Shelley Opens a New Book to... the Final Chapter

Ok, last thread of the year. The last one was getting full.

Because this is true:

She'll never find me here!

Because this kind of winter pretty is short-lived...

Welcome!

I'm FIRST somewhere!!! This hardly seems fair since I have been notably absent for the better part of this year. I love every single picture 1-3.
I wish you a happy thread and some peace at the core of your December, Shelley.

Happy new thread!

Happy new one!

>2 jessibud2: Cats...defying reality as long as anyone can remember!

>3 jessibud2: That is absolutely lovely.

Happy new thread! Hope you didn't get clobbered with too much snow.

Happy December, Shelley. Happy New Thread. A bit earlier I spotted a red-breasted nuthatch visiting the hopper feeder. I have not seen one at my feeders in a couple of years. Lots of juncos, doves, downys and chickadees too.

>5 LizzieD: - Yay, Peggy! Good to see you, timeline not important!

Hi, Rhonda, Anita, Linda, Kathy, Mark. Linda, my boys defy reality constantly. Or maybe it's me, defying (denying?) THEIR reality. Truth is stranger than fiction, as the saying goes. :-)

The snowy pic was from our first early snow, several weeks ago. The more recent snow is not nearly as pretty as all the leaves are well gone by now. We did get some the other day and much of the areas around the city still have a lot. But not Toronto proper. I recently heard a funny but appropriate description of this phenomenon: Toronto is the *donut hole* of weather; everywhere else gets a ton, and we get very little. Of course, that doesn't stop everyone from freaking out and complaining, lol!

How cool for you to have a visit from the red-breasted nuthatch, Mark! I have only once seen a white-breasted at my feeder but the reds are daily visitors, maybe more than any other birds that come here. At the end of my last thread, I have a pic of a rather large visitor to the makeshift feeder I created in my (emptied of water) birdbath when it was too windy to hang the real feeder from the tree. ;-)

Happy new thread, Shelley, whether it is your last of '25 or not..

Happy new thread, Shelley. Cats/kids - they can't see me if I hide my eyes!

Happy New Thread, Shelley! Your winter picture is gorgeous! Quite right, pretty winter pictures are short lived.

Thank you, Paul, Meg, Deb. So right, Meg! lol. And Deb, winter is always pretty, when it's fresh, before humans and machinery enters the picture.

Happy new thread!

>1 jessibud2: - So right.

>2 jessibud2: - Too funny! Cats and kids: If I can't see you, you can't see me.

>3 jessibud2: - So pretty! I see you still have some leaves on your trees. Our trees have been naked for a week or two. It feels too soon.

Hi Mary. Thanks, and yes, re >2 jessibud2:! They are nothing if not entertaining, and who couldn't use a little (a lot) entertainment these days, lol!

That winter pic was taken a few weeks ago when we had an unexpected early snow. The leaves were all still on the trees which is why it looks so pretty. Not now, that's for sure. All leaves gone, and underneath a small layer of snow, everything is gray.

This is so funny!

When Books Throw a party: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CE1t5rJg_c

>18 jessibud2: That was great!

>18 jessibud2: Hilarious!

Happy new thread!

>1 jessibud2: Definitely not the same!

>2 jessibud2: I love that one! Looks exactly like one of my three would try. . .

>18 jessibud2: Thanks for the link to the video, Shelley. I think I liked the Comic Book the best :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Shelley. I love your snowy picture.

>18 jessibud2: very funny! Thanks!

Thanks, Kathy, Mary, Jim, Stasia, Beth, Cyrel.

Canadians of a certain age (like me) may well remember Bill Richardson, who used to have his own radio program on CBC radio, Richardson's Roundup. The man is brilliant, hilariously funny and quite a prolific writer (you may know his Batchelor Brothers books).

Anyhow, a couple of months ago, I found a book of his I had not read or owned, in a used bookstore. It's called Come Into My Parlour and was published 31 years ago. I started reading it last night and will finish it today. With Bill, his poetry is best read aloud, I think. It is very reminiscent of the Gilbert and Sullivan type of songs. In any case, truly funny and a delight to read.

My only complaint is the very strong used-bookstore smell on the book. But even that could be worse; it could be stale cigarette smell - and it isn't! Thank goodness.

>2 jessibud2: Hahaha.

>3 jessibud2: Gorgeous.

Have a good December Shelley.

Thanks, Caroline, you too.

To get rid of used bookstore smell- put book in big plastic bag ( I use ziploc) with some baking soda and put in freezer for a few days. It sort of works for me

I am not going to worry about it. I am meeting some bookcrossing friends next weekend and plan to pass it along to one of them. They can worry about it, lol!

Wordle 1,630 3/6 meaty, gloam, among

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>1 jessibud2: It is really astonishing what we are living through here in North America. The National Security Strategy published on Friday (I think) is horrifying.... our administration wants to do in Central and South (and maybe the rest of North) America what Putin is doing to Eastern Europe. It is frightening and surreal and horrible.

Anyway.... I hope you're doing well!!!

>2 jessibud2: LOL -- our beloved ginger cats. :-)

Hi, Ellen. I concur with your feelings. I know that by now, nothing that ignorant nasty blowhard does should surprise me. But it does. Daily.

Yay, gingers! My Theo is definitely mellowing as he ages (he is about to turn 6) but he is still as naughty and as entertaining as ever.

For all my fellow LT Jeopardy nerds, I think you will enjoy this piece. I am loving Ron's run so far and hope he wins AT LEAST 13 games! At first I thought their voices were also identical but seeing and hearing them talk, side by side in this piece, I can hear that Ray's voice is a bit deeper. But their vocal style and manner is identical. I have always been fascinated by identical twins and am just really enjoying this one!

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/themoment-twin-brothers-won-jeopardy-3-yea...

I am currently reading The Correspondent and loving it. I am heading downtown this afternoon to see a documentary, The Librarians. Report later. I will have much subway time to read, which is great! I know this book has got a lot of LT love and I can see why. I'm about halfway through it now.

I saw the documentary The Librarians this afternoon. What a chilling expose of what has been going on in the USA for the last few years with regard to censorship!

https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/films/librarians

The film was excellent but terrifying. Texas and Florida were the main focus but the book banning and book removals have spread across the States. My knee-jerk reaction was, thank goodness this isn't happening here but in truth, it could easily happen here (or anywhere, for that matter). We have our right wing nutbars here too, fundamentalists and crazies who use religion and politics to justify the most insane and idiotic ideologies. This whole freaking world is going insane and it is truly a scary thing to contemplate. I admire the courage and integrity of the librarians who stood (and stand) up for the right to read and for their devotion to open-mindedness and the right to read and be educated but it can't be easy. I don't know that I would be so brave.

I will finish The Correspondent tonight. What a book!

Edited to add that a friend of mine checked last night and she says that PBS will air The Librarians on Feb. 9.

Happy new thread, Shelley.
I have seen some of the news about books being banned, but I didn’t know it was so bad. I read that somewhere even Anne Frank had been banned, seems so weird to me. One would think that with the internet it would only make children more curious and decided to read all those banned books first.

>36 EllaTim: - Yes, Ella, the books that have been banned are ridiculous. Most of the parents and school boards who are enforcing the ban are citing *pornography* as the main *reason* but it is blatantly clear that most, if not all, of the books targeted are books by racialized authors or books about any sexuality at all.

There was more than one comparison to what the Nazis did with book burning, more than one reference to Orwell's *1984*, and the question that popped into my head that did not get addressed is: what's next? Bookstores?

Absolutely insane.

This was a surprise!

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>37 jessibud2: what's next? Bookstores?

I have this nightmare of the dump administration sending out their Gestapo to chop down our own Little Free Library through which I've been distributing free books for twelve years. Things here are downright scary!

>39 SqueakyChu: - That IS a nightmare, Madeline! Sadly, absolutely nothing would surprise me about this disgusting man and his MAGAts/goons.

>35 jessibud2: thanks for the link I will have to look at it. Unfortunately there is book banning here in Canada. Mostly I find in elementary school libraries where parents complain about certain books that do not hold to their narrow minded views. *sigh*

Hope you are having a good week so far. It looks like it will be one filled with snow every day!

I just finished reading The Correspondent and I loved it. It feels like ages since I had a book grab me this way and I didn't want to put it down. If you like epistolary novels, then this is it. Layers and layers of the woman (Sybil) revealed through the letters she wrote (and received) over many years. Which is, in fact, the way we are all put together, in a way. We are different people in how we interact and what we reveal to the various others in our lives. I know that's true for me, and I love the way this one unfolded. Highly recommended.

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Grant Snider needs to join LT!! (read all the way to the bottom, including his lists!)

https://incidentalcomics.substack.com/p/my-year-in-reading?utm_source=post-email...

>44 jessibud2: Yes, he does! Enjoyed it, thanks for posting. Also, I too judge people by their bookshelves. :D

>41 figsfromthistle: - Sorry I missed you up there, Anita. I think we were posting around the same time. We hardly have any snow here. It is snowing lightly as I speak but I doubt much will accumulate and by tomorrow it will turn to rain. I heard the meteorologist on Global News called Toronto the *donut hole* of weather, meaning everywhere else around us gets a lot of snow and we get very little to none. I shouldn't complain, I know, lol

>45 Storeetllr: - That was fun, wasn't it, Mary? I have that book of his, I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf. He is great. Did you know that in his day job he is an orthodontist? And that he has a twin brother? :-)

I loved The Correspondent when I read it earlier this year. Shelley. I"m glad you did too.

>48 vancouverdeb: - I did love it, Deb. I thought it was very well written and I love when layers of a person are peeled back slowly, like an onion, revealing things that lay hidden and exposing parts of a personality in unexpected ways.

WHEW!!! My 135 day streak lives another day! I was down to the wire, had to walk away to go get a cup of tea, before coming back to this one. I was simply running out of consonant blends and wracking my brain before - voila! - it hit me.

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>42 jessibud2: I liked this one too Shelley.

>42 jessibud2: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again. I have seen nothing but good reviews of it here in the group. I am glad to see you enjoyed it so much, Shelley!

oops duplicate

>42 jessibud2: Some months back I put that one on hold at the Chicago Public Library, where I was something like Hold #150. So, silly me, thinking that the hold list will eventually decline and I'll read it later, I put a "pause" on my hold until January 5. I see now that there are 774 holds on the 119 copies of the book (not counting the 796 holds on the ebook and 577 on the audiobook).

Sheesh. I may get this book some time in the 2030s....it better be good!

At least my other hold came in--nobody else waiting for Deborah by Esther Kreitman. She was a sister of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Israel Joshua Singer. This is a semi-autobiographical novel about shtetl life published in 1936. Overshadowed by her brothers, she's supposed to be a good writer, so I'm looking forward to it.

>54 kac522: - Kathy, I was on hold for The Correspondent for months before my turn finally rolled around. It was worth the wait. I haven't heard of the other one you mentioned. I will have to look for it!

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Fight Oligarchy. Bless Bernie Sanders. Truthteller, unfiltered, passionate, honest. This is a small format book (like On Tyranny, Timothy Snyder's book of a few years ago), all of 140 pages. Easy to read quickly, clearly laid out. He explains what oligarchy is, he presents real names and real numbers to back up all his claims and statements, and, more important, he gives concrete examples of how to fight it.

I am not a person who likes crowds of any sort, for any reason, therefore I would never go to a protest although I know they are important. I am also not American, but if I were, he would inspire me to DO SOMETHING. He cites example after example after example from American history where oppression ruled and brave people fought back. And things changed. After each example, he writes: "They did it then. We can do it now." From the American Revolution to labour unions to civil rights to women's rights, public education, LGBT rights. And he encourages people to remember these examples and to stand up NOW for the things that must change under the current regime. He cites all the damage trump has done and all the lies he has spewed and how, once again, the people must act. Because things CAN change. He minces no words. I only wish he were at least 20 years younger so he could lead the way. He is 84 years old now and has more energy, more intelligence and clarity and more fire in him than many half his age. Certainly more than most, if not all, in power now.

>57 jessibud2: Bless Bernie Sanders. He has been right about things for his whole life!

Want to hear something interesting? In his youth, he had once been a volunteer in a kibbutz in Israel. He would never reveal which one. After a long time, it was revealed that the kibbutz was my family’s kibbutz, Shaar Haamakim (on the road between Haifa and Nazareth). My aunt Emma who was a founder of that kibbutz was alive at that time, and she always had a close relationship with their volunteers. I just know in my heart that she knew Bernie back then.

>58 SqueakyChu: "I just know in my heart that she knew Bernie back then." That's a warm and wonderful thought, I'm sure.

>58 SqueakyChu: - I think this book is an important reminder for people not to give up hope, however easy that seems these days. When people give up hope, the trumps of the world win.

>57 jessibud2: Thanks for putting this one on my radar. I think everyone should read On Tyranny at least once, and maybe once more now if it's been awhile, and this looks like a good follow-up, presenting ideas on what to do. I'm not a fan of crowds either, and it's hard physically for me to get around, but I've found that going to a protest/rally/march is good for the soul as well as for society. The feeling of being part of something bigger than myself, all wanting the same thing - a return to civility, democratic government, the law - is fulfilling in a way I can't describe. I can be alone in the crowd, which is, for the most part, friendly and kind, or I can chat with others if I feel up to it. It's interesting how many participants are over 50, many in their 60s and 70s. We were there for the civil unrest of the '50s, '60s, and '70s, rallying for civil rights, against the war, for women's rights. We know how important it is to make our voices heard.

>61 Storeetllr:- it's a good one, Mary. Important especially now, when so many have lost hope.

>60 jessibud2: I think that's the message I get from the people I follow the most. I saw a nice program last night with Rachel Maddow and Timothy Snyder (who now lives and teaches in your city!). People like them and Bernie give me hope for the future. I understand their message is also to keep up what we're doing right now (all forms of resistance).

>63 SqueakyChu: - Ys, I know he lives here now. He and his wife are both teaching here. A friend and I had thought about trying to audit a class of his but in the end, we didn't do anything about it. To be honest, transit in this city has got so bad and the thought of traveling downtown in winter is not appealing. I did it today, for a bookcrossing meetup and what a pain in the ass.
Maybe if he has a course in the spring...

I do subscribe to his substack newsletter, though. It's called *Thinking About*

>64 jessibud2: I should subscribe to Snyder's substack newsletter as well, although my email is already accumulating too many substack posts from Robert Reich and Heather Cox Richardson that I never seem to get around to read.

I wanted to see the documentary of Robert Reich but it was only playing at a late time and I won't go on the subway at night any more so I missed it. I think it was called The Last Lecture or something like that. I had never heard of him before but the preview looked interesting.

The only substack newsletters I subscribe to are Timothy Snyder, Andy Borowitz (bless him!) and Grant Snider. I am also considering unsubscribing, or not renewing, my paid subscriptions to the NYT (online) and even The New Yorker (online). I am feeling a lot of news overload and find myself reading less and less of them as they come into my inbox, daily. It's really too much. I listen to one news broadcast in the morning on CBC radio, and watch the evening news on tv at dinner time. More than enough, thanks. ;-p

>66 jessibud2: Robert Reich has a newly published book called Coming Up Short. It's fabulous. He is an amazing man. I got it from my library. See if you can get it from your library. He's on my list of Most Admired People.

>66 jessibud2: With the substacks coming into my email, I always read the latest one and delete all the older unread ones. I have to, or else I'd have to unsubscribe to them all (just two of them!). I have to ration out the news. I'm always checking it just because I have to, but I try to read only headlines or a few articles if I trust the source. I use i24 news for Israeli news and AP for world news.

Who is Grant Snider?

>68 SqueakyChu:- Madeline, look at post #2 of my last thread or >44 jessibud2: of this one. Grant Snider is a cartoonist who loves books. He is very cool. You've probably seen his work but not known his name.

>69 jessibud2: Grant Snider’s column reminds me of when I started listing books I read each year. I always read for pleasure, but when the “World Wide Web” started up, I joined a reading/book group. Someone in that group encouraged me to list the books I read each year. I did that for a few years and only started writing reviews when I joined BookCrossing. Then I discovered LT. After that I saw my first Little Free Library (shown to me by BookCrossing member, sadly no longer alive, MaryZee). “I want one of those!”, I said to my husband. The rest is history. All of these combined into the most amazing hobby for my retirement! :D

As if there wasn't enough violence and tragedy this past weekend, I am truly heartbroken this morning to learn of the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife. The news is saying that his mentally ill son is responsible. Also a tragedy. Just awful.

>71 jessibud2: What a unimaginable tragedy...I hadn't heard that his son might be responsible.

Hooray for The Correspondent. Boo to these arctic temps. It looks like we get a warming trend starting tomorrow. Yah!!

It is bitter cold here as well. A brief warm up on Wednesday and Thursday with 6C temps is expected. I don't like such a radical shift either.

Yes, warmup today though gray and gloomy. I will at least be able to get rid of the ice from my driveway. Maybe the rain that is expected will wash away the rest before the next freeze arrives this weekend.

PHEW indeed! Close call!

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>44 jessibud2: Thanks for the Grant Snider link, Shelley.

I don't subscribe to any authors' substacks. There are not enough hours in the day to read the emails I get already. Too many hobbies, I guess.

>57 jessibud2: I need to see if I can get hold of that one. I greatly admire Bernie Sanders. Thanks for the recommendation, Shelley.

>67 SqueakyChu: My local library has that one, but it is currently checked out. I will have to see if I can get it soon.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>67 SqueakyChu: >78 alcottacre: I have to add a note about Reich's book. It is heavy on the politics from the time he was young up until now. It might not be as interesting to someone from outside of the U.S. who didn't experience all of the political background he talks about. However, although I hate politics and because Reich is only a year older than I am, i am following his book very closely, knowing very well what happened in the U.S. throughout the years starting from 1946-1947. I am halfway through the book now. It is very easy to read, very engaging. I bet he was an amazing college professor. Lucky are those who were able to be in his classes.

Madeline (and Stasia), Bernie's book is also heavy on history, as it must be. He relies on it over and over to make his point. Sometimes, the only way to make a point is to be hit over the head with it. Unfortunately, he is preaching to the converted and those who truly need to hear his message aren't going to read this book (isn't that always the way?). Still, here are 2 pages I tried to photograph (a bit hard to hold the tiny book open and snap the camera at the same time). But his message is universal - and needs to be:





You don't have to be American to understand his examples. I certainly didn't.

>80 jessibud2: Bernie has said this for as long as he has been in political life. He has always been one of my heroes.

I also took Timothy Snyder’s book On Freedom out of the library today. I don’t know if I’ll get to read it before it’s due back, but I had to grab it. I feel comforted by reading what these special people have to say.

I own On Tyranny and I guess I should get to reading it , Shelley. I really enjoyed The Correspondent too.

Eek. Another close call! (with one inattention mistake in there too)

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With Bernie's example, we are still missing Leaders who will return our Democracy:

with exactly can we each now do?

It felt positively balmy here today at +8C! In celebration, I went to get my car washed! It's now clear of salt and grime build-up and the colour (which I hadn't seen for awhile) is gorgeous, lol!

Tomorrow, winter returns so I got a bunch of errands out of the way today too in order to return to hibernation tomorrow.

Recently started the new Tracy Chevalier book, The Glassmaker. I have read several of her other titles, a couple of which were DNF'd but most I really liked. So far, this one is intriguing. I have done stained glasswork over the years but never really though much about the actual making of the glass itself. I am hoping to finish this one before the end of the year. Still dipping in and out of 2 others, as well.

Here's a treat! I just discovered that Eleanor Wachtel's entire *Writers & Company* archive is available! She had the best literary program on CBC radio for decades. Long-format interviews with authors from all genres, cultures, countries, etc.

https://digital.lib.sfu.ca/writers-company?utm_source=thespeakersannex.beehiiv.c...

This was a surprise, but given the first turn, not a surprise:

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I am going to see the film Hamnet this afternoon. Looking forward to it, and hope it won't be a let-down, after the book. Although, I heard that author Maggie O'Farrell wrote (or co-wrote?) the screenplay so I have hopes that it will be good. Has anyone here seen it yet?

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>88 jessibud2: I have not seen it (I read the book a couple of years ago), but a woman in my RL book club did see it and she said it was outstanding. She's an amateur actor and retired Shakespeare professor, so her bar is pretty high.

>88 jessibud2: I didn't realize that there is a movie out. Hope it is a good one

Hamnet the film was really good, I thought. Maggie O'Farrell was one of the screenwriters so I am sure she was pleased with it being true to the book. I had never heard of any of the actors but wow, they were good! A lovely sense of the period and lots of subtle nuances. I would definitely recommend seeing it.

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My bird feeder blew off the hook (despite my securing it) the other day when we had very high winds. It didn't break, thank goodness, but when I put it back up yesterday, I noticed that one of the perches had come off. I am not sure if I can straighten the hook that would allow me to put it back on so in the meantime, only 3 perches are available to the birds. Still, it isn't stopping them. Already today I have had a cardinal, several goldfinches, 2 house finches and the ever-present ubiquitous crowd of juncos!

Oh my. This is from Andy Borowitz's newsletter today. His wishlist for trump. The caption is his, not mine but I would pay good money to see this scenario play out for real! I guess AI is good for something, lol



This scenario is on my bucket list for Trump, and I’m fairly confident Obama would be up for it.

>94 jessibud2: It seems unlikely, given how dumb Trump is, but he such an ego, you never know. Even I would tune in and I can't give much time at all to Trump . I have largely stopped watching the new owing to my powerful dislike of Trump. Such a nutcase.

>95 vancouverdeb: - Oh, I can't look at the man either, Deb. I hit the mute button if he so much as opens his mouth. He is not allowed in my house!! I have also cut back on the news in general. Once a day is probably once too many times but I guess I need to know what's going on in the world, to some extent.

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Dear Shelley, as you celebrate don't forget:

>99 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. I'll keep it in mind, ;-)

An odd configuration for me today:

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>101 jessibud2: Well done!

Wishing you a nice Christmas, Shelley!

Calories or no calories. I’m just recovering from a nasty flu, so not a lot of calories for me, no matter, joy of the season doesn’t depend on that.

I hadn't heard that they made a film of Hamnet either. Nice that it was a good one. Hope you have a wonderful time over the holidays, Shelley, and relatively balmy weather.

We are supposed to get a snowstorm in Toronto on Boxing Day!

Happy holidays, Shelley!

Thanks, Ella, Meg, Mary.

And to all who celebrate, Merry Christmas to you all!

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>104 torontoc: - Hard to imagine at this moment, Cyrel. Not a drop of snow on my lawn. At all.

Have a lovely festive season, Shelley

>109 PaulCranswick: - Thank you, Paul. And to you and yours, as well.

>108 jessibud2: - Well, Cyrel, I guess they got it right. The snow is coming down fast and furious here. I actually went out earlier to make a short trip to Staples. I needed to buy another of those large folding cardboards that I do my puzzles on (long silly story: I am having a hard time with my current puzzle but don't want to take it apart because I am determined to finish it. But I'm itching to start a new one. So this new cardboard will simply go on top of the first one). Anyhow, I went out and was home within half an hour. The snow had barely started when I left but heavier by the time I got home. I can't even see my tires tracks on my driveway now, that's how much has fallen. The good news is that there weren't many cars out when I was driving so that was good.

I am still trying to process the passing of Caroline McElwee, of the 75ers. Such a shock and so very sad.

By the way, there's a new place to hang out! Come join me... https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/25017/75-Books-Challenge-for-2026

>111 drneutron: Yay! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Jim, for setting up this group every year. I hope I get to see you and your wife in person this coming year.

Those jigsaw puzzles should keep you warm and happy while snowed in, Shelley!

Thanks, Meg. I did start a new one yesterday.

Good grief:

Wordle 1,652 6/6 meaty, tacks, catch, watch, patch, batch

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Dropping in to say hello. Hope you are staying warm and didn't have to venture out yesterday in the storm!

I hope you enjoyed the holidays, Shelley, and I hope you are enjoying your new puzzle. I am so glad we only get snow about once a year. So far, so good, this winter. Just rain and also clear days.

>115 figsfromthistle:, >116 vancouverdeb: - We had rain all day yesterday, Anita. It washed away a lot of the snow we got on Boxing day but it's snowing again now, as I speak. I am keeping an eye on my bird feeder as the winds are really whipping up and I am hoping to catch it and bring it in before it blows off the hook!

Deb, I don't wish this weather of ours on anyone, to be honest. It's crazy. I did get a new puzzle from a friend and am nearly finished it. I will post a pic of it when I'm done. Hoping you both had a good holiday!

I was going to wait for the first of January but I didn't:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/376991#n9051408

Come on over.

My grand total books read this year will end at 82. Better than I expected but I never feel *done*. I can't even note the genres because the numbers won't add up; there is a lot of overlap. Mostly fiction, NF, children's and/or YA, art, historical fiction, humour, GN, and Canadian. Some fall under more than one of those categories.

>118 jessibud2: I haven't started a 2026 thread yet, but I have starred yours!

Wow! 82 books, Shelley! Congratulations.

>120 Storeetllr: - I'll see you on the other side, Mary! ;-)

>121 vancouverdeb: - To be fair, Deb, a good number were kids' books; shorter and a good boost to the numbers. But they are books, I read them, so they count! I think I am going to try to move more hard cover books off my own shelves next year so that may affect my numbers, in the opposite direction, but that's fine.

Wordle 1,655 5/6 meaty, wench, relic, cedar, decor One mis-step.

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Hi Shelley. Happy Tuesday to you. It's hard to believe your boys are 6ish. How time flies!

I am still only watching/listening/reading 10% of the news I used to. I just get too depressed.

I'm glad you are keeping your Wordle streak going - mine's up to 162, my best record ever.

It's been a rough year for me and I haven't posted much. I hope to do better next year.

>124 karenmarie: - Hi Karen, good to see you. Yeah, times flies. I can hardly believe my boys are not babies any more. Thankfully, Theo has settled down and his kittenhood is in the rear-view mirror. Not that he doesn't still have his moments but mostly he has *grown up*. And Owen, also thankfully, has mellowed and is much calmer and more trusting and, dare I say, even cuddly (in his own way, on his own timeline). Picking him up is still, and likely always will be, a challenge but I no longer worry about losing a hand or an eye if I approach him.

I'm sorry to hear it's been a rough year for you. I think *rough* pretty much sums up 2025 for many people...

Here's to a better 2026 for everyone!

My current streak in wordle is at 155 (176 was the biggest one I had) but that is probably due to luck rather than skill; there were many times of too many choices and sometimes, I just got lucky. Anyhow, it is what it is and it's part of my morning brain exercises...;-)

At least I didn't break my streak on the last day of the year:

Wordle 1,656 5/6 meaty, price, finer, riven, siren

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Hi Shelley, wishing you a Very Happy New Year, my dear.

Thank you, John, and to you and your family, too.