Mary's (bell7) Reading is Easy in 2026, Page 4

Hello and welcome to my fourth thread of 2026! If you have not already met me, my name is Mary and I'm a librarian in western Massachusetts. As of last year, I'm a foster mom and I'll mention my foster kiddo occasionally but vaguely to keep both of our anonymity.

I read widely and eclectically, and especially enjoy fantasy, historical fiction and contemporary fiction. I facilitate a book club for work and participate in a librarian book club (we call it a readers' advisory genre study, but that's fancy language for reading a book or two and talking not just about the book but also the genre it's a part of and who we would recommend it too).

I usually make some reading goals each year. In 2026, I've decided to go much easier on these than I have in the past. I want to focus on reading novellas, since there are a bunch I want to read that have come out recently, and seem to be especially good in the SFF genres that I enjoy. I'm also going to try to get my e-book ARCs from NetGalley and Edelweiss down to under 20 un-reviewed. And because with a kiddo I have even more limited time, I've made it a goal not to keep reading books that aren't working for me. I expected I'd have more DNFs as a result, but so far almost a third of the way into the year, that has not been the case. I have been reading very comfortably in my wheelhouse and not stretching much, but that's okay.

Glad to have you here and talking about books & life!

2026 Book Club Reads

One of my work responsibilities is facilitating one of our book discussions. Here's what we're reading in 2026 (we take a break for the summer):

January - Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong - COMPLETED
February - A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles - COMPLETED
March - Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson - COMPLETED
April - The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson - COMPLETED
May - Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson - COMPLETED
September - Wild Fire by Nelson Demille
October - Outwitting History by Aaron Lansky
November - Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
December - The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Our reads in February, May, October, and December will be rereads for me. I had actually read Caste with this group a few years back, but our group has changed so much that I think it will only be a reread for me and one other person.

Readers' Advisory Round Table

We meet monthly, but every other month is just an around the table of what we're currently reading/listening/watching

January - God of the Woods by Liz Moore and (attempted, DNF) The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
March - Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
May - Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (finished late, didn't read a second book)
July -
September -
November -

Favorites of 2026:
5 stars
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (reread)
First-time Fostering by Laura the Foster Parent Partner

4.5 stars
Network Effect by Martha Wells (reread)
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 1 by Beth Brower
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 2 by Beth Brower
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 3 by Beth Brower
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 4 by Beth Brower
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (reread)
Love-in-a-Mist by Victoria Goddard (reread)
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 5 by Beth Brower
Plum Duff by Victoria Goddard (reread)
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 6 by Beth Brower
Translation State by Ann Leckie
Great big beautiful life by Emily Henry
Balancing stone by Victoria Goddard (reread)
The Saint of the Bookstore by Victoria Goddard (reread)
System Collapse by Martha Wells (reread)
The unselected journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 7 by Beth Brower
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Random things I'm tracking

Articles of interest and book lists:
1. 60+ Small Tasks to Defend the Right to Read

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135
2011 - 150
2012 - 108
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 graphic novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 graphic novels)
2016 - 141 (I stopped counting graphic novels separately)
2017 - 114
2018 - 105
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138
2022 - 131
2023 - 180
2024 - 131
2025 - 133
2026 - ???

Global reads in 2026 (author's country of origin):
Brazil - Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos
Canada - Victoria Goddard, Patty Krawec, Heather Fawcett
Cote d'Ivoire - Margaret Abouet
France - Mariette Navarro
India - Banu Mushtaq
UK - Richard Osman, Jonathan Stroud
Japan - Toshikazu Kawaguchi, Michiko Aoyama

All time (since 2022):


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, North Korea, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

Currently reading
Securely Attached by Mike and Kristin Berry
Seasons of Glass & Iron by Amal El-Mohtar
The River by Gary Paulsen
A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

Bible/Devotional Reading
1 Samuel, Luke

DNFs in 2026
1. The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro
2. The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
3. An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney Shields

June
73. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
72. Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa
71. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
70. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
69. Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic
68. Exit Lane by Erica Veurink

May
67. An Immense World by Ed Yong
66. Aya: Face the Music by Marguerite Abouet
65. Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
64. The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton
63. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
62. Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison
61. Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley
60. Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey
59. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
58. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
57. In Lonely Lands by Victoria Goddard
56. Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

April
55. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
54. The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard
53. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower
52. Platform Decay by Martha Wells
51. Raising Securely Attached Kids by Eli Harwood
50. Aya: Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet, illustrated by Clement Oubrerie
49. The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
48. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
47. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud
46. Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
45. First-time Fostering by Laura the Foster Parent Partner

March
44. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 7 by Beth Brower
43. Becoming Kin by Patty Krawec
42. Heart Lamp: Selected Stories by Banu Mushtaq
41. System Collapse by Martha Wells
40. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson
39. The Marriage Narrative by Claire Kann
38. The Saint of the Bookstore by Victoria Goddard
37. Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit
36. All the Blues in the Sky by Renee Watson
35. What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
34. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
33. Balancing Stone by Victoria Goddard

February
32. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
31. Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
30. Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
29. The Black God's Drums by P. Djeli Clark
28. Translation State by Ann Leckie
27. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
26. The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall
25. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
24. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 6 by Beth Brower
23. Plum Duff by Victoria Goddard
22. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 5 by Beth Brower

January
21. Where Nobody Knows Your Name by John Feinstein
20. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman
19. Before the Ever After by Jacqueline Woodson
18. Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
17. My Sweet Orange Tree by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos
16. Love-in-a-Mist by Victoria Goddard
15. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
14. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 4 by Beth Brower
13. Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
12. Memory Wall: Stories by Anthony Doerr
11. Ultramarine by Mariette Navarro
10. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
9. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
8. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3 by Beth Brower
7. Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather
6. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 by Beth Brower
5. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower
4. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
3. God Help the Child by Toni Morrison
2. Network Effect by Martha Wells
1. Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett

Thread number 4 is now open for business!

Happy Monday! I expected a leisurely morning with a kiddo who didn't feel rushed to go anywhere, but what I got instead was his high-energy level in the morning and super motivated to get ready for the day. So he's dropped off at day camp and I'm pondering what to do with my day. I definitely have to grocery shop so he has food he will bring to the camp for lunch this week, but other than that there are plenty of "could dos" and very few "must dos", which is a nice place to be. Today is a state holiday and I took tomorrow off because we have a couple of appointments, so I'm looking forward to the down time. And after I pick up the kiddo, we're headed to soccer practice.

Reading: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower, Platform Decay by Martha Wells and The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard

Listening: "Diana" by Diana Ross

Crafting: knitting a wrap

Happy new thread!

>10 bell7: I am curious to see what you think of Platform Decay, Mary, as I have preordered that one and hope to get to it next month.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Mary!

Hi Mary my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

Happy new thread -- WOW that's a lotta readin' already

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new one, Mary.

>11 foggidawn: Thanks, Misti!

>12 alcottacre: I finished it last night, Stasia, and while it was different from what I was expecting, I enjoyed it very much.

>13 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

>14 johnsimpson: Thank you, John!

>15 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba! Yes, it is. I'm still not quite sure how it was possible, quite frankly. I probably read more pages, but I had this many books at the end of April 2020, and that year (understandably) had more reading than I'd done in a long time.

>16 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>17 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene!

>18 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

Happy Tuesday! We had some appointments today, so I took the day off and I'm ever-so-glad I did instead of trying to wedge a four-hour workday in the midst of everything. I've sent a few necessary emails, have some chores to do at home, and then will attempt to get to the gym before I pick up the kiddo and go to the final appointment of the day. We'll have a quiet evening at home.

Reading: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower and The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard

Listening: "Diana" by Diana Ross

Crafting: continued work on knitting the wrap

52. Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Why now? Because I got the e-ARC from the publisher and REALLY wanted to complete it before the release date. Do I also have it pre-ordered? Yes, yes I do.

>21 bell7: I'm so excited for new Murderbot! (I also have it on pre-order.)

>22 foggidawn: I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

>23 bell7: Between that and the new Rainbow Rowell book that just came out, my book anticipation is high right now!

>24 foggidawn: Nothing better than having a few books you can anticipate highly and know you'll likely be rewarded!

Happy Wednesday! Kiddo's off to camp for the day, and I've got a little while before I have to head in to work for my usual 12-8. The big item on the docket is finalizing plans for the volunteer breakfast this weekend, and my boss and I are planning a shopping trip together.

Reading: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower and The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard

Listening: "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division

Good morning, all! Happy Friday. I'm working today 9-5, kiddo's going off to camp, and then we'll have a quiet evening. I'm planning on making salmon for dinner tonight. Yesterday was a busy one, after work/camp we went to a local library for an astronomy program. The presentation was interesting, but unfortunately we had cloudy skies. We were among the intrepid who stayed out long enough to see if we could get glimpses of the moon through the clouds. We were rewarded for our patience, but it was a later night than I'd anticipated. We got home after nine, and I didn't have the kiddo asleep 'til close to ten.

Work today will include final set up for the volunteer breakfast, and hopefully some time to prep for a program on Ancestry that I'm giving on Wednesday. Thankfully I've done that one enough that I know the presentation cold, but I need to check on how many folks have signed up and make sure I have enough handouts for all. This was the first time I asked if folks were bringing their own laptop, and several chose to, so it'll change the configuration a bit of where people sit, which will be an interesting difference.

Reading: The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard (I'll finish this today)

Listening: "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division (wrapping this up today or tomorrow)

Happy Friday, Mary. Happy New Thread. You certainly stay active, my friend and good for you for keeping up with your music challenge, especially when you are listening to things not your taste...much like Joy Division I am guessing. Of course I am a big fan. 😊

>21 bell7: Skipping your review because I want to go into the new book with no expectations but based on your star rating, I'm glad to see you liked it. I just got the shipping notification for my pre- ordered copy so there's a good chance I'll get it a bit before the official release day. 😊

>28 msf59: No, Joy Division is not my favorite, my discerning friend hahaha. I'm on my second listen through of "Unknown Pleasures" and will probably finish it today or tomorrow, I found "Closer" much more difficult to listen to between the two. I know I'll listen to other albums that are much more to my taste, and I enjoy the process of listening to something new-to-me, so I'm still finding the project an entertaining musical education even when I don't love particular albums. I didn't have high hopes for the 80s overall, anyway, so that helps lol.

>29 MickyFine: I totally understand, and look forward to your thoughts on it!

53. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower
Why now? Continuing my read of this highly enjoyable series.

Happy new thread, Mary!

I, too, skipped you review, but am very happy to see your 4.5 star rating.

I hope you and the kiddo are having aa wonderful Friday!

>32 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you on all counts, Dejah! I look forward to your thoughts on it. It was a busy day, but good, and I'm looking forward to the weekend.

54. The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Working our way through Goddard's works (we're nearly caught up *sob*), Stasia and I decided to read this one this month

The listening report -

"The Pretenders" by The Pretenders - Harder rock than I tend to like and overall just not my thing. #152 on the list

"Diana" by Diana Ross - I enjoyed the sound of this one much more, as expected. Weirdly, I thought my favorite songs were all ones I'd heard before and added to my playlist, but they were not. I added "Upside Down" and "My Old Piano". #394 on the list

"Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division - well, I liked this better than "Closer". But it wasn't really to my taste, either. #211 on the list

Only "Back in Black" by AC/DC and "Remain in Light" by Talking Heads are left in 1980.

>35 bell7: I love one particular song by Joy Division - "Love Will Tear Us Apart Again" which has been adopted by by Football Club - Leeds United in "celebration" of our renowned habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory but in our version it becomes "Leeds are Falling Apart Again".

I like the Pretenders' singles but their albums are too full of filler. Diana Ross's album does have a couple of classic tracks but again the album as a whole is a bit meh. If you think the Pretenders are too heavy just wait while ACDC assault your eardrums.

Have a great weekend, Mary.

>34 bell7: Great review, Mary, of a great book! I do hope Goddard gives us more in Elfland too, but if she does not, I will happily re-read this one.

>36 PaulCranswick: I love when songs/albums take on a significance that goes far beyond the actual music, though I'm sorry that it became a "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory" kind of thing. "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin is similar for me, as it's the song the Giants use to take the field when they're announcing players, and it is wrapped up in memories of being at the stadium watching games.

>37 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia! I thought it was really lovely, up there with The Hands of the Emperor for my favorite of hers.

Happy Saturday! We had a very successful volunteer breakfast, and then I hightailed it outta there to go to the kiddo's first soccer game of the season. Our team lost, but he scored two goals and I thought the team looked like it was gelling pretty well for their very first game. The opposing team was older, I'm told, so he was pleased with the result.

We've got a decently quiet afternoon and evening ahead. I have some tidying to do around the house and some laundry to do, but nothing extremely pressing or beyond the usual. My seasonal allergies have been kicking up the last couple of days, which is unfortunate because I have an appointment in a few days to get tested and can't take an antihistamine until I do. So I'll sniffle my way through the next couple of days.

Reading: This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "Remain in the Light" by the Talking Heads

Hi Mary! Oh, I can't wait for the new Murderbot! I placed the hold as soon as the title was announced. I'll probably wind up buying it as well. And I am waiting my turn for Emma vol. 8. Can't wait!

>40 AMQS: Sounds like you have some excellent reading ahead of you, Anne!

>40 AMQS: Sounds like you have some excellent reading ahead of you, Anne!

Happy new thread, Mary! I also mostly skipped your Platform Decay review but I'm glad to see you liked it :D The Bone Harp is also on my list to get to so I'm excited you enjoyed that one too!

>43 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! I hope you enjoy both when you get to them.

Happy Tuesday! We had a super-busy day yesterday, and it's shaping up to be a pretty full week. Having a sports season will do that :P

We have some afternoon plans, so I'm leaving work early and giving the kiddo a slightly early dismissal. My plan for dinner tonight is a meal I'm reasonably sure he will not like, so I'll have a Ramen cup ready as a backup. Tomorrow he has a regular schedule of school and soccer practice while I'm at work, and I'm giving one of my quarterly (ish) Ancestry trainings. I'll attempt to get some prep in for that today, updating the handouts if I have time and making sure I have enough copies for everyone signed up either way.

Reading: Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "Back in Black" by AC/DC

Crafting: Oh, I found some plastic storage drawers for free at a neighbors' down the road, so I picked it up and organized my yarn a bit on Sunday. It's very satisfying, but also I'm still not allowing myself to buy yarn until I use up more of what I have. Working some on the wrap in the meantime

55. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Why now? It matched a TIOLI read for a "dreadful warning" in the title

Happy Wednesday! I usually meet a friend to walk this morning, but I have an appointment this morning instead to get allergy testing before going in to work. So of course my mental to-do list is too long, and I will not be able to weed, cook, AND go to the gym all in one morning. I am going to put a new dish together that I know the kiddo won't like, and it'll be lunch for me the next couple of days. That is, truly, all I expect to have time for, but might tidy up around the house a bit if I can. Work in 12-8 and I'm running an Ancestry training, which is always lots of fun.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "Damaged" by Black Flag

>46 bell7: Intrigued by this one, and I am a total sucker for the epistolary novel.

>47 bell7: ...Black Sabbath to Black Flag, after Joy Division...this list is clearly designed to make you personally suffer with headache-inducing noise and outrageous egos seeking validation for their late-adolescent boy/man creators.

*shudder*

Stay strong. Sending sympathy hugs.

>46 bell7: I've read This Is How You Lose the Time War twice - I appreciated it even more the second time around.

>47 bell7: And I see you're reading This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me! I'm definitely an Ilona Andrews fan, so I'd been waiting for this one. I'll admit, it wasn't quite what I expected from the blurb, but I enjoyed it. I hope you do, too!

>48 AMQS: It's a good and quick read, Anne, I hope you give it a go!

>49 richardderus: Mmm AC/DC, but it was a similar listening experience to Black Sabbath for me - musical elements that I enjoy (nice, crisp guitar, some interesting riffs) but all too shouty. Black Flag was worse, I didn't like his voice or the muddled "music" at all. Now I've got "Beauty and the Beat" by the Go Gos in the car. Prince will seem like a nice break from all the yelling, I think.

>50 Dejah_Thoris: I could see it holding up well as a reread, Dejah. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is due next at the library so it'll be my main focus in reading this weekend. I only read one other Ilona Andrews, but this was highly recommended to me by a librarian friend who knows my fantasy reading taste really well, and I went in knowing only the absolute basics. So far I'm really enjoying it.

Happy new thread, Mary! There I was wishing once again that I had access to the Emma M Lion books after reading your review when I checked out the local library for the city I live in and they have the first one in audio. Now I can check them out, well the first one at least! You've also reminded me to get back to the Murderbot series - so many books so little time!

>51 bell7: The Go-Gos are sonic whiplash from the stuff you've been working through here lately.

Wonderful Thursdaying ahead, Mary.

>52 Familyhistorian: Oh hooray, so glad you can at least check out the first audio! I absolutely relate to so many books, so little time. A few of the books I'd had on hold for months started coming in all at once and I had to quickly suspend everything else so that my pile wouldn't get even larger than it is! Reader/librarian problems, am I right?

>53 richardderus: Indeed they are! Though one cool thing about working my way through the list in this way is having an appreciation for what music was contemporary with what.

Happy Thursday!

The allergy test results came back and it turns out I'm allergic to... nothing. Well, almost nothing, I had a slight reaction to dust and dust mites (the technician's exact words were "well, that's a little bigger so I'm going to mark it down as positive"). It turns out, I'm not allergic to shellfish or any other seafood at all. The reaction I had to the shrimp about a year and a half ago was most likely caused by histamines on the shrimp itself and isn't a reaction that could lead to anaphylaxis. So if it happens again, as irritating as a flushed face is, I can just take an antihistamine and be fine. Which also means I can eat French fries again, which I was avoiding at several restaurants because of the cross-contamination. Good news overall!

Today was a busy day at work, but extremely cathartic as we went through the basement and threw out of a bunch of things that we declared trash (the awkward wording brought to you by the fact that we're a town department and have a whole procedure for moving things on that are not trash). I was still in cleaning mode at home today, too, and I filled two boxes of books to donate to the Friends book sale. They start taking donations tomorrow and the sale starts next week, so things are going to be chaotic for awhile.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "Beauty and the Beat" by the Go Gos - There are only five albums in 1981 and I suddenly realized the other day that I'd forgotten to request the rest, so I may end up skipping ahead briefly to 1982 and Prince's "1999" which we had at the library where I work.

The listening report -

"Remain in Light" by the Talking Heads - The other album I listened to by Talking Heads was to rocking for my taste, and this was unsurprisingly so as well. My understanding is that several of the songs here were inspired by African rhythms. When my first request came in, what I actually received was a "Remain in Light" by Angelique Kidjo that came out in 2018, and was a reimagining by various artists of the original album. I was a bit more excited to try this one, but the protective stuff the lending library had put on it made it impossible to get into my car CD player, so I ended up returning it. The Talking Heads album was #39 on the list.

"Back in Black" by AC/DC - I... did not hate this. It's far too shouty for my taste, and yes, I did hate "Let Me Put My Love Into You". But I actually have heard the title song before. And "Hell's Bells" I immediately recognized and started laughing, because it's the song that they play at Giants stadium before every kickoff, starting off with ringing a huge bell on the field. I'm not saying I would go out of my way to listen again, and I certainly don't need any of those songs to be on the playlist that is my alarm clock in the morning, but after some of the heavier metal stuff, it was okay. I can appreciate it more than enjoy it. #84 on the list

"Damaged" by Black Flag - I hated this one instead. Very shouty, I didn't like his voice, and the music was just not enjoyable to listen to. #487 on the list

April in review -
55. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
54. The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard
53. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower
52. Platform Decay by Martha Wells
51. Raising Securely Attached Kids by Eli Harwood
50. Aya: Claws Come Out by Marguerite Abouet, illustrated by Clement Oubrerie
49. The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
48. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
47. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud
46. Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett
45. First-time Fostering by Laura the Foster Parent Partner

Books read: 11
Did not finish: 0
Rereads: 0
Children's/Teen/Adult: 0/1/10
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 9/2/0/0

Because I want to awards:
And now, sadly, I have to wait for the next book to be published - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 8 by Beth Brower
But I got to read this one early and it was SO GOOD! - Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Glad we read it, even if no one showed up to book group - The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
All the right vibes - The Bone Harp by Victoria Goddard

YTD stats-
Pages read: 14,742
Avg pages a day: 122
Books by authors of color: 15 (27.3%)
In translation: 6 (10%)
Indigenous authors: 2 (3%)
Countries of origin: US - 40 (72%); Canada - 7; France - 1; Brazil - 1; UK - 2; Japan - 2; India - 1; Cote d'Ivoire - 1
DNF: 2

Thoughts: Eleven books and again a slow down in my reading, but still my average numbers of pages read in a day is well above my usual (roughly 100 pages a day). This was a really excellent reading month of 4 and 4.5 star reads, no clunker in the bunch. I also started leaning into the foster parenting books I've been wanting to read, and got to a couple of novellas that are on my TBR list.

Happy Friday!
I'm working 9-5 and kiddo is off to school. I'll pick him up after and bring him to my parents' house for dinner, which gives me a nice break from cooking dinner. Today is the first day to drop off books at the library book sale AND a full moon so wish us luck for a smooth day! (This whole week has been pretty busy.)

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "Beauty and the Beat" by the Go Gos

I hope you survived your hectic Friday, Mary.

Wishing you a relaxed weekend!

>59 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! We survived. Yesterday was some busy (soccer game and plans with friends), but had a nice quiet space in the middle for some reading and relaxing. I... did not get as much reading done as I thought i would because the kiddo had a lot to say hahaha.

Happy Sunday!

We had a fairly busy day yesterday, though not quite so much as Friday. Kiddo had a soccer game, then we went home for lunch and had some downtime before heading out again for a get-together at a friend's house. We stayed out a little late, but not terribly so.

Today was church - I had toddler nursery - and afterwards, the kiddo really wanted a friend to come over, so I have two boys here for the afternoon. We stopped at a foster closet to drop off clothes and to see on the offchance if they had a size up in sneakers (they did not, but really he's fine and has plenty of options). Then came home for lunch, and some friends came by to fix his bed (the slats on the bunk liked to fall out until the whole thing was down, and he just screwed them all in) and take some flowers for their garden. They've left, and the boys are out digging a hole for a fort. I now have a little downtime, but I will get up soon to do laundry, bread to bake, and perhaps get a little cooking in before we head out around 5 to drop the friend off and go to our small group.

Reading/Listening: all the same

>61 bell7: Some kinda noise in the house, my friend, two pre-adolescent lads doing their dead-level best to break the sound barrier! Enjoy such peace as you can find.

>62 richardderus: they made a fort upstairs at one point and I definitely heard a lot of banging and goofiness. But most of the time they were outside, and I found it rather relaxing. Usually I'm trying to get everything done and carry on a conversation with an inquisitive and smart kid at the same time. Which, don't get me wrong, is also delightful, but sometimes a bit mentally taxing.

>63 bell7: It is very taxing. I'm with you there. Childcare is, no matter what you're doing. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I am so busy taking care of everyone, I don't have time for myself.

>64 The_Hibernator: There's definitely a mental load of wondering where he is and how he's doing throughout the day, as well as having to be "on" for various conversations. He's a really curious, inquisitive kid, has a lot to say, and is really good about advocating for himself. Since I'm single parenting, I've made a very deliberate effort to make time for myself in the schedule, but there are times when I get very tired for sure.

Having a friend over to have that playtime was great, though. They went outside most of the time, and I kept a general eye on them while cooking and getting the laundry done.

Duplicate post, so I'll just do a quick check in to say happy Monday, we are busy as always and I'm about to head out to pick him up and get him to soccer practice.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, and Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Listening: "1999" by Prince

Hoping you have a marvelous Monday, Mary!

>67 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia!

Good morning and happy Tuesday! We're both getting ready for the day. I'm eating breakfast and the kiddo's gotten ready super fast so he can get some screen time playing games before the bus comes. He'll go to school and I'll go to work, where I said I would help the Friends of the Library sort in the morning for their book sale. Then I'm leaving early to pick up the kiddo and go to an appointment, and we'll head back to the book sale to check out the Friends preview before the real madness begins tomorrow (I'm not working 'til noon that day, thank my lucky stars).

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews and Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey

Listening: "1999" by Prince

56. Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Why now? It fit last month's TIOLI challenge to read a book with "sky" in the title, and was available in digital copy from the library when I was looking for an e-book/audio combo; first put it on my TBR list after reading an article on "Debut Authors" from Booklist in 2021

>69 bell7: Hope you and the kiddo both discover some great finds at the book sale!

>71 MickyFine: ^^^what she said

>71 MickyFine: and >72 richardderus: Thanks, Micky and Richard!

Well, yesterday was fun. I was good, and got a few books that I think my brothers would like:

North Woods by Daniel Mason
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
James by Percival Everett
Erasure by Percival Everett
and a 25th anniversary edition of "Graceland" by Paul Simon, which I'll listen to first when I get to that in my Rolling Stones project, and then offer to my brother

I got a beautiful, gilt-edged edition of The Marvels by Brian Selznick for myself.

The kiddo found a couple of Percy Jackson books that he didn't own yet, a survival guide, a few books about birds, and a book about cats. He was more interested in reading the graphic novel he'd checked out than browsing through books, but we still left with a nice stack in the end.

Today is the first day of the regular sale, and the morning will be wild. I'm not working 'til noon, so I'm planning on meeting a friend to walk soon and then going in for the rest of a bananas day.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (this one being a reread for book club)

Listening: "Moving Pictures" by Rush

>74 bell7: It was a very restrained haul at the book sale, so you left many goodies for the normal people. That is, those who don't look at publishers' catalogs and think, "maybe if I put shelves in the shower...."

>75 richardderus: I usually go back for the bargain days - fill a bag for $3 - so watch this space. I've started primarily shopping for other people, and I find it's a good balance between having the fun of book shopping and supporting the Friends while also not adding to the piles of books that don't have shelves.

Happy Thursday!

I'm home sick with a cold today and hoping I can rest up to go to work and the library book sale tomorrow. The kiddo's off to school and wanted me to pick him up from aftercare at 4. Shrimp scampi for dinner, now that I've got the go-ahead to eat shellfish again.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Listening: "The Great Twenty-Eight" by Chuck Berry

The listening report -

"Beauty and the Beat" by the Go-Gos - The Wikipedia article on this describes it as a fusion of pop and punk. It wasn't really my thing, but I can appreciate both that the Go-Gos debut stood out style-wise in the early 80s, and also its influence on later bands (I couldn't help but think the Spice Girls wouldn't be the same without them). I recognized "We Got the Beat" as a song I've heard before. #400 on the list

"1999" by Prince - I'm jumping back and forth between 1982 and 1981 because a couple of the albums were hard to get. This album has many things I do not enjoy, from the electronic sound to the many songs about sex and relationships (but mostly sex). Apparently the title song is also about nuclear war and caution for the future, but I did not pick up on that with the actual listening (I can't always hear all the lyrics if I don't have them in front of me to read). I think I heard "1999" quite a bit, my guess is because I was of the age that it would have been playing at the roller skating rink right about that year when the line "I'm gonna party like it's 1999" was relevant. #130 on the list

"Moving Pictures" by Rush - Back to 1981. This was fine, I didn't love it but wouldn't object to hearing it again. I added the instrumental "YYZ" to my playlist. #379 on the list

Hi Mary! I'm trying to catch up with old LT friends. Are you tracking this music challenge anywhere? Music has become much more important in my life than books have, so I'd love to see what you've been listening to! :)

>79 Ape: Stephen! Good to see you. I was keeping track of it best with LT, but recently decided to make all my comments into a (ridiculously long) Google doc if you really want to peruse it.

Do you have a thread this year?

*duplicate post*

>78 bell7: The Go-Gos was one of the first bands I loved. Had this on cassette & just replaced it with a CD in the last two years. (I've been nostalgia buying for a while.)

Broke my "1999" cassette and finally replaced it and bought a greatest hits CD as well, right around the time Prince died.

>78 bell7: Pretty much the beginning of the end of my involvement in music; after Prince it became increasingly passive a pleasure for me. Something to play in the car's tape deck. Have a good weekend!

>78 bell7: I think my problem with Rush is the singing which I find a bit screechy and difficult to listen to for too many minutes. Musicianship is fine and dandy though.

Never much into Prince though I always recognized his talent and especially his undervalued guitar playing which was at times epic.

Have a great weekend, Mary.

>82 ReneeMarie: I think there are certain musicians/bands that just hit us at the right time, and there's nothing like nostalgia listening :)

>83 richardderus: It's often seemed to me that the height of our music listening is in high school and college. After that, my listening to pop kinda fell off, and while I appreciate some newer music there's nothing like the nostalgia of hearing something from my teenage days (even some stuff I didn't like at the time...).

>84 PaulCranswick: Interesting, isn't it, how personal our reactions can be to music? Much like any art, I suppose, written or otherwise expressed. Some I have better language for describing my reaction to than others.

Happy Saturday! I've already had my breakfast and coffee, made the bread dough and watered all the plants. We'll be leaving shortly for a dump run and soccer game. The plan for this afternoon is to watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (kiddo wants to go through one a weekend to watch them all).

I was off from work again on Friday, taking a sick day to try to get over my cold. I'm still coughing up phlegm but feeling loads better than I did on Wednesday night or Thursday.

Reading: This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews, Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

Listening: "The Great Twenty-Eight" by Chuck Berry

Crafting: some work on the wrap over the last few days

>85 bell7: It's a fact that many have studied; absent a deliberate effort to expand horizons, most of us gravitate towards one era/sound/purpose of musical expression. True, I observe, in all cultural production. Many, many readers silo themselves in genres or delivery systems that can harden into identities (fandoms, novella readers).

It worries me that it's so prevalent because that means it's deeply appealing.

>86 bell7: Glad to hear that you are feeling a bit better. Hopefully you will be over it soon!

I hope you and the kiddo have a super Saturday!

Sounds like a fun day for you and the kiddo.

I sent you a post over on Insta that I happened to run across today about studies on how our musical tastes solidify as a teen/early twenty something.

>85 bell7: >87 richardderus: >89 MickyFine: I may just be an outlier, then. I started listening to music in the late '70s, early '80s, and definitely enjoyed everything from soft rock to pop to rock to disco to alternative. In the late '80s I added some hip hop/rap to that. And I have all of those artists on 45s/cassettes/CDs to this day.

But I also grew up watching old movies on TV and adore the Big Band era of jazz and the music of WWII in particular. Maybe because of Grease and Happy Days I also love the music of the mid '50s through mid '60s, including the girl groups. I've seen Sha Na Na, the Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry in person. More cassettes and CDs.

And I love country, folk, blues, Cajun/zydeco, and international music. My parents listened to some country, and I listened to more of it on my own starting in the early '90s. Magazines like Dirty Linen and Songlines widened my exposure and that led me to seek out new artists. More cassettes and CDs.

I enjoy some classical music, especially Baroque and Slavic -- I like it peppy. But I also read a Deborah Crombie mystery that had me do a brief dive into classical church music, too.

I don't drive anymore so I hear less new music (no radio on the bus). But I watch a lot of The Voice clips from a lot of countries that have the show, and those performances have led me to a variety of newer artists.

About the only music I don't have favorites from are opera and really heavy metal.

Does all that make me unusual? Are there really not that many people who listen widely? Off to do some web searching...

ETA: I also worked at a living history museum and did some Civil War reenacting, and have a bunch of cassettes & CDs of modern groups performing music of the Civil War era. Okay, I think that's everything.

>90 ReneeMarie: Well, you’re not alone. I listen to a very wide variety - Americana one day, Renaissance the next. 😀

I’ve almost always got something going in my office while working, and it’s become a game for folks to stop by and see what’s on that day.

>91 drneutron: Ohh, early music. I have one or two of those CDs, as well.

You just reminded me of being on the phone with a fellow employee on the east coast and being asked what the heck I was listening to. They could hear Betty Hutton in the background singing "who who who who kicked the light plug out of the socket and kissed me while I stood in the dark." 😁

Arrrghh. Duplicate.

>90 ReneeMarie: It does make you unusual, Renee. It's a good way to be unusual but it definitely is not the ordinary attitude. In the 80s, I used to put on the Bulgarian women's choir if I wanted some alone time, it would clear the stubbornest crowd.

>94 richardderus: Clearly those people had no taste. I was unfamiliar, but went in search of them, wondering if it would be like klezmer music (forgot to mention I like klezmer, too). Not so much, but it's pretty.

https://youtu.be/zt0RsBxWMmc?si=-UnUd069AKxR0Spn

>95 ReneeMarie: Isn't it wonderful? All that Orthodox Church music meets the Turkish street music of the olden times!

>87 richardderus: Well, nostalgia hits for me at a certain year that I haven't gotten to in my listening (and I was much more of a pop/top 40 listener, so it'll be interesting to see what I make of the full albums even then), but I also still enjoy seeking out things that are new to me as well as listening to old favorites.

My book reading is, I acknowledge, much wider than the average reader's. I do have certain preferences, but I also get bored with reading too much of the same thing.

Actually, it's sort of interesting to observe that I purposely seek out novelty in both books and music, even though my taste is pretty well formed.

>88 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! It's been a busy but good weekend, and I'm feeling mostly better. Now I'm just coughing up the last of the congestion so I *sound* horrible but I feel good.

>89 MickyFine: That was truly beautiful timing hahaha. It's interesting, I think even looking at that post it's...complicated. My taste is solidified - I like a particular timbre of voice, I prefer acoustic guitar or piano or violins over a synthesizer, and I don't like bagpipes or anything that sounds "off" the note. I like nice harmony. But I still enjoy some novelty, even though sometimes that means exploring older music, like Miles Davis's jazz. And, as I was saying to Richard, there's a lot of my reading taste that was formed in a similar way. There's also something particularly nostalgic about the music I grew up on, some of which was my choice and some that definitely was not. All that to say, I guess I don't really have any answers, but it's fun to reflect on occasionally!

>90 ReneeMarie: I would wager a guess it does make you pretty unusual. One of my younger brothers is a musician and listens pretty widely. I'd say his genre of choice is classic rock, but he also loves Pearl Jam and listened to Rage Against the Machine when we were teenagers (I was *shocked* when I mentioned to him that I'd listened to Black Sabbath twice through and he said that was less than he had). I've listened to the pop of my era (late '90s, early '00s), Christian rock/pop, and I like some jazz and classical. I know the Beatles because my dad loved them, and enjoy Simon & Garfunkel and Carole King. One of the fun things about this project has been discovering some artists that I hadn't known prior (Miles Davis) or didn't expect to like (Led Zeppelin). It helps make up for the periods where I'm less enthusiastic about what I'm listening to. But I'm also very much a casual listener, I put it on in the car and I have music as my alarm in the morning, but don't tend to listen much aside from those times.

>91 drneutron: That's rather entertaining, Jim. I can't listen and concentrate on other things, unless it's a very particular type of instrumental music.

>92 ReneeMarie: I admit, that lyric would've confused me :D

>94 richardderus: Bulgarian...women's choir. Huh.
I have performed in choir, as an alto who had to learn my part entirely by ear (thank goodness for a choir director who would make a CD of himself playing the piano notes over the track so I could memorize it...).

>95 ReneeMarie: and >96 richardderus: Shall bookmark that to listen to at another time

Happy Sunday!

We had a nice day at church, then spent the afternoon visiting my parents. My sisters called her, one of my brothers came over when his kiddos were napping, and we all in all had a pleasant day. The kiddo's gotten into birding lately and went outside to see how close he could get to a bird if he was very quiet, and then we came home and he did the same. I baked the bread and finished a book, but overall was pretty beat after the busy weekend.

Reading: Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, The Incandescent by Emily Tesh, and Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

57. In Lonely Lands by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Continuing my read through Victoria Goddard's complete works, going about a book a month alongside Stasia

58. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
Why now? A work friend of mine who knows my reading taste well highly recommended it

>97 bell7: The irony(?) is that while I have always loved languages, unlike your brother I've never been able to learn the language of music. I can't read it. Never got past "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" in band, so gave up. I also can't sing well -- a "funny" coworker once asked me if I wanted a bucket ("to carry that tune in")...

>102 ReneeMarie: I am exceptionally slow at reading music, and though I taught my brother his first chords on the guitar, he eventually figured out more than I know for himself and I dropped the instrument entirely. I can carry a tune, but it's entirely by ear. That's awfully mean of your co-worker :(

Happy Monday! Kiddo's off to school, and I'm about to leave for work. It's my short day, but I have errands lined up, including going to the gym and stopping at the pharmacy before picking up the kiddo for soccer practice. Dinner will be salmon and potatoes.

Reading: Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, and Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley

Listening: Back to Chuck Berry today while driving around

>101 bell7: Thanks for that review -- I enjoyed Ilona Andrews' Sweep series, which is a bit gentler, from the sound of it. I may wait until the sequel comes out to read this one, since there's a cliffhanger.

>105 foggidawn: It's not the worst cliffhanger I've ever read, but if you're averse, reader beware... I was annoyed that it couldn't just have ended about two pages earlier to give a nicely wrapped-up story. If I'm invested in the story & characters, I'm still gonna read the next book even without you leaving me hanging!

>104 bell7: Chuck Berry is a massive talent I seldom hear discussed outside seriously musical peoples' circles. I don't really get why....

>107 richardderus: The music is quite entertaining, and I was surprised by the line that found itself into "Come Together" (I probably heard about Berry suing Lennon, but if so I'd forgotten). A couple of songs are pretty skeevy about teen girls though...

>100 bell7: I agree - not one of my favorites either, although I liked it a bit better than you did. I would hope that she would embellish the story at some point or tie it into one of her others somehow.

>108 bell7: "Skeevy about teen girls" pretty much describes the entire not-gay entertainment industry since 1950.

>107 richardderus: >108 bell7: >110 richardderus: And the skeeviness probably helps explain (with the legal problems/jail time) why he's not much spoken of. I asked Google. It also mentioned his hits being crammed into a brief period before prison.

And how inconsistent his performances were due to using local musicians rather than touring with his own band. The concert I saw -- late '80s in Milwaukee-- was painful at times. I mostly remember him forgetting his own songs.

>111 ReneeMarie: We tend to forgive and forget suchlike for other artists still yapped about, though, f/ex the Rolling Stones or Stevie Nicks.

I was way behind, Mary, but am now caught off. Sorry about the cold!

>109 alcottacre: I have a heard time with descriptive language since I don't really picture what I read clearly, so it was not a good fit for me. But I'm not sorry I read it.

>110 richardderus: Well yes, even the Beatles sang "she was just 17"

>111 ReneeMarie: I think we can't ignore the fact that he was a Black man performing in the 50s to mostly segregated audiences as part of why he isn't as well known today. Several musicians of the time were also not the most upstanding citizens, but were influenced by him and are better known (I was just looking at the Wikipedia page for "I Saw Her Standing There" and there's a quote from McCartney saying he essentially lifted one of Berry's bass riffs for the song). And it wouldn't be the first album I commented "didn't like the attitude towards women" in the songs, let alone personal life. I didn't know that about his live performances, though, and it's too bad the experience wasn't better for you.

>112 richardderus: Yup! Considering some of the lyrics I've heard from music of the '50s through the early '80s now, it's almost funny to me that we complain about sexual content in current songs as if this were a brand new phenomenon.

>113 katiekrug: Glad to see you, Katie! Thanks for the sympathy on the cold - thankfully I'm feeling loads better now, just a residual cough.

59. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
Why now? A BookPage review first put this on my radar, but I read it this month as a book nominated for the Hugo award

>114 bell7: I considered skin color, but it doesn't explain all of it. We may not think about Berry, Fats Domino, and Carl Perkins all the time. But I feel like Little Richard is a bit more visible, especially compared to Pat Boone (IYKYK). And there's Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, B. B. King, and Stevie Wonder, who I don't consider forgotten by the public at large. Of course, what's visible to me may not be visible to others.

>116 ReneeMarie: I didn't say it was all of it, but I don't think it can be entirely ignored, either, especially when Berry was at his peak in performances, it would have been to largely segregated audiences. Elvis and Little Richard had some overlap in the songs they sang, but I daresay Elvis was the better known by white audiences - and they are both excellent performers in their own rights. "Rock and Roll Music" and others of Berry's are well-known songs, but I certainly didn't know who it was by prior to listening to the compilation album.

The duplicate post gremlins continue, so I'll post a quick update here.

Thursday was busy, I had work and the kiddo had school. I got out a little early, and we had time to come home and have a quick bite to eat before heading out to a soccer game.

Reading: Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley, Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, and Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison (I really need to finish a book or two, because having this many going is driving me batty

Listening: I finished "Red" by Black Uhuru the other day and started "Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross

60. Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey
Why now? Foster kiddo's therapist recommended it to me as a book I could read on attachment disorders

61. Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley
Why now? Recommended by a former foster mom/advocate who posts on social media

May is Foster Care Awareness Month! I started following this author on Instagram as well, and she advocates for reading memoirs/books by former foster children who have themselves experienced care. For the month of May, she posting 31 recommendations of these books, so if this interests you at all, check out her recs too.

Two great reviews, Mary. Bless you for all that you're doing for that young man.

>121 kidzdoc: That's kind of you, Darryl, thank you. I figure this kiddo and any others I have in my home will benefit from everything I can learn. I have some required hours of courses I need to do to keep my licensing every year, which I've primarily been doing through a website with videos, but I should ask if there's a way to count any of the reading I've been doing as well (I think each state and/or agency is different in what they will count towards that).

Happy Monday! It's been awhile since I checked in, a few busy days strung in a row. Yesterday we went over a friend's and the kiddo got to go horseback riding for a bit (a friend of mine has a pair of horses and has been teaching him horsemanship). I had an all-day library conference today, so I had a lot of help before and after making sure he was taken care of before and after school, then got home right in time for dinner and bedtime routine. The conference was great, but I am pooped. We also called my nephew a day early because my birthday gift was "taunting him" and he said he couldn't wait. He was pretty happy with his Eagles shirt and a Super Bowl program that I'd found at a local consignment shop.

Reading: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, Three Bags Full by Lainie Swann and The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

Listening: It was a long car ride to the conference, so I finished "Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross, listened to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, and started "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen

Watching: We started Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban before the kiddo said partway through he'd had enough of screens (!) and needed to go outside; we watched "Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters" on Sunday after his horse time, and he treated us to the various difference between the movies and the books hahaha (I shouldn't laugh, I do the same thing with Harry Potter)

Crafting: I've picked up the wrap here and there

62. Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison
Why now? It was mentioned in This Is How You Lose the Time War, and decided I should read this novella too

>122 bell7: You're welcome, Mary. That's a great idea to see if the reading you've been doing counts toward your licensing requirements.

>124 bell7: ...I'd completely forgotten it existed. I read it in high school because a girl I knew back then loved fantasy novels and raved about it. (She also loved The Duncton Moles series, so there's that.) I'll go hunt up a copy to see if it still rings bells. Sending hugs to y'all...and yay for your discerning young man who understands the differences between book story and film story. Now to develop the discernment part and mitigate the judgmental part....

>125 kidzdoc: Even if it doesn't, it's been helpful for me, which is the most important thing!

>126 richardderus: Somehow I'm not surprised it's one you're familiar with. I'll be interested in your thoughts should you decide to revisit it, and at least it's short if it doesn't live up to your expectations.
Indeed discerning/judgmental is always a difficult balance to impart, and Harry Potter will have multiple conversations no matter how we imbibe the story. It's very interesting talking with a kiddo who can go from very deep to very much not within seconds, but we've had some great conversations over the last few months, and it's fascinating to me to see how another's brain works. Recently, for example, we discussed what Caste was about since I'm (re)reading it for book club, and he agreed that there's definitely a caste system in place, and mentioned that in every school system he's been in the most popular kid is always white. It wasn't the only way we talked about it, but I found it interesting how he related to the idea.

Happy Tuesday!
Work and school for us both today, wrapping up a little early as we had an appointment to get to. There's a heat wave, so I've got the AC working overtime and a fan upstairs trying to cool things off prior to bedtime. (Wish us luck) Tonight's a quiet night at home, and it'll be the only one of the week, so I'm looking forward to it.

Reading: Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann and The Ornithologist's Guide to Love by India Holton

Listening: "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen

>127 bell7: ...mentioned that in every school system he's been in the most popular kid is always white. It wasn't the only way we talked about it, but I found it interesting how he related to the idea.

It's clear he's not only intelligent but perceptive. I'm so glad you have each other to communicate with.

Naomi Mitchison has a lot of books to explore and, now I'm reminded of her, I wish I'd started reading her sooner.

>128 bell7: I remember thinking that Nebraska was a decent album, Mary, but I cannot remember a single track!

>124 bell7: That one has been in the BlackHole forever. I really need to find a copy of it at some point. Thanks for the reminder, Mary.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

>129 richardderus: Yes, incredibly perceptive and whip smart. Glad I could return an author to your radar and hope you enjoy your foray!

>130 PaulCranswick: It feels like a bit of a throwback album, Paul, there's a lot of harmonica and I felt like I was back in Bob Dylan '60s time after listening to the more psychedelic 80s stuff.

>131 alcottacre: I hope you're able to track down a copy, Stasia! There were only 2 copies in my library system.

Holy heat wave, folks! It's Wednesday, the kiddo's at school and I'm working 12-8. I usually meet a friend to walk, but it didn't work out this morning so I have a few things on my to-do list, primarily getting ready for a birthday get-together, but also finishing my book club book for, um, tonight. We should get a thunderstorm tonight and clear out the hot weather for a few days. Meanwhile, the window AC in the living room is valiantly attempting to keep the whole house cool. There's no easy way for me to put an AC in the second floor, so one of the things on my to-do list today is seeing if I can find a big box fan to assist in that endeavor.

Reading/Listening: same as yesterday

>133 bell7: Have you tried one of those portable air conditions? They don't require you to secure them in the window …just a hose that blows the hot air out. May be an option although they can be a bit noisy.

We had a two day heat event and now its back to below seasonal weather.

>134 figsfromthistle: that's probably my next step, if I can get one with a hose and cord that fits the space. Actually, I might be able to ask one of my coworkers to measure hers out and I'll compare to an upstairs bedroom to see if it works

63. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
Why now? My book club read it for this month - it was a reread, after reading it in 2022 also for book club, but with a completely different make up of readers

Book club tonight was me and two men, one of whom has been a regular this year and the other who came for the first time - after several years of having only other women in my book group, it's been quite the dynamic shift (I'm still the youngest by decades, however). It was interesting to me rereading Caste four years apart with two different presidents in power; different things stood out to me this time around, especially when she talked about "backlash" in the caste system and election results. I will say this time, I thought she gave the indigenous peoples short shrift in not addressing their place in the lower castes in the U.S. Worthwhile reread, and good discussion all around.

I spent the morning getting the grill set up (I bought it a few years ago and left it in the box in the basement), and went grocery shopping. While I was out, I looked at fans but it wasn't much more to buy a full AC and a special extension cord meant specifically for ACs, so that's the route I went. I didn't have time to set it up, but it's already cooled off some and we have windows open upstairs to help.

The listening report -

Whew, I have a few to catch up on so this might be a little long, but here we go...

"The Great Twenty-Eight" by Chuck Berry (1982) - As soon as I put this in, I could tell it was a throwback album, and indeed it's a greatest hits of recordings made primarily in the 1950s. Berry has a nice sound and is a talented musician, but overall I was less than enthused about the lyrics about women, with some really creepy ones in there gazing at underage girls. Still, "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B. Goode" are classics and made the playlist. #51 on the list

"Red" by Black Uhuru (1981) - This one had to be requested from the library outside of our local system. There are only eight tracks in this reggae album, and it was fine but also a little repetitive to me after awhile. #466 on the list

"Never Too Much" by Luther Vandross (1981) - finishing out 1981 (I'm including the years right now because I've had to overlap a little bit in the early 80s since there are only about 5 albums a year and they're not always arriving from the library in chronological order).This was his debut album after singing backup for a bunch of other famous folks. The music is very 80s pop, his voice is beautiful, and it was all relationship songs. #362 on the list

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson (1982) - A bit of a disco sound on a couple of songs, but getting a little more pop/rock. I'm not a huge fan of his sound, but it was groundbreaking and influential. This one includes some of his best known tracks, including the title track and "Billie Jean". It also features a duet with Paul McCartney, which surprised me. #12 on the list

"Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen (1982) - this sounded like a bit of a throwback and reminded me of Bob Dylan in the 60s with all the harmonica. It was fine, enjoyable background listening without really grabbing me. #150 on the list

"Avalon" by Roxy Music (1982) - thus endeth 1982, with my first "sophisti-pop" album. I don't love it. Too much synthesizer and production for my taste, and I wasn't a fan of the percussion style either. #336 on the list

On to 1983!

Happy Saturday! We're rolling into the 3-day weekend with a fair amount on our plates. Yesterday we had some folks over for the first cookout I've ever had (I still have to clean out the charcoal from the grill, ugh), and this morning we got up early enough to go out to breakfast with my family. We'll be going out again in a couple of hours for the kiddo to go fishing with a friend.

Reading: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann and An Immense World by Ed Yong

Listening: "Synchronicity" by the Police

>136 bell7: I still need to get to that one. Wilkerson's The Warmth of Other Suns was excellent. Thanks for the reminder, Mary!

I hope you and M have a super Saturday!

>140 alcottacre: well worth reading, Stasia, and I hope you're able to fit it in soon!

>141 bell7: Fitting it in is always the dilemma, isn't it?

>142 alcottacre: Yep! In fact, just yesterday I brought my whole stack of library books into work to do a "return, keep borrowing, put a new hold on" triage because I'm running out of time on them all. I'll probably have to do it again next week.

>143 bell7: Believe me when I say that I know how that goes!

>138 bell7: I'd imagine there's a whole lot more synthesizer awaiting in your 80s listening. Godspeed. 😆

Sounds like your long weekend is off to a great start!

>144 alcottacre: I'm sure you do! It's nice to be among a bunch of readers who get it haha

>145 MickyFine: There are... :::sigh:::
At least most of the 80s only has about 5-6 albums a year instead of the 11-15 I had during the 70s.

It's been a busy weekend, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine tomorrow. We had a good time today, though, we went to an event nearby that included some folks giving play sword lessons, and the kiddo was very excited to find out they have a sleepaway camp. Not sure that will really happen this summer, but we took a brochure in any case, and I'll add it to my list of places that could be potential camps for foster kids.

Reading: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann (hoping to finish this today or tomorrow) and An Immense World by Ed Yong

Listening: haven't been able to put "Synchronicity" in over the last few days, but I'll get back to it tomorrow

>138 bell7: After listening to the title track on "Avalon," the rest really falls into the "...what else ya got?" category for me. Plus now, knowing Bryan Ferry is the...person...he is, I'm not likely to mourn your lack of fandom for it.

Happy early-summer beauty, hope that a/c gets in soon because it looks like you'll be needing it.

>147 bell7: I haven'r listened to it in years (decades?), but there was a time I knew every song on "Synchronicity." I'm almost afraid to listen to it now - what if I hate it, lol?

ETA: Well, I still know all the lyrics to "Murder By Numbers' because it ran through my head while posting and after. That's a bit frightening....

>148 richardderus: Can't say I know much about any of the band members, but I'm not much inclined to try any more of it so *shrug*.

>149 Dejah_Thoris: Amazing what can stick in our heads, no? I recognized "Every Breath You Take" and find it incredibly creepy.

64. The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton
Why now? I've been purchasing this series for the library and decided to try it out when the e-book was available to borrow

65. Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
Why now? Read with my librarian group for a book with animal protagonists

66. Aya: Face the Music by Marguerite Abouet
Why now? I started the Aya series last year and wanted to get fully caught up

Happy Wednesday! I'm off shortly to meet a couple of friends to go hiking, and then I'm working 12-8. Kiddo's off to school for his regular schedule.

>154 bell7: Wednesday orisons, Mary. "Every Breath You Take" is one of the most misunderstood songs in pop culture, according to the guy who wrote it. As is "Don't Stand So Close to Me." I still get a little queasy at that one. Enjoy your hike!

>151 bell7: Oh I'm delighted to see the quirky voice of that series appealed to you. I'm pretty fond of both books that are out so far and looking forward to the third.

>155 richardderus: Yeah, I looked up the song because I wanted to see if the lyrics were as creepy as I thought and found that the writer himself said the same thing...

>156 MickyFine: I've purchased the first three for our library, and it seems like it would be right in the wheelhouse of the folks who have been reading cozy fantasy and romantasy lately - if I can just get the right people to read them and recommend them to others! Is the third not out for you? We have three... (and it looks like she's written at least two other series, too, I may have to check those out)

Happy Friday!

Whew, this week has flown by... work has been really good the last couple of days, I've been able to work on a couple of local history projects and cleaned off my desk a little. We're looking to digitize our last 3 rolls of microfilm - one is a copy of a Revolutionary War diary and the other, the Town Clerk's book from hundreds of years ago. I have much more energy to do at-home things after work when it's light out like it is, and yesterday I weeded all around the tulips (they've passed, but there was a ton of grass in the patch) and put in mulch. I'm SUPER happy with the results, and now I'm feeling motivated to get marble chips and put them out under the yew bushes... There's always a TON of stuff to do in the gardens and it's overwhelming in the best of times.

Kiddo's been doing well in school and keeping busy with activities. We have a soccer game and some errands to run tomorrow, and then Sunday we'll be doing a fun activity after church.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields and An Immense World by Ed Yong

Listening: "Murmur" by R.E.M.

Watching: tomorrow it'll be Goblet of Fire

>157 bell7: I just missed that the third book had come out in April. Nice surprise for me. 😊

Have a grand weekend!

>158 bell7: I love "Murmur", so I hope you enjoy it!

>158 bell7: hugs...hurting. sleep now

>159 MickyFine: Excellent - those kinds of surprises are the best!

>160 Dejah_Thoris: I've found it rather enjoyable listening overall, especially after a couple of albums that weren't to my musical taste at all.

>161 richardderus: *hugs* and *smooches* back, hope you got some good rest over the weekend!

Happy Sunday! We've got a fun-filled day today and I'm going to try very hard not to overextend myself (wish me luck...). Church in the morning, then we're going to make a quick trip to a foster closet to drop off clothes and see if we can find him pants and/or shorts that he'll wear (telling him he wasn't allowed to wear exclusively sweatpants to school did not go well yesterday, any parents want to weigh in and let me know if this is an expectation far outside the norm now?). We'll stop at home for lunch, then meet up with one of his school friends to do an escape room. He has youth group and I have small group in the evening.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields and An Immense World by Ed Yong (I should finish the latter today)

Listening: "Murmur" by R.E.M.

Watching: we got partway through Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and took a pause, we'll probably finish it sometime next weekend

Today is going to be a little less hectic, as I need a recovery day after yesterday's events. So no gym for me. I'm working 9-2, have a few things at home to catch up on, and will pick up the kiddo and go off to soccer practice.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields and Exit Lane by Erica Veurink

Listening: "Murmur" by R.E.M.

Oh, and for those of you following along with the listening project, you may be interested in learning that "Beauty and the Beat" is now in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress. The article has more info, including the fact that the band themselves weren't so happy with the album production at the time.

67. An Immense World by Ed Yong
Why now? BookPage first put this on my radar, but I read it this month because it fit a TIOLI challenge and the e-book and audio were available through the library

I didn't put it in my review, but I'd just like to note that I read it as an e-book, and it had the absolutely best way of handling notes I've ever experienced. When you clicked on the number, it would pop up with the note taking up never more than half the page, and you could scroll up to read the whole note and either click on the link at the bottom to go to all the notes, or tap back on the page to go back to reading and close it. The notes were at the end of each chapter, and there was a link at the very top to "Skip Notes" and go right to the next chapter.

May in review
67. An Immense World by Ed Yong
66. Aya: Face the Music by Marguerite Abouet
65. Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann
64. The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton
63. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
62. Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison
61. Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley
60. Parenting Children of Trauma by Marcy Pusey
59. The Incandescent by Emily Tesh
58. This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews
57. In Lonely Lands by Victoria Goddard
56. Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

Books read: 12
Did not finish: 0
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 0/0/12
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 8/4/0/0

Because I want to awards:
Fascinating science book - An Immense World
Double-duty reread for book club and still just as good - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Challenged & encouraged me in foster care - Simply Neglect by Lainie Hartley

YTD stats-
Pages read: 18,037
Avg pages a day: 118
Books by authors of color: 19 (28.4%)
In translation: 6 (9%)
Indigenous authors: 2 (3%)
Countries of origin: US - 44 (66%); Canada - 9; France - 1; Brazil - 1; UK - 5; Japan - 2; India - 1; Cote d'Ivoire - 2; Germany - 1; New Zealand - 1
DNF: 2

Thoughts: Another strong reading month, and my US reading has gone down some as I read more books from Canadian and UK authors, plus one each from Cote d'Ivoire, Germany, and New Zealand. I haven't been super intentional about reading outside of the US like I was last year, but I'm still keeping a variety and reading some books in translation, which pleases me. My percentage of authors of color ticked up slightly, and I'd love to see that percentage get even higher.

The nonfiction reads this month were really a standout bunch. And I'm surprised to see I managed as many as I did with a third being nonfiction, and all adult books. I'm matching the pace I was reading in 2020 with 67 books read by the end of May, which is wild to me and I make no promises to keep up this pace (in fact, my pages read has been slowly decreasing each month).

>165 bell7: Great book isn't it? and the features you describe on the e-book sound very helpful.

>165 bell7: I have the physical book on my TBR shelf -- need to get to it soon, as every review I read is glowing.

>167 RebaRelishesReading: It was excellent, I recommended it to someone at the library today, though she'd already read it. And I thought the notes feature was simply genius - so simple, but that's the first book I've had that was that seamless.

>168 foggidawn: I hope you get the chance to wedge it in soon, but I know the struggle with fitting in books one actually owns instead of library books with due dates...

Happy Tuesday! I worked 'til 3, kiddo went to school, and then we had an appointment to go to. I made myself southwest quinoa salad and the kiddo had a Ramen cup since I was almost positive he would hate the meal, but I like having options where we don't have to heat up a meal at this time of year. We had a quiet evening and took a nice long walk after dinner.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields, Exit Lane by Erika Veurink and Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic

Listening: Finished "She's So Unusual" by Cyndi Lauper and started "Run-D.M.C."

The listening report -

"Synchronicity" by The Police - This one's already faded into the background for me. There was nothing that stood out as particularly good or awful. I recognized "Every Breath You Take" which is basically from the perspective of a stalker and not romantic at all, just saying. At #159 on the list, it's the highest rated 1983 album

"Murmur" by R.E.M. - R.E.M.'s debut was just behind it at #165 on the list, but I liked it a lot better. Hard to know if it was a relief after so much synth, or if it was something I'd gravitate towards in a vacuum. Soundwise, the middle of the album was my favorite with "Talk About the Passion," "Moral Kiosk" (though I couldn't really make out the lyrics, and reading through them now it's kinda...hmmm...), and "Perfect Circle". I get the impression that their style developed over the years, so it'll be interesting to listen to "Automatic for the People" in 1992 and see what I think of it.

"She's So Unusual" by Cyndi Lauper - I recognized "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Time After Time" from radio play. I'm not really a fan of her vocals, which are pretty nasally/whiny to my ear. And again, the synth-pop of the 80s is just not my style. I was done after one listen-through. #184 on the list

Edited to add - I'm officially past the halfway point, as "Murmur" was album #250 according to my notes.

Happy June, Mary!

I will also be interested to see what you think of "Automatic for the People," as that was a seminal album for me in my teens. Certain songs still bring back very vivid memories.

The kiddo must be almost done with school? Now to keep him busy all summer... ;-)

>172 katiekrug: Music is pretty amazing that way, isn't it? The albums I was listening to as a teen were primarily Christian rock/pop, but I was fairly familiar with radio Top 40-type hits plus whatever my brother happened to be into at the time, so I'm looking forward to listening to the full albums from that era and seeing what I think. The kiddo's last day of school is coming up in a couple of weeks. I took off some time at the beginning and end of summer, and just signed a voucher to cover his summer camps. But yeah, I told him we needed to start a summer bucket list and I'll be talking with some folks to make some plans, especially for day trips on the weeks I've taken off.

If you are thinking about day trips, don't forget all the historical sites in MA. When I moved to Alabama, I found that many of the people who lived there hadn't been to as many of the historic sites as I had. So, take advantage of going local.

I am in the process of planning 2 day trips with a friend. The problem is that we can't decide on a date to do the first one.

>174 benitastrnad: Yes, there are a lot of options! Some history is of interest to him, but I also need to be careful not to bore him, so it'll be a balancing act of what we enjoy doing.

Happy Wednesday!

I mentioned the other day that I was feeling motivated to get some marble stones to put under the yew bushes. Well, I finally found some this morning and bought tomato plants to boot. The marble... does not go very far. I got a little more than half of it done and need to buy probably 4 more bags to "finish" the job (I... did not give it as much cover as it says to, but it looks acceptable which is close enough) and I'm not going to bother to do that until possibly this weekend. We'll see what I feel like. But the half I did looks good. I'll put the tomato plants in tomorrow, probably.

I was going to have a meeting this morning with some librarian friends, but either the URL I had was wrong or it got rescheduled and I didn't get the email (from work) because I was at home. So, I had a little extra time and energy to make some phone calls and schedule some appointments.

I'm going to have something for lunch and then head to work 12-8. Kiddo's at school and my folks will bring him to soccer, so we'll both have full days.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields, Exit Lane by Erika Veurink and Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic

Listening: "Run-D.M.C." by Run-D.M.C.

>171 bell7: Essentially you are reminding me, Mary, how consistently woeful much of the music was in the 1980s.
British and Irish music did have some praiseworthy entries though in 1983:

The Hurting by Tears for Fears
Soul Mining by The The
War by U2
High Land, Hard Rain by Aztec Camera
The Crossing by Big Country
Working With Fire and Steel by China Crisis
Punch the Clock by Elvis Costello
and even
True by Spandau Ballet.

>177 PaulCranswick: If I liked the sound of a synthesizer or electronic music, I'd be more in my element, Paul. As it is, I'm breezing through these years because I'm finished with an album after listening to it once through more often than not. I have listened to another Elvis Costello album and will be listening to U2, but not 'til 1987 with "Joshua Tree".

Edited to correct my spelling

Speeding through the week and it's Thursday already. We have a quieter day today, thank goodness. I'm working 9-5, kiddo's at school, and after dinner we will most likely have a quiet night and only venture out to go to the local library, if we decide to do so. I want to plant my new tomato plants, but that's it.

Reading:
An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields - I've been reading this in small sittings, and keep putting it aside for other books. I think it's a mood mismatch, but we'll see if I progress better after finishing a couple of books I'm further in already.

Exit Lane by Erika Veurink - is really irritating me, actually. I probably should've known when the blurb said "When Harry Met Sally" (a movie I've never watched) meets "Normal People" (a book I hated), it was most likely not going to be for me. But now I have less than 50 pages left of 200 so I'm going to finish it today.

Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic - is EXACTLY what I wanted to be reading right now. It's part memoir, part exploration on d/Deaf culture, part reflection on motherhood and adoption. True Biz first put their writing on my radar, and this has cemented that I'll read anything they write.

Listening: I'll finish up "Run-D.M.C." today with one listen through, as hip-hop is not really my taste.

>177 PaulCranswick:, >178 bell7: PC! You startle me! No Dave Edmunds? Not even "Slipping Away" or "The Watch On My Wrist" from Information? Synths but not repellently overproduced. (Mary, Edmunds made some good albums in the 1970s, and participated in Rockpile in 1980 an excellent collaborative album, IMO worth looking into.)

>180 richardderus: I have occasionally liked synths, to be fair. I like Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas music (though in my defense, at this point some of it is nostalgia because my dad played them All. The. Time. when I was a kid, regardless of the season).

I will have to add Dave Edmunds to my "To Listen" list which blessedly is still shorter than my TBR list, but is still a good couple of years' worth of albums.

68. Exit Lane by Erica Veurink
Why now? I don't remember. Something put it on my radar and I requested it knowing I was going to be reading novellas this year, but I cannot remember where I first heard of it

Sadly my first book finished in June is also my lowest rated of the year so far

I'm happy to report that my local library now has all (so far) of the Emma M Lion books available to borrow, or at least they would be if they weren't all checked out. >151 bell7: You reminded me of India Holton's books. I've read two and now have the third on hold.

Interesting discussion about music preferences. I liked the rock music which I was exposed to growing up but my father made us listen to classic music at Sunday dinner (we had to be quiet.) Then my ex was a musician into country music so I listened to a lot of that too. So I think our preferences can depend on what we are exposed to. Although after all that exposure, my preference is for the blues.

>183 Familyhistorian: Yes, I think I can trace my preferences in many ways to what I was exposed to. The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel influenced how I want to hear harmonies, I listened to "Tapestry" by Carole King quite a bit when I was little and it's still a great album to me. I couldn't entirely pinpoint why acoustic guitar, piano, and strings are preferences in instruments, but they are. And my parents didn't listen to a lot of 80s music 'cause they didn't like it. My parents didn't really listen to jazz, though, so my enjoying Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Alice Coltrane is all my own. (And something I'd love to explore more after this project is complete)

And I really hope you enjoy the Emma M. Lion books! It's so fun to see their popularity increasing.

Happy Friday! It's nice to know we're heading into the weekend soon. Today kiddo's got field day at school and I am working 9-5. Dinner will be easy-peasy heating up frozen apps from Trader Joe's, and we don't have anything in particular we need to do tonight. I planted the tomatoes yesterday and despair at all the yard and garden work that should be done this summer but I know I won't have the time and energy. Tomorrow we have some errands to run and I would like to think of something fun to do, but it will probably be a fairly low key day. Sunday will be busier, but we'll each have our own plan, as I'm hanging out with my Little and he's going fishing with my dad.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields, Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic and Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar

Listening: "Power, corruption & lies" by New Order

I'm glad to see your appreciation for Alice Coltrane's music, Mary! She is grossly underrecognized in comparison to her husband John, or Miles Davis.

ETA: I'm listening to "Ptah, the El Daoud" by Alice Coltrane on Spotify now.

>186 kidzdoc: I first heard her when I was reading This Is What It Sounds Like, and Alice Coltrane was used as an example of novelty in experimental jazz, and discovered I really liked a lot of her music. As a result, her "Journey in Satchidananda" was one of the handful of albums in the Rolling Stones list that I had listened to before starting this current music project. "The Sun", "Triloka" and "Walk With Me" are all on my Spotify playlist.

I do think my next musical project is going to be a deep dive into jazz, both working through Miles Davis's albums in chronological order and also getting to know more about the artists and styles that were popular through the decades.

69. Mother Tongue: A Memoir by Sara Novic
Why now? I was in the mood and it was available at the library

Note: most of the articles and the author bio use she/her for Sara Novic, but their website says "they", so that's the pronoun I'm going with in my review.

>187 bell7: That sounds like a great book, Mary. I love "Journey in Satchidananda," and I just finished listening to "Ptah, the El Daoud" in its entirety for the first time, which is just as good.

My taste in jazz has definitely matured over the 40+ years that I've been listening to it intently. It took me a while to appreciate music by artists who I now consider my favorites, including Ornette Coleman, Cecil Taylor, Eric Dolphy and others. Alice's music was too far out for me, but it resonates deeply in me now. The great thing about jazz is that there are untold hundreds of great musicians and thousands of their recordings over the past 50+ years that have been kept in archives such as Spotify.

I'm currently reading Time Come: Selected Prose by the Jamaican born British dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson, which is a collection of his essays, music reviews and other articles he wrote during his 50+ year career. I've read two of his poetry collections and attended an author interview which he led in Foyles bookshop in London, but I've never read any of his reviews or essays. The section I'm currently reading discusses the origins of reggae music, which started out as Caribbean calypso, followed by rocksteady, ska, Caribbean reggae and international reggae, which was made popular across the world by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Toots & the Maytals, and others. This book will serve as an introduction to these early musicians and their recordings, as Johnson writes album reviews for music and cultural magazines in the UK. I think I could listen to one new album for each day of the next 30 years, and still not exhaust the music that I'd like to listen to!

>189 kidzdoc: That sounds like a great book, too, Darryl. I've listened to some reggae over the course of this project, and it would be interesting to read his take on the history and music.

Here comes the weekend! I'm taking a little bit of a lazy morning today, planning on watching the French Open final rather than rushing about immediately. I do have some errands to run, and we decided we'd like to take a walk at a local reservoir and go birding, but it will be mostly a low key day.

Reading: An Arcane Study of Stars by Sydney J. Shields, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz

Listening: "How Will the Wolf Survive" by Los Lobos

Happy Saturday, Mary. Finally stumbling my way over here. Hooray for An Immense World. I sure like his writing. I see you are hanging in there with your musical adventure. Good for you. I have finally reached the "Z"s in my CD collection.

Glad to hear that the kiddo is into birding and they you are supporting it. Is he keeping a Life List? Is he using the Merlin app?

>188 bell7: Koto Endo, Japan's top ping pong player, is deaf and works with the deaf olympics.

Though easy to find online,
he also continues to work as a Toyota mechanic,
despite Marty Supreme fame.

>187 bell7: If you want the farthest out creative music jazz reaches, online has many connections to Roscoe Mitchell,
once acclaimed the "world's greatest living saxophone player."

>192 msf59: Good to see you, Mark! I have read both of Ed Yong's books and really enjoyed them. Nice job getting through your CD collection! Oddly, it's been a couple of years since I've listened to one of my own because of the project on which I've embarked haha. I have the Merlin app on my phone, so we've been using that and it's how he's become so proficient at figuring out bird song. I found an Aububon list that I printed out for him to start a Life List. And we saw a broad-winged hawk this morning while waiting for the bus! (a Lifer for him, FOY for me, but only the second time I've seen one).

>193 m.belljackson: >194 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne, I'll make a note of both to look it up.

Happy Monday! We had a pretty busy day yesterday to close out the weekend. Today should be a little less so. He's got school and plans afterwards. Sleep hasn't been great this past week, so I'll see what I have energy for, but I have my stuff to go to the gym and a grocery pickup scheduled for this afternoon as well. Supper will be simple tonight, a sheet pan of salmon and veggies. And my car is in the shop - I was hoping for just a headlight change, but I drove with the e-brake on awhile back and wanted them to double check that everything was alright for me. I haven't heard back from the shop yet so it looks like it was the more involved fix *eyeroll* - we'll see how that impacts the rest of my plans as well!

Reading: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar and The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz (I think I've decided to DNF An Arcane Study of Stars for now, just a mood mismatch)

Listening: "Purple Rain" by Prince

Watching: over the weekend, I was able to watch the women's final of Roland Garros

Crafting: finished the knitting part of the wrap and just need to block it and weave in all those dang ends

Good morning! Both the kiddo and I were up and ready to go on the early side today, so we are currently sitting with our devices before we have to leave for the day. He's got school, I've got to get out and vote in local elections and then go to work. I'll be leaving a little early to pick him up for an evening soccer game. And that will be our day.

Reading/Listening, etc: all the same

>180 richardderus: No RD, I do like Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe for that matter but I was referring specifically to 1983 and Slipping Away was a good song on a not spectacular album. Could have made it though had I added another couple of albums.

>197 bell7: It's an epidemic. I was up at 5.30 instead of the more ordinary 6.30 and felt perfectly ready for my day to begin. I won't hesitate to nap if necessary, since I have that luxury.

Have a lovely time with your pleasantly busy, beautiful summer day.

>198 PaulCranswick: OIC! Shoulda known you'd like it if it was good.

>200 richardderus: We don't agree on poetry often, RD, but in music terms we are much more attuned. Pun intended.

>201 PaulCranswick: Simon Armitage is, IIRC, our strongest point of contact about poets and their effluvia. Musically we're in the same generation and largely the same politics, so it's more likely innit.
***
Wednesday orisons, Mary!

>198 PaulCranswick:, >200 richardderus:, etc. - I'm enjoying your musical affinity, but have little to add there, I'm afraid. I haven't yet reached my era of music.

>199 richardderus: Oof, yeah, I don't have the luxury of napping but I did end up skipping the gym. (I'm actually looking forward to getting back to it on Monday, if I'm honest.)

Happy Wednesday, all! I'm headed out to work soon, after a busy morning of emails and hiking with a friend. Last night was a rough sleeping night, but I am functional and kiddo's at school ready for his regular schedule. We're counting down the days 'til summer vacation and starting to plan some day trips, as I'm taking some time off from work before summer camps start up. The rest of the week should be pretty busy, but I'm intentionally keeping Sunday free for now so we can get some needed downtime.

Reading: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz, and Securely Attached: How Understanding Childhood Trauma Will Transform Your Parenting by Michael and Kristin Berry

Listening: "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

Crafting: yesterday I started blocking the wrap, and then I just have ALL the ends to weave in, as it's got stripes...

>204 bell7: Blocking and worsening vision are what knocked my knitter/sister out of the craft.

"Born in the USA"! I really think that was a before-and-after moment in US musical culture. That music video is burned on my brain, and I didn't even have a TV let alone cable.

>205 richardderus:
I would agree with that RD. (About Born in the USA.) What an album! I was in college and different songs from that album were everywhere. I remember it more than Madonna and yet, I know that they were both huge at the same time.

>202 richardderus: Indeed dear fellow.

>203 bell7: What a polite way of pointing out that we are older than you are, Mary!

>205 richardderus: Changes in eyesight while I was knitting and reading made me hyperaware of the fact that I needed progressives months before I got to the doctor. Not the same thing, I know, but your sister has my sympathies. I bought a blocking kit of interlocking foam squares and pins that have been an absolute gamechanger for blocking, however. And yeah, I can appreciate the cultural touchstone moment that was "Born in the USA". I recognized a couple of singles for sure.

>206 benitastrnad: >207 PaulCranswick: I will refrain from pointing out how old I was when "Born in the USA" came out, but for what it's worth, I was alive lol.

Happy Thursday! The work week is winding down and so is the school year, we're counting down final days and then have a week and a half vacation of day trips and fun. Some things are planned, but I want to sit down and map out our plan for each day soon.

While waiting for the bus today, we saw a black bear cross the road just down the street from us. It was small enough I think it might have been a year-old cub, but wow, I was not looking for confirmation that our suet feeder had disappeared from the yard because of a bear. I won't be putting out new bird seed for some time now.

Work will be busy today, my boss and I are going to move a bench in memory of a former children's librarian to a more prominent place in the library grounds, and there's a staff meeting this afternoon before I have time on the desk and then leave early to pick up the kiddo. We're going to a school STEAM night that he's attended in the past and is very excited to go to again. Sleeping has been really tough this week (a combination of the heat and stress), so we're both pretty tired and may sleep in on Saturday.

Reading: same as >204 bell7: plus forgot to mention that I'm rereading Hatchet because the kiddo wants me to read to him before bed to help fall asleep

Listening: "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

>209 bell7:
Hatchet is a great read aloud. Back in the day (after college and Born in the USA) I would book talk that novel. And then there are the sequels. And other books by Gary Paulsen.

>209 bell7: Ahead full steam into the good bits of the summer!

>209 bell7: happy Thursday, Mary! I'd be uncomfortable with a bear walking around that close to me. I know black bears rarely attack, but wild animals are unpredictable.

Sorry your sleep has been bad. That is vital.

Have fun on vacation!

>209 bell7: Wow, bear sighting! My brother and sister-in-law used to live in an area with black bears; they had to use chains to keep their outdoor trash cans closed and secure.

>204 bell7: I'm not sure if there's an equivalent for knitting, but I recently learned about envelope borders for crochet that basically let's you hide all your ends inside the border without having to weave them in.

Wishing you a restful weekend and better sleep!

>210 benitastrnad: Gary Paulsen's writing style isn't my favorite (I find it very repetitive) and I'm not really one for survival stories. But the kiddo loves it (and everything survival), and reading together seems to be soothing for him before bed so we're going with it.

>211 richardderus: Indeed! We've counted down the last days of school, and there's only one more full day and two halves.

>212 The_Hibernator: It was far enough away and completely ignoring us that I wasn't too worried about it in the moment, but I was still careful to tell the kiddo that if he were to see a bear in the backyard while he was playing that he should slowly back away and come outside.

>213 foggidawn: Oh wow! I keep our trash on the porch so hopefully shouldn't have any issues with that, but I will have to avoid adding food to the bird feeders for awhile.

>214 MickyFine: Ooooh, that's pretty cool!

>100 bell7: From what I've read Ysthar is the one that most resembles ours, of the Nine Worlds.

The 80s were (I admit it) my teen years and when I was gifted a clock radio, so it's one of my favourite decades, music-wise. But I also grew up listening to my dad's music selections (LPs back then) so there's some ABBA, Boney M, Glen Cambell and so on. Some classical (though not much) and I still listen to the top 40s now. Mind you, it's mainly UK based so it could be a bit different to what you've been listening to.

>216 humouress: Yes Ysthar does resemble ours, with just a hint of magic. I'd wager a guess that the Rolling Stones 500 albums list leans heavily American, though there are a fair number of British bands in there as well, including of course the Beatles, and also some of the late-70s punk I was listening to.

Happy Sunday! We've had a busy couple of days, yesterday after the kiddo's soccer game we got his bike out and he rode while I walked a local trail, which was fun (and we went farther than expected). He's currently out biking while I relax a bit before we head out to church, where I have nursery and he's decided he wants to help out instead of go into service. The afternoon is currently free, there are events we could attend or people we could visit, but I'm thinking we might keep it low key at home so we can catch up on some chores before heading out to small group and youth group (he decided a few weeks ago he wants to do that). Tomorrow we head into the last week of school, and I'm only working three days before having a week and a half off.

Reading: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz, and Securely Attached: How Understanding Childhood Trauma Will Transform Your Parenting by Michael and Kristin Berry

Listening: "Let It Be" by the Replacements

Happy Sunday, Mary. Hooray for the broad-wing hawk and the black bear sightings. Too bad about the feeders but maybe he will move on to another location. Glad the kiddo has a Life List going. Keep it up.

I love The Replacements. 😊

>219 msf59: Oh we still see plenty of birds in our yard regardless, so it'll just save me the money on sunflower seeds and suet haha. You'd be amazed, this kid can identify bird songs like a Carolina wren after just a few sessions with Merlin on my phone...

The listening report -

"Power, Corruption & Lies" by New Order - Synthesizers & electronic music, yet again, for a "synth-pop" or "synth-rock" experience, that I don't love. I didn't absolutely hate it either, more like it left me cold. *shrug* #262 on the list

"Run-D.M.C." by Run-D.M.C. - I don't love rap/hip-hop as a style, so this was never going to be my favorite. I did think it was interesting hearing the lyrics, singing about staying in school and talking about things I don't recall being the topics of well-known rap songs from maybe a decade or so later. #387 on the list

"How Will the Wolf Survive?" by Los Lobos - While I didn't save any songs to my playlist, I generally enjoyed the experience and listened to it a couple of times through. There's a lot of different styles showcased, something I enjoy in albums overall. #431 on the list

"Purple Rain" by Prince and the Revolution - between the synth/electronic sounds and the lyrics about love/relationships, not destined to be my favorite either. #8 on the list

"Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen - I could not tell you why, because there seem to be many reasons I *should* like Springsteen, but he's just kinda okay for me (maybe because "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" is overplayed every Christmas season?). I can tell this was a groundbreaking album, I wouldn't refuse to listen to it, but I won't purposely seek it out either. Recognized the title song and "Glory Days", of course. #142 on the list

I have a couple more 1984 albums to go, though I may jump into 1985 a little early if "Double Nickels on the Dime" doesn't come in in time.

Checking in on you, Mary. I hope you have a marvelous Monday!

>222 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia!

Happy Monday, y'all. Today has been a Monday of Mondays, there were a lot of little fires... embers? to put out at work this morning, but we recovered and are swimming along. I got to the gym for the first time in a month, and did surprisingly well for that being the case. And I'm picking up groceries now before I pick up the kiddo from aftercare and we go to a soccer pizza party for the end of season. Whew! But I don't have to cook, so I'll take it.

Reading: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, Securely Attached: How Understanding Childhood Trauma Will Transform Your Parenting by Michael and Kristin Berry, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and started reading The River by Gary Paulsen with the kiddo

Listening: finished The Replacements and on to "Diamond Life" by Sade

I need to write up a review for The Terraformers, maybe Wednesday morning?

>165 bell7: I have this one on my shelf from a book sale a while back. Good to know it was a hit. I will move it up on my list. Excellent review!

>225 figsfromthistle: Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did :)

70. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Why now? I started reading aloud to the kiddo before bed, and this was his pick, a reread for both of us.

I didn't technically read every page, there was a chapter or two here and there where he got ahead of me, but I read enough that I'm counting it.

Happy Tuesday! Today is the midpoint in my short week at work and then I'm off for a week and a half. The kiddo's got a half day today and tomorrow and then summer vacation officially begins for him as well. I'm only working 'til 3 and then we have an appointment. I'm making salmon for dinner and looking forward to a quiet evening.

Reading/Listening: same as >224 bell7:

>221 bell7: Oh, Los Lobos! I had "Evangeline" on repeat when I first moved to Manhattan. "Will the Wolf Survive?" too. I suppose it had something to do with marinating in Tejano music and what I think y'all'd call "indie" rock as a kid.

I guess Springsteen means more when the context is the overproduced stuff it rejected is your background noise. It's always context, no? xo

>228 bell7: Enjoy your time off! Do you have anything fun planned?

>229 richardderus: I think "Will the Wolf Survive?" was probably my favorite of the bunch. I was a little surprised that it sounded as mainstream as it did to my ear, but perhaps that's just because I'm listening to it 40 years later. Springsteen after the overproduced stuff was definitely a break, even if my reaction was a little "Why am I not liking this more?"

>230 curioussquared: We have a couple of things planned, getting together with friends and I want to get us out to a Mass Audubon Wildlife Refuge that sounds right up his alley. We might fit a day trip to Boston in there, and some other things too but we haven't settled on plans for every day yet.

71. The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
Why now? It's been on my Kindle for awhile, and since it matched the TIOLI challenge for a book with a mountain on the cover, I decided to read it now

Happy Wednesday! Kiddo's off to the last day of school, a half day so I'll be getting him up from the pickup line in a couple of hours. In the meantime, I have chores to do this a.m. at home, getting some laundry done and making chicken cucumber salad. I'm working 12-8, and then my week and a half off begins. We're starting to fill up with some plans, though a few days next week are still a little up in the air, and tomorrow's pretty low key. I told the kiddo I wanted to do some tidying up, and he has a haircut.

Reading: Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar, Securely Attached: How Understanding Childhood Trauma Will Transform Your Parenting by Michael and Kristin Berry, The River by Gary Paulsen (with the kiddo), and A Confusion of Princes by Garth Nix

72. Forgive-Me-Not by Mari Costa
Why now? The kiddo was reading the BookPages I still haven't read through, and thought the review for this sounded good, and I agreed - so we each read it on our own

73. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Why now? The book came up in conversation a few days ago and while the kiddo wasn't interested, I decided to reread this childhood favorite (I was *shocked* to find out I didn't own a paper copy)

>232 bell7:
This one sounds interesting. I have several books by Newitz in my collection, but haven't gotten around to reading any of them. I think my want to read eyes are bigger than my capacity for actually doing any reading.

>235 bell7: I remember LOVING this book as a child but can I tell you a single thing about the plot? Nope. I'm glad to see you enjoyed revisiting.

>233 bell7: Interested to see what you think of A Confusion of Princes! That might be like, the only Nix book I haven't read.

>235 bell7: Count me in as another person who loved this book and remembers zero things about it, lol.

>236 benitastrnad: I've read a few of their books now, and especially enjoyed Automatic Noodle, but all of them have interesting ideas. But yeah, my want-to-read eyes are also bigger!

>237 MickyFine: I had forgotten a lot, other than the fact that there were a lot of puns.

>238 curioussquared: Oh wow, I've read several of his (the Keys to the Kingdom and, of course, the Sabriel series), but I think I still have several left to go before I've completed his works.
Guess there are a few of us who remember loving The Phantom Tollbooth but not what happened lol.

Hi Mary, happy summer to you and your kiddo! I've enjoyed getting caught up here. What terrific reading despite how busy you are. I listened to An Immense World and found it fascinating. You got me with >188 bell7: Mother Tongue. I did some study of ASL in college - not to sign, but from a linguistic perspective. My advisor was doing what was at the time some groundbreaking lingustic analysis of ASL. Understanding even a small part of the culture is essential, and I'd love to learn more.

I am one who LOVED The Phantom Tollbooth and was delighted to see that it stands up even after all this time.

>232 bell7: Interesting. I'll pick it up if it crosses my radar again - I have too much on my plate at the moment.

>235 bell7: I've read The Phantom Tolbooth at least twice. The second time was as an adult because I remembered liking it as a child though I couldn't remember the story and it went in a direction I hadn't expected. I can't remember the story now, either. It occurs to me that you might like A Market of Dreams and Destiny * by Trip Galey which I read last year.

>237 MickyFine: >238 curioussquared: Same here!

* ETA correct title. That has to be a pseudonym :0)

>240 AMQS: Happy summer, Anne! Have you officially wrapped up school too? (I confess, I'm behind on your thread) I hope you love Mother Tongue as much as I did.

>241 humouress: Yeah, I know what you mean about too much on one's plate. You'd think before going on vacation I would load up on library books, but I haven't been able to keep up with library due dates recently. And thanks for the recommendation! That sounds right up my alley.

I missed out on The Phantom Tollbooth as a kid, which is too bad, as I think I'd have loved it then. I enjoyed reading it as an adult, but it's not the same, of course.

>243 foggidawn: No, it's definitely not the same, though I'm glad you were able to get some enjoyment out of it even being introduced to it as an adult!

Join me on my new thread!