kidzdoc: 75 and Beyond, Take 11

Take 1
Take 2
Take 3
Take 4
Take 5
Take 6
Take 7
Take 8
Take 9
Take 10

Books Read in 2010:



Books Purchased in 2010:



Currently reading:
The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini
Ralph Ellison in Progress: From "Invisible Man" to "Three Days Before the Shooting..." by Adam Bradley
Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America by Lisa Gray-Garcia

Completed books:

July:
75. Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos
74. Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor
73. The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis

June:
72. To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell
71. Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki
70. Troubles by J.G. Farrell
69. Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote by Ahmadou Kourouma
68. Philosophy in the Present by Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek
67. The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French
66. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
65. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
64. Selected Crônicas by Clarice Lispector
63. Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients by Danielle Ofri

May:
62. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
61. News from Home by Sefi Atta
60. My House by Nikki Giovanni
59. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
58. The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
57. Fear by Stefan Zweig
56. A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by John Berger
55. Five Modern Japanese Novelists by Donald Keene
54. Tranquility by Attila Bartis
53. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes
52. The Pen and the Sword: Conversations with Edward Said by David Barsamian
51. Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi
50. Letters from London by C.L.R. James
49. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki
48. Everything In This Country Must by Colum McCann
47. Piano by Jean Echenoz
46. White Masks by Elias Khoury

April:
45. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
44. Spain in Our Hearts by Pablo Neruda
43. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
42. Dread: Poems by Ai
41. Twilight & Moonbeam Alley by Stefan Zweig
40. Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
39. Three Novellas by Joseph Roth
38. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
37. The Plague by Albert Camus
36. Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
35. Morning Haiku by Sonia Sanchez
34. The Women and the Men by Nikki Giovanni
33. An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah
32. Re: Creation by Nikki Giovanni

March:
31. Street of Lost Footsteps by Lyonel Trouillot
30. Albert Camus: A Life by Olivier Todd
29. School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau
28. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa
27. Close to Jedenew by Kevin Vennemann
26. Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
25. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee
24. Selected Stories by Stefan Zweig
23. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
22. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
21. Nadirs by Herta Müller

February:
20. Listen! Early Poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky
19. A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
18. Black Judgement by Nikki Giovanni
17. Things Seen by Annie Ernaux
16. Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss
15. Ashes of the Amazon by Milton Hatoum
14. Black Feeling Black Talk by Nikki Giovanni
13. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński
12. The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care by John Dittmer
11. Wondrak and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig (Austria)

January:
10. Moscardino by Enrico Pea (Italy)
9. Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)
8. Small Island by Andrea Levy (UK)
7. Amok and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
6. The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria by Randall M. Packard
5. The Word Book by Kanai Mieko (Japan)
4. Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives by Brian Dillon
3. Matigari by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Kenya)
2. Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño (Chile)
1. Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley

Categories and completed books in my 1010 challenge:

A. 2009-10 Archipelago Books
1. Moscardino by Enrico Pea (Italy)
2. Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss
3. White Masks by Elias Khoury
4. Tranquility by Attila Bartis
5. To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell

B. 2010 Booker Prize longlist and previous winners
1. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell (1973)
2. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (1993)
3. Troubles by J.G. Farrell (Lost Man Booker Prize)

C. 2010 Orange Prize longlist and previous winners
1. Small Island by Andrea Levy
2. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
3. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
4. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed

D. Medicine, public health and science
1. Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives by Brian Dillon
2. The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria by Randall M. Packard
3. The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care by John Dittmer
4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5. A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by John Berger
6. Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients by Danielle Ofri

E. African-American/African poetry & literature
1. Matigari by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Kenya)
2. Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)
3. Black Feeling Black Talk by Nikki Giovanni (US)
4. Black Judgement by Nikki Giovanni
5. Re: Creation by Nikki Giovanni
6. An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)
7. The Women and the Men by Nikki Giovanni
8. Morning Haiku by Sonia Sanchez
9. Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
10. Dread: Poems by Ai
11. My House by Nikki Giovanni
12. News from Home by Sefi Atta
13. Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote by Ahmadou Kourouma

F. 2010 Author Theme Reads
1. Amok and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig
2. Wondrak and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig
3. Selected Stories by Stefan Zweig
4. Three Novellas by Joseph Roth
5. Twilight & Moonbeam Alley by Stefan Zweig
6. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki
7. Fear by Stefan Zweig
8. Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki

G. Southern US literature (William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, etc.)
1. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor

H. Asian/Asian-American literature
1. The Word Book by Kanai Mieko (Japan)
2. A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
3. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee
4. Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi

I. Biography and History
1. Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley
2. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuściński
3. Albert Camus: A Life by Olivier Todd
4. Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
5. The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French

J. Latin-American & Caribbean literature
1. Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño (Chile)
2. Ashes of the Amazon by Milton Hatoum (Brazil)
3. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa
4. School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique)
5. Street of Lost Footsteps by Lyonel Trouillot (Haiti)
6. Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi (Mexico)
7. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico)
8. The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia)
9. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector (Brasil)b

Found your new thread, Darryl. I didn't realize just how close you were to 75!

Second to star your new thread...I'll anxiously await your next reads. Congratulations on near completion of the 75 challenge goal.

Gasp! Stasia always posts a message within 15 seconds after I create a new thread.

*looking up Sherman, TX Police Department to file a missing person report*

There is a very slim chance that I'll hit 75 books by the end of the month. I'll probably get there by next weekend, though.

Stasia was on her way to work :)

When last tracked, via phone about an hour ago, Stasia was getting ready to head to work..............Unless the there is a huge party of drunken revelry in Sherman, you should hear from her soon.

Well, look at that...Our messages crossed. Harmonic convergence in the air.

#6: Was Stasia leading this party of drunken revelry?

Stasia does not drink - I might be bailing out some of the drunken revellers later though!

Starring once again. I'll probably join you reading The Lacuna this month.

I will be reading The Lacuna this month as well. I picked it up at the library the other day.

Stasia, tomorrow's Guardian Review has a feature article on Juan Gabriel Vásquez by Maya Jaggi. I know that you also bought The Secret History of Costaguana recently; I'll probably read it in August.

A life in writing: Juan Gabriel Vásquez

While I'm at it, I'll post the link to the David Mitchell feature article that will appear in Sunday's New York Times Magazine, which I've already posted to the Interesting Articles thread:

David Mitchell, the Experimentalist

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet will be released in the US on Tuesday.

#12: Thanks for the links, Darryl. I will check them both out.

I already have The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet in the BlackHole. No idea when I will get my hands on it, but I am anxious to read that one, especially since I liked Mitchell's Cloud Atlas so much.

ETA: I have Vasquez's The Informers home from the library now and will be getting to that one in the upcoming weeks.

I'm really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on The Makioka Sisters, Darryl. That was the first Tanizaki novel I read, and still my fave.

I do need to read some Faulkner; he is one of those authors that has never managed to cross my radar screen.

Rebecca, I know exactly what you mean about Atticus Finch as a character. Yes, it's lovely to have someone who is always wise, calm, reflective, etc. in our lives -- but is that person human?? Sometimes, in fiction as in life, it's the flaws that highlight an individual's good points. Turning to film for an example, what struck me most powerfully about Schindler's List was the very vivid struggle between self-interest and altruism in the title character. To me, that was real -- that made me feel the answer to the perennial question of how someone can turn away from evil and try to pretend it isn't happening, even as it showed how someone can act in a way that endangers them, consciously. Not a heroic character, but a real, flawed person. These tend to be more complex and more interesting to me -- and I can identify with them, too!

I'm starting The Lacuna today! Having waffled over whether to read it for Orange July, then deciding "yes," then panicking over whether I'd be able to get it from my library or get stuck in a queue, then exuberantly ordering it from The Book Depository, I am now at last ready to begin.

Yes, Suzanne, that's kind of what I was trying to say but you said it better. I like characters to seem like real people, and I don't know any people who are perfect!

#15: I still find it interesting that it's available in paperback in the UK, but not in the US (as she is, of course, an American author). For a paperback it's a bit of a doorstopper (670 pages), so I'll read it in the second half of the month, as I'll have a lot of time off from work then. I'll read The Boy Next Door, this year's Orange Award for New Writers winner, before I tackle The Lacuna.

#14: I'm definitely looking forward to The Makioka Sisters, Suzanne, but not as much as The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by McCullers. I've only read one Faulkner novel so far, As I Lay Dying, which I enjoyed.

My planned reads for the second half of the year will definitely have a Southern gothic feel to it. The members of Le Salon du Soüthern Gothique are reading five books by Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury (July), Sanctuary (September) and Absalom, Absalom! (November). I missed reading Light in August, the January read, so I'll read that in (surprise) August, and I don't plan to reread As I Lay Dying, the March read.

I'd love to finish my Library of America editions of Flannery O'Connor: Collected Works and Carson McCullers: Complete Novels by December, which was one of my unstated goals of the year. The Author Theme Reads group's mini-author for September to December is Cormac McCarthy, and I'll probably read one or two of his Southern gothic novels, definitely Suttree and possibly Outer Dark.

Off to make some grits...

I will take some grits too, Darryl. Please share :)

#18: Okay, the grits are done. Help yourself.

I thought I was out of grits (Southern garlic cheese grits from a small family owned business in South Carolina) until I noticed that there were still five bags (=10 hefty bowls) left!

I love the garlic cheese grits. I cooked some myself a couple of weeks back for dinner - although not the bag variety - the from scratch kind.

Hi Darryl- I'm a big fan of Cormac McCarthy and have not yet read Suttree, although I own a nice copy. I was thinking of doing a Group Read of it, at some point.

I don't cook anymore, and I definitely appreciate how difficult it is to make good grits, having been spoiled by my parents; my father's grits are the best I've ever tasted, but he spends at least 1-2 hours slow cooking them to perfection. These grits aren't to his level, but they are "mighty fine".

If you're interested, the company is called 'Savor the Flavor', which is based in Sumter, SC. It doesn't have a web site, and you place the order by phone with Miz Betty (800-390-8027). One of my partners orders two dozen bags from her several times per year and I pay for half.

#21: Mark, please let me know if you do a group read of Suttree, as I'm all but 100% certain that I'll read it somewhere between September and December. I haven't read anything by McCarthy yet; which of his books are your favorites?

#22: I will check it out. Thanks, Darryl.

Darryl- As far as McCarthy goes, I would have to go with Blood Meridian, which I'm long overdue for a re-read. It's dense, nightmarish and unforgettable. I also love all the books in his The Border Trilogy.
I have a book rec for you, if you haven't read it all-ready. It's Drown by Junot Diaz. It's a haunting collection of linking short-stories and I cannot recommend it higher. It was his debut.

#25: Yes; I did read Drown years ago, and loved it. I read it in the late 90s, read about Díaz in the Rutgers alumni magazine, and like others was waiting for years for him to come out with his next book, which was Oscar Wao. I hope it doesn't take him so long to publish his next book!

Book #70: Troubles by J.G. Farrell



My rating:

Winner, Lost Man Booker Prize

Troubles is the first novel of Farrell's Empire Trilogy, which also includes The Siege of Krishnapur, the 1973 Booker Prize winner, and The Singapore Grip, which was published in 1978, just prior to his untimely death in a drowning accident the following year.

The novel begins in 1919, as Major Brendan Archer has been demobilized from the British Army at the end of World War I. He travels to a seaside town in Ireland to meet Angela Spencer, an Anglo-Irish Protestant woman who he met on leave during the Great War, who he may—or may not—have proposed to. Her widowed father, Edward, is the owner of the Majestic, an formerly opulent hotel that is slowly falling into ruin, overrun by jungle like foliage that has taken over the Palm Room and a massive colony of cats that own the upper floors. Angela initially welcomes the Major on his arrival, but soon disappears within the confines of the massive and mysterious Majestic. As he searches for Angela, Archer meets the hotel's residents, which include Angela's wild twin teenage sisters and her wayward brother, the elderly women that have become permanent fixtures, and the utterly useless staff.

Outside of the Majestic, the townspeople, who are mainly Irish Catholics at the edge of starvation, become increasingly concerned and involved in the Irish independence movement, which moves from the cities to the smaller towns. Farrell inserts news clippings about the Troubles throughout the novel, along with reports about independence and civil rights movements in India, the United States and elsewhere.

The Major leaves for England, but soon returns to become as much of a fixture as the Spencers and the elderly women. The hotel continues to crumble, and simultaneously the violence in town, led by members of Sinn Féin, creeps slowly toward the Majestic and its residents.

The novel is filled with the sharp and biting humor that enlivens The Siege of Krishnapur. A typical example is this exchange, which follows the discovery that the twins' pet rabbit has been shot by one of the Black and Tans, the unruly British soldiers that have been recruited to keep order during the Troubles:

Moved and angry (but the "men from the trenches" were not to know that this was not a wild rabbit), the Major went to break the news to the twins, who were down by the tennis courts trying to persuade Seán Murphy to teach them how to drive the Standard (though Edward had forbidden this until they were older). The twins were not as upset as the Major expected them to be.

"Can we eat him?" they wanted to know.

"He's already buried."

"We could dig him up," Faith suggested. "Aren't rabbits' feet supposed to be lucky?"

But the Major said he had forgotten where the grave was.

"Were the bullet-holes bad?"

"How d'you mean? They were bad for the rabbit."

"No, I was just thinking we could have made a fur hat," said Charity, "if there weren't too many holes in him."

Troubles is a slightly better novel than the excellent The Siege of Krishnapur, as its main characters are more complex and richly portrayed in the first book. The hotel is a superb metaphor for the decline of the British Empire, as Farrell's light but firm touch keeps it from being an overworked and heavy handed one. Troubles is my favorite novel of the year so far, with The Siege of Krishnapur running a close second. I will certainly re-read both books in the near future, and I'm certain that they will remain favorites of mine in the years to come.

>27 kidzdoc: Troubles duly noted. Hatred of Darryl for rampant wishlist abuse ratchets up a notch.

In my thread, a chat got going about our local libraries that ended up with more than 10 photos of local branches being posted. Seems like we're all interested in sharing that with each other.

Since it seems the idea of sharing our spiritual homes with each other is really appealing, here's a thread where we can do that!

#28: Hah! That is what you get for not reading the blue words on my thread - you have to get them from Darryl and can hate him instead :)

#28: Thanks, Richard; I think. ;-)

I'm enjoying your thread on library photos. I don't frequent my local library, even though it's a short walk from where I live. I'll check it out on my next weekday off, take a photo, and post it on your thread. In the meantime, I'll look for a photo of the Jersey City library that I used to go to as a young child.

#29: I think we're both firmly entrenched on his hate list.

I watched the disappointing US-Ghana World Cup match with friends yesterday; Ghana won 2-1 in the extra period, so the US is going home. First, congratulations to the spirited and resilient US squad, whose thrilling last minute goal against Algeria won't be soon forgotten by anyone who watched the match. Congratulations also to Ghana, who stands as the remaining African team in the World Cup (in case you haven't been watching, it's being played in South Africa). The Ghanians deserved to win, as they outplayed and outhustled the Americans, and wanted this match more badly. This is also the second consecutive World Cup where Ghana beat the US by 2-1 and eliminated the Americans from the competition.

I'm halfway through To Mervas by the Swedish author Elisabeth Rynell, which was published by Archipelago Books at the end of last month. It's dark and disturbing, but it's a great read and far better than I expected. I'll definitely finish it today, and then get back to Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor, which I also hope to finish today.

#30: Nope, you give him more reason to hate you because he actually reads the blue words on your thread, lol.

I have never heard of To Mervas, so I will be interested in your review of that one. Read faster!

>30 kidzdoc:: you know what disappointed me about the US-Ghana match, Darryl? Afterwards, the US team just got all pouty and couldn't muster up any congratulations or acknowledgment that Ghana was the better team. Sometimes I think American teams have this sense of entitlement about winning in world competitions. Drives me a bit nuts.

Um ... so ... I actually stopped over here to ask you a question: did you mention on another thread that there's a group read of The Lacuna happening somewhere?

#31: Right. I forgot that he ignores the blue words on your thread. I don't think either of us are going to receive invitations to one of his blowout parties on LI, though.

To Mervas was reviewed by Caroline, another Archipelago Books subscriber, earlier in the month, and by Rachel (rachbxl, from Club Read) in the most recent issue of Belletrista here. It won't take me long to finish it, but I have some errands to run this morning and I have to watch the England-Germany World Cup match later this morning, so I probably won't finish it until this afternoon.

BTW, I received the latest Archipelago Book, Eline Vere by Louis Couperus, in the mail yesterday. It's a large book (over 500 pages, I think), so I'll probably wait to read it until August or September, before the next book from Archipelago is published.

#33: I checked out Caroline's review and see why I did not add it to the BlackHole already. I think I will probably pass that one by - not that my local library has it anyway.

Darryl- Great review of Troubles! This trilogy sounds fascinating! I'll have to try tracking them down.

#34: I started to write some comments about how much I am enjoying captivated by To Mervas, but I should wait until I finish it.

#35: Thanks, Mark. I cannot recommend Troubles more highly; like The Siege of Krishnapur, I would love to start reading it again straight away. Reading both books was akin to eating a new dish at a restaurant that I was absolutely mad about, and wanting to go back to the same restaurant the next night to order it again. I won't be able to hold off reading The Singapore Grip, the last book of the Empire Trilogy, for very long, and I'm sure that I'll read it before year's end.

Darryl

Congratulations on not one, but two hot reviews on today's home page!

I'll be reading Troubles soon!

good to know that Suttree is in your to-read list, darryl. i was very impressed with McCarthy's writing, and the book easily went to my list of best of 2010.

Saramago was laid to rest last Sunday in one of Lisbon's cemeteries. the memorial event was privately held in the Lisbon city hall though the entire event was telecast. it was attended by family, close friends and prominent intellectuals, leaders of the Communist Party of which he was a leading member, the Prime Minister and senior officials of the government, as well as senior Spanish government officials (notably absent and deserving of all the criticism later levelled at him, was the President who was on his holiday in the Açores islands -- he was Prime Minister when the Saramago's book was banned from the european awards in the 1990s). the ceremony was very simple - homage delivered by about 4 people - a philosopher, the Spanish minister of culture, the Portuguese minister of culture, and the head of the Portuguese Communist Party, ending with a Bach piece played by a cellist who was a close family friend. then he was brought to the cemetery where he was cremated. thousands of people met the cortege in the cemetery, many crying unabashedly, shouting his name and raising copies of his books as a gesture of farewell. many were elderly workers, some of them who said they had not even read Saramago, but knew what he stood for, and knew how he fought on behalf of the worker and the common man. all this I found very touching, much more than when we were standing quietly in front of his body in the beautiful town hall the night before, with the dignitaries, his family and his wife on the sides. that was dignified, quiet grief and it was easy to be unemotional, but the next day, out there with the masses, what i could feel there was just overwhelming love and grief, and i couldn't help being carried away. all this became even more touching when you think that Samarago was sometimes regarded as the prodigal son, as he "abandoned" Portugal in the 1990s after the controversy with The Gospel According to Jesus Christ, but that in the end he chose to return to his rest here.

the following day, the head of the Samarago Foundation announced that its offices will be moved from Lanzarote (Canarias) to Lisbon, and will be housed in the Casa dos Bicos, a landmark building in Lisbon, with its unique architecture and history. the Casa was a 16th century palace in the historic area of the city facing the Tagus river. i would say it was an apt choice for the location of the foundation. yesterday, i was very glad to hear the good news that Saramago's ashes will be transferred and buried underneath an olive tree in a small garden in front of the Casa. if they will allow it, it would make me very happy to spend time seating and reading one of his books close to that tree. (perhaps the book I have with a dedication by him,which is now one of the most precious things that I own...)

incidentally, a documentary called Jose and Pilar, about him and his wife Pilar Rio will be shown in a documentary film festival here in Lisbon in Sept or Oct. the movie was done last year. perhaps they will announce a commercial release after. yesterday, a national paper called Publico devoted its supplemental pages to Saramago. i know you don't read Portuguese, darryl, but here's the link just the same, in case you'd like to take a quick look. http://jornal.publico.pt/pages/section.aspx?id=65529&d=26-06-2010. as to a biography of the man, we don't know anything about one, but i'm sure one will come up very soon. i'm almost sure at least one is already being written!

#32: Sorry Laura, I missed your message the first time around. I agree with you, the US players weren't as congratulatory as they should have been, and as other teams have been, when they have lost a match. They were fortunate to still be in the match after that horrendous first half, and they really should have won the match in the second half. As the commentators said, at this level of competition the strikers have to score on open shots; the Ghanians had fewer chances, but made the most of their opportunities.

I don't remember mentioning that there was a group read of The Lacuna, but I may have said that we should think about creating one, since I would guess that there will be at least half a dozen people amongst the 75ers and Club Readers that will be reading it this month. Let's see...according to Madeline's July TIOLI challenge, there are five people who are planning to read it: me, elkiedee, avatiakh, souloftherose and AlcottAcre. Counting you, that makes six.

#37: Thanks, Linda. And congratulations to you for your deservedly Hot Review of Into the Arms of Strangers!

#38: Wow; thank you very much for those wonderful comments about Saramago, deebee. I read that the President decided not to attend the funeral; if I remember correctly, his stated reasons for not attending were very weak and petty. I would imagine that prominent Catholic officials also stayed away from the funeral, given the critique leveled on him by the Vatican.

BTW, have you read The Gospel According to Jesus Christ or Baltasar and Blimunda? I think that these are the only two novels of his that are currently available in English that I haven't read yet.

Thanks for sharing that link from Publico; I'll look at it more closely later today.

ETA: Hmm, the touchstones seem to have fallen asleep.

Hmm, the touchstones seem to have fallen asleep

Heaven knows they work hard, eh?..

I herewith announce that Darryl, Stasia, Linda1, and RebeccaNYC are Avoid The Blue sites. Their threads are to be avoided by the biblioholics among us. Their invitations to my Big Birthday Bash in September are herewith suspended pending proof of reading only books I will hate. Nyah.

Hi Darryl,

I'm avoiding your review of Troubles until after I write my own but I can see we're in agreement star-wise. Just an incredible read. Oh and congratulations hottie!

>39 kidzdoc:: Thanks Darryl!

And btw, ENGLAND WAS ROBBED in the first half. Un-effing-believable.

The final result was fair, though. They had over half a game to come back from that, and they didn't. The England defence was woeful, and the Germans played well.

#40, Well, Richard, I guess Darryl, Stasia, and Linda and I will just have to have our own party and I am sure it will be BIGGER and BETTER than yours! Double nyah!

#40: Hmph. I'm gonna hitch a ride with mckait and come ANYWAY. So there.

#41: I can't believe that blown call on the English goal before halftime! Everyone but the referees saw that it was a goal. I watched the match at the yuppie car wash this morning (big screen TV, lattes and muffins, and free massages for Honda owners), and several of us were screaming after that blown call.

However, it didn't make a difference; Germany beat the stuffing out of the British for most of the first half, and for the entire second half. "Calamity" James lived up to his nickname; he was absolutely horrible between the pipes, particularly his misplaying of the ball on the first and third goals. I think that he and Wayne Rooney (hello, was he on the pitch for this World Cup) will be denied entry to the UK when the team arrives at Heathrow tomorrow.

That was a most disappointing effort by the English club in this World Cup. However, Germany looks very strong.

I think Germany are in with a decent shot at winning the whole thing. Serbia match aside, they've been playing pretty well. Of course, so have several other teams...

I'm tempted to switch some of my planned reads around and read The Lacuna in July instead of Wolf Hall.

*Tries to get head around the idea of a car wash with a big TV and fails*

#46: I agree with you, the Germans look very strong. But they'll probably have to beat Argentina, another powerful team, in their next match on Saturday (I'll be glued to the set for that one). There's a good chance that two other top contenders will have to play each other a bit too early, as the Netherlands will go up against Brasil if both teams win their matches against Slovakia and Chile, respectively. Those four were going to be my top picks for the final four, but obviously two of them won't make it. Argh...Spain has to play Portugal in the round of 16, so one of these potential finalists will be eliminated early.

The yuppie car wash, Cactus Car Wash in midtown Atlanta, is one of the luxuries I permit myself (actually, it's for my car, she's very demanding). The link above has photos of the place, including the computer station with free WiFi and the coffee bar; the big screen TV is not visible, but it's to the far right of the small photo in the lower right hand corner. The massage therapists with their chairs was a new thing, as Honda was having some sort of promotion, with a Honda rep near the coffee bar. It's an absurd (and expensive!) but comfy place to spend a couple of hours while she (my car) gets pampered.

Argh! These World Cup referees are awful. Argentina was awarded a goal even though the striker was clearly offsides. This World Cup will clearly be remembered by the horrible officiating in multiple matches.

>43 Eat_Read_Knit:, 45: yes, Germany won fair and square. I posted #42 before the final two goals were scored. And while I agree that James and Rooney may be barred entrance into the UK, at least the team as a whole behaved as far better sportsmen than the US in talking about their loss (see #s 32, 39 above).

>47 kidzdoc:: it takes a couple of hours to get your car pampered?! Holy cow. I'm not criticizing, we all have our luxuries. I'm just trying to imagine what on earth they do to it. I like going through the "soft-glove" wash here (beats doing it myself), but that's 15 minutes, tops, even when the vacuum the interior.

#49: I missed the very end of the match, as my car was ready during extra time in the second half, so I didn't see how the English lads reacted to that crushing loss. At least they behaved better than the Mexican squad did at halftime of this current match.

The pamper job included a two step waxing, hand polish, application of a sealant, oil and filter change, interior and exterior detailing, an inspection including change of power steering fluid and topping up of all other fluids, steam cleaning of the mats, topped off by a spray of jasmine scent—everything but a pedicure (although the rims were hand cleaned, so that probably counts as a car pedicure).

I go there every 3 months for the pamper job, and every couple of weeks for a routine wash, which only takes about 15-20 minutes. This car wash is totally over the top; my friends and I laugh about it, but we won't take our cars anywhere else!

Argentina looks very dangerous, and they will easily defeat Mexico, aided by the illegal goal. The Argentina-Germany match should be fantastic.

Wow, we've had our car 11 years, and I've never done anything like that! Regular appointments for the things that make it run, yes; cleaning, no. In fact, we barely take it to the car wash at all -- just let nature take its course when it rains while the car is outside. Darryl, this is a side of you I never suspected.

ooof.... 2 days.. that's all ... just 2 days away and you've a new thread and already 51 posts! You're forgiven though because I really love your review of Troubles which is firmly on my obese wish list.

England didn't deserve to win anyway given how shoddy their play was ... they were horrible, and David James let the first 2 goals in because he was either not paying attention or he was in some sort of trance. Even if the bad call on the 2nd goal scored by England were reversed, they would still have lost, so I think they should just stop harping about the bad call.

Darryl, have you been to Varsity, allegedly a haven of hot dogs? I just saw it being promoted on the Travel Channel and it looks like they do good dogs there.

#51: I live in a high rise in Midtown, with indoor parking and no ability to wash my car myself. I don't think I ever paid for a car wash before I bought my current car in 2001, and I started going to this place because it was very close to where I used to live. However, the yuppie car wash is totally against the grain for me (except for my excessive book buying habits), as I generally shy away from upscale restaurants, stores, barbers, etc., which is what makes it so absurd for me to go there.

#52, 53: Hi, Caroline! Thanks for your comments on my review of Troubles; I think you'll love it.

England played horribly, in all phases of the game, except for about 10 minutes at the end of the first half. "Calamity" James should have come up to grab the ball for the first goal, and the German striker should never have been allowed to even attempt a shot. The second goal was a brilliant strike, but James was once again out of position. On the third goal he wilted like a hot house flower, and it was only the fourth goal that he couldn't have been expected to make a play on, due to the brilliant crossing pass by the left forward. However, the defense for England didn't help him at all; they were slow to react and frequently out of position. Rooney and Gerrard did nothing offensively.

Rooney has to be the most overrated player in the World Cup; Lionel Messi (Argentina) hasn't scored yet, but he's been in the middle of the action and has either set up his mates for goals or drawn attention from the defense to leave them open for strikes, which they have buried almost without fail.

I have been to the original Varsity ("What'll ya have?") on North Avenue, close to the North Avenue MARTA (subway) station and Georgia Tech's campus, particularly when I was in residency, as I didn't have a car for a few months and transferred from the subway to a bus at that station. The chili cheese dogs and onion rings are good, but I prefer Sabrett's and Nedick's hot dogs from NYC. I haven't been there in years, even though I pass one of the branches on the way home from work every day (on La Vista Road near Cheshire Bridge Avenue).

I'm almost finished with To Mervas; I'll resume reading Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor after I'm done.

How are you liking To Mervas so far, Darryl?

I think the entire England team should be whipped when they get home for not showing up on the field. They haven't played well once in this WC. Germany were clearly the better team, as was Argentina this afternoon. The Germany Argentina game should be interesting.

After watching that Hot Dog Paradise program, I'm now craving hot dogs! arrgghhh. I love chili cheese dogs and cheese onion dogs.

#55: Okay, I'm done with To Mervas. I think I liked it a little better than you did; I'll give it 3.8 stars and review it later tonight or tomorrow morning.

At least England performed better than France or Italy!

I have to be in the mood for hot dogs. The Varsity is only a 10 minute drive from me, but I'm not sufficiently tempted or hungry enough for a hot dog run. Besides, I'd probably have a horrific dream tonight if I did eat a chili cheese dog at this late hour.

Funny thing...we had hot dogs, baked beans, and a big bottle of prosecco to celebrate Gay Pride Weekend tonight! The Divine Miss called it our "glam-nic" because, per her, nothing that includes prosecco can be called a "picnic."

#14 Rebecca, I know exactly what you mean about Atticus Finch as a character. Yes, it's lovely to have someone who is always wise, calm, reflective, etc. in our lives -- but is that person human?? Sometimes, in fiction as in life, it's the flaws that highlight an individual's good points. I agree. Having read this I started a new thread about Great Characters and Personalities
Great Characters and Personalities. Feel free to add some of your own favourite, true-to-life characters.

I was meeting a friend of mine for a late lunch today -- later than we had planned because she couldn't get across Manhattan because of the Pride parade! Still, looked/sounded like fun...

England did a woeful/embarrassing job on the playing field, and did not deserve to win that match. After a while, I couldn't watch any longer.

WHAT big birthday bash? I haven't even been invited, much less had an invitation rescinded. I shall join Rebecca, Stasia, Darryl & Linda for the NYC alternative bibliomaniafest... *harumph*

Richard, I want the book back. You know the one I am talking about. If I cannot be invited to the birthday bash, along with a few other friends, I am going to be an Indian giver.

Well, of course we are all disappointed about the football here, but philosophical with it. It's not the first time England has failed to live up to expectations, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Rooney in particular was a massive disappointment. Not sure I agree with Darryl about David James, though - I think the defense was much more to blame than he was - the attackers should never have gotten in such good positions to begin with. We're all busy choosing our new favorite teams - I still like Spain, which has several Liverpool players (more than England does, in fact), but I think Argentina will win - when they have to, they can really turn it on. In any event, the Premier League season is only about 7 weeks away, so we can return to caring about real football instead of the World Cup.

Breaking news: U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia died this morning at the age of 92. He was the longest serving Senator in U.S. history, having served in the Senate since 1959. We were given some clues yesterday that he was critically ill, so this news didn't come as a surprise to me.

#57: Gay Pride Weekend isn't celebrated in Atlanta until October, so no celebrations here. Midtown has a vibrant and visible GLBT population, especially during Gay Pride Weekend, and I didn't notice anything different when I walked and drove by Piedmont Park this weekend.

I had never heard of prosecco; I must try a bottle. No baked beans for me, though.

#58: Great idea, JustJoey! I'll post my favorite great character shortly; it's Mr Biswas from V.S. Naipaul's classic novel A House for Mr Biswas.

#59, 60: I think we do need an alternative summer party; maybe we can call it the "Not the Richard Derus Glam-Nic". We could dress up like our favorite literary characters; I could be the long suffering Mr Biswas (I'm told I have a great Indian accent, but I need to add a Caribbean twang to it). It's too hot in Atlanta, maybe we can have it in San Francisco or Napa Valley, which are comfortable at this time of year (let's see...today's high temperature in San Francisco is 74 degrees, which is perfect weather IMO). Everyone is invited, except, well, you know who.

#61: It does seem as though the Americans here, myself included, are more upset about England's performance than the Brits are! James was put into some horrible positions by his defense, but he seemed to be tentative and frequently retreating from the ball and strikers, unlike the German, American and other top keepers, who seemed to be attacking the defense (although some of the keepers did this too aggressively, and found themselves out of position on rebounds or crossing passes).

Argentina is a good choice to win; the team has as much talent as anyone, and Diego Maradona seems to be a great choice as coach and sideline cheerleader. I'm going back to my usual favorite team, Brasil, but I'll certainly pull for Argentina. Good...these clubs are in separate brackets, so an Argentina-Brasil final is a strong possibility.

>62 kidzdoc:: mmm ... prosecco. Sparkly & bubbly, like an Italian champagne. Especially good in a Bellini, where it's mixed with some kind of peachy substance. A great warm-weather cocktail.

Darn it, it's only 7am.

#54, We live in an apartment and keep our car in a garage too, but fortunately it rains sometimes when we have it out and about or are up in the mountains. Otherwise the poor car would never get washed! I knew it seemed out of character -- that's why I teased you about it.

Speaking of To Mervas, I got my most recent Archipelago book over the weekend, Eline Vere. I'm way behind on my Archipelago reading, but nonetheless I am going to renew my subscription (the package included a note that this was the last book in my current subscription). I think this was another TBR builder you introduced me to, Darryl, so thank you.

Book #72: To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell



My rating: (3.8/5.0)

Category: 2009-2010 Archipelago Books

Marta is a 50 year old woman with a dark past and an even darker secret, who has lived friendless and alone for many years in an unnamed town in Sweden. She receives a letter from Rosti, her only lover, who she has not heard from in 20 years. Rosti writes only a few lines, but tells Marta that he is in Mervas, a small northern town. Marta, who has little to live for and even less to hang on to, decides to meet him, although she is unsure why she is going to Mervas or what to expect once she does meet Rosti.

The narrative takes the reader back to Marta's childhood, in which her mother was physically and emotionally abused by her husband, her failed relationship with Rosti, and her only child, who was severely disabled. These accounts are painful to read, yet compelling and convincing. Rynell's description of the emotions and outbursts of a new mother who finds out that her newborn son is seriously ill was spot on, as were the brief portrayals of the dismissive and condescending doctors that treated her son.

I found the first half of To Mervas absolutely fascinating, but I lost a bit of interest in the second half, probably due to the unremitting sorrow of Marta's life. Rynell is a poet as well as a novelist, and, accordingly, she carefully chooses her words throughout the book, making it a pleasurable read despite its depressing topics. To Mervas isn't for the faint of heart, but it is a very good psychological novel about the life of a tortured woman.

#65: I will definitely be skipping that one despite your review, Darryl. Thanks anyway.

#63: Mmm, that sounds good.

#64: Right, Rebecca! That's why I mentioned the car wash, in a humorous vein, since it is out of character for me. However, it is quite in character for Atlanta, which is often described as "The L.A. of the South", due to its new and shiny high rises in Midtown and Buckhead, the high concentration of people who are in the entertainment industry—and the even higher number of people who claim to be or want to be entertainers—and the peacocks and peahens that strut around the city in their fancy cars and clothes, often living beyond their means in an effort to impress (which explains why the metro Atlanta area has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country).

I've read all of the Archipelago Books I've received this year except for Eline Vere, which I received only yesterday. I still have a bunch of 2009 books to read, though, and I'll try to read at least three or four by the end of the year. I'm pretty sure that I was the one who mentioned Archipelago Books first, since I was impressed by several of the publisher's books, and because I want to see them succeed (kind of like supporting a small local store as compared to a larger chain).

#66: You're welcome, Stasia. It was a good read, but not one that I would widely recommend, due to its dark topics. However, for books in this vein, this was a far better book than anything I've read by two recent Nobel laureates, Herta Muller and Elfriede Jelinek.

I am unlikely to read either Muller or Jelinek then either - not that my local library has any of the books any way!

#69: I'd probably suggest reading The Overton Window, Glenn Beck's new novel (which was #1 on the NYT fiction bestseller list) or any of the Twilight books before I'd recommend reading anything by Muller or Jelinek.

I read the first Twilight book and that was more than enough, thank you very much, Darryl. If you think more highly of that one than Muller and Jelinek's books, then it sounds like I am not missing anything by my local library not having them!

#70, But I hope you would at least read it in the library, Darryl, so as not to give him any money! Then again, since most of what he says on air is fiction, maybe he's found his niche.

>62 kidzdoc: Hmmm...I see my party (as yet unplanned) is getting some stiff competition...but I am soothed in my outrage by the certainty that, should I ever plan a bash, not one of y'all would show up anyway. *sniff*

I plan to shun To Mervas like the Amish shun whores. Does Archipelago publish any jolly little numbers, or just these grimgrimgrim four-hankies-and-a-pistol numbers?

#73: Since I was not invited, why would I show up?

>74 alcottacre: Details, details.

Besides, I haven't even planned the thing yet! September is one long pitfall. Maybe Labor Day weekend?

#74: Well since I already know I cannot come even if I am lucky enough to receive an invite, Labor Day weekend is fine with me. lol

#62 A House for Mr. Biswas, eh? I've had that books for decades, but never read it. I don't know why, really, as I must have bought it for a reason. After your recommendation, I don't think I'll wait until Trinidad comes up on my alphabetical global read.
Looks like we're composing a fine list, btw. Thanks for adding!

Hallo again - you are starred!

I've just ordered The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - given the length of my to-read-next list, I was going to wait for it to come in to paperback, but I'm going to see David Mitchell at the Edinburgh Literary Festival at the end of August, so I had to buy it. Now I've got very itchy fingers to get going...

#22 You see until a couple of years ago, to me, grits were a type of crisp/chip - but then I came across them somewhere in the US, so had to give them ago and they just seemed to be mushy goop. Very disappointing. Your descriptions sound entirely different - what exactly are they meant to be like?!

#27 Oh dear, and I'd sworn to myself I wasn't going to add anything else to the wishlist for a few weeks. That's another resolution gone to pot!

#50 "although the rims were hand cleaned, so that probably counts as a car pedicure" - smirk.

#62 "It does seem as though the Americans here, myself included, are more upset about England's performance than the Brits are!" - it's because we're used to it - and I'm not confining myself to football here (not being a big fan) - I don't think I was alone in not quite knowing how to deal with it when we actually won the rugby world cup in 2003...

...some wonderful reviews, as always, Darryl.

Darryl

Your previous thread lasted exactly two weeks. This new one has 78 posts already. Congratulations for having such wonderful books and conversations!

Darryl,

I finished my review of Troubles and returned to read your review. Excellent. You really captured the essence of the novel, which is also my favorite novel of the year so far. I have to get The Siege of Krishnapur into the queue. I bought it at the same time that I bough Troubles but I failed to buy The Singapore Grip. Hmmm, must go and put it into my B&N cart since I have a gift card.

Nice review of To Mervas Darryl .... I think you may have liked it more than I did. I liked the writing but I really didn't like all that depression and the situation she was in.

Whoa; 11 messages since my last post this morning! I'm back at work, so I might have to leave soon.

#71, 72: I haven't read any of the Twilight books, and will probably never read anything by Beck; neither of them will receive a dime from me!

#73: Does Archipelago publish any jolly little numbers, or just these grimgrimgrim four-hankies-and-a-pistol numbers?

Umm, umm...must check. I suspect not.

Uh oh, another baby with meningitis in the ER. Back later...

poor baby ... how do babies get meningitis? Hope he/she's on the road to recovery

Darryl..
This sounds rather serious.... Prayers are sent to the little one...and to you and those who are watching over the baby.

#83: False alarm; the two day old baby with the 101 degree fever that was billed as meningitis doesn't seem to have it, as his spinal fluid was normal. However, the 4 week old baby I saw just before I posted message #82 definitely has it.

How do I know this? Both babies had spinal taps (lumbar puncture) done to evaluate the cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF. This is a routine procedure in any neonate (baby of 0-28 days of life) with a fever; all are evaluated for blood, urine or spinal fluid infection, started on intravenous (IV) antibiotics, and admitted to the hospital for at least two days (~48 hours) to "rule out sepsis", which really means to rule out a serious bacterial or viral infection. The four week old baby had a higher than normal level of white blood cells (WBC) in his CSF (normal is 20-30 WBC per millliliter of spinal fluid; he had 157 WBC/ml). The other baby only had 2 WBC/ml of CSF, so the spinal fluid was normal. However, we sent off the CSF to look for bacterial and viral infections, which will ultimately tell us whether either child has meningitis, and, if so what type: bacterial, enteroviral or herpetic (due to herpes simplex virus).

So, how do babies get meningitis? The viruses or bacteria that cause the infection usually migrate from the tissues of the mouth, throat or nose into the blood. The spinal fluid, the fluid that bathes the brain and spinal cord, is made up from the blood, so viruses and bacteria can migrate from the blood to the spinal fluid. Most older kids and adults have an intact blood-brain barrier, which is meant to keep microbes, toxins, and other unwanted molecules from entering the CSF. However, in babies, young children, older adults, or sick people, this barrier doesn't work as well, and meningitis is more likely in these patients.

Kids receive certain vaccines that are tremendously important in protecting them from meningitis, so bacterial meningitis is very uncommon in fully immunized kids (I probably see two or three kids a year with bacterial meningitis, and more than half are unimmunized or behind on their shots). The most common form of meningitis in developed countries is viral meningitis, and the most common type is enteroviral meningitis; this virus usually causes summer colds or a brief and self-limited GI (gastrointestinal) infection, with diarrhea and perhaps some vomiting, which usually doesn't cause any problems. However, in infants and young kids the virus is more likely to enter the bloodstream and cause meningitis. Fortunately this form of meningitis would resolve on its own without treatment with antibiotics; however, since I don't know for certain what type of meningitis the 4 week old baby has, he will receive two antibiotics to treat bacterial meningitis, along with an antiviral agent to treat herpetic meningitis, which can be a very serious and sometimes fatal infection if it isn't caught early and treated properly.

The good news is that the baby with meningitis should do well, and will likely make a complete recovery, along with the two day old baby with fever.

Here's a link with more info about meningitis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, if anyone is interested:

CDC - Meningitis

Back to old posts...

#74-76: I'm blocking off Labor Day weekend to crash the big Long Island bash. The only thing that will keep me away is if Richard uses Miracle Whip to prepare his dishes.

#77: A House for Mr Biswas is one of my all time favorite novels, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

#78: I definitely want to hear about the Edinburgh Literary Festival and the event that features David Mitchell. In case you didn't see it, I posted a link in message #12 to an article in yesterday's New York Times Sunday Magazine about Mitchell. I subscribe to the NYT daily, but I haven't read that article yet.

Grits are not supposed to be "mushy goop"; where did you get the grits from? Have you been in the South? If you ordered grits in the northern US, they were likely to be awful unless a Southerner or someone else who knows what they are supposed to taste like prepared them. They should be a bit creamy but not runny, and they should NOT be eaten with sugar (white or brown), cinnamon, apples, or any other weird things; cheese is okay, shrimp is definitely fine, but my favorite way to eat them (when I go home) is to have them with a fried egg cut up and mixed in with them (which probably sounds gross, but it's awfully good!). Have you had juk or congee, the Chinese rice porridge? The consistency is pretty similar to grits, but grits are a bit taster than juk; however, juk is always, or almost always, served with ingredients mixed in, such as seafood (my favorite!) or hundred year duck eggs, which are horrific and should be avoided at all costs (my good friend in Madison loves these eggs, but his wife and I can't deal with them). My favorite juk restaurant was a short walk from and on the same block as the hostel in San Francisco that you've stayed at, on Broadway but on the other side of Columbus Avenue, across the street from the SW (Sam Wong) Hotel heading toward Stockton Street in Chinatown.

#86: Can I hitch a ride, Darryl? I could make it to Atlanta and travel with you to crash Richard's party :)

#87: Definitely. We can fly to Philadelphia, pick up Linda in the Lehigh Valley, drive to NYC to pick up Rebecca and Suzanne, and then take the LIE to Richard's place, where we'll act like the embarrassing relatives of Mrs Bucket in "Keeping Up Appearances".

Ooh, it's almost midnight. Off to bed...

I love "Keeping Up Appearances!"

Sounds like a great plan to me - we will not tell Richard about it though.

I've finally caught up on all your threads, Darryl! Your book reviews are always so interesting to read. Hope the baby with meningitis is okay; I had viral meningitis as a teenager and it was one of the worst experiences of my life.

>88 kidzdoc:, 89 *buys industrial-sized jars of Miracle Whip to put on lawn*

Oh, hi guys! How's it all goin'? Darryl, the only vaccination I ever got was for polio, and that was the Sabin not the Salk. As a result, I had pertussis, measles, mumps (twice!), scarlet fever...and still my mother refused to get me vaccinated against smallpox! I visited my father and stepmother one summer, she noticed I didn't have the smallpox scar, and just piled me in the car and had it done the next morning.

She was a lovely person.

#90: Adults and older kids are much more symptomatic with meningitis, viral or bacterial, than infants and young toddlers are. The baby with meningitis is doing much better today, as he is no longer having fever and is resting comfortably. He'll likely go home tomorrow, unless he has herpetic or bacterial meningitis.

#91: Curses! I should never have mentioned the Miracle Whip. We'll have to rely on Linda to crash the Glam-Nic.

Ick! So you had to suffer with all those preventable childhood illnesses. And mumps twice! I've never seen a case of mumps, and I don't think I've ever seen in measles, in almost 10 years of practice and three years of residency.

However, I have seen at least two or three dozen cases of pertussis, including two or three this year. I had pertussis in 2000, which was absolutely miserable, with a cough that lasted 3-4 months and daily post-tussive emesis (vomiting after prolonged coughing episodes) for at least two months. I was unable to sleep lying down for almost a month, as I would develop a bad coughing spell within 5 minutes.

I haven't read about it closely, but there is currently a big pertussis outbreak in California, which has claimed the lives of at least five infants. Babies don't receive the first pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine until they reach two months of age, so all infants under two months, and some infants under four months (when they receive the second DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus and acellular Pertussis) vaccine). A small handful of these kids have been sick, but fortunately none have died.

This talk of spinal taps elicits memories of a time when I was having them on an almost monthly basis to relieve the build up of csf for pseudo tumor cerebri. Thinking about a baby having a tap gives me the willies. Though, truth be known, in adult form, they are not as terrible as one might think.

One of the times I had a LP, there was a curtain separating me from an older man who was about to have his first ever tap. I could hear his agitation and fear and his statement that he would get this unnecessary procedure over with and leave immediately.

Because I had so many of them, my neurologist thought it might help him if I explained how he could hold himself in a fetal position to minimize the discomfort and to explain the reason for the need to lie flat for a few hours afterward.

He replied that he wasn't having a "woman" tell him what to do. Because he was rigidly stubborn, his LP was painful..He left promptly thereafter in a huff, only to be readmitted later that day with a spinal tap headache.

Darryl, my question is this: How do you keep a sick baby flat on their back for a few hours after the tap? And, do you sense that it is painful for the little one when they have the LP?

Thanks, as always, for sharing your wealth of knowledge.

Richard, if you are placing industrial size miracle whip jars on the lawn, then be forewarned..I'll be there.

If this party is going to happen, then count me in. Darryl, your plan is a good one. The ABE airport is 1/2 hour from my house. I can swing by to get you and Stasia and then head into NYC for the other crew members...I can indeed drive us to Miracle Whip haven.

Oh, Richard, it will be a Happy, Happy Birthday when the Bucket family members invade!!!!

Wow...it's two months away and my guests are piling up! I might actually need to have this party.

Further announcements as events warrant, to quote Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes.

#93: Darryl, my question is this: How do you keep a sick baby flat on their back for a few hours after the tap? And, do you sense that it is painful for the little one when they have the LP?

We most often do spinal taps on very young babies, from 0-3 months of age, to rule out meningitis. Needless to say, those babies don't have the strength to move very much, so the likelihood of a spinal headache is quite low. Younger kids with meningitis, who can and often do move after the LP, don't seem to get spinal headaches; the only kids I've seen with spinal headaches have been adolescents, and even then it's quite rare for one of them to have a significant headache (e.g., one that would need a blood patch by Anesthesiology; I think only one or two of my patients have needed this of the hundreds (if not a thousand or more) patients I've cared for who have had an LP (lumbar puncture)).

LPs are very easy to do on young infants, and it's much easier to get CSF than it is to place a PIV (peripheral IV) line in a hand or foot; scalp PIVs are easier to place, but the parents hate seeing an IV in their child's scalp (and I can't blame them!). There is probably less pain involved in performing an LP than multiple PIV attempts, which is quite common, particularly in a sick and/or dehydrated baby. So, in general I'd say that an attempt to obtain CSF by an LP is less painful than the attempt to place a PIV line, due to the lesser number of "sticks" that have to be performed for an LP vs PIV placement.

Infants tend to tolerate LPs pretty well. What they hate the most is being scrunched up, where their necks and hips are best slightly forward, so that the lower back is flexed; that makes it easier to do the LP. They frequently wail loudly when they are put in this position, then of course they cry when the spinal needle is inserted into the lower back. However, once the needle is in the spinal canal and CSF starts to flow (which, as you know, should look like water, perfectly clear and colorless), they often relax and go to sleep. However, that's when we want them to cry, as the increased intracranial pressure generated from crying permits the CSF to flow more quickly. So, we frequently have to stimulate them or flick the bottom of their feet (which young babies hate, even though it's technically not a painful stimulus) to get them to cry and "give up the CSF".

I don't do may LPs anymore, maybe 3-5 per year, as most of the kids have had their LPs done in the ER. I don't mind doing LPs at all, as long as it's on an infant or young toddler and, most importantly, that it is absolutely necessary.

The 4 week old baby with meningitis is doing much better today, as his fever has resolved and he is less fussy and uncomfortable. The lab was able to isolate RNA for enterovirus today from his spinal fluid, so he has enteroviral meningitis, the most common form of meningitis, which will resolve without treatment as will any other viral infection. I was highly suspicious that he had enteroviral meningitis because he had some URI (upper respiratory infection) symptoms (nasal congestion, runny nose and mild cough) and because his labs (white blood cell count and CRP, a marker for infection or inflammation) were both normal, which is suggestive of a viral infection. As long as his blood, urine and CSF cultures don't grow any bacteria tomorrow he should be able to go home tomorrow morning.

Apparently, I nearly died from my whooping cough vaccine when I was abt 18 months old. I don't remember, but my mother tells me my arm was as large as my entire body. Still, I would have no problem vaccinating any children I had; I just won't be signing up for that vaccine any time soon...

A close friend of mine lost his only sibling, a younger sister, to meningitis when she was about 11. I don't think he has ever recovered; they were very close.

Richard, amazing that you weren't vaccinated for smallpox!!

The sister of a friend died of bacterial meningitis; she was 17. This was about 25 years ago, so hopefully the treatment is more effective today.

Troubles has been sitting on my shelf for awhile now. I'll definitely be moving it up to the top of my list.

#98: You almost certainly received the cellular pertussis vaccine (as part of the DPT vaccine), Suzanne, which was associated with a lot of negative side effects, including local reactions (like arm swelling), high fever and seizures. Most kids tolerated this vaccine (which contained the cell wall of the bacterium that causes pertussis, Bordetella pertussis) without too much difficulty, but side effects were pretty common. The new vaccine is prepared without the cell wall, hence its name of acellular pertussis vaccine, and side effects are much rarer with this preparation.

I mention this especially because the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends that adults should receive the TDaP vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis) at least once in place of the standard TD (tetanus and diphtheria) vaccine that all adults should receive every 10 years. However, in your case, you shouldn't receive this vaccine, per the following information from the CDC web site (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd-vac/should-not-vacc.htm#td):

Some people should not be vaccinated or should wait.

* Anyone who has had a life-threatening allergic reaction after a dose of DTP, DTaP, DT, or Td should not get Td or Tdap.

* Anyone who has a severe allergy to any component of a vaccine should not get that vaccine. Tell your provider if the person getting the vaccine has any severe allergies.

* Anyone who had a coma, or long or multiple seizures within 7 days after a dose of DTP or DTaP should not get Tdap, unless a cause other than the vaccine was found (these people can get Td).

* Talk to your provider if the person getting either vaccine:

o has epilepsy or another nervous system problem,

o had severe swelling or severe pain after a previous dose of DTP, DTaP, DT, Td, or Tdap vaccine, or

o has had Guillain Barré Syndrome (GBS).

I received a DTaP vaccine last year, as I am at high risk for acquiring pertussis from a patient or parent in the hospital, and, more importantly, I could easily pass it on to other young babies I take care of, such as the two young infants I'm seeing this week.

More information on pertussis from the CDC's web site:

Pertussis (Whooping Cough) – What You Need To Know

A close friend of mine lost his only sibling, a younger sister, to meningitis when she was about 11. I don't think he has ever recovered; they were very close.

The sister of a friend died of bacterial meningitis; she was 17. This was about 25 years ago, so hopefully the treatment is more effective today.

It isn't that the treatment for bacterial meningitis is better today than it was years ago. The reason we don't see as much bacterial meningitis now is that we have several vaccines that prevent against bacterial meningitis, especially the HiB vaccine, which protects against Haemophilus influenzae type B (which was the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in older infants and young children), and the MCV4 and MPSV4 vaccines, which protect against Neisseria meningitidis or meningococcus, the most common cause of meningitis in older kids and adults, such as college students or young adults in the military.

Both types of bacteria are easily treated with antibiotics; the problem is that once the patient has meningitis, the infection is way out of control, and the patient is often fighting a losing battle, so that the antibiotics are unable to kill the infection before the infection kills the patient. Needless to say, I am incredibly grateful that we have these vaccines, especially when I talk with the older doctors I work with; before these vaccines, deaths of infants and young children from meningitis were pretty common.

Right, books! I should talk about books, instead of horrible childhood infections!

I think I've reached a new height on the obscure book scale today. I received four books in the mail today; for two of the books I'm the only LTer with the book, and one of the other ones is an LT Early Reviewer copy that won't be published until October. The books are:

The Company of Heaven: Stories from Haiti by Marilène Phipps-Kettlewell: the Early Reviewer book, which won the 2010 Iowa Short Fiction Award from the University of Iowa. I'll read this early next month. Several LTers have also received Early Reviewer copies of this book.

Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos: A book of short stories by this Greek author, which I'll read for next month's Reading Globally monthly theme read. Four other LTers own this book.

The Politics of Medicaid: Stakeholders and Welfare by Laura Katz Olson: An analysis of the effectiveness of the Medicaid program in providing health care for the low income population it was meant to serve, and the special interests who benefit from and take advantage of the program. I may read this next month, as it's a very timely and relevant book; just over half of the patients we take care of have Medicaid insurance or PeachState, the state children's health insurance program for low income families who make too much money to qualify for Medicaid. Medicaid does not pay the full cost of hospitalization for its patients, so the hospitals lose money on every Medicaid patient that comes through their doors, and states like Georgia frequently want to cut the massive state Medicaid budget, which would greatly impact hospitals such as the one I work at, who provide care to all patients regardless of the type of insurance, or whether the patients have insurance at all (e.g., children who are in the US illegally).

Acting White: The Ironic Legacy of Desegregation by Stuart Buck: I first read about this book in an online review in The Atlantic by John McWhorter, and ordered it from Amazon straight away. It describes the effect on African American kids who are successful in school but are derided by other AfrAm peers who accuse them of "acting white" because they talk properly or are overly studious. These kids are often derided, beat up, or ostracized, and many turn their backs against education, with disastrous results. (I had some experience with this as a child, but I wasn't treated as badly as some friends and other people I know.)

How did you come across these books, Darryl? Apart from the one on Medicaid, I like the sound of the others .... so of course, I'll be watching out for your reviews....so get cracking. ;-)

"The Company of Heaven" is an LT Early Reviewer book. "Landscape with Dog" was reviewed in Belletrista by Akeela, and I ordered it because I needed a book for next month's Reading Globally monthly theme read (Greece). I read about "The Politics of Medicaid" from an e-mail from Columbia University Press about its newest titles, and ordered it almost immediately afterward. And, I learned about "Acting White" after I read a review in a weekly e-mail about books from The New Republic.

I'll be watching out for your reviews....so get cracking. ;-)

I'm on it, ma'am.

I actually think The Politics of Medicaid sounds like the most interesting one, but don't suppose I'll come across it on this side of the Atlantic.

I am definitely interested in seeing what you think of Acting White, Darryl.

#86 I did indeed see the link, but have yet to get round to reading it... ...and shall certainly keep you posted about the Literary festival!

"Grits are not supposed to be "mushy goop"; where did you get the grits from?" - yep, these were in Washington (DC). Ick. It tasted like bad porridge. I have been to the South, but not for very long - and not to explore the food properly - clearly this is something that will have to be rectified at some point - fried eggs and all!

Argh. Spinal taps.

Some interesting sounding reads lined up there...

I love my obscure 'me only' books. Makes me feel so *unique.*

I am going to find the Stuart Buck, however, sounds like a 'must read' so there will be more with that book. Have you seen the "Prep School Negro" -- a documentary in the making, very very fascinating. It isn't 'out' yet -- still in production but is being shown here and there for reactions.... there was a showing this spring at my daughter's school in Philly. All about the black experience in that domain --starting with some of the pioneers from the late 60's.

I can't keep up with you, Darryl! I misplaced your last thread, after I found it and then forgot to star it. I located it again -- and now you're over 100 posts into a new thread!

I think that catching up on your threads may fill my reading quota for the day! ;)

Yup, McWhorter would have sold me on that book, too. An interesting guy, with provocative but logical views.

#105: Surprisingly enough, the Foyles on Charing Cross Road has a single copy of The Politics of Medicaid in stock! I knew that the bookshop had an extensive medical collection, but I also doubted that this book would be available so readily:

The Politics of Medicaid

#106: I'll probably read Acting White within the next few months, probably not in July, though. I learned about this book from a review by JohnMcWhorter in The New Republic last week:

Guilt Trip

#107: Washington is technically a Southern city, as it is south of the Mason-Dixon line, and the restaurants should know how to make grits there. You might have to come to Atlanta for Southern food...no, better yet, go to New Orleans! There you can get Southern food and Creole and Cajun food, which is practically unbeatable. Don't go there between late spring and mid fall, unless you like oppressively hot and humid weather.

Uh oh, have you had one or more spinal taps, too?

#108: I love my obscure 'me only' books. Makes me feel so *unique.*

I catch flak from people at work and non-LT friends, who say that I only read books that they have never heard of.

I haven't heard of The Prep School Negro, but I am very eager to see it! My mother wishes that they had sent me to Germantown Friends School, the school highlighted in the trailer, Germantown Academy or the George School in Newtown, instead of the public high school my brother and I went to (Neshaminy). I'll definitely be on the lookout for this, and ask my parents if they have heard about this movie, as I know that they would like to see it, as well. Thanks!

#109: Hi Terri! There will be a pop quiz on the topics discussed in this thread (World Cup, meningitis, pertussis, J.G. Farrell) on Friday. Only those who score 80% or better will be permitted to post on this thread in the future.

I won't finish Even the Dogs tonight, as I'll be working for a few more hours on a draft for our new midlevel providers. I'll make that my first read for July. It was a good half of the month, as my goal for the year was 125 books, and I'm over halfway there (72 books and counting).

I catch flak from people at work and non-LT friends, who say that I only read books that they have never heard of.

I make fun of you, too, all the abstruse and gloom-leaking bullet magnet books you read! We need to sit you down with a copy of Auntie Mame and a laugh-tears towel. Maybe a pitcher of Bombay martinis. Possibly even a few dozen pigs-in-blankets.

Believe it or not, I've added Auntie Mame to my Amazon wish list, and I think I'll get it with my next Amazon order! I do like well written irreverent reads, and this book seems like a good summer read. Thanks!

The Bombay martinis sound great (but no more than two for me, I'm a lightweight). Pigs-in-blankets? Not so much, especially after I mentioned New Orleans cuisine in message #111.

#111 "Washington is technically a Southern city, as it is south of the Mason-Dixon line" - really? I didn't realise that - it looks so North to me - must just have been a bad batch ;o)

"Uh oh, have you had one or more spinal taps, too?
" - thankfully no - just the very idea of them makes me wince...

#108 "I love my obscure 'me only' books. Makes me feel so *unique.*" - me too, although there aren't very many of them. Quite a few with just one or two others though...

Dammit, Richard, I come and visit this thread in the sure and certain knowledge that books like To Mervas are going *nowhere* near my wishlist, thinking I'm *safe*, and you start mentioning titles that I now want to read. Kindly desist, sir!

I'm finding the information about meningitis fascinating. When I was an undergrad living in halls, we had a couple of cases: one lad who died (I didn't know him, but it was a heck of a shock for us all) and the girl in the room next door to mine, who was hospitalised for a while but was fine in the end. It's good that there are more vaccines now.

Oh how nice to see a book by someone I know at Lehigh University!

She is a well liked professor.

By the way, Darryl, have you read Color of Water by James McBride? I was thinking of that book when I read the synopsis for Acting White even though the former isn't about segregation.

#114: The traditional dividing line between north and south along the Atlantic coast is the Mason-Dixon line, which separates Pennsylvania to the north from Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia to the south. However, I think that many if not most people would consider the South as anything below and including Virginia.

#115: I'm glad that I'm not to blame this time for adding to someone's wish list!

The meningococcal vaccines seem to have led to a significant decline in the number of cases of bacterial meningitis in young adults; it's rare to hear about a college kid that dies of it nowadays.

#116: I had meant to ask you if you knew about the author, as I saw on the cover that she teaches at Lehigh.

#117: I haven't read The Color of Water yet, Caroline, although I have it, probably in one of my boxes of books that I haven't categorized on LT yet.

Darryl

I don't know her well, but know she is well respected and liked by students. I believe she and I served on a few committees together some years ago.
She is a friend of a friend.

You should move it up and out of your boxes of books, Darryl ... I think you'll enjoy it. It made me appreciate how difficult it must have been for the author to be a biracial child living in times before being biracial became more common and more acceptable. And also how courageous, patient and wise his mother was.

#119: I'd like to read her book this month, or next month at the latest, and I'll certainly post a review of it.

#120: I'll dig it out and try to get to it fairly soon, although I'm sure it won't be until the fall, at the earliest. A lot of my closest friends, especially former medical school or residency classmates, are in interracial marriages (Chinese-American/Belgian, Jewish/Vietnamese, Indian/African-American, Japanese-American/Caucasian, etc.). It's helpful to these kids when they can interact with the kids of other interracial couples, and kids in general and their families seem to be much more accepting of these relationships and their children.

cameling...I've been looking for someone who's read something by James McBride! I was trying to listen to Song Yet Sung on CD, but I kept losing interest. Have you read that one? I haven't read The Color of Water, yet, but I wanted to know if I should keep going with Song Yet Sung or just let it go.

I listened to Song Yet Sung on audio, and I loved it. It did take a little bit of getting used to the rhythm and keeping the characters straight, but I'd give it a chance!

I read The Color of Water years ago when it was given to me by a friend. It is a very moving story, although not brilliantly written. The parts that made me wince were the horrible ways the mother's family treated her, mostly because they tried to claim their reasons for doing so were because they were Jewish (yes, I know that every group has its mean, hypocritical people, but it bothered me). I believe his mother was remarkable in her ability not only to turn her back on her family of birth but also to remain so focused on her own goals in the face of opposition and extreme hardship.

As for the discussion of the south, I have always heard that "Washington is a southern city."

As for the discussion of the south, I have always heard that "Washington is a southern city."

Many native Georgians don't think that Atlanta is a "Southern city", as there are so many transplants here; I think that only 1/3 of the people here are from the South, and only 1/4 are native Atlantans, or something like that. The life long Atlantans feel that the city has lost its uniqueness and charm, and it does feel like a soulless city in comparison to other places I've lived, especially New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

tloeffler, thanx! I'll try it again. I only made it to disk 3 and returned it to the library. But I was afraid I might have given up too early and missed something good.

>113 kidzdoc: Pigs-in-blankets? Not so much

DARRYL! This is a book from the Fifties, a perfect expression of Cocktail Culture, the kind of book that should be read in a Balenciaga cocktail costume (okay, you're exempted from that) and a strand of pearls (THAT you have to do); one must drink one's drink accompanied by the proper comestibles! Swedish meatballs. Curry toast with chutney. Sherried cheese puffs. Y'know, faux sophisticated nibblements.

Enter into the spirit of the times!

As for the discussion of the south, I have always heard that "Washington is a southern city." - I shall take your word for it ;o) Ditto the reverse with Atlanta! (I always think of Atlantis when people talk about Atlanta...)

Richard, you forgot cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, stuck in half a grapefruit... ...and I'm just imagining Darryl in pearls *snigger*...

Now I need the tear-towel for the tears of mirth at the mental image of Darryl, in pearls, solemnly quaffing curry toast with chutney...

I bought The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet and Wolf Hall today. I just couldn't resist after having read your reviews. I told my friends (who already think I'm crazy for buying and reading so many books), I bought them on doctor's advice... Now they really think I'm crazy...

#127: Swedish meatballs. Curry toast with chutney. Sherried cheese puffs. Y'know, faux sophisticated nibblements.

I can do Swedish meatballs. I like curry and chutney, so maybe the toast would be okay. Sherried cheese puffs? Pigs in a blanket? Nope.

#128: cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks, stuck in half a grapefruit

OMG. I hate pineapple. Absolutely not.

Strand of pearls? Yeah, baby! And maybe some faux earrings to match?

#129: I see nothing funny here. That's the way I dress on weekends.

#130: LOL! I should write you a prescription for Valium or Zoloft, too. Rats; I'm only licensed to practice medicine in the state of Georgia.

LOL! No need for Valium etc. My only addiction is books and I do think that's rather harmless :-)

#132 Dunno about that: if your addiction's anything like mine, the withdrawal symptoms when stuck on a train/ferry/whatever for six hours with nothing to read can be pretty unpleasant.

(I once resorted to a Jackie Collins to ease the symptoms. Oh, the *shame* of it.)

Ha, but a true addict always keeps her remedies with her, in my case an e-reader packed with hundreds of Project Gutenberg-books, just in case. (Everything from preventing me to read a Jackie Collins :-)).

Well, that was at least 15 years ago, in the pre-ereader days. I've never made the same mistake since. (I just get backache from putting six paperbacks in my shoulder bag.)

Shouts out for pigs in a blanket! What's there not to like about these little snacks? sausage ...mmmm... good. fluffy puff pastry... mmmm....good. put them together and it's mmm mmmm good, especially accompanied with ice cold beer.

#121 : Darryl, I grew up in Singapore where most families are biracial and even within that, there are more blends. I myself am a blend of 3 races, so I'm pure mutt. :-)

#122 : I don't like audiobooks ... I've tried audiobooks and have never liked books I've enjoyed reading in print being read out to me. But I have read Song Yet Sung and enjoyed that. I think it's easier to keep characters in order if you can easily flip pages to refresh your memory sometimes.

Being a mutt is GOOD, Caro! I say that, being legally entitled to carry two passports and having been raised on multiple continents, even though I'm 2/3 Celtic.

oh i don't mind being a mutt at all ... when I'm in Asia, I look local in any country I'm in ... except India .. and even there the locals think I'm a very fair Nepalese or Kashimiri..... as long as I don't speak. :-)

#134: a true addict always keeps her remedies with her

...or him. I go into book withdrawal very quickly, even at the check out counter at a local pharmacy or supermarket. I always have a book handy, except for social gatherings where reading is clearly frowned upon (baseball game, World Cup party, etc.). I discovered Amazon e-books can be downloaded onto my BlackBerry, so I have a couple of unread books on it, in case of a dire emergency.

#136: Shouts out for pigs in a blanket! What's there not to like about these little snacks?

The pigs are fine; the blankets are the problem. Puff pastry just doesn't go with hot dogs or sausages, IMO. I would need the beer to wash the taste of them out of my mouth.

I myself am a blend of 3 races, so I'm pure mutt.

And a cute one at that! (Do I earn brownie points or a few weeks' respite from clunky boot attacks now?)

My paternal great-grandmother was an Irish immigrant, so I'm 1/8 Irish. My mother and her older sister are very light skinned, so there is almost certainly some Caucasian blood that I've acquired on the maternal side. I'm pretty sure that there is also some Native American blood on my mother's side of the family. So, I'm also a mixed critter—and proud of it.

I am a mutt too. Native American on both my parents' sides, plus a doses of Scandinavian, German, Belgian, and Scots-Irish.

Let's hear it for the mutts! Whooohooooo! *waves multiple colored flag*

And a cute one at that! ... I can see the Irish in you rearing its head with that nice compliment, Darryl! ;-) Hmmm... I like the compliment, so I'll give you a by on clunky book attacks for the long weekend. That will also allow my sore arm some much needed rest.

But aren't all Americans (and I realize not everyone on LT is from the US) "mutts" - isn't it the nature of the beast. We're all "from somewhere else", except those who are Native Americans. For me, Italian, English-Irish. But I'm not that cute.

Book #61: News from Home: Short Stories by Sefi Atta



My rating:

This was a very good collection of 10 short stories and one novella by the Nigerian author Sefi Atta, which was awarded the 2009 Noma Award for Publishing in Africa. The stories involve the lives of contemporary Nigerians living within the country or abroad in the United States or Britain. My full review appears in issue 6 of Belletrista:

http://www.belletrista.com/2010/issue6/reviews_2.php

Another great review! Another great book!

Darryl, you are reading like a man possessed -- or, dare I say it, like Stasia?

#143: I already had that one in the BlackHole due to another recommendation. My local library still does not have it yet though. *sigh*

But aren't we all descending from this one tribe in the South of Africa who migrated partially into three or so directions and populated the rest of the world? The Genographic Project figured that out (at least that's what I remember of documentary I saw a couple of years ago). More info:
https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html
Which makes all the racial rumour quite ridiculous if it weren't that sad.
Anyway, I'm glad to be human and proud of it:-)

I'm about as un-mutt as it's possible to be (although there's probably some Scots in there somewhere) - I always wanted to have some interesting international genes when I was growing up, but sadly no.

That said, historically, the UK has been invaded so many times, I'm sure we're all very deeply mutty way down - and, as JustJoey4 says, we're all out of Africa way way back. In fact we're all descended from fish if you really want to start from the beginning ;o)

Excellent review, Darryl.

Thanks for that link, JustJoey. I knew about the project, but not where to find the information.

I'm also genetically boring: I can claim 1/8 Irish, but can't trace any ancestry more than 250 miles from where I am now.

#148, Well, if you really want to go far back, we're all descended from one-celled organisms . . . or from the explosion of stars . . .

ETA All my ancestors were immigrants from Jewish communities in Europe (Lithuania and Poland -- both probably part of Russia at the time, Austria, and France), so not very genetically diverse.

Darryl ... only 1 book I have to add to my obese wish list this week? You're slipping .... ;-) Or you're working way too hard. I hope you have the long weekend off?

#144: Thanks, Linda!

#145: I'm nowhere near Stasia's prodigious output (or yours, for that matter), Suzanne. She reads more books in a week than I do in most months.

#146: I hope that you can find it; it was definitely a worthwhile read.

#147: I suppose that's true. However, here in the US, a nation of immigrants (except for the Native Americans who preceded), racial and ethnic backgrounds are more distinct and of greater interest. Where I grew up, in northern New Jersey just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, there was a potpourri of subcultures from different countries, and many people I knew at church (German Lutherans) and in school (Italians, Irish, Germans, Puerto Ricans, Irish, African American, etc.) strongly identified with their countries of origin, as many of their grandparents and some of their parents were from the "old country". I enjoyed it tremendously, as it exposed me to different ethnic foods, practices and accents, and I think this everything to do with my current interest in world literature and meeting people from different countries.

#148-150: I suspect that Europeans will become more ethnically diverse in coming years, especially with all of the different peoples that live in the larger cities.

#151: Yep, I worked all week, and I got home about half an hour ago, but I'm off for the weekend (only Saturday and Sunday, though). I'll definitely finish at least one book today, The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis (keeping with my usual theme of light and cheery reads). I'm a third of the way through it, but it's only 127 pages. I have several short books to read (one other book by a Greek author, an LT Early Reviewer book, and a book for issue 7 of Belletrista), so I'll finish at least two or three of them by Sunday.

#145: She reads more books in a week than I do in most months.

That is because I read junk compared to you :)

Nice reveiw Darryl. Onto the pile it goes.

#154: That is because I read junk compared to you :)

Rubbish! Are The Idiot, Troubles, Oblomov, etc. etc. etc. junk? I think not.

#156: It is all the other stuff in between, lol :)

In honor of Independence Day in the US, The Huffington Post published an article about 15 independent small presses that are publishing quality and cutting edge fiction. Several of my favorites made the list, including Archipelago Books, Coffee House Books, New Directions and Open Letter Books, but I was unfamiliar with more than half of these presses. Several other small presses were also listed as ones deserving wider attention.

Independence Day: 15 Feisty Small Presses and the Books You're Going to Want from Them

In the spirit of this article, I'll buy one of the books from the presses on this list, I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita, published by Coffee House Press. This title was already high on my wish list, and my local Borders has it in stock. This review from Publishers Weekly appears on the book's home page on Amazon.com:

*Starred Review* The International Hotel, or I Hotel, was an actual San Francisco landmark, the base for a wild array of pan-Asian artistic, political, and community endeavors. And now this 'fortress' and 'beacon' provides the impetus and structure for Yamashita's exuberant, irreverent, passionately researched, and many-voiced novel about the Yellow Power movement. Author of the indelible Tropic of Orange (1997), Yamashita nets the social and personal ferment of the years 1968 through 1977 in 10 interconnected, stylistically varied segments. As this jazzy, kaleidoscopic novel unfolds, we meet orphaned teenager Paul and his mentor Chen, a radical professor; Mo Akagi, a Yellow Panther; Gerald, an avant-garde saxophonist; Sandy Hu, an innovative choreographer; and all kinds of gutsy and inventive activists, some in wheelchairs, who comprise a broad spectrum of courageous Asian Americans asserting their rights. With a rich soundscape punctuated by James Brown, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin; Mao, Malcolm, and Martin; and a narrative pastiche of demonstrations, jam sessions, guerrilla theater, and kung fu; transcripts, puns, and letters—not to mention sex, pot, and risky adventures; comedy, tragedy, and triumph—Yamashita's colossal novel of the dawn of Asian American culture is the literary equivalent of an intricate and vibrant street mural depicting a clamorous and righteous era of protest and creativity.

Ooh...I might have to put down everything else I was planning to read and start this right away!

Morning Darryl- Just stopping by to say hey and tell you to have a good safe holiday weekend!

#158: I cannot wait to see your review of that one if you do read it, Darryl!

Book #73: The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis



My rating: (3.6/5.0)

Read for the Reading Globally July theme read (Greece)

Alexandros Papadiamantis (1851-1911), known as the "saint of modern Greek literature", was born on Skiathos, an isolated and provincial Aegean island which provided the setting for several of his most highly regarded works. These works are short stories and novellas that describe country life on the island; he also wrote about urban life in Athens, where he moved to as a young man. Papadiamantis was a deeply religious man who never married, and he returned to Skiathos two years before his death.

The Murderess is considered to be Papadiamantis's masterpiece, which was written in 1903 and recently translated and published by New York Review Books Classics.

Jannis Frankissa, known as Old Hadoula, is a widowed midwife who is known and respected for her healing remedies throughout Skiathos. She has had a hard life, as have most women on the island, plagued by death, poverty, the oppressive dowry system that impacted her life and those of her daughters, and the activities of her wayward and irresponsible sons. She believes that the lives of women on the island are worthless, and despairs at the birth of her new granddaughter: 'O God, why should another one come into this world?' The baby is quite ill, and Old Hadoula is charged with watching the baby while her mother rests, and healing her if possible. During a series of sleepless nights, while the baby cries and coughs, Old Hadoula recalls her past sufferings, and aches at the thought of another girl having to experience what she did.

This novella provides a vivid glimpse into an isolated village's culture, and how its oppressive culture and poverty led to deviant behavior and madness in a good and devoutly religious woman. It was a good read, but a book of about half its length would have made for a more powerful and effective story, as it was repetitive and slow going in spots.

#161: I may try and get my hands on that one, just for the glimpses into the culture. I doubt it will be anytime soon though since none of the local libraries has it.

Thanks for the review, Darryl!

#159: Good morning, Mark! Thank you; I hope that you have a safe and relaxing weekend, as well.

#160: Oh, I'll definitely read I Hotel; it's just a question of whether I read it this month or in August. I was originally planning to buy it in San Francisco next month and read it there, but that review on Amazon and my decision to buy it this weekend makes me very tempted to read it ASAP.

#163: Flip a coin maybe?

#164: I think I will wait to read it next month, although I'll still buy it at Borders today or tomorrow (hmm, I'll have to make sure that it is actually open on July 4th). I have four hefty novels that I'm planning to read this month already, and I figured that I'd tackle one a week. It would make more sense to read I Hotel while I'm in San Francisco, for my annual "Beat the Heat" trip to SF that I always take in August, since I could visit the International Hotel and any other sites referred to in the book while I'm there.

#165: That sounds like a good plan. If you pass through DFW on your way to San Francisco, let me know, would you?

#166: Will do, but highly doubtful. Delta has several direct flights between ATL and SFO every day, so if the plane lands at DFW something has gone wrong!

#167: I thought it would probably be a direct flight for you, but figured I would mention it anyway :)

>161 kidzdoc: Oh goody good, another gloom-oozing four-hankies-and-a-pistol book! And this one even has an ugly cover! *skips gaily past The Murderess with nary a glance*

Thanks for sherpa-ing that one, Darryl. Another book I won't be reading until I am so manically cheerful that I need something to make me sit in a chair and stare into the abyss that is Time.

#168: Right. Every so often I do have to take a connecting flight between major airports, but that's usually when I've waited to the last minute to make my reservations, especially at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

#169: What's wrong with a book about a murderous old woman?

I thought about you when I read this book, and was waiting for your comment about another of my horrifically depressing reads. I'll have to look for Auntie Mame when I go to Borders this weekend, although that won't begin to even things out.

Good news: my current book, Even the Dogs, is about tortured homeless people in London. The despair continues.

Wow. Germany didn't waste any time, scoring on a brilliant header off of a free kick in the 3rd minute against powerful Argentina. Now that Brasil fell to the Netherlands in yesterday's quarterfinal, I'll switch my original prediction of an all-South America final (Argentina-Brasil) to an all-European final (Netherlands-Germany).

Argentina has plenty of time to come back, but Germany is viciously attacking the net.

It looks as though Serena Williams will win Wimbledon. Again. I was sorry to see Andy Murray lose to Rafael Nadal; I'd love to see a Brit win the Wimbledon men's title soon.

Darryl -

Thanks for posting the Hufington article. I'm going to see if I can find some of these. I'll be watching for your reviews.

Nice review of The Murderess Darryl ... and enough for me to pass on this. The IHotel on the other hand, sounds interesting.

I think Germany looks fresher in comparison though .... still time to try and at least come to a draw, but the Germans are looking very impressive. I can't wait for the Paraguay Spain match this afternoon. I'd love to see a Germany Spain semi.

errr..... Darryl .... are you prostrate with grief yet? It's 3-0 now ... Argentina's definitely out

#174: Germany has to be the favorite to win it all. This team looks unbeatable, with a lethal offense and a suffocating defense; Lionel Messi has been completely nullified so far.

I'll definitely watch Paraguay-Spain this afternoon, and then go out. Spain should win, but I don't think it will matter much; I think a Netherlands-Germany final is all but a complete certainty.

#172: You're welcome, Jim. I'll also check out some of the presses that I'm not familiar with, especially NYU Press and Black Widow Press.

Another note of gratification for the Huffington article Darryl. I'll also be interested in your take on Even the Dogs which I abhorred didn't really care much for.

#175 - Don't rule Spain out yet! They are the current European champions.

*de-lurks*

Just stopping by to say hello, Darryl!

*resumes lurking*

Unbelievable action in the Paraguay-Spain match in the past 5 minutes. Paraguay was awarded a penalty kick, which was saved by the Spanish keeper. Within a minute, Spain's David Villa was taken down by a Paraguayan defender in the penalty box, and Spain was awarded a free kick. The Spanish striker buried the kick, but his mates encroached the penalty box, thus nullifying the goal. On the second try, the Paraguayan defender made a brilliant save of the penalty kick. The rebound went to an open Spainard, and his shot went off the post, aided by a probable penalty against the Paraguayan keeper. So, after all of that, it's still a scoreless match in the 68th minute.

#176: Will do; I should finish it tonight.

#177: It's still scoreless in the 81st minute. Obviously Paraguay has a stifling defense; however, Spain, if it is fortunate to win this match, will have play much more effectively on offense to have a prayer against Germany.

#178: Hi, Terri!

ETA: Spain's David Villa has scored in the 83rd minute.

I thought we were going to have to go into OT for a minute there. Poor Paraguay though .. they certainly played well

It isn't over yet; the Spanish keeper barely saved an attempt by Santa Cruz a minute ago.

ETA: Now it's over; Paraguay 0-1 Spain. So, the semifinals are set; Uruguay vs. the Netherlands on Tuesday, and Germany vs. Spain on Wednesday. The third place game is on Saturday, and the final will be played on Sunday.

I do think it will be a Netherlands Germany final.

*sigh* just when the WC ends, a few days of rest and then it's Tour de France to keep me up nights.

I peeked at The Murderess, but I don't think hormonal-old-me could handle it right now.

I skipped the soccer babble, but I hope you're enjoying the games.

And I hope you have a wonderful 4th, wherever you end up!

Hate to bring it to you, but the Tour started today :-)
Tomorrow, the king of Belgium and Eddy Merckx (supposedly the best-known Belgian cyclist of all times) will be there when the Tour (which started in Rotterdam today) arrives in Brussels tomorrow. Of course, the heat isn't on till the third week, when they reach the Pyrenees, so you might get some rest after all:-)

Today? today? wait today is ..... oh crap ... why was I thinking that TdF started next week? Thanks for the heads up JustJoey4.

*scrambles to check out TdF's website for latest news*

#183: Nope, no Tour de Steroids for me. It will be back to baseball. The Phillies are a very mediocre club this year, unfortunately, but there's still time for a surge to the postseason.

#184: Thanks, Luxx! I hope that you enjoy your 4th, as well. I'll be out and about tomorrow, as the weather is much nicer here than it's been in several weeks.

Even the Dogs almost certainly won't be one of my favorite reads of the month. It's being mentioned as a possible Booker Prize contender by multiple posters to the Booker Prize speculation thread, so I'll push through to the end.

Just spent a couple of hours linking to the 15 Independent Presses cited in the Huffington Post article, and added a dozen or so books to my wish list, darn it all.

>187 kidzdoc:: the Phillies are completely bumming me out these days, Darryl.
>186 cameling:: Thank goodness for TdF! I always enjoy it.

And of course the Wimbledon men's singles final on Sunday ("Breakfast at Wimbledon," for those in the US).

Attempting to jump into some sort of sports conversation: I've come to enjoy minor league baseball a hell of a lot more than the majors. Granted, our local team is the O's, and they're *awesome*, so that could explain my change of heart.

But man, there's just something relaxing about running down the road to a Baysox game with my dad. It's always a good time.

/ramble

I just finished Even the Dogs; I'm with Bonnie, it was abhorrent, depressing and repulsive. I'll write a review tomorrow, but I doubt it will get more than three stars from me, and I can't think of anyone, except someone who wants to know about the lives of homeless drug addicts, who I would recommend this book to.

#188: I'll look at the books published by these presses in the next few days, and I suspect that I'll also add a dozen or more to my wish list. In addition to I Hotel, I'm very interested in Partly Colored: Asian Americans and Racial Anomaly in the Segregated South by Leslie Bow, from NYU Press.

#189: I'm trying to remain a loyal Phillies fan, but they can't seem to win more than two games in a row.

I'll probably skip the men's final at Wimbledon, as I expect that Nadal will win again.

#190: I've never attended a minor league baseball game, as I've almost always lived within half an hour of a major league baseball team (NYC, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Atlanta). Several of my friends who live in the suburbs have mentioned how much they have enjoyed seeing the Gwinnett Braves play; they are a minor league affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. However, I'm only about 3-4 miles from Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves play, and probably 20 miles or more from the stadium where the Gwinnett Braves play. If I go to a minor league game, it will be a Trenton Thunder game with my father and brother on a visit to my parents' house in suburban Philadelphia; that stadium is closer than Citizens Bank Park, the home of the Phillies.

It's a shame about the Orioles; I remember the powerhouse teams of the late '60s and most of the '70s, with Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Mark Belanger, Boog Powell, and that fabulous pitching staff, especially the year that the O's had four 20 game winners (let's see...Cuellar, Dobson, Palmer and, um...oh yeah, McNally). And Camden Yards is a great place to watch a game; a friend and I went to an O's-Twins series the first year that the park opened, and we loved it.

Regarding post 161, thumbs up from me on your great review.

>191 kidzdoc: The Orioles...? Aren't they the ones who LOST to the METS in the 1969 World Series...game 7, inning 9, if memory serves...why yes, I believe they are!

And don't even get me started on the %()!Q_^T*E&^%%% Braves...when Milwaukee sold them to Atlanta, the ^(!*(&%*&$^&!^&(%_++^#&^!s CLOSED DOWN the Austin minor league team. I have never even considered the possibility of forgiving them.

74 books!... nearly there, nearly there. Looks like it's going to be a double celebration for you on the 4th. Enjoy!

*just waving as I go through the threads*

As for minor league baseball, I love to go to those games. The Frisco Rough Riders play about 40 miles from where we live, so we go and seem them play about once a year.

#192: Thanks, Linda!

#193: The Orioles...? Aren't they the ones who LOST to the METS in the 1969 World Series

Oh yes, and I remember that series well. I was 8 years old and living in Jersey City in 1969. I and my friends became diehard Mets fans that year, and were elated when the Miracle Mets beat the mighty Orioles that year. However, I don't think the Series lasted for seven games; let's see...no, the Mets won it in five games.

That was also the year that I became a bit familiar with the Orioles, and I was pulling for them the next year, when they beat the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970 World Series. They were great during the entire 1970s and early 1980s, until the (ick, bleh) Yankees returned to prominence.

I'll root for the O's over the Yankees any day of the week.

I'm definitely not a Braves fan, even though I've lived in Atlanta for 13 years, and I hate the Tomahawk Chop.

#194: Yes, I should finish book #75 today, which will be Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos, which I'm reading for this month's Reading Globally theme read (Greece). I'll pretend that this evening's fireworks in town are in honor of my accomplishment.

*waves back at Stasia, prepares to add more books to my wish list from the Acre*

Well, if we're taking a trip down baseball's memory lane, then let's not forget the 1975 World Series with the Big Red Machine. I grew up in Cincinnati, was 13 at the time, and was thrilled with the home team.

#197: I was a huge Johnny Bench fan because I played catcher, so I loved the Big Red Machine.

Book #74: Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor



My rating:

This experimental novel begins with the death of Richard, an alcoholic middle aged man living in an abandoned flat in an unnamed English town, from unknown causes. A group of people who apprarently know him observe the proceedings, as the police remove his body from the building, and as curious neighbors and onlookers view the spectacle dispassionately.

The story of Richard's sordid life is told through the stories of those who know him: homeless drug addicts who he allows to stay at his place in exchange for food and drink, and his daughter, who is also addicted to heroin and cocaine and living on the streets, until she also moves into her father's flat. Alongside these stories are descriptive accounts of Richard's trip from the flat to the morgue, the careful cleansing of his body, a clinically precise account of his autopsy, and the inquest process of the coroner, in which his life is summarized and an attempt to understand the causes of his death are made.

In Even the Dogs, McGregor gives us an unblinking account of the lives of homeless drug addicts in contemporary society. The characters stay mainly out of focus even as they speak, and it was difficult for this reader to appreciate or identify with them. The disjointed writing does coincide with their disjointed lives, and McGregor is successful in portraying the day to day sordid existence of hard core drug addicts and the homeless. This was a tough book to read, and is a difficult one to rate, but I'll settle on a three star rating, and applaud Mr McGregor for this courageous novel.

So what's for breakfast today?

:)

#199: I have already put that one on the 'Do Not Read' list. Just not my cuppa at all.

#197, 198: Those Reds teams of the mid and late 1970s were among the most impressive and lethal squads I've seen: Bench, Griffey, Rose, Tony Perez, etc. They probably would have won two or three more World Series if the Oakland A's weren't as good as they were back then (I think the A's won three World Series in a row, right?).

However, my favorite player was one who I rarely saw on TV: Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates. I used to imitate his neck stretching when I came to bat in stickball games, and I admired his hustle and fearlessness. I was devastated when I learned of his death, just before Christmas 1972, as the plane that he rode on to take relief supplies to victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.



One of these days I'll get to his recent biography, Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero by David Maraniss.

#202: I read the Maraniss book a couple of years ago, Darryl. It is very good!

#200: Today it will be hot cereal: Hodgson Mill Multigrain with Milled Flaxseed & Soy, along with the standard mug of freshly brewed Peet's Coffee (Ethiopian Fancy). I was going to go to Einstein Bros. for a bagel sandwich and coffee, but the Peachtree Road Race is underway, and many of the streets around Piedmont Park and Peachtree Street in Midtown are closed or very congested for the morning. I like to go there on Sundays to read the paper; depending on their hours today, I may go there for lunch, and then head to Borders afterward.

#201: I think I'm a pretty tolerant person, but I am repulsed by this population. I was hoping that this novel would help me to be more sympathetic for the homeless; if anything, it did just the opposite.

I should add that I am repulsed by the hard care homeless population, the unwashed and foul mouthed drug addicted and mentally ill poor souls that populate large cities. I'm very sympathetic toward people who have lost their jobs and homes, especially homeless women and children. Every so often I take care of a kid whose family is living in a hotel, like the girl I saw from Wednesday to Friday, and their stories break our hearts.

>198 alcottacre:: I went to high school with Johnny Bench's nephew. He was very good looking and very popular, and didn't know I existed :)

>202 kidzdoc:: They probably would have won two or three more World Series if the Oakland A's weren't as good as they were back then
Oh yes. The A's and the Dodgers both made life difficult for the Reds back then.

A lot of the people you describe in #205, at least in NYC, are mentally ill, and are on the streets because back in the 70s or 80s the state closed down most of the mental hospitals, saying that the patients could be treated at outpatient clinics. Of course those clinics never materialized, and patients whose needs were too great for outpatient treatment were released along with the others. While I find many of these people perhaps more scary than repulsive (who knows if they see a middle-aged woman when they look at me or a dangerous dragon?), I have a lot of sympathy for them too. They have not been served well by society.

>205 kidzdoc: I ran across this quote, from a forgotten American writer, William Dean Howells:

"...I think for poor people...rotted into one of the sodden tramps whom {one meets} now and then, looking like some forlorn wild beast, in the light of {Central Park's} autumnal leaves. That is the great trouble in New York; yu cannot anywhere get away from the misery of life. You would think that the rich for their own sakes would wish to see conditions bettered, so that they might not be confronted at every turn by the mere loathliness of poverty...Sometimes I think that as Shakespeare says of the living and the dead, the rich and the poor are 'but as pictures' to one another without vital reality." --from "Impressions and Experiences", published in 1909; no touchstone

And in the intervening 101 years, there has been little if any change.

And as for the others, who knows what despair drove them to the streets?
What happened to take the spirit from them. Amen #207.

*Mitakuye Oyasin or We are All Related*

#207: Right, Rebecca; and that was the biggest tragedy in mental health in the past 50+ years. A lot of places treated the mentally ill like guinea pigs or worse, such as Dr. Henry Cotton, the superintendent of Trenton State Hospital in New Jersey, who performed thousands of unnecessary surgeries on the mentally ill, in a misguided belief that 'mental illnesses were the product of chronic infections that poisoned the brain.' This scandal is described in the book Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalomania and Modern Medicine by Andrew Scull.

I need to learn more about this, but my understanding is that the solution to the abuse of the "incarcerated" mentally ill was to close down the mental hospitals, and release their charges to the streets, with only a bare and extremely insufficient amount of medical and social care.

Our society has badly failed these people, and the mentally ill in general. Most insurance companies provide insufficient mental health care for children, and we've had several inpatients that needed to be placed in an inpatient psychiatric facility, but could not because the insurance companies refused to pay for these services.

I find most of the homeless in major cities like San Francisco and Atlanta to be neither scary nor repulsive. However, in recent years, there has been an increase in the number of violent crimes committed by homeless people, particularly in Atlanta, including murder, rape, violent assault, and kidnapping of children. This is the sub-population of homeless that I find repulsive, not the vast majority of homeless who are just looking for a bite to eat and a place to lay their poor heads.

I've unfortunately run into several of these violent homeless people when I used to sit and read at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, who would occupy the benches designed for kids and families and others wanting to spend a pleasant afternoon in the park, and curse at kids and threaten adults, with little help from the park police. As a result of repeated episodes where I was verbally harassed while sitting in the park, I no longer go there.

Although I mourn for these poor souls, I don't think they should be permitted to run amok and terrorize innocent children and adults.

*steps gently off of soapbox*

But.... all of those crimes are also committed by those not homeless.

I honor your experiences however, and have no more to say on the subject....

But.... all of those crimes are also committed by those not homeless.

Yessss...that's obviously true. However, I've found that non-homeless people that commit violent crimes generally do not act in wide open public spaces during the day, and do not harass or disturb kids and families that simply wish to enjoy themselves in a park without fear.

I think that those of us who live in central cities are more sensitive to this problem than those who don't, especially if you've had run ins with aggressive homeless people, or seen a family outing that has been ruined by a homeless person that has badly scared a child, as I have.

After a bit of searching, I found a book that has been sitting on my shelf for awhile, which I'll start reading this week: Criminal of Poverty: Growing Up Homeless in America by Lisa Gray-Garcia, a book that was published by City Lights a few years ago. This is the description of the book from the City Lights web site:

A daughter’s struggle to keep her family alive, through poverty, homelessness and incarceration.

Eleven-year-old Lisa becomes her mother’s primary support when they face the prospect of homelessness. As Dee, a single mother, struggles with the demons of her own childhood of neglect and abuse, Lisa has to quickly assume the roles of an adult in an attempt to keep some stability in their lives. “Dee and Tiny” ultimately become underground celebrities in San Francisco, squatting in storefronts and performing the “art of homelessness.” Their story, filled with black humor and incisive analysis, illuminates the roots of poverty, the criminalization of poor families and their struggle for survival.

#160: Stasia, I did pick up I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita from Borders today, and read the first two chapters of it. It's about the birth and growth of the Yellow Power Movement in San Francisco, which began in 1968 with a student uprising at San Francisco State College (now University) to open up the school to more Asian and other minority students, and to expand the college's Ethnic Studies department. It is a novel, but it is based on factual information about the movement. The I Hotel (International Hotel) was an actual building in Chinatown (on the corner of Kearny and Jackson Streets, a short distance from City Lights Bookstore), and I had read about it in a book or elsewhere, as it was the focus of a decades-long fight between poor Asian residents, housing activists, and city officials who wanted to demolish the hotel. I've passed by the building that replaced the I Hotel dozens of times, but never realized exactly where it was before now. The book is great so far, but I'll wait to read it until I go to San Francisco next month. It's over 600 pages, so it will take me the better part of that week off to read it.

I also bought Suttree by Cormac McCarthy, which I'll read in the fall; McCarthy is the mini-author for the Author Theme Reads group from September to December.

It's been far nicer here in Atlanta this weekend than in the Northeast, I think; it's been in the mid-80s both days, with lots of sunshine and relatively low humidity. I'm back inside, but I'll head back out to either Borders or Starbucks in a short while.

I am speaking anecdotally and emotionally, and with insufficient knowledge, andthis conversation has spurred me to do more reading. Thanks for the suggested books.

I may know a bit more about it than you give me credit for, but I don't choose to go further. You and I are both certainly entitled to our opinions.

Sorry, Kath; I didn't mean to upset you or ruffle your feathers. It's just that this is obviously a sore topic for me, and I have very strong opinions about this segment of the homeless population.

I can see both sides of this discussion. I strongly agree that the mentally ill have been treated very badly by society in general; however, I cringe at the idea of young children being terrorized in the park by violent people, whatever their situation in life.

Society should find a way to provide adequate mental health services for all people!

I've added Madhouse: A Tragic Tale to my list. A member of my family spent time in Trenton State Hospital, though I think it was after that butcher's time.

Thanks for the mention of the Clemente biography -- also added to list!

As one who volunteered at a shelter for the homeless, actually a very dear friend of mine started the project because there was a problem and the Christmas City (at the time -- early 1980's) didn't adequately address the issue.

I could go on and on, but to be brief, I can say, after serving meals, chairing fund raising committees, speaking to local business organizations and churches regarding the homeless, and after serving on the board of directors, I know there are no easy solutions to this ever growing issue.

Post #207..resonates with me. So many of the homeless that I tired to help were Veterans who were scarred and mentally ill. I grew angry at a government who took poor people who did not have the opportunity to go to college, drafted them into the jungles of Viet Nam and then after the terrible emotional damage was done, literally dumped them like garbage back on the streets of the US.

Darryl, I do understand your comments. Being homeless does not entitle someone to mame, harass or kill.

This is such a complex problem and no one -- republican or democrat truly has a handle on the issue.

I'll end by saying that I feel very strongly about a nation that looks down on other countries, pinkies in the air, sending money abroad while here on our streets, we refuse to admit that there is a BIG problem. I am generalizing, but I am so weary of the denial our nation faces in a very snobby way because we refuse to help here at "Home."

I'll also end by saying after all my liberalism, I grew weary of helping some of those who did not even try to help themselves.

Book #75: Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos



This was a wonderfully written collection of short stories that take place mainly in Greece and Italy. The stories are brief and gentle yet powerful, and several are deeply moving and unforgettable. I'll write a proper review of this book later this week, and I'd give it 4 stars for now.

#213: I look forward to seeing what you think when you are done with it. Reading the book in San Francisco sounds like a treat.

#219: Adding that one to the BlackHole.

>219 kidzdoc: Glad you enjoyed it, Darryl!! Phew! I was a bit worried, though I shouldn't have been ... it is quite beautifully written. I look forward to your review. No pressure ")

I definitely enjoyed it, Akeela. Several stories stood out for me, such as the woman and the exterminator and the wife who tells her husband that she bought a guinea fowl for dinner, but didn't. I'm still at work, and I'm working all week (including today, which should have been an off day for me for the July 4th holiday, grrr), so I probably won't review it before Wednesday.

Darryl, CONGRATULATIONS on finishing 75 Books!

Thanks, Pat; I'm glad that #75 was a very good read.

#191 - We live within comfortable driving distance of both the O's and the Nat's, but Bowie Stadium is only ten minutes up the road, and it's frequently a better game!

There is something wonderful about going to Camden Yards, though. I certainly wouldn't turn down a trip if one came up, but I wouldn't go expecting our team to win. I'd love to see them really jump back into things, but I'm not holding my breath.

Brooks has a print of Rockwell's painting of Robinson hanging in his room, signed by Brooks Robinson himself.


I'll root for the O's over the Yankees any day of the week.
ME TOO!

And congratulations on reaching 75 books!

Congratulations on completing the goal!

#225, 226: Thanks, Luxx and Linda!

A friend and I went to a three-game series between the Orioles and Minnesota Twins every year from 1991-93 (he was a big Twins fan, and I rooted for the O's). The first year we went to Memorial Stadium, in the last year that the O's played there, and then saw the '92 and '93 games at Camden Yards. What a difference! The location is great, and the food was infinitely better (Boog Powell had a stand for ribs and burgers above right field stands, and we got his autograph on a program that first year (which I hopefully still have at my parents' house)). I loved hearing one of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs, Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday between one inning every game, where the fans could watch highlights of the previous day's game. The O's were good back then; if I remember correctly, they beat the Phillies in the 1993 World Series.

Nice photo of Brooksie! I remember watching him make several incredible plays in the 1970 World Series, when the O's beat the Cincinnati Reds.

We also explored Baltimore, especially the Inner Harbor and Fell's Point. I love shellfish, so I was in heaven eating crab cakes and Maryland blue crabs on wax paper. What's the name of the restaurant in Fell's Point that specializes in mussels?

*wipes drool off of keyboard*

ETA: My mistake; the O's beat the Phillies in the 1983 World Series; the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Phillies in the 1993 World Series. The '92 and '93 Orioles teams were good, but neither made the postseason.

Congrats on 75! BTW, Boog's is still some pretty good BBQ, although I have to confess I haven't made it to a game yet this season...

I think you mean Bertha's - of "Eat Bertha's Mussels" fame.

#228: I was hoping that Boog still had his stand at the park. I'll have to see if my friend, who now lives near Patuxent Bay and is married with two kids, and I can get together for a game, for old times' sake.

#229: Thanks, Stasia! That little guy gets around...

#230: That's the place! I remember seeing "Eat Bertha's Mussels" bumper stickers on cars all around town, and occasionally in Philadelphia.

Congratulations on reaching 75!

Thanks, Caty!

Most of you have probably read that Beryl Bainbridge died last week (if not, here is an obituary from The Guardian). Does anyone have any strong recommendations of books that she has written?

#231 - I'll pick crabs over mussels, but you really can't go wrong with shellfish. Mmmm.

I haven't been to Fells Point in years; my trips to Baltimore are usually limited to the aquarium or burlesque shows.

You missed a beautiful week for games last week - the weather was perfect! Today is seems like we're back to the hot and steamy.

#234: Same here; this weekend in Atlanta was gorgeous, with high temperatures in the mid 80s and relatively low humidity. It will become hotter and more steamy starting today, and we'll be back to the mid and upper 90s by Wednesday.

Crabs > mussels; but I like lobster and scallops best.

my trips to Baltimore are usually limited to the aquarium or burlesque shows

LOL! I'm guessing that Max & Brooks don't go to the burlesque shows.

Not yet! Although I have seen babies younger than 1 at the shows. My best friends and I go to see Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey twice a year, and it's a blast! They're a circus burlesque act, and Baltimore is their hometown so they're around fairly often. They bring in a lot of other performers, too, and we haven't been disappointed yet.

I loved grilled lobster tail. Yum.

That looks like a blast. I'll have to see if they are performing in Atlanta, Philly, NYC or SF anytime in the near future.

Grilled lobster tail = heaven. Alligator tail = heaven, too.

I'll take your work on the alligator tail; I've never had the pleasure.

Well done, Darryl!

I've read a few Beryl Bainbridge books and I generally like her. She can swing from the really comic as in The Bottle Factory Outing to covering darker historical fiction as in According to Queeney and The Birthday Boys. She puts in so much detail in her books that she takes you right into the era in which she's writing.

I'm almost tired of lobster now ... I had 1 whole one to myself on Sunday but then about 4 other 'heads' because I also like the little legs and tiny bits of meat in the head even though it's a lot of work.

#238: I got my first taste of it at the Cajun/Creole restaurants in New Orleans. Yum!

#239: Thanks, Caroline! And thanks for the recommendation of books by Beryl Bainbridge.

As mentioned in a previous thread, please feel free to send all unwanted seafood to me.

It was a busy call night; I probably won't leave work until nearly 10:30 pm. The ED was apparently running a special on cute six year old kids, as I admitted four this afternoon (two girls with pneumonia, one girl with a urinary tract infection that failed outpatient treatment, and a boy with some infiltrative process in a couple of his vertebrae and one scapula along with a forearm fracture, who hopefully won't have cancer).

Darryl, I just finished The Birthday Boys last week and I would recommend it. It's a novelization of the doomed Scott expedition to the South Pole, told as diary entries from five of the expeditioners. In fact, I sent my copy to Stasia, who received it on the same day that Bainbridge died. Very weird.

>239 cameling: I'm almost tired of lobster now

Aw Caroline, I feel so sorry for you. Maybe the next time someone offers you some of that dreaded, boring lobster, you can ship it my way because I've never had the opportunity to get tired of lobster;-)

I had some great lobster rolls in DC; managed to miss out on soft shell crabs, though, so I will have to go hunting for some here!! Yum...

Congrats on reaching 75, Darryl!

And we seem to be in total agreement on seafood, including the relative rankings thereof.

Darryl, I saw a blurb in The Hill (DC paper) today for a reading of a book called Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone by Nadine Cohodas. It sounded like something you might be interested in.

Nevermind Darryl, I see that you already own it. Cheers!

Darryl...maybe you could try out an alternate history title I just reviewed...Seven Cities of Gold. It's very thought-provoking.

Informing you I've finished José Saramago's De tocht van de olifant (The Elephant’s Journey). You can find my thoughts on it on my thread, but I think you'll like it (don't ask me to explain why I'm so sure, but it's got something to do with maths, chemistry, natural science and common sense).

#241: I'm adding The Birthday Boys to my wish list; thanks!

#244: Thanks, Terri. I should also add calamari and salted squid (Chinese style) to my favorites list.

#246: Thanks anyway for that suggestion, Jen; I'll probably get to Princess Noire later this year.

#247: Thanks, Richard. I read your review, and started to add this title to my Amazon wish list, but Amazon isn't selling it. Where did you get your copy?

#248: Thanks, JustJoey; I'll definitely get The Elephant's Journey as soon as it is published in English. Math, chemistry and natural science are definitely interests of mine, and I could always use a bit more common sense.

>249 kidzdoc: mwaaa haaa haaaaaa

I ordered it! I got it from the publisher in England!!

http://store.pspublishing.co.uk/acatalog/current_catalog.html/

*rubs hands gleefully at fattening Darryl's VISA bill*

Thanks for that link; I'll check it out later this week.

New thread here.