ‘26:
The NFL wants your halftime outrage
BY ADRIANA E. RAMÍREZ
After Kendrick Lamar lit up the stage at the Super Bowl earlier this year, drawing over 133 million viewers in the most-watched halftime performance ever, the NFL and Roc Nation (who produces the show) set an impossibly high bar for themselves.
So for 2026, in an attempt to keep the momentum going, they chose an American artist with a Billboard record for having a number one album in Spanish, a U.S. citizen who recently broke the record for a live-streamed performance — the one and only Bad Bunny.
A few years ago, I lucked into nosebleed tickets to see him in Philadelphia, and I often tell people it’s the closest I’ve come to experiencing the sublime since I once climbed a pyramid. He stood on top of a semi truck parked in the middle of what was then the Wells Fargo Center, without a backing band or dancers, just Bad Bunny and 21,000 fans singing along to every word.
My husband, who is not yet fluent in Spanish, could not follow along with the words, but he understood the power of Bad Bunny’s charisma. On the car ride back to our friend’s house, he said something along the lines of “I had no idea what the man was saying, but I knew I wanted to keep watching.”
Used to ignore me
So one would imagine that everyone is excited to have an extraordinary American on stage, right? A beloved actor who has appeared in films like “Bullet Train” alongside Brad Pitt, “Happy Gilmore 2” with Adam Sandler, and “F9” with so many fast and furious people in leather jackets? He dated a Kardashian/Jenner! He’s been on Saturday Night Live five times, twice as a host!
I can imagine the executives at the NFL and Roc Nation looking at each other, delighted in the obviousness of the choice. An untapped market for the halftime show? Millions of Latinos tuning in from around the world? The choice made itself.
But Mr. Bunny (if you’re nasty), who sells out shows internationally, was born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory whose people are U.S. citizens.
He is a Spanish-speaker-and-singer, who delights in his mumble-core reggaeton (a truth not often discussed is that many fluent Spanish speakers also cannot understand what he is saying on first listen). He writes persona-heavy songs that are occasionally from a woman’s point of view, and he will dress up and play the part if required for the music video or the show (just as Adam Sandler has been known to do).
For all these reasons, and more, the conservative backlash against Bad Bunny began as soon as the announcement was made. The “deviant drag show” and “pro illegal alien” rhetoric against him is in full swing on conservative social media and Fox News. “Wouldn’t you rather have a U.S. citizen who is Christian perform instead?,” one woman asked, unaware that Bad Bunny is both.
Now I ignore you
The controversy against Bad Bunny is baked into the choice to have him in the first place, and the NFL knows what it’s doing. They, along with Roc Nation, are using political outrage as a means of generating buzz and publicity.
It worked last year for Kendrick Lamar. And they’re betting on an even bigger reaction for 2026, given the ignorance around Bad Bunny’s citizenship and the shibboleth that is immigration, as halftime corporate sponsors like Pepsi are counting on more and more viewers to justify the expense.
The NFL knows that some people will get up and leave, missing the halftime show for whatever reason. Their goal is to get a completely different subsection of people, who don’t care about the first and second halves of the game, to tune in just for the spectacle. An advertiser paying $7 million for a 30 second commercial wants to get the most exposure possible.
And Bad Bunny will bring in new people. Two of my cousins in Colombia brought up wanting to watch the Super Bowl this year.
The NFL is not going to change their choice. And given his monologue on last week’s Saturday Night Live, Bad Bunny seems to be enjoying the attention. Or as he put it: Y’all have four months to learn Puerto Rican Spanish.
I twerk alone
But all this faux conservative outrage is only justifying the NFL and ROC Nation’s choice. The politics of our time will serve the corporate juggernauts who profit from our discontent. Oh, no: millions will tune in to see the controversy, millions will tune in to hate-watch, and millions will tune in because they’re Bad Bunny fans! And companies will pay even more millions for their ads!
Most viewers will enjoy it, despite not understanding a word. Bad Bunny is one of the greatest entertainers of our time, and we should be proud he’s ours. Let him do what he does best. The rest of you can enjoy watching Creed in protest. The game will be there when you return.
Adriana E. Ramírez is the editor of InReview, a member of the editorial board and a columnist writing about books, culture and politics for the Post-Gazette. She is the author of “The Violence,” available for pre-order from Scribner.
6jnwelch
Here's my latest cafe scribbling
Waiting Room, Room Waiting
Daydreaming, there's a room in our
Hillside home that I've not
Seen, not visited in years.
Forgotten.
What an unexpected gift today.
Spacious, a bit tousled with
Pillows, blankets on the pine floor.
Bright blue sky streaming down the hill
Through the windows.
How could I have neglected this?
More space, more air, more shelter for imagining.
More joy.
Why did we wall it off?
Leaving the one small door?
What more have we taken from ourselves, and why?
What else is just
Waiting for us to explore, once more.
Waiting Room, Room Waiting
Daydreaming, there's a room in our
Hillside home that I've not
Seen, not visited in years.
Forgotten.
What an unexpected gift today.
Spacious, a bit tousled with
Pillows, blankets on the pine floor.
Bright blue sky streaming down the hill
Through the windows.
How could I have neglected this?
More space, more air, more shelter for imagining.
More joy.
Why did we wall it off?
Leaving the one small door?
What more have we taken from ourselves, and why?
What else is just
Waiting for us to explore, once more.
7jnwelch
This is an excerpt from a poem in Ada Limon’s new Startlement collection. She talks about something (falling rocks signs) that I always wonder about:
If you’ve ever driven to Lake Tahoe
You know the roads. Long curving
gray snakes of pavement edged by
mountains and those drop-offs.
I hated them, still do. But when you have to
get somewhere you drive on them.
(I have to tell myself this all the time).
You can’t really stop going places
because you’re frightened.
It’s like that road sign that’s the image
of rocks falling down a mountain
onto the road. I never knew what you were
Supposed to do about that, duck?
Is it saying that inevitably a rock will
fall on you? Is it good that we know this?
If you’ve ever driven to Lake Tahoe
You know the roads. Long curving
gray snakes of pavement edged by
mountains and those drop-offs.
I hated them, still do. But when you have to
get somewhere you drive on them.
(I have to tell myself this all the time).
You can’t really stop going places
because you’re frightened.
It’s like that road sign that’s the image
of rocks falling down a mountain
onto the road. I never knew what you were
Supposed to do about that, duck?
Is it saying that inevitably a rock will
fall on you? Is it good that we know this?
11jessibud2
Happy new thread, Joe. Those nietos are growing up so fast! And congrats to Adriana, on the article and the book.
12johnsimpson
Hi Joe, Happy New Thread, mate. Hope all is well with you and Debbi and the family, dear friend.
13PaulCranswick
Happy new thread buddy.
>1 jnwelch: Love that mural.
>6 jnwelch: Thanks for sharing.
>10 jnwelch: You remembered in time, Joe, and those two cuties are worth the wait!
>1 jnwelch: Love that mural.
>6 jnwelch: Thanks for sharing.
>10 jnwelch: You remembered in time, Joe, and those two cuties are worth the wait!
14msf59
Happy New Thread, Joe. Love that bookish topper. I also liked your mysterious poem. Did you live in Hillside at one time? Glad you are enjoying Minor Arcana. Maybe not top-tier Lemire but I thought it was pretty solid.
15figsfromthistle
Happy new one!
17jnwelch
>16 humouress:. Thanks, Nina!
>15 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita!
>14 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I’m glad you liked the mysterious poem. That’s a daydream hillside. Mainly the poem is just saying there is more room inside us, more rooms to explore, that we don’t need to confine ourselves to what we “think” we are. I’m this, I do that, and I’m not and don’t do other things. Open up. There’s more there, some of which we once knew, but forgot.
She just started reading the woman’s cards in Minor Arcana, and I’m enjoying it. He’s so good at portraying people who are just getting by, scraping to make a living.
>15 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita!
>14 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I’m glad you liked the mysterious poem. That’s a daydream hillside. Mainly the poem is just saying there is more room inside us, more rooms to explore, that we don’t need to confine ourselves to what we “think” we are. I’m this, I do that, and I’m not and don’t do other things. Open up. There’s more there, some of which we once knew, but forgot.
She just started reading the woman’s cards in Minor Arcana, and I’m enjoying it. He’s so good at portraying people who are just getting by, scraping to make a living.
18jnwelch
>13 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, Paul.
Isn’t that mural cool? I love it when artists spice up blank, personality-less walls.
Thanks for noticing the poem. Those nietos are fun to watch grow, aren’t they. Fina used to want to be a strawberry when she grew up, now she wants to be an artist. Rafa wanted to be a counting teacher, now it’s a scientist. Love those two.
>12 johnsimpson:. Hi, John, buddy, thanks. All is well here with the family. Hope the same is true for you. We miss visiting across the pond; maybe in the fall next year.
>11 jessibud2:. Aren’t those nietos a stitch, Shelley? I’m glad you and others like to follow along as they grow.
I’m so happy for Adriana, thanks. She busts her butt to live way more, it seems to me, than one life. (Among other things, she’s also been performing at poetry slams and giving a lecture on Judaism). And what a kind person, and patient mother.
Isn’t that mural cool? I love it when artists spice up blank, personality-less walls.
Thanks for noticing the poem. Those nietos are fun to watch grow, aren’t they. Fina used to want to be a strawberry when she grew up, now she wants to be an artist. Rafa wanted to be a counting teacher, now it’s a scientist. Love those two.
>12 johnsimpson:. Hi, John, buddy, thanks. All is well here with the family. Hope the same is true for you. We miss visiting across the pond; maybe in the fall next year.
>11 jessibud2:. Aren’t those nietos a stitch, Shelley? I’m glad you and others like to follow along as they grow.
I’m so happy for Adriana, thanks. She busts her butt to live way more, it seems to me, than one life. (Among other things, she’s also been performing at poetry slams and giving a lecture on Judaism). And what a kind person, and patient mother.
19ffortsa
>17 jnwelch: We were watching an interview of Bryan Cranston at the LBJ library last night, and he made the point that it's important as we get older to avoid limiting ourselves to what we think we are, what is familiar, but to venture out and try new things always. Great advice.
20jnwelch
Here’s a good short review of Ada Limon’s new Startlement collection:
https://share.google/aimode/xXWCoR16bVA5DrZNE
She’s our former Poet Laureate who had one of hers etched on the interior of a NASA space probe. I’m loving this new collection, which also contains selected old favorites.
21jnwelch
>19 ffortsa:. That Bryan Cranston is one smart, charming cookie, Judy. I didn’t see that interview, but I’ve seen others. In one he gives an excellent explanation of why the slogan, “Make America Great Again” seems racist to so many. As he said, when has America ever been great for black people?
Yes, you got it, his point is my point in that poem. There’s so much more if we don’t limit ourselves!
Yes, you got it, his point is my point in that poem. There’s so much more if we don’t limit ourselves!
22jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: All Tomorrow’s Parties by William Gibson for $1.99 on e-readers. One of my favorites by this unusual sci-fi author, who wrote Neuromancer. Part sci-fi, part private eye, part social commentary.
23jnwelch
Wow, I loved this audio of Cillian Murphy reading Yeats’ “When You Are Old”:
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16SdZX8WNg/
I’m a huge Cillian Murphy fan anyway. Not just Oppenheimer, but Peaky Blinders and Small Things Like These and others. I just watched his new one streaming, called Steve, in which he heads up an underfunded reform school for hard cases. He’s terrific, as usual. We got to see him on stage ten years or so ago in Ballyturk at the National Theater. I love his willingness to take on off-the-beaten path projects. Emily Blunt, after Oppenheimer, says he’s the best actor she’s ever worked with, but “the world’s worst movie star”. He doesn’t like that kind of limelight.
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16SdZX8WNg/
I’m a huge Cillian Murphy fan anyway. Not just Oppenheimer, but Peaky Blinders and Small Things Like These and others. I just watched his new one streaming, called Steve, in which he heads up an underfunded reform school for hard cases. He’s terrific, as usual. We got to see him on stage ten years or so ago in Ballyturk at the National Theater. I love his willingness to take on off-the-beaten path projects. Emily Blunt, after Oppenheimer, says he’s the best actor she’s ever worked with, but “the world’s worst movie star”. He doesn’t like that kind of limelight.
24jnwelch
As many of you know, unusual questions pop up on Facebbok all the time. This one was, “what is the book that changed how you view the world?”. There were of course a lot of candidates - every book does that for me to some extent.
My answer: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong. It’s amazing what all is going on inside us. We walk around not appreciating what miracles we are.
Do you have one?
Religious books need not apply? Although Buddhism isn’t really a religion(it’s a way to live) my pick there would be Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. But if it’s okay, I’m more interested in other kinds of books.
My answer: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong. It’s amazing what all is going on inside us. We walk around not appreciating what miracles we are.
Do you have one?
Religious books need not apply? Although Buddhism isn’t really a religion(it’s a way to live) my pick there would be Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. But if it’s okay, I’m more interested in other kinds of books.
25katiekrug
>23 jnwelch: - A favorite poem of mine. Thanks for sharing, Joe.
27jnwelch
>25 katiekrug:. Mine, too, Katie. What an amazing poem, and I love the way CM does it. You’re welcome.
>26 drneutron:. Thanks, Jim! Did you ever read Annie Bot? I just had a great time with it.
>26 drneutron:. Thanks, Jim! Did you ever read Annie Bot? I just had a great time with it.
28drneutron
>27 jnwelch: I haven’t, but looks good!
29jnwelch
>28 drneutron:. 👍. It is good!
30jnwelch
No National Guard in Chicago:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-partially-blocks-trumps-national-g...
Ice agents in Chicago must wear badges or ID:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-partially-blocks-trumps-national-g...
ICE can’t pepper spray, teargas journalists and peaceful protesters in Chicago:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-rules-feds-cant-pepper-spray-tear-...
ICE Warrantless Arrests unlawful, Hundreds to be Released:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/08/100s-could-be-freed-from-ice-custody-aft...
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-partially-blocks-trumps-national-g...
Ice agents in Chicago must wear badges or ID:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-partially-blocks-trumps-national-g...
ICE can’t pepper spray, teargas journalists and peaceful protesters in Chicago:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-rules-feds-cant-pepper-spray-tear-...
ICE Warrantless Arrests unlawful, Hundreds to be Released:
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/08/100s-could-be-freed-from-ice-custody-aft...
31m.belljackson
ICE still in Broadview?
(a stone's toss from my old High School in Hillside...)
(a stone's toss from my old High School in Hillside...)
32jnwelch
>31 m.belljackson:. Yes ICE is still in Broadview, Mariaanne, but their anti-protester fence has come down:
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/judge-orders-ice-remove-fence-broadview-proces...
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/judge-orders-ice-remove-fence-broadview-proces...
33magicians_nephew
>14 msf59: I use the cards of the Tarot deck more for meditation than for fortune telling - so may symbols so many permertations.
The Minor Arcana books like interesting.
The Minor Arcana books like interesting.
34jnwelch
>33 magicians_nephew:. Hi, Jim. On Mark’s recommendation, I just finished Minor Arcana, and liked it a lot. We’re both Lemire fans.
35jnwelch
Today’s Bargains: The Round House by Louise Erdrich for $2.99 on e-readers and There, There by Tommy Orange for $1.99..
Round House is the book that turned me onto reading this excellent author. A 13 year old boy’s mother is attacked on a North Dakota reservation, and in trying to find answers and justice he is forced to grow up and find his way among adults. Still her best of those I’ve read.
There,There is a favorite of many, including brother Mark. An award-winning novel that follows 12 characters from different Native communities. I think he also just won a MacArthur foundation grant.
Round House is the book that turned me onto reading this excellent author. A 13 year old boy’s mother is attacked on a North Dakota reservation, and in trying to find answers and justice he is forced to grow up and find his way among adults. Still her best of those I’ve read.
There,There is a favorite of many, including brother Mark. An award-winning novel that follows 12 characters from different Native communities. I think he also just won a MacArthur foundation grant.
36jnwelch
An accessible, encouraging article about starting to meditate:
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/soul-search/how-to-meditate-witho...
It helps in these stressful times.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/soul-search/how-to-meditate-witho...
It helps in these stressful times.
38ffortsa
>36 jnwelch: Great article, Joe. Thanks.
39richardderus
Enjoyed Adri's piece a lot. I'm so chuffed that Chicago is very much not enabling or accepting felonious yam's illegal and immoral acts.
Stay well and happy!
Stay well and happy!
40jnwelch
>37 foggidawn:. Thanks, Misti!
>38 ffortsa:. Isn’t that a great article, Judy? I’m glad you found it helpful.
>38 ffortsa:. Isn’t that a great article, Judy? I’m glad you found it helpful.
41jnwelch
>39 richardderus:. Thanks, Richard. Isn’t that good Adri article?
Here’s an article that gives you some of the on the ground experience of what’s going on - neighbors banding together to block ICE, ICE violating a court order (as they have repeatedly) by using tear gas, and, most importantly, people filming it all.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/13/federal-agents-deploy-tear-gas-in-albany...
P.S. We’re worried, in many different ways, but safe and happy.
Here’s an article that gives you some of the on the ground experience of what’s going on - neighbors banding together to block ICE, ICE violating a court order (as they have repeatedly) by using tear gas, and, most importantly, people filming it all.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/13/federal-agents-deploy-tear-gas-in-albany...
P.S. We’re worried, in many different ways, but safe and happy.
42jnwelch
From today’s Washington Post, on the Democrats’ healthcare demands for stopping the shutdown:
“Democrats have made extending the enhanced credits their main demand to reopen the government. That extension will mostly benefit people living in states where Trump won the 2024 presidential election.”
“Democrats have made extending the enhanced credits their main demand to reopen the government. That extension will mostly benefit people living in states where Trump won the 2024 presidential election.”
43kac522
>41 jnwelch: I first saw that video Sunday on our neighborhood Facebook page--I recognized the intersection (Wilson & Sawyer) immediately as I drive by there sometimes on my way home. So many great responses from those who commended their neighbors' bravery. There was also an ICE spotting in the lobby of Swedish Hospital at Foster & California. Good grief--going after the sick & dying.
44richardderus
>42 jnwelch: No better way to demonstrate who really cares than that, is there?
45jnwelch
>43 kac522:. What a great effort by those neighbors, Kathy. I love that story. People are really fighting back -appropriately- against the ICE thugs. Parent volunteers are making sure children are safely escorted to and from school after ICE teargassed a bunch of kids(!). We’re all getting equipped with whistles to warn if ICE is in the area.
I was just telling someone that we had non-thug ICE agents here before these yahoos arrived and it was fine.
>44 richardderus: Agreed, Richard. Caring about the American people, not just reds or billionaires.
I was just telling someone that we had non-thug ICE agents here before these yahoos arrived and it was fine.
>44 richardderus: Agreed, Richard. Caring about the American people, not just reds or billionaires.
46jnwelch
Today’s Bargains: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by
Maya Angelou and The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles , each for $1.99 on e-readers.
The first is the classic memoir, and the second is one of his best by a seemingly neglected author.
Maya Angelou and The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles , each for $1.99 on e-readers.
The first is the classic memoir, and the second is one of his best by a seemingly neglected author.
47m.belljackson
>41 jnwelch: I got my blast of tear gas in the Sixties when protesting U.S. Out of Southeast Asia and Free Bobby Seale.
Maybe Chicago keeps an underground stash of the stuff.
Maybe Chicago keeps an underground stash of the stuff.
48Whisper1
>10 jnwelch: I never tire of images of these two incredibly beautiful grand children of yours!
Your thread is filled with books that I added. Now, I'm heading to my local library list of books in stock in the hope I can find most of these wonderful books you read!
Your thread is filled with books that I added. Now, I'm heading to my local library list of books in stock in the hope I can find most of these wonderful books you read!
49jnwelch
Off to western Mass. to visit Debbi’s Aunt Ruth. I’ll be checking in periodically. We’re hoping for some good fall colors!
50Caroline_McElwee
>6 jnwelch: Loved the scribbles. Did u really find a room Joe?
>49 jnwelch: Happy travels. I saw some wonderful fall colour when I visited my sister last weekend, in Shropshire.
>49 jnwelch: Happy travels. I saw some wonderful fall colour when I visited my sister last weekend, in Shropshire.
51Familyhistorian
Happy new thread, Joe. Enjoy your trip and the fall colours. Leaves are starting to turn here but our crisp fall days are limited. Rains are coming.
52jnwelch
Lithub’s Fall Reading List, based on a review of 28 other reading lists:
https://lithub.com/the-ultimate-fall-2025-reading-list/
https://lithub.com/the-ultimate-fall-2025-reading-list/
53ffortsa
>52 jnwelch: how interesting a list. I've actually heard of some of them. And some I recognize as parts of a series I haven't quite gotten to yet. Clearly, I won't be bored.
54jnwelch
>50 Caroline_McElwee:. Hi, Caroline. I’ m glad you enjoyed the poem. In my dreams I found more than one room, and I suspect there'll be more.😀
Shropshire - so many place names in your part of the world pleasantly take me back to my youthful reading. Because of erratic weather, says our host, the colours are more scattered than clumped, but there’s still plenty of breath-taking brilliance. Debbi’s Aunt Ruth lives on the side of a Berkshire mountain, not far from Barlett’s Orchard, for those of you who know the area. It’s gorgeous - and so quiet compared to Chicago. We’re sleeping like logs.
Bartlett’s has the best apple cider donuts we’ve ever had. Yum. And fresh Green Mountain coffee - I’d forgotten how good that coffee is.
Shropshire - so many place names in your part of the world pleasantly take me back to my youthful reading. Because of erratic weather, says our host, the colours are more scattered than clumped, but there’s still plenty of breath-taking brilliance. Debbi’s Aunt Ruth lives on the side of a Berkshire mountain, not far from Barlett’s Orchard, for those of you who know the area. It’s gorgeous - and so quiet compared to Chicago. We’re sleeping like logs.
Bartlett’s has the best apple cider donuts we’ve ever had. Yum. And fresh Green Mountain coffee - I’d forgotten how good that coffee is.
55Caroline_McElwee
>54 jnwelch: Sounds wonderful Joe.
56jnwelch
>55 Caroline_McElwee:. 😀
>51 Familyhistorian:. Thanks, Meg. It’s mighty crisp here, with fall temps and a bright blue sky. Couldn’t ask for better. We just took Ruthie’s Pomerian Scooby on a nice long walk among the colors.
>51 Familyhistorian:. Thanks, Meg. It’s mighty crisp here, with fall temps and a bright blue sky. Couldn’t ask for better. We just took Ruthie’s Pomerian Scooby on a nice long walk among the colors.
57jnwelch
>53 ffortsa:. So many good books, Judy! My reading speed has slowed down considerably since that dratted stroke. I miss it!
58jnwelch
Today’s Bargains: Timeline by Michael Crichton and Carry on, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse, the first for $2.99 on e-readers and the second for $1.99.
I found Timeline to be an exciting time travel adventure to 600 years ago. They unfortunately made a terrible movie out of it.
You can’t beat Jeeves and Bertie Wooster stories, as the brilliant valet extricates the not-brilliant Bertie from the dopey jams he gets himself into. If today’s turmoil puts you in low spirits, these stories will give you a lift. Imagine Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie playing the acerbic brilliant, and the well-meaning not-brilliant.
I found Timeline to be an exciting time travel adventure to 600 years ago. They unfortunately made a terrible movie out of it.
You can’t beat Jeeves and Bertie Wooster stories, as the brilliant valet extricates the not-brilliant Bertie from the dopey jams he gets himself into. If today’s turmoil puts you in low spirits, these stories will give you a lift. Imagine Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie playing the acerbic brilliant, and the well-meaning not-brilliant.
59magicians_nephew
>58 jnwelch: Big fan of Bertie and Jeeves. Formulaic comedy that somehow never gets tired.
The trick is to show Jeeves and Bertie FROM BERTIES PERSPECTIVE and still make you see whats really going, even when Bertie himself sometimes doesn't
My college friend David Jasen wrote a lovely book about Wodehouse, who, when he was not writing funny stories and witty Broadway shows and songs, was a pretty quiet stay-at-home kind of guy P.G. Wodehouse: Portrait of a Master
The trick is to show Jeeves and Bertie FROM BERTIES PERSPECTIVE and still make you see whats really going, even when Bertie himself sometimes doesn't
My college friend David Jasen wrote a lovely book about Wodehouse, who, when he was not writing funny stories and witty Broadway shows and songs, was a pretty quiet stay-at-home kind of guy P.G. Wodehouse: Portrait of a Master
60jnwelch
>59 magicians_nephew:. Hi, Jim. Right, we know the formula, but somehow Wodehouse makes it fresh and funny every time. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve wanted to have a Jeeves for most of my life.
You’re right, it’s quite a trick to do it from Bertie’s perspective and show us that Bertie doesn’t really understand what’s going on.
Thanks for the tip on your friend’s book, which I’ll check out.
P.S. Some of Georgette Heyer’s writing reminds me of Wodehouse. The Grand Sophy comes to mind.
You’re right, it’s quite a trick to do it from Bertie’s perspective and show us that Bertie doesn’t really understand what’s going on.
Thanks for the tip on your friend’s book, which I’ll check out.
P.S. Some of Georgette Heyer’s writing reminds me of Wodehouse. The Grand Sophy comes to mind.
61jnwelch
The Magas are busy saying the No Kings protests accomplished nothing and Trump is still president. The concern shown in their reactions belies their “nothing” contentions. Here’s the Atlantic’s take in its most recent issue:
“Say what you will about Donald Trump’s effect on American civic life as a whole, but he’s done wonders for public participation. Voter turnout in the past few elections has reached record highs, for example. And after Saturday’s “No Kings” marches, three of the largest one-day demonstrations in American history have taken place during Trump’s two presidencies—not to mention the enormous, extended Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Protests like these won’t immediately change much of anything in the country, but they matter nonetheless. Trump’s authoritarian takeover is unpopular—his approval is deep underwater, rivaled only by his first term for the worst since at least the 1950s—which means that its progress depends on despair and surrender from the majority of Americans who oppose it. The huge and energetic crowds that came out this weekend are an antidote to that. The “No Kings” slogan is clever because it is broad enough to bring together Trump opponents who disagree on many issues; because the view of the Constitution that it represents is immediately intelligible to almost everyone; and because it’s hard to challenge without endorsing monarchy.
The protests provide an outlet for citizens who are following the news with apprehension but don’t know what they can do on a daily basis to resist Trump’s policies, and they’re also a way for wavering Trump supporters to jump ship, a warning to allies and would-be allies that they might not be joining the winning team. Mass movements are slow work: It took nearly a decade to get from the Montgomery bus boycott to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. The No Kings protests are starting off with much greater public support, and they need only to maintain momentum through the 2026 and 2028 elections in order to turn the protests’ sentiment into concrete votes that could restrain Trump and remove his allies from office.”
“Say what you will about Donald Trump’s effect on American civic life as a whole, but he’s done wonders for public participation. Voter turnout in the past few elections has reached record highs, for example. And after Saturday’s “No Kings” marches, three of the largest one-day demonstrations in American history have taken place during Trump’s two presidencies—not to mention the enormous, extended Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.
Protests like these won’t immediately change much of anything in the country, but they matter nonetheless. Trump’s authoritarian takeover is unpopular—his approval is deep underwater, rivaled only by his first term for the worst since at least the 1950s—which means that its progress depends on despair and surrender from the majority of Americans who oppose it. The huge and energetic crowds that came out this weekend are an antidote to that. The “No Kings” slogan is clever because it is broad enough to bring together Trump opponents who disagree on many issues; because the view of the Constitution that it represents is immediately intelligible to almost everyone; and because it’s hard to challenge without endorsing monarchy.
The protests provide an outlet for citizens who are following the news with apprehension but don’t know what they can do on a daily basis to resist Trump’s policies, and they’re also a way for wavering Trump supporters to jump ship, a warning to allies and would-be allies that they might not be joining the winning team. Mass movements are slow work: It took nearly a decade to get from the Montgomery bus boycott to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. The No Kings protests are starting off with much greater public support, and they need only to maintain momentum through the 2026 and 2028 elections in order to turn the protests’ sentiment into concrete votes that could restrain Trump and remove his allies from office.”
62jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters for $1.99 on e-readers.. We were recently talking here about this remarkable work of creativity and empathy. The townspeople of Spoon River tell the often scathing truth about their lives in free verse monologues. If you haven’t read them, it’s an unforgettable experience.
63magicians_nephew
>62 jnwelch: They made a wonderful theatre piece of out Spoon River haunting and memorable
64Familyhistorian
>61 jnwelch: Thanks for posting Atlantic's take. It sounds more positive than most of the news currently shared.
65jnwelch
Today’s Bargains: The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie, each for $1.99 on e-readers..
The first is one of our mostly mystery- and true crime-reading daughter’s all time favorite books (and she reads a lot of them!). A group of ofdball but clever friends at a New England college decide to pursue the transcendent, but pick a creepy path on which to do so. Suspicions of each other arise. By the author of The Goldfinch; this one was her first big success.
Poirot Investigates is a collection of 14 short stories featuring the famous fastidious detective. It’s rated nearly 5 stars by approximately a gazillion reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads. (A gazillion here = 80,000+). It has a wide variety of mysteries with surprisingly well-developed characters in a compact 142 pages. What a master she was.
I just finished the new and overloaded The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling. It clocks in at nearly 900 pages. She and her editor could’ve learned a lot from Poirot Investigates.
The first is one of our mostly mystery- and true crime-reading daughter’s all time favorite books (and she reads a lot of them!). A group of ofdball but clever friends at a New England college decide to pursue the transcendent, but pick a creepy path on which to do so. Suspicions of each other arise. By the author of The Goldfinch; this one was her first big success.
Poirot Investigates is a collection of 14 short stories featuring the famous fastidious detective. It’s rated nearly 5 stars by approximately a gazillion reviewers on Amazon and Goodreads. (A gazillion here = 80,000+). It has a wide variety of mysteries with surprisingly well-developed characters in a compact 142 pages. What a master she was.
I just finished the new and overloaded The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling. It clocks in at nearly 900 pages. She and her editor could’ve learned a lot from Poirot Investigates.
66jnwelch
Here we are in our recent visit to the Berkshires to visit Debbi's Aunt Ruth: Me, Ruth Bass, Debbi, Ruth's daughter Elissa Bass
67jnwelch
>63 magicians_nephew:. Thanks, Jim. I can imagine that an adaptation of Spoon River would be powerful. Did the actors handle several different monologues, each? I’d love to see that someday.
>64 Familyhistorian:. You’re welcome, Meg. In trying to downplay it, the Magas underlying disquiet is helping highlight it. Let’s hope it helps the voting. I’ve been disappointed by the younger voters falling for a TV host a d his cronies. Maybe this will help wake them up.
>64 Familyhistorian:. You’re welcome, Meg. In trying to downplay it, the Magas underlying disquiet is helping highlight it. Let’s hope it helps the voting. I’ve been disappointed by the younger voters falling for a TV host a d his cronies. Maybe this will help wake them up.
68jnwelch
“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid” - Northanger Abbey
69Caroline_McElwee
>66 jnwelch: I can see a book or two there Joe, great photo of you all.
70jnwelch
>69 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. Elissa, bless her, drove a long way from Connecticut to see us. With ties to your beautiful country, New England is gorgeous this time of year with all the leaf-changing.
Yes, they’re a family of readers and writers, so lots of books everywhere. I always get reading ideas there. One that stood out for me this time was the old-timey Kate, by Jean Little, in which a Jewish-Protestant young girl has to figure out what her religious background means, and how it affects her relationships, including with her best friend.
Yes, they’re a family of readers and writers, so lots of books everywhere. I always get reading ideas there. One that stood out for me this time was the old-timey Kate, by Jean Little, in which a Jewish-Protestant young girl has to figure out what her religious background means, and how it affects her relationships, including with her best friend.
71jnwelch
>48 Whisper1:. Did I miss this post, Linda? If so, my apologies.
It makes me very happy that you found some good book tips here. I’m now thinking about sending Debbi’s aunt Ruth a copy of The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys, which she’s never read. Have you? It’s so darn good. Perfect as winter approaches.
Thank you re those two most excellent grandchildren. I’ll see them at Thanksgiving. Debbi’s going to Pittsburgh earlier to see them sooner and give their parents some flex in their schedule.
>47 m.belljackson:. I think I missed this one, too, Marianne? Sorry, if so.
You got your blast of tear gas in the sixties while protesting? Oof. That sounds like it’s pretty awful. Kudos to you for getting out there to be heard. I think part of the reward for doing it is finding that there are so many people feeling the same way you do, and spending time with them expressing it. It can be a lonely business suffering with anxiety and frustration. Not something I expect Magas to ever fathom.
I don’t know whether Chicago has tear gas stored up for riots, but my guess is that they do. I did read that some company near Chicago is making beaucoup bucks selling it to ICE.
It makes me very happy that you found some good book tips here. I’m now thinking about sending Debbi’s aunt Ruth a copy of The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys, which she’s never read. Have you? It’s so darn good. Perfect as winter approaches.
Thank you re those two most excellent grandchildren. I’ll see them at Thanksgiving. Debbi’s going to Pittsburgh earlier to see them sooner and give their parents some flex in their schedule.
>47 m.belljackson:. I think I missed this one, too, Marianne? Sorry, if so.
You got your blast of tear gas in the sixties while protesting? Oof. That sounds like it’s pretty awful. Kudos to you for getting out there to be heard. I think part of the reward for doing it is finding that there are so many people feeling the same way you do, and spending time with them expressing it. It can be a lonely business suffering with anxiety and frustration. Not something I expect Magas to ever fathom.
I don’t know whether Chicago has tear gas stored up for riots, but my guess is that they do. I did read that some company near Chicago is making beaucoup bucks selling it to ICE.
72msf59
>61 jnwelch: Thanks for sharing this. I can't agree with it more.
>66 jnwelch: Great photo with the family. Glad the Berkshires trip went so well.
>66 jnwelch: Great photo with the family. Glad the Berkshires trip went so well.
73msf59
Sweet Thursday, Joe. Welcome back. All good here. Living the life. I got to hang with Jack yesterday. The books are treating me just fine too.
74jnwelch
>61 jnwelch:. Right, Mark? It’s great to get together with kindred spirits in the protests. Man, i’m impatient for those midterms. Fingers crossed.🤞
It is so pretty out there in the Berkshires! And so quiet, compared to Chitown. Bluebird’s were very enthusiastic about Ruthie’s birdfeeder filled with mealworms. There were a lot of mama bears with little ones in the area, but they didn’t bother us, even when we picked apples ( a fruit they love) from Ruthie’s trees.
>62 jnwelch:. Aww, I missed you on Sweet Thursday, darn it. I always enjoy the Steinbeck reminder.
Hanging with Jack must be a treat. I miss
our little looneytunes. Glad books and life are going well for you. My GN is Mugshots, which I’m liking. Kinda a British Brubaker/Phillips.
It is so pretty out there in the Berkshires! And so quiet, compared to Chitown. Bluebird’s were very enthusiastic about Ruthie’s birdfeeder filled with mealworms. There were a lot of mama bears with little ones in the area, but they didn’t bother us, even when we picked apples ( a fruit they love) from Ruthie’s trees.
>62 jnwelch:. Aww, I missed you on Sweet Thursday, darn it. I always enjoy the Steinbeck reminder.
Hanging with Jack must be a treat. I miss
our little looneytunes. Glad books and life are going well for you. My GN is Mugshots, which I’m liking. Kinda a British Brubaker/Phillips.
75jnwelch
From a Washington Post article today by Dana Milbank about the best route to happiness in these difficult times, based on a large study of Gen Z’ers:
“the surest path to happiness for many of us could be as simple as this: Stop trying to be happy — and start figuring out how to make other people happy. Burrow’s findings aren’t yet peer reviewed and published, and there may be limits to his method. But the results are consistent with a growing body of evidence that focusing on purpose may be the most efficient way to achieve the flourishing we all seek.”
“ Burrow’s takeaway: “Invite people to think about a contribution they want to make and help them to make that contribution, and that person may walk around with greater purpose than if they hadn’t done that.””
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/10/24/happiness-purpose-...
“So much of the pop psychology stuff is ‘focus on yourself, focus on your own personal growth, focus on your needs, focus on your self-care, focus on you, you, you,’” says psychologist Kendall Cotton Bronk of Claremont Graduate University. Instead, she argued, “the real path to happiness is focusing on others, on how you can contribute to others and their well-being. … What we need to be focusing on is contributing in meaningful ways, and often that will lead to the happiness that you’re seeking.”
“ He says his own research contradicts the narcissistic reputation that Gen Z has, because 95 percent made contributions that benefit others. “If they’re so self-focused and self-centered and if I say, ‘Here, you can think of any contribution you’d like to make,’ they should all buy Apple Watches for themselves,” Burrow says. “They don’t.”. (Each respondent had been given $400 to further their purpose/contribution in any way they wanted).
“the surest path to happiness for many of us could be as simple as this: Stop trying to be happy — and start figuring out how to make other people happy. Burrow’s findings aren’t yet peer reviewed and published, and there may be limits to his method. But the results are consistent with a growing body of evidence that focusing on purpose may be the most efficient way to achieve the flourishing we all seek.”
“ Burrow’s takeaway: “Invite people to think about a contribution they want to make and help them to make that contribution, and that person may walk around with greater purpose than if they hadn’t done that.””
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/10/24/happiness-purpose-...
“So much of the pop psychology stuff is ‘focus on yourself, focus on your own personal growth, focus on your needs, focus on your self-care, focus on you, you, you,’” says psychologist Kendall Cotton Bronk of Claremont Graduate University. Instead, she argued, “the real path to happiness is focusing on others, on how you can contribute to others and their well-being. … What we need to be focusing on is contributing in meaningful ways, and often that will lead to the happiness that you’re seeking.”
“ He says his own research contradicts the narcissistic reputation that Gen Z has, because 95 percent made contributions that benefit others. “If they’re so self-focused and self-centered and if I say, ‘Here, you can think of any contribution you’d like to make,’ they should all buy Apple Watches for themselves,” Burrow says. “They don’t.”. (Each respondent had been given $400 to further their purpose/contribution in any way they wanted).
76jnwelch
More from that article and study:
“One recipient used the contribution to hold a community party at a laundromat and to pay for 270 loads of laundry. One donated books to her former high school. Melanie Marshall used the contribution to plant a persimmon tree in the middle of campus, so that students could pick fruit to eat. The young tree won’t fruit for many years, if at all. But the benefit to the donor was immediate. “It made me feel that my ideas mattered,” she says.”
“One recipient used the contribution to hold a community party at a laundromat and to pay for 270 loads of laundry. One donated books to her former high school. Melanie Marshall used the contribution to plant a persimmon tree in the middle of campus, so that students could pick fruit to eat. The young tree won’t fruit for many years, if at all. But the benefit to the donor was immediate. “It made me feel that my ideas mattered,” she says.”
77jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi for $1.99 on e-readers.. I read a lot of good things about this one, including on LT, and picked it up.
78magicians_nephew
>65 jnwelch: I have to take another look at the Robert Galbraith Books. The first one just seemed to take forever to get off the ground but I know they have fans on here (including Judy)
79magicians_nephew
>75 jnwelch: I always liked what Rod McKuen said - corny as he sometimes was
"There's no sin in not being loved -- only in not loving"
80jnwelch
>78 magicians_nephew:. Hiya, Jim. I’m going to put up a review of the new Robert Galbraith, The Hallmarked Man, that fits with your comment. I suggest both its length (912pp) and the number of characters should’ve been cut in half. First time I’ve felt that way about one of hers. I still gave it 4 stars, because of the half-buried good story, and the pleasure of Cormoran and Robin’s company.
>79 magicians_nephew:. Right, Jim. I love the focus in the article on helping/focusing on others as the route to happiness. As the article author says, we’re constantly persuaded to focus on me, me, me, through therapy and self-help books and what have you, but directing you purpose toward others is the proven (by these studies) route to happiness. That fits with the kindness and compassion orientation of Buddhism, IMO. Couldn’t our fraught world use a big injection of that?
In Chicago we’ve got neighbors helping those being attacked by ICE, and getting teargassed for it. The teargassing is inhumane and unjustifiable where there is no violence or threatened violence against the agents (and ICE is teargassing neighborhood children again), but it’s good to see people stepping up for each other despite the risks. A court order has prohibited ICE from doing that, and as is typical with this administration, ICE is ignoring it. Its director will be back in court today to try to explain what the hell they’re doing.
>79 magicians_nephew:. Right, Jim. I love the focus in the article on helping/focusing on others as the route to happiness. As the article author says, we’re constantly persuaded to focus on me, me, me, through therapy and self-help books and what have you, but directing you purpose toward others is the proven (by these studies) route to happiness. That fits with the kindness and compassion orientation of Buddhism, IMO. Couldn’t our fraught world use a big injection of that?
In Chicago we’ve got neighbors helping those being attacked by ICE, and getting teargassed for it. The teargassing is inhumane and unjustifiable where there is no violence or threatened violence against the agents (and ICE is teargassing neighborhood children again), but it’s good to see people stepping up for each other despite the risks. A court order has prohibited ICE from doing that, and as is typical with this administration, ICE is ignoring it. Its director will be back in court today to try to explain what the hell they’re doing.
81jnwelch
Monday’s Bargains: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann and Babel by R.F. Kuang, each for $1.99 on Kindle.
In the first, the lives of several people are somehow connected to a man tightrope walking high above Manhattan. Beautiful writing; National Book Award winner.
The second is a complex, rewarding, language-based sci-fi/fantasy in an academic setting by the rising star author of Yellowface and Katabasis.
In the first, the lives of several people are somehow connected to a man tightrope walking high above Manhattan. Beautiful writing; National Book Award winner.
The second is a complex, rewarding, language-based sci-fi/fantasy in an academic setting by the rising star author of Yellowface and Katabasis.
82jessibud2
>80 jnwelch: - Teargassing children??! How is that legal? And if any citizen dared to retaliate, I bet they'd be hauled to jail without question. ICE itself should be considered a terrorist group, except the one who created it is the biggest terrorist of all, I guess. Yikes
83jnwelch
>82 jessibud2:. Hi, Shelley. How is teargassing children legal? It’s not. Particularly when there’s a court order in place forbidding gassing peaceful protesters. The two times I’m aware of that involved childre, ICE agents were brutal and careless. They like to aggressively teargas protestors, and rather than targeting children, they’ve been heedless of their presence. In this instance, parents and children were gathered for a neighborhood Halloween parade. When neighbors united trying to protect a guy doing construction on a house and protesting ICE’s actions, the agents teargassed them. It’s infuriating. This was a peaceful neighborhood. Like many others here, ICE is going in and stirring up trouble. They’re not going after “criminals”, as promised, they’re going after black and brown people, a substantial percentage of whom are legal citizens who have no criminal record. It’s gotten so bad that tips are appearing on social media on how best to enhance your chances of being released if you are a born-here U.S. citizen.
Legal comeuppance: everybody’s filming on their phones, and Pritzker has formed a commission to keep track of and investigate the abuses. He’s been candid that some legal action may take place after this administration is out of office. (The statutes of limitations won’t have run).
Meanwhile the judge who ordered ICE to knock off the worst of what they’re doing has had ICE’s Director back in court twice to harangue him. But the bad stuff keeps happening. There’s this weird dynamic of federal authority versus state authority. Normally violating a court order would result in a finding of contempt, and jail time if necessary. But that’s not happening so far.
Very frustrating. We all want them gone.
Legal comeuppance: everybody’s filming on their phones, and Pritzker has formed a commission to keep track of and investigate the abuses. He’s been candid that some legal action may take place after this administration is out of office. (The statutes of limitations won’t have run).
Meanwhile the judge who ordered ICE to knock off the worst of what they’re doing has had ICE’s Director back in court twice to harangue him. But the bad stuff keeps happening. There’s this weird dynamic of federal authority versus state authority. Normally violating a court order would result in a finding of contempt, and jail time if necessary. But that’s not happening so far.
Very frustrating. We all want them gone.
84PaulCranswick
>83 jnwelch: Tear gassing children is never acceptable and is wholly inexcusable. There was a majority for removing those illegally in the country who were convicted of committing serious crimes either before or after they arrived, but this is over reach and crass over reach pure and simple.
85jessibud2
>83 jnwelch: - Joe, I am so horrified. It sounds like genuine Nazi tactics, not even pretending to do what the so-called *task* is, just kind of slash and burn, allowed to do whatever they want. A mob of thugs, led by and authorized by the biggest thug of all.
Stay strong.
Stay strong.
86jnwelch
>84 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, Paul. Agreed.
>85 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. We’ll stay strong. It does feel like we’re under siege by thugs, by Nazis, and that we’re limited in how we can respond. Trump is hoping for violence so he can justify bringing in the Nstional Guard, which so far we’ve kept out. Stay tuned.
>85 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. We’ll stay strong. It does feel like we’re under siege by thugs, by Nazis, and that we’re limited in how we can respond. Trump is hoping for violence so he can justify bringing in the Nstional Guard, which so far we’ve kept out. Stay tuned.
87benitastrnad
There is quite a fight going on in Nebraska over the Cornhusker Klink in McCook, NE. The governor (a republican) agreed to turn a Nebraska penitentiary run community work facility into an ICE detention facility without running it past the Nebraska Unicameral. The Unicameral only meets every two years and this is an off fall for them. However, the Nebraska state law says that there must be a community work facility in the state penitentiary system to facilitate the return of prisoners into community life. The money for this facility had been allocated in the state budget. The governor ignored all of that. Several in the state unicameral are suing to stop the action based on the state laws, but the governor is ignoring the court orders. The Cornhusker Klink will start accepting ICE detainees later this week. People are protesting in Lincoln, and comparing this detention facility to the ones for Japanese Citizens that were removed from their homes and farmland in the Nebraska panhandle during WWII. One elderly Japanese citizen flat out told the reporters that this was the same as what she went through as a child in the 1940s.
88jnwelch
Judge Blasts Border Patrol Boss Greg Bovino For Violating Excessive Force Order.
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes walking to a parade do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told Bovino during a court hearing Tuesday morning. “They just don’t.”
Today in Block Club Chicago
“You may not be familiar with all of the different neighborhoods in Chicago,” the judge said. “Old Irving Park is a fairly quiet neighborhood with a lot of families, a lot of single-family homes. And these kids, you can imagine their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday. And it’s going to take a long time for that to come back, if ever.”
****
“Under the court order, agents are prohibited from using riot-control weapons, including pepper-spray bullets and tear gas, or physical force, such as tackling and shoving, unless someone poses an immediate threat. Immigration authorities are also supposed to give two verbal warnings before deploying chemical irritants and are required to wear body cameras if they’ve already been issued them. In addition, agents who aren’t undercover must wear badges or IDs. “
****
“Judge Ellis told Bovino that she wants to see him every day during the immigration operation so he can report to her on any incidents that occur.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.”
“Kids dressed in Halloween costumes walking to a parade do not pose an immediate threat to the safety of a law enforcement officer,” U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told Bovino during a court hearing Tuesday morning. “They just don’t.”
Today in Block Club Chicago
“You may not be familiar with all of the different neighborhoods in Chicago,” the judge said. “Old Irving Park is a fairly quiet neighborhood with a lot of families, a lot of single-family homes. And these kids, you can imagine their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday. And it’s going to take a long time for that to come back, if ever.”
****
“Under the court order, agents are prohibited from using riot-control weapons, including pepper-spray bullets and tear gas, or physical force, such as tackling and shoving, unless someone poses an immediate threat. Immigration authorities are also supposed to give two verbal warnings before deploying chemical irritants and are required to wear body cameras if they’ve already been issued them. In addition, agents who aren’t undercover must wear badges or IDs. “
****
“Judge Ellis told Bovino that she wants to see him every day during the immigration operation so he can report to her on any incidents that occur.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.”
89jnwelch
The Hallmarked Man by Robert Galbraith
There’s a good story overworked in this latest entry in the Cormoran and Robin series. It clocks in at more than 900 pages. It should have been half that. A very complicated and convoluted plot should have been streamlined. The number of characters should’ve been halved. I don’t know whether JKR thought she was writing a masterpiece, or got caught up in the writing and just played it out long, but an editor should have knocked some sense into her.
Nonetheless, for the overloaded good story and the pleasure of spending time with Cormoran and Robin, I gave it 4 stars. I still want to find out what happens next with Cormoran and Robin, but I sure hope the author gets her writing under better control in the next one.
90m.belljackson
It would be good if the states of Washington, California, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois shared borders so we could secede.
91jnwelch
Tuesday’s Bargain: The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee for $1.99 on e-readers.
“Mukherjee expresses abstract intellectual ideas through emotional stories…and swaddles his medical rigor with rhapsodic tenderness, surprising vulnerability, and occasional flashes of pure poetry” (The Washington Post). This guy, author of The Emperor of All Maladies and Song of the Cell, is such a good writer. In this one he also weaves in his family’s genetic history of mental illness. A fascinating book on how much of who we are is genetically inherited, and what the future holds with our growing ability to manipulate genes.
“Mukherjee expresses abstract intellectual ideas through emotional stories…and swaddles his medical rigor with rhapsodic tenderness, surprising vulnerability, and occasional flashes of pure poetry” (The Washington Post). This guy, author of The Emperor of All Maladies and Song of the Cell, is such a good writer. In this one he also weaves in his family’s genetic history of mental illness. A fascinating book on how much of who we are is genetically inherited, and what the future holds with our growing ability to manipulate genes.
92jnwelch
>87 benitastrnad:. Thanks, Benita. I can’t get used to the idea of anyone getting away with violating a court order. There are punishment mechanisms and judges have a lot of discretion, but it gets complicated when the violator is a government entity or acting under the authority of one. I sure hope the citizenry and their reps and the judge find a way to bring this Nebraska governor into compliance.
>90 m.belljackson:. Sometimes it seems, Marianne, that secession of the blues is Trump’s goal, so he can rule over a land of red-hatted citizens in red states. He misses no chance to insult and blame Democrats and liberals, and his Maga cult does the same.
>90 m.belljackson:. Sometimes it seems, Marianne, that secession of the blues is Trump’s goal, so he can rule over a land of red-hatted citizens in red states. He misses no chance to insult and blame Democrats and liberals, and his Maga cult does the same.
94jnwelch
>93 ffortsa:. Good for you, Judy! My first reaction was that that’d be a tough one to do on audio. But on second thought, I’m not sure. If you have time, I’d appreciate hearing how the audio works for you.
95bell7
I'm very behind in wishing you a happy new thread, Joe. Love seeing the grands growing up, and that was a really great article from Adriana on the choice of Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show. I've always been more of a fan of the game than the music, but it's been a longstanding tradition and a really silly thing to get upset about.
96jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid for $2.99 on e-readers. . This new one has intrigued me since it first came out. A female scientist in NASA’s space shuttle program in the 1980s, by the author of Daisy jones and the Six. Lots of rave reviews and an NYT bestseller. I grabbed it.
97jnwelch
>95 bell7:. Hiya, Mary! Thanks. Isn’t that a greatBad Bunny article from Adriana? She really cut to the heart of it. The NFL is perfectly fine with having the controversy, silly as it is. It only attracts more interest. Hope we get a good matchup in the SB. Could Kansas City be in it again? It’s starting to look like it. I’m starting to think Andy Reid is going to get his own throne in the Hall of Fame.
98benitastrnad
I don't watch the Super Bowl anymore. I don't really care who preforms during the halftime. I don't care about controversy over who preforms, except when some fool makes an annoucement during church that Charlie Kirk's group Turning Point is going to sponsor a Christian Patriotic alternative halftime show for those who want some good wholesome halftime entertainment. It was all I could do to stay seated at the organ bench without beating my head against the keyboards. Great Gobs of Fire, don't people have anything else to talk about?
99msf59
Sweet Thursday, Joe. Just checking in one of my favorite buddies. How are those books treating you? I have had a good reading month. Of course, Startlement continues to be a joy. I have not got to her new poems yet but getting close. I am enjoying my current GN Hunger's Bite. Fun stuff. Keep it in mind.
100jnwelch
Thursday’s Bargain: Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier for $1.99 on Kindle.. Man, I really enjoyed this novel by the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. It’s based on the unlikely 19th century friendship of two RL women from different backgrounds who loved to hunt fossils. They ended up upending the scientific community with what they found.
P.S. Jane Eyre is also available on Kindle today for $1.99.
P.S. Jane Eyre is also available on Kindle today for $1.99.
101jnwelch
>98 benitastrnad:. Hi, Benita. I’m still hooked on watching the Super Bowl and interested in the halftime show. I thoroughly enjoyed Kendrick Lamar last year. The Weeknd during a previous one unfortunately bored me. I’m looking forward to seeing what Bad Bunny does; as you saw in her article, our DIL is a big fan. I’m told that my improved Spanish won’t help me much; his somewhat slurred, informal delivery makes it tough even for native speakers.
It is such a silly thing to take umbrage at. I can’t believe it even got played out in your church. I just read that theTurning Point alternative may not happen - no groundswell of interest, and they can’t get a big name to agree to perform.
>99 msf59:. Hiya, buddy. Sweet Thursday! That reminds me - Did you ever read Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus? I just picked it up as a bargain, and it’s one of his I haven't read, after reading so many in that Steinbeckathon a few years ago.
Like you, I’m continuing to enjoy Startlement, and I’m tagging a lot with post-its for revisits. I’ll take a look at Hunger Bites. That Brit crime GN I mentioned to you, Mugshots, turned out to be very good. I also just finished The Trial of John Garrity by Debbi’s late uncle Milton Bass. Because it was an unpublished manuscript polished up by his wife and son, i had low expectations. I’m happy to report that instead it was a very engaging and thought-provoking read.
It is such a silly thing to take umbrage at. I can’t believe it even got played out in your church. I just read that theTurning Point alternative may not happen - no groundswell of interest, and they can’t get a big name to agree to perform.
>99 msf59:. Hiya, buddy. Sweet Thursday! That reminds me - Did you ever read Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus? I just picked it up as a bargain, and it’s one of his I haven't read, after reading so many in that Steinbeckathon a few years ago.
Like you, I’m continuing to enjoy Startlement, and I’m tagging a lot with post-its for revisits. I’ll take a look at Hunger Bites. That Brit crime GN I mentioned to you, Mugshots, turned out to be very good. I also just finished The Trial of John Garrity by Debbi’s late uncle Milton Bass. Because it was an unpublished manuscript polished up by his wife and son, i had low expectations. I’m happy to report that instead it was a very engaging and thought-provoking read.
102jnwelch
I just read this one by Ada Limon, our recent poet laureate, and thought I’d share it:
The Raincoat
Ada Limón
When the doctor suggested surgery
and a brace for all my youngest years,
my parents scrambled to take me
to massage therapy, deep tissue work,
osteopathy, and soon my crooked spine
unspooled a bit, I could breathe again,
and move more in a body unclouded
by pain. My mom would tell me to sing
songs to her the whole forty-five minute
drive to Middle Two Rock Road and forty-
five minutes back from physical therapy.
She’d say, even my voice sounded unfettered
by my spine afterward. So I sang and sang,
because I thought she liked it. I never
asked her what she gave up to drive me,
or how her day was before this chore. Today,
at her age, I was driving myself home from yet
another spine appointment, singing along
to some maudlin but solid song on the radio,
and I saw a mom take her raincoat off
and give it to her young daughter when
a storm took over the afternoon. My god,
I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her
raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel
that I never got wet.
The Raincoat
Ada Limón
When the doctor suggested surgery
and a brace for all my youngest years,
my parents scrambled to take me
to massage therapy, deep tissue work,
osteopathy, and soon my crooked spine
unspooled a bit, I could breathe again,
and move more in a body unclouded
by pain. My mom would tell me to sing
songs to her the whole forty-five minute
drive to Middle Two Rock Road and forty-
five minutes back from physical therapy.
She’d say, even my voice sounded unfettered
by my spine afterward. So I sang and sang,
because I thought she liked it. I never
asked her what she gave up to drive me,
or how her day was before this chore. Today,
at her age, I was driving myself home from yet
another spine appointment, singing along
to some maudlin but solid song on the radio,
and I saw a mom take her raincoat off
and give it to her young daughter when
a storm took over the afternoon. My god,
I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her
raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel
that I never got wet.
103foggidawn
>102 jnwelch: That's lovely.
104jnwelch
>103 foggidawn:. Thanks for saying so, Misti. I thought so, too. I find it very moving. Ah, the things I took for granted as a kid. Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad.
105msf59
I read The Wayward Bus way back in 2012 and loved it. 4.5 stars. I will have to revisit that one. Glad you ended up enjoying Mr. Bass. I will request that GN.
>102 jnwelch: Love the Limon!
>102 jnwelch: Love the Limon!
106benitastrnad
>101 jnwelch:
Thank you for that bit of research on the Alternative Super Bowl Halftime Show. It helps restore my faith that all the silliness is just that.
To be fair to the SuperBowl - I don't think my lack of interest in it will hurt anything. I suspect that I am way out numbered in support for the entire money making machine it has become. I do take a cultural interest in it. Every year I await the Chrylser ad - just to see what kind of silly reaction there will be to whoever they hire to star in it. I told one of our American Studies professors that I was sure that there was a dissertation waiting for somebody who wanted to study just those ads starting with the Emmonem "Imported from Detroit" ad and ending with whoever was the latest person to dare to take the job. It is quite a journey down cultural history to watch those ads. Or a great You Tube time suck.
Thank you for that bit of research on the Alternative Super Bowl Halftime Show. It helps restore my faith that all the silliness is just that.
To be fair to the SuperBowl - I don't think my lack of interest in it will hurt anything. I suspect that I am way out numbered in support for the entire money making machine it has become. I do take a cultural interest in it. Every year I await the Chrylser ad - just to see what kind of silly reaction there will be to whoever they hire to star in it. I told one of our American Studies professors that I was sure that there was a dissertation waiting for somebody who wanted to study just those ads starting with the Emmonem "Imported from Detroit" ad and ending with whoever was the latest person to dare to take the job. It is quite a journey down cultural history to watch those ads. Or a great You Tube time suck.
107benitastrnad
>102 jnwelch:
This was a great poem. But when I read it out loud I thought it was more prose than poem. Either way it was good.
This was a great poem. But when I read it out loud I thought it was more prose than poem. Either way it was good.
108humouress
>102 jnwelch: That's a lovely piece of writing. But it doesn't meet my definition of a poem.
109jnwelch
They were working hard at the bargain store today. Lots of good ones. .. Friday’s Bargains: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand. , and Stone Diaries by Carol Shields, each for $1.99 on e-readers.
The first one might be my favorite Irving book so far, up yhere with The World According to Garp. I’m told that I need to read The Cider House Rules, too, some day. In Owen Meaney a tragic accident causes an eleven year old boy to believe he’s an instrument of God, and begins a spiritual journey that also involves the accident victim’s son, who becomes a close friend.
Unbroken is an amazing true story told beautifully by the author. Louis Zamperini, a problem child turned Olympic runner, survives a WWII plane crash in the ocean and shows incredible endurance in getting himself to dry land and then surviving the nastiness of a Japanese POW camp. His will and integrity are re-
markable.
I haven’t read The Stone Diaries, but it is a favorite of many.t
The first one might be my favorite Irving book so far, up yhere with The World According to Garp. I’m told that I need to read The Cider House Rules, too, some day. In Owen Meaney a tragic accident causes an eleven year old boy to believe he’s an instrument of God, and begins a spiritual journey that also involves the accident victim’s son, who becomes a close friend.
Unbroken is an amazing true story told beautifully by the author. Louis Zamperini, a problem child turned Olympic runner, survives a WWII plane crash in the ocean and shows incredible endurance in getting himself to dry land and then surviving the nastiness of a Japanese POW camp. His will and integrity are re-
markable.
I haven’t read The Stone Diaries, but it is a favorite of many.t
110jnwelch
Godson Jimmy with his wife Norma and their recently born Baby Yoda (named Legend) and furry Yoda (named Bailey)
Daughter Becca as Unicorn Princess and her dog Indy as Shark
111ffortsa
>109 jnwelch: Re The Stone Diaries, not me.
112jnwelch
>111 ffortsa:. Good to know, Judy. I may take a pass on it.
>105 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I’ll tee up Wayward Bus soon. It’s been a real joy to get to know his books.
Isn’t that another great one from Ada Limon?
>106 benitastrnad:. It is a silly business, isn’t it, Benita. I didn’t know the saga of the Chrysler ads. I’ll keep an eye out this year.
Debbi has zero interest in football, and asks those of us gathered for the SB to alert her when the ads come on. 😀. Companies make such an effort to have their ads make an impact with the big audience and to justify the money spent to get a slot. She’s fascinated.
>107 benitastrnad:. Well said, Benita. Limon has other ones in the collection that she simply presents in prose form, as a standalone paragraph. I was taught those types are called prose poems. That could’ve been done with this one, but it works for me this way.
>108 humouress:. Hi, Nina. Isn’t that a lovely piece of writing? It’s prosy, and different from much of her other poetry, but it’s awfully good, and moving.
>105 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I’ll tee up Wayward Bus soon. It’s been a real joy to get to know his books.
Isn’t that another great one from Ada Limon?
>106 benitastrnad:. It is a silly business, isn’t it, Benita. I didn’t know the saga of the Chrysler ads. I’ll keep an eye out this year.
Debbi has zero interest in football, and asks those of us gathered for the SB to alert her when the ads come on. 😀. Companies make such an effort to have their ads make an impact with the big audience and to justify the money spent to get a slot. She’s fascinated.
>107 benitastrnad:. Well said, Benita. Limon has other ones in the collection that she simply presents in prose form, as a standalone paragraph. I was taught those types are called prose poems. That could’ve been done with this one, but it works for me this way.
>108 humouress:. Hi, Nina. Isn’t that a lovely piece of writing? It’s prosy, and different from much of her other poetry, but it’s awfully good, and moving.
113PaulCranswick
>112 jnwelch: & >108 humouress: Yeah, I sort of get Nina's point and some of the free verse poets rarely manage to move me, Joe, but Ada Limon is definitely an exception to that. If this isn't poetry well it is certainly poetic!
I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her
raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel
that I never got wet. .......especially. The imagery created here is lovely.
I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her
raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel
that I never got wet. .......especially. The imagery created here is lovely.
115m.belljackson
"A day will come when the very stones cry out at the utmost
injustice done to the people of this land..."
Jean Senac (from OUR RICHES).
injustice done to the people of this land..."
Jean Senac (from OUR RICHES).
116jnwelch
Saturday’s Bargains: Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit and Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, each for $1.99 on e-readers.
For the first one, I must first apologize for the foibles of my gender. That said, this is a terrific book. It contains seven essays about gender and power, including the title essay, in which, among other things, she recounts some of her own awful encounters with mansplaining. Men have tried to explain to her all sorts of areas of her own knowledge, even one who as I recall tried to convince her she was wrong about her own book! The other essays are all gems, including one about Virginia Woolf.
Shutter Island is an addictive psychological thriller with a jaw drop of a twist. The main character investigates a problematic psychiatric hospital on an isolated island, where appearance is not necessarily reality.
For the first one, I must first apologize for the foibles of my gender. That said, this is a terrific book. It contains seven essays about gender and power, including the title essay, in which, among other things, she recounts some of her own awful encounters with mansplaining. Men have tried to explain to her all sorts of areas of her own knowledge, even one who as I recall tried to convince her she was wrong about her own book! The other essays are all gems, including one about Virginia Woolf.
Shutter Island is an addictive psychological thriller with a jaw drop of a twist. The main character investigates a problematic psychiatric hospital on an isolated island, where appearance is not necessarily reality.
117jnwelch
If you’re curious, here’s a link to three of my poems in the Academy of the Heart and Mind:
https://academyoftheheartandmind.com/2019/08/30/poems-by-joe-welch/
Also, I put some new photos up in >110 jnwelch:, a previously goofed up post.
https://academyoftheheartandmind.com/2019/08/30/poems-by-joe-welch/
Also, I put some new photos up in >110 jnwelch:, a previously goofed up post.
118Caroline_McElwee
>116 jnwelch: Big Solnit fan here Joe, read all except one early volume which I have nudged up the tbr mountain to read over winter.
In the above volume the essay with the guy who was recommending her own volume to her, and not listening to her telling him she wrote it made me nod and smile.
In the above volume the essay with the guy who was recommending her own volume to her, and not listening to her telling him she wrote it made me nod and smile.
120jnwelch
>118 Caroline_McElwee:. Thank you, Caroline! That was it! In the Men Explain Things to Me essay, the man recommended her own book to Solnit, and wouldn’t listen when she told him she wrote it. 😂. Cracked me up.
I’m a big Solnit fan, too, and have read at least three, but need to read more of hers. Kudos to you for being near-complete.
I’m a big Solnit fan, too, and have read at least three, but need to read more of hers. Kudos to you for being near-complete.
121Caroline_McElwee
>120 jnwelch: The mansplaining, manowning thing happened in my last job, as one of two women in a team of 11, at a meeting I made a suggestion about how we dealt with something that went unacknowledged, and we carried on round the table and three men up the guy said exactly the same thing almost in the same words, and all the men agreed with him, and it went into the minutes. The other woman and I looked at each other. I said I had just said exactly that, and the men all looked at each other as if I were mad! Surely a woman wouldn't have had a good idea!
122jnwelch
>121 Caroline_McElwee: Oh man (!), more apologies for my gender, Caroline. From what I've read, that unfortunately is a very common occurrence at business meetings: a woman makes a good suggestion which is ignored, and then a man says the same thing and the other men embrace it as his fresh and original thought. Arggh. That ain't right. so sorry you had to experience that.
if I remember correctly, when it was brought to Obama's attention, he tried to do something to amplify women's opinions at meetings. I can't remember what (I'm a typical forgetful guy, right? :-)), but maybe the Big O repeated the suggestion or someone else did, or something else, but i know he recognized the problem. If I were running the meeting, I think I'd repeat the suggestion myself, with proper attribution, and either ask her a question about it, or for her to explain, or open it up for discussion. After a while, I hope it'd start rechanneling the socially dopey thinking of the men.
P.S. Here’s a link to an article about a maybe better solution: other women in the room “amplify” the suggestion with proper attribution, so that the men can’t ignore it and take credit:
https://andieandal.com/obamas-staff-uses-piling-successfully-promote-womens-idea...
Apparently that’s what was done in the Obama meetings, and he encouraged it.
if I remember correctly, when it was brought to Obama's attention, he tried to do something to amplify women's opinions at meetings. I can't remember what (I'm a typical forgetful guy, right? :-)), but maybe the Big O repeated the suggestion or someone else did, or something else, but i know he recognized the problem. If I were running the meeting, I think I'd repeat the suggestion myself, with proper attribution, and either ask her a question about it, or for her to explain, or open it up for discussion. After a while, I hope it'd start rechanneling the socially dopey thinking of the men.
P.S. Here’s a link to an article about a maybe better solution: other women in the room “amplify” the suggestion with proper attribution, so that the men can’t ignore it and take credit:
https://andieandal.com/obamas-staff-uses-piling-successfully-promote-womens-idea...
Apparently that’s what was done in the Obama meetings, and he encouraged it.
123jnwelch
>119 klobrien2:. Thanks for letting me know, Karen! I’m glad they worked well for you. Was my Buddhism showing? :-)
It’s harder to link to my two in the journal Shiuli, so here they are:
Joe Welch
Evening Martinis
Lovely Y-shaped glass
Filled with icy clear liquid.
Half-full, frosted,
Tapering glass pitcher, so
Cool, so healing, so refreshing.
A ritual of preparation, the father
Home from work, mother impatient for
The queen's reward.
Masterfully he mixes gin, vermouth,
A quick stir, then confidently placing the
Sacred vessel before her.
The evening begins.
The king sits kitty-corner at the open counter, the
Young prince sits across, waiting.
The princess near the queen, dreading.
King, queen, pitcher, glass.
All gathered for the sadness.
Her beautiful brain
Slows, dulls, becomes unharmable.
Anger smiles, opportunity wickedly arrives.
The canny snappish slippery thing
Darts forward and flicks,
Looking to strike -
The prince and princess
Immobilized by unstoppable loss
By betrayal, by youth.
The bite pierces deep,
The venom lingers, a sickness of spirit.
Having survived, again and again
Tolerance develops, knowledge recovers.
But somewhere deep
Children never understand,
Never forget.
Daytime, the royal scullery
Empty, all quiet.
Daughter and son watch carefully sideways,
Pour gin into the sink
Then water into the sacred bottle.
Enough to make a difference, maybe,
Not enough to get caught, maybe.
It seems unnoticed.
But that evening the slither
Re-emerges,
Anger still smiles,
Head tilting this way and that.
Sharp red eyes,
Intensely ready, hungry.
When the prince and princess confront the
King, he angers.
Understand, you'll never.
Later they learn of the other
Prince, lost, full term.
The queen's pain, her sadness.
The powerful woman denied
A man's chance, her brothers' chance.
One night, while the
Prince and princess are
Away, the queen stumbles and falls
Among her gathered subjects.
The center of laughter and pity.
Humiliated, she determines to change.
Some new evening it begins
A single short squat glass of
Shimmery orange brown liquid,
A sliver of lemon,
Small blocks of ice,
Shifting cut glass diamonds of
Yellowish light.
Less potent, less dangerous.
The darkness subdues, but it is
Still there, hidden.
No lovely Y-shape, no icy clear liquid.
Older, slower, resigned.
Still, it winds the
Paths, searching, searching.
The queen misses her companion.
Somewhere far inside
She fiercely loves its
Truth to death.
******
Odysseus Strings His Bow
String your bow, brave Odysseus.
Launch your arrow through
Eyes of
Axes, through these
Honorless men. They must
Die. Mustn't they?
Penned by suffering and doubt, you
Found your way out,
Enslaved by cunning and power,
Found your escape,
Ensnared by temptation and
Ease, found your way here.
None can hold
Your bow, none string it -
None can lace the
Arrow through axe loops to
Win your wife, to save his life.
Their ending has
Sailed toward these
Suitors all their gluttonous
Years.
Son of Pain,
Pray for them now,
They have no way out.
The doors are locked.
The deals are done.
They cannot reach their
Shields and spears.
So many of your comrades
Lost along the way.
These suitors know
Even less, they do not understand.
They stumble, pleading,
Crying, to a
Shadowy, ignorant death.
As yet another life, for you,
Begins.
It’s harder to link to my two in the journal Shiuli, so here they are:
Joe Welch
Evening Martinis
Lovely Y-shaped glass
Filled with icy clear liquid.
Half-full, frosted,
Tapering glass pitcher, so
Cool, so healing, so refreshing.
A ritual of preparation, the father
Home from work, mother impatient for
The queen's reward.
Masterfully he mixes gin, vermouth,
A quick stir, then confidently placing the
Sacred vessel before her.
The evening begins.
The king sits kitty-corner at the open counter, the
Young prince sits across, waiting.
The princess near the queen, dreading.
King, queen, pitcher, glass.
All gathered for the sadness.
Her beautiful brain
Slows, dulls, becomes unharmable.
Anger smiles, opportunity wickedly arrives.
The canny snappish slippery thing
Darts forward and flicks,
Looking to strike -
The prince and princess
Immobilized by unstoppable loss
By betrayal, by youth.
The bite pierces deep,
The venom lingers, a sickness of spirit.
Having survived, again and again
Tolerance develops, knowledge recovers.
But somewhere deep
Children never understand,
Never forget.
Daytime, the royal scullery
Empty, all quiet.
Daughter and son watch carefully sideways,
Pour gin into the sink
Then water into the sacred bottle.
Enough to make a difference, maybe,
Not enough to get caught, maybe.
It seems unnoticed.
But that evening the slither
Re-emerges,
Anger still smiles,
Head tilting this way and that.
Sharp red eyes,
Intensely ready, hungry.
When the prince and princess confront the
King, he angers.
Understand, you'll never.
Later they learn of the other
Prince, lost, full term.
The queen's pain, her sadness.
The powerful woman denied
A man's chance, her brothers' chance.
One night, while the
Prince and princess are
Away, the queen stumbles and falls
Among her gathered subjects.
The center of laughter and pity.
Humiliated, she determines to change.
Some new evening it begins
A single short squat glass of
Shimmery orange brown liquid,
A sliver of lemon,
Small blocks of ice,
Shifting cut glass diamonds of
Yellowish light.
Less potent, less dangerous.
The darkness subdues, but it is
Still there, hidden.
No lovely Y-shape, no icy clear liquid.
Older, slower, resigned.
Still, it winds the
Paths, searching, searching.
The queen misses her companion.
Somewhere far inside
She fiercely loves its
Truth to death.
******
Odysseus Strings His Bow
String your bow, brave Odysseus.
Launch your arrow through
Eyes of
Axes, through these
Honorless men. They must
Die. Mustn't they?
Penned by suffering and doubt, you
Found your way out,
Enslaved by cunning and power,
Found your escape,
Ensnared by temptation and
Ease, found your way here.
None can hold
Your bow, none string it -
None can lace the
Arrow through axe loops to
Win your wife, to save his life.
Their ending has
Sailed toward these
Suitors all their gluttonous
Years.
Son of Pain,
Pray for them now,
They have no way out.
The doors are locked.
The deals are done.
They cannot reach their
Shields and spears.
So many of your comrades
Lost along the way.
These suitors know
Even less, they do not understand.
They stumble, pleading,
Crying, to a
Shadowy, ignorant death.
As yet another life, for you,
Begins.
124jnwelch
>115 m.belljackson:. There’s a whole lot of injustice going on right now, isn’t there, Marianne. The very stones must be crying out. Lovely quote, thank you.
125jnwelch
Sunday’s Bargain: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn for$1.99 on e-readers. . This got me started on reading a lot more Kate Quinn. She is a dab hand with historical novels. This one has an American socialite and a former French redistancd member from WWI searching for the former’s cousin Rose in 1947, in the aftermath of WWII. Gripping page-turner.
126jnwelch
For astrophysics nerds, i just finished the very good Merlin’s Tour of the Universe by Neil deGrasse Tyson, in which he answers submitted q’s about Earth, the Solar System, the Milky Way and the Universe, including exoplanets ( those situated the way Earth is with the Sun). Loved it. Wish I could bring him along on walks with the grandkids. His answers are much better than mine.
I segued to Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, to get back out into outer space.
I segued to Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, to get back out into outer space.
127jnwelch
Monday’s Bargains: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel for $2.99 on e-readers and When You Are Engulfed by Flames by David Sedaris for $1.99.
SOT, by the author of Station Eleven, is an entrancing story of intertwined lives spanning 500 years, from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a future moon colony. Time travel aspects are accompanied by the sound of a violin - why?
The Sedaris book is an exceptionally popular collection of his humorous essays.
SOT, by the author of Station Eleven, is an entrancing story of intertwined lives spanning 500 years, from Vancouver Island in 1912 to a future moon colony. Time travel aspects are accompanied by the sound of a violin - why?
The Sedaris book is an exceptionally popular collection of his humorous essays.
128jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury for $1.99 on Kindle. Eighteen great stories from this gift of an author.
129jnwelch
For those following the sad story, ICE agents broke into a private daycare center, grabbed a daycare teacher, and went room to room demanding papers. The kids were traumatized, the parents there were traumatized, and it’s believed that the teacher from Colombia was working here legally.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/daycare-worker-pulled-out-of-school-by-a...
There is a community meeting tonight to see what more can be done to get her released, and what more can be done to stop ICE agents from doing this.
https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/05/daycare-worker-pulled-out-of-school-by-a...
There is a community meeting tonight to see what more can be done to get her released, and what more can be done to stop ICE agents from doing this.
130jessibud2
>129 jnwelch: - Holy cow. It's like a pogrom, without the actually killing. And the cowards always cover their faces, don't they, so they can't be identified. Someone ought to try to rip those masks off while video is running.
I can't imagine how awful it is for everyone involved. There probably aren't enough prisons to contain all the ICE thugs, if they should ever be held accountable. Which, I suppose, isn't likely as long as trump keeps endorsing them. Joe, were you as foolish as I was to watch the interview on 60 Minutes, with Norah O'Donnel? He actually said, when she asked him if the Chicago tactics were not going too far, he actually said that he thought they weren't going far enough. !!!
Maybe ICE should go after Melania, she is an immigrant. They don't seem to care or distinguish whether people are legal or not.
It is beyond belief.
I can't imagine how awful it is for everyone involved. There probably aren't enough prisons to contain all the ICE thugs, if they should ever be held accountable. Which, I suppose, isn't likely as long as trump keeps endorsing them. Joe, were you as foolish as I was to watch the interview on 60 Minutes, with Norah O'Donnel? He actually said, when she asked him if the Chicago tactics were not going too far, he actually said that he thought they weren't going far enough. !!!
Maybe ICE should go after Melania, she is an immigrant. They don't seem to care or distinguish whether people are legal or not.
It is beyond belief.
131m.belljackson
Joe - can't wait for ICE to go after Giannis, Basketball's Favorite Immigrant,
132figsfromthistle
>66 jnwelch: Look at the happy bunch! Also, nice background of books :)
133jnwelch
>131 m.belljackson:. Right, Marianne. I wouldn’t put it past ICE. Bovino and his agents seem to believe they’re untouchable. Debbi’s convinced a lot of the agents aren’t trained ICE agents, but instead hired mercenaries. From their behavior, I can’t blame her for thinking so.
I’m very happy about how well Democrats did across the country in the elections, but Trump and his lackeys are a clear and present danger to our citizens. I’m dubious about current efforts to stop the damage in the present. If they can get away with violating court orders, we’re in big trouble.
I’m very happy about how well Democrats did across the country in the elections, but Trump and his lackeys are a clear and present danger to our citizens. I’m dubious about current efforts to stop the damage in the present. If they can get away with violating court orders, we’re in big trouble.
134PaulCranswick
>133 jnwelch: Interesting and quite disturbing. Trump was asked on 60 Minutes and I paraphrase: "Do you think that ICE agents have gone too far?" his response was "No. I don't think that they have gone far enough." !!!!
Wow, I am not an advocate of illegal immigration but some of the scenes coming out of the States right now indicate a different world view entirely - it is heartless, indiscriminate as well as discriminating - anyone who looks like a Latin American seems to be fair game to them. Awful.
Wow, I am not an advocate of illegal immigration but some of the scenes coming out of the States right now indicate a different world view entirely - it is heartless, indiscriminate as well as discriminating - anyone who looks like a Latin American seems to be fair game to them. Awful.
135jnwelch
>132 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. That was a stellar, happy visit and yes, it’s a great house for books. They’re everywhere! I found one I wanted to borrow in the upstairs bathroom. 😀 There two authors in that photo that lived in that house - Ruthie, a newspaper columnist at 91,and her daughter Elissa - and Ruthie’s late husband Milt, also a newspaper columnist, was a third. The other daughter, Amy Bass wrote the superb book One Goal, about young Somali immigrants who became the backbone of a state soccer championship team in white Lewiston, Maine. The son, Michael Bass, was CNN’s Programming Chief, and is working on his first novel after finishing his father’s The Trial of John Garrity. What a family.
136jessibud2
You missed me up there, Joe (>130 jessibud2:).
Man, there has to be a way to stop them. If they are violating court orders, isn't THAT a crime? Who is above the court? Is there anyone who can haul THEM off to jail? It seems insane that they can just keep going, unchecked.
Man, there has to be a way to stop them. If they are violating court orders, isn't THAT a crime? Who is above the court? Is there anyone who can haul THEM off to jail? It seems insane that they can just keep going, unchecked.
137jnwelch
>130 jessibud2:. Oh man, I’m sorry, Shelley. I’ve been under the weather and even dopier than usual. Thank you for letting me know.
They don't seem to care or distinguish whether people are legal or not.. That’s one of the worst parts about it, Shelley. They’re just abusing brown and black people, believing they’re immune from any consequences.
Before this, I didn’t know how hard it was to effectively go after federal agents for abuse. One judge here just keeps bringing the ICE director in and yelling at him, but there seem to be no consequences for violating her restraining order. The Supreme Court is supposed to release a decision soon that’ll maybe make it easier to go after federal agents. It’s much-needed!
I can’t listen to Trump. The cruelty, bluster and blatant lying turn my stomach. Supposedly on 60 minutes he said, regarding the Chicago agents, that he wishes they would be more aggressive. Hitler, anyone?
They don't seem to care or distinguish whether people are legal or not.. That’s one of the worst parts about it, Shelley. They’re just abusing brown and black people, believing they’re immune from any consequences.
Before this, I didn’t know how hard it was to effectively go after federal agents for abuse. One judge here just keeps bringing the ICE director in and yelling at him, but there seem to be no consequences for violating her restraining order. The Supreme Court is supposed to release a decision soon that’ll maybe make it easier to go after federal agents. It’s much-needed!
I can’t listen to Trump. The cruelty, bluster and blatant lying turn my stomach. Supposedly on 60 minutes he said, regarding the Chicago agents, that he wishes they would be more aggressive. Hitler, anyone?
138jnwelch
>134 PaulCranswick:. You got it, Paul. Yeah, that’s the 60 minutes comment I was trying to describe to Shelley. “Heartless and indiscriminate” is right on target, and a great way to describe what’s going on. We’re all looking out for each other, but they even chased a Colombian, legally here teacher into a preschool, and still haven’t released her despite all sorts of efforts to get her out. It’s so hard to fight back with our arms tied behind our backs! No one envisioned the federal government being this vicious to its own citizens, and we don’t have the right counter-balances in place.
139msf59
Happy Sunday, Joe. Snow? Are you kidding me. Oh, well...Hey Go Bears! And Go Bulls! You must be very happy with the latter. May that continue....
I really enjoyed your 2 poems. The first one is very Shakespearean. What inspired that one? An uncomfortable family dinner? I am sure your last reading of The Odyssey inspired the second.
I really enjoyed your 2 poems. The first one is very Shakespearean. What inspired that one? An uncomfortable family dinner? I am sure your last reading of The Odyssey inspired the second.
140jnwelch
Monday’s Bargains: The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howardand Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford , each for $1.99 on e-readers.
The first is about an aristocratic British family on the eve of WWII. It’s the first of the Cazalet Chronicles. Unlike many LTers, i didn’t continue on with the subsequent books, but I sure did enjoy this one.
I thought of Genghis Kahn and the Mongols only in terms of successful warfare, but as this book makes clear, he was a genius who brought a lot of modern innovations to the territories he conquered. A fast-paced book that makes the history flavorful.
The first is about an aristocratic British family on the eve of WWII. It’s the first of the Cazalet Chronicles. Unlike many LTers, i didn’t continue on with the subsequent books, but I sure did enjoy this one.
I thought of Genghis Kahn and the Mongols only in terms of successful warfare, but as this book makes clear, he was a genius who brought a lot of modern innovations to the territories he conquered. A fast-paced book that makes the history flavorful.
141jnwelch
>139 msf59:. Hey, buddy. Sorry, I was away all day Sunday. Happy Monday, instead.
Yeah, lots of snow where we are. I will say, the City did a good job of clearing the streets around us. Becca was hoping school would get cancelled, but no such luck.
Another nice Bears win.caleb done good. Maybe the critics will ease up for a while. He’s the real deal.
The Bulls have been a ton o’ fun. They’ve got Wemby at the UC tonight - what a wonder that guy is. 7’4”, handles the ball like a point guard, shoots like Steph Curry. Mind-boggling.
I’m glad you got a kick out of the two poems. I wish the first one was about an uncomfortable family dinner. Instead it was about a long difficult time featuring a frustrated woman and kids in no position to fix things. As to the other, you know about my Odyssey fascination. I can’t stop wondering about the mind of a clever guy who survives so much death with his wits, then comes home and slaughters a bunch of arrogant, obnoxious young guys (his wife’s relentless suitors) who nonetheless were clueless and just starting out in life. Like the Torah Bible, that was one harsh world.
Yeah, lots of snow where we are. I will say, the City did a good job of clearing the streets around us. Becca was hoping school would get cancelled, but no such luck.
Another nice Bears win.caleb done good. Maybe the critics will ease up for a while. He’s the real deal.
The Bulls have been a ton o’ fun. They’ve got Wemby at the UC tonight - what a wonder that guy is. 7’4”, handles the ball like a point guard, shoots like Steph Curry. Mind-boggling.
I’m glad you got a kick out of the two poems. I wish the first one was about an uncomfortable family dinner. Instead it was about a long difficult time featuring a frustrated woman and kids in no position to fix things. As to the other, you know about my Odyssey fascination. I can’t stop wondering about the mind of a clever guy who survives so much death with his wits, then comes home and slaughters a bunch of arrogant, obnoxious young guys (his wife’s relentless suitors) who nonetheless were clueless and just starting out in life. Like the Torah Bible, that was one harsh world.
142jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler for $1.99 on e-readers. A beautiful little book about a man’s life on an Austrian mountainside. Beautifully and simply written. Off the beaten path, a rewarding hike. A story of hardship and persistence and a life without regrets.
143jnwelch
There are credible reports that a lot of ICE agents will be leaving Chicago this week for new assignments. May the universe help the assigned destinations. We’ll see how that affects the abhorrent abuses that have been happening here.
144kac522
>142 jnwelch: I loved that book. I've got his The Tobacconist on my shelf to read next month--looking forward to it. Have you read that one?
>143 jnwelch: Yeah, the snow kinda slows 'em down, me thinks. Along with the judges.
>143 jnwelch: Yeah, the snow kinda slows 'em down, me thinks. Along with the judges.
145jnwelch
Wednesday’s Bargains: Bel Canto by Ann Patchett and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, each for $1.99 on Kindle.
Bel Canto is a thrilling, brilliant read, as international travelers at a high end party in South America are taken hostage by terrorists. Among them is a famous opera star who was the evening’s entertainment.Relationships form, and much light is shed on the nature of our world.
If you haven’t read The Grapes of Wrath, or would like to have a readily available copy, here’s your bargain copy. Considered by many to be the Great American Novel.
Bel Canto is a thrilling, brilliant read, as international travelers at a high end party in South America are taken hostage by terrorists. Among them is a famous opera star who was the evening’s entertainment.Relationships form, and much light is shed on the nature of our world.
If you haven’t read The Grapes of Wrath, or would like to have a readily available copy, here’s your bargain copy. Considered by many to be the Great American Novel.
146jnwelch
>144 kac522:. Wasn’t A Whole Life a great one, Kathy? I’m glad you loved it, too. I feel like it’s a bit of a hidden gem - not as many people know about it as I would like.
I had the same thought with the snow slowing down the ICE agents (bad puns, anyone?), and making their disturbing job more difficult. Now that it’s melting, I hope this promised departure really happens.
P.S. i haven’t read The Tobacconist yet. I look forward to your comments on it.
I had the same thought with the snow slowing down the ICE agents (bad puns, anyone?), and making their disturbing job more difficult. Now that it’s melting, I hope this promised departure really happens.
P.S. i haven’t read The Tobacconist yet. I look forward to your comments on it.
147jnwelch
Thursday’s Bargain: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozecki for $1.99 on e-readers.. I loved this one. There have been a few books where at the beginning I was just journeying with the author on faith or out of curiosity (Eleanor Oliphant is another) and then at some point the book just took off as I became immersed. In this one, it was when suicidal 16 year old Nao meets her Buddhist nun grandmother and everything changes. My favorite book from this accomplished author.
148m.belljackson
Hi JOE and MARK - I'm still slowly getting into POETRY SPEAKS - hearing Alfred Lord Tennyson (what a name)
recite BLOW BUGLE BLOW and CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is really something!
Robert Browning kind of fades away, so I'm ready for AMERICA and Walt Whitman.
recite BLOW BUGLE BLOW and CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE is really something!
Robert Browning kind of fades away, so I'm ready for AMERICA and Walt Whitman.
149jnwelch
>148 m.belljackson:. Good for you, Marianne. Poetry Speaks sounds like a treat. I haven’t heard old-timers from that far back- I think the furthest back I went was T.S. Eliot and some Yeats. Keep us posted.
I bet your library will have that Ada Limon Startlement collection. To me she's the most exciting of our newer crop.
I bet your library will have that Ada Limon Startlement collection. To me she's the most exciting of our newer crop.
150msf59
"There are credible reports that a lot of ICE agents will be leaving Chicago this week for new assignments."
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Sweet Thursday, Joe. I am enjoying the early Haruf. Not very surprising, right?
🙏🙏🙏🙏
Sweet Thursday, Joe. I am enjoying the early Haruf. Not very surprising, right?
151jnwelch
>150 msf59:. Good morning, brother. Has ICE made it to your neck of the woods? I’m hoping not, although they seem determined to scour (and cause trouble throughout) the area.
Happy Friday, and a belated Sweet Thursday. I’m glad and like you, not surprised at all, that you’re having a good time with the early Haruf. Looks like I’d better find it on the tbr shelf.😀
Happy Friday, and a belated Sweet Thursday. I’m glad and like you, not surprised at all, that you’re having a good time with the early Haruf. Looks like I’d better find it on the tbr shelf.😀
152jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchyfor $1.99 on e-readers. . Has anyone else been tempted for a long time to read one by this author? This one sounded good - “Reading this novel is like ducking out of a cold rain into a fire-warmed pub filled with laughter” (People).
153katiekrug
I read several Binchys back in the day. They are good, cozy reading, but I like her older ones better than the later ones like AWiW.
154jnwelch
>153 katiekrug: Hmm, good to know. Thanks, Katie. What’s an older one that you’d recommend?
156laytonwoman3rd
>154 jnwelch:, >155 katiekrug: I loved The Copper Beech. Also Circle of Friends. I read quite a few more, but those are the ones I remember most fondly.
157jnwelch
>155 katiekrug:, >156 laytonwoman3rd:. Thanks, Katie and Linda. The Copper Beach and Circle of Friends. Got it.😀
158jnwelch
Monday’s Bargains: Stephen Fry in America by himself and Wonder by R.J.Palacio, each for $1.99 on e-readers.
Fry is a brilliant, funny, endlessly curious guy. He played Jeeves to Hugh Laurie’s Bertie Wooster, among many other roles. We got to see him live performing stories from his mythology book and were wowed. He loves America, and in this one visits all 50 states and hobnobs with the locals. I’m sure it’ll be delightful and insightful and chock full of lightful.
Wonder is the hugely popular book about facially disfigured fifth grader Augie Pullman who manages to overcome the shock of his appearance and help even hard-hearted school mates learn kindness. Quite moving, and well worth the bargain price.
Fry is a brilliant, funny, endlessly curious guy. He played Jeeves to Hugh Laurie’s Bertie Wooster, among many other roles. We got to see him live performing stories from his mythology book and were wowed. He loves America, and in this one visits all 50 states and hobnobs with the locals. I’m sure it’ll be delightful and insightful and chock full of lightful.
Wonder is the hugely popular book about facially disfigured fifth grader Augie Pullman who manages to overcome the shock of his appearance and help even hard-hearted school mates learn kindness. Quite moving, and well worth the bargain price.
159jnwelch
I just finished a fun one, Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree, the author of the smile-inducing Legends and Lattes. . Viv, the coffee shop owning orc who hung up her sword and committed to romance with the succubus Tandri, takes a back seat in this one while her charmingly foul-mouthed rattkin friend Fern, a bookseller, accidentally partners up with a legendary warrior mid-adventure. If you haven’t tried Legends and Lattes yet, I’d start there. If you’ve read it and the second one, grab this one for another good time.
160alcottacre
>158 jnwelch: Thanks for the recommendation of Wonder, Joe. My local library has a copy so hopefully I can get to it soon!
>159 jnwelch: I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed Brigands & Breadknives as I am slated to read it this month! I have read and liked both of the first two in the series.
My best to Debbie!
>159 jnwelch: I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed Brigands & Breadknives as I am slated to read it this month! I have read and liked both of the first two in the series.
My best to Debbie!
161msf59
ICE has been spotted in our area but not a big presence. It seems like they have covered a big chunk of the Chicago area. I sure hope they are done here. 🙏🙏
The Knives is off to a very good start. I bet you are not surprised one bit, right?
Happy Monday, Joe!
ETA- Did you finish Atmosphere? You loved it, right? I am considering it for an audiobook listen.
The Knives is off to a very good start. I bet you are not surprised one bit, right?
Happy Monday, Joe!
ETA- Did you finish Atmosphere? You loved it, right? I am considering it for an audiobook listen.
162jnwelch
>160 alcottacre:. You’re welcome, Stasia! Gosh, I think you’ll love Wonder. What a story.
It’s great to have a fellow appreciator of the Legends and Lattes stories. Nice to have Fern come to the forefront in the newest.
Debbi is doing well, and sends her best to you. Our daughter is having surgery soon and we’re going to have her and her dog Indy in the flat you’re familiar with for a couple of weeks.
>161 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Supposedly ICE sent its 200 thugs to Charlotte, where they’re already causing trouble among residents. Unfortunately, our immigrant cleaning lady told me the head thug Bovino is expected back in Chicago today to try to stir up more trouble here.
The judge who entered the preliminary restraints against ICE’s using tear gas, pepper balls, etc. against peaceful protestors and journalists scheduled the trial in early March ‘26 because ICE supposedly will be back in force in the spring (boo!) and she wants a judgment and permanent restraints in place before they return.
We need to get the orange disaster out of office.
Yes, I LOVED Atmosphere. She gives you a lot to root for. Now I’m reading the newest Jack Reacher.
It’s great to have a fellow appreciator of the Legends and Lattes stories. Nice to have Fern come to the forefront in the newest.
Debbi is doing well, and sends her best to you. Our daughter is having surgery soon and we’re going to have her and her dog Indy in the flat you’re familiar with for a couple of weeks.
>161 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Supposedly ICE sent its 200 thugs to Charlotte, where they’re already causing trouble among residents. Unfortunately, our immigrant cleaning lady told me the head thug Bovino is expected back in Chicago today to try to stir up more trouble here.
The judge who entered the preliminary restraints against ICE’s using tear gas, pepper balls, etc. against peaceful protestors and journalists scheduled the trial in early March ‘26 because ICE supposedly will be back in force in the spring (boo!) and she wants a judgment and permanent restraints in place before they return.
We need to get the orange disaster out of office.
Yes, I LOVED Atmosphere. She gives you a lot to root for. Now I’m reading the newest Jack Reacher.
163m.belljackson
>162 jnwelch: Joe - sent "Have a NO-ICE Day" to you both on Mark's thread.
Hope to hear that upcoming surgery is minor.
Hope to hear that upcoming surgery is minor.
164jnwelch
>163 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne. Every NO-ICE day is a good day. Amazing how many problems and how much trauma they caused.
The surgery is not too major and should eventually leave Becca feeling better than ever. Thanks for asking.
The surgery is not too major and should eventually leave Becca feeling better than ever. Thanks for asking.
165kac522
>164 jnwelch: I don't think they're gone yet--according to a FB post on our neighborhood's page, yesterday they were spotted in a car just 2 blocks from our home (and near North Side Prep and Peterson school). Apparently the schools were alerted, as this was just before school dismissal. I don't think anything happened, but sheesh.
166jnwelch
Today’s Bargains: Left Neglected by Lisa Genova and Cold Dish by Craig Johnson, each for $1.99 on e-readers.
The second is the first book intbhe most excellent Longmire series.
The first is by a woman who went through a brain injury similar to my stroke. As a result, she had “left neglect” like I did. The author is a neuroscientist and a skillful writer. This story of rebuilding the brain to handle perceptions safely and normally is riveting.
The second is the first book intbhe most excellent Longmire series.
The first is by a woman who went through a brain injury similar to my stroke. As a result, she had “left neglect” like I did. The author is a neuroscientist and a skillful writer. This story of rebuilding the brain to handle perceptions safely and normally is riveting.
167richardderus
>166 jnwelch: Neither appeals to me, I must say, but both have high happy-reader quotients...unlike today's reviewed book, which is kinda-sorta designed to put people off. I don't imagine People's choice literature by Tom Comitta will light your fire, either, but it's saying something important. (And that thudding sound was the last nail in its coffin...)
That ICEstapo found, what? one? "criminal" after being truly vile to innocent people ought to wake even the hatin'est h8rs to the real point.
It won't. But it ought to.
That ICEstapo found, what? one? "criminal" after being truly vile to innocent people ought to wake even the hatin'est h8rs to the real point.
It won't. But it ought to.
168jnwelch
>165 kac522:. Hi, Kathy. ICE was here before Trump, but were cautious and law-abiding, as far as I know. They’re still here after the 200 thugs headed to Charlotte, but I’m afraid they’ve been infected and given thug directives. Bovino supposedly came back to guide those who are still here.
I’m really sad for Charlotte. From what I’m reading, they’re experiencing exactly what we did here- persecution based on color, regardless of whether they’re legal or not. They’re certainly not targeting, “the worst criminals”. It’s a travesty. And residents, like here, are outraged over the thug tactics and heartbroken over the children being traumatized. He’s trying to transform our country into an ugly place of hate and fear.
I’m really sad for Charlotte. From what I’m reading, they’re experiencing exactly what we did here- persecution based on color, regardless of whether they’re legal or not. They’re certainly not targeting, “the worst criminals”. It’s a travesty. And residents, like here, are outraged over the thug tactics and heartbroken over the children being traumatized. He’s trying to transform our country into an ugly place of hate and fear.
169jnwelch
>167 richardderus:. Ah, too bad, RD. I like it when I find one that catches your fancy. Hard to do with such a voracious reader.
Man, these ICE capades are so bad you’d think even the Magas would be outraged. But nope, they love having him go after those damn brown people who are responsible (in their minds) for their unemployment, poverty, and poor healthcare. Give the wealthy Repubs credit for success in such unlikely brainwashing? Nah, just whites looking for non-whites to blame. A pushover.
Man, these ICE capades are so bad you’d think even the Magas would be outraged. But nope, they love having him go after those damn brown people who are responsible (in their minds) for their unemployment, poverty, and poor healthcare. Give the wealthy Repubs credit for success in such unlikely brainwashing? Nah, just whites looking for non-whites to blame. A pushover.
170richardderus
>169 jnwelch: Racism is virulent. Capitalism has a lot to answer for.
172jnwelch
I just finished the newest Jack Reacher novel, Exit Strategy. It’s fast-moving and faithful to the series strengths of action and a nefarious plan by a resourceful villain. It was not as well thought through as earlier books on some of the details - e. g. A couple in a diner who happened to have $10,000 to lose in a play-acted scam that Reacher antidotes.
(I had a similar scam playacted for me on an El train car in Chicago. In part because I’m a sour skeptic and in part because I was, of course, reading, the play featuring easy money failed. I’m sure it was later performed somewhere else). (No, i didn’t have $10,000 on me. This apparently was a much lower stakes performance).
Anyway, the book was refreshingly Reacher-esque, as he outwitted and outbrawled the villains. Now I’ll look forward to the return of the tv adaptation in January.
(I had a similar scam playacted for me on an El train car in Chicago. In part because I’m a sour skeptic and in part because I was, of course, reading, the play featuring easy money failed. I’m sure it was later performed somewhere else). (No, i didn’t have $10,000 on me. This apparently was a much lower stakes performance).
Anyway, the book was refreshingly Reacher-esque, as he outwitted and outbrawled the villains. Now I’ll look forward to the return of the tv adaptation in January.
173Familyhistorian
So sorry to see the disorder and ciaos that ICE is causing, Joe. Man the head jerk is vengeful!
Thanks for the heads up on Brigands & Breadknives. I enjoyed the first book even though it is not my usual fare.
Thanks for the heads up on Brigands & Breadknives. I enjoyed the first book even though it is not my usual fare.
174jnwelch
>173 Familyhistorian:. Thanks, Meg. This guy is so bad for the country. I’m starting to think he may have a beneficial effect going forward, people are so turned off by this regime. We’ ve got to get him out of office asap; if the Democrats take over at the midterms there’s a good chance of impeaching him and maybe forcing him to resign.
I don’t think Legends and Lattes was many people’s usual fare. Even for regular fantasy readers, that was something different. The following two provide the same kind of pleasure.
I don’t think Legends and Lattes was many people’s usual fare. Even for regular fantasy readers, that was something different. The following two provide the same kind of pleasure.
175jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agathatha Christie for $1.99 on Kindle. My favorite off-the-beaten path book by Dame Agatha. Fun short story mysteries with just an elegant touch of the supernatural.
176m.belljackson
Hi Joe - Best wishes that Daughter is recovering well!
177jnwelch
>176 m.belljackson:. Thanks in advance, Marianne. It happens mid- December. She’s coming with us to Pittsburgh now to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and her bro and his wife and the grandlittles. We leave tomorrow.
178m.belljackson
>177 jnwelch: Safe Travels to All!
181magicians_nephew
>157 jnwelch: Another vote for Circle of Friends And the Phil Ochs song that goes with that title
182jnwelch
>178 m.belljackson:, >179 banjo123:. Thanks, Marianne and Rhonda! We’re safely ensconced in Pittsburgh, near the zoo and Highland Park. Travel reading: the new, Thursday Murder Club book, The Impossible Fortune, and the new October Daye book, Silver and Lead. Both good so far.
>181 magicians_nephew:. Thanks , Jim. Good to know. It’ll be interesting to compare her to Niall Williams, whose books I have read. I have not listened to Phil Ochs, but I’ll look for this on Youtube.
>181 magicians_nephew:. Thanks , Jim. Good to know. It’ll be interesting to compare her to Niall Williams, whose books I have read. I have not listened to Phil Ochs, but I’ll look for this on Youtube.
183kac522
>181 magicians_nephew:, >182 jnwelch: I guess only old fogies folkies like Jim & me remember Phil Ochs:
I Ain't Marchin Anymore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Fm6f05_6A&list=OLAK5uy_k7zIecZopiQMeHuuXLg...
There But for Fortune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smlg7sPUmRs&list=OLAK5uy_k7zIecZopiQMeHuuXLg...
And my personal favorite:
When I'm Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXVBPRlm-qw
I Ain't Marchin Anymore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Fm6f05_6A&list=OLAK5uy_k7zIecZopiQMeHuuXLg...
There But for Fortune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smlg7sPUmRs&list=OLAK5uy_k7zIecZopiQMeHuuXLg...
And my personal favorite:
When I'm Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXVBPRlm-qw
184alcottacre
>162 jnwelch: I hope Becca's surgery goes well. Please wish her my best.
Have a great time in Pittsburgh!
Have a great time in Pittsburgh!
185jessibud2
>183 kac522: - Add me to that old *folkies* list. My personal favourite, a summer camp staple from my teen years, Changes:
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Phil+Ochs+Changes+(Live)&am...
https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Phil+Ochs+Changes+(Live)&am...
186msf59
Happy Sunday, Joe. I did not know Becca was having surgery. Poor kid. Has it happened yet? If not keep us posted. You should get over to Montrose to see the snowy owls. We saw them yesterday.
187kac522
>185 jessibud2: Welcome to the fold, Shelley. When I told my husband about this, he immediately said Changes. And of course I forgot to link the song that Jim referenced in >181 magicians_nephew:: Outside of a Small Circle of Friends:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUmLVzUQTA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uUmLVzUQTA
188richardderus
>177 jnwelch: Safe travels, delightful visit, and happy homecoming to All!
189jnwelch
>183 kac522:. Thanks, Kathy. Appreciate the links. Surprisingly, I’m not much of a folkie, although I have old fogey nailed. Growing up in Ann Arbor, I got particularly entranced by blues (Ann arbor Blues Festival, where I first heard Bonnie Raitt and Luther Allison) and Motown out of Detroit.
ButI will give Brother Phil a whirl.
>184 alcottacre:. Hi Stasia! Becca’s here with me at the Tazo D’Oro cafe, and I’ll pass on your good wishes. She’s looking forward to it, as much as such a thing is possible.
>185 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. I’m getting my long overdue folk education.
ButI will give Brother Phil a whirl.
>184 alcottacre:. Hi Stasia! Becca’s here with me at the Tazo D’Oro cafe, and I’ll pass on your good wishes. She’s looking forward to it, as much as such a thing is possible.
>185 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. I’m getting my long overdue folk education.
190jnwelch
>186 msf59:. Happy Monday, Mark. Becca’s surgery is mid-December, and as I mentioned above, she’s kinda sorta looking forward to it. Thanks for thinking of her.
We were just at Montrose bird sanctuary, but must’ve been early for the owl party. Thanks for the tip.
I just picked up a Jane Austen bio GN that’s been getting good buzz.
>187 kac522:. There we go; very nice of you, Kathy. I was going to look for Jim’s Circle of Friends, but now you’ve made it easy.
>188 richardderus:. Many thanks, Richard. Have yourownself a very happy TBird Day, and the surrounding days, too.
We were just at Montrose bird sanctuary, but must’ve been early for the owl party. Thanks for the tip.
I just picked up a Jane Austen bio GN that’s been getting good buzz.
>187 kac522:. There we go; very nice of you, Kathy. I was going to look for Jim’s Circle of Friends, but now you’ve made it easy.
>188 richardderus:. Many thanks, Richard. Have yourownself a very happy TBird Day, and the surrounding days, too.
191jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke for $1.99 on e-readers. . Classic sci-fi.
192Berly
Hi Joe! Hope you are having fun in Pittsburgh and I am sending best wishes to Becca for her mid-December fix. Hugs. : )
193jnwelch
I love this kind of info. First I’d heard of it. Neil deGrasse Tyson brought it up . He thinks it’s women only, because you need the double X chromosome that the XY men don’t have.
🆙
Tetrachromacy is a rare genetic condition where a person has four types of color-detecting cone cells in their eyes, instead of the usual three, allowing them to perceive a far greater range of colors than the average person. These individuals can distinguish between millions more hues of color, with some estimates suggesting up to 100 million variations. It is thought to be more common in females because the genetic mutation is on the X chromosome.
How it works
Normal vision (trichromacy): Most people have three types of cone cells, each sensitive to different colors: red, green, and blue. This allows them to see and distinguish about a million different colors.
Tetrachromacy: People with tetrachromacy have a fourth cone cell, typically sensitive to the color orange, which helps them differentiate between more shades of color. This results in a richer and more detailed perception of millions more, possibly 100 million in total.
🆙
Tetrachromacy is a rare genetic condition where a person has four types of color-detecting cone cells in their eyes, instead of the usual three, allowing them to perceive a far greater range of colors than the average person. These individuals can distinguish between millions more hues of color, with some estimates suggesting up to 100 million variations. It is thought to be more common in females because the genetic mutation is on the X chromosome.
How it works
Normal vision (trichromacy): Most people have three types of cone cells, each sensitive to different colors: red, green, and blue. This allows them to see and distinguish about a million different colors.
Tetrachromacy: People with tetrachromacy have a fourth cone cell, typically sensitive to the color orange, which helps them differentiate between more shades of color. This results in a richer and more detailed perception of millions more, possibly 100 million in total.
194jnwelch
>192 Berly:. Hi Kim! We’re having a great time in Pittsburgh, thanks. Seven year old Rafa’s violin lesson is next. He’s getting pretty good!
Becca’s with us and will appreciate your best wishes. 😀
Becca’s with us and will appreciate your best wishes. 😀
195richardderus
>193 jnwelch: ::jealous::
Wouldn't that be cool? If I'm offered a superpower, I want to have the visual system of a mantis shrimp...16 color receptors and eyes with a total of four pupils.
Wouldn't that be cool? If I'm offered a superpower, I want to have the visual system of a mantis shrimp...16 color receptors and eyes with a total of four pupils.
196msf59
Sorry you missed the owl party. Did you go out to the far fishing pier? It is supposed to be very cold and windy the next couple of days, so it may be tough to get back down there.
197jnwelch
>296. Hiya, Mark. No far fishing pier for us, just the bird sanctuary with some friendly helpful birders and that beautiful lake of ours.
198jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: The Things We Make by Bill Hammack for $1.99 on e-readers. Sounds like a cool book on engineering and how things we use were designed, “from cathedrals to pop tops.”
199jnwelch
>195 richardderus:. Joining you on that, RD. The jealousy, not being a shrimp.😀. I enjoy being human too much. Being able to see a world that much richer with color- what a blessing.
200kidzdoc
>193 jnwelch: How cool is this!
201richardderus
>199 jnwelch: *sad sigh* We're probably too old to retrain our brains so very fundamentally, but a boy can dream, right?
202kac522
>193 jnwelch: Yes, very cool. Also similar to the reason women are less likely to be red-green color blind: the recessive gene mutation for that is only carried on the X chromosome, too. Since women are XX they would have to get the recessive color blind mutation on BOTH chromosomes to be color blind, so it's rare in women. Because men are XY, if their only X chromosome has the recessive mutation, they will be red-green color blind.
And that's the extent of my genetic knowledge....
And that's the extent of my genetic knowledge....
203kidzdoc
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, Joe! Best wishes to Becca on her upcoming surgery; I'll have my first cataract surgery early next month.
204klobrien2
>193 jnwelch: I am currently working my way through Understanding the Quantum World (Great Course) and in the lecture, “Quantum Mechanics and Color Vision,” this was discussed thoroughly. Reading your post I started feeling an eerie sense of deja vu and I was thrilled because it meant that I was retaining at least some of what I was reading/watching! Yahoo!
You made my day!
Karen O
You made my day!
Karen O
206richardderus
>205 klobrien2: It might be a bit much to have a 6ft2in brightly-colored shrimp lookin' thing, though, and I ain't givin' up my tallth.
207jnwelch
>200 kidzdoc: Right, Darryl? I’m trying to imagine a world that much richer in color. Those lucky ducks! Makes me wonder how they come to realize they have this super power. They probably start out assuming that everyone sees the same way they do. And are there enough names for all the colors they see?
>201 richardderus:. A boy can definitely still dream, RD. What holiday gift would you like? “I’d like to see 99 million more colors.” I’m thinking it’s a bit like putting on correct prescription glasses for a near-sighted guy. Suddenly everything looks sharper with deeper, richer colors. Multiplied by a lot.
>201 richardderus:. A boy can definitely still dream, RD. What holiday gift would you like? “I’d like to see 99 million more colors.” I’m thinking it’s a bit like putting on correct prescription glasses for a near-sighted guy. Suddenly everything looks sharper with deeper, richer colors. Multiplied by a lot.
208jnwelch
>202 kac522:. Nice genetic factoid, Kathy. I’ve never knowingly encountered someone with red green color blindness, or 100 million color sight. I have questions.😀
>203 kidzdoc:. Happy Thanksgiving, buddy! Best wishes from Pittsburgh to you and your mom. I’m sure she’s very thankful to have her loving son with her.
>204 klobrien2:. What a great course to take, Kathy! Do you feel you’re getting a grip on any of it? I can’t believe how different the micro world is from our macro world. It caused Einstein to say something like, “I don’t believe God plays with dice.” I wish he’d explored that world more with his amazing brain and imagination. That world would be a good one for his famous thought experiments.
Here’s my number one question for you: how the heck does quantum entanglement work? Magic? It sure sounds like magic, doesn’t it.
>203 kidzdoc:. Happy Thanksgiving, buddy! Best wishes from Pittsburgh to you and your mom. I’m sure she’s very thankful to have her loving son with her.
>204 klobrien2:. What a great course to take, Kathy! Do you feel you’re getting a grip on any of it? I can’t believe how different the micro world is from our macro world. It caused Einstein to say something like, “I don’t believe God plays with dice.” I wish he’d explored that world more with his amazing brain and imagination. That world would be a good one for his famous thought experiments.
Here’s my number one question for you: how the heck does quantum entanglement work? Magic? It sure sounds like magic, doesn’t it.
209jnwelch
>205 klobrien2:. Hi, Karen. 😀. Something I rarely hear said about shrimp. It reminds me of a wonderful AI artist named Kelly Boesch who often features exceedingly beautiful insects in her work.
>206 richardderus:. That’d be one big, scary shrimp, amigo. I don’t know why I get so instinctively creeped out by crustaceans and insects. I think that’s pretty common. Why?.
>206 richardderus:. That’d be one big, scary shrimp, amigo. I don’t know why I get so instinctively creeped out by crustaceans and insects. I think that’s pretty common. Why?.
210jnwelch
Omigosh, Today’s Bargain: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami for $1.99 on e-readers!
A Murakami favorite for many readers. I’d put it toward the top, but below Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. What a great pick for an e-reader. It’s otherwise hefty; it’s sold in multi-volumes in some countries. Weirdness abounds in a wonderful, page-turning story.
A Murakami favorite for many readers. I’d put it toward the top, but below Wind-up Bird Chronicle and Kafka on the Shore. What a great pick for an e-reader. It’s otherwise hefty; it’s sold in multi-volumes in some countries. Weirdness abounds in a wonderful, page-turning story.
211richardderus
>209 jnwelch: WAAAAAY too many legs for us primates, is my guess. All those legs have several knees, too, so the arthritis...! Plus no feet or hands *shudder* so, yeah, not primate-adjacent = too weird.
212Familyhistorian
Interesting genetic info about sight, Joe. Have a wonderful visit!
213jnwelch
Today’s Bargain: Shadow Divers by Robert Kurzon for $1.99 on e-readers.. Two American divers find and explore a lost German submarine from WWII. A fascinating story very well told. I had it recommended to me here on LT.
214jnwelch
>211 richardderus:. More knees with arthritis?! No feet or (gasp) hands?! I must decline, even though the shrimply world (the Crust Nation) may be a visual feast.
I do admire the elegance of Sea Horses, and they’re much more sensible about knees, but I’d still miss the digits and their grasp of the world.
>212 Familyhistorian:. Isn’t that interesting genetic info, Meg? I suspect we’re going to learn a lot more about genes and their effects in the next few years - maybe they’ll figure out how to give more of us 100 million colors.
I do admire the elegance of Sea Horses, and they’re much more sensible about knees, but I’d still miss the digits and their grasp of the world.
>212 Familyhistorian:. Isn’t that interesting genetic info, Meg? I suspect we’re going to learn a lot more about genes and their effects in the next few years - maybe they’ll figure out how to give more of us 100 million colors.
215richardderus
>214 jnwelch: Just can't imagine how the trade-offs could be worth it, honestly....
216jnwelch
>215 richardderus:. If only the shrimp and seahorses could talk to ua about it. I suspect they’d find it awfully useful to have hands with opposable thumbs. In my first foray into animal communication, I’ve been trying to get Becca’s dog Indy to Facetime, but her overnight daycare doesn’t allow phone calls.
217richardderus
>216 jnwelch: ...inventive...but also very slightly worrying....
218jnwelch
>217 richardderus:. 😂. I get that a lot, my friend.
I’m hoping to be allowed to continue to wander around, slightly worrying people. . .
I’m hoping to be allowed to continue to wander around, slightly worrying people. . .
219jnwelch
We’re struggling to get back to Chicago from Pittsburgh. Yesterday’s flights were all cancelled. Late tonight, middle seats, looks like a go, although they keep pushing it back because of staffing problems. Those who advise not flying during Thanksgiving week are not wrong. 😀
220richardderus
>219 jnwelch: Plus the snowblast! Poor Mark had to hand-shovel his drive...but it looks excellent.
When you're well hunkered, you should go look at the GNs I've put on my new thread.
When you're well hunkered, you should go look at the GNs I've put on my new thread.
221bell7
Hi, Joe! Sorry to hear about the travel woes, but hope you get home soon and that your Thanksgiving was a good one.
222humouress
Hey Joe! Best wishes to Becca for her upcoming surgery.
>193 jnwelch: I wonder how you diagnose that; how do you tell that one person can see more colours/ depth than another?
Hmm; I'm thinking that we won't bring our dollars over to watch the World Cup in the US next year. Things seem rather fraught there.
>193 jnwelch: I wonder how you diagnose that; how do you tell that one person can see more colours/ depth than another?
Hmm; I'm thinking that we won't bring our dollars over to watch the World Cup in the US next year. Things seem rather fraught there.
223jnwelch
Hi, everyone. We eventually made it back to Chicago, arriving around midnight.
>220 richardderus:. Hey, Richard. Yeah, I saw poor Mark’s snow blower went kablooie at exactly the wrong time. I hope those sore shoveling muscles are back to normal. We hire a service (Debbi says she doesn’t want either of us getting a heavy snow heart attack - hard to argue). We do miss the congenial days of quiet and neighbors commiserating while we all unburied from the white stuff.
I will wander over to your latest thread to check out any unlikely positive comments about a GN. (You’ve undoubtedly checked out the charming Heartstoppers GNs with the young gay love themes). Is it possible to have age slow you down in an online environment? I used to gallop around the LT campus and visit everyone; now I can barely keep up with my own thread. Harumph I say. I’ll get to your latest if I have to ask a rideshare.
>220 richardderus:. Hey, Richard. Yeah, I saw poor Mark’s snow blower went kablooie at exactly the wrong time. I hope those sore shoveling muscles are back to normal. We hire a service (Debbi says she doesn’t want either of us getting a heavy snow heart attack - hard to argue). We do miss the congenial days of quiet and neighbors commiserating while we all unburied from the white stuff.
I will wander over to your latest thread to check out any unlikely positive comments about a GN. (You’ve undoubtedly checked out the charming Heartstoppers GNs with the young gay love themes). Is it possible to have age slow you down in an online environment? I used to gallop around the LT campus and visit everyone; now I can barely keep up with my own thread. Harumph I say. I’ll get to your latest if I have to ask a rideshare.
224jnwelch
>221 bell7:. Hi Mary! Tweren’t easy, but we made it back and Thanksgiving was great, thanks. Love that Pittsburgh group and their friends. I’ll post a photo or two later on. I hope yours was as excellent as possible. There’s nothing better than New England this time of year; some might point to a sunny beach, but not me. But ask me again in February.
>222 humouress:. Hey Nina! Thanks re our darling Becca. The big day grows close.
Another great question about people who see all those extra colors. We need a visionary to give us the full scoop. I’ll try to remember the weird name for this condition and ask the Goddess of the Internet, or maybe Google, how they test for it.
I think you have lots of company regarding not coming here for the World Cup. What a shame; it should be a time for excitement and joy and showing off this beautiful country. Alas, as you say, things are fraught here, and Drump and No Pants Vance are being particularly inhospitable about it, urging those who come to leave as quickly as possible afterward. (!!). Contrarians might say it’ll be easier to get good seats and accommodations now. It’s embarrassing as a lover of this crazy country to have this state of affairs.
>222 humouress:. Hey Nina! Thanks re our darling Becca. The big day grows close.
Another great question about people who see all those extra colors. We need a visionary to give us the full scoop. I’ll try to remember the weird name for this condition and ask the Goddess of the Internet, or maybe Google, how they test for it.
I think you have lots of company regarding not coming here for the World Cup. What a shame; it should be a time for excitement and joy and showing off this beautiful country. Alas, as you say, things are fraught here, and Drump and No Pants Vance are being particularly inhospitable about it, urging those who come to leave as quickly as possible afterward. (!!). Contrarians might say it’ll be easier to get good seats and accommodations now. It’s embarrassing as a lover of this crazy country to have this state of affairs.
225richardderus
>223 jnwelch: I'm finding myself doddery as I try to get around everywhere...we're old, after All, so it's not unexpected. I'm still resentful about it, mind you.
226jnwelch
You and me both, RD, although I’ve always loved the word dodderer. When some dodderers get into a kerfuffle, it’s the best.
I’ve been perusing your thread but haven’t posted anything yet. I’m still getting over the shock from so many GN reviews, all accompanied by illustrations from the books. Apparently they’re ice skating in hell right now.
I’ve been perusing your thread but haven’t posted anything yet. I’m still getting over the shock from so many GN reviews, all accompanied by illustrations from the books. Apparently they’re ice skating in hell right now.
227richardderus
>226 jnwelch: ...oh nooooo....I ain't spendin' eternity on bloody bedamned ice skates!!
228jnwelch
>237 jnwelch:. 😂. Your revulsion is the whole point as far as those down there are concerned.
229richardderus
>228 jnwelch: Oh yeah. Hell. Right. *derp*
230figsfromthistle
>219 jnwelch: Sorry about the snow storm that has delayed your plans to come home. Frustrating for sure. Hope you are now safe at home and relaxing
231jessibud2
>226 jnwelch:, >227 richardderus:- You two are so goofy! 😁
232jnwelch
>229 richardderus: 😂. The idea gives me indigestion, too.
>230 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. That snowstorm did mightily screw up our travel plans, but at least it gave us one more nice brunch with the Pittsburgh clan.
We are now safe at home and relaxing. I’m finishing the funny and clever new Thursday Murder Club book, The Impossible Fotrtune, with Sharpe’s Storm on deck. I’m a nut for Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series. (Our daughter developed a crush on a young Sean Bean as Sharpe in the BBC adaptation - Bean is who I picture now when I read the books). I’m also somehow squeezing in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. I can’t remember what Debbi’s reading, although I suggested she try Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the novel about female astronauts in NASA’s space shuttle program. I liked that one a lot.
>231 jessibud2:. Ha! We’re just a couple of goofballs who read a lot, Shelley. Richard was very kind to me when I started on LT and knew nada, and it’s pretty much been like this ever since.😀
>230 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. That snowstorm did mightily screw up our travel plans, but at least it gave us one more nice brunch with the Pittsburgh clan.
We are now safe at home and relaxing. I’m finishing the funny and clever new Thursday Murder Club book, The Impossible Fotrtune, with Sharpe’s Storm on deck. I’m a nut for Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe series. (Our daughter developed a crush on a young Sean Bean as Sharpe in the BBC adaptation - Bean is who I picture now when I read the books). I’m also somehow squeezing in The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. I can’t remember what Debbi’s reading, although I suggested she try Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, the novel about female astronauts in NASA’s space shuttle program. I liked that one a lot.
>231 jessibud2:. Ha! We’re just a couple of goofballs who read a lot, Shelley. Richard was very kind to me when I started on LT and knew nada, and it’s pretty much been like this ever since.😀
233richardderus
>231 jessibud2:, >232 jnwelch: I had to lull him into quiescence so I could become my true, evil self without fear.
234humouress
>227 richardderus: You've already made travel plans?
235richardderus
>234 humouress: I've been told since Mama found Jesus that I was going straight there. I've had a long time to map my route.
236msf59
A Night in Chicago
Forced to fly lower by unexpected rains
a thousand songbirds passing over the lake
near McCormick Place slap lit windowpanes—
and fall in yellow heaps across the lawn.
In Muncie, Indiana, no one at dawn
hears swelling choruses in the sycamores,
and later, in Louisville, garage doors
open but no birds put on a show
whistling seebit, seebit, or whywhywhy
and hunters in Tennessee, hearing only crows,
stick in their earbuds for the morning lies.
Alabama commuters glimpse no feathers
brightening the woods in the grey weather.
Down at the Texas border no cheerful zreee
encourages the migrants sleeping in tents
or wakes a child to point up with glee,
and the palms in Mexico do not shake and sway
with warblers in their fronds resting a day
for the flight to Guatemala, the final swing
of the songbird migration to their winter place
where Monarch butterflies clap their wings
calling for music in that silent space.
-Maura Stanton From Poem-A-Day.
^I love the local setting!
Forced to fly lower by unexpected rains
a thousand songbirds passing over the lake
near McCormick Place slap lit windowpanes—
and fall in yellow heaps across the lawn.
In Muncie, Indiana, no one at dawn
hears swelling choruses in the sycamores,
and later, in Louisville, garage doors
open but no birds put on a show
whistling seebit, seebit, or whywhywhy
and hunters in Tennessee, hearing only crows,
stick in their earbuds for the morning lies.
Alabama commuters glimpse no feathers
brightening the woods in the grey weather.
Down at the Texas border no cheerful zreee
encourages the migrants sleeping in tents
or wakes a child to point up with glee,
and the palms in Mexico do not shake and sway
with warblers in their fronds resting a day
for the flight to Guatemala, the final swing
of the songbird migration to their winter place
where Monarch butterflies clap their wings
calling for music in that silent space.
-Maura Stanton From Poem-A-Day.
^I love the local setting!
238jnwelch
>233 richardderus:. I should’ve known there was a mastermind’s hidden agenda afoot - or was it a head? What you probably know now that you didn’t then, Richard, is that quiescent is my natural state, even after several cups of coffee. Your true, evil self is much more tolerable than most people’s confused, flailing about selves, and I’m glad we’ve all had a chance to see it in its full-feathered glory. Not to mention all the delectable book reviews.
>234 humouress:. 😂. Hi, Nina. Just like the National Enquirer, inquiring minds would like to know.
>235 richardderus:. You remind me how lucky I am my parents weren’t churchgoers. Who needs that kind of garbage sitting on top of their head? I suspect that despite your map, you’ll take a wrong (right) turn and end up in that lovely Celestial Library where all good readers go.
>236 msf59:.Thanks, Mark. I know that secretly what you really like about that poem is all the birds in it.😀
I kinda wish the penultimate line somehow featured another kind of bird. I wasn’t ready for butterflies and got lifted out of the poem’s birdladen breeze.
>234 humouress:. 😂. Hi, Nina. Just like the National Enquirer, inquiring minds would like to know.
>235 richardderus:. You remind me how lucky I am my parents weren’t churchgoers. Who needs that kind of garbage sitting on top of their head? I suspect that despite your map, you’ll take a wrong (right) turn and end up in that lovely Celestial Library where all good readers go.
>236 msf59:.Thanks, Mark. I know that secretly what you really like about that poem is all the birds in it.😀
I kinda wish the penultimate line somehow featured another kind of bird. I wasn’t ready for butterflies and got lifted out of the poem’s birdladen breeze.
239msf59
>237 jnwelch: What a great family photo! Such a happy bunch.
>238 jnwelch: I thought the introduction to the butterflies was perfect. It reflected the "butterfly effect" that began at McCormick Place, plus monarch's are also in serious decline. Sorry, it didn't quite work for you.
>238 jnwelch: I thought the introduction to the butterflies was perfect. It reflected the "butterfly effect" that began at McCormick Place, plus monarch's are also in serious decline. Sorry, it didn't quite work for you.
240m.belljackson
>239 msf59: I was afraid the yellow songbirds had fallen and died...
241quondame
>237 jnwelch: You all look like your back from a movie expedition you all enjoyed!
242jnwelch
>239 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Thanks re the family photo. Good times.
Yeah, reactions to poems are as personal as paintings. I was disappointed by the ending.
What do you think of Arthur Sze as our new poet laureate. Adriana and I agreed that he’s a good poet, but this isn’t as exciting as when Ada Limon took the helm.
Yeah, reactions to poems are as personal as paintings. I was disappointed by the ending.
What do you think of Arthur Sze as our new poet laureate. Adriana and I agreed that he’s a good poet, but this isn’t as exciting as when Ada Limon took the helm.
243richardderus
>238 jnwelch: I wish there was an eternal reward...if anything happens to us after death except decay, my money's on some type of reincarnation.
244jnwelch
For those interested in the ICE in Chicago story, this is how an authoritarian’s Special Forces operate:
How The Feds Used Propaganda To Frame Their ‘War’ On Chicago: ‘They’re Lying Constantly’
Homeland Security has sought to reshape violent encounters into triumphant narratives — even as judges, journalists and experts said the agency has repeatedly distorted facts, misled the public and attacked those who challenged its story.
By Patrick Filbin and Mack Liederman
Photo: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer pulls the pin on a canister of tear gas before throwing it at the feet of protesters outside the facility in Broadview on Friday Sept. 19, 2025.
CHICAGO — Just days after Operation Midway Blitz began, an ICE agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old man, during a traffic stop in suburban Franklin Park.
The Department of Homeland Security later claimed one agent was “seriously injured” after being dragged by Villegas González’s car as he tried to flee, but body-camera footage showed an agent telling a Franklin Park police officer his injury was “nothing major” shortly after the shooting. Neither of the agents involved were wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.
Two weeks later, federal agents busted doors and windows of a South Shore apartment building and arrested 37 people. “Some of the targeted subjects are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes and immigration violators,” Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement the day after the raid. The agency soon released a slick, heavily edited video, claiming the building was frequented by members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested during the South Shore raid. A ProPublica investigation found there was little to support the government’s claims — and at least one of the two men accused of being a Tren de Aragua member has no criminal record.
As Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz swept through Chicago this fall, federal leaders and agencies issued statements and social media posts that contradicted what reporters and witnesses saw on the ground. They’ve attempted to discredit journalists even after a federal judge ruled that Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, a face of the operation, lied and the federal government had deceived the public and made false claims.
Experts who study propaganda and state media say the pattern goes beyond spin. In press releases and social media posts, the Department of Homeland Security has built a narrative meant to project control and valorize its agents, the experts said. At the same time, it has cast protesters and bystanders as threats or obstacles.
The agency’s language mirrors tactics used by governments to justify repression at home and abroad, rewriting events as they happen to shape how the public understands and digests them, they said.
“They’re working very hard to make the American people the enemy because they disagree with them,” said Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois. “And that should worry all of us.”
It’s an approach that obscures what’s happening in Chicago — and raises questions about how far the federal government will go to control the story.
“This is one of the things that I think is very dangerous,” said William Nickell, a University of Chicago professor who studies propaganda and media. “At certain points, a narrative can become what people buy into, even if it’s counterfactual. And once that happens, it can distort thinking and justify actions that would otherwise be unacceptable.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
From Block Club Chicago. Will government lying ever again be surprising and not normal?
How The Feds Used Propaganda To Frame Their ‘War’ On Chicago: ‘They’re Lying Constantly’
Homeland Security has sought to reshape violent encounters into triumphant narratives — even as judges, journalists and experts said the agency has repeatedly distorted facts, misled the public and attacked those who challenged its story.
By Patrick Filbin and Mack Liederman
Photo: A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer pulls the pin on a canister of tear gas before throwing it at the feet of protesters outside the facility in Broadview on Friday Sept. 19, 2025.
CHICAGO — Just days after Operation Midway Blitz began, an ICE agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas Gonzalez, a 38-year-old man, during a traffic stop in suburban Franklin Park.
The Department of Homeland Security later claimed one agent was “seriously injured” after being dragged by Villegas González’s car as he tried to flee, but body-camera footage showed an agent telling a Franklin Park police officer his injury was “nothing major” shortly after the shooting. Neither of the agents involved were wearing a body camera at the time of the shooting.
Two weeks later, federal agents busted doors and windows of a South Shore apartment building and arrested 37 people. “Some of the targeted subjects are believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes and immigration violators,” Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement the day after the raid. The agency soon released a slick, heavily edited video, claiming the building was frequented by members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Federal prosecutors have not filed criminal charges against anyone who was arrested during the South Shore raid. A ProPublica investigation found there was little to support the government’s claims — and at least one of the two men accused of being a Tren de Aragua member has no criminal record.
As Trump’s Operation Midway Blitz swept through Chicago this fall, federal leaders and agencies issued statements and social media posts that contradicted what reporters and witnesses saw on the ground. They’ve attempted to discredit journalists even after a federal judge ruled that Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino, a face of the operation, lied and the federal government had deceived the public and made false claims.
Experts who study propaganda and state media say the pattern goes beyond spin. In press releases and social media posts, the Department of Homeland Security has built a narrative meant to project control and valorize its agents, the experts said. At the same time, it has cast protesters and bystanders as threats or obstacles.
The agency’s language mirrors tactics used by governments to justify repression at home and abroad, rewriting events as they happen to shape how the public understands and digests them, they said.
“They’re working very hard to make the American people the enemy because they disagree with them,” said Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois. “And that should worry all of us.”
It’s an approach that obscures what’s happening in Chicago — and raises questions about how far the federal government will go to control the story.
“This is one of the things that I think is very dangerous,” said William Nickell, a University of Chicago professor who studies propaganda and media. “At certain points, a narrative can become what people buy into, even if it’s counterfactual. And once that happens, it can distort thinking and justify actions that would otherwise be unacceptable.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
From Block Club Chicago. Will government lying ever again be surprising and not normal?
245jnwelch
>240 m.belljackson:. What an interesting take on it, Marianne. That’d be a song of sadness, wouldn’t it.
>241 quondame:. You should consider becoming a private detective, Susan. From one photo, you nailed it. We’d just seen the new Zootopia 2, after seeing the original on tv earlier in the week. Funny movie (including happy sloths running the DMV - very sslloowwlly), and good messages for the kids. Animation techniques are just amazing these days.
>243 richardderus:. Hey, RD. I’m a peaceful objector to the reincarnation concept in Buddhism - too unlikely for my gut instincts. None of us knows what happens after death, so if we’re going to make things up, I’m going with the Celestial Library. I could be quite happy there for all eternity. I wonder whether any patrons might have wings. What a cool painting that would be.
>241 quondame:. You should consider becoming a private detective, Susan. From one photo, you nailed it. We’d just seen the new Zootopia 2, after seeing the original on tv earlier in the week. Funny movie (including happy sloths running the DMV - very sslloowwlly), and good messages for the kids. Animation techniques are just amazing these days.
>243 richardderus:. Hey, RD. I’m a peaceful objector to the reincarnation concept in Buddhism - too unlikely for my gut instincts. None of us knows what happens after death, so if we’re going to make things up, I’m going with the Celestial Library. I could be quite happy there for all eternity. I wonder whether any patrons might have wings. What a cool painting that would be.
246m.belljackson
>245 jnwelch: Joe "...fall in yellow heaps across the lawn..."
Just thought that would signal the end of them?
Just thought that would signal the end of them?
247jnwelch
>246 m.belljackson:. Gotcha, Marianne, thanks. At least with yellow leaves and butterflies we know they’ll return in the spring (or new ones will).
248kac522
>244 jnwelch: A day or so ago, I read an article about Greg Bovino that said he travels with his own camera crew. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I read this, but it's just another way that they use their own media to frame their narrative. Good thing there are a lot of smart people out there filming from many different angles, and not just from one side of the story.
249jnwelch
>248 kac522:. Easy to believe, isn’t it, Kathy? These attempt to falsely distort our reality are disturbing and disgusting. We need a big breath of fresh air to blow away everyone i Trump’s administration and his supporters in Congress. I wonder whether we can and will get back to some semblance of sanity after all this.
This topic was continued by Joe's Tenth Book Cafe of 2025.
