Mdoris (Mary) reads in 2024 WELCOME #2

This photo was taken on our walk today. The garden is amazing and changes frequently to showcase the blooms of the moment. I love it and we walk past every day and feast our eyes.

Hello, my name is Mary. I live in Comox, on Vancouver Island. I have been a member of LT since 2011 and I love it here. It is great to see what people are reading, to follow threads and to make new friends. I am a slow reader (it will be a miracle to reach 75!). Please don't kick me out of this wonderful group!

Almost all my books are from the library. I love cookbooks and do get lots of them too but do not list them in my grand total count. Most recently the cookbooks have been about COOKIES! YUM!

I have 4 daughters who have all flown the coop. They are all living far away and they now have little ones. Now I am Gramma to 9, 4 boys and 5 girls. I was passionate about kids' books when our kids were little and still read lots of the newly published ones too. I am a retired Speech/Language Pathologist and loving retirement.

WELCOME! Please come and visit!

Happy new thread Mary!

>3 Owltherian: Thanks Lily. Hope you are having a great day!

>4 mdoris: I am! I hope your day is going well!

Happy New Thread, Mary. Love the colorful garden topper. Glad to hear that you are healing properly. May the advances continue.

Followed by the Lark sounds like a fun read.

Happy New Thread, Mary! What a beautiful picture of the garden flowers .

Happy new thread dear Mary.

That is a wonderfully colourful garden!

Happy new thread, Mary!

>1 mdoris: Lovely sight, all those tulips. The tulips in my garden are gone now, we had an early spring.

Hi Mary! I lurked all through your first thread and decided it was about time I said hello. I love your thread topper.

Happy new thread, Mary. I love the photo at the top.

Love the >1 mdoris: Topper Mary.

>5 Owltherian:, Hope Lily that you are having another very good day!
>6 msf59: Thanks Mark. I think you would like Followed by the Lark and all the bird mentions!
>7 vancouverdeb: HI Deborah, that garden changes all the time but must be so much WORK!
>8 PaulCranswick: Hello Paul. Will you have a garden when you return to the U.K.?
>9 FAMeulstee: HI Anita. I am so surprised that your spring is already nearly over with tulips finished!
>10 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. I returned the lurk and must visit you more often. I love all your garden talk there!
>11 BLBera: Thanks Beth for the good wishes. Hope all's well with you !
>12 Caroline_McElwee: Hello Caroline. Perhaps I should take more pictures of this garden to show the changes over the seasons. It must be lots of work but with such results!

Happy new thread!

Thanks Jim.

Book #32
The End of Race Politics by Coleman Hughes p. 179 library



This very recently published and excellent book is written by a young man with such good ideas and insight. He presents so many arguments for a colorblind racial approach, such as the one that is consistent with the principles and goals from the civil rights movement instead of the present one in vogue promoted by authors such as DiAngelo and Kendi that Hughes calls "neo-racist" that just perpetuates discord, without solutions.

p. 176 "What better than affirmative action -what would truly benefit people of color-is an educational system that helps children develop the habits, attitudes, and skills they need to flourish in adult life."

>16 mdoris: The End of Race Politics sounds interesting , Mary. Yes, gardening is a lot of work. I stick to container gardening with out being in a townhouse. I had a great walk today, despite the wind and a light drizzle. I got about 3 miles in, and walked around Garry Point Park, where I can see out to the Ocean and the Fraser River. I listen to music with my ear buds when I walk without Poppy, and that just adds to the enjoyment. I guess you are close to the Ocean too, so plenty of birds to see and always a great view - maybe not on really overcast days.

>17 vancouverdeb: Hello Deborah it is great weather for walks these days. We are a block from the ocean (a long city park) and then a walk along the ocean on a very natural beach. From there there is a view of the Comox glacier to be viewed on clear days and it is spectacular. There we can let Loki off the leash and she can sniff to her heart's content. Usually there are a pair of eagles on the tallest trees and often many sailboats about.After high winds a boat will get loose and swept up to shore, a drama no doubt for the owner. Sure sounds like we are lucky with our walks. Yours sounds very wonderful!

Happy new thread, Mary. It's nice to see the picture of spring flowers in the sunshine at the top of your thread.

Hi Meg, well you take the most wonderful neighbourhood photos so I thought I might give it a try too. Hope you are having a very good weekend!

The Womens Prize shortlist was announced today!

River East, River West
Soldier, Sailor
Enter Ghost
Brotherless Night
Restless Dolly Maunder
The Wren, The Wren

Well, you know what I think of some of the books on the shortlist, Mary! :-) At least I have read the two I disliked, and I just barely started on Brotherless Nights, but it seems promising. I own the two I have not yet read, so I will get to them. I was surprised that Ordinary Human Failings was not on the list. We had a nice out in Vancouver yesterday and today I just finished doing both of our taxes, so I am glad to have that behind me.

And -I know what an immersion blender is. I was just on Paul's thread. Dave got one with some points from work. I have not used it yet, but I think it will come in handy with making soup.

Hello Deborah, If you love soups you will love the immersion blender and good for you to remember the name, not my faulty/funny descriptions that got some press!

>23 mdoris: I did get a chuckle of that " bad press " , Mary!

>13 mdoris: I hope so, Mary. I am looking at a few places although my brother wants me to use his second home first which does have a garden albeit not a huge one.

>21 mdoris: I have read four of the six so far and am leaning towards Brotherless Night so far.

>22 vancouverdeb: / >23 mdoris: & >24 vancouverdeb: I think that Hani has one too (immersion blender, I mean!) and I am still wiping coffee from my laptop!

>24 vancouverdeb:, >25 PaulCranswick: Hi Deborah and Paul, chuckles are very good for our health and immersion blenders make very good soup. I love soup!

Book #33
We've Got Issues by Dr. Phil McGraw library p. 359



I have recently viewed Dr. Phil on a few internet interviews and he is on fire with his concerns so I thought I would read his very recently published book. I have not followed his TV show at all but I did know a little about him but now that I have read his book I know a lot more, his early and difficult up rearing, his career path and now his great concerns about family, faith and country. He has lots of tips/ advice to stear you in the right direction and gives an injection of courage to be honest and true to yourself and challenge what you think needs change. He bites off a lot with this book and he is fired up with concerns!

Book #34
Behind the Curtain: Inside the Network of Progressive Billionaires and Their Campaign to Undermine Democracy by Jeff Reynolds library, p. 173



I am not sure why I reserved this one from the library! Did I see it mentioned on someone's thread? It was an eye opener for one side of the aisle and I am sure there is a book to be written about the other side but it does give some insight into the Billionaire's Club and the pressure and results they get pushing their agendas as an unelected presence on government work. There is so much money behind the scenes! It boggles the mind with NGO's and non profits shuffling vast sums of money about.