LovingLit hits the books | thread 3

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LovingLit hits the books | thread 3

1LovingLit
Editado: Ago 22, 2021, 12:46 am



The northern Atlantic Ocean and lead in pic to my thread the third!

Welcome to my reading log, life log, and visitors' log :)

Currently in COVID LEVEL 4 LOCKDOWN, meaning stay at home learning, stay at home working, leaving the house for only necessaries. Currently coping well mainly due to the fact that the kids have PlayStation, and I am prioritising my daily exercise.

2LovingLit
Editado: Oct 30, 2021, 6:22 pm

Books read in 2021
January
1. Plague 99 by Jean Ure YA
2. Radicalized by Cory Doctrow 4x novellas
3. The Spy who came in from the Cold by John le Carre audiobook
4. Sliver by Ira Levin
5. The End of the End of the Earth by Jonathan Franzen NF, essays

February
6. The Glass House by Eva Chase audiobook
7. Down all the Days by Christy Brown
8. Lowborn: Growing up, getting away and returning to Britain's Poorest Towns by Kerry Hudson NF
9. The South by Colm Tóibín audiobook (DNF)
10. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

March
11. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie audiobook (DNF)
12. How to Think about Weird Things by Theodore SchickNF
13. Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy by Serhii Plokhy NF, audiobook
14. The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf NF
15. Love you: Policy for intergenerational wellbeing by Girol Karacaoglu NF

April
16. White Teeth by Zadie Smith audiobook
17. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez
18. Precarity: Uncertain, Insecure, and Unequal lives in Aotearoa New Zealand Shiloh Groot et al (eds). NF
19. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
20. Statistical by Anthony Reuben NF
21. Tuesday Nights in 1980 by Molly Prentiss

May
22. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
23. Lea by Pascal Mercier audiobook (DNF)
24. Nothing to be Frightened Of by Julian Barnes NF
25. The Lives of Edie Pritchard by Larry Watson audiobook
25.5 Red Dress in Black and White by Elliot Ackerman (DNF)

June
26. Gods of Metal by Eric Schlosser NF
27. The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald NF
28 First Person by Richard Flanagan audiobook
29. Bright Swallow: Making choices in Mao's China by Vivian Bi
30. Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir by Rebecca Solnit NF, audiobook

3LovingLit
Editado: Ene 9, 2022, 4:02 pm

July
31. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge verse
32. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson YA
33. The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing audiobook
34. Levels of Life by Julian Barnes NF
35. Still counting : wellbeing, women’s work and policy-making by Marilyn Waring (BWB text...reread) NF
36. The Wine of Solitude by Irene Nemirovsky
37. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl NF
38. The Night Always Comes by Willy Vlautin

August
39. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson audiobook
40. Noonday by Pat Barker
41. How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities by Anika Gupta NF audiobook

September
42. Winter by Ali Smith audiobook
43. White Feminism by Koa Beck NF
44. Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan audiobook
45. The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson NF audiobook

October
46. Middle England by Jonathan Coe audiobook
47. Land: How Hunger for Ownership shaped the Modern World by Simon Winchester NF audiobook
48. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell NF audiobook

November
49. More than This by Patrick Ness audiobook
50. Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction by Arundhati Roy NF
51. Boston in the American Revolution: A Town Versus an Empire by Brooke Barbier NF
52. Atlantic by Simon Winchester NF audiobook
53. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
54. The Invoice by Jonas Karlsson

December
55. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson audio
56. The Cleanest Race
57. We need New Names

4LovingLit
Editado: Ago 22, 2021, 12:45 am

5quondame
Ago 22, 2021, 12:53 am

Happy new thread!

6FAMeulstee
Ago 22, 2021, 4:53 am

Happy new thread, Megan!

7karenmarie
Ago 22, 2021, 9:03 am

Hi Megan, and happy new thread.

I'm glad to hear that so far you are all coping well to the lock down.

8Crazymamie
Ago 22, 2021, 9:50 am

Happy new one, Megan!

9PaulCranswick
Ago 22, 2021, 9:56 am

Hope the lockdown doesn't get the boys down too much.

Happy new thread, Megan.

10BLBera
Ago 22, 2021, 10:04 am

Happy new thread, Megan. Good luck with your lockdown.

11richardderus
Ago 22, 2021, 1:10 pm

Howdy. I'm too depressed at the notion of White Feminism to do anything fancy. The ick-ptui factor is DEFCON III for me on that one.

*smooch*

12weird_O
Ago 22, 2021, 3:28 pm

Stay health, Megan and family. I talked to my younger son a little bit ago. He and his wife are pulling their elementary-schoolers out of the public school in favor of homeschooling. They are really hoping the vaccines will be approved for kids, so they can get their girls the shots.

13johnsimpson
Ago 22, 2021, 4:46 pm

Hi Megan my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

14drneutron
Ago 22, 2021, 7:15 pm

Happy new one!

15Berly
Ago 22, 2021, 10:59 pm

Happy new thread!! Keep up the daily exercise and hurray for Playstation!!

16LovingLit
Editado: Ago 23, 2021, 6:41 am

Lockdown day 6...
In which I do not have a heart attack, and am offered work.

I spent much of yesterday on the couch resting what turns out to be what I think is a strained intercostal muscle. At first I thought I was building to a heart attack- chest pain radiating out to the shoulder etc...but after careful monitoring, some anxiety, much rest, pain killers, and hot water bottles, it has responded well. So today I was forced to be a tad more active :) Which is just as well, as at-home learning has begun for the boys.
An interesting research role came my way, and although I vowed that last year would be my last as an academic research assistant, I am considering it. Famous last words huh?

>5 quondame: thank you, and awards and certificates (or- cerfiticates, as Little Lenny used to call them) for you for being my first visitor!

>6 FAMeulstee: thank you kindly :)

>7 karenmarie: Lockdown extended to the end of the week, unsurprisingly. Let's hope we can quell the community spread and get back to relative normality.

>8 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie- lovely to see you about these parts!

17LovingLit
Ago 23, 2021, 6:36 am

>9 PaulCranswick: I think it's fair to say they were whooping with delight at the thought of not having to go to school! They are happy at home, and we are lucky to have plenty of green space nearby to exercise and visit

>10 BLBera: Thank you- lockdown is characterised by food. Menu planning is a dedicated sport around here:)

>11 richardderus: Aye, tis a tough concept for many. To be told that your brand of feminism is toxic would be a surprise to many, I think. This is a conceptually hard book, with many words and phrases built of mini-universes of academic thought!

>12 weird_O: That sounds like what some were doing here when Covid was building in March 2020....my niece and nephew among them! Your situation is much different though, and scary for them I bet.

18LovingLit
Ago 23, 2021, 6:39 am

>13 johnsimpson: Thank you kindly

>14 drneutron: I see my thread has been spotted by our dutiful thread logger! Thanks Doc :)

>15 Berly: Lovely thread for my thread..I could crochet myself an Irish flag with that! Todays daily exercise involved 2x bike rides and 1x kicking the ball with Lenny at the park. So no walk/audiobook unfortunately- I have high hopes for tomorrow though!

19charl08
Ago 23, 2021, 7:17 am

Happy new one Megan. Hope the lockdown can be lifted soon and that the exercise/fresh air/ computer games combo continues to do the trick for the family.

20LovingLit
Editado: Ago 24, 2021, 2:44 am



Oh, and I started Azadi by Arundhati Roy, I haven't read her (apart from a small mini-essay) since The God of Small Things and, boy - is her writing amazing. I over-cooked myself in the bath last evening fawning over her words.

In other news, I worked today (from home- Day 7 of lockdown 2.0) and managed to insert the same chart in two seperate parts of a report, and made several points beneath the chart describing what it was showing.
Twice.
Same report.
Sheesh. I must be distracted.

21LovingLit
Ago 24, 2021, 2:43 am

>19 charl08: hiya Charlotte. All the good parts of lockdown were repeated today, a 50 minute walk does me wonders, I tell ya!

22karenmarie
Ago 24, 2021, 9:07 am

Hi Megan!

>16 LovingLit: So glad it’s not a heart attack. And I’ll be interested in hearing about what you decide about another research role.

23richardderus
Ago 24, 2021, 2:44 pm

>20 LovingLit: Whoopsie doopsie. At least it wasn't pointed out to you by a mildly annoyed-yet-amused boss.

Yay for more research work! To hell with those resolves!

24msf59
Ago 24, 2021, 5:32 pm

Happy New Thread, Megan! Good luck with the lockdown. It seemed to be very effective the first time. Hopefully, it will do the same this time around. Don't go stir crazy.

25LovingLit
Ago 24, 2021, 9:23 pm

>22 karenmarie: yes, a no-heart-attack day is a good day, right!??! The research role is a maybe at present. I have indicated what my availability is, and what I won't go below for pay, so now we wait.

>23 richardderus: I was glad to not have that particular mistake found out :)
My lovely other received an email from his boss today urging him and the team to not attempt to do more hours to compensate for lockdown related lower productivity. I thought this was very kind, and aim to take the advice on board myself too!!

>24 msf59: Hey Grandpa! Big congrats are due to you!! Thanks for advising me to not go crazy, I appreciate it. I shall also try not to go stir crazy ;)

26LovingLit
Editado: Ago 30, 2021, 2:11 am


BOOK 41
How to Handle a Crowd: The Art of Creating Healthy and Dynamic Online Communities by Anika Gupta

I listened to this on audio, the narration was wonderful and the information very interesting. Of course I was thinking about our own wonderful LT community while listening, and how we so effectively self moderate, by the most part. The book arose as a result of academic research, and it certainly feels like that. Chapter by chapter a new case study is described- sometimes in too great a detail. I would have preferred some more links to broader societal/community trends in these sections.

27charl08
Ago 30, 2021, 5:21 am

>26 LovingLit: I sometimes think that writing something that is good to read should be part of academic training. This sounds like the kind of book that lots of people would have an interest / experience on the subject, so they are half way there already!

I hope your lockdown experience continues to be tolerable. Your other half's management sounds like they've got their priorities right. As the international news continues to be scary I've been travelling via tv. Currently watching a series set in a small Japanese diner. The food makes me want to rush out and buy a rice cooker.

28LovingLit
Ago 31, 2021, 5:09 am

Oooh, all the book covers from those that I have read so far this year, in one pretty image.



29LovingLit
Ago 31, 2021, 5:11 am

>27 charl08: Definitely tolerable, I am hardly hard off, but I do hate being cooped up with my family. I am definitely more of an 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' type of parent. It's just the tension of them fighting, but still, I will be glad to see the back of lockdown.
One week to go!!!

30karenmarie
Ago 31, 2021, 9:29 am

Hi Megan.

>26 LovingLit: Interesting note about our own wonderful LT community. Tim, our fearless LT creator and leader, created a wonderful structure with effective ways to self moderate.

>29 LovingLit: I do hate being cooped up with my family. I am definitely more of an 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' type of … wife. I love my husband and love my alone time and am getting lots of the former and not much of the latter. *smile*

31richardderus
Ago 31, 2021, 9:48 am

>26 LovingLit: That sounds very interesting....

I feel so lucky that my YGC lives in Brooklyn. We videocall a lot, and thus keep up that nice sense of being current and connected, but I don't physically see him every day which makes it a real treat when I do.

Happy week-ahead's reads.

32Crazymamie
Ago 31, 2021, 9:59 am

>30 karenmarie: This is why Craig can never retire.

Hello, Megan!

>28 LovingLit: I love this! I see a few of my favorites in there.

33quondame
Ago 31, 2021, 6:41 pm

>29 LovingLit: My husband and I long ago reached a non-interference truce and having a house large enough is the main reason it works. Having him 24-7 in the family room while his knee heals has added a bit more stress on the system, but having the bed upstairs all to myself with no external nighttime interruptions has kept me rested enough to deal with that. On the other hand, having my daughter around so much has been pretty much a plus (for me, her opinion is quite different) and she comes with Nutmeg, who is a darling!

34richardderus
Sep 2, 2021, 7:53 pm

Normally I am a person who Knows My Own Mind. Startling, I realize, for you to hear this...as I've always been such a soft-spoken crowd-goer-alonger.

Stop laughing.

Anyway. I need help. The wisdom of the crowd is sought to help be decide between two equally strong contenders for Read of the Month. I am simply incapable to unparalyzing myself from the FOMO I get thinking about this problem.

Please vote on the poll or you will be directly responsible for my re-admission to the Goofy Garage this birthmonth.

35richardderus
Sep 3, 2021, 7:13 pm

>34 richardderus: Marianne! Help is more urgent now than ever! There was an exact tie at 5pm, so I've settled on TOMORROW (Saturday 4 Sept) at 5pm for the final decision. Please come vote! https://www.librarything.com/topic/334521#7593915

36LovingLit
Sep 3, 2021, 11:39 pm

>30 karenmarie: I am so behind with my replies! (*tut tut*)
Alone time is a must for a pack of introverts ;)

>31 richardderus: Video-calls are, in a lot of ways, preferable to the real thing! I have had a few face time calls to friends from my car in the driveway...sitting in there is so nice and contained, quiet, and comfortable too!

>32 Crazymamie: Glad to see I am not the only one who feels cramped when cooped up with my loved ones!!

>33 quondame: "non-interference truce" lol -I love it!

37LovingLit
Sep 3, 2021, 11:57 pm

>34 richardderus: >35 richardderus: lol- OK, you talked me into it. I have duly voted

38LovingLit
Sep 4, 2021, 12:00 am

Meanwhile, from lockdown.
We (in my area at least) have moved to a 'softer' lockdown which is still 'harder' than most lockdowns I have heard of. We can leave home for the same reasons as before (groceries, 1 hour outdoor exercise a day, medical treatments or emergencies), but can do two new things.....(1) extend our household bubble to include one other household- if- that household is a single person, or someone in need of company. And, (2) buy food from cafes or restaurants takeaway/contactless delivery only. Auckland is still in full lockdown.

39charl08
Sep 4, 2021, 3:28 am

>38 LovingLit: That sounds tough. Hope the measures get relaxed soon. And what will you be ordering "to go"?

40LovingLit
Editado: Sep 4, 2021, 7:25 am

>39 charl08: on day one of our relaxed lockdown, we got Indian takeaway (chicken tikka masala) and the kids got burgers and chips from the local fish and chip shop :)
T'was a happy household!
And since them my mum (whose household bubble we have joined) has been here for dinner, and I visited her today as well. Still working from home, on which point, my current 10 hrs per week is just enough (i.e., not many!).

41richardderus
Sep 4, 2021, 9:26 am

>40 LovingLit: What a sensible system. No wonder...a woman runs your country.

>37 LovingLit: Good, good...I was all ready to break out more if that didn't work. "Misti Lee" almost made the cut.

42LovingLit
Editado: Sep 9, 2021, 4:19 am


BOOK 42
Winter by Ali Smith

So, the book started with a woman's vision of a "tenacious" levitating head. I should have realised then that this was not the book for me. Yet, I persisted.

I found the characters inconsistent and incomprehensible. I understand there is such a thing as nuance, but I couldn't figure out who was good, who was not, or who was even what. Although I recognised certain traits in the characters, just as I thought I was coming near to 'getting' them, they went and did and said something so left field, that it just threw me in all directions.

Plus, if I got a dollar for every time the words "he said", "she said" or "{character's name} said", were said, I would be hundreds of dollars richer. A frustrating reading experience, so that's that.

43LovingLit
Sep 4, 2021, 9:25 pm

>41 richardderus: Yeah, it does feel sensible. And now that the Premier of New South Wales (Australia) seems to be accepting of the hundreds and hundreds of new cases a day, and is going and saying things like 'yes, death is bad but what about all those people inconvenienced by lockdowns'...I am feeling better about stopping home.

Here's to not dying! *yay*

44FAMeulstee
Sep 5, 2021, 5:15 am

>38 LovingLit: Sounds good to me, Megan, easing the lockdown very slow. I understand it is difficult for many people, and creating (future) mental problems. I saw alarming statistics recently, especially young adults are mentally affected after 18 months of various Covid lockdowns/measurements.

We were doing well until last June, when the govenment opened up way to fast :-( They did implement some back, but ever since the numbers stay relative high. The only good thing is that most are vaccinated now, so hospitals are not overwhelmed. Still a large part of the patients are there because of Covid.

45msf59
Sep 5, 2021, 7:41 am

Glad you are surviving the "relaxed lockdown", Megan. How are the numbers there? Are they steadily declining? Fingers crossed. Sorry to hear that Winter didn't work for you. I remember loving it...he said.

46richardderus
Sep 5, 2021, 12:56 pm

>42 LovingLit: Richard said, "it serves you right for not heeding your inner promptings."

47LovingLit
Sep 5, 2021, 7:03 pm

>44 FAMeulstee: there must be tonnes of households that are doing it really tough in lockdown, I shudder to think about those who are effectively trapped with violent or abusive people. The whole thing is just a pain in the lungs, isn't it!!

>45 msf59: lol, good one Mark! I see becoming a grandfather hasn't dulled your senses. It might have just been the wrong time for me and that book. :)

>46 richardderus: Haha to you too RD. It was just that the "he said/she said" thing was peppered so constantly throughout the dialogue. It irked :)

48LovingLit
Sep 5, 2021, 7:06 pm

Today I have a COVID test (I have a cough, throat issues and headaches....the rest of the household had variations of this over the last fortnight in lockdown, so we are passing it to each other, but thought to be safer rather than sorry, so an getting tested.)

I also helped Lenny film him doing an obstacle course for his online learning....sounds fun to me! No wonder the kids are not that keen to go back to physical school yet. Today we find out if the restrictions are relaxed ...Wednesday was the day we all had our fingers crossed for going back to work and school...and cafes :) We shall see!

49BLBera
Sep 6, 2021, 12:36 pm

Fingers crossed, Megan, that it isn't COVID. Good luck with the lockdown.

Sorry Winter didn't work for you. I liked Autumn better, but liked this one as well. In fact, it's on my list to reread before I continue with the last two in the quartet.

50weird_O
Sep 6, 2021, 1:18 pm

I read Autumn a couple years ago, and I wanted to read the other seasons, but never came across the other books.

51FAMeulstee
Sep 6, 2021, 3:41 pm

>48 LovingLit: I hope the COVID test comes back negative, Megan!

52drneutron
Sep 6, 2021, 9:13 pm

Me too! No Covid!

53LovingLit
Sep 7, 2021, 3:58 am

There's been no COVID in the South Island for over 300 days, so unsurprisingly (and joyously) my COVID test came back negative :)

Still, I was in bed all day today (apart from to do the kids' breakfast, and dishes, the kids' lunch, and dinner for the family, some laundry and tidying- that's about as much as I can hope for being sick!). I even napped, which is highly unusual. But I got to read the conceptually loaded White Feminism, and Sweet Tooth (on audio), both of which are great so far. Luckily the lockdown triggered a library loan extension, so I have had time to complete White Feminism, which I wouldn't have otherwise.

54LovingLit
Sep 7, 2021, 4:02 am

>49 BLBera: we had Zoom bookclub last night, and one of the others had read Autumn by Ali Smith, and had had a similar reaction to me! So we basked in each other's similar feelings. We decided the others in bookclub must read Summer and Spring, so that we will have read a season each :)

>50 weird_O: They are such an attractive set, so I wish I had liked Winter more than I did. I was definitely a candidate for getting the quartet and displaying them proudly...

>51 FAMeulstee: It did! yay. Still feeling some sensitivity up up up in my nose though! I think the swab has irritated my sinuses.

>52 drneutron: Woop! Double negative :)

55BLBera
Sep 7, 2021, 4:46 pm

>54 LovingLit: That sounds like a plan. Hooray for a negative test!

56LovingLit
Sep 8, 2021, 3:53 am

>55 BLBera: we actually all have quire different tastes at our select, 4-person book club. Controversially, we have just decided that we can talk about podcasts now, as if it were a book. I am skeptical about that as (a) don't listen to podcasts, and (b) they aren't books.

57Berly
Sep 8, 2021, 8:39 pm

>28 LovingLit: So pretty!! All your books in one place. Also very satisfying. : )

>53 LovingLit: How is it that you have had no cases for 300 days and yet you are in lockdown and we have cases going through the roof and are not doing much of anything to prevent it?!?!

Glad you got some Indian food--so yummy! And I hope you feel better soon.

58BLBera
Sep 8, 2021, 8:42 pm

I am with you on the podcast discussion issue, Megan because 1. they are not books; 2. they are not books, etc.

59LovingLit
Sep 9, 2021, 1:21 am

>57 Berly: re: no COVID cases in the South Island....NZ is two main islands, and when Auckland (top of the North Island) got a community COVID case where prior there were none, the whole country went into lockdown to nip spreading in the bud. This has now happened with cases diminishing every day. Right now though, while Auckland city and surrounds remains in full lockdown, the rest of the country has relaxed its stay at home orders to contain new infections.
We are a "play it safe" and, on account of being small, and with relatively low population density (outside of cities anyway), and an island nation, can keep it out (for now anyway).

>58 BLBera: I feel bad as I was one of the ones saying, 'well, I suppose a podcast can be 5-6 hours, and that is about at the lower end of what an audiobook would be'...so it is partly my fault. AND I still experience disappointment at my bookclub for questioning audiobooks as legitimate literature....
*sigh*
Where are my people!?....other than here on LT, I mean. haha.

60LovingLit
Editado: Sep 9, 2021, 10:36 pm


BOOK 44
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan audiobook

The plot is terribly clever, I'm sure. But because it is comprised of seriously well-worded prose, I forgave it. Just.

61PaulCranswick
Sep 9, 2021, 11:10 pm

>53 LovingLit: 300 days without a case on the idyllic South Island again reminds me why I would have loved to relocate there!

>60 LovingLit: Sorry that despite, Mr. McEwan's best efforts at clever plotting and stylish prose, his book still fell flat. It is actually quite often that that happens to me too and I am at a loss for why something I have little cause to criticise left me cold.

Have a lovely weekend.

62richardderus
Sep 10, 2021, 10:32 am

>60 LovingLit: McEwan is one of the "too, too terribly too" writers of writing for me.

*nyah* for having a sensible population.

63karenmarie
Sep 11, 2021, 1:01 pm

Hi Megan!

>53 LovingLit: So glad your Covid test came back negative, sorry that you and your family have been sharing germs back and forth.

64EBT1002
Sep 11, 2021, 4:22 pm

Hi Megan. Sorry you have been under the weather and glad it's not COVID.

I'm also sorry Ali Smith's novel didn't land well for you. One of my post-retirement reading ideas is to read her Seasons series start to finish consecutively. I've read a couple of them and loved them but I'm interested to see if I can identify common threads which have not been apparent to me reading them as they are published.

65LovingLit
Sep 11, 2021, 11:17 pm

>61 PaulCranswick: The whole thing was going swimmingly until the ending....so that sealed it :)

>62 richardderus: I can't say I haven't tried! This was my 4th McEwan, and may be my last. He is very good, but just not for me.

>63 karenmarie: 1 week of being sick is about 6 days too long! I am not the most patient person when in my sick bed ;)

>64 EBT1002: There is a chance I would read another, in print as opposed to audio. It might have a different feel to it. There is something so satisfying about reading them consecutively....I am totally drawn to that idea!

66EBT1002
Sep 12, 2021, 2:07 pm

Hmm, I don't think I had processed that you read Winter on audio. I don't have enough experience with audiobooks to know for sure, but I think you may be right that Ali Smith's works will resonate better in traditional reading format. My audio reading has been mostly limited to mysteries and nonfiction works. My "current" listen is The Splendid and the Vile but I've been in a hiatus of a few months.

67LovingLit
Sep 14, 2021, 4:29 pm

>66 EBT1002: I do wonder about the reading experience of audio v print book. I am relatively new to audiobooks, having only succumbed (?) to them at the start of the Covid lockdowns early last year for my daily walks. I don't dispute their validity as books, not at all, but can't quite put my finger on the differences that the experiences offer. I may have to do some further thinking/reading on the topic!

68richardderus
Sep 14, 2021, 5:56 pm

>67 LovingLit: Apart from the "put me to sleep in under 20min" issue, I also don't want someone reading to me to determine my thoughts, opinions, responses...and a voice outside me can do exactly that. Or make me take against something because of the way they pronounced it. Or....

69LovingLit
Sep 14, 2021, 10:33 pm

>68 richardderus: ...or, or, or.
Hehe, I get where you're coming from. I definitely shy away from audiobooks which are acted...different voices, intense accent changes, changes in cadence, intonation, volume....no thanks. I want someone to convey the words to me as I might read it in my head.

70richardderus
Sep 15, 2021, 8:31 pm

>69 LovingLit: ...but then why have someone *outside* your head do the job? YOU are the world's subject matter expert on the voices in your head, after all. Well, safe to say that I just do not Get this craze.

71LovingLit
Sep 16, 2021, 8:46 pm

>70 richardderus: Not a fan. I am getting that vibe :)

72LovingLit
Sep 16, 2021, 8:51 pm

Currently reading:

More Than This by Patrick Ness, In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson, and When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant. First two on audio, last one in print. :)

73richardderus
Sep 16, 2021, 9:46 pm

>72 LovingLit: Interesting reads! Have a lovely weekend's reads.

74LovingLit
Sep 16, 2021, 11:05 pm

Oops, I got the Erik Larson book wrong! I am actually currently reading:

More Than This by Patrick Ness, The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, and When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant.
:)

I'm about to drive back from Hanmer where I spent the night with a friend, so I will get to listen, hassle free, to The Splendid and the Vile for a lovely almost 2 hours.

75LovingLit
Editado: Sep 16, 2021, 11:17 pm



This morning we noticed there had been snow overnight, so we took a short drive to the mountain pass for a little walk! Pretty huh?

76kidzdoc
Sep 17, 2021, 2:21 am

77LovingLit
Sep 17, 2021, 3:27 am

>76 kidzdoc: It was a nice surprise to see snow. We were all warm and cosy inside with the fire on and hadn't really noticed how cold it had gotten. Opened the curtains after our sleep in, and - Bob's your uncle - the hills were snowy! I am really glad now that I arranged for my mum to come look after the boys so I could snatch a night away :)

78karenmarie
Sep 17, 2021, 6:11 am

Hi Megan.

>75 LovingLit: Snow! Wonderful. I am looking forward to the beginning of our fall season soon and then eventually winter – I want snow.

79FAMeulstee
Sep 17, 2021, 4:50 pm

>75 LovingLit: The snow looks lovely, Megan, a beautiful reward for spending a night away from home.

80richardderus
Sep 17, 2021, 6:06 pm

>75 LovingLit: How very, um, cool! Badly needed vacay, fer sher.

81LovingLit
Sep 18, 2021, 5:02 am

>78 karenmarie: we haven't had snow for ages where I live, so it was lovely to catch a tiny snowfall and have a wander in it. My friend's dog loved it too, she was snuffling her face all into it!

>79 FAMeulstee: It was like a reward icing on the reward cake!

>80 richardderus: heh, cool. Yes. It certainly was that. Re: Badly needed vacays...I could count the number of nights me and my lovely other have had away from both kids on one hand. This makes for a very different parenting experience from those who, say, have their kids at parents or in-laws places ever weekend/month or whatever. I have to admit it was lovely coming home and getting a running cuddle from little Lenny. and that was me being away only 24 hours!

82charl08
Sep 18, 2021, 5:23 am

>81 LovingLit: Aw. How lovely to be missed. Sounds like you made the most of the break. Still mild here, snow seems far off still: love the photos of the snow scape.

I am a fan of Linda Grant, hope this one is working for you.

83LovingLit
Sep 21, 2021, 2:59 pm

>82 charl08: I had actually almost forgotten about the Linda Grant book in the face of my audiobook having such a tight turnaround time! I better get back into it :)

84LovingLit
Sep 24, 2021, 12:05 am

Ommigosh.
I am loving The Splendid and the Vile. The way Larson tells the story is not only gripping, but so eloquent. If audio were easier to rewind I would be going over and over some passages.
*swoon*
(That is all.)

85richardderus
Sep 24, 2021, 3:48 pm

>84 LovingLit: Excellent news! It's on my Kindle, or in a pile I forget which.

Enjoy the weekend! Your reading seems to guarantee it.

86LovingLit
Sep 24, 2021, 11:11 pm

>85 richardderus: well I did start the weekend with a walk to the coffee shop, audiobook rolling! So yeh, it's been great so far :)

87weird_O
Sep 26, 2021, 1:17 pm

I seem to have wandered into the Battle of Britain through the researches and imaginings of several writers recently. Larson, of course. But also Connie Willis and Madeline Martin just this year.

88LovingLit
Sep 26, 2021, 7:54 pm

>87 weird_O: well, my Blitz blitz is really taking shape now. I have to say, the Larson account is so thorough, and so linear in its outlaying of the 'plot' (so to speak), that for someone like me who has little knowledge of the succession of events and surrounding political manoeuvrings of the times, it really reads like a thriller. All the dialogue is from diaries and documents, which really brings it to life.

89LovingLit
Editado: Sep 30, 2021, 12:34 am


BOOK 45
The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (on audio)

Yes yes yes. Read this book. It gives a solid, in-depth account of Churchill's first year of leading Britain and the UK through WWII and does so while reading like a page-turner. To copy and paste my comment to Bill, above, this was very useful for someone like me who has little knowledge of the succession of events and surrounding political manoeuvrings of the times, it really reads like a thriller. All the dialogue is from diaries and documents, which really brings it to life.

I only just finished the audio in time....8 minutes to spare before it was automatically removed from my phone for some other lucky person to listen to. I had to listen at 1.65 times the normal speed to get to the end in time. I was NOT going to wait another 2 weeks to get the last part under my belt. Phew.

90PaulCranswick
Sep 30, 2021, 1:51 am

Happy birthday my dear friend.

Thank you for stopping by my thread these last few days when I was at a pretty low ebb. xx

91LovingLit
Sep 30, 2021, 3:17 am

>90 PaulCranswick: aw thanks Paul. I have had a lovely day and am about to sink into a bath.
It's nice to see you posting and that you know you have an audience in us in such awful and trying times :) (((hugs)))

92richardderus
Sep 30, 2021, 12:49 pm

Booerthdeeum orisonicalia! (How'd it get to be October already?)

I'm so very glad you liked The Splendid and the Vile because it's weighing down a stack somewhere in here.

93karenmarie
Sep 30, 2021, 1:20 pm

Happy Birthday, Megan! I'm glad you had a lovely day.

94johnsimpson
Sep 30, 2021, 4:08 pm

Happy birthday Megan my dear, glad you had a really lovely day dear friend.

95BLBera
Sep 30, 2021, 9:24 pm

>89 LovingLit: I'm glad you got through it in time, Megan.

96weird_O
Sep 30, 2021, 11:11 pm

Oh gosh, you had a birthday. Was the cake good? I'll bet it was. Yay!

97LovingLit
Oct 5, 2021, 1:26 am

>92 richardderus: October is fully here! Even if I haven't been....have been getting an error message since daylight saving started (NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID) and LT is one of the sites it comes up for! Just found out I can visit anyway, so rushed over :)

>93 karenmarie: >94 johnsimpson: >95 BLBera: >96 weird_O: Thanks for the birthday wishes! I had an OK day, but then by the next evening was in a wood-fired outdoor spa pool watching shooting stars with my family and another couple we went on holiday with. I was happiness filled!!!

98richardderus
Oct 6, 2021, 3:19 pm

>97 LovingLit: ...??...

That is weird.

Well, you're hear so all's well. Permaybehaps I won't be here...I'm expecting the Literary Lynch Squad any minute (I didn't like Anthony Doerr's latest), so this could be Farewell.

99LovingLit
Oct 7, 2021, 3:45 am

>98 richardderus: lol, you should know better than to go against the crowd RD!!! Tsk tsk.
*dalek voice*
*conform!*

100BekkaJo
Oct 7, 2021, 8:43 am

Belated birthday wishes!!!

I'm also of the camp that get very few nights away from the kids. Though we've just got to the point where big can 'babysit' (ignore and don't fight with) smaller. So that means we get the occasional night out together (read that as two in the last year, so it's a work in progress).

101richardderus
Oct 7, 2021, 3:54 pm

>99 LovingLit: Nope. Come'n'git me, pepper-shakers of Doom. I'll run up the stairs, so there nyah.

102charl08
Oct 8, 2021, 1:56 am

Outdoor spa pool sounds like a slice of heaven.
And >89 LovingLit: sounds like a good read, I'll stick it on the list.

103BekkaJo
Oct 8, 2021, 4:03 am

>101 richardderus: You know they can fly now, right?

104LovingLit
Oct 10, 2021, 11:48 pm

>100 BekkaJo: This current period of kids-being-away is the first time in their lives that me and the lovely other have had more than one night at home together, alone. My dad has taken both ours, and both their male cousins back to the West Coast with him yesterday, and he promises to bring them back in the weekend - so that will be almost a whole week!
I don't know how I feel about it being that long but can say I have enjoyed the first day and a half immensely :)

>101 richardderus: Peppershakers of doom. SO good :)

>102 charl08:
Hark! I have captured the rare sighting of brothers sitting amiably!!


>103 BekkaJo: Hark! Flying peppershakers of doom! lol

105LovingLit
Oct 10, 2021, 11:58 pm

Purchases- $2.50 each, today. Taking advantage of the kids absence to do a little second hand book shopping this afternoon.


Winter by Ali Smith, Legacy by Whiti Heraka, Distance by Colin Thubron

106richardderus
Oct 11, 2021, 4:23 am

>105 LovingLit: Lurvely!

>104 LovingLit: Wow. Not so much as a punch.

>103 BekkaJo: ...in wide-open spaces...

107charl08
Oct 11, 2021, 3:56 pm

>104 LovingLit: Wow. Just amazing. What a hot tub view!

108LovingLit
Oct 11, 2021, 11:57 pm

>106 richardderus: They are a pretty bunch o' books, aren't they?! Even if I did only just read Ali Smith's Winter, and rate it 2 stars....

>107 charl08: I have stayed at that holiday place twice now, my friend grew up on the farm that it is on and her brother and his family now run the farm and manage the house. It was cool going there with her, as she was able to cajole her brother into taking the kids on some farm business :)
Needless to say, my boys love farm business.

109alcottacre
Oct 12, 2021, 12:21 am

No chance at all that I will catch up, Megan, but thought I would swing by to say "Hello."

110LovingLit
Oct 12, 2021, 5:06 am

>109 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I have seen you around on the threads, it's so nice to see one of my original LT friends around again :)

111PaulCranswick
Oct 14, 2021, 5:58 am

>105 LovingLit: Touche on the decent book covers, Megan.

I am still getting the problem accessing the site; are you?

Keep meaning to ask the IT guys here what to do but at least you can sort of get round it although it does get a little convoluted.

112LovingLit
Oct 14, 2021, 4:55 pm

>111 PaulCranswick: Yes, I am still getting the 'not secure' warnings before circumventing it and getting in anyway. I have cleared my cache (necessitating in me getting on top of all my previously saved passwords for everything). A possibly overdue task...
THB I am hoping that it will come right if I ignore it long enough! Failing that, I am starting a contract with a university soon, so can take my laptop to their IT dept and ask a favour :)

113LovingLit
Editado: Oct 14, 2021, 5:03 pm

Today I take advantage of my last child-free day of a whole week off parenting (for, if the previous 13 years is anything to go by, the next 13 years), and will:
- sort out my passwords (see above message)
- sort out a booking for my mums 75th b'day this weekend
- try for a drop-in haircut (I will be lucky to get one, but if you don't try you don't get, right?)
- vacuum, washing, dishes, blah blah blah
- sort out what I am going to say to my boss who seemed surprised when I went to leave work yesterday....he had assumed I would stay on to facilitate the days third focus group, but seeing as he had never asked me to, I had assumed that I would do my usual hours. I feel like he might be cross at me, and the irony is that I actually want more hours. Sigh. Communication people! Please.
- walk/listen to audiobook
- coffee out (missed out on that yesterday for working all the hours, and then babysitting the neighbours' kids yesterday afternoon)
- check my bank account for evidence of any previously-unknown-about funds; admittedly, this is a long shot ;)


114richardderus
Oct 14, 2021, 5:30 pm

Here's to hoping your boss is sunny and your bank account unexpectedly replete.

115LovingLit
Oct 15, 2021, 12:41 am

>114 richardderus: heh, yes! Indeed. Would you believe that those were the only two things on my list that I didn't do!??

116LovingLit
Editado: Oct 15, 2021, 12:44 am



Anyhoo...I'm off to a champagne party. That's right, a champagne party. I love my life today.

117alcottacre
Oct 15, 2021, 12:43 am

>110 LovingLit: Thanks! It is good to be visiting friends again.

118PaulCranswick
Oct 15, 2021, 2:49 am

>112 LovingLit: Belle helped me to improve it but I too still have the Not Secure in red above.

119scaifea
Oct 15, 2021, 7:36 am

Oooh, champagne party - fancy!

I hope you got through your To Do list successfully!

120charl08
Oct 15, 2021, 7:41 am

>113 LovingLit: You certainly packed it in for one day 'off'!

Re Ali Smith - I still have 'Summer' to read - meant to read it seasonally appropriately, but clearly that didn't happen.

121msf59
Oct 15, 2021, 7:45 am

>113 LovingLit: Did you hit all your objectives? How was the champagne party? Dumb question?

Happy Weekend, Megan. How are those books treating you? Yep, I am full of questions.

122richardderus
Oct 15, 2021, 3:31 pm

>116 LovingLit: I'll bet it was a lot of fun. Somehow a party with champagne just is fun.

>115 LovingLit: Drat.

Happy weekend's reads!

123LovingLit
Oct 16, 2021, 8:11 pm

>117 alcottacre: and now I have re-found your thread!

>118 PaulCranswick: *sounding familiar* :)

>119 scaifea: It was fancy :) And fun (as Mark said, duh). I drank some 007-themed Bollinger and, even though I was wearing sneakers, felt very "Patsy" (from Absolutely Fabulous).

>120 charl08: Days off are usually full of jobs, aren't they? I am actually very good at scheduling in rest, so don't worry, I got that too.

>121 msf59: How was the champagne party? Not a dumb question, just one that you may already tell the answer to....it was awesome :) Our friend is a wine writer who has an annual party to finish off the champagnes she tastes (and writes about) during the day. So basically, we arrive at the part, are handed a flute, and are pointed in any direction of the room, in every nook of which sits an ice-filled cooler with champagne. So good.

>122 richardderus: Somehow it just is. The champagne, it just does its magic every time! Even got to chat to some interesting people, so that was grand.

124alcottacre
Oct 17, 2021, 3:26 am

>123 LovingLit: Yay for being re-found!

Happy Sunday/Monday (whichever), Megan!

125LovingLit
Oct 17, 2021, 4:55 am

>124 alcottacre: you've caught me on Sunday evening- close enough to both to be correct :)

126EBT1002
Oct 17, 2021, 11:06 pm

>89 LovingLit: I have a driving trip to Seattle coming up at the end of the month and I plan to listen to The Splendid and the Vile. It will be about ten hours, round trip. I've been listening in small chunks since you and I started the little conversation about audio vs traditional books. And your review has me looking forward to it even more.

Of course, what I'm really looking forward to is visiting a couple of my favorite Seattle bookshops!

127Berly
Oct 17, 2021, 11:54 pm

>123 LovingLit: Now that sounds like my kind of party!! I love champagne! ; ) How was the house without kids this past week?

128charl08
Oct 18, 2021, 7:55 am

Oh man. Now I want to go to a champagne party.
(I don't even like parties.)

I bought my dad a copy of The Splendid and the Vile. It arrived on Saturday and he started reading it straight away. Success! (Thanks for the nudge)

129richardderus
Oct 18, 2021, 2:12 pm

Megan, I'll uncork the Veuve Cliquot when you come to the new thread.

130LovingLit
Oct 18, 2021, 11:20 pm

>126 EBT1002: that sounds fabulous! I love a good* road trip

*good to me is anything that involves driving a long way and there being no young children in the car, well, no mine anyway :)

I hope you enjoy the trip, and the audiobook.

>127 Berly: I love champagne too. Last time I went to one of her champagne parties I told her she had ruined me for good wine now. But she came back with a good, cheap, sparkling wine for me, and I felt much better :)

>128 charl08: Me too! Generally I shy away from parties too. But when you know there'll be 60 bottles of champagne, it makes it easier to go (also, when you know most people will be drinking that, you also know there'll be no shortage of revellers).

>129 richardderus: I came! I saw! I....conquered? Well, I visited anyway :)

131richardderus
Oct 19, 2021, 12:47 pm

>130 LovingLit: You did, you did...now go look at the Widow's Waters. Heh.

132LovingLit
Editado: Oct 24, 2021, 5:10 am

>131 richardderus: OK, I will I will.

---//----//----//----//----//----//----//---

And today we felt summer!



We are staying at the home of a friend's brother's wife's family, only 45 minutes drive away from where we live. They have a pretty cool set up with about 6 little huts of varying sizes for accommodation and a common room/lounge/kitchen situation. We came to stay 2 nights with three families from our neighbourhood. This afternoon there were ten kids, 8 adults, heaps of food and heaps of playing and eel 'fishing', and playing on the flying fox, toasting marshmallows and generally summering it up!

133richardderus
Oct 24, 2021, 10:27 am

"...playing on the flying fox..."

...or is this one of those "playing upon the virginals" moments...

134LovingLit
Editado: Oct 24, 2021, 10:21 pm

>133 richardderus: Ah, yes. I can see why you might think I was talking about bats. But no.
Flying fox as a playground item must be an Australasian thing?

Here's your how-to guide: string a cable between two posts (or, trees in our case), hang a t-bar style metal seat-style thingie from the cable (with a free-running roller thingie at the top so the 'seat' can slide freely), make sure you have a few tyres threaded at the lower end of the cable so when you arrive at top speed you don't get whiplash, at the higher end of proceedings build a ramp so that you may alight the t-bar seat thingie with relative ease. And.....GO.

Below I provide an example of a tamer version. Ours was strung between two old trees in a paddock (field) and was quite high up. The cows roaming freely underneath provided extra excitement!


Eta: not my photo, not my kids :)

135richardderus
Oct 24, 2021, 10:55 pm

>134 LovingLit: I can hear US liability lawyers sitting bolt upright in their beds with gleeful anticipation at the mere idea of suchlike goins-on.

Anyway, happy Labor Day.

136LovingLit
Oct 25, 2021, 4:48 am

>135 richardderus: indeed! I am sure my two would have a liability lawyer salivating with excitement ..they rode the thing backwards...standing up....one-armed...etc. I have to admit though, the cows roaming innocently beneath was one aspect that I thought we could have done without. At least they weren't bulls, I suppose.

137richardderus
Oct 25, 2021, 8:51 am

>136 LovingLit: ...cows...under...oh my gawd.

138LovingLit
Editado: Oct 28, 2021, 9:07 pm


BOOK 47
Land: How Hunger for Ownership shaped the Modern World by Simon Winchester (on audio)

Epic coverage of land, how it has been conquered, divided, stolen, bought and sold, kept, carved and cultivated over time. Narrated by the author, in his tres posh accent, very well indeed. Thoroughly recommended for anyone with an interest in social history or environmental stewardship.

139richardderus
Oct 29, 2021, 10:20 am

>138 LovingLit: That sounds fascinating! I like Winchester's deep takes on seemingly mundane topics. Krakatoa was sheer delight for me, and The Crack at the Edge of the World particularly interesting to me as that's where I've got my origins.

Spend the weekend splendidly.

140LovingLit
Oct 29, 2021, 5:09 pm

>139 richardderus: I also want to read his ones about the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans.

141drneutron
Oct 29, 2021, 5:55 pm

>139 richardderus: I’ve read Atlantic and it was pretty good. Not as good as Krakatoa, but very good.

142richardderus
Oct 29, 2021, 5:59 pm

They're on the TBRalaya. I'm going to need help finding a vampire to grant immortality....

143alcottacre
Oct 29, 2021, 6:01 pm

>138 LovingLit: A Simon Winchester book that I have not read?! Must fix that immediately!

Thanks for the review and recommendation, Megan.

144LovingLit
Oct 30, 2021, 1:01 am

>141 drneutron: That is one I have repeatedly recommended to me, but have yet to get to! I was about to say that I did read the one about the Galveston storm...but then realised that was Erik Larson :)

>142 richardderus: Yes, you must get on to that!

>143 alcottacre: I believe it is a relatively new one. I was lucky to get it on audio, as now I see there are 3 holds on it.

145BLBera
Oct 30, 2021, 12:20 pm

>138 LovingLit: Hi Megan. This one does sound interesting. I'll add it to the WL.

146LovingLit
Oct 30, 2021, 6:09 pm


I have re-started reading More Than This by Patrick Ness after a good month or two having not touched it, and am slowly plodding my way through When I Lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant.
While neither of these is likely to be a 5 (or even a 4) star read, they are good enough.

147LovingLit
Oct 30, 2021, 6:15 pm


BOOK 46
Middle England by Jonathan Coe

This was my third most recently finished book, one which when I began I assumed was a non fiction book about a historic era. Turns out it is fiction where the 'middle' refers to physical location, political viewpoint, and maybe even class. It was my first Jonathan Coe, and I have a few more of his that I also want to read.

I was really drawn in to the stories of the family that this book revolves around. A couple of the family members were more interesting to me than others, but I felt the author represented the dynamics of relationships and the evolution of attitude and circumstance very well. It was a lovely reading journey.

148LovingLit
Oct 30, 2021, 6:17 pm

>145 BLBera: I have recommended it to a friend who is studying for a masters of environmental policy and planning, as it gives such a great overall context for how we relate to land. I hope you enjoy it!

149karenmarie
Oct 31, 2021, 9:24 am

Hi Megan! Yikes. A month since I’ve posted.

>104 LovingLit: I’m glad you and your lovely other got almost a week alone.

>132 LovingLit: Fantastic! Of course, we’re just starting to ‘autumn-up’ here in my part of North Carolina.

>138 LovingLit: I love Simon Winchester, and have put this one on my wish list.

>140 LovingLit: Pacific was excellent, and I have Atlantic on my shelves just waiting for the right time. I also have 5 other books by him that I haven’t read yet. Too many books, too little time.

>147 LovingLit: It turns out that I have two books by Coe on my shelves What a Carve Up! and Number 11. Sigh. I’ve just tagged them for 2022.

150richardderus
Oct 31, 2021, 9:31 am

What a Carve-up! is hilarious. The kind of funny I always expected but never got from David Lodge, whose nauseous flensing-knife of a pen makes me simultaneously angry and ill.

151alcottacre
Oct 31, 2021, 9:34 am

>147 LovingLit: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Unfortunately, my local library does not have that one. It does have The rain before it falls. Have you read that one, Megan, and if so, what did you think of it?

152LovingLit
Oct 31, 2021, 4:19 pm

>149 karenmarie: "Too many books, too little time": the motto of this group, surely! Haha. I do get excited about seeing all the books on my shelf I have yet to read, but it does feel overwhelming at times, especially since now so many are so familiar to me that I feel I must already know them so don't need to read them! Does that make sense?

>150 richardderus: So it's satire? (which can land terrible if the tone is off even slightly, right?).

>151 alcottacre: I hadn't read any Coe before Middle England..aside from a Penguin special abridged thingamee. I now see that the one I read is a follow-up of sorts to The Rotters Club, which is some of the characters as teenagers. I am not sure I could read that too soon, as the characters are fully formed in my head now.

153richardderus
Oct 31, 2021, 4:24 pm

>152 LovingLit: It is satire, very pointed anti-Thatcher satire. And the Winshaws are, with Faulkner's Compsons and Benbows, my touchstone terrible family.

154alcottacre
Oct 31, 2021, 4:25 pm

>152 LovingLit: OK, thanks, Megan.

155LovingLit
Editado: Nov 3, 2021, 4:28 am


No Friend but the Mountains by Behrouz Boochani, and King Henry by Douglas Galbraith.

Bought two new (to me) books!
Both brand-new looking, the first for me and the second maybe for my brother for Christmas. I so look forward to reading my one. The author came to my city to speak at a readers/writes festival from Australia and claimed asylum here (I think?). He now lives here and and teaches at the university I used to attend.

156LovingLit
Oct 31, 2021, 11:06 pm

>153 richardderus: I am all for anti-Thatcherite works of literature, art, performance; I would even probably watch an interpretive dance of anti-Thatcherite themes. Although it feels wrong to berate the deceased, I still hear the song "ding dong the witch is dead" in my head when I think of her.

>154 alcottacre: No worries. :)

157PaulCranswick
Oct 31, 2021, 11:59 pm

>156 LovingLit: I am not hugely into satire these days, Megan, as most of it seems to be laid on as thickly as if they used a trowel.

Anti-Thatcher stuff will not get any negativity from me though.

158charl08
Nov 1, 2021, 9:47 am

>155 LovingLit: Look forward to hearing what you make of No Friend but the Mountains. Every time I hear a politician here say that they want 'the Australian system' to deal with migration, I wonder how many people have any idea what happens to people trying to reach Australia. Grim stuff.

159FAMeulstee
Nov 1, 2021, 10:11 am

>156 LovingLit: I just read Canetti's Party in the Blitz, Megan, you can add it to the anti-Thatcher list.
No friend but the Mountains is somewhere on mount TBR.

160LovingLit
Nov 1, 2021, 11:01 pm

>157 PaulCranswick: satire walks a fine line with tone, it can go so bad so easily. I guess in current times when people can become aggrieved so easily, satirists need to really spell it out. To thick for me too.

>158 charl08: Australia is the model? Yikes. NZ has been lucky enough to not have to formulate a plan to deal with boat loads of refugees arriving...being that bit farther away.
Although it is difficult, we can't say it isn't a direct consequence of globalisation. If you wanna colonise countries (including with 'bizzzness') don't be surprised when the populations of those countries come back you yours.

>159 FAMeulstee: Oooh, looks interesting. I will see if my library has it.

161weird_O
Nov 2, 2021, 2:15 am

>138 LovingLit: Jeez. Winchester's getting way ahead of me. I've read three, have three on the TBR, one on the WANT! list. And now Land. Oh, woe. Or is it Whoa!

162LovingLit
Nov 2, 2021, 2:58 am

>161 weird_O: It's woe and whoa. :)
Winchester is prolific- and now I have just had notice of the Pacific one arriving for me at the library...meaning I must hurry along with my present read More Than This by Patrick Ness (...a decidedly odd read).

163LovingLit
Editado: Nov 5, 2021, 5:06 pm

Currently reading:


Atlantic by Simon Winchester (the lengthy subtitle reads: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories)

And....stiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllll.......
....and....

164alcottacre
Editado: Nov 5, 2021, 5:38 pm

>155 LovingLit: Curious to see what you think of "your" book when you finish it, Megan :)

>163 LovingLit: I get to miss the Atlantic book bullet (which I am sure it would be) when you finish it since I have already read that one. The other two, however, I have not read. . .

Happy Weekend, Megan!!

165richardderus
Nov 5, 2021, 5:44 pm

Happy weekend's reads! I'm sure it's beyond time to give Ness the heave-ho. You've suffered enough, burned off your karmic debts, made your bones as a reader.

166LovingLit
Nov 5, 2021, 6:33 pm

>164 alcottacre: It is funny to hear him reading it in his 10-years-ago voice, it sounds a lot younger than his current voice that I heard when he read Land to me through my head phones :)

>165 richardderus: that is what I am thinking as well (again). I mean, it's not like I haven't tried (and been tried)....

167roundballnz
Nov 6, 2021, 5:38 pm

Just dropping in ....... looks like things are well & you have managed the lockdown well

168alcottacre
Nov 6, 2021, 7:31 pm

>166 LovingLit: I never thought about an author's voice aging. Interesting point.

169LovingLit
Nov 7, 2021, 3:16 pm

>167 roundballnz: Us? We have survived out meagre lockdown easily. You guys however....what are you now, day 80-something??? Eeurgh. I feel for you, I would not be enjoying that at all.

>168 alcottacre: It was probably only as I heard them read so close to each other that I noticed, but the most recent one (Land) was read in a decidedly scratchy, older man's voice.

170roundballnz
Nov 9, 2021, 1:06 am

>169 LovingLit: Yeah, probably looking till Mid-Dec & won't be back in the office till next year, not sure anyone would have predicted that when we left the office on 17th Aug. .... what can you say ?
one day at a time ... least am coming out of the book funk that has plagued by lockdowns.😎🤓

171LovingLit
Nov 9, 2021, 3:36 am

>170 roundballnz: A lockdown book funk??? That is the real disaster! (jokes)
That does suck though, I hope you can come out of it asap! Are you getting NZ Post?? If so, PM me your address, and I will send you a message of hope from the outside world.

172LovingLit
Editado: Nov 9, 2021, 10:47 pm


BOOK 49
More than This by Patrick Ness (on audio)

Well. I finished it. At about 80% of the way through something started to actually happen. That is, something that wasn't the protagonist indulging in pure conjecture or hapless flailing about the situation he was in. So I carried through to the end. And then I got there.

That'll learn me for reading outside my genre.

173alcottacre
Nov 9, 2021, 10:49 pm

>172 LovingLit: Well, you never know until you try. So now you have tried and can go back to your own genre, Megan :)

174roundballnz
Nov 10, 2021, 3:29 am

>171 LovingLit: Yeah last few weeks started be able to read books again - till now been audible books at most ... great to back 😎 will PM you sounds intriguing

>172 LovingLit: Definitely outside your normal reading genre .....

175richardderus
Nov 10, 2021, 8:56 am

>172 LovingLit: I mourn the eyeblinks you expended on being deeply unhappy. Still...belt notched, no need to do that again.

176LovingLit
Nov 10, 2021, 2:20 pm

>173 alcottacre: I usually hold out too much hope when I am reading a book I am not loving. Which I suppose is good, really?!?

>174 roundballnz: Audibles are good for that, just let the words wash over you. And, yes. Pretty out of my genre, but I liked his A Monster Calls book of a few years back so thought I'd give it a go.

>175 richardderus: haha, me too. I was seriously about to abandon, and then *something* happened, so I continued on (this gave me satisfaction from having finished it, but little else).

177LovingLit
Editado: Nov 14, 2021, 2:54 am


BOOK 50
Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction by Arundhati Roy (nf, essays, published 2020)

I bought this little collection of essays in Auckland in July and only just realised I hadn't read the last 15 pages of it...it had sat on my bedside table that long!
The final essay was great, as it placed the whole rest of the collection in the context of COVID-19, which had just erupted on the scene in March 2020 in India. What had been a collection about the right-veering political landscape in India and the accompanying widening gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' (the 63 richest people in India have "more wealth than the annual budget outlay for {India's} 1.3 billion people" p. 201) as well as the increasing religions divisions there, concluded with a walloping indictment on the leadership of the country and its inability to provide even the most basic health care for its people.
The leader is scarily Trump-esque in his narcissism (he instigated a 'PM Cares' fund that money from well-wishers was funnelled into when the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund was found to have 'no cash available' - and - he shared a yoga video to 'help' those in lockdown that had his own face superimposed onto the body of the person doing the poses).
Anyway, this collection is fantastic, and s classic Arundhati Roy in its criticisms of the political elite, corruption and injustice.



BOOK 51
Boston in the American Revolution: A Town Versus an Empire by Brooke Barbier (nf, history, tour guide)

I thought this wee book looked interesting, and as I know precious little about the Boston Tea Party, I decided to buy/read it. It was brand new, but second hand, is autographed by the author, and has her tour guiding company marketing material as a bookmark. If I ever go to Boston I will have to do her tour! So, I learned some about the movers and shakers of 1700s Boston, and it was all very interesting. The tone was a little off though, with some very colloquial language and this cheapened the text a little for me.

178LovingLit
Editado: Nov 14, 2021, 4:14 am

Once I finish my two current reads - Underground Railroad and The Making of a Counter Culture (1968) - I will have read 53 books so far this year! 52 of which are shown below... I removed one as it didn't fit with my rows and columns :)


179charl08
Nov 14, 2021, 5:27 am

I do like this feature! I was looking at greeting cards made from original paintings of people's shelves. (On sale in the niknak section of a local bookshop.) I think it's the same thing that makes this display look so appealing.

Congrats on finishing a book that has been waiting for your attention (50). I am still trying to finish Nan Shepherd's tiny book of nature writing. It's so dense, it doesn't suit my usual hell for leather reading style at all.

180richardderus
Nov 14, 2021, 1:33 pm

That's a cool feature, and your cover grid looks very nice spread out like that.

Splendiferous week-ahead's reads!

181alcottacre
Nov 14, 2021, 2:50 pm

>177 LovingLit: Congratulations on the 50+ books this year, Megan! Adding the Arundhati Roy book to the BlackHole.

>178 LovingLit: I like that! Could you teach me how to do it?

182LovingLit
Editado: Nov 14, 2021, 3:11 pm

>179 charl08: there's something about the array of colours that makes a book shelf/book covers collection look so cool! I like being able to scan over the covers and remember all the good times reading them.

>180 richardderus: I am at the tail end of a few books at the moment, so I can look forward to a few more completed books this week or two. Although....I am on school camp with W this week (Tue-Fri), so may not get in as much reading as I would like to!

>181 alcottacre: It's a cool feature huh?
Go to the 'Your books' tab (next to the 'Home' tab along the top) then click on the 'Tags' tab which is somewhere along the top there just below the brown LT banner....and select whichever tag that you want to see displayed. (I tag all my books with the year that I read them, but the function also works for any segments that you want to display by any tags).



Next, go a little to the left and change the display from 'List' to 'Covers' (the blue arrow on the left). This will let you pull up all the covers from the tags you have selected. You can go further along that tool bar thingie to the right to change the size of the icons, and the number of rows. I usually wait until I have an even an number that will display nicely.

Once you have the image up (it's hard to get them all on one page as they only go so small), I use the 'Grab' function on my Mac (or use the 'Snip' tool on a different computer) to get just the covers.

Another option is to edit your 'Collections' function (you know, the one where you log the book as 'Read', 'Currently reading', 'Wishlist' etc.) and create a new collection for each year. Then instead of using the tags to determine which covers will display, you can do it by this one.

Complicated? I guess so...I hope you get the gist though.

183alcottacre
Nov 14, 2021, 3:16 pm

>182 LovingLit: Cool beans. Thanks, Megan!

184FAMeulstee
Nov 14, 2021, 6:48 pm

>138 LovingLit: Came here to find your thoughts about Land: How Hunger for Ownership shaped the Modern World, and to see if I missed mentioning Flevoland here ;-)

185LovingLit
Nov 14, 2021, 8:47 pm

>183 alcottacre: I hope you get to make a cool montage!

>184 FAMeulstee: It looks like I only did a summary review of Land by Simon Winchester (>138 LovingLit:). I can't recall on whose thread we chatted about it :)

186alcottacre
Nov 15, 2021, 1:41 am

>183 alcottacre: The problem for me is the tags. I do not tag by when I read or anything like that so I am not sure I will ever be making a montage.

187msf59
Nov 15, 2021, 9:21 am

Hi, Megan. I hope all is well. Are you looking forward to the approaching summer? BTW- I am a big fan of the film-maker Jane Campion and I have been re-watching her earlier films. The last one being The Piano, which I think is incredible. As you commented on FB, she made her latest The Power of the Dog, a western set in Montana but filmed it in NZ and it sounds amazing. I just bought the original novel and will read it before seeing the film. Are you a fan of Campion?

188LovingLit
Nov 15, 2021, 2:13 pm

>186 alcottacre: I see that would be a massive administrative task! Maybe you could make the montage with another tag....I just love seeing covers of any description :)

>187 msf59: I haven't called myself a fan of Campion, other than I am proud that she does well and represents NZ. I only saw the Piano for the first time last year!!! (loved it). I wouldn't mind reading the novel of The Power of the Dog- I felt a little lost in the film so think the novel would possible flesh the story out more.

189roundballnz
Nov 18, 2021, 12:20 am

Thanks for the 'random act of kindness' .... put as smile on the dial today

190LovingLit
Nov 18, 2021, 9:58 pm

>189 roundballnz: I am glad you got it. I hurriedly posted it before going off on school camp on Tuesday as I wouldn't have had a chance to do that for days otherwise. So glad I did now :)

191BLBera
Nov 20, 2021, 1:05 pm

>182 LovingLit: Thanks for the great explanation.

Azadi sounds like a collection I would enjoy; lately I've been reading essays and there are some excellent collections around.

192richardderus
Nov 20, 2021, 1:08 pm

Greetings, and happy Sunday, smoochling. Nothing startlingly new to report. I have a new thread up. I think that covers the news that's fit to print.

Hope you're enjoying the last waning hours of weekend.

193Berly
Nov 20, 2021, 1:12 pm

>134 LovingLit: Love the photos and especially the concept of the Flying Fox! "they rode the thing backwards...standing up....one-armed...etc." So much fun!

>182 LovingLit: It took me a while to remember how, but I favorited this one and will give it a try someday. It's very fun to see your collection of titles.

194LovingLit
Nov 21, 2021, 3:12 am

>191 BLBera: I usually use essays as a way to kick start me out of a book funk. And when I want to read snippety things. :)

>192 richardderus: I spent Saturday recovering from 13-hour days at school camp, and then Sunday at a 7-hour fundraiser for Lenny's rugby league team. Sheesh, I need a rest. (Actually, I had a long bath just now, and am about to go to be mega early, so I reckon by Monday in the AM I will be ready to go again.)

>193 Berly: The Flying Fox doesn't exist in the US? I guess a zip line is similar, but the ole flying fox has been an adventure playground fave here since ages ago. I have a pic of me and my niece on one when she was 3....I will see if I can find it!

195richardderus
Nov 21, 2021, 10:00 am

Good resting up! (In order to do it all again.)

196alcottacre
Nov 21, 2021, 6:08 pm

>186 alcottacre: There is also the slight problem of 3 different LT accounts :) One for library books, one for the BlackHole, and one for my own books.

Happy Sunday/Monday, Megan!

197LovingLit
Nov 21, 2021, 7:01 pm

>195 richardderus: I am scaling down now from "school-camp mode" to "normal days mode", which means a lot more sitting down during the day. Thank goodness.
However, this morning I was obliged to spend some time to-and-froing with my eldest (now a teenager) about why he was resisting going to school swimming today. Highlights include: "I'm not going/It's dumb/I already know how to swim/It's boring."
If there was ONE WORD to describe my eldest, it would be this: resistant.

>196 alcottacre: Oh no, three accounts? Yikes. Can't you consolidate? Also...each to their own :)

198richardderus
Nov 21, 2021, 9:19 pm

Ah...adolescent oppositional disorder! Oh wheeee!

199LovingLit
Editado: Nov 22, 2021, 2:23 am

>198 richardderus: He went today and then was all "of course I'm gong tomorrow. Why wouldn't I go tomorrow?", like I'm the crazy one!???

200LovingLit
Editado: Nov 25, 2021, 2:01 pm

I'm off on a RL bookclub retreat this weekend- two nights of reading, walking, eating, drinking, hot-pooling. All good!
I plan to finish these nearly completed books:
- Atlantic by Simon Winchester (audio)
- When I lived in Modern Times by Linda Grant, and
- The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

201richardderus
Nov 25, 2021, 2:31 pm

>200 LovingLit: Have an *excellent* time!

202Berly
Editado: Nov 25, 2021, 4:02 pm



I know you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, but I just wanted you to know how very grateful I am for you, my wonderful friend here on LT.

I wish you (and yours) happiness and health and lots of fun on your readathon!! And cookies. : )

203charl08
Nov 25, 2021, 3:08 pm

>199 LovingLit: Fun times with teenager there....

204LovingLit
Editado: Nov 28, 2021, 12:45 am

>201 richardderus: oh oh oh, I did! The pools were hot, the chilling out was epic, and (almost) two books were completed ;)

>202 Berly: I got a lot of audiobook time given that one of our group is one of those who *cannot sleep the whole night through* and thus, visits the bathroom thrice a night. So I was able to listen to my book hours in the night.

>203 charl08: Teenagers not invited! lol
Just the bookclub members proper.

205FAMeulstee
Nov 28, 2021, 4:28 am

>204 LovingLit: So the two nights of reading you mentioned in >200 LovingLit: were really two nights of listening to audiobooks ;-)
Did you get any sleep at all?

206LovingLit
Nov 29, 2021, 2:22 pm

>205 FAMeulstee: Yes, I got fits and starts of sleep. It reminded my of having a newborn and feeling spaced out all day from lack of sleep!

207LovingLit
Dic 1, 2021, 9:01 pm

I.
Am.
So.
Tired.
Today.

208charl08
Dic 2, 2021, 3:05 am

>207 LovingLit: Ouch!

I wish I could send lots of (appropriately timed) zzzzzzs, Megan.

209LovingLit
Dic 2, 2021, 2:45 pm

>208 charl08: I got some! And today is a new day, so I will walk to the coffee shop.
From today we are obliged to show our vaccine pass (to prove we have been double vaccinated) in order to get into most places. This will hopefully get people to get a move on and get vaccinated! Although our rates are pretty good....we want to be in the mid 90% range, I'd say, to feel protected.

210Berly
Dic 6, 2021, 3:23 am

We are so far from 90%. Sigh. But more and more places are requiring the proof of vaccination so that should spur people on. Hope you got some sleep!

211richardderus
Dic 7, 2021, 4:32 pm

Hiya Megan, I'm back in 2021 after some time spent in the grim swamps of 1995 without the wifi. I *did* get a bunch of reads reviewed, so that's good.

Happy summertime fun!

212LovingLit
Editado: Dic 8, 2021, 2:44 pm

>210 Berly: Although Delta arrived into our communities, we have managed to suppress it with a localised lockdown (our largest city Auckland, for almost 3 months of some degree or restrictions) while also getting the vast majority of the population vaccinated. We seem to have managed to keep COVID infections down from just over 200 new cases a day to around 100 new cases a day.
Of course, Auckland is free to move from this (or next?) week, s we shall see how quickly the case numbers increase. My only message is this:


>211 richardderus: I had noticed the absence of RD! I have been grabbing at new books excitedly and then seeing my interest in them wane. Symptomatic of scatter-brain maybe ;) I am on a North Korean bent at present, The Orphan Master's Son on audio, and a non-fiction accompaniment The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans see themselves and why it Matters (with a v. cool cover...image to come...I love propaganda art!)

213London_StJ
Dic 10, 2021, 9:01 am

Missed the whole thread, of course, but I'm popping in to say hello and make sure I can find my way back. Hello!

214LovingLit
Dic 10, 2021, 3:34 pm

>213 London_StJ: whole-thread-missage is my speciality these days! Particularly those fast-moving ones....
Hello back :)

215alcottacre
Dic 10, 2021, 3:52 pm

>200 LovingLit: That sounds just lovely!

>207 LovingLit: I can relate. After a week away, I am still catching up on stuff.

Have a wonderful weekend, Megan!

216LovingLit
Dic 10, 2021, 10:39 pm

>215 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia! This day we have gotten our outings out early and have mooched at home all afternoon. The Christmas traffic and goings-on were frenetic this morning, and to top it off we accidentally bought Lenny a tiny but $6.50 fizzy drink (which is about 4.40 USD) by just not imagining that a fizzy drink in a cafe could be more than $3 or $4. yikes.

217LovingLit
Editado: Dic 15, 2021, 7:57 pm



Our neighbourhood Christmas dinner was last weekend. I love the last one, my big 13 year-old indulging the antics of his biggest fan, 3 year-old Luca :)

218London_StJ
Dic 17, 2021, 7:51 am

Patient teenagers are the best :)

219richardderus
Dic 17, 2021, 6:21 pm

>217 LovingLit: Yep, that's the choice one all right! So completely adorable.

The full table without any masks completely freaks me out! I don't step a toe outside if I'm unmasked, so it really feels like something from 1999 or earlier! LUcky Kiwis.

*smooch*

220PaulCranswick
Dic 17, 2021, 7:09 pm

>217 LovingLit: "Joy" is a note of optimism or the host's name? Hani shares with you the distress going out with so many unmasked in the UK. Masks are tough for me with my asthma but in Malaysia they are strictly observed and peer pressure would be unbearable for anyone trying to swim against the tide.
One day soon we are going to have to draw a line in the sand and get back to life as before but it isn't just yet, is it?

Have a great weekend, Megan.

221LovingLit
Dic 18, 2021, 2:13 am

>218 London_StJ: W is so great with little kids - he may hate his brother, but he looks after the littlies :)

>219 richardderus: We did make sure that everyone there was double vaxxed, so one household didn't come. But yes, we are lucky indeed to still be relatively free. Although *it* is here now, and we must mask up in public.

>220 PaulCranswick: Joy used to live next door by chance! In the same house that the people who hosted the Christmas dinner used to live in....it's complicated ;)
It might be a wee way away yet...normality.

222alcottacre
Dic 18, 2021, 2:15 am

>217 LovingLit: Love the pics! Thanks for sharing them, Megan.

223Berly
Dic 23, 2021, 3:21 am

>217 LovingLit: A neighborhood Christmas dinner! How fun! Except that no masks freaks me out. Not quite sure how our own family gathering is going to go yet...At least we are all boosted.

224johnsimpson
Dic 23, 2021, 4:37 pm

https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/d5/a2/d5a2ada47f63cf66369376c7a674368422f7345_v5.jpg 3x">

225karenmarie
Dic 24, 2021, 11:30 am

Hi Megan!

>163 LovingLit: I’ve read Pacific, have Atlantic on my shelves, and have tagged it for next year. That doesn't guarantee that I'll read it, of course, but at least I'll be reminded.

>172 LovingLit: Sorry it was only 2 stars, and it certainly doesn’t sound like anything I’d like either. Thanks for taking one for the team.

>182 LovingLit: Thanks for the instructions!

>217 LovingLit: Love the photos. I especially like the action shot.


226richardderus
Dic 24, 2021, 11:33 am

Happy happy, Megans all!

227PaulCranswick
Dic 24, 2021, 8:35 pm



Have a lovely holiday, Megan.

228quondame
Dic 24, 2021, 9:58 pm

Happy Holidays Megan!


229LovingLit
Dic 25, 2021, 5:14 am

Aw, thanks for the Christmas messages! I am at the tail end of the bug day now, and a BIG and BEAUTIFUL DAY it has been.

Early start for presents and Christmas stockings for the kids // pancakes for breakfast, with a dash on the side of the Polish cherry wine I got my lovely other for Christmas // fishing on Lake Mapourika for 4 hours with my dad (and the boys and the lovely other) - including a quick dip in said lake sans clothing // home for late light lunch // a 1.5 hour walk up a massive hill // a short trip to the jetty for another fish with the kids // Christmas dinner (consisting of roast duck, kumara salad, new potatoes, new carrots, slaw and cheesecake for dessert) // bonfire on beach // watching the last half of Return of the Jedi with Little Lenny // 11.12pm = bedtime (=now).

Nighty night!

Merry Christmas!!

230London_StJ
Dic 25, 2021, 2:06 pm

It sounds like a perfectly wonderful day! What joy.

231alcottacre
Dic 25, 2021, 2:24 pm


232FAMeulstee
Dic 26, 2021, 3:51 am

>229 LovingLit: What a perfect Chrismas day you had, Megan!

233jayde1599
Dic 26, 2021, 5:54 am

Happy Holidays! It sounds like a great Christmas

234Berly
Dic 26, 2021, 4:02 pm



These were our family ornaments this year and, despite COVID, a merry time was had by all. It sounds like the same was true for your holiday and here's to next year!!

235AMQS
Dic 26, 2021, 7:16 pm

Merry Christmas to you, Megan! I hope you and the family are well.

236LovingLit
Dic 27, 2021, 9:40 pm

Keri Hume, author of Booker Prize-winning The Bone People and friend to my father, has died. I met her a couple of times; we raised a toast to her on Christmas Eve, and she died three days later.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/127396715/keri-hulme-titan-of-nz-lit...

237Berly
Dic 28, 2021, 12:24 am

: (

238charl08
Dic 28, 2021, 6:33 am

>236 LovingLit: Sad news.
I was shocked to read it took twelve years to get The Bone People published. That must have taken some perseverance to keep submitting.

239msf59
Dic 28, 2021, 7:25 am

Hi, Megan. It has been a while since I visited. I hope you and the family had a wonderful holiday weekend. Sorry to hear about your father's friend. I miss seeing you around.

240LovingLit
Dic 28, 2021, 3:35 pm

>230 London_StJ: It was a fabulous day! So busy and full of fun.

>231 alcottacre: I cannot see the image for some reason, but I guess it to be festive, so thank you!

>232 FAMeulstee: >233 jayde1599: Yes, indeedy. One of the best as we were lucky with weather as well.

>234 Berly: lovely ornaments...but nothing COVID related? Haha, sorry, I just assumed.

>235 AMQS: Thanks Anne! All well - and on leg three of our Christmas road trip now. (Castle Hill // Okarito // Arrowtown // Dunedin). I will post some photos, maybe on fb, when I get organised!

241LovingLit
Dic 28, 2021, 3:38 pm

>237 Berly: Always sad, and at Christmas too. She is exactly the same age as my step-mother, but was never that well or healthy from what I can gather.

>238 charl08: I think even then she had to get the publishers to get on board with her distinctive writing style and press for no changes.

>239 msf59: Hi Mark! I have been busy road-tripping! We are having a fab summer holiday staying at 4 places over 10 nights. Back in time for New Years for a rest!

242alcottacre
Dic 28, 2021, 3:42 pm

>236 LovingLit: I am sorry to hear that. I read The Bone People years ago. It is probably past time for a re-read.

Happy New Year, Megan!

243BLBera
Dic 28, 2021, 5:09 pm

It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas. I love your photos. I need to read The Bone People.

244richardderus
Dic 28, 2021, 6:51 pm

>236 LovingLit: I've had a copy of The Bone People in my collection since...forever, I think. Very sad news.

245LovingLit
Dic 30, 2021, 4:32 am

>242 alcottacre: I would like to read it again one day as well. It made quite an impression on me the first time. My dad had to make several attempts when he tried....consequently, when I started it I dedicated large chunks of time to it so that I could get some momentum going. And it worked, as I loved it.

>243 BLBera: It is not exactly easy reading but is a valuable and powerful read.

>244 richardderus: Forever is a long time! I say go for it. Even if it is a challenging read (subject matter, as well as 'reading journey'-wise!!) It will remain with you if you can get into it (IMO). I have always though of it as semi-autobiographical, although that was never stated.

246LovingLit
Editado: Dic 30, 2021, 6:07 am

Summer road triiiiip!
The kids mainly walked places, went fishing, slid down stuff (on water-slides and hydroslides) jumped off stuff (from rocks into lakes, and from bridges with bungee cords attached!), and burnt stuff (marshmallows on bonfires, their legs on the exhaust of the 4-wheeler motorbike).
I managed a 13km walk, a couple of lake swims, and some wine, but was mainly pleased that there was little fighting, and lots of fun family times.


These two were near Clyde, my nephew jumping off a rock, and them out on the lake just before they blew the outboard motor on the inflatable dinghy by running it too fast for too long. I had a quick swim in the lake as well, to test the depth of the water where they were jumping into! It was over my head only 2 meters from the shore- perfect!


Bungee jumping at Kawarau Gorge, Queenstown! My brother had done some work for them so had a free voucher that he generously shared with us. The boys did it with their cousin, and their other cousin did the zip-line :) They LOVED it. Little (??) Len is only ten years old, the youngest age at which you can bungee jump. He didn't even flinch. (Adrenaline junkies??)


And...catching a shark surf-casting at Okarito Beach, near my dad's place. We are so lucky to have family who live in cool places and who do cool stuff. ETA: you can actually see my dad's place in that photo, the farthest right house on the hill. FYI it is for sale, it is awesome, and I wish I lived there!

ETA again, my dad's trousers are wet as a) he cast the line out from in the surf, and b) a seagull randomly flew into the line and got caught up so he waded in to untangle it...I had to hold said bird carefully by the head/neck and legs (as "they bite") while he did this.

247drneutron
Dic 30, 2021, 8:29 am

Oh, those are great pics! Looks like a fun time.

248London_StJ
Dic 30, 2021, 7:25 pm

>246 LovingLit: Oh, how marvelous! What an adventure!

249richardderus
Dic 30, 2021, 7:37 pm

>246 LovingLit: They are suck lucky kids...relatives who do cool-ass stuff and share?! I'm sure they're blissfully aware that they're making great memories but we aren't.

*smooch* for a happy new year

250LovingLit
Dic 30, 2021, 9:16 pm

>247 drneutron: so much fun. The highlights of out 11-day road trip. There was also tiredness and grizzliness and much-encouragement-needed-to-get-the-dishes-done, and the like :)

>248 London_StJ: Yes, the bungee jumping was definitely the highlight. They were nervous all day but then just DID IT like superheroes :)

>249 richardderus: Blissfully *unaware* I'd say (is that what you meant?). Which I guess is good, apt, and as it should be. I am hyper-aware of such good times knowing that times are not always so (also what you meant, I guess!!).

251London_StJ
Dic 30, 2021, 10:09 pm

>250 LovingLit: I can't even imagine. I got an hour through a 1.5 hour flying trapeze class and had to walk away - it got scarier climbing the rope ladder every time! Good for them.

252PaulCranswick
Dic 31, 2021, 6:17 am



Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Megan.

253charl08
Dic 31, 2021, 11:20 am

>246 LovingLit: Wow, well done them. Love the photos.

254FAMeulstee
Dic 31, 2021, 3:45 pm

>246 LovingLit: Looks like everyone had a great time, Megan!
I would never dare to bungee jump, not even look at it!

Happy New Year!

255johnsimpson
Dic 31, 2021, 4:59 pm

https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/5d/02/5d029540654e5a9636b45767a774368422f7345_v5.jpg 3x">

256quondame
Dic 31, 2021, 6:54 pm

>252 PaulCranswick: Oh drat! I had that image all queued up to use as my new year's greeting. Off to the image mines......
(You've got good taste!)

257PaulCranswick
Dic 31, 2021, 7:29 pm

>256 quondame: Hahaha thanks Susan. At least you'll get it sent you by me!

258richardderus
Dic 31, 2021, 7:31 pm

>250 LovingLit: You're exactly right, I *did* mean unaware. Yes, we want the memories to be primary not secondary to the idea that they're making them!

259Berly
Ene 1, 2022, 11:52 pm

>246 LovingLit: OMG! How fun! I haven't gone bungie jumping, just cliff jumping and parachuting, but I think I can hang with your crew. : )