Oberon's Home for 2026

2025 was a particularly bad posting year for me as I managed a single thread for the year. My actual reading was a solid 77 although I felt like I needed to work on it.

The family is doing well although we now have two in college - San Diego State and the University of Minnesota. The youngest is in 7th grade and has the full attention (for better or worse) of his parents.

Travel is big part of what we enjoy. I went to Yellowstone for a week. My wife and I plus our youngest did a fall trip to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. There were shorter trips to Phoenix and Massachusetts. Finally, we did two international trips, one to Belize and the other to Italy where we visited Venice, Florence and Rome. The topper for this thread is the family at the Trevi Fountain this past summer. For 2026, we have a planned trip to Portugal where we will be visiting our daughter who is studying there for a semester. I am doing a short trip to Montreal and I am hoping to get in a trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in June.

Acadia National Park is prime candidate for our anniversary trip. I am a big fan of nature, especially hiking and fishing (got a pair of hiking poles for Christmas). I maintain a Little Free Library (LFL) focused on nature books. It is separately catalogued on LT under Knowledge & Nature. As part of my LFL, I grow and give away oak seedlings and wildflower seeds although this past year there were no oak trees as my resident squirrels raided my growing plants. I remain the president of our lake association and dedicate a chunk of my free time to habitat improvement on our lake.

With two out of the house, I am down to one soccer playing child. He and I enjoy our professional team, Minnesota United aka The Loons, who got knocked out in the quarterfinals of the MLS playoffs this year. Sadly, our offseason this year has been a parade of good players leaving so I am a bit in despair as to how the 2026 campaign will go.

On the theater front, I saw Cabaret performed on Broadway and in Minnesota at our Guthrie Theater. Also saw an excellent production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and am looking forward to a production of Macbeth. I serve on a non-profit board dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings and a second non-profit focused on emerging artists in the Twin Cities.

And of course there are the books. I still read far more non-fiction than fiction and my travels tend to heavily influence my reading. Thus, it is likely some books on Portugal will be on the thread by year end.

Welcome to my 2026 thread.

Top Books of 2025

1. Polostan by Neal Stephenson
2. Orbital by Samantha Harvey
3. Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall
4. The British are Coming by Rick Atkinson
5. Follow Me to Africa by Penny Haw
6. La Serenissima: The Story of Venice by Jonathan Keates
7. The End of Night by Paul Bogard

The Christmas Book Haul

1. Tigers Between Empires by Jonathan Slaght
2. Mona's Eyes by Thomas Schlesser
3. The Making of the Middle Sea by Cyprian Brookbank
4. Epidemics and Society by Frank Snowden
5. Sea of Grass by Dave Hage
6. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Books Read for 2026

January

1. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
2. Death in Florence by Paul Strathern (audiobook)
3. The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 1 by Herge
4. Bowling with Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown by Mike Mignola
5. White Savior by Eric Nguyen
6. Lucifer, Book One by Mike Carey
7. Lucifer, Book Two by Mike Carey
8. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

February

9. Lucifer, Book Three by Mike Carey
10. Lucifer, Book Four by Mike Carey
11. Lucifer, Book Five by Mike Carey
12. The Last Ronin, The Lost Years by Kevin Eastman
13. Playground by Richard Powers (audiobook)
14. The Lost Trees of Willow Avenue by Mike Tidwell (audiobook)
15. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
16. The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden
17. John Constantine, Hellblazer by Alan Moore
18. Shadow of the Golden Crane by Chris Roberson
19. Frankenstein: New World by Mike Mignola

March

20. A History of Portugal in Comics by Artur Correia
21. Old Cathedral of Coimbra
22. Library Joanna, A Living Library
23. 40 Fantastic World Heritage Sites

April

24. Providence Compendium by Alan Moore
25. Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire by Roger Crowley
26. The Edge of the World by Michael Pye (audiobook)
27. Adventures in the Louvre by Elaine Sciolino
28. The Serpent in the Garden by Mike Mignola
29. The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williamsn (audiobook)
30. The New Tourist by Paige McClanahan

May

31. The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono
32. Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession by Craig Childs
33. The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig (audiobook)
34. Captain America: Symbol of Truth, Pax Mohannda by Tochi Onyebuchi
35. Captain America, Cold War Aftermath by Tochi Onyebuchi
36. B.P.R.D., War on Frogs by Michael Mignola
37. Boxers by Gene Luen Yang
38. Saints by Gene Luen Yang

June

39. From the Ruins of Empire by Pankaj Mishra (audiobook)
40. A History of Canada in Ten Maps by Adam Shoults
41. Night Creatures: Firefly by Robert Macfarlane

July

42. All We Say by Ben Rhodes (audiobook)

Hi Erik. Welcome to the 2026 group. I look forward to seeing what you are reading, and of course, adding some to my tbr pile.

The End of Night by Paul Bogard

I picked this book up at Zion National Park. It is wonderfully written book that makes the case for preserving our experience in the night sky and how light pollution is steadily depriving us of that beauty. Highly recommended. Rather than write a longer review I thought I would put up some of my astro-photography photos as it is more compelling argument for the beauty of the night sky.



Zion National Park



Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful



Yosemite National Park



Joshua Tree National Park

>4 Oberon: Great to see you Linda, thanks for stopping by so quick! Happy New Year!

Those are great photos, Erik. Happy New Year. I hope 2026 is good to you.

Happy new year and new thread, Erik. Gorgeous sky photos!

I just bought Mona's Eyes recently and hope to read it sooner rather than later. Looks intriguing. Did you notice the inside of the dust jacket?

Happy New Year, Erik!

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, Erik

Happy new year, Erik.

Welcome back, Erik!

Happy new year, Erik!

What a great photo of Old Faithful! I was out in the country last night appreciating the lack of light pollution!

>8 BLBera: Happy New Year Beth. Thanks for stopping by.

>9 jessibud2: Thanks Shelly! I did see the painting inside the dust jacket of Mona's Eyes. Technically, that book is my wife's so I have to wait a bit before I can start it.

>10 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl! Happy New Year to you as well. I will be looking for your Club Read thread when it goes up.

>11 PaulCranswick: Happy New Year Paul. The tower looks spectacular.

>12 katiekrug: Happy New Year Katie. Thanks for stopping.

>13 drneutron: Of course! Thanks for all your work on organizing Jim.

>14 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. Happy New Year!

>15 elorin: Thanks Robyn. I have been looking for stars here after reading The End of Night and I am reminded how much light pollution I deal with this close to Minneapolis. Minnesota has some dark skies but none very close to me I am afraid.

>17 Oberon: San Antonio has it's share of light pollution. I was about an hour drive away last night looking at the stars.

>16 Oberon: Here is a link to my Club Read thread, Erik:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/377174

>6 Oberon: What wonderful photos!!!! The End of Night is now on the TBR pile. Thanks for both the book recommendation and the accompanying photos. I always enjoy visiting here.

>18 elorin: Ah, well still - wonderful that you took the opportunity to go look. One of the things that scared me from The End of Night was a claim that something like 80% of people never got far enough away from light pollution to be able to fully see the Milky Way. Seems hard to believe to me but also disturbingly plausible given how much effort is required to do true stargazing.

>19 kidzdoc: Thanks a lot for giving me the link Darryl. I have it starred.

>20 Whisper1: Good! I hope more people read it.

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

My first book of the new year was a good one. Told from the perspective of a fox (shapeshifting, mythical variety) and a Chinese investigator who has an ability to immediately discern if people are telling lies, The Fox Wife is set in China and Japan shortly before the collapse of the Qing dynasty.

The narratives of the fox and the investigator are intertwined throughout the book. It is a fun read and an interesting look at a tumultuous political period, made all the better by the overlay of myth.

Highly recommended.

>22 Oberon: That does sound good. I think I've read something else by Choo...

>22 Oberon: Erik, Your first read of the year sounds like an interesting book!

>22 Oberon: Glad you liked it, Erik, I am a bit proprietorial about Malaysian authors!

>23 BLBera: She has a couple of other best selling books. I would certainly read something else by her.

>24 Whisper1: Very fun! Nice to start the year well

>25 PaulCranswick: As you should be Paul.

Minnesota can't catch a break. I am beyond angry about the actions of ICE and perhaps even more angry about the subsequent lies. It would be easier if I was less a student of history but these actions and the lies and blatant propaganda feel scarily reminiscent.

>27 Oberon: My heart goes out to you, your state, and the decent leaders in your state. The evil having been perpetrated there in both the murders of George Floyd and Renee Good is both despicable and surreal.

>27 Oberon: I'm with you, Erik. I spent this afternoon making kits with whistles and cards with phone numbers and rights listed on them. There is no law here anymore.

>28 SqueakyChu: Exactly. Feels surreal. Almost comically evil but real people are hurt and now dead.

>29 BLBera: It feels that way Beth.

>30 Oberon: The Gestapo has taken over Minneapolis and America does nothing.

>31 m.belljackson: yes. Though it was nice to see the guy organizing a Nazi protest run out of town.

>32 Oberon: Agreed. Such scary stuff happening. I'm watching it all closely and am proud of the activism and courage of the good Minnesotans. May our good guys prevail speedily. Here in Maryland the bad guys are active in Annapolis (our capital). However, not as heavily as in your state. Short of marching (as I don't want my husband to get grabbed he's a U.S. citizen, but they don't care), I'm trying to do what i can to help as often as I can.

>33 SqueakyChu: Water balloons are a great resistance tool in Minnesota right now with the air temp at -5F.

On the culture front I finished Season 2 of Andor over the weekend. I will concede that I am a Star Wars fan but the themes of resistance, propaganda and rule by an empire all feel really current right now, especially the bit where the empire sends untrained troops into a volatile protest with the goal of giving them an excuse to start shooting. Really, really good show. Highly recommended.

Also on the culture front, I spent the last three days in Montreal with the same people that I went to New York with last year. Saw immersive media at Oasis and Aura, ate at Michelin restaurants at Joe Beef and Le Vin Papillon, hit the dance clubs to 3AM, and generally had a great time eating, drinking and enjoying culture. Great city with lovely architecture.

>35 Oberon: I’m a great watcher of TV, but I haven’t watched Andor — yet. You’ve convinced me to give it a look-see. Thank you!

I’m another Minnesotan, and I get some balm for my soul by googling “ICE on ice.” I do feel a little pang of empathy at the ones who fall, but it goes away quickly when I remember why they’re there in the first place.

Karen O

>34 Oberon: Sounds good to me! Anything that works!

That is pretty cold!! I don't think I've ever been in weather that frigid. My personal low from the past is 6 degrees F, in which I opened the door here in Maryland, stepped outside our house for about one minute and then came back inside...just to tell people that I was in 6 degree weather. :D

I just started reading a Holocaust book for help with my depression and anxiety (all related to local, national and Israeli politics). I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I am reading to see what people did (mentally and physically) in order to survive such a terrible time in the past. I do see some parallels in today's world. Then, I couldn't fall asleep last night. However, that's what jigsaw puzzles are for.

We will get through this!

I've never traveled to Montreal, but I would love to do another trip to friends in Ontario after the fall of our current regime.

>37 klobrien2: What is "ICE on ice", Karen?

>38 SqueakyChu: Sorry, “ICE on ice” refers to member of the ICE thug crew, trying to get around on our icy streets with little or no training or experience of it.

Karen O

Just stopped by to say hello, Erik. I see an ex-Loons head coach has turned up managing in the Championship with West Bromich Albion. Any feedback? His stats are unimpressive to be honest.

Another terrible day in Minnesota.

>41 Oberon: My rabbi returned safely from Minnesota, and I listened to his sermon today on streaming about his march in Minneapolis on Thursday in -12 degree weather. Thankfully, he was not one of the 100 clergy who were arrested yesterday.

I am so sad for your state and our country, Erik. I literally freak out every day over what's been happening.

>41 Oberon: Oberon - Please help your Governor act now and let it make a difference!

We advocate that he join with other Governors to end this expanding horror.

You, Your Family, and my close Friend,
who has lived in safe city Minneapolis for many years after leaving the unsafe south side of Chicago,
are in our Prayers.

>40 PaulCranswick: He was a revelation for us. Great use of tactics made an ok team a legit contender. Very sorry he left us.

>42 SqueakyChu: Glad your rabbi is home. I will say we need all the help we can get.

>43 m.belljackson: Our governor has been targeted by the Department of Justice (as has Minneapolis's mayor who has pretty limited jurisdiction). ICE murdered an ICU nurse on our streets on Saturday and it was caught on multiple cameras. I do not understand how the people who pulled the triggers are not behind bars. Moreover, the idea that a federal judge had to issue an order telling the federal government not to destroy evidence is so far beyond the pale that I have a hard time comprehending it.

I wish I could adequately articulate to non-lawyers how unprecedented something like this - you essentially have one part of the government saying to another branch that there is strong suspicion that that branch is acting unlawfully and will deliberate seek to destroy evidence of its own illegality. People are going to be challenged to fulfill their oaths to defend the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic.

>44 Oberon: I hope he does well at West Brom, Erik, but he has a tough ask as I understand he doesn't have the players as yet to play as he really wishes to do.

>45 Oberon: This is just chilling, Erik.

>45 Oberon: My rabbi's remarks about his experience this past week in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is his utube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEWUK5M9IO0

Rabbi Israel is such a good man, what I call a mensch. He is working so hard to make everyone fight for justice. May the just prevail...and soon!

We got a scary message yesterday from a neighbor. He said that 200 more federal agents are coming to my state, and he said he would grocery shop for my husband if he needed that. Fortunately, I think I can make it in and out of grocery stores safely (unless someone checks my surname). In addition, I have my husband convinced to no longer shop at Home Depot. Having been a contractor before he retired, he practically lived in that store. That no longer is the case. He is a U.S. citizen, but somehow these days that does not ensure anyone’s safety.

>45 Oberon: Such horrible times for your state. Thanks for such an articulate description of what's happening.

>45 Oberon: Sadly, Erik, my rabbi (wearing a prayer shawl in the picture) was arrested in an interfaith protest by clergy this past week on Capitol Hill in DC. He is okay, but I am so distraught about this.
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1394134479422169&set=pcb.139413456275549...

Still here. In weird sports news, it appears that my beloved Loons are signing James Rodriguez, Colombian superstar. Very much out of left field on this one.

Anyway, I am excited to see him play. Not sure how long he will be here as both sides seem to think this is preliminary to the World Cup this summer which is Rodriguez's focus but still fun if we get to see him in the Black and Blue.

On the less fun side, ICE remains a threat to the people of this state on par with something we have only seen in other countries. They continue to terrorize citizens and non-citizens and now there are regular reports of ICE using facial recognition software and license plate tracking to show up and threaten protesters. Again, police state tactics.

That said, Minnesota is now being recognized for its peaceful resistance which is, in my opinion, a very positive things.

The legal community here has largely risen to the challenge and the courts are starting to hold people to account. Our local US Attorney's office (where I interned in brighter days) has been decimated by resignations as principled people stand up and say they will not be part of this. Even the leading Republican candidate for governor stood up and said he would not run or even be a member of a party! that was willing to engage in the behavior that has happened in Minnesota.

>50 SqueakyChu: Madeline, I know it is distressing but to me the willingness of faith leaders to be arrested in peaceful protest is an empowering statement. Faith means much more when it is hard and risky. This has strong echoes of the civil rights movement when faith leaders were willing to stand arm and arm with leaders in the black community to protest injustice. I am proud of your rabbi. We need more to show up like he has.

>53 Oberon: I am so proud of my rabbi as well, Erik, and respect him so much! During COVID, he was one of the first to march in our city's Black Lives Matter protest. During that time he also arranged a Black History course for our congregants via Zoom. I learned so much from that course. It was taught by the then instructor for the AP Black History course at our local high school. He is now a principal at another school. What a loss for our community, though!

All is good with my rabbi as he is now visiting family and friends Israel, a deserved break from his hard work!

I am so proud of all the Minnesotans who have stood up to the MAGAts, at great risk to themselves, I'm sure. We have the goons here in my Maryland, but it is not well publicized. I get information about what is happening here from various sources. One of my husband's acquaintances was picked up in the same manner seen on reels...smash car window, pull out the individual and brutally push him to the ground, and then take him to who knows where. The last I heard about this is that $17,000 is wanted for his release. What happens next is anyone's guess. This guy is the brother of my husband's friend. :( It's truly everywhere.

On the soccer front: I learned that DC United got rid of Benteke! Finally!! I've wanted that for such a long time. Three cool new things: (1) They brought in an Israeli striker! (2) They brought in keeper Sean Johnson! I've always liked him. (3) They brought back keeper Luis Barazza (whom they had before but released for some unknown reason!). I liked him as well.

Been away for a bit as my dad had a surgery and then proceeded to have some complications so I dropped everything to go north. I am happy to say he is improving but not out of the hospital yet. Did spend a lot of time in the car with my audiobooks as a consequence. Finished Playground by Richard Powers which was excellent. Might try to get to a proper review over the weekend.

>55 Oberon: Wishing your dad a speedy and complete recovery.

Richard Powers is an amazing author. I'll take this as a BB and add Playground to my wishlist.

>55 Oberon: Sending best wishes for your Father's complete recovery!

Loved Richard Powers TIME OF OUR SINGING and OVERSTORY.

>55 Oberon: Best wishes for a full recovery to your father, Erik.

Best wishes for your dad's recovery, Erik.

Adding my belated wishes for your Dad. Hopefully he is fully recovered by now. I hope your absence this work is just you being busy.

The Loons squad reshaping looks interesting. Sorry to see the axe fall on West Brom's manager already.

Hey, Erik! I see the Loons are first tonight in the Western MLS conference. Keep your team there! :D

Hi friends, thanks for keeping my thread warm. I am happy to report that dad was finally able to get home on Friday. He still has a long ways to go but I think being in his own bed, with his pets and real food will help his recovery a lot.

>62 Oberon: Great news, Erik!

In other news, we went to the Loons home opener - it was cold and James Rodriguez never played but it was a 1-0 Loons win! Excited to see how we play once James takes the field.

>62 Oberon: That's good news Erik.

>60 PaulCranswick: I was shocked to see that firing. Didn't seem like they gave him much time.

>63 SqueakyChu: & >65 BLBera: Thanks!

>62 Oberon: So good to hear that all is well with your Dad - pets will ease the way!

>62 Oberon: I'm glad that your father is doing better, Erik.

I am glad that your dad is doing better!

Glad to see your Dad is on the mend and that the Loons got off to a winning start.

>66 Oberon: I don't see how he was supposed to turn it around at West Brom so quickly especially as he isn't able to change personnel.

Hi there-- glad to hear your Dad is recovering and at home, which is always so much nicer. Goo Loons!! Loved all your travel stories up top and the pic -- I can't believe two of your kids are in college already. How did that happen? : ) Nice job on 77 last year. Keep it up!

Long overdue update starting with the easier stuff - Loons won! The Loons beat San Diego 2-1 away on Saturday. That is the good news. The bad news is that James Rodriguez went to play over the international break and apparently got so dehydrated that he ended up hospitalized. As a result, he has not been playing hardly at all so the star studded hope that seemed to be on the near horizon has not panned out thus far.

In personal news, dad is still slowly recovering. The plus side is that he is definitely on a path forward, the bad news is we had about 2 and 1/2 months worth of truly wondering if that was going to be the case or not as he suffered several setbacks.

Also, my reading tanked for the month of March for the oddest of reasons. My eyesight took a big hit (which I attribute to being over 50) and despite already having bifocal contact lens I had to take the extra step of adding cheaters to allow me to continue to read. The cheaters appear to have solved the problem and I am back to reading several books.

In other news, we went to Portugal over spring break to visit my daughter who is studying there for a semester. We spent time Lisbon, Sintra (day trip), Coimbre, and Porto. I would post more pictures but I am trying to find a place that will let me post to LT without imposing storage limits on me.

The photos are of the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon (Belem), the Monument of the Discoveries (also Lisbon), Moorish castle, Sintra, Livraria Lello bookstore in Porto, and the Biblioteca Joanina in Coimbre.

We had a great time in Portugal, though probably packed too much in. Food and wine were real highlights. Would probably plan a more leisurely excursion if we were to do it again. The major downside was that our return coincided with a major blizzard in Minnesota. We ended up delayed three full days in Boston as a result. We took advantage of it to some degree and went to Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade and a Celtics game but it is tougher to enjoy those things when they were not by choice. Still an excellent family trip.

One other minor note of complaint relevant to LT: Like all of my trips I tend to buy lots of books in the places that I am visiting. I did so in Portugal only to run into a lot of trouble adding the books to LT. This didn't happen in other European countries thus far but most of my books bought from Portugal I can not seem to find a database to allow me to upload the books.

Happy April, Erik. For some reason I had your thread unstarred, (it has been corrected). Shelley stopped by my thread yesterday and mentioned that you had just visited Portugal. Love the photos you shared. We leave for Portugal on the 30th and we spend 9 days there on a tour. We start in Lisbon and then make our way to Algarve, Evora, Porto and a couple of other stops. As an add-on, we will finish up in Madrid for 5 days. We are excited. I was studying up on some birds last night, like I do.

>76 msf59: Have a great trip Mark. Be sure to budget time to visit Livraria Lello in Porto. You will need a timed ticket so I would recommend trying to plan out a time to visit and buy your ticket in advance.

One more photo. The tower of Belem.

Great photos, Erik. We were in Lisbon for five days a couple of years ago and definitely want to go back and visit other parts of Portugal.

I'm glad your dad is doing better.

Wow, that tower is fantastic!

>78 Oberon: Funny, I used a photo of Belem Tower for my recent topper. LOL. Is that your photo? I love it.

>81 msf59: Yes that is my photo. They are currently doing restoration on it hence the scaffolding. The interior is closed for a year or so but I read that there isn't much to see on the inside. If you look carefully you can see my kids wandering around the tidal area.

Great photos, Erik. Did you have any pastéis de nata when you were in Belém or elsewhere in Portugal? And, did you listen to any fado performances, especially in Lisboa or Coimbra?

What was the weather like in Portugal? I would love to go when it isn't 100 degrees! We were there in early June.

>83 kidzdoc: We did - in both Lisbon and Sintra. I am not a huge custard fan but my wife was. We did not do any fado performances which I regret but we ended up moving between sites too quickly to have plans for a night or two in advance.

>84 BLBera: It was relatively cool for us. They have had a fair amount of rain and we definitely got rained on in March. Not so much that we didn't enjoy it or anything but I wore a fleece and rain jacket most of the time.

>85 Oberon: Thanks. We might have to consider a spring break visit. The problem with kids in school is that we can't go just anytime, and now summers in Europe are SO hot.

>86 BLBera: We have the same problem. Kind of leaves spring break and summer though we did have a nice short trip a few years ago over the Christmas break.

The Glorians by Terry Tempest Williams

When she is at her best I find Terry Tempest Williams to be one of the very best nature writers writing today. The Glorians which documents her time at Harvard Divinity School and at home in Utah both during and after the COVID-19 Pandemic has some wonderfully evocative pieces. For me, most of them were set in Utah rather than an Harvard. She also wrote with way more of a spirituality narrative than I would have preferred. Perhaps with the name Glorians she was telegraphing that point but I found parts of the book being a bit tedious.

Bottom line, I am glad I read (or listened in this particular case) to Glorians but I would not recommend the book as an introduction to Terry Tempest Williams nor do I see it as a reread for me. Rather, The Hour of Land is the book I would point others to for her writing.

>88 Oberon: I love TTW, but was worried that this would be too woo-woo for me. Refuge: an unnatural historyis my favorite of her books.

>89 banjo123: Ha! I think "too woo-woo for me" is a pretty accurate description of my overall take.

>88 Oberon: Great comments. I am a TTW fan, but not sure about this one.

Still reading and watching the Loons (who have dropped the last two games). Just about done with what has been the best book of the year so far so I plan on doing a review of that.

In other news, went to see a production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. I am not a Harry Potter superfan but have read the books and enjoyed them. The play definitely benefits from a knowledge of the Harry Potter story and there were certainly times where there were various revelations that meant more to the true fans then to me. The main thing that struck me was that this was one of the best productions I have seen in awhile in just pure stagecraft. Various effects literally left me wondering how they pulled some of the effects off. Which is not to say that it distracted from the story - the stagecraft was well used in service of the story - I just was more in awe of the craft rather than the story being told. I would recommend a production if you have even a passing interest in the Harry Potter series.

We have very similar feelings about The Glorians. I am a fan of TTW but her latest was no The Hour of Land which also remains my favorite.

We had a great time in Portugal. Our tour group covered most areas in the country so we got perfect feel for it. I especially liked Algarve and the Doura Valley but Evora and Porto were also wonderful. We also made the best of our five days in Madrid.

>92 Oberon: Not much reading but still watching soccer - now just the World Cup. Took in some more plays seeing the traveling production of The Great Gatsby and Six. I enjoyed both. The set of Great Gatsby was spectacular.

Indulged my fandom and took my boys to see Spain play Austria in Los Angeles. First time I have been to LA. We took in the game and then hit the Santa Monica Pier and Hollywood. Yes, very touristry but also iconic American sites.

In other news, celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We have plans to take a short trip to Napa Valley to celebrate.

Only other thing of note is that we did a family trip to Acadia National Park in Maine. I got to indulge in some more astrophotography like in >6 Oberon:. Nice park. Bar Harbor is a great National Park town, small enough to feel quaint and walkable. Large enough to have decent food choices plus plenty of shopping. I, of course, bought books. Currently working on An Exaltation of Parks a look at John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s contributions to the national park system.

Congrats on the anniversary!