The Hibernator Embraces Fluff

Hi, my name's Rachel (the_hibernator), and I work in the healthcare industry. I have a PhD in biomedical engineering, and my dissertation work was with hibernating bears. In my spare time, I volunteer for a rehabilitative justice program with the Minnesota DOC. I'm passionate about reducing stigma about mental illness. I have bipolar disorder and talk about it a lot because I think more people need to know that mental illness is something that you don't have to be ashamed of. I have three cats: Myra, Hero, and Puck. I'm currently training for a 100 mile bike ride in the Lake Itasca (Mississippi headwaters) area in September.

Above is a picture of my reading plans for the upcoming year. In addition, I hope to have time to liberally throw in some spontaneity. (Spontaneity includes fluff.)

If you want to follow me on other media:

Twitter: @hibernatorslibr
Litsy: the_hibernator
blog: http://hibernatorslibrary.blogspot.com

Top 5 books of 2016



Completed in 2017

1. In the Woods, by Tana French
2. Winter's Tale, by William Shakespeare

I'm leading two reading challenges this year. The first is a year long literary read of the Bible following this schedule:



https://www.librarything.com/topic/243886

The second is a group read of The New York Times' list of "6 books to help understand Trump's win". None of them are about Trump specifically, but may help you understand the populism movement that led to Trump's win. This is meant to encourage discussion and anyone, Trump supporter or not, is welcome to join in the group read as long as the conversation stays educational and civil.

January - February: THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America, by George Packer https://www.librarything.com/topic/243872

March - April: STRANGERS IN THEIR OWN LAND: Anger and Mourning on the American Right by Arlie Russell Hochschild

May - June: HILLBILLY ELEGY: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

July - August: LISTEN, LIBERAL: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? by Thomas Frank

September - October: THE POPULIST EXPLOSION: How the Great Recession Transformed American and European Politics by John B. Judis

November - December: WHITE TRASH: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

Rachel's World Travels in Books (a 5 year project)


visited 3 states (1.33%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Ireland - In the Woods, by Tana French

I think that's enough reservations. You may proceed to comment.

Dropping my star off, Rachel!

Hi Rachel * dropped Happy Reading for 2017!

Happy new thread, Rachel! With all due respect I don't see any fluff here. ;-)

Welcome back!

Hi Mamie, Bryony, Darryl, and Jim! I'll be stopping by to star your threads shortly.

>9 kidzdoc: :) I'll have fluff shortly, don't you worry!

The thread for The Unwinding group read is up. Going to set up the threads for my Bible study and Evicted soon!

Hi Rachel! Just marking my place. I'm still planning to join you for Evicted and the year-long Bible reading.

Hi Carrie! I got the thread up for Evicted already! So glad you'll be joining us. Getting the Bible thread up next.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/243885

And my group read of the Bible.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/243886

>11 The_Hibernator: LOL

And the fluff arrives already........lovely to see you back again with us for 2017, Rachel.

Happy readings in 2017, Rachel.

Hi Rachel!

Happy 2017 thread Rachel - looking forward to some fluffy reading from you (although so far your plans look decidedly unfluffy!)

I hope you enjoy Kindred if you get to it in Jan - that's the only Octavia Butler novel I've read but I really enjoyed it and found it very thought-provoking.

La la la *covers eyes* I can't see you until 2017!

Dropping my star. I'm looking forward to seeing what all you read. I've wondered about a couple of the books you have planned for January so I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping by y'all! I'm going to make the rounds and drop some stars over the next couple of days. (I was going to say Sunday, but I guess that's Christmas, and Saturday I'm working...so Thursday and Friday it is!)

>4 The_Hibernator: Thanks for posting the NYT URL. I need a dose of understanding. ;)

Love your new title. Wishing you a great year in 2017.

>23 rosylibrarian: You're welcome!

>24 charl08: :) It was a direct response to Darryl's title, of course.

Hi Rachel! I'm going through and starring threads for 2017.

Ok! I went through the group and said hi to everyone who's here already. I know "hi" isn't much, but it's my way of dropping stars. :)

Hi Rachel!

Rachel

Happy reading in 2017. It looks like you have great plans. I admire your ability to stick to your lists. Alas, I tried this again last year, and while I had all good intentions, it was confirmed anew that I cannot follow a dedicated list. My reading is sporadic and based on what I find in the library, what I see on threads, what someone recommends, and what pops out from my books shelves as I walk past.

Hi Rachel. Just dropping off my star and saying hello to Myra, Hero, and Puck. Do they ever get photos posted hereabouts? :-)

Here's the closest Myra will get to the kittens. She's the black one in front. Hero's the black and white one and Puck's the grey and white tabby.

I'll look for a better picture of each. :)

>28 katiekrug: Hi!

>29 Whisper1: I did terribly at sticking to my lists last year, but, then, I wasn't being held accountable. This time I'm being held accountable for the group reads. And as for the ones that are not group reads, I'm going to try to get to them as quickly as possible while I still have motivation. :)

>31 The_Hibernator: Thank you!!!!! :-)

A book posing with Puck.


Hero pissed off about the election results


Myra wanting to be fed.

>34 The_Hibernator: Hello Puck, Hero and Myra!

Hi!

Hello! I heard Thomas Frank speak at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in October - he was really engaging, so I hope his book is enjoyable. I've just dropped my star here and in the biblical thread - looking forward to that one!

>35 FAMeulstee: Myra runs away and the kittens wave their little paws at you Anita!

>36 foggidawn: lol Is that a direct response to me going around and saying "hi" everywhere?

>37 pokarekareana: Hi Jen. Oh Good! I'm glad to hear that he's engaging. :)

>34 The_Hibernator: *big smile*

I feel like I may be doubling up for those of you with multiple threads, but I also don't want to miss any opportunity to wish you ~ and indeed the world ~

>38 The_Hibernator: Mostly it's just my way of making sure I don't lose track of your thread before the new year begins. :-)

Hi Rachel, nice to make your acquaintance my dear and I have starred your thread so I can keep up with your reading year.

Hi, Rachel!

You are starred, Rachel. I look forward to more exchanges in 2017.

Dropping my star...

I've bought Hillbilly Elegy and plan to read it in 2017. Maybe I'll try to squeeze it in in may/june :)

Happy New Thread and New Year.

Happy New One, Rachel.

Found you and

>34 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! Excellent pictures, they made me smile. I'm looking forward to following your thread this year and participating in the Group Read: Bible as Literature.

Hi Rachel- can't wait to see what you're reading! Your group reads both are looking so interesting. I'm terrible at sticking with them but I'm going to try my best. Happy 2017!

Happy New Year!

Embrace the fluff? So you're going to be giving me hugs all year? Fantastic!

Also, STARRED! :)

>40 EBT1002: Thanks Ellen! I hope you are having a great holiday season too!

>41 foggidawn: I went around and did the same thing. :)

>42 johnsimpson: Hi John! Thanks for stopping by.

>43 Kristelh: Hi Kristel!

>44 brodiew2: Thanks Brodie! Looking forward to it.

>45 Berly: Thanks for stopping by Kim!

>46 ctpress: Hi Carsten! It would be great if you read it with us. I received two copies of it for Christmas lol.

>47 Ameise1: And thanks for stopping by Barb!

>48 karenmarie: So am I Karen. I even cheated and started reading already, but I'm only a few chapters in. I don't want to get too far ahead of the game.

>49 jennyifer24: Hi Jennyifer! I have a hard time keeping to challenges too, but this year I have a lot of people depending on me to keep up the Bible thread and the Trump threads that I think I'll do just fine.

>50 DianaNL: You too Diana

>51 Ape: *hugs and smooches* Stephen

From left to right, that's my nephew Johnny (12), my sister Colette (40), my nephew Bryant (2), my niece Leilani (1), and me (37).

The week leading up the New Year was quite a delight for me. I enjoyed Christmas quite a bit - spending time with both my own family and my boyfriend's family. The day after Christmas, my sister, her kids, and I went to a lodge to celebrate her 40th birthday. It was a lot of fun. We did some chillaxing, took the kids to a bouncy house and to the pool and basically just enjoyed ourselves. And then, bonus, I had the day after my vacation off of work (just the way the schedule worked out) so I got time to rest from my vacation. Climbing after a toddler in a bouncy house is a lot harder than you'd think!

This week I finished two books. I finished listening to Packing for Mars on my drive up to the lodge, and read Hope in the Dark while at the lodge. Hope in the Dark is the January selection for a Social Justice Bookclub.



I switched out Packing for Mars with Proust's Swann's Way, which is actually more interesting than I expected.



And, of course, I acquired a lot of books this week as well. Racing in the Rain is from my Aunt Michele. The Underground Railroad and Hillbilly Elegy were given to me by both my sister and my boyfriend's dad - apparently they have good taste. :) Evicted I bought when the ebook went on sale for $4 during the Goodreads Choice Award sale - which is fantastic because I was just about to buy it in hardback for a group read in January. And Democracy in Black, Enrique's Journey, White Trash, And Invisible Man Got the Whole World Watching were on 2-for-1 sale at Audible. Enrique's Journey is the March selection for the Social Justice Bookclub.



And, the moment you've all been waiting for, my top five books of 2016.

>53 The_Hibernator: Glad to read you had a good time with your family, Rachel.
You got some nice books, reminds me I should get to Proust someday...

Wow! What a book haul! Thanks for swinging by my thread. Are you still in the RL book group? I had trouble making it to Saturdays. Still do since I've got a retail job part-time now, but they are better about giving me the occasional weekend than the doggy daycare was. I hear you're leading up a political read. Cool!

Your book haul sounds and looks great. Wishing you a happy new year.

I am part of the group.
I love being part of the group.
I love the friendships bestowed upon my by dint of my membership of this wonderful fellowship.
I love that race and creed and gender and age and sexuality and nationality make absolutely no difference to our being a valued member of the group.

Thank you for also being part of the group.

>54 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita and Frank! I'm enjoying the Proust more than I thought I would. He sure can compose a beautiful thought in words.

>55 cammykitty: Hi Katie! Yeah, I'll have a good one next week, too, because dad bought me all the rest of the political books I'm reading this year! He was making a purchase of one paperback and said "If I buy $50 worth, I'll save 15%, what do you want?

Yes, I'm still meeting with Liz and Morphy, though much less frequently. Liz and I have become busy and often have conflicting schedules, so it's become difficult to find a date that works.

>56 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! It's even bigger than it looks since I have three copies of The Underground Railroad and two copies of Hillbilly Elegy lol.

>57 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I agree, this is a fantastic group. We all have something in common which can surmount all those differences that we have.

>53 The_Hibernator: Great photo.

Looking forward to reading along next year!

Hi Rachel--Thanks for visiting my thread. Re your best reads of 2016, Wild Swans was one of my favorite books when I read it years ago. I felt it gave me such a good understanding of 20th century Chinese history. I also wanted to let you know that The Unwinding, which you will probably be reading in January, was one of my favorite books when I read it last year (2015).

Best wishes for a wonderful New Year!

I wish you from my heart health, happiness, satisfaction and much exciting read in 2017. May all your wishes come true.


from my hometown Zürich, Switzerland

Hi Rachel. I hope to be joining in with the Unwinding and a couple of other Group Reads

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Rachel. Hope 2017 is bigger and brighter for you and your family.

Nice photo by the way.

Your lodge vacation sounded like fun. I've had a little experience with bouncy houses. The kids always make me go in for a bit so I can wobble around and fall down. It's part of the entertainment! I have to work on my list of favorites. Mine will be longer than five! Have a wonderful reading year in 2017, Rachel.

Happy New Year!

This year, one of my big projects is to read the Bible cover to cover. Everyone is welcome to watch my progress or read along with me. The thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/243886 I'll post my blog posts here on my thread as well as on that thread, but I expect some good discussion to be going on on the Bible thread.

Several people have approached me about the pros and cons of reading the Bible cover to cover instead of reading it in assigned excerpts in programs designed by professionals. Lots of people get bogged down in the genealogies, my friends say, and they quit. My answer to this is that cover to cover is not a great way to read the Bible for spiritual or historical approaches, but for a literary approach it makes sense to read each book as one literary unit. That way we can appreciate the style and story progression of each book.

Many people think that reading the Bible as literature betrays a liberal bias, that it's foreign to the original intent, or that it implies the Bible is fiction and not divinely inspired. I say that the Bible is, by nature, a literary work.

"Without literary form, no content can exist. We can not extract the moral or theological meaning of a story without first assimilating the plot, setting, and characters of the story." (1)

Thus a literary reading is a good place for anyone, conservative or liberal, antiquated or modern, theological or non-religious, to start.

One very important starting point to reading the Bible as literature is to recognize that the Bible is a meta-narrative - it's an anthology of books written over many eras by people of different cultures and languages. But the overall structure of the Biblical narrative has a U shape: it tells an overall story, starting with paradise for the innocent (Eden), flowing through depths of sin and deprivation, and then ending in paradise for the faithful (Revelations). The Biblical anthology has many genres including the narrative (hero story, gospel, epic, tragedy, comedy, and parable) and poetic (lyric, lament, psalm, love poem, nature poem, wedding poem). Of these, the far most common is narrative.

Over the next two weeks, I'm going to read the book of Genesis, which is an epic narrative.

(1)Ryken & Ryken in their introduction to The Literary Study Bible

Happy New Thread, Rachel! Good luck with your various reading challenges. It looks like you have all ready lined up some promising books.

>69 The_Hibernator: I am sorely tempted to join in Rachel but fear I would need to scope it over two or three years. I have a lovely Oxford version of the King James which is beautifully written and I can still get immense pleasure and consolation from large parts of it; most especially the Psalms which I could well join you for.

Great to see you start off the year like an express train.

>59 jeanned: >61 Kristelh: >63 Ameise1: >65 harrygbutler: >66 fairywings: >68 Cmatha: Thanks for the wishes Jeanne, Kristel, Barbara, Harry, Adrienne, and Cmatha

>60 Oberon: Thanks Erik! I am amazed we got both babies to look at the camera.

>62 arubabookwoman: I'm glad you loved The Unwinding, I'm about a quarter of the way in already and am liking the stories, but am wondering about the format. I'll reserve judgement until I get farther into the book, though.

>64 SandDune: That's great Rhian. Looking forward to discussing these books with you.

>67 Donna828: Johnny's a little too old to care if I got in, and Leilani and Bryant thought they were fine alone. In fact, Bryant was. He's big enough he could move around pretty confidently. But Leilani was way too tiny to be left in there alone with all those rambunctious kids. I didn't want her to get hurt. And it was much easier for me to crawl in to the bouncy houses than for my sister. So I got all the Leilani guard duty. :)

>70 msf59: Thanks Mark!

>71 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Like an "express train"? lol Yeah, I guess I am sort of. I've got quite the plan. I'm already looking at January and wondering how I'm going to finish all the books I promised I'd read! I'm a slower reader than most people in the 75ers. The only reason I was getting near 75 last year was that I had a job where I could listen to my audiobooks. Now, not so much. And I have no commute to work. So opportunity to listen to my audiobooks has dwindled down.

Good morning, Rachel!

TKAM was my top read of 2016. I'm halfway through The Righteous Mind, and although I didn't read The Corinthian this year, I reread three other romances by Heyer. And I've opened The Literary Study Bible and have read half of the introduction.

Onward and upward!

Happy New Year! (dropping a star)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Hi Rachel. A happy new year to you too. I already had your thread starred, it's nice to read about all your reading plans. wishing you happy reading!

Hi Rachel! I'm hoping to join you for the group read of The Unwinding in Jan/Feb. And I am glad to see The Serpent King was one of your 2016 favorites. I picked it up as a Kindle Daily Deal and hope to get to it soon! Happy new year!

New year's greetings, Rachel. I love your kitty photos.

ETA because I forgot whose thread I was on. I'm trying to catch up with too many threads today.

Dropping off a star for you, Rachel. :)

Your TBR for 2017 looks great--I particularly want to read The Underground Railroad as well!

Happy new year Rachel. Good luck with your reading challenges. I thought The Underground Railroad a fine novel.

I love the photo, Rachel - sounds like you had a fun time. And nice book haul!

Happy New Year and Happy Mega-Reading, Rachel!
I might follow the Bible thread though given my latest reading performance I guess I won't actively join you. I tried to read the Bible cover by cover twice and always got stuck embarrassingly early. I wouldn't know in which language to read and which translation. Difficult books/ books in old language are preferable in one's mother tongue, but everyone is always referring to King James being best.

In addition to reading the Bible, I'm reading Paradise Lost over a period of a year (one book per month). I'm reading the Norton Critical Edition, and listening to the audiobook narrated by Charlton Griffin.

This week I read Book I, verses 1-191. The story begins just after Satan and his minions have been booted out of Heaven because they revolted, thinking they could be as powerful as God. They land in a firey landscape with all their former brightness and luster diminished, but their strength intact. Satan, with wrath and wounded pride says to Beelzebub that God was stronger than he'd thought, but that they'd been thrown out because God had doubted himself against Satan's army's power. Satan exclaims that since their strength still remains eternal, they'll wage a war with God until the end of time. Beelzebub suggests that they have been left their strength so that they may withstand all the more suffering, or that perhaps they are meant, from now on, to work as thralls to God (which would also require their full strength). He asks Satan what it would avail to wage war against God when he must be almighty to have overthrown an army such as their own. Satan does not answer this inquiry, but vows that they shall bring evil out of the good acts of God.

Then Satan notices that God has recalled his own army back to the gates of Heaven. Despite whether this recall is because God's wrath has been satiated or whether God simply scorns Satan's powers and feels the army is no longer needed, Satan's army will rest and confer about what to do.

The first thing that struck me while reading is: no wonder Satan wanted Adam and Eve expelled from paradise - just as he and his own army had been expelled from their own paradise. The title "Paradise Lost" may not only refer to Adam and Eve's loss, but to Satan's as well.

Another thing that struck me is that this story is in the viewpoint of Satan. He will be fighting for evil simply because it is the opposite of what God wants. He doesn't seem to want evil out of his own nature, but because God has driven him to it.

I loved the vivid imagery in this section. The descriptions of Hell were delicious. Milton sure does know how to set a scene and a mood.

I'm glad that I'm listening to this on audio while reading, I think it's really helping my comprehension.

Thanks Roni, Byrony, Kristel, EllaTim, terri, Micky, Kim, Caroline, Mamie,

>74 karenmarie: Looks like you're catching up with me on the Bible reading, and I started a week early! I'm really looking forward to my discussions with you all!

>79 porch_reader: Oh Amy, I hope you enjoy The Serpent King as much as I did. It was such a touching book.

>83 emilyesears: Well hopefully it'll really happen for me, Emily, because I have three copies of it. :

>86 Deern: Hi Nathalie! I've only managed to read through the Bible once, and I skimmed a lot of it. This time I really want to concentrate on the meaning.

Hello and Happy New Year, Rachel! Dropping off my star.

Wow, you are doing some heavy duty reading. I feel so fluffy in comparison. LOL!

>87 The_Hibernator: - Great overview of your Paradise Lost reading! I never thought about reading and listening at the same time, but it makes sense for a book like this. I can see how hearing the phrasing would help with understanding.

I think your thread is less fluffy than mine, Rachel! 😉

>92 kidzdoc: Surely not! ;-)

Rachel, Paradise Lost as well? I'm in awe.

Chapter one of Genesis sets the scene. The creation story is filled with beautiful imagery. My favorite line is before God actually creates anything. "And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2 ESV) Because I liked it so much, I found it interesting to see how this line was translated in the different versions:

NABRE: And a mighty wind sweeping over the waters.

NRSV: While a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

kjv: And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Personally, I like the ESV best.

The style is formulaic with a certain set of ingredients on each of 6 creation days: 1) the announcement "and God said," 2) a divine command beginning with "let" 3) the report "and it was so" 4) an evaluation "God saw that it was good" and 5) placement in time "there was evening and there was morning, the _______ day." (1)

There is only one character in the chapter - God - and very little is said about who he is...only what he does. What we should think of God? He created the earth, but was he omnipotent? What were his reasons? Who was God? These issues are left a mystery. Most people already have an idea of who they think God is before starting the Bible. Is this why God was left a mystery? Or is it because God is a mystery?

(1) Ryken, Leland. Ryken, Philip.(2001) The Literary Study Bible, Wheaton, IL, Good News Publishers.

>89 nittnut: Hi Jenn!

>90 Morphidae: Well, I am for now. I'm also reading our book club choice, which isn't heavy duty! Though I'm falling behind my reading goals. I'd planned to have it finished by now because I'm starting Harry Potter with a group on Litsy tomorrow. That's fluff, at least!

>91 porch_reader: This is my first time listening and reading at the same time. I also have the Bible to listen to while I'm reading, but I don't find that nearly as helpful as it is with Paradise Lost. My reading comprehension has skyrocketed with the Milton listening/reading combo.

>92 kidzdoc: It seems to be. But that's because other people are dragging fluff into yours Darryl. :) But I'll be starting Harry Potter tomorrow - the king of fluff - so beware!

>93 charl08: Yeah, I'm over-committing myself. We'll see how far I get on my goals as I realize they're too big. But for now I'm moving right along. Three days in and doing good!

>94 The_Hibernator: I also like the ESV best, followed by kjv.
I read Paradise Lost a couple of years ago - in English and way too fast, so I don't remember much except that I loved it. And yes, I felt for Satan and his loss in that first part, but I don't remember if that continued later. Maybe I should get back to that one if I can't do the Bible.

You are very ambitious, Rachel! Good for you.

Harry Potter is fluff, but it's intelligent fluff. And if you know Latin or another Romance language, there's quite a bit that is shorthanded by what it's called.

Oh, Paradise Lost is excellent - I hope you love it.

>94 The_Hibernator: yes the word "wind" and the word "Spirit" are so close in cognate.

My one line summary of the Bible.

"God creates the world. Complications ensue"

>96 Deern: Hi Nathalie! I know that Paradise Lost is considered the first example of an anti-hero, so I imagine the empathy towards Satan's plight continues throughout. But I'll see!

>97 karenmarie: Totally correct, Karen. But I have to admit to posting fluff at some point or I won't be able to embrace it.

>98 scaifea: Thanks Amber!

>99 magicians_nephew: Lol. That's a great summary, Jim!

Like Chapter 1, Chapter 2 is also filled with vivid imagery: man being formed of dust, woman being formed of man's rib while he sleeps, a description of the four rivers emerging from the Garden of Eden. All beautiful and worthy of perusing slowly.

In this chapter, though, we have two characters - God and Adam. Little is said about Adam, other than that he is lonely, but God appears in this chapter to be sympathetic and compassionate to his lonely creation, even to the point of making it clear that God put Adam to sleep before taking out his rib to make "Woman" (who remains unnamed in the second chapter).

There's an ominous last line: And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:25 ESV). The assumption here is that the reader believes that being naked is something to be ashamed of. It also sets up Adam and his wife for a rather nasty discovery. But for now, Adam and his wife seem innocent and child-like.



Chapter 3 of Genesis describes the Fall of Adam and his wife (who remains unnamed until after the Fall). A clever serpent tempts Adam's wife into eating of the forbidden Tree of Life by telling her that she will "be like God" and know good from evil if she eats. She eats, and shares a piece with her husband who was with her. When God finds out, Adam, like a whiny child, blames it on his wife, and his wife, also whiny, blames it on the serpent. Indeed, it is the fault of both Adam and his wife that they ate of the Tree of Knowledge. They both could have said no.

God punishes Adam's wife by giving her pain in childbirth and saying that her desire shall be contrary to Adam's, and that he will rule over her. He punishes Adam by making him toil the land for food and foretelling his eventual death. And he punishes the serpent by making him crawl upon the ground and foretelling how he shall be the enemy of woman and her children. After all this, Adam names his wife Eve because she shall be the mother of all peoples. Perhaps he doesn't name her before because she was not to be a mother until after the Fall?

Here's where the action begins in the Bible. There are four main characters: God, Adam, Eve, and the serpent. They are following a temptation/punishment motif. God here appears to be a just judge, and Adam and Eve are whiny children from whom the truth is to be wheedled. It is also an how-it-came-to-be story which explains why there is strife and labor.

One thing that struck me while I read this chapter is when "The LORD God said 'Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.'" (Genesis 3:22 ESV). Who is he talking to? And who are "us?" There's no mention before this of other gods or other creatures like God. Was this written at a time when the worshiping of other gods was so accepted that it was assumed others existed? Kugel, in his book How to Read the Bible, suggests that this is so. That Hebrews were supposed to worship the LORD God alone, but that they accepted that other gods existed.

Another striking issue is that God walks among Adam and Eve like a creature rather than as a spirit. Was God supposed to be incarnate like His animals and people?

There's an 11-month project on Litsy to read one chapter a day of Harry Potter and comment on a theme. Today is the first day of the project, and we're reading Chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone with the theme of commitment. These posts will contain spoilers.

I could talk about the commitment of the teachers of Hogwarts in bringing Harry safely to the Dursleys', but instead I'm going to focus on the Dursleys themselves. Using the first definition above, the Dursleys are committed to normalcy. They don't even talk about Mrs. Dursley's strange sister. They want nothing more than for others to view them as the most normal people on the planet. Mr. Dursley is so committed to normalcy that he ignores abnormal things all day long. He sees a cat reading a newspaper, people running around in cloaks, owls swooping around town, but he manages to "not see" at the same time. He explains it all away, and manages to forget about it. Until he can't anymore - he hears the names of Mrs. Dursley's sister's family mentioned by the strangely dressed people. But he's so committed to normalcy that he can hardly bear to mention the incident to his wife, who acts like some sort of vow is broken when he does.

On top of that, the teachers of Hogwarts are asking for a commitment from the Dursleys when they drop Harry off on their doorstep. That's a lot to ask of someone, especially someone who doesn't even want the name of "Potter" mentioned in their household. We know from future chapters that the second definition of commitment applies in this case - that the Dursleys feel obligated and that their actions are restricted by this obligation. But since we are not supposed to discuss future chapters, I'll stop here.

Hi Rachel. I hope all is well with you.

>69 The_Hibernator: Well said. You are off to a good start on the Bible reading. I will being following you along the way and look forward to your other choices as well.

Adam and Eve at first bear two sons - Cain and Abel. These two offer sacrifices to God, who smiles upon Abel's offering but is not pleased with Cain's offering. In a jealous rage, Cain kills his brother. When God discovers the murder, he banishes Cain to a life of wandering - he can no longer work the land to get food, so he becomes a nomad. Cain worries that someone will kill him for what he has done, but God says that anyone who kills Cain will be punished seven-fold.

This story is the crime and punishment motif. It begins with Cain offering disrespect to authority (God) by offering "fruit of the ground." I take this to mean he just picked up some fruit off the ground. Potentially it was rotten or had worms in it, but at best he didn't toil or sacrifice in order to give this offering to God. Abel, on the other hand, offered the firstborn of his flock and some nice juicy fat - a real sacrifice. Was Cain lazy? Selfish? Or simply disrespectful? When God rejected Cain's sacrifice, Cain held a grudge. He then committed murder. And murdering his own brother makes the crime even darker. Finally, he lied to God when asked if he knew where Abel was.

Clearly, Cain had the heart of a criminal. His crime was even worse than that of his parents. So why did God say that if anyone murdered Cain the murderer would be punished seven-fold? Was that to show the mercifulness of God? Or was it to explain the existence of nomadic peoples (Cain's descendants)? Also, given that Cain was an evil person, what does that say about the Hebrews' view of the nomadic peoples that descended from Cain? Were they viewed as evil as well?

One thing that struck me is that God does not appear to be omniscient in this story. He does not know where Abel is at first, and thus asks Cain. Or was he simply setting Cain up for a lie? That seems unmerciful, and contrasts with the mercy shown when God says that anyone who murders Cain will be punished seven-fold. Did God have human-like flaws like inconsistencies? Unlikely. Therefore I'll have to assume that God is not omniscient in this story.

Another thing that stuck me is the assumption that there were enough people out there that someone would murder Cain if he wandered away from his family. And whom did he marry? This wife of his was not mentioned in the genealogy of Adam and Eve (which occurs at the end of the chapter). Though women are notably absent from the genealogy. But if he did marry his sister, what does this say about her, that she would marry her brother's murderer? I feel that the story means to imply that there were more than just Adam and Eve's family, but that contradicts Genesis 3:20 which said that Eve "was the mother of all living." I am tempted to consider each story as partly independent from the others.

>103 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Thanks!

This is part of an 11-month group project on Litsy to read one chapter of Harry Potter a day, and to comment on a theme each day. These posts will have spoilers. Today's theme is loneliness.

There are three lonely characters in chapter 2: Harry himself, the snake, and presumably Mrs. Figg. Mrs Figg is only mentioned glancingly, but I think a little loneliness is shown in an older woman living alone who delights in showing off pictures of her many cats. I'll focus on Harry and the snake.

Both Harry and the snake are being raised away from their natural homes. They are both kept in cages - Harry in a cupboard and the snake in a cage - and both get poked and prodded and abused (the snake through the glass). They can sense this in one another, and this is why they make an instant bond together.

What was Rowling trying to say about loneliness in this chapter? Partly that it can bring together outcasts who would otherwise have nothing in common. Loneliness can be a glue. Whether this glue creates a healthy relationship or not depends on the people. In this case, both Harry and the snake benefited from the relationship. The snake was released from captivity, and Dudley was scared out of his wits (not that he has many wits to begin with). This was a healthy relationship. There are unhealthy relationships that loneliness creates in future chapters of the book, but this post is only on the second chapter.

Popping in to say hello and drop a star. Happy reading!

The Harry Potter project sounds intriguing. I'll not be joining, but I'm interested to see how you view each chapter.

I'm starting to get interested in this project. Did you post a link?

The Harry Potter one? It's on Litsy - another community for readers. You can download the app on your iPad. Search for Litsy in apps. Then the person you're looking for is hpchapteraday. Let me know if you have trouble.

Hi, Rachel. Stopping by to drop a star. It's very interesting to me to read your thoughts about your Bible reading and Harry Potter reading.

Love the pics of the cats - Matisse and Picasso say hello to them!

One of the best known stories of Genesis is that of Noah's Ark:

Because the world was filled with evil people, God "regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart." He decided to blot humans out. Luckily for humanity, though, Noah found favor in God's eyes. God gave Noah precise instructions on how to build an ark to protect Noah, his family, and pairs of every living thing of the world from the flood. After they were safely ensconced in this ark, "the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened" (Genesis 7:11). The rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights. The earth was covered even to the tips of the highest mountains. And the water remained for 150 days. Another 40 days elapsed, and Noah released a dove from the ark to determine if it were safe to disembark. On the second attempt, the dove returned with an olive branch, and on the third, it didn't return at all. But Noah still waited until God told him to come out before disembarking. (I'd say this was probably the wisest choice.) When the occupants of the ship were safely on dry ground, God made a covenant with Noah and his descendants that he would never again destroy the earth by flood. The rainbow is the sign of that covenant.

This flood story is likely one that was well-known in the region when the book of Genesis was written, given its similarities to Utnapishtim's flood story in the Epic of Gilgamesh (which precedes the book of Genesis). In order to determine what was important in this story, it is interesting to compare the similarities and differences between the two legends.

For instance, both stories have a flood that destroys the earth - leaving only one protagonist, his family, and a pair of every living thing to survive. Both have an ark, in which all of these lucky survivors seek refuge. Both end in a covenant saying the earth's occupants will no longer be destroyed. This is the skeleton of the story around which the author of Genesis and the author of Gilgamesh weave their details. This is the adventure part of the story. The part we all remember. But the differences are the parts that make Noah stand out from Utnaphishtim.

The main differences I notice in the story are all about righteousness. First of all, the reason the gods had to destroy the earth in Utnapishtim's story was simply that men were loud and annoying. The LORD God's reason, on the other hand, was because men were enmeshed irrevocably in evil. In Noah's story, therefore, there is a moral - if we become evil, we will suffer for it. Whereas in Utnapishtim's story the moral (if there is one) is that the gods make arbitrary choices that we have no control over.

Another difference is that in Utnapishtim's story, he was told to lie to his neighbors, telling them that if they helped him build the ark for the gods, a season of plenty (beginning with some nice heavy rains) would ensue. Noah, on the other hand, was saved because he was a righteous man, and God wouldn't tell a righteous man to lie to his neighbors. In fact, the author of Genesis leaves it a complete mystery how Noah's neighbors reacted to his ark and how Noah managed to build the thing all alone.

(I've always thought that Noah warned the people around him of the impending flood, but to no avail. I see no reference to that in the Genesis story. Does this omission mean that Noah kept it a secret? Is that really a righteous thing to do?)

Noah's story continues with a debacle which throws a shadow on Noah's righteousness. After the flood disperses, Noah goes into his tent and drinks to the point of passing out. His youngest son, Ham, enters the tent, finds his father naked, and goes out to gossip with his brothers. His brothers don't find the situation worthy of gossip, though, and they back into the tent (so as not to see their father naked) and cover him with a blanket. When he awakens, Noah curses Ham and his descendants and blesses his older sons.

Why did the author of Genesis include this little tail end to the story, which until then held Noah in such a fine light? Was it to show that evil did still pervade humanity despite the flood?

Hi Robin! Thanks for stopping by and reading my posts! Glad you're enjoying them. I worry sometimes that they're too long, and have to remind myself that no one has to read them.

Rachel--Phew! You have a lot of things going on around here. Really nice thoughts on everything from the Bible to HP!

I'm enjoying them. I read the Bible a few years ago and found it a chore. I like your insights.

>113 Berly: Hi Kim! Yeah, let's see how long I can keep this up. Thanks for the compliments.

>114 Morphidae: Yeah, there are definitely parts of the Bible which will seem a chore. But Genesis is my favorite book. :)

This is part of an 11-month group project to read a chapter a day of Harry Potter and comment on a theme. These posts will contain spoilers. Today's theme is "fear."

There are four people who are afraid in chapter 3 of Sorcerer's Stone. Those are Harry, Dudley, and Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. Harry is afraid of Dudley - enough to make him hide outside his home most of the summer so that he will not get beaten up. Despite this fear, it doesn't seem to control his life to make it unmanageable. Dudely is afraid of/for his father when he starts acting erratic. And of course Mr. and Mrs. Dursley are terrified of the letters Harry is receiving and what they stand for. It is easy to bring in reasons for this fear which are addressed in future chapters/books, but this discussion is meant to be only on this one chapter. This chapter doesn't explain the fear (other than a fear of lack of normalcy) but that doesn't make the fear less real to the reader.

When Harry first gets his letter, both Mr. and Mrs. Dursely react by paling noticeably. They are visibly shaken. So much so that their instinct to give Dudley everything he wants is eclipsed. They even give Harry Dudley's free room in realization that someone must be watching them if that person knows Harry lives in the cupboard. What are they afraid will happen to them if they involve themselves in this mysterious world? The fear eventually drives Mr. Dursley mad.

I think the interesting thing about Rowling's depiction of fear in this chapter is the difference between Harry's reaction to fear and the Dursley's reaction to fear. The Dursley's (who aren't drawn in a positive light in the first three chapters) are driven to distraction by their fear. Harry doesn't let it control his life. Perhaps that's because Harry has a connection to some spiritual peace that the Dursleys lack.

The Harry Potter project looks fun, enjoying your comments.

Thanks Kristel!

Well, the new year has begun quite well for me on the reading front. As you can see below, I'm reading way too many books. This new reading mania is mostly due to the new year and new goals which I haven't whittled down to a reasonable level yet. But part of it may actually be the start of hypomania. I dropped my Abilify cold turkey a week ago because my new insurance was going to charge me $240 per month for it. Isn't that ridiculous? I feel like taking a moment to rant about the broken system in which people have to pay so much money for insurance, and then so much money for medical care. The system is so broken.

If only my newly found hypomania extended to either cleaning my house (being more organized is a goal of this year) or exercising. But alas. Just to reading. I have been doing a moderate job of cleaning out my closets and making a huge pile for Goodwill this week, but of course that only makes my rooms look more messy! And exercising - nada. But there's always tomorrow, right?

Books completed this week: In the Woods, by Tana French. Just in time for my RL book club on Sunday. And my first Serial Reader book, North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell. Reviews coming up on Sunday and Monday.



I'm currently reading this unwieldy compilation of books which will probably be whittled down to a more reasonable number of books soon: Wizard of Oz (blogosphere group-read), Paradise Lost (blogosphere group read), Bible (group read), Harry Potter (#hpchapteraday), The Stand (been working on this one for a while, it's long), The Winter's Tale (Serial Reader book for "A book with one of the four seasons in the title" category of Pop Sugar Challenge and "Romance" category of Back to the Classics 2017), The Unwinding (group read), Evicted (group read), Kindred (AAC), Swann's Way (group read). As it is, I don't expect to finish any of them during the following week. :)



And I acquired a graphic novel of Pride and Prejudice (this was actually an accidental purchase, but I'm still happy with it); Listen, Liberal by Thomas Frank; The Populist Explosion, by John B Judis; Strangers in Their Own Land, by Arlie Russell Hochschild (all three for the understanding Trump's win read-a-long); and Ben in the World, by Doris Lessing (the sequel to The Fifth Child, which I read in November).

This is part of an 11-month group project to read a chapter a day of Harry Potter and comment on a theme. These posts will contain spoilers. Today's theme is "generosity."

In chapter 4 of Sorcerer's Stone, The Dursleys and Harry are ensconced in a rickety old house on an island, protected by a raging storm. As Harry counts down the minutes to his birthday, a giant (Hagrid) breaks down the door. Hagrid makes a fire and gives a cake and sausages to Harry. He explains about Hogwarts, magic, Voldemort, and Harry's parents. Then he pretty much kidnaps Harry (much to Harry's delight).

There are several characters either actively working or passively working in this chapter: Hagrid, Harry, the Durleys, Harry's parents, and Voldemort. As we all know, Voldemort epitomizes all that is antonym to "generosity." And as far as Dudley is concerned, only the second definition applies to him.

The obvious examples of the first definition of generosity in this chapter is Hagrid's generosity to Harry. And Harry's parents' generosity to the world. Hagrid fed Harry, he patiently explained what was going on, and he gave Harry his coat to keep him warm. Best of all, he remembered Harry's birthday. Harry's parents gave their lives to help defeat evil.

A less obvious example of generosity is the Dursleys. They are, at some level, generous to raise Harry despite their obvious distaste to do so. They don't spend much, but they do spend time and money on him. They risk everyone learning that they are not "normal" by raising a child that is anything but normal. Both Voldemort and the Dursleys can be considered "bad sorts of people." But notice that the Dursleys aren't as evil as Voldemort. They have some good in them. And part of that good is shown in their willingness to raise Harry despite every inclination not to do so.

I'm up and running to start the HP challenge!

Sorry to read about your drugs bill Rachel. Is there any chance of your insurance picking it up again?

Wow, Rachel. I cannot imagine keeping so many books going at once - I had two days of no Bible reading and am working this morning to get caught back up.

>119 The_Hibernator: I'm so sorry about the drugs bill, Rachel. Last year my husband needed to increase his dose of insulin, but the discount card he was given by his doctor/Novo Nordisk only worked for one 'prescription' of $500 or less per month, and two prescriptions were going to be over $600. He told the doctor he was going to cut back on his insulin because we couldn't afford it. This did not make me happy, but before I could really wind up about it, husband's doctor called back to say that he and the Novo Nordisk rep worked it out so that husband could get one prescription as a sample per month so that we still only paid the $25/month for insulin. Perhaps you could talk to your doctor about getting some samples or assistance with your Abilify?

Wow, there is a lot going on over here Rachel, I'm afraid I've only sampled the smallest bite.

Ouch re meds costs. It's a crazy system.

Hi Rachel. Enjoying your posts, re Bible and Harry Potter.
And I do hope you can find a solution for your medication problem!

Hi Rachel. I am really enjoying your posts on Genesis. I taught an early morning religion class last year on the Old Testament and I really enjoyed it. There's a lot of drama there. I think Isaiah is my favorite. I love the imagery.

I will join in on the rant about health care/medication. It's absolutely a broken system. Here's hoping we can find a better way.

Sorry to hear about the problem with your medication cost, Rachel. Some pharmaceutical companies have programs where they can make their most expensive medications available for a lower cost to some people who need them, but I don't know if that holds true for Abilify.

Yes, Abilify has programs.

Margaret is living the high life in London with her cousin and aunt, but when her cousin gets married, Margaret goes back to her humble, but peaceful life with her parents at a parsonage in Helstone. But all this changes when her father unexpectedly decides that he no longer agrees with his church, and will leave the religious calling to be a tutor in the Northern factory city of Milton. There, the family lives in relative poverty, but earns the friendship of Mr. Thornton. He is a self-made man, who worked his way up from curtain sales to merchant, and he would like to educate himself in the classics under the tutelage of Margaret's father Mr. Hale. But Margaret is proud and thinks gentlemen and ladies should be considered higher than merchants. Although she appreciates the friendship that Mr. Thornton offers her lonely father, she looks down upon the merchant class and Milton in general.

Margaret is in for an education, though. She soon becomes enmeshed in the union politics. She kindly bestows her friendship upon a poor factory worker's family, and hears both sides of the union politics - the side of the factory workers as well as Mr. Thornton's side. Much of this tome is dedicated to discussions on this subject, thus educating the reader on the subject.

And of course, let's not forget the romance. After a time, Mr. Thornton begins to admire Margaret, despite her lack of fortune. However, Margaret does not admire (or believes she does not) admire Mr. Thornton because of his lowly merchant class. There is a lot of romantic tension throughout the story.

I have to say, although I love Jane Austen's satires and I think she's probably the better student of human nature, Elizabeth Gaskell is by far the better student of societal issues. In fact, I'd say Gaskell is a fascinating mixture of Austen's romance and Dickens' social commentary. Throughout my reading, I learned a lot about why unions were developed and what good (and bad) they did the factory workers. I also learned about class structure between the merchant and the gentry.

Gaskell described the poor working conditions and low pay that the factory workers suffered. But she also showed the reader how a strike, in those early days of unions, could make the poor laborers lose money and suffer consequences when scab workers are called in. They can, in fact, be ruined themselves. On the other hand, Mr. Thornton carefully explains why he's making the choices he's making in response to the union strike, and you can't help but feel his pain as well.

Overall, an excellent novel, and I look forward to reading more Gaskell in the future.

>121 Morphidae: Yay! I just followed you!

>122 charl08: Hi Charlotte! I don't know that my insurance ever carried it - it's new insurance with my new job. I've had it about 3 months, but since I had a 3 month prescription this is the first time I needed to pick up the Abilify. My guess is that they have no intention of covering more than half of it.

>123 karenmarie: Hi Karen, yeah, my currently reading pile is a bit unwieldy. But I'll whittle it down. I'm a day behind on my Bible reading today because someone no-called no-showed yesterday at work, and I ended up picking up a shift instead of getting stuff done. But that's ok. More favors done for my boss and coworkers, more likely they are to help me in the future when I need it!

>124 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline! Thanks for stopping by. I imagine my thread may appear overwhelming with all my lengthy posts!

>125 EllaTim: Thanks EllaTim! I hope so too.

>126 nittnut: Hi Jenn! Genesis has always been my favorite, but then I've only read the Bible all the way through once. So I may change my mind with time.

>127 kidzdoc: Hi Darryl! Yes, my psychiatrist gave me a few references to explore before our appointment on Tuesday, where we will discuss what to do about this. I'd like to stay on what keeps me stable, but then again I have been gaining a lot of weight on the Abilify. She had been talking about a change, anyway. Maybe Lithium? But that has weight gain problems too.

>128 Kristelh: Yes, I'm pretty sure it does. Just have to explore those options.

Happy Sunday, Rachel! Have you been surviving the deep freeze? Good review of North and South. I know that has beenan LT favorite for years but I have still not read it. Bad Mark?

I also hope you were happy with In the Woods.

I am trying to keep up with your bible posts! You are doing a wonderful job and you are quite the inspiration. I have not read any portion of the bible, in over 40 years. Bad Mark...again?

>129 The_Hibernator: Congrats, Rachel on this great review. I'm currently listening to the story and I fully agree with you so far.
Wishing you Happy sunday.

Very much enjoying your deep dives into the Genesis tank.

A quick wave and shout out. The Harry Potter sounds like a wonderful project and I'm following along the Bible thread, too.

No way could I manage all that you are doing right now!

Rachel, I'm sorry you had to quit taking a drug that was helping you due to the high cost. That stinks. I hope you can work something out or find a substitute that is affordable. Book hypomania? Sounds like a good thing to me. I am off to a slowish start this year. I will take the turtle approach and keep plugging along.

Hi Rachel... I have finally located your thread and starred you! Also stopping by with rather belated Happy New Year wishes for you.

>31 The_Hibernator: - LOL love that picture! I can see why Myra may not be quite so keen to interact with the young ones... they do look like a bundle of endless energy and mischief!

>53 The_Hibernator: - Beautiful family picture!

Wishing you good luck with your Bible challenge. And people thought me reading Clarissa was ambitious.... good for you!

Here is hoping that you are able to locate a program to assist you with those drug costs.

Wishing you a relaxing Sunday.

>119 The_Hibernator: Ugh, re the situation with your meds. That sucks. I hope you can sort something out.

>129 The_Hibernator: So glad you enjoyed North and South - it's one of my favourites. I went through a phase of reading some of Gaskell's shorter fiction a few years ago and really enjoyed it but have yet to get round to reading any of her other novels. I do want to, though.

>127 kidzdoc: I also wish psychiatric meds didn't so often have weight gain as a side effect.

>129 The_Hibernator: Glad you enjoyed that one, Rachel. I highly recommend the mini series adaptation, which is also great and stars the very handsome Richard Armitage as Mr Thornton. Excuse me while I swoon for a bit in the corner. ;)

Hi Rachel... Loving the pic of Hero with her "I voted" button & the disgusted phiz, and the discussions re the Bible. I confess that many of the questions you raise -- reading it as a critical reader -- are ones that interfere with my ability to accept it as literal truth, as required in many religious traditions. I've just started reading The Honeymoon by Dinitia Smith, in one part of which the author addresses George Eliot's shift from early religiosity to a kind of (I suppose) deism, triggered by reading a similar analysis of the gospels, particularly.

Sorry about the medication costs... My total bill (with insurance) is now $175 a month, largely thanks to a key migraine medication, which just went up 50% in a single month to $93 (in December, so I'm a little anxious about what will happen in January...) I'm now essentially living on savings, so this is not a good situation! But if I give it up, will go back to 20 to 25 migraine days a month, in which I can't function at all, so... Devil and the deep blue sea.

>137 souloftherose: Many migraine meds also have weight gain as a side effect... And if you get a bad neurologist, they prescribe you one of those -- amitriptyline, or verapimil, or some of the earlier ones, like propanolol, which I hated -- and then scold you when you put on ten pounds. Delightful. Because docs like to argue that weight gain causes migraines, instead of perhaps (just possibly) the other way around (because, you know, when you're sick and blind in one eye, you eat what you can digest easily, and don't exercise as much as you should because most of the time you are prone in a dark room with ice packs on your head.) Excuse my rant!

>131 msf59: Hi Mark! Yeah, you should try to get to North and South at some point. It's really good. The Bible is a hard read that you really have to be dedicated to get through. There's no point in forcing it.

>132 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Glad you're enjoying the book. It's great, isn't it?

>133 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! I'm glad you're enjoying them. Thanks for letting me know!

>134 streamsong: Hi Janet! There's no way I can manage all that I'm doing right now either.

>135 Donna828: Hi Donna! Hopefully things pick up for you soon.

>136 lkernagh: Hi Lori! Yes, the kittens are pretty energetic. And Myra doesn't like anyone in her personal space, anyway. :) Clarissa was pretty ambitious too. Did you do that alone? Or did you have company?

>137 souloftherose: Hi Heather! Yes, I've gained a LOT of weight since I was diagnosed with bipolar. :( I still look ok - I'm not noticeably obese or anything. But I'm technically obese (I've never been a fan of BMI charts for that reason.) Hopefully my new exercise routine will help me lose the weight.

>138 MickyFine: Hi Micky! I started watching it last night. Wow. I want to swoon too.

>139 Chatterbox: Hi Suzanne! I'm a liberal Catholic. Most moderate to liberal Catholics believe that the Bible is allegory - not to be taken literally. In fact, even my boyfriend (who's a conservative Catholic) believes that the Bible is allegory. So I have no trouble with accepting inconsistencies.

I'm sorry you have to pay so much for your meds while you're living off your savings. That's terrible. But you're right, you need to take them.

My psychiatrist has been pretty concerned about my weight gain on Abilify, and it's feels nice to be listened to on that subject.

2017 Book 1: In the Woods, by Tana French

Years ago, three children disappeared into the woods near the small town of Knocknaree - only one was found. He was covered in blood and remembered nothing of what happened. Years later, that little boy is a grown man and is a detective with the Dublin Murder Squad. When a new child murder case pops up in Knocknaree, detective Ryan struggles to remember what happened to himself all those years ago.

This book is really hard for me to review because in some ways it was very, very satisfying, and in some ways it was dissatisfying. But the dissatisfying aspects were where realism meets mystery / police procedural. I guess the element of realism, and the fantastic writing, are why people consider this a piece of "literary fiction"

I did find the murderer (Rosalind) to be way too suspicious all the way through the book - she was creepy - so there was an element of predictability on the subject. It was dissatisfying that she was not punished in the long run, and dissatisfying that we never found out what happened to Detective Ryan in the forest. I would really have liked to know. But, as I said above, the fact that it wasn't all squared away perfectly shows an element of realism that makes the book good.

I hope you get the medication situation sorted out. Both for financial reasons and also hopefully to deal with the weight gain. It is a tough thing when a drug works for one thing but causes real difficulties in other areas. :/

>139 Chatterbox: I had no idea Verapamil was prescribed for migraines. I was given it years and years ago to treat a heart condition. After I was no longer taking it, I had a doctor ask me what medications I had taken for the condition and I said "hm ... it sounded like a town in Mexico" and he got it immediately, haha.

Hi Rachel! I loved In The Woods when I read it and also gave it .

I have the next four in the series and will eventually get the sixth. And somehow I'll find time to read them!

Great review of North and South, Rachel. I'd say Gaskell is a fascinating mixture of Austen's romance and Dickens' social commentary. Exactly.

I'm reading Shirley at the moment, written in 1848. Gaskell was a friend of Charlotte Brontë and wrote North and South in 1855.

There are striking similarities between the two novels. Of course romance, descriptions of the plight of the poor working-class and an attack on a mill. Brontë tries to be fair to both mill owners and workers, but it's seen mainly from the viewpoint of the mill owner. North and South is still the best of the two novels.

Read Wives and Daughters last year and it is recommended also.

Hi Rachel. I felt the same regarding Into The Woods. I felt disappointed. Happy 2017 to you with many good readings. Thank you for your excellent writings of your opinions the bible stories !

Rachel--Just catching up here. Sorry about the med price. But here to wish you a Happy Monday!!

>142 ursula: Thanks Ursula. I hope so too. I'll decide what to do with my psychiatrist tomorrow.

>143 karenmarie: Wow, you have the whole series and haven't read it? Lol. I guess I'm like that too, though.

>144 ctpress: Hi Carsten. I'll certainly check out Wives and Daughters at some point. My aunt's been trying to get me to read it for years, but for some reason I picked up North and South first.

>145 Whisper1: Thanks Linda! I was disappointed with In the Woods, but I may try out another in the series some day, because it was good writing.

>146 Berly: Thanks Kim! Happy Monday to you too!

So I just need to get this off my chest:

The other day, my dad shyly said to me "I have an appointment with my cardiologist on Monday." Since it seemed out of the blue, I asked him for more information. He said he was getting an ultrasound and probably would be scheduled for a stent placement. I already knew his carotid was almost entirely blocked, so this didn't surprise me. I asked if he'd told mom, because she didn't handle it very gracefully the last time he got a stent, and he said no.

So today is his cardiologist appointment and he casually drops, "My doctor was angry at me for not calling an ambulance when I had a TIA the other day." WHAT?! He had a TIA and didn't call an ambulance? He asked what a TIA was, and I explained that it was a mini-stroke, and scolded him for not calling an ambulance. It could have been the hints of an oncoming "real" stroke. He was like "It wasn't though. I was fine. I didn't know what it was." Really? He's an intelligent guy. When half his body suddenly goes limp and numb he doesn't think "gee, I might be having a stroke"?!

Anyway, he made me feel guilty for scolding him, so I stopped. I mean, he's clearly scared and that's why he's acting so ignorant about the subject when he's really quite intelligent. But it's upsetting to me that he would ignore such concerning symptoms. I hope this isn't a hint of what's to come.

*sigh*

You got it in one with your last para Rachel. It's not uncommon for people to behave that way. Fear is powerful. Sending a hug to you. Hopefully your dad's doctor will get him back on track. And he told you, so he's making a start in sharing his fear.

>148 The_Hibernator: I am sorry for both you and your father, Rachel, fear can make someone numb...

>148 The_Hibernator: Yup, I'm dealing with the same issue with my parents. They just will not face some of these scary things the way they know they should. Same reason, I guess.

At least he's telling you. My mom has said that if she got certain diagnoses like cancer, she won't even tell me. You did the right thing in not fussing too much though I certainly understanding the desire to. I don't suppose you have POA for your parents?

>148 The_Hibernator: You ought to be proud that your Dad is able to come to you with these things at all. I am not too sure that I would be good at sharing such scary news. Give him another hug and the reassurance that you continue to be there for him to talk to. I am also worried about your Mom. Seems a bit of a quandary as to whether to leave her in a state of blissful ignorance. You need to talk to your Dad about that otherwise she may be resentful that she has been left out of the loop freaking out or not.
HUGS aplenty, Rachel.

>148 The_Hibernator: My mother spent the last 10 years of her life downplaying her health issues to us. We didn't even know she had congestive heart failure until her small stroke in October.

I know it's a shock, but he is reaching out to you and trusting you to support him in the way he needs support. I don't have a good answer re your mother, I suppose it depends on whether her response will stress him. It sounds like it will, but perhaps his doctor can speak with her and help her understand that this isn't about her and she needs to be there for your dad.

Hang in there, m'dear.

>149 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline. You're right, I know fear can be very powerful. I guess it was just such a shock to me that he wouldn't immediately recognize the symptoms and either call his doctor (who would have told him to call 911) or call 911. But at least he eventually brought it up to his doctor, who scheduled the ultrasound.

>150 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. I'm a little worked up about it but trying not to show it. I mean, I knew this would probably be an eventuality when he was told his carotid was almost fully blocked, but it's still scary for the symptoms to finally start showing. Hopefully it's a one-time thing.

>151 drneutron: I'm sorry that you're dealing with the same thing, Jim. It's hard. And you've got to be understanding but firm at the same time.

>152 Morphidae: Oh no! I would be so upset if my parents didn't tell me that something was wrong! No, I don't have POA, though my mom is in pretty good health at the moment. I'm not going to ask dad for POA right now, though, because it'd just stress him out more. Mom is perfectly capable of signing stuff.

>153 PaulCranswick: My dad isn't too good at sharing the news, either, Paul, but my dad and I are pretty close. I'm the most likely in the family to understand the medical implications of something and the least likely to openly freak out.

I agree that it's a bit of a quandary with my mom. The problem is that when he broke his hip she had a mental breakdown and we had to fly her to New Mexico to live with her sister while I took care of his recovery. Then she ended up in the hospital for two weeks with another mental breakdown when he got his first stent (they even put her in the lockdown ward - it was that bad). So it was an understatement to say she doesn't handle the situations gracefully. But not telling her seems cruel, too.

As for my sister, she won't take it very well either, but at least she won't have a mental breakdown.

>154 karenmarie: Cross-posted with you Karen! You're right. I'm really glad my dad is talking to me about this and not waiting 10 years. As you can probably tell by my comments to Paul, telling mom it's not about her will not help much. She's just emotionally not capable of handling situations like this. :(

Rachel, hi! and ((hugs)). I hope your dad is all OK, that stuff is scary. It sounds like it is really good that you and your dad have each other.

One problem with your thread, it looks like lots of good reading, but, where is the FLUFF? I was promised fluff.

Ugh ugh ugh. I have finally gotten my mother to behave sensibly about her health problems, but she and my father have been divorced for decades, so I don't have to worry about sturm und drang on that front, so... With my mother, I found a bit of gentle humor worked well, combined with a lot of gentle prodding. She now will call 911 without prompting -- which is a real triumph (20 years of effort, but hey...) And I know what it's like to feel like the grownup in the scenario. So, sending hugs and best wishes. You will get through this. He is scared; he is asking for help in the only way he feels able to do so -- very very tentatively.

Clearly, you need more fluff to help you through this, however. Banjo is correct.

All the best for your dad, I think you're doing great. Being understanding but firm as you said above is the way to go. It's just so weird when suddenly the parents (the responsible ones so far) start behaving all irresponsibly with their own health and you have to tell them what to do, often things that seem obvious. I always take a mental note when that happens for my own future. I guess with progressing age every health issue has the potential to be something big and to put an end to the way you're living your life. So symptoms are played down, doctors visits are avoided, etc.

>157 banjo123: Thanks for the hugs Rhonda. I need them right now. This may have been an isolated incident, but it might also be the sign of something bigger oncoming. If he had TIAs frequently one little TIA wouldn't upset me as much. But since it's a new symptom is scary.

I considered Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter to be fluff? Though, granted, I got behind on my HP reading yesterday in my stress.

>158 Chatterbox: Well, dad's always been reluctant to call 911. Generally, he asks me what I think he should do, and I tell him to call (or at least call his doctor). I think he likes to be told what to do because then it's not him over-reacting. :) He can say I made him do it. Whatever works, I guess. But this time he didn't talk to me about the TIA until several days later. Apparently, he happened to have a doctor's appointment the day after it happened, and he mentioned it to his doctor then.

Harry Potter. Surely Harry Potter counts? Even if Wizard of Oz doesn't because it's a classic?

>159 Deern: Yes, with my parents approaching 80 every health issue could become some life-changing event. And it's weird because my parents about the age, or only a little younger, than the grandparents of my friends so it feels like I'm going through the same problems as they are, only with my parents instead. :(

Until this year, I wasn't very familiar with the Tower of Babel. I'd heard of it, of course, but never thought about it. The story is one paragraph in Chapter 11 of Genesis. The people, who were united and had only one language, said "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11: 3 ESV) And God came down to see the tower and was displeased because "Nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them." (Genesis 11:6 ESV) So God confused the language of the people so that there were many languages. The people could no longer understand each other, so they dispersed across the earth.

Why is this short story included in the Bible between the story of Noah and the story of Abram? I suppose if you look at Genesis as a history of the people, this story was necessary to show how people dispersed around the world and developed different languages. It introduced the fact that there were now many peoples, and that Abram would have to navigate through some of those peoples in his migration later in the biblical narrative.

Looking at the story more minutely, though, why was God displeased by the city and tower? Is it because humans aspired to become like God? Was he teaching them a lesson in humility? That's what many scholars think of this story. But that makes little sense to me because of verse 6. If everything humans aspire to is now possible to them, then that implies that it is possible to be like God. It implies that God felt threatened. This is not our modern conception of God, certainly. Was it the ancient perception of God?

Ryken and Ryken point out in The Literary Study Bible that the story is satirical. The people are trying to build a tower that reaches the heavens, and yet God has to "come down" from the heavens to look at it. Also, they were building with bitumen and asphalt instead of mortar. But, again, if their attempt was in vain, then why did God say that everything they aspire to will be possible to them?

Ryken and Ryken also point out that this story is typical of human nature. We strive to develop technology that will make us more comfortable and more powerful - in essence, we strive to be like gods over our planet.

Harry Potter would be fluffier if it did not have serious commentary attached. but maybe Wizard of Oz?

Yeah, I guess the serious commentary does take some of the fluff out of HP. Anyway, I finally hit a sensible bump in my daily reading habits and decided to whittle down my unwieldy "currently reading" stack. HP got the ax. But so did Paradise Lost. And I'm putting Evicted, Swann's Way, and The Stand on temporary hold until I get some others finished. I haven't been reading for the past four days for various reasons, and I don't feel like reading today.

Wish I had an answer re your dad but I am afraid all I can do is commiserate. My parents, especially my father, basically tell us kids nothing unless asked point blank. As a result, I got a phone call in mid-November that basically consisted of some random, unrelated chit chat along with informing me that my dad was having a heart stress test the following morning and if that went poorly he would have a stent installed in the afternoon.

If I had to guess it is because your dad is still trying to protect you. While that is frustrating it is also a sign of how much he cares. Good luck.

I'm sorry you're going through so much right now, Rachel, and am sending love and hugs to you, as johnsimpson would say.

Cutting back on too many obligations is good, even though they're fun. I don't consider HP fluff. Too well written, too intelligent, too dark. Sorry. *smile*

And some days are just non-reading days. And some days are just NOT fluffy days.

>164 Oberon: Thank for the commiserations, Erik!

>165 karenmarie: Does Song of Ice and Fire count? What about Louis L'amour?

I was very behind here but am now caught up (and exhausted)! I won't try to comment on everything but just say how impressed I am with all the things you are juggling. Carry on!

And best wishes for the situation with your dad.

>166 The_Hibernator: The song counts, but certainly not the series IMO. Louis L'Amour is fluff. Same as Agatha Christie is fluff, Georgette Heyer is fluff, and etc.

Of course, for YOU, anything that you consider fluff is fluff.

Fluff away!

>161 The_Hibernator: Following is a quotation from a 1973 article by Alan Watts that may be of interest:

In those days, and until the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century, the Scriptures were not understood exclusively in a narrow literal sense...the great theologians recognized four ways of interpreting the Scriptures: the literal or historical, the moral, the allegorical and the spiritual--and they were overwhelmingly interested in the last three.

>161 The_Hibernator: I've always loved the images of the Tower of Babel. There is some great art.

Just sending great big virtual hugs to you as you deal with your health and your dad's.

And continuing to swoon over Richard Armitage's Mr. Thornton. Have you SEEN that jawline???

So sorry that you have so much going on, Rachel. I've taken Celexa ( antidepressant ) for about 15 or more years now and my weight is a battle for me too. Not nearly as bad as Abilify . Sorry about your dad too. I think that maybe he is taking you into his confidence and hoping you might push him? But I'm not sure at all. When my dad got cancer some 12 years ago , he did not tell the kids ( me and the other 4 ) until he had a pretty definite diagnosis. He was 63 at the time. I recall him coming over , seemingly stupefied and telling my husband and me that his chances for surviving were just 30 %. He looked just shocked and yet he was the sort that did not like any kind of emotion. It was a tough couple of years while he took chemo and radiation. He did die of his cancer after two years. It was so challenging, because like your dad, my dad would not let people call 911. Once he had a heart issue while out of town with my mom. Friends of my parents ended up calling 911 over my dad's protests and he had to be " shocked back" and went right to the hospital, where he stayed for over two weeks. Parents getting older is really a challenge. So sorry for all that you are going through. (((( hugs)))))

Rachel--just sending even more hugs and good mojo to you and yours.

Hope that you get some time to read Rachel. Thinking of you and the family.

>167 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! Reading is a good stress relief, though sometimes I have difficultly reading when I'm stressed out!

>168 karenmarie: LOL Katie. I know what I consider fluff is fluff. And I consider Harry Potter fluff. It's silly and fun to read.

>169 ronincats: Yes, I think the literal interpretation that is so popular with many conservative Christians today is more of a modern phenomenon.

>170 Caroline_McElwee: Yes, I like the image I posted as well as Gustave Dore's image.

>171 MickyFine: Thanks Micky! Yes, I felt like watching it all over again as soon as I'd finished it. Especially at the end when he actually smiled.

>172 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the hugs, Deb. I know I need to accept that my father is getting older...and things happen when people get older. That's just the way of life. But it's hard when it's your parents, as you well know.

>173 Berly: Thanks Kim!

>174 charl08: I'm trying to fit in reading, though I'm tired and overworked and stressed at the moment.

This has been an uneventful week for me. Things are going well at work, though I'm working a little too hard these days and have decided I don't have enough time for all the books I'm reading. Sadly, I've had to cut out a few of the books in my currently reading list, so that I can finish SOMETHING this month. Also my male cat, Puck, whom I have not had money to fix yet, has started spraying. Yuck. It has not been going on long and I'm hoping the behavior will stop once he's neutered. The internet says that he'll probably spray for a little while after being fixed, but if the behavior has not been going on long there's a good chance he'll stop. This is exactly why I didn't want a male cat at all, but, alas, when I had the chance at two free kittens one of them was male. And the vets convinced me to fix the female first. Shouldn't have listened.

I have not been exercising as I've had a busy work schedule (16 hour days), and I'm being a bit lazy. Hopefully I can get back to training next week, or the week after. But I've been doing a good job of eating healthier and less.

Also, I've decided to go off the Abilify altogether because of the huge price-hike. I just upped the dose of my Lamictal and hope that is enough to keep me stable. I am very aware of the tells of going manic or depressed, so hopefully if I start to destabilize I will notice right away and do something about it. The problem of going manic is that it's fun and I get lots of things done. People with bipolar disorder tend not to want to keep up their meds when they start to go manic.

Currently Reading: I cut out the Paradise Lost. I just don't have time to keep up with a group read right now. I may read PL next year. We'll see. I decided to set aside Evicted, Swann's Way, and The Stand until I finish what I'm currently reading/listening to. I've also decided that after Wizard of Oz, I will stop reading the Baum series this year, and not read one a month. There are other books I'd like to read for the Pop Sugar and Back to the Classics challenges and a little variety in my reading will help me enjoy the year better. I got behind on the Harry Potter because I was toying with the idea of quitting it, too. But I decided I need a little fun in my life. But since I'm behind, it'll take me about a week to catch up and start posting again.

>175 The_Hibernator: Right? Man's face should come with a warning label.

Wishing you the best with your amended reading plans.

I've only ever had male cats but I've lucked out and none have ever sprayed. Not even Smee who wasn't fixed for the first few weeks I had him.

Happy Sunday, Rachel. I still enjoy the listening. I'm 2/3 through it and hope to finish it the upcoming week.

>176 The_Hibernator: I know it's natural for male cats to spray, but I agree - Yuck. Very few smells are as disagreeable. Although I must admit that a female cat spraying down heating vents and then that smell when one cuts on the heat in late fall is a close second.

I can hardly imagine 16-hour days, Rachel. Your amended reading plans sound realistic and stress-reducing.

And I will make the goal of Genesis today - I'm going to start chapter 45 later on and then be finished by lunch time.

>177 MickyFine: Smee! First time I've ever heard of a kitty named Smee. Makes me smile.

Sorry to hear about the health issues with your Dad and Mum Rachel. Sending hugs - that is a tough situation. And I'm glad the last week has been uneventful. I'm also finding that my reading is going much more slowly this year - but I'm enjoying reading the Alter so I'm just going to try to accept that.

>176 The_Hibernator: I'm just saying, there is no way I could do a 16 hour working day, except as an exceptional one-off. On the one hand my hat is off to you, on the other hand, for your health, you probably need to row back from that Rachel. You have such a lot going on at the moment too.

>177 MickyFine: Hi Micky! Puck seems to be a bit territorial, and it doesn't help that he's antagonized by my much larger adult cat. My adult cat isn't aggressive, but she does't like other animals up in her space. Puck just doesn't care about pissing her off, so he ends up antagonizing her right back.

>178 Ameise1: I hope you like it as much as I did Barb! And if you can, watch the miniseries.

>179 karenmarie: Hi Karen. I will be finishing Genesis today, too, though my posts will be lagging behind a bit because I'm being so verbose. I think I will not find quite as much to post about in the rest of the Pentateuch, though, so my posts will catch up to my reading.

>180 souloftherose: Thanks for the hugs Heather! Hopefully your reading picks up soon, though I understand what it's like to read something heavy and get a little tired out.

>181 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline, yes, I agree my job is not very good for my health. It is a temporary fix to a problem I've been having since I left academia. I can't find the type of job I want because I'm over-qualified for many jobs and have no experience in the "real world." This job is clinical, and will hopefully help me get a clinical research position after a couple of years. In fact, the company I work for, Davita Dialysis, has a clinical research facility in my field, and so I have a pretty good chance of getting in there eventually. But for now, I promised myself I'd stick it out for two years.

The schedules are going to be switched to very hectic and stressful 18 hour days starting on Monday, because a "three month" construction project is knocking 4 chairs out of use. Instead of sending some people off to other facilities, he's just squished them all together into shorter chair-flip times and made the days longer. It's going to be crazy and I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully he doesn't lose any more employees over it - they don't usually stick around long, and whenever they no-call no-show (which is how dialysis techs quit, apparently) I generally step up to help. It gets me bonuses and the appreciation of my boss/teammates, but it also gets me darned tired. Plus, it's not fun getting a call at 4am.

One lucky thing, though, is that one of the techs has gone back to school and can only work in the mornings. Because I'm the least likely to complain about having to work till 9:30 or 10 four nights a week, he's split her shifts with mine, so they'll be a much more reasonable 8-10 hour shift. That doesn't start until the week after next, though. So next week will still be awful. I hate to give up so many evenings a week, but it's nice to have time to read in the morning when I'm all fresh-minded. :)

Genesis 12 describes God's call to Abram to leave his home and family in the land of Chaldea and travel forth to the land which God appoints for him. God promises "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse," (Genesis 12:2-3 ESV). So Abram, his wife Sarai, and his nephew Lot all traveled forth to the land of Canan, where they settled.

But a famine drove them to Egypt. There, Abram was afraid that he'd be murdered because his wife Sarai was so beautiful, so he told her to call him her brother. Pharaoh took Sarai into his harem, and Abram became rich because of his "sister." But soon, a curse fell upon Pharaoh, who discovered that Sarai was Abram's wife not his sister. He was angry at the deception, but sent Abram and Sarai safely on their way. Presumably for fear of Abram's god. This lie is how Abram made his fortune.

Later, Abram and Lot separate, both to build their families in peace. Lot went to live in Sodom. But there was war going on between rivaling cities, and Lot was taken prisoner by Sodom's enemy. Abram built and army and saved his nephew. The king of Sodom then praised Abram and told Abram to take the goods that he had rescued, but Abram refused, saying he didn't want people to say that he had become rich because of the king of Sodom.

These chapters (Genesis 12 - 14) introduce a hero, Abram, who becomes a lasting part of the biblical narrative henceforth. Abram is considered righteous - why else would God have chosen him - but he also has his flaws. Instead of telling the truth and hoping for the best, Abram lies about Sarai in Egypt. Despite Sarai's probable mortification of being part of Pharaoh's harem (did she deserve this fate?), Abram profited greatly off the situation, and then happily left with his wife and his fortune when he was found out. He could be said to have been made rich by Pharoah, but then later he refuses to be made rich by the king of Sodom. Why is this? Does he have more respect for the king of Sodom (a city later destroyed by God because of its wickedness?) than he did for Pharaoh? Or did he simply want to be more careful when he was so close to home?

I also wonder about Abram's lack of faith in God during his time in Egypt. Why didn't he trust that God would keep him and Sarai safe? Why, instead, did he put Sarai in harm's way? And why did God save Abram despite his lack of faith? What had Abram done that was so respectable in God's eyes?

Abram's story continues with a vision from the LORD. Abram complained to the LORD that despite His promise when Abram left Chaldea, God had given Abram no offspring. So God renewed his promise that Abram would have numbers of descendants to rival the stars. But Abram was still not satisfied. He asked: "O LORD GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?" (Genesis 15:8 ESV). God requested a sacrifice, which Abram provided. Thus a covenant was formed. But the LORD said "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgement on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions." (Genesis 15:13-14 ESV).

Because Sarai had given Abram no children, she told him to sleep with her servant. When the servant, Hagar, became pregnant with Ishmael, Hagar scorned Sarai for being barren, and Sarai became so angry that Hagar ran away. But the LORD found Hagar and told her to return to Sarai, and that her descendants would be innumerable.

Time passed until the LORD again reminded Abram of the covenant. The LORD said "No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations." (Genesis 17:5 ESV). God told Abraham that for him to keep the covenant he must circumcise himself and his entire household, including family, servants, and slaves. God also changed the name of Abraham's wife from Sarai to Sarah. God promised to bless Sarah and make her the mother of nations. But Abraham laughed at this proposal. Weren't he and Sarah too old to bear children? Couldn't God bless Ishmael? But God told Abraham that Sarah would bear a son, and that he should be named Isaac. But that Ishmael, too, would be the father of kings.

So Abraham circumcised himself and his entire household.

This story shows the patience of God despite the ongoing doubt of Abraham - a doubt which foreshadowed those of Abraham's many descendants during the Exodus from Egypt - a doubt which seemed to encourage God to punish Abraham's ancestors by bonding them into slavery for centuries.

But why was God so patient with Abraham. What was so special about him? And why the name changes? What did these changes signify?

In addition to further developing the characters of God and Abram/Abraham, this story also developed the character of Sarai. Before this, she was only mentioned as a passive character, but here she was shown to love her husband so much that she wanted him to bear a child, even from someone else. But when that someone else, a servant, scorned her, Sarai was no longer placid and giving. She became bitter and angry. This character development foreshadows further angst later in the narrative.

Chapter 6 of Kugel's How to Read the Bible covers the call of Abram to leave the land of Canan (Genesis 12 - 15).

Abram (or Abraham) is thought of as the first monotheist, but where did this legend come from? It is not explicitly stated in the story of Abram that he is monotheistic (though allusions to it are included in the New Testament and supporting documents written later in the Hebrew history). This belief that Abram was a monotheist comes originally from early scholars who believed that Abram must have done something to deserve being singled out by God and given great nations of descendants.

Philo suggested that the people of the land of Chaldea, whence Abram was said to have traveled, were astronomers. They had calculated the movements of the sun and stars very well, and worshiped the sun and stars as Gods. Therefore, when God said to "Leave Chaldea!" he was telling Abram to believe in only one God.

Josephus, had a similar theory about the astronomy of Chaldea. The Chaldeans had calculated the number of days in a year to be 354.25. But what kind of number is 354.25? Wouldn't a god have chosen a nice round number? This inconsistency with god's order suggested that the sun was not a god.

Early scholars probably believed Abram was a historical figure, but later scholars (modern scholars before the 1900s) tended to believe that he was metaphorical. However, starting in 1933 archaeologists discovered a huge library of clay tablets in the ancient city of Mari. These mentioned many of the cities that were described in Abram's narrative. Some of these documents date back to the time when Abram probably would have lived if he lived. After this, biblical archaeology was explored with fervency.

In Chapter 18 of Genesis two angels and God appeared at Abraham's tent. Abraham saw them and thought they were three men, so he rushed to extend his hospitality to the guests. Hospitality was of very high importance to Abraham's culture, and he did everything right. He set Sarah to work kneading flour, prepared a calf, and provided curds and milk. After this, the angels and the LORD revealed themselves to Abraham and told him that Sarah would bear a child. Sarah, who was eavesdropping, laughed at this, and the LORD scolded her. Sarah, afraid, denied laughing.

After this, the LORD forewarned Abraham that he was going to destroy the city of Sodom. This was a turning point in the narrative - God had never before used Abraham as a confidant, and Abraham jumped right on top of his new level of relationship by questioning "Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it?" (Genesis 18:24 ESV). When the LORD said that he would not sweep away the city for the sake of the fifty, Abraham questioned about forty-five, forty, thirty, twenty, and ten. Each time the LORD answered that he would save the city for the sake of those righteous people.

Then, the two angels went down to Sodom. Lot saw them, and thinking they were men, invited them to his home, and provided a feast. But the evil men of Sodom surrounded Lot's house and demanded the guests be sent out so the men could sodomize them. Lot stepped out into danger himself and refused to send out the guests, instead offering his virgin daughters as an exchange. When the evil men of the city threatened to worse-than-sodomize Lot, the angels intervened and struck blind the men at the gate. They told Lot to take his entire family, including his daughters' grooms, and leave the city for it was about to be destroyed. But Lot's sons-in-law thought he was joking and didn't heed the warning. The angels insisted, and finally Lot left the city with only his daughters and wife. They were told not to look back, and because Lot's wife looked back, she was turned to a pillar of salt.

Lot was living in a cave alone with his daughters, who were concerned that there were no longer men to marry. They worried that Lot's line would thus end. So they got Lot drunk and raped him while he was passed out.

This is an early example of the thriller/suspense genre. The reader hears that these cities will be destroyed, and wonders (along with Abraham) whether God will destroy the righteous with the evil. And how will God respond at being questioned so closely by Abraham? Did Abraham overstep his relationship with God? It seems not, because God answered Abraham patiently and kept his promise.

The suspense heightens throughout the story, with each incident showing how evil the men of Sodom were and how righteous Lot was. That is, assuming that when the story was written readers would interpret Lot's offer of his virgin daughters instead of his guests as the height of hospitality (and therefore worthy of God's smiles). Of course, to me, sending out innocent girls doesn't seem a good solution at all.

The action peaks when Lot's wife is turned to a pillar of salt because she looks back at the destruction of Sodom. This don't-look-back plot point is similar to the older story of Orpheus, who went on a quest into Hades to rescue his deceased (and dearly loved) wife Eurydice. He was told not to look back when leaving Hades, but couldn't resist looking back to see the face of Eurydice, who then disappeared back into Hades.

The end of the story is a bit puzzling. Why, after Lot had been so righteous throughout the story, was he rewarded by being raped by his daughters? Surely this incest was just as disgusting to the readers of the time as it would be to us?

The notes in The Literary Study Bible have a different interpretation of Lot's righteousness than I do. It points out that despite the New Testament commentary on Lot as a righteous man (2 Peter 2:6-8), Lot was closely tied to the evil city of Sodom. This close tie was shown by his reluctance to leave the city, even when the angels said that it would be destroyed. They had to drag him out of the city by his hand, in fact. The commentary ends by saying "it is easier to get the family out of Sodom than it is to get Sodom out of the family"

You set aside Evicted? Noooooooooooooo!! Just kidding you.

Happy Sunday, Rachel! I hope you are spending the day with the books.

:) I'm definitely going to go for Evicted as soon as I finish The Unwinding. I will simply not try to read them both at the same time anymore. Since I"m leading the discussion on The Unwinding and am having to deal with health problems of my dad until this TIA thing wears off, it's best to pick priorities.

I am enjoying your biblical commentaries Rachel.

On my earthen matters I hope the situation with your Dad and (indirectly) your Mom is ok and that your Dad's health is in a manageable place.

I am enjoying your biblical commentaries Rachel.

On my earthen matters I hope the situation with your Dad and (indirectly) your Mom is ok and that your Dad's health is in a manageable place.

Hi Paul! I'm glad people are enjoying my Bible commentaries. :)

As for my dad, his ultrasound came back saying that his carotid artery (the one going to his brain) is 90% blocked, but that's no change from 2 years ago. He just got an MRI to figure out what's going on inside his head - they were all a rush to get him in ASAP, and then didn't bother telling us what the results were. Still waiting on that.

My mom now knows about the TIA, but I'm not sure she comprehends that it could be a forewarning of a larger stroke (it could also mean nothing, of course, which is what dad's playing up). I explained to my sister the fuller implications of what the TIA could mean, and she broke down into tears - which didn't help me feel any better because I felt unfeeling that I was not crying with her. But someone has to stay rational or else dad will have no one to talk to.

So sorry to hear about your dad. He sounds like a wonderful person - hey, he used a 15% discount as an excuse to buy you books! That's a cool dad. I hope he can get his health under control.

And as for your medication woes, grrrrrrr!!!! This country really needs to wake up and figure something out. We need a complete overhaul of the system. If you lived just a little further north, you wouldn't have to worry about how to pay for your medications.

And I've got Winter World by Bernd Heinrich sitting by my bed, so I'm hoping I can get a tioli in your category done.

Hi Rachel - I'm sorry about your parents' health problems. Of course, they have to come first. If you need to let other things go, well, in five years which will you feel was more important?

And your work load sounds grueling. :-(

Both my Mom and Dad had one small stroke, with no lasting consequences and no repeats. And of course, there's our indomitable Ellen here on the 75! Wishing the same good fortune for your dad!

I've just started Unwinding - due back at library so I need to get it read. I hear you about having too many books going. I need to cut down on my requests from the library.

>182 The_Hibernator: ...stressful 18 hour days... Isn't that illegal? That would give you less than six hours sleep.

>189 PaulCranswick: I also am really enjoying your biblical commentaries.

>190 PaulCranswick: I also am really enjoying your biblical commentaries.

:D

>191 The_Hibernator: Can't they do anything about the blocked artery? 90% sounds really dangerous. :(

>192 cammykitty: I have Winter World as well! Didn't even think of that!

>193 karenmarie: I don't have time for supplemental material right now, so no more posts about that.

>194 streamsong: Hope to see you on the thread soon!

>195 Morphidae: Illegal, yes. But usually he schedules either M W F or T Th Sa. This week I'm M Tu Sat because of a problem with a person quitting. I picked up the Tuesday shift willingly. Though I'm really not looking forward to it.

Rachel, first of all, I'm sorry to hear about things being tough with your dad right now. I had a small stroke last December (larger than a TIA but still blessedly small) and I am a HUGE believer in the get-to-a-hospital-fast approach to them. I understand his determination to be fine, to be independent, to minimize the possible impact, but I also know it's hard on you. I hope the TIA is a precursor only of things far in the future.

I'm also sorry to hear that work has been so busy and that you've been struggling a bit. I hope things look up soon.

I plan to start reading The Unwinding tomorrow or the next day. I will be spending Wednesday traveling from Seattle to Tampa so I should have some reading time.....

Hang in there ~~

Just a fly by to say hi! I hope all is well with you?

Hope your Tuesday shift went ok Rachel. I'm exhausted after a usual length workday, I can't imagine coping with that. Hope your dad continues to feel OK and that the scan comes back with good news.

Just catching up on things here. Good luck with your work day (which sounds positively grueling!) and sending good thoughts to you and your parents.

just dropping in to say "hi".

>184 The_Hibernator: of course Sarah laughed when she was told she would have a child and God named the child "Isaac" which in Hebrew means "He Laughed"

>198 EBT1002: Hi Ellen, thanks for stopping by! It is encouraging to see other people recover so well from strokes, since I'm afraid it's only a matter of time with my dad. He eats healthy enough, but he doesn't get much exercise anymore and he smokes pretty heavily. With his carotid 90% blocked, this doesn't bode well.

>199 brodiew2: Hi Brodie! Things are moving along here, and that's a good thing, even if life isn't perfect. :)

>200 charl08: Hi Charlotte. My Tuesday shift was really, really hard. I was coming down with something at the beginning and had a full-blown cold by the end. I had to wash my hands every time I sneezed or coughed, which made my job a lot harder because I couldn't get anything done between the sneezing and the washing of hands. I ended up working from 4am to 8:30pm and then again from 9:30pm to midnight. So it was a long day.

>201 Berly: Thanks Kim! Luckily the grueling workday is over now, so thankfully I can get three days of rest (including yesterday). I don't work again until Saturday. That will be another long day, but after that I'm scheduled for 8-10 hour days starting at noon. At least for a month. Never know what will happen in the upcoming schedule.

>202 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! I didn't know Isaac meant "he laughed." That makes me like the name more.

And below is the blog posts that have been happily popping up on my blog despite my not coming on the internet since the 15th. :)

Finally, God gave Sarah the promised son, Isaac. Due to her love of Isaac and her jealousy of Hagar and Ishmael she expelled the two. Abraham was loathe to abandon Ishmael to the elements, but God promised to take care of Ishmael, and that he would be the father of of a nation, so Abraham trusted God and did what he was told.

But God wasn't done testing Abraham. He asked Abraham to bring Isaac up the mountain and sacrifice him. Abraham did so, but just as he was about to kill Isaac, an angel called called to him from heaven, telling him not to sacrifice Isaac, but to sacrifice a lamb that was caught in the brambles.

This is another example of why I wonder if God was considered omnipotent by the writers of the Pentateuch. I wonder why God did so much testing of Abraham if God knew that Abraham would pass. It seems cruel.

I was disappointed in the Abraham's personality again when he lied to Isaac about the sacrifice: "And Isaac said to his father Abraham, 'My father!' And he said, 'Here am I, my son.' He said, 'Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?' Abraham said, 'God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.'" (Genesis 22:7-8 ESV) Wouldn't it have been better for Abraham to give Isaac the chance to volunteer for the mission? God did not order Abraham to lie to his child.

After God's test of Abraham in the sacrifice of Isaac, Sarah dies, Isaac marries Rebekah, and Abraham dies. Following these events comes the story of Jacob and Esau. The story almost ignores Isaac's life as an adult, and skips on to his sons Jacob and Esau.

Jacob and Esau were twins born to Rebekah. Esau was the first twin to emerge, and therefore the rightful heir to Isaac. But Jacob was born holding the heel of Esau, which has become a symbol of the stealing of a birthright. Later, Jacob actually steals Esau's birthright as well as Esau's blessing from Isaac.

Jacob was a mamma's boy. He lived in the tents. What he did there is a mystery that is not explained in the Bible, other than that he was a quiet man. Esau, on the other hand, was a hunter. Isaac preferred Esau, because Isaac liked himself some game.

At one point in the story, Esau returns from hunting famished, to find Jacob cooking a stew. Esau asks for some of the stew (which seems fair, but maybe this is meant to portray that Esau wasn't successful in his hunting whereas Jacob was successfully providing food for the family). Jacob refuses to give any stew to Esau unless Esau gives up his birthright. Esau is very hungry and readily gives up his birthright.

Then Isaac wants to give Esau his blessing as the firstborn and favorite of the twins. He asks Esau to bring some game and prepare it the way Isaac likes. Rebekah, who favors Jacob, encourages him to take advantage of his father's blindness and feebleness and to steal the blessing. She tells him to bring her a goat and she would prepare them as Isaac likes. Then she gave Jacob Esau's clothes (that smelled like Esau) and put fur on Jacob's hands so that he felt hairy like Esau. Jacob lied more than once to Isaac, who recognized Jacob's voice but was fooled by the food, the smell, and the fur. He thus blessed Jacob.

When Esau returned from hunting and discovered Jacob's deception, he threatened to kill Jacob. So, with the encouragement of God, who told Jacob where to flee to, Jacob ran away from Esau.

Jacob was a mamma's boy and lived in tents. I wonder what the ancient Hebrews thought of men who lived in tents and did not have an occupation. Were the Hebrews approving of mamma's boys?

What are we supposed to think of Esau selling his birthright? Of course, it seems that Esau didn't appreciate the gift given to him by God - being the firstborn. He treasured corporal things such as food. But on the other hand, what are we supposed to think of Jacob manipulating Esau into giving up his the birthright? It didn't seem honest or fair. I'm not a fan of the behavior of either of the brothers. This story is yet another example of the imperfections of people in the Bible.

Another character flaw that comes up in the Bible is that Jacob and Rebekah are so willing to take advantage of Isaac's feebleness and to steal Esau's blessing. Jacob isn't even the one who prepares the goats for Isaac. He lets his mother do the hard work. He outwardly lies to his father. Then he appears cowardly when he runs from Esau instead of facing the consequences of his actions.

After Jacob steals Esau's blessing, he flees Esau to journey to the land of his maternal uncle Laban. At a well, Jacob sees and falls in love with Rachel, Laban's daughter. He asks Laban for Rachel as a wife, offering to work for Laban for seven years in order to earn Rachel. After the seven years are up, he has a wedding, and only discovers after the consummation that he had been tricked into marrying Leah, the older (and less attractive) sister of Rachel. Laban points out that Leah is the older, and should be married first, so Jacob offers to work for another seven years for Rachel. After his marriage to Rachel, Jacob fathers several sons by Leah, a couple by Leah's servant woman, and a copule by Rachel's servant woman. Finally Rachel bears Joseph (Jacob's favorite son) and Ben.

In the meantime, Jacob makes a fortune in livestock by offering to work for Laban for several years, taking only the spotted and striped goats as payment. God was kind to Jacob and gave him many goats (however, Jacob did encourage the goats to give birth to spotted and striped by breeding them among sticks - I'm not sure how that works, but ok).

After a while, Laban's sons became angry at Jacob for "stealing" their father's fortune and Jacob decides to flee Laban with his family and fortune. Rachel steals her father's household gods before the flight. Laban pursues Jacob, and searches for the household gods, but finds nothing because Rachel sits upon them and lies to Laban, saying she is bleeding.

Laban finally allows Jacob to leave, and he travels to his homeland. When he gets near, he fears that his brother Esau is still angry and will kill him. So he splits his group into two encampments, and sends many gifts ahead for Esau to receive before meeting with Jacob. Despite Jacob's fears, Esau embraces Jacob and welcomes him back home.

Why did Rachel steal the household gods? Did she worship them instead of Jacob's God? Or was she trying to anger her father? What does this show about how the ancient Hebrews viewed the worship of other gods? Did they accept that there were more gods than one, but that their God alone should be worshiped by themselves?

Why was Esau so willing to welcome Jacob and forgive him? Was this a sign that Esau had changed into a more honorable man? Or was he just pleased by the gifts provided by Jacob? It seems that the first is the more reasonable option since Esau tells Jacob to keep his gifts, for he himself had more than enough.

And that's apparently the end of my pre-written posts. So I'd better write and schedule several more blog posts today or Friday! But I don't know if I'll have the energy with this cold. I have to go to get my CPR license renewed today, which will not be fun in the state I'm in, but I have nothing planned on Friday so I can get some real rest and just lie in bed all day.

Rachel - sounds like you are burning the wick at both ends. Hoping you get some much needed down time where you can just do whatever it is you feel like doing. Also hoping you are feeling much better very soon.

I'm sorry you came down with the LT lurgy. You must be feeling miserable. I hope you can curl up with the kitties and get some rest soon.

Hope you are feeling better soon!

Oh that dreaded virus that is making it's virtual rounds here on LT! I'm recently recovered. I hope you are feeling better soon, Rachel. All that stress with your parents can't help either. Hugs.

Adding to all the positive wishes for your quick recovery, Rachel!

Hi Everyone! I didn't end up getting much rest yesterday after my CPR renewal because I got called in to work. They had to take one of the girls to Occupational Health because she got blood in her eye. And when I got there, everyone was grumpy because it had apparently been a hard day there, so I had to work while sick AND deal with people complaining to me. Oh well, at least I have today off - hopefully.

Update on my dad - he's having carotid/subclavian bypass surgery on Tuesday. This is a major surgery, but not highly risky (I understand) so I am hopeful that things will go well and it will greatly reduce his risk of stroke.

>208 Crazymamie: My much needed rest will hopefully happen today, Mamie. I probably won't get much reading done because my eyes are still a bit tired and wonky, but I should be able to catch up on sleep.

>209 Morphidae: Thanks Morphy, as I said above, hopefully that will happen today.

>210 tapestry100: Thanks David!

>211 vancouverdeb: Thanks for the hugs Deb! I'm already feeling a bit better. Not anywhere close to 100%, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

>212 ronincats: Thanks Roni!

Morning Rachel! Happy Friday! We may have to get the gang together for a Group Hug later. How does that sound?

Speaking of the state of things, how is The Unwinding?

Hi Mark! The Unwinding is coming along nicely, though I haven't gotten much reading done this week because my eyes have been watering profusely. Evicted, on the other hand, is not coming along nicely for me. Just too much going on in my life right now with my dad's health and the new crazy work schedule. :( I'll get to it next month, though.

Thinking of you Rachel, sending good vibes your dad's way too. And get well soon!

Thinking of you , Rachel and wishing you and your family the very best. ((((hugs))))))

Thinking of you and your dad. Sending lots of positive thoughts. I hope you feel better soon. xx

Enjoying your read through the Bible, Rachel! I'm not joining in only because the combination of reading schedule and Bible studies I do throughout the year means it generally takes me about 2-3 years to read through, and I didn't want to rush myself to keep up with the group read.

>204 The_Hibernator: I think you could still read God as omnipotent if he's asking those questions ("Where is your brother?" and testing Abraham) as a way of Cain or Abraham learning something about himself, as opposed to God not knowing the answer. Like giving Cain an opportunity to confess and say he's sorry, for example, kind of like adults asking children questions they already know the answers to. I actually like Abraham's response to Isaac because it's ambiguous the way it's written, and can be translated "God will provide for himself the sacrifice" or "God will provide, Himself, the sacrifice" and - at least according to a commentary I read somewhere and have forgotten where I first came across this - could be read as a prophecy of Jesus on the cross providing Himself - and for Himself - the sacrifice for sins.

I hope everything goes well with your dad's surgery and it successfully reduces his risk of stroke.

>213 The_Hibernator: I'm glad you're dad is having that bypass surgery. I think it will be good for him and will make things less worrisome for you and the family. I have a good feeling about it. *hugs*

>213 The_Hibernator: Your Dad will be on my mind, Rachel. Big hugs from the tropics for the both of you. How is your mom and sister coping with the situation?

Take care my dear. xxx

"Story Of Isaac"
-- Leonard Cohen

The door it opened slowly,
my father he came in,
I was nine years old.

And he stood so tall above me,
his blue eyes they were shining
and his voice was very cold.

He said, "I've had a vision
and you know I'm strong and holy,
I must do what I've been told."

So he started up the mountain,
I was running, he was walking,
and his axe was made of gold.

Well, the trees they got much smaller,
the lake a lady's mirror,
we stopped to drink some wine.

Then my father built an altar,
he looked once behind his shoulder,
he knew I would not hide.

You who build these altars now
to sacrifice these children,
you must not do it anymore.

A scheme is not a vision
and you never have been tempted
by a demon or a lord.

You who stand above them now,
your hatchets blunt and bloody,
you were not there before,

when I lay upon a mountain
and my father's hand was trembling
with the beauty of the word.

>216 charl08: Thanks Charlotte! I really appreciate it.

>217 vancouverdeb: Thanks for more hugs Deb!

>218 Ameise1: Thanks to you, too, for the hugs and well wishes Barb!

>219 bell7: Yes, there is certainly that interpretation of the of the passage, and it's always how I interpreted it in the past. I was mostly trying to look at it from another perspective.

>220 Morphidae: Thanks Nora, certainly if the surgery is successful it will be good for him. And it's right to give the surgery a try. But I am concerned about him going through a major vascular surgery when he's in his late 70's. It'll be tense for the next few days, but then things will get better.

>221 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the hugs Paul! My mom and sister are handling it surprisingly well. But then, dad has been playing down the risk of stroke in the last couple of weeks. I don't think he's even mentioned the word. He's also not mentioned the chance of blood clots from this surgery. Of course, as I said above, the surgery is worth is since it brings down his risk of stroke from 25% to 2% in the next year.

>222 magicians_nephew: Thanks for the poem Jim. I really appreciate it.

>223 The_Hibernator: Wow, I would have thought the chance of stroke much higher with that much of a blockage. That's why I was all gung-ho for it.

>224 Morphidae: his right carotid is still clear. But 25% is still pretty high.

>223 The_Hibernator: Ah, gotcha :) That's probably what I get for skimming threads and then reading carefully in spurts

So far behind! So much to talk about!

>129 The_Hibernator: Great review of North and South! I love that book. Have you watched the film? It's not the book, of course, but very well done. And Richard Armitage! *swoon*

>148 The_Hibernator: Argh. Parents. My dad needs surgery on both elbows due to loss of feeling in his hands. So I rang the other day to see if he'd scheduled the first one yet. He was working. As in on his hands and knees finishing a fancy concrete floor. He's 70. What exactly does one say to that? Sigh.

>206 The_Hibernator: Seriously. Why did Rachel steal the household Gods? So many questions. A lot can be attributed to errors in translation and possibly editing at the discretion of the translator(s).

So sorry you've caught the nasty cold. It's good that your dad is having the surgery. Hoping all goes smoothly!

>219 bell7: I have always thought of that passage about God questioning Cain, as well as Abraham, as a bit of a test. An opportunity, if you will, to choose well. Cain did not, Abraham did...

So sorry to hear about your work problems and your Dad's health problems. I hope things get on an even keel soon! Good that you cut out some reading--it's supposed to be fun, not a burden!!

Rachel, I hope that all goes well tomorrow. i will be thinking of you and your family tomorrow while your dad is having surgery. He will be in my prayers as he recovers.

Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you & your dad and hope everything went well today.

I've been thinking of you, Rachel, and your family. I hope all went well today with your dad.

Sending good thoughts!! And hugs.

Fingers crossed all went as well as can be expected. Thinking of you.

Hi, Rachel! Checking in. How did the surgery go with your Dad. All is well, we hope?

Another hoping things went well with your dad!

I'm catching up after 6 days away and do hope that your dad's surgery has gone well.

Hang in there.

Hi everyone! An update on my dad: The surgery was a success, so his risk of stroke is greatly reduced. He's still in the hospital, though, because he's having breathing problems. They'll give him a cat scan to check for any blood clots that may be affecting his breathing, but they think that there's nothing like that to worry about because there are no other symptoms.

Also, if I can possibly get the time off, I'm going to try to make it to the March for Science (or whatever they've decided to call it). It will be in DC, probably some time in March. I didn't make it to the Women's March, but this recent media blackout and blockage of EPA funding has made me very concerned about the future of science and the environment. Who's in the DC area? Anybody that would be willing to do a meet-up if I am able to make it to the protest/demonstration?

>228 emilyesears: Thanks Emily! I'll be back to reading soon. I just needed a little break. Like you said, it's not supposed to be a chore.

>229 Donna828: Thanks for your prayers Donna!

>230 bell7: Thanks for your thoughts Mary!

>231 vancouverdeb: Thanks for your thoughts Deb!

>232 Berly: Thanks for the thoughts and hugs Kim!

>233 lunacat: Thanks for the thoughts and well-wishes lunacat!

>234 msf59: All went well, Mark, as you have learned on my Facebook account. I'm currently doing a lot of visiting my dad while making (annoying?) political posts on FB. :)

>235 drneutron: Thank Jim!

>236 karenmarie: Thanks Karen!

>237 The_Hibernator: I live (very very close to) DC! I'm tentatively planning to attend the rally as well, and would love to meet up even if I don't.

>238 norabelle414: I'm in the DC area too, of course, and also up for a meetup.

I starred you but I am just catching up with your thread now, Rachel. You have a lot going on. Sounds like your Dad made it through ok, which is a relief I'm sure. I hope you are feeling better and your shifts are down to a more manageable level and that you are able to get to the march and meet-ups in March.

Update on your dad? How's his breathing?

And, um, I forgot what our next book was supposed to be. *cough*

Hi Rachel! Quick hello. I hope your Dad is continuing to do well.

>238 norabelle414: >239 drneutron: I'll look forward to seeing you both!

>240 Familyhistorian: Yes, my shifts are a much more manageable level for a couple weeks. He's switched me to 4 9-hour shifts per week. But I don't know what the next schedule will look like!

>241 Morphidae: You're already read our book choice, silly. I am just starting it today. :( It might take me a little while because I'm behind in my life in pretty much all aspects at the moment.

>242 karenmarie: Thanks Karen! He's doing well.

Hey all! I'm back! You were worried, weren't you? I took a reading/LibraryThing/blogging break while my dad was preparing for and recovering from surgery. I also had some depression problems because of dropping the Abilify (which I just bought today using a GoodRx coupon) from my med regime, plus I seem to have broken up with my boyfriend. The political arguments were just getting worse and worse, and the fact that we've been dating almost two years and are not in love yet was also a factor. We are currently discussing how we can introduce passion into the relationship, but I'm not sure there's much hope with the political environment as it is right now. :( I've already created a profile on a few dating websites, just to look at what's out there and decide if I'd rather be with someone else, or try to work it out with him. I'm currently talking to a cop who voted for Trump, but not happily. I'm not sure that will work out either. lol

Because I've gotten behind in my reading, I narrowed down my currently reading list. I'm now reading The Bible (I'm supposed to be done with Exodus, but haven't even started it. I'll read it and Leviticus quickly to catch up), Dark Matter (fiction which I'm reading for my real life bookclub with Morphy, The Unwinding (nonfiction which I really should have finished by now), and Kindred (audiobook).



Once I catch up on my life (I'm woefully behind on pretty much every aspect of my life), I'll visit all your threads. :)

Oh, and I forgot to mention, The March for Science date has been chosen: April 22nd. I wish I had the skill to knit this cap. Anyone want to knit it for me?

Good morning, Rachel!

>244 The_Hibernator: Dark Matter is fun. I hope you you enjoy it. I will look into The Unwinding. I think it would be a challenging book for me.

>243 The_Hibernator: Ah, urm. It could happen to anyone, you know! *shuffles a foot* No wonder I couldn't remember it. It was already in the past for me!

>244 The_Hibernator: I'm sorry it hasn't been working out with your boyfriend. I think not being in love after two years is a red flag. From what I've read, it's not really something you can create. Perhaps recreate - but if was never there in the first place? That's rough. *hugs*

Sorry you couldn't stay with the #hpchapteraday. You introduced me to it and I'm enjoying it. Though I have to admit it's tough when I get 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through and REALLY want to keep reading.

>245 The_Hibernator: If I could knit, I would! But I can only crochet. Is there a crochet version?

Good to see you are back, Rachel!
I am sorry your relation wasn't up to the present day politics, I hope you find someone else...
Sorry, I can't knit at all, not even for you.

Glad you're back, Rachel. I'm able to knit but that one looks tricky. Sorry to hear about the breakup with your boyfriend.

I love the knitted brain. Can't knit though.

Sorry about your relationship and depression news. Politics plus ill health is a lot for any partnership to weather, IMHO. Hope you are feeling more in balance soon now you have the prescription.

Hi Rachel! I'm sorry about the boyfriend and the depression, glad to hear you've gotten some Abilify.

I was going to ask if >245 The_Hibernator: was supposed to be a brain, but charl08 answered it for me! I'm not a knitter or crocheter, although I come from a long line of them on both sides. Sigh. Tatting, too. Dying art.

Hi Rachel! I'm new here so I've been stopping by some threads and saying hello. :) I'm sorry to hear about your boyfriend, and I hope you'll be able to resolve it soon or find someone else. Wishing you happiness!

And the knitted brain looks really nice. I don't have an idea on knitting as it's not a popular hobby from where I live, but it looks hard to do.

Hi Rachel just stopping by to see how you are my dear. Sorry to hear about your boyfriend and hope you can sort things out or if not to find someone else who will love you. Sending love and hugs my dear.

Sorry things have been rough for you lately. I'm hoping it gets better!

Glad your dad is doing well, Rachel, and that your work schedule has calmed down.

Sounds like you are going through a rough patch, Rachel. Take care of yourself and don't sweat it if you don't meet your self imposed deadlines.

So sorry that you have been having such a rough go of things. What a lot things to cope with right now. On another note, the Brain hat is cool! I looked on Etsy to see how they are priced, and wow - about $75.00! I can't knit or crochet either. I guess it is a lot of work. (((hugs))).

Hi Rachel--Sorry about the boyfriend. I don't think you can make love happen, especially if it hasn't happened yet after two years. Perhaps you are right to look for it elsewhere. Only you can know what is right, and I hope you find what you are looking for. Glad your Dad is doing better and that work is calmer. Be kind to yourself! Love the brain hat. ; ) Hugs.

Just sending virtual hugs for you.

Sorry it's been rough. The overwhelm will go away. Hang in there! I'm glad your father is doing well. I'm sorry about your boyfriend, but the political stuff is so supercharged right now. I've had to unfollow (as opposed to unfriend) a few facebook buddies, one of whom I have known for thirty years or so.

The local woman's march group is still active; if you can find a similar group in your area (facebook? website?) perhaps one of their pussyhat knitters could help you out.

I'd love to go the Washington DC march. It's just too far.

Hi Rachel! You've just got too much going on, and I am sending positive and healing energy and hugs.

Take care of yourself.

Okay, I found a crochet pattern. Let me know if it works for you and if so, I'll see if I can crochet a beanie with some scrap yarn. Last time I tried, it looked more like a beret. Oops. If I can, if you will provide the yarn, I'll make it for you.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9r_4UgYR2wk

Hej Rachel,
missed you opver at the Bible thread but coming here and reading the things you were in made me understand. Glad to hear that your dad's operation was a success, Let's pray his recovery will be good.

Wish you all the strength you need in your life.

Hi, Rachel! Hope you had a good weekend and got some reading in. How is your Dad doing?

Hi Rachel. You have had a lot going on lately. I do hope things look up. With your dad, of course, it is just a matter of staying close and keeping your distance (I hope that makes sense). With love, it's well, it's love (or lack of it since you had been dating for a couple of years and were not yet in love?) and to quote the kid in the movie "Love Actually," "the total agony of being in love." And it's not surprising that the depression made its presence more known with all that going on around you!

I am also reading The Unwinding and finding it quite engaging so far. And I loved Kindred when I read it a couple of years ago.

Hang in there and take good care, my friend. As you know, this comes and goes.

Hi Rachel, and ((hugs)). Take care of yourself.

Also stopping by to add my hugs - it sounds like you have really had a lot going on lately. I hope your Dad continues to recover from his op and sorry to hear about your boyfriend and medication woes :-( Thinking of you...

Re books, I'm behind with the Bible read too although enjoying what I am reading. And I've also started The Unwinding but finding the structure/content not quite what I was expecting. I think I will persevere for now.

Rachel--Just dropping off some hugs.

Hi Rachel! I hope you're doing better all around - meds, boyfriend (ex-?), and your father's recovery.

Sending love and hugs, as johnsimpson says.

Sounds like you're going through a rough patch at the moment. I'm glad that things seem to be going well with your Dad. But I think I would agree with others that if you're not in love after two years it probably isn't going to happen.

Just doing a drive-by, letting you know that we're thinking about you, and keeping your thread warm.
:-)

Dropping by to say hello, and I hope you are well. I hope your Dad is recovering well and you are hanging in there. ((hugs))

Hello again, Rachel. I hope you're taking care of yourself. Sending hugs and positive energy!

Hang in there, Rachel! Spring is coming!

Hello from me too. Hope you are OK, and that you know you are missed (but if you need a break, no pressure, of course).

Thinking of you, Rachel. Take care. Sending lots of positive vibes. xx

Stopping by to say I'm thinking of you and hope you're ok (but totally understand if you need a break from LT at the moment).

{{{Rachel}}}

Hi Everyone! Thank you everyone for your hugs and well-wishes. It's really appreciated.

I've done a horrible job of getting back online after all that business happened in my life. But I'm slowly picking things back up again. Started exercising and reading, though it took me longer than I expected. I also have a new problem to distract me - one of my good friends has started injecting meth, so I've been trying to get him to go to rehab. Of course, I recognize that I have no control over his actions, only he can help himself. But it is tempting to call the police and have him brought to rehab against his will. Hard decision to make since I know that too often violence occurs when police try to pick up mentally ill meth-addicts. :( But what to do?

Dad is doing well. He's off the oxygen and moving around almost like normal now. He even went to a March for Immigrants the other day. He's never been to a protest or a march before, so it's a new experience. He and my nephew will be coming to DC with me in April for the March for Science. :) I'm really looking forward to that.

My dating life has been interesting, I must say. It's weird to go out on dates again, but kind of fun, too. I had a date with a TV/radio meteorologist, but that didn't go well at all. He spent the entire time talking about weather and feet. (He has a thing for feet, apparently.) He even showed me his weather forecast for the next day, and then went through his entire list of verified Twitter followers to show me how many "famous" people were on there. And he made fun of a disabled employee. So. Not a good date.

The only other date I went out on was with a guy who's really nice, and I've seen him twice since, but he's terrified of kids. Says he gets the shakes when he walks through the kids section of a Walmart. That's not very attractive, so I think our short relationship will remain short. Too bad, though, because I really like him.

Yesterday I started talking to a widower with a 14 year old daughter. He just moved here from Italy. He also seems really nice, and he loves kids and wants more. Though he sent me a rather concerning text after only speaking to me for an hour. I'm not sure if this is cultural or a red flag:

"Would you like to build a friendship that will lead to a love and a happy life with me? I am tired of being lonely and my daughter needs a woman that will play the role of a good mother in her life. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you should be a nanny to her, but someone she can call a mom."

What do you think? Too intense? Or cultural? I just can't decide. The other issue that came up is that he's going to Turkey in a few days and asked me "does that bother you?" Well, why would it bother me, person-I-met-online-an-hour-ago? Then he wants to keep in touch every day while he's in Turkey for three weeks. Because that's how you get to know people. What do you think? Too intense? Or cultural?

I guess how I feel about it is: give him a chance, but don't get sucked into a too-fast relationship with him.

I promise I'll read some today! And exercise! But I also have a lunch "date" with a friend and a dinner date with child-hating guy.

Well, Rachel, things sure haven't been boring for you, although I think you might have preferred boring.

It's good to see you back. Reading, exercise, not getting sucked into too-fast-a-relationship, especially when you haven't even met him yet. And a dinner date with child-hating guy. Definitely not boring.

Take care of yourself!

Good to see you back my dear, take things steady and see where things take you, sending love and hugs.

Hi Rachel! Glad you are back and it sounds like your life is humming along. As for >279 The_Hibernator:, I think, too intense.

Rachel, it sounds to me like your instincts are good and you've made a lot of tough decisions lately. Your dad! Wow! So glad he got to the protest. That's bold.

As for the Italian, tons and tons of red flags. Not cultural. Get out of that one before it gets really weird!!! Culturally, I can see him coming on a bit too strong but this looks a bit more on the can't stand alone so I've gone shopping and I need to find a wife in a week or I'm going to explode mode. Hate to say it, it makes me think of OJ's letter that said "He loved her soooo much."

Take care!!! I know. You're trying!

>279 The_Hibernator: You should keep notes on all these fellows so you can write a funny book later. What happened to the one with the son? I think the Italian needs to go sing opera somewhere else! Way too needy - not cultural.

>279 The_Hibernator: Get away of this Italien guy, Rachel. It's not cultural. He is just bad person who needs a servant and such a person can be violent when he doesn't get what he want.

Take care.

>284 Morphidae: I agree with Morphidae - you should really write a book about this stuff :-)

I don't know if the Italian guy stuff is cultural or not but I don't think I would feel comfortable with it - I think go with your instincts on that one. Otherwise lovely to hear from you and to hear that your Dad is getting better.

>279 The_Hibernator: Interesting dating travails, Rachel. An obvious need to take your time and be sure, I guess.

The weather man was something of a wet weekend wasn't he - who would have forecast that one?!

The gentleman keen to avoid the kiddies section of Walmart may be more promising - try him in Bloomingdales?!

The Italian widower has potential so long as he doesn't end up as the Godfather!

I suppose in >244 The_Hibernator: it was obvious that you had to call time - if you have to discuss putting the passion in - it ain't gonna happen.

I think that your adventures in a few short weeks at least show how much of a catch you are and that you already have plenty of options. xx

Great news that your Dad is slowly getting better.

>279 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel! It's good to see you around LT. I am so glad your Dad is doing better. Getting out for a March seems good. As far as the dating, sounds like you should keep shopping. The Italian guy, well, my red flags went up, for what it's worth. I got a giggle out of the weather man one. I bet he was nervous and all he could think about was the weather report and feet. LOL Good luck with all that. :)

Hey Rachel - good to see you posting again!

I'm so glad your dad went to the march and that the three of you are going to D.C. for the science march.

Thanks for starting the NYT group read. I'm sorry you haven't been able to participate more, but the conversation has been really good on the thread. I'm so glad I read The Unwinding and look forward to the next one, even if real life dictates that you aren't able to participate.

Traveling to Turkey is cool. But Turkey is becoming a hotspot for Internet dating scams. Give it a google and beware.

Thanks for all your opinions! I see a variety of them, so I may have to depend on my instincts. I downgraded the guy who's terrified of kids and commitment to "friend." He wanted to stay friends because he has few unmarried friends and wants to have someone to watch movies with on his new home theater. I see nothing wrong with that as long as he obeys boundaries. I think he can do that, he is really a very good guy. I'm already fond of him - that didn't take long.

As for Italian guy, my red flags are up, but I'm still going to give him a chance. Who knows, he might be exactly what he says he is, and there's nothing wrong with that, other than being a tad over-eager. I am skeptical, though. He sent me an email today which was terribly romantic, and I just didn't know how to respond to it other than saying that the best way to a healthy relationship is through a healthy friendship. We'll see how he responds.

>289 streamsong: As for the NYT group read, I think I'll have to bail on finishing The Unwinding on time (though I'll continue working on it as time permits). I'm going to start in on the next book Strangers in Their Own Land, which looks fantastic. I'll also work on catching up on the Bible and reading Dark Matter for my real-life book club. :)

Glad to see you posting again, Rachel, and very happy to hear your dad is doing well.

The Italian guy would have red flags for me, too, but it sounds like you're treading carefully there.

Hi Rachel! Glad to hear your Dad is doing well and it seems you are too. Be cautious with this Italian guy, but hoping for the best. Good luck with your friend and the meth. Man, that is a tough one. Just keep taking care of yourself in the midst of all this!! Hugs.

Glad your dad is feeling better. Your Internet dating stories remind me of various friends' adventures. I think going with your gut's early reaction is often a good move. X or Y may be a great match for someone else but all those little signals are telling you something specific to you. Plus I read that book about all the stuff going on in the gut that links to the brain and who knows, maybe it works for dating too!?

What happened with the meds? Did you get onto a reduced rate programme?

I trust that your dating adventures are still more than a little interesting, Rachel.

Take your time and be careful. xx

>291 bell7: Hi Mary! Thanks for stopping by! I don't think Emmanuel, the Italian guy, is a scammer. I think he's just incredibly lonely and has really big emotions. If he were a scammer, I don't think he'd make up a 14 year old daughter that he wants to find a mom for. I mean, that must shoot down most of the women who'd otherwise be interested. Plus, I'm not sure what dating scams are for other than getting money? Or perhaps citizenship? Anyway, I think he's for-real, and I'm going to at least meet him when he gets back from Turkey unless other red flags arise. I actually talked to an Italian friend on the subject, and she said that this was definitely partly cultural.

I'm already starting to get tired of this online dating. It was fun for a whole month, but it's hard to find attractive people I click with who have the same goals as I do, and rejecting people is emotionally exhausting. Of course, it's easy to just not answer as soon as they're like "wanna come over and f*%k?" I figure they know they're setting themselves up for either utter failure or success with that proposition.

>292 Berly: Hi Kim! Yeah, my friend on meth is doing surprisingly well considering. But I expect things to go downhill quickly. I talked to him about going into rehab, but he doesn't want his mom knowing he's on meth (excuse!). And since he only disappears for a few days at a time right now, she's apparently oblivious. There's really nothing I can do other than call the cops on him, and I'm not sure that's the best thing to do, either, because he's already on mandated treatment.

>293 charl08: Hi Charlotte. You're probably right, but my gut sends me conflicting stories about pretty much every guy because I'm by nature skeptical when I date. Who is out looking for a serious relationship and who is just looking for a fling and saying they're out for a relationship? And which of these guys voted for the wrong side and isn't telling me?! ;)

I did manage to get some less expensive meds, so things are settling out ok. I'm feeling better and almost back to my normal routine, though reading is always hard to get back into when I stop for a while. I'm not sure why since I love reading so much. I think it's partly my attention deficit.

>294 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul! I know I should take my time, but that biological clock is ticking. I'll never have kids at this rate. ;)

Hi Rachel! Good to hear that you're almost back to your normal routine.

I hope you have a great week.