Joe's Tenth Book Cafe of 2025

Art by Kelly Boesch. She does amazing, surreal, hypnotic ai-based video art. A friend is going to tutor me on how she does it. I'm estimating that my understanding and retention will come in around 10%,

https://www.kellyboesch.com/

b>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 Ranger actually 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’s mother 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 richardderus:. 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 including 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 by regularly 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 fellow kidnaps 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.

94. The Legend of Kamui* by Shirato Sanpei. A graphic critique of the 17th century Japanese feudal system, which had samurai and their lordly masters at the top, and peasant farmers and rights-less"outcasts" at the bottom. the system was both flagrantly unjust and destined to fail. Sanpei centers the storry around outcast boy Kamui, who refuse to accept his lot, and fights anyone trying to use it against him.

This ten volume epic manga is considered the well spring of much that followed, and is just now becoming available in English translation. it's impressive in scope and underlying research.

95. The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead. Steadis the author of some very good YA books, including the Newbury-winning When You Reach Me, with its tricky time travel elements. Lost Library involves the Martinsville Library that burned down years ago and was never replaced. Lives were lost and someone is unfairly blamed. Eleven year old Evan is determined to find out what really happened, and every character in the book -Mortimer the library cat, ghosts, Evan’s dad, Evan’s best friend Rafe, the famous mystery writer H. M. Higgins - has something to do with helping Evan achieve resolution. Another good one from this talented author.

96. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. I can see why this has been Booker-listed and on so many “Best” lists. Sonia and Sunny grew up in a changing India. They both lived in the U.S. and rejected an arranged marriage to each other. Later they meet in different circumstances and are more intrigued by each other. This is a wide-ranging novel, with lots about Indian family members and friends in a changing India (what to keep from the past, what is modern and better) and Indians in the U.S., particularly NYC, including the misconceptions and prejudices encountered. Beautiful, flowing writing and an impressive scope.

97. Sharpe’s Storm by Bernard Cornwell. Review/comments below. Loved it!

98. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnison. I can see why this has attracted so fast so many enthusiastic readers, from diverse reading backgrounds. A post-apocalyptic romp, if you can believe it. After most of the Earth’s population has been stomped flat by aliens, Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat and others get a chance to survive by participating in a killer alien TV reality show. His ingenuity and humor in making his way through descending floors filled with dangers, with surprisingly able assistance from Princess Donut the cat, is the draw. Fast-paced and funny.

99. Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen by Kate Evans. An excellent bio that draws in her Juvenalia and lesser known works as well as the famous novels. Generous excerpts help make this an enjoyable revisit of her life and writing. Her doomed love for Tom Lefroy, due to neither party having money, hits hard in the context of Pride and Prejudice, where the fortunes of Darcy and Bingham smoothed the way for romantic happiness. You long for JA to have a similar experience, but this book is good at showing us her difficulties and indomitable spirit.

100. When Swans Fly South by Lisa Ridzen. What a wonderful, simple, devastatingly real book. Former sawmill worker Bo is nearing the end of his life. Once physically imposing, he’s now frail and assisted by rotating carers under Sweden’s humane system. His wife has succumbed to dementia and is in a local hospital, and he has his big dog Sixten and his lifelong friend Ture, whom he mostly talks to over the phone. His son Hans loves him, but they’ve forgotten how to communicate, exacerbated by Hans’ belief that Bo has gotten too old to properly care for Sixten. Reminding me of Claire Keegan, the author brings us completely inside Bo’s life. Thank goodness for his carer Ingrid, who understands Bo and intervenes at key moments. An unforgettable reading experience.

101. Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade. A heart cockle warmer. Karl and Molly were close high school friends and never took a chance on romance. Molly moved far away to LA, while Karl stayed in small town Harlot’s Bay. Many years later a joke obit for Karl is published and a sad Molly flies back to pay her respects. She’s coming off a terrible divorce and trusts no man. Karl has loved her all these years and jumps at the chance to woo her, but the trust barrier is a whopper. Lots of humor and, eventually, hot sex, with her ex getting his appropriate comeuppance.

*Signifies a graphic or illustrated book

Thanksgiving

Halloween

Three of mine. The last one is unpublished,

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.

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.

Growing new readers

Adriana's book, third from the bottom right, is out in '26! It can be pre-ordered now.

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.

More Kelly Boesch

I'm going to risk dropping in to say happy new thread!

>7 jnwelch: Cool for Adri! New thread orisons, Joe!

>8 jnwelch: What a beautiful story! Thanks Joe for posting

Great family photos Joe.

>10 foggidawn:. Hi, Misti. Thanks!

>11 richardderus:. Isn’t that cool for Adri, Richard?! I can’t wait to read it. Debbi read it in draft.

Thanks for the orison; it gave me a frisson.

There was an old guy with a frisson
He always hoped for orisons
If one would come by, he promised to listen
Being gracious was always his mission.

>12 magicians_nephew:. Isn’t that a beautiful story, Jim? Limon is a special one. You’re welcome - thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it.

>13 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. That was a mighty nice Thanksgiving, among other things.

Q for you: what is your favorite theater performance you’ve seen? I was asked that on social media. I tought back on all the great ones we’ve seen here, NYC and in your wonderful city, and came up with Ian McKellen in King Lear. His stamina alone at an advanced age was astounding. I also thought of Helen Mirren in The Audience (is that the right name for the play?), that one with the prime minister’s visits to the Queen to apprise her of the state of the kingdom. She somehow successfully portrayed the Queen from teenager to elderly woman, with costume changes on stage while surrounded by other actors. Wowsville.

>14 jnwelch: Oh my, that is quite a Q Joe, you may regret asking...

The Orestia (National Theatre, 1980s)
The Seven Streams of the River Ota (2 different productions at the National Theatre, Robert Lepage, the most recent the day before the first pandemic lockdown) 7 hours!
Two different Hamlet's in Japanese
Hamlet (one man and two legs version, ie Robert Lepage and man up a ladder with a rapier with a camera in). I've seen 15 productions of Hamlet at least.
Gatz - dramatic reading of The Great Gatsby in full - 7 hours - American cast. The last 30 minutes extempore, the audience held it's breath.
Lear played by Simon Russell Beale
Not I (Becket) Lisa Dwan who took the mantle from Becket's muse Billy Whitelaw.

I saw and enjoyed that production of The Audience' with Helen Mirren in too Joe

I'll stop here, this could be a very long list

I've seen productions with many fine actors in including Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Daniel Day Lewis, Juliet Stevenson, Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Ian Charleson, Ralph Fiennes, John Malkovitz, Willem Defoe, Michael Gambon, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Alan Rickman and not forgetting Patrick Stewart (I know, he's yours Debbi), to name but a very few.

.

>15 jnwelch: Awomen.

>15 jnwelch: Sadly apposite.

Sweet Thursday, Joe. Happy New Thread. Hooray for Andri! That is awesome. I will circle back and check out your poems.

>15 jnwelch: That one sums it up perfectly.

Happy new thread, Joe.

>3 jnwelch: Thanksgiving looks chilly but happy; great to see all of you together.

>5 jnwelch: Thanks for sharing.

Happy new thread, Joe. My favourite theatre performance and the one that made the biggest impression on me was one that my parents took me to when I was young. I saw "Flower Drum Song" in London's West End.

Joe, I may have told you this story before, but for my sixteenth birthday, I asked my parents to take me to see 'Hamlet' on Broadway, starring Richard Burton, directed by John Gielgud. I got some strange looks at the end from other audience members in the mezzanine, because I was sobbing uncontrollably. Years later, I was scrolling through the radio to find something to listen to, and was instantly caught by a familiar line. It was Hume Cronyn, who played Polonius, as Polonius, in a production recording. Took me right back.

I've seen wonderful productions since, but that one was my first great straight play. I'd seen musicals before, but they weren't like this!

Speaking of fine plays, we saw 'Kyoto' last week, a few days before it closed its Lincoln Center run. Wonderful. i don't know if it will travel across the U.S. If we are lucky, the British production will show up on NTLive. The story of the Kyoto protocol - as told by the villain. Earlier this season, we saw 'Liberation', which will certainly travel (if it didn't originate in Chicago - I can't recall) - definitely worth seeing.

Happy new thread, Joe!

>1 jnwelch: Oh, I've been binging on Kelly Boesch videos. The sound tracks suit me and fashion with fun choreography.

>4 jnwelch: Just roll into bed with the comfy costumes still on!
What fun!

>14 jnwelch: Almost the first Broadway show I saw as a nipper was "Man of La Mancha" with Richard Kiley. It was thrilling and beautiful and deeply moving the way theater is supposed to be - a religious experience.

The first production of "Camelot" moved me the same way.

Was dragged to see Sondheim's "Company" one of the early tours and again i was just dazzled by the wit and intelligence and deeply moved by the ending.

A production of Shakespeare's "King John" in Central Park one year made my hair stand on end for the moving portrait of people just trying to do the right thing within the straitjacket of society -- and for the richly harrowing acting of the amazing Marilu Henner.

>22 ffortsa: I’m so envious Judy. Lucky you.

I did see a play about that production called The Motive and the Cue which was excellent.

https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/productions/the-motive-and-the-cue/

Happy new thread, Joe! Those are some great pics in >1 jnwelch:

>17 richardderus:👍

>18 Caroline_McElwee:. Right, Caroline? The whole world can see that Republican Christians are not following Christ’s teachings. It really bothers a devoted Christian friend of ours. Me, too.

>19 msf59: Sweet Thursday and Happy Friday, buddy. Isn’t that awesome for Adri? She’s worked so hard on this book.

You’ve read those poems before.😀. I just reposted them because they sometimes get missed by folks distracted by daily life and this mystery we call time.

>15 jnwelch: is right on target, isn’t it. I had a Christian take issue with it and cite scripture at me. I said, don’t tell the Buddhist, tell the Christians who don’t follow Christ’s teachings.

>16 Caroline_McElwee:. What a great treasure box of performances, Caroline. I don’t know Seven Streams. Being in this group after you saw it twice speaks volumes. What caught your heart?

That’s a whole lot of Hamlet. We subscribe to Chicago Shakespeare Theater and haven’t seen half that many. I’ve yet to be transported, unfortunately. Maybe we can catch a London production one of these years.

That’s a great list of actors. Of course se’ve seen Malkovich a lot here at Steppenwolf. He is one transfixing actor, isn’t he. In addition to McKellen, we’ve also seen Branagh and Patrick Stewart, including one Harold Pinter play (No Man’ Land) in which McKellen and Stewart played opposite one another. I’d give a lot to see Judi Dench.

That oral performance of The Great Gatsby might have warmed my heart more toward the story; an audiebce holding its breath is no small thing.

I’ll keep an eye out for the new to me Lisa Dwan.

I should’ve remembered to mention Cillian Murphy, who we saw in a bizarre one, Ballysomething, and Laurie Metcalf, a stalwart at Steppenwolf. Murphy may be my current favorie movie actor, perfect for Claire Keegan stories, among other things. Metcalf is currently on Broadway in Little Bear Ridge Road, a Strppenwolf play in which, as always, she was terrific.

. Today’s Bargain: Taipan by James Clavell for $1.99 on e-readers. . Great follow- up to his terrific Shogun. The founding of Hong Kong, the rise of Brit Dirk Struan and his trading company, the battle with his lifelong rival, the opium trade, trade with China - a wide-ranging historical epic that I couldn’t put down.

>29 jnwelch: Re The Seven Streams of the River Ota Maybe the Guardian review will give you a flavour Joe. I will see anything Lepage does (You may have seen him many years ago in the Canadian film 'Jesus of Montreal'. I've seen both stage and dance work of his.

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/mar/22/seven-streams-of-the-river-ota-rob...

Has anyone else heard of the early 15th century Voynich manuscript? New to me. It’s kept at Yale, and has challenged generations. A copy can be obtained through bookstores.

Why it remains a mystery
Undeciphered script: No one has been able to read the text, which has stumped experts including those from the NSA and World War II codebreakers.
Unique illustrations: The unusual and sometimes illogical drawings of plants and bathing systems provide no clear clues to the text's meaning.
Endless speculation: Theories about its purpose range from an alchemical manual and a medical text to a detailed hoax or an invented language.

I wonder whether it wasn't created by a deranged genius akin to the 19th and early 20th century Belgian painter James Ensor, known for weird and macabre paintings.

>20 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, Paul. It was chilly in Pittsburgh, but even colder back in Chicago. I once left living in toasty southern California (Santa Barbara) because I got borrd and missed the seasons. Am I nuts? (Don’t answer that).

You’re welcome re the poems in >5 jnwelch:. I had an interesting conversation with Adriana about writing. I said I write new poems all the time, but I’m not very conscientious about going back and polishing. She asked why I felt the need to. I said to me it’s like a potter creating a cool pot that is flawed somehow; I feel an obligation to go back and unflaw it as best I can. What do you think?

She was suggesting that if I enjoy writing new ones so much, I could just stick with that. Certainly a freeing idea. Of course, this is coming from a woman who polished her new book to a high gloss.😀

>21 Familyhistorian:. Hi, Meg. How wonderful that your parents took you as a kid to Flower Drum Song in the West End. That gave you the chance to understand and appreciate theater. I’m glad it made such a strong impression.

We took our kids to a lot of theater and music. I wonder what they’d say.

>32 jnwelch: I have heard of the Voynich manuscript. But just, with a picture or two.

>26 Caroline_McElwee: I did see 'The Motive and the Cue' via NTLive here in NYC. We go to a lot of their productions, and for the most part find them engrossing and well-done. This one was quite interesting, and the actor playing Gielgud was amazingly like him, don't you think?

>35 ffortsa: Mark Gatiss hit the spot totally with that voice Judy, as did one of the other actors who impersonated him. It was harder for Jonny Flynn to maintain Burton's distinctive voice, but he caught it occasionally. Those NT Live performances are a treat. I often see them of plays I was in the theatre for, as they give you a different perspective with their close-ups.

>22 ffortsa:. Hi, Judy. Wow, Hamlet for your 16th. You had sophisticated theater taste even as a youngster. It never would’ve crossed my mind back then.

A successful play about environmental concerns, i.e. emissions reduction?! Hat off to the playwright. I’ll keep an eye out for Kyoto and Liberation, and try to find out more about Liberation. I can recommend Little Bear Ridge Road to you on Broadway. We need to resume our trips to your great city to see theater! Covid really threw us off our game. Of course our problem now is one we’re all familiar concerning books. We have multiple places we want to visit (read) all at the same time. Next up for us, aside from Pittsburgh and nietos, is Costa Rica in February. Can’t wait! And Alaska in June.

>23 quondame:. Thanks, Susan! Isn’t Kelly Boesch’s visual art cool? That choreography is mind- stretching. How does she do it? As I mentioned, a college roommate is going to try to show me (he was doing visual arts and dance choreography back in college, and worked as a creative tech guy after) but I’m not very optimistic about my ability to comprehend. We’ll see. I sure do love the look, the art.

>24 quondame:. Isn’t >14 jnwelch: fun, Susan? I love what they do every Halloween. Adri and Jesse are much better at retaining their inner child than I was/am. As you can probably tell, those costumes are derived from the Bluey children’s show (a new one to me).

>25 magicians_nephew:. Man of La Mancha with Richard Kiley? Wow, great way to start, Jim. No wonder you and Judy are such enthusiasts. I could tell you my first concert (not counting the Ann Arbor Blues Festival)- Led Zeppelin (great!). But unfortunately I can’t at the moment tell you my first professional theatre experience. Maybe it’ll come to me. My parents were not theater-goers (darn it) so it must’ve been in college.

I love “Camelot” and have never seen it on stage. I envy you!

More to come - I’ll p.s. you, Jim. Time to go to our neighborhood bookstore, Roscoe Books. BTW, so far I’m loving The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.

P.S. Oh man, my gifted goddaughter Caitlyn Klum directed a production of Company at the U of Chicago, which we went to with low expectations. (College students doing it in their spare time, probably with subpar voices?) But it was most excellent. Blew us away. So good! I’d seen a production on tv on PBS, and I liked this one better. I can imagine that it was a powerful experience for you. We’ve seen a lot of Sondheim at this point in our long and legendary lives, and always enjoyed the shows. Was it Goodman Theater? I think so. They did a terrific Sunday in the park with George a few years ago. I can’t remember whether that one ever made it to Broadway.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen King John. We’ve seen so many Shakespeare plays, including ones at the bottom of most people’s “like Lists” (i thought Pericles was a terrible play). Again, I’m envious. I love that you call Marilu Henner “amazing”. I wish I could’ve seen that. I know her mainly from Taxi and comedy roles.

Today’s Bargain: A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote for $1.99 on e-readers. I’m not normally one to read Christmas books, but I found Capote’s short stories charming and just right. Makes me wish he’d done more like these.

>38 jnwelch: (>24 quondame:/>4 jnwelch:) Bluey was at the furthest margins of my awareness, so no, but my other excuse is that there are no full views of the costumes.

>26 Caroline_McElwee:👍. Good for you, Caroline.

>27 drneutron:. Thanks, Dr. Jim! Aren’t those amazing in >1 jnwelch:? Her knockouts are her videos. https://youtube.com/@kellyeld2323?si=CKo3ppvOCmL3avAr

She’s mind-blowing!

>1 jnwelch: Love this art!

Happy new thread.

>42 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. I love her art, too. There’s a link to her entrancing video art in >41 jnwelch:.

>31 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. I shall peruse the review. Lepage, eh? Thanks for the tip.

>34 quondame:. Thanks, Susan. I’d never heard of it, and I suspect most people haven’t. The Voynich Manuscript seems so fascinating. I hope someone cracks the code. I wonder whether AI could give an assist.

>35 ffortsa:. We keep an eye out for those NT Live releases, Judy, but I missed The Motive and the Cue. I agree, they’re a great way to experience the production, with close-ups you don’t see in the theatre. We particularly loved Frankenstein with Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller (we’d been offered tickets in London but had a conflict) and also a Sondheim play Follies, among others.

I wonder whether a streaming service has picked up, will pick up NT Live?

>36 Caroline_McElwee:. I’ve yet to see an NT Live of a play we went to, but I would for the close-ups, as you say.

>40 quondame:. Yes, even with full body costume photos I’d have a tough time coming up with Bluey, Susan. I know the ones we watched with our kids ( i grew to know Sesame Street more than
I ever would've guessed), and a couple we’ve watched with the grandkids. The recent Zootopia 1and2 experience was fun for all of us.

>44 jnwelch: They do have NTLIVE at Home a subscription service that shows some of the NT Live stuff and other stuff too

>45 magicians_nephew:. Thanks, Jim. Hmm. I’ll have to look into it. Have you tried it? Good?

Today’s Bargain: The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte for $2.99 on e-readers. An acclaimed explanation of the evolution and extinction of the dinosaurs, called “the ultimate dinosaur biography” by Scientific American. I snapped it up.

>47 jnwelch: One of my most delighted-in dinosaur reads of the past few years.

Happy Yuletide! I'm whammin' out the illustrated book reviews...soooo many details, /I know I'm making mistakes.

Joe...best warn Adri...her publisher said yes to my request for a DRC...
...
...
*sharpens pen with flensing knife*

Goof

>48 richardderus:. Oh, very good to hear, RD. Your reading range, as always, is impressive. I think this one will be coming up soon for me.

>49 richardderus:. Excellent, Richard. I have great confidence that the book will survive the flensing and give a cleansing to your windows of perception.🤞🤞. The woman can write, i Know that much. And they gave her a good book cover.

>51 jnwelch: They did her proud indeed...that's warmly evocative, juxtaposed to the terse, cruelty-laden title. Good work by her team.

>52 richardderus:. Right, RD? I really like it.

Today’s Bargain: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion for $1.99 on e-readers. I really got a kick out of this one. He’s on the spectrum and in many ways like an alien learning our planet’s social customs. Very funny and charming. He tries to plan his romance meticulously- something that of course never works.

Happy December Joe!

Your Thanksgiving photo of the family at the movies looked just like our family! I’m assuming it was the Wicked movie? Also all this talk about theater gives me all the feels. I’ve seen most of the British greats including Ms. Dench who is just celebrating her 91st birthday, Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg et al.

I adore National Theatre Live and if you get a chance to see “Prima Facie” with Jodie Whittaker, please do watch this amazing girl who is in the same class as those that mentioned above. This week I saw the latest version of “Merrily We Roll Along” which is in theaters across the country I believe for this week only. What a treat. How I wish more plays and musicals in this country were filmed, and we could have our own version of NT Live.

>54 jnwelch: The Rosie Project was a charmer.

>3 jnwelch: Great picture!

>32 jnwelch: I have heard of the Voynich Manuscript, Joe, but only recently as someone has designed a board game around the manuscript. Otherwise I would probably have never heard of the thing :)

>54 jnwelch: I enjoyed that one when I read it!

Happy new thread, Joe!

>55 NarratorLady:. Happy December, Anne! Good to hear from you.

It wasn’t the Wicked movie, although Debbi and I are seeing the second one tomorrow, after very much enjoying the first - how well made it was! This photo was taken after we all went to the animated Zootopia 2. We all had a good time with it, after having watched the first one together earlier in the week.

Debbi and I thought Jodie Whitaker was excellent in Broadchurch (what a cast) and we followed her for a while as Dr. Who. I’ll keep an eye out for “Prima Facie” and “Merrily We Roll Along.”

Yes, I also wish more plays and musicals in this country were filmed NT Live style. Streaming services are so content-hungry these days maybe we’ll see that happen in our lifetimes. From my POV, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and The Color Putple would’ve been great candidates.

>56 magicians_nephew:. Wasn’t The Rosie Project a charmer, Jim? I took a chance because it sounded different, and it was much better than I had any right to expect. I like the follow-up Rosie Effect, too.

>57 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia!

A board game designed around the Voynich manuscript? What lunatic genius came up with that one? Curiosity compels me to track it down. As I’m sure i mentioned, my son and DIL are board game enthusiasts. I bet they’ve never heard of that one!

Nice to have a fellow appreciator of The Rosie Project. Jim liked it, too. I hope some cafe patron takes advantage of the bargain and gives it a go.

Thanks re the thread! I hope you and your hubby and daughter have a great holiday season, along with the rest of your family.

>58 jnwelch: Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time was turned into an amazing NT Live production. One of our favorites. Keep an eye out maybe they'll "encore" it.

Has anyone seen the odd ball Russian sci-fi movie Stalker from 1982? It was on a must- see list and I just watched it. Pretty darn weird, even for me. Reminded me a bit of Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, which I loved.

Today’s Bargain: North Woods by Daniel Mason for $1.99 on Kindle.. An LT favorite and skillfully written novel.

>14 jnwelch: Hello from your one eyed friend, Joe! (I'll undergo cataract surgery on my left eye next month.) To answer your question, I've seen plenty of unforgettable plays in London, but none tops the 2016 version of Federico García Lorca's play Yerma at the Young Vic, which starred Billie Piper; I saw it with Claire/Sakerfalcon. It won every eligible award it was nominated for that year, and the same was true for Piper. This is a 1½ minute trailer of Yerma:

https://youtu.be/MvyVNaTfIBg?si=msNVKI95w_on4IHD

We, and most of the audience, walked out of the theatre with stunned expressions on our faces, and I wondered, possibly out loud to Claire, how Piper could have reached down to the depths of her soul to give that performance once, not to mention on a nightly basis.

Other favorites are 1984 at the Almeida Theatre in Islington, which was utterly chilling (I scored a ticket for it the night before I had to leave London on one trip there), Aimé Césaire's play A Season in the Congo about the rise and CIA inspired assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected president of the Congo, which starred Chiwetel Ejiofor, also at the Young Vic, and the West End production of King Lear that you mentioned; I think we saw it together. I have no doubt that other plays will come to mind with more thought.

>60 magicians_nephew: What Jim said. I saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time in the smallest of the three theatres that make up the National Theatre, and it was very good.

Joe - When will The Evil ever end...

We’re at a production of Much Ado About Nothing at Chicago Shakespeare and it’s excellent! They really found the humor in it. Very creative.

Today’s Bargain: Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez for $2.99 on e-readers.. This one impressed me so much I had Adri teach me how to pronounce the author’s first name. I need a refresher. What a debut! A smart romantic comedy, as the Wash Post said. On a lot of Best Books of the year lists.

>67 jnwelch: I have to read! I really liked her first book. I just think "Social" when trying to pronounce her name. (I know that's not quite it, but it gets me there)

Today’s Bargain: Count Zero by William Gibson for $1.99 on e-readers.. Another excellent one by one of my favorite sci-fi writers. Cyberpunk fans will be delighted by this war for the bio-chip.

>68 banjo123:. Oh good! Thanks for letting me know, Rhonda. If you liked another one by her I’m sure you’ll like this one. Yeah, “Social” sounds like the pronunciation I learned. Does that work for actress Saoirse Rohan, too?😅

>65 m.belljackson:. I know the feeling, Marianne. The honest answer probably is, not in our lifetimes. But the Evil should dissipate greatly when we get Trump out of office and more good people in. Politicians should never have this much effect on our daily lives.

>63 kidzdoc:, >64 kidzdoc:. Thanks, Darry. My goodness, that’s another treasure box of theater productions. Debbi and I were just reminiscing about your being there with us for McKellen’s King Lear. Caroline, for some reason, was not with us, as we recall. But she was with us for the Aidan Turner giggle-fest, as all the women in the audience longed to flirt with him. Not a memorable play, but that part was, as he first came on stage.

Wish we’d been with you for Yerma. Sounds great. I’m a Lorca poetry fan. The others you mention: ditto. I’d especially like to see Chiwetel Ejiofor in a play some day.

Any other actor performances come to mind, regardless of the play?

Ooo, I would’ve loved to have seen The Curious Incident at the National Theatre; I’m glad they did it.

From Poem-a-Day

December 16, 2025

Yahya Frederickson

NEWS

Before breakfast, we drive into town
to buy a Star Tribune for my father,
who usually rides along, but today sleeps late.
From the passenger seat, you stuff
my mouth with a saucer peach. For energy,

you say, my fog before food well-known.
The beige flesh tastes like jasmine.
Honey. A Persian fairy tale.
In his La-Z-Boy near the big window,
my father will read a section, nod off,

wake, read another, all afternoon.
You and I no longer bother—every day
the same: people killing, being killed.
Instead, we cook, clean. We look
after my father, keep our kids busy.

At the One-Stop, I take a copy
off the dwindling stack, set my father’s exact
change into the cashier’s tattooed hand—
my daily deadline met. Heading home,
you spot it first, uphill, in a birch,

glowing, a blue pilot light. A flaming
blue arrow shooting toward us. I can’t
stop, can’t swerve, it strikes our windshield.
I see it in the rearview mirror glance
onto the shoulder. Maybe it’s still alive,

you pray. Maybe we can put it in a box
until it’s well. So I reverse, hope it flies away.
Could I mercy-kill it under a wheel?
Standing by, we watch a wing flail once,
an eye shut, the end. Even a little death

sucks out our air. Where it hit gravel,
one feather sticks up. Such color!
Lapis-and-turquoise filigree.
We kick a shallow grave with our heels,
and deliver my father the news.

Today’s Bargain: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd for $2.99 on e-readers.. In South Carolina in the early 60s, a young girl and the woman taking care of her are taken in by three black beekeeping sisters, and a great book ensues. Actually, a great book ensues from the first page. A lot of wisdom here.

I am 100 pages into Legends & Lattes and have to thank you for the big endorsement of this novel several years ago. It is great fun! Perfect for reading while I recover from the pestilence with which I have been afflicted. Its tone reminds me of Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking which was what I read the last time (2 years ago) when this sort of pestilence afflicted me. In-other-words, now that the worst is over, I am having a great time being sick.

>74 benitastrnad:. Sorry to hear that pestilence grabbed you, Benita, but I’m glad you’re getting to the far side of it. I’m like you; a fun, diverting read really helps when your poor body’s in misery, doesn’t it.

I’m happy that you’re enjoying Legends & Lattes! There are two more from him that I’ve enjoyed just as much. The newest, Brigands & Breadknives, just came out. Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking is a most excellent comparison! Similar tone, similar enjoyment.

I just started Dungeon Crawler Carl, one I’ve had recommended from more different directions than I can believe. Very funny and oddball so far.

Keep feeling better!

Today’s Bargain: Villette by Charlotte Bronte for $1.99 on e-readers. . I’ve never read this one. I of course loved Jane Eyre.

>74 benitastrnad:, >75 jnwelch:, i also loved Legends and Lattes and am looking forward to the second book but that will be in 2026.

>76 jnwelch: I tried to read Vilette when I was 18 or so, and bounced off of it. Maybe I should try again, these many years later!

>77 johnsimpson:. Hi, John. Glad to hear it, mate. Wasn’t Legends & Lattes a fun one? I’m glad as my favorite tome reader you weren’t dismissive because it wasn’t 1000 pages long.😀

It seems unusual for you to suffer through “pond delay”. I feel like it’s usually us waiting for the latest Brit enticement to wash up on our shores. Baldree just released his third here, Brigands and Breadknives. Bookshops and Bonedust has been on the shelves here for yonkers.

>78 foggidawn:. Hi, Misti. Yeah, i bet we both will appreciate Villette more at a more advanced age. My 20ish goddaughter loved Tenant of Wildfell Hall and convinced me to read it; i was very appreciative of it at this age, but not so sure I would’ve been at her age. I’m also glad I came to Jane Austen at a later age when I had more life under my belt so as to be wowed by her insights and humor. I’m looking forward to trying Villette.

>71 jnwelch: Any other actor performances come to mind, regardless of the play?

I have given it some thought, and actually the performance that moved me to both tears and sobs took place during a one woman play during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018 or 2019. The actress was a British social worker who specialized in providing support to preteen and teenage girls who were the victims of sexual trafficking, and the play consisted of three actual cases of girls she was involved with. IIRC the only additional member of the cast was her one audiovisual technician, and from what I saw there were only three people in the audience, the woman I befriended and sat next to, and a man who sat toward the back of the makeshift theatre, which was in the conference room of the hotel on the Royal Mile that I was staying in. The first two stories were deeply moving in and of themselves—my former work group not infrequently cared for young victims of physical and/or sexual abuse—but the last story involved a girl who was transported by her traffickers to France, and given hard core drugs just before she was sexually abused. She was tracked down by French and British authorities, but on the day she was found she had just died a few hours previously from a drug overdose. The actress' portrayal suggested that the girl would have been successfully rescued, but learning that her rescuers didn't get there in time caused me and the woman sitting next to me to weep openly. When the actress saw us crying she also started to cry, and the A/V person asked us to stay for 10 to 15 minutes, so that she could compose herself and talk with us. When she came out the three of us hugged each other and began sobbing, with the knowledge of what had happened to all three girls, particularly the last one. I have seen several solo actor performances, in London and Edinburgh, but that one seared a hole in my heart.

The first Shakespeare play I saw, and still one of the most memorable ones was Julius Caesar, which was performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in 2012. It featured an all-Black cast, and was set in an African country on the cusp of a brutal civil war. This is possibly the most memorable and powerful excerpt from the play, Act 3, Scene 2, with Marc Antony's speech to the Romans just after Caesar was murdered:

https://youtu.be/2Q7apiYunEU?si=EC4GHyzgd4gR2lST

Rory Kinnear is one of my favorite British actors, and he played the lead in two plays at the National Theatre that I thoroughly enjoyed (unless Fliss was there I doubt that anyone saw either one with me). The first was Othello, in which he played Iago to Adrian Lester's brilliant Othello. The play was staged at the National Theatre in 2013, and it won several Olivier Awards IIRC:

https://youtu.be/eEOddSEAjq8?si=DycG3VlH6fNa7M-L

On a far lighter note, Kinnear played a deliciously evil Macheath and showed his acting chops in the 2016 National Theatre production of TheThreepenny Opera:

https://youtu.be/V6KUPcWtnAA?si=R8QfHhyDhf3xj4Ej

I wouldn't doubt that other plays will come to mind with more thought.

I will chime in. I did see a stage production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time. I had read the book, of course and wondered how on earth a story like that could be staged. Well, they did it and it was spectacular. So clever and so creative. It must be at least 10 years since I saw that, well before covid.

And maybe the most creative production I ever saw was many years after that, I want to say 1985 or 86. I was visiting my cousin who lived in Washington, DC at the time. We went to a show at the historic and famous Ford Theatre. The show was the Mikado, by Gilbert and Sullivan, which had a special place in my heart because we had done that musical in school, eons before. Anyhow, it wasn't *just* The Mikado. The show was actually called *Hot Mikado*, had an all-black cast and the music - while true in lyrics and melodies to the original - was definitely *hot*. I want to say a kind-of Motown vibe but honestly, I can't remember if that is accurate. It was just unlike any Mikado you can imagine yet it was totally recognizable as The Mikado. And the sets! This was a million years before cell phones or even digital cameras so I was unable to take pics, obviously, but I was blown away by the beauty and creativity of the stage sets. Artistry! I wish someone somewhere would bring it back. I'd go in a heartbeat!

Sadly, I can't remember any of the actors in either of these 2 shows but I do remember being blown away by both.

Wow. I just googled to see if I could find anything:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Mikado

Calls to mind one of the most amazing performers you've probably never heard of

David Cale is his name and what he does is sort of dramatic monologues / storytelling / poetry. Like The late Brother Theodore he told stories of life experience that moved you made you laugh and made you feel deeply what he was describing / reliving.

I've seen him act playing a part in straight plays but he's at his best on a bare stage just starting slow and even and building up to tremendous climaxes.

One of a kind. and amazing.

>82 magicians_nephew: - That now reminds me of 2 one-woman shows I have seen and loved. One, in the 1980s and one just last year. The earlier one was based on the book A Woman of Independent Means. Very spare stage set, just one chair and a minimum of props. The story follows the woman from young adulthood to old age. You see the passage of time entirely through the actress's body language, vocal changes, facial expressions, and the occasional hat or scarf change. It was astounding to watch.

The recent one I saw was a stage production of Shirley Valentine. Also a one woman show, in 2 acts, and the actress was outstanding. I had seen the original film when it came out, ages ago, but borrowed it again after seeing the play. Just wonderful!

>80 kidzdoc:. Wow! “Wow” seems like an insufficient reaction, Darryl, thanks. I’m stuck on the one you saw with two other people at the Edinburgh Festival. What caused you to go to it, i.e. how did you find it? We had a good time at the Fringe Festival, but most of it was pretty light-hearted. It did include our friend’s friend Frank and his choir performing at a local church, but otherwise it was all outside, IIRC. Anyway, what an amazing awful/transforming experience for you! You probably made the whole Festival experience worthwhile for her. Ah, the evil that lies in men’s hearts. Terrible. Unforgettable. Meant to be. Fantastically unlikely. I’m going to get you to retell the story next time we see you.

Reminds me of a cafe where Debbi and I were the only audience for some poor guy and his acoustic guitar. He was in a low key get-through-it mode and it was sad, instead of remarkable, like yours.

I’ll come back for the rest of your post. Another question: how did she convey all of that detail about the victim? Monologue?

>71 jnwelch: I saw Mark Rylance play Olivia from Twelfth Night at the Guthrie as part of the "original practices" where the roles of all female characters were played by men. Spectacular. I have never seen anything like it since.

I did get to see McKellen as Lear and Patrick Stewart (as George) in Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Today’s Bargain: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen for $1.99 on e-readers. . A topnotch YA novel that topped the NY Times bestseller list. A teen insomniac girl meets another teen insomniac girl and friendship ensues.

BTW, Becca’s surgery went beautifully and she’s doing really well. Strong and happy. Two weeks of rest and recovery, with us nearby to help as needed.

>59 jnwelch: Here is a link to information about the Voynich Manuscript game, Joe. It is called The Voynich Puzzle and it is by a designer who has a very good pedigree: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/439983/the-voynich-puzzle

>87 jnwelch: Great news about Becca! Thanks for the update, Joe.

>84 jnwelch: As you know the number of performances during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is overwhelming, especially when you combine them with ones during the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh International Book Festival, all of which are held over a 28 day period in August. One year, maybe that one, I ordered a Fringe catalog which was sent to me in the mail several months in advance. I'm guessing that I was particularly drawn to that performance because it took place in the hotel I was staying in, because it took place relatively early in the morning at a time that wouldn't have overlapped with any other performances I had planned to see, and because the topic was of interest to me. Fliss (flissp) has been a diehard Festival goer for years, and she was instrumental in brutally twisting my arm convincing me to go, along with Margaret (wandering_star), and we discussed which performances that we wanted to see together for several months in advances, and when and where to meet for quick meals between performances on days or times when we weren't seeing the same things. Like you & Debbi she preferred light-hearted fare, although we did agree on several performances to see together, and we did give each other a run down about what we saw, in case the other was influenced to see whatever caught our fancies the most.

Regarding that incredibly moving performance I can't remember exactly how she portrayed the victims, but I suspect that they were not first person accounts.

There were plenty of other Edinburgh performances that I greatly enjoyed, but they were back in 2016 and 2017, IIRC, and my memory of them are a bit blurry. Although it wasn't a play Margaret (I think) and I saw a brilliant dance performance during the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival, "Blak Whyte Gray" by the hip hop troupe Boy Blue. It was so good that I saw it again at the Barbican in London the following year. Here's a brief trailer of it:

https://youtu.be/nuNiUWqbC5Q?si=-zjWuGzzTbP2v__A

ETA: I'm glad to hear that Becca's surgery went well!

>79 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, mate, the third Travis Baldree book is out but in hard back and i prefer paperbacks, i am thinking of reading a few classics next year. Over the years i have collected around 50 to 60 pocket sized classics, these were published between 1900 and 1930 and the paper is wafer thin and the text is small, i have read a couple of them a few years ago but now is the time to read more of them.

>80 kidzdoc:. Part Deux, Darryl. We did see Roy Kinnear in something at the National Theatre, as Debbi confirms, and on tv and film, but neither of us have taken to him like so many have. To me he’s less prepossessing than McKellen, Stewart, Cillian Murphy and others, and his style is far from bombastic. He was in a particularly awful episode of Black Mirror (the one with the pig) and I give him credit for taking it on. It was certainly memorable. 🙄

Did you ever get to see Judi Dench in a play? We haven’t, and that’s probably the sum and substance of my theater bucket list.

Do you remember “Cymbeline” that we all saw together, with the fantastic dancing at the end?

>81 jessibud2:. Welcome, Chimer Shelley. We think alike. I thought The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime had to be an unadaptable book, and I was so impressed with how cleverly they adapted it. Didn’t miss a step.

That Hot Mikado sounds great. I’d like to see it. Gilbert & Sullivan done at your high school?! Man, you had a brave crew. Were you in it? I can’t imagine my peers at that time being that ambitious, but maybe I’m underestimating them. How was it? I just told the story of my goddaughter’s most excellent college production of Sondheim’s “Company”. Which I was similarly skeptical about beforehand.

I’ll check your links later.

>82 magicians_nephew:. You’re right, David Cale is new to me, Jim. Sorry I missed him. Reminds me of the great monologist Spaulding Grey, who I did see, but never live. Also reminds me of David Sedaris, who was hilarious in person. And not just in reading his essays; he was a quick wit in spontaneously interacting with the audience. What a gift that is. Stephen Fry was terrific in person, too.

>83 jessibud2:. The Woman of Independent Means and Shirley Valentine performances sound great. The former reminds of what I was saying about Helen Mirren aging from teen Elizabeth to elderly icon in The Audience. Fantastic.

We just saw the funniest ever “Much Ado About Nothing” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, so much better than the disappointingly flat Branagh- Keanu Reeves movie. The cast found all the humor in the play, much of it in the cracks and crevices. You probably wouldn’t have heard of anyone in the cast (unless Sean Fortunato rings a bell), but you may have heard of the director, Edward Hall.

>85 Oberon:. Hiya, Erik. Those sound mighty good. I have seen and respected Mark Rylance on the tube, but not live. Like Rory Kinnear, i haven’t warmed up to him like I did the others.

I saw Tracy Letts play George in Who’s Afraid at Steppenwolf, who was great (and a horrible person). I’d love to see Patrick Stewart in that role. And I’d love go see something, anything at the Guthrie - I’ve heard so much about it.

Didn’t McKellen make for a great Lear? Of all things, his remarkable stamina at 80 is what stands out in my mind. At one point he carried Cordelia (?) around the stage for quite a while while he monologued.

>88 alcottacre: Thanks for the link, Stasia. I shall pursue it. I sure want someone to decrypt the Voynich Manuscript. Maybe the board game will shed some light on it.

Sweet Thursday, Joe. How is it going, stranger. I haven't heard much from you. I am enjoying my reread of Kavalier & Clay. I think you were a fan too. I am mostly focused on that Chunkster but I did enjoy Righteous Thirst For Vengeance Volumes 1 & 2. Good crime GNS but a bit on the violent side. Any GN recommendations?

>72 jnwelch: I also like this poem! I was planning on sharing it.

>91 jnwelch: - We actually did The Mikado in grade 6, Joe! I was the only one in the class not in it (stage fright and I didn't want to be on a stage in front of an audience) so I helped with props and did a *write-up* after the show. Our teacher was a very ambitious guy who loved musicals so I am sure it was good. I honestly can't remember seeing the whole thing. The costumes were great!

In high school we did *Oklahoma* and again, I worked on props, behind the scenes. Such fun! I can still sing most of the songs from that one!

Joe - sometime in the 1960's, my U.C. roommate, Judy Cohen, & I drove to NYC

to see Anthony Newley in Stop the World, I Want to Get Off - many memorable songs!

>91 jnwelch: I'm sorry that you and Debbi aren't as fond of Rory Kinnear as I am, Joe. When I looked at his Wikipedia page I realized that I had seen him perform in another play in the National Theatre, the 2012 production of The Last of the Haussmans, which was also very good. However, he was so convincing as Iago in Othello that I arose in anger towards him as I stood up and applauded at the end of the play; he was that good! He did win the Olivier Award for Best Actor for that performance, and rightfully so.

I haven't seen Judi Dench perform on stage, oddly enough, and since she is 91 yo and has retired I'll only be able to see taped episodes of her performances. I did see Helen Mirren perform Queen Elizabeth in the NT Live production of The Audience in a nearby arts cinema when I lived in Atlanta, which was so good that several members of the audience applauded reflexively.

I definitely remember Cymbelline! That was another memorable and outstanding performance, especially the Matrix-like fight scene between the rival street gangs and, of course, the completely unexpected hip hop dance routine after the play ended. And, of course, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were superb together in the West End production of Harold Pinter's No Man's Land.

Today’s Bargain: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen for $1.99 on e-readers. We LOVE this book. My first of hers, and now I’ve read and enjoyed every one of hers, and she’s become a favorite author. Enchanting.

>98 jnwelch: Garden Spells was a surprise to me. Someone recomended it and i thought it was just going to a romance novel and i kept putting it aside,

Finally I read it and was captured horse and foot by the great characters and the deft handling of Magic in this strange but familiar world.

Gobbled up her other books and joined the chorus of people recommending them to people.

>89 kidzdoc:. All that planning paid off, Darryl. I could live in Edinburgh. Lots going on, which is what my psyche craves. The victims’ performance we’ve been discussing sounds like the welcome exception to the “light-hearted” norm. High quality is high quality.

I’m sitting with Becca and Indy right now, listening to Kelly Clarkson and reading and LTing. Becca’s reading Kate Morton and I’ve got my Sharpe’s Storm and Dungeon Crawler Carl. Indy’s is written in scent, which I haven’t learned yet.

>90 johnsimpson:. Hiya, John, buddy. Thanks for clearing that up about Baldree’s books. That long a wait seemed unfair. But waiting for the paperback is different. I’ve done that a lot, too.

I love going back and reading the classics. Maybe Villette qualifies? That’s my next. What ones are you thinking of reading? The Count of Monte Cristo is my perennial favorite and most often re-read, after Persuasion.

>94 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Sweet Thursday/Happy Friday! I was texting you on your sunny vacation, right? My current highly satisfying GN is Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen. They even dip into her juvenilia ss part of the story.

Yes, I loved Kavalier and Clay. Still his best, IMO. I’ve yet to click with Rick Remender, but I’ll take a look at righteous Thirst for Vengeance. I liked a lot The Legend of Kamui about the un sustainability of Japan’s caste system during the samurai era, with peasants and outcasts on the bottom. But it might not be your flavor?

Isn’t that poem a good ‘un? I say go ahead and post it. It won’t be the first time you and I have appreciated the same one stvthe same time. 😀

>95 jessibud2:. Hi, Shelley. 6th grade! I bet the parents got a kick out of Gilbert & Sullivan by that crew in great costumes. Good for you for helping out and doing a write-up. I hope the write-up is in your archives somewhere. I wasn’t strongly drawn to theater until I was out of school. I remember we did a terrible West Side Story for a class. Our unsupervised rehearsals consisted mainly of goofing off and flirting. I was a rapscallion at that age.

I love “Oklahoma”! Debbi played the high school lead, and has an enchanting voice. Our grandkids love hearing her do “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” at bedtime; me, too. A friend was visiting years ago and we could hear her singing to our daughter; she came out and we both had fallen fast asleep on the couch while talking.

>102 jnwelch: - The Surrey with the Fringe on Top was also a fun one! Oh What a Beautiful Morning is a classic, isn't it? So singable!! And sadly, (or not) no, no archival record of the Mikado write-up. Probably just as well, lol!

>100 jnwelch: I'm with you, Joe; I loved my three visits to Edinburgh. The major downside is the weather. As you know it can be cold and rainy there even in August!

It sounds like you're having a great day with Becca and her loyal companion Indy. Have a lovely weekend with the entire Welch clan!

>96 m.belljackson:. A road trip to see theater, Marianne? How great. I remember Anthony Newley. That must be a special memory.

>97 kidzdoc:. Right, you and Carline were with us for No Man’s Land. I remember Patrick Stewart, a particular favorite of Debbi’s, didn’t say much in the first act, and I was worried that it would be that way the whole play, which would’ve been disappointing for our friend Debbi. Luckily he was a chatterbox in Act II.

I’m glad you saw The Audience on NTLive. What an amazing performance by Helen Mirren.

Good for Rory Kinnear, winning the Olivier Best Actor award for his portrayal of Iago. Man, I hate that character and I’m not a fan of the play. How could Othello let himself get conned like that?

Cymbeline: thanks for the reminder of that fantastic Matrix-like fight scene and the wonderful hip hop dancing, which will stick in my mind forever. Pure joy. They elevated what is to me one of the minor plays into a must-see. Did someone mention Julius Caesar? Chicago Shakespeare transformed it with a Nazi-like environment that lifted that to me so-so play into the sublime. I love it when that happens. Alas, the talented director Mary Zimmerman couldn’t sufficiently transform the abysmal Pericles. It resisted any lifting.

>105 jnwelch: Hi Joe, I left you a private message earlier this morning about Othello.

I was the person, or least the first one, who mentioned Julius Caesar back in message >80 kidzdoc:.

>96 m.belljackson:. A road trip to see theater, Marianne? How great. I remember Anthony Newley. That must be a special memory.

>97 kidzdoc:. Right, you and Carline were with us for No Man’s Land. I remember Patrick Stewart, a particular favorite of Debbi’s, didn’t say much in the first act, and I was worried that it would be that way the whole play, which would’ve been disappointing for our friend Debbi. Luckily he was a chatterbox in Act II.

I’m glad you saw The Audience on NTLive. What an amazing performance by Helen Mirren.

Good for Rory Kinnear, winning the Olivier Best Actor award for his portrayal of Iago. Man, I hate that character and I’m not fond of the play. Betrayal are the worst.

Today’s Bargain: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe for $1.99 on e-readers. A classic around the world. British colonialism vs. fierce resistance. If you haven’t read it, here’s your bargain chance.

Man, I’m enjoying the heck out of the newest Sharpe novel, Sharpe’s Storm! This Sharpe series of historical novels,by Bernard Cornwell, is probably my favoritest series ever! I’m so drawn in every time I read one.

>99 magicians_nephew:. I’m very happy to hear that you’re a fellow admirer of Sarah Addison Allen’s books, Jim! What a deft touch she has with magical realism. She went through a big time health scare a few years ago, I think maybe breast cancer, and selfishly I thought, oh no, no more books from her. Happily, she’s back to writing, and I’ve enjoyed her newer ones.

Like you, I gobble up her books and maintain my seaying place in her choir of recommenders.😀

>103 jessibud2:. The Surrey with the Fringe on Top! Yes, so many great songs on that show, Shelley. I love the old Gordon Macrae movie, but Hugh Jackman’s update was great, too.

Gosh, that would be a great use of time travel: retrieval of lost archival materials. Sorry your Mikado write-up disappeared. What a joy I imagine it would be to read that again. If time travel ever goes commercial, let’s keep this in mind. In the high school/college years some friends and I invented a spinning quarters drinking game called “A Heckuva Lotta Waldo Imbibby”, and we had a full page of (we thought) hilarious rules. For years we managed to keep the rules intact in one friend’s basement freezer. Eventually they got lost in that place where socks go. I’d love to retrieve them. I also had a really cool white doctor’s coat on the back of which I’d painted a bright sun and beach scene. I wore it while we filmed a bizarre movie senior year in college in MA. I’d love to retrieve that, too.

I suspect we all could put together a list of lost items we’d love to retrieve.

Jim and I did see Judi Dench on stage, in her Tony-winning performance in "Amy's View", about an actress who loses all her money through a misguided (literally) investment at Lloyds. At least that's the setup. It was a breathtaking performance, especially the ending, where she and another actress did a sort of mutual baptism before going on in their 'current' roles. Superb. We were very lucky.

Did you see the special with her, Eileen Atkins, Maggie Smith and Joan Plowright, called 'Nothing Like a Dame'? The four of them talking about their careers and experiences, bantering with each other quite sharply. Great fun.

>104 kidzdoc:. As you know, Darryl, I’ve got Scots in my blood. That may be why I always welcome rainy, cold weather. Somewhere in my head green hills are glistening. Great for reading and napping - lousy for driving.

Becca continues to do beautifully, and her loyal companion Indy is a bit confused by the new digs and goings-on, but she’s enjoying the extra attention from visitors. Becca reads more books these days than her slower poke dad (darn it!) so this enforced stay still and heal time suits her well - last I knew she’d read an Agatha Christie and an Ellery Queen, and is now embarked on a Kate Morton.

>106 kidzdoc:. Oh, thanks for telling me, Darryl; I’ll check my pms.

It’s been eye-opening to attend performances of Shakespeare plays that are in my doubting pantry, and enjoying them. As I said, for me no one has successfully rescued the lame Pericles.

>110 ffortsa:. Oh, I envy you seeing Judi Dench in “Amy’s View”, Judy. In retrospect, i wish we’d made a special trip to your city to see it. I struggle with the “lose all your money” premise (to close to the bone, I guess), but if it works around to survival and “okay” for the person, I’m okay, too. You’re right, what a blessing that you and Jim got to see her in that role!

Thank you for the reminder to see “ Nothing Like a Dame”. I just sent a note to Debbi about it.

I was craving a visual. This is another one by Kelly Boesch.

>113 jnwelch: love it!

>114 ffortsa:😀

>109 jnwelch: - Oh Joe, that is funny. In high school, we had an English teacher who loved Shakespeare. My father and my friend's father decided to go play golf one day - in the snow!! Golf, white golf ball, snow. So, she and I decided to write a Shakespearean poem about how crazy they were. Now, that's one piece of writing I'd love to get back!!

>110 ffortsa: - Nothing Like a Dame was wonderful!! It should be on dvd at the library, if not on youtube somewhere. Well worth looking for!

BTW, I saw the film Hamnet today and I quite liked it. Maggie O'Farrell was one of the screenwriters and I think she must be pleased with the adaptation. I have never heard of any of the actors but they were all so good!

>116 jessibud2: Somehow I thought golfers used orange golf balls in the snow.

>111 jnwelch: So welcome to read that Becca is relaxed and smoothly recovering with a loving doggie and family!

>98 jnwelch: I love that one too.

>108 jnwelch: Another good one.

>113 jnwelch: I love that one.

Have a wonderful weekend, Joe!

-117- Maybe normal golfers do but our dads were nuts. Lol

GO BEARS!!

What a great comeback win, right? They did not look very impressive for most of that game but really turned it on when they needed it. Wow! Taking Love out of the game may have helped but their back-up did a good job, I thought. What a great finishing pass and reception by Williams and Moore.

>116 jessibud2:. Right, Shelley? Add that Ode to Snow Golf to the list, it sounds like it needs fetching!

My bride heartily concurred with the recommendation to watch Nothing Like a Dame, so we should see it soon. I’m sure we can find it, and yes, Youtube has become a surprisingly good last ditch resource. Debbi just found Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes on Youtube for our daughter. (We’ve also been re-watching High Potential with Becca; any fans here? I read that it’s made it across the pond).

Oh, I’m so glad to hear that the Hamnet movie is a good adaptation of the book! I LOVED that book. So well done. Under present circ’s, I doubt we see it in the theater, but we’ll jump on it when it streams.

>117 ffortsa:. Orange golf balls in the snow would be a lot more sensible, Judy, but maybe less Shakespearean and poetic than white ones.

>118 m.belljackson:. All true, Marianne, and with good friends visiting, too. Her best friend from all the way back in first grade is over there now with her two kids (who Becca adores) to make Becca lunch. We’ve got furry Indy over here, so she doesn’t get startled by the young ‘uns. I’m so pleased for Becca that it’s going so smoothly and well. She’s accompanied us part of the way walking Indy, and seems to be getting stronger each day.

>119 alcottacre:. Isn’t Garden Spells great, Stasia? What a wonderful surprise it was for us, exceeding our modest expectations.

Yes, Things Fall Apart deserves all the accolades. I didn’t get it in school, so I’m glad I finally read it as a grup (grown-up).

Oh, I’m glad you love the Kelly Boesch piece. What she does feels so fresh and clever to me. I hope her stillsare collected in a book some day. I subscribe, and I’m trying to keep up with her evolving videos. She’s got that quirky spark of genius which, for me, always has a little underlying humor, or whimsy.

We’re having a wonderful weekend, thanks. Our (grown-up) little girl is doing A-OK, our Chicago Bears won a big one, i had a good Zen session this morning, and this new Sharpe book is most excellent. We even got a modest warm-up of the winter chill, and there’s some lovely Bach going on the sound system. I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend, too.

>120 jessibud2:. 😂. I imagine I would’ve jumped right on that nutso idea with your dad, Shelley. Why not add to the challenge?

>121 msf59:. That winning touchdown pass was a freaking thing of beauty, Mark. What a QB this kid is! I’d prefer the easier-on-the-heart beatdown the Bears gave Cleveland last week, but what a bunch of battlers these players are. And what a coach. As far as I’m concerned, the Bears have never had a QB this good, and never had a coach this good. What a huge difference it makes. And kudos to the front office for putting together one of the league’s best offensive lines. Go Bears!

Today’s Bargain: Mrs. Porter Calling by AJ Pearce for $1.99 on e-readers. Fans of the cozy doings of Emma Lake in Dear Mrs. Bird will likewise enjoy this follow-up on her doings at a British women's magazine during WWII. The third one is another corker.

The movie that was mentioned earlier with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkinson is “Tea with the Dames”.

Although I like the title “Nothing Like a Dame”. Maybe that’s the American version? 😂

>128 jnwelch:. Oo, good catch, Anne. I suspect “Nothing Like a Dame” is the American title, as my instinct is “Tea with the Dames” wouldn’t be as alluring here. We’re more of a coffee country.

Today’s Bargain: Mystery Guest by Nita Prose for $1.99 on e-readers.. Molly the Maid (now Head Maid) must solve the mysterious death at the hotel of a mystery writer she knew at a younger age. Another charmer featuring this irresistible character.

>126 NarratorLady:, >127 jnwelch: "Tea With the Dames" is available under that name on AcornTV, or AMC+, both Prime Video add-ons here. It isn't a movie, but a sit-down with those three amazing women, who talk about their lives and careers. It does say "Original title Nothing Like a Dame". It would be hard to find a more delightful way to spend an hour and a half.

>129 laytonwoman3rd:. Thanks, Linda. Good to know we can find it on Acorn via Prime. Makes sense. Snowy winter seems like a good time to visit the chatting Dames. Fun!

Today’s Bargain: This House of Sky by Ivan Doig for $1.99 on e-readers. . A favorite of Doig fans. A memoir of his life in Montana.

Dear Joe, as y'all celebrate this year, remember:

>132 richardderus:. Welcome news, Richard, as an immoderate amount of candy and baked goods continues to show up. We received a wondrous superflousness of large pears this year, some of which turned into pear bread (mmm- mmmm) and, rumor has it, others of which will become pear sauce, akin to applesauce. Yum. The Christmas calorie of which, by tradition, shall amount to zero, as they just don’t count.

I hope the holiday season treats you well and visions of sugar plums dance in your head.

I just reluctantly finished Sharpe’s Storm with a sigh of satisfaction and some melancholy. I could have traveled and fought alongside Sharpe and the Prince’s Own Volunteers for weeks and months more, as they are finally on French soil, matching wits and men with Napoleon’s Marshall Soult. Wellington is smart and orders that no French women or children be harmed, and anything scavenged be paid for. As a result, the British and Portugués are well- favored rather than harassed, since the French military never paid.

Author Bernard Cornwell and his wife now split their time between Cape Cod and Charleston, SC, and I have dreams of running into them on the street there. What a remarkable historian and storyteller he is. Much of Sharpe’s Storm is based on actual events, including an insufferable aristocrat officer who gets his just desserts.

>133 jnwelch: Pear bread! That sounds lovely! I hope you're going to get a superfluity of them again so you can look forward to next year's loaves.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1wlr7r747eo Lost Bach music just rediscovered! Pretty good, I thought, and neither is long.

https://youtu.be/HeX6dbPNIgE?si=SF5q2ik0gJpAklQF

>136 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe--I remember hearing about this, but had forgotten about it. And thank you for the link to the performance.

Happy Holiday Celebrations, Joe!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

>137 kac522:. You’re welcome, Kathy! I’m glad you’re as excited as I am. I love it when lost artworks resurface. I hope there are many more before I depart. Organ works aren’t my natural favorites, but I love Bach, and I think these two short ones are very good.

>138 quondame: Thanks, Susan. Happy Holidays! I hope you and yours are having a day full of peace and joy.

Have a lovely festive season, Joe and your lovely family.

>141 PaulCranswick:. Many thanks, Paul. Much cheer to you, mate. I just got the sad news about Caroline. We need to treasure these connections, eh? We’re thinking of you and Hani and the kiddoes, and sending warm holiday wishes.

Sad news from across the pond. Caroline McElwee died just before Christmas, after a short illness. Oof. Debbi and I met with her many times in London, and both loved her. What a funny, charming woman and prodigious reader. Rest in peace, Caroline.

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

>144 drneutron:. Cool beans, Jim. Thanks. I’ll meet you there in a few days.

Today’s Bargain: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking for $1.99 on Kindle. . Once described as the least read popular book out there, it sold like gangbusters when it came out. How many actually read it? You got me. I did. While a lot of it hovered somewhere above my head while I stood on my tippy-toes, I was glad I read it. The man was brilliant, and the concept of time has fascinated me forever. I’m still trying to understand it.

Your thread reminded me to get back to the Sharpe series, Joe. I didn't get very far although the first in the series was the book that I thought to buy for my son when he went into the hospital. He's not much of a reader - not sure how that happens.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!

>147 Familyhistorian:. Thanks, Meg. I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season, too.

I’m glad the thread has rekindled your Sharpe interest. I always suggest that newbies start with Sharpe’s Rifles or Sharpe’s Eagle (preferably both). Our daughter and I agree that the ones set earlier, in India, are fine but somehow lesser, and best read later after one has had a substantial meal of Sharpe in the Napoleonic Wars. Plus the latter have the unforgettable Irishman Patrick Harper, the essential Scottie Pippen to Sharpe’s Michael Jordan. What a series!

What a reading pleasure it has been over the years. The author’s sticklerness (is there such a word?) for historical accuracy makes me appreciate the books even more. Waterloo featuring Sharpe fascinated me for that reason. Cornwell also did a straightforward history of that turning point which I haven’t read yet, Waterloo: The History of Four Days, Three Armies and Three Battles.

Today’s Bargain: Circe by Madeline Miller for $1.99 on e-readers. The wonderful re-imagining of the exiled Greek sorcerer-goddess and bed companion of Odysseus. A fresh air breeze that also manages to be quite moving.

>149 jnwelch: Did I love Circe! drove me right back to read her Song of Achilles which i also loved (Though Circe is better

>150 magicians_nephew:. Right, Jim? I loved Song of Achilles, too, another great one from her.

Man, the book I just finished, When Cranes Fly South, just blew me away. I doubt I’ll ever stop thinking about it. There’s a short review up in >2 jnwelch:.

>151 jnwelch: When Cranes earned the Full Five Stars for Bo and Sixten; barely 3 for Hans...

A little pricier than usual today. Dig out that extra dollar.

Today’s Bargain: The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli for $2.99 on e-readers. We were talking recently about Stephen Hawking and A Brief History of Time. I mean, what the heck is time all about, anyway? It has ceaseless influence on our lives and our choices. We arbitrarily measure it with our wrist instruments and our wall instruments (or wherever we put them). Weuse groups of rectangles to keep tracknof days, months, years. But what the heck is it? Why does it seemingly only go forward, never backward?

Rovelli is a great explainer of physics. IIRC, he writes a weekly newspaper column on that in Italy. I’ve enjoyed two other of his books. So I added this one to the book larder.

. Today’s Bargain Part Deux: Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck for $2.99 on e-readers. One of our greatest authors drives 10,000 miles around our country with his French poodle and notes down conversations with his trademark humor, and muses about the goods and bads. Infectious and exhilirating.

Oh myyy as Takei would say... haven't thought about Travels with Charley in years. I loved it. I hope he's back in fashion soon

>153 jnwelch: I very much enjoyed Travels with Charley when I read it several years ago. I may have to pick that one up! Thanks, Joe.

In case I do not "see" you again, Happy New Year to you, Debbi, and the gang!

>152 m.belljackson:. I understand your lower rating for Hans, Marianne. I wanted to slug him a coupla times myself. But he loved Bo and was trying to do his best for him. I even think he might’ve done the right thing for (gasp!) Bo and Sixten, heart-breaking as it was. I was SO glad they reunited at the end. And thank God for Ingrid, right?

>155 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia. Travels is charming and welcomely informal, isn’t it. Both it and Cannery Row, and I’ll add in an outlier, Log from the Sea of Cortez, made me wish I had a chance to know the guy in person.

Happy New Year to you, too! Our plans always include a movie, and this year it’s 84 Charing Cross Road.

>156 jnwelch: Nah, Hans could have paid Ingrid or another good carer to keep them close.

>157 jnwelch: What about MARTY SUPREME for your movie?!?

I picked up Bookshops and Bonedust at the public library today and will start reading it tonight.

>158 m.belljackson:, >159 m.belljackson:. 👍. I’ll have to find out more about Marty Supreme. But we’re well-chuffed about 84 Caring Cross Road.

>160 benitastrnad:. Oh good, Benita. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

>154 richardderus:. Hi, Richard. I’m happy when a golden oldie like Travels with Charley resurfaces. I loved it, too. Like you, I hope our friend Steinbeck comes back into fashion. He’s so good!

>148 jnwelch: I haven't read very far in the Sharpe series and haven't read anything with Patrick Harper in it (I started at the beginning of the series). Now I'll have to read further and faster to get to those books in the series. Thanks for giving me that to look forward to, Joe.

84 Charing Cross Road was one of the best movie adaptations from a book, in my opinion. The casting could not have been better. I LOVED that film! (and the 2 books it was made from).

>153 jnwelch: Travels with Charley has taken a few hits in recent years - maybe it's more fiction than it appears to be. I recall reading it and liking it main well. The last scene when he returns to New York has always stuck in my mind.

>161 jnwelch: Wow! 84, Charing Cross Road that is a voice form the past. Remembering loving the book when it first appeared condensed in Readers Digest Remember when i first got the actual book in my mitts.

Heard good things about the movie. Never saw it. Adding it to our list.

>157 jnwelch:, >163 jessibud2: Yes, 84 Charing Cross Road is a great movie. I've made reading it (or listening to it on audio) my annual jump-start to the new New Reading Year for a while now.

>162 Familyhistorian:. You’re welcome, Meg. You have some great reading ahead of you! Those ones set in India, although chronologically the first ones, were actually written after several of the Napoleonic ones with Harper. Can’t wait to hear what you think of those. Sharpe’s Eagle and Sharpe’s Rifles are good starters for those.

Marty Supreme was a good movie. Excellent acting, maybe more action than the story warranted. I liked it better when I realized it was based on a true story.

But we just watched One Battle After Another, which is streaming now, and I really liked it. Creepy!

Today’s Bargains: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen for $1.99 and Seveneves by Neal Stephenson for $2.99 on e-readers.

The first is her classic featuring put upon Fanny Price.

The second is one I haven’t read from maybe our most successful current sci-fi author. A return to Earth. It’s whopping big IRL, so this may be the ideal way to carry it around.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai.

I can see why this has been Booker-listed and on so many “Best” lists. Sonia and Sunny grew up in India. They both lived in the U.S. and rejected an arranged marriage to each other. Later they meet in different circumstances and are more intrigued. This is a wide-ranging novel, with lots about Indian family members and friends in a changing India (what to keep from the past, what is modern and better) and Indians in the U.S., particularly NYC, including the misconceptions and prejudices encountered. Beautiful, flowing writing and an impressive scope.

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinnison.

I can see why this has attracted so fast so many enthusiastic readers, from diverse reading backgrounds. A post-apocalyptic romp, if you can believe it. After most of the Earth’s population has been stomped flat by aliens, Carl and his ex-girlfriend’s cat and others get a chance to survive by participating in a killer alien TV reality show. His ingenuity and humor in making his way through descending floors filled with dangers, with surprisingly able assistance from Princess Donut the cat, is the draw. Fast-paced and funny.

Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen by Kate Evans. An excellent bio that draws in her Juvenalia and lesser known works as well as the famous novels. Generous excerpts help make this an enjoyable revisit of her life and writing. Her doomed love for Tom Lefroy, due to neither party having money, hits hard in the context of Pride and Prejudice, where the fortunes of Darcy and Bingham smoothed the way for romantic happiness. You long for JA to have a similar experience, but this book is good at showing us her difficulties and indomitable spirit. The graphics are no great shakes (I wish they were) but they're adequate and the storytelling is very good.

When Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen . What a wonderful, simple, devastatingly real book. Former sawmill worker Bo is nearing the end of his life. Once physically imposing, he’s now frail and assisted by rotating carers under Sweden’s humane system. His wife has succumbed to dementia and is in a local hospital, and he has his big dog Sixten and his lifelong friend Ture, whom he mostly talks to over the phone. His son Hans loves him, but they’ve forgotten how to communicate, exacerbated by Hans’ belief that Bo has gotten too old to properly care for Sixten. Reminding me of Claire Keegan, the author brings us completely inside Bo’s life. Thank goodness for his carer Ingrid, who understands Bo and intervenes at key moments. An unforgettable reading experience.

>173 jnwelch: - That one sounds excellent. In looking to see if my library had it (they do!), I noticed the title is actually When the Cranes Fly South.

Happy new year, Joe!

>174 katiekrug: Oh my goodness, thanks, Katie. Brain glitch. I’ll fix the title and post the cover. I’m glad you figured it out! Looking forward to your comments on this singular book. It leapfrogged into best book of the year consideration for me, although if I read James this year, that’ll be the winner.

P.S. Happy New Year, Katie!

>173 jnwelch: Bo and Sixten 5 Stars; Hans, barely 3.

>176 m.belljackson: So you mentioned in >152 m.belljackson:, Marianne. I understand.

>163 jessibud2:. Apologies for my delay in catching up, Shelley. That’s great to hear re the movie adaptation of 84 Charing Cross Road. Can’t wait! I also read the two Charing books, although the second for me was less memorable.

>164 magicians_nephew:. Hiya, Jim. I guess I don’t overly care much if parts of Travels with Charley were fictionalized, although I’d prefer they weren’t. Were the hits/criticisms convincing? Significant?

Agreed re his coming back to NY.

>165 magicians_nephew:. Oh good, Jim. I’m glad you added 84 Charing Cross Road to your movie list so we can compare notes some time. Old movies are our New Year’s Eve tradition; I think last year’s was “It Happened One Night”.

>166 kac522: Thanks, Kathy. Great to hear more love for the 84 Charing Cross Road movie. What a lovely tradition to start each new reading year with a re-read of the book. Wow, do we all love books or what? Impressive.

>168 banjo123:. Hiya, Rhonda. I’ll look for Marty Supreme; i remember nada about it. I’m chomping at the bit to see One Battle After Another; we were just too busy to catch it in the theater. Thanks for the heads-up that it’s streaming. I didn’t know it was creepy. Oh boy.

>177 jnwelch: Hey, I'm almost 82 - I get to repeat A lot, A lot.

>180 m.belljackson: 😂. Yes you do, Marianne. You sure do. 😀

I may even do the same sometimes. And Debbi may even have to repeat something to me sometimes, particularly when I’ve had my head in the clouds yet again.

Hi Joe, wishing you and Debbi a Very Happy New Year.

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026

One of the most popular books this year (and hugely popular with me) is The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It’s an epistolary novel as is 84 Charing Cross Road and brought back lovely memories of that book. Very different stories but telling a story through letters is a very special skill and those two books are excellent examples.

There’s a blue plaque on the building at 84 Charing Cross Road, London with the legend that this was the location of the bookstore and commemorating the book. I think the shop is a MacDonald’s now!

>184 NarratorLady: Thanks, Anne. Happy New Year! I’ve got a new 2026 cafe thread at: https://www.librarything.com/topic/377161#n9057224

Come join us in the 2026 cafe!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/377161#n9057224

Hey. I got a DMCA notice about one of the images on this page, and I need to take it down. Unfortunately they aren't making it clear which art needs to be removed. The complaint reads:

These images and videos are copyrighted materials belonging to content creator performing under sean_gatz, sean__gatz, lamhard, lamarchairez, seanandlamar, lamarchairez2.0, seangatzsnap, lamargatz, lamhoeghini stagenames. The content creator distributes their content on official platforms only and strictly forbids any form of distribution outside of these platforms: onlyfans.com, instagram.com, tiktok.com, x.com, snapchat.com, gatz.co, hidden.com, kick.com, lamarchairez.com, lamargatz.com, subs.com, lamarchairezofficial.com, threads.com. James Robinson

If I can't figure out which art needs to be removed soon, I will have to remove all art from this page.

Okay, terribly sorry, but I'm going to have to purge all the images here. It's not worth it for me to try to figure out which they're referring to. If I get it wrong, it's on me.

Well, that is crazy. Why would they remove (and why would there be any complaint) about your own family photos?? Art, I can sort of understand, but family photos? That's a bit much. And if the complainant can't be specific, then why not just leave it? Seems a bit suspicious to me.

So:

1. It came through Google. This adds some weight, because Google can down-rank us.
2. DMCA requests are serious business. The rules: Take it down or you're liable.
3. 99% now are from companies playing system for cash. If you take it down, you're safe. If you don't, they extort money from you because defending yourself in court is expensive and if you didn't take it down, you'll lose.
4. There were many images on this topic. I had no idea which were by that artist or whatever. The complaint was not specific and didn't make it clear how to ask. That's probably part of their game.

So, yeah, I'm sorry. But I'm not going to risk my company to preserve several images from elsewhere on the web. I might have saved some images if members had spoken up, but nobody did.

These are pretty rare. If they become less so, we can reconsider how to handle it.