SqueakyChu's Book Menu for 2026 - 1st Quarter

Hi all!

Welcome to my thread! I am hopelessly attracted to books and reading so that, in addition to managing the TIOLI challenges (since 2010) here on the LT 75ers group, I am also a Little Free Library steward (since 2013) and an avid BookCrosser (since 2003). In my late 70s, I live in Rockville, Maryland, USA. A former registered nurse who worked in home health care, I am now retired. I am married with three grown children (two married) and two grandchildren, all of whom I am happy to say live within driving distance from us.

In addition to books and reading, I love to garden, jigsaw puzzle and try out new recipes. This has become much more complicated as I age since family and friends now have so many limitations on what they can actually eat! In this thread, I will show you some of the things I have made, but I also will try to be more active on the 75ers kitchen thread this year.

I continuously struggle with moderate/profound hearing loss and wear hearing aids. I find online conversations very comforting as I don't have to hear them!

Feel free to stop in at any time to say hi or just to lurk. Have a great 2026, my LT friends!



Pages Read YTD: 3,301
Pages Read per Day: increased to 29
Books in my To Read Pile: decreased to 347
BookCrossing Books to be Released: decreased to 1,638

JANUARY:


These are the challot (plural of challah) I make every couple weeks for our Shabbat dinner each Friday evening. I started making them during pandemic when I discovered that my homemade challot taste much better than store-bought challot.

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup at Honeygrow in Rockville, Maryland - 1/17/25 from 1-3pm. It was great fun...as always!

COMPLETED:
1. Coming Up Short - Robert Reich - TIOLI #11: Read a book connected to your reading intentions for 2026 (to finish this book I started reading in 2025!) - 394 pages
2. Giving Up is Unforgivable - Joyce Vance - TIOLI #9: Read a book that is on a best of or notable books of 2025 list (The Just Security Year-End Book Recommendations) - 177 pages
3. Hope is the Last to Die - Halina Birenbaum - TIOLI #7: Read a book about a genocide or in which a genocide happens (the Holocaust) - 246 pages

FEBRUARY:


These are lion's mane mushrooms. My younger son collects them in the wild, cooks and eats them. These are the same mushrooms, but ones I bought at my local organic grocery store. They are so expensive to buy! Maybe I'll have to start foraging for them like my son does. :)

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup in Virginia - Venue and date TBD

COMPLETED:
4. The Border Between Us - Rudy Ruiz - TIOLI #1: Read a book which pictures a fruit on the front cover Border Between Us (limes) - 290 pages
5. Human Acts - Han Kang - TIOLI #19: Read anything Korean (novel about South Korea by a Korean author) - 218 pages
6. Mornings Without Mii - Mayumi Inaba - TIOLI #7: Read a book featuring letters from RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (title, author) (Mx3) - 180 pages
7. The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel - TIOLI #2: Read a book where a capital H begins a title word or starts one of the author’s names - 242 pages

MARCH:


This is roasted squash that I prepared from the new-to-me butterkin squash given to me by a friend who patronizes our Little Free Library. I had never seen this kind of squash before. It is a hybrid of a pumpkin and butternut squash. It is very tasty but the skin is too fibrous too eat, unlike other squashes such as kabocha and delicata.

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. BookCrossing meetup somewhere in Maryland!

COMPLETED:
8. Letter From Japan - Marie Kondo - TIOLI #10: Read a book with a title word that indicates the keeping of records (letter) - 303 pages
9. Heart of a Stranger - Angela Buchdahl - TIOLI #8: Read a book that contains two major themes not including romance (biography, religion) - 333 pages

For fun, I am posting the link to our Little Free Library here:
https://www.facebook.com/LittleFreeLibrary7720Twinbrook

Welcome back!

>6 drneutron: Thank you so much, Jim. Hope to see you in 2026!

Lovely to see you back, Madeline. This group wouldn't be the same without you. xx

>8 PaulCranswick: I plan on sticking around here for a long time, Paul. This group is such fun.

>9 SqueakyChu: Thank goodness for that!

Thanks for all you do Madeline. Happy new thread.

>11 Kristelh: Aww! Thank you, Kristel. Happy 2026 to you and your loved ones.

That challah looks quite good. I have a friend who often bakes Challah, particularly around Jewish holidays.

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

>13 thornton37814: Happy New Year, Lori! Thanks for stopping by!

My grandkids usually finish one whole challah (It’s small) before dinner is over! 😃

>14 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year, Paul. Wishing all good things for you and your family in 2026.

Happy New Year, Madeline!

Happy New Year, Madeline!

>16 Kristelh: >17 Carmenere: Happy New Year to you both, Kristel and Lynda!

Happy new yar and new thread, Madeline! Looking forward to another year of sharing books and puzzles! :-)

All the happy new years for 2026!

Love the food photos! And kudos for mushroom foraging in the family. It's one of my favorite activities, and yet I hardly get out to do so.

Happy New Year, Madeline. The food at the top is making me hungry.

>19 Berly: Happy New Year, Kim!

>20 jessibud2: I'm with you on a year of books and puzzling, Shelley! Barbara is here with me. She says hi and happy new year to you!

>21 justchris: Happy New Year, Chris! My husband and I used to go morel hunting years ago. He and our younger son could always find them. I never found even one. Doing the hunting was fun, though. :)

>22 BLBera: Happy New Year, Beth! Buckwheat pancakes are on the menu for tomorrow morning. Come on over if you're free! Minnesota's not that far from Maryland, is it? :)

>23 SqueakyChu: Mmmm. Morels. Sadly, these days I buy such foraged items from my local farmers market vendor alongside of their cultivated shiitakes and the like.

Mmmm. Buckwheat pancakes! My local farmers market features a perennially popular crepe food truck that offers a buckwheat option.

>23 SqueakyChu: It’s buckwheat pancakes for tomorrow morning, because our house guest can only eat gluten free. Fortunately, I love to make buckwheat pancakes (and also press wild blueberries into them as they cook!).

>25 SqueakyChu: Yum! Yes, I try to minimize gluten so opt for buckwheat alternatives when I can. Plus, it's tasty!

Happy New Year, Madeline!

I hope it's been a joyous start to the new year, Madeline!

>27 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl. Best wishes to you and your mom as well.

>28 Dejah_Thoris: We're trying to stay bright although I admit it's hard, Dejah. Hope the New Year is good to you and your loved ones! I just read that you lost your mom this past year. So sorry. You must be struggling as well. Wishing for a kinder, gentler year and future for all of us.

Hej Madeleine, shabbat shalom, wish you a peaceful 2026, with time for reading Scripture and other stuff, time for relaxing, time for fellowship- well, all the best.

I have been to the Israelitic cemetery of Basel and added around 280 new memorials to findagrave. You may look them up there. The usual subjects: Bloch, Levy, Kahn, Bollag, Wyler, Ulman, Katz, Epstein, Oppenheimer ... and lots of other names as well.

>30 paulstalder: Thank you for the Shabbat greeting. Cooking is done, and I'm now waiting for my younger son and his two children to join my husband and me for dinner. I really need a more peaceful 2026. i am distraught at the situations both in the USA and Israel and feel sad and scared most of the time.

Very cool about your photographs! My maiden name was Katz. I should look through my genealogy to see if any of my ancestors ever lived in Basel! Oppenheimer is in my ancestry as well, I believe. My dad was born in Germany.

Madeline, I read on the Introductions thread that one of the things you are mostly reading these days is Japanese fiction. I find myself gravitating towards it a lot too. I just looked at my library's list of new arrivals, and two of the ones I marked to read (when available) fit that genre.

Is the is the year for DC United? I am afraid my Loons are regressing so far this offseason.

>32 thornton37814: Which ones are you going to read? I love the way Japanese novels sound in translation. I also take an interest in things Japanese because my older son travels to Japan at least yearly to visit friends, travel and attend conventions (recently video-gaming) and concerts.

>33 Oberon: Erik, your Loons can't go lower than we did this year! We won the Wooden Spoon Award...again!

I saw that Miami took your Dayne St. Clair! :( I always loved watching him play!!

I wish DC United would get rid of Benteke. I can't stand him. As long as he's there, there is absolutely no creative play. All players do is try to get the ball to him for a header. It's really boring and unimaginative.

I am excited about about a few players coming to us this year. We're getting a striker who is an Israeli (Yay!), a defender who is Japanese (another Yay!), and another striker who is a Maryland native (was born in Bethesda, the next town south of mine -- triple Yay!). I don't know anything about these players really, but the ONLY player I liked from my team this past year was right back Aaron Herrera (from Guatamala) although I felt sorry that he had to be stuck on a team as pitiful as ours was.

I'll be rooting for both of our teams this year. I'll even try to watch some of the Loons games. :) I'm sorry that Darryl has no time to enjoy soccer these days. Maybe he'll get back to it in the future.

My grandson (now 12) is no longer playing soccer. His newest sport is dirt biking! He's good!! He's better at it than he was at soccer. In his very last soccer game (which I did not attend because it was in the winter last year), he scored his first goal. At least he went out on a high note!

Happy New Year to you and your lovely family!

>34 SqueakyChu: The two that caught my eye were We'll Prescribe You Another Cat by Syou Ishida (because I loved the first one so much) and The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida. I have Michiko Aoyama's What You Are Looking for Is in the Library sitting at home because I purchased it in October. I just haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

>35 thornton37814: I read and really liked What You Are Looking for Is in the Library. I think you'll enjoy it as well. I will add your other two books to my wishlist. Who knows? Maybe I can find copies of them. Enjoy them all, Lori!

>36 SqueakyChu: Sounds good! I'll have to see what is there when I look this week. I'll return one book on Tuesday and probably another on Saturday and maybe one the next Tuesday. I probably won't overdo it because I've got a book club book that is arriving via Amazon (I think tomorrow) that I need to get read. It, at least, is non-fiction so I can read it at the same time I'm reading fiction. I also have an ER book that arrived that I need to read (also non-fiction). I may have a fiction book checked out in ebook form too, and if so, I'll want to get to it before it expires. I think I downloaded it on impulse in the last day or two, but if I remember to take my iPad to work, I can read it while I'm waiting on the front desk staff to arrive at the library a bit each day.

>37 thornton37814: For other fun, light reading in Japanese fiction, also try Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata and Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I have this affinity for weird Japanese fiction as well. My favorite weird Japanese fiction book has got to be The Ark Sakura by Kobo Abe.

At this very time, our older son is visiting Japan. We're expecting him home this Friday. His trip was for fun, to visit friends, attend a concert, attend a gaming convention and to sightsee. He even is teaching himself Japanese and is pretty good at reading it but shy about conversing in it.

Just dropping by to place a star and wish you a more peaceful and happier year in 2026. And to thank you for all the contributions you make to Library Thing.

>34 SqueakyChu: Sounds like a better offseason than us. Yes, we lost St Clair which hurt a lot. He went to Miami for less money - we offered him a max contract and he turned it down.

No Wooden Spoon but it still hurt a lot.

>39 Matke: Thanks for stopping by and your good wishes. Wishing you and your family all the best for 2026. It's going to be a tough year, but I hope a brighter future can come soon to the horizon.

> 40 I've always loved watching Messi play, but what happened in Miami was unfair to all the other teams. I guess it's just about money (as everything else is these days, it seems). I'll always be a DC United fan, win or lose, because this is my local team. I'm happy to have a local team and hope we never lose it.

Wishing you a happy new year, Madeline! I lived in Japan for a year on a study abroad program, but it has been years since I've read any Japanese fiction. I'll have to try to get back into that. The challot look delicious!

>42 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene! I hope your New Year is a good one. If you read any contemporary Japanese fiction, please stop by and tell me what you're reading. I might try to find the same books.

Did you live in Tokyo? What were you studying?

We're expecting our older son Josh home from Japan this Friday after his trip of three and a half weeks. He returns every year just for fun. He is even teaching himself Japanese.

I actually made some more challot today. I freeze them and take them out in the morning on the day I plan to use them. They do taste way better than store bought challah.

>43 SqueakyChu: It was a study abroad program, but at the college level. I lived with a family in one of the Tokyo suburbs and attended classes (in English) at Waseda University. We studied Japanese language and other subjects. I remember history mostly. I got pretty good at reading Japanese by the time I finished, but like your son, I was always pretty shy about speaking it. Unfortunately, I've forgotten a lot since I didn't have any reason to keep it up after returning to the US.

>44 atozgrl: Well, Josh goes back every year (usually in winter during school break because he works for our local school system), but this past year he even made a trip in the spring.

My son says he has no one there to talk to because he speaks English with his friends in Japan, and really only speaks Japanese to buy something at a retail counter. Japanese people don't usually come up to him to talk to him, either. :D

>45 SqueakyChu: Interesting that he goes back to Japan every year. That's not the easiest of trips to make from the US. He really must love it there.

>46 atozgrl: He really does. He's very much into video-gaming, but initially his trips there were to attend anime/manga conventions. This year he went to visit friends (who live in Tokyo and Osaka), go sightseeing, attend a concert, and attend a video-gaming conference. The only hard parts are the long flights and the jet lag. Other than that, he finds it a relaxing break from his work as an IT professional.

Today he climbed Mount Takao and he just sent me a picture of Mount Fuji as seen from the summit of Mount Takao.

>47 SqueakyChu: It sounds like he is having a nice--and busy--trip. There is certainly a lot to see in Japan! If he hasn't ever made it to Kyoto, I hope he will go someday. I'm glad he is getting the break from his IT work.

>48 atozgrl: He loves Kyoto...and usually stops there each trip. I had him bring me furoshikis from Kyoto one time. Sometimes I use them to wrap gifts but I won't give them away. I started using a small one each week to cover the challah that I make for Friday night.

How nice! That was something I hadn't thought of bringing back with me. And I'm so glad he gets to see Kyoto regularly. It's such a beautiful place.

1. Coming Up Short - Robert Reich


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TIOLI #11: Read a book connected to your reading intentions for 2026 (to finish this book I started reading in 2025!)
-------------------------------------

In addition to what I already know and like about Robert Reich, whom I consider to be a man of intellect and integrity, I was delighted to read about snippets of history which had not interested me before and also about Reich’s personal life. I enjoyed the pictures peppered throughout this book because they brought the narrative alive in a way that words alone could not.

Reich used his childhood experience of being bullied for his short stature to formulate methods for his personal survival. In this memoir, he used his past resistance techniques to that experience to explain how to resist injustice in a larger context.

One thing that struck me as I began reading this book was about other difficult times faced by the United States well before either of the two Trump administrations. We as a nation were able to rebound from those times of adversity stronger and better. That gives me hope that my nation can be healed from all the damage and pain it is now experiencing. May that time come soon!

There’s a line in the next to last chapter of this book where Robert Reich wrote, “I couldn’t imagine not teaching”. I guess so because that is exactly what he has done on every page of this book. I hope this book is widely read among Americans (and others) as we struggle in getting back to making our country into a “more perfect union”.

I loved reading Reich's memoir because his America was also my America due to our closeness in age. I especially loved the last chapter about old age. All I could do was identify with what he said and laugh because I always do those same “old age” things.

This book always felt as if a friend were talking to me. I am going to miss picking up this book at odd times to read a little more about understanding why our country is the way it is today. Reich told it all in a calm, teacherly way. I thank him so much for having written this book.

Rating - 5 stars

When an old friend passes, you can't replace them with another friend. You have only a limited number of people who have shared your history, moved through life with you, talked and laughed and pondered their lives with you. It's these cumulative understandings, the sweetness of long familiarity, that give meaning to old friendships.

>51 SqueakyChu: So good to read your review of Coming Up Short. I’m waiting patiently for a copy from my library. I have such respect for the guy, and I can only recall getting to know what he’s about from Facebook posts.

Karen O

I'm also glad to read your review of Robert Reich's memoir, Madeline. I subscribe to his newsletter, and have wondered if I ought to pick up the book---you've clinched it for me. I'll get my hands on it soonish.

>52 klobrien2: >53 laytonwoman3rd: This book is fabulous! It is a comforting read despite it being written in such a horrible time as now. Enjoy it, Karen and Linda!

I subscribe to Reich's substack, but I never read it because I always click earlier on what he writes on Facebook! :D

>51 SqueakyChu: This one is on my wishlist. Thanks for confirming that it is definitely worth reading.

>5 SqueakyChu: Wow your free library looks amazing! There are a few in my area, and I'm always sure to add books to them. Congratulations for pulling that together. Incredible!

Your review and thoughts of Coming Up Short are both incredible. I'm heading to the library tomorrow to pick up a copy. Many thanks for visiting my threads. Yes, you and I read in-depth books during the same time frame. I highly recommend The Devil Reached Toward the Sky. The writing is very much as you describe Robert Reich's unique way of writing.

All good wishes for a new year of reading wonderful books. I'll be sure to check back her as often as I can. I vow to visit threads more often in 2026.

>55 atozgrl: Let me know what you think of Reich's book after you read it, Irene. Prediction: You'll be impressed with it.

>56 Whisper1: Lynda, the credit for that goes to my husband Jose who built it...and twelve other Little Free Libraries that he gave away. The books are donated from my incredible neighbors, family and friends. I never run out of books to give away! I always add a trinket or a toy so there is always something fun in my box beside just books! Today's item is a baby's musical push-button toy. People donate those items as well. It's like a mini-flea market! It my all-consuming hobby! :D

Thanks for using Little Free Libraries. The concept works because of people like you who share books and take books to read.

Let me know what you think of Reich's book. I loved reading it although it dealt with some hard topics.

I'll add The Devil reached Toward the Sky because I'm interested in Japan. My older son is there now (winter vacation to visit friends, sightsee, attend a music concert and a video game convention). He's coming home tomorrow evening. I totally love to read contemporary Japanese fiction (my favorite genre). I don't know why. It just worked out that way!

>51 SqueakyChu: The Reich book goes on my WL. Great comments. I have read essays and some things by him, and he seems like a great man.

I was able to reserve a copy of Reich's book from my local library. Most likely, It will be available on Saturday. Thanks again for recommending this one!

>51 SqueakyChu: Looks like a great way to start your reading year, Madeline

>58 BLBera: I respect him so much, Beth. He's really a good man.

>59 Whisper1: You're welcome, Lynda. I hope you find much to like about it despite it difficult subject.

>60 PaulCranswick: I do feel that I'm reading some worthwhile books at this time, Paul.

>51 SqueakyChu: That's another one added to my wish list, as well.

I also wanted to thank you, Madeline, for reading On Freedom this month. I would have gotten to it eventually, but I'm really enjoying right now in the midst of the crazy. Timothy Snyder is such a brilliant guy.

>Dejah, there is no way I'm going to finish that book this month. It's probably due back at the library very soon, as well, and I only read the first chapter. Full disclosure: I have five books going at the same time now. I respect Timothy Snyder so much. Eventually I will get back to finish his book. Reich's book is a great one for your wish list.

>62 Dejah_Thoris: Oooh I have that one on the shelves and really should......

It is FA Cup 3rd round in England this weekend and my beloved Leeds United are drawn away at Derby County.

This is the only time we have won the cup back when I was 6 years old in 1972

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9p1r9j6Jc8

Interestingly, the goalscorer that day, Allan "Sniffer" Clarke, is now very close friends with my twin brother and they regularly attend games together.

>64 PaulCranswick: Interestingly, the goalscorer that day, Allan "Sniffer" Clarke, is now very close friends with my twin brother and they regularly attend games together.

What fun that must be!

Hello Madeline, "warm and wise" I want to follow your thread now! Late 70's, retired, had worked in health care, 4 children, 9 grandkids, long married, love of reading/books, love looking at cookbooks, love to be out in the garden and anything about plants, moderate to profound hearing loss., the dreaded hearing aids We have a lot in common, you and me! Nice to meet you!

>66 mdoris: Hi, Mary!! Thanks for stopping by! Wow! You seem to be my twin. I dearly love LT, but what I was missing among friends here is someone to rant to about being hard of hearing. Now I have you! Although I will talk to you about other things as well. :)

Today’s hearing rant:
My older son returned last night from a vacation trip to Japan. It was at night and he was sitting in the back seat of our car on the way home. He’s not usually very talkative, but I did try to engage him in conversation about his trip. I only understood about 50% of what he said, but kept the conversation going because he surely would have cut it off had I asked him to keep repeating things. Today, I asked my husband, who was driving last night, if I missed anything important that our son said. I did miss some stuff and was appreciative that my husband filled me in on details.

In contrast, my younger son does everything possible to be sure I hear and understand everything he says.

Any hearing rants from you? :D

Well on the positive note it can be very funny and entertaining what you think you have heard and what actually has been said. Sometimes worlds apart and sometimes shocking. She said THAT!!! When she didn't at all. You are right 50% is not complete or okay. It is such hard work to do all the filling in, so much concentration and can be quite exhausting. I guess the worst part is the high pitched voices of the little ones. I know I am doing a lot of smiling and nodding (faking) when I haven't been able to figure out anything of what the little ones have said. I was a Speech/Language Pathologist in my former life so I should have been better at analysis but I know I am missing a lot! Okay rant is over for today!

>68 mdoris: Your hearing (or rather, not hearing) rants are always welcome here. My then seven (now eight) year old granddaughter always used to come up to me to whisper secrets. I told her that she has to tell her secrets louder, not softer. LOL! The last time she whispered a secret to me, I left the dinner table, grabbed her hand, took her to a back bedroom, closed the door, and she told me her secret (I don’t remember what it was now!) in her normal speaking voice…which I understood.

Yeah, the kids’ voices can be a struggle. If I don’t understand them, I usually ask their dad (my younger son) or my husband to interpret so the kids won’t get frustrated talking to me.

Yes sometimes we need a translator at our side!

Madeline, I just saw this and thought you'd appreciate it. Reich has high moral values, thank goodness, but somehow, I can't quite agree that this is enough. Still, good to hear people like him speaking out against the disaster and disgrace that is trump:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/the-only-way-to-stop-trump-opinion/ar-AA...

>51 SqueakyChu: Woohoo! My copy of Coming Up Short is coming in at the library! I hope to be reading it soon!

Karen O

>71 jessibud2: I think Reich is on the right page. As more and more people and counties get fed up with the direction our country is going, we will further bind together to protect democracy. I’m reading another book now by Joyce Vance who gives good guidelines in what she says for individuals to protect democracy. Reich is more outspoken in his other posts about my country. I follow Robert Reich on Substack.

>72 klobrien2: Yay, Karen! I predict you will very much like this book. Reich is an admirable person.

>73 SqueakyChu: - I will try to follow Reich on substack, too. I only know the name Joyce Vance because Andy Borowitz promotes her stuff, as well. (I had to google to see if she was related to JD. She isn't, lol!)

Hi Madeline--is it too late for Happy New Year? I thought I'd drop by in addition to only seeing you on the TIOLI threads.

Great review of Coming Up Short. I read Robert Reich a lot on Substack and have been wanted to read his book--your review only reinforces that.

I don't pay a lot of attention to DC United but we are diehard Washington Spirit fans in my house.

>75 jessibud2: LOL! In the book I’m now reading (It’s really good!), Joyce Vance referred to JD and noted he was no relation. My book is Giving Up is Unforgivable. She had been U.S. attorney for twenty-five years in Alabama. I find her book to be a path forward. Her feeling is that Americans interested in preserving our democracy have to actively do just that. She looks at the situation in the American government from a legal point of view, but does give attention (and needs to!) to American history.

On another distressing note, today I learned that the largest synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi, was seriously damaged (including Torah scrolls, two of which were totally destroyed) in a fire overnight caused by arson. Somehow important news about harm to Jews or Israel never seems to make the headlines.

>76 AnneDC: Hi, Anne! It’s always time for a Happy New Year. Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy New Year as well.

Please read Reich’s book as soon as you can. It is so good!

Spirit is a fantastic team! The problem I have now is that I don’t want to go into DC for games, and that to watch Spirit online, I’d have to buy yet another streaming service. I love soccer so much! This coming year, I have to subscribe to Apple TV to watch DC United. Soccer is easy for me to watch because I don’t have to understand the broadcast (which I don’t), but simply watch what the players do. :)

>77 SqueakyChu: Madeline, I saw that in Mississippi news feeds that I get (because it's my home state). That synagogue was apparently also damaged in the Civil Rights era. I did also see that they have a suspect in custody.

>77 SqueakyChu: That is despicable. To your point, I listened to the 8 am news on my local NPR station, which included a report on a massacre in Mississippi that killed six members of one family. I didn't hear anything about the bombing of the synagogue, though.

>79 thornton37814: That is so heartbreaking, Lori. Jewish people have a right to live in freedom from fear. In the recent past, my own synagogue in Rockville was vandalized. We received word of it from our rabbi who did not want to share the distressing details of what was done (I never found out) until the damage was repaired. To attend services at my own synagogue in Maryland is like going into a locked ward of a prison. We have to have police guards. We have to wear identification badges. We have to be reminded what to do to escape if we need to. We have a locked building. We have poles that are barriers to car bombs. It’s unreal.

>80 kidzdoc: As I said, Darryl, I guess this was not important enough to make the broadcast to which you listened. :’(

>81 SqueakyChu: It is entirely possible that NPR Weekend Edition did cover this bombing; I only listened for about 15 minutes when I was in my car. However, when I looked online to see what articles made it on the show today I can't find any about it.

>82 kidzdoc:. :’(

>81 SqueakyChu: I believe that those who do harmful things to the Jewish people will have to answer to God for their actions against His chosen people. When God made the covenant with Abraham, it was "forever."

>77 SqueakyChu: That is so sad, Madeline.

>84 thornton37814: ….or anyone who maliciously harms others without provocation, Lori. Our world gets sadder every day. Each day when I wake up, I no longer feel happy. I only feel worried.

>80 kidzdoc: It breaks my heart and makes me scared, Paul.

>51 SqueakyChu: Robert Reich
I semi-follow his newsletter (meaning I get the feed, but I get sooo many feeds) and may read this recent book sometime. Thanks for the review.

>81 SqueakyChu: To attend services at my own synagogue in Maryland is like going into a locked ward of a prison.
This has to be chronically unsettling.

>87 qebo: Katherine, I mostly don’t read Reich’s Substack because he also posts those same articles on Facebook, and I usually see and read them there first.

Entering my synagogue is indeed unsettling. I always thank the uniformed guard for protecting us. I don’t want to take anything like that for granted. When my kids were little, it was just a lovely unlocked building with a cute cabin on a hill behind it. Everything was open and free. I decided to send my kids there to preschool because it looked like a summer camp. The cabin is gone. The preschool is inside the locked building. Parents have the passcode to get into the main lobby. :( For others to enter, they have to press a buzzer and be seen by office staff who will buzz them in.

>88 SqueakyChu: That is absolutely horrible, Madeline. I hardly know what to say.

>88 SqueakyChu: This is simply the reality of Jewish life now. We live with it because we have no other choice.

>90 SqueakyChu: This should not be tolerated, Madeline. Hatred inspired by "religion" is simply hatred and must be not only be called out but acted upon. Civilized peoples need to stand together and make clear that killing people because we don't agree with their ideas, their race, their gender, their religious affiliations will not be allowed to fester in our societies.

>91 PaulCranswick: I agree, but the recent rise in antisemitic hate crimes here in the U.S. and abroad has been nothing less than astounding and horrifying. By the way, I am seeing reels online of ICE agents going door to door here in my own country looking for undocumented immigrants, and all I can picture in my head are Nazis going door to door in Germany from where my dad barely escaped with his life during WWII. Sadly, people in my country are not standing together.

>92 SqueakyChu: They are not, that is true. The polarization of politics throughout the world is a major concern of mine - everyone seems to be rushing towards one extreme or the other and not finding the common ground that we can forge togetherness. I think most people at core are decent and moderate and they are not being heard.

>93 PaulCranswick: I believe the problem in my country (and elsewhere) is when the leader of a country promotes the polarization of its population.

>94 SqueakyChu: I am not well placed to comment on the USA and its domestic policies but there has been increasingly polarized conditions there quite obviously for more than a decade. I'm not sure that it explains the frustrations elsewhere of people with its leaders and it doesn't change my fundamental point that the way to defeat extremism is not to go to the other extreme it is to seize the middle ground that the other extreme has deserted.

>94 SqueakyChu: It's not just the leader. It is others as well. Think about how many posts we see on social media that are basically, "If you don't think just like I do, you can unfriend me." That's the attitude that polarizes because you cannot come to an understanding if you won't talk to them. I see it on both sides of the political spectrum. There once was a day when Congress could work together to reach a compromise. Now the bills align to one party or the other and no compromises are reached.

trump has managed, with help from republicans and the courts,
to unleash racial hatred and violence throughout America and the World.

"Decent and moderate" people are in the minority here...and fear for their lives
when they speak out.

>95 PaulCranswick: Actually, Paul, I learned in the book by Robert Reich (Coming Up Short) that this inequality began to start after the 1970s. Robert Reich, as Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton administration later (1990s) warned Bill of this inequity (decline of the middle class with subsequent increase in lower and upper classes), but was ignored.

The middle ground works for some, but not for others. It's an ideal situation (like a balanced scale), but it doesn't seem to work in the real world. It's like a tug of war: the harder the other side pulls, the more energy one gives to pulling back.

>96 thornton37814: Lori, I totally agree. You would not believe how many of these people I have to block on social media because their comments upset and scare me so much!

>97 m.belljackson: I totally agree with you as well. It's bad enough what he is doing in the U.S., but now the entire world is affected by his greed, narcissism, and hatred of the "other". He threatens people who don't agree with him, and I wonder how much of it is done behind closed doors (and with how much threat of violence) to people of his own party. Maybe I really don't want to know.

From Living Judaism - will come in two parts -

"Moses and the people of the desert did the same thing with a code of moral behavior."

"Bringing our world to Sky Blue, to perfection, is no easy task;
there are so many ills to be cured,
so much evil to be confronted...
we must bring an end to poverty...to disease and destruction, to conflict and strife,
to hatred and warfare.

We must bring peace and harmony to people and nations, healing and comfort to the afflicted,
faith to the faithless, hope to the hopeless,
and the ultimate redemption to every person on this planet."

Last part:

"The task seems overwhelming, impossible for any one person in any one generation.
And it is.
That is what an ancient sage taught,
"It is not your task to complete the work, but you are not free to desist from it."

So each person, in each generation - each of us in our time and place -
takes one or two steps up the ladder and makes a contribution to bringing the world
that much closer to perfection."

>99 m.belljackson: >100 m.belljackson: Exactly. Even when dealing with situations such as we do now in our sad world, we cannot desist from trying to improve our world. We can't do everything, but everyone can do something. We must never give up hope. That is easier said than done. Nor must what we do have ever be taken for granted. When I feel very down, I try to concentrate on small things for which I am grateful. It's hard.

That concept about which you wrote is called tikkun olam, repair of the world.

>2 SqueakyChu: looks quite delicious!

>102 figsfromthistle:. Anita, they are delicious! Sometimes I top them with poppy seeds, and other times I top them with sesame seeds. Once I topped them with “Everything But the Bagel” sprinkles, but my 12 year old grandson thought that was weird! 😃

>77 SqueakyChu: Looks like another book that I need to pick up. I'm glad that it looks like she's offering a positive path forward.

As for the synagogue in Jackson, I've seen several news stories about it on the network news, so it hasn't been overlooked. However, I had *not* heard that two Torah scrolls were destroyed. That's devastating.

>81 SqueakyChu: It's horrifying to hear that things have gotten so bad that your synagogues and schools are completely locked down. I don't understand the hate. What has happened to our country?

>97 m.belljackson: Even though things have gotten so bad here, I still don't believe that decent and moderate people are in the minority. I believe they still are the majority, but people may not know that because you are right, they are afraid to speak out.

>104 atozgrl: I'm glad that the network news had at least some coverage of the synagogue arson in Jackson, Mississippi. People do need to know of the devastation caused by such antisemitic hatred.

2. Giving Up is Unforgivable - Joyce Vance


-----------------------------------------
TIOLI #9: Read a book that is on a best of or notable books of 2025 list (The Just Security Year-End Book Recommendations)
----------------------------------------
Former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama opens her book with an analogy of frogs in water. If a frog jumps into boiling water, the frog then quickly jumps out to save its life. However, if the frog is already in cooler water and someone slowly raises the water temperature to boiling, the frog dies, having been unaware of the slow temperature changes. This is a metaphor for the slow erosion of our democracy.

Using American history to illustrate this point, Vance tells how the Constitution was used to preserve our democracy throughout the history of the United States. Some of what she wrote was a bit hard for me to understand completely, but I gave it my best try because she is sending a warning to those of us who have taken democracy for granted for too long. I appreciate the author’s taking the time to explain some items of history that I either ignored in the past or did not fully understand previously.

It was very useful and uplifting for me to read this book. Joyce Vance is quite the cheerleader for democracy. She impressed me by her ability to point out what Americans do have as opposed to what I personally keep feeling we lose every day. We have the right to vote. We have free speech. We have freedom of the press. We have due process for all. What we must do now very actively is to show up and fight for what we want.

I like Vance’s message: Don’t give up on democracy even if you have to fight for it while realizing that progress is not always lineal. Her ideas are inspirational to me and fill me with a glimmer of hope. She says we can determine our own future, we don’t need a king, and we can once again be free of tyranny. We can take positive steps forward to ensure that our democracy survives. She tells us exactly what we must do. What she says makes so much sense! Now let’s all do it…together.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Be the Hope. We know progress isn't always lineal. Some days are bad days. If things look hopeless, be the hope. Help others get over the rough patches. We all go through them. Things may look bad, but if you give up, there is no chance of succeeding in the end. The only option is to keep going.

>106 SqueakyChu: Great and inspiring review, Madeline!

>107 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! Hope, with your new, improved eyesight, you get more time to read this year. :)

>108 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline. Yes, now that I've had cataract surgeries on both eyes it's much easier to read, using a simple pair of over the counter reading eyeglasses that the optometrist I saw on Wednesday recommended.

>51 SqueakyChu: I am very glad to see that you thought highly of the book too, Madeline! Great review.

Have a marvelous Monday!

>106 SqueakyChu: Another where I listed to the podcast regularly and subscribe to the Substack posts, may get around to reading the book at some point. Her co-podcaster Barbara McQuade spoke here in person last fall and I have that book but still haven't read it.

>106 SqueakyChu: This sounds very timely. I will look for it.

>106 SqueakyChu: Whilst there are certainly elements of democracy in the American system it is quite more properly a Constitutional Federal Republic.

With more democracy certainly the first Trump administration does not happen as he lost the popular vote but still got himself elected.

In the latest Economist rankings the USA rates 28th and is listed as a "flawed democracy" and the last time they rated sufficiently to be "full democracy" was interestingly 2015. The most democratic nation in the world is apparently Norway and had been so for more than the last decade.

>113 PaulCranswick: Paul, my country really needs to get back to a democracy--any kind of democracy. I don't mind it being a Constitutional Federal Republic, but the Republican party is not just another party any more. It has turned into a cult of extremists and liars. I am terrified living in this country now. I can't sleep at night. I fear for my family and friends. I fear for people who live here whom I don't even know! There is nothing which the current regime has done since getting back into power one year ago to help any person in my country who is not extremely rich.

My rabbi traveled today to the state of Minnesota to help defend the people there. I'm scared for him. I'm waiting for him to safely return home. I'm also fearful lest the wannabe king's goons come to my state of Maryland next.

>114 SqueakyChu: That is an awful place to be in, Madeline, and I feel so much for my friends in the US that feel so exposed in their own country.

I will pray for the safety and success of your Rabbi.

>115 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. I am so grateful for my friends.

>116 SqueakyChu: I don't know what I would do without this group of people, Madeline.

Somehow double-posted so I will also add and for the TIOLI!

>114 SqueakyChu: I hope your rabbi is faring well in Minnesota - I have heard wonderful things about what a wide range of religious leaders are accomplishing there.

We live in frightening times....

>119 Dejah_Thoris: I'm having a better day today. Some days I am so scared, I find it hard to do anything other than concentrate on what has happened to the two countries I love the best. It was sunny and warm today so I took a short ride to a friend who has a puzzle swap cabinet. Jigsaw puzzling is an amazing activity. I use it like meditation. It has this zen quality that makes me just concentrate on puzzling without thinking of anything else.

>114 SqueakyChu: Minnesotans will take good care of your rabbi. It is the federal occupiers that pose the risk.

>121 Oberon: Oh, Erik. Today was a bad day. I learned that the federal occupiers aggressively grabbed someone my husband knows in my own state. I'm gripped by terror again.

My rabbi should be returning home today and will talk about his trip tomorrow at services. I will try to stream it.

This message came to me on Facebook from my rabbi about 1 hour ago:

"Yesterday I walked for an hour on the streets of South Minneapolis, home to a large immigrant community. I did not see ICE or federal troops but some of my colleagues did. But the emptiness of the streets told its own story, as did the signs and the bar across the doors of this grocery store to ensure only real customers could enter. Everyone is afraid. The fear is palpable on the faces of all the people we encountered. Equally, we felt the deep sense of gratitude simply for our showing up from our colleagues, who are exhausted, physically and emotionally. And all of us walked away feeling empowered that working together, we can defeat the authoritarian takeover that this administration is attempting. Marching together in -12 weather for an hour with hundreds of Minnesotans (including dozens of clergy) at MSP to protest ICE’s overreach was a strong reminder of the power in numbers. And while my responsibilities to @Tikvat Israel prevent me from attending the rally at the Target Center this afternoon, I stand with them in spirit."

>122 SqueakyChu: I'm glad your rabbi sent such a powerful and hopeful message. I hope it helps subdue your fear for now.

3. Hope is the Last to Die - Halina Birenbaum


------------------------------
TIOLI #7: Read a book about a genocide or in which a genocide happens (the Holocaust)
-----------------------------
I don’t take reading about the Holocaust lightly or read such books often because they are a painful read for me having lost my maternal grandparents in the crematoria of Auschwitz. My reason for picking up this book and reading it at this time is because of the fear I feel with the rising facism in my own county, the United States. I wanted to know what others did to combat fear, resist fascism and to promote hope in dark times. I also felt that by reading this personal account of a Holocaust survivor, I would be blessing the memories of those who suffered through difficult times and those who perished during that same period.

The author’s account of the torture she endured in four concentration camps is almost unreal except for the fact that it is a true account. It is important to know what happened to this author and others like her to bear witness and to realize the depths of evil and inhumanity that can be perpetrated onto some human beings by others as our warning for the future.

Fortunately the author is still alive at age 97 and living in Israel. It was a heartbreaking honor to read her book.

Rating - 5 stars

I pictured to myself the world after the war, meeting my father, my playmates, my relatives and friends who had surely only had been sent away somewhere very, very far away. This is how I sometimes took refuge from our horrible reality. This is how I endured the anguish and discomfort, and killed the time that dragged into eternity.

Hey Madeline - I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I hope your Rabbi made home safely.

I find myself wanting to read books to remind me we need to keep taking action in the face of the horrors in our country today, and reading to escape, so I can stop thinking about it.

>125 Dejah_Thoris: Hi, Dejah! Fortunately, Rabbi Israel is okay and is now enjoying a trip to Israel to visit family and friends.

I’m doing the same kinds of reading you are—-trying to keep abreast of what’s happening in our country and yet wanting that same escape route because reading can often be so zen and calming. I have been doing more reading lately which surprises myself! 😄

4. The Border Between Us - Rudy Ruiz


------------------------------------
TIOLI #1: Read a book which pictures a fruit on the front cover (limes)
-------------------------------------
I had a mix of emotions on reading this book. I dearly loved Ramón, a Mexican-American boy growing up in a small town in Texas along the Mexican border. However, I was so sad for the financial struggles of his parents and the difficulties of his younger brother who suffered from developmental delay. All the time I was reading this book, I just wanted to pluck Ramón and his family out of these pages and place them in a location where his dad could find reliable work, his mom could afford good medical care for her younger son, and Ramón could get a decent education without family financial struggles. This family seemed very real to me. Their story made me sad, but I sincerely appreciate the author’s ability to paint this picture of one family’s life that made me feel so concerned about them.

I think the message of this novel is an important one. It tells the reader to be true to oneself no matter how hard. It shows us how one teenager tried to live his dreams despite difficult circumstances. One thing he had going for him was a supportive family, even if he didn’t always think so.

This novel is a necessary look at the cultural world of a person of Mexican descent who tries to “make it” in a world of gringos. Its main focus was on the difficulty of a Mexican-American trying for the “American Dream”. We learn from this story that this dream is not equally available to everyone in the United States. This timely story deserves a reader’s deep attention.

Rating - 4 stars

Life on the border was truly mystifying. It was hard, at times, to tell the difference between good and bad, failure and success, life and death, Mexicans and Americans, dreams and delusions, especially when the thin dividing line often blurred and twisted in unexpected ways, and when my instincts were to constantly cross that border, back and forth rather than stop at its edge.

Hi Madeline, I wanted to let you know that Katherine/qebo created a dedicated thread on Club Read to discuss Medicare, Medigap and Medicare Advantage plans, which you can find here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/377835.

As a result there have been little if any subsequent conversations on my thread. Needless to say you or anyone else is interested are welcome to join the conversation.

After discussions on that thread, conversations with several of my former work partners and colleagues, and reading about the pros and mainly cons of Medicare Advantage, I decided to choose an Original Medicare plan with a Part G Medigap plan through Aetna, which will start on March 1st. I've already seen the benefit of not choosing Medicare Advantage, as one of the doctors I see regularly doesn't take it, and I won't have to get prior authorization for two procedures that my physicians have recommended, an MRI of my prostate and placement of an implantable loop recorder to monitor my heart for silent episodes of atrial fibrillation (I've been hospitalized twice for episodes of A-fib in the past, and I'm having brief episodes of dizziness or loss of consciousness which conceivably could be related to brief arrhythmias). I'm also glad that I didn't choose a United Healthcare Medigap plan, as the first physician I mention takes every Medigap plan except that one.

The only other thing I need to do is choose a Medicare Part D plan for prescription drug coverage, and I have a phone appointment lined up for later this week to discuss those options.

>128 kidzdoc: Thanks for the link, Darryl. I’m sticking with my Kaiser Medicare Advantage plan for now as I have a good physician. All of our needs have been addressed if they were urgent. My only issue is visit delays due to short staff (now unfortunately that is audiology). It is overwhelming for me to consider another form of health care as I most appreciate the ease of communication and the accessibility of services (most in just one building) to opt out of my Medicare Advantage plan at this date. They saved my husband’s life after he had a heart attack requiring two stents in 2001. Our doctors listen to us. Sadly, my older son (not Medicare Adavantage but straight Kaiser) has not been pleased with this company. I guess each of our experiences differ.

>129 SqueakyChu: That's good to hear, Madeline. I certainly wouldn't suggest switching if you're pleased with your insurance coverage; I was just letting you know what I decided to do.

>129 SqueakyChu: I have had Regular Medicare, with Quartz as a private backup insurer, for many years and
have never been billed for anything.

RX provider has been unreliable - recommendations appreciated.

>130 kidzdoc: I think you're making a good choice, Darryl. Not all Medicare Advantage plans are the same. A friend of mine has Johns Hopkins Medicare Advantage, and I think her doctor is quack! That office gives negligent care IMHO. My friend will soon change her plan to something else as she is moving into assisted living where the doctor is not covered under her Medicare Advantage plan.

>131 m.belljackson: That's great. The most I paid out of pocket recently for anything (under Kaiser Medicare Advantage) was $2,400 for a pair of high end hearing aids I ordered...which is a lot less than the $7,000 I paid for pair of hearing aids before 2020 under a private audiologist (when health insurance paid zip for hearing aids). We can afford the copays so I really don't have anything to complain about as to Kaiser's plan's affordability for us (at the present time, of course). My cataract operations a few years ago cost me $40 each eye (co-pay!).

I have a friend who works in medical billing. She says most medicare advantage plans are a waste of one's money. They don't pay as the patient thinks they should.

"most medicare advantage plans are a waste of one's money" I'd have to take exception to that statement. We've dealt with several different plans, for ourselves and close relatives, over the last 15 years or so, and I wouldn't want to be without that extra coverage. It does take some effort to research one that fits your needs, but there are consultants and internet resources to help with that.

>133 thornton37814: I guess I’ve been lucky with my plan which I’ve had since I lost my job in 2013. That’s 13 years! I think the charges for what I receive are more than fair and affordable from my Maryland Kaiser Medicare Advantage program. I hope I don’t jinx myself by saying this! My health care plan in ratings has always scored 5 out of 5 stars. I would definitely recommend it to others who live in my area with the guidance to carefully choose one’s primary care physician. During those 13 years, I have only had two PCPs, both of whom earned my highest respect.

I'm all done. I researched Medicare Part D plans, using the link in this year's Medicare & You manual, and made a phone appointment with a Medicare advisor, who looked at the medications I was on and where I live by zip code, and confirmed that the plan I had preliminarily chosen was indeed the best one for me, which also happens to be through Aetna. Actually the only other thing I need to do is contact my current insurer through the ACA once I receive my Medicare card next week to inform them that I will no longer need coverage after this month.

>136 kidzdoc: I used to be insured by Aetna back when I was still working. That was a great insurance with fabulous coverage. I think you did well, Darryl. Stay healthy!

>124 SqueakyChu: These books bearing witness are so important now even though they are hard to read. Great comments. Birenbaum sounds like an incredible woman.

5. Human Acts - Han Kang


-----------------------------
TIOLI #19: Read anything Korean (novel about South Korea by a Korean author)
------------------------------
Wow! This is the brutal, yet haunting story about Dong-ho, a fifteen-year-old middle school student, told by different individuals, including himself, about the Gwangju Uprising in South Korea in 1980 following the assassination of military strongman Park Chung-hee and under the new dictator Chun Doo-hwan. While reading this book, I could not help but compare the violence perpetrated against defenseless individuals by an inhumane government and military to my personal understanding of such cruelty in the world in which I live today. Man's inhumanity to man is always frightening, but this story brings this situation to light into a new, horrifying reality.

The most painful chapter for me was the one in which Dong-ho's mother talks about him, the youngest of her three sons. As a mother myself, her story just tore me apart.

This is not a book for the squeamish, but it is beautifully written and masterfully translated. Anyone who hopes to understand this episode in South Korean history, albeit this story is fiction, needs to understand ahead of time what a difficult read this will be.

Rating - 5 stars

There must've been around a hundred policeman, heavily armed with helmets and shields. Lightweight combat vehicles whose every window was covered with wire mesh. The thought flashed through your mind: what do they need all that for? We can't fight, we don't have any weapons.

I just cannot read such books, Madeline. Too much violence for me. I simply cannot stomach reading such details.

>140 jessibud2: I know, Shelley. The writing is brilliant, though. This book was actually an LT Early Reviewer that I should have read and reviewed ten years ago. I requested this book back then because I had already read another book, The Vegetarian, which I liked very much by the same author and which had also been an LT Early Reviewer win for me.

In addition, I had been forewarned about the torture in this book by @citizenjoyce.

>139 SqueakyChu: KIM JIYOUNG - BORN 1982 offers a more recent view of South Korea, centering on gender equality.

>142 m.belljackson: That looks good! Just added it to my wishlist!

6. Mornings Without Mii - Mayumi Inaba



------------------------------------
TIOLI #7: Read a book featuring letters from RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS (title, author) (Mx3)
-----------------------------------
How can someone write an entire biography of a cat? I don’t know how she did it, but Mayubi Inaba wrote a whole book describing the life of her cat Mii, detailing every nuance of the cat’s experiences and personality. Many of this book’s chapters were followed by a brief poem, summarizing that chapter’s contents. The result was a tender story of the life of one animal that had all of the nuances of a biography of a human. It was amazing…and softly beautiful!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has had a cat from kittenhood through old age and death. This story will bring back many sweet memories of your own feline friend from the past.

Rating - 4.5 stars

She was so nervous and alert to everything in the outside world that I had to wonder if she really was a cat. Maybe she was a new type of animal, a coward with the face of a cat!

Interesting discussion on medicare, Madeline. Makes me feel lucky sometimes to be British. I know that if required the NHS will be there for me as imperfect a system as it has become.

>145 PaulCranswick: Things are getting so difficult here in the U.S. with medical care. A friend of my older son’s moved to Japan to get medical care which he could not afford in my/his country. 😢 He has heart problems. I cannot tell you how long I have been waiting to get appropriate hearing aids under my Medicare Advantage plan. If I got them (the pair prescribed for me at my last audiogram after I returned a pair I hated) out of network at this time, they would cost $6,000-$9,000 a pair (depending at which hearing center I would purchase them). Meanwhile the batteries on my old hearing aids only last about 12 hours so part of the day, I can’t hear much at all! I could go on with this rant forever, but I’ll stop now.

7. The Psychology of Money - Morgan Housel


-----------------------------------------
TIOLI #2: Read a book where a capital H begins a title word or starts one of the author’s names
-----------------------------------------
This is a great book! I’m happy to report that it didn’t teach me much new but reinforced those principals I’ve always used to save and invest money. It felt good to know I did the right things.

I loved reading this book. I’ve never been wealthy, but I have always been interested in saving and investing just for the challenge of it. I’m at an age now where I basically just have to look back to see which of my strategies worked and which didn’t. I enjoyed reading about the principles that Morgan Housel outlined in this book. I think I’ve followed them and will continue to follow them as I age. I totally agree with what he wrote, but I can see the pitfalls of other investing strategies. I totally agree with his thought that risk and luck are also a large part of investing.

This very friendly, easy-to-read book would be good for all ages, but I would most highly recommend it to younger people getting started in investing. Anyone earning money should be thinking about how to save and keep at least a part of it.

Rating - 5 stars

We should be careful to define the difference between wealthy and rich.
Rich is current income.
But wealth is hidden. It's income not spent.

>144 SqueakyChu: I added that one to the wishlist. Neither library has it--YET! I'll have to check in a month or two.

>148 thornton37814: It's really quite a fun book to read. I think you'll enjoy it a lot.

>139 SqueakyChu: I loved Human Acts as well. It was the first novel by Han that I read.

>150 BLBera: Beth, Her book The Vegetarian was weird, but I really enjoyed reading it. Try that one next. I had never heard of her before I won The Vegetarian as an LT Early Reviewer. I though that was so cool that afterward, Han Kang won a Nobel Prize in Literature!

8. Letter From Japan - Marie Kondo


--------------------------------------------------
TIOLI #10: Read a book with a title word that indicates the keeping of records (letter)
--------------------------------------------------
I previously enjoyed reading Marie Kondo’s book about tidying up so I decided to try this new book she wrote about Japan. I really enjoyed reading it because it put me in a calm state of mind and drew me away from turmoil that I have been experiencing in the real world. In this book, Kondo talks about sakura (cherry blossoms), kawaii (cute things), oshikatsu (fandom), mottainai (regret over waste), calligraphy, manga, and many other iconic Japanese themes in delightful essay format. She includes the history of each item, Japanese words, and how she is personally affected by each item.

This book is very sweet. It might not be that exciting to others not particularly interested in Japan, but members of my family and I have been into things Japanese for quite a long time so I found the contents of this book particularly pleasing and fun to read.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Becoming more aware of the changing seasons can help us realize how precious the current moment truly is.

Hello Madeline. I'm over for a visit!

>153 mdoris: Hi, Mary! Can I rant about my hearing aids? One just died, and my new ones are not ready for pickup until Monday. I'm struggling. My husband took me grocery shopping today because both of us felt it was unsafe for me to drive and not be able to hear out of one ear. I can't tell direction of sound when that happens. *sigh*

>154 SqueakyChu: Sorry that you are dealing with this Madeline. I am having further challenges seeing and in the queue for cataract surgery. Not sure how long I will have to wait but things are getting fuzzier and fuzzier!

>155 mdoris: Been there, Done that, Mary. One eye didn't turn out perfectly, but I'm pretty happy with the results. The good news is that it is an easy surgery (and I had been absolutely terrified of having to do them!). The surgery itself is completely painless and lasts about 15 minutes. I had a great nurse who talked into my ear before, during, and after my surgery as he knew I removed my hearing aids prior to the surgery. I had them done a few weeks apart. I hope you can get them done fairly quickly. I was finally able to see well enough to start driving again after both surgeries were completed. I did need an extra (painless) laser procedure after the second eye was done, but that didn't help anything. I only wanted a new pair of glasses so I could get on with things. They were given to me so now my eye surgery is history. I'm back on the road again (now with a new-to-me car, a 2020 Subaru Forester).

Thanks for the positive news of results from the eye surgery. Excellent that the outcome was good!

>154 SqueakyChu: Oh, no! I'm so sorry you have to wait until Monday to get your new ones. I hope reading will distract you!

>158 Dejah_Thoris: It is, Dejah! I'm reading a really good book now...Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdahl. The author is a reform rabbi who was the first East Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and the first East Asian-American to be ordained as a cantor. Her story is so interesting to me and her writing about Jewish theology is inspiring. It's a lovely book.

I'm headed to the audiology clinic tomorrow to see if I can get that one hearing aid fixed right in their office. If not, I'm NOT sending it out to pay for repair. We'll have to wait to see what happens. :(

>154 SqueakyChu: I am saddened to read your news, Madeline. Hearing and seeing are two things I definitely worry about too. My eyes are shockingly short sighted and my hearing has definitely deteriorated a little. It is a very strange sensation not being able to fully appreciate what is being said around you.

>159 SqueakyChu: - I have that book on request from my library right now, Madeline. I am #60, waiting on 19 copies in the system. I find her story so interesting!

Sorry about the hearing aid aggravation. Hope it's resolved quickly.

>160 PaulCranswick: I’m in a tough situation today, Paul. They could not fix my hearing aid without sending it out for repair (I was afraid of that) so now I had to cancel all my activities until I get two good working hearing aids five days from now. 😢 I guess I’ll still cook dinner for my family on Friday evening, but I won’t be able to hear or understand them. 😢

>161 jessibud2: I’m now waiting at Kaiser, Shelley, to see my doctor (another issue I’ll write about some other time), and I’m reading Buchdahl’s book in the lobby. I’m at a part where it says her mom (Korean Buddhist) used to put kimchi on the Seder plate instead of horseradish, saying the kimchi was better as a bitter herb! 😂

So sorry Madeline that you are struggling with those hearing aids. Not being able to hear is so isolating. I know too many people who struggle with hearing aides.

>163 Kristelh: Thank you, Kristel. You are so right about it being isolating. I used to be such a social person! Ask anyone here on LT who knows me in real life. Now I try to avoid people because I can't understand what they're saying.

Today was a particularly hard day. The broken hearing aid could not be fixed and needs to be sent out for repair (although I'm getting new hearing aids on Monday). For this week, I cancelled a coffee meetup with a friend I haven't seen in ages, a Bookcrossing meetup (which will be the third monthly meetup I've missed), and our family's Friday evening dinner which I host every week. Then I felt so sad that I told my family to come for dinner this Friday anyway--even though I won't be able to hear them. Somehow I have to get through this.

>164 SqueakyChu:. My heart goes out to you, Madeline.

>165 Kristelh: Thank you. I’m trying to make this work better for me, Kristel. I decided to attend the meetup after all this weekend even if I won’t hear well enough. I spent the day today with my husband helping a friend pack books (my thing!) in preparation for a big move for her.

>166 SqueakyChu: Books are a "happy thing". I hope it gave you pleasure and I hope that the meetup will also give you some pleasure.

>162 SqueakyChu: I lost your thread but found it again. I think I told you I have a hearing loss. one deaf, one HH people dont understand how hard it is to have one deaf ear, they think you get along fine, one on one yes but add more talking and backgound sound makes it impossible to carrry on a conversation, so ofter I just dont go. thats why I come here, reading is so much easier!

sorry you are having problems with your aids. I get medicare with mutual of omaha as a gap plan. needed new aids and the plan has a new aid hh plan with i immediatly joined but i had to go to their audiologist and did not like him thought he charged me too much so now im waiting to get a new pair from my old audiologist. I hear you girl, its a pain

>168 cindydavid4: Hi, Cindy! Thank you for visiting my thread. Isn't LT just amazing for those of us with hearing difficulties? We can understand everything and don't have to hear a thing! :D

Oh, man! I do understand your issue! Kaiser Medicare Advantage has great coverage: $2,400 every three years, but no audiologists! I paid the money in January, 2026, to trail a second pair. They have the hearing aids sitting in their office, but I have to wait until next week (end of March!) just to get them. I have been assigned to six (!) audiologists/techs, trialed (but didn't like) one set of hearing aids, had three different audiograms (because too much time had passed), and have yet been unable to successfully replace my five year old hearing aids in two years. Next week is the big date. I am going to refurbish my old hearing aids for $600 so as to have back-ups which were not provided to me this week and try my hardest to make the newest hearing aids I'm going to trial work for me. They are the Phonak non-spheres so they should be a bit lower tech than top of the line. I'm so tired of this. My previous audiology care at Kaiser had been excellent. The care I have now I'd call negligent. I don't think it's safe for a person in her late 70s (me!) to be unable to hear well due to a non-functioning hearing aid and not have that situation remedied ASAP. IMHO.

*end of rant*

when i was teaching i had the best coverage cigna, the audios were great, repairs were quick and sometimes they had a loaner aid. about two years ago they were taken over by evernoth. at the time ai lost an aid and couldnt replace it coz it was no longer made. so i spent 5000 on a new set again i asked for an audio and was told not until august. then we all recieved a letter from them stating that the company was no longer serviig vision and hearing needs and were closing up in a week. at least I had an alterative elsewhere but hundreds of seniors were left to founder. and i found out that the very good staff was let go. they recieved the notice the samr day we did. again I wanted a new audio the gal told me there was no record of me having a dead ear i asked her then why was I wearing a cross age for the last 20 years I do thinkthe aid is right if i use it with BLUE TOOTH but i really resent how we are treated but nowadays i am thanful for the most part for regular medicare until or course they decide to defund if

end of rant Whose next?

>170 cindydavid4: Wow, Cindy! What a story! Feel free to rant here. At least I know now I have company in my disappointment re: the complete audiology story.

I went to visit a friend today and spoke with her using my one right hearing aid and cupping my left ear each time she spoke. At least we were able to have a conversation. I am going to have to do the same thing tomorrow night for dinner. I told my family to come for dinner, but not to expect me to understand anyone's conversation. I wanted to cancel the dinner, and everyone understood, but then I felt so sad that I changed my mind. I want them here even if I can't understand them. *sigh*

oh im so sorry, my family is pretty supportive they check the tables before we get there and are very willing to repeat or explain. it helps there are 3 of us wearing aids so thy get when i was younger they learned fingerspelling which was great. think they would be willing? its really not hard

>172 cindydavid4: I hope to have two brand new hearing aids by next Friday evening so we should be good then, Cindy. Not sure they’d go for finger-spelling!

cool, hope it all goes well

>174 cindydavid4: Me, too! :)

Testing the new image feature on LT ahead of No Kings Day! 👍

>176 SqueakyChu: It works! How cool! Good-bye, LT Photo Gallery. Thanks, Tim!

>169 SqueakyChu: I understand your frustration. I have a very expensive pair of hearing aids(which I paid for - no insurance coverage) sitting in my bathroom which are no longer working. I have moved 2000 miles away from where I purchased them so going back to the seller is not feasible. Someday, when I run out of books to read, I will make an effort to fix them. Meanwhile, I’m reading.

>178 LoisB: I understand about expense, Lois. Before insurance covered my hearing aids, I spent $7,000 of my own money to buy a pair of Widex hearing aids. These days, I much prefer reading to conversation, although I miss group socialization immensely. :( Yesterday, I was expecting a neighbor to drop by for coffee. She understood that one of my hearing aids was broken. She told me that she's loud...and then she didn't show up! Life! Not sure about it these days. :(

Hurray! I got my new set of hearing aids yesterday. They are of a lower technology than the previous ones I trialed, but I am determined to make these work for me. I sent my old set of hearing aids back to be refurbished and to use as back-ups...to the tune of $800.

9. Heart of a Stranger - Angela Buchdahl


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TIOLI #8: Read a book that contains two major themes not including romance (biography, religion)
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I learned this was a book about an Asian-American woman (daughter of a Buddhist Korean mother and a Jewish American father) who is both a cantor and a rabbi. I love my Jewish heritage and learning about other cultures so much that I had to find out about this person! It did not bother me at all that I was #125 on my public library’s wait list for this book. I knew it was a biography that I dearly wanted to read.

I love the way Rabbi Buchdahl set up her book. She tells the story of her own life but intersperses it with Jewish theme words and discusses each of those in a way that is both beautiful and easy to understand. So many of the ideas Rabbi Buchdahl expresses are deeply thought-provoking and indeed the basis for further discussion. The writing was lovely…personal and universal at the same time!

This is a book which is both interesting and a delight to read. I recommend it for everyone, Jewish or not.

Rating - 5 stars

I learned that we are not only the products of our genetic makeup and our cultural norms. We choose the pieces we want to keep. The irony is that the more we are rooted in the richness of our cultural legacies, the more confidence we have to journey far afield.

Look for my second quarter thread!

>180 SqueakyChu: That is a lot of money, Madeline, but I'll hazard it is also money well spent. xx

>183 PaulCranswick: That’s on top of the $2,400 I just paid out of pocket for my new hearing aids, Paul. This industry is such a racket. Previously, I paid $7,000 out of pocket for a pair of hearing aids. They last about 3 to 5 years before they need to be replaced.

>184 SqueakyChu: Wow, Madeline. That is about 600 books all told!

>185 PaulCranswick: Not to worry, Paul. I have about 1,600 books here at home because I collect books both for BookCrossing and Little Free Library. True confession: I'm now reading a library book! :D

I am happy that your hearing aides are here and I hope they do what you need. Sometimes lower tech can be a good thing.

>187 Kristelh: So far they have been good for speech in a quiet environment, but not good for listening to music in my car, but I can live with that. My old hearing aids are even lower tech and were much more comfortable than either of the new ones (until one of the older ones died last week, that is!).

>181 SqueakyChu: im jewish too! definitely want to read this

>189 cindydavid4: It is such a gorgeous book! I guarantee you'll love it, Cindy.

Have a wonderful Pesach!

you too!

>191 cindydavid4: Thanks! I started my shopping today. This is my very favorite holiday so I'm very much looking forward to spending an enjoyable time with family and friends.

>181 SqueakyChu: You've sold me on that one, Madeline.

>181 SqueakyChu: Heart of a Stranger sounds interesting, so I've added it to my library wish list.

>193 laytonwoman3rd: >194 kidzdoc: Yes!! 👍

>195 SqueakyChu: I had to request that my library purchase it...they don't have a copy. They are very good about that (at least I find it so--maybe being a Board Member helps!)

ETA: I just checked my e-mail after being out since about 11:00 a.m. (I put in the purchase request at about 9:30). I have a message from the library with a time stamp of 12:18 saying the book has been ordered! That's what I call service.

>196 laytonwoman3rd: I recently requested a book be bought at my library. That's the second time I've done that...and they bought both books. The last book I requested was Hostage by Eli Sharabi. I keep seeing it displayed on the new books shelf. That makes me happy. That is also a great book.

Hurray!! ...that they got that book for you so speedily. I hope it gets tons of other readers at your library!

>196 laytonwoman3rd: >197 SqueakyChu: Talk about influential readers!! : )

>198 Berly: My library is so good about that and encourages its patrons to request books we think it should buy, Kim. In return for that, I don’t request books often (so far it has only been two), but I think hard if my requested book would be appropriate and educational for others as well as myself.

>199 SqueakyChu: Nicely done -- everybody wins.