Mary (bell7) reads in 2020 - the unprecedented 7th thread

Welcome to my first-ever seventh thread of the year! Thanks for keeping my thread hopping with conversation and books. Covid continues to make the future - heck, the next few weeks - uncertain, but in a couple of weeks my youngest brother should be getting married. I'm reading and knitting a ton this year, and I'm looking forward to football starting this weekend and hope they actually manage to have a season without a bunch of players and coaches getting sick.

I work at a public library, purchasing fiction, working with local history, and facilitating a book club. We're currently running curbside appointments and working some of our time from home, and you'll often see me posting about work (keeping patrons' privacy, of course).

I'm the oldest of five adult kids, have a niece and a nephew, and live with some folks that rent out rooms so you'll often see me talking about family and housemates.

I don't have any new niece & nephew pics to share, but here are some that I took recently hiking some trails near my home:

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 - READ
October - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead - READ
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

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

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

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

Currently Reading
Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt
Beyond Colorblind: Redeeming Our Ethnic Journey by Sarah Shin

Devotionals/Bible reading
Matthew

October
128. The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin
127. Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
126. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
125. Happily Ever After & Everything in Between by Debbie Tung
124. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
123. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph. D.
122. Between You and Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
121. Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner
120. P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia
119. The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
118. A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

September
117. Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
116. Inspired by The Bible Experience The New Testament
115. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
114. Stoner by John Williams
113. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
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.

*Lays out the welcome mat*

Alright, folks, here's a question to get us started:
What book are you most looking forward to reading this fall?

I am particular excited to be getting the newest book by Megan Whalen Turner, The Return of the Thief, in October.

Happy new thread, Mary! Literally ANY BOOK AT ALL would be nice, to be honest. :)

Happy new one! Congrats on your first ever seventh thread:)

Happy SEVENTH thread, Mary!

Happy new thread! Return of the Thief is definitely my most exciting book of the fall, too.

Happy new thread, Mary. There's a couple fall releases I've got in my holds list already but one I'm going to purchase straight away is the The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.

Happy new thread. Saw Susanna Clarke's new book this morning on our library list, immediately jumped into the reserve line. Piranesi, it's called!

Happy New Thread, Mary!!

Two books I was really looking forward to have already come out (and been read) this month, A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire and Trader's Leap by Lee and Miller. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik is coming out at the end of the month, and then Return of the Thief on October 6 and The Emperor's Wolves, the new semi-series focusing on Severn rather than Kaylin in the Elantra world, by Michelle Sagara coming out October 13 .

A very rich autumn season!

Like the toppers, Mary.

Congratulations on making it to seven threads this year and you are far from finished yet, I imagine.

>10 Ape: Welcome and congrats on being first, Stephen! Sorry your reading slump continues, though it certainly sounds like you're keeping busy, and I won't fault you for having other hobbies.

>11 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>12 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! I've been amazed at how busy my threads have been this year - thankfully I've been able to keep up, mostly!

>13 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi! Here's hoping it lives up to all our expectations :)

>14 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Ooh, I had an ARC of Addie and really enjoyed it. Hope you do too!

>15 drneutron: Thanks, Jim, and hope you like Piranesi. That was another I scored an ARC on and read early. I thought it really well done.

>16 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! Along with eagerly awaiting the new Queen's Thief book with you, I've read A Deadly Education as an ARC and really liked it. I clearly have to check out some of those other series you mention after my library stack gets a little more manageable.

>17 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I think you're right about far from finished, I'm just sitting back for the ride now and seeing where the reading and posting year takes me. It's been a nice reprieve from all the craziness that's been 2020.

113. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Why now? I actually remember this one exactly. Someone I follow on Twitter was exclaiming over the ARC this summer, and I requested and received said ARC, and finally picked it up now because it's due out on Tuesday and I wanted to be at least a little ahead of the pub date.

Bree Matthews and her friend Alice are in the Early College program at the University of Carolina. She's still reeling from her mother's death, which happened just after they had a huge argument about her going in the first place. Only a few days into the semester, she witnesses a magical attack and shakes off an attempt to change her memories. Realizing her own strange abilities and the fact that someone adjusted her memories in the hospital after her mother's car accident, she joins a secret society in hopes of figuring out the truth.

This was a unique spin on Arthurian legend, bringing it to the American south and transforming it with the American history of slavery and racism that still affects the present day. The stakes continue to grow higher as Bree falls in love with Nick, the heir apparent, and learns more not only of his society's rules and history, but also an alternate approach to magic that her mother used that sharply contrasts with that of Nick and his friends. Maybe a little on the slower side because of all the aspects that Bree has to learn, but ultimately very satisfying how all the revelations come together in the end, and I enjoyed going along for the ride. It's left wide open for a sequel in this planned trilogy. 4.5 stars.

Sorry to start a thread and then abandon it for over a day! I was busy at work, of course, and then just busied myself in the evening with reading, knitting, and tennis watching. What an interesting U.S. Open it's been this year! I went to bed on Thursday before the semifinal between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka was over, fully expecting Serena to win after she dominated the first set, only to find out that Vika pulled through.

My weekend plans are pretty full, going out with my Little today, and then I'm planning on swinging by a house that I'm seeing in an open house tomorrow to check out the neighborhood. The women's final is this afternoon at 4 p.m. and I'll have that on. I've also got to start Stoner for my book club, as we're discussing it Wednesday and I haven't even begun. At least it's short, I think I can focus and read it without a problem over the weekend.

Tomorrow is virtual church service followed by the open house (wish me luck by the way, it's a beautiful little house with a screened in porch and nice backyard if the photos are to be believed, it doesn't appear to need any work and the price is so right there will most likely be multiple offers). Then back home to have a bit of football and the men's U.S. Open final on while reading my book club book. Giants are Monday night.

I also talked to my boss the other day and decided to put me back to full-time in the library with very nearly my old schedule starting September 21. I say "very nearly" because we're not open evenings yet, so instead of a 12-8 on Tuesdays, I'll be working 9-5. But I'll go back to half hour lunch breaks and having Monday be my short day, 9-2. I'll probably work an hour or so a week from home when I record screencasts, flexible as to when. And while I decided not to lead a Bible study this year (because my schedule was up in the air, in part, but I had to make the final decision last month), I joined one that will be meeting Mondays online over Zoom, that also starts the 21st. So at least to start, a lot of my fall will be getting my schedule back to "normal".

Happy new thread, Mary!

Love the toppers, water somehow has always a calming effect on me. I love to walk along waterways and lakes.

Happy new thread Mary!

To continue a conversation from your previous thread, when I lived in Cincinnati, I always had a list of books I wanted to check out. I'd pick those up first. Before I went to the gates where books were checked out, I would always peruse the new book shelves. I'd usually pick up a book that caught my attention--sometimes fiction works, sometimes cookbooks, sometimes others. I guess I was a hybrid user. I usually only added one to my pile from the new books because I had plenty of others. Once I moved to Morristown, I rarely found anything on the new book shelves of interest. I finally quit perusing them. In fact, I rarely use the physical library these days. I mainly rely on the ebook and audiobook collections. If something is only available in print, I will usually wait until I have 3 or 4 things like that showing availability and go pick them up. I hate the convoluted way our library's entrance works. They wasted a ton of space using indoor ramps to avoid putting in an elevator. You have to walk the building's front to back size three times just to get to the adult area.

>21 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I am the same way - water, mountains, and a campfire all soothe my soul in a special way, and walking the trails near that pond last weekend was really tremendous.

>22 The_Hibernator: Thank you, Rachel!

>23 thornton37814: That's a really good point about usability and design, Lori. One thing I like a lot about our library is that the new books are directly on the right of the doors, the natural first stop of people to go and browse if they don't walk straight up to the desk (and actually, we're working on getting shelves of self pick-up holds right by the doors, so now you have to walk past that and to the right, but again the new shelves are right there). And if you think of it, if 200 people walk in the door in a day (that's a slow-average weekday for us), let's say 50 just wanted to use the computers, 50 picked up holds and walked out, and 100 browsed the shelves and maybe picked up a book or two they didn't know they wanted 'til they spotted it, that's a lot of potential checkouts of new and displayed books! Covid forced a lot of our regular patrons to switch to e-books, so it'll be interesting to see if, in after-a-vaccine times, we have folks continue to use e-books and borrow paper, or if e-book use drops off again when they can come into the library building. Also too bad that Morristown didn't have as much to intrigue you on the new shelves. Do they take suggestions for purchase?

I put in an offer on a house today. Should know Monday night or Tuesday if they accepted it. I expect there will be a lot of offers - there was even one yesterday, sight unseen - so it's out of my hands now, but I feel really good about the offer we put together and if it doesn't happen, I'm confident it wasn't meant to be and there will be another house down the road.

>25 bell7: - Good luck with the house! Your attitude about it is the best way to approach it :)

>25 bell7: Ooo! I'm so excited for you! I hope they accept it. And hope to see pictures, too. (hinthint)

>26 katiekrug: thanks, Katie! That's kind of been my attitude throughout the process so far, and I've been happy to see a few possibilities come through even in a seller's market and my tight requirements. Each one I've seen has helped me learn what I like and can live with.

>27 richardderus: thanks Richard! I'm cautiously excited, but know that there will be other offers, and if someone comes through with a cash offer, that'll be totally out of my hands, 🤷‍♀️ so we'll see. If the offer is accepted, photos will definitely be forthcoming. Early disclosure: it's a small ranch, two bedrooms, decent kitchen with a little bar nook where people can sit while someone's cooking in the kitchen. There's a screened in porch. I will have to add bookshelves to the living room, but I think if I made a full wall of shelves I could get most of them there and have another bookshelf in each bedroom. And it's quirky with no basement, so the water heater and the rest is all in one closet and the oil tank in another, but nothing underground.

>28 bell7: Is the no-underground a good thing to you? No house I lived in in Texas had a basement, but our house in Los Gatos did, and of course *every* house here does. So hoping it will work for you!

>29 richardderus: it's weird for this area, but I can live with it. I'll probably have about as much storage space as I do now, which is fine and maybe I'll even go through and get rid of some stuff that I've just put in boxes for now. It also means laundry's in the kitchen/dining room, so odd configuration but I like having it on the first floor. The oil tank not being underground in the yard is a plus, the realtor told me it could huge headaches and $$$ if it leaks. So basically anything we'd thought of that could be a red flag for us was taken care of.

Fingers crossed about the house offer! It sounds like a lovely place.

>31 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! I should find out tonight or tomorrow if my offer was accepted or if they come back with a counteroffer.

I'm gnawing...

>33 richardderus: Haha, I'm keeping myself occupied with football and taking out all my emotions on the Giants 😜 I should hear tomorrow, and I'll definitely update

Fingers crossed re the house.

My friend phoned me to thank me for the "beautiful" blanket you made today: she was delighted. So thank you again, for once I've managed to get a gift sorted early!

>35 charl08: Thanks for the crossed fingers and for passing on your friend's words. I'm so glad to hear she was delighted and I was able to help you get in an early gift! :D

The non-update on the house is that I'm still waiting to hear on the offer.

I've been texting with my realtor and there were a dozen offers, so... yeah, I'm sure a lot for them to go through. No word yet, I'll let you know when I know. And either way, I'm happy - if yes, hooray! And if not, it's been a good learning experience and I'll keep looking. At least I've discovered that it's not *impossible* to find what I'm looking for.

>24 bell7: I really suspect it's more of a situation where the ones I would want to read were already checked out by another patron. They just didn't purchase as many copies as some libraries do. I don't really know that they have a formal way to recommend print titles, but the statewide e-book system does, so I do recommend e-books.

>38 thornton37814: Ah, yes, that would make sense, Lori. It can be tough to find that balance of enough copies on the shelf to meet demand without buying so many I'm deleting books as soon as they come off the new shelf. Hurrah for e-books keeping you busy, though! Our system will buy e-books regularly and by request, but often for new titles we still get the paper book faster because of Massachusetts' robust system for borrowing from other libraries and publisher's restrictions on library e-books (often we can't get big-name e-books until weeks after they're out).

I know some of you are waiting with bated breath, but no news on the house offer yet. I'm taking the "no news is good news" approach - they haven't rejected it yet, either! Will definitely update when I have more.

Today's plan is to add the closed captioning to some videos we have that will go along with "take and make" craft kits that we'll be giving out to kids/families via curbside starting next week. I may record a screencast and schedule that out for next Tuesday, or may put that off 'til tomorrow depending on how fast the typing goes. In the building, I'm planning on prepping for book club while helping out with curbside stuff, and then I have book club virtually at home tonight, talking about Stoner by John Williams. I just finished it last night, so once I get my thoughts together a bit, I'll have a review for that too.

>40 bell7: I'm eager to hear the end of the story, Mary...now if they'll just write it.

Happy Wednesday!

>41 richardderus: Happy Wednesday, Richard!

Well, the update for you and all the rest following along with my house hunting is that they didn't go with my offer. They've chosen another one (I'm really curious what the terms are, actually), and are keeping mine as backup if for some reason it doesn't go through, but I'm mentally moving on and assuming I didn't get it. I can't remember if I mentioned it here, but they had 12 offers. It was a good learning experience about the process and the terms I'd potentially be offering, though, and I'm eager to keep looking and see what turns up. The reality is, there may be a lot more options in the spring due to a variety of factors.

>42 bell7: Sorry about the house, but it's good to know you're competitive enough to be a backup!

>42 bell7: Provisional bummer, then. *sigh* But yes, valuable information gained!

>43 norabelle414: Yeah, we had what we both thought was a very good one, and it was just dependent on what other people put in. It's possible someone offered cash or a higher price than my escalator went up to, which is why I'm curious what won out.

>44 richardderus: It's all good, Richard, and I'm ready to look at another one. Though to be fair, this one's probably a little out of my league as I don't have quite the 20%, and they have an open house on Sunday too. I'm sure they'll also have multiple offers and possibly a bidding war, that's just how the market here is right now. Kind of like job hunting - if I'm what they're looking for, great, if not there will be other opportunities. And I've certainly been the second pick for a job and fit in quite nicely a couple of months later, so who knows.

114. Stoner by John Williams
Why now? Book discussion book for this month, finished just in the nick of time last night

William Stoner was remembered by his colleagues with a donation to the university where he was an assistant professor his entire career, but he wasn't much remembered beyond that. Starting from his roots working hard at his parents' farm, he goes to college and falls in love with the English language, eventually becoming a professor at the same university he attends.

This close third person account reads almost like a biography, but it's a fictional tale of academia from when Stoner enters college in 1909, and follows his life through both world wars and more, all while working and living at the University of Missouri. There's a precision to the narrator staying tightly to his point of view, not letting us in on the inner lives of Stoner's colleagues or his wife or other characters that allow us to see an ordinary life as it's lived: simply, putting one foot in front of the other, and not always knowing what impact you have. Perhaps the fact that such an ordinary life is the subject of a novel that we read and discuss now shows the inherent dignity of that life, but it's left to the reader to decide. 3.5 stars.

This is one that I think it took the book discussion to help me work out my reaction to it and process it enough to write a review. We had differing reactions - is it sad, or does he live a good life? In reading, I found myself annoyed at what I saw as his passivity through much of it, but I came away with a better appreciation for what the author was doing in his story. Not my favorite to read, but a very worthwhile discussion. (Hard to describe without giving major spoilers.)

I'm sorry it looks like your offer may not go through, but it sounds like you've got an excellent attitude toward the whole thing. I remember the insane weekend we spend house-hunting here: we put an offer in on one house but the sellers went with another offer because those folks were willing to waive the inspection (!!). Um, nope.

Sweet Thursday, Mary. Hooray for the unprecedented 7th thread. Love the hiking photos. Looks like a beautiful setting. We had similar feelings about Stoner. I will have to reread that one at some point. I know many readers love that book.

>47 scaifea: Okay, first of all I'm super impressed you managed to do it in a weekend! And I'm frankly stunned that anyone would waive an inspection. I'm with you - nope! My guess is someone put in an offer higher than mine or paid cash upfront. I had offered slightly over the original ask, a 20% down payment, and a $5,000 deposit to show that I was a strong candidate, and added an escalator to top other offers as high as I was willing to go.

I tend to take a fairly analytical approach to begin with, but probably part of the reason I'm thinking of it like the job market is graduating with my MLIS in 2008 - there were jobs to apply for, I got lots of interviews, but there were so many candidates that were applying, I might not get the job offers. And it wasn't worth agonizing over it, because it wasn't about me, there were just so many candidates. House hunting in such a tight market with the budget I have is very similar, and I do trust that just like my job worked out, eventually the right seller will decide I'm a good offer/fit, and accept. And I don't have a deadline, I am living in a very nice situation with my own in-law apartment and kitchen privileges, and can continue dogsitting and saving in the meantime. The reason I want a house is starting to foster and adopt, and I've also worked out that I probably will take a couple of years to get the house fully ready for that while I stay volunteering with my Little through her graduation.

>48 msf59: Sweet Thursday, Mark! The retiree is reminding the worker what day it is, I woke up thinking it was Friday. Oops! Thanks on the hiking photos, I've thought lately with the birds that I've seen and heard there that you would enjoy tramping around the trails should you ever come up to western Mass. I did not love the experience of reading Stoner, it did make me frustrated and sad for much of it, but I could definitely appreciate what made it a beloved book, and especially after the discussion I came away with a greater appreciation for the author's skill. Interestingly, we were all in agreement that were were happy for Stoner while he had his affair, that it seemed like a pocket of joy in an otherwise very frustrating set of relationships he had. There was no discussion of the morality of it at all. It would have been interesting to be one of Williams' students, but alas, I was an English major some decades after he retired.

>46 bell7: I very much admire this book, and think it's a superior version of Babbitt because Stoner isn't a revolting beef-witted simpleton.

Ahem. Not, you understand, that I have strong opinions on the matter.

I agree re: spoiler.

Have you looked at this other house your realtor found for you yet?

>50 richardderus: You, strong opinions? *blinks*
There was a lot to admire, really, and I think part of my reaction to the book was trying to read a book I had to very quickly when I really wanted to be reading something else. *ahem* One of my book club ladies made the point that some of our discontent with his passivity and staying put in a lot of situations had something to say about our own culture becoming more about making a job what you want - don't like it? Move on. But that time period in which the book is set was much more of a put your head down and do the job kind of mindset. You didn't switch careers multiple times. If your job wasn't super thrilling, you found other ways to get fulfillment. And I think she was right, as far as my own dissatisfaction was concerned.

I have not yet seen the other house. I'll either get a showing tomorrow evening after work or go to the open house on Sunday. Mind you, I don't have quite 20% down to offer this time, so I may not be in the running.

>51 bell7: And John Williams was writing at the earlier part of that trend, the don't-like-it-move-on era that we've seen is so toxic in its results. (And it didn't have to be, there could have been a sizable UBI return on investment payment made for those sky-high taxes they paid.)

Meek and soft-spoken though I am, I *do* actually have ideas! Shocking, no?

A very tardy Happy New Thread!

Your rec of Book Love hit home. I've requested it from our library.

House hunting can be very frustrating, but if you can just keep having fun with it, I know the perfect house will come along.

>52 richardderus: Meek and soft-spoken, Richard, I can't even say that with a straight face, but you know I love my tell-it-like-it-is, opinionated friend. I watched my father have the attitude that he *couldn't* get away from a job that he hated, and that did impact my seeking out a profession that I could be excited to get up and do most days. There's something to be said for flexibility and allowing yourself to change, but not at the cost of quitting every time something gets hard. I like to think that if I were in a job that didn't motivate me, I'd be able to find other good things in life to fulfill me, and also that I'd have enough sticktoitiveness to handle tough situations without backing down - as, indeed, Stoner ingeniously did when he decided to teach his freshman students Medieval Literature until Lomax backed down and let him teach his courses again. As always, there's a balance to things. On the other end of the spectrum, people can get really wrapped up in the job-as-calling attitude too, and when I found myself falling into wrapping up too much of my identity in my profession, I sat myself down to think about other jobs I could do, to try to give myself a bit of healthy distance and allow myself to leave my job at the library and pursue other things when I'm home.

>53 streamsong: Thank you, Janet! I hope you enjoy Book Love when it comes in. It's a very quick read, but a lot of relatable comics. I'm definitely approaching the house hunting as fun - I'm learning a lot about the process, what I like, and what I can live with along the way. My realtor, in addition to getting good recommendations from people I know, is a friend of mine, so being able to have a camaraderie and discussions about what I'm looking for and the financing options without any awkwardness and barriers has been extremely helpful for me.

>54 bell7: I cheered at the spoilery actions. Actually vocalized "yahoo" as that scenario unfolded.

Using one's labor as an identity is hugely problematic...and in the US was encouraged to keep laborers from realizing that they have more in common than they are led to believe. But there is a valid point to be made for the trapped...family obligations, lack of available alternatives, psychological issues all come into play in varying degrees and at different times in a laborer's life.

I'm reading Kerri Arsenault's Mill Town very slowly. It makes me panther-screechingly furious and that is not desirable for an old man with really seriously wonky blood pressure since recovering from COVID.

>55 richardderus: I had been thinking of it as more of a psychological thing, but I could see what you say about labor making sense as well. I came from it more from seeing how (some) librarians took themselves and Librarianship as a whole super seriously and personally, to the point where it was almost a calling and sort of... toxic. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, I enjoy helping people, and getting to recommend books or provide information can literally make my day. But at the end of the day, I go home and I'm me, not the job. If I moved on, it would not be personal (well, most likely), but a decision about what would be best in my life at that moment, and if I were to lose my job (not that I'm planning on it), I would not be devastated. If I couldn't be a librarian, I could be a bookseller or go back to classes for a genealogy certification, or a certificate in archives/history and do something else. But I... cultivate that sort of thinking, for lack of a better word, because in many ways my personality is that of a stereotypical librarian (introvert bookworm, likes tea/coffee and cats), so it's easy for me to get out of wack, so to speak.

I think I'll avoid Mill Town for now for my own blood pressure to stay at a good place then lol. But I'll look for your review on it. I've delved into a reread of Thick as Thieves (a book I own, while the library stack languishes) before I receive the pre-ordered final book in the Queen's Thief series, and am enjoying the revisit even more than I thought I would. I also made some progress in Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? last night after book club, which I should be delving into more over the weekend.

Happy New(ish) Thread, Mary!

That looks up top like you live in a lovely area to hike in - no surprise. I love your part of the country.

I enjoyed A Killing Frost, per usual in that October Daye series, and tried one of her more sci-fi-ish ones, Middlegame. It was good, and I liked the main characters, Rodger and Dodger, a lot. She's prolific - she's also Mira Grant, the YA author.

I'll be interested in your take on Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria. I've wondered about that one.

>57 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! There are definitely some pretty trails around here, and I do like being nearer rural areas than a city, by preference. I'll enjoy getting into more Seanan McGuire books. I know we have a couple that she wrote as Mira Grant, but I haven't read them. Parasite is one, I think.

I'll definitely let you know about Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria. I think she first wrote it when I was high school age, and it was one that I was aware of in college (not surprising, since I went to one that was near where she worked as a professor at the time) but never read. The one that I have is the 20th anniversary edition and some chapters have been updated quite a bit. I've only read through the introductions at this point - the first one a very good overview of recent race relations in this country and why someone born in 1997 might say "nothing's changed" in 20 years, while someone who lived through the Civil Rights era might have a different perspective. I'm looking forward to diving in more.

TGIF - I woke up yesterday thinking it was Friday, so now I've got my head on straight and it is indeed the end of the work week. We're getting ready for our next phase of allowing patrons in the building by appointment, to come soon. Getting the appointments set up in our events calendar and sending out thank you gifts to all our volunteers (we didn't have our usual Volunteer Breakfast is April) will keep me occupied most of this afternoon.

Tomorrow I have no additional plans aside from catch up on household matters (cleaning, grocery shopping), and reading.

Sunday is a goodbye to our long-time pastor. I'd signed up to go in person and am starting to second guess if it won't be too crowded, but I'm hoping to go into a smaller seating area than the larger sanctuary and can always slip out if I need to. I'll either be seeing a house tonight or on a Sunday afternoon open house. And then Monday I'm back to working in the library my full 35 hours, with some flexibility to work from home when I record a screencast about how to use one of our online resources. I've recorded a couple today, so I shouldn't have to do it next week unless I come up with a really good idea.

That's it from me. Keeping busy as always, and enjoying myself. I'm a little dull and slow this morning, as I've woken up early the last couple of mornings. I went into one room to specifically grab a work shirt, and totally forgot what I was doing for a few minutes of scrolling on my phone only to remember why I'd really come here, and I'm finding it super hard to be motivated.

Happy Librarian's Day!

>60 richardderus: Thank you!

Just saw this random drop-in by Chris Hemsworth to the local weather report and now I'm gonna just sit over here watching all the links that the person I follow included to SNL skits and the like with him being ridiculously funny so, happy Friday, y'all.

115. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
Why now? Audiobook was available at the library, and it was a good time to reread it before the final book in the series comes out in October.

Original review from 2017:

Kamet, a slave in The Queen of Attolia escapes after his master's death knowing that, in the Mede empire, he would be killed if he doesn't leave. An Attolian offers him a way out, and this is their adventure.

The latest book in the "Queen's Thief" series is an excellent addition, even if it does not have much of my favorite characters. We learn more of Kamet's story and how the Medean empire works. As the reader - should you have read all the other books before this one and you probably should - you know more than Kamet about who the mysterious Attolian is. Ultimately a satisfying read and one I will probably appreciate more upon rereading.

Just a note to add that my prediction was right. As with the other books in this series, rereading offers a lot of enjoyment, and going in knowing I was reading about Kamet and Costis left me without any disappointment that there wasn't more time with Gen. You may not be as surprised by twists (though there was one in particular that I'd forgotten about), but you can see how perfectly each piece of the puzzle is placed and be amazed all over again at the wonderful world Megan Whalen Turner has crafted. I am really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together in the final book.

Happy newish thread, Mary. Good luck with the house hunt.

Hi, Mary! I'm sorry to hear that your offer for the house wasn't accepted as a first choice. I trust that you'll find a nice house soon.

>64 Familyhistorian: Thanks on both counts, Meg!

>65 kidzdoc: Hi, Darryl! Thankfully I'm in a good place, where I'm ready to buy but do not have any kind of deadline for leaving where I am now (my dad, a real estate lawyer, is retiring at the end of the year, so I have a *slight* deadline to have his free legal services). I went to another open house and will be putting in a different offer on a new place. I suspect it might take awhile in this market, but I do trust I'll find the right place at the right time.

Oooh, exciting that you're putting in another offer. Hope it works out!

Maybe Mary hasn't been around because she is busy buying a house?!?!

>68 katiekrug: I was just thinking that! I hope so.

>67 MickyFine: thanks, Micky, I got a quick no on this one, I suspect someone offered above the asking price and I wasn't willing to go there.

>68 katiekrug: sorry to disappoint, Katie! It's just been a busy couple of days as I go back to working my full hours in the library. Plus I haven't been reading much, and this weekend is going to be exceptionally busy between the wedding and time with my Little.

Well, darn!

Dang. Exciting that the wedding is so soon though! I hope the weather is fabulous!

>69 richardderus: Whoops, cross-posted when I was replying on my phone at work. Sorry to miss you, Richard. Not yet on the house! The offer was made and rejected in mere hours this time, instead of waiting for 48, so I guess that's progress ;)

>71 katiekrug: Aw, thanks, Katie. I'm sure the right one will turn up eventually.

>72 MickyFine: YES, I'm super excited! I took Friday off and I'm going to help them set up, then Saturday is time with my Little and the wedding rehearsal, and Sunday is the big day (I wasn't kidding about a busy weekend...). So far the weather appears to be cooperating with a partly sunny 77 degrees F (25 C) currently forecasted.

Sorry to mention a house offer and then go radio silent on you for a couple of days! If you haven't already read my replies, this second house/offer was a no-go as well. Ah well - there will be one in the right time, and I'm not worried about waiting (after all, it just means I can save up more...). Nothing new on that front, I'm just waiting to get an email on new listings with my parameters.

I'm back to working in the library my full hours starting this week, with a couple of flexible at-home hours when I record a new screencast. I've got one scheduled for next week, but may take a short break while we spend some time on our Facebook page promoting ones I've already completed. We're preparing for opening to limited services by appointment in a couple of weeks, so that's gonna be interesting. We're starting slow, with a few appointments two days a week, and adding some curbside appointments to 6 p.m. on the weekdays we're normally open until 8 p.m. Then we'll go from there.

My Bible study started up again this week. I took a break from leading, but the one I joined is a very large Zoom group and I'll most likely be helping lead discussions when we're broken out into rooms at various points in the night.

And finally, I am reading, albeit slowly. I've got Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?, Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs, Parable of the Talents and Beyond Colorblind all going at once. (No wonder I haven't finished anything in a few days...). I'm getting sick of all my library books staring at me, so I did a major overhaul today, checking out some books today that fit my mood a bit better and picking some out to return tomorrow.

And now I'm off to make a recipe for Étouffée that Darryl shared with me. I couldn't find some of the regional things - Creole seasoning or crayfish tails - so we're going with Cajun seasoning and shrimp. I've already had dinner, but I'll cook it up now and have it ready for lunch tomorrow. I think I've worked out meals so I shouldn't have to cook again 'til Friday.

I hope being in the library full-time (mostly) goes smoothly for you. And since you're so crazy busy this week, I'll send advance congratulations to your brother and to you for gaining a new sister-in-law. :)

Sorry to read about the house decision - hope third time is a charm.

I'm off to look at a new flat (not to buy, I hasten to add) tomorrow. It's the first time in years and I am not entirely sure what I want/ want to prioritise on, so it will be good to start looking and try and work that out (probably initially in terms of what I don't want, I think!).

Right house at the right price at the right time *whammy*

Sending happy Humpday vibes, too.

>75 MickyFine: So far, so good, Micky! It's been kinda nice going back to half-hour lunches, honestly. An hour was a long time to fill. (We typically work a weekday at 5 hours, and the other four for 7.5, with the short day being our day off when we work 5 hours on the weekend, so I'm not used to a 9-5 with a full hour lunch.) Thank you for the congrats - we've been calling each other sister-in-law all year, but it's nice to make it official.

>76 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! It's interesting, isn't it, seeing different things and discovering what you love, can live with, or can't stand? I hadn't realized my preferences until i started looking. Good luck on the new flat!

>77 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! Just one more work day left, as I took a long weekend of Friday and Monday off. (Wedding will keep me busy enough, honestly)

116. Inspired by The Bible Experience The New Testament
Why now? Our library deleted a bunch of older audiobook titles recently, and this is one of them. I took a bunch to give to someone I know who listens to a lot, and kept this to have in the car myself.

I don't usually count my Bible reading as a book (do I count it when I've finished a book of the Bible? The whole thing?), but I figured this production was a long audiobook (15 CDs), and I have a few things to say about it as a whole, so I'm going to count it.

Inspired By...The Bible Experience is an audio dramatization, in this case of only the New Testament. This full-cast audio, read by a variety of actors and performers including LeVar Burton, Samuel L. Jackson, and many more, is of Today's New International Version of the Bible. It's mostly well-done, though the soundscapes took some getting used to (did people really cry out, "Yes, Lord!" during Jesus' discourses? Hmmm.). But I liked that after awhile I could recognize different voices as their characters - so LeVar Burton was John, for example, with dialog in the other gospels, reading John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, and Revelation. Starting at about 1 Corinthians 10, some songs - mostly, but not all, gospel - are inserted, and they don't always have anything to do (word-wise or thematically) with the verses just read. It also took me awhile in the epistles to get used to one narrator starting, then another voice overlapping and continuing, before going back to the original narrator, until I started thinking of it as the writer being the "framing" narrator and the other as the receiver reading it aloud to the church addressed. An overall like.

So obviously this will appeal to some and not others, and I'm sure you all know which camp you fall into.

I've finally got a few chapters into Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?. The introduction to the 20th edition was dense, but it's totally accessible and moving along more quickly now. Slowly but surely working my way through the other books as well.

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Shrimp Étouffée came out splendidly and I'm going to share the recipe with a co-worker of mine. I am a wimp and only put a little seasoning it; it could probably use a little more. But it was still delicious.

>9 bell7: Hi Mary. I've been MIA, but want to return to visiting threads. My answer to your question regarding books I want to read this fall is those I recently purchased by David McCullough. Like a child at Christmas, I purchased so many that I'm not sure which to open first.

Happy Fall. It was an unusually hot summer. I'm glad to feel the cool breeze in the evening, and see the water on the flowers in the morning.

I hope all is well with you. I note that you are reading Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cateteria and will look to obtain this one.

>80 Whisper1: Welcome back, Linda, it's good to see you! I hope you enjoy David McCullough's works as you read through them. I've read a couple and really enjoyed them. We've had some cool nights and suddenly it's fall, though the next few days should get a bit warmer (I've been cold with the AC still on at work). And I hope you enjoy Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? when you get to it. I'm finding it really informative, and may return to it when I have kids of my own and want to have conversations about race in a productive way. She's a psychologist and uses some examples of conversations with her own children in the chapter I just finished.

>79 bell7: I do a year-long Bible read. I always count it as a single book at the end of the year. Same thing with the daily devotional book.

>82 thornton37814: I start with a year-long Bible read but it always seems to take me 2 years (plus whatever devotionals or Bible studies I'm part of, which I do count when there's substantial reading involved), so I just never counted it on its own.

Well, today was busy with work getting ready for the wedding, setting up tables and chairs and getting all the flowers in water, etc. A friend of mine whom I haven't seen in months came by with jars and vases for the flowers, and I ended up going to her place and visiting for a few hours before heading home to dinner. I'm still chowing down on the étouffée I made a few days ago, and since food is take out or catered for the weekend, I shouldn't have to cook Monday either. Score! (I mean, I love cooking, but it's nice to spread it out and not have to do it after work every single day) I am currently admiring my foresight in taking today and Monday off from work.

Tomorrow's going to be extra busy, so of course I added another house showing to it. I'm going to go see one that's a hop, skip and a jump from where I live. My hair stylist happened to know a neighbor, so I got to chat a bit about the neighborhood and it sounds like a generally quiet kinda place. The photos look super cute, it's a small ranch but an open floor plan and a PORCH (can I just say, I've really discovered how much I like porches?). So we'll see where that leaves us, and from there I will be going to get my Little, we'll hang out, then I'll go to my parents again for the rehearsal. Sunday will start quiet with virtual church service, then again heading over to my parents and the wedding!

And on Monday I am meeting a friend who's moving soon for an outdoor lunch. It will be my recovery day, as I will get to sleep in and hopefully not have a ton of stuff at home left to do.

BUT that does mean that today I've got to change my sheets and get my laundry done, so I'd better hop to it. Probably see you all after the wedding!

Cilantro lime rice and plain chili again for me. Boo hoo hoo!

>85 richardderus: Sounds delicious to me!

Woke up to "Here Comes the Sun" on my playlist alarm, which seemed like an auspicious beginning to my brother's wedding day. Heading over after church so I can be there to accept the wedding cake delivery and get ready with my sisters. I have been promised coffee and double stuff Oreos 😊

I hope the wedding goes well and this is a great day for them!

>87 bell7: I hope the day is as beautiful as possible in this weird time.

I wish the newlyweds a long and happy life together!

>84 bell7: Have a wonderful time :)

I hope the wedding was wonderful for all and you're enjoying your well-deserved recovery day!

>88 drneutron:, >89 richardderus:, >90 figsfromthistle:, and >91 MickyFine:

Thanks Jim, Richard, Anita, and Micky for the wedding well-wishes!

We had a wonderful time, it was so nice to have something special to celebrate with family and friends. My brother and SIL (woohoo, no more future sister-in-law) are both through the moon and off to their honeymoon tomorrow. Everything came together so beautifully, you would never know that this was Plan C. If there was a hitch, I don't know about it (well, maybe when me and her cousin didn't know how to get the coffee pot working, but we finally figured it out). I'm so happy for them!

I had lunch plans with a friend, but other than that I spent a very quiet day at home, and was glad to have the time to relax and recover. I'm back to work tomorrow, but took Friday through next Thursday off with no real vacation plans in place.

Oooh, staycation! Hopefully your three work days fly by (and not because they're crazy busy). :)

>93 MickyFine: Yup, looking forward to some days of not doing all that much as well as working on at-home projects.

117. Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Why now? Continuing the series, and became available as a library e-book

Following Parable of the Sower, we continue following Lauren Oyamina's journals now that she and some of her followers and friends have established Acorn, a community living and working together while following her doctrine of Earthseed, in which she dreams of leaving earth altogether to live in the stars. But when a man is elected under the slogan "Make America Great Again" and some of the more violent followers of Christian America attack Acorn, Lauren has to use all her ingenuity to survive.

Like the first book, it was surreal to read a book written in the 1990s and set just a few years from now feeling altogether real. I am a Christian and some of the descriptions of what supposedly "Christian" characters did was absolutely appalling and skin crawling, hard to read and try to process what other folks might think about what I believe - or what a group like Christian America might think about how our beliefs align (*shudder*). Either way, a difficult read. While the first one was all Lauren's journals, this has her daughter as a narrator, interspersing her own thoughts between those of her mother and some of her father, Bankole, as well. And exactly why does the daughter have such conflicting thoughts about her mother? That was part of the driving force behind my reading and continuing to turn pages. Though so much was grim, it was not without hope either. 4.5 stars.

I'm not in a place in any book where I expect to finish anything more this month, so this will be the fewest books I've read in a month so far this year - not unexpectedly, of course. I'll be back tonight (I'm currently on lunch break) with a September in review.

Mary, I had a lackluster reading month, too. I am helping homeschool my granddaughters (2nd and 4th Grades) and I also started a Zoom Bible Study on Genesis. Still getting used to having a new dog in the house as well. So, I went from doing lots of nothing to actually having a life again! *smile*

I just finished Lost Children Archive and Book Love on your recommendations and enjoyed both of them very much. Thank you.

I'm glad the wedding went well. Do we get to see any pictures? Also, your house hunting is getting exciting. Did you mention a third house and leave us hanging? I like that you're not all stressed out about it. I'm working on my attitude about Covid and politics. It's much easier on the days when I can take these troubling times in stride.

>97 Donna828: Yes, life got busy for me with Bible study restarting and my brother's wedding :) It's nice to have some of my schedule back to "normal" even if it means I have a little less reading time. I'm so glad you liked both Lost Children Archive and Book Love! You did catch a third house mention - I saw it, put in an offer, heard during the wedding that I did not get it. There are still some trickling in from time to time, so I'll keep going and eventually one of them will be the right one. That's one area I have been able to be peaceful about, but yeah Covid and politics have their stressful moments too. One day at a time...

I should be able to post a photo or two of the wedding over the weekend, I think.

September in review

117. Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
116. Inspired by... The Bible Experience: The New Testament
115. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
114. Stoner by John Williams
113. Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
112. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
111. Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
110. Book Love by Debbie Tung

Books read: 8
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 1/2/5
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 6/2/0/0

Because I want to awards:
Parable of the Talents for being deeply thought-provoking and unsettling
Thick as Thieves for being even better as a reread
Legendborn for stellar YA fantasy that I loved from beginning to end
Book Love for being totally relatable and fun

YTD stats -
Pages read: 36741
Avg pages a day: 135
POC authors: 46
Own voices: 44*

*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, and the stats on my spreadsheet also includes books I'm currently reading

Thoughts: Well, I knew these months of 10-16 books wouldn't last! I'm a little disappointed I didn't finish more, but it WAS A busy month, and last weekend was entirely taken up with the wedding. I'll make up for it a little bit this next week having it off. The books I read were excellent and varied, however, so no complaints there. After a few intense ones, I'm ready for something lighter to balance it all out.

Excellent September summary, Mary.

>100 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky!

Today starts my week-long staycation (I go back to work on Friday, then have another 3-day weekend), and I'm sipping my first cup of coffee trying to decide. Do I:

1. Just read and relax knowing I have a week at home to catch up on cleaning and organizing as needed throughout the week?

OR

2. Do as much cleaning and organizing as possible today so that I can fully enjoy and relax for the remainder of the week.

I'm leaning towards 2 because I know my brain will be more settled and be able to relax if I get the to-do list done first. But pre-coffee I'm still feeling pretty ready to chill, so it may end up being 1 today and have a "do all the things" day later.

Whichever way the day goes, happy first day of staycation!

Mary! A wedding? I am sorry I haven't visited more often. Congratulations.

House buying can be quite stressful. When I divorced my former husband, I left behind a big home. I then bought a small cottage. It was quite a change. The asking price was good, and I was drawn to the porch with beautiful stone work.

Though, it was a cute house, when I moved in I discovered purchasing an older home was not a good idea. I spent $17,000 in major repairs.

Though, I admit there were so many good memories there. My daughter Breanna and baby Kayla lived with me. I met Will a few years after the purchase of the house. And he Loved all three of us very much.

Again, a few years later, Will asked us to be with him and together, we had a wonderful family in what was his house, then our house, and now my house.

I love the neighborhood. A realtor told me that when you are considering a house, be sure to drive past at all hours of the day/night to see the happenings in the neighborhood.

Good Luck My Friend! I am so very happy for you.

Happy whirlwinding, Mary! Is the wax seal under the toilet burnished to perfection yet? *smooch*

>103 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! I ended up going for a blend: some apartment cleaning, including my desk which had a lot of "get to" papers, like updating my beneficiaries on my retirement funds, but mostly knitting while watching French Open action.

>104 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda, and lovely as always to see you here! Yes, my youngest brother G. is now married and currently off on his honeymoon. I'm so happy for them! Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories in various houses. I'm excited about the process and so far, thankfully, have not felt stressed or rushed about the purchasing. My realtor is good at what she does and a personal friend, and between her, the real estate smarts of the people I live with, and my dad being a real estate attorney I feel like I have a really good team surrounding me. That's very good advice about driving by at all hours.

>105 richardderus: Well, Richard, yes the toilet is one of the things I cleaned (my laundry pile is staring at me dreadfully, but that's tomorrow's project). I'm glad with how much I did, honestly. It will be so much easier to enjoy a few days of relaxation knowing that my to-do list is not breathing down my neck. The laundry list tomorrow will be plenty, and I'll continue with French Open watching and reading while the clothes get all clean. Other plans include getting a massage on Monday and a hiking trip, potentially Wednesday as the weather looks promising.

As promised, a few pictures of the wedding:


Here are my brothers, G. the groom and R. the best man. My brother R. is a fabulous presenter/speaker, and he gave a great toast in which he told a hilarious story about playing football in the back yard but also had some really touching things to say about G. and C.


Newly wedded and kissing the bride - C. and G. This was one of my favorite photos of the event.


Isn't C.'s dress gorgeous? The alterations, including that insert in the front, came out beautifully (and you can't see it here, but there's a beautiful long train). After two venue changes and one date change, I think they're rightfully happy to finally be married!


Here are my sisters A. and T., the bride C., my mom, and me. No, we didn't coordinate dresses on purpose. Except for my mom being with me when I bought mine, none of us had seen each other's dress until after we'd purchased them, and we just went with blue. Isn't the photo booth set up great? C.'s cousin brought that and a bunch of other items for the wedding, and it was so perfectly detailed from everything to personalized masks ("Quarantined for life", couple's name and the date) to kissing "bells" playing off our last name.

And yes, my dad was there, but no apparently I don't have any pictures of him. The wedding photographer did get some nice family shots, though, and I'm looking forward to seeing all of them.

We had a really great time. I had Friday and Monday off, so much of the weekend was spent helping prepare for the wedding at my parents' house. They rented a tent that took up one half of the yard, and the ceremony was on the other half, after which we picked up our chairs and moved them to our seats at the tables and made room for can jam and cornhole (with monogrammed beanbags and all). There was a bar set up, music playing through speakers, and the lovely photo booth you see in the photo above. The ceremony began at 3:30 and I left around 10:45 too tired to move, but it was such a great time. There were only 38 guests, keeping to the guest limit of under 50 as required by my state, and everything went off without a hitch. They're now happily off on their honeymoon and hoping to start a family soon.

>107 bell7: They look so pleased, and no wonder, to be honest I think you'd be superhuman not to feel a tiny bit relieved.

Everyone needs to have a lovely weekend in your entire family. So mote it be.

Hi, Mary - What lovely wedding pics! The dress IS gorgeous, as is the bride, and everyone looks so happy! Congrats to your brother & his new wife.

>95 bell7: Good review! I've been meaning to read Butler's Earthseed books but somehow haven't gotten round to it yet. I think I'll see if I can get Parable of the Sower on audio from the library.

>107 bell7: Lovely pictures, Mary. It does good to see such happy people in these times!

Glad to read and see that the wedding went so well, and hope you enjoy your staycation week. I used up my leftover leave (our leave year ends in August) taking Fridays off for a month or so. It has been a bit of a shock to the system getting back to "normal" work weeks!

Thanks for sharing the wedding photos, Mary! Glad it went well. Enjoy your staycation!

>108 richardderus: It was quite a process for them, for sure, Richard! And thank you for your well-wishes on the weekend - I can't speak for everyone, but I'm certainly planning on some rest and rejuvenation today.

>109 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary! And I'll look forward to your thoughts on Parable of the Sower. I'm probably going to try Kindred next.

>110 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! It felt good to have something to celebrate, honestly.

>111 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte! I would have the same shock to the system after taking a day off so regularly too. Isn't it funny how our bodies and mental energy get used to a certain schedule/routine, and changing it can really throw us off? Our vacation runs with the fiscal year from July to June, so I had four brand-new weeks of vacation to use, and with the virus of course no real opportunities to use it.

>112 katiekrug: You're very welcome, Katie, glad you enjoyed them! I am planning on wrapping up the cleaning and organizing part of my to-do list today so I can tackle the fun to-dos without distraction, and I have an appointment for a massage on Monday.

Your new SiL's dress is gorgeous! As is yours. :)

Wishing you a fantastically lazy Sunday.

>114 MickyFine: I was pretty happy with my dress, too :)

Thank you for the lazy Sunday wishes. I've enjoyed my time with virtual church, some reading, knitting and watching football. Sadly the Giants lost again... the sort-of good news is they're in a terrible division and not out of the running yet.

Off to read some more! (And hopefully have some books to finish & review this week)

118. A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Why now? I believe foggi's recent recommendation is what added this to the TBR list, it came in interlibrary loan, and I picked it up next after a couple of harder reads

Rosemary needs to leave her past behind, and she's on a shuttle to a new job writing reports for a spaceship that creates tunnels in space for faster travel. Ashby, the captain who hired her, is told to watch news feeds for a potential big job. And as the title and the old saying attest, sometimes it's more about the journey than the destination.

The narrative point of view shifts among the several crew members, including both humans and other intergalactic species. We come to know several of their backstories on the way to the big job - creating a tunnel for a species that is known for its violence but about to make a treaty with the Parliament - and if it slows the action some, it also allows the reader to sympathize with each one of them. They don't always get along, but ultimately they care about each other and have created their own space family. The ending left a smile on my face, and I will happily continue the series soon. 4.5 stars.

I had not discovered this until recently, but apparently I like space operas.

>116 bell7: Yay! Glad you liked it! Sadly, the other books in the series shift to different perspectives. I would gladly have read a whole series about that ship and crew, but the other books are still good and enjoyable. Just didn't want you going in with the expectation of seeing all your "old friends" from the first book and being disappointed.

I've been reading more sci-fi and space opera just lately. Perhaps the pandemic is making me want to escape the planet?

>117 foggidawn: oh darn, it would've been fun to continue on their travels! I'm glad you mentioned it so I know ahead of time, as I'm sure I'll also enjoy learning more about the rest of the universe. Usually fantasy is my happy place and science fiction slightly more of a stretch, but that's not necessarily been the case with my reading this year. I think because I'm not a huge Star Wars fan I always expected space opera to be not my thing... But the ones I've read the last few years have been a lot of fun!

Enjoy your staycation, Mary.

Nice wedding photos!

>116 bell7: Yay! I'm glad to see another fan of that one. Such feel good sci fi. I haven't delved into the rest of the series yet since I loved these characters so much that I didn't want to be disappointed by the next book not having them all in it. I think I'm getting close to the point where I could read it now. Probably after I finish catching up on Murderbot.

>119 kidzdoc: thank you, Darryl! I hope you're able to have a good visit at your parents' as well.

>120 MickyFine: I just looked up a synopsis of book 2 and it focuses on Lovelace so now I'm rather intrigued (though I'm sure I won't get a chance to read it till December at least). Murderbot was so much fun, and l'll have to reread those at some point. Hope you continue to enjoy the stories!

Hi Mary:

The wedding photos are very lovely.

One of my favorite weddings I attended, was approximately 15 years ago, when one of my favorite students. The wedding and reception was held in Vermont at a lovely country inn. Before Vermont, Will and I spent some time in NH at a bed and breakfast. Then while in Vermont, we visited the Vermont country store, taking lovely back roads to get there.

The Friday evening dinner was held on the lawn of the inn. It was in October and there was a full moon!

I remain close to the student. I love her dearly.

I imagine you are weary after the hub bub of the wedding. Thanks for sharing the occasion.

Much Love
Linda

You're not a Star Wars fan, Mary? Well, I do understand. After the first three films, I kind of lost interest. The first Star Wars movie that I saw with my little sister at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood in 1977 is still one of my favorite films. Maybe because nostalgia, but it certainly ushered in an era of space opera films. (I also loved the first iteration of Star Trek but kind of lost interest in the later iterations - even taking Jean-Luc Picard into consideration.)

I'm rereading the Murderbot books now - they are such satisfying reading for the hundred years of solitude this year is turning out to be.

>122 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda! That wedding does sound beautiful, from your trip to the event itself at a lovely time of year.

>123 Storeetllr: I'm afraid not, Mary. I think some of it is that my high school ex-boyfriend LOVED them and sat me down to watch the original three (I had already seen them, and found them okay) all in one afternoon and I still haven't quite recovered from the experience. I'll go and see the new movies in theaters when they come out, because it's a fun experience, but then I don't generally watch them again. I was in the minority thinking JarJar was funny, and I liked the newest that came out recently pretty well too (I didn't see Solo). Hurrah for Murderbot! I gobbled the novellas up in April and enjoyed them very much.

Enjoyed the wedding photos, Mary. Nice to have a dose of happiness in a tough year.

You have almost made it to your highest posting numbers ever and you have almost a quarter of the year to go.

>125 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I think it was a breath of relief for all of us - not so much that they got married (the original plan was December 5, after all), but that we had something to celebrate!

Wow, this really has been an amazing year for my reading/posting. Lately I seem to be starting a new thread a month, so it'll be interesting to see where my numbers end up by Dec. 31.

In adventures on my vacation week, I took a hike yesterday up a local mountain. It's generally considered not a tough hike and only about 3 miles round trip (I didn't even get all 10,000 steps in yesterday), but it was harder than I remembered since hiking it as a kid almost 30 years ago. My heart was pounding and my breathing labored not even at the halfway point, and I had to sit down on the ground to catch my breath and not pass out. Had a scary moment sitting there wondering if I did, how long would it be 'til someone even found me (it was pretty quiet that morning, though I did pass a couple of people coming down as I was going on, so it wouldn't have been that terrible really). After that I went a little slower... teach me to take for granted my own physical ability! It had been a drizzly morning, and it was total fog when I got to the top. I ate my lunch, walked around to take some photographs, and lo and behold it cleared up a bit so I could in fact enjoy the view before heading back down. All in all, it only took a few hours, and I stopped on my way back for some apple cider donuts and was home by 2. I had enough time to make dinner early and heat it up when I was hungry (my landlords had guests for dinner, so I was keeping out of the kitchen at suppertime), and then went to bed shortly after 7.

Today I don't have as much activity on the agenda. I'm hoping to watch more of the French Open quarterfinals, knit some Christmas gifts, and read. I may get to one of the movies I borrowed from the library too, and I'm thinking of swinging down to make some returns as well.

Nothing new to report on the house hunting front. There have been a few possibilities that popped up in my email, but have either been too much repair needed or tied up in probate, so mostly still a waiting game. Thankfully, there's no real deadline on this, and the longer it takes me the more I'll have saved up towards the down payment in the meantime (I should reach my goal for having that plus closing costs set aside by the end of the year).

Hi, Mary.

It's fun to see the wedding photos. Thanks for posting those. It looks like a grand time was had by all. I wish I could've heard your brother's toast. Our son's best friend gave a very funny one at his wedding; I love it when that happens.

I'm another Becky Chambers fan, and that first one is so good.

P.S. I cross-posted with your >127 bell7:. I sympathize on the physical challenge of the hike. I was just talking with a friend about the current difficulty of doing some physical things that were a breeze when I was a kid. Still, a good hike followed by apple cider donuts sounds like perfection to me.

119. The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Why now? The e-audio became available from the library, so I'm continuing my read through Newbery Award winners

Mrs. Olinski couldn't tell you how she picked the team for the scholastic tournament, but clearly it was meant to be. Noah, Nadia, Ethan and Julian were four disparate individuals but they became both friends and teammates.

The contests the team goes through is interspersed with the back stories of each sixth grader, starting with Noah and his unexpected appearance as best man of the wedding of Nadia's grandfather and Ethan's grandmother. Julian is sort of the odd one out, in contrast, a newcomer to the small town in the Finger Lakes region of New York who had grown up on a cruise ship with his American mother and Indian-English father. But he's also the one who brings them together as the Souls. In a story that generally celebrated kindness, there were a few jarring instances - for example, someone starts pushing a wheelchair without asking the person in it first - but overall it was an entertaining read that I enjoyed more than I expected. 4 stars.

There was also a remark made out of ignorance to Julian, when the person running the contests asked him what tribe of Indian he was, and the narrative remark is that "Everyone - even those who had not had diversity training at taxpayer expense - knew that even though it was correct to recognize a person's ethnicity, it was not correct to comment upon it in public" which I thought was an awkward way to put it. If I was reading it with a kid, I might mention how saying "Where are you from?" is racist, while noticing differences and describing someone as Indian or Black isn't insulting, which is probably what she's going for, but I thought could've been addressed more clearly.

>128 jnwelch: Hi Joe, we cross-posted again with my review. I'm glad you enjoyed the wedding photos, too. I hope to find out that someone recorded the whole thing, but here were a few highlights:

He started off praising how perfect the venue was, in beautiful... and named the original venue - and put one paper aside, named the second venue, "Ah, sorry, I did one for each venue." So yes, he had three pieces of paper as a prop (he does need a piece of paper to talk from, let me tell you). And then went on to talk about all the memories in my parents' backyard, where the wedding actually took place. The story he told was of one time early on when they were playing football with my dad in the yard. Dad would be the "quarterback", tell the one (it wasn't always just the boys, though it was this time) on offense what route to run, and the other would try to defend and block the pass or intercept. This time, though, he let the boys design their own routes - "This was next level. But next thing I know, my dad falls to his knees laughing and says, 'G., we are not going to do that.'" What G. had come up with was this: he would run around the yard in an ever-tightening spiral, finally spin in place and fall, at which point R. being the older brother would come over to check that he was okay, and then G. would bounce up and run for the pass. R. went on to talk about their relationship growing into becoming best friends. One time after softball, G. asked him to go out with him afterwords, an unusual occurrence (here R. made a remark about the fact that R. was usually the one trying to get guys in a church league to go out for drinks afterwards). When they sat down, G. told him, "I've just met the most wonderful woman" and proceeded to tell him all about C., now his wife. I'd never heard that story before, so it was really sweet to hear about it and realize how close my brothers have become (neither of them tend to share a lot about their personal lives with me, typical :) ). After the speech, I heard my brother R. tell my dad that he realized after deciding to include that anecdote that R. at the wedding was within two weeks or so of my dad's age when that actually happened. And G. confirmed that he did indeed think his older brother would be concerned and check on him. C's sister's speech, by the way, was also very nice. She probably got overlooked some for going first (though I wouldn't have wanted to follow up one of my brother's speeches either), but talked about how tough it was to move C. out here for her job and how worried she was for awhile, but after C. met G. and kept talking about him, she wasn't worried anymore, knowing that C. had found her place in the new home.

Happy midweek-off. *smooch*

>131 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

Today's my last day off, I'm back in tomorrow and heading from there to volunteer at a church function. But then I get a long weekend, which is looking to shape up nicely: Saturday, I'm apple picking with my Little, and sometime over the weekend I'm going to try to get to another house showing.

We had an afternoon storm that knocked the power out last night and it's just come back on. Fortunately today is a gorgeous day, and I was outside reading. Came in to scrounge for lunch and discovered that it was back. So I'm watching the replay of the French Open (no spoilers!), and getting caught up on some of the reading I've done over the last couple of days. I started listening to Between You and Me by Mary Norris on my way to the hike on Tuesday, and yesterday I read (on my Kindle after it got dark) P.S. Be Eleven.

I also did some yarn maneuvering to take out a couple of drawers that had been in my closet. I'm working on making some Christmas ornaments to give along with my gifts (or in some cases as the entire gift) and hoping that will help me use up much of my stash while I'm at it. Of course, that didn't stop me from buying fiberfill and some teensy packs of colorful light weight yarn to use for making mini stocking ornaments.

120. P.S. Be Eleven by Rita Williams-Garcia
Why now? I decided to finish the trilogy which started with the Newbery Honor-winning One Crazy Summer. My library hold on the e-book became available, and I may not have wedged it in quite yet except that the power went out, so I read it on my Kindle last night while I had a full battery.

Starting right where One Crazy Summer left off, Delphine and her sisters are on their way back to their home in Brooklyn. Still excited after their adventures at the summer camp run by the Black Panthers, now Delphine, Vonetta and Fern, have to live with their Pa, who has a new girlfriend, and his mother, Big Ma, who has a much more conservative take on how they should be acting and in the world than their mother did. Delphine is starting sixth grade, wants to be grown up and in some cases is required to look out for her sisters, but as her mother keeps reminding her in her letters, "P.S. Be eleven."

A lot is going on in this book, and the synopsis I gave doesn't really do it justice. It was fun to spend more time with the Gaither sisters as they discover a love for the Jackson Five and see how they deal with the more serious matters of their father's love life and their uncle's return from Vietnam. The ending felt a little abrupt to me - I went back a page or two to make sure I hadn't missed anything - but I enjoyed the ride and will look forward to reading the final book in the trilogy. 4 stars.

121. Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner
Why now? This was a book I picked up at a library book sale last year, and I decided to read it as my selection for the Monthly Author Read in September. As you can see, I'm a little late finishing it.

This collection of essays brings together sixteen essays, primarily published in the 1980s and 1990s, on Stegner's reflections of "living and writing in the West" as the subtitle expresses it. The first grouping includes personal reflections on Stegner's life growing up, the second reflect on the West as (an arid) place, and the third focuses on authors of the West and Stegner's take on their writing.

My reading of this collection suffered primarily from the fact that the only other book I have read by Wallace Stegner is Crossing to Safety, which was mentioned in some detail in the final essay and consequently is the one I liked the most. However, that's not to say that someone else couldn't get a lot out of it. I recommend reading Big Rock Candy Mountain in particular first, because it's mentioned often and in some ways is autobiographical. I also had a hard time with his essays on conservation, because I wondered to myself what had happened in the 30-odd years since he'd written, and had no personal memory of, say, water issues in the West in the 1980s. And finally, I had read very little of the books written about the west or by authors he admired, though that by far was my favorite section because I enjoy seeing what makes other readers tick. His essay written as a letter to Wendell Berry was fascinating, and made me want to track down some of Berry's fiction. Don't be discouraged from reading this collection by my lukewarm reaction. There's a lot to like, from his turns of phrase to his honesty of reflection on his own growing up, the West he loves so much, and the authors he admires. I think it would work best for readers familiar with much of his fiction already, and those somewhat conversant in the authors he discusses. 3.5 stars.

I did track down a copy of a short story by Steinbeck that Stegner broke down in an essay, and that was pretty fun. I would've liked him as a professor, I think.

122. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris
Why now? The library was weeding our copy of the audiobook on CD (read by the author) and I decided to nab it - I think the title was on my mind after Steve's (swynn) recent review too.

In this unique blend of memoir and grammar guide, we get to follow along with Mary Norris, who worked as a copy editor at The New Yorker, as she waxes eloquent about style whether it be comma usage, hyphens, semicolons, the use of taboo language in print, or her preferences for a No. 1 pencil and a good pencil sharpener.

I enjoyed listening to Mary Norris read her own prose (and helpfully spelling out words or vocalizing the punctuation as needed), and her sense of fun when it comes to usage. Yes, there are rules. In fact, I was delighted and amused to find out that The New Yorker uses the second edition of Webster's dictionary first for spelling and usage, for example - I would have chosen Webster's Third myself, but that's the descriptionist in me coming out. She also has a good sense of humor about it all and isn't rigid about what's "right", occasionally including examples where authors break the usage rules but it works better their way. Sometimes grammar is personal, as she discovers when her sister transitioned and Mary had to relearn saying "she" when she most naturally went for "he." Most delightfully, her training means that she's intrigued when something is unexpected, and will go on a bit of research to figure out who put the hyphen in Moby-Dick the title when the whale is simply Moby Dick. I didn't always agree with her style preferences (I don't mind a singular "they"), nor did I always follow her more technical explanations, but I loved getting to see how the mind of a copy editor works and appreciated her eye for style and ear for language. 4 stars.

Yesterday was my first day back to work, and a very busy one going straight from there to opening night of AWANA. We're wearing masks and limiting contact a bit having the kids come into separate entrances for different age groups, parents checking kids in remotely, and only having half classes each night (kids come on alternate weeks in teams after yesterday). It went fairly smoothly for a first time. But it also means that I'm getting home at 8:30-9 on Friday nights now.

Last night around 3 a.m. I had some trouble with the one ring I wear, a class ring that was a joint gift and some of my own money from when I got my first college degree (associate's, and decided to get it since I don't have a high school ring), was feeling tight. In a semi-conscious state, I tried tugging on it, it got stuck, and I left it. Since it was in that foggy half-waking, I don't know if I fell back asleep or not, but some time later I decided to take it all the way off and put it on my nightstand. Well, on the stack of books on my nightstand. I felt out with one hand for a flat spot, put it down, and next thing I knew heard it clatter to the ground. So now I'm wide awake, 'cause there's a hole in the floor next to my bed and if it got down there, I'd never get it back. I turned the lights on, couldn't see it anywhere on the floor, pulled my trundle bed out a little but couldn't see it there either, moved yarn out of the way, went through the trash can. No dice. So now it's definitely a little after 3, I'm tired and frustrated and the last place it could be (minus the hole) is under the bed. I managed to go back to sleep, but when my alarm went off I got right up and proceeded to strip my sheets and move stuff out of the way to completely take the trundle out and see if it had fallen under the bed. Sure enough - I found it there several inches under where my hand couldn't fit under the sliding trundle. Phew!

I went out with my Little today, we went apple picking and did some baking with our harvest. She had me bring home the apple pie, and she kept the applesauce. And I still have a huge stack of apples, but I also bought some goodies to make apple crisp. I'll have to share my bounty with my housemates.

Tomorrow is virtual church, a house showing, and football. I'm hoping to finish up Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? this weekend, as it's very overdue. My library stack is out of control right now, and I've either got to read up a storm this month or return some things. Possibly both.

Well done for starting back work, for picking apples and finding errant trinkets.

Have a lovely weekend.

>137 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Hope your weekend is lovely as well.

Mary is there somewhere you would recommend I could read about the little (sister?) programme? I don't think we have it here (but I could be wrong and have just missed it).

I have 13 books out from the library so also need to get reading. Someone posted about trying to have books back at the library because of the delay COVID means in putting them back on the shelves once they're back in the building, and I realised I should probably cut back on my usual 20.

>139 charl08: Charlotte, the program is Big Brothers Big Sisters, and it looks like there's also a version in the UK. I linked to the London area, but I think if you Googled "Big Brothers Big Sisters" you could find a branch near you. The program in the U.S. has two options: one where you would join a child for lunch at their school on a regular basis (which doesn't work for me with my job) and another "community-based", where I either visit with my Little Sister, have her over my place, or go out and do an activity together: shopping at the mall, apple picking, hiking, going to a museum, or what have you. They try to match you based on interests and personality to make a good mentoring relationship. I started a little over a year ago, and have really enjoyed it.

I usually try to keep myself to 5-9 library books at a time (I'm there several days a week, after all), but I confess with COVID my response has been "but I might need more if we close again!" Never mind that I have 200+ unread books of my own! My library's not too worried about due dates because of the whole quarantining items situation, and we've been waiving fines on items checked out since March when we closed to the public. We've been trying to tell patrons to not worry about materials still checked out on their cards - they will most likely come off in a week or so - but on the other end, I currently have some items in quarantine racking up fines and my coping mechanism has been not looking at my library record haha. Even though I know they'll disappear in a few days, it's disconcerting to see.

Ooo, house showing! I hope it's a right good 'un.

Thank you for your package, handed to me today, and I'm *gob*smacked* that you couldn't add even one book to the TBRs from it! I don't expect to have that experience myownself.

>141 richardderus: oh believe me, there are plenty of books I want to read in there. The trouble is that they were *already* on my TBR list. Hope you enjoy it and find lots to add to yours!

Yes, house showing this afternoon and yet another that will most likely have multiple offers. They're accepting them through Wednesday and we'll put together ours tomorrow and see what happens. It's a cute house with lots of potential. Needs some cosmetic work, but good bones. Three bedrooms, two baths, and already has a perennial garden, grapes and blueberries in a nice big yard. Also has an attached garage, which isn't often appearing in my price range. It'll come down to other offers again, but I'll probably know by the end of the week.

¡Suerte!

Thank you! I have a feeling it'll take a combination of luck and patience, but one of these days it will be meant to be.

>142 bell7: Ooh, a garden. Fingers crossed.

I think the programme in the UK is just down south - but there are lots of other mentoring schemes, which I was vaguely aware of but need to do some more homework. Understandably a lot are now working online though.

>145 charl08: Yes, it makes sense that a lot are online right now. We had to meet virtually for several months and now when we get together in person we're wearing masks and trying to do outside things while the weather's still nice. I hope you find something that's a good fit!

123. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph. D.
Why now? Reading through some recommended antiracism texts. This is one that my library had recently purchased - the 20th anniversary updated edition of a book that first came out when I was in high school. I'd heard about it in college, never read it, and now I'm rectifying that.

Dr. Tatum, a psychologist who taught in colleges in western Massachusetts and became the president of Spelman College, investigates the ways in which children through adults explore their racial ethnic identities. Though much of the book focuses on Black and white, she also includes a chapter briefly touching on Latinx, Asian American, American Indian, and other identities, as well as a chapter on multiracial families.

This is, in my opinion, essential reading and a book I'm sorry it took me nearly twenty years to read from the first time I heard of it. Starting with an introduction discussing Black-white race relations since the publication of the first edition up to 2017, she gives a succinct explanation for why young people might say, "Nothing's changed!" about racism in America. She then describes the psychology behind exploring one's racial ethnic identity, both for Black children/teens/adults, and for white. Her exploration does much more than explain "Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" (short answer: it's a safe space for them to share their experiences of race and racism and know they'll be heard and understood). Dr. Tatum gives examples of early conversations about race with her own son, contrasting it with how many white families, including my own respond - "Shhhh!" Her examples give me hope that I can do better in conversations with peers and children, and that if I were to adopt white children or transracially, I could give them a firm foundation to start exploring their own racial ethnic identities. 4.5 stars.

The introduction also explains what's been updated or completely re-written since the earlier edition, so if you read a different one, I still recommend checking it out.

Happy Tuesday morning!

The holiday weekend was nice and refreshing. I was able to get a fair amount done at home yesterday to prepare myself for the week and going back to work. Today I'm going in 10-6, and will have in-person appointments alongside curbside appointments to juggle for the first time. Wish me luck! It's gonna be a bit of a learning curve.

I'm slightly impressed with how many books I've finished so far this month, too, knowing that much of my time off last week was spent watching the French Open instead of reading. We'll see what the next week or so holds. I've started Just One Damned Thing After Another because I decided that this year and next I'd try to catch up on the series (I read the first 5-6, then dropped off), and it should be a fairly quick read compared to some of the others that I'd started in September and finished recently. I also have to start my book discussion book soon - The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead is our pick for October, and we're discussing it a week from tomorrow. It's a short book, though, so if I read the bulk of it over the weekend, I'll be in good shape.

And that's about it for an update from me. The house I put an offer in is accepting offers 'til tomorrow, so I don't really expect to hear anything until Thursday or Friday depending on how long it takes them to decide. We put together my best offer and now it just depends on where the others came in. And, honestly, even after the offer how the inspection goes, but one step at a time.

Oh, and I actually got a movie in the other day. I watched Knives Out, which is... hard to explain, but I mostly enjoyed it.

>149 bell7: Yeah, that about sums up Knives Out. I liked it but didn't love it. Rob didn't care for it.

>127 bell7: Mary, being alone with your heart pounding sounds scary. Take good care of yourself.

>150 foggidawn: Both responses are totally fair. It left me feeling off-kilter haha.

>151 Whisper1: Yeah, it was a scary moment. Thankfully after slowing down a bit, I was able to get to the top and enjoy myself more. I should get myself in better shape!

Hey, it's hump day! Yesterday went surprisingly smoothly for being a busy day after a holiday and having both people in the building AND curbside service. It was my first time working a 10-6 shift as we've expanded our hours some (still no weekends, but those might start in November pending a trustees' vote next week), and the time simply flew by. I was good and stopped for a grocery shopping on the way home last night, so my plan for today is making Shrimp Scampi Orzo for dinner and enjoying some down time in the evening.

I also meant to watch the new Little Women movie with Emma Watson, but it turns out I grabbed the PBS miniseries instead. I watched the first episode but I was kind of annoyed with how they messed with the timeline of events (I think, it's been awhile since I read it) to try to make things more dramatic, so I left it after one episode and I'm returning it to the library for now. I may or may not get the other movie out at some point, but I have a huge stack of library books at the moment and need to start my book discussion book for next week.

I'm currently reading Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor in print and The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin as my e-book/audio combo. I've kind of stalled on Beyond Colorblind, not having picked it up in awhile, but I'm going to try to start reading a chapter a day again. Next book to start is going to be The Nickel Boys, and probably The Hidden Girl and Other Stories with a story or two a day.

>153 bell7: The new Little Women film is really good. The Winona Ryder version will always be my top favourite but this one nips at its heels. I hope you get a chance with it.

>153 bell7: Expanding wintertime hours, well, what better time I suppose.

I'm worried about the resurgent virus myownself, since wintertime is so necessarily an indoors time for people in our climate.

>154 MickyFine: This, exactly.

>154 MickyFine:, >156 foggidawn: The Winona Ryder one came out at the perfect time for it to always remain my favorite (I think I was 11? I remember watching it at my birthday party), but it's good to know that this one is close. I may not be having time to be watching any movies, however, for reasons I will explain shortly...

>155 richardderus: I think it's been a combination of things, one of opening by appointment along with Town Hall (part of their delay was voter registration/early voting), and also giving staff time to get used to the new stuff, see how it goes, and then start adding from there. A resurgence may curb things, of course.

So, I had an offer accepted on a house today!

I'm working on getting an inspection set up, after which I'll know more. The seller is not going to make any repairs, but we could still renegotiate or walk away if it came to it based on how the inspection goes. But it's a great house, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, with an attached garage and a beautiful yard with both a perennial garden, rhubarb, grapes and blueberries. Just... so lovely and needing a little sprucing up like tearing up carpets and repainting. There's a leak upstairs that I'm most concerned about, but the husband of the couple I live with knows his stuff about home repairs and will be able to tell me if it's something I can do or way too complicated/expensive. So I am cautiously optimistic, and starting to wonder how on earth I will manage to pack all my books.

By the way, I like the spiffy new look around here. I saw the update on my mobile phone today and love how easy it is to navigate Talk threads on it without attempting to resize everything or accidentally tapping on the wrong link!

>158 bell7: Congrats on the house!!! I think packing up your books will be easier than you think, especially for a short distance move. Plus then you get to put them all on the shelves! (which is probably much less fun for someone who works in a library than it is for me)

>160 norabelle414: ah but I'm in admin now so I don't shelve much anymore 😂 No, in all seriousness, it will be very fun for me to arrange them on the other end. Boxing up...well, everything, and then unpacking, not so much. I'll have to negotiate with the folks I live with what I'm taking and what's staying (most of the furniture, including the bookshelves are actually theirs, but I honestly don't see it being a problem), and I may think about asking a friend to build me custom shelves someday. So many fun decisions to come... 😁

Edited to fix spelling

>158 bell7: That's exciting! The inspection will tell all, of course, but boy am I hoping for what could be the best move ever!

>162 richardderus: Thank you! I'm cautiously hopeful... I've sent out a few emails and hopefully will have inspection scheduled soon. My boss was kind enough to tell me to take the time I need, so I can be really flexible and just take some personal time to get it done.

Oh, congrats on the offer acceptance! I'll keep my fingers crossed that the inspection goes well!

>164 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! I sent out a couple of emails to inspectors my realtor recommended last night, so hopefully today/tomorrow I'll get the inspection lined up.

Very exciting, Mary! Fingers crossed for a good, or at least not alarming, inspection report!

EEEEeeeee! Congratulations! So exciting!

That's wonderful news, Mary. I hope the inspection goes well!

Exciting times! Fingers crossed for your inspection.

Congrats on the house! I assume there will be pictures at some point... 😀

Hope things go well with the inspection! How exciting! Glad the first day with the reopening went smoothly, and hope it continues to do so.

Thanks, Katie, Misti, Micky, Charlotte, Jim and Rachel!

Fingers crossed that all goes well - I'm fine with a slightly rough inspection potentially allowing a little renegotiation, but we'll see what happens. I have received price quotes from a couple of people, and am hoping for one more call back tomorrow & then scheduling. And I'm also starting to compare mortgage rates and my head's spinning (just a little extra because the closing costs were slightly more than expected, but I'll be okay). One step at a time.

Meanwhile, so far tonight I have had the brain capacity to play Candy Crush and that's about it haha. I'll put the new Supernatural episode on in a bit, and I'm hoping to finish Just One Damned Thing After Another tonight or tomorrow at the very latest. Gotta read The Nickel Boys over the weekend, and hopefully inspection next week. Also an oil change. Isn't being an adult fun?

>170 drneutron: Sorry, Jim, just realized I missed your question. Yes, if everything goes through I will definitely share photos.

>172 bell7: Are you using a mortgage broker? It took a lot of stress off my plate having someone else compare rates for me - plus they were able to check rates with mortgage specific companies rather than just banks. Of course, I know things work differently on your side of the border so I'm not sure what the options are.

Mary--I had to catch up on the whole thread, begin a tad behind on LT. Glad the wedding went off without a hitch (save the coffee) and that you really like your SIL. LOVE the wedding photo! I enjoy many of the books mentioned here and think you will really like The Nickel Boys. Congrats on the offer being accepted and best wishes as you figure out the details! Phew! Happy Friday.

>174 MickyFine: I don't have a mortgage broker, but I shopped around enough that I feel good about going with my local bank. They have competitive rates right around 3%, unbelievably.

>175 Berly: Thanks for visiting and catching up so thoroughly Kim! It's been a whirlwind of a couple of months, for sure :) Today is my calm before the storm and I will attempt to read the bulk of The Nickel Boys.

Happy weekend, everyone! Today, as I mentioned to Kim above, is the calm before the storm. I'm hoping to get some basic tidying done around the apartment and read a bunch in The Nickel Boys. I also want to take some time to update this month's budget a bit and get some numbers straight in my head before all the house fun really begins, and read through the purchase and sale draft.

Tomorrow is virtual church, and going over to my brother's to watch the Giants game. I still have a ton of apples from last week with my Little, so my SIL and I are hoping to bake some apple crisp and possibly more.

Monday I took the day off and the morning will be inspections, with an oil change in the afternoon. After the inspections, I'll talk with my realtor if we want to make any adjustments to our offer, but if not I'll be contacting my bank to get the mortgage process started and my dad (my lawyer) about the purchase and sale.

Happy Saturday, Mary. I hope you are doing well. It looks like you have your hands full with the house inspection. I hope it goes smoothly. I also hope you enjoy The Nickel Boys as much as I did. Whitehead is on a terrific roll.

Ooo! Apple crisp. Lurvely.

Enjoy the calm before the storm of activity, Mary.

>178 msf59: Hiya, Mark, happy Saturday to you too! Do the weekends still feel extra-special or does each day kinda run together in retirement land? :D Thanks for the good wishes on the inspections and The Nickel Boys. The writing is pitch perfect, of course, but I've reached the part where I think the events are going to get difficult to read. So we'll see how it goes.

>179 richardderus: Mmmm, yes I do like me some apple crisp. And apple pie and (hot) apple cider and applesauce. It's all pretty yum! And thanks, I haven't been sleeping well so aside from reading and a few catch up items at home I took a pretty good nap this afternoon. I'm going to get back into reading for a bit, and may allow myself to start The Return of the Thief if I make good enough progress in The Nickel Boys.

124. Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor
Why now? I decided with everything going on in life, it would be nice to read something that goes down quick with a nice side of laugh-out-loud humor. I need to reread the first six or so books in the series and catch up on the rest (new one comes out soon!). Also, it fit in nicely as a "title that describes 2020 for you" for the TIOLI challenges this month.

I first read this in 2014, continued through part of the series and then for some reason stalled out and it's been so long since I read any that I know I'd be hopelessly confused if I picked it up again. So, time for a reread. Here's what I had to say after my first read:

Madeleine Maxwell never had a great family life, but with a teacher's help she became a historian and success, if a bit on the unsocial side. When this teacher sends her a a letter inviting her to a unique opportunity in history at St. Mary's, Max jumps at the chance... and then finds out just how, er, unorthodox their methods are.

So yes, I was hit by another book bullet after several fellow LibraryThing members started reading the Chronicles of St. Mary's. I mean, it's time travel, British humor, and a free Kindle book. There's really no downside if I don't like the book. Who was I to say no? And as it turns out, this was a really fun romp through a bit of history, a lot of humor, and some great characters in Chief Farrell, the Boss, Mrs. Partridge, and so many more. There are some typos, but easy to overlook as I was turning pages quickly to find out what would happen to this bumbling bunch of time traveling historians.

The plot itself is one crazy occurrence after another, and after moving deliberately through Max's training there's also a period of about five years that flies by if you're not paying attention, and she'll make references to "jumps" that aren't part of the narrative which can leave this reader, anyway, a little confused. Those tiny quibbles keep this from being one of my all-time favorite reads, but it's a solid series to keep me entertained in busy and challenging times. I'll probably try to read at least a book a month until I get current in the series.

Just catching up with you

>107 bell7: Great wedding pictures. It looks as everyone was having a great time!

>182 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! It was really nice to have something to celebrate this year :)

125. Happily Ever After & Everything in Between by Debbie Tung
Why now? We got our new graphic & comics order in at the library, and this was one of them so I grabbed it because I've loved her other two comics. Picked it up this evening because I needed to take a short break from the bleakness in The Nickel Boys.

Debbie Tung uses comics to recount the love and hilarity that is newlywed life, from her husband sweetly making her tea or bundling her up in a blanket to hear all about her day, to sharing the more embarrassing side that they'll talk about such important things as farts and fall asleep before they can decide on what movie to watch. A sweet and funny peek into her married life and how much she and her husband love each other.

>181 bell7: I read this first one a couple of years ago and liked it okay, but maybe not enough to go on with the series, I guess? Honestly I can't remember. Maybe I should give it a reread at some point...

>181 bell7: Oh boy! Reread time. In this series' case, that is no burden at all.

Though I think re-reading A Second Chance would be utterly beyond my strength.

>184 bell7: My mother, not at all an earthy sort, saw me go moony over a girl in high school and observed with great astringence, "she farts too, daaahhhlin." I'm pretty sure that's the only time she ever said the word "fart" in my presence.

>185 scaifea: If the first one didn't work great for you, Amber, I don't think I'd recommend continuing with the series as it just gets weirder from here. Another one I should try to read through at some point is Discworld. I have read random parts of the series and have *several* unread to keep me busy for awhile.

>186 richardderus: I'm bracing myself for A Second Chance, honestly.
My mother, on the other hand, taught me that SBDs are "silent but deadly" for those most smelly of f-words. There are other things she's shy of talking of, but that ain't one of them.

Edited to add: Also, not bad advice as it goes, to remember about anyone we're prone to go moony over.

Hi Mary - Congrats on the house. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly. How nice to have something like to look forward to during this pandemic. At least you'll have a new space to stay home in!

I love my library's curbside pick up. The building itself is still closed, and I miss going in to browse, but I am happy I've been able to get some new books.

The wedding photos are beautiful.

Not much left of it, Mary, but enjoy the remainder of your weekend. x

Hi Mary. I'm stopping by to say I hope this coming week is a good one.

>188 BLBera: Hi Beth, I'm glad curbside has worked well for you. We just started opening to browse (numbers have stayed pretty low in the town where I work), and folks have been pretty excited even with all the rules. The house hunting has been fun, and I'm hoping all goes well at the inspection today!

>189 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul, it was a good weekend. Had some time to rest on Saturday and read a good chunk of my book club book, and the Giants actually won a game that I got to watch with my family (four out of six of us recently had negative Covid tests after travel, so I'm reasonably sure we were good). Today I'm off but it's all house errands, so still feels like a Monday :)

>190 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda, I wish you a wonderful week as well!

Crossing all crossables that the house inspection goes smoothly today!

Hope you get some time to chill at the end of what I'm sure will be a nutty day. :)

>192 MickyFine: Thank you, Micky! Inspections this morning went about as expected - the plumbing does indeed need replacing, though the most likely the leak upstairs is from needing to replace flashing on the chimney, which is not nearly as expensive. So, we've got a plumber coming on Friday to give us an estimate, and will most likely do our best to still have the sale go through, but may be asking for a closing cost credit and shaving a bit off the offer, basically matching the plumbing estimate he comes in with. The termite inspection went beautifully. There are two small areas in the basement that would need treatment and repair, and I'll get an estimate along with the inspection report in my email over the next day or two. But aside from that, nothing at all to raise an eyebrow and he pointed out the good, strong thick beams that were used in building.

So, I'll probably have to put some money into it, but I still think it's totally doable if the plumber doesn't have an insane bill and they accept the amended offer. I peeked under the carpet on the first floor, and y'all it's hardwood that looks beautiful in the corner I pulled up. There are a lot of improvements I could do over the years to make this a really gorgeous place.

Woohoo! Glad to see there were no (bad) surprises. The hardwood potential is awesome news. So happy to see things are going your way. :)

>193 bell7: Sounds really exciting! Fingers crossed for a reasonable plumber's bill.

>193 bell7: Yay for no major applecart-upsetters! I hope they see sense and accept the new offer.

Thanks, Micky, Charlotte and Richard. Yeah, everything seems to be coming together so far. Not that it won't be without challenges, but the plumber coming on Friday for an estimate was actually recommended by the seller's realtor and she (the realtor, I mean) knows that it will not necessarily be a deal breaker but will impact our offer, so I think we're still in good shape there. The next order of business is going to be the purchase and sale, mortgage, insurance, and an appraisal. Thank goodness for a lot of personal/vacation time and a flexible boss!

I am really excited about the floors. I'd been contemplating carpet squares to replace the smoke-smelling rugs, but if the wood's in good shape under the rest of the rug, I may not have to do that at all. Upstairs the wood was painted a blue/grey color, and I'll probably just take a roller, paint it white, and put down area rugs to start with.

It sounds like all is going well with your house inspection. Fingers crossed, Mary. How exciting. We'll get to see pictures, right?

Smoke-smelling! Oh no! Remember that oil-based Kilz comes in five-gallon drums. It is, unfortunately, the only paint that truly traps the smoke-stink. Painting the walls AND CEILINGS with two coats of it will, and I speak here from experience, really and truly eliminate the odor. (And painting the whole place with the outgoing carpet on the floors is a lot cheaper and safer than drop-cloths.)

Woot to a successful inspection!! Fingers crossed that they are willing to lower the price according to the plumbing report. And OMG to the hardwood floors!!

Nice to see things moving apace, Mary! We have hideous carpet in the upstairs hallway, and my plan was to replace it until The Wayne discovered the hardwood beneath it that matches the bedrooms. Woot! So now the plan is to rip up the carpet and get the floors refinished.

>198 BLBera: Once the closing date is passed and all is official, I will most definitely be sharing photos!

>199 richardderus: Thank you for the tip! I will invest in Kilz for sure, and yes, paint then carpet rip-up is most definitely the plan. I expect to have a few work days with and without friends soon after the purchase for the most immediate things.

>200 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! Yes, I was very excited about the floors, not least because it doesn't look like the first floor had been painted, so I may be able to get away with not refinishing them for a little while...

>201 katiekrug: Yes! Refinished hardwood floors are simply beautiful. Will you share pictures of yours when finished? I probably won't refinish them right away because other things are taking precedence (and, if I'm fostering in a couple of years, kids will just beat them up anyway), but they're far and away preferable to the current rugs, and an area rug can cover a multitude of sins.

Today's morning tasks included emailing the bank about the mortgage application and getting an insurance quote from my car insurance company. Now waiting to hear from both of those and the lawyers regarding the purchase and sale.

I should finish The Nickel Boys today for book discussion tomorrow - just 40 pages left, and I did enough cooking last night that I should just have to reheat either soup or spaghetti.

Off to get ready for my 10-6 shift, and a day of (up to 30) patrons in the building by appointment plus curbside appointments every 10 minutes. Happy Tuesday!

I will try to remember to share pics, but it won't happen for a while, because I am still "eh" about having strangers in and out of the house. The kitchen and bathroom renos are on hold for the same reason. We'll probably rip up the carpet and live with them as is sooner rather than later, though. Suffice to say, the carpet is turquoise..... Yikes!

Hi, Mary.

>130 bell7: What sweet and funny stories. Thanks for posting that. I personally think that was a great plan for the football route; your Dad just need 10 minutes or so of QB protection. :-) I bet everyone got teary-eyed over C's sister's ultimately realizing that C would be just fine in her new home.

You hit me with a BB with Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting. I've been wondering about that one, and waiting for your take on it. Adding it to the WL.

Well, Mary, no matter how stinky your outgoing carpet is, at least it's not turquoise! *shudder*

A packed day for sure. Stay safe and smiley!

>204 katiekrug: Yes, that makes sense. Plumbing is a bit more of an immediate need (and in all honesty, I will most likely be out of the house much of the time and dogsitting...). A turquoise carpet, huh? Double yikes!

>205 jnwelch: You're welcome, Joe, glad you enjoyed them :) I hope you get a lot from Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting in the Cafeteria? too.

>206 richardderus: This is absolutely true, Richard, though one upstairs is a startling green that may give the turquoise a run for its money! Tired now, but I finished The Nickel Boys and I'm gonna enjoy myself with Return of the Thief now. The next few days will be pretty busy, so I may read slowly but I'm loving it.

126. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Why now? Book club book for tomorrow - I came in right under the wire! And it was on my TBR list too, because it was the newest book by him and I really liked The Underground Railroad.

Young Elwood grows up in the Black Frenchtown neighborhood living with his grandmother, working hard and planning on going to college. But all of that gets derailed when he is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and he's sent to a reform school. The "school" is little more than a way for those in power to abuse it, and Elwood and the others dream of leaving.

This short book packs a powerful punch, not least because the Nickel School is based on a real school - the Dozier School - where unmarked graves were found after it was closed for good. In the 1960s, the dorms are segregated, so we get Elwood and his friends, as well as Jaimie, the Mexican boy who doesn't really fit in either dorm. Elwood's idealism is tested as he copes with terrible circumstances. An omniscient narrator includes both flashbacks of the school's history and a future of a man from the school now living in New York. Intense and powerful, this is masterfully done. 4 stars.

Mary, I am crossing fingers that the bill for the plumber on Friday isn't expensive. I am happy for you!

All good wishes.

Congrats on the house!
I thought The Nickel Boys was really good.

>206 richardderus: and >207 bell7: - Wait until you hear about the brown and peach bathroom!

In one house, my daughter had a pink tub and blue tile. It was pretty hideous.

>211 katiekrug: Brown.

And PEACH.

Bathroom?!

>209 Whisper1: Thanks for the good wishes, Linda! This sounds counterintuitive, but a slightly high estimate may turn out to be in my favor - that is, knocking the price down on the house total, and then hopefully costing me slightly less than expected when I actually get the work done. But actually all parties - the realtors, me and the seller - should be present and my realtor believes we could have a verbal agreement by the end of the day Friday. In the meantime, I signed the purchase and sale and am working on getting the mortgage in place. We'll all try our best to make this happen, I believe.

>210 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! It was excellent craftsmanship, though brutal reading at times.

>211 katiekrug: Oh Katie, you poor thing... at least I have no complaints about the colors of the bathrooms, though I'll probably replace the linoleum on the one upstairs, eventually, as it's curling up in places.

>212 BLBera: *blinks* oh I can perhaps imagine that. Right now mine is blue tile with a (not matching) blue wall, though at this point I'm kind of blind to it.

>213 richardderus: *snort*

Well, good Wednesday evening and no, I'm not watching the debate. I've already voted and I value my blood pressure too much.

I had book discussion with one other woman, we talked quite a bit about our responses to The Nickel Boys and racism in general. Sorry to have such a small group, but it was nice to catch up with her.

And now I'm going to call a cousin who had a genealogy question, followed by as much reading of Return of the Thief as I can manage before heading to bed.

Mary, I can't watch another debate with Trump interrupting everyone. Every day, I am curious what name he is giving to someone who crosses his path and he doesn't like. I believe he had an ugly word for Dr. Fauci.

The man has not class. Where is the dog in the White House...usually the president has an animal. Where is the classical music? I saw something on the tv, I didn't pay attention to all of it, but Melania was using the F word in relation to express her opinion of why she should not have had to decorate the White House for Christmas.

Let's see, this crude woman lives in a beautiful house, with the upkeep paid with our tax dollars.

It is time for this crude bunch for find another home...We do know that they have a lot of homes used for tax deducations....

>215 bell7: - I believe the debate is tonight, Mary, so if your blood pressure drops too low and you need a lift.... there you go!

;-)

ETA: Or if the Giants crap the bed and you need something else to watch tonight.

>216 Whisper1: Well, they had a mute button but I didn't watch so I don't really know how it went. It wasn't going to change my mind, and I knew it would just frustrate me no matter what. So many things have become divisive that I wish we could have real, in-depth conversations about without getting angry and upset.

>217 katiekrug: Ha, yes, I had my days wrong, Katie. I think I still would've watched Philly kill the Giants, though the way they lost was even more frustrating than a blowout in some ways... so many missed opportunities.

I'm leaving work early today to head over to the house and get the estimate from the plumber. It'll be a full house with me, my realtor, the seller's realtor and the seller's sister (his POA), but I'm kind of looking forward to it. My realtor's feeling good and thinks we will have a verbal agreement by the end of the afternoon. Tomorrow morning the man of the house where I live with an older couple and his plumber are going to take a look and tell me what they think is absolutely essential to do (and hopefully give me a slightly lower estimate). So everything does seem to be coming together, and I'm sure the next few weeks will be crazy busy with mortgage, appraisal, insurance and packing.

I finished Return of the Thief last night and owe a review but I'm not sure I can really do it - or the whole series - justice. As a short response, I will say that I definitely agree with those who found it a fitting ending.

That's all from me for now. I'm a little short on sleep and have a busy couple of days so don't be surprised if I don't pop in or catch up on threads 'til Sunday...

I also skipped the debates in service of my blood pressure. Though, I have been reading the news, so that doesn't help.

>219 bell7: All things that still cross are crossed for your day to be crowned with success! See you Sunday.

Good luck on your house negotiations, Mary!!

>219 bell7: As a short response, I will say that I definitely agree with those who found it a fitting ending. Ooooh YAY. I am So. Excited. to get there, but I'm doing a full reread first and only just now about finished with the first one. I love this series so, so much.

Hi Mary! Happy Saturday! I hope the house negotiations continue to go well. Neat to have hardwood floors under the old carpet! And so wonderful that the ceiling leak is the flashing and not the roof!

I did watch the debate and it was sooo much more civilized than the last one although still lots of misinformation being disbursed. I've already voted, but since the first one was such a train wreck I decided to watch ... I do not understand the man or his supporters.

Congratulations on finding a house, Mary. I hope all the details of plumbing, etc. work out in your favor. So exciting! I can't wait to see pictures. Speaking of which, I truly enjoyed the wedding pictures upthread. You also mentioned liking space opera. I didn't even know what that was when an LT friend (Roni in CA) told me about The Vorkosigan Saga by Bujold. I listened to one on a drive to Colorado and got hooked. I used to make that 12-hour drive several times a year and depended on Miles Vorkosigan to help me stay awake driving across Kansas. Good times!

>220 banjo123: Fair, Rhonda. I hope you're able to find times of quiet and joy to balance it all out!

>221 richardderus: Thanks, Richard!

>222 kidzdoc: Thanks for the good wishes, Darryl!

>223 scaifea: The series is fabulous, Amber, and I love how much it rewards rereading - there's always some detail I missed the last time. I'm looking forward to rereading them all again already!

>224 streamsong: Well I have to correct myself, Janet, they're actually pine and not hardwood, but still very pretty. I'm looking forward to fixing things up and making the place my own though I love some of the details already in the house. I think the owner and I had similar taste in some ways. As far as politics goes, I'm almost sorry I mentioned the debate haha. I am finding myself more and more adrift not feeling like I really "fit" with either party, and am particularly frustrated with how vitriolic people on both sides can be (I'm thinking more of Twitter than anything else). I think most of us "regular folk" agree about the problems we face, but disagree on the best ways to approach them. Anyway, I'd just as soon stay away from making a comment about either candidate here and just say it is important to vote this election and do your best according to your conscience.

>225 Donna828: Thanks, Donna! At this point, I'm mostly going to be working on getting mortgage and all that paperwork in place, but I'm hoping to take some photos at the final walkthrough and will definitely have some before and after pictures as I work on various rooms. Thanks for the recommendation on the Vorkosigan Saga. I've read a couple of Bujold's fantasy but not that, and I think it will be right up my alley once I can figure out where to start. Roni is a great friend for SFF recommendations!

Life update:

Well, the plumbers' reports were... shockingly, really good. There are pipes to be replaced in the basement but rather than the $10,000 bill I was half-expecting, they estimated in the $2,000-$3,000 range. We're waiting to get the official report from the plumber that the seller's realtor recommended, and my broker is planning on asking for a closing cost credit in the amount of his estimate so that I have some extra, non-emergency fund money to pay for the plumbing. All in all, I am very pleased with what I was able to get with an as-is house in this price range. This week, I'm moving ahead as if the closing date is Nov. 24, and working on packing, getting the mortgage, and talking to my car insurance agent about adding home insurance to my policy.

Once the closing date passes, the immediate work that needs to be done is the plumbing and the flashing on the chimney. The first project I do myself will be painting in the dining room and living room (and probably the master bedroom just to be a nice color I like), followed by pulling out carpet all around the house. Then I can think about adding furniture to each room (I already have a dining room set!) and getting curtains and blinds. I'll do some touch up and painting in the kitchen as well. And I'll probably look to buy some bookshelves. Then I can start a to-do list from the inspection and my own dreams, and tackle each project as I save up money to update and decorate how I want.

I'm so excited to see how things are coming together! My hope was for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home with an attached garage, that was priced low because of mostly cosmetic work that I could handle, and I am absolutely thrilled with what we found.

>227 bell7: Oh, that is such great news, Mary. It's sounding like a sure thing, barring something unknown, so I'll say it:

Congrats! I’m glad the plumber worked out well.

Oh that is good news. Wonderful.

Great news, Mary!

I'm very pleased for you, Mary.......time to celebrate with an unprecedented 8th thread?!

Excellent news, Mary! Are you planning to move in right away after you take possession or do some reno work before you take up residence?

>228 richardderus: Thank you! Got the mortgage application this morning and the final estimate from the plumber. The estimate of plumbing and the estimate of closing costs are within about $200 of each other, so it looks like if the seller agrees to the closing cost credit I should have no or very low closing costs and enough $$ to get the immediate work completed.

>229 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!
>230 charl08: Thanks, Charlotte, I was pretty happy this weekend and finally "showed off" the house a little to the couple I live with now and my parents on Saturday.
>231 kidzdoc: :) Thanks, Darryl.
>232 PaulCranswick: Indeed, Paul, I'll work on that sometime this afternoon I think :)

>234 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! No, I'm planning to go ahead and move on the Friday after Thanksgiving/closing (I already have the day off as a holiday). The plumbing work should take one day. And I'm just planning not to get anymore furniture than what I already have (a bed, a chair, and the dining room set is what I think I'll have) until after I rip out the carpet.

Nice! Hope the next month goes smoothly!

>236 MickyFine: You and me both! I am a little overwhelmed with the thought of packing and may try to cull some books...

>235 bell7: That is the best possible outcome, and I hope they see the sense in it. I'm pretty confident they will, it's extremely reasonable.

>237 bell7: "cull...books..."
...
...
...it *looks* like English...

>238 richardderus: I think so, the seller's realtor seemed to think that would be a reasonable outcome when we had the initial inspections on Monday, so we're just waiting now for the seller's signature on the amended purchase and sale. Considering the fact that all of the bookshelves I currently have are not *technically* mine because the folks I live with provided furnishings, I may be looking at temporarily reduced shelves (they will let me take some) and I'm trying to be practical about it. Can't say that really means I'll be able to part with much though... I mean, there's plenty of storage in the other bedrooms for now, right?

New - eighth! - thread is all set up. Come join me.