Mary's (bell7's) Reading Log in 2024 - Thread #5

Hello all, and welcome to my fifth thread of 2024. I've been participating in the 75 Book Challenge since 2010 and look forward to seeing what my 15th year in the group will bring.

Should you have missed any of my previous intros, my name is Mary and I'm a librarian in western Massachusetts. I'm part of a large family (oldest of five), single, and live in my own home.

I like to read fantasy and science fiction, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, a smattering of mystery and romance, nonfiction about books and history and... basically, pretty widely and eclectically. I usually have some form of reading goals for the year, and I've decided that this year I want to intentionally read more globally. I'm going to focus on France and aim to read 12 books by authors from that country, plus 12 more books from other countries that are not the US, UK, or Canada. Since I typically read about 120-130 books a year, this should not be a hardship for me.

Outside of reading, I enjoy watching sports (football, hockey and tennis in particular), I dogsit as a side hustle, I knit for fun (usually gifts for friends and family), and research genealogy (as very much an amateur, but I'm learning).

Hope you'll make yourself comfortable and chat with me about books and life.

2024 Book Club Reads

One of my work responsibilities is facilitating one of our book discussions. Here's what we're reading in 2024 (we take a break for the summer):

JANUARY - Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher - COMPLETED
FEBRUARY - The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin - COMPLETED
MARCH - Brave the Wild River by Melissa L. Sevigny - COMPLETED
APRIL - The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende - COMPLETED
MAY - Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder - COMPLETED
SEPTEMBER - The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
OCTOBER - The Paris Daughter by Kristin Harmel
NOVEMBER - The Soloist by Steve Lopez
DECEMBER - The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Top Reads of 2024 (in order read)

5 stars
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard (reread)

4.5 stars
The Tower at the Edge of the World by Victoria Goddard
The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
The Postcard by Anne Berest
To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
Derring-Do For Beginners by Victoria Goddard
Making It So by Patrick Stewart
Foster by Claire Keegan
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Above Ground by Clint Smith
The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard (reread)
Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (reread)
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Red Paint by Sasha LaPointe
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Random things I'm tracking

Bookish articles:
1. Oulipo: Freeing Literature by Tightening Its Rules
2. Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words
3. 2024 Pacific Northwest Book Awards
4. 75 Books by Women of Color to Read in 2024
5. Romantasy Books (BookRiot)
6. An interview with Moniquill Blackgoose
7. The Scandalous Legacy of Isabella Stewart Gardner
8. Nonfiction books for SFF fans
9. Tournament of Books 2024 Championship Round
10. Top 10 Most Challenged Books in 2023
11. Thoughts on "Beach Reads" (CNN)
12. The Problem with Comp Titles

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 graphic novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 graphic novels)
2016 - 141 (I stopped counting graphic novels separately)
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138
2022 - 131
2023 - 180
2024 - ???

Currently reading
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr

Bible/Devotional Reading

DNFs in 2024
1. Althea: The Life of Tennis Champion Althea Gibson by Sally H. Jacobs
2. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
3. Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon

July
71. The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
70. The Game of Courts by Victoria Goddard
69. Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
68. Knowing God by Name by Mary Kassian

June
67. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
66. Red Paint by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe
65. Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble
64. Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
63. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
62. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
60. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
59. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
58. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
57. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
56. Those Who Hold the Fire by Victoria Goddard
55. The Years by Annie Ernaux
54. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

May
53. The Best Man by Richard Peck
52. The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
51. Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu Lapointe
50. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
49. Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
48. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
47. Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder
46. The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard
45. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
44. How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

April
43. Above Ground by Clint Smith
42. The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monae
41. The Perfect Guy Doesn't Exist by Sophie Gonzales
40. How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
39. The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo
38. Sharks in the Rivers by Ada Limon
37. The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende
36. At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard
35. Dominicana by Angie Cruz
34. With Us in the Wilderness by Lauren Chandler

March
33. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
32. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary
31. And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed
30. The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard
29. The Romantic Agenda by Claire Kann
28. The Bible
27. Brave the Wild River by Melissa L. Sevigny
26. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
25. Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
24. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
23. Foster by Claire Keegan
22. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
21. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

February
20. Making It So by Patrick Stewart
19. Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong
18. The Lioness of Boston by Emily Franklin
17. The Casuarina Tree by W. Somerset Maugham
16. Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers
15. The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
14. Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard
13. The People We Keep by Allison Larkin

January
12. To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose
11. The Postcard by Anne Berest
10. Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
9. Women Rowing North by Mary Pipher
8. A Girl's Story by Annie Ernaux
7. Big Tree by Brian Selznick
6. The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling
5. The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
4. The Pachinko Parlor by Elisa Shua Dusapin
3. In the Company of Gentlemen by Victoria Goddard
2. The Anomaly by Herve Le Tellier
1. The Tower at the Edge of the World by Victoria Goddard

Global reads in 2024 (author's country of origin):
Australia - Sophie Gonzales
Canada - Victoria Goddard, Premee Mohamed
Chile - Isabel Allende
France - Herve Le Tellier, Elisa Shua Dusapin, Annie Ernaux, Anne Berest
Ireland - Claire Foster
Malaysia - Tan Twan Eng, Yangsze Choo
New Zealand - Chloe Gong
UK - W. Somerset Maugham, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Worth

All time (since 2022):


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Chile, China, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

And away we go with thread #5 - welcome, everyone! And happy Wednesday.

Now that I've decided not to mow my lawn until the weekend, I have some puttering around the house to do including laundry, cooking, and making a phone call or two (ugh). I'm working 12-8 and expect it's going to be mostly catch up after being out the last two days. Fortunately email shouldn't be as onerous as when it's a full week. I should also get a start on packing for dogsitting over the weekend.

Reading: Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha LaPointe and The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson

Listening: "Miles Ahead" by Miles Davis (hoping to finish this up today and start "Mingus Ah Um" by Charles Mingus)

Watching/Crafting: nothing

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Mary!

Happy new thread, Mary!

Thanks foggi, Katie, and Jim!

Happy new thread, Mary!

Happy new thread Mary!

Happy New Thread, Mary!

Happy new thread, Mary!!

Happy new thread, Mary!

Re: last thread, I am definitely going to the National Book Festival this year, I hope you can make it!

Happy new thread, Mary. Sorry slightly later than usual to the party but I am in the middle of moving house.

Thanks, Anita, Susan, Deborah and Natalie!

>19 norabelle414: Glad to hear you're going this year! I may look at the work & my personal calendar to see about asking for the time off today. I'll keep you posted as my travel plans become more settled.

>20 PaulCranswick: Not that late, Paul, it's still within 24 hours and I'm meanwhile hopelessly behind on your thread. Hope the moving is going as smoothly as possible.

It's Thursday! I'll shortly be collecting my lunch and everything else i need for the day, as I'm going to work, my parents' for dinner and our final Bible study before our summer break.

Reading: Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha LaPointe and The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson

Listening: "Mingus Ah Um" by Charles Mingus - I'm only a few songs in, but I really like it so far

Watching/Crafting: nothing

Happy new thread, Mary! From your last thread, I was surprised to see you hadn't read The Martian Chronicles before. We had to read that in school, I think it was in Junior High. Maybe it got replaced with other things by the time you were in school.

>23 atozgrl: Well, I was homeschooled, so a lot of the books that people read for school were ones I read on my own time or never got to at all. That being said, I was usually aware of the required books and while I had heard of Fahrenheit 451 as a high schooler, I don't think The Martian Chronicles was really on my radar. So... not sure?

51. Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe
Why now? I added this one to my list after browsing the 75 Books by Women of Color book list and recently put it on hold at the library after Mark sang its praises

Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe is a Court Salish woman living in Tacoma, Washington. In these essays, she writes about her family, her history, and her concerns as a queer indigenous woman.

The essays' topics are wide-ranging and deeply personal. One is about food - becoming vegetarian, but still finding connection in the salmon ceremonies of her tribe - another about her queerness and another about her relationship with her mother. Throughout all of them, who she is in her passions and love for her people comes through loud and clear. LaPointe identifies her great-grandmother as the storyteller, but she definitely is too. I'm only sorry I didn't read her memoir Red Paint first, as that may have given me more of a clear background to place the individual essays in. 4 stars.

TGIF! So happy it's Friday... I woke up early this morning, so I've already had my coffee and breakfast. I will finish up packing for dogsitting this weekend, work 9-5, and head to the dogs from there. Dinner will be leftovers - I made a couple of meals on Wednesday morning to be almost set through the long weekend, as Monday is Memorial Day.

Tomorrow I'm coming back home to mow my lawn, and later in the day heading over to my brother and SIL's for a family cookout. The weekend is nicely balanced with plans and downtime, and I'm looking forward to a chance to hang out with the dogs and read.

Happy Friday, Mary. Happy New Thread. Ooh, Mingus Ah Um. Another masterpiece. I also really liked Thunder Songs. Enjoy your weekend.

Happy new thread!

>27 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Happy weekend! I'm really liking "Mingus Ah Um" and will have to add this and Miles Davis to my music wishlist. Have you read Red Paint yet? I'm excited to read her memoir, though kind of wish I'd read it first to give the essays more context.

>28 The_Hibernator: Thanks, Rachel!

Discovered this article on the problem with comp titles today and thought I'd share.

I especially liked her observation, "I want to live in a world where “eccentric” and “difficult to categorize” are actually selling points, where “but where would you shelve it in a bookstore?” doesn’t have an easy answer and that’s okay."

>24 bell7: I didn't realize you had been homeschooled! That certainly could make a difference. I'm glad you finally read it and enjoyed it. I read it so long ago, I wasn't sure how well the stories held up.

>31 atozgrl: I was! I still had literature classes, my mom was very careful to follow the state requirements for each grade, but I did end up reading more short stories and poems than novels because that was what was contained in our books.

Happy Saturday! I went home this morning to mow, and one of my neighbors saw me toiling away in the long grass and took pity on me, offering to help with his rider mower. I mowed the front and edges, but he did great swaths of the backyard so what could have taken me three hours took about half that in the end. I celebrated by doing a dump run and making a bean salad to bring to a family cookout tonight.

I'm hanging out with the dogs for a bit before heading out to said cookout.

Reading: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson

Listening: "Mingus Ah Um" by Charles Mingus

Watching: nothing (they have no TV or I would've tried last night

Crafting: I finished the duplicate stitch on the stocking last night and did some work on a baby sweater (no giftee in mind, I just like to be a few ahead). Hoping to make more progress on the embellishments over the weekend and be able to gift the stocking over the summer, especially since my cousin had a baby and I want to finish one for him before Christmas too

>33 bell7: Hooray for kindly neighbors! Bigger hooray for the cookout!

*smooch* for a lovely long weekend

>34 richardderus: *smooch* back and hope you have a wonderful weekend, Richard!

Happy Sunday! I'm in the middle of dogsitting for three very cute (including one very odd) dogs who seem to enjoy a quiet weekend as much as I do. I was out and about more than I expected to be yesterday, but today the only plan is church. I have nursery. After that, I can sit back, relax, read books and finish up the Christmas stocking I've been working on off and on for months.

Reading: The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson (Kindle tells me I have a little over 3 hours left - I expect to finish this and start both a new paperback AND a new Kindle book today)

Listening: "Mingus Ah Um" and I'm borrowing "Moanin' in the Moonlight" as my next Rolling Stone listen, probably this afternoon while knitting

Watching: probably nothing - the French Open/Roland Garros is starting today, but I don't have the paid-for subscriptions needed for this particular major

Crafting: I'm on the home stretch with my niece's stocking, which is motivating me to finish up the embellishments. I have a few more sequins to sew on, then sewing up the side, weaving in the rest of the ends (from the sewing and duplicate stitch), making the loop to hang the stocking and sewing it on with jingle bells. Hoping to do that this afternoon (though that final loop may have to wait for me to run home, as I don't think I have the double-pointed needles I need with me).

52. The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
Why now? When I borrowed the e-book/audio combo from the library after doing a search on audiobooks read by Bahni Turpin, I *thought* that this book was on my TBR list. It's not. So the choice turned out to be a serendipitous pick, and my best guess is the author was familiar to me from LeVar Burton Reads.

In Saint Domingue prior to the revolution, a woman named Mer is a slave and doing her best as a healer for the people there, including her lover Tipingee, and Georgine who comes to her when she is pregnant. Georgine's baby is stillborn, but in the women's mourning for her an aspect of Ezili is born. Ezili has the ability to join her consciousness with other women, including Jeanne Duval, the mistress of Charles Baudelaire in 1840s Paris, and Thais, an enslaved Greek-Nubian prostitute in 300s Alexandria.

I enjoyed the writing and the characters, but didn't entirely get what Hopkinson was doing bringing these three narratives together. Any of them could have been expanded into a strong story of its own. Ezili - and I had to look this up while reading - is a pantheon of Vodou goddesses that show up in different aspects, so the connection to Haiti (Saint Domingue still in Mer's story) and salt (Jeanne's nickname is Lemer and Thais is also Meritet, and both the salt of the sea and the connection to the Virgin Mary come in to play) is played with throughout. Each of the stories are heartbreaking but also about the resilience and love of the three women. There's a fair amount of violence as you might expect from a book that deals with slavery, and also sex - several characters are queer, some of the sex is, well, sexy and some of it very much is not, but desire is not shied away from here. It had some interesting qualities, but even at the end I'm not entirely sure where the story was going. 3.5 stars.

>37 bell7: I've read one of Hopkinson's novels and stories from a few collections, but not this one.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, and thanks for the reminder about the French Open. I can probably watch it through a VPN on Australian tv, that's what I usually do for the tournaments. Enjoy your dogsitting - why is one of the dogs odd?

>38 quondame: I would certainly try something else by Hopkinson, Susan, so if you have any recommendations, let me know. I'm thinking maybe Skin Folk for a short story collection.

>39 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>40 ursula: Oh good, I hope you're able to watch a good amount, Ursula. I'm not invested enough to buy a month of Peacock (I'll be away the weekend of the finals anyway), but I'll follow along with my draws online to keep track of who's getting through the tournament and expect I'll follow Wimbledon a lot more (ESPN+, which I do have, covers the outer courts and let me stream the finals last year).

Ah, Milo... he's very standoffish and, like a cat, will perch at the top of the couch. When I last dogsat for them, he would make a point of NOT sitting at the same chair/couch I was (though the other two would vie for my lap). But what really makes him odd is he barks at the water bowl and must dump all his food and eat it from the floor. Just a funny and quirky dog. He's actually been tolerant of me this time around, will go outside when I call him to (last time I had to pick him up and put him outside) and deigns to sit on the same couch when I choose that seat, though he's definitely not a cuddler.

The listening report:

In the car, I've been listening to and enjoying "Mingus Ah Um" for the last several days and am not quite ready to move on to the next CD yet. I enjoy the joy and playfulness in every song, and all around like the sound a lot. I may put the CD on my Christmas/birthday wishlist. Here's what the Rolling Stone critic had to say. It comes in at #380 in the 2023 list. I'll be looking up more by Charles Mingus for sure.

I borrowed "Moanin' in the Moonlight" from Hoopla and have listened to it twice through. The sound of the blues is fine (I could hear the influence in future songs for sure), though it seems like several songs were about women doing the singer wrong which was rather meh as far as subject matter goes haha. Rolling Stone has it at #477.

I'll be picking up "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane at work tomorrow and jumping in to the 1960s albums.

Happy Memorial Day to any celebrating. I'm keeping it a quiet morning with the dogs rather than going out for any parades (I had originally thought I'd go out to a ceremony, but the one I was thinking of was actually yesterday, and I couldn't).

We're supposed to get rain and thunderstorms this afternoon, and I'm thinking once I've left the dogsitting job I'll go to the gym. I've got some leftovers from this weekend and frozen meals to carry me over for a few days so I don't have to go grocery shopping just yet. A nice, quiet day by my standards. Hoping to get some good reading in, and I've finished a couple of knitting projects I'd been working on for awhile.

Reading: The Best Man by Richard Peck and I'm going to start Leaving Lucy Pear today

Listening: I listened through "Moanin' in the Moonlight" and will continue enjoying "Mingus Ah Um" in the car

Watching: nothing

Crafting: I finished the stocking yesterday and a baby sweater today

I'm thrilled that you're enjoying "Mingus Ah Um," Mary! Another album I would recommend is "Money Jungle" by Duke Ellington (1962), who leads a trio that includes Mingus on bass and Max Roach on drums. Ellington was roughly 25 years older than Mingus or Roach, but The Duke more than holds his own in this unique and highly enjoyable collaboration. (FWIW the album "Duke Ellington & John Coltrane" (1963) is also superb; Mingus doesn't appear on it, though.)

>43 bell7: Such weird weather...sticky, then rainy, then windy, then sticky again though never hotter than normal thank goodness.

Sad for all the seasonal businesses because it's a ghost town out there.

What a good run of reads I'm having, though today's isn't one I think you'd enjoy...Wednesday's, though, is a different matter. Probably a hit (heh) with your sporty self.

>44 kidzdoc: Duly adding both to the list, Darryl. Thank you!

>45 richardderus: Right? It's been a weird day here too, looking ominous all morning, and then we did get rain but the thunder stayed far away. Fortunately I came home in between showers, but I was disappointed that the gym was closed, since I couldn't walk outside. I'll keep an eye out for Wednesday's rec :)

53. The Best Man by Richard Peck
Why now? I really like Peck's historical fiction/Newbery Honors, so this one has been on my list since 2016. I've been slightly annoyed that reading off my TBR spreadsheet has been down this year, so I used a random number generator and this title was the row number it landed upon

Archer has been in two weddings, he tells us, and beginning with the first in which he has a hilarious mishap as ringbearer, and ending with the second in which he is the best man, gives us an account of his life so far between them.

Like Peck's historical fiction, this contemporary story set in Chicago has great characters, funny over-the-top moments, and a lot of heart. Archer's voice is unique and carries you along in his storytelling. His role models are his dad, his grandpa, and his Uncle Paul, and I enjoyed the relationships he has with each man. The story missed a few beats for me in its lack of direction. Archer meanders through 1-4 grade before the meat of the story, which primarily covers 5th and 6th. And he doesn't really pick up on things so the astute reader will have no problem figuring out certain things long before Archer does, such as that his Uncle Paul is gay. Finally, there are references to YouTube and a "hashtag" and such that felt a little too forced in trying to sound current. A solid read overall, but not my favorite of Peck's. 3.5 stars.

I'm not sure if it's me or the books, but I've had a rather long string of 4 and 3.5 star reads.

Good morning all, and happy Tuesday! I'm back to work today 9-5 and planning on going from there to my brothers' softball games.

Reading: Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon and A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos (getting back to my reading of French authors in translation)

Listening: I returned "Mingus Ah Um" to the library today and checked out "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane, which I'll be starting tonight; and, since I can't watch it, I've been listening to a lot of Roland Garros radio

Watching: nothing

Crafting: started on the next Christmas stocking, this one for my cousin's son

>48 bell7: I look forward to your opinion of "Giant Steps," Mary.

Are you still interested in reading Moral Man and Immoral Society together? I plan to restart reading Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic today, which precedes Moral Man and Immoral Society in my edition of Reinhold Niebuhr: Major Works on Religion and Politics from the Library of America.

>49 kidzdoc: I'm really enjoying "Giant Steps", Darryl. I haven't quite listened through the first time (I primarily listen to music in the car, so how much I listen depends on how far I've been driving), but I've liked every song so far. I am still be interested in reading Moral Man and Immoral Society together. Let me know when you're ready to go, and I'll request it from the library again. I also put a hold on the e-book version of his Major Works, so we'll see what comes in faster...

Happy New Thread Mary my dear.

>51 bell7: I'm glad that you're enjoying "Giant Steps" so far, Mary. Either it or "My Favorite Things" were the first albums I purchased by Trane, and I love both of them.

Great re: Moral Man and Immoral Society. It won't take me long to finish Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic, probably no later than this weekend, so I could start Moral Man and Immoral Society whenever it's suitable for you. I had hoped to find and start reading Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie when I went book shopping last week but the bookstore didn't have it, so I'll save it for this summer, and read The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by Siddhartha Mukherjee in June or July, along with the two books by Reinhold Niebuhr.

>52 johnsimpson: Thank you, John! Nice to see you here :)

>53 kidzdoc: Oh, in that case I'll put the hold on now and probably have Moral Man and Immoral Society ready to go next week. I hope you're able to get a copy of Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. I'm hoping to read that at some point as well, but with my track record it will probably be next year haha.

>54 bell7: Sounds good, Mary. I'll be sure to finish Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic this week in that case.

LOL re: Knife. Both I and the bookseller in Head House Books were surprised that it was out of stock when I went there last week. I submitted a request for it from the Free Library of Philadelphia, and I'm 9th in line, which means that I might get it before Thanksgiving.

P.S. Let me know if you come back to Philadelphia anytime soon. I'm now sending my mother to an adult daycare center most days, so I'm free to meet up most weekdays from mid morning to mid afternoon, as I did with Liz from Club Read last week.

Happy new thread, Mary. Your thread had me Googling some of your current reads especially The Salt Roads which has it's own Wikipedia page.

>55 kidzdoc: Ah, that's more how I read (more of last year's books than the current year's books) than how long my library system would take to get me a copy. We're very fortunate in Massachusetts with a robust library network system and sharing that goes along with it - the library where I work and where I live are part of the same network, which has easy access to requesting materials from 160 libraries in western and central Massachusetts, so I probably wouldn't have a terribly long wait for Knife, possibly a few weeks or a couple months as most. (It *can* still take months for a popular bestseller to come in, as we try to purchase extra titles due to demand but even new books can be checked out for a month before they're returned.)

I will definitely let you know if I go to Philly anytime soon. Currently my next vacation is a couple of weeks in August, and I'm hoping to get to DC for the National Book Festival and Queens for the U.S. Open (tennis). I might be able to fit a side trip to Philadelphia, and will keep you posted as my plans get more firm.

>56 Familyhistorian: That Wikipedia page was helpful to me as I read and wrote my review, Meg! Thanks for the new thread wishes :)

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I woke up early this morning, which was great for getting things ready for work and the rest of the day, but I'm sure I'll be tired when I get home. I'll be working 9-5, going to my parents' for dinner, and have Bible study tonight. Last week was supposed to be our last week, but got rescheduled to tonight instead. I'm not sure I mentioned, I'm in charge at the library for this week and next while my boss is out on vacation. She's actually working some days (there's various meetings she's a part of, and she's working Saturday), so not completely off, but day-to-day I'm the most senior staff member, which is always a little added stress. After the two weeks is up, I'm on vacation for a week (and I'll need it!).

Reading: Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon and A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Listening: "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane (did you know Chris Raschka wrote a picture book about it? I'm going to have to bring the CD in to listen to that track while reading Raschka's book at some point) and Radio Roland Garros to get my tennis fix

Watching/Crafting: nothing over the last few days

>58 bell7: It sounds like you're going to have a good-busy day today. Enjoy it! *smooch*

>59 richardderus: It was! Good-busy (rather than crazy-busy) for the foreseeable future, in fact, though I might try to see if I can finagle a do-nothing day in June as well.

TGIF! Working today and trying to figure out what day this weekend is best for getting to the gym. I might try to go tonight and just skip triceps, 'cause those are the only muscles currently sore. I'm planning on cooking a simple shrimp scampi with orzo for dinner tonight.

Reading: A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Listening: "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane (another jazz album I'm really enjoying)

Watching/Crafting: nothing yesterday, we'll see what tonight brings

DNF #3 Leaving Lucy Pear by Anna Solomon
I officially decided I am done with this book today. The beginning was intriguing: a teenage single mother in 1917 leaves her baby in a pear grove knowing that an Irish family comes there to steal her uncle's pears and hopes they'll take the baby - and they do. Ten years later, Lucy Pear and her family decide to make perry during Prohibition. Her "mother," Emma, gets money from quarry boss and would-be mayor, Joseph Story, and they begin an affair. Her birth mother, Bea, is a Jewish woman and in a loveless marriage with a gay man. I picked it up because it was set on Cape Ann (where I traveled to earlier this month) - and it is, in Gloucester.

I made the decision today at 144 pages in to abandon it. The locations were not the same as where I stayed so it didn't have the connection to place that I was looking for. I didn't like most of the characters. And the writing style of flitting back and forth between various characters' perspectives and telling their whole life story and what they were thinking was okay at the beginning but grated on me after awhile. Even over 140 pages in, we were introduced to a new character (Bea's cousin Julian) and suddenly the narrator was telling us what he thought of his wife and his cousin and such. It wasn't going to get more than 3, 3.5 stars and I'm kinda tired of reading in that wheelhouse, so, back to the library it goes.

>57 bell7: Your robust library system seems to get books to you and other users far more quickly than those of us who are members of the Free Library of Philadelphia. I'm glad that the system has such a large collection of books, but I don't understand what takes so long to get them. At the end of the day it's no big deal, though.

I ordered a copy of Knife from a newish indie bookshop that is in the same town as the adult daycare center I take my mother to, and it should be in sometime next week.

Day trips of moderate length (4-6 hours) to Philadelphia are definitely doable, as it usually takes 30-40 minutes to drive to Center City from my mother's adult daycare center. If my cousin is in town then I have much more flexibility.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Friday, Mary! Looking forward to your thoughts on A Winter's Promise -- I've been enjoying that series. Just one more to go for me.

>62 bell7: That kind of reading experience is why the Pearl Rule works so well for me. Of course you still have years and years and years to go before you get to my current 35pp requirement, but at least it's not FOREVER away.

Weekend-ahead joy!

>63 kidzdoc: Massachusetts has a very good network and sharing system, which spoils me completely. If it's not a new/popular book, I can generally get a book between 3 days to a week. I hope you're able to get to Knife soon and that it's worth the wait!

>64 curioussquared: So far so good, Natalie, though it's a slow start I'm intrigued by Ophelia and her world.

>65 richardderus: Oh yeah, I generally give myself permission not to force myself through a book if it's not working for me. The surprising thing was that I *was* liking it around page 50, but somewhere along the way I lost interest and decided not to force my way through the rest.

>66 bell7: That's happened to me a lot lately. I thought it was my climacteric kickin' in...

>67 richardderus: Always a bummer when that kind of reading malaise kicks in, whether it's us, the books, or some combination of the two. Though in the case of this book, my mom gave up on it too, so we were able to commiserate (it wasn't just me...).

Happy Sunday!

I was busy yesterday, I went tag saling with my folks and got some clothes and baskets that I can use in the house. Afterwards, we stopped at my brother's and visited with him and his wife and the baby. She's not quite 3 months, but she's very smiley and alert, stares at you when you talk to her and sometimes babbles back. She gave me and my mom baby kisses, opening her mouth wide when we'd say "Mwah!" and then fell asleep sitting up in my dad's arms.

After that, my mom and I went clothes shopping - her with a gift card I'd given her for her birthday, me needing things like bras and a new pair of sneakers. And of course I got a couple more tops, so between that and the tag sale I have some lovely new outfits. Came home to leftover shrimp scampi for dinner and relaxed for the evening.

Today was nursery, and then I went from church to visit the friends whose dogs I'm watching in a couple of months. I ended up chatting for a couple of hours, and now have been back home for a couple of hours as well. I was going to cook, but I didn't. I'm doing the laundry, going to have leftover dinners, and have a quiet night. I haven't made bread in a bit, and put together the dough today with the hope of baking it tomorrow after work.

May
53. The Best Man by Richard Peck
52. The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson
51. Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu Lapointe
50. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
49. Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun
48. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
47. Rough Sleepers by Tracy Kidder
46. The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard
45. Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
44. How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin

Books read: 10
Did not finish: 1
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 1/1/8
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 8/2/0/0

Because I want to awards:
At least as good to reread as read the first time - The Return of Fitzroy Angursell
Though-provoking nonfiction, just the way my book club likes 'em - Rough Sleepers

YTD stats -
Pages read:17,430
Avg pages a day: 113
Books by POC authors: 19 (36.5%)
In translation: 5 (9.6%)
DNF: 3

Thoughts: I had a slow start to my reading month, finally picking up halfway through and reading an additional 6 books. The travel and downtime at my sister's helped, and I read a couple of shorter books to end the month, which helped as well. Most of the books I read were in the 3.5-4 star range, so rather consistent that way. Only two books were by authors of color, which I'd like to start increasing even though that wasn't a specific goal of the year. And I do need to step up my reading in translation - to that end, I have a couple of books by French authors out of the library right now.

My book club takes the summer off, so I'll have complete free choice and not be working around when I want to finish the book club book. It'll be interesting to see if that affects my summer reading or not.

Good morning, all! I got up early this morning and forgot that I was working 3-8, started to go through my regular morning routine... and thankfully remembered before I headed out the door to work. I changed into hang out clothes and have been working on small little house things that are easy to let go when I'm busy, such as filling the bird feeders and emptying the dehumidifier. I've made lunch (a white bean, citrus and avocado salad that looks delicious if I do say so myself) and will bake bread in a couple of hours. The 3-8 shift is not my favorite, but it'll go by quickly. I will bring the last of the shrimp scampi for supper and will be on the circ desk 5-8 while my co-worker has a program and will be on reference.

Reading: A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Listening: Radio Roland Garros since I don't have the streaming services it's on. I'm planning on starting "At Last!" by Etta James on the way to work today

Watching: Nothing

Crafting: Christmas stocking for my cousin's baby

>70 bell7: Good May of reading, Mary, and since you had a big brain-hole in >71 bell7: you can turbocharge June, too! Enjoy the scampi later...like everything else Italian it really tastes its best the next day.

*smooch*

>72 richardderus: The scampi was leftover from... hm, Thursday, I think so definitely time it was eaten. I snacked at work and then had it after I got home. *smooch* back

Happy... *checks notes* Tuesday, everyone! I'm a little discombobulated after working last night instead of a 9-2 shift. Today I'm working 9-5 and then going to my brothers' softball games. I may try to pick up a handful of groceries after, but it's not essentially because I don't think I'll have time to cook tomorrow anyways.

Reading: The Years by Annie Ernaux and I'll start Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr as a joint read with Darryl today

Listening: "At Last!" by Etta James - I've heard the album once through and really like her voice, though the music is definitely old-fashioned pop (I've... mostly heard the strings in old Disney movies, and the backup singers is of a particular time, too). No favorite songs yet, but we'll see what emerges after listening a couple more times through.

Watching: nothing

Crafting: hoping to pick up the stocking some this evening

>74 bell7: Bravo, Mary! I plan to read the Introduction to Moral Man and Immoral Society today, and try to read one chapter every day afterward.

I look forward to your thoughts about "At Last!" as I haven't listened to the entire album.

>75 kidzdoc: that sounds like the perfect pace to aim for, Darryl, as it does seem pretty dense.

Morning, Mary! have yourself a merry little Wednesday, if the Fates allow.

>76 bell7: Great, Mary. We don't have to be that strict, as I don't want to make it seem like a homework assignment. BTW I didn't get far into the Introduction, but I'll try to catch up today.

>77 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! *smooch*

>78 kidzdoc: Flexibility sounds good, Darryl. I'm probably reading a slightly different edition from you, so I'm not sure if there's any more introductory material that you're getting and I'm not. I read it last night after a busy day and I'm afraid my head was spinning a bit with all the quotes and ideas of the morals of an individual versus a society. I'm hoping that the coming chapters break it down a little more! I'm going to start the first chapter before heading out to work today and see how I get on.

Happy Wednesday, all! I had originally planned on mowing my lawn today, but the weather forecast for the coming days is looking a little better - rain tomorrow, but clear Friday and Saturday, so I decided to go to the gym today and mow on Friday after work. I also did a quick trip to the grocery store to have enough food to finish out the week. I'll cook dinner tomorrow while it's raining, and between that and a few prepared meals, I'm set.

I'm working 12-8 today. I need to run bills to Town Hall, and I want to get started on setting up for while I'm gone next week, leaving folks a list of the volunteers to expect and what they can shelve, and schedule my email away message.

Reading: The Years by Annie Ernaux and Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr

Listening: Radio Roland Garros for my tennis fix, and I'll have "At Last" back on my way to work

Watching: nothing

Crafting: I didn't pick it up yesterday, but hoping to work on the stocking some today

54. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos
Why now? Getting back into my reading in translation, this was a popular YA fantasy translated from French and I had an ARC - so of course what I actually read was the library e-book/audio combo

Ophelia is a "reader" who can touch an object with her bare hands and get a sense of all the past owners it has had. She works at the archives on the ark of Anima, but her life is about to change. She's been betrothed to a man from the Pole ark, and when she first meets Thorn he seems about as cold as his habitation. Thrust into a world much darker than her own, Ophelia must keep all her wits about her if she's to survive to the wedding.

I didn't really know anything about this series before plunging into it, so I set out learning about the arks (separate places that can only be reached by airship) and the various motivations of the characters we meet along with Ophelia. It's written in third person, but sticks close to Ophelia's thoughts and experiences. And like much fantasy, it's deliberately paced and unfolds rather slowly as Ophelia starts without having much agency. The ending isn't so much a cliffhanger as it is left dangling in the midst of the story, so now I find myself debating how long to wait before looking for book #2. 4 stars.

Perhaps a might generous in my star rating because it was in translation? We'll see how I get on with the second book, though it'll probably be another month before I get there.

>81 bell7: I gave it an even higher rating than yours (4.5), but I wasn't able to get into the second book. I think it was just the right book at the wrong time, and hopefully I'll be in the mood for the rest of the series eventually, because I really did enjoy that first book.

>81 bell7: >82 foggidawn: I enjoyed the entire series, though I won't say it was a favorite, it was different enough to maintain interest and the developments and resolutions worked pretty well for me.

>82 foggidawn: I hope it is indeed a case of right book, wrong time, foggi, and that a second time through is a good read for you.

>83 quondame: Yes, "it was different enough to maintain interest" sums up my feelings pretty well, Susan.

Happy Thursday! Two more days 'til vacation...

I'm working 9-5 today and, as it's going to be rainy/storm tonight, making a dinner of stuffed portobello mushrooms. I was able to accomplish all I'd hoped to yesterday in getting ready for being off next week, and I'm hoping today and tomorrow goes as smoothly.

Reading: The Years by Annie Ernaux and Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr. Both are slow going, the former being a sort of collective memoir and needing some concentration, the latter very dense with long sentences and heady thoughts. I am starting chapter 2 of Moral Man and Immoral Society today and, when I can fully understand what Niebuhr is saying, I find his thoughts sensible and prescient. Today I read, "Wherever men hold unequal power in society, they will strive to maintain it. They will use whatever means are most convenient to that end and will seek to justify them by the most plausible arguments they are able to devise." Which he said back in 1932, but which certainly could be applied to society today.

Listening: "At Last!" by Etta James - starting on my third time through, with thoughts to come soon

Watching: nothing

Crafting: haven't picked up the stocking in a few days. Maybe tonight?

>85 bell7: I hope today's a smooth one for you, Mary. *smooch*

I always liked the build up to vacation. Hope it goes smoothly. Have a wonderful time off!

>86 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! The day went well, here's hoping the same today!

>87 Familyhistorian: It's a nice sort of ritual wrapping certain things up and leaving things for other people to deal with haha. The coming back is a little more difficult, compounded this time by my returning for the Monday after Summer Reading starts (oops).

Happy Friday, all! Today is my last day of being in charge at the library AND before vacation starts. Hoping all goes smoothly. I've been whittling away at things that need to be set before I leave, and should have a fairly calm day ahead of me. I am planning on cleaning off my desk, so that'll make for an interesting to-do list as I go through some piles of things that have just become background noise to me for months. The plan when I get back is to mow my lawn.

Reading: The Years by Annie Ernaux and Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr

Listening: "At Last!" by Etta James

Watching: nothing

Crafting: finished a couple of rows on the stocking yesterday

Hi Mary, unfortunately I've had a tough and unusually busy week with my mother so far, and as a result I'm only halfway through chapter I of Moral Man and Immoral Society. Hopefully this weekend will be a better and more productive one.

>85 bell7: I loved The Years but there were definitely bits of French history I had to Google to find out about.

>90 kidzdoc: hey Darryl, not to worry! I read through chapter 2 yesterday but haven't picked it up yet today and will wait till tomorrow to start chapter 3 so I don't get too far ahead of you. I hope things calm down a bit for you over the weekend.

>91 charl08: it's not even the French history, it's how much stuff happened before I was born, too. I looked up Bobby Sands this morning, I had no idea about the hunger strike during the Troubles.

Happy weekend, everyone! I didn't finish mowing my lawn last night as it clouded over and started raining. So, I finished it this morning. I'm finishing up packing, doing the dishes, taking the trash out, all the chores that are good to do before going away for a week. I'm leaving the laundry 'til next week when I get back (see, I can show restraint on my to-do list).

Reading: I have about a half hour reading left in The Years, I will make slow and steady progress in Moral Man and Immoral Society, and I'm going to read Those Who Hold the Fire by Victoria Goddard with Stasia today (maybe if I write it, I'll remember. Ha!)

Listening: The end of the Roland Garros final this morning, and I'm planning on starting The Sentence by Louise Erdrich on the drive this afternoon

Watching: nothing - maybe we'll watch something over vacation? Hmmm...

Crafting: worked a bit on the Christmas stocking last night and I'm bringing it with me on vacation; we'll see if I get to it or not

>92 bell7: That sounds good, Mary. I'll try to finish Chapters I and II today, and Chapters III and IV tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

>93 bell7: I'm not sure when I first heard about the hunger strikers, as they were before my time also.
I do remember being very struck by hearing about the dirty protests, I think that must have been as part of a university course though. In terms of actual memory, all I can pull out is the government censoring the Sinn Fein spokesperson on the news (his words had to be spoken by an actor instead) which was weird.
One of the things I liked about Ernaux's book was getting a sense of what was and wasn't important to her - I liked that she didn't (seem to) make up knowing / caring about everything, even when retrospectively it seems like she isn't that impressed with her 'past self'.

>95 kidzdoc: I'm even more behind than I thought I'd be over the weekend, Darryl, but I'm hoping to finish up chapter 3 today.

>96 charl08: That's true, she looks at everything including herself with a critical eye, and it's interesting to see what strikes her, what she was reading and watching and thinking about it, even when I don't really have a frame of reference for it. It makes me wonder what my own litany of what "we" were watching and listening to, etc. would look like in my own generation, and what would be familiar to younger folks and what would be completely passe.

Happy Monday, everyone! Yesterday turned out to be an unplanned day off the computer completely. I spent a lazy day with family at our AirBNB - turns out we rented out a whole large bed & breakfast on the lake, and it's been fun just hanging out and enjoying everyone. We got an NBC Sports broadcast set up so I was able to watch the men's final of Roland Garros, and I very much enjoyed the high-quality match between Alcaraz and Zverez - especially since Alcaraz won! Several of us took afternoon naps (I did not), and we didn't go anywhere. I had happy hour, and had cheese and carrots & hummus, as well as a couple of mocktails. Then my brother and SIL made us a delicious dinner of sausage and peppers, tortellini salad and a green salad. We'll be enjoying leftovers for lunch, I think.

One of my mom's cousins lives nearby and will be joining us for today's happy hour and dinner. I have dinner tonight, and I'm planning on making a potato salad, and grilling turkey burgers and corn on the cob.

Reading: Moral Man and Immoral Society by Reinhold Niebuhr and Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz

Listening: playlists from my SIL's Spotify

Watching: Roland Garros final yesterday

Crafting: haven't broken out the knitting, though I did bring a Christmas stocking I'm working on

>98 bell7: Sounds like a wonderful, relaxing time!

>98 bell7: I spent a lazy day with family at our AirBNB - turns out we rented out a whole large bed & breakfast on the lake, and it's been fun just hanging out and enjoying everyone.

What a great way to spend a Sunday! I hope you have a marvelous Monday on top of it!

>97 bell7: That makes two of us, Mary. I'm only halfway through chapter 2, and although I'd love to finish chapter 3 today that may be a stretch. I'm definitely struggling with it, but I definitely want to finish it.

Sounds like a lovely Sunday, Mary!

Morning, Mary. Finally checking in. I have been dealing with LT issues, which has prevented me to visit certain threads. I hope I resolve this soon. Those books treating you well? Still listening to jazz? I am still making my way through my CD collection (mostly the rock & pop I own). Still in the latter part of the "C"s. 😁

The feeders have been eerily quiet for several weeks. Waiting for the cicadas to move on, to get things back to normal.

Did I miss where you were on vacation?

It sounds like a lovely time!

>99 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi, it was!

>100 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! We've had a good week

>101 kidzdoc: I'm late getting back to you, Darryl, so as you know I'm good with us pausing for now and getting back to it. I got partway through chapter 4 and while I may not start over from the beginning, I'll definitely re-start chapter 4 so I can follow the argument fully. I showed my dad the book (he's the only person on this trip who might find it intriguing), and he did seem interested but also agreed it was incredibly dense.

>102 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie!

>103 msf59: Hey Mark, on this trip I've been mostly listening to other peoples' playlists, but I finished with "At Last!" by Etta James and will be getting back to the next albums on the Rolling Stones 500 list. I hope the bird feeders get back to normal and the cicadas move on. We didn't get them in my neck of the woods this time around.

>104 katiekrug: I'm not sure if I mentioned much, Katie, but we've been on Great Sacandaga lake for the week. We had thought of going out and doing "stuff" but ended up staying at home and just enjoying each others' company, reading, playing games, doing a puzzle and relaxing. Basically what happens when a family of introverts gets together hahaha. I was pleased to see all of my siblings brought at least one book.

Happy Friday, all! I've been relaxing all week and busy with family time. My middle sister and her family were only here on Wednesday and Thursday, and on Thursday my dad and I went back to Massachusetts for a memorial service. It was nice to see that extended family, too, and hear some of the stories from my paternal grandmother's side of the family (I never knew either of my dad's parents, so getting those stories is really fun).

We check out tomorrow at 10 and then I think I'm going to try to get to a graduation party. Sunday is back to normal with church, maybe a gym run, and getting groceries for the week.

Reading: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna and an e-book to be determined

Listening: various family's music picks

Watching: occasionally some of the hockey or basketball when other people have it on

Crafting: never did get the knitting out

Hiya Mary! No knitting? Who ARE you?! Where's our craftarincess Mary?! We'll find you, Mary, and restore you to life, liberty, and the pursuit of the perfect purl!!

Oh, and go look at what I got:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/361362#8555914

>107 richardderus: excellent timing, Richard! I was just saying hello on your thread. I'm sure I'll get it out at home, but I've got color work going in a Christmas stocking and it was just too much trouble with everyone around.

Have a wonderful weekend, Mary!

>109 alcottacre: Thanks so much, Stasia!

55. The Years by Annie Ernaux
Why now? Attempting to get back on track with my reading French works in translation

Is it fiction or is it true? This is the question I've had for almost every book I've read by Ernaux, and this one is no exception. In fact, it's the challenging sort of read I had expected when I first picked up some of her novel-ish memoirs after Ernaux was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022. She gives a sort of broad overview of her life, but generally instead of making it personal, she holds her past self at a remove. Most of the story is told in a collective "we" and becomes the story of a generation. But it is also deeply personal, coming in close to look at photographs and tell us about "her" life more specifically.

It was helpful to me to have read A Man's Place, A Woman's Story and A Girl's Story to have a frame of reference for some of the occurrences she briefly mentions. Covering the years between 1940 and about 2008, the narrative refers briefly to several events in French and world history that I was unfamiliar with. But if you let the details sort of wash over you and think about what memory is, how we join with family at the table and the adults' stories are heard by kids who run off for some of it and then return, and years later we become those adults... well, that sort of experience is universal. In the end, I'm glad I read it. 4 stars.

56. Those Who Hold the Fire by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Continuing my read with Stasia through Goddard's complete works

This novelette tells the story of young Kip and how he got the obsidian for his efela.

It was fun to get a glimpse of a teenage, impatient Kip now that I've grown to like the grown up Cliopher so well. As many of Goddard's shorter works, it fills in a little back story of an event that's referred to in one of the novels and doesn't stand alone. I won't say no to any of the stories she sets in these worlds, however, and appreciate the way it gives another facet to the characters. 4 stars.

57. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
Why now? Fit the TIOLI challenge for a title with an ampersand in it, and was on my TBR list

Rhaskos and Melisto both grow up in Greece circa 400 BCE, but could not be more different. Rhaskos is a slave whose Thracian mother is taken from him at a young age and who loves to draw horses. Melisto is the only daughter in a well-to-do family whose mother dislikes her. They are connected by circumstance when Rhaskos's mother becomes her nurse.

This is very difficult to categorize, historical fiction but also has the Greek gods speak (mostly Hermes, but also Athena and Hephaistos), and written for middle grade but also pretty violent at times and doesn't shy away from the reality of life in Athens at that time, including war, drunkenness, and slavery. Rhaskos's portions are in verse while Melisto's are in prose. Interspersed are descriptions of "exhibits" from the present time, which we then see as part of the story. Certain pieces were interesting and I was invested enough to read to the end, but for some reason I never quite connected with the story and found myself questioning certain narrative choices. 3.5 stars.

58. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
Why now? It fit the TIOLI challenge to read a book from Morphy's library and was also the next book to reread in the Ramona series

Now starting kindergarten, Ramona is looking forward to growing up, learning to read, and riding a bike instead of a tricycle. She's especially sensitive to being called a pest, especially when she's just trying to figure out how this whole growing up thing works, and adults can't understand why certain things are important to her or why she sees life the way she does.

It's rather delightful to reread this series as an adult. As a child, I related so much to Ramona and her confusion about how adults were taking what she said when her thoughts and feelings seem so reasonable to her. And now, of course, I can also see everything from the parents' point of view. Cleary manages to convey both without talking down to her audience or minimizing their feelings. 4.5 stars, mostly for nostalgia.

59. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Why now? Would you believe the Ask a Manager blog first put this on my radar? (What I've read of her book recs I've enjoyed, and this sounded right up my alley) One of my co-workers highly recommends it, too, and I picked it up at my local library when I was in need of new books

Mika Moon knows that witches need to be solitary or risk a rise in magical activity that would give them away and be a danger in a bigoted society. However, when a few adults who have been raising three young charges ask her to help them by teaching the girls magic, Mika finds herself drawn to the strange family at Nowhere House, despite the risks and a rather brisk Jamie, who doesn't trust her. Mika herself knows not to get close to others, too. After all, she'll just have to leave eventually - won't she?

A delightful cozy fantasy romance that hit the sweet spot for me to read during vacation. No, there's nothing particularly unexpected, but it was a fun romp and I loved Mika, Ian, Ken, Lucie, Jamie, and the girls Altamira, Terracotta and Rosetta. I'll definitely be looking for more by Mandanna. 4.5 stars.

I'm now caught up on reviews - phew! I don't usually wait that long, and it was a little difficult to conjure up my memory and experience of reading, especially going back to The Years, which I finished a week ago.

We left our AirBNB this morning, and are now in our respective homes. I've mostly unpacked (there's a few things hanging out at the bottom of the stairs 'til I can bother to go up them), went grocery shopping, and am finishing up the laundry. I was originally planning on going to a graduation party, but bailed last-minute.

Reading: I'm paused in Moral Man and Immoral Society and will be choosing my "next books" soon - it will probably be The Frozen River and Beasts of a Little Land

Listening: it'll have to be a little radio while I get the next albums from the library, as I mistakenly thought it was Charles Patton's "King of the Delta Blues" but it is in fact "King of the Delta Blues Singers" by Robert Johnson

Watching: nothing lately, but I'll probably get started on the newest season of Doctor Who soon

Crafting: still haven't pulled out the knitting - maybe tomorrow

I really enjoyed revisiting the Ramona books last year.

Welcome home!

>115 bell7: I also added The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches to my list from hearing about it on Ask a Manager. She has good recommendations!

Hi, Mary. I hope you had a good weekend. Ooh, you are going to read The Frozen River. I was thinking of making that my next audiobook. I have heard good things but not seen much LT activity on that one.

I am currently listening to The Counting Crows. This Desert Life may be my favorite, although their debut is pretty darn good too. If you are not familiar with this band. Give them a try.

>117 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! They've been quite enjoyable as a reread, and I'll enjoy sharing them with my nieces - the eldest is already reading the series and loving it.

>118 norabelle414: She really does have good recommendations, and I love looking at her posts of her favorite books of the year. Our tastes overlap quite a bit.

>119 msf59: I am really liking The Frozen River, Mark, and I think you will too. I'll probably follow it up with A Midwife's Tale from my own shelves. Thanks for the music rec of The Counting Crows. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll recognize a song or two even if I don't necessarily think of one off the top of my head based on the band name.

Happy Monday! I'm leaving shortly for work - it's only 9-2 today, so my only real goal is to catch up on email and anything else that's piled up on my desk when I get there. Today is supposed to be in the mid-80s and the real heat wave starts tomorrow, so I'm hoping to get a good bit of cooking in because I definitely won't want to the rest of the week. And then I'm going back to work for a program on DNA for genealogy tonight.

Happy belated Father's Day, as well. We had just spent a whole week together, but after church and the gym, I did stop my my parents' house briefly to visit and wish my dad a happy father's day.

I started The Frozen River on Saturday and have been really enjoying it. I wasn't in a book slump exactly, but after a string of 4-stars and fewer decent reads but nothing that blew me away, it's been such a relief to have a read that I can't wait to pick up and find out what happens next. Hopefully in the middle of my cooking this afternoon, I'll get some reading time in too.

Reading: The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon and Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim

Listening: radio on my way to work; I may pick up an album or two if I think of it

Watching/Crafting: nothing

Happy Tuesday, all! Today is the first in a heat wave, so I'm doing my best to keep cool and not have to cook until the heat breaks. I'm working 9-5 today, need to proctor in the afternoon when I am on the desk, and planning on going to the gym to use the treadmill before calling it a night (and hanging out in my room with the window AC blasting).

Reading/Listening/Watching/Crafting: all the same as yesterday

Your vacation with family sounded wonderful, Mary. So nice to reconnect in person. Have you gotten very far with your own genetic genealogy? I was at a genealogy conference on the weekend and DNA was one of the topics.

>123 Familyhistorian: I'm just starting to dip my toe in, Meg, so any advice you have would be welcome! I have an autosomal test up on MyHeritage and have started going through matches to see if I can figure out the relationship. Yesterday, I started playing around with DNA painter to see what I could figure out, but I'm very much in the beginning stages of this.

I have some great ( I think ) play lists on Spotify. Quite a mix I guess. I really love Coldplay and Ed Sheeran right now. Hmm, interesting that you are dipping your feet into the DNA genealogy stuff. I did the 23 and Me DNA in January. I found out that I am 46 percent Scottish/ Irish and the rest Iceland, so no surprises there. I got one of my sons's to do his DNA as well, so we could find out more about my husband's DNA. He was very surprised - my husband - to discover he is 100 % Polish, as he had thought his dad was German background and his mom of Polish background, but both came from Poland and were ethnically Polish. Dave's dad's name was Adolph, and his paternal grandma spoke German , as did his dad a bit, so it was a surprise. Initially Dave thought maybe his dad was not biologically his dad, but my son found that Dave's brother is his uncle, so I think we can be confident that Adolph was Dave's dad. It's fun.

>125 vancouverdeb: Oh that's interesting, Deb. I know some of those tests have had some paternity and/or ethnicity surprises for some folks. In my case, while I definitely have threads from both parents but in the particular database I'm in, the biggest overlap was with my mom's dad (I couldn't always pinpoint the relationship, but he's the only French Canadian), and a couple of overlaps on my dad's maternal side. My ethnicity breakdown was about what I expected (60% English, about 6% Irish and German, and a smattering of other things), except for a 25% "Eastern European" connection. After going through my results, I'm leaning towards believing it's mainly because of how other people did their family trees, only filling in part of it with their German or Polish ancestry, when if we were to compare our full family research, we'd actually be related with more English ancestry. I'm debating getting an Ancestry DNA test to get a wider pool of matches.

Good morning, and happy Juneteenth! It's a fairly new holiday in my area of the country, though it's been celebrated in Texas and elsewhere for many years. But yesterday my co-workers and I were reminding each other not to come in today, since we've only had it as a paid holiday for a couple of years.

My only plan for the day is having a plumber come in. He's going to be figuring out the source of the water stains that have been on the upstairs bathroom floor since I bought the house (it could be anything from the seal on the toilet to needing to replace pipes, so I've been putting it off 'til I could save up a little in case it's a larger problem), and fixing the diverter in my downstairs bathroom so that I can have water pressure when I take a shower again. It's gonna be a hot one, so I already have the window AC on and I'll probably be hunkering down in my bedroom with a book much of the day. I may also try to get to the gym, as I didn't yesterday.

Reading: Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim and planning on starting Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne today

Listening: radio

Watching/Crafting: nothing, though that may change today

60. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
Why now? I've enjoyed the other books that I've read by Ariel Lawhon, and knew by the description of this one that it was going on my TBR list. My library hold came in awhile back and I finally picked it up this week because it was due next.

A body is found in the ice, and local midwife Martha Ballard is called to examine it. She knows it's murder - there's evidence the man, Joshua Burgess, was hung - but another physician immediately contradicts her findings. To complicated matters, Joshua and another man, a respected judge who has a lot of clout in the small community of Kennebec, stands accused of raping Rebecca Foster, the wife of the recently dismissed minister in town who himself is suing to get the remainder of his fee.

It's been awhile since I read such an immersive book. I found myself reluctant to put down this story and eager to pick it up again when I could. There's a claustrophobia in this small, gossipy town in the winter of 1789 when the river froze and many days that Martha wasn't birthing babies, she is at home. But she's also a respected woman in the community and knows many folks' secrets. The mystery itself takes a back seat to the historical details of midwifery and legal proceedings in the newly fledged United States, but these never overwhelm the story of a community and the double standards in the expected behavior of men and women. Ballard herself was a real midwife who really kept a day book, and Lawhon does an excellent job of bringing her to life and imagining a mystery she might have investigated. The author's note - which she warns you in the beginning not to look at 'til you've finished - breaks down fact from fiction thoroughly. I'm really looking forward now to turning to the nonfiction account in A Midwife's Tale. 4.5 stars.

>128 bell7: - Nice comments, Mary. That one is already on my radar, or you would have put it there!

Enjoy your day off. The Wayne should have it off (market holiday) but he's working *sigh*.

>127 bell7: Ooo, you're getting to...and I hope into...Beasts of a Little Land! I doubt it will leave you cold though of course you might not like it much. Strong stuff.

Don't melt, Mary! *air smooch cuz it's so darn hot*

>129 katiekrug: I hope you like it when you get to it, Katie; I'll look forward to your comments. Hope the day went by quickly for you & The Wayne.

>130 richardderus: I started out having some difficulty with the writing style, Richard, as too descriptive for this non-visual (well, more like fuzzy/limited visual) reader can be hard to handle and I still think the dialog can get a little stilted. So I go in fits and starts, but your review encouraged me to persevere and I find myself drawn in despite the challenges. *air smooch* back as my poor little window air conditioner is doing its darnedest to keep my house comfortable in this insufferable heat. The only bright side is my grass doesn't grow when it's this hot.

>131 bell7: I get it. The stiltedness you note is not troublesome for me because I read the book as something separated from me and my experience of the world; that archaism, that formality reinforced my perception.

My a/c is happy and healthy, where I myownself feel like I've been wrong out like a washcloth. *blerg*

Stay cool, dear Mary. My ocean-tinted Tentacled American consoles me in my suffering.

>132 richardderus: Yeah, it's definitely one of those things where there's not a perfect fit between book and reader, with no real fault to either. I daresay the author kept that tone on purpose and I missed the cultural nuances she was conveying.

Here's hoping tomorrow's a little easier for you weather-wise. It's supposed to be a little hotter here, but I'll be out and about either at work or the gym until it's (hopefully) cooled off some.

61. Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
Why now? I've had the ARC on my Kindle for a couple of years and was finally prompted to read it as a shared read for a TIOLI challenge

1917, Korea. The story opens with a prologue of a hunter tracking what he thinks is a leopard - it turns out to be a tigerling, whose life he refuses to take, and then later he saves the life of a group of Japanese soldiers when the tiger herself tracks them. This eerie occurrence has far-reaching consequences as the rest of the story unfolds, following the lives of one Jade, who is trained as a courtesan in Seoul, JungHo, the hunter's own son who goes to Seoul after he's orphaned, and others they come into contact with, including Korean freedom fighters and Japanese soldiers, through the year 1964.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The setting and time period both interest me, and having loved Pachinko, I was excited to read another saga by a Korean author. But I had a really hard time getting into the book. The narration is very descriptive in a way I, as a limited-visual reader, have a hard time with. The dialog between characters was stilted, though I suspect there were some cultural nuances there that I wasn't picking up on. And then the jumps in time left me wondering what happened to Jade, JungHo and the others in the meantime. All that conspired to make me feel at arm's length from the characters and what happened to them. So while the author does an excellent job of what she sets out to do, showing the tragedy of regular folk dealing with colonialism, war, poverty, and everything life throws at them, as well as the beauty of love and connection between people, it wasn't the right read for me. 3.5 stars.

Happy summer, Mary! I have breezed through the last few threads getting caught up - looks like you've taken some fun trips already! You got me with The Frozen River. I'm pretty sure I got The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches for Marina from someone's recommendation here, and we both loved it.

So nice to see you, Anne! Yeah, I tend to travel in the beginning or end of summer rather than the thick of it, though there's no real rhyme or reason to that. I hope you enjoy The Frozen River when you get to it. Wasn't The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches fun? My co-worker tells me a sequel is due out later this year, I think, so I'll be looking forward to that.

Happy Thursday, everyone! I spent a long, lazy day at home with the air conditioner working its butt off to keep me comfortable in this heat wave. The plumber came out and did not think there was an issue with the pipes in my bathroom (he says I would've seen discoloration on the kitchen ceiling, not the bathroom floor), but as the toilet had a crack in it, he did replace that and give me a new faucet/diverter for the downstairs bathroom - and a warning that the metal tub was starting to rust and would need replacement soon. My list of house projects keeps getting re-prioritized, but isn't that always the way?

The rest of the day, I spent reading and knitting and listening to podcasts. Today, I'm back to work 9-5, planning on going to the gym, and then coming home to leftovers and an online genealogy meeting with the local society that I'm a member of.

Reading: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Listening: radio this morning, we'll see if some albums come in at the library today

Watching: still nothing

Crafting: worked on knitting a Christmas stocking yesterday, though I was in the thick of the colorful pattern of a snowman wearing a green scarf and holding a candy cane, so it was slow going

>134 bell7: I'm glad you found the value, if not the pleasure, in the read...not every book speaks to everyone, as you say, still it's good to see through others' eyes once in a way even when the view's obscured.

Happy Thursday's doin's!

>138 richardderus: It was still worth reading, and I'm glad your review helped me persevere through it. I had been telling one of my co-workers about it and at first I was thinking she wouldn't like it because writing style is her first doorway into reading (mine is character). But upon reflection, I think she - as someone who studied abroad in Korea and studied the language - would know more than I if there were reasons the characters were speaking the way they were, if perhaps some Korean polite phrases, for example, were being translated and in English they sounded stilted to my ignorant ear. Anyway, it's good to challenge myself from time to time, and I'm not sorry I read it.

Good morning, all, and happy Friday! Last night I made it to the gym after work, went home and discovered that the genealogy training had to be rescheduled. I wasn't sorry to have some unexpected relaxation and reading time.

It's still hot today, so my air conditioner is working at taking some of the edge off before I leave for work. I train new volunteers today, and that will take up the bulk of my time.

I'm working tomorrow, too, to help cover for some folks who are out. It'll be busy now that school's out and Summer Reading is in full swing. From there, I'll head out to a birthday party for twins turning six (and have to pick up some gifts for them tonight after work).

Reading: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea and The Bluest Eye

Listening: will start "King of the Delta Blues Singers" on my way to work today

Watching: still nothing; maybe I'll put on a show tonight

Crafting: didn't pick up the knitting yesterday, but if I watch TV I'll work on a few rows of the Christmas stocking too

Not sure how I got so far behind again, Mary. . .

>134 bell7: I've had the ARC on my Kindle for a couple of years and was finally prompted to read it as a shared read for a TIOLI challenge

I use the TIOLI challenges to get unused books in my personal library read. Motivation, right?

Have a fantastic Friday!

>141 alcottacre: June seems a very doable month for me to at least do a sweeplette, if not a sweep, so I've been picking "next books" deliberately. My own sort of tribute to Anita, I suppose. She knew better than I when I'd completed a sweeplette, since my usual approach to TIOLI is "shove all the library books that I planned to read anyways into whatever category they fit"!

Happy weekend! I'm working 9-2 today, so my weekend kinda starts tomorrow instead haha. I'm not usually on the Saturday schedule, but someone wanted it off who couldn't switch and my boss asked if I could fill in. I've got a couple of senior tax folks coming in to shelve, and it's the first Saturday of summer vacation in the town where I work. So it could be very busy? We shall see... it's been a busy week, in any case. Thursday and Friday flew by.

After work, I'm off to a birthday party about an hour away and not sure exactly when I'll get home, but not planning much for the late afternoon as a result.

It was too hot last night to sit in my living room, so I read in my bedroom in front of the AC. The books are treating me well - I finished The Bluest Eye and downloaded a library e-book of The Witch's Heart, which will give me a sweeplette of TIOLI challenges 6-12 when I've finished it. Since I'm off on Monday, this shouldn't be a problem.

Reading: The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec, Poukahangatus by Tayi Tibble and Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

Listening: "King of the Delta Blues Singers" by Robert Johnson

Watching/Crafting: not yesterday; we'll see what today brings

Happy Sunday, everyone!

I'm off shortly, going to pick up some breakfast at Dunkin Donuts on my way to having nursery at church. After that, my brother, his girlfriend and I are off to go book shopping at a cool used bookstore.

Reading: same

Listening: Finished with "King of the Delta Blues Singers" and starting "Modern sounds in country and western music" by Ray Charles

Watching/Crafting: nothing to report

>144 bell7: Havve a lovely, relaxed Sunday, Mary! *smooch*

Your plans for bookshopping sound lovely Mary. Hope you found some bargains.

>145 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I was out and about most of the day, but it was fun times.

>146 charl08: We had a good time and found some good books, for sure, Charlotte. See the next post for my book haul :)

My brother and his girlfriend took me to a "Book Barn" which is a fantastic used bookstore in southern Connecticut with a couple of different locations housing all sorts of different genres of fiction and nonfiction. I had the most fun with the outdoor area we stopped at first, but found at least one title at each of their locations:

Big Fish by Daniel Wallace - on my brother's recommendation, so I'll try to read this soon
Euphoria by Lily King
Lily and the Octopus by Stephen Rowley
Paradise by Toni Morrison
In an Antique Land by Amitav Ghosh (including a hilarious letter inserted in the beginning from a person who had taken it from her friend's condo to read and was returning it after finding out she had a copy of her own)
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys and
Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall

Edited to add: I also got a CD. I couldn't find any Miles Davis, but there was an Etta James Christmas album "12 Songs of Christmas" that I thought would be fun to add to my growing collection of holiday albums

Happy Monday! I'm off today for working on Saturday, and have to get ready for my next dogsitting job. That includes packing, going over to learn the cat's new meds, and going grocery shopping. The rest of the day kind of depends. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might mow the lawn, but considering how late it is when I'm just sitting down with my coffee and breakfast, I'm doubting that will happen. I also really need to read more of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea since it's due tomorrow (I kept putting it down all weekend to focus on The Witch's Heart instead.

Reading: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne and Poukahangatus by Tayi Tibble

Listening: "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" by Ray Charles

Watching/Crafting: nothing, though I am hoping to put on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals tonight

Hi, Mary. Good book haul up there. I loved both Euphoria & Paradise. I always want to read or reread more Toni Morrison but always get side-tracked. The book life, right?

62. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
Why now? It met the TIOLI challenge to have a "color that starts with B" in the title of author's name, it's been on my TBR list as one of the top "most challenged" books in the United States for the past 3 years, and I really like Toni Morrison and would like to read her collected works

Pecola Breedlove is a little girl that Claudia - the narrator for most of the story - goes to school with. Pecola is poor and abused and has so internalized racism that she wants nothing more than to have blue eyes so she can be beautiful. Interspersed with Claudia's more straightforward narrative, we also get the stories of various adults in this small Ohio town who come into contact with the kids and affect their lives.

What happens when everyone outside of you tells you you're lesser, worthless, ugly, and will never amount to anything? That's what Morrison explores in this book, through multiple characters who have all been affected by racism in one way or another. Claudia and her sister have loving parents and stability, but they like all the other kids in their class buy into colorism. Some of the adults, affected by their own pasts, perpetuate trauma on the next generation. We're told early on that Pecola's father rapes her, and a later chapter gives us the perspective of a pedophile. Pecola's story is the most depressing because she has nothing going for her, but everyone is affected to a lesser or greater extent, and no one - or at least no adult - is fully innocent. This is Morrison's debut novel, and you can see the hallmarks of her style, with beautiful language and memorable characters grappling with racism and the difficulties life brings them. It's not an easy or a happy read, but it's worth engaging with. 3.5 stars.

As far as the challenges go... in 2023, ALA received reports of 62 challenges because of "rape, incest, claimed to be sexually explicit, EDI content". Let me be as clear as I can be: this is not porn. There are certainly sexual acts (between married people, and yes, rape/incest and descriptions of pedophilia). Nothing is so descriptive that I would have a problem with my own (hypothetical) 16+ year old reading this.
But that's missing the larger point of the book, which is how the larger society dictating something about yourself - in this case, about race and beauty - affects your psyche. It's something that high school students are, in my opinion, capable of grappling with, and dare I say could relate to strongly in a variety of ways not limited to racism.

>150 msf59: I always want to read or reread more Toni Morrison but always get side-tracked. The book life, right?

Ain't that the truth, Mark? At least we know we'll never run out of good books to read!

63. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
Why now? It fit the TIOLI challenge of a retelling a story from another point of view and was a shared read to boot - got it as an e-book/audio combo from the library

A witch, thrice burned, moves out to the wood at the edge of the worlds attempting to keep herself safe from Odin, who wants her to use her ability to see the future for his own purposes. She renames herself Angrboda and lives in a cave while she recovers, when Loki brings her heart. They start a relationship, despite Loki's nature meaning he won't be tied down, and have children. But there's still the threat of the future and what Angrboda saw - the ending of the world - and her determination to protect her own at any cost.

I'm not super familiar with Norse mythology, but still found myself compelled to read this tale of a mother's love. Angrboda is such a great character, and I loved watching her make her way in a world of gods who wanted to use her and her abilities. Gornichec's writing is so assured it's hard to believe this is a first novel, and I will look forward to reading more by her. 4.5 stars.

Listening report:
"At Last!" by Etta James (1961) - I love her voice. But I didn't add any songs to my playlist, as they were all about relationships (good and bad, getting together and breaking up) and none really stood out to me as one I'd want to hear over and over again. Here's the Rolling Stone description which does capture the album well - it was #191 on the 2023 list. And of course the title song has become synonymous with Etta James herself.

"King of the Delta Blues Singers" by Robert Johnson (1961) - This album, #374 on the Rolling Stones list, came out in 1961 but was a compilation of recordings made in 1936 and 1937. The music was not to my exact taste, but as the Rolling Stone description of it highlights, its influence was broad from Bob Dylan to Keith Richards. If you like the blues, it's well worth listening to, and I'll probably recommend it to my guitar-playing brother, because he'll appreciate it more than I could. (And truthfully, I may listen to it once more through now that I know Johnson is the sole guitar player.)

I've now read all of Morrison's novels, and TBE is among my favorites.

I read In an Antique Land ages ago (pre-LT) and loved it. It would be a good one to re-read (note to self!). I recently found a beautiful hardcover of it at a used bookstore and snapped it up. I like to collect hardcovers of favorite books...

Have a great week, Mary!

>153 bell7: I just put that on my suggestion list for my two-person book club. Sounds good.

>155 katiekrug: I've got a ways to go, but my favorite so far is Beloved. I was intrigued by the description of In an Antique Land and I'm encouraged to hear it was a good one for you. I'll try to remember to give you a heads up when I start it in case you want to reread along with me.

>156 The_Hibernator: I hope you get a chance to read it, Rachel! It was really good.

Good morning and happy Tuesday! I'm about to get breakfast and really get going, packing up the car before work. It's a 9-5 day, and then I'm heading out to watch five labs for the rest of the week.

Reading: Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne, Poukahangatus by Tayi Tibble, and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Listening: "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music vol. 2" by Ray Charles

Watching: I put on the Stanley Cup final last night but admit I couldn't keep my eyes open and turned it off with about 4 minutes left. (I didn't actually miss a goal, Florida held on to the lead)

Crafting: nothing, I was reading in front of the laptop - and I'll pause on reporting anyway because I'm not planning on bringing knitting with me dogsitting this week

>158 bell7: FIVE LABS?!? That sounds utterly exhausting, Mary.

Don't melt. *smooch*

>159 richardderus: It surely can be! Thankfully, they were all pretty cooperative on their after-dinner walks and have been resting in the AC with me this evening.

Happy hump day! I spent the morning being all productive: walked the dogs, got my coffee, ran to the grocery store, did a quick swap of stuff at home (dropped off clean laundry, picked up some refrigerated food I'd left), and finally made an appointment for an annual checkup. Writing it out makes it sound all very busy and complicated, but really only the dog walks took a large chunk of time. I work 12-8 today and am on the desk for 5 of those hours, so we'll see how much I get done that's not, you know, helping people. The night should be pretty quiet, though.

Reading: Poukahangatus by Tayi Tibble, and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
I'm planning on starting Red Paint by Sasha LaPointe today too

Listening: "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music vol. 2" by Ray Charles

Watching: Oh, I have a TV with cable here! I watched Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and Finding Your Roots last night

>160 bell7: May this continue to be the case, brave soul that you are you could use the good luck!

>162 richardderus: Aw, thanks. They are one of my regulars, though it's also the most exhausting job I take.

64. Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
Why now? DUE SOON! at the library (I finished it the day it was due and returned it a day late, oops)

Reyna's girlfriend Kianthe has been asking her for awhile if she didn't want to leave the vindictive queen she guards and run away to start a book and tea shop. One day, after getting injured while defending said queen from an assassin, she decides to do just that. Reyna and Kianthe find a likely spot in a small village to start over and begin renovating a barn for their new venture.

A cozy, queer fantasy inspired by Legends and Lattes. Some folks may love that cozy feel. In here, I felt like the stakes were even lower and the characters more perfect than in Legends. It made it very easy, even when I was mostly enjoying myself, to put it down and read other things. One of the main conflicts (that of Reyna's treason) gets resolved in a way I didn't quite buy into, and the other main conflict (dragon attacks!) are left very open for a sequel. This was originally self-published in 2022 and got picked up by a traditional publisher. I get the desire for a cozy kinda book, but somehow this one didn't hit right for me. Doubt I'll look for the sequel. 3.5 stars.

>164 bell7: I felt the same way about that one.

>165 foggidawn: Glad it wasn't just me!

>124 bell7: I haven't gotten very far with my DNA although I tested way back in the early 2000s on FamilyTreeDNA. I also tested at Ancestry, and Living DNA and downloaded to My Heritage. I've recently signed up for some courses that Diahan Southard offers through Your DNA Guide and have made some progress using her methods. The courses cost, of course, but she does offer free webinars and has also given some through Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

My challenge is that I want to find out about my English roots which is harder because less people have tested in the UK. At Ancestry my results are skewed to my American line but I prefer using their ThruLines tool to find shared matches. I haven't worked much with My Heritage's tools. Best of luck getting your feet wet with this new-to-you tool, Mary.

>167 Familyhistorian: I've been following Roberta Estes' blog for awhile and should probably look through her archives now that I have a better sense of what she's talking about. I can relate to your challenge, as I'm interested in getting American (New York)/English/Irish/German connections, and there was a smattering of that on MyHeritage, but a lot more that I couldn't identify at all because people only had parts of their family tree in there, and I could't figure out our common ancestors. MyHeritage had a lot of French Canadian ancestors for me, however, so I may need to revisit it after I've done more work on that side of the tree.

65. Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble

I never would have heard of this author, an indigenous woman from New Zealand/Aotearoa, if it hadn't been for reading Sasha LaPointe's book of essays, Thunder Song, where she mentions that Tayi came to stay with her during a book tour, I think. Anyway, it made me curious enough to look her up. The author reflects on her culture in this acclaimed collection, first published in her home country in 2018 and published in the US in 2022. I didn't really connect, sometimes not liking the style, but mostly just not getting it because it's poetry. The collection's won awards, though, and is blurbed by Joy Harjo and others, so take that for what it's worth - YMMV. I won't rate it or review it on the work page :)

Listening report - "Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music," by Ray Charles. I liked the sound of this one, but at first was very confused why it was called "country and western," because it doesn't sound at all like country and western. Things were much more cleared up for me when I read about it that he took country songs and gave them a big band/jazz feel. The particular album I got out of the library was a 2 disc set of both "Modern Sounds in Country & Music vol. 1" and "vol. 2" with a couple of bonus tracks. I added "Bye Bye, Love" (the first version I'd heard of this was Simon & Garfunkel's - I guess I should look up the Everly Brothers?), "Hey Good Lookin'", "You Are My Sunshine," "Georgia on My Mind" to my playlist. #127 on the Rolling Stones list.

Happy Thursday! The dogs are walked, the cat medicated (last night was a fight, but today she was hungry and didn't hide under the bed). I'm working 9-5, will go home to walk the dogs and make dinner, and have a genealogy Zoom meeting that was rescheduled from last week. I'm hoping not to be too distracted by eating to learn something from it!

Reading: Red Paint by Sasha LaPointe and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Listening: radio today, as I forgot the CD I got in at the house while running out the door this morning. If I get a new CD in today, I'll probably pop it in, but can't tell you which one.

Watching: nothing last night

>170 bell7: Happy Thursday, Mary. *smooch*

>142 bell7: Hooray on the sweeplette. I recognize your approach to the TIOLI challenges "shove all the library books that I planned to read anyways into whatever category they fit"! since that is what I do, too.

>151 bell7: Great review of The Bluest Eye! It's one I haven't read yet, although I love Beloved. I have to be in the right mood to read Toni Morrison or I get enmeshed in the bleakness of some of her characters. I am tempted, though.

How are you feeling about Red Paint? I will probably add to my library hold list, since it seems like a unique indigenous viewpoint.

I love the stories of your pet sitting. I am gob-smacked by the challenges five labs must present!

>171 richardderus: *smooch* back and happy Friday!

>172 streamsong: Thanks, Janet, on both the sweeplette and The Bluest Eye. I definitely relate to needing to be in the right mood for bleaker stories/characters. I do like how Morrison's writing really carries you along, and at least in some, there's hope amidst the pain. Beloved is masterful, and my favorite of what I've read so far.

I'm really liking Red Paint so far. LaPointe intersperses her own story with the stories of her women ancestors. Her writing is excellent and her story compelling.

Thankfully the five labs are well-trained, contained to one large family room, and are in their kennels when I'm away. If I walk them enough, they're usually pretty chill by the time I'm ready to sit with them and read or watch TV. I walk them one at a time and the whole process takes nearly an hour which is a bit of a challenge to do before work especially. The real challenge this time has been giving the cat her medicine - I have to use a medicine plunger to put liquid in her mouth and she hates it, so one day she hid under the bed and I just had to wait 'til she appeared to nab her. She was so miffed she hasn't been sleeping with me like she usually does lol.

TGIF! Yesterday was a busy day, but today should be a little more chill, and then the weekend is mostly free from plans, which will be a nice change. I'm working 9-5 today, then going back and walking the dogs. I did some food prep yesterday, but might get takeout tonight after walking the dogs, and then I have the evening to read and relax.

I'm still debating going home to mow tomorrow or going to the gym Saturday and mowing on Monday. But that will really be my only outing, otherwise it will be dog walks, hanging out, and reading.

Reading: Red Paint by Sasha LaPointe and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

Listening: "Live at the Apollo" by James Brown

Watching: I put on a little of the debate last night, but couldn't stomach it for long and just went back to my book. It's not like I don't know who I'm voting for.

>174 bell7: I think a lot of folks did what you did...it's not like most of us don't already know who we're voting for. It nauseates me to see 34/45's vile orange visage.

Read/watch hearty this weekend.

>175 richardderus: It's going to be another painful election season, I'm afraid. The books are very good, at least, and with Wimbledon starting next week and the Olympics following, I'll have some good watching ahead of me too.

66. Red Paint by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe
Why now? BookPage first put this on my radar; I moved it up the list after reading Thunder Song by the same author, and fit it in this month's TIOLI challenge to read a book with the letters for "READ" in the title.

Content warnings: references to sexual abuse and rape, description of miscarriage

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is a Coast Salish woman who has always yearned for a place to come home. In this memoir, she explores her young adulthood looking for home and healing, reflecting on her childhood and also the strength of the women ancestors who came before her, particularly Comptia, a woman who survived smallpox and later married a white settler.

I hesitate to share too much detail of the story Sasha tells, because it's masterfully written and there's so much pleasure to be had in experiencing her story in the way she shares it. I expected from the subtitle "The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk" that there would be more about the punk music she loves, but really the focus is on her young adulthood and the process she goes through of coming into her own and dealing with past traumas, both personal and intergenerational. A fantastic memoir I'll be recommending widely. 4.5 stars.

And that, my friends, is my 1900th review posted on LibraryThing.

Happy weekend, everyone! I'm pleased to say I have a lazy Saturday in front of me. One of the dogs hacking away woke me up around 5 a.m., and I got up to make sure there was no vomit or anything... She was fine, just old and wacky, but I let the dogs out for a pee break anyway (I was a awake and had to pee, so maybe they did too...). Went back to bed and got up for the day at 7:30 with one of the dogs barking for food and a little bit of a caffeine headache.

The dogs are now fed and walked, the cat medicated and fed, and I've been spending the last hour plus sitting in front of the TV with tennis on and finishing the excellent Red Paint by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe. The dogs are all sleeping, and in a little bit I'll get them up to go out briefly and then kennel while I go to the gym. I'll stop at home to water my plants on the way back.

That's it for the day - after the gym, it'll be hanging out, reading, and taking care of the animals. I've got sushi takeout from yesterday and bean salad and watermelon cucumber salad for lunch and dinner, and good books to keep me busy.

Reading: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich and I'm hoping to start Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie today.

Listening: just about finished with "Live at the Apollo" by James Brown, and I'll start a new album tomorrow

Watching: last night was Jeopardy and the women's gymnastics Olympic trials; today I have tennis on currently, and I believe the men's gymnastics trials will be on later this afternoon, which I will probably put on as well

Great reviews of The Years and The Bluest Eye, Mary. I have the former, but not the latter, which I'll add to my library wish list.

I'll start reading Knife this afternoon after lunch.

Have a great weekend, Mary. I'm going to have one (a weekend), and think everyone else should too.

      

>178 bell7: Sounds like excellent plans for today. I've been watching the gymnastics too. The men are currently on. Good stuff!

>177 bell7: And congrats on 1900 reviews. That's quite the accomplishment!

>177 bell7: Nineteen hundred is an excellent milestone indeed, Mary! YAY!

Since you clearly need something to do, howsabout you implement your long-hidden plan to disappear 34-45 and his basket of deplorables. I know it's an add-on, but the Scummy Sicks Supremes could go with them, if it's not too much trouble.

>180 weird_O: Well, weird, but I love B&T dachshunds, so thanks.

>179 kidzdoc: Thanks much, Darryl! I'll look forward to your thoughts on both whenever you get to them. I started Knife last night, though got much distracted by dogs and despite having time off work only read about 58 pages. I'm hoping to read more in that and The Sentence this afternoon. (My hope is to finish one or both this month, but it's not likely I'll finish both).

>180 weird_O: I hope you not only have but enjoy your weekend, Bill. I have not had the pleasure of pet sitting a duck, but both he and the dog look adorable.

>181 atozgrl: I did enjoy the men's gymnastics, Irene, and hope I can catch the rest of the women's tonight. And thanks re: 1900 reviews!

>182 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. I won't ever catch up to your review numbers, but it is satisfying to see those round numbers. Next year, mostly likely, should see 2000 even.

>183 quondame: Hi, Susan!

Happy Sunday! I got up, walked the dogs, and medicated the cat before heading out to church. My parents needed a ride home, and that done, I came back to pack, eat lunch, and generally get ready for going home today. When they get back is completely dependent on traffic.

Reading: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich and Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie (hopeful to finish one of these today - both is unlikely)

Listening: "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" by Bob Dylan

Watching: a fair amount, generally of background-noise variety stuff where I'm mostly reading, but I did watch the men's gymnastics and track and field Olympic trials yesterday. I currently have Red Sox pregame on, but my attention span is such that I can really only watch baseball live while keeping score on my little $2 sheet.

>184 bell7: The 2000 Mark is one heckuva milestone, me lurve. On current trends it'll be three years and three months before my next round thousand rolls up. I hope still to be alive and compos mentis and unmuzzled by then. No guarantees, of course, on any of those parameters.

>184 bell7: HI, Mary! It's just past 8 pm, and I'm on page 116 of 209 of Knife, which is superb so far. I might be able to finish it before the Sandman calls, but I suspect that I'll do so tomorrow.

I loved The Sentence, so I'll be eager to get your take on it.

>186 richardderus: Well, here's hoping you will in fact reach that next milestone and more! At my current rate of 120-150 books a year, I should reach 2,000 next year and 3,000 another 6-7 years after that. No guarantees for any of us, of course.

>187 kidzdoc: I did not as far as you last night (I was concentrating on The Sentence and when I would have switched, it was time for me to go home from dogsitting and unpack), but I'm confident I can finish it tonight or get very close, as I have about 130 pages left.

67. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Why now? It wasn't really my intention to read 3 books by indigenous authors in a row, but it was a nice little bit of happenstance. I had started the audiobook on the way to vacation and didn't like how the author read it, but decided to try again on e-book, as it met the TIOLI challenge to read a book with a connection to June (author's birthday, in this case)

For the love of a woman, Tookie agrees to steal a body, only to find she's been set up, as there are drugs under the man's armpits. She takes the fall and goes to jail for some years, then gets out ten years later and starts working at Birchbark Books. When she becomes haunted by the ghost of one of their regulars and then the COVID-19 pandemic hits, George Floyd is murdered, and Tookie finds herself grappling with past and present in her personal life.

This is a bit of a departure from the other books I've read by Louise Erdrich. It's set in Minneapolis instead of the reservation, it's current rather than historical (as it was published in 2021, and the events happen in 2019-20, it's about as contemporary as you can get). Birchbark Books is the name of the independent bookstore Louise Erdrich owns, and the author herself makes a fictional appearance in the book. The book started out very funny and almost easygoing to me, but once the pandemic hits at about the halfway point, the tone gets darker and more intense. It doesn't shy away from the feelings of isolation and confusion we all experienced early in the pandemic, when we all weren't sure how the virus spread and were just figuring things out day to day. This is probably one of the best fictional representations, written in the moment, that I've seen of what it was like to live through 2020. Tookie's own journey to deal with the ghost in the bookstore and her own past make the stakes personal, and the ending is extremely satisfying. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

June in review
67. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
66. Red Paint by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe
65. Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble
64. Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
63. The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
62. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
61. Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
60. The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
59. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
58. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary
57. Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
56. Those Who Hold the Fire by Victoria Goddard
55. The Years by Annie Ernaux
54. A Winter's Promise by Christelle Dabos

Books read: 14
Did not finish: 0
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 2/1/11
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 11/2/0/1

Because I want to awards:
Excellent memoir - Red Paint
Best fictional dive into the pandemic I've read - The Sentence
Childhood book that holds up on a reread - Ramona the Pest
Gripped me from page 1 - The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

YTD stats -
Pages read: 21,735
Avg pages a day: 118
Books by POC authors: 25 (37.8%)
In translation: 7 (10.6%)
DNF: 3

Thoughts: You can see by the number of awards I gave out that it was a really strong reading month. I started a little on the slow side in completing books, but some vacation time and a month with five weekends really helped tick that up in the end. In fact, 14 is the highest number of books I've read in a month so far this calendar year. I read two more books in translation, both from France, to start out the month. Books by authors from the US is up to 39 (58%), but two of those from this month are indigenous authors. I may go back and see what percentage of my reading that has been, in fact. As far as total number of POC authors, the percentage there has a slight uptick, and I'm glad to say I'm keeping it about 33%. It wasn't really a goal of the year, and I don't have a quota per se, but I do try to be mindful of reading authors of color and not just defaulting to white women. It's not only important to me in my own reading, it helps me promote authors at the library who may fly under the radar, not get the publishing oomph behind them, or are otherwise underrepresented.

At the halfway point of the year, it's nice to see that my total reading number of books is about where I would expect it to be. I've read six books from France, so I'm right on my goal for that. And though many have not been in translation, I've read authors from Jamaica, Malaysia (2), Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. For the second half of the year, I would like to see those general numbers continue apace, and I'll try to up the number of books in translation when I read from non-US, Canada or UK countries.

Happy July and happy Monday! Can you believe we're halfway through 2024? Where does the time go?

I'm working 9-2 today, need to do a grocery shopping and want to mow my lawn today. I'm also hoping to finish Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which I didn't quite get to in time for the June TIOLI challenge (it would've been a shared read and a second sweeplette). I never have a very long to-do list on my five-hour workday, but I'll start the day on the reference desk, have a regular check-in meeting with my boss, and will be training a new volunteer. Since it's the start of the new fiscal year, I will place an order for books coming out in July and August, but that will be quick as both lists are ready to go. It's also time for me to start working on an annual report of many statistics for the state, but I will not even look at it 'til tomorrow.

Reading: Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie and The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Listening: I'll finish up "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" today and move on to "Gris-Gris" by Dr John

Watching: I did not get to watch any Olympic trials last night, as the dogs' owners came home early enough that I went home and had no TV. Wimbledon started today, however, so I'll be watching that as much as possible

Happy July, Mary! You have been busy with the books and the music. I love it. I also really liked Thunder Song, so I have wanted to read Red Paint. Glad to see you really liked it. I also have The Sentence on shelf.

I am also glad you have been enjoying some early blues. Good place to start. Hooray for some early Bob Dylan too. One of the greats.

>192 msf59: Thanks, Mark. The books and CDs have been treating me well, it's true. The Rolling Stone list has been a good introduction to some music I have been unfamiliar with, be it early jazz, blues, or Bob Dylan (I've heard of him, of course, but never listened to an album all through).

I hope you get to both Red Paint and The Sentence soon. I think you'll appreciate both.

68. Knowing God by Name by Mary Kassian
Why now? Bible study book

Author Mary Kassian focuses on 35 different Hebrew names for God in this 7-week study. Each week focuses on a different theme: names of deity, character, power, authority, splendor, intimacy, and sufficiency. There are five days of personal study for each week, which can then be used as the basis for discussion in a small group Bible study.

I really enjoyed doing this study. Each day of homework is just a few pages and didn't take long to complete, but also had a lot of depth to it and many Scriptures to support her statements. There are a lot of questions and answers, but she also incorporates drawing, crosswords, and more, to appeal to a variey of learning styles. Many days, all of the verses needed are in the margins, so it's very doable even if your Bible is not close to hand. I'll definitely be interested in doing more studies by Kassian, and on the theme of the names of God. 4.5 stars.

The listening report:

"Live at the Apollo 1962" by James Brown - I'm not a huge fan of live albums unless I'm extremely familiar with the musician or band's catalog, and that's not true for James Brown. Though I do like some of his songs, none of them are included on this particular album. When it was released, it was apparently a huge commercial hit, and you can hear how much the crowd was eating it up (he gets a bunch of women to scream). Brown and the other musicians definitely have a lot of talent. But I had a hard time making out the words, and it's not my favorite of what I've listened to lately. Here's what Brett Schewitz says about it - it's number 65 on the 2023 list.

"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" by Bob Dylan - this was my introduction to Bob Dylan. I know, I know. It's not like I haven't heard of him, or even heard Peter, Paul and Mary cover it (that link goes to the YouTube video of the 25th anniversary concert). But I haven't listened to an album from cover to cover. I liked "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Girl from the North Country". I think he's a talented lyricist and musician (so much harmonica! did not expect that), but I don't love his voice so I think I'll primarily stick to the covers. This was #255 on the Rolling Stones list. It won't be the last I listen to, either, as there's an additional 7 albums on the list.

By the way, I think I've mistakenly called Brett Schewitz's reviews Rolling Stones', but here's a little more about his project from the website I've been linking to, as he listened through the list(s) and reviewed the albums too.

Congrats on 1900 (and counting) reviews!

>196 AMQS: Thanks, Anne!

Gooood morning! I am working 9-5 today and planning on going to the gym from there. I've started work on the annual library report I need to turn in to the state, and that will be my main focus when off-desk and not training volunteers. I already went out and did a little yard work this morning, cutting back a vine that likes to climb up my pine trees.

Yesterday all my plans got too big for my time. I got most of the lawn done before my mower gave out on me and wouldn't restart. I filled it up with gas and oil, but it wouldn't go and wouldn't go. I decided to check it again later and hope everything was fine (I know it could also be the spark plug, but I don't have the right tools for that so would have to bring it in to my lawn mower guy to repair). If it doesn't start tonight, I'll probably ask my dad if I can borrow his mower and finish it up over the holiday, and then figure out getting it fixed. That all finished about 6:45, and I needed to go grocery shopping. So I did a quick meal planning and headed out. Dinner was frozen pizza around 8:30.

Needless to say, that meant I didn't read as much as I planned. I hope to finish Knife and The Game of Courts today, but I promise nothing.

Reading: Knife, The Game of Courts, and The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman

Listening: "Gris-gris" by Doctor John

Watching: went to put on Wimbledon this morning, but they were in a rain delay

>198 bell7: Boo hiss all over obstreperous machinery. I hope you're going to get away with the wait-and-see technique.

*smooch*

Nice review of The Sentence, Mary; you reminded me of how much I enjoyed it (I also gave it 4½ stars).

I finished Knife just before sunup. I liked it more than Joseph Anton, his memoir which covered most if not all of the years Rushdie lived under the fatwa. I'll write a review of it later today or tomorrow.

I'll do my best to finish The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human by the end of the week, so that I can restart Moral Man and Immoral Society around the 7th.

>199 richardderus: Thankfully I did, Richard. The mower started right up tonight, and I am finished my lawn for another couple of weeks.

>200 kidzdoc: Thanks so much, Darryl! I just finished Knife mere moments ago. Wow, what a story of recovery, and what a book. He packs a lot into just over 200 pages. I will attempt to put my thoughts into a review, and will look for yours with interest. That was my first book by Salman Rushdie, and it makes me want to go back and read some of his fiction. Maybe I'll pick up Midnight's Children at the library soon.

If you don't quite have The Song of the Cell finished and want to push out Moral Man and Immoral Society out a little further, just let me know. I pretty regularly have 2-3 titles going at a time, so I'll just be careful what I start in the meantime to balance out the heavier reading that will be. But my hope will be to have enough time to finish Moral Man and Immoral Society by the end of the month.

Just checking to see if you had finished The Game of Courts yet. I will definitely be reading it tonight. Whether I finish it or not? Who knows!

I want to get to Knife at some point. It sounds like a great read!

As far as The Sentence goes, just like you and Darryl, I thought it was terrific.

>202 alcottacre: My Kindle estimates the total read of The Game of Courts to be about an hour and a half, and I've read about a third at this moment. I'm turning my attention to it now, and am hopeful I will finish it tonight.

I do hope you get to Knife soon, and am glad to see you also liked The Sentence. I've really enjoyed most of Erdrich's books, with the exception being Shadow Tag. It was about the dissolution of a marriage and felt like watching a train wreck. Most of what I've read of hers has been for my library's book club, as our group seems to really like her.

>203 bell7: I doubt I will finish The Game of Courts tonight, but I will have it done by tomorrow night for sure. We shall see.

I have also enjoyed most of Erdrich's books as well - a notable exception for me is her 'sci fi' Future Home of the Living God - but I thought The Sentence was terrific and it was one of my "excellent reads" from last year.

>204 alcottacre: No worries, Stasia, I'll look forward to your thoughts when you've finished.

69. Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
Why now? It's been on my TBR list since early this year when I heard through work emails that it was coming out. I received it via interlibrary loan and read it this past weekend along with Darryl (thanks for the joint read giving me the extra push!)

Novelist Salman Rushdie reflects on the knife attack in 2022 which he survived, but with the loss of sight from his right eye. The main text moves chronologically from the day before the attack, Rushdie's memories of the attack, and his recovery, up to about 13 months after. In between these events, Rushdie lets readers in to the workings of his mind, reflecting on knives as tools; on his relationship with his wife, poet Rachel Eliza Griffiths; why he is writing about the event; recovering not just physically, but mentally as he and his wife now deal with PTSD; and even an imagined conversation between himself and his attacker.

Wow. If this review can give a more coherent response than that, I'll be doing well. This book is just over 200 pages, but in it Rushdie manages to cover so much. He grapples with his response to the attack, as he first wants to face his attacker and how his thoughts on that morph over the year since. He shares his thoughts on love, politics (decidedly anti-Trump), religion (not religious and not a fan), and more. His reflective tone, references to literature and art, and beautiful language make this book a pleasure to read, even as it was difficult. He describes concepts in a way that this reader has a moment of recognition, an "of course, that makes sense," such as when he says about his PTSD: "It's hard to write about post-traumatic stress disorder at any time, because, well, there's trauma involved, and a lot of stress, and a consequential disorder in the self. It's harder when two of you, you and your beloved wife, are experiencing it at the same time but in different ways. And it's really hard to do it with one eye and one and a half hands, because the physicality of the writing, its awkwardness, reminds you at every stroke of the keyboard of the cause of your pain" (174). I've never read any of Rushdie's fiction, but I'll rectify that soon. 5 stars.

70. The Game of Courts by Victoria Goddard
Why now? Continuing my joint read with Stasia of Goddard's complete works - this was next on our list

The Cavalier Conju enazo Argellian an Vilius - Conju for short - is alone after the Fall of Astandalas. His family has died, his wild mage lover left, and the paths away from the palace are unsafe. After a year (or was it a hundred years?) of debauchery, he spends much of his time making perfumes. But then he hears through the court gossip that the newly-awakened Emperor has been dismissing his attendants. Conju knows how to play the game of courts, but as he enters the Emperors service and starts to learn who he is as a man, will he break protocol and become a friend?

I so enjoyed this novella focusing on a similar time frame that starts just a little before Petty Treasons and carries on a touch beyond it. Conju and Cliopher get off on the wrong foot, and it was delightful to see the beginnings of how they became the compatriots they are in The Hands of the Emperor and other novels. The "game of courts" after all, isn't just his relationship with the Emperor (and gaining his favor), but also who Conju deigns to be seen with. Goddard told her story in the perfect length for what she had to say, but still left me wanting more. Novel from Conju's point of view? Believe you me, I would snap that up in a heartbeat. 4.5 stars.

I hadn't really been interested in the Rushdie before, but your comments made me put it on my library list.

Happy Fourth, Mary!

>208 katiekrug: Oh that's great, I'll look forward to your thoughts on Knife. Do you remember the conversation we had at a Giants game a couple of years ago where we agreed that our reading didn't overlap much? I've thought of it often because ever since then, I've noticed there are very specific places where our reading *does* overlap with certain literary fiction and memoirs. As a librarian I find this professionally interesting haha. Happy Fourth!

>207 bell7: I reached the halfway point last night and had to get to bed. However, from what I have read thus far, I completely agree with this statement: "Novel from Conju's point of view? Believe you me, I would snap that up in a heartbeat." Me too!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Mary!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I'm working 12-8 today and had a to-do list for the morning, but then I woke up and didn't really feel like doing any of it. I sent an email I'd been putting off looking for help looking for a gravestone and walked up to the local cemetery. By the time I got there, I had an email response, so I was able with the description given and a few photos to find the gravestone of my 2nd great grandparents that I'd only seen once before, and get a good sense of where it is to be able to find it again. So that was gratifying. I walked by to say hello to the Bells too, and took a couple of potted plants on their last legs that I'm pretty sure a cousin left to see if I can resuscitate them in my garden.

At work, I'm in pretty good shape already answering a good amount of the questions for the state report. I will probably start tackling some of the questions that take longer to answer, such as adding up all the volunteer hours and figuring out how many times our local databases were used. Then there's volunteers to keep busy and new book lists to spruce up.

Reading: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Listening: "Gris-gris" by Doctor John

Watching: Wimbledon

>210 alcottacre: Right? His POV is delightful and I love getting into his head for how he likes things "just so." It's different from Cliopher's view of him.

>212 bell7: I agree that his POV is delightful! I will be finishing off the novella today for sure.

>213 alcottacre: looking forward to seeing what you think when you've finished!

>211 bell7: Saying hello to the relatives who just happen to be dead is very on-brand for a genealogist, Mary. Have a happy Fourth!

>215 richardderus: I suppose it is very on brand at that!

>207 bell7: >210 alcottacre: >212 bell7: It took me a day after The Game of Courts was published before I finished it, so I could have been quicker off the mark, but yes, it is absolutely delightful and I'll probably join this month's read. Victoria Goddard is especially good to read when one is a bit under the weather.

Hi, Mary! Great review of Knife; I finally posted my review of it just now. He absolutely needed to write this book before he could continue writing fiction again, and it's great that his lovely wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, chronicled his physical scars using photography; I suspect that she will need to write poems about Rushdie's attack and recovery and her own PTSD, and I hope that she publishes it in book form. I hadn't heard of her before, but I definitely want to read her work, starting with Seeing the Body: Poems; I'll see if my local library systems have them in stock.

I absolutely loved Rushdie's description of their first meeting (ouch!), their very mature love, and Rachel's dogged efforts to ensure that Salman received the best care possible.

I had the great pleasure of seeing Rushdie speak in the auditorium of the Carter Presidential Center after the publication of his novel Shalimar the Clown; for several years he was the Distinguished Writer in Residence in the English Department at Emory University in Atlanta, where I trained as a resident in the Department of Pediatrics. He is a gifted speaker, and I and my companion were mesmerized when he read from his book, as if we were kindergarteners sitting around a librarian during story time. Unfortunately I suspect that he won't ever speak in public again.

ETA: I'm nearly finished with The Song of the Cell, as I'm on page 330 of 379, but I can start Moral Man and Immoral Society whenever you like. If you want to start later this month I could read Why Niebuhr Matters, and I can always read The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store and James by Percival Everett in the meantime.

>217 quondame: I hope you find it equally as delightful on a reread, Susan. As you know, we're still catching with what Goddard's already written, so it will be awhile before I'm ready to purchase and read one of her books the day it comes out :)

>218 kidzdoc: Thanks for your kind words, Darryl. I went over to your thread to see your review, and have to say I thought you did an amazing job. I looked up Rachel Eliza Griffiths's work, too. Let me know if/when you're ready to read her poetry, and I may join you, as my local system has a copy of Seeing the Body that I should be able to get within a few days of requesting it. I agree, their love story was very funny and sweet, and I was glad that the knife attack seemed to strengthen their resolve rather than pulling them apart.

How fantastic that you were able to see Rushdie speak in a public arena. I do hope he will again, but I imagine that it gets harder physically and mentally, even without the attack in the back of his mind.

If you're good to start Moral Man and Immoral Society, I'm still looking at Monday as a good time to re-start it on my end. I can probably plan on up to a chapter a day (certainly no more), and would like, for my own part, to finish it around the end of the month at the latest. But I also tend to read multiple books and trade between them depending on where I am and what format I'm reading (Kindle before bed, for example), and I hate to keep you from other good books you're eager to read.

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans. I haven't gone to any fireworks, and don't plan on going out today, either. I have been getting a lot done at home. I spent a couple of hours this morning in the garden, clearing out weeds and planting a mum and mini rose that I believe a cousin brought to the Bell family grave site (the plants were dying and just would've been thrown out...). We'll see how they like the new spot.

I've met my neighbors behind my house (their house is perpendicular to mine, as I'm on a corner where two streets meet). The man of the house helped me with a driveway last winter and was the one who offered to help me with his rider mower when things got nuts in May. He and his wife and adult son live there. They were working out when I was, so I walked over and said it was my turn to come over and say hello. I invited them to help themselves to raspberries, and at the end of my working outdoors, both she and I were picking and chatted a bit. It's kinda nice to know someone; I haven't run into the neighbors much otherwise.

Since coming in, I got the laundry started, put on the air conditioner and started cooking. I made a loaf of bread with sourdough discard, blueberries and the raspberries, and it came out delicious. Then I made scrambled eggs with leeks and cheese for my lunch, roasted some broccoli, and currently have chicken baking in the oven. I'll give it a break after that, but I also want to make a sausage-and-greens risotto tonight so that I can go to the gym after work tomorrow and not have to cook. Phew! I'm a little surprised I've packed so much in already. I am going to rest some, honest. I've got Wimbledon on, have a good book or two to read, and want to knit some too.

Tomorrow is back to work and on Saturday I'm getting together with my original Little (now in college) to catch up and hang out.

Reading: The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

Listening: nothing, I'm not driving today

Watching: Wimbledon

You're welcome and thanks, Mary! I just requested Seeing the Body: Poems from the Free Library of Philadelphia, which I should receive next week, as three copies of it are currently available.

I can definitely start Moral Man and Immoral Society on Monday, and in the interim I'll try to finish The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by Sunday.

>220 bell7: Enjoy the lovely day, and I'll hope it's a happy one for you.

>221 kidzdoc: I will try to remember to un-suspend my hold on it tomorrow so it will come in next week for me too. By the way, when I was looking for my next e-book to read, I discovered that Moral Man and Immoral Society is only $4.99 on the Kindle, so now I won't have a library due date giving me a hard-and-fast deadline and we can read it whenever we'd like. I would still like to try to finish it this month, but no worries if we don't.

>222 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I have indeed been enjoying the day, and finished a book to boot. I hope your day was a nice one all around. *smooch*

71. The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman
Why now? It was the next in the series for me to read, met the TIOLI challenge to read a book that had been a shared read for the TIOLI challenges earlier this year, and the e-book/audio combo was available from the library when I was looking for that combo

The Thursday Murder Club is back, and this time Joyce, Elizabeth, Ron, and Ibrahim are investigating the murder of an antiques dealer who was in the midst of a heroin sale - and the heroin's gone missing, too.

If you're familiar with the series, you know what you're in for at this point. If I'm being picky, I didn't enjoy it quite so much as the others. There were a lot of moving parts and characters to keep track of. It kind of stretches the definition of "mystery" a little bit in not everything is perfectly tied up at the end, and at certain times the reader knows more than the characters while at others there's critical information revealed that the reader couldn't know anything about, a la Agatha Christie. Or maybe I'm just doing what I often do and reach a saturation point with a series when, as much as I'd been enjoying it, I've read enough and move on. 4 stars.