The Read goes ever on and on...MrsLee 2022 chapter 2

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The Read goes ever on and on...MrsLee 2022 chapter 2

1MrsLee
Abr 20, 2022, 10:35 pm

Moving along. An awkward time to start a new thread, instead of at the end of a quarter, or a month, or something. Yet it is here, and this is the beginning.

I am not quite overwhelmed, but may be at any moment, caring for our personal business, my husband's parents estate, and although I'm trying to keep on the fringe, we keep getting tugged into some of our children's business as they are trying to buy their first homes. This to say that my reading is only what makes me happy at the moment, and that seems to be Bunny McGarry Stateside by Caimh McDonnell. I am in the second book and happy with it.

I did pick up some books from the inlaw's home yesterday. They sound interesting, but most of them are completely unfamiliar to me, except for the mysteries. Will post titles when I'm on my laptop, not my phone.

2MrsLee
Abr 20, 2022, 10:35 pm

Moving along. An awkward time to start a new thread, instead of at the end of a quarter, or a month, or something. Yet it is here, and this is the beginning.

I am not quite overwhelmed, but may be at any moment, caring for our personal business, my husband's parents estate, and although I'm trying to keep on the fringe, we keep getting tugged into some of our children's business as they are trying to buy their first homes. This to say that my reading is only what makes me happy at the moment, and that seems to be Bunny McGarry Stateside by Caimh McDonnell. I am in the second book and happy with it.

I did pick up some books from the inlaw's home yesterday. They sound interesting, but most of them are completely unfamiliar to me, except for the mysteries. Will post titles when I'm on my laptop, not my phone.

3Karlstar
Abr 21, 2022, 6:57 am

>1 MrsLee: Happy new thread, Mrs. Lee. I'm sorry for your family's loss and the stress that goes with it, I hope life improves for you.

4fuzzi
Editado: Abr 21, 2022, 7:50 am

I'm here! I'm here!

I usually use books to give me a respite from RL, but lately I'm not able to get into anything I pick up though I want to.

5Volt875
Abr 21, 2022, 8:39 am

It’s good that you can still find time to read despite all the chaos life is throwing at you. I know how hard that can be. Hope things get better for you soon.

6clamairy
Abr 21, 2022, 10:21 am

>1 MrsLee: Happy New Thread. (It's not an odd time to start one at all. We're just about at the end of the first ⅓ of the year!) As far as the chaos, upheaval and sorrow in your life goes, I've realized that many of us have reached an age where these things occur with greater frequency. Books that make you happy are a great place to seek solace. Keeping you in my thoughts.

7MrsLee
Editado: Abr 26, 2022, 8:40 pm

Finished the McGarry Stateside trilogy. I enjoyed it. I purchased two more by Caimh McDonnell, Welcome to Nowhere, a spin off with two of Bunny's friends from New York, and Firewater Blues, which is part of the Dublin trilogy, in fact rounding out the trilogy to a double trilogy of six books. Oh, and The Final Game, which I don't remember where it fits in. I don't really care because I enjoy reading about all his characters.

I am taking a break at the moment though, and reading O Pioneers! by Willa Cather. I've had this one for a long time, but delayed reading it. It was the last book my father-in-law borrowed from me to read which he really enjoyed.

8MrsLee
Abr 27, 2022, 12:08 am

These are the books I brought home from my father-in-laws bookshelves, mostly because they piqued my interest in one way or another, some I know and like the author:
Excuse My Dust by Bellamy Partridge
The Old Goat by Tiffany Thayer
The Blue Hammer by Ross Macdonald
Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson - I confess, I brought this one home because I love the cover and the illustrations by E. McKnight Kauffer
Nothing But Wodehouse by P.G. Wodehouse, edited by Ogden Nash
Sons of the Shaking Earth by Eric R. Wolf
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

Ack! Bedtime snuck up on me. Will have to finish this in the morning.

By the way, did I mention that I found and early 1950s Smith-Corona Sterling portable typewriter in my FILs garage? I have been looking for a similar small manual typewriter for awhile, vacillating because they are rather expensive. I'm having fun typing letters on it. A bit of a workout for the fingers, and it took me a minute to realize how to type the #1 and an "!" not to mention the return bar! :)

9Bookmarque
Abr 27, 2022, 8:44 am

Oh sweet about the typewriter. I think my mom still has her S-C portable and I envy it. Maybe next visit I will steal up the the attic and filch that and her 45s.

I love Ross MacDonald and this is next on my list of Lew Archer novels to read. I get them as audios because I love the narrator for these, but I have also read a couple in print. Very noir and no, you don't have to read them in order. Lew has no over-arching story to follow so it's just whatever case he's on. Great stuff.

10MrsLee
Editado: Abr 30, 2022, 9:47 am

Continuing the books acquired from my FIL:
The Lonely Land by Sigurd F. Olson - A nature story of Minnesota.
The 13 Crimes of Science Fiction edited by Isaac Asimov, Martin Harry Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh - I like mystery and scifi, so these should be fun short stories. Each of the 13 tales fit a category of mystery such as; Hard-boiled Detective, Psychic Detective, Spy Story, Analytical Detective, Whodunit, Why-Done-it, How-Done-It, Inverted, Locked Room, Cipher, Police Procedural, Trial and Punishment.
Loblolly by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr.- A story from the South, this one seems to be a rarish book, sadly, the copy I have is not in great condition having once been a library book.
Autumn Leaves by Olyette Ellis - I kept it for the cover, really. It is poetry, sad, sad poetry published in 1908 by the author.
Don't go near the water by William Brinkley - humor story about the U.S. Navy published in 1956 (my FIL was in the Navy 1948-1951).
Penrod by Booth Tarkington - a book and author I have heard about but not read.
Archer in Jeopardy by Ross Macdonald - an omnibus of three mystery tales.

112wonderY
Abr 27, 2022, 9:18 am

>10 MrsLee: Penrod seems harder to enjoy nowadays than the sequel Penrod and Sam. I read them in reverse order and thought so too.

I love themed SF anthologies, and have the 13 Crimes. An oldie, but fun.

122wonderY
Abr 27, 2022, 9:26 am

>7 MrsLee: You reminded me to search for more Caimh McDonnell, and found the motherlode. SIL has an Audible account, and there they are!

13MrsLee
Abr 27, 2022, 9:32 am

>9 Bookmarque: I highly recommend the typewriter. Such fun to type on! I remembered that you were a Ross Macdonald fan. Pretty sure I've read both of the books I got, but it never hurts to refresh the memory. It's been a good long while since I've read him.

I finished the "word usage" section of my Errors in English, and now it is on to "guide to correct sentence structure." I have many bones to pick (a cliché, find something fresher) with him, but I learned a few things too. Or should I say, I read things which were new to me. Whether or not I will remember and incorporate them into my life is another question. Which is probably another cliché or poor way of expressing myself. I would like to see a book written using his guidelines, because it seems to me that it would remove any fun out of it, but possibly not. He has a loathing for any "tired, old, worn out phrase" such as "with bated breath" (from Shakespeare Merchant of Venice), but the replacements he suggests are horrible. "with reduced, diminished, held in, lessened, decreased or dwindled breath?" No. I agree that clichés and old phrases should be used sparingly, but sometimes a phrase is used because it describes succinctly what the writer is trying to convey to the reader.

14MrsLee
Abr 27, 2022, 9:35 am

>12 2wonderY: Oooo, I would like to listen to the McDonnell books on audio. My life isn't set to listen to audio books though. I used to listen to them while driving or walking to work, but my new job is too short of a drive, but just a bit too far to walk at the moment. One of these days.

15hfglen
Abr 27, 2022, 9:38 am

>13 MrsLee: Good on the typewriter. I still have the c. 1937 baby Hermes I typed my M and doctorate on. But a dumb question: have you seen a new ribbon in the last decade or so?

16MrsLee
Abr 27, 2022, 6:31 pm

>15 hfglen: I looked on Amazon, and they had ribbon which said it would work, looks like the one in it now, so hopefully it will. I need to learn how to properly clean this one, but it's in great shape at the moment.

17clamairy
Abr 27, 2022, 7:24 pm

Sounds like fun! I'm glad you're enjoying using it.

18Sakerfalcon
Abr 28, 2022, 7:38 am

>8 MrsLee: That's a nice find (the typewriter)!

How are you enjoying O Pioneers? I remember enjoying it a lot when I read it a few years ago.

19fuzzi
Abr 28, 2022, 8:12 am

>10 MrsLee: FYI, Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr is the author of Cheaper By the Dozen. He was one of the children in the story.

20fuzzi
Abr 28, 2022, 8:12 am

>11 2wonderY: I tried reading Penrod a couple years ago...I just couldn't get very far into it.

21clamairy
Abr 28, 2022, 9:24 am

>20 fuzzi: I believe I did, too. I enjoyed The Magnificent Ambersons so much that I thought I'd give this a try. I only lasted a few pages.

22MrsLee
Abr 28, 2022, 9:30 am

>18 Sakerfalcon: I finished O Pioneers! last night. At first it seemed to be just a pleasant story (I don't mean happy, but an easy read without much need for chewing on). As I sat there thinking after the last page, it seemed that the story grew. Sank into my thoughts and being and began to sprout new thoughts. I keep returning to bits of it. Alexandra could be the spirit of my father, his father, my brother, sister, my mother or her mother. Probably farther back than that, but I didn't know any of my older ancestors than them. There were many pioneers in my family, scratching a living from the land and loving it. Not all succeeded as well as Alexandra, but most would not have had any other life. They worked the land with imagination, hope and love. So, the story grows on me the more I think about it.

>19 fuzzi: I wondered if that was so, I hadn't looked it up to check yet.

Last night I began reading World Food: Thailand by Judy Williams. A huge, oversized coffee table cookbook. I am also determined to finish reading Henry V tonight. I have forsaken the TV and my murder mysteries in the evening and have been reading instead. It feels good.

23MrsLee
Abr 28, 2022, 9:31 am

>20 fuzzi: & >21 clamairy: Uh oh. Looks like I should try it soonish so it can go out the door if I have the same experience.

24MrsLee
Abr 28, 2022, 6:24 pm

Finally finished Henry V! Hooray!

25jillmwo
Abr 28, 2022, 7:27 pm

>24 MrsLee: Did you enjoy it or did you find it a slog? Was it worth your effort?

26MrsLee
Abr 28, 2022, 11:42 pm

>25 jillmwo: Circumstances conspired to make this one a difficult one to read. Losing my FIL, being too tired in the evenings to read, the print was tiny, two columns to a page, I ended up falling asleep each time I tried. Also, perhaps, I am not in love with the military stories. However, after I watched the performance and had the whole story in my head, it was much easier to go back and read. Only the French bits of the dialog frustrated me. I think I had the gist of them, but not any cleverness. It left me wanting to learn more about that king and his life.

27MrsLee
Abr 30, 2022, 9:39 am

Managed to sneak in a quick read before the end of the month, although that was not my goal when I chose it. My goal is still to make room on my shelves. The fourteen books I brought home from my FIL's are in odd places, some sideways on top of other books. I've not resorted to stacking them on the floor, so that's good, but I don't love my shelves in a mish-mash, so read I must. It's a hard task, but someone has to do it!

Early Thunder by Jean Fritz. A young adult story of a boy living in Salem, MA in 1774-1775. Though I am full up to here with stories of all the great wars, now and then it is worth reading one. While I can't say I was blown away, I was interested in the story the author told. It presents history from the view of the Tory party, and what circumstances might cause a shift in one's political viewpoint. Written in 1967, it questions the extremism of political parties. My oh my, how things stay the same. Jean Fritz is one of my favorite young adult authors. When I was teaching my children at home, her books were always a help to any history we were studying. They provide context and good jumping off points for discussions, as well as being good to read.

Next read off the shelves: Of all the Gin Joints by Mark Bailey. "Stumbling through Hollywood History." I may have to go buy a bottle of gin to go with this one, although I can't drink it much anymore.

28MrsLee
Editado: Abr 30, 2022, 9:53 am

Covers are working, so these are two of the covers which made me keep the books from my FIL.


29Bookmarque
Abr 30, 2022, 11:00 am

Oooh that second one is a beauty. Hidden depths.

30jillmwo
Abr 30, 2022, 8:54 pm

>27 MrsLee: Of All The Gin Joints sounds as if it will be a great deal of fun! (And with reference to Henry V, there have been plenty of instances, where I was keeping a script of a Shakespeare play open on my lap as I watched an unfamiliar production, to be sure i was following the action.)

31MrsLee
mayo 1, 2022, 5:28 pm

Finished the Thai cookbook. Why oh why did I fall in love with a man who doesn't like coconut or spice? The recipes seem pretty simple and delicious. Whoever was in charge of captions for photos of the scenery of Thailand lacked imagination, originality and gumption to investigate, but that is not really important in a cookbook.

I think I am setting aside the book on Hollywood for the moment. Not really something to read straight through, and perfectly suited to short moments of reading; I will save it for the smallest room in the house.

I tried reading The Cheerful Day by Nan Fairbrother. Is it possible to be so turned off by the first person plural narrative that I can't even read to page 50? Yes, yes it is. So this book will find a new home.

I'm going to work on a book I've had on my "currently reading" list for at least 10 years now. Invitation to the Classics. I was trying to read each classic referenced in it as I went along, but that plan obviously isn't working well. Now I just want to finish or skim. I suspect that my point of view has changed so much since I began reading this that I may have to skim it.

32Meredy
mayo 1, 2022, 6:54 pm

>31 MrsLee: First person plural? Egad, that should have been left as a writing class experiment. Not only would I shut the book at once but I would never give that author another chance.

It wasn't also present tense, was it? I shudder to think.

33Storeetllr
mayo 1, 2022, 7:57 pm

>31 MrsLee: Oof! I have trouble with first person singular. I can't imagine a book good enough for me to endure first person plural.

>8 MrsLee: >10 MrsLee: Great haul! Love the old books from my parents'/grandparents' libraries! I have a shelf and a half of books from my grandma's library, including two (2) copies of Penrod, which I have not read and probably never will. Some of her books, like The Spy by James Fennimore Cooper and The Range Boss by Charles Alden Seltzer have beautiful covers that I used to display (when I had a real house with room for such things).

Happy new thread!

34MrsLee
mayo 2, 2022, 10:33 am

>32 Meredy: Um, I think some of it was present tense, but the other bit messed me up so much I wasn't paying attention. Sixteen pages felt like too many. I couldn't tell if the narrator was the mom, a nanny, grandma or a ghost. Weird.

>33 Storeetllr: I have The Spy! I read it ages ago and remember liking it. Mine has a very plain cloth cover though.

35Storeetllr
mayo 2, 2022, 1:20 pm

>34 MrsLee: Don't go here if you don't want to be envious. (I haven't read it yet but now that I know you liked it, I might give it a go. If I can find it in the stacks.)

36fuzzi
mayo 2, 2022, 2:29 pm

>35 Storeetllr: pretty! Pretty!

37MrsLee
mayo 2, 2022, 6:19 pm

>35 Storeetllr: Green. My complexion is green now. What a lovely volume!

38MrsLee
mayo 2, 2022, 6:35 pm

>31 MrsLee: I was wrong about the Classics book, not pushing an agenda, other than reading the ancient Classics. It's going easier than I was afraid it might, and adding a couple of books to my wishlist. Happily I've read Beowulf and Dante.

I purchased on Kindle today for .99 St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G.K.Chesterton. I'm not willing to spend a lot on these works until I've tried them a bit, because it may be that I can't stand them or wrap my head around them.

39MrsLee
Editado: mayo 3, 2022, 12:14 am

This Invitation to the Classics may continue to take awhile to read. I got to the section on "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and thought I had that story somewhere. Sure enough I found it in A Tolkien Miscellany and so have merrily started reading it. It is near the end of that book, but I fearlessly turned to that section and began reading. Of course I will have to go back and finish whatever else is in front of it. I love the alliteration in the poem. Makes it fun to read.

40Meredy
mayo 3, 2022, 12:56 am

>38 MrsLee: You scathed me with a BB there, but I escaped because the 99-cent offer has apparently expired. As a consolation, though, I did get to see an ad for a yodeling pickle. It seems like the sort of thing that, if it's right for you, you'll know it.

41MrsLee
mayo 3, 2022, 9:41 am

>40 Meredy: Whew! You almost got me there with the yodeling pickle, but I managed to resist. ;)

42MrsLee
Editado: mayo 4, 2022, 12:25 am

Ugh. The Invitation to the Classics is getting expensive. I decided to give The Canturbury Tales one more try. They have defeated me several times, but the way this book describes them makes me think I am missing out. So almost $20 later for the version they and several other places on the internet recommend, I will "Once more into the breach" ago.

43MrsLee
mayo 4, 2022, 7:19 pm

My husband found a children's book called Liang and Lo by Kurt Wiese in a Little Free Library. Charming story of two boys who set out on an oxen to slay a dragon. I didn't let him keep it though, because it smelled of that vomit smell that old glue gets. Too bad.

44MrsLee
mayo 4, 2022, 9:18 pm

In reading A Tolkien Miscellany, I am utterly charmed so far. I've read "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" which is a terrific tale of on of the Knights of the Round Table. Then "Pearl" which is, I think, a father seeking solace for the death of his baby daughter, quite heavy on the Christian side of things. Then I went to the beginning, needing a break from verse for a bit. I just finished "Smith of Wootton Major" which again, is a delightful faery tale.

45Sakerfalcon
mayo 5, 2022, 8:31 am

>44 MrsLee: That's a great way to get Tolkien's shorter works! I'm going to look out for that volume.

46hfglen
mayo 5, 2022, 10:01 am

>44 MrsLee: Am I hallucinating? Isn't "Pearl" a translation of a poem in an incomprehensible Middle English dialect?

47Karlstar
mayo 5, 2022, 11:53 am

>44 MrsLee: >45 Sakerfalcon: Sounds like I need that one too.

48MrsLee
mayo 5, 2022, 12:13 pm

>46 hfglen: I suppose it would have been incomprehensible to me, but Tolkien comprehended it. It's by the same author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. No one knows who that was. Quite a lovely poem, really, if you are not allergic to Christianity.

49jillmwo
mayo 5, 2022, 7:54 pm

Well, if nothing else, MrsLee, even if Introduction to the Classics has proven to be costly in terms of inducing you to buy loads and loads of Kindle titles, if you do it right, you won't need to buy ANY books at all for your Thingaversary. (And yes, I have always, always loved Smith of Wooten Major.)

50MrsLee
mayo 5, 2022, 10:17 pm

"Farmer Giles of Ham" was okay. Not my favorite. I'm now reading Tolkien's essay on Fairy Stories, which is both educational and entertaining. The fact that he wrote it while struggling with the Lord of the Rings stories makes it even more interesting. Helps me to understand what he believed was necessary for them to be acceptable.

51haydninvienna
mayo 6, 2022, 1:08 am

>50 MrsLee: And of course C S Lewis wrote the essay “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to be Said”, which I think is in the collection Of Other Worlds. In the course of checking that small fact I discovered that CSL, an eminently quotable writer, has like any other quotable writer a body of quotations misattributed to him. There’s even a book: The Misquotable C S Lewis: What He Didn't Say, What He Actually Said, and Why It Matters (no touchstone yet, apparently), by one William O’Flaherty. Sigh.

52MrsLee
mayo 6, 2022, 4:29 pm

>51 haydninvienna: That sounds like a very interesting book. I'm wondering what the author says about why it matters, although I can think of several reasons myself.

In Tolkien's essay on Fairy Tales, I love the way he defends the story which has been told again and again in many ways (you know, the idea that there are no new plots or stories to be told), he uses the example of spring, which comes every year, but refreshes our spirit nonetheless.

"Leaf by Niggle" can I keep saying of each story that they are my favorite? This is a lovely story of the hidden worth of people others may consider "inconsequential." Also about being kind, and following your heart's desire, yet balancing those two activities.

53clamairy
Editado: mayo 7, 2022, 10:23 am

I loved Smith of Wooten Major and Leaf by Niggle so much as yoot. I did re-read them when my kids were young and still loved them.

54Meredy
mayo 7, 2022, 3:29 pm

>53 clamairy: I'm puzzling and puzzling over "so much as yoot" and even tried googling it, leading to some curious language about Australian utility vehicles. I also tested typo possibilities, which failed to account for the whole phrase. So now I have to resort to the ultimate query in the margin of a manuscript: what mean?

55clamairy
Editado: mayo 7, 2022, 5:09 pm

>54 Meredy: LOL I meant to type "so much AS a yoot."

('Yoot' being the word that Joe Pesci used for 'youth' in the movie My Cousin Vinny. )

56pgmcc
mayo 7, 2022, 4:25 pm

>55 clamairy:
Are you mocking me?

58Karlstar
mayo 8, 2022, 2:20 pm

>55 clamairy: Two yoots!

59MrsLee
Editado: mayo 8, 2022, 10:40 pm

Even though my darling grandson visited this weekend for Mother's Day, I managed to finish A Tolkien Miscellany. "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" is a delightful section of poetry. I can't wait to read them to Geoffrey when he is a bit older. As jillmwo mentioned in her thread, they are best read aloud. The last of the Medieval poems was "Sir Orfeo," translated by Tolkien into modern English. It is a love poem which took a particularly dark turn, but as all good tales of faerie (in Tolkien's words), turns out well.

Since the copy of The Canterbury Tales I ordered won't be here until next week sometime, I've begun reading Firewater Blues by Caimh McDonnell.

60pgmcc
mayo 9, 2022, 3:01 am

>59 MrsLee: I have just finished Angels in the Moonlight, a more serious book than the first two in the Dublin Trilogy. If one read it without reading the first two books that it prequels one might not see as much of the humour. I am spreading out my reads of McDonnell's works, using them as punctuation between books that may not be as much fun.

61MrsLee
Editado: mayo 9, 2022, 9:07 am

>60 pgmcc: I'm trying to do that, but it takes a lot of self control. :P

62pgmcc
mayo 9, 2022, 9:36 am

>61 MrsLee: It certainly does. I had to have a good talking to myself yesterday to get me to start reading the book club book rather than carrying on with Bunny. I can be a very wilful child where the book club books are concerned.

63MrsLee
mayo 9, 2022, 8:35 pm

I have finished Firewater Blues by Caimh McDonnell. Best scene for me; when Bunny is trying to get some information from a fellow officer who is in a fertility clinic.

64pgmcc
mayo 9, 2022, 8:52 pm

>63 MrsLee:
Aargh! I will wait to read the book before I look at your spoiler. More pressure on me to abandon all but Bunny McGarry.

65fuzzi
mayo 10, 2022, 8:57 am

66NorthernStar
mayo 10, 2022, 9:43 am

>59 MrsLee:, etc. I've just finished A Man With One of Those Faces and am also strongly inclined to search out more Bunny. You can consider your target practice successful.

67MrsLee
mayo 11, 2022, 11:12 am

>64 pgmcc: Well, it may or may not amuse you as it did me. I find that funny scenes in books which make me laugh uncontrollably, do not necessarily affect others in the same way. My cat is not happy with Caimh McDonnell though. She likes to sleep on my lap while I read and the hysterical laughing in not appreciated.

>66 NorthernStar: I am only a backup shooter. Pilgrim and one other here in the group encouraged me to read them. It's a gift which keeps on giving.

I began reading Part One of Henry VI by Shakespeare. I am getting the hang of these histories now and enjoying them more and more. I found that I had purchased season 1 and 2 of The Hollow Crown and so began watching them. I'm also doing a lot of skimming the internet for history behind the plays and kings. Love watching The Hollow Crown. Last night I got through Henry IV, and I am excited to watch those of Henry V because that is where I began to find the written plays interesting. It doesn't hurt that the series includes so many of my favorite actors. :)

68MrsLee
mayo 11, 2022, 9:27 pm

Finished Part one of Henry VI. My heart is weeping for Talbot and his son.

69MrsLee
mayo 12, 2022, 9:39 am

I plucked one of the books from my TBR shelves, which I don't remember acquiring. The Trojan Horse by Christopher Morley. Written in 1937, it is a "modern" retelling of the story of Troilus and Criseyde. I have no idea what I am in for.

70pgmcc
mayo 12, 2022, 1:09 pm

>69 MrsLee:
That is the way I like to approach a book.

71MrsLee
mayo 12, 2022, 10:09 pm

Nope. It was a short foray into The Trojan Horse, but twenty-one pages was enough for me to know it wasn't my kinda tale. Present tense, it was written as an "experiment" by the author. He tried to combine the Trojan war, seen through the veil of modern (1937) sports. It was too clever by half and winking at the reader that it knew it was.

I picked another book off the shelf called Back Trailing on Open Range, by Luke D. Sweetman, a cowboy, about his years in Montana. I've never had a cowboy try to be cute or clever with his writing, so I think this will please.

72MrsLee
mayo 13, 2022, 12:24 am

Having now watched "The Hollow Crown" to the halfway point of King Henry VI, I'm a little disappointed. They changed the story so much of the first part. Talbot barely had a role in it. They completely removed the tainted character that Shakespeare gave Joan of Arc. I understand modern ideas and such, but I think Shakespeare gave the English view of her and it shouldn't have been rewritten. Sadly, no one asked me to direct or produce it. Aside from that, this part of the history is sick-making and not pleasant to watch. Too much like modern politics. ;P

73MrsLee
Editado: mayo 14, 2022, 11:20 am

Received two books in the mail today.
The Dead Hand Book by Lady Sara Richard - to support my continuing education in my chosen career path.
Chaucer: Tales of Canterbury by Geoffrey Chaucer- One, my grandson has the same first name as Chaucer. Two, this is my last ditch effort to get through these stories. I've tried at least twice before without finishing.

74haydninvienna
mayo 13, 2022, 6:38 pm

>73 MrsLee: you might want to check your touchstone.

75MrsLee
mayo 13, 2022, 10:17 pm

>74 haydninvienna: Thank you, guess it hasn't been listed long enough to have a touchstone yet. I will see if it works tomorrow.

76jillmwo
mayo 14, 2022, 9:41 am

>73 MrsLee: I am all agog because I googled "The Dead Hand Book" and now I want you to hurry up and post a review about your experience with it. What an idea for a book!!!

77MrsLee
Editado: mayo 14, 2022, 11:34 am

>76 jillmwo: Found the right touchstone. I am sorry, but you must be on pins and needles for a while yet. I'm going to finish my cowboy book first. :D I caught the bullet from mattries37315 (I didn't spell that right, have to go check his reading thread-I did, still might be wrong though) It is a smallish book, the stories are more like one paragraph amongst the art. I read a little about the author and she sounds very interesting. She received the title of "Lady" for her preservation efforts.

78MrsLee
Editado: mayo 16, 2022, 10:13 pm

Having finished The Dead Hand Book by Lady Sara Richard, I am both pleased and a little disappointed. The artwork is creepily lovely. Her VERY short stories (which amount to no more than four, and frequently one sentence), are imaginative and creatively crafted. Sometimes they are an alliterative poem, sometimes a chant or song-like phrase, sometimes abrupt and startling.

My only sadness is, that the actual gravestones which inspired her are not included. I think but am nowhere told, that the small words at the bottom in italics were her inspiration, but I would have liked to know.

I love the markers in cemeteries and have told my co-workers that what I really want is to have my grave surrounded by wrought iron fencing and a marker which has a phrase on it that will make people wonder if that is why I had to be caged in iron fencing. Sadly, most cemeteries do not allow fencing anymore because it is too hard to mow around.

Next up, I tackle Chaucer on last time.

79MrsLee
mayo 17, 2022, 9:13 am

My review of Back Trailing on Open Range by Luke D. Sweetman
"Written of the time the author spent in the 1890s herding and selling cattle and horses in Montana. This is the story of years between the wild west and fully settled statehood. The native tribes have been parceled out to their reservations, the buffalo are gone, and the railroad is coming. There are no fences and most land is not privately owned. The cattle and cowboys are king at the moment.

"The author tells his story well, if a bit dry. Some of the transitions are abrupt, but the reader can catch up with a little patience. Kind of like roping a calf. I enjoyed reading of this time in the life of Montana through the experiences of the writer. The most abrupt transition is the end of the book. With several blank pages, I wondered if there was a printer error, but it was time to mosey on to other books anyway."

80jillmwo
mayo 18, 2022, 4:44 pm

>78 MrsLee: ...most cemeteries do not allow fencing anymore because it is too hard to mow around. Thank you for sharing that tidbit of information. I knew it wasn't seen as frequently, but I had no idea as to why.

81MrsLee
mayo 18, 2022, 11:53 pm

>80 jillmwo: Back in the day, each family was responsible for keeping up the gravesite, but now it is usually up to the cemetery. Many have strict rules about what you can leave on the grave, etc. because of the difficulty of removing items to clear the grass and then replacing them all. We have 2 full-time and 3 part-time employees to maintain 40 acres of grounds, plus another 20 in a second location. It's quite a job.

Fun fact. We have a new game at my job. For my break, the manager picks one of the older occupants in our cemetery and tells me to go find them. When I do, I take a photo to prove it. Good way to learn my way around and get a little exercise.

82pgmcc
mayo 19, 2022, 2:46 am

>81 MrsLee:
Your lunchtime game reminded me of the final scene of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. :-)

>81 MrsLee: & >80 jillmwo:
When an uncle of mine was buried in London in the 1970s the cemetery only allowed a flat, standard slab, about two feet by two feet, to mark the grave so that the ride-on mower could mow the cemetery easily. The cemetery was basically an field with paths and paving-stone style markers running along beside the paths where the graves were located. I used the word "field", but park may have been more appropriate as the "field" was totally surrounded by buildings. It struck us as particularly cold at the time.

A French friend of mine went through an emotional time recently. He lost his mother about twenty years ago. Apparently graves in France are on eighteen year leases. He had to renew the lease on his mother's grave. Failure to renew the lease would result in eviction and reuse of the grave. He was not in the emotional state that allowed me to asked what happened to the victims of eviction. I do not know if this is general practice across France, but I got the impression from him that it was the norm.

>81 MrsLee:
You are obviously well settled in the new job. Graveyard humour and games amongst the tombstones appear to be coming quite naturally now. :-)

83MrsLee
mayo 20, 2022, 10:01 am

>82 pgmcc: I imagine those "evicted" end up in the columbarium's or ossuaries? Seems harsh if you don't have any descendants to keep up the rent for you.

In our cemetery, when you buy the rights to a grave, they are not only yours for life, but any of your direct descendants may also use the grave. The cemetery district can reclaim unused graves after 100 years if there has been no interest from the family in that time. For instance, I recently found out that my father had purchased 7 graves in the cemetery he lived near. Since I grew up there, I told them that I want to use one of them when the time comes, and that my other siblings may be interested in the other graves. So, they will put our names down as descendants and not sell the rights to those graves for 100 years after this year, when I contacted them. These cemeteries are public cemeteries, partially funded by taxpayers; so if you live in the district and pay taxes, you do not have to pay additional fees to be buried there. Since I no longer live in that area, I will have to pay a non-resident fee, but I can be buried there because I have family members in that cemetery. There are also privately owned cemeteries in our area and their fees are much higher because they have no funds from the taxpayers. Now you know more than you ever wanted to know about California cemeteries! :D

84pgmcc
Editado: mayo 20, 2022, 11:17 am

>83 MrsLee: ...when you buy the rights to a grave, they are ...yours for life,...

See what I mean about your cemetery humour?

85Storeetllr
mayo 20, 2022, 2:31 pm

>84 pgmcc: Hahahaha

All this talk of cemeteries is making me want to visit the one across the street. I mean, I've only lived here for 2-1/2 years, and it's basically right across the street. I've wanted to check it out ever since we moved in. Apparently, a number of locally and nationally famous people are buried there (Oak Hill Cemetery, Nyack): Helen Hays (actor), Ben Hecht (screenwriter), Edward Hopper (artist), James McArthur (actor), Carson McCullers (author). Next nice day (not too hot, not raining), I think I'll take my granddaughter and go for a walk among the gravestones.

86MrsLee
mayo 20, 2022, 2:55 pm

>84 pgmcc: :D Life everlasting?

>85 Storeetllr: That's funny, the cemetery I work at is named Oak Hill Cemetery, Red Bluff, CA. So far as I know, no celebrities are there. Although we probably have a couple of "infamous" pioneers. Not likely nationally infamous though.

87Darth-Heather
mayo 20, 2022, 3:08 pm

this local cemetery always looks to me like it should be the setting of a Stephen King movie:

88Storeetllr
mayo 21, 2022, 12:35 pm

>87 Darth-Heather: Sunnyside! Yikes, yes, definitely Stephen King material.

>86 MrsLee: That is funny! And yes, no celebrity burials there. I found only one notable: Clair Engel, a U.S. Rep & Senator, 1911-1964. (FindaGrave.com is very helpful, I've found.)

89MrsLee
mayo 22, 2022, 1:59 pm

>88 Storeetllr: FYI, Find a Grave can be helpful, but they can also be very unreliable. We frequently get people visiting who insist that someone is in our cemetery due to Find a Grave, but they are actually in one of the other cemeteries in our area.

90Storeetllr
mayo 22, 2022, 2:10 pm

>89 MrsLee: Huh. I haven't had that experience, but, then, I haven't actually used it to find a physical grave yet. Find A Grave and BillionGraves are dependent on individuals who aren't always reliable when posting information. If I were searching for my own family tree's graves, I'd use them as a starting point only, along with genealogical websites like Wikitree and RootsWeb.

91MrsLee
mayo 22, 2022, 7:06 pm

>90 Storeetllr: I think it is great that the service exists. There is a woman in our area who has taken a photo of every headstone in every cemetery in our county. She updates it yearly. The county historical society hosts her photos on their website. It is a fantastic service, and a great reference help to those of us who work in the cemeteries.

92clamairy
Editado: mayo 22, 2022, 8:37 pm

Let us know when they finally ask you to direct some Shakespeare. I will be the first in line. I haven't purchased the viewing rights to The Iron Crown series yet. I keep meaning to. Sorry one of the Henrys (Henries?) wasn't up to snuff.

93Storeetllr
mayo 23, 2022, 1:13 pm

>91 MrsLee: Yes, I've found a lot of information thanks to amateur sleuths who post about it. I do appreciate their work. I keep wanting to do it too, just for the one cemetery that's across the street, but so far I haven't managed to do anything.

94MrsLee
mayo 23, 2022, 7:40 pm

>92 clamairy: It still made good viewing, even though the changes in the author's intent was disappointing to me. I'm taking a little break so I don't burn out.

Reading The Canturbury Tales is quite entertaining this time around. Possibly my more "mature" outlook on life is helping? I am enjoying the version I have (although because I wasn't sure I would, I purchased a cheap paperback copy which has underlines and comments written in it; the comments are not entirely alien, but some are pedestrian). The translators didn't even try to go for rhyme, they were more concerned with understanding, but having the Middle English version on the opposite page means I can read the story, then read the original for beauty and charm. Sadly, not all the tales are included. That might be a good thing, there are so many books in my house which need reading I don't need to get caught up in medieval studies.

"The Knight's Tale" was a fun story, blending King Arthur chivalry with Greek names. There was an especially good speech by Theseus at the end about mortality which I wouldn't mind being read at my funeral.

"The Miller's Tale" Hilarious. Also, quite a bit of poetic justice. All the men who were using the woman wrongly got their comeuppance, and the woman got what she wanted. My kind of story. ;)

"The Wife of Bath" Also pretty funny, but sometimes a little too truthful, and so pinched my female ego.

95MrsLee
mayo 25, 2022, 9:46 am

Finished The Canterbury Tales last night. It was mostly painless, although the "Pardoner's Tale" I skimmed. I've had enough hypocrites preaching to me over the years to care much about one so many years ago. The tale itself, a classic moral tale about Death, Greed, etc. was good enough. I like that Death met the bad guys as a little old man who let their own bad characters do them in.

"The Prioress' Tale" was more of the same, instead of the hypocrisy of greed, lust and whatnot, hers was the hypocrisy of love towards fellow mankind. She really hated the Jewish people, which I understand was a common feeling in those times. People get into debt and then hate those they borrow from to get them out of hot water. (I realize I am being very cavalier and superficial about the whole thing, but I don't want to go any further down that trail which leads to religion and politics.) Anyway, the story of the little boy singing after his throat was cut was gruesome enough to be read.

"The Nun's Priest's Tale" reminded me of an Aesop Fable.

I am very glad that I read that book a year or two on the whole topic of Love and Chivalry in the Medieval times. It shines the light on a lot of behavior and actions in these stories which would have been dark and repulsive to me if I didn't understand where the ideas came from. Not that I'm saying the behaviors were not dark and repulsive. Anywho, even though not all of the tales were included here, I feel no compulsion to seek out more of them. This was an interesting read, and I'm glad I gave it a third chance.

And now for something completely different, although it is about someone seeking revenge on a person who gave them money (but humiliated them in the giving). I decided for a light repast of Welcome to Nowhere by Caimh McDonnell.

96MrsLee
mayo 26, 2022, 8:11 pm

Am I the only one, that when I see a book has a discussion guide at the end, it deflates me a little? My head says, "Oh. It's that kind of book. Edifying."

Anyway, I'm starting The Time Traveler's Wife. It's been on the TBR shelves for quite some time. I hear different things about it, and I'm not sure I will like it, but it's time to find out.

Finished Welcome to Nowhere. A fun read, which I have come to expect of that author. I do have a bone to pick with him, but it would be spoilers and I'm pretty sure McDonnell did it on purpose.

97Meredy
mayo 26, 2022, 9:42 pm

>96 MrsLee: I have a different reaction to the discussion guides. I assume they're meant for book groups, and thus that the particular edition is likely to attract book group readership, meaning selling more copies; in other words, a marketing ploy. I may purchase a book that has one, but I probably won't look at it.

98pgmcc
mayo 27, 2022, 2:29 am

>96 MrsLee:
I have only seen a few books with a discussion guide. My reaction has been a bit like >97 Meredy:'s. When I have looked at discussion guides I have often found them quite trivial and look like some of the exercises you find in 101 classes for English literature:
"Discuss the themes found in Novel X, with particular emphasis on why George had that second cup of tea."

What gets me is that there are books out there that appear to need books written about them to let people know what the book is about. I am not necessarily talking about Ulysses by James Joyce. OK! I am talking about Ulysses by James Joyce.

I am one of the people who liked The Time Traveler's Wife. I will say no more until you have read it and formed your own opinion, but I have my own hypothesis as to why George had that second cup of tea.

99haydninvienna
mayo 27, 2022, 9:10 am

I have seen at least one book recently (can’t remember which) that had a discussion guide, but the questions for discussion were clearly taking the mickey.

100MrsLee
mayo 27, 2022, 4:18 pm

>98 pgmcc: That is why I have given up even reading the questions, they usually annoy me, and feel like the teacher trying to make sure we actually read the book.

>99 haydninvienna: I might like those questions. :)

101catzteach
mayo 28, 2022, 9:23 am

I do not read the discussion guides. I’m with you, they make me feel like I’m in a class. I do not need that. :)

I liked Time Travelers Wife.

102jillmwo
mayo 28, 2022, 9:39 am

>96 MrsLee: If discussion questions are included at the end of the book, I usually don't pay much attention. i might skim them but otherwise, I usually find that they are too generic to be of any value.

That said, every once in a while, I do encounter a question in one of the guides that does redirect my thinking. For me the most recent instance was a set of questions included for Sense and Sensibility. The word that stopped me was the word "vice"; there are many ways to interpret that particular word and/or the exercise of applying it to the specific set of characters was kind of fun to consider.

103MrsLee
mayo 28, 2022, 11:22 am

>102 jillmwo: That's why I like to be here on LT, I count on my intelligent friends here (and you are all intelligent and friendly) to have better discussions and challenge my mental assumptions better than any generic guide ever can. :)

I am enjoying The Time Traveler's Wife, even though I wonder if there will be something coming in the tale which I do not like. Several of the scenarios in it are very well done IMO in the area of motivations, consequences, and insight into human behavior. (By the way, the book I am reading on improving my English says that for an American to use British spelling is an affectation, so I can't spell behaviour, or colour, or theatre, etc. Sorry friends across the pond. The law has been laid down.)

104pgmcc
mayo 28, 2022, 1:12 pm

>103 MrsLee:
I think you are just right with regards to spelling. You are in the US so use US spelling. I do not get annoyed with US spelling in books from the US. If I were reading a French book in French I would have no difficulty with the book using French spelling. I would not be able to understand much of it, but that is not the author’s fault.

105MrsLee
mayo 30, 2022, 6:05 pm

I finished The Time Traveler's Wife. Count me among its fans. I found it thought provoking, insightful into the plight of being human, and imaginative. A couple of times it dragged, or should I say, it slowed down. I didn't mind.

The next book to read by my chair is The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze by William Saroyan. I've not read him before. Several stories in and I find his positivity blended with a healthy dose of reality refreshing. I may have to pick up a novel to read as well. I don't want to tune out any of Saroyan, I want to pay attention, and I can't do that very long at a time.

106pgmcc
mayo 30, 2022, 6:11 pm

>105 MrsLee:
I am glad you enjoyed The Time Traveller’s Wife. I thought it was a geat love story. I have to confess to a tear in my eye at the end.

1072wonderY
mayo 30, 2022, 7:04 pm

>105 MrsLee: The only Saroyan I’ve read is Tracy’s Tiger. I recall it fondly.

108MrsLee
mayo 30, 2022, 11:30 pm

>106 pgmcc: Me too. Without the time traveling aspects (to my knowledge), it reminded me of both my sets of grandparents; the age gap, the devoted love, and the one left behind for so long. Without their lover, but waiting.

>107 2wonderY: This is a collection of short stories, which seems to be more an observation of people around him than a "story" with a plot and characters.

I began reading Motor City Blue by Loren D. Estleman. It is a mystery, and I think I bought it because I enjoyed a short story the author wrote about Nero Wolfe, or maybe an introduction. Can't remember.

109clamairy
Editado: mayo 31, 2022, 8:06 pm

>105 MrsLee: I'm glad you liked it, as I also enjoyed it very much. (Enough so that I am somewhat afraid to watch the new TV series on HBO. I might wait until I read reviews to find out if it's any good, or if they do a hatchet job on it.)

PS Those question at the end of the book club editions are usually inane, IMHO.

110MrsLee
Editado: Jun 11, 2022, 6:43 pm

I have been reading, but not novels. I am enjoying Saroyan, more the essays that are about something than the stream of consciousness ones. So far there have only been a couple of those and I have no patience for them. Hard enough to deal with the convoluted thoughts in my own head, don't ask me to deal with yours.

I never thought I would be taking the side of a snake and rooting for it, but one of his essays had me doing just that. Saroyan has a way of articulating the innermost conflicts of hearts that most people learn to bury when they are very young; the joy of the world, the aches of being misunderstood, the questions there are no answers to.

On the classic reading schedule, I came upon John Donne, and happen to have his complete works, so I have begun to read them. I am enjoying a few of them each day. I read "The Flea" to my grandson today while he was drinking his bottle of milk before nap time. Hopefully this will not cause him to grow up debauching women.

Also pecking away at the Errors in English book. I'm not sure why, I know it won't stick in my brain. Wishful thinking I suppose.

I want to finish any one of these three before I begin something new.

111jillmwo
Jun 12, 2022, 10:13 am

Well, one never really knows what sends someone off on a life of debauchery, MrsLee, but I think it's admirable that you are introducing the grandchildren to the classic poets along with the 7am feeding.

112MrsLee
Editado: Jun 19, 2022, 7:40 pm

Finished The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze. I enjoyed most of the stories and found them relevant to current times, as well.

This week started out slow at work, so I began reading The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. It has been on my radar for at least twenty years, or more, and I am enjoying it as much as everyone said I would.

113MrsLee
Editado: Jun 19, 2022, 7:46 pm

Ah, I finished The Joy Luck Club. One of those books that is so good you can't start anything else for awhile. This one goes on my beloved shelf. So many thoughts and observations about mothers and daughters that made me stop and ponder.

Instead of starting something new, I'm going to power through Errors in English so I can relegate it to my reference shelf and move on.

114MrsLee
Editado: Jun 20, 2022, 12:16 am

Nope. Not going to finish that English book today. However, I began The Second Part of Henry VI by Shakespeare. Been putting it off because this isn't a play with any happy endings. All the nasty people win.

The other book I began is The Medusa and the Snail by Lewis Thomas. A collection of essays on biological processes maybe. It was given to me at a meet up with a fellow LTer in the Bay Area, several years ago now. Interesting enough that I looked up the author, then I looked up his daughter and was hit by a book bullet and put her book What Comes Next and How to Like it, by Abigail Thomas, on my wishlist. I couldn't buy it because 1. It is more money than I want to spend at the moment, and 2. I can no longer buy books on the phone app from Amazon, only put them on my wishlist. Probably good for my pocketbook, not so good for authors and Amazon.

115Darth-Heather
Jun 20, 2022, 10:05 am

>113 MrsLee: The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorites as well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Out of her other books that I have read, the only one that compares for me is The Kitchen God's Wife.

116MrsLee
Jun 20, 2022, 1:47 pm

>115 Darth-Heather: I think I might have that one, too, but I will wait awhile to read it. Sometimes I need to soak in a book I loved a lot before I read anything similar at all, even by the same author.

I am becoming very terse in my LT reviews. They became like a chore, which is not good, so I decided that since they are mainly for me, all I need is a memory of why I loved or didn't love the book.

117fuzzi
Editado: Jun 20, 2022, 2:49 pm

>116 MrsLee: I usually do short reviews, to not provide a synopsis but to give a succinct reason why I liked the book, so others can decide if they want to try it.

Sometimes I don't meet the 25 character minimum when I do ER reviews...oops.

ETA: I think my shortest review was for Heart of Darkness, which I did not care for:

"I resolved to read this. I did so. The horror, the horror." :D

118Meredy
Jun 20, 2022, 8:28 pm

>117 fuzzi: That review is a model of verbal economy. Beautiful. It also made me laugh.

119pgmcc
Jun 20, 2022, 10:25 pm

>117 fuzzi:
What >118 Meredy: said. :-)

120fuzzi
Jun 21, 2022, 10:16 am

>118 Meredy: >119 pgmcc: thank you! ::laughing::

121MrsLee
Jun 22, 2022, 2:14 pm

John Donne is a crack up. I would put him nearer Ogden Nash than to what I think of as older poetry. My experience is quite limited in the arena of poetry, but his snarky, naughty ones remind me of some of Shakespeare's plays. I suppose that is reasonable because they were near to each other in time.

Reading the second part of Henry VI is sad and depressing. So much villainy and not a hero in sight.

Am very much enjoying the essays by Lewis Thomas. Some are funny, some informative and some challenging, but so far all are interesting.

For a little lightness, I started a Ross Macdonald mystery last night. Enjoyable.

122clamairy
Editado: Jun 22, 2022, 2:27 pm

>113 MrsLee: This was one of my favorites from decades ago. Like Heather I also enjoyed The Kitchen God's Wife, but you definitely should wait a while before reading it.

I love short succinct reviews. That is all I require.

123MrsLee
Editado: Jun 25, 2022, 7:39 pm

Finished Second Part of Henry VI. Did people give George R. Martin a hard time for killing off characters? Shakespeare must have been his inspiration. I don't dare get attached to or root for any of the characters in these histories, because if they don't die right off, they become hateful or despicable and then die. Being based on history, of course they are all dead, but none of them died peacefully in their sleep. The passage from Richard II, Act III, Scene II, about Death holding court in the hollow crown of kings, resonates through all of these plays.

124MrsLee
Editado: Jun 26, 2022, 8:29 pm

Began Cable Car Days in San Francisco by Edgar M. Kahn. Not exactly a thrill, but interesting in an historical way.

125MrsLee
Jun 27, 2022, 11:37 am

My review for The Medusa and the Snail by Lewis Thomas

"Not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book was given to me by a LibraryThing member. I was not familiar with Lewis Thomas. The book was published in 1974. The first essay or two made me afraid it would be a treatise to the absence of God in the world, due to the findings of science, but I liked the author's positive tone and his marvel of the world around him. Then I read the essays on medical research and practice and they were beautiful and inspiring. His essays ripple with the light touch of humor, the depths of thinking and excitement for the future. Some of them are predictive considering they were written fifty years ago. Others are engaging in the plight of humanity. One of his hobbies is language and the origins thereof, and so several essays discuss word origins and are quite playful."

I very much enjoyed this book. I may seek out some of the author's other essays.

126clamairy
Jun 27, 2022, 9:37 pm

>125 MrsLee: Oh, that sounds right up my alley. My stacks over-floweth, though. I will put it on my OverDrive wish list.

127MrsLee
Jun 27, 2022, 11:02 pm

>126 clamairy: I thought about you several times while reading it, wondering if you had read the author before. I think you would like it a lot. :)

128MrsLee
Jun 29, 2022, 2:36 pm

Began reading Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson yesterday. Enjoying it so far.

129clamairy
Editado: Jun 29, 2022, 6:59 pm

>128 MrsLee: I think that is my daughter's favorite of his. I am pretty sure I snagged the kindle version when it was on sale, but I still haven't gotten to it. (I haven't gotten to a lot of things on my kindle or my shelves, but you know how that goes!)

130MrsLee
Jun 29, 2022, 6:38 pm

>129 clamairy: I do! This has been on my shelf for years. I've never read a Sanderson I didn't like, so I was saving it for when I needed a positive read. Also, I am always reluctant to throw myself into unknown worlds and have to learn new names, new magic, etc.

131MrsLee
Jun 29, 2022, 6:51 pm

*WARNING* THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Have I got your attention now? :)

I always thought the word "dildo" was modern slang. Until I came across it TWICE in John Donne's poetry. So of course I had to look up the history of the word and see if it meant then what it means now. Yep. Yes it does, he really did say that! This poetry from the 1500s is steamy!

132clamairy
Jun 29, 2022, 7:01 pm

>131 MrsLee: Oh my! I might have guessed it was from the Victorian Era, but not that it was around for that long. Thank you for that tidbit.

133Meredy
Editado: Jun 30, 2022, 2:46 am

>131 MrsLee: Which poems?

134catzteach
Jun 30, 2022, 9:31 am

>131 MrsLee: I always thought it was a modern word as well.

135MrsLee
Editado: Jun 30, 2022, 11:40 am

>133 Meredy: The Anagram - a very snarky poem that I could see being read at a stag party with tongue in cheek, otherwise it would just be mean.

Also Satyre II - I believe this is a rant against crooked lawyers, but he gets his jabs in at other folks as well, such as kings and church men and the like.

I'm not half way through the book yet, so there may be more! Although at some point he becomes a leader in the church and the latter days of his life he wrote sacred poetry. I'm thinking the tone might be different in those. :)

136haydninvienna
Editado: Jun 30, 2022, 1:12 pm

>131 MrsLee: Donne sowed a fair amount of wild oats in his youth, and was apparently ordained as a priest of the Church of England only because King James ordered him to. I first encountered him in high school, and even the comparatively mild sonnets in our poetry anthology gave rise to some awkward questions for dear Mrs Neilsen, bless her memory.

But Donne could also write this, for anyone here who doesn’t know it already:
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
(Devotions upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII). Count the number of titles that are quotations from that paragraph.

You might also note that Lord Peter Wimsey’s mother said that “Peter has always been queer about Donne”. Harriet Vane’s wedding gift to Wimsey was an original letter by Donne.

ETA if you search for “At the round earth’s imagined corners” on YouTube, you will find readings of some of Donne’s poems by Richard Burton. You will also find this: https://youtu.be/o9K7BmjUnkw.

137MrsLee
Jun 30, 2022, 1:22 pm

>136 haydninvienna: Thank you for that, yes I am familiar with that passage, but haven't arrived there yet in the book of collected poems I'm reading. That expresses my feeling about people beautifully. So long as they keep to themselves. ;)

I had forgotten Wimsey's passion for Donne, but I can well understand it. He plays with words and double-meanings of words. His poems are full of twisty humor. I only wish I understood it better. I'm sure I miss more than half of the meanings because I don't understand the references, but what I do understand is enough to rank him up among my favorites now. I have looked up several of the poems I don't understand and that helps some. Usually my not understanding is my reluctance to believe he really said something so risqué. Usually, he did. I am looking forward to the sacred poems as well.

My reading chart wrap-up for the Second quarter:

26 books read, 16 fiction, 09 nonfiction
19 by men, 07 by women, ** combined male and female, ** Anonymous
13 by authors I’ve never read before
18 physical books, ** audio, 07 ebooks
Oldest writing was by Geoffrey Chaucer (1400, The Canterbury Tales), oldest physical book from 1934 (The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze).
Oldest illustrations 1940 (Cable Car Days in San Francisco) by William Wilke

Not counting ebooks, audio books or rereads
Books Retained After Reading: 10
Books Rehomed: 6

138Meredy
Jul 1, 2022, 2:14 am

>135 MrsLee: Thanks, I'll look them up.

Have you seen the movie Wit, starring Emma Thompson? It's about a professor who is a Donne scholar, focusing on the Holy Sonnets. She becomes a cancer patient. It's not such an easy watch, but I found it very affecting.

139jillmwo
Jul 1, 2022, 2:23 pm

>131 MrsLee: Not something of which I'd ever been aware but now I will tuck this bit of knowledge away and keep it to share with my industry colleagues over a late round of drinks.

140MrsLee
Jul 1, 2022, 8:25 pm

>138 Meredy: I will look for that. I like Emma Thompson as an actress.

>139 jillmwo: Always happy to pass on information.

141MrsLee
Jul 7, 2022, 7:06 pm

I finished Warbreaker a few days ago. I enjoyed it very much. Seemed that Sanderson left it wide open for a sequel.

Reading c/o Postmaster by Corporal Thomas R. St. George. Written in 1942, it is a sort of memoir of his time in Australia as an American soldier. I am finding it a little tedious. Ernie Pyle he is not.

142MrsLee
Jul 7, 2022, 11:57 pm

Finished the WWII book.

Now reading Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour. It is the perfect guide to self-education. Also, a book long guide to reading, as he talks about the books he was reading at various parts of his life.

143NorthernStar
Editado: Jul 10, 2022, 12:24 am

>125 MrsLee: I have a copy of The Medusa and the Snail which I read many years ago. I remember liking it, but not much more. Perhaps time for a reread. Around the same time I read several books by Stephen Jay Gould, which I also enjoyed a lot.

144MrsLee
Editado: Jul 14, 2022, 7:45 pm

>143 NorthernStar: I read Green's Turtles all the Way Down and remember enjoying it very much.

Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market and found our library staff there giving away children's books. They had received a grant to enable this. I'm very proud of our librarian, he spoke in a workshop at the National Library Convention in Washington D.C. this year. Pretty exciting for a one-horse town like ours. Anyway, we picked up a book for our grandson called My Dog has Fleas! a Ukulele Misadventure by Bob Barner. Our grandson received a toy guitar for his first birthday and immediately began strumming it, so of course we are expecting great things of him. Anyway, the book has a little song to the tune of My Dog Has Fleas, and a story to illustrate it. It also has an illustration showing the basic parts of a ukulele and how to play it, along with a little history on the instrument, which I found enlightening.

The book was only peeping out from the others on the table, and both my husband and I reached for it. Our librarian said it was his personal favorite as well. Now I'm thinking we might need to get a ukulele to go with. There was one floating around in our family awhile back, but I'm not sure where it ended up.

145clamairy
Jul 13, 2022, 2:56 pm

>144 MrsLee: I think you have the wrong title, or you tagged the wrong book with the same title as a John Green book. I'm so glad the Sanderson was good. I really need to get to that one.

146MrsLee
Jul 14, 2022, 6:21 pm

>145 clamairy: I have the right title, and it brings up the right book and author when I look at the touchstone. Perhaps there are two John Greens?

147clamairy
Editado: Jul 14, 2022, 7:34 pm

>146 MrsLee: But you said it was by Gould. Didn't you? LOL Am I going blind?

148MrsLee
Jul 14, 2022, 7:46 pm

>147 clamairy: Yes. Yes I did. Fixed now!

149MrsLee
Editado: Jul 14, 2022, 8:52 pm

Finished reading Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour. Loved it, although he tended to wander a bit near the end. I supposed the title should have given me a clue. Really great though. Like a visit with an older man who has seen and done much in his life, and remembered which books he was reading while he did it! It helped that he kept lists.

I went straight from that to The collected short stories of Louis L'Amour, volume 1, the Frontier Stories. This man knew how to tell a short story! Very enjoyable so far.

150MrsLee
Jul 23, 2022, 11:42 am

I don't know how long it's been since I've read a whole book full of short stories and liked every single one. That's how it was with the Louis L'Amour short story collection. In his memoir, he said he studied many authors who wrote short stories and took them apart to figure out what made them work. Well, his diligence paid off. He has the elements needed in each one to catch the readers attention and hold it to the end. For my taste, the protagonist always comes up to snuff and if not triumphs exactly, at least they get along. The protagonist is almost always a man (reasonable considering he was writing about the frontier, gunslingers, cowboys, etc.), but there are plenty of strong women in them as well. Not the modern times heroic, bombastic woman, which would be out of place to be authentic, but the frontier woman who was frequently an equal partner with her man in making a success of the venture.

OK, so next read will be Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold. As I was searching out the reading order, or publication order of these books, I accidentally bought the first three books in the Penric series. Oops. I have no apologies to make.

Of note, on Amazon, I could not find the first book in the Penric series in paperback. There was one hardcover listed for $1015.00 or something outrageous like that. I will make do with the Kindle versions for $3.99. It's possible I could have found the paperbacks elsewhere, but I didn't feel up to the effort.

On a personal note, we are in the depths of summer here, triple digits every day for months. We sort of hunker down and endure. Yes, we have a/c. No, we don't keep the house cooler than 79° because we try to have an affordable electric bill. So we sort of lose all momentum in the afternoons and either doze, read or play video games. We actually went to a concert at the river park on Wednesday, 109°F. In the shade with our cool drinks, I still managed to dance with the grandson.

151Narilka
Jul 23, 2022, 4:19 pm

>150 MrsLee: I hope you enjoy Paladin of Souls. I loved it :) Love the "accident" of buying the first three Penric books too lol I need to have that accident sometime.

152MrsLee
Jul 23, 2022, 4:36 pm

>151 Narilka: I know lots of folks here read it, but I'm slow that way. Saving books I know I will love until I've done my duty and read some of those books on my shelf that keep getting shoved aside.

153ScoLgo
Jul 25, 2022, 1:04 am

>150 MrsLee: Have you ever tried bookfinder.com?. If I'm looking for a specific edition, I often use amazon to determine the ISBN and then search on that using bookfinder. The cool part is that it will search across all kinds of places, (Amazon reseller marketplace, eBay, Abe Books, Biblio, etc), and show results including shipping. It has become my goto site for used books.

154clamairy
Jul 25, 2022, 8:39 am

>153 ScoLgo: Back when I was still in CT I used that website to find prices for the really old books that had been donated to the library. It was very useful!

155MrsLee
Jul 25, 2022, 2:21 pm

>153 ScoLgo: I have used that site. More as >154 clamairy: used it than for shopping, but now that you mention it, I will look for some of the special books I would like in hardcover there. I still won't pay $1000 for a book though.

156fuzzi
Ago 7, 2022, 12:35 pm

>150 MrsLee: so glad you enjoyed the L'Amour stories. He excels in the short story format.

I do prefer his frontier stories to his more modern tales, but not always. Last of the Breed is one of my favorite novels written by L'Amour, and it is contemporary.