Mary (bell7) reads in 2020 - thread the 6th

Hello and welcome to my sixth thread of the year!

As Paul (PaulCranswick) will attest, I've only had six-thread years a couple of times and this is by FAR the earliest ever. So thanks for being a chatty bunch and following my crazy reading! It's also been quite the stellar reading year, helped along by COVID closing everything. I'm back at work in the library part-time and working from home part-time, which makes for an interesting mix. I have no idea what the late summer or fall will bring, so I'm done with any kind of predictions of what my reading will be like either. So there.

Last year I started each of my threads with a photo of my niece and nephew. I have not been able to go down and visit them this year, so I don't have any updates. Instead, I thought in honor of Mia's birthday being tomorrow I would re-share some baby pics:


Baby Mia


Baby Matthew

They... wow, they have the same nose. I swear, they don't look this alike side by side now:


This was from October.
None of these are my photos.

One of my job responsibilities is facilitating one of our library book clubs. I'll often comment on the discussions we have since they give me a greater appreciation for what we read together and people have seemed to enjoy that the last couple of years.

We've had to be flexible and moved some discussions online due to COVID. This is what we've read so far:

January - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides READ
February - The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman READ
March - canceled
April - The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - READ meeting moved to 4/22
May - Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict - READ meeting moved to 5/20
June - All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung - READ meeting moved to 6/17

We're taking the summer off, which was planned, and here's our hope for the fall:
September - Stoner by John Williams
October - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
November - The Guest Book by Sarah Blake (originally May - we swapped out All You Can Ever Know because it was available as an e-book)
December - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Right now our meeting room is our quarantine staging area and we've canceled in-person programs for the rest of the year. I'll be emailing my ladies a link to an online discussion for September, and getting books to them via curbside delivery (or possibly in-person appointments when we get to that stage).

A few things I'm keeping track of for myself.

I find a lot of book-related lists, sometimes at work, sometimes not, that end up having an influence on my TBR list. I'll share them here.

1. The 20 Best Books of a Decade That Unmade Genre Fiction in Wired - the article discusses both Ursula K. Le Guin's and N.K. Jemisin's impact on science fiction and fantasy, and ends with 20 recommendations, 10 fiction (many of which, if not all, are diverse authors) and 10 nonfiction.
2. Book Riot's 2020 Read Harder Challenges - with links to suggested books if I actually decide to go through with it.
3. 55 Books by Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020.
4. Non-European influenced fantasy books - from Epic Reads.
5. 100 Best Books by Black Women - ZORA's Canon presents 100 books spanning 160 years and 10 additional "up and coming" authors
6. Jo Walton's Monthly Reading List - A blog where author Jo Walton talks about what she's reading. She reads a lot and she reads widely, and I love the way she both describes books and her reactions to them
7. 6 Books with Happy Endings
8. 17 Summer Must-Reads for Fantasy Lovers from BuzzFeed
9. Anti-racism Book Lists (and more) compiled by Library Journal - June 1, June 2, June 3, June 4 and a few more on June 5
10. Funny Memoirs from BookRiot
11. Productivity books also from BookRiot
12. 2020 World Fantasy Award Finalists - all of the shortlisted novels are ones I want to read
13. Booker Longlist

Roni's list of happy endings books:
The Goblin Emperor
Bellwether and To Say Nothing of the Dog
A Civil Campaign and Captain Vorpatril's Alliance and The Curse of Chalion
Od Magic (and others by Patricia McKillip)
The Wee Free Men (and others by Terry Pratchett)
Island of the Aunts
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (and others by Patricia Wrede)
The Blue Sword (and others by Robin McKinley)
The Thread that Binds the Bones (and others by Nina Kiriki Hoffman)
The Android's Dream
Bryony and Roses
So You Want to Be a Wizard
Dragonsong and Dragonsinger
The Rescue of Ranor
Once On a Time by A. A. Milne
A City of Bells
Howl's Moving Castle and sequels
Pride of Chanur
Way Station
Tea With the Black Dragon
The Bridge of Birds
Snake Agent
Needle
Dandelion Wine
The Perilous Gard
Witches of Karres

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156
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
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116

This year so far, I'm well on pace for 150, which I haven't done in nearly a decade.

Currently Reading
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph. D.

Devotionals/Bible reading
Nehemiah, Luke

September
112. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
111. Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
110. Book Love by Debbie Tung

August
109. Rascal by Sterling North
108. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
107. Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough that Saved Millions of Babies by Julian Guthrie
106. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
105. Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota
104. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
103. The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager
102. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
101. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
100. Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout
99. Good Talk by Mira Jacob
98. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

July
97. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
96. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
95. Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
94. Whale Day by Billy Collins
93. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
92. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
91. How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
90. Lu by Jason Reynolds
89. How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
88. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
87. Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
86. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
85. I Was Told it Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman
84. Witch Hat Atelier vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama

June
83. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
82. The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu
81. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
80. Hill Women by Cassie Chambers
79. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
78. Sunny by Jason Reynolds
77. Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
76. Code Name Helene by Ariel Lawhon
75. All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
74. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
73. Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth
72. Merci Suarez Changes Gears by Meg Medina
71. Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland
70. Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
69. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
68. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

May
67. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
66. Provenance by Ann Leckie
65. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
64. The People, the Land and the Future of Israel: Israel and the Jewish People in the Plan of God edited by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser
63. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
62. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
61. Network Effect by Martha Wells
60. Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry
59. Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
58. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
57. The Overstory by Richard Powers
56. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
55. Alice and Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis by Alexis Coe
54. Weather by Jenny Offill
53. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner
52. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

April
51. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
50. Exit Strategy by Martha Wells
49. Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells
48. Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
47. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
46. Tim Gunn: The Natty Professor by Tim Gunn and Ada Calhoun
45. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
44. Letters to the Church by Francis Chan
43. Don't Believe a Word: The Surprising Truth About Language by David Shariatmadari
42. The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel
41. Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law by Haben Girma
40. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
39. Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
38. Patina by Jason Reynolds
37. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
36. Funny, You Don't Look Autistic by Michael McCreary
35. Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
34. So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
33. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

March
32. Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir by Natasha Trethewey
31. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
30. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
29. Monument: Poems New and Selected by Natasha Trethewey
28. Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
27. The Story of My Tits by Jennifer Hayden
26. The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
25. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
24. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
23. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
22. White Teeth by Zadie Smith

February
21. Shadowhouse Fall by Daniel Jose Older
20. Dad's Maybe Book by Tim O'Brien
19. God on the Rocks by Jane Gardam
18. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
17. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
16. Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
15. Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
14. New Kid by Jerry Craft
13. The Toll by Neal Shusterman

January
12. Ghost by Jason Reynolds
11. Anathema! : Medieval scribes and the history of book curses by Marc Drogin
10. The Poems of T.S. Eliot, read by Jeremy Irons
9. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
8. She Came to Slay by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
7. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
6. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
5. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason
4. The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
2. Bringing Down the Colonel by Patricia Miller
1. The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith

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.

*dusts hands*

Alright, housekeeping over, next one's yours!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Mary! Hooray for Baby Mia! They are both so cute!

Happy New Thread, Mary!

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Mary.

>1 bell7: Glad to get a mention up there and, yes, you are pretty certain to beat your number of threads and posts this year & and probably your books read too!

>2 bell7: Cute little team you have! Happy birthday to neice Mia. x

Hi there. Happy new thread.

Happy new thread, Mary!

>8 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>9 msf59: Thanks, Mark! My niblings are adorable, and I can't believe she's five today!

>10 ronincats: Thanks, Roni!

>11 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

>12 PaulCranswick: Welcome, Paul! Definitely more threads than ever and more books than last year - Still not sure I'll beat my all-time high recorded reading of 156, but like I said, I'm done with predictions on my reading :) And thanks for Mia's birthday wishes. I'm looking forward to calling her this afternoon after work. I took the work-from-home portion off to make that and finishing a dogsitting job a little easier on me.

>13 richardderus: Hi there, yourself! Thanks, Richard :)

>14 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie!

Your latest search-lesson video is very clear and concise. It's a great idea to do these!

Happy Number Six, Mary! I love the Mia and Matthew toppers - they grow up so quickly!

Our library book club is Thursday via Zoom. We're doing a reread for me, Ivan Doig's This House of Sky.

Happy new thread!

>16 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I have a five-minute limit on the free screencast software I use, so concise is absolutely my goal! We still don't get a lot of eyeballs on the videos, but I hope we'll be able to start using them answering reference questions over email - being able to recommend a database and also linking to the how-to video.

>17 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! We're going to be virtual again in September, and in the coming week or so I need to email my ladies and let them know... I'd really been hoping for in person, but it's just not happening at this point since our community room is our quarantine spot. I haven't read The House of Sky, but I hope it makes for a good discussions! We read The Whistling Season and liked it a lot.

>18 foggidawn: Thanks Misti!

I am tired and grumpy and stressed today (I'm sure the first part played into the latter...). So if you have good news or a funny story to share, please give me something to smile about!

Here's mine: I called my niece to wish her a happy birthday, and by the time I did mine was the last gift for her to open. She pulled out exactly what she'd asked for - a bear and a monkey - gave her mother a HUGE hug of delight, and then whispered, "Is that all?" I think she was, in fact, making sure that she had opened all the gifts and not missed anything, rather than disappointment with what she received. They promptly pulled out the slime-making kit she'd received, so I had a front row seat to the chaos of a five- and three-year-old working with stickiness on the living room floor. She wanted to mix all the colors together and seemed pleased with the result.

I'm still reading The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, and I've got a little over 100 pages left, so I don't *think* I'll finish it tonight, but certainly should tomorrow.

Belated happy new thread wishes, Mary.

My Mom sent this video to me this morning and it made me giggle. Hope it improves your day!

>21 MickyFine: Hardly belated only two days in, Micky! Thanks for the video - it did make me laugh, and it was funny to see everyone's reactions too.

I'm still weary today, but I'm looking forward to a weekend of not a lot scheduled, and I think that will help me get my equilibrium.

96. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Why now? It's been on my radar for awhile related to selecting fiction titles for the library, but what finally put it on the TBR shortlist was a panel with the author and it just sounded so fascinating. The library copy was in and I snagged it.

A man wakes up in the middle of the forest. He has no memory of who or where he is, but has one name on his lips: "Anna!" He thinks he witnessed a murder, but someone gives him a compass and sends him east to the manor of Blackheath where he discovers he's Sebastian Bell, one of many guests at a party. Navigating the day and trying to piece everything together is a challenge, but the next day he wakes up... as someone else. A strange man with a plague mask tells him that someone is going to be murdered, and if he can solve it before his competitors, he can be freed from Blackheath. He has eight days.

This complex storyline and twists and turns will leave you reeling. I thought it was brilliantly executed, and brought everything together in a satisfying way. But you may want to keep a piece of paper with the characters handy, as it did get difficult keeping track of everyone. 4.5 stars.

Hard to say much about this by way of a review without covering just about everything in spoiler tags. It's the sort of book where you have a totally different description in your head in the beginning than what you do at the end. I really enjoyed how everything unfolded, but I'm a pretty adventurous reader and I could see this being a tough sell for many mystery readers even though in a sense it has a locked-room mystery feel to it as well. I'd be curious to hear what other readers have to say about it.

>23 bell7: Good review of Evelyn Hardcastle, Mary. I will have to try this one out.

>23 bell7: That one's already on The List but I'm glad to see you enjoyed it.

>24 msf59: Oh excellent, always a good day when I can get you with a BB, Mark!

>25 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky, and I hope you enjoy it when you get to it! I was surprised to see on the work page that it got more mixed reviews.

One more day to the weekend! (Me, count down? Nahhh...) For once, it's a quiet weekend with not a lot planned, other than a trip to the post office and virtual church (I still haven't decided when to go back in the building). I am looking forward to a lot of reading, knitting, and time to myself.

I spent about a half hour between books last night before starting two - Olive, Again, the sequel to Olive Kitteridge that I know many here have already read, and One Crazy Summer, which was a Newbery Honor that I'd already read, but never followed up with the sequels and decided to continue. Since Olive, Again is short stories again, I'll probably only read one or two a day and expect it to take me awhile (ie., a week or a little more). I've already got 25% of the way into One Crazy Summer, and expect it to go fast. One thing I thought was really odd was a difference between the e-book and audio - in the audio, Cecile tells her girls to go down the street to Orchard ("You'll know it by the O in Orchard.") but in the e-book, it's Adeline. I'm really curious about that change - I'm borrowing both from Overdrive, and the release date on the e-book is January, 2010 while the audio is September, 2010.

The other book I'm planning on starting soon is Gideon the Ninth. I'm contemplating bringing a BUNCH of library books back on Monday and starting fresh with a new pile, because I'm starting to get stressed about how much I have out and due in the next two weeks or so. We'll see how much reading I get done over the weekend and if I still feel the same way on Monday, though.

In other news, I had some miscellaneous money left in my budget this month and I did some random online purchases. A couple were fun - a Strange Planet throw pillow and a mug - but the main thing I needed were more masks. I've been getting by at work with two fabric and supplementing them with disposable ones that the library provided so I could get through a week. But yesterday when I sat down and made a grocery list, I realized that I didn't want to go *back* out because I'd tossed my disposable mask and only had one fabric mask left for the week. Very first world problem, I realize. As a result, though, I decided getting a few more fabric masks was a good purchase, and will also hopefully let me spread out my laundry so I'm not washing *every* weekend like I have been. I picked them up after work and will throw them in the next wash, but next week I'll have some new ones to sport, and won't feel quite so cramped if I end up having evening errands. I forgot my grocery list at home today, so it'll be tomorrow's after-work errand.

My knitting has slowed down quite a bit since not working from home full time, but I did finish another baby blanket:



Here's a closer view so you can see the pattern:


I'm pleased with how the striping came out overall, and with an 8-row repeat on the zigzags, eventually I got to a point I had the pattern memorized and didn't need the row counter to know where I was. Now that's complete, I'm working on a couple of hats to match sweaters I already made. I had thought to have a stash of gifts, but I'm dipping into my store already: once I finish this hat, I'll have three completed sets and two are spoken for.

>23 bell7: I really liked the 7 1/2 Deaths... but I gave it to my Dad, who reads almost exclusively Golden Age British mysteries, and he haaaaated it. So, I think your point about less adventurous mystery readers is spot on.

>27 bell7: I've been hand-washing my masks at the kitchen sink directly after wearing and letting them air-dry overnight. However, I also don't wear one every day (I go into work once a week, and otherwise only need them for shopping and other errands), so I can see wanting a larger supply for everyday use.

Lapham's Quarterly ran this lovely illustrated timeline about the milestones leading us to the present moment where books are astoundingly cheap.
https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/how-books-became-cheap
***
Sweet little binky!

Belated happy new thread, Mary!

>28 foggidawn: Glad that was a good one for you, too, foggi. I was describing it to our YA librarian today and she sounded intrigued but said it might be too complicated to read right about now. My work schedule has me going in every week day, plus every other Saturday I'm wearing a mask to in-person visits with my Little. So yeah, a regular need.

>29 richardderus: Oooh, that is a fascinating timeline. Thanks for the link, Richard!

>30 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita, good to see you here!

Wishing you a splendid weekend, Mary.

97. One Crazy Summer by Rita Garcia-Williams
Why now? Decided to reread this one to complete the trilogy

Here's what I said when I first read the book 9 years ago:

One summer in the late sixties, Delphine and her sisters, Vonetta and Fern, fly to Oakland to visit their mother, Cecile, who left them when Fern was just a baby. The girls have grown up in Brooklyn with their grandmother and father raising them, and eleven-year-old Delphine had to grow up fast. Cecile doesn't seem to want them now, either, and sends them to a Black Panthers breakfast and summer school every day to get them out of the house so she can work on her poetry.

If you were following the Mock Newbery Awards before the official announcement of the ALA youth media awards, you've probably heard this title bandied about. A lot of people predicted it would win, so I was not surprised to see it on the Newbery Honor list this year. When I needed an audiobook for my commute and saw it available at work, I snatched it up. I wasn't really sure what to expect. At first I was a little disappointed by the lack of action in the story. The tight focus on Delphine, our first person narrator, and her family made this extremely character-centric. Though 1968-69 was a very intense time, the plot of this story is much more subdued and introspective. The number of historical details expertly laced into the story struck me only after I'd finished the book and started looking in to some of the events and people mentioned. We learn naturally, as Delphine mentions things like her uncle being away, or sorting newspapers. The family interactions, especially between Delphine and her sisters, ring true and were made all the richer by Sisi Aisha Johnson's narration. While I'm not sure it's the type of story that many children would choose on their own (and I'm pretty sure I may not have picked it up without prompting), it would make an excellent read-aloud and discussion starter.

I enjoyed it just as much on a reread, if not more. I mentioned in the review that it was not a book I would have likely picked up without prompting, but that's really changed over the last couple of years and it's exactly the sort of #OwnVoices I've been seeking out the last couple of years. I also had a clearer understanding of some of the comments Delphine makes about the differences of opinion between her grandmother back home and her mother, and the microaggressions Delphine and her sisters experience. None of the characters are perfect, all are complex - even Delphine first comments on a boys "slanted" eye and thinks he's Chinese (actually Japanese and Black), and revises her first impression over the course of the book. I'm looking forward to continuing the trilogy.

>32 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! After a couple of busy ones, I'm really looking forward to a quiet one at home. Only a few errands to run tomorrow, and hopefully a lot of reading happening.

>27 bell7: Ooo, that baby blanket it stunning. It looks so soft!

July in review -

97. One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
96. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
95. Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake
94. Whale Day by Billy Collins
93. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
92. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
91. How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang
90. Lu by Jason Reynolds
89. How To Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
88. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk
87. Packing for Mars by Mary Roach
86. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
85. I Was Told it Would Get Easier by Abbi Waxman
84. Witch Hat Atelier vol. 1 by Kamome Shirahama

Books read: 14
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 4/1/9
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 10/3/0/1

Because I want to awards:
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle for one of the twistiest books I've read in awhile
Entangled Life for winning me over and teaching me a LOT about fungi
Stories of Your Life and Others for some of my favorite short story reading of the year
Salvage the Bones for being an intense weekend read

YTD stats -
Pages read: 30432
Avg pages a day: 143
POC authors: 38
Own voices: 36*

*This discrepancy due in part to reading nonfiction by POC authors; also one "own voices" was a white male with autism - so it's an imperfect measure

Thoughts: After two months in a row of some similar reading break downs (16 books in May and June, both 14 fiction to 2 nonfiction books), my numbers have shifted a little bit. The drop in reading numbers, rather than being because of going back to work and responsibilities growing again can all be laid at one weekend of bridal shower/bachelorette where almost no reading happened instead of finishing a couple of books. I also read a little more nonfiction and one of the four poetry collections I've read this year in July. I'm still going strong adding a kid's book or two by reading Newbery Award and Honor winners. My ratings, again, were mostly positive with only 2 under 4 stars, though one of those - How Much of These Hills Is Gold - is growing on me. At this point of the year, I say with great confidence that I will blow by last year's reading number (116). I'm still on pace to read over 150 this year, now needing 10-11 titles a month to make that happen. As February is the only month under 10 (9), this is starting to look more and more likely even if life picks up speed towards the end of the year. I hesitate to make any prediction about that though. I think all our 2020 Bingo cards are screwed enough as it is!

>35 lycomayflower: Thank you! It is a soft yarn, it was fun to work with. My next project is going to be some catnip mice...

98. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy
Why now? I can't remember where I heard it, but it seemed that it was getting some attention and positive reviews. I was in the mood for some graphic novel reading this weekend, and picked it up from the library's new shelves.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a series of conversations between friends. Instead of reading it from cover to cover, you could jump in almost at random and read an aphorism. The drawings are mostly rough sketches - for example, the horse is often drawn with the lines to create the haunches still showing - only a few have color or appear "finished". The statements are simple, yet true and affirming, and overall the collection gives a lovely picture of a friendship of love and acceptance. A nice, quiet read to contemplate in the middle of challenging times.

99. Good Talk by Mira Jacobs
Why now? It's been on my radar since I bought it for the library's graphic novel collection, but most recently I decided to pick it up because it's on an antiracism list I'm reading through.

Mira Jacobs' memoir starts with difficult conversations she has with her six-year-old son about race. Sometimes what she's trying to say gets interrupted by a knock-knock joke, and other days he asks her hard questions such as is his white father afraid of them. In between chapters of the almost-present-day, Mira includes her own family history, beginning with her parents' marriage and immigration from India to New Mexico, and walking through her own experience sometimes being treated as an outsider in her own country.

This fabulous graphic memoir should appeal to a wide audience. Mira and her son Z both have some hard questions and wrestle with being brown in America. By juxtaposing her parental conversations with her lived experience, readers experience the tension of living in a country with hope for a better future, and frustration with racial inequities that haven't changed and in some ways have regressed. The artwork is a unique mixed media, with backgrounds of photographs of different locations, and black-and-white drawings of each of the characters superimposed over the photographs. I've never seen anything like it, but it's really effective. 4.5 stars.

So much for a quiet day... I did quite a bit, starting off the morning with my coffee and sitting down to read the chapters on the WAVES in two books on the history of women's service in the Navy to learn a little more context for my great-aunt-by-adoption's service. After that, I stuck with genealogy mode and put together some information and a letter to my great aunt (different branch of the family). I had some things to ship at the post office today, and while I was out decided to stop at the store for a couple of birthday gifts for later this month, and the bank. It turned out to be useful that I stopped in the bank - the lobby was open - to deposit my dogsitting money into my business checking. I also wanted to transfer, and since I hadn't used my savings account in awhile, it was inactive. There have been automatic deposits all along, but apparently those don't count. Anyway, that all got sorted out, and back home I balanced my checkbook and caught up on some budget stuff I'd been meaning to do. Then I RSVP'ed to my brother's wedding (got the *official* invitation yesterday, yay!) and made hotel reservations for that weekend. Phew!

I also read the above two graphic novels, so I'm very nearly at 100 books for the year.

And then I knit a catnip mouse.



They're almost as ugly as the real thing hahaha. I'll make a one more soon to have a pair to give my FSIL for her cats, but it's fiddly for something that will probably be destroyed in an hour (I even modified it and skipped the arms and feet altogether), so I'll probably stick with not-mice patterns for catnip toys in the future. It was fun to make a "figure" though. The next big project I expect to start is a sweater for myself. I found a neat pattern I'm excited to try out. I'll probably keep a couple of "easy" projects on the needles for hats and scarves and such so I don't get bored of one thing.

I'd say tomorrow should be quieter, but who knows what projects I might cook up - I have some cooking I want to do, and I might clean the bathroom and I'm finally not working so I have the energy to do it. At this rate, it might be time to take a random day off, huh?

Happy New Thread - #6 - Wow! And you're pushing 100 books, too! Or perhaps you are already there.

>36 bell7: Great list of July books! I'm still slowly working my way through How to Be an Antiracist.

>39 bell7: Good Talk is my very favorite graphic novel.

>41 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! Yep, #100 is still to-be-determined, but I'm most likely reading it right now! (The jury's out on what book I'll finish first...)

I'll look forward to your thoughts on How to Be an Antiracist. I am trying to educate myself more on a topic that I've been privileged enough to ignore much of my life because I'm a white woman living in a predominantly white town, and there's really no excuse for my own lack of information. Good Talk was about a perfect a blend of form, topic and art as one could hope for. Some of my other favorites are Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang, the March trilogy by John Lewis, and Lucy Knisley's works.

Book 100...drug-pushing knits...post officing...you go too fast for me, Mary.

>43 richardderus: Heh, if it makes you feel better all I did today was clean the bathroom, laundry, and knit/read. Back to work tomorrow!

Still well on the way to beating your best reading total for the year on LT as well as being absolutely odds on to beat your posting.

Sure to beat me to 100 books - let's see who makes 150 first!

>45 PaulCranswick: Glad to see you here, Paul! You're on for the race to 150 :D though as I told you, I give up on predicting anything else about my reading this year, it's been such a strange one with the coronavirus that I just have no idea anymore.

Hi, Mary. Happy New Thread!

Love the photos of Mia and Matthew.

I'm glad you liked and gave an encouraging review for The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, as I've been wondering about that one. I've been curious about Gideon the Ninth, so I'll look for your reaction to that one. Finally, like you, I liked One Crazy Summer way back when. I didn't realize it was part of a trilogy.

>47 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! I hope you like The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle if you decide to pick it up. I found it a fun puzzle to immerse myself in. I didn't read as much as I'd planned to in Gideon the Ninth this weekend, but I'm going to sit down with it now for a bit before I go to bed. The sequel to One Crazy Summer is P.S. Be Eleven and came out in 2013, which was just long enough for it not to really be on my radar anymore - I was working full-time in adult services and purchasing fiction, no more children's room work. It really has changed my reading quite a bit over the years, both my growing older (and more active on LT) and in the books that are front-and-center when I'm at work, and I find myself reading more and more heavily in adult books than children's and teen, though there are still some titles I seek out.

Whew, sorry if that was a bit of a long answer there! All that to say, yes, it is a trilogy and one I'm now going back to complete... at some point. I don't like to read too similar books on top of each other :D

It is almost Tuesday, and thank goodness! This was a tough day, I started out very not-motivated and had to find projects to keep me going to work from home this morning, followed by a fairly busy four hours at the library. And then I'd promised my mother I'd bring over a DVD rather than having her wait for a curbside pickup appointment. I ended up visiting outside and socially distanced for awhile, and while it was good to see them part of our conversation was really frustrating because they and I have completely opposed opinions about the coronavirus and steps that need to be taken regarding it. My dad especially gets hot about it and was telling me about the man who died in a motorcycle crash who's death was listed as coronavirus in Florida (which was not according to CDC guidelines and corrected a couple of days later, according to Snopes.com) and that Florida numbers were inflated because testing centers were saying they had 100% positive results (again with Snopes.com, okay so 45 failed to provide negative results between March and July, but it appeared to be private testing centers not clear on the current guidelines, and over 300 centers were correctly putting in the numbers) so we can't believe anything about how many cases there are right now. He also said something about the steps he'd need to take if he went to visit my sister in Maryland and mentioned something about registering or walking around with a band if he was quarantining but... the state left enforcing the quarantine up to individual communities and as of the last department head meeting which I was in, they didn't know yet how they were going to enforce it and were waiting on more guidance from the state. I forgot that until after I got home, and I looked up the others on Snopes because I hadn't heard a thing about it. And I just... CAN'T with the misinformation anymore. I had a discussion with my mom the other day over whether or not masks lowered your oxygen intake too.

UGH. And on that note, I'm going to go immerse myself in a book that has NOTHING to do with the real world. And some of my coworkers wonder why I read fantasy...

>49 bell7: *there there, patpat*

It *will* be better soon. It *will*.

Thanks, Richard. Actually I ended up taking a long break from work this morning to talk it through with a friend, and I'm mentally feeling a lot better now that I did last night. It's still frustrating, but I'm in a slightly better place with it. P

It has been a week, and it is only Wednesday!

I hope everyone is doing well and those in the path of Isaias are recovering after the storm. We had torrential rain off and on yesterday afternoon, followed by wind. A substation the next town over was apparently knocked out, and the town where I work lost power (93% without) around 4:25 yesterday afternoon and most of them still haven't gotten it back (it's now down, hovering between 75-76%). The library lost power, so we finished curbside pickups last night, and tried to go in this morning. I was with power and my boss was out, but directed me to go in for 9 and talk to the town administrator about what we should do, saying that if there was light we could still do curbside. I had the bright idea to leave early and get coffee and breakfast... and 40 minutes later I was finally getting it from the drive through. That'll teach me. So I called work, the phones were out, I called a co-worker, the electricity was out. I called the town admin, he said send everyone home, they don't have to work with the electricity out and those who can will work from home. The plan now for tomorrow is to monitor my email, as the IT Dept should be able to see if they're getting a signal from the building, and tomorrow by 8:30 I'll let staff know if we're working in the library or from home, so no one should have to go into the library only to be sent home.

After work from home today, I took the first walk in my neighborhood in a couple of months, and it felt so good. I'll see how my hip is, but it felt good the whole time I was walking, and I have some stretches now to try if it's stiff tomorrow. Getting back to exercise regularly would be fantastic for my physical and mental health.

I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight, an arugula and couscous concoction that was light and gently flavored enough that I think the next time I make it I'll choose a savory-flavored couscous instead of the plain and add some tomatoes, more cucumbers, and more Feta than the original recipe called for. It hit the spot though, and the leftovers will be tomorrow's lunch. I'm either working a full day in the library (with an hour lunch break) OR working from home, to be determined. If I'm home, I have the library cell phone and curbside appointment book with me (I went in to the library and got it this morning), and I'll be making lots of phone calls.

Friday I'm back to regular split shift (home and work), and Saturday I have plans with my Little.

Electricity is back on at the library! We're doubling up or curbside appointments, so it's a little hectic. So far just about everyone with an appointment today has made it, and some of Wednesdays have come too.

My boss is back tomorrow. It's always something crazy when she's out.

>53 bell7: Glad to read you've got power back Mary. You'll definitely have earned your weekend (and more) when you get there!

Great review of Good Talk - do you think your book group might be interested in it?

I was nodding along to your account of talking to your parents. My dad took some persuading initially to stay away from the shops!

It still makes me a little sad that there's no safe way to fully reopen the libraries and schools. I'm not likely to use the schools, it's true, but the incredible burden of homeschooling AND WFH is going to cause cracks to become chasms in many a relationship. Spend a lovely powered-up day today.

Glad to see you've got power back, Mary. Hope your Friday flies by!

>54 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! I hadn't thought of bringing it up to my book club, but I could try. I slowly but surely am trying to get my community to read more graphic novels. I had an event a few years ago where we had a discussion on Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant, and was really happy when I got 3 people to attend - and I think most if not all said it was their first graphic novel, but they'd be willing to try more. In fact, one attendee checked another one out that night, so I considered it a win. I'm sort of glad I'm not alone in my frustration, though it's increasingly difficult to talk to my parents about anything approaching politics. I'm not really sure when wearing a mask became a political statement *shrug*

>55 richardderus: I hear you, Richard. My pandemic situation has been fortunate in a lot of ways, and not having to juggle kids and other things along with WFH has been a big part of that.

>56 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I'm working in the library 9-5 again, so it's sure to go by quickly.

We were able to catch up pretty well yesterday, at least on curbside appointments. I'm continuing to hold on to the curbside cell phone for the morning while circ staff now catches up on all the people who's books became available yesterday but we didn't have time to call. BUT there are a few open appointments this afternoon and Monday, so we should be in a very good position at the beginning of the week. Our director took today off too, but we have plenty of people in the building and now a curbside appointment every 10 minutes basically feels like a break.

Tomorrow is time with my Little, but I don't have much else planned for the weekend and I'm looking forward to some down time. I started knitting a sweater for myself and the last couple of nights I've felt like knitting over reading. I'm still working on:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
The Writer's Library, interviews with authors and Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (reread)

Hi Mary, baby blanket arrived safely today - thank you! It's really lovely.

Wow - can't believe your boss wanted you to work without power! Hard-core!

I'm glad you avoided the worst of the storm and that you're catching up.

>42 bell7: I've read the March trilogy by John Lewis, and Relish by Lucy Knisley. I haven't read Boxers & Saints. I'll add it to the never-ending list.

Others I've enjoyed include They Called Us Enemy by George Takei and Grass by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim.

And of course, the older Persepolis and Maus

>57 bell7: Sadly, I think everything under the sun is a political statement at this point. I'm even told that not having an opinion on something is a political statement. People are weird, the best thing about the Coronavirus is it's given me a valid excuse to avoid everyone.

Anyway, HI MARY!

Sounds like the arrival of the weekend is most welcome, Mary!

Hello, all my lovely visitors!

>59 charl08: Oh good, I'm so glad it arrived and you like it, Charlotte!

>60 streamsong: Yeah... I'm not sure she knew the extent of the lack of power in town. She was out for a couple of days while a family member had a procedure done (all are well), and I'll see her for the first time on Monday. Ooh, yes, They Called Us Enemy was really excellent. Maus was also fabulous. I remember reading the complete story in one afternoon and ust having to sit quietly after processing for awhile. I liked the second Persepolis better than the first. I have not read Grass and will have to add that to me ever-growing list :D Thanks for the recommendation, Janet!

>61 Ape: HI BACK, STEPHEN! Yeah, it's getting exhausting actually. There are fewer and fewer places we can have a civil discourse and actually listen to each other. I have the curse of being able to understand where someone's coming from even when I disagree, so I feel like on a lot of issues people on either "side" of an argument don't like me much haha.

>62 PaulCranswick: Indeed it is, Paul! I had a good day today, going out for a few hours with my Little, and getting a few things done at home but mostly knitting and reading.

100. Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Why now? Finally getting a chance to read the recent sequel to the Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge. It was on my library stack and I just waited 'til I finished the last short story collection, before starting this one and reading a story a day.

Olive Kitteridge and other people from the small town of Crosby, Maine return in this second collection of interconnected short stories.

Though you don't have to have read Olive Kitteridge to appreciate Elizabeth Strout's character sketches and deft turns of phrase, it is something special to recognize characters that reappear, and especially the complicated relationship between Olive and her son, Christopher, will have more context. Each story is a wonderful slice of life and while Olive is somehow larger than life and prickly, she's a character I love and am interested in. This collection takes her from after her first husband's death, through a relationship with Jack, and into old age with a failing body. 4 stars.

It's hard to say if I really liked it less than Olive Kitteridge, and I think my rating has more to do with my reading mood - right now, I don't think I'd pick up the book again. To be fair, I might feel differently if we weren't in a pandemic and this wasn't a stressful week. I actually kept wondering to myself what Olive would make of 2020.

Other than the graphic novels last weekend, this is the first book I finished in over a week and it's getting to me, too. I hope this isn't the start of a reading funk.

Here were a couple of quotes from Olive, Again that I added to my commonplace book:

"The sunlight was magnificent, it shone a glorious yellow from the pale blue sky, and through the bare branches of the trees, with the open-throated look that came toward the end of the day's light."

"And it came to him then that it should never be taken lightly, the essential loneliness of people, that the choices they made to keep themselves from the gaping darkness were choices that required respect..." (I cut off before the end of the sentence because it started listing character names and didn't make sense out of context).

Congratulations on reaching 100 books, Mary.

Wow, congrats on finishing 100 books already, Mary!!

>66 PaulCranswick: and >67 ronincats: Thanks, Paul and Roni!

>64 bell7: Yay! And a four-star read, too!

>63 bell7: Oh yes! This is something I struggle with a lot. I can disagree with someone but still understand why they feel a certain way. I also have a very strong compulsion to defend someone if I feel they are being misrepresented in a discussion - even if I disagree with that person, but that doesn't fly in the world of social media.

>70 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

>71 Ape: Yeah, exactly. Trying to defend people I don't (entirely) agree with but are being misrepresented in the discussion ends up making me sound like I disagree with people fundamentally more than I actually do.

101. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Why now? Started rereading the series, and my hold on the library e-audio became available. Mostly read the book, though I went to sleep via audio a few nights in a row.

Harry Potter is off again, this time he's on the run when he blows up Uncle Vernon's sister but he gets whisked away by the magical Knight Bus. He fully expects to be expelled, but as it turns out the Minister of Magic is much more interested in making sure he's safe, as the mass murderer Sirius Black has escaped from wizard prison and is apparently after Harry.

The series really hits its stride with this one, which remains one of my favorite of the books AND movies. The characters are a little older, the magical world a little darker, and details start to really be worn into the fabric of the larger narrative, both in terms of hearkening back to earlier titles and laying the foundation for the next. Even knowing the ending, the book holds up to rereading, because you can see the careful planning of each facet and detail in this story and future titles. 5 nostalgic stars.

Alright, so you all know I'm not much for reading poetry, let alone writing it. But I had a thought tonight and put this together:

Grandma’s Sweater

She peered over my hands to look
At my knitting.
“Your tension is nice and even.
That’ll come in handy when
You work on a sweater.”

A sweater, I thought, is far beyond
What I can do
And I continued working on
Yet another baby blanket,
All of my friends getting pregnant
As fast as I can knit.

I started knitting
When Grandma was given two years to live.
Lung cancer, metastasized.
I wanted her to see me doing
Something she loved,
Passing on the family traditions.

I watched videos and learned,
Though she had to teach me a purl stitch,
Carefully showing me how to move the yarn
In front of my needles before making a stitch,
Then taking it out and having me do it,
Every stitch on this first project made by me.

I knit scarves, blankets,
Even a hat. I’d learn something
New and bring it over,
Visiting with my grandparents
And knitting companionably,
Asking for help reading tricky patterns.
She gave me patterns for double knitting
And an entrelac hat, an unfinished project
I inherited when she died.

I knit my first sweater and remembered
Her words,
“Your tension is nice and even.
That’ll come in handy when
You work on a sweater.”

I don’t know when knitting became
Such a strong bond between her and me,
But I think of her with every project.
She’d be so proud
Of the Christmas stockings
I knit with her mother’s patterns,
And that I’m finally tackling
That entrelac hat.

But I think of her most when I knit
A sweater,
Every stitch even,
Every piece sewn together,
In memory of her.
Finally, hours and hours
And months later complete,
Wearing a gift she gave me
Before I even owned the yarn.

I almost started this post with "happy Tuesday," so woo, if that's where my brain's at, this is going to be an interesting day!

I'm leaving right after I post this to bring a dress in for a hem and see if she can make me a matching mask with what's cut off for my brother's wedding. Then it's work in the library 9-1, go home to lunch and a final three hours. I have some ideas of what I can do this week, but I'll wait 'til I get in the building to craft a to-do list so I don't forget anything.

I seem to have finally got into Gideon the Ninth after a bit of a slow start and am looking forward to reading more this week. I also have borrowed the DVD of The Arrival from the library and may watch it tonight. The short story it's based on was really good.

And that's me for now... have a great day!

>74 bell7: - Lovely poem, Mary!

You're not alone. I thought it was Tuesday until an hour after I got up.

Love the poem, Mary--so meaningful!

>74 bell7: That's lovely and touching, especially those last two lines.

>74 bell7: That is a lovely, lovely poem, Mary! That deserves to be published more widely than here. I hope you send it somewhere.

Congrats on 100! You're rocking it!

>76 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

>77 richardderus: Well, *now* it's Tuesday, and when I left I reminded one of my co-workers that it's staff meeting day, so we're not the only discombobulated ones, Richard.

>78 ronincats: Thank you, Roni!

>79 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi!

>80 streamsong: Thanks, Janet! Goodness, it's so personal I hadn't even thought of sending it anywhere, but I thank you for that. I'll think about it.

I'm working on a sweater for myself now with yarn that I took from my grandma's stash after she passed away, so needless to say I've been thinking a lot about her lately.

I feel back to my productive self today - we'll see how long that lasts! I spent the morning accomplishing two rather large tasks, one a state library report, and the other much smaller but still delightful task of figuring out a way to put a patron name/phone number code instead of having the full name for when and if we switch to self pickup for holds. Another library was able to do it and sent me their receipt template so I could see what they did to shorten a name. They selected the last four digits of barcode, but I was able to modify it to do what I wanted. YES!

So now I'm done for the rest of the week, right? No more accomplishments needed.

Just kidding... I have days of feeling more accomplished than others, but I'm finding myself especially this week feeling more like my pre-pandemic self of getting a lot of what I need to done instead of feeling like I'm treading water. I'm also getting back to walking, which I think has really helped with my energy level the past few days. My hip still bugs me off and on, but the exercises and stretches my massage therapist gave me are really helping with the soreness.

I've got a staff meeting later today, some webinars to watch today or this week, and some how-to videos to record and schedule. I wrote out a couple at work today and may work on those for a bit this afternoon.

Happy newish thread and congrats on reading to 100 and beyond, Mary! Sounds like you are having a lot of busy and somewhat frustrating days lately.

I was over a thread and a half behind so caught up on your house hunting news. Amazing the differences in prices between there and here. Good luck with your search.

>83 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! I feel like life has picked up considerably, even though I'm not back to the schedule I had pre-pandemic, and won't get back to it anytime soon. This week has felt good, though, like I'm finally getting back to productivity levels at work and at home that I find satisfying and energizing. I hope it lasts! Oh... and I don't know if I mentioned but the price point I'm looking at is pretty low for my area. It's not impossible, but it's limiting, and I'll most likely find a house that needs some work or isn't in the fanciest neighborhood.

Today and yesterday were hot hot hot, so no walking for me. I watched some webinars I'd been wanting to for work - one thing about not working from home as much is not as much time to stay up on all the "new book" webinars out there. I was feeling really good about my knowledge of summer and fall books coming out, but that will drop off haha. Not by much, mind you - I buy the adult fiction for the library and like to know my sections.

I'm still reading slowly, and finally Gideon the Ninth clicked with me. I have a little over 100 pages left, so I should have something to say on it soon. I've been enjoying author interviews in The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager. When I finish depends on how many interviews I read in a given day - it's usually one or two, as I like to space them out and keep them somewhat separated in my head. It's really delightful, though. And finally, I started Flora & Ulysses for my latest Newbery read. I've read a few of Kate DiCamillo's works and often find them to be like-but-not-love quality. The beginning strikes me in a similar way, but we'll see. I think it's something to do with the narrative voice. In The Tale of Despereaux I felt talked down to and didn't like it.

My latest knitting project is a sweater for myself using some yarn my grandmother had, as I mentioned above. I finished the front today, sewed the shoulders, and am working on the cowl neck. Then the arms, ribbing around the bottom, and sewing it all up will be left, but it's progressing much faster than I would have anticipated.

Oh, I think I forgot to mention that we picked up curbside service to every 10 minutes instead of 15. We can now have 46 pickups a day, 9:10-4:50 (no one at 1 when staff shift changes), Monday-Friday and we're delivering to people who can't come out. Last week when we had the power outage, we had a day or two of catchups on missed appointments (essentially doubling up on Thursday) and didn't call anyone new to let them know holds have come in. We've - well, I say we, but the circulation staff was making those phone calls - has just about caught up on phone calls and we turned on holds notifications today (that I did do, I sent an email to our consortium), so the empty spaces we had are quickly filling up.

We added a feature to our events calendar that allows people to make their own appointments starting Monday, August 17, and some have already taken advantage of that. It'll be really interesting to see if that allows staff to have less time dealing with phone calls and can get other behind-the-scenes work done, cataloging new books and the like. A lot of our patrons still don't realize they can put holds on from other libraries again, as I responded to someone on Facebook who asked AND talked to someone on the phone today - so it'll be interesting to see if and how that picks up in the coming weeks. We're looking at revisiting opening on a by-appointment basis no earlier than mid-September at this point, so at least for the next few weeks I can know my schedule.

102. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Why now? This was getting so much press as a great new inventive speculative fiction title, and I grabbed it off the library shelves on a whim to add it to my stack not too long before the sequel was due to come out

Gideon Nav has lived in the Ninth House all her life where the only other person her age, the Reverend Daughter Harrowhark Nonagesimus, is her nemesis. She's once more failed to escape, but Harrow gives her an intriguing chance to leave the Ninth behind forever: first, Gideon has to act as cavalier to her necromancer in a mysterious test to become Lyctor to the Emperor Undying.

Well. This book has been getting a lot of hype as a grand new fantasy/science fiction mashup with lots of skeletons and irreverence. The story took awhile to get going - I spent most of the first half of the book or so wondering what on earth was going on - but I enjoyed the close third-person point of view giving us Gideon's snark and confusion. Then the second half really took off, with revelations finally making all the disparate pieces come together until I spent the last couple of days finishing it, absolutely riveted. Bring on book #2! 4 stars.

Very, very weird book that will have a niche but enthusiastic audience, I think. I gave it four stars because I don't think I could slog through that beginning again, even though it won me over in the end and I'm sure I'll read the (planned) trilogy.

>86 bell7: Every ten minutes sounds a lot more hectic somehow...logically it's six an hour, not four, but it just *feels* faster in words.

>87 bell7: *popcorn bowl*

Hi Mary! I'm all caught up at last. Glad your family is all doing well, and that your library is being safe.

>88 richardderus: Yeah, it's felt more hectic in reality too. This week we had a couple of vacations, so two circulation folks worked 9-5 all week, and my boss and I mostly took turns with the phone. I think it was helpful for her to realize how little you get done when you have the phone in your hand, having to get up every 10 minutes (give or take a few, as some people are a few minutes early or late, not on the dot). Not so much for right now, because yeah, that's kinda to be expected, but in planning ahead for having some sort of blended in-person appointments AND curbside. Hope my review of Gideon the Ninth doesn't disappoint!

>89 norabelle414: Nice to see you, Nora! We are doing well, though in the continued saga of my brother's wedding, their venue canceled on them and they're now planning on getting married in my parents' back yard on September 27. I think this year has been a real nightmare for my poor FSIL. I'm very grateful for how my library and the town has been handling this whole thing too.

Oh boy, you liked the uberweird Gideon the Ninth! I'll bet you like Harrow the Ninth when its turn in the rotation arrives. It's a similar ride.

And yeah, maybe once will be enough for me as well.

>91 richardderus: I did! I already recommended it to one person and thought of another who might like it. It's gonna be a hard sell with my patrons in general, though. Some of the young'uns like me read fantasy, but the many seniors who frequent our shelves prefer their thrillers and mysteries and while I did buy the Jodi Taylor series (and promptly recommended them to one of our circ staff who I knew would find the right patrons to handsell them too) and got a few people to read them, I will be a little harder put with this one to find the right readers. Ah well, I enjoyed it! And yeah, I'm pretty generous with my star ratings overall, but I reserve 4.5 and 5 stars for re-readable books.

Today was my sister A's birthday, so I called her and video chatted for awhile with her and sister T. It was nice to catch up with her a bit - the kids were gone with their dad, so it was a real chat instead of, well, chaos. Mia is deep in the "why?" stage and asks about all kinds of things. A. told me they had a conversation about why she couldn't play with a blanket that my grandma, her great-grandma had knit. A. explained it was special and if it were damaged, she wouldn't be able to replace it because great-grandma died. "How did she die?" "Well, she got very sick and died." "Why?" "She had cancer." "What's cancer?" "Well, it's when you get cells in your body that don't divide properly and... you know what, she was old and she died." And then she asked, from left field, why great-grandpa lived in a house by himself.

After I got off the phone, apparently my parents called because I got a text from T. "Turns out Mia got grandma confused with great grandma. Mom called and she went, 'But why... is she back?'"

I'm torn between giggling at my poor confused niece who may turn out to have some very interesting ideas about death and sorry for how sad and confused she must have been about my mother dying (she never knew my grandma).

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Why now? Continuing my reading through the Newberys (Award and Honor books), this was one of the 2020 honors, as well as a Caldecott winner, and on the library shelf today

A poem first used in an ESPN The Undefeated presentation, The Undefeated celebrates the history and accomplishments of African Americans, in picture book format.

The lovely flowing language poignantly recognizes the hard history of racism and oppression in our "imperfect Union" while hopefully describing "The sophisticated ones / who box adversity / and tackle vision". The beautiful paintings by Kadir Nelson complement the text perfectly, and include many figures that adults, if not the children they're reading to, will recognize from sports, music, and the civil rights movement. At the end, an Afterword explains the origins of the poems, and there are short biographies identifying each person pictured in the book. 4.5 stars.

I can't bring myself to add it to my total books read for the year. Maybe I'll start another list for picture books.

Happy Friday! I for one am glad the weekend is almost here. It's been a good but busy week, and on my way home from work-in-the-library, I'm running to the post office and grocery shopping before finishing the day with three hours' work-from-home, which will probably be some screencast planning and webinar watching. I have to catch up on some Penguin Random House's Morning Book Buzzes before next week when I can finally watch it live again (webinars in-library are not happening for me right now). Here's their YouTube channel for anyone interested, and if you go through their recorded videos you'll see a recent BookBuzz all about graphic novels, featuring a great conversation between Carmen Maria Machado and Grady Hendrix and much more (it's about 2 hours total).

This weekend, I'm going to a socially distanced outdoor gathering at my church to end "Secret Sister", usually a month to six weeks even that we do back in February/March where we send cards and small gifts to another woman anonymously, and then have a "reveal" where we find out who has been giving to us while we've been giving as well. Which reminds me, I should add two small "final" gifts to my grocery list to pick up for tomorrow. Rather than a potluck, it's bring your own lunch, so I'll have some kind of quinoa or black bean salad ready for that. Other than that and church, I have no plans for the weekend so it will be puttering around my apartment, tidying and cooking, reading and knitting.

I have two interviews left in The Writer's Library, so expect a review on that soon. And Flora & Ulysses won't take me long to finish if I read it instead of knitting tonight. Next up is The Lost Children Archive which I meant to read in July, but better late than never, and Beach Read by Emily Henry for something light. I need to catch up on some e-ARCs that I've received from publishers, too, and I think the next one for me will be Legendborn by Tracy Deonn (upcoming teen fantasy) followed by Good Blood by Julian Guthrie (nonfiction). I can't guarantee which two or three of the four I'll start next, it depends very much on my mood. And also when I finish Flora & Ulysses I'll need a new audiobook in the rotation as well.

>74 bell7: Like! A special memory, well told.

I got a kick out of Beach Read. Light it is, and good pandemic reading.

>95 bell7: As always, Mary, I feel as though I'm a slug sliming through molasses when I read your "ordinary" days.

Happy read/reviewing time ahead!

>96 jnwelch: Thank you, Joe, I appreciate your comments! I'm hoping Beach Read will help balance out Lost Children Archive, which I expect to be good but weightier, so nice to know it fits the bill.

>97 richardderus: I suspect it looks much more impressive written out than actually lived. In reality, my days are putting one foot in front of the other and I might list out things that take anywhere from 30 minutes to hours. The luncheon should be a few hours in the middle of my Saturday, and the rest of my time while it might include some productive-ish things is entirely up to me. Also, taking a vacation during the pandemic made me realize I will find plenty to do when I'm retired. Getting bored will not be a problem. I knew that, but it was nice to confirm it.

103. The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager
Why now? e-ARC offer from the publisher that I took them up on, and I finally picked it up just in time to vote for it in the September LibraryReads (list coming out tomorrow - my review wasn't chosen this month, but we'll see if my vote made a difference!), and finished it today.

Here's what I wrote after reading one interview:

In "The Writer's Library", Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager travel the U.S. to interview 23 different authors in their homes about the books they read. The result is a fantastic collection that gives the reader a front-row seat to warm conversations about reading and how it's impacted each author's writing. Each interview is as unique as the author, with no pre-set questions making them organic and conversational. It felt like sitting with them in their living rooms and listening to them gush about their favorites. And for any readers like me ready to note all a favorite author's recommendations, there is a list of books mentioned at the end of each interview. This is sure to add to your TBR - both of books written by the interviewed authors, and the ones they love!

And yeah, after finishing the 22 interviews (one husband & wife authors were interviewed together), that holds up. It's fascinating to me to read both about the writer's craft and their reading, so this was a really enjoyable book. They pick a variety of authors, and it was interesting to see how similar and different each author's list was - Lorrie Moore gets mentioned a lot, for example, and a couple of authors would disagree about The Great Gatsby. I don't tend to love Nancy Pearl's favorite books, but I do love her enthusiasm for books and reading; it's infectious, and makes me think about why I like to read the way I do. You could see the enthusiasm the authors had in talking about reading, which makes this collection highly enjoyable. 5 stars.

104. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Why now? Continuing reading through the Newbery Award and Honor books - this was a fairly recent Award winner that I hadn't gotten to, and I borrowed the audio and book from the library

Flora Belle Buckham's life changes when a squirrel is sucked through her neighbor's vacuum cleaner and comes out with superpowers - not the least of which is being able to write.

A cute story of friendship - not just with the squirrel, whom she names Ulysses - and a quirky girl trying to find her way in the world. Flora is a self-proclaimed cynic, but that doesn't mean she isn't hurt by her romance-writing mother's misunderstanding her, and the arc of the story has much to do with Flora's relationships with her divorced parents. I tend to like but not love Kate DiCamillo's books; she has a distinct style that clearly many people enjoy, as her books are regularly on the Newbery Award and Honor lists. Maybe I'm a bit of a cynical adult myself for not liking the story more. I don't know why I would believe any more in a person getting superpowers from being bit by a radioactive spider than I would a squirrel getting sucked through a vacuum cleaner. As one of the characters Flora meets says, "There is much more beauty in the world if I believe such a thing is possible." 3.5 stars.

>99 bell7: *lalalalala* can't heeeaaarrr yooouuu

>100 bell7: ugh superpowers

>101 richardderus: Soooo >99 bell7: is a book bullet? Just double checking. And yeah... it was okay, but if it weren't on the Newbery list I probably wouldn't read Kate DiCamillo's works, something about them is just not for me.

>99 bell7: Quoi? Malheureusement, chère Mam'selle, mais je ne comprends pas l'expression "book-bullet."

>103 richardderus: D'accord, monsieur.
*looks side-eyed at Richard*

It's been a fairly relaxed weekend, and I've enjoyed the ability to putter around home and read a rather deliberately paced novel. I'm hoping to make good progress in Lost Children Archive today before the work week starts, as I expect it will be hard to really focus and read this one when I'm tired or have baseball on TV in the evenings. It's very good, though, and I love the writing style. I keep stopping to pause over sentences reflecting on archives and memory. Here's one of the shorter portions I've written down: "If we are forced to produce a story in retrospect, our narrative wraps itself selectively around the elements that seem relevant, bypassing all the others."

Good Monday morning, I'm back to work today and it's the week of working 3 hours in the morning at home and 1-5 in the library. I have to get my dress from the alterations place today, so my plan is actually to work 2 hours (about to start in a minute) at home, run to the post office and alterations, eat a packed lunch at work and probably work 12-5 in the building. Only plans for the evening is making quinoa salad and watching some Bruins playoffs. After a terrible start in the round robin games for seeding, they're looking pretty good and leading the series 2-1.

Still reading Lost Children Archive and haven't started anything else yet (it's also my audiobook-before-bed, though I'm really not making progress that way, it's just to put me to sleep). We'll see if I get in the mood for something else or if I continue with just the one - usually I have about 3 books going at once, but every now and then I do this and just read one in a big gulp instead of spreading a few out over a week.

>100 bell7: I go back and forth with Kate DiCamillo's writing -- I really liked The Tale of Despereaux, kind of liked Because of Winn Dixie, but disliked both The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and Flora and Ulysses. I sort of liked Raymie Nightingale and its sequels, but not enough to rave about them. She has that quirky Southern voice going on, which often irritates me rather than charms me. She does it better than most, but I still have to be in the mood.

>99 bell7: Oh I do like a book about books. Adding this to the list.

I liked Lost Children Archive - or at least I liked a lot of what she said. Definitely interested to hear what you make of it. I loved her essay/ novella about working with child refugees. Or perhaps loved is the wrong word. Thought it was impressive? Terrible subject, but great book. (Tell Me How it Ends). I'm wondering what she'll do next.

I'd not come across the penguin book videos - adding those to my subscription list.

>106 foggidawn: I enjoyed The Tale of Despereaux best of those I've read, Misti, but the reason it was only a "like" for me was that I thought the description of chiaroscuro got obnoxious when it told me "if you still don't know what it means, look it up in the dictionary." Like, I realize kids don't know what that means but my mother used to tell me that all the time and I probably would've shut a book for telling me to do it too. I think I listened to Because of Winn Dixie and have literally no memory of it, so at some point I'll have to read it too.

>107 charl08: Books about books are my favorite, Charlotte, and it's no surprise it made it on the September LibraryReads List (I was very excited to see Piranesi on there, and A Deadly Education made the Hall of Fame, which you can see if you click on the PDF, page 2.) I'm about a third of the way into Lost Children Archive and I find her writing intriguing. The Story of My Teeth is also on the list to read, and it's good to know Tell Me How It Ends is worth a look too - I'd been thinking of adding that. Hope you enjoy the Penguin Random House (my brain wants to flip that to Random Penguin House, but I know that's how right) videos!

Welp, today was as busy as I thought it would be running from work to errands to work again. I brought along Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us to read while I ate lunch, and I finished it tonight:

105. Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota
Why now? I think it was mentioned in a webinar I was watching related to graphic novels put out by Novelist.

Slice of life, autobiographical comics that cover after graduation into young adulthood by authors Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota, along with their various roommates. I found it very entertaining and a good readalike for fans of Adulthood is a Myth. And, yes, there are eventually cats.

Another week, another confused day - I thought this was Wednesday when I started my work day, and this was even after coffee! Oops... anyway, I got my head back on straight, and worked on scripting a screencast showing people how to make their own curbside appointment. I sent a couple of drafts to my boss and an adult services librarian for feedback and will incorporate their suggestions into a final version that I hope to have ready tomorrow morning. I'll send it to the adult services librarian for him to put up on our Facebook page.

One thing that has had a few people confused is that we really didn't expect them to be placing holds and making an appointment simultaneously - best if they get the notification that a hold is available before making the appointment, so they don't accidentally have an appointment with nothing to pick up if our copy is out. So I'm hoping to kill two birds with one stone, explain how we want it done (which is later in the video as an aside) and just show the how-to, to try to promote it to people who would do it on their own if they knew how.

I also started watching a webinar from LibraryReads on antiracist readers' advisory, and I'm hoping to finish that up later this week. Tomorrow morning may be a bit busy with finalizing said video and watching a live webinar I signed up for, and when I'm in the building curbside keeps us busy and popping out of my seat often enough that it's best if I don't try to watch any webinars or get immersed in any involved projects.

This afternoon will be more curbside appointments and - surprise! - I'm going to visit another house after work today. It was kinda a last-minute set up, my realtor is traveling but someone she works with was available tonight for a house that came on the market over the weekend. The house is a bit of a toss up - the photos look nice, but she was concerned that there might be a plumbing issue and isn't hearing back from the seller's agent about that. But it's right in my budget ($154,900) and about 17 minute commute to work. So we'll see. I'm in a weird sort of push-me-pull-me feeling with it, in that there's no rush or deadline for me to be out of where I am now, but I'll go weeks without hearing about any listings, and then the one or two that come up I'm really excited to see.

Hopefully the house is a gooder!

Good luck with the house! May you find the perfect one soon :)

>111 MickyFine: and >112 figsfromthistle: Thanks for the good wishes, Micky and Anita! This was an okay ranch that needed a lot of TLC - most significantly, the basement had been flooded for who knows what reason and mold was climbing up the walls. My realtor is away, but filling in was someone else that I know. As just the second house I've seen, I don't want to put an offer in on something that would need as much work as this does just to make it livable. My price point is... well, very low for my area and limiting. It's not impossible, but I expect this to take awhile and see a lot that I ultimately decide not to buy.

>113 bell7: Ah well. There's always the next one. :)

>113 bell7: Bad luck with the house but as they say......onwards and upwards!

>113 bell7: Mold climbing the walls = insta-reject!

Better luck next time.

>114 MickyFine: Yep!

>116 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, we'll see what the next one brings!

>117 richardderus: Yeah, after paying the down payment I will still have an emergency fund but will not have extra cash lying around for crazy projects like that.

I'm really hoping I could get a house in the $150-160,000 range, which as I've said is low for my area, because I'm very close to a 20% down payment for that now, and I would really prefer to get a 15 year mortgage. I realize this is ambitious and limiting, in more ways than one. It's part of why I started looking now - if something perfect comes up, I don't want to miss it - but we'll see what this year and next bring, if I need to rethink it. And, in the meantime, I'll keep saving. I'm not in a position where I *need* to leave or have a deadline or anything.

Edited to fix my numbering

Another busy week has just about wrapped up. Work has been mostly screencast recording at home and curbside service when in the building. We'll see what next week brings about with at-home work, since I'll be dogsitting and have no idea if I won't have too much background noise to record. But at least I should be able to get all set up with the Wifi and stuff!

I've been continuing slowly but surely in Lost Children Archive and should be able to finish it up over the weekend. I started reading one of my e-ARCc, Good Blood by Julain Guthrie. I'm about halfway and I still can't quite get past the fact that she's decided to include conversations in the narrative, and that said narrative focuses more on two different people - a doctor and a blood donor - than the medicine behind finding the cure for Rh disease in babies. I find all of that a little frustrating. Give me the detail like The Emperor of Maladies any day, I can take it. Anyway. I asked one of my co-workers, formally a journalist, if that was a typical approach for journalists and his perspective on that was helpful, saying yes, some decide to focus that way to make it more appealing, but he seemed to trust my judgment that it may not have worked well.

I got some nice mail today. One was a notice that my jury duty on Sept. 9 was canceled - hooray! Another was a lovely thank you card from my great-aunt in which she expressed her joy in what I was able to send about our family history. I actually have a little more that I so happened to print out at work today, but I forgot it there. It will probably have to wait 'til after I get back to mail out though.

My dogsitting job started yesterday and other than forgetting a few things at home that I'll have to run and get today (my Kindle and some food left in the fridge), things are going well. The dogs are walked for the morning, I got my coffee, and I have laundry washing right now. I'm leaving in a little over an hour to get my Little and hang out for a few hours today. And finally, my church is working on getting a new pastor and I have some information in an email that I want to read up in (namely, how to vote if you're not going into the church and the business meeting next week in person). Other than that and virtual church service, I'm planning a quiet weekend and a lot of reading.

I have about 150 pages left in Lost Children Archive and that's my high priority read for the weekend, as it's due on Monday. Which I say, but between knowing we're checking in everything with "amnesty mode" through Sept. 30 after quarantining items (just went up from 72 hours to a week based on some of the studies coming out about how long the virus can stay on some types of surfaces of library materials), I realize I won't get charged any fines. I just hate seeing them accrue in the meantime.

The other book I'm reading is Good Blood, an e-ARC on my Kindle (the main reason to go get it this weekend), which tells me I have about 2 hours reading left. It's a nonfiction adult (as far as I can tell, anyway, though it reads kinda young) work on how the Rh vaccine for pregnant women came to be, but for some reason the author decided to recreate conversations, a narrative method that put me off from the get go. Interesting story, wish it had been executed differently is what my review is going to come down to, but I want to finish it and reread the notes about her sources before I judge it too critically. It's a middling read, overall.

Hopefully I'll have full reviews for you on both of those soon. I'm still on pace to read a LOT this year, and just for fun I went back through my 2009 threads to see how much I'd read that year (my previous high). At the time I was keeping my graphic novels and manga reading separate from my total tally. I read 156 books and 78 graphic novels/comics/manga volumes in 2009. There's a feat I can comfortably say will *never* happen again this side of retirement. I was out of grad school and underemployed, and thus spent a lot of time reading and on LT on threads and combining and adding to Common Knowledge and more. Still, 2020 is shaping up to be the most reading in over ten years and by far the most active set of threads (in 2009 I was still in the 50 book challenge group and I only had 2).

My reading is struggling, Mary. I seem to have a brick wall and I just can't seem to concentrate on anything.

Wishing you well with the house.

Have a lovely weekend.

Saturday orisons, Mary, and much good, productive activity for the whole dogsittin' time.

>122 PaulCranswick: Sorry to hear that, Paul, and hope your reading mojo will come back soon. My reading has slowed down some, though 8 in one month (3 comics/graphic novels) so far is still not so bad. We'll see what this weekend brings. And thanks, the house hunting will be slow but quite a learning experience, I think.

>123 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I'm about to sit down with Lost Children Archive now, and I'm planning on stopping home tomorrow to pick up my Kindle. Hopefully the doggies will cooperate with my recording a few screencasts while watching them, but we'll see how that goes.

106. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
Why now? She's been on my list with a couple of mentions, one from a Wired article that recommended The Story of My Teeth, and this one as a book to read instead of or after American Dirt for an Own Voices perspective

A family - the narrator, her husband, the boy (her husband's son) and the girl (her daughter) - take a cross country road trip from their home in New York to New Mexico, where the husband is working on a sound project and wants to see where the Apache lived.

Our unnamed narrator reflects a lot on the incompleteness of our memories and our narratives, the stories we tell about ourselves and others that are shaped, rather than perfectly preserved. What stories become history? What do we leave out? At the same time, in the boxes the family brings along with them on the trip and create in memories along the way becomes their own imperfect archive and family history. The reflective writing caused me to read slowly for much of the book, but I was also surprised by the change of gears and at one point was reading almost feverishly to even find a stopping point. Probably as perfectly crafted a book as I have ever read, and one I feel I would have to reread again to fully appreciate. 4.5 stars.

Here are a couple of quotes I saved:

"Conversations in a family become linguistic archaeology. They build the world we share, layer it in a palimpsest, give meaning to our present and future. The question is, when, in the future, we dig into our intimate archive, replay our family tape, will it amount to a story? A soundscape? Or will it all be sound, rubble, noise, and debris?" (29).

"She {Sally Mann} wrote somewhere that photographs create their own memories, and supplant the past. In her pictures there isn't nostalgia for the fleeting moment, captured by chance with a camera. Rather, there's a confession: this moment captured is not a moment stumbled upon and preserved but a moment stolen, plucked from the continuum of experience in order to be preserved" (42).

"What does it mean to document something, an object, our lives, a story? I suppose that documenting things - through the lens of a camera, on paper, or with a sound recording device - is really only one way of contributing one more layer, something like soot, to all the things already sedemented in a collective understanding of the world" (55).

"I suppose that words, timely and arranged in the right order, produce an afterglow. When you read words like that in a book, beautiful words, a powerful but fleeting emotion ensues. And also you know that soon, it'll all be gone: the concept you just grasped and the emotion it produced. Then comes a need to possess that strange, ephemeral afterglow, and to hold on to that emotion. So you reread, underline, and perhaps even memorize and transcribe the words somewhere - in a notebook, on a napkin, on your hand" (58-59).

"If we are forced to produce a story in retrospect, our narrative wraps itself selectively around the elements that seem relevant, bypassing all the others" (62).

"Children force parents to go out looking for a specific pulse, a gaze, a rhythm, the right way of telling the story, knowing that stories don't fix anything or save anyone but maybe make the world both more complex and more tolerable. And sometimes, just sometimes, more beautiful. Stories are a way of subtracting the future from the past, the only way of finding clarity in hindsight" (185-186).

Me, trying to watching something the other day:

I should watch a new TV show. *starts looking through Netflix* Meh, if I'm going to watch Netflix, I should do it on my computer where I already have a profile set up. Might as well choose something I can't watch at home.

*starts looking through Hulu*
That movie sounds interesting, but it's almost 9 p.m., I need something short.
Show sounds interesting... do I really want to watch something new?
OMG they have LOST! But... if I watch it too close to bed, I'll get really weird dreams.

I went with the first episode of the first season of Pinky & the Brain, and now I'm afraid my goal for the week will be to watch all 3 seasons while dogsitting.

>125 bell7: I just can't deal.

>126 bell7: Pinky and the Brain! I loved that show. NARF

>127 richardderus: Yeah, though very good, it was a challenging read and probably a little more "mental" than my brain wanted to take at this point. On the other hand, Beach Read seems a little too frothy. I'm going to give it a few more pages today before I decide that I'm not in the mood and move on to something else.

Also, Pinky and the Brain is, I think, one of the consistently funniest cartoons I've ever seen and sadly underrated/unknown. The one on the Beatles alone is genius.

107. Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough that Saved Millions of Babies by Julian Guthrie
Why now? Catching up on some e-ARCs, this was the next to come out. I think I saw it in a publisher's giveaway for Library Journal's day of dialog or some such event over the last few months.

*E-ARC received from NetGalley with the understanding that I would post an honest review. No money or other goods were exchanged, and all views are my own.*

Australian James Harrison has been giving blood since he was 18, started in part from thankfulness in live-saving blood donations during surgery. Meanwhile, an Australian doctor in New York by the name of John Gorman had an idea in the treatment of pregnant women to prevent Rh disease in their babies, often resulting in stillbirths or miscarriages when the mother's Rh negative blood was incompatible with the baby's positive - the first would be fine, but pregnancies afterwards could be impacted.

The author chose to recreate dialog, a technique I admit immediately puts me off because it reminds me of "biographies" I read as a kid that now would be classified under fiction - such as Carry On, Mr. Bowditch or Amos Fortune, Free Man so I started reading, perhaps, from a hypercritical place. Though I could tell that much of her research was from personal interviews, she never explains in the author's note how such personal conversations or speeches at an event were put together; perhaps the final edition will have a more complete bibliography

Personally as a reader, I was much more interested in medical detail, and thought the choice to focus on both James Harrison and John Gorman, usually switching focus each chapter, muddled up the timeline and made it harder to follow the medical breakthrough that, surprisingly, is complete about halfway through the book. Quite apart from my own personal preferences as a reader, the medicine is made so simple that I found it confusing. As a semi-regular whole blood donor myself, I was really confused as to how James could donate as often as he did, and why the author continuously stressed that Australian blood donations were always volunteer and never paid. It wasn't until well into the book that it's revealed that James's donations were plasma, which made both statements make a lot more sense. A little detail at the beginning about types of blood donation would have cleared that up easily. Besides repeating the fact that Australian blood (plasma) donations are not paid for, the author was repetitive in other ways too. In one instance, in chapter three, a blood donor named Olive is mentioned, who had lost several babies after having one healthy baby girl. Her story is explained as one that James knew. Then later in chapter 7, Olive's daughter Val and James have a conversation in which James learns - apparently for the first time - that Olive has lost seven babies. This time, instead of expository writing it's in a recreated conversation, but it retreads the same ground. I did think that, in the end, Guthrie highlighted James's selflessness and heroism in doing something many of us are capable of: donating blood. The story is there, but the execution left me desiring something more. 3 stars.

You forgot your KINDLE!?!? Mary, you are losing it! Wake up, girl. ;>D

>130 ronincats: The terrible thing, Roni, is I have always been like this, forgetting something (often important) when I went to sleepovers at my friends' houses or leaving my pocketbook behind everywhere. Fortunately home is not far, so I got my Kindle and food from my fridge and all is right with the world (well, okay, I meant to get some things to mail something out and forgot but it's not something that can't wait 'til this weekend either).

>131 bell7: Heh. Ma'at is maintained, she *still* forgot something.

>132 richardderus: Psh, yeah, the question is never "will I forget something", it's "what will I forget, and can I live without it until I get home?"

108. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Why now? I've had Seanan McGuire's October Daye series on my TBR list for awhile, though this novella isn't a part of it - it was part of a free e-book giveaway through Tor that I downloaded, and one that I'd bought for the library, so decided to check it out. I started out with an audio-before-bed, but very quickly switched to the e-book and finished it in less than 48 hours.

Nancy is the new student at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, a boarding school for children - mostly, but not all, girls - who find their way into a door and a new world only to be stuck coming back and not quite fitting in anymore (if they ever did). Soon after her arrival, however, students start dying and all eyes are pointing immediately to Nancy, the new girl, as the culprit. Can she and her newfound friends prove she is not, and stop the murders before the school is shut down?

A fast-paced and entertaining, if bloodier than I expected, story that's the first in a series of portal fantasy. I may save book #2 for when I can read it in one sitting if it's as intense as this one became. 4 stars.

>134 bell7: Seanan McGuire is a good storyteller, isn't she. I enjoy that October Daye series. I may try this one after your positive reaction.

>135 jnwelch: I hope you enjoy it, Joe, and I'll have to move October Daye up the list. The only problem is there are LOTS of books vying for the top spot on the TBR list!

I've attended a couple of virtual programs in the last week or so.

Last week was a "Graveyard Girls" presentation in which the presenter, Brenda, discussed the biographical information you can glean from gravestones for genealogy research. Fun stuff, and at the very end I learned that if you make an account on FindaGrave, you can add photos of gravestones. So that gives me a fun project! I went out to a cemetery in town not far from where I'm dogsitting and have been adding some photographs to memorials. On Sunday, I just kind of wandered at random and looked up names, and it probably took me a little over an hour to add about fourteen photographs. Today, I decided to be more methodical and printed out a list of all the memorials with no photos, and then checked the location against the burial list the cemetery commissioners gave me. That's great, except there's no map of the cemetery, and just a quick code like E-09-NE2 for the plot location. I was most familiar with the "old section", which is simply divided into (very rough) rows 1-18. I missed a few names in Rows 5 and 8 (shockingly, it was easiest to find rows 1 and 16-18) that I'll have to go back for and couldn't find (or read) stones for some names, but after being out an hour to an hour and a half I had... 14 more photos to show for it haha. Oh well, it's fun and it's helping me learn the local cemeteries, which will come in handy for a local history question someday. Then all the new stuff is left, and I'll have to figure out what E and N mean - I think it might be directions/sections with east being to the right of the old section and north above it (the cemetery, oddly, faces north-south).

The other event I attended was an author talk by E. Dolores Johnson. She recently wrote a book called Say I'm Dead, a memoir of her family with a Black father and white mother who married in NY several years before the Supreme Court struck down any laws against interracial marriage. She started researching her family history too, and discovered her mother's family. So now that's on my TBR list too, and I asked our nonfiction purchaser to get it.

I'm currently reading only two books, Rascal by Sterling North for my Newbery Award & Honors project, and My Name is Asher Lev, a book I've had on my TBR list for years due to Stasia's recommendation, I think, and my own book. It fit a TIOLI challenge this month, though jury's out on whether I'll finish it in time for it to "count". I'm going to head to the couch to hang out with the dogs and read a bit this evening. I've been working the 9-1 shift and curbside has kept us very busy - there's space to sign up on the same day, so the morning is often busy with calling people with holds and making appointments.

Heading out in a few minutes to get my coffee and go in to the library for the 9-1 shift. I've recorded a bunch of screencasts that will come out like crazy over the next week or so - most people aren't following our channel, per se, but if we highlight the resource on Facebook, they follow the link. So, the posts are going up in time for us to have an article about a bunch of school resources in the newsletter, and then the librarian who runs our social media can schedule posts whenever he wants to for the various videos. This afternoon, I'm not quite decided what work I'll do from home. I might leave for lunch and walking the dogs and turn around and come back to do some poking around in the local history stacks for more Throwback Thursday posts for our Facebook page.

>138 bell7: The Throwback Thursday thing sounds interesting! Fun to research.

I hope Friday treats thee well, Mary.

>139 richardderus: We have a lot of fun with it, highlighting photographs and more in our collection. We've gone through so many of the photographs that the latest additions I've made are sharing a collection of postcards that I've scanned but not yet officially digitized in our online collections, and I've started going through the Town Reports for gems. You'd think they would be really dry - and they can be - but every now and again a real glimpse of life or fascinating nugget comes through. For example, I found one town warrant that listed an article to be voted on in town meeting allowing women to hold town offices and be paid the same as men. The results of the votes weren't listed in the report, but whether that year or another the answer was "Yes" because several years later, one of the elected school committee members was a woman, and she was paid more than one of the men on the same committee - in 1890. One of the early trustees of the library (1896 was the earliest trustees' report in our collection) was also a woman. I do find it fascinating that they were able to hold elected town offices before they could vote in a national election.

Well, good morning and happy Saturday and hope you all are well! I am back home and thrilled to be so. I've spent a very quiet morning with the bare minimum of unpacking done, coffee and breakfast, LT and catching up on some of my reading tracking. I don't have the energy for much more, though at some point I do need to run to the post office, pick up a prescription and get my laundry clean. That will be a day well spent, I think.

Coming home from dogsitting last night, I was greeted with a mouse in the trap and a hornet hanging around one of my windows this morning. What fun! It's a rainy day but nice and cool after a hot, hot summer so I'll take it. And other than the aforementioned errands, I don't have anywhere I *have* to be. My church is hosting a "get to know" the candidate pastor and his family today that will be preaching (and we'll be voting on) tomorrow, but I'm not going to either. Last week after the service was a meeting with questions for the pastoral search committee, and I watched it all virtually and was very glad I did - people who stayed were spread out, but some were wearing their masks under their noses and others would take them off to speak and ask questions. I was decidedly Not Impressed and have decided that I will not vote in person this weekend (there is a virtual option).

If and when I do decide to go in person, it will most likely be for the sendoff for our retiring pastor and his wife in a few weeks. More people will be there, I'm sure, but hopefully I can avoid the anti-mask groups (it's required to wear during service, in the building, and asked that it be kept on to the car - haven't been to the service, so can't say how people are complying, but one of my friends who's gone tells me they are). There's a cafe seating area outside the sanctuary that fits less people, and I may stay there and slip out early after saying goodbyes. I don't know. It would be a much simpler decision if I knew that people would keep the masks on, but I get the idea that the people who go in person are the least likely to be socially distancing and taking precautions unless forced to. Especially because my brother getting married in late September, I *really* don't want to get sick (with anything, let alone covid) before the ceremony.

109. Rascal by Sterling North
Why now? Audiobook-before-bed, though I fell asleep too quickly so I mostly read the e-book, that was another Newbery Honor in reading through all the Newberys

Sterling North recalls the year of 1918-19 when he raised a raccoon kit called Rascal at the age of 11. In many ways it was a simpler time, and despite the fact that his brother was away at war and his mother had died four years previous, the story has more than a touch of nostalgia as Sterling pretty much has the run of the place while his father works or leaves on business trips. He's building a canoe, having adventures with his animal friends - including a crow and a dog named Wowser, in addition to Rascal - dealing with school bullies, and going to the local fair.

I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up this title, working my way haphazardly through all the Newbery Award and Honor books. I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun this was to read as an older Sterling reminisces about one glorious year and contemplates the changing times of his community and the world at large. Some older children's books don't age well, but this one has a lot of charm and lasting appeal. 4.5 stars.

>140 bell7: That sounds like a fun project plus a great opportunity to make the point that there's always been a need for, and a call for, actual gender parity.

>141 bell7: SMH

>142 bell7: I can understand why this was a Newbery Medalist.

>143 richardderus: Yeah, I have a blast going through the records and finding items of interest. That was one that really jumped out at me.

I would go back to in-person services sooner if I knew people were following the guidelines and/or taking it seriously. I've even been around my SIL "unmasked" (over a month ago now) because we both know we've been limited in our going out and have been wearing masks and taking precautions, so it's not like I'm hiding in fear, but even folks I live with think I'm being overcautious. So frustrating.

Yep, and deservedly so imo. I think I would've liked it as a kid and it holds up well for both older readers and as an "older" book. I actually might have read it before, as the story about the crow stealing his sister's engagement ring and hiding it in the church belfry was really familiar.

>144 bell7: IS THAT WHERE THAT STORY COMES FROM?!?

I must've read that book because I know that story, and it always makes me grin a little when I remember it!

*smooch* you eternal librarian-lady font of knowledge!

>145 richardderus: Yup! Quite a memorable one, isn't it? Glad I could unexpectedly aid in a literary mystery *smooch*

Happy Sunday! I'm enjoying my last weekend day before working two 9-5 days in the library, as my boss will be out both days. Wish me luck, as dramatic things seem to happen when she's out/away. But at the end of the week, I'll have a three-day weekend to look forward to, and I'm planning on taking full advantage of it, watching tennis and reading.

Today's church service had our candidate pastor preaching and a business meeting afterwards to vote on him. I attended both the service and meeting virtually and cast my vote - the exact tally wasn't in, but it was overwhelming enough to announce him as the new pastor. He said during his introduction that this was "the end of the line" for him, and while he doesn't expect to be here for 37 years like our retiring pastor, he may be here for 20. His family will be moving from Kansas ASAP, so how's that for major changes all around in the middle of a pandemic?

The rest of the afternoon has been pretty quiet. I've cleaned the apartment and have started knitting another baby sweater. I just finished the sweater for myself and will have to post a picture soon. I'm very happy with how it came out, but it's just a tad to high for my jeans - I need something a little higher waisted to go with it now.

>147 bell7: The pastor at my church also just retired. They've announced his replacement (I'm not on the board so I had no involvement in the decision) and the new pastor will be arriving in November. Thankfully, he's only moving within the province although even that is challenging right now, I say as someone who bought a house this year. :P

Enjoy your quiet Sunday and I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that your two days as the only responsible grown-up at the library go smoothly. ;)

Happy Sunday knits! I'm always a little jealous of people who can knit or crochet. It's incredibly useful and uses time being productive that otherwise just gets wasted.

*sigh* hands like mine, though....

>148 MickyFine: Oh interesting, seems like something's in the air with pastor retirements, I know of at least one other locally where my mom's brother attends. Your church must be structured a little differently than mine, as we had a search committee and elders vote first (unanimous), and then it was brought to the congregation where he needed 75% of the membership voting yes. Thanks for your good thoughts for the next few days! Just this year, I went to my first department head meeting which involved closing the library to the public for coronavirus, and the more recently the power went out on a day the director was out and I had to call the town admin where he made the call to send staff home for the day. Fun times.

>149 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I probably knit about half the sweater today and now I'm giving my fingers and eyes a break. I imagine it would be very tough on your hands. My mom has arthritis and finds it painful too. I find it relaxing to have a productive hobby which sounds funny, but I think you know what I mean. It helps to keep my hands busy when I'm trying to listen to something too, so I've usually had a small project going during webinars and the like at home.

Here's the sweater for me:



Don't mind the messy desk in the background. You can see the front has a bit of a curve to it - it wants to sit right above my belly button, so I'm gonna need some high waisted jeans...

Edited to add: And by the way, knitting this sweater was the inspiration for the poem written above: the yarn was some that I took from my grandmother's stash after she passed away.

>150 bell7: Yes, exactly what I mean...sit still but not read? Knit! I think it's perfect, time isn't frivoled away.

>152 richardderus: Agreed!

>151 bell7: Love the colour, Mary. Not sure that I could wear anything that sat above my belly-button though!

Oh, that's lovely! Well done! I love those higher-waisted sweaters, but I just wear a longer, fitted t-shirt underneath them (I like the layered look).

>151 bell7: Already liked it on IG, but the sweater looks fantastic!

>154 PaulCranswick: Lol Paul, I imagine it would work well with some body types and not at all with others so that's fair. I have no torso to speak of so my belly button is right at my natural waist and in this case I either need to layer like Amber mentioned or buy a high waist pair of jeans.

>155 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! I would've made the ribbing at the bottom longer, but I used every bit of yarn I had in that color to make it as it is! Let me know and I'll send you the pattern, I saved it on Ravelry.

>156 MickyFine: Thanks for the double "like", Micky! It's waaaay too warm for me to wear now but I daresay it'll keep my really comfy in the winter.

>157 bell7: Oh! What's the name of the pattern - I can look it up on Ravelry and save it to my account.

Hi Mary! Thank you as always for my CARE package. I agree with you...seeing the back of 2020 will be even more fun than seeing the back of 2019 was.

Did you see this Book Riot piece on how librarians invented YA? It's here.

>158 scaifea: It's the Callie pattern available free from Berroco. And should anyone want to "see" my projects on Ravelry, my username there is mbell7

>159 richardderus: You are certainly welcome, Richard! Thanks for the link - how fascinating to learn more about the effect librarians had on the YA market. My maternal grandmother was a Moore, and it makes me wonder if I'm distantly related to the Anne Carroll Moore mentioned in the article.

I smell genealogy digging....

>161 richardderus: Probably at some point. The Moores are a wild and woolly lot (I have cousins that were horse thieves) and there are five different people (who may or may not be related) who came over to the colonies in the 1630s, so depending on how distant said relationship is, it would be a LOT of hunting. My grandmother, were she still alive, would probably be able to tell me off the top of her head if we were. She did extensive research on the Moores.

>162 bell7: I am always gobsmacked at how much information we, the 21st centurians, have at the pads of our i's that would've been a real slog to find before now.

>163 richardderus: It's amazing what's at our fingertips or, failing that, an email away. Makes me even more amazed when I realize how much info my maternal grandmother amassed when it was still a lot of traveling to archives, and letter writing and waiting - I inherited some ancestor charts that she'd typed out in 1976.

August in review -

109. Rascal by Sterling North
108. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
107. Good Blood: A Doctor, a Donor, and the Incredible Breakthrough that Saved Millions of Babies by Julian Guthrie
106. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
105. Our Cats Are More Famous Than Us by Ananth Hirsh & Yuko Ota
104. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
103. The Writer's Library by Nancy Pearl and Jeff Schwager
102. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
101. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
100. Olive Again by Elizabeth Strout
99. Good Talk by Mira Jacob
98. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Books read: 12
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 3/0/9
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 9/3/0/0

Because I want to awards:
Good Talk for a fantastic, thought-provoking graphic novel that's on at least one of the anti-racism reading lists making the rounds
The Writer's Library for a fun collection of interviews of writers talking about the books they love
Lost Children Archive for its beautifully contemplative, elegiac writing

YTD stats -
Pages read: 34,556
Avg pages a day:
POC authors: 42
Own voices: 41*

*This discrepancy due in part to reading nonfiction by POC authors; also one "own voices" was a white male with autism - so it's an imperfect measure. I think it's counting a couple of books I'm reading now as well.

Thoughts: Three graphic novels/comics and some short books help me keep up a high number this month. As a measure of how much reading I've been doing this year, only February and March (9 and 11 books respectively) have been lower numbers, where I usually average 9-11 books a month, and February has been as low as four. So you can see my reading was already trending higher before the pandemic his the U.S. - but it certainly didn't hurt, cutting out a lot of activities that would've filled my time after work. I also started making a deliberate effort for my e-book/audiobook-before-bed combo to be a Newbery Award or Honor book, and you can see that in the number of kid's books I'm reading. I only had three books (four authors) by authors of color, but kept it to a third of my reading. Next month, if my current library stack is anything to go by, should feature a lot of Own voices stories.

Still currently reading My Name is Asher Lev and Genesis Begins Again. I'm enjoying My Name is Asher Lev, I just haven't had a lot of time to sit with it and read a bunch like I'd like to. I bought my hardcover with dust jacket at a library book sale, and upon closer inspection it appears to be a first edition. It's not in pristine condition: there's a tag from "The Book Store" in Birmingham, NY, that appears to be the original sale, as it's gone the $7.95 original price and is dated 5/26/72, another mark in the front cover putting the price at $5.00, probably from another used book store. And finally, I stamped the cover page with my own library mark. So it's got a bit of its history on it, which is more fun to me than being in perfect condition anyway - this way I'm not afraid to read it!

Genesis Begins Again was one of this year's Newbery Honor books. It's good, too, but very intense. The main character, narrator of the story, is dealing with colorism in her own family, plus her father's alcoholism.

I'm about halfway through both, and when I finish them just depends on how much time I have after work this week and how much tennis I'm watching. I'm excited to dive into a few new books I have out from the library, and some of the e-books coming out later this month that I want to hurry up and read & review. Legendborn and Skyhunter are among them.

>160 bell7: Thanks! Also, I've 'friended' you over there. I forget about Ravelry often, but I have an account and try to update it on the rare occasions I do remember.

>167 scaifea: I keep a tab for Ravelry open on my browser, and usually update with any new projects. I won't make a new "project" every time I reuse a pattern, though, so at times like these while I'm using the same baby sweater pattern to just make more in different colors, my feed there will look pretty quite. And I'm not social at all like I am here. But yay for more Ravelry friends, it'll make it easy to share a pattern with you :)

Happy Wednesday - just three more work days to a long weekend! Actually, I feel I should report work has gone pretty smoothly with no major crises while my boss was out these last two days. Curbside has kept us busy as ever, and yesterday two people who had made appointments for today showed up to pick up their books. I'm a little tired this morning from having trouble sleeping last night - I threw off my sleep schedule staying up to watch the Bruins lose in double overtime a couple nights ago and tried to make up for it with extra coffee, so today is back to one cup and maybe being a bit draggy, with the hope that I'll go to bed a little early tonight and sort myself out. Also the US Open has started, so I'll be watching a lot of tennis and am very excited to be able to do that over the long weekend.

That's about it for me - happy day, all!

Woohoo! Glad to hear work was mellow while you were in charge. Fingers crossed the rest of the week flies by until the long weekend. For you and me. ;)

It's an extra joy when the system doesn't hiccup while you're minding it. Splendid Wednesday vibes!

>170 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Hope your work week goes quickly and you enjoy your long weekend too :)

>171 richardderus: Yup yup, today was a fast day, and I've just gotten a week off in October approved, so I'm excited.

110. Book Love by Debbie Tung
Why now? I'd been meaning to read this after enjoying Quiet Girl in a Noisy World last year, but seeing it on foggi's thread recently prompted me to get it from the library, then saved it for September because it fit a TIOLI challenge

This collection of comics is clearly based on the author's own love of reading, and is filled with sentiments any book lover will recognize. I spent a delightful evening paging through it and nodding along with the author. I could've picked pages to highlight almost at random, but here's one that I related to and fit on one page:

111. Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
Why now? Recent Newbery Honor winner that was available as an e-book/audio combo when I was ready for that format

Genesis Anderson has had to deal with her father's drinking, comments about her dark coloring, and - once again- getting evicted when he doesn't pay the rent. Ultimately, she wants to have lighter skin like her mother. The constant colorism from her family and schoolmates becomes pervasive and defining for Genesis, who's internalized it and continued keeping a list of the things she dislikes about herself. But once again evicted, her family moves to yet another house and Gen starts at another school, beginning to make friends and connecting with the chorus teacher.

I had an interesting relationship reading this book. Genesis narrates, and sometimes being in her head was really intense and I needed to take a break. Other times, I wanted to keep reading and finding out what would happen next. There were both sad and hopeful moments in good balance, and I liked the generally positive message the book sends about healthy relationships with parents - especially her mom - and the challenges that come with dealing with alcoholism and negative self-talk. There are no easy answers, and I think many parents/teachers would want to discuss the difficult topics it addresses with kids who are reading it. 4 stars.

>173 bell7: Oh the accuracy. :)

>175 MickyFine: Indeed :)
I basically nodded along with every comic.

I LOVED My Name is Asher Lev, so I'm glad you're having a good experience with it.

Nice sweater you made!

Your review of Rascal was encouraging, as I've thought about reading that one many times. Like you, I wonder whether I already read it as a kid. It's the type I would of. But I plan to read it (again?) regardless.

Book Love was a fun one. My favorite of hers remains A Quiet Girl in a Noisy World.

>177 jnwelch: I'm looking forward to spending some time with My Name is Asher Lev tonight, Joe, and glad to hear it's such a hit for you. I think you'd like Rascal if you (re?)read it. Book Love was fun, wasn't it? It's been so long since I read A Quiet Girl in a Noisy World that I can't really compare them in my head though. Did you know she's come out with a new memoir too?

>173 bell7: Ha! I really like her cartoons. I copied one she published recently about hope to try and remember the sentiment.

(and >178 bell7: I didn't know there was a new memoir - thank you!)

>179 charl08: Glad to be of service, Charlotte! :D I really enjoy both of her other books and hope I can get my hands on the new one soon. It's called Happily Ever After & Everything In Between (no touchstone) and just came out in June.

Hi, Mary! Hope your holiday weekend is off to a good start!

>151 bell7: LOVE IT! The color is gorgeous and the work is wonderful! I'm envious of your knitting skills!

>181 Storeetllr: Holiday weekend is looking good so far, Mary. I got a lot done around the house yesterday and am planning on taking a very relaxing day today with only a few "have to dos" tomorrow. And thanks for your compliments on the sweater! I've been knitting for about ten years or more now, and have a lot of fun with it.

112. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
Why now? It's a book I own and hadn't read, and fit last month's TIOLI challenge of reading a book where I couldn't see the figure's face on the cover. Finishing a little late, obviously.

Asher Lev, artist and painter of the controversial "Brooklyn Crucifixion" looks back on his life growing up as a Hasidic Jew. His father, an important man in their community who travels for the Rebbe, simply cannot understand why his son needed to draw, but even as a young child Asher had a gift. He discusses the experiences leading up to becoming the artist he is, and why an observant Jew would paint a crucifixion.

This is a quiet sort of story, almost a character study, in which I was surprised to find out how much I was invested in the family drama as Asher learns to carve his own path in life and art. I'm sure some references specific to Judaism teaching and thought went over my head, but at its heart it's a universal coming of age story in which a son has to decide whether to be true to himself or fall into line with what his father wants for him. I kept flipping back to the first few paragraphs, which essentially lay out the gist of the story, before Asher explains his family history, his experiences growing up, and ultimately what led to the notorious painting. 4.5 stars.

>183 bell7: That book's been on Mt TBR for years.

I took advantage of it being a three day weekend to carve out a day where I have nothing I *have* to do. Yesterday I slept in a little, got up for coffee and talked to the folks I live with, then went out on an hour hike on some trails up the road from us. My youngest sister is staying at my parents' until my brother's wedding, so I picked her up to go to an open house in the afternoon and visited with my parents outside some. The house itself was cute, two floors with a large kitchen, living room, bathroom on the first floor, narrow stairs up to three bedrooms on the second floor. But it's on a busy street with minimal parking and no yard (literally - there was a patch of grass in the front and narrow area of gravel behind), which would make it extremely hard to have anyone over, and train tracks directly behind the fence. From my parents', I went home to do laundry, clean up the apartment, cook a meal, and watch some tennis. With all that done, today I don't have to cook or clean. I'm planning on virtual church service, knitting projects, and reading.

I finished My Name is Asher Lev last night. My overall takeaway was what incredible storytelling - at its heart so simple, yet so compelling. I'm spoiled for choice in my next read(s) and I'm looking forward to making some decisions about what to start next. Will keep you all posted.

I've been watching as much as I can of the U.S. Open and I'm looking forward to watching a lot today and tomorrow. I'll probably also take another hike - yesterday left me feeling so refreshed in body and mind, reminding me I need to get outside more. The only definite to-do list items for tomorrow is a little more tidying around the apartment and cooking a casserole so I have some easy lunches/dinners for the week.

>184 The_Hibernator: I'm pretty sure Stasia first put it on my radar, and I have the date on my TBR list as 2011... so yeah. It's definitely worth the read, though.

Potok's famous for his start-at-the-heart style. Wasting words is so not his thing.

Your thread is a danger zone for me, Mary. I added Lost Children Archive and Book Love to my library hold queue. I loved Quiet Girl and just realized I hadn't read my graphic novel for the year yet. It's not my favorite type of book to read, but I do love Debbie Tung. She gets me! I also had a long book conversation with one of my nieces in CO last week and she recommended LCA. I had it checked out once from the library and had to return it because I ran out of time. So many books...

I also think your new sweater is perfect for you. I would need a longer version with less collar. It's good to know what inspired your knitting poem. I don't knit but have tried it and can appreciate the work that goes into the finished project.

>187 richardderus: No, his style is the opposite of flowery, but it's powerful for that. I saved this in my commonplace book: "One must not paint everything one feels. But once you decide to paint something, you must paint the truth or you will paint green rot."

>188 Donna828: Oh excellent, glad to be able to add to your TBR list and return the favor ;) I hope you enjoy both, and I'll look forward to your comments. Thanks for your compliments on the sweater - I would've preferred it a little longer myself, but the ribbing on the bottom was the last part and I simply ran out of yarn. I'm still happy with it, though. I enjoy knitting various projects, and love that it's a way to keep family traditions alive.

What a resonant line. Says exactly what it means and stops talking.

>190 richardderus: Yup. I can appreciate a certain amount of finesse with language, but there reaches a point where it's so flowery it gets in its own way. This is the complete opposite.

I'm leaving for work in just a few minutes for what I'm sure is going to be a nutty day after a holiday weekend. After two days (Saturday was busy with catching up at home stuff, leaving Sunday and Monday for lazing) of relaxing, watching tennis, knitting and reading, I'm *almost* ready for that amount of activity!

A few notes on the books I've started over the weekend:

Beyond Colorblind by Sarah Shin is a book a friend of mine and I were going to read together and discuss. We didn't, but I thought it fit in well with my antiracism reading with a decidedly Christian point of view (the subtitle is "redeeming our ethnic journey"). Only a couple of chapters in, I'm taking it slowly and pondering the questions at the end of each chapter.

Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum - the version I have is actually the 20th anniversary edition, and I'm still in the very long prologue (over 70 pages) to this edition. This is one of those books that feels a little like homework - necessary reading and even something I'll be glad to have read, though.

Where the bluebird sings to the lemonade springs by Wallace Stegner is a book of essays I had, and I wanted to read since Wallace Stegner is the author of choice for the Monthly Author Reads that I've fallen woefully behind on. My reading might suffer a little from only having read his Crossing to Safety before this one, but the first essay detailing his growing up in the west in the early 20th century was fascinating.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn is my almost-purely-for-fun book, and I only say that because it's an ARC I requested that I wanted to hurry up and read before it comes out *ahem* next week. Sixteen-year-old Bree has come to Carolina in a early college program with her friend, Alice, but at a school party discovers she can see magical things and break someone's attempt to change her memories. She discovers a secret society on campus that has its origin in the story of King Arthur, and when she realizes that she may have been mesmered before when her mother died, decides to join them to try to discover the truth. Really fun YA fantasy fiction.

And that's it - I'm not quite halfway through Legendborn and that's the only one I really expect to finish this week. I'll be starting Stoner for next week's book club next.

Well, today was about as busy as expected. We booked up for curbside appointments for the day before I left at 1, and tomorrow is starting to fill up too. We had a staff meeting this afternoon that I nearly forgot about, I started a script for a new screencast, and I managed to get some distanced tech done so I *think* a firewall issue I've been having with my computer is going to be fixed when I go in tomorrow. Yay!

I'm going to get myself changed for a walk, make myself a flatbread pizza for dinner tonight, and settle in with tennis and a book for the evening.

Congrats on surviving the first day back after a long weekend. Mine felt particularly long - probably since I've got a week of vacation next week and I cannot wait.

What's on the flatbread pizza? (between here and Katie's thread it's nothing but pizza on LT lately ;))

Hi, Mary. i hope you had a fine holiday weekend. I also loved Asher Lev and I have the Stegner essay collection on the list. I love his work and this looks like a good fit for me.

>193 bell7: Survived! Survived! Yay.

>194 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Sorry your day was long, but hope the week flies by and you enjoy your vacation! I'd give Katie's thread credit, but I already had the fixings - shrimp and artichoke hearts with shredded mozzarella cheese :)

>195 msf59: Thanks, Mark, it was a perfect mix of getting things done and relaxing! Nice to see another fan of Asher Lev. I'll have to read the sequel one of these days too. Based on my early reading, I think you'll like the Stegner essays.

>196 richardderus: Yes indeed! Day after a holiday is always pretty intense. My boss worked a full day, so the two of us filled curbside appointments first thing - we're the only two who get the emails, which makes life interesting when trying to take a lunch break or patrons make an appointment 10 minutes before showing up (neither of which happened today, thankfully!).

One thing that's been completely shocking to me is realizing how many of our library patrons pick up books on a whim because they see them on the new shelves. There are so many books sitting there that I know would go out if people knew of them. I bought two copies of The Exiles and there were no holds on its shelf date (I'm pretty sure staff ended up taking them home), and of the two copies of Anxious People there was only one hold and the other sits on the shelf as we speak. If it weren't for the fact that my nightstand is packed with library books, a couple of my own books, and some ARCs right now, I'd take a bunch of them home to read myself.

>198 bell7: I'm finding it a bit odd going back to browsing - most of my books were requests, and I'd just nip in and pick them up off the requests shelf. Hope those new books find a home soon...

>198 bell7: You should offer an extra service where you check the patrons out a librarian-selected extra book, if they opt in

>198 bell7: Oh yeah, when I was actually using the library most of the books I came home with were ones I picked up because they stuck out to me as I was browsing the shelves. I guess it goes to show what kind of an impact you can have on people's reading habits by how you display the books. :P

>199 charl08: Some people do use the library that way, Charlotte, and we are kept hopping with curbside service. My director said that our circulation for August was about 40% what it was last year, and I would guess that while physical circ went down, e-books have gone up. But I don't think people are finding out about new titles on their own, which makes me sad.

>200 norabelle414: Oooh, I like the idea of adding "just one book", I'll have to think about that. We've had really successful "grab bags" for kids and teens, less so on readers' advisory for adults. But I did have one caller today who wanted audiobooks for a pickup tomorrow, and I told her I'd just load up with a bunch of selections and a form she could turn it to let us know what she was interested in reading. We've also started a monthly "BookStack" email that will start on the 15th and me and one of the circ folks who loves readers' advisory and displays are going to work on putting together titles, book lists, and staff recommendations together every month. A couple of staff members have already signed up!

>201 Ape: Yup, and though it's sad to see the forlorn books right now, it gives me some freedom to go ahead and buy the midlist titles I want to without worrying that I'm selling our patrons short - in a way, they're reading what I put out in front of them.

Edited to add:
I will say, a huge plus of this has been being able to cut down on the number of James Patterson copies ordered and nobody has noticed. More money for more books!

a huge plus of this has been being able to cut down on the number of James Patterson copies ordered

Hallelujah! He's got a couple new true crime books coming out this fall and I weep every time knowing how many I'll have to order just because they have his name on them.

>203 MickyFine: I had already cut down late last year, getting 2 copies instead of 3 of everything. Now, I'm ordering 2 copies of his popular series (Alex Cross, Women's Murder, etc.) and one of everything else. I also used to order 2 copies of every Fern Michaels book, and her last book that I just took off the new shelf never went out, either copy. I weep, and yet so much potential for more book buying.

>204 bell7: Our library system maintains holds ratios for both physical (5:1) and digital (in flux with COVID but ideally 8:1) titles so we end up with SO MANY copies of all things Patterson.

>205 MickyFine: I'm not sure what our digital ratio is since I've never bought the e-books, but our ideal holds ratio for physical is 3:1, 6:2 and 11:3. I usually ignore backlist titles that I'm sure are book club picks, but if there are getting to be 4-5 holds I start eyeing a second copy. The Patterson titles weren't showing up on my "high demands holds list" with high enough ratios to justify buying more than two, so I think even pre-covid demand was going down as patrons figured out particular series or co-authors they wanted to read. Now, I think patrons have been really out of the loop and just don't know about the newest titles. Or maybe aren't feeling reading right now, too - school is going to be part-virtual to start with, so I bet there's a lot of stress and other stuff going on in their lives. I'm so book-centric between how I spend my free time and my job (and I've had so much time for all the webinars about all the new books) that I'm over hear going, "How haven't they heard of this book???" But I don't think that's their reality, really.

View hallooooooo

Too bad about the location of the last house, Mary. It sounded like a good one. I didn't know that Debbie Tung had a new book out. Amazing and dangerous the things you can pick up on the LT threads.

>202 bell7: Lol re the JP orders. Our library has reopened completely and I managed to rock up during their lunch hour - a face palm moment!

>206 bell7: I feel that way a lot of times: "how haven't they heard of such-and-such." I need to remind myself sometimes that I have a very different lifestyle and interests than other people, and just because I've heard of something over and over doesn't mean others have. Then sometimes I assume that they know too little, and get in trouble that way. :)

>207 richardderus: Hallooooo. No foxes on my thread anymore, I think we may have flushed them out.

>208 Familyhistorian: It's alright, Meg. I felt pretty confident walking out that it was not the one, and each time has been a learning experience for me about what I like, what I decide I can't live with, and what I can live with given the right conditions - for example, I could have a small house footprint, but if so a yard is a necessity. Not something I'd really thought about until I started looking. I'm actually eyeing one now that I can't see until an open house on Sunday. *Fingers crossed*

>209 charl08: Ah yes, Charlotte, the danger of our eyes being too big than our...oh wait. I've had a lot of my holds come in over the last few weeks, so I have quite the stack going as well.

>210 The_Hibernator: Yeah, Rachel, I'm buying these books two months in advance so I always know what's coming, and even more so now that I've been watching a lot of publisher's book buzz webinars during work from home. We have a double whammy of, first, a lot of books that we purchased in the spring didn't show up until we reopened for staff in June, and a lot of publishing dates pushed back to fall, so a glut of new books. And I also didn't realize how much was word of mouth. If we're interacting with someone at the desk checking out books, "Oh, did you know the third book in that trilogy comes out in October? I can put a hold on it now if you want!" And the same for the regular patrons who love a particular author and ask for the "newest" book, I can put the one from last year, but ooh, here's one we're ordering want that one too? And we have a couple of patrons who are super up on new books they want to read and have a regular holds list, or who have signed up for our weekly emails of new books and put holds on as soon as they see the titles, but that's not how most operate. I've also gotten into trouble assuming someone wouldn't know. Some really impress me with how savvy they are with technology or keeping up on new titles or other things.

>202 bell7: >203 MickyFine: My colleague who orders the adult fiction refers to JP as He Who Must Not Be Named. She detests the man.

>212 foggidawn: My husband and I started rewatching Castle this past weekend and JP does a cameo in Castle's poker game a couple times. I groaned when he came on screen. :P

I love those "Oh, did you know the third book in that trilogy comes out in October? I can put a hold on it now if you want!"conversations. There are a couple of librarians at my branch who are big readers and they make my day, ditto when they mention they've read something I'm taking out.

>212 foggidawn: Hahahaha, I don't mind him much as a person because from what little I know he does seem to care quite a bit about books and literacy. I could do with him eating into less of my (library) book budget though.

>213 MickyFine: Oh does he? Too funny. I've never watched Castle though it did sound fun.

>214 charl08: It's great to hear that from a reader's perspective, Charlotte. As a librarian, those are some of the best conversations I have with patrons and they make my day too. I enjoy my job connecting people to information, but I really love getting to talk about books with fellow book lovers. Sometimes it still happens even over curbside - we had one person call and she wanted to know about getting some audiobooks. The author she asked for, we only had one title and she'd already read it, so I offered to load up a bag of suggestions for her to try out, and gave her a paper to fill out to let us know what authors/genres she likes to make more recommendations in the future. I had a blast picking out a stack for her. She picked them up today, I think, so *fingers crossed* that she likes some and gets back to me for more.

Please join me on my new thread.